The End is Nigh

So it's almost the new year and I'm getting closer to deciding on my top 10 films of the year. I just saw Australia and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and, while I enjoyed both, neither will make the cut. I still need to see a few more key films to make my decision: Che, The Wrestler, Slumdog Millionaire, and The Reader. I say Revolutionary Road but, honestly, it's a Sam Mendes film (he did American Beauty, Road to Perdition, and Jarhead), so while one of those three films might be great, the others were mediocre. Thus, I don't care about his latest film--even if Leo and Kate are back together. Well, here's the list so far (in no particular order).

10. Wall-E
9. Wanted
8. Quantum of Solace
7. Forgetting Sarah Marshall
6. Tropic Thunder
5. Cloverfield
4. Milk.
3. Let the Right One In
2. Iron Man
1. The Dark Knight

While this list may change, I don't think the worst films of the year will. Granted this list is incomplete since I doubt I've seen all the worst films of the year.

10. Burn After Reading
9. The Punisher: War Zone
8. Max Payne
7. Mamma Mia
6. Blindness
5. 10,000 B.C.
4. Jumper
3. The Happening
2. Don't Mess with the Zohan
1. Miracle at St. Anna

Long time, no blog

I know, I know. I haven't been on here for a while. Teaching has been exhausting and my writing has gone into either preparing lectures, grading papers, or writing film reviews. But alas, as my roommates sit next to me watching Jericho, I find that I just might have the energy to do some writing.

First off. The election is over and my man Obama won. For the first time in a while I don't feel hopeless about this country's sad track record. I know he won't be able to do everything he wants to, but we desperately needed somebody new. Symbolically, this country needs to look different than it has been over the last 8 years. Also, I am saddened by the support behind Prop. 8. People can argue anyway they want, homophobia and bad theology is behind this one's support. I held discussions of the prop. in both my Biola and APU freshmen writing classes. It was truly amazing to see how different each group responded. Of course there were naive and prejudicial opinions in both classes (more at one than another though), but it was a night and day difference. It's not really that either campus had different views, just that some people know how to approach disagreements in a respectful manner.

In other news, I'm going potentially insane trying to nail down the classes I've be teaching in the spring. One of them was canceled, so I have to go on the hunt again. I'll find out probably next week if Biola will pick me up again. No matter what, I've truly learned that I love teaching and can't wait to start a PhD program and get that much closer to finding a full-time job. This whole adjunct thing is gonna be the death of me, not knowing what my schedule will look like from semester to semester. On another note, I was thinking about trying to teach at a college in Lithuania this summer. First off, it would be pretty fun to do it and second, it would look great on my CV (curriculum vitae), my academic resume. But with everything up in the air with my future, I have to admit that unexpected doors have been opened. I was expecting to have much more difficulty trying to find classes than I have had. Master's in theology don't normally get chances to teach pop culture, journalism, ethics, or general writing classes. I guess it helps to have a strong network of people that want to support you. (If I was anyone else right now, I'd make some claim about a "God thing" but my cheesiness factor was used up on bad one-liners in my lectures on Monday.)

Anyways, I'm sure I'll have a lot more focus in blogs to come, but for now I'll have to settle with a journal entry. That's it. Peace.

Upcoming movies to be stoked about

So the summer is basically over and with it, all the big movies are done. But there's still a lot I'm looking forward to this year and in the coming years. So here's a list of what I'm most excited about.

2008
James Bong 007: Quantum of Solace
Casino Royale may not have been the best James Bond flick, but Daniel Craig proved to be possibly the best Bong yet. Finally we're seeing the character have a soul. No more sleeping around and cocktails for the hell of it. This Bond is all about the mission and does what he has to, which may mean blowing off the girl rather than sticking around. He's emotional and emotionless, and with Marc Forster, director of Stranger Than Fiction and Finding Neverland, this film should be great.

Burn After Reading
The Coen brothers are returning to comedy after their evil tangent with No Country for Old Men. Brad Pit, George Clooney, and Tilda Swinton together, awesome.

Twilight
Hey, vampires are always awesome.

The Punisher: War Zone
I actually liked the first Punisher film. Even though the sequel has a different actor in the lead, it still looks to be a good time, super dark. After the first trailer hit the big screen, director Lexi Anderson said she was surprised they found enough action footage without gore. Colour me intrigued.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
David Fincher directed Alien 3 before doing thrillers, serial killer stories, and Fight Club. His next film looks completely different. It's nice to see him returning to films that could never happen. It looks like a Tim Burton film, but twice as smart.

2009
Watchmen
The director of 300 is back with another graphic novel adaptation...actually, the graphic novel adaptation. It looks amazing. This film more than any other has me freaking out. It's the mid '80s. Richard Nixon is still the president. Superheroes, while common in culture, have been made illegal. A lot of people wanna hate on 300, but it was a faithful adaptation, thus I have faith in director Zack Snyder (he also did the Dawn of the Dead remake, which was pretty good).

Wolverine
I didn't know what to think of this one until I saw a bootleg trailer that premiered at Comic Con. Now I'm stoked. Wolverine is a great character and using the Weapon X storyline to introduce a grip of new characters is a great idea.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
This one should've come out this year, but they pushed it back eight months, so annoying. Especially since the preview is to good. I love these movies and The Order of the Phoenix was great. We''ll see if they can keep it up.

Terminator Salvation
Christian Bale is one of new favourite actors, and attaching him to one of the most interesting sci-fi concepts is brilliant. Ever since the first Terminator movie, I've wanted to see the human/robot war. Finally, it's happening, and John Connor is Bale. Sweet!

Star Trek
I grew up on the Star Trek movies and shows, so this one makes me all nostalgic. But reminiscing about my youth isn't the only reason I'm gonna see this one. Creator of Lost and Cloverfield, J.J. Abrams is helming this, so it'll be interesting to see what fresh eyes can do for a very old franchise.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
I enjoyed Transformers, but it definitely took way too long to introduce Optimus Prime, luckily all the characters are established, so the explosions can just begin. Here's to badassness.

G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra
I grew up on this cartoon, so the idea of seeing Snakes Eyes in live action gives me nothing but good feelings all over. It's gonna be mindless and thoroughly entertaining.

