zzzttt
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
the return
i went swimming today and boy was it wonderful. at least until clouds starting coming in. actually, first i worked out a little and ran in our apartment’s workout room. then i went home to change, then went back to the swimming pool and laid out for a bit. it is all so conveniently wonderful. i've had this routine three days in a row now and sort of feel like a celebrity. not many people are afforded the time to to just kick back like i've been doing. but before you call me any names, i have also been working my tail off getting our apartment in order. on any given day i'll run about a dozen errands. our apartment is the building right next to the clubhouse so we have it made. way back in the day if i wanted to run it had to be outside, tanning involved going a few blocks to the park, and swimming was never an option unless i paid to swim in a the community piss pool. of course the pool will be closing soon i’m sure since summer seems to be winding down unfortunately. didn’t it just start? either way school starts in about two weeks so that will probably take up most of my leisure time. the place is great though. better than expected. our second story view of the parking lot turns out being a view of mountains galore. i’m sure we can see from boulder probably down past golden. and what sunsets this state has to offer.
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006): a nascar natural goes from #1 to nothing, then realizes the importance of family and blah blah. i would never have seen this had i not been such an amazing friend willing to see crappy movies to please my people. as i expected it was very funny. so many times though there would be a big punchline, but then dialogue would start right up and the audience would miss whatever they were saying because the laughing was continuing on. you can blame a combonation of editing and the writers for that one. if it matters to you, which it may, 97 percent of teh humor is pretty crude and i thought that a good chunk of the jokes were quite sacrilegious, specifically all the mentions of "baby jesus". they also ripped on the french way too much and for that reason alone i'm dropping my grade of this movie. it was funny and entertaining and there are lots of great characters. and my hat's off to the work that was done to make the races look awesome with the cool fx and camera work. you get a lot of awesome perspectives you would just never see watching nascar. not that i watch that ridiculous sport. if you can stand the crude and blasphemous humor, see it.
flawed but worth seeing, C+.
the trip to california for the funeral was surely something to remember. emily and i drove out together and we get to a little outside of vegas when i realize i’ve lost my wallet, i think, somewhere outside of st. george. i mean, how crappy is that? i haven’t lost a wallet since high school. so we had to make the two hour trek back and after a bit of a scare, the gas attendants were finally able to produce my long lost wallet, unscathed. and off we went. we got into colton kind of late that night and met up at my grandpa’s house with mom, chris, and little joey. i remember that night kind of getting into it with mom about grandpa’s things and his will and other people involved. i suppose the night before the funeral isn’t the best time to be bringing all that crap up but i promise i had no intention of letting it get that far. i think i was just overwhelmed and frustrated like the next person. either way, after a little heatedness, joe and i headed up to our hotel for the night. on the way over kim called me and gave me some rather startling news. more on that later. the hotel was great. we stayed at the holiday inn express and were definitely satisfied. the downtime joe and i had together was awesome. he and i bonded and spent more time together that weekend than as long as i can remember. i don't think that sentence makes sense, but you get the point. truly one of the highlights of the trip.
our apartment is coming along so nicely. as far as décor, it looks nothing like our old placed. i’ve really tried to change it up as best as i can. all yesterday i worked on our bar swivel chair that was my grandpa’s. my aunt linda and uncle larry bought it for my grandpa and grandma for their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary probably some time in the 50s, so everyone in the family has some memory or two, or three, sitting on the chair in the kitchen. i remember sitting there seeing my grandma next to me shortly before she died. it means a lot that i have it and i’m trying to get it looking respectable once again. boy was it filthy. i spent many hours yesterday taking it apart and cleaning the wooden part of it. there are metal parts that are badly spotted and i’ve tried that clr crap but it didn’t work. if anyone has any ideas, please send them this way. how does one make metal pretty again? today i hope to get around to painting it. i worked on it most of the day on our balcony (have i mentioned the view?) and it seems as though our apartment is on some trade route or migratory flight path for wasps. there is a small dormant nest in one of our vents out there, however these i think were coming from the mailbox downstairs. we saw a gazillion of them flying in and out of the unused box out there the first day we got here. these conditions were hardly ideal for spending hours out there. at one point i’d have three wasps flying all around me before i’d run off screaming to get inside. to this day i haven’t been stung by anything and i certainly wasn’t about to then. so off to safeway i go. i returned to the balcony with the new name of death. every five or so minutes a wasp would enter my domain and would receive a spray of my poison. i battled with all the might i had and only ran back in the house a couple of times when their sneak attacks would overwhelm me. using my grandpa’s chair as my shield and raid as my sword, one by one they fell and after destroying maybe ten of them i headed down to their nest and four more lay slain. time will tell today if i truly was the victor.
it's good to have the internet again.
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006): a nascar natural goes from #1 to nothing, then realizes the importance of family and blah blah. i would never have seen this had i not been such an amazing friend willing to see crappy movies to please my people. as i expected it was very funny. so many times though there would be a big punchline, but then dialogue would start right up and the audience would miss whatever they were saying because the laughing was continuing on. you can blame a combonation of editing and the writers for that one. if it matters to you, which it may, 97 percent of teh humor is pretty crude and i thought that a good chunk of the jokes were quite sacrilegious, specifically all the mentions of "baby jesus". they also ripped on the french way too much and for that reason alone i'm dropping my grade of this movie. it was funny and entertaining and there are lots of great characters. and my hat's off to the work that was done to make the races look awesome with the cool fx and camera work. you get a lot of awesome perspectives you would just never see watching nascar. not that i watch that ridiculous sport. if you can stand the crude and blasphemous humor, see it.
flawed but worth seeing, C+.
the trip to california for the funeral was surely something to remember. emily and i drove out together and we get to a little outside of vegas when i realize i’ve lost my wallet, i think, somewhere outside of st. george. i mean, how crappy is that? i haven’t lost a wallet since high school. so we had to make the two hour trek back and after a bit of a scare, the gas attendants were finally able to produce my long lost wallet, unscathed. and off we went. we got into colton kind of late that night and met up at my grandpa’s house with mom, chris, and little joey. i remember that night kind of getting into it with mom about grandpa’s things and his will and other people involved. i suppose the night before the funeral isn’t the best time to be bringing all that crap up but i promise i had no intention of letting it get that far. i think i was just overwhelmed and frustrated like the next person. either way, after a little heatedness, joe and i headed up to our hotel for the night. on the way over kim called me and gave me some rather startling news. more on that later. the hotel was great. we stayed at the holiday inn express and were definitely satisfied. the downtime joe and i had together was awesome. he and i bonded and spent more time together that weekend than as long as i can remember. i don't think that sentence makes sense, but you get the point. truly one of the highlights of the trip.
our apartment is coming along so nicely. as far as décor, it looks nothing like our old placed. i’ve really tried to change it up as best as i can. all yesterday i worked on our bar swivel chair that was my grandpa’s. my aunt linda and uncle larry bought it for my grandpa and grandma for their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary probably some time in the 50s, so everyone in the family has some memory or two, or three, sitting on the chair in the kitchen. i remember sitting there seeing my grandma next to me shortly before she died. it means a lot that i have it and i’m trying to get it looking respectable once again. boy was it filthy. i spent many hours yesterday taking it apart and cleaning the wooden part of it. there are metal parts that are badly spotted and i’ve tried that clr crap but it didn’t work. if anyone has any ideas, please send them this way. how does one make metal pretty again? today i hope to get around to painting it. i worked on it most of the day on our balcony (have i mentioned the view?) and it seems as though our apartment is on some trade route or migratory flight path for wasps. there is a small dormant nest in one of our vents out there, however these i think were coming from the mailbox downstairs. we saw a gazillion of them flying in and out of the unused box out there the first day we got here. these conditions were hardly ideal for spending hours out there. at one point i’d have three wasps flying all around me before i’d run off screaming to get inside. to this day i haven’t been stung by anything and i certainly wasn’t about to then. so off to safeway i go. i returned to the balcony with the new name of death. every five or so minutes a wasp would enter my domain and would receive a spray of my poison. i battled with all the might i had and only ran back in the house a couple of times when their sneak attacks would overwhelm me. using my grandpa’s chair as my shield and raid as my sword, one by one they fell and after destroying maybe ten of them i headed down to their nest and four more lay slain. time will tell today if i truly was the victor.
it's good to have the internet again.
Monday, August 07, 2006
the colorado move: part ii
well this is it. we are loading the truck now and about to take apart the computer. i'm back from the trip to california and what a roller coaster of emotions that was. such an amazing time though. there is so much to say that i'm not sure where to start. sadly it will have to wait. our stuff will be moved out tomorrow and we will be out there the next day or so. anyway, my mind is racing with so much i have to say. hopefully i can find the time once i get out there to get it all out. hopefully i will remember it all. so, i guess i'll see you in colorado.
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
the last shift
myspace sucks because 90 percent of this weekend i couldn't log into it because it was down. myspace sucks because the login has to be an entire email address and not just a unique word or something. myspace sucks because it can't remember your password on your computer.
Lady in the Water (2006): a water nymph thing (narf) is trying to get back to her own world or something, but before the eagle can come and take her away, she must first get past the wolf made of sod. sounds crazy, i know. so most of the time while i am watching this unfold, i'm thinking that m. night is going to pull a fast one on us as usual and this ridiculous story will all make sense in the end. but no, it is what it is. there are no cool twists and turns or big revelations or surprises at the end. so right off the bat, don't expect an ending like any of his other movies. i guess the closest it comes to is signs. anyway, the story is set in some apartment complex that seems to be completely cut off from the rest of the world. most of the movie is a stupid mystery game to try and figure out everyone's role in getting the eagle to her. it just goes back and forth between characters and it gets old pretty quick. the characters themselves were really interesting and all played well. watching the tree monkey things fighting at the end, i felt like it was jumanji or basically some pg-13 fantasy for kids. finally, all the characters in the apartment complex are excited and concerned for the well being of this narf and not once does anyone stop and say, "this is the craziest crap i've ever heard of." there are some skeptics but they only began questioning well into their involvement with the whole thing. this was easily my least favorite of shyamalan's major movies. don't see.
disappointing, C-
today is pioneer day and everyone has the day off but me. we do get time and a half however. today happens to be my last day working as a dispatcher. it's been a long three years working here. in fact i've worked here longer than any other job. it's been fun i guess. easy for sure. i never had any huge emergencies or major medicals to deal with. never got into any trouble with anyone as far as i know. there have been a fair share of annoying coworkers, but so much isolation exists as a dispatcher here that there is very little personal interaction between myself and anyone else. there are also a few i will actually miss also. countless hours were spent on video games and movies. hours of sleeping upright in a chair. all this police procedure and dispatching knowledge will begin the process of being forgotten starting tomorrow. i would have liked to of stayed here and took over the dispatch supervisor position. it pays terrible and is basically one big headache, but it would have been fun.
last week i beat that video game i was playing (xiii). toward the end it started getting ridiculous and would take hours to master a level well enough to get through it without dying, so for about the last quarter of the game i started using cheats to get myself through the levels. otherwise i'd probably still be playing. instead i'm working on hitman. it is really hard and again you cannot save during a level. and in this one they don't even give you health. there is so much you have to figure out to pass each mission that i'm lucky to be able to pass a level with half a day worth of playing. after this i might take it easy on the games for a while because right about when i've beaten this game, school should be getting ready to start.
just slightly over three more hours until i'm off. today was a lovely twelve hour shift so my entire monday has been wasted by being here. there are going to be fireworks any second though from the school after the baseball game is over with. the game is tied and right now they are in the ninth. death cab for cutie is playing at uvsc in a few weeks. i'd totally go if i wasn't going to be living in another state during that time. i'm also going to miss a little get together of dc intern cohorts at the end of august which pisses me off. this may have already been mentioned, but i really wish i could go. i need to talk to kim and work something out. hmm.
