Guys...I could use some prayer right now.

Thanks.

It's a beautiful, beautiful day today. Blue skies make me happy.

And I am sick. No work for me tonight.

Ugh, this really sucks. I could use the money.

Anyone who doesn't like Scrubs is not my friend. Can you feel the love?

Dr Cox: God...my brilliance is now becoming a bit of a burden. Get back to me.

Dr Cox: There you are, superstar. Fix that.
J.D: Well, that's easy! Just tell her about it. Tell her everything you feel.
Dr Cox: Should I give her every reason to accept that I'm for real?

Billy Joel reference, hooray.

I'm going to start work on my article now for the student newspaper. The edition is called 'love'. So I'm going to try and put a biblical perspective on it without being too over-bearing that they throw it out.

Wish me luck! I'll post it when I'm done.

Here's one of my band's songs. I wrote the lyrics, but I'm not entirely happy with them. I think I'll change them before we record.

A star in the east…night slowly comes

And I’m alone again…

Tears drench my cold hands…where are you now?

I’m lost in my own memories…

Take my desires and throw them away

I’ve lost any hope for tonight…

Oh, why must I suffer in absent delight…?

Where are you now…

Cold hands touch the sky…I reach further still…

I am alone again…

Why do I cry…when darkness comes…?

Knowing release is ahead

Take my desires and throw them away

I’ve lost any hope for tonight…

Oh, why must I suffer in absent delight…?

Where are you now…

Each time I close my eyes…

Oh, a loneliness so real…

To touch, to see your face again…

And yet you’re never here…

Take my desires and throw them away…

I’ve lost any hope for tonight…

Oh, why must I suffer in absent delight…?

Where are you now…

It sounds depressing, but it's actually not. People mistook it for me talking to God, but it has nothing to do with God at all. It's just about missing someone on earth whom you can't see, or has passed away, etc.

I swear other songs of mine are happy! I swear!

You know, when Creed broke up, I was pretty upset. I didn't think a band such as them could exist in another form. But I have to say, I like Alter Bridge even more. For those of you don't know, Alter Bridge is basically Creed with a new singer. And it's like Creed on steroids. I love it! Haunting melodies and ballads, and yet they can power out with some heavy/hard rock. Gets me pumped.

I was up all last night feeling ill. I have congested sinuses and I didn't feel well at all. I thought I was going to blow chunks everywhere, but I eventually got to sleep. I'm feeling okay now, but hopefully I'll get to skip work tomorrow night. I honestly don't care, I really hate that job. Hopefully I'll be able to quit soon.

So recently I've contacted some people who I haven't talked to in about...nine years? A couple of girls who I knew in Alabama. It's good to catch up with people you knew in a past life.

Because I'm bored, here are some photos of me:

The first one is me playing with my friend Matt at his 18th party. He's also the guitarist...well, one of the guitarists in our band. That was...a year ago. A year ago this month. The second was taken on my last day of high school. Mum said to strike a pose, so I did! I look quite handsome and dashing, if I say so myself.



































































Woohoo, emo to the max.

You know, regarding some comments from people at work: Christian or not, I don't see how anyone could just disregard the Bible. Most of the people who don't believe in the teachings of Christ have never read them, anyway. The Bible is full of such wisdom, such life and art, I don't see how anyone could just ignore it. The poetry in it is just beautiful.

Random tagent'd!

Peace out and God bless.

On second thought, I have a rant.

I am sick and tired of insecurity.

For those of you who watch the West Wing, you'll remember the episode story arc where president Bartlet and co. were attacked by two gunmen. Barlet was shot, along with a senior staff member, and was sent into surgery. Before Bartlet goes under the knife, he gives his chief of staff, and best friend, Leo McGarry, a kiss on the cheek.

And yet, several people on a message board of the tenacity to call this a homosexual act. DON'T get me wrong, this isn't against homosexuality, this is about the foolishness of insecurity.

Just because a man kisses another man on the cheek does not make them homosexuals. Yes, Bartlet loves McGarry. And the word 'love' does not have to imply romantic love. English is such a frail, incomplete language. We have one word for a myriad of emotions. Bartlet loves McGarry like a brother. What is wrong with that? And he kisses him, yes. He kisses him to show McGarry that he loves him, and that everything is going to be okay.

I don't see how people can't understand that. It just makes me *so* angry. So angry that the scope of some people's understand does not encompass the thought that maybe a man can love another man like a brother without it being romantically charged.

But hey, I'm just an idealist, what would I know? ;)

I hate waking up late. I woke up at noon today, and I hate it. I need to be at nine each morning, otherwise I feel I've wasted the day.

I was looking through my writing folder, and it turns out I wrote a song ages ago and I've forgotten about it until now. It's a bit soppy, I'm going to have to re-write it. But hey, it was a nice surprise.

I've written some more of my screenplay today. It's set in Australia during WW1, and follows the story of a young man who is sent off to war, and his fiancee back home and her goings on. I'm quite excited about it. I mean, the possibilities of it ever being sold are nil to impossible, but I can't wait for it to be completed just so I can have a sense of accomplishment.

I watched a fascinating documentary on SBS the other night. A group of people used a synchotron in Arizona to analyse a lock of Ludwig Von Beethoven's hair. I apologise if I've spelt his name incorrectly, I can't be bothered looking it up. For those of you who don't know, a Synchotron enables particles, (protons, I think, I'm not scientifically-savvy), to speed up, and somehow this allows scientists to do a whole bunch of tests. Check wikipedia for more, because that was a crappy explanation. Anyway, one of the tests these people can do is detect trace elements of things, and in Beethoven's hair, they found a substantial amount of lead. It seems that his life-long poor health and deafness was assisted by lead poisining. How fascinating.

I have many more things to write about, but they'll have to wait for a later time. Or at least, later today.

I really want sleep right now, but I know I'm going to end up staying up for hours and hours.

On another random note, Pirates of the Caribbea: Dead Man's Chest comes out next Thursday!

11 days :)

I'm working on four and a half hours sleep...

I really should get to bed earlier.

2002 was a good year for Oscars. Particularly in the Best Actor category. We had:

Daniel Day-Lewis - Gangs of New York
Adrien Brody - The Pianist
Nicholas Cage - Adaptation
Michael Caine - The Quiet American
Jack Nicholsan - About Schmidt

All fine performances by very fine actors. In my opinion. Day-Lewis should have walked away with the win, however, Brody gave an excellent performance. I understand it was a hard choice. Hopefully Day-Lewis will get his oscar one day. I hear he's working on a new film? Gosh, if he and Terrance Malick ever did something together...if that happens, I might just die from pleasure.

But the best picture nominees were equally interesting:

Chicago
Gangs of New York
The Hours
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
The Pianist

Of course, Chicago goes home with the win. So, I give you an analysis of 2002's Oscar winner for Best Motion Picture

Now, keep in mind, I have not seen the stage version. I view this as an advantage, for I view the film as that: a film.

First of all, the film has excellent performances. I particularly enjoyed John C. Reilly's performance as Amos, and his show-stopper, (in my opinion), song "My Cellophane". Catherine Zeta Jones was great, Richard Gere was very good. Not his BEST performance, but my goodness, particularly great. Renee Zellweger, I thought, was a little mis-cast. Not to say she was necessarily bad, but I can't help thinking another actress would have felt more comfortable in the role. She can sing though, which helps in a musical.

Queen Latifah was quite amusing.

Now, things I liked:

1. Rob Marshall's idea of putting the musical numbers on a stage was, in my opinion, great. It keeps with the tradition of the stage show, makes the film particularly interesting, at least visually, and most of all, grabs the viewer's attention. They don't seem out of place at all. In fact, they would feel out of place if they WEREN'T there. Wow, I yelled.

2. Art direction was great. Sets were visually great. "They Both Reached For the Gun" springs to mind. The razzle dazzle was all there! Ha, pun. *drum roll*

I particularly liked the opening of the film. "Five six seven eight" - puts you right into the middle of what this film is about. JAZZ. Well, you know, there are murders and stuff too, but you know what I mean. Marshall puts you RIGHT into the thick of what's going on with that smoky atmosphere. The almost dingy quality of those old jazz clubs, and yet, he makes it so visually captivating...so alluring...that you can't help but watch Zeta-Jones prance her way around the stage.

And other things were good too.

Bad stuff:

The script sometimes sucked. The latter half of the second act drags, and feels slow and weary compared to the upbeat tempo to the rest of the film. Of course, editing is to blame for this as well.

I used to think Renee Zellweger was really hot...she's still gorgeous, but my goodness, her eyes need to open...that's not part of the review.

