Movie: The Informant

This is actually really interesting because when I saw the trailer the premise sounded really familiar and then I remembered that This American Life had done a story on this guy. It is one of my favorite episodes. The whole story is just really interesting. It looks like the movie makes him out to be a little more of a goofball than they did in the radio show but I guess that makes for a better movie. Anyway looks quality. I urge you to check out both of these.
This American Life

Teddy's Passing

Senator Ted Kennedy died today, and he will be greatly missed. He was the last of a era, of a embodiment of hope and inspiration in a time of hardship and dispair. None can deny the man immense dedication to this nation and his tireless efforts to advanced the lives of our less fortunate with nearly half a century of public service. He was a great man and today is one for morning.

First Days of Class

Well just finished day one about to have day two get under way. I'm sitting outside Olmstead right now even though since don't have class until 2 this day I should be back at Ross sleep for a few more hours. Its just campus is so nice during the warm seasons. There is just an amazing amount of green grass and flowers and trees and awesome. And you really have to enjoy it while you can because it gets so cold here in the winter. It's like two different campuses. Of course all the Minnesota kids just think I'm being a pansy.

Anyway the other day wasn't anything tough it just wasn't all the engaging. I mean except for Advertising Principles (which sounds really cool actually and I think will be alot of fun) I had Statistics and Geography. Both of which, while fine subjects, I'm sorry to are not what holds my attention very well. I don't know numbers and arbitrary lines on the ground just don't do for me. Needless to say I'm going to either have to catch up on my sleep before those days or invest in some serious Red Bull.

Today I have Business Law and Marketing Intro. Business Law I guess is all dependent on what teacher you have. Unfortunately I cannot remember who I have or how to figure out who I have, so whatever just go to the firing line blind I guess. I haven't heard anything about Marketing. I don't think it should be too bad though. Ought to be a pretty good year all in all.

Hubs

Okay Hubble Cafeteria may not be the best but its a ton better than the cans of cold chili and nutrigrain bars I've been living off of for the past couple days. So finally the place is open, but when I get there the place is swarming Freshman with their PMAC's. Ahh it was crazy. It looked like they even had extra tables and those were filled. The place was packed with this huge spiralling line leading out of it.

So we said alright we'll come back in like a half hour. When we came back yes the place was cleared. But nearly all of the food was gone. I don't want to be mean because I'm sure people thought the same of me during welcome weekend but they're like locust. They just desimated the place.

BACK AT DRAKE !!!!

I'm back. I actually got back sunday but haven't been able to get a chance to get on and blog about it. There has just been so much going on. I'm staying with three other guys in a quad at Ross (which is the dorm off campus and is also like the best as sketchy as is), and we all brought too much crap. I got to figure a way to get my futon and some other stuff I had in storage over the summer back home.

O that's one freshman should know. If you live far away from the University get like one of those storage units you can put all of your winter crap and stuff you not gonna need back home over the summer.

Man its great seeing everyone. Ofcourse not everyones here yet so its still a little having the place emptier than normal but everywhere you look I see an old friend I haven't seen for a long time. It's a great feeling.

Ah I'm just really tired we've been hauling stuff around all day. Me and my bud got stuck with the small room so we had to spend a good couple hours feng shui-ing all the furniture to make it tolerable. That was a pain. It's good now though. I think we got it set up pretty well.

Anyway its just nice to be back. Got a week til school starts to just chill and relax with friends. Good stuff

Movie: Taking Woodstock

First off if you honestly do not recognize Demetri Martin you're crazy. He's freakin' hilarious. Freakin' witty, alright. Okay so comedian who's had success with standup and tv try's to make a jump to movie, know what you're thinking it could go very very badly; especially with a premise that could end up with like some stupid stoner film. BUT! look at the end who they list as director. Ang freakin' Lee. Guy directed Brokeback Mountain, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon!, Ride with the Devil. I mean come on. How is this not just going to be awesome.

Car + Tree Limb

So two prefaces before I begin.

First, like 6 days ago I get a new car. A white Nissan Sentra 2007. Absolutely excellant handle and sooo fast. The pickup is just amazing. Now we kept my black truck also because its been a great deal of help to Dad in hauling wood and the mower and other things around, so the drive is filled up with the pickup and my brother's car on the side and Dad and Mom's car in the garage. So I park across the street in the neighbor's driveway because their selling the house and don't live there.

