Indiana Jones 4

My Background
15 years I have been waiting for the fourth Indiana Jones film to come out. I used to subscribe to the "Star Wars Insider" just for 1-2 pages of Indy news and merchandise. I would search through magazines (at the time) and later the internet for all sorts of Indiana Jones stuff. When the Indiana Jones ride came to Disneyland, I used 3 rolls of film while waiting in line, taking pictures of every turn we made. I even ordered a pirated version of the Indiana Jones trilogy on DVD from Singapore that was ripped from the laser discs (I was later was notified by Ebay that this was a fake auction and got my $40 back). To say the least, I was a die hard fan of Indiana Jones, with the posters on my walls, wearing a similar leather jacket to school when it was cold, the fedora sitting on my dresser, and of course, a bull whip next to it.

Now, a decade and a half later, my childhood dreams would finally come true. After years of rumors, delays due to the Star Wars prequels, talks with Sean Connery and Kathleen Kennedy, finally Harrison For told Spielberg he would give him only a little more time to develop a script for the fourth Indiana Jones film. And then it happened... they started filming the movie. And a bombardment of advertising came with it. Everything from an Indiana Jones double Whopper to fruit snacks, to video games, to Lego toys, to a fake fabric toy whip with cracking sounds. Indiana Jones was everywhere. I would turn my TV on and within 10 mins, I would hear that oh so famous theme song... da da da duh! Whether it was a trailer for the film, or just an advertisement for some new merchandise or food, you would see some sort of Indy product on just about any channel, just about any time of the day. Now back in the day, I would have probably pissed my pants if I heard that theme song. Unfortunately, today it is just getting annoying, as much as I hate to say it. Which leads us to that day I have been counting down to for over half of my life, 12:01am on May 22, 2008.

The Theatre
Of course, we bought our Indy tickets a few days in advance for the midnight showing. The three of us left our house around 10:30, so we could get some candy to sneak in, grab some Taco Bell, and some Starbucks (normally I wouldn't drink it but I was already tired and needed something to keep me goin). So in honor of this evening, I bought some Indiana Jones M&Ms to go along with the Reese's PB Cups, Snickers, Kit Kats, Sout Patch Kids, and Sweet Tarts we had already stuffed in our friend's over sized purse. She even managed to put her Starbucks in there. So we buy the usual bucket of popcorn and a couple $5 cokes and make our way into the actual theatre. We have already seen tons of people with their Indiana Jones shirts on, some even with fedoras. I was going to bring my bull whip along, but I figured that might get me in some sort of trouble, so I just sported my Indy shirt I bought at Disneyland a few years ago.

As Johnelle and I walk into the theatre while Neil is buying our snacks, we are blown away. It can't be more than a few minutes pass 11pm and the theatre is almost completely full. There are hundreds of screaming high schoolers, many dressed up. We walk up the stairs to look for 3 seats and cannot find any. At one point I am facing the screen talking to Johnelle, trying to figure out what to do and some starts yelling "HEY INDY" behind me. Now I know the back of my shirt says Indiana Jones, but there are a hundred people dressed or sporting Indy clothing. So I ignore it. He keeps yelling, "Indy, turn around". I'm thinkin, no way he's talkin to me. Finally, after a third yell, I turn around and hes like, "hey we can scoot down if you too wanna sit here". I just laughed and said thanks, but we have 3. So finally we go down to the front, and then the madness begins. Beach balls just start flying all up and down the theatre, like at a concert or something. Everyone is going nuts. So Neil comes in, and goes, "I'm not sitting up there, we're goin to the next showing". After a few minutes, Johnelle and I agree even though all the fun is in here.

So we get to the next theatre with over an hour to go for the 12:20 show time. This is more of what we expected. Plenty of room, with a few fans. So we get second row in the middle. After a few minutes of waiting, we realize the group behind us has someone dressed like Indy, and this Asian chick with a Yankees hat on. I'm like, haha, that Asian chick looks a little like Short Round (form Temple of Doom). Then we look at this Middle Eastern dude next to her, and he's dressed in a tan suit and later puts on a red fez (hat). To say the least, it was awesome and only made me more jealous I hadn't dressed up. So after an hour of annoying movie trivia, commercials up the ass, and trailers (the Dark Knight by far the best), the lights dim and the moment I have been waiting for is here, at 12:20am... Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is beginning.

Warning, the following contains spoiler and obscene language

The Film
And so it begins. The Paramount mountain comes on screen, and actually, they use the old school "aged" looking logo. And then the mountain morphs into what appears to be an anthill or something in the desert. First 10 seconds, I'm impressed. And then what happens? (I'm blaming this and most faults on George fucking Lucas) A prairie dog comes out of it as if we were watching some stupid kids movie. And then they start playing some 50's diner-esque song while some younger kids driving through the desert race and army convoy. Alright, I'm already feelin like I'm watching something other than what Indiana Jones should be.

About five minutes into the film, our hero arrives. A few quarky/comedic lines, but thats OK with me, I expect this crap from Lucas. Then they enter the Area 51 hanger (briefly seen at the end of Raiders when they are storing away the ark). So the soviets want Indy to find this box. Indy knows its extremely magnetically sealed so he used gun powder and shotgun pellets to locate it. Pretty ridiculous, but OK. of course, he breaks loose and while leaving the warehouse, the destruction left behind him reveals an open box with what inside of it? None other than the Ark of the Covenant. I mean did we really need that?

Next scene, after escaping in the desert, Indy finds a small town. Goes into a house, only to realize its a testing site for an A-Bomb. So whats he do, he gets in a lead sealed fridge and the A-Bomb sends him flying into the desert. Of course Indy gets out of the fridge, more or less unaffected, after surviving a nuclear bomb. Oye... who the hell let Lucas write.

