tw20ntyse7en's Xanga

"I don't want this blog deleted."

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 19:13:02 GMT

Xanga is making me post.

Monday, October 22, 2007

Mon, 22 Oct 2007 02:03:35 GMT

NP: Ring Them Bells - Sufjan Stevens

"Credits Roll."

This film is over.

Now you can watch the sequel at http://colorbylogic.blogspot.com.

Saturday, March 24, 2007

Sat, 24 Mar 2007 16:55:17 GMT

NP: Song 4 Mutya (Out of Control) - Groove Armada & Mutya Buena

"Such events put me in the mood for writing."

I'm a bit worried because these new traffic lights are getting brighter and brighter. From a distance now, I can't always tell the difference between red and yellow. The red lights have been orange for a while now, but now they are bordering on yellow-orange. I don't think I've ever been injured or killed (well I know I haven't been killed) because of a colorblindness related incident, but I better be careful.

Elliott Yamin's album is very good. It will sell well and probably get some Grammy nominations.

I shaved for the first time in a while recently. I don't like it. I look all babyfaced (an angry baby, but still). I think when I have long hair (by far the longest I've ever had), I need a bit of facial hair. Can't wait til it grows back.

I woke up this morning with a large, sore and mysterious knot on my forehead. I have no idea how it got there. I don't remember running into anything or falling. I wouldn't be surprised if I did and actually, I'm a bit surprised I haven't in a while. This joins the ranks of the mysterious burns all over my right hand a couple of years ago. I still don't know how those happened.

I did homework for a while this morning. Well, not really homework, but a work for a group assignment. Are you impressed?!

Life's events and what God puts in my lap have definitely had me in the mood for writing lately. I just wish I could process it all in my head. I know that if I could do that, I could get a lot down on paper. We'll see. I really want to get more done on New Year's Eve soon. And then I can work on New Year's Day.

Sunday, February 25, 2007

Sun, 25 Feb 2007 19:11:20 GMT

NP: Rosie's Lullaby - Norah Jones

Third year running baby! I may post about the Oscars later. Probably not. But I will be relaunching Snapculture in March and I will have an Oscar sub-site within it. It will be more focused, more frequently updated and better in general. Be on the lookout.

The Best Movies of 2006

Honorable Mentions: World Trade Center, The Good Shepherd, The Prestige, Little Miss Sunshine, The Fountain, Superman Returns, Stranger Than Fiction, Half Nelson, V for Vendetta
20	Inside Man
19	Miami Vice
18	Apocalypto
17	Water
16	Flags of Our Fathers
15	Marie Antoinette
14	Dreamgirls
13	The Painted Veil
12	The Illusionist
11	The Queen
10		Casino Royale The fact that it's a James Bond movie and that there have been some dreadfully bad(although still cool) movies of that bunch shouldn't make people forget just how good this film really was. Easily the best Bond ever.
09		A Prairie Home Companion My first Altman movie (and his last). I watched this on DVD and loved it. The cast could not be more perfect, it's paced very nicely and the plot is not too thin or too heavy. A lot of great things about this movie.
08		Notes on a Scandal The best acting I think I've ever seen in any movie... ever. Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett deserve Oscars for their performances although neither will win. Philip Glass' score is excellently tense and the writing is very sharp.
07		Letters From Iwo Jima Although I liked Flags of Our Fathers better, I thought Letters From Iwo Jima was a better film. It definitely needed alot more meat to it's story, but that can't discount the outstanding visuals and technical feats of this movie.
06		The Science of Sleep Another one that I didn't see until after it was released on DVD, this film was added to the top few of my favorites list after the first viewing. Gael Garcia Bernal is easily the most charismatic actor out there today. So creative! I can't say enough good things!
05		United 93 Watching this movie is like being on that plane. It's stunning. Everyone should see this movie.
04		The Departed What a story! What a cast! What a sleek, stylistic film! Scorsese knows how to direct a good film. He'll finally take the Oscar for director for this one. It may not be his best work ever, but it's good enough to give him an Oscar.
03		Babel I loved the genius that is the linking of these stories, the showcasing of all these language barriers and how it shows the consequences to these people's careless actions. The acting is top notch. It's a beautifully shot movie as well. But the nudity was gratuitous and it could've shown what Rinko Kikuchi's character was doing without all of the nudity.
02		Children of Men I remember how blown away I was when I saw this movie. It's so intriguing and ambitious. The cinematography is the best I've ever seen. Emmanuel Lubeski shot a masterpiece.
01		Pan's Labyrinth Too many greatthings to say. Just see the movie and I won't have to say them. The Best film of 2006.

