Movie Project Review: Sherlock Holmes A Game of Shadows

This review was  originally posted on my movie blog on Sunday 17 June 2012.

• Title:  Sherlock Holmes A Game of Shadows
• Director:  Guy Ritchie
• Date:  2011
• Studio:  Warner Brothers
• Genre:  Action, Adventure, Drama
• Cast:  Robert Downey Jr, Jude Law, Jared Harris, Noomi Rapace, Rachel McAdams, Kelly Reilly
• Format:  Color, Widescreen
• DVD Format:  R1, NTSC

"Oh, how I've missed you, Holmes." -- Dr. John Watson

"It's so overt, it's covert." -- Sherlock Holmes

"What better way to conceal a killing, no one looks for a bullet hole in a bomb blast." -- Dr. Watson

"They're dangerous at both ends, and crafty in the middle.  Why would I want anything with a mind of  its own bobbing about between my legs?" -- Sherlock Holmes (on horses)

It isn't often that an adventure film sequel is as good as or better than the original, but Sherlock Holmes A Game of  Shadows is one brilliant film, just as good if  not better than Sherlock Holmes.  Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes films are proving to be crack to the SH fan -- doing things any fan of  Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's writing has always wanted to do (Who hasn't wanted to push Mary off a railway bridge?  Or to not only have Watson see Holmes' fall at Reichenbach, but to have a hint that he knew Holmes wasn't dead?)  Holmes and Watson were the original "buddy cop show" (though neither was a cop) and Holmes the original geek (used in the best sense, not the pejorative one) Ritchie's films have come about at the most appropriate time, here's hoping to a long and successful series.

In Sherlock Holmes A Game of  Shadows, we immediately see the close friendship between Holmes and Watson.  They finish each other's sentences, know each other's moves, and have complete trust in each other when it really counts. Holmes doesn't discount Watson's abilities, especially as a soldier, or as a doctor.

This film introduces Professor James Moriarty, as Holmes' equal and opposite.  Their conflict is played out in a metaphor of  chess, and both are very good at the game.  But, Holmes probably wouldn't have directly challenged Moriarty, even when he finds out, to his horror, exactly what Moriarty is up to, if  it wasn't for Moriarty's murdering of  Irene Adler, and threats against Dr. John Watson, and his wife, Mary.  The film also  plays with real historical events, including a series of  anarchist bombings in Europe (which did happen, especially in Russia) and the prelude to World War I.  Moriarty's plan, in fact, is to use the existing alliances and rivalries in Europe to start a world war -- twenty three years early.  This, after he has  bought-up every business that can profit from war from bandages (cotton) to bullets (weapons and chemical warfare).  Moriarty owns cotton, steel, opium (used to make morphine - the anesthetic of the time), and the aforementioned arms.  As Holmes points out when Moriarty is torturing him, "Now that you own the supply you intend to create the demand."


The film also introduces Mycroft, Sherlock's brother, played by Stephen Fry, as quite possibly more eccentric than Sherlock.  However, it is to Mycroft that Sherlock trusts the health and welfare of  Mary, after dropping her from a moving train into a lake to save her from Moriarty's attack.  Watson is quite distraught at Holmes' cavalier treatment of  his wife, until he realizes that Holmes was in complete control, timing things perfectly, and his actions were to protect Mary.  Quite a lot of  Holmes' actions in the film are to protect Mary and John; John because he is Holmes' only friend and Mary because she is important to John.

I, personally realized the film was doing "The Final Problem", when Moriarty's men attack on the train, but I still loved just how much Ritchie opened up that particular story and brought more to it.  That Holmes sends John on an errand so he can sneak into Moriarty's weapons factory in Germany speaks volumes of  how much he cares.  That John returns and immediately figures out how to rescue Holmes, not only shows his own intelligence, but his own feelings for Holmes.

The escape, with the gypsies through the forest was brilliant.  First the  direction, using a stop-motion technique to freeze the action briefly, enabling the audience to actually follow it was brilliant.  The complete chaos of  the explosions, gunshots, and use of  big guns (howitzers, etc) brings to mind World War I.  There is also complete trust between Holmes and Watson, when at one point, Holmes twirls the stock of  a gun, and Watson is right there to receive it as Holmes hands it off.  It's Watson who fires the weapon at Moriarty's men.