Lady in the Water (2006): a water nymph thing (narf) is trying to get back to her own world or something, but before the eagle can come and take her away, she must first get past the wolf made of sod. sounds crazy, i know. so most of the time while i am watching this unfold, i'm thinking that m. night is going to pull a fast one on us as usual and this ridiculous story will all make sense in the end. but no, it is what it is. there are no cool twists and turns or big revelations or surprises at the end. so right off the bat, don't expect an ending like any of his other movies. i guess the closest it comes to is signs. anyway, the story is set in some apartment complex that seems to be completely cut off from the rest of the world. most of the movie is a stupid mystery game to try and figure out everyone's role in getting the eagle to her. it just goes back and forth between characters and it gets old pretty quick. the characters themselves were really interesting and all played well. watching the tree monkey things fighting at the end, i felt like it was jumanji or basically some pg-13 fantasy for kids. finally, all the characters in the apartment complex are excited and concerned for the well being of this narf and not once does anyone stop and say, "this is the craziest crap i've ever heard of." there are some skeptics but they only began questioning well into their involvement with the whole thing. this was easily my least favorite of shyamalan's major movies. don't see.
disappointing, C-
today is pioneer day and everyone has the day off but me. we do get time and a half however. today happens to be my last day working as a dispatcher. it's been a long three years working here. in fact i've worked here longer than any other job. it's been fun i guess. easy for sure. i never had any huge emergencies or major medicals to deal with. never got into any trouble with anyone as far as i know. there have been a fair share of annoying coworkers, but so much isolation exists as a dispatcher here that there is very little personal interaction between myself and anyone else. there are also a few i will actually miss also. countless hours were spent on video games and movies. hours of sleeping upright in a chair. all this police procedure and dispatching knowledge will begin the process of being forgotten starting tomorrow. i would have liked to of stayed here and took over the dispatch supervisor position. it pays terrible and is basically one big headache, but it would have been fun.
last week i beat that video game i was playing (xiii). toward the end it started getting ridiculous and would take hours to master a level well enough to get through it without dying, so for about the last quarter of the game i started using cheats to get myself through the levels. otherwise i'd probably still be playing. instead i'm working on hitman. it is really hard and again you cannot save during a level. and in this one they don't even give you health. there is so much you have to figure out to pass each mission that i'm lucky to be able to pass a level with half a day worth of playing. after this i might take it easy on the games for a while because right about when i've beaten this game, school should be getting ready to start.
just slightly over three more hours until i'm off. today was a lovely twelve hour shift so my entire monday has been wasted by being here. there are going to be fireworks any second though from the school after the baseball game is over with. the game is tied and right now they are in the ninth. death cab for cutie is playing at uvsc in a few weeks. i'd totally go if i wasn't going to be living in another state during that time. i'm also going to miss a little get together of dc intern cohorts at the end of august which pisses me off. this may have already been mentioned, but i really wish i could go. i need to talk to kim and work something out. hmm.
Friday, July 21, 2006
Thursday, July 20, 2006
the program
this past weekend i read an article about how crappy the u.s. is in every type of world competition, most recently noted in the winter olympics, world cup, and wimbledon. we also lost some world baseball thing a few months back. but they didn't mention cycling, where apparently we seem to be pretty decent. some guy who is not lance armstrong is currently in the lead and has a good chance of winning. who knew? it's really too bad that we suck at almost everything else. it would be interesting to see a study done on why it is that with all our might and money, we still suck on the playing field. any ideas?
so did i speak too soon or what? before i could even post this, landis, the american cyclist from above, did terrible and went into like 10th place. but even since then he has bounced back to 3rd. he better not let us down since he is america's only hope at sports on the global stage.
greg ipson. man, what can i can even say. he died like two nights ago in a car accident near vegas. we all went to high school with him and he was an interesting character if i remember right. he was lds and served a mission in las vegas. the ipsons are a great family and i can't imagine how crappy it is for them right now. my heart certainly goes out to them. we were just at his sister melanie's wedding and he was right there leading the reception. so many people will remember him and how amazing he was at that wedding, so that's pretty cool. it really sucks but these things happen i guess. you can't help but stop and think about your own fate. i think six feet under has really prepared me for anything god can throw at me in the way of death. i suppose even my own. i'm sure i would eat those words if something did actually happen, but i'd like to think otherwise. kim and i are in talks about maybe going out there for the funeral.
Nacho Libre (2006): a monastery cook is torn between his commitment to god and the orphans he cares about, and his life long dream of professional wrestling. the movie was funny, but lacked any substance. some of the conversations were really long and dull, which dragged the movie down tremendously. there is no real point to the plot. he basically sucks as a wrestler, then has the big championship fight at the end. there is stuff going on with the church and a sister he is going after, but i never found myself concerned for his circumstances. he is vain and a jerk from start to finish (although he is nice to orphans). i found it interesting that there were so many homosexual and transgender overtones in the movie. i was hoping for something really original from this movie, but it is obvious that the creator of napoleon dynamite directed the movie and it is obvious that tenacious d rockin’ jack black is nacho. they should have left those characters and signature styles out of this movie and worked it all from scratch. there are a number of really funny moments, but that was mainly because there was a crazy lady laughing her head off at every joke. while it's not terrible, i think too little time was put creating the story. don't see.
disappointing, C-
i am scared to death over the program. and when i say "the program", i mean the only program that matters which is the interdisciplinary telecommunications program, or itp for short, or the program as i prefer. the program is going to suck. not suck, but just be very difficult. i fear that i really will fail some of these classes. let's see, we have telecommunications theory and applications, network economics and finance 1, telecommunications seminar, and telecommunications business strategy. however, after some thinking, i will most likely drop business strategy. so the schedule actually isn't as frightening as before, but it's still no walk in the park. and my straight A obsession is long gone now. all i'd like to see now is a passing grade.
after showing our place to a few more folks this past weekend, we had a few offers and decided to just go with whoever was first so long as any credit/background checks turn out good. grandma lady couldn't deal with the stairs so the two brothers are in. they seem like really good guys so we are glad. there was a married couple who really wanted the place and we are sad we didn't give it to them. but they did have two cats though so i think it worked out better this way. it's nice knowing our new carpet won't be destroyed by a two year old's spaghetti sauce or two cats throwing up on each other. i don't know why they throw up on each other, but i'm sure this couple's cats will. so a nice weight has been lifted. but still, nothing compares to the program.
kim has been in park city the past two days with work stuff. tonight i'll drive up and spend the night with her at whereever she is staying. it should be fun, although i've enjoyed my nights of movie watching and game playing. and trying not to stuff my face. gotta love that.
so did i speak too soon or what? before i could even post this, landis, the american cyclist from above, did terrible and went into like 10th place. but even since then he has bounced back to 3rd. he better not let us down since he is america's only hope at sports on the global stage.
greg ipson. man, what can i can even say. he died like two nights ago in a car accident near vegas. we all went to high school with him and he was an interesting character if i remember right. he was lds and served a mission in las vegas. the ipsons are a great family and i can't imagine how crappy it is for them right now. my heart certainly goes out to them. we were just at his sister melanie's wedding and he was right there leading the reception. so many people will remember him and how amazing he was at that wedding, so that's pretty cool. it really sucks but these things happen i guess. you can't help but stop and think about your own fate. i think six feet under has really prepared me for anything god can throw at me in the way of death. i suppose even my own. i'm sure i would eat those words if something did actually happen, but i'd like to think otherwise. kim and i are in talks about maybe going out there for the funeral.
Nacho Libre (2006): a monastery cook is torn between his commitment to god and the orphans he cares about, and his life long dream of professional wrestling. the movie was funny, but lacked any substance. some of the conversations were really long and dull, which dragged the movie down tremendously. there is no real point to the plot. he basically sucks as a wrestler, then has the big championship fight at the end. there is stuff going on with the church and a sister he is going after, but i never found myself concerned for his circumstances. he is vain and a jerk from start to finish (although he is nice to orphans). i found it interesting that there were so many homosexual and transgender overtones in the movie. i was hoping for something really original from this movie, but it is obvious that the creator of napoleon dynamite directed the movie and it is obvious that tenacious d rockin’ jack black is nacho. they should have left those characters and signature styles out of this movie and worked it all from scratch. there are a number of really funny moments, but that was mainly because there was a crazy lady laughing her head off at every joke. while it's not terrible, i think too little time was put creating the story. don't see.
disappointing, C-
i am scared to death over the program. and when i say "the program", i mean the only program that matters which is the interdisciplinary telecommunications program, or itp for short, or the program as i prefer. the program is going to suck. not suck, but just be very difficult. i fear that i really will fail some of these classes. let's see, we have telecommunications theory and applications, network economics and finance 1, telecommunications seminar, and telecommunications business strategy. however, after some thinking, i will most likely drop business strategy. so the schedule actually isn't as frightening as before, but it's still no walk in the park. and my straight A obsession is long gone now. all i'd like to see now is a passing grade.
after showing our place to a few more folks this past weekend, we had a few offers and decided to just go with whoever was first so long as any credit/background checks turn out good. grandma lady couldn't deal with the stairs so the two brothers are in. they seem like really good guys so we are glad. there was a married couple who really wanted the place and we are sad we didn't give it to them. but they did have two cats though so i think it worked out better this way. it's nice knowing our new carpet won't be destroyed by a two year old's spaghetti sauce or two cats throwing up on each other. i don't know why they throw up on each other, but i'm sure this couple's cats will. so a nice weight has been lifted. but still, nothing compares to the program.
kim has been in park city the past two days with work stuff. tonight i'll drive up and spend the night with her at whereever she is staying. it should be fun, although i've enjoyed my nights of movie watching and game playing. and trying not to stuff my face. gotta love that.
Monday, July 17, 2006
the reviews of four motion pictures
i'm really starting to get over the whole complex i had about my age, however now i'm thinking about how i will be in school another two years, at least. i feel like people are doing things and having babies and i'm just getting older and going to school. and don't leave comments with advice or anything because there is nothing that can be said that i couldn't already think of if i wasn't wanting to go watch my movie right now. i just hope i can pass all my classes.
recent dvds added to the collection: first knight, toy soldiers, grand hotel.
The Lake House (2006): two people, two years apart, fall in love after communicating to each other through a magic mailbox. and apparently usps doesn't deliver to this mailbox because they never get any mail except each others. the end just got too complicated for me to enjoy it. by the time i'd think too much into it and figure the connections between events and time, a new twist would take place and i'd have to start figuring that out. i'm sure it won't seem compicated for some viewers though. there were too many coincidences and moments of fate; too many in that it just starts to become unbelievable. the convos they would have through the mailbox was sometimes unrealistic, and more like they were talking on a phone or through im. the middle started to drag. all the music in the movie is pretty stupid. and as far as the actually lake house, i was disappointed that they rarely show the inside of the house. there is a massive tree growing in the middle of the house, yet they sometimes only show a glimpse of it. maybe this was all intentional and they wanted the viewer to never be allowed inside the house for some reason that might relate to their relationship, but obviously i didn't get their symbolism. don't see.
mediocre, C
a few days ago i found out that ozma is opening for the rentals when they come to town. i knew ozma was playing with them for an la show, but had no clue they were touring the country together. this is going to be amazing. this just makes the concert twice as good as it was going to be before. i am so stoked for this you have no idea. single file is playing tomorrow night in slc at the kilby court, which i remember being basically a garage of some old houses or something. it is pretty run down, but wicked fun. unfortunately i have to work, otherwise i really would have liked to have gone. oh well. i don't really like their stuff that much anyway.
Pride and Prejudice (2005): the bennet sisters go in and out of love and relationships in 18th century england. it's worth noting the great opening shot that the movie starts on. some of the dialogue is kind of difficult to understand because it's so shakespearean. and it is much more than sense and sensibility was. the characters are also far more complex than sense. it's a decent movie with some great acting, but sense and sensibility would be much more worth your time. don't see.
fair, B-
the game i'm playing these days is xiii (pronounced "thirteen"). it's another first person shooter, whose storyline is really confusing. the game sucks because you can't save in the middle of the game. each time you die you either start the level over or from a checkpoint of that level. so a single level that might take ten minutes start to finish, will take me two hours because i will die a few dozen times. to give me some kind of credit, i am playing on the second to hardest difficulty. other than that it's a blast and reminds me of max payne. and it's something to do.
