Lana Wachowski

In the trans-world, Larry Wachowski's transition to Lana has been common knowledge for quite some time.  In fact, even outside the trans-world, it's fairly well known that she goes by Lana as reported by TMZ several years ago.  For those not in the know, Lana Wachowski is one of the famous Wachowski's...the ones who brought us the Matrix trilogy, V for Vendetta, and a number of other movies.

In a recent article about the Wachowski's upcoming movie, Cloud Atlas, the media is reporting that Lana has made it official about her gender transition.  Good for her.

I saw the Cloud Atlas trailer the other day after a friend posted it on Facebook, and I have to say, the movie looks awesome.  It looks like they are telling the story of two lovers through time, gender, and sexual orientation.  To me, the visuals look fantastic, and to have a love story span that many hurdles will hopefully make for an amazing movie.

The Wachowski's have always been one to challenge identity (think the blue or pink pill in the Matrix) and gender roles (V for Vendetta), and I think her own unique journey has hopefully given her insight into creating a wonderful tale that challenges everything we think about love.  In fact, if you rewatch the Matrix with her journey in mind, one can see how things might be interpreted with even more context.

Granted, I'm thinking Cloud Atlas looks like a more elaborate version of Dead Again mixed in with The Time Traveler's Wife, The Fifth Element, and The Princess Bride, but that's totally OK with me, as I really liked all of those movies.  (I watched Dead Again, an early 90's movie, several months ago via Netflix.)  I also see that Hugo Weaving will be in his 5th Wachowski film.  Hugo is another actor that has played a variety of roles that have challenged gender identity or sexual orientation.  (I just wish they would let him say, "Hello, Mr. Anderson" in every film...it would be awesome!)

And to Lana, I hope this official outing takes some of the stress off making more awesome movies...but, just to let you know, you still owe us for Matrix 2 and 3!  =P

Inflation

I was out at a gathering earlier this week and arrived early to help set up at a bar.  I met up with a few friends and we sorted through the initial details before everyone else arrived.  Because we were early, though, none of us had eaten dinner.  I asked if they were up for food, and everyone seemed to agree that pizza would be the easiest thing to obtain.  I had passed a Dominos on the walk to the bar and told my friends that I would take care of the pizza.

I walked next door and ordered a large pepperoni from the guy standing behind the layers of plexiglass that separate the two of us.

"That'll be $8.77."

"$8.77?  Is that for a large?"

"Yes, ma'am...$8.77."

I was totally surprised.  I mean, I used to order a medium pepperoni pizza back in college for about $5...and this was back in 1988!  I think a large ran about $6-7 back then.

This is 24 years later and the price has gone up less than $3?  Crazy!  How can they still make a large pizza for that price and stay in business?

Anyway, this summer marks ten years since I started taking hormones.  The ten year mark is actually in a few weeks, but around ten years ago, I stored sperm at a cryobank in the hopes of one day "parenting" a child.

So, my renewal is up again.  When I first started, the price was $1000 for 5 years of storage.  Steep, I know.  Five years ago when I renewed, the price went up to $1225.  This time, it's $1495.  Basically, my $6 "pizza" went up to $9 in the past 10 years...instead of 24 years.

I'm not sure if I will renew again in five years as I will be 47 at that time, but then again, I'm pretty sure that I'll still like pizza....so, who knows.