Come on and get the minimum

Where did everyone go?

Went to Persian New Year on Saturday. I didn't know that you "went" to Persian New Year. I just thought either you celebrated it or didn't. Either way it was a lot of fun. Nikoo's family is great and very entertaining to be around. I also find it hilarious how much Nikoo's parents want to .r. Kim.

I'm getting over being sick...again. I'm so annoyed with being sick. Hopefully that will be the last time till...summer maybe when I will be around all sorts of kids with mucus and germs emanating from their grubby little hands. Also I hope I will get more energy since it has been sucked out of me for the past week.

Went and saw Repo Men today. It was a good renter at best. I got a little bored with it right from the get go and about half way through. It picked up near the ending and caught my attention with it's obvious nod to the excellent film Old Boy, but still somewhat of a stinker.



Heard some of the new Deftones today and I'm looking forward to listen to the rest of it. Pretty heavy sounding.

















Top 10 video games:

10. Street Fighter series
9. Mario 64
8. Toe Jam and Earl
7. Mario Kart series
6. Castlevania 2
5. God of War series
4. Rock Band series
3. Portal
2. Shadow of the Colossus
1. Bioshock

A Day in the Life

I haven't written in here in a while. Everything is going well. Ampersand is playing more and more. I think she developed a game that involves waking us up while we're in deep sleep. I don't know who taught her this game, but they just made my list. Kim and I went to see Far and Stomacher at Bottom of the Hill recently. Patrick and Shayna talked Stomacher up a bunch and Kim and myself did the same with Far. It was sort of like trading bands. I think it's safe to say all four of us were pleased. Excellent show all around.



Kim and I were bunched up right up front.



These two previous photos were taken by Christopher Victorio and were hosted on the SF Weekly website. I took a handful of photos but thought these spoke well for the night.

I also decided last week based on Ampersand's pose while sitting on our bed that I would give a shot. I know a handful of people that have done this/are doing this and I always thought it would be fun. I'll be taking a picture every day and posting 7 at a time. I started on 3.12.10 so here they are...

Top 10 bands I want to see live:

10. Tegan and Sara

9. Band of Horses

8. The New Pornographers

7. MGMT

6. Prince

5. Lou Reed

4. The Dead Weather

3. John Frusciante

2. Bjork

1. Radiohead

5.18.10.

New Deftones.



http://bit.ly/930dGt

Go and download the new track!!!

Also, new Far album coming out the same day. How spectacular. Now only if they would tour together.

Top 10 Deftones songs:

10. Minerva
9. Korea
8. Rapture
7. Around The Fur
6. Engine No.9
5. Can't Hardly Breathe
4. My Own Summer (Shove it)
3. Passenger
2. Back To School (Mini-Maggot)
1. Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)

Oscars.....dot com.

I love film. It's something that fills a gap that nothing else can. Sure, music has its enormous niche as do books but film, since I was a wee lad, is the cheese on my macaroni. The Oscars are approaching and I've seen the majority of the films nominated. I would like to see a few more before the night of the show so I can root for the most deserving film, actor, actress, etc... in my opinion. I like to see everyone all done up and react to other people of their profession. Call me a dork, but I enjoy to see who the winning person shakes hands with as they walk proudly down the aisle.

Anyway, the nominees were announced the other day so here is who I want to win what ...

Best Picture:

Avatar
The Blind Side
District 9
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious
A Serious Man
Up
Up In The Air



I'm just excited that District 9 got nominated for this category. It is a surprise so if that wins, I'll be pretty happy. Overall, I would like to see Inglourious take it home. This was my favorite film of the year and just might be Tarantino's best. For me, it had everything. The Hurt Locker will probably take it. I'm surprised by the number of nominations. I think they should have done this last year in which case The Dark Knight would have been up for it. I would have loved to see that win.

Best Actor:

Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart)
George Clooney (Up In The Air)
Colin Firth (A Single Man)
Morgan Freeman (Invictus)
Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker)



I really want to see Crazy Heart before the Oscars and that could happen. Also, A Single Man is in my top 3 movies I really want to see at the moment. I'd heard decent things about Invictus, but have yet to see that either. That being said I think Jeremy Renner should get the win. He did a great job in this film, far better than anything I've seen him in.

Best Supporting Actor:

Matt Damon (Invictus)
Woody Harrelson (The Messanger)
Christopher Plummer (The Last Station)
Stanley Tucci (The Lovely Bones)
Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds)



Every year there is a performance or two that just stick out above the rest. Christoph Waltz owns this. It's nice to see Woody get a nom though. I also have unfortunately not seen any of these other films.

Best Actress:

Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side)
Helen Mirren (The Last Station)
Carey Mulligan (An Education)
Gabourey Sidibe (Precious)
Meryl Streep (Julie and Julia)



I only saw An Education out of this bunch, but I think Carey Mulligan is who I would vote for regardless. I also can't stand Maryl Streep's voice in J&J. I don't care how close it was to the real lady.

