Okay, so after a year or so hiatus- in which many things happened, which I will go over in a second- I decided to start blogging again to chronicle college. Don't know how long it will last. Blogger changed its layout, so a little weirded out. During this year, to reacap, I met a girl, started going out, went to prom with her, and then parted amicably. I also saw the Avengers ( twice) and The Dark Knight Rises ( Three Times). I set a new record in Swim and was Senior Staff at Wah Tut Ca Scout Reservation. Now I am here, at UMASS Amherst Van Meter Room 418 ready to start life as a college freshman. Its going to be great. Gonna do more updating later, but this is it for now.

After the Fact- Loss, Confusion, Where to go from Here.

Hey all.
Hope everyone had a great Christmas season. I did, Santa was very kind to me. As I started writing this post, I was going to write about something personal to me, and then I realized that a tragedy had struck another person. Just now I realized that writing about it would ber incredible insensitive- so I will say only this, that to lose someone very close to you would and does hurt more than I can even fathom. I deflated a bit when I read the obituary, hoping it wasn't true. But I think it is, and my heart goes out to my friend. And now, that revelation will make my following seem shallow and self serving. but I don't know who to vent to- except the souless internet.

My problem is I have met a very nice person, and I don't know how to proceed. Two disclosures right now- I feel like an ass writing this after learning about death, and eagle-eyed readers will know who I am talking about. I met this person, adn we were so similar, it was almost eerie in a sixth sense way. But also eerie, good. Here was a person who I could confide in, knowing they had the same problems as me. It was great, how simpatico we were. Here's the thing- by current society standards of the teenage group, we are already an "item'. We should be going out, beign steady, hell, I should have kissed her by now. Is this a case of me being too nervous, and I should have just taken the plunge, trust my instincts? Or is it perfectly okay to be more than friends, but not in a romantic sense? Additonally, how does new technology play into this? I want to send her a request on facebook to make it 'facebook offish' but is that really necessary for a relationship? Oh, look, honey, this is the anniversary of our facebook notification of being together! Even as I type them, the words sound stupid to me. I have no clue, other than the fact that I hope I don't mess it up.

Christmasy Season? Why not all Year Round?

So, I am directly procrastinating under the eye of my cookie-making mom, and I dedcided to do a blog post about something OTHER than the latest action movie. I decided to write about something that was on my mind. I have always struggled with the idea of me being nice than everyone. I would rather talk with people adn understand them, which seems contrary to the idea of 'full steam ahead' mememe focus that is pervasice. Sure, people still help out and volunteer, but in day to day interactions people seem to be involved in fast fast fast, focus on my problems which are huge, not like others, no one understands me, I'm gonna solo it. But two incidents recently reinforced the need for me to nice, and made me realize that being nice is always worth it. Two people which I am involved with periphally recently highlighted this idea. Lets call them Mrs. A and Ms. B. Mrs. A was involved in something that she wasn't aware of. It caused laughter at my table and almost a sense of pity. But no one stepped up and helped her out. I stepped up, and helped remedy the situation. ( Not to toot my own horn). She ended up in tears. But here's the thing. The people who sat with me did nothing and laughted at the pain caused by the revelation, and then said that I was a good guy for doing that. But, whats so good about doing what I would want someone to do in my place, if I was in that situation? The fact that I did was was supposed to be done in the best way possible, and got lauded for it, leaves me baffled. The other situation, with Ms. B, is happier. She was really nervous about a performance she had to do, and I just did what was natural. Reassurance was needed, reassurance was given, and everything turned out ok. But she was so thankful, it hammered home the point that niceness can give.

I guess what I'm saying is, why do people go out of their way to be angry and bitter, when they can be uplifting and positive with the same amount of energy? I know, people have asked this question for ions, and results are varied.  But what possible reason do we have to spend more energy to be angry at everyone? Sure, the worlds a hard place, and it doesn't seem to be a nice place. But why do people have to spend even more energy to be angry and make it  a worse off place? Both Mrs. A and Ms. B were really happy that I was what I take for granted. What does that say abou the state of the world as a whole? As before, I have no solutions. I have no ideas. I jsut have my thoughts, sticking them to the wall, as before.

Muppetmania!

Okay, before you go any further, know that I am a Muppet fan. Raised on Sesame Street and later the Muppet Show, these icons have been my compainions since childhood. So when I say that this was the only movie I was looking forward too this season, I want you to know the full weight of my statement. I loved it so much, I went to see it twice. In the same weekend. This weekend. The first time, not to discourage the lovely Miss Jackie Jarnigan, was by far the best. The screening was perfect, the chairs were comfortable, I was with friends. The cool thing was that there was young people ( younger than me) and old people ( 50's and up) and they all found common ground in this movie. I heard more laughing during this than I have heard during the other comedies I have seen. And to all those nay-sayers who say that it will never be equal to the original Muppets, with all due respect to Jim Henson, this may even be BETTER than the original Muppets. The spirit was gleefully preserved, and there were so many celebrity cameos it was like Scene It: Famous People Addition. But you can tell everyone was having a blast. And the Muppets humor was skillfully preserved and withstood the test of time. In fact, a large part of how this movie plays is the idea that the world has moved on from our felt-y friends. It opens with Jason Segal playing Gary, and his brother Walter, a new Muppet. Gary is dating Amy Adams -playing Mary- and the trio decide to go to LA to see the sights, including, natch, Muppet Studios. When they discover that the studio is old and run down, along with oil beneath the land that a greedy Chris Cooper oil baron wants, they reunite the Muppets to put on , as Kermit so umbly puts it, "One Last Show." For students of the Muppet Show, comparisons galore and tounge in cheek tributes to themselves. I love the fact that they break the fourth wall just enough to be funny. We know they are aware of us as movie goers watching, and they know that we know they know that. ( Man, I have always wanted to write something like that). The result is a delightfully witty and funny vehicle to watch. I particualry like when Statler and Waldorf say the following.
Statler: " Well, it also says here that if the Muppets can raise  10 million dollars before this contract expires, they own the studio and the Muppet name."
Waldorf: " Did we just reveal a major plot point to the audience?"
Stalter: " I hope so, maybe half of them will get it!"
Waldorf: " That implies half of them are still awake!"
And the montage effect, when the characters are fully aware of it, is funny as all get out. My favorite moment in the montage was when my ( quite possibly) favorite Muppet, Sam The Eagle, is shown hosting a show called "Everything Sucks" and the crawl reads " Young people... the French...Every other national country." Its a strech, but it works for what we know of Sam the Eagle.
There are only three things I didn't like in this film, but they were of the minor plot points and of reallly no concern whatsoever.
The first is Kermit, but I could not tell that he was voiced by someone other than Jim Henson. It was that perfect. He just seemed a little more ready to give up in previous excursions. I counted three times when Kermit said something like " It can't be done" Kermit never gives up, but if he does, he keeps being cheerful in some way. This one seems just a little sad (der) than usual. But, it adds depth to the character, more than he had, and it is particuarly moving to see him ponder it, shrug, and put on a smile to do the Muppet Show Opening once again. I didn't like how the ending was structured. ( SPOLIER ALERT) For a time, it made it look like Evil had won. Being the Muppets, thats not the case, but still. The words The End flash before the actual end of the movie. To tie up threads, they go into the credits. That it works great is not the point, just a little tickle in the throat of an otherwise healthy and robust movie. I give this movie an A, my highest grade so far... screw it, this once, something can be perfect.

