I Talk About a Movie... again

This weekend I went and saw  The Social Network .  While watching this movie, I observed 3 things.

1) I learned that appletinis are neon green
2) Everyone in that movie types insanely fast- I bet those actors had to take some sort of class to learn to type like that!
3) The movie theatre doesn't let you bring your soda from Chipotle into the theatre with you, even though you paid like $2.50 for that thing.

When I first saw the preview for this movie, I thought it was going to be terrible.  I mean, really, what person would want to see a movie that was advertised by 3 minute photomontage with a children's choir singing a creepy song in the background?  (For the record, that song wasn't anywhere in the movie, thank goodness).  So when the movie came out I really had no motivation to go and see it.  Then someone told me that it was getting really good reviews, and that it was even being compared to Citizen Kane.  As any movie buff (like myself) will tell you, you don't go around comparing movies to Citizen Kane every day.  It's arguably (but in my opinion) the best movie ever made.   So that made me interested.  And no thanks to the advertising, I went and saw the movie, and oh my it was good.

First of all, I liked the fact that it wasn't about "the legacy of facebook" or whatever, because, lets face it, it hasn't even been around for that long.  I liked how it was about the character of Mark Zuckerberg.  Being a textbook "people-person", movies with plot lines that revolve around a single person really fascinate me.

What I also thought was interesting is that Mark's character didn't actually change throughout the corse of the movie.  In most stories (books and movies) the protagonist usually undergoes some sort of change and by the end is a different sort of person.  (Characters like this are called dynamic characters)  But Mark was pretty much the same at the end as he was in the beginning.  Static (opposite of dynamic) protagonists are pretty rare, basically because they're so hard to pull off while still making the story interesting.

In the movie, there's a scene where Mark, Eduardo (his friend and CFO) go out to dinner with Sean Parker, a successful business owner who seems eerily like Mark.  In the scene, Parker orders appletinis for the entire table, which kind of alludes to the large amount of drinking that goes on through out the movie.  (Mark created a rudimentary social network one night while he was drunk.)  Personally, I think that scene was kind of the turning point of the movie, because it was when Mark realized what he wanted to do with facebook, and it's also the start of the disagreements between Mark and Eduardo.  There's also a later scene that takes place in the facebook office, which is basically a well decorated warehouse with a bunch of guys on laptops.  I noticed that one of the walls and a rug were the exact color of the appletinis... which means the appletini is symbolism for the influence that Parker had on Mark.

What I'd like to know, is why can't I come up with stuff like this during English class, when we get graded on how many times we raise our hands per semester?

Wisdom

If someone told you to think of someone who was wise, you would probably imagine an old man with a beard, like Albus Dumbledore.  Or maybe an old professor who looks kind of like an owl.

But wise people don't necessarily have to be elderly, bearded, or bespectacled.  A wise person is, well, someone with wisdom.  To me, someone wise gives good advice and is a good mentor, someone you would look up to.  

The teacher who is indeed wise does not bid you to enter the house of his wisdom but rather leads you to the threshold of your mind.

- Kahlil Gibran

In other words, wise people aren't people who simply say intelligent things, they're people who can give good advice and help you learn not by telling, but by showing.  This could be someone like a friend, a teacher, even a parent.   

A person who I think is wise, is my orchestra teacher from last year.  I learned so many things from her about orchestra, but also about life in general.  She taught me that once you find what you have a passion for, you have to do it, no matter what.  

Today, try to find at least one person in your life who you believe is wise.  They could give you a really good piece of advice, or demonstrate a lot of knowledge about something, or maybe they simply understand you better than most people.  

<3

Favorite Songs

Thanks to two little things in this great country of ours called 1st amendment rights and the internet, I could be writing a post about lots of things right now.  I could be writing about my opinions on the global economy.  I could be writing about the new shoes I bought at the mall this weekend.  I could be writing a satirical spoof of any of the four books in the Twilight series emphasizing that fact that Bella Swan has less personality than a dead duck and Edward is really just a glorified zombie and badly portrayed attempt at Shakespeare's Romeo, only with glitter.  Heck, I could even be doing my geometry homework, but lets not be unreasonable here.

No, instead of going into a rant about one of the worst books of all time that is attempting to make itself Romeo and Juliet version 2.0 and how in just reading the first chapter, my level of respect for the book plummeted at the speed of an anvil falling from heaven to hell, I'm going to devote this post to my all time favorite songs.

18) How to Save a Life by The Fray
17) Hey Soul Sister by Train
16) U Can't Touch This by MC Hammer
15) I've Just Seem a Face by The Beatles
14) PYT by Michael Jackson
13) Tangled Up in Blue by Bob Dylan
12) Drops of Jupiter by Train
11) Hey There Delilah by The Plain White Tees
10) Drift Away by Dobie Gray
9) Smile by Uncle Kracker
8) Feed the Birds from Mary Poppins
7) Airplanes Pt. 2 by B.o.B feat. Hayley Williams and Eminem
6) Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen
5) Loose Yourself by Eminem
4) Eleanor Rigby by The Beatles
3) Fix You by Coldplay
2) Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond
1) 100 Years by Five for Fighting

Please comment and let me know what you think!  Any songs you think I should listen to? Any of these that you absolutely love?

BEAP

On Saturday, October 30th, 2010, I sat in front of my television for about three hours watching the John Stewart/Stephen Colbert Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear.  If you have any idea what that is, then I am quite proud of you!  If you actually were brave enough to go then I am insanely jealous.

When you still have 8 more months until you get your learners permit for the love of all things holy, you're a little bit restricted in where you can go.  My parents really didn't see the point of why I just HAD to have a Mice Mice Baby Mousepad with Vanilla Ice on it.

If not, well, you missed one of the coolest things ever.  Your loss (coughNPRcoughcough) Actually, this post is going to be pretty full of "inside jokes" from the rally, so if what your reading doesn't make sense to you thats why.  Also, killer bees are coming for you and your family.  

Anyway, during the rally, John Stewart and Stephen Colbert gave out awards to people who have successfully handled a situation with practicality and level headed-ness or successfully instilled fear in their fellow Americans, respectively.  Then I thought, why can't I do something like that? I should award people who I believe deserve commemoration for their outstanding contributions to society and/or the internet.

And then, 10 minutes, 8 marshmallows and 2 cans of Doctor Pepper later (don't judge me), this beauty hatched from my mind grapes!

I give you... the BEAP award- Being an Especially Awesome Person.  But just so we're clear, the BEAP is not actually a tangible award.  It's actually an abstract noun award. (For those of you who have not yet completed 9th grade English, an abstract noun is a "thing" that is not tangible.  For example, love, trust, hope etc.  You're welcome.)  It's there, but you can't pour ice cream and soda in it, spray paint it purple, or set it on fire, or do whatever else crazy people do with their trophies.  So, in short, it's not a real award, but it's still here.  It's just in your mind grapes.  

And now, for the recipients of the BEAP award.

The first BEAP goes to the subject of the following youtube video.  He receives this award because he was able to successfully channel his recklessness and creative energy into doing something highly amusing and in no way, shape, or form a danger to society.  Except for the fact that he lacks clothing for 70% of this video.  (I'm not kidding, viewer discretion advised...)

The Farmer Video

The second BEAP award is not actually for a person, but for a very special frog.  He receives this award because he taught the world to love each other no matter what color their skin is, and, most importantly, that it is in no way easy to be green.

PS. I thought you might like to see a part of my halloween costume: