New song I can’t seem to get out of my head:
I think I’ve mentioned my swimming before. If not, then I am now. I have made a habit of swimming every Monday and Wednesday evening at the local YMCA with a lovely Masters team. There are a few people that I work out with that really push me and it’s all around a fun time. And most importantly, swimming on my terms (NOT at 5 in the morning).
Tonight’s workout:
Warm-up 400
4×50 descend 1-4 @ 1:00
Main set:
1×100 @ 1:40, 1×100 @ 1:30, 1×100 @1:20
1×100 @ 1:40, 1×100 @ 1:30, 2×100 @1:20
1×100 @ 1:40, 1×100 @ 1:30, 3×100 @1:20
1×100 @ 1:40, 1×100 @ 1:30, 4×100 @1:20
1×100 @ 1:40, 1×100 @ 1:30, 5×100 @1:20
200 WD
I wound up holding 1:07-1:08s on the fast 100s (the ones on 1:20), which I felt was pretty good. More mundane aspects of my life to come!
Bonus for anyone who has read this far: On my way home, I saw a man smoking a cigarette. He also happened to be the guy who drove the gasoline truck. And it was pumping gasoline.
Yep, I’m talkin’ Zoolander style.
Sleeper (1973, Woody Allen)….6/10
Not my favorite Woody Allen film by any stretch of the imagination, but still entertaining. About Woody Allen being cryogenically frozen and waken in the future. Hilarity ensues, or something like that. I think I was cooking, which resulted in me missing about half of the jokes. Still decent, though.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998, Johnny Depp, Terry Gilliam)…..7/10
Standard Terry Gilliam fare (Brazil, 12 Monkeys), wrought with grisly, slimy sets and weird creatures. Sure, the entire movie is one long drug trip, but can’t we do without all the slime and grime for once? I’ve felt downright uncomfortable in every Gilliam movie I’ve watched. This was no different, but in the words of my roommate it kind of “sucks you in.”
Waltz with Bashir (Some dude and his friends, 2008)…..9/10
Critically acclaimed animated film about memory gaps, particularly in regards to war and trauma. The director tracks down some old war buddies and tries to piece together his soldiering life in the Lebanese war. Beautiful animation, beautiful story, beautiful music, cool theme.
Inside Man (Clive Owen, Denzel, Spike Lee, 2006)…..7/10
I’m a really big fan of Clive Owen for some reason, so I checked this one out. It’s about a bank robbery and a smart criminal (Owen) trying to outwit a smart detective (Denzel). It’s a good Sunday-afternoon movie. Smart, action-packed, nice plot twists.
The International (Owen, Naomi Watts, 2009)….3/10
Cool plot, but I was freakin’ confused.
Yes, I realize I have not updated my short-lived blog in quite some time. No, I am not dead.
There are a variety of factors that have contributed to the demise of my blog, one of which is Netflix. My mother gifted me this joy for Christmas, and when combined with my other recent acquisition, my PS3, it means that I spend most of my free time watching 30 Rock and not blogging.
Lucky for you, I can also give you very brief movie reviews, so stay tuned.
I got a GREAT new printer for my new job as a teacher. My only beef? This very issue has been plaguing me for months:
From theoatmeal.com (hilarious) via gizmodo
First, I haven’t updated my blog lately because I haven’t been feeling particularly inspired. The winter does crazy things, one of which is the unrelenting desire to melt into my bed and be lazy.
My mother passed this on to me, and I thought it was a pretty accurate glimpse at what I work with every day. A filmmaker interviewed a class of what I can only assume are third graders, asking them some questions about the past decade. They offer their thoughts and concerns regarding celebrity, terrorism, global warming, fear, and more. The first bit is a little boring and the pictures fade around kind of oddly, but it’s an outstanding representation of what’s going through these kids’ minds. The video is on vimeo (which I don’t know how to imbed), so you’ll have to follow a link to see it.
I hadn’t heard of this band before, but I immediately fell in love with it on the first play. Also couldn’t find anything on them, so enjoy the song without any sort of context.
I often stumble across movie reviews in the blogs I read, so I figured I’d give it a try. I didn’t take a single film class in college, and I have no pretensions about my abilities to analyze film.
Memorable movies from the month:
Avatar: 11/10
Maybe it blows the entire scale out of proportion by rating my first movie as an 11, but Avatar blew my mind. It’s received a lot of press about the graphics, and rightfully so. After 3 hours of the movie in 3D (which actually adds to the experience, and should be seen in all three dimensions), you feel like you’ve been walking on Pandora with the cast. The film was so great that when I finished, I honestly kind of hated my life because the story was so much better. Without a doubt the best movie I’ve seen since There Will Be Blood.
District 9: 7/10
I’m a big sc-fi junkie, so I had high hopes for District 9. It’s a story about aliens landing in Johannesburg, and it’s meant to be some sort of metaphor about apartheid. However, I think my sister drew a much more accurate parallel with Kafka’s Metamorphosis. The protagonist is a total schmuck that gets flung head-first into the battle to relocate the aliens, leaving behind everything he knows as he slowly transforms into the very aliens he had so much disdain for. Also, one of the most unexpectedly gory movies I’ve ever seen. Like really, really gory.
Harry Potter 6: 7/10
I never remember what’s going on with the plot of the series when I see the movies, but they also never disappoint. Predictably dark, also kind of a filler movie to bridge the gap to the final book. Just generally enjoyable. Also make me wish my life were less mundane in an Avataresque fashion.
Coraline: 8/10
Darkest children’s movie I’ve seen since Nightmare Before Christmas, which makes sense since this is the same director. Visually stunning kind of CG stop motion kind of thing going on and creative out the wazoo. What other movie has a performance with an auditorium full of dogs?
I’d love to hear any agreements or disagreements, recommendations, etc.
Stolen from EC Treeb:
I’m pretty sick of all this TSA fear-mongering pseudo-safety crap. Honestly, I think anyone who has half a brain and watches anything other than FOX News (nearly mutually exclusive qualifications) just sees this event as another pain in the ass to fly. The security measures they have at the airports are all well and fine, but clearly they’re not as effective as people just being aware of their surroundings. Both the shoe bombing guy and now the underwear bombing guy were caught as a result of the passengers acting on their suspicion (and a little luck). Security clearly did nothing, and apart from cavity searches, the security that we have isn’t going to do any more. An interesting article from Gizmodo attributes the two most successful advances in airport security as reinforced cockpit doors and passenger awareness of evildoers. Neither requires long lines, neither requires hours of security checkpoints, invasions of privacy, or anything of the like.
The no-standing-for-the-last-hour-of-the-flight rule is clearly just an attempt to ease the poor passenger who is now scared of flying. The many logical arguments against this have been published widely, and they all make sense. What’s to prevent an attack at takeoff? Why can’t they just use the ETA from their ticket to calculate in their heads? I understand that the government has to do something to prove that they’re on the ball, but I feel these new practices from the TSA are a patronizing attempt to disguise their own ineffectiveness as an organization.
I’m pretty sure that this post will get me double searched from now on when I fly, but I’d like to hear your thoughts on the matter.
