New York City

I had an I miss New York day today. I was bored during some training at my new job and found a Sudoku puzzle on a desk. I picked it up and after my first scan of the numbers I had to work with, it struck me. I was heart sick missing the bright lights of the big city. I always did Sudoku on the A train and I guess I haven't done many/any since we moved back. It has been interesting being back in Oregon since last fall. I suffer from manic swings of contentedness and longing that keep me fairly unstable most of the time.

AFI Update
This is an update to a MySpace.com blog wherein Lucas and I tallied how many of the AFI's 100 greatest movies we had seen. Once that I found out that I had only seen like half (I was shocked by this) I was inspired to get a hold of these movies and watch them quickly. Well I worked my queue and DVR and I began catching up slowly. That is until AFI released a ten year anniversary list last summer adding like twenty new movies to the list. Well recently I have been working hard to spend my movie watching free time knocking films off of both my lists. So as I move forward I will be bringing up a film now and then that is worth getting a hold of.

This Week I fell in love with 12 Angry Men, again. It is a perfect film. I thought I had seen it before, but couldn't remember exactly (so I had to watch it again). I started it while doing dishes and before five minutes had gone by, I was on the couch entranced. This drama was filmed mostly on a single set, and plays out one of the simplest stories, just perfect.

Stay tuned... I have lots of films to go.

The King of Kong
My little sister and I decided to build birdhouses yesterday. I decided quickly that I didn't want to build some cute little bird house that would quaintly compliment a small water fixture in a modest yard.
I wanted to build a monument to birds, and one of the great archatectual marvels of my favorite city not named Portland. So alas construction began on an all day project that would turn out to be a three nest home in the guise of the Empire State Building. Ridiculous, maybe. Preposterous, sort of. Obnoxious, well yes.

There is a dedication ceremony not yet scheduled for the day this modern cedar marvel lands at its resting place (somewhere in the Burt's yard). I dedicate and give proper ownership of said property to my dear friendo Lucas Burt. May your dreams be as big as my bird house.

Have a Great Weekend Part II
Okay, okay, okay....
So here is the scoop. My meeting let out early and the Blazers have won the first two games of there road trip. Now all the rest of the world may be having a hard time, but I should take heart in the fact that things, while not great, are really not so bad for me. I will take this as a lesson learned, luckily I don't have any money in stock market right now.

Have a great weekend everybody!
Well,
I just clicked over to CNN.com to see what's going on in the world and apparently someone exploded a small bomb in Times Square, Chinese hackers got into the Pentagon's computer system, the Stock Market dropped today to it's lowest point in over a year, a storm dropped a foot of snow right before a tornado hit the same area, UNC student body president Eve Carson was shot to death near campus on Wednesday, did I mention that a barrel of oil will set you back $100, I have to work on Saturday, and the Portland TrailBlazers, who have lost nine of their last ten on the road, start a five game road trip tonight. I almost can't wait for Monday.

Check this Out
Hey, I am not a huge fan of youtube.com, I am not just saying that because I dropped 30k on film school and this site is infested with these ding dongs that think they are filmmakers, but occasionally I miss something in pop culture and I check it out on the site to catch up. With that disclaimer out of the way please go to youtube.com and look up the recent music videos produced for Jimmy Kimmel's late night talk show. Look up up Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, and Kimmel or Sarah Silverman. Some combination of this celebrity names will reveal some truly inspired television that is as funny as anything since Conan shaved his "Strike Beard"

Let's Hear it for the Boys
I just wanted to take a moment and give props to my Portland Trailblazers who, in the last two years, have given Portland a team that we can believe in again and I am very appreciative. These guys are a lot of fun to watch and even when they lose, they seem to be trying to do it the right way. When Greg Oden comes back healthy and we can rebound (in any capacity) we are going to be dangerous. You may have noticed that I began saying "we" well thats because, when I cheer for the Blazers, they do better. Rip City Baby!

Favorite Music of 2007
Well as is has been almost a year since I paused blogging and so now it is time again for the year end lists. My thought is that no one but Lucas and Amber will read this, but alas I carry on with the hope that people care enough about what I think to sit down, read, and then find this music. First hint, ask Lucas, I am always giving him music to listen to and he is probably using the discs as coasters so give him a shout. I am going to break this down into three categories; Music from artists I was familiar with before this year, New to me artists, and finally a short list of discs that I did not get to, but hope to check out before '08 gets cruising too fast....

