David’s Ramblings

Laura, one of the few people that visit my website on a regular basis, was hassling me to post more. So, this post goes out to you, Laura. The rest of you Ð all two of you Ð you can consider this an example of what to do if you think I’m slacking off in posting. Tell me. (Unless you’re Shaine. Shaine doesn’t count.)

I’ve watched three movies in the last week or so that I haven’t taken the time to review, so here they are, in brief:

The Exorcist – 4.6¹



This movie is good, as far as horror movies go. I think my recent turn from religion has affected my ability to feel scared. Though I wasn’t very frightened at all by this movie, I’m pretty sure I would have been a year ago. The difference? Probably that a year ago I lived with a man who was convinced that Harry Potter was a way for Satan to corrupt the minds of children and get them to let him take control of their lives.

This is certainly considered a classic in the horror film genre, and I can see why. It was well done. It didn’t rely much at all on cutting edge graphics or anything, so it has aged very well. It’s rated R for a reason. There’s some nasty stuff in the movie. I mean, not Saw nasty by any means, but a 12-year-old girl stabbing herself between the legs with a cross while shouting “Fuck Jesus” in a deep demonic voice nasty. (She’s possessed, in case the word “exorcist” didn’t get that across. That’s possibly the worst part beyond the projectile vomit, but still, viewer discretion is advised.)

Pulp Fiction – 4.9¹

Pulp Fiction’s a great movie. It’s just all around awesome. An interesting order of presenting the different pieces of the plot (not in chronological order), good actors, good cinematography, the music… it’s just all awesome. You’ve got to love the part where he’s trying to figure out how to kill the hillbillies and can’t decide what to use: gun, baseball bat, chain-saw… or, what he finally decides, samurai sword.

I must say, the movie was a bit familiar at parts because I’d read the script, and that ruined some of the fun of it all. This was necessary because back in the day I didn’t know what bit torrent (downloading software) was and there was no way I was going to bring this kind of movie into the same house as my stepfather.

Office Space – 4.4¹

This is also a good movie. I don’t really have much to say about it, except I hope my life never becomes as meaningless as the main character’s does. This is a funny movie, and worth your time if you’re looking for one.

I’ve been meaning to write this post for a couple of months now…

Get it? Ha ha. Oh, I’m so funny… It’s too bad I’m serious. I really have been meaning to make this post for a while… The cruel irony that is my life.

I procrastinate everything. If I knew I could make a million dollars by, say, working on a software program for only a day, I’d put off that day for years. This is why nobody needs to fear me taking over the world. I’d get started but decide to put it off for years and years. It’s already kept the world safe for, oh, 6, maybe 7, years now.

I keep telling myself that I need to fix this bad habit of mine, but I always decide it can wait a while longer. There’s plenty of projects I would have to work on if I wasn’t so bad at putting them off. This is especially a problem when the projects are cool, or something I’d actually like to do. By validating them and saying “I’d like to do this” I suddenly and uncontrollably lose all ability to keep from putting it off.

Grades are obviously affected as well. I often put off studying and homework assignments until the last possible moment. Like my English journals, 10 were listed on the syllabus from the very beginning of the class. I was quite aware of them, yet I waited until days before they were due to start working on them. I’d like to say that this helps the quality of the papers or something… but it doesn’t. Procrastination just makes life more stressful, especially when you find you’ve procrastinated too long and cannot physically finish the project without breaking some rules, or even the laws of physics.

So there you have it Ð procrastination Ð your friend and mine. Let’s hope he doesn’t delay my studying for the upcoming Calculus final, because I’d really like to pass Calculus II.

Holy Cow. Seriously.

I mean, there’s lot’s of things that can be said about this movie… but first you’ve got to pick your jaw up off the floor and start blinking again. My roommate and I, after careful scientificly-based consideration, have come up with the correct genre to place this movie in: “Fucked Up”. Yes. “Fucked Up” is a little-known subcategory of the genre “Drama”. “Drama” alone would absolutely not do this movie justice.

I won’t make you watch this movie. I think it’s a dang good movie, but it’s probably not everyone’s cup of tea. I mean, if “Fucked Up” is not a big enough clue for you, I can’t really vouch for your reading comprehension. I mean, Saw was probably in this category too, but I’m less certain about putting it there than I am Requiem for a Dream.

The movie starts in the Summer, introducing the main character and his mother. He goes on to steal his mother’s TV and take it down to the pawn shop with his buddy. (Which is hinted to being a weekly ritual as she goes to the pawn shop to buy it back.) Other than that, life is generally good. They’ve got their drug money, and our main character’s got time to spend with his girlfriend.

Then something happens… they decide that if they could get a hold of some of the good stuff, they could cut it up and start dealing. It could be their big break, right? So they get to work, trying to build a better life by selling drugs. Meanwhile his mother’s at home fantasizing about he chance at being on TV and trying to ignore the diet she’s on to lose weight for it.

Then stuff goes downhill. Everyone’s trying to stay on top of things while the drugs (his mother’s taking diet pills that are equivalent to Speed) slowly claw away at their lives. The movie transitions these periods with different seasons, this next season being fall, where the good of summer is flowing away. This movie wouldn’t be very good if it didn’t do these scenes so remarkably well, with the transitions between the seasons and scenes.

