summer time and the bloggings easy? (feel free to boo)

Its summer and that means school is out and my time on the internet has increased by 20%! I've been using my extra percentage to do research... research on movies, TV shows, music, books to read, and other stuff that can keep my MTV generation, 8 second, attention span. Today, Tuesday 6/17/08 9:58PM, I am currently into the following (like you care):

Casey Affleck

I finally saw "The Assasination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford". It was an all around good movie and I especially liked the narration. The movie also has a great cast that included Brad Pitt (meh) Sam Rockwell AND Casey Affleck who plays Robert Ford. I've only seen Casey in smaller roles like 1995's "To Die For", which is an awesome movie, and his work in the Ocean's 11 movies. However, Casey is spot on in "The Assassination of Jesse James"... he maintains a sense of innocence while still being mysterious. I'm anxious to see Casey in "Gone Baby Gone", a film that was written and directed by older brother Ben Affleck (I refuse to give Ben kudos).

Oh yeah and the guy is totally hot

Michael C. Hall


I should mention that I did indeed get a cable upgrade (see "the cool stuff" blog entry) that includes all the HBO, Showtime and Cinemax channels. With my new access to the world of really expanded cable, I've become a fan of Showtime's Original Series, "Dexter". One of my best friends mentioned the show to me over a year ago and I, stupidly, shrugged off the recommendation since I didn't have Showtime. I was able to watch both seasons 1 & 2 on Showtime on demand and after watching the first 3 episodes I was hooked by the character of Dexter and the actor that plays him, Michael C. Hall.

I made sure I watched both seasons before doing any research online about the show... I didn't want to run in to any reviews or spoilers or anything like that. However, after the last episode of season 2, I quickly started looking for all things Dexter.

So after two weeks after watching the first episode, I am now almost done reading the first book "Darkly Dreaming Dexter", I've seen the first three episodes of Six Feet Under (I got more discs on the way, via Netflix) which stars Michael C. Hall. I've got the second Dexter book on my night stand ready for take off.

yeah, I'm a dork.

Well I guess that's it for now...

I'll leave you with Coldplay's new single "Viva La Vida"
(say what you will about Coldplay but I've been a fan since I first heard "Yellow" when I was in the 10th grade! Yes, X & Y was kinda boring but this "Viva la Vida" song is alright with me)

Coming soon:
Review of the Death Cab For Cutie Show
Comic Con
Christmas in July

cool stuff , stuff that is cool (a blog post with different stuff, that is cool)

Bixby Canyon Bridge

My mom and I are finally gonna make the trip up north to San Francisco in early August. Yeah I'm going on a road trip with my Mum... does that make me any less cool? NO, because luckily for me, my mom is cool... so if anything I'm making her less cool. I want to do the whole Big Sur thing because thats what kids my age are into.

Flight of the Conchords

I'm a little late but I don't care because not having HBO is cooler then having HBO. Although I do plan to sign up for a cable upgrade. Anyways, I'm gonna go see them next month, which is fantastico!














In conclusion:
My finals are on Tuesday and I really, really don't want to study. But life is about doing stuff you don't want to do and then deciding not to do them.

I guess "stuff" should be more then two things... I should have called this "Two Cool Things"... but since I listed two things I guess its a "Small Portion"... ah, but I should have called it "A Small Portion of Cool"... damn.

April 26th - May 3rd or Saturday to Saturday

I was so gonna write a blog about the Los Angeles Times Festival of books... but I didn't. Then I was totally gonna write a blog about the She & Him show on Tuesday... but I didn't. OH, then I was gonna write a blog on how I should be doing math homework but haven't had time to actually do it because I've been sleep deprived from driving back and forth from LA... but I never did that because I fell asleep. Ah and then Friday came and my brother, Alex, and I had tickets to see Michale Buble and while waiting for Buble to take the stage I told Alex "I'm so gonna write a blog about this"... turns out, I didn't. Then after sleeping through almost all of yesterday, I went to check out Birtt Daniel's solo show at The Belly Up... I never said I would write a blog about the show but I so intended to.

So here it goes... all the shit I did and didn't do last week, in a quick summary because I got a shit load of math homework to catch up on.