The movie isn't too bad now, they explain a little bit about Indy in WWII, then he meets Shia. They ride his Harley through a library on a college campus which was ridiculous but I could handle it. There is one scene where the Russians run into a statue of Marcus Brody, and the head falls off busting their car. Mutt (Shia) laughs and Indy gives him a stern look and shakes his head (going back to Last Crusade with Indy and his dad, now roles reversed). I got a kick outta that. But to ruin it, while Mutt is starting his bike back up in the library, and the Soviets are running them down, Indy decides to give a lesson to one of the students in the library while the Harley engine is revving. LAME

Things aren't goin too bad, they get to South America and get caught of course. And who do they run into? Marion (Karen Allen), who just happens to be Mutt's mom. Indy and Marion argue like in Raiders, although Marion looks old as hell, I mean worse than Indy. And her acting seems to have gone down hill a bit. And then they get stuck in a sand trap. As Indy and Marion are sinking, Indy comedically starts explaining to Mutt the difference between a sand trap and sinking mud or something like that. LAME. Then after Mutt goes to look for a rope, Marion explains to Indy that Mutt is actually his son. REALLY LAME.

Now the ridiculous car chase begins. To start off, you just see an aerial shot of the rainforest with something just tearing down everything in its path, similar to the monster in Lost. Then you find out its this giant tank thing with huge blades in the front. Pretty bad. Then Indy gets a hold of a car and they catch up to Irina (Cate Blanchett). Some crazy shit happens and somehow Mutt and Irina start swordfighting each other on separate cars to attempt to get the skull back. Of course Irina carries a sword with her. Then, very similar to Temple of Doom, Mutt's legs are on each car as he goes over trees and gets smacked in the balls. Some how he still manages to stand up and sword fight. Eventually he gets back on his car and some how manages to get stuck on a vine up in the trees (their in the Amazon FYI). He goes flying up and hundreds of monkeys start swarming him. Now this is where it gets REALLY FUCKING BAD. He starts swinging like Tarzan through the forest, while the monkeys of course are following him. So he catches up to the car chase where he jumps on Irina and the monkeys follow to jump on the Soviet car and attack them. REALLY FUCKING LAME.

So now they've lost the Soviets and are told by the crazy guy they need to go down the waterfall. So the car that Marion is driving (which just happens to look like boat), drives towards the cliff. Everyone freaks except her and she just says "relax" as then fly hundreds of feet into the river. Of course they're all still in the car and fine. They do it again. Same result. Finally they hit the third waterfall and they all fall out. At least there was some reality to this one. Then they end up on a dry part of land, only to realize that according to the riddle, they need to go back under the waterfall to return the skull. Fortunately, they cut from the guys on the land to them in the caverns under the waterfall. This is where Johnelle and I turn to each other and I say, "at least Spielberg went up to Lucas and said: Ya we're not showing that".

The film continues with more ridiculousness. They return the skull to the alien skeletons and once the 13th skull is replaced, the skeletons morph into a real live alien, and you find out the city of gold is actually a spaceship hidden underground. This part I will give some credit to, not a bad story. Then as it takes off, the water fills in the gap to leave no trace. Similar to Goldeneye.

Finally, the last scene. Indy and Marion get married. Pretty Lame, but acceptable. Then after they kiss, the doors to the church blow open and Indy's fedora blows down the aisle. Mutt looks down, picks it up and is about to put it on his head. Now this is where I am about to scream "FUCK YOU GEORGE LUCAS", but thankfully are good friend Stephen Spielberg didn't allow this to happen, as Indy grabs the hat and puts it on. Roll credits.

So overall, ya it was pretty shitty. It was no Indiana Jones movie. I think if I weren't such a huge fan, it would've been OK, ridiculous but OK. Remove Lucas from the writing and give the sole power to Spielberg, and I think it would've rocked. Either way, I will probably go see it again, just to see if maybe now that all the hype is up, it can be acceptable. Probably not. Anyways, after a decade and a half of waiting, I can honestly say that I was very disappointed. I don't know if it was the hype, the excitement, or the 19 years since the last Indy film, but this was definitely a poor showing of Indy's comeback. If I had to rate it, I would probably give it a 3.5 out of 10.

Just Another Thur Night

So it's Thur night and I didn't have to work on Fri. Originally, my plan was to just chill out, play some video games, maybe have a couple beers in the hot tub, and take it easy. Surely enough, that changed as soon as I got home. I knew I had to do some online work for the Arctic doc, and Jodi IMs me saying she doesnt have to work on Fri either, so we should go out. So I try to get everything done that I can, work out, shower, eat dinner, and finish work. As Im finishing work, Jodi is like, well I dont feel like goin out anymore. This is after I finally convinced Neil to check out this "cowboy" bar down Beach blvd I have been wanting to check out forever. So we say fuck it, have a beer at home and go out to Tumbleweeds...

So we get to this dive bar, pretty dead, no music playing (even though the website states, LIVE MUSIC EVERY NIGHT) and I order a beer. Its a pretty shitty bar, and a pint is $5. Im pretty pissed. Neil orders a water as he has to work in the mornin. So we are talking for about 5 mins and decide, fuck this lets go to Goat Hill Tavern in Newport, one of the coolest dive/hipster bars we've been to in Southern California. So I pound my Blue Moon and we head out.

We get to the bar, pretty packed, all sorts of people from college students, to slutty dressed girls, to the punk ass surfers, to the old guys just wanting to relax. Of course they have saw dust and peanut shells covering the ground, as for $1 you get a rather large container of peanuts, and for $2 you get this practically bucket of peanuts with shells. So we get a pitcher of PBR and a small order of nuts (did I mention they have 141 beers on top?)