A+



As a Final note, to the enduring power of the Muppets, everyone was singing along in the theater to Rainbow Connection. You can't get that nowadays, and it makes me confident the Muppets will survive long after me.

With Those lights, You could Power a Small Vegas.

 Well hello, out there, cyberspace. I read a little blurb that said to get readers, you need to make posts for more than once a week. The best results are daily. To that I say....mmmmnope, have better things to do. So anywho, I had a really good Veterans Day weekend. Equal parts manual labor, fun, and making an indelible impression on others. So I just got back from seeing Trans- Siberian Orchestra, as a bit of family fun. I have to say, I was impressed. More like blown away by the power of it. And by blown away, I mean just that. Using some calculations I made up on the fly, and a basis of electricity consumption that has no root in any reality whatsoever, I figured that the power used to produce this show with all the effects could have powered a small city for something like six months. It was that intense. There were lights as big as me, lights across the stage, and lights in the air. Bear in mind, that they set this up constantly. So all of this stuff is portable. Thats not even the best part. Most bands wait to release phosphorus and smoke and fire as the grand finale. Nope. These guys did it in a midshow song. And it just got bigger from there. The stage was dominated by three pairs of triangles made up of trusses, one inside the other. These triangles could raise, lower, tilt, all independent of each other. At various times they were used to simulate a vauge Christmas tree, the mouth of a beast, and free floating light platforms. ( Hey, they can't all be something ) Easily the coolest part however was a system of trusses that allowed the band members to walk in the air over the audience. It was high up, and you thought that all the lights were attached to it. Nope. It lowered down and allowed them to walk on it, and then it raised itself up a little bit so as to have them suspended in space.  There was also fire, and let me point out that this is the only band that I encountered that used fire as a percussive instrument. At one point, there was fire on the stage, but I felt really hot...only to see that there was fire( planned) behind me. It was neat. The only qualm I had was that I sat on a floding chair for the entire show, and the arena was hot. I will write more( hopefully) later as I am currently being sked to vacate the premise of the computer.
Have a good week, and you stay classy now.

Oh God, I'm becoming commercialized.

While writing this, I realized one thing- my blog is increasingly only movie reviews. Part of me is like GASP! I  must change this, so as to not conform to the other thousands of bloggers out there! ( Picture it in a really breathy voice) and the other is like Eh, screw it, just write the review. Much obliged, apathy. Much obliged.
           I just got back from watching Real Steel, staring Hugh Jackman. I wanted to see this movie for a long time, and it was worth it. Even though this ground has been trampled to death, I just want to rehash some of the key points.
Hugh Jackman is an ass for the first third of the movie. Like, if he wasn't a boxer and I wasn't a pacifist wimp, I'd beat him up. That bad. The kind of guy who seems nice but if you spend more than 24 hours in his company, he's an ass. However, the movie does a really good job of portraying the underdog, both as robots and humans. Its clear that he's supposed to be a likeable underdog, even when he is an ass.
The kid, Dakota Goyo was superbly cast. This is one of the first movies that I said to myself " Hmm, I could see this guy as his father, and this kid as his own. "
The technical design and art were awesome. I loved the visuals. The music wasn't too bad either. Scratch that, the music was great. I found myslef listening to the music to the fight scene and it transformed that scene into something even better. ( Thank you Grooveshark)
Now, I went to see this with my best friend, who convienently went to transformers three with me. Note to self: pick something other than robot movies to watch with this guy.
He pointed out it was very similar to that movie, as in we had to sit through an hour and a half to watch robots pummel each other.

I didn't like a few things in this movie. Hugh Jackman takes so long to find love, that I nearly gave up on him. I didn't like the smug, prissy arsitocratich Witch with a captial B who owned Zeus, the hoity-toity all powerful reigning champion. She is just plain straight up mean. I did not like the anger Jackman displayed at the son for a while, and I  was not happy by a montage that made up part of the closing scene. Instead of all five brutally trying bouts, it was round one, roundtwo/three/four and then five. Didn't work for me. Everyone kept drawing comparisons to Rocky, but as I have never seen the movie, I can't compare.


