How to Make Anything Festive

Making anything festive is easy. With home ingredients such as sleigh bells and cinnamon anything can be turned into a Christmas something. Take for example a chest of doors: simply tie red bows on the handles and it becomes a "Christmas Chest." (Note that when an object becomes a Christmas (Blank) it must be instantly transformed into a Proper Noun.)

Remember to keep things simple and stick with Red and Green. They are Christmas Colors for some reason.

For Food: Pumpkin or Cinnamon are the most common ingredients for anything dessert-like. Consider coffee--normally the coffee with sugar and cream is a non-seasonal delight, but froth up the milk a little bit and throw some cinnamon on top (pumpkin spice powder for extra points) and wala! It's Christmas Coffee.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Nutmeg, Pumpkin Spice, pine nuts, nuts, berries, (ginger only in gingerbread cookies), brown sugar, molasses, cloves, vanilla, all function as Christmas ingredients.

CAUTION: Do not add ingredients to ANY foods in the name of Christmas. Ingredients must be strategically placed.

For Music: Add sleigh bells to any song, and it will become a Christmas Carol. Start with Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance." If you have sleigh bells, chime them to the music and you'll be surprised how this sinful melody becomes an instant Christmas classic.

Also, adding boy choirs to the ensemble is an extra bonus.

The funny thing about berries. For some reason berries signify Christmas. I'm sure I could do tons of research to try and understand why berries mean Christmas or why mistletoe means Christmas, but I choose to remain ignorant on this subject for the sake of my blog. If you're super curious, some links: here and here. But for whatever reason a table with a red tablecloth infested with images of poinsettas looks even more festive with a centerpiece of berries of some sort. You never eat the berries of course, they're usually fake. But they are Christmassy for some reason. I recently decorated an entire glass case full of fake berries and Christmas lights at the Tea Shop I work at. All of the tea pots and cups were perfectly ordinary--that is they were very nice on their own and had no seasonal signifiers until the berries brought out their inner bowl full of jelly.

More on Food.

Hispanic Foods: Tamales, red chile, posole. Red chile is used because by this time it was seasonally ripe. Back in the day, they didn't have freezers to keep green chile nice and fresh, so the tradition of red has kept. It's appropriate that the colors of Chile match the colors of Christmas.

Other American Foods: Turkey. that's all. Turkey is perfect for Thanksgiving and Christmas for some reason. It's seasonal because________.

Harry Potter 7 Anticipation

Harry Potter 7 anticipation.

Before I go see Harry Potter, I must prepare myself mentally for several things. First and foremost: I know that the films don’t resemble the books exactly and it would be impossible for them to mimic my imagination or J.K. Rowlings exactly. It would be silly to expect that the things I want to see will look exactly as I imagined. Even it were close, it wouldn’t be exact.

2^nd) I must not expect it to be everything I hope for and more, or else my expectations will be ruined. Like when I thought the Two Towers was going to be the most awesome movie ever, I was very disappointed to find that it was a very different film than I expected it to be at my young 9^th grade age. I have sense come to terms with the film and it brought me to tears on the last occasion I saw it.

3^rd) I’ve seen very tiny parts of the film already. Sometimes I can’t help but look at short clips online. Plus the trailers give you some idea of what is to come. There were some interviews detailing a certain scene towards the end. I won’t go into detail, but it wasn’t visually ruined for me, but I’m aware of the content. Either way it’s in the book, so it’s not super ruined.

What is it to ruin a story anyway? Aren’t almost all stories the same? When watching Harry Potter, the previous films, we’re not worried about the story being ruined for us, we just want to see how this extraordinary piece of literature is translated visually and filmically. How do these British filmmakers envision Rowling’s work? How does this collaborative process bring a story that a single person wrote to a moving images medium? These are questions we ask when approaching a film based on a film—especially one so close to our hearts.

The Ring

The Ring was not that scary for me, even the first time I watched it. That doesn't mean it wasn't a great horror film, or (as I learned in this viewing) that it isn't terrifying for others.) It uses a journalist heroine protagonist (Naomi Watts) to discover the ghosts story. It acts very much like a documentary in this regard. I've been writing and thinking a lot about what documentary is. I'm under the assumption that documentary is a way of uncovering truth, a way of exposing by gathering documents-- by interviews, video footage, written documents, and images--and presenting them to someone is a fashion that is narrative-like, though it doesn't follow actors and characters as a ficticious narrative film. A documentary tells a story of a person, or an incident, but it is not a narrative film at all like the Ring obviously is.

