I happened completely by accident upon a tv show called New Girl. There's only one episode broadcast so far (at least as far as I could tell), and it stars my Number One, the lovely Ms. Zooey Deschanel. It's mildly surprising that I didn't know about this before, being as Zooey is still currently my favorite actress. But I'm not much of a cyber-stalker, so I guess it's really not all that unexpected that I would be unaware of a new project of hers.
I will say, that while my seeing the show was completely happenstance, it reaffirmed every reason that I'm such a big fan of Ms. Deschanel. It was, perhaps, the most hilarious new tv show I have ever seen. And Zooey plays the part perfectly.
If you'll notice, I haven't written in this blog for a while. There are several factors as to why this is the case. I wasn't planning to go into this right now, let's just suffice it to say that I was such a big fan of this show that I thought it deserved my attention, and thus, this post.
Holy freaking crap! It's been a long time since I've posted on here! And for good reason, I might say.
For those of you that follow me on Facebook, which is probably everybody that reads this blog, I might've been somewhat cryptic with my last status update before disappearing for three months. I didn't tell anywhere where I was going except that I was going on another "adventure".
And boy was it ever an adventure. I joined the Air Force. Well, the Air National Guard to be more accurate. The last three months I've been in Basic Training. Well, 8.5 weeks of Boot Camp and the last three weeks I've been in tech school. I have another seven+ months of tech school left before I go back to my home base.
Damn I look sexy in a uniform.
There are a couple of reasons that I intentionally avoided broadcasting to the world that I joined the Air Force--the primary one being that I wanted to complete at least Basic Training before I went around telling people. I figured there was a real possibility that I wouldn't be able to complete Boot Camp considering I've never been particularly adept at physically demanding activities, and while the Air Force isn't the Marines, it's become significantly more physically difficult over the last couple of years. So I was a bit worried and I didn't want to tell everyone I joined only to tell them I couldn't hack it. But I hacked it. I hacked it good.
I will say, Basic Military Training with the Air Force was by far the most difficult thing I've ever done in my life. Not just physically difficult--though that too--but they really screwed with us psychologically. I mean, I expected that, but even knowing logically what was happening, it was hard not to let continuous psychological attacks not affect me. Plus I always felt sleep deprived, regularly pushed myself, and then was immediately killed by powerpoint. They sit you in these classes when you're fatigued and expect you not to fall asleep. And damn, you better not be falling asleep.
Anyway, it truly was an adventure. I definitely feel like I improved myself. I lost a ton of fat, gained a bunch of muscle, gained self-confidence, loud noises no longer make me jump, and the list goes on. I really do feel like it was overall a very positive experience, even though at times I was wondering why the frak I joined in the first place.
But that's now over, and now I'm in technical training school for my chosen career field for the next few months before I go back to my home base in Hawaii. Tech school has actually been pretty great. The oddest and perhaps most difficult thing to deal with has just been my complete loss of autonomy and independence. But I am nothing if not adaptable.
I hope to continue updating this blog, but tech school actually keeps me pretty darn busy, not to mention the fact that the internet here sucks. So I may not get a chance to write again any time soon...but I'll try!
******UPDATE****** When I uploaded the movie clips to YouTube I got emails saying things like "Your video, Date Night Clip 1, may have content that is owned or licensed by FOX". They then removed the majority of my clips. I for some reason spaced out and didn't realize that posting short clips of films I was reviewing would be considered breaching YouTube's copyright infringment rules. For this reason I'm in the process of removing my videos from YouTube and will instead be embedding files from MegaVideo (which keeps the videos in higher quality anyway). The only thing you have to keep in mind is every time you play an embedded MegaVideo video, the first time you click on the play button (while it's red) it will turn the play button green and give you a pop-up ad. All you have to do then is close out the pop-up ad and click the green play button. The video should then play. ******/UPDATE******
Don't worry, I'm not going to do movie reviews every Monday. I just happened to watch a couple movies over the course of last week, so I thought I'd maybe try my hand at reviewing them for y'all here. To be perfectly honest, I probably shouldn't ever do movie reviews because I tend to enjoy darn near every movie I ever watch. I really like movies in general and maybe am not as critical about them as others would be. I can probably count on one hand the number of movies I've watched that I didn't like. Granted, I appreciate movies to different varying degrees, but I rarely walk out of a theater saying "that movie sucked!" Also I've found that the movies I tend to dislike the most are usually based on drugs, drug addiction, or drug-related activities. I imagine people who have had experiences with drugs and can relate to these things might likely get much more out of these movies than I do--but I myself have never actually tried any kind of illegal drugs nor have I ever had to fight with addiction, so I just can't relate. Trainspotting was one of those movies. Many people I know loved trainspotting, but it's all about heroin addiction and I personally found it very boring (and in many cases, disgusting and/or disturbing).
