America: Fuck Yeah!

I'm sure this post's title has already been used, and used by better folk than me. But that makes it no less true.

I have no idea how to write this all down, so this is going to be a bit disjointed.

I consider myself to be a cautious optimist. I always try to look on the bright side of life. And I hoped that Obama would be the next President of the United States of America. But I didn't think he would win. All the polls, all the studies, all of it, everything that predicted an Obama victory would be proven wrong.

I've traveled abroad. Not to all that many places, but a few. Started traveling the month after the towers fell. And I have seen the turning of the tide. The way the world felt towards the U.S. after the attack, and how it changed over the years. How America changed over the years. The embarrassed smiles of backpacking Americans. The anger they felt.

My friend from work has parents that live in the states. I've known him for over a decade now. He has always wanted to move down to the states. That's been his dream. At least that was his dream before I left for Japan. That changed. He recently drove down to visit his parents. He came back afraid.




I'm playing Obama's acceptance speech right now. Fuck that man can speak. It is amazing. I will watch presidential addresses again. Not to see the language that I love mangled and misused, but to see it elevated.

Fuck that man can speak.

Also well spoken last night: John McCain. His concession speech was the best speech he's given in quite some time. And I say that as a huge fan of the guy. But...

I think the speech he gave last night was his best, because I think it is the first speech he's actually believed in in a long time. I think that running this campaign nearly ruined McCain. The compromises and the contortions and the changes of his beliefs. It was painful to see. I feel sorry for the guy. He loves his country, he would make a great President. If his party would let him.

But I don't think he is done yet.


Now here is where I piss some people off.

My mother woke me up on September 11th with these words, "You've woken up to a worse world". I watched the television. I saw the buildings fall. In my mind I had a reply to my mother. The world is no worse now. Buildings have been blowing up every day for who knows how long. It's just that these buildings fell down in America.

I know, I'm a dick. I'm working on it.

But the world did worsen. Somehow the Bush White House squandered all the emotion surrounding that defining event (along with untold trillions of dollars, and basic human rights).

I didn't feel despair the day the towers fell, I already knew the world was a pretty shitty place (remember: I'm a cautious optimist).

But today...

Today I feel hopeful.

Teen Movies

In the last couple o weeks, I have seen Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, Sex Drive, and The Wackness.

I'll talk about the other two in a bit, but I'll start off by saying that Sex Drive was funnier than I expected. It is not some near classic like Superbad, but it is vulgar and funny and immature. It is a teen sex comedy, and as a teen sex comedy it is a teen sex comedy. It does what it is supposed to do. And I liked it. And Seth Green was in it. And Cyclops.

So it was a good movie. But The Wackness and Nick and Norah's... were more than just good. Maybe because they were movies about more than just raunchy comedy. They were (and are, I guess) movies about young love, music and New York.

I don't know if New York can ever live up to all the movies I've seen about it. But especially these most recent films. The Wackness and Infinite Playlist love New York. Two different New Yorks, true, but both are full of love.

The Wackness is a period piece. It takes place in 1994. New York was undergoing some massive changes, so the movie told me. The new mayor was cracking down on all of New York's seedy glory, and a new wave of hip hop was starting to bubble up. The crime crack down doesn't really play that big a role, but plays a huge role at the same time. Our lead doesn't get busted for dealing (spoiler?) but every scene of him dealing has an added edge because there is a chance that he might.

Our lead is a troubled youth. His home life ain't so crash hot, he doesn't really have any friends, he don't got much but his pot and his music. He's seeing a shrink. A shrink that has plenty of his own problems. They bond over pot, over music, and over the urge to get laid.

This is a nice looking film, washed out loveliness. And the soundtrack was stellar. That was around the last time I was actually in to the hip hop scene, so it ws filled with music I had forgotten I loved.

I didn't like The Wackness as much as N&NIP, but that opinion might change by tomorrow. They are two side of a coin. New York is beautiful (and seamy) and filled with great music (Indie or hip hop) and full of people falling in (and out) of love. And having their hearts broken.

And both films have mix tapes/CDs playing a big part in how their lead characters connect. I miss that. I miss agonizing how to best distill my essence, my mood, my me into 12 or so songs. It was an ephemeral art that I fear is already lost. We all carry all our music on us now. And I know I spend more time skipping past songs than actually listening.

How do I give my music to you? A playlist? It doesn't seem the same.