On a related note, last night I watched Cool Hand Luke, you know, one of those classic movies that you never get around to watch. Well, I did, and for the first part, I couldn't get what the fuss was about. About midway through, when the famous egg-eating contest is held, then the movie really started tickin'. I didn't like how long it took Luke to escape, and I didn't like the casual cruelty of the Captain at the end, when he takes him to the prison hospital, and it is almost certain he dies. I liked all the truths being spoken by Paul Newman, such as " Calling it a job don't make it right." I can see why he is such an icon. Maybe some of the reasons I didn't like it was because of the testosterone fueled extravaganza that modern movies have become.  Certainly riveting though.


Overall, both movies get an A-. Real Steel was a Rocky'/Rockem' Sockem' Robots mashup, but all the same it had a poignant heart rarely found in movies these days. Cool Hand Luke needs more incubation in the mind to fully appreciate it, but I have no doubt that it will be like a fine wine- getting better with age.

The Ides of March in Amherst.

Okay, so I realized that I had not written in this blog in a while, and also realized I wanted to procrastinate. So, here is my recap of my Weekend at Amherst and the Ides of March that I recently saw. Both were quite excellent, but in different ways.
So I got to hang out with Zach Durand this weekend at UMASS Amherst. For those of you who know me, you know how much of an influence Zach has had on me. This was an awesome experience. I realized something- he is not much different than me. I put him on a pedestal, and, to a lesser degree, college ( COLLEGE!) and going there was gratifying to see that we have a lot in common, and pedestals are not needed. We got in, went to Southwest dining hall, met Chapman( Great dude, knew him for like 10 minutes) and then went back to the frat house he lived at. A party was starting to go on, but neither of us liked that stuff, so we built a fire ( YEAH BOY SCOUTING!) and just chilled. Then we went to see the movie- more later- and came back to the party. We went and checked up on someone who got into a fracas, and it was intense, but in the vaguely unsettleing way. Seeing how people cared for each other, and the possibility to get hurt was magnified by many things made me swear to myself right then and there- I am becoming an EMT to help my friends out when they are in need. No greater test of friendship there can be. Then we hung out some more and we watched Stripes. If you have not seen this Bill Murray flick, get up and go watch it. NOW. I'll wait, seeing I was you a few hours ago. Then we went to bed at 3:00, woke up at 10:30 and had breakfast with the best darn homefries I ever had. Pretty good if I do say so myself.
                                                      Now for the movie. It was good, for a last minute pic of what to go see to avoid the party. I had heard a lot about it, and George Clooney and Ryan Gosling were expertly cast. This was a way more expressive movie than I am used to. A lot of the shots were of characters or objects, and the camera just focuses on the realization dawning on the fact as the music played. I particuarly loved the shot of Ryan Gosling breaking down in a car with rain pouring down the windshield. Half his face is clear, but they eyes are overshadowed by the pounding rain. I think the ideas present in this movie were superb. What use is loyalty when loyalty can be traded and downgraded? How do we maintain optimisim in the system when we see the compromises and nitty gritty of the way the system is in place? I love the part when Ryan Goslings character is suckerpunched by his boss. All I could think of was his advice given not five minutes earlier to an intern- " When you screw up, you lose the right to play. Permanantly" Its great, because he himself does not heed this advice that he gave out in a dark time. He cannont comprehent that he is booted off becasue of hubris, and ego. The end leaves a bit to be desired, too much like the "Does the top keep spinning, or not?" ending of Inception? But overall, the characters are superb. I love the jaded newspaper reporter who plys them for information, acting all buddy buddy. BUt when the crap hits the fan, she says " We were never friends. You give me information so I write nice things about you. Don't delude yourself further" But one of the last things she says to Ryan Gosling's charater is "C'mon, arn't we friends? Haven't we always been friends?" I think this movie was superbly done. I would welcome any other George Clooney directed movie such as this one.

Peace out, now I got to go do work to the sounds of Sandstorm.
Sounds exciting.
Ben

A Weekend at Savage's

  Hey guys, even though its Thursday,  I want to talk about my weekend. It was, in a few words, mindblowingly awesome. Started off on Friday... I won Homecoming King. I WON HOMECOMING KING!!!! Now, I know that this is tooting my own horn, but here's the thing- I fully did not expect to get it. I convinced myself that others were better suited for it, and I had no chance of doing it. I was shocked by it, and ( long time readers may know) I struggled with the idea of acceptance by others. This was a major coup for me. I still am happy. And the OTHER thing that happened was that Saturday night I went up to my home ( WTCSR,people, c'mon!) and took part in a deep and meaningful ceremony. I obtained the rank of Vigil in the Order of the Arrow.This is equivilant to the Eagle award in normal Boy Scouts. For those of you who know the ceremony, you can attest to it. For those of you who don't know, I'm not telling you. Incidentally, that would be most of you. That experience changed me as a person, I feel like. I can attest that I am a different person. Its interseting how little we take time to appreciate the little things in life. I am going to try and fill this blog up more later. For now, signing off.

What I remember.

                            I don't remember much. I remember waking up and heading to school like any other day. I had a good day, I was still adjusting to second grade. I remember being really happy as I got on the bus. I had a great day. Everyone was yelling and talking. In retrospect, the teachers did a superb job of keeping us in the dark. We didn't get any inkling of what went wrong. The first thing that was up was my mom was home. In those days, she had one day off, a Thursday. This was Tuesday or Wendsday. I remember looking out the bus window and seeing her with my brother by  my side, holding his hand. She looked so scared- again, in retrospect. I got off the bus, laughing and joking. I remember I said to her,
"Why are you here? It isn't Thursday." She had tears down her face.  She said " Oh, honey, there was this awful plane crash. They flew a plane into a tower" My mind automatically associated that with her tower. Woudl she be let off of work and be able to play with me?  Of the next few days, I remember dawning horror. Hugs. Lots of hugs, and I think I was hudled in a ball the next day when they brougth counselors into the school to talk with us. We were in the talk circle and they just sat down and tried to talk to us.  I had a vauge concept of 'bad men' doing this and we were going to get the bad men. 

