Don't worry. I don't know what I'm doing either

2009-05-09T21:46:00.001-07:00

Not really sure where to go with this one.

It's summer.

I've finished two books so far, so that's nice.

Saw Star Trek. The first great movie of the summer for sure.

This blog has potential to be really boring, and I don't think I will make any attempt to redirect its current.

Bla bla bla bla.

Here's a funny picture:

Currently reading:

Up In The Air by Walter Kirn

From Where You Dream by Robert Olen Butler

Currently Listening to:

White Lies for Dark Times by Ben Harper and the Relentless 7

H.A.A.R.P. by Muse

Slow Train Coming by Bob Dylan

Currenlty watching:

Band of Brothers

The Terminator(s)

Chapman out.

Dear Diary

2009-02-25T12:26:00.000-08:00

My latest venture has been attempting to keep a daily journal. This task has been hard for me and, from what I've learned, it is for a lot of people.

I don't write because I rarely feel that I have anything important to say. Lacking eloquence is something else that prevents me from writing.

I'm trying to get in the habit of writing even when I don't have anything to say or the ability to say it well.

Currently reading:
World War Z by Max Brooks
Proverbs

Listening:
Hold Time by M. Ward
Fiction Family

Forever is a strong word

2009-02-10T18:15:00.000-08:00

It has been a very long time since I've done this. I'm not even sure that I know how to. I'm not sure that I knew how to.

Well, I have been occupying myself with schoolwork, reading, writing, listening to music (this should be able to be said with one word. Any suggestions?), and thinking. This semester has been great because I have been reading more than usual.

Anyway, I thought I should probably quit being such a vagabond and update this thing. Hopefully, I will keep it up. But, I wouldn't bet on it.

P. S. I can't wait to find out what this is...

Currently...

reading: The Sun Also Rises - Ernest Hemingway
The Liberated Imagination - Leland Ryken
Proverbs

listening: ...And The Battle Begun - RX Bandits

watching: Lost
Flight of the Conchords
The Office
AFI Top 100

Top 10

2008-10-23T19:25:00.000-07:00

I was driving late the other night, about thirty seconds from my dorm, when my ipod, in shuffle mode, played February Stars by Foo Fighters. I drove past the entrance to my university in order to be able to hear the entirety of the song. That's when I thought of a new top 10 list that I could make. So, here it is:

Top 10 songs I'd extend my driving time for

1. Every New Day by Five Iron Frenzy
2. February Stars by Foo Fighters
3. Hear You Me by Jimmy Eat World
4. Misunderstood by Wilco
5. Paranoid Android by Radiohead
6. Title and Registration by Death Cab for Cutie
7. The Earth Will Shake by Thrice
8. Seer's Tower by Sufjan Stevens
9. Let's Dance by M. Ward
10. The Shadow Proves The Sunshine by Switchfoot

Top 100

2008-10-03T14:18:00.000-07:00

I have a new goal: the American Film Institute's top 100 movies. So far I've watched On the Waterfront and The Graduate. Both were great films but The Graduate struck my soul in a different way. I can definitely see Wes Anderson being heavily influenced by this film.

"Mrs. Robinson, if you don't mind my saying so, this conversation is getting a little strange"

"I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am, let's face it."

2008-08-20T14:13:00.000-07:00

I'm currently reading The War of the Worlds and let me just say that the tripods in the book are much scarier than the ones in the Spielberg movie...

0h and sorry for not blogging much.

The Ped Egg

2008-06-10T18:16:00.000-07:00

A) good idea, B) bad idea, or C) glorified cheese grater. There are probably other options but I'm too lazy to think of what they might be.

A good week

2008-05-01T23:07:00.000-07:00

I have had an excellent week. Last Saturday I got to see this guy (see below) in concert as well as several other great bands at Agapefest:

I started my job at this place (see below) and I'm having a blast:

If that weren't enough it seems that The Office keeps getting funnier and Lost keeps getting weirder:

So here's to good weeks.

Currently listening to:
Word of Mouth by John Reuben
City of Echoes by Pelican
Live at Schubas by Russian Circles
The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me by Brand New
Winners Never Quit by Pedro The Lion

Reading:
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
The Coffeehouse Gospel by Matthew Paul Turner
The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller

Moving Mountains

2008-04-16T13:15:00.000-07:00

1 Corinthians 13:1-3
If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.

And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.

This verse has been running through my brain so much within the last couple of days. I think about how it sums be me up really well. I try so hard to know so much about God. I am the type of person that needs to know everything and I pride myself on the knowledge that I have.

I know about God's love and I will talk about it freely but for some reason my own ability to love is inhibited. I would much rather say, "God, if you just send me the good-looking, sinless, normal, and unflawed I will gladly love them. Jesus takes care of the weary and heavy-laden so I'll take those whose worries are least cumbersome."

