culturezoo

A sad farewell...

2005-11-23T20:08:00.000-08:00

Greetings, friends. I have long feared this day would come. I had hoped that my new job might afford me more time but after working until 2:00 AM, followed by another night where I was working until 10:00 - I'm beginning to realize that I was wrong.

I've never wanted to have a blog where updates suddenly cease leaving readers wondering if the author got eaten by wild dogs. Not only do I enjoy writing but I also enjoy replying to all your posts, which too takes time. It's very sad for me to say but I am going to have to end this blog as I cannot give it the care it deserves.

Levi looks to the future.

I am going to continue blogging in 2 forms: First, I am going to develop my business blog, and write posts that are far more boring than ever. Second, I plan to start a music/movie review blog with Sadie in the future but only when I have the time to actually design the thing. I don't know if either will interest you but I hope you stop by - if only to say hi.

We've had some laughs, haven't we...

Bo, carry the torch, brother. I'm sorry that I was not strong enough to stay the course.

Sadie, it's been fun, cousin. I hope that our blogging paths may meet again in the future.

Zombieslayer, you were a late and very welcome addition to our blogging family. I will be sure to stop by your anti-zombie compound when I have free time.

I wish to thank, Joe, Mom, Roz, Claire, Walker, Simon, Amber, Zach, Aunt Melanie, David Floyd, Natalie, Ben Ross, Bizarro Christopher Paolini and everyone who stopped by to offer their opinion. God bless you.

Let me leave you with this very special message, which you can print out and hang on your wall if you want:

May your arrows be sharp, feet be fleet, and daggers sharp too.

Three artists to check out - Folk to Rock to Metal

2005-11-03T08:53:00.000-08:00

So the Kings lost again last night, but at least it wasn't the debacle that occurred the night before. In fact, once Bibby and Peja stop building brick houses I think we're going to have a team that's pretty dang scary. But in other news...

Folk: Derek Webb & Sandra Mccracken

Sandra, me and Derek

So about one week ago I had the pleasure of attending a concert featuring Derek Webb and his wife, Sandra Mccracken. I also managed to get my picture taken with them. Yes folks, that's me in the picture above. I've grown about 3 feet and gained about 150 pounds since you last saw me but don't be fooled.

The concert was great. It was all acoustic but kept me on the edge of my seat for the length of the show. Sandra (We're so close that I only need to use her first name) has a voice like an angel. I could've listened to her sing all night. Towards the end of her set Derek (me and D-man are on a first-name-basis too) came up to accompany her and they sounded especially beautiful together. One of the songs they sang together was "Trade my love", which has some very moving lyrics:

I will not sing songs
I will not speak words
I will stay with you
and all that you carry,
I will trade my love...
For all your fears

Take what you will from them but those words remind me of God's love for us. How he took all our fears, sin and shame and gave us his love. Think of the verse: "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear..."

Click here to listen to 'Trade my love' by Sandra Mccracken and Derek Webb

Rock: The Fray

I found these while surfing the radio and I was instantly caught by the lead singer's voice. It's not amazingly original but it's really got a lovely quality to it. The Fray have that Folk Rock thing going that works so well for The Counting Crows and The Gin Blossoms. They have some highly enjoyable music so check them out.

Click here to listen to 'Cable Car' by The Fray

Metal: Dream Theater

One day, I rode to lunch with a friend from work and he proceeded to crank the volume to nearly ear-splitting levels and played a 13-minute song by a band I'd never heard of called "Dream Theater". I was so impressed by the song (it was called "The Glass Prison") that I immediately rushed home to *ahem* download it.

The musicianship on this song will absolutely blow your mind. I don't think I've heard a band with each musician so wickedly talented. The song's pretty hardcore but I've got to share it. Zombieslayer and Zach I think you should really check this out.

Just in case your wondering, this song as about the drummer's battle with alcoholism.

Click here to listen to 'Glass Prison' by Dream Theater

Just for those who are still reading this, that wasn't really me in the first picture. *Ha ha, sniff* we had a laugh, didn't we? Here's a recent picture of yours truly to clear up any doubts. (I'm the guy on the left.)

Cheers.

Things can change...

2005-10-30T21:37:00.000-08:00

Rosa Parks

I know I'm late to the party on this but there's something about the photo above that stuck a chord in me. It hit me that 50 or so years ago it was okay to in America to opress a human being because of their skin color.

I was raised in a very Christian, Californian home with numerous ethnicities in my liniage, so racism wasn't something I ever really thought about. Racists were wierd people who lived either, a long time ago or in small backwoods pockets of The South.

But it wasn't very long ago that we we're seriously debating if black kids should be allowed to go to the same school as white kids. Heck, even ride on the same bus. If someone even suggested that today in a decent public place, I know that America would react with digust. But just a little while ago our Sentators we're debating this in our capital!

Now, 50 years later, there's still problems but it encouraged me to see how a society can change and I wanted to pass it along. If you're getting discouraged by things you're seeing, if you're upset by the opression and injustice in the world around you, remember Rosa Parks and take a little hope. Things can change. Don't give up or stop trying.

Crushes on fictional characters

2005-10-26T20:00:00.000-07:00

Ahhh, finally I can sit down and write a post. It's been a busy week, striking out on my own here, but I'm loving every minute of it. However, I don't feel like writing about my work or anything really serious. Let's talk about crushes (or "sunflowers" for my midwestern friends). Specifically crushes on fictional characters. I hope my beautiful wife doesn't mind me talking about this. (It's not like I'm going to get together with any of these girl after all.)

My first real crush, the first time I felt the pangs of affection, was on a fictional character: Princess Amanda. I was ten-years-old at the time. That's her, slaying the dragon in the picture below.

She was a character in a wonderful book, Tales of the Kingdom which was an allegory of Christianity. Unlike most modern Christian fantasy, this remains one of the more lovely and skillfully written books I've ever read. I still pull it out and read a chapter or two every now-and-then. And when I was eleven I really had feelings for Amanda, one of the main characters. I remember thinking that it was kind-of sad being in love with a person that only existed in fantasy. Needless to say, it didn't last. (An interesting side note: My first crush on a real girl was purely because I thought her name was Amanda -- a sort-of real life incarnation of Princess Amanda, I assumed. It came as a shock when I learned her name wasn't Amanda. It's nice to remember how deep I was.)

Moving on, another young crush (and a less-obscure one) was on some girl named Tami Stronach - better known as The Childlike Empress from The Neverending Story.

I always thought Lana Lang was cute. If I was Superman I would've gone for her instead of Lois.

And while we're in the Superman universe, when the right artist was drawing Supergirl I was smitten. But with Supergirl it definitely depended on the artist. With her it went from attraction to feeling repulsed, depending on who was at the drawing board.

(While we're on the subject, probably my wierdest crush ever was on a lady who did the voice-over for a radio commercial. I was about nine and every night I'd listen to the radio program, Adventures in Odyssey while I went to sleep. During the program a commercial would regularly air, narrated by a missionary women, asking for financial aid for starving African children. "Your donation can bring these children life," she said in a rich foreign accent. I can still hear her right now. I have no idea why I liked her... But I did. And speaking of Adventures in Odyssey, for those of you who listen to the show, I used to have a crush on Lucy Cunningham-Schultz. Yes, I'm serious. Don't worry, those two are about as weird as it gets.)

Modern-day fictional-crushes?

1) Renee Zellweger as Nurse Betty.
2) Dawn Tinsley from The Office
3) Elizabeth from the Pride & Prejudice TV Series
4) Eowyn from the Lord of the Rings (when she's not all intense).

Okay, now that I've fully embarrassed myself it's your turn. What fictional characters have you fallen for? I know for a fact that my sisters always liked Tramp from Lady and the Tramp so I'm pretty confident that I'm not alone in this.

Work: Chapter 2

2005-10-19T19:55:00.000-07:00

Me in my ex-cube. I have no idea where this picture came from. I just found it in a desk drawer today.

Thanks for the patience folks. Sorry that I haven't been around for the past week.

Today was my last day at Sutter Health. It was odd packing up my desk and discovering long-forgotten stuff: An ancient CD from MacWorld, a horribly outdated book on JavaScript, a birthday card thanking me for my hard work at Sutter. Weird.

It was even stranger saying goodbye to people that I've spent the majority of the past five years of my life with. People that, no matter what -- if I'm grumpy, tired, excited -- I see every day. Some I've connected with, others I haven't. But it was strangely sad to shake hands and say goodbye. There's definitely some folks that I'll miss.

Driving home for the last time was odd too. I did my usual routine: Listened to Grant and Mike argue with callers about The Kings, stopped by my favorite mini-mart for a grape juice then proceeded to have my usual near-nervous breakdown while I battled traffic. Finally I turned the corner into my driveway and my little boy, Jack ran out to meet me. He had made me a "Congratulations" sign on leaving my job and couldn't wait to show it to me.

I'm glad that I'm closer to home now. I'll have about 3-4 extra hours each day and I'm excited to use them. I look at how God took care of me and my family through the rough times in the economy (actually he did more than just take care of us, he pampered us) and I know that he'll take care of us now. culturezoo is his and I want to run it like he'd want me to.

I'm opening a new chapter in my worklife and I want Jesus writing more of the plot. I prefer his endings to mine.

Now I need to check in with the rest of your blogs and see what's been going on.

Pardon moi

2005-10-11T09:30:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

Just a quick note that I'm going to be slightly absent from blogging this week. I've lost any semblance of free-time at the moment. Things will change once I've finally left my job. So you can expect a decent post in the near future. Until then...

I quit, I quit, I quit. I quit, Mister White.

2005-10-05T09:09:00.000-07:00

Aaugh! I just gave my two week notice at my job of 5 years! Aaugh!

I can't believe it. I just quit.

culturezoo here I come.

Watch The Office. Just do it (maybe).

2005-10-02T13:49:00.000-07:00

Ricky Gervias as David Brent

In my Movie Awards I put the BBC show The Office at the number one position for "Comedy". It's that funny.

For those who don't know, The Office is mockumentary TV show in the style of Spinal Tap, Best In Show, Etc. Only it's better than those. (Something I'd have to see for myself to believe.) It consisted of twelve episodes and a final Christmas Special.

The series is written and directed by two amateurs, Ricky Gervias and Stephan Merchant. If you watch the behind-the-scenes documentaries on the series you start to realize that these aren't your usual self-important dry screenwriter/director types. In fact it's hard to tell where the characters they portray end and the real people begin. Instead of droning on and on about the production as those documentaries usually do they go off on wild tangents talking about bizarre stuff and insulting eachother. Gervias is especially weird, with a laugh like Mozart in Amadeus. You can see where his character comes from.

Merchant & Gervias.

Moving on to the series, the set-up is basic: There's a lousy annoying boss David Brent (Gervias) who thinks he's hilarious. David's lone fan is the waifish Gareth who's also obsessed with being a soldier. The emotional heart of the series is the sad relationship between sales-rep Tim and receptionist Dawn. Just about the only two decent people in the office.

Tim & Dawn

As the series progresses you can see that Dawn and Tim aren't just flirtatious friends but there's a genuine affection and caring for eachother. As Tim says:

The people you work with, are people you were just thrown together with. You don't know them, it wasn't your choice. And yet you spend more time with them then you do your friends or your family, but probably all you've got in common, is the fact that you walk around on the same bit of carpet for eight hours a day. And so, obviously, when someone comes in, who you, you have a connection with-yeah. And Dawn was a ray of sunshine in my life.

Tim and Dawn find each other in the middle of the doldrums and almost torturous environment of the office. But there's just one problem: Dawn is engaged to a rough jerk named Lee, who also works at The Office (in the packaging plant). It's an odd place to find a "forbidden love" plot but I don't think I've ever seen a better one.

The amount of emotion this series achieves is amazing given the format. After all, it's a "documentary" so you can only see what a documentary would normally show you. And the actors can only do what a person would do if they knew they were being filmed. And that's what impresses me so much. The emotions between Dawn and Tim are never stated outright. Everything is revealed in glances, subtext and the looks on the actor’s faces. At one particularly personal moment between Tim and Dawn, Tim pulls Dawn away from the camera and takes his mic off, so there's only silence for over a minute leaving the conversation to your imagination. It works amazingly well. After watching the entire series, I have to say that The Office is also in the top ten of my most romantic films.

And it's also hilarious. In a painful sort of way though. Watching David and Co. repeatedly make fools of themselves is more and more like watching a train wreck as the series progresses. This is a sad story. David Brent who could've been painted as your average jerk-boss is shown over the series as a very venerable, innocent character who just wants to make people laugh and have friends, but he's destroying any chances for that by his amount of trying. In the end don't laugh at his mishaps because you just want him to stop and realize that he's destroying himself. The end of series two, when it all comes down for David, will break your heart.

So just watch it. Forget about the American NBC version. I've seen it and it's a pale imitation. Stuff like The Office only comes around once and it doesn't happen twice. There's not one misstep in the entire series, not one wrong note (except for maybe the first episode). It's an achievement. Just watch it. I can say no more.

After all this adoration I have to offer a word of warning: There's quite a bit of crude humor (if you see the character "Finchy", just turn down the volume). The crude humor is sort-of necessary to the plot in the way that it makes the office a bleaker environment but more than once it goes over the edge. There's one or two episodes that I didn't even watch because of the humor. In other words, this is not a series for kids or some adults. But after finishing the series I'm so blown-over that I can't withhold my recommendation.

And whatever you do, finish with The Christmas Special. Don't skip it. It's essential to the story.

To whet your appetite, click here for a clip of David Brent's now famous dance.

Good commercials

2005-09-28T09:44:00.000-07:00

Sadie recently mentioned that she wants to be the judge of good & bad commercials when she grows up. I thought I'd submit three of my all-time favorite commercials. These are about 4-5 years old but they're still great. And they're all from Fox Sports. I swear those guys need to give their advertising agency a raise.

Commercial 1: Spurs

Commercial 2: Jazz

(There's nothing familiar about those geeks is there?)

Commercial 3: Crowd Beating

Not bad, eh?

A retraction

2005-09-26T14:34:00.000-07:00

It has come to the attention of the culturezoo editorial staff that writer Levi Nunnink insulted the customer service skills of local sporting goods store, Big 5 in a recent comment on Sadico Junction. It also came to the attention of culturezoo's editorial staff after the comment was posted that some of Levi Nunnink's friends and relations happen to work at Big 5 (including one Luke Ross, who is a gentleman and an all-around cool guy not to mention a probable customer-service master). It then came to the attention of culturezoo's editorial staff that it was probably a bad idea for Levi Nunnink to make the aforementioned disparaging comment.

The editorial staff would like to officially retract that comment and apologize for any offense it may have unintentionally caused.

Let me direct your attention to...

2005-09-26T10:01:00.000-07:00

Ian's halarious post. Please read this.

That's all.

When I grow up too...

2005-09-22T13:13:00.000-07:00

Inspired by Zombieslayer's great post when I grow up, I decided that when I grow up too I'm going to make a few rules on controlling who gets to be offended and who doesn't. Why? Because way too many people are offended nowadays. One crotchy atheist suddenly gets offended at a nativity scene that's been standing in the town square for sixty years and makes the town tear it down. (I'm probably stepping on some toes with this one but hang with me.) One lady gets offended by a demonic toy in K-Mart and sues. This must stop!

Being offended is hardly ever helps a situation.

For example, an atheist comes up to me and says: "You dumb, Christian! How can you believe in God that lets puppies eat generic dog food instead of name brand? You're all the same: Stupid, right-wing, bigots who want to bomb stores that sell Cosmo."

I have a choice at this point.

1) Be offended and reply, "You stupid heathen atheist! If there's no God then you shouldn't care if puppies have to eat bad dog food. Because, like the robots in Steven Spielberg's AI except for Halley Joel Osmont, an atheist cannot love!"

Or

2) I can not be offended and stay cool. I can walk away or, even better, say: "Whoa Bro,"-calling a guy bro always defuses the situation a little-"just calm down a bit. I'm sorry you feel that way. Let me buy you a non-alcoholic beer or a glass of non-fermented wine."

I'm in good company in my quest for non-offense: Jesus was against being offended. He even said that if someone slaps you in the face (a very offensive act when I last checked) to turn the other cheek!

So here's my rules to regulate offense:

1) You can be offended if you are willing to die to remove that which offends you.
Allowed: Osama bombs New York and that offends me so much that I'm willing to die, if necessary, to make sure that something like that never happens again. In this case I'm allowed to be offended.
Not Allowed: Someone insults me on my blog. I may want to be offended but I'm not willing to die so that person will never post again. In this case I just have to laugh it off and write a smiley face in my reply :) or quietly delete the post.

2) No one is allowed to be offended on behalf of someone else.
There's an awful lot of this going around these days.
Not allowed: I remember when me and my Mexican family were jokingly calling each other "wetbacks" and a non-Mexican friend took offense at that term because he thought it was demeaning of Mexicans. Sorry, bro, but that's not going to fly.
Special Exceptions: You are allowed to take offense on behalf of someone who is too weak to defend themselves, if physical harm is being threatened to that person. For example, when I was about ten years old, my younger cousin Walker was happily swinging on a rope swing in our yard that was attached to a tree. Suddenly an evil kid, who happened to be over at my house, ran up and shoved Walker headlong into the tree, making him crash into the dirt. I don't think I've ever been so offended. I just remember rushing to injured Walker's side all the while shouting abuse at Evil Kid. "I was just giving him a push," Evil Kid innocently explained. "Oh, yeah right!" I remember screaming. It was the meanest thing I could think of.

