Music Monday: Halloween

I'm gonna be short this week. Here's a few songs that always make me think of Halloween. There's nothing really special about the songs. No deep meaning behind them. They just put me in the Halloween mode.

Tuesday Top Ten: Horror Movies

In the spirit of Halloween my friend Amy and I decided to agree on our Top Ten Horror Movies and then place them into our own top ten. 

I've always been a fan of Horror movies. I would never call them my favorite movies but I think it is good to be scared sometimes. We actually came up with the list a lot easier then I thought we would. After moving a few that were move thriller then horror.

There are also a lot of horror movies that just aren't very good. Like that movie "Mirrors." 

First a few Honorable Mentions that didn't make the top ten but I do enjoy.

Any of the George Romero movies especially Dawn of the Dead

Psycho: The original not the lame remake

The Shining

Carrie

The Last House on the Left

Rosemary's Baby

For Amy's list you can visit her great blog at :

Absolutely Amy

And now on to my version of the Top Ten Horror Movies:

10. Scream

I loved this movie from the moment Drew Barrymore was gutted and hung from a tree. It flipped everything on it's ear by making fun of horror and slasher films while stating the rules to survive the films. And just when you thought the film would pave real new ground the flipped it again and made the killer predictable.

9. The Amityville Horror (Original and Remake)

This movie gains points on the score alone. As seen in the clip it's just a creepy theme for a story that is also suspenseful. The remake was not great but it was better then other recent remakes.

8. Saw

The Saw movies freaked me more out because half the time I had absolutely no clue what was happening and why it was happening. But it does have one of the best movie endings ever.

7. Pet Cemetery  

This movie was scary because of the child actor. It's not that horror movies are known for great acting but the child actor was creepy.

6. Child's Play

I had a doll just like Chucky and I stopped playing with it after seeing this film.

5. Halloween (Original and Remake)

I liked the original better then the remake. Maybe it was because I was younger and the original was just slash and kill. I didn't need the so called "back story" of the remake. I think it made the film less scary that they made him "human." Sometimes less is more. All you need as a creepy music and a good villain.

4. It

The movie hasn't aged great but nothing could be scary than a killer clown played by Tim Curry. If any horror movie should be remade it should be It 


3. Friday the 13^th

A movie that takes something as simply as summer camp and makes it terrifying. Now if it had stopped at just this film and skipped the lame sequels. Bonus points for Kevin Bacon being in the film.

2. Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Original and remake)

This movie always freaked me out more because it was based on true events and I watched the documentary of the events that the film was based on. Also the remake was just as good as the original and was actually well acted.

1. Nightmare on Elm Street

The later films made Freddy a joke but the original film had him be a great villain who played with his victims before killing them. It's one thing to chase down and stab your victims. Freddy did it a different and far scarier way. You couldn't get away from Freddy because everyone falls asleep eventually.

Music Monday: Collective Soul - The World I Know

Has our conscience shown?
Has the sweet breeze blown?
Has all kindness gone?
Hope still lingers on.
I drink myself of newfound pity
Sitting alone in New York City
And I don't know why.


There is so much wrong in the world. Everyday we hear stories about hatred and war. People are horrible. The way they treat children. How could anyone just drive and walk by while a child lay there dying.


The way we treat other human beings with discrimination. To remove someone from your restaurant because of who they are just because some people that read the bible in the wrong way. The bible taught me to have compassion, not to judge others, and to love everyone unconditionally. I'm not perfect but I also don't throw stones at others.

Then you have a guy releasing animals into the public then killing himself. It was senseless that the animals that to killed but I can understand that they were a danger to the public. The fact was that they never should have been released. 


There is so much wrong with the world. I knew that there is also good in the world but often all the good gets over shadowed.


You have celebrities stepping up and letting people know who there are. I applaud gentleman like Zachary Quinto who step up and proudly let the world know who he is. He did it quietly which feels like the right way to do it. It wasn't flashy and it wasn't for money. It was to make others feel safe and let the world know that it is OK to be gay, it's OK to be who you are.


