Okay, finally getting around to this. (EDIT: UPDATED 02/01/2016)
Remember, I love the movies, I only like films. What's the difference? Movies are fun, flamboyant, and often have little to do with reality. They have explosions, bare breasts for no reason other than prurience, profanity galore and a lot of cool shit. Films delve deep into social issues and are framed in a mirror of our day to day lives. In other words, all the grim despair that you can find on the local news - you can often find in films. Not my favorite thing usually.
As usual, first here's a list of movies that I enjoyed and would recommend, but they didn't make my top ten. In no particular order they are...
Mission Impossible 5
Not as good as parts 3 or 4, but still a hell of a lot of fun.
Furious 7
I've never been a huge fan of this series, but I do always enjoy the gags (stunts) and the frenetic energy. I've especially liked the recent movies, which are more caper flicks than anything. Especially moving in this one is the tribute to Paul Walker at the end - gets me all choked up every time I see it.
Jurassic World
This one is a blast and a hell of a lot of fun. A warm and fuzzy tribute to the original that gets better each time I see it. Yes, we did get it on Blu-Ray. I have to be honest though, I'm a bit mystified that it made SO much money. I mean it's made like, crazy Titanic/Star Wars type money. I think it's because I'm old and this wasn't really made for me. Still, I can appreciate Chris Pratt a lot, he truly elevates the material. The last act is also a superb action/stunt/cg showcase that is very satisfying.
Tomorrow Land
This one got panned by the critics and dismissed by a lot of people who said it was too preachy and sanctimonious. I avoided it for a long time because I despise being lectured by people like Clooney, who deserves every bit of the South Park episode that blasts him for being a smug douche about social issues. So I was very surprised when my kid and I finally saw this on a Disney cruise, at how good it was. So good, that we saw it twice! A good action adventure story that reminded me very much of the old great Disney live action adventures like Witch Mountain and Candleshoe. Looking forward to putting this one on my shelf.
Trainwreck
Shumer is hilarious and oh so wrong and so is this movie, which of course also has heart as do all the raunch-coms these days. Hader is great as well.
Paddington
An unexpected gem, brought to you by the Harry Potter production team. This one will be around for a long time. It's similar in tone and message to the Nanny McPhee movies, which my family and I have enjoyed for years.
Okay, and the two best docs I saw in 2015.
Going Clear
Fascinating indictment of L. Ron Hubbard and his cult. Had no idea all the dark stuff that went on and is likely still going on with this bunch of crazies.
Best of Enemies
A great examination of politics through the two O.G.'s of modern discourse on television. I don't care too much for the docs lazy conclusion that Buckly and Vidal begat Fox News, as if Fox News is some crazy and evil entity - but there's enough meat on the bones here in the rest of the piece that it's easy to forgive this typical conclusion.
Okay, and here's the top ten. Really enjoyed all of these immensely.
11. Avengers 2
Originally this was in the top ten, it got bumped when I saw The Martian. Age of Ultron falls well short of the impossibly high bench mark set by the first Avengers movie. But it's still a great time. The heart of the film is the 'dream' sequences / flashbacks that our leads go through. I always wanted to visit Black Widow's past - and this is just a perfect way to do it. They show us just enough that we can fill in the rest ourselves. I also love the Vision, and he has several movie stealing moments that make the convoluted plot and exposition for future movies well worth it.
10. The Walk
Had very little interest in seeing this after watching the superb doc Man on Wire. Movies based on true stories are almost always inferior to the real people and places shown in documentaries. Two thirds of the way through this film I still believed this. Then we went out on the wire in 3D and in Imax and I suddenly understood why Zemekis wanted to make this movie. He does what no documentary could ever do - he puts us out on the wire with Philipe. Absolutely breath taking, and an experience that can only be found in a movie theater. No point in getting this on Blu Ray, it's a good movie, but only a great one on the big screen.
9. Sicario
This one is the closest thing I have to a "film" on the list. Emily Blunt is a revelation in this grim, gritty and bleak exploration of the drug trade and the soldiers that fight it. Benicio Del Toro is also phenomenal, as an avenger of death who does anything and everything he needs to do to get justice. This movie is both enthralling and repulsive - violent to the extreme in parts and heart wrenching as well. Are the good guys good here? I think for the most part they are. I was certainly rooting for Benicio through most of it. The final scene though, is the heart of the film and truly leaves us wondering if there are any true heroes left. Ambiguous and terrifying, for sure not upbeat or fantastical. Why did I love this so much? What's wrong with me?
8. Hateful Eight
On the opposite end of believability and seriousness - we have Quentin Tarantino's eighth film. This time a parlor mystery, shot in 70 millimeter and taking place mostly in one room. I just love love love the over the top characters and dialogue. It's insane, it's extreme, it's hyper-violent and yet not at all realistic beyond being a fantastic character study and extravagent whodunit mystery. I love love love Jennifer Jason Leigh - her character is truly a horrible person, and yet somehow we feel a bit of sympathy for her plight. Sam Jackson kicks all kinds of ass here, chewing up the scenery as he goes. Kurt Russell is as always, every bit a movie star - but as he's older, he's morphed into a great character actor too. I can't wait to see this again at home, it's just so wonderfully gory, silly and sick at the same time. I also believe, as I do with all of Quintin's work, that it is very righteous and every bit a morality play. Too bad he's such a dip-shit in real life.
7. Ant Man
Best Marvel movie of the two this year and probably top 5 over all. A great caper / heist movie. Funny, smaller, yet somehow still epic. Michael Douglas is a marvel, so to speak. Especially impressive is a young Michael Douglas in the prologue. How did they do that? Rudd's Scott Lang is great and very faithful to the comic. I can't wait to see Hope Van Dyne as the Wasp in the next one. And of course, the highlight of the whole thing is Pena's frenetic story telling via' comical lip synching of various larger than life characters, including Stan Lee of course.
6. Inside Out
Absolutely blown away by this one. The most heart wrenching and powerful Pixar flick since Up. What could have been a contrived and clunky premise, is instead a revelatory examination of the human psyche and ultimately a reassuring journey for the young and the young at heart. The story is about an 11 year old girl, and I of course, have an 11 year old girl. Needless to say I blubbered a bit more than once watching this one.
5. Ex Machina
Best original sci-fi story I've seen in a long time. I just adore all 3 main performances here. Oscar Isaac is just fantastic. Bill Weasely is almost entirely unrecognizable, and the girl robot is out of this world in her deeply compelling but disturbing portrayal of an artificial mind. The story goes exactly where I expected it to go - but I was still enthralled by it. Great great stuff, the best kind of popcorn flick for grown-ups.
4. The Revenant
I really liked Birdman but I absolutely love Alejandro's follow up. One of the most visually stunning movies I've ever seen - shot in what looks to be almost entirely on location in the frozen reaches of Canada. This movie is harsh, it's brutal and it pulls at the heart strings as well. I was more than half way through the movie before I realized that Mad Max was the bad guy. That Hardy fellow is quite the chameleon. And now finally, after Wolf of Wallstreet and now this movie, I finally get what all the fuss is about Leo. He absolutely just owns his character and this story. I have to see this again soon. (Warning: there is a rape in this movie, which is about my least favorite thing ever. I always let people know about this element, as I myself tend to walk out if things get too out of hand. Good news is though, the rape is brief (like 10 seconds) and not graphic - and best of all the female isn't scared, she's pissed and then gets her revenge quickly and in a very brutal fashion.)
3. The Martian
Finally saw this with the wife the other night and have to say I was pleasantly bowled over - not just because of the great FX and suspenseful story line, reminiscent of the best parts of Castaway, but I love this movie so much for it's effervescent optimism. There are no 'bad guys' in this film - there are disagreements, but in the end, everyone pulls together and gets Watney home. Very fun, very upbeat, and most of all hopeful. This movie is true nourishment for the soul, a big heaping portion of uplift and rightfully this movie leaps nearly to the top of my best list.
2. Star Wars VII
Where to begin. I think I will write a separate review for this one soon - but suffice it to say, this one is an absolute home run. I've seen it 4 times now I believe, and will be watching it for the rest of my life. If you love Star Wars, you love this movie. Period.
1. Mad Max Fury Road
If you had told me how good the new Star Wars movie was going to be at the beginning of 2015, I would've never have imagined that a different film could end up at the top of my list. George Miller, that 70 year old mad man from Australia, has done it again and captured lightening in a bottle to present an apocalyptic death race that is every bit as good, and maybe even better, than the seminal film of it's genre, The Road Warrior. Again, I feel compelled to write a separate review for this one, there's just so much to love. It's big and loud and over the top, and mostly dialogue free - but it says so much. If you loved Road Warrior, you love this movie. Period.
So, there it is. I also really want to see these - and most likely will at home on Netflix.
The Martian (can't wait for this one) - EDIT: SAW IT!
Bridge of Spies EDIT: SAW IT! Very, very, VERY good.
Spy EDIT: SAW IT! Pretty darn funny, good not great.
MockingJay 2 EDIT: SAW IT! Excellent conclusion after the mildly disappointing part 1.
Creed
Terminator Genisys EDIT: SAW IT! Shockingly good, easily the best since T2!
Black Mass EDIT: SAW IT! Very by the numbers, but I was never bored.
Joy
Amy (doc)
Steve Jobs (not the Ashton Kutcher version obviously) EDIT: SAW IT! Very good.
Ted 2 EDIT: SAW IT! Hella funny, though not as side splitting as the original.
Finally, we have to end with the disappointments.
Cinderella
Beautifully shot and directed and completely forgettable and unnecessary. I don't understand this compulsion to make a live action remake of an animated classic note for note and beat for beat - except without the music. I mean, I guess I do understand the compulsion - money. Not that there's anything wrong with that per se, but I fear these live action do-overs will tarnish the Disney legacy much the way the straight to DVD sequels did back in the 1990's. Anyone remember Cinderella III? I do, unfortunately.
Pitch Perfect 2
Great singing and choreography, weak story and improvised scenes that go nowhere. Anna Kendrick phones it in and Rebel Wilson is thoroughly not funny. Also, what is my girl Hailee Steinfeld doing here and why is she so terrible?
Cobain: Montage of Heck
An interesting but ultimately unfulfilling look at a very talented dude who was ultimately a selfish asshole. The home movies of Kurt and Courtney do not make them sympathetic whatsoever. I'm glad their kid has grown up and distanced herself from her mom. What a trainwreck.
So that's it - over all another great year for movies. Any I've missed here, be sure to let me know!
Thursday, January 21, 2016
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
What did you expect, really?
Haven't been moved to write here in awhile, but I thought I'd chime in on this stupid #oscarssowhite crap, since one part of the story has struck a nerve with me.
Now right up front, don't get me wrong - in the grand scheme of things, the Oscars are silly and who cares really when there's issues of real import in the world. I get that, totally. But what makes this latest manufactured kerfuffle interesting to me, is the classic liberal hypocrisy and obliviousness at play here.
One of the the whitest and most liberal organizations on the planet - the motion picture academy, puts out it's nominations and misses three HUGE slam dunks. Idris Elba, Michael B. Jordan and Ryan Coogler. People are of course outraged and shocked. Shocked I tell you. How come all the nominees are white?
I say, what the hell did you expect?
White liberals are the biggest racists of all - because they are forever consumed by color and see everything through the prism of race. Everything.
In their privilege, in their narcissism, in their deeply rooted belief that people of color are incapable of achievement on their own - they have here, once again, demonstrated an almost willful blindness to obvious accomplishments by gifted actors and directors.
The first thing I thought when I read all the reviews for Creed was - "Wow, sounds great, sounds like they really knocked it out of the park. I should see this. It will easily rack up Oscar nominations." Then, as an after thought, I thought - "It will be nice to see a diverse line up for once. That's cool."
Not a big deal, but an obvious slam dunk and a win for everyone to bring us all together.
And then the nominations came out - and a bunch of privileged, self-centered white people who believe down to their core that people of color can't do anything for themselves - surprise - ignored all people of color.
I say, this makes perfect sense. I say, this is what you get when you diminish and degrade anyone who doesn't look and act like you.
The stripping of dignity and the perpetuation of dependence by privileged white liberals upon the working class and minority communities - for over 70 years now, has resulted in nothing but misery, division and poverty where there should be none.
Detroit. Baltimore.
Chicago. New Orleans.
All democratic controlled cites - all cesspools of black on black violence.
Why should we be surprised when once again, liberals are taken aback by the very behavior that they perpetuate? Liberals excel at diminishing and marginalizing obvious achievements when it isn't aided and abetted by white people . It's the liberal modus operandi.
You are too stupid to succeed. You can't do that on your own.
You didn't build that.
I'm not surprised. Not surprised at all.
When a bunch of people who make movies that glorify guns while being protected by people with guns, speak out against guns, I'm not in the least bit shocked that they are also more than capable of calling everyone who doesn't fall in line racist and then turning around and ignoring glaringly obvious achievements by people of color.
Maybe it's time that liberal Hollywood step back and instead of blaming the folks who point out the obvious - that gee, maybe making up crises where there are none and giving out condescending lip service to minorities to make yourselves feel better, isn't the best way to pick Oscar nominations.
Hey Hollywood, try this.
Why not drop the race card and the race prism? You might be pleasantly surprised. Believe it or not there's actually some really good stuff out there that just happens to be made by people of color. And I know this is hard to believe, but that stuff didn't get made because you "made things fair". It got made by ambition, initiative and back breaking work
If you would just think of something else besides yourselves for once, you might be able to see beyond your close minded world and discover that there's a whole lot more going on that has nothing to do with your narcissistic and decadent white guilt that you bring to every single party.