I also am a product of my environment. I have grown up in a culture and at a time where everything moves very fast and we're constantly bombarded with visually stimulating medium. So older movies that are slower tend to not hold my attention very well--which definitely has it's downsides. I have found I frequently have a hard time enjoying (or even finishing) 'the classics'. It's for that reason that even as of today I've never fully watched the entirety of Citizen Kane. Every time I try to watch it I get bored out of my mind before it's even half over. I understand why it's generally considered to be the greatest movie of all time--it was very innovative in terms of cinematography and music (and other things)--but damn, it's so boring!
One last thing before I get started on the reviews, I'm going to rank these movies with both a numerical rating from 1-10, plus each movie is going to fit into one of these categories: Worth seeing in the theaters, Worth buying the DVD, Worth renting the DVD, Worth downloading for free via bittorrent*, or WORTH BUYING EVERYTHING YOU CAN FIND RELATING TO THIS MOVIE.
*for legal purposes nobody is to take this category as me actually suggesting you 'steal' this movie via bittorrent. I would never publicly support anything that might even remotely be considered illegal (don't look at me like that, MPAA!)
Anyway, with those caveats in mind, here are the reviews of the most recent movies I've watched.
As is appropriate, My first ever movie review is going to be a review of the movie:
Serenity Starring: Nathan Fillion, Summer Glau, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk, Morena Baccarin, Adam Baldwin, Jewel Staite, Sean Maher, and Ron Glass Created and Directed By: Joss Whedon
Now, this movie I haven't seen recently (within the last two months, anyway), but since this is my favorite movie of all time I thought I'd do it the honor of being my first ever movie review.
I give this movie a 10/10 rating, and put this in the category "WORTH BUYING EVERYTHING YOU CAN FIND RELATING TO THIS MOVIE".
I absolutely love this movie. And I loved the TV show Firefly that it was adapted from. I have probably watched this movie (and the TV show) more than a hundred times (and I'm not exaggerating). Whenever I find myself depressed or bored or sad for any reason, all I have to do is pop in Serenity and my spirits are instantly lifted.
I have found that love him or hate him, Joss Whedon is one of the few movie minds that still puts out original content. Every TV show or movie I've seen him make has been unique. I'm not going to say I've liked everything he's done, though I will say I liked the vast majority. I also have the pleasure of being his exact demographic. Everything he creates is geared toward peeps like me. Serenity (and it's corresponding TV show) is a very unique mix of space-based science fiction and old-western style. The originality, excellent mix of action, drama, and comedy, as well as the not overdone special effects and general storyline concept (I'll be honest, I have a soft spot for 'con artist with a heart of gold' or 'robin-hood-esque' movies) are what make this my all time favorite movie. If you watched this movie and didn't come out of it with a wholly inappropriate crush on Summer Glau, then I'm afraid I just don't understand you.
I mean, how could you not fall in love with a killer-woman like that?
Next up for review is:
Date Night Starring: Steve Carell and Tina Fey
In general I'm a big fan of both Steve Carell and Tina Fey, so was relatively sure I'd enjoy this movie. And it certainly didn't disappoint. I can't say it's the most funny movie I've ever watched, but it was certainly worth seeing. I'll give it a 8/10 and put it in the category "Worth renting the DVD". This movie didn't have anything in it that made me feel like I was missing out not having seen it in the theater (no outrageous special effects or amazing action sequences), and it was a movie that I really enjoyed once, but doubt I would watch it over and over again--hence why I would choose to rent the DVD instead of buy it. A very funny movie that is worth seeing and supporting via DVD rental. One of the things I liked in particular about this movie is that during the credits they had some outtakes that made me think many of the lines were ad-libbed. Both Steve Carell and Tina Fey are generally hilarious when ad-libbing and I love being able to watch all the 'not chosen' ad-libbed lines. One of my favorite bits of this movie I have cut and uploaded to youtube. This scene is Steve Carell and Tina Fey's characters making fun of other restaurant patrons while out to dinner.
