It's been awhile.

Okay, 4 months later I reappear. I know, I know. Well you only have to wait a little longer for real posts again. The Oral Exams are on June 6th and that dominates everything for now. Just be prepared for some good stuff in the near future.

Eagle vs. Shark vs. Me!

Yeah, its been a few weeks. But the quarter has started out nicely and I'm doing Orals Prep work, so I'm good on two counts. Otherwise not much as been going on, hence the whole no writing thing.

I do have to gripe about the movie "Eagle vs. Shark". For all the awards and praise this I got, I was highly disappointed. Aside from a few good one-liners, it was boring and unfunny. I'm not sure how people make the comparison to "Napoleon Dynamite" which was an amazingly funny movie. The worst part of it is that I was really anticipating the movie, especially since it has 1/2 of "Flight of the Conchords" in it. FOTC = really funny. This movie = no funny.

As for FOTC everyone should check out their HBO series and all the live performance videos on youtube. They are hysterical, especially in the ways they try to glamorize the most mundane parts of everyday life.

So, So Done.

The quarter is finished! Grades turned in, papers written and books read. Now I start that loop again in a few weeks, but its break time now. When I get free time though, its hard to be motivated to do things. All I want is some rest, maybe I will ask for that from Santa.

One of my favorite things being on a college campus is the odd bits of conversation you hear in passing. My favorite from this quarter was between two guys walking past each other.

Guy 1: "Hey, I thought you graduated last spring"
Guy 2: "Yeah, me too, but I guess not. Don't have time to talk right now, I'm 20 minutes late to class"

In other news, we went and saw "Juno" again and its even better the second time. Some of the dialogue is so quick and snappy that you need multiple viewings to catch it all. I'm also loving the soundtrack, all of them great songs. I have also added a new link to the right. "Timothy McSweeney's Internet Tendency" is a great online spot for some cool quirky humor. Definitely check out the archives that have. Well that's it for now.

End of Quarter

Finals week is here! That means lots of work and little time. I've got one class finished and two more to go. All will be done by friday. I hope.

The movie class has wrapped up as well. The last two were "Atonement" and "The Kite Runner". Both were excellent films that dealt with adults being forced to deal with mistakes/actions taken while children. I think KR was a little better given its relevance to our times. The disparity between the Kabul of the character's youth and the one he visits in 2000 is devastating and shocking. More when I'm done.

Do j'know Juno?

You should. Juno is another movie I saw in my film class. It comes out in two weeks, and I can't wait to see it again. It's about a teenage girl who becomes pregnant and the choices she makes afterwards. The acting was really good, especially Ellen Page and Michael Cera. What really got me hooked on the movie was the soundtrack featuring Belle and Sebastian and The Moldy Peaches. They just did a great job of using music to set the tone of the film as her pregnancy progresses. It is also hysterically funny, much in the same vein as Little Miss Sunshine. Definitely check this one out.

Last week, we saw "The Band's Visit" in the class. It's an Israeli comedy about a Egyptian Police Band that ends up in the wrong town in the Israeli countryside as they make their way to a cross-cultural celebration. I didn't know any of the actors, but the story was good and the mistaken understanding of both groups creates a great setting for the story.

I got up to Sacramento last week for Thanksgiving. It was so nice to be away from Irvine for a few days. It was cold, so cold; and it was good. Hung out with family, ate lots of food, and watched lots of sports. I also ended up playing lots of catch and learning about Pokemon. While up there, I saw "No Country for Old Men" and loved it. The setting, story, and acting were fantastic. Not really a holiday movie, but I enjoyed it none the less. Tommy Lee Jones has to be nominated for his role.

More later.

E-gull!!!!!!!!!

Well, that how you pronounce it at least. Actually, the latest sneak peek film we saw was something called "War Eagle, Arkansas" It was an okay film, but not really my kind of movie. It's about a high school baseball player deciding between staying in his hometown and going to college. See, the topic just doesn't catch my attention. Probably wouldn't have seen it, if not for the class.

The weather, however, has been awesome the best couple of day. No direct sunlight, lots of clouds and in the sixties. So nice.

Big Mac(intosh)

Yup, I've made the switch from a PC to a Mac. I love my Compaq, but it has finally started to slow down, make grinding sounds, and not open programs correctly. I waited til Apple released the new Leopard OS last week, and got my new computer last weekend. I'm still getting used to some the programs and the one click mouse, but over all I am really happy with it. It also works super fast. It seriously has no startup time, which really surprised me at first. I was kind of like, "that's it, really, cool".

Not much in other news, mostly just reading and writing. I am loving Heroes, The Office and Scrubs though. That's about the current time limit I can devote to TV right now. Yeah, just two hours.

So This Is Pretty Cool!

