Farewell 2011, Welcome 2012! My Thoughts, I Guess.

 
Well, well...it's that time of the year again. Don't know what I'm talking about?

Where have you been, living under an rock?!

Just pulling your leg(s)! I know you all know what time it is, and, once again, like every year we sit back and reflect on what we've been through during the last 12 months. Yeah, it may be boring, tedious or an unnecessary waste of time, but we still do it anyway to remind ourselves of the good times or bad times that we have encountered. I personally don't reflect or like to partake in the whole end-of-the-year wrap up thing; I just move on. I mean, tomorrow will be Sunday--it's no different than last weekend, just that it will be 2012.

Oh well, enough of me babbling about nonsense.

I guess this will be the last blog post of 2011, and starting sometime after today, I will post up a new entry that will represent what will become of me and this blog for 2012.

So many things to be grateful for as this year comes to an end. First, my greatest accomplishment, academically, is completing my M.F.A. in creative writing at Stonecoast. For me, it was a long hard but well fought battle and in the end my endeavor has made me into a better writer with a better sense of what I want to create and put forth for others to read. I'M A DAMN POPULAR FICTION WRITER AND I HAVE THE CREDENTIALS TO PROVE IT NOW!

All kidding aside, this is something that I am very proud of, and I know that everyone in my graduating class also feels the same way about their own individual battles and accomplishments. This final residency, we will all walk through the stonehouse or the Harraseeket Inn soaking up every last detail that we will take with us as memories of a glorious two years that we all spent bonding. It's funny but I know most of you in my graduating class will read this, and all I want to say is that I proud of our group and am honored to be a part of it.

STONECOAST WINTER CLASS OF 2012 RULES!

I know, corny! I had to do it though! ha! :)

Enough of the mushy stuff and let's get on with what the future holds for my blog: It's All In My Head. I honestly don't know. Go figure. I have some ideas of what I would like to post up as future blog entries and they involve more movie reviews and top personal video compilations. I meant to do this a while ago, but I may also start reviewing video games. I am a gamer, always have been, but I want to balance the blog with other resourceful commentary on my writing as well and things that I encounter. Again, this blog is about my what floats around in my head, hence the title.

I recently purchased a microphone, Bwahahahaha! (That's supposed to be me sounding very sinister.) I'm thinking that I may incorporate podcasts to the blog, or to compliment certain entries. I have many artist friends, and I was talking with them recently; I discovered how many similarities we share when it comes to creating our work. Even though we choose different outlets for self expression, the process still has some likenesses. There are lots of ideas rolling around in my cranium right now and I'll have to flesh them out at some point and see where I can do with those thought clouds. Of course, just getting to together with friends and talking about random nonsense is always good.

I'm excited about the podcasts and the possibilities that it could present. I'll definitely let ya'll know what I come up with.

A couple of surprising statistics and data I discovered recently about this blog! I have two followers now! I know who you are, of course! My initial apprehension with this blog was whether anyone would read it, but I have had readers, so I am happy about that. Since it went live about two years ago, I have had about, somewhere in the ball park figure, of 1500 visits! WOW! I'm not sure if that's average or not, but I'm satisfied that people are finding it and reading. Back to my two followers! I glad you're on board, and I welcome others to follow me or to continue reading--I won't bite...hard at least. ha!

Another idea just crossed my mind. I was thinking about possibly creating another blog for podcasts rather than just putting them here? Hmm, don't know yet. I've thought about creating another blog but the thought of maintaining two, AAAHHH! Then I thought maybe it could be a partnership with another blogger or writer(s). Hmm, who knows because I haven't decided yet. My mind floats in and out of ideas, it's weird, but I'll make sense out of all of it at some point.

Back to stats! I noticed a while ago that most of the searches that led to this blog involved: squirrels, the anime convention I went to two years ago and zombie stuff. Strange. However, the most surprising statistic I found yesterday was that my "Braidesmaids: Movie Review" blog post got *184* page views. That's insane; I raved about the movie because I liked it, for a chick flick, but I didn't think I said anything about it that was amazing. Hmm... maybe I am doing something that is working.