And one other major problem: cinematography was too static at times. I consider this may be used to remind the viewer of the film's stage genesis, but I didn't feel, at times, that I was within the world Marshall was creating. This isn't a constant problem, but there were times when it was needed and wasn't there.

I can't be bothered writing anymore.

Favourite scene: "They Both Reached For the Gun". My gosh, Gere can belt can't he?

I give it 3.5/5. Really good film, but the downsides are too present to ignore. Worth a DVD buy.

God is so great.

Everything just makes so much sense. The weight of my burdens...I can hardly feel.

God is so great. And life, despite its harshness, is so beautiful.

Who couldn't see it and sing?

For all intents and purposes, my entire DVD collection:

Star Wars: Original Trilogy Box Set
Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring Extended Edition
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Extended Edition
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Extended Edition
Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl
West Side Story: Special Edition
Gilmore Girls: Season 1 Box Set
Gilmore Girls: Season 2 Box Set
Friends: Season 3
Friends: Season 7
Friends: Season 10
Friends: Season 4 Part 3
Moulin Rouge
The Lion King: Platinum Edition
Aladdin: Platinum Edition
Gangs of New York
Follow the Fleet
Shall We Dance? (Fred Astaire)
Singin' In The Rain
Beauty and the Beast: Platinum Edition
Batman Begins
The Day After Tomorrow
School of Rock
Chicago
Alien
The Producers
Scrubs: Season 2
Scrubs: Season 3
Pride and Prejudice (2005)
Star Wars: Episode II
Star Wars: Episode III
The Age of Innocence
A Very Long Engagement
Citizen Kane
Million Dollar Baby
The Notebook
Unbreakable
Minority Report
The Matrix
Classic Albums: Metallica
The Incredibles
The Third Man
Fahrenheit 9/11
10 Things I Hate About You
All the President's Men
Garden State

Not the biggest list, but good enough.

Don't think I don't regret it.

In this blog, I'm going to be reviewing most of my DVD collection, eventually, and any films I happen to see. I picked the first randomly:

DVD Review: The Notebook.

I often try to see films at the cinema. Any film, most of the ones that interest me anyway, and the rest I try and pick up on DVD. I only see a film twice if it really, really catches my interest and I enjoy it enough...

...I saw The Notebook three times. Yes, I paid my nine dollars three times to see The Notebook on the big screen. And to tell you the truth, I can't exactly tell you why. Yeah, I'm a great reviewer, aren't I?

The story of Noah and Allie's, (spelling? Can't be bothered. IMDb later), romance is directed by Nick Cassavetes and was released in 2004.

The main things I liked about this film:

1. It didn't announce itself. It didn't use grand sweeping musical themes and shots to convince the audience of the obvious. It was a calm film. Slow piano pieces play over lengthy shots of sunrises, etc. Long takes of the couple walking down the street. The film has lots of room to breathe, and as a result, can deal with these complex themes in a subtle, yet equally impacting, manner.

2. Performances. I really was not looking forward to the Notebook after I heard Rachel McAdams would be in it - mind you, I had only seen her in Mean Girls and was not aware of the talent she possesses. I was, indeed, mistaken. I think Ms McAdams is the best thing about this film. The rest of the perforamances are equally as powerful. In my opinion, Ryan Gosling's delivery of his lines could have been a little different in some shots, but that's more an editing choice than anything else.

3. Related to no. 1 - cinematography. Again, long, length takes. They don't manipulate the viewer, they just show. Nice work.

4. The editing was nice and adaquete. Good for the film itself. Just told the story has it folded out, with nothing too fancy.

Now, problems.

Firstly, the film was about 15 minutes too long. I don't feel the story needed to be told through flashback at all. Yes, it provided depth to characterisation and story. However, if you take it out, you miss nothing. All you needed to add is a "...and they lived happily ever after" shot or something like that, although I'm sure Cassavetes would have made it less sappy than that.

The voice-overs got annoying. But maybe that's just me, I'm not a huge fan of voice-overs ALL the time. Titanic pushed it for me...but I can excuse that. I guess the voice-overs in this film were to remind the viewer that the story was actually from a notebook, but still...yuch.

And really, those are my MAJOR gripes with it.

I particularly liked the sequence with Noah and Allie dancing in the street.

I give it 4/5. A good romance, but not the typical example of the genre.