So we are just hangin out, enjoying our Thur night. There are some cute girls, some drunk ass guys, but mostly a bunch of people hangin out. Then, as Im telling Neil a story, I look to my right and there's a fight. Turns out this guy was "lookin at this other guys girl" and the guy with the girl literally knocks this guy out. Im talking like one hit, one kill. The poor guy that probably just looked at this douchebag's girl was on the floor bleeding. So of course the bouncer break up the fight, kick out the instigator, and help carry the KO'd guy outside. Afterwards, a few bartenders come over to the spot (after many people had left) and scatter sawdust over the area of the fight to cover up the blood. Ahhh... what else could I ask for on a Thur night?!? So as we are leaving, the KO'd guy is outside with some friends, as they are trying to stop his nose from bleeding and getting him to sit up straight. And I thought this only happened in movies like "Roadhouse". Ah, gotta love dive bars!

That was about the end of our night. We decided to leave from there. I was craving donuts (normally I dont even like them, but with the overpopulation of donut shops in Cali, I was just craving a couple choc covered donuts). We never did find a donut shop in HB opened though, so we made it back home. And this is where I will leave you now. Time for bed, but what journeys will tomorrow bring? Who knows!!!

I now know why the bar has a drink limit...

Well, our time on the ship is coming to an end in about a week. And even though we will be off by Christmas, the Captain decided to have a Christmas party for all the researchers and crew aboard the Amundsen with us. It was made up of three parts: a friendly hockey game between the researchers and the crew, followed by a nice dinner buffet with wine served, and finishing off the night for a party at the bar. I remember the first two parts...

The hockey game was fun. The crew made some pretty nice goals along with goalie pads for the two goalies. They used snowmobiles to plow an area of ice of. We didnt have skates, but worked up quite a sweat running around in all our cold weather gear and boots. If youd like to check out a clip from the game, go to www.thearcticexpedition.com and click on videos. Here's a pretty cool looking frame from the video

So after three 20 minute periods in -20 deg weather, the game ended in a 3-3 tie and it was time to go back inside and warm up. And what better way to warm up than hit up the bar! Now one thing I need to explain before going any further is that all the alcoholic beverages on the ship are dirt cheap. A can of beer is $1.50 Canadian (pretty much the same as US) and a shot of rum or whiskey is $1. They want to keep it affordable because most of the crew is on the ship for 6 weeks at a time. Now due to this cheap cost for booze, there is typically a 5 drink limit per night. Now you can get around it usually, depending on the bartender, but usually just get a few extra drinks. This was not the case for the Christmas party...

So after a few pre-dinner beers, we had dinner. I was pumped, the first thing I saw were mini pizzas, then chicken wings. Honestly, I was craving pizza ever since we got on, so this was awesome! So I pour a glass of wine, get up, and my seat is taken, so I sit at another table. Well Im the only one sitting there, so the guys make room for me at the original table. Of course, they insist I bring the bottle of wine from my table over, so I do. We go through two bottle between 6 of us, then find another stock pile. We finish off one more and people are startin to exit. Well, Hugo, one of the researchers just happened to have a bottle in room, so we snuck it down and finished that off between 3 of us. This is where things really begin to get blurry. My drink count is 2 beers + about a bottle of wine.
Now the bar is open and fully rockin out. Its about 8pm and we are drunk. So what do we do? Drink more. I have a few more beers, and then I decide to start doing shots. This will be the downfall for my evening... First shot, who better to do one with than the Captain of the ship:You can see the drunkedness come out in my eyes. Now honestly, this is the last point I remember of the night, so I figured instead of trying to write any more, I will just post a few more choice pictures that I woke up to to help describe my night to myself.

Keep in mind I have no recollection of this, only my camera remembers the evening



















I think I look good compared to that guy!















OK, I think I am beginning to scare her















And that must have been my outro...








So after an evening of festivities, I make it back to my room. Of course, even I couldn't make it back without doing something else stupid. According to one of the guys that was at the bar, my finale began with me buying a beer. I open it up, take one sip, and literally fall into a wall and onto the floor. Magically, I managed to not spill one drop, but he took the beer from me and I went straight up to my room. Also, I apparently held a conversation with Tony for a few minutes before crawling into bed. Once I woke up at 730am with a killer headache, I do the usual check; wallet, camera, watch, all there. Then I look down and realize I am still wearing one shoe. I scurry in my bed to look for the other one, of course it is no where to be found. Now I am like "Fuck, I only have one shoe". Fortunately it ended up falling off the bed and I managed to make it to the bathroom and down some Excederin. Let me just tell you, the next day was pretty horrendous. I had a stomach ache and headache all day, and today (2 days after the party) I still have a headache. All I have to say is the Cannucks know how to throw a Christmas party! Now, next goal, don't black out again until the New Year!!!

A Year's Update

Well, it's been while since my last post, but with some egging on by a certain friend currently living and Japan, I have decided to start the blog back up. I really wish I would have kept this thing updated actually. Since my last post, I have traveled to Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Austria, Canada, and currently the Arctic. Most of it was for work, but you can probably imagine that I had plenty of fun there! Besides work, I drove across the country from Indiana back to Cali with Neil, my current roommate. Things didn't work out too well at Uncle Randy's (actually, it was just Beth that was insane) so I ended up getting an apt with Neil in Huntington, along with my new friend Laura from Michigan. We randomly met on the streets after the bars closed in Huntington, as my Scottish friend that was staying with me went up and started talking to her. Now we hang out, along with Katie, another Midwesterner all the time and have a hell of a time in the OC!

Of course, I still make my way up to LA to party with Horwitz and Venetia like the old days, of course now the Indiana crowd has grown. Not only have Ashley, Kyle, and Joey moved up to LA from Indiana, but I have probably met more Hoosiers from IU in LA than people from Cali! Overall, I would have to say moving out to Souther California was the best idea I have ever had. I am having the time of my life, with a lot of new friends, and old friends. And I thought "My Life was a Sitcom" back at IU... wow I had no idea what was about to come! Anyways, keep watching for new posts, as my current status is aboard the CCGS Amundsen in the middle of the frickin' Arctic, north of Canada. It just never ends! Until next time....


