No Filter: A Travelogue of Madness .. The Blog

Sunday, January 11, 2009

25/31 Things about me

Rules: Once you’ve been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it’s because I want to know more about you.

Saw this from Kayt Sukel's note on facebook.

1. I am a dork and a geek ... Used to worry about this but embrace it now.

2. I love Philly sports .. especially the Eagles and Phillies .. have since I moved to NJ.

3. I was born in Madison, Wisconsin but only lived there for 2 years .. Visited once about 10 years ago looks like a great town.

4. Lived in Montgomery Township, near Princeton from 7 to in my 20s ... Have many thoughts about the place but definitely think it has grown for too much with country clubbers .. HS class was 106 in 1992 and in the 400s now .. Did love the hills there though.

5. Started college at the University of Chicago .. was there for 2 years .. .found it to be the school where 19 year olds acted like Ph.D. students .. which I don't think is healthy ... Although I have never seen a place where people were so wanting to answer questions and get in the debate.

6. Finished my schooling (undergrad) at Rutgers University. I really enjoyed my time on the banks although like at Chicago I had way too many incompletes .. my advice to future college students .. .just write the damn paper even if its total crap.

7. I really wish I took so time off between HS and college ... Montgomery was a very sheltered place and I think I could have used some time abroad.

8. I considered joining the military many times. My dad wanted me to join the NJ National Guard. I think I would have made a very good officer in the Air Force. I also thought very early on that Iraq was a new Yugoslavia. You have a strongman dictator (Tito and Hussein) who kept a country together by fear where the people hate each other.

9. I have considered getting a Ph.D. many times ... The absolutely dreadful market for professors in the Humanities and Social Science have dissuaded me about this.

10. I have an MBA. Although I enjoy the studies at Claremont/Drucker-Ito School .. I think it was generally far too easy and gave me far, far too much student loan debt. Although I really enjoyed the strategy management portion of my degree.

11. I have declared bankruptcy before the law changed. I was underemployed for a long time and got far too much credit card debt. I just wish the student loan debt was dischargeable. I also think we need too make it easier for people to declare bankruptcy. Especially how many people get into it for medical reasons.

12. I really think we need to divorce health care/insurance and employment. I think this would increase the velocity of employment (how long people are unemployed between jobs) and would allow people not to worry about getting sick.

13. I am really, really happy my parents had great insurance when my dad was diagnosed with brain cancer (GBM) this summer. He was in neuro ICU for almost 4 weeks, and his bills were close to a million dollars. I am happy they were able to remove the golf size tumor and that is was reachable in the front of the brain. My dad is doing very well now and it makes me very greatful.

14. I am really happy to be married to my silly, crazy, awesome wife Lanna. We love to laugh and love together and its just awesome.

15. I have found that I have felt more grounded, at peace and grateful then I have for a very long time. My dad is doing well after his cancer (taking chemotherapy drugs and no recurrence yet), I have a wonderful wife and I am employed.

16. I have tried a very, very long time to be more patient. I think patience is a hard thing to learn but extremely important.

17. Favorite films all time: Brazil, Ran, Intolerance, Empire Strikes Back, Apocalypse Now(which I can never spell right), Rear Window, Vertigo, Citizen Kane, GoodFellas, Dr. Strangelove, and Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

18. I root for Rutgers athletics hard. I wish more people would go to see C. Vivian Stringer coach the always intense Rutgers women's basketball team, and am really happy to see Greg Schiano turn the football program around.

19. I really enjoy campy things .. Marilyn Monroe (both music and movies), Judy Garland, Madonna (for a long time), old musicals, etc.

20. I play Magic the Gathering .. .Its a fun game but I wish it was more contained sometimes .. you can spend an unlimited amount on it.

21. I live in Southern Maine now ... I enjoy it here but it feels very anglo after living in Hyde Park (Chicago), Claremont, CA (S. Calif), Washington Heights, NYC, etc. ...

