(O) Apple store @ Grove Grade: D
I have a good excuse for not blogging: My Mac blew up. Well, the power supply went up in smoke, so I went to the Apple store to get my Mac fixed (trip 1). I get it back within a day and it starts to crash all the time. This has never happened before, so I take my Mac back to the store and the Mac Genius tells me it is probably my software (trip 2). I take it back and reinstall all my software, but my Mac keeps crashing. So since I have an extended warranty and my hardware is covered, I decide to take my Mac back (trip 3). I end up at the Apple store for two hours as the Mac Genius runs tests and lets me wait for a ridiculous amount of time. I finally tell him with some frustration that they can either check it in or let me take it back to test my own software, but I have better things to do than sit around the store waiting. Finally, they check it in, and I get it back in a day. Fingers crossed it works. We shall see if I need to take a fourth trip. Sigh.
Sunday, April 9
Friday, April 7
I'm getting irked. No one blogs on this page except for Cup O Noodles. What gives people??? I'm tempted to kick all of you off and make this my own page so I can blog about my feelings and where my life is heading and other lame junk. This is so bogus. If I don't see more blogs from different people I will start kicking you all off.
Oh and have a nice weekend. Ha ha.
Oh and have a nice weekend. Ha ha.
Thursday, April 6
Wednesday, April 5
Oh and to answer your question Dorkus if I sleep? No I don't. I just watch more and more tv and movies. I actually have to reivew at least 4 more movies on top of all the tv I watch. I'm a sick sick person.
Speaking of tv, did anyone catch So NoTORIous or Bedford Diaries or Pepper Dennis??
So NoTORIous is bad but like train wreak you can't turn away bad. It is a fictional show starring Tori Spelling as a rich girl who does not want her daddy's money anymore and is trying to make it on her own. Loni Anderson plays her mom Kiki and it is disturbing. Also to see all that plastic surgery at work and how skinny Tori is is freaky.
Pepper Dennis has Rebecca Romijn playing a news reporter for some fictional Chicago news station. It was forgettable and trying too hard to be a serious show when hello it is on the WB. Come on. Oh and Rider Strong plays her cameraman. If you don't know who that is think Boy Meets World Sean or Cory's best friend.
Bedford Diaries is about some kids in college. I wasn't really paying attention when viewing it at my friend's place. The two things I took away from it was Milo Ventimiglia from Gilmore Girls is in it and it is Dawson's Creek for college kids because no one and I mean no one talks the way they do ... or dress as nicely as they do.
Speaking of tv, did anyone catch So NoTORIous or Bedford Diaries or Pepper Dennis??
So NoTORIous is bad but like train wreak you can't turn away bad. It is a fictional show starring Tori Spelling as a rich girl who does not want her daddy's money anymore and is trying to make it on her own. Loni Anderson plays her mom Kiki and it is disturbing. Also to see all that plastic surgery at work and how skinny Tori is is freaky.
Pepper Dennis has Rebecca Romijn playing a news reporter for some fictional Chicago news station. It was forgettable and trying too hard to be a serious show when hello it is on the WB. Come on. Oh and Rider Strong plays her cameraman. If you don't know who that is think Boy Meets World Sean or Cory's best friend.
Bedford Diaries is about some kids in college. I wasn't really paying attention when viewing it at my friend's place. The two things I took away from it was Milo Ventimiglia from Gilmore Girls is in it and it is Dawson's Creek for college kids because no one and I mean no one talks the way they do ... or dress as nicely as they do.
So killing 8 hours at work can be pretty dull but it does allow me time to catch up on some reading.
- Two DVDs coming out this year have caught my interest:
Volton is finally being released late this fall, maybe in September with tons and tons of extras. I remember watching the show on and off again when I was young so it would be cool to see it again.
The one I really care about is She-Ra. Due in large part to the success of He-Man they have finally realized they need to release She-Ra for the girl market. The first DVD will have the Secret of the Sword (I so remember that ep) along with fan's favorite 5 eps which you can vote on at He-man.org but that has already closed. They are planning on releasing the DVD July 18th in San Diego at ComiCon. I want to go!!
- Did anyone celebrate Crash day yesterday? According to Mayor Villaraigosa, April 4 was Crash day to go along with the DVD release. Wow Los Angeles rules.
- Two DVDs coming out this year have caught my interest:
Volton is finally being released late this fall, maybe in September with tons and tons of extras. I remember watching the show on and off again when I was young so it would be cool to see it again.
The one I really care about is She-Ra. Due in large part to the success of He-Man they have finally realized they need to release She-Ra for the girl market. The first DVD will have the Secret of the Sword (I so remember that ep) along with fan's favorite 5 eps which you can vote on at He-man.org but that has already closed. They are planning on releasing the DVD July 18th in San Diego at ComiCon. I want to go!!