-Shaggy (oh ya, I recieved this nickname on the trip to Brazil...)

Casino Royale

Ah, so I finally saw the new Bond flick, Casino Royale, starring the latest Bond, Daniel Craig. After hearing quite a few reviews declaring this as the best Bond since Sean Connery, I was obviously excited. Also hearing what Neil and Schwartz thought of it, raving how great it was, made me even more excited for it. But what do I think of it now that I saw it? Eh. Yes, thats about it. The story was OK, the action scenes were pretty cool, but the lack of many things really brought it down. (*WARNING* - the following may include spoilers, don't read it unless you have already seen Casino Royale or don't plan on seeing it for a while!)

The Pros of the Movie
The movie really started off kind of cool, black and white, and mysterious. I also like how Bond is being promoted to 00 status, and on one of his first missions he pisses M off so much that she wants to get rid of him. The fight scenes are what I would have to say were more badass than previous. Bond actually gets hurt, his tuxedo is bloody, he almost dies, he gets tortured but is still a badass. And the ending is probably the sweetest part of the film (and just about the only redeeming factor for the last 20 mins) as he sneaks up on the guy and does the usual "Bond, James Bond" quote. Also, when he makes up the martini and orders one without caring if its shaken or stirred was a plus.

The Cons
OK, no Money Penny, I can handle that. No Q though?!? WTF! And this leads to my next problem, where the hell were all the gadgets? Now the Aston Martin was cool as hell, along with the extras in the dash, but he doesn't even drive it 5 mins in the film! And the one real car chase lasts about 20 secs. Now there were many running scenes while Bond is on foot which were cool, but why give him such a sweet ass car and not even really use it. I do not know.

And the girls. Now the latino chick in the begining was pretty hot, but the main female role? I don't think so. Chiffre's g/f did turn sluttier and sluttier from scene to scene, but I don't think she even had one spoken role, let alone was in more than 3 short scenes. And the main female role's name is Vesper. What happened to Pussy Galore?!? And the only somewhat sexual induendo was talking about his pinky. Nothing compared to "I thought Christmas only 'comes' once a year".

And what kind of Bond villain gets jumped by a couple of freedom fighters in his hotel room. He doesn't even have a cool back story, just an eye that bleads? His henchmen weren't even crazy asses. Just some bald guy that wasn't even intimidating with a crazy ass Daniel Craig running around.

Conclusion
So did I enjoy it? Yes. Did it beat out Goldeneye as my favorite? No way in hell. Daniel Craig is a baddass, and was a pretty sweet actor, but I think they showed off his body more times than the girls. And throughout the movie, I kept forgetting it was even Bond with the lack of gadgets, suaveness, and sex scenes. The locations were exotic, the cars kicked ass, and they even brought back Felix which hasn't been in a Bond movie since the Timothy Dalton era (probably my second favorite Bond). Rating the movie, I would give it an 8/10. Rating it as purely a Bond movie though, I would probably have to lower it down to a 6/10. Please comment and let me know your thoughts!

FU MANCHU

Ah, so Matt decided to drive 3 hrs from El Centro to Costa Mesa to see Fu Manchu on a Thur nite. And he had to work the next day! It all started when we got there at 8:30pm. We thought the show started at 9pm. We were wrong. We waited outside the "Detroit Bar" until 9pm, when the doors opened. We did however meet this old guy who had apparently been rockin out to Fu Manchu since he was a kid (if I had to guess, he was between 35 and 40) He then introduced us to his wife, which was hot and loved rock n roll! I think Matt was in heaven hahaha! This is all while I am waiting for Cynthia and her friend to meet us at the bar after attempting to see Tenacious D perform a free concert, which turned into being just a giant MySpace lie.


So after a couple beers, the show starts. As Fu Manchu is performing their first song, I notice an older looking fellow in a ripped grey t-shirt just start jumping like a fucking kangaroo, straight up in the air. The guy was a maniac. I thought security would get involved, but I shortly learned that he wouldnt be a problem compared to what we were about to see. Another great character was the dude with the long blonde hair, head banging in front of the stage. His hair literally almost hit the ceiling, it must have been like 4 feet long. The rest of the crowd was a mix of punk looking rockers and good old tattooed biker rockers. This combination with heavy guitar riffs and shouting lyrics turned the venue into a good old fashioned mosh pit.


About 2 songs into the set, some dude just starts pushing and moshing. He was thrown out in a few minutes. Then I look over near the bar, and theres a stoner lookin dude with long hair and a biker guy with a shaved head fighting. The shaved head guy takes the stoner guys head, grabs his hair and smashes him into the bar. They were both escorted out, although the stoner guy came back towards the end. He also complained to the security that the biker dude "pulled his hair". So a few songs later, towards the end of the show, a tattooed dude in a wife beater with spikey hair is doin some funky dance moves (kind of like the streaker did during Bob Dylna's set on that MTV awards show back in the 90's). He pushes me aside and starts talkin to some other concert goers. Out of no where, the security guards grab him and take him out. I guess there are rules against stupid dancing.


The show is reaching an end. The lead singer gives a shout out to his wife for their anniversary (a first for me to hear at a rock show). He then explains that this will be the last song. Most of the crowd has either been kicked out or has left by now around 1am. So about 2 mins into the last song, I get drenched. I'm like WTF. I then notice an empty beer cup fall to my feet. Within about 15 secs, 2 security guards push me out of the way, and grab this dude in a headlock. They literally drug him out while I thought his head was going to pop due to its purpleish-red color. As we are leaving, the douchebag that couldnt wait 30 more seconds for the concert to end before getting kicked out, is arguing with the bouncers. To make things even better, hes got an accent and is bitching about the US shows. To make things even better, as we leave the bar, the fog is so thick that I cant see 10 ft ahead of me. Of course, Matt and Cynthia have to follow me home on the 405 which was only going about 40 mph, which is unheard of in LA. So that was my first experience with the Detroit Bar and Fu Manchu. I can only home my next experience will be just as violent.