Donnie Darko (2001): donnie is a teenager trying hard to be a normal high schooler and maybe even get a girlfriend. his only problem is that a rabbit, which is sure to give you nightmares, keeps popping up in cryptic dreams and forcing donnie to commit some creative acts against society. throughout most of the movie i was reminded of 'a beautiful mind,' where i hoped he is really just a special person who can do special things, and not just some loon. i won't spoil it here and reveal which type of person donnie is. there are lots of great songs that are played through the film. there was a very good use of almost every camera technique possible. i found the whole flow and style of the film very kubrick-like. some of the characters were really great. the ones that really stood out were by drew barrymore, patrick swayze, and mary mcdonnell's performance as donnie's mom. oh and of course jake gyllenhaal. i haven't seen a bad performance from him yet. the juxtaposition all throughout the movie was really effective added to the movie. and there were a few really good edge of your seat moments that were pretty awesome. the ending though wasn't as neat and clean as i would have liked it. i never want to be forced to think way too much. there were a few questions that weren't answered for me, including where the plane engine came from. and there are a few more i have about the worm hole and how it all worked. anyway, obviously you just have to see it. it's really a fun and interesting movie to watch and even with an odd ending, it's definitely worth seeing. a little weird though. if i can maybe make sense of the ending i will probably put it on the list to buy.
good, B
our place is now officially up for rent. we put an ad out in the daily herald and have gotten a few calls on it already. kim showed the place to a some brothers on saturday and an old grandma lady wants to see it tomorrow. all of our stuff is packed in boxes now and in storage. i put in my two weeks notice at work. this week we will start the dreadful task of painting. things are moving right along.
Cheech & Chong's Up In Smoke (1978): two stoners in la set out on a journey. i think it's to find more weed. the dialogue is amazing between c and c. it's really the highlight of the whole movie. there are some really funny parts, but the plot is really weak. i guess they are just driving around looking for more dope, but there is also this undercover drug bust going on in the background. it's like harold and kumar and half baked, only with less of a plot. i don't know, it's alright. for a stoner comedy, it's worth seeing.
flawed, but not terrible, C+
recent dvds added to the collection: first knight, toy soldiers, grand hotel.
The Lake House (2006): two people, two years apart, fall in love after communicating to each other through a magic mailbox. and apparently usps doesn't deliver to this mailbox because they never get any mail except each others. the end just got too complicated for me to enjoy it. by the time i'd think too much into it and figure the connections between events and time, a new twist would take place and i'd have to start figuring that out. i'm sure it won't seem compicated for some viewers though. there were too many coincidences and moments of fate; too many in that it just starts to become unbelievable. the convos they would have through the mailbox was sometimes unrealistic, and more like they were talking on a phone or through im. the middle started to drag. all the music in the movie is pretty stupid. and as far as the actually lake house, i was disappointed that they rarely show the inside of the house. there is a massive tree growing in the middle of the house, yet they sometimes only show a glimpse of it. maybe this was all intentional and they wanted the viewer to never be allowed inside the house for some reason that might relate to their relationship, but obviously i didn't get their symbolism. don't see.
mediocre, C
a few days ago i found out that ozma is opening for the rentals when they come to town. i knew ozma was playing with them for an la show, but had no clue they were touring the country together. this is going to be amazing. this just makes the concert twice as good as it was going to be before. i am so stoked for this you have no idea. single file is playing tomorrow night in slc at the kilby court, which i remember being basically a garage of some old houses or something. it is pretty run down, but wicked fun. unfortunately i have to work, otherwise i really would have liked to have gone. oh well. i don't really like their stuff that much anyway.
Pride and Prejudice (2005): the bennet sisters go in and out of love and relationships in 18th century england. it's worth noting the great opening shot that the movie starts on. some of the dialogue is kind of difficult to understand because it's so shakespearean. and it is much more than sense and sensibility was. the characters are also far more complex than sense. it's a decent movie with some great acting, but sense and sensibility would be much more worth your time. don't see.
fair, B-
the game i'm playing these days is xiii (pronounced "thirteen"). it's another first person shooter, whose storyline is really confusing. the game sucks because you can't save in the middle of the game. each time you die you either start the level over or from a checkpoint of that level. so a single level that might take ten minutes start to finish, will take me two hours because i will die a few dozen times. to give me some kind of credit, i am playing on the second to hardest difficulty. other than that it's a blast and reminds me of max payne. and it's something to do.
Donnie Darko (2001): donnie is a teenager trying hard to be a normal high schooler and maybe even get a girlfriend. his only problem is that a rabbit, which is sure to give you nightmares, keeps popping up in cryptic dreams and forcing donnie to commit some creative acts against society. throughout most of the movie i was reminded of 'a beautiful mind,' where i hoped he is really just a special person who can do special things, and not just some loon. i won't spoil it here and reveal which type of person donnie is. there are lots of great songs that are played through the film. there was a very good use of almost every camera technique possible. i found the whole flow and style of the film very kubrick-like. some of the characters were really great. the ones that really stood out were by drew barrymore, patrick swayze, and mary mcdonnell's performance as donnie's mom. oh and of course jake gyllenhaal. i haven't seen a bad performance from him yet. the juxtaposition all throughout the movie was really effective added to the movie. and there were a few really good edge of your seat moments that were pretty awesome. the ending though wasn't as neat and clean as i would have liked it. i never want to be forced to think way too much. there were a few questions that weren't answered for me, including where the plane engine came from. and there are a few more i have about the worm hole and how it all worked. anyway, obviously you just have to see it. it's really a fun and interesting movie to watch and even with an odd ending, it's definitely worth seeing. a little weird though. if i can maybe make sense of the ending i will probably put it on the list to buy.
good, B
our place is now officially up for rent. we put an ad out in the daily herald and have gotten a few calls on it already. kim showed the place to a some brothers on saturday and an old grandma lady wants to see it tomorrow. all of our stuff is packed in boxes now and in storage. i put in my two weeks notice at work. this week we will start the dreadful task of painting. things are moving right along.
Cheech & Chong's Up In Smoke (1978): two stoners in la set out on a journey. i think it's to find more weed. the dialogue is amazing between c and c. it's really the highlight of the whole movie. there are some really funny parts, but the plot is really weak. i guess they are just driving around looking for more dope, but there is also this undercover drug bust going on in the background. it's like harold and kumar and half baked, only with less of a plot. i don't know, it's alright. for a stoner comedy, it's worth seeing.
flawed, but not terrible, C+
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Monday, July 10, 2006
the game of life
nothing exciting is going on. we are in constant discussion about when we should move because there are so many dumb factors involved. every few days i will go work with jacqueline at their biz. it can be physically demanding at times, but it's easy work i guess. every now and then i will screw up pretty bad and jax will bring it to my attention and i will feel really stupid. but she did just add a little more scenery to her mammary region so i guess it's worth waking up before 11 to get to work.
the song daniel by elton john is one of the gayest songs i've ever heard. ironic because daniel lee from high school is pretty damn gay.
i'm finally at a point where all ties to dc will be cut off because there is really no more point to keep in touch now. and oh how sad it is. that possibility simply ends and i kind of find it a hard reality to face. i need to force myself to only look at what's ahead for me. but oh just think about it. a sigh. but i am happy with what i am doing now. it's ridiculously hard however. i'm reading kim's data communications textbook and i'm barely into chapter three. all the information is doable, but there is so much to remember and so many details. and kim tells me that the class she took was really an overview of everything. great. i guess in a way this subject is a lot like law. there are so many rules and exceptions to those rules. i really think this program will be just as challenging for me as what law school would have been. who could have predicted it?
it is crazy how much times goes into moving. but i am still making time for fear factor every night. who knew they had so many episodes? i have been watching the show for probably close to three months straight now, and it never gets old. actually it got old probably some time in april, but i just pretend like it's the highlight of my day. and grand theft auto: san andreas ended for me. i finally got 100 percent a couple weeks ago. i had hoped to put all my wonderful stats on here but i'm too lazy. unless a single person tells me to post the stats, then i won't put them up. they are amazing though. now i am playing some expansion game for call of duty. it's funny that i'm playing this now because i thought i remember the second call of duty coming out a while back. usually i am slightly behind in the times. no biggie though. it's a pretty good game. for some reason i think i like metal of honor games better though. my next game i've decided will be that battleground vietnam game. bully won't come out on pc for a while, if ever, grand theft auto 4 isn't coming out until fall '07, and i want to play a war game that is not wwii. however, that's the next game i am buying. the next game i will be playing is one i have yet to decide on.
so yeah, tom is getting married. pretty exciting. in september. pretty crazy. it's really hard to put into words, any sort of reaction to this news. i'm really happy for them though. they are perfect for each other and it will be a pretty fun wedding i'm sure. it's so strange watching all of this unfold. marriage and kids, or kids and marriage, whatever works. but all these people i've grown up with are kinda dropping like flies. it's certainly not a bad thing. the natural order of things i suppose. september 8, 2006. mark your calendars. i think that's the right date. i remember that it's on a saturday.
i grew up thinking that holy diver was sung by the scorpions. today i always have to be reminded that it's dio. who the hell was dio? never mind. i looked it up on wikipedia. see, that's one bad thing about the internet. i feel lazy now if i ask a question out of curiosity because i know the answer is only keystrokes away. the internet will certainly be in the top five of man's greatest creations, but it still takes away any, what's the word, mystery to life.
Superman Returns (2006): the dc comics hero is back to face lex luthor, in a story that supposedly takes place after superman ii. the effects are obviously great and i'd say actually better and more realistic than most other big effects movies. the guy who played cyclops in x-men has a large part in this movie and he actually wasn't too bad. what most likely happened was he auditioned for the part of superman, but the casting people said, "sorry, we have this other guy who looks more like christopher reeve and has his mannerisms down to perfection, but you can play this other guy." *spoilers* so lex luthor's plan was to create a big land mass in the atlantic. this would cause the ocean to be displaced, covering the earth, killing billions of people, and it will cause people from all over the world to flock to his new continent and live there, giving lex tons of money. the problem i have is that the land he creates looks pretty much like the asteroid they land on in armageddon. no one is going to flock there. i think this will really appeal more to people who don't remember anything about the reeve movies. much of the movie reminded me of the old movies. which reminds me, i found three blatant rip-offs/nods of 2001: a space oddysey. if you see it, look for the alignment of the planet and sun, pen in zero-gravity, and the music when superman is pushing lex's beachfront property into space. it's hard to put a finger on why i'm not the biggest fan of this movie. the casting was really perfect. i think the problem is the story line. the climax of the movie really isn't that great, because although metropolis and the world are in fact threatened by lex's plans, i never really felt these people were that much in danger. like every other action movie made today, they completely left it open for a sequel, not only for superman but for his son as well in ten years. it's worth seeing, but once will be enough.
good, B
Clerks (1994): a really crappy day for a convenience store worker. there are countless scenes that seem to go uncut for like ten minutes. you'll find a lot of talent from these actor in their performances. the movies jumps from funny to serious to funny again all very smoothly. and there is a great soundtrack to top it all off. great script, really funny moments, and a few very unfunny moments, like the egg inspector guy. in the end, what's not to like? you don't have to be a gen-x'er to really get into this movie. i'm looking forward to clerks 2 now. buy it.
memorable, B+
the song daniel by elton john is one of the gayest songs i've ever heard. ironic because daniel lee from high school is pretty damn gay.
i'm finally at a point where all ties to dc will be cut off because there is really no more point to keep in touch now. and oh how sad it is. that possibility simply ends and i kind of find it a hard reality to face. i need to force myself to only look at what's ahead for me. but oh just think about it. a sigh. but i am happy with what i am doing now. it's ridiculously hard however. i'm reading kim's data communications textbook and i'm barely into chapter three. all the information is doable, but there is so much to remember and so many details. and kim tells me that the class she took was really an overview of everything. great. i guess in a way this subject is a lot like law. there are so many rules and exceptions to those rules. i really think this program will be just as challenging for me as what law school would have been. who could have predicted it?
it is crazy how much times goes into moving. but i am still making time for fear factor every night. who knew they had so many episodes? i have been watching the show for probably close to three months straight now, and it never gets old. actually it got old probably some time in april, but i just pretend like it's the highlight of my day. and grand theft auto: san andreas ended for me. i finally got 100 percent a couple weeks ago. i had hoped to put all my wonderful stats on here but i'm too lazy. unless a single person tells me to post the stats, then i won't put them up. they are amazing though. now i am playing some expansion game for call of duty. it's funny that i'm playing this now because i thought i remember the second call of duty coming out a while back. usually i am slightly behind in the times. no biggie though. it's a pretty good game. for some reason i think i like metal of honor games better though. my next game i've decided will be that battleground vietnam game. bully won't come out on pc for a while, if ever, grand theft auto 4 isn't coming out until fall '07, and i want to play a war game that is not wwii. however, that's the next game i am buying. the next game i will be playing is one i have yet to decide on.
so yeah, tom is getting married. pretty exciting. in september. pretty crazy. it's really hard to put into words, any sort of reaction to this news. i'm really happy for them though. they are perfect for each other and it will be a pretty fun wedding i'm sure. it's so strange watching all of this unfold. marriage and kids, or kids and marriage, whatever works. but all these people i've grown up with are kinda dropping like flies. it's certainly not a bad thing. the natural order of things i suppose. september 8, 2006. mark your calendars. i think that's the right date. i remember that it's on a saturday.
i grew up thinking that holy diver was sung by the scorpions. today i always have to be reminded that it's dio. who the hell was dio? never mind. i looked it up on wikipedia. see, that's one bad thing about the internet. i feel lazy now if i ask a question out of curiosity because i know the answer is only keystrokes away. the internet will certainly be in the top five of man's greatest creations, but it still takes away any, what's the word, mystery to life.
