tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-307090612024-03-05T11:13:09.458-07:00Movie PopcornPopcorn is like snowflakes (and humans.) There is not one that is shaped like another.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05529424659393307971noreply@blogger.comBlogger55125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30709061.post-77296878986911264362014-01-24T01:37:00.002-07:002014-01-24T01:37:27.957-07:00Cesar<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05529424659393307971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30709061.post-48709670960494664762014-01-15T17:12:00.001-07:002014-01-15T17:26:15.129-07:00Oscar Predictions<div>
<b>Predictions are as follows:</b></div>
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Let me just start by saying this has been a year with amazing films in theaters with so much variety in the genre and subject matter. Some of them taking on multiple genres--<i>Secret Life of Walter Mitty.</i> So I don't expect to be right on. Especially with the Academy creating their ballots before the Directors Guild and the Producers Guild announce their winners. The Guilds will have no influence over nominees. So here is my stab at the predictions.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnGj7eKCDNB2FVAIMK-COr9gdRvgbfEOQOy7KLR4atbTjdz3PlyYnzRrW167WZcdxuFls9MxxJOO803qKyX22B6JXX_-M3zDDSS6X5bG1ECkEniEgVZJvpODTKgzTDJJJ7yhda/s1600/12_years_a_slave_featured1-618x400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnGj7eKCDNB2FVAIMK-COr9gdRvgbfEOQOy7KLR4atbTjdz3PlyYnzRrW167WZcdxuFls9MxxJOO803qKyX22B6JXX_-M3zDDSS6X5bG1ECkEniEgVZJvpODTKgzTDJJJ7yhda/s1600/12_years_a_slave_featured1-618x400.jpg" height="207" width="320" /></a><b>Best Picture</b></div>
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The best picture nominees will have at the most 10 nominees. With their complicated nominations process, there will likely only be eight or nine. I'm going to just list ten of my pics and go with the number being at 9 Best Picture nominations.</div>
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That said, predicting the Best Picture category right will be a difficult feat that few will accomplish.</div>
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<b>Best Picture </b><br />
12 Years a Slave<br />
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Gravity</div>
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American Hustle<br />
Captain Phillips<br />
Philomena<br />
Nebraska<br />
Her<br />
Dallas Buyers Club<br />
Inside Llewyn Davis</div>
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<i>alternates: </i>Saving Mr. Banks, August: Osage County, All is Lost, The Butler.</div>
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I have a feeling <i>Wolf of Wall Street</i> will be left out this year because of the Academy controversy at the screening and because of a more conservative Academy branch of voters. Woody Allen's <i>Blue Jasmine </i>will likely get left off the list too.</div>
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<b>Best Actor</b><br />
<a href="http://www.awardsdaily.com/contendertracker/project/chiwetel-ejiofor/"></a>Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave</div>
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Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club<br />
Bruce Dern, Nebraska<br />
Robert Redford, All is Lost<br />
Tom Hanks, Captain Phillips<br />
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This was a tough year for actors wanting to make the cut. I predict Leonardo DiCaprio will barely miss the list as he usually does.</div>
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alternates:<br />
Leonardo DiCaprio, Wolf of Wall Street<br />
Oscar Isaac, Inside Llewyn Davis<br />
Christian Bale, American Hustle</div>
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<b>Best Actress</b><br />
Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine<br />
Sandra Bullock, Gravity<br />
Emma Thompson, Saving Mr. Banks<br />
Judi Dench, Philomena<br />
Amy Adams, American Hustle</div>
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alternate:</div>
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I predict Meryl Streep will miss the mark this year because she previously won and probably because of some outspoken comments she made about Disney. I'm going to leave Amy Adams on the short list.</div>
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Meryl Streep, August: Osage County<br />
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<b>Supporting Actor</b><br />
Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club<br />
Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave</div>
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Barkhad Abdi Captain Phillips<br />
Daniel Bruhl, Rush<br />
Bradley Cooper, American Hustle</div>
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alternates:</div>
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James Gandolfini, Enough Said</div>
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Will Forte, Nebraksa<br />
Jonah Hill, The Wolf of Wall Street <br />
Tom Hanks, Saving Mr. Banks <br />
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<b>Supporting Actress</b><br />
Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years a Slave<br />
Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle<br />
Oprah Winfrey, The Butler<br />
June Squibb, Nebraska<br />
Julia Roberts, August: Osage County</div>
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alternates:</div>
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Sally Hawkins, Blue Jasmine<br />
Scarlett Johansson, Her<br />
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<b>Director</b><br />
Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity</div>
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David O. Russell, American Hustle<br />
Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave<br />
Paul Greengrass, Captain Phillips<br />
Alexander Payne, Nebraska</div>
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It is going to be difficult to choose a fourth director here. They've only given Marty one Oscar, and that's probably all he will get save for a lifetime achievement award before he dies. But they like to nominate him a lot. And his editor who he's worked with for a long time. Choosing the Cohen brothers seems redundant and the film hasn't really done well with the guilds or box office (<i>Llewyn Davis</i>). I decided to go with Alexander Payne for <i>Nebraska</i> because of the lack of controversy or redundancy. He's been given an nod twice and <i>Nebraska </i>has been well recieved, plus its going to get that actor's nod.</div>
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alternates:</div>
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Martin Scorsese, The Wolf of Wall Street<br />
Spike Jonze, Her<br />
Joel and Ethan Coen, Inside Llewyn Davis<br />
Jean-Marc Vallée, Dallas Buyers Club <br />
Stephen Frears, Philomena <br />
JC Chandor, All is Lost<br />
Lee Daniels, The Butler<br />
John Lee Hancock, Saving Mr. Banks</div>
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<b>Original Screenplay </b><br />
Spike Jonze, Her<br />
Eric Singer, David O. Russell, American Hustle<br />
Joel and Ethan Coen, Inside Llewyn Davis<br />
Bob Nelson, Nebraska<br />
Woody Allen, Blue Jasmine</div>
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I have a feeling Cuaron's Gravity will be left off this list unfortunately, not because it's not good, but because of all the other rich content that was penned this year.</div>
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alternates:</div>
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Alfonso Cuaron, Jonas Cuaron, Gravity<br />
Craig Borten, Dallas Buyers Club<br />
Kelly Marcel, Saving Mr. Banks<br />
Nicole Holofcener, Enough Said<br />
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<b>Adapted Screenplay</b><br />
John Ridley, 12 Years a Slave<br />
Tracy Letts, August: Osage County<br />
Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke, Richard Linklater, Before Midnight</div>
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Steve Coogan, Philomena<br />
Billy Ray, Captain Phillips</div>
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This is a category that drives me nuts right now. Not usually. Here is why: Tracy Letts wrote the play that <i>August: Osage County</i> is based on, so it should be in the Original Screenplay category because it is originally penned by the same play/screen writer. </div>
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I'm going to be crazy and predict Before Midnight in this category. I'll leave Terrence Winter off for <i>Wolf of Wall Street </i>yet again. It was a three hour orgy, so it's not really writing. </div>
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Alternates:</div>
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Terrence Winter, Wolf of Wall Street<br />
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<b>Editing</b><br />
Alfonso Cuarón Mark Sanger, Gravity<br />
Alan Baumgarten, Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers,American Hustle<br />
Joe Walker, 12 Years a Slave<br />
Christopher Rouse, Captain Phillips<br />
Jeff Buchanan, Eric Zumbrunnen, Her </div>
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Again the fourth one is difficult to predict here.</div>
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Alternates:</div>
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Daniel P Hanley, Rush<br />
Thelma Schoonmaker, The Wolf of Wall Street</div>
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Kevin Tent, Nebraska <br />
Pete Beaudreau, All is Lost<br />
Roderick Jaynes, Inside Llewyn Davis<br />
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<b>Cinematography </b><br />
Emmanuel Lubezki Gravity<br />
Bruno Delbonnel, Inside Llewyn Davis<br />
Sean Bobbit, 12 Years a Slave<br />
Phedon Papamichael, Nebraska<br />
Frank G. DeMarco, Peter Zuccarini, All is Lost </div>
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I don't want to throw Captain Phillips in this category because I hate the style of cinematography. Just becuase it's in the Best Picture category does not because it is going to be nominated. I wish the Hobbit was a genuine contender here because they did some great work on that. </div>
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Barry Ackroyd, Captain Phillips</div>
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Roger Deakins Prisoners<br />
Philippe Le Sourd, The Grandmaster <br />
Anthony Dod Mantle, Rush <br />
John Schwartzman, Saving Mr. Banks <br />
Hoyte Van Hoytema, Her<br />
Adriano Goldman, August: Osage County <br />
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<b>Production Design</b><br />
Gravity<br />
12 Years a Slave<br />
The Great Gatsby<br />
Her<br />
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug</div>
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Alternates:</div>
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Inside llewyn Davis<br />
Saving Mr. Banks</div>
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<b>Sound Mixing</b><br />
Gravity<br />
Lone Survivor<br />
All is Lost<br />
Inside Llewyn Davis<br />
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug</div>
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Alternates:</div>
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Rush<br />
Captain Phillips</div>
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Iron Man 3<br />
Star Trek Into Darkness<br />
Oz Great and Powerful <br />
Fast and Furious 6<br />
World War Z <br />
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<b>Sound Editing </b><br />
Gravity<br />
Captain Phillips <br />
Iron Man 3<br />
Star Trek Into Darkness<br />
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug</div>
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alternates:</div>
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Oz Great and Powerful <br />
Fast and Furious 6<br />
World War Z <br />
<br />
<b>Costume Design </b><br />
American Hustle<br />
12 Years a Slave<br />
Saving Mr. Banks<br />
The Great Gatsby<br />
The Hunger Games</div>
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Unfortunately I think The Hobbit might be left out of this category.</div>
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alternates:</div>
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Oz<br />
The Invisible Woman<br />
The Desolation of Smaug<br />
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Original Score<br />
Gravity<br />
All is Lost<br />
12 Years a Slave<br />
Frozen</div>
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Saving Mr. Banks</div>
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alternates:</div>
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Captain Phillips</div>
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Her<br />
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<b>Animated Feature</b><br />
Frozen<br />
The Wind Rises<br />
Despicable Me 2<br />
Monsters University<br />
The Croods</div>
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alternate:</div>
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Epic<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Visual Effects</b><br />
Gravity<br />
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug<br />
Iron Man 3<br />
Pacific Rim<br />
Star Trek Into Darkness</div>
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others:</div>
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The Lone Ranger<br />
Oblivion<br />
Elysium<br />
Thor: The Dark World<br />
World War Z<br />
<br />
Makeup<br />
American Hustle**<br />
Dallas Buyers Club<br />
The Great Gatsby*<br />
Hansel & Gretel Witch Hunters<br />
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire<br />
Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa<br />
The Lone Ranger<br />
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Song<br />
<a href="http://www.awardsdaily.com/blog/75-original-songs-eligible-for-2013-oscar/">[Full List]</a><br />
"My Lord Sunshine (Sunrise)" from "12 Years a Slave"<br />
Atlas (Hunger Games Catching Fire)**<br />
Let It Go (Frozen)**<br />
Ordinary Love (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom)**<br />
Happy (Despicable Me2) **<br />
Sweeter Than Fiction (One Chance) * <br />
Amen (All Is Lost)<br />
Young and Beautiful (Great Gatsby)<br />
Sweeter Than Fiction (One Chance)<br />
Shine Your Way (The Croods) <br />
The Moon Song (Her)<br />
I See Fire The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug)<br />
Last Mile Home (August: Osage County)</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05529424659393307971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30709061.post-28631880647738454452014-01-08T15:28:00.000-07:002014-01-08T15:28:24.604-07:00Top 10 Films of 2013 Preview<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Making a Top Ten</b></span><br />
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This movie watcher is almost ready to make a Top Ten list. There are a few I need to watch by either renting or attending inexpensive showings. That said, the list might not be out until February, but I hope to compile what a normal critic would. <br />
