I wondered this question a few weeks back, and I thought it was kind of funny. All over the musical world, there were photo shoots, interviews, biographies written about this girl who rose to fame based on a song called "I kissed A girl." Now I listened to it, like twice, and was not really impressed. It totally seemed manufactured. A good beat. Fun guitar riff and a bunch of crap to get guys interested and have teenage girls dance against each other at prom or cast parties. So today, I was like going through a bunch of best of lists, and Katy Perry's damn song Hot N Cold kept coming up. And I was like whatevs. But I'm writing and I needed some music, so I got it. And I listened to it. And I had to admit, it's pretty damn catchy. But that still didn't answer my question. Was she a human being? or some created doll type corporate thing. So I went to youtube and watched the video. Ummm... yeah she's a real person. The video is awesome. She comes off as a really quirky adorable yeah hot girl that just happens to be able to pipe out some really good material... kind of like that hot best friend you had, but didnt' realize was hot and then was a singer and you were like whoa, like whoa, like really? (although this could still be a projected image, and she could just be totally full of herself) AND she kind of sucks at singing live, but is still so awesome and quirky, you kind of just don't care...
So yeah, she's a human being, and "Hot N Cold" is a pretty damn good single.
16.12.08
12.12.08
Random Quotes #012
Will said, as he watched the opening scene of "The Dark Knight."
"This movie is like the antithesis of "Twilight."
"This movie is like the antithesis of "Twilight."
4.12.08
Random Quotes #011
Michelle reminisces on the first time she went to yoga.
"I thought it was a bunch of weirdos looking for a place to fart for a while."
Thanks Michelle!
"I thought it was a bunch of weirdos looking for a place to fart for a while."
Thanks Michelle!
3.12.08
Huh?
Well, I'm impressed. Kanye West's Debut as a Electro-Retro-Voice Machine-Pop Singer debuted at number 1. An astounding 450,000 people bought the CD, although I think Best Buy was selling it for 4 dollars, so there is that. And while I will eventually get to writing my thoughts about that CD or not, I did want to add something I found pretty awesome.
Guns N' Roses reappearance with the mythical "Chinese Democracy" got their ass kicked on the charts by a girl. Taylor Swift's "Fearless!" Which is a Great CD if you like romantic, sad, sweet, triumphant, ridiculous songs written from the perspective of a seventeen year highschooler.
Taylor you GO GIRL!
Guns N' Roses reappearance with the mythical "Chinese Democracy" got their ass kicked on the charts by a girl. Taylor Swift's "Fearless!" Which is a Great CD if you like romantic, sad, sweet, triumphant, ridiculous songs written from the perspective of a seventeen year highschooler.
Taylor you GO GIRL!
2.12.08
Amazing!
What do you get when you cross "Beauty & The Beast (the 1980's tv show), "Bram Stoker's Dracula" and a Chevy Truck Commercial? You get this video from Directing Auteur Michael Bay - Meatloaf's "I would do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That).
Everything that is Michael Bay is on display in this short video. And I mean EVERYTHING!
Everything that is Michael Bay is on display in this short video. And I mean EVERYTHING!
29.11.08
What the %##
This is a headline from the NYTIMES.
"Plaxico Burress Shoots Himself Accidentally in Thigh."
This is Plaxico Burress of the NY Giants, who has had a tough time getting onto the field this year, because of Injuries and fines and suspensions for bad behavior, well now he gets time off for straight up stupidity... (and don't tell me that that! isn't stupid). More details can be found on just about any website covering sports.
Peace!
"Plaxico Burress Shoots Himself Accidentally in Thigh."
This is Plaxico Burress of the NY Giants, who has had a tough time getting onto the field this year, because of Injuries and fines and suspensions for bad behavior, well now he gets time off for straight up stupidity... (and don't tell me that that! isn't stupid). More details can be found on just about any website covering sports.
Peace!
24.11.08
Level 7: The Game of Life
I've recently been thinking a lot about video games. Maybe, that's because I've played a little bit recently, and no not in that crazy obsessive everything comes second to the video game, no that was 3 weeks ago.
But I've thought also a little bit about life, and how video games and lives can also have some good analogy material.
And what I've concluded is that I hate level 7. Like it's cool and all, and yeah, I've upgraded a bunch of my powers and can do all this cool new shit, but really, you know, I just want to go back to Level 3. It was way cooler, and easier, everything was fresh and new, I couldn't get through most of the level with eyes closed, and the main badguy was a whole lot easier to kill.
Like right now he's virtually unstoppable, and I keep going back through the level, hoping I can take him out, but he just keeps kicking my ass. I think I'm going to have to think up a new strategy, again, for like the millionth time.
And this is why you shouldn't let your kids play video games... just saying.
But I've thought also a little bit about life, and how video games and lives can also have some good analogy material.
And what I've concluded is that I hate level 7. Like it's cool and all, and yeah, I've upgraded a bunch of my powers and can do all this cool new shit, but really, you know, I just want to go back to Level 3. It was way cooler, and easier, everything was fresh and new, I couldn't get through most of the level with eyes closed, and the main badguy was a whole lot easier to kill.
Like right now he's virtually unstoppable, and I keep going back through the level, hoping I can take him out, but he just keeps kicking my ass. I think I'm going to have to think up a new strategy, again, for like the millionth time.
And this is why you shouldn't let your kids play video games... just saying.
11.11.08
Random Quotes #010
Around the lunch couch at Herzog. I had to pick up a call from my brother and as I walked away Joshua Rosenfield looked over to Emily York and said...
"I swear that everything Will says is something that could have been a line from a movie." Emily laughed. A lot. Hmmm...
"I swear that everything Will says is something that could have been a line from a movie." Emily laughed. A lot. Hmmm...
Writer's Notes: 001
On a script problem I'm having:
I never solved this. I suck. No I did solve this, but I NEVER SHOWED THIS VISUALLY… Again I reiterate. I suck.
I never solved this. I suck. No I did solve this, but I NEVER SHOWED THIS VISUALLY… Again I reiterate. I suck.
November 2008
I love Novembers.
This November here in Sunny California, we experienced some extreme heat, but now it feels like fall. There is a nice crispness to the air, the kind that makes me want to get a Pumpkin Latte from Starbucks. And with that wind, a reminder of the best of days, and wave of emotions, and the remembrance of something I think is called sweaters. It's really that feeling of positive beginnings, where October feels like the end of things, and September is just the last dredges of Summer. It's November 11th. I have some work, but not a ton of it, I get the chance to work on some of my own things, and also take it easy. I've been going to bed at a reasonable time and waking up early with a clear head for doing things. And that is awesome.
This November here in Sunny California, we experienced some extreme heat, but now it feels like fall. There is a nice crispness to the air, the kind that makes me want to get a Pumpkin Latte from Starbucks. And with that wind, a reminder of the best of days, and wave of emotions, and the remembrance of something I think is called sweaters. It's really that feeling of positive beginnings, where October feels like the end of things, and September is just the last dredges of Summer. It's November 11th. I have some work, but not a ton of it, I get the chance to work on some of my own things, and also take it easy. I've been going to bed at a reasonable time and waking up early with a clear head for doing things. And that is awesome.
4.11.08
Election '08: 024 - Side Note
I know I said my last blog would be my last election blog, but my Brother would like you to know that after he said that he was tired of all the news outlets going on about how this was a good day for African Americans, he said that this was a Good Day for All Americans, for change, and the direction of America.
Hell yeah.
Willis out.
Hell yeah.
Willis out.
Election '08: 023
Obama won. Oprah cried.
My brother said that he was tired of hearing how this was a good day for African Americans. He was right. This is a good day for all the halfies.
And this is my last election blog.
Goodnight & Goodluck.
My brother said that he was tired of hearing how this was a good day for African Americans. He was right. This is a good day for all the halfies.
And this is my last election blog.
Goodnight & Goodluck.
3.11.08
Election '08: 021
On the eve of election night, I thought I should chime in, right in my blog about my thoughts, I mean why have a blog if you don't set pen to paper. Right?
Not so Random Thought: Wouldn't it be nice if Barack Obama won.
Not so Random Thought 2: Is it just me or does Barack seem more like someone you might know then a true blue inspirational politician, kind of like the best teacher you may have ever had in high school? LIke for real, what's up Teach? How's Michelle? Oh She's great. Cool. What kind of knowledge bombs are you going to drop on us today?
I wasn't immediately taken with Barack Obama. I kind of thought, who does this guy think he is? Yes We Can. I wasn't buying it. I wasn't really interested.
4 Year ago I was though. Funny. When I watched the 2004 DNC, I wasn't amazed, shocked, inspired. There were no blue states, no red states, just the United States. Amazing line. Brilliantly delivered. Why the hell wasn't he running for President. Here was passion. Here was photogenic. And then I found out he had almost no experience and was like oh, okay, well then I guess 2008.
But something happened between 2004 and 2008, I got tired of his message, I was like whatever, you're not saying anything. Yes We Can, do what? What can we do? And I decided I liked Hilary better. After a month of being Pro-Hilary, I went back to being Pro-Obama, mostly because, honestly, I just kind of knew he'd have a better chance getting elected. I mean for real, HIlary, well she just rubs people wrong, and really believed she didn't have a chance.
So I jumped onto the Obama Bandwagan, and you know it's not a bad place to be.
I tried to not blog about the election, but then Sarah Palin was nominated and well, I suddenly had all the leftist liberal rage rise up in me, and it needed a release. That woman still infuriates me. Drill, Baby, Drill. It's like the worst of what everyone thinks of America all wrapped into one nice tidy package. You try defending the good people of The U.S. when we nominate a woman like that. I mean, please. And the worst part is, she's not done. No matter how things shake out in the election, this woman will be back. It's like a brand new supervillain in a comic book. You just know she's going to come back to taunt the good guys for years.
And so I started reading, reading bios, and news articles, on beliefs, policies, plans, watched the 3rd debate at 6:00 AM in Hong Kong, and continued blogging, and reading, arguing, defending, listening.
Oh and suddenly the Economy dropped out. Like hard core. And while there are some good things to have happened when that occurred, like the dollar getting stronger in Asia, and my college loan interest rates dropping along with gas prices, the bleak outlook that America is facing worries me. The world outlook worries me. And it worries me, because it's going to get worse. You just know this is the beginning. And people are hurting. Everywhere.
And people are going to give up. Their going to give up on their hopes, their dreams, and their lives. As the dark clouds cover the sky and the mood darkens over the world, people are going to need hope, more so then they need change, and this is not going to come from John McCain; it has to come from Barack Obama. John McCain is ultimately too self serving for today. More obsessed with achieving the job, then doing the job. From everything I've read he's always been like this and he's way too old to change.
But today, you know, I believe in Mr. Obama. And I believe that he may not make the best decisions, and when, if elected, things get worse, people are going to look down on him, and he isn't going to be the most popular man in America, but I will believe that he is doing everything he can for us, and I'm going to be alright with that. Yeah, I think we'll be alright with Barack Obama, eventually.
Not so Random Thought: Wouldn't it be nice if Barack Obama won.
Not so Random Thought 2: Is it just me or does Barack seem more like someone you might know then a true blue inspirational politician, kind of like the best teacher you may have ever had in high school? LIke for real, what's up Teach? How's Michelle? Oh She's great. Cool. What kind of knowledge bombs are you going to drop on us today?
I wasn't immediately taken with Barack Obama. I kind of thought, who does this guy think he is? Yes We Can. I wasn't buying it. I wasn't really interested.
4 Year ago I was though. Funny. When I watched the 2004 DNC, I wasn't amazed, shocked, inspired. There were no blue states, no red states, just the United States. Amazing line. Brilliantly delivered. Why the hell wasn't he running for President. Here was passion. Here was photogenic. And then I found out he had almost no experience and was like oh, okay, well then I guess 2008.
But something happened between 2004 and 2008, I got tired of his message, I was like whatever, you're not saying anything. Yes We Can, do what? What can we do? And I decided I liked Hilary better. After a month of being Pro-Hilary, I went back to being Pro-Obama, mostly because, honestly, I just kind of knew he'd have a better chance getting elected. I mean for real, HIlary, well she just rubs people wrong, and really believed she didn't have a chance.
So I jumped onto the Obama Bandwagan, and you know it's not a bad place to be.
I tried to not blog about the election, but then Sarah Palin was nominated and well, I suddenly had all the leftist liberal rage rise up in me, and it needed a release. That woman still infuriates me. Drill, Baby, Drill. It's like the worst of what everyone thinks of America all wrapped into one nice tidy package. You try defending the good people of The U.S. when we nominate a woman like that. I mean, please. And the worst part is, she's not done. No matter how things shake out in the election, this woman will be back. It's like a brand new supervillain in a comic book. You just know she's going to come back to taunt the good guys for years.
And so I started reading, reading bios, and news articles, on beliefs, policies, plans, watched the 3rd debate at 6:00 AM in Hong Kong, and continued blogging, and reading, arguing, defending, listening.
Oh and suddenly the Economy dropped out. Like hard core. And while there are some good things to have happened when that occurred, like the dollar getting stronger in Asia, and my college loan interest rates dropping along with gas prices, the bleak outlook that America is facing worries me. The world outlook worries me. And it worries me, because it's going to get worse. You just know this is the beginning. And people are hurting. Everywhere.
And people are going to give up. Their going to give up on their hopes, their dreams, and their lives. As the dark clouds cover the sky and the mood darkens over the world, people are going to need hope, more so then they need change, and this is not going to come from John McCain; it has to come from Barack Obama. John McCain is ultimately too self serving for today. More obsessed with achieving the job, then doing the job. From everything I've read he's always been like this and he's way too old to change.
But today, you know, I believe in Mr. Obama. And I believe that he may not make the best decisions, and when, if elected, things get worse, people are going to look down on him, and he isn't going to be the most popular man in America, but I will believe that he is doing everything he can for us, and I'm going to be alright with that. Yeah, I think we'll be alright with Barack Obama, eventually.
27.10.08
Election '08: 020
Apparently TIme Magazine believes that my hometown is the lynchpin for both parties in getting the Virginia delegates... huh...
For more check out:
http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1854243,00.html
For more check out:
http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1854243,00.html
Random Thoughts #11
Oh god how I love low humidity environments.... particularly because I love
COTTON!!!
The most amazing fabric ever... so nice... so soft... ahhh.... Cotton how I missed you.
COTTON!!!
The most amazing fabric ever... so nice... so soft... ahhh.... Cotton how I missed you.
25.10.08
The Asian Adventure Part 13 : Return to Sender
Bird are flying past my window.
My bed is the best thing ever.
Like really.
I need coffee.
Joe said I'm going to start hallucinating soon.
He's probably right.
I got back last night after my 16 hour flight. Yay!
So let's recap.
Best Part of my Trip. Working with my Crew and the Bands in Singapore. Driving around and shooting at everyone, and the laughs we had.
The Trader's Hotel at Singapore has amazingly big bathtubs that are almost as big as the beds. Seriously Awesome.
Worse Part of my Trip. Slight food poisoning on my last day in Thailand. The food was so good, but that last day you couldn't get me touch anything, and that's disappointing, because I really liked getting gourmet veggie meals for 2 dollars.
Funny interaction at the end of the trip. I was at the Bangkok Airport and I was at their pharmacy trying to find something for my terrible feeling stomach, and I kept denying their not quite correct drugs, and then after the 7th pill suggestion and third assistant another worker walks up and points to one that says "Spastic Stomach" and I'm like "Yes!" Ah the things that make you happy.
Being back here is really weird. Did things change? Maybe. I know gas got cheaper. Yay! Maybe I'm just a little more aware of how things have moderately evolved since I was here last, or maybe I'm bugging out.
Yes, the jet lag back to the US is worse then the Jet lag to Asia. This is like when I was working nights and yes, I'm going to try to power through today, so if I talk to you, please try not to judge me, even if I'm being more truthful, because honestly, I'll probably be delirious.
Next trip idea: Probably thinking about going to India. (But you know life doesn't always let you go where you want to next, which is okay as long as I go somewhere.)
Okay. That's it. Brain stew. Got to get some coffee, so the merry go round can begin up again. Think I'll walk there. Got nothing else to do and I don't know if it's safe for me to drive. Maybe I'll take another power nap. Sweet. Who knows.
SEE YOU SPACE COWBOYS...
My bed is the best thing ever.
Like really.
I need coffee.
Joe said I'm going to start hallucinating soon.
He's probably right.
I got back last night after my 16 hour flight. Yay!
So let's recap.
Best Part of my Trip. Working with my Crew and the Bands in Singapore. Driving around and shooting at everyone, and the laughs we had.
The Trader's Hotel at Singapore has amazingly big bathtubs that are almost as big as the beds. Seriously Awesome.
Worse Part of my Trip. Slight food poisoning on my last day in Thailand. The food was so good, but that last day you couldn't get me touch anything, and that's disappointing, because I really liked getting gourmet veggie meals for 2 dollars.
Funny interaction at the end of the trip. I was at the Bangkok Airport and I was at their pharmacy trying to find something for my terrible feeling stomach, and I kept denying their not quite correct drugs, and then after the 7th pill suggestion and third assistant another worker walks up and points to one that says "Spastic Stomach" and I'm like "Yes!" Ah the things that make you happy.
Being back here is really weird. Did things change? Maybe. I know gas got cheaper. Yay! Maybe I'm just a little more aware of how things have moderately evolved since I was here last, or maybe I'm bugging out.
Yes, the jet lag back to the US is worse then the Jet lag to Asia. This is like when I was working nights and yes, I'm going to try to power through today, so if I talk to you, please try not to judge me, even if I'm being more truthful, because honestly, I'll probably be delirious.
Next trip idea: Probably thinking about going to India. (But you know life doesn't always let you go where you want to next, which is okay as long as I go somewhere.)
Okay. That's it. Brain stew. Got to get some coffee, so the merry go round can begin up again. Think I'll walk there. Got nothing else to do and I don't know if it's safe for me to drive. Maybe I'll take another power nap. Sweet. Who knows.
SEE YOU SPACE COWBOYS...
The Asian Adventure Part 12 : Me and My Bungalow
So there I was with my bungalow, sipping on bottles of water, getting eaten by mosquitos, trying to read and passing out every few minutes, while sitting in a hammock... ahhh the dream...
For a few minutes at least. Most of my time in Thailand was spent up at the Resort Spa I was staying at up in the Jungle area of Koh Samui. Just kicking back, eating good vegetarian food and not drinking coffee, yeah I haven't touched the stuff in like 6 days... weird... Got to talking with a lot of other travelers, got some massages, did some yoga, meditating, and other weird stuff. All and all it was good time and I didn't do a whole lot.
Hopefully, that will be the last time I do that, god I like to do things, I mean really, it's sooooo boring to just sit and not do a whole lot, at least when I got food poisoning at the end it was interesting. No, I mean I planned to do nothing, so I didn't change that plan, because I really wanted to know if I could do it, and yeah it was okay, but next time I need a trek, or some experience thing. Okay, enough is enough.
Oh by the way, things are really cheap in Thailand. My whole trip there, all inclusive, except the airfare was less then 500 dollars, and I ate a lot of food (salads and stuff) and did many things, and the place was nice. Anyways! Now I need to write up a brief ender.
Cheers!
For a few minutes at least. Most of my time in Thailand was spent up at the Resort Spa I was staying at up in the Jungle area of Koh Samui. Just kicking back, eating good vegetarian food and not drinking coffee, yeah I haven't touched the stuff in like 6 days... weird... Got to talking with a lot of other travelers, got some massages, did some yoga, meditating, and other weird stuff. All and all it was good time and I didn't do a whole lot.
Hopefully, that will be the last time I do that, god I like to do things, I mean really, it's sooooo boring to just sit and not do a whole lot, at least when I got food poisoning at the end it was interesting. No, I mean I planned to do nothing, so I didn't change that plan, because I really wanted to know if I could do it, and yeah it was okay, but next time I need a trek, or some experience thing. Okay, enough is enough.
Oh by the way, things are really cheap in Thailand. My whole trip there, all inclusive, except the airfare was less then 500 dollars, and I ate a lot of food (salads and stuff) and did many things, and the place was nice. Anyways! Now I need to write up a brief ender.
Cheers!
21.10.08
Election '08: 019
Hello Friends. I now have a new hero, a Republican-esque hero. I now present you Colin Powell. Also Known as: THE MAN!
18.10.08
The Asian Adventure Part 11 : Airports & Adaptors
"Hey look at you, found wifi... Found Electricity...good for you."
Yeah, good for me. This is what I have to do to spend like 8 or 9 hours in airports, waiting for next flights. For example. I will have to go to Singapore, I'm in Hong Kong right now, and go through the immigration, then wait like 4 hours and then go back through Immigration so I can go to Bangkok, because I'm not actually transferring, I've got flights booked through like everyone.
But at least Singapore is clean!
So I had my best day on my last day. The last 24 hours have been really good. Went out last night, ate chicken feet at 5 AM, slept for a few hours, today was beautiful, I went up to the highest peak of Hong Kong City and looked out and breathed the fresh air and jumped around the trees to the music of U2's Joshua Tree. I'm still buzzing off the energy.
Because there really isn't a lot of nature energy flowing through Hong Kong, when you're down in the city, and that's kind of a bummer, but it does have character... and that really helps everything, you know
I'm off to Singapore, then Thailand, I'll be safe if you'll be safe, keep dreamin', keep believin', and whatever you do, don't think Obama has this in the bag, because it ain't over 'til it's over.
Yeah, good for me. This is what I have to do to spend like 8 or 9 hours in airports, waiting for next flights. For example. I will have to go to Singapore, I'm in Hong Kong right now, and go through the immigration, then wait like 4 hours and then go back through Immigration so I can go to Bangkok, because I'm not actually transferring, I've got flights booked through like everyone.
But at least Singapore is clean!
So I had my best day on my last day. The last 24 hours have been really good. Went out last night, ate chicken feet at 5 AM, slept for a few hours, today was beautiful, I went up to the highest peak of Hong Kong City and looked out and breathed the fresh air and jumped around the trees to the music of U2's Joshua Tree. I'm still buzzing off the energy.
Because there really isn't a lot of nature energy flowing through Hong Kong, when you're down in the city, and that's kind of a bummer, but it does have character... and that really helps everything, you know
I'm off to Singapore, then Thailand, I'll be safe if you'll be safe, keep dreamin', keep believin', and whatever you do, don't think Obama has this in the bag, because it ain't over 'til it's over.
17.10.08
The Asian Adventure Part 10 : Red Bulls
Well... friends... my time in Hong Kong is coming to end... while you are sleeping I will be on a plane going towards Singapore and when you awake I will be on a plane heading to Thailand. Not the dangerous parts have you, the safe parts, the parts with the beach and the tourists and the fantastic tiki hut with air conditioning!
But right now, I've got my red bull, my game face, and I'm going out! My Friend Melanie is in town and we're going to go do something! (i think it involves bowling and boogie... but like only really really really late..)
When I'm hanging in the bangkok airport I'll try to write again.
Hasta! Muchachos!
But right now, I've got my red bull, my game face, and I'm going out! My Friend Melanie is in town and we're going to go do something! (i think it involves bowling and boogie... but like only really really really late..)
When I'm hanging in the bangkok airport I'll try to write again.
Hasta! Muchachos!
15.10.08
Election '08: 018
The Unaired Question:
Bob Schiefer: Recently, people have begun to talk about how the NBC program, "Heroes" has regained some of its season one excellence, but there are many here and on the Internet that still believe the show is clunky, uneven, and desperately trying to hold itself together.
Senator Obama your point.
OBAMA: Look, the show is going to have its problems as you have so eloquently put it, and I absolutely agree with you on those points, but I think America is at a point now where it has to tone down it's expectations for the show. (McCain blinks furiously.) I think it's time for America, just like when we spoke about the economy, to realize that we over the last several seasons have gone through the bad times, reality television, and have emerged with a string of excellent dramatic programming, but times are changing, and the old ideas are not working anymore, and when I'm the President, I will make sure to keep new ideas flowing.
McCAIN. Forget about what that guy said, he doesn't get it. He's not like you and me, he reads. What you have to realize that it's just good old fashioned entertainment for the people, for the people I've talked to around America at my town hall meetings, for guys like Joe the Plumber who work 10-12 hours a day and just want to go home and watch a simple television show about some folks who have more problems than we do, but at the end of the season save the world (Obama coughs) and when you look at it like that, you'll see that the show is a triumph.
OBAMA: There are two points here that I feel I should discuss. One: I read a lot, but I watch television as well, I watch Battlestar Galactica and Lost, and my wife watches Ugly Betty, but I think that an over-reliance on television is seriously hurting our children and that reading, while not a lost art form, should be encouraged. Point Two: Just because the characters on Heroes end up saving the world, doesn't mean that the way that they saved the world made sense, in any universe, and that 85% of the episodes were filled with plot holes and contrived characterizations and cliched dialogue.
McCAIN: You just don't get good television. I get good television.
OBAMA: That's untrue.
Schiefer: Good night America!
Bob Schiefer: Recently, people have begun to talk about how the NBC program, "Heroes" has regained some of its season one excellence, but there are many here and on the Internet that still believe the show is clunky, uneven, and desperately trying to hold itself together.
Senator Obama your point.
OBAMA: Look, the show is going to have its problems as you have so eloquently put it, and I absolutely agree with you on those points, but I think America is at a point now where it has to tone down it's expectations for the show. (McCain blinks furiously.) I think it's time for America, just like when we spoke about the economy, to realize that we over the last several seasons have gone through the bad times, reality television, and have emerged with a string of excellent dramatic programming, but times are changing, and the old ideas are not working anymore, and when I'm the President, I will make sure to keep new ideas flowing.
McCAIN. Forget about what that guy said, he doesn't get it. He's not like you and me, he reads. What you have to realize that it's just good old fashioned entertainment for the people, for the people I've talked to around America at my town hall meetings, for guys like Joe the Plumber who work 10-12 hours a day and just want to go home and watch a simple television show about some folks who have more problems than we do, but at the end of the season save the world (Obama coughs) and when you look at it like that, you'll see that the show is a triumph.
OBAMA: There are two points here that I feel I should discuss. One: I read a lot, but I watch television as well, I watch Battlestar Galactica and Lost, and my wife watches Ugly Betty, but I think that an over-reliance on television is seriously hurting our children and that reading, while not a lost art form, should be encouraged. Point Two: Just because the characters on Heroes end up saving the world, doesn't mean that the way that they saved the world made sense, in any universe, and that 85% of the episodes were filled with plot holes and contrived characterizations and cliched dialogue.
McCAIN: You just don't get good television. I get good television.
OBAMA: That's untrue.
Schiefer: Good night America!
13.10.08
The Asian Adventure Part: Random Thought
The key traveling in a foreign place, without any knowledge of the location, language, and people, is to believe that you are James Bond.
Random Thoughts #10
2 new songs from Britney Spears and Christina Aguilar... but really they sound like Rihanna songs.
Thank god for Beyonce (at least she sticks to making Beyonce music.)
Thank god for Beyonce (at least she sticks to making Beyonce music.)
The Asian Adventure Part 9: U too can be a nut.
So a few hours ago, I almost puked. I, like, had a Matrix moment, where that one dude Cypher looks at Neo after he's just awoken outside of the Matrix and is like "He's gonna pop." Well, I almost popped.
U see, I arrived at the Cosmic Guest house in Mirador Mansion. I did my research, here's the lonely planet page:
http://hotels.lonelyplanet.com/hotel/Hong-Kong-Cosmic-Guest-House-P132873.html
Nice. Nice. Here is a peek at it on Youtube: And please disregard the Narrator, I think he's a moron, and no this is not the Chungking Mansion (the one from the Wong KarWai movie, that's down the street and dingier)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEH69Fh1EII&feature=related
Yuck right.
So I get my room, and I'm like Okay. IT's the size of a prison cell. Good times. yeah there is AC and a mini-plasma TV. So I'm like Okay. Hmmm... it's a little warm in here. I go to the AC and turn it down. Yay, I'm sure it gets really cold.
I go get some lunch. Indian Food. Good stuff!!! Walk around. The Cloud cover makes the entire city look dingy. Why did I come here, I wonder.
I go back. Ugh, one you take your room key out of the card holding spot, it turns the AC off. Shit. So I put the card back in, electricity comes on, the AC kicks to life, I turn it up to full blast and turn it all the way down.
Now here's where shit gets wonky. I kind of decide to go to sleep, and I wake up and I'm like real hot. Like ugh, sticky, feel terrible. I look around and the walls are seriously closing in. That's where the stomach gag reflex starts to kick in, I'm like AHHHH!! I cannot throw up. I go back to sleep. I start to confuse dreams with life, and start to think that we have to film another band tonight, and how can we put a band in a place like this, this is terrible. It's so hot. ACK!
I wake up. Think for a second. And then I get my Yoga mindset on. Okay, take deep breaths. This is like a prison cell. You can get the hang of this. It's going to be okay. We aren't working. We're not doing anything. You will be okay, you only have to be here for three days, and then... wait no AND THEN. It's like right now. Everything is amazing. Get up and look at the AC maybe you have a setting wrong.
And there you have it. I had a setting wrong. See I kept turning it down, like 1 to 10 and I kept setting it closer to 1. The problem with that, and I'm sure most of you would have figured this out sooner, is that I was really thinking that 10 would be Heat, and seriously why the HELL WOULD THERE BE HEAT HERE!!! FOR REAL!!! HEAT!!! So I turned the fucker back up to 10 and it is now seriously cold in here and I feel amazing. And the world is beautiful and maybe tomorrow Hong Kong will be beautiful, and I will have gotten a full nights sleep.
Anyway, Keeping on Truckin Cowboys and Cowgirls, I'll still be up when you wake up!
Willis
U see, I arrived at the Cosmic Guest house in Mirador Mansion. I did my research, here's the lonely planet page:
http://hotels.lonelyplanet.com/hotel/Hong-Kong-Cosmic-Guest-House-P132873.html
Nice. Nice. Here is a peek at it on Youtube: And please disregard the Narrator, I think he's a moron, and no this is not the Chungking Mansion (the one from the Wong KarWai movie, that's down the street and dingier)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEH69Fh1EII&feature=related
Yuck right.
So I get my room, and I'm like Okay. IT's the size of a prison cell. Good times. yeah there is AC and a mini-plasma TV. So I'm like Okay. Hmmm... it's a little warm in here. I go to the AC and turn it down. Yay, I'm sure it gets really cold.
I go get some lunch. Indian Food. Good stuff!!! Walk around. The Cloud cover makes the entire city look dingy. Why did I come here, I wonder.
I go back. Ugh, one you take your room key out of the card holding spot, it turns the AC off. Shit. So I put the card back in, electricity comes on, the AC kicks to life, I turn it up to full blast and turn it all the way down.
Now here's where shit gets wonky. I kind of decide to go to sleep, and I wake up and I'm like real hot. Like ugh, sticky, feel terrible. I look around and the walls are seriously closing in. That's where the stomach gag reflex starts to kick in, I'm like AHHHH!! I cannot throw up. I go back to sleep. I start to confuse dreams with life, and start to think that we have to film another band tonight, and how can we put a band in a place like this, this is terrible. It's so hot. ACK!
I wake up. Think for a second. And then I get my Yoga mindset on. Okay, take deep breaths. This is like a prison cell. You can get the hang of this. It's going to be okay. We aren't working. We're not doing anything. You will be okay, you only have to be here for three days, and then... wait no AND THEN. It's like right now. Everything is amazing. Get up and look at the AC maybe you have a setting wrong.
And there you have it. I had a setting wrong. See I kept turning it down, like 1 to 10 and I kept setting it closer to 1. The problem with that, and I'm sure most of you would have figured this out sooner, is that I was really thinking that 10 would be Heat, and seriously why the HELL WOULD THERE BE HEAT HERE!!! FOR REAL!!! HEAT!!! So I turned the fucker back up to 10 and it is now seriously cold in here and I feel amazing. And the world is beautiful and maybe tomorrow Hong Kong will be beautiful, and I will have gotten a full nights sleep.
Anyway, Keeping on Truckin Cowboys and Cowgirls, I'll still be up when you wake up!
Willis
12.10.08
The Asian Adventure Part 8: The Cosmic Guest House
Holy Spit! Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore.
No, stupid dog, we're in Kowloon in Hong Kong. Old Hong Kong. Like you know when you're in NYC and you drive past those apartments and you're like uck... ewww... who lives there... Well, that's what this place I'm staying at is like... But the room, is all right, I don't see any little black bug things, like in the Singapore Apartment, it has it's own shower toilet thing, and uh, OH YEAH. it has wireless... and really as long as you have wireless it's all good.
Ok. Got to man up and go outside... deep breaths... We'll be all right.
w
No, stupid dog, we're in Kowloon in Hong Kong. Old Hong Kong. Like you know when you're in NYC and you drive past those apartments and you're like uck... ewww... who lives there... Well, that's what this place I'm staying at is like... But the room, is all right, I don't see any little black bug things, like in the Singapore Apartment, it has it's own shower toilet thing, and uh, OH YEAH. it has wireless... and really as long as you have wireless it's all good.
