So I saw Cloverfield...

Unfortunately last weekend I had to cancel my trip to Philly to see the Rhett Miller concert for reasons explained in my last post. I did try to salvage the weekend a little by going to see Cloverfield.

I'll start by saying that I'm one of those people where J.J. Abrams is now with Kevin Smith and Judd Apatow as guys who I'll give anything they have a hand in a chance (although I'm not going to see his reboot of the Star Trek franchise).

My favorite things about the movie:

• I'm very impressed that the budget was only 25 million or so. For a movie that looked like it was filmed with a hand-held camera, the effects were pretty good. I actually think that if a giant monster started attacking New York City while I was in there, that's pretty much what it would look like.
• While I never got nauseous like a lot of people apparently did, the length was perfect for a movie shot with a shaky camera P.O.V.
• Before the monster started attacking the city, the music being played at the party was pretty cool. I went in to a monster movie not expecting to hear "The Underdog" by Spoon or "Four Winds" from Bright Eyes.

My least favorite things about the movie:

• My main complaint about the movie was actually the first twenty minutes or so. I understand that they had to make up care about the characters a little bit but I didn't. There was not one moment where I thought, "Gosh, I really hope ___________ doesn't get killed." But that's because I rarely say "Gosh." But yeah, I didn't care about a single character in the movie.

This movie, as J.J Abram's vehicles seem to be leaning towards now, had a large viral marketing campaign. Personally, I didn't follow along. Apparently there was fake websites giving hints and clues about things that could be seen in the movie if you paid closer attention. I wish I could have followed along but when I'm at work I just don't have the time. Maybe if I did, I would have liked the movie even more than I did. If I'm doing stars again, I'll probably do 3 and a half out of 5. It would have been a 4 if there was somebody for me to root for to live.

Not liking my chances

• I'm supposed to be going to Philadelphia tomorrow for a Rhett Miller concert. Like with most things that I try to do, it can never just be easy. Of course my girlfriend (who is coming with me) left work sick today. I'm unsure of how to ask her about how her illness will affect the plan without being insensitive so I probably won't. I'll probably just go to sleep and wake up tomorrow under the assumption that everything will work out. It generally does, but it seems like every time I'm gearing up for fun there is some underlying obstacle that can possibly prevent it. Just for the record, I'm not blaming her. People get sick. I'm just looking at it from the selfish side of things about how it affects me.
• Generally the day before a concert I'll be listening to that artist up until the show. Being that I have a long drive tomorrow I figured that I'd save Rhett Miller for the car ride. Since I'm trying to listen to CDs I haven't heard before this year I've decided to start with ones that I've owned for awhile but never listen to. Back in college at the University at Buffalo I was pretty big into The Tragically Hip being so close to the border and all. Turns out that I had two whole albums that I've never even put on. So today I listened to In Between Evolution and In Violet Light. In Violet Light came out in 2002 and I got it probably the week it came out. Back when I had money (good times) I used to just buy up CDs. How does it happen that I owned a CD for over 5 years before listening to it? Bad job by me. I probably have countless others. Anyway, the two albums are pretty good. I'll keep them in my rotation for the time being. They are a quality musical group.
• There was a time a few months ago where I was into that SingStar karaoke game for PS2. But in those two months I feel it started to get a little worn out. EVERY single night seemed to end with me battling it out with someone singing Heart of Glass or We Built This City (On Rock and Roll). Anyway, coming this March my interest could be renewed. SingStar 90's comes out. Now I get to wreck shop vocally to Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm and even though it doesn't sound like something a dude should admit, I don't see anyone beating me in Stay by Lisa Loeb...especially if I break out some thick framed glasses as a prop.