You also see the kindness of others when tragedy hits. The way people band together when natural disasters hit the world hard. The way people volunteer to work with kids. To help them become better people. To hopefully grow into respectful and great human beings who will make the world a better place.


We can hope that someday all people will except others for who they are. We can hope that someday we won't have war and we won't have people treat children like they are dispensable.


For now this is the world I know.

For My Family and Friends

I just finished reading a book that made me realize the power of friendship. I know that sounds lame and almost childish but it's true. Like "The Fox and The Hound" and "Stand by Me" some things just make you consider your life in general and where friends fit in.

Reading this book made me realize how much I've lost touch with so many friends. We live in a strange world where it's so easy to let time pass you by. We make do with a quick text or email to catch up instead of finding the time to make a call. Even worse we learn things about friends by reading their Facebook status and offer our friendly advise or congratulations or condolences by commenting on the status. We write happy birthday on their wall rather then sending them a nice birthday card. 

For some of us the really important things stay hidden. We keep them within us because we know that only weird people post their whole lives on Facebook for the whole world to see. There are some things that shouldn't be shared with the whole world. Those things should be shared with real friends. 

But we fail to share the real things in this technological age. We often go it alone and just hope we can survive on our own. Or you don't want to trouble others with our issues. We know they have their own issues that they keep to themselves. And instead of making that call to catch up with an old friend we simply comment on their wall. 

I know this doesn't happen to all friends. I know some people take the time to make that call regularly. Take the time to hear the other person's voice or see their face. It makes me happy that those people exist in this crazy world.

This post is more about me. I haven't done those things. I'd rather keep my problems to myself. Not that there is anything wrong but when there is I've always been good at figuring it out on my own for the most part. But it would still be nice to really catch up with old friends.

Technology has made it easy to drop the quick note and then just wait for the other person to reply. And if they take a while to reply your life just goes on. There was one passage from the book that really got me.

"You get older and you learn there is one sentence, just four words long, and if you say it to yourself it offers more comfort then almost any other. It goes like this ... Ready?

Ready

At least I tried"

I may not be able to force friends to stay in contact but I can try. I can try to be a better friend. I can try to be a better son and a better brother. 

It may not make a difference but I can look in the mirror and know I made the effort.

At least I Tried.

After Further Review

So we are basically a month into the new TV season and I've had time to give proper chances to the new shows that I can now offer a little more insight into how I feel about them. I will put the new shows into one of three decisions: Keeper It for those that have hooked me for the season, Drop It for those that just aren't good, and Jury Still Deciding for those that need a little more time.

Hart of Dixie
Keep It

My favorite new show. It reminds me of so many great shows on the WB. It has a lot of feeling behind the show and characters that are fun and easy to relate to.


A friend of mine commented to me about how it was unrealistic for Rachel Bilson to play a cut throat doctor. And by watching more episodes I can say that is true. Without giving away too much you learn that she was never who she thought she was.

The other characters are all very enjoyable and the writers have already developed relationships and love triangles galore for viewers to develop their ships. I'm not sold that this show will last a long time on television but I'll watch while its on.


2 Broke Girls
Drop It

I kept it a few episodes because some of the jokes were funny and I thought the show had potential.
But as the bad jokes continued there was nothing good to keep coming back to. The acting for the most part is poor and the characters are really not that likable.

For now I'll drop it but if I thought the show improved I'd download and watch it during the season.

The New Girl
Jury Still Deciding

I initially dropped it because my schedule was packed and I figured I could watch it later if u felt like it. I then dropped other shows and my TV schedule wasn't so bad so I went back and watched the episodes I missed and loved what I saw.

The show is able to blend the main actress with the supporting cast. I can also see relationships forming and growing which is always a good thing. It's still early and I'm not convinced I'll watch the show forever but if the writers can keep up the solid writing and story lines it'll be a good show long term.

Person of Interest
Jury Still Deciding

I love the premise of the show. The idea that their are people protecting us is intriguing and scary at the same time. I also love the acting. The main characters work off each other really well and the supporting characters keep things flowing.

