On A Rant...

I just wanted to post something that really gets on my nerves. I can stand a lot from people but as I'm sure you know there are certain triggers that make you want to just physically hurt someone. One of my pet peeves makes me particularly pissed off and here it is: I really really really hate it when you're with a group of people and you look at your phone when there's a lull in the conversation (or whenever really) and you're only looking at it to check the time but some dumbass watches you look at the phone and then says "What are you looking at your phone for? Nobody called you!" Thanks asswipe. I know that no one called me. If you don't mind that I drag myself away from this gripping conversation for a minute to make sure that I'm not late for class or a meeting or whatever to check the time on my phone then I'd appreciate you shutting your pie hole. I guess they think that they're not intriguing enough to hold my interest so I look at my phone to make sure no one more exciting has been desperately trying to reach me. Now, granted, that sometimes is the case but mostly I'm checking the time. But maybe they don't think that at all, maybe they think that I'm such a loser and seriously, why would anyone call me? I like to believe it's the one about them being insecure. And like I need to explain why I'm looking at my phone in the first place. Just know that, for next time, if you're hanging out with me then I have to be a little bit invested in the conversation but sometimes I need to know how long I have until I need to leave. So anyway, there it is. One of my biggest pet peeves. Thanks for sharing my pain of stupid and insecure people.

I think I have decided not to do a movie review after each post because it seriously takes up too much time and contrary to popular belief I have other stuff (more important stuff) to do than write a movie review. But I do love movies (and TV) so I guess I'm going to start putting a quote from a movie after each post. But if I do see a movie that really moves me (either to laughter, tears, or stomach churning) then I'll probably write about it. So look forward to that.

This post's quote:

And sheperds we shall be,
for thee my Lord for thee.
Power hath decended forth from thy hand
so our feet may swiftly carry out thy command.
And we shall flow a river forth to thee
and teeming with souls shall it ever be.

--Connor and Murphey MacManus
'The Boondock Saints'

Procrastination At Its Finest

So I'm back. It's been a week since my last post and believe you me, it was one week just chock full of interestint stuff (ha). Well on top of probably failing my Immunology test, I have a huge paper due in a couple of weeks that I have yet to start. So far so good. I'm just ready to be done with this semester. Being a Grad student is not all it's cracked up to be. It's just more work for the same credit hours that underclassmen receive for the same class. Granted, it's credit towards my Masters Degree but still. I'm resentful of the undergrads because I know they're just laughing and playing and having a big time while I'm slaving away on a paper about the effects of tylenol and aspirin on the immune system. And I'm pissed. I guess that it comes with the territory. I'm also a GTA and that's basically slave labor for the sake of helping out the professor's at JSU who have better things to do than sit around and teach Freshman Bio labs. So they let us do it for minimum wage. How thoughtful! Anyway, I'm done griping about extra work so until next time...

Movie Review: The Boondock Saints
I just watched this movie for the first time last week and I have to say, I loved it. I didn't know what to expect, a little action maybe? Well it definitely had that. If you haven't seen it, even though it's been out for 5 years, I still won't ruin it for you. I'll just give a short premise of the story...2 Irish fraternal twin brothers, Connor and Murphey, decide that God wants them to rid the world of all the evil people so they set out to do just that. Sean Patrick Flanery (Connor) and Norman Reedus (Murphey) played their roles excellently. They added a little humor to an otherwise dark situation. Willem Dafoe is also in this movie. He plays and FBI agent that is searching for the killers. He's really smart and in the end seems to be torn between doing what morally feels right and what's legal. Overall this movie had action, comedy, drama, and everything in between. Even the camera angles and shots worked really well with the story. I think it's immoral what the brothers do but since they only kill bad people including many mafia bosses and underbosses, then by the end of the movie I started to cheer for them. The director Troy Duffy showed footage at the end of the movie that looked like a reporter interviewing regular people about whether or not they agreed to what the "Saints" were doing. Opinions came from both points-of-view. Either way, this movie is an underground cult hit of which I'm now a member. Maybe one of these days I'll review a movie I don't like but mostly I don't feel like wasting my time on crap I dislike but we'll see.

Tests, The Amazing Race, and Brad Pitt

So this is my second post...crazy I know. So I mentioned a test in my last post. I took that test yesterday. I also probably failed that test yesterday. It happens every year around this time. It's close to Thanksgiving break and then the long Christmas break and I just become apathetic about class and tests and basically I just quit caring about everything school related. So my "A" will probably suffer because of it. Oh well, don't care. Actually this post is going to be more geared to my dislike of some aspects of the Florida team on The Amazing Race: Family Edition. So Team Florida (even though I've watched the show every week I don't remember their names) is slowly driving me crazy and here's the reason: they're rude and awful people. The whole time they talk about how they're trying to live a Christian life and that the other teams hate them for being who they are. I think only one of those statements are true and it ain't the first one. They got upset when the Paolo team yielded them. They got upset when the other teams wouldn't talk to them. Basically they get upset whenever anybody sneezes (or doesn't sneeze) in their direction. Yet after all that, instead of being the bigger people, they talk trash about the other teams. They talk about how rude the other teams are. They've made a few nasty comments about the Paolo team's dad and how he drives a garbage truck. All the while claiming to live Christian lives. It's hypocritical and it's ridiculous. I wish that they would just come in last and leave the show. It also makes me want to scream when they make such a big deal about having to go to race tracks to do detours or road blocks. I know that they're dad died at a race track and I think that is truly awful and I feel bad that that happened to them but crying about going to a race track to do a stunt or whatever is just stupid. They just seem to get worked up and I'll bet it's not all about going to the track but more about them being tired and just wanting to whine. It's not like they even have to drive a real race car or that they're in any danger AT ALL. The first time they had to ride a bike and the second time was a go-kart. How terrible! For a million dollars I think I wouldn't object to dodging cars at Indy if they asked. This post is way longer than I wanted it to be so I'm going to stop now while I'm ahead. I just wish the Florida team would do the same.

