Beard Championships

Today in my German class I was reminded of the greatness of the World Beard and Mustache Championships. Something I would love to participate in, but unfortunately don't think I have the dedication to grow a beard as long as they have to. There's just no way I could do that.

I bet a lot of people haven't ever even heard of this championship. But you should! The things these guys can do and actually pull off with their beards is incredible. Some are just elongated "normal" mustaches

Like this:

That mustache must have taken years and years to grow. I really don't understand how you would don a stache like this on a normal day. Do you always put wax in it? Do you let it hang down? Do you somehow fold or roll it so it's not so long? I feel like you would have to turn your head sideways just to walk through a door! And driving would be annoying too. You'd always have your mustache running into the window when you check your blind spot. Or who knows, maybe it would touch always when you drive. I guess you have to own a convertible or jeep with now doors for a mustache like this.

Then we delve into guys who wear a few more curls than the average mustache:

At least with this one I think you can get away with it not curled. It looks like when it's not curled he has two stripes of black going down his mustache. And I think that'd be a pretty awesome beard to have! Maybe this can be something to strive for in the future!

Then still other guys like to get really creative:

This looks weirdly similar to the American Cancer Society Logo. Odd but AWESOME.

And this one...well. I think that speaks for itself. SO COOL. How in the world did that ever come into being? How did he come up with the idea? I don't get it, but I think it's the coolest facial hair of all time. OF ALL TIME.

Until the day comes that I dedicate enough time to growing really awesome facial hair I'll just stick with my mustache and have fun with it. I love getting all the compliments. This year I've been getting way more than last year. It must be thicker and look a lot better than it did last year. And yet, while I'm proud of it I still occasionally get these kinds of looks:

People just stare... When they do like it people don't hesitate to tell me. It's kind of becoming a trademark and I'm really liking it. So remember! Don't hate on an awesome mustache!

NBC Thursday

This Thursday's NBC lineup was absolutely stellar. Community's Law and Order episode, 30 Rock live again, and Parks & Recreation's debate! Just outstanding.

First up: Community.
Looking past the awesome names of episodes, Community had simply one of its' absolute best episodes of all time. Just incredible.

Following the pattern of a Law & Order episode, we are first presented with a crime: murder of a yam. And then we get to watch as the group tries to solve the crime. Replete (one of my favorite words) with many references to shows and movies other than Law & Order, this episode left me rolling on the floor with laughter.

Troy and Abed were the police officers, Shirley was the all-knowing "DA," Jeff was the lawyer with Annie, and Britta...well. She made pictures look western! AKA turned on the sepia tone on her computer. That was genius writing. The whole story of the murder of a yam and the twists were all great. It makes me so happy to see it getting back to its roots!

Next: 30 Rock
The first time 30 Rock did a live show it was one of the funniest episodes of the season. And I think this year will be the same.

Following the premise that TGS, the show within a show for those who don't watch it, will no longer be a live television show is great! We get a rant from my favorite character: Kenneth. He tells the cast and crew why live TV is the best thing in the world and we get flashbacks, which were hilarious. Some included people in blackface and others involved a spoof of The Honeymooners proving that Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey have some of the best comedic timing in the business.

In the flashbacks and cut scenes we get a slew of cameos from old SNL stars to movie stars to stars from other TV shows. The likes of Fred Armisan, Amy Poehler, Donald Glover, Jon Hamm, and many many more. They do two shows in a row. One for the east coast and one for the west coast. The small differences are subtle, but enjoyable. It is definitely worth watching both of them. You can catch new things and see the differences. It's great!

Lastly: Parks and Recreation
A show that had slow beginnings. Yes, season one was very slow for me, but picked up towards the end. Then once it found its voice it blossomed into one of the funniest shows on TV.

This episode proved that yet again. Leslie had her debate and it was awesome. Seemingly always the underdog she stayed that way for most of the episode. And stupid Bobby Newport was supposedly winning. The cast was perfect as always, each of them fitting their on screen personalities to the T.

And we get some great Aziz Ansari moments as Tom Haverford. My absolute favorite character on the show. Probably tied with Ron Swanson, played by Nick Offerman. Tom always seems to be happy and goofy and just doing his own thing. It's just a lot of fun to watch. And the things he says speak for themselves. If you want more from Aziz, you can get it on the American Express commercials. The best one is with him buying a kayak. He's just hilarious!

If I ever do any work in TV I would want to write for NBC. Any of their comedies on Thursday night. They're all great even though The Office has become less funny than it used to be. But Community, 30 Rock, Park & Rec have all become my favorite shows. Giving me lots of new quotes each week and many many other hilarious situations. The just make me wish my life was a TV show, much like Abed on Community.

Physical

Today I had a physical and I was surprisingly a little terrified for it. I haven't had a physical since probably 2007 or sometime around then. It was with a female doctor too.

Anyone I tell about that asks me if it was awkward. Or says 'that must have been awkward,' but that's not the case at all. She was one of the coolest doctors I've ever met. She loves working with college students because of the discussions we have with each other.

I guess I don't really know if I'm 'allowed' to share this, but she told me about a time she was talking to a college student and they got on the topic of the game "Would You Rather..." And told me the question that got her the best: Would you rather drink menstrual blood or a cup of semen? I burst out laughing and so did she. She was just happy to know that college students talked about stuff like that! Hilarious!

