Nonsense, Drivel, and Balderdash

There are movies and then there are movies. I just re-saw Master and Commander. I have to say my hat is off to Peter Weir. I remember liking this movie when I saw it back in the day and being surprised that it wasn't more popular. Now I have re-watched, and my opinion remains the same. 10 oscar nominations, all technical and artistic. This is the classiest action movie I have seen in years. No sentimentalism, no over-dramatism, no unnecessary gore, no gratuitous sexuality. A great cast, a great production. It is rare that you can refer to a movie, especially an action movie, as "classy" but this one is definitely one of the few. If you are expecting a typical "the patriot" or "pirates of the Caribbean" kind of action movie you will be disappointed, this one paces itself and takes its time, but it is worth it. I just thought you should know.

You know you are a single twentysomething guy if: - you have 8 guys over at your house one night for beer, pizza and a new videogame. You know you are a European single twentysomething guy if: - the aforementioned videogame is the newest soccer game release with updated teams. You know you are me if: - You serve the potato chips in a dog bowl - You actually bought the dog bowl for the purpose of serving chips You know you are living in Spain when: - one of the guys brings a tin of squid in tomato sauce as an appetizer - it is served cold right out of the can into a bowl - a pile of toothpicks is set up next to it - the guys, upon seeing the cold bowl of squid, do not pull away in disgust, but grab toothpicks and start chowing down.

As I was in my bed last night, I started making up a list of the books that I've enjoyed the most during my life. Now, this list started far back with the first books I could remember liking, through elementary school and on into the present. These aren't the greatest books, or the best books I've ever read, but they are the ones that I have enjoyed the most at the time that I read them. Looking back, some of them were better than others, but who really cares when you are enjoying a good story, eh? Anyway, in more or less chronological order, here they are: The books I've Enjoyed the most (age 3-5) Busy Busy Town by Richard Scarry The Red Hot Water Bottle Curious George by Hans Augusto Rey Harold and the Purple Crayon by Johnson. (age 6-8) The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett EB White's books (The trumpet of the swan, Charlotte's Web, etc) The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame Tiki Tiki Tembo by Arlene Mosel The Day Jimmy's Boa Ate the Wash by...

I've heard that there is nothing worse than having someone else recount some dream they had. But I dont care. This is MY blog, and as they say on the streets, I do what I want. Plus, I have been having really weird dreams lately. Dream 1) I was living in some sort of nazi state. An oppressive regime with curfews and all that jazz. I spent all night dodging the secret police, trying to find a way to escape... At the same time, there was a definite Asian motif to the setting. Like, thailand or something, but with mediterranean beach fronts. Greek maybe. That in itself is an exciting dream, but it becomes ridiculous towards the end. We were trying to organize a mass escape and we decided to use an... evangelical wedding ceremony as a cover up. The church itself wasnt any church I have been in I think. In fact, I think it was Rev. Lovejoy's church from the simpsons. The wedding ended with the nazis banging on the church door and kenny and I (who were on stage leading some sort of s...

With my friend Kenny's impending wedding, I realized how many of my friends have gotten married. I am 24. Maybe it's just because I grew up in Spain, where people don't get married until their mid 30s, but when I look at how many of my friends are engaged, married, and have been married for several years now... I can't help but feel slightly amazed: High School : -Out of 12 people in my graduating class... (yeah, mad small): Charles Williams Nick Matthews Jenny Anderson Josh Parks (rumored) Janna Cabeen Rebecca Szabo April Swick -Other friends from high school: Daniel Dixon Eva Hund Jen Rohde Phil Biddulph ... many more College Robin Sattler Allison Quigley Andrew Frey Allison Moore Ben Moore Andy Shaw Brian Toombs Gregg Hanson Brett Johnson Aislinn Agnew Judy Garza de Vega Steve Anderson Melissa Barrow Kristel Sheesley Pete Sheesley Peter Bayreuther Jonathan Bennet Marika Bennet Julie DeJager Joe Gordon Sarah Hoover Aline Venturin (these are just the ones that I found ...

I went to the mountains yesterday. Whenever I have had enough of city living, or my employment, of my friends, and when I am feeling spiritually dry, I take off to the mountains. To me nature is an elixir of the soul. I begin walking up into the hills, watching the cities and towns grow smaller, and somehow it puts the whole thing into perspective. It makes me feel small, and I like that. As my body begins to feel the stretching and movement of its muscles, the physical stress seems to replace the psychological one. As the mountains lead me into the clouds, the fog in my brain seems to rise for some reason. Today I am sore. I am out of shape. In pretty much every way. I am unfocused in mind and resolve, scrawny in body, deflated in enthusiasm and heart... it has just been one of those couple of weeks. A day out in nature is quite good for me. I get back sunburned and tired, but somehow things seem better. When I begin to make the same dumb mistakes as I was before, I am able to see...

Wow, this has been quite a dry spell in the blogging world. No-one seems to be writing lately. I obviously havent been keeping up the blog very well either. Every-time I sit down to write something, I cant seem to think of anything to write. It is a problem. I have recently been having several reflections on religion due to the fact that I have been reading Apologia pro Vita Sua by John Henry Newman, but for some reason I dont feel like sharing them here. I have considered reopening my Skeptic's Corner blog under some new format and title; a place to write my thoughts on religion, spirituality and the like. We'll see. I'll let you know if I do. As to my life. I have been working teaching english at a company again. It isn't the greatest job in the world, but it pays the bills, which is all that matters I guess. And I dont really work that many hours a week, so that is good. I have actually managed to keep my fridays free as well as my weekends. Now I am just working on...