So, like, I graduated. It was cool.

pictoral evidence:



I'm making some kind of stupid-looking face (common in pictures but not in reality) but my mom looks good.

:)

As usual, LOTS of great stuff at Zen Weasel's Place of Paradox and Illusion. Don't miss the biting political humor. I mean it!

Yeaaaaaah. I've been lazy getting to those reviews. (Sorry.) Finished school and awaiting graduation. I feel like I'm in an "off-screen" part of a film. You know, like, where's Elad? He's between scenes.

I've been watching movies, making good use of my new DVD player. Just saw Tim Burton's Big Fish. I enjoyed the message (obviously) and a lot of the visuals but I felt any real character work was lost amidst the fantasy elements. I felt like they could have been used more to illustrate character like in American Beauty. Instead the characters came off one-dimensional and I didn't really care about any of them. Still, pretty flick. And I'll watch anything with Helena Bonham Carter and those bedroom eyes.

Watched a slightly better looking and tiny-bit-longer widescreen version of the classic Conan the Barbarian. What a film! A true epic adventure, wreathed in fantasy, but told like a history. You can't rave about the performances (James Earl Jones lets his eyes do all the work) or the special effects but yet here's a brilliant fantasy film before there was fancy effects. Maybe it's just me, but I love these dirty versions of cinema. I'd trade the gloss and finish of the new Star Wars films for a chance to see Luke and Han in action again in a millennium Falcon that looks like it's about to come apart. Or remember when Star Trek films were good?

Also: Ethan Hawke's Hamlet. Which I actually enjoyed, surprising myself. Ethan Hawke's slept through the role like a true stoner but the supporting characters really nailed it. Great choices for The King and Queen, Julia Stiles totally underused as Ophelia, Bill Murray mumbling Shakespeare! Liked some of the tricks (Hamlet's an amateur film-maker) and a lot of the cinematography. Better than you'd think.

Next up: The Coen Brothers' The Man Who Wasn't There. I'm a sometimes fan of their work. Okay. I'll admit it. The only reason I rented it is because Scarlett Johansson is in it. I've got a crush on her the size of a small continent.

Oh. And lots of Stargate. I should do a rant about how awesome Stargate is. Maybe later.

(I've also started a new little story where I'm stretching my poetic muscles. Or at least trying too.)

hey, loyal readers. many apologizes for lack of updates lately. after the long ordeal of my latest story, i've been recupping my word supply (read: staring lazily at clouds, lingering on pretty female faces, etc, etc). but i plan on practicing for a future in music reviewing, so except some needlessly long reviews upcoming.

"Classic" Music count for the last week or so:

Oasis - What's the Story (Morning Glory)
Oasis - Be Here Now
Oasis - The Masterplan
Nine Inch Nails - And All That Could Have Been..
Nine Inch Nails - The Fragile
Tool - Undertow
Tool - Aenima
Tool - Lateralus
Tool - Salival
R.E.M - Monster
R.E.M - New Adventures In Hi-Fi
Radiohead - The Bends
Radiohead - OK Computer
Dave Matthews Band - Listener Supported
Dave Matthews Band - Under the Table and Dreaming
Dave Matthews Band - Before These Crowded Streets

and some records that are always near me but have been sadly neglected:

Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights
The Decemberists - Castaways and Cut-Outs
Mogwai - Rock Action
The Notwist - Neon Golden
Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

yeah. been fun. "Personal Classic Week." try it for yourself.

Finished it!

Thank the Heavens and, you know, the Earth, and the clouds. The sea, the sunshine, the trees, the leaves, the grass, and the steady stream of inspiration thanks to movies, books, music, tv, and all the people in this world.

:)