I think I'll stop here. This entry is already pretty long. I guess it wasn't much of a reflection, it is what it is. Geez, I'm so random even when it comes to my own thoughts. Ha! Rest assured that I will continue to deliver on the random and quirkiness. From here on out, I'm putting my 5OUL ON D!SPLAY. A little bit at a time, at least.

The words "5OUL ON D!SPLAY" are actually a song title. If you know this song and/or enjoy it, you ROCK!

Again, have a great Happy New Year and make the most out of 2012! I'll see you on the flip side.

Until then.

The New York City Subway Rider

Hey all, it's been a long time but I'm still here. Good to be back, although I'm not sure if in full capacity or limited, ha!

Well, this first blog post, in over a month, is more of a rant.

New Yorkers are know for being many things. We're tough, obnoxious, loud and we're always saying "Hey", "Yo!", "You feel me, Dawg?" and "What's up with that?" Actually, that last one is mine! Anyway, I think You get what I'm saying. I hope! However, today, I want to concentrate on one type of New Yorker; the NYC subway rider.

I'm a subway rider and some of things I have seen are 1) entertaining, but 2) annoying. The occasional dance group that comes on and performs is enjoyable to watch, but sometimes other performers come on and make more noise than is really wanted. Yes, I'm talking about you Spanish guitarists who come on and start singing. We may speak the same language but hearing you in the morning is so annoying that I don't want to deal with it and every other rider feels the same way. There are different pairs of you musicians, I know this for a fact because I've paid attention at times, but all of you seem to play the same song! Okay, you did play a Christmas song once, but enough already!

Luckily my ear-buds have been able to provide relief, but sometimes not. My music can only cover so much. Honestly, I'd rather torture myself with my own music because at least I have control over when to stop or start. When you guitarists come on it's a whole different story, I'm afraid.

What else is annoying about an NYC subway rider? Those that eat on the train. Now, I'm not talking about a small snack because I sometimes do that, but those that bring their whole KFC or Chinese food meals on and start eating. I mean, seriously! You can't wait to get to your final destination, be it home or office, to eat your food? Why must you sit there and eat surrounded by other people that may have not eaten yet or are disgusted by hearing the sounds of your teeth chewing. First of all, you're in a narrow subway car, people are all around you and you still come on and bring your food that already smells good. So, you're making the whole car smell like your food. YOU ASSHOLE! What if I hadn't eaten anything yet, or what you have smell and looks better then what I ate? You are so annoying! Sometimes I feel like saying, are you gong to share that with everyone in this car because you're making everyone else smell your food already? AND, I know for a fact that you will be the low-life scumbag that will leave that empty container under the seat after you're done.

Okay, not every person who I see eating on the train does that. BUT, I know some of them do!

Oh, and what about the subway rider who sits but doesn't lean all the way back into the seat? Mr. Hunched-over-in-his-seat. I'm going to say that not all of these types of riders are bad. No. Most sit this way and stay that why. I'm talking about the type that sits this way and shifts between leaning back in the seat and then hunches over again. You sir are the biggest douchebag. And you have the gall to get angry or make faces when people try to sit in the space next to you. Why? There's a seat next to you, but you sit in such a way that your body is slouching into the next seat. They're going to touch you, brush up against you or shove their way into that seat! That other person is entitled to a seat. It's not his or her fault that you cannot sit straight in yours. OH, and then, when you're in your hunched over position and people are sitting on either side of you; I don't know what possessed you to do this, but why would you start stretching your arms out in odd angles?

I'm sitting across from this asshole of a rider and all I can think is what an ass you are. The whole time I'm laughing in my head at how dumb, arrogant and inconsiderate you are. The woman sitting next to you, I know, felt the same way. Every time you did your stretch, she looked at you with eyes that said what the hell are you doing and can you stop that you jerk? 

But you know who is more annoying? You obnoxious, loud, immature public high schoolers, that's who! Again, not all high school kids fall under this category, but those of you who have gotten on a train between 2:30 and 3:30 in the afternoon know who I'm talking about. Never was there a time where I wanted absolute peace then when public high schools unchained the doors and reckless abandonment was set free. Well, enough about that.