22. I really miss good Mexican food .. the local food in Pomona, CA (which is more then half mexican) was just awesome. And usually the less you paid, the better the food was .. ie little taquiras with all spanish on the menu wiht a $1 taco would be awesome .. the anglo sit down restaurants kinda sucked.

23. I feel really grateful and lucky for all the support my parents have given me over the years.

24. I would like to travel more .. although I have lived in NYC, Chicago, NJ, Maine, LA, etc. would love to live overseas.

25. I think airline security (the 3 oz bottles and removing shoes) is a total farce ... There are so many better ways.

26. I was a republican until September 11, 2001 ... When GW Bush started trampling on the 1st Amendment and the Bill of Rights I was gone.

27. I am really hopeful of the Obama presidency will be peacemakers and increase the size of diplomacy and the State Department and decrease the spending on military and fancy toys. I think the US spends more on defense then the rest of the world combined.

28. I like ellipses (...)

29. The internet saved my dating life (always shy asking women out and fearful of rejection) .. its where I met most of the women I have dated and my wonderful wife).

30. I love my DVR and the ability to pause and record TV. I also have pretty severe ADHD /clicking around when watching TV shows and have for a long time. I think I may be ADHD spectrum as well.

31. I reveal too much when I do these and never stop at 25.

Edmund

Tuesday, December 02, 2008

Happy December

Happy December .. that came fast.

Been on the facebook a lot of late.

Working 11 out of 12 days too from Nov 25th to Saturday ... but a bunch are half or short days so not so bad ...

Nice to see the parents too .. and that my dad's Glioblasoma Malforma (nasty form on brain cancer) is still in remission... He can drive, alert and that makes me very thankful.

Also went to great church service on Sunday with the 'rents and was thankful that I am good at being alone and embracing the peace that can bring (service was Embracing Loneliness)

And if you get a chance to take your parents out for dinner and drinks I highly recommend it (even if makes them pay for things they really don't have to.)

edmund

p.s. Promise to do more blogs besides just SG

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

My favorite Concerts Ever!

So while I was driving back from Camp and the family reunion every July 4th in Central Maine, I listened to my wife's IPod and heard Man or AstroMan?

The wife has been getting into Tenacious D and there is only so much I can listen to of it ...

But it made me think how great Man or Astroman were at Pomona College in 2001 and think of my favorite live shows ever.

There are two artists I saw twice both were awesome live.

One is the immortal legend of Rock and Soul, Ray Charles .. once in New Brunswick, NJ at the State Theatre (around a 2,000 seater) in an amazing about 75 minute set ***** .. One of the great shows I ever saw .. I think it w as in the mid-90s? ...

Another was later in Ray Charles's life in a free show outside in Pasadena, CA in 2001 ... It was a fun show but not as amazing **** ... I think its awesome I saw one of my favorite performers of all time live twice.

Another group who was ASTOUNDING live is Living Colour (Cult of Personality is their big single) .. I saw them once at the University of Chicago in Fall 1993? at Mandel Hall, in a 1,000 seat theater usually reserved for classical shows ... Just awesome and insanely great ... Had a "seat" in the pit and had an absolute blast .. One of the best shows ever ***** ...

I also saw them before my really bizarre trip to London in the Summer, 2001 in North London .. They were brilliant there too but the crowd acted posh, and distant ... I loved it though, and thought it was awesome I saw they were in a show in the free paper ****

Other great shows were Lollapolloza 2 at the JFK Stadium Grounds, Philadelphia, Summer 1993 ****1/2 .. A wonderful, hot exhausting show, with Tool, Dinosaur Jr, Fishbone ... Was in the pit a good 5 hours before I just had to get water...