Up Next: Partying' Up with Uncle Randy and Horwitz!

The Exotic Travels through Indiana

So as I am driving north from Bloomington to Elkhart this past fall, I noticed something very odd. Not only did I drive through the cities of Kokomo, Miami, and Denver, but I drove through (what I believe to have been the cities of) Peru and Mexico. Now I dont know about you, but why in the HELL would you name ANY part of Indiana after ANY of these cities/countries?!? Granted, Indiana might be as hot as Kokomo would be in the summer, or as cold as Denver in the winter, and be as humid as Miami in the summer, but why Mexico and Peru?!? I've been meaning to post this for a while, but ya, just letting out some steam! Let me know what you all think!

Drunk Girls are funny

So ya, tonight was a pretty chill night. Went out and had a couple beers with Rick and my Dad. Met Kyle and his g/f and her friend out. Then the drunkedness comes out. As I leave the hell that many call Kilroys, I enter Nick's for the 3rd time tonight, still getting carded and questioned as if I didnt look 21. We get upstairs, and theres this girl that looks oddly familiar. I go to the bar, and as I am sitting down, she runs up to me, and yells "IUSTV WOO-HOO!!!" as if in some spring break/girls gone wild video. I am thouroughly confused, ask Kyle if he recognized her, and he answered with the same, she looks familiar answer I gave to myself.
As I am leaving Nick's and walking home, there are two wasted chicks outside talking on a cell phone. They yell to me "WE NEED A RIDE!". I answer with the obvious, "I dont have a car, I'm walking, isnt that obvious?!?". They then began to cry. Maybe I shouldve just lied and said I didnt speak English. Oh well, tomorrow brings another fun filled night at the Bluebird! This time, with my Dad and Rick!!!

Motherfucking Snakes on a Motherfucking PLANE!!!

SNAKES ON A PLANE!!! ***warning, spoilers!***


So the day finally came. August 18 (well August 17 at 10pm for us lucky ones), the premiere of Snakes on a Plane! Me, Neil, Josh, Matt, Andrew, and Nikki saw it in Merrillville. We were hyping ourselves up all day and the entire ride up. We were expecting the theatre to be full of a yelling and shouting audience, but unfortunately it was only about 1/4 filled. Some dude in front of us ended up being a film student at Ball St. and kept talking about some shit none of us cared about. Then Josh was mooching our popcorn, so we sent him to get a refill during the commercials before the flick. He got pissed and spilled popcorn all over the guy, which ended up being pretty funny. Anyways, on to the movie.



The Weapons


I figured I would just talk about a few of my favorite parts of the movie. At the begining of the film, I decided to keep note in my head of all the weapons Samuel L Jackson uses to kill the snakes. From my memory, here is the complete list (please let me know if I missed any!):

Tazer

Microwave (used by the "gay" guy)
Broken Bottle of Champagne

Gun

Hairspray Flamethrower

His Fists

Harpoon Gun (My personal fav!)

This is just one great part of the movie. Not only did these ridiculous, makeshift weapons make it awesome, but the characters just accentuated it!


The Characters


We start off with Samuel L Jackson. I dont even have to say anything about him. We have the stuck up bitchy chick with her fucking dog. We have the snobby British businessman. The famous asshole rapper with his fat ass bodyguards. The stoner couple who fucks in the bathroom and dies first as it would happen in any horror movie. The hot ass stewardesses & (The "gay" steward). But by far, my favorite character... Rick the pilot (also known as Champ Kind from Anchorman). Not only was he his sleazy self, but after he gets bit, he fuckin beats the shit outta the snakes. And he made the quote list!



The Quotes


Well, this might be the most important part of the movie. Let's just see if I can remember them all (please also feel free to add any of your fav!):

"Great, now we got snakes on CRACK!" - SLJ

"Do what I say, and you'll live" - SLJ

"I have HAD IT with these MOTHERFUCKING SNAKES on this MOTHERFUCKING PLANE!" - SLJ

"I am opening the fuckin window!" - SLJ

"Whose your daddy now BITCH!" - Gay Steward

as Rick is dying from being bit by a snake "Here, let me wrap your arm with my scarf" - stewardess, "thanks, I think I might need your shirt too!" - Rick (Champ Kind)


Oh how awesome was this movie?!?!?! Please post your comments, and if you havent seen it yet, go see SNAKES ON A PLANE!!!! Greatest movie of the summer! (sorry Johnny Depp)

Saturday Night in Chicago (Narcisse & Vision)

So, I decided to go to another open bar with NeilE in Chicago (last time I regretted the next day, and sure enough the same happened to me this time!) Meeting us in Chicago was Mike Strange, and 3 of his friends. Along with us came Neil's friend Ang and the infamous, Andrew Raelson! To start things off, Andrew had nothing but flip flops and shorts with him, so Neil was kind enough to go back to his place and dress him in his own clothes. Sadly enough, I think Neil enjoyed it WAY too much! We were a little late getting to the club as usualy, but made it at 9:15pm, allowing us a good hour and 15 mins to enjoy a completely open bar (including red bull!)


