get fuzzy

It hasn't been two weeks...

2007-08-15T23:21:00.000-07:00

...but I am officially switching over now. Let's hope I am not jumping the gun, cause I vow (for the sake of not pissing anyone off) to remain at Wordpress for at least a year. Longer than that would be nice though.

Goodbye blogger.

I'll be posting here from now on: http://redison.wordpress.com.

paris hilton: the music video

2007-08-13T23:50:00.000-07:00

bridge to terabithia (2007)

2007-08-13T01:15:00.000-07:00

It was a pleasant then horrifying then pleasant finding neverland-esque adventure for kids and willingly enchanted "grown-ups" like me. (Emphasis on horrifying.)

And Zooey Deschanel (the chic from Hitchhiker's Guide) is in it. So charming, she is.

:: B-

i've got a jar of dirt

2007-08-10T01:27:00.000-07:00

because everybody is doing it

2007-08-09T14:06:00.000-07:00

Wordpress.

Well, not everybody. The herd is increasing, though. And since my sensitivity won't allow me to be even the slightest bit left out of anything, I must plunge in, if only for a little while.

I was hoping I'd never get sucked in and would just find some contentedness right where I am. But I can't (don't want to) help myself and have transferred everything over there. But don't fret! I haven't decided yet, and won't be making a decision for another few weeks, and will be mirror-posting everything until then.

The main thing that is attractive about Wordpress is the "pages" feature, something blogger lacks. Also it seems a bit more difficult to customize than blogger, which is a good thing for me because I waste too much of my time personalizing and thereby complicating things anyway.

A huge downer though: my youtube videos didn't transfer over. That's eight months of obssessive youtube posts that I'll have lost if I make it a permanent transition. That's alot. And therefore I will be musing over this for while, pondering it like a possible dramatic change in lifestyle.

Its a bit bland at the moment, but that should change soon.

www.redison.wordpress.com

p.s. continue to comment here for now.

the problem of pain and the abolition of man

2007-08-09T01:24:00.000-07:00

"Now the proper good of a creature is to surrender itself to its Creator--to enact intellectually, volitionally, and emotionally, that relationship which is given in the mere fact of its being a creature."

"Everyone has noticed how hard it is to turn our thoughts to God when everything is going well with us. We 'have all we want' is a terrible saying when 'all' does not include God. We find God an interruption. As St. Augustine says somewhere, 'God wants to give is something, but cannot, because our hands are full--there's nowhere for Him to put it.' Or as a friend of mine said, 'We regard God as an airman regards his parachute; its there for emergencies but he hopes he'll never have to use it.'"

"We can rest contentedly in our sins and in our stupidities; and anyone who has watched gluttons shovelling down the most exquisite foods as if they did not know what they are eating, will admit that we can ignore even pleasure. But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world."

"Prostitutes are in no danger of finding their present life so satisfactory that they cannot turn to God: the proud, the avaricious, the self-righteous, are in that danger."

"If God were a Kantian, who would not have us till we came to Him from the purest and best motives, who could be saved?"

-- All from The Problem of Pain, by C.S. Lewis

"The operation of The Green Book and its kind is to produce what may be called Men without Chests. It is an outrage that they should be commonly spoken of as Intellectuals. This gives them the chance to say that he who attacks them attacks Intelligence. It is not so. They are not distinguished from other men by any unusual skill in finding truth nor any virginal ardour to pursue her. Indeed it would be strange if they were: a persevering devotion to truth, a nice sense of intellectual honour, cannot be long maintained without the aid of a sentiment which Gaius and Titius could debunk as easily as any other. It is not excess of thought but defect of fertile and generous emotion that marks them out. Their heads are no bigger than the ordinary: it is the atrophy of the chest beneath that makes them seem so.

"And all the time—such is the tragi-comedy of our situation—we continue to clamour for those very qualities we are rendering impossible. You can hardly open a periodical without coming across the statement that what our civilization needs is more 'drive', or dynamism, or self-sacrifice, or 'creativity'. In a sort of ghastly simplicity we remove the organ and demand the function. We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honour and are shocked to find traitors in our midst. We castrate and bid the geldings be fruitful."

-- The Abolition of Man, by C.S. Lewis

lame

2007-08-09T01:12:00.000-07:00

http://kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=6906635

There has to be a better way to keep our kids in school.

britian's got talent

2007-08-07T23:02:00.000-07:00

This song is always nothing less than a spiritual experience for me, and it is ten-times fold in this underdog context. Enjoy.

--thanks to Tim Stevens of leadingsmart.com for the link.

Here is a link to the video of the sermon in which this youtube clip takes on more context and meaning. Its only available until Aug. 9th, so watch it now if you have time! It really is fascinating and helps explain why film, paintings, photos, music and other human creations can have such a powerful impact on a person if they allow it. They are glimpses of God; small and finite works of art that allow us to "reach out and touch His face" (Bob Laurent).

And just in case you want a bit more...

busy bourne finds his chest and burns his white-ness away

2007-08-07T22:15:00.000-07:00

School starts on the 20th. Busyness is around the corner, but I am more excited than anxious. I need to meet with my adviser and schedule my classes for the semester. There's a possibility I may be adding the teaching credential program into my studies so I can teach if I so choose after I graduate, and I am also hoping to have the time to study abroad in Spain, Italy, or London. Much of this seems highly unlikely as I am already behind in my studies, and only have time for 9 units this semester as opposed to the 16 or 18 I should be taking. With work and the possibility of a rent expense coming (I'm thinking of moving out soon) my time is going to be extremely limited and my funds sparse if existent at all (another blow to the study abroad plan). Yay for school bills, car insurance, and that damned Walmart down the street.

But other than a few things on my mind, I'm good. I saw the Bourne Ultimatum over the weekend, read the first section of The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis (which you can find here if you don't have a copy), and went to the beach on Sunday. Ultimatum was excellent, Abolition was just as intriguing as it was 5 years ago, and the beach was a good time. I only have one gripe about the beach, though: it closes at 10pm. This wasn't really a problem on Sunday because I was with family and staying that late just doesn't happen. But when you're 22, in college, and have a fetish for bon-fires and cathartic star gazing, 10pm is entirely too early. Most events for the college-age crowd don't even begin until 11 or 12 anyway. Ten seems unreasonable to me. Even 12 is a bit early. Two in the morning is just about right. If I had more time and energy I'd write some long, elegant, and slightly arrogant letter to some big honcho in Huntington Beach about the ills of a 10pm curfew in one of the most famous beaches in the world. But I don't go often enough, and it wouldn't have done any good anyway. No one listens to 22-year-old know-it-alls. That's so not fair. Don't they understand the genius that I am? Gosh!

Anywho, I got burned again at the beach (yes, black people burn believe it or not, it just takes longer). I got burned for the first time in my life when I went fishing a few weeks ago, and then again this weekend. I know what you're thinking: "first time?? Why are you complaining?" I'm not really. In fact, I am more thankful because of it. It may hurt a bit, but I can sleep without the horror of turning pink in the sun like some of you crackers. Nevertheless, I spent much of Monday soothing my double-burned, peeling shoulders with some lotion. It has Aloe Vera in it. That makes it special.

P.S. (a run-on) I love (not really, but you know what I mean) how I can call white people "crackers", but if you so much as look at me cross-eyed I can sue you and your dog for everything you guys are worth and win, and then I can watch as you and your dog go to prison and get brutally raped by some distant cousin of mine over and over again whilst the officials turn a blind eye in fear of being sued themselves for "discrimination" and end up getting put behind bars and violated by the very person with the very crime that they timidly whispered and hinted about in a public address a few months earlier. Now that is messed up.

(I'd be lost without the words "and" and "but".)

blog ratings

2007-08-01T09:46:00.000-07:00

I'm not friendly enough for PG, and I'm two f-bombs short of a happy meal. So what am I?

I'm ambiguous.

You just never know what is going to come down the pike.

vegansexuals

2007-07-31T16:20:00.000-07:00

Words cannot express enough how dumb (yet twistedly smart) I think this is...

Vegansexual? I can just see the painful circumstantial transition now...

"Sweety, let's have sex tonight."

"I'm sorry, didn't you have a hamburger for lunch?"

"Well....yes...but..."

"Ah, no fun tonight for you darling, my love, my husband/~~wife~~ (c'mon, as if a real man would give up sex over a cow) of 25 years. Maybe next week when your body is rid of the flesh of the poor creature that was slain for your few moments of pitiful, selfish, lingua enjoyment I'll sacrifice myself for you. Until then, goodnight, sleep well, and keep your tongue inside the vegan cart at all times and enjoy the rest of your night here at ~~Disneyland~~ Veggyland, where cows reign and the black market smells of spoiled chicken breasts and In-N-Out." (If you get my meaning.)

What an incredibly powerful ploy to "convert" your significant other to a vegetarian diet. Mother was right: vegetables do make you smart. Maybe even cunning. A bit narcissistic to beat, as well.

Shun the non-believer!!

2007-07-30T22:50:00.000-07:00

haunting prelude in playlist ---->>

my castle

2007-07-30T22:22:00.000-07:00

When I received the last installment of the Harry Potter series in the mail last week I also received a few advertisements, which I barely noticed, if at all. In my eagerness to open the book, I flung the useless pieces of paper out of the box, over my shoulder (not really, but its more dramatic when its over the shoulder and not pathetically to the side), and onto the floor where they sat for over a week contributing to the process of entropy that seems to have a continual and foreboding hold on my bedroom. (I like to blame my laziness and apatheticism towards picking up after myself on a philosophical term. It makes the whole mess less grotesque and less my fault.)

But today when it became dangerous beyond adventuresome to get out of bed I decided I needed to do something about this "natural" process that has suppressed the force (choice) that could keep my miniature fortress tidy. And lo and behold, what should I run into during my all out war on "nature" but an interesting advertisement (yes, one of the "useless" ones from last week). It was so interesting it threw me off my guard, I immediately surrendered to "nature", let the mess be, and have since then plotted myself down here in my wooden chair to tell you all about the poignant, funny, and maybe even useful (and yet ultimately pointless in the same way that a microwave TV might be) message of this advertisement.

I almost hate to go on now for the fear that the headline may not be worthy of the above two-paragraph introduction, but humor me if you will and forgive my embellished way of saying "I found a piece of paper on the ground and here is what it said: 'When you leave your castle, take your life with you.'"

