Goodness Precedes Greatness: A Call For New Heroes In Troubled Times
by Jon Foreman
I write songs for a living, which is to say that writing songs helps me to live. The song becomes a place where melody and tempo can cover some truly volatile topics. God, women, politics, sex, hatred, disillusionment- a song or a story can be a deeper vessel and more forgiving than most conversations. Poetry can get under the skin without your permission, and music can offer perspective or hope that might have been hidden before. And so the song becomes a vehicle to cover some serious ground.
These days I have a hard time writing a song that feels bright or hopeful. The unemployment rate is edging up even further and spending is down. Foreclosures are way up and stocks are down. Our headlines are full of war, natural disaster, and corruption. So I go looking for songs of hope and stories that remind me of the incredible privilege of living another day. I suppose I'm looking for a hero of sorts. Someone who rises above the situation and does something incredible.
Remember the guy who threw himself on top of the passenger who had suffered a seizure in the New York Subway? As the train was approaching he jumps down onto the tracks and risks his life to save the life of a complete stranger whose convulsions had thrown him into the path of an oncoming train. Incredible. Have you seen Team Hoyt, the dad who pushes his disabled son through all the marathons? They've even done the Iron Man competitions together as father and son, which makes me tear up. Or the story of Mother Teresa, a woman who gave her life to the less fortunate day after day after day. These are the stories that I want to sing about. These are stories of hope.
Such sacrifice, such patience and such goodness is rare and rightly called heroic. But these are not the heroes of our times. Wesley Autrey is not a household name and neither is Team Hoyt. If you want to know the heroes of our society, follow the money, look at the posters on the wall. We pay them seven digit salaries, we put their songs on our playlists, and follow them on Twitter. These are the heroes we emulate.
Let's face it. Mother Teresa doesn't look that good in a negligee. And Team Hoyt won't sell beer commercials to the networks. But when the ball players and the supermodels end up in rehab, we end up asking esoteric questions about what makes a hero. In the movies the good looking actor who gets the girl is easy to point to. But after he gets the girl, then the house, and then a few kids and then a divorce and then another girl. Then what? After all of the special effects are gone, we're left with an aging mortal who looks a bit awkward on the talk shows. Perhaps we've set our goals too low. Or perhaps we've got it backwards.
I would like to suggest that the best parts of our human nature can be seen in sacrifice or surrender. A mother sacrificing her time for her child, a teacher devoting her afternoons to help students off-the-clock. These are truly our most incredible moments as a species: moments of unmerited kindness. Goodness. Virtue. Nobility. Grace. Morality. These are the truly remarkable moments. Perhaps our current economic climate of debt needs a fresh perspective on worth and value. Maybe our monetary crisis indicates a broader loss of perspective.
We live in the land of plenty, the land of milk and honey, where the lottery of birth has given us the advantage of education, of wealth, and of opportunity. Ammon Hennessy puts it this way, "You came into the world armed to the teeth with... the weapons of privilege." A trip south of the border can be an incredible reminder. We are living in the land of entitlement, one of the wealthiest nations in the history of mankind. And yet, money cannot buy us the true wealth of happiness, or peace, or of a deeper form of a meaningful life.
Perhaps the current climate of uncertainty would be the appropriate time to ask the question: what are we aiming for? Our technological achievements as a species are impressive. Our cities, our advancements in flight and our iPhones are all fairly remarkable. But there is nothing heroic about my cell phone. There is nothing sacrificial about it. Where is the song that's worth singing? What is our measure of success? Renown psychiatrist Viktor E. Frankl says that "success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side effect of one's personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as a byproduct of one's surrender to a person other than oneself."
Maybe the fix is not the money. Maybe two and a half hours in a theatre isn't enough time for a hero to be born. Maybe it takes a lifetime- a lifetime like John M. Perkins. John Perkins is a man who devoted his life to those around him in simple and profound ways. He was quick to forgive, quick to utilize resources to help those in need. He has been a tireless civil rights worker who has endured beatings, harassments, and even prison for what he believes. With the help of his wife, Vera Mae, and a few others, he founded a health center, leadership development program, thrift store, low-income housing development and training center in his hometown of Mendenhall, Mississippi. His is a story of reconciliation, of forgiveness, of patience. He endured the suffering, holding on to a cause greater than himself.
John Perkins has is a song I want to sing. A song of a great man, the story of a legend. How do you replicate this goodness? Do you monetize it? Do you subsidize it? No. It's bigger than Washington, it's bigger than Wall Street. And it looks better than Hollywood. His is the story of a hero, a song of hope. His is a story that reminds me of a goodness beneath the system. Though Perkins was a devout Christian, he was quick to point out that this goodness is bigger than stale religion. Mr. Perkins once said that "many congregations do nothing but outsource justice." John Perkins said it right- you can't outsource justice. You can't farm out goodness to someone else. Your life is yours alone. Those decisions are yours to make.
I am the system. You are the system. We, the system of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, choose goodness. Yes, the system is flawed. Yes, the church is flawed. Yes, Wall Street and Hollywood Boulevard are all fatally flawed. Yes, there will always be those who take the easy way out. But that ain't your game. Your choice is yours alone. Goodness precedes greatness. Maybe the mother will always have more power than the atomic bomb. Maybe under the skin there is a song of hope and meaning waiting to break free. Or maybe not. It's our story. You and I decide with our actions. It can be as small as simple courtesy. Or get involved in your hometown. Find out what the local food bank looks like. Look up the local Habitat for Humanity. What is the world you want? You choose it with every breath.
In our current climate of fear and debt I am reminded of what I hold most valuable in this life: the human souls closest to me. We need each other. Human beings will always be the most valuable natural resource on the planet. The human story is still unfolding. We are telling it as we speak. The human song is still weaving its way towards a chorus, through the suffering, through the fear. We need each other. We need heroes. Let your life be a beautiful song. We need hope. Tell a good story with the way you live. What is the world you want?
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Something we all need to hear.
Here's the link, but I'm going to repost this below. This is a guest blog written by Jamie Tworkowski of TWLOHA (twloha.com) for Alt Press. Check it out.
http://www.altpress.com/features/blogtwloha.htm
If someone gave you a microphone and a stage, what would you say and what would you sing? Whether the crowd was 10 people or 10,000, what would you make with the moment?
I was going to write a letter to the frontmen--the folks who sing in bands. I was going to say that there should be a system or some classes where they would be reminded that music is a very special thing; something not unlike a miracle, rich with history and the potential to move people and change lives. They would learn about urgency and honesty, the value of a moment and a song's unique ability to cause people to feel, to remind them that they're alive and that life is worth living.
And it crossed my mind to say those things because lately, it seems like there's been moments when everyone is forgetting. I'm bored with watching guys play to thousands of people and it feels like everyone says the same thing in saying nothing: "How you motherf****s doing?" is followed by a request for the world's largest circle pit. Congratulations. You are the fourth band in a row to say the exact same thing.
Are you kidding me? You beat the odds by making it and they hand you this electronic thing that makes your voice louder and that's the best you could come up with? That's what you wanted to tell the world? The stage is sacred. It's above the ground so that people can see the magic when it happens; so that people can see something bigger than the sum of its parts; something louder than the same dumb joke, brighter than the latest neon trend. Tell us your story. Show us your heart. Remind us of our own. Point to something. In the silence between songs, point to something that matters, some question or problem that steals your sleep at night. Invite us to be part of the solution.
But maybe the lessons are not just for the guys with microphones. Maybe this stuff applies to all of us. It's been said that all the world's a stage and that maybe we all have some kind of influence and opportunities to say real things and move people. The stage in front of the crowd is this obvious place where it happens, but maybe it's true that we each have our songs to sing and venues to play. We each get a few people who listen and a few people to listen to. We each have our jobs and our schools and all the places where life happens. We live in a world filled with needs and opportunities. Every person has a story. There's plenty of room for meaning, depth and change. Don't buy the lie that says there's only room for jokes and it's cooler not to care about anything. The bar has been set way too low. There's room for magic and inspiration. There's room to live a better story.
The show starts now. alt
(Jamie Tworkowski is the founder of To Write Love On Her Arms, a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide. Since 2006, TWLOHA has responded to 100,000 messages from over 100 countries. They've also given $500,000 directly to treatment and recovery. Tworkowski will be speaking at universities across America this fall. Visit www.twloha.com for more info. )
http://www.altpress.com/features/blogtwloha.htm
If someone gave you a microphone and a stage, what would you say and what would you sing? Whether the crowd was 10 people or 10,000, what would you make with the moment?
I was going to write a letter to the frontmen--the folks who sing in bands. I was going to say that there should be a system or some classes where they would be reminded that music is a very special thing; something not unlike a miracle, rich with history and the potential to move people and change lives. They would learn about urgency and honesty, the value of a moment and a song's unique ability to cause people to feel, to remind them that they're alive and that life is worth living.
And it crossed my mind to say those things because lately, it seems like there's been moments when everyone is forgetting. I'm bored with watching guys play to thousands of people and it feels like everyone says the same thing in saying nothing: "How you motherf****s doing?" is followed by a request for the world's largest circle pit. Congratulations. You are the fourth band in a row to say the exact same thing.
Are you kidding me? You beat the odds by making it and they hand you this electronic thing that makes your voice louder and that's the best you could come up with? That's what you wanted to tell the world? The stage is sacred. It's above the ground so that people can see the magic when it happens; so that people can see something bigger than the sum of its parts; something louder than the same dumb joke, brighter than the latest neon trend. Tell us your story. Show us your heart. Remind us of our own. Point to something. In the silence between songs, point to something that matters, some question or problem that steals your sleep at night. Invite us to be part of the solution.
But maybe the lessons are not just for the guys with microphones. Maybe this stuff applies to all of us. It's been said that all the world's a stage and that maybe we all have some kind of influence and opportunities to say real things and move people. The stage in front of the crowd is this obvious place where it happens, but maybe it's true that we each have our songs to sing and venues to play. We each get a few people who listen and a few people to listen to. We each have our jobs and our schools and all the places where life happens. We live in a world filled with needs and opportunities. Every person has a story. There's plenty of room for meaning, depth and change. Don't buy the lie that says there's only room for jokes and it's cooler not to care about anything. The bar has been set way too low. There's room for magic and inspiration. There's room to live a better story.
The show starts now. alt
(Jamie Tworkowski is the founder of To Write Love On Her Arms, a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide. Since 2006, TWLOHA has responded to 100,000 messages from over 100 countries. They've also given $500,000 directly to treatment and recovery. Tworkowski will be speaking at universities across America this fall. Visit www.twloha.com for more info. )
Friday, May 15, 2009
Jon Foreman 3 Day Fast for Darfur: Day 3 Blog Entry
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Darfur Fast Blog 4, Day 3: Four Morning Thoughts
I woke up early. It's day number three of the fast and I am definitely feeling it... I crawl out of bed and have four immediate thoughts:
My first thought: I have access to clean water and a roof to sleep under. I have a bed. I have my guitar. In this fast I was hoping to join in solidarity with those who are fasting without an option; and yet the hunger I have right now is nothing compared to the despair of Darfur. Robbed of dignity, robbed of their homes, these refugees are on the run from brutal violence and rape, seeking out any form of hope. The smallest bit of hunger that I feel this morning cannot even be compared to the hunger that Darfur woke up with today: a hunger for dignity, a hunger for freedom, a hunger for so much more than simply food.
My second though was this: I need so much grace. I need so much patience. I need so many second chances. Even in this fast, I'm sure my motives are impure most the time. I might be drinking only water but it's my mind and my heart that are corrupted and impure. I would like to think that I have it all together but I don't- from the
little things: I screw up the time and end up running late way too often- to the big things: I get overwhelmed at suffering and sorrow in the world and sometimes would rather turn the other way. And in my hopes to get things right I can be extremely judgmental of everyone everything around me. Dang it. I'm sorry all. God is so patient with me. My friends and family are so patient with me. I need to learn how to pass this grace along.
