Goodbye

I’m still alive.

Figured the least I could do is let you folks know that.

Seems I’ve changed a ton over the last ten years or so that I’ve been blogging.
Wow, ten years, a decade seems like such a crazy long time to keep coming back to the great wide intarwebs and leave my thoughts on a screen for others to read.
Still, this has been a good thing, a ton of fun. So many amazing people have been met along the way, so much about my world and my life has changed. Almost always for the better too.

Here’s the thing…
I’m not going to write here anymore.

I’ll probably write.

There’s a small chance that I’ll start up a new blog under my actual real name.
It’s a small chance.
Tiny really.

But I wanted you kids to know that I’m good and alive and enjoying life.
I’ll also be sure to shoot emails and get in touch with those of you who have bothered shedding the anonymity to let me know who you are. If I start something new you’ll be the first kids to know.
For those of you who are still lurking after all of these years…well…I’ll probably post a link to anything new so you can still find me, no worries.

It’s just that blogging isn’t the catharsis that it used to be for me. I don’t come here anymore to work out my issues. Not that I have them all worked out by any means…I still have my share.
Just that writing it all down as I process it, or as a means of processing them, well…that doesn’t seem to work anymore.
Maybe because I’ve dealt with the big crazy major shit.
Maybe because I just don’t want to deal with what I have left in a public forum.
Probably a little bit of both.
I used to WANT to write, I’d be hanging out with friends when something hilarious would happen and I’d think “man this’d be an awesome entry”
Yeah, that just doesn’t happen anymore. I mean, there is still a high ratio of hijinx to normal in my life…just that I no longer feel compelled to put it down. The audience has changed I guess…hell…I’ve changed.
I’m just not the same man I was a decade ago, and I’d tell you that in this case that’s a good thing…that I’m a better man for everything I’ve learned and shared and done.
Anyway, the end result is that I’m going to move on.

Whatever you folks do, wherever you go…well…I wish you nothing but the best.

Take care.
Sub

Hanna

Hanna

Director - Joe Wright
Writers - Seth Lochhead and David Farr

Starring - Saoirse Ronan, Cate Blanchett and Eric Bana


A teenage girl trained to hunt, fight, evade, and seek revenge by her ex-CIA father in the wilderness of Finland.
The young Ronan does an outstanding job playing the part of an outsider encountering an entirely new world. She's weird and different, awkward enough...and yet plausible.
The story is new and different, an excellent twist on an old genre.
Cate Blanchett never fails to impress, both in her abilities, and her choice of roles in excellent (if different) films. I'd like to note that I usually love different in this context.
This is no exception.

Hanna is a nonstop thrill ride, with short but excellently crafted fight scenes and chases interspersed with strange situations and great character development scenes.

Rent it, watch it, love it.
I made it my number 2 for the year.


-just missed your heart

Your Highness

Your Highness

Director - David Gordon Green
Writers – Danny McBride and Ben Best

Starring - Danny McBride, Natalie Portman and James Franco


What to say, what to say…
Danny McBride, that’s really all I can put forth here.
Critics have referenced The Princess Bride but outside of the fact that this is a medieval adventure comedy…yeah I don’t see it.

So yes, Danny McBride.
If you don’t like him or his humor, you won’t like this film.
And I’d like to be original, but I can’t come up with anything better than the general consensus that this is what The Princess Bride would have been if William Goldman had been a 14 year old who was high as a kite when he wrote it.
That’s right…awkward dick jokes, and more swearing than most sailors would approve of.
It’s more like a bunch of freshmen hanging out telling ludicrously inappropriate jokes while some dragon adventure takes place in the background than it is a fantastic adventure.

That’s not to say it isn’t funny or quotable…just…yeah.
Watch it on cable, either drunk, high, or with a bunch of friends who are all looking for something stupid and immature…nothing highbrow.
Anti-highbrow actually.
Possible funny time had laughing with friends…but definitely not worth the price of admission.

For those of you who did spend money at the theatre, I apologize for taking so long to write this and warn you.

Sitting squarely at number 8 for the year.


