Just One Of Those Semesters

I am sure everybody who has gone to college has had one of those semesters where pretty much all of their classes are boring and uninteresting. That is what my current semester is like. My last semester consisted of all required classes and I figured it would be really boring because it was all subjects I did not like. Fortunately it turned out not to be so bad and the classes were actually quite good. This semester on the other hand has not been quite as good. I know it is only a few weeks in but they have been very boring. This semester I decided since I only took classes I didn't really want to take last semester this semester I would do half and half, two classes I wanted and two required ones. It has not worked out as I had hoped it would.

This semester I am taking four classes, English 100, Math 40, Native American studies, and Screenwriting. Of those four classes I have only one enjoyable class, Screenwriting. Here is the breakdown of classes:

Screenwriting: Basically the only class that is bringing me back this semester. Of course it helps that it is something I am interested in doing for a career. The class is very well designed. Besides teaching you a lot of valuable things it also shows you how those things would be used in real life.

Native American studies: I came into this class extremely excited. It is a subject that I was really interested in and have been for a long time. Unfortunately it turned out to be something completely different then I thought it would be. I honestly cannot tell you what each class was about. All I can remember is two and a half hours of lecturing but I am pretty sure it was only an hour long lecture but an hour and a half long repeating the same thing. I don't mean talking about the same subject twice I mean saying individual words multiple times. I know professors like to repeat words because they are more important but when basically every single word is repeated I don't think any of it is important. The other annoying part is the there is like no lesson plan and it seems like the lectures are just random facts and ideas. So basically nothing like I was hoping and extremely boring.

Math 40: I was already going in with really low expectations, but I was surprised to learn that it was even worse then my expectations. I honestly do not know why I have to go to class because every single thing is online, the book, the h/w, and the test/quizzes. Also I hate having to do math lab hours. I feel that they should be optional, yes it is to your benefit but what if I do just fine without going? It's like making a vegetarian eat meat because it provides protein. Horribly boring can't wait until I am done and don't have to take any more math classes.

English 100 (The class this blog is required for): So the teacher of this class should not take any offense or take any of the following personally. I don't like this class. I am sure it is because the teaching style is completely different then my learning style so that constant conflict makes it difficult for me. Fortunately the class is not boring it's just I don't really like it. I hate MLA formatting and have been having to use it for the last few years. I know that I am never going to use it in my life besides in school so I feel that it is unimportant and should not be required. For some reason with restrictions like those in the MLA formatting all of my creative juices are drained from me.

So that is about it and next semester I hope I get some better classes.

Last movie watched: Deadgirl
Currently reading: haven't read in a while

Why feel bad?

I consider myself a good person (who doesn't?) but I always seem to find myself feeling bad about situations I have no control over. There are many times where I feel extremely stressed over a situation where it is completely not worth it and I know the person or persons causing the stress could care less. For example for the very select few times that I had to miss school in my school career I have felt extremely bad and I just don't understand why. Most people don't really care too much if miss school as long as it was unavoidable and because there is nothing they can do. For me though even when I always have a good reason to miss school I still feel bad for doing it. It is also extremely stressful when the person doesn't care or believe your reasons. I guess I feel like I am a good person and the person has no proof otherwise so what makes them believe that I am bad or don't care? Also what makes them think I should be treated like a delinquent because of situations beyond my control? I feel like it is quite obvious to read people and to recognize whether they care are not, so why treat everyone the same?

Another good example would be caring about others before myself. I am the type of person who worries more about others then myself, while their is a lot of people in the world who have no problem only worrying about themselves.. I guess I feel it is easy to do what you want but it is more difficult to do what is best for others especially if you don't like it. I believe the world would be a way better place if people cared more about other then themselves. The thing that gets me the most upset is those commercials where they show starving dying children living in trash. I am not upset about the visuals, its the harsh reality, but what upsets me is that these organizations have to go to these great lengths to try to convince people to help someone they don't know. I feel like until we get to a point in our society where if someone says a child needs money for food people would give it no questions ask we will be a doomed society set for self-destruction. There are people out there who just don't care and it is almost impossible to change they position so why do I feel bad? I don't know why and I don't know why I care about anything in general consider people only care about themselves. I guess that is something I have to search for throughout my life and I sure hope I can find it.

