Happy Halloween!

Hello friends, time for another movie countdown. This one is courtesy of Amy and Nick from Charleston, South Carolina. Here is their countdown of

The Best Vampire Movies:

10: The Lost Boys:

Here's a film that is purely 80's and doesn't care. Not only does it involve a kick-ass soundtrack but also probably the most memorable performance the two corey's will likely ever make (that's haim and feldman). It also kiefer sutherland as a young vampire leader and the criminally underrated Jason Patrick who went on to give a spectacular performance in the movie Narc. Totally campy nut never boring.
Don't Forget about Bill S. Preston, Esq.

9. The Hunger: This film was Tony Scott's film debut and it's a gem. This was before he learned to add that annoying camera shake that makes us all want to vomit. This one's a bit artsy and there's an abundance of classical music that play's almost continuously through the entire movie. It's Davie Bowie is great as a man once bitten by Catherine Denueve (a true vampire in the film) who begins to age rapidly after spending decade's together. In his attempts to stop the aging process he runs across Susan Sarandon who portrays a doctor in the field of anti-aging. This film has virtually no violence but the end scene is totally worth the wait.

8. Shadow of the Vampire: Ok, so this one's not technically a vampire movie but rather a movie about the man that portrayed the world's most famous vampire Nospheratu. The film follows the production of Nospheratu and the strange behavior of Max Shreck who many thought to be a true vampire due to the lengths he went to staying in character. Willem dafoe and John Malkovich both give stellar performances.

7. Horror of Dracula: One of the first and best of the british Hammer horror films that ruled the 60's and 70's. This was the first color retelling of the Dracula story and it is well worth viewing, Christoffer Lee as dracula and Peter Cushing as his nemesis are great. This film takes all the creak out of the dracula character and actually adds some charm and sex appeal. It conforms more closely to the story than the original Dracula from 1931 and has surprisingly little violence.

I wonder is Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee ever thought they'd both be playing Star Wars villians. Probably not.

6. Dracula 1931: There isn't much to say about this one. It's the original Dracula story with Bela Lugosi starring in his most iconic role. His performance is a bit over the top but it is required viewing for anyone that loves vampire movies.

5. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari: This movie is also very loosely considered a vampire flick but like Nospheratu it helped to define an era or horror movies and is a prime example of german expressionist filmmaking at it's height. Those of you who haven't seen this film I encourage you to do so as soon as possible. The movie itself creates such a claustrophobic atmosphere just through lighting and set design which we see less and less in film today.

4. Abbot and Costello meet Frankenstein: Alright, so this one isn't a vampire movie. It does however involve a vampire and one of the last on screen appearances of a then morphine addicted Bela Lugosi even if he is only standing in a few scenes for the actor portraying dracula. Aside from that this movie makes the list because it's damn Hilarious. Along with Young frankenstein there has not yet been made another horror spoof that stands the test of time and that I could actually call brilliant. Check this one out for some great laughs.

3. Nospheratu 1922/1979: I know it's not really fair to bunch these two together since they stand strong as two different realisations of the same story. I personally prefer the 1979 werner Herzog version as it is beautiful to look at and Klaus Kinski gives a performance that in my opinion rivals that of max shreck. The 1922 version is like the Cabinet of Dr. Caligari a movie that defined an era and to some extent still does. It does suffers, however, from never really getting a good dvd transfer which makes it a little tougher to sit through. If you can get past this then you will be greatly rewarded and pretty creeped out as well. You can't really go wrong with either version so go check one out.

2. Vampyr:

This film by Carl theodor Dreyer is a must see. It is every bit as iconic as Nospheratu and was released the same year as the original Dracula. this Film does not however follow the dracula story. This movie is creepy, atmospheric and involves some great camera work from such an early period of cinema. I recommend this film to every fan of vampire flicks and I dare you not to like it more than Lugosi's Dracula. This one's chilling.

1. Near Dark: This film is a gem by Catherine Bigelow. It is a vampire film that never uses the word vampire as well as being a road movie. The film is about a group of travelling vampire's that stop in a texas town and happen to bite a teenage boy who very much does not want to become a vampire. I can;t go into the details too much more but bill paxton gives his most kick-ass on screen preformance ever! If nothing else watch this movie for him.

Honorable mentions:

Cronos-This is guillermo del toro's awesome movie about a man who discovers a contraption that unleashes hell on his life. In spanish but definitely worth taking a look at.

The mask of Satan aka Black Sunday-This is one of Nick's picks, so I dunno. It's good I just can't say a whole lot about it.

