Sunday, November 29, 2009

Waiting For the Snow

I really want it to snow. It's almost December. It snowed a little on Black Friday, but it wasn't much and it wasn't really around Euclid. But guess what tomorrow is! Monday! That means...CEDAR LEE MOVIE MONDAY! I can't wait! I haven't gone in awhile!

Friday, November 27, 2009

Tofurkey-less Thanksgiving, Yet Again

My Thanksgiving wish was not granted this year, but it was a fine "holiday." I'll try not to be a Debbie Downer and explain the quotes. I tend to just have fun with what I see as the pointlessness of some holidays. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays to ponder why we celebrate it and the false reasons I was taught in elementary school. Oh elementary school! To be naive again! To believe in Santa Claus and pilgrims sharing meals with the indians instead of raping and pillaging their lands essentially. Whoops! There I go with my ideals again. I've discovered I'm very much a foisting person. I definitely try to persuade people to my point of view, but only on things I believe I am right about, or things I think would help the foistee become a better person, a more intelligent, cultured, and open-minded person. I'm making the world a better place, one person at a time. Don't get me wrong. I don't think I'm the perfect person and everyone should be like me, I'm just letting you think I'm thinking it.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Back in the Euclid-SR

No, I do not think my home feels like an oppressive communist regime. But to the point, I'm back home for a little less than six weeks. Thanksgiving is in two days, and Black Friday is in three. Thanksgiving will be fun seeing as I'm still a vegetarian. But I'm really looking forward to Black Friday if my mom wants to go. Half-Price Books is having a special 20% off the alright slashed prices. And if we're in the first 100 customers we get a free tote bag and $5 gift card. I'm really excited. Happy beginning of the holidays, or as Cake Wrecks says, winter.

Monday, November 23, 2009

I "Like" This

Lately, I feel I am slowly going insane. One of the key reasons I feel this oncoming insanity is my constant thought of, "If this were on Facebook, I would 'like' this." I'm afraid I have become a "like"-button-happy person. I do like to "like" things on Facebook, though sometimes I don't like the notifications I get when I like someone's status and someone else commented on that status, yet it is irrelevant to me. But I digress. I also narrated my life for a short two minutes; a short two minutes that I spent walking to the bathroom, going to the bathroom, and returning to my room. I have also increased the amount of times I talk to myself in the mirror, making funny faces at myself, and then finding myself ridiculously insane, which makes me laugh at myself, furthering my insanity. Harrumph. Le sigh. Oh woe. Deep intake of breath...exhale sound effect.

Yes, you did just read that, meaning yes I did type it. Weeooweeoo sound effect. You're thinking, "My god! He has lost it!"

Maybe I have...maybe I have.

^_^

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Synecdoche, New York

I was originally going to title this, "I Lost My Synecdoche, New York," and make it seem like I lost the key to the place I share with New York. No, not the STD-ridden reality star New York, just New York the city. Anyway, to the point of this post. I just watched the film Synecdoche, New York. It was strange, hard to follow, and sad. It follows Caden Cotard, played by the talented Phillip Seymour Hoffman, as his life slowly spirals. After his wife leaves him to work in Berlin, he receives a MacArthur Grant with which he builds a model of his world, hiring actors to play the people in his life, including a guy who followed him for 20 years to play himself. The time span is non-linear, yet at the same time linear. The film is ripe with odd occurrences such as him reading the diary his daughter left though it is filled with events from her life in Germany, things she could not possibly have written in it. Its central theme seems to be death, but it could also be the complexity and oddness of life, or even the wish to observe our lives as though it were a show. It obviously brings to mind Shakespeare's quote of, "All the world's a stage, and all its men and women merely players." Indeed, this film tries to portray that. The ending is unexpected and confusing, yet anticipation ending and engaging. It leaves the mind to wonder. Was it all a dream? A show? Unreal?

Finals Funtime

Since I do not have classes during finals, I end up having a lot of free time. Usually I watch stuff or rekindle my passion for video games. So far I've rewatched Wolf's Rain, seen Firefly with Bob, started Clone High with Bob, restarted Arrested Development with Bob, restarted Avatar: The Last Airbender by myself, and started playing Final Fantasy XII again. I've decided to finally finish the game after pretty much getting to the end long ago. The game is like three years old. I miss my Kingdom Hearts games. I need to get those back from my brother Jeff. I know you read this Jeff! You've been holding those games hostage for like two years now. I would like you to return them as soon as possible please. But I digress. I've also been catching up on all the Fresh Air podcasts I haven't had a chance to listen to, along with all the All Songs Considered podcasts I have taking up space on my computer. There's a lot of good music I need to get over winter break.

