Love Actually

A fantastic film. Of course, I coulda’ gone without all the naked people, but that was the only part of the film that I didn’t love. The writing was superb, the acting was fantastic and the story was fun to watch. I guess this would be considered a “chick flick”, but it’s excellent regardless. I feel that it transcends strict genre and represents a creative, well told story about love of different kinds and by and for people in different stages of life. Often, a romantic comedy (which is the single genre that this film most resembles) different types and aspects of love are explored, but all forms are generally portrayed in a shallow way until the payoff when the couple falls in love and lives happily ever after. This film covers platonic love, unrequited love, characters choosing a greater love in lieu of a less personal, less necessary love, and even love that simply must not be expressed due to circumstances and poor timing.

A great, great movie.

Mondays are always so rough…

…because by Sunday night I’m used to being up late, getting up late and sleeping a lot. I don’t need bunches of sleep, but I tend to take advantage of extra sleep time if it comes my way. That kinda’ time comes my way once a week in the form of the weekend and it only takes me those two days to become totally used to the luxuries of sleeping however long I want and napping at any time of the day. Of course, it won’t be long until I’m thrust back into sleepy reality as my alarm clock drags me out of bed and throws me in the shower at 7 tomorrow. I should be getting ready for bed, only I’m not tired. It’s going to be a long, short night.

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Gainesville trip: Day 4

I spent most of the morning sleeping and watching TV. Then, I went to lunch with a couple friends at the Chicken Kitchen and went over to see their new place where they will be living this fall. It’s a pretty nice place, but it reminded me that, for some reason, architecture here in Gainesville is really strange. There was one place in the living room where the previous owners had cut a hole in the carpet in the middle of the floor, so they could run a phone wire up to an end table or something. I guess they were pretty certain they’d never move that end table.

Frisbee golf

Then, we went and played a round of frisbee golf at the old course. My best score there when I was playing a few times a week was 3 over par. I shot a 13 yesterday. Most of that was just general rustiness–I hadn’t played in about 9 months or so–and some bad luck–if there was a tree, even if I made a good throw, I found it. Anyway, it was fun and we all had a good time.

Newberry Backyard BBQ

This place has some of the best baby back ribs I’ve ever had and I’d been looking forward to going there since I started planning this vacation. Of course, they didn’t disappoint and I had a great time with about 7 of my friends. I hope I can make a trip out there every time I visit Gainesville.

Kill Bill Vol. 2

Even better than the first. I don’t want to do an all-out review or analysis, but I’ll say that I’m seriously impressed with Trenton ability to mix various genres of film from different eras into a seamless, solid movie. Also, Uma was spectacular and I was very surprised by her performance. I could see that she took direction very well and that she was a great fit for the role. I can’t wait to see the DVD with special features and “making of…” kinda’ stuff.

Funnier ’cause we were tired

As we were all startin’ to go to bed about 4 am, I was walking through the kitchen when the phone started ringing. I looked at the caller ID and saw that it was one of the other guys in the house calling in on his cell phone. I decided not to answer, but my roommate did and this is what he heard at the other end of the line: “Hey. What’re you doin’?” Then, the same guy called about five other people around the city and did the same thing. That delayed our getting to sleep by about an hour because we were just laughing too hard to realize we were tired.

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Gainesville trip: Day 3

Yesterday’s support appointment went well and I’m not officially on three peoples’ MDPs (I think that’s right and I think it’s “Ministry Development Plan”; it’s a TLA–Three Letter Acronym). I’m excited to be giving to Crusade beginning in July and I think it’s awesome that I can help out three staff people.

Basketball… again

I played some more basketball yesterday and I’m really feelin’ it today. I think I ran seven games in two days. That’s not outrageous except I haven’t played that much basketball in that little time since some time last year. I’m pretty sore, but it’s good to be in good enough shape that I can at least run the games. I hope to play at least once more before the week’s out.

Gators Dockside

Last night was all-you-can-eat (AYCE) wings at Dockside, so about six of us went over there to try and break ‘em. Between us, we probably ate over 200 wings, but I can’t say that I contributed too much. I think I only had 20 or so because I’m just not used to eating that much grub in one sitting. At least it wasn’t AYCE pasta or pizza or something; I’m pretty sure I’d feel awful today. It was only wings and they were grilled, not breaded or fried, so I’m good to go for some more eatin’ today.

Kill Bill: Vol. 1

Man, what a strange movie. Of course, if I felt any differently after watching a QT creation, I’d have to check my senses. The guy just knows how to create interesting, strange violent stuff. It’s bizarre how he maintains an irony of violence without believable gore. I mean, there’re people gettin’ limbs lopped off and whatnot, but it looks so fake it’s hardly even so disturbing as odd. I’m not talking about being desensitized, I’m talking about recognizing what parts of the film QT wants the view to feel are real.