Interview with a vampire-Super cool movie about the making of Nospheratu

Captain kronos vampire hunter-I love this movies. Super campy but super cool.

30 days of night-This movie scared the crap out of me. One of the only times I actually wanted to leave a movie.

Dracula: Pages from a virgin's diary-Again NIck's pick I personally despise this particular film maker. It's told in black and white and is a ballet. Nuff said.


Well, I got a lot to see.

More fun at the National Gallery

A closer look at some pieces of art, with expert commentary by Tony Brown.

Art History with Tony Brown

The title says it all. It's time for me to take you on an art history tour. Just click on the videos below.
Enjoy.
I hope this is not illegal.











Alright. There's more where that came from. Let me know what you think.

Boston, MA

Boston is the best city ever.
Boston is great.
Boston is awesome. Everyone I know who goes there loves it.

This is what people told me about Boston. I disagree. It was a tease being in Boston with a 45 foot bus. I would call the city lame, definitely impractical and poorly planned. Maybe I am just bitter because I couldn't go out.
We went to Boston College and Harvard. BC was not the best. The people at the school who planned our stop didn't clear it with the right people, so we had to wait, and then ended up being placed somewhere else. The kids were not too excited. Only a few were interested in free t-shirts.
Harvard was cool. I was expecting stuck up rich kids, but that was not the case. People were generally nice. Lots of foreigners. I'm pretty sure if I would have went to Harvard I would have got a lot of girls. All the guys were either super dorky, super stuck up, or super gay. So I think by default I would have faired rather well.

Got to see another old intern friend in CT that night. Good times, mostly retelling old PVS stories. It was a quick dinner, probably better we didn't drink like we were in Montana.

In case you haven't noticed, the bus tour has lost its allure for me. Not as fun as it used to be. For the first time, I actually wish I was in Montana. Weird.

Grade: D+

My mp3 Player

So, I've decided to let you all know what is on my mp3 player. So my old one zonked out and no longer works, but I have a replacement plan and got a brand new one - Sansa 4gb. I got a month of free downloads, you know unlimited songs, but I can only keep them for a month, but on the bus our internet has a limited bandwidth, so I can't upload songs. One day I went to a Panera Bread and Boarders and downloaded some songs. Right now I got 25. Mostly songs I don't have on my computer so I can't put on later and itune songs which aren't compatible with Sansa
Fun. Drumroll please.........


$$$ Girlz - Young Gunz - This is a new hip-hop version of Hall and Oats' 'Rich Girl' , check it out.

Apologize - Timbaland ft. OneRepublic - I listen to this one everyday in the office. My play list would be this, Like Prayer, and Power of Love. Yes.

Be Without You - Mary J. Blige - I like Mary J.

Bottle It Up (Unplugged) - Sara Bareilles - Well, this one is kind of tender, but is in my top 10 most played itunes, at least the original version.

Cry Me a River - Justin Timberlake - Bomb song

D.A.N.C.E. - Justice - I had this one on a power hour, but it doesn't really start going until after the 1st minute, so I wanted to hear the whole thing.

Down Under - Men at Work - Check out the video! It is great, and the inspiration for my Halloween Costume sometime in the future.

Everywhere - Michelle Branch - Yes, I really like this song. It is my second favorite karaoke song.

Gotta Get Thru This - Daniel Beddingfield

Gotta Get Thru This (Unplugged) - Daniel Beddingfield

Hallelujah - Rufus Wainwright - I love this song. The Rufus Wainwright version is even slightly better than Jeff Buckley's

Hip-Hop - Dead Prez

I Believe - Blessed Union of Souls - Another itunes top 5. A bit sappy, but I enjoy it

I'll Fly with You - Gigi D'Agostino - A hot club banger, if you heard it, you'd know it and love it

Jessie's Girl - Rick Springfield - I love the 80's.

Kissing You - Des'ree -

Kissing You - Des'ree - this one is only the music version which i downloaded by mistake but it is still nice "Did my heart love 'til now? Forswear it, sight. For I ne'er saw true beauty 'til this night"

Love Song (Unplugged) - Sara Bareilles - Cliche maybe, but I still like it.

Make it Rain (Remix) - Fat Joe, R. Kelly, Lil Wayne and more - Maybe my favorite song from the past 3 years.

Somebody's Baby - Jackson Browne - 3rd time at least I've mentioned this song

Somewhere Only We Know - Keane - Going back to my time in England

Starting to Turn - Andrew Paul Woodworth - ok, this was one of the songs preloaded to my player. This is the only one I did not erase. It's kinda weird.

