All But Forgotten

I think more often than not most of us that blog spend the first half of every entry apologizing for lack of updates. I won't.

I've become addicted to crossword puzzles. This is something I never thought I'd do. But after downloading the NY Times Crossword for my iPhone (if you have one you should definitely get it) I've become an addict. I'm still not at the skill level to do the weekend ones. In a related note I've been watching Jeopardy nearly twice a day for about the past 3 months now. It's become an addiction as well. Evan and I played along the other day. I wish I had friends who were into it and I'd totally have Jeopardy night's were we all played along and kept score. That would be amazing.

I've discovered that tennis is one of the greatest things ever. Mat let me borrow a racket and we've played twice. I had so much fun playing I bought my own racket. Got it for sorta cheap ($30). I really regret not having played this in school. This is something I could've easily committed myself to. So fun.

I saw Sonic Youth last night and it was so good. If you ever get a chance to see them go! They played almost all of the newest album, a lot off "Daydream Nation" and I think a few from "Sister". There were like two I couldn't identify. Such an incredible band. So much passion and legitimate "coolness". Just cool people. I loved it.

I got to write music and jam today which was so fun. I haven't played my electric guitar loud in forever.

Stormy is not a fan of my playing. She runs away from the amp scared.

If you're reading this leave me a comment that says,"Hello". Maybe with a link to your blog. Tell me about who YOU are.

The Morning After

Alarm.
Snooze.
Toss.
Turn.
Alarm.
“Fuck…”
Yawn.
Stretch.
Pee.
Mirror.
Stare.
Scratch.
Pills.
Drink.
Coffee.
Toast.
Newspaper.
Shower.
Hygiene.
Dress.
iPhone.
Keys.
Car.
Music.
Drive.
Ponder.
Sing.
Park.
Work.
Stand.
Smile.
Talk.
Scrub.
Clean.
Brew.
Wash.
Smile.
Pour.
Smile.
Talk.
“Seriously…”
iPhone.
Crossword.
Gossip.
Leave.
Car.
Music.
Drive.
Ponder.
Home.
Dinner.
Pie.
News.
Jeopardy.
Internet.
Facebook.
Twitter.
Text.
Gmail.
Ponder.
Write.
Movie.
Vidoegames.
iPhone.
Car.
Music.
Drive.
Ponder.
Girlfriend.
Hug.
Kiss.
Talk.
Stories.
Cry.
Cj’s.
Drink.
“Sportscenter”.
Leave.
Car.
Hug.
Kiss.
Goodbye.
Music.
Ponder.
Home.
Pills.
Drink.
Pee.
Stare.
Mirror.
Bed.
Toss.
Turn.
Think.
Wonder.
Regret.
Imagine.
Fear.
Earth.
Universe.
Panic.
Sleep.
Dream.
Repeat.

How To Share

I often have burning desires to write essays about topics on my blog and I rarely do. Well, today I'll attempt to actually do it.

What is it about us (humans) that we feel the need to share? I'm not talking about sharing toys, I'm talking about sharing information. Has this always been or has this beast been awakened by MySpace, Twitter and Facebook?

I think firstly we need to decided whether or not it's healthy or necessary to share. I think that when it comes to social networking sites the kind of things we all seem to enjoy the most are the statuses and shared stories of funny YouTube videos, thought-provoking news articles, cute pictures of LOLcats, etc... The ones we most often seem to be adverse to (and the ones that solicit the most heated responses and in-real-life gossiping about) are the status that are intensely personal. The ones that read "Jesse Atkinson is so freaking sick of YOU! Don't tell me what to do!" are the types of sharing I'd like to discuss.

While sharing the new Where The Wild Things Are trailer (OMGZ!!!1!) is passive, fun, and non-personal, it does not really give your friends any insite into what you're feeling and what's going on in your life. This sort of information used to be reserved for late night coffee/beer conversations, long phone calls, or even the less personal but still private instant messenger conversations. Lately, it seems (thanks to garbage like Gossip Girl) and other such personal blogs it's becoming increasingly trendy to blog (or video blog) about very personal details and conflicts in your life. The problem with this is obvious, most of the people closest to you in your life are often the ones whom will frustrate you the most and then you blog about and then they read it and then there is eDrama. All of this sort of behavior is nothing new, it's just become increasingly popular and less frowned upon. It used to be called "venting", now it's simply called "blogging". Whenever I tell people that I have a blog they often cringe and are revolted at the idea. When I explain to them that there are millions of blogs out there (including mine) that are not personal BS blogs they are a little cooler with the idea but still a bit sceptical. Nearly every politicial, artist, public figure, etc., has a blog now a days but the idea of "blogging" makes one think if "OMG I hate boys!" type blogs.

