Philadelphia in So Many Words

So, Philadelphia's a neat place. An old city with some crazy roads. I went there with my roommate and a fraternity brother for a couple days this long weekend. The place is quite rich in historic areas, but really dense in population in others. Would you believe it if I said that people parked in the middle of the street? I apologize for not having any pics to prove it, but seriously. The middle lanes reserved for cars that travel either way were mostly just convenient parking spaces. And there's parallel parking up the wazoo over there. When it comes to driving, Philadelphia has no rules. It's utter chaos. Even not concerning the driving, it's utter chaos. We stayed in a trashy-looking dentist's office building. But the interior was really, really nice. All said, I really like the city; I don't think I would mind living there, if it came down to that.

Of course, the real reason I was there was to catch a screening of my most anticipated film of all time, Black Swan. It comes out in a couple months, but the way I see it, I'm an impatient bastard who likes adventure. And the trip was so worth the eight hours east and the eight hours west. Anyone who knows me knows that Darren Aronofsky is my idol. We were lucky to be have him show up, introduce the film, and give a Q&A session afterward. Of course, I was giddy like a schoolgirl. Fanboy much? I'm not afraid to admit it. Seeing my idol in the same room as I was every bit as cool as I had thought. He's a chill guy.

Oh, right. The film. Black Swan is, for all intents and purposes, a masterpiece. It's up to par with the rest of Darren's work, which I think is all fantastic. Not exactly sure where it stands yet, but I really, really like it. I don't want to spoil anything. But the film feels like a nightmare through and through. It jumps right into things and didn't let my attention waver. At all. The entire cast is fantastic. Natalie Portman, Vincent Cassel, Mila Kunis, Barbara Hershey, and Winona Ryder all give great performances. The cinematography is beautiful, unique, and surprising. Clint Mansell's score works perfectly with Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake music. Edited perfectly. I am a biased source, but I think most people will be surprised to find that they like the film. And I'm going to try to convince as many people to see this as possible. I know that I can't wait to see it again. Releases in Cleveland on December 22nd. You want to know where I'll be that night?

Anyway. I'm rambling a bit. Philadelphia was great, and a lot of fun came in the journey there and back. I like driving, but I was really surprised my '98 Ford Taurus was able to make it there. I was a little uneasy about our chances, what with the steering issues it has currently and has had in the past. But here I am. Alive and happy that I've explored another little piece of the planet. If I could afford more road trips, I would go on more road trips.