Well, that's it for now. We New Yorkers put up with a lot, but sometimes I think it isn't necessary or wanted. Although, other times, it's great being an observer because I wouldn't have stuff to say or rant about!

Until next time! Stay Safe!

Stranger Than Fiction: A Thought About The Film

 
I think it's a beautiful thing to engage in something, anything, with such passion that you lose yourself as you hone your skills to reach a goal, perfection or an ending.

This is the same in any media chosen to express whatever your passion is. I love reading books or stories that introduce characters so likable that you feel the pain of their loses or the enjoy of their accomplishments. The same goes for movies and the film Stranger Than Fiction is no exception to that rule.

I loved Will Ferrell's portrayal of the lonely, fated protagonist Harold Crick. Here is a character who is plain and hapless in his monotonous life that we see a reason to follow his story. The fact that Emma Thompson's character Karen Eiffel narratives his daily activities further provides a more in-depth understanding of Harold's narrative archetype that we, as the audience, find more compassion. Even Thompson's role as the eccentric writer and narrator are so rational, for writer's at the very least, and I personally find a weird connection with her character. Being a fiction writer has allowed me to really comprehend and also sympathize with the plight of creation and responsibility of fulfillment.

What do I mean by responsibility of fulfillment? It is the act of creating and the art of skillfully providing a reason for existence. Even if your character is to die, such is the case with Harold Crick, the writer still has to provide meaning and justification for the characters death. Writing endings are not easy by no means, let me tell you. So many aspects of narration, character development and story must be taken into account when you slowly reach those final pages and bring your written masterpiece to a close. I always find it difficult to end a story after I have provided such a fond and in-depth look at something that I poured my heart and soul into.

I feel such a great deal of responsibility in capturing and expressing a story with profound visualization and emotion that not only speaks to me but also hits a definite chord with readers of all kinds. The film Stranger Than Fiction does this on many levels. Mind you that what you're watching is a literary tale told visually and every aspect of plot, narration and arch are presented. At times I felt as though this could have actually been a graphic novel, a manga maybe, because it is literally a developing story that is in motion.

I liked the contrasts that progressively appear and further change and enhance the characters lives. Harold and Karen's lives are some what identical in the sense that they work in systematic fashion to approach situations. Harold operates in a corporate and mathematical/computational environment while Karen provides us with the common, at times unorthodox, method of story creation. When Maggie Gyllenhall's character Ana Pascal enters Harold's life it implements a vast contradiction to the life and organization that has ruled Harold's life. She is his opposite and Ana compliments, or in this case unbalances, his perspectives very nicely.

Another aspect of interest is the character of Prof. Jules Hilbert, played by Dustin Hoffman. I always look at this Hilbert as the mage or all knowing guide that helps Harold through his dilemma. He is instrumental in grounding the protagonist in a reasonable reality where Harold can attempt to find answers to his plight. Hoffman is just a lot fun as Hilbert; the kind of literary specialist I wish I had in school, ha! 

I think the one moment that has stuck with me about this film is Harold and Karen's meeting. It is the moment where Karen as an author not only realizes that one of her fictionalized creations turned out to be real, but also her responsibility of giving him a meaningful and justified existence appears. On top of that, she also went further to provide a rational excuse to change. It is something that all us writers go through when we create. We always change where it is necessary while keeping in mind how it will effect the choices that we have made up to that point.

Even in writing, it is all about making choices and decisions and being responsible in making sure we fulfill those intentions.

Bridesmaids: Movie Review

So here I am with another movie review. Believe it or not I'm talking about a chick flick this time around. I don't see a lot of chick flicks, so this is a little weird, a little strange to talk about. Then again, maybe not. I actually really enjoyed how this came out!

I sometimes enjoy watching former Saturday Night Live cast members transition from the small screen to the big screen. Honestly, at this point, the only another person I can think of Will Ferrell. I know there are knows, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd. That's all at the time, for now!