Returning Champs
As you can read below, I was very excited about '07 before it happened and most of these albums were highly anticipated.

Arcade Fire:Neon Bible- Dark, Moody, and big. I am still listening to it. No Cars Go is pure genius.
Interpol: Our Love to Admire-Saw them in concert. Fantastic album, my favorite band.
Radiohead: In Rainbows-I didn't pay, but I should have, they are always great and worth it.
Rilo Kiley: Under the Black Light-Slow to grow on me, seeing them in concert helped. Jenny Lewis is one of my favorite artists working right now.
The Shins: Wincing the Night Away-Saw them twice this year. What a great year.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs: EPA brilliant 5 song set to satiate my appetite until their next album.

News to Me
If you have had a conversation with me in 2007 this is what I told you to listen to.

Andrew Bird: Armchair ApocryphaAn album Lucas might like, why do I even try...
Beriut: The Flying Club CupCheck this out, it's fantastic.
Feist: The Reminder-She is very sharp and I love her dance moves.
The Good, The Bad, and The Queen: Self Titled-I'll follow Damon Albarn anywhere.
The Grand Ole Party: Humanimals-They are releasing this album this year, but I bought it at a concert in '07 so it goes here. These guys/gal are a blast.
The National: Boxer-I have an argument for this being the best album of 2007, listen and see.
Panda Bear: Person Pitch-Out there a little bit, and that's why I like it.


Not There Yet
Kanye West: Graduation
White Stripes: Icky Thump
Modest Mouse: We Were Dead Before the Ship Sank

I subscribe to the service E Music which is a pay to download site. I find most of my new music through these guys and it is cheap to download a couple of albums a month. That said my not quite got to them albums are major label records that I would have to buy outside of my nasty downloading habit and that is why I am slow to them.

Let me know what I have missed, this is what struck me and what I am listening to right now. Please recommend something if you think I would like it.

I'm Baaaack...
Well good readers of my blog (no one) My good friend Lucas has decided to start blogging again so he is dragging me back in. I am happy to be back though and I am already working on a couple of things. See you soon

MY APOLOGIES, MY APOLOGIES...
I have gone to the dark side... I have not stopped blogging, but my blogs can now be found on myspace.com. I am truely sorry for selling out like this. Amber started me an account and now I have reconnected with all my long lost peeps and I can't get away. Which sadly means that my blogger account will be neglected. I will fight this internal battle, but expect the worse good friends...
Yours Truely
ES

Just Can't Get Enough
Amber and I got an opportunity to see The Shins, again, and they were fantastic. They said that it was the biggest show they had ever played. One crazy note... Just before the concert Amber was grabbing a bite at the NewYork resturant McDonald's (I guess they're pretty big on the east coast) and as we wait in line my filmschool buddy Tyler was waiting outside. I look back to see if he is coming in and I notice that he is not... because he's talking to James Mercer (lead singer of The Shins). I move quickly to the door but James and the band are already in a cab on their way to dinner before the show. Viva Voce opened the show and I was very impressed. It is always fun to see an opening band that actually gets your blood pumping before the headliner.

The Departed!
Last night, during some serious online research, I found out that when you purchese The Departed at a Best Buy store it comes with a special case. For this movie I will geek out enough to hunt this down. I researched the store locations and picked the one that would provide the shortest round trip and then anxiously awaited sleep. So this morning I awoke with only really one task to complete, and that was to pick up my metalic encased Departed DVD. The movie turned out to be quite popular this morning and was sold out in the first store I went to. No big deal I knew exactly where the next closest location was. Except they were out as well. And so was third location, so I treked up to 86th and Lexington and found a stash of them 88 blocks from the first store I went to. It took two hours to get my DVD, but once I held that shiny case in my hand, well, it was worth it.

Finally!!!!



We got enough snow to go play in last night. Too bad we had to go out at midnight to enjoy it, but that is when it came.

I missed blogging for around a month and so I am dropping some pictures to let you know what I was up to. We started our final thesis productions, so I have been very busy working on my classmate's films. We have been to Putnam Conn, where Ben is from and then back to NYC where we have been freezing our tails off.