LA TIMES FESTIVAL OF BOOKS: 4/26
Turn off's:
- a lot more people then usual
- it was hotter then hell that day
- we got there a little too late and missed the free C-Span bags

Turn on's:
- It was the LA Times Festival of Books
- UCLA
- Interesting booths with free books
- I saw two past contestants of Bravo's Top Chef

SHE & HIM @ THE VISTA THEATER: 4/ 29
Turn off's:
-I had to miss Spanish class for this show... I wouldn't really care that much but its the end of the semester and tengo que impress mi profesora
- the show was in LA and gas prices are high

Turn on's
- got there early and found excellent parking space
- second group of people in line
- Sat front row, arms length away from the band
- Jason Schwartzman was there, OMG!! :D
- Zooey Deschanel's voice can easily move mountains
-M. Ward
Set List (thanks to Adan who was able to get one off the stage) :
black hole
change is hard
made for you (chah cha cha)
sentimental heart
you really got a hold
take it back
got me
dusty
saw your face today
this is not a test
why do you
sweet darlin
encore
magic trick
bring it home
spell

From Wednesday to Thursday I had the Intermediate Algebra blues:
What the hell is a Logarithmic function and how do you graph it?

MICHAEL BUBLE:
Turn off's:
- our seats were sub shitty
- a lot of old cougars with bad perfume
- it was at the Cox Arena
- Buble didn't do "Come Fly with Me"

Turn on's:
- I got a sick ass concert shirt with Michale Buble's face all over it!
- Buble managed to make the whole crowd swoon... *sigh*
- Great all around show... like nothing I've ever experienced

BRITT DANIEL'S SOLO SHOW:
Turn off's:
-NONE!

Turn on's
- Getting to say hello to Britt before the show
- seeing Britt Daniel
- hearing Britt Daniel
- His cover of Wolf Parade's "Modern World"
- Britt Daniel

Here is some fan footage from the show:

Britt Daniel - 04
Uploaded by starbright31

In conclusion:

The past week was busy and stressful... now I'm totally gonna do my math homework.

2nds

I'm constantly re-evaluating and second guessing things. Por ejemplo, after reading and re-reading my first blog entry, I realized that it made me come across as a humble nobody from nowheresville looking to hitch a ride to Whocares Town! But this is America and I'm an American so everything I say/ write is, and will always be, good*!



*some restrictions do apply

Shoes!

Yeah so, I've been wearing slip on vans since the 9th grade ( lace up vans before that) and i figured, since i was getting along in age, that i should try a different shoe, a different style, if you will. On top of wanting to change my footwear style, I also wanted to make sure that my new shoes would be "eco" friendly and made in a non sweat shop environment, preferably in the U.S.A. SO, i began to do some research and found out about the SIMPLE shoe company http://www.simpleshoes.com/index.aspx

The site explains that their shoes are made out of recycled products, organic cotton and or hemp. However, I was a little skeptical becuase the site did not explain where the the shoes were actually manufactured.
http://www.simpleshoes.com/About/factoryCharter.aspx?g=about

It kinda bothered that I didn't know who was making the shoes. I wanted to get away from mystery fabrics and factories. My Vans where made in China, thats all I know about them. "Simple" shoes are made of "eco" friendly stuff... thats all i know about them.

I think a big part about being environmentally aware is BEING AWARE of where things come from, what its made out of, who makes it and how it is made.

Its just like those cloth bags that they sell in supermarkets.... are they really doing the environment much help? Couldn't you just reuse paper bags? And when the paper bags wear out you could recycle them, eh? Most of those bags are probably made in sweat shops! Right? (note to self, do more research on cloth bags)

In the end, I might just go on as usual... driving my Vans into the ground before buying a new pair. (not to self, look up shoe recycling center)

American Apparel should make shoes.

And such small portions

I never thought I would get one of these blogging accounts and I feel kinda dumb and pretentious for doing so. Why would other people care what I say (write)? Why, even the lay out and the text of this site looks snobby! But I guess it doesn't matter what I write because I'm the only one who will actually read it.

"You're a big fat phony!"