But where does this come from? Why do perfectly logical people not see the damange/flaw/stupidity in publicly blogging about their very personal life drama? And why do these same people seem so surprised and offended when their friends/family are offended at something they wrote on their blog? If it's private it's a diary and it's simply a private tool used to vent but left to only the pages. If it's a public blog then it's left open for everyone (yes, even your parents). If it's a "friends only" type blog then you run the risk of one day reciving a "friend request" from someone whom you've blogged (negatively) about. And if you deny eFriendship them there will be drama, if you allow them access they'll eventually read about themselves and there will be more eDrama. It's a Catch 22.

I'm proposing a new form of personal eSharing. Are you ready? Are you? Here it goes.

Grow up!

The emotional desire to maintain a public blog about private affairs is simply insecurity. If you need to bitch and moan about your day to day struggles on a public blog instead of confiding in one or two close friends about them then you are simply seeking attention and sympathy via comments. And typically you'll get them from the same self-serving eCommunity that you're apart of.
Most often these types of blogs are not asking for help. They are not saying,"I am troubled, please tell me how to fix this because I want to." They are often simply saying,"Listen to me cry and moan and then leave me a comment that reaffirms that I really have it bad and that I am justified in my anger" because once again the blogger is insecure about their feelings and desires and needs public justification.

So this is my essay about eSharing. I am asking you to grow up and use social networking tools like Facebook and Twitter for letting friends and family know about a funny YouTube video, an encouraging quote or bible verse, some new celebrity gossip, silly internet surveys, etc... Leave the deeply personal and self-serving internet posts for your paper lock & key diary (or confide in a friend whom will care).

The response to my post would naturally be "Well, if it bothers you so much don't read these types of blogs, etc..." I would if it were that easy. They are thrown in my face daily via Facebook News feed. "John Doe – I just can't live with out her!!!" "Jane Doe is so sick of this f****ing s***!!" "John Doe hates his life". You get the idea.

With that said, I will leave you with something encouraging. Check out my boy Drizz's facebook video blog and YouTube channel. Every video leaves me laughing, encouraged, challenged, happy, and glad I know the man. If you want an example of how NOT to blog, watch Gossip Girl.

I love you. <3

P.S. I'll leave you some marriage advice from Drizz.

Musical Truths

This is a list of my musical truths that I've recently encountered. This is by no means a complete list, but merely a list of the most recent truths revealed to me. I encourage you to add more in the comments that pertain to you.

– I think that singing along to Animal Collective's My Girls is one the greatest joys you can experience while listening to music. It's simply gorgeous and perfect.

– I believe that the guitar solo at the end of You Can Go Your Own Way by Fleetwood Mac is a musical orgasm. So gorgeous.

– Listening to Beck's It's All In Your Mind on vinyl is haunting to my soul.

– Godspeed You! Black Emperor is what the death of the planet sounds like.

– The soul and lyrics of I Know There's An Answer by the Beach Boys I believe is one of the most inspirational and life changing songs you will ever hear.

– Aphex Twin will stimulate your brain.

There are more I'm forgetting and more to come.

MOVIE ROUND UP!

I watch a lot of movies sometimes. Here's a list and brief review of some movies I've seen. I've seen most of these movies for the first time in the past two months. Except Fear & Loathing. Anyways, read on.

Zodiac. This was a solid movie. You can totally tell it's directed by David Fincher. It just FEELS like it. It's a really solid movie with great acting. I'm just a fan of Jake Gyllenhaal; I think he's a solid actor and I love watching him play insecure or "not-cool" characters. ANYWAYS, the biggest downer to this movie is that it doesn't really have a proper ending. This isn't necessarily bad since it's based off of real events and Fincher handles it really well. But I'm just saying, if you're looking for another Seven type ending you'll be disappointed. It ends the way a lot of crimes do. You should probably see it. But if not, it's not a huge deal.