Hey Everybody,
A quick letter to concert goers accross the world. As you will read I have been to a couple of concerts recently and I have noticed a disturbing trend in camera use ignorance. Now when one gets the urge to capture a moment in time a digital picture is usually the medium of choice due to the ease of the technology and the handy portability of the modern device. So let us say we are in a dark concert hall and this person gets the urge to capture the moment their rock heros are blasting eardrums and cleverly twisting the english language to music. Now I have noticed the intuition of this goer is to grab that digital camera and start flashing pictures left right up and down, which is not only blinding everyone with multiple red-eye reducing flashes, but also not capturing the moment to their dismay. School Time: a typical camera flash is meant to illuminate the photographed subject from between five and fifteen feet (various models will yeild varied results), but the point is that around fifteen feet or so is as far as that flash will be effective in brightening your image. Even if it does show up on the subject at various distances beyond that maximum mark. So as I watched many a young rocker shaking their head in distress and then quickly throwing their hand back in the air to try agian, and again, and yet again to capture rock hero swooning a hundred feet away. School Time part-2: A camera captures an image by allowing light in through the lense to expose a celluloid strip (film) or a processor that digitally captures the image in zeros and ones. The lense controls the amount of light let in by opening in diameter more or less, which is called aperture. The point for fan boy rock star is that if the camera is set on flash it's aperture is set lower because the image, if within the correct distance, should be quite illuminated. Sooo... if the subject of your photograph is beyond the capabilities of the flash your picture will actually be darker than if you would have left the flash off to begin with. Which when used properly would save my eyes, as a fellow concert goer, the bands who I am sure would appreciate a lack of popping bulbs, and your photos, which will be dark, will be brighter and better in no time flat.
Your Friend
Eric the concert goer Strahl

Camera Obscura

Concerts seem to happen in pairs for Amber and I. Two days after a fantastic Shins concert we had the pleasure, along with Lucas, of seeing Camera Obscura play in Brooklyn. They are a Scottish pop band that I have been trying to get everyone I know to listen to, It's even working in a few cases. Anywho the band was a lot of fun and put on a very good show. So check them out they are a blast.

Holy Shins

Amber and I stood in the cold for an hour and a half to buy the new Shins album @ 11pm the day before it was officially released. In doing this we were awarded the opportunity to stay until midnight and see the band perform in the Virgin Mega Record Store Cafe. After standing outside for about an hour Amber questioned whether or not this would all be worth it. That was until the band came out and began the first song of the forty-minute set, Sleeping Lessons, the first track from the new album Wincing the Night Away. It was one of the coolest concert moments I've experienced. It has the most rockn' guitar The Shins play and the song sets it up very well. All I can say is buy the CD listen to the first track and then think about that song ten times better because it's live. Anyway the band played a great set and even played most of the theme song to the Golden Girls TV show becuase the third season was being released on DVD the same day as there CD.

BEST OF 2006

Albums:
Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins-Rabbit Fur Coat
Camera Obscura-Let's Get Out Of This Country
Cat Power-The Greatest
Pearl Jam-Pearl Jam
The Killer's-Sam's Town
The Raconteurs-Broken Boy Soldiers
The Decemberist's-Crane Wife
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs-Show Your Bones

Looking Foward to in '07...
The Shins
Arcade Fire
Block Party
(fingers crossed) Interpol

Movies:
The Departed
Little Miss Sunshine
Marie Antoinette
The Fountain
United 93
Thank You For Smoking
Brick
The Proposition

On My Way To The Theatre To See...
Children of Men
The Good German

Worst Movie Of The Year (Maybe of all time?)
X-Men III

Dark Horse for Best Movie of the Year come Oscar Time...
She's The Man (Amanda Bynes is sooooooo funny)(No seriously you guys get it on video and tell me you don't love it)

Favorite New Hobby of '06:
Listening to Podcasts on the subway-Creative Screen Writing & Filmspotting- Two Faves

LORDS OF THE MOVIE MARATHON!