Have a good weekend,

Slice

The Jewish Sinatra

Who is Neil Diamond? Brilliant songcrafter or sequined sex symbol for the sexagenarian set. While I'm the first one to cry 'Cheese' at the onset of another drunken 'Sweet Caroline' singalong, I cannot deny the man's genius. Case in Point: 12 Songs, Diamond's 2005 collaboration with producer/prophet Rick Rubin. Stripped of the glitz and scent of Avon-tinged sweat, this album exposes the reason why this legend has been around for 40 years and still going strong. He writes great songs!

Give this album a listen and I guarantee you will forgive his Vegas shmaltz, his acting in the Jazz Singer, even the fact that he has to kill drifters in order to achieve an erection.

So I saw There Will Be Blood

I wanted to like it. I really did. Maybe that was the problem. I went in with giant expectations and it didn't totally pay off for me. Daniel Day Lewis was very good. Well deserving of all the accolades coming his way. Not to mention that this was over a two and a half hour movie and he was in every single scene. I get that it was a grand character piece and I'm normally on board for these type of films but there really wasn't that much drama. No surprises. Just a long slow decent fueled by greed and power.

The movie was scored very well. If I was ranking this movie on a 5 star scale, it might be worth one star on it's own. It was sporadic, haunting and intense if that makes any sense. My only issue with it was that when the music started, it seemed to allude to something dramatic happening that never came.

There are probably going to be some arguments on which film is the year's Best Picture between this and No Country for Old Men. For me it's a no contest. No Country for Old Men was the better movie. Anybody who feels the same way will be combated by movie elitists who tell you that you "didn't get it" or "had to have a great deal of patience to enjoy a movie like this" and I say fuck that. I would have sat in that theatre for 6 hours as long as it's entertaining me.

Maybe I will rate it on a 5 star scale:
3 stars. As much as it seemed like I hated it, I didn't. I just didn't love it. I went in expecting to see the next great American film and I did not. Great performance, beautifully shot and wonderfully scored and still worth seeing.

One week into the Resolutions

So it's been a little over a week until I made my pointless (...or are they) New Year's resolutions. I've decided to give a quick update on how they are going to start to satisfy my first resolution:

1. Contribute to the blog at least 3 times a week - Not going well since this is my first post of the New Year and I'm only writing this so at least if I write one the next two days, I can still keep a check next to it.
2. Stop biting my fingernails and cuticles - It was an effort in futility. I just can't stop.
3. Do some form of creative writing for at least a half hour a day - Roughly nine days into it I'm 4 and a half hours behind. Do the math...not one thing.
4. Eat a little bit healthier (key words "a little bit"...I don't want to live in a world where I can't eat Cheese steaks and drink Coke once and a while) - This is where I'm surprisingly wrecking shop. Only eating one bad meal so far (a monster Italian smorgasbord) and I have not had one single soda since New Year's. Go me. DRINKING ALCOHOL DOES NOT COUNT!
5. Listen to one new CD (new to me) a week - I tried listening to the new Sia so the effort was half there. I'm still convinced she has only the one good song though.
6. Bring lunch to work at least 3 times a week - This kind of correlates with #4 because when I bring my own lunch I'm not going to restaurants with their gargantuan American portions...god I miss those gargantuan American portions

Maybe I just had too many. I'm kind of revising the creative writing one into something else. It morphed into if I don't have at least two drafts of a screenplay done by 2009 then I'm giving up that silly dream forever. My Final Draft software will be up on eBay at the stroke of midnight.

My Hair

My life is a neverending quest to constantly test myself in order to achieve new growth. I decided to demonstrate that growth in the most literal sense. My hair. I'm growing it. Get it?

Now, this is not to say that my hair is long by normal standards. But, it is long for me. For the last ten years or so, I've pretty much rocked a flip: #2 razor on the sides and back and a flip up top. And I think I looked damn good in it, despite the fact that my hairline resembles John Travolta's in The Punisher. Yet, I felt unchallenged. Unoriginal.

Where the upside of growing my hair is very clear (groupies), there is of course the dark side that few people talk about. The awkward stage. Mine has lasted about seven weeks. And there is no sign of a reprieve.