Baltic Bloc CD Release Party @ Narcisse 9:15pm
Sure enough, we got to the club in Chicago for only a $5 cover and all the well drinks we could consume! Awaiting us was Yuris and Andy, the two that make up the Baltic Bloc. Unfortunatly for them, none of their CDs got pressed and the CD release night turned more into just a regular night, until the power went out. FOr about 20 mins, no music. It was akward. Then the music kicked on, and the open bar was about to close, so I ordered me 2 more rum and cokes. The bartender then ran out of well rum, so he poured me Bacardi. Later on, we were informed that the downstairs of the club was a "Swingers Club". You had to have a date to go in, but Neil found a back way so we went. It was FUCKED UP! Half the room was a giant bed with people all over it, another room only shut out by a half way shut curtain revealed a guy "railing" a girl on a bench, with 4 other people (guys and girls) watching! Enough was enough, and we left. This was also the last thing I remember from Narcisse.


Vision 1:00am
Somehow I lasted a good 2 hours without ordering another drink at Narcisse. I was anhilated! We arrived at Vision, where I had the biggest pain in the ass getting in. Yuris and Andy almost didnt get into their own gig! Finally we got our hand stamped and I wandered around. I was wasted and didnt need anymore. Later on Neil Andrew ang and I went to the top floor, through yet another back door. Around 3:00am, we decided to leave, and made Andrew pound his last beer. Another blurry memory ahead!


Neil's Car on Highway 30 in Merrillville 3:45am
I awoke in the front seat, not really sure how or when I got into the car. I look at the car stereo and saw it was 15 til 4. I finish the extra bottle of water I put in Neil's car before we left. We started talkin about food and I wouldnt shut up about how delicious a Subway sandwhich would be made by Neil's bro with whatever I wanted on it! Then I wanted White Castle, but first we had to drop Ang off. We drop her off around 4:00am in Valpo, and I am feelin bad. I know I'm gonna puke, but I hold it in til we make it to my house...
152 Sunset Drive 4:15am
Neil drops me off and thanks me for not puking in his car. I go to the garage door to get in, and my parents locked it. So I call them up. They aren't too upset and I go upstairs where I puke for a good 15 minutes. I was done, out of commision. I then went to bed in my hot as hell room and woke up the next day hungover as hell and with a terrible sore throat from puking. I guess I will just never learn! Until next time!

Vegas Baby, VEGAS!!!

So, I just got back from my free trip to Vegas! Overall, it was an awesome time, got to show Anthony around for a few days and hang out with some of my good buds from Valpo. And of course, I lost some money, drank a shitload, ate some delicous buffets, and oddly enough, actually learned some stuff at the NAB! 4 free nights at Caesar's Palace and 1 night at the Stratosphere, and of course airfare and transportation, all paid for by Dean Hamm... I love that guy! Here's a little summary of my trip, I decided to split it into NAB and Fun. Enjoy!

The National Association for Broadcasters Convention
Well I must admit, I was pretty intimidated when I first got here. I did attend a few workshops, where I learned After Effects, Motion, and how to create a reel in about 4 hours total, all taught by pro's. Once Monday hit, the convention opened up, and there was some COOL SHIT there! The first cool demo I saw an Ultra Hi-Def TV. This projection was about 40' x 100', and it also included 22.2 surround sound. The picture quality was unbelievable. In one clip, they showed a Pacer's game, and it was so realistic looking, it felt like you were watching the game from the bleachers at the fieldhouse.

The Next real cool thing I saw was a live band. They were all playing electronic instruments, and the only noise you could hear was the faint tapping of the drum pads. But if you walk over to the demo, you could put headphones on. Once you put them on, the band sounded like you were at a concert. You could even adjust the lows, mids, and highs of each individual instrument (including the electronic flute!) The sound was so real and amazing, I can't wait to see this thing really hit!

The last real cool thing I enjoyed wasnt even a specific event, but the free shit. At one stand, they had a live DJ, free beer, free crackers and cheese, and frickin massage chairs! Another stand had cigar-looking girls carrying around trays of margaritas. And then I used the internet (which didnt have a toolbar, so you couldnt type in an address, so I just used the F1 key to get into the help mode, go to MSN.com and used the search bar.) The security guy was amazed and thought I was a hacker, and he the went and stole me a laptop bag that only speakers got for free. Ah, I love free shit!

Vegas, the Fun stuff!
And when I wasn't dressed up like an office worker at the convention, I made the most out of my trip as possible! One day, we chilled out at 1 of the 4 outdoor pools at Casar's. Another night, Neil and I went to the rides on top of the Stratosphere. At 1100' off the ground, we went even higher on their "big shot" ride which shoots you up at like 4G's. That was freaky but cool. The other ride we rode was the "x Scream", not cool. Basically, it teter totters you over the side of the building, and drops you til the metal bar catches your cart. Yes, we put our lives in the hands of a few metal bars holding us in, created by a Vegas casino. Not one of my prouder moments. And I have NO intention to EVER ride that thing again!

The last day I was there, I actually ran into some other college film makers, who were attending the NAB. I hung out with them for a while, and they invited me to Hooters, but I knew I didnt have the time. So I traveled down the strip with a bottle or Bacardi and a bottle of coke. I then ran into a girl who was taping the strip. I talked to her, only find out she graduated IU and works for Discovery Channel Travel! She interviewed me and I helped her with some camera shots. Maybe I can even persuade her to give me a job!!!

The last adventure I had in Vegas was getting to the shuttle to the airport on time. I had to be there at 1030, so I took the monorail at 10pm. BTW, the monorail stations are so far of a walk through the casinos, dont ever ride them if your in a rush. I get to it, take it to the 2nd last stop before mine, and it says its turning around. Im like WTF! So I get off, then see it go to my stop. So I have to wait for the next rail 6 mins later. Its now 1025. I get on it, get off at Sahara and RUN to the Stratosphere. Luckily, the Bond theme song "Live and Let Die" was playing in the casino, so it pumped me up. I got to the shuttle a few mins late, but then saw him and asked him to wait. He waited and asked me if I wanted to run to a store for some water. I just laughed. I actually enjoyed the shuttle ride, as we were big dorks and talked about wiring surround sound.

