Going on 22 Hours

Today was a long day. After only about 4.5 hours of sleep, it was time to wake up and head into the city for the Autism Speaks walk. From there was a drive back home and a screening of the social network. Then a late lunch and an unintentional nap before hitting the city again. Went to AKA and picked up Titus on vinyl before heading to the TLA and seeing Tallest Man (show didn't even start until 9). Finally, and without surprise, the night ended at Llanerch. Now, before I get any closer to the 24 hours without sleep mark, I am climbing in bed.

Goodnight.

A Active Sunday, An Active Weekend

I have fallen into the downward spiral of being antisocial. My job leaves me too tired to do much all week long, and getting comfortable there has left me with feeling that 1 trip to the diner for an entire weekend is enough time to see and spend time with friends.

This weekend, however, was completely different. Kristen was up from New Orleans, and from the time I woke up Friday until right now I was with people to some degree and did a lot. Friday after being gone for work from 630 am until almost 7 pm, I was back out the door within 20 minutes to watch the Eagles 1st preseason game and hang out at a friend's house. I ended up leaving and getting back home around 1:30. Kristen ended up staying here the rest of the weekend.

I woke up Saturday morning around 10 am. An hour later it was time for pancakes and then a series of texts and phone calls to plan for the show that night. Past that I spent the next 2 hours trying to come up with a set list, once Joe came over, and memorizing more lyrics for the show. By 4 is was time to pack the cars and head out. We were at the pool from 5:30 until 11 pm. I then went back to my friend Tom's until about 1 or so. Finally got home and got to bed a little after 2:30 am. Both Joe and Kristen stayed over Saturday night.

Today I woke up and soon after Joe headed out. Kristen had already been up and showered and I showered soon after. Almost immediately after getting out we headed out the door for the diner to meet up with those that slept at Tom's. After the diner, our friends from NY/NJ hit the road and I headed back home. Not for long, though. We were back out the door at 1 pm to see, with Alex, a 1:30 screening of Scott Pilgrim (which was awesome - see it). Home around 4, dinner at 6, and then it was time for one more outing. As if two outings on a Sunday was not enough (and believe me, considering how this summer has gone - that was a lot) my sisters, Kristen and myself went out to get frozen yogurt and met some long time friends there. Finally, I called it a night/weekend around 9:30 pm. The rest of the night I spent lying on the floor reading through/catching up on some news and watching the Phils.

All in all I would say it was an incredibly solid weekend. Also, for once, the weather was pretty bearable throughout.

Check!

Today I was able to cross the first thing off my bucket list that I made for college. It is a long list, and it is really becoming questionable whether or not I will get through it all. It is still nice to be making any progress on it.

After over two years in the making, Warren and I finally made it to B&H photo. This place has been one of mystery to me ever since our failed attempt at going there in October of 2007.

This was all part of an incredibly enjoyable day. It started out as one that would be cut short by a meeting at 2 pm. But due to Warren needing more time I was able to bump the meet up to before we left for the city, which also gave more time to Sarah Romeo who had hoped to come but wouldn't have made it in time had we left when we planned.

After B&H and meeting with Ellen for lunch, Sarah and I parted ways with Warren and cut across Central Park to head to the Lincoln Center theatre. This is only the second time I have seen a movie here, the first being only a few weeks ago. Here I was finally able to see How To Train Your Dragon, and let me say. This is the best movie I have seen this year. It was beautiful to watch, a blast to sit through in IMAX 3d (unlike Avatar which was taxing) and just an incredibly pure and fun film that I would absolutely see again. Parents should take their kids to this. It's engaging enough visually and in humor that any age group should be entertained and engrossed.

(this is the elevator downstairs to what I am told is where kids movies are shown. Ours, being in IMAX, was upstairs, but I am totally hoping I get to travel down this escalator for a movie before June - it's so cool looking!)

We All Fall Down

Man, when it's hot, it can be exhausting. Today's heat was nice, but maybe a bit too hot. In a few months from now, at the same temperature, I wouldn't think twice. But when the first day it breaks into the 80s, it almost reached the 90s, it is definitely an adjustment.

