Slowly Learning...

So March will soon be over, and I feel the need for one last post to close it all up. It's certainly been one hell of a month for me. Let's see what happened to me... Well, not a whole lot. I did however finally secure a place to live for next year. So if any of you find yourself in Dryden (and I'm sorry if you do), you can stop by and visit me (starting sometime in June). Other than that the month was rather uneventful. I'm sure something must have happened in there, but as usual my memory is just a blur. The month has pretty much left me in the same state it found me. I'm still single (and still rejected by women), still working at Wegmans (if you can call what I do work), and still going to school at Cortland (somedays). And since I've exhausted all my ideas for the night (which were none), and since I need to get some rest for school and work tomorrow, I will now close out March with these words of wisdom for all you faithful readers:

"People are accustomed to consider the goal as the driving force...but it is merely the directing force."

Posted by Thom at 1:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So I got to Cinemapolis about 30 mins early, and there was a line out the door and aready about 20 or 30 people in the theatre. I hadn't seen something like that since the Crouching Tiger, and much like with Crouching Tiger, there was plenty of reason why. Just look at the main plot line: A couple splits up, she erases him from her mind, he decides to do the same. Where do you get such a unique idea for a movie? Well Charlie Kaufman of course! Which of his movies hasn't been great? Add into the equation great acting performances from Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, and others, and you have a great film. It's clever, yet doesn't keep you guessing at the end, while also not just handing the ending to you on a silver platter. At the same time the movie is such a smart comedy that you can't help but laugh out loud throughout the film. Everything about the film is so clever and new. I can't thnk of any moment in the film that I thought, "you know, I've seen this before in some other movie." Anyone out there that has access to it should go now. Hell, I'll go with you just to see it again even!

RATING: See It Now, Buy It Later

Posted by Thom at 10:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So I never saw the original, so I don't have that to go on. But I must say, I liked this movie. I was in the mood for a solid zombie film, and I got that and more. To best describe this movie, think something along the lines of 28 Days Later mixed with...well something that makes it better. You still have the end of the world feeling, and the group of people trying to survive, and the horde of flesh eating zombies, and all that. But you also have so much more. Rather than the group of 3 or 4 people, we have a whole collection stuck in a mall, with their own society forming. Also rather than having a 2-hour nonstop zombie fest, the movie is slipt into a terrifying beginning, a social construction middle, and a zombie fest escape plan ending. With so much happening and so many characters to bring us all in, the movie does a great job of not only scaring us, but also entertaining. Hey, maybe I'm looking too deep into a zombie thriller, maybe not. In either case the movie still succeeds majorly as a zombie thriller alone. The zombies are frightening, realistically dead looking, and extremely well done. And opposed to most main stream hollywood films I see, I also liked the ending. All in all, a great movie.

RATING: Worth a Full Price Ticket, Worth a Purchase

Posted by Thom at 9:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So lets start from the beginning...

The opening act was Rufus Wainwright, who I hadn't really heard much from before, and I doubt I'll be going out to hear more from now. He wasn't bad, but just a little too whiny for my tastes. Or it could have been the minimilist stage act he has (either him on keyboard or him on acoustic guitar). It just wasn't enough to distract me from the overly wailing vocals. Also all his songs seemed to be at the exact same tempo, making it harder to really tell the differences in most of them. I know, he's probably better than this, but his performance in Barton doesn't leave me craving more.

Then came Guster. As usual they put on a great show. They have great stage presence and always seem to find a way to play to the audience. I'm not that big a fan of the new album (although I am coming around some, but it's still not nearly their best), but that doesn't matter when you see them live. Unlike some bands Guster tends not to just come up on stage and rattle off their hits just like they were playing them straight from the CD. Insted they find some way to make the songs new and different, while still staying familiar. Blend this in with their lively nature, interaction with the audience (they polled people for which song to play at one point), and obscure covers (they did a cover of a Belle & Sebastian song that about half the audience didn't know) and you get a fantastic show. A personal favorite of mine was thier encore. Insted of all going off stage for a few minutes, only to come back and play a coupel more songs, they just sent one of the band memebers off and then had the audience cheer him back on while the remaining memebers played some nice background chant music.

So as usual Guster put on an energetically humourously entertaining performance. So if you get the chance go out and catch a Guster show sometimes. Even if you're not a big fan of their music you can't beat watching the bare handed drummer bang away on the bongos and drums like a maniac.

Posted by Thom at 10:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Which Colossal Death Robot Are You?

Posted by Thom at 6:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's time to answer the age old question, is oatmeal more fattening if it's cooked or if it's eaten raw? To settle this dispute I propose the following scientific study. As per usual I will continue to eat Wegman's Apples & Cinnamon Instant Oatmeal straight from the packet, while one of you out there continues to eat your oatmel cooked. After monitoring the fluxuations in our respective weights we will be able to once and for all answer this perplexing riddle of nature. Thank you all for your support on this journey of epic consequences.

Posted by Thom at 12:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A general rule of thumb should be that you cannot play an ad claiming you play the newest rock and then cut to Whatcha' Want by the Beastie Boys. I know they're white, but they're not new nor are they rock.

