I'd see this movie...
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Friday, September 23, 2011
Summer 2011 Part 1
Now that Summer for the year of 2011 is officially over, I am going to put together a review of what happened with me this summer...mostly the movies I saw (at the theater), the books I read (yes, I did read some books) and my improv involvement as well as some other odds and ins if I get to it. To make sure I get everything involved, I'm going back to mid May
MOVIES
The first "summer" movie I saw this year was THOR. At best, I would say it was OK...and to me, calling it OK is being nice. I didn't really care for it. Maybe I had to be a fan of the comic and I never read the comic. Maybe I should have known something about Nordic mythology. I really don't. When it comes down it, I just all around didn't care for the movie. I have been falling out of love wwith super hero movies for some time. Super heros have to be a certain way for me. I don't know. Anyway, for me, THOR was really underwhelming.
I have noticed that one thing that I do enjoy in super hero movies is when children are the super hero and they have cope with being different in a world they already struggle in anyway with school (high school or collage). So, countering the worst super hero movie I saw this summer with the best super hero movie I saw this summer was X-Men: First Class. Now, I loved this movie. I don't know if it's supposed to be a prequel or a reboot to the other X-Men movies or what. But I genuinly really liked this movie. Maybe it was the cast. Maybe it was the fact that it felt like an X-Men movie the way it should feel like (X-Men 3: The Last Stand was underwhelming...but maybe I should watch it again). But up to this time, X-Men: First Class was the best movie I had seen this year up to this time...but before was THOR and The Green Hornet...so as far as I was concerned, it didn't have much compatition.
The third movie I saw this summer was also a Part 3. It was Transformers: Dark Of The Moon. I thought it was really good. But then, I'm a little biased because it had Leanord Nimoy in it...and then went out of it's way to reference Star Trek almost every single chance it got. I also enjoied that a major part of the action took place in a city that I've been to before, Chicago, IL. Yeah, I don't get out much. Finally, though not exactly better than the first Transformers movie from 2007, it was better than Revenge Of The Fallen from 2009.
The last movie I saw this summer was ironicall also the last in a line of series and books: Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2. I saw this the day it came out in IMAX 3-D. This movie was built up and, as far as I'm concerned, it delievered. There were some differences between the book and the movie (besides the fact that the book was not seperated up into 2 parts). But unlike Harry Potter and the Half-Assed Prince (yes, I was upset with the 6th movie) Deathly Hallows Part 2 had everyone rising up against the Death Eaters and had an all out battle between good and evil. This was one of the things that was going to piss me off if it was left out. Snape had some very significan memories and I was also going to be mad if that was left out. There were whole movements in the theory that Harry Potter should have died in the book. I was going to be mad if the director decided to go ahead and kill him off. About the only major deviation from the plot of the book was the lack of Dumbledore's history. Though this wasn't needed for the movie (even though they had led up to getting this information in Part 1), it's really the only thing that I was upset to see left out. Okay, well, not the only thing...some really minor character detail moments for Harry Potter. But overall I loved this movie so much...and I don't usually like seeing movies in 3-D.
BOOKS
I read a lot of books this summer. The first book was actually the first in a series of 3 books called The Hunger Games. Book 1, I mentioned in my top 5 purchases from Borders update. I won't say much more about it than Katniss is this girl who, along with a boy named Peeta, gets sent off to die (basically) in a reality type survival game show.
Catching Fire was the 2nd book in the series and also, the second one I read. Basically, in this book, a revolution is getting started. Katniss has to go back to the games. But the revolution actually starts in the games themselves. Since this is a seris book, I won't go into much more detail.
Mockingjay was the final book in the Hunger Games series. The Revolution is already in full swing and Katniss, though not the leader, basically becomes the mascot of the revolution. These books, though I can't say I really liked them and that I was happy with the way it ended, did leave an impression on me.
Next I read The Chronicles of Narnia: The Magicicans Nephew. You know, I never got much pleasure from reading when I was growing up. I just didn't. So I'm reading a lot of children and young adult fiction while in my upper 20s. This is the first Chronicles of Narnia books going in chronicallogical order...which is how I choose to read them. This book is really about the birth of Narnia and how the white witch wound up in power.
Next, I read The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. As mostly everyone knows, this is the Easter story told from a fairy tale land of Narnia point of view. I don't really need to go into more detail than that. I still have yet to read any of the oher Narnia books.