I am tempted to turn on the air conditioning, but I am going to try to avoid doing so as it will cool off very soon. It's a funny thing, the air and heat, and how I view it. My parents try to only turn them on when they can let it run for a long period of time. I don't mean hours or days, but if it is not going to become consistently cold or warm for at least a week in a row, they don't see the need for it.

Even though I think this a strange and ridiculous stance to have, it seems to have rubbed off a bit. It won't take a week of hot weather for me to turn the air on, but if its going to be more bearable in a day or two, I won't bother. Is that normal, or do people turn on their air or heat soon as it becomes necessary?

Anyway, I did not hide from the heat today. Instead, myself and a pretty decent crowd of friends who I don't see enough of (some of them) spent a large chunk of our day light hours out on Eddies parade, the campus quad. Days like today are ones where you are all sitting there, knowing you have hours, if not days, of work to get done but if you are going to be distracted by how nice it is outside anyway, might as well just soak it up and worry about the school work later. It's why the attendance rates in classes once April comes around seem to never be full capacity.

Field trip tomorrow is cancelled. The deal we get is day-specific, and so all the parents would have had to okay paying more money for their kids to go on the same trip. I'm guessing by the email I received a few hours ago saying it was not happening means enough parents were not up for that. Bummer, but I can understand the logic - why would you pay double what you were initially meant to pay for the exact same trip? I guess I will have to find time on my own to go see How To Train Your Dragon.

A Sense of Pride

Back in 2008 The Coen Brothers released a movie titled Burn After Reading. It was rumored they would be using one or two locations on my college campus to brief scenes. They were shooting during a break when no one would be around. I have seen the movie more than once and don't recognize any place in it. Whether they changed their minds about the scene shot, or if it was even shot there at all, is unclear. But since then Fordham has become a bit popular for films.

That same year, a movie production studio was in talks with Fordham to use our radio station studios to film a movie staring Uma Thurma who was to play a talk show host. The deal fell through, but it was cool enough that it could have happened.

Over the past year, 3 movies have had scenes shot on our campus. Last spring a Michael Dougles movie, rumored to be called 'Solitary Man' was being filmed on campus. The movie co-stars Jenna Fischer, Susan Sarandon, Jesse Eisenberg, and Danny Devito. It was unclear if all of these actors were at Fordham during the filming, but today a trailer and some photos were released. I know countless movies are filmed in the New York area every year and having spend the past 4 years in this city, there are many places I have come to recognize. Nonetheless, seeing my school campus in a trailer has a totally different sensation. I am not pro-Fordham (which is not to say I am anti-, just not passionate about it), but it still feels oddly cool to have a connection to it, watching those scenes.

In the fall, Oliver Stone shot a few scenes on our campus as well for his new film, Wall Street 2, also staring Michael Douglas. Part of me wonders whether Douglas suggested the campus as a site to shoot after being on it for his other movie. The international trailer was released about 6-7 weeks ago, and while it is a brief scene, there is a quick clip from our campus featured in this trailer as well.

Finally, in the winter of this year a single scene was shot on the steps of Keating. This building is beautiful to look at, and it is no wonder that it is the point of focus for a location when shooting on the campus. I am fuzzy on the details about this movie, but I do remember the scene was about the main character, who was a graduate of Fordham, who was using it as his location to announce his candidacy for some governmental office. I am going to ask around to see if anyone remembers who the actor was, or any further details about this one.

I am not sure if this is a recent upswing in movie studios' interest with the campus or if this has been happening in the past, but it is pretty cool to be around for it. I hope another one happens before I leave. Maybe I will actually get to be an extra in it.

(pictured: the first volume of a graphic novel series I just started. It is pretty good stuff)

Field Trip

Tomorrow we are going to see How To Train Your Dragon. I am really excited because field trips with the kids are a blast. In addition, I wanted to see this movie.

What a great way to start Easter Break.

