Movie Names

A G\good movie name can make or break a movie. Or maybe not. Maybe it all it means is it'll be altered and used for magazine article titles a lot(Pulp Fact or Fiction?). Either way, here is my top ten for great and terribly named movies.

Great Movie Names

1. Sex Lies and Videotape (Maybe the best move name ever)
2. Fried Green Tomatoes (Sounds interesting)

3. On Golden Pond (Sounds important)

4. Boy, Did I Get A Wrong Number! (Never saw it, but don't you want to?)

5. Sunset Boulevard

6. The 6th Sense (Best suspense name ever)

7. Permanent Midnight

8. Can't Stop The Music (Why not? Why is the music not stopping?)

9. Santa With Muscles (Iwould know this was a terrible movie, but watch it for a little to see just what it was talking about. Is Santa coming back to kick ass?)

10. Crimes and Misdemeanors

Bad Movie Names

1. Millagro Beanfield War (Could a movie sound more boring?)

2. Quiz Show (Another Redford movie. Hmmm...)

3. The Pianist

4. Ben Hur

5. Cinderella Man (For a boxing movie? What were they thinking)

6. The Deer Hunter (Sounds like a documentary)

7. Ghosts Can't Do It (Do what? What can't ghosts do?

8. Simon Sez (Wtf?)

9. Gigli (You need to be able to proniunce it- jiggly or giggly?)

10. Monster A Go-Go

And for the toilet humor inclined, here is site that has movie names that sound like when you poop

3 Reasons Why I Am A Better Person Than You

1. Letting Cars In
There is this one intersection on the way home from work where I am in the speedy lane w/o a stop sign. And on the left cars line up for miles just waiting to merge. Well, I could just fly by, mocking their inability to find a new route, but I ALWAYS, and I mean ALWAYS, slow down and let a car in. That's right, pay it forward is my attitude.

2. Putting Back Items At The Grocery Store
Oh, don't lie. I know that when you decide you don't need a product, you just leave it in some random aisle. You don't fool me. Well I'll have you know that I NEVER EVER EVER do this. I always take the item back to its proper place, EVEN if it means walking across the entire grocery store.

3. Not Using My Good Looks For Evil
I admit I've been tempted, but in the end, I ALWAYS use my daring good looks for good instead of evil. It's just the type of guy I am.

Que Bueno! Latino Movies Rock!!!

Saw two recent Latin movies: Volver and Pan's Labrynth. Both were great.

Volver is a Pedro Almovadar movie and if you've seen any of his other movies you already know if you'll like this. Like his others, it's quirky, surprising, and colorful. The twist in Volver is that almost all the characters are women. The only downside is what I've felt in his past movies, that everything's a bit ridiculous and it feels a little surfacey. I certainly don't see it as a movie I'll think much about in 2 months. Still, I would recommend it.

And Pan's Labyrnth might be my favorite 2006 movie. The movie takes place in the last gasps of the Spanish Civil War, with a mom and daughter going out to stay w/ the mom's new husband. As the military husband is out squashing the remainding rebels, the girl is off on her own hyper-fantasy adventure. Kind of a Dark Crystal meets For Whom The Bell Tolls. What's cool is that her fantasy world isn't an escape, both worlds live side by side. It doesn't distinguish between the creepy scary real world and little kid's imaginary world, and that seemed both accurate and made it not feel like a kid's movie.

These movies both are now added to my growing list of recent awesome Latino movies: Amores Perros, City of God, and Y Tu Mama Tambien.

Three Things I Do Better Than You

1. Play Scrabble
Oh you think you're good? You think??? No offence, but I'll waste you. Oh, you like the long words? No problem, I'll 7-letter your ass. No, so now you['re saying you like the cramped board? That's fine by me. I can play dirty too. All I know is that in the end you'll be crying like a little girl as my 350 score is rung up.

2. Parallel Park
Damn I'm good! There really is no comparison to me in this department. I not only can wedge my slick Saturn into the most cramped up places, but I usually can pull it off with just one try. And you know, you all could get there. First, you gotta just yank that steering wheel to the right. That gets you in deep. And then don't be afraid to bump. Back bump front back bump and I'm in tight. Listen and learn.

3. Find Beer Cap Openers
Seriously man, this skill of mine is off the charts. Not to boast, but I can walk myself into any stranger's kitchen and I'm like a homing pigeon. It's like a radar goes off in my head. I take a second to survey the surroundings, then BOOM, I pull out the lucky cupboard and find that beer opener. For real.

Presidential Myers Briggs Types

Well, Barack Obama seems to be the Democrat du jour currently, and I'm starting to come around as well. Granted, I'm not really sure what he stands for, but he does seem to be a charismatic young fellow and the JFK connections are mounting: both likable, about the same age, only served 1 Senate term, and although half of me thinks America still isn't ready for a Black president, the other half of me is starting to think that maybe Black is the new Irish.