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Making a Top Ten is tricky. You want to leave room for your favorites while acknowledging that there are others that were technically more solid films. Plus there are multiple genres that need mentioning. At the end of it all, you have to enjoy the films you put on this list.<br />
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For now, let's analyze the year and take a look at what worked and what did not work in the world of cinema. Some of the movies I discuss will likely make my top ten. Since I cannot attend every film, because I'd be broke, I can come up with a solid list and go to movies and rent them based on word of mouth and personal interest. For instance, I was anticipating <i>Gravity </i>for a long time, because of its solid marketing campaign, and upon seeing it and tracking its box office and reviews, I'm super happy with that film.<br />
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And in another case, I will NOT be seeing <i>Wolf of Wall Street</i> after hearing nasty reviews and looking at the running time, basically 3 hours. Lots of top critics said it was boring. Unless some trusty sources say different, I'll leave that off my "to see" list, it definitely DID NOT make the "to-see-in-theaters" list. Too many comments about bordom, its "C" rating on Cinemascore, Academy Members walking out in the middle, and word of orgies and pornographic scenes are just a few reasons not to see it. I've really appreciated Leonardo's work lately, but this seems a lot like Gatsby, and even Django. His characters are starting to carry a motif of gluttony that is getting old.<br />
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Enough of that, here are some of my favorites so far:<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">The Year in Cinema</span></b><br />
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Unless there are an exceptional amount of animated films, I will usually only include my favorite one in the top ten list. This year I'm guessing <i><b>Frozen</b></i> and <i><b>The Wind Rises </b></i>will duke it out.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN_YOAy0b_ewFEx-4Dl4vdJEpt1KculB_qsV0tqZB9kjYSk-HBemGx3X2OMy7bifoomObYcl_DQ1A_96dfHr_bnlvOoVjwSlBMTE3H6S9zQT5aM3hCLFoqHEhzglPGU4HHZYfM/s1600/frozen-d-580x435.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN_YOAy0b_ewFEx-4Dl4vdJEpt1KculB_qsV0tqZB9kjYSk-HBemGx3X2OMy7bifoomObYcl_DQ1A_96dfHr_bnlvOoVjwSlBMTE3H6S9zQT5aM3hCLFoqHEhzglPGU4HHZYfM/s1600/frozen-d-580x435.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjliv7Gp-zEjRcyPjgmTNQ9W6537xrYnNtkKcPVo0YouDdZbAGVxuqk9W6b_fEbFxsfhNHaIkoxRHHToGuZ_34T-CHnxNJ_IsBKz20CrwpfvWgtr-JIDNjFTIS72geJwyrt7Zc0/s1600/Miyazaki_The_Wind_Rises_still.jpg.CROP.article568-large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjliv7Gp-zEjRcyPjgmTNQ9W6537xrYnNtkKcPVo0YouDdZbAGVxuqk9W6b_fEbFxsfhNHaIkoxRHHToGuZ_34T-CHnxNJ_IsBKz20CrwpfvWgtr-JIDNjFTIS72geJwyrt7Zc0/s1600/Miyazaki_The_Wind_Rises_still.jpg.CROP.article568-large.jpg" height="172" width="320" /></a></div>
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I Have not Seen <i>The Wind Rises </i>yet but I'm looking forward to it. I've enjoyed all of Miyazaki's work.<br />
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Expect <b><i>The Hobbit</i> </b>to be somewhere on there. I loved this second outing to Middle Earth regardless of what people are saying about it. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH8kJYvWhQNQIM503l0BGR64Wpmu8KD5i_sGXcy7QoBlO49AHvk1D2OQV39KV_-ZXlQ8OMVUtco8mJvdoqaXX21AgeMl3xD11hNGLD-5JLN5liC_2YBLRbNcBbZSnyRzUz-Syy/s1600/Sandra-Bullock-in-Gravity-2013-Movie-Image-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH8kJYvWhQNQIM503l0BGR64Wpmu8KD5i_sGXcy7QoBlO49AHvk1D2OQV39KV_-ZXlQ8OMVUtco8mJvdoqaXX21AgeMl3xD11hNGLD-5JLN5liC_2YBLRbNcBbZSnyRzUz-Syy/s1600/Sandra-Bullock-in-Gravity-2013-Movie-Image-2.jpg" height="160" width="320" /></a></div>
Another favorite is <i><b>Gravity</b>, </i>almost a short film, it is very tightly montaged into 1 hour and 1/2 running time with plenty of stuff that will blow you away. I looked forward to it all year when I learned who was in it and who the filmmakers were. It was amazing.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaeAO83swzuhAD5TyqDEqbTPsOMuqmemDMyogiS84p_l0opEUlvBGlGrNmMhh_VnXvOAsrMS3wjqAWm-XTELjj-oUgUuf-vd0x3jM2yN0atCy3LAZ-Hqjpu5YnNsKIJ-obLBp1/s1600/Pacific-Rim-Movie-Stills.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaeAO83swzuhAD5TyqDEqbTPsOMuqmemDMyogiS84p_l0opEUlvBGlGrNmMhh_VnXvOAsrMS3wjqAWm-XTELjj-oUgUuf-vd0x3jM2yN0atCy3LAZ-Hqjpu5YnNsKIJ-obLBp1/s1600/Pacific-Rim-Movie-Stills.jpg" height="175" width="320" /></a><i><b>Pacific Rim</b> </i>was the best summer movie in my opinion. Best monsters, and action scenes in a long time. The story was deeper than a 2 dimensional action flick too which was nice. People had feelings and crap.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRIKNOxCTTbjp2YH8ZKe8XHy5SkAEepDgqImzA6nMK79DnQwCu__WaLFl6ynV2iQO9w7_3s7JYI6a0FnXo0aR0Xl-k3ioITPd1UDZPParg20FQ4kexszVBQiwd4lFCvnhq_J5N/s1600/12_years_a_slave_featured1-618x400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRIKNOxCTTbjp2YH8ZKe8XHy5SkAEepDgqImzA6nMK79DnQwCu__WaLFl6ynV2iQO9w7_3s7JYI6a0FnXo0aR0Xl-k3ioITPd1UDZPParg20FQ4kexszVBQiwd4lFCvnhq_J5N/s1600/12_years_a_slave_featured1-618x400.jpg" height="207" width="320" /></a><b><i>12 Years a Slave</i> </b>will also likely make the list, Solomon Northrop's journey is unmissable, everyone needs to see this film. It is crazy to think that this happened not too long ago. <br />
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Another one of my favorites was <i><b>The Secret Life of Walter Mitty</b></i>, it is really an inspiring piece by Ben Stiller--people criticized it for having multiple genres, but I believe that is what made it stand out and that is where it drew its strength.<br />
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I loved <i><b>Catching Fire</b>, </i>but somehow it is not as memorable to me as other films this year and even the first <i>Hunger Games</i>. It was still solid and better than the first film, it had an ending like <i>Empire Strikes Back.</i><br />
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<b>There are a few films I have yet to see.</b><br />
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Blue Jasmine<br />
Her<br />
Inside Llewin Davis<br />
Mud<br />
American Hustle<br />
<strike>Philomena</strike><br />
Fruitvale Station<br />
MAndela<br />
Prisoners<br />
Enough Said<br />
All is Lost<br />
Saving Mr. Banks<br />
Nebraska<br />
Don Jon<br />
The Wind Rises<br />
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<b>Have Seen That are worth leaving on a Top Ten List:</b><br />
The Butler****<br />
Gravity *****<br />
12 Years a Slave*****<br />
Frozen****<br />
The Great Gatsby***<br />
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty****1/2<br />
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug****1/2<br />
Captain Phillips***1/2<br />
The Croods****<br />
Catching Fire****1/2<br />
The Wolverine***1/2<br />
Pacific Rim****<br />
Elysium ***1/2<br />
Philomena ****<br />
(5 Stars is the most)<br />
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<b>Probably Will NOT see unless more good word of mouth circulates:</b><br />
August: Osage County<br />
Wolf of Wall Street<br />
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<b>Other Movies I've seen:</b><br />
Monsters University ***<br />
Iron Man 3 ***<br />
Man of Steel ***<br />
Lone Ranger ***<br />
Oz the Great and Powerful ***<br />
Thor 2 ***<br />
Despicable Me 2 ***<br />
The Heat ***<br />
Ender's Game ***<br />
The Internship **<br />
Anchorman 2 ***<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Boxoffice</span></b><br />
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It was a year where a lot of unexpected things happened as far as box office returns go. Unpredictable gems showed up, there were lots of risks taken by studios, and there were huge flops. The summer blockbusters were underwhelming save for <i>Iron Man 3 </i>and <i>Pacific Rim</i>.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Box Office Success</span></b><br />
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<b>A few animated films rocked it.</b><br />
<i>Frozen, The Croods, Monsters Univeristy, </i>and <i>Despicable Me 2</i> were solid, almost all of them closing north of $200 million, with the exception of <i>Croods</i>. <i>Frozen </i>will pass $300 million soon, and <i>Despicable Me 2 </i>closed at $367 million. Most notable is <i>Frozen's </i>ability to stay at the top of the box office 7 weeks after it was opened. A rarity in movies today.<br />
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<b>Marvel and Disney are good to go.</b><br />
Their recipe for success is still working and DC comics from Warner Bros. is taking notes by planning a Batman Vs. Superman for 2015. <i>Thor 2 </i>made an improvement over its predecessor and will close at a little over $200 million. <b><i>Iron Man </i>3</b> is sitting comfortably at the top of 2013's highest grossing films. Soon to be surpassed by...<br />
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<b>Hunger Games: Catching Fire</b><br />
The success of this franchise is not slowing down. With a very strong opening of $158 million. It is one of the highest openings for a 2D film. It will soon surpass <i>Iron Man's </i>box office in the next few days.<br />
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<b>Gravity</b><br />
This film did really solid business domestically and internationally considering it had no previously written source material, it was not a sequel, and not a major franchise. It opened very solidly at $55 million and stayed number 1 at the box office for 3 weekeneds consecutively in October with no other competition. A smart move for Warner Bros. It closed at around $255 million.<br />
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<b><i>The Desolation of the Box Office</i></b><br />
<b><i>The Hobbit 2. </i></b>With general audiences not appreciating the first film as much, the second Hobbit opened to around $73 million ($10 million dollars lower than its predecessor). A solid opener for a December film. It has a chance at reaching $280- $300 million domestically (in my opinon) and it will likely reach around $1 billion worldwide, being only the second film this year to do so behind <i>Iron Man.</i> The Hobbit also stayed number 1 at the box office for 3 weekends in a row like <i>Gravity </i>and <i>Fast and Furious </i>earlier in the year.<i> </i>It did not do the same sort of business as <i>Unexpeced Journay</i> a year ago<i> </i>but it did solid business nonetheless. It helped close the year off as one of the biggest box office years in history for Hollywood.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Box office failures</span></b><br />
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<i style="font-weight: bold;">Lone Ranger </i>was unfortunately NOT a success financially. I say unfortunately because it was a film that was largely shot in the region I'm from, New Mexico. I am a huge fan of Johnny Depp and his work, I think of him as a modern day Charlie Chaplin and his comedic timing was perfect on Lone Ranger and in all his movies. This was a film on a huge budget, likely north of $200 million and it flopped. Only making $29 million its opening weekend and then staggering to a $89 million halt, it was forgotten by filmgoers despite large marketing campaigns by Disney. Disney will take a huge right-off for this project somewhere around $200 million when considering the addition of its marketing budget. I personally enjoyed it thoroughly, perhaps it was because I'm a fan of the southwest, westerns and Johnny. Or maybe because I just decide to let go of my suspension of disbelief sometimes to enjoy a movie. I thought it had remarkable cinematography, stunts, special effects, and comedic timing. Moviegoers missed out by skipping <i style="font-weight: bold;">Lone Ranger. </i><br />
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<b><i>47 Ronin</i></b><br />
The moment I saw a trailer for this picture, I thought to myself, this looks interesting, but I need a good reason to go watch it. The martial arts was not selling it to me, the special effects looked ok, they revealed a cool looking dragon, and some interesting looking action scenes. But what made the movie flop from the start was the decision to keep the title <i>47 Ronin. </i>Who is going to remember that and what makes it unique and special? It would have been more interesting to call this thing <i>Dragon Killers, Samurai Vs. Cowboy,</i> or<i> Keanu Reeves Tries to Make a Comeback. </i>No one is going to remember that title. In fact, when I first wrote down the name of the film just now, I wrote <i>49 Ronin</i> and struggled to remember the second word. It only made $10 million in its first weekend, which is very bad for a $150+ million film. It will only get worse from here, it has a bad Cinema Score and no word of mouth. Plus a very low Rotten Tomatoes Rating. Below 20%.<br />
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<b><i>Ender's Game</i> </b>was pretty good! I think the reasons why the masses decided to avoid Ender's Game was surrounding some of the Orson Scott Card's positions on Gay Marriage. The film started at number one at the box office and did not hold well as <i>Hunger Games: Catching Fire</i> hit theaters the very next weekend. Closing at a low $61 million.<br />
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<b><i>After Earth</i> </b>looked promising. Good cast, (Father and son Smiths) and directed by M. Night Shyamalon. He has not made good stuff ever since his last critical (though not financial) bomb <i>Avatar: the Last Airbender. </i>There was just no attendance or solid word-of-mouth, and a poor Rotten Tomatoes Score. It closed at a low $60 million.<br />
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<b><i><br /></i></b>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05529424659393307971noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30709061.post-86290686602435909662013-12-18T16:43:00.000-07:002013-12-18T21:38:11.993-07:00On Being Single and Potentially Marrying<br />
I really appreciated Mark Driscoll's sermon this week on being married and NOT being married. I appreciated that he said that Jesus was NOT married. I love marriage and all those that are participating in the beautiful union. However, I feel like people often feel rushed into it and they feel like being single is being secondary in society and in the church.<br />
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I was asked once, "Were you the third wheel?" when I was hanging out with some friends who were a couple. To which my thought process wanted to rudely reply, "No I was the first wheel and they were the 2nd and 3rd wheel."<br />
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Someone who was engaged asked me if I was seeing anyone and upon my "no" response she could only say "oooh" in a high pitched voice feeling sorry for me. In my confusion I said, "There is nothing wrong with me, I'm just not in a relationship. I'm fine." It was a shame that I had to explain to someone that because I was single I was in fact quite alright.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMVXEdw9l5twnZPq4Hlmyiwox737_xUrbOjPjlVEYKIX2YVF-9Pimvt1rjn9NPl_NBAnj_H6mqKVNUfuD5noqJy4eCRoqLrHN-S25ZUpHEPZu-h6hz-dofkLbluHcHIi814Qdu/s1600/IMG_0030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMVXEdw9l5twnZPq4Hlmyiwox737_xUrbOjPjlVEYKIX2YVF-9Pimvt1rjn9NPl_NBAnj_H6mqKVNUfuD5noqJy4eCRoqLrHN-S25ZUpHEPZu-h6hz-dofkLbluHcHIi814Qdu/s320/IMG_0030.JPG" width="320" /></a>I do want to get married someday, but frankly there is a lot in my life I need to get together right now. I'm not about to go into detail on all of it.<br />
