|
6/25/03
Just one more Pearl Jam entry, I swear...
Okay so here's another reason they're so cool. For this tour, they calculated how much carbon dioxide was emitted from their concerts and from the traveling fans did. Then they donated enough money to preserve rain forests to offset the pollution. So I can feel guilt-free for my drive to Dallas! They ended up donating ,000 to preserve land in Madagascar. And Cathy knows how I feel about Madagascar. And Erika will know too as soon as I finish my book. Bored? Check out NPR's latest bio.
I found out the Pearl Jam info in both Rolling Stone and Utne. I really like Utne and would subscribe if I weren't planning on leaving the country. In other news MoveOn.org is holding an online Democratic primary. I missed the deadline for registering but results come out on friday. I'm very curious about who's going to come out ahead.
Okay, so my evil roommate is coming home tomorrow and staying till sunday. So this may be the last you hear of me till sunday night. But I'm sure ya'll will be having too much fun in Florida to find time to get online!
6/20/03
Movie recaps
In case ya'll need movie ideas. I obviously need to get away from the DVD player and start reading again!
Heaven
I don't know if this ever came out in theatres here but it just came out on DVD. Never heard of it but thought I'd take the risk and I'm glad I did. Its w/ Cate Blanchett and Giovanni Ribisi and takes place in Italy. Cate is arrested for a bomb that kills 4 people and Giovanni is the translator at her inquiry. I'm not sure how I feel about the ending but the rest I really liked. Its a drama. No laughs in this one.
Frida
Loved it. I really didn't know anything about her and now I do. Excellent cinematography. I'm big on cinematography. Oh and I also loved the soundtrack.
The Faculty
I rented this mainly because I'm running out of movies on netflix. But also b/c it was directed by Robert Rodriguez, parts were filmed in Austin and because of the cast. If you want something creepy this will work. Should not have watched it while I'm home alone.
Tears of the Sun
Gorgeous shots of the forests where ever it was filmed and of some of the wildlife. Thats it. It wasn't bad but it wasn't good either.
The Guru
Very funny! Very campy! I really liked it despite my hatred for Heather Graham. But she played a porn star so it seemed fitting.
The Rules of Attraction
I should have known better than to rent something based on a Brett Easton Ellis novel. Very disturbing. Unless you are part of the crowd that liked American Psycho spare yourself the 2 hours of pain.
The Recruit
Good rental. Entertaining. Love Al Pacino and Colin Farrell.
25th Hour
I really liked this movie. If you like Spike Lee movies then you'll like this one. And you can't go wrong with Ed Norton. Not as disturbing as his other movies but its definitely heavy.
6/16/03
So this is what its like to have goals
In an ideal world these are my plans for the next 4 years:**
- My last day of work will be October 31st.
- My Mom and I fly to Miami on Nov 3rd, stay for a week.
- Fly to Colombia and stay for a month.
- Come back and hang out till Christmas.
- Fly to Sydney in time for New Years and hang out for a month.
- Fly to Aukland and visit my brother and get to know New Zealand for the next 6 months.
- Fly back to US in August '04 and move to Miami to start Masters International course work at FIU.
- Serve in an advanced environmental program for the peace corps in a desirable country like Madagascar.
- Get fabulous job.
**These are subject to change because, well, I change my mind all the time. But whats different now is that I'm no longer trapped by an ugly debt and I will go crazy if I stay in my job or Texas much longer. The plans up until leaving NZ are almost set in stone.
6/11/03
Ed Vedder is the sexiest man alive...
Seriously, his voice is absolutely amazing. Its so deep it just resonates with the slightest word or vocalization. But he definitely has range as well as some tireless vocal cords. The way he sings and moves is so sexy. After 2 encores they ended the concert after 2 and half hours! Each time they played a song I'd get nostalgic about the time in my life when that song first came out. It was so great.
Let me recap my day: I drove into Dallas around 3:30 and hung out at a shopping center while I waited for Chad to get off work. I hung out at the Virgin Megastore for a long time. I didn't think there could be a music store more overwhelming than Waterloo. I was wrong. That place is HUGE! So I just went from listening station to listening station to see if all the CDs I wanted to buy were actually worth buying. They are. Now I want the latest from Ben Harper, Jack Johnson, Coldplay, Radiohead, Ricky Martin (yes, Ricky- his spanish stuff is excellent!) just to name a few.