Oh, and I know this isn't a review in the typical sense of the word, but you'll get over it.

My photography

Bad weather...is bad.

I dislike the fact that many Christians think that missionary work or work in the church is be all and end all.

Now, let me explain.

I believe that helping the poor and needy is something that Christians...hell, anybody...needs to do. We are called by God to do this. In the words of Tim Hughes, "Live to feed the hungry...stand beside the broken...". We absolutely must do everything in our power to try to end poverty and give others a fighting chance at life. And not just in the third world. Everywhere.

But what I hate, what I absolutely cannot stand, is when a Christian thinks they have a higher calling or is better than another Christian just because they are called into THAT particular ministry. Who the hell are they to determine what God wants others to do? And who are they to judge the work they do? I think the modern church puts such an emphasis on work INSIDE the church, when they forget about the work in the communities that needs to be done. So many people have asked me why I'm studying journalism, when it's probably one of the hardest professions for a Christian to be in. "Um, gee, do ya maybe think that's why I'm there?".

In the end, who cares what other people think, as long as you're doing what God wants you to do. And I'm confident this is where I'm supposed to be.

By the way, this hasn't happened to me personally, I'm just saying.

It is an incredibly frustrating process attempting to re-install programs and games following a Windows crash.

It is taking a very long amount of time.

Lover, You Should've Come Over by Jeff Buckley.

Looking out the door
I see the rain fall upon the funeral mourners
Parading in a wake of sad relations
As their shoes fill up with water

Maybe I'm too young
To keep good love from going wrong
But tonight, you're on my mind so
You never know

Broken down and hungry for your love
With no way to feed it
Where are you tonight?
Child, you know how much I need it.
Too young to hold on
And too old to just break free and run

Sometimes a man gets carried away,
When he feels like he should be having his fun
Much too blind to see the damage he's done
Sometimes a man must awake to find that, really,
He has no-one...

So I'll wait for you... And I'll burn
Will I ever see your sweet return?
Oh, will I ever learn?
Oh, Lover, you should've come over
Cause it's not too late.

Lonely is the room the bed is made
The open window lets the rain in
Burning in the corner is the only one
Who dreams he had you with him
My body turns and yearns for a sleep
That won't ever come
It's never over,
My kingdom for a kiss upon her shoulder
It's never over,
all my riches for her smiles when I slept so soft against her...
It's never over,
All my blood for the sweetness of her laughter...
It's never over,
She's a tear that hangs inside my soul forever...

But maybe I'm just too young to keep good love
From going wrong
Oh... lover you should've come over...

Yes, and I feel too young to hold on
I'm much too old to break free and run
Too deaf, dumb, and blind
To see the damage I've done
Sweet lover, you should've come over
Oh, love, well I'll wait for you
Lover, you should've come over
'Cause it's not too late.

Great song. Classic song.

* * *

Cinema/film is a funny thing. We don't notice, but half the time the audience is looking at a blank screen. 24 pictures a second only gives the illusion of movement. And why on earth would people spend good money to sit in a dark room, with people they will never talk to, and feel emotions that they would give anything to NOT feel in real life?

Ah, the magic of the cinema.

For that reason, I am giving you all a few reasons why I think Titanic is a good film. In fact, I think it's a magnificent piece of cinematic history and deserves all the success it gets. That's not to say it's over-rated...people try to make it something it isn't. But I truly believe it is a great snapshot of cinema.

Firstly, even though not part of the film: James Cameron. Let's face it people, he's a good director. He's not Terrance Malick, no. He's not Jean Luc Godard, no. But he's a fine director. Aliens = very good action thriller. Some say even better than Ridley Scott's Alien...I'll leave that up to you. But Mr Cameron. He has a great knowledge of cinema, and his respect for the people aboard Titanic and their stories is just great. His...passion for this project is evident in the emotion.

Secondly, historical accuracy. The historical accuracy in this film is simply phenomenal. Characters based off of real people, many frames are reproductions of photographs or paintings, dialogue according to testimony is accurate, scenes are re-created. For example, there WAS a party in the third class room the night before the sinking, etc. Things like that.

Thirdly, even though the film is epic, the story is quite controlled in its emotions. Mr Cameron uses symbolism quite well. You can notice paintings in the background in a lot of Kate Winslet's scenes...paintings representing her inner spirit. A ballet dancer, etc, put against the foreground of Ruth tying the corset around Rose's waist. Freedom against oppression.