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For now, I am happy that the pastor of my church preached a sermon that spoke to single men and women alike and relieved the pressure of being married. I'm still not sure that being married is the "Second most important decision you'll ever have to make." As Mark Driscoll so often states. This is not criticism of his sermons, this is just me publicly wondering.<br />
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If you consider the first and 2nd Commandments that Jesus of Nazareth gives. The first is to love God, the 2nd is to Love your neighbor as you would love yourself. I would argue the 2nd most important decision you have to make in your life is how you ought to love your neighbor. Not to diminish the importance or marriage or the beauty of the union that is a reflection of the trinity. It is quite a wonderful sharpening journey I'm told. Some would group loving neighbor into loving your spouse, which seems different to me since after marriage you are considered one flesh. <br />
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On that note, there is so much to do and see and be in this life. (Frodo tells that to Sam) There are people to help, there are people who have not heard the gospel. There are mountains to climb. I suppose I can do that while married, yes. But it is much easier to do what I can now, as a single person, for the kingdom, then when I have a wife and a family to ALSO take care of. I hope to be able to use my time wisely in this life wisely for Jesus and for the kingdom. God knows I have failed. But he has been there to pick me up every step of the way. For that I am thankful.<br />
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These are my current frames of thought.<br />
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And to my Engaged friends: A heartfelt Congratulations! May God bless your marriages with adventure and unending growth and newness.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05529424659393307971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30709061.post-67759637997212707042012-03-28T15:48:00.001-06:002012-03-28T15:48:10.539-06:00Coming soon to a Theater and Computer screen near you!Coming soon to this page will be another great story, this time about my family fishing adventures! This post will be here next week with a guest artist/writer friend of mine featured as the illustrator.<br />
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In other personal news: <i>A Place to Stand, </i>the movie, is still up and running and I'm excited to gain support and see the movie's progress in the next couple of months. If you're interested in supporting, contact me directly, visit aplacetostandmovie.com, and like us on Facebook. See my last post <a href="http://letstalkaboutthemovies.blogspot.com/2012/03/im-makin-movie.html">here</a>.<br />
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Back to the fishing story...<br />
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The exciting thing is that a friend of mine who has inspired my writing and blogging habits: Clara, writer of an amazing comedy blog called <a href="http://ineedclarafication.blogspot.com/">Clarafication</a> will be a guest illustrator for this public journal site. Prepare yourselves for laughs. <br />
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<a href="http://ineedclarafication.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" height="94" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDaPKm-IJ42EwtDP4cM6bwC-GN3zQeD7wfjD1EJY-CDLeamGyQA44tW9es4ZfBihLYtejo0eTn2WebVuxccpq3W6tzuEbVBw11XSsMdfA6fkuU7tKba4pCcIylUJy-AOpq1MKYmw/s660/Clarafication+logo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Some of the terrible things you can look forward to: Certain death on a fishing boat, dramamine, lots of throwing up, reeling in some big catches, and a sketchy hotel room filled with instant brew coffee. <br />
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All of these are important to the beautiful true life story that is to come. I am a big advocate of collaborative work and I think some great things will come of it. <br />
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To view my Anchorage Adventure, it's called <a href="http://letstalkaboutthemovies.blogspot.com/2011/05/city-by-sea.html">A City by the Sea</a>, check it out. (it's related, you'll see)<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05529424659393307971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30709061.post-75074984794252090252012-03-12T21:18:00.004-06:002012-03-12T21:18:48.288-06:00A Place to Stand<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/208811_110433435706132_109989882417154_101064_5108064_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/208811_110433435706132_109989882417154_101064_5108064_n.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05529424659393307971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30709061.post-79610692137486689262012-02-27T15:45:00.006-07:002012-02-27T15:59:02.261-07:00Best Films of 2011<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Top ten. Here it goes!</b></span><br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">10. Jane Eyre</span><br />
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This isn't some foreign film, just an international poster for <i>Jane Eyre</i> that I liked a lot. After watching <i>Jane Eyre </i>and realizing the story was such a gimic in the end that she just gave up to easily (Charlotte Bronte) it seemed, I realized that this was somewhat of the Twilight of the time. The only difference being that the characters were three dimensional, and the time was interesting. By <i>"Twlilight</i> of the time" I mean that it was the love story everyone was falling for. Except it didn't suck. People during the time of Bronte were able to tell the difference between good and bad writing. <br />
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<i>Jane Eyre </i>was well acted, directed, and technically sound in all areas.<br />
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9. Rango<br />
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I had so much fun watching this animated western. It came out at the beginning of 2011 when there were no other good films out. It's entertaining to see animals acting like old western characters and interesting to see the divide between animal and human characteristics as portrayed by animation. Sometimes animals can talk about issues like water in Las Vegas that humans can understand better.<br />
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8. 50/50<br />
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This film perhaps helped me feel every emotion possible. It touched on so many things that humans go through, loss, worry, death, cancer, the possibility of death, suffering, humor in the midst of suffering. There was some crass humor but this movie made me respect the one on the left a little more. Also, I already like Jason Gordon Levitt from <i>Angels in the Outfield</i>--a movie that maybe he wants to forget--and "3rd Rock from the Sun" the TV show.<br />
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7.Sourcecode<br />
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I've already seen <i>Sourcecode </i>three times and have enjoyed it with each viewing. I'm a firm believer in seeing a movie more than once and enjoying it again the second or more time. I think that's the mark of a good film. Films weren't meant to be seen just once I think. Originally the same great movies would come out once a year and people would be able to have a repeat viewing. Like <i>Gone With the Wind</i> and such. Anyway, this film is repetative to begin with. You'll see. <br />
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It's mind boggling though! Alternate realities, strange ideas, time travel etc. See it. <br />
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6. The Muppets<br />
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So many comedians have my respect this year. Jason Segal for example, though I haven't seen him too much before this, wrote <i>The Muppets </i>and performed singing numbers. Gone are the days where people can do more than stand in front of a camera and deliver a good line while looking just right. I loved this and I love those to actors on the poster. Amy Adams and Jason Segal. <br />
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5. The Help<br />
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There has been a lot of complaint about this film with some silly talk about how the "white woman solved racism." It's not about a white person solving a problem. It's about anybody, anybody seeing that this issue needed to be talked about and doing something about it. These issues are universal, not just to do with race. We are all victims of racism, everyone is. Just because someone is more privileged does not mean they don't have the right to do something about a problem. Same goes for the underprivileged. <br />
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See <i>The Help. </i><br />
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4. The Artist<br />
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A silent movie, they call it. For all intensive purposes, yes it is. It plays with all aspect of what the cinema is and was to people. It's a journey of a the cinema through the life of a man. As if the movies themselves were personified. Beautiful black and white piece of work. <br />
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3. Tree of Life<br />
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<a href="http://film-book.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/the-tree-of-life-movie-poster-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://film-book.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/the-tree-of-life-movie-poster-01.jpg" width="407" /></a></div>
I think this poster is so appropriate for the film because of all the many images the film expresses. It was the kind of montage (we call it editing but he french call it montage) that Eisenstein used to create. It was a mixture of images to come up with a larger image, that is a larger message. Two stories colliding. Montage is collision as Eisenstein wrote. (I think it was him.) And this film had beautiful cinematography and had so many images and two stories--I would say becoming one. The story of time itself, and that of an American family. Shot in a way you've never seen a film before. <br />
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2. Hugo<br />
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Good think Martin Scorsese liked the 3D medium and ran with it. This is like one of those peices of work that seem like it's been in someone's head their whole life and now that they get the chance to finally make it, it is breathtaking. Martin Scorsese had all of those other movies his whole life to practice making this, what seems like, most autobiographical piece. The movie that says the most about himself as a filmmaker. Like <i>The Artist</i> it is a journey through the cinema. Except this one is about a kid discovering what the magic of cinema is all about. The BEST PICTURE of the year in my opinion.<br />
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My favorite though....<br />
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<span style="font-size: large; font-weight: bold;">It All Comes Back to Harry</span><br />
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows </span><i style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Finale</i></div>
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The reason I picked Harry this year is because it brought back to me what the movies have always been about. A social community experience. I got to go experience the movies the way they used to be. I went to the theater at midnight, all my friends were there, all excited to see this feature film. It was a movie event, and that doesn't happen all that often. I will hopefully talk about it more. Plus it's amazing--simply the best of the year. <br />
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People were cheering, crying, laughing out loud. People were dressed like wizards. This was a huge mark in a cultural phenomenon. Though not the end I think. Harry Potter's magic will live on and we will understand it differently and more appropriately throughout our lives. </div>
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<b>BELOW ARE SOME MENTIONS</b><br />
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<b>Honorable Mentions:</b><br />
Tintin, WarHorse, Bridesmades, Crazy Stupid Love, Arther Christmas. Moneyball.<br />
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<b>Best movie that takes place in both New Mexico and outerspace</b><br />
<b>THOR</b><br />
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<b>Best movie of the year that was not released this year but was shown in theaters:</b><br />
<i>Lord of the Rings</i><br />
It was remastered and had three intros by director Peter Jackson.<br />
(There were a number of rereleases <i>Lion King</i> included)<br />
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<b>Worst Movie possibly ever made:</b><br />
<i>Three Musketeers</i><br />
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<b>Most Dissapointing Movie: War Horse</b><br />
It used all the right tactics to get me to like the characters, I was supposed to like them because the film told me to, that's why I had a hard time. Also the Horse had a best friend who was a horse. It was an American Story Civil War tale like <i>Gone with the Wind </i>set in WWI Europe. So many things just didn't belong there. I thought it looked great--kudos to the cinematographer and art direction. It just wasn't what it could have been--good. <br />
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<b>Best Scene:</b><br />
In <i>The Artist</i> where he has the dream and it is all in vibrant sound. You must see it.<br />
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<b>Best Movie going experience of all time:</b><br />
<i>Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. </i>There were people dressed like wizards, brooms, goblins, house elves etc. All there to enjoy, talk about, and wait for a wonderful movie that they all loved so dearly. The audience I was with reacted to every expression, every moment with such appreciation. The energy in the room was so high. That's what you go to the movies for--to laugh, cry, shout, and be in the moment. I loved every minute of it.<br />
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<b>Best Musical Number:</b><br />
"Am I a man or a Muppet?" from <i>The Muppets</i><br />
Also the Opening number is pretty great. <br />
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<b>Worst Best Visual Effects:</b><br />
<i>Planet of the Apes</i><br />