Trying to find ways to relax, I decided to sign up for a "Sneak Peek" film course, that basically just entails me getting to see movies before they are released. The first class was this last monday, and we got to see "The Savages". It stars Laura Linney and Phillip Seymour Hoffman. It's dramatic tale of adult children forced to deal with their aging father. There are a few funny scenes in the movie, but for the most part this is a serious film that explores themes of child/parent relationships and how people overcome challenges in their own lives. I think the movie was great, and both of the actors convincingly portrayed their characters. I enjoyed it and think this is one that people should keep their eyes out for in the near future.

In other news, the fires have died down, the smoke has cleared and we can finally see blue skies again. Luckily, the fires were not as damaging as they could have been. It still sad that they happen though, especially when started on purpose.

Love those Santa Ana Winds

Fire, high winds, smoke and ash covering everything! Just another joy of being in Southern California during the fall. Even better, they say this will be a La Nina weather pattern year, so that means no rain all winter. At least our place smells a little less of smoke than it did yesterday. The sky is still all smoky though. The winds are supposed to die down tomorrow, and I sure hope they do. I'm tired of them. At least the summer heat is gone now, and I can only hope that cool weather is on our way, even if we get no rain.

School has been keeping me extremely busy, so we haven't been doing a lot of fun stuff recently. We did make it out to see "The Darjeeling Limited" though, and I have to say that it was hilarious. My favorite Wes Anderson movie is still "The Royal Tenenbaums", but this was is now second. I love the story of the three brothers traveling by train, and the interaction between Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman and Adrian Brody is spot on perfect. They seem like real siblings. On the tube, I am so happy that "the office" and "Heroes" are back on. I've only added one new show to my viewing schedule and that's "Chuck". It's funny, spy-themed, and all around awesome!

Bad Idea Bears are awesome!

So I have seen two musicals in the last two weeks and both of them were really good, but for different reasons. I saw Wicked at the Pantages Theatre in Hollwood and it was fantastic. The sets were just amazing. What I really enjoyed was the story though, the songs were okay, but it was the overall story that I really got into. I highly recommend it.

This last weekend we saw Avenue Q at the Ahmanson Theatre in LA. Have you ever thought to yourself, "Musicals need more swearing, political incorrectness and crude innuendos"? If so, this is the show for you. The story is so-so, but the songs are absolutely hysterical. They are just so wrong, that you can't stop laughing. I loved it.

Back to school in 3 days, so I'm enjoy the last bit of summer/early fall.

Docu-rama

I've seen three documentaries in the last week and all of them were realy good. First up are "The Aristocrats" and "Murderball". They are a few years old, but I finally got around to seeing them. The Aristocrats is a great look at the comic community and how a single joke has taken on a life of its own. Very funny and crass. Murderball is about the U.S. Quadrapeligic rugby team. These guys are hard-core kick-ass athletes.

And finally "King of Kong". If you ever thought video games were boring you need to see this film. It looks at the world of competitive video games and the rivalry for the highest score in the world at Donkey Kong. It was great, funny, and at times actually sad. Go see it!

The Ocean Can Be Vicious

Well, it has been an interesting few days. We went to Crystal Cove over Labor Day weekend and the ocean stole my glasses. And man, am I blind without them. Too bad this happened on the sunday of a three day weekend. I was lucky to get some trial contact lens on tuesday, so I can see now. But the day and a half of being sightless was weird. People kept telling me to look at things and I was like "why? I can't see it anyway." Then I finally found some frames I liked, but had to order them online because my doctor doesn't carry them. They are ordered though, and will be here soon.

It made has me think though, do I like contact or glasses better? I have always had glasses until the last few days. I keep going back and forth on it. I like not having something on my face, but I hate putting the contacts in.

New Stuff

Well, by a vote of 2 to nothing, people agreed that Karl is King! I agree, and will put a pic of myself wearing my new shirt proclaiming the fact soon. I will make new polls as I think of fun stuff.

Mostly reading this week, but there are a few new things. Goodreads.com is a cool site to see whose reading what and to get honest reviews of stuff. I have been adding stuff that I remember reading and will keep it up-to-date with my oral readings, exactly the stuff people want to read reviews of, I'm sure.

I am adding some more comics too. A Softer World is kind of weird, but occasionally funny. Penny Arcade makes fun of the gaming world, and "Strindberg and Helium is a collection of short videos about the depressed playwright and his imaginary friend, Helium. All are really good and make me laugh on a regular basis. Back to work

Pro-crastination and other thoughts

I say "Pro" because I feel I am mastering it as an art. I have a lot to do, and I have been avoiding most of it; much to my own chagrin. I really wish I could feel so motivation.

I think I have reached the age, 28 and a half, where you begin to enjoy NPR. I have never had an interest in radio news, ever! But in the last few months I have been finding myself listening more and more to NPR in the mornings. Specifically KCRW in Los Angeles. While I still get most of my news online, I think this must be a sign of aging or something.