But I was most intrigued to learn that doctors are starting to phase out the "turn and cough" test. The reason being that they over diagnose things like testicular cancer or other genital problems. She said that if there are problems a guy is going to know! She said that guys actually touch their testicles so there is no need for doctors to do it

Then I asked her why exactly they did that, because I had forgotten from the first time I learned. It's for hernias. If you cough the thought was that you would push a hernia out a little and the doctor would feel it. She then told me about the reflex on the inside of your thigh. If it gets touched, your testicles will get "sucked up" close to your body. I told her about a couple friends of mine who are med students and learned about that. They tend to randomly try and get you and when they do it's really annoying!

Other than that everything went great! My blood pressure was 120 over 60. Nice and calm! I grew an inch from the last time too! Now I'm six feet and one and a half inches tall and weigh 166 pounds. Too much information? Probably, but I don't care.

I did get some bad news though. My vision! I used to have 20/15 vision. Better than normal or "perfect" vision. But now I have 20/20 vision. NOOOOOOO. Not perfect vision! It just freaked me out because I knew it would happen someday, but not while I was in college. My grandpa only got glasses when he was an adult and late in his adulthood. Everyone in my family thinks I got his eyes and immune system. Either way I'm happy about it.

Part of me wishes I could have a serious disease that could be cured by the one and only:

House. I know he's not a real doctor, but he's so smart and funny and entertaining. He tells it like it is. But then another part of me realizes that's stupid. I don't want a disease!

Irrational Fears

This doesn't fit into any of my days (except maybe Friday), but I really wanted to write about my irrational fears because I think some are really weird. And I couldn't wait until Friday.

I'm not really afraid of normal things and don't really jump in movies anymore, but here is my list:

Number one. It may be a fear for other people, but the first thing on my list is getting fat. I am terrified that one day I won't be able to see my feet. I try to keep myself in shape and I do a good job, but I know that over time I'll have to start eating better and working out more often to keep my metabolism up and stay skinny. Right now I know I don't eat the best, but I don't eat too much. I'm not even sure where this fear came from, but it's there.

The next on my list of irrational fears is hospitals. Every hospital. Always. I know the workers are there to help people, but it's just too clean for me. Hospitals have to be kept clean and in tip-top shape, but I don't really like that. Every hospital I've been in has the same feel: too clean and too much white and green everywhere. I don't like it. It's just so strange to me, how hospitals can all look and feel the same on the inside. Is there a reason for this? I don't have the answer, but maybe someone does.

Following the hospital trend. Another fear is medicine, more specifically shots. I am lucky enough to have one of the best immune systems out of anyone I know and I don't take medicine. Ever. That's where this fear comes from. A lot of people I know get the flu shot every year and many of them end up getting the actual flu. Not just the slight sickness you get from getting the shot, but the seasonal flu. And I don't want to take that chance. I also don't take regular cold medicine or anything of that kind because if I get a cold it usually only lasts for a couple days and then I'm all better. The only thing that I do take is vitamin C. And since I've never had the flu, why would I change what I do about shots and medicine?

Falling out of bed. It only happened to me once and it was just off my futon. But still it freaks me out. What if I fall on something and break it? What if I fall on a pen and impale myself somehow? I also fear sleep walking. I've never fully sleepwalked, but I did fall asleep in my bed and woke up on my futon one night. It is so disorienting to wake up somewhere other than where you fell asleep. I don't like it.

For as much as I love thunderstorms and lightning I always fear that I'll get struck by lightning. The reason for this is that I always have my headphones on when I'm walking outside. Including in thunderstorms. If I were to get struck by lightning while wearing headphones, the shock actually would go straight into my ears and I'd probably die. That is a horrifying thought to me. And is completely irrational because unless I'm over 100 feet off the ground the chances of getting struck by lightning are very very slim. Not to mention that having headphones on could actually help divert the lightning away from your heart.

Probably my biggest and most irrational of all is my fear of leaf piles. Maybe I played in them too much as a kid or maybe I've seen one too many movies or TV shows (probably a combination). If I don't make the leaf pile myself in a field or open space I will not jump in it. For some reason I think there's going to be a homeless person sleeping in it, a dead body, a person with a knife or even just a knife in the pile. But the weirdest thing I always fear is in there is a fire hydrant. Something similar happens in the upcoming movie The Five-Year Engagement. It's a pile of snow, but around 1 minute into the trailer (Here) Jason Segel jumps onto a pile of snow and immediately rolls off because he landed on a fire hydrant.

I don't know how many people have similar fears, but I know these are weird and some are quite irrational, but I think they're pretty weird. Who knows maybe a lot of people are afraid of leaf piles.

Continental Travels

I have a few goals for traveling in my life. One is to get to all 50 states. I don't know how many I've already been to... (that's for another day). Another is to set foot on every continent. Yes that includes Antarctica. Don't know how I'm going to get there, but someday I hope to, if only for a short time.


This summer I get to check another continent off my list by going to Australia. So I can check three off my list. North America (crazy I know), Europe, and now Australia.


Over the past year, my desire to travel has increased exponentially. I've always enjoyed traveling, but I just want to see the world. There is so much to see and so many ways to go about seeing the world. You can travel to each continent, try traveling to every country, or take one of the many lists of Seven Wonders of the World and see where they used to be and see the ones that are still standing.

Of the seven wonders of the ancient world only one still remains standing: the Great Pyramid of Giza, but the sites for the other six are mostly still visible. Now a new list recently came out and I've actually seen one of them: The Coliseum in Rome. It was incredible! One of the coolest things I've ever seen.

Seeing it from the outside is one thing, but  until you've walked through and around it and seen the old structure, you haven't truly appreciated this amazing structure! Many people know the Coliseum from history and  some people know it from Gladiator, the best picture and best actor winner of 2000. Being where so many people fought and watched people fight to the death was really cool, but pretty eerie at the same time.