Another was U2 in the Summer of 1992, in the ZOO TV tour, at the floor of Veterans Stadium, Philly ... I had seats about 8 rows away in the acoustic set at the end of a long runway .. Great stadium show *****

Also the Little Steven Underground Rock Festival at Randalls Island, NYC in August? 2004 ... Great show, the Misfits and MANY others were great .. Do wish there was more then one stage ... Lots of fun ... Would have saw Iggy Pop if I wasn't there for 12 hours already, the Strokes didn't play WAY too loud (posers) and there wasn't a hurricane warning out ... And of course the wife wanted to go home .... ****

Awadagin Pratt (classical pianist) given ticket at Mandel Hall, Chicago, 1993 ... ****1/2

BB King blues festival, Garden State Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ .. mid-1990s? ... .Buddy Guy was unbelievable so was Koko Taylor (also saw her at the U of Chicago) .... Fun show ****

Also saw Paul Simon live twice (once at the concert in Central Park ****) and once with Bob Dylan in Holmdel ****

What are some of your favorite shows ever?

ecq

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Wrote some poems .. here you go!

Saw the absolutely brillina Hiryo Mirayaki film (sp.) ... Howl's Moving Castle ****1/2 .. It was lyrical, beautiful and awesome ...

I would also HIGHLY recommend that you watch his movies in Japanese (with subtitles) with the original actors .. Disney has gotten big name actors for the roles, but I much before Miyake directing them...

I liked it more then Princess Mononoke ****, but probably not quite as much as the amazing Spirited Away ***** ....

Haven't seed My Friend Totaro yet and some others .. love his films thoug ...


Also wrote some poems ....



SPOILERS! (Click to view)


May 1st poems

Time

Time goes slowly

Tick, dribble

Just waiting

Shift 5 hours to go

Nothing to sell

No one to talk to

Not allowed to read …


Beach

Beach

Glorious Beach

Filled W/ Dogs

Sun, Surf, Walking

Cairning, Stacking Rocks

Lovely Sunday,

Contemplative, Restful


Rocks

Rocks
Surf Crashing

Tell the story of ages

Worn by the sea

Low tide, high tide
Spring and Fall

For millennia they linger

What stories could they tell

As we wander towards the vast ocean




and this one is my favorite so far ...

Wasted Day

Standing around
Hoping to chat with ..someone

Job says I sell commission vacs …

All I really do is stand

Sometimes I sell, usually I waste time

Vacs and stuff
I sell things that suck

Sometimes they work,
Sometimes they don’t suck and come back

Got the vac salesman blues

And my feets are aching

The time doth go so slow

Waiting til 9, then home I go …

Edmund 5/1/2006 …


I also wrote these two last night and today ...

Treats

I'm a SUCKER for my cat

When he meows
.... I move

What does .. he .. want ..

Some food ...

No treats
.. Kitty Treats ...

Meowing at the man ...
.. Meowing at the drawer ..

Time for treats
...... GIMME MORE!!! ... (typed with Hunter on my lap)

and one at the vac store

Slowlllly

Time
... goes

SLOWWLLLLYY

2 hours to go

waiting
standing

Why am I here ...
.... Where oh where do I go ...

................

In other news sold 2 mattresses with a $400 commission right after I wrote the last one ...

Blessed be ..

Happy May day and Mid-Spring...

ecq

Monday, March 06, 2006

Oscars -- Post-Mortem

Oscars -- A Rant ....

Oscars ... A Rant

I think John Stewart did a very good job, much better then I thought he would ...

It was also very very odd to see Ben Stiller's package in a green jumpsuit.

Why oh why for the love of god, are they playing music DURING the beginning of the speeches ...

It is so mean, and annoying ...

There were so many bloated tributes on this show, why cant they give the winners 2 minutes to speak ...

Good speeches especially by Clooney and the foreign film winner ...

Was also lovely to see how nervous Philip Seymour Hoffman was ...

Next year director and Conti .. let people talk ...

Ang Lee just won for Brokeback Mountain, I bet he will win for Best Picture now too ...

Even the music over Ang Lee ... Never started the speeches with music before... I cannot say how annoying this is.

