Archive for the 'Movies and Music' Category

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Too Hard or Not Hard Enough? An Internal Struggle

Published on February 24, 2007 in Life, Movies and Music, Personal Development and Quotes. 1 Comment

The Wife and I broke down and finally bought seasons 2.5 and part of season 3 of Battlestar Galactica from the iTunes store this past week. This morning we were watching the first episode of season 3, “Occupation/Precipice” (they’re sold as one episode) when a few things said caught my ear.

I’m in the process now of evaluating a number of things about my life. If, in fact, Socrates was right when he stated that “a life left unexamined is a life not worth living,” then I suppose now is one of those times I’m making sure this life has been as continues to be worth living. The following BSG scene hit on a few important points for me: Continue reading ‘Too Hard or Not Hard Enough? An Internal Struggle’

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More Than the Movies, I Love the Soundtracks

Published on February 7, 2007 in Movies and Music. 0 Comments

The Wife is laying down in the living room, watching the movie Unbreakable. (If you haven’t seen it, this is one of the best comic book hero movies made, although it’s not even based on a comic.) The movie is on a part near the end, where the main character, David (Bruce Willis), is walking around in the train station after Elijah (Samuel L. Jackson) tells him to “go where there are people.” What really impresses me about this part isn’t the cinematography or storyline — both of which are excellent — but rather the music, which is a contemporary mix of string orchestra (with emphasis on the middle to lower range) and techno. Even though the key changes often enough, the music itself doesn’t sound atonal, so it’s fairly easy on the ear, yet in this particular scene it takes a role as prevalent as any of the actors: perfectly placed and convincingly a part of the scenery. Continue reading ‘More Than the Movies, I Love the Soundtracks’

J-Pop Artist Touring the US?

Published on January 15, 2007 in Japanese Invasion and Movies and Music. 2 Comments

Before you start reading, know that this article came from the now-defunct Gnorb’s UltraKitchy CyberXtreme iBlog. (“Because one cliche is not enough.”) The site was dedicated to Japanese influences in today’s culture, especially J-pop music, movies, and video games. This is the last feature I’ll be reposting from there. Enjoy.

I spend a good amount of time — a really, obscenely good amount of time — listening to the Jpop stations in Shoutcast and other services. (JPopSuki TV being my biggest source of J-pop music videos.) Artists like Morning Musume, Sakamoto Maaya, and Utada Hikaru have become to me what 50 Cent, Trisha Yearwood, and Dave Matthews are to most everyone else around here. (Not that Morning Musume, a collection of teen-aged Japanese girls singing happy pop songs, sounds anything like 50 Cent, a 30-something muscle-bound black guy rapping about inner-city problems, but that’s beside the point.) Eventually, this got me wondering if there are any Japanese pop(ish) artists planning to tour the US any time soon. Continue reading ‘J-Pop Artist Touring the US?’

A Father’s Shadow

Published on December 30, 2006 in Florida Living, Life, Movies and Music, Observations, Personal Development and Quotes. 0 Comments

Twice have I gone to the theater to see the new film The Pursuit of Happyness and twice have I failed to get tickets. It’s the strangest phenomenon. The shows would be available while we are there on line, but would be sold out while we are just a few people away from acquiring our tickets. It wouldn’t just be the timing we wanted to see but also any showing within a reasonable time to wait for it.

If you haven’t heard about the movie, it seems to be doing rather well. I am not too familiar with the storyline, but I believe it is about a man and his son who are overcoming life’s obstacles after having suffered some kind of loss. I really can’t get any more specific (or generic) than that.

Now since I haven’t seen that movie, I can’t write about the impression the father made upon the son in his ability to always look ahead and set an example for the young one to follow. Instead I shall talk about the movie I did see when this one became unavailable the first time: Rocky Balboa. Continue reading ‘A Father’s Shadow’

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