I was taken aback by how much better this movie was than the last one. I wasn’t expecting a serious film. I thought all of the subplots were handled deftly. I actually cared about the characters this time around. The best of the big summer movies so far.
1. Return of the King
2. Children of Men
3. Illuminata
4. Stay
5. Hot Fuzz
6. The Empire Strikes Back
7. American Astronaut
8. Pirates of the Caribbean 3
9. Shortbus
10. Hotel Rwanda
The Alamo Village shows Heroes, Lost and Battlestar Galactica for free on the big screen. Of course, when it came to the season finale, I could not resist the call of this venue and its sweet promise of Losty goodness. Watching the Losties up there on a big screen in a theater packed with die hard fans is an experience not to be missed.
My faith in the show had been shaken earlier this season, what with all the filler and no real answers to anything. But after the finale, I was ready to pronounce it the savior of dramatic television. Though I had guessed the twist almost instantly, the game-changing final scene was up there with the BSG finale. Five seconds after the Bad Robot logo appeared, the internet erupted with speculation. I have heard incredibly smart theories and have cast my lot in with the more ambitious ones, hoping the writers are truly driving the bus out to the fringe.
This wait is going to be more agonizing than the hatch, so I will simply put it from my mind and pretend the show does not exist, a selective amnesia that served me well while waiting for Lord of the Rings to come out.
Upon arriving here, perhaps in an attempt to distract myself from what I had just done, I got involved. I went out practically every night. Open mics, movie events, gaming, and so on. There is just TOO MUCH to do here. And I was swiftly overwhelmed. So now I’ve cut back a bit, spend some nights at home watching DVDs, and generally taking it easy. If I ever get bored, I just have to step out the front door, because there is always something interesting going on.
One of the many reasons that Austin is superior to other cities is that most cool hangouts here are either open to midnight or later or they simply never close.
I went to check out the board game scene at Great Hall Games. I met a bunch of great gamers there. we played Fire & Axe until about 11, hung out until midnight (when the store closed) and then reconvened at the Epoch coffee house (always open) for more gaming. We hung out and played Citadels until about 1:30 AM. They were still going strong when I bowed out to go home and sleep.
Apparently this happens every week. Awesome.
Tonight I found myself sitting in the outdoor yard of a coffee house called the Irie Bean, listening to a singer-songwriter open mic and reflecting how life seemed completely transfigured from a few weeks ago. I had decided to demand more out of my life and to just make the things I wanted to happen happen. Breaking camp and moving to some foreign locale is not a trivial matter. For a long time I had been anchored by the perceived weight of all my possessions and responsibilities. And I did feel the weight of all my worldy possessions, now stripped of function, cargo that took up space. In Gibson’s “Pattern Recognition”, the protagonist Casey travels the world unfettered, needing only a laptop, a credit card plugged into some deep corporate account, and a leather jacket. Somewhere, offstage, is an apartment that perhaps contains a couch. That lifestyle has a great attraction to me. Sometimes I just want to Go and everything not attached to me seems like a net.
I have ready answers for people who ask why I up and moved to Austin. They are of course true answers, but they are not the real answer. I shouldn’t need an answer at all. I am free and I am flowing. I moved because I wanted to and because I had already left. I moved because I loved someone so much that it eclipsed everything else and I couldn’t tell what love was anymore, like staring into the sun and seeing a sun everywhere I looked.
And I needed to remind myself about what I could do. This is what is possible when I don’t take “no” for an answer.
I just need to jot these down before I forget. Hopefully I will get back to more substantial posts once I have settled in here in Austin.
1. Return of the King
2. Children of Men
3. Illuminata
4. Stay
5. Hot Fuzz
6. The Empire Strikes Back
7. American Astronaut
8. Shortbus
9. Hotel Rwanda
10. Stranger Than Fiction
I really hate good-byes. I haven’t said good-bye to this many people since… well, ever. The thought of having this conversation with every one of you just breaks my heart, so I hope you will forgive the e-mail. In about 2 weeks I will be moving to Austin, Texas. So I guess this is me putting in my 2 weeks’ notice to Albuquerque. To a lot of things, actually. Continue reading →
Originally I had no intention of seeing Grindhouse. I love Rodriguez and Tarantino, but this looked like an over the top gorefest a la From Dusk ‘Til Dawn and I really don’t like those types of movies. But I had the opportunity to see it with a unique crowd and a unique venue, so I didn’t turn it down. It was insanely gory and violent, but it was executed brilliantly. Rodriguez shot his segment digitally and then added tons of processing effects to make it look like it was filmed thirty years ago. Death Prook, Tarantino’s segment, was a bit like Reservoir Dogs: long stretches of dialogue punctuated by horrible violence.
1. Return of the King
2. Children of Men
3. Stay
4. American Astronaut
5. Shortbus
6. Stranger Than Fiction
7. Pan’s Labyrinth
8. Grindhouse
9. Apocalypto
10. Black Snake Moan
I have returned from my recon trip. I have seen the lay of the land. Everything looks promising.
Yesterday, driving to a friend’s house, I reflected on my plan and how my car always suffers from some kind of breakdown when I attempt such things, as though testing my resolve. Ten seconds later a flywheel snapped, unspooling the serpentine belt. I immediately lost power steering and power brakes. I limped into my friend’s driveway. The repairs were relatively simple, but frustrating and time consuming nonetheless.
But I took it as a sign. All of this has already happened.