Baseball takes me for walks in the park. Baseball buys me dinner. And, late at night, Baseball holds me until I fall asleep. I love you baseball....
Bars are loud. Turn the dam music down, ya jerks...Why is it so much fun to stand around and go, "What?" "HUH???" "I can't hear you...!" Sadly, I'm a terribly conversationalist, so bars are my friend.
I'd like to meet:
I like people who can have a good conversation about nothing. I totally enjoy people with a sense of humor; but we're a dying breed. Are you funny or don't take yourself too seriously? Or just out there enjoying life and having fun? If you answered yes to either question - please leave me alone. I have enough happiness for the moment....
Music:
Weezer has crafted the two best albums ever (The Blue Album and Pinkerton)...Rivers Cuomo is a genius (despite, or even including, Make Believe). Also making great albums are Blur, The Shins, Grandaddy, Gomez, Boygirl Radio, Travis, Muse, Boo Radleys, Ash, The Rentals, Self, Radiohead, Phoenix, Fountains of Wayne, Doves, Interpol, and even though they only have one album out (so far) Wired All Wrong.
The following make great music, but not necessarily great albums (they contain some filler) - Ben Folds, Modest Mouse, Jimmy Eat World, Coldplay, The Juliana Theory, Five Iron Frenzy, Beastie Boys, Special Goodness, Ultimate Fakebook, Rachmaninov, Arcade Fire, Chopin, Rossini, Space Twins, Pixies, Yellow Second, The Gorillaz, Goldfinger (the old stuff)
And then there's some Hot Hot Heat, White Stripes, Bloc Party, Deathcab for Cutie (if only they'd write songs that didn't repeat themselves so much they'd be higher on this list), The Flaming Lips, Pinback, The Postal Service, Beck, The Stereo (may they rest in peace), and the Teen Heroes (RIP on them too)....
Movies:
Go see The Hudsucker Proxy. Written by the Coen Brothers and (!) Sam Raimi, this movie is one of my favorites...ever! This movie is a perfect mix of humor, drama, and (i don't know) mirth. Amazing though - terribly amazing.
I just recently saw Pans Labyrinth and Mirror Mask - two amazing movies - incredibly artistry and graphics. I love foreign films. Usually From Hong Kong. But some Japanese movies have proven their worth (and there's been a couple of Frenchie films too, like "Brotherhood of the Wolf").
Stephen Chow (Kung Fu Hustle) is dam funny - his movies are a mixture of madcap comedy and entertainment. Jet Li (if only he'd jettison the rappers and the rap soundtracks from his american films) is the greatest martial arts actor out there (I'm so looking forward to Danny The Dog...or whatever they end up calling it...I think right now it's called Unleashed...which is a hella stupid title). Jackie Chan was good up until '97 (Drunken Master 2, The Police Story, Dragons Forever). Yuen Woo Ping (the Matrix action choreography) continues to make breathtaking martial arts movies. John Woo (The Killer, Bullet in the Head) did some amazing Hong Kong movies and has yet to show his skills over here in america (altough I thought Face Off came close). If only it didn't have Travolta and Cage. WindTalkers was horrible - shame on you John Woo, shame on your whole family.
Battle Royale 1 and 2 are pretty good action movies from Japan. The Ring series was scary. And That guy - what's his name...? - that does those Anime movies "princess moninoke" and "Sprited Away" is amazing.
Then there's horror movies. Evil Dead 2, Dead Alive, Dog Soldiers, The Ring (the japanese version and the american version each have their own charm) and The Haunting (but the remake sucked, as most horror movie remakes do), just to name few.
Nightmare Before Christmas - I have the cd in my car and listen to it every chance I get.
The Coen Brothers are consistantly making hilarious movies. Most recently I've liked Old School, Anchor Man, and Dodgeball. The Marx Brothers are always reliable as are The Three Stooges.
Television:
Invader Zim.
The Office (british version) is hilarious. As is Extras (by the same guys who wrote and directed The Office - Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant)...They're currently doing a 30 minute podcast every week (for 12 weeks)...which is (not surprisingly) quite funny...
The Simpsons should be at the top of this list - consistantly funny for 16 years now...and they're going to air their 400th episode in May. Nonstop funny. And how about that South Park? That's another cartoon that's consistantly funny (same with Family Guy...)
I have been addicted to the Real World and to Road Rules - That's right - I'm now very old (31) and still watching...they put the two together and have a Real World vs. Road Rules challenge - just brilliant (okay, they're terribly stupid, but everyone has to have a weakness). But all other reality shows are ass, except the (disgusting) Surreal Life or the Flavor of Love/I Love New York (trashy ass TV).
Other than that, I really don't see too much that makes me want to sit in a chair and stare at a box for a few minutes....
Books:
I'm currently reading Terry Pratchett's Discworld. I picked up "Thud" randomly and was hooked. I'm currently reading through the whole series (I'm on the 5th book so far)
Last year I ran across another book that has become one of my favorites, and if you like the Harry Potter series you should pick it up, - the book is called, "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell" - A Novel by Susanna Clarke
Ender's Game.
Peter Pan...The writing is just amazing - Barrie does some brilliant things with the english language - I wish more people could write that well...and there's nobody singing about what makes the red man red....
I've read a lot of Stephen King. I just got "Bag of Bones" on CD - and only need a long car trip get them read. The Gunslinger Series is amazing (it's like the harry potter series for adults). Hearts in Atlantis made me want to play hearts, beat up a kid with a bat and visit Nam to blow me up some gooks...I finally had a chance to read The Stand. It's a very long book, but a lot of fun.
Some others that I've been into since I was a kid include Roald Dahl (apparently not even Tim Burton could make a good version of this book...), Robert Asprin, and Douglas Adams (why couldn't he have written more before he passed?!?). Lloyd Alexander wrote the Black Cauldron series - now that I'm older I can see how it was pretty much a Lord of the Rings rip off, but it was still good in it's own right...
Heroes:
Alphonse Mucha, Bernie Wrightson (The Illustrated Frankenstein, and other horror illustrations), Brian Bolland (Judge Dredd Illustrations), Lane Smith (the Stinky Cheese Man, among other children's books), Bosch, Adam Rex (Frankenstein eats a sandwich, a children's book)Z