Friday, November 20, 2009

1000 Awesome Things

I would like to thank the awesome person that sent this as a reply to a PostSecret. 1000 Awesome Things is a blog chronicling 1000 awesome things. What makes these 1000 things so awesome? They are the little things that bring joy into people's lives. Today's post is waking up from a nightmare to realize it was only a dream. Other posts include finding money you didn't even know you lost, locking people out of the car and pretending to drive away, picking your nose, eating the last piece of dessert someone left at your house, real-bearded Santas, illegal naps, rain hair, sneezing three or more times in a row, your pillow, and over 300 more. The blog was started last year, and so far, has reached number 630 counting down from 1000. So here's to 1000 Awesome Things! It's one of my 1000 awesome things.

Link is in the list of Fun Blogs --------->

Fall Finals

I just finished my second final out of four for this quarter. I'm so glad this quarter is almost over. It's been almost stressful. I wonder if I'll ever actually feel stressed... Anyway, it's been pretty crazy also. I felt very lonely this quarter, and that led to thinking about my future, and consequently death. I had several near breakdowns because of my fear of the unknown. It's probably what caused my slight lack of motivation this quarter. But I did have my acting class to cheer me up and distract me. I'm going to miss that class. I hope Nicole will teach Acting Fundamentals II because then I would take it with her. I'll miss all my cool acting classmates. I've also decided, for now, that I'm going to be more of a masochist and try adding Acting or Performing, or whatever they call it here, as a minor. That way I can try out for the School of Theater's productions. I would love to be in one of its shows. We'll see next quarter. My last two tests are on Tuesday, and then I'm on my way home. Hurray!

Thursday, November 19, 2009

A New Improved Post. Now With Extra Ranting

So I've been watching the show Firefly, and then subsequently the movie that follows the one season series, with my awesome friend Bob. We had several Firefly nights within the past two weeks. The series is a space western, one of my favorite genres. It was a really sad ending. I wish it didn't end though. It was a really good show. Why do most of the good shows get cancelled before their time? It's just not right! Well, at least they make movies to wrap everything up. I'm anxiously awaiting the Arrested Development movie. Such a great television show, and at least it had a somewhat good run. I wonder if they'll ever make a The 4400 movie. That would be awesome if they did because that show was so under-appreciated. It had four seasons, and then it got cancelled and ended on a huge cliff hanger because they didn't know they were going to get cancelled, so they couldn't wrap everything up in a nice little package. And The Riches! Don't get me started on that wonderful show! I'm so angry! That show was genius! Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver, fantastic chemistry! The actors playing the kids were brilliant! Only two seasons! URGH! WHY?!?!

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Leggo My Eggo

Oh noes! Eggo waffles will be in short supply until mid-next year. What will all the hungry dads do without Eggo waffles to steal from their adorable daughters?



The world may never know...

(What's that? Two dated pop culture references in one blog post? Zoinks! (That makes three!))

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Playtime With Puppies!

I just played with three adorable puppies and two dogs that were possibly just older puppies. It was awesome! I played for three hours and became an unofficial helper, making sure the one puppy didn't escape, the big dogs didn't fight, and that the puppies were spread out among the people. I also gave a two dollar donation, but I feel I should have given more. I'll give more next quarter, when they have the next Playtime With Puppies!

Monday, November 16, 2009

The Book of Love

I watched the supposed to be series finale of Scrubs a few weeks ago. It was absolutely beautiful, and it made me bawl my eyes out. The reason I am bringing this up now is because Nataly Dawn, adorable member of Pomplamoose, did a cover of the song, originally by The Magnetic fields, that plays during the final minutes of the finale. The song is called The Book of Love.

Here is the Scrubs finale with Peter Gabriel performing the song.



Here is Nataly Dawn's cover.

And...Scene!