Walk It Out (Remix ft. Andre 3000 and Jim Jones) - Yes! This one can't make you not dance.

Welcome Back - Mase - Classic, reppin the Crew

When You Were Young - The Killers



There you go. You are now enlightened. Let me know what else I should download. Remember it's gotta e special. I don't got much time to get songs.

Oneonta, NY (Not Albany)

So, the bus broke down on the way to Albany. We were in a town called Otego and were towed to a place named Oneonta, NY. Upstate New York is much different than down state New York. Lots of farms, lots of hills, not too many people. Yes, so the bus was towed finally on Tuesday morning. We were at a truck repair shop on the edge of town. It was cold and rainy, but sometimes you gotta find your own excitement.
So that's what I did. I ventured out. The prospects were bleak. Lots of car repair places and dealerships and light industry. I saw a Lowe's in the distance and went inside just to look around. Yes, this was how desperate I was. I even forced myself to go to the bathroom just for something to do. I looked at paint and Christmas decorations. Fun. Then I trekked on, oh and I forgot to mention I'm on a state highway without a sidewalk and it's pretty cold, and see an Amish Barn Company, an ice cream shop which is closed for the season, a skating rink, and sing that says Fatman, but is not for a restaurant, then finally a gas station. And next to the gas station - a bowling alley! Yes, and for some reason it opens at 1:00 on Tuesdays. I check my watch and it's 12:45. Nice. I go to the gas station and get some food and as soon as I sit down Jackson Browne's "Somebody's Baby" starts playing. Wow, what a great turn of events!
So I get to the bowling alley. It's just me and a bunch of old people and a couple retarded people. I love it! I'm bowling average. It's fun. Before I know it I've played 5 games. Then I am about to pay and realize you can bowl two hours for only $16.00, so I get in two more games and top out at 170. I realize I am sweating at the end of it. Good stuff.
Then at night Jon and I go an another trek, more like a quest. Think Lord of the Rings, a long epic journey. And it was cold, very cold. But no hobbits or orcs or wizards and there were only two of us, and we were looking for a McDonald's. But it was long and tough, probably a three mile walk on dark back roads through upstate New York. And in the end, there was no McDonald's, but Burger King, even better. Rodeo Burgers!
And, the bus was not even in the garage yet. Man.

So yesterday the bus gets fixed in like two hours, just a leaky hose, but that is a big deal on a 22-ton bus. So we finally leave Oneonta. And then about 5 miles away we see a sign for the Baseball Hall of Fame, so we decide to head to Cooperstown. Pretty crazy. It was cool. Something pretty impromptu, so that made it even better. I was definitely the only one interested in the Milwaukee Braves and Brewers, haha, but I tried my best to see everything. It was cool, something I'm glad I went to but I wouldn't go out of my way for it.

But the bus breaking down turned into so good fun. I'm glad I got out and explored.

Ithaca, NY

Alright, so Ithaca was definitely a step up from Scranton and Binghamton. I mean it was no paradise, but it was ok, very a much the combination of hippie college town and rural upstate New York. I got to see old summer interns Kaitlyn and Joel, very cool. Probably the highlight of the city.

The stop itself went well. Ithaca College, not Cornell, alma mater of my favorite Office character Andy Bernard. IC has a real quality communications department. I was interview probably 7 times, 3 times from students from version types of school news, but it must be said that the students asked much better questions than the real reporters. Two TV stations came up from Binghamton and really had no idea what was going on. One of them, this girl was like 6'2", asked where the bathroom was as soon as she got out of her car and was like upset that I didn't know exactly where it was. Geez. Yeah, but it was a fun day, went by very quickly.

Grade: A- : Oh and the bus broke down in the evening on the way to Albany.
To be continued...........


Since this post is so lame, I added a video of one of the students I talked to at St. John's. He was my first interview - straight up Long Island Greaser - and I was a little worried I was going to be in for a long day. (None of the other kids were as dumb as this guy. Some were even intelligent.)

Bus Bonus - Scranton, PA and Binghamton, NY

From time to time, the bus has a few days off and gets visit cities where it doesn't really have a stop. That is the case for this weekend. A little bonus for our readers.

Scranton, PA - Ok, Scranton has had a lot of hype these past few years. Most of it is from the office, but it is also the hometown of Joe Biden and Hilary Rodham Clinton. It seems to be a typical working class town. Nothing special lately. Went to a bar to get a few drinks - pretty empty. And I didn't have time to find and Dunder-Mifflin memorabilia because we got kicked out of our parking spot in the morning. Boo mall security. But I did get to watch the office in Scranton. Not bad.

