Revisiting Brokeback

I went and saw Brokeback Mountain last night. It's a very excellent film, the best I've seen all year (hey, I had to get a lame "it's only Jan of 2006" joke in somehow). I highly recommend it, but it's definitely not a movie for prudes.

I don't want to take away from the movie in any way, it's just that I seem to have attention deficit disorder, so during a few of the slower parts of the movie I had the following thoughts:

• It annoys me how much grazing is allowed on public lands. Ranchers who graze their livestock on national forest land (or blm land for that matter) are getting a screaming good deal. They reap the benefits from having their livestock grow without having to buy feed, while the common taxpayer is stuck with the bill for repairing the damages done to the ecosystem by having their livestock up there. This may be something I have to revisit another time.
• I'd forgotten about how windy Wyoming actually is. I don't think the movie was filmed there, but it definitely reminded me of that state. Aside from the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone, I don't care if I never set foot in that state again.
• Seeing the characters of the movie made me remember what it feels like to be in love with someone (and I'm not just talking about the two main characters here either, I'm including their wives/girlfriends). I miss that.