It looked so real, the apes were expressing so much that I couldn't believe it. No I literally didn't believe it. <br />
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<b>Best 3D movie to date:</b><br />
<b>HUGO. </b>See it, and see it in 3D. It's absolutely stunning, it is beyond anything you've ever seen. Haha <i>beyond... </i>whatever.<br />
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<b>Most Montage:</b><br />
<i>Tree of Life</i><br />
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<b>Best Acting:</b><br />
The Ladies in <i>The Help</i><br />
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<b>Best Ensemble Cast:</b><br />
<i>Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows</i><br />
This is the best cast ever. I'm pretty sure it's missing like 5 British Actors that I can think of, and that's it.<br />
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<b>Best Summer Movies not released in the Summer</b><br />
<i>Sherlock Holmes</i> and <i>Mission Impossible 4</i><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05529424659393307971noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30709061.post-22709476334069425402012-01-21T23:43:00.000-07:002012-01-21T23:43:10.334-07:00Thanks! featured photo etc.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Thanks to all who read! I'm having a fun time writing and posting important life information on here. Glad this has been a part of my life. <br />
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This cat lives at our house. We're not allowed to have pets, don't tell.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05529424659393307971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30709061.post-12698568788250782862012-01-14T09:17:00.001-07:002012-01-15T09:33:43.912-07:00Skiing in Durango, notes on redundancy, and a curious case of the buts<b>Much to say about Not Skiing</b> <br />
A free write.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS3ny0NP7YQAxMlqGuILky_C9wtyLIn-P6umoAi6RHbzhs8lCseKBPRJQkUOZV82xr5zqI0Hqnxl7EX3IfeIlTx5cBeJ-xmkJs73HoM6wAIg_26NWw0arnxHI3BZIjJNueSm7s/s1600/2012-01-12+12.49.46.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS3ny0NP7YQAxMlqGuILky_C9wtyLIn-P6umoAi6RHbzhs8lCseKBPRJQkUOZV82xr5zqI0Hqnxl7EX3IfeIlTx5cBeJ-xmkJs73HoM6wAIg_26NWw0arnxHI3BZIjJNueSm7s/s320/2012-01-12+12.49.46.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A sea monster relaxing in a Durango ski resort hot tub.</td></tr>
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I decided long ago that I needed to do more things in life to enjoy it more. I agreed to go on a ski trip to Durango. It has been a wonderful experience mostly because I did anything BUT ski. That's right, 'but' in capital letters and standing out as a preposition works in many ways here. But here, I must interject more buts. (Here my but functions as a conjunction and another is the subject). The things that I did instead of ("instead of" is quasi functioning as my but here) was lots of hot tubbing, going on a dangerous run that could have cost me my life if I had serious heart problems (but I don't), and enjoying the laughter of great friends I made who wanted nothing but laughter. <br />
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They teach you not to be redundant but I beg to differ. <br />
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Redundancy is a part of life and it is something necessary to enjoy it properly. For example, if you are going on a ski trip to Durango as I did, but (or "though" in this case) I didn't actually ski, you would want to go on the ski lifts over and over again and you would go down the slopes over and over again in a redundant fashion. That's the only way you enjoy yourself and eventually get better at it or anything in life. <br />
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If you ski a lot you will be better at skiing, but writing is different, or so they insist. For instance, it would be completely silly for me to repeat myself in a college essay they say. But I repeat my thesis at the end of that essay, and I repeat my thoughts just in case you missed it. In fact this is how they tell you to write an essay basically: "Tell them, Tell them what you just told with three solid points, and tell them again." But don't be redundant, that's just annoying. <br />
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So, to review. I went skiing, but I didn't ski. I'm ok with talking about and using buts a lot while I write. And I think that redundancy is necessary in life, but it's annoying to English professors even though they profess that doing it is what makes the best essay. "Just kidding but don't, but seriously, do it." <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaG1iIP_YZmRBmmdPzdVBzAYPSmoiUdTLJOQoL2VAMy0P3aL3v7i4RO-M6qI5egojQzNhmZv1csD0Qn-KZU2Kz-4OKcLp9k02LqF7krOozzzi3KRb_s25Pka-EOFLMknTEMdZx/s1600/2012-01-12+12.50.09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaG1iIP_YZmRBmmdPzdVBzAYPSmoiUdTLJOQoL2VAMy0P3aL3v7i4RO-M6qI5egojQzNhmZv1csD0Qn-KZU2Kz-4OKcLp9k02LqF7krOozzzi3KRb_s25Pka-EOFLMknTEMdZx/s320/2012-01-12+12.50.09.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The same sea monster relaxing in the same hot tub.</td></tr>
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I wrote no essays while I didn't ski. I began a letter which "should" be a lot like an essay, but it's not. I began a journal entry which probably should be freely written but it always ends up being summed up and more organized than most essays I've ever written. That's the trouble with writing, the more you practice, (like skiing) the better you get. The more I practice writing, the more I think about all the rules I'm supposed to be following. <br />
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I sat in a hot tub in Durango while my friends skiied. I told myself to relax and do very little to keep my mind occupied and worried about things that don't need to be worried about. These rules about having no rules are quite troubling and hard to follow like writing, skiing, using buts, and snowboarding. There is a time to follow no rules and there is a time to follow all the rules, and relaxing is a lot like free writing where inhibitions in your mind still interrupt your freedom. It's like, "no I want to write about candy, but I don't want to forget those awesome turnips that I ate too!"<br />
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Going skiing on my trip would have been like deleting a bad paragraph that just didn't fit with the tone of my college essay. That paragraph would have likely been redundant with lot of buts. Though I wanted to, relaxing, thinking, praying, spending time with people, and such, was what I came for. "That was what I was going to do dang it!" I had time to run up and down the hill to the ski resort from the highway, catch amazing vistas, spend some quality time with some quality people, and get some quality relaxation in.<br />
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I share my inhibitions about writing with you dear reader (if you have managed to make it this far) because it is a lot like the way my mind works. You see, my mind skis down slopes and manages to make the best runs at times with nothing getting in its way. If it does see a tree, it coolly goes around, if it makes a jump on a pass, it lands smoothly. But. It isn't always like that. Many times it is like a bad run, it thinks that the tree really does affect it, it is afraid of the jumps and never lands smoothly. If it lands terribly, it pretends to get up and say it was just fine with excuses as to why it fell down in the first place. <br />
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At times your mind wants nothing to do with skiing, it wants to take no risks, not fall down, not win awards, not be the best. Because the best thing for it is to enjoy what is around it and not make any more or less of what is around it than what it is. <br />
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On this ski trip, I learned all the more about wanting more and more. That is I learned about the concept of "wanting" itself not wanting more things necessarily. The thing that causes us pain is wanting things to go a certain way. This is the thing I've learned most this year. Knowing that everything will NOT go as planned is a relief. Because you know that much already. Some things are just inevitable. You will likely loose money, you will likely mess up, you will probably feel bad. But the nice thing about that all is that lots of good things will happen in a way that you never expected as well.<br />
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It was nice to NOT want to ski. Because then I didn't have to want to ski better, or perfectly, or something. I don't mean to say, "avoid things and you'll be happy" or "don't ski and you'll appreciate things more" or something lame like that. I'm using skiing as an example to say something bigger.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg3ct3oMa7FzvJaKtX4N2bLRer4BWH2hsAFDoPHhB4rgBwoxyvNdEpHlaRqxDGXXJoFcwNo3KX1bC2PntZCpcRFyvXWqm6H3wPJGFh68yO5s7TFKmHKm_RmmKoDuyG3eWWXQf_/s1600/2012-01-12+12.50.38.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg3ct3oMa7FzvJaKtX4N2bLRer4BWH2hsAFDoPHhB4rgBwoxyvNdEpHlaRqxDGXXJoFcwNo3KX1bC2PntZCpcRFyvXWqm6H3wPJGFh68yO5s7TFKmHKm_RmmKoDuyG3eWWXQf_/s320/2012-01-12+12.50.38.jpg" width="282" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An unfortunate man. (His identity kept secret).</td></tr>
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Here it goes: Why want so many things when we already have everything to begin with? God gave us everything we need. Everything is inside us if we look to it an accept it. With that knowledge, we can do something with it. With the understanding and the choice to live life as if you have been given all you need already, there is so much to do.<br />
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This is basically a free write. But. You know, there were some touch ups here and there. So to sum again: Skiing is great, do it because you already have JOY in you, not because you need JOY from it. And Joy will come of you doing it. (Skiing is a life example here, not something to live your life by.)<br />
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Like I said, this was a free write. Conclusion, conclusion, conclusion, something that sums up things with Buts, skiing, redundancies, redundancies, redundancies and free writes now I guess. God gives you so much so accept it.<br />
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Also: Cats. <br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05529424659393307971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30709061.post-38410107684145286872011-12-28T14:54:00.003-07:002011-12-31T23:59:29.234-07:00The Best of 2011 (In the life of this Blogger)<div id="fb-root"></div>
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Here are some of the best moments and events in my life this year worth mentioning publicly. I want to mention people so bad, but I want to be able to ask people first, and it would be hard to get 30 or so people's permission to mention them. But So many things in my life this year are worth mentioning. Here are some milestones. </div>
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<b>**All things written below are subject to amendment of any sort at any time**</b></div>
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<b>Top Reasons to be Motivated to Enjoy Life </b></div>
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<a href="http://derekqiren.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/6a00e0098acbcf88330112790255b628a4-450wi.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="133" src="http://derekqiren.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/6a00e0098acbcf88330112790255b628a4-450wi.jpg" width="200" /></a>1. 1 Colossians 27</div>
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2. Frodo to Sam in Return of the King: "There is so much for you to be, and see, and do."</div>
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3. Freedom</div>
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4. Creativity</div>
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5. Energy (Light, Strength etc)</div>
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<b>Top Things that I got to do this year.</b></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Glacier. You had to be there (alaska).</td></tr>
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1. Deep Conversations with close people in my life (you all know who you are)</div>
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2. Small Group Coordinator with InterVarsity</div>
<div>
2. Began Dancing and Working on a Film</div>
<div>
3. <a href="http://letstalkaboutthemovies.blogspot.com/2011/05/city-by-sea.html">Alaska Trip</a> with My Family</div>
<div>
4. Movie Nights</div>
<div>
5. Worked at this pretty cool <a href="http://annapolisteacompany.net/">Tea Shop</a></div>
<div>
6. Found this cool <a href="http://www.michaelthomascoffee.com/">Coffee shop</a></div>
<div>
7. Began reading/writing again</div>
<div>
8. Drive people and participate in Chapter Camp</div>
<div>
9. Help friends in need</div>
<div>
10. Sing/Play/Listen to music of all kinds</div>
<div>
11. Watched some great movies (Top films coming soon)</div>
<div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh6VSAQyc-vSvNMSvyztrtrfnPuXjRG2XbZqj1oWB2RPjyg97FQLZjQUkjuKXKZnd29AG2md4fI6EnuVbmu0ZAW-7-4mWGpfoVEqFGXGT8lsBMfpMxhyphenhyphenIdtnwHbSxurqnETtSz/s1600/156381_639938690687_11600386_35128494_4098700_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh6VSAQyc-vSvNMSvyztrtrfnPuXjRG2XbZqj1oWB2RPjyg97FQLZjQUkjuKXKZnd29AG2md4fI6EnuVbmu0ZAW-7-4mWGpfoVEqFGXGT8lsBMfpMxhyphenhyphenIdtnwHbSxurqnETtSz/s200/156381_639938690687_11600386_35128494_4098700_n.jpg" width="125" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A fatter Andres in May 2010</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Things Accomplished</b></div>
<div>
1. So much Wellness and Emotional Healing (A healthier sense of Identity and God's Presence in my Life).</div>
<div>
2. This Blog</div>
<div>
3. Working on a <a href="http://www.blogger.com/aplacetostandmovie.com">Documentary</a> with some cool people</div>
<div>
4. Dance</div>
<div>
5. Lost around 15-20lbs since summer 2010 (REALLY?!?!) -----></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/305490_771939684637_11613075_36461608_738216491_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/305490_771939684637_11613075_36461608_738216491_n.jpg" width="151" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rugged Andres changing flat.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>Key Events</b></div>
<div>
1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II</div>
<div>
2. Alaska-Fishing </div>
<div>
3. Alaska Visiting/flying in by myself</div>
<div>
4. Fiddler on the Roof</div>
<div>
5. Christmas in my hometown with the monks</div>
<div>
6. Salsa Dancing on Halloween</div>
<div>
7. Chapter Camp</div>
<div>
8. Flat Tire on the Way to Chapter Camp :)</div>
<div>
9. Birthday Party</div>
<div>
10. Forgetting to Graduate</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Yes, really Harry Potter. It was one of the best experiences of my life. Really. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Best Worst things that happened to me (Worth mentioning)</b></div>
