devastation & reform

tear it down just to build it back up
 

Movies of 2009

 


Top 10 movies of 2009 according to me


World's Greatest Dad - Robin Williams is not my favorite actor. I think the stink of Mrs. Doubtfire has stuck to him all these years.  This movie is different.  This is a different role than you could ever imagine him in.  Written and directed by one of his old friends, Bobcat Goldthwait.

The Killing Room - The only thing more disturbing than this movie is reading about what project MKULT*RA (* inserted to break up the word and keep snipers from killing me when they google this blog and find out I'm talking about the CI.. ahem, A)  really was.

The Hangover - Stupid funny. Zach Galifianakis is comedy gold, and by gold I mean the kind of comedy that I find absolutely hilarious, but the mainstream movie goer finds childish and silly.

There Will Be Blood - Daniel Day-Lewis won an Oscar for this and it was well deserved in my professional movie watcher opinion. Technically this came out in 2007, but I watched it in 2009 and this is my blog so I'm adding it to the list.

I Love You, Man - Stupid funny. Loved it. I love Paul Rudd, he always plays a good straight man (comedy straight, not queer/straight). Jason Segel is like Seth Rogen's funnier twin brother.

The Taking of Pelham 123 - Travolta as the bad guy? He makes a good bad guy.

Adventureland - Jesse Eisenberg is my favorite most awkward actor besides Michael Cera.

Taken - Liam Neeson could slay Chuck Norris. A good revenge story.

Defiance - I'm counting this one since it came out 12/31/08. I love history and since this one is based on a true story of Jews refusing to give into the hands of Nazi Germany. A defining moment of this movie is the meeting where they try to convince people that the SS is killing people. They believe they can stay in the ghetto and will be fine if they just do what is asked of them. I guess this hits me hard after reading Survival in Auschwitz by Levi Primo and Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William L. Shirer. The fact that they could see the possibility of death, yet have enough faith and belief in the good of their fellow man that they trusted them anyways amazes me.  


Top 5 Movies That Your Wife Will Love & Are Guy Tolerable

The Proposal - Ryan Reynolds smart mouth makes this one enjoyable.

Up - a sweet story about true love. Kinda sad beacuse, well she dies 10 minutes into the movie...

Couples Retreat - Somehow I like Vince Vaughn.

17 Again - Be ready for the inevitable "Would you do things the same all over again?"

Ghost of Girlfriends Past - See: The Proposal (but insert Matthew McConaughey)


Top 5 Movies That Sucked Hard

Drag Me To Hell - Only respectable part of this movie is the girl isn't just a helpless victim, she fights back.

The Last House On The Left - Seriously? You can't pull the trigger on someone who has just nearly killed your daughter?

The Twilight Saga: New Moon - Yea I watched it. To be honest, I thought Twilight was decent but this movie was sloooooow. Slower than slow.  I feel like I watched Taylor Lautner dance around shirtless for two hours. 

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra - who is shooting who? There is a ton of action, but so much so that you can't tell what is happening. And that underwater scene at the end? Ghey. Sienna Miller is the only highlight to this flaming turd.

Crank: High Voltage - I admittedly have a mancrush on Jason Statham, but this movie is just silly. I love the fast cuts, the special effects, the crazy camera angles that the Crank movies have though.


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Posted December 17, 2009
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Hot politics

 

I stay as far away from politics as possible, because I've seen the effects of listening to talk radio & news stations on the human psyche. Let's just say if Glenn Beck is on in the break room, I'm responsible for hiding all the sharp objects. Anyways, this letter to the editor was too good not to pass along, so here it is for your enjoyment*:

 

 

A Questionable Deal

 

I appreciate your editorial on the Cash for Clunkers program, and it did produce car sales. However, there is another consideration:

A vehicle driven 12,000 miles per year at 15mpg uses 800 gallons of gasoline. A vehicle driven 12,000 miles a year at 25mpg uses 480 gallons. So the average clunker transaction will reduce U.S. gasoline consumption by 320 gallons per year.

They claim 700,000 vehicles sold through their program, so that's 224 million gallons per year. That equates to a bit over 5 million barrels of oil. Five million barrels of oil is about one-quarter of ONE day's U.S. consumption. And 5 million barrels of oil costs about $350 million at $75/bbl.