Frost/Nixon. This was one of the most interesting movies to me because I know nothing about David Frost. Frank Langella is an uncanny Nixon. It's just... yeah... this is the only movie I've ever seen about a historical figure that after I have trouble remembering what the REAL historical figure looked like. He does THAT good of a job. It helps that he looks a lot like Nixon; but anyways... there's more to this movie than great performances. It's just SUPER interesting (I love presidental history, OK!) to see how this all went down. Ron Howard does a fabulous job making a hollywood movie that feels like a hollywood movie that doesn't suck. It feels like Ron Howard and it doesn't turn into some ridiculous thing at any point. I don't know enough of my history about the era and everything surrounding his departure from office. Seeing this has made me read a lot more about the events of Watergate and the David Frost/Richard Nixon interviews. GO SEE THIS NOW!

W. I hate Oliver Stone movies. Well, all the ones that I've seen (like four... I think). He's a crappy director that makes ridiculous movies that aren't very good. W. is the exception to this. This movie is awesome. It's a comedy at heart. I saw this like... opening weekend, so it's hard to remember everything. But I remember loving it. You leave not hating Bush, but hating Cheney. Bush is portrayed as a spoiled kid who had to live up to his fathers expectations and just sort of did politics because it was the family business and now he's running the country. It's no different than sons who take over giant multi-billion dollar corporations because they are,... well... the son of the CEO. I strongly recommend this movie.

Appaloosa. I like westerns. I do. This succeeds for about the first half in being a badass western. The second half makes you go "Why are we going here?" If it's on TV, watch it. Or maybe Netflix it. Don't pay any substantial money to see it. Renee Zellweger annoys most of the movie. Viggo Mortsen is a G. So, again... see it if you like westerns, but don't pay for it.

For The Bible Tells Me So. This is a must see documentary about homosexuality, what the bible REALLY says about it, what the church has been preaching about it, and four Christian families journey with their child becoming homosexual (including Gene Robinson – the first openly gay bishop). This is MUST SEE. This is educational any way you cut it. If you are a strong conservative or a super-lefty liberal you must see this. Again, no reason to ever fear education and the truth. Whether or not you watch this and consider this movie even-handed will differ for each viewer. I found it super evenhanded. You gotta see it, regardless of what you believe or think. You gotta see it – if not for any other reason than to build your knowledge base of what people are saying or believing about this issue. Ok, I'm done. Go rent this!

Seven Pounds. EHhhhhhh.... ?!?? This movie gets a big wahhH!!??? from me. I loved it. It annoyed me. It frustrated me. It made me love life more. It affected me. It angered me. All these things accumulate to one big point – any movie that does all this is too conflicted for it's own good. This is a SOLID movie and a quality movie – a great movie? No. But it's worth a watch. It's entertaining and watching Will Smith is better than watching most other things. The reason that myself and any other reviewer aren't telling you anything about the plot (including the trailer) is that we can't... You spend 85% of the movie being confused. It comes together, it really does, but just not in the same stellar way that Fight Club or Sixth Sense come together. A NYTimes reviewer put it that this movie is the kind of movie that makes you call your friend who also saw it at 2 am in the morning after you've seen it to discuss it. You will immediately need to discuss this movie after you see it. Roger Ebert gave it an excellent review – 3 out of 4 stars. I'll do the same. See it if you can.

Atonement. Not at all what I was expecting. Keira Knightly's green dress is hot! My only thoughts were that I kept wishing that I could see this dress on a different girl, you know... one with boobs. This dress is super hot and gorgeous, but you gotta have a rockin' chest to fill it out. Keira doesn't, but she still looks damn good in it. Why am I talking about a dress? See the movie and you'll see why. It's a ridiculous dress. And after a quick google search I find that it was voted the best film costume of all time... remember, Atonement came out in 2007. This is a damn good dress, people.
Anyways, yeah... so theres a movie in there. It's an adult movie. That's what I will say. It is a movie for adults. It's a movie for adults in the same way that Elegy, The Fountain, Eyes Wide Shut, or Closer is a movie for adults. If you've seen and enjoyed any of the following I think you'll dig this. You might get the impression that this movie is erotic or sexual, well... it's not. Theres a pretty intense but not showy or revealing sex scene, a SUPER-brief rape scene (like... half a second). This is a movie that could've ALMOST been pg-13, well... probably not, but ok. I'm rambling, but yeah... it's super good. I just LOVE movies that handle and portray human sexuality as a, well, sexual thing. Movies that let their characters lust and feel. Movies that let the characters express what they're REALLY thinking. This movie does that in one powerful scene and it's excellent. It also explains why if you're 13 you need to mind your own damn business and stop snooping around. Rent it soon! (Some more pictures of that dress at the bottom).