Next, in less than 2 hours time, I read a book called Werewolf Haiku. Over the course of 136 pages, the main character, a mailman, gets attacked by a dog(?) while on his route, turns into a werewolf, tries to court a young lady and gets into trouble with the law told through the 5-7-5 style format of Haiku...the entire story is writen in haiku. By the way, this isn't the only werewolf book I have. It's just the only one that tells it's story through poetry.
Finally, and also, about the time that Biblioclast did Hitchhicker's Guide To The Galaxy, I finally read the book So Long And Thanks For All The Fish. This is the 4th book in the Hitchhicker's Guide series in which Author meets a woman who fasinates him (not Trish...they had a falling out, apparently) and Ford Prefect goes looking for Author...and Author meets a rain god who, no matter where he goes, can't get away from the rain. After this book, it's part of the Ultimate Hitchhickere's Guide, so I also read the short story "Young Zaphod Plays It Safe."
Anyway, that's all the books that I have read and finished. I've read on a few others but I haven't finished yet. I'm going to wind this entry down now. It's taken me a long time so everything else I wanted to mention will go in the entry Summer 2011 Part 2.
MOVIES
The first "summer" movie I saw this year was THOR. At best, I would say it was OK...and to me, calling it OK is being nice. I didn't really care for it. Maybe I had to be a fan of the comic and I never read the comic. Maybe I should have known something about Nordic mythology. I really don't. When it comes down it, I just all around didn't care for the movie. I have been falling out of love wwith super hero movies for some time. Super heros have to be a certain way for me. I don't know. Anyway, for me, THOR was really underwhelming.
I have noticed that one thing that I do enjoy in super hero movies is when children are the super hero and they have cope with being different in a world they already struggle in anyway with school (high school or collage). So, countering the worst super hero movie I saw this summer with the best super hero movie I saw this summer was X-Men: First Class. Now, I loved this movie. I don't know if it's supposed to be a prequel or a reboot to the other X-Men movies or what. But I genuinly really liked this movie. Maybe it was the cast. Maybe it was the fact that it felt like an X-Men movie the way it should feel like (X-Men 3: The Last Stand was underwhelming...but maybe I should watch it again). But up to this time, X-Men: First Class was the best movie I had seen this year up to this time...but before was THOR and The Green Hornet...so as far as I was concerned, it didn't have much compatition.
The third movie I saw this summer was also a Part 3. It was Transformers: Dark Of The Moon. I thought it was really good. But then, I'm a little biased because it had Leanord Nimoy in it...and then went out of it's way to reference Star Trek almost every single chance it got. I also enjoied that a major part of the action took place in a city that I've been to before, Chicago, IL. Yeah, I don't get out much. Finally, though not exactly better than the first Transformers movie from 2007, it was better than Revenge Of The Fallen from 2009.
The last movie I saw this summer was ironicall also the last in a line of series and books: Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2. I saw this the day it came out in IMAX 3-D. This movie was built up and, as far as I'm concerned, it delievered. There were some differences between the book and the movie (besides the fact that the book was not seperated up into 2 parts). But unlike Harry Potter and the Half-Assed Prince (yes, I was upset with the 6th movie) Deathly Hallows Part 2 had everyone rising up against the Death Eaters and had an all out battle between good and evil. This was one of the things that was going to piss me off if it was left out. Snape had some very significan memories and I was also going to be mad if that was left out. There were whole movements in the theory that Harry Potter should have died in the book. I was going to be mad if the director decided to go ahead and kill him off. About the only major deviation from the plot of the book was the lack of Dumbledore's history. Though this wasn't needed for the movie (even though they had led up to getting this information in Part 1), it's really the only thing that I was upset to see left out. Okay, well, not the only thing...some really minor character detail moments for Harry Potter. But overall I loved this movie so much...and I don't usually like seeing movies in 3-D.
BOOKS
I read a lot of books this summer. The first book was actually the first in a series of 3 books called The Hunger Games. Book 1, I mentioned in my top 5 purchases from Borders update. I won't say much more about it than Katniss is this girl who, along with a boy named Peeta, gets sent off to die (basically) in a reality type survival game show.
Catching Fire was the 2nd book in the series and also, the second one I read. Basically, in this book, a revolution is getting started. Katniss has to go back to the games. But the revolution actually starts in the games themselves. Since this is a seris book, I won't go into much more detail.
Mockingjay was the final book in the Hunger Games series. The Revolution is already in full swing and Katniss, though not the leader, basically becomes the mascot of the revolution. These books, though I can't say I really liked them and that I was happy with the way it ended, did leave an impression on me.
