Movie Review: Batman Begins

As you can tell, it was an exciting weekend of watching movies. Two in one weekend is huge for me. I've been wanting to see Batman Begins since it was in the theaters because I heard some great things about it from so many different people who weren't necessarily big Batman fans too. I thought it was great! I was a huge fan of the first Batman movie with Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson, and thought this was even better. Forget about Batman flicks, I thought it was a real good movie in general. The way the story was told gave it a little more darkness that made it seem like it could actually be real...I mean, as real as any comic book story can be. It wasn't like, BAM all of a sudden this normal rich dude can fight a billion bad guys at once and has all of these super crazy weapons that appeared out of nowhere. They laid a lot of foundation to the character and story that made me buy into it and it was definitely cool.

Christian Bale was a total badass as Bruce Wayne/Batman. Cillian Murphy is the perfect creepy bad guy as Scarecrow. Liam Neeson plays a part that I feel like is totally typical for him...the fatherly mentor figure (a la Kingdom of Heaven, Narnia, Star Wars I, and others I'm sure). Morgan Freeman even has a cool part that doesn't do him injustice (like when he did Unleashed with Jet Li right after Million Dollar Baby).

And I think Katie Holmes as way cute and good-looking, but the only thing that bothered me about this movie is how she has a tendency to talk and move only one side of her mouth. What's up with that??

Movie Review: Mr. & Mrs. Smith

Best Picture nominee for sure!! jk. but it was still a good flick. It's def an entertaining one if you're looking for something fun and mindless. I enjoyed it after a long work week where I didn't want to think about anything anymore on a Fri night. And Angelina Jolie ain't too bad to watch either. And I guess if you're a lady, you might not mind looking at Brad Pitt or Vince Vaughn (do people even find Vince Vaughn attractive??). So everyone's a winner with this one!

Not that the plot really matters with this one, but basically, Brad and Angelina's characters are both top secret assassins - secret from each other too - who happen to be married to each other. As the movie unfolds, so does their hidden lives and a plot to have them killed. blah blah blah, lots of action scenes, explosions, and good-looking actors...and that's your movie.

Concert review: Lifehouse

No, I am not embarassed to say I went to a Lifehouse show and thoroughly enjoyed it. I feel like they have this poppy reputation because of the cheesy radio hits that they have (Hanging By A Moment, You & Me), but I really dig all of Lifehouse's music...including the cheesy hits! (I can't hear Hanging by a Moment and not think about 4th year at uva.) Lifehouse is actually one of the few bands that I can listen to all of their cd's in their entirety with no problem at all. I think the vocals are great and all their tunes are catchy in different ways. So screw all of you mainstream music haters! You know who you are. Lifehouse forever. not really. but still.

So the show was super great. Che bought my tickets because I was unavailable when they went on sale...and she hooked it up good! The seats were so awesome...all the way on the end on the right side in the 11th row, and I think that really contributed to the show experience. The band had great energy and stage presence and really seemed like a cool bunch of guys. The vocals are even more impressive live than on the recordings, and the bassist had some mean harmonizing going on. I was actually a little surprised at how good of a show they put on and I'd totally see them again. Brooke and I were both beat from boarding before the show, but we still had a great time.

The only downside of the show was that they only played a 55 min set with a 2 song encore! That's soooooo weak!! I feel like I was one of the only people that noticed it. As soon as they left the stage after the main set, I turned to Brooke and said "that's it?!???" while the rest of the venue screamed in stupid bliss. oh well.

The opener was this unimpressive chick called Mozella that had a raspy, somewhat swooning voice...kind of a mixture of Macy Gray, Joss Stone, and Michelle Branch. But a definite wannabe. I wasn't impressed bro.

Boarding (again)

Is this getting old?? Pictures of me and my friends tearing up the slopes? I totally dig it, but I'm not sure if it's getting repetitive. Oh well. Until someone says something, I'm just going to keep doing it because I don't have anything else cool to write about. Unless you want to hear about my healthy, get-back-in-shape kick. Nah. prob not.

So I took the day off and went up to Breck with Brooke and Dan for a little boarding action. While we were up there, we met with the almost married couple, Annie and Brady, and their friend Robin. (If you're wondering, none of us work.) With some sweet racing action and no crowds, it was a total blast. Here are some pics.