Ba-dum cha!

Ya, that's it. It's an advertisement for a Seagate external harddrive. You know, the little tiny box thing you hook up to your computer for more storage space. What I found interesting though (and maybe even convicting, you know, yada, yada, the usual), is that it references your computer as your castle, your life. Sadly, I know exactly what the advertisers are referring to. The feeling of dominance and royal-ishness that comes with owning a computer and abusing the privileges it provides is akin to the feeling (in as much as I can speculate) of owning a castle, a fortress that stands for my might and ability to conquer. Or, like Lord Farquaad's castle-complex from the first Shrek movie, it could merely be a compensation for something, which is more likely in my case.

Funny? No?

Oh well....I guess you had to be there. It was much more useful and humorous when I read it the first time. So much so I just couldn't help myself and had to get on my computer and spout about it. You know, conquer a bit of space on the web, create a tower, and a portable one at that.

I'm sure there is a philosophical concept/term I could find to blame for my propensity towards creating and depending (you should see me when the power goes out) on my electronic, intangible, but PORTABLE(!), fortress. The term escapes me at the moment, but I'm sure their is one. There has to be. My actions, surely, couldn't be my fault.

Damn the English language! I need a term!

Behold! The beast itself......like a bubble getting read to POP and wither.

if you haven't heard already...

2007-07-30T20:35:00.000-07:00

here
here
here
and here.

I feel a bit awkward even mentioning it because I haven't even seen any of his films (that I know of), but its all I have been hearing and reading about all day so its clear this guy has had an impact on many. He must have been onto something and I look forward to partaking in the apparently powerful food for thought he has left behind in his wake.

Thanks to Netflix, that's financially possible.

good weekend.

2007-07-29T22:29:00.000-07:00

...lots of reading (wuthering heights, by emily bronte; a bit of the picture of dorian gray, by oscar wilde)
pleasant day at work on saturday (no death threats)
rescue dawn, again
1408
angels baseball game (can't beat a 13-4 win, now can we?)
church and in-n-out with friends.

I needed this weekend.
badly.
and I have tomorrow off of work.
hallelujah.
I am going to bed now.
early.
my slumber awaits, shut eye 'til dawn, a dream or two.
goodnight.

kill the fly. kill the dog.

2007-07-26T23:17:00.000-07:00

"A goal is a dream with a deadline." - unknown

Well if that doesn't ruffle some of my feathers, nothing will. I now wonder if my goals have anything to do with who I am, or if they have more to with who I think I should be. It is the question of the hour. The question of this day. This week, month, year...my life.

I sense a night of earnest contemplation ahead, where the weighings of what is and what isn't battle to fill the void of my future. Sleep can wait. I'm not enthusiastic with life at the moment, so let's hope tomorrow isn't just another day, but is a different day. Like a musical track on repeat, my life is becoming annoying and predictable. For me, and for others. Now we don't want that, now do we? I think its time I freak myself out and jump the plank off of this sail-less, rudder-less ship and join the rest of humanity in the shark invested waters of growth and opportunity.

"Conscience is a nuisance. A fly. A barking dog." - Captain Argall, The New World

Kill the fly. Kill the dog.

youtubeoverdose (seriously, 10 videos?)

2007-07-26T00:15:00.000-07:00

Its been a while since I have had a good healthy fix of YouTube (two days, actually). But here are a few videos I have weeded out of the murky halls of the cyber galaxy. Try not to watch them all at once...it might result in an overdose. If that happens, you're screwed. Like me. Don't do it man!

Arrested Development: one of the best (in the Top 10 somewhere) television shows ever. And yet, only three seasons. Booo!

---Escape from Iraq: Arrested Development Style

---Oh, Tobias.

---Here's the deal: Tobias "left" his wife and now wants to see his daughter, so he pulls a "Mrs. Doubtfire", but calls himself "Mrs. Featherbottom" and then shakes in a bit of "Marry Poppins'" umbrella floating...or tries.

------
Besides the fact that this entire music video is one shot, there should be no (if I were healthy) other reasons why I should like it. And yet, there are many. Forgive me.

-------
Monty Python's The Meaning of Life: "Every Sperm Is Sacred"

It's Monty Python. You know the drill. A little bit of crassness here, a little vulgarity there, a butt-cheek or boob flash anywhere...but its OK...they're British.

-------
Michel Gondry: the director of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (my favorite movie (ever), but for reasons I'm not yet sure of...)

Speaking of which:

-------
Judy Garland

---And you thought Frank Sinatra sang the best version of this song...
(For the record, I love Frank Sinatra. He got beat by a girl on this one though.)

---disclaimer---

well....

2007-07-25T04:41:00.000-07:00

....its over.

*sniff*

More on that later though.

Right now, I need sleep.

All this war and weeping has exhausted me.

ran, ikiru, hairspray, harry potter and the order of the phoenix

2007-07-20T12:15:00.000-07:00

Ran (1985)
You know, I really, really tried to get into this movie, but it just wasn't doing it for me. I'm either not patient enough at this time in my life, or I'm approaching it from the wrong perspective. :/ Maybe in a few years...

------
Ikiru (1952)
This was delightful surprise! I was scared going into this one after my failed attempt at "Ran". It only took a few minutes for me realize how much of a different movie it was going to be. It raises alot of questions about death and how many of us are just pulsing forms of it. I guess you could call Ikiru a "zombie movie". In reverse.

:: A

-------
Hairspray has 74 reviews on rottentomatoes.com and is at 95% freshness. This is really starting to scare me. Am I actually going to have to go and see this thing now? I quiver at the notion that I might enjoy several hours of a flaunting, bosomed Travolta in tights. Shudder!

-------
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)

THE GOOD:
helena bonham carter -- best twenty seconds of the movie...

THE BAD:
the length -- too short

THE UGLY:
the curtain -- poorly executed

--The scene with Dumbledor and Voldemort was intensely satisfying. And Harry's struggle with Voldemort in the end was heartbreaking. It was the first time I actually felt incredibly sad for Harry during one of the movies. That was unexpected.(save perhaps when he comes back with Cedric's body).

--Nicholas Hooper's score blended seamlessly with the movie, but it still isn't that great on CD (though its better now with context).

--Newspaper transitions. Niiice.

--I cannot say enough good things about Carter's performance as Bellatrix Lestrange. So good. It doesn't hurt that she's in that greasy, mangled hair either. Being evil is a bonus as well. I want to marry her. I don't know what she sees in that Burton guy. Passion? Bah! I've got passion!

--It was too short. Nearly 30 minutes too short. And the IMAX 3D was crap. Ironically it took me out of the movie instead of "immersing" me in it. The film is much better without the 3D.

--The death curtain was not developed enough. I knew what it was, I knew what was going to happen, but if I hadn't read the book I probably would have been confused.

--Most of what I could say about the film I am sure you have read elsewhere, so I won't say much more. It was good, not as good as Azkaban, but better than all the others. I like David Yates' direction and look forward to his next installment.

--Prediction one, confirmed. Two through six will have to wait until Monday morning. I'm going fishing this weekend and won't be back until late Sunday night, but I won't be back online until after I finish that book. Hopefully by Tuesday. Byyye.

::B+

Awww, we're so cute.

2007-07-10T13:07:00.000-07:00

I gave up on myspace last year and just started Facebook in June. Myspace was more annoying than it was helpful with all the crazy colors and blasting music. It confused my simple brain. I thought Facebook was going to be the same, but I was wrong. Its clean and sophisticated...like me. Stop laughing.

(Speaking of clean and sophisticated...there's this b!*$%-slapping and sheep-throwing feature that's fun...)

Look me up. Heaven knows the only reason we aren't friends yet is because I haven't found you...*stalk, stalk*

the cause of spiritual stupidity

2007-07-09T22:39:00.000-07:00

I began reading C.S. Lewis's George MacDonald: An Anthology a few nights ago and I am nearly finished already! It has been a long while since I have been able to sit and finish a book in a reasonable amount of time, and it will be refreshing to reach the end of this book and be reminded again what such an accomplishment feels like. I have been sick (with a cold, but I'm mostly better now) for over a week now, so other than work and school I have otherwise spent most of my time at home filling waste baskets with goobered tissues and hawked spit wads of unspeakably nauseating phlegm. All with the book in my hand. (A bonus of being sick?)

This is the first stuff I have read of George MacDonald. And I like his stuff.

The short excerpts that Lewis has compiled from MacDonald's sermons and fantasy novels can be witty at one moment and violently piercing the next, but still a quenching well of truth in either circumstance. I quickly began to mark the excerpts that spoke to me the most, only to realize twenty pages in that I had marked off more than half of what I read, a mark (or two or three) on every page. So I stopped marking, and just accepted the fact that the entire book spoke to the each eager fiber of my being and it would be pointless to distract a future reader with a sleuth of black inkpen soaking every page.

"The care that is filling your mind at this moment, or but waiting till you lay the book aside to leap upon you--that need which is no need, is a demon sucking at the spring of your life. 'No; mine is a reasonable care--an unavoidable care, indeed.' Is it something you have to do this very moment? 'No.' Then you are allowing it to usurp the place of something that is required of you this moment. 'There is nothing required of me at this moment.' Nay but there is--the greatest thing that can be required of man. 'Pray, what is it?' Trust in the living God....'I do trust Him in spiritual matters.' Everything is an affair of the spirit." - from The Cause of Spiritual Stupidity, an unspoken sermon

"A man is in bondage to whatever he cannot part with that is less than himself." - from The Way, an unspoken sermon

"So long as we have nothing to say to God, nothing to do with Him, save the sunshine of the mind when we feel Him near us, we are poor creatures, willed upon, not willing....And how in such a condition do we generally act? Do we sit mourning over the loss of feeling? Or worse, make frantic efforts to rouse them?" - from The Eloi, an unspoken sermon

I'll be the first to admit my frantic search to rouse feelings. Much of this disease is not the result of some unequipped childhood or a single traumatic event, but is a direct result of the fact that so many aspects of my life have been completely absolved of the guidance of God through my unwillingness to have anything to do with Him. So instead, I forfeit my will to be, and I am "willed upon" by unhealthy outlets that own me and govern my time. Time that I could otherwise choose to spend by saying something to God and having something to do with him, sure acts to the regain of feeling.

