The Adam Wells Blog

My Night With Young Adult and The People Who Made It

2011-10-20T09:00:00.000-07:00

So last night I had passes to a “secret” screening at the Edina Landmark theater. I had no idea what movie it was going to be, I thought it was going to be Paranormal Activity 3, but when my friend Jordan and I got to wait in line outside the theater, we overheard people talking that it was an Oscar nominated director and people were suspecting it was the latest film from Jason Reitman, which people in the crowd seemed to know very little about. But through random connections I knew a bit more. Back in July, I was part of this marketing study where I watched an early cut trailer from Jason Reitman's latest film “Young Adult” starring Charlize Theron and written by Diablo Cody.

So we get seated and about 45 minutes later Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody pop up in front of the crowd and introduces his film which was really cool. My friend Jordan thought it was even cooler because she has never been to a film screening where the filmmakers were present. So the movie begins and it was not the movie I thought it was going to be from what I saw in the trailer, it was somewhat predictable but the film has a very different third act than what I thought was going to be. But overall, I had a great time with the movie, it comes out on December16th in case you want to check it out, in which I'll try to post a more detailed review of the movie.

After the movie Reitman and Cody did a 30 minute Q&A session and I even got to ask Jason a question, which was about the promotion of “Young Adult” and if there was going to be a similar promotion to that of Reitman's last film “Up In The Air” where Hilton Hotels helped promote the movie by putting a pic of the movie poster on their hotel key cards, which I have from a conference I went to a few years ago when the movie was out in theaters. He laughed and said based on the films premise, he was surprised Hampton Inn even let them use their hotels brand, because in the film Charlize Theron's character stays at a Hampton Inn hotel.

After the Q & A, my friend Jordan and I were freaking out because how great of experience we had already, on top of the fact that they were giving everyone in attendance a limited print poster done by a local studio. Then I see Diablo Cody talking to some friends who were sitting in front of us and I overhear her say Nye's is the place that they were going to. Which was some cool info to have but didn't for sure know if I was going to attempt to join them because it may come of as kind of creepy. I got to shake Jason Reitman's hand on the way out and we go to Jordan's car to drive back to Minneapolis. But not before we stopped for milkshakes at a nearby Dairy Queen.

So after Jordan drops me off, I start debating with myself on whether or not I should go to Nye's. Nye's is a local bar in my neighborhood of Northeast Minneapolis that I've been to a few times, but am not a frequent visitor to. Despite two of my friends, including Jordan, saying not to go out to Nye's, I end up going anyway. As you'll soon read, it was a great decision on my part. I arrive at Nye's and go to the bar and order my drink of choice, a long island ice tea. Sitting in a group of about 15 people I see Diablo Cody, Jason Reitman, and what I assumed were Diablo's friends from when she lived in Minneapolis.

I sat at the bar eyeing the group, and the rest of the scenery as the piano man was playing and everyone seemed to enjoy his tunes. I spent a good 10 minutes at the bar debating if I should actually go up to Jason or Diablo to introduce myself and say I was at the screening earlier. I had read online before leaving for Nye's that it was Jason Reitman's birthday as well. So I finally gather up the courage to ask Jason how is it spending his birthday in Minneapolis, and he said it was really great night for him. Then I bust out that hotel key card from a few years ago asking him to sign it. He was astounded that I brought it along because they were just talking about it and I said I was the one who asked about it at the “Young Adult” screening. He was delighted to sign it. It was at this point Diablo Cody introduces herself to me as she was nearby while I was talking to Jason. But she introduces herself by her real name, which is Brooke, which is what I'll refer to her as for the rest of this post. So I get to chat with her for a bit about the movie, how I overheard where they were going to be. She said it wasn't creepy at all coming out and that she actually appreciated it. I also had the opportunity of meeting all of Brooke's friends who were at Nye's and were also very nice and welcoming. It was about at this point the waitress brings out a little birthday treat for Jason and we all sang 'Happy Birthday' to Jason. Later on, while talking with Brooke, she offers to buy me a drink. That was awesome. I say I am drinking a long island ice tea and she goes to the bar to buy me that drink. While at the bar I ask about how was it working with Megan Fox and if she was the actress she wanted for the role she ended up playing in “Jennifer's Body.” Her response was very respectful of Megan Fox. Brooke said Megan was a real nice girl and that she kind of gets flack for not being so much because she is just a shy person due to being burned by so many people in Hollywood, it was kind of enlightening to hear about a side of Megan Fox that I've never heard about before.

So the night came to a close and Jason and Brooke left, but not before I as able to get a photo with them, it actually occurred earlier in the evening but whatever. After Brooke and Jason left I stuck around as did some of Brooke's friends from the area and it as really fun to chat with complete strangers about a few different topics, including TV, movies, and one of my favorites, how social media is such a wasteland. So great to find others, some of whom work directly with social media professionally, agreed with my theory on social media.

Overall this night was just awesome to experience. Meeting Jason and Brooke and her friends was a total positive night. I really take it as a blessing from God to have a truly joyous night for a change, and after mingling and getting along great with some Hollywood types, I really see myself wanting to move to Los Angeles for sure now. For a while, it was an idea I've been kicking around, but now its something I want to pursue in a few years, to try to work in the movie industry, which people have told me for years I should do because of my love of movies and that I have made a few short films. So lesson learned from last night, if you get an opportunity to have what will surely be an awesome night, go for it full speed.

Until next time...stay safe folks.

Concerning The Westboro Baptist Church

2011-09-11T14:51:00.000-07:00

So today is September 11, 2011, 10 years after one of the most tragic events in American history. While everyone is remembering those who were lost or just shedding tears due to reliving the events of that catastrophic day, one group is picketing with signs in New York City thanking God for that day, those people of course being the Phelps family who make up most of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, KS. Since around late March of this year, I've been doing a bit of research on the church trying to understand how a message that I've been told is about love, can be turned into such hatred. Since I first heard about the Westboro Baptist Church, it has pained me to know that there is a group of Christian believers with such passion and fire for taking God's word to the people, only to take that passion and turn Jesus Christ's message of love and forgiveness into one of hate and doom.

I'm no expert on the Christian faith I follow, but from what I've read God doesn't hate America like the WBC preaches. But at the same time, I don't totally disagree with that statement either. I certainly believe God would be a little upset with America in terms of what it has become, a land where its people abuse their freedoms and where it has become a land of excess, and considering this country was founded on religious freedom, it has turned into a country where most are embarrassed to reveal or even talk about their religion because of how unpopular it seems to be in the mainstream of our culture.

Thanks to the media who constantly give them attention for some odd reason, the Westboro Baptist Church(WBC) has now become the most talked about and most featured group of Christians in America, now making the stereotype of the judgmental and hateful Christian more prevalent than ever. But how does this message of hate come into being? The following is my theory to answer that question.

The 20^th century brought about many things to add to our culture. But one major change was how Christianity took a step back in people's lives. People seemed to the realization that they could still lead enjoyable lives without a Christian faith in their lives, and with that, people cared a lot less to listen to people who still choose to believe in a Christian faith and who voice their opinions about it. Which in turn leads to Christians who talk about their beliefs, fall on deaf ears. This became very frustrating for Christians who put themselves out there like that. This is where the WBC comes in. While this trend started to happening, I think the frustration that was caused by this preaching falling on deaf ears turned to anger in the WBC, and soon certain passages in the Bible started to take on new meanings of hatred towards the human race who ignore God's word, and given time the hatred becomes a delusion that those who make up the WBC are the only living people who will get into heaven and the other 6 billion people on earth, even those who are God fearing Christians, are doomed to go to Hell.

Certainly this is just a theory, I have little to backup this theory other than trends in American culture, and how the WBC started to get attention in the mainstream media. Its just conjecture based on observations. But taking this viewpoint on the Westboro Baptist Church, hopefully gives others a chance to view them how I've come to view them, because I understand how Christians can just feel totally disgusted as to what God's most cherished creation, humans, have become, while totally ignoring God's presence in their lives, as well as Christians, especially those in missions, get so frustrated at people who won't even give a moment of their time to hear about the Gospel. But the difference between me, as well as most Christians, and the Westboro Baptist Church, I still remember God's infinite forgiveness for people and I know that I need to extend that to others who have wronged or angered me in my life.

The Smurfs - Movie Review

2011-07-31T16:36:00.000-07:00

“The Smurfs” was a TV show I watched a lot in re runs when I was a child, and worked really well as a half hour kids show. The Smurfs were a good and wholesome group of blue people who just wanted to live and enjoy nature. Their enemy was Gargamel who wanted the Smurfs for a number of reasons, sometimes to eat them, and other times to use them in a magical spell. It was quite entertaining and one of the better Hanna-Barbara studios cartoons.

Now in the year 2011, Columbia pictures has released a half computer animated half live action film version of The Smurfs, simply just called The Smurfs. It takes the the characters from the original TV show, and through a random warp transplants them to New York City, and thats just the start of how ridiculous is. The voice acting stars Katy Perry, George Lopez, Alan Cumming, and most notable, in a rare appearance of any kind, legendary comedian Jonathan Winters who does the voice of Papa Smurf. It was really nice hearing Winters voice throughout the film but his character makes about the same caliber of questionable decisions as Qui Gon Jinn in Star Wars: Episode I. He comes off as this wise old sage of the Smurf clan but then acts like a child in situations once they are in New York City. For example, he promises one of the humans they encounter that are kind to them that they will stay put, and not even 10 seconds later runs off with his Smurf friends following suit, even the 5 year olds that this movie is mostly marketed to can stay still longer before turning their words into a lie.

