Ahh, Nostaligia....!

Sometimes I get the feeling that we’re living in the middle of some kind of cultural “Dark Ages” because of how much the entertainment industry seems to rely on “Nostalgia.”

I started noticing they did this about ten years ago when VH1 launched that “I love the 80s” show.

I’m sure this technique has been around for a lot longer than that – the phrase, “return to simpler times” has probably been the slogan of countless politicians for ages – but it seems like we’re all feeding into it so much now that we’re not giving anything else a chance.

There are so many adaptations, remakes & “re-imaginings” of books, movies, stories that were popular over a decade ago that are just being re-hashed as a movie, cartoon, stage-musical, etc. that I’ve lost count. TV series that should’ve ended years ago are still on the air! Every profitable franchise with a storyline is being “re-imagined” to the point where I’m losing interest.

It was fun & novel at first, but it’s been ten years – can we stop reliving our childhoods and move on to something new to love?

The final straw for me is how they’re marketed the “new Karate Kid movie” that just came out. I mean, it’s clearly NOT a re-make of the original; it’s just total rip-off of it.

But since they advertised it as a remake / re-imagining / whatever, they can avoid all the “it’s just like ________” criticism that other movies get (ex. Avatar – “it’s just Dances with Wolves w/CGI, lulz”) while still profiting from the name of the original franchise!

You see, people won’t go see a movie that they think is a rip-off; but they will go see a movie that they think is a ‘remake.’….even if it isn’t.

Because of Nostalgia.

Sorry – somehow this turned into a rant. I didn’t even like the original Karate Kid movie….!

Meta-Fiction!

Read the synopsis of this book and tell me if it isn't the most complicated work of meta-fiction you’ve ever heard of. 

I had trouble just reading the plot summary. 

Sounds intriguing though, right?  Almost like the author's daring you to try and understand it. 

I now want to read (and buy) this book just to say that I did - I think it'll impress people.

......once I explain it to them. 

Wait a minute. 

About my Dad

I really hate bringing up uncomfortable topics in person for the very reason that it makes people uncomfortable. But since Father’s Day was this past Sunday, I thought I should take a post to say a few things about him for once.

You see, he passed away back when I was sixteen and ever since then, it’s been hard to talk about him….even with family. But I just wanted to say a few things about him here since....technically, I'm not talking - I'm typing.   

My dad had a pretty dark sense of humor like me. Not so much in the way that he would crack 'dead baby jokes,' but we would often get together and watch episodes of The Simpsons during it’s heyday (seasons 2 - 10). His favorite episode was “King-Size Homer” (Season 7, episode 7) where Homer tries to get declared “morbidly obese” so he can work from home.

He also had this really cool comic collection that he shared with me and my brother, consisting of a bunch of U.S. Army comics (Sgt. Nick Fury, etc.), a lot of old Justice League comics, and a bunch of “Tales from the Crypt” type comics. (like House of Mystery / House of Secrets  – the original series where The Sandman’s Cain and Abel came from)

Last thing I want to mention is how he’s the one who got me excited about playing video games. I remember when the original Nintendo system first came out, *he* was the one who played all the video games – particularly the Legend of Zelda series  and Mike Tyson’s Punch-out  – and we would watch / help him play; it was our version of “quality time.”

So yeah….a few things I remember about my Dad. 

Chalk Festival 2010!

On Sunday Me and a friend went to the (free!) Pasadena Chalk Festival at the Paseo Colorado.

Since I don’t really have a lot to say about it (other than “there was some really cool chalk artwork there”), I’ll just post a bunch of pictures I took while I was there:

By the way - there was some really cool Chalk Artwork there!

(Personally, I think this one should've won)

And since the new Arclight Theatre was up and running there, I also (grudgingly) decided to buy a ticket to see “Toy Story 3.” 

Now I don’t know if my “hating all movies that came out this year so far” had anything to do with this, but I really enjoyed the latest "Toy Story" movie. It was really good (in my opinion) 

See it for yourself and decide if you agree with me!  (It'll give us something cool to talk about at the water cooler)   

My First Jack & Jill

Now that I’ve had a day for my legs to rest, lemme tell you about the Jack & Jill! 

So I obviously didn’t place / win, (you should’ve seen who entered) but I think it was a good learning experience for the Jack & Jill at Camp Hollywood. There were over 40 dancers (20 couples) competing, so they divided the preliminaries up into two rounds. (I was in the second round)

A couple things I’m going to whine about:

• The songs they played were a lot faster than the ones they played for the first round.
• I thought it was a little unfair that some of the “pros” were in this competition with the rest of us amateurs.