Ok. Got to man up and go outside... deep breaths... We'll be all right.
w
The Asian Adventure Part 7: Departure Scenario
And so begins 1 of my three stops at the singapore airport, which will probably be pretty awful, over the next two weeks. And it's early. Like 4:30 AM early. And I feel like terrible. And I swear I saw some weird super small bird fly through my room, or was it a super small black sliver creature from my imagination, I really can't tell.
I'm going to remember Singapore, but not for the city really, and eventually I'll get around to writing about it. So Here's to doing something productive on the plane ride. And Here's to a Country of People that speak English.
Next Stop Hong Kong! And dammit I really need to stop first spelling it Honk. Cause its not Honk. It's Hong. (ok. Weird dyslexic moment, I just tried to write Honk and it came out Hong... crazy.) (AH!!!! the weird bird sliver creature!!! Leave me alone....)
I'm going to remember Singapore, but not for the city really, and eventually I'll get around to writing about it. So Here's to doing something productive on the plane ride. And Here's to a Country of People that speak English.
Next Stop Hong Kong! And dammit I really need to stop first spelling it Honk. Cause its not Honk. It's Hong. (ok. Weird dyslexic moment, I just tried to write Honk and it came out Hong... crazy.) (AH!!!! the weird bird sliver creature!!! Leave me alone....)
11.10.08
Election '08: 017
Who says you can't be sexy and old at the same time?
Vote Barack Obama: What did you think we were talking about John McCain? That dude is like ancient!
This message has been approved by Old Spice for Men.
Vote Barack Obama: What did you think we were talking about John McCain? That dude is like ancient!
This message has been approved by Old Spice for Men.
Really?
I leave the country for like 10 minutes and then the Dow drops like 1,000 points, Tina Fey has control of the presidential election, and the White House is about to buy most of the three banks that are left in America.
Really?
Really?
10.10.08
The Asian Adventure Part 0: Table of Contents
Sept. 23 - Fly to Singapore
Sept 25 - Oct 9 - Work for Sutasi
Oct. 10 - Oct 13 - Chill out in Singapore - God it's hot here
Oct. 13 - Oct 18 - Hong Kong!
Oct. 19 - Oct 23 - Thailand - Koh Samui Beach
Oct. 24 - Return to America
The End
Sept 25 - Oct 9 - Work for Sutasi
Oct. 10 - Oct 13 - Chill out in Singapore - God it's hot here
Oct. 13 - Oct 18 - Hong Kong!
Oct. 19 - Oct 23 - Thailand - Koh Samui Beach
Oct. 24 - Return to America
The End
9.10.08
the Asian Adventure Part 6: That's a Wrap
The Show is Over.
Everyone's gone.
And then there was me.
Thank god.
I can't wait to get some alone time. Yesterday, I was all sad about the project being over (not that I wanted it to go on), I just wasn't really sure what to do with myself. I kind of sat around a lot, and then i went to the gym and was like... whatever. Then I had like a bottle and a half of wine with dinner, along with a mixed drink and some whiskey. My stomach is sturdier then I believed it could be.
I probably should go into detail about what I did. The highs and lows and the whatnots, but eh... you know I'm just not really feeling that. Let's just say that I got a lot of compliments for doing well, and being a calm presence amongst chicken heads.
I had a great team.
Melanie Low - Production Coordinator - She was like my secret weapon for getting whatever I needed. I mean you send in a super hot, ex model, who can think and is half asian, and see if you couldn't get whatever you needed.
Chris Dickinson - DP -- Cranky, moaning, british guy. Awesome DP though, and he really does have a sense of humor, no matter what the assistant editors tell you.
Rokman - Camera Assistant -- But really so much more. I mean his name is Rokman. No, but really, he's 47 with a 22 year old girlfriend, an ex-wife, and 4 kids. And he's really active and all over the place. Youthful as any on the crew, and his knowledge of Singapore really came in handy.
The rotating Sound People --- well... they were okay.
Irene!! Our coffee shop girl, PA, who really does Production Managing. She was all over our releases and she called our Location Notice her BFF. The one day they took her from us... it was dreadful.
UNG - our Van Driver --- he would play our Rap songs when we got in. So we also had a theme song (thanks Snoop)
We spent 10 days together, going around Singapore getting into adventures with the Bands and Singers. And those 10 days seem so long ago. It was totally intense.
And there were so many more people involved in this production. And everyone survived (although some people don't look so good).
The work we did, and what I learned from this will stay with me forever... which is kind of awesome.
I'm currently sitting in the hotel lobby, moving from the Fancy Trader's Hotel to the Happy Apartment, but check in is in like a half hour.
Once I'm there the next phase of my adventure begins. Hopefully, I'll have more stories to tell, but you know I'm kind of hoping to take it easy.
(wink)
Everyone's gone.
And then there was me.
Thank god.
I can't wait to get some alone time. Yesterday, I was all sad about the project being over (not that I wanted it to go on), I just wasn't really sure what to do with myself. I kind of sat around a lot, and then i went to the gym and was like... whatever. Then I had like a bottle and a half of wine with dinner, along with a mixed drink and some whiskey. My stomach is sturdier then I believed it could be.
I probably should go into detail about what I did. The highs and lows and the whatnots, but eh... you know I'm just not really feeling that. Let's just say that I got a lot of compliments for doing well, and being a calm presence amongst chicken heads.
I had a great team.
Melanie Low - Production Coordinator - She was like my secret weapon for getting whatever I needed. I mean you send in a super hot, ex model, who can think and is half asian, and see if you couldn't get whatever you needed.
Chris Dickinson - DP -- Cranky, moaning, british guy. Awesome DP though, and he really does have a sense of humor, no matter what the assistant editors tell you.
Rokman - Camera Assistant -- But really so much more. I mean his name is Rokman. No, but really, he's 47 with a 22 year old girlfriend, an ex-wife, and 4 kids. And he's really active and all over the place. Youthful as any on the crew, and his knowledge of Singapore really came in handy.
The rotating Sound People --- well... they were okay.
Irene!! Our coffee shop girl, PA, who really does Production Managing. She was all over our releases and she called our Location Notice her BFF. The one day they took her from us... it was dreadful.
UNG - our Van Driver --- he would play our Rap songs when we got in. So we also had a theme song (thanks Snoop)
We spent 10 days together, going around Singapore getting into adventures with the Bands and Singers. And those 10 days seem so long ago. It was totally intense.
And there were so many more people involved in this production. And everyone survived (although some people don't look so good).
The work we did, and what I learned from this will stay with me forever... which is kind of awesome.
I'm currently sitting in the hotel lobby, moving from the Fancy Trader's Hotel to the Happy Apartment, but check in is in like a half hour.
Once I'm there the next phase of my adventure begins. Hopefully, I'll have more stories to tell, but you know I'm kind of hoping to take it easy.
(wink)
4.10.08
The Asian Adventure Part 5: I will Survive
Okay, So I was just going to cut and paste the Lyrics to "I will Survive" in here and call it a day, but then I started reading it and was like well.... that's not going to do.
HI!!!
I'm alive. I'm good. The shoot is more then half way done. I've had some way highs and I've had some modest lows... and just about everything in between. And I suppose I've learned some things and have some more things to learn. Production is tiring, it's a bitch, but my job might be the most fun out of anybody here... and I also get treated like crew which they don't want to give overtime too, so I get a bit more sleep then most... but I'm also outside in the field all day, and if none of this makes any sense to you, that's good, because it all doesn't really matter...
What matters is:
I sweat a lot.
I take 2 showers a day.
I get free meals.
I've saved a lot of money.
I'm thinking of taking another week to go to some Thailand beaches.
Life out here is pretty nice.
If you're afraid of Asia.. start in Singapore.
Always follow your instincts!!!
Hasta!
HI!!!
I'm alive. I'm good. The shoot is more then half way done. I've had some way highs and I've had some modest lows... and just about everything in between. And I suppose I've learned some things and have some more things to learn. Production is tiring, it's a bitch, but my job might be the most fun out of anybody here... and I also get treated like crew which they don't want to give overtime too, so I get a bit more sleep then most... but I'm also outside in the field all day, and if none of this makes any sense to you, that's good, because it all doesn't really matter...
What matters is:
I sweat a lot.
I take 2 showers a day.
I get free meals.
I've saved a lot of money.
I'm thinking of taking another week to go to some Thailand beaches.
Life out here is pretty nice.
If you're afraid of Asia.. start in Singapore.
Always follow your instincts!!!
Hasta!
29.9.08
The Asian Adventure Part 4: The Great Sigh
Day 1 of the shoot. I'm still alive... and you know.... I don't have time to make sure that everything is spelled right, so i'm just going to go and ramble on. PRODUCTION IS CRAZY!!! and I'm really really tired... but hey.. what ev's. You work up really late, get a few hours of sleep and then get up and go back to it...
I've been taking bands out into Singapore and we've been having them do things... and we film them, and I tell our Dp camera operator what to sleep and he moans, because he's british and then I make friends with the band and I try to make everyone feel okay about being a monkey in a cage.... and there are a lot of attractive hardworking girls on this production....
Some random thoughts
Can one be Nononsense and Playful at the same time
Fucking Dallas Cowboys.
Time change is really odd. I think everyone on the east coast is working and I'm going to bed.
It's easy to be mad, but we should aim for calm in the storm.
Family shouldn't work together... I do not care what people think...
I've been taking bands out into Singapore and we've been having them do things... and we film them, and I tell our Dp camera operator what to sleep and he moans, because he's british and then I make friends with the band and I try to make everyone feel okay about being a monkey in a cage.... and there are a lot of attractive hardworking girls on this production....
Some random thoughts
Can one be Nononsense and Playful at the same time
Fucking Dallas Cowboys.
Time change is really odd. I think everyone on the east coast is working and I'm going to bed.
It's easy to be mad, but we should aim for calm in the storm.
Family shouldn't work together... I do not care what people think...
27.9.08
The Asian Adventure Part 3: Meetings
Meeting after meeting I go... thinking and thinking... scheduling and scheduling... and here we go...
26.9.08
The Asian Adventure Part 2: Welcome to Singapore
Wow... so many thoughts on this one, but for real... like if In Pirates of the Caribbean 3, had a Disneyfied version of Singapore in the olden days, then THE REAL SINGAPORE is actually completely the Disneyfied version of Asia. It's trippy and surreal. You know when you first visited Epcot Center and was like wow, look at all these foreign countries, gosh I want to go there. Well the city officials at Singapore went to Epic Center and saw all the Asian countries and was like, Wow I want to go there. And then another guy chimed in, hey, why don't we turn our country into that. And all the officials screamed "YEAH!"
But in all seriousness, this place is off the hook (did i really just say that.) and it's really clean, and it doesn't feel foreign at all, except for the fact that every time you get an American dish, it tastes weird, but when you get an Asian dish, it tastes better, and that they drive on the left.
Oh and it is really humid and muggy, but that's okay, nothing wrong with a little sticky. Yesterday, we went Location scouting, and that was really different from Sightseeing, because honestly it's quite weird that you start to look at the city as one giant movie set. You don't see it like "oh wow, this is pretty, I should take a picture of that." no. you see it like "oh wow, that' is awesome, that will make such a great camera angle, and oh look at the composition and look at those girls sitting on those couches, are they chained there, no, no way... oh wait I'm in the red light district. Okay. Wait. Really?"
Laters peeps!
w
But in all seriousness, this place is off the hook (did i really just say that.) and it's really clean, and it doesn't feel foreign at all, except for the fact that every time you get an American dish, it tastes weird, but when you get an Asian dish, it tastes better, and that they drive on the left.
Oh and it is really humid and muggy, but that's okay, nothing wrong with a little sticky. Yesterday, we went Location scouting, and that was really different from Sightseeing, because honestly it's quite weird that you start to look at the city as one giant movie set. You don't see it like "oh wow, this is pretty, I should take a picture of that." no. you see it like "oh wow, that' is awesome, that will make such a great camera angle, and oh look at the composition and look at those girls sitting on those couches, are they chained there, no, no way... oh wait I'm in the red light district. Okay. Wait. Really?"
Laters peeps!
w
24.9.08
East Coast Trip: Part 3. The Andy Wright Experience?
East Coast Trip: The Andy Wright Experience
Friday August 8th.
Michelle and I walked back into her apartment around 9 PM. She was sleepy and I was like what are we going to do? She didn’t know, maybe we’ll just chill out and do nothing. Lounge around the couch. Maybe watch some of the Olympics.
So I get my sleepy mode on. I sit down to check my email. Michelle looks at some stuff. About 15 minutes later:
Michelle – Hey, you know we’re in D.C. and it’s Friday night, shouldn’t we go out and have like one drink.
Will - … (really?)
Michelle – Come on. Don’t be old. You’re not thirty yet!
Will – Did Andy Wright tell you to come out?
Michelle – Yeah, he just texted me.
Will – And he wants us to meet him somewhere?
Michelle – Well, no, not exactly, but he’s at this bar on U Street.
Will – Fine, give me fives minute.
I went into her room, closed the door, and lay down on the floor mat. I needed a moment to restart my computer, in my brain.
But first let me back it up a few hours.
Friday Morning:
Mike and I went to Dunkin Donuts and did a little talking. Talking about the future, talking about doing another ski trip. (I always forget to ask Mike for money from the last one.)
Then Mike took me to the metro station and I was on my way into Washington D.C., one of my favorite places! You know there is a lot going on there, but I swear I never see a lot of people, like I usually do in New York, when I feel swarmed around.
I was reading “Understanding Comics” which is kind of a breakdown of what Comics are and where they come from, and also an argument for it’s consideration as an art form (which it is, I mean really think about it, all the bad, cheeseball comics there are, there are just as many bad paintings or television shows.) But this book was really cool, because it was drawn and told like a comic book, which makes it really easy to understand, and from a visual and storytelling standpoint, it’s really the only way to do it. And it made me feel a lot better about all the comic books I read as a youngling, although really I did for the entertainment/escape value and not art, but hey, no one needs to know that, really.
You get a lot of reading done on the metro.
I arrived at my stop and lugged all my luggage up onto the street. Every time I go back to North Carolina, I always think about how great it would be if I took some of my books back with me, and since I had a little bag space, I was like hey, why not. And then I realized I added about 40 pounds to all my bags. Good thing my book bag can hold a lot of books.
A few minutes later, Michelle drove up and picked me up off the street corner like a, well you know what. (See earlier blog entry for accidental prostitute story.)
Of all my friends, I think Michelle and my relationship is the most familial, brother and sisterly. It’s always important to meet her boyfriends, not to just give them my stamp of approval, but to see if they are treating Michelle well, and see how she’s treating herself. (I’m sure she would do the same for me.) Now I won’t go into the history of Michelle’s boyfriends here on the blog, but I will just say that when Michelle is dating someone they are a very important part of her life. So, I was excited to meet Mr. Andy Wright, her latest boyfriend and I was going to be the last, because everyone else had met the chap. And to be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to make of this guy, because everyone who had met him talked about how he was such a stand up guy. Really stand up guy. Could Andy Wright be as awesome as he was advertised. I wouldn’t find out for hours, because we had the whole day to hang out first.
First order of business, brunch! Hell yeah mofos! I love Brunch with a passion! In fact, I love brunch so much that I’m planning a Brunch Club and accepting applications right now. Well, we went to “The Diner” in a part of town called Adams Morgan, which I have many fond memories of, from my late teens, early twenties, particularly the Coffee Shop “Tryst” which just so happens to be right next to “The Diner.”
Now, I’m not sure if you’ve all met Michelle, but this girl is popular, which isn’t quite the word, maybe “magnet for good feelings and friendliness”. For example, we we’re just chilling, eating, you know and suddenly some guy walks up and is like Michelle, and she does the whole Cheek Kiss with this friend of hers, and I’m like, typical, and they do a little chit chatting before he goes back to his table. It’s like this with her everywhere. You could be in some café in the middle of nowhere and the guy that might have helped her pick out some fruit at the local vegetable store two days ago might walk up and be like “Ah, Michelle! You are so beautiful, let us Cheek Kiss and chit chat for a few moments before we go on with our lives!”
After brunch, we went off in search for a shirt that I might wear to my reunion. And then we ran around the National Gallery of Art, which is phenomenal, and I got to visit my favorite series of paintings; The Voyage of Life by Thomas Cole. I like to see where I fit in every few years. Am I still reaching for the White Castle in the sky or am I maneuvering the rough rapids of adulthood? Depends on the day and the hour.
