1. Watched Adventureland last night. I expected to laugh a lot. It didn't happen. Major disappointment.
2. Remember Jet's song "Are You Gonna be My Girl?" Well, since then they have had a few songs hit the radio, but I feel their latest, "She's A Genius" is going to be their second biggest hit.
3. Why am I actually interested in seeing The Final Destination? Well, the 3D version...
4. I am now in a bowling league. Any suggestions for a team name?
5. Hitting up Crestview this weekend. Should be good times, like always.
6. Blogspot was kinda down the past day or two. Is it bad that I felt like something was missing from my life?
7. Speaking of missing from my life, The Daily Show and Colbert Report are on re-runs this week and I don't know what to do with myself. BUT Fantasy Factory and Nitro Circus have come back. And this makes me happy.
8. I ordered a wrestling pay per view on Sunday. For the first time in years, I felt like I got my money's worth. Pretty happy with the result.
9. September is coming soon. This means a couple things:
Football season starts. Pro and college. So, get ready for some sports related posts.
*So I kinda forgot about Wordless Wednesdays last week. My B. So I bring it back to you this week -- with a twist. You see, there will be words on this post, they are just not mine. Hence, I can still get away with it being "wordless" right? So whose words will they be? Well, none other than the winner of my first blog contest -- Jeanette! **Link to her blog is at the bottom. And on her blogs she does this thing where the title of her post is a link to a song. So this post is the same way. Enjoy it and enjoy her blog :)
When Mr. O announced he was going to have some kind of contest with a guest post as the prize I was pretty excited. I was even more excited when I saw that it was movie quotes, ask anyone who knows me; I watch an unhealthy number of movies. I was pretty confident about my chances and when the day finally came that he announced the winner and I had in fact won I was ecstatic. This lasted about 5 minutes until it dawned on me that I would have to think of something meaningful to write about. Not that my blog is meaningless, I use it to share music and thoughts with people (along with hilarious comics), but I wanted to really make an impression on all of Mr. O’s readers, because you clearly have good taste.
I don’t want to say I’ve been procrastinating per se, that seems a tad harsh, but I’ve been opting to spend my time doing other things, like moving back to East Lansing, instead of attempting to think of something good to write about. So here I am, driving to Florida, being a good contest winner and writing my guest post (This comes after my Facebook chat with Mr. O where he said he would be offended if I worked on it while in Florida, what a nice guy!). Let me just say that I think mother nature has some vendetta against me, I drove in a blizzard on my way to Florida in March and when I took over driving in Kentucky around 1 a.m. I’m pretty sure I drove through a hurricane or something just as traumatic.
So here I am 5 hours behind the wheel, a short nap, several hours of Arrested Development, one red Amp, one Red Bull Cola, and one low carb Monster later, still with no idea of what to write about. So here is what you are going to get, my thoughts on road trips, blogging connections and life in general. Sounds like an adventure eh?
1. I love when I get a good iPod shuffle going. I don’t know how many people have read “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” but that is always what I think about when my music is perfect for the drive.
2. After working at the Michigan Department of Transportation for the summer I have way too much random knowledge about street slopes, cable guardrail and other random facts that could be used to classify me as a nerd.
3. As I said Mr. O and I have random FB convos, I for one think it’s great to make even more connections outside of just BlogSpot. We live in an age where it’s possible to have a glimpse into someone else’s life. I’m not saying caution be damned but it’s nice to have people with similar interest to talk to, mostly I just Mr. O feel bad about his lack of music knowledge ;)
4. I don’t understand how some people got their drivers license 65 mph in the left lane is NOT acceptable. Neither is driving exactly the same speed as me so that I cannot get around you. And semis should just not attempt to pass each other because that angers me more than anything.
5. “It’s a dog eat dog world out there.” How many dogs actually eat other dogs. How did that saying come about?
6. Why does the south have so many Waffle Houses? I mean I’m not complaining, I love me some waffles, but I just don’t know why there is practically two at every exit.
I seem to have hit my sleep deprived stupor. Now I’m just talking gibberish. Last but not least Mr. O has informed me that he would not post my entry without my normal inclusion of a song as the title. So today’s title song comes from No Doubt, both Mr. O and I saw them on their tour so I found it oddly appropriate, plus they are in my top 4 favorite bands so there’s that.
