Armando profile picture

Armando

Impossible. Unlikely. Well-traversed. Livin' off of Dunhill's and Diet Coke.

About Me

www.armandob.com

My Interests

eating @ the counter @ greasy spoons with book in hand, most dive bars especially those that have karaoke, international politics especially the popular leftist takeover of Latin America that is occurring, driving long distances with the windows down, and baseball. Oh, and hugs. Hugs are great. Also, dancin', but I mean, cuttin' a mean ass rug like your kid's soul depended on it. I believe I think about the world way too much and never write it down.

I'd like to meet:

Whomever makes me laugh. Be they dead or alive. Preferably, the latter.

Music:

Too much to name. It depends on my moody ass. Lately, I've been listening to Tapes n' Tapes, Sonic Youth, TV on the Radio and tons of Bloc Party. Some Ozomatli, Antony and the Johnsons, Stereophonics, Ghostface Killah, Otis Redding, Morrissey (The Smiths, included), The Beatles (always, I guess), The New Pornographers, Elefant, Common, The Cure, Jurassic 5, Perez Prado, Blackalicious, New Order, NORTEC Collective, The Dears, Sam Cooke (how fuckin' awesome is he!!!), CAFE TACUBA, Beck, The Doves, Mogwai (fuckin' ridiculously great new album), Outkast, Interpol, Miles Davis, P.J. Harvey, Radiohead, Postal Service, Built to Spill, Depeche Mode, The White Stripes. Everyone needs to go out and get the new Sonic Youth and TV on the Radio. Also lately I find myself listening to a ton of Death Cab for Cutie, Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene, Nada Surf, Spoon, and Kanye West. Also that KCRW Sounds Eclectico. Some cheesy old skool Chicago House music. Oh, and Los Bukis. It's constantly changin'......

Movies:

Cinema that has had a profound effect on me: Soy Cuba (I am Cuba), Los Olvidados, The Battle of Algiers, Pixote, Last Tango in Paris, Harold and Maude (best love story ever), Harlan County, U.S.A., anything Wong Kar-Wai, but especially Fallen Angels, Happy Together, and In the Mood for Love; Reds, All the Real Girls, memorias del subdesarollo (Memories of Underdevelopment), Amores Perros, Manhattan, Elephant, Amelie, the last three Pedro Almodovar flicks, everything John Sayles but especially Matewan, Lonestar, and Men with Guns (Hombres Armados); Bully, Princess Mononoke, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, La Guerre est Finie & Hiroshima, Mon Amour both by Alain Resnais who freakin' rocks, The Cranes are Flying, Que Viva Mexico, El Castillo de la Pureza, Ratcatcher, Spellbound (the documentary), The Wild Bunch, The three color trilogy (Blue, White, Red), Once Upon a Time in the West, Days of Heaven, The Last Picture Show; Most Bunuel, Gutierrez Alea, Truffaut, Kubrick, Godard, Bertolucci, Fellini, Glauber Rocha. Some Antonioni and Herzog. Yeah, I'm a film snob.....BITE ME! Oh yeah, I have to admit that "Notting Hill" is my favorite romantic comedy.

Television:

The Simpsons, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Six Feet Under (final episode is one of the best ever!!!), The Office (BBC, not that shitty NBC shit), Family Guy, Arrested Development (R.I.P.), Antiques Roadshow, ESPN Sportscenter, Baseball Tonight, The Wonder Years, and whenever I don't fall asleep, The Daily Show w/ Jon Stewart. Oh, how can I forget South Park and Chicago Bears Football.

Books:

Grapes of Wrath, Love in the Time of Cholera, 1984, any book of poems by Pablo Neruda and Wallace Stevens, The Secret History, In the Time of the Butterflies, One Hundred Years of Solitude, The Eagle and the Serpent, Marxism and Art, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Slaughterhouse Five, The Alchemist

Heroes:

My Father........always!!!. Ernesto Guevara De la Serna Lynch. Jose Clemente Orozco. John Sayles. Antoine Doinel. David Brent, manager at Wernham-Hogg, Slough branch.

My Blog

when the psyche vomits.....

Having just experienced my favorite movie since "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford", I have the urge to expel what seems to be residing in my intellect. Well, it's more like a...
Posted by Armando on Wed, 04 Jun 2008 12:51:00 PST

The first 20 minutes....

This morning I woke up early. Yeah, I know. On Sunday. After a late Saturday night. And having to wake up for no apparent reason. Meaning I had no work or was not going to the La Garra with Lencho. Do...
Posted by Armando on Mon, 18 Feb 2008 04:34:00 PST

R.I.P., Mr. Vonnegut

I was about to write a long essay about how Kurt Vonnegut has helped me see the world, but thought twice about it. I felt it would be kinda pretentious of me, so I copied and pasted the link to the NY...
Posted by Armando on Fri, 13 Apr 2007 08:00:00 PST

current Latin American Cinema.....

The holiday season is over and with it came a ton of films mass marketed to the average consumer. It makes sense: 'tis the season to spend, why not fork over $10 to enjoy mediocre films without having...
Posted by Armando on Tue, 02 Jan 2007 03:01:00 PST

Election Day headlines

It's the midterm election. November of '06. As I come near the end of an article I'm perusing on CNN.com about how the Democrats will finally gain control of the House of Representatives (CNN projects...
Posted by Armando on Wed, 08 Nov 2006 09:19:00 PST

28 isn't so bad......

The day started with a thunderstorm that left people without any power. It's a sign of good luck if it rains on your wedding day. Oh, so they say. I wasn't getting married. In fact, I'm very, very, ve...
Posted by Armando on Fri, 21 Jul 2006 12:22:00 PST

Outdoor Film Festival

Chicago Outdoor Film Festival-Grant Park Butler Field, Grant Park 100 S. Lake Shore Drive Jul. 18: 8:55 p.m. "Rebel Without a Cause" Grab a blanket, pack a picnic and spend Tuesday nights watching cla...
Posted by Armando on Tue, 18 Jul 2006 07:39:00 PST

Sam Beckett

Ever tried?Ever failed?No matter.Try again.Fail again.Fail better.--Samuel Beckett
Posted by Armando on Tue, 23 May 2006 01:23:00 PST

my mom's a jedi knight

So about a month ago, I did my weekly Sunday call to Mom and Pops in Chi-City. My conversations with my mom usually aren't more than 7 minutes long. I know, I've timed them. So as we get through our n...
Posted by Armando on Wed, 03 May 2006 12:46:00 PST

fortune

This past Monday was Adam's birthday. Adam has to be one of my favorite human beings in the world. I know I used to give him shit when I was his T.A. at the American Film Institute, but man how far th...
Posted by Armando on Fri, 14 Apr 2006 11:09:00 PST