Superman Returns (2006): the dc comics hero is back to face lex luthor, in a story that supposedly takes place after superman ii. the effects are obviously great and i'd say actually better and more realistic than most other big effects movies. the guy who played cyclops in x-men has a large part in this movie and he actually wasn't too bad. what most likely happened was he auditioned for the part of superman, but the casting people said, "sorry, we have this other guy who looks more like christopher reeve and has his mannerisms down to perfection, but you can play this other guy." *spoilers* so lex luthor's plan was to create a big land mass in the atlantic. this would cause the ocean to be displaced, covering the earth, killing billions of people, and it will cause people from all over the world to flock to his new continent and live there, giving lex tons of money. the problem i have is that the land he creates looks pretty much like the asteroid they land on in armageddon. no one is going to flock there. i think this will really appeal more to people who don't remember anything about the reeve movies. much of the movie reminded me of the old movies. which reminds me, i found three blatant rip-offs/nods of 2001: a space oddysey. if you see it, look for the alignment of the planet and sun, pen in zero-gravity, and the music when superman is pushing lex's beachfront property into space. it's hard to put a finger on why i'm not the biggest fan of this movie. the casting was really perfect. i think the problem is the story line. the climax of the movie really isn't that great, because although metropolis and the world are in fact threatened by lex's plans, i never really felt these people were that much in danger. like every other action movie made today, they completely left it open for a sequel, not only for superman but for his son as well in ten years. it's worth seeing, but once will be enough.
good, B
Clerks (1994): a really crappy day for a convenience store worker. there are countless scenes that seem to go uncut for like ten minutes. you'll find a lot of talent from these actor in their performances. the movies jumps from funny to serious to funny again all very smoothly. and there is a great soundtrack to top it all off. great script, really funny moments, and a few very unfunny moments, like the egg inspector guy. in the end, what's not to like? you don't have to be a gen-x'er to really get into this movie. i'm looking forward to clerks 2 now. buy it.
memorable, B+
Monday, July 03, 2006
Sunday, July 02, 2006
the stadium of fire review
by the way, the two year mark for my blog was this past week. think about how much time you've wasted on this shit. go find something better to do. taylor hicks was amazing by the way.
Saturday, July 01, 2006
the end - the doors
i can imagine that senator hatch right now is ticked at senator bennett. hatch was the sponsor of the marriage protection amendment that failed to pass a couple of days ago. supporters were only one vote shy of it passing in the senate. i first heard bennett's stance on this issue over a year ago before i even interviewed for the internship. he has always said he doesn't support a flag burning amendment and sure enough he stuck to his guns and voted against it. even with tremendous support of the amendment from utahns, the senior senator of our state being the amendment's main sponsor, there being only one vote away from the two-thirds need, and overwhelming support from republicans and bush, he still voted with what he believed was right. i admire him and totally agree with his decision and reasoning, however was his decision right to vote against it when a number of polls in utah have shown the state's support for it. of course when they were showing this on the news all last week, i never heard a word about bennett. even when a reporter was asked which senators are probably being lobbied the most right now, she listed a few of the more popular ones but no bob. you know hatch was all over him this week. anyway, hatch just wasted everyone's time in the united states senate once again.
ashdown is the dem in utah running against hatch this year and the poor guy has no chance. even if he actually had campaign funds, or if he hired a stylist, or even if he had both of those and was republican, i think he'd be lucky to get a quarter of the votes. we'll see. sadly i won't be here to participate. i should see what's going on in colorado. maybe i could pick which election i want to vote in.
someone needs to create a new war video game. it doesn't matter which war, but i will say world war 1 since there aren't very many of those type of games out there. you can play the usual range of difficulties like easy, medium, hard or whatever, but there should be one level called realistic or something. the level of difficulty is basically how it would have been in real life or in that actual battle. you couldn't get shot seven times before dying. they would also have to make accuracy of weapons real as well as the amount of gunfire we would all be under. i suppose you could say that games today might have "legendary" levels which are near impossible and probably close to the real thing, but unless they advertise it as such, i'm not satisfied with just playing the hardest level. they've tried things in other games like if you get shot in the leg, you now limp or can't walk. wait a second, it's coming to me. this game already exists and it's operation flashpoint. it came out like four years ago. never mind then. it's a great game. more should be made like it. this one wasn't wwi, but the next best thing: fictional cold war, circa. 1980. a few more games are coming to me as well, but it would still be cool to be in some trench battle that was to as close to the real thing as we can make it.
myspace sucks because their music section depends on what retards put out there. their selection is just too small and random.
i’m going to see the rentals at the end of this month. this is beyond being stoked. i wouldn’t even be this excited if i were seeing the weez again. unless they were playing in my living room, then i guess that would top the rentals. it’ll be fabulous and i cannot wait.
The New World (2005): an extremely visual, pg-13 telling of john smith and pocahontas. the opening to the movie and first twenty minutes or so are flawless. the music and stillness of the scenes really show the peace and calm that existed before the eurotrash landed in the americas. the beginning also had one of the most effective and efficient montages i've ever seen. you really get a sense of what these different groups of people were going through during this moment in world history. the story was somewhat similar to dances with wolves, only that john dunbar is john smith, and stands with a fist is pocahontas, although you'd never know she was pocahontas because they never say her name in the film. the locations where they shot the film were very believable. it feels like they really are in an untamed eastern united states. there is very little dialogue and i sometimes wished there had been more because it was sometimes hard to really get deep into the characters when they say nothing. i didn't like the ending very much but the first half is amazing. the story of how things turn out just didn't do it for me. it's hard to complain about story elements that are taken from historic accounts because no one wants to change history too much for the sake of entertainment. that's assuming this movie was somewhat authentic to what really happened. i'm going to have to recommend skipping this movie. it's decent and has lots of really high points, but it just kind of loses steam by the end. don't see.
fair, B-
yesterday my mom, younger brother and me went tubing down the provo river. the water was a crisp 50 degrees but the temperature outside made the two hour float quite enjoyable. tonight we are going to the stadium of fire thing in provo. we never go because we can see most of the fireworks from outside the stadium and the headlining act for the show is always a crappy country singer. this year is no exception, as lee ann womack will be there. opening for her will be beach boys, queen, and abba cover bands and some variation of osmond children. i'm not sure it could get much worse. but we did buy tickets this year because leeann womack has been upstaged because taylor hicks is now the main act. so we are pretty stoked to see him. we'll also get a different view of the fireworks than usual. and it's a nice way to end our time here in utah. i remember kim and i going to a byu game before i had moved out here. since then i can't remember a single time we've been back to the stadium. but tonight we'll be there. right now kim is out buying new carpet for our condo. sucks we won't get to enjoy it, but it's gonna be pretty sweet when it's done. i probably have a million other things to say but i must be off.
ashdown is the dem in utah running against hatch this year and the poor guy has no chance. even if he actually had campaign funds, or if he hired a stylist, or even if he had both of those and was republican, i think he'd be lucky to get a quarter of the votes. we'll see. sadly i won't be here to participate. i should see what's going on in colorado. maybe i could pick which election i want to vote in.
someone needs to create a new war video game. it doesn't matter which war, but i will say world war 1 since there aren't very many of those type of games out there. you can play the usual range of difficulties like easy, medium, hard or whatever, but there should be one level called realistic or something. the level of difficulty is basically how it would have been in real life or in that actual battle. you couldn't get shot seven times before dying. they would also have to make accuracy of weapons real as well as the amount of gunfire we would all be under. i suppose you could say that games today might have "legendary" levels which are near impossible and probably close to the real thing, but unless they advertise it as such, i'm not satisfied with just playing the hardest level. they've tried things in other games like if you get shot in the leg, you now limp or can't walk. wait a second, it's coming to me. this game already exists and it's operation flashpoint. it came out like four years ago. never mind then. it's a great game. more should be made like it. this one wasn't wwi, but the next best thing: fictional cold war, circa. 1980. a few more games are coming to me as well, but it would still be cool to be in some trench battle that was to as close to the real thing as we can make it.
myspace sucks because their music section depends on what retards put out there. their selection is just too small and random.
i’m going to see the rentals at the end of this month. this is beyond being stoked. i wouldn’t even be this excited if i were seeing the weez again. unless they were playing in my living room, then i guess that would top the rentals. it’ll be fabulous and i cannot wait.
The New World (2005): an extremely visual, pg-13 telling of john smith and pocahontas. the opening to the movie and first twenty minutes or so are flawless. the music and stillness of the scenes really show the peace and calm that existed before the eurotrash landed in the americas. the beginning also had one of the most effective and efficient montages i've ever seen. you really get a sense of what these different groups of people were going through during this moment in world history. the story was somewhat similar to dances with wolves, only that john dunbar is john smith, and stands with a fist is pocahontas, although you'd never know she was pocahontas because they never say her name in the film. the locations where they shot the film were very believable. it feels like they really are in an untamed eastern united states. there is very little dialogue and i sometimes wished there had been more because it was sometimes hard to really get deep into the characters when they say nothing. i didn't like the ending very much but the first half is amazing. the story of how things turn out just didn't do it for me. it's hard to complain about story elements that are taken from historic accounts because no one wants to change history too much for the sake of entertainment. that's assuming this movie was somewhat authentic to what really happened. i'm going to have to recommend skipping this movie. it's decent and has lots of really high points, but it just kind of loses steam by the end. don't see.
fair, B-
yesterday my mom, younger brother and me went tubing down the provo river. the water was a crisp 50 degrees but the temperature outside made the two hour float quite enjoyable. tonight we are going to the stadium of fire thing in provo. we never go because we can see most of the fireworks from outside the stadium and the headlining act for the show is always a crappy country singer. this year is no exception, as lee ann womack will be there. opening for her will be beach boys, queen, and abba cover bands and some variation of osmond children. i'm not sure it could get much worse. but we did buy tickets this year because leeann womack has been upstaged because taylor hicks is now the main act. so we are pretty stoked to see him. we'll also get a different view of the fireworks than usual. and it's a nice way to end our time here in utah. i remember kim and i going to a byu game before i had moved out here. since then i can't remember a single time we've been back to the stadium. but tonight we'll be there. right now kim is out buying new carpet for our condo. sucks we won't get to enjoy it, but it's gonna be pretty sweet when it's done. i probably have a million other things to say but i must be off.
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Monday, June 26, 2006
the series finale
recent dvds added to the collection: The Office: Season 1, Legends of the Fall, 12 Monkeys.
Dazed and Confused (1993): on the last day of school, a bunch of high school stoners from the 70s examine their lives and future. it’s basically american graffiti with boston playing in the background. and tons more drugs. i have already forgotten most of the six or seven separate little story lines that take place. maybe i’ve just seen this type of story so many times that i’m bored of it. let’s see, it’s a very pro-drug movie. there are a lot of good characters and it is very believable that it is set in the 70s. but i just didn't see why this is a cult favorite today. finally, it has a pretty decent soundtrack to it. i would like to know how accurate this type of life as a teenager was during the 70s. although it seemed accurate, it's hard to say whether or not there was a little stereotyping going on to really exaggerate the characters. maybe not. don't see.
mediocre, C
Animal House (1978): a delinquent college fraternity must cope with the school’s attempt to shut them down because of their wacky antics. there wasn’t much of a moral to the movie. failure and the fact that revenge is good, are about as close to morals as you'll find. i must note that the movie featured one of the best pot scenes with donald sutherland that i think i’ve ever seen. i laughed out loud about a dozen times because the movie really is a lot of fun. the film was made in the 70s but set in the 50s, so it doesn't feel dated at all. it's the standard to every raunchy college and teen movie made since. so if you don't mind that rated-r humor, this is a must see.
memorable, B+
for most of the evening i've been working on our rental agreement for when we leave our home in provo. it's six pages now and i'm just about done. lately we've been stressing over this and that with the move but we are getting things done and making decisions at a good pace i think.
today we watched our very last episode of six feet under. it delivered like i never thought a television series could. the final season as a whole wasn't the best and for the most part was kind of slow. but nothing could have prepared me for that ending. it lived up to all the hype and i don't think i'll soon forget it. it is a little sad because just as one chapter of our life is closing here in provo, so has another with six feet. for the past three years or so we have been patiently watching the six feet dvds and just like that, they're all dead. the ending was all very plausible. i wonder how nate would really feel about mya and the new girl being raised by brenda and the chenowiths and olivier. probably not happy.
a few weeks ago someone posted a comment about their take on gay marriage. today i finally got around to responding. sorry for the delay.
we complain a lot about utah and happy valley, but as it gets closer to the move we are realizing that there really are a number of things we'll miss about the place. the mountains are intense, the unique places to eat only found here, the general life we have. it's been good.