Amber and I did today what we have spent many a conversation contemplating. We watched the Lord of the Rings Trilogy (extended versions) back to back to back. We are in New York alone for the holidays and it seemed like a perfect way to spend an entire day with nothing to do. So here is the strategy we used to acomplish what some might say is the impossible... To watch a straight eleven hours of LOTR..
First- Exersize early- we walked the dogs to the park and then to the store for junk food (We are athletes, mind you).
Second- Well planned eating schedule-
1-Captain Crunch for breakfast
2-McDonalds for lunch (zaps all energy that would keep you from wanting to move during daytime)
3-Chips and dip + cheese puffs (for end of first movie, stamina is what I'm talking about here)
4-Energy drinks around Two Towers (prevents slipping into coma after McDs and other junk)
5-Chinese for dinner at half hour mark of Return...
6-Keep Sour Jacks in close proxemity at all times.
7-Green iced tea all day long (antioxidents help body fight all that immune system crushing sugar)
We Started at 11:50 am EST Sunday and finished at 12:41 am EST the next day (Oh Merry Cristmas all). Eleven hours of LOTR stretched into 12 hours 51 minutes with bathroom breaks and taken phone calls.
In conclusion it has been quite a journey we have been on today. A journey I would recomend to anyone who thinks they are as hard core as Amber and I are. Not many are though I imagine. The movies move very quickly and here at the end it doesn't feel like we just sat through all three. Peace Out and Merry Christmas!

You Probably did not hear it here first.
The new Shins album is due in January, and they have a video for the single Phantom Limb on youtube. Check it out if this link works, if not cut and paste. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkITsv3Nk6M

Happy Birthday Mr. Burt!

Welcome to the old man club. Trimming nose hair is soo fun.

Running with the bulls.
Christmas shopping is more fun when you are at a loss for oxygen because the sidewalks are packed from buildings to street with angry people. Merry New York Christmas.

It's the, the, the, THE GRINCH!

We saw The Grinch on Broadway this last Thursday. The theatre was beautiful and full of wide eyed little kids. It was a very fun show, although the magic of the film is probably unattainable on stage. Patrick Page (who previously played Scar in the stage version of The Lion King) was menacing and charming and really made the show. I would recomend the show for families with small children.

NYFA Has A Blog!
My class has started a blog at nyfaclass.blogspot.com so check it out and you can see all my nerdy friends talking about nothing but movies (not that anything else matters). KNOWLEDGE IS POWER!

Movies To Check Out:
Some recent favorites of mine (I've had a little free time)
Theatre
Casino Royale
The Fountain
Marie Antoinette
Video
Deer Hunter
Curious George
Millions
Ed Wood
Thank You For Smoking
She's the Man
The Proposition
Postman Always Rings Twice

One Man's Treasure...

There is a very intersting phenomena that happens in an apartment riddled city like New York. People leave apartments all the time and moving furniture is a giant pain. So much so, that an alternative to moving all your stuff is just leaving your furniture behind when you relocate. It is a big factor in this phenomena that movers and vans and packing supplies actually cost more than just replacing the furniture from Ikea. Having said all this my very good friend Lucas has introduced me to the art of furniture scavaging. All this furiture that people leave behind usually just gets put to the curb on trash night by the landlords. So when one finds a piece that might just fit in their apartment they are not only getting free furniture they are saving the landfill space. Lucas has found a couple of nice pieces in the last year and called me tonight to let me know of an armoire that he spotted on the curb in front of his building (Amber has been looking for just such a piece). So we wandered over and snagged that beauty before anyone could beat us to the punch. Getting it up the stairs was a reminder that I really want to leave all of my furniture here when I move (we don't have an elevator and we live on the fifth floor). A big thank you to the very nice young man who lives in our building and helped me get it up the stairs out of the kindness of his heart.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!



Hey everyone, we braved the elements to see the Macy's Day Parade. We saw Gloria Esteban, Hall and Oates, Emmit Smith, Julie Andrews and some nice young rap star named Chris Brown (He seemed very nice). The marching bands rocked! Well we froze and got soaked but it was a blast and got home in time to see the end of the parade on TV because we were watching from where it started uptown.

I endured as long as I could. After four years of being married and more importantly, four long years of denying Amber the opportunity to color my hair... I finally gave in. This is before and after the haircut and a bit of fadding.

Bond, James Bond
Go see the new bond. Eva Green is the perfect reason if you are out of them. She is a new force in Hollywood, at least I am a huge fan. The action is non-stop and if you can keep breathing the whole time you will have a blast.