The only thing that is keeping me from committing to the show is that it just seems like a case of the week at this point. The writers offer no real back story as of yet on the characters. The reason I enjoyed CSI and CSI:Miami is because while offering the case of the week they also let the characters build relationships and gave you a reason to like the characters. This show has not yet grasped that aspect and if they fail to do so the show will eventually lose whatever appeal it has.


X Factor
Keep It

Just like American Idol I can live without the audiences and Boot Camp. What interests me is when they get to the Live shows and I can see the singers either butcher a song (Danny Gokey singing "Dream On") or have a true moment on stage (Kris Allen singing "Heartless"). Now that X Factor is at the Live shows I'll tune in for the remainder of the season rather then just check clips online. 

Ringer
Drop It 

The show started off with so much promise but it ended up being to soapy for me. Also I have never been a huge fan of Sarah Michelle Gellar. Nothing against her, I just never enjoyed her acting. It reminded me of Nikita last season where I wanted to like a show but there was never enough reasons for me to keep watching.

Tuesday Top Ten: Video Games

I don't play video games as much as I use to play and when I do play it's usually an old game on the Wii Virtual Console or WiiFit/Wii Sports. 

Regardless I thought I'd countdown my ten favorite video games ever. First I'll start with a few Honorable mentions. A few games I love but they did not quite make the list but deserve to be mentioned. And then on the list.

 Honorable Mentions:

Chrono Trigger

Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past

Base Wars

Wii Sports/Wii Sports Resort/WiiFit

Rock Band

Dig Dug/Frogger/Pacman/Tetris/Pong

World of Warcraft

Megaman

Donkey Kong Country

NFL 2K
Wave Rave 64

10. Super Mario Kart

Rory, Ryan and I spent a lot of time competing at this game. And even through Rory won most of the time it doesn't take away from how much fun the game was. 

9. Worms Armageddon

How can you not include a game that has Sheep, Banana, and Holy Bombs. This use to be a get game to play with the guys at Al's. With all the side alliances and the agreements to kill off Rene and Rory. It also gave Rory a chance to ask Al if he still had "Worms" in the lobby of McDonald's.

8. WWE Smarkdown!

I know it's geeky but it was always fun to create ourselves in this game and then fight as ourselves. I wish someone had taken the time to take screen captures of the characters. Especially with our eerily alike Troy and his character looked. With the facial hair and the hairy chest. Plus any game that gives you a chance to see the announcer yell "Oh My God. Here comes Roorrrrrrry!" has to be great.

7. NBA Jam

Last time I went to Campbellton Troy and I spent any entire afternoon just playing this game. It's a classic. 

6. Sonic the Hedgehog 2

Never as good as Mario but Sonic has a special place in my heart. I was never a big fan of Sega but when I did play the system it was always this game.

 

5. Dragon Warrior

For some reason when my family got around to buying a Nintendo the system came with this game rather then Super Mario Bros even through the box said it had Super Mario Bros. inside. So this was the first Nintendo game I ever owned and the first game I ever flipped. 

4. Final Fantasy 1V

I always enjoyed the Final Fantasy games because they had great story lines behind the game play. This game had so many twists and turns. I remember I played this game a lot with my mother. We were both hooked to the game.

 

3. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

In my opinion the best game in the Nintendo 64 and arguably the best Zelda game. I was never a big fan of the Nintendo 64 but I bought it for this game.

2. Super Mario 3

 I can still play this game for hours without getting sick of it. It's amazing how I can remember every little trick in this game but I cannot remember birthdays of my family most of the time. I spent so many hours of my childhood flying through the air as a raccoon or turning into a statue.

1. Final Fantasy VI

The best story line ever in a video game. This game had so many great elements and I was really happy when Nintendo finally released it on the Wii Virtual Console in North America.

Music Monday: Louis Armstrong - What A Wonderful World

I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom for me and you
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.

I see skies of blue and clouds of white
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.

The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people going by
I see friends shaking hands saying how do you do
They're really saying I love you.