                          I don't think it hit me with the visceral power that it did others. I was still too young to comprehend this. My brother was too young to even rember that much. It still is horrbile for me, but unfortunatly, in the semi- detached way of many natural disasters.  But what struck me, watching the broadcast of the 10th anniversary, is how many multi-national names there were on this list. Not just Americans, but people all over. It is an American Tragedy, but it was also a World Tragedy.

Never Forget, Always Remember.

Looking forward to the Future

  Okay, welcome back y'all, hope you had a great summer. I know I did. This is defiently going to be a rant of the grade-A level.  I was scanning the headlines today, and all I could see was things relating to fear, anger, money. Mostly fear. Now, I know that people have made a lot of fuss about fear in the media. Maybe that's just how our society is shaped now, due to the realities of our world. And I ALSO know that a lot has been made how the current generation of 12-25 year old ( Of which I am a part) will get it in the shorts when they become of age. I also know that parents since time immemorial have said that their children were worst than they are, and children have said that they will do better than their parents. But I am reminded of a proverb.-
"We do not inhabit the earth, we merely inherit it from our grandchildren." Now that seems oxymoronic, but there is a truth at the heart of it. We don't 'own' earth. We are stewards of a land that will belong, and continue to belong, the people coming AFTER us. Kurt Vonnegut ( I think) said " if we continue to live like there is no tommorrow, then there will be no tommorrow." So on behalf of my cerebellum speaking for the entire populace who will not hear this: What happened? Where did we go wrong and why do we keep living as if we can get away scotch free? Each succedding generation will continue to get it in the shorts, until we are really screwed.  When did long term planning fall by the wayside? Planning for the future often is hard and requires difficult concessions to the present. When the King in 1215 Britain signed the Magna Carta, he probably thought it was the end of his rule and of the rule of Kings forever. But that document laid the way for democracy and democratic monarchies. Concessions need to be made today for tommorrow. They are hard choices to make. I have no answers, only indignity. But  at least I am not making the mistake of labeling indignity as progressive thought. All I know is that I THINK current ideas should be changed, not how. If you have any ideas, please enlighten me.

So Many Plot Holes~ But the Robots Make Up for It.

                         Okay, so I'm gonna try to make this quick becasue I have to wake up early tommorrow. I just saw Transformers Three, and while it was not an award winning movie by any means, I enjoyed the escapism it presented. The transformers films are all pretty obvious- opening set up of Sam, Autobots,update, all hell breaks loose,  crisis resolved. This film plot line is no different. Surprisingly, some of the government officials seem helpful- and then they are their usual  jerk selves. The film starts with Sam trying to get a job, aided by his Victoria Secret's model girlfriend, Rosie Huntington-Barre, replacing Megan Fox. The villian isn't very obvious first, as we ar econcerned with the arrival of pieces of the moon which were actually an Autobot spacecraft carrying both a vital technology, and Sentenial Prime, voiced by Lenord Nimoy almost to perfection. Then (SPOILER ALERT) Sentenial turns out to be a major jerk and double crosser. Robotic hell of all sorts breaks loose, and builds Micheal Bay pace to the epic conclusion. Now for the parts I don't like.
                                   In the opening scene, the NEST team headed by Josh Dumanel and Optimus Prime have to go to Chernobyl to recover a part of said moon spacecraft. Forgive me, but isn't Chernobyl the most cliched piece of disaster around? I keep waiting for the Ukranians to stand up and say " Hey, America! Piss off! This was a national tradgedy, not some amusment gimick!" Also, the villian that they fought looked like the Kraken from Pirates of the Caribbean with entierly too much blades. And then every Decepticon thing had this weird tentacle motif, like they were extras in the Predator movies. The colors of the robots were bad, some were just awful, and overall the government types were inconsitent- bitchy/ not bitchy, helpful/not helpful, etc al. I also hated the woman next to me who gasped at literally every plot development/ battle- which meant I heard a gasp at least every five minutes.
                         Now for the types of things I did like. Against what my best friend said, I liked the dialouge. Some of it hit home, like one of the characters  yelling out " Man, why do all the Decepticons get all the good stuff!" I liked the voice- and - character acting, with my favorite being the apperance of Alan Tudyk as a NSA spook/bodyguard. He is one of my favorite actors from my favorite TV show, Firefly and I was glad to see he got to keep his trademark sense of humor intact. Note to Alan: PLEASE DO MORE MOVIES!!!! Also, the appearance of Sam's parents was thankfully kept to a minimum. It added to the story with out making me want to put an ax through their head. Sam's struggle to matter in a job really hit home for me. All in all, a solid B, B- as a movie. Its a typical summer movie- great for escaping reality for a few hours.
Decent. Now I desperatly need to get sleep for camp.