It's not the same.

kiss kiss bang bang

Is awesome. Seriously. It is full of great dialogue said by great actors. And it looks great. And there are boobs! And violence!

I must own this film! And memorize it.

I think the buddy action flick may well be my favourite genre of film.

That may just be my post-viewing glow.

Another Week Another Movie

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist is a scruffily charming movie. There's nothing new in the film, but it is all just so dang likable. The music, the actors,... No that's basically it. The direction could have been sharper, as could the picture. But yeah I liked watching their like turn into maybe love. Just cute.

to be fair

I also didn't like The Big Lebowski when I first saw it. Or Pulp Fiction. Maybe I have bad first taste in movies.

Burn After Reading

I have not seen all of the Coen Brothers' movies. But I have seen a fair few of them. Liked a couple of them. Loved even more of them. Raising Arizona may well be my favourite comedy of all time.

But some of their films take a few viewings to sink in. I hope Burn After Reading is one of them. Because, having just seen it, I don't even know if I like it. This is the first time were I could see what critics of the brothers were saying. It seemed to be a collection of annoying people doing annoying things for stupid reasons. Some of the people died ugly deaths. And then it was over.

I have to see it again, but I'm not working forward to it.

More Movies

Rearranged the basement over the last few days. I like how it turned out. It's like a tunnel of couches in front of our big new tv.

Movies look good on our big new tv. It's like our own little home theatre. Kinda.

We watched a couple ridiculous movies in our home cinema; the new Die Hard and Snakes on a Plane. Actually, I believe Carla coined a new word to describe them: retardulous.

Which is the whole point of Snakes on a Plane and kind of regrettable in Die Hard 4.0 (as it was known in Japan)

Yeah, coulda seen the flick in a theatre in Japan but decided against it. It just didn't look like a Die Hard movie to me. Plus I was not all that sold on the director. He made an action film about the battle between vampires and werewolves and made it one of the dullest pieces of crap imaginable. That takes a special skill to screw a movie like that up.

Die Hard 4.0 was not a dull film. But in its sweaty efforts to not be dull, it just gets too god damn unbelievable. I know that action movies have to keep upping the stakes, but there have to be a line somewhere. Die Hard didn't just cross the line, it roared over the line in a semi on fire.

I liked the retardulous action, I ignored all the stupid cyber-talkery, and I enjoyed John McLane. There were a couple nice character beats in this film, which I was not expecting. And all the supporting characters were just ducky. Except for the main villain. He didn't get a good speech. He didn't kill anyone in cool or exciting ways and his backstory seemed off. I get his motivation, I understand his goals, but I don't understand his blood thirstiness. His motives don't match his means. To me. And while I enjoyed the action and enjoyed the characters, I'm not sure they needed to be in the same film.

And I don't know if Sam Jackson needed to be in Snakes on a Plane. It would have been just as retardulous without him. And he brings this baggage with him, this baddass baggage. It is hard to look all that badass when punching a small reptile. This film is not about the acting, it is all about the action. And nearly all the action is snakes biting unnamed characters. Which they do. The effects are not good. And that is why it is good.

This is not a good looking movie. There is one good shot in the film, one of the opening ones, a sweeping helicopter vista shot zooms in to follow an extreme dude on his extreme bike. I thought maybe this would be an interesting looking film. I was wrong. The rest looked like a direct to video effort. Which was fine.

I wanted laughable writing, average effects, amusing gore, snakes biting naughty parts and Mr. Jackson yelling and swearing.

Mission Accomplished.

Double Will

Meant to see Burn After Reading last night but was too full of shrimp to do so.

Instead we rolled into bed and watched Blades of Glory. Figure they're about the same - comedy wise.

It was better than I expected, but I was expecting sub-Taledega Nights level comedy. It was better than that. But still just an average Will Ferrel type comedy show.

But Stranger than Fiction was an above average Will Ferrel type movie. I expected to enjoy it and I did. And then I drank beer and ate wings and ribs.

also

Last night we went out to Red Lobster for their Endless Shrimp dealy. Now that I am not young, these all you can eat things don't make as much sense. I miss being able to eat stupid amounts of food. Maybe I should take up some kind of physical activity to increase my hunger.