I hear babies cry, I watch them grow
They'll learn much more than I'll never know
And I think to myself what a wonderful world
Yes I think to myself what a wonderful world. 

This past week one of my little sister had her second child. A lovely little boy named Max. It's a little hard since I'm not sure when I'll get to meet him. I don't get home very often. As much as I love my family I sadly never feel any real desire to visit. Hopefully eventually we'll all get around to setting up web cams and skype so I can interactive with more then pictures and voices. 

But I did want to wish Katie and Scott a congratulations on having a wonderful baby boy and I hope Giana enjoys being a big sister. I always liked being a big brother.

Music Monday: Luke Bryan - Country Girl (Shake it for me)

Country girl, shake it for me girl,
Shake it for me girl, shake it for me
Country girl, shake it for me girl,
Shake it for me girl, shake it for me

Decided to just post a fun song this week. I went all serious over the last few weeks and I just wanted to stay chill this week. Nessa introduced me to this song over the the summer and I instantly loved the song. 

It reminded me of songs we use to listen to while hanging out at Taps with all our gang. Even though I wouldn't go back to those days I look back with fond memories. 

That's all for this week. Enjoy!

Quick Take: I Am Number 4

I went into the movie with very low expectations. I heard a lot of bad things about this film. I also heard it is worse if you have read the book. The best I can say is I didn't hate the movie. They handled the movie wrong but I didn't hate it.

The first thing they did wrong was that they made bad choices with the casting of the film.
Alex Pettyfer as John was all wrong. I'm sure he's a fine actor but a horrible choice for the main role of John. The character was supposed to be slightly geeky and a liner but the had the guy doing flips on a jet-ski. I also did not like Timothy Olyphant as Henri. He is a fine actor but felt out of place in this film.  Also Number Six is supposed to have dark hair. Did the movie really need to cast a blond. Could they not find a good dark haired actress for the role. And if you were so sure of the actress why not dye her hair for the few scenes she was in. The only roles that were acceptable casting choices were Sam and Sarah but they were overwhelmed by the other poor choices.

The next thing that I didn't like was that they undersold the relationship between John and Henri. In the book you really felt like they were a father and son even if they weren't. The movie version of John is resentful and even slightly unlikable. And Henri lost all the personality he had in the book. I felt little emotion during Henri's death scene and that scene was emotional in the book.

The same could be said about the friendship between John and Sam. The movie makes it seem like they are only friends out of circumstance rather then the way the book actually let them grow as friends.

The movie did handle the John and Sarah relationship well which doesn't surprise me since it was written by the creators of Smallville. But then they botched the role of Mark.

With the book you felt like things were happening even through it moved slowly. And once the action started it moved at a quick pace and stayed interesting. In the movie the action felt rushed and over before it really started. I also didn't like how quickly John learned to control his powers. I understand it was s two hour movie but they could have had him struggle a little bit.

The one thing they did do well was the soundtrack. The music followed well and I loved the use of "Letters from the Sky" by Civil Twilight over the ending.

I think I actually liked the movie better because I've read the book. At least with reading the book I had things to look for and compare. For those who only watched the movie nothing exciting happens and it would have been a disappointment for a so called action film.

Tuesday Top Twenty: Favorite TV Shows part 2

And now for the rest of the list:

10. Scrubs

Most people either loved Scrubs or hated Scrubs. I fall into the group that loved it. I can understand why people would be put off by the show but underneath all the jokes there is a lot of emotion and heart. The way the show portrays friendships and relationships is realistic and relatable.

9. Fringe

This show is an enjoyable 40 minutes of television where you can just sit back and wonder if anything on the show is actually possible. The actors work so well together and I love the concept of two alternate worlds were we have different versions of ourselves and each world has a different history because our alternates made different choices. The concept intrigues me.

8. Corner Gas

I did not want to ever watch this show. But then Nessa talked me into given it a chance and since I have a hard time to so no to her I reluctantly gave the show a chance and loved it. I like it because the characters could be people you know. The show gets bonus points for being a success Canadian sitcom.