- Did anyone celebrate Crash day yesterday? According to Mayor Villaraigosa, April 4 was Crash day to go along with the DVD release. Wow Los Angeles rules.
Conan O'Brien monologue from the other night:
A survey was taken of Mexican citizens and it was discovered that 40% of them would move to America if they had the chance. The findings show that the results would have been higher but the other 60% already live here.
---
Anyone else watching American Idol??
A survey was taken of Mexican citizens and it was discovered that 40% of them would move to America if they had the chance. The findings show that the results would have been higher but the other 60% already live here.
---
Anyone else watching American Idol??
Tuesday, April 4
Taken from a news article:
Preparations for Int'l Homosexual Event in Jerusalem Under Way
An international homosexual event... is now scheduled to be held this summer in Jerusalem.
InterPride, the International Association of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered (LGBT) Pride Coordinators, decided in 2003 to hold WorldPride 2005 in Jerusalem -- a city sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims.
Critics of the event have charged that it is being held in Jerusalem purposely to offend the religious sensibilities of the city's residents as well as Jews, Christians and Muslims throughout the world. Strict adherents to those three religions reject homosexual behavior.
But organizers said on their website that the event is intended to "bring a new focus to an ancient city through a massive demonstration of LGBT dignity, pride, and boundary-crossing celebration. "In these times of intolerance and suspicion, from the home of three of the world's great religions, we will proclaim the love that knows no borders," the website said.
Last year, in a rare show of solidarity, Israel's two chief rabbis, leaders in the Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian Churches as well as Muslim leaders from Jerusalem and northern Israel, banded together to denounce the international event in Jerusalem and called on the government to intervene. It "will offend the very foundations of our religious values and the character of the Holy City," the leaders said in a joint statement.
--------------------
I am waiting to see how this goes over. I don't know if that's the area of the world I'd want to demonstrate.
Oh.... and don't drink in Iran:
For 27 years, Iran's Islamic regime has faced an uphill battle to cleanse the country of bootleg liquor. But even after a recent law increased the punishment for drinking to 74 lashes, a hefty fine and imprisonment of three months to a year, drinking is widespread.
Preparations for Int'l Homosexual Event in Jerusalem Under Way
An international homosexual event... is now scheduled to be held this summer in Jerusalem.
InterPride, the International Association of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered (LGBT) Pride Coordinators, decided in 2003 to hold WorldPride 2005 in Jerusalem -- a city sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims.
Critics of the event have charged that it is being held in Jerusalem purposely to offend the religious sensibilities of the city's residents as well as Jews, Christians and Muslims throughout the world. Strict adherents to those three religions reject homosexual behavior.
But organizers said on their website that the event is intended to "bring a new focus to an ancient city through a massive demonstration of LGBT dignity, pride, and boundary-crossing celebration. "In these times of intolerance and suspicion, from the home of three of the world's great religions, we will proclaim the love that knows no borders," the website said.
Last year, in a rare show of solidarity, Israel's two chief rabbis, leaders in the Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian Churches as well as Muslim leaders from Jerusalem and northern Israel, banded together to denounce the international event in Jerusalem and called on the government to intervene. It "will offend the very foundations of our religious values and the character of the Holy City," the leaders said in a joint statement.
--------------------
I am waiting to see how this goes over. I don't know if that's the area of the world I'd want to demonstrate.
Oh.... and don't drink in Iran:
For 27 years, Iran's Islamic regime has faced an uphill battle to cleanse the country of bootleg liquor. But even after a recent law increased the punishment for drinking to 74 lashes, a hefty fine and imprisonment of three months to a year, drinking is widespread.
Monday, April 3
Note: best viewed in Mozilla. In IE you lose the sidebar and I'm trying to fix that. Oh well.
So last Friday Darth and I decided to visit Riverside and our old campus UCR. We've both had not been back since we graduated so we were in for a real treat. After a nice lunch at Jammin’ Bread we headed over to ...
my ghetto old apartment. It was still the same, no shocker there but I think the “Blair Witch Project” or the back of our building was not as scary:
Then it was over to Darth’s old place where we learned they turned them into fancy pant condos:
Then to campus and the not so new anymore Art building where we learned the school was on spring break and everything was closed:
Next was our old dorms and look what use to be the rape trail is now this nice path between Lothian and A & I:
And of course the visit would not be complete without seeing the birth of FOR THE CHEESE!!!!!:
Overall it was a cool trip but I'm in no hurry to head back. I might go in another 10 years.
(O) Mall of America (Minneapolis, 4/3/06). Grade: ?
