With a Sigh of Relief

Apparently, news is filtering in that Noel Gallagher, leader, songwriter, guitar player of the rock band Oasis has finally quit the band, while on tour, killing the tour, he states that "he could not go on one more day working with Liam," his brother and singer of the band.

For those long time readers of the Will Gong Journal, I can say that you understand that I take this news with a sigh of relief, because I will never have to spend 10 more dollars on a subpar Oasis CD, again. I hope.

Oh and in other news, Rachel is indeed recovering from her dislocated knee cap. We have confirmed that she did not hurt the knee cap after class, it was after the harder section of the class, so her status as a pansy has now been dropped. Good day!

The Immortal Words of Marsellus Wallace

In the classic film "Pulp Fiction," Marsellus Wallace talks to Butch before a fight that Marsellus is paying Butch a ton of money to throw. Marsellus tells him.

"The night of the fight, you may feel a slight sting. That's pride fucking with you. Fuck pride. Pride only hurts, it never helps."

As most of you know, Butch does not throw the fight. He ACCIDENTALLY kills the other fighter and then has to escape Los Angeles, Marsellus, Zed & the Gimp. All this happens because he didn't listen to Marsellus, his pride wouldn't let him.

I think back to this quote quite a bit. Mostly because, these days, in life, I've gotten to a point where I'm really good at some things, and there are other things that I'm not good at, and the idea that people may see me in a weak position is absolutely terrifying to my EGO. And in order for my EGO to be completely satisfied it doesn't even want to be close to a potentially embarrassing situation, so I'm steered away from them by the most ridiculous excuses. I can magically just not appear places, or suddenly get sick, or freak out, or go cold, and robotic.

Ahhh.... If only Marsellus Wallace could come up to me before I'm near a potentially embarrassing situation and repeated his immortal words. Could Marsellus get through to my Pride/Ego? Could he slap some sense into him?

"Will, the night of the fight, you may feel a slight sting. That's pride fucking with you."

"I don't know Marsellus, I think that the fight be more painful then giving into Pride."

"Fuck Pride."

"No Marsellus, I don't think you understand. Let me break it down for you. If I go through with "the Fight," I will be embarrassed red faced. I'll lose my reputation. I'll be a laughing stock. Ya hear?"

"Pride only hurts, it never helps."

"That's easy for you to say, You like have a bajillion dollars, a hot wife, and the respect of god and the Devil. We are

just not on the same page." Marsellus shakes his head.

I guess if Marsellus can't help me, I'm just going to be strong. No Fear.

What would life be like if we weren't afraid? We'd be invincible.

Summer Movie Report 09

What a Weird Summer for Movies? Summer, year, weird. Movies, I wanted to be good, were terrible (Terminator) and movies I didn't think would be good were great (Ice Age3 really? It's probably just the 3D). Good movies made some money (District 9), bad movies made A LOT OF MONEY (Transformers.)

This summer, I have so many examples of how Audiences were smart and stayed away from really bad films, but then there's Transformers, (oh wait, I kind of enjoyed that.) So anyway, audiences on some weird subconscious level, seem to be getting smart. YAY!
I swore that I didn't see that many movies this summer, until I started looking at the list of films that came out and was reminded. I've seen SO MANY MOVIES THIS SUMMER. Anyway, lets do the rundown.

Awesomeness

1. Star Trek - Do I need to say anything else other then, I've seen it 4 times. Ugh. Science Fiction, if it's too scifi, I get turned off, but if it gets more whipcracking action pop culturally savvy, I'm all in. I just can't help it. This movie rocked! I watched all the old Star Trek films leading to this one, and there was not one I could stay awake in, not one, until I saw the new one.

I'm going to have think about my scifi street cred, because uh, I don't think I have any.

(500) Days of Summer - Awesome. You take my brain and personality. And you put it into a movie, and it probably looks something like this. I know a few people who didn't like it that much, or didn't get it, but damn if it didn't work for me. Casting a magical spell over the trials and tribulations of love and dating today. And this is all purely subjective because everyone is different, but this one was for me.

District 9 - Whoa. If you haven't seen this yet, DO NOT WATCH THE TRAILER. Just go to the theatre and be prepared to be blown away. Not for the faint hearted. This movie just rocks.