People of color don't need your hand-outs and they don't need your special treatment. They just need you to grow the fuck up and pull your heads out of your asses long enough to see what's actually happening.
Freedom that is God given, not 'fairness' that you fabricate - is what will elevate those who have a longer ladder to climb.
Let go of the belief that this is all about you, and understand that people of color don't need your condescension or what you call help. They just need you to get the hell out of the way and treat them the way you treat everyone else. I know that's tough, when actual racism is so deeply embedded in your subconscious, but really - we are all human beings.
Just because you are white and privileged, doesn't mean you are better or more talented or harder working than anyone else.
Get over yourself and let's get on with it.
Wednesday, December 02, 2015
Exhaling
It's been a minute since last I wrote here - so let me opine.
Last month I had my annual physical, which, truth be told has never really been annual. My doctor was surprised to see that it had been in fact five years ago, when I turned forty, that I had last paid him a visit.
There was lots of good news, I'm lucid, mobile and feeling pretty great overall.
Some fair to middling news, I strained my shoulder so I need therapy and I have a weird rash on my face that anti-biotic cream now seems to be helping.
And of course a modicum of bad - namely my weight. I have struggled mightily over the years, and seen it fluctuate from a height of 240 in 2008 down to 160 only 2 years later (thanks to Jenny Craig), then back up to 255 by this year, after I couldn't take diet food anymore. 255 is where I was when I visited the doctors office.
My doctor was frankly astonished when he looked at the chart and saw how heavy I was, he had first looked at me and didn't seem too concerned - I don't look quite as heavy as I actually am. So we talked about solutions. I confessed it has been a long struggle for me; I am a man who loves food, especially the processed kind, the garbage that is engineered to taste incredible and stoke desire for more and more.
The good doctor suggested I might try a new medication, just 6 months on the market, that had shown great results for reducing appetite and cravings. Best of all, it didn't appear to have any effect on the cardiovascular system and/or heart, unlike some other notorious appetite suppressants of the past. I was ready to try anything at this point, so he wrote me a prescription and I planned to pick it up.
A couple days later, I hadn't done so because it wasn't covered on my insurance and was a bit expensive, but my lab results came back and the doctors office called me to tell me that my blood sugar was a bit high and my vitamin D was low. Vitamin D, no problem, just pop a couple gummies every morning. High blood sugar? Crap. I must be pre-diabetic. Immediately I lost all desire for sweets and picked up my meds right away. (Thankfully I had a coupon which helped bring the price down.)
Almost 3 weeks later I'm happy to report that the pills work very, very well. Almost too well. I can have a small plate of food and I feel almost uncomfortably full. When meal time rolls around, I might forget if not for the clock or my wife bringing it up. I am cautiously optimistic about this, as the potential for lasting weight loss seems to be very real at this point. Getting motivated to exercise is the other part of the equation, but with this first half apparently taken care of, I hope to focus more on getting active on a more regular basis.
As it turns out, my 'high blood sugar' was actually my triglycerides, which is part of the blood sugar thing, but it was only a single point above normal. Thankfully though, with my resolve and now this medication working, I haven't had a single sweet of any kind (cookie, cake, chewy granola bar, pudding, anything) since my doctor's visit, and they are all freely available at my house and my work. I'd say, for the first time ever, I truly don't have any desire for dessert, which is pretty crazy.
I also noted, that the big possible side effect, aside from the usual litany of headaches, dizziness, constipation, etc. that accompany almost any medication (none of which I've had) is suicidal thoughts. Reading more about the medication, I learned that it doesn't work on the body per say, it works on the brain. Kind of trippy. Thankfully, I am still a very happy person and haven't had a whiff of depression or daydreams about doing myself in.
After telling my brother about this medicine (in case you didn't know, he and his wife are both psychiatrists - medical doctors who routinely prescribe this kind of thing) I learned a heck of a lot more.
He told me that the medication, which is called Contrave, is a combination of bupropion, which is an anti-depressant, and naltrexone - a drug that is often used in Europe to treat alcoholics and their cravings. Side note - alcoholism is treated differently over there. Here in America, we encourage the idea of going 'cold turkey' on alcohol. In Europe they say to pop a bupropion before having a glass of wine. Apparently it works fairly well.
Well all I can say, is this cocktail has worked very well on me as far as the food thing. I do get hungry if it's been awhile, and food still tastes amazing (though so far these 3 weeks I haven't had any fast food) but like I said, after a small plateful I am very full and completely disinterested in having more.
But it also appears that this drug goes even further. Thankfully, it seems to be all positive developments.
I have a litany of other vices, some bigger than others - and this medication it seems has reduced them all.
First and foremost in my life is poker. I have always maintained that it is just a fun hobby that I enjoy a lot. Truthfully, if I am being honest with myself, over the past five years or so - the game has really become a bit more of an obsession than I would like. Every opportunity that arises for me to play, I take it without hesitation. If my wife and kid are at a Girl Scout meeting, I am on my way to the casino, 45 minutes away. I lay awake at night thinking about when and where my next session will be.
I crave the action, the buzz I get from dragging a pot and stacking chips. Poker for me is like a really fantastic cheeseburger - it is an intense high, fueled by making moves on my opponent and getting them to lay down a stronger hand or pay me off when I have a monster.
I'm assuming it's the medicine, but my white hot lust for this great game has finally, finally cooled off a bit. Actually more than a bit. I cannot remember the last time in my life that I had literally zero interest in driving to Inglewood or Commerce to play in a tournament.
This is a good thing. A very good thing.
Cashing is great, bluffing is great, but these places are not that nice, and can be rather unpleasant, and they are far away from my family. I've always put up with the smelly degenerates around me, because, turns out, I was one of them - and my quest for a tournament cash could never be sated.
Now, don't get me wrong, I imagine I'll still play every now and again, in my mind somewhere I still love poker, it is truly magnificent. But right now I have no burning urge to go to the card clubs, and my plans that I had made only a month prior to kick up my home game into high gear by playing nearly every week - now seem rather absurd to me.
This, more than anything, is a bit of a shock to me - that I could be so altered as to be able to recognize for the first time in awhile, that this game, as rewarding as it can be at times, is nowhere near what matters most - which is being a good husband and father and spending as much time with my wife and child as I can.
For this revelation, I am very grateful.
I have two other things in my life that have also changed.
First - you probably know by reading this blog and if you are my Facebook friend, I dig a good political fight. Well I guess I must have been getting a buzz off of that too, because right now - as crazy as the world is with acts of terrorism and college students trading out their universities for daycare centers, I have very, very, very, little desire to get into it with liberals over issues that I know I won't be able to change their minds on. I have too many friends and family who I love and are far to the left of me - it seems the height of futility and yes, arrogance, to think that they will come around to my point of view.
As of starting Contrave, I have posted exactly ZERO political articles on Facebook in nearly 3 weeks. That, is a minor miracle.
The second thing, and this is very personal, so personal I don't want to get into details at all, but I haven't watched any porn since I started these meds. I still have a healthy libido, but again, I don't crave that buzz - the same buzz I get from poker, food, politics, as severely, and I hope my disinterest continues.
Anyways - I didn't mean for this post to come off as an endorsement for mind altering medication - I have long been suspicious of people who are 'medicated' and never thought I was a candidate for being on 'meds'.
But it turns out, the foibles in my life, poker, food, politics, sex and others, were all kind of driven by the same addictive behavior; and now for the first time in a long time, they have been reigned in.
I truly feel very happy with my life now, though I have been happy my whole life prior as well. As I said, I'm cautiously optimistic that this next chapter will continue this new pattern of moving away from potentially self-destructive behavior and moving towards healthier means of expression and emotional connections with those I love.
I plan on relying heavily on my faith as well, to help me maintain this positive turn in behavior.
We will see.
Last month I had my annual physical, which, truth be told has never really been annual. My doctor was surprised to see that it had been in fact five years ago, when I turned forty, that I had last paid him a visit.
There was lots of good news, I'm lucid, mobile and feeling pretty great overall.
Some fair to middling news, I strained my shoulder so I need therapy and I have a weird rash on my face that anti-biotic cream now seems to be helping.
And of course a modicum of bad - namely my weight. I have struggled mightily over the years, and seen it fluctuate from a height of 240 in 2008 down to 160 only 2 years later (thanks to Jenny Craig), then back up to 255 by this year, after I couldn't take diet food anymore. 255 is where I was when I visited the doctors office.
My doctor was frankly astonished when he looked at the chart and saw how heavy I was, he had first looked at me and didn't seem too concerned - I don't look quite as heavy as I actually am. So we talked about solutions. I confessed it has been a long struggle for me; I am a man who loves food, especially the processed kind, the garbage that is engineered to taste incredible and stoke desire for more and more.
The good doctor suggested I might try a new medication, just 6 months on the market, that had shown great results for reducing appetite and cravings. Best of all, it didn't appear to have any effect on the cardiovascular system and/or heart, unlike some other notorious appetite suppressants of the past. I was ready to try anything at this point, so he wrote me a prescription and I planned to pick it up.
A couple days later, I hadn't done so because it wasn't covered on my insurance and was a bit expensive, but my lab results came back and the doctors office called me to tell me that my blood sugar was a bit high and my vitamin D was low. Vitamin D, no problem, just pop a couple gummies every morning. High blood sugar? Crap. I must be pre-diabetic. Immediately I lost all desire for sweets and picked up my meds right away. (Thankfully I had a coupon which helped bring the price down.)
Almost 3 weeks later I'm happy to report that the pills work very, very well. Almost too well. I can have a small plate of food and I feel almost uncomfortably full. When meal time rolls around, I might forget if not for the clock or my wife bringing it up. I am cautiously optimistic about this, as the potential for lasting weight loss seems to be very real at this point. Getting motivated to exercise is the other part of the equation, but with this first half apparently taken care of, I hope to focus more on getting active on a more regular basis.
As it turns out, my 'high blood sugar' was actually my triglycerides, which is part of the blood sugar thing, but it was only a single point above normal. Thankfully though, with my resolve and now this medication working, I haven't had a single sweet of any kind (cookie, cake, chewy granola bar, pudding, anything) since my doctor's visit, and they are all freely available at my house and my work. I'd say, for the first time ever, I truly don't have any desire for dessert, which is pretty crazy.
I also noted, that the big possible side effect, aside from the usual litany of headaches, dizziness, constipation, etc. that accompany almost any medication (none of which I've had) is suicidal thoughts. Reading more about the medication, I learned that it doesn't work on the body per say, it works on the brain. Kind of trippy. Thankfully, I am still a very happy person and haven't had a whiff of depression or daydreams about doing myself in.
After telling my brother about this medicine (in case you didn't know, he and his wife are both psychiatrists - medical doctors who routinely prescribe this kind of thing) I learned a heck of a lot more.
He told me that the medication, which is called Contrave, is a combination of bupropion, which is an anti-depressant, and naltrexone - a drug that is often used in Europe to treat alcoholics and their cravings. Side note - alcoholism is treated differently over there. Here in America, we encourage the idea of going 'cold turkey' on alcohol. In Europe they say to pop a bupropion before having a glass of wine. Apparently it works fairly well.
Well all I can say, is this cocktail has worked very well on me as far as the food thing. I do get hungry if it's been awhile, and food still tastes amazing (though so far these 3 weeks I haven't had any fast food) but like I said, after a small plateful I am very full and completely disinterested in having more.
But it also appears that this drug goes even further. Thankfully, it seems to be all positive developments.
I have a litany of other vices, some bigger than others - and this medication it seems has reduced them all.
First and foremost in my life is poker. I have always maintained that it is just a fun hobby that I enjoy a lot. Truthfully, if I am being honest with myself, over the past five years or so - the game has really become a bit more of an obsession than I would like. Every opportunity that arises for me to play, I take it without hesitation. If my wife and kid are at a Girl Scout meeting, I am on my way to the casino, 45 minutes away. I lay awake at night thinking about when and where my next session will be.
I crave the action, the buzz I get from dragging a pot and stacking chips. Poker for me is like a really fantastic cheeseburger - it is an intense high, fueled by making moves on my opponent and getting them to lay down a stronger hand or pay me off when I have a monster.
I'm assuming it's the medicine, but my white hot lust for this great game has finally, finally cooled off a bit. Actually more than a bit. I cannot remember the last time in my life that I had literally zero interest in driving to Inglewood or Commerce to play in a tournament.
This is a good thing. A very good thing.
Cashing is great, bluffing is great, but these places are not that nice, and can be rather unpleasant, and they are far away from my family. I've always put up with the smelly degenerates around me, because, turns out, I was one of them - and my quest for a tournament cash could never be sated.
Now, don't get me wrong, I imagine I'll still play every now and again, in my mind somewhere I still love poker, it is truly magnificent. But right now I have no burning urge to go to the card clubs, and my plans that I had made only a month prior to kick up my home game into high gear by playing nearly every week - now seem rather absurd to me.
This, more than anything, is a bit of a shock to me - that I could be so altered as to be able to recognize for the first time in awhile, that this game, as rewarding as it can be at times, is nowhere near what matters most - which is being a good husband and father and spending as much time with my wife and child as I can.
For this revelation, I am very grateful.
I have two other things in my life that have also changed.