Binghamton, NY - Well I have to say that Binghamton is the most unattractive place (as far as people go) in the nation. Really, and I've lived in Milwaukee, Montana, and Philadelphia, so this is saying a lot. Seriously, not an attractive person in the city. When the bar tenders and wait staff are unattractive, it's a bad sign for the rest of the city. Lots of fat people. Lots of single diners. An abnormally high amount of women with moustaches. Really. No good. That's all I gots.

Queens, NY

Hitting yet an borough with the bus. This time it Queens. It was my first time there, and unlike Staten Island and Long Island, Queens hit more of the my NY stereotypes - lots of buildings real close together (think Cosby show, was that Brooklyn?) lots of neighborhood stores an bars, LOTS of great NY accents, and lots of diversity. Yeah, Queens is alright.
We brought the bus to St. John's University, the real one this time. It was another fun, busy day. I did get woken up twice by the police telling us we needed to move the bus, but that's not too out of the ordinary.
I guess it was a normal day on the bus. We did give away t-shirts, which brought a crowd and I did get a lot of videos for out youtube channel. It was a fun, busy day again. I like those, the days go quick. People were for the most part very nice. Oh, and the diversity - white, black, Asian, Indian, mixed - was pretty cool to see. I've been to a lot of college campuses, and I went to school in Madison, so I notice diversity. I wish there were more places like that.
Look at Jon attracting the ladies. Must be the purple shirt.

Long Island, NY

The Site: Hofstra University - Hempstad, Long Island NY
The Event: The Final Presidential Debate
The Audience: Many, Many rich college kids.

See, we were not given press credentials for this debate. Our bus was in a parking lot with the CNN election Bus, the CSPAN Bus, The Rock the Vote Bus, and some eco-Bus. It was a busy day.
And for the record, we definitely kicked Rock the Vote's ass as far as people coming to talk to us went. Maybe it was the fact that we were giving away free flashlight pens, but hopefully more that our services are still usable (The NY registration deadline has past). But is you remember my previous DNC post, Rock the Vote is weak. We probably talked to 1,000 people. Good stuff. Lots of people, actually more older people than younger people were solely looking for free stuff. Yeah, but then I give them free information on Project Vote Smart.

I guess Hofstra did not have classes that day, so students were all over the place. LOTS of sorority girls. Lots of stretch pants and Uggz and big sun glasses. Just what I like, ok, actually the opposite of what I like. Lots of people loved the ball (below) but an oddly high percentage of them posed with the ball hugging or humping it. I'm not sure why, but they loved it. Oh, and I'm sure this will come as no surprise, but NY college kids love Barack Obama. Startling news I sure.


Since we didn't have press passes, I didn't get to see anyone famous. Boo. We did talk to journalists from Russia, New Zealand, South Korea, Sierra Leone, and France, but none from America. Great. Awesome. But it was fun day, definitely an interesting event. I hear the debate wasn't that great. But it was a fun busy day for us.

Staten Island, NY

New York City! Yep, but Staten Island is definitely not the New York City I think of. No skyscrapers. No cabs. No streets jam packed with people. Staten Island is kind of like the suburbs. There was a nice little hood, though, which we drove through when took a few wrong turns on our way into the borough.
The people we talked to also didn't fit the stereotypes of New Yorkers. Everyone was pretty much nice. People were interested in what we had to say.
Oh, yeah, we were at St. John's Staten Island, which I didn't know existed until a few days ago. It was a cute little campus. Great weather. Nice people. And, my faithful readers know this will get a lot of points from me, free lunch. Yes, enough food to feed four or five people. I love it!

There were a few stereotypes which were confirmed. Lots of Italian-Americans, but not the pretty ones, grimmy working class kids. Lots of Yankee hats. A few straight Guido kids with spiked hair and chains and plucked eyebrows. Lots of people whipping pretty hard in Navigators and Excursions with nice rims. Some stretch pants and designer t-shirts, but nothing too bad. Lots of good accents, but like I said, overall nice people . Maybe people you wouldn't think would be cool, but were ok when you talked to them. Don't judge!

Grade: A- (CBS radio and NY1 came out. No network stations, but I'm guessing these two outlets reach a lot more people than say, CBS in Toledo.)

Fredericksburg, VA

Back on the bus. Fun for the blog. I flew into North Carolina Friday night and finally had my first stop on Monday evening. NC was kind of boring, but that isn't a bad thing. Montana had 3 feet of snow the weekend I left. Got out of there at the right time.