The live action part of the cast must've owed someone a favor because I can't see how else they got them together. The film stars Neil Patrick Harris, Jayma Mays (from “Glee” fame), Hank Azaria, and in a rare cinema appearance, Tim Gunn from the TV Show“Project Runway” who has one or two good one liners in his limited appearance in the film. Harris and Mays play an expecting married couple who accidentally find the Smurfs in their home and eventually try to help them get back home. Harris works in marketing and worries too much about his job and has to learn a lesson about. Which becomes one of the morals of the movie and it comes across as very forced. Mays plays the expecting mother who is well on her way to being very motherly.

Hank Azaria plays the villain of the film, Gargamel, and he makes it a very close competition between who is more cartoonish: The Smurfs or Gargamel. His performance is the one redeeming thing in the movie because it seems his winking at the camera often enough to point out that he is in the Smurfs movie and he almost knows its bad but he is having as much as he can with it. His best bit is anytime he comes across a mist rising out of the sewer he points out to himself and his cat that it looks very mysterious walking out of a white mist. He almost is always in conversation with his cat, Azrael, who is computer animated but made to look as much as a real cat as possible which was done well. So if you want to see Hank Azaria acting like a fool but being well aware of it, well The Smurfs might work for you.

The biggest fault of this movie is it overlooks the biggest, and basically only, character development of the film in the character Clumsy Smurf, who as you can tell by his name is clumsy and screws everything up, and semi-spoiler alert redeems himself in the end, and its celebrated but not to the extent you would expect. Plus they totally miss a great setup in the film where its discussed on how Smurfs get their names, and from the conversation had between the Smurfs and Mays and Harris' characters you would think Clumsy Smurf would be renamed upon redeeming himself, but it doesn't happen, for me personally left the ending of the film underwhelming.

So overall, I didn't like this movie, and not because it is a kids movie, because kids movies can be done really well, like Toy Story 3 and How To Train Your Dragon, and The Smurfs doesn't even have half the quality of those films. The writing is shoddy, the characters are very flat, and other than Hank Azaria's self aware character performance, there is really nothing enjoyable about this movie.

My overall grade for this movie: D

Until Next Time...Stay safe folks.

Top 5 Movies I want released on Blu-ray

2011-07-27T20:30:00.000-07:00

So back in November of 2010, I made the upgrade the Blu-ray which is a far superior medium if you have the equipment to support it, that being an HDTV and a home theater sound system. The greatest thing about Blu-ray is the uncompressed video and sound it delivers which makes the at-home viewing experience almost on par with going to an actual movie theater. The downside to Blu-ray is thought the format has been in the mainstream for about 5 years, studios still have some catching up to do on releasing great past titles on to the format. So here is my current top 5 movies that aren't on Blu-ray nor do they have a release date set for Blu-ray.*

#1 Who Framed Roger Rabbit

This is easily one of my favorite films of all time. Robert Zemeckis does a fantastic job of replicating the Tex Avery style of animation and mixing a half animation, half live action world. The 2003 Vista Series DVD release is an excellent presentation, but I think its time the powers at Disney do another restoration of this for Blu-ray. The vivid colors and theAlan Silvestri score would be awesome to have on Blu-ray.

#2 The Indiana Jones Trilogy

This one is probably at the top of most Blu-ray enthusiasts lists most wanted titles on Blu-ray, but Roger Rabbit holds a special place for me that just edges out the Indiana Jones trilogy. There isn't much left to say about this trilogy other than the fact that its quite shocking they didn't do a Blu-ray release for this back in 2008 when Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of Crystal Skull was released, but with Star Wars and Jurassic Park being released on to Blu-ray later this year, it has to be the next franchise to get Blu-ray box set. I just hope they offer it as a trilogy box set so I won't have to deal with owning Crystal Skull.

#3 Dick Tracy

This is one film I bet a lot of people forget about, but I can guess if the restoration is done correctly, which is almost a guarantee since it is a Disney movie, and almost all of their Blu-rays look and sound perfect, Dick Tracy will look amazing on Blu-ray due to its bright color palette and amazing sets built for the film. In a recent Dick Tracy Q&A Warren Beatty said a Blu-ray is in the works but no release date has been set. And that is the first bit of news concerning this films Blu-ray release, I've ever heard of.

#4 The Rocketeer

The Rocketeer was a movie my mom and I watched numerous time when I was a kid, and we watched it off of a version we taped off of Disney Channel which back then showed films in their entirety and didn't take any breaks at all. But this movie has an amazing score that I would love to fill the room with, and it's another Disney movie so the restoration will be awesome and with this year being the films 20^th anniversary, its kind shocking Disney missed the boat on capitalizing on doing a Blu-ray release of it this year. Plus with its only DVD release dates back to 1999, its long over due for a high-definition restoration.

Update: This movie is set to be released on Blu-ray on December 13, 2011

#5 Batman: Mask of The Phantasm

Of the titles on this list, I imagine this one is not far off, especially with the release of The Dark Knight Rises next year, Warner Brothers has to be planning this one for a Blu-ray release real soon, especially after the fact they released Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker back in April, and from what I read the high-definition presentation was well done, and Mask of the Phantasm, was actually released in theaters so they may have better material to work with in terms of making a restoration of the film. Mask of The Phantasm is the only Batman movie left that was released in theaters to not have a Blu-ray release, unless you count the Batman serial films from the 1940s.

One movie that was going to make this list was It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. But researching this post I found it was released as a Wal-Mart exclusive earlier this month and its a budget release so it was only $10. Great deal for one of my favorite films of all time.

Captain America: The First Avenger review

2011-07-22T13:04:00.000-07:00

So Captain America: The First Avenger is the last major comic book movie to come out this summer, and the studio system has certainly saved the best for last. Captain America: The First Avenger is filled with action and adventure, subtle romance, a villain that seems to be just pure evil, and one of the finer hero's journey stories. I saw the movie in 2D, because I read it wasn't worth seeing in 3D, and after seeing the film I didn't see anything where 3D would have added much to the experience of watching the film.

The cast was absolutely amazing, everyone played their part and didn't out shine anyone in terms of performance. Chris Evan signed on for nine films when he was cast Captain America. That was a great decision on the studio's part because he was spectacular in the role, a huge departure from his other Marvel based role of The Human Torch in the Fantastic Four films. He is able to capture pure good essence of the Captain America character without a factor of unbelievability that he is too good, and he comes off as relatable throughout the film.

Hayley Atwell plays the Captain's love interest, Peggy Carter, she plays a strong willed but still slightly vulnerable female lead. She's assertive and certainly has some attitude to her. It was great to see that they did not dumb down her character in the transition from comic book to film, because it is very easy to do that when making a movie set in the 1940s but the writers and director didn't do that at all.

My personal favorite performance of the film is Hugo Weaving as The Red Skull. When this casting was originally announced, I got excited because Weaving is great in every geek property he has a part in, whether it is The Matrix, Lord of the Rings, or V For Vendetta and now Captain America, he always turns in a stellar performance. The Red Skull for those who aren't familiar with the character is one of the more major villains in the Marvel universe, and one that doesn't compromise his agenda for anything, he is just pure evil and nothing less than that, and Hugo Weaving conveys just that as The Red Skull.

The one detail that I was a bit weary about going into this film was the director, Joe Johnston. For those who don't know, Joe Johnston early in his career. directred some awesome films such as The Rocketeer and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, while lately directing some films that were just terrible, The Wolfman (2010) and Jurassic Park III. But upon seeing Captain America: The First Avenger, Joe Johnston has regained his directorial touch he had while directing The Rocketeer, which makes me think he should just stick with directing movies that take place in the 1940s. The performances he was able to get out of the actors and choices in how to shoot scenes comes across as positive on screen. He deserves a good amount for the overall package of a movie he was able to put together.

In terms of the actual story and plot, without going into spoilers too much, the story of Steve Rogers becoming Captain America and going after the bad guys, was just really enjoyable, well paced, and just fun to watch. The love story between Peggy Carter and Captain America was subtle, didn't seem forced, and flowed really well into the overall plot of the film. The fight scenes were well shot. Never was the camera too tight on the action, which was a problem in the other Avengers movie this summer, Thor. And the final fight of the movie, was great to sit through and see it develop, awesome build up and great payoff, including some possible foreshadowing for The Avengers, maybe???

Sure there are a few issues with the film but I'd have to go into spoilers to explain them and I don't feel like ruining the movie for others who maybe reading this who haven't seen it yet. So go see Captain America: The First Avenger and then start the countdown to May 4, 2012 when this series of Marvel films finally will payoff and The Avengers will kick off what will hopefully the best movie summer in a long time.

Overall Rating of the film: A-

Until next time...Stay safe

Photographers are a Sham

2011-06-12T20:25:00.000-07:00

There are so many issues to have in the world but one I have with that seems to go unnoticed is people who identify themselves as a photographer. That term is so loosely used these days its kind of disgusting, at least to me. Back before digital cameras, photographers had to have an eye for what makes a great photo. Now one can take thousands of photos and have a few great photos just out of sure luck. It used to be photographers had to be sure what they were taking a picture of would make for a great visual, or they would be wasting time, money, and film. They only had so much film to take so many photos, now the amount of photos one can take is basically infinite with the size of flash memory. It seems anyone with some extra money can buy the title of photographer, and most of them will never see the inside of a dark room, and Photoshop makes it so the picture doesnt even have to be that good and it can still be made to look attractive to the human eye.

Just because someone can post a few picture they took online and show them off to make people think they can take good photos, doesn't mean they deserve the title of photographer. If that statement were true, every parent who feels the need to take pictures at every event their child is on display would be called a photographer, which isn't true, they are just documenting their childs life because of their sheer love for them.

I own a video camera, and have made a couple of films that have been posted online, that doesn't mean I call myself a filmmaker, and those who do, are just as crazy as the photographer folk.

My last comparison to prove my point is, to quote the movie Ratatouille, anyone can cook, but it takes a special talent to be called a chef. The same is true with being called a photographer, anyone can take a picture, but it takes a very special talent in a person to be called a photographer. But too many people who just take pictures in their spare time, call themselves photographers, and get these visions of grandeur that they want to be professional photographers, in which my response to them, despite killing their dreams, is good luck, because there are very few people in the world who make a living off of being a photographer.

And DON'T say because someone did the pictures for a few peoples wedding that they deserve the title of photographer, because anyone who has seen a couple romantic movies can figure out how to take decent wedding photos.

Now I am quite sure people out there well disagree with me, which is fine, but when you think about it, its all too easy to pick up a camera, point it at something, shoot it, and if need be, make it pretty in Photoshop. And if that is what makes someone a photographer, what do we call the few people who are actually talented and gifted in the field?

Until next time...Stay safe.

My rules on seeing movies

2011-03-20T15:26:00.001-07:00

The following are the rules I tell people to follow when seeing movies with me, if a person violates any of the rules, unless you have a very valid excuse, which is rare that I decide it to be valid, I won’t see a movie with them ever again.

Must arrive at least 10 minutes before the listed time that the movie starts. I usually suggest 20 minutes so in case people get held up by things on the way over.
I pick the seats, I have seen enough movies in my time to know the select seats to sit in that make for optimal movie viewing. They are the ones in the upper section of seats and right in the middle. This is why Rule #1 is so important to get to theater early to be able to claim these seats.
If I, or someone in the group of people saves a seat for you, and you don’t show up or show up after the movie starts, I won’t see a movie with you again. This rule harkens back a midnight screening of Avatar when it came out and I saved a seat for someone and they decided to have a fight with their significant other in the lobby and they never showed up. So I look like a tool during the whole movie in a sold out theater with an empty chair with my coat in it. Not cool.
Don’t talk during the movie unless both of us have seen the movie, I don’t want to hear your smart remarks on my first experience of a movie, I want to fully experience just the movie and that’s it, don’t talk to me or others around you. Even if you think you are the quietest whisperer, others, that you didn’t come with, and don’t want to hear you, can hear you talk, and its very disrespectful to the movie goers around you. There is an exception to this rule but it has never come to fruition for me. If we are in a theater and our group of people, whether it be 2 or 10, are the only ones in the theater for the movie, then comments are allowed because I have always wanted to have that experience, but it happens so rarely, I’ve had the opportunity to do so.
Don’t go on your cell phone during the movie, EVER. I hate people that do that, it is annoying and distracting, if you absolutely have to check your cell phone, quietly leave the theater for a brief moment, and check it outside.
If you go with your significant other to a movie with me, don’t make out during the movie, that’s highly annoying and just embarrassing that I came to the movie with you, holding hands is a maybe, but definitely a big NO on the making out, if you want to suck each other’s face off, stay home and do it in the privacy of your home.
When the credits start, that does not mean its time leave. If we followed rule #2 we are in the middle of a row, and if it’s a packed theater we’ll have to wait for people to leave. Enjoy the end credits music and maybe there will be an easter egg at the end of the movie, and that latter hope is why I sit through every movies credits in a movie theater, just in case.

Narcissism and Social Media

2011-02-27T15:43:00.000-08:00

First off, I am going to start this blog by saying: if I offend you in any way, good. That’s the point

of this blog entry. It’s to make you mad and hope you do some reflection, because its come to my

attention that we live in a highly saturated narcissistic society, and most of us don't come anywhere

close to fully realizing how bad it is. Sure, most people acknowledge celebrities come across as

narcissistic, but if you are absorbed in social media, you are a narcissist to a certain degree (and

some much more than others). Twitter and Facebook have made regular, everyday people turn into

self-centered freaks who post things from their lives or their thoughts online to draw attention to

themselves. Am I being narcissistic by posting on this blog? YES, and I know it. But for once with this

blog, I am trying to make a valid point. (And for those who know me personally, yes I would make

this rant in a very animated manner.)

“Social media” as its called, has given people free reign, and allowed them to yell out, “Look at me and

what I am doing.” Whether its worth seeing or not is up to the viewer. My point is that doesn't matter.

Why? Because people are going to do it anyway because it makes them feel good. It makes them feel

like they have an audience of some kind. The result is they do whatever they can to feel attached to us,

posting as many things as they can online. Photos. Status updates Silly videos. I have done all of it for

far too long and I feel it’s grown tiresome.

I can't log on to Facebook or Twitter without seeing someone posting something that makes me think,

“Why in the heck would anyone in their right mind post that,” and then I remember, “oh yes, it’s to add

to their ever expanding ego that everyone seems in competition to add to...whether they want to admit

or not.” Take for example a tweet I saw tonight that read, “I HAVE BEEN A SINGLE GIRL FOR FAR

TOO LONG. DOES GETTING MARRIED MEAN I HAVE TO STOP LEAVING CLOTHES ALL OVER THE HOUSE? THIS IS SERIOUS. :)” Now a few details need to be known about this before jumping to your own conclusions: this person has been out of a dating relationship for barely 3 months, and this person has a child. Now knowing that info, this tweet just seems idiotic when one thinks of why it was

posted. I know people have said that Twitter is just pointless status updates, and I have defended it by

saying it’s a bit more than that in some ways, but at the end of the day, it’s real purpose is to build up

the poster’s ego by making them feel important. I don't care if people deny it. On some level, that is

why people participate in social media: because they want attention, and social media feels like an easy

to get some sort of attention.

And to the people who say, “I'm on Twitter to network.” SHUT UP. No you're not,. You can network

without Twitter and maybe get rid of your big ego. People choose not to because the people who

feel the constant need to “network” on Twitter also need attention (why else would they “network”

where there’s the possibility that billions of people could access their thoughts?) If Twitter were to

be wiped off the face of the earth, those people would need some serious mental help. Altogether as

a society it doesn't matter who reads this blog post because people will still go on overusing social

media outlets because that is just the way things are. At the end of the day we are an egotistical, self-

centered, narcissistic group of people who interact with each other with words that, if looked at out of

the context of social media publication, makes little to no sense,. It is simply people saying over and

over again, “Look at me. Please, please look at me. Notice me. I’m important, look at me.”

And yes, I know I am a part of the problem, but to operate in society today you have to participate

or it’s as if you are living in the dark ages. Its quite intriguing. If I can make it to the start of Lent

without losing any more of my mind due to the egotistical-ness of social media, I am giving it up for

the entirety of Lent, and I’ll try to focus on more important things.

I still don't know how to end these things properly, but please think about what I've written, and

consider life just for one week without social media. I imagine it’s a freeing experience. Hopefully I'll

find out for sure, soon.

My Origin Story...

2010-11-22T21:12:00.000-08:00

So since my move to Minnesota in the fall of 2005, I quickly gained small notoriety as the kid who wore shorts year round, or my nickname around the University of Minnesota campus, shorts guy. By the time I graduated it was really what I was known as, its kind of interesting at a campus of 50,000 students to stand out, and even see a few editorials mentioning me in the schools newspaper, but as with all things there is an origin story, and my story is no different for this is my Origin Story.

So when I moved to Minnesota in the fall of 2005 it was warm and I was wearing shorts but then slowly in late october the temperature got a little uncomfortable for most people when the thought of wearing shorts came to mind. But for some reason I kept wearing them and then at some point I challenged myself to see if I could keep wearing shorts until December 1^st. So I did and then I kept going and mostly it was because I was just more comfortable in shorts and didn't care what others thought of me and I was willing to endure the couple minutes outside to do so. It was about December 8th where I had to venture downtown and run some errands and wore jeans, and that stopped the whole shorts all the time thing, but after coming back after Christmas break, it was considerably warm in Minnesota for January, it was in the 40s or 50s and I decided to where shorts again and then kept it up until the present time. My only exceptions were if I knew I was going to be outside for a while, usually for sledding or skiing, and pants were allowed for formal events as well. Now through the years of wearing shorts in winter has certainly produced some interesting stories one of which I mentioned in a previous blog about Kevin Smith which can be read here. Also there was always the strange looks and comments from professors and fellow students who could not believe that someone would not only do this once but keep doing it no matter how harsh the winter had gotten. It was fun and got to poke fun at myself often like when someone would ask me if it was cold outside, I would just smile and say your asking me? Well... One time I even got an award for best dressed of the year at a Campus Crusade meeting beating out people who actually had fashion sense, but who needs fashion sense when people are trying to figure out how can one humanly possible consistently wear shorts in Minnesota winter.

The other part of my origin story is that in my later years of college I could always be spotted in a huge green winter parka, and here is the origin of how I came to own said parka. I was helping a former mentor of mine named Taylor move out of his house and he was going through old things and actually had this big old green winter jacket and asked if I wanted it, and I said yes because my winter jacket I was growing sick of because it was just too small for me to keep wearing. So it was kind of like the passing of the Green Lanterns ring, in few months that reference will become more understandable after the Green Lantern movie comes out, but it is very unique passing of a torch sort of moment except Taylor was never the shorts in winter type. But I still own that jacket to this day and when it gets cold enough where my 3 hoodies can't hold up to the cold, I will again bust it out and continue the winter tradition.

Now with that in mind, I have been thinking of actually stopping my wearing shorts in the winter as I am now biking to and from work these days, and actually everywhere else for that matter. This is something I've never had to do in the winter as I lived on campus or used public transportation to get to where I need to. And tonight I biked from work and it was below freezing and the ride is a good 20-30 minutes and yes I was in shorts as to be expected. But three quarters into this ride, I had kept thinking if I should keep the shorts thing going. The weird looks downtown are fun but riding home at night is getting just hard to do in shorts, its cold and my legs can bike in the cold only for so long and if I am having these thoughts now, when it gets around zero degrees, how bad will that ride be then pending the roads are not nasty, if they are the plan is take the bus for that given day. I am thinking December 1^st, since it is a date that sort is significant in my origin story and have that be my last day in shorts in the winter, and then followed by pants of some kind, not jeans, I hate jeans. Probably wear long underwear and some basketball warm-up type pants and just change into slacks at work. We'll see if I can start to build endurance to handle the cold but all good things must come to an end and my continuous wearing of shorts in the winter might be coming to end and only happen when I dont have to bike too far to where I am going.

Until next time...stay safe

I Think I Learned Something.... or How A Movie About Lesbians Helped Me Learn Why I Suck At Relationships

2010-11-12T23:56:00.000-08:00

So tonight I watched the movie called The Four Faced Liar a movie about relationships and lesbianism. I really enjoyed it, definitely worth Netflixing, especially if your into the indie scene, its worked its way around the festival circuit and finally hit DVD for those of us who live in areas where the festivals aren't up to par. I know Minneapolis has a few film festivals but we never get the Indie films I really want to see.

Anyway I am not here to review the film, I am writing because the film made me realize why I am so horrible at my own personal relationships despite the fact friends have told me I give such good advice on relationships and how to handle them.

There is a scene in the film where the main lesbian, Bridget and her straight friend Molly are talking and Molly asks Bridget why doesn't she want a girlfriend, and Bridget responds with the fact that people don't keep her interested, and Molly asks Bridget what if someone kept you interested and Bridget responds with something along the lines of her policy of not having a girlfriend would change. This is so like me because I get bored of most people a lot of the time. This also struck me because people don't keep me interested, I have floated in and out of so many groups of friends over the years, I am shocked this didn't dawn on me sooner, or at least not the fact of putting all the pieces together. Even people I have dated have bored me after awhile and then it just ends, so I basically have to find someone who always keeps me interested which would basically be the female version of me, and I find that impossible because I have far too many quirks and weird nerdy interests that distract me from a developing a long lasting realationship.

This isn't me whining and complaining about being single, I still enjoy the single life, but I am just glad I now know that I either A have to be really picky in a girl to date so I don't get bored with them or B just wait for someone as cynical as me and who has opinion on films and not just one of those I like most films people, because no offense to those who are, but talking movies with them is impossible because they act as if very few bad films exist. That could get me on a whole other subject that would be bound to make everyone made because I would diss people and movies that people love for some reason that is far beyond me, maybe next time.

So in short, lesbians taught me that people bore me and thus I don't date people that long, whatevs

Until next time...stay safe.

The Rise of Leslie Vernon Certainly Rises to the Occasion

2010-10-24T15:52:00.000-07:00

Today I watched Behind The Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon, I got it from Netflix this weekend in hope it would not be a horror movie that would disappoint me, because recently I watched Drag Me to Hell and The Descent and their endings disappointed me. So I took a game on a more indie horror film in hopes that it would not disappoint and WOW did it ever NOT disappoint. This movie was impressive. As a fan of horror and slasher flicks this movie was just what the genre needed. Its a movie that is aware of its genre. Later I will go into spoilers but for now I will just give overall impressions of the film.

The film is really enjoyable, it gets a little dull at one point in the film but picks up really quickly, the dull point almost acts like a quiet before the storm. Like Scream, it goes into the stereotypes of previous slasher films but instead of being from a victims point of view, it goes over those stereotypes from the killers perspective, something that in thought is very difficult to do on film but this film does it in a very different type of storytelling for a horror film, combing documentary look along with typical movie look, and switching between the two.

From here on out I will be discussing plot details and spoilers so this is your SPOILER ALERT. I don't completely giveaway the plot and ending, but I make reference to a few things that are better left secret until you watch the film.

The films lead actor is really great as Leslie Vernon. He seems so relatable on the surface despite the fact he is a serial killer his personality is so friendly, like someone you would go hang out with at the bar. But he still takes his job very seriously and understands his purpose. And the fact that he has a mentor who is a retired slasher killer himself is hilarious and just genius.

The half documentary half cinematic way of storytelling is executed very well in this film, when explaining it to people I can just imagine it will sound so weird but when they see they will totally understand but when telling a story that is just an giagantic homage to all the classic slasher films, it makes sense that they would choose such a non-traditional way of storytelling for a film. In a world where slasher films seem so predictable and overdone, this one takes the genre and makes it fresh by putting a new twist on things and truly telling it from the killers perspective in how we see the preparation and how a killer stays in shape and even complaining about difficult it is to stay in shape to be able to chase people all the time.

The storytelling in this movie I will admit is not perfect and even gets dull when Taylor, the female documentarian pokes her nose where it don't belong by going to the diner where Kelly, but slowly the movie picks up when Leslie's big plan is put into motion, and all heck breaks loose when it is Leslie was playing certain people a fool all along. That part is so brilliant because if it had not been for that the movie would have gotten boring real fast, but Mr. Vernon is such a clever one now isn't he?

Overall I loved this movie and it really shines in an age where most horror films are either the same ol same ol or are just out there to gross you out. In a way it refreshes and re-invents the slasher genre into something new and original that horror fans haven't really seen before. The character of Leslie Vernon is a different slasher killer that is aware of the precedent left by Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, and Freddie Krueger and knows what it takes to be up there in their ranks but can still be his own character and do his own thing. The film is an homage to horror movie fans but tries to take the slasher genre into a new age and certainly accomplishes it. I Highly Recommend checking it out.

Until Next Time...Stay Safe

Sonic oh Sonic where art thou Sonic that I once loved?

2010-10-14T19:49:00.000-07:00

Earlier tonight I wrote an email the Sega Shiro Podcast discussing what I thought of the current state of how Sonic is received in the gaming community and what has changed, I thought it would make a good blog post for the few and probably not so proud who read my blog. So I present it in unedited form here.

Hey guys I have been listening to your podcast and wished I could get excited about Sonic 4 as much as you guys but sadly I dont own an iphone or any of the newer consoles, at least not yet, if there is a deal on a PS3 on black friday, I'll get one as I want to make the upgrade to Blu Ray. But the release of Sonic 4 has gotten me thinking about how much Sega has made Sonic so unlikeable to us old school Sega nerds who have always been that one guy in a circle friends who have defended Sega and Sonic as better than other companies and mascots and still do but deep down I know that Sega in the last decade has become a very different company in how it treats its characters and fans of those characters.

For example, back in 2003 it was announced Sega was working on a Vectorman next generation game, this got me excited at the time and the video of the gameplay looked like it was going to be a blast from the past like none other. But sadly it was later cancelled leaving me sad that one of my favorite lesser known Sega characters was going to stay that way for a while.

Now lets look at what Sega has done to Sonic in the last decade. After Sonic Adventure, which most Sonic fans agree, as I do as well, is a great Sonic game and when we all first played thought it showed promise that Sonic would be able to continue to thrive in the 3D gaming world as the gameplay was spectacular.

But then came Sonic Adventure 2 and though it wasn't as great as Sonic Adventure 1 it was enjoyable, but looking back it was the start of a dark age where Sonic games, lets just admit sucked more and more as time went on.

There have been a few fun games, like the game titled Sonic the Hedgehog but camera issues and strange story held it back from being a great game.

That's another point, why do they have to stick silly stories into these games, I don't want silly side missions and stuff, this all started when they made Sonic collect flickys in Sonic 3D Blast, which in my opinion is the worse Sonic game of the 16-bit era, partially due to this added feature.

But between the sill adventure on the Wii and the final nail in the Sonic we all knew and loved's coffin is Sonic transforming to a Werehog, that is gotta be the dumbest thing I have ever seen in a Sonic game and one of the dumbest things I have ever seen in any video game. Is this what had to happen to make Sega realize just give us a Sonic game like the good ol days,

I still think Sonic CD is the best Sonic game ever made, between the soundtrack, the massive levels, and just superb fun gameplay, it is really a shock that the only recent incarnation of this games availability is on the Sonic Gems collection on the Gamecube, and has yet to show up in any online store for digital download.

I know this email doesn't really follow any form and changes topics faster than Tiger Woods changes the women in his bed, but you see my point on how Sega has made Sonic games, not as fun as they once were, and yes it is in part due them being third party now but that is a lame excuse when they could still make them fun even if the controls are different among consoles. It's sad and as a longtime Sega fan and retro gamer I feel the Sonic games we expect to be made probably wont happen again.

