Movie whores.

I hung out with Ben and Samantha the other day, which was nice and refreshing. Even though they’ve been dating for four years now, they don’t make me feel like I’m a third wheel or anything. We watched a movie and walked around Ben’s neighborhood and talked for a few hours.

We got into a discussion about movies. We came to the conclusion that there are three different kinds of people who like movies: Movie fanatics, film buffs, and movie whores. Ben and Sam are movie fanatics– people who enjoy watching good movies and summer blockbusters, and have all-time favorites but don’t limit themselves to a particular genre of movies. I’m a film buff– someone who likes artistically produced films with meaning, indie flicks, and movies that are tastefully done. And then there are movie whores– people who obcess over the latest and “greatest” movies, cult films, and anything trendy on the movie scene. These are the kinds of people that spend their whole paycheck to see a movie fifty times while it’s still in theaters. Movie whores are fun to critique a movie with, but you wouldn’t want to watch a movie for the first time with one… they tend to overexaggerate the whole movie to the extent that it is ruined. Damn those movie whores.

While on the topic of film, I have seen a few really good movies this past summer that I recommend highly:

• Pan’s Labyrinth – Very good! I liked this one a lot. It’s like a fairytale for adults. The acting is first-rate and the dialouge is well composed. It’s entirely in Spanish, so if you have a thing about subtitles or are dyslexic, this probably isn’t a great movie for you to watch.
• Lolita – Last summer I read the novel by Vladmir Nabokov and I absolutely loved it. I was very skeptical about seeing the movie, because movies based on books have a tendancy to suck (if you’ve read the book, anyway). It actually held true to the book… a lot of it was cut out, for obvious reasons, but the overall presentation was really good. Jeremy Irons is a great Humbert Humbert…. I even cried the first time I saw it. Very chilling, but definately worth watching.
• Snatch – I saw this one with a good friend of mine, (wink wink) and I really enjoyed it. Very fast paced, but easy to keep up with. The production reminded me of Fight Club or Smokin’ Aces, and had a very pulp-fiction vibe… Not really for anyone with virgin ears; there’s lots of profanity. But really a fun, groovy movie.
• 9 Queens – Another Spanish film with subtitles… I guess it’s like a dark comedy of sorts. It’s about these two professional con artists who try to sell this set of extremely rare and valuable stamps, the 9 Queens, to a powerful government agent. There are a few unexpected twists and turns in this film, which is what makes it quirky and fun… watch this one with a friend. It’s really cool.
• Annie Hall – Woody Allen love story + Summer vacation = fantastic. Every year I find a new Woody Allen film that I adore. This one is a lot older, but it’s fantastic. Just watch it. You’ll see.

–Chloe

It’s some kind of… psychedelic experience!

The Tool concert was simply amazing… astounding… truly astonishing. And any other synonym you could think of that starts with the letter “A.”

   We got there and saw the opening act “Big Business,” which was really cool. They were a very laid-back band. None of the band members seemed very high strung, and they seemed to like donuts. Nice.

   There was about 45 minutes of musical foreplay before Tool came on. They played some really strange music while setting up the band’s equipment and testing the lights. Everyone was on pins and needles until the lights went out and Tool went on stage.

   When the band came out, I thought for sure a riot would occur, especially when Maynard came out. He frankly looked like an Abercrombie & Fitch model, only shorter; he was wearing tight ripped jeans, a orange zip-up sweatshirt, and a straw cowboy hat. As soon as soon as Adam Jones, Danny Carey, Justin Chancellor, and Maynard James Keenan moved into position, they jumped into their song “Jambi.” It was amazing.

   After their first number, Maynard ever-so-eloquently greeted the crowd. My favorite part of his speech was when he asked “Do y’all have a Hooters now?” It was enthralling.