Of course, winter comes. His mother’s become addicted to the diet pills and is goes crazy, he and his friend get caught on their way to pick up drugs from Florida. His girlfriend begins whoring herself out to get a fix. Everyone’s life is, appropriately, “Fucked Up”. And that’s the end.

Of course, reflecting on this, the remarkable beauty of the film is that we know spring is just around the corner, though it may be distant. There’s hope that maybe, someday, everyone’s life will be better… or maybe not. It’s just such a mind job… that’s Requiem For a Dream. 4.7¹ out of 900¼ (5¹).

This is the post my Uncle has been waiting for for a while. He said the moment I got out of his house I’d be blogging about how horrible my little cousins are, how absolutely annoying they can be. He’s got a valid point, but I’m actually going to have to disagree.

I like being around my cousins, in general. Sure, they can be a little pesky, clingy, and loud. But then I remember how cool I thought it was when I had a chance to hang out with my older cousin Kyra, or another older kid, especially when they’d play with me.

Now, I know that reminiscing doesn’t mean I have to follow suit. I could just be standoffish and leave my cousins to their fighting over the Playstation, but I don’t work like that. Even if they can be pesky, they can be fun to be around and play with as long as you’re willing to overlook the times they annoy the hell out of you.

And, let’s not underestimate the feelings of absolute adoration you get when you’re a fun older kid to be around. It’s like being a minor god. You’ve got all the little kids offering you their praise in return for blessing them with your presence.

Once, when I was in a bit of a sour mood, I told my cousin I’d stop reading my book and play cards with him if he paid me money. The money came out so fast I don’t even know where he pulled it from. I wouldn’t have taken it, but that kind of power feels good.

So, although the cousins might be a little crazy and annoying, I like to be around them. I like to think that hopefully I’ll be a good influence to their life and they’ll look back and remember the fun times they had when I played Pokemon cards and sword fights with them. Even if I feel foolish as an adult-ish type playing pretend, I certainly certainly don’t mind making their day when I’ve got nothing better to do.

Just taking a quick breather from my pages upon pages of English that still need done to post another journal I’m writing. Realize that these didn’t have to be about anything in particular and are only graded on completion, so I decided to try and write some things about Rick… maybe in an attempt to pretend that I’ll some day write that book my aunt suggested.

Media

Harry Potter is evil. Well, yes, the mass commercialization is disturbing, and the writing isnÕt my favorite, but IÕm talking about true evil here Ð the fact that J.K. Rowling is Satan incarnate trying to take our children with her down to hell. Do I sound a bit crazy? At least IÕm not serious. My stepfather, on the other hand, is quite serious about Harry Potter being evil. When watched the first Harry Potter movie, The SorcererÕs Stone, as a family one Thanksgiving, he swore that he felt the evil entering our household.

Mind you, this same man bought my mother Predator for a gift to go with our new DVD player. (Side note for those that donÕt know: Predator was a crappy eighties alien film starring Schwarzenegger and lots of blood.) No evil was felt from this movie, though he did throw it out after watching it once or twice. I guess thatÕs beside the point though, because a little violence and some skinning of humans is always less evil than kids in robes who learn to be friends and say ÒmagicÓ words at school.

Of course, Rick has always had a knack for finding the evil that other people arenÕt righteous enough to find. In our house, we were greatly blessed to have his enlightening view on every form of media. While not exactly what he said, roughly translated, the religi-babble always came out Òthat stuff is of the devil!Ó Rock music Ð ÒOf the devil!Ó TV Ð ÒOf the devil!Ó Internet Ð ÒOf the devil!Ó

Rick made his point very clear one time my cousin was unrighteous enough to play his punk rock while in RickÕs presence. He sat my cousin down and started talking to him about how this kind of music drives out the Holy Spirit. I walked away at that point, because I didnÕt want to get tangled in that kind of discussion. All I know is that when I came down an hour later, Rick was wrapping up his sermon with a seminary video that showed a bunch of dirty people destroying a perfectly clean house while telling my cousin, ÒThis is how I feel when you play your music in my house.Ó

IÕve had my own discussions with Rick on the subject of music as well. One time, he told me that I was not allowed to listen to the Lord of the Rings Soundtrack on Sunday, because it brought in the Òwrong kind of spiritÓ. When I objected, he simply went to prove the undeniable logic behind his reasoning. Classical music thatÕs played when Sauron is on screen represents Sauron, and since Sauron is evil, the music represents evil, thus, the classical music must be evil and is certainly not appropriate listening for Sunday.

Speaking of Sunday, letÕs not forget about TV. Our family is not allowed to watch TV on Sundays because it brings in all sorts of evil. TV on Sundays is apparently more evil than every other day of the week. While I can see his appeal that it makes Sunday less peaceful, heÕs got a very holier-than-thou attitude about it all. When the whole Janet Jackson Super Bowl half-time wardrobe malfunction scandal occurred, he proudly declared to everyone that our family didnÕt watch TV on Sunday, and that it was obviously a sign of GodÕs approval that we didnÕt have to experience the evil of a womanÕs nipple being flashed on television.

There is, in fact, very little media Rick does approve of, unless of course, he likes it himself. If I was on the internet too much, heÕd prove the evils of the internet by talking about how much pornography there was. If I played video games at my friends, I was in the wrong because these video games involved hurting other people. And music? Oh yes, Satan was talking to me there Ð just listen to the song backwards. ThereÕs no winning against a fanatic.