Best Supporting Actress:

Penelope Cruz (Nine)
Vera Farmiga (Up In The Air)
Maggie Gyllenhaal (Crazy Heart)
Anna Kendrick (Up In The Air)
Mo'Nique (Precious)



I enjoyed both of the performances in Up In The Air, but don't think they were strong enough to take it in this category. I love Maggie Gyllenhaal and think she has what it takes to win, but I have yet to see Crazy Heart. I've heard amazing things about Mo'Nique in Precious, so I bet she'll take it.

Best Director:

Avatar (James Cameron)
The Hurt Locker (Kathryn Bigelow)
Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino)
Precious (Lee Daniels)
Up In The Air (Jason Reitman)



I feel like Kathryn Bigelow will take this since she won the DGA, but it would be nice to see Tarantino grab it.

Best Animated Feature = Up

Best Art Direction - The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (hope hope hope!!!!)

Best Cinematography - Inglourious please, but I have yet to see The White Ribbon which could trump it.

Best Documentary - The Cove. I have no doubts.

Best Foreign Film - The only one I will have seen by the time the awards show kicks off is The White Ribbon, so I don't really know who will win, but I do want to see all the noms.

I hope this has been somewhat interesting. I'd like to see a short feature following a handful of directors and who ever as they vote and give their opinions on what they think deserves to be nominated and/or win.

On a side note, but still having to do with film, I watched a hilarious spoof on the blaxploitation genre of the 1970's called Black Dynamite. It's coming out on DVD either later this month or early next month. I highly recommend it.



Top 10 time travel movies:

10. Time Bandits
9. Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure
8. Returner
7. Army of Darkness
6. Back To The Future
5. 12 Monkeys
4. Donnie Darko
3. Back To The Future 2
2. Primer
1. Terminator 2: Judgment Day

.Untitled.

So it's official. I hate my car. Others hate my car. I haven't really met anyone who likes my car. It's having electrical problems and I'm having car problems. Stupid.

I'm contemplating what I want to do next in my life. Back to school? Online something or other? I should do it now while I can do online work at...well, work. It's hard for me to put my finger on what that is exactly.

Kim and I went to the Exploratorium with Patrick and Shayna and had a blast. It was a perfect idea that Kim had on a semi-raining day. It was followed by a delicious dinner that Patrick cooked and some Mario on the Wii. Quite possibly the best day of 2010 thus far.

I'm reading the same books I've been reading for a month or so. Under the Dome, Helter Skelter, Conversations with Walter Murch, and I just started The Name of the World by Denis Johnson. I am really enjoying the first three and haven't been able to sink my teeth into the Johnson book.

I've been watching some movies that I haven't really had an extreme urge to see, but was curious about. 2012, Deja Vu, The Bank Job, etc... The Bank Job was actually pretty awesome.

Top 10 film characters:

10. Ash (Bruce Campbell, Evil Dead trilogy)
9. Randle Patrick McMurphy (Jack Nicholson, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest)
8. Amelie (Audrey Tautou, Amelie)
7. Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale, American Psycho)
6. Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt, Fight Club)
5. Han Solo (Harrison Ford, Star Wars trilogy)
4. The Joker (2009) (Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight)
3. Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood)
2. Jack Burton (Kurt Russell, Big Trouble In Little China)
1. Bill the Butcher (Daniel Day-Lewis, Gangs of New York)



God bless America.

Best of other things.

3/4 and 4/4 rolled into one. Music and books. Here's this.

Top 10 music releases of 2009.

10. Julian Casablancas - Phrazes For The Young
9. Cursive - Mama, I'm Swollen
8. Dredg - The Pariah, the Parrot, the Delusion
7. Portugal. The Man - The Satanic Satanist
6. Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
5. Against Me! - The Original Cowboy
4. AFI - Crash Love
3. Frank Turner - Poetry of the Deed
2. The Mars Volta - Octahedron
1. Jonah Matranga - You're 16, You're 23, You're 32



Key phrase being "music releases of 2009", this D.I.Y. box set of old demos and old tracks was one of the best collections of music. While they might just sound like unpolished tunes to someone unfamiliar with Jonah and the number of bands he's been in, this collection of tracks on 3 CDs (A total of 41 songs :) is an exciting look at the inside of this already so personal artist. Tracks from bands he's been in spanning from when he was 23 all the way to 32 show his progression as well as seeing how certain songs were shaped then compared to how they turned out on whatever album they were later released on. As a Jonah Matranga fan, this is a must have and one of the best items he's ever released.


Top 10 books I've read this year (and not necessarily released)...

10. The Informers
9. Pygmy
8. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
7. Slaughterhouse-Five
6. Everything Is Illuminated
5. Jesus' Son
4. Ender's Game
3. American Gods
2. The Walking Dead
1. The Dark Tower: book 7



I've written various times about my love for the Dark Tower series. I've hooked 3(going on 4...my mom just needs to start it) people on the series. One of which has finished the whole series and already wants to read it again, and the other is on book 4 and really liking it. That being said, I finished book 7 (the last in the series) early this year, I think back in January or early February even. It basically shook the pillars of heaven. I recently loaded the first book on my iPod nano to listen to it all again. I can't get enough and pretty much shit myself when hearing that Stephen King is working on another Dark Tower book (taking place between book 4 and book 5). I'm also reading the incredible graphic novels that have been coming out steadily this year. All I can say is that I can't recommend these books enough.