Dazed and Confused (1993): on the last day of school, a bunch of high school stoners from the 70s examine their lives and future. it’s basically american graffiti with boston playing in the background. and tons more drugs. i have already forgotten most of the six or seven separate little story lines that take place. maybe i’ve just seen this type of story so many times that i’m bored of it. let’s see, it’s a very pro-drug movie. there are a lot of good characters and it is very believable that it is set in the 70s. but i just didn't see why this is a cult favorite today. finally, it has a pretty decent soundtrack to it. i would like to know how accurate this type of life as a teenager was during the 70s. although it seemed accurate, it's hard to say whether or not there was a little stereotyping going on to really exaggerate the characters. maybe not. don't see.
mediocre, C
Animal House (1978): a delinquent college fraternity must cope with the school’s attempt to shut them down because of their wacky antics. there wasn’t much of a moral to the movie. failure and the fact that revenge is good, are about as close to morals as you'll find. i must note that the movie featured one of the best pot scenes with donald sutherland that i think i’ve ever seen. i laughed out loud about a dozen times because the movie really is a lot of fun. the film was made in the 70s but set in the 50s, so it doesn't feel dated at all. it's the standard to every raunchy college and teen movie made since. so if you don't mind that rated-r humor, this is a must see.
memorable, B+
for most of the evening i've been working on our rental agreement for when we leave our home in provo. it's six pages now and i'm just about done. lately we've been stressing over this and that with the move but we are getting things done and making decisions at a good pace i think.
today we watched our very last episode of six feet under. it delivered like i never thought a television series could. the final season as a whole wasn't the best and for the most part was kind of slow. but nothing could have prepared me for that ending. it lived up to all the hype and i don't think i'll soon forget it. it is a little sad because just as one chapter of our life is closing here in provo, so has another with six feet. for the past three years or so we have been patiently watching the six feet dvds and just like that, they're all dead. the ending was all very plausible. i wonder how nate would really feel about mya and the new girl being raised by brenda and the chenowiths and olivier. probably not happy.
a few weeks ago someone posted a comment about their take on gay marriage. today i finally got around to responding. sorry for the delay.
we complain a lot about utah and happy valley, but as it gets closer to the move we are realizing that there really are a number of things we'll miss about the place. the mountains are intense, the unique places to eat only found here, the general life we have. it's been good.
Friday, June 23, 2006
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
the colorado move: part i
we are home from our excursion back east and as busy as ever. for reals. we checked out a ton of apartments in a few cities along 36.
thursday became too late for us to drive out so we got in a quick episode of six feet and packed the car for the morning. the next night we got there tom graced me with his presence. like most trips whenever i see tom, he was in the process of moving so i was lucky enough to move his crap. we couldn't watch clerks because all his belongings happened to be at april's place in castle rock. i have a prediction of when they will be engaged by but i feel reluctant to give a date. i figure someone might get offended. would that really be a bad thing to do? maybe. i'll just say that they'll obviously be engaged at some point in the not too distant future. kim and i looked at about six apartments saturday afternoon and the first one we saw kim of course fell in love with. karen, kim and i went for an evening out at ruby tuesdays. it was a genuinely good time. after church sunday morning, i drove around taking down names of apartments near flat irons. from that we made a list of about six more apartments that i'd look at the next day. that evening i made the trek out to see joe in egypt. it took me 45 minutes to get to his house in littleton from the grovers' place, yet tom thinks it would only be 40 minutes to castle rock. anyway, had a good time as usual at château bryant. dog. entourage. pictures of sweaty bikers. nothing to eat man, get some food. i'm really diggin' his lifestyle.
monday morning after watching concrete dry, the fam gave me an awesome and very undeserving dvd player. our old one is old indeed. i have been pretty satisfied with the performance of my old dvd player, but it's time to move on. they got me a sony dvd recorder rdr-gx330, for all you people that live on specs. it's pretty much the bomb and they are really way too nice. we took one final look at our top choice before getting on the freeway. who knew that apartment shopping could be so fun, memorable, emotional, and stressful. but we picked a good one. it's right back in westminster which is no problem i think. it has everything we were looking for. we'll be moving the first weekend of august which is coming pretty quick.
Belly (1998): the rise and fall of two friends trying to make it in a gripping new york thug life. there are many stories going on which makes it very reminiscent of playing san andreas again. gta has many missions that really don't relate much to the overall plot of the game. this movie had many events that the guys go through, giving it a feel that we are watching a chronicle of these two men. ha ha, get it? there is some really solid acting by nas and dmx. who knew? there are so many other characters that they interact with, which, along with the too many events problem, makes for a muddy story. it was really hard to keep up with who was who. the cinematography is really good. every shot seemed to be well thought out in advance (nominated for best cinematography oscar). aside from a little bit of a weak plot, i actually liked it. all homies should dig it. i may buy it down the road.
good, B
there are so many emails i have to write and papers to fill out. i've had some pretty crappy moves in my lifetime so i'm going to try and avoid the shatty move syndrome at all costs. we now have to deal with trying to rent out the place now.
some website that gave me info on my birth date had this to say: "Your age is the equivalent of a dog that is 3.61135029354207 years old. (Life's just a big chewy bone for you!)" i think that's great news. i'm very excited now.
thursday became too late for us to drive out so we got in a quick episode of six feet and packed the car for the morning. the next night we got there tom graced me with his presence. like most trips whenever i see tom, he was in the process of moving so i was lucky enough to move his crap. we couldn't watch clerks because all his belongings happened to be at april's place in castle rock. i have a prediction of when they will be engaged by but i feel reluctant to give a date. i figure someone might get offended. would that really be a bad thing to do? maybe. i'll just say that they'll obviously be engaged at some point in the not too distant future. kim and i looked at about six apartments saturday afternoon and the first one we saw kim of course fell in love with. karen, kim and i went for an evening out at ruby tuesdays. it was a genuinely good time. after church sunday morning, i drove around taking down names of apartments near flat irons. from that we made a list of about six more apartments that i'd look at the next day. that evening i made the trek out to see joe in egypt. it took me 45 minutes to get to his house in littleton from the grovers' place, yet tom thinks it would only be 40 minutes to castle rock. anyway, had a good time as usual at château bryant. dog. entourage. pictures of sweaty bikers. nothing to eat man, get some food. i'm really diggin' his lifestyle.
monday morning after watching concrete dry, the fam gave me an awesome and very undeserving dvd player. our old one is old indeed. i have been pretty satisfied with the performance of my old dvd player, but it's time to move on. they got me a sony dvd recorder rdr-gx330, for all you people that live on specs. it's pretty much the bomb and they are really way too nice. we took one final look at our top choice before getting on the freeway. who knew that apartment shopping could be so fun, memorable, emotional, and stressful. but we picked a good one. it's right back in westminster which is no problem i think. it has everything we were looking for. we'll be moving the first weekend of august which is coming pretty quick.
Belly (1998): the rise and fall of two friends trying to make it in a gripping new york thug life. there are many stories going on which makes it very reminiscent of playing san andreas again. gta has many missions that really don't relate much to the overall plot of the game. this movie had many events that the guys go through, giving it a feel that we are watching a chronicle of these two men. ha ha, get it? there is some really solid acting by nas and dmx. who knew? there are so many other characters that they interact with, which, along with the too many events problem, makes for a muddy story. it was really hard to keep up with who was who. the cinematography is really good. every shot seemed to be well thought out in advance (nominated for best cinematography oscar). aside from a little bit of a weak plot, i actually liked it. all homies should dig it. i may buy it down the road.
good, B
there are so many emails i have to write and papers to fill out. i've had some pretty crappy moves in my lifetime so i'm going to try and avoid the shatty move syndrome at all costs. we now have to deal with trying to rent out the place now.
some website that gave me info on my birth date had this to say: "Your age is the equivalent of a dog that is 3.61135029354207 years old. (Life's just a big chewy bone for you!)" i think that's great news. i'm very excited now.
Thursday, June 15, 2006
the decision
we're going to denver tomorrow for a wedding and i must say, i'm pretty excited. mostly because we'll get to start looking for places to live out there. we're about 98 percent sure we are moving back to colorado by the end of august. past few days i've been a tad edgy and nervous because i'm remembering that moving sucks. i found out on tuesday that i got into that masters program at cu. it feels pretty surreal and i'm just glad that we finally know what we are doing. the law school thing still really sucks. and actually, a reason for a lot of the suckiness was the hope that after law school i could maybe go back to d.c. and work there. if nothing else, i really think that my strange undergraduate years at least gave me that internship. that was my shining moment. so now it's graduate school. why graduate school? because i want to make a good enough living to buy kim a new 4runner. why telecommunications? because i have a few years of experience in that industry, enjoyed it while i was there, and would enjoy a career in it. why cu boulder? it's a really good school, close to family and friends, and is in a familiar and enjoyable area. i don't know why i feel i have to clarify some of this info.
Sense and Sensibility (1995): two sisters must go from the life of wealth and prestige to near poverty, all while falling for some of the england's most complicated men. the movie is pretty solid. fine acting and a really fascinating story both keep this movie alive. i can't imagine many ladies out there who would not like this movie. it's not too sappy and has a good sense of humor throughout the film. the setting of the movie is england during the late nineteenth century i'm guessing, which doesn't make it the most interesting period of time. it's not something i'd want to watch over and over again, so i doubt i'd buy it. it should really be seen though.
good, B
Sense and Sensibility (1995): two sisters must go from the life of wealth and prestige to near poverty, all while falling for some of the england's most complicated men. the movie is pretty solid. fine acting and a really fascinating story both keep this movie alive. i can't imagine many ladies out there who would not like this movie. it's not too sappy and has a good sense of humor throughout the film. the setting of the movie is england during the late nineteenth century i'm guessing, which doesn't make it the most interesting period of time. it's not something i'd want to watch over and over again, so i doubt i'd buy it. it should really be seen though.
good, B
Monday, June 12, 2006
the working man
Nothing But Trouble (1991): an over the top comedy about some well-to-do's under the control of a deranged judge. the production design people must have had a field day creating everything. the comedy from chevy is just about as good as you'll get from him. john candy does great in both of his characters. i would have like to of seen how his career could have turned out. watch for a very unnecessary cameo of 2pac and digital underground perform a music video in front of the judge. dan aykroyd plays the judge and after about five minutes you forget he's even behind all the makeup. the movie gets way too ridiculous to even be interested to find out what happens next. in the end i really got nothing out of it. it's like a movie that they play on tnt at 1 in the afternoon. it comes on right after the money pit. don't see.
flawed, but not terrible, C+
The Break-Up (2006): a guy and a girl get together and after a few years they break up. no big surprises. i didn't find the movie to be incredibly funny. there were maybe six or seven really funny, laugh out loud jokes (usually from vince), but the rest were a little dry and just dumb. the ending was alright i suppose and they left the ending pretty open enough for a sequel, which would bomb of course. unless they made it soon after vince and jennifer get married. one of the biggest highlights for me in this movie was when vince was playing san andreas on his playstation. they showed a couple scenes from the game from what look to be santa maria beach and jefferson, both in los santos. so keep an eye out for that. other than that it's pretty forgettable. well, jennifer aniston is naked, so it's not totally forgettable. it's a good couple movie, but no one else should see it.
fair, B-
i'm working with the lloyds now a few days of the week helping with their embroidery business. it's not too bad and it gives me something to do during the boring week day. the work reminds me of when i worked for apparel label a couple of years back. it's tough work and sometimes fulfilling. it's not the most fun work, but it will be good though.
flawed, but not terrible, C+
The Break-Up (2006): a guy and a girl get together and after a few years they break up. no big surprises. i didn't find the movie to be incredibly funny. there were maybe six or seven really funny, laugh out loud jokes (usually from vince), but the rest were a little dry and just dumb. the ending was alright i suppose and they left the ending pretty open enough for a sequel, which would bomb of course. unless they made it soon after vince and jennifer get married. one of the biggest highlights for me in this movie was when vince was playing san andreas on his playstation. they showed a couple scenes from the game from what look to be santa maria beach and jefferson, both in los santos. so keep an eye out for that. other than that it's pretty forgettable. well, jennifer aniston is naked, so it's not totally forgettable. it's a good couple movie, but no one else should see it.
fair, B-
i'm working with the lloyds now a few days of the week helping with their embroidery business. it's not too bad and it gives me something to do during the boring week day. the work reminds me of when i worked for apparel label a couple of years back. it's tough work and sometimes fulfilling. it's not the most fun work, but it will be good though.