Obviously the reason it reminds me of documentary is because of its tendency to use actual documents or evidence that is gathered by our heroine to uncover the bits and pieces of information that is known about the "actual" main character--as I'd identify her--the ghost Samara Morgan. The narrative does not identify Samara as a ghost per se, but I'm going to call her that because it is the way she functions, and it is how she is identified in the original Japanese title--for which this title is based--Ringu. The uncovering, the expository nature that The Ring has going for the ghost Samara is precisely what is scary about this film. There is very little known about Samara, it begins with the very vague and yet strangely beautiful video tape that ensures your death seven days after viewing it. (Following a viewing of the video is a phone call with presumably a child's voice that says "seven days" in a creepy whisper.) Because the film starts off with very little information about Samara, the ghost, it pretends to be about this video tape that promises death, mainly because several people have died seven days after viewing it. Later, with the discoveries that Rachel (Watts) has made, the horror must lie not with the time of death based on the video tape, but the ghostly aspect of Samara as she is being understood, and her unexplained way of communicating with Rachel's son.

This ghost is someone who needs to be discovered, she wants to be known and the deadly video-tape is what actually is her expository medium however vague it may be. Before her death, her nature was masochistic and she was seen as deranged in need of help from mental facilities. The video is actually very beautiful as a short film in terms of the images that are chosen. Some are not horrifying but simple and poignant. Their montage-like characteristics attempt to speak a message using the images as signifiers. The images do not make sense on their own though, nor does the video make sense as a whole. As a video, it speaks of suicide and death, which is all it is trying to do.

MY BLOG

Here is some insight and information on this blog.

I've had this blog since I was in high school. At first I wanted to write about the movies but realized that it isn't a topic I want to write about on a regular basis. I will write on them when I can or feel compelled to, but for now it will be a lot of stuff on life.

This is definitely a practice blog. I hope to get a "real blog" started when I can. This means it will be publicized when I feel more confident in my writing and when I have a more coherent topic and style. I started out being terrified of posting anything, now I am learning to just write more freely on the web without worrying as much about people's thoughts or critiques.

I notice that I enjoy making lists about the things in my life. The things I like, and the things I dislike. It could actually be a great place for others to make such lists. I don't simply make the lists, I elaborate on the specific listing, and analyze the litts themselves before and after they are posted. It's something that has been a lot of fun and I want to do more. I think there will be a day when I'll try to make my blog more widely read and received by friends and strangers on the web. But for now, I'll keep practicing and getting better!

Reasons for practicing:
1) you get better
2) practice makes perfect
3) you can analyze and fix mistakes.
4) others can help you improve.

Moving. And other Stuff I hate.

I noticed that I post blogs when I feel great about myself and when I'm having a good day. I journal when I am not feeling good. So either way, I'm writing!

I was at church on Sunday a couple of weeks ago. Yes I do attend church most of the time. Me and the pastor (Mike Potter) at The Foothills have something in common. We both HATE moving. He stressed that 'hate' was a harsh word and should only be used when you really mean it. (Note: This is not what the sermon was entirely about, he goes deeper than "what not to hate.")

I hate moving because it is so hard to get settled, it is difficult to cope with the change and transition. I love my new room and the new things, but it is hard for me to move on from anything it seems.

Why I hate moving:

• Change. Change is usually great, but that doesn't mean it is easy. Change happens everyday, even if it's just changing your clothes.
  
• Furniture. Moving furniture is usually hard and other people claim to "love" moving it. I do not, obviously. I could drop a desk on my toe and break it, I might fall and break the furniture itself, I could scratch the floor. There are so many factors when moving furniture. I hate taking these risks. I'd rather not move.
• Boxes. EVERYWHERE! I thought that maybe I might fit my books in one box, the stuff on my desk in one box, and the stuff on my dresser in another. No, by the time I packed up my whole room, I had about 15 boxes sitting in the living room ready to go.
  
• Stuff you don't think of. As soon as I finished packing everything, I realized that I still have stuff in the bathroom and the kitchen. As soon as I finished with those, I realized there was more.
  

What I learned about moving this time was that YOU HAVE TO DO IT! There are deadlines. Rent and Lease is business.

The most important lesson about moving though was that it is about CHANGE. Change is inevitable and it must happen. Because I hate moving, I hate change. In order to fully appreciate life, I must learn to embrace it. Whenever something different happens, yes it is really hard to let go of the past, but it is so healthy and important to move forward.

