CAhobbit's curiosity and more!

So as I ponder over the last year and three months I dwell on a few things...

-I've had a new job that I love for over a year
-I've had almost all my remaining single friends get married
-A few friends have had their first (and in some cases) second child.
-I finally got a tattoo I've wanted for a long time (with more to come)
-Traveled a bit
-Saw some really good films, and some really bad films
-Laughed a lot
-Cried a lot
-Made some new friends (which has been a wonderful surprise)
-Still single

I also see that I REALLY need to just start journaling again.  I've said that before, but time to put that into effect again.

"I will have vengence.  I will have salvation."

I decided I would go and see "Sweeney Todd...." this evening and I'm so glad to have finally seen this film.  When I first heard the popular stage musical was being adapted into a film (and by Tim Burton no less) I was keen to see how it would turn out.  After seeing the first trailer for the film a few months ago I was slightly underwhelmed (the look of the film was good but the little singing put in was quite weak) but luckily after hearing a few more singing clips throughout the months put my mind at ease.

Johnny Depp made a wonderful Sweeney Todd.  He really gave a great performance of a man bent on revenge.

Helena Bonham Carter wasn't quite working for me as Mrs. Lovett for about half the film but her interpretation finally moved onto my good side so I ended up liking her in the role (though her singing at times was boring).

Alan Rickman was good but due to many aspects of the stage musical being cut in the film I didn't feel his character received enough screen time. 

Timothy Spall was very good as Beadle Bamford.  Jane Wisener as Johanna and Jamie Campbell Bower as Anthony were good in their roles though a bit too baby faced for my liking (then again having them younger made it much more convincing that Depp was Johanna's father). 

I came away just loving almost every minute of it.  The look (sets, direction, lighting, make-up, costumes) were oh so perfect.  I was sad to find many of my favorite song montages were drastically changed or completely omitted but given the length of the film I can understand why certain decisions were made. 

LOVED IT!!!

More meat pies!!

These are the top 106 books most often marked as "unread" by LibraryThing's users. As usual, bold what you have read, italicize what you started but couldn't finish, and strike through what you couldn't stand. The numbers after each one are the number of LT users who used the tag of that book.

My review (no spoilers)

Grindhouse: Planet Terror and Death Proof

I loved the whole experience!

Planet Terror: A film about zombies intermixed with little sides stories of a crazy husband, a love story, a BBQ recipe, a lesbian wife and why children shouldn't have guns. It's gory, it has cheesy/hilarious dialogue, a bad acting Quentin Tarantino and great performances by Rose McGowen and Freddy Rodriguez. This is the film that was written and directed by Robert Rodriguez. Great film!

Death Proof: This film dragged for the first 60 minutes but the more I look back on the whole Grindhouse experience the more I've come to like this one the most out of the two. It's rich in the Quentin Tarantino (this is the film he wrote and directed) dialogue that folks who've seen his films have become accustomed to and many have complained that is the downfall of this film but frankly I found that's what built up the film nicely. We learn about 7 interesting female characters and 1 male character in the first 60 mintues. Kurt Russell was fantastic in his role as were all the females in the film as well. The last 30 minutes of the film bring about a great car chase and a wonderful little twist (that had my entire theatre clapping and cheering). Fantastic film!

Intermixed in the whole Grindhouse experience were fake trailers that you just have to see to believe. All of them hilarious. 

And some interesting banter on my part regarding the film's less then stellar opening, some reasons for that and some silly talk going around the net...

Obviously there's nothing of any more interest going on in my life so I'll talk about some news regarding "Grindhouse".  So as many probably already know "Grindhouse" was a royal flop over the weekend (it scrounged up a measly $12 million).  So the guessing, of the many on the net, begins about why it may have flopped so badly. 

-Some say it was a bad weekend to open such a film.  Makes sense considering a lot of folks would travelling and spending time with family.  So more family oriented films would be watched over the weekend.

-Some are saying the 3 hour 15 minute running time turns audiences away.  I'm not convinced that's the reason.  Some of the biggest grossing films at the box office were 3 hours or more (Titanic, the Lord of the Ring Trilogy being two examples). 