But here’s what I learned the Judges look for:

• “Everyone can dance the basic steps, so do something that will set you apart right away.” (duh, obvious but I didn’t think to do it)
• “Smile!”
• “Make your movements big!”
• “Ask the judges for notes afterwards”

So basically what it boils down to is ‘showmanship.’ It’s technically a performance, so you gotta PERFORM.

(Again, duh – but I didn’t think to do it)

Happy Dad's Day!

Happy Father's Day, Dads!  

Try and act happy when your kids give you crappy gifts.  

Here's How! 

Training for Camp Hollywood

I’ve been making an effort to go out dancing more often in an attempt to train for the “Jack & Jill” competition I signed up for at Camp Hollywood. 

The competition’s in a few months, so I figured I should get started now. Of course my “training” just consists of me trying to dance with as many follows at as many venues as I can think of & trying to watch / remember / learn as many steps as I can from other dancers.

This will be my first lindy hop competition and I’m not really sure what they’re going to be judging us on other than musicality, form and how well we can improvise with our random partner.

For those of you who don’t know what a “Jack & Jill” competition is, it's:  

…..a competition in partner dancing, where the competing couples are the result of random matching of leaders (male dancers) and follows (female dancers).

Even though it’s one of the larger Swing events in the world, I figured I would sign up for the Jack & Jill at Camp Hollywood because of how less pressure there would be to do well. As many as 30 couples are out on the floor at once and judges can only look at so many people at once. I figure not that many people will be watching me specifically so if I royally embarrass myself, no one will really notice.

I’m actually more worried about signing up for the Jack & Jill this weekend at Third Saturday Swing – it’s advertised as a “Practice Jack & Jill” to prep everyone for Camp Hollywood, but since it’s a smaller venue (where amateurs will be lined up with pros), more people will be watching. (Yikes)

Here’s some videos I found of other “Jack &Jill” competitions to give you an idea of what it’s like.

Oh boy....wish me luck!

Back Home Again?

My mom called me the other day to tell me about a package deal on Hawaiian Airlines that lets me fly home and back for under $300.00

She said that I could use it to fly home in August....if I wanted to.

Debating on whether I should go back home or not. I’m already going back for Christmas.
(not New Years, though)

This is something that requires a lot of hemming & hawing from me.

Right now, I don't really feel like spending the money to go home again, but who knows how I'll feel after my coffee?

I have until Friday to decide.
(Offer ends on June 11th)

Any good movies out there?

I’ve been checking the L.A Weekly, IMDB, and I’ve even been stopping by the local movie theatres every couple weeks to check what’s out there…..

But is it me or do all of the movies this year (for the lack of a better word) suck balls???

With the exception of Shutter Island and The Joneses,every movie I’ve heard that came out this year sounded awful. They’re all either lame book-turned-movies, re-makes of older movies, or movie versions of a 80s franchise!

Although, after reading this article from i09, I’m thinking of giving “Sex & the City 2” a chance….!

The award for Biggest Disappointment is a tie between Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) and Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland (because honestly, what was the reason behind that stupid dance?)

This got me really looking forward to the L.A. Film Festival this year, but even the selection there doesn’t look too promising. (but maybe that’s just me)

From what I was able to scan from the line-up – these are some of the highlights of the Festival:













CANE TOADS: THE CONQUEST
Summer Showcase
(Australia, US, 2010, 85 mins, 3D DCP)
Directed By: Mark Lewis
Executive Producers: Jeff Skoll, Diane Weyermann, Clark Bunting
Producer: Mark Lewis
Cinematographers: Toby Oliver, Kathryn Milliss, Paul Nichola
Editor: Robert Demaio

In a legendary environmental blunder, Australians imported the cane toad in the 1930s to save their sugar crop from beetles. The experiment was a total flop. But seven decades later, the ugly critter had multiplied from a hundred to 1.5 billion, over-running most of northern Australia in its unstoppable migration, wreaking havoc wherever it hopped. Mischievous maverick Mark Lewis first told this story in his classic 1988 movie. Now he updates the horror in his inimitable tongue-in-cheek style, combining interviews, documentary footage, hilarious recreations, and eye-popping 3D effects.













GOLDEN SLUMBER
Gôruden suranbâ
International Showcase
(Japan, 2009, 139 mins, 35mm)
In Japanese with English subtitles
North American Premiere
Directed By: Yoshihiro Nakamura
Producers: Yosushi Uta Gawa, Hitoshi Endo, Hisashi Usui
Screenwriters: Yoshihiro Nakamura, Tamio Hayashi, Kenichi Suzuki
Cinematographer: Takashi Komatsu
Editor: Hirohide Abe
Cast: Masato Sakai, Yuko Takeuchi, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Gekidan Hitori, Teruyuki Kagawa

Trailer
In Yoshihiro Nakamura’s serio-comic thriller, when easy-going Aoyagi meets an old friend for a fishing trip he ends up drugged, framed for the Prime Minister's assassination, and on the run from corrupt cops. But he'll get by with a little help from his friends, who include a famous pop diva, a rockabilly deliveryman, a crippled old gangster, and the world's most cheerful serial killer. For all of us who've ever wondered what a cross between Pee Wee's Big Adventure and The Fugitive might look like, search no further than this hugely satisfying pop concoction, already a major hit in its native Japan.