I remember walking out of one of my classes the other day and reaching unconsciously into my bag for my iPod, but alas(!), it wasn't there. I remained calm on the outside, but inside I was daunted and uncomfortable by the fact that I'd be spending the next 30 minutes (until I got home) without my iPod! This is slightly disturbing and deserves the amount of thought I am putting into it (again) because the silly thing still owns me; I do not own it. I have enslaved myself (and my feelings) to a plastic device with wires and a shiny screen. "Oh, but it plays music." Yes, yes it does. But all in moderation. My iPod went "out of tune", so to speak. It wasn't there to passively enhance my active thoughts, but to actively encourage passive thoughts. And this is just a 3-by-2 inch object. I have other much bigger and grander items at my disposal, such as my computer, television, dvd player, mirror (I gawk at my pretty self daily...), and the incredibly annoying and time sucking world wide web (including my own blog...). Maybe it's time to pull the plug on a few distractions and say something to Him. You know...have something to do with Him more often than when its merely convenient or expected.

"Never wait for fitter time or place to talk to Him. To wait till thou go to church or to thy closet is to make Him wait. He will listen as thou walkest [without thou's iPod]." - from Righteousness, an unspoken sermon

be inspired, live life and give it

2007-07-09T22:26:00.000-07:00

And to think...if it were possible to determine before birth whether or not someone is going to become autistic, many people would encourage abortion for the "benefit of the child".

Bull.

This kid just made my day and he wouldn't have been able to do that if he had his brains sucked out and his body disposed of.

transformers/ratatouille/harry potter

2007-07-09T22:09:00.000-07:00

"This is one hundred times better than Armageddon!" *insert the sound of an entire theater of filmgoers writhing and groaning simultaneously*

No, Michael Bay, Armageddon was better.

You fool.

:: B-

-------

Toys, bugs, monsters, fish, superheros, cars, rats, and next year...a cute little robot. How much you want to bet the dutiful, simple, little robot Wall-e will put Michael Bay's erratic, dyslexic, complicated, and comical (they crack jokes you know...) robots to shame?

I loved Ratatouille. It was awesome.

:: A+

-------
I just broke one of my own rules and listened to the soundtrack for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix before seeing the movie, and sadly I have to give it a huge thumbs down. Besides the first two tracks ("Fireworks" and "Professor Umbridge"), the rest of the album is muddled and hinged on reactionary cues, where the composer seemingly takes 10 seconds of film, scores it, and then goes on to the next 10 seconds, and scores it. The result is a literal musical translation of the film like that of the literal film translation of the first two books by Chris Columbus. It sounds like an hour of filler.

Of course, I am saying all of this without seeing the film, but from what I've heard on the soundtrack, the film is probably going to be held back by this rather unimpressive score. I love John Williams and I think Patrick Doyle did a superb job in the fourth film, but Nicholas Hooper had better brace himself. With the huge shoes he had to fill he was certainly going to be criticized by fans no matter how good a job he did, but now he is most definitely going to get venomously raked over the coals. And the venom will be all that much stronger considering he will probably be back to score the 6th film if his directing partner David Yates has anything to say about it (we don't want the breaking of a friendship, now do we?).

Bleh. Why can't they just make things simple and bring back successful directors (Cuaron) and composers (Williams) and stop making all of these huge quality risks on film-making and film-scoring newbies? It pains me to think of what the score would have been like with a composer like James Newton Howard, the recently successful John Powell, or the even the spunky, experimental Michael Giacchino. Heck, a generic and regurgitated James Horner rendition would have been more interesting than Hooper's utterly failed attempt at being interesting...

...here's to hoping I have spoken two days too soon, and that the score (still mediocre on disc) fits an excellent film like a glove...

are you smarter than a 5th grader?

2007-07-05T22:27:00.001-07:00

I like this show. But am I the only one annoyed by being told at the beginning of every episode what is going to happen? It takes all the wind out of the suspenseful sails of classic gameshow television, and I just don't want to watch it anymore after that.

"Will Mr. Bob answer the 500,000 dollar question right? Wait around and find out!"

Thanks, now I'll just sit here for an hour in complete serenity knowing that the contestant is going to get every question right all the way up to 500,000 dollars.

Its like giving your friend the movie The Sixth Sense with a yellow post-it note on the case that gives away the ending.

Annoying.

Happy Fourth of July!

2007-07-04T12:57:00.000-07:00

This is when everybody should stop complaining (like this and this) and acknowledge the fact that they otherwise have the FREEDOM to do so. Please, America can't be all bad. Think positive (for one day)!

And of course, what would we do without YouTube...?

Get your groove on. It's INDEPENDENCE DAY!

church for the masses :: i like big bibles :: friday (sunday?)

2007-07-01T23:30:00.000-07:00

(Yes, I know...its Sunday evening and I should have done this friday...but I haven't been home...)

church for the masses :: here it comes :: thursday

2007-06-28T12:15:00.000-07:00

church for the masses :: drive-thru nation :: wednesday

2007-06-27T09:30:00.000-07:00

OPERATION TERMINATION: 81 days and counting

2007-06-26T21:05:00.000-07:00

http://www.helpmybabylive.com/

I'm curious. If this was proven legit, would you donate?
-------
-thanks to shelia west for pointing this out.

church for the masses :: me worship :: tuesday

2007-06-26T19:54:00.000-07:00

Rushmore (1998)

2007-06-25T18:12:00.000-07:00

"Hey, I'm sorry."

And so begins one of the most satisfying third acts to a movie ever.

Loved it.
Schwartzman.
Murray.
Williams.
Cox.
Music.
Heaven & Hell.
Everything.

A

"I wish
that
I knew what I know now
when I was younger."

church for the masses :: me church :: monday

2007-06-25T09:16:00.000-07:00

trivia for you

2007-06-23T23:36:00.000-07:00

Without CHEATING, does anyone know what classical piece this is?

It has been my favorite piece of classical music for many, many years, ever since I was a wee geeky little lad.

So, what is it? Guess, guess, guess! Please.

theives, squirrels, fathers, and transvestites

2007-06-23T23:23:00.000-07:00

"A 16-year-old Berlin student was so worried he would have to repeat a year at school because of poor marks he convinced two friends to storm his class and steal the report cards with his bad grades." - Reuters.com

Ya, steal the report cards. That'll do it.

-------
"An aggressive squirrel attacked and injured three people in a German town before a 72-year-old pensioner dispatched the rampaging animal with his crutch." - Reuters.com

Excellent. Go grandpa!

-------
The best Father's Day blog post I read last weekend.

-------

That's Christopher Walken on the left strutting his stuff in the remake of Hairspray. Pretty weird huh? Well that's nothing. Check out Madame Travolta on the right.

Don't believe me? Try this angle...

Still not seeing it? Here, try this one...

Yaaa, you see it noow, don't you?

Sleep well.

yep.

2007-06-21T00:30:00.000-07:00

are you lucky?

2007-06-18T21:04:00.000-07:00

About a month ago I wrote a post about living effectively and how things do not "just happen." I had gotten to a point in my life where I decided that the fastest way out of guilt or responsibility was to shrug my shoulders and say "eh, things happen." But oh sweet contraire, that was not the case and it never has it been. My life is my responsibility, not the responsibility of some superstitious notion of luck. If I want something (at the time I was speaking of righteousness) I have to actually go out and get it. It won't just happen to me.

Anyhoo, the reason I bring this up again is because on friday night ABC's "20/20" ran a broadcast about luck and how some people just seem to have more of it than others. Very interesting stuff. The conclusion at the end of the broadcast: we all create our own luck.

They did numerous studies and observations and realized that the "lucky" people are the most persistent for and the most open to new opportunities. By lucky people, they mean financially and relationally successful. In short: those who are envied most often.

An example of one of their observations involved six people (three of which you'd consider lucky people, and the other three not-so-lucky). They placed money on the ground in each of their paths. The money was put in the same spot every time and therefore equally visible to the lucky and not-so-lucky individuals. All three of the lucky people saw the money and picked it up. The other three, the not so lucky ones...walked right on by, oblivious to what lay on the ground.

In another observation, they studied a few lucky people and a few not-so-lucky people in a small, cramped donut shop (or something similar, I can't remember). When a separate individual would come into the restaurant, they were more likely to sit near one of the lucky people as opposed to one of the not-so-lucky people. Why? Because the not-so-lucky person looked uninviting and detached. They were either frowning, had their arms crossed, or were so engrossed in their newspaper the outside world meant absolutely nothing to them. Who wants to sit by that? Nobody, including other not-so-lucky people (they just find their own corner to individualize and wallow in.) Who wants to invest their time (or money) into someone who appears apathetic to outside encounters? Nobody. So instead, the new customers gravitate towards the lucky guy. The guy with the smile (or at least not a frown), uncrossed arms, and an over all optimistic demeanor, both in dress and attitude.

This opens a huge door for this lucky guy. So what does his do? He starts talking to the person who sat next to him. Is he actually thinking "I wonder what this guy can do for me"? Probably not. It only comes natural for lucky people to see an opportunity and take it. This opportunity: a conversation with another human being. This instigation of converse could lead to something more than a simple ten minutes of stress relieving conversation. It could lead to a business deal, another person (even more possibilities there), or even a life long relationship.

You never know.

So you can see that the lucky people weren't lucky in the superstitious sense, but were given more chances of being lucky because they were always in search of a new opportunity. Even the small amount of opportunity of a few dollars on the ground or a short exchange of words with a stranger can change some of your decisions for that day, the week, or your life. In other words, the lucky people increase their chances of being lucky by taking more of the opportunities that might create that luck for them. They go and get the luck, it doesn't come to them. They go and get the success, it doesn't come to them. They go and they get what they want because they know it isn't going to come to them. They go. And they get.

Meanwhile, the not-so-lucky people are so busying watching and complaining about others getting lucky that they (dis)miss their own opportunities to be lucky. Instead of being proactive, they are reactive.

The only reason I bring this up is because it has been on my mind alot lately and the 20/20 show only sparked more thoughts for me to chew on. I don't think I would be where I am now if I had taken a more proactive role in my own life. Don't get me wrong, I am not in a terrible position. But I am still living at home when I would much rather be out on my own. It is only one of the annoying problems at the moment that would not otherwise have arisen if I had taken a more proactive role a long time ago.

Anyway, if you are reading this and find yourself often blaming other people, objects, and ideas (luck) for your own shortcomings...stop it. Eventually you'll run out of ideas, you'll run out of objects, and worst of all, you'll run out of people.