Late October Review

Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins and The Killers, How much can one person handle. First Jenny Lewis, she along with the twins and her great band put on a fantastic show. The music and dancing was very fun, but her voice carried the whole show and left everyone wanting more. She is a loved performer and even had reasonably priced t-shirts ($15). The Killers, expensive T's ($30) and a mediocre venue, The Theatre at Madison Square Garden (don't got to a show in the 300 section not cool) not the stadium but an underground theatre with very low ceilings. BUT, The Killers rocked and although we were too far away from the sound system and the band frankly the energy was still getting us going all the way back. The show was great fun and the band was terrific.

Marie Antoinette

This may very well not be one of the best movies of the year, but it is one of my favorites by far. I loved every minute of this film. Sofia Coppola says so much about her characters and story with out an overload of heavy diologue, she lets her camera film and we as an audience get a chance to feel.

The Departed
It has been a big week in my world!
New albums from The Killers and The Decemberists, both of which are terrific, started the week off with a bang. The boom came today when I saw The Departed, Martin Scorsese's new film, a remake the Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs. I mention the fact that it is a remake so that I can say that from frame one it is a Martin Scorsese film. It is fierce, brutal, and unaplogetic. Say what you will about Scorsese, he is not for everyone maybe, but his films bleed passion and and truth even if playing out as the opera they tend to. He releases a film once every two years or so and I begin waiting for them as soon as the credits role on the last one. Scorsese at his tender age is making films with more guts than most any filmmaker half his age. Quintin Tarantino claimed that directing is a young man's job, I give you my two favorite action films of 2006: Miami Vice by 63 year young Michael Mann and The Departed by 64 year young Martin Scorsese.

Lucas and Eric's Big Adventure.
Lucas needed to go downtown and check on buying a cable for music recording and I happened to be on vacation for the week so ventured out in the big city to wander around for a while. We got off the subway and headed in the direction of Times Square where the music shop was located and we were stopped by the producers of the Dr. Keith Ablow show. He snuck up behind us and before we could run were being interviewed for a "what the people on the street think" segment. It was actually fun and he was very nice. I will update if we find when the show airs, it is new I am not sure it airs on the west coast, should be sometime next week. We then saw Nellie Furtado do a live show in the middle of Times Square. We were then wandering uptown and came across the Letterman show taping a segment on a side street and they crashed a car almost into a crowd of gathering viewers. As we were leaving the late show building were heard some cool music coming from a back door of the Roseland venue and we walked around to the front only to realize the cool music we heard was a sound check for the Racontours who were putting on a show that night. Never a dull moment in the NYC, and stay tuned for the details of Malinda's big night with Conan O'Brien.

"Revenge"
I have just completed shooting my first semester final film project. I have screened the footage but have not begun editing yet. I am very proud of the work and will keep updating as the project moves forward. I do have to say that half way through film school I feel as though I am hitting my stride as a student of the great art.

The Black Daliha Sucks!
I am sorry but don't waste your money.

Hello Everybody,
Sorry for the delay in posts I have been prepping my first term movie. I am remaking an Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode. I have condensded it down quite a bit but I am very excited to film on Wednesday. I have a couple of terrific actors and I think we will make something to be proud of. Since I wrote last Andrea and I tried to crash the VMA's. We couldn't get within a block and a half but we had fun. We got home and watched one of the worst produced award shows I have ever seen. The Killer's were one of the few bright spots which leads me to my next point. Amber Lucas Malinda and I are going to see The Killer's in October at Madison Square Garden. 75% of us are completly stoked and Malinda will be converted asap. I also got the Jenny Lewis (Rilo Kiley) CD and I am enjoying it, and Amber and I are going to see her in October as well. Lots of news and tired fingers, I will contact you all after I finish shooting so have fun!

RIP
Steve Irwin, the crocidile hunter, was killed just off the coast of Australia today. When Amber and I first started hanging out we would watch his show together into the wee hours of the night. Ever annoying he has always held a special place in my heart.

Andrea takes a bite out of the big apple!


She has come to the city with an appetite to explore.


Yesterday we went by Central Park and down fifth ave stopping at Trump Tower for Starbucks. On our way to Times Square where we had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe. Horrray for overpriced ham- burgers!