We were able to walk pretty much anywhere in this enormous place. From the lower levels, to the upper levels, and all the way around the bowl. Just spectacular. One of the many awesome places I was able to go to during a Mediterranean cruise I took after my senior year of high school. It's a lot bigger than it first seems from the outside and I had to catch my parents' eyes to get the picture below.

So while I still can I want to try and see as many of the seven as I can. Here's a list of the "New Seven Wonders of the World":

The Great Wall of China

Petra in Jordan

Christ The Redeemer (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

Machu Picchu (Peru)

Chichen Itza (Mexico)

Taj Mahal (India)

The Coliseum (Italy)

Honorary member to the list:

The Great Pyramid of Giza.

It'll take some time, but I'm going to cross each one of these off my list of place to travel to at some point in my life. My personal favorite way to travel to all of these would be to get a ticket around the world, which allows you to stop at 12 different airports and travel anywhere for one year. I better start saving!

Jukebox The Ghost

This Monday's band comes from Washington D.C. and is Jukebox the Ghost. They actually have a new record being released on June 12th of this year. They're just a fun group. Writing songs ranging from themes of love to science fiction (aliens and things) and nearly everything in between.

I originally discovered them after their first album Live and Let Ghosts was released in 2008. I only found out about them because I went to see Ben Folds at the Rave in Milwaukee. They were the opening band and they were incredible performers! I found myself tapping my feet, eventually turning into jumping and dancing to the music even though I didn't know the individual songs.

Seemingly just another pop punk band, Jukebox the Ghost proves to be much more than just that stereotype. They write catchy songs, with memorable lyrics and great storytelling. Songs like "Victoria" and "Hold It In", are signatures of theirs. Both are pretty straightforward songs both with catchy piano riffs and hooks and enjoyable lyrics. In "Hold It In" there are some great lines: "There's a couple with a baby and it's no secret why, neither one was able to hold it in. Hold it in." Lyrics like this always make me smile. While they may be straightforward, both songs play with tempo and rhythm. Keeping you guessing as to where the song may actually end up.

These two songs sit closer to the "poppy" edge of this band's sound, while we get songs like "My Heart's the Same," a nice slow piano song gives the album some balance from all the fun "dancy" songs on the rest of the album. This song flows seamlessly into one of my favorite songs on the album "Lighting Myself on Fire," one of the songs sitting closest to the rock/punk side of this band. I love it. I've been listening to this album all day long and am going to move onto their other album released in 2010 Everything Under The Sun later today.

Everything Under The Sun is a great album as well! The band didn't change their sound much, which plagues many bands going from their first album to a sophomore attempt. Sometimes it works for bands, but more often than not fans get mad and trash that album. Look to Taking Back Sunday as a prime example. Not necessarily of first to second albums, but when they moved to a new label many fans stopped listening to them. Primarily because they felt that TBS had "sold out." I stuck with them and they've made some of their best music in years. Thankfully Jukebox the Ghost didn't have a problem with their sophomore record.

This is a band who deserves more recognition than they are getting currently so please give them a listen! They're definitely worth your time in my opinion!

From Live and Let Ghosts
Hold It In

From Everything Under the Sun
Half Crazy

And from their album coming out on June 12th. Just released on April 9th:
Somebody

Give them a listen and brighten your day with some good piano rock!

Nick Offerman

Mustaches can signify many different things: power, intimidation, mystery, and many other things as well. A good mustache can compare to almost nothing. It's a symbol of being a male and having the ability to grow a mustache and for many becomes a sign of pride and often becomes a signature of a man's being.

A good mustache is always cool to see and a surprising number of people appreciate a good mustache. Even if they don't necessarily think it looks really good on a person, they can still appreciate the discipline and dedication it takes to grow a good mustache. Many men have made the mustache a part of themselves, not just a facial hair growth.

Instead of just focusing on mustaches, I thought I'd pick a person who cannot live without a mustache. That person is Nick Offerman. Without it he looks completely different, much less intimidating, and like he could have just graduated from grad school. He looks so weird because of his role on NBC's "Parks & Recreation" as Ron Swanson. He has appeared only a few times on "Parks & Recreation" without a mustache and he looked like this:
                                                            
When he should look like this:

Maybe he looks more intense and intimidating because he's not smiling, but even when he does smile on the show, with his mustache he looks intimidating. But the things he says are just hilarious. And I think part of it is because of his mustache. It doesn't move an excessive amount while he talks and it covers his mouth, but it definitely works for him. His mustache has gained quite a following, but the man has been formed by the mustache and the mustache has been formed by the man. If you don't believe it check out the link below!

Nick Offerman's Mustache

I hope my mustache can someday live up to the meticulously marvelous mustache that sits atop his upper lip. Incredible!

Thunderstorm Thursday

Last Saturday night marked the return of the wonderful Wisconsin spring weather with awesome thunderstorms full of sky-filling lightning. It may be a big stretch, but rain is another way to write about thirsty Thursday! And it's lightly raining today as well!

I wasn't always a big fan of thunderstorms. I will never forget one storm, when I was 6 or 7 maybe. I was watching something on TV, but because I was interested in the weather then I was keeping an eye on the updates at the bottom of the screen. Then all of a sudden the tornado sirens went off. I immediately sprung up from my seat and ran around the house looking for our two cats. When I found them I grabbed them and ran to the basement.

