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Monday, February 27, 2006
The Post with me discussing some movies I've seen this year and other assorted things
So as the title says her are the movies I've seen so far with some quick thoughts---you can ask if you want more in-depth thoughts.
Hostel- A moive that left me disappointed becasue of the marketing that went into it. They positioned it as a brutal horror film that was going to be people getting tortured in an ugly place. The movie was brutal at a couple spots and had a nice moral undertone to it but was lacking more time at the Hostel.
Glory Road- A poignant tale of the first all-black starting five in college basketball as they took on the powerhouse Kentucky and changed basketball forever. It is a good film filled with great performances but is trying to hard at times to be a morality tale.
Hoodwinked- A great little twist on the old story of Little Red Robin Hood. The different versions of the story entwines nicely and there are some good characters--especially the Billy Goat.
Cheaper by the Dozen 2- I liked the first one and overall liked the second one but it was missing something that the first one had. There is a great little side plot with the young girl of Martin's family dating the young boy from Eugene Levy's family. It's a cute little story.
When A Stranger Calls- Decent remake of the old tv movie but not great. The young actress playing the lead role is gorgeous and holds up well under the weight of a bad script. There is not enough conflict in it though, but they improve on the original if only by a little bit.
Brokeback Mountain- Really lives up to the hype surrounding it based solely on the performances of Jake, Heath, and Michelle Williams. If Heath Ledger wins the Oscar he'll hav done it by saying maybe the least amount of words in Oscar winner history. His performance is all physical and emotional and you really feel for him. The ending is incredibly sad and I got to admit I was moved by it. The only gripe I have is--this is not unlike any other romantic drama in a lot of ways so I don't know if it would get as much attention as it does without the gay cowboy angle. The talk of the movie being graphic is ridiculous as they show nothing but rather imply more than anything. Actually they show more nudity of the women than anything. Anne Hathaway has got more going on upstairs than Princess Diaries let on.
Final Destination 3- The guys who helmed the original (and also many classic episodes of The X-Files) return and hold true to the original's themes. Death is stalking people who survived a pretty cool looking roller coaster crash. A quite depressing film really as the message is--"Death will find you"
Date Movie- Pretty good spoof movie but they attacked some questionable things to parody which took me out at times. Plus they were too obvious at times instead of letting the joke speak for itself. "You Hitch?" "Do I look like Will Smith?" Ok we get the joke guys. Still Alyson Hannigan looks great and some other performances are really good.
So that's it so far...The next two weeks will add movies I'm dying to see, 16 Blocks and The hills Have Eyes......I'll add movies I've caught on HBO and bought later in the week. I want to keep better record of what I watch.
I'm still waiting on my announcement to see if it is 1 announcement or 2. The waiting as Tom Petty said is the hardest part.
I ate dinner tonight with my great-grandmother at the Nursing Home tonight as we had Pork simmered with apples, baked potato, and broccoli. Good stuff. I of course got introduced to every friend my grandmother has down there which is a lot like being a shark in an aquarium. Although I did get the one old couple to bust into laughter.
Grammy-"These are my great-grandkids, Brian and Eric (my brother)"
Old Man- "Your great grandkids?"
Grammy- "Yep this is them."
Me- "Well I don't know if we're GREAT grandkids-Pretty good at best probably."
The old lady in the elevator started laughing and didn't stop til we were at the cafeteria. I like making people's days.
Good night
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
The Post with some quick hits
Given the opportunity--I'd kill Randy Jackson from American Idol.
Then I'd try to have sex with Paula Abdul but that's another story.
Seriously are these people hearing the same thing I do when people sing--Thank god for Simon having some sense.
Big things might be happening for me in and around this time--or not...Stay tuned to find out
Thursday, February 16, 2006
The Post with a note to anyone who cares
Events like today's in the past would've defeated me. In our day to day lives we are met with challenges both self-inflicted and inflicted upon us by others (today was the latter). An event like today's would've crushed me a few months ago.
BUT
The new me with the new attitude flicks the critcism and bullshit off his back and keeps moving forward. I rise above it all.
So quit trying to beat me--you can't.
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
The post with some Valentine's Day thoughts
I was going to post about some random things going on in my life right now but I felt more moved to talk about today's special day.
I'm so sick and tired of people bitching about Valentine's Day.
"Why do you need a day to do something nice?"
"It's all an excuse to have sex, go to dinner."
"Just another holiday for Hallmark."
Who fucking cares. Quit being so goddamn cynical. Why must you stand in the way of other people finding some little bit of enjoyment and happiness in their week?
Of course it's another holiday designed for Hallmark to make money--money is what makes business boom. It makes the world turn. Part of our economic system is based on Hallmark marketing hundreds of Valentine's Day related items for the public to buy. Hey if it means anything I'll help them invent 100 more holidays if it helps the economy.
Secondly, some couples need this excuse of a day to do things. Think of young parents who have little children and never get time to sneak off by themselves to have a nigiht of passion. Valentine's Day means they get someone to watch tehir kids and the person is less likely to have something else becasue they know what the deal is. Or an old married couple that might forget from time to time how much they mean to each other. Don't think a simple bouqet of roses doesn't help soften that some.