3) Absolutely no indignation. Indignation is offense's evil little brother.
Unlike offense, there are no excuses for indignation.
Example: When I was a kid my school principle was really mean and I was deathly afraid of her. (Actually I was homeschooled all my life so that's not true but it's easier to explain than the truth.). One day I was walking down the hall and I saw a large crowd of kids pressed around a cardboard box. They were giving away free t-shirts. Seeing as my mother always made me go to school naked (not true either but this story is sort-of fictional) I desperately wanted one of the t-shirts so I could cover myself. I made my way through the tight crowd of kids. They were packed around the box of t-shirts like sardines and it was tricky to squeeze my way in. "Excuse me?" I heard in my ear. I turned and my stomach did a backflip: There was my mean principle standing next to me. I had accidentally jostled her in my hunt for a t-shirt and INDIGNATION was etched into every line of her cruel face. I fell to my knees and begged for mercy but according to my rules her indignation was Not Allowed! Sorry.

4) You're allowed to be offended if someone's is talking in a movie theater during the movie.
In this case you're totally allowed to be offended but when I'm running things you won't even need to be offended for long because if anyone talks in a movie theater they will immediately be apprehended by my special task force. They will be sent to jail for 30 days and their movie-going privligies will be revoked for 10 years. If they repeat it's jail for life, baby!

So that's all. I've kept it simple with only four rules. I'm looking forward to growing up. What with me and Zombieslayer's new rules, things should be shaping up pretty quick.

Weekend happenings... Updated

2005-09-19T09:57:00.000-07:00

Update: I fixed the audio link. Sorry about that.

Left to right: Jonah, Aaron and Bass-player Art make "Fresh Young Blood".

So this weekend I had an opportunity for a guy's night out and I decided to call my high school-best-friend/aspiring-rockstar pal, Jonah Wells whom I haven't spent time with in almost a year and see what he was up to. Turns out (as aspiring rockstars are wont to do) he was playing a show at a local bar with another old pal, my cousin Aaron (it's a small town). I'm not a guy who frequents bars but I thought that it would be worth it to hang with some old friends. I had a great time but afterwards I still don't "get" the whole bar thing.

First, this bar was dirty. Aaron pointed this out, saying: "This place is dirty. It's disgusting. I feel like the bartender could scrub the floors with a toothbrush and bleach and it would still be dirty. There's nothing anyone can do about it. It's gone too far for cleaning."

Second, everyone was drunk. "Duh," you say. "It's a bar." Yes, but I don't like "everyone is drunk" situations. I'm not a drinker (I've never been able to enjoy the taste of beer) and I think to enjoy an "everyone is drunk" situation you have to be a part of the "everyone". You won't have a good time if you're a sober father-of-two, trying to ignore the raucous dancing by women that look like your mom. I hope I don't sound stuck-up because I understand that there's a wholesome side to going out and having a few beers with your pals. But I'm just not experienced at it and I don't think I'll ever be.

I did enjoy Jonah and Aaron's band "Fresh Young Blood". My cousin Aaron is sickeningly talented and he's probably the best singer that I know personally. Jonah is an animal on the drums and it's always fun to watch him play. I think Aaron is secretly the happiest guy I know because only someone really happy would want to write such dark lyrics. If they're in your area go see them. You won't be sorry.

Listen to Fresh Young Blood on MySpace

After the show me Aaron and Jonah were standing outside the bar when a classic "drunk guy" walked up to Jonah and proceeded to have the following conversation while bear-hugging him and wringing his hand in a sloppy handshake:

CLASSIC DRUNK GUY: "You guys rocked, man."

JONAH: "Thanks."

CLASSIC DRUNK GUY: "Dude you look like Kurt Cobain." (Makes bowing, "I'm not worthy," motion.) "Kurt's the master, man."

JONAH: "Thanks."

CLASSIC DRUNK GUY: "But I have one suggestion. At the end of one song - I don't remember which one - you need to say EPIPHANY."

Jonah: "Epiphany?"

CLASSIC DRUNK GUY (to Aaron, who's trying not to look like the lead singer): "HEY! You're the lead singer! Man, you've got to say 'Epiphany' at the end of that song... I swear it would make that song. I don't remember which one. It was about war or something but just let it ring out and... Epiphany!"

AARON: Nods.

CLASSIC DRUNK GUY (releasing Jonah's hand and stumbling away): "Remember: epiphany. It'll be a hit!"

I guess that's the third reason to not like bars: You have way to many people trying to get you to randomly insert the word "epiphany" into your lyrics.

My quest for Bizarro Christopher Paolini

2005-09-13T15:22:00.000-07:00

Above: Evil, evil Real Christopher Paolini.

I have embarked on a search for the perfect author. He is Bizarro Christopher Paolini.

Bizarro Christopher Paolini is the exact opposite of the real Christopher Paolini (pictured above). Bizarro Christopher Paolini was created when Lex Luthor tried to clone the real Christopher Paolini in a secret lab but something went wrong and Bizarro Paolini emerged from the cloning vat. The clone shared similar characteristics in looks and interests but was very different in talent and attitude.

For example Bizarro Paolini is humble whereas Real Paolini states:

"In my writing, I strive for a lyrical beauty somewhere between Tolkien at his best and Seamus Heaney's translation of Beowulf."

Bizarro Paolini is also an original writer. His stories aren't complete rip-offs of Star Wars like Real Paolini. As one disappointed Amazon reviewer stated after reading Real Paolini's latest novel:

...at the end when Murtagh tells Eragon they are brothers, Eragon denies it and then what does Murtagh say? "Search your feelings, you know it to be true!" Pop in Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back and you will see Vader telling Luke the EXACT same thing!

Bizarro Paolini is also pure of heart because I can only assume that Real Paolini sold his soul to the devil during the homeschool hours that his parents weren't watching. Why do I think that Real Paolini sold his soul to the devil? How else do you explain his position on the bestseller charts? Only supernatural evil powers could make so many people buy (much less read) such a piecee of junk.

I believe that Bizarro Paolini is working on some small-town bookstore. Kindly assisting customers and writing on his lunch break. He smiles but there's a bit of sadness in his eye... He sees his evil twin's success and pride and knows that one day he must battle him. Bizarro Paolini, I will stand by you on that day. I swear it.

If anyone wants to know more about my reasons for believing in a Bizarro Christopher Paolini, read about the first occurance of a Bizarro-person here.

Or if you're secretly evil, Click Here for a special message from Real (Evil) Christopher Paolini.

Above: A rare sighting of Bizarro Paolini as he wanders the earth, biding his time...

A dumb poem

2005-09-09T20:25:00.000-07:00

Is this the most pointless poem ever? And why did I write - much less post it? I have no idea.

Creeping over a landscape of silhouettes when I,
Laid a look on the moon’s white eye
It asked, “Why do you go this way of dirt and cacti?”
“For a pretty girl,” I replied.
“For a pretty girl,” said I.

“She must be as fair as a blossom in spring,” she he (the moon, I mean)
“for you to lope along the path, bereft of brook or stream.”
“Ah, moon,” I did laugh, “your eyes must be withered and lean.”
“for I’m standing by a cool creek, in which does your light gleam.”
“In which does your light gleam.”

“Upon my word!” the moon did bleat. “My eyes have done me wrong.”
“Go thy way, ugly-headed-lad, I think I’ll write a song.”
And so I did walk the land, ‘tween shadows thin and long.
Until I found the door of my girl, pretty as a song.
Pretty as a song.

Please forget you saw this and read the next post. It's much more worthwhile.

Best album booklets...

2005-09-09T12:12:00.000-07:00

I'm feeling well enough to hack out a post today and Sister-in-law Rebecca suggested that I do a Top 10 post because "those are always fun". Rebecca, I take some serious offense to that statement. You seem to be under the impression that I choose the content I post on culturezoo based on how "fun" it will be. HAH! Did you ever consider that I have a strict, laborious process of scrutiny, revision and more revision for each and every post. I spent eight hours on yesterday's "Sick" post, for crying out loud! Each word analyzed, revised, weighed against proven philosophical and theological theorem... Oh but if it's "fun" I should post it, right? Um... I guess you're right.

So here's a top ten list: 10 Best Album Booklets

As much as I love iTunes Music Store and Mp3s there's one thing that I'll always miss when I don't buy an album by hand: The Booklets. To me, the booklet is more than just a cover slapped on a piece of music so you can read the lyrics and know the tracklists, it's an extension of the music (at least, it should be). A good booklet becomes the face for the music and it tells you a little bit about how the artists see the album in their eyes. There's a lot of lousy booklet-design that you can tell some record label stooge hacked out without even listening to the album, but there's also a wealth of great design. These are the top-10 CD/album booklets that made an impression on me, starting from least to greatest:

10) The Joy Electric Discography:
Joy Electric is not my favorite band but their booklets are always jaw-droppingly great. It seems like they told the design studio, "just make something great".

9) Tooth and Nail: Artcore Vol 1 & 2
"But, Levi," you might exclaim in indignation. "Those covers aren't very good!" Ah young one, I chuckle and reply, Good design does not a good booklet make. The reason these booklets were my favorite was because they were compilations of unsigned-band demos that the owner of Tooth and Nail Records, Brandon Ebel had received in the mail. Brandon decided to release these demos in the two Artcore compilations but the cool part is he wrote notes about each band and song in the booklet with little anecdotes and stories. I used to read those notes over and over, dreaming that someday Mr. Ebel would be writing about my band in such familiar terms. The music on the compilations is great too.

8) Green Day: Dookie
I've never been a huge Green Day fan but I liked Dookie when I was younger (who didn't) and I always thought that the booklet was great.

7) The Clash: London Calling
This cover just sticks in your head. It's very dramatic, punk and memorable.

6) The Seventy Sevens: Sticks and Stones
A collection of B-Sides and other unreleased songs that turned out to be The Seventy Sevens best album. Instead of lyrics, each song gets a detailed history in the booklet. I've read it countless times.

5) Prodigy: The Fat of the Land
I never liked this album but I'll never forget this cover. I remember walking through record connection and that cover just catching and holding my eye. There's just so much energy and color. It's probably the best cover photo ever.

4) Radiohead: OK Computer/Kid A
I go back and forth with Radiohead. One day I think they're brilliant then the next day I think they're pretentious, over-hyped dorks. Nevertheless they have some amazing album artwork that is almost as much a part of their identity as their music. It's just like radiohead: dark, beautiful, electronic and hard to understand.

3) The Cure: Wish
I'm not sure about the meaning behind Wish's booklet art - the scrawled-eyes attached to fingers - but it's great. It's whimsical and dreamy, just like the music on Wish. What a great album.

2) U2: Pop/All That You Can't Leave Behind
You can tell that U2 puts an amazing amount of thought into each booklet that they design just because each one is so detailed. And none more than Pop and All That You Can't Leave Behind. And they're both so different from eachother. One is over-the-top, colorful and gaudy. The other is subtle, monochrome and simple. Both are great.

And now for numero uno...

The Smashing Pumpkins: Melon Collie and the Infinite Saddness
This will always be the standard of booklet design for me. The double-cd came with not one but two booklets; one for the artwork and credits and the other for the lyrics. They were both so detailed and intricate. Every song had its own intricate illustration to go with the words. I think I loved the artwork for this album as much as the music. Or, in truth, you really can't separate the two. They don't make 'em like this anymore.

So what are you're favorite album covers or booklets? What are the ones that you'd hang on your wall or stare at for hours? Let hear them. (Please no boy bands.)

Sick...

2005-09-08T14:52:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the lack of posting but I've been sick for the past few days. Tomorrow I think I should be better and I'll rise up like a phoenix to write a full-length post. Until then I'm going to bed.

And in lighter news...

2005-09-01T10:48:00.000-07:00

I'm entranced by Coheed and Cambria's new bizarrely-titled album: Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through The Eyes of Madness. Yes that's it's name.

Coheed and Cambria are quickly becoming my favorite metal band since The Smashing Pumpkin's' demise. In many ways they're similar to the Pumpkins. I remember the first time I heard Billy Corgan singing I thought "What the heck? This can't be serious". I had the same reaction to Claudio Sanchez (C&C's lead singer) when I first heard him on the radio. His voice is very high. It almost sounds like he's been sucking helium. You have to get used to it before you can appreciate the rest of the music. The second time I heard The Smashing Pumpkins I was hooked on Corgan's voice and the same thing happened with Coheed & Cambria. Now it's my favorite part of their sound.

Speaking of their sound, it gets hard to classify. There's times when they sound emo-ish and then they stray into punk grooves. And this latest album is very metal/prog-rock. But whatever the case they're always beautifully melodic. My lovely wife is into them too (she has the most random musical tastes, I've given up trying to figure them out), so I'm assuming that they're not just a guy band.

Finally, one of the coolest parts about their music is that it's all a sci-fi story. Each album is a chapter in an elaborate plot that centers around two superheros named Coheed and Cambria (hence the band name) and their quest to save the universe. Admittadly , plot details are really hard to understand just from the lyrics and whenever Claudio explains some of it, I end up more confused. To help out puzzled fans like me they're publishing an independent comic book that tells the story in detail. I haven't read it so I can't recommend it but it does stir the geek in me.

Zombieslayer, I specifically think that you'd probably like these guys.

I've provided a few previews of their music so you all can judge for yourself. And really give Claudio's voice a chance.

Click here to listen to "A Flavor House Atlantic" from In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3. This is the song that first turned me on to them. It's not their best but it's a good start.

Click here to listen to "Welcome Home", the first single from their latest album. This is more in the metal vein of C&C but still good.

One final warning: They do have some swear words in the lyrics and, as this is a comic book story, there are some descriptions of violence in the lyrics. In each case it's nothing extreme (there's at most five swear words on each album) but it did seem to warrant a Parental Advisory on the latest album. Proceed with good judgment and if in doubt ask your parents.

Lessons from the chaos...

2005-09-01T10:09:00.000-07:00

For all its warts, the government really does protect us. Surprisingly enough, it protects us from ourselves. Look what happens when the rule of law disappears. People loot, fight and even attack at their only hope of help. Scary stuff.

For all of mankind's power we are nothing compared to nature. Just weeks ago, walking through San Francisco, I was just amazed that humans could build the things I saw: Huge bridges, skyscrapers, wharves, technology. The future is here, I remember oxymoronically thinking. Then to see an American city like New Orleans literally destroyed by nature... It's an ego check.

Terri Jones tries to cool fellow flood victim Dorthy Divic, 89, who was over heated and exausted at the convention center in New Orleans.

Just as it brings out worst, tragedy brings out the best in us. You can almost see good and evil battling in New Orleans. For every gang fight, robbery and assault there's a neighbor helping his neighbor. There's someone risking their life to save a stranger.

And for every tragedy there's some hack-philosopher piping up with his opinion. I'll shut up now and here's a link for everyone who wants to help their neighbor: http://www.networkforgood.org/. And let's all keep the people of New Orleans and surrounding areas in our prayers.

A bit of my writing...

2005-08-25T21:06:00.000-07:00

I've been posting about books and writing quite a bit lately and I thought I'd share a little bit of what I've been working on.

This is the latest draft of the first chapter of my book: Darkpark. (Formerly The Sultan's Secret.) It's a children's book so if the style seems a little childish, now you know why.

I'd be interested to hear what you all think.

1) The Orphanage

The orphanage was a grey building without any grass in its courtyard or ivy on its walls. It had metal widows that were bad at keeping the heat in when it was cold and even worse at keeping the cool in when it was hot. A sign at the gate read, "The Children's Ranch of Reluctant Beauty," and not even the headmaster, Mr. Levine, pretended to know what it meant. The children simply called it "The House" and Mr. Levine called it "The Ranch".

Read more...

The knockout punch.

2005-08-22T08:36:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking lately about what makes a story great for me. I've read a ton of books in my life and I plan to read many more. I've also seen quite a few movies and reluctantly plan to see a few more. But out of all those stories only a small percentage have stuck with me, the rest have sunk to various oblivious levels between "good" and "awful".

This is what I feel makes a story great: The emotional punch. If a story can't make me feel anything then it's not worth the time. Forget if it's artistic, cool, whatever. The stories that I love are those that get inside your heart and they don't leave you when the movie's over or the book's closed. You carry the characters around with you and they've become a part of who you are.

Here's a few examples:

East, by Edith Pattou
This book was well-written, good characters, dialogue, settings, etc. But the story never resonated. When I put it down, I was done.

Bottom line: Landed a few punches but no knockout.

But here's another book:

Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card.
When I was a kid I went to summer camp every summer and no matter how much fun I had, I would always miss my Mom and Dad at night. Camp can be a scary place; there's bigger kids that tease you and tell dirty jokes, there's cool counselors that you'd do anything to hang out with, there's girls and when you're ten or eleven, living with girls in a forest for a week can be a very confusing experience. I think that camp is a lot like school but you don't have your home and parents to retreat to.

When I read Ender's Game all the feelings of summer camp come back to me. In the book, Ender is sent to battle school when he's six years old (they start military training young in the future) where he's trained for combat. But inside Ender, at night when he's laying in bed, he just wants to go back home to his sister, the only person who ever loved him.