I do need to see Brokeback Mountain too, have only seen Crash among the best picture nominees ...

Walk the Line still my favorite movie of the year *****

WOW Crash won for Best Picture.. Its the only one of the nominees I have seen ...

I will be interested to see what Haggis writes or directs next after Crash **** and Million Dollar Baby **** ... Two straight Best Pictures written ...

Congratulations Paul Haggis and Crash...

edmund davis-quinn

p.s. How for the love of god did the cut off the Best Picture speech .. I really hope they fire the director Horovitz and Bill Conti for that ... That was simply atrocious ...

I loved John Stewart but there was 8 montages, and very short speeches ... Why did they play music on every speech and cut off the Best Picture speech ....

I liked Crash and need to see the other best picture noms to give an opinion ... I guess a lot of people didn't like Crash ...

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

100 Things about me ... no make that 112

I originally posted this in my main blog .. http://edmundcquinn.blogspot.com

100 Things about me ... 1-25

I got this idea from the fantastic blog Mainely Midge ....

http://mainelymadge.typepad.com/mainely_madge/

1. I am a night owl.

2. I am a media junkie.

3. I went to Rutgers University

4. I am listening to ITunes right now .. Doors in Concert .. I used ITunes once more when I wrote my novel.

5. I wrote 56,000 words in November for No Filter but have wrote much less in the last 2 months.

6. I am a HUGE Rutgers sports fan.

7. I will listen to Rutgers football, and womens and mens basketball on the Web Radio ... http://scarletknights.com, http://nj.com/wor (mens basketball and football) and http://nj.com/wrsu ...

8. I look at http://nj.com/rutgers nearly every day to see if there are any stories about my alma mater ....

9. I really like the website Suicide Girls .. I started it to enjoy the women .. I have kept at it with the discussion groups.

10. I run the Non-Fiction, Documentaries, and Basketball groups on that site ...

11. I compulsive rate things and love to make lists.

12. I loved hearing about Nick Hornby's character make lots of lists in the book "High Fidelity"

13. I am a Philadelphis sports fan

14. I love the phillies

15. I majored in Political Science and am one credit short (a world history (the class is China's Foreign Relations) from a second major in history...

16. I have an MBA ... I have gotten much from it except debt ....

17. I loved Claremont .. Went for an MBA there and became more of an academic and less interested in money.

18. I love my wife Lanna dearly ...

19. I love seeing my cat Hunter "Socks" Thompson post in his kitty blog .. http://huntersocksthompson.com

20. My favorite movie this year by far was "Walk the Line" *****

21. My original review for "Walk the Line" was ****1/2 .. I need to think about a movie before I can give it ***** ....

22. I hated that Peter Travers of Rolling Stone went away from the 5 star reviewing system which they still use on LPs ...

23. I prefer saying LP to CD

24. I love vinyl

25. I collect things

26. I find it hard to pay full price for a book .. but if its a quarter I will grab lots of them.

27. I have difficulty throwing away newspapers ....

28. I seriously want to read every article and will even if the paper is years old ...

29. I sometimes feel more comfortable in academia then the real world...

30. I wish I traveled more ...

31. I have been to Oxford, London, Geneva, Moscow and St. Petersburg .. As well as Monterrey, Mexico ...

32. I have also been to Tijuana, Ensanada and Mexicali but hardly consider that leaving the US...

33. I honeymooned in Quebec and Montreal ...

34. The best meal I had on that trip was in a small resteraunt in a strip mall about 8 miles east of Trois Riverois ....

35. I wish you could drink in public

36. I love beer.

37. I have a beer blog .. http://mainebeerguy.blogspot.com

38. I love Maine beer but wish there was a store that had lots of non-regional beers ...

(a break)

39. The Great Lost Bear in Portland is one of the great beer bars in the world ...

40. My other favorite beer bars are Lucky Baldwins -- Pasadena, CA ...

41. The Old Bay Resteraunt -- New Brunswick, NJ .. home of Rutgers University (BA Political Science '98)

42. The Blind Tiger Ale House -- Greenwich Village, NYC

43. I stay awake much too late ...

44. The Great British Beer Festival was going on a ten minute walk from me when I was in London but I didn't go ... I immediately regretted this ...