I keep stuff.

I tend to keep everything. I just moved and realize that I have so much useless crap. I keep things for the sake of holding on to the value that it has to me personally.

top 5 useless things I found in my room:

1) A red dread-lock in a zip lock bag. That's right. My friend Josh, about two years ago used to have dreads. He cut them. I kept one. I still have it. :0 Which excites me cause now I can..... oh right do nothing with it.

2) A wig. I have a black wig that used to belong to my cousins. I stole it. This is for all of the movies and plays that I will be doing this year. I will make sure and write everything around this black wig.

3) Chocolate. I don't know why I have some random chocolate bars that I never ate. It's like I kept them there and planned on eating them later or something. Who puts off chocolate?

4) Birthday cards. They are honestly so hard to throw away. "But this one has mickey mouse on it." I say to myself. This one is the annual funny card that my uncle Robert sends to me, I have to keep a record of this so that when I grow old I can make a museum of funny uncle Robert-like birthday cards. Every time I go through the birthday cards I open the envelopes to make sure that I didn't miss any cash that my family may have sent me.

5) A Dead Rose. I got the rose when my new grandma Vivian came to hear me sing in DECEMBER. It is JULY now. I kept it because I may have wanted to create an animation about decaying and dying flowers. Thanks Grandma Viv for the rose, I kept it for the movies.


So. For every little object I assign some kind of personal value. Every little thing has some kind of identity and purpose for me. I have a box full of stuff that I simply cannot get rid of because it is full of magazines with pictures I like that could potentially be used for collages. Yes collages. I have another box with nothing but ticket stubs. Someday, (when I'm fifty or sixty) I will make an album, or I will somehow arrange my ticket stubs in some kind of order to where I can take a good look at all the movies, plays and basketball games I attended.

It is hard to let go of these objects. Some things I keep because people give them to me, others I keep because they remind me of someone, or something. It is silly to think that these objects contain the same value as the people that once held them. Because someone somewhere once held this one thing it leaves a mark that is hard to get rid of. The mark, is of course me not being able to let go of something. Once I realize that the value is in the person, place, or thing, I can let go of that object.

The Documentary Stigma

Here's the thing about documentaries. Admit it, once you saw the word documentary as the title of this post, you (all 2 of my readers) probably thought or did at least one of the following:

1) (Immediately navigate away from this page)
2) Documentaries...boring!!
3) (After skimming over the word Documentary you didn't realize you had read it because your mind has been trained, over the years, to just ignore it.
4) You really wanted to be interested because you feel like because it says documentary, there must be something important. You couldn't for the life you, make yourself interested.
5) You guilted yourself into reading this.

I really want to watch more documentaries. I really really do. But I can't bring myself to. Why is that? I always hear from people: You have to watch Bowling for Columbine, Food Inc, Man on Wire,

I can't think of anymore. Why can't I think of anymore? Anyway. It's something that I'd like to do.

A Tea Co. pt. I

I work at a place called A Tea Co. This is short for the Annapolis Tea Company. So yes, I work at a tea co. I heard about this job from one of my friends who worked there before me (Marcie). It was a great way to fill my Saturdays, and I get money at the same time.

At the tea co, we have over 130 varieties of tea, a full menu, and free wi-fi. Sometimes we don't get a lot done, but we enjoy each others' company for the slow periods of time. Because ATeaCo is tucked away in the corner of this plaza called the "Scottsdale village," It is not a well known plaza, and the tea company is even more unheard of. Most people that enter our doors wander upon the place as if it could only exist in some alternate reality, and they are lucky enough to find this hidden gem. That's what it is.

I've learned a lot about teas. I am still lacking so much knowledge in this area (and in many others.) Some things I've learned about tea:

1. Anything can be iced. Anything. I can put ice on anything and wala! There you go. Would you like some iced Yerba Mate? Yes I can go to the back, and get some green chili soup and serve it to you iced. [warning, the green chili will still be spicy.]
   
2. Add milk to anything and it becomes a latte (even tea), lattes are more expensive, lattes mean business. Moo juice=Moola.
   
3. Black Tea and Green Tea steep at different temperatures and at different times. I know there is good reason for all of this, I've done this wrong a couple of times. Good thing my boss is forgiving, and good thing the lady at the counter ordering doesn't know the difference. "Excuse me, I'd like my green tea steeped with the proper water at the proper time!." (Disclaimer: I steep tea properly 99.9% of the time.)
4. Red Tea is not tea at all. Well it isn't from the tea plant. It is from a bush called rooibos, from South Africa. No one knows how to properly pronounce it (except maybe my boss). I pretend to know how. (Roy boss) (Roo-E-Bos) in Spanish: (rrrruivos).
   