I think that's why I'll never forget Ender's Game. It's not because the plot is so great (it is), and it's so exciting (it is) but it's because when I read it I become Ender. I'm back in my bunk at summer camp, missing my Mom and Dad and just wanting to go home. When Ender finds his sister Valentine in the game (if you've read the book you'll understand) it hits me in a place I can feel and that's when the story digs itself into my mind.

All my favorite stories are full of those moments:

In The Last Battle the battle at the stable and then when Tirian steps through the stable to find the kings and queen of Narnia waiting for him. Actually just about every part of The Last Battle is an emotional ride, so I'll move on.

The Neverending Story when Bastian gives the Childlike Empress a new name.

Blade Runner when Roy is dying and says those beautiful lines: "I've seen things you wouldn't believe..."

Revenge of the Sith from the start of the duel, straight to the end.

The Dark Tower, the final scenes. It's such an incredible end to such a long journey. (The Dark Tower really illustrates my point because it's not the most well-plotted or, at times, coherently-written bit of work but that story is just an amazing emotional journey.)

Fellowship of the Ring, when Gandalf falls in the Mines of Moria and in Return of the King when Frodo and Sam are climbing up Mount Doom.

Peter Pan when Wendy grows up.

Superman: Action Comics 1, when (don't laugh) Superman rescues Lois for the first time.

Sense and Sensibility, when Hugh Grant confesses his love to Emma Thompson at the end. (Can I get sensitivity points for admitting this and being a guy?)

A movie I watched just last night: On the Waterfront, when the priest makes his speech to the dock workers, "Christ is kneeling right next to you..."

Magnolia, the whole cast sings "Wise Up" by Amiee Mann. If you've seen it you'll get it.

I could go on for quite a while but I think you get the point. It's the times when people start cheering or crying in movie theaters. All these stories become more than movies and books, they become a part of you. For me that's what makes the difference between good and great.

So what are your stories? What are the books/movies that hit you with a knockout punch that you won't forget? And what are the moments in those stories that resonate with you? Let's hear some of them.

Cool story

2005-08-17T13:10:00.000-07:00

3 Researchers Rescued From Arctic Island

I wonder if it's easier to pray without ceasing when you're being stalked by polar bears?

Two bands to listen to

2005-08-15T08:30:00.000-07:00

Imogen Heap
Weird name, great music. I first heard Imogen on the soundtrack to Garden State signing "Let Go" and I was hooked. Her voice is captivating and her range is amazing. She slides from low growl to a note at the top of the register so effortlessly that you hardly even notice.

You've probably heard her as the lead vocalist for Frou Frou, an electronic band that was featured on the Shrek 2 soundtrack singing the Bonnie Tyler classic "Hero". I'm not a huge fan of Frou Frou though. I'd definitely check out Imogen's solo work first.

Please, please do yourself a favor and click the link below. It's probably my favorite acapella song ever and it shows what a great voice Imogen has.

Listen to "Hide and Seek" by Imogen Heap

The Format
There's some bands that have the amazing ability to bring you out of a bad mood. The Format is one of those bands. They are entirely un-pretentious, catchy and just plain happy. The lead singer has an excellent voice to boot.

Just check out the lyric to the song "On Your Porch":

Well my dad was sick and my mom she cared for him
Her love it nursed him back to life
And me i ran, I couldn't even look at him for fear I'd have to say goodbye

And as I start to leave he grabs me by the shoulder and he tells me
What's left to lose, you've done enough
And if you fail well then you fail but not to us
'Cause these last three years, I know they've been hard
But now its time to get out of the desert and into the sun
Even if its alone

Corny? Maybe, but it's a nice break from the obscure lyrics that every alternative band has to write nowadays.

If you're feeling up to it, do yourself another favor and click the link below. I guarantee that you'll be humming this tune.

Click here to listen to "The First Single" by The Format

The city by the bay

2005-08-11T09:01:00.000-07:00

So as I said, me and Suzanne made a little trip to San Fran' over the past few days and we had a great time.

Instead of staying in the city we stayed in Alameda and took the ferry in to the Embarcadero. That was the way to go. One of the things I hate about the city is driving through it and most of all - trying to find a place to park. So we just rode the public transportation, which was an adventure all by itself.

A few fun things to share:

We should've just worn signs around our necks that read: WE ARE TOURISTS. We walked around, staring at everything, consulting our map, freezing in our summer clothes.

While we were trying to figure out a subway route to Golden Gate Park a large man who moments before had been yelling "F---ing A--hole" at the top of his lungs walked up to us wondering if we needed help finding our route. Not wanting to say no, we nodded. In a friendly manner he showed us the best route and then asked for a tip. Not wanting to good vibe to disappear we, of course, tipped him. The second we stepped away three police officers drug him away. Me and Suzanne looked at each other: "Did we cause that?" Sorry pal. Thanks for the directions, though.

Riding the busses was just fun but the subway was a little creepy.

We ate in a packed Chinese restaurant where we were the only white people and the only people speaking English. It was bizarre. It gave me a little taste of how a black person must feel in white, white Grass Valley. The food was great.

Aside from the food, I hate Chinatown. It's crowded, noisy, ugly and every store is selling the exact same junk.

Union Square is awesome.

For dinner we sat next to a family on vacation from France. I, of course, red them the riot act on the superiority of America and spit in their food. Actually they were very nice and we got to talk with them a little. It was strangely cute to hear little children speaking French.

Speaking of cute foreign accents, toddlers with English accents are adorable. Even if they are throwing a temper tantrum.

Alameda is a very cute little town.

Standing on the prow of a ferry watching the enormous city of San Francisco recede into the night makes me feel very romantic. It's just too bad that my constantly-freezing wife wouldn't brave the wind and I had to make out with a handrail.

Overall, it was a great weekend. And as always when I visit San Francisco, I'm sooooo glad that I don't live there. I'll take trees and mountains over skyscrapers, thank you.

And by the way, thanks, Mom and Dad, for watching the kids. You're the best!

Vacation the next few days...

2005-08-07T22:23:00.000-07:00

Me and my lovely bride are taking a little trip to San Francisco for the next couple of days. We're leaving the kids with the grandparents and going to pretend like we're independent free-spirits. :-)

I won't be able to post but when I get back I do plan an in-depth update.

Cheers!

Anyone up for a riddle?

2005-08-03T12:36:00.000-07:00

Who owns the fish?

I reccomend getting a piece of paper and a pen...

My next story...

2005-07-28T09:59:00.000-07:00

So I finished reading Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince and I left excited but expectant for the climax of the series. It reminded me why I love fantasy and, even more, why I've got to finish the book that I've written and write the other story bouncing around in my head.

As I previously mentioned, six months ago I had to face facts and accept that I simply could not write a book, build my house, start a business, work a full-time job and be a husband and father all at the same time without going insane. So I shelved my writing with the promise that I would pick it up when my life became a little more calm.

But that doesn't mean I've stopped thinking about my stories. On the contrary, I can't stop thinking about them. Whatever I go through, positive or negative, it seems to spawn a story. Even things as mundane as my job or arguments with friends have become huge plots in my mind. I'm not tell you this to make myself sound creative or anything, it's just the way I am; I understand things and express myself best through stories.

The few people who have read my first book (Jack & Hattie) will tell you that it's just a re-telling of me falling in love with Suzanne and the struggles we face as husband and wife, albeit set in an absurd fantasy world. This was entirely unintentional, but after they pointed it out I entirely agree. Suzanne is all over that book.

I haven't even looked at Jack & Hattie in months but I really want to finish it. I finally understand the story and I need to end it.

But I'm really excited about my next story. It the one that's really stuck in my brain and it seemed to crawl out of my experiences from working in an office environment. It hasn't taken any sort of coherent form but it involves superheros, vampires, werewolves, demons, angels, the apocalypse, and office environments. If you haven't already guessed, it's a story in the spirit of geekhood.

Our house is almost finished and my work situation may soon be changing (you didn't hear that). And just I can't wait to start writing again.

I hope that I don't sound pretentious. I know that I'm not a great writer or anything but I think I'm getting better. Whenever I get discouraged at how lousy I am, I always think back to eleven years ago when I started playing guitar; I stank, I couldn't tell if the thing was in tune or not, I had a hard time pressing down the strings and I didn't even understand one bit of music theory. But it was simply a joy to hold a guitar in my hands. I couldn't get enough of strumming the strings and playing E minor over and over again. I even loved the smell of the wood. Now I'm playing stuff that I only dreamed of playing eleven years ago. But I had to be a lousy guitarist before I could be a good one.

Again, I'm not bragging but I think that's where I'm at with writing. It's just a joy to sit down and write a story, lousy or not. And I think I'm getting better.

How about you all? Did any of you have a desire to do something that at first seemed impossible or just too hard, but you couldn't stop because you enjoyed it so much? Was it playing an instrument? Or playing a sport? I'd be interested to hear.

And thanks for enduring my navel-gazing. I just couldn't bear to write another post about movie trailers.

It's official, the Wachowskis have lost it

2005-07-26T12:55:00.000-07:00

Remember The Matrix? Remember how cool it was, all that gravity-defying judo, wild plot twists and Biblical allusions. I really enjoyed that movie.

Then remember the sequels? How all of a sudden Morpheus was a dork. Neo was a dork. Trinity was a dorkess... and -- actually every character became a dork in those movies. Remember that chill-inspiring love scene between Trinity and Neo intercut with that bizarrely stupid post-apocalyptic rave in what apparently passes for church in Zion. Didn't it seem like they were making the plot up as they went along?

And how about the end, huh? Where Neo (after Trinity randomly bites the dust, negating Neo's saving her life in Reloaded) sacrifices himself to defeat Agent Smith. And the machines, after soundly kicking humanity's rear-end all over Zion, decide to not slaughter everyone and call a truce. Pardon me but I don't see how the good guys came out on top!

Imagine if Return of the Jedi ended with The Emperor killing Luke but deciding to whimsically let the portion of the rebels that he hadn't slaughtered live. Pretty lame, huh? But that's the direction that the Wachowskis Bros. decided to take The Matrix. The only phrase that comes to mind is, what we're they thinking?

But Levi, you might say, The Matrix is so last-year. Sure they sucked but that's all in the past. Why gripe about it now?

Ah, Dear Reader, I will answer your question. I'm annoyed because I just saw the trailer for the latest Wachowski-penned film: the strangely Dr. Suess-esque titled V for Vendetta . (And U is for Unicorn, children.)

Now once again I find myself questioning the judgment of the Wachowskis bros. Let me ask you do you think it's a good idea to make a movie where:

The hero looks like the result of a sick breeding between Zorro and Bozzo The Clown? Do they honestly expect us to take this dork seriously?

The plot centers around a black-clad hero fighting oppression by a totalitarian force. (Hmm, why does that sound so familiar? Wait! Wasn't that the plot of the last three films by the Wachowskis?)

And lastly, why make a film where a TERRORIST is the hero? Okay I know you guys hate George Bush and all but you're committing career suicide. Considering current events -- hundreds of innocent men, woman and children dying at the hands of terrorists every month -- do you really think that Jane and Joe American are really going to show up for a film and root for a terrorist?

Come on guys, you're just embarrassing yourself now. You should've stopped with The Matrix and let everyone think that you were geniuses and didn't just get lucky and accidentally make a good film.

I'm looking forward to this one...

2005-07-25T08:49:00.000-07:00

The trailer for Mirrormask is online. It's looks weird but great.

Batman: Year One

2005-07-19T16:01:00.000-07:00

I've never been a huge Batman fan. His stories had some high points but they definitely came from the darker end of comic book lore, which I've never been drawn to.

Comics have always been for me a vision of how I wanted to the world to be as a kid and to some degree as an adult. Superheros like Superman and Spiderman had an optimistic and bright outlook on the world that I still identify with. They were the antithesis of their enemies; there was no mistaking who stood for good and who stood for evil. They didn't compromise their principles no matter how hard the situation. (Superman always refused to kill his enemies, no matter what they did to him.)

Batman on the other hand was an odd bird, no pun intended. For decades he had the same happy-go-lucky feel as Superman and the other DC comics of the period. (This was perfectly captured in the Adam West Batman.) But as the 80s came around Batman began to get darker and darker and his stories more and more disturbing. The much-praised series The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller repulsed me rather than impressed. I sort of gave up on Batman. His character was too dark and his world too bleak for me to enjoy.

The art of the "classics" of Batman has been defined by Miller (who later went on to create the series Sin City). Miller's art, while undeniably excellent, has always seemed grotesque and disturbing to me and in later years even pornographic. He enjoys taking familiar superhero icons and distorting them.

Above: Frank Miller's Batman, not my cup 'o tea.

Therefore, my expectations were low when I happened to pick up Batman: Year One while browsing through Borders. I expected the usual, hopeless and disturbing story complete with disgusting images that stick in your brain like ticks. (Then why did I pick it up you might wonder? Beats me.) But I was wrong.

The art immediately had me floored:

Year One was illustrated by David Mazzucchelli and, unlike Frank Miller, Mazzucchelli's art seemed to be depicting real people rather than distortions of people. Each character was drawn with an obvious affection and care and the lines were simple and clean.

The story is excellent too: One plot thread focuses on a young Commissioner Gordan when he first gets transferred to Gotham City, which is controlled by corrupt politicians and crime-lords. Gordan's marriage to his very-pregnant wife is struggling and he's having something of a fling with a co-worker. He's a very well-conceived character: An on-the-level cop trying to do what's right in a corrupt police force and a man who loves his wife but is just spending too much time on his job and hurting his marriage because of it.

Menwhile, a young pre-Batman Bruce Wayne (clearly inpired by Gregory Peck) has just returned from abroad and sees the crime rampant in his hometown and is trying to figure out how to fight it.

Usually Batman is ridiculously invincible; he never gets hit by bullets and never messes up. But not here.

In Year One when Bruce Wayne puts on the tights for the first time he is a novice and, though talented, he doesn't always get it right. It's engaging to watch his first fumbling escapades as Batman where he often screws up and makes mistakes. It gave me a sympathy for the character that I'd never had.

The overall plot is how Commissioner Gordan and Batman end up working together and they way it plays out is exciting and even touching. It's a story set in the dark side of the real world but unlike other Batman segas, justice and the desire to do what's right is what drives the characters.

It reminded me of why we have this strange fantasy of superheros. We want to read stories about justice and fighting the good fight. When we look at superheros we see reflections of the good in ourselves and our dreams of who we could be.

It's hard to see the battle between good and evil in our everyday lives, but it's there. When we pull over to help someone change their tire, visit someone in the hospital and work hard for our families we're striking a blow for good. Comics books, in their less-than-subtle way, remind us that there is a fight.

Enough of the mushy stuff. Go read Batman: Year One and you won't be disappointed. It definately revived my interest in the character.

Funny cartoon

2005-07-18T10:58:00.000-07:00

From the vastly under-appreciated indie christian cartoonist, Kevin Frank. Wow, a lot of adjectives.

Legends of the attractive lead star...

2005-07-15T09:57:00.000-07:00

So I think Legends of the Fall sucks. I remeber I started the film and I immediately hated every stinkin' character -- especially Brad Pitt. After a half-hour I turned it off, so maybe I missed out on an amazing save of a film, where after 35 minutes everyone suddenly becomes sympathetic and likable and a script magically transforms into good. I doubt it though.

I guess not enough people share my low opinion of the film because they just re-released the film as a special edition DVD. I'm sure there's hours of interviews with the actors explaining the film ("My character's really angry...") like we haven't seen the darn thing. But I did notice one odd thing about the re-release cover:

I present for your consideration, the original cover:

Can you spot the difference with the re-release:

Apparently the powers that be cannot abide a film cover where Brad Pitt is not casting a wanton gaze out into the potential purchacer's eyes. "Take me home with you..." it says. "I know it's not a very good movie but now there's Special Features... And I'm much more attractive on this cover... Love me..."

Does anyone else find this silly?

Church on Sunday...

2005-07-12T12:50:00.000-07:00

It's funny how in this country we take Church for granted. There's, more-or-less, one on every corner. Many Americans seem to attend like they attend a social group: Moving from church to church on various whims. Screwtape (the devil from The Screwtape Letters) goes so far as to say:

One of our greatest allies at present is the Church itself. Do not misunderstand me. I do not mean the Church as we see her spread out through all time and space and rooted in eternity, terrible as an army with banners. That, I confess, is a spectacle which makes our boldest tempters uneasy. But fortunately that is quite invisible to these humans. All your patient sees is the half-finished, sham Gothic erection on the new building estate. When he goes inside, he sees the local grocer with rather an oily expression on his face bustling up to offer him one shiny little book containing a liturgy which neither of them understands, and one shabby little book containing corrupt texts of a number of religious lyrics, mostly bad, and in very small print. When he gets to his pew and looks round him he sees just that selection of his neighbors whom he has hitherto avoided. You want to lean pretty heavily on those neighbors. Make his mind flit to and fro between an express like "the body of Christ" and the actual faces in the next pew.

And I'm sorry to admit that I sometimes fall right in line with Screwtape's strategy.

But then there's some days when the simple Sunday gathering is transfigured in almost a -- for definite lack of a better word -- magical sense. Certainly mystical.