Your financial, physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual success all depend on your willingness to depend on others and the "luck" that they may be willing to offer you. Open your eyes, see an opportunity, and go after it. Don't listen to the naysayers...they are just bitterly unlucky. Ask them, they'll tell you.

there will be blood, a film by Paul Thomas Anderson

2007-06-18T20:56:00.000-07:00

Yep. Heeeeerre's Paul-y!

Can you handle it?

--Thanks to Jeffrey Overstreet for posting about this.--

wowzers!

2007-06-14T23:43:00.000-07:00

This clip embodies the reason I watch "So You Think You Can Dance" whenever I have time. I have not stopped thinking about this routine since I saw it on television last night.

Jaw-dropping. (and extra BIG, just for you!)

-------
And just for the record...the lady judge in the middle...she irks.

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I promise, this will be the last youtube video...this week. (Now that its almost over...)

"Boom(!)"

2007-06-13T23:29:00.000-07:00

Just when you think
technology is peaking
and verily soon will plateau,
the boosters ignite
and we're zooming in flight(!)
and its off to "who-knows-where" we go...

-raymond

click here.

(don't you just hate it when they say "click here". As if we need more bosses in our lives...)

Seriously though...go click it.

youtubeshot:has the secret of "lost" been revealed?

2007-06-12T16:23:00.000-07:00

Watch the trees closely for an unexpected but familiar face. I don't know, could it be?

youtubeshot:banned xbox commercial

2007-06-12T16:19:00.000-07:00

"Put that finger away before somebody gets hurt!"

Lots of sensitive souls out there, I guess. I'm sensitive to women rubbing the bare bodies all over soapy cars, but that never stopped Carl's Jr. or the FCC...

I promote the violent game of finger shooting. Finger shooters unite!

so.

2007-06-11T02:40:00.000-07:00

I started cleaning my room about ten minutes ago (ya, this late/early) and what should I stumble upon but a bag of four glorious books that I splurged and bought at a Barnes and Noble in San Diego three weeks go. How very, very lame I feel at the moment for buying them and then tossing them in my closet with the refreshing socks and sparkling clean underwear. Lame, lame, lame.

The four:

Suffering and the Soverignty of God by John Piper
To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

...and last, but definitely not least (this book would make tree-huggers wail)

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

I'm not half as smart as any of these books seem to suggest. I'd almost call them "ego-purchases" except I actually do want to read them and don't want them looking pretty on my shelf (or in my closet in a bag with the sparkling clean underwear). But seeing as I am nearly if not slightly more busy now than I was during the semester, it may be a while before I finish one.

Here's some good news though! I am abandoning my room cleaning expedition right now and putting on my sophisticated spectacles and spontaneously hopping into bed with Mr. Piper! (his book, that is...)

Wish me luck.

a humble billionaire.

2007-06-11T02:19:00.000-07:00

Bill Gates.

Thanks to Jeffrey Overstreet for sharing his short, paradoxical experience.

Gates makes cheap, crappy venues and rich men look good. Both of which/whom should be thanking him at the moment. The crappy venues seem inviting all of a sudden and rich men don't seem quite a stereotypically snobbish and hog-like. Actually, I guess I should be thanking Gates, shouldn't I? Huh.

Dear Billy,

Thank you. You are the man!

-raymond, a humbled peasant.

quack-quack, knock-knock, ring-ring

2007-06-10T00:54:00.000-07:00

I went to the Stanley Cup celebration at the Honda Center tonight for the Anaheim Ducks' victory. It was fun. More so than I was anticipating.

-------
Saw Knocked Up afterwards. Can't say enough good things about it. Hilarious and touching.

-------
Lord of the Rings (yes, I know, more Lord of the Rings stuff. Get used to it.): The Musical! So when I heard about this a few years ago, I started laughing uncontrollably. Then when it started touring last year it got amazing reviews. So I asked Tolkien and God for forgiveness and have been anticipating it coming to the states ever since. The "trailer" for the musical is a bit choppy...but the production looks very promising. Its not the films or the books, that's for sure. But if you have seen anything on a Broadway-like stage (or Broadway, for that matter), then you know how memorable and transporting an experience productions like these can be.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Dead World's End (2003, 2006, 2007)

2007-06-05T22:59:00.001-07:00

So I am too lazy to write much of anything on Pirates.

I liked the first one. I liked the second one. But the anticipated finale, At World's End, ends its own world (forgive me). It's nothing like the other two. I fell asleep the first time. I fell asleep the second time. I don't like paying ten bucks to sleep.

It wasn't all a snooze-fest, though. The boat tipping was fun, the music was beautiful, and the demise of the British "villian" is fascinating to look at.

But I say stay home. Your bed is more comfortable and DVD's can be fast-forwarded.

Curse of the Black Pearl [2003] :: B+
Dead Man's Chest [2006] :: B
At World's End [2007] :: C-

rat - a - too - ee

2007-06-04T23:45:00.000-07:00

Mark my words: besides The Incredibles, Ratatouille will be the best Pixar movie to date.

ice water in hell

2007-06-03T21:23:00.000-07:00

So the commercials are wonderful. The old and outdated "PC" in his hospital robe showing his undesirables to a young, hip, and fresh "Apple" is funny stuff. They speak volumes about the creative force that has thrusted Apple Inc. into the gleaming limelight the past few years. But none of them comes close to seeing the actual big daddies of each tribe smirk, taunt, and bombast in front the entire world. Like the commercials, "Apple" is more charming, is wearing tennis shoes, and steals the show without even trying that hard. The "PC"--in a shirt, dress shoes and slacks--is at a bumbling loss for words more often than not.

But they are both incredibly intelligent. Watching these great minds cogitate and theorize is invigorating, and it puts the commercials (as great as they are) to shame. Enjoy.

Digital Conference 2007 Prologue:

Steve Jobs Interview (watch 'til the end, its worth it, trust me):

Bill Gates and Steve Jobs Interview (1 of 10):

You can get the rest of them here.

1985

2007-05-30T00:31:00.000-07:00

-the year I was born

-the number of podcasts episodes I have that still need to be listened to...

Is Harry going to die?

2007-05-30T00:10:00.000-07:00

This question has been poking and taunting Harry Potter fans for several years now. But here we are, a mere two months from the answer, and I am rather nervous about it to be perfectly frank. After the stunt Rowling pulled in Half-Blood Prince (anyone who has read the book knows what I'm talking about) anything is possible at the moment. But, for time-wasting's sake I present a prediction, or two...or three (maybe even ten).

-------July 13 2007:
(1) Order of the Phoenix turns out to be most satisfactory blockbuster/"sequel" among the botched bunch of 2007.

-------July 21 2007:
(2) Harry Potter dies.

(3) Neville dies.

(4) Ron and Hermione profess their love for each other, get married (during battle), explicitly consummate it (during battle) and then die. (ha, just kidding...........they live and she's pregnant and they vow to name their child Harry, boy or girl).

(5) Voldemort (bless his black soul) is a goner as well. But only after he confesses that he is Harry's real father. Harry starts to cry, Voldemort starts to cry, they hug, Harry chokes Voldemort, then Harry commits suicide by wand (see #2).

(6) The only person who lives (for sure) is Ginny. I mean, where's the drama without a damsel in distress left behind, huh? Last page of book:

"Hermione, I'm pregnant," said Ginny. "And I think its Harry's."

"You think its Harry's?" questions Hermione.

The end.

-------July 2010:
(7) J.K. Rowling publishes Harry Potter, Jr and the Philosopher's Boulder.

-------July 2021:
(8) Seven books/movies later: Harry Potter, Jr and the Horny Hallows:
Draco Malfoy to Harry Potter, Jr: "I am your father!"
Draco Malfoy to Harry Weasley (a girl): "I am your father!"
Ron to Hermione: "I knew it! Her and her white hair!"
Hermione to Ron: "It was an accident!"
Snape to Hermione: "I am your father!"
Harry Weasley to Harry Potter, Jr: "I'm pregnant."

The end.

-------July 2030:
(9) The workings of Harry Malfoy-Potter the First and the Philosopher's Planet are found charred and burning under the charred, burning, and assassinated body of J.K. Rowling in the tower of her Hogwart's Castle looming 2500 ft. over Oxfordshire, England.

-------July 3000:
(10) James Cameron (having found Jesus' Tomb, the Tree of Life, and Middle Earth) is still thriving physically and financially at 146 years. He finds Platform 9 and 3/4, but dies soon there after due to head trauma caused by constantly running into brick walls on the off chance that he'd make it through. His body is thrown into the ocean, but his heart goes on.

-------
You'll see. That is what is going to happen. All in due course, my friends. All in due course.

youtubeshot:the lord of the weed

2007-05-27T01:35:00.000-07:00

Yes, more Lord of the Rings stuff...in German! You can't understand what they are saying (which I think may be a good thing). I haven't finished it yet--I'm only about 7 minutes into it--but so far its pretty darn funny.

28 Weeks Later (2007)

2007-05-27T01:30:00.000-07:00

While I sit around and lazily avoid writing about Pirates, here is my "cheat" review of 28 Weeks Later:

Mark Kermode and his quick lips of fire!

"Next." - Mark

"That's just extraordinary this...its a work of genius." - Simon

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-And now, go listen to Sam and Adam argue about it (its always best when they argue) at the Filmspotting.net Podcast.

Poor Sam missed the boat...

new "features" ------->

2007-05-26T00:51:00.000-07:00

2007 film chronicle - what I've been watching

film review archive - I don't have time to write about every film I see, so I'm setting this up so I can score them without writing much (if anything) on them. Since editing this, I have changed a few of my film scores in order to better fit into the ~~developed~~ ripped-off structure (thank you Jeffrey Overstreet).

music recommendations - I am a soundtrack whore. I'll update this whenever I go out and pay to get laid (by the music, of course) or happen to be getting the mentioned euphoric service from the soundtracks I already own.

book recommendations - This will rarely get updated because I rarely have time to read, but when I do read something that I like or remember having read something that I liked, I will put it in here. I rarely finish reading something I am not enjoying, so those that I put in here are recommendations, and any "must-reads" will be marked clearly.

i've been robbed!!!