And because I'm tired, only one more. The epic proportions of the sining is captured in the production design, etc. It would be SO easy to screw this film up. But they didn't.

Now, all that said and done, it's not a perfect film. The script has problems. "Oh Jack...Jack...Jack...Jack....". Yes Rose, we know his name. And at times, the music is quite manipulative in guiding the audience's emotions. And for goodness sake Jim, long shots are acceptable now and then.

But still. Great film. A lot of people don't give it the respect it deserves. Yeah, it won Oscars, blah blah blah, but all that set aside, quite simply, it is a great piece of cinema. I'm thinking of selling my two disc version and buying the four disc.

And I like James Cameron's comment on the commentary - "I've always found this a little bit suspect, this concept of people talking about their movies, in theory, the movie should speak for itself". Well said. Despite that, I enjoy audio commentaries. DVDs are a godsend to cinephiles.

And with that, good night.

I am so bored.

I wish I knew the future. I wish I knew what would happen.

Ha, that's so...human. Such a human thing to say. It's essentially saying I wish I was God. And in same ways, I do. If I knew the future, I could never make a mistake.

"Don't hide from your mistakes, because they'll find you".

Some of my favourite film and television quotes.

From "Finding Forrester":

Jamal: Further.

Crawford: I'm sorry?

Claire:Don't.
                
Jamal: You said my skills extend "farther" than the basketball court.
"Farther" relates to distance. "Further" is a definition of degree. Y
ou should have said "further."

Crawford:Are you challenging me?

Jamal:No more than you challenged Coleridge.

Crawford:Perhaps the challenge
should have been directed elsewhere...

"It is a melancholy truth that even...

Jamal:"Great men have poor relations". Dickens.

Crawford:"You will hear the beat of..."

Jamal:Kipling.

Crawford: "All great truths begin..."

Jamal:Shaw.

Crawford: "Man is the only animal...

Jamal: "That blushes...or needs to"
          
Mark Twain.

From "Moulin Rouge":

The Duke: I don't care about your ridiculous dogma! Why shouldn't the courtesan choose the maharaja?!

Christian: Because she doesn't love you!

From "Pirates of the Caribbean"

Jack Sparrow: Not all treasure is silver and gold, mate.

From "Titanic"

Thomas Andrews: She is made of iron, sir, I assure you she can. And she will. It is a mathematical certainty.

I'm sure I'll be posting many more in the days to come.

Musings upon the mystery of bad cinema.

I have come to the conclusion that holidays are bad for me. For a few reasons:

1. I sit at home and do nothing. Although, this isn't so much the holidays' fault as it is my own. I'm just lazy.

2. I'm occuppied with nothing. Take today, for instance. I have slept. I woke up, I ate lunch, now I'm watching Scrubs and posting on here. Later I'll go to work.

Somtimes I wonder if my life is boring...but then I realise that I'm actually completing a university degree...I have lots of friends, I have hobbies. Maybe I'm just expecting too much.

Leaving that, I will say this. I made a mistake one day. My then girlfriend, Caitlyn, decided we would go to the movies one evening. Sure! Fine! Anyone who knows me knows I love films and film-making, so sure. Let's go to the movies. Ah, but then she decided SHE would pick the movie. Um...okay. Let's go. So we...well, she, decided to see "Be Cool", with John Travolta and Uma Therman.

I nearly cried after that film. I was just filled with such emotion.

Oh, don't get me wrong. I wasn't sad. I wanted to cry tears of rage. That film was one of the worst films I have ever seen.

Which brings me to my next point. After I saw "Be Cool", I thought I could never see a worse film.

But then, my youth group decided to go and see The Da Vinci Code.

I won't explain a lot here...but I will say this:

If I ever meet Dan Brown, I will rip out his heart, eat it, and display his corpse on top of a tall building for all to see.

The love of Jesus, hey?

I realise I could have just said The Da Vinci Code sucks, but in the words of Dr Perry Cox, "See, that's what makes it delicious".

And as the minutes go on, my heart keeps healing. I have to keep hope that everything will be alright in the end.

And yet, considering the situation, I feel selfish for thinking it's all about me. Because it isn't.

Welcome...

Welcome. Welcome to my world of musings, debate, intrigue and discussion.