If anything, it's beginning to mutate into something rather terrifying

I went to the restroom just before writing this and I caught sight of it in the mirror. For a second, I thought I was hallucinating that my hair was replaced by Elton John's wig.

That is NOT the look I was going for.

My resolutions

To follow in the footsteps of the esteemed Vanderslice, here is my list of futility for the coming year:

1. Make more money.
2. See things through from start to finish.
3. Blog more.
4. Drink less.
5. Quit gambling.
6. Embrace a more creative-minded existence.
7. Figure out what #6 means.
8. Focus.
9. Ask for help more freely.
10. Work toward a life where I don't need as much help.

I just executed half of these in the course of this entry.

This finally could be my year....

The resolutions I won't keep

Every year I basically have one New Year's resolution. Stop biting my fingernails and cuticles. I'm usually pretty decent at it until March when I'm watching 12 straight hours of college basketball and realize that I've unknowingly went to town on my fingertips. By then, what's done is done and I just keep at it until New Years again. This year I'm going to have a couple of New Year's resolutions so if one of them sticks then I'll feel pretty good about myself. Here they are:

1. Contribute to the blog at least 3 times a week
2. Stop biting my fingernails and cuticles
3. Do some form of creative writing for at least a half hour a day
4. Eat a little bit healthier (key words "a little bit"...I don't want to live in a world where I can't eat Cheesesteaks and drink Coke once and a while)
5. Listen to one new CD (new to me) a week
6. Bring lunch to work at least 3 times a week

So I saw Juno...

Every Christmas evening I go to the movies. This year I opted for Juno. The theatre was surprisingly packed for a 4:00pm on Christmas. With Kiterunner and The Great Debaters already sold out and standing on the back of a long line with only 25 minutes til the movie started, I wasn't feeling too confident in getting tickets. Luckily enough, simultaneously with the two tickets being placed in my hands the guy behind the ticket counter announced that Juno has been sold out. For the first time probably ever, I had to bypass the refreshment counter in favor of getting a seat. Predictably my special lady friend and I had to sit in the second row. Normally I have a problem with this because the last time I had to sit up front for a movie was actually 7 years to the day for Dracula 2000 (Gerard Butler...how far you have come). Even though it was a terrible movie, my head actually had to turn from side to side to follow the action and I still think I have the kink in my neck. Nevertheless, I knew that this movie was a dialouge driven film and probably wouldn't have to lube up my neck joints for it. As for the movie, I really enjoyed it. The dialogue was fast-paced and chock full of pop-culture references which is always a hit with me. There was only one problem I had with the movie and it did have to do with some of the dialogue. For the most part the slangy phrases worked but once and awhile it was overkill. It was only two or three times total but it was glaring enough to me where I thought about it and I imagine that's not what the film makers want me to be thinking at those moments. Other than that, Ellen Page was great (very pleased to find out she's 20 for reasons I don't want to delve in to here). One could even say she was perfect for the role of Juno. I celebrate everything Micheal Cera does at this point. Even though I'm a little nervous that he's a one trick pony with his perfected timing in doing the awkward and uncomfortable thing. Even if he is, that's a pony I'd like to ride for awhile. That sounded bad. J.K. Simmons and Jason Bateman were also very good. Simmons as Juno's dad was perfect in playing the disappointed but supportive father. The one character that I didn't particularly care for was Juno's best friend Leah. She was slightly irritating but I guess that it was nessesary since Juno was a pretty mature 16 year old and Leah was that reminder that she is only 16. The soundtrack fit the movie well also. It was mostly "cute" acoustic guitar, indie-rock stuff but also some cool stuff from Belle and Sebastian, and the Sonic Youth cover of Superstar by The Carpenters that I forgot existed.

