Strawberry Cough

I saw "Children of Men" for the 2nd time last night. And I will probably see it a third time. Since my first viewing was on our (admittedly, HD) television, I wanted to see it projected in a theater. And it's even more breath-taking. Since I already knew the story, I was able to concentrate on the minor details and the attention paid to the set dressing and art department -- and, more importantly, I could revel in those insanely long and amazing takes. And give thanks to Cuaron for being so fucking kickawesome and making all the right choices.

So, of course, today I can't stop thinking about the movie -- for a change. And look what I have learned! Strawberry Cough is for real! It produces a euphoric, anti-anxiety high -- presumably, just the right type of buzz for living in a future-less dystopia.

Also, if you stick around for the entire credits, the final words on screen (and, this is not a spoiler, so don't freak on me) are "Shanti Shanti Shanti." If you've seen it, you know that Miriam and Kee and Jasper chant "Shanti" through the movie -- presumably because it's a sanskrit mantra for inner peace. However, if, like me, you became somewhat unhealthily obsessed with T.S. Eliot's "The Wasteland" in high school, you will also recognize "Shantih Shantih Shantih" as the very last line of the poem, closing out the "What the Thunder Said" section.
I sat upon the shore
Fishing, with the arid plain behind me
Shall I at least set my lands in order?

London Bridge is falling down falling down falling down

Poi s'ascose nel foco che gli affina
Quando fiam ceu chelidon—O swallow swallow
Le Prince d'Aquitaine à la tour abolie
These fragments I have shored against my ruins
Why then Ile fit you. Hieronymo's mad againe.
Datta. Dayadhvam. Damyata.

Shantih shantih shantih

Even in the seeming apocalyptic wasteland of Children of Men, there's still hope for inner peace?

Sho nuff.

Also, I am a flaming optimist hippie who hides beneath the veneer of cynicism and sarcasm.