My parents had always told me to go to the room farthest from our South and West walls in the basement if there was a tornado. So where did I go? (Having not really paid attention to directions related to my house) I went to the exact opposite room that I was supposed to. My parents found me holding the cats and told me to come with them and move to the correct room. Needless to say, no tornado touched down and I freaked out over nothing.

I think that was the last time I was really scared of a thunderstorm and now I just love watching them roll in. When I was growing up we had a creek in our backyard and when we'd have heavy rain it would flood through the distance of two yards and almost reached our house a few times, but it was really cool to watch.

My favorite part of thunderstorms is the lightning that comes with it. Sometimes it's just awe-inspiring. Like last weekend, I was out with some friends and while we were walking the entire sky lit up with multiple bolts of lightning. It got really bright and felt like it was noon on a cloudy day, when in reality it was 10:30 at night. I would love to have the opportunity to see lightning like this at some point in my life:

I don't know how I'd get the chance to see this, but a guy can dream right?? Not only are thunderstorms fun to watch come in, but I love the smell of a fresh rainfall, but not the smell of worms/fish that often comes along with it. Nothing beats a good thunderstorm on a summer day when you can sit on a porch and watch the storm roll in. Something I'm looking forward to this summer!

Sin City

Today is What to Watch Wednesday and continuing my list of must-see movies here is Sin City. Another one of my all time favorites.

A story of violence, corruption, and life in Basin City, this movie is the definition of a graphic novel adaptation to me. It follows three different characters: Dwight (Clive Owen), Marv (Mickey Rourke), and Hartigan (Bruce Willis). There are overlapping characters in each of the three men's stories and it helps you make sense of it all.

The acting is tremendous and every actor brings his or her own little quirks to the screen that make this so enjoyable to watch. Bruce Willis plays a tough, thick-skinned cop on a mission to save a girl, Nancy Callahan played exquisitely by Jessica Alba. He brings his natural grit and gusto to his character and becomes one of my favorites. Mickey Rourke, known for his comeback in The Fighter a couple years ago, should have been recognized earlier for this performance, but is in too much makeup to even come close to distinguishing him. My favorite character is Dwight, played by Clive Owen. A funny, intelligent, strong character, Owen fit this role perfectly.

Not only are these three main characters great, but the supporting roles equal the acting of those three better than expected. The list of actors is rather extensive, but here are some of the highlights you will see when you watch it: Elijah Wood, Brittany Murphy, Rosario Dawson, Benecio Del Toro, and even Nick Offerman (of NBC Parks and Recreation fame) makes a brief appearance.

Many people may look past this movie because it's in black and white, but believe me it totally works for this type of a movie. A few things are in color throughout the film and you'll have to see it to figure out why they are in color, but it's definitely worth it. The writing is incredible and that's in part because Frank Miller the author of the graphic novels this movie is based on wrote the script and helped direct the movie so he knew what he wanted where. It worked out very well.

If you enjoy movies with social commentary, action, violence, and intelligent dialogue and plot, this is right up your alley. I wouldn't say you have to be a fan of all of these, but you'll be able to make the decision yourself if you just watch it!

9.5/10

Travel Tuesday

It's traveling Tuesday today! I'm going to feature a place I have either traveled to or want to travel to. Today will be about Australia, where I'm studying abroad for a month and traveling for two weeks before my program starts.

First of all, I'm incredibly excited for this. Australia has been a place I've always wanted to travel to and didn't know when I'd get the chance to go, unless I was studying abroad. So I made it a goal to study in Australia during a summer while I was in college and now it's actually happening!

I'll be traveling all over Australia for the first two weeks. I'll be hitting Sydney, Melbourne, Ayer's Rock, and Cairns, among a few other places along the way. Then for a month I'll get to live in the rainforest in Australia and New Zealand and work on studying the ecology, environment, and conservation of the rainforests.

Among the many things I'll be seeing, I expect to see a lot of different animals, especially when I'm in the rainforest. I do know that there are some dangerous animals and the School for Field Studies has told us about some of them, but that we really shouldn't have to worry about them where we will be working. But here's a fun video my brother showed me the other day all about deadly animals.

Having just finished "Lost" for the first time, it got me even more excited to go to Australia if only for the reason that everyone on the island was flying from Sydney to LAX. Either way, I can't help, but hope that my time in the rainforest will be similar to some of the events from "Lost." However, I am not Abed from "Community" so I don't expect anything that crazy to happen and I won't go out of my way to make it happen as he so often does.

More than anything I'm excited to go to the "land down under" and to see the Sydney Opera House, the Great Barrier Reef, Ayer's rock, and lots of other cool things too. I've heard that once you go to Australia you never want to leave, so we'll see how I react to it, but I usually become attached to new places when I travel. It would only be a matter of time I'm sure, before I would be sick of living there and want to travel to another new place.

Music Monday

Keeping with the theme I'm going to talk about music on Mondays. I absolutely love music. It's probably one of the best things in the world. I probably love it so much because I've been around since I was born. I've been going to the World's Largest Music Festival, Summerfest, since I was six months old and have been in love with music ever since. It helps to tell stories, evoke emotion, and get people to just have a good time.

I listen to any and every kind of music, yes now that even includes (some, very limited) country, but ranges from heavy metal to pop rock to rap and hip-hop and in an ever changing world of music there are always new bands and new music emerging. Though lately I've been in a Kanye West kind of mood. I don't really know why. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, his most recent solo album was absolutely incredible. Genius lyrics, catchy samples, and great beats, it's an album I can listen to on repeat.

But since then I decided to go back and listen to all his other music and rediscovered his first album, 2004s The College Dropout. I forgot how good his lyrics are on this album, one of my favorites coming from "All Falls Down": 'She couldn't afford a car so she named her daughter Alexis.' It's lyrics like those that make this album such a fun one to listen to. His various pop culture references throughout the album are another one of my favorite things about College Dropout.

It's also a great album to listen to because of the way he taunts everyone who thought he wouldn't make it, from record labels, producers, teachers, even his boss at the Gap. And the prevalent themes, ranging from organized religion to personal struggles to self-consciousness he touches on something that can fit into anyone's life. And though I may not be religious and am not a big fan of when people try and force their beliefs upon you, I have to say "Jesus Walks" is a great song, acting as commentary on the hip-hop scene in general. Lyrics like:

"They say you can rap about anything except for Jesus

That means guns, sex, lies, video tapes

But if I talk about God my record won't get played Huh?"

Show how the "gangsta" persona of hip-hop (still prevalent from the time the album was first being written, in 1999), is changing the norms in music and not necessarily for the better. Not only that, but West goes on to force this record to be played on the radio and gets a rap song about Jesus played quite a bit on the radio. Just another taunt to those who said he couldn't do it.

If you like smart lyrics and catchy hooks go back and give this album another listen, or maybe even a first listen. Bring back some memories or make some new ones. You'll notice different lyrics now that it's eight years later.


And if you're waiting on some new Kanye, he released a track last week first titled "Theraflu" after the cold medicine, but retitled it to "Way Too Cold."


Listen to it and read more about it here:
http://www.kanyewest.org/2012/04/14/news-kanye-changes-name-of-theraflu-track/

Cabin in the Woods

There is always a stigma with horror movies that come out on Friday the 13th, which is there will be lots of blood, gore, and killing. The Cabin in the Woods has all three and plenty more than just blood and gore. It has a story. One of the most imaginative, breathlessly entertaining, and fantastical stories I've seen in years! Think Inception combined with "Lost." It was pure genius.

We've heard the setup of this story many times before: five friends going on a getaway to a secluded "cabin in the woods" (HAH!). A dumb blonde, a jock, an egghead, a pothead, and a virgin. Everything is going according to plan...until they go into the cellar. They believe they are behaving of their own free will, but someone or something is manipulating them. To say any more would ruin the story and the enjoyment value, so I'll stop there.

The acting is surprisingly great all around! The two best performances easily going to Marty (Fran Kranz) and Dana (Kristen Connolly). Playing people who are scared and actually making it believable is something not many people can do and these two were absolutely brilliant. Kranz has been in a lot of other movies, a surprising amount actually, such as Donnie Darko, Training Day, and The Village. Granted he didn't have a lead role, but I'm sure he was just as good as he was in this movie. Connolly was in the bomb of a 2008 movie The Happening, but she was a very minor person. Either way she was deserving of the role she had in this movie.

Drew Goddard, one of the most creative minds of our time, behind such movies as Cloverfield and TV shows as "Lost" and "Dollhouse," proves his genius with this movie. Absolutely incredible! Believable characters in absolutely ridiculous situations is something he is used to, having produced and written "Lost" and he does it here again. Also similar to "Lost" is the crazy mind-fucks that happen throughout the movie. So many twists and turns and exciting situations. The way Goddard wrote it and directed it pulls you into the story world and makes everything seem like it could happen.

My one qualm was that this wasn't a very scary movie. It's more of a thriller, which once I realized that I sat back and truly enjoyed everything. Easily in my top 5 movies, it may have even tied for number one or two. It's SO GOOD. One of the most original movies in years and will easily be the most original movie this year.

After seeing this a second time I can confirm my love of this movie. It was equally as good this time around and maybe even more enjoyable because I could see things coming and see foreshadowing that I had missed the first time around. Just a GREAT movie!

GO SEE IT NOW!

10/10

Facial Hair Friday

Something I've grown to appreciate more and more is facial hair. There are SO MANY possibilities for facial hair. Mustaches, beards, goatees, and many more. The best place for me to start it with my favorite facial hair donning presidents, not because of his policies or leading abilities, but because of his facial hair.

He was actually the pioneer of this style and it is often referred to as the Chester Alan Arthur. A man shaves off the hair from his chin and basically leaves extended muttonchops that go into his mustache and it looks like this:

While yes this is a little excessive it is also very impressive. I wouldn't say that I want to take my facial hair that far, but I definitely like the more cleaned up, so it looks like this silhouette

Nowadays though facial hair has a potential stigma and makes 95% if not more of its' wearers look like registered sex offenders, meth dealers, homeless men, or state troopers, most of which men don't really want to look like. And for anyone who knows a lot about presidential elections, and for those of you who don't, here's a fun fact: facial hair was mandatory between approximately 1850 and 1920, but almost nonexistent outside of that time period. I learned that a couple days ago (because I'm not a huge history buff) and found it very interesting. 


With so many different options out there I want to attempt as many as I can during my life. Currently I am working on getting a better handlebar mustache than I had last year. I get random compliments on it periodically and it's awesome! Last fall I let my beard grow to a disgusting length and if I pushed my beard up it looked similar to the bushiness of Chester Alan Arthur's hair.


Next week I'll look at mustaches in general.

Thirsty Thursday

I know the title of this post may have a certain connotation, but I assure you that it is the first in an experiment that could continue for every weekday. I wanted to try throwing a theme into this blog and today is Thursday, so what better pointless blog post should I start with other than a post about one of my favorite drinks: orange soda.

