2004

I finally got on my butt and wrote up my Top 10 movies of 2004. Realize that these are the movies that only I saw last year. Sorry for all the true movie buffs out there who saw the real quality movies that weren’t put out in the box office]. You know…all those indie movies that 75% of Americans never hear about because it was advertised on TV. I love that. Anyhow, here it is:


10. The Terminal – Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks come together again to make a wonderful movie. It’s all taken place in an airport, yet it is entertaining and light-hearted throughout the two hours or whatever it was. I found it interesting the idea of learning all about America through an airport. Brilliant!

09. Friday Night Lights – Amazing sports movie! It was a toss up between this and Miracle for the best sports movie of 2004, and I went with this one. I just like football better than hockey (sorry cousins!), plus this movie seemed to be more than winning for your country or town or state. It had that feeling that life was more than the sport, and it was fun to see a whole town to come to that realization in the movie.

08. The Bourne Supremacy – Yeah, the editing really sucked, but I couldn’t get over the awesome story about a super cool government assassin who wants out. Conspiracies, great fights, and the best car chase ever!

07. Spider-man 2 – So far, this is the best comic movie I’ve seen. The comic feel was truly brought onto the big screen in Spider-man 2. The action was dopeness to the third level, doood. As much as I liked it, I could only put it at No. 7 because, when it comes down to it, the movie is just a comic book movie. Nothing much else to it.

06. Ray – This is the only movie I saw that got the Best Picture nomination in the Academy Awards. That’s too bad, but this movie does deserve it. Jamie Foxx is amazing, and it is a good biography of Ray’s life. The impact he made in our country through his music is extraordinary, and it was done well in this movie.

05. Garden State – I’m glad Natalie Portman totally redeemed herself in this movie after doing those abominations to the Star Wars series. Call me strange, but I really loved this movie. Very eccentric humor - the way I like it! Plus the message of the movie made me want to get off my arse and do something meaningful. Kind of ironic that I’m writing that while I sit here writing up this post.

04. Kill Bill Vol. 2 – Quentin Taratino is an amazing writer and filmographer. I love both these movies, but since the first came out in 2003, I’ll go with this one for 2004. Though the story as a whole is pretty terrible (glorifying bloody revenge and all), it was told extremely well. A very artistic film with action, cool.

03. The Incredibles – The whole Pixar collection is pure gold, The Incredibles does not come short for their newest installment. I watched this movie in the theatres three times. Yes, it’s that good! If Shrek 2 beats out this movie in the Academy Awards, I’m going to murder someone.

02. Collateral – I just realized…I have a lot of movies on this list about trained contract killers. Awesome. Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx was a great match up for this movie, and this movie took action to another level. The world does seem to look as hypocritical as Vincent says; it scares me sometimes.

01. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind – This is my favorite movie of 2004 for its brilliance and cleverness. The acting was superb, the story telling was amazing, and the filmography was nothing short of artistic genius. There is nothing wrong with this movie. It is flawless. FLAWLESS!!!!!


So there you have it. For David’s list, go here. Here is a list of the rest of the movies I saw, just to show you how much money I spent in the theatres. What a waste.

50 First Dates, The Alamo, Alexander, Along Came Polly, Around the World in 80 Days, Cinderella Story, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Hellboy, Hidalgo, I, Robot, Ju-on: The Grudge, King Arthur, Ladder 49, Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, Man on Fire, Mean Girls, Miracle, The Passion of the Christ, Saved!, Shark Tale, Shrek 2, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Spartan, Starsky and Hutch, Taking Lives, Troy, Van Helsing, Vanity Fair, Walking Tall, White Chicks, Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!

Happy.

This post is a response to David's post on Dobson and his attack on Spongebob Squarepants. I advise you to read that first (along with the article) before tackling this overreaction to what he said. I felt like trying to sound smart today...it goes with the sleep deprivation.