No Shadows, but No Stars Either

                          Hey semi- faithful readers. I'm currently on vacation with mi familia in the wonderful state of Nevada, specifically the Las Vegas area. You may be asking yourself, "But Ben, why are you not partaking of the many amenities Vegas has to offer, especially with your family?" I'll tell you why- cause I am going to my summer job in a few short days, and I am an obnoxious selfish blogger who just wants to add more material for the internet stalkers and/or federal government to obtain about myself. So, this is day three... I think ... of Vegas Vacation. I'm gonna try to recap it for you and muse about things.
                So I finished just recently a Work Weekend for Wah- Tut- Ca Scout Reservation. That ended Sunday. That same Sunday I changed three time zones and pulled my first 24 hours! ( Staying up that is) Okay, it was kinda wonky because I went off of Eastern Time, not Pacific, so when my clock said Three, my body told me I was staying up until 6 in the morning. Anyway, in the past. After staying in the Stratosphere hotel, where insane people actually jump off the top, ( I'm serious. World's Tallest Free-Fall Bungee Jump. Look it up). we proceded to drive over five hours to get to California. Five hours. After being in a plane for six hours. My knee developed a cramp that has yet to go away. That's not even mentioning the freaky canker/? going on in my mouth giving constant pain. It stopped, but that Monday it was so bad I nearly couldn't chew. Oh yeah, Monday. We stopped in a tiny little town called Kelso in the middle of the Mojave Desert. Used to be a boom town, but now its soley the headquaters of the park there. So anyway, we had some lunch and I was all set to travel and then my mom said " Let's go to some dunes. " I was annoyed because previously she made a big show of how much time was necessary. But I quickly accepted it and moved on- after all, it was a FAMILY vacation. We get to the hotel- nothing to write home about. Comfortable sheets though. Then we went to Legoland the next day, practically the sole reason for this trip. I had a semi panic attack- was I too old for this theme park? How old was too old? Would I crush any small children with my gargantuan size? But I was plesantly suprised. I found things to enjoy, and even my kid brother insisting to go on rides he was too old and big for by about 10 years couldn't dampen my spirits. I had fun. Then I managed to walk in the Pacific Ocean. Still kinda cold, but nice to do that with my family.The real lesson came that night, at a fabulous Italian resturant named Gregorio's. Take note. If I ever plan a road trip, I am going out of my way to include this place. This guy donated 100% of his profits to the Boys and Girls Club last year, and is on track to do it again this year! The meal was superb- fresh made pasta ( Not by him, but from an Italian pasta maker) and tender meat sauce, heavenly homemade potato chips ( served still warm from the fryer with Parmasean cheese) delicious homemade lemonade with free refills, and wonderful bread- even put LuiLui's to shame, and if you know me, thats saying something. OMFG!!!!!!! I can't say enough about this place! Our waitress was a great person, humoring my brother with his schemes to get more Caffinated root beer and making suggestions and afferming our choices. We found time to talk with her and when she found out that we were from Massachusetts, she stated that she loved Massachusetts. When pressed, she said that "Everyone out there places so much more connectedness on family and friends. Out here ( West Coast) everyone's driven, but it's all personal. Not much of the interconnectedness you get out there on the East Coast. I love the entire East Coast because of that." I think that perfectly sums us up- but it was humbling. Above all, it was humbling to learn of the differences and how apparent they were. Then, today...Back in the car! Back to Vegas! Wait, we're gonna stop off at a blatant tourist trap ghost town! I was not happy, I have to admit, because I didn't think it was a REAL ghost town. It was restored for the tourists. If it was real, you know, waiver, and barely any maps, I would be satisfied. The lunch before the town made up for it. It was a fifty's themed diner, done really well. Meal was okay. The cool thing was it was located right across from the Marine Corps Logistics Base. I saw tanks on flatbed train cars- having typed that, I will now be persecuted by the government. Then we came back to Vegas, and we saw David Copperfield. I read a book with skeptism of magic playing a big part, so I went in with low expectations. However, I was pleasantly suprised. He is undoubtably a great showman, and also hampered by the confines of the space. He did some nifty bits with making a motorcycle, car and various other sundrys appear and disapear. I liked it. Then we came here. I don't know what the future will hold so I hope it is good things.  Keep in touch, stay alive, and have a good summer guys. I know I will.

Graduation, Loss, and Eagles, Oh My

Hey all,
I was sitting here wondering " hmmm, how can I procrastinate more"
 and this popped into my head. Since I have this idea floating around, I figured why not give it a shot. I first have a question for you. Which, since no one is reading, will remain a convienent ( and rhetorical) question to jump-start a conversation.
Do you think humanity as individuals attaches unnecessary need to inanimate objects? I ask this becasue this has been on my mind a fair amount. I recently went on a college tour. While there, I lost my favourite green bandana. I had picked this up at a fair down in New Jersey. I bled in it, wiped sweat with it, and generally sat on it all day. But when I lost that, I mourned as if I had lost a friend. It was however a simple piece of cloth. It couldn't comfort me, it couldn't help me, but I still mourned it.
The other instance I had was Tyngsborough High's 2011 Graduation. I saw many of my friends graduate, and I saw many people leave. Throughout the weekend, I had a sense of loss- so great it felt like there were holes in me. As Harry Dresden said " Sometimes there are those moments of sadness that come with intense joy- knowing that you never will feel this happy again, and that time is fleeting for spending with loved ones" That's what happened with me. On one hand, I wanted them to stay, so I could legitimantly point to those people and say I have friends. I enjoyed their company, and I wasn't sure how to deal with them leaving. On the other hand, I didn't want to be selfish and hold back their progress.  It was a fine line, and I was straddling the middle of it.
I think, though, that that capacity for love and loss is what makes us human. Even the most sociopathic person, deep in his heart of hearts, cares about something. Parroting social scientists since the beginning of time, love and the ability  to form bonds is what makes us, well, us. I think its reall cool that somehow, the default setting of humans emotion is to form bonds with others. Maybe that is just Western thought. I need to get out into the world more to see how it happens. Thanks for listening once again, sports fans.

Yo Ho Yo Ho, A Highly Commericialized and Lucrative Rouge of the Caribbean's Life For Me. Part Dos

Sorry,  I didn't get to finsih my rant to due to an indifferent driver. So yes, where I left off- plausability. This film lacks it. For all of the many flaws, though, this movie is decent. I would give it a B, B- at the most. The dialouge crackles and the premise is sound. There's not a whole lot of soul searching, just honest good fashioned fighitin and rolickin' and general piraty behavior. Is it a cash cow? Undoubtably. Is it a nice diversion of a cash cow? Most certainly .I would wholeheartedly recomend this movie to others.

Yo Ho Yo Ho, A Highly Commericialized and Lucrative Rouge of the Caribbean's Life For Me.

