Chasing Mavericks

This is a pretty good movie. I missed the beginning so I don't know all the details but it's basically about this guy, played by Gerard Butler, who's had something go wrong in his life, like he wasn't the surfer he planned to be or something. His life seems pretty good at the point where I jumped in. He has a nice house, a little business customizing surfboards or something, he's got two really nice kids, and smoking hot wife but I guess something went wrong earlier. He has trouble letting other people in and he is constantly agitated.

The other character is named Jay. He's played by Johny Weston. He's not the best actor but he's ok. He reminds me of a Hollister ad with more personality. The whole movie has that sort of surfer dress code that sometimes gets stolen by designers looking to bring expensive "California inspired fashion" back into existence. These clothes look really cool on buff surfer guys and beautiful beach babes and no one else. Plus, these really cool surfer guys and beautiful beach babes wouldn't spend 55$ on a goodie or else they wouldn't really be beach bums.

Anyway, so Jay is trying to surf Mavericks. It's not a competition it's just these big ass waves that come through every once in a while when there's a hurricane and several other factors are just right. So basically the whole movie he's training for these waves with Gerard Butler who keeps making this guy Jay write these essays about what is observation and fear and getting him to hold his breath for four minutes. Jay also deals with this bully character who's introduced as this arch-nemesis type, is in two scenes, does nothing, and leaves. Oh, and he's after this girl who rejects him a bunch of times and then turns out to have been in love with him all along. Such is life.  Oh, and Jay's mom is sort of a failure I think because of the dad. They turn out to get along later. She gets made shift manager and it all turns out ok.

Jay is based on the real life Jay Moriarty. This is not something that I knew going into this movie so when the dude dies all of a sudden during a Gerard Butler voiceover at the end it really got to me. Jay's death is depicted as Johny Weston floating with his arms stretched out like crucified Jesus while the light hits him through the water like ascending Jesus. It's very intense. Then at the very end there's this beach funeral where everyone's on surfboards and, lead by Gerard Butler, shouts "FOR JAY! FOR JAY! FOR JAY!" while pounding on the water with closed fists. It instantly reminded me of the funeral scene from the movie Orange Country when Colin Hank's characters friend dies and they have a funeral at the beach. In addition, it reminded me of the final scene in 300 where the guy in the eyepatch is like "REMEMBER LEONIDAS AND THE BRAVE 300 MEN". It's basically a combination of Orange County and 300 and I found this amusing.

The surfing scenes were really well done. More money went into the surfing scenes than into the script which all these reviewers were quick to point out I guess. I guess they expected something more literary.

Rick Ross the Boss showing respect to the original Boss

    "Corvette so clean you'll think Bruce Springsteen rid that"

                                             -Rick Ross

Of course he is sure to put this line on a song called "Fuck Em" so that it can never be known to the world that Rick Ross knows Bruce Springsteen well enough to make a reference to cool young Bruce Springsteen. If he'd said "Born in the USA like Bruce Springsteen" or something I would not have posted it.

                                    

Egyptian Lover and more Complaining

While this and this is certainly not the best music, it is interesting to me. People hold on to this idea that hip-hop has always been either about wanting to be a character in the Godfather and/or a real life gangster (see Yo Gotti, Irv Gotti,Rick Ross, Freeway, Nas, Noreaga,Kool G Rap,50 Cent,Scarface,French Montana, or the difficulties of growing up poor and the importance of realizing these difficulties (often using the ubiquitous "from whips and chains to whips and chains: see J.Cole, Talib Kweli,Mos Def, Nas, Dead Prez, Flobots(I hate when the s is a $) when really a lot of early hip-hop was more just "I just wanna dance" (shout out Dazed and Confused, shout out Richard Linklater, even though I feel like I only liked that movie "Tape" because I was in this film class and this kid who was big,dumb,mean was like "this sucks WHEN ARE WE GONNA WATCH AVATAR?!" so I think I liked it in defiance to that kid. But it's not that bad of a movie. It's got Ethan Hawke in it, which really doesn't count for too much (see: nothing). But it's still pretty good. We had to watch Idiocracy in that class as well. If there's EVER a movie that you only need to watch once, that's probably not it, I'm sure there are worse movies, but it's hard to watch twice especially when you have to study for a Geology quiz the next day. Yeah, Geology was hard for me.

But yes, I like this songs because they show that music doesn't always have to be so pretentious. Sometimes I feel like all things (myself VERY MUCH included) have become so into themselves. We needed a gritty Superman with a Hanz Zimmer soundtrack? He wore red underwear over a blue one piece spandex suit thing. It's just not that cool anymore. Superheroes are sort of for children. Am I wrong here? Should grown men sit around and talk about comics and wear hockey jerseys? Are these our intellectuals now? I know there are plenty of people who do sit around and discuss important things and that I don't watch them enough. I do know that. And yet, I sometimes feel when another superhero movie comes out and dominates the box office that we just like anything with a booming soundtrack and a mysterious origin story.

Anton Chekhov is still funny, and he's dead! A rare accomplishment

What I'm Talking about

Mixtape Music

This is one of the best things Pitchfork has done in recent memory. I'm surprised it's been two years already since it stopped. It's nice to see some of these artists have stayed around and that Cyhi Da Prynce has not. For all the negative things about Pitchfork, they did give attention to artists who were otherwise ignored: Lil B, Clams Casino, and Main Attractionz among others.

Out the Trunk Check it out! Stop listening to FUN. and Paramore and thinking that makes you smarter than other people.

Mel Ramos

American Apparel is Unoriginal

Tom Wesselman's Mouth with the cigarette removed as a t-shirt for American Apparel 

Peter Johann Nepomuk Geiger 1805-1880

Blonde Angel by Currin and Medusa by Caravaggio

Things

Vision of the Lazar House by Fuseli

The Nightmare by Fuseli

The Nightmare II by Fuseli

In the Car by Lichtenstein

EVERYBODY LIKES LICHTENSTEIN 

Madonna and the Serpent by Caravaggio

Prometheus Bound by Ruebens

Seated Nude by Modigliani