After escaping, Holmes, who's been tortured, Watson, and Sim, their Gypsy companion, are in a railway car.  Holmes stops breathing and his heart stops.  Watson beats on his chest (this is a little premature - I don't think even a doctor would know CPR in 1891) but is unsuccessful.  Then he has a lightning moment - and uses Holmes' wedding gift -- pure adrenalin, that Holmes had extracted in an experiment, and Watson had seen Holmes use to revive Gladstone (Watson's dog) after the dog ate something poisonous.  The adrenalin works and Holmes jumps up, babbling of  bad dreams.  But the entire scene is brilliant.  Watson pounds on Holmes' chest crying that Holmes,"Bloody well not going to die on me!" and shouting at him to "come on".  Watson's brief  devastation as he realizes that his best friend has died, before the light bulb goes off, perfectly illustrates his caring for Holmes.

Holmes, Watson, and Sim arrive in Switzerland and meet Mycroft, but discover the peace conference is still planned.  Holmes dances first with Sim, and then with Watson. (Another perfect moment!)  He points out that Rene has had his face altered by experimental surgery.  Holmes trusts Watson to find Rene, Sim's brother and stop the planned assignation that will touch off a war, while he goes to confront Moriarty personally.  Holmes and Moriarty plan a chess game together, without even using a board, while Moriarty both threatens Watson and Mary, and tells Holmes there is nothing he can do to stop him.  Holmes sacrifices his Queen in the game, to win.  The two then fight, first in their heads (each plotting out moves and counter moves, before doing a thing).  Holmes, knowing he is still weak from his injuries at Moriarty's hands, grabs Moriarty and sacrifices himself, dragging them both over a balustrade into the rushing waterfall under the castle of  Reichenbach.  Watson, having found Rene, and stopped the assignation attempt, opens the door, a smile on his face to tell Holmes of  their success.  But, his smile evaporates, as he sees Holmes and Moriarty fall into depths.  We then hear Watson reading the end of  "The Final Problem", as a voice-over, which then becomes Watson typing the story.  Mary comes to him, reminding him of  their planned honeymoon trip.  However, Watson gets a strange package in the post, Mycroft's oxygen breather.  Watson leaves, and Holmes appears, having been hidden by his camouflage.   He adds a question mark to the words, "The End", at the end of  Watson's story, cut to credits.  Simply brilliant!

Sherlock Holmes A Game of  Shadows is brilliant.  The directing is perfect.  I loved the ramped-up "Holmes vision", which really gets into Holmes' head and shows the audience how he thinks.  Also, it makes Holmes seem less arrogant or untouchable/non-understandable by allowing the audience to see just how his mind works, rather than letting his deductions and actions seem almost magical or like some sort of  trick.  The friendship of  Watson and Holmes was handled very well.  I loved that they finished each other's sentences, knew each other's moves, but also, at their core, Watson cares deeply for Holmes and Holmes cares deeply for Watson.  It is the male friendship that makes the pair timeless.  And the plot was extremely well put together.  Moriarty not merely as a master criminal, but an extremely crafty war profiteer, how appropriate.  All in all, I really don't think anything could have made this film better, I really loved it and highly recommend it.

Recommendation:  An absolute must see!
Rating: 5 out of  5 Stars
Next Film:  It Could Happen to You (a recent purchase) or Shrek (on list)

Movie Project Review: Ironman

Originally posted to my movie blog on 12 June 2012.

• Title:  Ironman
• Director:  Jon Favreau
• Date:  2008
• Studio:  Paramount, Marvel
• Genre:  Action, Fantasy
• Cast:  Robert Downey Jr, Jeff Bridges, Gwyneth Paltrow
• Format:  Color, Widescreen
• DVD Format:  R1, NTSC

"So you're a man who has everything and nothing."  -- Yinsen (when Tony tells him he has no family)

"Thank you for saving me."  -- Tony Stark
"Don't waste it.  Don't waste your life."  -- Yinsen

"I saw young Americans killed by the very weapons I created to defend them and protect them.  And I saw that I had become part of a system that is comfortable with zero accountability."  -- Tony Stark

When we first meet Tony Stark, well, when we first meet him -- he's getting blown up by one of  his own weapons manufacturing company's weapons -- but the film quickly flashes back and shows us the previous thirty-six hours of  Tony's life.  Tony Stark is rich, powerful, irresponsible, a playboy, and a bit of a jerk.  He has no idea what his own company is doing, though he thinks he does, and he probably doesn't care.  On a publicity trip to Iraq or Afghanistan to demonstrate his company's new weapon, the Jericho missile (a multi-warhead missile that reminds me of  the "probes" in Stargate:  Atlantis), Tony's convoy home is attacked.  And thus we are back where the teaser to the film starts - the convoy is blown-up, and Tony is blown-up by a Stark Industries weapon.

