When I was growing up, I stayed with my grandmother pretty regularly. She had chores and there were no kids in the neighborhood, so I watched a lot of tv. She didn't have cable so I watched a lot of basic channels. Here's the thing, in the late 80's and early 90's the basic channels played Soap Operas or really really B grade movies (is there a C grade?). I imagine this is where my love for B movies started.
After the jump I have the trailer for one of the worst/best movies I saw as a kid. It played every couple weeks and I would watch it all the way through every time. Keep an eye out for, a big eyeball, Uncle Rico from Napoleon Dynamite, and the greatest monologue ever performed by an alien.
I give to you, Terror Vision.
Did you catch everything? Were you able to finish the whole trailer in spite of your fear? Remember this was one of my favorite movies growing up.
I have to ask you, do you remember when trailers where this bad? It seems like now the trailer is as well produced as the movie. As I wrote that I realized the idea stands true for this movie, the trailer, was in fact, as well produced as the movie.
As a point of comparison, I'm including the trailer to the greatest movie of all time, unquestionably, the greatest most life altering film ever to be created or which ever will be created.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Thursday, September 4, 2008
I used to work at a music store:
I'm not going to say which music store I worked at, because I'll probably say something harsh about them and they have sued people before. I'll leave it at this, I used to work with the guys in these next videos.
The first guy asked me to sit in with him when his drummer was unable to make it. It was fun, they were totally into RATT and 80's hair metal. I couldn't hold a candle. I got to play with the bassist for the band Loud Flower during that session also. It was neat. Scott was one of the few cool guys at the music store.
The second guy was probably the most laid back guy there. They both worked in the guitar department so they really could have taken a dump on someone and not have caught any flack about it. Which I guess helps you be laid back. They are both really exceptional musicians and it's nice to see them play, because artistry felt a little stifled while I was there.
Check the videos out after the jump. They are just product commercials, but it's still neat that I found them on youtube.
The first guy asked me to sit in with him when his drummer was unable to make it. It was fun, they were totally into RATT and 80's hair metal. I couldn't hold a candle. I got to play with the bassist for the band Loud Flower during that session also. It was neat. Scott was one of the few cool guys at the music store.
The second guy was probably the most laid back guy there. They both worked in the guitar department so they really could have taken a dump on someone and not have caught any flack about it. Which I guess helps you be laid back. They are both really exceptional musicians and it's nice to see them play, because artistry felt a little stifled while I was there.
Check the videos out after the jump. They are just product commercials, but it's still neat that I found them on youtube.
Monday, September 1, 2008
P.S. I'm a depressing movie
Over at my other blog, The Human Bladder I just wrote a bladder sized review of "P.S. I Love You" and felt like the movie had this hidden message about the Christian world view and how we deal with loss. I'm pretty sure that it wasn't intentional as there are no Christian overtones or character traits in the movie, it's more what I saw a lack of in the movie that got me thinking. Take the jump to read more about it.
Jennie and I watched this movie and she cried throughout the entire thing. It is a genuinely sad movie. Here's the rundown of the plot, don't read it if you are going to see the movie. Hillary Swank is madly in love with Gerard (This Is Sparta!!!!) Butler and he is seemingly more in love with her. She's the nervous worrier and he is the care free Irish karaoke singer. They fight, they make up, and they are super in love. Then he dies of a brain tumor.
Hillary is done. She has resigned herself to being a hermit in her apartment watching old movies and drinking. Her friends intervene. One of the weird parts of this movie has to do with the time table for mourning that every except Swank has. Within hours everyone has a really chipper outlook and seems to want Hillary to assimilate it. The friends and mom bust into the apartment to celebrate her big 3-0. A cake arrives that says it is from Gerard (This is Cake!!!!) and it has a tape attached to it.
From that point on Swank receives letters from her dead husband that he set up before hand. It's sweet and creepy. Which also sums up Harry Connick Jr.'s role. The letters run a gamut from, "Go clubbin' wit da girlies! WooT WoOt!1!" to "Go to Ireland." She's happy then she's sad, then she sleeps with a guy which makes her both happy and sad. Finally she just loses it and runs crying to her mother/Cathy Bates. With a ton of pathos she cries out to her mom about how nothing will ever fill the void her husband left and that no matter what, she is alone. To which her mother replies, "Yep."
So here's where I started thinking. I believe my wife and I love each other as deeply as theses characters, my guess is even more so. We both were effected by the thought of losing each other that this movie brought up. The thing is though, we both know that if the other goes, we're not alone. We know that we aren't going to be eternally separated. We have hope.
The characters in this movie have no hope outside of what's going on around them. Swank's character eventually finds a bit of joy in designing shoes, but that's it. Nothing will ever make her as happy as her ex-husband did. I think this speaks volumes to the natural nihilism that comes with a Godless view of life. I have some Atheist friends who could argue otherwise and be pretty persuasive, but they can't say that they have any hope for life and death working out. If they lose a loved one, they're just alone, and no one and no thing can change that.
