Apparently this is what I look like over the course of a month. Strange.
Doesn't seem to show much change other than my hair getting longer. And crazier.
Try turning the speed up on that thing. It's fun!
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Jumping out of a perfectly good plane.
What can I say about skydiving that hasn't already been said? "It's one of those things that if you're on the outside looking in, you'll never understand it. And if you're on the inside looking out, you can't explain it. It's something you just have to experience for yourself." I'd say that's pretty accurate. So instead of me trying to explain the experience futilely, I'll let the pictures and video do most of the talking. Enjoy!
Check out the full set of photos HERE.
(Click the HQ button on the video to watch it High Quality!)
Check out the full set of photos HERE.
(Click the HQ button on the video to watch it High Quality!)
Friday, May 8, 2009
Sadness and the Movies (again*)
By Richard Garcia
Sometimes you take it personal.
The pressure of the wind
against your eyes that feels like crying.
The sign on the road
that says Go Back
You Are Going The Wrong Way.
The automatic doors
of the Alpha Beta
that open for everyone
but you. The old ladies
pushing grocery carts into your hip,
and their little snapping dogs,
Pekinese and Lhasa aspos.
Like the sad part of the movies—some suffering
in the beginning and middle, everything
and everyone against you,
as you are surrounded by infidel hordes
who want to brandish your head on a spear.
They are coming again in the morning.
You have saved a bullet for yourself.
When suddenly you hear them,
the bagpipes, echoing
from a mountain pass—
The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards,
marching in their kilts
playing their version of “Amazing Grace.”
And you are Yojimbo
when he gets his sword back
slicing the air into fifty pieces.
Like the end of Zulu.
you accept your fate.
It is as good a day to die as any.
Thousands of warriors
line the crest of hills
for their final charge.
Raising their spears and shields in the air
they salute you—and still chanting the lion chant
that sounds like some enormous unstoppable machinery,
they turn away from your smoking outpost
and march toward their villages,
their poets improvising songs about your courage,
your crazy, crazy courage.
(*I think I posted this poem a few years back, but just came across it again and had to post it. Again.)
Sometimes you take it personal.
The pressure of the wind
against your eyes that feels like crying.
The sign on the road
that says Go Back
You Are Going The Wrong Way.
The automatic doors
of the Alpha Beta
that open for everyone
but you. The old ladies
pushing grocery carts into your hip,
and their little snapping dogs,
Pekinese and Lhasa aspos.
Like the sad part of the movies—some suffering
in the beginning and middle, everything
and everyone against you,
as you are surrounded by infidel hordes
who want to brandish your head on a spear.
They are coming again in the morning.
You have saved a bullet for yourself.
When suddenly you hear them,
the bagpipes, echoing
from a mountain pass—
The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards,
marching in their kilts
playing their version of “Amazing Grace.”
And you are Yojimbo
when he gets his sword back
slicing the air into fifty pieces.
Like the end of Zulu.
you accept your fate.
It is as good a day to die as any.
Thousands of warriors
line the crest of hills
for their final charge.
Raising their spears and shields in the air
they salute you—and still chanting the lion chant
that sounds like some enormous unstoppable machinery,
they turn away from your smoking outpost
and march toward their villages,
their poets improvising songs about your courage,
your crazy, crazy courage.
(*I think I posted this poem a few years back, but just came across it again and had to post it. Again.)
Sunday, May 3, 2009
The OC 1/2 Marathon
Today I ran my first marathon, well half marathon. But even so, at 13.1 miles, it's no small feat (especially for someone who's never attempted anything remotely like this before). And to sit here writhing in pain and all sorts of discomfort and say that I did it, that I finished something I set out to do, fills me with no small amount of pride.
I ran the first 8.5 miles without stopping, which is huge for me. During all my 'training' (if you could have called it that) I barely did half that distance in anything that could be considered a 'long run'. Therefore after my triumphant 8.5 hauling-ass streak, I resorted to a combination walk/run trade-off for several miles, having to walk as my legs started to stiffen and wouldn't let me go on after I had punished them so severely. The last two miles were mostly what I would call a "fierce walk"--a sort of walk that tries so hard to be a run, knowing it won't ever be a run, but bless its heart tries anyways.
But I crossed the finish line reaching a loose goal I was hoping to shoot for: under three hours. My official time was 2:45:36, my 10K split being 1:17:06. Somehow I did that on only 2 hours of sleep, having quit smoking two months ago, and very little training. But I'm excited because I know if I were to properly train next time around, I could probably shave a good amount off of that time.
A few things I've learned today:
- Once you stop running it's hard to start up again.
- Severe thigh chaffing hurts worse than the sore muscles, use a proper chaffing lubricant and appropriate running shorts.
- The end is always further than you think it is.
- A good music playlist is a BIG motivator to keep your mind off of things (recommended: The Prodigy "The Fat of the Land" album).
