Where the Weird Wild Dreams Are.

Man I don't know what I ate to make me have such a random dream but oh well. From what I remember I was on a trip in a city somewhere and I somehow got lost in the city and stopped in what I thought was a pub. While inside I sat down and realized it was a teacher lecturing and I looked around and saw the preppy kids in their school uniforms. I told them I had to go. I somehow later found myself driving around campus and somehow Jon and Drew of Beerland karaoke were in my car long enough to hear me say the words to some skater kids "I love your music but hate your lifestyle" or something to that effect. I was then in some sort of outdoor mall type place where I met up with my dad and my brother. I spotted a lady putting her one legged mother in the back seat of a car. After leaving the store I notice the same car driving up beside me on the road but it's separated into two parts that are held together by the passengers in the back seat. I find it odd so I turn around and find another broken apart car only to find my dad ride what was left of the wheels up and down the sidewalk like a bob sled. Then randomly saw Madeleine Zima of Californication fame run up the street while putting on a sweater before I talked to her and told her that even though I know her name I will always be tempted to call her Mia. And she answered 'I hope not'. So I came up with a compromise of calling her Mia Madeleine. She agreed and told me about her friends going to see some band tonight. At this point I forced myself to wake up so I could write the contents of this weird dream. It was right out of a Michel Gondry film.

Time

I recently came to the realization that I live in the past and the future at the same time. I never want much to do with the 'now'. I've been wanting to start exercising again for a while now but I haven't been making the time for it. It's the same problem I have with many of the things I want to do in life. I either put it off, or don't think about it until I can't do anything about it at that time, or I get a bit mad at myself for not already having it done. With me it's always either "I wish I did that earlier." or "I'll do it tomorrow." Perhaps it is time I Carped the Diem. I'll get around to it eventually. How does tomorrow sound?

12 Year Old Me is Gonna Be Pissed

Lately I've been thinking a lot about what I am doing with my life and where I thought I would be at this time. Maybe it's my lack of any present artistic endeavors, maybe it's because I've been watching too many episodes of How I Met Your Mother and Californication, or it could just be my allergies but sometimes I think the 12 year old me would be a bit displeased with himself. I'm not yet the scientist, police officer, lawyer or actor that I wanted to be when I grew up. But then again 12 year old me also still believed in Santa Claus. It seems that from a young age I was ear raped by the school system into thinking that continuing my education would reap nothing but monetary rewards. "Only the uneducated get stuck with the jobs no one wants to do." As I have gotten older I've noticed that is not always the case. Sometimes I'm glad that I didn't go down that path of higher education so that I would live out my days in retail paying back student loans I still couldn't afford while dusting off a degree that's not worth the paper it's printed on. Other times I think about what would be different about me if I did further my education by attending College. Would I have settled on a degree that would be useful and is actually hiring right now? Would I be dating some sexy co-ed I once met at a keg party? Would I be some kind of a douche? And how would this affect my interest rate? You know what I think it may just be the allergies.

How I Met How I Met Your Mother

My first experience with How I Met Your Mother (from now on HIMYM) came about by a Myspace post from my friend Andrea about 3 years ago. Other than gushing about Jason Segel she showed a clip about how the character Robin was once a pop singer in Canada. That scene alone should have been enough to make me take notice. Indeed I did but alas I always feel as if I have to start a show from the beginning in order to enjoy it so I let it go for the time being. Days, weeks, and months go by and I get Bobb X and my roommate Chelley try to convince me that I would enjoy the heck out of this show. I still do not watch for whatever reason. Finally in 2009 I willingly let my friend Kelly force me into watching the show. From one episode I wanted more. If you don't know, the show is about the future version of the main character Ted recounting the days when he was living in NYC and hanging out with all of his best friends and how he eventually will meet his wife. I found all of the episodes through different online means that I won't go through in this blog. I was able to start from the beginning about a month ago and I am now halfway through season 4 and loving it. It's refreshing that there is a sitcom filmed before a live studio audience that I can watch without cringing. So here's to Ted and the gang and here's hoping Neil Patrick Harris gets the Emmy he so deserves for season 4.

Even Ripley is Not Going to Believe This!

Due to circumstances beyond my control (Firefox frakking up) I am now using Safari to browse the web. Along with this I have recently purchased 2 EPs and one Album off of iTunes. Anyone who knows me knows that I am fairly resistant to all things Apple but I must say I am liking Safari. I'm still going to purchase physical copies of albums though.

Planes, Buses, and Automobiles.