Tony wakes in a rebel camp, the multi-national Ten Rings group.  He's tortured, but his life is also saved by an electro-magnet installed in his chest by a man also being held captive, Yinsen.  Yinsen is learnéd, a doctor, and had met Tony before at a lecture, though Tony doesn't remember him.  The rebels demand that Tony build them a Jericho rocket.  Tony refuses.  Then he agrees, but instead of  building the rebels a weapon, he builds a suit (and a miniature arc reactor to power the electro-magnet in his chest keeping the shrapnel from entering his heart).  His plan is for he and Yinsen to get out of  there.  Yinsen dies in the attempt, but Tony not only gets out, he uses a flame-thrower to burn-up the cache of  weapons and several of the rebels.

Rhodey, Tony's friend from the Air Force, rescues him and returns him to Pepper Potts, his administrative assistant.  Tony refuses medical attention, asks for a cheeseburger, and has Pepper arrange a press conference.  At the conference, he announces Stark Industries will no longer manufacture weapons.  Obadiah steps in and shuts him up.  Tony isn't pleased.

Tony has shown himself  to be an excellent engineer -- with the ability to not only plan how to make something, but to actually assemble it -- with skills in welding, forging metal, building things, and improving things.  He uses the paladium from some of  the weapons in the rebel cave to forge a ring that powers his arc reactor, as well as making the Mark I  Ironman suit.

Tony returns to "The Orphanage", his home in presumably California, and begins working on improving his Arc Reactor.  Obadiah tells him "the board" thinks he has PTSD, and orders an injunction against him, freezing him out.  Tony still insists Stark Industries will no longer make weapons.  He returns to his workshop and starts the Mark II  Ironman suit.  Tony, again, is an excellent engineer -- and some of  the best scenes in the film are of  him working, by himself, to solve a problem.

And by the bye -- I WANT a Jarvis!  A computerized butler, assistant, and 3-D computer interface.  Jarvis goes on my short list of SF inventions I want (along with, say a TARDIS), but I digress.

Tony goes to the Fire-Fighters ball that one of  his charities sponsors, and dances with Pepper, but then discovers (a) Stark Industries is selling weapons to the enemy, (b) Obadiah froze Tony out so he could continue to do so.  Finding about about Stark weapons being used to target Gulmira, Yinsen's home town, Tony gets into the Ironman gear and decides to do something.  He kicks butt, basically.

More confirmation that Obadiah is not Tony's friend:  he's paying the rebels (in cash and weapons), and asked them to kill Tony Stark.  And this was before Tony becomes Ironman.  Obadiah takes the pieces of Tony's original survival suit (which were left in the desert) to Level 16 of  Stark Industries, so he can make more suits.  Tony needs proof of  this so he sends in Pepper to get that proof.  But she doesn't immediately agree -- that their conversation says a lot about both characters and their relationship.

"There is the next mission and nothing else."  -- Tony
"Is that so?  Well, then, I quit."  -- Pepper
"You stood by my side all these years while I reaped the benefits of destruction.  And now that I'm trying to protect the people I put in harm's way; You're going to walk out?" -- Tony
"You're going to kill yourself, Tony.  I'm not going to be a part of  it." -- Pepper
"I shouldn't be alive, unless it was for a reason.  I'm not crazy, Pepper.  I just finally know what I have to do.  And I know in my heart that it's right." -- Tony

Tony is learning responsibility, and he's starting to acknowledge his feelings for Pepper.  Feelings she's returned but for the fact that he's her boss.  But there is a caring between the two.

Pepper gets the info and runs into Agent Coulson of  S.H.I.E.L.D.  But Obadiah gets to Tony first, stuns him, takes the arc reactor, threatens to kill Pepper, and informs Tony he's going to make an army of  Ironman suits to sell to the highest bidder.  Dying, Tony tries to get to his workshop to put the old arc reactor in his chest.  Meanwhile, Pepper is frantic -- worrying about Tony.  She sends Rhodey to him.