-----------

Though I do understand what you're saying, I also understand why Dobson addressed the issue of SpongeBob. I think targeting Nickelodeon for that show instead of ABC for Desperate Housewives was a smarter move. The age group of kids who love Spongebob wouldn't be interested in wives looking to get some hanky panky, so they wouldn't go out of their way to watch it. Flipping through channels, kids would stop at cartoons, not drama about middle-aged women. They wouldn't get it.

On the other hand, I read the article, and Sponge Bob is probably not the best show to make this point on homosexuality. I don't know much about the story (and I didn't see the video), but it didn't seem like he had strong support to back him up. If I were him, I would have brought up the movie Shark Tale where there is a shark who is different than the rest and doesn't want to eat/kill other fishies. The way it was portrayed had that whole Tolerance Pledge idea in it. Obviously, it never referred to the Tolerance Pledge exactly, but the message was totally thrown in the kids' faces. That's insanely manipulative to tell kids that hey! just because people are wired differently doesn’t mean their bad people…period. It may be somewhat true, but to say that all people who are different are not bad is false. Me being someone from a standpoint of Christian morals and values, that statement is terrible. The movie puts Christians in the wrong. Call me sensitive or paranoid, but the movie was almost an attack on anyone with Christian beliefs on homosexuality.

I think the main point that Dobson was trying to make is that we need to defend our children from such ideas like the Tolerance Pledge makes in the area of homosexuality. Why? Children are our future. Our society and culture is handed down to these people, and it is up to us to teach them and make them understand what is right and what is wrong from God’s perspective; for God’s idea of right and wrong is the absolute. This is a very important issue indeed! Dobson was trying to make the point that cartoons having messages to tell children to accept homosexuality is spiritually degrading for our children.

We shouldn’t tolerate beliefs that support homosexuality. That doesn’t mean that I will avoid gays or spit in their faces when they pass me by, but respectfully help them understand where they are at fault. As Christians, we must try our best to lovingly show them the Way. if we get ridiculed or hated for it, so be it. I would rather know I tried by best discussing this issue with a homosexual and failing than to ignore him and condemn him to hell. I’ll leave the condemning to God.

That’s my two cents.

P.S. Disney owns everything.

Santa Maria.

I am here in a Holiday Inn hanging out with Kuya, Chesney, Daniel, Shawn, and Caleb. I don't really know why we all decided to drive to Santa Maria to hang out with each other, but it's been a fun evening. Applebee's is a good place to eat. Heh.

Also, happy birthday Jon! Twenty-two and going strong. Last night was rockin', and I'm happy that I beat you a couple times in Super Smash Brothers. I'll kick your big, yellow Pickachu ass anyday!

Real World is such a great class! I love it...for the most part. The only drawback are the news quizzes and the fact that I need to go to school tomorrow morning for our make up class. Ewwww! Oh, well. At least I can still go to church right after it's over. Otherwise, I'd be even more upset.

So anyway, things have been good. Good family, good friends, and school is good. God is good. Now I'll just wait for when a bad thing happens and completely destroys my foundations.

kuya tim is so awesome.

But I'm awesomer.

The aftermath.

As anyone living in So Cal knows, it rained here the past week. Not only rained but stormed...bad. Ventura County got it really heavy as well. Major flooding on highways and homes, overflowing of rivers, and a major landslide. It is nice to know that the worst of it is over...I think. I want to give out my sympathy to those who were involved in someway in the La Conchita landslide. You are in my prayers.

Here is a picture of Brooks after the major rains were done.


Totally insane. 

I don't want to sound cold-hearted or anything, but this is just a small nibble of what people are going through in Southeast Asia right now with the tsunami disaster. We can't forget those on the other side of the Pacific, and must encourage those who are helping (both there and here at home) with the tragedies.

I learned on the news just 10 minutes ago about a father and husband helping to search for survivors in La Conchita including his wife and three daughters. I'm unable to even imagine the stress and pressure he is under right now, but I hope that he will accept everyone's deepest love and concern for him and his family.