My third thought was along these lines: we are meant to live and love in community- to grow old together having shared laughter and pain and joy- to love each other through the painful spots. But we're so bent and hurt that we drive each other away. We've been so broken and shattered (Speaking out of experience here!), that we are driven to
break and shatter the ones around us. Call it our fallen nature, or look to Freud and call it our death urge... might as well call it the front page of the newspaper. The fact is: we are driven to pieces, destroying ourselves and those around us in the search for meaning. No life is meant to be lived alone. We know this and yet on a planet with millions of people we drive lonely cars and work lonely jobs. We start lonely wars and buy lonely houses.
My fourth thought: Everything on this capital planet is worth what we will pay for it. The "worth" of gold rises and falls according to public opinion. The housing market, meats and vegetables, vintage guitars, oil... The trouble is that people fall into this category as well. The value of human life and dignity... What's it worth? Is it worth my time? Is it worth risking national security? Is it worth more than oil? Is it worth getting out of my comfort zone to help someone out? What we ascribe worth to is what we "worth-ship" - and what we worship is most evident with our time and money. Stock up treasures in heaven where moths and rust cannot destroy.
What's the meaning of life? What's worth living for? We live out those answers everyday in our choices. It's a tremendous amount of power, (accompanied with fear and trembling). The staggering realization is this: you've been loaned the power to determine what's "worth it" in your lifetime. Every hour of life affords a tremendous amount of spending power; choose wisely with your time, it's one of your most valuable resources.
Darfur Fast Blog 4, Day 3: Four Morning Thoughts
I woke up early. It's day number three of the fast and I am definitely feeling it... I crawl out of bed and have four immediate thoughts:
My first thought: I have access to clean water and a roof to sleep under. I have a bed. I have my guitar. In this fast I was hoping to join in solidarity with those who are fasting without an option; and yet the hunger I have right now is nothing compared to the despair of Darfur. Robbed of dignity, robbed of their homes, these refugees are on the run from brutal violence and rape, seeking out any form of hope. The smallest bit of hunger that I feel this morning cannot even be compared to the hunger that Darfur woke up with today: a hunger for dignity, a hunger for freedom, a hunger for so much more than simply food.
My second though was this: I need so much grace. I need so much patience. I need so many second chances. Even in this fast, I'm sure my motives are impure most the time. I might be drinking only water but it's my mind and my heart that are corrupted and impure. I would like to think that I have it all together but I don't- from the
little things: I screw up the time and end up running late way too often- to the big things: I get overwhelmed at suffering and sorrow in the world and sometimes would rather turn the other way. And in my hopes to get things right I can be extremely judgmental of everyone everything around me. Dang it. I'm sorry all. God is so patient with me. My friends and family are so patient with me. I need to learn how to pass this grace along.
My third thought was along these lines: we are meant to live and love in community- to grow old together having shared laughter and pain and joy- to love each other through the painful spots. But we're so bent and hurt that we drive each other away. We've been so broken and shattered (Speaking out of experience here!), that we are driven to
break and shatter the ones around us. Call it our fallen nature, or look to Freud and call it our death urge... might as well call it the front page of the newspaper. The fact is: we are driven to pieces, destroying ourselves and those around us in the search for meaning. No life is meant to be lived alone. We know this and yet on a planet with millions of people we drive lonely cars and work lonely jobs. We start lonely wars and buy lonely houses.
My fourth thought: Everything on this capital planet is worth what we will pay for it. The "worth" of gold rises and falls according to public opinion. The housing market, meats and vegetables, vintage guitars, oil... The trouble is that people fall into this category as well. The value of human life and dignity... What's it worth? Is it worth my time? Is it worth risking national security? Is it worth more than oil? Is it worth getting out of my comfort zone to help someone out? What we ascribe worth to is what we "worth-ship" - and what we worship is most evident with our time and money. Stock up treasures in heaven where moths and rust cannot destroy.
What's the meaning of life? What's worth living for? We live out those answers everyday in our choices. It's a tremendous amount of power, (accompanied with fear and trembling). The staggering realization is this: you've been loaned the power to determine what's "worth it" in your lifetime. Every hour of life affords a tremendous amount of spending power; choose wisely with your time, it's one of your most valuable resources.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
Steven's Modern Life
It's a Monday morning at 3:43 and I'm awake listening to Ratatat and editing photographs. This sums up what I like to do in my spare time fairly well.
(20 minutes later)
Just finished editing. Here is the video I made today. And here are the photographs that I played around with this late night/early morning. Nothing is final.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2087295&id=29904207&l=c979f
(20 minutes later)
Just finished editing. Here is the video I made today. And here are the photographs that I played around with this late night/early morning. Nothing is final.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2087295&id=29904207&l=c979f
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
I will be seeing these in theaters.
The next Garden State?
Yes. I am way more excited for this than Transformers. Pick a side. This is mine.
I think this will be the funniest movie of the year. We'll see.
I know it looks a little psycho, but that's Tarantino for you.
And how can you not be excited for this????
Yes. I am way more excited for this than Transformers. Pick a side. This is mine.
I think this will be the funniest movie of the year. We'll see.
I know it looks a little psycho, but that's Tarantino for you.
And how can you not be excited for this????
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Top Ten Movies of 2008
Okay so I stopped blogging pretty much entirely after I got back from Africa last July because I thought no one really read my blog anymore. This is still probably the case, but whatever, I like to write, and you nowadays with the internet, you never know who is reading what. So I'm back and I'm here to write about one of my favorite things. You guessed it. Movies.
I'm back with my Top Ten Movies of 2008 list. This was an incredibly hard list to make and could be different a week from now. Here goes.
10. The Wackness
(Drama with a bit of Dark Comedy about a young man's coming of age tale in New York (if I remember correctly). Great story about this kid who sells pot to help pay the family bills. His shrink is played by the great Sir Ben Kinglsey, whom he pays with weed. This film does a great job at portraying the conflict, brokenness and longing that all humans share. I highly recommend it. The Writer/Director of the film based the story off of his own life...so it's very realistic and easy to identify with.
9. Gran Torino
Clint Eastwood has become one of the best Director's of our time, and I love the ability he has to tell a story without any fluff. In his most recent acting/directing gig, he plays an old senile racist who has to deal with the new foreign neighbors. A great story about how even the hardest of hearts can be softened with just a little love from the right places.
8. Milk
Just go see this for Sean Penn's Best Acting performance. Seriously, he becomes Harvey Milk. This is a great movie that deserved all the buzz it got. Well directed, well acted, well written. And it came out at the perfect time, right after the whole Prop-8 fiasco. A very relevant movie for our time.
7. Wall-E
All of Pixar's movies seem to take huge risks. A movie about a rat? That will never work. A movie about a robot that can't talk and has no dialogue in the first 40 minutes? People will get bored. Right? Not so fast. This is pixar we're talking about. These guys know what they are doing. Psh. Dialogue? They don't need that to tell a powerful story. With arguably the best visuals we've ever seen from a Pixar flick (in my opinion only rivaled by Finding Nemo) Pixar strikes gold once again with a film about a lovable robot and his quest for love and adventure. Oh and about how the human race is a bunch of fat lazy slobs. Leave it to Pixar to entertain us and make us think about the way we live our lives at the same time.
6. The Reader
You would be hard pressed to find a better actress than Kate Winslet right now. Put her in a movie with a great script and you've got a winner. And that's exactly what The Reader is. What starts off as a risque affair between an aging German and a young high school boy turns into a debate of ethical values. You find yourself thinking "What would I do in that situation?" multiple times throughout this film, with no easy answer. A smart film set in post WWII Germany, with one of the most complicated love stories you've ever seen. Don't miss it.
5. Vicky, Christina, Barcelona
I'll admit it. The main reason I wanted to see this film at first was because it had the beauty of Scarlett Johanssen and Penelope Cruz in it. But once the Woody Allen written/directed film got going, I was hooked immediately. I think it was the combination of the old school narration and the setting of Barcelona, but Allen did a spectacular putting you right in the midst of his creation. The characters were great, the acting was great (Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz have some amazing scenes) and many people will be able to relate to this movie. It questions how we define "relationships" and what society says is okay and what's not okay. What is love? How do we know? Will we ever be satisfied? Do we know what we're looking for or what we want? Does true love really last? Does it go beyond our feelings? These are all questions that Vicky, Christna, Barcelona asks us.
4. The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
I was really really really looking forward to this film, and in a sense, it did let me down a bit. But it is at number four on this list for a reason. Fincher is one of my favorite directors, and Brad Pitt one of my favorite actors, and Cate Blanchett is right up there with Kate Winslet as one of our finest actresses, but something about this film just fell a little short for me. The only thing special about this story was the whole aging backward thing. Without that element, this would have been a generic love story with its share of complications. It was longer than it needed to be and Pitt's acting was average. People give him too much credit for this role. It's the CG and Makeup artists that deserve more of the credit. All that being said, this film was done as perfectly as possible. The cinematography was amazing, the script well written, the actors well directed. People compare this film to Forrest Gump, and Gump had something this film didn't have. I don't know what it was. Ben Button just didn't have the...thrust...that Forrest Gump did. I liked Forrest Gump more. I cared for him more. This was an excellent excellent film, I just didn't like it as much as I expected to.
3. Rachel Getting Married
Whoa. Now here's a film that grabbed onto my emotions and threw them all over the room. You want a movies that is real to the bone? That shows meaninful, powerful, authentic family dynamics? Here it is. You will cringe, you will laugh, you will be awkward, you will be scared, you will care, you will cry. I absolutely loved Anne Hathaway in this movie. I think she should have gotten the Oscar this year. We all know Kate Winslet would have gotten one eventually. I think Winslet got it for her reputation and her past work more than for her specific role in The Reader. (Don't get me wrong, she was amazing, I just think the academy felt bad for all the times she got gipped in the past. Hopefully the same thing will happen for Hathaway in the future.) I just hope that Hathaway takes more roles like this one instead of the ridiculous Bride Wars movie she just did. Why make crap like that when you can make gold like this? I don't get it. Go see this movie with people you care about.
2. Slumdog Millionaire
Best Picture. Mmhmm. How can you not love this movie? Great cast, great director, great soundtrack, great script, beautiful shots and locations. It has everything. This film is the journey that we hope all our lives to be. Adventurous. Challenging. Rewarding. Full of love, pain, hope, conflict, reward. I loved this movie and really can't say enough about it. Danny Boyle deserved his Best Director Oscar, and the film deserved the Best Picture Award. We need more movies like this. Movies that are smart with depth, yet full of emotion and power.
1. The Dark Knight
And yet this was my favorite movie of the year, with one of the best performances of all time. The best villain since Darth Vader. My favorite Director of the moment. Throw in Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine and you've got my vote for my favorite movie of the year. I saw it twice in the theater for good reason. You can't digest it all in one viewing. What would you have done if you were one of the civilians on that ferry? Do we have it in us to be "The Dark Knight" if it means everyone hating us for doing the right thing? Is life meaningless and full of chaos? Or do we have hope and something to fight for? Our are decisions decided by chance or something greater? What do we do when we lose everything we loved?
I don't know if it should have won, but I can't believe it didn't even get an Oscar Nod for Best Picture and/or Best Director. Ugh.
Honorable Mentions: Quantum of Solace, City of Ember ( A great, fun family adventure movie), Forgetting Sarah Marshall(my surprise of the year, I love this movie), Pineapple Express (James Franco is way funnier than I knew), Burn After Reading (The Coen brothers rock), Tropic Thunder (Downey Jr. was phenomenal), Australia(Epic movie, but was split into two stories and was too long)
Haven't seen yet: The Wrestler, Revolutionary Road, Defiance, Frost/Nixon, The Visitor
I'm back with my Top Ten Movies of 2008 list. This was an incredibly hard list to make and could be different a week from now. Here goes.
10. The Wackness
(Drama with a bit of Dark Comedy about a young man's coming of age tale in New York (if I remember correctly). Great story about this kid who sells pot to help pay the family bills. His shrink is played by the great Sir Ben Kinglsey, whom he pays with weed. This film does a great job at portraying the conflict, brokenness and longing that all humans share. I highly recommend it. The Writer/Director of the film based the story off of his own life...so it's very realistic and easy to identify with.
