A Journey Through the Woods.

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I grabbed my machete and sprinted into the woods. I had no time left. My camp had been overrun by those… things. It was no use staying and fighting at this point we had already lost. I had a compass, machete, the clothes on my back, and the wilderness at my disposal.

It was time to run. I needed to work my way into the valley near camp. The terrain was marshy and wet after the rain. My boots sunk deeper into the ground after every step.

The monsters dwelled in the shadows and never tired, but they operated and navigated by smell so in the rain it was hard for them to find me.

A flash of movement appeared to my left and I struck with my machete. It left a splash of silvery blood on my blade. Where had these things come from and why did they want us. Their regenerative abilities make them the perfect hunter.

We weren’t prepared. If there is an apocalypse this is it.

I don’t know what we did wrong. I am the last one left and I am stuck in a cave in the middle of nowhere running from the unknown, sharpening my machete.

Werner Herzog

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One of my favorite filmmakers, Werner Herzog, has somehow evaded my blog for quite some time.

Herzog is famous for two things: writing, directing and producing some of the best movies ever, and being absolutely insane. My favorite movie, Fitzcarraldo is a perfect example of both of those things.

Herzog decided he was going to make a movie about Carlos Fitzcarrald, the Irish-Peruvian rubber baron in the 1800s. Well, one of the main points of the plot is when Fitzcarraldo forces his crew to lug their steamboat over a mountain. That’s silly though because that would never happen and its obviously just special effects. Right?

Wrong.

In this monumental scene, Herzog basically gave special effects the finger and paid a bunch of Peruvian locals to actually pull a 350 pound steamboat over a mountain. Yes, he actually did that. That’s why it looks so real. Because Werner Herzog is absolutely insane.

Speaking of Herzog being painfully sincere, lets talk about shoes. Herzog was, at one point, a kind of mentor to the then aspiring documentarian Errol Morris. To motivate Morris to finish a film about pet cemeteries, Herzog bet Morris that if he ever did finish his film, he would eat his own shoe. Well, it was finished. And this was the result.

Finally, let’s not forget that time he was shot. Which time you ask? Oh right, he’s been shot multiple times (apparently for being to awesome for anyone to handle). Well, lets talk about the time he was shot during an interview and, much like Teddy Roosevelt, kept. God. Damn. Talking.

Herzog manages to justify rather well why he is the way he is. He says that to make a film of true importance, one must have experienced some pretty…out there things. He explains it all on his website for his film school.

A Forsaken Hero

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hj

The man who killed the evil man.

What was his fate?

There was no heroic applause.

There was no fanfare of any kind.

The man who did the great deed,

he was sick and tired of it all.

Years away had caused the man emotional pain.

His wife did not love him.

His children did not know him.

He left the honorable trade.

However the entity that supported him no longer did.

His health and that of his kin is left to chance.

Stuck with no options or hope.

Because he served an uncaring nation.

Love is a poem.

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I am so glad that I won the first place at the Love Poetry Contest this year, with my favorite work called “Retainment” which was also my first post on this blog.

People talk about love all the time, however, nobody could tell what love really is. I think love is a piece of poem – not too long, but really profound. I love writing poems because every word talks and contains it’s own feeling.

Love is a poem – the memory you can remember forever after you read it and understand it. And i have to say, it is not easy.

Everyone is talking about love in their own definitions. Throughout history, poets write about love, singers sing love, musicians play love. But no one can explain love.

During my English class last Friday, Ms. Wilson introduced to us her favorite love poem, and i think this poem just portrays love perfectly:

A Deep-Sworn Vow
By William Butler Yeats
 
Others because you did not keep
That deep-sworn vow have been friends of mine;
Yet always when I look death in the face,
When I clamber to the heights of sleep,
Or when I grow excited with wine,
Suddenly I meet your face.

Yes, love is when you look into someone’s eyes, you see everything you need.
Happy Valentine’s Day!

Let’s enjoy love, the most beautiful poem of life.

The Perils of Innovation

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r4g44g

Innovators often suffer for their ideals.

Not grounded in reality dreamers always dream.

An ideal that can change the world and the faith of its residents.

The age of gasoline will end.

Men such as Musk will lead the way.

Media and politics conspire against him.

A shady review is circulated.

His lighting vehicle, once a savior is now vilified.

The media in this instance is false.

His lighting vehicle is a miracle but personal vendetta got in the way.

Reports laced with malice were found false.

Who is to blame?

The media, politics, or the man.

The blame rests on are culture and the industries that allow it to thrive.

Mary Oliver, a poet of nature.

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My favorite poet is Mary Oliver. She is the kind of the writer that perfectly combines the words by feelings. Her words can talk.

She picks up a bunch of aromatic flowers and smiles; she steps into the deep mysterious forest and listens; she smells the spiritual magic of nature and gets infatuated. She, Mary Oliver, the daughter of the earth, extracts every piece of the nature to build a poetic world filled with her particular experiences and feelings. Born in a small town with rural environment in Ohio in 1935, Mary Oliver spent her earliest days surrounding farms and fields and the deep woodlands attracted her. That became the moment when she realized the congenial places that lurked within her heart – nature.

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I am the Monster

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Coming up in the next few weeks play rehearsals will be ramping up so that we can give all of you lovely people hopefully the best show so far.

For the past few months the cast of Young Frankenstein has been working feverishly on rehearsing lines and risking ankles to bring the people of Ojai and beyond a great show.