Hopefully many of you remember the television show "Kenan & Kel" so you can remember Kel Kimble and his love for orange soda. Mostly through his "catchphrase" of "Who loves orange soda? Kel loves orange soda! I do I do I do! Oo!" And he certainly did love it and I definitely still do. Maybe it's because of my love of that show. Who knows!

I wish I could say I've had every kind of orange soda out there today, but I'll just stick to some of the major brands and share my thoughts on them. The three major orange sodas out there today to me are Sunkist, Fanta, and Crush.

First off, my least favorite of the three, Fanta. I don't know what it is about it, but it just isn't very good to me. Maybe it's not carbonated enough, but it just tastes too bland to me. There's not enough orange I guess. Next up I'd say Crush. This takes away the carbonation issue and just makes a good soda overall. But, again, there's something missing. I don't know what it is. Not enough orange flavor for me. Finally, my favorite: Sunkist. It's the perfect blend of carbonation, sweetness, and orange flavor.

This could be even more odd, but I think my choice between Sunkist and Crush varies depending on whether or not I'm drinking out of a can or a bottle. Out of a can, I pick Sunkist every time, but more often than not I'm drinking soda out of a bottle so then I pick Crush. And then it gets even weirder when I say that if it's a two liter bottle of soda, it's back to Sunkist. And to be honest that's because they changed their bottle form. So it looks abnormal compared to most bottles.

It went from this:

To this: 

The company (Dr. Pepper/Snapple group) must have thought it was an easier bottle to hold, but I don't care about that. I just want a good tasting soda. Drink Sunkist!

Vinyl

Recently I began collecting vinyl records, just like the "good-ol'-days.' It has been quite the experience. Going through old record bins is one of my favorite things to do now and even finding new albums on vinyl has been a blast. The most interesting thing to me is how many vinyls it takes to fit one album.

Take something like "Rumors" by Fleetwood Mac, this album is only one vinyl side A and B. Then we move up to one of my favorite bands and albums, The Dear Hunter's "Act III: Life and Death," which is two vinyls sides A, B, C, and D. And the largest one I have is "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" at three records.

For those who don't know, when one side is done you have to flip the record by hand and when both sides are done you have to put the next one on the player. This may cause many annoyances for some people, but I really like it. I'll put a record on when I need to do some homework or reading and it gives me a pretty well timed-out break between everything. Not only that, but they are some great collector's items. Especially when you get them signed by the artists, like I did with William Elliott Whitmore.

I love music and I love the technology that has been developed in the past few years, but there's just some allure to the idea of vinyl. It's nostalgic...to a time that I wasn't alive, but is just a really cool piece of technology. I received a record player for my birthday and have been collecting records ever since. I went through my parents' old records and found some gems, like the Beatles' "White Album" and "Sergeant Peppers Lonely Club Hearts Band," Pink Floyd's masterpieces "The Wall" and "Dark Side of the Moon," Fleetwood Mac's "Rumors," and many others as well.

The biggest downside to buying records is how expensive they are, but I think it's well worth the expense. It makes for a great time for everyone and is a great way to keep the music industry afloat in struggling times.

People

Most of the time I really love people. I love being around them, meeting new people, hanging out with my friends...just all of it.

Recently though, I finally began to appreciate how much I enjoy a large amount of alone time. As I've told some of my friends, I love and need to be around other people 95% of the time. However there's that other 5% that I rarely get at this point in my life. Thankfully this spring break I had an apartment to myself and plenty of friends that I hadn't seen enough of in the past few months. And I think it fulfilled about 2% of this year's quota of alone time. I spent some time with a lot of different friends who I hadn't seen in awhile and it was great! I got to meet some new friends as well.

It's always interesting making new friends. Especially when drinking. It always starts off quick and fast paced and always revolves around the way you met, in this case, when you're both drinking. I've realized lately that I hate that. Trust me. I've met some of my best friends whilst drinking, but I've also made acquaintances better friends through drinking, and even ruined a few relationships from drinking. Some people have weathered the storm and others I've pushed to the wayside and could care less about at this point. I've found that my closest friends are the ones that I slowly got to know and didn't spend a ton of time hanging out in the beginning of our friendship. I've been finding different levels of friendship through everyone and have really enjoyed it.

I've also realized that I don't think I truly have a "best friend." There's not really that one friend that I can turn to for any problem or issue I have. And this I don't know if I like or not. Every time I think I've found a best friend in the past it has just turned out poorly. Either something bad happens or I push away because I don't like them. But as it turns out I have pretty large group of best friends in my opinion. It's honestly been pretty strange how I've found my "true" friends, but I love every one of them. Many of them have been there for me when I needed them and have been extremely helpful. And then there are those who I thought were great friends who simply failed the challenge of being a truly good friend to me.

But maybe that comes from how much I've changed since college. I know who I was in high school: involved in everything, constantly going, and thriving on being busy. In college I'm still busy and constantly going, but it just feels more laid back because I can do stuff on my own time. And that changed me. I've always been a laid back and relaxed person, but when I first got to college it was a time to party and explore. I met some good people, some bad people, and some people I thought were great friends. As I traversed college I had some high points and some low points, but I've made it through the low points and finally returned to my laid back attitude, whereas some of my "good" friends have not changed at all. And at this point I find it pathetic. I still enjoy going out and love meeting new people, but my "party personality" (which they have clearly not lost) shows up at times that are few and far between. And I LOVE that.