Lastly, it isn't about the doing what you should be doing every other day. Parents buy their kids things all the time but when they do it aroudn the anniversary of the kids' birth--BAM Birthday. It isn't the fact that people don't buy flowers, or go to movies, or to dinner throughout the year. It's the fact that how many times do they talk themselves out of doing something. Feb 14th gives them a solid reason to go out. Some people--whether sadly or not need that boost in that direction.
So damnit people, let couples and loved ones enjoy the special day set aside for them. If you want to be grumpy about it go into whatever corner you want and sliently cry to yourself til midnight strikes where you cna then peel yourself off the wall and back into society. Let people enjoy what they want to enjoy
Friday, February 10, 2006
The Post with me waxing poetically (sorta)
I've not been around lately as I've been busy with a lot of things--one of which relates to this post.
Lately I've been in the market for a new car. To be more accurate I should say a slightly used car with decent milage and a good price. It means the beginning of a new vehicle life and the end of another.
It was the summer of 2000, May to be exact when I began the search for a new vehicle. I was just out of my first year of college, had a job working at the local pool company and was in the market for a vehicle of my own. I was searching for a Chevrolet Blazer but could not find anything that had the combination of low milage nad right price I was looking for. I finally settled on the fact that I was going to need to buy a car. I looked at a few dealers not really finding anything I liked. One day, while driving down a main road I saw a sign at the local car rental place where they were selling their old Chevy Cavaliers for 5500 dollars. I stopped one niht after work with a friend and checked out as best I could. I saw one that was a teal blue color which is probably my favorite color ever. Instantly I was hooked.
That Thursday I met with the owner and he gave me an offer I had to take. Why not take the vehicle for 2 days, bring it back on Saturday and see f you liked it? I took him up on the offer. I loved the car from the minute I got behind the wheel of that baby. Saturday I took it back and said I wanted it. They told me to come back on Monday with a down payment and it was mine.
Monday came and I dropped down my check and they handed me the keys and owner's stuff and that 1996 Chevy Cavalier was mine. It was the middle of summer so I broke in that vehicle the only way I knew how. Roll the windows down, let the wind blow over my buzzed head, and cranked the country station. The song that played over the radio was, "Country Comes to Town," by Toby Keith. I sang every word at the top of my lungs and knew that the car was mine for good.
In the past almost 6 years that car and I have seen and done so many things together. It was their that first summer where we went to Spook Lane with friends. It's went on trips to Northeast Philly, the Poconos, the beach in Virginia. It's been to Knoebels, Dorney Park, and Hershey Park. It has housed my baseball and hockey equipment. It was loaded to the brim 4 times a year to move in and out of school. It was where I spent a few nights while helping at camp. It's where I've eaten many a meal and used to keep a snack stash in the glovebox.
It housed the one night with this amazing girl who I'll never forget. It was the place where I had many a discussion with friends, where I've talked to God, where I've cried about things, where I've laughed, and where I've shared secrets.
It was where I spent most of my time with my buddy James who I've not seen much since that summer. We drove past a former frined's house in it and hurled insults. It's where I made abet I could start to push it down a hill and jump into it again before it got to the stop sign--which I did but barely.
That may sound cruel but it got me back one bitter cold Saturday night in February 2001 when the car made a sputtering sound as I made a turn onto route 568. I said to myslef, "That didn't sound good." I KNEW it wasn't good when I hit the gas pedal and all the engine did was rev without shifting. A half mile later the car rolled to a stop as my transmission had blown up. I sat in the frigid weather as I pushed the old girl off the road into a famr house driveway. Despite that though--the old girl and I had a great reltionship. Also sadly it was destroyed one summer day in 2003 when someone in Norristown broke into my car and broke the plastic around my dsh to steal my radio.
Most recently it has been my solace at work as I walk out to it at break and lunch to listen to Stern, or sleep or whatever giving myself some time away from the morons I work with.
Lately though I feel the need is coming to trade the old girl in, and get me some new wheels, which will be happening this month at some point probably. So tonight was the night I wanted to give it, the proper send-off it deserves. After the normal Friday routine I stopped in at Arby's to pick up dinner. Why Arby's? Well in my opinion it has the finest fast food around and it was the on;y place out at school I frequented so it felt like the proper last meal the eat in it. (BTW Matt--Arby's drive-thru is open til midnight, so don't be surprised if we stop for roast beef sandwiches one night)
After consuming my meal it was time to crank up the country radio and roll that window down (depsite the frigid temperatures outside). I flipped over to Sirius' New Country channel, and the current song was just ending. The next song they played was "I Love this Bar" which is sung by Toby Keith. It's times like this that make me never lose hope that someone is sticking up for me somewhere.
Now there is one chance the old girl might be granted a stay. If I find something that is within a certain price range I might keep the Cavalier. See the trade-in value is only like 500 dollars and really if I find a decent low price how big a difference does 500 bucks make. That car is worth a lot more than 500 dollars to me. Everytime I'm feeling down, I get behind that wheel and I'm an 18 year old kid cruising down the road singing every song on the radio. So who knows if this is truly the end or just the regular vehicle beginning my pinch-hitter.
If it is though--my baby got the proper send-off it needed tonight, and that is what was most important to me.
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
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