How To Sum Up The Day

Today I was productive. I had a brief lapse where I considered not going through with it, but it passed and I am glad it did. I was able to get into the city, even on little sleep, and have an excellent breakfast at the Tick Tock Diner. I ordered the Captain Crunch French Toast. Never heard of such a thing, but it was great. After leaving Warren at 10 am, I headed west to the water and walked south along the path for awhile. Eventually I headed back north and made it to 42nd and 8th in just enough time to catch an early morning movie. Because of the lack of sleep and such I decided against Oscar nominated performance movies like An Education and A Single Man, seeing The Crazies instead for the adrenaline rush. The movie wasn't reinventing the wheel, but it wasn't attempting to, either, and I appreciated it a lot. I was actually surprised at the violence/gore in the movie. It, other than some blood spatter from gun shots, was not nearly as gory as most films of the genre. This is not to say it was dull. On the contrary, the movie was well paced in it's tension.

Anyway, from there I bought a book, called Lowboy, about a 16-year-old paranoid schizophrenic boy. I spent some time in the Times Square pedestrian zones reading it before heading to Jersey for some eats, malls (it's what they do best), Lost, and Cranium.

Tomorrow I plan to be outside but less mobile. Trying to get some more quality time in the sun and reading so I think I might head to Battery Park and sit for awhile, and read some more of this new book.

Picture today is a summary of the day. I took many pictures and most, if not all, were better quality, but this picture sums up what was most important about today, and what made it possible. (Note: no worries - this is actually just the sun, not an asteroid heading towards earth)

Happy Pi Day!

If I was truly nerdy I would have spent the day listening to the score of, or watching the movie Pi. Instead, I watched The Jerk for the first time. It was alright. I expected it to be funnier, but it didn't help that I was really tired watching it. Maybe I'll give it a second watch.

In other movie related news, friends of mine had gotten No Country For Old Men on Netflix. I am just going to paste the envelope plot summary below for you. Anyone who has seen the movie will note the very poor job here:

"A hunter stumbles upon a dead body, $2 million and a stash of heroin in the woods. He absconds with the cash, but the brutal thief, Anton Chigurh comes looking for it, with a local sheriff on his trail. The roles of hunter and prey blur as the violent pursuits of money and justice collide."

Just in case it has been awhile since you have seen this movie I will point out the problems. Llewelyn Moss is seen hunting in the opening of the movie but is not a 'hunter'. Secondly, the setting where Llewelyn comes across the bodies, drugs, and cash is not the woods - not even slightly. He is in the middle of the desert. There is 1 tree in the whole area, where the man with the money is found - he was most likely there seeking shelter from the hot sun which is problematic in the desert, not the woods. Next, Anton Chigurh is not a brutal thief. He is a contract killer or a gun for higher. He wants nothing of the money nor does he plan to steal it or con his way to get it. He very calmly follow leads in order to get the money to complete his end of the contract or bargain, killing anyone he has to, to do so. Yes he is brutal, but not even close to being a thief. Finally - the roles becoming blurred. I don't know about you - but when I watched this, Llewelyn was always the prey, and Chigurgh was always the hunter - no questions asked, no lines blurred.

I apologize for the rant, but for a movie like that that both won Best Picture, and is widely known, at least by title you'd think there would be a better or more accurate summary for it. I love Netflix and recommend it to anyone who likes movies, especially if he or she has a way of streaming to their TV, but this is lazy.

Just to clarify - I am not mad about this. I know with how it reads above it sounds like I am, but this is too silly of a thing to be mad about. I was more just baffled at this and wanted to share it.

"It's a crazy world...

Someone ought to sell tickets."

That would be a quote from the movie Raising Arizona, by the Coen brothers, which I finally got around to seeing today. Kept me entertained while I made myself a big pot of Italian pasta salad to hold me over for the next few days since we have run out of just about everything else.

Had another meeting for my GO trip. I am excited to head to Mississippi. I went to a basketball camp for a few years when I was younger, but never an actual summer camp. It will be enjoyable to experience that and spend a week with a group of kids.

