12.30.2008

last picture post of 2008 - presents, popcorn, poop and cheese

As many Indoobians know, I'm known to be pretty lazy when it comes to the taking and posting of pictures specifically for purposes of sharing with the Workforce. Nevertheless, I did a few snaps today (literally minutes ago) and will share them. Some include Christmas presents, others... well... you'll see.


Here we see the first of three T-shirts I requested. I sometimes still wonder if this shirt really applies to me, but why not? I like it because my year of birth is 1986... so... yeah.


Most people that know me personal and have seen me on the street, might say "Hey, that's one of the brightest shirts I've seen in his collection, other than white of course." Okay, maybe they wouldn't say that word for word, but this is a new bright color for me, and according to my sister, this was the only color available. No problem, I wanted this shirt bad enough, and yes, I love this movie!


I didn't think I was going to get this shirt, but fortunately my sister shares my sense of humor. And I told them all I'd wear it to church that Sunday, and I did! Well, no one noticed since I had a button up over it, but I stuck to my word and people who read it love it. Plus, who else can say they have poop on their shirt and be excited about it?


What an interesting next shirt to debut... but this is from my mother and one of the few long sleeve T-shirts I have. I've never been a fan, but I like this one. This is actually the back of the shirt and it's quoting Joshua 1:9 "Be Strong and courageous for the Lord your God is with you." I want to say the symbols are Chinese, but I can't be sure. The left one means strength, the right means courage.


This was my last gift given to me, today actually, from my Dearest Insta-friend of... how long has it been? Over 5 years maybe? The "insta-friend" part I'll explain another day, but the reason for numbering the years is important to what this is a picture of. You see, my friend boasted about these delicious apple muffins she would make back in high school, but I never got to taste them. So after all these years, about 5, she finally made me a batch. She made 6, there are 2 left, and I was nice enough to share with my parents. This is one reason why I decided to take the pictures because there wouldn't be any left and I know the picture doesn't do the muffin justice, but trust me, it's delicious. And I enjoy sliding that box out like it's some luxury food item. Don't mind the other things you see in the picture, especially the cookie tower.


Here's a look at my TV I bought myself last year for Christmas (I think). Anyway, it's showing season 5 of Seinfeld, which my other dearest friend whom I call Kitten bought me. She also bought me the Scene It: Seinfeld edition, which I have yet to play. I don't have anyone around here to play with, but now that I think of it, I might be able to play with my siblings, or wait until I can group up with Seinfeld fans that I know. Either way, I can't wait.

This is from "The Lip Reader" episode. My TV is definitely not big, but it was affordable and suits my needs. Plus it's thin and widescreen. Very nice.


My gift to myself this year. Due to the movie coming out next year (and rave reviews I hear about it anyway) I decided to up my geek points and buy it. It arrived Christmas Eve and I read it in three days. But you knew that already. As for the movie... I recently heard some news that doesn't bode well.


I touched on this before regarding my love of cheese, one of my favorite kinds is white cheddar, and Smartfood Popcorn is one of my favorite snacks. I eat so much that I've noticed a difference in cheese levels. People might think I'm crazy, but I say try it for yourself. Here in this picture we see the 1.5 oz, 3 oz, and the most popular 5 oz bags. They are all empty. I ate the two smaller bags a couple hours ago for this investigation. Anyway, my theory is that the smaller the bag, the more cheese is coated. Now I gave the sizes, but I usually refer to them by the price. The 5 oz bag WAS $2.49, but I'm thinking due to slumping sales or trying to keep up with the economy, the prices rose, and now as you might make out, it's $2.89. "BOOO!" I say. But it doesn't stop me from purchasing whenever I get my cravings. The next size up USED to be $2.99, I don't know what the oz size is. 7 oz maybe. And then there is the family size. Usually those are the most expensive. Now listen carefully, the bigger the bag, the lesser the cheese. There is one exception. There is a wee 25 cent bag... possibly .5 or .75 oz. It's really small and stupid. Sorry, I just don't like it. No cheese and the last couple times they tasted burnt. Anyway, between the 1.5 and 3 oz, it's hard to tell which has more cheese, but check it out for yourself. I'm content with my 5 oz still, and sometimes sprinkle this on for extra cheesy fun.


So for my last picture, it involved once again hanging out with my Dearest Insta-friend. We were out dining at what you can clearly see as Friendly's, and my usually ordering involves mozzarella sticks. Well, they have mini-mozzarella stick. I had chicken quesadillas too... but as you see, they didn't last long enough to make it to print. But my mother never told me not to play with my food, and this show it. Plus it kept my friend in tears as I voiced each mozzarella stick sitting in their saucy hot tub, discussing what happened to all their cheesy friends.


Well if you don't hear anything else from me by tomorrow, I'll be back next year.

12.28.2008

six fals--ahem--true facts about t. sterling watson

I saw this on someone's blog back when I first started my blogging life, and thought to myself, "How interesting," and then I went back to work before my boss caught me. I did start to think about all the many quirks and uniquenesses... or uniqueni? All the oddities that make up my original personality. Or at least things I don't come out and tell people about everyday.