I really don't know what to think. The Mall of America is the largest mall in the US, and has 520 stores. If you spent 10 minutes browsing at each store, it'd take you 86 hours. It has its own amusement park, movie theater, aquarium, museum, and flight simulator. You can fit (32) 707 Boeings inside. Well, those are just some of the facts I found on the website. Anyway, I had to make it out there (helloooo H&M!) just to check it out. Man, it's unbelievable. You just have to see it to believe it. And it's sorta disgusting too. Why do we need a mall this big and why are people spending this much money?
The rest of Minneapolis is alright. I'm in downtown Mpls, and I swear Target owns the city. There's Target and Target symbols everywhere. And Target Center, where the Timberwolves play. Anyway, it's maybe 48 degrees with icy wind. Hooray.
(A) Tilly And The Wall - Wild Like Children
Grade: B
Influenced to purchase the cd after an upbeat and impressive live show, I wonder how well this music would translate over to CD. Well... not to bad I must say. Some of the energy of the live show is absent from the studio CD but it still holds as an enjoyable listening experience for myself. It's been a long time since I just layed in bed with headphones on listening to a cd over and over but I did with this one. If I had been exposed to the CD before seeing the band live I may not have enjoyed the CD as much as I do. As to maybe making comparisons to what the band sounds like... I'm not sure. They're from Omaha and on Conor Oberst's label (but they don't sound like him [thankfully] ).
Sunday, April 2
(M) Capote. (Bennett Miller, 2005) Grade: B
Thoughts: A biopic film about Truman Capote while he is writing his last novel, In Cold Blood. Philip Seymour Hoffman did an awesome job and I can see why he got best actor but I didn't think he looked a lot like the real Capote. Catherine Keener was also great as Harper Lee, Capote's old childhood friend and author of To Kill A Mockingbird. The movie was enjoyable but nothing amazing. I don't think they spend enough time getting into Capote's life and background but that was fine because the murders in Kansas made for an interesting subject matter. In addition Clifton Collins Jr. who played Perry Smith was great and it was nice to see Chris Cooper.
(M) Nattvardsgasterna (Winter Light). (Ingmar Bergman, 1963)Grade: A-
Thoughts: Part of Ingmar Bergman's trilogy on faith and by far one of his best films. I’m not sure how others will view it but it really struck me because of the issues with faith - upper and lower case letter f. Tomas Ericsson (Gunnar Bjornstrand) is a pastor who is losing his faith in God, his church and himself. He has a mistress Marta Lundberg (Ingrid Thulin) who wants so desperately to marry him and a suicidal fisherman Jonas Persson (Max von Sydow) who is asking for help but has no idea how to help him. In a span of six hours you watch his faith in people and Faith in the Lord. I found it relatable because in our daily lives we have to put our faith in our family and friends only to sometimes get let down and though the Lord is there always it takes Faith to keep trusting in that as well.
(M) V for Vendetta. (James McTeigue, 2005) Grade: B
Thoughts: I went into this movie expecting too much and I think that really affected my review. In a totalitarian society of futuristic London, Evey (Natalie Portman) is rescued by V (Hugo Weaving), which causes them to cross paths later on. V’s objective is to blow up the Parliament building on the 5th of November to make a statement. The storyline gets a bit bogged down after that and I do not want to get into the complex/Matrix-ish plot but in the end V achieves his goal but at a cost. The acting was good and I could see them making a franchise of the whole thing. The movie ran a bit on the long side and I think they could have edited out 20 or 25 minutes but otherwise pretty enjoyable.
(M) Caterina Va In Citta (Caterina In The Big City. (Paolo Virzi, 2003) Grade: C+
Thoughts: A cute coming of age movie about a young teenager Caterina (Alice Teghil) moving to the big city of Rome. There was nothing special about the film but I have to note her father Giancarlo was played by Sergio Castelitto who is such a great actor. His most notable role is in Mostly Martha, a German cooking film which I just found out is being remade into yet untitled American film starring Catherina Zeta-Jones. I'm not a huge fan of remaking an already great movie but we'll see how this goes.
(M) Through A Glass Darkly. (Ingmar Bergman, 1961) Grade: B-
Thoughts: The first of Ingmar Bergman's trilogy of faith movies is a look at faith in family and love. Karin (Harriet Andersson) has just been released from a mental institution and is spending time with her family on an island - her husband David (Gunnar Bjornstrand), brother Minus (Lars Passgard) and father Martin (Max von Sydow). The three men must come to terms with Karin's illness, as she gets worse. The acting in the movie is amazing and disturbing. Harriet Andersson does such an amazing job playing a mentally ill person.