Top 50 Villains

So a bunch of film sites have been posting their favorite cinematic villains, and I just had to chime in. This is my list, so film history takes a backseat to my personal preference. Don't hold me to the order after like 15. I've also got a top TV villains list here too.

Top 50 Film Villains
Jack the Ripper, Iam Holmes, From Hell
Dracula, Gary Oldman, Dracula
Lady Deathstrike, Kelly Hu, X2
The crawlers, The Descent
Alonzo, Denzel Washington, Training Day
Freddy Krueger, Robert Englund, A Nightmare on Elm Street
Samara Morgan, Daveigh Chase, The Ring
The shark, Jaws
Zero Wolf, Raoul Trujillo, Apocalypto
Queen Bavmorda, Jean Marsh, Willow
The Joker, Jack Nicholson, Batman
Hans Gruber, Alan Rickman, Die Hard
The Fratellis, Anne Ramsey, Joe Pantoliano and Robert Davi, The Goonies
Jigsaw, Tobin Bell, Saw
Jennifer Carpenter, Emily Rose (when possessed), The Exorcism of Emily Rose
Hayley Stark, Ellen Page, Hard Candy
The Operative, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Serenity
Prince Nuada/Nomak, Luke Goss, Hellboy II/Blade II
Zorg, Gary Oldman, The Fifth Element
Lord Voldemort, Ralph Fiennes, Harry Potter
Ursula, Pat Carroll (voice), The Little Mermaid
Hannibal Lector, Silence of the Lambs
The Cloverfield monster, Cloverfield
Woo-jin, Yu ji-Tae, Oldboy
The Wicked Witch of the West, Margaret Hamilton, The Wizard of Oz
The Witch, Lucille La Verne, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Satan, Rosalinda Celentano, The Passion of the Christ
Ommadon, James Earl Jones, The Flight of the Dragons
Mr. White, Harvey Keitel, Reservoir Dogs
Kevin, Elijah Wood, Sin City
Mr. Glass, Samuel L. Jackson, Unbreakable
Agent Smith, Hugo Weaving, The Matrix
The Emperor, Ian McDiarmid, Star Wars
Roy Batty, Rutger Hauer, Blade Runner
T-1000, Robert Patrick, Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Evil Ash, Bruce Campbell, Army of Darkness
The Predator, Kevin Peter Hall, Predator
The alien, Alien
The White Witch, Tilda Swinton, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe
Captain Hook, Dustin Hoffman, Hook
Anton Chigurh, Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men
'Verbal' Kint, Kevin Spacey, The Usual Suspects
Ringwraiths, The Lord of the Rings
Doc Ock, Alfred Molina, Spider-Man 2
G'mork, Alan Oppenheimer (voice), The Neverending Story
Darth Vader, David Prowse & James Earl Jones (voice), Star Wars
The infected, 28 Days Later
Captain Vidal, Sergi Lopez, Pan's Labyrinth
The Joker, Heath Leger, The Dark Knight

Top 10 TV Villains
Captain Aizen, Kyle Hebert (voice), Bleach
Lucy Butler, Sarah-Jane Redmond, Millennium
Cancer Man, William B. Davis, The X-Files
Princess Azula, Grey DeLisle (voice), Avatar: The Last Airbender
Benjamen Linus, Michael Emerson, Lost
Sylar, Zachery Quinto, Heroes
The cylons, Battlestar Galactica
Caleb, Nathan Fillion, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Angeles, David Boreanaz, Angel
The Shredder, James Avery (voice), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

A little bit of an insane week

So last Wednesday was my last day at the newspaper I'd been working for since October 2007. To celebrate, I went to Long Beach to hang out with Casey for a few days-something I've been doing every Wednesday since I got back from New York/Florida. What was supposed to be a two or three trip turned into a week long adventure. This was the vacation I needed. It was relaxing and packed full of stuff and many new faces.

Wednesday night I show up in Long Beach around 9pm. Casey and I chill for a while before going over to one of Casey's friends' houses. From there, a bunch of us take off to the nightlife, where we meet a number of savory, but mostly unsavory, characters. The party makes its way back to Casey's place, where we stay up talking until 5 in the morning, finally noticing the sun rise and deciding to go to sleep. Also, I love playing Halo.

Thursday I woke up at 2 in the afternoon and spent the day at a coffeeshop, preparing my Freshmen Writing syllabus. Around 8, Casey and I met up again and went over to the same friends' house. We'll call it the party house. We show up in the middle of drama. This is reality show stuff. You stole my beer so I'm gonna slap you, then start a rumor that you punched me, and then I'll drunkenly skate my anger away. It was rather ridiculous, but that's life in Long Beach. Anyways, the best part of this evening was meeting Chuck. He seemed like the cliche drunk guy chillin' on the front porch until we got him talking. The dude taught himself Greek to learn what Paul was talking about in the New Testament. I love these kinds of moments.

Friday
I wake up late again and do the coffeeshop gig. Casey and I opt for a chill night. We catch a late showing of Pineapple Express, before Casey's three friends from Arizona, Amber, Kalani, and Natalie, show up at 2 in the morning. So come 2, we head to the beach. We're just walking around when a group of 7 people invite us to join them and have some free Coronas. So random. That night was great.

Saturday Yet another late start. We get up, hit some coffee, and head to Hermosa for the Hermosa Shorts Film Festival. We do this until 10pm. There are a lot of amazing short films and some really bad ones too. I'd actually scene one, titled Monsoon, last year at a small film festival in Colorado. Crazy. Anyways, it's this night that I decide I'll stay until the girls leave on Wednesday. Why not, I don't have a job. We end the evening hanging around at the party house and then throw on Blade and fall asleep.

Sunday
Beach day! So we don't leave for Sunset Beach until 3pm. Very late start, but we still get 2 exhausting hours in on the water. Casey and myself frog hopped each other into the waves. Sounds fun until the big wave knocks you over. "My kidney! My kidney!" So, we keep it chill that night. Amber and I end that evening at the Pike, a really awesome bar in the area, while everyone else knocks out early.