So thanks to the lovely, multi-talented, most commenting Indoobian geek that is Melissa D, I must share some truth that makes me, me, just like she shared some truths that make her, her. So let's imagine Wonder Woman has thrown her magic lasso around me as I start spewing random bits about me. Can we pretend she's being played Kate Beckinsale? No wait! Rachel McAdams! Or...or... Paula Patton. Mmmmm... Sorry.

1. Trend Setting Quirks
At the time, I used to wear a watch on each wrist to stay "symmetrical."
I was also really into all different kinds of vests and loved pockets.
I wear my socks inside out.
95% of all my socks are black.
Every pair of pants has it's own belt.
I get my ears pierced every 10 years (I have 3 because there was a sale that day).

2. Hyper-observant
I get most of my observational skills from my dad, watching everything that's going on almost all the time, even when I'm not really paying attention, I still notice. Then (another) important lesson from an improv class I was taught, was to observe people and the quirky things they do, which only made me that much more aware of everyone and everything around me. Over the years the force has only grown stronger with me and I've used my powers (mostly) for good as I listen to people misspeak, catch typos, hidden jokes, all which comes in handy for trivia games or catching liars with their pants on fire. (A fictional idol of this would be Shawn Spencer from the TV show Psych.) Yet for some reason, I seem to always miss errors in my own work even with proofreading.

3. American Idols
In no specific order, except for maybe the first 3... Sam Cooke, Bill Cosby, Will Smith, Groucho Marx, Yakko Warner, Bugs Bunny, Common, Dave Barry, John Legend, Stephen Colbert, Black Thought, Tyler Perry, Andre 3000, Kevin Smith, Mitchell Hurwitz and everyone behind Arrested Development oh yeah and the beautiful Tina Fey.

4. White Noise Night Lights
I have difficulties sleeping in complete silence (and sometimes staying asleep when it goes silent), unless I'm under the influence of NyQuil. There have been occasions I'm capable of silent sleeping, but if I can help it, I'd put a DVD on repeat (I love TV shows on DVD!). If not, there's always my iPod, iSaac. All hope is not lost, if I got to sleep under the stars listening to nature, I'm sure I'd have a peaceful sleep once I'm at ease knowing some beast won't eat me.

5. "The t. sterling Show!"
When I was wee, I'd imagine I had my own reality TV show with invisible cameras in the walls or following me around everywhere. This was way before the crap that's on TV now, and I've since fine tuned my imaginary show to be a mockumentary of my own life, with part of it being a late night talk show when I sit down at my desk to watch TV and manipulate my computer and the Internet... like I am now. People still say I need my own show, I tell them "in due time." This blog is the closest they'll get for now.

6. I'm a Little Cheesy
I enjoy food maybe a little too much. I've raised awareness regarding Smartfood White Cheddar Popcorn's white cheddar issue: the "$2.49" (it currently cost 40 cents more, but go along with me) has the best cheese per popcorn ratio... the bigger the bag, the less the cheese. The 99 cent bags have decent amounts of cheese too, but those cruddy joke-of-a-snack 25 cent bags have almost no cheese whatsoever. I've been told that I'm the only one who has noticed this. That and Ritz Bits Cheese/Peanut Butter sandwich crackers are toasted a bit longer in the little individual bags versus the box size. I don't know why. I love my cheese and always keep a white cheddar shaker nearby to add to a variety of foods that I eat. I have four pizza restaurants on speed dial (two know me by name), and I've had mozzarella sticks at most diners/restaurants that serve them (or something cheesy related).

Now I'm supposed to tag 6 people to carry on with 6 truths of their own. I will attempt to pick 6 that I haven't seen yet, and by no means do they have to do this... but it'd be nice! I don't have a huge selection of bloggers I know either, but eh... here goes. Even if they don't do it, and some I don't expect them to, check out their blogs... so consider this a plug.

1. Karen
2. Shane
3. Friar
4. Melinda
5. Kim
6. Simon

Here are the rules:
1. LINK TO THE PERSON WHO TAGGED YOU
2. POST THE RULES ON YOUR BLOG
3. WRITE SIX RANDOM THINGS ABOUT YOURSELF
4. TAG SIX PEOPLE AT THE END OF YOUR POST AND LINK TO THEM
5. LET EACH PERSON KNOW THEY ARE TAGGED AND LEAVE A COMMENT ON THEIR BLOG
6. LET THE TAGGER KNOW WHEN YOUR ENTRY IS UP

Woot woot, y'all.

12.27.2008

is it considered "insomnia" when you're on vacation?

I'm wondering why I'm still awake at this un-ungodly hour (it's almost 7 in the AM)... But then I remembered, I didn't go to sleep the night, or morningish before until about 5 in the AM. Furthermore, I didn't awaken until about 3 in the afternoon. Okay, actually I woke up from about 10 to 10:30 to talk to a friend on one of her breaks... but other than that, I stayed unconscious for most of the daylight hours.