Anyway, Bridesmaids was really a lot of fun and the comedic scenarios were well placed, and who doesn't enjoy "Hold On" by Wilson Phillips? Tell me, who doesn't?

What I really enjoyed about this movie is that while it is a chick flick, the story really focuses on the relationship between Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph's characters. Their moments together on screen brought forth some of the movie's best comedic and introspective moments. Since the movie really directs most of its attention on Annie (Wiig), we see a lot of moments where she really reveals what her character is experiencing and what she hopes to achieve. While marriage may be one of the central themes in the movie, it is over shadowed by the friendship and romance angles that that bring out the laughs and heart felt moments.

I mean, really, I laughed pretty hard during the bathroom scene at the wedding dress store. I'm sure this place is called some thing else, but I don't know what it is and don't really care to find out. Just so you know. Ha!

What I really want to point out is that there are two things that stood out for me while watching this film. One is a universal point that everyone will agree on, and the other is personal. Okay, Megan played by Melissa McCarthy, was just a hilarious tour-de-force! She pretty much stole the show with her in your face, say anything and hold nothing back attitude. She reminds me of that friend that we all have that just behaves and acts according to how they feel. The only way I can describe the character of Megan is by associating her to Seth Rogen's character in Knocked Up. I think the moment that really brought her character out for me was the scene at the Brazilian restaurant, where she starts describing the Fight Club theme bridal shower.

When McCarthy's character started talking about beating the shit out of Rudolph's character, I just fell over and laughed. You just knew that one of them would have the over-the-top idea, and you knew it would be her, but had no idea what she would say. And, BAM! She drops it in like a plate of nicely cooked meat. Just lays it out there for everyone else to pick on and enjoy, and I took it and ran, ha! The other point is a little more personal and it has to do with Kristen Wiig's character.

You could say that I have a soft spot for Kristen Wiig here, like I did in Paul. 

I enjoyed Annie as a character and there were moments where I could almost see someone that resembled her. I think we all can, right? I loved her drunken, high on medication performance on the plane. But, what I loved the most about her was the car she drove. A Toyota Corolla, an AE86 for God's sake! She is my dream, both her and the car! Well, I actually prefer the three door hatchback model, but man, that was an 86! And, it was an old car but it could still roll and burn rubber with the best of them! I cringed when her car got hit from behind. I felt Annie's pain when her car bit the dust temporally. It like the sadness I felt when Takumi's 86 broke down. Those who know me well enough will know what I'm referencing. That car, especially the hatchback model, holds a very special place in my heart.

Not related to the 86, but I felt sad when Annie started crying while watching Cast Away. I liked that one too, and felt sad and heartache when Wilson floated away.

What made this movie work, I think, is a great story which was written in part by Wiig, but also having Judd Apatow as producer. Some of the female bonding humor that worked in this movie can be found in Apatow's other work like Step Brothers, Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Superbad just to name a few.

In the end, Bridesmaids was a fun flick, just under two hours, filled with great comedic moments and fond memories of long-time friendships.

Bitter Wintery Blues

Hey all,

So, can you believe the north east got hit with a freak (I might be exaggerating) winter storm and it's only October, and Halloween's tomorrow! It's crazy that a storm like this hit so early. In all my years of existence, I have never seen snow this soon. The earliest at least here in NYC is early to mid-November. Of course, we get cold temperatures, so most of us here are bundled up or in the first stages of winter preparedness. However, this year, it seems as though we been preparing a lot sooner as cold temperatures arrived faster, and then this snow storm!

And here's the kicker! It's sunny today, as I am sure it is over the rest of the north east, and there's practically little or no snow left on the ground! The only indication that anything happened is the snow still on the roofs of buildings and cars. It's still pretty cold out, so that there. Whew! If it were 90 degrees I might go crazy!

But seriously, yesterday was the beginning of wintery discontent. I don't enjoy the winter, or the summer, no, let me restate that. I hate the extremes of both seasons. I always prefer a nice mid-combination of both; although, if I had to choose, I prefer summer temperatures and climate. Some place tropical though.