Fifth Element. Probably one of the dumbest movies I've ever seen. I've heard so many people talk about how cool this movie is. "If you love sci-fi then you'll love Fifth Element!" "Oh, you liked Blade Runner? Fifth Element is like Blade Runner but even cooler!" Do not listen to these people. This is a movie that should be put on the shelf next to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Not the new animated one called TMNT, no... the original. Because the "bad-guys" (yes, this movie has very clear bad-guys) look like Shedders henchmen.
If you want to shut your brain off (I mean... REALLY shut it off) and not ask questions, and if you like seeing people in impractical clothing, if you like Chris Tuckers voice at really loud volumes, if you like all things NERD, you MIGHT like this movie. I just don't get it. Call me a snob, but I just don't. If I was 13 I might, but even then I was a pretty decent movie critic (seriously). Don't see this unless you're a nerd. If you're a nerd you probably shouldn't watch this either though...

Boy In The Striped Pajamas. Go see it now. I wrote a review here.

I'm Not Here. I LOVE BOB DYLAN. I HATED THIS MOVIE MORE THAN I'VE HATED ANY OTHER MOVIE! THIS IS THE ONLY MOVIE I'VE EVER TURNED OFF, EVER. AFTER TWO HOURS I WAS TIRED OF THIS MEANINGLESS LITERAL INTERPRETATION OF BOB'S SONGS. THIS TOOK SUCKING TO A WHOLE NEW LEVEL.

Burn After Reading. Do you like the Cohen brothers? Do you like Seinfeld? Do you like to be entertained? See it now! Don't listen to anyone who tells you otherwise. This movie was hilarious, excellent, entertaining, believable. John Malkovich is amazing in this. Heck, they're all amazing in this. See it now.

Quantum of Solace. Disappointing. Doesn't hold a candle to Casino Royale. Wait till it's on DVD. See it though, Olga Kurylenko is hot! But seriously, don't expect Casino Royale 2.

Gonzo. What can I say? It's a documentary on Hunter S. Thompson. It's excellent. If you like Hunter S. Thompson or are interested in him (I'm more the latter) see it. If you don't know who Hunter S. Thompson is, read a lot about him before you see this. This depends a little to much on the viewers knowledge of him. This is more a recap of things you already know trying to shed new light on him. It's not a biography as much as it is people going,"Oh! Remember that time where Hunter got beat up by the Hell's Angels?!!" Again, you'll know if this is for you. I recommend though.

Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas. I saw this for the first time about six months ago. It was terrible. Don't waste your time. The hype is all hype. Bad movie.

Children Of Men. Lauren and I saw this about two months ago. It was surprisingly good. I was expecting it to suck for some reason. I strongly recommend it, it's a great great story. I sort of dig Clive Owen. I think he's a great actor. This is probably the closest thing I've seen that reminds me of The Road (which you should read now! C'mon, it's like 300 pages and better than most anything I've read). The Road is coming out in 2009 now. Dammit.

And now a few more things.

Why did The Road and Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince get delayed? Ugh! I'm pissed!

Thanks for reading!

...I feel like I'm forgetting some movies.

That dress...

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is one of the most perfectly executed films I've ever seen. I really want to write a review about it but the truth is that I can't really talk about it at all with out ruining it for you. Don't research it, don't read reviews (for some insane reason some of them are negative), don't do anything except see this movie.

It is the opposite of Schindler's List in many ways. Schindler's List was a grand sweeping overview of the holocaust and dealt with one indifferent German mans eventual conversion to believing that this was very evil and wrong. It was very epic in it's scope and mature and heavy in it's dialogue.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is all of these things but in opposite ways. It is a tale of innocence. Of two eight year old boys who discover each other but a fence separates them. Being eight years old, neither of them really realize fully what's going on. This movie assumes much from it's viewer. It assumes that the viewer is educated on the holocaust and knows at least a few facts about Nazi Germany. It doesn't tell you anything about the war. It lets you view the scenario from the boys' point of view.