So Fredericksurg. It was ok, a nice way to ease back into the bus. People were nice and fairly interested. I did a radio and newspaper interview. The best part is obviously the picture.


Am I a super hero? I hope so. My only powers are defending democracy with nonpartisan information, pretty lame. But I try to look epic doing it.

Grade: B- (no TV in Fredericksburg, but a good start to the last leg.)

2008 Presidential Predictions

2008 Presidential Predictions

In case you didn't know, the 2008 Presidential election is almost here. There's many polls running around out there online and on all the crazy 24-hour news channels. I know much of it is information and entertainment for the masses, but the electoral maps are pretty fun. I'll give you my predictions right here. The best map is right here from CNN - well maybe not the best, but at least the most interactive, most colorful, and easiest to read. Yes CNN. That should be their new slogan.

And I am no political expert, but I have traveled much of the country and have a unique perspective of political happenings. These are just educated guesses, but I feel pretty good about most of them. You can fool around with the map yourself, but here is they way I see it going.

Right Now:

OBAMA: 177 in the bag, 87 leaning Obama = 264
MCCAIN: 125 in the bag, 49 leaning McCain = 174
TO CLOSE TO CALL: 100
NEEDED TO WIN: 270

So with 3 weeks left, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that Obama is looking good. If these numbers stay the same, he only needs to grab 6 more electoral votes.

Here are my predictions:
First off, the leaning states.
I see Washington, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New Hampshire sticking with Obama rather handily.
I see Georgia, Louisiana, West Virginia, and Arkansas sticking with McCain.

That means for me, states to close to call Nevada, Colorado, Missouri, Ohio, Florida, North Carolina, and Virginia being to close to call, plus my additions - New Mexico (currently leaning Obama) Montana and Indiana (currently leaning McCain) and Maine (unpredictable due to its proportional system)

Here's how I see the final pieces falling, in order of how sure to unsure I am.

Montana - McCain - I don't understand why Montana is close, but it is. I think Obama is wasting funds. One, he won't win, and two it's only 3 electoral votes. And a personal note here, the local bar I frequent in Philipsburg, MT has multiple Confederate flags on the wall and even when I go to the second largest city in the state, I still get looks for wearing a straight brimmed hat. Doesn't look too good Obama.

North Carolina - I think this one may be leaning to McCain soon. I'm actually here right now. It's a nice state, but it's Southern, for real, lots of accents, but lots of money too. That should work in McCain's favor. From Sept 28-Oct 4 Obama spent almost 10x more on ads than McCain in NC - (source Wisconsin Advertising Project)

New Mexico - Obama - it'll be close, but Obama and Bill Richardson will rally the Hispanic vote here. A big pick up.

Florida - McCain - he's going to be pumping in a lot of money to this state, a lot of money. In the previous two weeks Obama has spent almost 4 times as much as McCain in FL ads. McCain's camp knows he NEEDS this state to have a chance. I don't see it slipping through his fingers, old and wrinkly as they may be.

Maine - ??? - Maine has proportional system. Interesting. Just to make it interesting (try it on the map, it's fun) I'll call it 3-1 to Obama.

Colorado - Obama There's a lot of hippies in Colorado, and a lot of money, an interesting combo. Good move by the Dems having their convention there. That will push it up into their favor. Obama will pump a lot of money into this state. If you look at the map they way the pundits have it right now, all Obama would need is Colorado.

Nevada - McCain - Las Vegas had the most TV ads over the last two weeks followed by Denver, Milwaukee, Green Bay, Tampa, and Cleveland - you can see where the swing states are. Financial crisis could affect Nevada, with its fast growing population, but I see it staying Red.

Virginia - big prize, 13 electoral votes and like NC is a new one to being competitive. One of my boys is a DNC organizer there and is working his ass off, and seems positive, but c'mon it's Virginia - for lovers and Republicans. McCain Sorry Clark.

The final 3 states I am really just guessing on. And I know, if you look at the math, according to Tony Brown, Obama already has 273 and is the next president, but all McCain needs to do is flip one state, and things are back to interesting again, so let's pretend that New Mexico and Colorado are too close to call and we have to play the whole thing out.
So, for me, Ohio, Indiana, and Missouri are too close to call. Fun, Fun.

Indiana- for some reason, I see this one being stolen by Obama. I know it doesn't make much sense. It is a solid red state. It wasn't supposed to be close. Much like North Carolina, McCain has largely ignored it, Obama smelled blood and attacked it, but I feel Indiana has a more Midwest feel, so Obama has a better chance. Just my gut, but still should go to McCain.