Yes I haven't played it because its not on a console I own these days (I'm a PC and that is about it for current gaming) but from what I see from videos and review it seems like a last attempt to re-establish the awe that was Sonic The Hedgehog.

The Sega Shiro Podcast (which is who I sent this to) can be found at http://www.segashiro.com/category/podcast/

Until next time...Stay safe

Random Ramblings About Dating and Being Honest

2010-08-26T09:45:00.001-07:00

So tonight I watched the movie Kick-Ass and I was going to write a post about how the movie shows how guns are the real villian in our society, but then when I got down to type it up and really did not feel like making an argument like that. Instead I'll just free write about whatever is on my mind or has been on it lately.

The subject of dating has been on my mind, because I have felt from many sources lately, including my own twisted subconscious pressured to seek someone out, but really I shouldn't. I am about to enter a new chapter of my life where I am more independent and on my own and even more becoming my own person. But whether it be friends who seem to be happy while they are in relationships, especially those who are married or are getting married, they kind of make me feel inferior because they seem to have it all together with their happily ever after mentality and just make single people feel awkward with their cuddly antics, though that’s usually with couples who are in the first couple of months because they don't know any better and consider it normal. Well its not normal its annoying more than anything, would you act that way in front of your parents or grandparents. NO so don't do it around your friends, all it makes single friends think is, (as I sort of quote Scott Pilgrim vs The World) if your relationship had a face, I would punch it in the face, and I would too, to some of my friends who are dating.

Next point, horrible transition but my brain thinks 2 paragraphs ahead of my typing hands so whatever else I had to say on the topic will have to be said another day. Something I've noticed lately, maybe this is showing the flaws in the Minnesota Nice I am surrounded by but, why in the heck can no one be honest with people. Maybe its MN Nice or just one of the social groups I hang out with (and you know who you are) but people don't seem to be able to speak their mind on certain topics with people. I even fall victim to this because there are things I want to say to certain people but I can't because I know they wouldn't take it that well or hate me forever, but when I am honest and speak my mind, at least I can be an honest friend to someone and not lie to their face by hiding behind a smiling face and not criticize them when they are making a huge mistake or just messing up in general. But it bothers me when people take offense at honest thoughts, I don't get it. Its just sad, I lied all the time as a kid but when I grow up and want to tell the truth all the time, then some of the people I surround myself with want to be lied to instead of being told the truth.

And some who know me would make the argument, “Adam you are just a rude person with very little tact and can't convey the truth in a loving manner.” My answer to that gobbly-gook is when you tell the truth in a nice way, people tend to sugar coat and only tell half-truths, and I say to heck with that and be full on honest so people take note, pay attention and get the truth they deserve.

If you read this and thought this was really cryptic, you're actually right and to those who think this blog is about you, you are probably right as well.

Until next time...stay safe

Words of Affirmation Can Go A Long Way

2010-08-07T22:21:00.001-07:00

So I go from blogging almost every day in a week to nothing at all, I'm so consistent. But I wanted to write about the awesome small group meeting I was at on Thursday night. It was about small groups in general because the sermon at our church this past Sunday was about small groups as well, and sort gauging the future of ours, and the final part of it was going around in a circle and having people in the group tell what qualities they appreciated about every person in the group. How we did it is we started on a person and everyone gave their comments on that one person and then we moved on the person next to them. Most people in this small group have been in it much long than me, I've only been in it since January and a lot of the people in the group have known each other much longer. As we are going around in the circle, I am worried that people won't have many good things to say about me, because I didn't think they knew me that well. Everyone is getting a good amount of good comments as we go around, and then it comes to me, and wow were my worries for naught because they gave me so many great words of affirmation, the following is a list of ones I could remember.

I show up for things, if someone has something scheduled I show up, and one of the leaders of the group said that our pastor once said leaders show up.
I don't complain that much despite the fact I was unemployed for almost 3 months and that I got hit by a car, I didn't complain that much
Someone I commented that I am a very bold person, she used the recent example of a wedding some of us went to and I went on the dance floor, not knowing anyone on the dance floor and just threw down, and they said I show that in different areas and that I am able to put myself out there.
I was told I am passionate about my dreams, specifically going into a radio, a dying medium, but I am highly passionate about getting into that field
I made it work by fitting into the group despite the fact so many of the bonds in the group were of years ago and when most people in the group lived in Iowa, I somehow found a way to flow and fit into the group.
I remember things about people and use that to help people out, whether it be movies people wanted to see and letting them borrow them even though they didn't ask or seeing articles of little things people are into.

There might have been a few more I forgot but those words of affirmation were really good to hear. Its not everyday I get to hear that many kind things that people like about me and my personality. It really makes me feel good to know I'll be living here a bit longer and get to see these people more because if I had to leave them now and move back to Michigan, it would be very disappointing. This made my week and I don't think any of them read this but if they do, I hope they know how great it is to know I have good friends who appreciate me more than I even realized.

Things On The Horizon...

Pending the writing muses keep me wanting to write and don't give me writers block I want to start doing some video game writing on here, recently heard a podcast by some long tenured video gamers like myself who are a little older than me but like me appreciate the new and the old school video games. Most of my writings will be about older games, I play new games but enough to review them and I very rarely buy a new game when it launches, last time I did that was Prototype in June of 2009, and only because I had been waiting a year and a half for that game to come out since I saw the game play preview on G4.

Possibly I want to do some writing about animation as well, its a passion of mine, and has been for over a decade and really want to get my thoughts out there. We'll see though, quite a few times I have planned for things to do on the Internet and they don't pan out but hopefully with writing it will be different.

Thats all for this late Saturday night blog.

Until next time...stay safe

Analyzing My 7 Day Challenge And Other Things

2010-08-01T19:29:00.000-07:00

So I failed my own personal challenge to blog everyday for week, moving is certainly the cause of this but if I really wanted to I could have posted something but it wouldn't have been quality, and I am always about quality over quantity. So I am moved into a house that I resided in last summer with people I know but really don't hang out with that much anymore, it refers to my previous post about hanging out with older people. It shows in interests immediately as I am out on the porch writing this drinking a Crown Royal and Mexican Coca-Cola mix, I call it Red Velvet, and they are inside playing board games and making cupcake. Their idea of a fun night is not my idea of a fun night almost at all. Making cupcakes is fun but its more fun to serve them for a party or get together, not just spur of the moment bake and eat, I can see that as a fun and spontaneous every once and a while but these people do it a lot, it loses its appeal fast.

I am really tired and beat from biking around the cities today, I biked to church, a coffee shop down the street called Muddsuckers, uptown, and the quarry target. One would think I would take it easy after the amount of energy I spent moving stuff into storage and the house I am living at now, nope nothing stops this machine, but its the end of the weekend and I work again tomorrow, which will be nice but I feel I'll need 8-10 hours to be ready to start the week. New commute tomorrow means I'll leave too early for when I should but oh well, we'll see what happens.

This is just rambling about my day at this point, again I'm really tired and my brain is not at its usual writing capacity to write a well structured blog, this one is more stream of consciousness.

To analyze this week I am really impressed at the blog posts I wrote this week, since I have netflix I will try to do one movie related blog post a week, that will keep me writing. I like writing poetry from time to time and definitely feel I could post some on this blog to keep some variety in the reading, and then of course there should be the occasional random rant on some topic that is current and possibly not. I think I like this format better for stating my opinion, rather than making a You Tube video, I still don't know what I am going to do with that account, they just upped the allowance for upload time from 10 minutes to 15, so soon I will post my short film Dorm Of The Dead later, probably after the move to Northeast Minneapolis when I am settled in with a desk and hard drives will be setup.

Until next time...stay safe

Why most relationships don't work OR Adam trying to act like he is a relationship expert when he can't date a girl for more than 2 month (its true)

2010-07-29T22:35:00.000-07:00

So as someone who gives relationship advice to friends and acquaintances who seem in need of some help in their relationships I figure it would be a good idea to give my thoughts on why I think most relationships don't work and usually end with someone getting hurt. Basically it boils down to people not being on the same page. Now for those who don't like analogies or metaphors, I'll make it even easier for you to understand. People need to be at the same exact commitment level in the relationship for most of the time while being in a relationship with the other person or it won't work. It for example the girl is way more committed to the relationship working than the guy it will end, probably at the fault of the guy saying or doing something that the girl thinks is completely wrong for this very serious and committed relationship. Now if two people are on the same commitment level for the majority of the time spent in the relationship, it will probably end up in marriage.

Lets use a recent relationship I had as an example. This girl named Erin and I dated for almost 2 months, and it was and still is my longest lasting relationship I've ever had so far. Now at the start me and Erin were on the same commitment level but then there grew a disdain for each others life goals and future plans, and she got upset because whenever she said, she could see herself living in a certain area, I would say, I could never see myself there, which is true, one time it was Montana, who wants to move there? There is nothing there, just mountains, I would move there if I wanted no one to bother me at all. So towards the end of the relationship, she mentioned this isn't working and pointed out examples like that, and I said who knows where either of us we'll end up but maybe this will work for the time being. That was stupid to say because then all the next week I knew I had to end this and I did the next Friday I think it was and we basically talked each other into relationship because she felt some of the same anxiety and we finally the first time in awhile on the same page and both knew we should not be together because it wasn't going to go anywhere.

I know this is one example and every relationship is different in numerous ways but honeslty it always boils down to commitment level. Not both people to need to be all in to the relationship for it to work, if you both want moderate commitment it will work. The problem always comes when one wants more commitment and the other isn't willing to reciprocate. Look at any relationship, look at when they start to fall apart, its when one wants something in the relationship that the other doesn't, simply said.