It is beautiful, it is haunting, it is changing, and it is important. I generally gaff at war films and other such serious subject matter movies because they seem like they are cheap ways to get credibility without having to be very good (The Passion of the Christ was NOT a good movie by any stretch of the imagination). This was directed well, it was very lean and tight, it had vision from beginning to end. Never lost focus. Acting was great (the boys' acting was awkward at times, but who knows how anyone would act in that situation?). And the photography was great.

Go see it. Just be prepared to talk about it for the rest of the evening.

MODERN GUILT

So the other day I decided that I needed to make the leap. The leap that all music aficionados make (eventually). I decided to start collecting vinyl. For years the biggest reason to not collect vinyl for me was that I had no where to store a turntable, no way to listen to it, etc... I finally got fed up with never really taking the time to digest music. 99% of my alone life is spent listening to music – and 100% of that time I'm doing other things while listening to music. I decided that I'm going to (obviously) still listening to music while at my computer or driving, but possibly listen to more of the podcasts, talk radio, whatevers, that I don't get to listen to due to my constant music listening. What I AM going to do instead is take the time out to truly get intimate with an album. Something I do now, but over the course of months of having an album on in my car and home. What I'm saying is that I'm going to dedicate time each week to doing nothing except sitting in my room, listening to a record while staring at the album art, liner notes, and most importantly – the lyrics.

I drug my dad's record player that is all but abandoned in the basement up to my room with an old reciever. After working out the kinks, it actually sounds incredible. The headphones are excellent. I will probably be purchasing over the next few months a few updates/repairs to the turntable and a new reciever. Anyways....

Today, Lauren bought me Beck's newest, Modern Guilt. I, of course, downloaded this months ago. And iTunes even says that I've heard some of these tracks up to four times. I disagree. I've heard none of them. I've heard Beck's voice trail in and out of my ears, and I've heard that catch guitar riff from "Gamma Ray" bounce through my head – but I've yet to listen to it. Tonight I had that opportunity. I don't know if it's the fact that I'm excited about vinyl, the intimate setting, or truly the record itself but I was thoroughly blown away.

To say that this is Beck's best is insane. It's not. But I feel that some artists will never ever surpass their greatest. Oasis will never create a better record than (What's the Story?) Morning Glory. Radiohead will never have another Kid A, and Michael Jackson will never have another Thriller. BUT – I do feel very strongly that reviewers and listeners put their artists in a box and compare EVERYTHING that artist releases to their previous material. This is, of course, natural, normal, logical and expected. I feel that Beck's newest is just as much Danger Mouse's record as it is Beck's. Danger Mouse – of Gnarls Barkley, Grey Album, Demon Days fame – produced this record. It's got his trademarks all over it.

I've listened to Beck since seventh grade. But to say that I KNOW every Beck record like the back of my hand wouldn't be accurate. But according to my calculations, this is probably Beck's best album lyrically. It's extremely reminiecent. It longs for times past. It longs for relationships (romantic or not) that have passed. It longs for safety in this modern time. Beck sings, "Don't know what I've done but I feel afraid" on the title track which is filled with lyrics of being in a big city, a bit lost, alienated, confused and alone feeling. I thoroughly enjoyed my time spent with Modern Guilt tonight and I will revisit it's world often over the next few months. And this time really listen.

I HATE putting numbers on things. I don't want to give this a number to rate it. Who's to say if it's numerically equal with another record of the same numeric rating? Not I. I'll leave that to Pitchfork.

My final conclusion though is that I most definitely believe that no matter what the critics say (and most reviews have been good), this is an excellent record that is definitely worth your time.

As for my music reviews, vinyl, and turntables – I plan on posting my thoughts and feelings about LPs I listen to on my record player. I'll let you know how it all goes on any updates and any future record I buy.

Any suggestions on any stand out LP packagings? Stuff that contains mad bonus content, gorgeous sleeve liner art, bonus 7", stuff like that?

CHECK BELOW FOR VIDEO FOR "MODERN GUILT" FOLLOWED BY SOME MP3S. YOU CAN LISTEN DIRECTLY IN YOUR BROWSER.

I tried to take a few pictures with my iPhone. They didn't turn out. "This is what you get." – Thom