Tonight, I am busy working on homework and projects that have resulted from the third snow day of the year. Yesterday was fun.
I'm home alone! That means endless coffee drinking and blasting music!
Tomorrow my school's student council is hosting a Christmas Coffeehouse aka open mic night. I have stuff to prepare for that tonight too. I can talk about it tomorrow. I also still have to write about the weekend and a new development - mine and Alaina's strange relationship that no one understands.
Well, I better get back to work. Only ten days until Christmas! Holy poop! Finish up getting your gifts for your besties!
I just had the urge to dance. Like fun dancing. Goofy, awkward, flinging arms everywhere dancing. And I want to laugh.
Last night, Ryan and I watched The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. I read about the movie online. It received good reviews and everyone was talking about how much they liked it. Despite it's 2.5 hour running time, I was assured that it was thrilling.
I have to disagree. Ryan and I were bored. While the girl who plays Lisbeth (the girl with the dragon tattoo) was cool, it was hard to stay interested. I realize that converting a story from book form to movie form is really difficult. So, I don't usually try to compare the two. I hate it when people label a Harry Potter film as awful because it left out a half of a page of the book. I don't even care if the movie has plot changes. At the end of the day, the film has to stand on its own as a good piece of art.
But the changes made to the film version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo were weird and awkward. Unlike the book, I thought the movie was flat. It never got more thrilling or climaxed.
And finally, it pushed the whole feminist thing way too much. The book dealt with the issue of female abuse in a cool way that befitted the story. On the other hand, the movie included an extended rape scene (that was awkward to watch with Ryan) and numerous murder pictures. When the long movie should have been ending, Lisbeth had a long conversation with her mom about the abuse she suffered from her father. I think this is a plot development from the second novel. It didn't need to be in the first movie. Last, an important character from the book wad dead in the movie. Why. Here's the exact line: "Anita had a successful career before tragically dying of breast cancer." Why not? Let's throw breast cancer awareness in there too. The line sounded ridiculous even is Swedish.
Sorry for complaining. I know you don't care. The experience wasn't totally awful.The film's un-American sex scenes sparked interesting conversation between Ryan and me. And in the scene where Lisbeth removes her shirt to reveal armpit hair, Ryan did a double take. I forgot Swedish girls rolled like that. Hot.
Before going to bed, we watched a little bit of the documentary This Film is Not Yet Rated for a good laugh.
As I worked on stuff today, I've been listening to Conditions by the Temper Trap. It's really good. Why haven't I bought that album yet?
11 days until Christmas!
I know it's not a Christmas song, but here's Love Lost by the Temper Trap.
First off, this is my 50th blog post. Wow. I didn't think I would get there. Let's party!
I guess my gift is another snow storm. Schools in Johnstown got out early today, and I'm holding out for a third snow day so I can finally start typing my LMU essays.
I've been working on a poetry project for AP English. I'm reporting on Eating Poetry which has a theme of feeding attractions. Which reminds me of reading over 150 pages of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo on Saturday. I finally finished the book at Alaina's birthday party.
Needless to say, I really liked the Swedish crime thriller. It was cool, sexy, and new. I guess I'll have to read the other two novels in the trilogy in the summer.
A little later tonight, I'm going to crash on my couch with some coffee and blankets to watch the Swedish movie. Thank God for Netflix on the Wii. Just saying.
America is working on its own version of the film. Because it's directed by David Fincher, it should be awesome. We'll find out next Christmas. That is if the Mayans are wrong, and we don't blow up before then.
I had a blast this weekend! And now I'm recovering.
Alaina celebrated her birthday and officially became an adult too. I went on a lot of adventures, partied with Alaina, and ate a bunch of yummy food. I really want to talk about all of it, but I've decided to wait until Alaina gets her pictures developed.
Until then, I have a special announcement. If I've calculated correctly, this summer marks the 5th Anniversary of Pine Street Productions. The summer before I entered high school, my family bought a video camera, and I began making silly videos with my siblings and neighbors.
To celebrate the anniversary in conjunction with my leaving for college, Ryan and I were discussing throwing a huge block party - complete with food, Chinese lanterns, loud music, tents, everyone we know, and maybe even fireworks. We could watch all of the movies consecutively on a huge sheet. Ryan, Adam, and I could even make a short documentary on our history together. That would be fun.
Until then, I'm thinking about launching a mini-series entitled Pine Street Productions: Five Years of Violence, Sex, and Love.
Lately, we've been watching some of our old projects and laughing our heads off. You get a certain satisfaction when you watch your pre-puberty self acting like an idiot. We've also been surprised to find a staggering amount of violence and a number of sexual innuendos throughout the Pine Street films. Oh goodness.
USC wanted me to upload a video sample online, so I created a Vimeo account. Eventually, I'm going to post clips from the past films on there. However, it will have to be after I finish my LMU application - probably sometime over Christmas break. I'll announce the official release date when I figure it out.