Thoughts: A biopic film about Truman Capote while he is writing his last novel, In Cold Blood. Philip Seymour Hoffman did an awesome job and I can see why he got best actor but I didn't think he looked a lot like the real Capote. Catherine Keener was also great as Harper Lee, Capote's old childhood friend and author of To Kill A Mockingbird. The movie was enjoyable but nothing amazing. I don't think they spend enough time getting into Capote's life and background but that was fine because the murders in Kansas made for an interesting subject matter. In addition Clifton Collins Jr. who played Perry Smith was great and it was nice to see Chris Cooper.
(M) Nattvardsgasterna (Winter Light). (Ingmar Bergman, 1963)Grade: A-
Thoughts: Part of Ingmar Bergman's trilogy on faith and by far one of his best films. I’m not sure how others will view it but it really struck me because of the issues with faith - upper and lower case letter f. Tomas Ericsson (Gunnar Bjornstrand) is a pastor who is losing his faith in God, his church and himself. He has a mistress Marta Lundberg (Ingrid Thulin) who wants so desperately to marry him and a suicidal fisherman Jonas Persson (Max von Sydow) who is asking for help but has no idea how to help him. In a span of six hours you watch his faith in people and Faith in the Lord. I found it relatable because in our daily lives we have to put our faith in our family and friends only to sometimes get let down and though the Lord is there always it takes Faith to keep trusting in that as well.
(M) V for Vendetta. (James McTeigue, 2005) Grade: B
Thoughts: I went into this movie expecting too much and I think that really affected my review. In a totalitarian society of futuristic London, Evey (Natalie Portman) is rescued by V (Hugo Weaving), which causes them to cross paths later on. V’s objective is to blow up the Parliament building on the 5th of November to make a statement. The storyline gets a bit bogged down after that and I do not want to get into the complex/Matrix-ish plot but in the end V achieves his goal but at a cost. The acting was good and I could see them making a franchise of the whole thing. The movie ran a bit on the long side and I think they could have edited out 20 or 25 minutes but otherwise pretty enjoyable.
(M) Caterina Va In Citta (Caterina In The Big City. (Paolo Virzi, 2003) Grade: C+
Thoughts: A cute coming of age movie about a young teenager Caterina (Alice Teghil) moving to the big city of Rome. There was nothing special about the film but I have to note her father Giancarlo was played by Sergio Castelitto who is such a great actor. His most notable role is in Mostly Martha, a German cooking film which I just found out is being remade into yet untitled American film starring Catherina Zeta-Jones. I'm not a huge fan of remaking an already great movie but we'll see how this goes.
(M) Through A Glass Darkly. (Ingmar Bergman, 1961) Grade: B-
Thoughts: The first of Ingmar Bergman's trilogy of faith movies is a look at faith in family and love. Karin (Harriet Andersson) has just been released from a mental institution and is spending time with her family on an island - her husband David (Gunnar Bjornstrand), brother Minus (Lars Passgard) and father Martin (Max von Sydow). The three men must come to terms with Karin's illness, as she gets worse. The acting in the movie is amazing and disturbing. Harriet Andersson does such an amazing job playing a mentally ill person.
(G) Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins (Orpheum Theater, April 1, 06). Grade: B
I'm sorta a Jenny Lewis/Rilo Kiley closet fan (ask Cup O Noodles), but when I heard she was coming to town again, I couldn't resist. I bought tickets a few weeks ago, not knowing it would fall upon the same day we would spend 10 hours painting my new place. Therefore, I was extremely tired and not able to fully enjoy the whole experience. However, I did find her to be a good performer. And the Watson Twins and the rest of the musicians were good too. It's (sorta) sad to say that the opening act Tilly and the Wall kept my attention more than Jenny Lewis and her clan. They were pretty entertaining after all (see Cup O Noodle's review). I think Lewis is proving herself to be a more engaging and talented solo artist, although I still think it's kinda crazy she sold out the theater. Well, I can only wait until she comes around to LA again. And when I'm not so sleepy.
(O) Painting my apt for hours and hours. Grade: F. Ow ow ow, my arm/wrist hurts. But I think it looks good how it turns out, so I guess it's worth it. No pain, no gain?
(G) Tilly and the Wall
Grade: A
This band opened up for Jenny Lewis (I think that's her name. The girl from Rilo Kiley). It's 3 girls and two guys. One guy plays keyboards, the other plays guitar and sings. One girl tap dances, one girl sings and bangs her feet on a wooden block and the other girls sings, bangs her feet on a wooden block and sometimes plays guitar. This was the most unique thing I've seen in awhile and I loved it! I was going to Jenny Lewis so Dorkus didn't have to go alone (I'll let her review Jenny) and was sooooooooo happy this band opened up, they were an experience. Loved it! I want to see them again.
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