Despite the ugly weather yesterday, I still went outdoors - first to downtown Manhattan then to the Bronx. What a trip! Freezing temperatures that my hands were freezing even after I put on gloves. The snow came down in large clumps and stuck to ever thing. I honestly didn't think it would be this bad, but I guess I was wrong. But, the snow didn't last for long as it turned to sleet then pure rain! I was miserable during my excursion downtown. People were out in full force though and that's what you have to love about New Yorkers, we don't really give a damn! We'll complain but we'll get stuff done no matter what conditions are like. However, personally, I hate being cold!

Then I get to the Bronx to visit a good friend of mine, and unfortunately, I was still freezing. The best part, wouldn't you know it, there was no heat in his building! That sounds just about right because there was no heat in my building as well. Damn it! We sat around, talked politics, and how freakin' crazy this weather had gotten so suddenly. All the while, my feet and hands were icy cold.

I got home later that evening and the heat was still absent. No surprise there. What the hell Mr. Super? Why don't you turn on the heat? Why is it that you only turn it on for an hour at a time and/or only at odd hours of the evening? Ahhh, winter is such a great, bone-chilling, miserable time of the year, don't you think so? I know that further upstate and up north the storm has been much worse then what I'm complaining about here. I hearing story of power outages in certain areas and that is just horrible. With no electricity or running water in some cases, the conditions are literally below standards. Yet, I envy and admire those who endure under such undesirable extremes. Real troopers!

Well, that's it for now. Stay safe and warm out there!

Hanna: Movie Review

 
What up, Movie Lovers,

Well, I pulled out another movie that I bought months ago and finally watched it. This time the selection happened to be the film Hanna. Now I have to say that I only heard about this movie because the stars of the film were at the San Diego Comic Con a couple of years ago promoting its release in theaters. I didn't know much about its premise except that it centered around a young girl assassin.

Of course, the premise attracted my curiosity. I mean, why not? A young girl, long blonde hair, blue eyes, trained in weapons & hand-to-hand combat and special intelligence tactics! What more could I want?

Despite these intriguing details, which I didn't know about at the time, the film interested me. I caught the trailer for it several months after, but like every other movie I am only now watching it for the first time. Saoirse Ronan plays the title character Hanna, and Eric Bana takes the role of her father Eric Heller. The movie begins by establishing Hanna as a rogue nature hunter as she hunts, kills and gathers the meat of a wild buck. Her father confronts her and engages her in a series of offensive and defensive fighting techniques. As I watched it, the scene opened up the idea of remote training and survival skills, but the intention was not made clear yet.

During the next 15 minutes, the film continues to reinforce her father's training as Eric tests and attacks her with a series of different tactics. The only clue we get from all this is that her father has been preparing her for when she has to venture outside of the sanctity for their secluded shack in the woods of Finland. When Eric finally believes she is ready, the first plot is revealed that he was part of a covert CIA group. Certain other details are withheld, but an intelligence officer, Marissa Wiegler played by Cate Blanchett, is now pursuing them.

I'm going to skim though most details to move along forward with this brief review. Well, Hanna and her father part ways, and the film follows Hanna as she escapes from the underground CIA base, travels through most of Europe with the help a vacationing British family and ultimately confronts Wiegler. The interesting aspect of the film is how we're shown Hanna's immersion into modern society. She interacts with and is genuinely surprised by the foreign technology, scenery and experiences that she is encountering for the first time. Many of these moments are captured in Hanna's interaction with the vacationing family, especially with their daughter Sophie. The two bond and share brief moments of attraction and curiosity.

One of the complaints I had was the secret agenda surrounding Hanna. The reason her father trained her and why Marissa is after her are the same. Hanna is actually an experiment to create a super soldier with heightened speed, strength and intelligence making her an elite special forces agent. I just kept thinking that the idea was nothing new and over used. When it was revealed, it didn't have the impact that I thought the movie was aiming for. However, that minor point is, for the most part, irrelevant because Hanna's journey is what I found to be the most interesting part of the film.