First - you probably know by reading this blog and if you are my Facebook friend, I dig a good political fight. Well I guess I must have been getting a buzz off of that too, because right now - as crazy as the world is with acts of terrorism and college students trading out their universities for daycare centers, I have very, very, very, little desire to get into it with liberals over issues that I know I won't be able to change their minds on. I have too many friends and family who I love and are far to the left of me - it seems the height of futility and yes, arrogance, to think that they will come around to my point of view.
As of starting Contrave, I have posted exactly ZERO political articles on Facebook in nearly 3 weeks. That, is a minor miracle.
The second thing, and this is very personal, so personal I don't want to get into details at all, but I haven't watched any porn since I started these meds. I still have a healthy libido, but again, I don't crave that buzz - the same buzz I get from poker, food, politics, as severely, and I hope my disinterest continues.
Anyways - I didn't mean for this post to come off as an endorsement for mind altering medication - I have long been suspicious of people who are 'medicated' and never thought I was a candidate for being on 'meds'.
But it turns out, the foibles in my life, poker, food, politics, sex and others, were all kind of driven by the same addictive behavior; and now for the first time in a long time, they have been reigned in.
I truly feel very happy with my life now, though I have been happy my whole life prior as well. As I said, I'm cautiously optimistic that this next chapter will continue this new pattern of moving away from potentially self-destructive behavior and moving towards healthier means of expression and emotional connections with those I love.
I plan on relying heavily on my faith as well, to help me maintain this positive turn in behavior.
We will see.
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Just stick to emotions and you'll go far...
So this last week a story broke of an undercover video revealing that Planned Parenthood is indeed the home of horrific abortion mill butchers who callously deal in a baby chop shop of blood and money.
Then a second video emerged, of an old biddy joking about buying Lamborghini's with the profits from organs. And then yet another video came out, this one with pie plates full of baby body parts.
Disgusting, reprehensible and enough to send shockwaves across the country and make even the most ardent pro-choice people take a second look at the industry of "reproductive health".
There is so much to absorb with this story - one of the biggest things that gets to me is the fact that this company has fought against the right of women to use ultra-sound technology to make an informed decision and then turns around and uses that same technology to manipulate and extract a fetus so that it's most financially valuable organs can remain intact.
It's an utterly abhorrent story. This is it - now we have to wake up and pay attention, right?
Wrong.
As almost as if right on cue, here comes Cecil the lion. Look, bright shiny thing over here!
Yes, yes, we all know that Planned Parenthood is doling out the parts of butchered babies for cash - BUT LOOK AT THAT LION! LOOK AT THE UTTER BARBARITY. DEAD LION PEOPLE!
Let's track down the hunter and DESTROY HIS LIFE.
Now this story is the lead on the New York Times. Now this story is running everywhere, all the time.
Sigh.
Look, I am not, nor have I ever been a fan of trophy hunting. But let me back up and give some info on where I am coming from before I bring down the hammer of truth.
I was a camera operator for two seasons on ESPN's American Hunter, and in my time there I learned a lot about hunting and hunters. The first thing I discovered was that hunters are the largest group of supporters of wildlife conservation. By a lot.
The show promoted this fact and thankfully it also promoted the sustenance type of hunting, every episode always concluded with a cooking segment on the game that had been brought down.
But inevitably I crossed paths with hunters who enjoyed killing animals for the sheer sport of it, and in turn collecting parts to add to their decor.
I can't say that I found much to admire about this passion - and I still find it mostly reprehensible. Mostly.
The one redeeming thing about this activity, I learned a few years later when I traveled to Africa to shoot (as a camera operator) for a wildlife show, is that trophy hunting was and presumably still is, the number one source of income for the preservation of animals in southern Africa.
Simply put - a single trophy hunt by a lone hunter can yield more money that an entire photographic Safari camp full of tourists can pull down in a month or even longer.
This inescapable economic fact, and the naked truth that wildlife would simply not exist in most parts of Africa were it not for trophy hunters - falls on deaf ears now more than ever in the age of outrage.
This particular Cecil hunt it seems, was shady and full of shenanigans - the trophy hunters I encountered would be appalled to know that a collared research animal was brought down after being baited out of a national park. This is not how things normally go down by any means, but I am not surprised it happened in Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe, under the ruthless dictator Mugabe, has an 80% unemployment rate, a poverty rate of at least that much and suffers under a ruthless and systematic campaign of human rights violations. It's government is entirely corrupt - and I find it a bit absurd how now, that the story has gone viral, government officials are righteously clamoring for the dentist to return to face poaching charges.
Despite Zimbabwe's problems, it is my understanding that trophy hunting there is usually legal and above board, and the killing and the collecting of parts to display later, goes on not only there but throughout sub-saharan Africa at large, all the time.
And as revolting as I find it on a personal level, having been in awe in the presence of wild lions, tigers and bears, in my life - I also am grateful in the end that trophy hunting does happen, so that the revenue it generates can mostly go to the preservation and protection of the animals that otherwise would quickly meet extinction.
In short - no money, no animals. Period.
A guide I worked with in Kruger put it succinctly - I'm paraphrasing - 'If an animal cannot generate revenue, it will not exist.'
Anyone who has spent any significant amount of time in Africa, not just as a tourist but working for months at a time as I have - will understand this plain truth. Poverty is not as it is in the United States - where most people who deal with it are not actually in it, but rather trying to temper it within a political arena of ideas that often end up exacerbating it.
Poverty in Africa is a very real, direct and often violent threat to existence for the people who are in it, which unlike the US, is the majority of the population. Without tourism, and very importantly without exorbitant trophy fees, the beast that is real poverty threatens to overrun and consume the people who live in the shadow of it's specter.
But by all means, carry on with the outrage from your laptop. Call for violence. Print out this man's home address. Actually track down this dentist and string him up, as PETA has demanded.
That way you don't have to think about stories of any real significance or consequence or bother dealing with real evil.
Babies can go right on being butchered, and in the end big and rare animals will still be killed and butchered as well so that Kruger national park and other amazing places can continue to exist.
But which slaughtering is more abhorrent, and which should be getting the most attention from the media and from your social media feed?
Oh yeah, the animals of course. BECAUSE LOOK AT THAT LION OH MY GOD!!!!!
Then a second video emerged, of an old biddy joking about buying Lamborghini's with the profits from organs. And then yet another video came out, this one with pie plates full of baby body parts.
Disgusting, reprehensible and enough to send shockwaves across the country and make even the most ardent pro-choice people take a second look at the industry of "reproductive health".
There is so much to absorb with this story - one of the biggest things that gets to me is the fact that this company has fought against the right of women to use ultra-sound technology to make an informed decision and then turns around and uses that same technology to manipulate and extract a fetus so that it's most financially valuable organs can remain intact.
It's an utterly abhorrent story. This is it - now we have to wake up and pay attention, right?
Wrong.
As almost as if right on cue, here comes Cecil the lion. Look, bright shiny thing over here!
Yes, yes, we all know that Planned Parenthood is doling out the parts of butchered babies for cash - BUT LOOK AT THAT LION! LOOK AT THE UTTER BARBARITY. DEAD LION PEOPLE!
Let's track down the hunter and DESTROY HIS LIFE.
Now this story is the lead on the New York Times. Now this story is running everywhere, all the time.
Sigh.
Look, I am not, nor have I ever been a fan of trophy hunting. But let me back up and give some info on where I am coming from before I bring down the hammer of truth.
I was a camera operator for two seasons on ESPN's American Hunter, and in my time there I learned a lot about hunting and hunters. The first thing I discovered was that hunters are the largest group of supporters of wildlife conservation. By a lot.
The show promoted this fact and thankfully it also promoted the sustenance type of hunting, every episode always concluded with a cooking segment on the game that had been brought down.
But inevitably I crossed paths with hunters who enjoyed killing animals for the sheer sport of it, and in turn collecting parts to add to their decor.
I can't say that I found much to admire about this passion - and I still find it mostly reprehensible. Mostly.
The one redeeming thing about this activity, I learned a few years later when I traveled to Africa to shoot (as a camera operator) for a wildlife show, is that trophy hunting was and presumably still is, the number one source of income for the preservation of animals in southern Africa.
Simply put - a single trophy hunt by a lone hunter can yield more money that an entire photographic Safari camp full of tourists can pull down in a month or even longer.
This inescapable economic fact, and the naked truth that wildlife would simply not exist in most parts of Africa were it not for trophy hunters - falls on deaf ears now more than ever in the age of outrage.
This particular Cecil hunt it seems, was shady and full of shenanigans - the trophy hunters I encountered would be appalled to know that a collared research animal was brought down after being baited out of a national park. This is not how things normally go down by any means, but I am not surprised it happened in Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe, under the ruthless dictator Mugabe, has an 80% unemployment rate, a poverty rate of at least that much and suffers under a ruthless and systematic campaign of human rights violations. It's government is entirely corrupt - and I find it a bit absurd how now, that the story has gone viral, government officials are righteously clamoring for the dentist to return to face poaching charges.
And as revolting as I find it on a personal level, having been in awe in the presence of wild lions, tigers and bears, in my life - I also am grateful in the end that trophy hunting does happen, so that the revenue it generates can mostly go to the preservation and protection of the animals that otherwise would quickly meet extinction.
In short - no money, no animals. Period.
A guide I worked with in Kruger put it succinctly - I'm paraphrasing - 'If an animal cannot generate revenue, it will not exist.'
Anyone who has spent any significant amount of time in Africa, not just as a tourist but working for months at a time as I have - will understand this plain truth. Poverty is not as it is in the United States - where most people who deal with it are not actually in it, but rather trying to temper it within a political arena of ideas that often end up exacerbating it.
Poverty in Africa is a very real, direct and often violent threat to existence for the people who are in it, which unlike the US, is the majority of the population. Without tourism, and very importantly without exorbitant trophy fees, the beast that is real poverty threatens to overrun and consume the people who live in the shadow of it's specter.
But by all means, carry on with the outrage from your laptop. Call for violence. Print out this man's home address. Actually track down this dentist and string him up, as PETA has demanded.
That way you don't have to think about stories of any real significance or consequence or bother dealing with real evil.
Babies can go right on being butchered, and in the end big and rare animals will still be killed and butchered as well so that Kruger national park and other amazing places can continue to exist.
But which slaughtering is more abhorrent, and which should be getting the most attention from the media and from your social media feed?
Oh yeah, the animals of course. BECAUSE LOOK AT THAT LION OH MY GOD!!!!!
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
Regarding race...
Recently I had an exchange with a mutual friend on Facebook over issues of race. Here is her latest question and my response.
It's interesting to me that you used the term "privileged" since much of my recent discussions on the subject of racism has been about acknowledging white privilege and trying to convince white people that our responsibility is to recognize our advantages and use whatever power and advantage we have to speak out against oppression. What sanctimonious lecturing are you hearing? Do you think black people, in particular, are treated the same way as white people? If not, what would you like to see happen, ideally?
I understand if you're just tired and don't want to respond, but I hope you will.
I've given some thought to your queries, and I'm afraid I can't get too much into the weeds over this, but I think my biggest problem with white liberals regarding race issues is that they tend to speak with such righteousness and authority - when they really have no clue about what it is to grow up black in this country.
Obviously I don’t either, but I would never presume to tell someone, no matter their color, to ‘check their privilege’ . I think such a statement is supremely arrogant and also disingenuous in that it comes almost always comes entirely from privileged white people.
In other words, the relentless, humorless and accusatory path taken most often by people on your side of the political spectrum, does way more harm than good in bringing people together. Our country is more divided now than ever, under a black democratic president, but I don’t hold our president entirely responsible, I mostly blame the white elitist dogma that he subscribes to. Micro-aggressions and trigger warnings and all this other bullshit do nothing but piss people off on both sides of the aisle. When someone says, ‘check your privilege’ they are really saying ‘agree with me or shut up.’
Well sorry, I’m not on board with that. I have no idea what it is to be black, but I don’t want to hear one word from a white person regarding this. I’ll stick with actual black people and not necessarily race baiting extortionist shysters like Al Sharpton. I throw my hat in with conservative black intellectuals like Clarence Thomas, Larry Elder or Senator Tim Scott, because - I’m a conservative and independent thinker and these men are as well.
But beyond that, these guys actually walk the walk. They are not only actually black but all three of these men grew up poor. Thomas was the great grandchild of a slave and didn’t have running water in his house until he was 7 years old. Elder grew up in Compton, dodging bullets on the way to school. Scott’s single mother worked 16 hour days to support her family in the working class poverty neighborhood of Charleston. These men grew to greatness through hard work, the grace of God, and the opportunities provided to them by the greatest country on earth; never blaming others for the obstacles in their way, including actual racism on a regular basis.
The utter lack of respect and humility from the left regarding men like this, who happen to believe in free market capitalism, the right to bear arms and the American dream; is what pushes me away from listening to liberals about race. I don’t want to hear how Clarence Thomas is an ‘uncle Tom’ or how Senator Scott betrayed his race - especially from porridge brained white college students who haven’t done anything or been anywhere. I recognize that there are also liberals who despite lots of real world experience, still cling to the infantile notions of utopianism and the idea that poor people can’t help themselves without the government. That’s not me.
In my 20’s and 30’s I traveled all over the world in my work with NGO’s, and I have been to dozens of third world countries and been knee deep in actual poverty - seen with my own eyes starving children and their desperate mothers. I can’t come back to the United States and condemn the only economic system that actually works to bring people out of poverty. I also have a hard time sympathizing with iPhone using activists who want to tear down capitalism and punish those who have been successful at it.