Saturday, June 10, 2006
the family feud
with summer approaching and my running becoming more and more regular at 2 am, i'm more likely to get jumped, egged, raped, or even worse, the popo all up on my grill. so i've started to consider carrying a weapon on me. kim would probably have me get a permit and carry my glock, but i was thinking more like a knife. i wouldn't want to carry it in a pocket because it would be bouncing all over the place. that, and i'd be paranoid it would drop out. i picture myself running down the street at night with a gun and all i can picture is cj in san andreas (gta) with his .45. if anything i'd want to run down the street with my machete. who would dare try stuff with a guy wielding a machete? so i think the best idea is just a good sized pocket knife. i'm pretty sure there is no law that says i can't run through the streets in the middle of the night with a knife in my hand. and it will be closed of course. i'll double check with one of the officers at el trabajo. i think that means work. then it's convincing kim, then a knife by saturday night. 10:15 on a saturday night, to be exact. also a favorite of cj, kim did recommend brass knuckles.
The Omen (2006): the remake of a classic satanic film about the birth of the antichrist. here's the closest analogy i can think of. today there are thousands and thousands of guitarists out there that can play so many hendrix tunes. but that obviously doesn't make them as great as hendrix or even in the same league. what they lack is the originality combined with talent that jimi had to create the songs in the first place. this movie was so similar to the original omen that it felt like i was watching the first one only with better film quality. lines in this movie were taken word for word from the first. almost scene for scene as well. this version wasn't as scary as i remember the first being. the biggest difference from the original that i saw is that they choose not to use the original music which was so prominent in the prior films. this was one reason this wasn't as scary. also, most of the character’s reactions to the events that took place were pretty unbelievable. a number of continuity problems existed, but nothing that would distract most viewers. and wow, a complete and blatant rip-off of the sixth sense where they would always show some bright red feature in the scene to foreshadow something really bad was about to happen. it was so unoriginal and obvious. not only was that effect used in this movie, but they even stole the red balloon idea which was straight out of six sense. personally, i would much rather watch the original omen over this. however i think that the average audience would get hung up on how dated the original seems today. so for you average viewers, i suppose i’d recommend seeing this remake. anyone else that can still appreciate movies made before the 90s, skip this garbage and go for the first one. mediocre: C.
people are all excited that we killed al-zarqawi and say that this is why we have gone to iraq, but they forget that he was absolutely nothing before we toppled saddam. zarqawi rose to power during and as a result of the war. he might be the reason why are still stuck there and of course it is a good thing that he is dead, but i believe he would never have come to power had we not attacked iraq in the first place and instead focused more on finding bin laden and breaking up al-qaeda.
there is so much drama going on with my family and my grandpa. i don't even know how to best explain anything. basically grandpa ben isn't doing too well and family members are taking property before he is dead and the will is read (or even shown to anyone but the people taking the property). i haven't seen my grandpa in like twelve years and the next time i do it will be at his funeral. i don't think i can visit him now because he'd probably realize i'm there to see a last time before he dies and i'm not sure how that would make him feel. i'm not going to say that i never had opportunities to visit him these last few years, but we just never had the most convenient chances to go. there are a few other excuses i can think of but i guess they're not really important. i hope everything works out but i don't see that happening. relationships are going to turn out worse than they are today because of all of this and that's a damn shame.
The Omen (2006): the remake of a classic satanic film about the birth of the antichrist. here's the closest analogy i can think of. today there are thousands and thousands of guitarists out there that can play so many hendrix tunes. but that obviously doesn't make them as great as hendrix or even in the same league. what they lack is the originality combined with talent that jimi had to create the songs in the first place. this movie was so similar to the original omen that it felt like i was watching the first one only with better film quality. lines in this movie were taken word for word from the first. almost scene for scene as well. this version wasn't as scary as i remember the first being. the biggest difference from the original that i saw is that they choose not to use the original music which was so prominent in the prior films. this was one reason this wasn't as scary. also, most of the character’s reactions to the events that took place were pretty unbelievable. a number of continuity problems existed, but nothing that would distract most viewers. and wow, a complete and blatant rip-off of the sixth sense where they would always show some bright red feature in the scene to foreshadow something really bad was about to happen. it was so unoriginal and obvious. not only was that effect used in this movie, but they even stole the red balloon idea which was straight out of six sense. personally, i would much rather watch the original omen over this. however i think that the average audience would get hung up on how dated the original seems today. so for you average viewers, i suppose i’d recommend seeing this remake. anyone else that can still appreciate movies made before the 90s, skip this garbage and go for the first one. mediocre: C.
people are all excited that we killed al-zarqawi and say that this is why we have gone to iraq, but they forget that he was absolutely nothing before we toppled saddam. zarqawi rose to power during and as a result of the war. he might be the reason why are still stuck there and of course it is a good thing that he is dead, but i believe he would never have come to power had we not attacked iraq in the first place and instead focused more on finding bin laden and breaking up al-qaeda.
there is so much drama going on with my family and my grandpa. i don't even know how to best explain anything. basically grandpa ben isn't doing too well and family members are taking property before he is dead and the will is read (or even shown to anyone but the people taking the property). i haven't seen my grandpa in like twelve years and the next time i do it will be at his funeral. i don't think i can visit him now because he'd probably realize i'm there to see a last time before he dies and i'm not sure how that would make him feel. i'm not going to say that i never had opportunities to visit him these last few years, but we just never had the most convenient chances to go. there are a few other excuses i can think of but i guess they're not really important. i hope everything works out but i don't see that happening. relationships are going to turn out worse than they are today because of all of this and that's a damn shame.
Thursday, June 08, 2006
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
the bmi
X-Men (2006): an action packed story of good mutants versus bad mutants and the naïve humans trying to stop them both. it’s basically nothing different from the first two movies. the script is littered with stupid and clichéd one-liners. it’s like there is a book somewhere with generic lines that can be just added here and there in between all the action, and the writers will just flip through the book and pick out lines at random. the acting from the u.s. president was awful and he was really unbelievable. part of the battle at the end included magneto’s evil mutant army, yet all they did was charge at the good guys and humans like they were the confederate army or something. the most i ever saw was a couple of them would jump really high while the rest would get mowed down. what kind of mutant is that? there was a terrible continuity issue when they attacked alcatraz. one minute it was nice and sunny out in san fran, then they cut to a scene of the x-men flying to meet them, then they cut to sf right where they left off from the prior scene, only this time it’s pitch black outside. i’m know i'm being nitpicky, but come on, are the filmmakers that lazy to let this happen? not only that, but it takes the x-men like maybe 20 minutes to fly from ny to sf. granted they are in their modified sr-71 blackbird, but in real life the fastest it took a real sr-71 blackbird to fly from la to dc was two hours. most will overlook these details when they watch the movie, but i still think it’s poor filmmaking. magneto is a very smart person in the movie and in the comics, but for some reason he isn’t smart enough to stop wolverine, who is obviously magneto’s biggest threat in the movie. there were countless times that he could have just ripped out wolvi’s adamantium from his bones and incapacitated him indefinitely. i’m not making this crap up. he did this back in the fatal attraction series in the early 90s. they probably wouldn’t know how to handle the special effects of something like that, but either way, it makes magneto look like a dope for not taking advantage of that. the special effects were obviously good and one of the few highlights of the movie. but it was much of the same as the first two, meaning the first two were better. it was good to see important characters actually die though. in the comic books they just live on and on. obviously this story had to stray a little from the comics. for example jean and scott never got to get married and have their son nathan i believe. kim says she saw magneto use his power again at the end of the movie, but i don’t think he did. were they trying to leave it open for a fourth? let’s hope not. and finally i didn’t find it as witty as the first two. it’s worth seeing i guess only to complete the story. you get rebecca romijn naked, with and without her mystique costume so that's a plus! you gotta feel back for john stamos now. oh well, he had his fun while it lasted.
each year for the fourth of july provo has a few running races and this year i thought that i might enter to run the 5k. this idea of mine lasted almost an entire day before i realized that i probably couldn’t do it. i tried adding a couple more blocks to my nightly run and about killed myself. part of me says that i can’t see how people can ever work their way up to running so many miles without stopping. but of course it’s just practice and more practice. maybe I could do it but there’s less than a month now that i’d have to train. it’s pretty sad because 5k really isn’t that far. i think i’m just scared of placing last or walking half the race.
Omen IV: The Awakening (1991): a terrible sequel about a bratty little girl antichrist. it started out like a bad tv movie. turns out actually that it originally was a tv movie, so that explains a lot. so much sucked, from the opening sequence, credits, and musical score. i think it’s so stupid that the writers would even think it’s cool if the antichrist became a girl. not in the fact that i think the antichrist could only be a male, but it’s just another cliché to have a women take the place of part dominated by males. i’m not trying to come across as sexist. it’s like in terminator 3 when the new bad terminator was that really hot ass-kicking girl. anyway, they ripped off much of the story from the first one. in fact, except for a 30 second scene at the very end that references damien, you would think this entire movie was a crappy remake of the omen, rather than the third sequel. delia’s (the girl damien) performance is good but was far from that of the previous damiens. there is very little about how she was born and when they do give their 30 second explanation, i found it really hard to believe. the only good in the entire movie was a performance of the private detective hired to find out about delia. he really took over the second half of the film. of course once delia gets an idea of what he’s doing, his life on earth quickly ends by a wrecking ball. but leading up to that, his little supporting role was the highlight of the movie. that’s sad. see the first three, stop before getting to four. i now feel pretty prepared for this week’s omen.
today was a good day in part. for the first time since, oh, ever, according to the body mass index i am no longer considered overweight; but just barely. i’ve got to maintain this weight and keep pushing more off because i still have like fifteen pounds to go before getting where i’d like to be. for seriously as long as i can remember i’ve always been, well, tubby i guess is a good way to describe it. when i look at myself i still see too much stomach and i know i’ll never have a flat upper body like the majority of guys my age out there, but i’m feeling pretty good about it. but what a pain in the ass it’s been these past couple months. part of me hopes that some day i can go back to splurging on all the delectable food this world has to offer. i don’t think i can live the rest of my life with this new lifestyle of mine. but there really is no other way because once i get back into old habits, two months of hard work and routine can go down the drain in less than a week’s time. just say no to munchies! anyway, fifteen down, fifteen to go.
