on Match Point, Chinatown, Jude the Obscure, and The Corrections

I'm noticing a new trend. Movies now scare me. I watched Match Point last week and covered my eyes through the most violent scene of the movie. The other day I watched Chinatown (finally), and the music, which constantly seemed to be suggesting some kind of danger, compelled me to break my viewing into segments--so as to avoid being overcome with terror.
Now that is odd. (I should add that this seems to apply only to good movies. I had no problem sitting through Casanova, despite the violence, because the movie was sooooo bad).

So I've taken up reading. Finally. I'm reading Jude the Obscure. . .but I'll hold back on commenting until I'm done. I also bought Franzen's The Corrections, after a friend told me it was great, but also the latest New York craze, and warned me that I wouldn't want to be caught dead on the subways of New York with it. But I don't think I care. Perhaps I'm growing up, ie coming to terms with reality, rather than seeking to escape it. As if such a thing were possible.

I visited the Federal Reserve Bank with friends last week. It was kind of interesting. Most important, of course, the building's architecture--stunning. We walked much of downtown Manhattan and it felt kind of cool--us acting as tourists in our own city.