2007-05-23T03:59:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if the theaters are trying to make my Pirates of the Caribbean experience actually feel more Piratey, but since when did it become legal to show a film before its release day? I treasure my midnight showings. The film could be a gawd-awfully smelly hunk of monkey crap, I never really care (although excellent films are an added bonus). It is the midnight showing experience that I actually go for. The communal buzz is infectious. It makes the film going experience more of a festival than an art gallery.

But now, to my horror, I have discovered that the theaters are showing 8:00, 8:15, 9:00, 9:45, and 10:00 o'clock showings before the midnight showing! This is...catastrophic! Sure, the buzz will still be there, but it won't be as strong and we won't be "the first" in our region. Not only that, but we'll hear all about the movie from the people walking out as we sit in line and wait to go in. Booooo!

*insert initial tremor of inspirational speech music here* The theaters have jumped our ship and stolen our treasure!!! Those filthy, greedy, piratey scumbags! We shall fight back! We shall fight to the death! *music swells* We shall stay our course *music swells some more* and not abandon our precious ship of ritual. Join me my fellow crazies and protest this monstrous and deceitful act. Grab your loins, laddies, let us hunt some theater managers!!! *insert "fields of pelennor" charge music here*

*grabs loins* Chaaarrge!!

***DISCLAIMER UPDATE***
It was 4 in the morning. Forgive me.

Jackass: The Movie (2002)

2007-05-22T22:20:00.000-07:00

Absolutely mindless, disgusting, and crass...but brilliant.

I mean think about it. The entire movie is just a high-on-crack and caffeinated version of your typical American college guy's dormitory. How many college guys living in dorms are there in America? Alot. And how many middle-aged men are there in America wishing they were back in their college dormitories. Again, alot. There is a huge market for this type of sadistic buffoonery. Even women want in on the gag. Maybe not alot of women, but more than you might think. Most just don't want to admit their suppressed curiousity and scoff at our stupidity.

But is this form of "male-bonding" really stupid? Ya, most of it is. I can't think of anything more stupid than trying to tight-rope your way across alligator infested waters with meat stuffed in your underwear. And much of Jackass: The Movie is stupid stuff like that. But I enjoyed myself.

I won't try and justify it. Some of what these guys do is clearly unethical (terrorizing your family can only go so far) and yet the self-inflicted pain scenes are exhilarating. The intensity and discomfort of paper-cuts is brought to the screen full-throttle and the resulting feeling is a mixture of euphoria and horror. I laughed, I cried, I closed my eyes in discomfort several times, and I found immense pleasure in my pumped-and-revved-up state afterwards.

Like Rodriguez's Planet Terror, Jackass: The Movie is masochistic and gratuitous at times. But I enjoyed myself and actually wish I could have been a part of the empty glory. Determine from that what psychosis you will...

B-

one of the more "tame" scenes:

what's worse than losing a limb while bathing in a vat of liquified salt??

2007-05-22T20:42:00.000-07:00

--One Tivo-less TV.
--One On-the-Lot premiere.
--And a grandmother addicted to Dancing With the Stars.

...all in the same house, all at the same time...

Frick!

icky rockstar bird

2007-05-21T21:21:00.001-07:00

The White Stripes have a new album coming out June 18! AHH! This is awesome schnizzle! The first White Stripes song I heard was Seven Nation Army nearly 4 years ago and I have been in love with them ever since. The husband and wife duo have a very unique style and avoid recording with modern technology, but interestingly this tactic doesn't make their music sound outdated, but refreshingly original. It just sounds very, very cool. They sound like a four or five person band, but its just the two of them bringing their grinding pieces to fruition.

Their promotional song for their new album is Icky Thump, a song that leans on their familiar thick marching beat. I put in the playlist (-->) so you can listen to it if your wittle heart so desires...

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I saw 28 Weeks Later this weekend (my "cheat" review is to come) and it reminded me how much I enjoyed John Murphy's soundtrack from 28 Days Later, its prequel. His "rock band" music is back again in 28 Weeks Later and is just as fitting as ever. The film's theme song "In the House - In a Heartbeat" is in the playlist (-->)...if your wittle heart so desires.

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more eclecticism:
Last year I heard that Sufjan Stevens was going on tour. So I went to find out where, and alas, he was coming to Los Angeles...but the bastard had already sold out all 3 of his shows. I didn't cry, yet, but I was thoroughly bummed. A few weeks after his show though I came across a video of one of his performances. I watched it, and that's when I cried (figuratively). I missed out on a song he presented for the first time during the tour. The song, Majesty Snowbird, is incredibly beautiful. The quality in the video isn't that great because it is from a portable camcorder, so it gets a bit shrilly and has the atmosphere of a failing high school talent show performance at times. But just wait until it comes out on disc in full fledged surround sound. Angels are anticipating the day.

Majesty Snowbird - Sufjan Stevens

effective living

2007-05-19T00:16:00.000-07:00

"Get wisdom, get understanding;
do not forget my words or swerve from them." - Proverbs 4:5

I am just now beginning to understand the power of being intentional about the things that I do. My life up until now has merely been a string of circumstances, some good, some not so good, but all of which "just happened". Instead of taking responsibility for my actions, I have made a habit of pulling the "God's will"-card whenever I feel like I have lost control of something. And I usually, conveniently "lose control" when things aren't going well. That way, I don't have to take responsibility for my part in the equation of life. I just hand all the power over to God and say "Oh well, Your will be done"--a passive shift of responsibility.

But I think I get it now. God's will isn't so much an inescapable plan for my life as it is an optional source, or blueprint, that I have the choice of tapping into. When I accept his blueprint on which to create my life, the result is nothing short of majestic. An effective and beautiful way of living emerges gloriously like a sunrise in a world of darkness.

"The path of righteousness is like the first gleam of dawn,
shining ever brighter till the full light of day.
But the way of the wicked is like the deep darkness;
they do not know what makes them stumble." - Proverbs 4:18-19

I have not been righteous. I stumble often. And that isn't an accident. That is what I have chosen. In Proverbs 4:5 Solomon writes, "Get wisdom, get knowledge." If I want wisdom, if I want knowledge, I have to actually to go and get it and not sit around hoping that maybe someday it will just fall in my lap: "Hello, I am wisdom!"

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe describes what happens when we pursue righteousness:

"The moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred...unforeseen incidents, meetings, and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way."

God's will doesn't "just happen". I have to choose it. The guy next to me has to choose it. Everyone on the planet has to choose it. And when just one person chooses to build their life according to the blueprints of God, beautiful things happen and his glory shines through, piercing the darkness like a new sun, a new day.

I choose righteousness.

youtubeshot:perpetuum mobile

2007-05-17T06:32:00.000-07:00

by the Penguin Cafe Orchestra, BBC, 1989

youtube shot (healthier than coffee, I assure you.)

2007-05-16T05:35:00.000-07:00

righteous commercial.

homo show.

safe cocaine.

DOOMSDAY: really now...

2007-05-15T21:45:00.000-07:00

...5 years to save the world...

(I am going to be labeling all of my global warming posts "doomsday" from now on. I won't say much about whatever links, pictures, or quotes that I post because (1) I think they speak for themselves and (2) I'll start ranting insanely if I so much as begin to cogitate the evils of socialist-liberalism and its doom and gloom philosophies.)

Grindhouse (2007)

2007-05-11T23:07:00.000-07:00

What is it with Robert Rodriguez and testicles??

One of the main things that kept me from liking his Sin City was it's s-exploitability (particularly how women were portrayed). Sure, some of it was visually appealing and sometimes funny/disgusting during movie (who doesn't find some sort of satisfaction in seeing an evil, yellow creature get his manhood ripped from his body?) , but in the end you have to ask yourself, "Was that ~~completely~~ even minutely necessary?" It all really sums up to nothing but a crutch to appeal the juvenile in people like me. Although not nearly (as in miles away, but still there) as strongly as with Sin City, I felt similarly uneasy after Planet Terror, Rodriquez's first half installment in the double feature movie event Grindhouse.

I almost feel bad bringing up the negative first because I enjoyed the movie for the most part, but I feel worse because I cannot recommend the movie to very many people because of it's overtly twisted sexuality. If Sin City had been any good, I would have had the same problem recommending it, but it wasn't any good, so there was no problem there. But now we have Planet Terror: a good movie with a little bit of the same tendencies of Sin City that make you ponder the mental stability of the director. This makes it so much more difficult to talk positively about the film with that glaring discrepancy, but there were many positives amidst its few negatives, and therefore I am giving Rodriguez the benefit of the doubt this time because I had such a good time with his raucous, bloody concoction.

So with all that wishful "why testicles?" thinking aside, Planet Terror was an excellent, yet absolutely absurd, horror adventure. I wasn't expecting it to be quite as scary as it was. I jumped a few times, and held my breath in others. I probably found too much joy in the splatter festivities. When a prominent and gusto character unexpectedly gets blown to smithereens towards the end, I laughed harder than when Dory spoke whale in Disney's Finding Nemo four years ago...and that is saying alot. Rodriguez keeps the story moving forward so your mind never has a chance to wander. His film is a satisfying "on-purpose" blend of ridiculousness and seriousness that pays tribute to the "on-accident" blend of ridiculousness and seriousness characteristic of the first taboo, rebellious horror flicks of the twentieth century.

If you can handle a movie bloodier than anything you ever seen before, than I cautiously recommend it. It is a funny, often hilarious, over-the-top gritty film that packs enough punches to make a jock feel queasy and an emo-kid laugh. Otherwise, if you can't handle blood and the crushing, ripping, dropping, obliterating, eating, or cutting of body parts (some of which were never meant to see the light of day or roll across the wet asphalt of night) than avoid it with every fiber of your being. It is as bad as you can possibly imagine it to be, and it is as pointless and juvenile as that which it is paying homage.

-------

Quentin Tarantino. Death Proof. First of all, like before, let's get the negative out of the way. Tarantino needs a major mouth washing. I can deal with curse words. I use them sometimes, but seriously...the lip of some of the characters was exhausting, if not an all out verbal raping of my now not so virgin ears...

But...with that out of the way, Tarantino is a bloody genius. Where Planet Terror thrived off of the constant adrenaline rush of something happening, Death Proof thrives off the constant adrenaline of "nothing" happening. Like the calm before a storm, his film blows gusts of uneasiness our way, taunting us with the careful patience of the perpetrator just waiting to drop the giant rains and winds of chaos on an unexpecting town of commoners minding their own business.