Today we went to the South Street Seaport for lunch. We then walked down to the financial district to check out the World Trade Center Memorial Cite were a new display of pictures has been put up to commemorate the fifth aniversary.

Lastly we checked out Wall St to make sure it wasn't just a bunch of Bull.

IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN A PREVIEW FOR "THE DEPARTED" THE NEW MARTIN SCORSESE FILM GO TO APPLE.COM AND WATCH IT NOW.

Subways Are Cool
A true benefit of living in the boondocks of Manhattan is that I have plenty of reading time on the city's fine subway system.
Although they can be hotter than the firery pitts (my theory is that because they are so far below ground it's just that much closer to hell) the cars themselves are air conditioned (most of the time) and my roughly half hour commute has provided me the time to read two books in the last month. Freakenomics is terrific I am almost done, and You're Only as Good as Your Last One, film industry book, was equally entertaining. Three cheers for not having to watch the road on the way to work.

New Film From Wes Anderson
"The Darjeeling Limited" is set to shoot this Decmber in India starring Adrian Brody, Owen Wilson, and Jason Schwartzman. Written by Schwartzman, Roman Coppola, and of course Anderson. This is said to be the story of three brothers who set off on a road trip after their father's death. It will be interesting to see how this film will stand up in Anderson's filmography. This is his fourth film in a row to deal with the father son dynamic and I wonder if the death of the father will break this tradition in the future of his work.

My apologies to Barney's of NYC.

My wife and I are just cheap, and in no way meant to harm this fine name in retail apparel.

What a Crock

Amber and I attended our first sample sale in NYC. Barney's of NY held a huge clearance sale in the basement of an old building down a creepy side street and we went to shop. Sticker shock didn't wear off until we left. Amber looked at some great shoes today that were like 40% off, but when the original price is over 500 bones it really doesn't play off like a great deal. Our favorite of the day was a tule skirt that was originally over $5000 marked down to a thrifty $3200. We walked out of there with armloads of nothing but the notion that cheap label whores are over tanned and under patient willing to push, shove or glare if you are between them and a pair of gold strappy Prada shoes.

THANK YOU NEW YORK CITY


We saw Little Miss Sunshine last night and after a terrific film and a side slpittingly funny finale the audience clapped. This is something I tried, on multiple occassions, to do in Medford and was consistently ridiculed. Long live watching movies at a theatre with your fellow man.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALFRED HITCHCOCK!

One of cinema's great masters would be 107 if he were still alive today, and you can bet that he would still be making movies.

Spoiler Alert-Lady in the Water-
I saw M Night Shamalama-ding-dong's new comedy, Lady in the Water last night. I thought it was the most self-serving and arrogent piece of work I've seen in a long time. I cannot believe the entire point of the movie is that... I am afraid that people will uknowingly read this and I hate to spoil it. Well I can say that the theatre patrons were laughing way more than the director intended and especially at the end I thought I was watching Wedding Crashers with all the riotous laughing. The feeling from those I've talked to is that the mythology is fun, but the execution was off the mark, to say the least. All that being said Paul Giamatti was fantastic and the reason the movie was still an enjoyable experience for me. I really was entertained through the movie I just left the theatre with a feeling of not connecting to the film. Similar to, although I enjoyed it much more, Superman Returns. Needless to say I have not been too impressed by this summer's offerings, but have not gotten to the movies enough.

News to Come...
Hey everyone, Amber and I just moved in to our apartment, hence the delay in blogging, and I am just dropping a quick note to all that we are well and we own more crap than fits in tiny NYC apartments. We had sushi the other night and when you dine in it is half price! We had dinner for $11. There are good parts to the NYC as well. I am working on a Vince Vaughn Vs. Owen Wilson 2006 blog stay tuned...........Pictures of the apartment next time.