Adventures in Solitude - New Pornographers 12/11/07

-Last night I went to a free New Pornographers at the Apple Store in SoHo. It's the fourth time I've seen them in 2007 (5th overall) but this was the first time I've ever seen an in-store performance, the first time I've ever seen a concert by myself and the first time seeing them sober.
-I'm usually not one to do something like this by myself. I did once go to the movies alone. All my friends saw Black Hawk Down before me and I guess it was a very important movie for me to see before it came out on DVD, so I tried that. Didn't like it much. So for me to actually get on a train and go into NYC myself was pretty out of character. I probably would have only done it for The New Pornographers...or any movie with helicopters.
-I got to the Apple Store at about 6:30ish. I was a little nervous approaching the store because I saw a line of people that started to bend around the corner but it was only about 45-50 people deep. A guy from the Apple Store gave me a bracelet and told me that it guaranteed my spot in the show but not my place in line. A minute later a girl with a British accent was on line (the queue) behind me talking on her cell phone. Just curious to see what she looked like since accents are awesome, I did the "stretching my back" turnaround. Let down.
-After about an hour and a half, they let us in. There were only 80-90 seats so I was lucky enough to get one on the good side of the stage where Neko Case stands. I had to be careful here. It was such an intimate setting that she probably could probably see me if she looked into the crowd. I had to keep my staring problem in check. Easier said than done when she's on stage.
-The show lasted pretty much an hour which apparently is a long time for an in-store. It was 10 songs plus an encore. The only weird thing was that the Apple Store hooked up a camera and projected the show on the screen behind them but with about a 2 second delay. It started out as an annoyance but soon became a pretty funny part of the show with the band commenting on it throughout the set.
-All in all it was definately worth going. I learned that I can go to a concert and not drink, I learned that not everyone with an accent is going to be attractive and I learned I can go out and enjoy a form of entertainment by myself. I might even try a movie again one day...maybe if they do a Fire Birds sequel or bring Airwolf to the big screen.

Setlist:
1. All The Things That Go To Make Heaven and Earth
2. Use It
3. All The Old Showstoppers
4. Challengers
5. My Rights Versus Yours
6. Adventures in Solitude
7. The Laws Have Changed
8.Unguided
9. Sing Me Spanish Techno
10. Don't Bring Me Down (ELO cover)
Encore
11. Bleeding Heart Show

Moving Day

This is my last post from the physical space called "Southpaw Cove." We are moving into a new space today. Unfortunately there will be no more office called Southpaw Cove since we couldn't get the wall knocked down between our new offices but Southpaw Cove will still be living on since it doesn't stay confined to simple boundries.

This Used To Be My Playground

This used to be my playground (used to be)

This used to be my childhood dream

This used to be the place I ran to

Whenever I was in need

Of a friend

Why did it have to end

And why do they always say

Don't look back

Keep your head held high

Don't ask them why

Because life is short

And before you know

You're feeling old

And your heart is breaking

Don't hold on to the past

Well that's too much to ask

This used to be my playground (used to be)

This used to be my childhood dream

This used to be the place I ran to

Whenever I was in needOf a friend

Why did it have to end

And why do they always say

No regrets

But I wish that you

Were here with me

Well then there's hope yet

I can see your faceIn our secret place

You're not just a memory

Say goodbye to yesterday (the dream)

Those are words I'll never say (I'll never say)

This used to be my playground (used to be)

This used to be our pride and joy

This used to be the place we ran to

That no one in the world could dare destroy

This used to be our playground (used to be)

This used to be our childhood dream

This used to be the place we ran to

I wish you were standing here with me

An Open Letter to Neko Case

Dear Ms. Case,

Let me begin by stating what soon will become glaringly obvious: I am no stalker. I am just a fan, not an uberfan. Not a crazed fan. Not a 'waiting-at-the-venue-side-door-to-steal-a-post-concert-glimpse' fan. No. I am merely a fan. I am also a fan of peering through high-powered, fog-proof, night-vision binoculars. And if I want to combine two of my interests into one evening, where's the crime? If anything, it's a crime of efficiency.

