Must See...

...if you've seen Napoleon Dynamite.

Also, if you haven't taken my movie poll yet, click on the link on the right or down below. There's some interesting data so far and I'll share the results after a few weeks.

Movie Madness

I saw "Million Dollar Baby" yesterday and it was a really good film. Unfortunately for me this movie, along with the others I've seen recently, are shaking up my movie top ten list for this year. So I'm asking for input from my loyal readers, and anyone else who wishes to participate with a movie survey. This survey can be found in the sidebar to the right or can be accessed simply by clicking here. The movies listed in the survey are only the films that I've seen so films like "Sideways" and "Ray" aren't included. I would really like some input from others because every single film in my top twelve deserves to be in the top five. So please participate if you can and share what movies you liked from this past year!

(If there are any problems in taking the survey, let me know because I'm new to the website and I'm assuming everything will work as it's supposed to.)

TFS - Week 3

This week's feature film sort of broke the rules of the class, but was very worthwhile. Instead of watching a new release, as we typically would, we watched "The 7th Voyage of Sinbad" from 1958. There are two reasons for watching an older film: first of all we are still in the movie wasteland month of January so we got to watch something with more quality than what's currently being released, and the second reason is so that we would have an excuse to meet and talk with film animation pioneer Ray Harryhausen.

Ray Harryhausen is an 83-year old man who, after seeing "King Kong" as a teenager, was inspired to learn how the animation was done. He set-up a studio in his garage where he built his own 18" models and made his own stop animation films. His primary interest, of course, became monsters, which he is most commenly renown for today. For our featurette, we watched several of his test animations as well as a tribute to him from every major director and special effects artist today who were inspired by the creatures he brought to life, all which can be found on DVD now. Even his experiments were amazing (coming from someone who has dabbled in stop-motion animation with Lego) and most of the time the things you saw were first takes, since it took so long just to animate one segment. Probably the most commonly known showcase of his talents are in "Clash of the Titans", in which he did the memorable animations of Medusa and the Kraken.

Once we got a feel for not only who Ray Harryhausen was, but also the huge impact he had on many filmmakers today through his Sci-Fi and Fantasy creatures, we watched our feature film. The thing that was emphasized most in the class was that these movies possess an innocence about them and thus are meant to be taken lightly because they are fantasy films not supposed to look real. We had to watch the film from the perspective of people who were just seeing it as a new release. Since I had never seen the movie, I was able to do that and I really had a fun time watching it. After hearing the build-up of all the animations it was fun to see them on the screen and really enjoy them for what they were. I think the thing that really made the movie for me, however, was the musical score provided by brilliant Bernard Hermann.

After the film we got to meet and talk with Ray and he shared with us how he just used his imagination to create these magnificent specimens. He discussed the difficult and time-consuming process involved in animating in this style and trying to match-up the animation with the live action (most notably in the skeleton fighting scene). I also found out (though he didn't discuss it) that he is one of the doctors in "Spies Like Us" in the infamous "Doctor." "Doctor." scene. So it was a real treat for us to meet him and I think Leonard Maltin had as much fun (probably more) as we had with him visiting us. It was very rewarding. Next week, however, I think we might be back to recent release films.

Mindless Fun

Here are some entertaining things I've found on the web:

For you Simpson's Fans

New Toy Picture of the Month:

Darth Tater will be available nationwide in February.

Cricket Game

Dance Instructions

I was up until 5am this morning then woke up at 9:30am for class, so I'm a little tired right now. I'm heading out to a comedy club or something tonight so I'm not going to get around to the movie post tonight. Just when I thought I couldn't be more of a socialite....

Dancing the Week Away

This week has just been crazy, which is why I haven't posted since Monday night. We've started our Dance Club enrollment this week starting Tuesday with the swing class. I had to get there early to help set-up and after a 2-hour lesson (1 hour each for beginning and intermediate) I went over to Heidi's apartment for dinner and dancing. Of course we started talking and I didn't end up getting home until after 2am! The next day I worked at the salsa class enrollment, after which we went out dancing. I didn't get home from dancing and eating afterwards until about 1:30am. And of course tonight, after my film class I'm going out dancing AGAIN until 2am when the club closes, so who knows when I'll get back home.