9. Gran Torino
Clint Eastwood has become one of the best Director's of our time, and I love the ability he has to tell a story without any fluff. In his most recent acting/directing gig, he plays an old senile racist who has to deal with the new foreign neighbors. A great story about how even the hardest of hearts can be softened with just a little love from the right places.
8. Milk
Just go see this for Sean Penn's Best Acting performance. Seriously, he becomes Harvey Milk. This is a great movie that deserved all the buzz it got. Well directed, well acted, well written. And it came out at the perfect time, right after the whole Prop-8 fiasco. A very relevant movie for our time.
7. Wall-E
All of Pixar's movies seem to take huge risks. A movie about a rat? That will never work. A movie about a robot that can't talk and has no dialogue in the first 40 minutes? People will get bored. Right? Not so fast. This is pixar we're talking about. These guys know what they are doing. Psh. Dialogue? They don't need that to tell a powerful story. With arguably the best visuals we've ever seen from a Pixar flick (in my opinion only rivaled by Finding Nemo) Pixar strikes gold once again with a film about a lovable robot and his quest for love and adventure. Oh and about how the human race is a bunch of fat lazy slobs. Leave it to Pixar to entertain us and make us think about the way we live our lives at the same time.
6. The Reader
You would be hard pressed to find a better actress than Kate Winslet right now. Put her in a movie with a great script and you've got a winner. And that's exactly what The Reader is. What starts off as a risque affair between an aging German and a young high school boy turns into a debate of ethical values. You find yourself thinking "What would I do in that situation?" multiple times throughout this film, with no easy answer. A smart film set in post WWII Germany, with one of the most complicated love stories you've ever seen. Don't miss it.
5. Vicky, Christina, Barcelona
I'll admit it. The main reason I wanted to see this film at first was because it had the beauty of Scarlett Johanssen and Penelope Cruz in it. But once the Woody Allen written/directed film got going, I was hooked immediately. I think it was the combination of the old school narration and the setting of Barcelona, but Allen did a spectacular putting you right in the midst of his creation. The characters were great, the acting was great (Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz have some amazing scenes) and many people will be able to relate to this movie. It questions how we define "relationships" and what society says is okay and what's not okay. What is love? How do we know? Will we ever be satisfied? Do we know what we're looking for or what we want? Does true love really last? Does it go beyond our feelings? These are all questions that Vicky, Christna, Barcelona asks us.
4. The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
I was really really really looking forward to this film, and in a sense, it did let me down a bit. But it is at number four on this list for a reason. Fincher is one of my favorite directors, and Brad Pitt one of my favorite actors, and Cate Blanchett is right up there with Kate Winslet as one of our finest actresses, but something about this film just fell a little short for me. The only thing special about this story was the whole aging backward thing. Without that element, this would have been a generic love story with its share of complications. It was longer than it needed to be and Pitt's acting was average. People give him too much credit for this role. It's the CG and Makeup artists that deserve more of the credit. All that being said, this film was done as perfectly as possible. The cinematography was amazing, the script well written, the actors well directed. People compare this film to Forrest Gump, and Gump had something this film didn't have. I don't know what it was. Ben Button just didn't have the...thrust...that Forrest Gump did. I liked Forrest Gump more. I cared for him more. This was an excellent excellent film, I just didn't like it as much as I expected to.
3. Rachel Getting Married
Whoa. Now here's a film that grabbed onto my emotions and threw them all over the room. You want a movies that is real to the bone? That shows meaninful, powerful, authentic family dynamics? Here it is. You will cringe, you will laugh, you will be awkward, you will be scared, you will care, you will cry. I absolutely loved Anne Hathaway in this movie. I think she should have gotten the Oscar this year. We all know Kate Winslet would have gotten one eventually. I think Winslet got it for her reputation and her past work more than for her specific role in The Reader. (Don't get me wrong, she was amazing, I just think the academy felt bad for all the times she got gipped in the past. Hopefully the same thing will happen for Hathaway in the future.) I just hope that Hathaway takes more roles like this one instead of the ridiculous Bride Wars movie she just did. Why make crap like that when you can make gold like this? I don't get it. Go see this movie with people you care about.
2. Slumdog Millionaire
Best Picture. Mmhmm. How can you not love this movie? Great cast, great director, great soundtrack, great script, beautiful shots and locations. It has everything. This film is the journey that we hope all our lives to be. Adventurous. Challenging. Rewarding. Full of love, pain, hope, conflict, reward. I loved this movie and really can't say enough about it. Danny Boyle deserved his Best Director Oscar, and the film deserved the Best Picture Award. We need more movies like this. Movies that are smart with depth, yet full of emotion and power.
1. The Dark Knight
And yet this was my favorite movie of the year, with one of the best performances of all time. The best villain since Darth Vader. My favorite Director of the moment. Throw in Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine and you've got my vote for my favorite movie of the year. I saw it twice in the theater for good reason. You can't digest it all in one viewing. What would you have done if you were one of the civilians on that ferry? Do we have it in us to be "The Dark Knight" if it means everyone hating us for doing the right thing? Is life meaningless and full of chaos? Or do we have hope and something to fight for? Our are decisions decided by chance or something greater? What do we do when we lose everything we loved?
I don't know if it should have won, but I can't believe it didn't even get an Oscar Nod for Best Picture and/or Best Director. Ugh.
Honorable Mentions: Quantum of Solace, City of Ember ( A great, fun family adventure movie), Forgetting Sarah Marshall(my surprise of the year, I love this movie), Pineapple Express (James Franco is way funnier than I knew), Burn After Reading (The Coen brothers rock), Tropic Thunder (Downey Jr. was phenomenal), Australia(Epic movie, but was split into two stories and was too long)
Haven't seen yet: The Wrestler, Revolutionary Road, Defiance, Frost/Nixon, The Visitor
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Zach Braff Music Interview
This is one of the many reasons I love zb. How many of us have the Garden State soundtrack?
Monday, August 25, 2008
Uganda Video
A friend that I met in Uganda at God Cares school in Kampala made an amazing video that you need to watch. We met this team from Oaks Christian High School at the God Cares and had a great time working with them. Tyler Rumph made this video, and it is absolutely superb quality. It's about 35 minutes, so watch it when you've got some time, but I swear, it's worth it. Enjoy:
Uganda from Tyler Rumph on Vimeo.
Uganda from Tyler Rumph on Vimeo.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Monday, May 5, 2008
This Is Home
So rad that they made it on the Prince Caspian soundtrack! Anyone else want to go to the show in September at the sleeptrain ampitheatre? They're playing with Jars of Clay too! Rock on.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Land of Ire
At my favorite coffeshop\bookstore\cafe in Prague, "The Globe", ready to finally write about my adventures to Ireland and if time permits, The Netherlands.
Ahhhhhh yesss. Ireland! Hopefully I can remember all the best parts about this trip. I've wanted to go to Ireland for years for some reason, and I was never really quite sure why. I guess I thought I might run into Bono there, or perhaps I could run and frolic with leprechauns on rolling green hills and play the flute, or perhaps it was just the accent. I don't know. I had this trip planned for a few months, and was really excited about it, getting a great deal on a flight through Ryan air. My buddy Tom was the only one to join me on the trip, and you can see a lot of our pictures on Facebook.
The first thing I noticed about Ireland is that they speak ENGLISH! Now when you've been living and traveling throughout countries that don't speak English as their first language for a while, you get used to it after a while. But once you go to a place that speaks English, it is such a relief! So many people told me that it wouldn't matter, I would still have a hard time understanding the people with the thick Irish accents. I really thought this was a joke, but seriously, it's TRUE! There are some Irish that speak so fast and slur so many words, I have no idea what they are talking about. I felt a little rude saying "what?" so many times, but better that than pretending I know what they are saying, when really I am clueless. It's also interesting how some people have different accents around the country, and how they sound similar, yet different, just like American accents. Another crazy first impression was noticing that people were driving on the wrong side of the road! It would have been much stranger to actually drive a car in Ireland, or even to be a passenger in one, but still, being on a bus and other public transit was strange enough. Crossing the street was always funny too, because naturally one from the states would look left first, but its the other way around in Ireland! So to solve this problem, I just looked left, right, left, right, left...etc. as I crossed the street. Sometimes you can't be too careful. (Just kidding, people!)
We flew into Dublin and found our hostel, which was near one of the main train stations and the Guinness Storehouse. My first "Yup, I'm in Ireland" moment, was when we were on our shuttle from the airport to the city center, and U2 comes on over the radio. Luckily, I'm a big U2 fan, so I thought this was pretty cool.
Of course it was raining (this seems to be a trend on my travels) when we arrived at our Hostel. Tom and I met up with this girl Fiona, who is Irish and lives in Dublin going to the famous Trinity College. (I met her in Berlin). It was strange seeing someone from one of my other trips in a completely new setting. We met Fiona at Trinity college, and she gave us a little tour of the school (where the Book of Kells is held). She then took us to what she described as an "old man bar" where I got my first Guinness. I'm still warming up to Beer, but I can tell that I will enjoy Guinness in the future. Very different kind of beer with a very unique and recognizable taste. Fiona then took us down some of the main streets in downtown Dublin, showing us where the movie "Once" was filmed and even some of the exact places where Glen Hansard plays guitar on the street in the movie. Pretty awesome stuff!
We decided to try saving some money by making our own food instead of going out, which led us to Fiona's apartment where we made French toast! So delicious especially when you haven't had something like that in a long time. After dinner we had a few drinks, specifically some creamy Bailey's! Now this is the way Alcohol should be! I can understand why that little drink is so dang expensive! It's like dessert! After we had our fill of Bailey's, Fiona showed us some of the nightlife in downtown Dublin. We checked out a few really cool pubs and even one club that we didn't stay in for too long. We were in this really cool, muli-level bar in downtown Dublin drinking Mojito's (which I now know I do NOT like) and listening to this live cover band when I look up and suddenly realize the band is playing "Vertigo" by U2. Geez guys, way to enforce the stereotype! I didn't think Bono was going to get this much love from the Irish since I had talked to multiple Irish people before the trip who said they thought he was quite a hack. Apparently all Irish people don't agree!
The next day, we decided (after some great advice from the guy behind the desk at our hostel) that we were going to cancel our day we had planned to stay in Cork and take two days in Galway. The train ride the next day to Galway was everything I was hoping it would be: lush, green fields and rolling hills, farmlands full of sheep and cattle and everything else you would expect from an Irish countryside. It was fantastic. This was the Ireland I came to see! I think it was that train ride when I realized that some of my favorite moments in Europe have been just relaxing on a train staring out the window listening to music. Trains are by far the best way to travel.
Galway was incredible. A mini, less crowded, country-ish version of Dublin, Galway is a place you definitely need to check out if you ever visit the city. You can walk everywhere, never needing to take public transit. Our hostel was in an amazing location, literally right in the middle of the city in the main square. One of the first things that I witnessed in Galway was a full on fight between two guys. One of them was homeless and the other was drunk. Not a good combo. What was especially interesting about this fight was that it happened right on the main street in Galway, and right next to where four cops just happened to be hanging out. 2 seconds after the first punch was thrown, the drunk guy was thrown to the ground and handcuffed. Ireland sure was living up to the hype! Beautiful country side! U2! Drunk Irish guys fighting! Where are the lucky charms???
I forgot to mention that on the plane ride over, I happened to sit next to this girl Brie, from the States, who had been studying in Galway and was getting ready to fly back home. She had a Rick Steve's (famous travel-book author) Ireland book that she said she didn't need anymore, which she gave me for free! Pretty sweet stuff!
Using the Rick Steve's book to find the main sights and attractions around Galway, Tom and I walked around and found a great place to eat lunch, visited a few churches, walked out to the bay and enjoyed seeing the ocean for the first time in months, and just did the whole touristy thing. We decided that we wanted to take a bus tour the next day, which was probably the best decision made all trip. I also got a haircut in Galway, which was an easier process than getting one in Prague would be. Trying to explain to a barber in Czech how I want my hair cut probably wouldn't go over so well. I'd rather take my chances with someone who speaks English with a crazy accent.
