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Saturday
13Mar2010

Notes On Film

Last night, the wife and I watched Twilight: New Moon. Tonight we watched the remake of the classic arts school film, Fame. Two horrible movies in two days. New Moon had a few scenes that were enjoyable to watch just because...well, just because. Now, I feel like I need to perform some penance, like two La Dolce Vitas and a Godfather, just as recompense. I actually started watching La Dolce Vita on Friday, during the day, but fell asleep midway through (not the film's fault).

I have recently subscribed to the RSS feeds of quite a few film blogs because I'd like to increase my knowledge in the field. I've always appreciated film as well as mainstream Hollywood culture, but I've found myself increasingly disenchanted with the blockbuster hits and craving the independent and foreign film markets. It seems to me that the heart of cinema has checked out of big-time Hollywood.

A note on film critics. My two favorite film critics are Peter Travers and Roger Ebert. Travers because I typically agree with his assessments, and Ebert because of his imaginative and fanciful writing style. I envy the life of a movie critic, although I do realize that it is truly difficult to sit in movie after movie, even when you have absolutely no interest in the subject matter (or you know the film will suck). 

I think the role of the film critic should be modified. Last year, the biggest box office draw was Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, which scored a whopping 20% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer. For the two people who don't know what the Tomatometer is, it is a percentage average of the major critical voices in the film industry. It's the overall critical opinion of any movie, and generally an accurate gauge as to the worth of a film. What does this say? No one is listening.

Well, that's not completely true. Those who care about film (not movies) are listening. Therefore, I hearby decree: movie critics should only watch and review movies worth reviewing. The Hannah Montana Movie and the new Twilight flick's audience turnout will in no way be affected by negative reviews, so why bother. The critics will have improved dispositions and the general public won't even notice the difference. 

A note on collecting movies. I'm not going to get into a debate over whether you should be collecting DVDs or Blu-Rays (or anything at all, for that matter). With that said, I've decided that I might start collecting a particular style (although style isn't the right word). I'm considering collecting both foreign and classic films of note. Criterion collection films would qualify, foreign films, and hard to find treasures. The rest of my collection will continue to exist on external hard drives.

Watching next:

Revanche
The White Ribbon
Gonin 1 & 2
The Postmaster Always Rings Twice

 

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Thursday
11Mar2010

Fly On The Wall

I always hear people say, 'Boy, I wish I was a fly on the wall for that conversation', which means they wish they could have surreptiously listened in on some discussion. I've always found this scenario lacked both imagination and common sense. I think a better statement would be 'Boy, I wish I was me with teleportation and invisibility'. Right? I mean, if we're playing in the world of fantasy with the only limitation being our imagination, then why not be a little more creative? Also, I hear the lifespan of a fly isn't very enviable.

Can you think of any other better ways to clandestinely observe other's conversation? Leave your ideas in the comments.

Wednesday
03Mar2010

Sounded Like a Good Idea

ME: I was thinking, after I student teach, I can just substitute teach and make some pretty good money.

WIFE: Really?

ME: Yeah, they pay like $120 a day. It's not certain you can get placed somewhere every day. I mean, I can make more substituting than I can teaching full-time.

WIFE: No, you can't.

ME: (after doing the math) Oh, I guess not. It was a better idea before I did the math. I guess this is why I'll be teaching English.

Thursday
18Feb2010

Not Ready To Make Nice

I was walking through Borders today and was stopped cold in my tracks. I spotted an interesting book. I was drawn to this book like a Federation starship being pulled in by a Romulan tractor beam. Initially, it was the cover (see picture), but upon further examination, it was obvious that the book had been placed by the very hand of Xenu for my reading pleasure. It's a book written by a blogger. A famous blogger named John Scalzi. The incomporable Wil Wheaton wrote the introduction for this book, so it's definitely going to be right up my alley. I read the first page immediately, which included this disclaimer, which I've decided is a perfect fit for my own blog and personality

Everything here is my opinion, and mine alone.
Occasionally, I am completely full of shit.
Well, all right, fine, more than occasionally.
On occasion I will also opine on things I know little or nothing about.
Which is fine, because the US Constitution says I can.
So there.
I'm not interested in being fair.
I am occasionally petty, nasty, snappish and rude. I'm also occasionally a tremendously sweet guy. You never know which you're going to get.
Unless you have been told specifically by me otherwise, no, as a matter of fact, I don't care what you think about me or my opinions.
I do try to be polite when I tell you that.
But I can't promise anything.
This is done by me for the purposes of my own amusement, and exists and updates entirely at my whim. If I decide to go away for a day, or a week, or forever, then I will.
I think that's it for now.

As I've stated before, I reserve the right to be a walking contradiction. A few days ago, I wasn't nice enough. But the more I reflect on it, the more I realize that my idols are and were men who pull no punches. Christopher Hitchens, Penn Jillette, and Hunter S. Thompson top my list of heroes. All very smart, very opinionated, and seldom, if ever, apologetic. Maybe the Dixie Chicks said it best: 'I'm not ready to make nice'.

Saturday
13Feb2010

Why Can't I Just Be Nice?

The fam and I were at the mall today shopping for a few things (mom needed a coat and Somer needed a pair of replacement jeans). We found ourselves in a particular store, which will remain unnamed, shopping for new jeans for Somer. My mother made a comment, or perhaps said nothing at all, at which I decided to comment about the store's selection of men's clothes. I stated that they were 'very Jersey shore, worn mostly by neckless, meathead douchebags', and then pointed out a random bald guy across the door befitting of my description. What is wrong with me?

I find myself in situations like this way too often. Situations where I'm not as nice as I would like to be. Often, these are moments where other people don't even get to experience my vitriolic tirades. In fact, the majority of times, I keep them in my head. The problem is the fact that they are occurring at all. I can't say that these episodes are any more or less so than the past, although I am more aware of them now than I may have been in the past. And that's a good thing.

I've picked up the book titled 'Anger' by Thich Nhat Hanh more than a few times while browsing the bookstore, although I don't think I ever cracked the damn thing open. Lots of help that's gonna be, right? I ponder the proper response in the clothes store. Mentioning that I'm not a fan of the clothes would have been sufficient enough. There's no need to berate and judge a bunch of people that I don't even know.

I need to remember the blog post I wrote on learning from others. Just because others are different doesn't mean you can't learn from them. In fact, the dumbest person you know can most definitely teach you something. Sure, it may not be the latest discovery in particle physics, but it may be some unusual insight on life from a different and rewarding perspective. This step begins by seeing others as being more valuable than yourself. It progresses with the ability to approach each situation as a learner and every person you meet as a master. 

In closing, I'll leave you with a poem from Hafiz, a sufi poet from the 14th century*:

The small man
Builds cages for everyone
He
Knows.
While the sage,
Who has to duck his head
When the moon is low,
Keeps dropping keys all night long
For the
Beautiful
Rowdy
Prisoners.

 Note to self: Build fewer cages, drop more keys.

*While in the process of writing this post, I ran across an excellent and timely post about empowerment by Chris Guillebeau. Credit to him for the poem and new mantra.

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