I'm considering this an "unofficial" post because I wanted to do a "Christmas present wrap-up" (wow, that was an unintended pun)... I was going to accompany it with pictures, but you guys know how lazy I am with the pictorials. It's so bad right now, the camera doesn't even have battrees in it. I hope I didn't promise pictures of the snow. It's almost gone. And could you believe the crazy New England weather we're having and about to have? SIXTY DEGREES ON SUNDAY. What the stank is that about?

Anyway, I thought I'd give an update as to how my script is going. It's not. I bought myself an early Christmas present that arrived Christmas Eve. "What could this be?", a curious nosy person might ask. Well, I'll tell you. Remember a couple weeks ago with the first trailer trash post with the last trailer being that of next year's Watchmen? Well sometime after that post until about 3 hours ago, I previewed the original graphic novel, Amazonned it, waited patiently (for once), unboxed it, and read it within 3 days. December 24th to 26th. Technically 4 days, but I slept most of the 26th.

Hey, I just gotta say... That is an awesome story right there. And now I'm ecstatic to see this movie. If there is a midnight showing, I think I may show up to that. I pretty sure I donned some geek points for this too... but whatever. Still not big on comic books, but this one's different. It has an end. AND now I understand why many felt that this comic was unfilmmable. Man... I can't wait to see this.

So due to my reading this, with a mix of holiday festivities, I haven't done much writing. That should hopefully resume tonight (Saturday) or the latest Sunday night. My other issue was getting my CD/DVD drive on ol' Silver to work. I think I broke it somehow when I was trying to burn a multi-disc collection for a friend of mine. This suck worse than spoiled milk already poured into the cereal. I had one disc burnt already, and had 4-5 left to do. I can't explain what happened (partly because I don't know) but I tried everything I can do that doesn't cost money. I already admitted to being a geek, but my skills couldn't crack this problem and that saddens me. I'm considering the Geek Squad. It's where I go when I can't fix something I broke. But it's weird... I can fix other computers... but mine? I'm at a loss.

So I've got one week to do some damage to a script. I'll extend it until January 4th. I kinda can't wait because it was torture listening to Fall Out Boy and not jotting down a few lines... and as we speak I'm finally really listening to The Roots' Rising Down and feeling the rap schemes fall over me. In my head, taking their versus apart in slow motion allowing me to see/hear/understand why their lines/raps/verses are so hot, and how I might possibly be able to write my own. Still a craft I'm honing in on. My goal: to make a reader/hearer's face wrinkle up/frown or make them say "wow" or "whoa" and even "that's [any positive slang]" ...but I also still dig getting my sense of humor in my poetry as well AND telling stories. Perhaps I'll devote March or April to coming up with some really good material.

In the meantime, I must continue to hit the scripts. It's not that I'm creatively stuck. If anything, I'm more inspired to write other things... but with scripts I feel I'm more productive with a plan. I need to have the characters written out first. At least the major ones. I can always add or change some later. I already know "The Writing Retreat" has some weak points in it, but you know what? I'm not worried about that right now. I just need it "complete" then I will do some tightening. I also have been assembling a team of readers. I have 2 and a possible 3rd who would probably be interested.

Anyone else interested in giving me critical critiquing of some scripts I've worked or working on, let me know and I be sure to send you what I have looking for some honest advice. I won't be sending anything until January... so there isn't a rush. Well, not for you.

I think I'm feeling sleep come on. I think I will "nap" since I think I'm going to get a phone call at 9 or 10 this morning to hang out. And I actually want to go places tomorrow like maybe dine at IHOP for the last time until the new one close to home opens and price shop a Mac at an Apple store. Yes yes y'all!

12.24.2008

i'd like a new window for Christmas

I was going to post something last night on Christmas Eve Eve, but I guess Christmas Eve isn't that bad either.

Anyway, I just want to wish all Indoobians, friends, family, strangers and strange-looking people alike a Merry Christmas. For those that don't celebrate Christmas... I can't help you. I jest! I jest! I'll just say the traditional Happy Holidays and Season's Greetings. The list of "other holidays" steadily gets longer every year, so I will refrain from saying any of them except for the one I celebrate. Deal?

And for those who are just begging to know what kept me from posting last night... it's a long story that I'll shorten by saying the ice/snow melting from my room is causing the window in my room to leak. Badly. I've already soaked up 10 man-sized beach towels--and that's only from the water I caught. It doesn't help that it won't stop raining until tonight... so... yeah...

I'd also like a new CD drive... I think I broke mine playing with iTunes... I can fix other people's computers, but mine? Totally clueless. I'm going to try again sometime in a few days.

I even managed to clean my room and do ALL my laundry. When I mean all, I mean I was down to the new underwear I hadn't broken into yet, and possibly #65 pair 'o socks. Hey, it's my goal to have 365 pairs of socks some day. So at least that will be it's own laundry day. Sock Day! Yes!