Our bus took us to various little villages and random castles, sights and other ruins. (Definitely check out the pictures of these on my Facebook.) The two highlights of the trip were easily the Cliffs of Moher and the walking tour through some old farmland. The Cliffs of Moher were these enormous 650 foot cliffs right on the edge of the ocean. These easily looked like something right out of Lord of the Rings. They were also INCREDIBLY windy, the kind of wind that makes it hard to even walk, but makes for some fun times. These cliffs were some of the most amazing and breathtaking sights I have ever seen. I wish we would have had more than an hour there since I easily could have just sat and looked out at the view all day.
When we got back to Dublin, we mainly just walked around the city and saw some more of the mains sights. (A really cool old jail that housed the people who started the 1916 uprising, The Book of Kells, which is an ancient copy of the Bible in Latin, and some amazing outdoor gardens.)That night, we decided to go on a "Music Pub Crawl" which turned out to be one of the best decisions of the entire trip. The pub crawl started in one of the main pubs downtown, with two traditional irish musicians (one girl who played the fiddle, and one guy who played the guitar), who played amazing Irish music for us. Not only would they play, but they would sing along, teach the audience how to sing with them, and even give people the chance to sing on their own. The duo took our crowd of about 30 around to three different pubs for about 3 hours total, and played some amazing music for us. It was really cool hearing them talk about the history of the of the jigs and what not. This was traditional Irish culture at its finest. I have some you tube videos of their performance, which I'll post whenever I get around to uploading them.
Surprisingly, the last thing we did in Dublin, was see a movie. I know, I know, we were traveling how could we have wasted our time and money on something we could have done anywhere!? Well, we were super tired, and it was getting late, and we didn't have the money or the energy to go out to a pub and drink, so there we were, at the movie theater buying tickets for the flick, "In Bruges". I talked about this a little in my last blog, but this was a good movie! And it applied to us extremely well, since it was about 2 guys traveling, specifically to Bruges, Belgium. I ended up going to Belgium two days later, which was pretty weird, but really cool. Go see this movie for the matinee price when your bored sometime.
That about sums up my time in Ireland, and I loved every second of it! I hope someday I can go back in the summer when it is much warmer, but according to some of the locals, you never know quite when that will be.
I'm enjoying my last week in Prague, just walking around the city and doing some reading. This might be the most relaxing weekend I've ever had before finals. Gotta love study abroad! Alright well I'm going to write about my last trip, The Netherlands, at some other point.
Keep rockin' and rollin'!
Ahhhhhh yesss. Ireland! Hopefully I can remember all the best parts about this trip. I've wanted to go to Ireland for years for some reason, and I was never really quite sure why. I guess I thought I might run into Bono there, or perhaps I could run and frolic with leprechauns on rolling green hills and play the flute, or perhaps it was just the accent. I don't know. I had this trip planned for a few months, and was really excited about it, getting a great deal on a flight through Ryan air. My buddy Tom was the only one to join me on the trip, and you can see a lot of our pictures on Facebook.
The first thing I noticed about Ireland is that they speak ENGLISH! Now when you've been living and traveling throughout countries that don't speak English as their first language for a while, you get used to it after a while. But once you go to a place that speaks English, it is such a relief! So many people told me that it wouldn't matter, I would still have a hard time understanding the people with the thick Irish accents. I really thought this was a joke, but seriously, it's TRUE! There are some Irish that speak so fast and slur so many words, I have no idea what they are talking about. I felt a little rude saying "what?" so many times, but better that than pretending I know what they are saying, when really I am clueless. It's also interesting how some people have different accents around the country, and how they sound similar, yet different, just like American accents. Another crazy first impression was noticing that people were driving on the wrong side of the road! It would have been much stranger to actually drive a car in Ireland, or even to be a passenger in one, but still, being on a bus and other public transit was strange enough. Crossing the street was always funny too, because naturally one from the states would look left first, but its the other way around in Ireland! So to solve this problem, I just looked left, right, left, right, left...etc. as I crossed the street. Sometimes you can't be too careful. (Just kidding, people!)
We flew into Dublin and found our hostel, which was near one of the main train stations and the Guinness Storehouse. My first "Yup, I'm in Ireland" moment, was when we were on our shuttle from the airport to the city center, and U2 comes on over the radio. Luckily, I'm a big U2 fan, so I thought this was pretty cool.
Of course it was raining (this seems to be a trend on my travels) when we arrived at our Hostel. Tom and I met up with this girl Fiona, who is Irish and lives in Dublin going to the famous Trinity College. (I met her in Berlin). It was strange seeing someone from one of my other trips in a completely new setting. We met Fiona at Trinity college, and she gave us a little tour of the school (where the Book of Kells is held). She then took us to what she described as an "old man bar" where I got my first Guinness. I'm still warming up to Beer, but I can tell that I will enjoy Guinness in the future. Very different kind of beer with a very unique and recognizable taste. Fiona then took us down some of the main streets in downtown Dublin, showing us where the movie "Once" was filmed and even some of the exact places where Glen Hansard plays guitar on the street in the movie. Pretty awesome stuff!
We decided to try saving some money by making our own food instead of going out, which led us to Fiona's apartment where we made French toast! So delicious especially when you haven't had something like that in a long time. After dinner we had a few drinks, specifically some creamy Bailey's! Now this is the way Alcohol should be! I can understand why that little drink is so dang expensive! It's like dessert! After we had our fill of Bailey's, Fiona showed us some of the nightlife in downtown Dublin. We checked out a few really cool pubs and even one club that we didn't stay in for too long. We were in this really cool, muli-level bar in downtown Dublin drinking Mojito's (which I now know I do NOT like) and listening to this live cover band when I look up and suddenly realize the band is playing "Vertigo" by U2. Geez guys, way to enforce the stereotype! I didn't think Bono was going to get this much love from the Irish since I had talked to multiple Irish people before the trip who said they thought he was quite a hack. Apparently all Irish people don't agree!
The next day, we decided (after some great advice from the guy behind the desk at our hostel) that we were going to cancel our day we had planned to stay in Cork and take two days in Galway. The train ride the next day to Galway was everything I was hoping it would be: lush, green fields and rolling hills, farmlands full of sheep and cattle and everything else you would expect from an Irish countryside. It was fantastic. This was the Ireland I came to see! I think it was that train ride when I realized that some of my favorite moments in Europe have been just relaxing on a train staring out the window listening to music. Trains are by far the best way to travel.
Galway was incredible. A mini, less crowded, country-ish version of Dublin, Galway is a place you definitely need to check out if you ever visit the city. You can walk everywhere, never needing to take public transit. Our hostel was in an amazing location, literally right in the middle of the city in the main square. One of the first things that I witnessed in Galway was a full on fight between two guys. One of them was homeless and the other was drunk. Not a good combo. What was especially interesting about this fight was that it happened right on the main street in Galway, and right next to where four cops just happened to be hanging out. 2 seconds after the first punch was thrown, the drunk guy was thrown to the ground and handcuffed. Ireland sure was living up to the hype! Beautiful country side! U2! Drunk Irish guys fighting! Where are the lucky charms???
I forgot to mention that on the plane ride over, I happened to sit next to this girl Brie, from the States, who had been studying in Galway and was getting ready to fly back home. She had a Rick Steve's (famous travel-book author) Ireland book that she said she didn't need anymore, which she gave me for free! Pretty sweet stuff!
Using the Rick Steve's book to find the main sights and attractions around Galway, Tom and I walked around and found a great place to eat lunch, visited a few churches, walked out to the bay and enjoyed seeing the ocean for the first time in months, and just did the whole touristy thing. We decided that we wanted to take a bus tour the next day, which was probably the best decision made all trip. I also got a haircut in Galway, which was an easier process than getting one in Prague would be. Trying to explain to a barber in Czech how I want my hair cut probably wouldn't go over so well. I'd rather take my chances with someone who speaks English with a crazy accent.
Our bus took us to various little villages and random castles, sights and other ruins. (Definitely check out the pictures of these on my Facebook.) The two highlights of the trip were easily the Cliffs of Moher and the walking tour through some old farmland. The Cliffs of Moher were these enormous 650 foot cliffs right on the edge of the ocean. These easily looked like something right out of Lord of the Rings. They were also INCREDIBLY windy, the kind of wind that makes it hard to even walk, but makes for some fun times. These cliffs were some of the most amazing and breathtaking sights I have ever seen. I wish we would have had more than an hour there since I easily could have just sat and looked out at the view all day.
When we got back to Dublin, we mainly just walked around the city and saw some more of the mains sights. (A really cool old jail that housed the people who started the 1916 uprising, The Book of Kells, which is an ancient copy of the Bible in Latin, and some amazing outdoor gardens.)That night, we decided to go on a "Music Pub Crawl" which turned out to be one of the best decisions of the entire trip. The pub crawl started in one of the main pubs downtown, with two traditional irish musicians (one girl who played the fiddle, and one guy who played the guitar), who played amazing Irish music for us. Not only would they play, but they would sing along, teach the audience how to sing with them, and even give people the chance to sing on their own. The duo took our crowd of about 30 around to three different pubs for about 3 hours total, and played some amazing music for us. It was really cool hearing them talk about the history of the of the jigs and what not. This was traditional Irish culture at its finest. I have some you tube videos of their performance, which I'll post whenever I get around to uploading them.
Surprisingly, the last thing we did in Dublin, was see a movie. I know, I know, we were traveling how could we have wasted our time and money on something we could have done anywhere!? Well, we were super tired, and it was getting late, and we didn't have the money or the energy to go out to a pub and drink, so there we were, at the movie theater buying tickets for the flick, "In Bruges". I talked about this a little in my last blog, but this was a good movie! And it applied to us extremely well, since it was about 2 guys traveling, specifically to Bruges, Belgium. I ended up going to Belgium two days later, which was pretty weird, but really cool. Go see this movie for the matinee price when your bored sometime.
That about sums up my time in Ireland, and I loved every second of it! I hope someday I can go back in the summer when it is much warmer, but according to some of the locals, you never know quite when that will be.
I'm enjoying my last week in Prague, just walking around the city and doing some reading. This might be the most relaxing weekend I've ever had before finals. Gotta love study abroad! Alright well I'm going to write about my last trip, The Netherlands, at some other point.
Keep rockin' and rollin'!
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
16 Days and counting
A glass of coca cola, a few chocolate chip cookies, an empty apartment and Radiohead playing in the background. I'm ready to write this baby!
Most importantly, here are the pictures from Brussels, Maastricht and Amsterdam. There aren't many pictures with me in them, they are mostly pictures of sights and what not, but I still think they are pretty cool. Check them out:
Set I: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2057588&l=c66ad&id=29904207
Set II: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2057591&l=8406a&id=29904207
I just spent the past few hours catching up on things back home. Movies, sports, news. I feel pretty refreshed, having been out of the loop for a little while doing so much traveling. Some thoughts:
Movies:
I am extrmeley excited for the new movies coming out this summer. I thought last year was amazing, but I seriously think this year could top even last year. Here are some of the movies I am super stoked about:
-Indiana Jones IV! How can you not be excited for this? I mean seriously. Spielberg, Lucas and Harrison Ford all working on the same picture? This can't go wrong. I read that they went through about 22 different scripts before they decided on the one that they wanted to use. And Cate Blanchett and Shia Labeouf joining the cast? I am there opening night!
-The Dark Knight If I saw nothing but Indiana Jones and this movie all summer, I would be okay with that. The cast for this movie is absolutely incredible. Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and of course, Heath Ledger. Christopher Nolan is one of my favorite Directors working today which gets me even more excited for this. I thought Batman Begins was amazing, and was so much more than a "comic book movie". I think this one will be even better, and would not be surprised if Heath Ledger got an oscar nod for his performance. Seriously, I think people are going to be blown away by it. I think I'll have to see this one on DVD unfortunately, but that's okay, since I'll be in AFRICA when it comes out!
-WALL-E With the exception of "Cars", Pixar really doesn't fail. This looks like another strong hit from Pixar. Is there any studio out there that pumps out great movies on a more consistent basis? Finding Nemo, Monster's Inc, and Ratatouille especially were all amazing movies. I think Wall-E is going to continue the trend.
