I stumbled across a very interesting quote by Giovanni Ribisi, a very talented actor, about how he felt about cinema. This quote describes how I feel about cinema as well:
"it's kind of become a way of life for me. I could almost say it is my religion. I guess that sounds pretentious. But I want to live and breathe cinema." - Reel Interview, 2000
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Got Manners?
So in the older times, and when I say older I merely mean within the past few decades, I could have sworn people were supposed to be brought up with manners. Where did it go? Why did it go? I normally relate my real life complaints and thoughts to a film or television show that coincides with the same theme, but this time I think I will just leave that aspect out (but if you want to see this same kind of idea on screen then go see Gran Torino).
Recently I have been seeing people display attitudes of complete ignorance and disrespect. I was raised to be kind, respectful for all situations, elders and coherent with the living laws of humanity. Recently, I have seen that others were not raised the same way. When you eat something, you clean up after yourself, whether it means washing the dishes or throwing away wrappers. Is it really that hard to make the extra ten steps of effort to the sink or trash can? I give homage to my parents for beating this into my skull when I was younger because now I keep my surroundings clean and ULTRA sanitary.
Also, what is with these young punk kids being assholes to older people, whether it is someone who is fifty or someone who is eighty. THEY ARE OLDER THAN YOU! In saying this, they know more than you. Trust me, they do. When learning to drive, my dad would always tell me to just do as he said because he had been doing it for forty years, and I had been doing it for forty minutes. I now realize the significance of that statement. Older people, whether they are mean or nice, know more than younger people do. It does not take a genius to figure that out. So to all you little inked up, gangster/guido punks, try respect for once. You will be surprised how far it gets you.
In conclusion, be RESPECTFUL and use MANNERS. It's not that hard to do. If you inject these two functions of life into your own life, you will go places no matter what. I guarantee you. I even have a hard time trying to stay true to these ways of life, but it's the effort to keep trying that makes it worth it and makes it valuable.
Recently I have been seeing people display attitudes of complete ignorance and disrespect. I was raised to be kind, respectful for all situations, elders and coherent with the living laws of humanity. Recently, I have seen that others were not raised the same way. When you eat something, you clean up after yourself, whether it means washing the dishes or throwing away wrappers. Is it really that hard to make the extra ten steps of effort to the sink or trash can? I give homage to my parents for beating this into my skull when I was younger because now I keep my surroundings clean and ULTRA sanitary.
Also, what is with these young punk kids being assholes to older people, whether it is someone who is fifty or someone who is eighty. THEY ARE OLDER THAN YOU! In saying this, they know more than you. Trust me, they do. When learning to drive, my dad would always tell me to just do as he said because he had been doing it for forty years, and I had been doing it for forty minutes. I now realize the significance of that statement. Older people, whether they are mean or nice, know more than younger people do. It does not take a genius to figure that out. So to all you little inked up, gangster/guido punks, try respect for once. You will be surprised how far it gets you.
In conclusion, be RESPECTFUL and use MANNERS. It's not that hard to do. If you inject these two functions of life into your own life, you will go places no matter what. I guarantee you. I even have a hard time trying to stay true to these ways of life, but it's the effort to keep trying that makes it worth it and makes it valuable.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
The Real Wifes of Materialism
O.k., so the other day there was nothing on t.v.. I mean there was nothing on the tube AT ALL. I scrolled through the channels until I found The Real Housewives of Orange County. Holy Lord, what did I get myself into?