I hope this illuminates my perspective a bit, you may of course disagree - goodness knows most of my friends and family do; but this is where I’m coming from. Thankfully I don’t believe that my politics are my identity, and that there’s a lot more to life than who or what I vote for. I can have strong opinions about which means to an end will work best, but the end that I want is the same as most Americans, liberal or conservative. Peace and prosperity for my kid and her kids.
I’d be happy to hear more about you and your experiences and feel free to lay on the lib-speak, though I should let you know that growing up in Berkeley I’ve pretty much heard it all. Yes, I’m pretty much set in my ways, and I try to remember that most other people are as well - sometimes I forget and share inflammatory posts from Matt, but hey, I’m only human. :)
Friday, May 22, 2015
Dropping the BOMB.
I have never been one to swear too much on this blog, you may have noticed that in the last two years or so there has been an uptick, that's because my dad and grandmother are gone and no longer read, so I am less concerned about offending anyone.
I feel it's important to drop the occasional f-bomb here because I want this blog to be entirely accurate on how I feel - unfiltered. I temper myself on Facebook quite a bit, and I think it's fair that I have a place where I can let loose a bit. So if your ears are sensitive, this might not be the post for you.
You may not believe it, but overall I am actually not a giant fan of profanity. However, I find it does on occasion find a useful purpose. Lately the pressure cooker in my brain has been building, so in the interests of my own sanity and to blow off some steam so to speak, here, in no particular order here are the latest people and things that I think can utterly and sincerely FUCK RIGHT OFF.
Micro-aggressions and trigger warnings.
Anti-plastic bag ordinances.
People who say "I'm normally for free speech, but..."
Bullet trains to nowhere.
People who say "Faux News" instead of Fox News.
The college student with the mattress.
The $15 minimum wage.
Those who think hate speech should be a crime.
The Baltimore DA.
Obama's speech to the Coast Guard last week.
Firefighter cadets who can't pass their physical tests but graduate anyway.
Donald Trump.
The Delta Smelt.
Lena and Janeane.
The California legislature.
People who complain about too many super hero movies.
Hands Up, Don't Shoot
And so on and so on and so on. Really, this is a grumpy old man post in so many ways. I, for the first time in my life, feel truly disconnected with the younger generation; they seem very entitled and are far more concerned with 'feelings' and 'fairness' rather than logic and liberty.
Particularly irksome is the seemingly never ending stream of stories about the lunacy on college campuses. This preoccupation the left has with creating 'safe spaces' free of discourse or original thought has chilled free speech beyond what we could ever imagine, turning what is supposed to be places of learning and growing into cocoons of infantilism and regression.
It puts me in a strange place because my kid, though she's only 11, will some day probably go to college. I have long ago promised myself that I wouldn't overtly inflict my political views on her, I much rather she make up her own mind on all the issues as she gets older and gains a greater understanding of the world around her.
But I fear that when she goes to college the deck may be severely stacked against her when it comes to independent thought. These by and large are no longer institutions of learning but rather indoctrination. Where instead of being challenged to 'question authority', young minds are now encouraged to 'check their privilege'. It is a disturbing mentality that pervades our universities, and personally I find it frightening and disgusting.
So, I'm afraid I have to renege a bit on my ideal idea of not getting my own politics tangled up in hers too early. I simply cannot wait for her to be brainwashed by her teachers, even in middle and high school.
True story; her fourth grade teacher taught his students a historic quote every week. It was all fine and dandy until Nat brought home a quote from Al Gore. Then daddy had to step in and offer up a quote of his own... from the original environmentalist, Teddy Roosevelt.
"The pacifist is surely a traitor to his country and to humanity as is the most brutal wrong doer."
How do you like them apples teach?
And so it is, that I will continue to insert myself into my kids schooling as often as I can, and to offer a counter point whenever I encounter lazy thinking. You see, it's not so much the liberal ideology I mind, what I really can't stomach is the presumption, the arrogance, the laziness and lack of critical thinking that is bound to pop up more and more as my daughter's education continues.
I will be right there to counter balance, to offer a different perspective, to get my kid to actually challenge presumptions and yes, respectfully question authority.
Above all, I hope and pray that even if she comes out seeing things differently than I, it won't be for lack of thought or effort. I hope she gets to travel as I have, so that she can appreciate what we have here and understand that it's easy to be flip and dismissive when you have no concept of what the world is really like.
Anyways, looks like I got a bit off track - I've been a bit consumed with despair and anger over the younger generation's utter lack of thoughtfulness when it comes to the world at large. Glad I could find my bearings through my kid, she really is the best thing I've ever done and she is turning out so awesome. Super smart and utterly capable of dealing with all the nonsense out there. I have to remember, when I get down, that there is hope in the next generation. Even if it is only just my kid, at least there will be someone who gets it.
I feel it's important to drop the occasional f-bomb here because I want this blog to be entirely accurate on how I feel - unfiltered. I temper myself on Facebook quite a bit, and I think it's fair that I have a place where I can let loose a bit. So if your ears are sensitive, this might not be the post for you.
You may not believe it, but overall I am actually not a giant fan of profanity. However, I find it does on occasion find a useful purpose. Lately the pressure cooker in my brain has been building, so in the interests of my own sanity and to blow off some steam so to speak, here, in no particular order here are the latest people and things that I think can utterly and sincerely FUCK RIGHT OFF.
Micro-aggressions and trigger warnings.
Anti-plastic bag ordinances.
People who say "I'm normally for free speech, but..."
Bullet trains to nowhere.
People who say "Faux News" instead of Fox News.
The college student with the mattress.
The $15 minimum wage.
Those who think hate speech should be a crime.
The Baltimore DA.
Obama's speech to the Coast Guard last week.
Firefighter cadets who can't pass their physical tests but graduate anyway.
Donald Trump.
The Delta Smelt.
Lena and Janeane.
The California legislature.
People who complain about too many super hero movies.
Hands Up, Don't Shoot
And so on and so on and so on. Really, this is a grumpy old man post in so many ways. I, for the first time in my life, feel truly disconnected with the younger generation; they seem very entitled and are far more concerned with 'feelings' and 'fairness' rather than logic and liberty.
Particularly irksome is the seemingly never ending stream of stories about the lunacy on college campuses. This preoccupation the left has with creating 'safe spaces' free of discourse or original thought has chilled free speech beyond what we could ever imagine, turning what is supposed to be places of learning and growing into cocoons of infantilism and regression.
It puts me in a strange place because my kid, though she's only 11, will some day probably go to college. I have long ago promised myself that I wouldn't overtly inflict my political views on her, I much rather she make up her own mind on all the issues as she gets older and gains a greater understanding of the world around her.
But I fear that when she goes to college the deck may be severely stacked against her when it comes to independent thought. These by and large are no longer institutions of learning but rather indoctrination. Where instead of being challenged to 'question authority', young minds are now encouraged to 'check their privilege'. It is a disturbing mentality that pervades our universities, and personally I find it frightening and disgusting.
So, I'm afraid I have to renege a bit on my ideal idea of not getting my own politics tangled up in hers too early. I simply cannot wait for her to be brainwashed by her teachers, even in middle and high school.
True story; her fourth grade teacher taught his students a historic quote every week. It was all fine and dandy until Nat brought home a quote from Al Gore. Then daddy had to step in and offer up a quote of his own... from the original environmentalist, Teddy Roosevelt.
"The pacifist is surely a traitor to his country and to humanity as is the most brutal wrong doer."
How do you like them apples teach?
And so it is, that I will continue to insert myself into my kids schooling as often as I can, and to offer a counter point whenever I encounter lazy thinking. You see, it's not so much the liberal ideology I mind, what I really can't stomach is the presumption, the arrogance, the laziness and lack of critical thinking that is bound to pop up more and more as my daughter's education continues.
I will be right there to counter balance, to offer a different perspective, to get my kid to actually challenge presumptions and yes, respectfully question authority.
Above all, I hope and pray that even if she comes out seeing things differently than I, it won't be for lack of thought or effort. I hope she gets to travel as I have, so that she can appreciate what we have here and understand that it's easy to be flip and dismissive when you have no concept of what the world is really like.
Anyways, looks like I got a bit off track - I've been a bit consumed with despair and anger over the younger generation's utter lack of thoughtfulness when it comes to the world at large. Glad I could find my bearings through my kid, she really is the best thing I've ever done and she is turning out so awesome. Super smart and utterly capable of dealing with all the nonsense out there. I have to remember, when I get down, that there is hope in the next generation. Even if it is only just my kid, at least there will be someone who gets it.
Thursday, February 12, 2015
Movies 2014
Finally getting around to this - there's still a lot of movies that I want to see, but I have to just go for it at some point.
And here's my usual disclaimers -
I'm a big fan of movies, less so of films. Confused? Don't be - read the first two paragraphs of this.
Also, I don't get out much.
All caught up? Good. Here we go.
First off, the runners up - in no particular order, movies I enjoyed and would recommend.
Big Hero 6
Utterly charming and inventive. Another winner from Disney Animation. Loved discovering a new world with new characters, and plenty of heart to go with it. A must watch again.
Boxtrolls
Great stop motion animation that I enjoyed more than this studios past two efforts of 'Coraline' and 'Para-Norman'. Especially I love the villain, whose predicament I won't spoil, but suffice it to say it is a most ingeniously devised paradox that motivates his 'evil' doings. Be sure to watch the credits, probably the best tag I've ever seen.
How to Train Your Dragon 2
The first one is one of my all time favorite movies ever, so this one couldn't possibly hope to reach it's heights - and indeed, it didn't. Still, I was surprised at how good it was. Structurally, it has problems - most notably is the ham-handed way it brings in Hiccup's mom. That and the fact that they revealed this in all the trailers and ads, which is ABSOLUTELY inexcusable. This blunder means that this sequel isn't as powerful as it should have been. I also had issues with Stoic's departure, again - it just seemed clumsy although it was heartfelt and worked to the extent that we are already invested in these characters from the first film.
Divergent
Pretty derivative of the Hunger Games, which in turn is derivative of a ton of dystopian future stories - but Divergent also stands on it's own as an engaging and at times emotionally resonant comment on the human psyche and the ideal of human sovereignty. Plus the lead actress is hot.
Godzilla
This is by far the best iteration of this story I've ever seen - and though it lags in the middle considerably, I'm still glad I got to see this on the big screen. Not nearly enough of the big green guy on camera leaves us wanting more, and that's not an entirely bad thing. I really wish though, that the rest of the film were as powerful as the opening sequence with Brian Cranston and his wife.
Amazing Spider-Man 2
Yet another example of too little too late to be hailed as a great super hero movie. The Disney MCU movies are simply too strong. This one has all the earmarks of a classic, yet we still can't shake that feeling that we've seen all of this before and seen it done better. But there are parts of this story that do absolutely soar. I am probably the only one who really liked Jamie Foxx's Electro. I also really enjoyed the Parker/Gwen Stacy romance quite a bit, and though the culmination of the arc is badly rushed, the aftermath is the best part of the movie. I also freely admit, I got pretty choked up with that little kid at the end.
Unbroken
I did not expect to enjoy this one as much as I did. I dug it so much that I actually watched it twice. I love historically accurate WWII movies, and I especially appreciated this one's tribute to the human spirit. After watching the movie I read quite a bit about the protagonist, and then found myself wishing that they had showed us the second half of this remarkable man's life. I could have easily gone for the rest of his amazing journey.
Noah
We finally got around to seeing this, and I must say my incredibly low expectations helped me enjoy this quite a bit. It takes a while to get there, but the ending really does pay off and is very powerful on an emotional and spiritual level. I felt it was well worth my time. Others, especially more literal minded Bible folks and those who have a problem with the director being an atheist, may be slower to find inspiration here.
Edge of Tomorrow
Despite this reminding me very much of two other movies I love, Groundhog Day and Starship Troopers, I still had a blast with this one. Very dense movie and whip smart in it's story construction and character development - even though the only characters of any depth are Cruise and Blunt.
Dumb and Dumber To
Honestly I get a good laugh from all the pompous critics and nerd naysayers who poo-poohed this very worthy follow up, 20 years later. I mean really, people act like the original is some amazing work of art and this sequel pales in comparison. Um, it's 'Dumb and Dumber' people, Shakespeare it ain't. My 10 year old girl and I had a great time with this one, both of us at one time or another were in fits with tears of laughter streaming down our cheeks. It's brash, it's bold, it's stupid. It's extremely funny and more than a little bit subversive.
Transformers: Age of Exhaustion
This one is a lot of fun, but it is also a big bloated mess. Interesting to me is how Michael Bay, who is a true film auteur in every sense of the word, cast this latest installment with big name Chinese actors in small roles and parlayed the movie into a billion dollar earning behemoth. A very sharp and many would say very cynical way to make a movie. I still got a kick out of it - even though there were plenty of parts that dragged and in the end the movie feels like every bit of it's overlong running time.
I also enjoyed Grand Budapest Hotel, it was probably the least irritating Wes Anderson movie I've ever seen. Also, also, I just saw 'Wild' with Reese Whitherspoon and I was shocked to find that I really dug it. Very moving, despite the lead character being every bit the dummy with her life choices. Somehow, Reese is so likable that it all works. I somehow felt sympathy for her foolishness and sinfulness, and reflected on my own as well.
Okay, so here's my top ten movies of 2014. I still really want to see 'Imitation Game', 'Whiplash' and 'Bird Man' as well as a few others, but at this moment in time, this is what it is.
10. Maleficent
Believe me, no one is more shocked than I am that this movie turned out so well. Angelena Jolie is just so strong in this role that she elevates the material entire. A very touching fairy tale and family film that at it's core has real heart ache and hope. Like the best Disney stuff, this movie explores both the divine and the profane, and with a magnificent production design and serviceable direction, manages to be more than just fluff.