Prayers to all. God is with us.

Identity.

You Are Beer!

You don't need to get totally wasted when you hit the bars. More of a social drinker, you just like to have fun with your friends. And as long as the beer keeps flowing, you're a happy camper. But don't mix things up: "Beer Before Liquor, Never Been Sicker!"

What alcoholic drink are you?

On Dawson's Creek.

"Our brain's aren't deteriorating, they're slowly losing response to outside stimuli. They're becoming caked with layers and layers of cheese that it's hard to get to them."

-Tim Machlan

Can't...stop...must...stop...

Run Like Mad sung by Jann Arden

My heart is in my hands
My head is in the clouds
My feet have left the ground
My life is turning around and round.
Every voice inside my head is telling me to run like mad
Oh bows and arrows
Stars and sunsets
Hey hey hey yeah
Hey hey hey yeah.
Every heartbeat every kiss just
Makes me wonder what all this is
Suits of armour
Hearts and arrows
Hey hey yeah.

What an insane song! But then again, it's the Dawson's Creek theme song on the fourth season dvd set. Tim and I have proudly memorized it. Even before I looked up the lyrics!

Also, we've had a ton of one thing today. Cheese! It's amazing how much we can have. We've had so much, my brain is slowly deteriorating. In fact, we're still having it. Tim and I have been watching Dawson's Creek all night. Cheese! Pure cheese! We are about to finish the third dvd, which means six more episodes and I have finished the whole season within a span of three days!

Vegetable.

Guess what I did today? I spent most of the day watching dvds of tv shows. Tim and I managed to watch half of the fourth season of DAWSON'S CREEK! Mmmmhmm! Yessir!

We did take a break, though. We had to pick up Rachel from school. On the way there, Tim and I tried to talk like they do in Dawson's Creek. I must say, it's was quite difficult. Amazing that this show was so hot on tv. Over-aged casting, way too intelligent dialogue, terribly unbelievable drama for high school kids. Yet it's so strangely addicting.

I also finished 24: Season Three with my parents. Great show. The most depressing ending out of the three seasons. It's still great, though. Probably the most intense part of the story surpassed anything in the previous seasons. A good watch.

Season Four looks interesting, and I'm glad Dawson's Creek is over. And yet...I can't stop watching the show! It's like heroine without the needles.

First post of the year!

So I gotta make it good!

I think I'll just post a video.

It's dedicated too all the drunks who were pulled over last night. May you never drink and drive ever again.

On marriage.

What we call 'being in love' is a glorious state, and, in several ways, good for us. It helps to make us generous and courageous, it opens our eyes not only to the beauty of the beloved but to all beauty, and it subordinates (especially at first) our merely animal sexuality; in that sense, love is the great conqueror of lust. No one in his senses would deny that being in love is far better than either common sensuality or cold self-centredness. But, as I said before, 'the most dangerous thing you can do is to take any one impulse of our own nature and set it up as the thing you ought to follow at all costs'. Being in love is a good thing, but it is not the best thing. There are many things below it, but there are also things above it. You cannot make it the basis of a whole life. It is a noble feeling, but it is still a feeling. Now no feeling can be relied on to last in its full intensity, or even to last at all. Knowledge can last, principles can last, habits can last; but feelings come and go. And in fact, whatever people say, the state called 'being in love' usually does not last. If the old fairy-tale ending 'They lived happily ever after' is taken to mean 'They felt for the next fifty years exactly as they felt the day before they were married', then it says what probably never was nor ever would be true, and would be highly undesirable if it were. Who could bear to live in that excitement for even five years? What would become of your work, your appetite, your sleep, your friendships? But, of course, ceasing to be 'in love' need not mean ceasing to love. Love in this second sense - love as distinct from 'being in love' - is not merely a feeling. It is a deep unity, maintained by the will and deliberately strengthened by habit; reinforced by (in Christian marriages) the grace which both partners ask, and receive, from God. They can have this love for each other even at those moments when they do not like each other; as you love yourself even when you do not like yourself. They can retain this love even when each would easily, if they allowed themselves, be 'in love' with someone else. 'Being in love' first moved them to promise fidelity: this quieter love enables them to keep the promise. It is on this love that the engine of marriage is run: being in love was the explosion that started it.