Got to the airport, and flew to Minnesota at 1am. I then flew from MN to Indy and arrived around 10am. Took the 1040 shuttle to Btown, and then got the first shut eye I had since Monday morning. Overal, it was a kickass trip, but I have to admit, its nice to be home! Now it's time to get my work done!!!

TShirts when I get bored

OK, this is what happens when I get real bored! BTW, these images are copyrighted, if you would like a TShirt, please send $15 to me!





Oh and if you like AD, I also did this when I was really hungover and bored with FaceBook:
GOB

This is what happens when I get bored...

Hahaha, why not?

Yo Ho, Yo Ho, a Pirates Life for me

So, as I was driving around Wed night (with the doors off my jeep), I got extremely sleepy in about a second. Not thinking anything of it, I went home and we watched some Arrested Devolopment. Throughout the 5 episodes we watched, my eye began to hurt worse and worse. I rubbed my eye, attempted to flush it out, and even used eye drops, but no love. Finally, I look in the mirror only to see a tiny black spec just under my pupil. I attempt to fish it out with my finger, and no go. So I decide to go to sleep, or atleast attempt to with something lodged in my eye.

I wake up the next day in sheer pain. I go to the 10am Advisory Board meeting looking like I just did a whole lot of drugs. Nose running, eyes bload shot, couldnt keep them opened I struggled through the meeting. I then went to the health center and told them my problems. As I went to the doctors office, he numbed my eye and attempted to get it out with a cotton swab. No go, again. So he escorted me to the eye clinic. There they shined this bright ass light in my eyes and noticed I actually got a piece of asphalt in my eye. Fuckin fabulous! So the student doctor in training used something that she described as a "mini golf club" to "flip" it outta my eye. They then dilated my eye and sent me off on my way.

For the rest of the day, my left pupil was huge and a looked like a freak. Not to mention, looking at any light killed. So I went to the banquet wearing my sunglasses inside. Funny enough, no one really questioned why I was wearing them, they just thought I was being an ass. So, to the after party, I wore an eyepatch, which helped with light, but completely fucked my depth perception so anyone who waved their hand at me quickly freaked me out.

Today, I went in for a check up. The first thing the new student doctor said was "how the hell did you get asphalt in your eye?!?". He then looked at it, dilated it again, dyed my eye yellow (which was really weird) and scheduled me to come back again in on Mon. Yippee, now my eyes will be dilated for another two days. This is what happens when you take the doors off your jeep...

An adventure through the sticks of Indiana

So Saturday was our IUSTV executive retreat at Waycross Christian Camp located in (or you could say around) Morgantown, IN. It all started at the IUSTV offices. We had to meet at 10am on a Sat which I was still exhausted from taping Multivisions and attending a Formal the day before. I arrive with Jenny around 10am, and sure enough am not the last ones there. In fact, Anthony was late along with Kyle, but not as late as Kaylyn's 30 min delay. So we all split up, and I chose to ride in Kyle's car along with Brian. And then the journey begins...

As we leave Bloomington, we glance at the directions and Kyle says he knows where we are going. The first direction is to get on 45. Brian suggests we take 10th St. but Kyle takes 3rd. No biggie, or so we thought. As we drive and tell old stories in the car, Jenny calls to make sure we are on track. This is when we realize we are headed off course. We stare at the shitty map with no street names and have an idea where we are. Kyle suggests we just take 46 til it loops around, then head down to Waycross. This seems like a good idea at the time.

Now we are heading through Nashville, approximately 15 miles out of the way. We start heading north to Morgantown, where the camps address is supposedly located. As we drive through the small town, we decide to take the first big highway (and the first light we've seen since Nashville) and head west towards the camp. This miserably leads us to Painted Hills, which is located just east of Martinsville, way the hell outta the way. We then decide to stop at the biggest (and scariest) church Ive seen. (Un)Fortunately the doors are locked. We decide to head back to the town of Morgantown...

As we pull back into town, we stop at cafe to ask for directions. Of course, there is a sign out front reading "Closed for Memorial". Just our luck. I get a call saying the guys are begining to eat lunch and I am now pissed. As Brian and I wait outside the car, Kyle runs into a tiny gift shop. There, Kyle got very vague directions, and to help further our adventure, he pointed in the direction we needed to head. The only prob was this guy only had 3 fingers. God knows which finger we were to follow. As a confused Kyle walks out and explains us he got nothing, I decide to take things into my own hands and go to a place all answers can be told; a local bar. As I entered the smoke filled space, I notice an akward looking couple eating at the bar, and the other side loaded with a bunch of "locals" eating lunch and drinking Budweiser at 11am. I ask the waitress if she knows how to get to Waycross and immediatly the guy next to me yells out "my mother used to work there!" Excited, I ask him for directions. He turns to his buddies and they all argue/discuss the quickest way to the camp. While I am waiting, I notice they have $2 beers... ironically enough, Kyle entered the bar as soon as I see this sign from god. He makes sure I am n ot drinking, and then the waitress asks if we want a pepsi to go. I then respond with, can I have a bud to go? A disgusted eye roll was all I got back. The local "boys" finally come to a decision. The guy then takes a notepad and starts drawing a map, with no street names of course. I grab the pad and ask him to describe the directions as I write them down. They consist of: go to the light, take that road til it goes over the big hill, turn left, then turn right at the T, then vear off to the left when the road Y's. There will be signs. As detailed as these directions were, they were wrong. Basically, we got into the woods, then took every road and backtracked til we thought we were going the right way. At one point, we drive by a house and a church with many cars outside. The guys nominate me to go ask for directions. I knock at the house, no answer. Then I go to the church, knock and peak inside. I was staring at what looked to be a church from the 1800's. We then quickly left. We drove around some more, only to find some dirt/gravel covered roads. We take a few more Y turns and finally we see somewhat walking their dogs whom didnt look like they were going to jump us and "make us squeel like pigs".