After not eating very much shrimp at all I finished off the meal with a biscuit soaked in garlic butter. It was a soggy disgusting mess. Probably took three years off my life. But it may have been worth it. My bowel evacuations have been nearly light speed. They dart out like thieves in the night. Sneaky butt thieves.

multi-grain

I don't want to harp on this, but when you are having trouble sleeping sleep is a bout all you think about. The falling asleep and staying asleep are smaller problems, but it is the waking up that is the main issue. Every day waking up is like swimming through mud to land on a beach of sludge. It is just unpleasant and not a good way to start the day.

blerg flurm

This lack of sleep sucks so much. I woke up this morning, took my lovely wife out for a birthday breakfast then fell asleep for a few hours. Now I am up and am pretty sure that either the air or my body has increased in density. Moving is laborious and exhausting. I feel like I need a nap. But I fear how crap i might feel after the next nap.

The worst part is that our new bed is so comfy. I can't imagine how it is causing my current sleepless sorrows.

Ironical Funniness

The day after I blog about how I want to blog every day is a day where I don't blog. That seems to happen to me a lot.

But I have a feasible reason this particular time.

I was out at the cabin. The cabin is pretty much off the grid. It doesn't even have a phone.

But I am blogging now. Yay me.

I am blogging because I said I was gonna and also cuz I can't sleep. I've been having this problem ever since we got the new bed. Since before then even.

But before it was because the bed sucked. Our bed now is awesome yet still I don't sleep. Somewhat worrisome.

Almost as worrisome as my typing.

Regularity? Feh!

I'm gonna try to post something to one of my blogs every day before I g to bed. There always seems to be a few minutes left at the end of the day that would be filled nicely by blogging.

It'll be good practice. I gotta get into the habit of writing more. And I have to get used to writing with this fucked up finger of mine. It never goes where I want it to. Stupid fucking finger.

It angers me.

So what is new with me? Well thanks for not asking.

The Dark Knight did not disappoint. Which is pretty amazing considering how beloved the film already is. I can't really disagree with any of praise heaped upon it. Just a damn fine film. And Heath Ledger was indeed amazing.

Step Brothers and Pineapple Express were both funny. And uneven. And they made me long for a comedy with an actual script.

Hamlet 2 made me wish for a comedy with a better script. (I liked it, just to be clear)

Tropic Thunder made me laugh in just the way I wanted to. I don't know if it will hold up to repeat viewings, but that first viewing was a blast.

I think those are all the movies I have seen as of late. In the theatres. Watched some stuff at home as well. Checking out the commentary tracks on Spaced. Kevin Smith is still fat and filthy. And I really liked Juno. I love quirky dialogue. Love it. With love.

I think that is all for now. Until the next now: later!

All Wet

We didn't end up seeing any of the last day of the Folk Fest. There was lightning and rain and such. Stouter folk than we braved the elements, but we went out for dinner instead. I regret nothing.

I'm still trying to figure out what it was about Hellboy 2 that bothered me so much. Maybe bothered isn't the right word. Nothing in the film engaged me. No, there was also stuff in there that outright annoyed me as well. Young Hellboy for instance. Actually every single character in the movie annoyed me. That's kind of a big problem. I think del Toro was so busy focussing on the big themes of the movie that he forgot all the little things. i was too busy focussing on all the little things to care about the big things.

More Festevaluation

Day two was a much more subdued affair. very mellow. so low key i don't think imma gonna capitalize anymore. the great lake swimmers were very nice, full of wistful, lovely songs n such. as were most of the other acts of the night. the standout f the evening was Suzanne Vega. She gets capitalized, cuz she deserves it damnit! Such a great voice, full of cute and sweet and sad all at the same time, and she writes songs that serve her voice well.

There one big problem with this evenings line up was the host. I forget her name and am glad of it. Who the fuck can render the do do doo do do do doo do part of Tom's Diner unrecognizable? I thought it impossible. Bitchtard proved me wrong. Any time she approached the mic, I started feeling all punchy.

Folk Fest

The39th Annual Regina Folk Festival is going on right now. in years past, we had just bummed around outside, listening to the music for free. Cuz I was a young punk kid. But now I feel motivated to spend money to support stuff I like. And I liked every single artist onstage last night. The Weakerthans, Final Fantasy, Broken Social Scene, plus some lovely local bands like Library Voices and Polymath. And the crowd was great. Not too rowdy, not too pushy, but not too small either. It was just right.