I loved Death Proof.

The crackling dialogue and flowing cinematography had me giggling like a school girl. There is a scene in which the group of women are sitting in a diner talking, and the camera is continually moving around them. The technical challenge behind a scene like that dumbfounds me, and the result is simply enthralling. The car chase nearly made me crap my pants, both in the excitement of it all and the pure horror at the fact that what I was watching was for the most part actually happening. I wonder how many documents that girl had to sign that said "If you die, that's your fault, your family and/or dog cannot sue us." I'm glad she signed them, because her dramatic tango with death was great fun!

The ending of Death Proof was just too good to be true. I kept asking the person next to me if that actually just happened. He said it did, but I still don't believe him. Darn. Guess I have to go see it again...just to make sure...

Anyone?

Planet Terror: B
Death Proof: A-

P.S. There were fake trailers in between the two films, but the only one I remember specifically is Don't because it was funny.

flattery, gas, and chirpy, chirpy, birdie par

2007-05-08T22:30:00.000-07:00

I went to the union yesterday to get some papers filled out for work. The union representative said I look like Sanjaya.

"Who?" I said.

"Sanjaya," he said. "You know...that kid on American Idol."

"Who...I don't watch the show....?"

"Mr. Mohawk..."

"Oooh!...Really?"

"Ya, and you talk like him." (Gee, thanks. So I know I still have yet to hit puberty, but really now...)

Oh well, I am slightly flattered, I admit. We're alike in so many ways. He thinks too highly of himself. I think too highly of myself. I can't sing, and neither can he. He talks like Michael Jackson, he is unsure of himself, and he makes things awkward.

...alike in so many ways...

-------

In other off-the-cuff news today, I am going to try and stop peeling my nails. Unfortunately, that adventure looks dim and daunting because we don't have "Nail Peelers Anonymous" here in Orange County. I'm not sure I have the will power to withstand my urges. But I shall try somewhat valiantly to conquer this self-destructive behavior and put this phase of my life behind me like a trail of pestilent flatulence.

-------

I was watching golf on Sunday, which I rarely do, but it was on. And decided it was time to actually find out what a "birdie" is...

Bill Nye (the science guy): "DID YOU KNOW???"

birdie: a score of one stroke under par on a hole.
(thank you dictionary.com)

Um...what's "par"?

par: the number of strokes set as a standard for a specific hole or a complete course.
(thank you dictionary.com)

Bill Nye (the science guy): "NOW YOU KNOW!!!"

and just for kicks:

because its abba...

2007-05-07T23:49:00.000-07:00

...that's why.

according to our friendly neighborhood environmental nazis...

2007-05-07T23:10:00.000-07:00

traveling is a sin:
http://travel.guardian.co.uk/article/2007/may/06/travelnews.climatechange?print

you are a virus:
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21684156-5009760,00.html

your babies are bad for the environment:
http://www.businessandmedia.org/articles/2007/20070506180903.aspx

the shins

2007-05-07T23:03:00.000-07:00

Check them out if you haven't heard of them. Here they are in all their freakish glory:

How can you not listen to a band with a promotional photo like that?

Suggestions: Sleeping Lessons (see playlist --->), A Comet Appears, We Will Become Silhouettes, and Girl Inform Me

Dunst admits sins against humanity...

2007-05-01T22:04:00.000-07:00

Ok, I am only joking. Her acting isn't that bad. I did like her in Eternal Sunshine and Marie Antoinette, but the fact that she has come right out and blatantly admitted (bad, bad idea) her lack of believability leaves one to ponder how much effort she actually puts into her job. She has now officially wiped off the on-and-off again "ditz" ink stamp on her forehead and replaced it with a permanent tattoo. She just doesn't seem to get it. There is something airy about her. Her success seems like an accident or an elaborate joke to be revealed by some mischievous, snickering angels in heaven.

But who knows, she could just be hot.

"I just forgive myself for bad acting when it comes to those things." - Kirsten Dunst, in reference to the "blue-screen stuff"

across the universe

2007-05-01T21:53:00.000-07:00

"Music is the only thing that makes any sense anymore man. Play it loud enough, it keeps the demons at bay."

I saw this trailer in front of The Hoax this weekend. The music blew me away. Although aesthetically a pleasant ripoff of Moulin Rouge, I am apprehensive about the movie as a whole because it wreaks with irresponsible hippie attitudes. But I am 100% sure that I'll be buying the soundtrack the day it comes out. I love the Beatles, and these renditions of their songs are beyond beautiful, particularly "Hey Jude" (my second favorite Beatles song behind "Yellow Submarine").

So stoked.

"Hey Jude, don't make it bad.
Take a sad song and make it better.
Remember to let her into your heart,
Then you can start to make it better."

"mutt"

2007-05-01T21:42:00.001-07:00

My cracker friends tease me
because I am whiter than they.
I get called "brotha" on the street
and I don't know what to say.
Oreo I may be.
A betrayal for all the world to see.
But it's not my fault, brotha,
That I had a white mother.
There's no changing or erasing
the mutt that is me.

I wrote that in a journal entry for one of my classes at school. Haha.

the artist/art divide

2007-04-30T23:30:00.000-07:00

Last summer I spent a weekend at my great aunt's house in Visalia, CA (near Fresno) because of some financial problems with my grandma's sister's niece. Ya, its complicated, messy, and all that jazz, but thankfully all I had to do was drive and look pretty, so I didn't have to deal with all the paper and phone calls. Well, with nothing to do (seriously, only the God of Sarah could make the place less barren) my sister and I decided to go see a movie. While we were trying to decide what to see, one of my family members decided to chime in: "You can't see War of the Worlds, I won't allow you, I'm boycotting that film because Tom Cruise is in it."

"That's ok," I said, "I've already seen it anyway. I didn't like it."

"Good," they replied.

This is way back when Tom Cruise went couch hopping on Oprah and everything he said was either about Scientology or Katie Holmes and her openness to Scientology. So this person was either reacting unfavorably to his Scientology antics or his woman antics. If I thought it worth it, I would have continued the conversation and found out which, but I could immediately see that their emotional stance would have gotten in the way of a possibly enriching dialogue. So I just let them do their thing.

The reason I bring this up is because of a recent article I read at Christianity Today Online about one of the actor's in last year's movie End of the Spear. The movie is about the five missionaries who were speared to death in the quest to evangelize a tribe in jungles of Ecuador. I haven't seen the movie, so I can't comment on its merit, but I do have a few words to say about the gay actor Chad Allen who took the role of one the five missionaries. Ya that's right, gay. The article, titled "Christian Studio Explains Hiring of Gay Actor", was written to... well, explain the hiring of a gay actor.

And I think they do that quite well. But the bone I am eager to pick is the fact that they had to explain it at all. We Christians can be so egotistical at times. Our "greater-than-though" demeanor is the reason so many people don't give Christianity a second thought. And why should they? If we are always huddled in our holy buildings talking about how lost "those sinners" are out there and how much they need us and our message, we are bound to eventually piss them off.

I may not agree with the lifestyle of Chad Allen, but since when has anyone's life really been "agreeable". Mine certainly isn't. And, dare I say, your's isn't too shiny either. So to suggest that a sinner can not be a part of the declaration of love, goodness, truth, and beauty is to suggest that the whole world shut up.

For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. - Romans 3:23

To say that a sinner, a homosexual in this case, has nothing of value to contribute to the world is a statement based on nothing but discomfort and hate. We don't like the idea that a homosexual might have something to say or show us that might be enlightening, so we just label him an outcast. We avoid talking to them, and distance ourselves from them in hopes that they will never come around and make us feel uncomfortable or wary.

I am a fan of classical music. All music really, but especially classical. Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake and Piano Concerto No. 1 are absolutely beautiful, and I have yet to find someone to disagree with me. But Tchaikovsky was a homosexual. So that's it. Your kids can never listen to Tchaikovsky again.

And while were at it, why don't we just take all of Michael Jackson's records and burn them in our back yards whilst chanting "Jackson's going to hell!!!" like good little soldiers of God.

The Passion of the Christ, a movie about the very act that has given humanity a ticket out of the fiery lake of hell, was created by a self-proclaimed drunk. Mel Gibson.

A lying and conniving drug addict has brought many people to Christ. Ted Haggard.

And some of the greatest men (and writers) of the Bible were liars, adulterers, polygamists, and murderers who went on to become warriors of God that put most of us to shame.

Am I suggesting that we overlook sin? Absolutely not, but we also shouldn't overlook God's knack of using the most sinful of us all for some of his greatest of achievements. Boycotting a movie because an actor's life isn't the way we'd like it to be is just as foolish as boycotting books of the Bible because some its writers' lives were not the way we would have liked them to be.

As far as my venture to the theater that day, we ended up seeing Fantastic Four. Oy vey! I would much rather have seen the disappointedly mediocre War of the Worlds again...

"Al Gore's 'Inconvenient Oops'" - dave burchett

2007-04-15T23:15:00.000-07:00

Excellent post. It put me in my place.

hobbits

2007-04-15T19:16:00.000-07:00

So this is been out for a while now, but just in case you haven't seen it, you need to so that you can appreciate the even funnier second clip.

This second clip had my cousin and me on the floor:

And now, the entire trilogy in 15 seconds!!!

Fellowship:

Two Towers:

Return of the King:

Blades of Glory (2007)

2007-04-15T19:03:00.000-07:00

I didn't think I was going to like Blades of Glory. I could see myself possibly hating it. But, its Will Ferrel...and I have a soft spot for him and his foolishness, so I went.

And I laughed nearly the entire time. The hokeyness of it all was just too good for me not to. Everything wreaked with absolute absurdity from the very beginning and never delved into trying to be serious. I dedicated nearly 8 years of my life to the sport, and still watch it on television, so I can say with confidence that the parody was spot on. The cameos were a nice touch, as well. The only person I didn't see though, and wanted to, was Dick Button. He's my favorite commentator. He always has something to say, and he always says it...and his name is funny. I also saw a few skaters in the background who I used to skate with on a daily basis, and I haven't seen them in yeeears. They look so different now...aww...nostalgia...

Be forewarned, though, it is a bit on the sexually blunt side of things, so it isn't a movie I'd sit down with my family and watch. But even with the few blatant "that's just wrong" moments, it was a nice trip down hardy-har-har-lane.