When the body of Christ is gathered together we can begin to see things as they are. People who I normally would dismiss without a second glance are revealed as vibrant, powerful creatures. Words that I've heard countless times are suddenly piercing. The world is upside-down or rather I've stepped into a place that is right-side-up. And it's like dunking my muddled head into a bucket of cool water. I stop seeing "the local grocer with rather an oily expression on his face" and begin to see citizens in the kingdom of heaven.

I've begun to understand why the Church is so misunderstood by the world. They see us exactly how Screwtape would have them see us. They can't see us for what we are.

Anyhow, please pardon my poorly-articulated Christian rambling. Next up: Brad Pitt's improved Legend's Of The Fall look.

A few pre-weekend observations

2005-07-08T09:59:00.000-07:00

You probably haven't heard Peter Gabriel's strange album OVO: The Millennium Show Soundtrack. It don't even think that it's available in the US.

As far as Peter Gabriel goes, it's pretty uneven. For reasons unknown he employs other vocalists to sing most of the male parts in all the songs. Pardon the sports-related analogy, but isn't that like bringing in Brian Skinner to shoot free-throws when Peja Stojakovic is available?

Nonetheless, there's some stunningly beautiful music here. And true to Gabriel form it's thick -- full of layers.

Take for example the song, "Make Tomorrow".

I love the first verse of this song, which seems to be about renewing love in a marriage.

Put on the dress in which you were married
Pull down the veil til your eyes are hid
Can you remember where we both came from
Let us do as we did

So many days since I was with you
So many nights I've slept alone
So many barriers grown in between us
Let us be as we were once

*snif*

In other news...

I narrowly avoided dying yesterday, twice.

The first instance came in my company's restroom. Like all living humans must do, I was doing my duty in a stall and I happened to glance up at the latch.

"That's an odd angle for the latch to be at," I mused and thought nothing more of it.

It was only after I was done that I realized that the reason for the latch's odd angle was that I had forgot to lock the darn thing! If someone had opened the door on me I would've literally died like the witch in the wizard of OZ. I would've melted into the floor screaming, leaving a huge problem for HR to explain.

I'm very grateful to God that he saw fit to not include that sort of death in my destiny. And that he kept anyone from opening the door on me.

My second brush with death came on the ride home.

There was some road work going on and the traffic workers had us stopped to wait our turn to go. Pretty standard stuff so I didn't think anything about it and soon they flipped the "Stop" sign to "Slow" and motioned for us to go.

I was only as I neared the other end of the traffic control zone that something seemed amiss. The guy or girl at the other end usually regards the traffic exiting the construction zone with a cool disinterest but now this wasn't the case. This guy with an orange vest was almost dancing with excitement and making frantic motions pointing to the other lane.

"weird," I thought. "Do they want us to slow down?"

I would've left it at that but then I noticed the large pickup truck headed straight for me, in my lane. Then it clicked: The dorks had directed us into oncoming traffic. Crud.

I had to pull an action-movie-esque maneuver (at least it felt like it) into the other lane and the oncoming pickup had to slam on his breaks and pull onto the shoulder. All the while I'm sure the road worker had a look on his face like, "Aye caramba! Why did I set this up like this?"

Anyway, I'm happy to be alive and, Cal-Trans, next time please think a little bit before you almost kill your customers.

Snazzy new little feature...

2005-07-06T22:34:00.000-07:00

If you direct your attention to your right you can view snippits from the latest posts on culturezoo's other blog. The one that's about a bit more serious stuff that some of you might find interesting. Purely FYI.

What a great country

2005-07-05T09:12:00.000-07:00

As always, it was a wonderful 4th of July. We met with my dad's side of the family for poker, great barbecue ribs and fireworks.

My Dad's side of the family (the Nunninks) are about the nicest group of people that you can possibly get together in one location. I think that they abused eachother so much as children that they're making up for by being extremely kind to eachother in adulthood. Honestly, I think that they'd rather chop off a finger than be rude to a sibling.

As the evening wore on we all went for a walk through the neighborhood. Our walk took us to the top of a huge hill, looking out over the town. It looked so picturesque, like something out of a Norman Rockwell painting. You could hear fireworks in the streets.

It reminded me how much I love this country, all its problems aside. America is such a beautiful place. Not just natural beauty but the beauty of gathering with family. Of a small town where neighbors smile and wave. Of being free and able to live how we all want to live.

I'm very grateful to my country and God for giving me a place like this. I don't see how it could really get better.

Book Tag

2005-07-01T08:06:00.000-07:00

I'm finally responding to your tag, Sadie. I hope you're feeling better by the way. I can personally testify as to what a bummer this flu is.

Total # of Books Owned:
I'm not really sure on this one. I enjoy shopping for books as much as a teenage girl enjoys shopping for clothes, so I guess the answer is: A lot.

Last Book I Bought:
The Song of Susannah, Book 6 in The Dark Tower series. I wrote a post about it.

The Last Book I Read:
The last book I actually finished was Coraline by Neil Gaiman and I loved it. Thinking that there might actually be something to the hype surrounding "America's best new storyteller", I ran to the library and checked out Stardust. After about 5 chapters I ended up putting it down disappointed. I just couldn't get into it. I hate hype.

Five Books with Special Meaning to Me:

I've got to echo Sadie on this one and put The Bible at number one. And I'm not just giving Bible props because I'd be a lame Christian if I didn't -- The Bible truly has changed my life and continues to make it better. When my thoughts are confused and messed up (which happens more often then some might think) opening the Bible and reading is like stepping into a cool pool of water.

Number two would have to be The Chronicles of Narnia. CS Lewis wrote these books with such a effortless imagination and style. They still stir my spirit and awaken my sense of wonder. And The Last Battle brings me pretty close to tears. (Strong... men... also... cry...)

Coming in at number three: The Lord of the Rings. My rabid devouring of these books has dropped off some in recent years but when I younger I couldn't get enough of Elves, Valar, Silmarils, Numenor, Morgoth, Etc. And if you're thinking, "Hey, none of that was in the movies!" to you I say: "Darn, right!" We true fans know all about that stuff.

Book 4 is a tie of two author's bodies of theological works:

Francis Schaeffer's writings have greatly helped me to understand state of the world around me from a Christian perspective. His historical and biblical knowledge along with his insight on philosophical trends is astounding. He's not the most literary fellow and his books can be dense reading but they're a gold mine of wisdom. I highly recommend, How Should We Then Live? The Rise and Decline of Western Thought and Culture

On the other hand the writings of CS Lewis have greatly helped me to understand the world inside me and the world of Heaven. The joy of living as a Christian drips from Lewis' books, along with frank moments of despair (A Grief Observed). But the more you read of his writings you find that Lewis lived with his eyes fixed on Heaven and the glory to come. He's also -- unlike Shaeffer -- very literary and his works are lovely to read. I highly recommend: The Weight of Glory and The Great Divorce. (Oddly enough, Mere Christianity is not one of my favorites by Lewis. Nothing against it, I've just enjoyed other works of his more.)

Finally at five, I'd have to go with The Princess Bride. This may strike some people as a weird one but I think this is one of the best books I've ever read.

Time to hand out the tags:
David Floyd at Do you know the muffin man.
Ian at... One of his blogs
Paul Legge at The Fish Bowl

How'd ya like to run into this puppy at the swimming hole?

2005-06-30T08:20:00.000-07:00

Thai fishermen catch 646-pound catfish

Wow!

Is Paul Legge too good for Blogger?

2005-06-29T08:53:00.000-07:00

To read Paul Legge's new blog don't go to paullegge.blogspot.com. Instead you'll have to go to: paullegge.typepad.com/fish_bowl. What's the story, Paul?

I know that TypePad might be powered by the ultra-hip Six Apart but I can't honestly believe that you'd go for that sort of glamour... And I don't think that "paullegge.blogspot.com" was already taken.

Explination, please?

P.S. Cool photo, by the way. I'm guessing that it's Jen's handiwork?

I got tagged, twice!

2005-06-28T13:50:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, I'm really sorry about my absence but I've been sicker than a dog. I'm feeling a bit better now and I'll use my growing strength to reply to Sadie and Zombieslayer's tags.

First, Zombieslayer's:

10 years ago... I was learning guitar and giving (lousy) guitar lessons to the people that I would soon form a band with: Eric Fassiler and Jason Powers. I had just moved into town from Noth San Jaun and I was enjoying the fact that it no longer took 30 minutes to get to my best friend's (Jonah Wells) house. I was only 12 years old and I lived and breathed music. I also had fantasies that my guitar playing skills would make me more popular with the opposite sex. *sigh*

5 years ago... The guitar skills had finally paid off and I was engaged to the love of my life. I had just proposed to her and the wedding was almost exactly 1 year away. I was getting my carrer together, taking classes at Sierra College and interning at tristream where I would eventually be hired then laid off when the dotcoms all died.

1 year ago... My little girl, Lily, had just been born. She was just about the sweetest thing I'd ever seen. Her being our second child, I was a little more prepared for what having a newborn in the house entailed. We worked it out to where my wife slept all night while I held Lily, drank pots of coffee and watched (non-scary, for the baby) movies. It was seriously one of the most-fun times of my life. I also finished the first draft of my novel right about that time.

Yesterday... Me and the wife were sicker then we'd been in years. It was tag-team barfing. This would be bad enough but the kids woke up especially energetic. Within minutes we realized that we needed re-enforcements and called my parents to babysit. Thanks, Mom.

Today... Feeling better but still out of it. Slept until noon.

5 snacks I enjoy... Grapes, trail mix, popcorn, baby carrots, pretzels.

5 songs I know all the words to... There's way too many but here's a few off the top of my head: The Treasure in You by The 77s. You Gave Your Love To Me Softly by Weezer. We Are The Champions by Queen. Golden Slumbers by The Beatles.

5 reality televisions shows I watch... I'm with Zombieslayer on this one. We don't have a TV and I think most of what's on TV is pretty bad. Whenever I watch it I feel like my inteligence and morals have been insulted. I do like watching sports though, especially basketball, specifically The Kings.

5 television shows I watch daily... The only two I can think of would be Seinfeld and The X-Files.

5 things I would do with $100 million.... 1) Not tell anybody except for my wife and my parents that I had 100 million, just so there wouldn't be that awkward "Oh, he's a multi-millionare" thing going on. I wouldn't retire either. 2) I'd set up a non-profit foundation to support our church. 3) I'd pay off our house. 4) I'd start my own business. 5) I'd leave the rest to the kids as inheritence, which would come as I surprise to them because I wouldn't have told them about the 100 million, remember.

5 locations I would love to run away to... Carmel, England, Italy, New England, The Sierra Nevada Mountains.

5 things I like doing... Talking with my wife, visiting with friends, watching the Kings win, reading to my kids, playing with my kids.

5 things I would never wear... A speedo.

5 recently seen movies I like... Hitch, Star Wars 3, Ocean's 12, Bringing Up Baby, The Life Aqautic.

5 famous people I'd like to meet... George W. Bush, Sam Salisbury (wait a second...), CS Lewis, Robert Smith, Peter Gabriel.

5 biggest joys of the moment... Working on starting my own business, watching my kids play together, listening to new music, getting home early from work.

5 people to tag. Simon, Sadie, Bo, Amber, Joe.

Sadie, I'm going to do your books tag next.

What the?

2005-06-21T09:37:00.000-07:00

Rocker Corgan to reform Smashing Pumpkins

Did I just read that?

Sharing the love...

2005-06-20T09:45:00.000-07:00

The blossoming of blogs like flowers in the springtime (metaphorical, eh?) has become hard to keep up with. I feel even worse that I rarely have time to comment on their wonderful writings. Therefore I thought I'd quickly post a few links to some great blogs that I know everyone here will love.

A Day in the Life of Amber
It's almost terrifying how prolific Amber is. And it's not writing lame "I just saw Star Wars for the 5th time..." posts (don't you hate blogs like that?), there's some really interesting and thoughtful stuff here. She's also got great taste in music.

The Gist Of It
I've already plugged this one, but it deserves a second round. Browsing Simon's blog is, again, intimidating. Where do these people get their deep thoughts and content? Good reading here.

The Zombieslyer
Are you prepared for the upcoming Zombie invasion? I didn't think so. You'd better head over Zombieslayer's great blog to get your Zombie-slaying skills up-to-date. In addition, if you're sick of Left-Wing VS Right-Wing political blogging, you'll find some refreshing opinions. Not to mention a zombie-sized hoard of other great writing.

Do You Know The Muffin Man?
This one came out of the blue. Who knew that David Floyd was such a good writer? The posts range from introspective to fun. This one definitely deserves your time.

Wednesday thoughts

2005-06-15T08:10:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, sorry about the lack of posting lately. I've had my eyes glued to lines of code, slurping endless cups of coffee, ready to put my fist through my monitor for the past week. Not the best state to blog in.

Zombieslayer: Sorry, I'm not the Levi from Chico. Alot of my friends and aquintences did attend Chico but I dropped out of (junior) college rather quickly.

I know that this does major damage to my image as a streetwise hip-hop mogul, but the second that I saw Carrie Underwood's single "Inside Your Heaven" available for download on iTunes, I did just that...

It's exactly what you'd want to hear from her. A great country ballad. (I'm a sucker for those.)

I don't really follow American Idol (I do receive regular updates from my wife) but I did hear Carrie cover Heart's "Alone" and I was immediately sold. Anyone who can sing that song like that deserves a record contract. "Howwwww can I get you alooone?"

I saw The Aviator this weekend and I really enjoyed it. I was extremely impressed by two things.

The crash scene. That was insane!

Cate Blanchett as Katherine Hepburn. I had just watched Bringing Up Baby and I'll be darned if she didn't do an amazing impression.

Speaking of Katherine Hepburn...

...my lovely wife hates her.

Thursday night is movie night in the Nunnink household and I suggested the previously mentioned Bringing Up Baby, starring Carey Grant and You-Know-Who.

About thirty minutes into the film, Suzanne turns to me and announces, "I'm going to bed." I (stunned) say, "Don't you like this?" Suzanne: "I can't stand her!" meaning Hepburn. So after a brief discussion on the talent and likeablilty of Katherine Hepburn, Suzanne headed for the bedroom and I steadfastly continued watching the film.

Suzanne does that sometimes; weird things bug her. For example, she was the only person in the audience rooting for Raoul and not The Phantom when we went to Phantom of the Opera. "The Phantom was screwed up," she informed her stunned fellows after the play. "If Christine and him got together they wouldn't be happy. And Raoul was really sweet."

I still love you, hon.

I leave you with this: Does Katherine Hepburn remind anyone else of Sarah Powers?

Billy Corgan: The Future Embrace

2005-06-07T10:22:00.000-07:00

So I finally have listened to The Future Embrace a few times and I thought I'd post some thoughts on it.

First, Billy, thanks for the freakiest cover ever. Put a shirt on, man. Moving on...

Of all his albums, The Future Embrace sounds the most like Adore in that it's very electronic -- but really, it's a beast of its own. Very strange stuff. I'm predicting that this won't be climbing too high in the charts... And that's not a bad thing.

The sound is very thick and thin at the same time. Layered, distorted, reverb-drenched guitars on the high end, drum machines and keyboards on the low end. And, of course, Corgan's voice in the middle of it all.

The highlight of the album for me is also a highlight of musical weirdness: Billy Corgan singing with Robert Smith, covering a BeeGees song. It's great.

Other songs I'm liking:

Walking Shade. Watch the insanely cool video here

Mina Loy (My Old Heart). This is one of the more instantly enjoyable tracks on the album.

To Love Somebody. The previously mentioned Robert Smith duet. Probably my favorite just for its improbability.

The Camera Eye. A wierd number in the vein of The Pumpkin's Eye from The Lost Highway soundtrack.

I'm not sure how I feel about this album overall. There's some great songs on here but there's also some that -- at first listen -- fall flat. But, then again, I'm rarely enamored with any of Corgan's music at first listen. It takes a while to work under my skin.

We'll see how The Future Embrace fairs over time. Until then, I'm statisfied.

Simon Joins the frey...

2005-06-02T14:17:00.000-07:00

Another friend has joined the blogging corps. Check out his new blog here: simonsgist.blogspot.com.

Just a personal note to Simon: I'm reccomending your blog in spite of the fact that you trash the year's best movie. There's a major disturbance in the force over at The Gist Of It.

It's that time of the year...

2005-06-01T20:15:00.000-07:00

Ah Summer... That warm time of the year that brings barbecues, pool parties and -- of course -- the big GLENNBA marketing push to expand its already huge following.

Joe Glenn, the commissioner of the GNBA, collaborated with culturezoo to create a brand that would appeal to the always-courted demographic of dentists, radiologists and irrigation district employees.

The following brand statements were considered but ultimately abandoned:

"The GLENNBA: Joe just fixed the matchups to his advantage."

"The GLENNBA: You're mostly Christians, so forgive each other."

"The GLENNBA: Does anyone else think it's weird that the 50-year-olds are in better shape then the 20-year-olds?"

It was tough but we finally settled on a single-line brand-statement that, frankly, grave us all chills. (Okay, I wept.)

"Only in the GLENNBA."

Where can you see better half-court basketball? Double-overtime games that stretch late into the night? 8-foot-rim slam dunk contests? That's right: only in the GLENNBA!

We'd like to take this opportunity to unveil the new logo. Hopefully, this will be a mark synonymous with the Jerry West NBA logo, the Olympic symbol and even The American Flag itself!

anyone care to take a peak...

2005-05-31T23:06:00.001-07:00

...at the new home of culturezoo, llc?

I know that not very many people reading this are designers but what do ya'll think? Did I miss any spelling errors?

The Article

2005-05-31T09:17:00.000-07:00

Did anyone else read the article in The Union? I wish I could say that I liked it but I felt that my words were twisted beyond recognition by the overt left-wing agenda of The Union. During the entire interview the reporter kept asking me questions like, "So do you think blogging is a good way to meet people?" Etc. I'm no dummy. I clearly heard the bait in his words -- the leading, the attempts to pigeon-hole me into a stereotype!

Imagine my shock when I read paragraphs like the following: "It's a good way to focus and learn about the writing process," said Nunnink, a Grass Valley resident who designs web pages for Sutter Health in Rancho Cordova."

I ask you who know me best, would I ever say anything like that? Don't believe everything you read!

Of course I'm kidding here. I just wanted to use my one chance to blame something on a left-wing media agenda. I don't know if that opportunity will ever come by again.

It was a real treat to read the article and the reporter was a very nice guy. I enjoyed talking to him. Truthfully, I was rather honored.

I offer my sincere thanks (and apologies for the silliness above) to our hometown newspaper for giving me and some of my friends the spotlight for a bit. Thanks!

Read the entire article here.

2005-05-31T09:13:00.000-07:00

This is a crazy optical illusion. The graphic is not actually moving.

Sadie passed me the musical baton...

2005-05-26T08:49:00.000-07:00

Read Sadie's post to get a clearer picture of what's going on here -- but I've been tagged and here's my answers to these questions:

The last CD I bought was:
I don't really buy real CDs anymore. I just use the iTunes music store and *cough* other means... but the last digital CD I purchased was Eisley: Room Noises on which I now have a musical crush.

Song Playing Right Now:
Neverender by Coheed and Cambria. These guys are the Smashing Pumpkins of today. The lead singer's voice takes a little getting used to but you learn to love it.

Five songs I listen to a lot or that mean a lot to me (in no particular order):

The Church by Derek Webb
A beautiful song that never fails to put a lump in my throat and convict me at the same time.

Here Comes The Flood by Peter Gabriel
There's so many songs that I could list by Peter Gabriel as meaning a lot to me. When I was 9 and 10 years old I used to listen to Shaking The Tree while I fell asleep. Eventually Here Comes the Flood would come on the stereo and it just dug into my young imagination and painted lonely, beautiful pictures.

Leigh and Me by Starflyer 59 with Leigh Nash
Aaron Ross with his amazingly cool music collection turned me on to this rare gem. This song reminds me of working on a girl's car that you have a crush on. It's summer. You're standing fiddling with the radiator, smelling the hot engine, saying stuff like "yeah, your oil's a little low," and all the time you really can't focus because she's standing right there!. I know I'm a weirdo. Just listen to the song and you might get it.

Bullets With Butterfly Wings
I remember when I first heard this song, at the tender age of 12, it was like a revelation. A rock and roll revelation! Thus began years of rabid fandom.

The Treasure In You by The 77's.
I'll always think of Suzanne whenever I hear this song.

By the way, with all this musical taste sharing going on, wouldn't it be cool if there was an online service that made it easier?

I pass this musical baton to Suzanne, Rebecca, Rosalyn and my Mom (and anyone else who wants it). Please post your lists in the comments section. We're counting on you.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!! is gone

2005-05-25T19:56:00.000-07:00

I find it amazing that my "!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" three-line post after seeing Revenge of the Sith turned into what it did.

I'm grateful for everyone's eloquent comments but it's just not a good direction -- so that post is gone now (it not like it was anything great to begin with). With its deletion I consider the subject closed. I would like to continue this discussion but I am also responsible for what goes on here and at the moment I don't have the time to monitor an intense dialogue. I apologize for anything that my good friends who visit here may have been offended by.

Please remember that, "...God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

For everyone else, please ignore this post and read the one below.

Good children's books anyone?

2005-05-25T15:23:00.000-07:00

It's been about 2 months since I've actually read a novel and I'll tell you why.

Two months ago -- after weeks of loosing sleep staying up into the wee hours of the morning reading various books and writing my own -- I decided to go to bed early, around 7:00 PM, to catch up on sleep. 6 slumberless hours later we find Levi standing in front of the bathroom mirror, pulse pounding, seriously concerned that his tongue is going to fall out of his head.

I knew that the fear was ridiculous ("Man's tongue falls out of mouth for no apparent reason!" is a headline you don't see every day.) but I could feel my tongue pressing on my teeth and, try as I might, I couldn't convince myself that I was not in danger of that very thing happening. I should point out that I've never done drugs in my life and hadn't eaten anything weird before going to bed that night.

I wonder what The Lord thought of my prayers that night. I've gotta believe that, "Jesus, please keep my tongue in my head," isn't too common. It's not on the Rosary, anyway. But God is good and -- as it would seem -- very understanding. With his help I finally got my whacked brain into a calm enough state to sleep.

The next morning I chalked the whole thing up to stress and trying to do too much: reading novels, writing a novel, starting a business, building my house and working full-time. So I put a temporary halt to my novel-reading and writing -- I'll be darned if it didn't help.

Since then things have slowed down in my life. The house is nearing completion and the business is just about launched. I've been thinking lately that I need a good book. Something that won't freak me out or keep me up at night (No more Stephan King. Sorry, Sadie).

I'm really in the mood for a good children's fantasy book. Something along the lines of The Chronicles of Narnia or The Neverending Story. I know books that good don't grow on trees but I also know that there's a lot of great stories out there (Sadie, recommended Coraline by Neil Gaimen recently and I loved it) that I'm missing out on.

So how about it? Any good, undiscovered children's fantasies that people feel like recommending?

Wait -- I've got to run! I think my tongue might be falling out of my head.

Revenge of the Sith - spoiler filled review

2005-05-24T11:01:00.000-07:00

This morning, I worked for about an hour on my review and just as I was nearing completion my fingers brushed the lovely Windows "ruin your morning" button on the back of my computer. My screen went black and my review merged with the force, never to be seen again.

So here's my somewhat abbreviated (but still embarassingly long) review of Revenge of the Sith:

As I stumbled the Del Oro at 3:00 AM on Thursday I began to wonder what happened to George Lucas. How did the director/writer who seemed to have lost his ability to stage a scene, direct an actor and write a decent line, turn into the director of 20 years ago and actually improve upon that director? Dare I say it? I think that Revenge of the Sith is Lucas's best movie -- even better than the original Star Wars.

Like the other masterpiece we were recently treated to, Lord of the Rings -- Revenge of the Sith, the entire Star Wars series is an allegory of temptation. Sadly in the end of Sith, the hero doesn't throw the ring into Mount Doom. Imagine Frodo instead turning on Sam, giving in to his lust for the ring. Imagine (without laughing) Sam having to throw the ring and Frodo into the lava. Not exactly what Tolkien had in mind but imagine that and you get the end of Revenge of the Sith.

Anakin is tempted and listens to the lies of The Dark Side. While watching Sith, I was struck by how much The Emperor's half-truths reflected the way Satan tempts us, from Eden to modern day. A good thing is offered -- peace for the galaxy, the end of the war, wisdom, to be like God -- but the method to attain that good thing creates a far greater evil -- Darth Vader, death of innocents, the fall of man. By turning to evil in an attempt to do good, Anakin destroys all that he hoped to save and becomes exactly that which he hated. I find that message incredibly relevant and powerful.

I suppose that's where Sith rises above Lucas's previous efforts. In this film he manages to rise above petty plot devices, wacky jokes and even pulse-raising adventure. He taps into the eternal struggle between good and evil and re-frames his entire cycle in that light.

Okay, that's the deep stuff I got out of Sith. Here's a few stream-of-consciousness observations.

Is not the opening shot the single most exciting shot in all of Star Wars? I felt like a giddy little kid watching that. It just goes on and on and gets better and better.

I guess Lucas finally remembered how to write banter. The dialogue between Anakin and Obi-Wan is fun and pure Starwars.

Obi-Wan is the Joe Glenn of the Jedi: A nice guy and a good friend. The sort of dude that you can give a call when you're having a problem. There's something very sweet about him -- especially when he's holding out the twins to Padme for her to name.

The scene where Anakin and Padme are looking out across Coruscaunt to each other, while Mace goes to confront Palpatine is amazingly subtle and powerful for Lucas. Without a word being said you can see the conflict in Anakin and his choice.

Speaking of the Mace VS Palpatine scene... wasn't that awesome? I have a few observations on that scene alone:
1. Who were those two lamewad Jedi that went down right away? The one dude was looking in the other direction when he got the saber in the chest! What was he thinking? "Wow, I like what evil Palpatine has done with the decorations in his office -- Arrgh!" Yeah, I really want those two Jedi at my side in a fight to the death. Poor Mace.
2. I loved Palpatine in that scene. From his instant transformation into nice-politicion to evil-Sith-Lord to his glee in taking out Jedi. But my favorite part was his "No. NO. NOooo" growl to Mace. I want to pull that sometime at work. "Levi, can you develop this bit of code?", "No. No. Noooooo."
3. Mace's yell when his arm gets lopped off is funny to me. Sort of Lando-esque.

Yoda throwing his lightsaber into the Stormtrooper's chest then jumping on him and pulling it out happened so quick that I didn't notice it the first time -- but wasn't that cool?

Oh and how about the scene with Anakin in the Jedi temple? This is the same guy who brought us Jar-Jar and the Ewoks? Dark stuff.

That Jedi kid who runs out of the temple and starts taking out the clones in front of Jimmy Smitts was very cool. Way to go down swinging, young Padawan.

The Jedi purge was very sad and beautiful. It's weird to see all these characters from the past films just suddenly die in a matter of minutes.

"Not if anything to say about it have I!" What? George?

I loved the scene between Obi-Wan and Padme. Especially the last line from Obi-Wan. Outch.

The lead up to the duel had me on the edge of my seat. Natalie Portman and Hayden Christensen played this scene great. Natalie finally did some acting! The scenery here is stunningly cinematic. The fire, the lava, the black sky. Some of the best of the series.

The duel is more intense than I expected. There was points where you couldn't even see Anakin he was moving so fast. All you see was this blur of lightsaber that seemed to be in a thousand places at once. If I was Obi-Wan, I would've gone down in seconds. Good thing I'm not -- Obi-Wan dying in the duel would've added a major plot-hole into the rest of the films.

Intensity.

Wicked.

Awesome.

Sorry. The fan-boy got out of control.

Anakin lying on that hill by the lava. Catching on fire and screaming his hatred to Obi-Wan was stunning. The high (low?) point of an already excellent movie.

I loved the way Lucas intercut the birth of the twins and the creation of Darth Vader. Those three have a lot to go through together.

The final montage was perfect. All the loose ends are neatly tied together and we're ready for A New Hope to begin. It's a seamless transition. The last shot was lump-in-the-throat material.

I will complete my wandering, gushing review by ranking all the Star Wars films, for no reason.

The Empire Strikes Back: I listed this as my favorite film of all time and not even Revenge of the Sith can supplant it. Too much, Han, Darth Vader plot-twists, Lando, Chewie, Carbonite, Yoda, force-chokes, Romance, Etc. to be beaten by any movie.

Revenge of the Sith: But darn if it doesn't come close.

A New Hope: This film stands the test of time and is even more fun to watch after the prequels. Watch it and you'll be impressed at how seamlessly the two trilogies merge.

Return of the Jedi: An emotional climax to the entire series. We finally see the redemption of Anakin Skywalker through his son. Only the Ewoks take this down a notch.

Attack of the Clones: A step in the right direction for the prequel trilogy but still way behind the other four films. For every great scene there one that makes you want to disappear from the theater.

The Phantom Menace: Jar-Jar, Anakin: "Yippie!". Need I say more? Only Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon and the amazing Darth Maul duel at the end save this movie from being terrible.

So now I have seen the entire Star Wars story arc. The circle is now complete. Thank you George Lucas for giving me a story to fascinate and excite me from my childhood into adulthood.

Benny (Ebert) Ross gives a us sneak peek...

2005-05-18T10:18:00.000-07:00

Most of you probably already saw Benny's comment but I thought I'd give it the attention it deserves.

"Just to let everybody know I saw the best movie at a workers showing at Del Oro. STAR WARS REVENGE OF THE SITH, I saw it everybody. It is so good, it's really sad and heavy at some points. But it is so good, I loved it, plus there were a couple of cool previews. Like Fantastic Four, Batman Begins, and the Chronicles of Narnia, which looks so good, I can't wait.

But People, Revenge of the Sith is sooooo good, I loved it so much and at one point a tear dripped from my eye. I can admit that, because I am sure some other people will cry as well. This movie has better acting, better fight scenes, heavy hard scenes, and sad things make you cry.

This is the greatest movie of this year so far."

Benny, there's no shame in shedding a tear or two. That's why the theater is dark. I'm sure that tonight I'll weep openly at Anakin's demise and bury my teary cheek in Suzanne's shoulder.

Just a matter of hours now! Sweet Mary, I can't wait!

My Hero...

2005-05-17T10:33:00.000-07:00

Just a cool Woody Allen picture I thought I'd share.

You know a movie's bad when...

2005-05-17T10:15:00.000-07:00

you can't even finish the trailer. If they can't even put together 2 minutes of remotely good footage -- how does the 2-hour version stand up?

Gosh, this movie looks horrible.

Thanks a lot, Newsweek.

2005-05-16T09:30:00.000-07:00

So if you hadn't heard, Newsweek printed a story alleging that US interrogators at Guantanamo Bay flushed the Koran down the toilet. (I'm not joking.) The Muslim world issued it's usual calm and nuanced response (pictured above).

Anywho, after 16 deaths and over 100 injuries from the riots and protests Newsweek announces that (whoops) the report was entirely inaccurate. "We regret that we got any part of our story wrong, and extend our sympathies to victims of the violence and to the U.S. soldiers caught in its midst," Editor Mark Whitaker said.

It's cool, Mark. We all make mistakes now and then.

Read the whole story here

The Station Agent

2005-05-13T09:06:00.000-07:00

Last night, I watched The Station Agent for my Thursday night movie. Thanks for the recommendation, Sadie. What a nice slice-of-life film.

I think Joe is one of my favorite movie characters that I've recently seen.

I love movies that make me smile.

The reviews are pouring in and the word is...

2005-05-12T09:16:00.000-07:00

I've kept myself pure for the opening night of Starwars: I haven't read the screenplay off the internet, watched bootlegged clips or read every single review that's come out. That being said I did happen accross a few reviews that got me excited. They're spoiler free so if your interested read away.

Moriarty from Aint It Cool News says this about Revenge of the Sith: "The final third of the film doesn’t feel like anything Lucas has made before, and it’s this stretch of the film that elevates it from a technically dazzling adventure movie to something close to greatness, a tragedy with a genuinely bleak ending that somehow manages to exhilarate even as it devastates." Read more of his review here

Variety says: "The Force returns with most of its original power regained in 'Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith.' Concluding entry in George LucasGeorge Lucas' second three-pack of space epics teems with action, drama and spectacle, and even supplies the odd surge of emotion, as young Anakin Skywalker goes over to the Dark Side and the stage is set for the generation of stories launched by the original "Star Wars" 28 years ago. Whatever one thought of the previous two installments, this dynamic picture irons out most of the problems, and emerges as the best in the overall series since "The Empire Strikes Back." Stratospheric B.O.B.O. is a given." Read entire review

The Hollywood Reporter says: "The final episode of George Lucas' cinematic epic "Star Wars" ends the six-movie series on such a high note that one feels like yelling out, "Rewind!" Yes, rewind through more than 13 hours of bravery, treachery, new worlds, odd creatures and human frailty." Read entire review

Mae: The Everglow

2005-05-10T08:45:00.000-07:00

I love being pleasently surprised by a band. I happened to come across a copy of The Everglow by Mae -- the second album from the young Tooth and Nail band. Let me just say that it is one of my favorite albums in a long time.

They rest in the same groove as Jimmy Eat World -- Pop, Emo, Melodic, Etc. -- but they definately have thier own sound. If you're looking for a collection of lovely emo-pop gems to kick back and relax to, this is your album.

Click on the playlist to your right >> to hear previews and full length songs from the album.

News from the nerd front lines!

2005-05-09T08:26:00.000-07:00

So on Saturday I did what all self-respecting nerds do when the need poses itself -- I lined up (or "queued" as the British say) for advance starwars tickets outside of the Del Oro. I only showed up 15 minutes before tickets went on sale so I was near the back. I thought I'd share a few observations.

One thing that stuck me as strange was the air of superiority that those in the back of the line held to those in the front of the line. The conversations were as such:

"Did you hear that the guys in the front got here at five AM?"

"Dude, no way!"

"Way."

"Dude, I'm sorry, but that's just too much. I mean, common."

"I know!"

At this point I felt like reminding my fellow back-of-the-liners that, no matter what time we got here we were still in line for a movie that doesn't come out for two weeks!. I think that when we got up on a cold Saturday morning to stand in line for Starwars tickets we forfeited our right to insult those that got here earlier than us. We're all this together, folks -- just embrace the situation.

Waiting for Starwars tickets is like standing in a police lineup for nerds. Del Oro's central downtown location and the way that lines must form down the narrow sidewalk -- you end up shoulder-to-shoulder, pressed up against the brick wall, while all of Grass Valley slowly drives by.

Those that didn't give us "you freaks" looks, shouted questions at us: "What movie are you line for?"

"Starwars," we mumbled.

"Ha! Ha!" they'd laugh as if that was what they suspected. Then they just had to ask, "Is that out yet?"

"No. Not for two weeks. We're just in line for tickets."

Then it was their turn at the stop sign and the next would pull up to inspect us.

After the millionth of that very question I felt like answering, "Herbie! We're all in line for Herbie: Fully Loaded!" But in the end I couldn't generate the indignation or the spunk.

At one point some guy came around the corner and yelled, "The movie's been canceled!" Was it the Antichrist making an appearance in Grass Valley? Maybe not but I see a dark future for that man.

I felt the most sorry for the two guys in the very front of the line (the infamous 5:00 AM-ers). I passed them on my way to the back: two friends in their late twenties, sitting in lawn chairs. Not what you'd suspect to find at the front of that sort of line: Ruddy, healthy-cheeked, construction-worker, youth-pastorish fellows. Directly behind them was the usual suspects, a hoard of pale, magic-playing, pierced, gothic, costumed teens. But they had beat that group!

The expression on the two front-liners faces was the really sad part. They wore a look of resignation and perhaps sadness. Perhaps the same expression that is present at an addiction recovery meeting? "Drive on, walk past," it seemed to say. "We can't help who we are and what we love. Just leave us in our shame..."

The Starwars line is not a pretty place. Only the strong of heart should try and endure it.

Next up, the line for the actual movie!

Meet Peter, Edmund, Susan and Lucy

2005-05-03T08:56:00.000-07:00

I'm extremely excited about this film. The casting job is wonderful. It looks like they pulled the kids right from the pages.

Click on the pictures for larger images.

Billy Corgan speaks, and Arcade Fire rocks.

2005-05-02T08:45:00.000-07:00

If anyone is a Smashing Pumpkins or Billy Corgan fan they might find this interview interesting. No matter what you think of Corgan, you must admit that he's rather eloquent for a rock star. He also seems to have converted to the faith in recent years -- in his own weird way.

I was listening to the IndiePopRocks internet radio station the other day, when a song came on that pulled me from my work and sent me in search of further music by the group. Who was that band?

The Arcade Fire

The vocalist reminds me of Modest Mouse (no kidding) but they've got a different groove. They're a bit weird but I really love their sound. Here's a few samples from their album. Let me know what you think.

Power Out

Rebellion (Lies)

Wake Up

Live double-team Weezer coverage!

2005-05-02T08:25:00.000-07:00

Weezer made an appearence in Northern California last weekend. Let's turn to, Walker Glenn, our man in the field to hear how it went.

hey what's up? just wanted to tell a fellow =w= fan about the most awesome experience of my life. oh, yeah... did i mention the show ROCKED MY SOCKS OFF. the setlist was:

Hash Pipe
Tired of *ahem*
Buddy Holly
Slob
This is Such a Pity
The Good Life
Say It Ain't So
My Name Is Jonas
Island in the Sun
In the Garage
Beverly Hills
No One Else
We Are All On Drugs
Getchoo
Hold Me
Haunt You Every Day
----------
Pardon Me
Undone (The Sweater Song)

i'd say the highlight moment was during the guitar solo for In The Garage, when the giant, flashing "=W=" was lowered onto the stage. very dramatic.

the whole set was amazing. there were a few things that could've been improved mix-wise, but the band was really tight (except rivers forgot the words to part of We Are All On Drugs. ha.) as for the new album, i love love love it. i was really really close at the show (on the floor abouut two rows back from the stage) so i took a lot of pictures and hopefully some of them will turn out. anyway, thanx for providing me with Make Believe (i got to be among the elitist group who could sing along to the new songs).

later.
-walker

Thank you Walker for the report. And folks, we'll be sure to keep you updated with new details as they emerge.

Thursday thoughts...

2005-04-28T08:45:00.000-07:00

In addition to the new Weezer, I've also recently developed a liking for 80s glam divas. There's something about Invincible by Pat Benatar, Alone by Heart and Total Eclipse Of The Heart by Bonnie Tyler -- to name a few -- that just capture my ear.

I actually think it's their passion. All the girls in the 80s were sooooo dramatic. They were like Jewel turned up 10 notches. Every song sounded like they had just walked in on their husband cheating, picked up a mic, and recorded how they felt about it -- in other words, lots of angst. The girls today (Brittany, Christina, Etc.) don't come close.

Don't you hate it in romance movies when everyone's sitting around and they ask the romantic hero, "Romantic Hero, what do you think love is?" And he proceeds to give his definition of love ("Love is like a star, it shines the brightest when the night is darkest" or "Love is like a flower, it only blooms after the winter" or "Love is like a blog, it only grows when the owner regularly posts...") whilst the girl of his desire looks on, impressed by his wisdom and insight.

Judging by movies, this is subject #1 at the dinner table but has this really ever happened to anyone? Not me. When I started hanging out at the Gulas house, seeking Suzanne's hand, Neil and Colleen didn't muse with me over the roast beef, "Tell us, Levi, what do you think love is?" If they did I would've been weirded out and thrown out some lame definition: "Love is like a blog...". (Thanks, Neil and Colleen for never putting me on the spot.)

Anyway, the other night Suzanne and I were looking for a pleasent movie to feel romantic over and the task fell to me to choose.

Enter, Music From Another Room. I should've taken a clue from the lone blurb on the cover: "A very sentimental film..." -- not really high praise, is it? It could be taken both ways.

So in the movie the inevitable occurs: "Romantic Hero, what do you say love is?"

I was prepared for the usual stock answer but this Romantic Hero (or the screenwriter) really pulled a doozy out of his pocket. Cue the romantic music and I quote:

"Love is like when you're singing along with music from another room, and a train passes by and you can't hear the music anymore... but you keep singing and it when the train passes you're still perfectly in synch with the music... that's what I think love is like."

Cut to the shot of the Romantic Interest looking like she's having a vision of heaven, while her heart slowly melts for this love-wise Romantic Hero -- we have our scene.

But as Suzanne pointed out, in all her level-headed wisdom: That definition of love makes no sense! "Love is like a mushy apple, it's soft and very sweet..." would've been a better definition than that!

Stupid movie.

Weezer: Make Believe

2005-04-27T08:52:00.000-07:00

Ladies and gentlemen, I have heard Weezer album #5 and I thought I'd share a few thoughts.

Highlights:

Freak Me Out

I'm freaking out over Freak Me Out! This is my favorite Weezer song in years. The guitar parts seem to be made up entirely of harmonics and the result is very pretty. It's the most serious-sounding balled I've ever heard about such a mundane subject: getting freaked out by someone walking down a dark street. My favorite of the album.

Hold Me

River desperately cries out over the chorus: "Hold Me!" I love when he gets dramatic. This is a definite Weezer classic.

We Are All On Drugs

This song reminds me of Hash Pipe. I think Rivers gets in a certain groove when he's writing about drugs. It's extremely catchy and that's a bit of a problem because I find myself humming, "We are all on drugs..." By the way, this is an anti-drug song. I think it might be a bit of an apology for Hash Pipe and Dope Nose.

This Is Such A Pity

Groovy keyboards and a wicked glam-rock solo. I think I might hear a former Rentals member on background vocals. (It's a girl anyway).

Random Thoughts:

This album sounds very classic Weezer: Guitar driven, harmonies, un-pretentious subject matter for the lyrics.

Rivers seems to be in much more healthy frame of mind then the Malidroit days (though still weird, did anyone read the Rolling Stone article?). If you've never heard a rock star sincerely apologize in song to his fans for being a jerk then listen to Pardon Me.

The rest of the album is still a bit of a blur. I think the other songs are going to have to grow on me a bit.

This is a very good Weezer album. I already like it much more than Malidroit. Walker, you're going to go bonkers.

This is a good year for music. My musical hero, Billy Corgan is coming out with his first solo album: TheFutureEmbrace. Shakira and Ben Folds both have new albums due out soon. There's a lot to look forward to.

Superman - first look

2005-04-22T13:00:00.000-07:00

After years in development limbo, the new Superman movie is on it's way and the first image of the man himself leaked out today.

Then, as Clark:

I'm pretty excited about this film. The director is the gentlemen responsible for the X-Men films and The Usual Suspects, among others. I think he'll do a smash-up job. Here's hoping it's nothing like Daredevil. *shudder*

Anyone else rooting for a great Superman film?

Levi's Most-overrated Movie Awards

2005-04-20T08:43:00.000-07:00

All right... I'm a little nervous posting this after the hubbub my last post caused. Let me just say that I'm sorry If my choices hurt you -- but the truth can hurt.

If you have any suggestions, please let me know and I'll add them.

So without further adieu, here's the awards.

The English Patient

How do you take an actor as cool as Ralph Fiennes and a setting as exciting as WWII, beautiful women and make it all utterly tedious, unappealing and boring? Answer: The English Patient. Watching this movie is like getting a massage by Edward Scissorhands.

How did this film win Best Picture? Looking at the other nomeniees gives me a clue: "Fargo", "Jerry Maguire", "Secrets and Lies", "Shine". Jeeze. Not best year for Hollywood, was it? Still, one second of Fargo is better then the million-hour length of The English Patient.

Director/Writer Anthony Minghella seems to have either bought off movie critics, or generated sympathy on account of his weird last name. You'll notice that he's the guy responsible for the universally-loved Cold Mountain. - Wait. That movie stank too.

Joe put it perfectly:

"This movie convinced me that the romance of two impertinent and aristocratic people isn't interesting, even if one of them is burned beyond recognition and the other dies in a plane crash."

Well said Mr. Glenn.

Dances With Wolves

Stupid, stupid, stupid. I saw this film in my movie-starved adolescence, when I thought Cool Runnings was awesome just because it was on a TV screen. Even then, I knew Dances With Wolves was lame.

I think everyone was embarrassed that they gave this movie such accolades. Judging by what's happened to Kevin Costner's career after this film, they're taking their vengeance with the fury of a scorned woman. I forget, was Waterworld or The Postman nominated for anything?

You know what would've made this movie great? If Kevin Costner changed the name to, Dances Naked with Angry Wolverines and based the plot around that. Now there's a movie that would be interesting.

Citizen Kane

Here's where things get tricky. I think Citizen Kane is a good movie - very good. Orson Welles acts his rear off, the plot is interesting and it's nothing but lovely to look at. The reason I rate this so high is because whenever Hollywood-types refer to Citizen Kane they usually do so like this:

"Oh Citizen Kane, the most glorious, wonderful, awe-inspiring, totally-awesome, brilliant, important, daring, cool movie of all time! I would cut out my own eyeballs, and sell my children as slaves to create a work of art that even approaches Citizen Kane."

I'm here to announce that, sure it's a good movie -- but not the best. I watched it once and I'm perfectly content to leave it at that. People need to calm down about it.

Casablanca

Another good movie that is not as good as everyone claims. I don't even think it's the best Bogart movie that I've seen. Is Casablanca better than, It Happened One Night, Roman Holiday, The Philadelphia Story or Some Like It Hot? I don't think so.

The Deer Hunter

Another tedious, boring and horribly-long Best Picture. There's one or two good scenes in this marathon of a movie. What is it about Vietnam that breeds dumb films that critics love?

Fahrenheit 9/11

overrated in so many ways.

First in its impact on the election. When this film came out everyone was rubbing their hands saying things like, "Can George Bush overcome this film?" and "This may be the final blow for The President." As it turns out he did just fine.

Secondly, how did a piece of corny leftist propaganda get an 84% percent positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes? Call me crazy, but this makes me think that some critics might lean left.

The Thin Red Line

Embarrassingly enough, this movie came out the same year as Saving Private Ryan. Isn't that like releasing a new pocket calculator the same year that Apple releases the Macintosh?

Maybe it was the random and pointless shots of wildlife, or the 10-second cameos by huge stars or Woody Harrelson blowing his butt off with a grenade (photo of the incident above) - this movie just didn't do it for me.

For some reason, this film reminds me of what would happen if all us bloggers got together, went to a tropical island and decided to film a war movie. Everyone would feel sorry for us and out of sympathy call our film "A visually enchanting, philosophically murky meditation on war" and nominate it for Best Picture. But the end result would still suck and so does The Thin Red Line.

Remember the Titans

"God help me, I hate you, little girl."

The following is an excerpt from the screenplay of Remember The Titans.

Football Player (cheering in joy as they win a football game): "Yeeeeeeeeeeaaaah!"
Crowd (cheering in joy as their team wins a football game): "Yeeeeeeeeeeaaaah!"
Black Football Player (using Mowtown music to bridge the gap between the races): "Aint no mountain high enough..."
Football Player (abruptly getting hit by a car): "Yeeeeeeeeeeaaaarg!"

For some reason, everyone but me and my family loves this movie. I remember renting it on the recommendation of countless of our friends. We put it in the VCR and about halfway through we began to verbally abuse the movie.

This is not an "Inspirational and moving." film as Duane Dudek from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel would have you believe. Rather, it is silly and Motown-ridden.

And finally, a special category:
Movies, under-rated in their badness

I'm only going to add one movie to this category. In your comments please suggest movies and I'll add them until this is a vibrant, organic list!

The Buttercream Gang
Scott, Pete, bubble-butts, Widow Jenkins... this is a classic of the genre. I'll never forget Pete's terrifying bread loaf rampage.

Memorable Quote: "Hate you? Pete, why do you want me to hate you?"

That's all for now. Let me know what you think and give me your sugesstions.

Levi's Movie Awards - UDATED!

2005-04-13T11:35:00.001-07:00

Thanks everyone who pointed out movies that I forgot or still need to watch. Keep the ideas coming!

So I was sick the past few days and did little but lay in bed, watch movies, eat Otter Pops and drink Orange Juice; not a bad way to pass the time.

It's odd because lately whenever I get a fever my gluteus maximus (AKA: my butt) becomes extremely sore and achey. I don't exactly know why but I picture my immune system saying to the fever: "Come, let us do battle on his butt!" And that's where the sickness is vanquished. I can't think of another reason that my butt would be so sore.

Anyway....

At the sugesstion of my mother, I thought it would be fun to list my favorite movies and most-overratted movies - kind of like the AMA's lists that put out every so often (Most Romantic, Best Drama, ETC.). If you feel like it, please list yours in reply.

Drama:

Crimes and Misdemeanors/Hannah and Her Sisters/Manhattan
No one can make a better drama then Woody Allen at the top of his game.

Magnolia
PT Anderson's film is an amazingly Christian look at the consequences of sin.

It's a Wonderful Life
And on the opposite end of the film spectrum, another film that takes Christian look at the fruits of a Godly life.

Vertigo
Is there any actress more beautiful than Kim Novak in Vertigo? No one except for...

Rear Window
...Grace Kelly in rear window.

Les Miserables (Thanks, Mom)
This has got to be the nerdiest Marius ever realized. Spritual truths abound here.

What's Eating Gilbert Grape

The Elephant Man

The Breakfast Club

Romantic:

It Happened One Night
I think every scene is this movie is perfect. There's so much sexual tension between Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable that you sympathize with his sort-of-a-jerk attitude throughout most of the film. I'd be a little rude under that kind of pressure.

The Princess Bride
Hey Julia! Can you live in a world where The Princess Bride doesn't have an Oscar, you fool?

The Music Man
I think I may have felt the first stirrings of young romance watching this movie. On a side note: What's the heck is that pretend-like-I'm-jumping-over-you thing that the young lovers do at the end as they frolic about. I still don't get that.

Moulin Rouge
After this movie was over, Suzanne leaned over and gave me a very meaningful kiss. I think that says enough.

Far and Away
More tension-filled romance. And lots of bare-knuckled boxing, which isn't romantic at all.

Sense and Sensibility
This is the story of a 1700s Denise Salisbury. I wish Hollywood would understand that restraint is Romantic. Two people hopping in the sack seconds after they meet, isn't.

Roman Holiday
Over the course of watching this, I developed a small crush for Audrey Hepburn. Weird.

White Christmas

Holiday Inn

It's a Wonderful Life

Road to Morocco

Fantasy/SCI-FI:

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
Is there anything better then Yoda's introduction, Han & Leia's tense relationship, Darth Vader rampaging and providing huge plot twists, Luke screaming "Noooooooooo" and Lando's weird laugh? No, there isn't. Don't try to tell me there is.

Star Wars: A New Hope
As an 8-year-old this movie was a revelation. I can remember reciting the entire script word-for-word in my backyard, just to spend time with the story. It resonated with the very fibers of my being and I still love it. *sniff*

The Return Of The King
Everyone in the world but Joe loves Lord Of The Rings. Especially The Return Of The King

The Two Towers
And everyone loves everything about the The Two Towers too - except for that androgynous Rohan kid, AKA: Haleth, son of Hama. Just because the other guys wear their hair like that doesn't make it right for you...

