Nonsense, Drivel, and Balderdash

Methinks that in looking at things spiritual, we are too much like oysters observing the sun through the water, and think that thick water the thinnest of air. Methinks my body is but the lees of a better being. In fact, take my body who will , take it I say, it is not me. H. Melville Death is an odd thing. Humans, as much as we all know that it is coming, are never ready for it. It is the scene in the slasher film that you know is right around that corner, that you expect, but that you jump at anyway when the killer jumps out of the closet with a knife. Very few people are ready to embrace death. I have heard of a few people that came to terms with their own death, but we are never fully ready for the passing of someone else. It feels unnatural. I believe that it is because we are spiritual beings at the core of it all. We were built to endure. We were created to love indefinitely. Our primary function, our primary essence, is a hint of eternity. And so it feels unfair when someone d...

Once it sinks in that you will never see someone again, the laughter stops, and a completely different emotion comes out. You know, I hadn't actually cried in 6 years. Today was the open casket viewing. It's strange. The person lying in the casket is the person you knew, and yet it isn't. You realize that the thing that made them who they were wasn't the actual flesh and bone. The Life that ran through their veins, the spirit in their breath, the soul that filled their being is gone. And you realize that you will never see all of that together in the same way again. It makes you feel incredibly incomplete, because when you invest yourself in someone, when you love someone, a bit of your soul is exchanged with them in a way. And when they go, they take a bit of you with them.

My friend Paco died today of a seizure. Over the past couple of years now he had had seizures from time to time, but had always woken up and been ok afterwards. The doctors never could figure it out. Now they won't have to I suppose. They found him dead in his bedroom around 4 this afternoon. His aunt called the last number he had dialed and it rang in our house. She told us and we called the rest of his friends to let them know. After a few hours, we all met up at the church. I don't know why people crave other people during a tragedy. Partially for comfort, partially to prove to each other that we care. Several micro groups formed once we arrived there. Some of his friends cried and worshiped inside the church. His close guy friends somehow ended up outside, about five or six of us. It's strange how people deal with grief. From what I saw today, most girls needed to cry. Strangely enough, and somehow annoying to me, a few people that barely knew Paco were weeping their ey...

The Ocars are tonight!. I've been able to see almost all of the films except for three main ones: No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood, and Elisabeth 2. However, from clips and reviews I think I can make informed predictions including them. Here are my first choices for each category (in bold), and their possible contenders or likely academy choices. Best Actor: Viggo Mortensen Daniel Day Lewis Best Actress: Marion Cotillard Julie Christie Supporting Actor Javier Bardem I dont see any real contenders for this one. Supporting Actress Amy Ryan Cate Blanchett Animated Film Persepolis if it doesnt win, I will set fire to the academy. Art Direction There Will Be Blood Atonement Cinematography The Diving Bell and the Butterfly The Assasination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Again, I haven't seen two of the nominees, but I still think the DB&TB deserves the win, though it has a strong contender, whose Cinematographer has been nominated 7 times without a win.) Co...

The rain is finally here. The land has been unusually dry. We hadn't had a good downpour in months. The land was visibly aching for water. Brittle, dead grass, still stuck in the ground since last fall, not decaying, just drying into a husk. Now the cracked earth, like the chapped lips of a thirsty man, is greedily and painfully taking in the rivulets of rain that trickle across it. A haze had settled over the city. A fat smog has hovered over the buildings, its eyes heavy-lidded, unwilling and unable to move. The air has been too still to disperse it. A windless winter has left us swimming in our own airborne refuse. Particles of dust and smoke hang around us, painting the sunsets pink as they slowly choke us to death. But now the rain is here. The sweet water is droping out of the sky, dodging clouds, birds and buildings until it reaches the ground. One, two, and then finally a million droplets of rain. The pitter patter quickly becomes a cacophony against the windowpane; million...

Joni Mitchell. I have such mixed feelings about her. On one hand, I reeeeeally want to like her. When I listen to her songs I can recognize the genius of her music. I have been listening to her album Blue and there are some really good tunes on it. Her song writing skills are top notch. Great melodies, great lyrics, excellent musicality to her stuff. I can her her influence in a lot of modern artists that I enjoy. Also, her guitar bits are really great. A lot of alternate tunings that I need to learn to play around with. but I dont like her voice. It is so... I dunno. She is ok when she stays subdued, sad, or sultry; but when she "belts it" I cringe a bit. Maybe I'll get used to it. Also, I just got another screenplay! yay! I was starting to go nuts for lack of work. Now, if my voice would heal... The nice thing is that my lack of work has given me time to watch all but a few of the main Oscar nominated films. Seriously. I've been watching movies like some sort of c...

Well, the Oscars nominations are out. I absolutely love the Oscars. It is ridiculous. The awards are subjective. Many of them are political. It is a big celebrity fest. But somehow I love it. I like awards ceremonies in general though. One of the few things that gets me feeling pseudo emotional is public recognition. I love watching hard work pay off and get recognized, especially if it is for something that I can appreciate.... like movies. So, over the course of the next week, I will give you my analysis on the nominees. I am still in the process of watching some of the movies, so some corrections may be made. Actors and Actresses Best Actor : I'll go through the nominees in reverse order of who I would like to win. This one is a hard one to predict because all of the actors are good ones. -George Clooney is probably the easiest to eliminate. -Normally, Johnny Depp could probably be thrown out too, because lead actors in Musicals dont tend to win when there are more dramatic role...

Today is Valentines Day. Whooptie friggin doo. I didn't even realize it until someone reminded me. Of course, this means very little to anyone who does not have a girlfriend, boyfriend, lover of some sort. I guess some people sit around wishing that they had someone to give them chocolates on Valentines, but I can only look back to this time last year and... well, lets just say I'm better off now and that this Valentine's Day is a lot more easy-going than last year's. And cheaper. But in keeping with a day created by Hallmark for us to think about romantic love lets look at those lucky ladies who've made my list of "romantic interests." Unfortunately, seeing as how "reality" holds no viable options, we'll look at the top 8 movie characters I would date! . Now, these are characters, not actresses, mind you. And though clearly their looks don't hurt, I like them for their characters, if not, I would have included Anne Hathaway somehow. 8) K...

1) Answer the questions below 2) Take each answer and type it into Photobucket (www.photobucket.com) or the google image search 1) Answer the questions below 3) Take any picture from the first page of results and post. 4) Don't explain, it's funnier that way! The age you will be on your next birthday: A place you’d like to travel: Your favorite food: Your favorite animal: The town in which you were born: Your favorite color: The town in which you live: The name of your pets: Your name: Your middle name: A bad habit of yours: Your first job: Your favorite kind of music: Your crush/ love: What car do you drive?

My dog died today. I know that in the light of the world tragedies, the death of a family dog isn't much. But she was a good dog, sweet and loyal. And she was part of my growing up and a big part in our family. Strange how things live and then cease to be.

these are just priceless.