-Tropic Thunder This is probably the only one on this list you haven't heard of. Ben Stiller Directing and starring might make some people groan, but please, watch the trailer first before you bash it. It also has Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr. playing a white guy who gets an operation to become a black guy! This movies looks downright hilarious and I think will be the funniest Stiller movie since Zoolander. This comes out at the end of the summer, and I'm betting it's really going to surprise a lot of people. Apparently, Stiller has been working on this movie for about 10 years, on and off, so he's put a lot of time into the script.
-Prince Caspian- Any story that C.S. Lewis writes turns to gold instantly in my mind. I think the first Narnia movie was actually very well done and told the story extremely well. I'm really looking forward as to how they are going to tackle the sequel and some of the remaining movies in the series. This is an epic saga and has some of the best symbolism out of all the "fantasy" movies being made today.
Other movies I'm excited about:
-Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark? Looks legit to me.)
-Get Smart (Steve Carell in a spy-action-comedy? I'm in!)
-The Incredible Hulk (Edward Norton is going to make this franchise so legit it's not even funny. And Liv Tyler is one of the most beautiful and talented actresses out there. I think she's underrated and needs to start doing more serious roles. Watch "Reign Over Me" for a good performance by her, Adam Sandler and Don Cheadle.)
-Speed Racer- Now, I'm not super excited about this, but the main reason I'll go see it is because of the Director's: The Wachowski Brothers. These guys created my favorite movie of all time, The Matrix, so I will now forever watch whatever films they create. And so far, I don't think they have messed up too bad.
Some films I have watched recently that I thoroughly enjoyed:
When I was in Dublin, I saw In Bruges with Colin Farrell, Brandon Gleeson and Ralph Fiennes. I had heard that this movie was suprisngly good, but I had my doubts, going in. I mean Colin Farrell? Really? But, I have to hand it to him, he actually was pretty good in this little dramatic comedy. Check this movie out, it's well written and kind of goes along the same theme as "Snatch" although not British and not as crazy. Made me think, made me laugh.
Yesterday I watched Gone Baby Gone Directed by Jannifer Garner's Husband and starring Casey Affleck, Morgan Freeman and Ed Harris. I wanted to see this movie for a few reasons. One, I wanted to see Jennifer Garner's Husband (I refuse to acknowledge him as "Ben Affleck" solely because he stole Jennifer from me, but that's a whole 'nother story) direct his first movie. Also, the cast was pretty strong and I had heard great things about the film. This is a great movie, with a great script. This is one of those "thinker" films that you probably are going to need to go back and watch again so you can catch everything.
Other than that, all I've seen are some of the new Scrubs episodes (pretty good) and the new Lost episode (one of the best of the season).
Sports:
Since I don't follow baseball, this is usually a pretty lame part of the year for me, except for...THE NBA PLAYOFFS! Which somehow, I seem to miss a huge chunk of every year. From what I've seen online, this was one of the most anticipated playoffs in the last 15 years. I was happy to see the Maverick's get knocked out, but sad to see the Sun's go. I really want Steve Nash (my favorite NBA player) to get a ring before he retires, be it doesn't look like its going to happen. I'm not happy to see the Lakers doing so well, but you have to hand it to Kobe and the whole franchise, they know how to keep the team good. I think a Lakers/Celtics Finals would be epic, just like the old days of Bird and Magic battling it out. Of course the Spurs are still around in the playoffs, and I think it would be amazing to watch the Lakers and Spurs in a series, which looks like it is going to happen. That's really all my thoughts on the playoffs so far, and I think I'm goin to root for the Celtics, just because I think KG, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce all need a ring. They play their butts off everynight and have been for years, its really their time to win. If only they didn't have an incompetent coach in Doc Rivers. But hey, he can't be that bad if they won 66 games in the regular season...
News:
The only thing I'm really following in the News right now is the election coverage. How about these primaries eh? Things are just getting a little ridiculous. I just want Hilary out of this race. It's terrible. She would have been gone if she had beat Obama by anything less than 10 points. What did she beat him by? 10 points exactly! It's like this is scripted! I mean this is good writing! So now the battle continues. My roommate Jared had an idea that I'm sure many people have thought of, but I thought was pretty smart: Why doesn't Obama run independent? (Obviously only if he doesn't get the Democratic nomination.) He's perfect for it! A black man who is talking about change? Who better to run on the independent ticket! You want good "writing"? Ron Paul should run with Obama on the independent ticket and they would come back to beat McCain and Clinton in the general election this fall! That would be incredible! The thing that really makes me angry is that this whole thing might come down the Super Delegates. Basically, the way the system is set up, the popular vote really doesn't matter that much. It's like the deomcratic people humors the people of the U.S. by letting them vote, then at the end, they say "Okay we'll take your guys' vote's into consideration, but in the end, our "super" votes have more of a say and we'll be choosing the candidate that is more "electable!" What kind of corrupt crap is that? This system is terrible! We already had one candidate (Al Gore) get the most amount of popular votes and lose an election! If this happens again with Obama (who would easily destroy McCain in the general election in my opinion) there should be riots in the streets. Just my two cents. Go Obama. Yes We Can!
Okay, down off of my soap box.
Onto another completely differnet subject. I discovered a project that Zach Braff is starting up with artist Jay Clifford. Just watch the video:
Zach Braff Making the Video
I would really love to do this with people when I get back if anyone is interested. Let me know. I think this sounds really fun and is a really cool idea for a music video. If you don't know who this guy is, check him out and his band Jump! Little Children, who are quite good, by the way.
I can't believe I've written this much and still haven't talked about Ireland or The Netherlands. I really ramble don't I? Oh well. I'll save that blog for later, or else this play would be about 26 pages long.
I come home in 16 days! So crazy to think about home. The first thing I want to do when I arrive on May 16th at about 8:30pm? I'm going to straight to In-n-out. It needs to be done. Until then, I have a surprise-birthday-toga-party to attend tomorrow (could that be more "college"?), a Prague film to finish with Jared, 4 more classes to attend, and a massive cleaning project of our Apartment to start. My parents, who just arrive in Europe today in Munich, will be in Prague on tuesday, and I plan on going out to eat with them every day while they are here. I'm tired of eating all my meals off of my George Foreman grill!
Okay, this has been suuuuper long, but I need to get out and go enjoy Prague! Actually, for those of you who know him, I'm about to go and have dinner with Charlie Hunt! How crazy is that?
On the flip side...
Most importantly, here are the pictures from Brussels, Maastricht and Amsterdam. There aren't many pictures with me in them, they are mostly pictures of sights and what not, but I still think they are pretty cool. Check them out:
Set I: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2057588&l=c66ad&id=29904207
Set II: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2057591&l=8406a&id=29904207
I just spent the past few hours catching up on things back home. Movies, sports, news. I feel pretty refreshed, having been out of the loop for a little while doing so much traveling. Some thoughts:
Movies:
I am extrmeley excited for the new movies coming out this summer. I thought last year was amazing, but I seriously think this year could top even last year. Here are some of the movies I am super stoked about:
-Indiana Jones IV! How can you not be excited for this? I mean seriously. Spielberg, Lucas and Harrison Ford all working on the same picture? This can't go wrong. I read that they went through about 22 different scripts before they decided on the one that they wanted to use. And Cate Blanchett and Shia Labeouf joining the cast? I am there opening night!
-The Dark Knight If I saw nothing but Indiana Jones and this movie all summer, I would be okay with that. The cast for this movie is absolutely incredible. Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and of course, Heath Ledger. Christopher Nolan is one of my favorite Directors working today which gets me even more excited for this. I thought Batman Begins was amazing, and was so much more than a "comic book movie". I think this one will be even better, and would not be surprised if Heath Ledger got an oscar nod for his performance. Seriously, I think people are going to be blown away by it. I think I'll have to see this one on DVD unfortunately, but that's okay, since I'll be in AFRICA when it comes out!
-WALL-E With the exception of "Cars", Pixar really doesn't fail. This looks like another strong hit from Pixar. Is there any studio out there that pumps out great movies on a more consistent basis? Finding Nemo, Monster's Inc, and Ratatouille especially were all amazing movies. I think Wall-E is going to continue the trend.
-Tropic Thunder This is probably the only one on this list you haven't heard of. Ben Stiller Directing and starring might make some people groan, but please, watch the trailer first before you bash it. It also has Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr. playing a white guy who gets an operation to become a black guy! This movies looks downright hilarious and I think will be the funniest Stiller movie since Zoolander. This comes out at the end of the summer, and I'm betting it's really going to surprise a lot of people. Apparently, Stiller has been working on this movie for about 10 years, on and off, so he's put a lot of time into the script.
-Prince Caspian- Any story that C.S. Lewis writes turns to gold instantly in my mind. I think the first Narnia movie was actually very well done and told the story extremely well. I'm really looking forward as to how they are going to tackle the sequel and some of the remaining movies in the series. This is an epic saga and has some of the best symbolism out of all the "fantasy" movies being made today.
Other movies I'm excited about:
-Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark? Looks legit to me.)
-Get Smart (Steve Carell in a spy-action-comedy? I'm in!)
-The Incredible Hulk (Edward Norton is going to make this franchise so legit it's not even funny. And Liv Tyler is one of the most beautiful and talented actresses out there. I think she's underrated and needs to start doing more serious roles. Watch "Reign Over Me" for a good performance by her, Adam Sandler and Don Cheadle.)
-Speed Racer- Now, I'm not super excited about this, but the main reason I'll go see it is because of the Director's: The Wachowski Brothers. These guys created my favorite movie of all time, The Matrix, so I will now forever watch whatever films they create. And so far, I don't think they have messed up too bad.
Some films I have watched recently that I thoroughly enjoyed:
When I was in Dublin, I saw In Bruges with Colin Farrell, Brandon Gleeson and Ralph Fiennes. I had heard that this movie was suprisngly good, but I had my doubts, going in. I mean Colin Farrell? Really? But, I have to hand it to him, he actually was pretty good in this little dramatic comedy. Check this movie out, it's well written and kind of goes along the same theme as "Snatch" although not British and not as crazy. Made me think, made me laugh.
Yesterday I watched Gone Baby Gone Directed by Jannifer Garner's Husband and starring Casey Affleck, Morgan Freeman and Ed Harris. I wanted to see this movie for a few reasons. One, I wanted to see Jennifer Garner's Husband (I refuse to acknowledge him as "Ben Affleck" solely because he stole Jennifer from me, but that's a whole 'nother story) direct his first movie. Also, the cast was pretty strong and I had heard great things about the film. This is a great movie, with a great script. This is one of those "thinker" films that you probably are going to need to go back and watch again so you can catch everything.
Other than that, all I've seen are some of the new Scrubs episodes (pretty good) and the new Lost episode (one of the best of the season).
Sports:
Since I don't follow baseball, this is usually a pretty lame part of the year for me, except for...THE NBA PLAYOFFS! Which somehow, I seem to miss a huge chunk of every year. From what I've seen online, this was one of the most anticipated playoffs in the last 15 years. I was happy to see the Maverick's get knocked out, but sad to see the Sun's go. I really want Steve Nash (my favorite NBA player) to get a ring before he retires, be it doesn't look like its going to happen. I'm not happy to see the Lakers doing so well, but you have to hand it to Kobe and the whole franchise, they know how to keep the team good. I think a Lakers/Celtics Finals would be epic, just like the old days of Bird and Magic battling it out. Of course the Spurs are still around in the playoffs, and I think it would be amazing to watch the Lakers and Spurs in a series, which looks like it is going to happen. That's really all my thoughts on the playoffs so far, and I think I'm goin to root for the Celtics, just because I think KG, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce all need a ring. They play their butts off everynight and have been for years, its really their time to win. If only they didn't have an incompetent coach in Doc Rivers. But hey, he can't be that bad if they won 66 games in the regular season...