Tony is able to get in the Ironman suit and fight Obadiah.  Though S.H.I.E.L.D. prepares an alibi for Tony - he admits before a press conference that he is Ironman - cut to end credits.

Ironman walks the path of  many more traditional hero stories -- the hero (to be) is a jerk, with problems understanding the real world.  The hero faces a life-altering threat.  A mentor helps the hero see his true path, but dies.  The hero emerges in a new guise but isn't quite ready or the completed/perfect hero yet.  There's another crisis.  By walking through the fire of  the second crisis -- the hero becomes the final, complete, perfected hero he is meant to be.  However, the film does it with style -- and the artful talents of  Robert Downey Jr and Gwyneth Paltrow -- both of whom are excellent in this.  Enjoyable and fun!

Recommendation:  See it!
Rating:  4 out of  5 Stars
Next Film:  Ironman II

Movie Project Review: Ironman II

Originally published on my movie review blog on 14 June 2012.

• Title:  Ironman 2
• Director: Jon Favreau
• Date:  2010
• Studio:  Paramount, Marvel
• Genre:  Action, Fantasy
• Cast:  Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow, Sam Rockwell, Scarlett Johansson, Don Cheadle
• Format:  Color, Widescreen
• DVD Format:  R1, NTSC

"You want my property, you can't have it.  But I did you a big favor, I've successfully privatized world peace."  -- Tony Stark

"You are running out of  both time and options.  Unfortunately, the device that's keeping you alive is also killing you."  -- Jarvis

"You want to do this whole lone gunslinger act, and it's unnecessary.  You don't have to do this alone." -- Rhodey
"You know, I wish I could believe that, I really do.  But you gotta trust me.  Contrary to popular belief, I know exactly what I'm doing."  -- Tony

The film does open with a re-cap of the audio from Tony's press conference at the end of  the first Ironman film -- played out against a man in Russia assembling his own arc reactor and Ironman-like suit.  We will later discover this is Whiplash.

Tony, as Ironman, literally drops in to a rock concert-like opening for Stark Expo, complete with screaming fans and Rocketts.  He's back to the arrogent, ego maniac -- wild, and irresponsible, challenging anyone and everyone who is in his way, including a Senate sub-committee.

Normally, in a sequel to a heroic adventure, I would expect that the hero, having learned his true path in the first film (or book) would spend the second film facing down a bigger, badder, meaner challenge.  It's nice if there's  more character interaction and development; or if  the world opens up, so to speak, widening the area where the hero plays.  However, in Ironman 2, Tony seems to have slipped backwards -- once again becoming the irresponsible playboy, without a thought for how his actions affect others.

It's soon revealed that Tony is dying.  The Palladium core of  the arc reactor in his chest that keeps him alive,  is also slowly poisoning him.  Tony begins to give away his things, such as donating his modern art collection to the Boy Scouts of  America.  He also makes Pepper the CEO and chairman of  his company.  Their conversation when he does so, is at breakneck speed and great fun to watch.

Tony then goes to the Grand Prix race in Monaco.  Pepper, Happy, and a new Stark Industries employee named Natalie Rushman (later revealed to be a Shield agent, named Natasha) accompany Tony to Monaco. There he's challenged by Justin Hammer, CEO of  Hammer Industries - a weapons manufacturing company and former business rival of  Stark's.  Hammer wants to build his own Ironman suits as well to sell to the US Armed Forces.

Tony slips away from the meeting, and tests his blood toxicity (with a device that looks very much like the type of  portable blood sugar monitor used by diabetics).  Next you see him, he's preparing to drive the race car he was only supposed to be sponsoring for the Grand Prix.  Pepper is livid and has Natalie find  Happy so they can try to stop Tony from getting himself  killed.   During the race, Whiplash arrives and causes havoc -- attacking cars and then deliberately crashing Tony's race car.  Tony manages to free himself, and with a little intervention from Happy and Pepper is briefly rescued.  Pepper throws him a red suitcase, and Tony steps into the Ironman suit and challenges Whiplash.  He wins and the villian is carted off  by the police.

On the flight back to the US, Pepper does ask Tony what he's not telling her.  He talks about cancelling his birthday party and going with her to Venice.  Again, their dialogue together is cute, but Tony isn't really telling her what's going on.

Whiplash escapes prison, and is convinced to work for Justin Hammer.  He, does, however, have his own agenda.