Well I hope this guest post wasn’t too boring and was semi coherent. I’d like to thank Mr. O for having a contest and excusing my lateness in getting this too him.
I heard mixed things before and after going to see Quentin Tarantino's new movie, "Inglourious Basterds." IGN said it was a mixed bag giving it 3 out of 5 stars. A local paper said it had it's "glorious" moments. A friend on facebook said he didn't see what all the hype was about. Jmetexted me just before to say that she highly recommended it.
So if you are wondering what I thought about it, I will tell you in one word:
Awesome.
Want a few more words? Ok, here we go. Let me explain the entire night for you.
We originally tried to go the 7 showing, only to stand outside in the rain to find out it was sold out. No problem, we went ahead and bought our tickets for the ten. Decided to meet up with friends when we got there which probably wasn't a good idea. You would think that if we say the 7 sell out we would be cautious, but arriving a little late to the 10:15 showing there were barely any seats left. So we sat in the very front row. Ya know, the one where you have to crane your neck to look at the screen and there is nothing in front of you. First part of the night starts when during the trailers, the audio goes out and the lights come back on. They fixed it, but when the movie started, instead of the curtains going out, they closed in. And it was out of focus.
These problems were fixed during the first chapter. The movie, broken down into five chapters, starts off with a lot of dialogue. A theme which would run rampant throughout the movie, but shouldn't be surprising to any viewer of Tarantino's movies. I will try to do this without much spoilers, but the opening scene was intense and set that tone for the rest of the movie. A lot of sitting in your seat wondering "oh shit, what is about to happen here."
The second chapter set the other tone of the movie. The "holy shit, this is going to be funny too" tone. This is because the second chapter is when Brad Pitt, as Lt. Aldo Rane makes his debut. And he hooks you from the second he opens his mouth. We also sort of see an introduction to the other members of the basterds.
Without giving too much away, the rest of the movie introduces characters and intertwines them, very nicely I might add, at the end. Here is what you need to know:
1) A lot of dialogue -- but it's a good thing. I don't know how well it will hold up after multiple viewings, but for that first time it is great for setting up anticipation.
2) The violence is well what you would expect. Over the top and in a "should I feel weird about this" kind of way -- fun.
3) Brad Pitt steals the show. I have compared him to Heath Ledger's Joker in The Dark Knight or Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow in the second and third Pirates. Whenever they are off screen, you miss them and pretty much spend the movie waiting on them to come back.
So like I said, a lot of mixed things have been said. I loved it. I consider it to be a tie for movie of 2009 with Up. And on a final note, everyone in the theatre gave a standing ovation if that means anything.
Not sure how long this is going to be up, but enjoy...
I feel like I haven't had a real post in weeks. And this kind of isn't one either. It's a declaration -- and an apology.
There are those who have left comments and I haven't really returned the favor. That changes this weekend. If your blog doesn't let you know there are new comments, then on Monday you just may want to check. For the first time this summer, I have no plans this weekend. Well, I would like to go the movies (Inglorious Basterds), sleep in on Sunday, and watch Summerslam Sunday night. Other than that, I will be checking in on you guys and being better than what I have been the past week or so, just reading the opening paragraph and going on. I say this because your awesome comments keep me going and there are a couple in particular that I HAVE to return the favor to.
But real quick, here is what I have been up to:
*school started Monday. Hence the busy-ness and the need for sleep on Sunday. Classes seem like they will be ok. One of them is a bowling class :)
*with school starting again, that meant my ex-girlfriend came back. In late breaking news -- we talked. It wasn't pleasant at first, but it could be later on in a "we can be civil" kind of way. We shall see, but expect a post about that later.
*but actually the major thing is the roommate situation. Let's just say that the situation I was worried about is already starting to come true -- and school just started. It got pretty bad at one point where I sort of ran away from my own house. But I got clear headed the next day and we talked. I feel like things are resolved -- for now.
Other than that, I have been listening to some new music, specifically Matt & Kim, but also thanks to a comment I checked out Scouting for Girls (thanks Lola). Hopefully this life gets a lil more interesting so I will have more to talk about.