News:
The only thing I'm really following in the News right now is the election coverage. How about these primaries eh? Things are just getting a little ridiculous. I just want Hilary out of this race. It's terrible. She would have been gone if she had beat Obama by anything less than 10 points. What did she beat him by? 10 points exactly! It's like this is scripted! I mean this is good writing! So now the battle continues. My roommate Jared had an idea that I'm sure many people have thought of, but I thought was pretty smart: Why doesn't Obama run independent? (Obviously only if he doesn't get the Democratic nomination.) He's perfect for it! A black man who is talking about change? Who better to run on the independent ticket! You want good "writing"? Ron Paul should run with Obama on the independent ticket and they would come back to beat McCain and Clinton in the general election this fall! That would be incredible! The thing that really makes me angry is that this whole thing might come down the Super Delegates. Basically, the way the system is set up, the popular vote really doesn't matter that much. It's like the deomcratic people humors the people of the U.S. by letting them vote, then at the end, they say "Okay we'll take your guys' vote's into consideration, but in the end, our "super" votes have more of a say and we'll be choosing the candidate that is more "electable!" What kind of corrupt crap is that? This system is terrible! We already had one candidate (Al Gore) get the most amount of popular votes and lose an election! If this happens again with Obama (who would easily destroy McCain in the general election in my opinion) there should be riots in the streets. Just my two cents. Go Obama. Yes We Can!
Okay, down off of my soap box.
Onto another completely differnet subject. I discovered a project that Zach Braff is starting up with artist Jay Clifford. Just watch the video:
Zach Braff Making the Video
I would really love to do this with people when I get back if anyone is interested. Let me know. I think this sounds really fun and is a really cool idea for a music video. If you don't know who this guy is, check him out and his band Jump! Little Children, who are quite good, by the way.
I can't believe I've written this much and still haven't talked about Ireland or The Netherlands. I really ramble don't I? Oh well. I'll save that blog for later, or else this play would be about 26 pages long.
I come home in 16 days! So crazy to think about home. The first thing I want to do when I arrive on May 16th at about 8:30pm? I'm going to straight to In-n-out. It needs to be done. Until then, I have a surprise-birthday-toga-party to attend tomorrow (could that be more "college"?), a Prague film to finish with Jared, 4 more classes to attend, and a massive cleaning project of our Apartment to start. My parents, who just arrive in Europe today in Munich, will be in Prague on tuesday, and I plan on going out to eat with them every day while they are here. I'm tired of eating all my meals off of my George Foreman grill!
Okay, this has been suuuuper long, but I need to get out and go enjoy Prague! Actually, for those of you who know him, I'm about to go and have dinner with Charlie Hunt! How crazy is that?
On the flip side...
Monday, April 28, 2008
in this life
Here's what I wrote as my plane back from Amsterdam was landing. (I wrote this on one of those handy barf bags they give you on the plane, since I wasn't allowed to stand up and retrieve my journal out of my backpack. I tell you this, because I find it humorous...)
This wasn't entirely my idea, I must give some credit to my roommate Jared, but here's what I wrote:
"Imagine all of your greatest fears and worries about who you will become in the future. All the things you never want to be. The things you never want to do. Close your eyes. Visualize what this would practically look like. Live it. Now, pretend you have some kind of second chance to go back to today, to right now, and start all over again. Would you? How would you start living differntly? What things would you start doing? Stop doing?"
Random thought: Shouldn't everyone have some kind of list of things they absolutely must do before they die? I know some people have those "life-goals" list, but this is a little different. These are things that I think can be extremely general, or even very common (i.e. get married, have kids, travel, etc.) but I think the list should still be made. Maybe this is because I'm just one of those people that writes down lots of to do lists and uses lots of sticky notes, or maybe its just because I want to get the most out of life. I dunno. The thing is, maybe this list isn't necessary. Maybe those things that we absoulutely have to do, are already inside of us. I guess I just like putting things down in writing. (As I write this in my blog...thank you Captain Obvious!)I think I'm going to start thinking of these things and writing them down, maybe even posting some of them here. I think that could be quite entertaining. I think having a list like that in a place where you can see it everyday would be quite inspiring and encouraging. Call me cheesy, but seriously, looking ahead to achieving certain goals will probably motivate you more to actually get to them. Ugh, I sound like one of those lame inspirational posters you see in high school or something.
Here's what I wrote on the other side of the barf bag:
"Why aren't more people honest with themselves? If you aren't happy with yourself, do something! Don't just sit there waiting for change, waiting for someone else to come along and fix the problem! Address the problem. Not with alcohol. Not with drugs. Instant pleasure is not the answer. If you aren't happy with your life, with who you are, why? How is fixing that not your top priority? What, or who, is holding you back? Usually, it's only ourselves. Do what you were meant to do. What is that you ask? I don't know. Find what it is that makes you feel complete. Without this you aren't fulfilling your purpose on earth. Find what makes you come alive! And head towards that! Now!"
on that note: peace amigos. more to come about ireland and the netherlands.
This wasn't entirely my idea, I must give some credit to my roommate Jared, but here's what I wrote:
"Imagine all of your greatest fears and worries about who you will become in the future. All the things you never want to be. The things you never want to do. Close your eyes. Visualize what this would practically look like. Live it. Now, pretend you have some kind of second chance to go back to today, to right now, and start all over again. Would you? How would you start living differntly? What things would you start doing? Stop doing?"
Random thought: Shouldn't everyone have some kind of list of things they absolutely must do before they die? I know some people have those "life-goals" list, but this is a little different. These are things that I think can be extremely general, or even very common (i.e. get married, have kids, travel, etc.) but I think the list should still be made. Maybe this is because I'm just one of those people that writes down lots of to do lists and uses lots of sticky notes, or maybe its just because I want to get the most out of life. I dunno. The thing is, maybe this list isn't necessary. Maybe those things that we absoulutely have to do, are already inside of us. I guess I just like putting things down in writing. (As I write this in my blog...thank you Captain Obvious!)I think I'm going to start thinking of these things and writing them down, maybe even posting some of them here. I think that could be quite entertaining. I think having a list like that in a place where you can see it everyday would be quite inspiring and encouraging. Call me cheesy, but seriously, looking ahead to achieving certain goals will probably motivate you more to actually get to them. Ugh, I sound like one of those lame inspirational posters you see in high school or something.
Here's what I wrote on the other side of the barf bag:
"Why aren't more people honest with themselves? If you aren't happy with yourself, do something! Don't just sit there waiting for change, waiting for someone else to come along and fix the problem! Address the problem. Not with alcohol. Not with drugs. Instant pleasure is not the answer. If you aren't happy with your life, with who you are, why? How is fixing that not your top priority? What, or who, is holding you back? Usually, it's only ourselves. Do what you were meant to do. What is that you ask? I don't know. Find what it is that makes you feel complete. Without this you aren't fulfilling your purpose on earth. Find what makes you come alive! And head towards that! Now!"
on that note: peace amigos. more to come about ireland and the netherlands.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Off to the end of the rainbow
Straight to it: Here are the pictures from our class trip to Cesky Krumlov, Vienna, Budapest, and Bratislava!
Cesky Krumlov/Vienna
Budapest/Bratislava
I'm heading off to Ireland tomorrow for five days with my friend Tom. We will be staying in Dublin, Cork and Galway. I'm super stoked for this trip, as I've always wanted to go to Ireland for some reason. I don't know if it is because of the accent, the beautiful countryside, the fact the U2, Damien Rice, and Glen Hansard hail from there, or something else, but I've always had this longing to go! And I have to say I am very excited about going to an English-speaking country! It's been about 3 months since I have been in an English speaking country!
The day after I get back from Ireland I will be going to Brussels and Amsterdam for my final trip in Europe! This will be quite the finale since there are 5 other guys going. Should be good times.
My roommate Jared pointed out to me today that we only have about 3 weeks left here. I can't believe it. Honestly, I wasn't sure how I felt when he told me that. We can't decide if time has been flying by, or if things have been going by slowly. I would probably have to say that time has been flying by, because that's usually what happens when you are having a great time. It's weird, because I really don't want to go back home, but at the same time I really do. There are a lot of things I miss, and there are a lot of things I really am not looking forward to going back to. Hopefully the re-entry culture shock won't be as bad as everyone says it will...but something tells me it is going to be pretty rough. I guess I'll just have to wait and see.
Alright, Ireland awaits.
Ciao!
Cesky Krumlov/Vienna
Budapest/Bratislava
I'm heading off to Ireland tomorrow for five days with my friend Tom. We will be staying in Dublin, Cork and Galway. I'm super stoked for this trip, as I've always wanted to go to Ireland for some reason. I don't know if it is because of the accent, the beautiful countryside, the fact the U2, Damien Rice, and Glen Hansard hail from there, or something else, but I've always had this longing to go! And I have to say I am very excited about going to an English-speaking country! It's been about 3 months since I have been in an English speaking country!
The day after I get back from Ireland I will be going to Brussels and Amsterdam for my final trip in Europe! This will be quite the finale since there are 5 other guys going. Should be good times.
My roommate Jared pointed out to me today that we only have about 3 weeks left here. I can't believe it. Honestly, I wasn't sure how I felt when he told me that. We can't decide if time has been flying by, or if things have been going by slowly. I would probably have to say that time has been flying by, because that's usually what happens when you are having a great time. It's weird, because I really don't want to go back home, but at the same time I really do. There are a lot of things I miss, and there are a lot of things I really am not looking forward to going back to. Hopefully the re-entry culture shock won't be as bad as everyone says it will...but something tells me it is going to be pretty rough. I guess I'll just have to wait and see.
Alright, Ireland awaits.
Ciao!
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Spring is in the air
First thing: Listen to Jon Foreman's new EP titled "Spring". It is absolutely amazing. Each of his Ep's (he has two others appropriately titled "Winter" and "Fall") keep getting better and better. Give them a whirl.
I'm in the process of working on a little Prague film. For a while, I thought lugging my new camera all the way over here may not have been worth the hassle, since, for various reasons I won't go into, I was having trouble making a film over here. Well, my roommate and I have been going around the city the past few days getting our shots, and we are on our way to making a little film in Prague! When its done, it will of course be posted right here for all of you to see. The awesome thing about this film is that I might be able to submit it as my final project for not one, but two of my three classes! That is two final papers I don't have to write, just because I made a film I was probably going to make anyways! That's what I'm talking about!
The weather is finally looking up here in Prague. The past few days we've had temperatures in the mid 60's which is pretty warm for Prague. Looking at the weather for back home makes me a little jealous, since you Cali people already are enjoying 80 degree weather. I miss shorts and flip flops, but I know I'll get plenty of that when I get back. I think I'll enjoy the cooler spring, since this is weather I don't really get back home.
On to more important matters. As some of you know, I'm going to Northern Uganda this summer for about 6 weeks. I'm going with a team of 10 to work and help out at this orphanage/school. I'm also going to be bringing my camera and filming, possibly making my own little documentary. Each member of our team set the goal of raising $4,000, so we could reach our group goal of $40,000. As of right now, 60 days before we leave on June 11, we have 20% of our goal. This is a little frightening, but I have faith that our needs will be met. If I haven't already sent you a support letter and you would like to know how you can support me or anyone else on the team, please let me know! Anything will be appreciated, whether it is your prayers, your pocket change, or anything else you can think up. In case you didn't know, I really have a huge heart and passion for Africa. Ever since I saw the Invisible Children documentary a few years ago, I've always had a longing to go and help out in person. Now, I'm getting that chance. I don't know how it happened, but here I am, sitting in my apartment in Prague, already thinking to the future (which is only in 2 months!) about my adventures in Africa. I can't imagine hanging out with some of the poorest people in the world, but I'm so glad I get the chance. Many people think that the money we are raising for our team could be more efficiently used if we gave it to an organization that was already set up and running in Africa. I do think giving money to these organizations is important, but I also think it's important for those that have the desire to go see these atrocities in person to give them that chance. I know that I can help these people with my money, but I think it might mean something extremely special to these people to come and see them face to face.
My goal this summer is to become completely selfless. I want to serve others. This whole semester, I feel like I've been focusing on my wants and needs. I've been living in Prague for cripes sake! I've gotten a massage in a spa in Budapest! I've spent countless dollars on drinks throughout various pubs and bars in Europe! Let's face it, this semester has been a vacation for me. School has been easier than I ever imagined. Now, I worked my tail off in school so I could get here, and saved up a lot of money, so I feel like I deserved this amazing experience. But now, this summer, I want to give back. And not only because I feel like I've been on a "vacation" for a semester. No,this passion has been in me a while. I've been on a few one-week long mission trips to Mexico and the Dominican Republic, but I wanted something a little bit more. In two months, I feel I can actually build relationships with people I meet. I can hear their stories. I can tell them mine. We may come from two different worlds, but for 2 months this summer, none of that will matter. I'm coming from the richest nation in the history of the world, and that right there means that I have a lot of responsibility on my shoulders.