Also I clipped out the associated outtakes.
Oh, I will say this, one of the things I loved about this movie is how I felt I could relate to Steve Carell's character. Granted, I'm not married, don't even have a girlfriend, nor am I as funny as him, nor do his character's existence mirror my own in any way shape or form, but I understood his character's non-confrontational style, he never got angry or yelled (except when he told Marky Mark to "put on a f**king shirt!"), and I generally just liked the relationship between him and his wife. One of my biggest beefs with romantic comedies is that the idiot guy always gets in trouble when he tries to hide what would normally be a mostly benign situation and then his lies compound upon themselves in which hilarity ensues. It always seemed so unrealistic. I would never act like those idiot guys in those cookie-cutter romantic comedies--and neither did Steve Carell's character in this one. This movie still was romantic and hilarious without the male character having to try to cover up or hide something stupid that nobody would likely care about anyway. This is more of a 'comedy of errors' than a 'caught in a hilarious web of lies'--and I think in general I like (and relate to) the former of those two more so than the latter.
My next review is:
Salt Starring: Angelina Jolie
Again, a movie I really enjoyed. I think I really just like watching hot girls kick ass. There's something about it. And Angelina Jolie is generally considered to be pretty darn hot. She has, however, done several movies wherein she kicks people's asses. The Tomb Raider movies come to mind. I can't say that this movie is necessarily better or worse than any of the others she's done of a similar ilk--but if you're looking for a fun, easy to watch action flick wherein a hot Angelina Jolie goes around kicking ass, then this movie will fit that bill. Plus, an interesting side note, the counter-terrorism agent in this movie is played by the same guy who played the antagonist in Serenity.
In this clip you get to watch a hot blonde Angelina Jolie escape from the CIA.
And in this clip you get to watch a hot raven-haired Angelina Jolie escape from the police.
I will give this movie props for clever use of a taser to control the throttle and the guy's face to control the steering.
Because this movie had some nice action sequences I wouldn't be opposed to seeing it in the theater, but because it's not overly unique or spectacular, I have to put it in the "Worth renting the DVD" category and give it a 7/10 rating.
And my final review for today is:
Clash of the Titans Starring: Sam Worthington & Liam Neeson
I've always been fascinated by Greek Mythology, but sadly in this case, aside from the few accurate parts of Greek Mythology that this movie used (the Olympian Gods overthrowing the Titans, Perseus being the demigod son of Zeus and a mortal, Perseus killing Medusa by cutting off her head then later using Medusa's head to kill someone else), much of the mythological aspect was inaccurate. But that doesn't really matter when it comes to blockbuster movies. The sad fact of this movie is that it just wasn't spectacular. I can't really put my finger on why, either. It had nice special effects, an okay story line, and perfectly good acting, so really I don't know why I wasn't more impressed. I'm guessing it's because it's not really any different than so many other action movies out there. I know I used this term before already in this entry, but it's very cookie-cutter-ish. There's just not a whole lot of originality. Most of the movies that I've loved the most were unique in one way or another. Or they spoke to me in some particular way. But this movie felt to me just like an action movie for action movie's sake. It was fun and fast paced, but predictable and I guess somewhat boring.
I'm going to go ahead and give this movie a rating of 6/10 and put it in the "Worth downloading for free via bittorrent" category. If you have nothing better to do, then go ahead and watch it. But It's not so spectacular that I would've spent much money on it.
The dialogue was kinda cheesy too. I had the opportunity to be an extra in a movie that'll be coming out next year. Based solely on the dialogue, I'm actually afraid the movie I'll be in will suck. I was only in one scene, but in this scene there's really cheesy dialogue involving Frost Giants--who are apparently the main bad guys in that movie. In Clash of the Titans, Liam Neeson's line about the Kraken reminded me of cheesiness in the picture I was in. Here's the clip:
Well, that's it for this week's movie reviews. I know none of these movies that I reviewed were particularly new. None of them are still in theaters. But I don't often get a chance to watch movies while they are still on the big screen. So if I do continue to do movie reviews for y'all, they'll probably all be reviews of the DVD. Maybe on rare occasions I'll be able to review a brand new movie for you. Or maybe I should get a part time job at a movie theater so I can watch movies while they're still fresh and then review them. Hmmm, not a bad idea.
