9:30 and very tired

I'd feel bad about reading my email at work...if the full time receptionist next to me wasn't doing the same thing. I got called yesterday to come in and reception, so here I am.

Right. Non-serious business first. Here's the first picture I've seen of Johnny Depp as Sweeney Todd:

hmmmm...hmmmmmmm... I've been scrutinising this photo for awhile. Glad to see Johnny Depp's cheekbones will feature prominently in this film. I love the pinstripes. Not sure how I feel about the "holster" he apparently has for his razor. It looks like they're going for a stylised 1830s period. And, obviously, this is makeup and hair for a movie so it looks positively gothic...presumably it will mix in better with the rest of the set and other characters. So. I'm still worried, still hopeful.

I also wanted to write about the bombing that happened yesterday in the Iraqi parliament. I'm sure you've all heard about this: a suicide bomber walked into the cafeteria and detonated a bomb, killing eight people. This event, more than anything that's happened recently, is showing how badly the war in Iraq is going. Who knows the best way to end it? Iraqi politicians, working in their equivalent of Independence Hall, are attacked. American soldiers, soon to be supplemented by a "surge," are being attacked. Al-Qaida is rearming. This region is tearing itself apart. It's depressing, it really is. Even though I don't believe all the hype about how the war is getting better every day, it's disheartening to see such a blantant example of the political spin falling apart. I hate being right! I'm also frustrated that this is all over the news but I seem to be the only one worried about this. Everyone is so distracted by their jobs and their lives and rehearsals and I'm getting stomach ulcers, thinking about the kind of situation we're creating over there. What's to stop al-Quaida from walking into the Capitol building and detonating a bomb? It's no longer possible to say "that's impossible," as this organisation has shown itself extremely capable of doing things that no one thought was possible. And they're only attracting more recruits. Five years ago I had hoped that we wouldn't hear about al-Quaida anymore, but now they're all over the news. So one minute I'm minutely examining Johnny Depp in People magazine, the next second I'm watching CNN in horror. Welcome to the new world.