The people I've been meeting seem to be more genuine, real, and adult. Maybe I'm just maturing faster than others. Or maybe I just had all my college experiences in a much more condensed period of time. I'm not really sure. The problem used to be that I would try and hold onto those "party" friends and that just brought me down. So I stopped caring about them (mainly because they stopped caring about me) and I found friends who do truly care and who I love in return. It has been a year of great times so far and many great new friends that I believe I'll have for a long time. I don't really know where I want to go in the future, but I know I want to travel the world and take in as many new cultures as I can.

Maybe I'll live in Madison. Maybe it'll be Boston. Hell, it could even be somewhere in Europe. I just want to live my life to the fullest.

American Reunion

I'm really not sure what I thought of this movie. Parts of it were really funny and others were just too stupid to even make me laugh. I think the people I was sitting by affected my opinion of the movie. On my left was a group of guys a few years (at least) younger than me who laughed at anything and everything, on my right was a guy who must have thought he was the next American Idol trying to "sing" every song that played during the movie, and in front of me was a group of pre-teens who didn't laugh at nearly anything. Probably too "sophisticated" of humor for them to get. Well not sophisticated so much as profane and sexual.

Even with these other viewers around me I think I enjoyed American Reunion. It made me excited for my first high school reunion, to see where everyone is in life and what they've been doing. That being said this movie is truly a reunion. The entire cast from the original appears in one way or another and the script even explains away Oz not being in American Wedding: "I missed your wedding, but there was no way I was missing this." Oftentimes the situations between Jim and his Dad were reversed this time around and are just as awkward as they used to be. 

The acting improved on all accounts. It was just fun to see the whole original group together again. It almost felt like a real high school reunion. Obviously with much stranger and more awkward moments, but all the same it was cool to see. Try as they might, the characters have not changed. They are the same nerds, jocks, and jerks that they were in the original and it is awesome.

In terms of humor, that also didn't change. To some this may be a good thing, but to me it just felt old and stale. I'm not sure how it could have been changed, but having so many crude humor movies come out between the first three and this movie has kind of dulled that type of humor. It also makes writers take characters off the deep end too quickly. Reunion didn't really suffer from that, they all went off at the same time, which made some interesting situations arise.

Either way, if you liked the original you'll enjoy this one if only for the fact that you get to see all the original characters together again. Definitely worth giving it a shot.

7/10

Chronicle

Every now and then a movie comes along that actually pulls off the found footage style of filming. In 1999 it pretty much began with The Blair Witch Project a movie that changed the way horror films were produced. And it continued in 2008 it continued with Cloverfield. After those, Paranormal Activity happened and everyone seemed to be jumping on the "found footage" bandwagon. Chronicle was another success from this genre.

After finding a mysterious object in the ground, three friends, Andrew, Matt, and Steve, for some reason acquire a somewhat telekinetic ability. They learn fast that it is much like a muscle and the more they work it out the more they can do with it. Quickly one of them becomes much better at the whole telekinesis thing than the others. His ability allows the found footage idea to take flight...literally.

I really enjoyed this movie. I found it intriguing and extremely entertaining. The three main actors in this movie were outstanding! Incredibly compelling from start to finish, portraying the angst, heartbreak, and power that comes with responsibility. I think a big part of a found footage movie is the use of "unknown" actors. It always makes the illusion much better. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Here it works perfectly.

The story was awesome. I just ate the plot up. It was so great to see a creative movie. It was fantastic. The way it is shot is obviously a big part of this, but either way it is a very interesting movie. Great acting all around, I think this provides the found footage genre with more credibility than it previously had. Absolutely a must-see for anyone who enjoys this genre, sci-fi, or fantasy movies. Don't knock it until you try it. I thought it was going to be a movie that I had seen all the best parts in the preview. I was wrong. Go see this in theaters if you still can.

"What are you capable of?"

9/10

21 Jump Street

Part action. Part drama. All comedy. This was the surprise of my quadruple feature. It was absolutely hilarious! With an unlikely character and actor pairing this was just a fun movie to watch. Beginning with the two characters in high school, we quickly see who they both were in high school, Schmidt (Jonah Hill) was an Eminem-wanna-be nerd and Jenko (Channing Tatum) is the cool, popular, dumb jock. Years later the two find each other again at the police academy and learn that they are better working as a team, Jenko helping Schmidt with the athletic parts of the police academy and Schmidt helping Jenko with the book parts of the academy. The roles fluctuate throughout the movie and make for an entertaining time at the theater.

Both actors give stellar performances in a pairing I thought for sure would flop. Jonah Hill proves that without his weight he is still funny, something many people believed impossible. And Channing Tatum was spot-on. Just a perfect fit for this movie and he proved that he could actually act. Dave Franco, playing Eric Molson, was convincing as a cool "aware" teen. The smaller roles were full of various hilarious actors including Ice Cube, Nick Offerman, and even a cameo from everybody's favorite "21 Jump Street" veteran, Johnny Depp.

The screenplay was enjoyable and the plot was entertaining. Obviously in an action-comedy there will be plot holes, but here they are not very noticeable. I don't want to give away too much so I'll just say that there are some very funny scenes revolving around Peter Pan. The whole idea behind Jump Street is to take young looking cops and put them back into high school to take down drug dealers and other "bad guys" in the area high schools. Every character has his or her moment and makes it count!

One of the funniest movies of the year, definitely see it if you enjoy any action comedy of the last ten years,  similar to the Rush Hour series. A big surprise for me so early in the year, but definitely worth watching multiple times.