There are even more reasons to list I'm sure.  Some more reasons (mainly the pubilicty or lack there of for the film) are talked about on AICN.

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/32230

But the main subject being talked about is the rumor that the film might be cut in half in the U.S. (it's already set to be released as two films in Europe I hear) very soon to try and see if that will give better box office results.  I have a feeling this is just some silly talk that's come about recently and I just don't see it being split in two but what if does get split?  Well, certainly "Planet Terror" would garner more audiences than "Death Proof" (even though I liked "Death Proof" a little better) but the whole film experience would be ruined IMO.  Both films are incomplete in many respects (big chunks were 'cut' out of the films right from the get go for running time purposes) so I'm not sure how satisfied audiences would be. 

It's just been interesting to follow the talk on the web over the last few days regarding "Grindhouse".

Since I want to keep some my mini reviews together (somewhat) I'll start posting them here as well.   One of goals was to start reading more from now on and so far I'm off to an OK start. 

Memory by Bennett Davlin

It was a little confusing at times, suspensful other times, intriguing all the way through. In an interestingly crafted book about a man with the ability to 'see'/'be' in the past all because of a mysterious drug from the rainforest in Brazil. There was too easy of a answer to one big mystery associated with the 'magic' drug but that's my only big gripe with the book. There were times were I a bit confused but overall it was a interesting book. And the wopper of a surprises at the end of the book were great (I never saw them coming...and it takes a good enough writer to achieve that where I'm concerned I find. It's not that I'm overlly cleaver but most writers make it too darn obvious most of the what the 'surprises' are). Good, fast read.

Thr3e by Ted Dekker

It was written by a Christian writer but it's not a Christian book really (at least not one I would put in the genre). It's a thriller about a man who is being terrorized by another man and has to confess something in public (though he has no idea what) and the longer he doesn't confess the more dangerous and horrible it becomes. Unfortunately I was able to guess what was going on in the story about 30 pages in. On the one hand it was good to find out (at the end) that I was right all along but on the other hand having figured it out so early on made the ending much more anti-climatic for me. It was written well enough but if you are just slightly attune to what's going on you can figure out what is happening pretty quickly.

A Brief History of the Dead - Kevin Brockmeier

An interesting story about two 'worlds', the real world and a world that exists filled with many of the dead. The dead only exist in this 'other world' as long as someone who remembers them is still living in the real world. Essentially the story is about a women in Antartica and the dead connected to her in the 'other world'. Lonliness and loss are a huge part of the story and the author successfully connected me (as a reader) to those themes very well. The ending left you wanting much more which made it almost perfect IMO. Just a pretty good, well told story.

Children of Men - P.D. James

This was the book that the film with the same name was based on. The book was totally different from the film. The basic premise of the book and character names were really the only thing that made it into the adaptation of the film. A very good book though but the film and book are really two seperate entities storywise.

Till We have Faces - C.S. Lewis 

I just finished this one.  I quite enjoyed it (though the main character's rants tended to get on my nerves at times.  At it's most basic it is a book about different loves (right or wrong that they may be) and the ramifications and lessons that can come from them.  It's a retelling of a Greek myth (Cupid and Pysche) by Lewis.  A very good read but "The Great Divorce" (by Lewis as well) still stands as my favorite of his works.

Quite awhile methinks. I've said it dozen's of times before and I'll say it again, I really need to buckle down and start updating my LJ at least once a week.

So let's see...my life.

2007 is certianly shaping up to be better than 2006. I know this is mainly due to my outlook since 2006 ended. 2006 wasn't such a great year for moi. I fell back into a very deep depression (that hung around me like a thick fog) but after much prayer, better thoughts and determination I was able to pick myself up (though it took my biggest efforts ever to do so)and start down that path of life again. My more positive outlook on life in general is showing through it seems since I've gotten a few comments about seeming happier. It's true, I am happier, much more positive but that doesn't mean I don't struggle with my depression everyday (but I'm ever so relieved to be in a better place then I was months ago).