9. Fury
One of two GREAT war movies this year. There is moral ambiguity in war, even in the 'good' ones, and 'Fury' doesn't shy away from this in the least. The action set piece is a tank to tank battle that is an amazing technical feat of practical effects, editing and sound manipulation - but the heart of the film is the scene in the apartment with the two young women. Both enthralling and disquieting in the extreme.
8. X-Men: Days of Future Past
Hey, I love superhero movies, what can I say. Brian Singer returns to form and basically fixes everything that was wrong with X3. Yes, I know he didn't direct that one, but I'm glad he came back and righted the ship with a story that moves fast and is driven by character arcs that are both emotionally resonant and satisfying. Plus the action kicks ass. More Quicksilver please!
7. The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies
This is probably the strongest of the three Hobbit flicks, and not just because some dwarves finally get killed off. It is leaner and meaner than the previous installments, but it is also (like Return of the King) a payoff for our investment. All the big action, all the big set pieces, all of the conclusions are here. Most satisfying is the fabricated character of Tauriel and her doomed love; but Bilbo's story is also fulfilling. I confess I am a bit mystified by all the hate in Nerdworld that these movies have gotten, very reminiscent of the Star Wars prequel trolls; but whatever. It's Middle Earth for crying out loud, and I for one am very glad I got to go on the journey.
6, Lucy
An original (enough) story that is R rated and whip smart and stars my favorite Black Widow, what's not to love? This is classic Besson and highly watchable in the very best tradition of R rated1980's popcorn fun. Terminator, Road Warrior, Aliens, etc. Now we have Lucy, and she is rather bad ass.
5. The LEGO Movie
Preposterous is the word that pops into my head when I remember that this movie did NOT get an Oscar nom for best animated feature. That bullshit aside, The LEGO Movie is a hell of a lot of fun, and carries with it the genius premise that this all emanates from the mind of a child - and really, every aspect of the story does seem to organically flow from such a boundless imagination.
4. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Loved the first one and love this one just as much. It's about as grim as it gets for a popcorn movie, but I am fascinated with most well done apocalyptic movies - and this is no exception. Especially great is the effects work, these are all entirely digital creatures. It is in fact, mostly an animated movie; but the real power of the film comes from a great story and great actors, even those who are motion captured. The Blu-Ray has an exhaustive set of documentaries that show just how much of the actors performances are utilized in the final product. I was shocked to find out that it is nearly all of it. Can't wait for the next episode.
3. American Sniper
Right up there with 'Zero Dark 30' and 'Lone Survivor' as GREAT war movies about our country's latest conflicts. Chris Kyle is an American Hero and this movie shows that and more, dealing honestly with his sins as well as his sacrifices. I'm a bit surprised that the far left has been so vitriolic in it's condemnation of this as a jingoistic snuff film, but most Americans who watch this - no matter their political persuasion, can plainly see that it is not that. It is simply a brutally honest picture of war and war is ugly. Granted, the simple truth is that far and away most of the ugliness comes from radical Islam - and that is probably what rankles coo-coo birds like Michael Moore. They hate America so much, that when the facts of our war on terror are laid bare so effectively, they can't help themselves from lashing out against Kyle and the US Military at large. Well I say fuck them.
2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Oh hells yes. Disney's MCU it seems can do no wrong. This is a tight and taught spy thriller from the 70's wrapped up in a 2014 package of awesome production design and stunt work with practical and CG effects so seamlessly blended it really is amazing. There is a lot going on here in a fantastic story structure bursting at the seems with action - but my favorite moments are the quiet ones between Cap and Tasha. A grown up relationship of respect and care in a comic book movie is a very satisfying thing to behold. Redford is great. The Falcon is great. Everything works. It is both grounded and fantastical, dire and exhilarating. CAWS is truly something else, my favorite Marvel movie since the Avengers. I didn't think it could be topped until...
1. Guardians of the Galaxy
My number one pick is always based on one thing - which of all of these flicks is the one I would have with me on a deserted island and watch over and over again. This year the choice was easy. GOTG soars like no other. It's a space opera, it's fun, it's amaze balls. Love all the characters, especially Drax. Again, Marvel does the boy girl thing really well - Gamora and Quill's attraction is believable and natural, it doesn't feel forced or rushed at all. But there's also so much more to love in this movie; I have said it before on Facebook and I'll say it here - this one is this generation's Star Wars, Raiders, take your pick. This one is one for the ages.
So there it is. A lot of fun stuff in 2014. Yes I'm a Marvel movie nerd in the grip of a full fever, but I'm okay with that. Very much looking forward to Avengers 2 and what lies beyond. Also can't wait to see Kingsman soon!
And here's my usual disclaimers -
I'm a big fan of movies, less so of films. Confused? Don't be - read the first two paragraphs of this.
Also, I don't get out much.
All caught up? Good. Here we go.
First off, the runners up - in no particular order, movies I enjoyed and would recommend.
Big Hero 6
Utterly charming and inventive. Another winner from Disney Animation. Loved discovering a new world with new characters, and plenty of heart to go with it. A must watch again.
Boxtrolls
Great stop motion animation that I enjoyed more than this studios past two efforts of 'Coraline' and 'Para-Norman'. Especially I love the villain, whose predicament I won't spoil, but suffice it to say it is a most ingeniously devised paradox that motivates his 'evil' doings. Be sure to watch the credits, probably the best tag I've ever seen.
How to Train Your Dragon 2
The first one is one of my all time favorite movies ever, so this one couldn't possibly hope to reach it's heights - and indeed, it didn't. Still, I was surprised at how good it was. Structurally, it has problems - most notably is the ham-handed way it brings in Hiccup's mom. That and the fact that they revealed this in all the trailers and ads, which is ABSOLUTELY inexcusable. This blunder means that this sequel isn't as powerful as it should have been. I also had issues with Stoic's departure, again - it just seemed clumsy although it was heartfelt and worked to the extent that we are already invested in these characters from the first film.
Divergent
Pretty derivative of the Hunger Games, which in turn is derivative of a ton of dystopian future stories - but Divergent also stands on it's own as an engaging and at times emotionally resonant comment on the human psyche and the ideal of human sovereignty. Plus the lead actress is hot.
Godzilla
This is by far the best iteration of this story I've ever seen - and though it lags in the middle considerably, I'm still glad I got to see this on the big screen. Not nearly enough of the big green guy on camera leaves us wanting more, and that's not an entirely bad thing. I really wish though, that the rest of the film were as powerful as the opening sequence with Brian Cranston and his wife.
Amazing Spider-Man 2
Yet another example of too little too late to be hailed as a great super hero movie. The Disney MCU movies are simply too strong. This one has all the earmarks of a classic, yet we still can't shake that feeling that we've seen all of this before and seen it done better. But there are parts of this story that do absolutely soar. I am probably the only one who really liked Jamie Foxx's Electro. I also really enjoyed the Parker/Gwen Stacy romance quite a bit, and though the culmination of the arc is badly rushed, the aftermath is the best part of the movie. I also freely admit, I got pretty choked up with that little kid at the end.
Unbroken
I did not expect to enjoy this one as much as I did. I dug it so much that I actually watched it twice. I love historically accurate WWII movies, and I especially appreciated this one's tribute to the human spirit. After watching the movie I read quite a bit about the protagonist, and then found myself wishing that they had showed us the second half of this remarkable man's life. I could have easily gone for the rest of his amazing journey.
Noah
We finally got around to seeing this, and I must say my incredibly low expectations helped me enjoy this quite a bit. It takes a while to get there, but the ending really does pay off and is very powerful on an emotional and spiritual level. I felt it was well worth my time. Others, especially more literal minded Bible folks and those who have a problem with the director being an atheist, may be slower to find inspiration here.
Edge of Tomorrow
Despite this reminding me very much of two other movies I love, Groundhog Day and Starship Troopers, I still had a blast with this one. Very dense movie and whip smart in it's story construction and character development - even though the only characters of any depth are Cruise and Blunt.
Dumb and Dumber To
Honestly I get a good laugh from all the pompous critics and nerd naysayers who poo-poohed this very worthy follow up, 20 years later. I mean really, people act like the original is some amazing work of art and this sequel pales in comparison. Um, it's 'Dumb and Dumber' people, Shakespeare it ain't. My 10 year old girl and I had a great time with this one, both of us at one time or another were in fits with tears of laughter streaming down our cheeks. It's brash, it's bold, it's stupid. It's extremely funny and more than a little bit subversive.
Transformers: Age of Exhaustion
This one is a lot of fun, but it is also a big bloated mess. Interesting to me is how Michael Bay, who is a true film auteur in every sense of the word, cast this latest installment with big name Chinese actors in small roles and parlayed the movie into a billion dollar earning behemoth. A very sharp and many would say very cynical way to make a movie. I still got a kick out of it - even though there were plenty of parts that dragged and in the end the movie feels like every bit of it's overlong running time.
I also enjoyed Grand Budapest Hotel, it was probably the least irritating Wes Anderson movie I've ever seen. Also, also, I just saw 'Wild' with Reese Whitherspoon and I was shocked to find that I really dug it. Very moving, despite the lead character being every bit the dummy with her life choices. Somehow, Reese is so likable that it all works. I somehow felt sympathy for her foolishness and sinfulness, and reflected on my own as well.
Okay, so here's my top ten movies of 2014. I still really want to see 'Imitation Game', 'Whiplash' and 'Bird Man' as well as a few others, but at this moment in time, this is what it is.
10. Maleficent
Believe me, no one is more shocked than I am that this movie turned out so well. Angelena Jolie is just so strong in this role that she elevates the material entire. A very touching fairy tale and family film that at it's core has real heart ache and hope. Like the best Disney stuff, this movie explores both the divine and the profane, and with a magnificent production design and serviceable direction, manages to be more than just fluff.
9. Fury
One of two GREAT war movies this year. There is moral ambiguity in war, even in the 'good' ones, and 'Fury' doesn't shy away from this in the least. The action set piece is a tank to tank battle that is an amazing technical feat of practical effects, editing and sound manipulation - but the heart of the film is the scene in the apartment with the two young women. Both enthralling and disquieting in the extreme.
8. X-Men: Days of Future Past
Hey, I love superhero movies, what can I say. Brian Singer returns to form and basically fixes everything that was wrong with X3. Yes, I know he didn't direct that one, but I'm glad he came back and righted the ship with a story that moves fast and is driven by character arcs that are both emotionally resonant and satisfying. Plus the action kicks ass. More Quicksilver please!
7. The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies
This is probably the strongest of the three Hobbit flicks, and not just because some dwarves finally get killed off. It is leaner and meaner than the previous installments, but it is also (like Return of the King) a payoff for our investment. All the big action, all the big set pieces, all of the conclusions are here. Most satisfying is the fabricated character of Tauriel and her doomed love; but Bilbo's story is also fulfilling. I confess I am a bit mystified by all the hate in Nerdworld that these movies have gotten, very reminiscent of the Star Wars prequel trolls; but whatever. It's Middle Earth for crying out loud, and I for one am very glad I got to go on the journey.
6, Lucy
An original (enough) story that is R rated and whip smart and stars my favorite Black Widow, what's not to love? This is classic Besson and highly watchable in the very best tradition of R rated1980's popcorn fun. Terminator, Road Warrior, Aliens, etc. Now we have Lucy, and she is rather bad ass.
5. The LEGO Movie
Preposterous is the word that pops into my head when I remember that this movie did NOT get an Oscar nom for best animated feature. That bullshit aside, The LEGO Movie is a hell of a lot of fun, and carries with it the genius premise that this all emanates from the mind of a child - and really, every aspect of the story does seem to organically flow from such a boundless imagination.
4. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Loved the first one and love this one just as much. It's about as grim as it gets for a popcorn movie, but I am fascinated with most well done apocalyptic movies - and this is no exception. Especially great is the effects work, these are all entirely digital creatures. It is in fact, mostly an animated movie; but the real power of the film comes from a great story and great actors, even those who are motion captured. The Blu-Ray has an exhaustive set of documentaries that show just how much of the actors performances are utilized in the final product. I was shocked to find out that it is nearly all of it. Can't wait for the next episode.
3. American Sniper
Right up there with 'Zero Dark 30' and 'Lone Survivor' as GREAT war movies about our country's latest conflicts. Chris Kyle is an American Hero and this movie shows that and more, dealing honestly with his sins as well as his sacrifices. I'm a bit surprised that the far left has been so vitriolic in it's condemnation of this as a jingoistic snuff film, but most Americans who watch this - no matter their political persuasion, can plainly see that it is not that. It is simply a brutally honest picture of war and war is ugly. Granted, the simple truth is that far and away most of the ugliness comes from radical Islam - and that is probably what rankles coo-coo birds like Michael Moore. They hate America so much, that when the facts of our war on terror are laid bare so effectively, they can't help themselves from lashing out against Kyle and the US Military at large. Well I say fuck them.
2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Oh hells yes. Disney's MCU it seems can do no wrong. This is a tight and taught spy thriller from the 70's wrapped up in a 2014 package of awesome production design and stunt work with practical and CG effects so seamlessly blended it really is amazing. There is a lot going on here in a fantastic story structure bursting at the seems with action - but my favorite moments are the quiet ones between Cap and Tasha. A grown up relationship of respect and care in a comic book movie is a very satisfying thing to behold. Redford is great. The Falcon is great. Everything works. It is both grounded and fantastical, dire and exhilarating. CAWS is truly something else, my favorite Marvel movie since the Avengers. I didn't think it could be topped until...