During this listening mania I was asked to go to the movies by a very attractive black man with a very lovely accent. We had been standing next to each other while he was listening to 50 cent and I was listening to Idlewild. He glanced at the Idlewild cds and gave me a look like "who the hell are they?" So I explained they were the opening band for Pearl Jam and that I was going to the concert that night. Later on he came back over to me and we talked about some other bands and then he said he was bored and wanted to know if I had time to see a movie before the concert. I explained that I was meeting a friend soon so I couldn't go. A few minutes later I decided to find him so I could at least ask where he was from and explain I didn't live in Dallas but he was gone.
So why is it I'm only getting asked out in retail stores? And each time its been to do something immediately- how about asking for a phone number for starters? So apparently I should go out shopping more and to bars less if I want to meet men. But on my budget I can't do either.
So Chad showed up a little while later and we went and ate and then headed to the show. It was the same venue where I saw No Doubt and Garbage in November- when it was cold and rainy. Its a nice, covered amphitheatre but your still very exposed to the weather and it was really hot on monday.
Despite the heat, Pearl Jam was tireless and put everything into all their songs. They just kept on playing and playing. I kept on thinking they were going to stop and I would be completely satisfied but they just kept on going. Eddie didn't talk as much as I hoped he would and after I was very disappointed he didn't do any Bush bashing. He stopped to mention that under someone's seat there was an envelope labeled WMD and the lucky person who found could come backstage and help them tear down the set. I had NO CLUE as to what the hell WMD meant or what the joke was because nobody had found an envelope. Uh, until I was catching up on my news today and realized WMD stood for weapons of mass destruction. So Eddie was totally making fun of Bush and the white house!!!
So it was a perfect concert after all and I finally witnessed all the facets of Eddie Vedder I'd been following for the past ten years...
6/7/03
Eddie's waiting for me...
I have loved Eddie Vedder since I was 14 years old. I own all of Pearl Jam's CDs and some of the bootlegs. One of the reasons I love Pearl Jam is because they've always been politically active. Starting when they tried to fight ticketmaster oh so long ago. Most of their music is a political statement in some way so thats why I don't understand why people have been surprised by how vocal he's been on this tour. If you don't want to hear his thoughts then stop buying the tickets that are keeping me from getting better seats.
Just thought I'd give you an idea of just how EXCITED I am about this concert.
6/6/03
HOORAY!!!
The smoking ban passed!!!!!! Starting on September 1st smoking won't be allowed in bars anymore. I probably won't get to enjoy it much in Cedar Park but I'm very excited none the less. No more waking up to my hair smelling like an ashtray or my lungs feeling like I smoked a whole pack the night before!!!
6/5/03
I know, I know
I promised to post last night but then I realized I wanted to archive by month. At 3:30 am it seemed an impossible task. But at noon today it was quite feasible. As I was archiving I remembered I had archived the few entries I had done last summer. I totally forgot about them!
I was up till 3:30 am because I watched Moonlight Mile. I love Jake Gyllenhaal. He's so damn cute. The movie was also really good. Excellent cast and not as sad (although its definitely a tear jerker) as I thought it would be.
So my entire plan for the day was to get some sun because I'm sure the artificial lighting at work is sucking all the energy out of me. But its raining today. So I'm tempted to hide in my house all day from the world that made me so tired this week. But I said I would go to a happy hour at Dog&Duck for a friends birthday. I guess it won't kill me to go and have a beer.
Countless times at work callers will start talking about prayer and ask me to pray for them and all that. Last night a guy said he was going to offer a prayer for me and then did right then and there while I was on the phone. A personalized prayer just for me. Caught me off guard and I just sat there listening to him ask god to bless me and bring me things. I was worried he would go on for awhile but it was only a minute or two. Thats the only interesting story I have from the over 150 calls I took this week. I'm approaching 2 years there and new stuff is rare. The crazy people are actually quite consistent with the weird things they'll say. ugh.
Okay I'm going to try and leave my house today so I better get moving.
|