Lastly I've learned there's nothing quite like a marathon for providing perspective and life affirming encouragement. I can't tell you how many people there are out there on the trail, older than you, heavier than you, with one or two less limbs than you, all out there giving it their all, their blood, their sweat, their courage. It's a really moving experience and I was glad to be apart of it! And a special thanks to every person who stood aside the route and clapped, cheered, held signs saying "you can do it" and "sweat is sexy"--the encouragement is what kept me running even when I wanted to stop miles earlier. And an even more special thanks to the people who encouraged me to do this; Mandy, Alicia, Amy, my roommates who were supportive through the whole process, and of course my family.
So here's to life, health, and hopefully a fast recovery!
I ran the first 8.5 miles without stopping, which is huge for me. During all my 'training' (if you could have called it that) I barely did half that distance in anything that could be considered a 'long run'. Therefore after my triumphant 8.5 hauling-ass streak, I resorted to a combination walk/run trade-off for several miles, having to walk as my legs started to stiffen and wouldn't let me go on after I had punished them so severely. The last two miles were mostly what I would call a "fierce walk"--a sort of walk that tries so hard to be a run, knowing it won't ever be a run, but bless its heart tries anyways.
But I crossed the finish line reaching a loose goal I was hoping to shoot for: under three hours. My official time was 2:45:36, my 10K split being 1:17:06. Somehow I did that on only 2 hours of sleep, having quit smoking two months ago, and very little training. But I'm excited because I know if I were to properly train next time around, I could probably shave a good amount off of that time.
A few things I've learned today:
- Once you stop running it's hard to start up again.
- Severe thigh chaffing hurts worse than the sore muscles, use a proper chaffing lubricant and appropriate running shorts.
- The end is always further than you think it is.
- A good music playlist is a BIG motivator to keep your mind off of things (recommended: The Prodigy "The Fat of the Land" album).
Lastly I've learned there's nothing quite like a marathon for providing perspective and life affirming encouragement. I can't tell you how many people there are out there on the trail, older than you, heavier than you, with one or two less limbs than you, all out there giving it their all, their blood, their sweat, their courage. It's a really moving experience and I was glad to be apart of it! And a special thanks to every person who stood aside the route and clapped, cheered, held signs saying "you can do it" and "sweat is sexy"--the encouragement is what kept me running even when I wanted to stop miles earlier. And an even more special thanks to the people who encouraged me to do this; Mandy, Alicia, Amy, my roommates who were supportive through the whole process, and of course my family.
So here's to life, health, and hopefully a fast recovery!
Monday, April 27, 2009
What is 'The Room'?
Each year in both the Hollywood and Independent circles, countless films are made and then unleashed unto the masses. An unsettling amount of these films aren't worth the time it takes to watch them let alone the ticket prices they charge to see them. But once in a while a film comes along that is so bad, so utterly terrible, so mind-bendingly atrocious that it somehow comes full circle and shifts back into greatness. Perhaps that is what makes Tommy Wiseau's The Room such an enjoyable movie with such a strong cult following. It's not one of those movies that looked cool and just didn't pan out, this movie fails on all fronts, starting from frame one.
Tommy Wiseau, the film's creator, producer, writer, director, and lead actor, drives this awkward and discombobulated plot forward through a maze of nonsensical dialogue and really, really bad acting. To watch The Room for the first time expecting a somewhat normal movie experience is well, disappointing. At least at first. For starters, with almost no development of any kind of plot or any exposition of the characters and their roles to one another, we jump head-first into an awkward and uncomfortable love scene which doesn't try too hard to be anatomically accurate. And yet as painful as this all would be in any other bad film, none of it ever really reaches the point of becoming unbearable. Everything about this film fails in such a way that the only response is disbelief. You find yourself laughing at how hard this film strives to be taken seriously, how badly it wants to tackle "all the big issues" but time after time falls so amazingly short.
Soon your disbelief fades into appreciation. It's a similar appreciation to the sort you feel when people screw up worse than you. A sort of thank God that's not me type of relief washes over you and that's when you really start to enjoy the film. Tommy Wiseau's crazy accent and ridiculous laugh, the bad voice-overs, the not so obvious but frequent continuity errors, plus many gems you probably won't realize or fully appreciate until a second or even third viewing. The awkwardly confusing dialogues and character plots will keep you pondering this movie for days after each viewing. And a small little part of you will always wonder: was that meant to be funny? Is Tommy Wiseau a genius? Probably not, but stroke of genius or happy accident, you will be thankful for the experience.
But I had no idea of the following this movie had. So when I heard about the monthly screenings in LA (and all over the country), I was surprised. Especially since the movie was made and released six years ago in 2003. For six years this phenomenon has been growing, evolving, devolving, and then revolving, or something like that. An amalgamation of social heckling, audience participation, sing-alongs, and a myriad of inside jokes, think of these screenings as a sort of "Rocky Horror Picture Show" event, without all the makeup and drag.