I have become the "clanging symbol" with my empty words and barren promises. God, help me to love like you. There is nothing else I could ask of you that could be more important than this: teach me to love.

Currently listening to:
The Alchemy Index, Vols. III & IV: Air & Earth by Thrice (listen to Moving Mountains for a cool take on 1 Corinthians 13:1-3)
Guero by Beck
Five Score and Seven Years Ago by Relient K
The Reminder by Feist
Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace by Foo Fighters

Currently reading:
1st Corinthians 13:1-3
The Third Policeman by Flann O'brien

Turning vinyl in to gold

2008-04-08T06:39:00.000-07:00

A week from today marks the release of the second installment of Thrice's Alchemy Index. With Volumes I & II: Fire and Water they showed musical maturity and transformation (which they have consistenly been doing throughout their entire musical career) with infectious melodies and beautiful, well-written lyrics. The Alchemy Index has been the most-played music in my life for the past six months and if Volumes II & III: Earth and Air are anything like their predecessors in creativity and ambitiousness, I know they will not fail to please. You can preview some of the album at Thrice's myspace site.

Albums curruently in heavy rotation:
Elliott Smith-Elliott Smith
Rubber Factory-The Black Keys
In Motion-Copeland
The Alchemy Index-Thrice (as if youd didn't know already)

P.S. The Office returns this Thursday. If you would like more information and to see my joy more adequately put into words, look here.

The joys of an old flame

2008-03-31T21:31:00.000-07:00

Music is something meant to be everlastingly fresh. I love music that I can listen to and discover something new about years later. A band that has been everlastingly new for me is Five Iron Frenzy.

It seems like every time I listen to one of their albums I can find something else that I did not know was there before. Sometimes it's a guitar or horn part that I never recognized or it might be a new harmony for me to sing along with.

Recently what has changed for me in their music is the lyrics. I have found new meaning in some verses that I didn't think about very much when I was in junior high or high school.

So here's to FIF. They always will be my favorite band.

Rest in peace. You're still alive in my heart.

Speaking of great music I've decided to start posting what music I am currently listening to in each of my blogs so here you go...

Albums currently in heavy rotation:
In Rainbows-Radiohead
Volume One-She & Him
Spring-Jon Foreman
Funeral-Arcade Fire
The Alchemy Index ,Volumes I and II-Thrice

"Consider the advantages"

2008-03-27T16:51:00.000-07:00

I am currently reading That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis. This is the third and final installment in his Space Trilogy. I am about halfway through it and if the second half is nearly as good as the first it might very well become my favorite book of all time.

I want to share a paragraph that I found interesting and perhaps insightful of our modern society's desire to control the natural world (even though this book was written in the 40s). In this selection the character Filostrato is proposing that trees on earth be done away with and replaced by something more manageable.

"But consider the advantages! You get tired of him in one place: two workmen carry him somewhere else: wherever you please. It never dies. No leaves to fall, no twigs, no birds building nests, no muck or mess."

"...I foresee nothing but the art tree all over the earth. In fact, we clean the planet."

"I would not have any birds either. On the art tree I would have the art birds all singing when you press a switch inside the house. When you are tired of the singing you switch them off. Consider again the improvement. No feathers dropped about, no nests, no eggs, no dirt."

Road Trip!

2008-03-07T07:49:00.000-08:00

Spring Break starts today for me and tomorrow I am venturing on a trek with my family to Destin, Florida. We will be driving for twelve hours in my parents' recently purchased conversion van. The trip will look a little something like this:

More to report next week.

Fitzwilliam Darcy is a pretty cool dude

2008-02-15T09:50:00.000-08:00

I have finished Pride and Prejudice and I still don't get it. Women. I just don't get it...them. It was a wonderful book, don't get me wrong. The story was intriguing and the language was so beautiful. I still have a hard time believing that the way Jane Austen's characters spoke conveys the actual verbiage used by people in that time. I hope it to be true.

I'm getting off track, though. I was talking about women. And how I don't get them. I do believe I have learned something, though. And something is better than nothing, right? I have learned that I am much like Mr. Darcy (i.e. prideful and egocentric). People like Darcy and I need someone to come along to pull us out of ourselves; to show us that we are not "all that".

"You taught me a lesson, hard indeed at first, but most advantageous. By you, I was properly humbled. I came to you without a doubt of my reception. You shewed me how insufficient were all my pretensions to please a woman worthy of being pleased.''

