Just got off work and now just hanging out in the hotel room. Homelessness sucks but it does keep you on your toes. Everybody I know is asleep or just not interested in hanging out. Can't really blame them, the only thing to do this time of the morning is hang out at Denny's. Not really hungry and I don't want to sit around drinking mediocre coffee. So I wind up here in the room with my laptop and ipod for company. Sanctuary by Korn is currently playing, slightly ironic.
I've been hanging out at my mom's place while they've been out of town but they're all in town for my step-dads' fathers birthday. He turns 90. That's quite an accomplishment. I was invited but I have other plans. Besides, it's not like he remembers me anyway. A bunch of other relatives that I haven't seen for a while are all coming in. Basically it's all hands on deck for the whole famn damily. How many times would I get to tell my story about what I've been up to lately? "I separated from my girlfriend of two years, am now homeless and I'm working as a bouncer in an Irish pub. It's only part time but it's the first work I've had since August so I can't really complain. How about you, whens the last time we saw each other?" Yeah, good times.
I turn 43 next week and the only person to acknowledge anything is my boss who gave me the day off. I've never really been one to make a big deal out of another trip around the sun but when I look at the benefits of turning 90...ah, fuck it, no use in wanting what I'll never have. By the time I'm 90 those folks will be long gone and I'll have lost contact with the living ones. That's just the way of the world. It's times like these that make me realize I'll die broke and alone.
I think my neighbors might be getting it on. It's either that or somethings wrong with the pipes in the wall. They have a very strange rhythm if they are making the beast with two backs. Maybe it's some kind of Tantric thing. I guess it doesn' really matter, two (maybe three) consenting adults have found each other and that's difficult enough in this crazy little thing called life.
Have to go to bed at some point, the derby home opener is today and I gotta get some sleep for that. I also want to wake up in time for a breakfast menu somewhere. I'm a huge fan of the breakfast food. Right now I can't think of anything sexier that a woman could say than "Would you like some breakfast?". Kind of gets the juices flowing just thinking about it. Better stop before I awaken more than one appetite with no way to satisfy either. Suppose it's time to stare at the ceiling for a little while and try to drift off.
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Friday, March 16, 2012
The Coffee Diaries-Chapter 7
Chez Elle
This fine coffee establishment is located downtown and specializes in crepes as well as coffee. I've heard good things about the food but I was just there for the coffee. Putting forth the standard question, I received an Espresso with whipped cream. There's nothing wrong with truth in advertising. I was promised a very strong cup of coffee and that's what was delivered. They use Broadway Roasterie espresso there and of course, whipped cream which is kind of a variance on how I usually take it.
While my experience overall was satisfying, I'd love it if Mr. Peabody would hop in the Way-Back Machine and bite the shit out of the son of a bitch who thought serving espresso in small cups was a good idea.
This fine coffee establishment is located downtown and specializes in crepes as well as coffee. I've heard good things about the food but I was just there for the coffee. Putting forth the standard question, I received an Espresso with whipped cream. There's nothing wrong with truth in advertising. I was promised a very strong cup of coffee and that's what was delivered. They use Broadway Roasterie espresso there and of course, whipped cream which is kind of a variance on how I usually take it.
While my experience overall was satisfying, I'd love it if Mr. Peabody would hop in the Way-Back Machine and bite the shit out of the son of a bitch who thought serving espresso in small cups was a good idea.
The Coffee Diaries-Chapter 6
Coffee Wonk
Located on Broadway, I used to be a big fan of this joint when they first opened because they were the only 24 hour coffee house in town. When you needed a place to write after 11p.m. that wasn't Denny's, you could go there. Circumstances eventually forced them to amend their hours but it's still a nice place. The owner has a real never say die-entrepreneurial spirit and is always thinking up new ways to attract customers so you never know what you'll find there. It makes every experience unique.
When asked the standard question, I was served a Mocha. This consists of light roasted espresso, Irish cream, chocolate, and steamed milk. It has a very smooth flavor, not too sharp or bitter, all the flavors playing well together.