-from Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

Phil and Alisha, I hope that you guys have the greatest of marriages, and may you always love each other through thick and thin. In all the years that I've known you, you two have amazed me in everything that you have been through as a couple. I sincerely hope that my relationship with my girlfriend (God willing) will be at least a hint of what your relationship has been. God bless you both! Though C.S. Lewis may not have been married at the time he wrote that bit, I think he has a good view of what marriage should be like.

I love you guys with all my heart.

I'm a material boy in this material world.

Actually, not really...though I do enjoy getting free stuff. Christmas was terrific! I got a few nice and good gifts (including the Goo Goo Dolls new live cd), but the greatest coolio thing I got was a guitar for my very own. After years of borrowing and holding other people's guitars, I can say that this Fender acoustic guitar is mine. MINE! The guitar was from all those who contributed to the present, as I'm told. So thank you, family and friends, for the thing! It will be used often.




Okay, everything else about yesterday was good too. Great Filipino food, a nice little service in the household, and great fellowship with all the loved ones. No karaoke, though. That was a bit of a letdown.

Happy Boxing Day!

90 minutes left!

Christmas is just around the corner! I'm so excited I could chew my own tongue into vapor! Amazing!

My family minus Tim, Chesney, and Caleb went to a church for the Christmas Eve evening service. Nothing against the church, but it was the worst Christmas service I've ever attended. We sang Dreaming of a White Christmas instead of Angels We Have Heard on High and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer instead of The First Noel...while we had thick hymnal books right in front of us. Snowy evergreen trees were displayed on stage and the quartet wore Santa hats and reindeer antlers while the cross was hidden behind the giant white sheet to show the lyrics to the songs.

Joseph apparently took Mary for his wife because he was a loving, forgiving, and merciful man instead of the fact that he was told by an angel that Mary is carrying the Son of God. Jesus' reason to come to earth as a baby was so people wouldn't be afraid of him. After all this time, I thought it was to show that He is a humble God...not to mention all the prophecies. Silly me!

Anyhow, we went to a family friend's place for dinner, which was fun, and we opened a present each tonight. Rachel was excited to get her Oregon Trail. The Christmas season is still all around. Despite all the pagan traditions we have come to love, I'm glad that people around the nation still haven't forgotten we still need to remember Jesus' birth...even if the sermon sucks. Still bitter about the music, though. Rudolph...bah!

On another note: Luke Shackelford has a blog! Hurrah!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Preparation.

I find that Christmas shopping is one difficult thing. But maybe that's because I haven't done much shopping and just thinking about what would be a good gift. I should just go out and buy stuff and figure out who to give it to later.

I have done some shopping, so I'm good. Mostly for my immediate family, which is what really matters. Everything else is just fun gifts. It's nice not having a girlfriend because at these times, it's just extra money I get to keep. Maybe I can get one of those anti-consumer ladies who thinks that materal possessions are terrible.

Oh wait, there's no such thing.

It's fun to get gifts, though, because it's fun to give! Yeah!

"It starts with..."

Alright, the majority of the weekend was spent driving. It felt that way, at least. Tim Machlan, Oli, and I drove up to the Bay Area (mostly Tim driving...heh, thanks Tim!) around 2 am Friday morning, and then back down around 3:30 pm on Sunday afternoon.

The reason was for the long awaited hockey tournament that our cousins and I joined. The result: We got freakin' rocked! And by "rocked," I mean rocked like a virgin with a prostitute for the first time. That's alright, though, because we had fun. We all knew we wouldn't do well, but we wanted to know where we stood.

Actually, to defend ourselves a little, I found out the day of the tourney that out of all the three or four leagues within the tournament, only four teams joined. So it didn't matter that we joined the second to worst league because they just had all of us play 'round robin. So, really, we were playing guys way more advanced than we planned.

But that's alright, none of us complained really. We all knew we sucked, and the other teams knew we sucked, and the refs knew we sucked, and everyone who was watching us knew we sucked. We took it so well that we became the well-loved underdogs that everyone cheered for. Danny was able to score in our last game, becoming the only player to get our only goal! We went so crazy, Caleb started to grow hair! All in all, we freakin' got schooled, but we enjoyed playing other people and we learned a ton. I know I did. Amazing how much you learn about a sport by just playing four games.

Good, bad, and funny things that happened this weekend:

-My front bumper practically fell off on our trip up to the Bay Area. It's okay now, we nailed it back onto the car.

-We watched half of 24: Season Tree. Awesome.

-Phil: "It starts with 'porn.'"

-Punching, slapping, and backhanding Tim in the face whenever we wanted.

-Phil: "And ends with 'ography.'"

-Nathan insulting random people on Star Wars Galaxies.

-Lisa: "I'm so glad you guys aren't planning my wedding...I mean [turning to Daniel], our wedding. Sorry."

Mac: [to Lisa] "No, it's your wedding...'cuz Guys just don't care."

[very brief silence]

Nathan: "He just wants to tap that."

[looks over at Chuck]

"Chuck knows what I'm talking about."

Chuck: "Always."

Oliver then grins happily.

David: "Yeah, that's why guys get married."

Lem: "Man, you don't need to get married for that."

"Heeeere's Johnny!"

I decided to give one of the classics a chance and visited a horror classic The Shining. Now I know where all the great quotes come from ("Red rum!"). The movie is great; I can see why it's a classic. It gets unexplainably weird at the end, and that's my only complaint. But then again, I never read the book, so maybe some of the things that happened in the movie have to do with the contents only presented in the book.

Also, orange juice and vodka is really good.

Really, it only looks like I'm a chain smoker.

I look so sexy in this picture. 


This cigar actually didn't taste that good. That's okay, it was only three dollars. 


I didn't actually smoke that cigarette (minus a puff for the picture). Why? Because cigars are better. 

Robert Zimmerman.

Yesterday I watched the interview with Bob Dylan on 60 Minutes. It was interesting watching and listening to Dylan's view on his life back then and today. I'm not an avid fan of his, though I do like his music when I hear it here and there. He spoke of how it was his "destiny" to become a musician.

He isn't particularly thrilled about performing and song writing today, though he still believes that it's his destiny to keep on doing the music thing. He's just pulling his end of the deal. What was his answer when he was asked who he made the deal with? I recall him saying something along the lines of the "Chief Commander" of this world and beyond. Very cool, Dylan.

And you're right, "Bob Dylan" is a better name than "Robert Zimmerman." Good call.


Bob Dylan's The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan 

Blowin' in the Wind

How many years can a mountain exist
Before it's washed to the sea?
Yes, 'n' how many years can some people exist
Before they're allowed to be free?
Yes, 'n' how many times can a man turn his head
Pretending he just doesn't see?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind.

On another note: Our hockey team will be playing in a San Jose tourney this Friday. Here's our official website. Wish us luck!

The ideal.

I finally finished 24: Season Two. I must say, it took me long enough! Great ending, though the cliffhanger was kind of weird seeing that the end of each season for this series doesn't really connect to the start of the next. Ah, well.

I can't help but think that President Palmer is the writers' way of telling President Bush how he should have handled going to war with Iraq. Sort of a slap in the face for the real president. But then again, this season came out before we went to war with Iraq. At least, I believe it came out before then.

Onto The Shield: Season Two!

Christmas mindsets.

