All the kids have always known...

Haven’t blogged in a long while. This is due to my crazy class load, student teaching (2^nd grade in Dublin!), Trader Joe’s, and my slim social life and time I get to spend with the lovely K.I.M. I haven’t had much to add with the exception of moving along in the program I’m in at Cal State University of East Bay. I went to Rock The Bells with some friends who I hadn’t really hung out with outside of work and had an absolute blast. It was refreshing to see a genre of music that I’m not used to seeing live, especially artists that fucking kill it. Mos Def/Talib Kwali, Nas, Common, Supernatural (incredible!), and my favorite of the day, a bit of GZA and Genius, and Childish Gambino (A.K.A. Troy from the T.V. show Community) were the bulk of our day.

We’ve moved in with Kim’s family to save money. Going from the annoying parking on creekside in Walnut Creek to the plentiful parking in a neighborhood in San Ramon is pretty nice. Since Kim and I will be crazy-go-nuts busy for the next 18 months or so, we wouldn’t be able to work as much as we’d like and live comfortably paying rent and what not. It’s been going well. Adaptations are being made. Modifications are being put into play. Kim and I also took a day to go to Big Sur. It was a nice little getaway with perfect weather for driving, listening to music, hiking, geocaching, butting in on other peoples' picnics, and other hijinks.

A few days ago, I got a call from my mom. It was regarding my dad. My dad and I haven’t been the closest recently. Our relationship has been strained. In short, it was because of him that I choose not to drink…ever. That’s something I feel strongly about and will never change. But I digress; the call was to say hi and check in, but also to inform me that my dad has liver failure. He has a 50/50 shot at living till next summer and if he gets a transplant, a 90% chance of living out his life. We’ll see how that goes. I am going to try to go visit during the Thanksgiving break. Hopefully that will work out. I’ve never really dealt with something like this, but in other shitty situations, music has been a crutch, so I assume it will be something I can utilize to get me through and keep me afloat. I guess there is also this semester’s workload mixed with the student teaching and work to keep my mind on anything but that.

Random images from the past few weeks or so...

Light years came and light years passed.

It's been a while. Been busy this summer with school and work. First chunk done. Made a lot of new friends through school. Hopefully ones I will keep once this cohort business is done. The majority of them seem like they enjoy going places. Doing stuff. You wouldn't think it, but that's a quality that is somewhat hard to find in people. Just calling it like I see it.



Not too many shows recently. Been trying to save money, but we went and saw Alkaline Trio and Jonah recently. Both of which were a lot of fun and well worth it. Jonah played down in Santa Cruz, so we went down a little early and messed around there before the show. I got a nifty computer case...for my new computer. My other one was on it's last leg, but it's still running.



Haven't really been able to watch many movies, especially ones in the theater. I did see Insidious and 13 Assassins. Insidious was alright. Nothing to write home about. 13 Assassins however was pretty solid all the way through. It got a little redundant in the battle scenes, but now I'm just nit picking. In my top 10 of this year easily.



Been listening to a lot of new music. ††† (pronounced Crosses)came out with an EP which I am in love with. I think it just hit at the right time. When I first listened to it, I was in the perfect mood. I love when that happens. It's a side project with Chino from the Deftones and Shaun Lopez from Far. Also, a lot more hip hop. Cage, Childish Gambino, Tyler the Creator, etc... Some good stuff.





R.I.P. Grandma

We're the unmended, the untended, cold soldiers of the shoe.

Long time no blog. Really long time. For that I apologize...if there is anyone to apologize to. Still working at Trader Joes and I can say now that it's one of my favorite jobs. I enjoy my co-workers, the work, and the environment.

Yeah. I have begun my stint at Cal State East Bay. I'm currently going after my multiple subject and special ed credentials. I hope to work with kids with special needs. Goal. I loved doing so during those many summers working at Quest. A lot of work will be needed to be done. This might be the last blog for a little while.

Kim and I are getting married. This might be old news for some, but I have yet to blog about it so here it is...web logged. I'm excited to grow together and plan and all sorts of other stuff. It makes my head spin thinking about the future. All I know is that I'm looking forward to it. I asked Andy to be my best man. Things are moving along.



Kim and I (and her family) just got back from Hawaii. We stayed in Kona on the big island and it was as relaxing as it could have been. I didn't get eaten by a shark. It was awesome. We hung out by the pool, went snorkeling, ate some good ass shaved ice, watched a guy cover Elton John's Daniel on the ukulele, and did some reading (The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest...digging it so far, but not as good as the other two).
















Speaking of Stieg Larsson's awesome creation, the teaser trailer was recently released of Fincher's version and I can't wait to see what he does with the material. It's also exciting to hear the soundtrack done by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (and an appearance by Karen O as heard on the trailer covering Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song).



One of my favorite teaser trailers. The constant pace and the music is perfect for the dark and exciting tone of the material.

We saw Super 8 recently and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was like a modern day E.T. meets The Goonies. It was fun and care free and had me hooked since the first frame. It made me care like those two films did. I'm bad with segues. Speaking of segues, my favorite film of the year so far is I Saw The Devil. An amazing and well shot revenge tale that takes it a step further. Pleased me and was just as gut wrenching and painful the second time around. I can't recommend this enough if you can handle some gore.

