Of Fame and Infamy

County Courthouse

We started the day out early with a drive to Santa Barbara. It turns out that they decided to have an international film festival, just because they heard I had flown in (or maybe because they have it every year?). I naturally had to go. The drive took 40 minutes, but the scenic El Camino Real Region made time zoom by swift. The roads in this region are cut through coastal plateaus so that water waves in the west, and plateau rolls in the east.

Santa Barbara

Upon reaching Santa Barbara we could not find parking anywhere. We finally had to settle on 90 minute street parking (the max street parking amount). The film festival wasn't even crowded yet, so Santa Barbara clearly needs to find a better means for guests to park. The film festival itself was essentially the epitome of crazy because the press outnumbered me at least 4 to 1 (it was the US opening of indie film Red Riding). Sandra Bullock is accepting an award at the festival tonight, as if I need another reminder of where I am.

Hey I know! We'll have a film festival where you can't park for more than 90 minutes!

It's a different world of Pizazz here that shamelessly tells you to leave reality at the door. That is until you find out you got a parking ticket for being at a 90 minute spot for 100 minutes. Seriously, Santa Barbara needs to get a better parking system if they really want tourism to prosper. I'm contesting this.

There's something about this town that leaves more than a bitter taste in my mouth. I think it is indeed all the hidden reality. Everyone seems so obsessed with flaunting how important they are and cultured as well. During Red Riding A lot of the press seemed to laugh at inappropriate times, as if they were trying to prove they understood all the slang. I'm an anglophile and I still didn't. Guess Santa Barbara is not for me, but that's why I don't live here.

Side view of the County Courthouse

Post-festival my dad and I went to the County Courthouse where Michael Jackson had his trial. What an elaborate piece of architecture! I'll let the picture show it all. Now back "home" to make some guacamole!

Go avocado, go!

Keep it level!


Jonathan De Costa

Movie mini-reviews:

Red Riding 1974-3 1/2 stars out of 5
A story about a journalist who makes it his mission to find the true killer of three girls. It has all the makings of a good detective story: corrupt cops, crying women, and more murders to cover up old murders. The main character is in his upper twenties, and as such he is a lot less rough around the edges than most older detectives. The accessibility of the main character makes the story much more realistic. You'll find him begging for his life at times, something that main characters typically refuse to do. You'll be more caught up in the mysterious plotline because of the vulnerability of the protagonist. I recommend seeing this trilogy if you are at all a fan of Godfather type storytelling. I definitely plan on seeing the whole Red Riding trilogy. Be forewarned, the dialogue is rather inaccessible if you don't understand alot of British or Scottish slang. My dad said, "I gave it 4/5 stars because it wasn't in English."

Letters to Father Jacob- 4 1/2 stars out of 5
This movie was a sort of happy accident. We thought an anti-whaling documentary was playing. The entire first few minutes my dad questioned where the dolphins were. This movie was better than dolphins. You may wonder how that is possible. Well, at first glance it is a simple tale about redemption, but its simplicity makes it ironically more complex. The story focuses on two characters (there's only 4 characters with speaking roles in the entire movie). Leila is a prisoner who gets pardoned at the beginning of the film. You do not find out what she was in the clammer for until the end of the movie, but she clearly feels unpardonable for it. She ends up with Father Jacob, a lonely blind priest who lives for the letters people send to him asking for prayers. Okay, so priest stereotypically helps girl selfishly, right? At first glance it seems that is how it will go, but the story becomes progressively more metaphorical, and it almost ends up being the other way around. It becomes not a preachy story, but rather one simply about human connectivity. I suggest seeing it in the off chance you ever come across it, but keep in mind it's not in English. My dad said, "I gave it 3/5 stars because it wasn't in English."