Missouri- Another tough one to call. Here you got Midwest, South, and Great Plains. This one went to Clinton both times, so is much more susceptible to change. I think it could go Obama, but am really just guessing on this one. I drove through, but only went to colleges, which is maybe much of the reason why I think these swing states will go to Obama.

Ohio - The big swing prize. Will not decide the election this year, but again super important. If McCain can steal another state, then this one could win it for him. I feel it will be a lot like Indiana, hard hit by the economic crisis, but this time it will go to Obama thanks to the larger number of cities. Real rap.

Final Predictions:
Obama simply just has much more leeway. Only a few things need to go in his favor, whereas McCain needs to get every toss-up state. There is a lot of time to still make things interesting, a lot of light blue states that could switch to up-for-grabs.

I see Obama with at most 308 (Ohio, Indiana, Missouri) but most likely it will go 286 - 252 for Barack Obama That would mean only Ohio, Colorado, and New Mexico will have changed from last election, but for Obama, as that is his big slogan, that is all the "change" he would need.


Disclaimer: Though I work in Politics, I really don't like politics. This is my somewhat educated prediction. Play with the map. It's fun. I see why they like it so much on CNN. And let me know what you think.

My Favorite Chick Flicks

Yes, it's time. The Brewers are done, so it's time to unveil the list of my favorite chick flicks. I've had the idea for this post for some time now and have been putting it together all week. I know the suspense must be killing you. So here it goes.
Quick Criteria: You all know what a chick flick is, so I won't define it for you. Basically, I just have to have seen the movie and liked it. It's great that this is my own list, so I can pretty much do what I want. And, I think most guys occassionaly enjoy chick flicks, especially me.


MY FAVORITE CHICK FLICKS

Honorable Mention: There won't be any classic movies on here from like the 50's, and I really don't like Kate Hudson or campy 80s movies. Here are a few that almost made the cut into the top 10
13 Going on 30 - I like Jennifer Garner
Dirty Dancing
Center Stage- for some reason I saw the final 20 minutes of this movie like 20 times with my sister
Mean Girls - more a comedy than a chick flick
When Harry Met Sally - I've actually never seen the whole thing
Ghost - good movie
Sleepless in Seattle- I saw this movie at a drive-in with my family part of a double bill with Coneheads. Sleepless in Seattle was by far the better movie
Titanic- great film, love story, but not really a chick flick

10. The Notebook - Yeah, I'll admit I saw this one. It was a good story, sad. I was pissed when the mother wouldn't give her this letters from the guy. Something about the old school aspect makes it more romantic too. Girls love this one much more than me.

9. Bend it Like Beckham - Yeah, I had to throw some sports in here. It was a cute movie. I believe I watched it with my friend Wallie. Cute girls, soccer, a funny Indian family. Yeah, I liked it.

8. A Walk in the Clouds -
Yep Keanu Reeves. I remember the scene when the vineyard was on fire, pretty cool. Haven't seen this one in years, and now that I am a more mature fellow, I should check it out again.

7. Forces of Nature - Some people migh be surprised by this pick. It's the one with Ben Affleck and Sandra Bullock where he is getting married soon and meets her. I remember watching this on TV before a big English Exam I don't know if it was the fact that I didn't want to study or the fact that this movie is great, but I could not take my eyes off this movie. There was some chemistry between the two actors, and it was real funny. For some reason they lost their clothes and Ben Afflack was wearing these warm-up pants the entire movie (just like in Good Will Hunting) And the end might not be liked by some, but I really liked it. It asks questions about chance, fate, and all that stuff, but in the end, he stays with the one he loves. Sometimes the great people we might in life allow us to realize how much we love the ones we love.

6. The Cutting Edge-

this movie also made my sports movie list. Interesting. It's very campy, but I like it, a Saturday afternoon TV favorite. The New Year's Eve scene totally sticks out in my head. The two wanna kiss eachother, but are with other people, and there is this crazy lighting with these sparklers. Wow. And the two pretend to hate each other. The girl gets drunk one night, finally tells the guy how she feels. She gets too drunk and gets turned down and then the guy goes to sleep with another girls. Ouch

5. Romeo and Juliet-
- Claire Danes and Leonardo Dicaprio. Some very amazing scenes - like the one at the first party where they are trying to see each other, the maid sneaking him out, and the classic balcony scene. I think for most of our generation, this was our first foray into Shakespeare. This is another one I need to see again. Is was pissed at the end. And my favorite part, the Des'ree song Kissing You - Pride can stand a thousand trials/the strong will never fall/ But watching stars without you my soul cries/heaving heart is full of pain/oh, oh the aching


4. Serendipity - this may be another one not that popular, but I really enjoyed it. I think I got this one from the library. I guess it is just the idea that is alluring, something you hope for like everyday, just going to somewhere normal and randomly meeting someone who sweeps you off your feet. You know love at first sight. And then you think about them all the time, but in this case they end up back together and everything is great.
And Kate Beckinsale is hot.