Monday
So by the way, last week I set up an interview on Monday at Biola to teach a writing class this fall. Since I have no work clothes, the "ladies" (that seemed to be the word of the week, since "ladies" always seem to sound shady) help me find some dress clothes-I needed some anyways. I end up with these nice dark blue pin-striped pants and a light pink shirt. The interview was fine, though the Biola faculty application is 20 pages long with 5 pages of response to their statement of faith. Bull shit! Afterwards, I meet up with the girls at Hunington Beach. We chill, walk around, and stick our feet in the water. We then head back and catch Greek food for dinner. We do yet another night at the Pike and bond some more. Have I mentioned how great these girls were.

Tuesday
Late start. We decide to keep it simple and just head to the Irvine Spectrum. These girls like to shop. But I did find some awesome plaid dress pants from H&M. We do this for a few hours and head back. We decide to finish the night, and week, off at the beach. We take a guitar and some drinks down to the sand and spend the rest of the night singing the first half of whatever cover songs we know.

Wednesday
I wake up nursing a headache and we say our farewells. Threats are made to visit in less than 2 weeks, and hopefully they'll come true. This trip reminded me of how much I love meeting new people since my job and other environments don't really afford me such opportunities. This was truly the funnest week of my summer. I was legen...wait for it...and I hope you're not lack tose intolerant, because the next part is...dary. And now, back to preparing lectures.

The Mutant Chronicles...don't expect much

While I was at Comic Con this past weekend, I attended a world preview of the film The Mutant Chronicles, starring Thomas Jane and Ron Perlman. I thought it would be fun to once again write about a film that hasn't come out in theatres yet, and be one of the first people in the world to review it.

It's a sci fi film about a world in chaos that becomes infected by mutants that want to turn everyone else into mutants as well. This is one of the projects Jane chose to take instead of doing The Punisher sequel, which is scheduled to come out in December with a different actor in the leading role of Frank Castle. On that note, Perlman played Hellboy in the recent film Hellboy II: The Golden Army, which was fantastic. But back to Jane. I can't believed he passed on reprising a role on the superhero communities favouriate anti-hero-especially when the sequel looked to have more funding and a potentially deeper storyline. Instead, the promising actor did once again another terrible film. Following the Stephen King adaptation The Mist, Jane has proven that he does not know how to pick acting roles. He had the potential to follow in the footsteps of such actors as Clive Owens but instead chose to pull a Jason Statham, taking any action role to pay the rent and not worrying about the quality of the script.

Perlman has been known for starring in many B movies, from Alien: Resurrection to In the Name of the King, but Jane always seemed to be different until now. The Mutant Chronicles is ridiculously bad. It's a British B movie with the patronizing dialogue and story to prove it. I imagine my audience of three will not be inclined to see such a film anyways, but alas it's fun to write about something no one can refute-unless the other viewers just happen to stumble on this. Anyways, the film felt like a high-budget Sci Fi Channel original film. Meaning, it had more than a TV budget but less than a quality feature film one. Tom Jane gave a disclaimer at the beginning of the film that it was still a work in progress. Some edits were rough and certain effects just needed to be fine tuned, but the foundation of the film was shit. The storyline could've been engaging, but the acting was poor and the dialogue was as chiche as it gets. It was also surprising how gory it was. I've never seen that many stabs in the neck in one film. Initially it had a mild visceral effect, but became repetitious. And boy, the dramatic moments of the film were more unbelievable than George W. Bush trying to tell the American public that he really does want peace (okay, cheap shot). About five minutes in the film, the dramatic film cued up for the first major death of the film. Sorry, five minutes isn't enough time in a low-budget film for an emotional connection worth using dramatic music for.

I love sci fi films, but I'm getting sick of so many bad screenplays being approved. I don't understand how it happens, but it's way too common. Even blockbusters like Transformers are prone to these problems. Anyways, The Mutant Chronicles sucked. Go see something better than that piece of shit when it hits like two theatres nationwide. From the look of it, Death Race will probably be better, but that's more comparing two types of shit.

To All You Runners Out There (You know who you are)

So Saturday was sports day. The idea was simple. Wake up early, play football, ultimate frisbee,
softball, basketball and run around the track. We were all rather exhausted after football but we kept going. Come lunch, after frisbee, I felt awful. Three hotdogs and then softball ain't a great idea. PS, neither is sliding during softball. The side of my leg looks a burned piece of chicken. At this point, I was done for the day. As much as I wanted to keep going (no I didn't) I went home to shower and recover. The rest of the day went well but when I wake up the next morning for church. (That's right, I went to church. My roommate's pastor was speaking on homosexuality and I couldn't resist. And for an added bonus, the congregation sang "God Bless America" and "I'm Proud to Be an American." Gotta love twisted views of religion and patriotism.) Waking up was awful. Every move hurt and sneezing hurt every muscle in my stomach. The rest of that day went by in a similar mood.

And now we're to today and to the title of this post. I woke up and decided to go for a run. Thought it might help out the soreness that is my entire body. So I tried running. I made a substantial way for someone who hasn't really run since junior high. I had two things going against me: running hurts like hell and so does the blister on the back of my ankle. I eventually took my shoes off and finished running because the damn blister hurt so much. When I got back, I was still in a lot of pain.

I know that I can't avoid this forever, but I hate running. If I'm gonna get my hurt going and feel energized, I need a different activity. All running reminds me of is how much I hate running. I did a review on the film "Run Fatboy Run" a while ago. One of the best parts of the film occurs when the main character finds out his ex's jerk boyfriend runs. He simply replies, "Why?" I laughed so hard because that's exactly my response. In the same way that I don't understand how people like drinking coffee or watching sports, I don't understand how running can be fun. I did tell my roommates that we should do more sports and, come August, I'll probably get a gym membership, but I absolutely hate running. It feels like such a hopeless endeavor as the end is almost impossible to see. So that's my rant for the day.

Things to do before I die

So I was rather bored during my layover in Phoenix this morning, so I created the ultimate list of my adventures and goals for the future.