7. Dawson’s Creek

The cornerstone of the WB network. This show did so much that annoyed me yet at the same time I loved everything about the show when it was airing. The show had some many moments and the soundtrack to the show still plays on my iPod.

6. Friday Night Lights

With the ratings this show had it should not have had five seasons but I am glad it lasted. Once the third season started I watched each episode like it was the last episode and was happy when the show was picked up for a fourth and fifth season. The show did such a great job of introducing new characters that you grew to care about while finding ways to have older characters exit when their stories were fully told. Plus Coach and Tami where one of the best examples of a married couple on TV. I'm glad Kyle Chandler got his Emmy for Best Actor in a Drama and thought Connie Britton deserved one as well.

5. Lost

Six seasons of great acting and great storytelling. The show always kept you wondering and even delivered some answered. Loses points because they left some key things unanswered. And even through the last season was weak overall I did like the finale.

4. Survivor

I do think the show should end soon but even through it's in it's 23rd season the show for me was always more about the cast then the challenges. At this point there aren't many new challenges that they can do. But with the right cast the show can still deliver a great season.

3. Everwood

This show should have made it onto the CW. It had such a great young cast as can be seen by the fact that the main characters are all excelling on other current shows. The show had such great emotion and honesty to it and I loved the idea of a father moving to a small town to get closer to his family after his wife dies.

2. One Tree Hill

It amazes me that this show lasted nine seasons. At any point in the first three seasons it could have been cancelled. It started the same year as The OC so it had to deal with comparisons from credits that the show wasn't as good. But unlike The OC, One Tree Hill had a loyal fan base that stayed with the show no matter what. The season was announced as the show's last and those crazy fans will probably still have a Save Our Show campaign just out of habit. For a show that I would have been OK with it ending any season after the 4th season it's weird that I just kept coming back. It's mostly because I love the Naley couple but I also wanted to see the other character's arcs play out. After so many seasons you create a bond with the characters and you just keep watching because you need to know how it all ends.

1. Smallville

I started watching this show because I was intrigued by the idea of Clark and Lex being friends before becoming enemies. I wanted to see the story play out to see how they could go from being almost like brothers to being each others worst enemy. But the show ended being so much more. The show still had thinks that frustrated me as a viewer. I could do without most of the 4th and 5th seasons but the show was always able to come back with good story lines especially in the last few seasons. The show also had a very satisfying ending which doesn't always happen when a show has been on for what seems like forever.

Music Monday: Our Lady Peace - 4 AM

 

Walked around my good intentions
And found out there were none
I blame my father for the wasted years
We hardly talked
Never thought I would forget this hate
And a phone call made me realize I'm wrong

 

Recently I've been thinking about my father. It's not that he reached out to me or my family. I just found out that some of my family on his side had tagged him in pictures of my sister's wedding. My sister was right to be angry. His side of the family has pretty much disowned my family since he left us. 

By all accounts I should hate the man. He wasn't there for the best moments of my life. He missed it when I married the love of my life. He wasn't there when I needed a role model growing up. He wasn't there when I succeeded in High School and University. I've had a good life without him but I still always wished I had a dad. Someone I could confide in when I needed advice. My mom did the best she could and I love her for everything she has done for me but it wasn't same. 

So I now find myself wondering what I would do if he tried to talk to me. Because I don't hate him. I don't have in me to truly hate someone. I also am a very forgiving person but can you truly forgive someone if you don't want them in your life.

I have realized that I hold no resentment towards him. He made poor choices but I survived and I am still surviving without him. I can make the choice to let it go. To not be angry with him. To hope that he is happy with the life he has led. It does me nothing to be angry with him. As people like to say, "Life goes on." But it doesn't mean I want him in my families or my life. We survived the past twenty years without him and we'll keep on living without him.

Sometimes you need to forgive to let go. I hope my family can forgive and just let him go. I have and it makes me feel better. It's not a perfect scenario but you have to play with the cards you were dealt. I've played my cards and now I'm moving on in peace.