Next I read The Chronicles of Narnia: The Magicicans Nephew. You know, I never got much pleasure from reading when I was growing up. I just didn't. So I'm reading a lot of children and young adult fiction while in my upper 20s. This is the first Chronicles of Narnia books going in chronicallogical order...which is how I choose to read them. This book is really about the birth of Narnia and how the white witch wound up in power.
Next, I read The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. As mostly everyone knows, this is the Easter story told from a fairy tale land of Narnia point of view. I don't really need to go into more detail than that. I still have yet to read any of the oher Narnia books.
Next, in less than 2 hours time, I read a book called Werewolf Haiku. Over the course of 136 pages, the main character, a mailman, gets attacked by a dog(?) while on his route, turns into a werewolf, tries to court a young lady and gets into trouble with the law told through the 5-7-5 style format of Haiku...the entire story is writen in haiku. By the way, this isn't the only werewolf book I have. It's just the only one that tells it's story through poetry.
Finally, and also, about the time that Biblioclast did Hitchhicker's Guide To The Galaxy, I finally read the book So Long And Thanks For All The Fish. This is the 4th book in the Hitchhicker's Guide series in which Author meets a woman who fasinates him (not Trish...they had a falling out, apparently) and Ford Prefect goes looking for Author...and Author meets a rain god who, no matter where he goes, can't get away from the rain. After this book, it's part of the Ultimate Hitchhickere's Guide, so I also read the short story "Young Zaphod Plays It Safe."
Anyway, that's all the books that I have read and finished. I've read on a few others but I haven't finished yet. I'm going to wind this entry down now. It's taken me a long time so everything else I wanted to mention will go in the entry Summer 2011 Part 2.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Update
Have you cheecked out my friend Hannah's new web series, One Of Us, yet?
If not, then let's journey back to my blog entry from 1.5 weeks ago in which I gave a short advertisement for her show.
Now, I genuinely enjoy this show and it isn't just because Hannah is my friend that I say I like it. But I wouldn't have known about it if she didn't advertise it first. And, as a friend, I'm trying to get the word out...so that others may hear about it simular to how I did.
Also, I've got some friends who still live in America and who I perform improv with at the Roving Imp who will be playing charicters in the show in 1 or more upcoming episodes...not entirely sure when...but upcoming! They will be playing the main charicter's family.
Now, since the entry I mentioned earlier, 2 episodes have been uploaded. And I'm going to provide you with links to where you can find them...
Watch One Of Us (The series's webpage).
Vimeo...especially if you want to watch it in HD (yes, this is where I fall in...)
It is also availble on YouTube. I watched episode 2 on my phone on YouTube!
And now, before I say anything else, let me just say that One Of Us is on Twitter.
On a side note, Summer 2011 officially ends in the next 2-4 hours. Tomorrow (Friday) I will update my blog on the summer of 2011.
If not, then let's journey back to my blog entry from 1.5 weeks ago in which I gave a short advertisement for her show.
Now, I genuinely enjoy this show and it isn't just because Hannah is my friend that I say I like it. But I wouldn't have known about it if she didn't advertise it first. And, as a friend, I'm trying to get the word out...so that others may hear about it simular to how I did.
Also, I've got some friends who still live in America and who I perform improv with at the Roving Imp who will be playing charicters in the show in 1 or more upcoming episodes...not entirely sure when...but upcoming! They will be playing the main charicter's family.
Now, since the entry I mentioned earlier, 2 episodes have been uploaded. And I'm going to provide you with links to where you can find them...
Watch One Of Us (The series's webpage).
Vimeo...especially if you want to watch it in HD (yes, this is where I fall in...)
It is also availble on YouTube. I watched episode 2 on my phone on YouTube!
And now, before I say anything else, let me just say that One Of Us is on Twitter.
On a side note, Summer 2011 officially ends in the next 2-4 hours. Tomorrow (Friday) I will update my blog on the summer of 2011.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
9-11 "political" issue...
I take issue with the fact that some people take issues with 9/11 first responders rescue workers needing healthcare. I should warn anyone who reads that this is one of my few political uploads. I don't understand why some people support the idea of denying healthcare to the rescue workers and first responders on 9/11. So I made these inspirational spoof posters depecting the exact opposent of my point in a mockery fashion. That seems to be the best way (and more entertaining way) for me to get my point across...
Let me restate for the record that I don't agree with what I said. I said what I said mocking those who do say what I said...
I don't get it.
Let me restate for the record that I don't agree with what I said. I said what I said mocking those who do say what I said...