Visit the Great Wall of China
Visit Tokyo
Write a book
Create a comic book
Create a film
Create a website/magazine
See Sigur Ros live
Bungee jump
Learn to play piano
Learn to bartend
Learn a second language
Attend the Cannes Film Festival in France
Compete in a Video Game Tournament (either Halo or Gears of War)
Storm out of a job exclaiming, "I quit"
Live in another country
The Bull Run
Octoberfest
Kiss someone on New Year's (I know, how sad)
Participate in a protest rally
Take a piss on the Hollywood sign

Wanted, or What does the NRA think about Assassins

I watched Wanted last night. I knew I was in for something different, since director Timur Bekmambetov isn't known for creating a sober film. His Russian fantasy films, Night Watch and Day Watch, are a crazy mix between an acid trip and a few episodes of Sponge Bob Square Pants. This makes complete sense when creating a comic book film, though I do wonder if the general public will be ready for this one. Wanted definitely has its own style. The voiceover narration, by James Mcavoy, makes the film more than just a sheer superhero film, though it's technically a supervillain film. Newby Mcavoy is asked to join the Fraternity of Assassins, designed to create order around the world. He is one of a few people in the world with a rare gift; he can slow down time and respond quicker to his surroundings. This makes him more agile and an amazing gunman. But the point of the joining the Fraternity isn't for the sake of humanity's survival. No, Mcavoy's character joins up because he doesn't know who he is and feels that this group of killers can help him find his destiny (a commonly used word in the film), or purpose.

The entire film actually felt like a fucked up version of Rick Warren's A Purpose Driven Life. He wasn't doing what he should've been with his life when he had the 9-5 job. Now, he was livin' the dream. Getting the much-needed rush to calm his anxiety and help him find clarity...you know, amidst all the killing. The way "purpose" is addressed in this film is almost satiric. This is "Fight Club" for gun lovers. While bullets fly through people's skulls, Mcavoy says, in voiceover, "this is me taking control of my life, my destiny, what the fuck have you done lately." I wanted to cheer and laugh at the same time. Obviously, the film was shooting for badassness, but it sure was telling at the same time.

On a different note, I really think the film would've been better if it had followed the graphic novels it was based on more. The premise is amazing. In 1986, the Fraternity decide to kill all the superheroes of the world and decided to quietly control it through their organization. The series picks up with an uprising in the Frat, where some members are tired of remaining on the sidelines of society. There are no good guys-not ridiculous idea that assassins are a necessity for peace. In Wanted, assassins are just people trying to take over the world. Also, the Wanted series also has magicians and people with other types of powers besides awesome gun slinging, but perhaps concepts like curving the bullet were enough for one film to handle. It wasn't perfect but it sure was entertaining. And James Mcavoy is an amazing actor. He definitely pulled off the action hero role. Props.

10 Things I learned in New York

10. New York is a very humid place (right now, worse than Florida)
9. Hegemony comes from the root word "hegemon," having something to do with imperical rule. :)
8. When your mouth is dry, beer isn't the cure.
7. People from Australia are cool.
6. It is possible to go a few days without meat and still have good meals.
5. "How I Met Your Mother" will always be a great show.
4. This city still gives me anxiety.
3. Even in New York, $80 is too much for a cab.
2. I wish there were more cities that stayed up this late.
1. Opera in the park, who really pays attention.

Good times.

Hope, Change, Progess and all the Other Rhetoric

I should be writing about possible changes in bicycle laws in the City of West Hollywood or the new funds raised by community organizations to renovate the front lawn of a high school, but I just can't do it right. So I've decided to take a break from work writing to write about something I haven't written about in years, politics. Unlike some people I know, I only get jazzed about these things every two and four years. Besides that, I try to stay up with issues but my simple mind can only take so much before I zone out and put on another episodes of Ninja Turtles or Vultron. But alas, here I go, venturing into a world everyone seems to think they are an export of but few actually let their say be heard come election time.

It may be clear to some that I'm no fan of the conservative standpoint, even though I'm apparently considered one simply for being a Christian (which I still find hysterical since a prereq for being a Christian is being a revolutionary who gets in the way of legalism and tells oppressors to fuck off). Anyways, I was one of the few people that actually voted for John Kerry almost four years ago. I didn't particularly care for the man, but Bush was just that scary. But I currently take no pride in being right (even my father, who often considered himself a strong republican, lost faith in the right-this was a big victory for me after years of debating with him and my mother). I am relieved that it's almost over. Currently, a former Democratic presidential hopeful is trying to impeach Bush, and I am very okay with that-though it won't happen. It's politics time again, and all the naivety that comes with it is out and about.

I find all the rhetoric for and against presidential candidates rather intriguing, and I'm always ready to fight someone I disagree with. I must say, I super stoked about Barack Obama. There's a lot of talk about his experience and other subtle ways of saying the country isn't ready for a black man to be in office, but I'm thrilled. I would vote for Obama because he is black. And I would've voted for Hillary Clinton simply because she is a woman. I don't see anything wrong with this. The alternative is a moron, but besides that, we desperately need leaders that are not old, white men in major roles. This is huge. We live a country that doesn't want to admit how severe racism is, and sexism for that matter. Just check out the segregation and distribution of wealth in any major city, it's beyond tragic. It should be illegal. Now with that said, I've never been more excited about a candidate than Obama in all the time I've been able to vote. Yes, he sure is a damn good speaker, and I guess such speech could be problematic since it could be seen as manipulative (see Aristotles three principles of rhetoric), but I see what Obama stands for and really see a chance for this country to get of the shit it's been getting deeper in for the past eight years (I'm sure this length of time is more, but I can only speak for the time I paid attention). So here's to affordable healthcare (it'll be nice to have some again), a public figure that will help heal racism, and ending the war. I know this is all very simplified, but whaddya expect, I care about cultural implications, thus lack much of the practical language and application politics and policy require.

I'd also like to add that the picture of Obama here is awesome. The artist, Shepard Fairey, is one of most distinctive right now, creating works that bring together art, social justice, and capitalism-a combo rarely done well.

Anyways, yay Obama, fuck McCain.

Yet Another Nerd Out Moment

I just got back from a special theatre screening of my favourite anime, Bleach. The show created a film in 2006 called Bleach: Memories of Nobody, for two nights at select theatres they premiered the English-dubbed version of the film. The screening was just like a midnight showing of a film or attending Sundance; you're surrounding my people just as obsessed as you. It's quite refreshing after the months of torment from roommates and friends about my abnormal interest in this Japanese phenomena. Before the film started, there were several previews of selected anime TV shows and it was great to here people cheering them on-this cheering would continue throughout the movie when familiar faces appeared for big battles.