Posted by Thom at 6:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So today was supposed to be my cleaning day. Well actually yesterday was gonna be the cleaning day, but I decided to go catch up on some DDR and some poker up North, so I put the cleaning off. So today was supposed to be the day, but of course it wasn't. Insted I ran some errands (noble cause) which were unsuccessful since I forgot the main thing I went out for (new razor blades) but I did get some other things I needed (other random groceries and some photo slides for class) and some things that I really needed (4 records, for a mere 40< a piece). [as a side note I've become frustrated at always having to write out the word "cents," so from now on I'll simply use the symbol "<." I mean it's close, and if at can have it's own symbol then why not cents?] Now you may think that I don't really need the records, but think again. I didn't pick up just any records. Insted I managed to get 2 classics (Heuy Lewis and the News - Fore and The Alan Parsons Project), a classical guitar album, and best of all I managed to snag a copy of "Everybody Polka!" Cause I'm sure you all realize that nothing spells quality like a good collections of polkas, and nothing screams quality polka like vinyl. It just ain't polka without that crackle. And what goes better with a crackly polka than a party? Well I day long BBQ/Party, that's what! I had considered the notion that we hadn't had any sort of large gathering and with a classic gem, such as the one I snaged from the used bookstore basement today, a day long party just seems to fall right into place, so we must now have a party! So in celebration of the final days in Ithaca for me, Cross, and Em, as well as in tribute to the Brandon Circle Clam Bakes, I've decided to throw a bash for all to come and enjoy. Right now I'm shooting for mid to late June, at our place in Ithaca, for everyone the 3 of us have ever encountered, give or take a few people. Stay tuned for more details as they are posted. And of course, feel free to post your input as well. Good ideas and suggestions will be applauded and included, while the bad ones will be ridiculed and mocked, as they should be.

P.S. - Practice up on those dance moves to use on all the fly honeys that will no doubt be attending. And yes, they do work for either sex. So you women can attract honeys as well.

Posted by Thom at 2:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

So I know that many of you out there are uncoordinated white boys such as myself who lack in the dance skills department, but do not fret. I have the answers to your concerns. I have 2 simple dance moves that can save you. That's right, you too can learn to dance using only 2 simple moves!! What, you may ask, are these magical booty shaking steps that are guaranteed to get you all the fly honeys? Well I'll tell you. First we will start with the basics, the Aquaman Rump Shaker. For this move just follow along with Aquaman, adjusting the shaking accordingly with the speed of the accompanying music. What lady could resist such a gyratingly fantabulous move? No lady, that's who. But eventually you might feel the need to add variety to your arsenal. For that I give you the Jiggle Billy Jiggle. Once you have mastered the Aquaman Rump Shake this new move should be no problem for you. Just including a circular upperbody motion along with the swaying of the hips (for further instruction see Aqua Teen Hunger Force - Dumber Dolls). With these two unstopable moves you will be beating the ladies off with not one, not two, but 3 sticks!! Now that's a lot of sticks.

Posted by Thom at 6:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

What a movie. If you're wondering what the newest Broken Lizard film is like think Super Troopers meets Scream. While it's a comedic take on a horror film it's still quite good at capturing both. It doesn't get quite as stupid as Scary Movie, but stays funny. And it also seems to pull off the horror genre better than Scream (yes I know that's not all that hard). I'm not gonna say too much about it, but here are some little thoughts and notes about it:

- The crazily terrible accents are fantastic and funny.
- Bill Paxton plays quite the alcoholic, stoned out, washed up rocker.
- Human Pac-Man anyone?
- While unbelievablly hard to kill, the villian still goes down quicker than Kevin Bacon in Hollowman.

RATING: Worth Full Price, Worth Rental Any Night of the Week

Posted by Thom at 10:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So I didn't so much want to see this movie as I felt that I should see it, and see it I did, sort of... I managed to get there a little late (missing the first 5 or 10 min) but I did get a free ticket from some nice strangers. Then just as Jesus is being raised on the cross the power decided to go out in the mall, thereby cutting the movie about 30 min short. This however did give me a free refund ticket for the ticket I didn't even pay for to begin with, which was a plus. Unfortuantly I don't think I could sit through the whole movie again. It wasn't a bad movie, just a little graphic. I'm not really gonna go into the story, cause most people know it, but it seemed pretty true I guess (I'm a catholic, so we don't really read the bible, that's what the preist are for). I can safely say that this isn't a family movie though. First it does have subtitles, which isn't too big a deal, and second it's quite gory. Jesus is basically dripping blood for about 2/3 of the film, and it covered with nasty cuts, bruises, and gashes. At one point I even had to look away as it was too much for me to handle, that's how extreme it was. However it did get the message across quite powerfully. I especially liked the portrayal of the Devil and how he seemed to just float along the background from time to time. Overall the movie was quite impressive looking and had the biblical feel to it. As for the blaming the Jews thing, I can see it, but it's just the way it goes. I mean they were scared and suspicious. I mean if a man came today claiming to be the son of God and the King of the Jews what do you think we'd all do? We probably wouldn't flog him and then nail him to a giant cross, but I'm guessing some psychiatric evaluation would take place, at which time he'd be sent off to some mental institution for heavy medication and therapy. But even though I don't think I could stomache sitting through the whole movie again I do reccommend that people go out and see it at least once, just don't eat a big meal before hand.

RATING: Worth a Full Price Ticket, Worth a Rental

Posted by Thom at 10:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So those of you that know me know that I can be very critical of many things, pikcing apart little flaws. This is espeically true of movies and music. I can find little problems with even the best of films and songs. There is however Africa by Toto. I've listened to this song over and over, and I can't think of a single thing to fault it on. It's got such great flow, such perfect instrumentaion, such solid vocals, such a sense of completeness. It doesn't drag too long, it doesn't cut too short. It leaves you satisfied, yet still wanting more. It may not be the best song ever written, but it's one of the very few that even I can't seem to find fault with. So I have to nominate Africa as the best things to come from the 80's, alongside Glowworms of course.

Posted by Thom at 1:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It is critical!

"Learn More. Do More. Win at Life." - Roadrunner TV slogan

Posted by Thom at 12:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)