Needless to say I haven't spent much time in the apartment this week. Of course neither has my new roommate. Yes, I finally have a roommate now after 2 weeks of emptiness. Apparently he was the third person offered the spot and decided to actually move in unlike the other two people who were supposed to move-in. He seems like a great guy, but I've only spent about 30 minutes with him since Tuesday (when he first stopped by). He lives near Pasadena but got tired of commuting so is moving in here, but to what extent he's moving in, I don't know. He hasn't brought much from home and seems to be spending the night either at home or at his girlfriend's apartment. So I don't know how often I'll see him or what exactly he's doing. I guess we'll just have to wait until we're both around (Friday maybe?).

Not much else going on besides that; just trying to keep up with my classwork amidst my social life. Oh, and it appears I might be going to Universal Studios this weekend, so check back later on that. Right now it seems like people are planning parties and events and what-nots so I'm just trying to juggle all of it now. Gotta have too much fun at least one semester of college. Tonight is film class night, so I'll post tomorrow about tonight's film.

That's all I've got for now, except for this.

TFS - Week 2

So with what many of you have been waiting for, I present details from this past week's film class. We started off the class with a recap of the syllabus and reintroduction to the class (apparently for those who might have added somehow?). Once this boring piece of classtime was spent, the next started with an open discussion on last week's film (In Good Company) and our encounter with director/writer Paul Weitz. This part would not have been so bad if some people in the class kept their inane and trivial comments to themselves; however, I felt like we wasted time listening to people complain about things the director had no control over (i.e. trailers and tv spots) or comment on things fully discussed last week, or how someone felt Teddy K was secretly after the seven sacred scrolls of Zolthar! (or whatever he said....)

Now to the meat of things. The short we watched was entitled, "Hollywood Extra Girl" and was about the lives of the no-names in Hollywood. It also was, in some ways, an advertisement for Cecil B. DeMille's "The Crusades". Following the short, the movie we ended up seeing was "Hotel Rwanda", which is just the upbeat movie we all want to see before a pajama party. For those unfamiliar with the film, the movie is about the experiences a hotel manager confronts during the genocide that took place in Rwanda in 1994. Don Cheadle plays the main character and delivers an emotionally powerful performance as real life Paul Rusesabagina. Overall it was a very heavy movie, but very well made and very well performed by all actors.

Stopping by to discuss the film was writer/director Terry George and producer Alex Kitman Ho. They had some very interesting things to say about the film, not only about the film process itself, but also how it was created and eventually made from a production viewpoint. About 90% of the film actually happened as depicted, and yet most of the violence wasn't even shown (thus making it a PG-13 movie). I actually preferred this because it not only gave you more of a feeling of suspense, but also I didn't want to see more than I had. Terry explained that in his mind, there was no rated 'R' version of this film; he wasn't going to compromise with the violence of the events that took place. To him it was either going to be a PG-13 film or a NC-17 film. It was also difficult to make sure that this film didn't slowly transform into a documentary, but instead focus on the local story of Paul and his hotel.

This was a really good film and I recommend people see it. Not only does it carry with it a message of awareness and support for those affected by this event, but it really is a great story in and of itself. Like Terry said, Rwanda is the backdrop for the struggles one man and his family face. I've got almost two pages of typed notes taken from this week's class session so if people are interested in the film or the topic in general, drop me a line. Stay tuned this Thursday night for Week 3 of TFS!

Luther College Choir Concert

I know I promised to talk about my film class in this post, but it's currently past 1am and I just got back from my brother's choir concert in Thousand Oaks. Now Thousand Oaks isn't exactly the closet location to downtown Los Angeles, so I had to leave rather early to get there in time for the doors to open at 6:45. After meeting up with my family and briefly seeing Patrick before he had to get ready for the concert we found seats and waited for the concert to start. The concert itself was the Nordic Choir from Luther College and they were really good, with about 70 people, all with good voices. They sang only religious songs, some with string accompianment, some in other languages and mostly very harmonic pieces.