These people deserve our help. If genocide, starvation, poverty, the list goes on...was happening right across your street, you wouldn't stand for it. You would do something. So why is it any different if it is happening across the world? These people are humans, just like us. God loves them just the same. We all deserve a chance. A chance at life. At the basics: water, food, shelter, health. At love.
As I write this, I realize how much of a hypocrite I am. It's hard to pursue my life, my dreams, my desires, when I know there are people in the world that struggle to find enough water to drink for the day. How do I justify the way I live my life?
Wow...I did not plan on writing all this, and going off on a mini sermon. Uh..I apologize. I guess I just wanted people to know why I'm doing what I'm doing this summer. And that I'm incredibly grateful for the chance I'm getting. If I can make just one child smile this summer, it will all be worth it.
Movie of the week:The Edukators
I'm in the process of working on a little Prague film. For a while, I thought lugging my new camera all the way over here may not have been worth the hassle, since, for various reasons I won't go into, I was having trouble making a film over here. Well, my roommate and I have been going around the city the past few days getting our shots, and we are on our way to making a little film in Prague! When its done, it will of course be posted right here for all of you to see. The awesome thing about this film is that I might be able to submit it as my final project for not one, but two of my three classes! That is two final papers I don't have to write, just because I made a film I was probably going to make anyways! That's what I'm talking about!
The weather is finally looking up here in Prague. The past few days we've had temperatures in the mid 60's which is pretty warm for Prague. Looking at the weather for back home makes me a little jealous, since you Cali people already are enjoying 80 degree weather. I miss shorts and flip flops, but I know I'll get plenty of that when I get back. I think I'll enjoy the cooler spring, since this is weather I don't really get back home.
On to more important matters. As some of you know, I'm going to Northern Uganda this summer for about 6 weeks. I'm going with a team of 10 to work and help out at this orphanage/school. I'm also going to be bringing my camera and filming, possibly making my own little documentary. Each member of our team set the goal of raising $4,000, so we could reach our group goal of $40,000. As of right now, 60 days before we leave on June 11, we have 20% of our goal. This is a little frightening, but I have faith that our needs will be met. If I haven't already sent you a support letter and you would like to know how you can support me or anyone else on the team, please let me know! Anything will be appreciated, whether it is your prayers, your pocket change, or anything else you can think up. In case you didn't know, I really have a huge heart and passion for Africa. Ever since I saw the Invisible Children documentary a few years ago, I've always had a longing to go and help out in person. Now, I'm getting that chance. I don't know how it happened, but here I am, sitting in my apartment in Prague, already thinking to the future (which is only in 2 months!) about my adventures in Africa. I can't imagine hanging out with some of the poorest people in the world, but I'm so glad I get the chance. Many people think that the money we are raising for our team could be more efficiently used if we gave it to an organization that was already set up and running in Africa. I do think giving money to these organizations is important, but I also think it's important for those that have the desire to go see these atrocities in person to give them that chance. I know that I can help these people with my money, but I think it might mean something extremely special to these people to come and see them face to face.
My goal this summer is to become completely selfless. I want to serve others. This whole semester, I feel like I've been focusing on my wants and needs. I've been living in Prague for cripes sake! I've gotten a massage in a spa in Budapest! I've spent countless dollars on drinks throughout various pubs and bars in Europe! Let's face it, this semester has been a vacation for me. School has been easier than I ever imagined. Now, I worked my tail off in school so I could get here, and saved up a lot of money, so I feel like I deserved this amazing experience. But now, this summer, I want to give back. And not only because I feel like I've been on a "vacation" for a semester. No,this passion has been in me a while. I've been on a few one-week long mission trips to Mexico and the Dominican Republic, but I wanted something a little bit more. In two months, I feel I can actually build relationships with people I meet. I can hear their stories. I can tell them mine. We may come from two different worlds, but for 2 months this summer, none of that will matter. I'm coming from the richest nation in the history of the world, and that right there means that I have a lot of responsibility on my shoulders.
These people deserve our help. If genocide, starvation, poverty, the list goes on...was happening right across your street, you wouldn't stand for it. You would do something. So why is it any different if it is happening across the world? These people are humans, just like us. God loves them just the same. We all deserve a chance. A chance at life. At the basics: water, food, shelter, health. At love.
As I write this, I realize how much of a hypocrite I am. It's hard to pursue my life, my dreams, my desires, when I know there are people in the world that struggle to find enough water to drink for the day. How do I justify the way I live my life?
Wow...I did not plan on writing all this, and going off on a mini sermon. Uh..I apologize. I guess I just wanted people to know why I'm doing what I'm doing this summer. And that I'm incredibly grateful for the chance I'm getting. If I can make just one child smile this summer, it will all be worth it.
Movie of the week:The Edukators
Thursday, April 10, 2008
4 Countries, 5 days
Last week, my study abroad program, USAC, embarked on a 5 day trip to Cesky Krumlov, Vienna, Budapest and Bratislava. This trip had been planned months before we even arrived in Europe. We paid about 400 dollars for the trip, which included staying in some pretty nice hotels (at least for our standards, since we all had been used to staying in "interesting" hostels on our travels), eating at some nice restaurants, and having a bus drive us from city to city. It was certainly nice to not have to worry about catching trains or starving due to our college student budget. This trip was certainly more comfortable than some of my other travels, but moved at a rapid pace, since we really only had about a day and half in each city.
Cesky Krumlov is about 2 hours away from Prague, if I remember right, and was a nice, quaint little city with its own castle and everything. The castle even had a moat, but not filled with water, but rather, BEARS! This is the best idea ever! Anyone can swim across a pathetic moat filled with water, but who wants to fight multiple bears to break into a castle? Not me. Sadly, all the bears were hiding from us, so we never actually got to see any, but the idea was still cool enough for me.
We also got to see one of the oldest, most well preserved baroque theaters in all of Europe. This theater has been around for hundreds of years and was only used a few times, which is why it is still around in good condition today. It only seats about 200 people, if that, and is a little spooky inside with natural candle light being the only source of illumination.
We stayed in Cesky Krumlov for one night in a fantastic hotel, complete with a huge breakfast the next morning. Honestly, this might have been the best breakfast I've had since I've been in Europe, which isn't saying a whole lot. To anyone back home, this would have seemed purely average, but to me, it was a feast. Europeans just don't really eat breakfasts like we do, except for random countries here and there. I'm really looking forward to getting some amazing pancakes that I keep hearing about in Amsterdam at the end of this month.
On our way to Vienna, I realized that bus rides, and traveling in Europe is so much better than back home in the states. Car rides, at least in California, can be extremely boring, and I can only imagine how bad they are in some other states (i.e. Montana, the Dakota's, Nebraska, etc.). But here, the countrysides are breathtaking! I wish I wasn't so tired whenever we were on the bus, because I could easily just sit there and listen to music and stare out the window the whole trip and be completely entertained. I say this often, but I'll say it again, it felt like being in one of those shots in a movie, where the character is shown sitting in a bus/car looking out the window contemplating life. European countrysides seem to have so much more history and stories to tell. Rolling hills, various kinds of trees, huge mountains in the background, bi-polar skies, they all make up for such a great scene to witness.
Anyways, on to Vienna. I had heard a lot about Vienna and was really expecting a great city. Vienna was a lot like Berlin. Very clean and tidy for the most part, and of course, they speak German there. The people were very nice to us, just like they were in Germany, so I certainly appreciated that little aspect. One of my favorite things to do in Vienna was tell people that I'm from California. This would immediately be greeted by some response like "Arnold!" or "The Govenator!" (This joke must still be funny to them, since it is extremely old to us Californians, haha). People seem to be fascinated in Austria that Arnold ended up being Governor. Come to think of it, I guess I still am too. I enjoyed some classic Wienerschnitzel, which was quite tasty and even some good wine. I'm still not a big wine drinker, I guess I just haven't acquired that taste yet, but I can still tell the difference between a good and a bad wine.
One of the highlights of my trip was meeting up with an old camp friend. Katie, or as I know her better, "Wooga", is from Oregon/Washington and is now teaching in Vienna. She has been there since July and when I realized I was going to be in Vienna, I sent her a message via our good friend Facebook. This was a few weeks ago, and once I was in Vienna, I realized I didn't have her number or any means of meeting up with her. I used a friend's computer, send her a message and hoped she would get it within the next few hours, since I was only in Vienna for one night. Literally 20 seconds later, my phone rings and what would you have it, it was her on the other end! We met up, for the first time in 2 and a half years I might add, got dinner and then went out to a sweet Irish pub called Waxy's. I tried some great new drinks, one being Cider, which was basically just an alcohol version of Apple Cider. Good stuff. Katie knew a few friends in the bar, these Croatian guys, who were really cool. Apparently Croatians like showing off their wealth, and especially like to buy all (not just girls) people drinks. Since I was friends with Katie, this meant I was friends with them, and next thing I knew they were buying me Rum and Coke's, which I happen to like quite a lot. This turned into a great night of drinking (in moderation of course! Calm down people...!) and just overall good times. At one point in the night I realized that one of the Croatian guys was wearing a bracelet that had a real bullet on it. I thought this was pretty cool and told the guy I was diggin' his creative bracelet. He said he used the bullet as his stylus for his palm pilot. Later, after he had had a few more drinks, he ended up shoving the bracelet into my hand, telling me it was his gift to me. I tried to refuse, thinking this was probably a pretty special bracelet to him. He didn't give up, and said he had another one at home, so finally I accepted the gift and thanked him for it. This is probably my coolest souvenir from Europe thus far. I think it will join the collection of other items from around the world that are hanging from my rearview mirror in my car.
The next morning we had some time to kill before we left for Budapest, so some of us decided to go to some of the infamous museums in Vienna. This was probably the low point of my entire trip. Sadly, I chose to go to the Modern Art Museum which was probably one of the worst choices I have made recently. This was one of those Museums that had stuff in it that made you wonder who classified it as "art." I can't stand "art" that looks like something I could have created when I was 6. Why is a huge canvas with a screw glued to it a "masterpiece"? Please explain this to me, somebody, anybody! Also some of the stuff in this museum was some of the most grotesque, nasty things I have ever seen. Lets just say there was a warning that kids under 16 should not be allowed. I won't go into details, but I saw some things that I absolutely did NOT need to see. I want my money back. I wish I would have gone to the Fine Art museum or the Museum of Natural History. Oh well. You win some, you lose some I guess. Oh, some other random things I did in Vienna: visited St. Stephens Cathedral, got some more Gelato (which just doesn't feel the same outside of Italy) and had the best outdoor nap I've had in years. Just felt like I should include that little bit of info.
After another spectacular bus ride, we arrived at Budapest in the evening. As much as I liked Vienna, Budapest was my favorite city of the trip. Budapest feels a lot like Prague, with some great baroque architecture along a fabulous river. The Danube river is one of the widest rivers I have ever seen and easily makes a laughing-stock out of the Vltava river in Prague. As great as Budapest is, it still doesn't have a bridge nearly as cool as Prague's Charles Bridge. However, Budapest does have any amazing hill where you can sit and overlook the city. Man, I'll tell you, I've seen some amazing views in Europe, and I'm going to have a tough time choosing which one is my favorite once my time here is done. Right now my three favorites are from the top of the Vatican (St. Peter's Basilica to be exact) in Rome, the top of the hill in Budapest, and St. Petrin Park in Prague. Something tells me I will have to add a place from Ireland to this list...but we'll see.