DOWN TERRACE
International Showcase
(United Kingdom, 2009, 89 mins, HDCAM 23.98)
Directed By: Ben Wheatley
Producer: Andy Starke
Screenwriters: Ben Wheatley, Robin Hill
Cinematographer: Laurie Rose
Editor: Robin Hill
Cast: Robert Hill, Robin Hill, Julia Deakin, Kerry Peacock, Tony Way, David Schaal, Michael Smiley, Gareth Tunley

Trailer
Crime stays all in the family in Ben Wheatley's tart, deadpan English black comedy about a clan of bickering, low-rent crooks. Having recently been sprung from jail, father Bill and son Karl—played by father and son team of Robert and Robin Hall—are determined to sniff out the snitch who ratted them out. Was it one of the family? Down Terrace is a slow-burning fuse: what seems at first like an odd slice of kitchen sink realism morphs into absurdist realms of mayhem and murder with the laughs and gasps coming when you least expect them.

There were a few more that looked pretty great, but those were all short films and don’t really seem worth the trouble of paying for.

As such – this leads me to the last resort of the movie-goer: RENTING.

Fortunately, my new roommate showed me Oldboy – 2nd movie of Chan-wook Park’s “Revenge Trilogy;” and hand-picked as the Grand Jury prize Winner at Cannes by Quentin Tarantino!

The plot goes something like this:

Based on a Manga by the same name, tan every-day “Salary man” is suddenly released after being kidnapped and imprisoned for fifteen years without knowing why or who was responsible. He’s got nothing but revenge on his mind, but so does his mysterious captor…..!

I can’t really tell you anymore without spoiling it, but if you know anything about Korean movies, then you know that they tend to stray towards darker side of life’s themes and this one does not disappoint.

Can’t wait to watch Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance & Lady Vengeance (the other two movies in the Revenge Trilogy)

Jocks as Nerds?

If you define “Nerd” (as wikipedia does) as:

a person who avidly pursues….obscure interests that are unusual for one's age, rather than engaging in more social or conventional activities.....

..........couldn’t you ALSO consider the average “Sports Fan” (aka “Jocks”) as a kind of nerd?

Discuss.

Moving - Part 2

So I’m finally moved in to my new place! I should have pictures up of my new place by now but I’ve been pretty lazy the past couple days what with all the moving I’ve been doing lately.

Speaking of which, I’d like to give a big thanks to Raul, Bryan & Phil for taking time out of their busy Saturdays to help me!

The actual move wasn’t as painstaking as I thought it would be. It never is, but I somehow always dread it in the days right up to it. I woke up around 8AM that day just getting stuff together, folding clothes and putting everything I could think of in boxes for people to take with them. It’s a miracle I didn’t lose anything.

The one thing I didn’t plan for, though, was the renting of the U-Haul truck – BIG mistake on my part. Apparently Memorial Day weekend is the busiest time for companies like U-Haul because EVERYONE decides to move around that time. Fortunately, Evan’s parents (who have an Odyssey) called saying they wanted to help out too so I ended up not needing one. that day. (whoo!)

I still have to hang pictures and put some stuff in storage, but otherwise I’m all comfy in my new digs. I took a jog the other day to check out the neighborhood – and it is NICE. There’s a Blockbuster, Korean Super market, Marie Calendars, Starbucks & Jack in the Box all within walking distance and I live just a couple miles away from the Galleria & Americana!

My new roommate’s name is Robert (but we can call him Rob) and he seems pretty chill. He’s pretty ambitious though, which is an odd change of pace for me – when he’s not at his job, he’s working on starting his own internet business. I think he wants to be one of those dot.com millionaires one day cuz he keeps telling me about success stories of twenty-something millionaires who got rich from some business they started that a lot of people don’t think about.

Ex. Gumball machines that sell those really bouncy rubber balls. Apparently those things only cost a penny to make; but everyone buys them for a Quarter ~ that’s 2,500% profit! (Instant millionaire)

I can tell he’s been trying to make an effort to be friends with me – last night, he asked what my plans for dinner were tonight cuz he wanted to cook. I think that’s pretty awesome.

**EDIT 6/03/10**

I finally took some pictures.