Super Man?
We saw the new Superman Returns last night. Most of my filmschool friends saw the IMAX version of the film opening week, and they were less than amazed. I went into the film without a feeling of what to expect. Superman is obviously one of the biggest fictional icons for young men, but I realized at my age Superman movies were a little before my time. I remember watching some of the originals as a child, but it has been many years since I've seen any of them. After talking with people who have recently seen them, and then watching the new one in the theatre I must admit I enjoyed myself but was left wanting more. Which is funny that a two and a hlaf hour movie could feel unfinished, but Returns just left me not quite full. I was impressed with the special effects, the actors all did a great job, and director Bryan Singer handled much of the film with a nice touch. I did feel as though the movie's first act is so long that the second felt incomplete. It was one of those movies were I noticed the end coming quickly and I was not quite sure if everything had been set up yet. I have heard from a repeat viewer that the film was more satisfying the second, third time around, but in NYC I will not be investing the $10.50... maybe on video.

Hello Everybody,
My Pop's grilled me about not updating my blog. So Pop's, I'm back in the game. First things first, I now have a MacBook from the fifth ave Mac store located in midtown (it's pretty cool). We got a free ipod (upgraded to a 30 gig) with the purches and now I am back on the internet. I will begin spilling the beans on the big apple, but today I would like to share with the world how great it is being right here right now. Film school is great, I had a revelation the other day. I could actually make a living doing this when I am done. I could not be more excited that Amber is in a great salon that she really enjoys and that I am making movies and that we both followed our dreams. Rosco has a brother now, Monte has been keeping her busy with the wrestling, and the chasing, so she wishes you all well.

HEY EVERYBODY
Quick note, Amber and I have arrived in NYC and we still don't have a place to live. It sucks but I started school and hopefully everything will be well soon. More updates to come including a detailed report from the road.

Sleeping too well?

Here's the new nightmare of a video from Pearl Jam for their second single Life Wasted. It's my favorite song on the new album, but I won't be watching this video before bed.

Bill Walton.
I have had the opportunity to watch some playoff basketball because I am unemployed and I have to admit that Bill Walton is the worst announcer I have ever heard call a game. To aleve the sting from this ego crushing blog, I will admit I have heard him on radio shows and I believe his energy and passion translate quite well. He seems always prepared with a long winded take on contemporary NBA life that is entertaining and amusing, but listening to him call a game one starts to think his cleverness is scripted. When I watched Portland Trailblazer games in my youth, Walton would constantly dog my home team while professing his everlasting love for the greatest human being to walk the planet since our lord and savior Jesus Christ aka Shaquille O'Neal. I once believed that maybe Walton wanted to have Shaq's love child or maybe his years in P-Town were so unpleasant he holds a grudge, but listening to him this year I am coming to terms with the fact that he just loves to say the most profound thing that comes to his mind whether or not it is or is not true. You can tell by the way fellow announcer Steve Jones gasps for breath while repeating whatever senile word vomit quote Walton has just dropped that his peers might just feel the same as I do. Bill, I don't want to sound too angry I really am not, but your energy translates just fine w/o a profound statement every five seconds. Good luck to all of us as the finals quickly approach.

Oregon. It's my favorite state.

Yesterday I went to Applegate Lake with my wife and friends. I realized when we drove off our second dirt road onto the side of a tributary just how beautiful my great state is and just how much I will miss what Oregon means to me. To me Oregon is a place of natural beauty, friendly people, and meth. I love how quickly a person can move from the bustle of the city to the utter peace and quiet of a stream, trail, or mountain. The water in the river was about 33 degrees fahrenheit, which for the educated, means about a half-hour ago it was still snowpack.

So we went to the swimming area of the reservior. I was coaxed in, and after five minutes the stabbing pain went away and normal breath patterns could resume. As we ready for our cross country journey I cannot help but think about how much I will miss buzzing, chirping, non-motor motivated water movement, and just how small nature can make one feel.

I am Stuck on an Island: Hear's Ten Discs for me to Bring.