There were no previews for films before the movie, but there was a 15-minutish piece on the Via Media, the American distributor of Bleach, on the process of converting the Japanese manga for an English-speaking audience, and converting the anime for an English-speaking audience as well. The video actually began with a good five-minute clip of the Bleach creator sketching the main character. It reminded me about how I used to be able to draw but somehow forgot...oh well. Anyways, the video was rather interesting and it included interviews from voice actors and the editing team at Via Media. There are more than 170 episodes in the show's history and I'm almost caught, thus it was rather interesting to see the faces of the voice actors and learn about what's going with the Japanese creators and the American team. P.S. the creator is gonna be at ComiCon in San Diego this July, and I'm totally gonna go here him speak.

The film was about what I expected. It had nothing to do with the main story arch of the show, which is incredibly in depth, but did it's own thing with new villians and a new character it could kill off at the end. It was still cool to see the fight scenes of memorable characters and watch something with crisper animation-the music still sucks. It was a pretty cool experience and, as usual, I love going to the movies. The End.

Mmmmm, the Wind

Today sucked. Besides the fact that I spent more than two hours trying to get from Glendora to Beverly Hills (what a shit hole). Besides the fact that I continue to find new ways to get scolded at work (man, I can't wait to quit). And besides the fact that I can never seem eat normally or healthily at work. I spent over 10 hours at work looking outside to see trees moved by the wind that I desperately wanted to be moved by. I love windy days. Here's a list of things better than windy days:
1. sex...probably
2. ...
That's it. Of course, when I got home after nine, the wind was gone and I would've been too tired to bask in it anyways. Sidenote, I'm convinced that journalism can swallow your personality if you're not careful. Cure, socialize, drink, remain slightly apathetic about work, and blog. Back to wind. I love wind. If it's caress did it for me, I'd be a happy man. The sound of it at two in the morning makes me want to sleep forever-and that's saying something since I usually stay awake until four. Though it's 1:47 right now and I'm feeling the bed pull...but not yet. Besides those random moments when you're driving and a gust yanks the into another lain, wind has few negative elements (get it). And for the love, I was stuck inside all day. I don't care about pretty sunny days, a good wave at the beach, or daisies floating in the air. Give me wind, some rain, and snow. It's all wonderful to me. Just don't make we stare at it through a window that can't be opened. That's cruel and major cause for window vandalism.
Sidenote two, my intro to journalism and freshmen writing classes are both full. I currently have 39 students between three classes. The fall's gonna be crazy. Syllabus stuff is still going strong and I'm receiving quite a few books to review.
Sidenote three, if you wanna see me singing a song, rapping, and all around acting very inappropriately, check out Steve's latest blog (he's linked on my panel). I apologize now for the vulgar things I say and excessive use of the word "fuck." I swear, I don't normally talk like that...before noon...when I'm asleep. I'm done.

Top 10 Fantasy Films

So I saw The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian last night, and I quite enjoyed it. Way better than The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Darker and even had a rather bleak ending. They added some stuff that wasn't in the book and it worked really well. Funny, dark, and epic battles. It's inspired me to create my new fantasy top 10 list.

10. Hook
9. Spirited Away
8. The Neverending Story
7. CON: Prince Caspian
6. Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix
5. LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring
4. Princess Mononoke
3. Pan's Labyrinth
2. LOTR: The Return of the King
1. LOTR: Two Tower

Teeth: When “It” Fights Back

A film was recently released on DVD called Teeth, and you’ll never guess where they’re located. I’ll give you a hint…vagina. I saw the premiere of this film at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. The film description said little more than a synopsis about a high schooler who runs a purity campaign begins going through some changes. No shit. It then concludes saying that if you don’t know what the vagina dentata myth is, then you will. It’s true. So the premise is pretty simple. A girl is born different. She gets a crush on a guy. They kiss. He wants to go farther and she doesn’t. Unfortunately, when he forces himself on her, those sneaky teeth kick in and kick out his little guy. Some idiots still believe that most women had it coming when they get raped. Welp, this guy definitely had it coming. Use your penis for evil and you lose it. The girl then learns to control her newfound power. When she’s happy, it doesn’t bite. But if you piss her off, get ready for something really, really fucked up.

I remember watching this film with a large group of people that cringed, shouted, and laughed in unison. The film was definitely a mix between comedy and horror. Also, it really wasn’t that good. Bad acting. Ridiculous music. Superficial plotline. It really only had shock value. But that’s more than most horror films have these days. I remain convinced that this film, while trying to become a girl-power film, actually doesn’t do anything new. It simply allows women to enter male-dominated film with the same aggression and bloodlust as men. This isn’t something new, but the old reversed. With that said, the vagina dentata myth still speaks loudly to Western culture—and world culture for that matter. Culture truly forms around the dominating ideology of penetration as the ultimate form of power. What is a knife if not an extension of the penis, spreading its power to whatever victim, male or female, it seeks out. There’s a reason most serial killers in movies use knives and go after women. Teeth serves as an alternative to penetration as power. The vagina becomes a weapon that can engulf the penis. The foreign object is at a disadvantage on the home turf.

There’s part of me that wants to buy this film even though I may never watch it again. Though I am curious to see the rated-R version as I saw an unrated one. Three castrations will stick with you. The subject matter is intense and easily ignorable to many, but when I left that many, there were a lot of 45-year-old female viewers talking about how the chick flick was just redefined. There’s something powerful in this crappy movie. Just imagine the possibilities of such a concept or similar ones, thematically, maybe not just conceptually, in the hands of a film master

Something Drastic

So I did something rather compulsive yesterday...That's right. My hair has reverted to a size unknown to me since seventh grade. The mop on my head was getting rather unmanageable and the person who normally cuts my hair doesn't live close by anymore, thus I'd been debating this for a few days. I was ready to do and Steve pointed out that doing it myself would make it much shorter than I originally planned. But alas, I was impatient and just did it. No scissors, just the buzzers on a 1-inch setting. I don't regret it, but I'm suddenly very aware of my receding hairline. It ain't that bad, but a bit of a reminder of where my head's going in the future. I also have a few gray hairs saying hi to me, but I kinda like 'em. I feel like they give me street cred, or at least add a few years of wisdom to my face. Either way, what's done is done. I'm not gonne keep it this length and it'll probably grow out nicely in a month.