Movie Review: Snatch
So does everyone basically know the premise of Snatch? Well it's very complicated and it spins a web of stories but basically it's all about a diamond. And not just any diamond. A diamond the size of your fist. Everyone in the movie has this diamond in their possession at least once even if only for a few minutes. However, It's also not all about the diamond at the beginning. Confused yet? Yeah I was too. Until I watched it about 3 times. I also had to watch it that many times to understand what the hell Brad Pitt was saying because he plays a Pikey. A Pikey is a gypsy with a heavy accent and weird slang. He does an excellent job of playing a character that is crude and yet still likeable. He's also pretty funny which is good because it lightens the mood from the rest of the film. My favorite character is Turkish thought. He's trying to earn an honest living by putting together underground (illegal) boxing matches and he gets involved with an unsavory character named Bricktop. Things continue to go downhill for Turkish when Brad Pitt's character (Mickey) one-punches Turkish's boxer and puts him in the hospital. Then Turkish has to use Mickey in a fight or become pig food. The diamond is also in there somewhere.
It's one of my all-time favorite movies because I like movies that introduce characters seperately and then weave them together with a story and this is probably the best one I've seen do that. All the acting is superb and Guy Ritchie (Madonna's husband) is a genius. (I'll have to forgive the fact that he directed the aforementioned Madonna in Swept Away which was by far one of my all-time LEAST favorite movies...I don't want to talk about it.) But in Snatch, Guy had awesome screen shots and the music fit the feel of the film perfectly. It has humor and drama and action and twists that totally caught me off-guard. It's just a dark comedy that becomes funnier each time you watch it.

Time to study...or start your own blog.

Well, this is my first post so I guess that I should start off with a little something about myself. I was thisclose to studying for my Immunology test tomorrow and then decided that maybe starting my own blog would be better. I'm a grad student at Jacksonville State University in Jacksonville, AL and I'm currently also a teaching assistant (glorified babysitter...although, ironically, I don't get paid as much as I did when I WAS a babysitter...save that for later) which means that I teach 4 Intro to Bio labs each week. Not too bad because taking 6 hours sure beats the hell out of taking 18. Anyway, I just graduated from undergraduate college in July and decided that since I couldn't find a high-paying job in biology that I would just go to graduate school before I transfer to pharmacy school next year. So that's where I'm at right now in my life. Interesting, huh? Yeah, I don't think so either. The thing about it is that I really really wish that I was a film director. I could have gone to film school but decided that being a doctor or pharmacist was more lucrative because a trillion people want to either be in the movies or make them and it's really a lot harder to break into that business than it is to get through med school or pharmacy school. That's why I dedicate most of my life to watching movies rather than studying to make them. I also quote movies all the time...but then again, I think that most people do. So each time I post on my blog I will give a rundown of the latest movie I've seen (doesn't have to be new in theaters but it can be) and what I think about it and then YOU can post your comments or whatever.

This post's movie: JARHEAD
So, I just saw this movie on Saturday and was surprised at how tame it really was. I thought that from the way the previews were that it was going to be closer to Full Metal Jacket than Three Kings. And it wasn't even that close to Three Kings. I thought there was going to be more gore, more violence, and just plain more. It seemed like the characters were semi-well developed even though there was almost no background given on any of them. I also thought I was going to cry at some point because, once again, from the previews it looked like there was a lot of drama that was going to happen but it just didn't seem to get around to it. It seems like some things would escalate and then *poof* nothing else was said about it and it was over. It kind of left me wanting to know more, which maybe was what Sam Mendes was going for all along. But I'm not a Marine so maybe I just didn't understand because I've never done or seen anything like they have firsthand. Either way, I still liked this movie. I thought that Jake Gyllenhaal (I love you Jake wherever you are!) gave a convincing performance because I'm almost positive that had I been in a war I would probably lose it sometimes like he did if not more so (I'm a girl, but you know what I mean). And I really liked Peter Sarsgaard in his role. But I've liked him since I saw Garden State. There's just something about his expressions that you seem to see all of him when he's talking. It's almost like he seems completely vulnerable yet withdrawn at all times. I just hope that people don't try to look at this movie from a political standpoint. There were a few things in the movie that were political but they were cut short with a sort of "screw it, we're here" attitude. I don't believe this is a political movie. This movie in the basic sense is just about human emotion in the time of war.

Now that I have gotten the intended message across (hopefully) it's time to further my education and read a little Immunology. I promise that in the next post I will try to add a little more humor because I'm very funny. Seriously. No but really, I am.