45. I love the song "Happy Happy, Joy, Joy" from Ren and Stimpy

46. I have bought DVDs of seasons of the Simpsons, Futurama, Family Guy, and Ren and Stimpy but rarely watch them....

47. I love all of these shows.

48. I have been to a few big concerts in my life .... Genesis -- 1991 (after junior year of HS) .. U2- During the Zoo Station tour (I believe 1992) on the floor of Veterans Stadium

49... I am listening to "One" off the "Achtung Baby" album right now which I heard Bono and Edge do acoustically about 5 rows from me in the Miss America type catwalk in the middle of Veterans Stadium.

50. I liked old Veterans Stadium ... I saw a few Phillies games there and always loved the 70s multi-purpose stadium ...

51. I saw David Cone get 20 strikeouts against the Phillies while he played for the Mets and rooted him on the whole way ...

52. My favorite baseball park I have been to is Wrigley field

53. I loved the big urinal trough at Wrigley ...

54. I go to minor league games now since I went to a Trenton Thunder game about 5 years ago ...

55. I have never been to a hockey game

56. I plan to go to a Portland Pirates game soon..

57. I live in Westbrook, ME just West of Portland, ME

58. I misss NYC sometimes .... There was so much to do there...

59. NYC frequently exhausted me

60.. My parents recently moved to Allentown, PA but still consider them living in NJ ...

61. I grew up in Skillman, NJ just north of Princeton

62. I cheer on the Princeton Tigers, although not as much as the Rutgers Scarlet Knights

63. I watched the Tigers beat UCLA in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on the Princeton Campus at the old student center

64. I think Princeton University's Chapel is one of the most beautiful churches in the world ...

65. My kitty thinks the Christmas tree is the best toy ever and loves to roll the ornaments around

66. Luckily we have very few breakable ornaments...

67. Its January 23rd and the tree is still up

68. The most beautiful church I saw was a small one adjacent to the Tetrikiaov Gallery in Moscow, Russia ...

69. Another stunning church inside was St. Paul's Cathedral, London

70. I started University at the University of Chicago ... Gray Gothic looks lovely in the summer ...

71. There is not a worse place to be depressed then wintertime at the University of Chicago .. Gray Gothic is really depressing on a cool winter's day ...

72. I love the blues

73. I was under 21 when in Chicago and didn't go to nearly enough blues clubs ...

74. The Blues and Beer celebration at Chicago at Ida Noyes Hall was the best festival of its type I ever went to .. I love just having 4 bands play on 3 floors...

75. I was a virgin until 23.

76. I met my wife over the internet .... I was on nerve.com/ and she was on bust.com (Spring Street Personals)

77. I went to Lollapalooza 2 and was in the mosh pit for 3 hours ... That was fun ...

78. Living Colour is one of my all time favorite live bands .. I have seen them twice .. Once at Mandel Hall, University of Chicago in 1993 .. once in London in July, 2001 ...

79.. I love the web comic Questionable Content ... http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1

80. Me and Lanna (my wife) moved from NYC in January, 2005 .. We haven't been back since ...

81. Boston is only 2 hours away but for some reason Monson, ME (31/2 hours away) seems closer ...

82. I was married in Monson, Maine on July 3, 2004 ... the town where my wife grew up ...

83. I was married outdoors with a Pig Roast and DJ equipment lent by a friend ... I would recommend this to anyone

84. The minister who performed at our wedding was excellent .. and it was her first time performing at a wedding ...

85. I thought I would only do 25 of these at a time but up to number 85 ... cool ..

86. I have a feeling I will do more then 100 of these

87. My favorite film all time is Brazil...

88. My kitty loves playing fetch with furry mice ....

89. My cat is an indoor cat but travels very well ...

90. I interned at the NYC Fringe Festival 2003 .. .and saw about 30 pieces of theatre .. . I wished I did it in 2004 ...

91. I was interning at the NYC Fringe Festival during the 2003 blackout while the show Pinafore! (a gay take of the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta "HMS Pinafore) was going on .. the troupe finished the first act at the Christopher Street pier it was awesome...