1. Guardians of the Galaxy
My number one pick is always based on one thing - which of all of these flicks is the one I would have with me on a deserted island and watch over and over again. This year the choice was easy. GOTG soars like no other. It's a space opera, it's fun, it's amaze balls. Love all the characters, especially Drax. Again, Marvel does the boy girl thing really well - Gamora and Quill's attraction is believable and natural, it doesn't feel forced or rushed at all. But there's also so much more to love in this movie; I have said it before on Facebook and I'll say it here - this one is this generation's Star Wars, Raiders, take your pick. This one is one for the ages.
So there it is. A lot of fun stuff in 2014. Yes I'm a Marvel movie nerd in the grip of a full fever, but I'm okay with that. Very much looking forward to Avengers 2 and what lies beyond. Also can't wait to see Kingsman soon!
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
Glad to be Me
I'm feeling very grateful today. Thankful for my friends and family, humbled by my good fortune in having a job that I enjoy and a life that I love.
In general I am dimly aware of this gratitude, but on Monday, with the Ferguson non-decision decision handed down, I have been resoundingly reminded to not to take these blessings for granted.
I am beyond grateful for my values and clarity of mind that allow me to see things for what they are and not simply what I want them to be. The facts, the evidence in this case are fairly plain as these things go. It is not a good thing that a young man was killed, but any objective look at the situation reveals that the outcome, while tragic, can be primarily blamed on Michael Brown. Circumstance also played a role, but it was not the deciding factor.
I am perfectly comfortable with the grand jury's decision, and I have no problem supporting officer Wilson and his decisions. If I'm a cop, or even a private citizen, and someone grabs for my gun, all bets are off. If they get away and come at me a second time, I'm putting them down. Period.
So that's it for me. No doubt, no drama. And for that I am filled with gratitude. I am so, so, SO happy that I am a conservative, and that my brain is not clouded by the kind of emotion driven dogma that grips both the elites and the poor who have been duped into a lifetime of dependence on the state.
I am content to recognize that I am not the one with the problem. The citizens of Ferguson (and make no mistake it IS people that live there) have decided they would rather burn their city to the ground, that is - mostly businesses that are minority owned - rather than face up to the uncomfortable truth.
And so, I have no beef. No axe to grind. Good luck with that folks.
I am staying off of racebook this week, I have seen far too much fall out with other people being de-friended by liberal antagonists, who let emotion take over and lash out. I'm staying out of it because I love my friends and I really don't care too much about this case; but I'm grateful for this blog which allows me in no uncertain terms to state my opinion on the matter, plainly and truthfully.
It is sadly and with no joy that I say, Michael Brown got exactly what he deserved.
EDIT:
Well I spoke too soon and broke down, after the 10th or so post I read that someone was "de-friending" someone else for being "racist". I posted this to everyone... hopefully it is respectful enough that I won't get the ol' de-friend myself.
In general I am dimly aware of this gratitude, but on Monday, with the Ferguson non-decision decision handed down, I have been resoundingly reminded to not to take these blessings for granted.
I am beyond grateful for my values and clarity of mind that allow me to see things for what they are and not simply what I want them to be. The facts, the evidence in this case are fairly plain as these things go. It is not a good thing that a young man was killed, but any objective look at the situation reveals that the outcome, while tragic, can be primarily blamed on Michael Brown. Circumstance also played a role, but it was not the deciding factor.
I am perfectly comfortable with the grand jury's decision, and I have no problem supporting officer Wilson and his decisions. If I'm a cop, or even a private citizen, and someone grabs for my gun, all bets are off. If they get away and come at me a second time, I'm putting them down. Period.
So that's it for me. No doubt, no drama. And for that I am filled with gratitude. I am so, so, SO happy that I am a conservative, and that my brain is not clouded by the kind of emotion driven dogma that grips both the elites and the poor who have been duped into a lifetime of dependence on the state.
I am content to recognize that I am not the one with the problem. The citizens of Ferguson (and make no mistake it IS people that live there) have decided they would rather burn their city to the ground, that is - mostly businesses that are minority owned - rather than face up to the uncomfortable truth.
And so, I have no beef. No axe to grind. Good luck with that folks.
I am staying off of racebook this week, I have seen far too much fall out with other people being de-friended by liberal antagonists, who let emotion take over and lash out. I'm staying out of it because I love my friends and I really don't care too much about this case; but I'm grateful for this blog which allows me in no uncertain terms to state my opinion on the matter, plainly and truthfully.
It is sadly and with no joy that I say, Michael Brown got exactly what he deserved.
EDIT:
Well I spoke too soon and broke down, after the 10th or so post I read that someone was "de-friending" someone else for being "racist". I posted this to everyone... hopefully it is respectful enough that I won't get the ol' de-friend myself.
I refuse to de-friend any of you, regardless of your opinion on this Ferguson thing.
Opinions are just opinions, and clearly there are a lot of them here on all sides of a very complicated situation. No matter what you think or feel, you are entitled to express your views and you won't get any shaming or name calling from me.
With that said, truthfully, I am reluctant to share my views here - because of all the vitriol that I've read from both sides. It makes me sad that people can't speak their minds without being called racist, a very hurtful term that is more often than not overused these days to the point where it ceases to have any real meaning and greatly diminishes actual incidents of it.
I would hope that everyone, regardless of where they come down on this matter - can step back and understand that different life experiences result in different perspectives and thus different opinions. It doesn't mean they are off to join the KKK or the Black Panther Party, it just means that this is how they see it.
Be at peace this Thanksgiving day and be grateful that we can have these discussions in this, the greatest country on God's green earth. I know I am.
Thursday, September 25, 2014
A Time to Marvel
The world is on fire. Evil is inflamed overseas, partisan discord and demagoguery divides on our own shores. And yet I can't seem to shake a pesky and persistent feeling of hope. As bad as things want to be - I've been around on this earth long enough to know that things have been a lot worse, both in my lifetime and well before and beyond it as well.
I have been somewhat neglectful of this blog - but I'm happy to say I'm not going anywhere and don't plan to stop writing any time soon, though it may be farther and fewer between as the years pass. I have two other blogs, both related to poker, and lately I've been writing on them more frequently. I'm less inspired to write here because this is where I typically air my grievances, especially the political ones.
Maybe it's part of getting older; I just don't feel as passionate about dissecting all the different ways to a similar end that most Americans want. I'm not inclined to dissect and delineate the intellectual failings of infantile liberals. I've realized that ultimately it's not so much stupidity, but upbringing that has taken them down the easy path of child-like emotions and knee jerk instinct in dealing with weighty matters of the world. I also recognize that it's a heavy burden to always be right and be one of the few who can separate facts from fantasy. It's also tiresome to be so smart all of the time.
But on a serious note - I am and always will be a hopeless political junkie, and I'm thinking that the real reason for my reluctance to engage in a battle of wits with unarmed opponents is that more than ever I really feel like I have nothing to prove, and that trying to convince a died in the wool liberal, who thinks that poor people should be perpetually attached to the government tit, that maybe a life of dependence on a massive bureaucracy isn't the way to go - is ultimately futile.
So I feel good - good about my world view, borne of months at a time abroad in the third world, borne of building a home and family from the sweat of my brow and my brain. And I feel optimistic, upbeat, hopeful. Hopeful about my country, my family and friends, my career and this amazing information age.
Lately I've been thinking about miracles; not the big heavy duty biblical ones, not even the daily ones I read about in the news relating to matters of life and death - the little girl whose cancer disappears, the hopelessly lost hikers who miraculously turn up a week later dehydrated and exhausted but alive. No, lately I've been thinking about the smaller miracles of the first world that are in my face, all of the time. I guess miracle is the wrong word - but I can't help but be in awe of these little marvels. They are silly, they are trivial I guess - but they provoke a strong response in me.
The produce section in Ralph's is a marvel. All I get is blackberries and grapes for my little girl, apples and bananas for the wife and myself. Sometimes a tray of veggies for poker. I have a friend who has told me more than once that I really shouldn't bother with Ralph's for produce - "It's overpriced and the fruit is so much better in the farmer's market." Um, okay. Try the market in Nairobi or Cairo my friend. For that matter, try getting fresh produce on the island of Key West where I grew up. My dad, who lived on that island for most of his life would come visit me in Los Angeles and stand in awe of the fruit at Ralph's. Ralph's is a marvel.
*********
About six months ago I got my first smart phone. I had resisted a long time. In fact, I had resisted texting for a much longer time. I broke down about 2 years ago, and just recently a doe eyed 20 something sales girl at the Verizon store got me to take the plunge.
My i-phone is a marvel. It's no longer the latest and greatest, but it's incredible. I don't have to text anymore, I can talk into the phone and it will write down what I'm saying. I can find the quickest route through LA traffic to get where I'm going faster. Recently I was in Las Vegas and needed a haircut. I asked my phone, and these were my exact words - "Where can I get a haircut?" Bam. Instant directions in my car, she talked me straight to a Supercuts 5 minutes away. What's the score of the A's game? Bam. Yep, they're losing again. What did Allen say on Facebook 30 seconds ago? Bam. Yep, his grandpa is dong good. When does the World Series of Poker start airing again? Bam. What song is that playing? Shazam. Bam. I'm bored. Let's play Minion Rush. Bam. What did that dopey guy in the White House say today? Bam.
Bam.
Bam, bam.
The i-phone is a freaking marvel.
**********
My television is a marvel. It's huge. Going by screen size it was way cheaper than the last standard def tv I bought. It's GORGEOUS. Over a year later I still can't get over how good Megan Kelly looks. And I'm not just saying that because she's super smart and pretty - she just looks AMAZING. The lighting, the color, the contrast. BAM. Yeah right about now I'd like to watch Captain America: Winter Soldier with PERFECT sound and an INCREDIBLE picture. BAM.
Speaking of Captain America - comic book movies are right up my alley and are GD marvels. (And not just the ones by Marvel, but the DC ones too.)
I have more than a friend or two who are my age and are weary of comic books coming to life on a weekly basis in the multi-plex. To that I say, are you KIDDING ME? First of all, what kind of movies did you think people our age would be making? Secondly - do you have any idea just how good the vast majority of them are? And thirdly - do you seriously think this will last?
The first question I think should be answered with a time machine. It is my fondest wish that every geek over 40 who is whining about too many comic book movies could be visited by their 13 year old selves and be wheel-house bitch slapped for complaining. This is a GD GOLDEN AGE PEOPLE!
Relating to this -the second question. Even the "crap" super hero movies are pretty darn cool. Sure, Green Lantern "sucks" - but only because it came out a couple of years ago. If it had come out ten years ago - it would have been hailed up and down. Well maybe not, but it wouldn't have bombed. Structurally, it is indeed a mess of a film, but only because in Hollywood today (and thanks in no small part to PIXAR) story is KING. I confess my wife and I have found ourselves stopping to watch it on television more than a few times. It's Green Lantern for crying out loud! I do the same thing with the two Fantastic Four movies as well - BECAUSE IT'S THE GD FANTASTIC FOUR! Helloooo.... is this thing on?
The third question - it won't always be like this. I am very grateful that the dreams of my childhood have come to life on the big screen; and more-so, that these dreams apparently were shared with millions of people because these movies are the biggest money makers ever. But I understand that within a decade this fad will pass, and we will very likely see far fewer super heroes in action on the big screen. So I'm going to enjoy this trend thoroughly while I can.
But back to the second point. Okay, we all know the super hero movies that 'sucked'. Green Lantern, The Fantastic Four, the new Spiderman movies (and the old third one). That's what I can think of off the top of my head. Let me attempt to list ones that I thought were top notch AWESOME and are must haves. In no particular order...
Spider Man 2 The Sam Raimi version.
The Dark Knight
The Avengers
Iron Man
Guardians of the Galaxy
Captain America WS
XMen 2
The Incredibles
Now let me list those I thought were thoroughly enjoyable - and that I've purchased.
Iron Man 3
Thor 2
Captain America 1st Avenger
XMen
XMen 1st Class
XMen DOFP
Spiderman 1 Sam Raimi
Batman Begins
Superman MOS
That is 17 flicks off the top of my head that I absolutely love and will watch again and again over the years. They are magnificent. They are everything that I loved about comic books, come to life before my eyes - outrageous and righteous morality plays with bigger than life good guys and bad guys. They are, all of them, FAR better than the paltry few superhero movies of my childhood.
And I loved the Chris Reeve Superman movies, and still do. And I loved the first three Batman movies, and still do.
And again, there are plenty of less than great superhero movies that I dig. I actually enjoyed the recent Spiderman 2 very much, it had some great gags and great emotion - and they absolutely nailed Peter Parker and the Spiderman character way better than Raimi did. Now the story was bloated and problematic - it was 90 minute movie trapped in a 130 minute bloat of self indulgence. Worse than that - we've seen this whole thing before and we've seen it done better. Raimi is a true auteur and his first two Spiderman movies are superb.
Anyway - there are plenty of 'mediocre' superhero movies that I like just fine;
Thor 1 - Thor is a bit of a bore, but the movie works more than it doesn't.
Both Hulk movies. Ang Lee's troubled film still has the second best Hulk sequence ever captured, after the Avengers, of hulk rampaging through the desert. The other movie is much tighter enterprise - and has some great gags.
Every other XMen movie, including the 'awful' X3 and the first Wolverine. All of them have great moments and ultimately work in their universe. I especially dug the 2nd Wolverine movie; as ridiculous as it was at times.