Of course I'm only joking. But, since I don't possess your vocal ability to make we mere mortals weep, I thought I would ply you with some humor. An icebreaker, if you would.

In order to shed some light on why I'm writing this letter, perhaps I should explain its impetus. You see, I've only recently come upon your music in the last few years. Via The New Pornographers' Twin Cinema album, to be precise. After hearing that other-worldly voice soar over the music like some raven-haired bald eagle (that makes no sense), I came away with two very salient thoughts. First, I felt appreciation for having lived to experience your vocal beauty. Second, that appreciation was immediately snuffed out by the notion that I had spent so many years without it. It made me reflect on my life, on how things may have been different (better) for me had I known of you earlier. It's like that fable about the crack whore who turned tricks to support her habit only to discover that her dilapidated house was made of crack. Sure, she was elated to freely smoke her ottoman through a glass pipe, but what about all those lost years of banging ugly dudes for a fix.

In case I lost you somewhere in that jumbled cautionary tale, I do NOT do crack... or ugly dudes.

Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, my discovery. So, since that first listen, I've been entranced by your voice. So much so, I resisted the temptation of seeing a picture of you, fearing the inevitable letdown of something so beautiful being sullied by it's physical appearance. And yes, I've been burned. Let's just say that phone sex should remain just that. And I just couldn't have that happen to me again. So, I resisted.

Dissolve to (to denote a passage of time) October 26th, 2007. Webster Hall. You. Me. Gordon Gano. Add it up! Seeing you live for the first time was -- forgive my hyperbole -- nice. Real nice. I tried to close my eyes to sustain my blind adoration for you, but I couldn't refrain. Plus, try ordering a beer with your eyes closed and see what kind of service you get. So I succumbed...

Wow.

You, Ms. Case, are the complete package: voice, stage presence, personality, charisma. And the kicker? You're HOT! You don't even need those other things and yet you do. What a pleasant surprise. I have to say I was really nervous after my friend said that you had a lot of indie cred. You don't have to be a mathematician to know that indie cred = not hot. But in this case, math lied. Math lied beautifully.

I know this is going to sound kinda weird, but I think we may have locked eyes a few times that night. My friend said it's impossible because the floor was dark and we were pretty far from the stage. I think my friend doesn't hide his jealousy well. To refresh your memory, there was a heavyset, balding guy standing stage left, yelling 'NEKO, NEKO' over and over again. Remember that? Anyway, I was the athletic looking, locks-aflowing fellow behind him who kept telling him to shut the fuck up and get out of our sight line.

If you remember me, please drop me a line. I'd really like to get to know you more. No pressure. Just remember, I know what you look like now.


Another joke. Gotcha.

Top 5 Studio Pitches if We Were Scabs

5. Vets: Follow the trials and tribulations of the new batch of interns at Malibu Veterinarian Hospital. Cute animals + sexy staffers = rabid comedy! (Oh, and the animals can TALK.)

4. The Coyote: Two teens trying to throw the best barbeque ever decide that they need lawn darts after the most popular girl in school won't come unless she can play it. They fly down to Mexico and meet up with a man who can help smuggle their lawn darts across the border...with 15 hot female illegal immigrants.

3. TanFastic: Reality TV just got hotter. Each week, join three new contestants as they lay out for the perfect tan. Oils, bikinis, and tan lines... oh my! Be sure to turn and watch them burn.

2. Subliminal: A newspaper editor becomes a hero to all men in the city when he starts highlighting two specific letters in every paper causing women all over the city to start frequently performing men's favorite "behind closed doors" act. But his new underground fame gets in the way of him bonding with his new Yorkshire Terrier.

1. Support Group: Punky Brewster lost her step-dad; Urkel lost Laura; Balky lost his cousin; Webster lost his bid for facial hair; Corky lost his thermos. Now these beloved TV characters find themselves in the same Chicago support group. Can you say retro-ACTIVE?!