Of course this all makes me wonder. Why is it easier for people to make comments or remark at your happiness but stay silent when you are in the depths of despair? Maybe they don't notice the bad? Maybe we hide the 'bad' easily? I just don't know, very odd.

Nothing to report on where work is concerned (except I've been incredibly busy since January and there seems to be no end in sight).

I've been reading a lot the last few months. It's been years since I was an avid reader so I decided it was time to just start picking up books from that stack I've been hording for over a year (at least 20 unread books in that pile). Hopefully I'll have them all read before the year is out. *crosses fingers*

Other than that I've just kept myself busy. I attended ORC last weekend (lot's of fun but I've come down with a nasty illness that I can't shake). I've had weddings and baby showers to attend in the last few months and have more to attend in the near future. When I have free time I take off somewhere to take pictures (most of the time it's the beach...my favorite places in the whole world).

And I suppose that's it for now. More book, movie and other things to ramble on about coming to LJ entry near you soon. :-)

At least it is tonight! Finally the weather is turning cooler! Hopefully this means I can bring out my snazzy winter coat now. *crosses fingers*

ok not shocking...but perhaps it got your attention enough to skim through my boring LJ post hehe. 

I've been griping here and there about this oh so warm weather we've been having here in SoCal (and it's near the end of November).  I'm normally more of  a lover of warmer weather but not when it's all YEAR round!  I want cold gosh darnnit!  I'm even wanting to see snow!  And though I'd make a solo trip to actually see snow (maybe even make a snow angel...make some snowballs even) I don't really have the right vehicle to make it up to snow (never mind the amount of time it would take to get there).  So I'll just think about how nice a trip to the snow would have been.  Hopefully the weather will cool down though in the meantime.

In other randomness...

Scalding hot showers are wonderful after a not so good day at work.

Pesto mixed with cheese totillini is oh so good.

I can't wait till the start of my 5 day weekend!  Catch up on reading, watch some movies, eat some good food, spend time with family I don't see often, perhaps bring my camera along (going to San Diego for Thanksgiving) and be a bit of a shutter bug. 

I really need to make some headway on Christmas shopping, but not this weekend...heavens no.

After church today I wasn't in the mood to waste the day sitting at home so I drove down the PCH to Santa Monica.  The water was as beautiful as could be on the way down.  There were many times I wanted to stop and take some pictures but I really didn't have time (since I started on my way down to Santa Monica so late).  It took me about an hour to make it down there and a little while to find a parking spot.  I walked around a section of 3rd street promenade, grabbed some food and then headed to the pier.

It's been at least 6 months since I've been to Santa Monica so I always forget all the polictical, activisim and street performers that happens down there.  Pamplets being handed out right and left, people with a microphone and PA type system preaching or trying to teach, oh and my all time favorite....Psyhic CAT!!!  Oh how I've missed psyhic cat .  Walking around the pier was nice (as always) though it was pretty crowded...of course given it was Sunday that's a given.  I snapped some pictures while I was there so for those interested....

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cahobbit/?saved=1

After my time on the pier I made my way back to my car and headed back up the PCH for home.  I had lots of fun taking my last minute road trip (of sorts) but am exhausted now. 

Below are the greatest 100 American films of the 20th century according to the AFI. Bold the ones you have seen, strikethrough the ones you saw and hated, italicize those you've seen part of and put a star next to the ones you love. 

Happy Birthday, silver_nyssa I owe you a drink.  :-)

Wow, it was a busy movie weekend for me.  I was able to get both of my netflix movies watched and able to see a movie in the theatre.  On the more shocking moments of the weekend my mom actually watched "The Grudge" with me.  She's more of a 'feel good' movie type but decided to watch this film with me.  Luckily it wasn't one of my more normal slasher type films I seem to watch (she would have booked it out of there in a split second).  She did have some funny commentary during the film though.  It was enjoyable to have her sitting watching a film genre I enjoy (and one she normally doesn't watch).  So onto some reviews...