At the meeting we made ice cream. It was basically like a high school chemistry experiment, except it functioned as an ice breaker. Take milk, heavy cream, vanilla extract, and sugar and pour them in a plastic bag. Take this bag and put in a larger plastic back which is filled with ice and salt. Shake for about 20 minutes and you have your own ice cream. It was a lot of fun.

Tomorrow I have to go on my first one-on-one. Meeting up with another person in our trip for dinner. It should be interesting.

Hope everyone got to enjoy the sun these last few days. I know the rain is due in in the next 24 hours, so if you haven't spent some time in the sun you should try to do so at some point tomorrow before you are kept inside for several days.

A Solid Evening

This year, and semester especially, trips to the city have been improving in both frequency and quality. While I did make it to the city once a week last semester, those trips were for class and it was rare that I did much more than go to my class when I was there.

This year, being off campus, and maybe with the countdown to graduation in our minds, there has been a increase in activity/mobility. I would said I have been in the city 75% of the weekends I am in NY this semester. It's really great that we are getting to do this kind of stuff and it definitely wipes away any of those pesky 'if I had gone to a local college I'd be in so much less debt right now' thoughts.

Tonight was a really solid 'hipster kid' night, looking back on it. A few of us met up in the city and after getting falafel at Mamoun's (which is an absolute must if you are near Washington Square Park), to see Michael Haneke's newest film, The White Ribbon. While the movie was very good and incredibly well shot there was a big problem with the screening. What is a sure fire way to ruin a foreign film? Having someone in front of you who is tall and does not care enough to slouch for the rest of the audience behind him. So what, you might say, he couldn't have blocked much of the screen. And you are right, but when you are directly behind him, the part of the screen his head is blocking is the subtitles. I spent the entire screening leaning one way or the other trying to see around him. I think the lady next to me thought I was attempting to put my head on her shoulder. I know moving sounds like an option but the only row we could have sat in would have been in the front and I couldn't decide if that would have been better.

From there we went a few blocks over to a record store which I have become fond of this semester, and then onto Cafe Reggio, this really awesome coffee shop that has been around since the 1920s and is open all but 4 hours a day (from 8 am to 4 am).

So in summary to add up the hipster-ness of the night (which is not intentional but in recapping, I realize how it sounds) I spent the night 1.) in the village 2.) at an arthouse seeing a foreign, independent, black and white film 3.) followed by a trip to a record store 4.) capped off by getting coffee not just at Dunkin or McDonalds but at a coffee house dating back to the 1920s.

It was a solid night.

Pancakes, MoMa, Sabarsky Cafe, and Sushi-birthday dinner on 96th tomorrow.

Goodnight!

Movie Nights Kicked Off With A Bang

Not a bang the size of the one that started the universe and existence, but maybe like when you bang you knee on the corner of a table. It's enough.

To be perfectly honest, though, as long as someone or a few people show up every week then this is a success. I have a bunch of movies I own but have not seen, and a lot of them can be watched alone, and some of them I would prefer to watch alone. That being said, certain movies are meant to be experienced in a crowd. In addition, there are certain films that I have seen on my own that I would like others to see. For those reasons, movie nights exist.

Tonight we screened Star Trek. It was really an enjoyable film. Given the type of movie, I really wish I could have seen it in theatres - it just felt so big and so vast. I mean, it is a space movie after all - watching it on my 32 inch is not quite the same. Regardless, it looked great in Bluray and I was impressed at how enjoyable a Star Trek movie could be.

Some ideas are already being tossed around for the next one. I have a few movies in mind. In addition, Zombieland comes out next week on DVD. A few suggestions have also already been made, both in titles and how they're picked each week. One person suggested that everyone who comes that week get put in a hat and the person drawn picks the next film. I like the idea, and I am considering it. But, because there are certain films I know I want to show, I feel like this system would prevent me from doing so. We'll see.

Bed time - heading back to the school/day care tomorrow. Sometimes I refer to it as work, but then I realize that it is far from work. It is having fun with some amazing kids for 4 hours. How is that work?