The Hangover - Come on. This movie had an amazing marketing campaign, and it almost lived up to it. It was HELLA funny. Was it hella good. Doesn't matter. It sacrificed goodness for awesomeness, and sometimes that's all you can ask for. I know that Los Vegas was glad this movie came out, because it reminded all the youngish to middle agish guys that they should be in Vegas. (ugh. my head already hurts.)

Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince - I thought The Hangover was the funniest movie of the year hands down, til I saw this. This damn movie had me rolling. Well made, beautiful, a little slow, but speedy towards the end. Potter films are great to see to visit their world. Yeah, they're not anywhere near as good as the books, but hey, fuck it! I'm just glad to be there and see it. No matter how much they change the story.

Up - It's pixar! But alas, the magical spell did not work on me quite as much as others. Awesome. Structurally Sound. Well made. Beautiful. But something in it left me a little cool. It's the whole father son complex thing (yeah, like my, not loving nemo thing. I'm an outkast I tell you.)

Drag Me To Hell - Totally Gross. You laugh, you cringe, you turn away, it was like Inglourious Basterds but tighter(thankgod) and made on the cheap. For anyone who loved Sam Raimi before Spider-Man, this was like a gross out love letter.

The Brothers Bloom - Funny, beautiful, well told, well acted. Such a solid movie that was not for everyone (well almost no one saw it), but really good nonetheless. Who knew that the Maker of "Brick" would create the movie that Wes Anderson just can't seem to make anymore.

Great to Enjoyable with some Reservations

Ice Age 3 - A Movie for kids, but a lot of fun nonetheless, I really wish it could be in the top tier, but it's Ice Age, I just can't. But it was sooo muchhh funnnnn...

Inglourious Basterds - Ah, Tarantino. I wish you could separate the Writer from the Director. Such a beautifully made film, but perhaps not crafted well, no oversight from anyone other than Tarantino. Too Long. Too talky. Too Lazily shaped. I mean really, do all of his films need Cards. It's LAZY! (some will say it's his style. Whatever. IT'S LAZY!)

But then again, It's amazing. AMAZINGLY Acted. AMAZINGLY shot. There are scenes in this film that blow away anything in theaters today. Like really. Without even breaking a sweat, this guy creates riveting and powerful scenes that will like haunt you for days. Ah, just if the damn connective tissue was better.

So as it is, Tarantino gets BETTER and WORSE as he continues his career.

The Hurt Locker - Some might say that the measure of a good film is it's escapist aspect, the fantasy element, leaving the theater feeling good. And then there's The Hurt Locker. For those who want to get a little deeper, but not too deep than your typical action movie. It's looks like a character study that doesn't really want to give you too much details about the character. It wants to let you fill in the blanks. But what it really is is an exploration of the very realistic idea of the ultimate adrenaline junkie in the ultimate job. But if you want to dump all that psychological crap, it will also thrill and shock and leave you on the edge of your seats.

GI Joe - Hehe. This is what Transformers 1 shoulda coulda been like, oh without Steven Spielberg to want it to have a little substance, and without Michael Bay to want it to be Bay-Riffic. Stupid, but fun as hell. Great scenes. Bad Scenes that make you laugh without taking you out of the film. Yeah, there were some missed opportunities and it's derivative as hell, but you smile the whole time.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - Oh, How could such a terrible movie make so much damn money. Hmmm... let me count the ways.

1. It was enjoyable. I've been flogged so often for this statement that your picks cannot hurt me anymore.

2. Robot fighting. Good, bad, doesn't matter. We love it.

3. Hot girls. Megan Fox, and the other one with the frightening tongue. Pointless Hot Girls.

4. A consolidation of what people seemed to like from the first one. No one cared about the story of a Boy and Alien robot. Weak. So they didn't really create a story. When you have alien robots, does logic matter. Nah, fuck it. Does anyone care about anything other then Megan Fox running around. Nope. So we can just focus on nothing but... Megan Fox running around and Robots beating the crap out of each other. Oh wait, but that's like an hour of the film, okay, well add in some other shit. Bay has a bunch of great ideas for things that would be really really cool. Great, add them in. Oh, and you know people complained that it wasn't like the TV show, okay, we can steal from that too.