I really don't know what hallucinogen I was smoking the day I got back into Maui and heard on the radio that ad for "Maui's first and only water park grand opening", because it doesn't exist. According to the radio ad I heard, the grand opening was supposed to be this last weekend--and the ad said "drive past Makena until you see the sign with the giant badger on it, and you're there". Well, there's only one road going that way, and I know the road ends not too far past Makena at La Peruse bay, so I figured it'd be easy enough to find. Well, no sign with a badger, and nothing even remotely resembling a water park. I drove all the way to La Peruse and nada.
I'm wondering if that was some sort of radio prank, or if I just dreamed it and thought it was real. According to my friends, other people heard the radio ad too, so I'm leaning toward radio prank. Before I even bothered driving all that way, I googled the hell out of it trying to see if there was any mention, and there wasn't. So I wasn't overly optimistic that it actually existed in the first place, but I thought it would be odd that there'd be an ad for it on the radio and it wouldn't exist. And this wouldn't be the first time that something that existed on Maui was nowhere to be found on the interweb. So I thought I'd give it a try. But alas, no luck.
But nonetheless, yesterday was quite an enjoyable day. I started the day with an early morning run along that Wailea pathway. Sadly during the run a couple days earlier I developed a silver-dollar-sized blister on the arch of my foot, so I knew in the beginning that at the very least the run would hurt. But I've had blisters all over my feet for much of my life, and I've gotten rather used to them. I can usually just ignore the pain. This time, however, the pain was a bit more than I expected so I cut out earlier than I had planned and only jogged maybe two miles of the three mile path.
I then followed my run with a quick dip in the ocean--I was going to lay out on the beach for a while, but the wind was pretty strong and was sandblasting me, so I didn't do end up getting to sunbathe. I just swam in the ocean, then headed down toward La Peruse hoping to find that water park. When that failed, I went to the nearest Starbucks and enjoyed an iced tea while surfing the net for a bit.
Yesterday evening some friends were planning a BBQ get together at their place in Haiku. On the way there I saw one of the brightest rainbows I've ever seen. It damn near blinded me.
The night ended with a lovely bonfire and Nutella s'mores! Mmmm.
September 4, 2010 15:00 (Hawaii time) Kahului, Maui, Hawaii
I'm back in Hawaii! I'm also apparently back to my blog. Although I'm sure nobody cares, I'm sorry I haven't written anything during the last few months. I was going to write a 'European finale' entry that detailed everything about how my trip in Europe ended, what all happened, and my slow recovery from my back injury. I wrote a good chunk of that entry, but I never really finished it. Plus, I was in pain and depressed a decent amount of the time. So the entry wasn't exactly 'positive'. Writing anger can be therapeutic, I've found, but that doesn't necessarily mean I want to vent my troubles to the world. I'm usually a pretty happy person, or at the very least a generally contented person, so writing an overly depressing/angry thingy and posting it for all the world to see would be very non-Nomadic-Vagabond-esque. I'm much happier now, my back is probably at 98%, I'm back in the beautiful state of Hawaii, my brother's wedding is over (I had to give a speech during the ceremony and a toast during the reception--I was happy and proud to do it, but public speaking is difficult for me, and generally makes me nervous, so I'm glad it's over). Just about everything that was causing me pain, stress, and discomfort is done with. And now I'm back in Hawaii! Yay!
The day I got back was great too. My good friends James and Michelle picked me up from the airport, helped me get my van back and running, let me crash at their place that night while I got my living arrangements squared away, and then I got to watch James "Kimo" Nevius perform original songs at open mic night at the Moana Cafe in Paia. Below is a video of James performing one of his songs.
James also did a duet with an 8 year old who went by Untilted (yes, Untilted, not Untitled--notice the difference? The kid's real name is Jaxon, but I think he's still working out a stage name. Personally I like Untilted)--a very appropriate song, to be sure.