Movie Week: Three for Three

I completed my movie goal. I will be honest, I really thought it was all just talk and I'd only end up seeing Avatar (which I had purchased tickets for in advance - sealing that one as a definite).

I still have a few films that I have recently purchased that I want to get to in the next few days before making my year end list(s). I feel as though there are movies I'd like to include that when compared with other genres/styles they might get bumped so I might do like a top 3 or 4 of a few major genres. This then gets complicated when you try to classify certain movies.

I also am going to do a top trailers. It's an amazing thing - the movie trailer. It can convince you of a film you were anticipating or reafirm your disinterest in a clunker. But what is really magical is when a trailer can cement your interest in a movie that you were anywhere from unsure or apprehensive to actively avoiding it. These trailers - the right cuts and shots mixed with the right music can sometimes outshine the final product of the movie, or in other cases totally underrepresent the film (State of Play). I got the idea from SlashFilm and will be posting 3-5 trailers for 2009 as well.

I think the best way to do these lists is to spread them out, so in the next day or two I am going to post my Best of 09 list for music.

I have some thoughts about the past year or decade as I have noticed some people are writing about. I have not decided if I will write one of these as it could get super long and be super tedious, but we shall see. For now let's say that the past decade was almost half my life and spanned the latter years of my grade school career to reaching adulthood and being on the verge of graduating college. A lot has happened both to me, around me, and in the world and it has been interesting. That said - on the whole 2009 was underwhelming as a year. Here is hoping the new decade kicks off with a great year. It will definitely be interesting.

Movie Week: Two Down

Saw Avatar tonight. It is almost 2 am and I have to be awake in 4.5 hours for work. Heading to NY for new years.

Be safe tomorrow night, everyone!

Movie Week: One Down

Made good on my first of 3 movie goals this week. Saw Up In The Air tonight. Will talk about it and today some other time, maybe. I need to sleep, though.

Sun looked pretty cool coming in the lunch room late this afternoon at work. Took a picture it's rays streaming across the kitchen first, turned around and noticed something I thought was a little cooler.

its summer again

not commenting on the weather or anything but on the movies and specifically the number being released weekly between now and december that i have some level of interest in. in the summer there was almost one per week and sometimes more and i ended up missing some big ones - namely Star Trek. these weeks feel like that is happening again with a serious man, precious, the road, fantastic mr. fox, etc. and more will keep being released.

i like movies, you hadn't noticed?

i made up a list today of the movies that have come out in 2009 that i have seen. sure sure im a nerd or a loser or i have too much time on my hands - im not gonna deny any of those. but among those as reasons i did it i also did it because people will ask you from time to time - what was your favorite movie this year (typically in nov or dec) or they might say after you've seen a movie that you reacted very positively to - was that your favorite movie this year...etc. in most cases its hard to remember every movie you have seen in the past 9 months even if the list isnt terribly long. same thing goes for albums - after 12 months its hard to remember everything that came out.

so i found a list of releases from this year by week - which is why this list seems to be in no apparent order. i, at the same time, have a separate list of movies that came out that i wanted to see but didnt get a chance to - that list is almost triple in length - not saying there were almost 100 great movies to come out this year - there are definitely some questionables on that list - but some interest = on the list.

what i've seen from 09:
1.)Taken
2.) Coraline
3.) Friday the 13th
4.) Watchmen
5.) Knowing
6.) Adventureland
7.) Lymelife
8.) Observe & Report
9.) Up
10.) The Brothers Bloom
11.) The Hangover
12.) Moon
13.) The Hurt Locker
14.) Public Enemies
15.) Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
16.) 500 Days of Summer
17.) Inglourious Basterds
18.) Halloween II
19.) Paranormal Activity
20.) Zombieland
21.) Trick r Treat
22.) Where The Wild Things Are

not sure what my favorite movie or top 3 or what ever are yet - but at least i'll have an easier time figuring it out.

a one, a two, a one-weeeyuuuu

mike bought a tamborine today. now that song is stuck in my head. no complaints here.