People yelling at the screen in unison, cheering, throwing spoons, footballs, singing, even reciting the best lines from the film along with the on-screen actors, it's no wonder these showings have created quite a buzz over the years. The man himself, Tommy Wiseau was there in person as he often is at the LA showings to remind everyone to "have fun and enjoy yourselves! Remember, this movie is all about expressing yourself!" Whatever you say you magnificent mysterious weird-ass! But damnit if I don't respect the hell out of that man. And I'm not alone. At the most recent showing, Wiseau's strange persona attracted not only an ABC news team to do a piece on the growing cult film experience, but Alec Baldwin couldn't help but stop by and check out "this Room movie" he kept hearing so much about. And if you ever get the chance to attend one of these screenings be it LA, New York, or anywhere in between, I whole-heartedly encourage you to do so! You won't be sorry! It's the most fun you'll ever have going to a movie!
the proof is in the picture pudding.
(EDIT: This is all Nick Lyons' fault. For without him I would be a normal sane-minded individual who knew nothing of The Room or Tommy Wiseau. Damn you Nick, there is no going back!)
Tommy Wiseau, the film's creator, producer, writer, director, and lead actor, drives this awkward and discombobulated plot forward through a maze of nonsensical dialogue and really, really bad acting. To watch The Room for the first time expecting a somewhat normal movie experience is well, disappointing. At least at first. For starters, with almost no development of any kind of plot or any exposition of the characters and their roles to one another, we jump head-first into an awkward and uncomfortable love scene which doesn't try too hard to be anatomically accurate. And yet as painful as this all would be in any other bad film, none of it ever really reaches the point of becoming unbearable. Everything about this film fails in such a way that the only response is disbelief. You find yourself laughing at how hard this film strives to be taken seriously, how badly it wants to tackle "all the big issues" but time after time falls so amazingly short.
Soon your disbelief fades into appreciation. It's a similar appreciation to the sort you feel when people screw up worse than you. A sort of thank God that's not me type of relief washes over you and that's when you really start to enjoy the film. Tommy Wiseau's crazy accent and ridiculous laugh, the bad voice-overs, the not so obvious but frequent continuity errors, plus many gems you probably won't realize or fully appreciate until a second or even third viewing. The awkwardly confusing dialogues and character plots will keep you pondering this movie for days after each viewing. And a small little part of you will always wonder: was that meant to be funny? Is Tommy Wiseau a genius? Probably not, but stroke of genius or happy accident, you will be thankful for the experience.
But I had no idea of the following this movie had. So when I heard about the monthly screenings in LA (and all over the country), I was surprised. Especially since the movie was made and released six years ago in 2003. For six years this phenomenon has been growing, evolving, devolving, and then revolving, or something like that. An amalgamation of social heckling, audience participation, sing-alongs, and a myriad of inside jokes, think of these screenings as a sort of "Rocky Horror Picture Show" event, without all the makeup and drag.
People yelling at the screen in unison, cheering, throwing spoons, footballs, singing, even reciting the best lines from the film along with the on-screen actors, it's no wonder these showings have created quite a buzz over the years. The man himself, Tommy Wiseau was there in person as he often is at the LA showings to remind everyone to "have fun and enjoy yourselves! Remember, this movie is all about expressing yourself!" Whatever you say you magnificent mysterious weird-ass! But damnit if I don't respect the hell out of that man. And I'm not alone. At the most recent showing, Wiseau's strange persona attracted not only an ABC news team to do a piece on the growing cult film experience, but Alec Baldwin couldn't help but stop by and check out "this Room movie" he kept hearing so much about. And if you ever get the chance to attend one of these screenings be it LA, New York, or anywhere in between, I whole-heartedly encourage you to do so! You won't be sorry! It's the most fun you'll ever have going to a movie!
the proof is in the picture pudding.
(EDIT: This is all Nick Lyons' fault. For without him I would be a normal sane-minded individual who knew nothing of The Room or Tommy Wiseau. Damn you Nick, there is no going back!)
Friday, April 10, 2009
This is Angela.
This is what she thinks of my blog.
This is because my blog is usually boring I tell her. She says she is just kidding.
But then I notice that while my blog might be more boring than hers, my thumbs-up is clearly far superior.
Then I find out she fights crime on her days off and I realize she is way cooler than I.
The End.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Is this real life?
Okay, this is one of those cop-out entries where I just post a YouTube video, but I promise this will be worth your time! If you read blogs or go on myspace or facebook a lot, you might have already seen this, but I thought I should pass it along anyways. Poor 7 year old David just got done having some dental surgery and is still feeling the anesthesia a bit much. Hilarity ensues!
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