Two really good songs were ruined for me by a noisy photographer and a disruptive cell phone, respectively. There was one song that had some very wierd choreography to it from a small group of people, which rather turned me off. But Patrick had a solo in their only gospel song and he was quite goofy (he had to improvise parts of it, need I say more?). After the song was over the conductor had my parents stand up, partly because of Patrick's solo, but I also think because they're the only parents of anyone in the choir that will actually be at any of their concerts on this tour (Patrick is the only member of the choir from the West Coast. The next furthest west person is from Colorado).

So it was a good concert, and once again Eric Whitacre was there. After the concert we had to wait around for a long time for Patrick to get ready, then we left in search of food. Of course, it was about 10:30 so after driving around in circles, we found that the only thing open was a Jack-in-the-Box. When we had all had our dinner, we had to drop Patrick off at his host family's house in Simi Valley (which isn't exactly across the street). So by the time I left from there and got back it was almost 1am. It seems like quite a lot of time to spend on one choir concert. Anyway, to make a long story short, because I got back so late tonight, I won't be updating on my film class until tomorrow. But don't worry, it will come....

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

Weekend Update

So the challenge for this semester is going to be to learn how to keep up the posts amidst my various activities. I've had several adventures these past few days which has thrown off my posting routine, but I will not easily forget my loyal readers! And so, I will bring you up to speed on some of the more relevant issues in my life.

Issue #1: Roommate Situation
My last post alluded to the fact that I was getting a new roommate to fill the vacant spot left by my Italy-wandering architect friend. Well here is a picture of my new roommate:

Ok, so the truth is that after some strange guy came by on Tuesday to look at the room and to tell me that he was moving in the next day, nothing has happened. It is 4 days later and no roommate. He up and disappeared or something. All I know is that it's now 2 weeks that I've had an apartment to myself. If no one shows up after this next week, I will be conquering the other half of the apartment. Just imagine what I could do with all that closet space!

Issue #2: Pajama Jam
Thursday night after class, I headed over to Ethan's place for a pajama party. I went in my Charlie Brown pajamas with my robe, slippers and pipe for sophistication. I also decided not to shave or to make my hair at all presentable since that is typically how I look like when I wake up in the morning. For the first 30 minutes or so I was looking at pictures Rachel had on her computer from her recent trip to NY followed by all the other pictures she has. After rejoining the party, I hung out with people and was entertained by people playing 10 fingers. I knew it was getting late when Heidi decided it was time to give my eyes a make-over (though I must admit I walked home looking quite elegant in make-up and pajamas).

Issue #3: Pictures
After having Rachel send me several of the pictures she has on her computer along with the pictures from the pajama party, I've decided to post some of these pictures so that people can visually see how I'm spending my time these days. So you can check out the pictures from all the wild nights I spend simply by clicking on the link to your right.

Issue #4: Friday Night
As if I didn't do enough socializing on Thursday night, I was feeling adventurous and went to the beach Friday night to join in a beach bonfire barbeque. I was just tagging along and so only knew a few people there, but that didn't stop us from gorging ourselves out on free food. We cooked up hot dogs, hamburgers, veggieburgers, s'mores, and even a giant skewered ham. Once the eating was over, there wasn't much to stay for, especially since it was getting colder and especially since I was getting hit on by a gay guy. So we left and came back to my apartment where I invited some more friends over to watch a movie (taking advantage of my no roommate situation). It's been quite fun having back-to-back outings, but also rather draining.

Issue #5: Comments
A few of you have complained about the commenting process now and how it sucks compared to the original method. I agree it does suck now that I redid my weblog. So I am currently trying to troubleshoot the situation (if only I knew Java better).

Issue #6: Thursday Night Movie
Because this post was delayed and has been catching you up on the details of my life, I will talk about my weekly movie adventure tomorrow. So stay tuned!

Call Off the Pool.....

I've got a roommate moving in tomorrow.

Sleepless Night....

There's nothing quite like your neighbor blasting "Footloose" at 2am when you're trying to fall asleep....

