John Borwick’s blog

Friday I watched Papillon, a 2hr15m reality-based movie about the prisons of French Guiana starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman.
My favorite quote of the movie is when Papillon is explaining to his wealthy fellow inmate that his fellow’s dependence on outside forces to help him get out of prison is misplaced, and in fact his willingness to defer–hoping that he will be freed–only plays into the guards’ hands. Papillon says, “Me, they can kill–you, they own.”
The other quote I like is from the “making of” special feature, when the real “Papillon” who actually went through the fourteen year ordeal says “society does not want free men; they want conditoned men–men who march in step.”
Dang!

Here are some funny links I found over the last week, thanks to del.icio.us/tag/funny:

• find x
• Jesus Pan
• God FAQ
• Real-Life Mario
• Windows SND song
• Peeps exploding
• Pop Transltator
• Secret Wars Re-Enactment Society

Last weekend (May 27-28), Lauren went to Raleigh and I had the weekend to myself. I wanted to do two things: read (H. P. Lovecraft), and walk.

I walked from our apartment to Salem Lake, around Salem Lake, and back. The total walk was between 15-16 miles, and I walked it in five hours. I did a very similar walk eight years ago when I graduated from high school: I walked from Marketplace Mall to Salem Lake, around the lake, and back.

The last two or three miles of the walk were really difficult. I had to stop often. The last mile I sat down on a bench and really forgot that I was walking; I must have sat there for ten minutes. My heart rate got up to around 180, I believe. I do very little exercise, but I was surprised that I could get such a workout from walking. I drank a little over half a gallon of water during the event.

I saw a few animals: a tiny snake going into the water, a baby squirrel, a bird with a worm in its mouth, and a rabbit. I saw several people on horseback; one grandfather saw me sitting on a bench and said “don’t give up!”