Afterwards we got to watch Jazz on the Fountain or in the garden, and down a pitcher of Sangria, which was quite good, but I started to get dizzy from the lack of food, so we went on over to this Bookstore Restaurant, which was awesome! (PS. I’m currently on a flight to Singapore, and it’s been over a month since the events took place, so my memory of particular names of places is a little skew.)
And no experience with Michelle is complete until you’ve spent some time watching street performers, this time they were breakdancers and they were quite good.
So we get back to her place and we’re chilling and we’re watching the Olympics and then Andy Wright texts. And here we go…
So an hour later we’re standing in line at this bar/club on U street, and there is a bouncer with a Mister T Mohawk and cowboy boots, and there is the annoying group of people in front of us who can’t make up their damn minds about whether they want to wait, and they start getting snippy with Mohawk Bouncer guy.
15 minutes later we’re inside and I’m walking through the bar meet Andy Wright. All I know about this guy is that he’s tall, white, and has a red beard, I mean what does that even mean. And then I meet him, and he’s tall, and has a reddish beard, and he looks really young, and he looks really nice, and he is REALLY REALLY WHITE. LIKE REALLY WHITE. Which is really funny. I mean I thought DAVE was WHITE. But this guy is super white. And it dawned on me that Rachel was right, this was the kind of guy that she might date. Not that she would ever try to Shark Andy Wright. I mean he absolutely adores Michelles, and seems to be doing pretty cool work as this company that provides first run, ie not used, books to young underprivileged children in the states. He may so put together that I had very little to talk to him about.
We all have a drink and I take Andy and Michelle to their PATHETIC dance floor. I mean it looked like Dwight Schroot was the DJ, and that lasted about 10 minutes, although I always think it’s amazing that when people get really drunk they just stop caring about beats and so if there is music without beats their almost in the perfect place. And you know it’s also funny to see men deal with the fact that when their women are trashed, they like to get freaky and dance up on everyone. It’s interesting watching their boyfriends, they get this look, and its that here we go again look, and then mixed in with their particular reaction, whether that’s resigned, aggressive, or amused.
After the failed dance expirement, we went back to the bar area, and for the next hour, I almost exclusively talked to this girl Zanna.
Let’s chat about Zanna. She was tallish, red headed, freckly, and really beautiful, I think she was like 35. And we hit it off almost instantly. I think we have the same sense of sarcastic humor. The whole, lets push sarcasm and truth to ridiculous levels and see how people react and how fun it can get. Anyway, she was kind of avoiding this massive bouncer named “MOSES”. She had been drunk a few times and he had kissed her a few times and now Moses wanted to go out with her, which can only mean one thing, and I’m not talking about a relationship
Anyway, I gleamed some things off my conversation with Zanna also known as Suzanna Gilbert, it’s kind of like Teal said, and everybody else said, that money and security really do matter to women when looking for someone. This Zanna girl was like 32 maybe and she was now looking for a man from like 35 to 45, okay looking and he needs to make over 150,000 a year, and she’s having a really hard time finding that. Anyway, it was just interesting to see a Woman talk about not looking for love, or a good companion/partner, or sex; she really just wanted security. Crazy, but I guess that’s what happens when you’re 32 and still single. Since most of my female friends are not either, I can’t really ask them for advice, but you know their probably already in love, so their just going to have to deal with how much their beloveds make.
We went back to Michelle’s place. Took a decent length nap and it was time for BRUNCH again. Oh My God, have I mentioned that I love brunch!
Friday August 8th.
Michelle and I walked back into her apartment around 9 PM. She was sleepy and I was like what are we going to do? She didn’t know, maybe we’ll just chill out and do nothing. Lounge around the couch. Maybe watch some of the Olympics.
So I get my sleepy mode on. I sit down to check my email. Michelle looks at some stuff. About 15 minutes later:
Michelle – Hey, you know we’re in D.C. and it’s Friday night, shouldn’t we go out and have like one drink.
Will - … (really?)
Michelle – Come on. Don’t be old. You’re not thirty yet!
Will – Did Andy Wright tell you to come out?
Michelle – Yeah, he just texted me.
Will – And he wants us to meet him somewhere?
Michelle – Well, no, not exactly, but he’s at this bar on U Street.
Will – Fine, give me fives minute.
I went into her room, closed the door, and lay down on the floor mat. I needed a moment to restart my computer, in my brain.
But first let me back it up a few hours.
Friday Morning:
Mike and I went to Dunkin Donuts and did a little talking. Talking about the future, talking about doing another ski trip. (I always forget to ask Mike for money from the last one.)
Then Mike took me to the metro station and I was on my way into Washington D.C., one of my favorite places! You know there is a lot going on there, but I swear I never see a lot of people, like I usually do in New York, when I feel swarmed around.
I was reading “Understanding Comics” which is kind of a breakdown of what Comics are and where they come from, and also an argument for it’s consideration as an art form (which it is, I mean really think about it, all the bad, cheeseball comics there are, there are just as many bad paintings or television shows.) But this book was really cool, because it was drawn and told like a comic book, which makes it really easy to understand, and from a visual and storytelling standpoint, it’s really the only way to do it. And it made me feel a lot better about all the comic books I read as a youngling, although really I did for the entertainment/escape value and not art, but hey, no one needs to know that, really.
You get a lot of reading done on the metro.
I arrived at my stop and lugged all my luggage up onto the street. Every time I go back to North Carolina, I always think about how great it would be if I took some of my books back with me, and since I had a little bag space, I was like hey, why not. And then I realized I added about 40 pounds to all my bags. Good thing my book bag can hold a lot of books.
A few minutes later, Michelle drove up and picked me up off the street corner like a, well you know what. (See earlier blog entry for accidental prostitute story.)
Of all my friends, I think Michelle and my relationship is the most familial, brother and sisterly. It’s always important to meet her boyfriends, not to just give them my stamp of approval, but to see if they are treating Michelle well, and see how she’s treating herself. (I’m sure she would do the same for me.) Now I won’t go into the history of Michelle’s boyfriends here on the blog, but I will just say that when Michelle is dating someone they are a very important part of her life. So, I was excited to meet Mr. Andy Wright, her latest boyfriend and I was going to be the last, because everyone else had met the chap. And to be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to make of this guy, because everyone who had met him talked about how he was such a stand up guy. Really stand up guy. Could Andy Wright be as awesome as he was advertised. I wouldn’t find out for hours, because we had the whole day to hang out first.
First order of business, brunch! Hell yeah mofos! I love Brunch with a passion! In fact, I love brunch so much that I’m planning a Brunch Club and accepting applications right now. Well, we went to “The Diner” in a part of town called Adams Morgan, which I have many fond memories of, from my late teens, early twenties, particularly the Coffee Shop “Tryst” which just so happens to be right next to “The Diner.”
Now, I’m not sure if you’ve all met Michelle, but this girl is popular, which isn’t quite the word, maybe “magnet for good feelings and friendliness”. For example, we we’re just chilling, eating, you know and suddenly some guy walks up and is like Michelle, and she does the whole Cheek Kiss with this friend of hers, and I’m like, typical, and they do a little chit chatting before he goes back to his table. It’s like this with her everywhere. You could be in some café in the middle of nowhere and the guy that might have helped her pick out some fruit at the local vegetable store two days ago might walk up and be like “Ah, Michelle! You are so beautiful, let us Cheek Kiss and chit chat for a few moments before we go on with our lives!”
After brunch, we went off in search for a shirt that I might wear to my reunion. And then we ran around the National Gallery of Art, which is phenomenal, and I got to visit my favorite series of paintings; The Voyage of Life by Thomas Cole. I like to see where I fit in every few years. Am I still reaching for the White Castle in the sky or am I maneuvering the rough rapids of adulthood? Depends on the day and the hour.
Afterwards we got to watch Jazz on the Fountain or in the garden, and down a pitcher of Sangria, which was quite good, but I started to get dizzy from the lack of food, so we went on over to this Bookstore Restaurant, which was awesome! (PS. I’m currently on a flight to Singapore, and it’s been over a month since the events took place, so my memory of particular names of places is a little skew.)
And no experience with Michelle is complete until you’ve spent some time watching street performers, this time they were breakdancers and they were quite good.
So we get back to her place and we’re chilling and we’re watching the Olympics and then Andy Wright texts. And here we go…
So an hour later we’re standing in line at this bar/club on U street, and there is a bouncer with a Mister T Mohawk and cowboy boots, and there is the annoying group of people in front of us who can’t make up their damn minds about whether they want to wait, and they start getting snippy with Mohawk Bouncer guy.
15 minutes later we’re inside and I’m walking through the bar meet Andy Wright. All I know about this guy is that he’s tall, white, and has a red beard, I mean what does that even mean. And then I meet him, and he’s tall, and has a reddish beard, and he looks really young, and he looks really nice, and he is REALLY REALLY WHITE. LIKE REALLY WHITE. Which is really funny. I mean I thought DAVE was WHITE. But this guy is super white. And it dawned on me that Rachel was right, this was the kind of guy that she might date. Not that she would ever try to Shark Andy Wright. I mean he absolutely adores Michelles, and seems to be doing pretty cool work as this company that provides first run, ie not used, books to young underprivileged children in the states. He may so put together that I had very little to talk to him about.
We all have a drink and I take Andy and Michelle to their PATHETIC dance floor. I mean it looked like Dwight Schroot was the DJ, and that lasted about 10 minutes, although I always think it’s amazing that when people get really drunk they just stop caring about beats and so if there is music without beats their almost in the perfect place. And you know it’s also funny to see men deal with the fact that when their women are trashed, they like to get freaky and dance up on everyone. It’s interesting watching their boyfriends, they get this look, and its that here we go again look, and then mixed in with their particular reaction, whether that’s resigned, aggressive, or amused.
After the failed dance expirement, we went back to the bar area, and for the next hour, I almost exclusively talked to this girl Zanna.
Let’s chat about Zanna. She was tallish, red headed, freckly, and really beautiful, I think she was like 35. And we hit it off almost instantly. I think we have the same sense of sarcastic humor. The whole, lets push sarcasm and truth to ridiculous levels and see how people react and how fun it can get. Anyway, she was kind of avoiding this massive bouncer named “MOSES”. She had been drunk a few times and he had kissed her a few times and now Moses wanted to go out with her, which can only mean one thing, and I’m not talking about a relationship
Anyway, I gleamed some things off my conversation with Zanna also known as Suzanna Gilbert, it’s kind of like Teal said, and everybody else said, that money and security really do matter to women when looking for someone. This Zanna girl was like 32 maybe and she was now looking for a man from like 35 to 45, okay looking and he needs to make over 150,000 a year, and she’s having a really hard time finding that. Anyway, it was just interesting to see a Woman talk about not looking for love, or a good companion/partner, or sex; she really just wanted security. Crazy, but I guess that’s what happens when you’re 32 and still single. Since most of my female friends are not either, I can’t really ask them for advice, but you know their probably already in love, so their just going to have to deal with how much their beloveds make.
We went back to Michelle’s place. Took a decent length nap and it was time for BRUNCH again. Oh My God, have I mentioned that I love brunch!
The Asian Adventure Part 1
So, here I was thinking I’d get the chance to take it slightly easy. Take some weeks off, because work at Herzog was really calming down. HAHAHAHAHA That’s funny.
Then I get a call from a friend and she's like why don't you come work for SUTASI.com and field produce, and I'm like I've never field produced before, but hey whatever, and she's like it's in SINGAPORE and I'm like. I'm in. Whatever you need.
So now, I’m on a plane about 5 hours out of Bangkok, BANGKOK! So surreal. There were about 13 of us on the same flight and I just kept flashing back to all those B-Roll tapes we used to go through showing all the film crews getting onto the airplanes and I really thought, my god this is the same thing. So, now instead of being behind the scenes in POST. I’m on the scene in production. SHOOTING. Totally crazy. This is totally crazy. And I’m in over my head, and I don’t really know what I’m doing, but I respond back to myself, sooner then you can to me, that “Well when does he really ever know what he’s doing.” And I don’t know, but I do know me, so I think I’ll be okay. With tons of hard work, a little sleep, and the power of positivity (Wait is that “The Secret”. Shit.)
I’ve been on this project a little over 2 weeks and I can say without a doubt that for the first week I was excited and then as we approached takeoff, I got more and more petrified, which is great because everyone comes up to you and is like, “Man, this is so cool. You’re going to SINGAPORE. You must be so excited!” and I’m all fake smile, drowning in fear. “Yeah, it’s awesome. Really. Really. Awesome.” And with each word it’s like a hammer slamming down on the nail of fate.
Well, fate here I come… what’ve you got for me!
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve only gotten four hours of sleep and need to watch an episode of “America’s next top model” for some reality research.
Then I get a call from a friend and she's like why don't you come work for SUTASI.com and field produce, and I'm like I've never field produced before, but hey whatever, and she's like it's in SINGAPORE and I'm like. I'm in. Whatever you need.
So now, I’m on a plane about 5 hours out of Bangkok, BANGKOK! So surreal. There were about 13 of us on the same flight and I just kept flashing back to all those B-Roll tapes we used to go through showing all the film crews getting onto the airplanes and I really thought, my god this is the same thing. So, now instead of being behind the scenes in POST. I’m on the scene in production. SHOOTING. Totally crazy. This is totally crazy. And I’m in over my head, and I don’t really know what I’m doing, but I respond back to myself, sooner then you can to me, that “Well when does he really ever know what he’s doing.” And I don’t know, but I do know me, so I think I’ll be okay. With tons of hard work, a little sleep, and the power of positivity (Wait is that “The Secret”. Shit.)
I’ve been on this project a little over 2 weeks and I can say without a doubt that for the first week I was excited and then as we approached takeoff, I got more and more petrified, which is great because everyone comes up to you and is like, “Man, this is so cool. You’re going to SINGAPORE. You must be so excited!” and I’m all fake smile, drowning in fear. “Yeah, it’s awesome. Really. Really. Awesome.” And with each word it’s like a hammer slamming down on the nail of fate.
Well, fate here I come… what’ve you got for me!
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve only gotten four hours of sleep and need to watch an episode of “America’s next top model” for some reality research.
15.9.08
Election '08: 016 - Rachel Edition
And now a special message from Rachel:
" I am not one to care about politics. The gist of this email is Gov. Sarah Palin scares the hell out of me. I don't care how much you like John McCain. He was born August 29, 1936 – he's 72 years old. Next time he's on TV, take a good look, he doesn't look like any spring chicken. If he dies, then we are stuck as Sarah Palin as our commander and chief.
I'm not going to spend the time picking apart ALL the aspects of why she's a horribly evil person. I'm not going to discuss her ridiculous views on the union of church and state or how she doesn't know what the Bush Doctrine is. I'm going to leave those issues for other people to discuss, my main concern is her horrendous environmental policies, or lack there of. Many of you may be questioning how much can one person hurt. I have to things to say: 1. Look at what 8 years with Bush has done to this country and 2. Look at her scary time as governor.
You may think that the environment is the least of our countries' many problems. However, we do not need to make the problem worse by adding her into the equation:
1. First off, Sarah Palin has a problem with listing species as Endangered. As governor, she fought against classifying the polar bear as endangered and does not want other marine mammals (i.e. beluga whales). Her counter-scientific evidence for not listing the polar bears as threatened was acquired by oil company scientists. Let us all ponder how much damage she can do if she cannot only alter one states views, but the whole legislation behind the Endangered Species Act.
2. She is okay with shooting wolves from the air to boost caribou/moose. Once again, her main excuse for this is people not understanding the North Country (Alaska). Well, I hate to break it to her, but she will NOT be making environmental policies for a state with less people (about 700,000) than the city of San Jose, CA (about 900,000). Most places in the world, especially the US have very different environmental problems and lack of resources.
3. She is not completely convinced that global warming is due to anthropogenic causes (human caused). I have a copy of the IPCC summary for policymakers, if you or anyone you know would like a copy. Everyone is in agreement that it's human caused. Think about it as an equation: we add extra carbon (greenhouse gases) into the atmosphere. Last time I checked magic doesn't work and doesn't magically disappear. Therefore, to have an effect on it - we as humans have to change our way of living. It's a cause and effect situation. If you don't believe in the cause, how are you going to work on effecting the situation?
4. She opposed protection of salmon streams from mining operations. The wild caught salmon fishing industry is one of very few sustainable fisheries in the world. Why would you want to aid in the destruction of that?
5. She wants to drill in Alaska and offshore. This is obviously a short term, temporary solution to a long-term problem. I'm not going to even get into all the problems with this. Just note that the return into your pocket by drilling will be minimal. However, the effect on the environment may be detrimental.
In conclusion, I am NOT one for politics. In fact, maybe I have some of my sources wrong, email me back if you want citations. However, please consider the horrible shape our countries environmental policy is already in and then consider how much worse it could get. I would really like us not to destroy the world via bad environmental policy."