5. White Tea is not one of my faves. It is pretty and smells great, but give me something Green, or Black with some heavy cream. Yes I do take cream with my black tea. Not milk, haters.
   

One morning, I was sitting at the restaurant called "Anne's Soup Kitchen" which is just across the way from ATeaCo and I realized that it was filled with mostly senior citizens. "I am a lucky man," I said to myself. It took these people their whole lives to find the Scottsdale village, I managed to find it in my twenties.

The tea company attracts a lot of seniors [citizens] and women. One of the questions I was asked when Brian (my current boss) interviewed me was, "Are you good with elderly people?" I said yes. That is what you say at all interviews regardless of your capabilities. You say yes. Truthfully, I am frightened of old people. I basically don't know what to do with people who are below the age of 12 and older than the age of 70 unless I am related or acquainted. Even then it isn't all that easy. For the record, I have tried my best to interact in an un-alien-like manner (and by that I mean with the most respect I can muster) when interacting with seniors at the tea company. Besides, the older ladies think I'm foxy.

All in all, it has been a great place to work. Not only for the working environment, but also for the knowledge I'm gaining and for the good friends I've made.

Top Movies of the Decade

Everyone is posting their top movies of the decade, Here are mine for now, things might change as I remember, or decide that one movie is actually better or worse than the other. I haven't seen all the movies of the decade so it will be impossible and unfair for me to post things like Muhollad Dr., Zodiac, or No Country for Old Men (which I know, I should see it already.)

This list is subject to change as I see more wonderful films that I missed this decade. Also my taste often changes. Sometimes I go back and say to myself, "What was I thinking?" enjoy.

Here are some honorable mentions.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) Ang Lee.

Like I said, it opened the eyes of American moviegoers to the incredible work of Chinese filmmakers and it paved the way for a new era in Martial Arts epic filmmaking. (At least in the United States.) After Crouching Tiger movies like Hero and House of Flying Daggers and Jet Li's Fearless were released.

House of Flying Daggers (2004) Zhang Yimou

Speaking of Martial Arts epics. This one is a love story with lots of confusing twists and some intense fights involving bamboo and continuous punches and elbows to the chest. There is a scene where it seems like they fight so long the seasons change. There is some cheesiness to the film like the change of seasons. But it is a beautifully shot film and a twisted love tragedy.

The Prestige (2005) Christopher Nolan

Too bad that this and The Illusionist came out the same year. Too bad that I saw this before The Illusionist. This one stuck with me more. A story about achieving glory first and doing anything, even if it means something unethical to gain success and win the hearts of people. Wonderfully thought provoking. A nice Batman vs. Wolverine story.

Atonement (2007) Joe Wright

The first act of this movie is incredible. One of the best first acts I've seen. It is a film on its own. Almost. The rest of the film is not rich as the first act but it functions just fine.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2002)

Yeah I really do like this movie. And you do to, just admit it yourself. The sequels were a crazy mess of a visual joy ride in the land of pirates, but this one was a nice piece of Hollywood and Disney. It showed that Johnny Depp still exists to the world, Kiera Knightley is more than a beautiful woman in a corset, and that Orlando Bloom does in fact act the same in all his movies.

Pan's Labyrinth (2007) Guillermo Del Toro

Beautiful. This is my cousin's favorite film, and with good reason. The faun itself is something to look at and wonder how it was thought up and how a creature could be so terrible and yet so loving and beautiful. This movie boasts one of the scariest monsters and still most talked about monsters. My roommates often make impressions of the monster with the eyes on his hands.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) Michael Gondry

If only you could forget about things like pain and agony and your ex-lover. Jim Carrey....that's all I have to say. Kate Winslet can do anything, that goes without saying. It is not that Jim Carrey can only do comedy, or I was surprised by his take on a dramatic role, it's just that I'd never seen him in a dramatic role before, but this was a lovely piece of work.

The Lovely Bones (2009) Peter Jackson

A lot of people did not like this movie. I did. See it and tell my why you hated it. I will tell you why you're wrong.

Crash (2005) Paul Haggis

Not many people saw this film in theaters when it was released in May of 2005. They did see it when it was nominated and eventually won Best Picture at the Oscars. It was a "terrible injustice" to its rival Brokeback Mountian. Because Academy voters did not vote for Brokeback this made them "homophobic." Wouldn't it have made them racist if they didn't vote for Crash though?