Top 10 Comic Book Movies

So I've been inspired to create my top 10 superhero movies list, since I just looked at one that was ridiculously stupid. Sorry, this ain't an opinion, the guy was a dumbass for his list. Oh well, not everyone can be right. (keep in mind, there's a lot of superhero movies coming out, so this list could easily change)

10. Batman
9. Superman
8. The Incredibles
7. Blade II
6. Unbreakable
5. V for Vendetta
4. Batman Begins
3. Iron Man
2. X2
1. Spider-Man 2

Just Because

So I know I been about as inconsistent about updating my blog as U2 are about putting out good music, but alas here I am again. Since it's 3 in the morning, I find rather appropriate to do a blog on something important to me, my fears and dreams. One of my roommates bought Planet Earth and we were watching it tonight. Sorry nature people, I'm a city boy in every way, thus this was about as enjoyable as, well, the anime I make my roommates watch. I especially was freaked out by the great white sharks attacking seals. Holy shit, that was some of the scariest stuff I've seen since George Bush getting reelected. These demon fish (yes, I called them fish, get over it all you grammar-correcting snobs) could jump like 10 feet out of the water and eat their prey. There's a reason I'm up right now. I know I'm gonna dream about those over-sized plot devices for sea horror movies. I got such anxiety from watching them...even writing about it is freaky.

Second thing, I've been going through the TV shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off Angel, and I stand by it. Could I please become a vampire. I know I'm not too big into blood but at least I wouldn't have to worry about organic, fair trade, or added chemicals anymore. Also, I'd be hella (that's right, hella) strong. Throwing people across rooms. Chillin' in a layer thinking up plans for world destruction. What's not to love. And, of course, the most important part. NIGHT TIME! I love night time more than I like sarcasm. When I worked for Starbucks, I went insane having to get up at 3:45am to be at work by 4:15am. I go to bed at 4, not get up then. Even having to wake up at 8 is annoying (before everyone begins judging me and calling me a lame/lazy ass, I do get up at that time normally, just not enjoyably). I thrive at night...case and point, this amazing blog entry. Here are the key reasons why night time kicks some major nocturnal ass. First, there's not sun at night time. Second, it's easier to put on layers without worrying about heat (also another reason why the sun sucks). Third, people do ridiculous things as the night progresses. Fourth, there's just something about being around someone and watching to time go by. Fifth, it helps the days feel like they're longer. Sixth, any city looks better at night. Seventh, hide and go seeks. Eighth, midnight showings of movies rule. Ninth, the silence is rad. Lastly, if night time is good enough for Dracula, then who am I to argue. So there you have it, I love the night. If I could, I'd love to go to that city in Alaska that becomes night for a month.

Well, there you have it. This is my late night rambling. I think I'll finally go to bed.

Pop Culture for the Soul

I officially have all the classes set up to teach at APU this fall. I will be teaching Freshmen Writing Seminar, Intro to Journalism, and Studies in Popular Culture. I'm so incredibly thrilled. For FWS, movies will be my theme. I'm planning to have the students write critically about such films as Princess Mononoke, Pan's Labyrinth, Moulin Rouge, and Enchanted. They'll do reviews, a film journal, and a major paper about a specific film. I think it'll be a great way to teach writing. Intro to Journalism should be a blast. It'll be part writing and part critical understanding of the journalistic media. I'm planning to have the students read a book called The Rise of the Image, the Fall of the Word, which addresses the changing cultural environment that cares more about visual rather than textual mediums. I'm also going to address current journalistic trends through such books as Nickel and Dimed, Why White Kids Love Hip-Hop, Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs, and When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost. The students will learn to write like a journalist and appreciate and critique the different styles of media coverage of contemporary society. I think Pop Culture might be my baby. I've already begun compiling a reader, which will have certain chapters from different books, along with three other books the students will read in their entirety. The class should be a lot of fun.
This and other things have really made me optimistic about my future. It's weird how paranoid I've been, and how things have really started coming together. It's all been rather surreal lately. I owe a lot to my old teacher Karen Sorensen. She plugged me for The Clause job and continued to plug me for other positions, which I now have. So, I've never written a syllabus or run a class in this kind of a setting. I have quest lectured before and spoken at conferences. This is going to be a very unique experience and should give me a good clue as to what I'll be doing in the future and how I should go about. I can't wait until fall...though summer should be interesting as well.

Spring Break: A Wild (Mild) Time

So it's spring break and I'll actually been rather busy. Unfortunately, not busy in the normal sense of spring break. I still had to go to work at my newspaper job, and I also had to finish my presentation for the conference this weekend. Because of this, I've been living off a combination of fast food and sheer nerve. Writing has become my only form of communication (oh, irony) and I can't seem to write what I want. Towards the end of Thursday night, it all did start coming together. I read my speech for the following day aloud to my roommates and it all felt like it was beginning to make sense-I just might convince the PhDs at the conference that I'm worthy of being listened to.

The week wasn't entirely wasted to the academic bubble. Between meals and reworded paragraphs, I actually did some exercise-of course, what I mean by this is playing Rock Band on xBox 360. I'm getting better at the drums and actually finding myself enjoying music once more. Though I really hate songs with an overuse of the bass drum and most the songs on Rock Band do this. As Thursday rolled around, I was in a bit of a panic as I wasn't up to where I wanted to be with my writing, and the house was getting rather dirty. I couldn't seem to focus and continued taking breaks to play ping-pong, rock band, and check if there was anything new about the upcoming G.I. Joe and Hellboy movies. Yet, I did manage to get to a comfortable point with everything-though I wished I had more time as I would've loved to memorize my speech or perhaps create a powerpoint presentation to go along with it. I did try to end the night right with an anime I rented called Vampire Hunter D, but the disc was scratched and mid-80s animation just ain't what it is now. So, I turned it off and ended the night with some of the second book, or season, of Avatar: The Last Airbender. There's something truly brilliant, fun, and funny about that show.

