Half Nelson.

All of a sudden--for no good reason, really, except that I was sort of in the mood for horsing around--I felt like jumping off the washbowl and getting old Stradlater in a half nelson. That's a wrestling hold, in case you don't know, where you get the other guy around the neck and choke him to death, if you feel like it. So I did it.

Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Salinger

I’m reading Catcher in the Rye right now. I found it quite amusing that it described a half nelson for me…

I left work early today. I just couldn’t stand it anymore. I was the only subtitle editor left in the office by 3:30 (only three of us had work anyway), and the tediousness of having nothing to do was getting on my nerves. So I went to the movies.

Half Nelson.

The movie’s not a particularly entertaining one. It’s a little slow. The plot is pretty simple and subtle.

The acting was brilliant. If I were the type to throw in profanity before my adjectives for emphasis, I would have added something before “brilliant.” But since I don’t, I’ll add “very.” The acting was very brilliant. As was the character development.

It was a pretty intimidating experience actually, watching perfectly written characters with their fully developed lives. With so little happening at times (if you call nothing being a grade-8 teacher doing drugs in the girls’ change room), it felt like I was just observing real people living lives so obviously destined for (if no intervention) self-destruction.

Thumbs up if you’re into the indie-movie scene. And Ryan Gosling completely deserves an Oscar.

Maybe I should go write something. Or start acting again. I had to light a cigarette once for a play. Apparently, my first try was pretty pathetic.

I feel as though sitcom writing just doesn’t measure up after that…