Killing Zoe (1994): an art-house film about a bunch of gen-x, drugged up, and sometimes bumbling misfits who attempt a heist at a major parisian bank. you really get into the characters on this one because they are so extremely believable. they act like people and not your typical movie characters (e.g. bad guy, good guy, comedic guy). in real life, we don’t actually walk around and act like we are some clichéd character who live life as a single role, and that is how the acting is done here. you’ll want to be zed’s (eric stoltz) friend, zoe’s (julie delpy) girlfriend, and by the end you will hate eric (anglade) so much that you just can't wait any longer for him to meet his demise. the first half of the movie is very witty with some great dialogue. the second half really changes pace and becomes pretty serious with the robbery. and i thought these tones of the movie really transition well into each other. i think there is really an art and challenge to creating sex scenes. many times they are done in poor taste or basically the exact same setup as every other movie with a sex scene. this one i must say was very well done. it’s a very visual movie, probably also good on the bud. i see a pattern here. my only complaint is that i wish they could have shot at better locations. i understand that the budget was small, but i’m sure paris has some really unique locations that could have been shot. the movie is really about zed’s journey through all of this, so i guess there is no reason to shoot locations if he had no reason to be there. for example, during the heist you never see what is taking place outside of the bank like you would with other bank robbery movies. police are involved and i’m sure it’s a madhouse out there, but zed is never out there so the audience never needs to see that. be warned that it is rated r for a reason. if you can stand other tarantino movies and the over the top violence and sometimes language, then you’ll have no problem watching this. it’s funny, entertaining, has a good pace, and is very well done. this was a really good recommendation and is worth buying. oh yeah, and one last thing. i don’t quite understand the title of the movie. it’s hard to believe that this is the best title that they could come up with. i guess it makes sense in some abstract way, but the average viewer is not going to really understand it.
on a side note, this movie made slightly over $30,000 at the u.s. box office. unbelievable. people were probably too focused on pulp fiction at the time.
each year for the fourth of july provo has a few running races and this year i thought that i might enter to run the 5k. this idea of mine lasted almost an entire day before i realized that i probably couldn’t do it. i tried adding a couple more blocks to my nightly run and about killed myself. part of me says that i can’t see how people can ever work their way up to running so many miles without stopping. but of course it’s just practice and more practice. maybe I could do it but there’s less than a month now that i’d have to train. it’s pretty sad because 5k really isn’t that far. i think i’m just scared of placing last or walking half the race.
Omen IV: The Awakening (1991): a terrible sequel about a bratty little girl antichrist. it started out like a bad tv movie. turns out actually that it originally was a tv movie, so that explains a lot. so much sucked, from the opening sequence, credits, and musical score. i think it’s so stupid that the writers would even think it’s cool if the antichrist became a girl. not in the fact that i think the antichrist could only be a male, but it’s just another cliché to have a women take the place of part dominated by males. i’m not trying to come across as sexist. it’s like in terminator 3 when the new bad terminator was that really hot ass-kicking girl. anyway, they ripped off much of the story from the first one. in fact, except for a 30 second scene at the very end that references damien, you would think this entire movie was a crappy remake of the omen, rather than the third sequel. delia’s (the girl damien) performance is good but was far from that of the previous damiens. there is very little about how she was born and when they do give their 30 second explanation, i found it really hard to believe. the only good in the entire movie was a performance of the private detective hired to find out about delia. he really took over the second half of the film. of course once delia gets an idea of what he’s doing, his life on earth quickly ends by a wrecking ball. but leading up to that, his little supporting role was the highlight of the movie. that’s sad. see the first three, stop before getting to four. i now feel pretty prepared for this week’s omen.
today was a good day in part. for the first time since, oh, ever, according to the body mass index i am no longer considered overweight; but just barely. i’ve got to maintain this weight and keep pushing more off because i still have like fifteen pounds to go before getting where i’d like to be. for seriously as long as i can remember i’ve always been, well, tubby i guess is a good way to describe it. when i look at myself i still see too much stomach and i know i’ll never have a flat upper body like the majority of guys my age out there, but i’m feeling pretty good about it. but what a pain in the ass it’s been these past couple months. part of me hopes that some day i can go back to splurging on all the delectable food this world has to offer. i don’t think i can live the rest of my life with this new lifestyle of mine. but there really is no other way because once i get back into old habits, two months of hard work and routine can go down the drain in less than a week’s time. just say no to munchies! anyway, fifteen down, fifteen to go.
Killing Zoe (1994): an art-house film about a bunch of gen-x, drugged up, and sometimes bumbling misfits who attempt a heist at a major parisian bank. you really get into the characters on this one because they are so extremely believable. they act like people and not your typical movie characters (e.g. bad guy, good guy, comedic guy). in real life, we don’t actually walk around and act like we are some clichéd character who live life as a single role, and that is how the acting is done here. you’ll want to be zed’s (eric stoltz) friend, zoe’s (julie delpy) girlfriend, and by the end you will hate eric (anglade) so much that you just can't wait any longer for him to meet his demise. the first half of the movie is very witty with some great dialogue. the second half really changes pace and becomes pretty serious with the robbery. and i thought these tones of the movie really transition well into each other. i think there is really an art and challenge to creating sex scenes. many times they are done in poor taste or basically the exact same setup as every other movie with a sex scene. this one i must say was very well done. it’s a very visual movie, probably also good on the bud. i see a pattern here. my only complaint is that i wish they could have shot at better locations. i understand that the budget was small, but i’m sure paris has some really unique locations that could have been shot. the movie is really about zed’s journey through all of this, so i guess there is no reason to shoot locations if he had no reason to be there. for example, during the heist you never see what is taking place outside of the bank like you would with other bank robbery movies. police are involved and i’m sure it’s a madhouse out there, but zed is never out there so the audience never needs to see that. be warned that it is rated r for a reason. if you can stand other tarantino movies and the over the top violence and sometimes language, then you’ll have no problem watching this. it’s funny, entertaining, has a good pace, and is very well done. this was a really good recommendation and is worth buying. oh yeah, and one last thing. i don’t quite understand the title of the movie. it’s hard to believe that this is the best title that they could come up with. i guess it makes sense in some abstract way, but the average viewer is not going to really understand it.
on a side note, this movie made slightly over $30,000 at the u.s. box office. unbelievable. people were probably too focused on pulp fiction at the time.
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Sunday, June 04, 2006
the great debate
The Final Conflict (1981): aka the omen iii. i really got sucked into the story because so many events are happening and there are many sub-plots throughout, which all tie mysteriously together. damien does end up losing a lot of the power that he seemed to have from the first two movies, which i thought was pretty dumb. the only explanation for this is is that it's god's work against him. but it is never explained, which is disappointing. they leave a lot of questions unanswered about events that took place in the time between the second movie and this. they brought back the devil rottweilers, which is fine except for the fact that they were never seen in the second movie. another explanation goes unanswered. it's certainly not as scary as the first two, but more driven by the story which is fine. the ending is good, but the way damien dies is pretty lame. i'm not sure why or how they could make a fourth movie since he died, but they did. this movie ends basically with the appearance of jesus and his second coming, and the death of the antichrist. i'm sure the motivation for number 4 was mostly money and not to continue the story of the struggle between god, satan, and christ. i will be very surprised to see any of them in the final film. (someone needs to make a movie about the armageddon and the second coming and really show someone's interpretation about what might happen when christ returns and etc. i'm really into this subject lately. it's probably because i'm reading the stand.) i can tell number 4 will suck. the acting in this one kind of sucked at times, but sam neil does a good job. it really completes the trilogy and although it will be low on the list, it's worth buying. definitely see assuming you've seen the second and first one.
sometimes i wish that i could write reviews for a living, or even just on the side as a hobby and have them published. i'm not the greatest at it and the crap i write here is usually very watered down when it comes to the amount of detail i could write about each movie if i were to really break them down. i keep them short and sweet only because i know no one wants to read super long reviews that could be found in any newspaper. maybe in the future i’ll do it as a hobby for the carmel pine cone when i’ve retired there. i’ll never have any film school or journalism experience under my belt so that could hinder any hopes i have.
Wild At Heart (1990): a well done mysterious, dark, and comedic film. technically, it's amazing: good transitions, heavy soundtrack, interesting uses of flashbacks. the story is told in a very literary manner, in that the script and the way persons/places/things are described are just like they would be found if reading it out of a book. the acting is all very over dramatic, but done well. props to nick for his singing. both he and the jurassic park girl were great together. there is hardly a scene over two minutes long except for a really good one with the two principle actors talking in their car in the texas deserts. despite the quick shots and scenes, it was a little too slow i thought and unfortunately all the video store had was a vhs copy, so i had to deal with a grainy picture and flippin' full screen. it wouldn’t be just anyone’s cup of tea because it’s pretty off the wall. and by the way, stay away from tuna, texas. it’s very much a precursor to what we’d see in the 90s with tarantino. and even with nick’s career, specifically leaving las vegas. i enjoyed the ending very much. i’m still pretty confused about all the players and their role in the story, their relationships between one another, and the whole story about the fire that killed lula’s father. there was probably a lot edited out for time, so i’m sure some director’s cut out there does a little better in explaining everything. i can see how this would be good to watch on the herb. it won the palme d’or which is quite the honor, but strangely won no other awards. there should have been nominations all over the place for acting, cinematography, and director. oh well. people that love movies and all genres, see it. the rest will just think it’s too weird.
my last letter of recommendation is going out to cu tomorrow hopefully. after that i just start with the waiting game, again.
recent dvds added to the collection: Code 46, Annie Hall, Six Feet Under: Season 2
i strongly believe in god and jesus christ. i strongly believe in the evolution of the human species. i strongly believe that homosexuals should be given the same rights as the next person. i strongly have an unconditional love for my wife. i strongly believe that i could watch a movie (and their special features) once a day forever and never get tired of doing it. in case you're wondering. now on with the show.
some people can't seem to have a lively debate without letting emotions take over.(apparently i'm an ass and an arrogant, self-righteous jerk. or so i'm told) i believe that homosexuals do not have a choice in the matter about their sexual orientation. as far as why these people are gay, the most reasonable explanation is that they are born that way, and either biology (genes) makes them who they are or it is something in their soul/spirit that says they are gay. would god purposely put these people on this earth knowing that they will be living in sin forever? maybe. why not? maybe there are just some things in life that he simply allows nature to take its course. maybe certain things just happen during the reproductive process and that's just something we have to accept. maybe god did it on purpose. i'd love to hear opinions on all of this. especially from christians willing to actually talk about it. the majority of gays don't choose to be and aren't socialized into it. they just are. i think the lds church is wrong to urge its members to contact their members of congress to show their support of the marriage amendment. if that means the church is wrong, which means the prophet is wrong, which means god is wrong, then so be it. this may be the last sentence i ever type because lighting should be striking in about five seconds, but i think god is wrong to deny these rights to gay couples. whew, still here. i did what i believed was right and contacted my senators to urge them to vote against the amendment this week. the senate will not pass the proposed marriage amendment though. everyone knows it. idiots like orrin hatch are wasting valuable time to push constitutional amendments just so he can leave a legacy. so much of it comes down to the reason people are gay in the first place. i hope so badly that one day all that debate will end and we will find solid evidence to show why some peeps are gay and others straight. i'm sure it won't be that easy though.
and if you've actually read this far into this post, congratulations grasshopper. thou shalt surely be rewarded. i've applied to the master of science in telecommunications program at the university of colorado. i so badly want to be a buff again. thank you and good night.
sometimes i wish that i could write reviews for a living, or even just on the side as a hobby and have them published. i'm not the greatest at it and the crap i write here is usually very watered down when it comes to the amount of detail i could write about each movie if i were to really break them down. i keep them short and sweet only because i know no one wants to read super long reviews that could be found in any newspaper. maybe in the future i’ll do it as a hobby for the carmel pine cone when i’ve retired there. i’ll never have any film school or journalism experience under my belt so that could hinder any hopes i have.