But all of this has kept me from staying on the good track I was on. I was up to 23 pages on "The Writing Retreat" and had stopped to sleep, but then if it wasn't one thing, it was another. The CD burner, the window, visiting with family, Christmas... So much to do, so little time.

I jest of course, I didn't plan to do much of anything on Christmas Day other than familizising (yeah, try pronouncing that one!) and that's always fun for us. Between the gift giving, the food and the general good times, it's what I love about the holidays. Then again, I just love my family and cherish anytime I get to spend with them. I guess that goes for my dearest friends too... but I don't like sounding sentimental here... so with that I say bah humbug.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays y'all!

12.19.2008

how i can't wait to not leave the house

iTunes and I aren't getting along this week. Fortunately it's not stopping iSaac from giving me my awesome tunes, but I can't burn any CDs and I'm a quest--no... a mission to fix this problem so I can share in my musical joy with others who'd like a copy of one of a kind mixes apparently only I know how to mix. But let that not stop me from continuing my trek of trailers I adore. Even though it's the holiday season, you'd think I'd do something festive for my friPod iPick. HA! I probably would, but no.

I'd also lament about my job's recent layoffs and I'd like to thank God for sparing my job when a few people I know were let go. Yeah, this bad economy is hitting close to home for everyone. It also gave me yet another boost, or a push, or an increase of motivation to complete a script or two ASAP. With that, I began the script for "The Writing Retreat" (working title until I find the symbols I'm looking for). So you can believe I do count, appreciate and cherish each and every blessing I have in my life. The holiday season has nothing to do with it, I've always been like that.

How about an honorable mention? Fall Out Boy's newest album is indeed pretty enjoyable. I also recently acquired The Roots latest effort but I haven't listened to it. It takes about 48 hours for me to move on from something new that I like. Sometimes longer. Speaking of newness, I now have Seinfeld season 5. Yes yes y'all! Oh, and to accompany it, Scene It: Seinfeld Edition. I don't want to play it yet because I only have 4 seasons of supreme knowledge. I also don't have many people to play with me. :o( Nevertheless, it'd be a game well enjoyed soon enough.

Lastly, New England is finally getting REAL snow. A good ole' fashioned snow storm. It just started as I type. I'll brush up on my photography skills and post a few "Christmassy" photos later. And by later I mean hopefully by or before Monday.

But so far, my vacation has been everything I dreamed. Falling asleep in the living room at 10pm and waking up to this a few hours later...

To help put you in the frame of mind I was in, I woke up around 2:30-2:45 and remained severely puzzled for the next minute as I recovered from groggy confusion and waked-upness. Really, it was a massive "what... the... stank!?" moment for me and I was a little too nervous about going back to sleep at that point. But I eventually came to my senses and changed the channel to something familiar, then went to bed... only I couldn't fall asleep so I watched a movie while I ate a bowl of Cocoa Pepples, ground beef and a bag popcorn (not all together... but yes, those were consumed in the span of 3 hours).

And today I ventured to the Mart and my local DVD rental chain and encountered disgustingly long lines everywhere. I do not like it. These lines were preparations for a deadly last minute Christmas gifts, Christmas dinner and looks-like-we'll-be-snowed-in food and movies. I think it's a New England thing, but I could be wrong.

Well, I'm off to work on other written works, and eventually take a long winter's nap until I'm called to shovel out the driveway like we're about to go somewhere (we aren't). We go in shifts just to keep up with the snow. It's better to shovel less snow by shovelling more frequently, no? I better charge up iSaac.

fripodding trailer trash 2

So my list continues of awesome movies in 3 minutes or less. Well, this post isn't, but the trailers are. They are like mini movies to get you all hyped up and excited to spend money in seeing the real thing. And sadly, sometimes you're better off seeing the trailer only. Other times, you know right away if you want to see a movie based on the trailer alone. (And for a buff like me, there are some movies that squeak by without me knowing until I see the trailer.)


This was almost one of those movies I mentioned above about hearing next to nothing about the movie UNTIL seeing the trailer first. But once I saw the trailer, I knew I had to see this. And I love this movie by the way. What I like about the trailer is the use of music. If you got a hot song (or songs) you might have it made. Just do me a favor... please include the song in the movie or on the soundtrack for us music fans. See some of the other titles below... Also note the way the plot is given to us so we know what we're getting into.


I don't know if I saw the movie or trailer first... but the trailer gives you the basics of what this movie is, yet you still see so much going on that it may draw some curiosity to check more into it. And you should, this a fun movie. Almost kinda random, but I like movies like that. I also like ensemble pieces.


Speaking of ensemble pieces. As I once mentioned, I'm 100% convinced that an anticipated movie is released when I see a trailer. I almost wet my pants when I saw this. (If you didn't already know, this is like one of my top 5 favorite movies of all time, paired with Ocean's Eleven of course... and Twelve just for box set's sake.) But I love seeing the stars that are featured in the movie and I have my own dreams of having a quick shot with "t. sterling watson" stylized next to my face while I'm doing or saying something.