Anyway, I think we’re going to see Vol. 2 some time this week, so I wanted to make sure I’d seen the first part, first. Now, I’m off to lunch with some friends, so I’ll have to pause for a bit.

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Spaceballs

When I first moved here, I picked the DVD up at Target for about 10 bucks. Tonight, I finally got around to watching it and I was vividly reminded of Mel Brooks’ unique style and ability. Of course, seeing John Candy and Rick Moranis was a blast from the past and I always enjoy a good spoof, especially if it’s of a cult film like Star Wars. All in all, I think this was 10 bucks well spent and I’ll have to try to remember to screen it the next time a bunch of my friends and I are sitting around with nothing to do.

The Voyage has come to and end

…but The Silver Chair has only just begun. I’m beginning the 6th book in the Chronicles of Narnia series and I expect I’ll be done with the series in about two weeks. I’ve said too many times how much I’m enjoying the stories, but this one was particularly well written. The last few chapters were unique in many ways and C.S. Lewis’ creativity and storytelling ability really stood out to me down the stretch.

Laptop on hold

I finally sat down and worked out a dollar-by-dollar budget for myself and, long story short, “laptop” ain’t anywhere to be found. I might re-evaluate here in a month or so, but the laptop is on hold indefinitely. I’m really bummed because it’s something I could really use and I was looking forward to having the freedom to write almost anywhere (on a computer), but facts are facts and the fact is there ain’t room for a laptop right now. Patience is a virtue.

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The Passion of The Christ

I’ve been excited about this movie since I first heard about last year. I finally got to see it tonight and I have to say I wasn’t disappointed in the least. Granted, I would like to see it again, so I can focus more on the artistic elements of the movie, rather than being overwhelmed by the initial spectacle, but I think it’ll be a while before I’m ready to see it again.

I think it’s a great film because it’s a somewhat tangible example of the fundamental tenet of the Christian faith: a man, born supernaturally, was tortured and murdered in spite of his own innocence so that the rest of mankind could be reconciled to its creator. I think that idea is articulated very well in this film. It’s also great to see a good piece of “high budget” art produced by a Christian and for an explicitly Christian purpose.

I also think it’s great that the movie is making so much money at the box office. Skeptics seem to think its success is reason for them to make claims that those involved–Mel Gibson, namely–will be making a lot of money. I suspect they’ll eventually be sorry for trying to use the film’s financial success as a means by which to criticize it (ie, claiming that Gibson was interested in the monetary benefits of making the film more than the moral implications), since I think it’s inevitable that Gibson will donate most or all of the profits to charity and the Church.

I could be wrong, but I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t. All in all, I’m glad he made the movie and stuck with it and I’m confident that it will serve a great purpose.

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Through The Horse and His Boy

I finished up the third book of the Chronicles of Narnia this past Sunday and I’m working on Prince Caspian. I’m starting to get into new territory, meaning I haven’t read these books before, so it’s all fresh and new and I’m really enjoying it. Normally, I’m not a big “fantasy” or children’s lit. fan, but C.S. Lewis just does such a great job painting word pictures and articulating concepts through metaphor that it’s impossible for me not to enjoy his writing.

California: attempt 2

Well, I’m going to try to go to CA again next week. This time, I think it’ll happen and the timing seems pretty good. I’m going to e-mail my co-worker out there tomorrow so he can give me a list of places to go and things to do while I’m out there. I figure I’ll use it as sort of a field-trip to learn about L.A. and that general area. It’s been about, oh, 20 years since I was out there, so we have a lot to catch up on.

The Passion

Well, I’ve been itching to see it since I first heard Mel Gibson was working on it and I’ll finally get to catch it tomorrow night. I’m going with a friend who’s already seen it, but he says he’s excited to see it again. I’ve already heard lots of opinions on different aspects of the movie, but the great thing is that I already know what happens, so I can watch it simply to appreciate the gravity, intensity that the movie is said to create.

Pay day approaching

I get paid again on Thursday afternoon. This way of life is so different from being a college student, I still can’t get used to it. In college, my bank account would spike once every four months or so, then it would slowly decline as I spent my scholarship and loan money. Then, as a new semester began, so the cycle would recycle. Now, I get a fresh influx of cash every two weeks and I have a lot of freedom regarding how I spend or invest it. Right now, I’m focusing on paying back my student loans and the other “debt” I incurred this past year at school. I say “debt” in quotes because although it is technically debt, I’m not paying any interest on any of it, so I don’t stress about it too much. If all goes as planned, I’ll be paying back all of this past year’s living expenses by October without having paid a penny of interest on that money. Then, I can start whittling away at the real debt.