<div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.socorro-nm.com/images/first-baptist.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.socorro-nm.com/images/first-baptist.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Socorro, NM</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
1. A very forward and unappealing 45 yr old lady asks to date me while I'm working</div>
<div>
2. 4 whole driving tickets all at once</div>
<div>
3. Headache in a packed car with 5 family members who are just like me (practically) for about 10 hours.</div>
<div>
4. <a href="http://letstalkaboutthemovies.blogspot.com/2011/03/how-to-make-most-out-of-you-insomnia-in.html">Insomnia in Socorro</a></div>
<div>
5. Transitioning out of InterVarsity</div>
<div>
6. Changing 3 flat tires in one month's time </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b><br /></b><br />
<b><br /></b><br />
<b>About this BLOG</b></div>
<div>
This blog has functioned as an experimental public journal. It updates people on events in my life, and it attempts to share valuable experiences. So far, based on viewership, it has been a success. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Most Viewed Posts</b></div>
<div>
1. <a href="http://letstalkaboutthemovies.blogspot.com/2011/03/how-to-make-most-out-of-you-insomnia-in.html">How to Make the Most out of your Insomnia in Socorro </a>(~74 page views to date)</div>
<div>
2. <a href="http://letstalkaboutthemovies.blogspot.com/2011/05/city-by-sea.html">A City by the Sea</a> (~65 page views to date)</div>
<div>
3. <a href="http://letstalkaboutthemovies.blogspot.com/2011/10/coffee-in-albuquerque-pt-1.html">Coffee in Albuquerque Part I</a> (58 page views to date)</div>
<div>
4. <a href="http://letstalkaboutthemovies.blogspot.com/2011/06/fellowship-of-ring-again.html">Fellowship of the Ring AGAIN?!</a> (47 page views to date)</div>
<div>
5. <a href="http://letstalkaboutthemovies.blogspot.com/2011/08/gospel-according-to-boxes-sam-and.html">The Gospel According to Boxes, Sam, and Andres</a> (38 page views to date)</div>
<div>
<br />
Please continue to Read more and Click the above links if you missed any posts.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Top Search Keywords</b></div>
<div>
1. the one ring (5 referrals)</div>
<div>
(others not worth mentioning)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Money made this year from the Blog</b></div>
<div>
Around 30 dollars based on around 700 page views</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Page Views by Month</b></div>
<div>
1. November 341</div>
<div>
2. October 315</div>
<div>
3. December 281 (So Far)</div>
<div>
4. September 196</div>
<div>
5. August 174</div>
<div>
6. June 192</div>
<div>
7. March 104</div>
<div>
8. July 59</div>
<div>
9. January 16</div>
<div>
10. April 12</div>
<div>
11. February 5</div>
<div>
12. May 4</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So MUCH progress! Thank everyone who visits. Your comments are valuable. There has been so much growth in this blog this last year. Here's to hoping that next year will be better for blogging, photography, dance, and film. I think it will. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05529424659393307971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30709061.post-52074922397543602292011-12-25T12:31:00.000-07:002011-12-25T12:54:00.265-07:00What to expect when you're expecting<span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 14px;">First of all...MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!</span></span><br />
<a href="http://cache1.asset-cache.net/xc/108222563.jpg?v=1&c=IWSAsset&k=2&d=45A59E392C339D42B4CB15633785DDE1F3DDD0E48857B43CC0D8640F3D4150D5" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://cache1.asset-cache.net/xc/108222563.jpg?v=1&c=IWSAsset&k=2&d=45A59E392C339D42B4CB15633785DDE1F3DDD0E48857B43CC0D8640F3D4150D5" width="294" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;">This is not helpful advice about having a baby unfortunately. It is about an age old thing we all have: expectations. The general kind, not the baby kind.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;">In light of the holidays I will post on something about God's peace and sovereignty in our lives. Because of God's incarnation on this earth, we are free and need not control or expect things. We need not allow fear into our lives.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;">I posted this on FB the other day. I've been thinking a lot about expectations. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 14px;"><br /></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;">"If you expect things to go a specific exact way, you'll be super unhappy all your days. Expect the unexpected and appreciate things and people for what they are. Let God be in control."--lots of wise people probably</span></blockquote>
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<a href="http://cache3.asset-cache.net/xc/92291968.jpg?v=1&c=IWSAsset&k=2&d=6C4008C0FD9EB5A512AEACD21C7FC951C3B00C3505EA55EC7228C379C05C641A" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://cache3.asset-cache.net/xc/92291968.jpg?v=1&c=IWSAsset&k=2&d=6C4008C0FD9EB5A512AEACD21C7FC951C3B00C3505EA55EC7228C379C05C641A" width="141" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">This is not the way God sees us. Rather this is the way we think God sees us a lot of the time.</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;">You see, many of some of my most valuable relationships were painful for me because of my ideas of how people should behave and treat me. My own construction of who they "should be" has messed things up big time. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;">I hate seeing this happen to people, and mostly I hate that it is happening to me. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;">The fact that God is in control is Huge! It is so refreshing. It means that you don't have to be stuck anymore. But you are. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 14px;"><br /></span><br />
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<a href="http://cache2.asset-cache.net/xc/89042532.jpg?v=1&c=IWSAsset&k=2&d=F1683185B4CC7809BED8522AAAA87E181E39C5EEA40D2B787B41E7473501296F" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cache2.asset-cache.net/xc/89042532.jpg?v=1&c=IWSAsset&k=2&d=F1683185B4CC7809BED8522AAAA87E181E39C5EEA40D2B787B41E7473501296F" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 14px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;">It is because of our fear that we want to control others and the situations around us. If we just stepped back and let things unfold we'd be a lot happier. If we just let people be who they are and stop trying to dictate their actions for our own benefit we'd be better off. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 14px;"><br /></span><br />
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<a href="http://cache3.asset-cache.net/xc/93551811.jpg?v=1&c=IWSAsset&k=2&d=6C4008C0FD9EB5A51E98EE5258AD3D568CBA59D71BFC20867B857C6AA7A65E16" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://cache3.asset-cache.net/xc/93551811.jpg?v=1&c=IWSAsset&k=2&d=6C4008C0FD9EB5A51E98EE5258AD3D568CBA59D71BFC20867B857C6AA7A65E16" width="200" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 14px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;">It's best to realize that we have everything we need. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;">"The Lord is my Shepherd, I lack nothing." </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 14px;"><br /></span><br />
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</div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;">On this day our savior was born. Let us remember all he did for us and why we can sit back and let him be in control of our lives. Let us remember that we are free from bondage. Free from sin. Free from guilt and shame. We are free to be the men and women that we are. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;">Because of Jesus, you are NOT what you do. You are not what you are guilty of. You are not those thoughts. You are not those actions.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;">You are something worthwhile. You belong to the King. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 14px;"><br /></span><br />
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<a href="http://cache3.asset-cache.net/xc/100482745.jpg?v=1&c=IWSAsset&k=2&d=EDF6F2F4F969CEBDA71E5725EF544AB384CAF64083A8C6F9A30A533F4A4D8DDB" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://cache3.asset-cache.net/xc/100482745.jpg?v=1&c=IWSAsset&k=2&d=EDF6F2F4F969CEBDA71E5725EF544AB384CAF64083A8C6F9A30A533F4A4D8DDB" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 14px;">This is more accurate. God delights in his people.</span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 14px;"><br /></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 14px;"><br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05529424659393307971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30709061.post-78571099022173258972011-12-23T19:17:00.000-07:002011-12-23T19:18:57.867-07:00Stuff you could have been for HalloweenI didn't participate in anything Halloweeny this year. I had my reasons. I went to a dance studio that night and wanted to wear my bat man undergarments, but I didn't want to offend anyone. I camped out at some of my buddies house and watched the <i>Office.</i><br />
<i><br /></i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie8YQj4bMAhilJ8608bjQQGfnLOz3dKVz_V0jixPWStH6ZYXViRx9h5jhEnklkeJRf-7TBqtx79kzIf8djkkUHI-ynPVFU5Mf-BozccZRIOnjAhDisAqef_AZsOKsZbiTZsa3f/s1600/62378s0z5uayub2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie8YQj4bMAhilJ8608bjQQGfnLOz3dKVz_V0jixPWStH6ZYXViRx9h5jhEnklkeJRf-7TBqtx79kzIf8djkkUHI-ynPVFU5Mf-BozccZRIOnjAhDisAqef_AZsOKsZbiTZsa3f/s320/62378s0z5uayub2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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"I'm a little sleepy and hollow."</div>
<i><br /></i><br />
<i><br /></i><br />
My friend Bryant--who has a great Twitter page btw--and my friend Stephen and I were at an art gallery listening to superhero poetry when I introduced my idea of being just an obscure thing like a "search engine" for Halloween.<br />
<br />
His funny twitter account:<br />
<a href="http://twitter.com/#!/kinderschema">http://twitter.com/#!/kinderschema</a>
<br />
<br />
My original idea for the search engine was to walk around with white tights (like any normal halloween costume) have some green, red, and yellow colors lingering about me, and have a keyboard with a box of junk that would represent what the person would search for. I didn't follow through with it like many of my ideas in my life, but here's to hoping that somebody takes my amazing idea and does it next year.<br />
<br />
We then noticed that you can be anything for Halloween which I'm sure you know. But seriously <i>anything. </i>An idea, a vitamin, a mineral, the thing you ate last week.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Some of the things we came up with:</span></b><br />
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>A search engine</li>
<li>A poem</li>
<li>The economy -- you wear a white T-shirt with a declining graph with an arrow</li>
<li>Your lost sense of humor.</li>
<li>That fifteen minutes you could have spent saving fifteen percent or more on car insurance.</li>
<li>Maine. (yes the state)</li>
<li>Murphy's Law</li>
<li>The Pythagorean Theorem (whenever you need to solve triangle equations I'm there for you)</li>
<li>Lost-(just a person who was lost) "Where am I? Who are you? Why do I exist?"</li>
<li><i>Lost</i> (the show)- you would tell stories with cliffhanger endings with multiple universes and never give a conclusive ending to anything you say.</li>
<li>The wit of a Mark Twan novel</li>
<li>The humor of a Jane Austen novel</li>
<li>That coupon you never used</li>
<li>That bill you never paid</li>
<li>(Yeah it starts to get real scary and real personal)</li>
<li>Those songs you never practiced on the piano</li>
<li>That old piece of chocolate you left in the cupboard and is still melting</li>
<li>A missed phone call you'll never know about</li>
<li>That guy who wears pink everywhere because he wants to pretend he's not insecure</li>
<li>I'm that guy that calls you by mistake and you always wondered why your lives crossed paths</li>
<li>I'm those keys that you never made a copy of and now you're stranded haha.</li>
<li>I'm the barista that always tries to convince you to buy soy products.</li>
<li>I'm the parenting manual that your parents never got.</li>
<li>I'm that box of Christmas cards you never sent.</li>
<li>The self help book that you never applied to your life.</li>
<li>The self help book on how to buy self help books.</li>
<li>That Christmas ornament that your parents kept since you were in kindergarten because they have to.</li>
<li>Runner's high</li>
<li>The noise a tree makes in the forest that nobody hears when it falls (if no one is there to hear it)</li>
<li>I'm the answer to the chicken and the egg question.</li>
<li>I'm those colors in the spectrum that are invisible eyes.</li>
<li>Hi...I'm all the pictures you've taken with your lens cap on.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05529424659393307971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30709061.post-24447387671869290122011-11-24T12:36:00.001-07:002011-11-25T12:11:26.827-07:00Happy Thanksgiving!Happy Thanksgiving dear friends and fellow humans.<br />
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It's a great day to be an American, a man, a friend, a cousin, brother, son, grandson, etc...<br />
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Mostly it's a great day to belong to God.<br />
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I'm so thankful for everyone who reads, everyone who has supported me in any form. I'm thankful for my skills as a pianist, dancer, and artist. I'm thankful for my silly and fearless writing ability whether it's good or not.<br />
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I'm thankful for people who have mentored and helped me this year. For friends, family, and co-workers/peers.<br />
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I'm thankful for <a href="http://letstalkaboutthemovies.blogspot.com/2011/10/coffee-in-albuquerque-pt-1.html">coffee in albuquerque</a>.<br />
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I'm thankful for this castle that my friend Stephen built in 10 minutes out of oatmeal buckets.<br />
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I'm thankful for my new opportunity to work on this film with some cool people:<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><a class="yt-uix-redirect-link" dir="ltr" href="http://www.aplacetostandmovie.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #4272db; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;" target="_blank" title="http://www.aplacetostandmovie.com">http://www.aplacetostandmovie.com</a><br />
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I'm thankful for dance.<br />
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I'm thankful that I got to help with this fun piece with some cool InterVarsity people:<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UGXSdQjD20">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UGXSdQjD20</a><br />
