From top left:
156: When I was six years old I had my birthday party at Casa Bonita. Yes, that Casa Bonita. I found this caricature my parents had done from that night while I was clearing out space under my bed…. for shoes.
157: Sunflower.
158: Watching the bros run around in the backyard.
159: Some glass globes in my Mom’s sun room at dusk.
160: LoDo (Denver) on a Friday night. We saw Bill Burr at Comedy Works. I laughed the hardest at his rant about those Sarah McLachlan pet rescue commercials.
161: Moon through palm trees in Anaheim, CA.
162: The Moth story telling slam at The Air Conditioned Supper Club in Venice, CA. If you have a Moth in your city (currently LA, NY, and I think Chicago) I highly recommend you go.
163: Sunset in Los Angeles
164: The Fray with Jack’s Mannequin in Orange County, CA. I really went to see Jack’s Mannequin (who played my favorite song ever, that they NEVER play at concerts) but the Fray rocked it too. Denver bands represent!
165: Packing my things to go back to Colorado.
166: Friday night margaritas con mis padres.
167: Painting…all day.
168: The results.
169: The decorations.
170: Little bro.
171: Boulder county courthouse on Pearl St.
Let’s see….pictures from the 4th of July in this round. Clearly, I have some catching up to do. I mean, that next to last picture? That baby is a month old already. What else…Bon Iver in concert (great show), the Royal Gorge, and a trip to Salida to visit an old friend. It was a pretty good summer. Now on to fall…
Where the heck did summer go? I could swear I just got to Colorado. I think I must have underestimated my burnout level because all I’ve managed to do these past few weeks is lie around. The job search is not happening, I haven’t been reading, I’ve fallen behind on my music listening project (though I might have an awesome idea for a continuation of that elsewhere), I’ve even managed to fall behind on Mad Men and we’re only two episodes in to season 3. I have however, managed to keep up with Project 365 (for the most part) in small part due to my recent acquisition of a new digital SLR camera. Above is late June/ early July, including a trip to Huntington Library and Gardens, the Getty Center, and the road home through Las Vegas and Utah.
In my spare time I like to stalk the trailer section at hulu.com or apple.com, and when that no longer provides diversion I stalk my favorite actors on IMDB to see what I can look forward to. These are some of the movies I’ve been looking forward to for months — and none of them even have trailers out yet.
Youth in Revolt – I read this book recently, and immediately loved it. If you haven’t read it, do it, like now. Nick Twisp is a 14 year kid who is tired of being a virgin and when he falls in love with Sheeni Saunders, there are no lengths to which he won’t go to get her to do the deed with him (think faking his best friend’s death…his friend’s parents had a funeral and everything). It was freakin’ hilarious. The big screen adaptation stars Michael Cera as Nick Twisp, Steve Buscemi and Jean Smart as his trailer trash parents, Zach Galifianakis as Estelle’s boyfriend Jerry, and Justin Long as Sheeni’s pothead older brother. I am so psyched for this movie! Comes out October 30th.
The Lovely Bones – I also read this book, and it was also fantastic. A complete tearjerker, to be sure, but very captivating. Basically, the protagonist Susie is murdered and the story is told from the point of view of her ghost as she watches her family and her murderer. I might have to dig it out of my packed boxes of books for a reread. The big screen adaptation stars Saoirse Ronan (that brat from Atonement), Mark Wahlberg, and Rachel Weisz. Oh! and Michael Imperioli, which I only mention because I’ve been watching The Sopranos on DVD for the last year, or so it feels (seriously, how long was that series??). Directed by Peter Jackson, I have high hopes for this one. Release date is sometime this year.
The Baster – Jason Bateman and Jennifer Aniston are best friends. When 40-year old Aniston decides she wants a baby she opts to use a turkey baster to get pregnant. Only thing, Jason Bateman switched the “sample” for one of his own. Dum dum dum. Spoiler alert – She’s going to be piiiiissssed! Release date is 2010.
The Invention of Lying – I pretty much worship the ground Ricky Gervais walks on, so throw in Jonah Hill, Jason Bateman, Jeffrey Tambor, Christopher Guest, Tina Fey, Martin Starr, Louis C.K., Nate Corddry, Stephen Merchant, and orange-head Karl Pilkington and I’m sold. You don’t even have to have a plot, maybe just have them stand around talking for two hours. Even better, there is an actual plot, in which there exists a world in which no one lies, until one person decides to start taking advantage of lying for personal gain. Release date is September of this year, so hopefully there will be a trailer out in late July or August. Maybe attached to Funny People?
