Random: Perspective

700 billion dollar "bail-out" almost approved.
The US is currently in 10.5 trillion dollars of debt.
The Gross Domestic Product of the US is 14 trillion.

I wasn't going to get Starbucks that day, but after reading about the economy it made me feel a little better about my purchase.

Barnes & Noble, you’re on notice!

The environment looks so inviting doesn’t it... it’s a lie


It’s early, I’m not tired and just wrapped up dinner with a friend. I don’t feel like going home but with gas prices and money being tight until my next paycheck, I don’t want to spend money. While this thought process is happening my eyes spot a Barnes & Noble. It’s literally down the street from where I live yet I’ve never been inside. I haven’t taken the time to enjoy this spot. They have a Starbucks, I have a Wi-Fi subscription there, so sweet. I also have a gift certificate so maybe I can buy a new fun summer book. Sounds great, let’s go for it.

As I walk in, I spot an AT&T logo in the corner of the window. I am reminded that this is a franchise Starbucks and therefore not contractually bound to providing Internet for Starbucks customers. No worries, I don’t have to be connected to the World Wide Web to enjoy a relaxing time in the bookstore. I continue through the café to the floor of the store. As I walk around looking for a comfy chair to inhabit I am getting dirty looks from everyone I pass. Remember that scene in Forrest Gump where he gets on the school bus and all the kids glare at him and say “this seats taken”, “can’t sit here”. I wish this story ended like the film where a cute sweet girl would invite me to sit next to her, it didn’t. It ended with me walking all over the store without finding a chair. Mind you there were plenty of chairs open but someone would always speak up and curtly say “taken”. Everyone conversed like they were in high school cliques. They all knew each other and didn’t like the looks of anyone new.

Half of them were reading books that they had no intention of purchasing. I loathe this. People consistently visit these stores, read the book they want, fold it up, fray the pages and then hide it somewhere in the store so they can grab it the next night. Not only are they rude to other customers, but in a sense they steal the books. I mentioned this epidemic to a friend and they said, it’s not stealing, they’re borrowing. There is a place where you borrow books; it’s a library. I don’t go to car dealerships and drive cars around the lot once a week, until the new car smell has faded and the seat has a Trent-shaped groove. Someone would see that and declare shenanigans. Well guess what folks; there is an equally unjust system and I DECLARE SHENANIGANS!!!! I wouldn’t even spend my gift certificate because I was too angry at the system.

I made my way back to the café so that I could blog about my bad experience, and sure enough the dynamics in here are gross. No one is friendly and people certainly don’t smile. They talk to the people they know and scowl at those they don’t. The only person I connected with was the special needs guy who was perusing a copy of “Combat Tactics”. Will and I shared a table and talked for a while and I learned he knew way too much about weapons. I told him that I’d give him a shout out on the blog, so I hope he’s reading.

I love a good chitchat with anyone but the idea that the only person who didn’t act like a jerk is the guy with an off chromosome count is sad for Barnes & Noble. I have sat in bookstores and coffee shops all over the greater Los Angeles area and enjoyed a much more friendly, inviting and positive environment elsewhere. This assures me that this phenomenon isn’t just an LA thing. So it’s either Barnes & Noble or Westlake. I am not done investigating this issue; Thoughts of Trent is on the case.

Made of Honor; I enjoyed this movie…IN 1997 WITH JULIA ROBERTS!

***Standard Spoiler Warning. This article contains my opinions on this film and a film made 11 years ago. It reveals the “surprise” endings, and while I find these twists and turns predictable, you may want to be surprised. If that is the case, don’t read***


Note to Studios: Audiences are not so smitten with McDreamy
that they won’t notice you are recycling a film.



It was called “My Best Friend’s Wedding”, I saw it with my ex-girlfriend a few days after we broke up. She cried the entire ride home after our friend date. I was 17, I was stupid and thought that we could pull off being friends immediately following a break up. Now while my stupidity may have only slightly receded over the years, my memory remains strong. Even if my memory had failed me, TBS consistently reminds me by airing this film. So why did the people at Columbia Pictures think we would forget the movie they released 11 years ago? How did the same studio think they could pull this remake off? Well, maybe if they change the genders, give it a hip modern soundtrack, and make countless Starbucks references THEN we are sure to assume that this is a new film.

They were wrong. Not only does this movie lack the chemistry and shinning performances like the original, it makes what I think is a simple mistake. They change the ending. The girl gets the guy or the guy gets the girl… I’m confused…Patrick Dempsey marries his best friend. He storms the castle-like-church on a horse, stops the wedding and she kisses back. GIVE ME A BREAK! The best part for me of the original “My Best Friend’s Wedding” was the fact that she didn’t get her way. It was true to life, she learned her lesson too late and this guy passed her by.

It wasn’t about marrying that one right person, it was about her learning a lesson and growing as an individual. In fact, the original cut of that 1997 film the protagonist meets a new guy at the end and we get the indication that she is going to be just fine. Instead she talks with her friend about what she learned, STILL not marrying her best friend. I love that ending. Not only because I was able to turn to my ex-girlfriend and say “see, they don’t always end up together. That’s why I don’t believe in ‘one true love’” (I was a real jerk, I know.) While my comment was out of place, the truth shared in that movie remains true. It was also a nice to have a Rom-Com that gives this realistic portrayal.

When they went with the lame ending in “Made of Honor”, this movie really lost me. Overall, I found the film to be Average. I heard a website give it a C-. I agree with this grade. You may think that writing an entire blog about the things that annoyed me about this film would mean it had nothing good. It did have some funny moments and easy laughs, but again, just average. So, if you have to choose between going out and seeing “Made of Honor” or staying in and renting “My Best Friend’s Wedding” I would choose renting the Julia Roberts movie. Heck, it may even spark an interesting discussion about how there isn’t one true love, and people that seem perfect for each other don’t always get together. Now that I think about it, and knowing my track record, that may not be smart… go see “Made of Honor”