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Thanks everyone for reading, and your presence and thoughtfulness in my life.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05529424659393307971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30709061.post-42161204944453517872011-11-22T14:31:00.000-07:002011-11-24T13:10:22.241-07:00Coffee in Albuquerque Pt. 1There's this coffee shop.<br />
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It has no name, it's called coffee I think. Yep just "Coffee."<br />
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On the corner of Mountain and something (8th St.) it sneaks up on you. I discovered it a while driving from Albuquerque's old town back home I think. A midst all these old style Albuquerque homes it pops out suddenly and you just keep bottle-necking as you drive by--your eyes fixed on the blue and red trim and the promise of it being the best cup of coffee you'll ever discover. That's the hope you have with every coffee shop isn't it though? Maybe this time, it will be the best coffee you've had so far.<br />
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That's what the sign says on it in the front anyway--"Coffee." No clever names, nothing complicated, nothing extraterrestrial like our very own <i>Satellite, </i>neither does it attempt to be godlike similar to the other S word. (It's a word I'm careful not to bring up so that I don't offend.) Just straight to the punch, as if to say "this is what we sell, this is all we sell, we are good at it, and you will love it." That's the bait, the appeal. It's what drew me in and it's the kind of thing that gets you hooked--that and the red and blue trim.<br />
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At first, it seems like it used to be a house, but it used to be a gas station really. There is an old postcard on the front of the espresso machine inside with a picture of the place when long ago it used to advertise 7 up big and proud on its fuel pumps. Who drinks 7 up anymore anyway? <br />
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I had to take someone else there just to make sure it was real. Yes, it seems too far away and magical to be a real place. It seemed to only exist in a romanticized Albuquerque. Me and my buddy Sam are fans of coffee and conversations and I had a reason to go there one friday. (Long story short: The guy that owns the place hired me to paint a house next door and he owed me money--I make friends easily.) Sam and drove there and walked in. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJfylj6RhS23MuDr3xNcBwNBVroOwhHlYFcXkMv_mkej-oXPOsQgR9_UhLU2qQQSBCBoANOVd_z8Bhr0jU3pzeZrD0N0UM0PAn_OTU919G9_kyFNTkBmOa6envNCZfFWXGq_tx/s1600/IMG_1617.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJfylj6RhS23MuDr3xNcBwNBVroOwhHlYFcXkMv_mkej-oXPOsQgR9_UhLU2qQQSBCBoANOVd_z8Bhr0jU3pzeZrD0N0UM0PAn_OTU919G9_kyFNTkBmOa6envNCZfFWXGq_tx/s320/IMG_1617.jpg" width="320" /></a>It's weird to see one of your friends in a different context that your not used to being in together. I had been going there to paint a house for a couple of days--for the owner who also owns a tile-making company--you see. I knew I was still sane and in the same city because I could see the one building closest to a skyscraper we boast about here in the biggest city in NM. But the day I took Sam there was different. It was slightly rainy though not cold. It was a perfect day to sit outside and drink a cup of Joe and have a conversation. There was a literal rainbow across the way from us. We were facing West sitting outside the quaint little establishment. We were surrounded by beautiful New Mexico-style homes with flowers all over the front yards. A man walked up to me and handed me a hundred dollars. Looking over to Sam I asked "Are we in the same city? Did we go to some far away land and end up here somehow? Is this Narnia?" <br />
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Ok I didn't ask if this was Narnia. But a man <i>did</i> walk up to me and give me a hundred dollars. He owed me money for painting the house across the way. It was one of those times where for some reason it becomes more real when another person in your life takes in the experience with you. It's like when I went to the grand canyon, I had to take a double take and look over to make sure my sister and dad were seeing the same thing I was. <br />
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The coffee is quite good. The espresso drinks are amazing. There are bagels. And of course there are free refills. I asked the barista if there were and he replied with, "What do you think this is, a Nazi concentration camp? Of course they're free." He used more colorful language. So there you go. It's a place where they consider other places inferior for not offering free coffee refills. Take note <i>Satellite </i>and <i>Starbucks.</i><br />
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It's open 7 to noon everyday. There is live music on Sundays. There are some great people that work there and frequent the place. Many of them are artists looking to talk about anything and everything. It has a warm neighborhood atmosphere where people are happy to meet you and talk to you. People are pretty genuine here. I like it.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05529424659393307971noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30709061.post-48690310917649539892011-10-19T13:53:00.001-06:002011-10-19T14:35:18.458-06:00Best Film Scores<br />
<b><i>Ben Hur</i></b> just came out on bluray and I'm so excited to get it. It features a copy of some Charleton Heston journal entries during the filming of it. And other new documentaries I haven't seen. <br />
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<i>Ben Hur</i> is one of my favorite films and certainly has the best film score out of any film I've seen. So in honor of that, here are my favorite film scores. <br />
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These are my Favorite Film Scores. That is music that makes a film rock at what it is doing. Or enhances the epic factor of any film.<br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">Top Ten</span></b><br />
1) Ben-Hur<br />
2) Lord of the Rings Trilogy<br />
3) The Hours<br />
4) Amelie<br />
5) The Fountain<br />
6) Hero<br />
7) Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford<br />
8) Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban<br />
9) Pride and Prejudice<br />
10) Schindler's List<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcgeANCtttkNiFxnOhin40o3B_gqKGmw60aNHi1oAmmebGktvsNutV2IJ2ob9dOQW2NlmN2EjnwVZfwcVtH7Qu9HQAabwgaKIyKGWHIgaLnndLwWMNoKficxsO6EFTGBYkN4FO/s1600/montage-scores.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="83" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcgeANCtttkNiFxnOhin40o3B_gqKGmw60aNHi1oAmmebGktvsNutV2IJ2ob9dOQW2NlmN2EjnwVZfwcVtH7Qu9HQAabwgaKIyKGWHIgaLnndLwWMNoKficxsO6EFTGBYkN4FO/s640/montage-scores.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">Honorable Mentions:</span></b><br />
Psycho, Star Wars, E.T., Schindler's List, Fiddler on the Roof (not listed because it is mostly a musical).<br />
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This list is subject to change like all of my lists.<br />
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Feel free to post your faves ;)<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05529424659393307971noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30709061.post-79184659937503329772011-10-05T17:14:00.002-06:002011-10-05T18:00:18.253-06:00Featured photo.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGvqsYY8jmiQKtkpELhwv_MAdMHWek_QBdxJE5i4C6Mvtn352FVuGUgIcSgzn3H8Hrfo4RlQenQgRsJ04GTd1FhVXo55S3fPxXD6Z6jrOb3IX6hxeqGBWfbywTUQGJLi0oMcjB/s1600/desertplant2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGvqsYY8jmiQKtkpELhwv_MAdMHWek_QBdxJE5i4C6Mvtn352FVuGUgIcSgzn3H8Hrfo4RlQenQgRsJ04GTd1FhVXo55S3fPxXD6Z6jrOb3IX6hxeqGBWfbywTUQGJLi0oMcjB/s400/desertplant2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
A desert plant I found on a walk with my brother and dad in Alamogordo a couple years ago.<br />
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Remember how when you were in kindergarten and your teacher asked you to describe a picture? Maybe not. I had to describe a bear once. I said things like it was fuzzy, and lovable and such. I didn't really understand that it could potentially kill me. Probably because of my ideal plaid teddy bear that my grandma let me play with. Anyway, here is my 23-year-old attempt at a photo description 18 or so years later.<br />
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There's nothing special about it, it's beautiful.<br />
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It has purpose.<br />
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It has meaning.<br />
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It's got style.<br />
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It has eyeliner.<br />
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And borders.<br />
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It defines itself and its environment.<br />
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It could stab me and you.<br />
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It's not <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg26nLD3bYVG1YhrytsZWeWYgtKZNuhsL2-t1xQHrYG8sRxhBiVo781y1ct4FS7O4x1lUcX1ekpDZmkQYMuEhF2zA3bC6A_voMRLGkAkd6Rcl5AmYusaQmfZp2KUf3RfIbRsMg/s1600/ring+series+copy.jpg">invisible</a>.<br />
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It's not serving <a href="http://letstalkaboutthemovies.blogspot.com/2010/07/tea-co-pt-i.html">Tea</a>.<br />
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It doesn't have <a href="http://letstalkaboutthemovies.blogspot.com/2011/03/how-to-make-most-out-of-you-insomnia-in.html">insomnia</a>.<br />
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And it's not in <a href="http://letstalkaboutthemovies.blogspot.com/2011/05/city-by-sea.html">Alaska</a>. <br />
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It does say something about its <a href="http://letstalkaboutthemovies.blogspot.com/2011/08/gospel-according-to-boxes-sam-and.html">maker</a> though.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05529424659393307971noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30709061.post-55399075366887288162011-08-29T15:42:00.009-06:002011-08-29T15:56:53.194-06:00The gospel according to boxes, Sam, and AndresOne day me and a good friend of mine, Sam, had coffee. I began to talk about the way sin has affected me in my life. I decided to illustrate it with broken wooden stirrers that Starbucks most generously gives out. I made boxes out of them and this is what we together came up with:
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<br />The Gospel according to Boxes.
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKZ5EkQCum5D4tlGeAPMU42I_cTKlqXSy1JtuBChDKw7A74btm752njgtVjAgg4gkV68X7_s1QeKJeIVNKGM67HB56UQc0JuAA9BClc6WJV15bsOvC0wD5OvL8lOiXADzL3K1m/s1600/2.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKZ5EkQCum5D4tlGeAPMU42I_cTKlqXSy1JtuBChDKw7A74btm752njgtVjAgg4gkV68X7_s1QeKJeIVNKGM67HB56UQc0JuAA9BClc6WJV15bsOvC0wD5OvL8lOiXADzL3K1m/s400/2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5646397477621610450" border="0" /></a>
<br />Once there was a box. It was empty.
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW4gQy5JIkGslvJ9MMWegBGT6D19193f8Rp0poeO1yeqgPrtSY8aXEeYRbxRZVA7cO7yZaXgwtZ4hGjOcPOWjehrMF1CApaITJp_RKaedKgJYVXr52Czd31eNBFjwcCqh6fhSj/s1600/1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW4gQy5JIkGslvJ9MMWegBGT6D19193f8Rp0poeO1yeqgPrtSY8aXEeYRbxRZVA7cO7yZaXgwtZ4hGjOcPOWjehrMF1CApaITJp_RKaedKgJYVXr52Czd31eNBFjwcCqh6fhSj/s400/1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5646397384872201042" border="0" /></a>
<br />The box saw that other boxes were full. They had something inside of them. The box longed to be full.
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbLt3QmqgSvVJXJTbZpxNyj2JbDIWQTaIrOpvL9NELu2q6KiiuAdUdOlQCPb2iKRYx3cFqEbMR5Mm9OqoYWtkp_REXgCnPArA5CHrs4NJ21qPnG51e95F54V4Hovcc9blMefJa/s1600/3.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbLt3QmqgSvVJXJTbZpxNyj2JbDIWQTaIrOpvL9NELu2q6KiiuAdUdOlQCPb2iKRYx3cFqEbMR5Mm9OqoYWtkp_REXgCnPArA5CHrs4NJ21qPnG51e95F54V4Hovcc9blMefJa/s400/3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5646397235046716770" border="0" /></a>
<br />It would go to the other boxes to try to feel full. When it was around them the box felt full.
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKFj7HrWT_VHfgDtUEO3E9E9YtWDgWJUoCQBAG5OLB4d4vaYZbrGJGthHN7b5zQPDPLU2rgzoDiOI3asw6dF0Xw85yE5H0GpTCAuO8TWyFHDgzVPvvuS8A7ArRunc4wnF_jE52/s1600/4.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKFj7HrWT_VHfgDtUEO3E9E9YtWDgWJUoCQBAG5OLB4d4vaYZbrGJGthHN7b5zQPDPLU2rgzoDiOI3asw6dF0Xw85yE5H0GpTCAuO8TWyFHDgzVPvvuS8A7ArRunc4wnF_jE52/s400/4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5646397173045467122" border="0" /></a>
<br />When it wasn't around them it felt empty and then it became sad and more empty.
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkf1zadbCRA2MR9n0r6YuomaGT8wK0Vj34OyQQEai9QLPRNlqngCUn3kLVhYOdOF0qUst2FLGUfip4o6eDiUJLyra1IXK66xpn7HToz60OqGkGKR1LsIMXrK7sJX6exHLJqHml/s1600/5.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkf1zadbCRA2MR9n0r6YuomaGT8wK0Vj34OyQQEai9QLPRNlqngCUn3kLVhYOdOF0qUst2FLGUfip4o6eDiUJLyra1IXK66xpn7HToz60OqGkGKR1LsIMXrK7sJX6exHLJqHml/s400/5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5646397098955822706" border="0" /></a>
<br />Then one day the box found something that filled it up, only to realize that later...
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<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKZ5EkQCum5D4tlGeAPMU42I_cTKlqXSy1JtuBChDKw7A74btm752njgtVjAgg4gkV68X7_s1QeKJeIVNKGM67HB56UQc0JuAA9BClc6WJV15bsOvC0wD5OvL8lOiXADzL3K1m/s1600/2.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKZ5EkQCum5D4tlGeAPMU42I_cTKlqXSy1JtuBChDKw7A74btm752njgtVjAgg4gkV68X7_s1QeKJeIVNKGM67HB56UQc0JuAA9BClc6WJV15bsOvC0wD5OvL8lOiXADzL3K1m/s400/2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5646397477621610450" border="0" /></a>
<br />The box was just as empty as it started out, it did not last long for some reason.
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjffCewwfLwmDBpgkoKX5VXadq-B559uxIarhX8QJ7gdOxFzuQgsiQt1K3833OuXpqb5IiuD3qPXsEBbdtBx0CtOmri8nn5EKAb7aU0AEiWGQnkTOIMPjPeO0xpVwSl4an9kAVR/s1600/6.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjffCewwfLwmDBpgkoKX5VXadq-B559uxIarhX8QJ7gdOxFzuQgsiQt1K3833OuXpqb5IiuD3qPXsEBbdtBx0CtOmri8nn5EKAb7aU0AEiWGQnkTOIMPjPeO0xpVwSl4an9kAVR/s400/6.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5646397042904309186" border="0" /></a>
<br />Then some hands came and took the box and changed it. It was entirely different, it was new.
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEh_8-CFt3YV0279gUWK_awvkbgsh5qa6idaakjKP5dLgxXS8wvZSLHhRw3FYjt9PhT5298C_QHjw7KsIxWWzjDMTzQyV2brl42EPUCSrbT7q9abbhm5PA8Wd3dFJ7rhb06gkd/s1600/7.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEh_8-CFt3YV0279gUWK_awvkbgsh5qa6idaakjKP5dLgxXS8wvZSLHhRw3FYjt9PhT5298C_QHjw7KsIxWWzjDMTzQyV2brl42EPUCSrbT7q9abbhm5PA8Wd3dFJ7rhb06gkd/s400/7.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5646396983689536610" border="0" /></a>
<br />This new shape did not have to be filled up.