Wild At Heart (1990): a well done mysterious, dark, and comedic film. technically, it's amazing: good transitions, heavy soundtrack, interesting uses of flashbacks. the story is told in a very literary manner, in that the script and the way persons/places/things are described are just like they would be found if reading it out of a book. the acting is all very over dramatic, but done well. props to nick for his singing. both he and the jurassic park girl were great together. there is hardly a scene over two minutes long except for a really good one with the two principle actors talking in their car in the texas deserts. despite the quick shots and scenes, it was a little too slow i thought and unfortunately all the video store had was a vhs copy, so i had to deal with a grainy picture and flippin' full screen. it wouldn’t be just anyone’s cup of tea because it’s pretty off the wall. and by the way, stay away from tuna, texas. it’s very much a precursor to what we’d see in the 90s with tarantino. and even with nick’s career, specifically leaving las vegas. i enjoyed the ending very much. i’m still pretty confused about all the players and their role in the story, their relationships between one another, and the whole story about the fire that killed lula’s father. there was probably a lot edited out for time, so i’m sure some director’s cut out there does a little better in explaining everything. i can see how this would be good to watch on the herb. it won the palme d’or which is quite the honor, but strangely won no other awards. there should have been nominations all over the place for acting, cinematography, and director. oh well. people that love movies and all genres, see it. the rest will just think it’s too weird.
my last letter of recommendation is going out to cu tomorrow hopefully. after that i just start with the waiting game, again.
recent dvds added to the collection: Code 46, Annie Hall, Six Feet Under: Season 2
i strongly believe in god and jesus christ. i strongly believe in the evolution of the human species. i strongly believe that homosexuals should be given the same rights as the next person. i strongly have an unconditional love for my wife. i strongly believe that i could watch a movie (and their special features) once a day forever and never get tired of doing it. in case you're wondering. now on with the show.
some people can't seem to have a lively debate without letting emotions take over.(apparently i'm an ass and an arrogant, self-righteous jerk. or so i'm told) i believe that homosexuals do not have a choice in the matter about their sexual orientation. as far as why these people are gay, the most reasonable explanation is that they are born that way, and either biology (genes) makes them who they are or it is something in their soul/spirit that says they are gay. would god purposely put these people on this earth knowing that they will be living in sin forever? maybe. why not? maybe there are just some things in life that he simply allows nature to take its course. maybe certain things just happen during the reproductive process and that's just something we have to accept. maybe god did it on purpose. i'd love to hear opinions on all of this. especially from christians willing to actually talk about it. the majority of gays don't choose to be and aren't socialized into it. they just are. i think the lds church is wrong to urge its members to contact their members of congress to show their support of the marriage amendment. if that means the church is wrong, which means the prophet is wrong, which means god is wrong, then so be it. this may be the last sentence i ever type because lighting should be striking in about five seconds, but i think god is wrong to deny these rights to gay couples. whew, still here. i did what i believed was right and contacted my senators to urge them to vote against the amendment this week. the senate will not pass the proposed marriage amendment though. everyone knows it. idiots like orrin hatch are wasting valuable time to push constitutional amendments just so he can leave a legacy. so much of it comes down to the reason people are gay in the first place. i hope so badly that one day all that debate will end and we will find solid evidence to show why some peeps are gay and others straight. i'm sure it won't be that easy though.
and if you've actually read this far into this post, congratulations grasshopper. thou shalt surely be rewarded. i've applied to the master of science in telecommunications program at the university of colorado. i so badly want to be a buff again. thank you and good night.
Friday, June 02, 2006
Thursday, June 01, 2006
the debate: part vi
tom was kind enough to ruin my day a couple days ago with his lame plans to move to castle rock in six months. thanks tom. we finally, finally have a chance to move back, and what does he do? luckily though, reruns of lost season 2 started up last night so life hasn't been all that bad. kim and i are totally stoked because for once we won't have to wait for the dvd release to actually watch a season of our shows.
Damien - Omen II (1978): this wasn’t as scary as the first. it felt a lot like today’s scary movie sequels, where the whole point is to try and think up new gruesome ways a person can die. it lacked the great acting and cinematography that the first had. except for the kid who played damien. He played his part to perfection. i can see how this might never end unless there is some intervention by god or jesus. it seems that mortal man is really not of a match for damien, so i’m going to be disappointed if in the third or fourth movie he randomly gets killed by some random guy. in this movie alone he had a dozen people killed that were getting in his way, and he’s only like 13 years old! the ending of this movie really was a surprise so i’ll give them props there. i liked the whole crow/raven motif that would appear every time someone was about to die. all in all, not bad for a sequel. worth seeing (possibly buying if the quadrilogy turns out really good as a whole) and looking forward to the next one.
been having wicked and vivid dreams of late. a few nights ago kim was dead (do i mention that i was the killer?), the next night i died in space because i couldn't get my space helmet on in time (see tim robbins in mission to mars), and last night ryan was riding jeramie like a bull in a swimming pool. good times.
it's hot here. i was bored out of my mind today.
Brak: well let me start on the last point you made which is my favorite, bushes approval ratings. It simple, his approval ratings are so low because so many in this country simply don't get it!!!! Popular ideas spread like wildfire and few people stop to take a second thought of them. I'm not suggesting Bush is perfect. To me he has done a lot of huge things that I agree with him are exactly what the country needs. I know others disagree and that is fine. However, that only covers so much. Lets look at gas prices right now, I think it illustrates the point better than anything else. The last poll I saw showed most Americans blaming Bush for the high gas prices. Are you SERIOUS!!! How in the world?? First they say Iraq is all about oil and now the opposite. I don't blame Clinton for the high prices of gas but if you were to blame a president he would have to be the one, not because of his policies (although I could argue vetoing ANWR didn't help) but becuase the effects of gas prices come from things that happen decades ago. If Clinton had forseen the huge problem (which I don't blame him for not), then he could have pushed alternative fuels, reduced emissions or whatever else the Democrats think would help. I personally think that the Democrats ideas for energy are solutions, whether they are the best solutions are a different story but had he done this then we would have the benefits today. Bush has the same responsibility to save the gas prices of the future how he feels best and whether he is doing that is another debate, but to blame him for high gas prices today is absolutely ridiculous. OPEC is to blame. They are the ones limiting supply. Gas-hungry Americans are to blame (myself included). They are the ones buying SUVs and using way more oil than the rest of the world. And maybe, although I doubt, the Oil companies are to blame. They just might be withholding supply of oil that in turn raises price, but I doubt it becuase the price is already high due to low supply from OPEC. As to price gouging, take a lesson in Economics and people would know that when there are gas shortages then the price is not high enough, that is why they ran out, not too high. I agree an investigation should be done just in case however the real problem is the first two mentioned. My proposal is a compromise. First, I agree that we need alternative fuel. The economy itself is already moving toward that with everyone trying to make the cheapest hybrid. The government can help, as it has, by increasing funding for research. Bush has done this and I wouldn't object if he did it more. The democrats are also right to want an increase in emission restrictions. Not for the enviroment but becuase that puts more pressure on the markets to come up with an alternative. The people don't understand, they want a cleaner enviroment and alt. fuels but they hate that gas prices are high. The high gas prices will deliver that hope faster than anything else. It would hurt initially to raise the restrictions. In the seventies cars could have whatever emissions they wanted, when govt restricted, it didn't come to a halt, technology got better because it had to and the same would happen again. Bush is not doing this and I doubt he will but I think it would help. I think democrats say they want this but would hate to do it if they could becuase the effect would be a huge amount of people pissed off that prices are higher. Thirdly, we need to increase drilling by cutting the red tape of washington. we will always need oil regardless of how much. I would much rather supply our own. The only reason ANWR is an issue is becuase it is a icon for the enviromentalists. It has nothing to do with carabou. Drill oil. I have thought about government control on oil companies and anything other than a base on supply would help, price caps, windfall tax, or anything else would only hurt things worse. So I've just gone off on gas prices but it proves my point that people react and hate Bush for things they just don't understand. I would not assasinate all the bad leaders in the world becuase evil is not that easy to erase. I do fear that we will wait too long to act with Iran but I agree the time is not right to invade. However if we wait too long, the alliances built by Iran could only get worse. I understand the cost of war, I still believe this war is worth the cost and we are definately not telling the Iraqis how to run their country. We are allowing them to run it as Saddam never did. Look at Hamas for an example of us not running things even though we don't like the results of democracy. Anyway I've gotta run a turn something in. Let's just agree that our opinions of the Iraq war a opposites, (Mine of course being right). Respond to the gas price issue or something else and we'll discuss. talk to ya later.
i obviously don't agree with some of the stuff he is saying (i.e. his take on polling, comparing hamas to the iraqi gov.), but at the moment, i just don't care enough to respond. we've met up since he wrote this and talked more about oil stuff, so i'll spare you. i'll let him have the last word and leave it at that. too much bracken for one blog to handle.
Damien - Omen II (1978): this wasn’t as scary as the first. it felt a lot like today’s scary movie sequels, where the whole point is to try and think up new gruesome ways a person can die. it lacked the great acting and cinematography that the first had. except for the kid who played damien. He played his part to perfection. i can see how this might never end unless there is some intervention by god or jesus. it seems that mortal man is really not of a match for damien, so i’m going to be disappointed if in the third or fourth movie he randomly gets killed by some random guy. in this movie alone he had a dozen people killed that were getting in his way, and he’s only like 13 years old! the ending of this movie really was a surprise so i’ll give them props there. i liked the whole crow/raven motif that would appear every time someone was about to die. all in all, not bad for a sequel. worth seeing (possibly buying if the quadrilogy turns out really good as a whole) and looking forward to the next one.
been having wicked and vivid dreams of late. a few nights ago kim was dead (do i mention that i was the killer?), the next night i died in space because i couldn't get my space helmet on in time (see tim robbins in mission to mars), and last night ryan was riding jeramie like a bull in a swimming pool. good times.
it's hot here. i was bored out of my mind today.
Brak: well let me start on the last point you made which is my favorite, bushes approval ratings. It simple, his approval ratings are so low because so many in this country simply don't get it!!!! Popular ideas spread like wildfire and few people stop to take a second thought of them. I'm not suggesting Bush is perfect. To me he has done a lot of huge things that I agree with him are exactly what the country needs. I know others disagree and that is fine. However, that only covers so much. Lets look at gas prices right now, I think it illustrates the point better than anything else. The last poll I saw showed most Americans blaming Bush for the high gas prices. Are you SERIOUS!!! How in the world?? First they say Iraq is all about oil and now the opposite. I don't blame Clinton for the high prices of gas but if you were to blame a president he would have to be the one, not because of his policies (although I could argue vetoing ANWR didn't help) but becuase the effects of gas prices come from things that happen decades ago. If Clinton had forseen the huge problem (which I don't blame him for not), then he could have pushed alternative fuels, reduced emissions or whatever else the Democrats think would help. I personally think that the Democrats ideas for energy are solutions, whether they are the best solutions are a different story but had he done this then we would have the benefits today. Bush has the same responsibility to save the gas prices of the future how he feels best and whether he is doing that is another debate, but to blame him for high gas prices today is absolutely ridiculous. OPEC is to blame. They are the ones limiting supply. Gas-hungry Americans are to blame (myself included). They are the ones buying SUVs and using way more oil than the rest of the world. And maybe, although I doubt, the Oil companies are to blame. They just might be withholding supply of oil that in turn raises price, but I doubt it becuase the price is already high due to low supply from OPEC. As to price gouging, take a lesson in Economics and people would know that when there are gas shortages then the price is not high enough, that is why they ran out, not too high. I agree an investigation should be done just in case however the real problem is the first two mentioned. My proposal is a compromise. First, I agree that we need alternative fuel. The economy itself is already moving toward that with everyone trying to make the cheapest hybrid. The government can help, as it has, by increasing funding for research. Bush has done this and I wouldn't object if he did it more. The democrats are also right to want an increase in emission restrictions. Not for the enviroment but becuase that puts more pressure on the markets to come up with an alternative. The people don't understand, they want a cleaner enviroment and alt. fuels but they hate that gas prices are high. The high gas prices will deliver that hope faster than anything else. It would hurt initially to raise the restrictions. In the seventies cars could have whatever emissions they wanted, when govt restricted, it didn't come to a halt, technology got better because it had to and the same would happen again. Bush is not doing this and I doubt he will but I think it would help. I think democrats say they want this but would hate to do it if they could becuase the effect would be a huge amount of people pissed off that prices are higher. Thirdly, we need to increase drilling by cutting the red tape of washington. we will always need oil regardless of how much. I would much rather supply our own. The only reason ANWR is an issue is becuase it is a icon for the enviromentalists. It has nothing to do with carabou. Drill oil. I have thought about government control on oil companies and anything other than a base on supply would help, price caps, windfall tax, or anything else would only hurt things worse. So I've just gone off on gas prices but it proves my point that people react and hate Bush for things they just don't understand. I would not assasinate all the bad leaders in the world becuase evil is not that easy to erase. I do fear that we will wait too long to act with Iran but I agree the time is not right to invade. However if we wait too long, the alliances built by Iran could only get worse. I understand the cost of war, I still believe this war is worth the cost and we are definately not telling the Iraqis how to run their country. We are allowing them to run it as Saddam never did. Look at Hamas for an example of us not running things even though we don't like the results of democracy. Anyway I've gotta run a turn something in. Let's just agree that our opinions of the Iraq war a opposites, (Mine of course being right). Respond to the gas price issue or something else and we'll discuss. talk to ya later.
i obviously don't agree with some of the stuff he is saying (i.e. his take on polling, comparing hamas to the iraqi gov.), but at the moment, i just don't care enough to respond. we've met up since he wrote this and talked more about oil stuff, so i'll spare you. i'll let him have the last word and leave it at that. too much bracken for one blog to handle.
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
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