On NPR tonight they had a bit on Jonathan Bach, a Hollywood publicist who specializes in keeping his eyes peeled for movies that might appeal to Christians (he himself is a churchgoing Presbyterian), and setting up communication between the movie industry and the Christian media to get the word out. His (correct) theory is that if those movies (current example is A Walk To Remember, but also things like The Green Mile) make a lot of money, then Hollywood will make more of them.

Apparently he also did some work for the Nicolas Cage movie The Family Man, which has a shot of Cage looking through the frosted glass door of the shower to a silhouette of his naked wife. Mr. Bach said that a lot of pastors and parents told him, "Wow, that's a great movie, but I'm really concerned about that scene."

He pointed out that this was a scene of a man being attracted to his wife, which really is the sort of thing they want to be showing to kids. I think maybe the concerned people don't spend much time thinking about what they're doing, if their opposition to any hint of sexuality is so habitual that they oppose its presentation within the bounds of marriage, where it's supposedly OK.

I had a mini-rant going about gay and minority Republicans, but it's a complex issue and I couldn't formulate the ideas clearly, so it will have to wait.

I did get another lead on a contract doing some grunt work for security software, which sounds like it would be a lot of fun, at least for 3 months and given a commute to Sunnyvale, but we're going to be visiting family for a couple more weeks, which is likely a problem. But there's other stuff to apply for, and other people to hook up with.

I'm attempting to engage the Power of Positive Thinking Here.

(That was a bit of sarcasm there, for those of you unfamiliar with my style.)

Tonight we hung out with Jeff in Berkeley, going to Thalassa, a pool hall where the wait was too long and the music too loud, and then to Spats, which is a great little saloon/restaurant with comfy chairs and a mellow atmosphere. Good time.

Hey, my car insurance bill came yesterday. My Good Driver Credit is gone, and I'm unmarried and under 25, so I get to pay $1000 for 6 months. This is a bit more than the $870 a year that I was paying in Massachusetts.

However, I had a book growing up which has really, really stuck with me over the years: Could Be Worse!.