I plan on putting a top 10 _____________ in every blog I post this year. Similar to the top 5 idea on the nic cage is the anti-christ blog. We'll see how long it lasts :)

Films of 2009.

Here is part 2/4 of my top 10s of 2009. Films. There were a bunch of films I didn't get a chance to see that I wanted to see. They kind of snuck up on me and it's just too expensive to see everything in the theater. So here we go. Possible spoilers, but I will keep them to a minimum, if any.

10. Fantastic Mr. Fox



Taking up the end of the list is this animated gem that I found myself enjoying more than the kids I took to see it. I had wanted to see it, but thought of it as a two-birds-with-one-stone situation. I loved the not-so-smooth stop animation as a welcomed break from the shiny and clean pixar-esque films this year. This film also kept me laughing all through out which is rare for a "family" film.


9. The Hangover



A piss-and-fart-joke comedy that took me by surprise. I wasn't expecting too much when I walked into the theaters to see this bad boy, but I found myself laughing more at this movie than any other comedy this year. Upon watching it a second time, I was still in stitches. I loved all the characters and almost how episodic it was.


8. (500) Days of Summer



Just recently watched this on our new HDTV. I had wanted to see this since before it came out so I had an inclination that I would enjoy this film, but not to this extent. I'm emotional and enjoy a good romantic story, which this was. But I wouldn't say it's a love story because that would insinuate a happy ending...at least to me it would. I love their love for The Smiths. It also has an amazing cameo by a certain someone from the Star Wars trilogy.


7. District 9



Here is another movie I went into with mediocre expectations which were exceeded almost immediately. The way the material was handled was clever in the sense that they fused the mockumentary style with sci-fi narrative. The central character is another main reason for my love of this film. He is flawed and viewed pretty much as a racist, but he has such...charm, I guess, that we are rooting for him anyway. Also had an awesome and unique ad campaign. This film is incredibly fun.


6. The Road



Having read the book of the same name by author Cormac McCarthy and it being in my top 5 books of all time, I was somewhat skeptic about this film. Also, the fact that it was shelved for almost a year due to sub par reviews and some reconstruction of story elements did not help either. That said, Viggo and John Hillcoat (the director who also did 2005's The Proposition which was an excellent jaunt back into the western genre) were two reasons I was willing to still give it a shot. Whatever they did in that year of down time worked, because the film, while straying a little bit from the book managed to have the same dark tones and themes while keeping the majority of the emotion that the book had.


5. The Hurt Locker



This film had me on the edge of my seat and holding my breath from the first scene. About an Army bomb squad unit, Jeremy Renner plays a good smart-ass-tough-guy with the sensitive guy on the inside character. An interesting look into an occupation we so rarely get to see. Beautifully shot and gripping all the way through. I can't wait to see this again since I saw it earlier this year.


4. Where The Wild Things Are



A book that I didn't have when I was a kid and one I didn't read until in my 20's, Where The Wild Things Are came and kicked my heart my chest and handed it back politely when it was finished. Everything from the costumes and sets, to the boy Max who played Max and Karen O and the Kid's heart warming soundtrack, this is the kind of film that you want to live inside with all your friends. I feel like this is a kid's film made for adults and can't wait to watch it on blu-ray under my covers in the confines of my own home.


3. Up In The Air



This film has more heart than most people I know. I guess ultimately this film can be categorized as a "romantic comedy" which it is to some extent, but it's also so much more than that. This is the role that George Clooney was born to play. I'm sure I read that somewhere, but that's because it's true. He's also surrounded by an excellent comedic cast who don't try and steal screen time, but instead compliment Clooney's performance. Overall, this movie had me from the get go. I did not want this movie to end.

2. Moon



Some will say District 9 was THE science fiction film of the year. Others will say Avatar (which I have yet to see) is it. For me though, this quiet space story directed by David Bowie's son, Duncan Jones, grabbed this spot. It's lack of special effects as well as Sam Rockwell's performance shaped this film to be out of this world (pun intended). The drab colors and the space station's calming celebrity voice instantly reminded me of Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey in only the best of ways.


1. Inglourious Basterds



This years number one film for me was Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds (spelled differently for his own unknown reasons). Being an avid Tarantino fan and it being about scalping Nazis, I thought I was in heaven. A simple misunderstanding though. Brad Pitt's accent and delivery of his lines had just the right amount of humor in it, while Christoph Waltz playing the die hard Nazi hunter will almost for certain win an Oscar. Completed with voice cameos by Tarantino favorites Samuel L. Jackson and Harvey Keitel, this film delivers 110%. While I'm still up in the air about this being QT's masterpiece, I would definitely say it is one of my top 3 QT films.


So close...

Drag Me To Hell
The Watchmen
Zombieland
Up
The Cove


There are a number of films I have yet to see that just might or might not influence this list. Those are:

Avatar
A Serious Man
A Single Man
An Education
The White Ribbon
Precious
The Informant!
Ponyo
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
Nine
Anvil
Crazy Heart
Food Inc.
The Messanger
Invictus
Anti Christ
This Side of the Truth