So that was my first day back! I've now been back for a few days, and things are falling back into place nicely. Yesterday I jogged almost five miles, hung out with James and Michelle on the beach and swam in the ocean. We also listened to a Dutch Holocaust survivor speak at the Kihei Public Library, then in the evening checked out First Friday in Wailuku. Yesterday was a very fun day. This morning I spent more than three hours at the gym--I got there at 9am and wanted to take a spin class that didn't start until 11, so I spent two hours working out my arms then finished the work out with an hour long sweat-filled spin class. I've never deserved a five dollar footlong more.
I don't know what I'm going to do this afternoon/evening, but I've finished just about everything I had on my list of things to do once I got back here--I only have a couple of things left to do--and one of those things is to repossess that Camaro convertible that the guy never finished paying off. I've never repossessed a car before, so I don't really know how. I'm going to go talk to the police to see if there's anything special I need to do--and maybe they can assist. To be honest, I don't even know where the car is. Maui's not a big island, so I bet I could find it, but still.
I heard on the radio the other day that this weekend is the grand opening of Maui's first and only water park. I do love water parks, and this one supposedly has slides that drop you right into the ocean. I may go check that out tomorrow. Tomorrow is also another jogging and abs day for me, so I definitely have to do that at some point. I really enjoyed the three mile path James, Michelle and I ran on yesterday in Wailea so maybe I'll go run that again. Plus, the water park is supposedly just south of Makena, so maybe if I go running on that path in the morning I'll be able to go straight from there to the water park. Well, tomorrow sounds like a fun day too!
I have nothing but nice things to say about the people of Greece. I truly do.
June 9, 2010 18:15 Athens, Greece
I know because of my injury I’ve been held up here in Greece a great deal longer than expected and haven’t gotten to see half as many countries and cultures as I had hoped/expected, but I truly have to say, the people here in Greece are probably the nicest and most trustworthy of any I’ve met.
I wanted to see the Parthenon today. I knew I just couldn’t leave Athens without seeing it. So despite the nerve and pain issues I’m still dealing with, I dedicated today to seeing the Acropolis—the Parthenon in particular. To get there it’s a relatively short walk from the hostel to the metro, then four stops down the metro and you arrive at the Acropolis. From there it’s a bit of a walk to the Parthenon, uphill, many steps, and over slick traffic-worn marble. I brought my cane with me, and walked slowly. The cane doesn’t help so terribly much with the walking, but when I need to stop and take the pressure off my sciatic nerve, it gives me something to lean on. Crutches probably would work better, they’d take all the pressure off my back and put it on my shoulders, but all I have is a cane. So this morning I got up early, ate a free breakfast (this hostel just recently started giving a free continental breakfast—I was here a month ago and it wasn’t free), and then slowly walked down to the metro station.
As it happens, this hostel is supposedly located in a really shitty part of town. To be honest, I don’t see it. It seems to me no worse than the better parts of Newark, New Jersey. Sure, there are maybe some unseemly people about, but old ladies walk the streets at night by themselves, folk carrying groceries and whatnot, and I’ve witnessed only one situation where a guy was running on foot from two cops (who were also on foot). Nobody has tried to molest me, pick my pocket, or has said a single bad word to me. But the reviews for this hostel on hostelworld.com as well as all the cab drivers that have picked me up or dropped me off here have said this is a bad neighborhood. Let me say, if this is the worst of the Greeks, I wish the USA’s ghettos were half as nice. But I digress.
So I walk to the metro station, slowly, stopping every now and then when needed. This particular (and I think probably all) metro station has an elevator for the disabled so you don’t have to walk down the stairs. I figured that would be good for me, so my semi-largish, bearded, limping, cane-using self got on the elevator to go down into the metro with three old ladies who were all probably in their seventies (remember, this is a bad neighborhood). Now, maybe because I’ve lost a significant amount of my bulk—add that to the limp and the cane—this may have taken away from any imposing presence I used to (or imagined I used to) conjure to others because as I slowly hobbled off the elevator, two of the ladies who got off first stopped, turned to me, and said something in Greek. I apologized for not speaking Greek and asked them if they spoke English. One of them did, and she said they were asking if I needed any help.