Random lyric of the day:
I'm gonna break your little heart Watch you take the fall laughing all the way to the hospital 'cause there's nothing surgery can do
I'm gonna break your little heart Show you to the door sew yourself shut and now you're begging for more 'cause there's nothing surgery can do When i break your little heart in two
And hey darling I hope you're good tonight And I know you don't feel right when I'm leaving Yeah I want it but no I don't need it Tell me something sweet to get me by 'Cause I can't come back home till they're singing
La, la la la la la la
'Til everyone is singing
If you can wait till I get home Then I swear to you That we can make this last (La la la) If you can wait till I get home Then I swear come tomorrow This will all be in our past Well it might be for the best
And hey sweetie Well I need you here tonight And I know that you don't want to be leaving me Yeah you want it but I can't help it I just feel complete when you're by my side But I know you can't come home 'til they're singing
La, la la la la la la
'Til everyone is singing
La, la la la la la la
If you can wait till I get home Then I swear to you That we can make this last (La la la) If you can wait till I get home Then I swear come tomorrow This will all be in our past Well it might be for the best
You know you can't give me what I need And even though you mean so much to me I can't wait through everything
Is this really happening? I swear I'll never be happy again And don't you dare say we can just be friends I'm not some boy that you can sway We knew it'd happen eventually
You are joining an elite list. You were always one step away from being mentioned with the Depp's and Rock's of this world. But after tonight's concert, you are officially there.
Maybe it was the acoustic performances of Drive, Talk Shows on Mute and Dig. Maybe it was the way you practically made love to the mic. Maybe it was thousands of kids singing your lyrics with you and you stopping and smiling while we said key phrases. Maybe it's because like in the above picture you wore a shirt that said "Make Believe, Not War."
Either way, you killed it tonight. (honestly, it was your bandmates too, so they get a picture below as well). It was good enough to make the ridiculous Atlanta traffic a little more bearable.
Congratulations to jeanette at Cooler Ranch or Nacho Cheese. She is the winner of the movie quote contest with a guest blog entry as the prize (I have no money right now -- cooler prizes will come later). It's kind of funny that she won because I didn't do a music quiz because I thought for sure she would win, but here she goes, coming through again. It actually got close when the Caped Tirader jumped in. It would have been a tie but he said one movie wrong (which one or two people also thought that the same wrong answer -- maybe it was too close) so the next little quiz should be some good competition.
Click here if you would like to see all the comments that people left (and a wonderful story from the girl with the pink teacup)
And here are the answers, with some comments:
1. "It starts with the eyes. She's gotta have those kind of eyes that can look right through the bullshit, to the good in someone. 20% angel, 80% devil. Down to earth. Ain't afraid to get a little engine grease under her fingernails."
Fast and Furious -- technically the fourth one
2. "You're all quite short, aren't you?" "Well yeah, we're children." "Well that's no excuse. I was never as short as you." "You were once." "Was not. Know why? Because I distinctly remember putting a hat on top of my head. Look at your short little arms. You could never reach."
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory -- as jeanette said, you know there would be some Johnny Depp in there. It was actually hard narrowing it down to one.
3. "The pen is blue, the pen is blue, the goddamn pen is blue!"
Liar, Liar -- surprising for an older movie, most people got this one
4. "Okay, just to be clear here, our options are: die here, die in the tunnels, or die in the streets. That pretty much it?" "Yeah... that's pretty much it."
Cloverfield -- this was one of two that nobody got and the one that a couple (including the Tirader) as Live Free or Die Hard. Maybe there is a similiar scene?
5. "You have the voice of an angel. Your voice is like a combination of Fergie and Jesus"
Step Brothers -- When I heard this in the theater, I couldn't stop laughing
6. "She never wanted me. She wanted Joey the whole time." "Cameron, do you like the girl?" "Yeah." "Yeah, and is she worth all this trouble?" "Well, I thought she was, but you know, I..." "Well, she is or she isn't. See first of all, Joey is not half the man you are. Secondly, don't let anyone ever make you feel like you don't deserve what you want. Go for it."