3. 10 Things I hate about you -

This one came up a few weeks ago in my high school movies list.
Its just a fun movie. Drunk dancing, soccer, paintball, nose-spray ads, prom, over-bearing parents. A fun one for sure. And, the douche-bag does not get the girl in the end. Her poem at the end, pretty touching, a little chessie, but it got to me. Heath Ledger in his prime, ok maybe not quite yet, but a good flick.

2. A Walk to Remember -
OK, I might get some flack for this one, but I really like this movie. Mandy Moore is one of my favorite. I definitely have "Only Hope" on my MP3 player. That was a great scene. I guess the innocence of it all appeals to me, finding someone you love completely and would totally change your life for. All the stuff he did for her - being in two places at once, getting her the fake tattoo, naming a star after her - super cute (please don't question my sexuality on this one) And in the end they get married before she dies. Man, great stuff. I love it!

1a. Love Actually- This is obviously number one. Everyone loves this movie - guys, girls, doesn't matter. This is a great movie. Great, great soundtrack. The scenes at Heathrow are great and true. My favorite story is easily the one with the writer and the Portuguese girl. Very cute, again something you dream of happening. Liam Neison crying was super sad. And the wife when she found out her husband bought a necklace for a different girl with Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now" playing, wow, pretty powerful. I even liked it when the Prime Minister told off the President. Yes, a great chick flick, but this one is ok for guys to like. Thanks goodness.

1b. The Princess Bride-
I'm not really sure if this is actually a chick flick. Some say it is, some say no. I really don't think it is, but it's close enough to put in as 1b. But an awesome movie!
"Is this a kissing book?"
"As you wish"
Yeah, you all know this movie. Westley even comes back from (near) death for Buttercup. Wow.
"Fencing. Fighting. Torture. Revenge. Giants. Monsters. Chases. Escapes. True love. Miracles."
"Since the invention of the kiss, there have been five kisses that were rated the most passionate, the most pure. This one left them all behind. The end."


So there you go kids. Let me know what you think and what I missed.
Unfortunaltely, most of these movies I watched by myself because I am so cool or with guys. Haha, maybe someday soon I will have some dates.
Cool. Hopefully this list gave you a little glimpse into this complex mind of mine.

It's over

It's been fun. At least we won one game. Thanks for the fun season.



But the good thing about sports, it's never too early to look forward to next year.
We got all our hitters coming back. We have Bush, Gallardo, and Parra on the mound. The bullpen is a problem, potentially losing Torres, Mota, and Gagne. K-Rod anyone?

What Needs to Happen Redux

Ok, so my plans did not go as I saw them going. Man. Shane Victtorino? Really?
It's ok CC. I plan on seeing you pitch in a Brewers uniform at least once more.
Ok, so what needs to happen?

1. Brewers score some runs! Really, c'mon boys, bust out, maybe even 4 runs? Please.
2. Get Hype Milwaukee! Two games at home lets take 'em. We've been waiting 26 years for this. Our boys need some picking up. Let's do it fans! Yes!!! Exclamation Marks!!!
3. Bush - has it.
4. Suppan - hmm? October magic like I said. Or, thanks to CC being off his game and McClung coming in, the Suppan/Parra/Villaneuva/Gagne/Stetter/Mota/Shouse/Torres platoon. Dale Sveum will do whatever it takes.
5. Now we need a game 5. Redeem yourself CC!

What Needs to Happen. What will happen.

Ok we lost the first game. No big deal. I am not surprised. I didn't mind it too much. The way the pitching went down, it does not put us in a bad position for the rest of the series. Hamels is pretty freaking good, but here is the way I see the rest of the series going.

Game Two: CC dominates. Brewers win. We need this one. I don't think we could make it out of a 0-2 hole and I got faith in CC

Game Three: Dave Bush at home. Moyer is too old. I see that as a Brewers win. We're at home. We're up 2-1. Milwaukee drinks a lot.

Game Four: At home. Suppan regains his October magic OR we go with the McClung/Suppan platoon OR Suppan digs a hole too deep and we go to six. I like the first option.