In a completely unrelated topic, I've added links to a few other weblogs along the side under "For Your Consideration." I figure this is not only a good way to advertise for other's daily lame accounts, just like mine, but it also allows me to access all of these sites whenever/wherever I am. So far it's just a couple, but if you feel that your web presence should be advertised as well, let me know and I'll toss you up there. I'm continuously working to improve this site and its content, with a few new ideas for weekly/bi-weekly regular posts. If you have any suggestions in regards to either content or format, let me know and I'll try and accommodate you if I can.

For now, however, I think it's time to make-up for my lack of sleep....

School Week 2

I'm back from my unproductive 3-day weekend at home. It was my mother's birthday this weekend so I went home for a good reason (that and I needed some things washed and cleaned). I got her 2 Marx Bros. movies: A Night at the Opera and A Day at the Races, which she loved, and we ate dinner at the Petroleum Club where my brother prepared us a most delicious meal. Now I'm back at school and ready for week 2 of my last semester. So far there is still no roommate; maybe we can turn this into a pool of which date you think my "roommate" will come, if ever. That's all I've got for now, but if you're bored and want mild entertainment, call my apartment and listen to my answering machine message. Let me know if you need/want the number.

Ciao!

TFS - Week 1

The most anticipated class of my week is this Theatrical Film Symposium (TFS) led by Leonard Maltin. Since so many people are anxious to hear about what happens during every single class session I figured that every week I would post the rough overview of each session here after class ends and save the details for a more personalized conversation. So expect to see my comments weekly on these activities.

To start things off I should give a little introduction to the class. It meets for 4 hours on Thursday night from 7-11, but you must show up to class early not only to ensure yourself a seat, but also because the doors close at exactly 7 and you won't be able to get in. Because of the high popularity of the class and because we generally watch films before their release, they confiscate our student ID cards to guarantee no one sneaks in and search all bags and purses for any pirating equipment. Once the class starts it is divided into 3 segments: An open discussion by Leonard Maltin about last week's movie with the class, the current week's feature film, and then a Q & A session with someone involved in the filmmaking process. The movies we will watch this semester will cover a wide range of movie types from mainstream studio films, to independent films, to documentaries, etc... for the purpose of, as Maltin put it, making us a better, more educated audience. We won't know what films we are going to watch until we get to class, as is my understanding, so I cannot disclose any information about this semester's movie syllabus out of ignorance.

That being said, tonight's feature film was "In Good Company" written and directed by Paul Weitz. We were told that since January is an unusual month for films that we would start the semester off by seeing films that have probably already been released for the first few weeks. This, of course, doesn't really bother me at all since I'm still getting to see movies in class. The movie itself was really good; something I believe the whole class enjoyed. Dennis Quaid was a great choice for the role and I still have a soft spot for Topher Grace, for whatever reason. Oh and Scarlett Johansson was good too. What I really enjoyed about the film was just how down to earth it was and how much it felt like an actual life account rather than a movie encounter/interaction between people, if that makes any sense.

I think the real treat after watching the movie was the Q&A session with Paul Weitz. The Q&A session really reminds me of "Inside the Actor's Studio" minus the big pile of cards. It started with just a discussion between Maltin and Weitz and then expanded to a full class Q&A. He was really great to have because not only did he shed some light on the behind the scenes elements of the film, but you also learned about his background and where he was coming from with the film. I think it's always interesting to listen to a writer/director talk about their work and the influences on it and their purpose behind their approach. If you want any specifics about the Q&A session or have any questions about the film, you can ask me and I'm sure I'll be able to answer it (I did take a lot of notes).

So it was a great class with a good movie and a good talk with the director. I can't tell you what's up for next week cause I don't know, so you'll just have to read about it next Thursday night. One last thing, before each movie we get to watch a short. Tonight's short was a Popeye episode from 1936 called, "Hold the Wire". It was a nice compliment to the movie to get us in the mood.

I'm going home this weekend so you probably won't get another post until I get back on Monday, so until then....

Impressed?

