Milestone

What's up, everyone? Welcome back to Thinking Hard.

First things first.. go see "The Dark Knight." All of America agreed it's a great movie. A record $155M opening weekend...that tops the previous record-holder, "Spider-Man 3." And it does something that Spidey really didn't do a great job of: put multiple villains into one plotline and do it CLEANLY. Seriously, I loved Venom and Sandman and even the new Green Goblin in Spider-Man, but honestly, it just felt they were all tossed into one movie and someone hit "frappe." But for Batman, you've got two BRILLIANT performances by Heath Ledger as the Joker and Aaron Eckhart as Two-Face... and you see exactly what role, physical and emotional, one played in creating the other. I'm not going to spoil anything here except to say Two-Face is at all times grotesque and absolutely beautiful. Whoever designed that face should be commended. Oh, and I don't know that it's worth an Oscar, but Ledger's awesome as the Joker. SO much better than Jack Nicholson. This film really has a strong message about human nature and I recommend it.

Now to the business at hand...

We here at Thinking Hard enjoy keeping an eye on our friends and fans across the world. We get constant updates from those close to us. And it is my absolute privilege to congratulate my colleague, my former co-worker, my friend, Andy. In less than 24 hours, he and his lovely fiancee, Vanessa, will tie the knot in the upper, UPPER midwest. On a personal note, it's an event that I would very much like to attend, but scheduling and airline prices prevented me from doing so. Please take a moment this Friday evening to think about Andy and Vanessa and wish them well. They have a big day ahead of them...and even bigger changes on the horizon later this summer. But, Andy and Vanessa, no matter where you are in this great big world, please know that you have the love and support of all of your friends. We continue to think highly of you, and our love for you is only overshadowed by your love for each other. May you wake up next to each other every day...and be as excited as the first day you fell in love.
-B-