Oscars - Best Picture Nominees

'Brokeback Mountain'
'Capote'
'Crash'
'Good night, and Good Luck'
'Munich'

I haven't seen any of these films...'Crash' is on my DVD rentals que, 'Munich' has just been released as has 'Brokeback Mountain'. 'Capote' and 'Good Night, Good Luck' haven't been released in the U.K. yet.

For somebody who was making a living working in movies, I haven't seen very much!

Although two films that I did work on in 2004 did get nominated in a couple of categories...so I'm guilty by association even if I was the smallest clog in a different department from the one that got nominated, I was on the crewlist.

Hope everybody is full of joy and feeling happy happy wherever you are on Earth...

When's the mothership coming back for me?

I'm in a weird mood...

House Arrest

Since I am essentially under house arrest there's not much to tell. No visitors, playing the same video games again, surfing the net, walking outside weather permitting, DVD watching, television watching...doodling and scribbling...

I did get taken to the cinema on Monday though and saw 'King Kong'. (I have essentially become an old man or a small child again...if I want to go anywhere I have to be taken there) I thought the performances were all very good. Interesting casting in Naomi Watts and Adrien Brody in that they're both very lanky actors...which was quite refreshing.

I blame Ahnuld and Sylvester for turning Hollywood and societal body archetypes into ridiculous ones and thus spawning the gym explosion worldwide. Case in point in 1984 in 'The Karate Kid'...Elizabeth Shue was a normal healthy looking blonde now she's super thin...our hero Daniel (Ralph Macchio) was slight of build with skinny arms...then along came 'The Terminator' and thus was born the notion of 'the body beautiful...'

Ok rant over back to 'King Kong'...some of the special (de)effects were a bit defective in my opinion and the film was way too long. I thought the ending was common knowledge like 'Titanic' but evidently not judging by the sobs in the back of the theatre at the end of the film!

Seems like everywhere the weather has turned cold judging by reports on assorted blogs and we've all found it hard to find inspiration or anything of amusement or of note to write about.

I wonder when this will be released...

I saw this at the London Film Festival last year...and i don't know it popped in my head again...

http://www.mk2.com/lonesomejim/home.htm

It had to happen

It was bound to happen eventually...I got tagged!


4 jobs i've had:
Salesman in an electrical superstore, Assistant Librarian, Visiting Lecturer, Draughtsman

4 places i've lived:
Los Angeles, Russell Square(London), Bayswater(London but not for long), West Kensington (London)

4 movies i could watch over and over:
Batman Begins, Chungking Express, Star Wars, Lost in Translation

4 tv shows i watch (currently on air)
Scrubs, Lost, Match of the Day (Football/Soccer Highlights Programme), My Name is Earl

4 places i've been on vacation:
New York, Iceland, Japan, France

4 websites i visit daily:
Liverpoolfc.tv, Blogs, hotmail, skysports.com


4 of my favorite foods:
sushi, crispy pork and chicken on rice, dim sum, steak

4 places i'd rather be right now:
Hawaii, New York, Los Angeles, Japan

Harder than it looks...

Cheers K

You can do it!

I may change my mind again tomorrow or some time next week but I have resolved for the time being that once I am technically recovered to see what the lay of the land is.

I do not want to change career after working so damn hard to get my foot in the door and onto the proverbial ladder. Sure Gordon Brown has screwed up the film industry but surely they'll see their mistakes, they won't admit them though being politicians.

So despite all my claims at finding something else to do or retraining for something completely different I doubt that will be the case. Oh, I'll still moan about the injustice of the tax breaks to UK Film production but I wanted in and I got in...so I lost most of last year to poor health but I can come back.

I've made contacts I know people who know people...

;)

Besides which I don't want to portray myself as a completely miserable bastard otherwise nobody will want to speak to me or possibly cross that threshold of meeting me in the non-blog world...

Such an extreme post in comparison to the last one...


