May 11, 2004 - The Second Coming

But still, I was a little surprised that it seems they just re-released old prints which were not necessarily in the best condition, at least not the one we saw. I don't know what I expected. I didn't expect it to be totally remastered, but I thought that at least they would have printed up some fresh prints.

We had a good time nonetheless. Before the movie, we went to Karma, a contemporary Indian restaurant on Chestnut Street. There, we shared some appetizers and several different dishes and enjoyed a bottle of pricey red wine. We toasted The White Rabbit for his new house and wished him years of happiness in it.

Despite the fact that we'd all seen the film several times before, we still laughed aloud at our favorite lines, as did other moviegoers. The theater was fairly full, and although it was most likely filled with Python fans they refrained from shouting out lines or intruding on anyone's enjoyment of the film.

The night went extremely well until, driving home, someone mentioned Zydeco music. This led into an attempt to define Zydeco music and then to my stream-of-consciousness observation that I'd like to visit New Orleans "anytime but Mardi Gras."

The Dormouse insisted that Mardi Gras was perfectly safe, while I insisted that I didn't feel like taking a risk with a crowd full of drunken men who feel a sense of sexual entitlement, demanding that women take off their shirts. That's just a potentially bad situation and it violates one of my basic rules of self-defense, which is to keep as much space as possible between me and potential danger.

Of course, while acknowledging that he'd never been to Mardi Gras, The Dormouse said that perhaps I was basing my perception of the event on the media portrayals of it. He said it's probably perfectly safe if you go with a group of friends.

While acknowledging this, I said that I'd spent my entire college career avoiding Frat Row because I didn't dig the vibe that went on there. Why should I go to a celebration that's all about the same mentality?

"Well, if you stay away because you're afraid, you might as well just never go out," he said.

I tried to convey the feeling of vulnerability that a woman can experience in this sort of situation, as someone who's known women who were sexually assaulted and therefore is highly aware of the danger.

I said, "It's like you're a black man and you've been invited to some Texas hootenanny celebrating the great history of slave trading. And while every once in awhile maybe they beat up a black guy, in general it's safe."

"That's going too far," The Dormouse said. "How do you know that it's going to be as bad as the media portrayals of it are?"

By this point I was beginning to realize that there was no way to get him to understand where I was coming from. So I took the coward's way out.

"Fine," I said. "I'll go down there with a gun and shoot everybody who demands that I show them my tits."

The car grew dead silent. Guess I killed the mood.

Afterwards, I felt bad about it. I even dreamt that night about arguing with The Dormouse about some inconsequential thing. This despite the fact that we left afterwards on good terms, with a cheerful good-bye.

I think I'll just sing a chorus of "Always Look on the Bright Side" and let it go.

Moral:
If you eat at a restaurant called Karma, be prepared for the consequences.