When loved ones die it's always hard to handle. There will be grieving no matter how much hope we have, but scripture reminds us that
I think maybe what I'm trying to say is, if you aren't firmly rooted in Christ then death is victorious and I think that it's hard if not impossible to not have that influence every part of your life. Even if he or she can't quote 1 Corinthians 15:54-57, subliminally there has to be a nagging reminder that they have nothing but death's sting and victory. Everything else is just to keep their mind off of that fact. The hobbies, the jobs, and the relationships are all there to distract from the fact that eventually all that group has is death victorious which is why it makes perfect sense for Hillary Swank's character to have no hope. She wasn't just torn from her one true love, she was thrust back into the heart of her problem, that death wins and she is feeling it's sting.
How would the movie differ if she had "put on the imperishable"? I can't say for sure. I know for myself, I'd be shattered if I lost Jennie. Though, I have hope and I know that death has no victory because it had no victory over Christ. I'd cry and I'd pull away, I'd be testy and I'd miss her, but I'd know that I wasn't alone. I wouldn't be confronted with the nihilistic absence of hope and goodness, I'd see Christ comforting me and reminding me that He is victorious. Death has lost it's power and it's sting.
Maybe you're going through something like what the movie portrays or you've got a situation that is even more difficult. If you have repented of your sins and trusted that Christ is all that things He claims in scripture then you have hope. Hope in spite of your situation, hope in love and hope in loss. Don't lose sight of where that hope comes from and you won't lose sight of that hope.
Jennie and I watched this movie and she cried throughout the entire thing. It is a genuinely sad movie. Here's the rundown of the plot, don't read it if you are going to see the movie. Hillary Swank is madly in love with Gerard (This Is Sparta!!!!) Butler and he is seemingly more in love with her. She's the nervous worrier and he is the care free Irish karaoke singer. They fight, they make up, and they are super in love. Then he dies of a brain tumor.
Hillary is done. She has resigned herself to being a hermit in her apartment watching old movies and drinking. Her friends intervene. One of the weird parts of this movie has to do with the time table for mourning that every except Swank has. Within hours everyone has a really chipper outlook and seems to want Hillary to assimilate it. The friends and mom bust into the apartment to celebrate her big 3-0. A cake arrives that says it is from Gerard (This is Cake!!!!) and it has a tape attached to it.
From that point on Swank receives letters from her dead husband that he set up before hand. It's sweet and creepy. Which also sums up Harry Connick Jr.'s role. The letters run a gamut from, "Go clubbin' wit da girlies! WooT WoOt!1!" to "Go to Ireland." She's happy then she's sad, then she sleeps with a guy which makes her both happy and sad. Finally she just loses it and runs crying to her mother/Cathy Bates. With a ton of pathos she cries out to her mom about how nothing will ever fill the void her husband left and that no matter what, she is alone. To which her mother replies, "Yep."
So here's where I started thinking. I believe my wife and I love each other as deeply as theses characters, my guess is even more so. We both were effected by the thought of losing each other that this movie brought up. The thing is though, we both know that if the other goes, we're not alone. We know that we aren't going to be eternally separated. We have hope.
The characters in this movie have no hope outside of what's going on around them. Swank's character eventually finds a bit of joy in designing shoes, but that's it. Nothing will ever make her as happy as her ex-husband did. I think this speaks volumes to the natural nihilism that comes with a Godless view of life. I have some Atheist friends who could argue otherwise and be pretty persuasive, but they can't say that they have any hope for life and death working out. If they lose a loved one, they're just alone, and no one and no thing can change that.
When loved ones die it's always hard to handle. There will be grieving no matter how much hope we have, but scripture reminds us that
"But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "Death is swallowed up in victory. "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ"
I think maybe what I'm trying to say is, if you aren't firmly rooted in Christ then death is victorious and I think that it's hard if not impossible to not have that influence every part of your life. Even if he or she can't quote 1 Corinthians 15:54-57, subliminally there has to be a nagging reminder that they have nothing but death's sting and victory. Everything else is just to keep their mind off of that fact. The hobbies, the jobs, and the relationships are all there to distract from the fact that eventually all that group has is death victorious which is why it makes perfect sense for Hillary Swank's character to have no hope. She wasn't just torn from her one true love, she was thrust back into the heart of her problem, that death wins and she is feeling it's sting.
How would the movie differ if she had "put on the imperishable"? I can't say for sure. I know for myself, I'd be shattered if I lost Jennie. Though, I have hope and I know that death has no victory because it had no victory over Christ. I'd cry and I'd pull away, I'd be testy and I'd miss her, but I'd know that I wasn't alone. I wouldn't be confronted with the nihilistic absence of hope and goodness, I'd see Christ comforting me and reminding me that He is victorious. Death has lost it's power and it's sting.