These two, sweet, seventyish old ladies saw me hobbling my way onto the subway in the ‘ghettos’ of Athens and asked me if I needed assistance. I was blown away with how kind that was. I thanked them profusely for their kindness and generosity, but told them I was okay as long as I took it slow.
That sort of kindness has been indicative of everyone I’ve met while here in Greece. Everyone here, even in the bad neighborhood, is willing to lend a hand, give a direction, or generally help, with no desire or expectation for quid pro quo. If they don’t speak English, they still try to help. It blows my mind. Their country is economically falling apart, there are strikes every other day, there was a riot and an arson, the government is corrupt (of course, show me a government without any corruption and I’ll show you a liar), everyone here is having a hard time making ends meet, and still, they’re kind, wonderful people. Unlike in Spain, nobody has tried to pick my pocket. Unlike in France, nobody has been smug and rude to me. Unlike in Mexico nobody has even once tried to steal anything from me—and while on Crete I left my laptop overnight multiple times in the common area where anybody could’ve just taken it and I’d never have known. Unlike in America, nobody’s tried to take advantage of me (except for that guy that sold me the six euro water, but I maintain that could’ve been a simple mistake)—even the cab drivers have been amazingly nice and kind, get you where you’re going in a hurry, and are shocked and try to tell you it’s too much when you give them a five euro tip.
The food is delicious, the people are kind, the history goes back millennia, the olive-skinned, dark haired, stunningly beautiful women wander about—I swear, if I was literate in the language, it’d be a tempting place to never leave. I’ve been to quite a few countries, seen and enjoyed the wonders of many different cultures. Many were great, none were terrible. Mexico, Canada, The Cayman Islands, The Bahamas, Costa Rica, England, Spain, France, The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, and Greece. There might be more I’m forgetting at the moment. Many of these places I stayed a while, some of which I was only there briefly. But I can say without a shadow of a doubt, Greece is a fantastic place to see. I’ve been injured the entire time I’ve been here, and still I’ve loved it. Maybe it’s partly because of the injury and that I’ve not gotten to see and do as much as I would like (despite the unanticipated, extended duration of my stay) that’s part of the reason I want to come back so badly, but I truly do hope I get to come back to this lovely country. There are so many more countries to see and cultures to experience, but nonetheless I hope I get to come back some day.
By the way, I did make it all the way to the Parthenon. It wore me out, but it was well worth the endeavor. I’ll post on that later. This post I just wanted to mention how much I like Greece and her people.
Indeed, this is probably going to be a very boring entry because since my adventure to Preveli I haven't done a darn thing. I definitely felt like I set back my recovery during the days after Preveli, but in about two or three days I was back to where I was before Preveli, so I don't think I did any additional lasting damage. At least, I'm hoping.
So all I've done since that adventure is stick around the hostel and try to continue my recovery. I think I'm improving, but it's just really hard to say. Some days are better than others, and it's hard for me to figure out why.
I spoke to my childhood best friend's dad (and my former pediatrician) about my back, because I was having difficulty finding any doctors around here that spoke good enough English for me to feel comfortable getting the answers I wanted. I also trust Dr. Rees completely, and it was a real relief to get his opinion. I feel just awful using a friendship like that to ask for medical advice--I imagine doctors get it all the time and I really do feel bad. But I'll send him some Greek olive oil as a thank you. Anyway, he said I should really take the pressure off my back as much as possible--despite the fact that I'm in Greece and want to go do and see stuff, I should spend as much time in a supine position as possible. So that's what I've done, literally, for the last two days. I laid in bed. I've spent a lot of that time sleeping. Some watching tv. But it's been probably the least interesting thing to do in Greece. It's also what I'm going to go back to doing after I get done eating breakfast and writing this blog entry. Well, I may take a shower first. It's been a couple of days now, and a shower sounds lovely.
Oh, also, Dr. Rees recommended I try to make a reverse-incline (wouldn't that just be a 'decline'?) bed-type-thingy that I could lay on upside down and strap my ankles to the top so I don't slide down. He said I should lay on this for 20 minutes three times a day and it will help relieve the pressure off my hernia. So I managed to get a couple of four foot boards, a couple of chairs, a mat, and a strap, and made myself this contraption:
Below are self portraits of me on the contraption:
