I've spent a good chunk of the day so far trying to get our new internet service up and running at work and it's been a bit of a mess. Thankfully, one of my friends posted this video on my Facebook feed and now everything is all right again.
Friday, November 15, 2013
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
AFI 100: All About Eve
All About Eve is a 1950s black and white drama currently sitting at number 28 in AFI's most recent listing (2007). I watched it a few days ago as part of my ongoing attempt to watch all 100 films in AFI's list and I have to say it's been one of the most enjoyable films I've seen thus far.The plot revolves around a young, dedicated fan named Eve Harrington who quickly insinuates herself into the life of her idol, an aging but still popular star of Broadway, Margo Channing, and ultimately ends up threatening to take away everything Margo has worked so hard to achieve.
The acting is excellent, the cinematography is excellent, and frankly I'm surprised it's not higher up on the list. To be fair, there are a lot of films above it that I haven't seen yet, but I would highly recommend you check this out if you've got some evening free and you want to enjoy some great cinema.
Image Source: [1]
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Corgis with Quotes (Gif edition)
'Tis a lesson you should heed:
Try, try, try again.
If at first you don't succeed,
Try, try, try again.
-William Edward Hickson
Image Source: [1]
Monday, November 11, 2013
Millennial Celebration
A little over three years ago, Sid Meier's Civilization V was released and like its predecessors, I purchased it immediately. Two expansions, Gods & Kings and Brave New World were released in 2012 and 2013, respectively. I can easily say that this game, and to a greater extent the entire series, is responsible for the single largest time-sink in my life.
As of today, Monday, November 11, 2013, I have played Sid Meier's Civilization V for 1,030 hours. In case you're curious that's the equivalent of me playing for 24 hours a day for almost 43 days straight. YIKES. Part of me is incredibly proud and another part of me is demanding that I go outside and get some exercise right now.
And another part is demanding to know why I've only managed to complete 142 of the 287 available achievements.
That said, maybe now would be a good time to go for a walk. :)
|
Corinthians 13:11: When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I started playing strategy-heavy turned based, 4X games. |
As of today, Monday, November 11, 2013, I have played Sid Meier's Civilization V for 1,030 hours. In case you're curious that's the equivalent of me playing for 24 hours a day for almost 43 days straight. YIKES. Part of me is incredibly proud and another part of me is demanding that I go outside and get some exercise right now.
And another part is demanding to know why I've only managed to complete 142 of the 287 available achievements.
That said, maybe now would be a good time to go for a walk. :)
Thursday, November 7, 2013
The Thanks-Giving Post
With the arrival of Thanksgiving only a few short weeks away (how on earth did it get to be November already?!) my Facebook feed has started to become inundated with daily posts about what folks are thankful for this year. Having never partaken in this particular annual event, I thought I'd take a few moments to make a list of things I'm thankful for. So, without further ado:
- I'm thankful that my previous employer laid off my entire department back in early 2006, because it gave me the motivation to make the move out west to California.
- I'm thankful that I acted on that motivation.
- I'm thankful I got a chance to reunite with two of my best friends, Beth and Brian, who had moved out to California the year before.
- I'm thankful I ran into my old high school friend, Jeff, who promptly offered me a place to live which I'm still renting out seven years later.
- I thankful that I met a group of friends that help reawaken my love for board games.
- I'm thankful for those friends who have become the closest thing to family without actually being blood-related.
- I'm thankful for my family and extended family, even though I don't speak with them or see them as often as I should.
- I'm thankful that as I've grown older I've also grown to appreciate my family and extended family more, as they rightly deserve.
- I'm thankful for my job at the television studio that allowed me the freedom to do so many things, like traveling overseas again, and introducing me to so many wonderful people who have become good friends, like Brian and Emily.
- I'm thankful for Emily constantly asking me to join her and her friends for bar trivia, as it led to me being introduced to the first woman I've ever loved, Joanna.
- I'm thankful for the two and a half years that I was given with Joanna, and all the ups and downs that went with it, because it was best time of my life and she helped me grow into a better person more than I could have ever done on my own.
- I'm thankful that she reintroduced me to acting because it's something I love to do and it allowed me to meet so many amazing people that I never would have met otherwise.
- I'm thankful that she is happy and more at peace now, even if it can't be with me or because of me.
- I'm thankful that even though my brain tells me it's not realistic, my heart still holds out some tiny hope for second chances with happy endings.
- I'm thankful that I accepted the risk to leave my stable, cushy job at the studio and finally try my hand at working professionally in theatre. I don't know if this is what I want to do with my life, but it's absolutely worth finding out one way or another.