I don't get it.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
One Of Us...Coming very soon
My friend Hannah The Mott has been over seas in a place called Poole, England. For her, it has also been called school. After graduating from KU and dabbling some with improv at the Roving Imp, she headed off to get her Masters in film. With her year being up, it's time to work on her master project: a web series called One Of Us.
Hannah is the director, producer, co-writer and basically the brains behind One Of Us. Mike Histon is also the assistant director and Co-writer of the series. The story is about a girl from the Midwest who, board from the Midwest, decides to move to England. But why read my boring words when you can get the lowdown from them personally...
If you are not interested yet, you may just be not quite right in the head. If you are intrigued, then all you need to do, come September 14th, is head over to the website of Watch One Of Us.
Hannah is the director, producer, co-writer and basically the brains behind One Of Us. Mike Histon is also the assistant director and Co-writer of the series. The story is about a girl from the Midwest who, board from the Midwest, decides to move to England. But why read my boring words when you can get the lowdown from them personally...
If you are not interested yet, you may just be not quite right in the head. If you are intrigued, then all you need to do, come September 14th, is head over to the website of Watch One Of Us.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Star Trek met it's 45th year!
Star Trek first aired on September 8, 1966. That means yesterday, Star Trek turned 45. Unfortunately, The History Channel left that information out when, on it's fan page when it gives what happened on that day in history, it did mention that the Oprah Winfry show first aired on yesterday's date back in 1986.
I always have to make commentary on the History Channel's This Day In History. So here is what I said about it...
Anyway, in other news, there is something big coming up next week...September 14th. I'm not necessarily involved. But a friend of mine is and I said I would put an advertisement for her thing up on here...yes, it's something to be advertised.
I just want to make sure I have enough time to give it the full credit it deserves.
I always have to make commentary on the History Channel's This Day In History. So here is what I said about it...
The Oprah Winfrey Show broadcasted nationally for the first time today in 1986. But Star Trek first aired today in 1966...a full 20 years before hand. Therefore, Oprah has to step up her game...like 10 movies (and a reboot), 4 spin-off series (and a cartoon series) and she must invent new nerdy things that become main stream in 40 years (like cell phones and skype) before she is legit.
Anyway, in other news, there is something big coming up next week...September 14th. I'm not necessarily involved. But a friend of mine is and I said I would put an advertisement for her thing up on here...yes, it's something to be advertised.
I just want to make sure I have enough time to give it the full credit it deserves.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Borders
In less than a month (maybe even less than a week in places) one of the biggest bookstore chains, Borders, will be closing their doors for good all over the country. It's only fitting that my return to blogging on a somewhat regular basis has me saying something about the store, one of my favorite stores ever to exist, closing their doors for good. Borders was the book store that I would go to even if I didn't really have anything in mind to get...I just liked looking at books. I have even tried...on about 3 or 4 different occasions...to actually get a job at Borders. There were some little things. But that's not what is important in this particular blog entry. In this blog entry, I was going to list my top 5 favorite (in no particular order) purchases from Borders.
5. I'll Sleep When I'm Dead. The Dirty Life and Times of Warren Zevon by Crystal Zevon. This book came out in 2007. It came out before my bithday but I wasn't able to wait for my bithday so I went ahead and got it. I didn't finish it right away. In fact, I didn't finish it until a year ago when in July or August when I would go up to the Roving Imp for reading night but I'd get there early while the Monday night class was still winding down. This was a book about one of my fvorite artist, Warren Zevon, who passed away due to a rare form of lung cancer called Meslotheslioma (sp.) on September 7, 2003...coincidentally enough, 8 years ago of the day that I offically started this entry. This book was in with the rock an roll biographies. And when I got the book, it was when I was REALLY gettin into the music of Warren Zevon and I was currious about the person himself.
4. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I decided to read this book because I had at least 2 friends reccomend it...one specifically reccomended it to me. I wound up getting this book in paperback at the Borders in Shawnee in May and I finished the book in about a week. This is a young adult novel but it deals with a girl named Katniss who is sent from her district to fight in the Hunger Games...24 children ages 12 to 18 enter...only 1 child survives. This is entertainment for the people of the nation's capitol and used to keep order in the districts to prove to them that the capitol had supreme athority. Or as I liked to refer to it...Ancient Rome had the reality show of Survivor...only they were killed instead of voted off. This was also the first book I read that was getting turned into a movie since I read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
3. The Accidental Time Machine by Joe Haldeman. This is probably my most favorite book I ever bought randomly. It's a novel about a man who travels through time using a device that he invented to be something else. Each time he goes forward, or the time machine rather, it goes forward through an incriment of time that quadruples (or something like that) from the previous time. It was about 5 chapters before I really got into it. But then the rest of the book was a breeze and I read through it in a matter of a week all together.
2. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowlings audio recording read by Jim Dale. A year ago between May and July, I read all of the Harry Potter books. But I decided to get some assistance with Order Of The Phoenix. Enter Jim Dale...who has actually won a Grammy for his audio work on the Harry Potter series. Jim Dale's reading of this book was such an expierence that when I reread the series this year, I listened to the rest of them (except for the 1st and 4th) just to hear the Jim Dale take.
1. Life'll Kill Ya by Warren Zevon. This is the only one on here that I can rightly say that it is located at the correct rank of number 1. This album was originally released in 2000. But for whatever reason, it's rare. I had to order it. It was the first Warren Zevon album I ever ordered. This is the CD that is on my list of albums that I want to take with me if I ever get stranded on a desserted island with a CD player. This album includes "I Was In The House When The House Burned Down," "For My Next Trick, I Need A Volunteere," a cover to Steve Winwood's "Back In The Highlife," and a song I can't say on a family friendly blog but censored as "My $iht's F**ked Up." And one of my all time favorite songs, "Don't Let Us Get Sick." You can even find my overview of it by clicking here.
Well, I think that list came full circle. I started with a book about Warren Zevon and ended with one of Warren Zevon's albums. Yes, this is my list.
Good bye Borders. I will miss you.
5. I'll Sleep When I'm Dead. The Dirty Life and Times of Warren Zevon by Crystal Zevon. This book came out in 2007. It came out before my bithday but I wasn't able to wait for my bithday so I went ahead and got it. I didn't finish it right away. In fact, I didn't finish it until a year ago when in July or August when I would go up to the Roving Imp for reading night but I'd get there early while the Monday night class was still winding down. This was a book about one of my fvorite artist, Warren Zevon, who passed away due to a rare form of lung cancer called Meslotheslioma (sp.) on September 7, 2003...coincidentally enough, 8 years ago of the day that I offically started this entry. This book was in with the rock an roll biographies. And when I got the book, it was when I was REALLY gettin into the music of Warren Zevon and I was currious about the person himself.
4. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I decided to read this book because I had at least 2 friends reccomend it...one specifically reccomended it to me. I wound up getting this book in paperback at the Borders in Shawnee in May and I finished the book in about a week. This is a young adult novel but it deals with a girl named Katniss who is sent from her district to fight in the Hunger Games...24 children ages 12 to 18 enter...only 1 child survives. This is entertainment for the people of the nation's capitol and used to keep order in the districts to prove to them that the capitol had supreme athority. Or as I liked to refer to it...Ancient Rome had the reality show of Survivor...only they were killed instead of voted off. This was also the first book I read that was getting turned into a movie since I read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
3. The Accidental Time Machine by Joe Haldeman. This is probably my most favorite book I ever bought randomly. It's a novel about a man who travels through time using a device that he invented to be something else. Each time he goes forward, or the time machine rather, it goes forward through an incriment of time that quadruples (or something like that) from the previous time. It was about 5 chapters before I really got into it. But then the rest of the book was a breeze and I read through it in a matter of a week all together.
2. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowlings audio recording read by Jim Dale. A year ago between May and July, I read all of the Harry Potter books. But I decided to get some assistance with Order Of The Phoenix. Enter Jim Dale...who has actually won a Grammy for his audio work on the Harry Potter series. Jim Dale's reading of this book was such an expierence that when I reread the series this year, I listened to the rest of them (except for the 1st and 4th) just to hear the Jim Dale take.
1. Life'll Kill Ya by Warren Zevon. This is the only one on here that I can rightly say that it is located at the correct rank of number 1. This album was originally released in 2000. But for whatever reason, it's rare. I had to order it. It was the first Warren Zevon album I ever ordered. This is the CD that is on my list of albums that I want to take with me if I ever get stranded on a desserted island with a CD player. This album includes "I Was In The House When The House Burned Down," "For My Next Trick, I Need A Volunteere," a cover to Steve Winwood's "Back In The Highlife," and a song I can't say on a family friendly blog but censored as "My $iht's F**ked Up." And one of my all time favorite songs, "Don't Let Us Get Sick." You can even find my overview of it by clicking here.
Well, I think that list came full circle. I started with a book about Warren Zevon and ended with one of Warren Zevon's albums. Yes, this is my list.
Good bye Borders. I will miss you.
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