Brady, Robin (who has a bad ass XBox hat on), and Annie

Don't let Annie's cuteness fool you. She'll run over you in a second.

This was Dan's 3rd time boarding and he's killing

Dan again

Brooke about to jump off a cliff

Boy Game Update

The Boy Game (CO division) has been reset! (as of last week) So everyone started fresh again with a clean slate but already there's been a fast fury of action. The boy tracker will be updated tomorrow maybe. Oh, and girls are eligible for this game too ("your girl"). Here are some of the boys that have been handed out already in this round:

Scott Hamilton (Amy)
Osama bin Ladin (Ryan)
Robert Van Winkle aka Vanilla Ice (Turbo)
Clay Aiken (Hinds)
James Dobson (Deb)

Movie Review: Glory Road

Man, I never thought that this movie would get me frustrated and thinking so much. I definitely left this movie not feeling good, which is the opposite of what Disney/sports movies are supposed to do I thought (ex. The Mighty Ducks). Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it for what it is - a movie telling the story about the Texas Western college basketball team that broke the color barrier and defied racial boundaries and hatred in the sport - but even though they won the game, it still wasn't "perfect" like Remember the Titans or Miracle.

After the movie, Dan, Deb, Karen, and I talked about it and I'm super glad for that because it helped me put my thoughts in order. Originally, I was frustrated because it wasn't perfect and that it should have been a feel-good movie - that there was still friction within the team's black and white players and I felt that the black players seemed like they were playing to win out of bitterness and not for something "bigger". But as Karen and Dan said, that's probably the reality of how it was back then. So then my frustration focused on something that I spent a better part of the movie thinking about - the fact that the racism that was depicted in the movie in our country still exists...and it gets me so fired up. I want so badly to do something, but I know that I just do my part by being myself and treat people the way I want everyone to treat each other. I know it's totally a passive approach, but I believe that you can't force people to tolerate race or any other kind of cultural difference.

I feel like I was real fortunate growing up in NYC where I was subjected to a diverse environment as a little kid and there is no such thing as racial biases. Kids are kids and you just play together. In fourth grade (I think), my teacher came into class and identified all of the left-handed kids in the class and said they had to stand up. She said that a new rule had just passed that made all left-handed students subject to a different set of rules - different school entrance, different seats in the class and lunchroom - totally crazy stuff and naturally we all believed her (come on, we were 9-10 years old). Looking back, the crazy part is how the class reacted - with disbelief and anger. And then the teacher gave in and told us it was a lesson in racial segregation. Obviously it meant a lot because I still remember it. Anyway.

Glory Road was good. I liked the basketball action and the story that it told. peace.

Conflict of Interest

So while I was in Australia, all the kids on the trip got me into MySpace. It was seriously all the rage with them, and it took me a little bit to figure out the hype...but I dig it! The downside of it all is that my blogging time has been taken over by MySpace time now. Not that I've done a whole lot with the page other than wait for people to be my friend, but still. So check it out and join and be my friend! www.myspace.com/musclerark

No worries mates. I'll still work the blog consistently.

Road Trip Parts II & III

Nothing too exciting going on here. Pete and I made it safely back to csprings and are ready to get rolling and take over town.

We had a real fun visit with Grant last night where we watched the season premiere of "24", I schooled Pete in some air hockey, and then watched some swimming videos for a bit. Good stuff.

After a good breakfast at Le Peep, we were on the road again and made the last 9 hours uneventfully. I finally felt pretty decent today, so I was able to drive a substantial amount. The Australia trip just before this really worked me big time for this road trip, but it's all good now.

Lookin' forward to some good times with my boy Pete for the next 4 months...

Road Trip Part I

New York
New Jersey
Pennsylvania
West Virginia
Ohio
Indiana

Well after 13 hours of driving and a great 3.5 hour stop in Pittsburgh to see our friend Dan, we made it from NYC to Indianapolis. Not the most exciting drive in the world, unless you call an accidental gas stop at some totally weird sheepskin shop a highlight. That place was like going back in time. Visiting with Dan in Pitt and talking about new and old times was sweet, esp since Pete and I rarely get to see him anymore.