   Another notable part of the show was when they played “Lost Keys… Blame Hoffman.” The drummer from Big Business came out and played with Danny Carey on a separate drum set; meanwhile, Justin Chancellor nailed out an irregular bass line while crouched on the floor. In the middle of the hardcore drum solo, a technician came up and tossed Justin a bottled beverage, which he surprisingly caught and opened with one hand…. while keeping the bass line thumping. It was amazing.

   When the concert ended, I’m sure my ears were bleeding… but it was totally worth it. I don’t think I will ever see  a concert as amazing as Tool. Ever.

Why doncha just drive a stake through my heart, GAWD…

My sisters and my father are going to Myrtle Beach this week with my grandfather, so it’s just me & my mom. Oh yeah. I could have gone, but I have better things to do, like go to see Tool, and make music, and stuff.

So they all left this morning, so my sister didn’t come to school today. When I got to school and walked up the stairs to the 2nd floor hallway, I saw that someone had thrown away a couple of cds. One was totally scratched up and was probably un-playable, so I left it discarded. The other one had one extremely emo title: “I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love.” (I later found out that it was My Chemical Romance) I had no idea what it was, so I decided to keep it… I’m always looking for new music, and I’m willing to try anything, no matter how emo the title sounds. Obviously.

I got into class and we basically did nothing for the first two hours. And by nothing, I mean that we sat around and laughed while AJ told us all about his new role playing website. (Fun fun…) The second half of the class we did some work… but not enough to count.

After class I got in my car and stuck the unidentified cd in the cd player. Initially, I was completely revolted. The guitar riffs were very repetitive, and the lyrics were far too emo for my taste. After a while, though, the music became humorous when I heard lyrics like “You put the spike in my heart,” and “It’s the tearing sound of love-notes…/If you took the time to notice me/ But you can’t now, I don’t blame you/ And it’s not your fault that no one ever does.” It came as no surprise that the band was none other than My Chemical Romance. The moral of the story is never take music out of the trash can… It probably belongs there.

Summer vacation.

      Summer vacation has started, but somehow it doesn’t feel like it…

      So much has been going on this past month… Briefly skim through some stuff:

Well, I went to Girls’ State, which was interesting. I met a few really swell people, including Loren Bane and Emily Barksdale, some fantastic dorm-mates.

Started summer school— Geometry course that I should have taken (literally) years ago. God hates me and my math-less logic.

Still working at Route 60 Music, but I’ve got a lot more students now (or so it seems?). We should be moving into the new store around August, but you never know with the contractors…

Been getting into a lot more new music, such as Amy Winehouse, The Bellrays, The Silversun Pickups, and other stuff that I really can’t think of right now. I’m also going to see TOOL(!) this week! I am so excited!

I have practically glued my philisophical mind onto Current TV, the BEST news station on the planet. And the other half of my philisophical mind has finally wrapped around metaphyisics, which is uber complicated.

I’ve started talking to a few people that I lost contact with…

…and lost contact with a few close friends.

We haven’t had a good band practice for about a month and a half now. I am starving to get my groove on again.

We’re going on a cruise in August, after summer school ends. Fantastic. I’m looking forward to Cozumel the most… I’ve always wanted to go to Mexico.

My mother’s birthday is tomorrow. She’s twenty-six. (wink wink)

      That’s basically been my summer in a nutshell.

 —Chloe

I am the Vasus.

      More crazy dreams about God. Last night, God came to me in my dream and said “I am the Vasus.” I had no idea what that meant, so I wiki-ed it today. Amazingly, I came up with this:

      “In Hinduism, the Vasus are attendant deities of Indra, and later Vishnu. They are eight elemental gods representing aspects of nature, representing cosmic natural phenomenon. The name Vasu means ‘Dweller’ or ‘Dwelling’.”

      Imagine an alien-like man(?) with translucent skin and veiled face, telling you “I am the Vasus.” Maybe I need medication. Maybe I need to sort out my life. Or maybe I just need a good night’s rest. But I want to find the face of God.

      –Chloë