Rocky: I can't do it.
Adrian: What?
Rocky: I can't beat him.
Adrian: Apollo?
Rocky: Yeah. I been out there walkin' around, thinkin'. I mean, who am I kiddin'? I ain't even in the guy's league.
Adrian: What are we gonna do?
Rocky: I don't know.
Adrian: You worked so hard.
Rocky: Yeah, that don't matter. 'Cause I was nobody before.
Adrian: Don't say that.
Rocky: Ah come on, Adrian, it's true. I was nobody. But that don't matter either, you know? 'Cause I was thinkin', it really don't matter if I lose this fight. It really don't matter if this guy opens my head, either. 'Cause all I wanna do is go the distance. Nobody's ever gone the distance with Creed, and if I can go that distance, you see, and that bell rings and I'm still standin', I'm gonna know for the first time in my life, see, that I weren't just another bum from the neighborhood.

'Rocky' (1976) written by Sylvester Stallone

One more thing...'YO ADRIAN!'

Everyday is Like Sunday

I'm not doing so well this week and I know I had decided against posting negative, self absorbed posts but here's one.

I am frustrated and fed up because:

• I can't lift the bowls out the kitchen cupboard for my lunch.
• My neck and shoulder aches.
• I don't have a clue what I'm going to do when I've recovered in March.
• I can't escape from the ticking in my chest.
• I feel isolated and lost. (Drama Queen - Boo f****in Hoo!)

It's not much of a post this one but I feel a bit better for expressing myself...

And I know I have to be more positive and to believe that better days are on the horizon and I must be optimistic...

I just need to find the map or at least be pointed in the right direction.

I need a Mr Miyagi (The Karate Kid) in my life...

[from trailer]

Henri Ducard: You traveled the world... Now you must journey inwards... to what you really fear... it's inside you... there is no turning back. Your parents' death was not your fault. Your training is nothing. The will is everything. If you make yourself more than just a man, if you devote yourself to an ideal, you become something else entirely. Are you ready to begin?

'Batman Begins' (2005) Written by Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer

Brighton Pier a few years ago...

This is from a few years ago, you can see what's left of the pier on Stephanie's Song of the Day Blog.

In other news I won a competition over the weekend for correctly guessing an artists work of art and will be the proud owner of a sketch by one of my favourite artists as the prize!

This week I have decided to own a Daschund called Max...



Jerry Maguire: Rod, think about back when you were a little kid. It wasn't about the money, was it? Was it?
[Questionably]
Jerry Maguire: Was it?

'Jerry Maguire' (1996) Written and Directed by Cameron Crowe (will find other quotes)

Today's Imaginary Dog

Today's dog of the day is a White Westland Terrier called 'Blackie'.

;)


Vincent Hanna: I gotta hold on to my angst. I preserve it because I need it. It keeps me sharp, on the edge, where I gotta be.

'Heat' (1995) written by Michael Mann.

'The Brooklyn Follies' by Paul Auster

My first book review of 2006.

This tells the story of Nathan Glass in remission from lung cancer and estranged from his daughter and his return to Brooklyn, once there he finds redemtion in the life and lives that suround him.

It's written in a deceptively simple style but has a turn of phrase or observation that is very good. While certain events do seem a little bit too pat, it all works quite effectively. Its not a deep thinking book but entertaining...if you liked 'Smoke' the movie version it'll remind of that in its jauntiness. I can't believe I wrote jauntiness...how old am I?

I could imagine certain actors playing some of the parts of the characters and I don't know if the visualization of Brooklyn is made easier by watching so many films set in New York...

So it was enjoyable and well written but not amazing.

heARTwork

Sean: So what do you really want to do?
Will: I wanna be a shepherd.
Sean: Really.
Will: I wanna move up to Nashua, get a nice little spread, get some sheep and tend to them.
Sean: Maybe you should go do that.

