Spontaneous
So I'm being really crazy and will be heading over to California for the next few days. I'm going with a friend to check out Dave's new pad. I hope to have a quick surfing lesson so that I can get beat up on the water and then drive out to Six Flags. Boy will that be a long drive. Then I'll return on Wednesday. Quick trip that I probably shouldn't take. I have the wedding this Saturday and then I head to France. And I still haven't found an apartment. What am I thinking.

Back from Vegas
I actually returned from Vegas last Tuesday. All in all a fun trip and I think Brian really enjoyed it as a bachelor weekend. I wouldn't ask for any more for my bachelor party. We only had two nights so we went to several bars and mostly just stayed out late. The Ghost Bar at the top of the Palms is pretty cool but mostly just a lounge and not really a night club. Also made sure we got out to a strip club where Brian received his requisite lap dances. The good news: I had luck on the craps table and won 100 dollars. Not enough to pay for the trip but at least I didn't lose money from gambling. The bad news: I lost my Gameboy or rather it was taken from the room. Everyone joked that now I can use my winnings to buy a new one, great.

Some very exciting news is going on in Tucson yet I don't think anyone knows. The Arizona Wildcats are in the College World Series. The games are actually in Omaha yet I would expect that most news is going to Tucson. This is their first visit this far since 86 when they won it all. They lost the first game, a tough one 8-7 to Georgia and face Arkansas today. I have confidence since they've already upset to good teams. If only I had ESPN so I could watch them.

Man o' Man
As you can see below I am very behind with my movies. I saw the two below over two weeks ago. I just haven't gotten off my lazy ass to type them in. I've also seen a couple since. I was at the Harry Potter opening and just this night I saw Chronicles of Riddick. I fill those in after I return from Brian's bachelor party. Return? yeah it's at Vegas and should be really fun. So off to bed and then on to
VEGAS!!!!

Shrek 2 (2004)
Director: Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury, Conrad Vernon
Screenplay: J David Stem, Joe Stillman, David N Weiss based on William Steig's characters
Starring: Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas, John Cleese, Julie Andrews

Puss n Boots rocks. Shrek 2 is a great flick for cat lovers. Now I wasn't the hugest fan of the first one so I can say I liked this one more. There was just too much taken for other movies and materials. I really could have done without the LOTR bit, give some movies their time before parody. That's what this really is, not just a parody of fairy tales but of everything, from movies to real life. I had hoped for a bit more originality. The movie really excels at bit characters like Pinocchio, the Ginger Bread Man, the Three Little Pigs and the Three Blind Mice. Very funny but overall I enjoyed it and can watch it over but not sure if I'll buy it when it comes out.

Watched: 5/29/04

Cat Ballou (1965)
Director: Elliot Silverstein
Screenplay: Walter Newman Frank Pierson adapted from Roy Chanslor (novel)
Starring: Jane Fonda, Lee Marvin, Michael Callan, Nat King Cole
Oscars: Actor (Lee Marvin)
Nominations: Adapted Screenplay, Score, Song, Film Editing
AFI's 100 Years of Laughs List: 50

Cat Ballou is a movie that doesn't take itself seriously. A true western parody and I haven't seen many of those. I think the best part is the song, a ballad sung throughout by Nat King Cole. Each section had a little prelude song as Cat seeks the fabled Kid Shelleen to help her achieve her revenge for her murdered father. Unfortunately the Kid is a washed up boozer who isn't much help at first. I can't think of any memorable moments or lines but Marvin's performance as two characters is commendable even if he is kid Shelleen most of the time.

Watched: 5/28/04

Megan is so cool
First of all, no, Megan is not my girlfriend. I unfortunately am lacking in that area. She is my best friend's fiance to which I am the best man. Anyway, last night she set up a surprise for her man and I was luckily involved in the surprise, on the receiving end. I had no idea what was up. She set up a dinner at P F Chang's and then set us up for the Diamondbacks game. Very cool and the seats were great. They lost but that's besides the point. She in no way had to do anything like that but it was very thoughtful and I had a great time. Plus Friday night I hung out with her and Brian and went to visit some of her old highschool friends and the street that they lived on. To keep it short there was a lot of drinking followed by darts, roof jumping, swimming, and then some naked roof jumping. Crazy.

Today I think I'm going to head back to Tucson. I've got some cleaning up and packing to do down there. I also need to find an apartment and I think it will be better without naggy parents. I also have good news. Ever since I started the "John get out and do some exercise and cut down on some indulgence and stop snacking so much" diet 3 days ago I've lost 3 pounds. I know probably doesn't say anything but it's kind of fun to step on the scale everyday just to see; as long as it's going down. I love being a man.

Update
Man, I keep getting worse and worse at keeping this updated. I returned from Kansas City a couple of days ago and I still have two more movies to put in and I'm seeing Harry Potter today, Sheesh.

First of all I have new link to a blog. It's my cousin Seth's. I haven't even visited it yet so I'm not sure what it's about but I think he's pretty good with updates plus it should give insight from someone in the Midwest and what its like to be a new college student. The Gameboy Advance SP is so sweet and quite possible the greatest system out there right now. It definitely has my vote. It's super portable, has great battery life, full color, SNES graphics, and the light makes the screen always visible. I never would have made it through Seth's graduation ceremony sane if I didn't have that with me. I know the PSP will have superior graphics and power, but the Advance games are great and it already has a humongous library.

The Jazz History Museum was awesome as was the Negro Leagues Museum. Plus the area is very cool. If anybody ever finds themselves in Kansas City and has any interest in the above topics I highly suggest visiting the historical Vine district. And then if the museums tire you out ( I was there for six hours), hit lunch just down the street at Arthur Bryant's. Oh man soooooo goood. The sausage is divine, but you can try the other BBQ. The only thing is the sauce leaves a little more to be desired.

That should be about it and look towards some more movie reviews.

The Thin Man (1934)
Director: W S Van Dyke
Screenplay: Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich adapted from Dashiell Hammett (novel)
Starring: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Maureen O'Sullivan
Nominations: Actor (William Powell), Directing, Adapted Screenplay
AFI's 100 Years of Laughs List: 32

The Thin Man is definitely an old humor screwball comedy. There's a lot here that I'm sure was very funny when it came out but nowadays isn't too amusing. The principle and plot is funny. A retired detective and his wife decide to solve a case just for the hell of it. Unfortunately there's not much time for development and it ends suddenly. Despite its 90 minute length, it felt long. Interesting notes: Lots and lots of drinking and they keep showing this dog randomly, for no reason. The dog does nothing, but I guess it was a riot back then.

Watched: 5/26/04

Born Yesterday (1950)
Director: George Cukor
Screenplay: Garson Kanin (play), Albert Mannheimer
Starring: Judy Holliday, William Holden, Broderick Crawford
Oscars: Actress (Judy Holliday)
Nominations: Best Picture, Directing, Screenplay, Costume Design
AFI's 100 Years of Laughs List: 24

For something that's on the comedy list, this sure has a lot of serious moments. The drastic swings back and forth really tell that this is based on a play, definitely the slaps. Holliday was good but I think it was more due to the role and writing. It was such a great character. She had the voice down but there also seemed to be some overacting. Good overall but I won't be rewatching Born Yesterday much.

Watched: 5/25/04