Today was my last acting class of this quarter. I'm really going to miss it. I had so much fun and met so many cool people in it. I really enjoyed learning how to better my acting. I really have improved. But according to my classmates, I was always fantastic. Now, I know I wasn't great before, but I'm flattered that they think I'm really good. At the end of class today, we talked about the class overall. I'm not sure exactly what was said, but I think it was along the lines of none of us was going to become famous. Then Jenny said that I would, and several other classmates agreed. I was very happy I decided to take this class, and I'm really happy I took it when I did with the people I did. It was exactly what I needed after this summer. And those this class has ended, the curtain drawn, the lights faded, I hope to continue to act in someway, whether I add an Acting minor if possible, or I try and work the student theater group into my already busy schedule. I guess I'll have to sacrifice my super lazy Saturdays.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Missing the Play

So I'm missing my high school's Fall Play. It sucks, but I filled the theatrical hole with some plays at OU. The first was a second viewing of The Wonderful World of Dissocia. I never got to writing a post about it after I saw it the first time, so I'll write about it now. The Wonderful World of Dissocia follows Lisa Montgomery Jones as she takes a trip into the world of Dissocia in order to find her lost hour. She calls a number her watch repairer gave her, and suddenly her flat turns into an elevator that goes up, down, and sideways. She comes across a pair of Insecurity Guards, must take an oath with the Oathtaker who constantly spits oatmeal cookies, plays in a field of light circles that make sounds, is almost raped by a Scapegoat, fights the Black Dog King's supporters using bombs that leave animal shapes, meets a cavalcade of characters at a hot dog stand that doubles as a lost & found office, finds out she is the lost queen of Dissocia and her hour actually created the world, and encounters the Black Dog King. That was the first act. The second act brings Lisa back to the real world. After her episode, she spends the rest of the play in a hospital room. Nurses funnel in and out, making sure she takes her pills. Relatives visit. She has a tense visit from her boyfriend Vince. The play ends with her looking out the window. It's very sad, and yet it's also a little hopeful. Even though she lost her crazy, lewd, fantasy world, there is an implication that things will get better.

The second play I saw was a student's one-act adaption of Hemingway's short story, "Hills Like White Elephants." If you do not know or have not read the short story, then I suggest you acquaint yourself with it. It's a fantastically simple look at a relationship where the persons involved don't communicate. The student took an interpretative approach, making gestures important. I applaud him, but I found the gestures very random and distracting. In the beginning, a song played and the three actors entered the stage area by following the beats of the music. It was very strange. I found it slightly unnecessary and rather boring to watch, even when the couple did a sort of dance with each other. I love the shorty story, I liked the play. I would have loved it had the gestures emphasis not been there. The actor and two actresses did a superb job. They really brought the story to life. However, I just can't get over those gestures. At times they were very robotic, and other times they were just flailing about. The gestures were supposed to say what the couple could not say to each other. The only thing it communicated to me was a pointless attempt at trying to make something better by making it different. Once again, I applaud the student for trying, but I encourage him to rethink the necessity of the gestures. I do recommend that he spearhead a transformation of Hemingway short stories into a skit-play.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Loneliness

I'm lonely. You won't talk to me anymore, and it's only making my loneliness worse. I just want my friend back! I just want the person that I made funny comments during movies with, watched TV with, heard funny stories from, went to free screenings with, tasted extra sugary lemonade with, and found the remote for. I want my friend back!

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Primer

I just traveled back in time to let you all know about the five-year-old movie Primer. It's insane. I definitely needed to read the Wikipedia page to fully understand it. It's all about Abe and Aaron who stumble upon a way to travel back in time. They build these time boxes, and at first they only travel back in time to make money on the stock market and other gambling games. But then they set out to stop anyone from getting hurt at this party. I felt like a lot was left out. The ending felt rushed to me, and though I enjoyed it, I felt like I should have gone back in time and not watched it. Instead, I've gone back in time to warn you all! Causality!!! Beware!!! Ethical repercussions!!!

How Horrible!