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The Academy Awards were on tonight…

And, as anticipated, The Lord of the Rings and company nabbed several awards. I wasn’t too surprised at that, but what did surprise me was when the announcer said that it had won 11 awards, tying Ben Hur and Titanic for the most awards given in a single night. I thought it sounded strange that Titanic had won that many awards. I mean, it was a pretty good movie, but 11? Maybe I should watch it again.

I was happy to see that Lost in Translation got Sofia Coppola an Award for Best Original Screenplay and, although I was sorta’ pullin’ for Bill Murray, I was glad to see Sean Penn finally get an Award (I thought he was robbed a couple years ago when Denzel won for Training Day). I haven’t seen Monster, but from the clips I’ve seen, Charlize Theron earned every ounce of her Oscar. I thought Billy Crystal did a great job hosting, but then he’s been doing it so long, I bet it’s old hat for him by now.

Overall, it was a good show, but I have to say I’m glad Lord of the Rings won’t be up for any Oscars next year. I mean, they were all good movies, but I’d like to see some other films get a chance at some awards. It’s gettin’ old seein’ the same people winning all the awards every year.

Aaaaaand my weekend is officially over.

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The book buying begins…

When I was here a couple summers ago, I spent most of my free time at Barnes & Noble, either reading or buying books. Well, I went over there today to buy a copy of The World According to Garp and though I couldn’t find it, I managed to find some other books that needed buying. Here’s what I left with:

• J. D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye
• Ralph Ellison’s The Invisible Man
• Wendy Northcutt’s The Darwin Awards
• The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook, by Joshua Piven and David Borgenicht
• Stephen Viscusi’s On the Job: How to make it in the real world of work
• Gabriele Crepaldi’s The Impressionists
• and a copy of Car And Driver magazine

I also went to Target and bought a few things including two lamps for my end-tables. I’m afraid the lamps might be a little small, but I have receipts and time, so I’ll get it right eventually.

It’s a Wonderful Life

I am back to watching classics and I really enjoyed this one. I realized that I’ve never watched the entire thing before, mostly because I would gripe and complain any time it was on. Turns out it’s a really good movie that makes a good point in a clever way. Ironically, all I remembered about the movie was the sequence where Clarence, George’s guardian angel, takes George around town to show him what the world would be like if George had never been born. I didn’t realize that was only the last twenty minutes of the movie. It seems there’s also a pretty good hour and a half of movie before that. Who knew?

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Gratuitous necessities

So, I spent a little money today… but, when I heard about the Atari 10-in-1 system, I had to have it. It’s an Atari joystick that takes four AA batteries and plugs into a component video input in a TV. It has 10 games inside including Centipede, Missile Command, Breakout and Asteroids. The one discouraging thing about it is that the box says, “A blast from your parents’ past!” That means I’m old and I guess I should be a parent with kids old enough to play Atari games.

I also bought Lost in Translation. When I first saw this movie, I was convinced it would get a few Oscar nominations and I’m not surprised to see that it’s up for four awards. I also wasn’t surprised when it won three Golden Globes including best actor. I think Bill Murray has a good shot at nabbing the Oscar for Best Actor as well.

Finally, I bought The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season. This one, I’ve been meaning to buy for a while and just hadn’t gotten around to it. The Simpsons is definitely one of the best sitcoms of all time, animated or otherwise.

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S.W.A.T.

One of the worst movies I’ve ever seen.

Final decision on digital camera

I’ve all but decided I’m buying the FujiFilm FinePix F700. It’s a good camera, good specs, good price. I’ll probably order it tomorrow and I hope to have it by next weekend (that’s an optimistic estimate).

Back to basketball

I played basketball this morning for the first time in almost two months. Things went about as I expected:

I came out shooting early and made most of my shots, but, as fatigue set in, my shots started going long. My defense was a little better than I expected, but I gave up several jumpers because I wasn’t closing out well on the perimeter (I was afraid I’d get beat off the dribble because I’m outta’ shape and slow). In my last game, I had three good fastbreak layups and a few nice assists. I expect I’ll be improving as I continue to work out and get into shape. I hope I can go back in a few weeks and show those guys that I’m not normally as bad as I was this morning.

Computer desk shopping

I’m about to mail off my claim forms for the computer desk that was busted up during my move. I figure it’s about time to look into replacin’ it. I’m not sure what I want–corner desk or regular one–but I’ve pretty much decided I want something in cherry wood (or at least vaneer or finish). Hopefully, I’ll find something soon, so I can continue getting settled.

Church tomorrow

If all goes well, I’ll be at a local church tomorrow morning at 10:45. It’s less than five miles away and it looks like a decent church… but I’m learning that one can never be too sure before he’s in the doors.

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