Now of course he still has to get past Hillary and Edwards (who we shouldn't count out). And even then, he'd have to overcome the uber-experienced middle-man McCain. But he definitely has a chance.

Anyway, all this way-too-early 2008 election talk got me thinking about whether Myers Briggs could give us any insight to who might be our next chief executive. Here is my best guess (my opinion + random internet seaches) at the personality types of our modern presidents and the top current candidates.

Kennedy: ESFP - SP
LBJ: ESTJ - SJ
Nixon: ENTJ - NT
Carter: INFJ - NF
Reagan: ESFJ - SJ
Bush I: ISTJ - SJ
Clinton: ENFP - NF
Bush II: ISTJ - SJ

Hillary Clinton - INTJ - NT
Barack Obama - ENFP - NF
Edwards - ESFP - SP
John McCain - ESTJ - SJ
Giuliani - INTJ - NT

Looking it over I notice... very little. We seem to be mildly biased towards J presidents (6 out of 8) and I guess that makes sense. Who wants a president who's always stopping projects in the middle or running late? But all the others are fairly equal.

When I looked at them by temperment though (the 2 letters), some patterns stuck out. First of all, our last 5 presidents have either been SJ or NF: with SJs being known for being responsible and protective whereas NFs feel your pain and are known for inspiring. And these types are completely linked to political party, with the SJ presidents being Republicans and NF's Democrats.

This seems to fit with some common stereotypes of the two parties, with Republicans being more inclined to want a Guardian (another name for SJ) and Democrats wanting an Idealist (another name for NF). But what does it mean for this next election? Well, if this is true, then maybe that is one reason why Democrats seem so attracted to Barack. And it does also shed some light on issues Hillary has been having. People often say she's too cold, a critique NTs get. I always thought this showed people were uncomfortable with a woman being tough. Maybe its more that people are uncomfortable with a Democrat being too cold.

Not sure if this means anything. Feel free to add your own anaylzations (or just to tell me to get a life, it is January of 2007).

Math Mix

Feeling very blogolific this week, perhaps b/c my weekend has now reached the epic proportions of 5 days long (MLK + 2 snow days). In general, I have been doing nothing school-related since the snow came (unless you count avoiding, but actively dreading grading an assignment, work), but there is something I have been meaning to do that won't quite feel like work.

As most of you know, I am a Middle School teacher. And as some of you know, I teach math and social studies, but am totally sick of teaching math. Next year I should be solely social studies. Which is great, but there was one thing I always planned to do, but never did. Make a math mix and play it while my students work on assignments.


Here's what I have so far
Violent Femmes: Add It Up
Modest Mouse: Neverending Math Equation
Spoon: My Mathematical Mind
Weird Al: White and Nerdy
De La Soul: 3 Feet High and Rising
3 Dog Night: One Is The Loneliest Number
Beatles: 8 Days a Week
Metallica: 1

I am tempted to add a 50 cent song, but it might leave me not teaching math or social studies next year. Any more ideas Xpress riders?

More Graphic Novels

Thought about making a New Year's Resoultion of reading more actual novels, but decided to just continue with my weekly Economist and the occasional Graphic Novel. Here are some recent ones I've read.

Alison Bechdel's "Fun Home": A+
I really can't say enough about how good this is. It's an autobigraphical tale about Bechtel growing up with her fastidious English-teacher in-the-closet dad. Besides just being a fascinating story, she does an amazing job of drawing connections between her father and famous novels (without it seeming forced or being pretentious). She also tells the story in a sort of circling-in style, where we know the basic ending, but she continues to fill us in more and more of the periphery. Great great read.

Marjane Satrapi's "Chicken with Plums": A
Short, interesting story by the author of Persepolis. Wouldn't say this is really better or worse than Persepolis, but certainly much smaller in scale. In it, she writes about her uncle, a famous Tar player who decides to lie in his bed until he dies after his wife breaks his beloved instrument. Not exactly a pick-me-up, but very good.

Larry Gonich "Cartoon History of The Universe": B
Cartoon History of US History is in my opinion a great history book, so I was beside myself when I heard that the same author had set his sights on an even bigger subject- the history of the earth. So far I've read the first 2 volumes (ranging from life on earth to rhe Roman empire) and I've enjoyed them, but not as much as his US one. He has so much to cover now, that at times I felt like got caught up in listing ruler after ruler w/o giving us a broader context. Nevertheless, I've got the third on order and will probably read all the ones that come out.

Vaughan and Henrichon "Pride of Baghdad": C
This one is about lions freed from a zoo during the American bombing of Iraq. I still never fully put the metaphor together and really don't care. The whole thing felt pretty cheesey to me and I just wish I could have read about actual people in Iraq.

Now That's What I'm Talking About

Here are some interesting drinking stats from this month's Atlantic Monthly

1. "American males who drank heavily when they tenth-graders in 1990 earned more money in 2000 , on average, than their peers who were teetotaler as teens." This was not true for women.

