Something that's always bothered me deeply, but I've always felt like a flake for letting it get to me: watching a movie in a movie theater and, just as the final scene is wrapping up and you begin to hear the credits music swell... half the friggin' theater has gotten up to leave. By the time the first credit appears on the screen, everyone's standing up, blocking the view, noisily talking to one another... trying to "beat the crowd" out to the parking lot, as if it were the friggin' Rose Bowl or something. I've been to so many movies where the ending has been totally ruined for me because 50 losers feel the need to break their necks to make sure that they're out the door before they're forced to read the words DIRECTED BY ______... thus distracting from the rhythm and emotion of a good ending. All too many times, also, a "fake ending" before the actual ending will fool the crowd and, sure as eggs is eggs, a herd of morons will begin to stand up and mill toward the door, loudly exclaiming "oops, I guess it ain't over yet! Sit back down, Myrtle!"

Why the break-neck rush to get out of the theater? I imagine it has something to do with our 1.5-second-attention-span culture. Remote control in hand, poised and ready to flip-flip-flip as soon as the NCAA playoffs breaks for a commercial. Don't waste a single precious second of your life sitting there listening to the music, appreciative of the months and often years of hard work that went into producing the film you just saw. I know, I know... "I showed them my appreciation when I handed them my 8 bucks!" Yeah, yeah, okay, you got me there.

But, speaking of sports and leaving early, that's something else I've never understood. Sports events are usually even more pricey than movies... yet, all too often, the bulk of the crowd will take off in the middle of the 7th inning or in the middle of the 4th quarter if one team has a substantial lead... WHY? Is it really to avoid traffic? How could it be when EVERYONE else is doing the same thing? Is the only reason you went to the game in the first place to find out who would win? 50 cents will get you a newspaper for that information, buddy. Save yourself the 90 clams. ...The point of going to the game is to watch the game. Who knows what could happen? And even if nothing exciting happens, is it sweeter to get a jump start on waiting in your car for the next hour? The whole philosophy of "leave early when you've got the gist" grates on me.

But, back to my original point: leaving the movie right before the credits begin to roll. I've been utterly delighted to discover that, here in Southern California, audiences stay put right on through the credits. Yahoo! Maybe it's because movies are made in this town and everyone knows someone whose name is about to scroll by. Maybe people here aren't in as much of a rush. Maybe they have more of a sense of what goes into producing a film or have a higher respect for the artform and would like to experience it in its entirety. Either way, I like the credits too. Usually, I don't sit through ALL of them, but I often will if the people I'm with don't mind.

Anyhow, that's all. Just wanted to say thanks, California, for respecting the credits and consequently satisfying my psychosis.