VOTE NO to Palin (McCain/Palin).....
VOTE YES to anyone else!!!!!!!!!!!
Rachel
" I am not one to care about politics. The gist of this email is Gov. Sarah Palin scares the hell out of me. I don't care how much you like John McCain. He was born August 29, 1936 – he's 72 years old. Next time he's on TV, take a good look, he doesn't look like any spring chicken. If he dies, then we are stuck as Sarah Palin as our commander and chief.
I'm not going to spend the time picking apart ALL the aspects of why she's a horribly evil person. I'm not going to discuss her ridiculous views on the union of church and state or how she doesn't know what the Bush Doctrine is. I'm going to leave those issues for other people to discuss, my main concern is her horrendous environmental policies, or lack there of. Many of you may be questioning how much can one person hurt. I have to things to say: 1. Look at what 8 years with Bush has done to this country and 2. Look at her scary time as governor.
You may think that the environment is the least of our countries' many problems. However, we do not need to make the problem worse by adding her into the equation:
1. First off, Sarah Palin has a problem with listing species as Endangered. As governor, she fought against classifying the polar bear as endangered and does not want other marine mammals (i.e. beluga whales). Her counter-scientific evidence for not listing the polar bears as threatened was acquired by oil company scientists. Let us all ponder how much damage she can do if she cannot only alter one states views, but the whole legislation behind the Endangered Species Act.
2. She is okay with shooting wolves from the air to boost caribou/moose. Once again, her main excuse for this is people not understanding the North Country (Alaska). Well, I hate to break it to her, but she will NOT be making environmental policies for a state with less people (about 700,000) than the city of San Jose, CA (about 900,000). Most places in the world, especially the US have very different environmental problems and lack of resources.
3. She is not completely convinced that global warming is due to anthropogenic causes (human caused). I have a copy of the IPCC summary for policymakers, if you or anyone you know would like a copy. Everyone is in agreement that it's human caused. Think about it as an equation: we add extra carbon (greenhouse gases) into the atmosphere. Last time I checked magic doesn't work and doesn't magically disappear. Therefore, to have an effect on it - we as humans have to change our way of living. It's a cause and effect situation. If you don't believe in the cause, how are you going to work on effecting the situation?
4. She opposed protection of salmon streams from mining operations. The wild caught salmon fishing industry is one of very few sustainable fisheries in the world. Why would you want to aid in the destruction of that?
5. She wants to drill in Alaska and offshore. This is obviously a short term, temporary solution to a long-term problem. I'm not going to even get into all the problems with this. Just note that the return into your pocket by drilling will be minimal. However, the effect on the environment may be detrimental.
In conclusion, I am NOT one for politics. In fact, maybe I have some of my sources wrong, email me back if you want citations. However, please consider the horrible shape our countries environmental policy is already in and then consider how much worse it could get. I would really like us not to destroy the world via bad environmental policy."
VOTE NO to Palin (McCain/Palin).....
VOTE YES to anyone else!!!!!!!!!!!
Rachel
Random Thoughts # 9
So, even though the Dow lost 500 points, the price of crude oil went down... so at least gas is gonna get cheaper!
14.9.08
Election '08: 016
CLASSIFIED AD:
Did you go to Wasilla High School? Do you administrative experience or a law background?
Are you looking for fantastic new work opportunities?
Well, the President's cabinet might be right for you! We're looking to fill positions for:
Department of Defense
Department of State
Department of Energy
and most importantly Department of Education
and many many others.
Just stop by the McCain/Palin offices in Alaska.
Vote Sarah Palin with John McCain: Welcome to the Future.
Did you go to Wasilla High School? Do you administrative experience or a law background?
Are you looking for fantastic new work opportunities?
Well, the President's cabinet might be right for you! We're looking to fill positions for:
Department of Defense
Department of State
Department of Energy
and most importantly Department of Education
and many many others.
Just stop by the McCain/Palin offices in Alaska.
Vote Sarah Palin with John McCain: Welcome to the Future.
Election '08: 015
Do we want a government run on lies and secrecy?
Do we want a government run on loyalty? Sandbox loyalty?
Do we want a government run by high school politics?
No. We Don't.
Vote Barack Obama: Running the country like an adult.
Do we want a government run on loyalty? Sandbox loyalty?
Do we want a government run by high school politics?
No. We Don't.
Vote Barack Obama: Running the country like an adult.
11.9.08
Random Quotes #009
After watching the premiere of "Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles," Gabe remarked:
"What came first the chicken or the egg? Who cares when you have a time machine!"
"What came first the chicken or the egg? Who cares when you have a time machine!"
Random Thoughts # 8
The worst thing to happen to Pop Music in the last five years: "Hey There Delilah."
Just sayin'.
Just sayin'.
10.9.08
Election '08: 014
If Tiger Woods can sink a ball from 207 yards out, just think about what Barack Obama can do...
Vote Barack Obama: Taking half to a whole new level.
Vote Barack Obama: Taking half to a whole new level.
Election '08: 013
This morning in the news:
There are reports coming out of Hollywood that Miss Piggy is "OUTRAGED" over the ridiculous comparisons that the Republican Party have been making between herself and Sarah Palin.
"I am a pig woman. And I wear lipstick. There is nothing funny about that. I would ask that both candidates would leave me out of this election."
And although Miss Piggy will not be voting this year, because of the anti-animal voting law, it should also be noted that she wore a Barack Obama Button.
There are reports coming out of Hollywood that Miss Piggy is "OUTRAGED" over the ridiculous comparisons that the Republican Party have been making between herself and Sarah Palin.
"I am a pig woman. And I wear lipstick. There is nothing funny about that. I would ask that both candidates would leave me out of this election."
And although Miss Piggy will not be voting this year, because of the anti-animal voting law, it should also be noted that she wore a Barack Obama Button.
Election '08: 012
This is an Advertisement:
Are you ready to join the party bringing "Change," but you're not sure what and how to do it? Are you sick and tired of being the poorest of your friends? And are you tired of being looked down upon just because you're not willing to let go of your god given belief in the Bible.
Well don't worry friends, just go to "REPUBLICAN CAMP!"
Here we'll teach you the pros of small town values and the cons of big city elitism, and how you can spot Democrats in your neighborhood.
We'll teach you how to make more money and save more money, by taking money from poorer people.
And we have vocal coaches available to bring you that perfect small town accent, southern, midwestern, and Alaskan!
Hey, what are you waiting for! Get yourself checked in! It only costs you 10 dollars a month for the rest of your life!
.... Also available for kids!
Are you ready to join the party bringing "Change," but you're not sure what and how to do it? Are you sick and tired of being the poorest of your friends? And are you tired of being looked down upon just because you're not willing to let go of your god given belief in the Bible.
Well don't worry friends, just go to "REPUBLICAN CAMP!"
Here we'll teach you the pros of small town values and the cons of big city elitism, and how you can spot Democrats in your neighborhood.
We'll teach you how to make more money and save more money, by taking money from poorer people.
And we have vocal coaches available to bring you that perfect small town accent, southern, midwestern, and Alaskan!
Hey, what are you waiting for! Get yourself checked in! It only costs you 10 dollars a month for the rest of your life!
.... Also available for kids!
8.9.08
Election '08: 011
Inside the John McCain war room:
The Campaign Advisor walks into a room where a young, sweaty, Speech Copy Writer taps at his keyboard.
Campaign Advisor: Look, we like what you've been doing so far, but we still don't think we're getting our message across. We are "Small Town" and we are "Change."
Copy Writer: Well, I'm trying. You've seen my "Small town" ads and you've seen my "Change" ads.
Campaign Advisor: But we want you to tie them together.
Copy Writer: Look, I'm doing the best I can. Okay. But you can't blend two inconsistent political messages together. It's not easy. I have to be subtle.
Campaign Advisor: Since when did we have to be subtle. We're Republicans.
Copy Writer: What do you want me to say?
Campaign Advisor: No, you're the one we're paying all this money to.
Copy Writer: Fine, okay, how 'bout something like.
"Change" is like a cool breeze blowing across your cheek as you watch a small town football game.
Campaign Advisor: I don't want a fucking poem!
Copy Writer: Okay...
We're bringing you "Change" Maverick Style!
Campaign Advisor: Yeah! But wait, where's the small town...
Copy Writer: Well how 'bout this.
This Fall, the party of Lincoln, Roosevelt, and Reagan, brings you "Change". Small town politics hits the city of D.C. and kicks its ass.
Vote John McCain: Because Tom Cruise was a little bitch compared to this real Maverick!
Campaign Advisor: It needs a little work, but we're getting somewhere now.
The Campaign Advisor walks into a room where a young, sweaty, Speech Copy Writer taps at his keyboard.
Campaign Advisor: Look, we like what you've been doing so far, but we still don't think we're getting our message across. We are "Small Town" and we are "Change."
Copy Writer: Well, I'm trying. You've seen my "Small town" ads and you've seen my "Change" ads.
Campaign Advisor: But we want you to tie them together.
Copy Writer: Look, I'm doing the best I can. Okay. But you can't blend two inconsistent political messages together. It's not easy. I have to be subtle.
Campaign Advisor: Since when did we have to be subtle. We're Republicans.
Copy Writer: What do you want me to say?
Campaign Advisor: No, you're the one we're paying all this money to.
Copy Writer: Fine, okay, how 'bout something like.
"Change" is like a cool breeze blowing across your cheek as you watch a small town football game.
Campaign Advisor: I don't want a fucking poem!
Copy Writer: Okay...
We're bringing you "Change" Maverick Style!
Campaign Advisor: Yeah! But wait, where's the small town...
Copy Writer: Well how 'bout this.
This Fall, the party of Lincoln, Roosevelt, and Reagan, brings you "Change". Small town politics hits the city of D.C. and kicks its ass.
Vote John McCain: Because Tom Cruise was a little bitch compared to this real Maverick!
Campaign Advisor: It needs a little work, but we're getting somewhere now.
Election '08: 010
Barack Obama talks about "Change," but John McCain IS the "Maverick of Change."
Vote John McCain: Bringing you the change you deserve, Maverick Style!
Vote John McCain: Bringing you the change you deserve, Maverick Style!
7.9.08
Election '08: 009
Just because you're small town, doesn't mean you have to be stupid.
Vote Barrack Obama for President of the United States and the Confederate States.
Vote Barrack Obama for President of the United States and the Confederate States.
6.9.08
Election '08: 007
John McCain can give you the textbook definition of the "Change."
Sarah Palin can say the word "Change."
But only Barack Obama can show you "Change."
Vote Barack Obama: Putting "Change" back where it belongs. And no we aren't talking about in your pocket, we're talking about the world, but if you want to take it both ways, we don't mind.
Sarah Palin can say the word "Change."
But only Barack Obama can show you "Change."
Vote Barack Obama: Putting "Change" back where it belongs. And no we aren't talking about in your pocket, we're talking about the world, but if you want to take it both ways, we don't mind.
5.9.08
Election '08: 006
Question:
Is Sarah Palin the Jessica Simpson of politics? And is that why the Republicans do not want her to be interviewed by the media?
Is Sarah Palin the Jessica Simpson of politics? And is that why the Republicans do not want her to be interviewed by the media?
Election '08: 005
Analysis:
Now that the speeches are over, the auditoriums are empty, and the candidates have retreated; it's obvious to America that, after John McCain's mostly unmoving speech, the real battle for America will currently be fought between Barack Obama and Sarah Palin, and until John McCain can reclaim the spotlight, he as a leader must be called into question. And that question is, who is really running for President and Vice-President in the Rupublican Party?
Now that the speeches are over, the auditoriums are empty, and the candidates have retreated; it's obvious to America that, after John McCain's mostly unmoving speech, the real battle for America will currently be fought between Barack Obama and Sarah Palin, and until John McCain can reclaim the spotlight, he as a leader must be called into question. And that question is, who is really running for President and Vice-President in the Rupublican Party?
4.9.08
Election '08: 002
After the CW's new "90210" premiered to the highest ratings ever for the network, rival Fox Broadcasting has announced the rush development of "Wasilla 99654."
The show will revolve around two Beverly Hills' brats who move to small town Alaska and learn to adapt to their new environment. It will co-star budding Myspace star Levi Johnston and an assorted cast of other colorful characters, and it is reported that the show will feature teenagers drinking, smoking, rolling around in igloos, and all the other virtues of small town Alaskan life.
Also noted, the show will not depict any animal cruelty whatsoever, so long as those animals are domesticated, not hunted, and do not stand in the way of oil drilling.
The show will revolve around two Beverly Hills' brats who move to small town Alaska and learn to adapt to their new environment. It will co-star budding Myspace star Levi Johnston and an assorted cast of other colorful characters, and it is reported that the show will feature teenagers drinking, smoking, rolling around in igloos, and all the other virtues of small town Alaskan life.
Also noted, the show will not depict any animal cruelty whatsoever, so long as those animals are domesticated, not hunted, and do not stand in the way of oil drilling.
Election '08: 001
You try explaining to your children why there are no more polar bears.
Vote Barack Obama
Vote Barack Obama
Random Thoughts # 6
Even the world and the stock market know things are bad for America with this whole Sarah Palin mess and the excitement it's brought the Republican Party.
From the NY TIMES headlines:
DOW INDUSTRIAL FALLS 340 POINTS:
A broad sell-off sent the Dow Jones industrial average tumbling in afternoon trading, but few investors seemed to know why.
From the NY TIMES headlines:
DOW INDUSTRIAL FALLS 340 POINTS:
A broad sell-off sent the Dow Jones industrial average tumbling in afternoon trading, but few investors seemed to know why.
Random Thoughts # 5
As he laid in bed, sleepless, searching for something to read in his not so endless world wide web, it suddenly dawned upon him that nothing, not his obsessions for basketball, football, comic books, films, not his job or his precious stories really mattered as much as the election in November 08 and he thought to himself; What am I doing?
3.9.08
And Your Vice Presidential Nominee is...
Hey Friends,
I'd like to talk a little about Sarah Palin, who I've recently begun to mention here on the blog, which I'm sure at some point somebody will probably try to shut down, (really? Will? Really? Aren't you a little paranoid? Isn't this like the age of the blog?)
Anyway, after tonight speech from Sarah Palin and all the newspapers declaring "Sarah Palin electrifies the Republican Party." I thought I'd talk about my reactions to the Palin nomination.
First off, I was at the gym the morning of the announcement, and I was on the treadmill when I looked up at the dozens of televisions set to CNN and other news outlets. Here's my reaction:
"What!?! Holy Shit?!? I can't believe it! That crafty son of a bitch. Oh. Well done Mr. McCain. Way to make this interesting!"
Now, I've mentioned some of the funnier aspects of Sarah Palin, and you know, we've all talked about how she was such a terrible choice and what not. But here's the thing. Sarah Palin terrifies me. There is something cold, dark, and calculated in her little eyes. Something of that Lady MacBeth type ambition and drive that people always spoke about with Hilary Clinton, but I never quite felt from her. I feel that with Sarah Palin.
She's the manipulative popular girl in school. The pretty one that would change subtly from class to class in order to get the favor the teacher, and if you were in enough of those classes you would start to see how she could play them all like a fricken violin. This isn't a Tracy Flick (From the film "Election.") like character, who would do anything, no matter how ridiculous to win, no this was a girl that was so cunning at getting what she wanted that you would never ever see the strain, the work. A girl more in the vain of "All About Eve."
Regardless of all this hypothesizing, the nomination of Sarah Palin, is just the type of thing that could convince a party that was beginning to implode, to fray at the cracks, to believe that they might be ready for change, that they still showed the way for the future, and get them to believe and get them to vote for her. Because believe me, the Republican party for sure knows that they're party base consititently votes a HELL OF A LOT more then the Democratic party, and they sure as hell are more reliable then the Obama's youth fan base, and potential minority grabs.
Hopefully, now, everyone takes Sarah Palin seriously, because if they don't the confident Democratic party will fail to get Obama elected, and that would be catastrophic for the party, for the base, and could cause severe changes with the way that that party functions and puts their future at risk, and some other really really bad stuff that I'd love to throw into this never ending run on sentence.
Anyway, I guess what I'm saying is that the Democrats need to take this Woman seriously and start to fricken fight and work hard and not fuck around, because the Republicans aren't, they believe the future is theirs, and me, I'll keep trying to find funny things to talk about here on the blog about my life, and about this election, and about other people, because that's what I do, and if I can also make fun of Republicans I might as well, and as for Sarah Palin, well, I did mention earlier that kind of girl in high school, (and ya'll know somebody like this, I know you do) if I can sling a few eggs her way, YOU KNOW FOR SURE THAT I AM GOING TO.