2. "Self-described drinkers (male and female) earn 10 percent to 14 percent more than non-drinkers."

3. "Men who frequent bars at least once a month earn a further 7 percent wage boost."

New Year's Resolutions That Stick

So I was listening to sports radio the other day and the host begins complaining about how crowded his gym is with all of these people who just made a New Year's resolution to work out. And he's claiming that this happens every year and that it annoyed him b/c he knows they're going to give it up by February. Could they just accept their slothiness and stay out of his space?

Now, I found this both funny, and probably true, but instantly started wondering how I would be different in my new attempt to work out. And here is my ingenious method. I started my work-out resolution a month early! You might think this wouldn't matter, but now I have already had my figuring it out and slacker stage, and the New year has now resolidified my efforts into a healthy routine.



So, yes maybe it's only been one week, but I think this could work. Drinking problems? Try to stop in December, fail at the holidays, and refocus yourself after the new year. It's so much worse to fail in January. Yes, I think I'm definitely on to something. Hello New Year, goodbye new found beer gut.

Ending Movies

On Friday I saw two movies: The Devil Wears Prada and The Whale Rider. I thought both were good, but found myself a little disappointed in the endings (stop reading if you haven't seen them).

If you saw the ad for The Devil Wears Prada and thought, huh, that actually could be pretty good, it is. Meryl Streep is having a great time as the bitchiest boss ever, and they do a nice job of exagerating the fashion world just enough to be funny w/o going too far. I got so into it that I found myself wanting to quit my teaching job and start working 13 hour days for a souless company. Not for the money and not for the glory, but just so I could prove I could overcome a terrible boss and insane expectations. That's why I was oddly disappointed when the eventual disillusionment came and the star leaves to go to work at a serious paper. I guess they didn't have a choice, but I would've preferred it if they'd gone out on a limb and instead pushed for a capitalist fairy tale.

With Whale Rider my issue is even more ridiculous. So many parts of this movie were great. Besides it being about a population you never hear about (Maoris), it was an interesting story and I loved the acting jobs by the mom and fat brother. And, I really shouldn't have been surprised that the movie would end with the ever-cute granddaughter riding a whale and being the chief the grumpy tradionalist was searching high and wide for. But here is my problem. The whole movie was about traditions and how important they were. But then they have a girl take over the chief role? It felt like the directors wanted the best of both worlds. And I know this is a ridiculous take (for contrast, as I was getting annoyed by this my wife was sobbing), but I just couldn't fully buy the women's lib meetes Maori myth thing.

I'm probably alone here and I don't know what this means in general, maybe that being a do-gooder public servant makes me need an unhappy message on my free-time. Not sure...

Pet Peeves #7 - #9

Pet Peeves #1 - #3
Pet Peeves #4 - #6

7: People Reading Novels in Bars
I just don't get this. I like to read. I like to drink. But reading in a loud bar and drinking $5 pints when I could just be relaxing on the couch at home doing the same? I do not get it. I sort of get the feeling that they're introverted exhibitionists. Like that they're really getting into people watching them read.

8: Auto-formating
I cannot tell you how much time I spend fighting auto-formatting while trying to make worksheets or outlines. I just do not understand its logic and at times it seems like it's just fucking with me. Like yesterday, I pressed return and it changed the size of the type from 12 to 10-point font. Why would it think I wanted this? There wasn't single item of 10-point on the entire document. What pattern was it following? Oh, at this point he might just want this section in miniature? EMHO, I think you need to talk to Microsoft about this.

9: No Snow at Christmas
I mean, why go on a big trip to Chicago and not have a White Christmas? Next year I'm going to Denver...

CDX Awards 2006

So the New Year has officially begun (or so it feels as I sit at my desk emotionally preparing for the transition from utter nothingness to Middle School chaos). But on the advice of EMHO, I wanted to give out some awards!

Most Versatile Commenter: Miguelito Frigolito, unless it's about sports of course

Most Likely to Comment on an Atlanta Hawks Blog: The Fabulous Craigeoke!

Most Likely to Comment on a Basketball Blog Not About The Atlanta Hawks:

Only Male Atheist on Planet to start both a Quilting and Bible Blog: None other than Michael5000

Most Supportive of the Blogging Enterprise: EMHO

Most Consistently Pleasant: My virtual friend Darci Ann

Most Randomly Connected: Dr. Ken, 5 of 9er, and Recken Roll. Are you guys virtual friends of virtual friends? Or virtual friends of virtual friends of virtual friends???

Most Likely To Instigate an Argument: Let's here it for Petrovich and Hipster! Always welcome controversey stirrers!

Most Likely to Read and Not Comment: ERCBO, I know you're out there

Most Likely Not to Read Even if I Set it as Her Default Screen on Her Computer: Mrs. Chuckdaddy (Although she did add in a very interesting comment on the Merry Holidays entry)

Thanks for visiting everybody, and let's get this year going.