'Good Will Hunting' (1997) Written by Matt Damon & Ben Affleck (really)

Telephone Aversion

I am developing a telephone aversion...I just don't want to answer mobiles or landlines. I don't want to speak to anybody, I do and I don't. I am bored of talking about how I am and of my operation yet it defines who I am and what I am to be.

This is not a healthy state to be in as has been pointed out to me here I do need human interation other than just online.

That is not to say I want all of you to stop coming here and leaving comments or answering questions without you this blog would cease to exist. I want you tou all to keep coming back and to keep on commenting.

I went through The Guardian Job secretion yesterday and was invariably drawn towards the jobs that mentioned film and television but was also surprised at the number of Graphic Design vacancies. However should I wish to work in Publishing or Marketing it looks like I'll have to go back to school.

That said I have requested numerous prospectuses today from various Art Schools to find out more about Illustration, Graphic Design and Ceramics courses.

I also continue to tentatively search Property sites for somewhere to live...although the big flaw in that plan is how will I pay my rent!?

Freelance is not really a way to live...it may be time to grow up.

Oh and I better go for a walk with my imaginary dog (I have a Border Collie today) as part of my recuperation and physiotherapy at home.


Claire Colburn: Do you ever just think I'm fooling everybody?
Drew Baylor: You have no idea.

'Elizabethtown' (2005) Writer/Director Cameron Crowe

Prickles

I'm getting intermittent sensations in my chest like pin pricks...and visions of my chest splitting open and monsters emerging although that idea could be due to playing 'Resident Evil 4' on the PS2.

I'm afraid I haven't got much to report but felt I should say something...

Talking for the sake of talking?

Everybody's Changing

I don't know if its Post Operative Blues, Seasonal Affective Disorder or just being being an over sensitive, need to get out of my own headspace kind of a mood but I feel somewhat disconnected and disjointed from the world. Its almost as if I live life vicariously through other peoples stories in books, in blogs, movies, tv...

By not taking part in life for the last 6 months where my days were passed by very little interaction other than hospital appointments and buying tickets for trains, I spent alot of time in books, graphic novels, movies and galleries in the company of the self.

I kept in touch with voices on the end of the telephone but I saw few people and I've come to question my place in life many times over.

It's a big world out there and I'm being swallowed up by it...


KEANE

"Everybody's Changing"

You say you wander your own land
But when I think about it
I don't see how you can
You're aching, you're breaking
And I can see the pain in your eyes
Says everybody's changing
And I don't know why

So little time
Try to understand that I'm
Trying to make a move just to stay in the game
I try to stay awake and remember my name
But everybody's changing
And I don't feel the same

You're gone from here
And soon you will disappear
Fading into beautiful light
Cause everybody's changing
And I don't feel right

So little time
Try to understand that I'm
Trying to make a move just to stay in the game
I try to stay awake and remember my name
But everybody's changing
And I don't feel the same

So little time
Try to understand that I'm
Trying to make a move just to stay in the game
I try to stay awake and remember my name
But everybody's changing
And I don't feel the same

1st January 2006

Blog pressure! The first post of the first day of the first month of a new year. This had better be a witty anecdote optimistic entry full of promise and a bright sunshiney outlook.

I actually deleted a whole chunk of text about not liking New Year's Eve because lets face it nobody wants to read about somebody complaining.

I don't know where I'm going yet in 2006, I'm not certain of what I want to achieve, I'm not even sure I want to continue down the same career path or if it is still a path that is available to me.

I know that I must move away from where I am living at present but to where exactly I couldn't say.

I know that I need some confidence and self-belief.

I know that I need some direction in my life.

I know that there are no certainties and that I am not indestructible.

I will try and do things that will be interesting for my visitors to read about on my Blog.

Also I learnt that if you have something to say to somebdy use the telephone and not to spend hours on messenger when I could be using that time more productively. So IM is off my things to do on a computer except very very occassionally.

So this year I want to rediscover the man that I was becoming two years ago (he was full of confidence and when he smiled the world smiled with him and then he disappeared) and be an ever better one...