If an hour and a half of utter ridiculousness is your fancy, its worth it.

B

The Lookout (2007)

2007-04-15T18:48:00.000-07:00

Why isn't this at the top of the box office? Seriously, if there ever was an independent-esque film that needed to be marketed like a mainstream blockbuster, it is this one.

Its a funny, sexy, intensely satisfying bank robbery drama about a handicapped young man (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Brick) reclaiming his life with the help of a blind man (Jeff Daniels, The Squid and the Whale). Gordon-Levitt? Daniels? What's not to like?

Scott Frank, the screenwriter who penned such classics as Get Shorty, Out of Sight, and Minority Report, gives us a wonderful screenplay that doesn't resort to the ultimate of cliches in regards to bank robbery movies: there is no twist ending. Adam Kempenaar of the Filmspotting Podcast said he "kept expecting with this crime movie there to be some big twist reveal at the end." I was as well. And if anything, Frank's straight forward approach is a twist ending in and of itself because of our expectations.

It is a wonderful film with some excellent dialogues between Gordon-Levitt and Daniels that "you just have fun listening to" (Kempenaar). It was fun. And I plan on watching it again on DVD.

A

TMNT (2007)

2007-04-15T18:27:00.000-07:00

Explanation: my cousin wanted to see it, I said I wouldn't pay to see it, he said he'd pay, so I reluctantly went. It was terrible.

D

the road goes ever on and on

2007-04-15T18:02:00.000-07:00

Its been a long two weeks. I had several speeches, two huge writing assignments, two all-nighters because of them, a car accident (thankfully not my fault) that will likely result in my car being totaled, and a few mental breakdowns here and there because of all the aforementioned tolls on my cardiac muscles and brain synapses.

I could go on and on (seriously, I am an excellent complainer) and talk about how crappy the week was in detail, but I won't, because there were good times (some transcendental) amidst the flood of insanity.

My car accident was on Thursday night, the day before Good Friday, and I spent all night after the accident doing one of my assignments. I didn't sleep at all. Obviously, I had much to moan about on Friday. And that's basically all I did for the whole day, until I finally realized that Jesus was up all night praying and sweating blood in his earnestness and didn't just have to go to school and work the next day. He had to save the freakin' world (us) from itself and its inherent stupidity. He didn't complain, even though he could have. He didn't stop it, even though he could have. He had a job to do, and he did it.

I was at work when I finally understood my absolute selfishness. I asked to take a break, and locked myself in the bathroom and contemplated how easy it had become for the things of this world to discourage me. I was sad for a few minutes, but quickly converted to an attitude of thankfulness and forgiveness, and spent the rest of my shift relishing in the company my fellow coworkers. I no longer hated my teacher for giving me that assignment. I was thankful that I was still alive after my accident. But most of all, I was thankful that I, instead of being whipped to shreds, pierced with nails, and hung on a cross to die, only had 4 classes to go to (one of which I chose to dose off in) and five hours of work in the afternoon. Hardly a reverberation to be had in comparison to that of Jesus' day of Crucifixion.

That evening I chose to sit down and watch The Passion of the Christ. I had been avoiding doing this on Good Friday that past few years because I thought it was a bit cliche to do so. But after watching it, it was anything but. I've seen it about 4 times now, but the movie is still as powerful as the first time I saw it several years ago. The scene where Mary runs to Jesus and He says "See, Mother, I make all things new" and then stands up and embraces the Cross...that is the most powerful scene in the movie for me. Mel Gibson rightly calls it the "hero shot". It is a beautiful harmony of sight, sound, and context that represents His valour in completing his task (for my benefit) as given to him by the Father. It is unequivocally beautiful.

I slept for 13 hours that night, did some homework on Saturday, and went to the theater to see TMNT (there is an explanation for this travesty, later though) and The Lookout. Easter was a highlight. After an early morning, outdoor service, I went out to my aunt and uncle's place in Corona, ate some delicious food and spent the afternoon playing Phase 10, hiding eggs, and perusing the addictive archives of Youtube with my cousin. Hilarity ensued, as usual, and I went home with some stronger abs due to laughing. See? Youtube is healthy!

The week that followed, this past week, was busy, but nice. The new episode of Lost was magnificent and aggravating at the same time. The ending sent me into a tizzy fit for a few hours. I was duped, I admit, and now I'm pissed. Also, I basically quit my job. Starting in two weeks, I will only be working 5 hours a week as opposed to the 30 that I am working now. I did this for several reasons. One, I will have some time to study for finals when they come around. Two, if a job opportunity arises in which they need someone immediately, I can take it. And three, if I don't have a different job by summer, I can start working full time again at the one I have now. I hope number three never comes to pass though.

And last night, I went to see Blades of Glory. And I saw Grindhouse a few hours ago.

A long two weeks, but a rewarding two.

Planet Earth

2007-03-27T08:23:00.000-07:00

There is no such thing as essential television. As much as I enjoy shows like Lost and The Office and yes, even Grey's Anatomy (the shame!), they aren't essential. But the Discovery Channel has this new show, Planet Earth, and it is about as close to essential television as we've ever gotten before.

Discovery Channel had been advertising it for a while, but I didn't really pay much attention. Most everything on the Discovery Channel is good (Mythbusters, Dirty Jobs "I can smell it nooow!", and...Mythbusters :)), so I just assumed that Planet Earth would be one of their above average every day documentaries. And because of that assumption, I decided not to make the effort to seek it out on Sunday night. Thankfully, though, it sought me out. I came across it at about ten minutes after it started and was stopped dead in my channel surfing tracks. The show was immediately captivating. I have never gotten so much of a Discovery Channel high (which happens often) as I did watching Planet Earth. The show captures and reminds us of the massiveness, complexity, and beauty of God's creation. It is a spiritual experience if you're not too cynical to allow it to be.

"Well of course its going to be captivating!" you say. "Its planet earth we're talking about here!"

Yes, yes it is. Hence the name of the show. But, trust me and trust the Discovery Channel advertisers, "Prepare to see it as never before." Seriously, prepare yourself. If you are a nature geek, strap yourself down. You may become violent with enthusiasm and inadvertently take everyone down around you. No fun for them. If watching on a hard surface, place a pillow down so that your jaw doesn't shatter upon impact. And if, just by chance, you happen to be a crack addict reading this blog (I wouldn't be a bit surprised), consider this your lucky day! I beg of you, resist the urge to shoot cocaine before watching the show, because between the crack and the show, you will OD and die. And the worst part of that is you'll miss the next week's episode. Tragedy!

...prepare yourself...

Discovery Channel
Sunday nights at 8.

children of men

2007-03-24T23:58:00.000-07:00

My second favorite film (the first being United 93) of last year, Children of Men, comes out tuesday on DVD. Do whatever you can to get your hands on it. Buy it, rent it, or, if you have no money, steal it from a gleaming film snob walking out of Walmart. He will probably weep and go into a state of depression and anxiety for a few minutes and then finally go in and buy another one, but its all good. He will eventually come to terms with the traumatic experience and sooth himself with the thought that he too would viciously yank the film out of another film snob's hands if he had no money to buy it for himself.

You have no excuses.

get fuzzy

2007-03-24T23:53:00.000-07:00

Lost

2007-03-21T23:25:00.000-07:00

Lost was amazing this week. The writers seem to be bringing back the signature wonder of the show that has unfortunately been missing for most of this season. The emotional and ironic dance between Locke and Ben was excellent. Locke is my favorite character, so having an entire episode devoted to him that answered so many questions while raising so many more was a hay day.

The thing that makes this show work is the fact that it is character driven. Not only are the writers of the show focusing on the development of the characters, but a few of the characters themselves seem to be focusing (almost as if its their job) on other characters' development. For me, so far, the island feels like a sort of purgatory where people are taken to figure out their problems and be challenged, and then let go once they "get it". I know its not that simple, but the whole thing has a "rehab" vibe to it. Every character has a mountain to climb, and the sooner they climb it, the sooner they get to leave victoriously.

But I really have no idea what is going on...and I kind of like it that way for now.

Pirates

2007-03-20T23:58:00.000-07:00

pirates' trailer.

Let's rock the seas, shall we?

ching chong rosie

2007-03-13T02:08:00.001-07:00

A Night to Remember (1958)

2007-03-08T00:06:00.000-08:00

I happened to come across the movie A Night to Remember while channel surfing last night. I caught it just as it was starting. I've wanted to see it for some time now. It is the second film of four about the sinking of the Titanic in April of 1912. I have heard that the first film version from 1953 is not very noteworthy. And the third I had not even heard of until tonight when I looked it up. Apparently, in 1996, there was another theatrical release version starring Catherine Zeta-Jones. Who knew? It must have been pretty awful, because it only grossed 13,000,000 at the box office. Compare that to James Cameron's 1.8 billion world wide grossing in his version a year later. I'm not suggesting that the amount a film grosses has anything to do with its merit, but Cameron must have been onto something that the Zeta-Jones version clearly missed.

Although I have bagged on Cameron's 1997 version quite a bit over the years, I have recently come to appreciate some of the beauty in it. The relationship between Jack and Rose still bothers me a little bit because it just doesn't belong there, but the movie otherwise has some qualities, particularly Cameron's action sequence technique that probably shouldn't be enthralling considering the subject matter. But it is just that: enthralling. The spectacle quality of the film was the "Lord of the Rings" of the day. It was groundbreaking in its size and wonder, and still holds much of that wonder now in 2007. Add to that a magnificent score (which so many people hate, but I love) and you've got yourself the stepping stones of a beautiful movie. Unfortunately, Cameron mistook the basics stepping stones as a bridge to the other side of the gargantuan river known as film making. Spectacle sells, but if you want film geeks to respect you for centuries, you've got to have some meaningful focus.