                       Okay, so after bailing from school ( don't worry people, it was legal,) I went to see the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie, the fourth in the series. Called  On Stranger Tides it is indeed a study in whimsicality and boundary stretching. The film starts off with the hero, Capt. Jack Sparrow ( Johnny Depp) impersonating a court official to free Jack Sparrow. Wait, what? No, you read that right, Capt. Jack's name has been stolen. Mr. Gibbs, under the name of Jack Sparrow, is being tried for piracy. Escaping with the aid of the real Jack, Gibbs and ( real) Jack proceed to commiserate. Turns out, Mr. Gibbs is not the only one using Jack's name. A ship purported to be looking for  crew supposedly has Jack captaining it. After a series of escapades in which he somehow fights himself, Jack is hurled face first into the Queen Anne's Revenge captained by none other than Blackbeard. Edward Teach. Most Badassy of Badass Pirates. Who's first mate and daughter is, incidentally, Angelica ( Penelope Cruz) the women Jack seduced and then dumped ages ago.,The whole movie centers around how all of the factions are looking for the Fountain of Youth, supposedly discovered by Ponce De Leon, and now needs to be rediscovered. The movie trundles along, having fun with itself, but ultimately  it takes a while to the point. There are mermaids, and missionary, and casual mention of zombies. The mermaids are unabashedly simply eye candy for the male viewers- yet still remains a Disney Family movie buy the strategic placement of hair, shirts, arms and water. For all that, its a decent movie. We get to see Capt. Jack at his greatest- he's not doing this for personal gain, he's doing it because, just maybe, he does have feelings for someone other than himself. He has no plan in mind except to figure out who's impersonating him, and put a stop to it. Then he seems to actually care about a person, and it's nice to see feelings poke their head out of his shell.

                 Now for the part where I dish on what I don't like. First off, the Ship Queen Anne's Revenge. I mean, I'm all gung ho for badass vessels as the next guy, but this isn't a ship. Its a monstrosity. I use even that word lightly. The proportions are astronomically wrong, and it has magical abilities. Now I know that purists are saying " Ben, that's part of the Story telling Ethos! You can't mess it up, suspend disbelief!" To that, I say- No. The aft castle is incredibly out of proportion, the ship has a color of red that looks added on in CGI, it can magically be controlled somehow, and it has honest-to-god flamethrowers for Christ's sake! I love in the Pirates movie to this day the idea that physics don't really apply to the ships in the films. Underwater ship? No problem! Rolling ships? Sure! Ships with unheard of weapons at the time? Pile them on!
                            Another thing is that sometimes the actions seems unfocused, and sort of a vessel for getting to the next scene of Jack talking with Angelica. The mutiny scene, in particular, strikes me as odd. After discussing what they know about Blackbeard ( nothing much) and his habits ( lesser still) they arbitrarily decide to mutiny. True, they sit down at the table with the express purpose of discussing mutiny, but then its kinda like they sit around at the table on Saturday night. " Hey, wanna mutiny? Possibly overthrow the captain" " Sure, why not, I have nothing better to do. " That is a typical scene which just seems- rushed.
                             The next thing is, there aren't enough supporting characters to make this enjoyable. In the previous ones, everyone had a story. All the pirates gathered together- with different motives, but at least there was someone there. I particularly miss Missirs Ragattei and Pintel. They provided a nice bit of comic relief and humanized pirates- they're just average schlubs trying to make it as pirates. Pintel looked like he had potential as a captain in the last movie, yet sadly both of these are missing from the movie. They are replaced by a minstrel type character named Smush, or something like that. It's a poor replacement for the fat and skinny guy.
               Finally, the last thing that is missing from the storyline is credibility. Credibility was always something that didn't really concern the pirate universe- if it happened, it happened. This one stretches credibility past the breaking point. Capturing ships in bottles? One tear of a mermaid being necessary? A ship suspended in air where the slightest touch could set it off? 

I Survived The Week- One Man's Harrowing Journey to... Destination Anywhere.

Okay, so I decided to arbitrarily write this post because I realized " Oh noes, I didn't meet my quota of two blog posts a month! I haven't even started on May, so I need to catch up!" And then I went, and I looked, and I realized that deadlines and quotas are meaningless if they are self- imposed, and you're the only one who reads these posts. Then I went back and looked, and lo and behold, I had written another May post.  And lo and behold, that which I was considering in the last post... didn't come to pass. It was overblown and not even remotely as bad as I thought. ( Side note- Don't get a job as Doomsday prophet- or maybe thats a GOOD career choice) I felt confident about the AP Tests, and I got to leave school early after one of them.  The Scouting event was actually really good, but could have used more people attending and then I got elected to a position of leadership- I am now the Lodge Secretary Elect of  Nanepashement Lodge 158.
I'll pause to let that sink in...wait, no one knows what I'm talking about.  So back to the business at hand, blog posts. I think I'll bang out two today, one of Fluff, and one of Serious Stuff.
So in Fluff- actually, only sorta fluff, but anywho- Entertainment.
I'm too lazy to check if I already wrote about this, but  The Big Chill. Wow, what a movie. If you haven't heard or seen about it, it's about a group of old college friends who reunite farther down the road. They all attend the funeral of a beloved friend and they realize just how far they  have drifted apart and how much they have changed. There is intrigue, drama, heartbreaking, and despair. Lots of despair. but the funny thing is, if the characters are despairing, they don't show it. They never our right come out and say " Our lives suck. What the hell happened?" Instead, its written in their every movements. I particularly like the TV star who is miserable. It is masterfully shown when all his friends are watching the opening credits of his show, laughing and cheering. He has a painful smirk on his face, and you can see in his eyes- he doesn't like to see it. He doesn't like to consider himself on the TV. I like this movie because it's so REAL. I mean, I feel like I can go through several of those emotions with my friends even now. And the grief is palpable- it rarely feels staged. The only thing I didn't like was the idea that some gratuitous hooking up and sexual healing seemed to fix many of the problems- at least for some of the characters.  The music was spot on- I loved the opening funeral scene with the Rolling Stones You Can't Always Get What You Want played out on organ. Overall, I loved the movie, and it still sticks in my head today.