a brief update from the weekend - my aunt came this weekend as did alex. band practice friday went much better than last time and in general went really well - i was less concerned and actually having a blast. got to the city a few times - saw the Milkmaid at the MET got two delicious meals (Virgils - BBQ, Becco - Italian). Always can count on eating well when my aunt visits. Had my first test of the semester in clinical and it was...well it was not what i would have expected from a multiple choice exam but im sticking with the 'get 'em next time' motto.

moving on...
A website I read and have probably referenced on here before is called SlashFilm (www.slashfilm.com). It is a movie blog site that is mainly movie news about new scripts, actors signing onto projects, updates on movies being filmed, etc. Every so often the site will post in movie related subjects but not in news format. Yesterday site moderator Peter Sciretta prompted 'What is your favorite scene from a movie?' Now if you know me you know that favorite is too final and too difficult for me to pick and the best i can do for even favorite movie is give you a few hyopthetical 'top 5' picks - always leaving a few slots open for whatever I can currently name. Peter's favorite scene from a movie: Tiny Dancer - Almost Famous. (if you think to yourself - that's not a scene it's a song - then you havent seen the movie to know what I mean). I have to admit - classic scene and one of my favorite movies from Fordham.

So I thought a bit about this, and while it hasn't been more than an hour since I read the prompt (I am behind on my slashfilm reading) I can at least offer a few others that were mentioned in the comments or that came to mind -

Where is my mind - Fight Club closing scene
End monologue - American history X
Climax - The Fountain
the world series - one flew
final scene - eternal sunshine
lunch with ma - requiem for a dream

I am sure I have forgotten some favorites of mine. I am going to think about this tomorrow and maybe add in some others next time I post but I wanted to throw this out there - for you few who read my blog - what scenes do you recall best - that leave you as shocked or as comforted or as crushed as you have ever felt while watching a movie - which ones are most imprinted in your minds - ones you can recall all the words or the ones you stop what you are doing every time to watch? (even if it's the rain kiss from the notebook, that's ok - wrong, but ok)

Picture today is of a tree right around the Subway (restaurant not transportation) on Fordham Road after Bathgate. This street from bathgate to which ever street has the light down by the metro and library entrance for Fordham's campus is lined with trees but somehow this tree seems to have lost a piece of itself.

coming home to family

came home today. went to pops house with my dad and we got a pizza and watched the phils game.

also came home to two movie passes sitting on my dresser. and in cleaning out my wallet i found another movie pass that i thought i had lost - that makes 3 AMC passes and 1 Regal pass from the regal rewards card. thats a decent amount of free flicks. time to catch up on the movies i missed.

eve

this time last year i was heading over to the borgata to celebrate a sober 21st birthday. i won nothing - lost a good chunk of my birthday money actually.

this year is looking to be more profitable - ill be working half of my birthday and i had everyone just give me cash so i could get a stereo. (nothing to gamble away this way)

heading to the beach after work tomorrow. might be a bit more difficult to do the typical tasks i do having jammed/bruised my hand on my door (no sympathy requested it was really stupid of me)

ah well...today was pretty nice

heat heat heat

boy is it getting warm quickly.  its hard to notice when you work in an office 40 hrs a week but spending 8 hours outside yesterday at work (2nd job) really rubbed in just how hot it was.  when you break a sweat in a t-shirt at 8 am water plants - you know its hot (unless you just sweat easily).

have yet to see a summer movie- although i finally caught taken (thanks to alex).  hopefully i will get to see brothers bloom tonight.  my plan to do wii fit daily was foiled by a series of days where i was responsible for making dinner for the family, and yard work but i will do my best to get back on it.  started reading, but like mike, have  struggled to make much progress.  

people start moving into their apts soon and im excited to see this new chapter begin - despite the continual hohum-ing from my suite mates i think it will be miles better than living on campus.  

im going to keep pushing www.weloveyouso.com as it is a really amazing blog to check out.  other than that - hope all is well. stay cool.

i will leave you with a fact from my new app on my iphone (pause for eye rolling):

'minnows have teeth in their throat'.