8/10

Jeff, Who Lives At Home

From the directors and in the same vein as Cyrus, much of the comedy in Jeff, Who Lives At Home was the same as in Cyrus: just awkward situations that weren't really very funny.Following a small family, brothers Jeff (Jason Segel) and Pat (Ed Helms) reconnect once Jeff finally leaves their mother's (Susan Sarandon) basement. Jeff is a pretty simple man who believes in signs leading him to his destiny. Pat, on the other hand, tries to see things in the real world, is married, and not very financially smart.

First things first, I didn't think it was as funny as it could have been. Some parts, like in Cyrus, were way too awkward and just not very funny. The story itself was entertaining and it was funny often enough that I didn't really get bored and some slapstick humor made up for the parts that weren't funny. And many times the twists were predictable, but for such a short run time (83 minutes) that is expected.

The acting throughout was spot on as always. Jason Segel plays Jeff convincingly and very well, with dimwittedness and naivety, both of which become his endearing qualities during the film. Ed Helms actually plays someone that isn't completely stupid and unknowing, at least that's the way it seems for much of the movie. And of course Susan Sarandon is perfect in her role as a loving, but angry mother. 

As a whole, it could have been a lot funnier, but the story was entertaining on its own without a ton of slapstick humor, but just the right amount. If you enjoy awkward family situations and estranged brothers coming together for a common cause or even just movies about destiny you'll enjoy this dry comedy.

6.5/10

The Hunger Games

There have been a lot of book adaptations in the past ten years, from the entire Lord of the Rings series, Harry Potter, Twilight (though I think of this more as a child's experiment in adapting books to screen), the Swedish Millennium series, and others in there along the way. Some have surpassed expectations (LOTR), others have merely met them and sometimes performed below what fans wanted to see (HP), and others like The Hunger Games leave you nearly completely satisfied, but just need a bit more to them.

Don't get me wrong, this book series is easy and fun to read, much like Harry Potter, however this film adaptation was much better than the first Harry Potter. And when you have a much more enthralling character base and storyline as opposed to the Twilight series, it's relatively easy to make a smooth transition from book to film.

Set in a futuristic world where the Capitol controls the 12 districts and forces them, every year, to offer up a male a female tribute to fight to the death in The Hunger Games, compelling characters and acting are what keep this movie rolling.

Comparing Katniss Everdeen to Bella Whatshername in Twilight is just plain stupid to even attempt as many critics have. And the same goes for the actresses. Jennifer Lawrence, most known for last summer's hit X-Men: First Class, is a powerhouse actress. She bring Katniss to life with strength, passion, and intelligence. She can only go up from here and will be an actress to watch for a long time because I think she has a great chance at receiving another Oscar nomination (Winter's Bone 2010) in the future.

The other actors surrounding her bring their own charm to the screen. Stanley Tucci as the MC for the games is brilliant, bringing some underlying malice and heart to his character. Woody Harrelson is consistent as always playing the drunkard, Haymitch with style and humor. Elizabeth Banks brings life to peppy and seemingly affectionate, Effie Trinket. Even Lenny Kravitz as Cinna proves his more than just a musician.

Overall the script follow the book relatively well, providing the viewer with explanations along the way and sometimes just laying out what is going to happen, more often than not a big problem for book-to-film adaptations. There was a pacing issue towards the end of the film, but that's more the novel than the film and the end could have been stretched out a little more in my opinion.

My absolute favorite part of this movie was how they were constantly shifting perspectives with the camera. The camera would follow Katniss for awhile, but then in one scene in particular, would shift to others perspectives. If they were under the influence of something the camera got fuzzy and couldn't focus. It was genius and very fun to watch!

This helped to create the atmosphere held throughout the film. You really get immersed in the world. A big part of this happened during the days just after the "reaping" and the parade. I felt like I was in a Lady GaGa music video. Everything was strange, weird, and just didn't make sense, but in this world it definitely worked!

If you liked the books, you'll obviously love the movie, and for the many people who haven't read the books yet, you'll still enjoy the movie. Entertaining from beginning to end (minus about ten minutes just before the climactic end), just sit back and enjoy it. Definitely a must-see of the first quarter of the year. Let yourself become immersed in this unique futuristic world and remember, may the odds be ever in your favor.

7.5/10

William Elliott Whitmore

Last Thursday night I had the pleasure of seeing one of my absolute favorite musicians of all time, William Elliott Whitmore, for the second time. Not only did I get to see him in concert, but I got to meet him and have him sign a shirt I bought that night, and all five of his records I own. I talked with him for probably around 30 minutes and learned a lot. He's one of the most down to earth people I've ever met.

Growing up in Iowa and living there too he lives on his farm and started playing music for fun. He sings old field songs, spirituals, and original songs and due to his smoking and whisky drinking many people who first hear  him think he's a 60 year old black man. He may not be 60 or black, but he is certainly an old soul.

He played many of my favorite songs from my, and coincidentally his, favorite album: Animals in the Dark  a political charged album with wit, soul, and powerful songs. Playing songs ranging from his fast paced "Johnnie Law," based on a true story of him getting wrongfully arrested to a slower favorite of mine "Take It On The Chin," a song reminding you to take what life throws your way and learn from your mistakes. I actually requested this song from him by yelling out the song title when he took a small break between songs. And my absolute favorite song he's ever written is "Hell or High Water." One of his most soulful records with incredibly compelling lyrics I could listen to it all day every day.

I was very happy to finally get to meet him. I hugged him, talked with him, shook his hand, and even bought him a shot, fittingly of whiskey.

If you like folk/soul music please do him the favor of listening to his music. He'll be making a return visit to Madison in the fall as a headliner so I'll definitely be seeing him again! And you should too!