Also, I just realized now- re-realized- that the Winnie the Pooh movie is coming out in July. I don't care what people say, I need to go see this. I know it is childish, and I will probably be the oldest non- parent in the theater, but so what? Winnie the Pooh was the first idea I could grasp in entertainment. I loved the old VHS tapes and could tell you all the stories- when Pooh got stuck in Rabbit's door, The Hundred Acre Flood, Tigger agreeing to stop bouncin' forever when Rabbit helped him out- but Rabbit felt sorry and relented, and especially when Rabbit and Pooh and Piglet went looking for Hefalumps and Woozles. Pooh and Piglet believe, but Rabbit scoffs at it- until he gets scared and runs out of the woods. I can even sing Tigger's song. I think that is a marker of true childhood watersheds. We all have things that we grow out of, but a truly defining moment in our childhood can be revisited again and again. We can appreciate it for what it was to us then, and reveal in it with new eyes. True, it may seem childish, but I think some days we could all afford to go back to the Hundred Acre Wood. I know I'm going to the movie in July. Any other takers?

Ummm...... Nothing to Vent about.

 So, um, yeah. I'm sitting here in the computer lab, no VHS, listening to god knows what music ( apparently it's from  There Will Be Blood)   just realized I'm thirsty. Nothing comes to mind. So, I guess I'll recap my past few weeks.
Went to New York, pretty cool. Actually got to eat a Vermonster ( google it) and surprise of surprise, actually managed to eat dinner that night. No one was surprised more so than me. We did miss the train stop, which was pretty funny.
Had a great birthday. Thanks for all the people who wished me a happy  birthday on Facebook and in person. Got a Black Mesa T-Shirt ( Google it, again)  two books, some LEGO, a NERF sniper rifle, and an honest-to-god truly awesome windable pocket watch. I can see the gears and everything. I think its one of my favorite gifts.
Just thought who is going to read here. No clue.
Oh well.
In other news, next week is going to suck. Not only is it a B week, with three long block classes of Math, I have Gym. Also, I have a service project, Mr. THS if I  can't get out of it,  a weekend event PLUS two AP tests. Started to freak out about those, and before I go on, if anyone thinks I am bitching and that I knew what I was getting into when I signed up and I have a responsibility to do these events yadda yadda yadda. I KNOW. I am simply saying I think its going to be one of those weeks were everything collides like whatever particles they shove into the Large Hauldron Collider and then rev it up to near the speed of light.  The Eagle Court of Honor is proceeding. I almost don't want it to end. I would like to continue to have something large in my scouting career to look forward to.
Also, in world news, Usama/Osama Bin Laden is dead. Killed by American Seal Team Six. I bet those guys never have to buy a drink in the pub now. Fun fact, apparently he was 17th of 52 kids. Imagine the Christmas for that family.
" Did we get everyone?"
" No, you forgot these five"
"*@#$"
So this is not news for anyone who has been breathing for the last two days. If you have been dead, and thus unable to receive auditory signals, I can't help ya. I have mixed feelings about this, and that makes me apprehensive. No doubt it was a good idea, but I felt that he was sort of a bogey man living in the caves for the past few years. After we didn't catch him immediately, I feel like he was gradually regulated to the back pages of the news. It doesn't have the visceral impact that 9/11 had for the populace. I will most likely be crucified for those statements.  I don't think cutting off the head of an organization such as Al- Queida can kill the organization. if anything, it is only a morale booster for us. I don't know. I think part of this is something I've tried to ignore for a while- I've read too many Tom Clancy and Vince Flynn books. I think that the solutions will be easy and quick. Maybe that's the American curse- fast results, yesterday. I don't know. I do know that it was good to finally have him dead. But 200 feet from the Pakistani equivalent of West Point? Really?

And thus ends another chapter of Ben, the perenial rehasher and coattail rider.
Until Next time.

The League of Extraordinary Movie Characters.

Hello again everybody.
I have to say, I am beat. What with a useless track meet and then a not-so-useless sleepover ( my hammock works GREAT and is the bomb shizzle) I am running nearly on fumes. Let me know if I come across less-than-coherent.
Anyway, this is an excuse to procrastinate again. Remember back in ... oh, I don't know, February or March when I did a League of Extraordinary Gentlemen from literature? Well, this one is from movies, drawn up in the cold of the car ride up to Ithaca, NY. Its pretty cool, if I do say so myself. So, without further ado
The League of Extraordinary Movie Characters.

1). Trinity from The Matrix.
Someone said that she was one of the original female badasses. Don't know if thats true, but I do know that she could kick some serious ass. She not only holds her own against the boys, she often times puts the boys into a full body cast. yet underneath that, there is a soft heart of vulnerability that allows here to form even deeper bonds and connections with others when they need it. She would serve as a good second-in- command of the League.


2). V from V For Vendetta
This guy is awesome. He is witty, cultured and a superb knife fighter. Like the Invisible Man in the League of Extraordinary Gentleman movie, he has alterior motives and came about his powers through the machinatiosn of others.  Sophisitcated and cultured, he is at home in a library as he is in a brawl. He penchant to work from the shadows and use subtle tactics makes him the perfect 'Shadow Warrior'

3). John Grosse from Grosse Point Blank.
As he said, the money in being a professional hitman is pretty good. Hes's got the skills, he's got spunk and he's got a heart the size of San Francisco. He's got weapon skills and is proficient in many ways to kill people. However, as evidenced by his refusal to join the Hitman's Union, he might need a talking to on the merits of team playing. He will be a valuble asset for the team however.