Friday morning came and I was running a little late. I wanted to make it to the session before 11:00am, thus I was forced to grab breakfast at Burger King-French toast sticks just ain't the same anymore. I took off to Loyola, which is off the same exit as LAX. I arrived at the campus in pretty good time, but Campus Safety didn't know where the conference was. I looked around for a while and became rather nervous. I wondered if it was being held off campus and I missed the memo. I tried calling numbers, but no one was picking up. Finally, I gave a call to a roommate to check the conference info...fucking shit, it's next weekend. Now, if I had known that Loyola is a Catholic school, I might have thought it odd to hold a conference on Good Friday. Alas, I didn't know and apparently can't see straight when it comes to checking dates. I'm normally not a flake about such things-in fact, I'm rather obsessive about them. Maybe I'm losing my edge...okay, I never had one. Either way, the conference is next weekend and I'm a little relieved. I now have the extra time to familiarize myself more with my material, and, today, I made a bomb-ass powerpoint presentation.

Conference Stress

Next Friday I'll be presenting at a religion conference called "Convivencia: Religious Identities in the New World" at Loyola Marymount University. My presentation will be titled "Children of a Babbling Labyrinth: the Reforming Other and Mexican Filmmakers." I will be looking at the films Babel, Children of Men, and Pan's Labyrinth, which were each directed by Mexican filmmakers, and addressing how they represent three unique directions Mexican filmmakers can take in the global film market. My focus will be on how the films feed off each other, as they each premiered in 2006, and the way they each approach topics such as suffering and liberation. All the while, I'll be making a claim that such a viewpoint is necessary for the growing discipline of theology and film studies. As of now, I'm drawing from such scholars as Walter Wink, Gustavo Gutierrez, bell hooks, and several other theo and film scholars.

I looked at the list of paper sessions and I am on a panel with two very unrelated papers: feminist power in Latin American and Muslim/Christian relations in Israel. In fact, there is only one other paper about film at the conference, and of all people, my old professor Carrie Peirce is presenting it. Her class at APU is one of the few that changed my life perspective and now I'm presenting on a similar field as her (this rather makes me feel insecure). Either way, this conference is a great opportunity, though I am completely stressed about what I am going to say and how I'm going to do it. I've debated just writing something out and reading it. I know that sounds boring but I've seen it done several times and it might be a good idea since I'm going to be one of the younger presenters there. That last thing I want to do is worry about stumbling over my words. Well, all I have to do is finish writing that damn thing. For the life of me, I can't seem to tie it all together in a tangible and critical way. My normal textual vomit style of writing papers isn't going to cut. However, there seems to be a light at the end of Plato's fucking cave. We'll see.

AHHHHH!

So everything's been happening at once. I've been having a great time overseeing The Clause at APU and rather bummed that I won't be doing it in that fall as I am simply a fill in. But this has opened up several opportunities for me. I am now going to teach a section of Freshmen Writing Seminar and there is potential for a section of Intro to Journalism and Public Comm-and it's all thanks to a newspaper job I took in West Hollywood. If I didn't get that job, I wouldn't have gotten The Clause gig and I wouldn't have gotten my foot in the door at APU. Thus, I have movies to thank for this all as I got the job at the newspaper because I found an ad on JournalismJobs.com and sent them my writing samples.

Besides the potential for fall classes, I was also contacted by one of my old professors who will be on sabbatical next spring in needs someone to teach his classes. I'm not qualified to teach one of them but the other is Christianity and the Creative Process, which I have been drooling over since I graduated from Fuller. Needless to say I would love this class. Oh, and today I received an email about potentially running the APU yearbook next fall. Apparently the art department is dropping and communication studies or alumni might pick it up. Either way, the chair of the comm department recommended me. It seems kind of funny, but it would be a great chance to improve something that the entire student body would see. I'm trying to see how this would all work as an adjunct who can only teach five classes for the entire academic school year. Perhaps the yearbook wouldn't count as a class...problem solved.

So career events have actually begun to pick up. My plan to teach at APU actually turned out to be an idea that paid off. I'm enjoying myself right now and can't wait to see what happens in the future. I hope my performance reviews go well.

Catching up on films

As I have been out of grad school for a few months, now I have found that the number killer is boredom. The avoid this, I have tried to keep busy with three jobs, attempts at a social life, and viewing far too many movies with a Blockbuster queue. My adventures have taken me through foreign and classic films, anime, and several TV series (By the war, Prison Break is my new addiction, check it out). I recently tried to catch up on all the Oscar films in order to do an "Oscars in Review" piece for the newspaper I write for. In my research, as I like to call it, I finally came around to a film that was not nominated for anything, Lust, Caution.
This was director Ang Lee's follow up film to Brokeback Mountain. There was a large amount of controversy surrounding the film as it was rate NC-17 for some rather graphic sex scenes. Comically, an R-rated version was released for rental in the states. Lee is not the kind of director to bask in such scenes for the sake of pornography. As he has done in other films, he taps into sexuality in its most violent and graceful. It's a very jarring experience. Actress Wei Tang was truly robbed of an Oscar nomination for this role. I didn't really think Marion Cotillard deserved Best Actress for her role as Edith Piaf in La Vie En Rose. Tang deserved a nod and possible win, but an NC-17 film would never be up for the prestigious Oscars, known for avoiding real controversy.
The film's plot was pretty simple. Tang becomes an unlikely spy in China during World War II trying to infiltrate the life of a major leader. But her lust takes over and dissolves her caution against an evil man who is both her love and hatred. SPOILER ALERT: I gotta say, Ang Lee needs to have a happy ending in one of his films. It's become too predictable (like a Martin Scorsese film) to expect everything to south his films. SPOILER END.
If you're okay with the R-rated sex scenes (I know it goes against the principles of art, but I fast forwarded through them), the film is pretty amazing and is the most plot-driven thing Lee has ever done.

Top 10 Films of 2007

I've finally caught up on all the films I wanted to see from 2007, with the exception of Into the Wild, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Persepolis, and Lars and the Real Girl. So my top 10 list may change, but here it is as of now.
1. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
2. Once
3. The Orphanage
4. Across the Universe
5. Ratatouille
6. The Savages
7. 28 Weeks Later
8. What Would Jesus Buy?
9. Superbad
10. 300
Honorable Mention:
Michael Clayton, No Country for Old Men, Knocked Up, Lust, Caution, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, 30 Days of Night, and Sicko.