In sports news, my Cubs are looking good. I have high hopes for the Pennant Race. My Melbourne Demons are at the bottom of their league and I can only hope they improve next year. Football is starting soon and the Carolina Panthers' chances of making the playoffs are promising I think, especially after Michael Vick is out of the picture for the year.

Am I a Simpson?

Maybe!

Superbad

Yup, I was one of those people who contributed 31 million dollars to this movie's first weekend take, and you know what...I'm glad! This movie was hilarious. Funniest thing I have seen since "Knocked Up". Seth Rogan is quickly becoming my new favorite comedic actor; and he even co-wrote the script. The film is really two great stories; Evan and Seth in their search for booze/girls and McLovin's night on the town with two cops. I'll say no more, but trust me its sooo good. I laughed through the whole movie.

I'm know reading three novels and beginning to prep for my Oral Exams at the end of the coming school year. I need to finish the fiction soon because there will be no time for it beginning in about a month. That's when year three of grad school begins! Not much else going on, except for the flipping of pages in books.

Make It Right

So if you know me, you know I love coffee, and my favorite drink is an Iced Mocha. When made right, it's the greatest thing in the world, but it can be easily screwed up. Peet's Coffee makes it right. Mix chocolate syrup with the espresso and then pour equally with the milk over ice. Almost everytime its perfect, but occasionally its a little weak because you get too much milk. Starbucks uses syrup, which is the NECESSARY ingredient to make it correctly, but they use way too much and they burn their beans. My teeth usually hurt after drinking theirs. The trick is to ask for half the normal amount of chocolate and then it is drinkable, but still not great. Some places like Diedrich's Coffee use chocolate powder. It is passable, but I don't like it. You end up with grit at the bottom of the cup. Now for the two worst possible ways to make the drink.

1. Almost all the coffee shops in La Jolla, CA use chocolate milk in their drinks. I have no idea why they do it, but it tastes terrible. Luckily there is a Peet's there now.

2. There is a bar/smoke den/coffee shop in the student union at University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee that offers something they call "Daddy's Mocha". The rancid smell of cigarette smoke should have warned me, but I really needed coffee that day. They mixed regular black coffee with a package of swiss miss hot chocolate. It was one of the worst things I have ever tasted. One sip and I threw it away. Why didn't they tell me the real coffee shop was in the bookstore? Their coffee was much better.

Twenty Days

Twenty days have passed since the last post, and while I don't have any new pictures, I have been busy. I was in Sacramento for a weekend, which was fun and very hot. I also have watched a ton of movies. Ratatouille, Die Hard, and Harry Potter, all of which I recommend. Mostly I've been working and that always seems to eat up so much time. Last night, however, I went to see Guster play the Orange County fair. So awesome! My first time seeing them play and hopefully not the last. I mean, come on, you gotta love it when the drummer plays with his hands most of the night. Watching him wrap medical tape around his fingers between songs just made me wince. It was a great show and they played all the songs I wanted to hear. In honor of the show I am adding their website to the links.

In other news, I also want to highly recommend the new Interpol album "Our Love to Admire" it is a great follow-up to "Antics" and have been listening to it near non-stop since it came out two weeks ago. Go buy it!

Milwaukee: More than Meets the Eye?

Sorry. Couldn't help throwing in the Transformers reference. Saw it the other day and have to admit it was fun. Two hours of mindless entertainment. Big explosions and a nostalgic trip. What more do you want for 8 bucks?

So the conference in Milwaukee went well and was fun. I personally love the city. The weather was perfect, I learned a lot and sucessfully delivered a paper. I have included some pictures from the trip.

Here are two pics of the Calavatra extension at the Milwaukee Art Museum. The wings actually open and close. One is from the outside, and the other is looking up from inside.



Here is a shot of all the bridges going up as a boat passes underneath.


Here is a duckling statue along the river. There is a series of these, commemorating a duck that stopped construction on one of the bridges while they waited for her eggs to hatch. I think this one is Millie.


One of the things I really love about Milwaukee is the architecture. Here is a quick sample. A church on the Marquette campus, City Hall (currently being renovated) and the federal courthouse (which really looks like a castle).




More to come soon.

End of the Year

Well, I officially finished my second year of grad school, but still have work to do. Polish a conference paper, and TA this summer. Its good to be busy, but tiring at the same time. So quick movie notes, Go see Day Watch, it is awesome. "Smokin' Aces" was not so smokin, buy okay. Epic Movie just sucked and, with a 67 minute running time, might be the shortest wide release movie I have ever seen.

I am reading fiction again too! Dave Eggers' You Shall Know Our Velocity. So far, really good. Great story and extremely well written.