10 Things I Hate About You -- in case I ever do this again, take note of Johnny Depp, Will Ferrell and Heath Ledger movies
7. "A man can be an artist... in anything, food, whatever. It depends on how good he is at it. Creasey's art is death. He's about to paint his masterpiece."
Man on Fire -- oh, and maybe some Denzel Washington as well
8. "Hey, man, I was doing some research for next year and I think I figured out which website I wanna subscribe to. The Vag-Tastic Voyage."
Superbad -- I think everybody got this one right
9. "She shivers in the wind like the last leaf on a dying tree. I let her hear my footsteps. She only goes stiff for a moment."
Sin City -- the other one that nobody got right. This occurs in the very first scene of the movie.
10. "In the world I see - you are stalking elk through the damp canyon forests around the ruins of Rockefeller Center. You'll wear leather clothes that will last you the rest of your life. You'll climb the wrist-thick kudzu vines that wrap the Sears Tower. And when you look down, you'll see tiny figures pounding corn, laying strips of venison on the empty car pool lane of some abandoned superhighway.
Fight Club -- this occurs after the accident. Look out for random quotes from this movie as well.
So there it is. Hopefully you guys will be back for another one.
*As for you jeanette, just send me a guest blog whenever you want. I won't give you a certain day, but let's just shoot for this month.
So I got home from my wonderful mini vacation in Florida and I see that my subscription from AP magazine finally kicked in. Before Blender went out of business, it was that magazine and AP that I wanted to work for when I got out "in the real world." And I like reading this magazine because it gives me inside scoops on the music I listen to and gives me insight on how I want to write later in my career. Well, the following page is one I glance at sometimes. It is readers short opinion on what cd they are currently listening to and it charts which one is the most popular. So I get to this page and I look at the very first entry and I was pretty happy that Taking Back Sunday was #1. Then I looked even closer...
Yea, needless to say I'm pretty pumped about my name being in a magazine. Needless to say, I hope it's not the last time my name appears between those pages.
*Winner of the blog contest is announced tomorrow (so you still have time to get in) and a real post should come pretty soon.
Today, my bfff (one of those f's is a dirty word) Jme turns 22. It's about damn time. But it seems like every year, I miss being there on her birthday. Most of the time I'm in California on a summer vacation, but this time, once again, our schedules didn't meet up. So, I figure this is the least I could do. Dedicate one of my cover posts to her.
As you might have read in the past, or today if you head over to jeanette's blog, my friends have always introduced me to new music. Jme is one of those people and some months ago she saw a little show in Panama City and fell in love with one of the opening bands, The Leo Project. One of the songs on thier cd is a cover and a funny mini story is that when she heard the original, she thought they were copying the Leo Project. Good times. Anyways, here is the song "Broken Wings."
So in all, these post to spread a cover, but really it was to say Happy Birthday to a really good friend. If you want to as well, check out her blog and leave her some love!
Everyone is invited to take part. I don't care if you have left a million comments, a few, or none. Hell, what better time to introduce yourself? I have to say the only prize is a guest blog post within the month, so if that sounds fun to you (cuz it does to me) then have fun with this. If it doesn't, then just do it for fun?
So I got the idea for this when I was invited into others homes and seeing all their various movies they had. And then I got picked to do a guest post and I feel it is a cool way to branch out, so I would like to liven up my blog as well. So here are the "rules"
There will be ten pieces of dialogue from a movie. All you have to do is leave a comment saying which movie it is from. All I will do is not click publish on the comments so you don't see others answers. I will reveal the winner next Monday and they will do a guest blog post in the middle of month. My only catch: please don't google. It makes it too easy. Just test yourself and see what you know. Of course I can't monitor it, but why would you wanna cheat on something that's just for fun.
And don't worry if you don't know any of these or don't win. I am going to try to make this a monthly or every other month thing. But please, have fun with this and I look forward to seeing a guest blogger on A Rush of Blog to the Head!
Here are the quotes:
1. "It starts with the eyes. She's gotta have those kind of eyes that can look right through the bullshit, to the good in someone. 20% angel, 80% devil. Down to earth. Ain't afraid to get a little engine grease under her fingernails."
2. "You're all quite short, aren't you?" "Well yeah, we're children." "Well that's no excuse. I was never as short as you." "You were once." "Was not. Know why? Because I distinctly remember putting a hat on top of my head. Look at your short little arms. You could never reach."