Today we're going to Kansas City. Maybe I'll do more than just 2 hours of driving like yesterday.

NYC Pizza

Something about NYC pizza is just mmm mmm good more so than other kinds of pizza. Some people dig the thin crust, some say it's something in the water that makes the tomato sauce tastier, others are just NY'ers who don't like to admit that inferior cities might have better pizza. On this brief, 48 hour visit to the home city, I've made the most of my time and have had two pizza places with two diff friends, with a potential third and fave pizza place before I leave. Can't beat it!

John's Pizzeria - My boy Mike took me here last night. There's regularly a line out the door for this place. Very chill, comfy atmosphere. We got the large #41. Real fresh ingredients, but flabby crust (and I'm a big crust guy).
Rosa's Pizza - 5526 69th St, Woodside NY - Great variety of pizza...the Hawaiian pizza is a fave!
Amore's Pizza - all-time favorite! We grew up with this stuff and it was so perfect after swim practice or after meets. Totally tasty!

Road trip back to CO tomorrow!!

Snik

Tragedy sneaks up on us in shitty ways. But then I guess it's the shock and the magnitude of an event is what makes it tragic. This morning, Eric Namesnik (Snik), died from injuries he received from a car accident on Jan 7. Snik was a 2-time Olympic silver medalist, all-around quality guy and class act, and husband and father of two. Snik was on my Turkey adventure this summer and I'm so glad that I had the opportunity to spend that time with him. After listening to him tell stories and hearing other people talk about him, I can only wish that I can contribute even just half as much as he did to the swimming community. He was a true pleasure to be around, and I know it's a huge loss to the swimming world, but most importantly to his young family. My heart and thoughts definitely go out to them.

That pic is Snik's silhouette as the sun is setting on the Aegean Sea in Turkey.

USA Swimming press release
Michigan press release

I <3 AUS

Australia is awesome. I never thought that I'd enjoy a foreign country as much as I do the USA, but Australia is up there. It reminded me of a bigger, better version of Hawaii. The people are SO ridiculously and genuinely nice and their accents totally rock. (Although I did have this little Aussie girl tell me that she wanted MY accent...what?!?) Even the Aussie customs people were super duper nice (I always felt that the US Customs people were some of the most unpersonable people out there). Big shout out to my girl Alana at Melbourne Uni for being a huge help on this trip!!

And there is so much to do in and out of the city. I'm only saying this based on my Melbourne experience, but I've heard Sydney is just as cool. There's a lot of cultural diversity in Melbourne (big Asian population) and lots of things to do in a small proximity. Australia is crazy about their sports (cricket, Aussie rules football, swimming) which is very cool. Outside of the cities, you can't beat their outdoor activities with all the hiking and water around. I saw so many awesome pictures of Australian sights and beaches that I already have my mind made up that I'm going back and I can't wait!! You NEED to make a trip to Australia if you ever have the chance. It'll be totally worth it. Oh, and I dig the food too (minus the vegemite). Tim-tams and hot jam donuts are at the top of my list. Rock on.

On the last day in Australia, we made a short drive to Geelong to see some wildlife, do some shopping, and go to the beach. You know you're in Australia when you're just driving along and you see a kangaroo crossing sign just like we'd see a deer warning sign on the highways. How cool is that??

We got to see some 'roos and a whole bunch of other unique wildlife (mostly birds) at Serendip Sanctuary (it was free!) And we were able to get totally up close and personal. It was a very very cool experience.

We were allowed to go into the kangaroo pen, which our guide told us that not many people are allowed to do. We walked as close to the 'roos as possible before the hopped away, and then the guide rounded them up so that they hopped all around the perimeter of the pen while we were in the middle. Totally awesome.



Here's me taming a koala.



Here's a pic of the beach we went to at the end of the day. It was totally freezing cold with the wind, but it was still really great.

(btw, that koala's not alive...but it looks real, right??)

AOTD: Vegemite

First experience this morning. Totally nasty. More here.

AOTD: Hungry Jack's

Doesn't Hungry Jack's look a lot like Burger King??? They have McDonald's and KFC and 7-11 here...but they don't want to call Burger King what it really is.