I'd like to talk a little about Sarah Palin, who I've recently begun to mention here on the blog, which I'm sure at some point somebody will probably try to shut down, (really? Will? Really? Aren't you a little paranoid? Isn't this like the age of the blog?)
Anyway, after tonight speech from Sarah Palin and all the newspapers declaring "Sarah Palin electrifies the Republican Party." I thought I'd talk about my reactions to the Palin nomination.
First off, I was at the gym the morning of the announcement, and I was on the treadmill when I looked up at the dozens of televisions set to CNN and other news outlets. Here's my reaction:
"What!?! Holy Shit?!? I can't believe it! That crafty son of a bitch. Oh. Well done Mr. McCain. Way to make this interesting!"
Now, I've mentioned some of the funnier aspects of Sarah Palin, and you know, we've all talked about how she was such a terrible choice and what not. But here's the thing. Sarah Palin terrifies me. There is something cold, dark, and calculated in her little eyes. Something of that Lady MacBeth type ambition and drive that people always spoke about with Hilary Clinton, but I never quite felt from her. I feel that with Sarah Palin.
She's the manipulative popular girl in school. The pretty one that would change subtly from class to class in order to get the favor the teacher, and if you were in enough of those classes you would start to see how she could play them all like a fricken violin. This isn't a Tracy Flick (From the film "Election.") like character, who would do anything, no matter how ridiculous to win, no this was a girl that was so cunning at getting what she wanted that you would never ever see the strain, the work. A girl more in the vain of "All About Eve."
Regardless of all this hypothesizing, the nomination of Sarah Palin, is just the type of thing that could convince a party that was beginning to implode, to fray at the cracks, to believe that they might be ready for change, that they still showed the way for the future, and get them to believe and get them to vote for her. Because believe me, the Republican party for sure knows that they're party base consititently votes a HELL OF A LOT more then the Democratic party, and they sure as hell are more reliable then the Obama's youth fan base, and potential minority grabs.
Hopefully, now, everyone takes Sarah Palin seriously, because if they don't the confident Democratic party will fail to get Obama elected, and that would be catastrophic for the party, for the base, and could cause severe changes with the way that that party functions and puts their future at risk, and some other really really bad stuff that I'd love to throw into this never ending run on sentence.
Anyway, I guess what I'm saying is that the Democrats need to take this Woman seriously and start to fricken fight and work hard and not fuck around, because the Republicans aren't, they believe the future is theirs, and me, I'll keep trying to find funny things to talk about here on the blog about my life, and about this election, and about other people, because that's what I do, and if I can also make fun of Republicans I might as well, and as for Sarah Palin, well, I did mention earlier that kind of girl in high school, (and ya'll know somebody like this, I know you do) if I can sling a few eggs her way, YOU KNOW FOR SURE THAT I AM GOING TO.
Random Conversations #004
Earlier in the Herzog kitchen, during an escalating battle of words over the quality and usefulness of drinking milk, the follow exchange occurred:
David Holland - Milk is like animal juice.
Will - But blood IS animal juice.
David Holland - I'd rather drink blood then milk.
Josh Rosenfield - But milk makes your bones stronger.
David Holland - Well, milk may make your bones stronger, but blood makes your dick harder.
David Holland - Milk is like animal juice.
Will - But blood IS animal juice.
David Holland - I'd rather drink blood then milk.
Josh Rosenfield - But milk makes your bones stronger.
David Holland - Well, milk may make your bones stronger, but blood makes your dick harder.
Random Thoughts # 4 - The Palin Edition 2
World get ready to meet LEVI JOHNSTON!!! Gov. Palin's daughters baby daddy! LEVI JOHNSTON meet the world. Oh and supposedly he says he doesn't want kids on his myspace page and that he's a "BLEEPING" redneck.
Anyway, Gabe was nice enough to provide us with some not so fresh, but equally tasty quotes from Mrs. Palin.
---- Quotes by Governor Palin during a series of interviews by the Anchorage Daily News in 2006 when she was running for Governor...
On Creationism:
The simple yet elegantly awkward moose proves God's creation and not evolution is the source of all life. How could something as oddly shaped and silly looking as a moose evolve through so-called "natural selection?" Is evolution a committee? There is nothing natural about a dorky moose! Only God could have made a moose and given it huge antlers to fight off his predatory enemies. God has a well known sense of humor, I mean He made the platypus too.
On oil exploration and drilling in the ANWR:
God made dinosaurs 4,000 years ago as ultimately flawed creatures, lizards of Satan really, so when they died and became petroleum products we, made in his perfect image, could use them in our pickup trucks, snow machines and fishing boats.
Now, as to the ANWR, Todd and I often enjoying caribou hunting and one year we shot up a herd big time, I mean I personally slaughtered around 40 of them with my new, at the time, custom Austrian hunting rifle. And guess what? That caribou herd is still around and even bigger than ever. Caribou herds actually need culling, be it by rifles or wolves, or Exxon-Mobil oil rigs, they do just great!
On Alaskans serving overseas in Iraq:
Well, God bless them, and I mean God and Jesus because without Jesus we'd be Muslims too or Jewish, which would be a little better because of the superior Israeli Air Force.
--
Famous Last Words: Pancho Villa "Don't let it end like this. Tell 'em I said something."
Anyway, Gabe was nice enough to provide us with some not so fresh, but equally tasty quotes from Mrs. Palin.
---- Quotes by Governor Palin during a series of interviews by the Anchorage Daily News in 2006 when she was running for Governor...
On Creationism:
The simple yet elegantly awkward moose proves God's creation and not evolution is the source of all life. How could something as oddly shaped and silly looking as a moose evolve through so-called "natural selection?" Is evolution a committee? There is nothing natural about a dorky moose! Only God could have made a moose and given it huge antlers to fight off his predatory enemies. God has a well known sense of humor, I mean He made the platypus too.
On oil exploration and drilling in the ANWR:
God made dinosaurs 4,000 years ago as ultimately flawed creatures, lizards of Satan really, so when they died and became petroleum products we, made in his perfect image, could use them in our pickup trucks, snow machines and fishing boats.
Now, as to the ANWR, Todd and I often enjoying caribou hunting and one year we shot up a herd big time, I mean I personally slaughtered around 40 of them with my new, at the time, custom Austrian hunting rifle. And guess what? That caribou herd is still around and even bigger than ever. Caribou herds actually need culling, be it by rifles or wolves, or Exxon-Mobil oil rigs, they do just great!
On Alaskans serving overseas in Iraq:
Well, God bless them, and I mean God and Jesus because without Jesus we'd be Muslims too or Jewish, which would be a little better because of the superior Israeli Air Force.
--
Famous Last Words: Pancho Villa "Don't let it end like this. Tell 'em I said something."
2.9.08
Sarah Palin Hates Polar Bears
From Time Magazine:
In August, Sarah Palin, who has long advocated opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling, rallied her fellow Alaskan officials to SUE Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, arguing that extending protection to the polar bear under the Endangered Species Act is unwarranted and will hinder Alaska's gas industry and offshore drilling development.
Random Thoughts # 3
I hate to say it, but Joe Lieberman is a traitor for supporting John McCain.
From Joe, "“I just feel so strongly that John McCain is the best candidate for president."
You can watch the punk bastard's speech tonight.
From Joe, "“I just feel so strongly that John McCain is the best candidate for president."
You can watch the punk bastard's speech tonight.
30.8.08
This is not a joke
From People Magazine!
"David Duchovny in rehab for sex addiction. Duchovny's lawyer confirmed to People on Thursday evening that the Californication star has checked into rehab to undergo treatment for sex addiction."
Our prayers are with Duchovny and we hope he gets better so he can kick ass on television again.
"David Duchovny in rehab for sex addiction. Duchovny's lawyer confirmed to People on Thursday evening that the Californication star has checked into rehab to undergo treatment for sex addiction."
Our prayers are with Duchovny and we hope he gets better so he can kick ass on television again.
23.8.08
17.8.08
East Coast Trip: The Baby, My Friends, and The Open Road
There is something about driving new open roads that is so exhilarating. Maybe it’s the sense that you are leaving behind the past and racing through the present towards a completely unknown and exciting future or maybe it’s just the thrill of driving pretty fast with the windows down, singing along to some good songs at the top of your lungs as you’re looking over the peaks of the Blue Ridge Mountains. I don’t know, it’s very zen and very awesome at the same time.
Well, that was me in my Black Chevy Impala driving towards Pennsylvania, taking all sorts of backroads through the mountains and then 81 into PA, heck I even got to drive through West Virginia for a stint. Now this being me, I did get a little confused at the beginning of my trip where I miss read my hand written note and thought I had to go 3 POINT 7 miles up this road and really it said 38.7 miles. I went back and forth a few times before I really re-looked at my scribbled directions.
So after a few blissful hours of driving, I made my way to Phoenixville, PA, which is about 10 minutes from Valley Forge, you know Revolutionary War important. Anyway, the area is really beautiful, lots of trees, although I swear to god that there may have been some kind of crazy bug infenstation problem with the trees, because when I looked up into the trees, I kept seeing these like nests, that kind of looked like really thick spider webs or something that moths create, but huge and everywhere, and I felt/feel a little sick talking about it. Anyway, but you know Phoenixville's a nice town, low on franchises, high on trees.
This is what Teal Benevides (formerly Wisniewski) does.
Teal Benevides, MS, OTR/L, Thomas Jefferson University
"I will discuss current and past research on sensory integration for children with autism and our current research at Thomas Jefferson University."
And she teaches.
Teal and I go way back, like WAY back, er as back as I really go with current friends I still keep in touch with, note, I keep in touch with, because Teal, bless her heart, has a “I can’t seem to keep in touch with people” condition. I know a lot of people with this condition; bless all of their hearts. And you know, back in the day when I was younger, and less thoughtful, all of the people with this condition really erked me, but I understand it now, and I’m really cool with it, and I hope all you forgive me if I ever catch this bug.
So in this world that we live in, the mid to late twenties world, you know, really know who your old good friends are because when you hang out with them, it’s like you and them and nothing else, our worlds may have changed, we may have changed, but you are beyond all of that, you see straight to who they are, no bull shit, no fake outs, it’s just you and theem and everything is kind of funny or it's kind of sad.
Well, it’s this WAY with Teal, and it’s this way with Mike, Rachel, Michelle, Jorge, Corey, and it’s this way with most of the friends I have now (you know who you are). It’s like our bodies are just machines that protect and shelter our souls and when you see a great friend or family member, a doorway opens, and your real selves can walk out and say “Hey!” good to see you, isn’t all this other crap stupid.
So, Teal had a baby with Zach Benevides and her name is Ella. And Ella is really cool, uh, she eats a lot, and uh, she doesn’t cry too much, and she likes her rocker. Teal promoted the concept of “breast feeding” quite a bit while I was there. You know, it’s a natural thing, and it’s a cheap way of feeding the baby, and it doesn’t always work correctly, and all the “wow, I didn’t know that, would it be wrong of me to say that sounds kind of icky.” All I can say is, thank god for Lindsey having Elena and really desensitizing me to the whole baby thing or I might have been a little freaked out, but really I found it to be educational, not that I’m ever going to have to put a lot of this knowledge to work. Although, she really did open my eyes to alternative ways to give birth and the places you can go to have your child. She went to this special clinic/house place, that was nice and relaxing, and she got to hang out in like a jacuzzi or spa until she was ready to have the child, and then she did it more traditionally, but comfortable and on her own terms. If you can afford, the real trick you know, this sounds like a cool baby time option.
Regardless of all this, there is really something special about babies, I mean, they are just these little crying, eating, sleeping machines, but when you see the flare of personality, thought, life, it’s exciting and invigorating, it’s like being on the right there at the moment of some special project’s conception. Her whole life, the basis for everything will be laid by the groundwork of what her mom and dad will do in the next few years, er up to 15 years, but that’s like the first fifth of her life, and then she’s on her own, hopefully carrying with her all those important memories, events, and skills from childhood. Crazy. But it’s also cool to see a baby smile.
And thank you Zach. Thank you for watching all the behind the scenes features that my people’s make out here in Hollywood. You just never know if people really watch them. Well Zach does, and Zach is excited by all of those things, so you know, if I ever lose the fire to make these things, I’ll just think of Zach. I won’t let you down, Bro!
I spent the night there and woke up on a nearly deflated air mattress, just barely floating over the hard floor. I spent a little more time with Teal and Ella and then took off for Washington Reagan National Airport to drop my car off. And to make this leg a perfect Haiku, I got lost around the airport looking for a gas station to fill up the Impala’s tank. I mean, really how many of you have gotten screwed, because you forgot to return the rental without filling up the tank.
Mike was sitting at work wondering, “Where the hell is Will?” Well, Mike I was at a gas station, getting my debit card declined, because I used it in California, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania over the course of 4 days. Thank God for credit cards (did I really just write that?)
Mike and my M.O. when hanging out is to not plan anything and if we do something great, if not, great.
This time we had a nice Northern Virginia time. Hmmm… we went to the driving range, we got happy hour, we chilled out, we got coffee, and we talked. We talk about the year, about life, about what we want, and if we’ve gained anything since last we spoke, whether that’s wisdom or televisions. It’s also fun to see Mike interact with his girlfriend Jill. She’s really nice, but they are like polar opposites, just into most of the same stuff, except like many Americans, she has a television show dependency that is border line obsessive (which I guess we all are like.) Good luck Mike!
I also got to hang out with Mike’s roommate, this guy Michael, and he is a Washington D.C. police officer, and he has a very downcast sarcastic view on life, and he doesn’t particularly talk about women very nicely, but he was an interesting guy. Apparently, he believes that most officers in D.C. have been emasculated and are now basically public customer service operators. It was intriguing to hear his views on things and to know that he’s probably going to end up being an accountant.
This leg of the trip was nice and relaxing. It was the relaxing block of my trip. Thanks Mike!
At some point, I will extol the virtues of Happy Hour and Brunches in a blog, but just not this one. And seriously, Microsoft Word’s spell check does not have BLOG listed as a word. Nutz.
Oh yeah, I got to hang out with my Dad! We had our yearly business meeting. It was a good time, I got to get some stuff of my chest and so did he. Yeah, that whole thing about parent's and childhood and memories and stuff, yeah he was pretty absent, and he admits to never having thought about the child's emotional state when I was growing up. But in the end, you know all you can do is move on and try to forgive, because there ain't no going back. Although, I did want to smack him when he tried to project his money means everything including love thought process on me. I don't believe that and never have. Anyway, he’s hoping that we can do this more then once a year at some point, and I’m hoping that I don’t have to help my mom out financially ‘til the end. We’ll see.
So Pops is doing pretty good. He and the wifey thing are doing well and kicken it, they’re nearing retirement age and hopefully she can stay government employed until that time comes and she can get all the good retirement stuff. Oh, and my Dad’s brothers and sisters have confirmed it, he’s actually two years older then he thought he was, turns out that his Dad messed up the age on one of the forms, and in order to just keep things from getting sticky with the government, they just never changed it. I just keep telling him, think you’re sixty and you will be sixty, and it’s like you’ve got two more years to put into your life before retiring!
But truly, I’m sorry for the loss of two of my Dad’s close friends, who suffered some tragic endings. They were long time friends, life friends, work friends, all of the above. The 30/40-year friends. Those are the friends you can’t replace.
That’s the thing with your great friends, like I said earlier; it’s all funny, until it’s all sad.
Well, that was me in my Black Chevy Impala driving towards Pennsylvania, taking all sorts of backroads through the mountains and then 81 into PA, heck I even got to drive through West Virginia for a stint. Now this being me, I did get a little confused at the beginning of my trip where I miss read my hand written note and thought I had to go 3 POINT 7 miles up this road and really it said 38.7 miles. I went back and forth a few times before I really re-looked at my scribbled directions.
So after a few blissful hours of driving, I made my way to Phoenixville, PA, which is about 10 minutes from Valley Forge, you know Revolutionary War important. Anyway, the area is really beautiful, lots of trees, although I swear to god that there may have been some kind of crazy bug infenstation problem with the trees, because when I looked up into the trees, I kept seeing these like nests, that kind of looked like really thick spider webs or something that moths create, but huge and everywhere, and I felt/feel a little sick talking about it. Anyway, but you know Phoenixville's a nice town, low on franchises, high on trees.
This is what Teal Benevides (formerly Wisniewski) does.
Teal Benevides, MS, OTR/L, Thomas Jefferson University
"I will discuss current and past research on sensory integration for children with autism and our current research at Thomas Jefferson University."
And she teaches.