Arcade Fire: Funeral
If you have not heard this album, you need to. Every song is a gem and I could listen to it on replay for a week and not be board track 1 is one of my favorite songs of all time.
Audioslave: Audioslave
If I needed to cut down a palm tree or do anything that required testosterone, I would be listening to this beefy disc to get it done. Plus I really like it.
Interpol: Turn on the Bright Lights
Have to thank GAP for putting a newer song on their CD that I could seek out and purchase one of my new favorite bands second CD. This is their first and it is genius. Moody might soon pop up to you as a theme in music choices and these guys certainly fit that bill, but the energy of this album is terrific.
The Killers: Hot Fuss
The Killers could keep me dancing all nigh long, terrific CD, for me the disc that ushered in this contemporary rock scene we are in and I appreciate that very much.
Pearl Jam: Yield
My favorite band, not sure how to pick just one, but this is the album PJ was touring on when I saw them in concert first and I remember the first single Give in to Fly played on a radio during class in high school and I will never forget the feeling of hearing it for the first time when I should not have been listening to the radio at all.
Postal Service: Give Up
Endlessly listenable. The result of a terrific collaberation that will hopefully make another record.
RadioHead: OK Computer
Creepy, but that is why I like it. RadioHead seems to march to their own tune which reminds me of PearlJam in that they would cut off their noses to spite their faces and not sell out. I admire them very much for that.
REM: Automatic For the People
A classic. I have been a fan of this album as long as I have been seriously listening to music. It is one of the best all time albums.
The Smashing Pumkins: Siamese Dream
Another moody piece that reminds me of my youth and yet feels accomplished and contemporary.
The Strokes: Room on Fire
The Strokes saved rock, it has been said and I agree, they gave me something to listen to when the smell of bubble gum and M&M's were ruling the radio. It is also no coincidence that the rise in popularity of The Stroke is in direct correlation the decline in popularity of LimpBisquick, so thank the Lord for The Strokes.

Honorable Mention
Coldplay: A Rush of Blood to the Head, Counting Crowes: august and Everything After, Cranberries: No Need to Argue, Death Cab for Cutie: Transatlaticism, David Gray: White Ladder, Green Day: Dookie, Nirvana: Unplugged in NY, Mazzy Starr: So Tonight That I Might Sleep, The Shins: Oh! Inverted World, Soundgarden: Superunknown, StoneTemplePilots: Core, U2: Achtung Baby, The Verve: Urban hymns, Weezer: The Blue Album, Yeah Yeah Yeah's: Show Your Bones,

Oldies but Goodies
I was trying to pick singular albums that through my life I have tried to wear out. These artists are from an era before me and all I have at this point are greatest hits albums that obviously rule because they are the best of collections. So here are the artists who's songs I cherish, but whose albums either never existed or I am not familiar enough with just one to pick. This does not diminish the importance of this music however, because I do own most of these greatest hits albums
The Beatles
Johnny Cash
Bob Dylan
Jimi Hendrix
Elvis Presley
Rolling Stones
Violent Femmes
The Who
Neil Young

America, you dumb idiots
I understand that of the top four American Idols, rocker Chris Daultry would be the least in need of an AI title to enjoy a successful music career, but what the bleep people. He has not had one bad week, not every one perfect, but mr. consistancy goes out in fourth place. Bad form and I am ashamed to be an American right now. You may be asking yourself if I have the right to complain? You bet I am an AI voter and my voice was not heard. Luckily I still have a touch of McFeeeever and the voters better make her the new princess of pop or else. Lastly the term "douche bag" has been thrown around on a couple of my good friends blogs and I would like to now nominate myself for that perticular title. E Strahl OUT

The Life of Riley

I have been unemployed for about a week now and I must admit that life is good my friends. I have played golf twice and jogged to the IslandJuice one morning with Amber after waking up at ten. I am enjoying it while it lasts.

Five-Second Movie Reviews
Match Point was an interesting movie that suffered from a slow second act. The middle of the movie kind of hung for a while with what seemed like no place to go. Which is weird because the character development was good, and as an audience we knew the direction the story would head toward but the pacing seemed a tad stagnet. The movie is 2 hours 4 minutes. Overall I turned off my DVD player with a sense that I had been entertained by a movie more mature and sophisticated than the next reviewed masterpiece American Dreamz with a Z. This movie was the unfiltered bitter rantings of what I hope is an educated liberal American. If that is true it did not come through in the telling of this perticular story. Some good comedic performances, but nothing exciting was said. And that is why I go to the movies my friends, to see something better than I feel I could come up with after an evening's discussion with friends. This movie sucked.

It is Here

The much anticipated Pearl Jam by PearlJam was released today. My review will have to wait until I have more chances to spin the disc, my wife for some reason didn't want to listen to it on repeat for hours, but the pre-order from tenclub that I mentioned last week arrived on the release date and the bonus live concert is awesome.