3. "The pen is blue, the pen is blue, the goddamn pen is blue!"
4. "Okay, just to be clear here, our options are: die here, die in the tunnels, or die in the streets. That pretty much it?" "Yeah... that's pretty much it."
5. "You have the voice of an angel. Your voice is like a combination of Fergie and Jesus"
6. "She never wanted me. She wanted Joey the whole time." "Cameron, do you like the girl?" "Yeah." "Yeah, and is she worth all this trouble?" "Well, I thought she was, but you know, I..." "Well, she is or she isn't. See first of all, Joey is not half the man you are. Secondly, don't let anyone ever make you feel like you don't deserve what you want. Go for it."
7. "A man can be an artist... in anything, food, whatever. It depends on how good he is at it. Creasey's art is death. He's about to paint his masterpiece."
8. "Hey, man, I was doing some research for next year and I think I figured out which website I wanna subscribe to. The Vag-Tastic Voyage."
9. "She shivers in the wind like the last leaf on a dying tree. I let her hear my footsteps. She only goes stiff for a moment."
10. "In the world I see - you are stalking elk through the damp canyon forests around the ruins of Rockefeller Center. You'll wear leather clothes that will last you the rest of your life. You'll climb the wrist-thick kudzu vines that wrap the Sears Tower. And when you look down, you'll see tiny figures pounding corn, laying strips of venison on the empty car pool lane of some abandoned superhighway.
So it has been one lazy Sunday. And reading some blog posts gave me an idea to do another post to kill time. So here it goes.
1. What is your favorite item of clothing? Gym shorts and Polos. I swear one day I am going to make it a style
2. What are your biggest obsessions? Anything music related. And The Office. And Johnny Depp. And (sigh) wrestling.
3. Who inspires you? Unselfish people and people who don't need to be constantly told how great they are. Makes me want to tell them how great they are
4. Who is your favorite designer and why? Aww crap, is this a girl's survery? Did I just make a sexist comment? Damn...
5. What is your favorite song ever? This is a tough one but I will probably have to go with "Yellow" by Coldplay
6. What is your favorite song right now? I have been playing out "Downfall of Us All" by A Day To Remember
7. If you were a sweetie what would you be? Man, i have no idea
8. What words would you use to describe your rainbow? I have a rainbow?
9. What are your favorite films? Number one will always be Fight Club. After that, it's pretty much anything with Johnny Depp, Will Ferrell or The Rock in it. And Finding Nemo.
10. Who is your favorite actor? Johnny Depp
11. If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you be? At a gigantic family reunion
12. What are your 3 favorite smells? Home cooked meals, a girl with perfume on, friends houses that have a distinct scent
13. What are your 3 favorite tastes? Anything home cooked, strawberries, gatorade
14. What is your most treasured possession? My TV. I am still paying on it.
15. What did you always want to be/do when you grew up? a wrestler...
16. If you were an ice-cream flavor what would you be? Strawberry Cheesequake
17. If someone made a short film about your life, who would play you? Short film, then I would have to go with Shia Lebouf. Were about the same age, I think?
18. What would your perfect afternoon consist of? friends and/or family over for Rock Band, home cooked food, movie to chill out