The Princess Bride
Honestly, The Princess Bride should be on every list but Best Documentary.

Blade Runner
"All those moments will be lost, like tears in the rain..." is, to me, the most poignant moment in cinema.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
This movie kicks Hero's sorry behind. The ending of the movie is stunningly perfect.

Legend
I'm alone on this one. But -- forgive me -- Mia Sara running through that field in the opening is too much to resist. The Tangerine Dream soundtrack deals the final blow and I'm in love.

Signs/Unbreakable
I can't decide which one I like more. They are both so good but for different reasons.

Raiders of the Lost Ark

Big Fish

The Neverending Story

Historical:

Saving Private Ryan
You can tell a movie is good when everybody copies it. Think about it: After its release, have you seen a battle scene that didn't use some element from Saving Private Ryan? "Earn this." is such a convicting line. This movie blasts everything by Oliver Stone to pieces.

Glory
Why didn't this sweep the 1989 Oscars?

Life Is Beautiful
One of the most beautiful films I've ever seen.

Amadeus
I think this film says a lot about free will VS God's will.

Comedy:

The Office: Season 2
It's too bad that this is so dirty because I honestly think it's the funniest thing I've ever seen.

The Road to Morocco
Bob Hope and Bing Crosby in top form.

Bullets Over Broadway/Manhattan Murder Mystery/Broadway Danny Rose/Annie Hall/Play It Again, Sam/Bananas/Take the Money and Run
I think my muse looks something like Woody Allen.

Raising Arizona/Fargo/The Big Lebowski/O Brother, Where Art Thou?/Intolerable Cruelty/The Ladykillers (Thanks, Mom)
The Cohen Brothers don't always make films I like. But when they do, they're some of my favorites. I eagerly await their each new film.

Napoleon Dynamite
This may be a cliche, but this movie is hilarious.

Waiting For Guffman
I thought this was the best mockumentary until I saw The Office. Nonetheless, it is still hysterical.

Bottle Rocket
Dignan, Anthony and Bob have become like friends to me.

As Good as It Gets
This is an oddball; I'm not sure where to put it. But I knew that this was a great film when I was hoping that it wouldn't end. Best. Romantic Comedy. Ever.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail
I have to mention this movie on account that it is amazingly funny.

Ferris Bueller's Day Off(Thanks, Sadie.)
Can the 80s get any better. (The best decade for movies in my opinion.)

The Pirates of Penzance (Thanks, Mom.)
Few have seen this movie and of those that have only a few liked it. I guess I am one of the chosen few because I think this movie is a riot. Who can not laugh when the the entire chorus shouts the verses of, "SILENT AS CATS WE CREEP!" with cannons in the background.

Family/Children's:

Beauty and the Beast
Me, my dad, my mom and my sisters all loved this movie. This is Disney in it's prime. They didn't have Eddie Murphy and Rosie O'Donell doing the voices, they had real voice actors. The animation was beautiful to behold - before computer animation was driven into the ground. The heros and villians were multi-dimensional and real. Who can forget The Beast, Lumiere and Cogsworth and Gaston?

The Little Mermaid
I actually think the animation in this one is better than Beauty and the Beast but the rest loses out by a hair. This was the first in an amazing run by Disney.

Toy Story 2
A sequel that improves upon its predecessor. I wonder what Jack would be like without this movie. This is the film that made computer animation for me.

The Incredibles
Wow, a family movie that seems to understand families. Also the best superhero movie ever.

I think that's about it. If you guys are going "why didn't he include this movie?" -- let me know.

My next post will list the most overrated movies of all time. Beware -- it may shock you.

Wanna see something pretty creepy yet totally cool?

2005-04-07T21:44:00.000-07:00

This is a trailer to a horror/fantasy film that's pretty creepy, so don't watch it if you're easily scared.

But man does this movie look wicked!

Click here to watch Night Watch

Duhhhh daaaaa, da-da-duh daaaaaa duh

2005-04-05T12:57:00.000-07:00

Ah, the trees are blooming and the sun is shining. Yes everyone, that tri-annual spring event we eagerly await is nearly upon us: The newest Star Wars movie.

For those who haven't followed this film as closely as I, here's a bit of an update on the plot as it currently stands. (Excepted from Pointless Waste Of Time.)

Above: Throughout the film, the words of George Lucas occasionally appear superimposed on the screen in French.

Behold! Here is a SUPER BATTLE DROID. I'm afraid we'll have to wait until May to see the outcome of this attack.

Oh, wait, no.

I believe this is the scene where Padme dies. The expression on Heyden Christiansen's face bears all of the anguish of a thousand galaxies.

We can only imagine the mixed emotions Boba Fett must have felt in The Empire Strikes Back when he walked on board the Star Destroyer only to find himself among ten thousand of his dead Dad.

Mace unleashes his PURPLE BROADSABER, a specially-made lightsaber with a blade more than two feet wide!

Obi-Wan and Yoda (middle-right) let off some steam by killing dozens of strangers.

"Anikan's mind has become rough and irritating, like sand."

Obi-Wan fights bravely.

They advance to the Lava Level.

Both men fall into the lava and are killed instantly.

Anakin sits bolt upright in bed.

It was all a dream.

(Thanks again to PWOT)

Sorry about that silliness. I am giddy with excitement over Revenge of the Sith!

In which Levi finds time to post

2005-04-04T08:18:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone: Sorry about last week's lack of postage. Hopefully I'll have a little more time in April.

An interesting thing happened to me last Thursday.

Let me set the scene: I was stuck in traffic jam. The cars had all decided to take a break from going places and seemed to be socializing or something. I had just left my job and was in the surreal state that lies between staring at a computer screen for 8+ hours and the first gas station cup of coffee. For reasons I can't remember I had put on my sweater and pulled my hood low over my head, like a gangster or Anakin Skywalker when he wipes out the jedi. The stereo was playing NPR classical music.

As I sat there, I happened to glance in my rearview mirror (there's not much to do stuck in traffic) and I saw something that caught my interest: The man in the car directly behind me opened his door.

This isn't a crazy thing to do when stuck in traffic. I've seen people clean their windshields in such situations. I assumed this man merely had to satisfy a whimsical urge to open his door - nothing more.

But he stepped entirely out of his car. I got my first good look at the guy: A tall dude with shaggy gray hair (let's call him, Oompa Loompa Man). Nothing impressive...

...until he started advancing on my car. Then I reevaluated the situation.

When a person gets out of their car and starts walking towards your car, to me it indicates the following:

I have accidentally cut them off and they are going to take physical revenge

The traffic jam has finally snapped their mind (don't laugh - I've had nervous breakdowns in traffic on numerous occasions) and they are going to randomly kill the occupant of the first car they look at, IE: me

I've somehow double-crossed the Mafia and Oompa Loompa Man is the assassin.

All these scenarios involved physical pain or death for me. I had just enough time to rouse myself from the post-work stupor and frantically lock my doors (not my most courageous moment) before Oompa Loompa Man reached my window.

Oompa Loompa Man: (Makes the "roll down your window" motion with his hand)

To appease him, I open the window a hairline crack.

Oompa Loompa Man: "Your left tail light is out."

I grunt some sort of guttural affirmative, like a caveman. (In retrospect, I don't know why I acted like a caveman under pressure. It seemed like the best thing to do in the heat of the moment.)

Oompa Loompa Man returned to his car, leaving me much more awake.

Then it hit me, what a weirdo that guy was! What is he, the patron saint of left tail lights? What drove him to get out of his car in the middle of traffic, approach my window, freak me out and deliver his message? Does the sight of a dim tail light cut him to the core of his being?

He was taking a big risk to notify me. People don't take kindly to strangers advancing on their window. He could've gotten pepper sprayed or a gun barrel shoved his face; I would've done that if I had any of those things available.

Most of all, I know that my tail light is out and I don't care. It still lights up at night just as well as the rest of my lights. It just doesn't get brighter when I hit my brakes. I figure my right tail light can pick up the slack for the time being. I don't need strangers to leap out of nowhere and notify me.

Too busy to blog...

2005-03-30T15:36:00.000-08:00

too much work, side work, and house at the moment.

Sorry.

Stupid, stupid saying

2005-03-28T08:13:00.000-08:00

Okay, most everyone has already heard this but last night Roz pointed out something that made me crack up.

This saying: "If you shoot for the moon and miss, you will land among the stars." It makes no sense. Why? Because if you miss the moon you will either:

Be sucked back into Earth's atmosphere.

Drift in the space between Earth and Mars until you run out of oxygen.

Roz suggested amending the saying to: "If you shoot for the stars and miss at least you will land around the moon." And this struck me as good wisdom but I have a few more alternate versions.

If you shoot for the moon and miss, you better have a good heat-shield because re-entering the Earth's atmosphere is extremely hot.

Or

If you shoot for the moon and miss, you're a really bad aim. How the heck could you miss something as big as the moon?

Do you think these might catch on?

The blogsphere expands...

2005-03-25T15:17:00.000-08:00

I've added 2 new links to the sidebar: Sadico Junction and Joe's Universe.

Were they inspired by culturezoo to publish their thoughts to the web? Should they give me thousands of dollars because I inspired them?

Perhaps we'll never know.

Colin Powell's Tell-All Book: Steroid Use Rampant In White House

2005-03-24T08:49:00.000-08:00

This is pretty funny

Good news for us Junior College dropouts

2005-03-23T09:30:00.000-08:00

The following is excerpted from Paul Graham's very interesting article, How to Start a Startup

"If you work your way down the Forbes 400 making an x next to the name of each person with an MBA, you'll learn something important about business school. You don't even hit an MBA till number 22, Phil Knight, the CEO of Nike. There are only four MBAs in the top 50. What you notice in the Forbes 400 are a lot of people with technical backgrounds. Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Larry Ellison, Michael Dell, Jeff Bezos, Gordon Moore. The rulers of the technology business tend to come from technology, not business. So if you want to invest two years in something that will help you succeed in business, the evidence suggests you'd do better to learn how to hack than get an MBA."

Desperado...

2005-03-21T08:38:00.000-08:00

I know this is old news, but for some reason I got to thinking about Linda Ronstadt's insistence on dedicating the song Desperado to Michael Moore. I would just like to ask my few (but very good-looking) readers, did you ever picture an overweight, scruffy, left-wing, documentary filmmaker when you heard that song? Anyone?

It just strikes me as an odd association.

Also, did Linda even listen to the words before she dedicated it to Mr. Moore? I mean, the first line goes: "Desperado, why don't you come to your senses?" I think the Republicans are asking the same thing.

Then the line: "Your pain and your hunger are driving you on." That's got to hurt for Mr. Moore. We all know he has a weight problem, does she really have to taunt him about it?

Linda, sometimes you puzzle me.

Not-so-guilty pleasure

2005-03-17T10:01:00.000-08:00

I find it odd how some people (myself definitely included) love to flaunt their love of obscure musical tastes.

For example, in conversation I'll mention that the new Tom Waits album is "Amazing" and "Earthy". I smile to myself as eyebrows are raised.

"Who is Tom Waits?" my fellow conversationalists ask. "I've never heard of him."

Of course you haven't, I think to myself. Only musical elites, like me, have the ear to listen to such refined and obscure artists

Or maybe I'll try this tactic: "You know," I begin, "I've really been into Nazareth lately."

Nazareth? The 80's glam band? But yes. I'm so confident and refined in my tastes that I can enjoy glam rock. I don't need to follow the latest trends.

"Oh," say my dumbfounded (but impressed) fellows. "I've been into Nickleback lately."

I can't help but guffaw. Nickleback? The money-chasing, overly-serious, talentless band that drowns the airways in their musical sewage?

Truly, I am elite in my tastes.

Okay enough of that. The sad part about the piece above is that it's partly true. I don't know why I'm like that. It seems so stupid when I step back and look at it.

So in defiance of that part of me, today I would like to announce that I really like the new Kelly Clarkson album. I might be tempted to admit this as a "guilty pleasure" but why should any pleasure in music be guilty?

Go out and listen to it! It's pretty good.

Now I need to stop feeling superior over the movies I like.

Comic book thoughts...

2005-03-16T08:47:00.000-08:00

(To the low-bandwith folks, sorry about all the images in this post.)

Marvel Comics once had a series of comic books called "What If?" where they just asked stuff like "What if Galactus had killed Mr. Fantastic?" and would spin a story off that.

It was an interesting concept: Fantasy within a fantasy universe. At the very least it was fun to see your favorite characters mucked around with.

Which leads me to my own "What If?" idea. This hit me on my way home from work and I haven't been able to get it out of my head.

What if the characters from The Lord Of The Rings movies were played by the characters from the Back To The Future films?

Think about it and you'll get goosebumps.

Playing Gandalf: Doc. ("Great Scott! It's a Balrog!")

Playing Frodo: Marty.

George McFly could play Sam; Biff and his gang could play the Orcs. Does anyone else see the possibilities?

And speaking of comic books...

I love Superman. He's my favorite superhero. I think the best comic book ever is Action Comics #1 (see above). It captures everything I love about superheros and comics in general.

Who can forget panels like this:

Or:

The illustrations in this comic are beautiful, the story is romantic and exciting. I wish there were more like it.

Unfortunately, Superman has seen some low points since the wonderful Action Comics #1.

In the 50's and 60's Superman's adventures became silly to stupid and Superman himself (along with his pals) seemed to fall prey to the idiot atmosphere. See below:

Sure maybe you could accept the super dog, Krypto

But did we really need Steaky the super cat?

Beppo the super monkey seemed like sick joke:

Comet the super horse was the only member of The Legion of Super-Pets that seemed to retain some dignity.

Somewhere in the seventies or the eighties the folks in charge realized that Superman's universe resembled something that you'd find in a muppet movie and they decided to make things cool. And they were successful with some great titles by some great artists.

But in the 90's things really started bogging down. They went too far and finally Superman suffered the ultimate indignity: a mullet.

Thankfully, this didn't last long.

Now I'm seeing a Superman revival of sorts. It seems that artists and writers have finally got him again.

Alex Ross is a perfect example:

Superman isn't Batman. He isn't a dark character and that's what I love about him. For Oddessy fans, Superman is the Mr. Whittaker of comic books - he's a father figure. He's optimistic and relatively happy. Unlike most superheros, he had a good upbringing with the Kents, devoid of tragedy. (Though the comics skirt the issue, I imagine he's something of a Christian too. You gotta believe that the Midwestern Kents were, at-least, church-goers.)

It's strange that one fantasy character has had such an impact on the world; but I think Superman represents everything we want heros to be. In Batman we see the reality of the world but when we look at Superman and we see things the way want them to be.

Geeze, who knew that you could get so philosophical over comic books?

But is life really so good in a Maitta Chevy?

2005-03-11T13:32:00.000-08:00

I was driving along today, listening to the radio, when a commercial for a local car dealership came on. It started with the usual car commercial jargon ("And this weekend only, we have everything marked down twenty percent off sticker price"...) and ended with a jingle I've heard countless times: "Ohhh, life's so good in a Maitta Chevy!" But for some reason the actual implications of that jingle got me thinking...

First, the jingle implies that if you are driving a Maitta Chevy your life will be good or even "so good". This strikes me a fairly bold claim. Do people driving Maitta Chevys never cry? Are they all attractive and healthy? Are they satisfied with their jobs? Or more-likely their good life is limited to only when they are physically in the Maitta Chevy; if that's the case then you'd think they'd never want to leave the car. Are the Maitta Chevy customers secretly addicted to the good life in their car? Do they drag themselves with bitter tears from the glorious reality behind the steering wheel into the doldrums of the not-so-good life?

You'd also Maitta Chevy would push this fact to #1 in their advertising - not just tack the fact on at the end. After all, who cares if the cars are 10% off sticker price when you can attain the good life by simply being in one! I'd pay a few extra bucks for that.

Does anyone reading this own a Maitta Chevy? If so would it be okay if I sat it in for a while. My life's been a little drab lately and I'd love a taste of the "so good".

You know who I am: The guy with curly hair, sitting forlorn, behind the steering wheel of a Pioneer Motors Toyota.

Updated: And the award for most melodramatic movie trailer goes to...

2005-03-09T13:10:00.000-08:00

Crash

Maybe this movie is great but this trailer is rediculously trying to look like a best-picture. Don't you hate self-important films?

Update: I just noticed the tagline of this movie: "Live life at the point of impact". Does this mean that I'm supposed to live my life screaming in terror as my vehicle slams into another vehicle? Yeah, I'd make a lot of friends that way. "Just ignore the screaming guy, he's living his life at the point of impact." Great advice, Hollywood. Sorry but I think I'll live my life trying to avoid the point of impact.

Monday Musings

2005-03-07T13:17:00.000-08:00

So about a week ago me and Suzanne watched Roman Holiday and really enjoyed it. It's charming and romantic, somewhere in the vein of It Happened One Night (which sets the standard for movie romance). And Audrey Hepburn was amazingly cute too.

Inspired to see more of her, we rented "the ultimate Audrey Hepburn", Breakfast at Tiffany's, which seemed to set the standard for meandering & aimless plot. What's up with this movie? And why is it such a classic? Sure it had some nice moments but none of it seemed to fit together.

Here's my list of objections/questions.

