in a few days, barring any storm or any other form of mishap, we (me and several theater-loving pals) are going to watch Cats. meow.

despite my avowed hopes of watching a few stage plays, the only stage musical that i had ever actually made efforts to watch is Cats — because it looks fun, whimsical and as bit over-the-top.

and now that it’s almost here, i can’t help but anticipate how they would present the Rum Tum Tugger, possibly one of (if not) the biggest attraction of this show. and when you think of Rum Tum Tugger, there’s no other stage actor who has inhabited this character as well as John Partridge.

recession. gulf oil spill. wikileaks. uncertainty. there just seems to be no shortage of reasons to feel discouraged these days. and, unless you’ve been living under a rock these past few weeks, you know that you really need to search long and hard to find something genuinely uplifting to make your day easier to handle.

so it’s sort of a nice surprise when you hear about groups like Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA), which has apparently been organizing activities such as car donation charities to raise funds for U.S. vets who had served in Vietnam. basically, what the group does is promote the concept of car donation — wherein people can donate various types of vehicles, which will later be sold to generate funds for its charity programs. What makes the whole thing even sweeter is that, if you decide to go through with your car donation Illinois State Council Car Donation program, it’s actually tax-deductible.

apparently this has been going on for more than 25 years already. this kind of makes me feel a bit better, particularly now that things are getting a bit rough in Afghanistan.

i just got back from watching Inception, and to recap this experience in 4 simple words — i was blown away.

Inception is one of those rare screen gems — a movie that you can enjoy in many levels, and one that makes you think. it also leaves you to conclude for yourself which is real (reality) and which isn’t (dream).

and just when you think you’ve arrived at a suitable conclusion, you begin to realize things aren’t as clear-cut (relatively speaking) as they seem. so you begin retracing your steps, and the whole process begins again. some critics advise multiple viewings, and i plan to do just that. i suppose it would be fun to watch this in iMax.

offhand, i’d say Inception, which stars Leo DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Cillian Murphy, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy), reminds me of Mission Impossible and The Matrix, only with better actors. great cast, awesome director (Chris Nolan), mind-boggling story, fantastic SFX — a winning combination

anyway, i advise to you waste no time. go see it. there are 3 or good movies that i’ve missed (which leaves me unmoved for some reason), but Inception is in a different league.