Game Five: I'm hoping we take the next three, but just in case:
Sabbathia vs Hamels for a spot in the NL championship. Wow. Intense.


I'm still confident. Today wasn't bad. We didn't have to pitch McClung or Bush, so we are ok. We can steal one at home.

A few worries that could put a damper in my plans:
Torres - actually that is my biggest worry. If we blow a save, we are obviously done.
We can do it!

Top Ten Horror Movies (Guest Write)

So readers, a little change-up for today. A guest writer for us. I have used guest writers in the past, but that was just copying and pasting emails and was used when I really didn't have anything to write about. But this time my friend Amy offered and was kind of excited to guest-write. I guess the idea came up when I mentioned in a previous post my upcoming list of my favorite chick-flicks, which is still coming don't you worry. But anyways, here are the best horror films. I may add a few comments in italics. But here you go.

So here is my list of my top ten horror films:

Honorable Mention

High Tension-The movie is so freaking awesome until the plot twist in the end. It ruins the entire film which is why it is in honorable mention.

Dead Alive-Peter Jackson’s foray into horror. This movie is really freaking gross and scary. It goes in honorable mention because it’s more funny and gross then scary. (AKA Braindead in the US)

28 Days- A movie about angry, violent, scary zombies? Count me in (Me too. Zombies are scary)

Dawn of the Dead (Zack Snyder)- This movie is incredibly scary, but it’s more violent then anything else. (That ending was rough)

10. The Innocents

The Nicole Kidman film “The Others” is loosely based on this film but in my opinion “The Innocents” with Deborah Kerr kicks “The Others” ass. The children in this film are way creepy and what happens in the end is way creepy. Not violent and bloody like most horror films of today.

9. Suspiria

Dario Argento, what can I say? In my opinion one of his best films. The opening sequence makes the film totally worth watching. It’s also one of the last films to be shot in Technicolor. Just think of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs while you watch it. (If never seen this one, but just looking for pictures of it was pretty scary)

8. The Exorcist

Do I really need to explain why this is on my list? Two words: spider crawl.

7. Nosferatu

The original black and white silent film mind you. The remakes are good but if you watch the original in the dark you will get freaked out. Again not violent and bloody like the films of today but trust me what this in the dark and you get freaked out and incredibly uncomfortable. (Damn, look at that picture. Maybe Francis Ford Coppola could learn a thing or two about horror)

6. Eyes without a Face

In case you haven’t noticed a horror film doesn’t have to be violent and gross for me to consider it truly horrifying. Take “Eyes without a Face” a French horror film about a doctor who will do anything to give his daughter a new face. This film is a horror film because of the subtly implications of the horrors this man is committing just to make his daughter beautiful once again.

5. Halloween

How could this not be on the list? John Carpenter at his best (and Jamie Lee Curtis too). If you haven’t seen the original you have been living under a rock and have not yet experienced a classic horror slasher picture.

4. The Thing

Another John Carpenter film and possibly one of my favorite horror films ever. Plus it’s got Kurt Russell and who doesn’t like Snake? The movie just gets scarier and scarier as you watch. The part when they’ve got all the guys tied to one couch and one of them is infected is totally suspenseful and scary at the same time.

3. The Shining

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy…need I say more? (The wife is scary ugly. The son has a pretty bad hair. Cut. The blood in the elevator, the two girls, "Come play with us Danny", the hot/scary dead lady, and the soundtrack, wow. See also: The Shinning

2. The Descent

Holy Crap if you have not seen this film you need to stop doing whatever you’re doing and watch this film. The story of a group of girl cave explorers is so terrifying because of what it hunting them and how the first attack is shot. You see the creatures attack the girls with different infrared colors on their cameras. The attack is so fast and brutal that you will be feeling like you need to come up for air and you’re just sitting on the couch. Oh and watch the directors cut because the original American theatrical ending sucks major. (Guess I should check this one out.)

1. The (Original) Texas Chainsaw Massacre

This movie holds a special place in my heart. I remember the first time watching it. I was babysitting and it came on IFC at like 1:00 in the morning. I watched it, freaked out and checked every bathroom, cabinet, and closet after it finished. The gritty look of the film and how at the beginning of the film you are informed it’s a true story (it’s not).It also doesn’t hurt that the killer in this film is a guy who runs around in a mask made of human skin and makes animal noises is pretty damn scary. (No Jessica Biel, though)

Well, thanks Amy. You definitely know more about the subject than I do. Maybe if the audience likes you, you can even come back for another post.