The Forgotten

In the RPG that I play on Sunday nights at Harvard, my fellow adventurers and I tend to over-debate inconsequential decisions. Should we enter the cave or set up camp for the night? Should we go left or right? Split up or stay together? Chase the dwarves, or hunt the boar? (As long as I get to use my magical shovel, I'm usually happy.)

Deciding what movie to attend with Grupo FARO was kind of like that. The choices were Ocean's Twelve and two foreign (to me) films, one Israeli and one Mexican. We talked them over. We looked up ratings. We checked out times. And naturally, we ended up seeing none of the above. Instead, our treat for the evening was The Forgotten. Summary: Mother discovers that her son has not really died, but was kidnapped by aliens who then erased everyone's memories of him in an experiment to test the power of a mother's love.This is the kind of movie that gives aliens a bad rap. It doesn't do so much for mothers either.

At least the movie theater was new and sleek around the edges. Not forum-style, but with plush seats, a food court that included a French bistro, complimentary post cards and the latest in surround sound. All for the tidy sum of $2 a ticket. Moments like that, no matter how Third Street Promenade your surroundings, you realize you aren´t in the United States.

While we waited in the lobby, Ellie observed that people who watched movies here had nice butts. I had no comment on the matter.

Grupo FARO turns out to share most of its name with a defunct Ecuadorian Communist organization, Al-Faro Vive, leading to misunderstandings with taxi drivers who believe I am here to help revive it.

Stores I saw today in a hunt for Internet access near Faro's very capitalist HQ: Dunkin' Donuts, Cinnabon (2), Tony Roma's, and a Domino's that still promises pizza in thirty minutes or your money back.

Coming up tomorrow: the long-promised Grupo Faro update (my work now includes a logo redesign) and a visit to a town about two hours away where Ellie thinks I may be able to find some alpacas.

What I'm reading: the Clippers box score.