Cirriculum Vitae

EDUCATION
• Master of Arts in Cultural Studies, 2009 – Present
Emphasis: Media Studies
Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, CA
• Master of Arts in Theology, 2007
Emphasis: Film, Culture, and Media
Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, CA
• Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies, 2005
Double-emphasis: Media Studies and Journalism
Azusa Pacific University, Azusa, CA

ACADEMIC EMPLOYMENT
Azusa Pacific University
• Faculty Adviser, Spring 2008, Fall 2009 – Spring 2010
Oversee approximately 40 students of the university newspaper, The Clause, providing support and guidance on news reporting, interviewing tactics, and page design, along with organizing the newspaper budget, managing 16 paid student workers, and serving as a mediator between the staff and the campus administration.
• Adjunct Instructor, Spring 2008, Fall 2009 – Present
Courses:
Public Affairs Reporting, JOUR 430
Studies in Popular Culture, COMM 370
Student Publication Workshop, JOUR 325
Desktop Publishing and Design, JOUR 315
Introduction to Journalism, JOUR 210
Freshmen Writing Seminar, ENG 110
Readings in Communication, COMM 497
Advanced Public Relations, JOUR 460
• Assistant Faculty Adviser, Fall 2008 – Spring 2009
Providing technical support for the paid student staff of the university newspaper, The Clause, teaching design software (InDesign, Acrobat, and Photoshop), along with critiquing news articles and training the staff on diversity issues

Biola University
• Adjunct Instructor, Fall 2008 – Present
Courses:
Studies in Critical Thinking and Writing, ENG 110A (argumentation)
Studies in Critical Thinking and Writing, ENG 110B (literature)

ACADEMIC HONORS
• Journalism Student of the Year Award, 2005

PROFESSIONAL SOCIETY MEMBERSHIPS
• College Media Advisers, 2009 – Present

PRESENTATIONS
• "Othering the Media: An Introduction to Moving Beyond Dominant Ideologies," presented at the 8th Annual Common Day of Learning at Azusa Pacific University, March 3, 2010
• “Covering Race, Ethnicity and Culture on a Faith-Based Campus,” presented at the 88th Annual Associated Collegiate Press/College Media Advisers National College Media Convention, 2009
• “Popular Culture From the Margins: A Methodology,” presented at the 7th Annual Common Day of Learning at Azusa Pacific University, March 5, 2009
• “No One Can Hear You Scream: Los Angeles in Horror Cinema,” presented at the 30h Annual Meeting of the Southwest/Texas Popular Culture and American Culture Association, February 2009
• “Children of a Babbling Labyrinth: The Reforming Other and Mexican Filmmakers,” presented at the 2008 Convivencia: Religious Identities in the New World conference at Loyola Marymount University, March 2008
• “The Importance of the Media in Shaping the News,” presented at the 6th Annual Common Day of Learning at Azusa Pacific University, March 5, 2008
• “Connections of Disbelief: Network Narrative Films & the Real California,” presented at The 28th Annual Meeting of the Southwest/Texas Popular Culture and American Culture Association, February 2007

PUBLICATIONS / WRITING CREDITS
• Contributing writer of the NavPress publication, 7Minutes with God

RELEVANT EMPLOYMENT
• Park La Brea News/Beverly Press
Reporter/Page Designer, part-time, 2007-2008 (film critic to present)
• Bonita Unified School District
K-12 Substitute Teacher, part-time, 2007-2008
• MosaicRC
Music Director, part-time, 2004-2007
• University Relations (Azusa Pacific University public relations department)
Writer and Photographer/Photo Librarian, part-time, 2004-2005

FREELANCE EXPERIENCE
• Contributing writer for publications Get Your Tournament and rednoW
• Writer for Skratch magazine, 2005-2006
• Film reviewer for The Semi, Fuller Theological Seminary, 2005-2007

WFF!

To my future has been unfolding in unusual ways lately. Here's the nutshell:

So things have been interesting lately. I've decided to stay on at the newspaper in West Hollywood. It's a consistent job and good opportunity. In the next few weeks I'm gonna see if they'll let me run an extensive piece on the Academy Awards-do a review on the past year instead just one film. It should be fun. I also have the opportunity to redesign their website if I learn how to do it, so if anyone knows where I can learn HTML stuff, that'd be great.

Advising The Clause is a truly unique experience. I wonder what my old prof felt like when she first took this job. It's an odd way to begin teaching at college. There's no lectures. All class work comes at the end of the semester. Everything else is more hands on outside the classroom. In some ways I like it because of the fluid structure, in others, it's harder to understand what's expected of me.

I had an interview to teach Freshmen Writing Seminar at APU. The interview lasted like five minutes. I was asked why I wanted to teach the class and a few other questions. I was then told that since I have already gone through the adjunct interviews, things are looking up. He ended by saying that he wished I had an English degree but was willing to look passed it. So things are looking good for me to teach FWS in the fall. I have some other possibilities too, but nothing is certain.

Soon enough I'll be looking for PhD programs again. What the hell am I going to do during the summer!

Life

So I'm sitting here watching The United States of Leland, writing this blog, taking a break from writing an article about a spike in MRSA among gay men, ages 18 to 35, and listening to Steven laugh his hardy laugh in the other room. My mid-weeks are always interesting. I wake up on Tuesday and drive out to West Hollywood. I hate that damn drive, but I do it because I need the money, though I no longer enjoy working for this boring little newspaper that has a bigger ego than a puppy that doesn't know it will soon be castrated. (Steve is laughing again) So after the newspaper, I went home for a few minutes and got ready to head to my second job, faculty advising for The Clause. I felt a wee bit awkward last week, but this week felt a lot better. I'm really gonna enjoy this. I've been answering a shit load of emails for work. After the meeting was over I came home and got into a rather loud argument about if a president should or shouldn't pledge to the flag or not. It was a quite long argument and I got kinda bored halfway through, but I continued until the end. So that's about my average mid-week day. A little tiring but fun.