92. I played Pedro (one of the muletters) in "Man of La Mancha" at Bar Mills Playhouse this summer ... It was one of my first times doing theatre and I loved it ...

93. I have done stand up a few times and killed and bombed .. When I have done well it was off the cuff and went a long time ...

94. One of these times was in HS (Junior year) at the Man of the Year contest, one was after Rutgers cancelled a game vs. #1 UMass because a student (one) sat in the center of the court..

95. This student was called "the Rosa Parks of Rutgers" by Newsweek .. but she probably shouldn't have been allowed on court with 8,500 students watching Rutgers leading the #1 team in the country at halftime .. especially considering she probably didn't pay for her seat...

96. I have difficulty letting certain things go ...

97. I think I want to go back to school but I am not sure for what.

98. I declared bankruptcy before the law changed.

99. I can't believe they are eliminating the Estate Tax (the main reason for such foundations as the Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, creation of universities, Carnagie Foundation ...) at the same time they are eliminating the ability of people to simply forgive debt without credit card counseling

100. I couldn't believe how easy it was to go before bankruptcy court .. the whole thing took 2 minutes...

101. I wonder if I would make a decent lawyer.

102. I wonder if I should have went to Sloan for my MBA instead of Drucker (had a 700 GMAT)

103. I wonder about a lot of things.

104. I am having trouble editing my book .. I actually think its pretty good ...

105. I was a College Republican .. but now despise George W Bush ...

106. I was pretty sure the Iraq "war" would be easy but the peace extremely difficult before the US invasion

107. I think the documentaries "Control Room" and "The Corporation" are absolutely brilliant ...

108. I wanted to be a writer when I was in 3rd and 4th grade ...

109. I have some non-fiction in me and need to figure out how to write it.

110. I love the number 111 .. three consecutive numbers and stuff..

111. See I went 11 over ... I subscribe to the Financial Times but don't really like it (free from airline miles)

112. Can't stop typing .. I will add pennies to tips to come up with cool numbers .. ie 11.11 or 17.76 ...

113. I love making lists .. and would heavily recommend the Von Iglefeld series by Alexander McCall Smith

That was a lot of fun .....

Blogging rocks!

Too bad you have to worry about being dooced...

Friday, December 30, 2005

Top 10+ movies of the year ...

Happy New Year/Kwanzaa/Hannukah/Christmas ...

Some new years resolutions ....

1. Write more

2. Do more art

3. Volunteer especially in mentoring and teaching ...

Seeing the parents was nice this weekend also saw three movies and willing to do an early top 10 list (incomplete)

I saw three this weekend

the first and by far the best and the #1 movie I have seen this year is "Walk the Line" ... ****1/2 ... this is an amazing biopic about June Carter and Johnny Cash and has amazing performances by Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon .. see it Now!

The second movie I saw was King Kong ... Having seen bits of this I had monster expectations .. This one was lots of fun and very bloated. The movie was better as a sum of parts then as a whole ***1/2 (#8 of the year?) ... The special effects were awesome especially Serkis as King Kong and the rest of Skull Island ...

I also saw the Chronic .. Chronicles of Narnia ... It was very weird having a main character and [spoiler] chief weenie [/spoiler] as my namesake Edmund ....

The movie had nice effects and good acting but didn't really gel for me .. I give it a marginal thumbs up but **1/2 .. Lucy was well portrayed but the whole thing felt much too disney.

Without further adieu an incomplete top 10 ....

1) Walk the Line .. no doubt about it....