A Night to Remember has that focus. It wastes no time getting into the meat of things. Within 25 minutes, the ship has hit the iceberg, and men are playing ice soccer on deck. Things play out much like they did in Cameron's version, with the only big and important exception being the added dimension of the communication (or lack thereof) between the Titanic, the Carpathia, and the foolish crew of the Californian. This is a major plot point missing in Cameron's version. Few people know that the Californian was only ten miles away from the Titanic as it sank and could very well have gotten there on time to save almost every life. In fact, they had stopped for the night because of icebergs (imagine that) and could see the Titanic's lights from where they were. They saw the distress rockets, and even logged their notebooks when the Titanic seemingly disappeared from the horizon. Not only that, they had turned off their radio earlier in the evening so all of the distress calls never reached them. Talk about waking up the next morning to some major regrets. None of this was in Cameron's version. 'Tis ashame, because that very well could have made his version a near masterpiece, if only he could have gotten over the rather un-rapturing love story. If he had focused more on the historical figures and done more research, he would have had so many stories to tell that Jack and Rose would have been made extras sitting in deck chairs. (sidenote: probably the greatest achievement of Cameron's Titanic is the thrusting into stardom of Leonardo Dicaprio and Kate Winslet, two incredible performers; unfortunately their characters don't matter that much in this movie.)

That said, I enjoyed A Night to Remember immensely. The fact that it is black and white didn't hinder it a bit. I've always had a liking for black and white movies anyway. And as I've said, it includes the stories of the other ships involved that evening, which thoroughly enhances the story line and makes it so much more of a historical piece than its successor. It may not have the sweeping camera moves and the glorious music of James Horner, but it does have a well researched back bone. This historical accuracy pays in my book. Fluff is nice, but not nearly as important to me as story. Story, story, story. So I guess I can't blame James Cameron entirely, now can I? I mean, his screenwriter is just as much to blame as he is, if not much more. Oh wait, Cameron was the screenwriter. Wow, it is all his fault! No scape goat there.

Titanic (1997) B
A Night to Remember (1958) A-

Interesting fact:
"The Carpathia docked at Pier 54 at Little West 12th Street in New York with the survivors. It arrived at night and was greeted by thousands of people. The Titanic had been headed for Pier 59 at 20th Street. The Carpathia dropped off the empty Titanic lifeboats at Pier 59, as property of the White Star Line, before unloading the survivors at Pier 54." - (wikipedia)

warm peaches

2007-03-03T01:51:00.000-08:00

I ate the warm peaches
the peaches of James' giant pursuit
the pursuit of the world of the out there
the out there of nowhere
the nowhere within
the within of the contented
the contented of savoriness
the savoriness of the cold rejected
the warm peaches
the peaches
I ate them

naked wizard

2007-02-24T11:36:00.000-08:00

"It wasn't a question of horsing around when Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe took to the London stage in all his glory. The 17-year-old truly impressed with a bravura full-frontal display that earned him a standing ovation.

For his first leading role in the West End, Radcliffe chose Peter Shaffer's 34-year-old play Equus, where he plays a stable boy being treated by a psychiatrist for blinding six horses with a hoof pick." - Daily Mail, James Tapper (warning: blurred nudity)

Quickly, without delving into an arduous argument on the subjectiveness of nudity, am I the only person who seems put off by an entire room of people applauding a naked man for his nakedness? I'm not against nudity altogether (some of my favorite films have nudity in them), but this just wreaks with strange, perverted tendencies. I'd feel the same way if Radcliffe were ten years older; his age is not what has me confused and bumbling for explanatory words. Something is off, and I'm not quite sure if it is the ostentatious Radcliffe, his probing audience, or the futile meshing of both. I just don't get it. I don't get the applause. It seems awkward.

And I hate awkward.

Titanic: The Sequel

2007-02-24T00:15:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure what is more pathetic: the life of the person who took the time to make that trailer, or my strong (and scary) desire to see the movie it could be.

busy weekend

2007-02-18T22:34:00.000-08:00

This weekend was quite exciting. I had a few exams on friday, worked that afternoon, went to a movie, worked on Saturday, ran errands, went airsofting that afternoon and evening, went to the Chrystal Cathedral on Sunday morning, and then had a surprise birthday party for my grandma in Pasadena, which was complicated. My grandma didn't want to go anywhere. So I had to convince her to go visit my sister in Pasadena. And then, once I did that, I had to convince her to wear something nice. And then, when we finally got there, I had to "get lost" and drive around for about 20 minutes because the preparers of the party weren't ready for her arrival yet. It was more stressful than I ever expected it to be, and I now hate giving surprise birthday parties more than I have ever hated receiving them.

So I am tired, and think maybe I'm going to go take a shower and read. No school tomorrow!

Goodnight.

airsofting

2007-02-18T01:59:00.000-08:00

I went airsofting yesterday. It was fun.

cinco/siete/cinco

2007-02-08T23:12:00.000-08:00

haikus are the best
haikus are voluptuous
haikus should not rhyme

first post (cause I've never written a post before...)

2007-01-28T17:11:00.000-08:00

Having a blog is so pretentious...I am pretentious...and to prove it, I'm going start using this thing again. Also, because you need to know, I am going to go do my homework.

book recommendations

2001-01-01T00:00:00.003-08:00

to come...

music recommendations

2001-01-01T00:00:00.002-08:00

-------

With an excellent Pirates score release this past week, I decided to devote my first entry to Hans Zimmer and Stephen Schwartz's The Prince of Egypt (1998) collaboration. Hans Zimmer's score contributions are beautiful, particularly "The Burning Bush", a haunting track that perfectly captures the exhilarating, but gentle, brilliance and intrigue of God. Stephen Schwartz contributes some powerful songs to the soundtrack, "Deliver Us" being the highlight. Coming in a close second, "When You Believe" builds from a gentle prayer to a illustrious exclamation of the freedom found when one believes in releasing power of God.

"Ashirra ladonai ki gaoh gaah!
(I will sing to the lord for he has triumphed gloriously!)"

The Prince of Egypt is an excellent soundtrack that boasts the best of both Hans Zimmer and Stephen Schwartz. (06/06/07)

-------

2007 film chronicle

2001-01-01T00:00:00.001-08:00

* - denotes first viewing
italics - DVD/VHS

April 7 -- TMNT*
April 7 -- The Lookout*
April 15 -- Blades of Glory*
April 16 -- Grindhouse*
April 20 -- Hot Fuzz*

May 4 -- Spiderman 3*
May 4 -- Disturbia*
May 16 -- Bobby (2006)*
May 16 -- Little Children (2006)*
May 18 -- Idiocracy (2006)*
May 18 -- The Fountain (2006)*
May 19 -- 28 Weeks Later*
May 20 -- Jackass: The Movie (2006)*
May 21 -- Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
May 22 -- Marie Antionette (2006)
May 25 -- Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End*
May 29 -- Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
May 30 -- Knocked Up*

June 9 -- Knocked Up
June 10 -- Barton Fink (1991)*
June 12 -- Rushmore (1998)*
June 17 -- Rushmore (1998)
June 17 -- Watership Down (1978)*
June 18 -- Grave of the Fireflies (1988)*

June 27 - Mulholland Drive (2001)*
July 8 -- Ratatouille*
July 8 -- Transformers*
July 13 -- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (IMAX)*
July 14 -- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
July 16 -- Ran (1985)* (part of it)
July 17 -- Ikiru (1952)*
July 18 -- Harry Potter and the Prizoner of Azkaban (2004)

film review archive

2001-01-01T00:00:00.000-08:00

- I don't have time to write about every film I see, so I'm setting this up so I can score them without writing much (if anything) on them. Since editing this, I have changed a few of my film scores in order to better fit into the ~~developed~~ ripped-off structure (thank you Jeffrey Overstreet).

A+ :: bloody paradigm
A :: almost a bloody paradigm
A- :: distinguished

B+ :: excellent
B :: impressive
B- :: above average

C+ :: more interesting than boring
C :: more boring than interesting
C- :: butt-numbing nuisance
D :: rubbish
F :: wtf?

bold = favorite

#
-------
28 Days Later [2003] :: A
28 Weeks Later [2007] :: A-

A -------

B -------
Barton Fink [1991] :: A-
Blades of Glory [2007] :: B+
Bobby [2006] :: B

C -------

D -------
Disturbia [2007] :: B+

E -------

F -------
The Fountain [2006] :: B

G -------
Grindhouse [2007]
---Planet Terror :: B
---Death Proof :: A

H -------
Harry Potter
---Sorcerer's Stone :: eventually...
---Chamber of Secrets :: eventually...
---Prizoner of Azkaban :: A-
---Goblet of Fire :: B
---Order of the Phoenix :: B+
Hot Fuzz [2007] :: A-

I -------
Idiocracy [2006] :: C

J -------
Jackass: The Movie [2007] :: B-

K -------
Knocked Up [2007] :: A-

L -------
Little Children [2007] :: B+
The Lookout [2007] :: A

M -------
Marie Antoinette [2006] :: A-

N -------
A Night to Remember [1958] :: B+

O -------

P -------
Pan's Labyrinth [2007]
---first viewing :: B
---second viewing :: A-
Pirates of the Caribbean [2003, 2006, 2007]
---Curse of the Black Pearl :: B+
---Dead Man's Chest :: B
---At World's End :: C

Q -------

R -------
Ratatouille [2007] :: A+
Rushmore [1998] :: A

S -------
Spiderman [2002] :: A-
Spiderman 2 [2004] :: A+
Spiderman 3 [2007] :: B-

T -------
Titanic [1997] :: B
TMNT [2007] :: C

U -------

V -------

W -------

X -------

Y -------

Z -------

ABOUT

1985-01-18T00:01:00.000-08:00

*until Google creates a better way for bloggers to create "about" pages, this will have to do*

Raymond Edison

Who Am I?
I am currently a student earning my degree in accounting. I like books and talking about them. I like to watch movies about sad, pathetic, human beings becoming happy, non-pathetic, quasi-heroes. It makes me hopeful.

Where Am I?
Southern California.

Why Do I Have a Blog?
Because that is what selfish bastards who want attention do.

I live a mostly self-inflicted tragic life with a few mental deformities here and there for comedic effect.

agreekgod [at] gmail [dot] com

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2007 film chronicle - what I've been watching

film review archive - I don't have time to write about every film I see, so I'm setting this up so I can score them without writing much (if anything) on them. Since editing this, I have changed a few of my film scores in order to better fit into the ~~developed~~ ripped-off structure (thank you Jeffrey Overstreet).

music recommendations - I am a soundtrack whore. I'll update this whenever I go out and pay to get laid (by the music, of course) or happen to be getting the mentioned euphoric service from the soundtracks I already own.

book recommendations - This will rarely get updated because I rarely have time to read, but when I do read something that I like or remember having read something that I liked, I will put it in here. I rarely finish reading something I am not enjoying, so those that I put in here are recommendations, and any "must-reads" will be marked clearly.