Currently Obsessing Over:

2008-01-29T06:49:00.000-08:00

I just finished re-watching the season 3 finale of Lost and since the season 4 premiere isn't until Thursday, I had to fill my time with something else this weekend. On Friday night I decided to watch the King Kong remake. I love this movie and don't care what anyone else says. That's all I have to say on that subject. Now on to the real topic of my blog.

Saturday and Sunday night I watched M. Night Shyamalan's Unbreakable and The Sixth Sense. I plan to watch the rest of his movies soon in order to adequately prepare for the release of his new film, The Happening, this summer. I love all of his films (yes, even Lady in the Water and The Village) and just wanted to share some memorable quotes and also encourage anyone who hasn't seen these movies to get to watching!

"Do you know why you're afraid when you're alone? I do. I do."

"It's alright to be afraid, David, because this part won't be like a comic book. Real life doesn't fit into little boxes that were drawn for it."

My problem

2008-01-14T07:02:00.000-08:00

I have this problem with becoming to attached to things that I enjoy. For instance, I love the television show Lost. My girlfriend got me hooked on it last year and just recently my affinity for Lost has been rekindled. Lost's 4th season begins on the 31st so I have been caught up in all the hype on the internet and everywhere else.

Last night I was reading some reviews on netflix for the 3rd season and I saw a couple of ratings of only one star. Some of the comments that followed these single stars talked of bad writing and and poorly developed characters. When I read these I felt very anxious as if these negative reviewers were commenting on myself rather than a tv show. It seems silly but I don't think it is irrational. I absolutely loved the 3rd season of Lost and thought it had amazing writing and incredible backstories. And for someone to say that it was terrible is not only a comment on the television show itself but also a comment on my own terrible taste. Or maybe I am just thinking about this too much...

Or maybe this was just a giant product placement

P.S. If you have never watched Lost please don't start with the 4th season. You will just be confused.

U.S.L.D - United States of the Living Dead

2008-01-09T08:51:00.000-08:00

A recent article on MSN labeled the Presidential campaigns of Hillary Clinton and John McCain as campaigns that "rose from the dead". This is exactly the same reason that I will not be voting for either of them. I will not have a member of the living dead running this country. Beware the grins of these two seemingly normal candidates. They are smiles triggered by an uncontrollable hunger for human flesh. Whether you vote Republican or Democrat, DON'T vote Zombie.

Christmas top 10

2007-12-26T08:49:00.000-08:00

Alright so I have decided to bail on the Movie Review Extravaganza and just give a list of my top 10 favorite Christmas movies. I know, I'm a dullard, but there just aren't that many movies out that I want to see.

10. Home Alone-This movie was one of my favorites when I was a kid so it holds special meaning for me now. Plus, everyone said I looked like Macaulay Culkin when this movie first came out. I don't know if that's good or bad.

9. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation-One of the funniest movies of all time. That's all that really needs to be said except, "That's pretty low, mister! If I had a rubber hose, I would beat you into a... "

8. The Santa Clause-This also holds a special place in my heart. Ah. It's hilarious and possibly the only Tim Allen film I've ever enjoyed.

7. Jingle All the Way-Nothing says Christmas like Arnold Schwarzenegger. No seriously, nothing does. It sounds like "KLLLISCMASTH!"

6. Nightmare Before Christmas-Tim Burton is brilliant in everything. I wish he would make another Christmas movie. It would probably be on here too if it existed. This movie is great for both Christmas and Halloween.

5. A Charlie Brown Christmas-Best Christmas cartoon ever. You can keep your Grinch (still love it) and your claymation. If I had to pick just one Christmas cartoon it would be Charlie Brown.

4. Miracle on 34th Street (Original)-Classic. That's all that needs to be said.

3. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe-I have loved this book for a long time and thought that the newest movie version was fantastic. It strays a bit here and there but for the most part sticks with the original story.

2. A Christmas Story-I watch this every single year on TBS. It is a great tradition which will hopefully never be broken.

1. It's a Wonderful Life-The BEST Christmas movie of all time. Jimmy Stewart is hilarious and heart-warming all at the same time. I love it. If they ever do a remake I nominate Jim Carrey to play George Bailey. Go back and watch again and tell me I'm wrong. I dare you.

Yeah, that's right. Arnold is carrying Mini-Me on his shoulders. Merry Christmas!

Review #1

2007-12-17T09:45:00.000-08:00

From the very beginning I am Legend instills a feeling of eeriness within the viewer. This spooky feeling continues throughout the entire film. It seems that unlike other thrillers I am Legend does not give you any hint as to what is coming. Part of this has to do with the lack of music in the film. In movies like Jaws the viewer will hear the "bum-bum" and know that something is about to happen. The minimal soundtrack provides for much more of a jumpy movie-going experience. It also helps in getting across the overall themes of the film: isolation and abandonment. In many of the scenes I felt so uncomfortably alone that it was almost unbearable.