Wow. What a long day to travel. After going to bed at 1:30am I woke up at 5:15am to get to the airport on time so I could catch my flight. I decided to park in an outside lot that I had never been to before so obviously I ended up going the wrong way and had to backtrack a bit. Feeling like I dodged a bullet I get the airport only to discover that Austin-Bergstrom Airport is really busy at 6am! I get there and decide to not pay the $15 to check my bag. I'm glad I didn't because the line to get through security was a huge one. Not much longer than the line to check in baggage. After slowly getting through security I get in the plane and find my seat. Lucky for me my seatmate was a pretty cool person. For once it was someone I could talk to and not some drunken old hag. When the plane gets close to Atlanta we run into a bit of storm activity. The plane was not allowed to land. In fact the airport was backed up and many planes were left circling around the airport waiting for the go ahead to land. A few moments later the captain comes on the intercom. Our plane is running low on fuel so we will be redirected to Montgomery, Alabama. We land and once again the captain comes on the intercom and welcomes us to the Columbus, GA airport and that we should sit tight and wait to refuel before we take off again. A few more moments pass and again the captain comes on the intercom and tells us that there is something wrong with the plane and that someone from Atlanta was driving there with the part to fix it and it wouldn't take that long. We were then allowed to exit the plane and see what the Columbus, GA airport had to offer. Which basically was one little diner that definitely made more money today than they probably had made in the entire month of July. Again the captain came on the intercom to inform us that we needed to get all of our luggage at the baggage claim because they chartered a bus for us and it was on it's way. I thought since I had gotten along so well with my seatmate I figured that we should at least suffer together. We got on the bus that would eventually get us to Atlanta. But first we had to suffer through a bus that had zero air conditioning, at noon, in July, in Georgia. It was beginning to feel like a John Hughes movie. After getting about half way the bus ran into some construction along the interstate that made it seem more like a parking lot. Some tech savvy people were pulling out their GPS devices to give everyone a clue as to how far we were from the airport. After about an hour and a half of riding without the A/C we all finally arrive to a very much delayed Atlanta airport. Every flight seemed to be off by about 2 hours. After going through a security checkpoint for a third time I wait patiently in line for new flight details. After no luck getting on a flight on standby I remember that the day was going much better when I wasn't suffering alone so after I secured a seat on the next flight out I looked for my old seatmate to wait for the next flight. After wishing my new friend good luck in getting on her next flight I head back to where my flight was supposed to be. Only to get there and realize it had changed terminals. So I had to get to another terminal and the gate was one that was all the way down the other end. I finally reach the plane only to realize that this flight was scheduled exactly 12 hours (11 when you account for the time zone) after my first flight. I finally arrived in NC at around 8:30pm.

The Legend, The Myth, The Man

Michael Jackson was a cultural phenomenon. He had a great impact on the media in general. His music influenced a generation of musicians that are still performing today. Without Michael, MTV wouldn't be where it is today. Music videos in general would not be where it is today. Tabloid magazines would not be where they are today. Dancing would not be where it is today. And Late Night TV monologues would have been 1/3 less shorter had it not been for this man. I find it awesome that even after all of his troubles of the last 15 years or so that on his day of death he be remembered for what he will and should always be remembered as around the world: The King of Pop.

Stand-Up and Delivered

In the last couple of days I have finally done what many have said I should do for the last 3 years at least. It is also something I have wanted to do I was just afraid to get the ball rolling. It took someone special to remind me that I really wanted to do it. I've even been writing some material for the past year. Not much but a good start. But I must say I was right about starting. I went to Kick Butt Coffee for their open mic night. I felt a bit dodgy at first but I felt I was getting the hang of it a bit by the time I was done. As soon as I was done I wanted to get back up there and try again. The crowd could have been a bit better in my opinion they weren't really laughing at anyone's jokes that night. As my friend Craig would say "You couldn't move that crowd with a gun!" I did hit them with one good one though. The thing is I always thought that as soon as I did stand-up I would have felt like 'been there done that' and be done with it but that's not the case. Instead it makes me want to try harder to make people laugh. And write more jokes. Which I have done. I tried again on Thursday night at The Velveeta Room. The anticipation to get up on stage was almost too overwhelming there. I would be lying if I didn't admit that I was tempted to leave a few times. For the record if you are going to perform late at night be sure to eat something before you leave the house so you don't think you will pass out from not having anything in your system. This time I had more of a receptive crowd. I did have some friends in the audience as well. I got more laughs than I did the previous night. When I was done I was congratulated by many in the crowd which made me feel even better about it. I will definitely be making a habit of this.

Summer Movie Preview

If you know me you know that watching movies is one of my favorite things to do. And here comes the summer movie season with a shit ton of movies that I want to sit in the AC while watching.
In no particular order except for number one.

1. Star Trek: I have been a trekkie/trekker most of my life. My favorite has always been DS9. I even liked Enterprise. And the only reason I didn't watch Voyager was because I didn't have UPN at the time.

2. Wolverine: As long as it is closer to X2 as opposed to X3.

3. Public Enemies: Christian Bale, Johnny Depp FTW.

4. The Proposal. I will watch anything with Ryan Reynolds in it.

5. GI Joe: This looks like it could be either really awesome or really cheesy.

6. Transformers 2: Nostalgia for the Original will make me go. Bay may make me leave early though.

7. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: These movies never cease to amaze.