One of the main reasons why everyone was looking forward to Budapest in particular was because of the spa's that we got to go to. I'll post the pictures when I get a chance, but I'm telling you, these spa's were amazing. Just imagine a HUGE hot tub outside surrounded by elegant statues and fountains. Oh, and lots of old people floating around. Inside there were multiple sauna's, steam rooms, and various sized pools at different temperatures. It was crazy! I've never felt so relaxed. I also got my first massage, which was actually a little disappointing. I felt like the masseuse (who was a dude) easily could have put a little more elbow grease into the job. I probably should have told him, but I would have felt so spoiled turning around telling the guy who is massaging me: "Um excuse me! Sir! Can you do that a little harder? Thanks." I just can't say that without feeling like a pretentious a-word. It was still enjoyable, and I'm glad I can say I got a massage in Budapest.
By the way, if you ever go to Budapest, get the Goulash soup! It is cheap and absolutely amazing! I had this multiple times throughout the trip and am still craving it.
One of my favorite moments in Budapest came the last night of the trip, when two buddies and I decided to get some great Dominican cigars (I know, GASP! I smoke cigars!!! So sue me. Here's why I smoke cigars for all of you out there who wonder why people smoke them: They make great moments even better. I only smoke them when the time is right. When the fat lady sings. They aren't cigarettes. In my mind you don't just pop them off whenever you feel like it. This is why I only smoke them when it is clearly obvious that a cigar is right for the occasion. I.e. sitting on an enormous hill overlooking Budapest at midnight with two cool friends. I see nothing wrong with this. Oh, and I have a Cuban sitting in my room right now, waiting for the next "appropriate moment" to happen. :) ) Anyways, sitting up on that hill over looking the entire city with that Dominican was quite a memorable experience.
After my time in Budapest, I really felt like royalty. Great food, wine, cigars, a day at a spa and a massage? Are you kidding me? Is this really happening? Do you realize that we are some of the richest people to ever live? Geez. That's a lot of responsibility. It will be crazy to think back to these kinds of moments this summer when I'm in the middle of 115 degree heat in Uganda.
After Budapest, it seemed everyone in the group was ready to go home. But we still had one more city to see on our way home: Bratislava. Now, I had heard pretty bad things about Bratislava. Friends back in Prague told me you could see everything in about 2 hours. Luckily we weren't there for much longer than that. Most of my time there was spent in a restaurant, actually. Which really didn't bother me. Seriously though, Bratislava (the capital of Slovakia) still looks like it is stuck in the middle of Communism. Most of the buildings are big and blocky and horribly ugly. Not exactly picturesque. Really, there isn't even a whole lot to tell about my trip this city. We saw a cool castle on the outskirts of the city, which actually was the best part of the whole trip, and technically wasn't even in Bratislava. Ha!
I want to finish with this quote, because this sums up a lot of things that have been on my mind lately:
Is there then any terrestrial paradise where amidst the whispering of the olive leaves people can be with whom they like and have what they like and take their ease in shadows and in coolness, or are all men's lives...broken, tumultuous, agonized and unromantic lives, periods punctuated by screams, by imbeciles, by deaths, by agonies? - Ford Madox Ford, The Good Soldier
Currently listening to: Oasis
Cesky Krumlov is about 2 hours away from Prague, if I remember right, and was a nice, quaint little city with its own castle and everything. The castle even had a moat, but not filled with water, but rather, BEARS! This is the best idea ever! Anyone can swim across a pathetic moat filled with water, but who wants to fight multiple bears to break into a castle? Not me. Sadly, all the bears were hiding from us, so we never actually got to see any, but the idea was still cool enough for me.
We also got to see one of the oldest, most well preserved baroque theaters in all of Europe. This theater has been around for hundreds of years and was only used a few times, which is why it is still around in good condition today. It only seats about 200 people, if that, and is a little spooky inside with natural candle light being the only source of illumination.
We stayed in Cesky Krumlov for one night in a fantastic hotel, complete with a huge breakfast the next morning. Honestly, this might have been the best breakfast I've had since I've been in Europe, which isn't saying a whole lot. To anyone back home, this would have seemed purely average, but to me, it was a feast. Europeans just don't really eat breakfasts like we do, except for random countries here and there. I'm really looking forward to getting some amazing pancakes that I keep hearing about in Amsterdam at the end of this month.
On our way to Vienna, I realized that bus rides, and traveling in Europe is so much better than back home in the states. Car rides, at least in California, can be extremely boring, and I can only imagine how bad they are in some other states (i.e. Montana, the Dakota's, Nebraska, etc.). But here, the countrysides are breathtaking! I wish I wasn't so tired whenever we were on the bus, because I could easily just sit there and listen to music and stare out the window the whole trip and be completely entertained. I say this often, but I'll say it again, it felt like being in one of those shots in a movie, where the character is shown sitting in a bus/car looking out the window contemplating life. European countrysides seem to have so much more history and stories to tell. Rolling hills, various kinds of trees, huge mountains in the background, bi-polar skies, they all make up for such a great scene to witness.
Anyways, on to Vienna. I had heard a lot about Vienna and was really expecting a great city. Vienna was a lot like Berlin. Very clean and tidy for the most part, and of course, they speak German there. The people were very nice to us, just like they were in Germany, so I certainly appreciated that little aspect. One of my favorite things to do in Vienna was tell people that I'm from California. This would immediately be greeted by some response like "Arnold!" or "The Govenator!" (This joke must still be funny to them, since it is extremely old to us Californians, haha). People seem to be fascinated in Austria that Arnold ended up being Governor. Come to think of it, I guess I still am too. I enjoyed some classic Wienerschnitzel, which was quite tasty and even some good wine. I'm still not a big wine drinker, I guess I just haven't acquired that taste yet, but I can still tell the difference between a good and a bad wine.
One of the highlights of my trip was meeting up with an old camp friend. Katie, or as I know her better, "Wooga", is from Oregon/Washington and is now teaching in Vienna. She has been there since July and when I realized I was going to be in Vienna, I sent her a message via our good friend Facebook. This was a few weeks ago, and once I was in Vienna, I realized I didn't have her number or any means of meeting up with her. I used a friend's computer, send her a message and hoped she would get it within the next few hours, since I was only in Vienna for one night. Literally 20 seconds later, my phone rings and what would you have it, it was her on the other end! We met up, for the first time in 2 and a half years I might add, got dinner and then went out to a sweet Irish pub called Waxy's. I tried some great new drinks, one being Cider, which was basically just an alcohol version of Apple Cider. Good stuff. Katie knew a few friends in the bar, these Croatian guys, who were really cool. Apparently Croatians like showing off their wealth, and especially like to buy all (not just girls) people drinks. Since I was friends with Katie, this meant I was friends with them, and next thing I knew they were buying me Rum and Coke's, which I happen to like quite a lot. This turned into a great night of drinking (in moderation of course! Calm down people...!) and just overall good times. At one point in the night I realized that one of the Croatian guys was wearing a bracelet that had a real bullet on it. I thought this was pretty cool and told the guy I was diggin' his creative bracelet. He said he used the bullet as his stylus for his palm pilot. Later, after he had had a few more drinks, he ended up shoving the bracelet into my hand, telling me it was his gift to me. I tried to refuse, thinking this was probably a pretty special bracelet to him. He didn't give up, and said he had another one at home, so finally I accepted the gift and thanked him for it. This is probably my coolest souvenir from Europe thus far. I think it will join the collection of other items from around the world that are hanging from my rearview mirror in my car.
The next morning we had some time to kill before we left for Budapest, so some of us decided to go to some of the infamous museums in Vienna. This was probably the low point of my entire trip. Sadly, I chose to go to the Modern Art Museum which was probably one of the worst choices I have made recently. This was one of those Museums that had stuff in it that made you wonder who classified it as "art." I can't stand "art" that looks like something I could have created when I was 6. Why is a huge canvas with a screw glued to it a "masterpiece"? Please explain this to me, somebody, anybody! Also some of the stuff in this museum was some of the most grotesque, nasty things I have ever seen. Lets just say there was a warning that kids under 16 should not be allowed. I won't go into details, but I saw some things that I absolutely did NOT need to see. I want my money back. I wish I would have gone to the Fine Art museum or the Museum of Natural History. Oh well. You win some, you lose some I guess. Oh, some other random things I did in Vienna: visited St. Stephens Cathedral, got some more Gelato (which just doesn't feel the same outside of Italy) and had the best outdoor nap I've had in years. Just felt like I should include that little bit of info.
After another spectacular bus ride, we arrived at Budapest in the evening. As much as I liked Vienna, Budapest was my favorite city of the trip. Budapest feels a lot like Prague, with some great baroque architecture along a fabulous river. The Danube river is one of the widest rivers I have ever seen and easily makes a laughing-stock out of the Vltava river in Prague. As great as Budapest is, it still doesn't have a bridge nearly as cool as Prague's Charles Bridge. However, Budapest does have any amazing hill where you can sit and overlook the city. Man, I'll tell you, I've seen some amazing views in Europe, and I'm going to have a tough time choosing which one is my favorite once my time here is done. Right now my three favorites are from the top of the Vatican (St. Peter's Basilica to be exact) in Rome, the top of the hill in Budapest, and St. Petrin Park in Prague. Something tells me I will have to add a place from Ireland to this list...but we'll see.
One of the main reasons why everyone was looking forward to Budapest in particular was because of the spa's that we got to go to. I'll post the pictures when I get a chance, but I'm telling you, these spa's were amazing. Just imagine a HUGE hot tub outside surrounded by elegant statues and fountains. Oh, and lots of old people floating around. Inside there were multiple sauna's, steam rooms, and various sized pools at different temperatures. It was crazy! I've never felt so relaxed. I also got my first massage, which was actually a little disappointing. I felt like the masseuse (who was a dude) easily could have put a little more elbow grease into the job. I probably should have told him, but I would have felt so spoiled turning around telling the guy who is massaging me: "Um excuse me! Sir! Can you do that a little harder? Thanks." I just can't say that without feeling like a pretentious a-word. It was still enjoyable, and I'm glad I can say I got a massage in Budapest.
By the way, if you ever go to Budapest, get the Goulash soup! It is cheap and absolutely amazing! I had this multiple times throughout the trip and am still craving it.
One of my favorite moments in Budapest came the last night of the trip, when two buddies and I decided to get some great Dominican cigars (I know, GASP! I smoke cigars!!! So sue me. Here's why I smoke cigars for all of you out there who wonder why people smoke them: They make great moments even better. I only smoke them when the time is right. When the fat lady sings. They aren't cigarettes. In my mind you don't just pop them off whenever you feel like it. This is why I only smoke them when it is clearly obvious that a cigar is right for the occasion. I.e. sitting on an enormous hill overlooking Budapest at midnight with two cool friends. I see nothing wrong with this. Oh, and I have a Cuban sitting in my room right now, waiting for the next "appropriate moment" to happen. :) ) Anyways, sitting up on that hill over looking the entire city with that Dominican was quite a memorable experience.
After my time in Budapest, I really felt like royalty. Great food, wine, cigars, a day at a spa and a massage? Are you kidding me? Is this really happening? Do you realize that we are some of the richest people to ever live? Geez. That's a lot of responsibility. It will be crazy to think back to these kinds of moments this summer when I'm in the middle of 115 degree heat in Uganda.
After Budapest, it seemed everyone in the group was ready to go home. But we still had one more city to see on our way home: Bratislava. Now, I had heard pretty bad things about Bratislava. Friends back in Prague told me you could see everything in about 2 hours. Luckily we weren't there for much longer than that. Most of my time there was spent in a restaurant, actually. Which really didn't bother me. Seriously though, Bratislava (the capital of Slovakia) still looks like it is stuck in the middle of Communism. Most of the buildings are big and blocky and horribly ugly. Not exactly picturesque. Really, there isn't even a whole lot to tell about my trip this city. We saw a cool castle on the outskirts of the city, which actually was the best part of the whole trip, and technically wasn't even in Bratislava. Ha!
I want to finish with this quote, because this sums up a lot of things that have been on my mind lately:
Is there then any terrestrial paradise where amidst the whispering of the olive leaves people can be with whom they like and have what they like and take their ease in shadows and in coolness, or are all men's lives...broken, tumultuous, agonized and unromantic lives, periods punctuated by screams, by imbeciles, by deaths, by agonies? - Ford Madox Ford, The Good Soldier
Currently listening to: Oasis
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