I just finished upgrading my computer to Windows XP, the immediate reason for which being the fact that iTunes, and therefore my new iPod I need it for, can't run on Windows 98. So far, despite a scary moment or two while I was upgrading, everything seems fine. It's not like I haven't used Windows XP before - it's what all the PCs in CLARC (the ITS center, whatever) run on - it just seems to be a slightly more rounded interface. Despite my worries, my 3-year-old computer is well above the system requirements of the operation system. Well, we'll see how it goes over the next few days. Installing iTunes, however, will probably not happen this night.

Earlier I cooked hot dogs for the Tiernan pot luck dinner - whoever made banana bread knew what they were doing - and then we went to see "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind". What a bizarre name. Is that really it? Well, it's that movie with Jim Carrey about erasing memories. It was a very good movie. My opinon of it drops very slightly if all the blurring we saw was intentional. I hope it was caused by a new and inexperienced projectionist. Sure, some of the blurred scenes could have been intentional and fit perfectly with the plot at that point, but some were so severe or so long that they hurt the eyes. So if it was part of the movie, then that's a point off, but otherwise it was a great movie. Smart, and very, very, very thought-provoking. Disjointed and told in a stream-of-consciousness way while barely being confusing at all. Takes good actors and uses them well. Part of the effect is conveyed quite simply by the juxtaposition of using Jim Carrey in it. He's great for the role, but made even better by the fact that it's completely unlike all the roles he's really famous for.

One line sticks with me, at the very end where Clementine (Kate Winslett) tells Joel (Jim Carrey) all about [SPOILERS DELETED] and he just says, "Okay." It's... perfect. It's worth it. And somehow, that "Okay" doesn't conflict at all with the earlier scene where Joel is dragging Clementine along a beach, they just complement each other. They both have their meaning and they both have their place.

I don't know. That's probably so vague that even the people I saw the movie with won't know what I'm talking about. But the movie's been out for a long time so I don't have any reason to write some kind of review, and at the same time I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it yet, because they really should see it. So vague reactions is really all I can write about it.

Update: Okay, I have found one problem with Windows XP so far. Every time I try to open a Word document it tries to configure MS Office XP, and fails because I don't have that. So I get a weird error message, and then Word opens without opening any document in it, and then I can get the document by opening it from within Word. So either I'll have to go out and buy the MS Office XP CD - dammit, that is just fucking wrong if it's impossible to get one product to work without another you shouldn't need for it - or find a way to get XP to accept MS Office for 98.