Many people have probably read the novel by Richard Matheson on which this movie is based and are excited to see the film adaptation. I want to warn these people to come to the movie with an open mind and not to expect a perfect re-telling of the novel...or anything close to it. The filmmakers took the basic premise from the novel (Robert Neville being the last human being on earth) and ran with it. Other than the title and Will Smith's character's name there are not many similarities between the film and the book. I still enjoyed the movie and thought it was very well done. I give I am Legend 4 out of 5 stars.

Oh and if you go see this movie be prepared to see two excellent trailers for movies coming out this summer: The Dark Knight and The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. These look pretty amazing. You can view The Dark Knight's trailer he re and the trailer for Prince Caspian here.

I am Legend

2007-12-12T11:18:00.000-08:00

A couple of Summers ago I read the horror novel I am Legend (recently made into a movie starring Will Smith) by Richard Matheson. In order to celebrate the end of the semester I will be enjoying this new film. This movie will kick off my Christmas Break Blog Movie Review Extravaganza. I am very excited for this movie for two reasons: 1) the fact that I have read the book already and know the storyline 2) the brand new trailer for The Dark Knight will be released with I am Legend.

Black Friday

2007-11-29T10:59:00.000-08:00

So, last week was Thanksgiving break and if I said that I slept in every morning, I would be lying. Yes, I did get much more sleep than needed on several days. But, when it came to Black Friday I was up and ready to go at 4:15 in the morning. I went shopping with my sister-in-law, Carrie, partly because no one else wanted to get up that early and partly because there were several deals that I did not want to pass up. I then found myself not even able to wake up in time for work at 8 AM the following Monday. I started wondering what made this task so much harder than the former.

I came to this conclusion: my workplace did not have Walk the Line on sale for $5.88 like Wal-Mart did.

"So long," to the love of my life

2007-11-16T19:37:00.000-08:00

It's hard to say goodbye to one of your closest friends. Especially someone who has always been there for you and for so long. A couple of weeks ago I had to say goodbye to Bertha. She had a good run but it was time to let her go. It had gotten to the point that she would overheat within five minutes of starting her up. So, with 235,000 miles to her name, I sent her on her way. The people at Habitat for Humanity have a car donation program and they towed her for free. I loved her very much and I thought it fitting that I use this opportunity to remember her.

She's always watched over me.

Isn't she beautiful?

I've taken many girls on dates with
her but none nearly as cool as this girl.

Bertha, you will always be remembered.

The Messenger

2007-10-18T12:58:00.000-07:00

It has been a very long time since I've blogged and don't expect this to be much of a blog anyway. These are just some really cool lyrics to a really cool song:

Mark me with fear and trembling

Send someone else instead

I know my world is ending

I can't repay my debt

How can I carry such heavy burden?

How can I move when I am paralyzed?

I see a fire behind a heavy curtain

I lean in closer and I close my eyes

And kiss the coals

Breathe in smoke and I say

"Here I am, send me!"

It lifts my soul

Free and so unafraid

"Here I am, send me!"

Mark me with fire and send me

Among the living dead

They cannot comprehend me

I watch the sickness spread

How can they hear me when their hearts are hardened?

How can they see me when they close their eyes?

Still they can tell that I'm an easy target

A wooden saw is quite a way to die

Kiss the coals

Breathe in smoke and I say
"Here I am, send me!"

It lifts my soul
Free and so unafraid
"Here I am, send me!"

"The Messenger" by Thrice, from The Alchemy Index Vol. I, Fire (with some help from Isaiah 6:8)

"Indy"pendent Film

2007-09-04T10:40:00.000-07:00

This weekend I was on duty in the dorms and each night I invited people to watch one movie from the Indiana Jones series. After an entire weekend of watching these classic films I realized what I want to do with my life...be Indiana Jones. Now I just need to find myself a whip and a cool hat.
Oh and by the way in theaters Memorial Day 2008: "Indana Jones and the ..."

Remotely Attractive

2007-08-18T16:01:00.000-07:00

I don't consider myself a world travel(l)er by any means but I have lived in two different states throughout my lifetime and visited a couple of different countries. The one thing that I have found in common among all people is their uncommon names for the remote control. These differences in title don't necessarily signify a certain region. In fact, differences in remote control speech can differ as close as next door. Where you might refer to the remote control as the "clicker" your best friend might call it the "box". Whether you accept these differences or simply find them frightening you cannot deny their existence. I believe that we should embrace this plethora of names as well as make changes in our choice of words often. I will leave you with a few options in case you feel like straying from the frequently taken path. If you have other suggestions please leave them in a comment.

1. remote

2. clicker

3. box

4. telecommand

5. 'mote

6. controller