"Fearless" - This is Jet Li's last epic martial arts film (or so he says).  There were some beautiful fighting scenes and a pretty good story as well.  I thought there wasn't enough development at times (with characters and the progression of the story) but one could easily fill in the blanks.  An enjoyable, touching film.

"The Grudge" - kind of a sequel to the Asian film of the same name (or so I hear).  It was interesting enough and it didn't reveal to much too quickly.  I was surprised how it kept to the Asian horror roots (moving slowly, not too gory).  A nice change to what we see in most American horror films.  I'm looking forward to the sequel that's coming out in a few weeks.

"Hard Candy" - In the film a child molester has the tables turned on him by a child.  I really liked the concept of this film!  There were some moments of "Please" and "That could never be done" but everything else was well done.  I was very impressed by the young actress in the film. 

My two other co-workers (whom I carpool with) and I have decided to try a later starting time to head out to work. 

For some background (for those not in the know)....my very close work office was sold almost a year ago and thus many of us who worked out of that office have to commute up to the only office left (which is an hour to an hour and a half drive for us). 

Well the kicker is that leaving at 7am isn't a good idea (bad traffic) so we had been leaving before 6am (which meant the lot of us getting up at 5am...ugh) but traffic is getting to be pretty bad at that time as well, not to mention that it's killing us mentally and physically so we decided to give it a go with leaving later 4 days a week (Mon thru Thurs) and leaving earlier on Fridays (because hey, it's Friday we don't want to be up at work till 5 or 6pm with still over an hours drive).  So we'll all be leaving around 8am tomorrow.  Traffic should be good and I think we'll stop being zombies. Maybe I can stop drinking those darn energy drinks now.  *crosses fingers*

Yup I've been cheating on ya'll with myspace again.  Eeep.  So here's some cross posting action.  My woe post...
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On the plus side I'm not really sad about what I'm about to write about.  I'm kind of in a *shrug* kind of mood about it (hmmmm is being emotionally disconnect about things a bad thing?).

So I had those fleeting thoughts for a little bit today (in my spare few minutes) of:

"So, what is wrong with me?  Is it my looks?  My personality?  The way I eat food?  My hair color? The way I talk? Am I not intelligent enough?"

What is it about me that doesn't seem to attract the opposite sex?  And the answer always is...I have no idea.  What if I knew the 'answer' (hopefully it wouldn't be 42 or I'd be even more confused then I am from day to day hehe) would I change anything?  The answer to that is even more difficult...physically (to some extent) one can change themselves but emotionally and intellectually that becomes a little more difficult but not impossible.  But why change at all?  I should (and will) be loved for who I am.

But one still has those doubts in their head about appearance or personality.  I think I catch a fellows eye and he pays a little attention to me and then a fleeting moment where I think...maybe?  This guy?  The moment passes, reality hits, he's gone and I'm there, alone, again.  Maybe it's been so long since I've had any attention paid to you that any at all becomes a small event.  Well I'm tired of the 'small events' and am waiting for the 'big event'.  But when will it come?  Any why won't it come? 

People will say 'Well, it will happen when you least expect it.'  Hmmmm I've always liked and loathed that answer.  There have been years, YEARS where I wasn't expecting anything and lo and behold nothing.  Then there was this past year where (admittedly) I was 'waiting' and lo and behold nothing.  I believe I'm going back into "not expecting anything" mode again (which will be nice repreave from the feelings of lonliness and self doubt) at least that's what it feels like (hence my very little emotion attached to this rambling).

So to sum it all up........meh and *sigh*

So our county fair started today. I'll be heading to it tomorrow after work to walk around a bit and catch the races and demolition derby! I'll also be partaking in the worst food that tasts oh so good. Funnel Cake, chocolate dipped cheescake, fries, hotdogs etc...(not that I'll eat all that's listed but I'll partake in some of it).

I drive by the fairgrounds on my way home from work all the time so I've been watching the work being done to prepare. More and more rides put up each day, food booths, signs etc... The only thing missing this year is the HUGE ferris wheel put up every year, looks like there isn't one. Not that I ever went on it but it's always been part of the rides there (at least from as far back as I can remember).