19. If you were a flower what would you be? Umm....
20. Tell me one random thing... be it your favorite line from a song, scene from a movie or quote from a book... or tell me about something you love. "You guys might not know this, but I consider myself a bit of a loner. I tend to think of myself as a one-man wolf pack. But when my sister brought Doug home, I knew he was one of my own. And my wolf pack... it grew by one. So there... there were two of us in the wolf pack... I was alone first in the pack, and then Doug joined in later. And six months ago, when Doug introduced me to you guys, I thought, "Wait a second, could it be?" And now I know for sure, I just added two more guys to my wolf pack. Four of us wolves, running around the desert together, in Las Vegas, looking for strippers and cocaine. So tonight, I make a toast"
And if you remember I told you how much I loved Chappelle's Show. Here is a reason why:
So this month has finally arrived. After a year of anticipation, and not the good kind, August is here. The event that is the reason for the unanticipation doesn't occur for another few weeks or so, but still, it's here. I remember posting a blog on myspace a few months after the break up titled "August 2009" with the lyrics to a Vampire Weekend song that went "Then I see you You're walking cross the campus Cruel professor Studying romances How am I supposed to pretend I never want to see you again?" But I guess that's what I have to do now. Pretend. Or do I? Of all the awesome comments on the last post that I talked about this subject, the coolest thing to see was a bunch of people said I sounded like I was past what I once was. So maybe I won't have to pretend. Maybe I really never want to see her again. Honestly, I think it is that way. If I didn't have the knowledge that she was returning to school here, I would have nothing to be nervous about. But hopefully, it is like a lot of events in my life and I am making more of a deal than it really is. The one thing that sucks is it makes me realize that I want out of this town. It has been good to me, but I am ready to graduate, ready to move on, ready to get in this "real world" that everybody tells me about it. I know it's going to be hard and a slap in the face, but I'm ready to get slapped, ya know, so I can bounce back and get my life started. I just feel like for the next year my life is on pause. All I want to do is press play.
But hey, I guess if a month I am dreading is coming, it's nice to ring it in in style. On Tuesday, I went to Warped Tour and had one of the best days this summer. More details on that when I get all the pics together from the other two concerts of the summer (after I attend the Incubus one -- the last one -- in a couple of weeks). But last night I randomly got in the car and made the hour and a half trip to see Jme. Watched a couple not so great movies (New in Town, Inkheart) but got homemade doughnuts and was able to get out of the house and see a good friend, so it evened out the bad cinematic adventure. On my way home from her house, I stopped in Montgomery and visited with an old friend and it was really good catching up. After watching Flight of the Conchords for the first time at Jme's, when I got home I tried to go find a place to rent it, but I found it on sale and just purchased it. I have always heard the songs, but now seeing the episodes, it's like they come together. I have only seen the first three, but I am hooked. Then watched the first half of a movie in my top 30, Sleepers, before my roommate left and now I am here. Anticipating another lazy Sunday.
So I have a few ideas in the works. Some are for some regular posts in the style of Under My Covers, but one is for a guest blog contest. This will probably in my next post, so WATCH OUT.
Before I do these, let me give a short description. Some of these are going to be the "boring" facts. You will see what I mean when the list starts. But first is about my name. For some reason, when I started I was really hesitant to use my name. I see a lot of people who use their name and some that use pseudonyms, but I've come to trust you guys. So while it will still be Mr O, cuz I just like that and it's easier, for you guys I guess I will introduce myself.
Fact 1: Mr O stands for Matthue Ryan Okarmus, my full name. I don't know what origin my last name is and my mom's story for the spelling of my first name is the drugs that she was on while giving birth gave her the idea. But it's unique.
Fact 2: I was born on December 15, 1986 in Modesto, California.
Fact 3: My parents divorced around the time I turned two. My mom went on to remarry four times but is currently single and living in California. My dad remarried two times, but is currently in a new relationship and living in Alabama.
Fact 4: How I got to Alabama was my dad's second wife joined the military when I was eight and she got stationed in Ft. Rucker, Alabama. We moved there, she got out of the army and we decided to stay.
Fact 5: My dad's third marriage was a parent trap sort of deal. My friend and I both had parents who were newly single and we decided to get them together. It worked and we were a family for 8 years before they divorced early this year. Though technically they are no longer together, we still consider ourselves sister and brother because we went through enough things to be considered family. That is the story of the sister in Crestview that I constantly talk about.
Fact 6: My mom's second marriage was to a Japanese man who produced my half, twin brothers. They are four years younger than me and grew up without me, them in California and myself in Alabama. We are as close as the distance allows and I have always hated this particular fact.
Fact 7: My Grandpa on my mom's and my dad's side are the two most influential people in my life, teaching me life lessons that I still carry to this day. Years ago, I found out neither were my biological relative. And I don't care.
So there they were. I would have made them more lighthearted, but I did those a month or so ago. And yea, i think it's cool if you guys get to know me now. But part of the rule is that I have to tag seven other people. There are a couple people that ALWAYS get tagged with stuff, so I figure I will give them a break. So here goes:
