The Memory Remains
It's been said ten million different ways (and better than I could ever put it), but the video iPod is the coolest invention ever. (See? That was pretty lame.) Lately, I've been using mine to watch movies while I run on the treadmill. Since most movies are around an hour-and-a-half, I usually try to watch an entire film at once when I have more than 90 minutes to spend running and/or walking. Obviously, this forces me to stay on the treadmill for as long as the movie is playing.
Today, I watched Memento — which may have been a bad choice since the physique of the main actor (that'd be Guy Pearce) is a bit intimidating in this particular film.
Speaking of body dismorphia, by the way, according to the treadmill's computations, I burned exactly 657 calories, although I gotta say, it felt like 675 calories. I think I was cheated.
Memento is about a man with no short-term memory. He can remember things he learned a long time ago (before a traumatic accident) but retains nothing new for longer than a few minutes. To cope, he lugs around a set of Polaroids, a stack of notes and a few important tattooed instructions to keep him sane.
After watching the movie — once my legs stopped jiggling from the abuse — I noticed that Pearce's character, Leonard, and my son, Connor, seem to have the same affliction.
Like Leonard, Connor knows who he is, knows how to complete basic tasks, but he seems to have a bit of trouble remembering what you told him two minutes ago.
"What's that?" is the question I field from him most often during the day. That he just asked me what "that" was 30 seconds ago matters little. Either he truly forgot, he's testing me, or he doesn't believe me the first ten times I tell him what "that" is.
"Nope," I'll reply. "It's still a bank, and guess what? Next time you ask me, it will still be a bank...and the next time...and the next time..."
This doesn't stop him from asking, though.
While we're on the subject of disabilities, Connor also seems to be developing his selective hearing a bit early. My mom swore that this condition was real when I was growing up, but I didn't believe her until now. The same kid who can hear me unwrapping a piece of candy on the other side of the house suddenly can't hear me ask him to close the door to the porch when I'm standing right next to him?
Suuuuuure.
Today, I watched Memento — which may have been a bad choice since the physique of the main actor (that'd be Guy Pearce) is a bit intimidating in this particular film.
Speaking of body dismorphia, by the way, according to the treadmill's computations, I burned exactly 657 calories, although I gotta say, it felt like 675 calories. I think I was cheated.
Memento is about a man with no short-term memory. He can remember things he learned a long time ago (before a traumatic accident) but retains nothing new for longer than a few minutes. To cope, he lugs around a set of Polaroids, a stack of notes and a few important tattooed instructions to keep him sane.After watching the movie — once my legs stopped jiggling from the abuse — I noticed that Pearce's character, Leonard, and my son, Connor, seem to have the same affliction.
Like Leonard, Connor knows who he is, knows how to complete basic tasks, but he seems to have a bit of trouble remembering what you told him two minutes ago.
"What's that?" is the question I field from him most often during the day. That he just asked me what "that" was 30 seconds ago matters little. Either he truly forgot, he's testing me, or he doesn't believe me the first ten times I tell him what "that" is.
"Nope," I'll reply. "It's still a bank, and guess what? Next time you ask me, it will still be a bank...and the next time...and the next time..."
This doesn't stop him from asking, though.
While we're on the subject of disabilities, Connor also seems to be developing his selective hearing a bit early. My mom swore that this condition was real when I was growing up, but I didn't believe her until now. The same kid who can hear me unwrapping a piece of candy on the other side of the house suddenly can't hear me ask him to close the door to the porch when I'm standing right next to him?
Suuuuuure.
posted by Carter at 8:01 PM
2 Comments:
After answering "What's that?" a million times myself...I've found that if you turn the question around and say, "what do you think it is?" he answers right away. Seems like he just likes having something to talk to us about. Ahh...that is kind of cute.
Greeeat movie Memento, loved every minute of it. The Boy has yet to afflicted with Selective Hearing Syndrom (SHS), but I'm sure it'll come.
Post a Comment
<< Home