Who was that lady? I don't even know what to call her. You know, Paul/Fred's "decorator". Was she his mother? His lover? The movie never makes it clear. And why did she think they were being watched by Doc? Which brings us to...
Doc Golightly. Why did they bring this character into the mix? It seemed so random. We find out that Holly's real name is Lue Lamee. Okay... Then he leaves (in a strange farewell scene, which I vaguely felt was supposed to be sad) with us wondering why he ever came.
Fred's death, where Holly freaks out. Yeah, yeah this was okay. Except the last shot seemed like something by Stanley Kubrick: The door swings open on weeping Holly and we see a shadow of a man stretch into the room. Feathers ominously float in the air and then we fade to black. Hmmmm. What was that supposed to mean?

That's just a sampling of the weird moments contained in this film and I want to ask, am I wrong in this? Has anyone else seen this movie and found it weird? Am I alone in my belief?

Moving on...

Do not read The Stand if:

You are coming down with a cold
It's the cold season
You can only read it late at night
All of the above

I'm checking "4" and putting The Stand down until I'm over this cold and I have a better reading time then after 10:00 PM.

I think I may be a bad movie physic. Why? Because I knew The Notebook stank, without even seeing it! I had similar psychic pulses with Raise Your Voice and Uptown Girls. (But did Suzanne, Claire & Rosalyn heed my warnings? Ha!)

Therefore, I think I should be the final authority on what movies we watch on movie night. (True, my psychic alarms didn't go off when I rented Van Helsing, but still...)

Finally,

"In Christ alone my hope is found, he is my life, my strength, my song."

What a joyful thing, to find life in him - to become strong and to hear a new song; and such a song.

When I am God's and his blood and body are mine, I can posses nothing else. The world can give me no greater gift nor can I achieve any greater glory.

And that is a comforting thought.

O claymation joy!

2005-03-01T09:11:00.000-08:00

THE WALLACE AND GROMIT MOVIE! is on its way. This is one of the best trailers I've seen in a while.

In Jabez's - I mean Jesus' - name, Amen.

2005-02-28T15:50:00.001-08:00

Here's what typing in "Jabez" on Amazon brought back.

The Prayer of Jabez: Breaking Through to the Blessed Life by Bruce Wilkinson
The Prayer of Jabez Devotional by Bruce Wilkinson
The Prayer of Jabez Bible Study by Bruce Wilkinson
The Prayer of Jabez for Women by Darlene Marie Wilkinson
Jabez: A Novel by Thom Lemmons (I wonder if it's anything like Heart Of Darkness?)
Prayer of Jabez DVD - Featuring Bruce Wilkinson
Prayer of Jabez Stepping Stone (I'm feeling ill at this point)
Beyond Jabez: Expanding Your Borders by Bruce Wilkinson (Beyond Jabez? What the...)
The Prayer of Jabez: Music, A Worship Experience
The Prayer of Jabez for Teens (Breakthrough Series) by Bruce Wilkinson
The Prayer of Jabez for Kids by Bruce H. Wilkinson
Prayer of Jabez for Women DVD
The Prayer of Jabez for Little Ones by Bruce H. Wilkinson (A picture book)
The Prayer of Jabez Journal by Bruce Wilkinson
The Prayer Of Jabez For Women 2004 Day-To-Day Calendar by Darlene Marie Wilkinson
Prayer of Jabez for Young Hearts by Bruce Wilkinson
Prayer of Jabez Cotton Throw Blanket
The Gift of Jabez DVD
The Jabez Prayer Song Collection by the Jabez-Wonder Kids Choir

Does this look like the work of God or chasing an easy buck?

How tragic. We have "come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel." And yet we find ourselves fascinated by the latest fad.

This is my father's world...

2005-02-24T09:47:00.000-08:00

I drove into work this morning, through the Sacramento hills, to find a dramatically different landscape than the day before.

Trees that were bare had blossomed snow-white flowers. I wish you could see the drama of those stark black branches covered in new blossoms. It could not be painted better.

The fog was low and had drenched every blade of grass in the fields. I passed a heard of grazing cows. The close fog made the road and scene feel intimate. Like it was just me seeing these things.

Too soon the fields and scattered houses gave way to suburban sprawl: Shopping malls, traffic lights, and asphalt.

To taste the beauty of nature on a cold winter morning then to enter the city is to see an armwrestle of man against God. The landscapes we make pollute, uglify and quickly erode. We make dead things. The - even cursed - work of God is a endless drama of birth and life. He makes things that live. And even in death - the decaying tree, the frozen winter - they are beautiful.

What will I see walking through his redeemed creation? When the work of our hands no longer fights his? I can't even begin to imagine.

I repent

2005-02-23T12:34:00.000-08:00

Here's a convicting song:

I repent
by derek webb

i repent, i repent of my pursuit of america's dream
i repent, i repent of living like i deserve anything
of my house, my fence, my kids, my wife
in our suburb where we're safe and white
i am wrong and of these things i repent

i repent, i repent of parading my liberty
i repent. i repent of paying for what i get for free
and for the way i believe that i am living right
by trading sins for others that are easier to hide
i am wrong and of these things i repent

bridge
i repent judging by a law that even i can't keep
of wearing righteousness like a disguise
to see through the planks in my own eyes

i repent, i repent of trading truth for false unity
i repent, i repent of confusing peace and idolatry
by caring more of what they think than what i know of what we need
by domesticating you until you look just like me
i am wrong and of these things i repent

Chimera - continued

2005-02-22T11:38:00.000-08:00

Howdy, all. Here's 5 more verses to add to the poem.

6.
Remembering the day we wed in the storm
Her hands, sharp as knives on my breast
In silk, thin and pale as frost, she dressed
In one kiss, destinies tangled like thorns
With words of ragged fire to her I swore
And as one we cleaved to the quest

7.
A lady, fair as a child
A girl, dark as doom
Her words choice as silk on the loom
Could one so tender be so wild?
Could one so hard be so mild?
Yet she that burned life was quenched by tomb.

8.
Guinevere, your crown once fine gold
now a band of stones, a dress of clotted earth
Princess, royal maid, now dust is your worth
Her face, her skin too pale to line old
Her fire blazed fast and at a spear bled quick and cold
She, once so blessed, in the end Chimera cursed.

9.
Chimera, did your sword paralyze?
That day of sudden battles and attacks
When strength waned and death waxed
Did you turn deaf at her cries?
At your command did she die?
Did your hand plunge the axe?

10.
Here now, I reach a place flat as the cliff sheer
This new land pulls me from dreams of her
In my path, a stream moves with waters clear and pure
The drops and slosh tap like soft chimes on my ear
When last did I see a drink so sweet and clear?
This is surely a trap, my thirst to lure

2005-02-22T08:56:00.000-08:00

So I was pretty sick over the weekend and rented a ridiculous amount of movies. Here's a few observations.

1) Van Helsing

"I wish that I wore more practical shoes."

If the above image doesn't tell you all you need to know about this amazingly stupid film...

I think that the following sums up the film pretty well:

Villagers: Look, Vampires in the sky! Run! Aieeee!
Stupid Computer-Generated Vampires: Ha! Ha! Ha!
Villagers (running): Aieeeeeee!
Stupid Computer-Generated Vampires:Yesss! Blood! Ha! Ha! Ha!
Villagers: Look they've brought their vampire children! Run! Aieeee!
Stupid Computer-Generated Vampires (to their stupid computer-generated vampire children):Yesss! Feed my dhalings! Feed! Ha! Ha! Ha!
Villagers: Aieeeeeee!
Stupid Computer-Generated Vampires: Feed! Ha! Ha! Ha!
Villagers: Aieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
Stupid Computer-Generated Vampires: Ha! Ha! Ha!
Villagers: Aieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

There, now you've pretty much got the idea of Van Helsing. The whole time I wondered why the villagers put up with their daily sackings by vampires. Why don't they just move? I mean it's not like the weather in Transylvania is all that great. France is just around the corner.

2) Little Voice

This was an interesting movie. I can't really recommend it but it did have some charming moments. Jane Horrocks is an immense talent. And she's so cute too. You just want to pick her up and cuddle. (You'd understand if you saw the film.)

The scene where Ewan Mccgregor pulls his ladder to her window to "check the wires" was priceless.

3) Hellboy

Overrated. The makeup was amazing and there were some decent scenes - but every character felt like a throwaway.

4) Harry Potter and The Prisoner Of Azkaban

This movie is such a step above the other 2 it's ridiculous. It must be embarrassing for the previous director to look at this film and realize what a lousy product they pushed out.

Everything about this film works. The design is flawless and (unlike the first 2) actually feels real. The acting has vastly improved. The cinematography is lovely. And the plot is a doozy. Great job. This should be a contender for Best Picture of 04.

5) Muppet Treasure Island

I'm such a sucker for Muppet movies, and though this film is definitely a step down from the earlier films, it still has plenty of funny moments.

One note, the kid who played Jim Hawkins has the most annoying voice in the world. Every time he opens his mouth to sing, it's like listening to a wounded mouse squeal. Gosh, I hated that kid.

So there's all the time I wasted over this weekend. Hmmm.

Daily Oingo Boingo musing

2005-02-17T08:27:00.000-08:00

Dead Man's Party is a great song but is it just me or is it about 1 minute too long?

Oh if you're looking for something of substance today read Bo's insightful post.

Chimera, part 1

2005-02-16T09:44:00.000-08:00

Another update:
Suzanne read this and called me wondering if I was okay (or if I was sucidal). Just one note, this isn't from my point-of-view. It's looking through a fictional character's eyes. Sorry, Hon. Aside from being tired, I'm perfectly fine.

(Updated with 2 more verses)

I don't know why I'm even trying this but I've lately been inspired to write a (sort-of) epic poem or a poem that tells a story. So here's the first 5 verses. They will be followed by more and, hopefully, in the end a story will be told. (Apologies for the breast-related metaphor.)

Chimera

1.
See now the scar in rock
The ragged tear in cliff, my path
Fingers fumble, they clutch, they grasp
Arm’s sinews tick like the work of a clock
Air sucked like a child and breast so locked
And watch the inches drag away and pass

2.
Stubbled clouds stack the sky in slate
Throwing snow petals to pattern the soil
Now caught by wind and turned in a cauldron boil
And there the mountain spear and sky mate
“Come and see the cold light generates.”
Says your voice or only the distant thunder roll

3.
Chimera, did your hand?
Your forge form the precipice?
Or knife cut the crevice?
Or mill grind the rocks to sand?
Did the fingers that drew mountain from land
pull tight the wires of my wrist?

4.
Soul, no longer muse, for I have sworn
To cast him from the cliffs and see his fire fade
He who dug the pit will also low be laid
Hero, the earth has made me so and I will not scorn
the path that paws of beasts have yet only worn
“Come and see the life death made.”

5.
Guinevere, her kisses calmed, feet no longer tread
Her voice, a bell of mercy, in these silent hills
Her fingers smoothing frost from a pane so chilled
Dashing like a deer on our path, she led
Sudden as a laugh, sharing in my bed
With her waters and whispers, dry riverbeds filled

Don't ask, just click.

2005-02-15T12:07:00.000-08:00

The Kingdom of Loathing

A funny little time-waster.

I've added some links...

2005-02-15T09:08:00.000-08:00

on the right hand side, to some other blogs worth reading.

I just watched The Rescuers Down Under...

2005-02-15T08:46:00.000-08:00

It was one of my favorite movies as a kid and I still really enjoyed it. It reminded me of a time when Disney actually put out quality products and not just what they thought would make the quickest buck.

This movie was a sequel but unlike Litter Mermaid II, The Return of Jafar, Etc. this was released to theaters. Sort of in the vien of Toy Story 2.

And it's a funny, well-animated, charming movie.

One character that still cracks me up is Joanna! Whoever animated that lizard should win an award. The scene where she steals the eggs from George C. Scott (great voice job as the poacher) is hilarious.

I wish kids movies were still this good.

Than again, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow was aimed at the kid market and it wasn't half bad. Actually it was pretty darn good. Hmmmm.

Check this blog out...

2005-02-12T22:16:00.000-08:00

Bo Salisbury has joined the blogger ranks.

Hey, Scientists, aren't you supposed to be curing cancer or something?

2005-02-11T09:25:00.000-08:00

Scientists Zero In on True Color of the Sea

This headline made me laugh. Who knew that this was actually a subject of scientific research?

The funniest thing about this story is that they actually haven't found the true color yet. They're just "zeroing in".

I quote,

"We haven't made it to Oz yet," Behrenfeld said, who recently left NASA. "But today we are announcing we have found the Yellow Brick Road."

Yeah, let us know when you get to Oz. Until then...

Actually maybe this is good. The way scientists are hastening in the end of humanity, what with their genetic engineering, cloning, etc. - maybe we need to distract them with silly projects like this. Hey, scientists, when you finally figure out the sea's color, could you check the sky out too?

This cracked me up

2005-02-10T13:33:00.000-08:00

Latest Bin Laden Videotape Wishes America 'A Crappy Valentine's Day'

"Come Monday, as you pry open your fancy, red Russell Stover box, take heed," bin Laden said. "For in the place of tasty caramels and buttercreams, you will find the flaming sword of righteous jihad!"

Very funny stuff...

Phantom of the Opera thoughts

2005-02-07T10:14:00.000-08:00

So me and my wife went and saw The Phantom of the Opera movie over the weekend and I came away impressed. Especially after the savaging this film received from the critics (just reinforces the point that critics are cattle - joking, of course).

But here's a few observations I had.

First there's way too much of the above going on. Namely, guys with their fluffy shirts open and chests hanging out. (Don't they know it's snowing?) In the end it looked like the cover of a cheesy romance novel and didn't do much for my sense of masculinity.

Raoul (pictured above) needed a haircut. He had the 18th century version of a mullet. I don't know why directors love the long-haired hero. "This guy looks good but y'know what would really put him over the top is a glamrock hairdo!" Is that what goes on in their head?

There's also this point in the last act where The Phantom has Raoul tied and noosed (is that a word?) and Raoul gets this look on his face like, "Woah, how did the situation disintegrate to this?" that made me laugh. I don't think that was the director's attention, however.

Also, this film wins the award for most shots of people taking long drinks from a bottle. This image occurs an amazing number of times, to the point that I felt like shouting, "Okay, they're alcoholics! We get it!" I foresee liver problems for the opera house.

The Phantom's come a long way, hasn't he?

From

To

Pretty soon they're going to pull off the mask and he'll only have a bad mole or acne.

Christine is lovely. Suzanne and I wondered afterwards if Emmy Rossum paid off God. I mean, she's incredibly good-looking, a fine actress and an amazing singer. Where's the trade-off? Is she dumb as a rock? I doubt it.

The Phantom was the biggest surprise, however. He has a presence that ignites the movie whenever he's on screen. And his voice gives chills.

In short, good movie, great music. Ignore the critics and go see it.

Chimera - continued

2005-02-03T09:47:00.002-08:00

Movies over the weekend

2005-02-03T09:47:00.001-08:00

So I was pretty sick over the weekend and rented a rediculous amount of movies. Here's a few observations.

1) Van Helsing

I wish that I wore more pratical shoes.

If the above image doesn't tell you all you need to know about this amazingly stupid film...

I think that the following sums up the film pretty well:

Villagers: Look, Vampires in the sky! Run! Aieeee!
Stupid Computer-Generated Vampires: Ha! Ha! Ha!
Villagers (running): Aieeeeeee!
Stupid Computer-Generated Vampires:Yesss! Blood! Ha! Ha! Ha!
Villagers: Look they've brought their vampire children! Run! Aieeee!
Stupid Computer-Generated Vampires (to their stupid computer-generated vampire children):Yesss! Feed my dhalings! Feed! Ha! Ha! Ha!
Villagers: Aieeeeeee!
Stupid Computer-Generated Vampires:Feed! Ha! Ha! Ha!
Villagers: Aieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
Stupid Computer-Generated Vampires:Ha! Ha! Ha!
Villagers: Aieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

There, now you've pretty much got the idea of Van Helsing. The whole time I wondered why the villagers put up with their daily sackings by vampires. Why don't they just move? I mean it's not like the weather in Transelvania is all that great. France is just around the corner.

2) Little Voice

This was an interesting movie. I can't really reccomend it but it did have some charming moments. Jane Horrocks is an immense talent. And she's so cute too. You just want to pick her up and cuddle.

The scene where Ewan Mccgregor pulls his ladder to her window to "check the wires" was priceless.

3) Hellboy

Overrated. The makeup was amazing and there were some decent scenes - but every character felt like a throwaway.

4) Harry Potter and The Prisoner Of Azkaban

This movie is such a step above the other 2 it's rediculous. It must be embarrassing for the previous director to look at this film and realize what a lousy product they pushed out.

Everything about this film works. The design is flawless and (unlike the first 2) actually feels real. The acting has vastly improved. The cinematography is lovely. And the plot is a doozy. Great job. This should be a contender for Best Picture of 04.

5) Muppet Treasure Island

I'm such a sucker for Muppet movies, and though this film is definately a step down from the earlier films, it still has plenty of funny moments.

One note, the kid who played Jim Hawkins has the most annoying voice in the world. Every time he opens his mouth to sing, it's like listening to a wounded mouse squeel. Gosh, I hated that kid.

So there's all the time I wasted over this weekend. Hmmm.