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05529424659393307971noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30709061.post-15614401348748111062011-07-29T16:29:00.000-06:002011-07-29T17:31:45.533-06:00Lord of the Rings Continued (The One Tower)<div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div> I've decided to smash <font style="font-style: italic;">The Two Towers </font>and <font style="font-style: italic;">Return of the King</font> into one post. And I've made my own tower out of paper with my friend Stephen in honor of the movie. Ok maybe we just had a lot of creative energy.</div><div> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7_yTx9BSrAFSESEPTfdJDy_LHdGvwpvkoeji-qe92JUPaw9qi67HXMf__fnDuqa6rq5LZ-_023t4xXtEInaJTXzRZ-11CpFTu7PzAvFl2LFJ7_b74OmIP27Rjl_isTx-d4uTL/s1600/IMG_1525.JPG"><img style="width: 400px; height: 300px; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5634915401561145778" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7_yTx9BSrAFSESEPTfdJDy_LHdGvwpvkoeji-qe92JUPaw9qi67HXMf__fnDuqa6rq5LZ-_023t4xXtEInaJTXzRZ-11CpFTu7PzAvFl2LFJ7_b74OmIP27Rjl_isTx-d4uTL/s400/IMG_1525.JPG" /></a></div><div>First off, everything I said in the last post's "the-movies-are better" rant (that is the theaters) went wrong with my viewing of <font style="font-style: italic;">The Two Towers</font>. Everything went wrong this time! My <font style="font-style: italic;">Fellowship </font>screening was like a romanticized movie-going experience. </div><div> </div><div>It was the kind you imagine when you're dressed in a tux and you are dropped off in a round about driveway by a limo driver. You escort your date to the movie, and you are seated by an usher in the absolute perfect spot. The lights go dim, and your beloved film begins. A small dog brushes past the other movie goers' feet and hops lightly onto your lap allowing you to pet him through the duration of the film. Fairies fly in and bring you popcorn, polar bears slide in with Coca Cola. Too far?<br /></div><div> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpIjwzq5leYhOG7bXk6HuYfxHTi-QtMBv9WnZqn3hDcl5Pt9VisCxoD793A0hBF7V1j3HDnezte-PDVdEiqfqytCZQz-1EVGz_6t2HSJ_op2zs8PumCnErSQt5QPicQH7FiHdt/s1600/IMG_1527.JPG"><img style="width: 400px; height: 300px; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5634917548463767122" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpIjwzq5leYhOG7bXk6HuYfxHTi-QtMBv9WnZqn3hDcl5Pt9VisCxoD793A0hBF7V1j3HDnezte-PDVdEiqfqytCZQz-1EVGz_6t2HSJ_op2zs8PumCnErSQt5QPicQH7FiHdt/s400/IMG_1527.JPG" /></a></div><div><br />I appreciated the seeing the <font style="font-style: italic;">Fellowship </font>because of the cinema lovers. This time Marcus and I went to Century Rio 24, the giant multi-plex in town that <font style="font-style: italic;">almost</font> always delivers. We got there at about six thirty. Apparently too late. </div><div> </div><div>I knew this, I had foreseen it.</div><div> </div><div>We found a seat just in time near the front row. I was trying my best to be positive. But there were silly people to my right laughing at everything that loosely and vaguely resembled an innuendo. So, they were simply being stupid, because obviously there is nothing in <em>Two Towers </em>that comes close to such a notion. These people did not appreciate this film. I was LIVID! ANGRY! PIST even.</div><div> </div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRs8rRoju3QxOmPuXaY3qMyhxKCIssMleOPUJaqLG1oEdPQFCEp00OjMqc6B5ne3lFKq0MLFhaWwYa3cC41VcNh2UyUQNG8IBsjbYGBG5hRwmMtV7lXL55q4ifAvIalXCm6PVw/s1600/IMG_1529.JPG"><img style="width: 400px; height: 300px; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5634917941036978338" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRs8rRoju3QxOmPuXaY3qMyhxKCIssMleOPUJaqLG1oEdPQFCEp00OjMqc6B5ne3lFKq0MLFhaWwYa3cC41VcNh2UyUQNG8IBsjbYGBG5hRwmMtV7lXL55q4ifAvIalXCm6PVw/s400/IMG_1529.JPG" /></a><br /><br />All in all, the <font style="font-style: italic;">Two Towers</font> was great to see again, and the extended scenes added so much depth and detail. The transition between the end of <font style="font-style: italic;">Fellowship </font>and the beginning of <font style="font-style: italic;">Two Towers</font> was seamless with the additional scenes.<br /><br />For the next film, Marcus and I decided to go to Cottonwood Mall on the Westside of town again. We had seen <font style="font-style: italic;">Fellowshp </font>in that theater and managed to find perfect seats even though we had arrived just in time. We hoped to relive the perfect movie going experience with <font style="font-style: italic;">Return of the King</font>. We got there about a half hour early this time and found some seats in the absolute perfect spot and enjoyed the heck out of it.<br /><br />As the film started, the danger and the evil of the ring, which was not as much of a focus in the two towers, was apparent again with the opening scene of Smeagol turning into Gollum. This sort of ties all three films together. You feel the suspense and the mystery of the <font style="font-style: italic;">Fellowship</font> and you understand Gollum a lot more from <font style="font-style: italic;">The Two Towers</font>. Meanwhile, Gandalf and company are given a grand entrance as they walk through Fanghorn Forest into Saruman's country to deal with this wicked wizard.</div><div> </div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRkRPJBLC6zrFpJtZwwqNdC29KS-_vRIYa7P5hPhyphenhyphensIigasqiFVPm69J9at9cyEiJ6Z-iJsFw6EGpOeZC9_5usa0PyxAzecN6THYJjh36qZRA9xemmqvPagSkV4mGJu3oyN10c/s1600/IMG_1546.JPG"><img style="width: 400px; height: 300px; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5634918402773408978" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRkRPJBLC6zrFpJtZwwqNdC29KS-_vRIYa7P5hPhyphenhyphensIigasqiFVPm69J9at9cyEiJ6Z-iJsFw6EGpOeZC9_5usa0PyxAzecN6THYJjh36qZRA9xemmqvPagSkV4mGJu3oyN10c/s400/IMG_1546.JPG" /></a><br /><br />As I've said before,<font style="font-style: italic;"> Return of the King</font> sort of ties up the first two films nicely. <font style="font-style: italic;">Fellowship </font>has a tone of mystery and suspense where everyone is trying to figure out just what the ring is about. It is solely about the ring, with the Two Towers, the ring becomes something that is important, but is put aside for Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas, and King Theoden of Rohan to show their true courage. This is when it becomes a war film. <font style="font-style: italic;"></font>The <font style="font-style: italic;">The Return of the King</font> brings back the mystery and suspense of <font style="font-style: italic;">Fellowship </font>while maintaining the obvious War Film quality of <font style="font-style: italic;">Two Towers</font> but on a grander scale. This viewing helped me piece all of the films together and finally see them as one.<br /></div><div> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpPp5lk6dUGISQoErK9YeX91hcGfAoouMlUD1WGhxp09E3OAMxMbWWoNbnNee6khmUdlrtmjjSnSLUGEOC0g5UUVZy6_Nryoa-3hzG8fJnA5t79zfFaw6CHxOumjl9d407Nd38/s1600/IMG_1550.JPG"><img style="width: 300px; height: 400px; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5634918774422384706" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpPp5lk6dUGISQoErK9YeX91hcGfAoouMlUD1WGhxp09E3OAMxMbWWoNbnNee6khmUdlrtmjjSnSLUGEOC0g5UUVZy6_Nryoa-3hzG8fJnA5t79zfFaw6CHxOumjl9d407Nd38/s400/IMG_1550.JPG" /></a></div><div><br />As I was watching <font style="font-style: italic;">Return of the King</font> I realized that, as a whole, Lord of the Rings is the best film ever made. And I was watching it in theaters again. This was it. Wow.<br /><br />I mean it has everything you need in a film. Love, War, Fantasy, Violence, Monsters, Beautiful people. Plus it doesn't rely on special and visual effects to tell a great story even though it is filled with oodles of CG trolls, wargs, and monsters. (For those who don't know CG is computer gernerated.)</div><div> </div><div>Lord of the Rings has it all. A film like this will likely never be made again. Here's to the best in cinema.</div><div> </div><div><strong>ON OUR PAPER TOWER:</strong></div><div>I came up with this amazing paper stacking technique which isn't that complicated or difficult to discover if you have extra construction paper and you have little to do.</div><div> </div><div>You simply fold the paper like a fan and cut it to make strips. These stack beautifully. We spiraled it upward and made it taller in the center. I was super happy with the result.</div><div> </div><div>It was fun to make, hopefully more pictures coming soon.</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05529424659393307971noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30709061.post-10556797262572000572011-06-15T18:00:00.010-06:002011-06-26T20:40:09.504-06:00Fellowship of the Ring AGAIN?!<span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:180%;" >Forget Netflix. The Movie Theater Still Matters</span><br /><br />That's right, I prefer the babies crying, people telling you to shut up because of your geeky giddiness, people reading subtitles for their children. I would rather sit in a room full of respectable film appreciators who enjoy the cinema-going experience. I prefer that over sitting in a room by myself wondering which instant netflix movie I'm gonna let buffer while I wait for my tea kettle to boil. Going to the movies never felt so good.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZtlIq38sH2sk83hTJOHYkqJ_4rNs273ZAnB7Uk3OY2gqDhkmS9VN1MtZm7rGg3U3v7V0ak2OFdJ8MxEyMrheU77ypIX99mj9eonL0mo9WFMKp5gFtu7P9OftzQoOd0V-8Dqxy/s1600/IMG_1573.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZtlIq38sH2sk83hTJOHYkqJ_4rNs273ZAnB7Uk3OY2gqDhkmS9VN1MtZm7rGg3U3v7V0ak2OFdJ8MxEyMrheU77ypIX99mj9eonL0mo9WFMKp5gFtu7P9OftzQoOd0V-8Dqxy/s320/IMG_1573.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622320400204689602" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I don't prefer the occasional drunks that wonder into Century 14 downtown Albuquerque multiplex, but that's beside the point.<span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><br /></span>Earlier this spring I discovered that <span style="font-style: italic;">The Lord of the Rings</span> film series would be released to movie theaters again this year. My personal nerdometer rose to an all-time high. My friend Marcus said, "We'll be going to that one, right Andres?" I agreed, and--I don't know why I am surprised--but it has been the best experience I've had at the movies all year--Aside from making fun of the poor choices in <span style="font-style: italic;">Thor </span>with my friend Jessie and witnessing the remains of a popcorn-induced vomit in the little boys room at Anchorage's multiplex.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg26nLD3bYVG1YhrytsZWeWYgtKZNuhsL2-t1xQHrYG8sRxhBiVo781y1ct4FS7O4x1lUcX1ekpDZmkQYMuEhF2zA3bC6A_voMRLGkAkd6Rcl5AmYusaQmfZp2KUf3RfIbRsMg/s1600/ring+series+copy.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 568px; height: 425px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg26nLD3bYVG1YhrytsZWeWYgtKZNuhsL2-t1xQHrYG8sRxhBiVo781y1ct4FS7O4x1lUcX1ekpDZmkQYMuEhF2zA3bC6A_voMRLGkAkd6Rcl5AmYusaQmfZp2KUf3RfIbRsMg/s400/ring+series+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622320655860979906" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:78%;">Me Disappearing as a result of the ONE RING. </span></span><br /><br />At least with <span style="font-style: italic;">Fellowship of the Ring</span> you know that you aren't going to want your money back at the end of the night. Other movies like <span style="font-style: italic;">Thor, X-Men, Pirates</span>, etc. They're pretty decent and they are fun and feel-goody and all that summer movie nonsense. They've got the explosions and pretty people. <span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Fellowship</span></span> has the pretty people (basically all of them) and great special effects of course, but the film is about much more than that. With the re-release of Lord of the Rings, or LOTR as we geeks like to abbreviate it, at least you know that your movie going experience will be worthwhile.<br /><br />This was my <span style="font-weight: bold;">second<span style="font-style: italic;"> </span></span>favorite viewing of <span style="font-style: italic;">Fellowship. </span>The first time I saw it was obviously my favorite experience. It was great to be in a theater full of appreciating fans who are there to see it for maybe the 50th time. There is this positive energy you feel when everyone is enjoying the same thing you are--a great community experience. The film never looked and sounded better than this as far as I can remember. Peter Jackson isn't so much like George Lucas--that is he doesn't try to sell his movie anyway he can find a way to and in every format. (Lucas now wants to make his Star Wars into 3D, really Lucas?) Jackson is reasonable, a great artist and businessman when it comes down to it. This was a "rare" event as he called it.<br /><br />Though the girl next to me told me to shut up, I knew it was because she was wanting to enjoy the film and I wasn't too offended because I knew we were being obnoxious with our giddiness. When the child was having the subtitles read aloud to her, I thought she was probably seeing it for the first time and I was glad that she was! What a special moment. I just wish her mother wouldn't have read the poetic lines so monotone and matter-of-factly. Imagine: "I love you Aragorn" (or whatever the line is) spoken by your least favorite college professor behind you.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">I teared up at least three times in this viewing. The obvious ones:</span><br /><ul><li>When Gandalf <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">dies</span>.</li><li>When Borimir <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">dies</span>.</li><li>When Sam and Frodo share that moment at the end. (Sam nearly <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">dies</span>.)</li><li><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">That's right, 'dies' is in red. Perhaps a reference to Legolas' line in <span style="font-style: italic;">The Two Towers?</span></span><br /></li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">The Not-So Obvious reason I teared up:</span><br /><ul><li>When the <span style="font-weight: bold;">movie began</span> and all of that amazing cinematography came and went in montage, it's enough to make a grown up fan-boy throw a slumber party even at 23. (Am I really getting to re-experience this masterpiece?)</li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Stuff I was surprised by this time around:</span><br /><ul><li>The amount of times <span style="font-weight: bold;">frodo falls</span>. (When stabbed, in Moria (at least 2 or three times), when being chased by wraiths and he jumps onto raft, when Borimir tries to take the ring, off the historic platform at the climax of film when he takes ring off.</li><li>How many <span style="font-weight: bold;">close-ups</span> Peter Jackson chooses to use and how far in he goes. I forgot how intimate the scenes between Arwen and Aragorn are, that is how close the camera gets to them. I'm not uncomfortable by this, it works great! Jackson likes to get in really close to his characters eyes.</li><li>All of the <span style="font-weight: bold;">helicopter shots</span>. I am always surprised by it every time I see this film. <span style="font-style: italic;">Fellowship</span> has the most and the most beautiful of the three. It's a regular tour of New Zealand's country side--the country has to give Jackson and crew credit for bringing in so many tourists looking for things like Gollum and cave trolls. It's beautiful cinematography.<br /></li></ul>I never appreciated the extended edition of this film probably because I have never seen it in theaters before or in its full context. (I would often go through the films and watch the added footage.) I had some doubts about spending this money to go see a film I had already seen before. But truthfully I have never seen <span style="font-style: italic;">this</span> film in theaters. I've seen its shorter version before. This one is better and I am glad I am going to all three parts of it.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05529424659393307971noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30709061.post-45679702542649272802011-05-28T20:02:00.007-06:002011-06-10T16:05:44.128-06:00A city by the sea<div>Anchorage. That's where I'm at currently. it has several bonuses. The most obvious one is that it is a mountain city sitting at the sea. That is there are trees and animals that you would normally see at 9,000 feet in New Mexico, but at sea level--Tundra is at an unbelieveable 2,500 ft (ish). The sun rarely sets save for about 4 hours in the summer, so people don't know what they're missing when they go to the big apple thinking that NYC never sleeps. Perhaps that city is full of walkng zombies feeding on vodka, but this city, in the summer time, takes a thoughtful wink at night and is up bright and early the next day choosing wisely, like polar bears, to hibernate during the winter. It's a city that breaks all the rules.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.toursaver.com/images/toursaver.com/Image/Anchorage-Skyline.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 351px; height: 220px;" src="http://www.toursaver.com/images/toursaver.com/Image/Anchorage-Skyline.