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Tue, 16 Jan 2007 21:41:59 GMT

NP: Sao Paulo - Morcheeba

"You never really thought I'd be gone forever did you?"

Sheesh, it's time for a redesign.

Saturday, May 13, 2006

Sat, 13 May 2006 21:45:17 GMT

NP: Eple - Royksopp

"I'm not dead, but I am in a very cynical mood."

Hello, everybody. Just a quick note to say that I have not left xanga and I have not left this world. Today however, I am in a mood. But I won't get into that.

Just wanted to tell everyone that I have been working on my website www.snapculture.com, so you should be checking that out.

Also, I have a few special posts planned for xanga soon... I got a special music related one that will be coming up next and then its getting almost time for the annual 14 Finest Women in the World list. Hurrah!

See you around.

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Wed, 12 Apr 2006 20:27:33 GMT

NP: If You're Gonna Fly Away - Faith Hill

"Seriously, I even chased it off with a tennis racket... and this was before my legs nearly got burnt off... you know, like the grandma in Dante's Peak."

Have you ever had a day where everything went well and very smoothly except for the last half an hour? You had earlier burned a CD for a friend, but you learn that it messed up, so you burn them a new copy... only to find out that its the files, not the disc... so you wasted a whole other CD. While having your sharpie out ready to label the CD, the cap comes off, unknown to you, and you get permanent marker ink all over your favorite hoodie. So you give up and move on to something else... like preparing to mail your credit card statement which you just realized is on the verge of being late. You have to deposit a few checks at the bank tomorrow morning, though, so you ready a deposit slip. But when you rip it out of your checkbook... it rips. Dangit.

You try to take a shower... without falling and breaking your neck. You manage to not fall, but while you step into the shower you knock over a bottle of Clorox Bleach that someone left on the edge. WHAT THE HECK?! WHO LEAVES THAT STUFF OUT LIKE THAT. But I'm not finished. Ever since the new shower-head was installed, it sprays water down like a fire-hose, immediately filling the tub up with flood level waters. When the bleach falls in there you realize that the cap wasn't screwed on tightly enough and you start to fear that the skin on your legs will get eaten off by the powerful bleach.

And on top of that, you probably forgot to rinse off your back completely and got soap bubbles everywhere. Just speculation, though.

You just want to go to bed and sleep away the badness.

But the day wasn't completely a waste. In fact, only the last 30 minutes were bad. In fact, something spectacular happened. Well, "spectacular" isn't quite the word... More like... "uhh...." Yeah, that's more like it. Watch this video...

Monday morning, at approximately 10:30 am, a robin began repeatedly flying into the the windows on the southwest end of my sunroom. It would perch on a nearby hammock post or dogwood tree and then stare at the window and fly into it. SMACK. You can see.

It kept this up for 10 and a half hours. Until dark. But then... it came back on Tuesday. AND THEN AGAIN TODAY.

WHAT THE HECK?!?!

This video was shot entirely on Monday morning. Little did I know that I would've had time to shoot HOURS more footage in the days following. I don't know what it's deal is. This is absurd. I even chased it away with a tennis racket. And it came back.

Sorry for the crappy video quality... It was shot on my old little digital camera, so not great quality... and sorry for the song selection. But the song is about a bird... or someone who is like a bird. Whatever. You get it. Shut up. It is really funny though. You must admit.