-can do magic

dreaming big

Motivation from webcomics:
"When even the smallest dream seems impossible, there is little motive to dream any larger. Work towards the small, and the larger will clarify."

That should be a mantra.

So much of what I wanted seemed impossible or completely out of reach. But here lately I've just ignored all the naysayers and the whatifs and decided to just do it.
Kind of like the cult of done.
Or perhaps Nike.
Damn you giant corporations and your catchy slogans.
Still though...yes...
Just do it.

Also, Sam and Fuzzy is pretty funny and a good way to pass a 16 hour shift.
When things are slow.
So not yesterday...yesterday everything was crazy nonstop crazy.
Did I mention crazy?

Back to the point...little dreams, a bunch of them make big dreams. I think they build up like a train gaining steam. With every little project I become more confident that I can do whatever I want.
In fact...
Talking to SweetD a few weeks ago, we were discussing my dream to build a house from scratch by myself...this is so ingrained in what I want, something I've thought about for so long that her question took me a bit by surprise...
"Do you even know how to build a house? I mean...have you ever built one before?"
Have I what now?
Of course I haven't...but that doesn't faze me anymore. I have read, researched, listened, discussed, and learned so much over the past, wow, 8 years...that (coupled with my recent confidence from all of these projects) I KNOW in my heart, there is no doubt, that I am fully capable of building a house.
Sure, I'll need help with the few plumbing and electrical measures I plan on including...but the building? I've got this.
I'm on it.

I think she was equally shocked that I was so certain...that I AM so certain, that I can do it.
Looking back at it, I think I'm shocked that it takes questions like that...and comments here from good friends about the assumed inevitability of these things...to make me truly face my future.
Weird times.

So yes...end of ranting ramble...hope you're having a lovely weekend.


-capable hands

Sucker Punch

Sucker Punch

Director – Zach Snyder
Writer – Zach Snyder
Starring – Emily Browning, Vanessa Hudgens, and Jena Malone

I should warn you that the critics didn’t like this movie at all. They felt suckered possibly…or punched. Neither leaves you happy and those folks definitely weren’t jovial.

Having said that…I very much enjoyed the film.
A bunch even.

The difference is that I didn’t expect any far reaching plot or in depth discoveries about myself as a human being. Let’s look at the constituent parts…

Zach Snyder brought us 300 and Watchmen. Two visually stunning movies…but in both cases the story is already written. 300 is a brutal and heroic tale from history while Watchmen is a morality play of the best sort…but a comic book that left little need for interpretation.
Perhaps Mr Snyder needs to work on his writing, but as for directing he has a talent for the grand and the beautiful. This movie is definitely both of those things, with overwhelming fight scenes that the critics will tell you were unbelievable and over the top.

The story is about an abused girl sent to a mental institution by her greedy stepfather. She escapes to a fantasy world to deal with the horrors of her situation. There is plenty in that setup to allow a viewer to ask for something…anything deep and meaningful. So I can’t really blame the critics when they are disappointed…but honestly…

Emily Browning is a newcomer. I can’t tell you that she did a poor job, but she won’t be nominated for an Oscar either.
Vanessa Hudgens is here not because she’s an action star…but because she’s a pretty face that some of you will recognize.

So what exactly is this film?

This movie is hot chicks battling dragons, robots, orcs, and Nazis…
Nazis!
With crazy explosions, guns, weapons, and lap dances…
Sexy sexy lap dances.
And let me tell you folks…that’s all I expected. Hot chicks, crazy battles, and explosions.
I was not disappointed in the slightest.

I can tell you that I really liked the way they bounced between imagination and reality, that at times it was a little bit confusing but not enough for me to mind. I appreciated that they grabbed you right at the very beginning and threw you straight into the movie. I didn’t like the gimmick they used to actually begin the crazy fight scenes…but eh…I don’t have a good alternative to offer so eh…

Whatever…you know what to expect now. I’m ranking it fairly high, number 4 for the year…but you also know what I was looking for. Keep that in mind.


- fierce as any dragon