It is so rare to see a really good movie, that I sometimes see one and then have to sit and think about. It's like I dissected it just to see if what I had watched was really a good movie or just something I want to be a good movie. A few days ago, I bought the two disc version of Monster on DVD. Over the last few years, I've watched a few documentaries on Aileen Wuornos, a prostitute in Florida who killed a few of her clients. I already had a notion of Aileen and what I felt of her. And I pretty much knew her story that would be in the movie. And while I wasn't surprised at the details in the movie, I was surprised at how good it was. I had not seen the movie before. I just took a chance on the movie.

Charlize Theron and Christina Ricci were amazing. Christina Ricci's character in the movie was named Selby, but in real life her name was Tyra. Charlize Theron was amazing. On the DVD box, Roger Ebert says of Charlize, "This is one of the greatest performances in the history of the cinema." I read that in the store and thought, "You have got to be overacting." After watching the movie, I agree totally with Mr. Ebert.

Monster is not a rock em' sock em' serial killer killing spree kind of movie. It is more of a love story. Yes, a love story. The movie does not edit down what Aileen did, but it also humanizes and shows why she did what she did.

When I first learned of Aileen, I thought I was okay with her death penalty sentence. After a few more documentaries, I changed my mind. The movie only reinforces my belief that Aileen should not have been sentenced to death. I'm not saying she should have been let free to roam. I'm just saying there are reasons why people do the things that they do. And I do believe that if you don't let things that happened to Aileen happen to children, that they may grow up and have a better chance at life, which is something Aileen never had.

Moving on. Today I had to pick Boo up at school. That's my nephew. I went early and parked outside in the line that forms. If you don't go early, you'll end up waiting a bit to pick up your child. So I was sitting there in my car -- yes, my car drove today -- reading Peter Straub's Ghost Story and I heard a girl crying. That's not a good thing to hear. I look to my right and there's a ring of children next to my car. Why does a ring of people always instantly form when something happens? Well, teachers waddled on up and parted the sea of children. An older girl, probably ready to leave elementary school, sat on the ground holding her knee and couldn't move. I did not see her hurt herself. I was asked to move my car to make way for the coming ambulance, and I did. I moved all the way down to the front of the line and parked in front of everybody. Yes, I cut in line, but there was room for people to drive around if they needed to.

One last thing; remember Tori Spelling? It's okay if you don't. But doesn't she have a huge head?

  ¶ 9:41 PM