Did I have something else to talk about? Probably, but it probably wasn't important. I mean, come on, I've already talked about burning my legs off (nearly) and a crazy bird that likely has brain damage. What more could I say?!

Friday, April 07, 2006

Fri, 07 Apr 2006 17:53:55 GMT

NP: Nth Degree - Morningwood

"This is radio clash."

So I stole this from Judy... not like she invented it... but I'm doing this cos someday when I grow up, I want to be like Judy. SHOUT OUT JUDY!

So, I have so much fun with this... I did it three times. How to play: Put your Ipod on shuffle... write the first line of the first 10 songs. Then, you, the readers, guess the song and artist! Don't cheat... well, if you have too, okay.

Round One
01 "On candystriped legs, the spider-man comes"
02 "You don't know how long I have wanted to touch your lips and hold you tight"
03 "Ooh and it's alright and it's coming on"
04 "Johnny take a walk with your sister the moon"
05 "I'm going nowhere and I'm going to take my time"
06 "I'm on it, get on it, the troops are on fire"
07 "Give me a kiss to build a dream on"
08 "Oh no, I see a spider-web is tangled up with me"
09 "My heart is as dark as the soil sodden with winter rains"
10 "Night got cold, it's almost three, take these fools away from me"

Round Two
01 "My love, more dear than this life you are to me"
02 "I am unwritten"
03 INSTRUMENTAL: "Preparations" by Harry Gregson-Williams, Veronica Guerin
04 "2 AM and she calls me 'cause I'm still awake"
05 "Wrapped up in mosquito nets, offer some protection"
06 "Take your eyes off me, there's nothing here to see"
07 "She said 'I'm going out with my girlfriends'"
08 "Oh this is the start of something good"
09 "Baby the clock on the wall is lying"
10 "He said 'I'm gonna buy this place and burn it down'"

Round Three
01 "Ba da da da, da da da da-da... So let's begin, baby I'm waiting"
02 "The other day you said 'hello'"
03 "With all I'm holding inside"
04 "Been given 24 hours to tie up loose ends, to make amends"
05 "Imaginary friends, they will always let you down"
06 "Distant flickering, it's greener scenery"
07 INSTRUMENTAL: "Research" by Harry Gregson-Williams, Veronica Guerin
08 "Oh brother, I can't, I can't get through"
09 "Black is the colour of my true love's hair"
10 "Oh my love, it's a long way we've come"

Saturday, March 25, 2006

Sat, 25 Mar 2006 17:10:55 GMT

NP: What New York Couples Fight About - Morcheeba & Kurt Wagner

"It's not in my nature to be mysterious. But I can't talk about it and I can't talk about why."

I'm not quite sure how I keep managing to not rinse all the way off. Lately I keep getting out of the shower and when I get dressed I get soap bubbles on my shirt cos I didn't rinse my back off well. Hmm.

Am I indecisive? I don't know. You tell me.

Mysterious, though? It's not really my nature to be mysterious. But I'm pretty sure that I catch people off guard sometimes.

I started writing this entry pretty much forever ago. But I'm finishing up. Listening to Bodies Without Organs, KT Tunstall and Kaiser Chiefs all morning will put you in the mood to write, I guess.

I'm not sure if people think of me as an overly sentimental type or a rarely sentimental type. I get sentimental over things I wouldn't expect to... yet, I can be rather cold about some things that some people pour alot of emotion into.

Today, my cousin is getting married. Hillary, the oldest cousin. I'm fourth in line (of about a billion... seriously... there's like a billion of us). Hillary and I used to play house together. We used to get our tape players and listen to "Thank You" (Thank You for giving to the Lord. I am a life that was cha-e-a-anged...) over and over again. We used to play hide and seek in the woods. She taught me the word 'beverage' one time when we were playing restaurant. I cried when she graduated 8th grade. We grew apart as we grew up. Yesterday, though, it hit me that this is the start of a totally new phase. I got all sentimental. Still am today... hours before her wedding. She's the first one of us to get married. Cheston's next... in July. Okay, you're dying to know how many there are. I'll tell you... It's Hillary, Cheston, Ryan, Cameron, Conner, Seth, Rebecca, Hannah, Jacob, Joseph, Holly and Nathan. And we are all like siblings. Very close. All live next door.