Why The Return of the King and The Two Towers did not make my top 10.

?????????

??????

I decided to pick my favorite of the three and leave the other two out so that I can make room for the others on my list. Also because it is difficult to decide if they are one giant film or three individual films. Can one film stand alone with out the other? I've decided that since they're all so different in tone, to look at them as three different films in one long story. All the editors were different after all. It is as if you are handing one story to three different interpreters. It's not cheating. It's my list, i can do what I want. While these two films are incredible, and definitely will be remembered as some of the best in cinema history, the first one is the one that started them all and will have a special place in my heart. I remember leaving the theater with a life changing experience and eventually deciding to make movies because of Fellowship. It may not technically and theoretically be the best of the three--in fact, I think that The Two Towers is the neatest in terms of story--but Fellowship is certainly my fave.

And now, my Top Ten!

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) Alfonso Cuaron

Yeah, I know, Harry Potter is on my list, but you wanted to put this movie on your list too. I had to after all, this is the decade of Harry Potter, the boy who lived. Alfonso Cuaron was the first director to put some style into J.K. Rowling's world. He tilted the camera to the side slightly so you could see what else was going on outside of the narrow-minded eyes of Harry. This was my favorite book at the time and I had high expectations for the movie. It brings a perspective to the books that is so unique and valuable. Every Harry Potter fan who reads these books imagines Hogwarts and Hogsmeade a certain way. Cuaron's vision was like taking a book and a human imagination and letting the two sit together in a drawing room coming up with artistic solutions for a better picture.

The Hours (2002) Stephen Daldry

Some movies just stick with you more than others. I cannot explain to you why this film is in my top ten and others such as Pan's Labyrinth are left out. I can only say that it speaks so loudly about people who are trapped in something--marriage, sickness, brokenness, status, loneliness--that they cannot get out of. People will do anything to break free of what they are trapped in to gain happiness of some sort. Sometimes they will resort to the most selfish of choices to live freely, or to not live. It helps me see that it is in our nature to need a savior who will free us. We are broken in need of repair.

The Hours is wonderfully crafted. Three lives woven together with great care. Three incredible performances by Kidman, Moore, and Streep. Kudos to Ed Harris and the kid who plays the same character.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) Joel Zwick

One word: Funny. I think this is my favorite comedy of all time. It brings the heart of a large ethnic family crashing in on a regular "American" family. It shows the value of what family and food does for community in the Greek culture.

See this movie if you haven't. It was an indie that made it big because of word of mouth. This "says" a lot.

The Dark Knight (2008) Christpher Nolan

Or TDK as a lot of film bloggers like to refer to it. It is written about so much in film blogs and film websites. How do you make a batman movie in this day and age and have your audiences take it seriously when so many super hero movies are dismissed so easily? How can a superhero movie say so much about crime and politics and justice in one punch? Well here's what you do, you take two extremes: One is pure evil, or something that is pretty darn close to it and you take someone who will only stand for justice, you put them in the same city that is in dire need of repair, and wala!

I saw this with a large group of my friends. That was one reason it was so special.

The Fall (2008)

This film was shot on location in several countries, I cannot think of the number right now, but I'll get back to this later. It took place in silent-era Hollywood. (As if this is a very important time in history.) It shows the importance and value in living by showing that suicide is completely selfish. The "proper" way to kill one's self is to do it when you are sacrificing your life for someone else. This is one of the most visually stunning films I've ever seen. Every time I watch it, and I've seen it about 5 times, I pick something up that I never noticed before. There are so many gems hidden in this film that beg to be found. Not that it is a convoluted film with cluttered gems, but as a whole it is a large treasure chest. It is a beautiful story about how stories can create beautiful friendships and how friendships can save lives. It's about a lot of things.

Memento (2001) Chris Nolan

I've seen this once. People think that after you're done it begs you to watch it again so that you can fill in all of the plot twists that you missed. After all it is "backwards." I haven't had the pleasure of watching it again. Some films you watch over and over because you love them. Of course I'd watch it again, but some films are incredible the first time and they don't need to be seen again. This feels like that to me. It said what it needed to say.

So brilliantly written and presented by Chris Nolan. Watch it.

Funny. Smart. Cute. Brilliant. Beautiful. Heartwarming.