Here is another hot track set to a bunch of action. Technically this one is a teaser, but who's counting? And this song is on the soundtrack. And this is another fun movie just as long as you don't take it seriously.


Okay... this is probably the runner up trailer and I'll explain why... It has so many elements of a trailer that I like--music, of course, is first. Quick note, it's because of this movie (the first 10 minutes or so) that introduced me to my all-time favorite idol Sam Cooke and some of his music is featured here. Anyway, later Moby's "Body Rock" is played, and that's not on the soundtrack but I believe it's in the movie. Next thing I like about this trailer is the drama it builds by the spoken one liners from the various characters. The slow motion. And one of my favorite parts is the camera flashes that show the captions and eventually reveals the title. That is something I want to do myself with a movie trailer. But back to the build drama until the title is revealed. I've watched some trailers that would've been more effective (for me personally) had they built it up. But this trailer? I love it. The movie I also like too...

But my #1 favorite trailer to date...

I almost want to hold off until next week, but I won't. Just in case I let some people down and they say, "you picked that?" Again, this is based on the trailer alone, not the movie. Because most times, most people see the trailer first anyway, and that's what happened to me for this one. I also grew to appreciate this movie after seeing it... but it all started with this:

Can I say it? Orgasmic! A feast for the eyes. Dramatic blacks and whites mixed with color when appropriate. And the MUSIC! It's the instrumental version of The Servant's - Cells which isn't a bad song. At one time I had both versions. But for me, this song MADE this trailer. And there is a longer trailer which is slightly different but I'm glad still included the song. But I like this version so much better. I love it when it's almost like it's a music video. Kinda. It's timed so perfectly with the clips of the movie and introductions of the main characters, then the spoken lines from some of those characters, then the montage of actors in the film all building up to a final line and the reveal of the title. Then the inevitable... coming soon.

12.17.2008

"the day the earth stood still (2008)" film review

Normally I save the movie reviews for my MySpace blog, which practically the only thing I use MySpace for these days. But with the amount of movies I watch, I need some way of keeping track of the newer ones (not necessarily recently released, but movies I've seen for the first time). So the easiest way is to write reviews on them recording my first, or even second impressions. Most of these movies I watch at home via store rentals, TV and of course Netflix. I don't get to the theater as often as I'd like to, but when I'm there, the movie usually has a different feel to it than when I'm at home. BUT the theaters don't have special DVD features that I sometimes watch before rating... so there's that to keep in mind. I respect a lot of the professional film critics, but I don't write like them. I like to tell my thoughts "unadulterated" like you are a regular person and whether or not you should see it. Again, check my MySpace to see more. But on with the review!



First of all, if you didn't know, this is a remake of the 1951 original by the same name. I actually did see the original a few months ago to prepare for the new one, so the story was pretty fresh in my head, and I really liked the original. Starting out, I would recommend that whether you see this new one in theaters or not, watch the original.

And I am not knocking the remake. Apparently the professional critics didn't care very much for it (and neither did some people on the message board at IMDb.com). I actually rather liked it. Much like the original, there's a lot of tension and suspense. There is some action as well, but probably not enough to keep serial sleepers (like my dad) awake unless they just woke up or eating something. We're all guilty of that sometimes no matter how entertaining a movie is. I went in with a cup of coffee because I was feeling sleepy before I went in, so that's different. Having seen the original, I knew what to expect and was waiting for certain plot points to fall into place. Most of them did, but others were changed--like the relationship between the lead character Klaatu (Keanu Reeves) and the wee boy Jacob (Jaden Smith). I'd just like to make a note here that this boy is a spitting image of his father. It's also brought to my attention (from a friend) that he looks like a very younger version of me... hair included. I'm still not sure how I feel about this but at least I know who can play the child version of myself in my autobiography.

Anyway, what I think could draw people in with curiosity is the giant globe things seems in the trailers. Or maybe it's Gort, the giant robot Klaatu brings with him. Special effects can help tell the story, as long as there is some kind of story to tell. I must admit, I do like how they upgraded him from the original AND kept him looking pretty much the same. I like how they came up with calling him Gort... instead it was more like G.O.R.T. The military and their acronyms. What I did miss (and perhaps it was my own ears) was the key famous phrase everyone knows from the original. "Klaatu barada nikto!" I rather not discuss the significance of that phrase at this point, but if it said in the new one, please let me know. Really though, I can't stop geeking out about Gort. Maybe it's an "original vs. remake" thing. Naturally the remake has better effects and a better spaceship. Oh yeah, and the original never had so much product placement in it. This made me laugh. But it also makes me want a touch screen computer. And maybe some fries.