Various bands will be playing the fair. Most noteably Big Bad Voodoo Daddy (whom I've seen twice before) and All American Rejects. I'm still a little interested in going to see All American Rejects but have no one to go with, plus its on a work night so I guess I'll just have to pass.

But I'm very much looking forward to tomorrow!

Random thought: What is up with the 'family' stickers on cars. Most of you have seen them. Usually it's a mama, dad and little ones, sometimes pets (whether it be turtles, flip flops, stick figures, or the Jesus fish). I see them everywhere now. Why is this method of showing you're a family with this many children and pets become popular?

So I'm a hopeless romatic with an active imagination it seems. What I write will be cheesy but these are just flashes that come into my head at times randomly. The male counterpart of these images has no face or name for he hasn't entered my life yet. Hopefully one day (soon...like within this year hehe...but I say/think that every year so I won't hold my breath) some of these images will come to fruition in some form...

Yeah...very Teen Angst like I know but it's my blog so I'll act like a angst teen if I wanna hehe.

The day is warm and I lie on a vast carpet of green grass under a large pepper tree. With my hands clasped under my head I gaze up through the branches and focus on small pockets of blue sky. A small breeze causes the little leaves to suddenly shudder and I become distracted from the blue. I turn my head to the right and notice him staring up through the branches as well.

I nudge myself closer to him. He reaches out with his left arm as an invitation. I press close to him and rest my head on his chest. He wraps his left arm around my shoulders and holds me close. I focus on his beating heart and close my eyes.

I am calm.

I've been kind of a wreck for the past month. I was really spiraling further and further down with each passing week (with this past week really being the worst). But finally (on the start of a new week ironically enough) all was revealed why I was spiraling down so quickly and was becoming an emotional wreck (of course no one would even know I'm guessing, or at least no one noticed...I must 'mask' things well, whether that be a good or bad thing) and for the first time in almost a month I'm finally feeling like myself again. *whew* I feel the upswing now and am both relieved and happier.

On a random note...how the heck does a size '0' even exist? It seems impossible that such a size could exist. The number zero indicates to me that there is a void (or at least almost a total void) there but seeing as I can see the person in a size '0' it makes no sense to use that kind of sizing. Of course there is even the more amusing size of '00' as well. I just don't get it. Maybe it's a self esteem thing the clothing companies came up with.

I think I need to start dressing myself up better on weekends. Perhaps I'd consider dressing up a bit more for work but frankly since I work with all women and behind a desk all day I don't see the need as much.

I'm finding my usual weekend wear are jeans, t-shirt and flip flops. I think that I should break away from this look more. Put on some nicer shoes, nicer top, maybe a bit of make-up. Who knows maybe actually caring more about my appearence will make me feel better, give me a little more confidence and perhaps catch the eye of that dashing, intelligent, funny stranger I've been waiting to come along for a while now.

This will all take a little more time (in the 'getting ready' part of the day) but I think the pros outweigh the cons. Now to not get lazy about it and to actually start

Just came back from seeing "Lady in the Water" and quite liked the film. Just a good little story. There were a few themes and lines that struck a cord with me but one that keeps standing out in my mind is this...

"Every being has a purpose."

I think purpose is what many of us strive for or at the least just want. Whether it be a small purpose or a big purpose we just want to know that we are doing what we are supposed to be doing in this world, we know our path is for a reason. Many don't know what that purpose is but some do know. I fall into the category of not knowing at all what my purpose is.

How am I to live my life? With each passing day/year I wonder (as many of my woe posts show) if one of the purposes is to be alone. What has happened in the past and what happens presently seems to show me that I may be meant to be alone.

So then what is the purpose to being alone? Perhaps it's a test of sorts. But a test for what?

What if I'm blinding myself to what my true purpose in this life is? What if the little things I do in my day are the purpose? What if being the observer and not the speaker are the purpose?

So many questions and thoughts and yet I'm not closer to answers...only guesses.

Do I even have a purpose?