Second the other morning we had this massive thunderstorm. I mean it came down HARD. I was lifeguarding at the pool and no kids were there but once the lightning started off in the distance I sent the other guards home while I closed up the pool. Five minutes later it starts pouring sheets of rain and the wind is just blowing like crazy. I had driven the truck that day because I had load a tube in the back to go tubing down the river after work with some friends (obviously that didn't pan out). So I've finished everything and I run to pickup and by the time I get there I am soaked, I am completely drenched. It is like I had just jumped in the water. The drive home was interesting. Like rafting down a river. Christ there was so much water in the street.

Anyway the meat of the story. My mom, bless her, thought it would be best to move the Nissan to our side of the street. Unfortantely she park it near a tree that had a giant limb (it stretched across the length of our driveway) that fell week to wind. It comes down on the back of the Nissan and slides off but still leaves like 5 dents, cracks the left tail light, and chips the paints in a couple spots. So as a result its a toss up (really all on the parts guy) on whether I'll be getting back to Drake Sunday or Tuesday. I'm just a little pissed about being set back. I kind of be willing to go up fixed car or not. I mean doesn't look that bad. Whatever here's hoping everything goes right.

Movie: Cold Souls

This should be a pretty funny one; dark, but funny I think. Paul Giamatti plays "Paul Giamatti" a kind of composition of all of his characters with all their morbid, depressing crankiness. He has his soul removed by this new fancy company that does that so that he can be unburdened and better understand a character he is doing on Broadway. Kind of one of the funny things is that this depressing gray man's soul is the size of what everyone describes as a chicka pea.

It is a great premise. Taking something so valuable and precise and reducing it down to something commercial and tangible like a tonsil or cellulite. It totally gives a knew spin on the whole concept of a soul.

Bill's Back to Save the Day

Okay so as I'm sure you know these two Asian-American lady reporters were arrested in North Korea on bullshit charges and sentenced to like 12 years of hard labor. So we got two of our own being held by that crazy midget as sort of hostages really. It is seemingly hopeless. I mean we're dealing with a nut job while military is already stretched to a breaking point what with all the action in the middle east.

Clinton flies in does some schmoozing and BOOM! girls hop on a flight home. You know for as much crap as Clinton gets for getting the quickies in the oval office, you cannot deny him that he is just an amazingly charasmatic person and outstanding speaking. The gets amounts in the 7 figure range for doing one speech. Yes he is a little permiscuous, but I got to be if you ever met him he just be the warmest most affable person you have ever met. He'd make himself your new best friend. Just amazing stuff.

Movie: Hump Day

Yes this one is a little weird. In fact I only heard about it today driving back from KC listening to this movie critics talk show on their NPR and they just had great things to say about it. It's absolutely hilarious. It's completely organic.

I guess the festival that the guys are making the film for in the movie is a real festival. It started in 2005 in Seattle and its like the sundance of porn (wikipedia: HUMP!)

I don't know I'm probably not going to see it in theaters. I would if I were like a movie critic and could just go see any movie wanted all day but whatever. I think it will be interesting.

Movie: The Boat that Rocked

This is what revolution should be. A pure righteous rejection of the anal-retinitive, unnatural, personal restrictivness of the established culture and an embrass of humanistic freedom and joy. No harm is done no effort is made to directly damage. Those upholders of common decency may be offended and aghast but the offense to their delicate sensibilities is subjective and the values that they steam from are archaic and without reason except that is they way it has been.

The movie looks great (Philip Seymour Hoffman is so good). The music sounds excellant and from such a great era for British rock.

August 28th see it damn it

Movie: 500 Days of Summer

I so want to see this but I can not find it anywhere. I so hate this whole "limited release" "select theater" crap. How is it fair to be showing me previews all the freakin time of these great movies and then not let me see them.

This does really look good though. I'm just such a film freak and I can't help shouting about a good movie when I see one. The guy in this does alot of really good stuff. He was originally the youngest on that 3rd Rock from the Sun show where they were aliens or what not (which probabally if I saw it again is not that good of a show), but a really good movie that people should see is Brick. Its like a tribute to those old California detective mysteries except with highschool, which sounds really trashy but they really do an excellant job with it. Alot of just wonderfully bizarre, yet grounded, characters.