But let's talk about the message this movie brings. It's actually not that far off from the original as well, but both of them don't want to tell you right away (adding to the suspense). All you know is that Earth, or the people on Earth will be destroyed if this warning is not heard by those who can take action. That is what Klaatu (in both versions) requests, to speak with the leaders of Earth. And hey, it's probably for these movies that make all the other aliens in popular movies frequently request "Take me to your leader." The reason why he wishes to meet with the leaders is indeed a real life threat. I'd even argue that the message in the original is somewhat still a real life threat. It was more so at the time that movie was made, but nevertheless, it gave a serious reason for an alien to come for a "visit." And does the Earth actually stand still? I'll just say it was another slight difference between the original and remake. Regardless, a point was made and perhaps a real life alien won't come to our planet with similar messages to make.

Overall, I'd recommend this movie to people who enjoy a good sci-fi dramatic piece, as well as those who like a little disaster flick mixed in. I think Keanu Reeves plays a great Klaatu. Even though he doesn't seem that different from other characters he may have played, the role isn't meant to have a lot of emotion. I heard critics say this movie moved too slow or didn't hit the potential it could've reached... I'm not sure what they were expecting. Again, I suggest watching the original if you get the chance. I'll be watching the original very soon yet again, and I'd buy both of these movies. It'd be great if they were packaged together. And the question I know I'd be asked... what's better overall--original or remake? I like them both, and depending on who you are, I'd recommend either the old or new version. But if you can, see both and decide for yourself.

On a side note, watch out for a knock-off "mockbuster" by the name of The Day The Earth Stopped. If you frequent the Hollywood Video and Blockbuster rental movie chains, you might see movies that look/sound strikingly similar to something released in a theater. Honestly, it's a little annoying, but also quite hilarious to see them (on the shelf). I don't plan on seeing any of these titles for fear of time wasted. If you are a renter, it's worth the wait to see the real movie.

Score: *****

(Oh yeah, and just like on my MySpace blog, I give ratings... While I attempt at staying original but easy to understand, I use askerisks from 1 (sometimes 0) to 5, ***** being the best.)

12.15.2008

in my mind, i'm already gone

My vacation begins officially December 19th. I don't have plans on going anywhere except the deep recesses of my mind in Dreamland which involves sleeping past 9 AM without worry of missing phone calls from my office phone. Actually, the ringer on my phone is already off (sometimes, especially on Mondays, I leave the ringer off and wait for the red lights to tell me when my phone is ringing). And whenever I leave my desk for the day, I'm rarely concerned about missing calls.

But not only do I get an extend stay in Dreamland, but I can actually write when I feel like writing. This is why I chose December to focus on my screenplays, because I knew I'd have these 2 weeks to devote some "anytime" time to them. Whereas when I'm at work, I can't run upstairs to type out a scene or wake up in the middle of the night to type out a conversation when I know I need to remain asleep so I can work the next day. I always get those strong urges to write at the wrong times. It's a terrible cycle.

With that, I'll just say I didn't get much script work done this weekend. It's not like I didn't try. I just wasn't feeling it. So instead of forcing myself, I just watched movies, talked with friends, relaxed, listened to new music and had some delicious Jamaican food! And when I say I watched movies... I watched about 5 in a 24 hours span. Not that that's new for me, I just haven't done it in a while. I haven't written reviews for these movies (which included The Visitor, His Girl Friday, The Day The Earth Stood Still (2008), Horton Hears a Who and This Christmas) yet, but they will be on my MySpace shortly.

Also, I think what I will do from now on is post reviews for movies I've seen in theaters on this blog as well as on MySpace. So look for The Day The Earth Stood Still in the very near future. Wow, that almost sounds like an actual threat.

On a sad note, I lost a dear friend and semi-prized possession over the weekend. Friday I was having lunch with my friend, and I shared that the belt I was wearing was tearing and how I thought I'd have another month left with it. I was off by a month and an hour when is snapped while I was shopping at the Mart. Fortunately no one noticed, except for me and anyone looking at my face with my sudden look of fear and embarrassment. Fortunately my jeans are not that loose that they would immediately fall because then I would've been in a lot more trouble.

But besides stopping dead in my tracks and looking like I lost my wallet or my keys, I was in the clear. I checked out and moved to my car as quickly as possible making sure my pants kept up with me. When I got to the car I checked the damage, cried a little bit, then went home. Ah, good times. As for happier news, guess who's first in getting all their wrapped gifts under the tree? And yes, I'll admit, I cheated and had practically all my gifts shipped already wrapped. So call me lazy.

12.12.2008

fripodding trailer trash part 1

Since this will appear to be a pretty long post, I'm doing everyone a favor by chopping it in half... sorta...

Today's iPick is actually more "iPicks" since I'm going to list some of my favorite movie trailers. Once I got iSaac, I was happy to find that's one more awesome thing it can do--play movie trailers. However, they must be the iPod version if you are at http://apple.com/trailers where I found the basis for my list. Sadly, not all of them can go on to iSaac, but that won't get us down. Also, I can't stream what's on the Apple site. Maybe I could, but I'm not going to test those waters. And one more sad note, Apple/iTunes doesn't have all the trailers I was looking for. But what iTunes didn't have, YouTube did. And it worked both ways actually, some of the better versions of trailers iTunes had, and YouTube had no idea what I was talking about. So sad.