So yesterday, I finally watched Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog! I've been trying to watch it since shortly after it was made, but my internet connection was too slow to watch it on its original site. Then it sort of faded from my mind until I started watching Firefly with my friend Bob on Saturday. The lead in Firefly, Nathan Fillion, plays the antagonist in Dr. Horrible. Dr. Horrible creator Joss Whedon also created Firefly. Since Bob is just awesome, he let me borrow his DVD of Dr. Horrible! It is 42 minutes of musical awesomeness. Neil Patrick Harris shines as Dr. Horrible, Felicia Day sparkles as Penny, and Nathan Fillion blazes as Captain Hammer. On top of the 42 minutes, there is a 42 minute commentary know as Commmentary: The Musical! Hurrah! So wonderful! I really enjoyed it, and I recommend it to everyone who has any sense.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Let's Take the Day Off

Tomorrow is Veteran's Day. That means I do not have class! So tonight, I'm going to party like it's 2009! It is 2009? I can still party like is, right? Anyways, I only have the three more days of classes and then a week of finals before I return home for six weeks! I'll make sure I'm super busy during my break. That way, I ensure that I get to 200 posts by New Years Eve. I've always wondered if it's New Year's Eve or New Years Eve. Is it the eve of a new year? Or is it the eve of new years? I just checked Wikipedia. It's New Year's Eve, not anyone else's eve. Hmmm, then why is it not Christmas' Eve? Hmmmm...answer that grammar Nazis!

A Lover's Lament

Once, there were two lovers. They had met by pure chance, but it was as if they already knew each other. They were often together. Quickly and deeply, they fell in love. Everything was perfect. Until that fateful day...

It had come time for the one lover to return home. The summer was over, and so was the romance. The lovers said goodbye, but not without regret and sadness.

So the one lover returned home, only to find his heart was not with him. He thought he had brought it, but it seems his lover had stolen it. "Why did you do this? Why did you have to steal my heart?" he pleaded, but the lover responded with nothing but silence.

Having lost his heart, the one lover wandered aimlessly through his home, the anticipation of a return eating away at his mind. He slowly descended into madness and isolation.

One day, he had a chance to return to his lover-thief. It was a treacherous journey, filled with joy and tears at the prospect of seeing the one he loved once more.

His return was not as joyous as he hoped, but a spark of hope lit a candle of anxiety. "What if I only imagined the glances, the love-filled eyes?" he thought to himself.

He returned home, bringing with him an aura of anxious feelings. As his second return drew closer, the feelings worsened.

The day finally came. He shed his anxiety and held hope. It was true! Hurrah! The love was still there. They held each other close, their love-filled eyes connected. "I love you, and I have from the moment I met you," the lover said.

Alas it was but a dream. He awoke to his empty bed, his face soaked with tears, his heart pounding in his chest trying to escape.

A dream is such a beautiful thing, as beautiful as love. Unfortunately, both are just as destructive as they are beautiful.

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Possiblity of Failure

I don't know if I can make it to 200 posts by the end of this year everyone. I'm going to see a supposedly crazy play tonight, so I hope that will fuel a post. Plus I'm sure I'll write something about my uncertain future soon. That's been occupying a huge chunk of my thoughts lately.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Ingird Michaelson

So instead of staying at OU for Halloween this year, I decided to go home to see Ingrid Michaelson and then the play Franklyn Stein's Project at CSU. It was the right choice in my opinion. I had a wonderful time. I saw Ingrid by myself at the Beachland Ballroom. It was so much fun. I made friends with the two girls in front of me while we waited for like 20 minutes in the cold for the doors to open. The opening act, Matthew Perryman Jones, was amazing. And then came Ingrid and her adorable band. They were all in quickly thrown together costumes that they bought at the vintage shop below the Ballroom. She was a cowgirl. She is amazing live, and a very funny person. She threw out candy, made several sexual jokes, and was just simply wonderful. Then my mom was kind enough to drive me to CSU for the midnight showing of Franklyn Stein's Project. I was supposed to see it with Ben and Kristen, but Ben forgot to inform me that he decided to work on Saturday night. So I reserved four tickets and only used one (thank goodness I didn't have to pay for them all). The play was fantastic. It was dark, dramatic, frantic, frightening, and comically gory, perfect for midnight on Halloween. It was student writ and directed perfectly if I may say so. I absolutely enjoyed it. Afterward, I got to see my friend Chad who made the air cannons that blew up the frog and shot guts and gore everywhere. Then my mom picked me up, I ate some candy, and then fell asleep. I hope your adorably awkward handshake was a sign that we're friends again.