The action during the movie is fast and gritty in some cases. You see Hanna take her bumps and bruises, but she also delivers the intense hits as she battles foes. Saoirse Ronan really puts on a performance and shines as she both explores her characters motives and fights with such precision that Saoirse could've fooled me with her expertise. I know its all about choreography but it really shows in how well she moves and the editing. She fun to look at. In addition to the visual display of action, the music, composed by the Chemical Brothers, also added a fast beat of electronica that helped to raise the tension and/or pace of many of the scenes. The score played during the scene where Hanna is fleeing from her pursuers in the shipping yard is my personal favorite. While electronic it also felt very playful and upbeat. The music in that scene mirrored the fact that Hanna was playing around against her enemies.

In recollection, Hanna was a fun action, spy, young girl assassin movie with a lot of spunk and clever storytelling. In a way, I would almost consider it a story that took the Mathilda character from Leon: The Professional and based it on her. So, I would say that it was time that I spent being well entertained.

Surrogates: Movie Review

 
Hello all,

Another movie review coming at ya! This time it's the Bruce Willis Sci-Fi film Surrogates.

I have to say that my interest was piqued about this movie when I first saw the trailer a couple of years ago. However, I never got to see it in theaters at the time. Now that I think about it I don't watch that many movies in theaters, and I just catch them after they come out on Blu-ray or DVD. It wasn't until about a  month ago that I saw the trailer advertised on TV that I went out and bought it.

So, the premise is humanity has become completely dependent on the use of artificial robots/cyborgs to function or interact with society. In other words, when you get ready to go to work, you plug yourself into your robot/cyborg, known as a Surrogate, and go about your daily outdoor activities. Sound familiar? It should because it is the exact same plug-in/jack-in function used in The Matrix. Only, instead of plugging into a computer, you plug-in to your artificial clone. It's really a very intriguing idea. The movie explains that this new technology and mode of human interactive function has revolutionized humanity to the point that such things as crime are non-existent.

Of course, like any revolution or new concept, there are going to be opponents. These are known as Dreads, normal people/humans that refuse to allow technology/robots to replace man kind. I may be making this sound too much like the premise for Terminator, but its not this extreme. It has this feel much like Stephen King's The Stand where you have the two factions or social groups. In Surrogates, you have the society that accepts the robots as a means of social image, and the other society hates the robots for the same reason.

The story takes shape when a murder is committed with a device that not only destroys the surrogate but also its human operator. Bruce Willis plays FBI agent Tom Greer, and with Radha Mitchell (Agent Peters) the two investigate the crime which has roots reaching all the way into the surrogate manufacturing company VSI. I don't remember what the full name was, or if it was even mentioned, ha! Surrogates is a very decent detective story but at its core are the major themes that the concept of artificial dependence implies.

For example, all the surrogates are young while their human counterparts are older or aging. The reason I say this is because part of the story focuses on Bruce Willis' character's relationship with his wife Maggie played by Rosamund Pike. From very earlier on, we are shown a disconnect between the couple, especially after Tom is forced to pursue the investigation with out a surrogate. He realizes that his wife may have grown so dependent on the use of the artificial persona/image that she's lost sense of reality.

Another interesting point shown in the movie is that it is a comment on some of society's idea or need to display or appear young or perfect. As a matter of fact, the modern surrogate society is visually represented as a stylish, and artificial rendition of what a perfect society would appear as. The surrogates represent every human operator's own ideal self image of perfection. It's vanity in its purest sense. Even more intriguing is the reaction that Tom gets when he emerges into society in his actual 'flesh' form. Even though it is not revealed how long it as been since he actually set foot out of his house, we see the immediate disconnect with human interaction. Tom has a huge sensory overload that he nearly collapses as he tries to physically move in a space which he only interacted with through artificial eyes.   

Again, I was really impressed by the detective story that revealed the ethical question of extreme dependence on artificial technology. Surrogates was an entertaining film with many thought provoking ideas. And the scene where everyone drops to the ground in unison was pretty cool to see, and the ending provided a ideal awakening.