All one-word descriptions of a one-word title. (At least the American title.) The French title is translated as "The incredible adventures of Amelie Poulan" or something like that. But don't quote me on that .

I love these characters in this film. It is a character-driven movie. It is impossible not to love these people. The most vulnerable things about them are revealed the moment you meet them. "Amelie likes_____, she dislikes_________" etc.

Amelie (2001)

Hero Zhang Yimou

Just see it.

It tells an incredible story that is almost purely visual. It has the best use of color, to tell a story, in any film I've seen. Incredible martial arts and visually stunning. Masterful Cinematography.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) Peter Jackson

I think this will always be my favorite movie. There is no movie that will come along that can change that. I'm not saying that because of my pride or because I don't believe another movie that I will see can top this. I'm saying it because I literally fell in love with Fellowship of the Ring. When I think about the first time I saw this film I get emotional to this day. I can remember the same feelings I felt and the same suspense and wonder I felt. (I'm aware that I say feel and felt a lot but that is what happened.) I'm aware that there are much better films that have been made before and probably after Fellowship. But everyone always has a favorite and a guilty pleasure, this is both for me.

I don't need to explain in any more detail why this film is great. If you want to know, watch it with me. I will tell you. If you don't see it the way I do, ask the Academy of Motion Picture arts and Sciences why they nominated it for 13 Academy Awards. Take a look at how its sequel "Return of the King" holds the record (and is tied with other films) for the most wins (11).

I don't think I've seen another film series, or any film at all, that was created with such love and care. This film trilogy took 9 years to create. The cast and crew became a family. Everyone working on the film was concerned with the minute detail of every last film grain and pixel and brush stroke. Everything was treated with care.

Here are some links to other more interesting and more credible top ten lists:
Metacritic:
http://features.metacritic.com/features/2009/the-best-movies-of-the-decade/
Moviefone:
http://insidemovies.moviefone.com/2009/12/14/feature-page-10-1_three/
Cinematical:
http://www.cinematical.com/2009/09/25/now-its-the-50-best-movies-of-the-decade/
Rotten Tomatoes:
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/juno/news/1861944/rts_best_of_the_decade

How to Move forward

I have been thinking a lot about how to move forward from a period of complete "stuckness." I am currently in a place where I feel alone, trapped, stuck, isolated, without help. The list goes on. When people experience this degree of "staticity." They either find ways for themselves to stay there through complete negative thinking or they work very hard to get out of their static state. I am static. I am not moving forward. I feel stuck. I know how to move forward, I just feel like I deserve to stay exactly were I am. That is why I am writing on how to move on.

1) Realize that you are a sinner and that you can do nothing about it, only God can.
2) God forgives sin. Again, and again, and again.
3) Realize that the world is unfair though there is good in it.
4) Make conscious and actual decisions to let go. (I.E. I am going to eat healthier starting TODAY!)
5) Have healthy expectations. People are broken, I am broken, no one is perfect. Only God knows how to fully love.
6) Do not blow things out of proportion. Things are what they are, and no more.
7) Live a life as if you are free, because you are--through Christ. Knowing this should bring you joy.
8) Think positively. Be thankful for what you DO have instead of what you DO NOT have. You have amazing friends, family, and things (more than likely.)
9) Allow God to bring perspective to your life. When you see things through your own eyes and with your own selfish ambitions, you do not completely understand anything. Your pride skews your understanding of the world.
10) God is love.

Tips for surviving a Coffee Shop

If I were to sit here for an entire day I would see the regulars coming in and out (from the patio to the counter and indoor tables) all day long. When I talk about the regulars here at satellite, I mean people that would be here on Christmas if the place was open. They are here everyday. I do not know most of them by name. There is that creepy older guy who often strikes up conversations with younger women about who knows what. There is the painter who looks European, mostly Italian. There is the old lady who sips her coffee while reading the newspaper, probably getting her lipstick stains all over the white cups that they use here. They are all friends too! They are adults, over 50 who come here everyday to drink coffee and experience life and each other. It's beautiful. If you come to satellite enough, chances are you will have at least a conversation with each regular.

Satellite also has it's own set of "rules" that people just figure out and follow regularly. If I leave a book on a table and go get my food and coffee, people know that that table is taken. People know that they can share a community table by the couches and the larger community table by the window. They never just join you at a small table in the circular couch toward the entrance of the shop. These tables are small enough for one or two people, but strangers should never just join up. At the counter by the window, you never sit by another person, you always leave a chair in between you and the next stranger. Unless there are absolutely no chairs left, you do not sit there.