Adios Spielberg touches, hello more Michael Bay + More Transformers the TV show.

This was Bay's opus. His epic. This was ALL BAY, ALL THE TIME. No more then during this movie, did we see why his teaming with Jerry Bruckheimer was a good thing. Bruck cared a little about story and what the audience might want. Bay only cares about himself and his own sensibilities. This was like that scene in Being John Malkovich, when he goes into his own head.

Now as far as audiences cared, if you look at items 1, 2 &3, that was apparently more appealing then the downside of Baydom.

Side note: This movie was horrifically racist, down t its bones. It was done to be funny, and to me and many many others, some of it was funny, but it was funny to me in the same way that when you watch Borat, or any of its lets bash all cultures ilk, you laugh, but then go home feeling dirty.

Turkeys (And not in the bowling way.)

Terminator Salvation - There is a good 30 minutes in here. And they come before the mid-point. That left a lot of time for bad movie. There were some good ideas in here, then again there were some real stinkers. Did I miss Arnold? HELL YEAH!!! No one can set the Terminator tone better then he can, and this movie was bleak. It looked good, but that ain't enough. Although, it did have Sam Worthington, future star of tomorrow today in it, so i guess it wasn't that abysmal. Speaking of Abysmal ---

Time Traveler's Wife - I was bamboozled by a really good trailer. There was more emotion in the trailer, because of that damn Lifehouse Song "Broken"(99centsItunesplug) then there was in the damn short 90 minute movie. Don't see the movie. Buy the song.

No, but seriously, I really really liked the book. This movie doesn't even make me want to read the book. If I saw it without reading it, I'd be like why the hell did they make this into a movie. FOR ALL THOSE WHO WANT TO ADAPT a BOOK INTO A MOVIE, see the film and see how IT IS NOT TO BE DONE LIKE. You take a book, and you reshape it into a movie, this movie took paragraphs and dialogue and just cut and pasted it into a script. And then it was over. Story doesn't work like that! ACK! Twilight is a better movie then this!

But! in its defense. It is a beautifully shot, well acted movie.

Land of the Lost - What a bad idea for a movie? A 70's tv show no one remembers and Will Farrell comedy. Really? Universal? Someone needs to get punished for this film. When you advertise a movie to be the biggest, biggest, biggest thing ever, you have a recipe for Big Flop!

Public Enemies - I fell asleep 10 times. That's all I'm gonna say.

So that's it. That's summer. Next summer might be good, it might be bad, it will be less due to Hollywood cost cutting cause of the economy and dvd sales. But it will always be FUN!!

Keep on Truckin!

Will Gong Journal - A New Look: A New Mindset

So recently I've been thinking a whole lot about patterns and change. Patterns in my life, in my head, roads I've taken, the things I think, and whatnot. Which is probably why I blogged about schemas a little while ago. And then change, not just for change sake, but for your life's sake.
And what I've decided is that, like, we really do have control over our lives and if we can find focus we can change some of the patterns that we may start to feel like we've outgrown, or are holding us back from going towards what we need and what want. I think I've waffled on the issue depending on my mood, but I've definitely decided that we can change our patterns. Life isn't hopeless, no matter what we think. We can go after what we want, and we can let go off what isn't serving us. We just have to focus, and really, really want it, because the path of the new can be potentially painful, especially during setbacks.
I figure, I just know so many people who have broken free of painful patterns and strived for what they really needed recently. It's awesome and it's inspiring, to be reminded of the fact.

Beatles Mania 09

Hello FRIENDS!!!

Well, you know, here we are in 09 and suddenly it seems like the Beatles are IN again. At least the marketing & media of the world are making it seem so. Let me show the ways.

1. All of the Beatles music is being remastered for all music outlets.

2. The Beatles catalog will make it's way to Itunes.

3. Beatles ROCK BACK!!! Crazy!

And what inspired this little blog was that Robert Zemekis and Disney are going to remake the Yellow Submarine! (with Motion Capture, you know the weird CGI where the characters almost look human, but also have the dead eyes. DEAD EYES!)