I saw a friend from highschool the other day. She informed me of how much I've aged. "You look alot older. Wow... like alot." Maybe not the exact words... but to the same degree. People don't know how old I am now. And people don't know what I am. I've decided I'm going to concoct an alias... a Jewish alias. Now that I have the Jew-fro, I look even more Jewish (with a small nose, mind you). I'll start speaking in an Israeli accent and tell people I'm a Sabra (native born Israeli) and get a fake ID. People will never know better. I could probably even fool you. My name will be Avner, after Eric Bana's character in Munich. That's a great name. I'll consider naming a kid that... even though all my kids will have Gaelic names. Maybe I'll make an exception.

Maybe a Gaelic middle name. Or maybe Avner could be his middle name with a Gaelic first name and we could call him Avner.

Maybe I should get married before I name my kids.

Maybe I should date someone before I get married to them.

Good plan. Now let's move on.

"Alias" comes back April 19th!

For real... move on.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand. I can't always tell what people think of me. I really could care less what they think about me, but at the same time, I know what I want them to think about me.

When I can tell, it usually is one of two things... I know some people think I'm not very smart. It's not hard for them to think that... I'm not always the quickest person to get things. And I can be a bit ditzy (for lack of a better word) sometimes... so people assume that I'm not very smart. I don't want to toot my own horn, but I'm not dumb. My thoughts are usually deeper than I might let on. In contrast though, some people think I'm very smart and expect me to always have something brilliant to say. That's definitely not the case. Again, I'm not dumb, but I'm no genious. The people who think I'm either one of these... I can usually tell which one they are pretty quickly. But there's a group who don't fall under either... I can't read them. Can they read me?

I'm great at poker. People can NEVER read me. Because, honestly, I don't really have a strategy. Plus I have heavy, shifty, arched eyebrows. Very unpredictable. Very mysterious.

Eyebrows... they are the key to mystery. Everyone wants to be a bit mysterious. But it's rarely the people that want to be that are.

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Wed, 22 Mar 2006 02:09:18 GMT

NP: Detroit, Lift Up Your Weary Head! (Rebuild! Restore! Reconsider!) - Sufjan Stevens

I have a real post coming up soon. This week... before the weekend most likely, if I can fit it in (yeah, right, like that's a problem... all I really have to do for that is procrastinate on the more important things) between homework, making websites for a few different people, papers and prior commitments. I nearly spelled commit[t]ments wrong just then.

I stole this from a new Last.fm friend... I hope she doesn't mind. But as much as I talk about movies, this would be fitting.

If you were to star in a movie, who would you want to be cast as your love interest? Right now, Eva Mendes. Rachel Stevens would definitely be a contender... but Eva is just... so... I am speechless. For once.
What genre of movie would you most like to star in?
Comedy-Drama (slightly Drama... enough to give it substance). The type I'm writing... about me. NO, IT WILL NOT BE BORING. YOU JUST WAIT AND SEE.
What song would you insist be on the soundtrack?
There are so many... I could put together a soundtrack this instance if you wanted me too. But David Gray would have to be included. AT LEAST one song. Definitely "Freedom"... maybe another... or 10. Harry Gregson-Williams would compose the score.

What would you wear to the premiere of your movie?
A fine lady on my arm. Eva Mendes... since she is my leading lady.

Who would you thank in your Oscar acceptance speech?
My Savior Jesus Christ for giving me everything I have and putting me through every experience He has because it has allowed me to build the character it took to make this. My Mom and Dad for training me up the way I should be trained and for loving me in every circumstance. My brother for being a brother. Eva Mendes. HOT.