Bryan Singer's Superman movie; yeah, it's boring a lot of the time; but there's some great moments - and the spirit of the original is captured beautifully.
The weakest of the modern Marvel movies - Iron Man 2, is still a blast. Watched it recently and it held my interest; also love Scar Jo.
The one somewhat recent superhero movie that I can't really bear to watch again, because it breaks my heart because it is so bad - is Daredevil. Man, yes, that movie is indeed crap. It doesn't help either that DD was always my favorite comic book. The good news is, Netflix is taking Daredevil and turning it into a tv series. Sweet. Can't wait to binge on that!
Anyways, I didn't mean to get so sidetracked on superhero movies. I guess that's the main topic in this post. I will also mention in passing that there are many other kinds of geek movies out these days that are also marvels. Especially animated movies, as I've gone on and on about in this blog before; but also other great genre films like Avatar, the Hobbit movies, Pacific Rim - just to randomly name a few; that are absolutely incredible to watch, especially in light of how thin the field of sci-fi and fantasy used to be in movie theaters. True, there were some awesome ones; Terminator 1 and 2, The Road Warrior, Alien and Aliens - and others, but the quantity and quality of the last decade, I'm sorry to say - simply blows away what we had when we were young.
I guess superhero films are on the surface, like all modern marvels that we live with here in the greatest country on God's green earth - are silly and superficial, but to me it is what they represent that wields the real power in my life. We all know that yes, evil exists - and our faith tells us that there will always be a light to shine on the darkness; but nowhere in todays world is this more dramatically illustrated than in comic book movies. These are our modern day fairy tales, bigger and better than ever - that serve to lift us up, to elevate our spirits above the chaos and fear. To share with our loved ones, with our children; to enjoy and to be inspired by.
I guess all I've really done here, is do what I've done before. Stated firmly and fairly that NOW is the time of greatness and great stuff. We are in the midst of the age of Marvel and marvels. And I absolutely love it and I'm so thankful I get to nourish my soul with what is on the surface fairly frivolous and somewhat mindless entertainment. I wouldn't want to live in any other time and place than where I am. I am utterly grateful for all the joy that little marvels bring into my life - they sustain me through the rough stuff - and they bolster my love, joy and hope for what really matters most - my family and my faith.
I have been somewhat neglectful of this blog - but I'm happy to say I'm not going anywhere and don't plan to stop writing any time soon, though it may be farther and fewer between as the years pass. I have two other blogs, both related to poker, and lately I've been writing on them more frequently. I'm less inspired to write here because this is where I typically air my grievances, especially the political ones.
Maybe it's part of getting older; I just don't feel as passionate about dissecting all the different ways to a similar end that most Americans want. I'm not inclined to dissect and delineate the intellectual failings of infantile liberals. I've realized that ultimately it's not so much stupidity, but upbringing that has taken them down the easy path of child-like emotions and knee jerk instinct in dealing with weighty matters of the world. I also recognize that it's a heavy burden to always be right and be one of the few who can separate facts from fantasy. It's also tiresome to be so smart all of the time.
But on a serious note - I am and always will be a hopeless political junkie, and I'm thinking that the real reason for my reluctance to engage in a battle of wits with unarmed opponents is that more than ever I really feel like I have nothing to prove, and that trying to convince a died in the wool liberal, who thinks that poor people should be perpetually attached to the government tit, that maybe a life of dependence on a massive bureaucracy isn't the way to go - is ultimately futile.
So I feel good - good about my world view, borne of months at a time abroad in the third world, borne of building a home and family from the sweat of my brow and my brain. And I feel optimistic, upbeat, hopeful. Hopeful about my country, my family and friends, my career and this amazing information age.
Lately I've been thinking about miracles; not the big heavy duty biblical ones, not even the daily ones I read about in the news relating to matters of life and death - the little girl whose cancer disappears, the hopelessly lost hikers who miraculously turn up a week later dehydrated and exhausted but alive. No, lately I've been thinking about the smaller miracles of the first world that are in my face, all of the time. I guess miracle is the wrong word - but I can't help but be in awe of these little marvels. They are silly, they are trivial I guess - but they provoke a strong response in me.
The produce section in Ralph's is a marvel. All I get is blackberries and grapes for my little girl, apples and bananas for the wife and myself. Sometimes a tray of veggies for poker. I have a friend who has told me more than once that I really shouldn't bother with Ralph's for produce - "It's overpriced and the fruit is so much better in the farmer's market." Um, okay. Try the market in Nairobi or Cairo my friend. For that matter, try getting fresh produce on the island of Key West where I grew up. My dad, who lived on that island for most of his life would come visit me in Los Angeles and stand in awe of the fruit at Ralph's. Ralph's is a marvel.
*********
About six months ago I got my first smart phone. I had resisted a long time. In fact, I had resisted texting for a much longer time. I broke down about 2 years ago, and just recently a doe eyed 20 something sales girl at the Verizon store got me to take the plunge.
My i-phone is a marvel. It's no longer the latest and greatest, but it's incredible. I don't have to text anymore, I can talk into the phone and it will write down what I'm saying. I can find the quickest route through LA traffic to get where I'm going faster. Recently I was in Las Vegas and needed a haircut. I asked my phone, and these were my exact words - "Where can I get a haircut?" Bam. Instant directions in my car, she talked me straight to a Supercuts 5 minutes away. What's the score of the A's game? Bam. Yep, they're losing again. What did Allen say on Facebook 30 seconds ago? Bam. Yep, his grandpa is dong good. When does the World Series of Poker start airing again? Bam. What song is that playing? Shazam. Bam. I'm bored. Let's play Minion Rush. Bam. What did that dopey guy in the White House say today? Bam.
Bam.
Bam, bam.
The i-phone is a freaking marvel.
**********
My television is a marvel. It's huge. Going by screen size it was way cheaper than the last standard def tv I bought. It's GORGEOUS. Over a year later I still can't get over how good Megan Kelly looks. And I'm not just saying that because she's super smart and pretty - she just looks AMAZING. The lighting, the color, the contrast. BAM. Yeah right about now I'd like to watch Captain America: Winter Soldier with PERFECT sound and an INCREDIBLE picture. BAM.
*********
Speaking of Captain America - comic book movies are right up my alley and are GD marvels. (And not just the ones by Marvel, but the DC ones too.)
I have more than a friend or two who are my age and are weary of comic books coming to life on a weekly basis in the multi-plex. To that I say, are you KIDDING ME? First of all, what kind of movies did you think people our age would be making? Secondly - do you have any idea just how good the vast majority of them are? And thirdly - do you seriously think this will last?
The first question I think should be answered with a time machine. It is my fondest wish that every geek over 40 who is whining about too many comic book movies could be visited by their 13 year old selves and be wheel-house bitch slapped for complaining. This is a GD GOLDEN AGE PEOPLE!
Relating to this -the second question. Even the "crap" super hero movies are pretty darn cool. Sure, Green Lantern "sucks" - but only because it came out a couple of years ago. If it had come out ten years ago - it would have been hailed up and down. Well maybe not, but it wouldn't have bombed. Structurally, it is indeed a mess of a film, but only because in Hollywood today (and thanks in no small part to PIXAR) story is KING. I confess my wife and I have found ourselves stopping to watch it on television more than a few times. It's Green Lantern for crying out loud! I do the same thing with the two Fantastic Four movies as well - BECAUSE IT'S THE GD FANTASTIC FOUR! Helloooo.... is this thing on?
The third question - it won't always be like this. I am very grateful that the dreams of my childhood have come to life on the big screen; and more-so, that these dreams apparently were shared with millions of people because these movies are the biggest money makers ever. But I understand that within a decade this fad will pass, and we will very likely see far fewer super heroes in action on the big screen. So I'm going to enjoy this trend thoroughly while I can.
But back to the second point. Okay, we all know the super hero movies that 'sucked'. Green Lantern, The Fantastic Four, the new Spiderman movies (and the old third one). That's what I can think of off the top of my head. Let me attempt to list ones that I thought were top notch AWESOME and are must haves. In no particular order...
Spider Man 2 The Sam Raimi version.
The Dark Knight
The Avengers
Iron Man
Guardians of the Galaxy
Captain America WS
XMen 2
The Incredibles
Now let me list those I thought were thoroughly enjoyable - and that I've purchased.
Iron Man 3
Thor 2
Captain America 1st Avenger
XMen
XMen 1st Class
XMen DOFP
Spiderman 1 Sam Raimi
Batman Begins
Superman MOS
That is 17 flicks off the top of my head that I absolutely love and will watch again and again over the years. They are magnificent. They are everything that I loved about comic books, come to life before my eyes - outrageous and righteous morality plays with bigger than life good guys and bad guys. They are, all of them, FAR better than the paltry few superhero movies of my childhood.
And I loved the Chris Reeve Superman movies, and still do. And I loved the first three Batman movies, and still do.
And again, there are plenty of less than great superhero movies that I dig. I actually enjoyed the recent Spiderman 2 very much, it had some great gags and great emotion - and they absolutely nailed Peter Parker and the Spiderman character way better than Raimi did. Now the story was bloated and problematic - it was 90 minute movie trapped in a 130 minute bloat of self indulgence. Worse than that - we've seen this whole thing before and we've seen it done better. Raimi is a true auteur and his first two Spiderman movies are superb.
Anyway - there are plenty of 'mediocre' superhero movies that I like just fine;
Thor 1 - Thor is a bit of a bore, but the movie works more than it doesn't.
Both Hulk movies. Ang Lee's troubled film still has the second best Hulk sequence ever captured, after the Avengers, of hulk rampaging through the desert. The other movie is much tighter enterprise - and has some great gags.
Every other XMen movie, including the 'awful' X3 and the first Wolverine. All of them have great moments and ultimately work in their universe. I especially dug the 2nd Wolverine movie; as ridiculous as it was at times.
Bryan Singer's Superman movie; yeah, it's boring a lot of the time; but there's some great moments - and the spirit of the original is captured beautifully.
The weakest of the modern Marvel movies - Iron Man 2, is still a blast. Watched it recently and it held my interest; also love Scar Jo.
The one somewhat recent superhero movie that I can't really bear to watch again, because it breaks my heart because it is so bad - is Daredevil. Man, yes, that movie is indeed crap. It doesn't help either that DD was always my favorite comic book. The good news is, Netflix is taking Daredevil and turning it into a tv series. Sweet. Can't wait to binge on that!
Anyways, I didn't mean to get so sidetracked on superhero movies. I guess that's the main topic in this post. I will also mention in passing that there are many other kinds of geek movies out these days that are also marvels. Especially animated movies, as I've gone on and on about in this blog before; but also other great genre films like Avatar, the Hobbit movies, Pacific Rim - just to randomly name a few; that are absolutely incredible to watch, especially in light of how thin the field of sci-fi and fantasy used to be in movie theaters. True, there were some awesome ones; Terminator 1 and 2, The Road Warrior, Alien and Aliens - and others, but the quantity and quality of the last decade, I'm sorry to say - simply blows away what we had when we were young.
I guess superhero films are on the surface, like all modern marvels that we live with here in the greatest country on God's green earth - are silly and superficial, but to me it is what they represent that wields the real power in my life. We all know that yes, evil exists - and our faith tells us that there will always be a light to shine on the darkness; but nowhere in todays world is this more dramatically illustrated than in comic book movies. These are our modern day fairy tales, bigger and better than ever - that serve to lift us up, to elevate our spirits above the chaos and fear. To share with our loved ones, with our children; to enjoy and to be inspired by.
I guess all I've really done here, is do what I've done before. Stated firmly and fairly that NOW is the time of greatness and great stuff. We are in the midst of the age of Marvel and marvels. And I absolutely love it and I'm so thankful I get to nourish my soul with what is on the surface fairly frivolous and somewhat mindless entertainment. I wouldn't want to live in any other time and place than where I am. I am utterly grateful for all the joy that little marvels bring into my life - they sustain me through the rough stuff - and they bolster my love, joy and hope for what really matters most - my family and my faith.
Sunday, August 03, 2014
Hey Blue
"I've heard it said,
That people come into our lives
For a reason
Bringing something we must learn.
And we are lead to those
Who help us most to grow if we let them.
And we help them in return.
Well, I don't know if I believe that's true
But I know I'm who I am today.
Because I knew you."
- Stephen Schwartz
(From the musical "Wicked")
In my almost 44 years on this earth I have been privileged to know a small group of remarkable people who have had a profound and positive influence on my life and on my character. Besides my dad, there have been 2 other major father figures - the first was Bill Cain, a remarkable man who was a major positive influence through my adolescence. He was the man who introduced me to and mentored me through the world of baseball umpiring. We probably umpired over 100 games together - from the youngest levels of Little League, to regional tournaments across the state.
One of my fondest memories of Bill, is when we traveled to San Bernardino together to attend the regional Little League umpire seminar. It was great to be with him amongst 50 other umpires and really get at the heart of what sports officiating was all about.
Bill passed away just yesterday, very suddenly from what I can tell. My heart breaks for his two sons Mike and Tom, whom I've known since they were little. And I am deeply saddened myself, mostly because I never specifically told Bill how much he meant to me and how much he had helped make me who I am, especially when it comes to dealing with stressed out people.