If you happen to listen to the nearest conversation, you must do your best to ignore it if possible. Coffee shops are reserved for the most intimate and secretive of conversations that should not be taken outside by bystanders. If you can't help but listen to the conversation, simply join in! If the two friends next to you are talking about an ex-girlfriend or a naked sleepwalking new roommate, just offer up some tips. It will catch them a little off guard, but since it is in this intimate coffee shop space they will soon warm up to you and invite you into their conversation. If they do not let you into their conversation, simply keep talking to them. This is the UNM area, perfect strangers joining in on a conversation is normal. If you are sitting uncomfortably close to someone who is having a juicy conversation, you want to listen, but you don't want to seem obvious, just throw in some head phones. This will ensure that you are listening to something else that is far more important. If you happen to laugh at what the next person is saying, take a quick glance at your computer screen, there is always something funny online at a free wi-fi coffee shop. It will be assumed that the window you have open is what is making you laugh.

These are just some tips. More to come.

Passion "tweet"

I was not haunted by the blood and violence in The Passion of the Christ. Humans create haunting blood and violence everyday. I'm not at all surprised that Jesus, a lover of man, was killed by man. I am haunted by the degree of sin that is so terrible that He would have to endure such suffering so that we might be saved.

Why I Like "Alice"

It functions as a re-make, a redo, a reboot, or whatever you want to call it, but it is also something original, but it is also a sequel. It somehow manages to be all of those things so that nobody is confused, upset. It is a crowd pleaser. No one is left wondering where Alice left off in the original Disney version if it is functioning as a sequel to them. If it is a re-make, it does a good job of doing it. If it is a reboot, which is the new trend in hollywood, then it doesn't promise a pointless sequel. A "redo," which I've heard is not a remake, it is as if the filmmaker is rerunning a show on broadway, only this is on the big screen.

It is a typical story with a fantastical parallel universe. We've seen it before. It is a coming-of-age story for a girl named Alice. Much like the Wizard of Oz and Pan's Labyrinth. There is an alternate fantastical parallel world that is much more appealing than the one that our heroine is actually living in. Why would the central character want to return to Kansas unless she knows exactly what she is missing? Why would Alice want to return to England and all of the pressures of being engaged when she can just reside in Wonderland? Well she must realize that she is fully capable of slaying the beast in both worlds. The jabberwocky in Wonderland, and perhaps her social pressure of being engaged in the "real world" she lives in.

In the real world, afterall, there aren't talking animals, smiling cats, creepy monarchs in castles, or friendly yet mad hatters. These characters are completely off their rocker the entire time. Even the good white queen looks as if she swallowed some potion or ink that made her lips, eye brows, and nails turn forever black. The evil queen of hearts has a giant head. The film is quite conscious of this fact as the characters refer to her head quite often. It is even the subject of a saying that is uttered by the underground plot against this queen of hearts.

The queen of Hearts, played by Mr. Burton's (director) lifelong partner Helena Bonham Carter, is wonderfully acted. Why they decided to create her with a head four times the size of a normal human head is still beyond me. Is it perhaps because she wants to have every possible position of authority, thereby being the main "head" of Wonderland? Whatever the case, it makes the character much less adorable and more feared, only in terms of physically distorted characteristics. Carter's portrayal of this character makes her hysterical yet someone to be feared, at least in this Wonderland.

The white queen, played by Anne Hathaway is altogether like a Walt Disney princess. She even lives in a castle much like the signature Disney castle. I'd be surprised if it wasn't modeled after the Disney castle and she wasn't inspired by Disney princesses. Her airy expressions and whimsical dialogue compliment her flamboyant hand gestures. Much like snow white, her hands glide about as if helium balloons are attached to her wrists with string.

Johnny Depp is the mad hatter. Though his eyes are obviously digitally enlarged and his face caked with makeup, this does not impair or affect his performance negatively. Like always, it just helps him emotionally get into character. His face is so expressive, you empathize with his Mad Hatter.

Alice is a more grown up piece of fantasy than the previous Disney version we've seen. It is similar in structure to Wizard of Oz and Narnia. A girl trying to understand her life, she goes to another world and comes back stronger and more ready for the challenges she has to face.

jabberwocky: That's how you spell it.

An artist's conception of the Jabberwocky from Lewis Carrol's Alice series.

Dear haters of The Blind Side,

To all of you people who did not like The Blind Side. Here is a list of credited filmmakers who put it on their top Ten List:

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Need I say more?