Painted sun in abstract

Painted sun in abstract.

2011 is underway. Trader Joe's is going well. Just got my benefits package which is active on Feb. 1st. Time to get my teeth cleaned and my eyes checked.

I need to get my car smogged. I hate car troubles. Not that I think it won't pass, but I'm sure there will be some shaft or plug that needs replacing or tightening and will cost more than it should. Annoying. I also hate printer problems.

Kim got a new bike a little while back. It's cute. I want a new bike as well. I would drive less. I really would. We could go on bike rides together and laugh at people walking, getting to their destinations slower.



In the hall of the mountain king.

I recently watched a few films that were better than I thought they would be.

Buried - Starring Ryan Reynolds which initially makes me think this film would be filled with witty remarks and snappy come backs, but there are very few, but when they come up they fit and work to relieve the tension. Speaking tension, it starts out slowly and just keeps building with his present situation. I wasn't expecting much even though I'd heard pretty good things, but was pleasantly surprised. I really enjoyed this film and highly recommend it. Also, I watched it in the dark on my computer with headphones, so maybe that added something to the film's atmosphere, or maybe the movie did it on its own. Either way, you should check it out.



The Last Exorcism - Hearing good and bad things about this film, I decided to check it out regardless because I love the horror genre. Not as good as Buried, but instantly I was drawn in and enjoyed the presence of the main character. With a cast of unknowns, I could buy more into the "documentary" feel of it. Even when it got to the much talked about ending, I just went along with it. I could see why people didn't like it, but I thought it was fun. Not for everyone, but if you like horror movies then it's worth looking into.



Will be going to Tahoe with Kim and her family this coming weekend. I look forward to that. Always a great time and very relaxing.

And here is a list of 100 films I want to watch this year that I have yet to see...all of which are already out.

1. The African Queen
2. Afterschool
3. The American
4. The Best Years of Our Lives
5. Boy A
6. Caligula
7. Calvaire
8. Che
9. Children of Invention
10. Children Underground
11. Chloe
12. Cider House Rules
13. The Crucible
14. Dead Snow



15. The Deep
16. Departures
17. East of Eden
18. El Topo
19. The Elephant Man
20. Enter The Void
21. The Fighter
22. Firestarter
23. Fitzcarraldo



24. The Fog
25. The Forbidden Zone
26. Frankie and Johnny
27. Get Low
28. The Great Dictator
29. Greenberg
30. Hang 'Em High
31. High and Low
32. House
33. Hunger
34. I Am Love
35. In The Mood For Love
36. Jules and Jim
37. King Corn
38. The King's Speech
39. Kung Fu Panda
40. L.I.E.
41. La Mission
42. Lake of Fire
43. The Last Emperor
44. Le Samourai
45. Let Me In



46. Liquid Sky
47. Lust, Caution
48. Master of the Flying Guillotine
49. Micmacs
50. Mommy Dearest
51. My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done
52. Nobody Knows
53. Not Quite Hollywood
54. Out of Africa
55. Palookaville
56. Pandora's Box
57. Paper Moon
58. Passion of Joan of Arc
59. Persona
60. Pickpocket



61. Pooty Tang
62. Rambo II
63. Rambo III
64, Red Road
65. The Red Shoes
66. Reversal of Fortune
67. Rocky 2
68. Rocky 3
69. Rocky 4
70. Rocky 5
71. Rocky Balboa
72. The Room
73. A Room With A View
74. Salesman
75. The Secret of Kells



76. A Serbian Film
77. Sin Nombre
78. Solaris (original)
79. Somewhere
80. Sophie Scholl
81. Stalag 17
82. The Sweet Hereafter
83. Terms of Endearment
84. Terror in Tiny Town
85. Tetro
86. Tetsuo
87. This Is It
88. Time of the Wolf



89. Tron: Legacy
90. Toy Story 3
91. 2010: The Year We Make Contact
92. 2046
93. Umberto D.
94. Unbearable Lightness of Being
95. The Wages of Fear
96. Waking Sleeping Beauty
97. White Dog
98. A Woman Under the Influence
99. Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
100. Z

A visual aid.

339+16+17

2010 is done. Went by pretty damn quickly. Kim and I got a new place. Ampersand became part of our family. I passes the CBEST and changed jobs. I learned a lot about the Manson family. Another summer with quest camp. Another xmas spent delivering meals to people in need. Met some new people that are kind and worth knowing.

This time last year I decided to note every movie I watched this year. That list grew to 339. 155/339 were ones I've never seen before. Here are some images from ones I've watched...

4.

8.

15.

16.

19.

23.

42.

112.

119.

201.


267.

321.


Out of the 16 books I read, the 5 I would recommend would be:

5. The Conversations: Walter Murch-The Art of Editing
4. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
3. Never Let Me Go
2. Helter Skelter
1. Under The Dome

Top 10 films that I watched in 2010 (that I hadn't seen before):

10. The Brother's Bloom
9. True Grit (2010)
8. The Square
7. The Secret In Their Eyes
6. Never Let Me Go
5. Shutter Island
4. Exit Through The Gift Shop
3. Black Swan
2. The Social Network
1. Inception