The dawning of the new year has caused me to pause and reflect on all that has happened to me in 2008. There have been many changes, including some important life-changing ones which I had been pining for over the years. It was a wonderful year.
The biggest and best change of the year (not to mention my life) was getting engaged and married. It is strange how it seems so long ago, even though many weeks tend to fly by. My beautiful wife has made me so very happy. It is hard to imagine life without her now.
The other big change for me was getting laid off and finding a new job. Career-wise, this year has been a veritable roller-coaster! But I think I have been improving my skills along the way. Along with things I've been learning at work (like iPhone app programming!), I've also been working on my own projects and learning from there. Work has also brought about little things, like when I really got into using wikis.
Another change I've experienced is regularly going to the gym. Off and on over the years I've tried to be good about exercising, but in 2008 it actually happened over the whole year. That's another thing that I have my sweetheart to thank about.
Last year brought many good times in the way of games. At the beginning of 2008 I was still riding the wave of Gamevember 2007, playing Mass Effect and Assassin's Creed. Rock Band has been a lovely year-long experience. It is one game that my wife enjoys, and we've built up a decent collection of songs now. Then Rock Band 2 made it all the better. I've also enjoyed Spore, Castle Crashers, and others! There have also been some great non-video games such as Mexican Train and Quiddler.
It has also been a great year for music and movies. Between my wife, Rock Band, and Pandora, I've expanded my music selection quite a bit. For movies, I very much enjoyed Iron Man, The Dark Knight, Kung Fu Panda, and Wall-E (which I finally saw over Christmas). I also experienced some great older movies, like when my good friend gave me Yojimbo and Sanjuro.
Playing D&D with my friends has been just plain awesome. The game is very fun to play, and I've enjoyed being the DM. But it has also been really fun to be able to regularly get together with my friends.
Recently I've started reading again. I hope that this is something that I can carry over into 2009. There are always so many things that I want to do (including writing on this very blog), but I should try to make sufficient time for reading.
The 2008 holiday season was a joyful time spent with family. I love and appreciate my family so very much. I have especially enjoyed watching and playing with my nephew during his first year. It is fun to be an uncle.
Now looking forward, I'm excited for the things which the year 2009 will bring.
Showing posts with label movies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label movies. Show all posts
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Ratatouille
See this movie. I think that pretty much sums it up. Pixar once again shows how a simple, well-written story can be a fabulous movie. Personally, I believe Brad Bird to be directly responsible!
From the time I saw the first previews until the time the movie started, I honestly didn't really feel very compelled to see it. It just didn't seem like the kind of movie I would enjoy... and yet I knew that it was a Pixar film, so it must be good. But it was better than good. It exceeded all of my expectations.
See Ratatouille!
From the time I saw the first previews until the time the movie started, I honestly didn't really feel very compelled to see it. It just didn't seem like the kind of movie I would enjoy... and yet I knew that it was a Pixar film, so it must be good. But it was better than good. It exceeded all of my expectations.
See Ratatouille!
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Seeing In Color
I took this picture one day when I was just wandering about my neighborhood. The color of the sky caught my attention. I really like the mix of blue and yellow.
It is amazing how much color can be seen in the world. My phone camera wasn't really able to capture the nuance of color that I saw in the sky that day. And that leads me into something that I've been thinking about for a while: how I evaluate the world around me.
Like the sky of that day, or even the picture I took, our everyday experiences have a wealth of color. But it is all to easy to sum them up as a whole into likes and dislikes. Sometimes we gloss over things making a sort of grayscale out of it. Judgments of black and white are made. The world is tinted by the color of glasses we wear.
As an example of what I mean, let's take movies. I have thought quite a bit in the last few months how I judge movies. Everyone is biased in their evaluations of movies. There are lots of factors that can influence how we feel about a movie. I think we can safely say that everyone wears their colored glasses. But sometimes I wonder if mine are shaded too darkly.
It is not uncommon for discussions of movies to come up at my work. And it is also not uncommon for two of my co-workers to bring up a certain movie that they like: Fantastic Four. When this happens I fear my contacts will get displaced somewhere up in my head because I roll my eyes so far back. I very much dislike that movie. The story (I won't be as generous as to say it has a plot) is about as complex as what you'd find in a coloring book. And there are some scenes that are so ridiculous, pointless, and bizarre (read: the bridge scene) that it makes me wonder if the people writing and producing the movie had any cognitive functions at all.
But I wonder how I came to this very colored opinion. There are many things that have influenced it, so lets start at the beginning. I've seen that movie only once, and that was on a date. I remember being asked by my date as we walked out of the theater whether I liked it, and I said it was "okay." I was definitely couching my answer because I didn't know what she was going to say. My opinion was already being influenced! She said she liked it. I wanted her to like me, so I was again influenced! I managed to find some things to say about it that I thought she would agree with. And later on in the school semester when I realized that she and I were not going to have a relationship, I was influenced again!
This movie was also painted heavily by the buckets of colored paint dumped on it by my friends. One of my good friends described his experience of watching this movie by saying that it "made [his] eyes bleed." I think I got some red on my opinion of the movie. Yes, from the eye blood.
Although I have also been influenced somewhat by the opinions of my co-workers, I've stood firm in disliking that movie. I have staunchly disagreed with the idea they presented to me that if I would just watch it more I would like it better. Actually, I think they might be right. But somehow I don't think that assaulting my brain with more IQ-dropping video would be prudent.