Blind Side received 70% rating at Rotten Tomatoes.

It was well received by the public.

Frontrunners: The ACTORS

Left to right: Sandra Bullock (Blindside), Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart), Monique (Precious), Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds).

My Reaction to the Oscar nominees

A couple of weeks ago, I predicted that Avatar would win the Best Picture prize at the Academy Awards. Hollywood likes to reward its big films that are well received critically. The last two films to cross the billion dollar mark, and that were nominated for Best Picture, won the award. (Titanic and Return of the King.) This does not mean that there is some kind of formula that creates best picture material. If so it would look like this:

Large Budget+3 hour Epic+$1billion Worldwide=BEST PICTURE

Well that is what happened last time anyway.

As far as the other nominees, they were pretty predictable. The only one that was kind of a surprise was The Blind Side obviously. It came as a surprise because this is not the kind of film the Academy has nominated since well, Seabiscuit. The Blind Side has not been nominated for many precursor awards. It was just a film American Audiences embraced throughout the year. It had been Oscar's tradition to be the intermediary between the Critics and Audiences. So choosing the blind side falls into that tradition.

I would liked to have seen Star Trek in the mix, but they already had two very strong Science Fiction Films in there. If it were up to me it would have been Avatar, Star Trek, District-9, and Moon up for Best Picture. This was a strong year for sci-fi as it was for animation.

Among the animated films, there was a surprise nominee. The Secret of Kells. I saw the trailer for this much more interpretive animated piece, and I want to see it. The rest were expected to be nominated.

So, being that "Blind Side" was nominated in the Best Picture category, I'm going to count on Sandra Bullock winning a very deserving award. Her competition would be Meryl Streep.

I respect their pics this year, as I do most years. I would have loved to see all of the amazing science fiction movies on the top Ten list. (Avatar, Moon, District 9, and Star Trek) They were all my favorite of the year.

I also don't understand why nobody liked The Lovely Bones. More on that in the coming days.

.

Paper Cranes and Such

I'm creating an animated video using paper, and a whole lot of origami is planned. I'm really excited about it. I'm gonna use the music from Phillip glass to sort of help me "compose" the style, mood, tone, and story of the piece. I will then create my own sound effects to compliment the images. The animation will be first played without the Phillip Glass music, then later with the music so that the inspiration will be seen.

The Oscars: Who Will Win.

I made all of these predictions before the nominees were announced. I'm gonna stick with them until the day. I want to change my best Picture guess from Avatar to The Hurt Locker. It will between these two films. But, I'm just gonna stick with my original gut. The last two times a film crossed 1 billion dollars at the global box office, it won best picture. Titanic? Return of the King? So here they are. This is the worst I could do.

Picture: Avatar

Director: Katherine Bigelow, The Hurt Locker

Best Animated Feature: Up

Best Documentary Feature: The Cove

Best Foreign-Language Film: The White Ribbon (Germany)

Adapted Screenplay: Inglourious Basterds

Original Screenplay: The Hurt Locker

Best Actor: Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart

Best Actress: Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side

Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

Supporting Actress: Monique, Precious

Editing: Avatar

Cinematography: The Hurt Locker

Art Direction: Avatar

Sound Mixing: Avatar

Sound Editing: Avatar

Costume Design: The Young Victoria
Make up: Star Trek

Original Score: Up

Original Song: "The Weary Kind" --Crazy Heart (this is my pick)

or that song from AVATAR

The Type of Movies that I Like

I think that the type of movies, or films that stay with me are the big ones. If I look at my favorite films of all time, I can see a pattern. These are the movies with the emphasis on huge things at stake where the characters that I love are fighting for something much greater than themselves. They are fighting for their loved ones and for the truth or for some kind of freedom. They are usually films of grandeur that display an imagination on a large scale. As if someone's imagination exploded and ended up on celluloid in an organized fashion. But not anybody's imagination. People that can think big, and imagine incredible worlds and tell incredible stories in those worlds, make the movies I like. It is not that I am not moved by movies that are created on a smaller budget and a smaller scale. I am not someone who is reserved to only Hollywood movies. It is rare when a gem with a Hollywood budget comes around. That is why most people enjoy indies: It is because the filmmakers have no choice but to make something compelling and moving with their small budget. A high budget does not make the picture worth watching by any means. Transformers had one of the highest budgets of the year and it sucked. Avatar, on the other hand has one of the largest budgets of all time and it rocks. Just a small and not very well made comparison that I just made.