We ask the nice lady how to get there and she tells us. Take this to Richards Rd and take a left. THe only thing was, she pointed to the right. So we are like WTF! We follow her directions, only to end up back to the creepy chruch. We turn around on the dirt road and go the opposite way. The woods are begining to break up and we see power cables. In fact, one power cable is hanging so low I couldve reached out the sunroof and touched it. We FINALLY see signs for Waycross. After driving through the backwoods of Indiana past Cattle x-ing signs, and looking for a bridge that didnt have any water underneath it (one of Kaylyn's wonderful directions) we got to waycross, only to realize we didnt know which cars were Nate's and Kaylyn's. We go to the entrance that looks like it is where they are. Its locked. Fortunatly Kasey comes and gets us.

We enjoy our lunch and discuss our topics. We get done on time and leave. This time, it's me Kyle and Anthony. Of course, Anthony doesnt know how to get back and we are in the lead. We go until we find a road to turn on and take it. The car behind us follows. We are relieved. Then Kaylyn goes the other way. We are freaked out. Thankfully it was correct and took us to 45. And that was my Saturday, how was yours???

Today's Random item in the mail

So ya, I did recieve another random package from the same address in Culver City, CA. This one was about 6" x 6" x 12", so it seemed a little more realistic. I opened it up and it was this:





Sure enough I was freaked out. Everyone I told thought it was badass. So I thought, lets just see how much it will go for on ebay. Sure enough, the damn thing is some collectors item that only a few people recieved during some speech at comicon in San Fran this year. And it is going for $75 on ebay. WOW. The real ques is what do I do with this flimsy ass mask... sell it on ebay for a cool $75 to gamble with in Vegas next month, or wait and hold onto it, hoping it will escalate in price? If anyone that is reading this is a collector, please give me your input!

SNAKES ON A PLANE!!!

Words cannot express what I feel when I watch this:



http://www.tagworld.com/snakesonaplane

Where is this shit coming from?!?

Well, sure enough I never recieved box 3/4. Yesterday, I recieved, or what I thought. Today I recieved a 27lb box including matrix shirts, starsky and hutch crap, and a bunch of old movie promotions. I assumed it was the missing box. This one was actually labelled to my name and address in Bloomington, but was from the same company that sent me 100lbs of tampons. As I looked at the box, it was 1/1, so who knows what happened to the other box. And will I continue to be recieving these random items? Only time will tell. Any wagers on what I will recieve in my next package? I am taking bets now, and sorry Tuholski, it wasnt a kitten!

This should happen to Larry David...

So today started pretty typical, had to wake up early to drive from Valpo to BTown before SCAP. Unpacked, checked the mail, went to class. As I come home and walk in my door, I look on the couch and see a package. Yippee I think in my head. Ooh, its heavy too. I open it and it looks like a bunch of posters. Huh, I already recieved my yearly St Pauli's Girl poster.

Dawn walks out of her room, what the fuck did you order? The ups guys said its supposed to go to Minnesota. She points at two more boxes in the corner.

I look at them and they weigh 50 lbs each. I open them and find 20 little girly bags tightly placed in each box. They look like one of those packs you get the first day of college including all fun stuff like shampoo and tampons. So Dawn asks to open one and she does. The contents appear as follows:

I am even more blown away now. I have 40 of these bags of girly goodies sitting in my living room and a box filled so tightly with poster I cannot remove them to look at them without ripping the box. The real funny thing is; the boxes are all labelled 1 of 4, 2 of 4, and 4 of 4. But I never recieved box #3... what will come of this? Stay tuned and read my next blog! Please let me know if anyone has any insight on this!

I hope Neil's not a Vampire!

So, we decided to go out and party last night (saturday) in Valpo since we didnt go too crazy party-wise in LA. It all started when I pounded 3 bottles Franzekanser (this thick-ass german hefeweisen beer). We then headed to a chill bar and they had black and tans on special. But besides the regular black and tans, they offered an assortment of mixers to go on bottom. They were all topped with guiness, but I ordered a black and blue; guiness and blue moon. Josh ordered a black and cider, guiness and cider obviously. After 2 black and blues, we went to the Franklin House, a local towny bar that recently remodeled (and got its liquor license revoked) It was nicer than I imagined, and went ahead and ordered an MGD. Josh then ordered us all a "Lunchbox"; a pint of beer and you drop a shot of half amaretto half OJ. The thing was, the dumb bartender mixed the pint of beer with OJ, then gave us a shot of amaretto. After chugging half a glass of this concoction, I stopped and burped.

Throughout the night, Neil wanted to steal some glasses as usual, so I took a break and stole a glass into his car. I was then DD for the night, so I stopped drinking. Well, Josh wanted to steal a shot glass, which sucked so he grabbed one. We then shoved 3 more in his pockets (some not empty). Then night ended with a total of 4 stolen pint glasses, and 4 shot glasses. After Neil ordered drinks back and forth, I drove Josh home, and went on to my house. Neil and Valia wanted to go to Pepes, which was closed, so I went to White Castle instead. As we are ordering, Neil takes my phone and calls Beka Schultz. I think this is a bad idea, so I try and close the phone. What does Neil do? He fuckin bites my shoulder. I yell and drop the phone. The WC employees are obviously like, WTF, but we get our food and continue home. After an hour or so of Neil lookin at my digi pics, Jeff calls my cell and Neil answers and repeats only "holla at your boy". They get pissed, and Neil leaves at 5am. Jeff continues to call me back and i dont answer til about 530 am. And that was a night on the town in Valpo.