- I'm thankful that my parents are happy, healthy, retired and loving it.
- I'm thankful my life has been mostly free of injury and illness (knock on wood).
- I'm thankful that I still get fits of creative outburst, regardless of whether or not I follow through with them.
- I'm thankful that corgis exist and that hopefully someday I will have one of my own.
- I'm thankful for my love of cooking and my slowly expanding palette.
- I'm thankful that my body has, for the most part, put up with my eyes continuing to be larger than my stomach and my brain continuing to think I'm still in my early twenties.
- I'm thankful that great theatre performances can still fill me this overpowering glow for a few hours afterwards that makes me feel like anything is possible.
- I'm thankful that there is still so much that I don't know and haven't experienced.
- I'm thankful that very few things are cast in stone, and that the future holds almost infinite possibilities.
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Happy Little (Halloween) Trees
The Sunday before Halloween I went to a party and was one of two people there to show up without a costume. I was thoroughly chastised by my friends, but I hadn't planned on going to any parties and as such hadn't bother to come up with anything.
Thankfully, said party involved Halloween-themed games and I was quickly converted into mummy.
But while that kept me covered (har har) for the evening, it wasn't going to cut the mustard for Halloween proper.
The same group of friends decided to head to downtown Hollywood to see "The Nightmare Before Christmas" in 4D and then go check out the annual Halloween Carnival in West Hollywood. By the morning of I still hadn't thought of a costume and the idea of just buy a generic "Where's Waldo" costume grated on my nerves. But then, INSPIRATION!
During my lunch break I raced home and changed into a pair of dark blue jeans and a light blue dress shirt, and then hit up the local Halloween costume shop for a small brown afro and a fake, glue-on beard. From there I drove to the nearest Michael's to find a painting palette and brushes to complete my outfit. And voila!
BOB ROSS (and friends)!
I have to say I was super pleased with my last minute costume idea. I had about two dozen people recognize me and ran into three other Bob Ross's over the course of the evening (see below). For those of you unfamiliar with Bob Ross, he was a painter/art instructor with his own series, The Joy of Painting, on PBS for 11 years from 1983 to 1994, which is still running in syndication all over the place. The post title refers to one of his more frequent sayings, "happy little trees."
Switching gears slightly, let me just say that the Halloween Carnival was not at all what I was expecting. It ended up being just me and my two friends in the above picture that went, and over the course of the evening I walked about twelve miles. I had heard of the Carnival before, but it had been referred to as a parade to me, and had never gone since I moved out here back in 2006. So there I was, expecting to be walking down to a parade route and watching a bunch of floats and what have you.
Instead WE were the parade, milling about Santa Monica Boulevard, which had been blocked off for two miles, with a couple hundred thousand other folks all dressed up in costumes and having a good time.
I'm not sure it's something I'd do again, but it was absolutely worth going to at least once.
Thankfully, said party involved Halloween-themed games and I was quickly converted into mummy.
But while that kept me covered (har har) for the evening, it wasn't going to cut the mustard for Halloween proper.
The same group of friends decided to head to downtown Hollywood to see "The Nightmare Before Christmas" in 4D and then go check out the annual Halloween Carnival in West Hollywood. By the morning of I still hadn't thought of a costume and the idea of just buy a generic "Where's Waldo" costume grated on my nerves. But then, INSPIRATION!
During my lunch break I raced home and changed into a pair of dark blue jeans and a light blue dress shirt, and then hit up the local Halloween costume shop for a small brown afro and a fake, glue-on beard. From there I drove to the nearest Michael's to find a painting palette and brushes to complete my outfit. And voila!
BOB ROSS (and friends)!
I have to say I was super pleased with my last minute costume idea. I had about two dozen people recognize me and ran into three other Bob Ross's over the course of the evening (see below). For those of you unfamiliar with Bob Ross, he was a painter/art instructor with his own series, The Joy of Painting, on PBS for 11 years from 1983 to 1994, which is still running in syndication all over the place. The post title refers to one of his more frequent sayings, "happy little trees."
Switching gears slightly, let me just say that the Halloween Carnival was not at all what I was expecting. It ended up being just me and my two friends in the above picture that went, and over the course of the evening I walked about twelve miles. I had heard of the Carnival before, but it had been referred to as a parade to me, and had never gone since I moved out here back in 2006. So there I was, expecting to be walking down to a parade route and watching a bunch of floats and what have you.
Instead WE were the parade, milling about Santa Monica Boulevard, which had been blocked off for two miles, with a couple hundred thousand other folks all dressed up in costumes and having a good time.
I'm not sure it's something I'd do again, but it was absolutely worth going to at least once.
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
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