I'm just curious Why? I mean, I guess The Beatles are big business no matter what. But the thing that I'm really curious about is if people actually care, if all the kids and humans of the world are suddenly re-listening to their music. (I know at one point I did.) And you know what, i think their rock band will be a big deal. I will try to embed the trailer below. IT IS A MUST CHECK OUT!

UPDATE: Okay it's too big to embed. :(

So here is the link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSLLxRmR3nY

A Possible Retraction:

Voice Mail Message:

Rachel: Will, you got it all wrong. I didn't dislocate my kneecapp when the class was over, it was still going on, well, it was towards the end. I'm not an old lady... okay, I'm not that old. Sigh... Call me back!

Dear Readers,

Please stay tuned as we look into what actually happened to Rachel's knee. And at the same time, we here at the Will Gong Journal will try to find out the current condition of said knee. We all hope she's alright.

For now, good night.

AMERITREK 2009: Pre-Production Blog 2

10 Days Left! 10. 10 IN BOLD. I’m that serious.

I feel like in TV show land, Season 4 of the “Will Show”, and the “Herzog Show” have ended, and now I’m just waiting for Summer Hiatus to begin. But I STILL HAVE TO WORK!!!

Oh, and I know some of you already know this, but I’ve called the “AND” Credit on the Herzog show. (You know the Herzog Show stars, “Mark Herzog, Chris Cowen, Matt Goldberg, Jack Kney, Lindsey Bogard, Aaron Skotland, Joy Lissandrello, Jeremy Cook, Corey Reeser, Hutson Hayward, Brett Jacobson, Josh Rosenfield, Morgan Hanner, Leanne Crowley, Lauren Woods, AND WILL GONG, with Barbara & Jerry, introducing Leya Oakley. Also an incredible slew of SPECIAL GUEST STARS – YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!)

Anyway, this whole trip thing is starting to really get close. And I’ve officially booked my first Hostel. In Portland Oregon, WOO HOOO!!! And I’ve gotten AAA membership. And also I’ve emailed a few friends about when I’m going to meet up with them.

Sadly, I’ve had to cut a week from the trip. SO OFFICIALLY I COME BACK NOW on the Oct. 20. Of course, this could change if there is no work for me, and then I’ll just continue my trip, because that’s the UTAH parks section, so that ain’t going to cost too much.

This stupid Economy! I’ve also been struggling to figuring out when to stay in Hostels and when not to. And if I do stay in one, will do one of those Dorm Rooms with like 6 to 8 people in it. The last time I stayed in a Hostel was in NYC and I swore I would never do it again, and now I’m doing it in Portland, Seattle, Chicago, for sure. But you know you do what you have to do. DUDE, to stay in Chicago is EXPENSIVE!!! Expensive. And it’s not like I can camp there.

Ugh, after doing a little more research today, I can that I haven’t a clue where to stay in Denver or New Orleans. The two things that are really messing with me are, Location & Reviews.

Let’s take a closer look.

1. Location – How close to you want to be to the action? Do you want to be driving all day to just get somewhere? But if you get too close it’s too expensive. And then that really sucks. But then you know you have to consider if the neighborhood is good. AND THEN YOU HAVE TO CONSIDER THE REVIEWS.
2. Reviews – They totally suck. How the hell can you tell what place is good if like everyplace has like 3 good reviews to 1 terrible review. And most are like this!!! It’s too much for someone’s brain to try to process. And of course somebody is going to mention the dreaded BED BUGS!!!!

So I’m going to just have to use the force on this one. With so many places and so many hotels/hostels/prices/deals, choosing where to stay will be the real adventure.

August Music Update!

THE AUGUST MUSIC UPDATE:

So, I was going to write an entire Blog about The "Third Eye Blind" Conundrum, but I couldn't get around to it, so I'll touch on the subject, but also talk about some good music too.

IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ ABOUT MY RAMBLINGS ON THIRD EYE BLIND SKIP TO THE NEXT ALL CAPPED LINE.