The weekend rumblings

On Saturday February 13th I attended an Alice In Chains concert in Hollywood at the Palladium. It was a very good show and I had a lot of fun. They played a lot of my favorite songs as well as some of their new songs from their newest album. They played for about two hours which was awesome except for having to stand the whole time for about 4 hours. The other bad part was I could barely see they play because everyone was either my exact height or really tall. I would say it was more annoying when someone my own height was standing in front of me then someone taller than me because when it is someone my height I keep thinking, if only I was a little taller. Besides those two minor complaints it was really fun.

On Sunday February 14th I did some shopping. My plan was to go to the Habitat for Humanity re-store to see if they had good furniture because I am going to be moving soon but that changed when I found a hollywood video that was going out of business. So I stopped there and got 11 dvds. Two of them were 3.99 and the rest were 3 for 25, so it was a pretty good deal. After that fun little detour I went over to the restore. There I found a pile of Laserdisc's and started to go through them. After looking through them I found 6 that are movies I really liked so I got them even though I don't have a Laserdisc player. Now I am going to probably look for one on ebay.

That is about it for the weekend. I had a lot of fun but now I have to go back to doing school work and homework.

Last Movie Watched: The Hills Have Eyes (Remake)
Curretly Reading: The Stand by Stephen King (haven't read in a while, need to get back into it.)

Dvds

I could not think of anything to write as shown by my last blog being around a week old. So I am just going to write about something kind of boring and very unimportant.

Over the last few days I have been kind of going crazy on dvd purchases. I have bought about 40 or so dvds. Before you say that I am crazy or stupid for buying so many you have to know that most of them were around 6 dollars so it is not as much as paying full price which is around 23 dollars. I got most of them on amazon where they were having a big sale. The sale had a lot of film noir, especially the Fox Film Noir collection. They also had a few other movies but not to many. Because of this sale it made me want to buy some other films I love but have yet to purchase. So in the end I ended up buying a lot more than I should have, especially when considering that I already have about 40 movies that I still need to watch.

Here are all of the dvds I purchased over the last few days:
14 Hours (Fox Film Noir)
Daisy Kenyon (Fox Film Noir)
Dangerous Crossing (Fox Film Noir)
Fallen Angel (Fox Film Noir)
I Wake Up Screaming (Fox Film Noir)
Kansas City Confidential (MGM Film Noir)
Moontide (Fox Film Noir)
Night and the City (Criterion Collection)
The Night of the Hunter
Saw
Shawshank Redemption
Some Where in the Night (Fox Film Noir)
The Stranger (MGM Film Noir)
The Third Man (Criterion Collection)
Whirlpool (Fox Film Noir)
The Break-Up
Breakfast At Tiffany's (Paramount Centennial Collection)
Chinatown (Paramount Centennial Collection)
A Bullet for Joey (MGM Film Noir)
Cabin Fever
The Changeling
Children of the Corn
The Dark Corner (Fox Film Noir)
The Hills Have Eyes (remake)
House of Strangers (Fox Film Noir)
The House on Telegraph Lane (Fox Film Noir)
Kiss of Death (Fox Film Noir)
Nightmare Alley (Fox Film Noir)
No Way Out (Fox Film Noir)
Panic in the Streets (Fox Film Noir)
Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl
The Princess Bride
Saw 2
Shock (Fox Film Noir)
The Street With No Name (Fox Film Noir)
Trick R' Treat
Where the Sidewalk Ends (Fox Film Noir)

For the most part I have not seen the movie. Well that's about it

A little late but whatever

I am currently stuck and have no idea of what to write about so I am going to go back to the old fail-safe, talking about me. I am going to talk all about me and what I like. So I am in my first year of college and it is definitely not as bad as people say. A lot of people were telling me that there is a lot of homework and tons of long papers. So far I have not faced that. I have had a lot of homework and papers but you get almost the whole semester to work on them and if you actually go to class it is a lot easier. The good thing for me when compared to most students going into college is I have known how to schedule my time for at least 4 years. I went to a charter school for all 4 years of high school. The school was basically a college because I only had to go 2-3 times a week and do all of the rest of the work at home. So I was definitely ready for college.