Fantastic Mr. Fox – One of the lesser known stories of Roald Dahl (and if you don’t know who that is, then I just feel sorry for your childhood), Fantastic Mr. Fox is being adapted by Wes Anderson and stars George Clooney, Owen Wilson, Meryl Streep, Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, and Angelica Huston, or your Typical Wes Anderson Cast. This one is actually stop- animated, as it deals with farmers who get tired of losing chickens to a fox. Normally I detest stop-motion animation, but I’m willing to give this one a chance. Release date is November 2009.
Alice in Wonderland – Finally, someone has decided to do justice to the trippy nightmare that Lewis Carroll concocted and that someone is Tim Burton. I don’t recognize the actress cast as Alice, but Johnny Depp will be the Mad Hatter, Anne Hathaway is the White Queen, and Helena Bonham Carter is The Red Queen. Michael Sheen will follow up his excellent work in Frost/Nixon as The White Rabbit (by the way, why the fuck is he cast in the Twilight sequel New Moon?) and Crispin Glover will play the Knave of Hearts. I’m creeped out already! Release date as of now is March 5, 2010.
Date Night – I have no idea what this movie is about, other than a date night, but it stars Steve Carrell and Tina Fey as a married couple. Release date is 2010.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I – I know, I know. Half Blood Prince isn’t out yet. Well, it should have been released last year. I’m still upset about that. I think this is going to be the darkest of the Harry Potter movies so far- I even saw someone suggest it might get an R rating. Which really, won’t happen, but I can still hope. There will be plenty of violence, I’m sure. November 2010.
Arrested Development – Rumored and talked about for years, I don’t know if this will ever happen. Supposedly everyone is on board. Has a script been written? Shooting been talked about? No idea. IMDB says it’ll come out in 2010, but I think that’s wishful thinking. 2011 at the earliest.
I’ve been stalking IMDB for the trailer for The Time Traveler’s Wife for months now:
I think I’ll try to reread it this summer before it comes out. (August 14)
You can tell by the sheer number of cat photos that I’m starting to run out of ideas. Good thing a change of scenery is coming! (By the way, that is the real DeLorean from Back to the Future. I’m 99% sure.)
If all goes according to plan, very shortly I shall have myself a shiny new MS degree. And that, dear friends, is where I shall part with graduate school. It’s been fun – well, not fun. But educational, at least. Consequently, I am also moving. I haven’t found employment yet, so the final destination has yet to be decided. But, for now at least, I will be heading home to Colorado to enjoy the summer, and if I’m lucky enough to find a job there, much more of the year.
Leaving Los Angeles might be harder than I initially thought it would be. While I am more than happy to leave the traffic and pay parking and smog behind, there is quite a bit I am going to miss. My neighborhood, the copious movie theaters showing all the little indie films, the beach, Trader Joe’s. And I only just discovered Yogurtland. Most of all, I’ll be sad to leave my new-found friends.
So, I probably need to change the name of this blog, huh? I don’t know what the mechanics are involved with changing the url, or if it’s worth the trouble, but I will look into it. Any suggestions?
Now We Can See – The Thermals – The Thermals are an indie rock band out of Portland, OR. I picked this album for May because I really liked the title track, “Now We Can See”. I’d never heard of them before, but this is their fourth studio album. It’s a bit macabre – written from the perspective of a dead person. The first track “When I Died” goes, “Yeah when I died/my head did swell/I said to myself/nature should take its sweet time/ I was already losing my spine.” A lot of the songwriting delves into letting go, giving in and feeling pretty good about it. There’s some interesting commentary on the state of the earth, or rather, the state of the earth and human manipulation of nature. The pronoun “we” is used quite frequently, and you get the distinct impression that Hutch Harris isn’t just including the band. Rating: 4
So – Peter Gabriel – So I’ve been trying to listen to the albums on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list, and deciding just go to be too bothersome so I let a random number pick this one. I’m not a huge fan of Peter Gabriel. This album was not my favorite. “Sledgehammer” has always been a song that has freaked me out. Something so overtly sexual coming from that man just gives me the willies. Also the music video was stop motion, and I hate stop motion. The rest of the songs were meh, with the exception of “In Your Eyes”, which I do really like, but only because of its association with Say Anything. Rating: 2
For June, I’ll be listening to 21st Century Breakdown by Green Day and Bookends by Simon and Garfunkel.
