another summer come and gone September 8, 2009

well i can at least say this summer was completely different from the last one and the one before that for that matter. this is good. this is progress. i think. maybe. i dont know. i am trying to do something different from my usual introspective crap that makes me feel like i’ve learned something because quite frankly i dont feel like i’m learning much at all. avoidance does not equal learning.

i’m not going to recount the ways this summer was different because that’s a little more information than i’m willing to divulge at this juncture, but let’s just say that relatively speaking there was no drama, no long late night talks, no star gazing, no walks on the beach, no long drives, no long emails, no long awkward phone conversations, and definitely no sushi. i did miss the sushi.

in the end, i think my summer was lovely and mostly devoid of any real lasting meaning. which sometimes is quite lovely.  the autumn, though, is shaping up to be fraught with purpose and excitement. which is also lovely. like the changing leaves and mountain hikes. something i should be seeing soon…

busting blocks this summer… March 11, 2009

So at the Watchmen movie, they started the previews and it occurred to me that summer is not that far away. I mean, it was 70+ degrees outside and I was sitting in a dark theatre. And my toes were cold. But I love my flipflops.

Anyway, here are the notable ones.

X-men Origins: Wolverine
(05.01.09 – summer starts earlier every year huh)

I’m halfhearted about the title. The comic book, er graphic novel, called “Origin,” is one of the most gorgeously illustrated books you will ever see in your life. Seriously. Not even reading the words on the page, you can just get caught up in the imagery. It’s fantastic, everything comics should be and then some. Some of you are just laughing at me, but seriously. Go look for it at the bookstore as I’m sure they’re going to have them in stock now that the movie will come out and we all know movie sales means book sales. Whatever.

So I come to the movie with hesitation, but I love the Wolverine character and Hugh Jackman does it well enough to not be distracting. I would have liked to have seen more of the comic book story but I guess it wouldn’t exactly stretch to a full movie, and no one really wants to see a Wolverine movie without the military storyline. I’m really happy about Liev Schreiber who we just don’t see enough of, but I could do without Ryan Reynolds. Hopefully they didn’t write in too many wisecracks for him.

Star Trek
(05.08.09)

No fancy subname following a colon. First plus. Second plus is the beautiful cast with geek-girl favs Karl Urban and Eric Bana, with a nod to Zachary Quinto, who, though you’re not supposed to like him as Sylar in Heroes, is still kinda hot in that scary way. Then there’s Chris Pine who I can’t even say I’ve noticed before, but as James T. Kirk you kinda need to vanquish that doofy image of Shatner and you might as well do that with visual assistance of a cute guy. We’ll see what they do with it. I’m not a trekkie like some, so I won’t be much in the way of purism to the original story or whatever. I did like Enterprise with Scott Bakula, but don’t ask me any storylines. I have already vanquished those memories.

Angels and Demons
(05.15.09)

I havent read the books. Let’s just start with that. DaVinci code was all the rage at the time, being the controversial anti-Roman Catholicism attack that it was, all in good fun of course. I never got around to reading it and quite frankly, I doubt I ever will. I had read a similar book called The Last Templar which pretty much said the same basic premise about the grail being a person or knowledge in general. Whatever. I like the mystery and intrigue and people getting shot at and vast conspiracy and Tom Hanks who is most likely all wrong for the part, but who cares. He is just a likable dude. Plus now we have Ewan McGregor in drag, er, I mean in a priestly robe, to look forward to.

Terminator Salvation
(05.22.09)

They also refrained from following the colon format, so good for them. Christian Bale is up there in my all time favorite actors ever. Anger management issues aside, he is really one of the very best. Actually, probably because of the issues. I think he was born to play John Connor. Actually, I think he IS John Connor and the world is coming to an end, apparently in 2018. And Obama is the anti-Christ. Or maybe he is a machine. Wait! Has anyone seen Obama cry?? He wasn’t born in Hawaii! He was “born” at Skynet! That explains everything!!!

Oh man. I love sci-fi.

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
(05.22.09)

They used the colon. I have to say that the first one was really quite a pleasant surprise. I walked in not expecting much at all and mostly went because I was on a date and it seemed the least likely to cause any unexpected awkwardness. I still think the scenes with Ricky Gervais were the best. That guy hurts my sides. I do however realize I was the only one laughing in what felt like the entire theatre. My date made a polite attempt to chuckle.

Most likely, I will wait to see this on DVD, but I’m pretty pleased Ricky G is in it again. I’m suspecting a short cameo.

Inglourious Basterds
(08.21.09)

That’s right. That’s the name. Brought to you by none other than the Q man himself, Quentin Tarantino. There are some who think Q can do no wrong and I agree up to a certain point. He’s certainly someone we want in Hollywood doing all the crazy stuff he does and shaking things up. Sometimes his scripts are a touch too wordy and self-aggrandizing, but hey, they don’t call it the “big screen” for nothing. I will always give the Q man his chance to entertain me.

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Ok, so that’s it. I know there are others coming out but that’s the ones they previewed.  I’m kinda interested in Land of the Lost just because. And maybe Transformers.  I’m surprised we haven’t had more media hype around Public Enemies with Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Billy Crudup, Giovanni Ribisi. I don’t even care what it’s about.

And of course there’s some flick about a magician kid with round glasses. No colons there either.

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end of summer not-so-blues August 31, 2008

I overslept and would have been ridiculously late to church, so I just didn’t go.  And it’s dismal and grey out.  I would rather it were actually raining because I hate clouds for the sake of clouds.  And it’s Labor Day weekend and I am sad that the summer has flown by so quickly and I didn’t do as much of what I wanted to… i.e. camp, get a better tan, visit OBX, and get to Denver. 

It was a good summer though. I met some new friends, spent a few days on the beach, got to Busch Gardens, and saw some great bands including some new ones I’d never heard and am now a big fan of.  And I still haven’t learned proper grammar.

I’m excited for the fall and especially for my role in The Salvation Army’s Christmas programs. It is going to be INSANE but so meaningful and purposeful.  There are so many families hurting and in desperate need, and everything we do is for the children.  There is nothing like making a difference in a child’s life. 

Speaking of, the highlight of my summer hands-down was doing daily devotions with the Day Camp kids.  So many of them came and thanked me and said goodbye on the last day.  One boy I particularly grew fond of came over and asked if I would be there next year. I have no idea I said.  And he smiled and said that he can’t wait to see if he’s taller than me then.  I laughed and said, me neither. 

So here’s to a good summer and even better fall. Life is so full of promise if you know where to look.

"Summer Days" from www.artbychantell.co.za