Before I start the list, I just want to note this isn't what I intended to discuss, but thanks to the antics at Melissa's Writing Forward comments area, I was inspired to post something that inspires me. And I'll try to be as brief about it as I can, but I'm a total geek for movie trailers. I show up early for them, I watch them on the DVDs, I download them online. Imagine how excited I felt when I found out people make trailers for a living. Trust me, I haven't cross that one off my list. What makes a trailer great to me is great use of music, great pieces of dialogue, cinematography, voice overs from the actual movie, or just getting a feel for what the movie is--especially if you've never seen or heard of the movie before. You will see one or some of these things in movies I've chosen and I'll do a wee bit of a caption. Let's get started!


As this trailer is awesome on it's own, the one on iTunes I like a lot better. Plus this is a good introduction to what a trailer is... in case you didn't know. Also, I love the teaser for this movie which is also on iTunes.



Speaking of teasers... What I love about this is the title's transformations. I'm a sucker for graphics like that. And seeing in the theater is squeal inducing.



This trailer would've made me want to see this movie had I not seen the movie way before I saw the trailer. That happens sometimes when you flip through the channels and tune into something that just started. But still, if you haven't seen this movie, maybe you are interested now?



Two words: eye candy.
I will say this, the movie isn't the greatest, but its fun to watch the colors. I can't help but get a little excited hearing the music though...



For some reason people either love it or hate it. But when the trailer came out, most people I talked to loved it... or at least the trailer. I'm a fan of both, and I think they have another version of the trailer... can't remember, but I probably like that one too.



One of my favoritest movies. What I like about a trailer like this is even though it shows you some funny stuff, the funniest stuff has still yet to be revealed. It's also the music.



To be honest, I don't know a whole lot about this graphic novel this movie is based on, but I have until March to find out. Furthermore, there is another version of this trailer I like better, but I can't find it on YouTube, it is on iTunes/Apple.com so check it out. The other trailer tells more of a story, still has the awesome music, and you can't help but love the visuals.

So, you've seen a few of what I chose for my favorite picks for trailers, and this isn't even the entire list. What are some of your favorites?

12.09.2008

progress report - "the AP project"

I'll give in a little to what I've been so distracted with lately. I can't give too many details because I keep hearing similar ideas on TV that have come and gone. Long story short, it's a sitcom about my experiences and adventures at SUNY Purchase. I'm pretty sure I can mine 2 seasons out of the 2 semesters I spent there if I had the chance. I wrote plot lines for 24 episodes, and I just finished mapping out the characters. Sunday I started outlining the pilot episode, but after all the blog reading I've been doing, I think I might freestyle it. It's not like I don't have an idea already of what I want to happen in the first episode. It's mostly an introductory. It's a pilot episode. So I'm not necessarily limited to 22 minutes. But that's my goal. Besides, I only need a rough draft to get me going. I can devote January to editing or something.

I won't reveal the title for my college sitcom. I'm not even going to discuss how I want it to be shot. But I will say that if you know a few of my favorite shows, you may have an idea. One of them is actually the first show that discouraged me from even continuing the project by the name of Undeclared. Awesome show and it's too bad it was cancelled. I could seriously relate to it and so could my sitcom, BUT I don't want mine to feel like a carbon copy. I don't think it will, except for one storyline involving locked doors and "Do Not Enter" signals between roommates, but that's fine. Arrested Development is another one that I have a serious love for. I enjoy writing while having that play in the background. I'm also going to cite Seinfeld for the mere fact that when Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld started the show, they didn't really know how to write a sitcom. I don't either, but that's not going to stop me from putting the story on paper in script form.

Also, I haven't had coffee for the past 2 weeks. My friend was sick and all she wanted was tea, and I hadn't had tea in a while so I felt like drinking tea too. I told her no coffee until she felt better. Guess what happened. Go on guess! Too late, I'll tell you, I got sick, so all I've been drinking is lemon tea or honey tea (when I'm home). What the stank is wrong with Dunkin Donuts that they can't make honey tea??? It's delicious and soothing for wounded throats. Sorry, but that upsets me. That should probably be my next poll question. Which tea do you better, honey or lemon? Or honey and lemon? (Don't knock it 'til you try it.) I'll pass on the green tea, thanks. (Tried it, didn't like it.) And Tree will pass on all kinds of tea, it just wants water from now on. I know that was my fault, but hey, it sounded like a good idea at the time.


Hang in there Tree.

12.05.2008

fripodding and colbert caroling

I've been ill these past few days. Today I'm suffering from having to speak in a low monotonic voice. Not really fun. I sound so... boring. Hey, people can get away with being monotone, Steven Wright anyone? Speaking of Stevens... or Stephen in this case... I've been iPodding this album for the past week to much hilarity. I wish I was able to catch the program for which the following album had spawned, but I think that's all part of marketing I suppose... "Go out and BUY IT" he tells me. Who? Stephen Colbert of course. I consider myself to be a citizen of the Colbert Nation. What a brilliantly funny fellow he is, indeed. And so I simply had to watch his Christmas special. (Buy the DVD at Amazon.com for a loved one (like me).)