So we as taxpayers contributed $3 billion to save $350 million. How good a deal was that?

 

:: Gordon P. from Rockford, MI printed in Ward's Auto World Nov. 2009

 

 

 

 

 

*If you did not enjoy this and it made you angry, I will be glad to come to your house and hide the sharp objects from you.

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Posted December 9, 2009
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Change of heart

 

Okay, I really wanted you to see the aforementioned awesomeness but I didn't want to share the whole song, so me and Audacity ripped her down to this:

 

  

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Posted December 3, 2009
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Cadillac Sky

 

If you follow me on twitter then you've probably heard me sing the praises of Cadillac Sky. The harmony, the instrumentation, the songwriting, the way cool beards, they have it all. I got their new cd in the mail and couldn't believe my ears. I was headed to Virginia last weekend and ended up listening to the four song EP there and back. Oh yea, it's that good. The cherry on top of this beauty is the "Weary Angel Reprise." They put a brand new song on a disc, then three tracks later they their alter egos slack up on the bluegrass, plug in their instruments and nail the song again with drums, electric guitars, a RATM bassline in the breakdown, and screaming vocals. No really, he screams, not in an emo sissy wail, but an I'll rip your face off angry scream that will make small children cry. On a scale of crazyness from one to Tom Cruise, this band is flying fighter jets. I'll shut up now and let you enjoy one of the songs from the new disc, a cover of Death Cab for Cutie's "I will follow you into the dark."

 

 

 

*I really, really, really want to post the Weary Angel Reprise here, but seeing as they don't have it anywhere else online I'll assume they don't want it posted and would prefer you to buy the $5 EP. So I'll be a good fan and strongly recommend you head over to cadillacsky.net and buy the EP. Srsly, it's only $5 and it's well worth $16.28.

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Posted December 3, 2009
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Isolation

 

Thinking in isolation and with pride ends in being an idiot. Every man who will not have softening of the heart must at last have softening of the brain.

-- G.K. Chesterton

 

 

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Posted December 3, 2009
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Craghead St.

 

Driving through downtown Danville, VA near the Amtrack Station and we decided to take advantage of the setting sun and the empty old furniture buildings. All shots were from a single roll of film. I am quite proud of myself for these.

 

 

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Posted November 24, 2009
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Pennsylvania

 

Still trying to recover from all the driving and excitement from this weekend.  Only ended up shooting about 40 pics with the good camera, here are some of the keepers.

 

P.S. I couldn't have been more wrong about the people, the culture, or the hospitality of the people of Pittsburgh. I have never been to another place so far away from home, yet felt so much like home.  You could seriously transplant my country as a biscuit NC family to Enon Valley and it's possible that they might not even realize you had moved them.  I absolutely loved Enon Valley, East Palestine, Chippewa, Little Beaver, Pittsburg (McKees Rock & Strip District), etc...  I will definitely visit again.

 

 

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Posted November 18, 2009
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My pals Mason & Dixon


In short time I will find myself in the top half of these United States. I'm not sure of the appropriate actions one takes when coming into the top part of this beautiful land. Since I've only been north of the Shenandoah Valley on one other occasion (and all I remember about that trip was the dirtyness of everything and that the Cubbies lost, and a loss by the Cubbies doesn't exactly pinpoint a space in time, but a win however.... ), so I have a few questions before hitting the road to Pittsburg, PA.

  • At what point should I begin to drive like Jason Statham in Transporter?
  • Do I really need those rear view mirrors I'm so accustomed to using?
  • Should I check before changing lanes or just give an apology horn toot and wave if I accidentally take someone out?
  • Should I leave my "I hate the Steelers" t-shirt at home?
  • Is Donnie Iris really the mayor of Pittsburg?
  • Why does Donnie Iris appear to have quit modifying his wardrobe and hairstyle after 1986?
  • If I make the Picksburg accent too many times, will it stick like that terrible face my grandma told me to quit making?
  • Is it possible to eat at Primanti Brothers and Quaker Steak and Lube in the same day?
  • Can we really go dahn nar to Pants N'at? Boy I hope so.

Any tips for the visit, and tips on how to stay sane with two progressive metal fans controlling the iPod for the journey there and back are appreciated.

