Shift Change and other pictures

Ok, movie buffs, what movie is this from??? I'll give you three hints.

1. It's a silent movie.

2. It's older that most people you know.

3. Superman lives in a city by the same name.

That's right, it's Metropolis. Made in 1927 at the height of the silent movie era, Metropolis is a movie that to this day, is still considered a work of art. It's a story of the clash between the rich ruling class and the poor working class. It's set in an undetermined future time span. It's a time when the world is a city run by machines deep within the bowels of the urban environment, all maintained by a working class that feels oppressed by those in charge.

*Spoiler Alert* In an effort to gain their independence, they riot and destroy the machines that they are a slave to. Yet, by destroying the machines, they come to realize that these very machines they are a slave to are also the very machines that keep their living area from flooding. It's a reminder that as much as you feel screwed by "the machine", it's often a necessary evil. It's a very influential and futuristic movie. The movie even portrays a video intercom system. Keep in mind, the movie was made in 1927 and TVs were invented in the early 30s and popular in the 50s. There are highways and skyscrapers that the late 20s could only dream of! The Matrix borrows heavily on many aspects of this movie. The whole part in The Matrix 2 where the old guy talks about how the machines need us and we need the machines.........almost plagerism. There's even a board where strange letters and characters continuously fall from the top of the board to the bottom. Like a Matrix screen before their were computers.

The cool thing about silent movies is because they don't have sounds, they have to tell the story entirely through visual means and a music soundtrack (which is really good). The acting is a bit over the top as a result, but it's like a cross between a play and a movie. It's a nice change of pace.

Well anywho, I watched this, 4 episodes of Prison Break, 1 Lost, and 1 The Office today. Things are boringly slow right now. If it wasn't for the fact that I'd run out of things to watch and read, I wouldn't mind if the rest of the deployment were like this. Alas, I'm expecting things to ramp up again in a week or two. It's still nice to have a break while it lasts.

A few days ago, we had a real bad sand storm. I set down a magazine outside and in 30 min, it had what looked like 30 years worth of dust on it. My uniform was just brown. No green showing through! It was bad! Check out this picture of me after spending all day ouside.

My nose was covered in dust! I was wearing sunglasses so it looks like a sunglass tan. Yup! So what does a sandstorm look like before it hits?

And during a sand storm?
Now, meet James the Cat.

And Junior the Mouse. We even drew a house for him! See him peeking through the doorway?

Well, that's about all. Pictures have been overdue, so I had to put a lot up to make up for all the posts without pictures.

Enjoy!

JP OUT!