I'm not going to lie, I watched a lot of episodes. How much tanning, fake breasts and botox can one induce on themselves, jeez. It is like the producers sent out a casting call and said, "hey we need the dumbest, bitchiest, most spoiled stereotypical California girls we can find." (And if anyone gets mad about me saying that's a California stereotype then sue me...it's true.) I was just shocked how materialistic these women were. I mean we all want things in life (I buy a new DVD almost every three or four days), but these ladies buy diamonds like they come in packs of skittles. What happened to living a little on the, somewhat, smaller side of life where people drink low class beer at a tailgate or by a fire? People wearing jeans and NORMAL shirts that are NORMAL colors are things that need to circulate commonly through this country. The other day I saw some guy wearing some ridiculous shirt that had inked up dragons, and what's with the BILLABONG gear. It is the most hideous brand of clothes I've ever seen. The Real Housewives of Orange County got me thinking about all this materialism and how it fuels the fire for dominant appearance. I believe, full heartedly, that one should take care of his or her self, but these people take it to the furthest opposite side of the spectrum. Hopefully the next episode will have all the housewives put all their diamond buying, botox injecting, breasts implanting efforts into their families and relationships, because they don't. That is the ONE cool thing about reality t.v., we get to see everything while it happens. Real housewives, money, power and fame are not the true "funs" of life. Passion, modesty, generosity and GENUINE love for people are the true "funs" in life.
I'm not going to lie, I watched a lot of episodes. How much tanning, fake breasts and botox can one induce on themselves, jeez. It is like the producers sent out a casting call and said, "hey we need the dumbest, bitchiest, most spoiled stereotypical California girls we can find." (And if anyone gets mad about me saying that's a California stereotype then sue me...it's true.) I was just shocked how materialistic these women were. I mean we all want things in life (I buy a new DVD almost every three or four days), but these ladies buy diamonds like they come in packs of skittles. What happened to living a little on the, somewhat, smaller side of life where people drink low class beer at a tailgate or by a fire? People wearing jeans and NORMAL shirts that are NORMAL colors are things that need to circulate commonly through this country. The other day I saw some guy wearing some ridiculous shirt that had inked up dragons, and what's with the BILLABONG gear. It is the most hideous brand of clothes I've ever seen. The Real Housewives of Orange County got me thinking about all this materialism and how it fuels the fire for dominant appearance. I believe, full heartedly, that one should take care of his or her self, but these people take it to the furthest opposite side of the spectrum. Hopefully the next episode will have all the housewives put all their diamond buying, botox injecting, breasts implanting efforts into their families and relationships, because they don't. That is the ONE cool thing about reality t.v., we get to see everything while it happens. Real housewives, money, power and fame are not the true "funs" of life. Passion, modesty, generosity and GENUINE love for people are the true "funs" in life.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Where Did The Soul Go?
So the other night I was in the mood for a great flick; I just wanted to sit on my couch, order a pizza and watch a damn good movie. I came across The Blues Brothers and, without a hint of doubt or hesitation, loaded it into the DVD player. Enthralled the entire time, eating greasy pizza, I began to think, "where the hell did all the soul of movies go?" I mean really, think about it. Now don't get me wrong, there are good movies being produced today, but I feel like people make movies today for pure money and the "show" of it all. They do it for the credit, not the passion.
When Dan Aykroyd co-wrote and starred in The Blues Brothers, he made ZERO dollars in the end. They had a decent budget for the film, but made nearly no profit off of it. I want to see more of that...today. It is all for the big suits upstairs to make an extra buck (which sucks); they don't give a damn about anything else. I want the writers, producers, directors and actors to give everything they got and put there blood, sweat and tears into a film, just once, and see what would come out of it. If this happened we would get an amazing piece of cinema that would be entertaining as hell, yet have some depth so that we wouldn't be too dumbed down.
Think about this idea when you go out and by a new DVD or see a movie. Does it have soul? Does it have the balls behind it to make it a damn good flick? I will continue to do this and see what other films have the balls of good cinema. You should do the same.
When Dan Aykroyd co-wrote and starred in The Blues Brothers, he made ZERO dollars in the end. They had a decent budget for the film, but made nearly no profit off of it. I want to see more of that...today. It is all for the big suits upstairs to make an extra buck (which sucks); they don't give a damn about anything else. I want the writers, producers, directors and actors to give everything they got and put there blood, sweat and tears into a film, just once, and see what would come out of it. If this happened we would get an amazing piece of cinema that would be entertaining as hell, yet have some depth so that we wouldn't be too dumbed down.
Think about this idea when you go out and by a new DVD or see a movie. Does it have soul? Does it have the balls behind it to make it a damn good flick? I will continue to do this and see what other films have the balls of good cinema. You should do the same.
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