Teal and I go way back, like WAY back, er as back as I really go with current friends I still keep in touch with, note, I keep in touch with, because Teal, bless her heart, has a “I can’t seem to keep in touch with people” condition. I know a lot of people with this condition; bless all of their hearts. And you know, back in the day when I was younger, and less thoughtful, all of the people with this condition really erked me, but I understand it now, and I’m really cool with it, and I hope all you forgive me if I ever catch this bug.
So in this world that we live in, the mid to late twenties world, you know, really know who your old good friends are because when you hang out with them, it’s like you and them and nothing else, our worlds may have changed, we may have changed, but you are beyond all of that, you see straight to who they are, no bull shit, no fake outs, it’s just you and theem and everything is kind of funny or it's kind of sad.
Well, it’s this WAY with Teal, and it’s this way with Mike, Rachel, Michelle, Jorge, Corey, and it’s this way with most of the friends I have now (you know who you are). It’s like our bodies are just machines that protect and shelter our souls and when you see a great friend or family member, a doorway opens, and your real selves can walk out and say “Hey!” good to see you, isn’t all this other crap stupid.
So, Teal had a baby with Zach Benevides and her name is Ella. And Ella is really cool, uh, she eats a lot, and uh, she doesn’t cry too much, and she likes her rocker. Teal promoted the concept of “breast feeding” quite a bit while I was there. You know, it’s a natural thing, and it’s a cheap way of feeding the baby, and it doesn’t always work correctly, and all the “wow, I didn’t know that, would it be wrong of me to say that sounds kind of icky.” All I can say is, thank god for Lindsey having Elena and really desensitizing me to the whole baby thing or I might have been a little freaked out, but really I found it to be educational, not that I’m ever going to have to put a lot of this knowledge to work. Although, she really did open my eyes to alternative ways to give birth and the places you can go to have your child. She went to this special clinic/house place, that was nice and relaxing, and she got to hang out in like a jacuzzi or spa until she was ready to have the child, and then she did it more traditionally, but comfortable and on her own terms. If you can afford, the real trick you know, this sounds like a cool baby time option.
Regardless of all this, there is really something special about babies, I mean, they are just these little crying, eating, sleeping machines, but when you see the flare of personality, thought, life, it’s exciting and invigorating, it’s like being on the right there at the moment of some special project’s conception. Her whole life, the basis for everything will be laid by the groundwork of what her mom and dad will do in the next few years, er up to 15 years, but that’s like the first fifth of her life, and then she’s on her own, hopefully carrying with her all those important memories, events, and skills from childhood. Crazy. But it’s also cool to see a baby smile.
And thank you Zach. Thank you for watching all the behind the scenes features that my people’s make out here in Hollywood. You just never know if people really watch them. Well Zach does, and Zach is excited by all of those things, so you know, if I ever lose the fire to make these things, I’ll just think of Zach. I won’t let you down, Bro!
I spent the night there and woke up on a nearly deflated air mattress, just barely floating over the hard floor. I spent a little more time with Teal and Ella and then took off for Washington Reagan National Airport to drop my car off. And to make this leg a perfect Haiku, I got lost around the airport looking for a gas station to fill up the Impala’s tank. I mean, really how many of you have gotten screwed, because you forgot to return the rental without filling up the tank.
Mike was sitting at work wondering, “Where the hell is Will?” Well, Mike I was at a gas station, getting my debit card declined, because I used it in California, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania over the course of 4 days. Thank God for credit cards (did I really just write that?)
Mike and my M.O. when hanging out is to not plan anything and if we do something great, if not, great.
This time we had a nice Northern Virginia time. Hmmm… we went to the driving range, we got happy hour, we chilled out, we got coffee, and we talked. We talk about the year, about life, about what we want, and if we’ve gained anything since last we spoke, whether that’s wisdom or televisions. It’s also fun to see Mike interact with his girlfriend Jill. She’s really nice, but they are like polar opposites, just into most of the same stuff, except like many Americans, she has a television show dependency that is border line obsessive (which I guess we all are like.) Good luck Mike!
I also got to hang out with Mike’s roommate, this guy Michael, and he is a Washington D.C. police officer, and he has a very downcast sarcastic view on life, and he doesn’t particularly talk about women very nicely, but he was an interesting guy. Apparently, he believes that most officers in D.C. have been emasculated and are now basically public customer service operators. It was intriguing to hear his views on things and to know that he’s probably going to end up being an accountant.
This leg of the trip was nice and relaxing. It was the relaxing block of my trip. Thanks Mike!
At some point, I will extol the virtues of Happy Hour and Brunches in a blog, but just not this one. And seriously, Microsoft Word’s spell check does not have BLOG listed as a word. Nutz.
Oh yeah, I got to hang out with my Dad! We had our yearly business meeting. It was a good time, I got to get some stuff of my chest and so did he. Yeah, that whole thing about parent's and childhood and memories and stuff, yeah he was pretty absent, and he admits to never having thought about the child's emotional state when I was growing up. But in the end, you know all you can do is move on and try to forgive, because there ain't no going back. Although, I did want to smack him when he tried to project his money means everything including love thought process on me. I don't believe that and never have. Anyway, he’s hoping that we can do this more then once a year at some point, and I’m hoping that I don’t have to help my mom out financially ‘til the end. We’ll see.
So Pops is doing pretty good. He and the wifey thing are doing well and kicken it, they’re nearing retirement age and hopefully she can stay government employed until that time comes and she can get all the good retirement stuff. Oh, and my Dad’s brothers and sisters have confirmed it, he’s actually two years older then he thought he was, turns out that his Dad messed up the age on one of the forms, and in order to just keep things from getting sticky with the government, they just never changed it. I just keep telling him, think you’re sixty and you will be sixty, and it’s like you’ve got two more years to put into your life before retiring!
But truly, I’m sorry for the loss of two of my Dad’s close friends, who suffered some tragic endings. They were long time friends, life friends, work friends, all of the above. The 30/40-year friends. Those are the friends you can’t replace.
That’s the thing with your great friends, like I said earlier; it’s all funny, until it’s all sad.
14.8.08
The East Coast Trip: Mom, Joe, and Jacob
(See Prologue Blog Below)
On August 1st, I arrived in North Carolina to the delight of my nephew Jacob, my brother, and my Mom. I said my hellos, and my Mom threw up into a trashcan. She did that a lot that weekend. She’s fine now, although not fine with the banks, but well, when is she ever. Not a whole lot to say, but you know, when my Mom is sickly, it's really easy to be compassionate with her, I wish I was able to find that when she isn't sick.
Anyway, the weekend was fun, hanging out with Joe and little Jake, just kicking it in North Carolina. We went to see “Journey to the Center of the Earth” in 3-D. Jake liked it a lot, but my brother thought their reactions to the ridiculous situations they were faced with were unbelievable. My response, “Dude, it’s a kids movie.”
We also just watched TV and went out to eat a few times. My brother is a connoisseur of fat foods, and he found disappointment with a greasy stand called the Cook-Out. The portions were really small and just not that tasty, I mean for the amount of Fat in these little burgers, really they should be good as SHEEYYATTT!!!. I on the other hand found us this really cool bread company in Raleigh, and got us all some delicious cinnamon bread, which my brother was really freaked out to try, but admitted that it was the best wheat bread he had ever eaten. He wasn’t even sure wheat bread could taste that good and I told him he needed to stop eating the Seven-grain breads.
One of the things, I don’t really get with Joe is that he can be very inconsiderate about the little things, like sleeping in. Now, I understand getting up and getting an early start, but having to adjust to East Coast time can be very difficult, you know he wants to wake up at 8:00 AM and to me that is like 5:00 AM. And really has anybody noticed how messed up your body’s eating schedule gets when you’re back home. It’s like you’re hungry all the time. Anyway, my brother just tells you to stop being a little (BLEEP) and get up and deal. Thanks Joe, so basically his strategy for dealing with him is "Deal." And you know what, when you have the knowledge that you're going to know someone until death, I guess that it can kind of give you the confidence to be like that.
We had a little chat after a few days and we came to a realization.
Joe - Here's the thing, you and I, we're leaders, we hate following others, we can't do it. We have to do our own thing.
Will - Yeah, I can see that, kind of thought it was like that.
Joe - But you, see, the thing YOU hate about me, and the thing that always causes us to fight is that I'm obsessive and controlling and you, you're not.
Will - ...
Joe - That really pisses you off doesn't it.
Will - ...
Joe - Deal.
The morning before we left for Lynchburg, Joe and I went through a box of photographs from our past, like the old days, and wow. When I become a parent, I WILL NOT let my children wear purple shirts; I don’t care how much they love it, no giant baggy purple shirts. Man, I mean there is this purple shirt that is just in all kinds of pictures and it spans years. And the big glasses don’t even get me started on the big glasses. I remember in 7th grade when I got contact lenses, it was like the world changed. Everything was anew. Think about it like this; for 6 years I’d been looking at myself in the mirror without glasses, and I have really bad vision, and then one day everything clears up and you see yourself for the first time, well that’s what happened when I got contact lenses, I freaked out. And then I got a haircut. I mean if you look at those old pictures, ME, BJ, little Will, whatever you want to call me, I fluctuated from looking like a cute, redheaded, asian kid and then to an awkward slightly off kilter geeky glasses person WHO LOVED THIS BAGGY PURPLE SHIRT! And my brother, well he either looked like a handsome self-loving kid to a thuggish self-loving attractive thug (skinny or fat). There weren’t any picture after the Contact Lens period; I put a moratorium on any picture being taken of me after that period, kind of like Mutt Lang (sorry Shania, you deserve better, now make some damn music, and stop acting like a robot).
On Sunday, August 3rd, we left for Lynchburg Virginia and I got to hang out with my sister-in-law Jennifer and Joe made me get a haircut. Thanks Joe. We also went to see “The Dark Knight.” Afterwards, I was so afraid that they were going to hate. You see they never, NEVER, like anything I recommend. They trust my opinion when I tell them not to see something, but not when I like anything. Luckily, ‘The Dark Knight” is kind of good so they did like it, I don’t think they enjoyed it, but they said it was a really good movie.
Jacob, my nephew is absolutely awesome. I mean he’s the man. He’s like a cross between my brother and me in most ways. He loves fighting, but he’s cute and not threatening. We had a great time watching videos on my computer; he particularly liked Admiral Akbar’s Cereal. SO FUNNY!!! He also liked the trailer to “The Watchman”. But after a few days his infinite energy supply exhausting, and yeah, he really needs to have a brother or sister, he’s very used to getting all the attention. And after that much time around family, I was ready to get going.
And so on Tuesday, August 5th, I was dropped off at the Lynchburg airport, with my really, really, really heavy luggage and I went to AVIS to get a rental car. The first care they gave me was a Ford Taurus, but it needed an oil change, so they swapped me out into a CHEVY IMPALA!
So me and my big ass Chevy Impala took off for Phoenixville, Pennsylvania.
On August 1st, I arrived in North Carolina to the delight of my nephew Jacob, my brother, and my Mom. I said my hellos, and my Mom threw up into a trashcan. She did that a lot that weekend. She’s fine now, although not fine with the banks, but well, when is she ever. Not a whole lot to say, but you know, when my Mom is sickly, it's really easy to be compassionate with her, I wish I was able to find that when she isn't sick.
Anyway, the weekend was fun, hanging out with Joe and little Jake, just kicking it in North Carolina. We went to see “Journey to the Center of the Earth” in 3-D. Jake liked it a lot, but my brother thought their reactions to the ridiculous situations they were faced with were unbelievable. My response, “Dude, it’s a kids movie.”
We also just watched TV and went out to eat a few times. My brother is a connoisseur of fat foods, and he found disappointment with a greasy stand called the Cook-Out. The portions were really small and just not that tasty, I mean for the amount of Fat in these little burgers, really they should be good as SHEEYYATTT!!!. I on the other hand found us this really cool bread company in Raleigh, and got us all some delicious cinnamon bread, which my brother was really freaked out to try, but admitted that it was the best wheat bread he had ever eaten. He wasn’t even sure wheat bread could taste that good and I told him he needed to stop eating the Seven-grain breads.
One of the things, I don’t really get with Joe is that he can be very inconsiderate about the little things, like sleeping in. Now, I understand getting up and getting an early start, but having to adjust to East Coast time can be very difficult, you know he wants to wake up at 8:00 AM and to me that is like 5:00 AM. And really has anybody noticed how messed up your body’s eating schedule gets when you’re back home. It’s like you’re hungry all the time. Anyway, my brother just tells you to stop being a little (BLEEP) and get up and deal. Thanks Joe, so basically his strategy for dealing with him is "Deal." And you know what, when you have the knowledge that you're going to know someone until death, I guess that it can kind of give you the confidence to be like that.
We had a little chat after a few days and we came to a realization.
Joe - Here's the thing, you and I, we're leaders, we hate following others, we can't do it. We have to do our own thing.
Will - Yeah, I can see that, kind of thought it was like that.
Joe - But you, see, the thing YOU hate about me, and the thing that always causes us to fight is that I'm obsessive and controlling and you, you're not.
Will - ...
Joe - That really pisses you off doesn't it.
Will - ...
Joe - Deal.
The morning before we left for Lynchburg, Joe and I went through a box of photographs from our past, like the old days, and wow. When I become a parent, I WILL NOT let my children wear purple shirts; I don’t care how much they love it, no giant baggy purple shirts. Man, I mean there is this purple shirt that is just in all kinds of pictures and it spans years. And the big glasses don’t even get me started on the big glasses. I remember in 7th grade when I got contact lenses, it was like the world changed. Everything was anew. Think about it like this; for 6 years I’d been looking at myself in the mirror without glasses, and I have really bad vision, and then one day everything clears up and you see yourself for the first time, well that’s what happened when I got contact lenses, I freaked out. And then I got a haircut. I mean if you look at those old pictures, ME, BJ, little Will, whatever you want to call me, I fluctuated from looking like a cute, redheaded, asian kid and then to an awkward slightly off kilter geeky glasses person WHO LOVED THIS BAGGY PURPLE SHIRT! And my brother, well he either looked like a handsome self-loving kid to a thuggish self-loving attractive thug (skinny or fat). There weren’t any picture after the Contact Lens period; I put a moratorium on any picture being taken of me after that period, kind of like Mutt Lang (sorry Shania, you deserve better, now make some damn music, and stop acting like a robot).
On Sunday, August 3rd, we left for Lynchburg Virginia and I got to hang out with my sister-in-law Jennifer and Joe made me get a haircut. Thanks Joe. We also went to see “The Dark Knight.” Afterwards, I was so afraid that they were going to hate. You see they never, NEVER, like anything I recommend. They trust my opinion when I tell them not to see something, but not when I like anything. Luckily, ‘The Dark Knight” is kind of good so they did like it, I don’t think they enjoyed it, but they said it was a really good movie.
Jacob, my nephew is absolutely awesome. I mean he’s the man. He’s like a cross between my brother and me in most ways. He loves fighting, but he’s cute and not threatening. We had a great time watching videos on my computer; he particularly liked Admiral Akbar’s Cereal. SO FUNNY!!! He also liked the trailer to “The Watchman”. But after a few days his infinite energy supply exhausting, and yeah, he really needs to have a brother or sister, he’s very used to getting all the attention. And after that much time around family, I was ready to get going.
And so on Tuesday, August 5th, I was dropped off at the Lynchburg airport, with my really, really, really heavy luggage and I went to AVIS to get a rental car. The first care they gave me was a Ford Taurus, but it needed an oil change, so they swapped me out into a CHEVY IMPALA!
So me and my big ass Chevy Impala took off for Phoenixville, Pennsylvania.
The East Coast Trip: Prologue
In September 2007, I took my annual mid-year trip, knowing that it would be the last trip that I would take out there without the restraints or burdens of adulthood. Not that I didn’t feel that weight bearing down, I just decided to shrug it off, throw it back.
This time around I was in the full throws of adulthood, at least it was everywhere and I couldn't avoid it. Babies, Toddlers, Reunions, Careers, everywhere I tell you. And also, I may be in some kind of maturing period for me, although that is really to be decided I suppose in the future, when I’m done with the period and can look back with some true understanding. Let’s just say that right now I’m considering a lot of things about life and what I believe and where I’m going, but I’m proud to say that I’m doing this without being TOO overly dramatic or having some sort of crisis (which one comes between quarter and mid life?).
In saying all of this, I am breaking up my trip into 4 legs.
1. Mom, Joe, & Jacob
2. Teal, the baby, My Dad, and Mike
3. The Andy Wright Experience
4. The Reunion
Hope you enjoy.
