10/02/2009

Things I Learned From the Milwaukee Film Festival - Mid-Fest Observations

It's only day 9 of the 2009 Milwaukee Film Festival but I am already in a pleasant state that is a combination of exhaustion and ADD-like overstimulation. There must be a German word for that; I imagine it falls somewhere on the awesome compound word spectrum between Schadenfreude and Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz ("beef labeling regulation & delegation of supervision law," naturally).

Having attended a boatload of fabulous films so far, with many more on my calendar through the Festival's closing night (Sunday, October 4), I have gleaned a number of valuable lessons. Here's what I've learned so far:

  1. I should really have suspended my Netflix membership for the duration of the film festival. I have 7 DVDs staring at me, reproachfully, every night when I stumble home from an evening of festivaling. I feel bad that I am preventing some other Netflix customer from watching "30 Rock" Season 3, discs 1-3; "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" Season 2, discs 2-3; "Rescue Me" Season 5, disc 3; and "Fringe" Season 1, disc 2. (For those of you just tuning in, Netflix is how I watch TV. No cable bill, and no commercials, but I'm always a year behind in my TV pop culture water cooler talk. For the love of god, people, don't tell me what happens on this season of "Lost"!)
  2. I think I am coming down with a vitamin deficiency. Movie theater food isn't exactly the pinnacle of balanced nutrition (apparently the recently revised food pyramid lacks a "Twizzlers and pretzel bites" category).
  3. I'm not in my 20s anymore. Which I already knew, of course. But this week's non-stop filmgoing has thrown into sharp relief the fact that going out every night of the week is considerably more tiring to me now than it was back in the day. Thankfully, there's an Alterra on my way to work.

What have you learned at the Milwaukee Film Festival? Share your life lessons in the comments.

See other entries in the "Things I Learned..." series.

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