To Begin, Third Eye Blind has a new CD coming out on Tuesday. So, I have to ask does anybody care? NO. Yeah, it's true. I wish I did, Third Eye Blind's first CD was so solid and important to the 17-18 year old B.J. that like I always want their new music to go back there. But really, this is only their FOURTH CD in like 12 years. HOW THE HELL ARE YOU GOING TO KEEP FANS if you never put out new music. And then, you know LIKE WHY THE HELL DID I EVER LIKE THEM.

I guess here's the thing. Their First CD is really awesome and was like a big old synthesis of 90's rock, but coming at the peak and being the synthesis, you really don't have anywhere else to go, so you have to evolve and evolution can kind of be a bitch for a rock band. But you have to do something, at least right good lyrics.

So then comes their Second CD "Blue", and for anyone that has ever listened to Blue. The first half is really good, very strong, lots of great hooks, good guitar playing, interesting instrumentation and odd but relatable lyrics (It's third eye blind, you know). And then second half comes and you're like what the fuck! Is this even third eye blind? Why the hell can't I hear what he's saying. This totally sucks. IT all falls apart.

After this CD, the lead singer/songwriter, whathisface, fired his lead guitarist and co-writer, it was an EGO thing. And this EGO thing is A BIG DEAL. Because on their third CD "Out Of The Vein," is really self important, but musically SO MUCH LESS INTERESTING, like they can't create new guitar riffs or sounds, so recycling comes in. THEY RECYCLED ON THEIR THIRD CD, and is it coincidence that they fired their Lead Guitarist. Hmmm... "Out Of the Vein" Plays more like a CD that should have come out before their first CD, except for the strong feel of rock star self importance. Aparently, Whatshisname, was having a really hard time getting over Charlize Theron. Geez.

Well, next week their fourth cd comes out, it's called "Red Star." And I've heard some of the tracks and the most interesting, catchy one, is ruined by terrible lyrics, it's called "Non Dairy Creamer." I mean for christ's sake the first Line is "They Call it KFC, cause it's not really chicken, HA!" But it has that classic third eye blind guitar riff, and you really want to like it, but I don't think you can. They actually chant. "Young Gay Republicans." Where the fuck is this guy's mind.

So, I guess people will buy like One or Two of the songs on Itunes or download it illegally, and you know that kind of sucks, because I really did love that first CD.

START READING

Now, if you want to hear a really solid, well constructed, relatable rock cd, go and check out Our Lady Peace "Burn Burn." Some really good songs in their Our Lady Peace type mode. Big bold simple songwriting sung passionately, with good hooks.

Also, it came out last year, but I haven't brought it up. TV On The Radio "Dear Science." This CD is like what you'd get if MGMT were a real band. Not that they're bad, but you know until they put out their second CD they really seem like two really musically talented kids who really nailed 2 SONGS. But TV on the Radio, they're for real. They're what you'd have wanted Bloc Party to evolve into. Well, if Bloc Party was American and from New York they may have, but whatever they're Londoners. Check out "Dear Science." You won't regret it.

For those that want a little more Pop, but in a weird way, you should look up Miike Snow's self titled first CD. Their Songs sound like if you crossed Gorillaz with Peter Bjorn and John and Reading Rainbow. The First Four Songs are STELLAR!

And just for the hell of it, I'm gonna bring up The Dead Weather, another Jack White side-project. If you ever listened to the White Stripes songs where Meg sang, imagine that, but with MUCH HARDER GUITARS and a Girl that can actually sing. The guitar work here is amazing, and the songs intense, in a grungy, dundgeony kind of way. Great for, I have no idea what it's great for, but it's cool. Check out "Cut Like a Buffalo."

Well, that's it. Not bad, if ya'll have any new awesome music you'd like to share, please put it in the comment section or drop me a line, I'm always trying to be open to new music.

A Rachel Update

Readers!

I just wanted to throw it out there that our Dear Friend Rachel, has dislocated her knee cap. Please wish for her quick recovery.

Uh, I guess you probably want to know why. Well, after a Yoga Class, when she was packing up, I believe she stood up and it went POP! (That's where you cringe.) And she's been trying to take it easy ever since.

Rachel, we hope You'll back to full recovery and kicking ass soon.

Fight Club on Blu-Ray

FINALLY!!!