8 Terminator Salvation: The only Salvation for me to watch a McG movie is Christian Bale.

9. Angels and Demons: Opie has gone and made a sequel, Bee.

10. Year One: You had me at Harold Ramis.

11. Julie & Julia: Yeah it looks like a chick flick. So what? Don't judge me.

12. Funny People: Apatow + Sandler = Bring on the funny.

13. 500 Days of Summer: I heart indie flicks.

14. Next Day Air: Donald Faison is in this so I'll be watching this.

Okay that's enough for now. There are many more and this Summer season looks like it is going to be a busy one for me. I'm already behind which is not good.

And the Award (Should) Go To. . . .

Unfortunately I have to work tonight so I won't be able to watch the Academy Awards live but that doesn't mean I don't care. Though I am skipping categories I don't particularly care about or have an opinion on.

Here is my short list with a little description afterward of . . .

Best Actor : The only movie I have seen that is nominated in this field is Benjamin Button and as much as I love Brad Pitt this is not his year to win it. This one will probably go to Mickey Rourke unless he has alienated too many of the voters.

Best Actor in a Supporting Role: If this doesn't go to Heath Ledger expect EVERY news outlet to be making it THE news story of the week. Though Hoffman was great in Doubt.

Best Actress in a Leading Role: This one is a tough one. Jolie was amazing in Changeling so I believe it will be between her and Streep in Doubt. Streep edges out for me because while watching Doubt I was pulled out of the movie briefly to point out to myself how intense and awesome the acting in this is. I only take Winslet out of the picture because in my opinion she was better in Revolutionary Road and she was nominated for the Reader so she wouldn't win this time around. Plus she just won two Golden Globes.

Best Supporting Actress: This one I have no idea though. I think Amy Adams will edge out over the competition due to Doubt being Shandley's baby.

Best Animated: Wall-E. I haven't seen any of these and can tell you Wall-E will win.

Best Cinematography : The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. My love for this movie is known but it should win this category.

Best Film Directing: Having seen 3 of the 5 nominees I say that Danny Boyle will get this one.

Best Score: Like what happened with me with Doubt while I was watching Defiance I couldn't help but think how awesome the score was as I was watching the movie.

Best Music (Song) : Don't care.

Best Writing (Adapted) This one will more than likely go to Doubt. But I wouldn't count out the Reader.

Best Writing (Original) I hope it goes to In Bruges but I have a feeling that's another throw away nomination and it will go to Milk. (Nothing against Milk).

Now for Best Picture. . .

I feel it should go to Benjamin Button but that's probably just me. See don't get me wrong I liked Slumdog Millionaire but to be honest to me it is my least favorite Danny Boyle movie. Sunshine was better, Millions was better, I even liked the Beach more than I liked Slumdog Millionaire. Though if Slumdog Millionaire wins expect Hollywood to shoot more movies in India to cash in on it's success. Why pay actors in L.A. when all you have to do is offer clean water to people in the slums of India. It's a win-win for the producers.

Oh and I hope they ask John C McGinley to portray Dr. Cox tonight just so I can see his reaction to Hugh Jackman hosting the Academy Award Show.

New America

Welcome to the New America. I don't know about you but once it finally set in that Obama was inaugurated as President of the United States and Bush had left D.C. I felt a change come over myself and my surroundings. The sun shined a bit brighter. I was walking a bit taller. Nipples were a bit more erect. It's a wonderful feeling. And the cynical, downward spiral that has plagued our great nation for the last eight years has finally come to a close. What will the new Presidency bring? I don't really know but at this point all Obama really had to do was show up yesterday and already he is doing a better job than his predecessor.

Curious Case

In Superman: The Movie Lex Luthor talks about how someone can "read War and Peace and think it to be just a book about war. Others can read the ingredients on a bubble gum wrapper and unlock the secrets of the Universe." I had a moment like that last week when I finally watched the movie I was most looking forward to. Let me just say that it was a splendid piece of art. I thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to end. Maybe because it was David Fincher and Brad Pitt. Maybe because I may have unlocked a secret in myself I have been unable to see or kept myself from seeing for a long time. Great movies tend to be more than the sum of their parts. I believe what constitutes a brilliant film is one that still has you emotionally reeling long after the credits have rolled. This film was no exception. I not only was watching a movie I was able to connect to this movie on a personal level. The movie's central themes dealt with loss, loneliness, abandonment, and most importantly love. It made me think about the loss of people throughout my life whether it was loved ones who walk in and out of my life for whatever reason to the death of my Grandpa last year. It had me face the sense of loneliness I have been feeling lately and offered some hypotheses on why I am still single after all of these years. I took a long look at myself after the movie. That's when the movie hit me the hardest. I felt more alone than I had in a long while. I came to the conclusion that one of my main reasons for being single for so long is that when I start to like someone I almost immediately think that it's going to end. I cannot seem to reconcile those thoughts. Or about how I will feel when it does end. Even when there is no evidence to support it my brain goes through that motion. I'm not sure why but like it or not they are there. I know in the end these are just thoughts and they only have whatever power that I give them and I tend to give thoughts like these more power than I should. I love it when movies do that. This will definitely be one I add to my collection when it comes out.