Anyway, I recommend checking this out. It helps if you are already a fan of his comedy and catch on to his brand of humor. I'm sure a non-Colbert fan would get the jokes as well, but if one person begins to watch his show (comedy central Mon-Thurs @ 11:30 pm) then I have done him some justice so you can see for yourself. Check out the Daily Show too. My only conflict comes when I must decide between him and Leno. I probably shouldn't let Stephen here that, but it's the truth. But I NEED to see "Headlines" on Monday night... and the other nights? I try to be asleep by 11 if possible. It rarely happens. Or I'm knee-deep in a movie.

I digress. This hilarious special is filled with music from various guest stars including Elvis Costello, John Legend, Fiest, Toby Keith and Willie Nelson. As far as I know this album is only found on iTunes, but it's worth checking out. Some of my favorite songs come from John Legend (no surprise) singing about his favorite spice on his eggnog, "Nutmeg." Now when I first saw and heard this song, I was under the impression he was singing about how much he loves this stuff. But after listening to the words... heh... wow... I liked Feist's song too. Not too familiar with all her music even though she's fairly new. But the song "Please Be Patient" is a hit in my book. I have an obscure book, but still, a hit nonetheless. And Toby Keith is probably the only country singer you'd find on iSaac. His song "Have I Got a Present For You" is one that sets the record straight about his stance on Christmas. Elvis Costello I don't know too well either, but he's a little crazy. He's featured on 3 of the 9 tracks. And Willie Nelson is a "Little Dealer Boy." What could I possibly mean by that? What do you think it could mean? Again, if you haven't seen the special, get on that. His special and album have made their way into my Christmas canon.

Oh and by the way, if you've been watching the The Colbert Report, you know about "Operation: Humble Kanye" and it was recently a success. As I am a fan of Mr. West, I was happy to see Colbert's operation a success. Basically, Kanye's new album was #1 and Colbert was about #15. Kanye also said he was the voice of this generation, which Colbert disagreed with and decided to put the humble operation into play. Friendly competition never heard anyone, right? Well, maybe their ego. It's only $8 so get your holiday laughs and cheers on and have a good weekend.

12.01.2008

script skills, activate!

Woot woot! It's December of 2008. Why am I so excited? Not sure. However, this month I plan to devote to strictly scriptwriting... or at least to the scriptwriting process--character developments, plot developments, mapping out the stories, and most important: actually writing the script itself. For me, for some reason, that's the most time-consuming. The nice thing about getting to the step is whenever I get into a good flow, I could probably complete a script in a matter of hours or less, depending on how long the story actually is. I know this because of my screenwriting class a few years ago, along with my own personal episodes when I'm struck with a short script to write. The only thing I'm limiting myself to is still to pre-existing material I've already started either on my laptop, scraps of paper, and especially ideas written in my notebook(s). Some ideas have begun festering due to inactivity and being further developed. The sooner they are finished, the sooner I can devote my notebook (and brain space) to new fresh ideas to fester... I mean develop.

(This is a picture of iSaac playing "Champion" and my notes on one of my latest works, "Champion.")

Basically, all this month I will refrain from working on poetry (unless, of course, a wave of inspiration sweeps me into jotting lyrics to something really wonderful) and I may even be blogging less (I'm not sure how true that will actually be) but since I'm fairly new on Twitter, I'll probably stay up to date on that via text messages from my phone. Regarding my poetic skills, I've been working on pieces all of November and only (secretly) published 1 of 5 written. Why? I don't know. I will publish 2 more, as I feel the other 2 may remain "unreleased" because I know I can do better. As one of my poetry teachers once told me, sometimes we write poems that are meant just to clear our throat. Once we get the phlegm out of the way, we can clearly say what we mean, with great flow and rhythm and all that good stuff. I think it's possible to still make those throat-clearers something worth reading. However, how they look right now, it's not up to par with the level I'm trying to achieve. Don't worry, you probably aren't missing anything special if you never read what I never release.

So as this month goes on, I ask for support in this challenge. I work better if I'm pressured. Odd as it may sound, I don't like pressure, but when I am, I'm more productive. It's like a turbo boost to the process and progress. I like those 2 things and those eventually lead to my personal favorite kind of euphoria: results and accomplishments. So every so often this month, feel free to ask me how I'm doing? What have I completed? Am I done yet? Ya know, annoying things like that. This can be done via blog comments this month, emails (including MySpace and Facebook), text messages (for those who know me like that), instant messages (I'm on AIM), in person (if I'm caught outside of my house), and especially my new social funess Twittering. I usually respond within 24 hours to any message depending where and what I'm doing. If I take any longer, then it means that I officially hate you. I JEST! I jest...

In the meantime, enjoy my fruits of November labor.
Champion - inspired by various songs, my life and my father.
Fallen - inspired by this post by Melissa Dovovan ...amongst other things.