4). Lt. Dan from Forrest Gump.
" Leiu-tenent DAN!" Thsi cry is the perfect one to introduce the leader of this band of renegades. Every League needs an Alan Quatermain type character- the anti-hero, whos abilities may be overplayed and doesn't want the leadership role. Probably doesn't hurt if he's a tad bit anti-social as well. Lt. Dan is all this and more- surly, short-tempered, yet infinitly patient with PFC Gump. He has come to terms with where he stands in the world and maybe ready to lead once more.

5). Marty McFly from Back to the Future
So...many... pop culture moments! Marty is the quintessinal American teen, concerned with his girlfriend, his band and making sure the time space continium remains whole and his parents fall in love all over again. He doesn't have much in the way of fighting skills, but with a souped up flying DeLorean ( may include time travel) allows him to either be the transportation maverick or the time wizard. Your choice.

6). Jules Winnfield from Pulp Fiction.
" I'm sorry, did I break your concentration? I didn't mean to do that. Please, continue, you were saying something about best intentions. What's the matter? Oh, you were finished! Well, allow me to retort"  Samuel L. Jackson's character in Pulp Fiction is the textbook definition of badass. If you look it up in the dictionary, his picture will be there.  However, towards the end of the movie he does a 180, and has a crisis of religious preportions. He is an excellent brawler and will only need a little prodding.

 7). Daniel Larusso, the Original Karate Kid
So I was finishing up the list, and I needed someone who had a great moral compass, but was a great fighter. Someone who could guide his compainions when the road got rough, and fight alongside them when the crap hit the fan. Then it hit me- The Karate Kid! But, since I haven't seen the new Karate Kid movie, I settled on this guy. I think he's better in most respects.

So thats it, let me know your thoughts on the matter.

Move the Mountain, or Dig a Tunnel?

Hello all you semi-autonomous carbon based life forms out there. its me, your furry lovable old pal Grover. This blog post is made possible by half of AP  Lit being out, and as a result having a study period. ( Thanks Raras!) "But Ben!" You, dear reader callously reply. " As an AP student and a full time Boy Scout who happens to be planning two major events in the next month, surely you can find some other way to occupy your time, not fruitlessly blogging." Yeah, well, here's the thing- all of my stuff is at home. AP is done on my laptop- at home. Scouting's contact lists and the packing manifests- at home. OH, and my room needs to be cleaned, and trumpet practiced- at home. ( well, not the trumpet. But I'd rather be with people, however silent, than by myself)
Then I realized I couldn't just rant about having nothing to rant about. I had a flash of inspiration. (Don't be so surprised, I can and do have those).
Here's my question, spured on by The Once and Future King, and discussions I have had recently.
Is it better to try and fail, or to not try and not fail. Or, as I see it, is it better to try and use brute force to move a mountain, or should you subtly tunnel under it in hopes of enabling the mountains collapse/ fall. Now I know, I know. This idea has been debated since the beginning of time. However, I have my own spin on it.
In the Boy Scout troop I am in, people are of the opinion that training is not suitable and unneccessary. Their idea is that it has failed in the past, so it is doomed to fail again. I say, keep trying until the sheer force of persistance acheives results. You can argue that either way has merit. Does it? Is it better to go in with preconcived notions rather than to be pleasantly surprised and hopeful? Now, the flip side. With preconcived notions, you could still be presently surprised and happy. With preconcieved notions, you could set the bar too high and be crushingly dissapointed. Does subtley work better than brute force? Is any approach better than none? In the end, you all know what side of the debate I fall upon. What are your thoughts?

Suckerpunched into Oblivion.

Okay. Wow. Let me collect my thoughts. The reason I am writing this so late is becasue I just got back from seeing Suckerpunch with my friend Connor. Let me say this. Put away all preconcieved notions about this movie. Shelve all negative or disparaging reviews. Disregard the statement of 'offensive to women' or 'sexist'. THIS. MOVIE. ROCKS. It blew my mind. ( Granted, its no Citizen Kane.) The movie is in all honesty a cheap thrill, a way to kill a lesiurly Satuerday night. Is it worth it? Heck yes.
The movie opens with an unnamed girl whos mother dies. The tone is set by the somber visuals and grey palate. Her evil stepfather ( natch) tries to take all the money, but finds the will and testement that leaves it to the two daughters. Drunken rage, attempted rape, and a gun all follow in the space of 30 seconds. The girl takes the gun intending to defend her little sister, but winds up accidentally shooting said little sister. She is committed to the Lennox House for the Mentally Insane in Vermont- though Vermont matters not in the slightest. Rapidly this girl finds a cadre of  friends and after recieving instruction from both a Russian ballet instructor, and a dream-like sensi devises a plan to bust out of the ward. It centers around five things - a map, fire, a knife, and a key, and a fifth thing that is yet to be determined. The action rapidly expands from there. The kicker though is the quest to gain each one of these items takes place in a suberbly rendered fantasy world. My favorite was the steampunk WWI. The action rapidly developes from there.

Now comes the time where I say what I don't like. The ending took a turn I didn't expect, and left me wondering what was true/not true. Also, there are some instances where it is clear that the characters are animated. Barely noticable, but still there. Finally, and biggest of all, the phsyics of the movie. Its literaly like Zack Snyder took The Matrix, Spiderman, Die Hard, Star Wars and Avatar: The Last Airbender  threw them into a blender and hit puree. What came out was the physics of the film. I would critique more, but right around the time of my pyhsics quadary my brain went OH DEAR GOD ITS A SAMURAI WITH A FRIGGIN' MACHINE GUN!!!!! WHOOO!!! and shut down execept to drink in the stunning visuals and action fights.

As a final note, the music is spot on. It takes classic songs and re-imagines them with a technoy-alt- punky electrosythy vibe. I particually like Jefferson Starships song White Rabbit blasting over the WWI scene. Mabye that's just because I like the song. Whatever the case, it works perfectly.

Oddly enough, this movies PG-13. I loved it, but if the theater today was any indication, it's not going to be around in theaters for much longer. I see it definitivly having a cult following though.