Is there more to it, probably but when you boil it down to brass tax, that is what makes and breaks relationships, so when you feel a difference in commitment level from your significant other over a long a period of time, week to a month, time to cut her loose. Unless he/she says she has some things to sort and really is sort things out in his/her mind, that commitment level you once had, probably won't be re-kindled, it happens thats life.

Until next time...Stay Safe

Thoughts on the Brain and Dreams brought on by Inception

2010-07-29T06:20:00.000-07:00

So I fell behind on my posting everyday but I will double post today to make up for it. Last night I saw Inception and after sleeping on it and thinking about it I want to free write about some of its logic and ideas it brings up.

If you havent seen the movie, it might be best not to read it as I don't really spoil much of the the movie but the post gives you an idea what the movie is about, and its best if you watch the movie with little knowledge about it as possible. But its up to you.

So the movie brings up logic about dreams and how the brain constructs entire cities out of nothing for your dreams and that it is difficult to remember the beginning of a dream and the brain can usually only remember the end of the dream and then that thought memory fades away. Dreams can be complex and feel like they are really long why is that? I feel our brains are doing so much more work while dreaming and why does it do it? Why not rest and actually go into a true sleep mode? Imagine if our computers did more work when they were off than while they were on, some of them would overheat and burn up and we wouldn't know what it is doing while it overheated.

And if you think about dreams in a movie making way, our brains are the best special effects artists of all, making you think your dreams are all too real. I know I have had a dream or too when I think its real, and wish it wasn't because of the circumstances I find myself in the dream. In the dream world, I have committed so many crimes and been in so much trouble its a good thing I don't remember most of the time what exactly I did, I usually just wake up and thank God it was all just dream because I wake up still having that lingering feeling of knowing I did something wrong or that I was in trouble, but at the same time it fades away because I am back in the real world, where everything is fine.

It is simply impressive that it is the year 2010 and we still have little understanding on how the brain works with dreams and why it does. I almost think that we are not supposed to know because if we did it might unlock more brainpower than ever possible before. If the brainpower possible while dreaming was achieved while awake the world would become a very different place and possibly a scary one to live in. Who knows what would be possible?

Don't think too hard on this one, it might just hurt a little.

Letting Go of Memories Lost and Gone and Leaving Behind What Once Was

2010-07-27T21:52:00.000-07:00

Who you are now is not who you were

Forget about the times that caused you pain and anguish

Leave behind those you have crossed you and those who caused you nothing but grief

Never to connect with them again and see how they are

Why keep going back to those that hurt, bored, or just didn't seem to enrich your life?

When you can move on and look forward to people to inspire you and make life more enjoyable.

Even as I say these things, I realize these things are very difficult to do

As even I struggle with bad memories that wont go away, but try and move on,

But in the end it will make things better

Now let go...

Housing Issues At The Current Moment

2010-07-26T23:25:00.000-07:00

So the place where I live hasn't been the most enjoyable this year, between roommates who I don't really hang out with and the drama they built between one and another, which I happily stayed out of. At the start of my search for a place to live which started a little over a week ago I decided to live that I want my own place and live alone for the year and possibly longer, and in Northeast Minneapolis because I really love the area and friends I've made from church live there.

But of course, this cant be simple at all the following factors are keeping this from being simple.

Now a few people have said they want to live with me or would consider it if given the right place to live in, which if I go that route would make rent cheaper.

If I were to move in to a place at the start of august, I don't know that I would have enough money to cover the deposit and first month of rent.

The person I would live with is my friend Jessica and she wants to live in the suburbs, we've found an apartment in Roseville that we will both look at and if we were to live together most likely it would be there, and the commute for me would be a very long bike ride or a over time very costly daily bus ride. NE Minneapolis would be easier because everything I do is in Minneapolis.

I've started making plans to find a temp place to live in August because it gives me more time and would allow me to choose the single apartment which after thinking about it tonight, I think is what I'll go with in the end even if the Roseville apartment is end all be all amazing, because I grew up with my own room in a house with my mom, and this would be the final step to finally and fully becoming independent, because in ways you depend on roomates, and being an only child growing up and sort of loner in many ways in high school, I like to be self sufficient and it would be good to fully do that, still would be without a car but I could save for that over time and make this single apartment the cozy home to myself I've always wanted.

We'll see what happens, hopefully I am lead to an opportunity that allows me a place to live for August, because that would be amazing, not going to lie, if you are of the praying type, pray that God leads me to path in this housing difficulty to be able to have everything work, otherwise just send positive thoughts.

Thats all for today until tomorrow...Stay Safe.

Life With Older People

2010-07-25T21:22:00.000-07:00

So I have challenged myself to blog everyday for a week and next Sunday I'll blog again and see what blogging everyday for a week has done for me and my writing. Today I'm just going to rant randomly.

So lately I have noticed I really don't enjoy being around many people who are my age, those that are slightly older, I enjoy their company more. This has to be due to the fact of the last 12 months being just hard on me mentally, being unemployed twice, living on my own, changing churches and making new friends while basically leaving others behind. (Its so true I only talk to 2 people from The Rock at all anymore, sad but true) Dating a girl for 2 months, which in hindsight was too long, I don't regret it because I did learn a thing or two of what I want in a woman, that blog is almost done, and realized women my age, for the most part, are kind of boring.

So yea older people make better friends in my mind, especially the ones I have made in the small group I go to regularly at Mercy Vineyard, its great but there is a disconnect to a certain degree because all the men who regularly attend all are married. Yes they've been through what I'm going through, but they aren't right now and its different dynamic, when seeking advice, they seem like wise men to go to rather compadres who I am going through life with. Thats just my one complaint other than that its fantastic.

So the dating life has been complicated as of late, and the being friends with older people is basically a setup for this section of this piece. In short I've been inadvertantly cougar hunting. Yep in the past few weeks I've been on a date with a 30 year old, a 35 year old, and 25 year old (though due to the fact she parties and smokes too much she looks older than the other two). Ironically enough the dates with the older 2 women were more successful than the 25 year old, she wasn't my type at all, we'll leave it at that. Things didn't work out with the 30 year old, and just today was the first date with the 35 year old, though I didn't feel a real spark between us and forsee us as being just friends, it wasnt the age difference it was just that I didn't feel an attraction at all between us, have no idea what she felt, we just hung out and talked all day.

There got that out of me. Friends are telling me I am cougar hunting, though one friend told me, maybe you're being cougar hunted. I like that more because it makes me feel more awesome in some weird twisted way.

I continue training at my job tomorrow, basically just listening to phone calls since its at a call center, we'll see how it goes. I like it so far, and the people I work with are fun to chat and BS with, we'll see how it turns out.

I guess thats it, I still don't know how to end these blogs properly other than saying...

Stay safe folks

Thoughts on Why I Identify With and Am A Huge Fan Of Kevin Smith

2010-06-19T23:29:00.000-07:00

So throughout my years of maturing and growing up I have really been influenced on the works of Kevin Smith and I fully realized this tonight while watching his third filmed Q&A that I got on Netflix this weekend.

Seeing how he interacts with fans and meeting him despite the fact he is a millionaire and successful filmmaker, he has an everyday man personality that everyone can relate to on way or another. Hearing him speak on certain topics and situations he has been in, he is reacting very similarly to how I would imagine I would react. For example, the whole getting kicked off the plane situation a few months back. He wasn't really bothered at the fact that he was sort of attacked it was about another heavy-set person was treated in a similar way on the same flight, thats when he got mad and took it personally. I definitely identify with that, because I've been through a sort of similar situation. Last fall, a person, lets call them Marty, made a close friend of mine cry in a public place, and I was more mad at Marty than the friend who was made to cry. My close friend understood why I took it so persnally and eventually I ended the grudge I had with Marty but it was a good 7 months where I wasn't talking to this person because we were friends at one point but we had a falling out before this event but this made me furious.

Basically my point is people can do whatever they so choose to me in terms of ridicule and how they act toward me, because I've been through hellish situations and have just conditioned my mind and heart to go through whatever is thrown at it. But the moment someone crosses a good friend of mine in a negative manner, I become what most would consider overprotective, but I just become irate and furious with the person, I don't really express it to them, but if it comes up in conversation, then my frustrations come out, so lesson is don't mess with my friends.

Where was I...oh yea Kevin Smith

I also relate to Kevin by way of humor, which is a huge part of my life. In fact growing up as a teen, his films helped form parts of my sense of humor, which helps in my great personality that, I feel, people seem to like and gravitate towards when meeting them. His films are hilarious because they are about regular people in not too farfetched of plots, excpet Zac and Miri and Dogma, stuff in his movies is totally possible. His movies seem to be about the human spirit and how people deal with each other. I like that for some reason.

Lastly, out of all the celebrities I follow and keep tabs on, Kevin Smith seems to really care about his fans, his Q&A's are absolutely a blast to be at, they are always classified as stand up shows, but all they are a 5-10 minute opening and then Kevin fielding questions from the audience for 2-6 hours, depending on the venue's allowance of time. I've been to two of them, one in 2006 at St. Cloud State, where I got to meet him and go on stage and explain my bracelets to him and 3,000 people in the arena. It was a surreal experience.

How the story goes is I got in line early and asked a question that he went on for 20 minutes on, which made me glad that my question provided him the opportunity to tell such a long story. Before I asked my question, I gave him props for wearing for also wearing shorts in such a harsh Minnesota winter. Mind you it was -40 outside, one of the coldest nights I've ever been out in Minnesota, and his response was, “you're wearing them too? Yea we're both fucking retarded.” This was one of two moments that made my night because Kevin Smith, one of my favorite famous people, put him and myself in the same category, not the most glorious of categories, but for that brief moment I was the same class as him. I asked my question which was about his involvement with the Green Hornet film and that was that.

Then my new friend Rebecca, who I met on the message boards on Kevin's website, sounds normal now but back in 2006, it was out of the ordinary for me. She asked one of the last questions and after getting an answer asked for me and her to get a photo with him, which he totally obliged.

After that he made a comment to the audience about my bracelets and I was walking away and turned my head back and he was looking at me, and I asked him if he wanted me to explain them to him, and he said yea. After doing, 2 years of journalistic work, I don't get starstruck anymore, but back then I so totally did. Holding up my hands and telling Kevin and the audience what each of my bracelets meant, made my hands shake, it was crazy. I will always remember this moment, partially because I have an audio recording of it, but also because he was the biggest celebrity I had ever met, before then I had met Dan Marino, but Kevin Smith in my mind, is a bigger deal. I just remember sitting down with Rebecca after explaining my bracelets, and just being on cloud 9. So awesome of an experience.

As I was walking off stage and sitting back in my chair, he made a remark that when he was growing up, guys would collect braclets for every BJ they got from a girl, and asked from a distance as I was in my sweet, is that what their also for? I yelled and shook my head no.

I saw him again live in 2009, and didn't plan on seeing him because I was unemployed and had little money to spend on tickets. But the Minnesota Daily had a giveaway for some tickets, and I won a pair so me and my friend Jessica went and had a blast.

For a movie director to interact with his fans, whether it be QandAs or how he used to do it which is on his websites message boards, and nowadays Twitter. Even after all these years he still respects his fans and loves interacting with them. I feel it keeps him straight and helps him enjoy the life he has, because being able to keep in touch with his fans as he does, helps him know where he comes from.

So I guess thats my thoughts on Kevin Smith and why I am a fan of him.

My Bike Accident and the Events That Followed After

2010-06-13T21:31:00.001-07:00

So I've told a lot of people this story but I wanted to make sure I had all the details down in on place to refer back to when I keep telling this story time after time.

On, June 12, 2010, I was riding down 4^th ST into NE Minneapolis on a light rainy Saturday to a baby shower when upon crossing Central and 4^th I pass an alley and before I realize to stop a car comes out of this alley quickly and T-bones my bike sending me off of it. At this point I should note I wasn't wearing a helmet and blacked out upon impact of the ground I'm assuming. I wake up to the woman driving the car in tears, on her knees, at my side, and apologizing for hitting me. I get the sense people are rushing over to see the accident and seeing if they can help, someone calls 911 and I try to get up but can't because my right arm is in pain, very soon the ambulance arrives and I am a little more with it but still not completely out of the daze I was in.

A cop arrives first, I remember and asks me for my name and if he wants to call anyone, and I thought to call Adam, whose wife's baby shower I was on my way to, but thought not yet, I can wait til I'm in the ambulance for that. They ask me where I live and what hospital I want to be taken to, I tell them fairview because it is closest to my house, but they thought HCMC would be a better choice. The EMT, whose name escapes me, I asked for it but have forgotten it, she was really nice though, she helps me up into the ambulance and I am told to lay down on the stretcher, she hooks an IV into me and knows that my arm is in pain and tells me not to move it. I pull out my phone and ask her if she could call my friend Adam and tell him whats going on. She does and that alarmed some people at the party, I felt bad because I was bringing my Sega Genesis over so the guys had something to do while the women did what women usually do at baby showers. After she gets done talking to Adam on the phone she says he said tell me, to give him a call when I am done in the hospital and he would pick me up.

I then realize the cost of an ambulance ride is a lot and I let out a slight groan and the EMT asks whats wrong, and I say I just realized all this is going to cost me a lot because I don't have health insurance, and she assures me the lady who hit me, her car insurance should cover most of it. That calms me down a lot, and it was now or slightly before, the EMT asks me my info and what day it is, to make sure I don't have amnesia. And soon enough we arrive at Hennepin County Medical Center, or HCMC for short. I had never rode in an ambulance or been moved on a stretcher before, so all this was kind of cool because it was a new to me.

They set me in a room and moved me from stetcher to hospital bed, my room wasn't a real hospital room, it was one with a curtain so I could hear my “neighbors” and they had going on. So I had a doctor come in and assess the situation and see what was going on, then he sent in a male nurse and later another nurse came in and I think this where they gave me a liquid pain killer for what was no known that it was my elbow that was in pain. Then a girl named Sarah came in and took a survey that was taken to help with the hospital judging the relationship between pain paitients experience and quality of care given. She was nice to see and chat with because she was my age and I could relate to her and she came in every half hour to do this survey. I later found out she was a student at Mcallister College and the survery thing was her summer job and she was majoring in public health, but career wise was thinking of becoming a mid-wife.

So 30 minutes pass and nobody comes to check up on me and I know I am supposed to get an x-ray on my arm but must be a busy day. With all this time to myself I pull out my phone and try to find a way to watch the world cup match between the USA and England. I tried a few broadcasts on the Ustream android app but none of them worked right. So I searched for an Espn Radio stream that was broadcasting the game. Sarah comes in again and asks a few more questions and asks about the score of the World Cup game and it was 1-1 at halftime. She leaves then a kid doing the same job as Sarah, heard the broadcast from my phone and had to ask for the score. I thought it was great 10 minutes of listening to the match and two hospital workers had already asked me for the score.

So more time passes but a nurse checks in with me and I am taken to get an x-ray, I get it done and it was so weird being told by the radiologist to hold still and my very tender elbow is being put in positions that are kind of painful to be in, and I'm trying to hold it still but its in pain no matter what the position so it has the slight shakes and I guess I did ok because later I didn't hear anything about taking bad x-rays.

So after x-rays I go back and wait what seems too long for the x-rays to turn up and the doctors get a look at them and say everything is good, but they wanted to get the final say from the radiologist. And until we heard back from the radiologist I couldn't get a glass of water because x-rays are better done on empty stomachs, mind you I hadn't had anything to eat, maybe some water before I left my house initially which was 2 hours ago at this point. I was really thirsty but I guess I had to wait. So after another visit from Sarah, who was asking my satisfaction of the care and pain level. Also it was about this time a male nurse who wasn't working on me and was in his late 40s-early 50s, but did hear about what happened, stopped by to tell about his bad experience as a biker in the cities and how he got hit once and the driver drove away. It was sad to hear and made me feel better, that the driver was really caring in my situation.

Little later on, they heard from the radiologist and said everything was ok, which I wasn't surprised because almost every single x-ray I have ever had, has been negative, I guess all that milk and orange juice my mom made me drink paid off by having strong bones. So at this point, one of the doctors, who tells me I should go to a clinic in a week for a check up on my elbow, and she could see me because she works at that clinic, and that they are going to prescribe me vicodin, and everyone who comes in after that, warns me about it, I've heard it from friends. But that doctor got some antiseptic spray and cleaned up my wounds with a sponge.

Then Kathy came in, I remember her name because she made the whole experience really fun, she was an older woman, possibly in her 50s, maybe 60s. She brought this computer to register me, and it she finds out the hospital messed up in how they registered me as Michael Wells, and not Adam Wells, Michael is middle name, now you all know. So she had to go through get all my info, gave me some info on getting qualified for financial aid for medical bills for people who are unemployed, and other forms. But she was just honest about her job and how she felt, and she felt some people don't like her there and that some of the docs are out to get her, but at this time Adam called and she said it was okay to take the call but she still asked for my info to enter into the computer and it was hard balancing both conversations, and she overheard me and Adam talking about going to the police station to pick up my bike because he had access to car with a bike rack, and the way Kathy heard it, she thought I was going to ride my bike home that day. After the phone call I explained no, no, no, and I told what was actually going to happen. I can't convey the enjoyment she gave me seeing someone honest about how they felt about their job, actually at their job, it was hilarious to me.

I was given a sling and my prescription and sent on my way, and Adam arrived just as I was about to sit down in the lobby to wait for him. Then we went and got my bike from the police station. And hung out with Adam and his wife, Kara, and friends for the rest of the day and night.

So I get home and have to figure out really fast how to do things with my left hand. The most difficult I found was sleeping. I usually sleep on my right side, and it was definitely not happening with this injured elbow, and I had a very sleepless night trying on my back and on my left side, my body just had to get used to it and I hope it will in the next few days. But I did find while trying to sleep, Icy Hot is so far the best relief for the pain on my elbow, feels oh so good on it.

So besides going to church and going through a morning routine and getting used to limited access to my right arm, the weirdest thing was taking two Vicodin tablets and just gettting really drowsy and falling asleep during the Australia vs Germany World Cup match. I woke up, my elbow didnt hurt...until I tried to move it.

So thats the tale of my bike accident and some of the events that followed it. Leave a comment if you have any further questions about it.

Until next...stay safe, because I certainly will try to.

Pre-Tourney Thoughts on the World Cup

2010-06-10T23:31:00.000-07:00

So I've noticed I haven't written about sports since starting this blog back in January, yea I know I dont post regularly, so what? But sports are huge passion and my first sports blog is about the World Cup which is soccer which is my least favorite sport ironically enough. So I have a few thoughts on the World right before it starts in 8 hours from when I started writing this.

So from what I have heard and briefly read America actually has a shot at the field of 16 this year. Which is a bold statement since America has England in their pool but with injuries and not being as good as they were in past years, England isn't looking to all that hot this year. Also I was reminded of the fact that USA fell just short of winning the gold medal in hockey at this years winter olympics (which I watched with my then girlfriend at the time who fell asleep watching the game, we broke up a month later, I wonder why) they couldn't get the miracle done maybe America can pull of a World Cup victory and make the whole rest of the world mad because mens soccer is the last frontier America has yet to conquer, and in all honesty they probably won't, but I would make for an amazing story to unravel through the next month of soccer.

In past years I have cared so less for the World Cup because I really didn't like soccer but I think honesty since friending a soccer player back in college, soccer became more noticeable and apparent to me. Mind I won't go out of my way to watch it, well maybe with the world cup because nothing else is on until the Tour de France starts July 3^rd and unless my story book tale comes true America will be long gone out of the tournament by then and I won't be watching, maybe I'll root for Ireland aka The Motherland in my book (YAY Irish roots) are they any good in the World Cup? Maybe if they have some Irish coffee to start the day off.

Other than that I don't care too much for the World Cup, I know I should because it brings a sort of unity among each country and the world as we all tune into this one athletic event. I just bored by soccer, anytime I watch it, I just feel Eh? Change the channel. I honestly feel if America had better announcers for soccer, it would have more attention, but can you name one famous American Soccer broadcaster? No you can't, your first thought is probably the Spanish guy who screams GOOOOOAAAALLLL!!! And then you realize you've never sat through an entire soccer match on television, why? Because of no good announcers. If they let Gus Johnson, who probably doesnt know much about soccer, announce, I guarantee you ratings for soccer in America would double, because the announcer makes the boring parts of a game just as interesting as the intense parts.

Wow I start of with World Cup and end on Gus Johnson, if you don't who Gus Johnson is, first off shame on you, secondly google some videos of his play by play its A-MAZING.

My last thought is basically me saying how one music video on the YouTube is the only reason I feel I am excited at all for the World Cup. Its pretty amazing and the song accompaning the video is just as awesome, watch the video leave a comment on this blog and tell me your thoughts on the World Cup, or even if you care to watch the World Cup.

Until next time...stay safe

Why Do People Give Up On Their Dreams?

2010-06-05T22:21:00.001-07:00

So today I ran into an old friend, and she was graduated from college and working as a waitress at a local estabilishment. It made me start to wonder and even after 9 miles of biking after seeing her I was still thinking about it. Most people who go to college have dreams and aspirations. But after we toss the caps in the air we either go after those dreams full force or just fall into a system in the regular normal working world. What exactly happens to those who give up on those dreams? Why do they give up on those dreams?

I can give some insight as its been a year since I graduated and I'm certainly in a similar boat but after losing my data entry I am focusing on what career I want to pursue, which is in radio, and after a rough first year out of college I have some thoughts to write about on this topic.

Life goals that come are pursued by a lot of us but through the way life goes, I feel some of us find something we value more than what we aspired to be. Whether it be a special someone, another calling, or a group of friends you want to stick with more than getting that illustrious career. With that in mind, I have to say I really do enjoy the friends I have that have put up with me through tough times and still find me enjoyable after all the time I've known them. But if this year of being much more anti-social has taught me anything, its that I can find new friends I did this year and am very happy hanging out with them. But I know I can find just as much joy with new people if I have to move for a new job. I guess its the independent only child rearing its head in my voice because though I know I need good people in my life I know I can find more wherever I go.

People who blame the system or economy for not being in the career they wanted have a little more explaining to do. From what I've noticed, because I've even fell victim to this, is people like the independence they have achieved and like the place they live in that they get too comfortable and aren't willing. This past year I really have figured out that I should have moved back home after graduation, especially after my plans to do missions work in Miami, Florida fell through. It was stupid to think I would be able to find a steady job in a metro area in some audio or video production field, I didn't I ended up finding a data entry job that at the end wasn't the best but was fun to do for awhile. But moving back home though it seems horrible and torturous because I know I can only stand my mother for so long without going totally insane, in the end its worth it, what is a little non-comfortable living now, to be able to live very comfortably in the long run and be completely happy in what I do in the long run, thats how I look at it, and how I will live it once my lease is up in August. If I haven't found a full time job by then, I am moving back to Michigan to continue my career search from Muskegon.

I am starting to get distracted now and need to end this blog, let me end on an uplifting note. If you have let go of your dreams and fell into a place of job complacement, ask yourself if you really enjoy, not just your job, but life in general, and can you see yoursef enjoying more in another way. If you think its too late to change your life and pursue old aspirations, its not go for it full force, if you think your really good at what you want to do and know, not think, know you can be successful at it, go for it and enjoy life at the same time. Life is a journey, make sure yours is fun and filled with twists and turns, because one day you may have to tell the story of your journey, don't you want your story to be enjoyable to hear as well as tell?

Until next time...stay safe.

My Self "Check-Up" With My Faith Using The Soularium OR The Closest Thing I Can Do For An Art Project

2010-05-29T23:41:00.000-07:00

Ok so this post certainly background info. So back in the summer of 2008 I went on a summer project with Campus Crusade for Christ to North Myrtle Beach, SC, to see more on that, watch this short documentary I made about it by clicking here, but the point I bring that up is because during the project we were shown a way of sharing our faith to people using a tool called the Soularium. The Soularium is a collection of 50 photos that you show to people and ask them questions about which picture best represents things in life. We were shown this but I never used it, but still thought it was a cool idea. At the end of the summer they were emptying out the project's office and giving out all the Soularium's they had, I nabbed one before they were all gone. Until tonight I never used it, though I never got rid of it.

So today I meet with a friend who is raising financial support to go do a year of missions and we were catching up, I sadly couldn't help her because I am unemployed but after that we just discussed each others walk with God and for some odd reason somewhere in the conversation I thought how great of a “check-up” in my walk would it be to go through the Soularium myself. So I popped on some Nine Inch Nails (one of my favorite bands and also their music is really good reflecting music) dug the Soularium out of my closet and took all the photos and placed on the floor and went through the questions. Here goes...

Pick 3 images to describe your life right now and explain each one

I feel it shows a woman doing her own thing on her own and totally independent of the world around her. That is very much my life right now. I am going my own path, God is apart of it, but to most people it seems I am doing my own thing and really enjoy it. I am very independent and on my own right now in my life now, there is good and bad. Good because its good to be less social after 4 years of being a social butterfly its good to have a “quieter” life for a little bit. Bad because I have less interaction with friends and people in general.

I feel this represents me looking forward to the future and how unknown it is to me. I want answers on what the future holds for me but I have to wait.

I picked this photo because my life is in a transition phase right now. Moving from college life and into a more professional/adult type of lifestyle. I feel this phase taking longer than I would want it to.

Pick 3 images of what you wish your life was like

I picked this because in terms of life situation and location I wish I was somewhere else. I have loved Minneapolis for the past 5 years but I feel strongly that it is time to move on to somewhere else, I love the friends I have here but there is so much more to experience out there and I want to make sure I do before I have to settle down in years down the road.

I picked this one because I wish my life was going somewhere, because being unemployed from a boring data entry job is nowhere to me. I have aspirations of working in radio and being on the air, whether in music or sports talk, I still don't know, I prayed about it for awhile this last month and feel its where God wants me to go career wise, and I feel that is going somewhere.

Its a bit of an odd pick but I wish my life had more order, I feel it has very little, its not necessarily a mess but its definitely crazy. I know God has a plan and I trust it but life is just crazy too much sometimes that I'm glad I am not the one planning because clearly if I was the only one planning, I would fail at it.

Which Image describes God? Why? What does it about God to you?

This pick took awhile to decide on, because a lot of them were close but when I thought about none of them perfectly fit what I think of God until I noticed this one. God certainly is an anchor in my life, He is always “attached” to me but the thing that works so well with this photo is doesn't necessarily look like its being used and sometimes I don't feel God is being used as my anchor in my life. Sometimes He is just there but not being used to be the focus of my life.

Think about life so far. Which Image best describes what you've experienced spiritually? Why? What does that image represent?

I notice this one quickly and really liked that it was an escalator. Because on an escalator you have a choice of going up the steps or just ride along. My spiritual life goes between the two. Sometimes I am going up the steps myself and actively pursuing God. But sadly I feel a lot of the time in the last year I have just been riding along. Lately I feel I have taken steps to seek God by spending time in the word, so it not riding along as much as of recently.

When you think about your spiritual life or journey, which image best represents what you wish were true? Why? What does that image represent?

Funny this image has the number right after where my spiritual life is currently. But out of all the pictures this is the only one that made sense to me. I wish I was taking my spiritual life and running with it. Or in another sense that works with the photo in that I want to seek/chase after God with all I have, but honestly that is very difficult. I can't constantly have God on my mind, I have responsibilities to take care that take time away from Him.

So Where Do I Go From Here?

I really don't know, I mean I am not in serious trouble with my walk with Christ but obviously its not where I want to be. I need to just go after it, read the word and pray often. The rest should fall into place over time.

If you want more info about The Soularium, go to www.mysoularium.com sadly the site doesn't let you do The Soularium online

Until next time...stay safe...so you can read my next blog post :P