So far I have kept my promise by posting on consecutive days (despite the fact that technically it's already Thursday). I just got back from a little "back to school" function where I travelled through Europe (a la a lame, old board game) while drinking. We had fun though which is all that really matters. I guess there's not too much to post now since it's late and I'm slightly buzzed and I updated most of my life in the previous post.

So far school appears to be a lot better than the past two semesters, which means that I will not be stressing out as much (Thank God!). Also, as of now I have no roommate. Since my former roommate is currently learning architecture in Italy for this semester, I was to be assigned a new one; however, as chance would have it, he has not shown up as of yet. I'm hoping I could ride this whole thing out for the rest of the semester and have the complete apartment to myself. But I can't be too certain of things for now since I don't know what the current status on my roommate situation is with the Customer Service folks. At least for now, I can run the apartment my way and not have to worry about being considerate to someone else (as selfish as that sounds). This could be the mark of a very good semester....

Anyway, I'll post again tomorrow/today after I take my film class so I can fill in all the details I'm sure many people are wondering about.

Make sure you tune in tomorrow kids....

Auld Lang Syne

So another year has passed and 2005 marks the end of one era and the beginning of another in the saga that is my life. I am now officially on my last semester of school (that I know of) and hope that all goes well so that I am able to enjoy myself as well as prepare for my future. This month also marks the one-year anniversary of this weblog. I assume from all the positive feedback I get from people that all is going well and so here's to another year of mindless internet babble from someone who doesn't really add anything to the fabric of society and intends to keep it that way. One of my New Year's resolutions is to be more active in this site and to not give up so easily on posting (that and to actually wash my dishes). From the looks of it, this semester should be most beneficial in achieving this goal. So onwards with another year!

Actually, I guess before I move on to 2005, I should at least recap the end of 2004.

My winter break, which you could probably gather from my online absence, was both relaxing and unproductive. Well it wasn't a complete waste of time since I did have some things to keep me busy. For example, I went to work with partner-in-crime Rebecca Jennings on our summer film, hoping that we could finish it over break. Unfortunately, not only did we temporarily misplace the tapes, but faced some computer issues in the editing and lacked the work ethic to film much. In short, we failed in our goal to complete everything, but at least this gives me more time to figure out which scenes should go where. On a positive note, we did get a lot of editting done and so we do have some fruits from our labor.

Aside from working on our movie, I spent a lot of time watching movies. By my count I think I saw 5 movies in theaters and about 7 movies released in 2004 on DVD (not to mention the other movies I saw). Comparing this to last year's count, I'm definately up on my movie watching, which is going to make my top ten movie selection even more difficult. Aside from movie watching, I also took a few days to go skiing up in Mammoth in the fresh powder. We were there between storms and the conditions were excellent! And of course, no winter break would be complete without college football, and this year had some terrific games (including one very specific game, *Fight On!*).

Christmas Day was spent solely with my family, which was nice because I neither had to clean the house nor sit at the children's table for meal time. It's so sad that that actually still happens. New Years Eve was also fun this year with just a small group of people around to play games and have some fun. My older brother played bartender and my personal evening drink list looked something like this:

-- A Bass beer to kick off the evening
-- Half a Heiniken
-- a Caucasian (in honor of the Big Lebowski)
-- 3 cranberry-vodka shooters in a row
-- 2 very Long Island Ice Teas (both shared with Rachel)
-- and of course, Champange at midnight

Rachel and I were on the same team for 90's Trivial Pursuit and I believe we both drank the most. Needless to say by the end of the game we sort of slowed down mentally. It seems to me that New Years Eve parties must include a lengthy game of some kind in order for the party to be official. This is a pattern that I've noticed for the past several years. Observe:

2000 - Risk (at my house)
2001 - Cranium (at Amy's house)
2002 - I was gone so I can't vouch for this year
2003 - Mad About Movies (my house)
2004 - 90's Trivial Pursuit (my house)

I guess we've unofficially started a tradition. So anyway, that seems to be the summary of the times passed since I last posted and concludes the very unique year of 2004. As exciting as it was this past year, I promise that the 2005 version of my weblog will be even better. Besides, I resolved it right?