Located on Broadway, I used to be a big fan of this joint when they first opened because they were the only 24 hour coffee house in town. When you needed a place to write after 11p.m. that wasn't Denny's, you could go there. Circumstances eventually forced them to amend their hours but it's still a nice place. The owner has a real never say die-entrepreneurial spirit and is always thinking up new ways to attract customers so you never know what you'll find there. It makes every experience unique.
When asked the standard question, I was served a Mocha. This consists of light roasted espresso, Irish cream, chocolate, and steamed milk. It has a very smooth flavor, not too sharp or bitter, all the flavors playing well together.
The Coffee Diaries-Chapter 5
Westport Coffee House
I'll admit I felt a slight biased to this entry since I used to live in close proximity and practically had my mail forwarded there more than once. I visited them on this occasion on a Sunday morning and asked the same question-"What's good here?" and was surprised to find that among the several specialties of the house, the Guatemalan roast drip coffee was what the staff recommends.
It is a smooth, tasty cup of coffee and perhaps this is where my biased kicked in because I would have thought there would have been something on a grander scale. Looking back on it though, I guess it does pretty well sum up the whole WCH experience. Is WCH the Disneyland of coffee houses? No, but it's a comfortable place to hang out and write or have a meeting or any other of the dozen things I've done there. It is what it is because that's what it needs to be, a hot, pleasant flavored beverage that gets the job done.
I'll admit I felt a slight biased to this entry since I used to live in close proximity and practically had my mail forwarded there more than once. I visited them on this occasion on a Sunday morning and asked the same question-"What's good here?" and was surprised to find that among the several specialties of the house, the Guatemalan roast drip coffee was what the staff recommends.
It is a smooth, tasty cup of coffee and perhaps this is where my biased kicked in because I would have thought there would have been something on a grander scale. Looking back on it though, I guess it does pretty well sum up the whole WCH experience. Is WCH the Disneyland of coffee houses? No, but it's a comfortable place to hang out and write or have a meeting or any other of the dozen things I've done there. It is what it is because that's what it needs to be, a hot, pleasant flavored beverage that gets the job done.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Act Of Valor
This is what happens when good ideas go bad. As the production was coming together, the SEALs that were brought in as technical experts voiced an opinion that they were tired of seeing themselves improperly portrayed. So, as a result, there are active duty SEALs in lead roles in this movie. That is not the problem.
The problem is that it wants to be somewhere between Black Hawk Down and Navy SEALs but it's trying to be The Hurt Locker. It falls short of both goals. Imagine Jim Harrison writing The Delta Force and you'll have this movie.
I did appreciate the fact that this is the first movie I've seen since 2001 that took me into a battle and didn't make me feel like I was playing a first person video game. While it's not a complete waste of time (just money), I think I had a more enjoyable experience with Navy SEALs.
The problem is that it wants to be somewhere between Black Hawk Down and Navy SEALs but it's trying to be The Hurt Locker. It falls short of both goals. Imagine Jim Harrison writing The Delta Force and you'll have this movie.
I did appreciate the fact that this is the first movie I've seen since 2001 that took me into a battle and didn't make me feel like I was playing a first person video game. While it's not a complete waste of time (just money), I think I had a more enjoyable experience with Navy SEALs.
Chronicle
While not exactly great, this movie does manage to rise above most entries in the "found footage" genre. It also does a decent job of explaining why there is a camera filming constantly.
The story follows three high school students who are exposed to something mysterious that they find underground. They suddenly find themselves with telekinetic powers.
It's definitely a new approach to a subject well beaten into the dust. The movie is more of a character study on these three young men instead of focusing on what they do with their new power. Besides that, with a run time of 84 minutes, the movie is over before you get bored with it.
The story follows three high school students who are exposed to something mysterious that they find underground. They suddenly find themselves with telekinetic powers.
It's definitely a new approach to a subject well beaten into the dust. The movie is more of a character study on these three young men instead of focusing on what they do with their new power. Besides that, with a run time of 84 minutes, the movie is over before you get bored with it.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Now Showing
Contraband
This remake of the 2008 Icelandic film Reykjavik-Rotterdam is directed by that films director and star Baltasar Kormakur. The American version stars Mark Wahlberg as a retired smuggler who has settled into family life but finds himself drawn back into the life to help out his brother-in-law, Caleb Landry Jones, who gets himself in dutch with drug dealer Giovanni Ribisi.