Meanwhile, the night of  his birthday party, Rhodey finds Tony in his workroom, alone, and in bad shape.  Tony gives a wild birthday party, and when Pepper tries to stop him -- he goes even more wild, destroying things.  Rhodey shows up in one of  Tony's old Ironman suits and the two go at it.  In the end, Rhodey escapes with the suit and takes it to the Air Force.

The next day, Fury, of  S.H.I.E.L.D., arrives and gives Tony lithium dioxide to counter the effects of  the Palladium poisoning.  He also introduces a more important part of  the plot; that Howard Stark said the arc reactor was only a stepping stone to something greater, and Tony was the key.  Tony's confused by this, but takes his father's trunk and returns to the Orphanage (his home) where he discovers Agent Phil Coulson will be his body guard and babysitter.

Going through he father's things, he discovers an old 16mm film of  his father's speech for the opening of  Stark Expo.  At the end of  his practicing the speech, Howard Stark addresses Tony directly.

Tony goes to see Pepper at Stark Industries and again is incapable of  telling her how he feels (partially because she cuts him off) or that he's dying.  But when he sees the Stark Expo model leaning against a wall, he realizes there's more to it than meets the eye.  He brings it back to his workshop, and has Jarvis render it into a 3-D working model.  Working with the model, he realizes it's an atom for a new element.  Tony builds a Large Hadron Collider in his workshop and creates the new element.

As before, Tony is at his best, when he is alone and working on a problem or to build something.  The man is most definitely an engineer.  And I still love Jarvis and the 3-D holographic displays as Tony figures stuff out and manipulates parts of  the rendered drawing with his hands.  (I use AutoCAD at work -- I wish it was that easy!)  The final shot of  Tony surrounded by dots of  blue light, representing his new element is absolutely gorgeous!  I loved it!  Tony puts the new element in his arc reactor core which will help his "dying" problem.  In other words, he's no longer being poisoned slowly.

Justin Hammer turns out to be a bully -- taking Whiplash's pet bird when he isn't delivering fast enough on making suits that imitate Tony's Ironman.  Rhodey delivers his suit to the Air Force who deliver it to Hammer.

At Stark Expo, Hammer introduces his battle drones, and his VTRB (Variable Threat Response Battlesuit).  But Wisplash takes control of  the suits remotely and chaos reigns.  Even Rhodey in his own VTRB suit can't control it.  Tony has Jarvis hack into Rhodey's suit, granting him control at least.  Pepper contacts the police to try to bring some control to the chaos.  Eventually, Tony and Rhodey defeat Whiplash and his drones, but Whiplash has one final act to play -- all the drones contain bombs.  Tony rushes off and rescues Pepper.  She quits as  CEO of  Stark Industries.

Ironman 2 has some fun moments, and I liked the advancement of  Tony and Pepper's relationship.  I also found the one step forward two steps back approach to Tony and Pepper's relationship to be frustrating almost to the point of  annoyance.  Tony and Pepper are cute together.  She can improve him, but they also seem to be always moving in opposite directions, unable to stand still long enough to really meet and know what the other is saying.  But I also found it odd that dying was used by Tony as an excuse to go back to his irresponsible playboy ways.  And, in a sense there was too many "big action scenes" and not enough character development (even for the villian -- the only place his name was used was the back of  the DVD box).  A sequel should further develop the main character's arc, but in this film it seems to go backwards instead.   However, Robert Downey Jr and Gwyneth Paltrow again knock it out of  the park, doing their best with what they are given.  And I like Tony when he's alone and acting as an engineer.  But overall, a little disappointing.

Recommendation:  See it.  May as well to keep up with the various Marvel movies leading up to The Avengers.
Rating:  3.8 out of  5 Stars
Next Film:  Sherlock Holmes:  A Game of  Shadows

Link to New Fic -- Short AU missing scene Ironman fic (2nd film)

Here is the direct link to my newest fic.  It's a very short missing scene from the second film, AU, and mild Pepper and Tony romance.  And of course lots of angst, 'cause I almost never write anything else.  Enjoy, and let me know what you think.  Either here or on Fan Fic Net.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8235452/1/The_Taste_of_Metal