Maybe you're going through something like what the movie portrays or you've got a situation that is even more difficult. If you have repented of your sins and trusted that Christ is all that things He claims in scripture then you have hope. Hope in spite of your situation, hope in love and hope in loss. Don't lose sight of where that hope comes from and you won't lose sight of that hope.
Friday, August 29, 2008
I don't like Burger King anymore.
That may seem a little intense. I'll still eat there, but once upon a time, I was asking for BK gift cards for Christmas. A few weeks ago I had a #1 from The King and almost immediately regretted it after the first bite. It was exactly as I remember it, thick, juicy, heavy. Something just wasn't right though, Jennie had gotten me off the stuff for to long. It was like I'd gotten it out of my system and the hit was too hard.
I seriously felt awful the rest of the day and the effect of that big, delicious, disgusting hamburger on my system was none too pleasant. I have my wife to thank for ruining me to fast food. She got me off and kept me from thinking about it long enough to get over the withdrawal. If you are like me, I know you can do it.
I've lost almost 10 pounds since I've cut most of the fast food out of my diet. I can still eat the occasional Wendy's burger, which by the way doesn't give me that sinking feeling as I eat it (The new "stack attack" does). I just don't crave it like I used to. You heard it here first, and I imagine that this is the only place you will hear it, but I'm just not into BK anymore. Confession over.And here is the rest of it.
I seriously felt awful the rest of the day and the effect of that big, delicious, disgusting hamburger on my system was none too pleasant. I have my wife to thank for ruining me to fast food. She got me off and kept me from thinking about it long enough to get over the withdrawal. If you are like me, I know you can do it.
I've lost almost 10 pounds since I've cut most of the fast food out of my diet. I can still eat the occasional Wendy's burger, which by the way doesn't give me that sinking feeling as I eat it (The new "stack attack" does). I just don't crave it like I used to. You heard it here first, and I imagine that this is the only place you will hear it, but I'm just not into BK anymore. Confession over.And here is the rest of it.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Seeking Venture Capitalists:
My wife and I have been making our lunches. As such I have gotten a handle on my calorie intake and because of that have lost nearly 10 pounds. I am looking for 10 more. Why do I need a Venture Capitalist to help me lose 10 pounds? I don't, I'm just rambling. Take the jump to see why I need some one rich to give me millions.
Because we've been making our lunch we've been trying out various "lunch time digestibles transportation medium solutions", lunch bags for short. We've amassed a rather large ball of plastic bags that we've been using to carry our lunches in, pluching a bag every night and filling it with delicious lunch type foods. But, I'm feeling decidedly ungreen throwing away a lunch bag every day when I know it won't ever disappear from the face of the earth. I'm pretty sure I'm going to use all of them in some kind of cool Instructables type way anyways.
Still, why do I need a Billion dollars from a Venture Capitalist? The answer is simple. The market for adult lunch boxes is completely untapped! Think about it, you've got your branded kid lunch boxes. (Side not: How can Batman be as deeply artistic as everyone thinks it is and still be on half the lunch boxes I've looked at? Jar Jar Binks was not given the same leniency) You've got your adult coolers, but those aren't really lunch boxes are they? They're more like the fanny pack of the picnic scene. I refuse to get involved with the fanny pack.
So, I think me and some rich guy should start making designer adult lunch boxes, no camo, no Hannah Montanna, just nice clean lines and colors that help you get through the work day without sporking someone to death. I think it could be huge. If you're tired of being marginalized by the lunchbox mafia, then rise up and demand a better lunchbox! Demand Chris' Designer Adult Lunchbox.
Because we've been making our lunch we've been trying out various "lunch time digestibles transportation medium solutions", lunch bags for short. We've amassed a rather large ball of plastic bags that we've been using to carry our lunches in, pluching a bag every night and filling it with delicious lunch type foods. But, I'm feeling decidedly ungreen throwing away a lunch bag every day when I know it won't ever disappear from the face of the earth. I'm pretty sure I'm going to use all of them in some kind of cool Instructables type way anyways.
Still, why do I need a Billion dollars from a Venture Capitalist? The answer is simple. The market for adult lunch boxes is completely untapped! Think about it, you've got your branded kid lunch boxes. (Side not: How can Batman be as deeply artistic as everyone thinks it is and still be on half the lunch boxes I've looked at? Jar Jar Binks was not given the same leniency) You've got your adult coolers, but those aren't really lunch boxes are they? They're more like the fanny pack of the picnic scene. I refuse to get involved with the fanny pack.
So, I think me and some rich guy should start making designer adult lunch boxes, no camo, no Hannah Montanna, just nice clean lines and colors that help you get through the work day without sporking someone to death. I think it could be huge. If you're tired of being marginalized by the lunchbox mafia, then rise up and demand a better lunchbox! Demand Chris' Designer Adult Lunchbox.
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