For the most part, it's a fun movie. However, there are a couple of pointless scenes that serve no purpose outside of time filler and to establish Ribisi as a hard ass.
Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance
It's rare to find a movie that is a complete waste of time. Usually, I can find that one element, however slight, and think sure, that sucked, but there was that one thing that I took away from it. Not so with this movie. I'm not sure if I have enough bad things to say about this one. In the spirit of wasting no more of your or my time, I'm just going to say avoid this movie like a diseased crack whore.
The Grey
Holy freaking hell, this movie is everything you've been promised and more! Adapted from a short story by Ian Mackenzie Jeffers who also co-wrote the screenplay (the name sounds familiar because he's the guy who wrote the screenplay for Death Sentence). This is man vs. nature on an early London scale. The characters are human and not over defined, and even the wolves have motivation.
In an age when everybody relies on computers to make movies, it's refreshing as hell to see real snow storms and animatronics. It's hard to watch this movie and believe that Joe Carnahan also directed The A-Team movie.
I'm going to leave you with one little clue to getting the most out of your experience. Somewhere close to the end, you'll know it when it happens, you're going to experience a sensation of potential let down. When this happens, ask yourself, what would Alex do in this situation? and then act on that.
Red Tails
This movie tells the story of The Tuskegee Airmen in the European theater. Originally used to patrol at the rear of the battle, they are eventually given the opportunity to prove themselves by escorting bombing missions. While mostly historically accurate, at the end of the day it is an action movie meant to give heroes back to 14 year old boys.
It's refreshing to see a black character who isn't portrayed as an under educated jack ass. In fact, from the perspective of the film, you really see racism in its naked ignorance.
When they're not in the air, the film kind of takes on that Baa Baa Black Sheep/ Black Sheep Squadron feel. Part of that may be because director Anthony Hemingway made his bones in television but I think also it has to do with the fact that one fighter base is pretty much like the other in WW II. The in air rivalry with the German pilots has a definite Von Richthofen And Brown vibe to it but it also works by giving the opposition a personality instead of just a faceless spectre who's sole purpose is to die for the cameras.
The dialogue is a little heavy handed in a few places but if you can overlook it you'll have a lot of fun with this one.
Safe House
An interesting spy thriller set in Cape Town, South Africa. Denzel Washington plays a former C.I.A. agent who has gone freelance (think of a rogue Jack Bauer). For reasons that everybody is struggling to figure out, he has turned himself in to the American embassy.
He is taken to a safe house to be interrogated when suddenly all hell breaks loose and everyone is killed except for Ryan Reynolds who is in charge of the safe house. He manages to escape with his prisoner during the melee.
Reynolds must now keep Washington in custody while on the run as the agency tries to figure out what happened. It's not as 3 Days Of The Condor as I thought it would be. It will hold your attention but it's nothing exceptional.
We Bought A Zoo
Four words- A. Cameron. Crowe. Film. This should help you in your movie watching decisions as well as determine if you keep reading. Those of you who are fans of Mr. Crowes work will appreciate this different direction that he's taking. Those of you who see a zebra with a bow on the poster and notice the PG rating expecting fluffy animals, little girls speaking in catch phrases and fart jokes, happy to disappoint you. This movie has a brain, maybe you should read the book this movie is based off of and develop your own.
It's a true story based on a man in England (California for the movie) who's wife passed away leaving him with two children. In an effort to get a fresh start, he decides to quit his job and buy a house somewhere out of town. He finds the perfect house, but there's a catch, it's attached to a zoo. Whoever gets the house also gets the zoo. As you can tell from the title, they get the house. The story then follows the growing pains as everybody adapts to their new home. I enjoyed it and I think you will too if you've managed to keep reading this far.
The Woman In Black
Imagine Jonathan Harker with a child instead of a fiancee. When he goes to the castle, he encounters Lucy Westerna who has Freddy Krueger-like motivations. Now set the whole thing in the 19th century and you have The Woman In Black.