The best way I get into the Christmas spirit is receiving all the wonderful gifts from family, friends, and family friends. You could help me get into the Christmas spirit. Simply check out my wish list on Amazon.com and buy something from it for me. With Christmas just around the corner, and Kuya giving the good idea of making wish lists, I was inspired to list all the current materialistic items I would like to have to help develop my love for earthly things. Thanks, world!

I went to the Philips' Christmas party last night. That was fun. Friends young and old, from church and school, and quiet and loud joined together under one roof to create one diversified group. We had a lot of fun. I ate lots of snacks because I was hoping they'd serve some kind of light dinner, but it ended up being home-baked sweets with apple juice. My body ran purely on sugar that night, and my restlessness proved it.

The best part was when the party was in its last hours and all of us young, hip lads busted out the bongo and acoustic, electric, and bass guitars to jam out. It mostly consisted of worship songs, and it was kind of silly having three guitarists strumming the exact same thing, but it was still fun. Todd, Tim, Josh, and I recorded a song we made up earlier in the night about Taylor, which was fun. It's repetitive, not to well recorded, not greatly sung, and long, but at 1 am after a big get together, it sounded cool.

We also made a quick video for it, which is even more trippy. No, there was no drug use involved before the making of the video. We're just naturally weird and foolish.

The other day, I watched the classic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer on tv. I loved it. I remember watching that when I was a little child. I loved it just as much then too. "Why am I such a misfit!?"

More Christmas things to come in later posts, I'm sure. For now, I'm done.

Awake, my dreamy state!

What do I want to dream about tonight?
I desire to soar through silver clouds;
Watch as majestic eagles take flight,
In the sun where there's no darkened shroud.

I'd like to see me in a different world
Where creatures only exist in folklore tales,
And I am mighty with my courage unfurled;
And I'd battle great evil yet prevail.

Perhaps I could find a true love there
On a beach of golden sand.
With sapphire eyes and silken hair,
She and I together on a distant land.

Alright, that's enough of that. It is clear that my poetry gets pretty trippy at 2:30 in the morning. I was much better off watching the last episodes of 24: Season Two. I debated whether to finish off the last couple episodes, but I decided to blog instead. What do I end up doing? I end up writing a poem...a poem!

Ah, well. Chrissy gave me the idea to write about what I would like to dream about tonight, so it's partly her fault. I won't give her the glory of thinking of writing a poem, though. No way, Jose! That was all me!

Anyhow, this is what I really want to dream about tonight: I want to dream about being some kind of cool special agent. One who isn't recognized by any government; one who technically doesn't exist. I'd do freelance special missions for the U.S. that would better the common good of its citizens. And I'd kill lots of people (bad people, of course) in really cool, stylish ways like Jason Bourne or James Bond would. But most of importantly, I would like to remember my dreams, for goodness' sake!

Yeah, that'd be a rockin' dream. Happy sleeping everyone! Oh, wait...the majority of everyone is already doing that. I'll take that as a hint. Goodbye, goodnight.

ADDED AT 3:09 AM

Speaking of poems, I went through my back up files and found a poem that I'm actually quite proud of. And given the U.S.'s state with Iraq, I thought this may be fitting.

I Know Why the Soldier Weeps (3/19/02)

I know why the soldier weeps
When he returns from a hard-fought battle
And finds a life-long friend is now asleep
When on the boat before they leap
See the others slaughtered like cattle
When he prays the Lord his soul to keep
I know why the soldier weeps

I know why the soldier fears
Witnessing the destruction of war
When screams of pain is all he hears
And feels abandoned by the great Overseer
When he sees missiles and bombs soar
And the toughest of men shed a tear
I know why the soldier fears

But I know why the soldier shoots the gun
When kills enemies with all his might
And when surrounded he mustn’t run
To pave a future for his loving son
For his country he protects and fights
So death in his land will not become
I know why the soldier shoots the gun