Moving on. Thirteen days til Christmas! Unfortunately, most of the Christmas music on the radio is annoying. So I set out to create the ultimate holiday soundtrack entitled A Very Hipster Christmas. Good Christmas songs are out there.
One of the cool ones is Happy Birthday Guadalupe by the Killers. I haven't had a chance to watch the video until tonight.
Sigh. So I wasn't sure what to blog about tonight. But there was one recent event that has stuck in my mind.
Lately, Ryan and I have been driving around town on adventures together. We usually do around Christmas.
One night while we were at Wal-Mart, I wanted to buy The Kids Are Alright. I've been wanting to see it since it came out in the summer. But of course, Johnstown doesn't get the good, limited release movies. Isn't there something terribly exciting about buying movies you haven't seen yet?
We were getting a bunch of groceries that had to be purchased with a credit card. But I wanted to pay for the movie with cash. So, I gave the money and the movie to Ryan. Red flag! Siren! Alarm!
I forgot that The Kids Are Alright was rated R. "I'll need to see an ID," said the cashier lady. I reached into my pocket to pull out my driver's license. "I can't do that! I can't do that!" She needed a parent's permission. A parent!
Apparently, the lady believed that if I purchased the movie, I was just going to give it to Ryan on the way out. Explaining that I was buying it for myself was no use. If Ryan had a heart attack watching a dirty movie, excuse her, a scary movie, then it would be Wal-Mart's fault. What a weird world we live in today.
I just gave up. Everyone behind us was already giving us funny looks. Like we were trying to buy a porno. Wal-Mart doesn't even sell "dirty" movies.
Life will go on. But I'm eighteen. I'm an adult. I want to be treated like one. Although I don't want to be called one because that's weird.
I remember thinking that seniors in high school were so old whenever I was younger. Now I'm a senior, and I still feel like a kid. Which might be sort of good in a way. I don't know.
In other news, most of our running around today involved gearing up for Alaina's birthday. I wanted to celebrate her passage into adulthood tomorrow. However, she came over to bake cookies tonight and most of the surprises are already ruined thanks to my family. Not to mention, I think I have ringworm (I'm clean I swear!). Life is wonderful.
So I took a hiatus. A long one. The last two months were a whirlwind. At many moments, I encountered something I longed to blog about. But I didn't want to start blogging again unless I knew I could keep it up consistently. That wouldn't be fair.
I turned in my research paper today (I wrote about interracial couples), and so I'm beginning to feel free. Well freeer. Free-er. More free.
A buttload of bloggable events occurred in the past two months. I'll try to pick some ones to focus on over the next few weeks.
A few highlights:
I finished the short film, called it a Dance in Time, and entered it in a few festivals. We'll wait and see what happens. I also completed all of my applications except for one - LMU, which I plan to start this week. And I'm starting to grow a little more facial hair. Not quite there yet.
In other news, Christmas is in 16 days. Holy crap. All of the sudden, winter struck Johnstown and we had two snow days. My guidance counselor reminded me again today that senior year flies by. She's right.
But I'm having fun. And I'm excited for what lies ahead.
I have not blogged in forever. In fact, I've forgotten what this feels like.
I want to start by apologizing. I've been very busy lately. Most of my college applications are due on December 1st. So is my research paper... I'm writing about interracial couples. And I'm in A Christmas Carol, which will be performed on December 2nd and 3rd. Come December, I will be a free man!
Until then, I probably won't have much blogging time. But I wanted to stop in and think about what I've been doing.
First of all, I am officially applied to Florida State University. It feels good. Now, I'm working on Chapman. I have to make a two minute video describing me, but I can't be in. Brainstorming time.
I've also spent the last two weeks of my life sitting in front of this computer, editing the short film. I'm happy to report that it is finished (sort of). I'm still not sure of the name. Right now, it's A Dance in Time. Any ideas? Somebody please!
Bishop McCort is having a scholarship luncheon on Friday, and the movie will be shown there. Dealing with the administration has given me a taste of what directors have to face when dealing with studio executives. I'm also sending it to the YoungArts Scholarship program and a couple festivals. We'll see what happens. More on this later.
And today was the LHAC Conference Crosss Country meet. I was scared and nervous because this season has been sort of weird. But everyone ran well, and I managed to somehow pull ahead for the win at the end. We still have work to do. Districts is 10 days away. But I said early on that one of my goals was to achieve Cross Country success, and showtime is approaching.
As stressful as things have been, I'm having fun. I can't help but be excited.
Before I head to bed, I wanted to share this article I came across the other day. It talks about movie soundtracks. It also highlights Cameron Crowe and Almost Famous.
While I was in LA, the trio of Brad, Danielle, and Erica was shocked that I hadn't seen Almost Famous. I watched it, and it has since become one of my favorites. Kate Hudson may be the only blonde I ever love. And I like Cameron Crowe. He writes and directs from the heart.
And I was thinking about this movie the other day. I've been waiting for its release in America for a long time.
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