Winter X Games

I’m lovin’ the Winter X Games. Hoping my boy Shaun White pulls off the gold in the Men’s Snowboard Superpipe. But I’m torn. I like my boy Danny Kass too. He’s so laid back. Reminds me of me. For sheer amplitude though you gotta go with Andy Finch. Who’s gonna win? Gotta keep watching to find out. Plus I’ve got to give mad props to Luke Wynen giving love to Jesus and God every time he’s on camera. He’s got Jesus plastered all over his board for Pete’s sake. Plus he’s my age. Keepin’ the dream alive. Sweet! It’s nice to see a Christian get some air time. Much love dude!

Oops

Norwegians Confused by Bush Salute : Gotta watch those gestures Dubya. Kind of reminds me of when Bush senior went to Australia and flashed the V for victory (or peace) and the Aussies thought he was flipping them the bird.

In Good Company and The Aviator

I just spent 6 hours at the movie theater. As you’ve probably gathered by the title of this post I watched In Good Company and The Aviator. I had reservations about watching both movies before hand but came out of the experience pleasantly surprised. In Good Company is a really charming movie. It’s a comedy that dips into poignant drama at times. I won’t use the term Romantic Comedy because 1) I hate those kind of movies and 2) this movie is much more than that. Topher Grace (of That 70′s Show fame) is excellent as this up and coming ad executive named Carter. He is an absoulute riot. Dennis Quaid turns in his usual solid performance. The wonderful and very beautiful Scarlett Johanssen (from Lost In Translation which I own on DVD which is saying something) gives a subtle, understated turn as Alex. To be perfectly honest, Scarlett is the main reason why I went to see the movie. I thouroughly enjoyed her performance in Lost In Translation. Her acting is so natural. She never seems like she’s straining herself. It all seems effortless for her which is refreshing. I left this movie with a smile on my face which is just about the highest compliment I can give a film. Jolly good show!!

I found some disturbing parallels between the movie and my real life though. Carter, 26, falls in love with a younger woman/college student, Alex, 18. Hmmm….. lets see parallels…. Daryl, 27, falls in love with younger woman/recent college graduate Mariah, 23. The two have a fairly storybook romance for several months. Parallel….. check. After said storybook romance the younger woman dumps the older man for reasons the older man is still trying to figure out. And check. Hope I didn’t give too much of the plot away to those that haven’t seen the film. I just wanted to get those parallels out there. I’m not bitter or anything. Honest.

What can I say about the Aviator? It’s epic. Leonardo DiCaprio does an excellent job playing Howard Hughes. The obsessive compulsive millionaire is his most ambitious and difficult role yet but he pulls it off marvelously. I’ve like Leonardo ever since he appeared in my favorite modern classic, Romeo + Juliet. Martin Scorsese hits another one out of the park. There will probably be Oscar nominations in the near future for this flick. I liked it as a whole. The acting is superb. Cate Blanchette plays Katherine Hepburn waaaay over top which is fun. Kate Beckinsale is ravishing as Ava Gardner. Gwen Stefani even makes an appearance as Jean Harlow. The movie didn’t feel like the almost 3 hour monster that it actually was. It went by in a snap. The ending left me a little flat though. I think Martin could have done better with it. It almost felt like he picked a spot and said it’s getting kind of long so I think I’ll end it here. I’ll be interested to see if they ever release a Director’s Cut whether or not the ending is the actual ending.

I’ve only seen three other Scorsese flicks. Raging Bull, Gangs of New York and Goodfellas. I liked all three for various reasons. I’ve got to make it a point to see more of his work. He’s one of the greatest directors of our time. Well it’s getting late and I’m starting to ramble so I think I’ll call it a night.

Dumb

Woman falls to death attempting balcony handstand : How stupid can one person be?

Leader of the Free World = iPod User

U.S. President George Bush a confirmed Apple iPod user : Dubya owns an iPod. So does the Vice President according to this article. I don’t agree with most of their policies but they’re my iPod brethren so I’ve got to give them a little bit of credit.

When’s My Turn?

I just found out that another pair of friends of mine are getting married which leads to ask the question yet again, when’s my turn? This time last year I was thinking that maybe about this time this year I might be getting around to popping the question myself. Alas the possibilities of that happening now are drier than the Sahara Desert. It’s hard to be happy for my friends and not be sad for myself. My Mom says it will happen in God’s time and that I should take my wants and desires to the Lord because he will provide. I know it will happen eventually but it’s hard waiting on it to come. It’s kind of like my hair. I want to ‘fro it out and dreadlock it but I don’t want to go through the intermediate step of actually growing it out. I feel like I’m ready to take that next step but obviously God doesn’t think I am or I think it would have happened by now. I’ve got to keep reminding myself in His time. In His time.

Booyeah!!!

24 will be coming on Mondays at 8. Now that Monday Night Football is done I’m so there. This is sweet. I’m out. The commercials are over.

Maynard Ferguson

Thanks to iTunes (and a little “creative” searching elsewhere on the net) I was able to piece together some of my favorite songs from one of my favorite jazz musicians, Maynard Ferguson. Doing this took me back to my high school days where I literally wore out a mix tape that Greg made for me of Maynard’s greatest hits. I listened to that tape over and over and over. Being a trumpet player myself, Maynard was almost a god to me. His range is incredible. His pitch and tone are as close to perfect as you can get. Listening to his songs again brought back a lot of pleasant memories for me and iTunes made it all possible. Thanks iTunes. And thanks Greg for the original mix tape that inspired it all. Oh the songs…. Pagliachi, Chameleon, Gospel John, Gonna Fly Now that tape was the bomb kid. And now I can listen to them whenever I want to on my iPod. Very cool. I think I’ve even got that mix tape around here somewhere. Too bad I don’t have a working tape player to play it on. I haven’t listened to a tape in so long it’s not even funny.

Time for 24. Gotta go.

fragile state – the facts and the dreams

I got the first fragile state CD, the facts and the dreams, in the mail today. I’m listening to it right now. So far so good. Even though one of the fragile state members happens one of the leaders of Zero 7 the sound on this CD is totally different. Where Zero 7 has more of a grandiose, retro, old school vibe, fragile state’s sound is more modern. I’d almost define it as electronic jazz. Very laid back and soothing. I like it. Great chillout music. I might go as far as saying that I like fragile state better than Zero 7. It’s too early to decide but I like what I’ve heard so far. Their second CD should be here any day now.

On Friday the first Bent CD, Programmed To Love, came in the mail. I like it too. I wasn’t sure what to expect but was pleasantly surprised. I enjoyed the vast majority of the tracks on the album. The sound is hard to nail down. They use a lot of samples of old records and sounds. It’s all well done though and makes for an excellent listening experience. I can’t wait until their 2nd and more recent CD arrives.

24

I think I may have found a new show to watch. Last night I watched the first half of the 4 hour season premiere of 24 on Fox. I’m afraid I may be hooked. It had me from the first scene. I’ve never watched the show before. I tend to shy away from network programming all together for anything other than football and basketball. I have started to watch Fear Factor the last couple months. It came on the hour before Monday Night Football and made for a good lead in. Before that I watched The Benefactor from it’s start to conclusion. That’s been the extent of my network TV show watching habits until now. Depending on the night and day that it comes on I may have a new favorite in 24. I’ve been looking forward to the 2 hour season premier finale all day. 32 minutes and counting. I’ve been curious about the show with all the buzz it’s generated for a while now but haven’t actually sat down and watched it until now. Looks like I’m going to have to buy the earlier seasons on DVD or catch them on FX. Yet again I’m late to the party but maybe I can get points for showing up.