As a baseball umpire, Bill was always calm and cool - matter of fact, but firm and unwavering, with a deep commitment to fair play and justice on the field. Though I have long ago left the game behind, I carry his principles with me in my daily life. Keeping a level head in the face of unbalanced people on the baseball field can be very tough, but the real world can be much more dire. I am so glad that I had the game in my youth to work through confrontations, and I'll be forever grateful that Bill was there to show me the right way to do it. I am a much happier and balanced person than I was at age 13 when I met Bill, in large part because he gave me the tools to deal with emotional dysfunction being thrown in my face.
And I know, that even though I never specifically thanked you Bill, and oh how I regret not messaging you on facebook or even shooting you a text to tell you this - I know, as with all men who are genuine - men who are indeed 100% "real men" as you are; that the words didn't need to be said.
But I'll say them here, for his boys Mike and Tom. I want to make sure to add my voice to the chorus of praise for this remarkable man who undoubtedly has touched many many more lives in ways as profound as mine -
Thank you Bill Cain, you changed my life for the better when I needed it the most and you will be missed terribly.
One of my fondest memories of Bill, is when we traveled to San Bernardino together to attend the regional Little League umpire seminar. It was great to be with him amongst 50 other umpires and really get at the heart of what sports officiating was all about.
Bill passed away just yesterday, very suddenly from what I can tell. My heart breaks for his two sons Mike and Tom, whom I've known since they were little. And I am deeply saddened myself, mostly because I never specifically told Bill how much he meant to me and how much he had helped make me who I am, especially when it comes to dealing with stressed out people.
As a baseball umpire, Bill was always calm and cool - matter of fact, but firm and unwavering, with a deep commitment to fair play and justice on the field. Though I have long ago left the game behind, I carry his principles with me in my daily life. Keeping a level head in the face of unbalanced people on the baseball field can be very tough, but the real world can be much more dire. I am so glad that I had the game in my youth to work through confrontations, and I'll be forever grateful that Bill was there to show me the right way to do it. I am a much happier and balanced person than I was at age 13 when I met Bill, in large part because he gave me the tools to deal with emotional dysfunction being thrown in my face.
And I know, that even though I never specifically thanked you Bill, and oh how I regret not messaging you on facebook or even shooting you a text to tell you this - I know, as with all men who are genuine - men who are indeed 100% "real men" as you are; that the words didn't need to be said.
But I'll say them here, for his boys Mike and Tom. I want to make sure to add my voice to the chorus of praise for this remarkable man who undoubtedly has touched many many more lives in ways as profound as mine -
Thank you Bill Cain, you changed my life for the better when I needed it the most and you will be missed terribly.
Monday, June 23, 2014
Two Worlds, One Cup
I did love the recent world cup game with the US and Portugal, to a point. Hear me out.
Soccer's got 99 problems, but being boring ain't one.
That the game can be boring is way down the list of why American's don't care for soccer. We (and I) love baseball and that's the most boring sport there is. Being boring has little to do with why this sport hasn't caught on in the US, though it's what every non-soccer fan will tell you.
The real reason Americans don't dig "futbol" is flopping. Flopping is why I don't watch soccer. Players fake injuries, ALL the time. It's systematic, it's inherent in the strategy of the game. Soccer players pretend to be hurt even more than NBA players which is saying something. It is un-sportsman like behavior of the most craven kind. It's really hard to stomach, professional athletes, incredibly skilled - rolling around like little babies until they get the call they want. Then, back in the game with no consequences.
The lack of a replay rule to deal with these theatrics at this level of play is absurd. Also, that there is no replay rule for the easily reviewable but often controversial offside decisions is just flat out stupid. Also also, that the game clock is unofficial and that it goes into extra time that the referee adds in his head is ridiculous, and is a lightning rod for controversy where there should be none.
And then there are problems with the antiquated World Cup format itself. My dear Berkeley brethren, they of the soccer love, sent me this chart to help answer my questions regarding team USA's fate in advancing, after the Portugal game ended abruptly with the score tied. (Apparently, this is also common, like hockey, they let the game end undecided. Dumb, yes, even in the most crucial of games like say, oh I don't know, the biggest sporting tournament on the planet.)
First of all, I'm not really enough of a math genius to comprehend this absurdly intricate graphic - so there's that. But look closely, yes, those are yellow boxes with the words "coin toss" in them. So if the score of the Portugal/Ghana and US/Germany games fall in some random fashion, the fate of the potential champions of the world will be determined by a coin toss? Really?
As a former youth sports official, I have twice actually run across rules that involve a coin toss to determine a winner. One was a single day baseball round robin that had an odd number of teams. The coin toss determined who would get a bye in the first round. The players in this tournament were 12 years old. It was a pre-season fun one day event. Nothing but bragging rights at stake.
The other event was again, a pre-season event; a soccer tournament over a weekend, where they allowed ties in every game but the "championship" match. If the teams were tied at the end of a game, the referee would toss a coin to determine who moved on. These were 10 year old traveling teams, so they were All-Stars, but THEY WERE 10, and many of them were irritated at the random unfairness of this procedure.
Now we are on the world's biggest stage, with the very best players in competition for the most significant championship anywhere - and we're going to toss a coin.
And my friends wonder why this sport hasn't caught on in the States.
Bottom line, Americans like their play fair, and coin flips notwithstanding, the game of soccer itself is replete with antiquated rules and procedures which make it not so. Until the game rectifies these glaring problems, ie gets a uniform game clock, implements the replay rule at the highest levels and puts an end to the acting shenanigans, soccer will continue to be a game for the rest of the world that just assumes that the system is inherently screwed up, while those of us in the land of opportunity know better.
Someone much more eloquent than me once said that the rest of the planet loves soccer because it is a sanctuary of serenity in a chaotic world, while Americans love football (our gridiron version) because it is a sanctuary of chaos in an otherwise peaceful and free country. I know this is not entirely the truth, but it is pretty darn close to being correct.
To their credit, the American team has said they don't "flop" and that they don't include the concept in their strategy and approach to the game. At least that's what they say. I know the guy who got his face kicked in in game one wasn't faking. This makes it easier for me to root root root for the home team - though honestly, as a big a jingoist as I am, I wouldn't be too heart broken if the God forsaken country of Ghana had won. I think they need it more than we do.
Sunday, June 01, 2014
Billy Joel at the Hollywood Bowl, May 27
Okay - review time.
Billy is old, 65, and looks like he needs to take better care of himself. His voice, thankfully is about 90% of what it was - which is great for his age. He's also still an expert at the piano, though he bonks plenty of notes, it all works and seems effortless. He is a consummate professional musician and artist. He's also hilarious in between songs. He did a spot-on Elton John impersonation and sang a good chunk of "Your Song" before cutting himself off at the line "I don't have much money..." "Bullshit!" he exclaimed.
The band is as tight as I've ever heard at one of Billy's concerts, but theirin is part of the problem. Though technically far more perfect than the original line up, this bunch does not have the propulsion and energy, the emotion, wrought by drummer Liberty DeVitto and the other Long Island boys that Billy grew up with and played with until he got rid of them. I really miss those mooks and the passion that they brought. They were born and bred of Billy's music, and it really shone through. Don't get me wrong, the band now is very, very good - Mark Rivera and Crystal Talifero in particular have been with Billy a long time (the former since Nylon Curtain and the latter since Storm Front) and bring some of the old spirit. The two guitarists and the bass player are all tremendous vocalists, which really makes for a fat clean sound. Still, I pine for the immediacy and the energy of Billy's old gang. A smaller group, no horn section, but somehow more urgent than the polished veneer of the 2014 crew. Search YouTube for Billy Joel: Live from Long Island and you'll see what I mean.
Over the three shows at Hollywood Bowl I think the setlist on our night might have been the best. You can click on the "Related Concert Setlists" links for the 17th and the 22nd to compare and contrast. Yes, the shows were all very similar, but we got We Didn't Start the Fire and Uptown Girl, the other two nights did not. Uptown Girl was truly amazing - the vocals were phat! It was also great to see Billy strap on the old guitar for that old dentist drill of a song "We Didn't Start the Fire" - never one of my favorites, but it works very well live with 17000 people singing along word for word.
Songs we missed out on: "Pressure", "And So It Goes" and "Sometimes a Fantasy". I've seen Pressure live many times, ASIG is one of my favorites that I didn't get on the Storm Front tour. I've also seen "Sometimes a Fantasy" (on the Bridge tour) and I agree with the description of it as the least sexy song about phone sex ever. We also didn't get "The Ballad of Billy the Kid." or "Summer Highland Falls" both of which I still have yet to see live. No one got to hear "Goodnight Saigon" - which is fine, or "Angry Young Man" which is sad. It was the only song I really missed, even though I've seen it live more than a few times.
All for Leyna, Zanzibar, Where's the Orchestra, Everybody Loves You Know and Say Goodbye to Hollywood, all blew my mind as songs that I absolutely did not expect to hear over the course of the evening. I loved that Billy dug a bit deeper, as I think the bulk of his album tracks that were not singles are where the real gold is in the catalogue. Say Goodbye to Hollywood was actually a minor am radio hit, and on his greatest hits record, but I read in a review of Billy's concert at the bowl on May 17th that it was the first time he had played the song live in almost 30 years. He had retired the song long ago because it is at the top of his register - I'm glad he dusted it off for LA, it sounded great.
The venue was great, the sound was pristine, one of the best sounding concerts I've ever been to, and by far the cleanest Billy Joel show I've ever heard. The mix was awesome, the visuals were very good. The lights were what they needed to be and the occasional video footage worked beautifully with a very polished I-Mag camera operators and director. (IMag is the video image magnification, the video of Billy and the Band on the screens for those of us with 43 year old eyes and not in the $2500 seats).
All in all, it doesn't get much better than Billy, even old Billy who stays at the piano through Big Shot and You May Be Right - he did strut a little bit for It's Still Rock and Roll to Me, but stayed put in all the other songs that he used to run around to. Inevitable I suppose, and truly no less enjoyable in it's own context - just a reminder of his and our own mortality.
Billy is old, 65, and looks like he needs to take better care of himself. His voice, thankfully is about 90% of what it was - which is great for his age. He's also still an expert at the piano, though he bonks plenty of notes, it all works and seems effortless. He is a consummate professional musician and artist. He's also hilarious in between songs. He did a spot-on Elton John impersonation and sang a good chunk of "Your Song" before cutting himself off at the line "I don't have much money..." "Bullshit!" he exclaimed.
The band is as tight as I've ever heard at one of Billy's concerts, but theirin is part of the problem. Though technically far more perfect than the original line up, this bunch does not have the propulsion and energy, the emotion, wrought by drummer Liberty DeVitto and the other Long Island boys that Billy grew up with and played with until he got rid of them. I really miss those mooks and the passion that they brought. They were born and bred of Billy's music, and it really shone through. Don't get me wrong, the band now is very, very good - Mark Rivera and Crystal Talifero in particular have been with Billy a long time (the former since Nylon Curtain and the latter since Storm Front) and bring some of the old spirit. The two guitarists and the bass player are all tremendous vocalists, which really makes for a fat clean sound. Still, I pine for the immediacy and the energy of Billy's old gang. A smaller group, no horn section, but somehow more urgent than the polished veneer of the 2014 crew. Search YouTube for Billy Joel: Live from Long Island and you'll see what I mean.
Over the three shows at Hollywood Bowl I think the setlist on our night might have been the best. You can click on the "Related Concert Setlists" links for the 17th and the 22nd to compare and contrast. Yes, the shows were all very similar, but we got We Didn't Start the Fire and Uptown Girl, the other two nights did not. Uptown Girl was truly amazing - the vocals were phat! It was also great to see Billy strap on the old guitar for that old dentist drill of a song "We Didn't Start the Fire" - never one of my favorites, but it works very well live with 17000 people singing along word for word.
Songs we missed out on: "Pressure", "And So It Goes" and "Sometimes a Fantasy". I've seen Pressure live many times, ASIG is one of my favorites that I didn't get on the Storm Front tour. I've also seen "Sometimes a Fantasy" (on the Bridge tour) and I agree with the description of it as the least sexy song about phone sex ever. We also didn't get "The Ballad of Billy the Kid." or "Summer Highland Falls" both of which I still have yet to see live. No one got to hear "Goodnight Saigon" - which is fine, or "Angry Young Man" which is sad. It was the only song I really missed, even though I've seen it live more than a few times.
All for Leyna, Zanzibar, Where's the Orchestra, Everybody Loves You Know and Say Goodbye to Hollywood, all blew my mind as songs that I absolutely did not expect to hear over the course of the evening. I loved that Billy dug a bit deeper, as I think the bulk of his album tracks that were not singles are where the real gold is in the catalogue. Say Goodbye to Hollywood was actually a minor am radio hit, and on his greatest hits record, but I read in a review of Billy's concert at the bowl on May 17th that it was the first time he had played the song live in almost 30 years. He had retired the song long ago because it is at the top of his register - I'm glad he dusted it off for LA, it sounded great.
The venue was great, the sound was pristine, one of the best sounding concerts I've ever been to, and by far the cleanest Billy Joel show I've ever heard. The mix was awesome, the visuals were very good. The lights were what they needed to be and the occasional video footage worked beautifully with a very polished I-Mag camera operators and director. (IMag is the video image magnification, the video of Billy and the Band on the screens for those of us with 43 year old eyes and not in the $2500 seats).
All in all, it doesn't get much better than Billy, even old Billy who stays at the piano through Big Shot and You May Be Right - he did strut a little bit for It's Still Rock and Roll to Me, but stayed put in all the other songs that he used to run around to. Inevitable I suppose, and truly no less enjoyable in it's own context - just a reminder of his and our own mortality.
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