This remake of the 2008 Icelandic film Reykjavik-Rotterdam is directed by that films director and star Baltasar Kormakur. The American version stars Mark Wahlberg as a retired smuggler who has settled into family life but finds himself drawn back into the life to help out his brother-in-law, Caleb Landry Jones, who gets himself in dutch with drug dealer Giovanni Ribisi.
For the most part, it's a fun movie. However, there are a couple of pointless scenes that serve no purpose outside of time filler and to establish Ribisi as a hard ass.
Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance
It's rare to find a movie that is a complete waste of time. Usually, I can find that one element, however slight, and think sure, that sucked, but there was that one thing that I took away from it. Not so with this movie. I'm not sure if I have enough bad things to say about this one. In the spirit of wasting no more of your or my time, I'm just going to say avoid this movie like a diseased crack whore.
The Grey
Holy freaking hell, this movie is everything you've been promised and more! Adapted from a short story by Ian Mackenzie Jeffers who also co-wrote the screenplay (the name sounds familiar because he's the guy who wrote the screenplay for Death Sentence). This is man vs. nature on an early London scale. The characters are human and not over defined, and even the wolves have motivation.
In an age when everybody relies on computers to make movies, it's refreshing as hell to see real snow storms and animatronics. It's hard to watch this movie and believe that Joe Carnahan also directed The A-Team movie.
I'm going to leave you with one little clue to getting the most out of your experience. Somewhere close to the end, you'll know it when it happens, you're going to experience a sensation of potential let down. When this happens, ask yourself, what would Alex do in this situation? and then act on that.
Red Tails
This movie tells the story of The Tuskegee Airmen in the European theater. Originally used to patrol at the rear of the battle, they are eventually given the opportunity to prove themselves by escorting bombing missions. While mostly historically accurate, at the end of the day it is an action movie meant to give heroes back to 14 year old boys.
It's refreshing to see a black character who isn't portrayed as an under educated jack ass. In fact, from the perspective of the film, you really see racism in its naked ignorance.
When they're not in the air, the film kind of takes on that Baa Baa Black Sheep/ Black Sheep Squadron feel. Part of that may be because director Anthony Hemingway made his bones in television but I think also it has to do with the fact that one fighter base is pretty much like the other in WW II. The in air rivalry with the German pilots has a definite Von Richthofen And Brown vibe to it but it also works by giving the opposition a personality instead of just a faceless spectre who's sole purpose is to die for the cameras.
The dialogue is a little heavy handed in a few places but if you can overlook it you'll have a lot of fun with this one.
Safe House
An interesting spy thriller set in Cape Town, South Africa. Denzel Washington plays a former C.I.A. agent who has gone freelance (think of a rogue Jack Bauer). For reasons that everybody is struggling to figure out, he has turned himself in to the American embassy.
He is taken to a safe house to be interrogated when suddenly all hell breaks loose and everyone is killed except for Ryan Reynolds who is in charge of the safe house. He manages to escape with his prisoner during the melee.
Reynolds must now keep Washington in custody while on the run as the agency tries to figure out what happened. It's not as 3 Days Of The Condor as I thought it would be. It will hold your attention but it's nothing exceptional.
We Bought A Zoo
Four words- A. Cameron. Crowe. Film. This should help you in your movie watching decisions as well as determine if you keep reading. Those of you who are fans of Mr. Crowes work will appreciate this different direction that he's taking. Those of you who see a zebra with a bow on the poster and notice the PG rating expecting fluffy animals, little girls speaking in catch phrases and fart jokes, happy to disappoint you. This movie has a brain, maybe you should read the book this movie is based off of and develop your own.
It's a true story based on a man in England (California for the movie) who's wife passed away leaving him with two children. In an effort to get a fresh start, he decides to quit his job and buy a house somewhere out of town. He finds the perfect house, but there's a catch, it's attached to a zoo. Whoever gets the house also gets the zoo. As you can tell from the title, they get the house. The story then follows the growing pains as everybody adapts to their new home. I enjoyed it and I think you will too if you've managed to keep reading this far.
The Woman In Black
Imagine Jonathan Harker with a child instead of a fiancee. When he goes to the castle, he encounters Lucy Westerna who has Freddy Krueger-like motivations. Now set the whole thing in the 19th century and you have The Woman In Black.
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