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Posted November 12, 2009
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Street Sweeper Social Club

 

How many signature Morello sounds can you spot?

 

 

 

 

 

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Posted November 6, 2009
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Temporarily Stairs

 

Making a sammich and remembered this..

"You know that Pepperidge Farm bread, that stuff is fancy.  That stuff is wrapped twice.  You open it, and then it still ain't open. That's why I don't buy it, I don't need another step between me and toast."

-- Mitch Hedberg

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Posted November 5, 2009
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Fiction

 

 

"I don't read fiction. I find it a waste of time."

 

--excerpt from an interview with Jason Fried from 37Signals

 

 

I like fiction, but I feel the same way.  It's like my co-worker that tells me constantly of the beauty of New Mexico and Arizona.  It's not that I wouldn't like to visit those places, it's just that I love NC and want to make sure I have visited every beautiful spot in NC and the surrounding area twice before I venture out to a land I have no emotional attachment to or interest in. I want to make sure I've read everything about real things that interest me before moving onto the make-believe.

 

 

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Posted November 2, 2009
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Oh deer.


Oh, you know, just crusing around town with my dead deer on the tailgate.

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Posted November 1, 2009
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Get off the - Road Bikes


I'm a fan of bicycle riding.  I like to get out among the trees and fresh air and ride for hours... on the trail.  Current events here in NC have me thinking over the whole "I am allowed to do anything, but not everything is beneficial" idea.  Something can be lawful, in fact you can have laws protecting you or even advocating your agenda, but that doesn't mean it is a good idea.  Bicycle riders clog our roadways during the week and especially the weekend, holding up people in vehicles that paid a road tax, a gasoline tax, NC "safety" inspection tax, insurance, license plates, driver's license, etc. just to get on the road.  According to the state of North Carolina bicyclists get nearly equal rights when it comes to riding on the roads that you and I paved for them. 


Our state has vaccinated around 440,000 people at a cost of millions of dollars for the H1N1 virus which has claimed a total of 18 lives as of 10/21/09.  How can we be so proactive about one threat while promoting another?  The NC DOT says that 900 bicycle riders were injured last year in police-reported crashes between motor vehicles and bicycles, with another 20 bike riders killed and yet another 60 riders being "seriously injured."  I hate to rain on anyone's bicycle parade but it's hard to feel sorry for someone who gets hurt while riding a road bike. The laws of physics are not on your side: two lane country roads, 55mph speed limits, 3,500lb SUV's whizzing by, you taking up 3ft (or more if you like to do that cute ride beside each other so's you can chit-chat thing) of that skinny country road. The fact that death/injury doesn't come more often is amazing.



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Posted October 27, 2009
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The fool

 

'The earliest Christians were not so much like a man who mistakes the shell for the kernel as like a man carrying a nut which he hasn't yet cracked. The moment it is cracked, he knows which part to throw away. Til then he holds onto the out, not because he is a fool but because he isn't.'

--CS Lewis from The Weight of Glory

 

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Posted October 23, 2009
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Mmmm...Coca-Cola

World of Coca-Cola retail store. 10/10/09

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Posted October 22, 2009
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Columbus Day

 

Dear Christopher Columbus,

    Thank you for your mighty fine discovery of these here Americas. You rescued the Wagner (then Wagoner) clan from certain misery as they toiled their lives away in such an inhospitable place as Germany.  For a flat land loving person, it would have been just horrifying to wake up in a land of snow capped mountains, lakes, hills and valleys everyday. Also, had I grown up speaking German I'm quite sure by now that someone would have made one of those funny incorrectly subtitled videos like you find on youtube of that other german guy.

Thanks Chris,


Jason

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Posted October 12, 2009
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A pretty lady & fast cars

 

                           

 

 

 

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Posted October 6, 2009
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vapor

 

'There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilisations--these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat.' --C.S. Lewis from The Weight of Glory

 

 

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Posted October 3, 2009
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time lapse

Okay another time lapse video. Last one I promise.  But, this happens to be a real car not made out of t-shirts the Acura team built overnight after Scott Sharp's terrible wipeout during Thursday's practice at Road Atlanta.  They got the tub in from LA overnight and worked Friday until they fired the engine up around 3:30am Saturday morning ready to go racing later in the morning.


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Posted September 30, 2009
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