Of late I have used some the following criteria to judge my movies (this list is not quite comprehensive; just the main points are presented):
Other factors such as special effects, attractive women, or famous actors hold precious little sway with me in my overall movie judgement. I think that's why I like so many older movies so much. They may not have a couple million dollars worth of explosions or fancy CGI, yet they are not lacking in quality. But one factor that I find myself considering more and more these days is that of general entertainment. Did I have a good time watching the show? Even if it was stupid?
A good example of this is the new Transformers movie. When I was watching it in the theater I really did enjoy myself. And yet I agreed with pretty much every point that my friends have brought up in argument against it. There were plot holes one could drive a semi through (heh heh). I can only imagine how awesome it could have been if the makers didn't decide to regurgitate all over the second half of it. And yet... I enjoyed it. Overall I liked it.
There are many aspects of movies that I really cannot detect when watching them. But these things affect other people's perception of movies. A lot of technical aspects fall into this category for me. Lighting, framing a shot, what lens was used, and other such elements are usually hard for me to see if I'm not actively looking for them.
So how darkly shaded or lightly tinted are my glasses? I'm not sure if there is really a way to know for certain. In recent months I've tried to not be too snobbish about movies while not giving in to peer-pressure about ones I dislike either.
Movies are, of course, only one example of how my life is colored. I've also given this subject thought in context of relationships, games, books, food, and other things. I just hope that I'm not missing out on some of the most vibrant and amazing colors that are out there.
It is amazing how much color can be seen in the world. My phone camera wasn't really able to capture the nuance of color that I saw in the sky that day. And that leads me into something that I've been thinking about for a while: how I evaluate the world around me.
Like the sky of that day, or even the picture I took, our everyday experiences have a wealth of color. But it is all to easy to sum them up as a whole into likes and dislikes. Sometimes we gloss over things making a sort of grayscale out of it. Judgments of black and white are made. The world is tinted by the color of glasses we wear.
As an example of what I mean, let's take movies. I have thought quite a bit in the last few months how I judge movies. Everyone is biased in their evaluations of movies. There are lots of factors that can influence how we feel about a movie. I think we can safely say that everyone wears their colored glasses. But sometimes I wonder if mine are shaded too darkly.
It is not uncommon for discussions of movies to come up at my work. And it is also not uncommon for two of my co-workers to bring up a certain movie that they like: Fantastic Four. When this happens I fear my contacts will get displaced somewhere up in my head because I roll my eyes so far back. I very much dislike that movie. The story (I won't be as generous as to say it has a plot) is about as complex as what you'd find in a coloring book. And there are some scenes that are so ridiculous, pointless, and bizarre (read: the bridge scene) that it makes me wonder if the people writing and producing the movie had any cognitive functions at all.
But I wonder how I came to this very colored opinion. There are many things that have influenced it, so lets start at the beginning. I've seen that movie only once, and that was on a date. I remember being asked by my date as we walked out of the theater whether I liked it, and I said it was "okay." I was definitely couching my answer because I didn't know what she was going to say. My opinion was already being influenced! She said she liked it. I wanted her to like me, so I was again influenced! I managed to find some things to say about it that I thought she would agree with. And later on in the school semester when I realized that she and I were not going to have a relationship, I was influenced again!
This movie was also painted heavily by the buckets of colored paint dumped on it by my friends. One of my good friends described his experience of watching this movie by saying that it "made [his] eyes bleed." I think I got some red on my opinion of the movie. Yes, from the eye blood.
Although I have also been influenced somewhat by the opinions of my co-workers, I've stood firm in disliking that movie. I have staunchly disagreed with the idea they presented to me that if I would just watch it more I would like it better. Actually, I think they might be right. But somehow I don't think that assaulting my brain with more IQ-dropping video would be prudent.
Of late I have used some the following criteria to judge my movies (this list is not quite comprehensive; just the main points are presented):
- Plot - Does the story make sense? What sort of holes are there, and how big are they?
- Character Development - Do the characters have depth, or are they very two-dimensional? Can you relate to them?
- Writing - How good is the writing of this movie? Does the dialog suck me into the movie, or does it prevent my suspension of disbelief?
- Acting - Do I see a guy acting, or has that character become "real" to me?
Other factors such as special effects, attractive women, or famous actors hold precious little sway with me in my overall movie judgement. I think that's why I like so many older movies so much. They may not have a couple million dollars worth of explosions or fancy CGI, yet they are not lacking in quality. But one factor that I find myself considering more and more these days is that of general entertainment. Did I have a good time watching the show? Even if it was stupid?
A good example of this is the new Transformers movie. When I was watching it in the theater I really did enjoy myself. And yet I agreed with pretty much every point that my friends have brought up in argument against it. There were plot holes one could drive a semi through (heh heh). I can only imagine how awesome it could have been if the makers didn't decide to regurgitate all over the second half of it. And yet... I enjoyed it. Overall I liked it.
There are many aspects of movies that I really cannot detect when watching them. But these things affect other people's perception of movies. A lot of technical aspects fall into this category for me. Lighting, framing a shot, what lens was used, and other such elements are usually hard for me to see if I'm not actively looking for them.
So how darkly shaded or lightly tinted are my glasses? I'm not sure if there is really a way to know for certain. In recent months I've tried to not be too snobbish about movies while not giving in to peer-pressure about ones I dislike either.
Movies are, of course, only one example of how my life is colored. I've also given this subject thought in context of relationships, games, books, food, and other things. I just hope that I'm not missing out on some of the most vibrant and amazing colors that are out there.
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