Eating my Words

I saw Across the Universe about a week ago and afterwards I said that I didn't care for it very much. I thought of it as a stoner flick... and I'm partly right. For those of you that don't know, Across the Universe a rock musical movie based entirely on the Beatles' songs. The writers took about 30 of their songs and strung them together (with some dialogue between them) to give it a plot. The plot therefore, has a lot of holes in it that bugged me to no end. They would often sing a song that seemed to have nothing to do with the movie at all, they just wanted another song in there. And halfway through the movie all the characters get into a bus and tour the country getting high on an assortment of drugs. In the middle of the drug tour there's a weird circus scene that I still don't come anywhere close to understanding.

But it's been a week since I've seen the movie and I can't get it out of my head. The songs stuck with me in a way that I never expected. I find myself singing them in my head when I'm at work, and I spent all of last week reading about the movie trivia on Imdb and then Wikipediaing The Beatles, several individual Beatles songs, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and Charles Manson (because of references to them in the movie... okay so not Manson, but I was curious!). Last Thursday, I did what any person who wants to get these songs out of their head would do. I downloaded the entire Across the Universe album. Then I downloaded the original Beatles' versions and listened to all of them for probably a good four hours. I thought if I overdosed on it then maybe I'd finally get over it and they'd go away. But it didn't help. Then I found myself criticizing myself for not liking the movie enough in the first place. Why didn't I get it the first time? So this weekend, I bought the movie. I decided that if I didn't get it the first time I could at least give myself the opportunity to better appreciate it the second and maybe third time I watch it.What changed my mind about this movie? I realized that it wasn't meant to be a movie with a great storyline that is particularly coherent. It's supposed to be a reflection on life in the 60s, and more specifically an homage to the Beatles. What's really cool about it though is that they use classic songs but they twist the meaning into something that is often completely different from the original meaning. Which makes for an interesting mind-fuck because suddenly you're thinking not only about what the song means to the movie, but also what the original song was supposed to mean in the first place.

Across the Universe will never be my favorite movie, but I've learned to appreciate it for what it is. I recommend it to others too, keeping in mind that the plot should be taken with a grain of salt. But beware of the potential risks and side effects, mentioned above.

Favorite character: Max
Favorite song based on the twist of meaning: I Want You (She's So Heavy)
Favorite song based on song: I Want to Hold Your Hand

Jaded

I was in a meeting this morning where several random facts were revealed by various co-workers that were basically helpful little life tips. Things like how to keep your computer healthy, and which vacuum cleaners are the best (the robot ones that automatically clean your floor). At the end of the meeting someone said, "before we go, does anyone else have any words of wisdom to share?" and the only thing I could think to say was "there's no sex in the champagne room." Thank you Chris Rock.

ASOIAF Casting: Part X

In King’s Landing:

Varys: Philip Seymour Hoffman
Littlefinger: Edward Norton

Grand Maester Pycelle: Ian Holm
Barristan the Bold: Sean Connery
Gendry: Logan Lerman
Jaqen Ha’gar: Billy Crudup
Thoros of Myr: Ken Watanabe
Beric Dondarrion: David Wenham
Syrio Forel: Ben Kingsley

Rhaegar Targaryan: Jude Law
Mad King Aerys: Christopher Lee

Top Things making me Happy right now

8. Someone at work called me a genius

7. I played Catan for the first time in months and almost won

6. Summer is just around the corner

5. The promise of volleyball

4. Dexter

3. Softball!

2. I bowled a 200 on Monday - my best score ever

1. For our anniversary Ben got me a trip to my favorite place with my favorite person

Goodbye sweet Coke!

Since before I can remember I've always had a Coke for lunch. Maybe not in elementary school, when my parents probably gave me juice boxes, but definitely in middle school and beyond. It was the same every day for 7th through 12th grade: a can of coke (with a straw... I've had that habit since childhood), turkey sandwich, pretzels, and 2 Milano cookies. And since I've been regularly employeed, the sandwich has changed, but the soda remains the same... only it's Diet now.

But one day not so long ago I didn't have a can and I got a caffeine-deficiency headache. I told the Wolf that it proved how much I really needed caffeine. He said that it proved how much I really need to stop drinking so much caffeine. And for once I actually listened to him. I decided to start being a healthier person. I dropped my Coke addiction, and swapped it for V8. I used to hate V8 but I've recently discovered that it's not so bad as I remember. I haven't completely given up on soda, but this will significantly cut back on the amount of it I consume.

The most shocking part is how little I miss that Coke. I thought it would be hard, but it's really not. And it makes me happy to know that I can still make these sorts of adjustments to my life. Sometimes I feel like, even at 24, I'm set in my ways. It's a comfort to know that I can change. I know this is a small thing, but I still consider it at least a medium-sized step.

ASOIAF Casting: Part IX

This is the second-to-last posting, so those of you who don't care/like these posts anyways, have hope!

Arryns and Associates:

Mya Stone: Emmanuelle Chriqui
Lysa Arryn: Kirstie Alley

Robert Arryn: Charlie Tahan

Martells and Associates:

Arianne Martell: Mila Kunis

Doran Martell: Geoffrey Rush

Areo Hotah: Javier Bardem

The Red Viper: Hugo Weaving