By risking ankles I speak of course of my 6 inch high platform boots that I have to dance in so that I look like a monster…. yea that’s right I am the monster.

It is such a great part because I get to be on stage the whole time, and for the most part I just grunt and make people laugh.

This play is hilarious.

It is full of funny sexual innuendos that are very sly in getting in there, but a line such as, “what big knockers,” while looking away from a good looking girl, I mean come on, Dr. Fronkensteen doesn’t have a thing for doors.

These next two weeks are going to be rough in between late night rehearsals and still keeping up with class, but I have done it every year since the 4th grade and I can’t wait to put on another good show.

Come out and watch us on 2/21 and 2/22.

King Without A Crown

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No, I am not going to write a blog about Matisyahu’s song, but it is good, no I am talking about my beloved Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings.

What happened?

They came back after the break which was way too long might I add, and the first game back the Blackhawks destroyed them.

How does a team go from best 8 seed in the western conference to #1 in the NHL one season and then come back to be 28th in the league and last in their division.

So far this season they have a record of 3-5-2 and only a total of 8 points from a possible 20, a 14 point gap between the #1 Chicago Blackhawks.

This is how last season started out and they came back to win the whole shabang, but keep in mind this is a shortened season.

The teams are playing pretty much half of a season, so there isn’t really room for anyone to mess up, but especially not for the reigning cup champions.

This past weekend the Kings played the Detroit Red Wings.

Despite defenseman Drew Doughty setting the tone early  with a monster hit on Pavel Datsyuk about 5 minutes after the puck dropped, the Kings were trailing 2-1 going into the second, and remained that way well into the 3rd.

The Kings picked up their play and were connecting on passes and shots, but nothing was getting past Jimmy Howard, and so I thought Jonathan Quick.

With 52.8 seconds left in the 3rd period Alec Martinez fired one past Howard just after Quick had skated to the bench to get an extra attacker out on the ice.

But with 4.5 seconds left Detroit Red Wings’ Jonathan Ericcson got one right through the pads of Quick, and it seemed to just slowly trickle past the goal line making it impossible for the Kings to come back, leaving them with yet another loss.

BMS!!!!

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Blue Mountain State, or “BMS” for short, is probably one of the greatest shows I’ve ever watched in my entire life. I’m not a big TV guy. I only watch a few shows. I watch “How I Met Your Mother” with my girlfriend, “Boondocks”, which is arguably my favorite Adult Swim cartoon, “Family Guy” which is arguably my favorite cartoon of all time, and BMS.

Unfortunately, BMS only lasted for three seasons, and I’ve finished all three in one week. I’m disappointed to have already finished the show, but it was great while it lasted.

The show revolves around football teammates who play college football at Blue Mountain State. The teammates and pals engage in college high jinks, ranging from drugs, alcohol, sex and partying all together. The show clearly appeals to a teenage and college demographic. In other words, I would not show this to my parents. Maybe my father, who tolerates this kind of stuff. But my mother would not be pleased to say the least. There is frequent innuendo and occasional implied nudity. There are never any private parts revealed. It leaves the rest up to imagination. But that’s not even why I would enjoy a show like this. As many would find easy to believe, I watched the show expecting a football comedy. I got that, with the college twist along with it. I loved the combo.

Like many TV fans, I chose a favorite character from the beginning. My man was the running back Craig Shilo. Unfortunately, Shilo’s actor went to prison following the first season, and left the show. I was VERY disappointed to not see him in the second season. But, it was ok. The show did not suffer.

As the show continued, it seemed like I was laughing a little bit less, but the show was beginning to have more meaning as the characters went from freshman to senior year.

Upon conclusion of the show, Alex Moran, the main character, was only a junior. This begs the question, “Will they ever have a season 4?” According to reports, the show has already been cancelled. So most likely not. Alex Moran will forever be an unfinished story.

I’m upset to finish the show. But maybe I can find a new one.

Caution!!!! Anything pertaining to Blue Mountain State should not be viewed by young children. I recommend 13+ at the minimum. Don’t say I didn’t warn you all. Everyone loves Scarface, so I see no reason to say no to something like BMS. There’s all sorts of inappropriate things in both. Don’t be a hater.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

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This post is somewhat, if not very, overdue, seeing as the movie Perks of Being a Wallflower came out quite a while ago. I did however feel that a post on the film was necessary, as I truly enjoyed it. It made me laugh, it made me smile, it made me cry, and everything in between. It is the perfect movie, and for many different reasons.

The first reason is that it is relatable. The writers don’t try and hide the unattractive parts of being in high school. In fact, they embrace it, making it so the characters don’t seem like movie stars, but rather like someone you would pass in the hallways.

Which brings us to the second reason: The cast. Emma Watson was amazing. She fit her role perfectly, even more so than her major part in the Harry Potter series as Hermione Granger. In my opinion at least. Logan Lerman and Ezra Miller were fantastic as well.

The third reason is perhaps my favorite, but it could also very easily be my least. The roles played by the cast, and portrayed so well, made me want to be there standing in the back of the pick-up truck, cruising through a tunnel and listening to quality music. Wallflower made me want to try listening to new music, find a group of friends who accept me and push me to have more confidence, as well as deal with my emotional shortcomings in a safe way.

Perks of Being a Wallflower is a great movie, not just for teens but for adults as well, to really provide an accurate representation of what high-schoolers deal with on a daily basis. I wouldn’t particularly recommend it for the younger child, but to each his own. I loved this movie, and was incredible glad to have watched it. I would definitely say it’s high on my list, if not at the top.

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