Rich-ard Nix-on

And here I was thinking that I'd never get the chance to use that image.

Anyways, I went to see Frost/Nixon this evening, and it was quite good. It's a pretty straightforward historical docudrama about David Frost's attempt to "give Nixon the trial he never had". It was kind of ironic in that the entire movie is about Frost's struggle to "convict" Nixon as opposed to "humanizing" him, but that's exactly what this movie does, it's full of pet the dog moments for Nixon (including a very literal rendition of that trope). It was also rather timely in how Richard Nixon's views on presidential crimes mirror those of another (vice-)presidential Dick.

Depressing MBTA-Related News

Last night was not the T's night. Heading to Davis, trains were delayed and announcements said that shuttles were being run between Broadway and Harvard on account of an electrical fault at Kendall Station. Some of my fellow passengers made comments assuming that "electrical fault" referred to some unfortunate individual's body spanning the gap between the third rail and the ground. Evidently, their pessimism was not unwarranted. Of course, the fact that people decide to kill themselves is very depressing, but train suicides in particular: They strike me as more likely to be impulsive, and forcing someone to kill someone else (even if the "someone else" is you and it's not their fault) is a truly horrible thing to do.

Especially given the current economic climate, maybe the MBTA should consider putting up mirrors or barriers or hotline phones or any of the other prevention measures...

(There was also a fire truck and ambulance outside of Davis Square station when I got out of the movie, but have no idea what happened there since it doesn't seem to have made the news.)