Bits of Blog

So I went to the Exhibition this past weekend. As always, I went mainly for the food. But this time I did not partake of any of the old favourites. No Mr. Souvlaki, no little donuts, no corndogs, no brats covered in onions and peppers. Nope. Too much new stuff. New stuff like deep fried Coke. It tasted like deep fried Coke. And the deep fried Oreos tasted like deep fried Oreos. Those names are pretty self explanatory.

Hot Beef Sundae and Taco in a Bag need some explaining. The delicious Hot Beef Sundae consists of two buttery scoops of buttery mashed potatoes covered in melt in your mouth barbequed beef smothered and covered in barbeque sauce, said sauce sprinkled with grated cheese and topped with a cherry tomato. So good. Delicious as all hell. Only sligtly less delicious was the Taco in a Bag.

Take a bag of Doritos, crush it all up and then cut open the side of the bag. Throw some ground beef, some salsa, some sour cream and some shredded lettuce into the bag. Do all that and you have yourself a Taco in a Bag.

The food at the Ex was fantastic, as was the entertainment. And I'm not talking about the dog show, although that was nice.

I'm talking about Weird Al.

Go ahead and laugh, but that spastic bastard puts on a hell of a show. Multimedia as all get out. Video clips and skits in between the songs. The videos served two purposes: they were funny and they gave Al and his band time to change costumes. There were a lot of costume changes.

The guy played for two hours and then came back for another half hour encore. I was impressed.

I was not as impressed with Hellboy 2. I cannot believe that people are saying it is better than the original. The effects are better, the creatures are amazing, the action is great, but it all added up to less than the sum of its parts. The creatures were cool looking for the sake of being cool looking. Or maybe it was to show how vibrant the other world (the world mankind is greedily destroying) is. But it didn't seem all that vibrant. It seemed ugly. The whole movie seemed ugly. It was a nice looking ugly, but still ugly. And Hellboy seemed less likeable. Everyone did. Blurg.

Movies

It is just like me to start blogging to bitch. I bitched about my broken finger. But what really made me want to blog, before my still twisted finger, was Wall E. But I didn't. I couldn't. I can't. I can bitch. That is easy. But to properly praise such a glorious film? My ironic slacker vocabulary is not equipped to deal with that. All I can say is that it is a truly lovely film. The film is suffused with love and the longing that goes hand in hand with it.

I was going to say that I haven't really seen a disappointing film yet this year, but then I remembered the latest Indy. But for everything wrong in Indy, there was something right in Get Smart. Get Smart was so much more enjoyable than that Crystal Skull flick. The funny parts were actually funny. The action looked real. And the funny and the action were mixed together nicely. It was a good time. I liked it a lot more than I thought I would.

I feel like I should write more about all these films, but that would just be me wasting words. New Indy - why? Get Smart - surprisingly good. Wall E - God Damn Wonderful.

My finger

So I broke my finger round about a week ago.  Almost exactly a week ago.  Spooky.  The middle finger on my right hand.  One bone in that finger in a couple places.  It looked gross.  Still does.  I don't think the doctor who fixed my finger actually fixed it.  So I got my family doctor to look at it, to make sure that everything was A OK.

He said everything was A OK.  But he didn't look at my finger.  He X-rayed my finger (said the lady who took my finger X-ray, "That doesn't look right.") and looked at the X-ray.  He said the X-ray looked good.  That may be.  But my finger looks like shit.  Feels like shit too.  Not that it hurts, oh no.  But when I lay my fingers flat on a table, my middle finger feels WAY off.  Only half of the pad, half of my fingertip comes in contact with the table.

I don't care if my X-ray looks good.  I do care if my finger will work right at the end of all this.  And I don't think it will.  I'm kinda pissed off right now.

Uni Qlo

Yeah, there are scads of things I am going to miss about Japan.

But not scat. Won't miss that.

I will miss the commercials. Most are crazy, some are cute and then there is my new favourite commercial.

It is for Uni Qlo.

It starts with a topless lady walking into a room. The lady's shapely back is to the camera as she strides across the modern looking room (all white and bright). She picks a piece of clothing off of a chair in the middle of the room and steps into it. She fixes the straps on her shoulders and then turns around. It is a camisole type of thing, with the bra built in.

The commercial ends with the lady bouncing down the street, all happy like.



I spend all this time trying to describe the stupid commercial when i realize that I could just show it to you. You're welcome. And...

Yeah.  I miss the crap out of Japan sometimes.