And now that the updates are complete! WARNING -- RANT

Hi all, 

And now that my updates are complete, some of you may have noticed that my "mood" icon is at annoyed (or even p***ed off) -- this actually has nothing to do with Live Journal, my movie blogs, or most of my on-line (or even off-line life).  I'm ***annoyed*** because my cousin is being a jerk -- and keeps leaving nasty messages on my Facebook acct insisting I'm the one that apparently started this little war.  So I get to e-mail him tonight sometime and try to explain, again, that I'm PISSED at the way the Republicans are taking away women's rights, that that right here in Michigan (which I live, incidentally) the Republicans threw out (barred from the state house) TWO female state reps for saying the word "vagina" in the state house.  My cousin posted to MY Facebook page that he thought this was totally acceptable.  I told him he was wrong.  Now, I'm getting nasty texts and Facebook messages from him.  I'm so sick of his Conservative family, the Conservative (largely Fundamentalist Christian) town I live in, and frankly all the f-ing partisan politics that are screwing up the entire damn country.  And NO, it's not Obama's fault -- it's the damn, lying, Republican bastards who won't let him do a damn thing -- it's their fault!

--Olivia

"It's like I have a loaded gun in my mouth, and I like the taste of metal.", Robert Downey Jr

---I'm going to drastically EDIT and REDUCE this post (as of today, 29 June 2012)  I was in a real bad mood at the time, and I think a lot of this was too personal and too whiny (particularly at the end of the post).  Since it's been bugging me I thought I'd fix it.  I don't have a great excuse other than, well, the bad mood, and being rather stream of consciousness in my writing at the time.  I really need to learn to NOT do that.---

OK, I recently (like last week) re-watched four Robert Downey Jr films:  Sherlock Holmes, Ironman, Ironman II, and  Sherlock Holmes A Game of Shadows.  The Holmes films I'd seen in the movie theater.  The Ironman films, I'd watched for the first time just after Memorial Day, because I received them as a gift from a friend over Memorial Day weekend.  I always spend Memorial Day Weekend at Mediawest Con in Lansing, and usually spend a lot of time with this particular friend.  I also saw The Avengers again that weekend.  Anyway, I re-watched the films to review them for my blog (see separate posts).  I then, ended-up writing a very short fic, in long-hand, originally with the rather boring temp-title of "Ironman II Missing Scene", which was never what I was going to post in under unless I got really stuck.  When I typed the story, I remembered the below quote which I had found on the actor's bio page on imdb.  I'd had to check the page again to get Downey Jr's age for the story (and still managed to get it wrong -- he would have been 43 when the first film came out in 2008, when the second one came out two years later - he would have been 45).  And it became the title to the story.  Funny that.

"It's like I have a loaded gun in my mouth, and I like the taste of  metal.",  Robert  Downey  Jr, on his addiction to drugs.

Anyway, I really like the above quote.  And not for any obvious reasons, I think.  To me it's a quote about playing with fire, or flirting with danger -- not a quote about death or self-destruction.  There is a certain appeal to playing with fire, that impossible to describe love affair with risk and danger that some people seem to possess.  Which means, the quote isn't really about drugs either.  There does seem to be a personality type that seems attracted to the flame -- whether said personalities express that desire as adrenalin junkies (from extreme sports fanatics, to storm chasers, and everything in between), or through extreme risk-taking as an entrepreneur or stock trader, or through addictive behaviors.  But why is it that some risk-taking is seen as bad and other risk-taking is seen as acceptable and even encouraged?

And, I can certainly understand the bit about liking the taste of metal -- or liking the rush, to the point of taking the risk.  One just has to be very very careful.  To be PERFECTLY clear -- I've never used drugs and have no desire to.  My use of alcohol is limited at best (a beer or glass of wine or cocktail with a nice meal when I go out -- and in my household we have beer or wine with dinner at least three days a week.  That's statistically less than moderate -- and I don't get why so many people seem to condemn any alcohol use when it's completely legal, and not just safe but proven to be good for you in the case of red wine or anti-oxident rich beers).  I don't smoke, gamble or fool around -- at all.

I have to admit, though, I understand that need to flirt with danger or to like the rush of doing something you shouldn't.  And yeah, as I said on the first 'round of this post, because I have manic depression, I actually like being hypo-manic, or slightly manic -- and all the energy and creativity that gives you.  The trick is to not get completely manio.  (So yes, I do drink a lot of coffee and caffeinated beverages, tho' I literally cannot handle Red Bull as it turns out.  I also have a tendency to just not sleep sometimes.  I've had periodic bouts of insomnia since I was a kid.)  And trust me -- being just a tad manic certainly beats being depressed.

--Olivia

I hope that's better and not so whiny.