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />My sister-in-law dropped me off in the heart of its down-town district. How could anybody be bored in this forest of coffee shops, pubs, art, the ocean, and trains humming along, and people doing things (whatever they do). I got to talk to some of those interesting alaskans. One was an artist at a local gallery who showed me his interesting discovery of an angel snowflake phenomena that happens on his very own peice of land. My first step into the Alaskan wonderland was beggining as this fantasia of a discovery opened my eyes again to the creativity of my maker. (That's what the ice angels are like--the faeries in fantasia the disney animated classic). They're called <a href="http://www.flatlake.com/Ice_Puppy_Photographs.htm">Ice angels</a> or <a href="http://www.flatlake.com/Ice_Puppy_Photographs.htm">Ice puppies</a>.<br /><br />Later that day I ran long and hard--well for me. Sea level was an easier place to run. And the feeling was as if I was running high at a 8,000 level altitude. It was like I was cheating nature I was running so fast, my lungs not heaving as much. Another girl runner winked at me as I heaved past with my dark skin and the locks of my hair tied back. Maybe I like this city.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdDbbt0VrNrTr4shjalvL8o3NQxepQW3sn0afdYzg1Tu6NVh1MrnyPvisJ-iqi1xp3WEROPcIoHA0z1kZDNi7aBND5Aid8r5-EWkyXOjO7YlJg7SHNUyM6_HjoRPXDoVLJOCyS/s1600/andres+running.jpg"><img style="width: 452px; height: 350px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5613758221127500114" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdDbbt0VrNrTr4shjalvL8o3NQxepQW3sn0afdYzg1Tu6NVh1MrnyPvisJ-iqi1xp3WEROPcIoHA0z1kZDNi7aBND5Aid8r5-EWkyXOjO7YlJg7SHNUyM6_HjoRPXDoVLJOCyS/s400/andres+running.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:78%;">Above: me running long and hard on the beach of Anchorage.</span></div><br /><div></div><br /><div>I do. A lot. The girl part was meant to be funny, but not the best part of my day. I sat and meditated on the beach though the tide seemed miles away. The locals warn you of mud flats which cause you to die if you sink in them properly and without help. I imagined myself stuck in mud waiving my hands wildly for help as everyone in Anchorage ran and walked by without a care in the world taking in their beautiful state and city much like their 2,000 dollar-a-year payment just for living here.<br /><br />But no seriously, I sat on a log and just thought. Just meditated. I thuoght so much about what Jesus said "I make all things new." The book I'm reading now <em>Faith on Edge</em> quotes C.S. Lewis' <em>Mere Christianity</em> where he talks about God taking people and remodeling them like a house. At first it seems obvious the things that need trimming and fixing. But later on things are torn down and what seems brutal actualy ends up being better than you imagined. Instead of a house, God is making himself a palace to live in. Lewis' words not mine.<br /><br />Like this city, which was so new to me, a true winter wonderland that breaks all the rules. A paradise on earth. Though as beautiful as it is on its own. God's palace is unimaginably greater. I'm not gonna settle for mediocre.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05529424659393307971noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30709061.post-58019848537428658232011-03-01T15:46:00.003-07:002011-03-01T20:05:52.544-07:00How to Make the Most out of Your Insomnia in Socorro, NMLast weekend I went to an Intervarsity conference with some cool people down in this small, but cultured podunk town called Socorro, literally in the heart of New Mexico. My Socorro friends often criticize Socorro for its lack of anything entertaining. As someone who had the privilege to experience Socorro (which literally means a plea for "help" when translated to English) at night, with my 20-100 vision, in all of its glory (Socorro), I have to beg to differ just this once.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.socorro-nm.com/images/first-baptist.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 216px; height: 162px;" src="http://www.socorro-nm.com/images/first-baptist.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />It all started when my friend <a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=66503264">Marcus Mayfield</a> and I were up till about 1:30 or 2 ish. Is that right? We we were talking with our friend <a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=66503264#%21/profile.php?id=740935290">Molly White</a> (or something:) about nerdy things like the important things missing from the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings movies, such as Tom Bombadil. We finally managed to make it to the men's quarters of this church that we were retreating at, and I exhaled my asthmatic CO2 into an air mattress and lay down. I was extremely tired, and was hoping that my caffeine crash would kick in--it did not. Before I knew it, I was counting sheep and praying that God would cure Marcus' curious case of snoring. There was also someone else having a 3 in the morning DTR down the way on his cell phone. I finally got tired of this nonsense and got up, there had to be a better place to sleep! Surely!<br /><br />I went outside to see if the kitchen door was open--it was not. I went back into the guys wing and decided to get my pillow and walk to my car. Maybe during the day it had trapped some heat or something--it did not. I turned it on for a good 15 minutes to heat it up, and even moved it to a darker part of the parking lot. I was happy and warm, so I turned off the car and cracked open the windows so I would not die of Carbon Monoxide poisoning. I tossed and turned, I counted sheep, before I knew it someone else was walking around the parking lot with a cough.<br /><br />"Was I imagining this?" I thought. There was someone walking back and forth coughing. I decided to ignore it, I didn't want to look up and frighten anybody, so I tried again to go to sleep. Still someone coughing. I was angry at this point, "doesn't this idiot know I'm trying to sleep in here?!" I thought and sat up abruptly. I saw no one. After a while the cougher walked away and I never heard from him/her again. My stomach was hurting and I was hungry. I tried going back inside, but I was locked out. This was a terrible injustice that had been done to me. I could not sleep and I could not get inside a Christian building to get help.<br /><br />"What is open in Socorro?" Walmart.<br /><br />I knew that it was not far away. I drove over with my contacts locked up inside the church and decided to pick up some tums and snickers. Great combination right? Well forgive me, but it was 4 in the morning and my thinker was not working. There was hardly anybody on the roads (except for the street lights and there inability to be in focus for my eyes), and less people in walmart save for the one register that was open, register #1 and the friendly janitors and workers restocking the shelves. After paying, I walked out with my checkered pajamas and the XXL purple sweater that Marcus let me borrow because I had forgotten one over the weekend.<br /><br />I drove back and tried to sleep again, but could not. At around 5 in the morning I was having day or night dreams about McDonalds breakfast. I thought about the money in my wallet and how I could afford such a beautiful morning delight. My wallet was gone though. I KNOW I payed for those tums which I had safely placed in the glove compartment the next time I had a tummy ache. So where was my wallet?<br /><br />When I got back to walmart to check, there were two young people hanging out at the counter, doing nothing but there was nothing to do. I asked them for the wallet and the lady in the back office yelled at me, "What is your name?" I did not have to use my whole "Andres but my first name is Casiano" routine for this situation I thought. I just said stupidly "Casiano Salazar." And she handed me my wallet with the look that had "you're a moron" written all over it--I knew this information already though.<br /><br />At McDonalds I did not want to appear to be a homeless guy even though my exterior and possibly my stench suggested otherwise. My clothes were too baggy, and my hair was in a tangled mess. I said "Hello!" as dignified as I could. And I pulled out my wallet and said, "I would like the # 1 with an extra sandwich." And trying harder I asked with all of the posture and poise I could muster, "How are you this morning?" He looked at me and replied, "just fine." I sat down in this newly refined coffee-shoppe-esque McDonalds and ate my breakfast like a hungry man after a sleepless night. Soon lots of high schoolers walked in. Then another bus of high schoolers walked in, there were about 30 or 40. Some were wearing FFA jackets. I pitied them.<br /><br />I remembered the early FFA mornings I would have to endure in high school. I would have to go and do some silly competition like judge land or categorize beetles and butterflies properly. I realized that some of them were staring at my unhealthy demeanor and I wrapped up my breakfast and left. I was too shy to get coffee at the counter for fear of the FFA kids judging me too quickly. I wanted to put a sign on my chest that said, "I couldn't sleep last night and I am just visiting from the nearest city Albuquerque and we're staying at a Baptist church where there are people snoring and I got locked out!" but I couldn't. So I had to get my coffee at the drive through.<br /><br />God showed me a beautiful sunrise that morning. I drove to the top of a hill and looked at it as I sipped my coffee, and I asked him, "What is the deal?"<br /><br />By the time I got back to the church, I was there in time to help cook breakfast, so I did my best to.<br /><br />My friend <a href="http://www.facebook.com/#%21/Smashley1203">Ashley</a> suggested that I drink black tea to wake up--I had to lead a bible study later that day. It really did help.<br /><br />At the end of the night, I realized that what I experienced that night in Socorro was funny, lucky, silly, remarkable, coincidental, and catastrophic all at the same time. I'm glad it happened, though I wouldn't want to do it all over again.<br /><br />-AndresAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05529424659393307971noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30709061.post-7560481719177590302011-01-16T18:40:00.003-07:002011-01-16T18:57:53.753-07:00The cool thing about Albuquerque Comic ConI was fortunate enough to go to the Albuquerque Comic Con this year with my friend Stephen, a cartoon artist here in town. I expected the con to be completely lame judging by the <a href="http://www.albuquerquecomiccon.com/">website</a> which was entirely oldschool 90's HTML with one long front page like Myspace. All of the guest celebrities weren't that well known, but were framed in <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><span style="font-weight: bold;">red </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">on the front page and some of the images changed as you scrolled over them! Celebrities like the former hulk, the guy that played all the oompa loompas in the new Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the guy who played the young Boba Fett in Attack of the Clones, and the guy that played the wookie in Star Wars. What bothered me about the celebrity room was that all of these people were treated and were almost treating themselves like museum pieces that could speak, answer questions, and have their pictures taken.<br /><br />The con was complete with local artists, superheroes, and villains. At comic con you could be anybody you liked. If you dressed up like Darth Vader and looked authentic enough. You <span style="font-style: italic;">were </span>Darth Vader. People were asking each other, "Did you see Darth Vader?" They never said the words, "Did you get to talk to the guy (or girl) dressed up as Darth Vader?" Because that's not who they were. Batman, Iron man, princess leia, and many others were at this comic con. Because at a comic con, you can be anybody you like. </span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05529424659393307971noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30709061.post-44174390140244409842010-12-23T20:35:00.005-07:002010-12-30T11:23:13.437-07:00How to Make Anything Festive<div>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." (<span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">Note</span> that when an object becomes a Christmas (Blank) it must be instantly transformed into a Proper Noun.) </div><br />Remember to keep things simple and stick with <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Red</span> and <span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 0);">Green</span>. They are Christmas Colors for some reason.<br /><div> </div><br /><div><strong>For Food:</strong> 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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">IMPORTANT NOTE:</span> Nutmeg, Pumpkin Spice, pine nuts, nuts, berries, (ginger only in gingerbread cookies), brown sugar, molasses, cloves, vanilla, all function as Christmas ingredients.<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >CAUTION: </span></span>Do not add ingredients to ANY foods in the name of Christmas. Ingredients must be strategically placed.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">For Music: </span>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.<br /><br />Also, adding boy choirs to the ensemble is an extra bonus.<br /></div><br /><div> </div><br /><div><strong>The funny thing about berries. </strong>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: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Story_of_Holly_and_Ivy">here</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mistletoe">here</a>. 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 <a href="http://annapolisteacompany.net/">Tea Shop </a>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. </div><br /><div> </div><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">More on Food.</span></span><br /><br /><div><strong>Hispanic Foods: </strong>Tamales, <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">red</span> chile, posole. <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Red</span> chile is used because by this time it was seasonally ripe. Back in the day, they didn't have freezers to keep <span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 0);">green</span> chile nice and fresh, so the tradition of <span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 102);">red</span> has kept. It's appropriate that the colors of Chile match the colors of Christmas. </div><br /><div> </div><br /><div><strong>Other American Foods: </strong>Turkey. that's all. Turkey is perfect for Thanksgiving and Christmas for some reason. It's seasonal because________. </div><br /><br /><div> </div><br /><div> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05529424659393307971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30709061.post-88289717101029237422010-11-17T15:14:00.001-07:002010-11-17T15:16:49.855-07:00Harry Potter 7 Anticipation<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:donotoptimizeforbrowser/> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>Harry Potter 7 anticipation.<br /></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Before I go see Harry Potter, I must prepare myself mentally for several things.<span style=""> </span>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.<span style=""> </span>It would be silly to expect that the things I want to see will look exactly as I imagined.<span style=""> </span>Even it were close, it wouldn’t be exact.<span style=""> </span><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal">2<sup>nd</sup>) I must not expect it to be everything I hope for and more, or else my expectations will be ruined.<span style=""> </span>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<sup>th</sup> grade age.<span style=""> </span>I have sense come to terms with the film and it brought me to tears on the last occasion I saw it.<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal">3<sup>rd</sup>) I’ve seen very tiny parts of the film already.<span style=""> </span>Sometimes I can’t help but look at short clips online.<span style=""> </span>Plus the trailers give you some idea of what is to come.<span style=""> </span>There were some interviews detailing a certain scene towards the end.<span style=""> </span>I won’t go into detail, but it wasn’t visually ruined for me, but I’m aware of the content.<span style=""> </span>Either way it’s in the book, so it’s not super ruined.<br /></p> <span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">What is it to ruin a story anyway?<span style=""> </span>Aren’t almost all stories the same?<span style=""> </span>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.<span style=""> </span>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. </span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05529424659393307971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30709061.post-77136659798150270562010-11-01T16:10:00.008-06:002010-12-07T15:07:11.664-07:00The Ring<img src="file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/UNMULU%7E1/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot.png" alt="" /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Ring</span> 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.<br /><br />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--<span style="font-style: italic;">Ringu</span>. The uncovering, the expository nature that <span style="font-style: italic;">The Ring</span> 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.<br /><br />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.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05529424659393307971noreply@blogger.com0