This time around I was in the full throws of adulthood, at least it was everywhere and I couldn't avoid it. Babies, Toddlers, Reunions, Careers, everywhere I tell you. And also, I may be in some kind of maturing period for me, although that is really to be decided I suppose in the future, when I’m done with the period and can look back with some true understanding. Let’s just say that right now I’m considering a lot of things about life and what I believe and where I’m going, but I’m proud to say that I’m doing this without being TOO overly dramatic or having some sort of crisis (which one comes between quarter and mid life?).
In saying all of this, I am breaking up my trip into 4 legs.
1. Mom, Joe, & Jacob
2. Teal, the baby, My Dad, and Mike
3. The Andy Wright Experience
4. The Reunion
Hope you enjoy.
25.7.08
Weekend Part 2
Well Friends,
I decided I should probably try to finish writing about last weekend before this weekend truly begins, but then again that Bottle of Bacardi Razz I helped finish off last night may have truly been the start of the weekend.... who knows.
So where was I?
Ahhhh, Yes... there I was Sunday night hanging out doing work. Work? Yes, work. I spent from like 9PM to 12:30 PM checking Justin's reference files, finishing my flow chart which I will one day have to send to you all, just so you can see how ridiculous Blu-Ray projects are (I will also have to one day lay down in blog form what it is that I actually do... but if you are again interested, check out this website for more details....
http://www.herzogcowen.com/hce/main.php
Anyway I went to sleep and woke up around 5:00 AM and began to do this
Look. Scroll. Copy. Paste.
Look. Scroll. Copy. Paste.
Look. Scroll. Copy. Paste.
Look. Scroll. Copy. Paste.
Over and over again, creating Excel Documents. I did this from 5:00 AM to 11:15 AM and I had to fight off stomach cramps from not eating and the cold, it was a great teeth rattling, body shivering experience.
But once that was done I got ready for the day and I visited Rachel's Marine Lab, which is awesome and it faces a bay and it feels very right for a Marine Lab, I got to meet more of her grad school friends and we had an excellent lunch on the water. Good times for all. Then we talk a walk on the beach with the two PUGS that Rachel loves/hates. And then we made dinner and hung out. Overall very successful.
The next day I went to the SPA and got a CEDER ENZYME BATH, described below, and a massage, extremely relaxing and a little bit weird, but of course overall good times.
CEDER ENZYME BATH: Next, you change into a Japanese robe provided by Osmosis (you may enjoy the baths with or without a bathing suit), then enter the private bath area. Cozy wooden tubs are filled with a fragrant blend of finely ground cedar, rice bran, and plant enzymes imported from Japan. These ingredients heat naturally, by fermentation, creating biologically generated warmth that mimics the body's natural metabolic process. Once a place for your body is dug into the warm mixture, you step into the tub, settle into the place that has been shaped to support you, and are gently covered up to the chin. During the bath, you will feel the unique quality of the heat working through your body and you may perspire. The sensation may feel unusual, but will quickly become quite comfortable. The experience is deeply relaxing and restful. Let yourself go with the good feeling, surrender to stillness and breathe deeply and naturally
Let me just say that afterwards you kind of stink, because of all the stuff that you sweat out, but then you get to take a shower so you can get all the ceder off of you.
Then I drove home. Not too crazy. Good times for all.
20.7.08
Weekend Part 1
Okay...
I'm visiting Rachel and there is no cell phone reception... and I'm surrounded by cows. They moo...
Yes, I watched two Cows try to hump yesterday... The cows were unsuccessful. They have much learning to do, but I really appreciate them for their effort. If they didn't try, there'd be no calves and their would be no milk and tri-tip.
But since I have a lot of work to do from here 'til tomorrow morning I am going to sign off now, but you can be sure that I will return with more later!
w
18.7.08
SuperHero Friday
Yay!
Your results:
You are Spider-Man
You are intelligent, witty,
a bit geeky and have great
power and responsibility.
Click here to take the Superhero Personality Quiz
Friday is here, and I'm almost done delivering the Serenity Blu-Ray Feature that I've been working on pretty intensely for the past two weeks. But what I'm really here about is that it is "DARK KNIGHT" friday, where everyone and their mother is going to see "The Dark Knight". And in commemoration of that, I decided to take a few minutes and do the SUPERHERO QUIZ.
Your results:
You are Spider-Man
| Spider-Man | 70% | |
| Robin | 62% | |
| Green Lantern | 60% | |
| Superman | 55% | |
| Hulk | 55% | |
| The Flash | 55% | |
| Iron Man | 55% | |
| Supergirl | 50% | |
| Catwoman | 50% | |
| Wonder Woman | 45% | |
| Batman | 40% |
a bit geeky and have great
power and responsibility.
Click here to take the Superhero Personality Quiz
I swear to ya'll that I've really been trying to cut down on my HERO COMPLEX ISSUES... but apparently, I haven't been doing too good of a job at it. At least, at least I'm not a female superhero.... although I am more Supergirl than Batman (not that that stings in any way.)
Why don't ya'll take the test and hit up the COMMENTS with your results.
17.7.08
Hulu
Hey Friends,
I'm back!! I'm trying to not leave ya'll alone for longer then a few days, especially since the WILLGONGJOURNAL.BLOGSPOT.COM comes up on like page 4 or 5 when GOOGLING WILL GONG.
Anyway, I just wanted to talk to everyone about HULU.Com ...
Hulu is a website that shows TV shows and movies and sometimes they're new and sometimes they're old. But they play nicely and look good. And you can make little popups of the show and shrink them down or blow them up, so you can have it on while you're doing other things. Oh and they also do like the best clips of a show, so if you want to just see the funny bit of a show, it'll be there. Also, it's nice being able to go to one website for lots of shows and some of them are shows that you could only find on ITUNES, but what if you don't want to pay for them, you go to HULU.
And also... if you want a good time: Watch BONES!
12.7.08
Oh NO!!!
Bad news amigos...
My inconsistent blogging has kicked me down on the GOOGLE - WILL GONG scale. You now have to go to the second page to find the blog... and this is behind like THREE LINKS for the new Comedy Central "Gong Show." (I'm not even going to start on that.) So I guess I need to write more....
Ok. I'll get on it.
The Sugar Problem
How many sugar packets do you put into your coffee?
Well, about a year ago I was putting three sugar packets into my coffee and I was looking to maybe make a switch to Splenda. So I called my foremost expert on things that are healthy and bad for you.
Will: Hey Rachel, so uh, I have a question.
Rachel: Okay. What's up?
Will: Well, I'm thinking of switching to Splenda?
Rachel: For like everything?
Will: No for my coffee. Splenda and non-fat milk.
Rachel: How much sugar do you use?
Will: Three sugar packets.
Rachel: Jeez, I can see why you'd want to switch. That's A LOT of sugar for like every cup of coffee.
Will: I know!
Rachel: Well, I wouldn't switch to Splenda, because (can't remember the exact smart words she used...) because it's like really really bad to not be natural and natural is the best way to go... (sorry Raye, I just can't remember)
Will: So, I should stick to sugar.
Rachel: Yeah, if you don't want to put bad S$!& inside of you.
Will: Okay, that sucks.
Rachel: If I were you I'd just cut back.
Will: Great.
After my conversation with Rachel I tried cutting back, but you know, for the life of me, I just couldn't it didn't taste good, especially, non-fat lite sugar coffee. Yuck.
So it's been a year now, and over the past year, I've really tried to think about what I eat and what goes inside me. And I just read this great quote from some journal that was posted in the kitchen at work, that basically said that your body remakes itself twice a year, and it uses what you put inside you to remake it. So if you want to get ridiculous with that, think about being a human hamburger like I used to be. I mean when I was 8 my whole body was sponsored by McDonalds. "Will Gong has been brought to you by MCDONALDS!"
All of this brings me back to the past week. Something happened to me, oddly enough it appears that my mouth and tongue have decided to reject all the sugar I've been putting in my coffee, by making me feel kind of sick with it in there, like my mouth is sending my brain signals that this is way to much sugar, but then another part of my brain is like, WHAT? I need the sugar. So after this happened, I cut back to one sugar packet per coffee, and you know what I've been okay. It just goes to show how oddly connected all of the parts of our body and mind are....
Weird stuff.
"Will Gong has been brought to you by Trader Joe's & some random miscellaneous restaurants."
Random Thought #1
Just a hunch... but I think some exciting things are coming... seeing that things are slowing down here at work... and my life may begin to resume again. (Hmm... I'm feeling a little deja vu here... dammit.)
4.7.08
The Mid-Summer Movie Report
EEEEvvvvvvaaaaaa....
Hello Friends,
Well, it's the beginning of July. July 4th to be precise and I'm here to give my mid summer movie report.
And I'm just going to get out of the way and list them out in order of liking, top to bottom people:
Top 3
Wall-E
Iron Man
Wanted
And everybody else:
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Incredible Hulk
So is this really surprising. No. I guess. There were a few movies I wanted to see but just didn't the chance to catch. Films like "Speed Racer" which I heard was terrible, but who knows, maybe I would've liked it a little. Oh and I wanted to see the Narnia film, too, but there was something about Prince Caspian that seemed a little too fakey. Know what I mean?
WALL-E
So I went back to my Possible Fave 10 Blog from late April and I found that uh I didn't put Wall-E on it, I said it might have been a possible Honorable Mention... huhuh...eek.
But you know, I'm just going to say that I completely avoided learning anything about Wall-E so I had absolutely no expectation going into, and I feel good about. But check it Wall-E is incredible. It's amazing. It may be brilliant. It's definitely touching, gorgeous, intelligent, occasionally frightening, BEAUTIFUL... that's really all I am going to say. Cause you may not like it and that's cool, but is it really cool? I mean I want to get like a stuffed animal of Wall-E. For realzzzz...
IRON MAN
Hmmm... let us see. Wisecracking, hard partying, hard drinking, ass kicking, super hero. Yeah... that's Iron Man. Aka Tony Stark... Aka Robert Downey Jr. doing whatever the hell he wants to, in the best super hero movie of the summer, so far.
As I look back on Spider-man 2 & 3... especially three, I ponder whatever happened to our fun loving, incredible, amazing friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. The one who is so scared that he constantly has to make fun of everything. There was a lost opportunity there, especially three, which is just really a lost opportunity in general. (I shouldn't go down this path.)
Anyway, some of the fun missing from those films was present, front and center in Iron Man. This guy didn't give a shit. Gosh, he's so BAD ASS. It had been a while since I'd seen a Super Hero movie and said, damn I want to be him... well for better or worse after Iron Man I felt that way. The acting was great, the effects were great, the directing was great. Just some real solid goodness all the way around.
WANTED
Well... hmmm... lets go ahead and mix in Fight Club and the Matrix, and add the spirit of Trainspotting. Yup, that's Wanted. And it's got some of the most amazing action I've seen. Just some real jaw dropping stuff. Yeah, the plots ridiculous, the messages are terrible, but what a great time. This was a movie that wasn't afraid to go there, to really GO THERE. Like when they were on that train and (EDITED/CENSORED) and then all those people (EDITED/CENSORED) it was ridiculous and sick and really well done. But this movie isn't everybody's cup of tea. That's for sure. But I liked it enough to get seconds.
Now the sad stuff.
INDIANA JONES and the blah blah blah...
Solidly done. I guess. Pointlessly unnecessary. Doesn't really bring anything new to the table, and I'm not including Shia and Cate Blanchet's silly hair cut and weird, borderline bad accent (although she was kind of hot.) Most people I talk to are like, I just wish they hadn't made it. And I'm like eh... well it was fun to watch, not a bad way to waste money, you know, like renting a Matthew McConaughey movie (Random fact, as I was looking up how to spell his name, I saw that his highest grossing film is "A Time to Kill", but this was back when EVERYONE would go see whatever the hell Samuel L. Jackson and Sandra Bullock was in...anyway...)
Look, it was just plain weird at times, and awkward at time, and some times it was good and fun and exciting, and other times it was like what the hell is going here... and then there's the monkeys... and really... really... REALLY... and like why does this feel like a video game. Look for real... in the bathroom stall of that movie, you should've been able to see some door graffiti that read "For a Better time go play "Uncharted: Drake's Fortune," so much more fun then Indy 4... but I got nothing but love for those guys. Just don't do it again.
THE INCREDIBLE HULK
Indiana Jones is rated higher here, because I had more fun in Indy then in this. The movie was solidly mad, and it gave fans a version of Hulk that they wanted and it was closer to the TV show, but dammit, dammit, I liked a lot of that psychological shit in the first movie. If I could combine the two movies, I think there would be a hell of thing, but in this one, the new one, I just didn't care about what was happening, especially in the end.
To Hulk Smash or to not Hulk Smash, I just didn't care either way.
So that was the first half of the summer movies. No real surprises here. Probably should've seen more movies. Probably seen like an art house movie or two. BUT whatever, I moved and decorated and produced like 3 projects at the same time.
But JULY & AUGUST should be a good month. We've got HELLBOY 2, THE DARK NIGHT, and so many others... like TROPIC THUNDER... but I'll keep you posted.
Adios Muchachos!
1 Month to 10 year high school reunion...
29.6.08
The House Warning Party
Hello!!!
It's Sunday Morning.... 9 hours since everyone evacuated my new apartment and I just wanted to share a few memories from the night last.
Was I responsible for getting everyone drunk?
Hmmm.... Well maybe...
1. I uh, started the night out by making everyone these drinks called "The Hulk". They consist of Hennessey and Hypnotiq over ice, and you know it's good when it turns the color of the Hulk. Well, that's a lot of liquor, but it's delicious. (and apparently the original reason i started drinking Hennessey, didn't know that... huh.)
Consequences --- All the guests got pretty drunk (Josh told me twice) .... not too much damage though, thank god for the complimentary water bottles I put out...
2. And Anne Marie came over asked me to drink out of the HALF YARD GLASS OF ALE and I was like that is Gabe's and he should drink out of it.
Consequences --- Ask Gabe.
Some other Random Memories...
- I gave some pre-teen/kids a tour of the apartment. They came up from the neighborhood and wanted to party, but they only got the tour.
- I did a Vodka shot with the Russian neighbors. (I never knew the Vodka thing was really real.) Cool guys, they were just chilling.
- All the people that showed up for like half a second and then disappeared. Did they only show up for the complimentary water bottles? I wonder...
- Being told that I TOTALLY F%*^&# UP putting up all my poster frames. That may have been the funniest moment of the night for me.
WILL - "God, people need to stop bumping into this frame and knocking off."
Hutson - "No Will, you totally F&*&%#$ UP putting the frame."
Will - "No the poster frame is totally warped."
Hutson pulls the frame off.
Hutson - "No, you see these brackets don't go on the wall, they go on the frame."
Will visualizes how it's supposed to go.
Will - "..."
Will hangs his head. Starts laughing to himself. "I didn't know, I didn't know...."
EVERYONE LAUGHS.
- Running out of Toilet Paper. First the main bathroom ran out. Then I took the last of it from Gabe's bathroom. Then his bathroom didn't have any, but I was advised by some girls that it was okay to put tissues on top of the toilet lid so that they can use that. Then Gabe being like WHAT THE?!?! And then GUY TOAM going out and getting TP for everyone. THANK YOU GUY!
- "Planet Earth" playing in the background... The little Ducks jumping out of the tree in slow motion was a particular highlight, especially since 50 Cent's "In Da Club" was playing. Awesome.
- Giving Anne Marie a test of her cognitive skills, before she left. She seemed okay and I've seen Anne Marie not okay... she was okay...
-Guy spending the last half hour of the party addressing Gabe as "Drunk Gabe." --- As in "Okay Drunk Gabe... you need to let Will clean."
- The responsibility of all the DD's. Thanks guys... without you I'd probably be kicking people out as we speak.
- Oliver showing up, making his own musical playlist for everyone...
- Getting yelled at for having Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend" on my playlist... (I like that song dammit! No Hating!)
- Josh had his VIDEO CAMERA!!! Oh dear... I don't want to know what he caught... - For a Second I felt like I was on J.J. Abram's television shows or "CloverField".
- The popularity of the LOVE SAC! Go out and get yourself a LOVE SAC! You won't regret it.
- Cleaning up at 1:45. Cleaning up at 8:00 AM. Doing the Cinderella thing. i.e. scrubbing the floors, (I sang a little song.) Cleaning up at 10:00 Am. I love cleaning!!!
- I hid the SPEAKER VOLUME remote from people at the end of the night. People would keep turning the music up WAY too loud and I'd sneak around and turn it down. This dance went on for about a half hour.
And seriously I just want to thank everyone for showing up last night! I hope ya'll had fun. I did. I also want to thank everyone who brought something. And everyone who brought someone!
Oh, and Corey I'll hit you back for that Hennessey.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)