2) A History of Violence ... ****1/2 ... This one was very good and surprised me .. great acting by Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen among others .. the one movie I don't want to say much about ... if you have seen you can e-mail me though...

3) The Corporation (2003) .. ****1/2 ... This movie devasted me .. .Just a fascinating story of the power of the corporation and its medical diagnosis ... Psychopath ... Only concerned with Shareholder Equity and Profits ... although not technically a 2005 release I saw it this year ...

4) SavingFace ... ****1/4 ... Although this is officially a 2004 release .. the release was very limited .. a wonderful love story about two Chinese lesbians who grew up in Flushing, Queens .. there is a lot here about family too ... WELL worth seeing ...

5) Batman Begins ... **** ... I forgot about this one .. the best of the Batmans since Tim Burton directed them ... I really liked this one ... I probably liked War of the World better save the ending ... I loved the darkness in this one .. Christian Bale really worked ... Katie Holmes less so.

3, 4 undeserved by what I have seenof 2005 releases ... I hope there are movies I haven't seen that belong here ...

6) Jarhead ....**** .... The most existential war movie ever ... I loved the thoughtfulness of this .. I will pretty much see anything Sam Mendes does ...

7) The 40-Year Old Virgin ... **** ... Without any doubt the funniest movie I saw all year ... and lots and lots of heart ... Steve Carell is amazing in this one ... His relationship with Catherine Keener is beyond sweet....

8) The War of the Worlds ... **** .. . For the ending alone lost half a star ... This movie spellbound me and was a better scare fest then the more critically loved King Kong ... Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning are very good as was the creature designed ..> V.V. good (maybe 3rd best of the year) without ending .. this really should be a 6-7 pick ... I have not seen some movies that might belong here like Syriana, Brokeback Mountain, Munich and Cinderella Man

9) Sin City ... The most visually inventive movie of the year ... **** ... Mickey Rourke's best performance ever ... Very interesting movie to watch ...

10) In Her Shoes ... This may well be too high .. ***1/2 ... I really enjoyed this movie .. This was definitely one I saw with my wife's consent but I really enjoyed it ...

11) .. Star Wars 3/6: Sith .... ***1/2 ... Wow do I want to give spoilers on this one... I will just say outside the lines that this was my favorite of the 2nd trilogy .. It is nearly as good as Jedi ... Also one of the worst love stories ever .. ... Harry Potter 4 might take this spot ...

12) Fever Pitch ... ***1/2 ... A fun Drew Barrymore movie ... an odd retelling of the Nick Hornby though .. I enjoyed it but if you really want to understand the psychology of a sports fan read the book "Fever Pitch" by Nick Hornby about the horrors and joys of rooting for Arsenal Soccer Football in N. London ...

First Honorable Mention ...

13) Kung Fu Hustle ***1/2 .. Just a lot of fun .. I enjoyed Shaolin Soccer more but well worth seeing ... Stephen Chow is a joy to watch ... Just a fun movie ...

Highest expectations not quite met ....

14) King Kong ... ***1/4 .. not sure it belongs on the top 10 at all .. .Kong was one of the great special effects creations ever and it probably deserves technical awards along with "War" ... Way too long at 3 hours 20 minutes ... [spoiler] Why did the ship take an hour ... Not sure if I bought the romances either ... Had huge expectations and was disappointed ... [/spoiler]


An Honorable Mention to ....

15) Murderball ... ***1/4 ... This was a lot of fun .. I loved the hardcore Wheelchair rugby players ... Well worth watching ..

I also liked .... .
16) (to give 10 movies) Hitch .. *** .. This doens't really belong on a top 10 list at all but it was fun ... I enjoyed it ...

Please give comments and tell me more movies to put on the list ...

ecq

Yep now the list is even longer ... Haven't seen Wedding Crashers, or Penguins either

And yes .. there really is nothing about writing here ... Feels weird to write so little in December after so much in November ...