I have a few hobbies. I love to watch movies and going to the movies. I would consider it my favorite thing to do. I go to the theater on average of once a week. Luckily I have a family that loves movies just a much so I get to go a lot. I also watch a lot of movies at home too. I enjoy traveling. I have a personal goal of setting foot in every state. I am currently at 35 I think and should be adding 2 more this year. I have recently started to read more over the last few months, mainly horror/science-fiction novels and comic books. To a lesser degree I am a gamer, but not very good. Like almost every other person I love music and like every other person I like a little bit of everything.

For a career I want to be a screenwriter, some one who writes a movie. Family wise I am one of the few younger men who will say that they do want to get married young and do want to have children. Political views are almost completely center. That's all I can think of so I guess I will do some lists.

Here is the basic list of top five favorites:
Movies:
1.Blade Runner
2. Star Wars (all six)
3. Vertigo
4. Night of the Living Dead
5. King Kong (2005 remake)

If you were to ask me tomorrow what my favorites were they would be different, on the other hand though the next list will probably never change:
Music:
1. Alice In Chains
2. Rage Against the Machine
3. Smashing Pumpkins
4. 2Pac
5. Sepultura (older stuff only)

That's pretty much it but I will be nice and give you one more list:
Directors:
1. Guillermo Del Toro
2. Alfred Hitchcock
3. Steven Spielberg
4. Ridley Scott
5. John Carpenter



Last Movie Watched: It
Currently Reading: The Stand by Stephen King

2010 Oscar Nominations

The nominations are in and for the most part I am pretty excited. Some films I enjoyed got some nominations as well as some movies I hated. I think this year is the audience had the most effect on the Oscars since a long time. This is probably the first year where I have either seen or heard of almost all of the movies nominated in every category. Now I will say who I want to win for most of the categories.

Actor in a Leading Role: I hope for Jeremy Renner, but I am 100% sure that Jeff Bridges or George Clooney. I will be extremely mad if George Clooney wins. While I liked Invictus I felt the film was more of an ensemble and each actors part was equally important, therefore I don't think Morgan Freeman's performance was a standout. Who I wish got nominated was Tobey Maguire for Brothers.

Actor in a Supporting Role: Don't really care to much for this category this year. I only saw two of the movies the actors are nominated for, Invictus and The Lovely Bones. Both of the actors nominated for their roles in those films were good but not Oscar material.

Actress in a Leading Role: I have only seen The Blind Side and Precious so of those two I would say Gabourey Sidibe for Precious. If see was to win though I would hope see would continue acting in great roles, unlike many people who win an Oscar early in their acting career.

Actress in a Supporting Role: I have only seen Precious so I guess I will hope for Mo’Nique.

Animated Feature Film: Up has to win even though I haven't seen any other nominees. It was an Amazing movie worthy of Best Picture (which it is also nominated) but most likely won't win there so it has to win here.

Directing: It seems Kathryn Bigelow has a very good chance to win and I hope see does. I loved The Hurt Locker. I will be furious and possibly never watch the Oscars again if James Cameron wins. Also Tarantino sucks.

Documentary (Feature): I have only seen The Cove, but it has to win because it is an amazing documentary that is a perfect example of what documentary film making is about.

Music (Original Score): I hope Up wins here. It was a great score. Avatars music sucked.

Best Picture: Of the five with the higher chances to win, Avatar, Hurt Locker, Precious, Up In The Air, Inglorious Basterds, I hope Hurt Locker or Precious wins. Of the five that have very little chance to win, Blind Side, District 9, Up, An Education, A Serious Man, I hope Up Wins or District 9.

Visual Effect: Avatar is going to win but I think District 9 should win because the real actors and effects blended together a lot better then in Avatar, which always felt like a real actor scene and effects scene.

Writing (Adapted Screenplay): I hope District 9 or Precious wins. I haven't seen the others.

Writing (Original Screenplay): I hope Up wins because it was amazing. I would also be ok with The Hurt Locker winner, but I will be mad if inglorious basterds wins because Tarantino is annoying.

Hopefully the ones I want to win will and Avatar loses in every category. I can dream.

Last Movie Watched: I Love You Man
Currently Reading: The Stand by Stephen King