« June 2006 | Main | August 2006 »
July 31, 2006
More late Comicon blogging
I know, I know. But I think maybe some of this will be new stuff.
The guys from RENO 911 showed up twice, once in-character for the RENO 911: MIAMI movie, and then out-of-character for their movie BALLS OF FURY, which is a parody of Jean-Claude Van Damme martial arts movies with ping-pong instead of kickboxing.
The Reno 911 trailer is a beat-for-beat parody of the Miami Vice movie trailer, which was great fun to see two weeks before that movie had opened, but they need to hurry it out to the public now if they don't want the joke to get old. Clips included one where the gang have trouble operating an airport x-ray machine, and another one where the female cop is being taught Miami-style slang by her black partner, ending with her going too far by calling her partner "nigger." I can't really do it justice in describing it here, but the cast, in character, went on about how "fucking libelous" the "documentary" is, and how it was part of a Jewish conspiracy.
For BALLS OF FURY, the guys aren't the stars of the movie, but have cameos. The villainous Eastern crime lord who puts on the underground ping-pong tournament is played by Christopher Walken, and they showed a scene where he offers the hero a chance to sample his harem of sex slaves. After much moral debate, the hero agrees, and they all turn out to be men.
There was the usual Q&A from the audience. One guy asked if they'd sign his BALLS OF FURY underwear, to which they responded that they'd only do it if he was wearing them, so he put them on over his pants, and the deed was done. Another of the questioners angrily wanted to know how dare they mock the serious athleticism of ping-pong. He was clearly a plant -- the guys came down off the stage and started beating the crap out of him, then chased him all around the hall. Security didn't seem to get the joke, as all three were escorted out.
Maybe The State was funnier than I remember. I still don't find Michael Showalter funny, though.
A clip shown from the BORAT movie made me think that we'll never see its like again. Consider that the movie in large part involves Sacha Baron Cohen doing stuff in character in front of unsuspecting real people. Now, let's talk about the clip:
Borat is naked in a hotel bathtub. He gets out of the tub to find his fat producer on the bed, also naked, masturbating to a magazine picture of Pamela Anderson. Enraged, because he wants Pam to only be his spank fantasy, Borat starts fighting the guy, and in the process they end up in every compromising position you can imagine, including one where the fat guy starts yelling "Eat my ass!" There's a vertical black bar over Borat's penis to make it look bigger than it is, but everything else is shown.
Then the fight breaks out into the hotel corridor, with both men still naked, and Borat somehow wielding a dildo with a rubber hand on the end of it as a weapon. They go into a crowded elevator and stand still as various uncomfortable folks in there with them gradually exit. Then the fight continues anew, finally spilling into a massive business conference in the hotel's main hall, with the two breaking tables as they knock each other down, before getting taken out by unamused security.
I couldn't believe this would be in an MPAA rated movie, let alone shown before a family audience. I wonder if Comicon people will be more diligent about screening stuff in the future. Not that I mind, but I suspect many parents might.
more to come, including Wicker Man, Happy Feet, The Grudge 2, and The Tripper...
Posted by LYT at 6:02 PM | Comments (3)
My Grandfather's Column
Liberalism
For some people liberalism has nothing to be said for it This seems to be true in matters of both religion and politics. I often wonder why this should be so because we virtually all of us claim to value freedom, which is exactly what liberalism is about - being liberated.
I have no wish to write about party politics, though it's not possible totally to separate politics from religion, for both are concerned with what we do about what we believe.
There is of course a kind of liberalism which right thinking people should surely abhor; I mean the belief that I should be allowed to do whatever I want to do. That would be OK if we were not frail, misguided, sinful beings. It is only in heaven that that kind of liberalism would make sense because in the heavenly state we would always want precisely what God wants. In the here and now we keep finding that one person's wants will conflict with those of other people. This is true at the personal level and more disastrously so when we look at international relations.
The problem with people and groups who are opposed to what we might call rational liberalism is that whereas such liberals know they can be mistaken, their opponents are certain that they themselves are always right. Within the Christian Church there are great numbers of such misguided people, whose typical position is :"I believe this because the Pope says I should" or :"I believe this because the Bible says I should". Yet I know many devout Catholics who would disagree with the first statement and many lovers of the Bible who would disagree with the second. All rational people accept that popes have erred and all rational people must surely be aware that the Bible needs a lot of interpretation.
The older I get the less certain I become of things which I once thought important truths. At the same time I become ever more convinced that Jesus gives us the best possible picture of the invisible God and that God is love and, as the marriage service puts it: "Those who live in love live in God and God lives in them".
-Peter Graham
Posted by LYT at 2:48 PM | Comments (10)
THE WOODS dvd up for pre-order on Amazon
$16.99. Go get it.
This confirms the release date of October 3rd...at least for now.
And this also means that come October 3, I'll FINALLY be able to show the world all of the photos I took on set.
Posted by LYT at 12:25 AM | Comments (3)
July 30, 2006
I don't care what anyone says...
...I still like the naked Britney pictures.
Hell, even if that were her normal belly and not the pregnant expanded version, I'd still be down.
Posted by LYT at 9:08 PM | Comments (6)
July 29, 2006
I don't think I've ever said this before...
God, I hope it rains!
For those wondering why I shaved off my 'stache, it's a lot more practical than you might think. My new scuba mask wasn't sealing properly on my upper lip. Now it does.
Posted by LYT at 7:30 PM | Comments (7)
Another LYT DVD coming up
Last night, I did a new commentary track for a film I think many of you will like. It's a stop-motion feature called BLOOD TEA AND RED STRING, which premiered alongside MAD COWGIRL at the San Francisco Indiefest.
I didn't have anything to do with the production of the movie -- though I like to think I had some part in its obtaining a distribution deal. But I went in with director Christiane Cegavske and did my best to pose the questions I think an interested fan would ask. I can speak from experience in saying that solo commentaries are generally far less fun than doing them with someone -- for the viewer as well as the participants, I believe. We also did a bit of narration for the DVD extras.
We recorded the tracks at Nickelodeon, which is a trippy-as-hell office environment that actually looks like an office as might be depicted in a Nick-cartoon. It's one production office that kids might not be disappointed to visit.
We didn't have a chance to hang much afterwards, as Christiane's adorable toddler daughter was coming down with a fever (though surprisingly happy and talkative for it). But it was a fun evening, and I hope everyone enjoys the disc when it comes out (I don't have an exact date, but I believe it's relatively soon).
Posted by LYT at 2:17 AM | Comments (2)
July 27, 2006
Before your DVD dies, you see...Tommy Wiseau
"By purchasing this movie or by viewing it, you are a human, you are concerned, you are part of civilization and humanity, and you are indirectly a part of the solution to homeless issues." So says the blurb on the back of the DVD for Tommy Wiseau's "Homeless in America," a 30-minute documentary.
Inside the DVD case is an envelope addressed to Wiseau films. Also this message:
"If you purchased "Homeless in America" we would like to commend you and thank you for your compassion and concern.If you received "Homeless in America" free of charge, we would like to ask you to send us some payment, in any amount, payable to Wiseau-Films at the address below.
If you can't afford to pay, hopefully you appreciate it, and if you can please send us your comments and suggestions.
We can put your name on our next project for a contribution of:
One name--$200.00 or more
Two names--$350.00 or moreAlso we can put you on the list as an anonymous donor, it's your choice"
My Playstation 2 is my main DVD player, but it can be problematic. When I put the disc in, it starting freezing-and-starting during the fancy CG "Wiseau Films" logo. I ran a lens-cleaner through it twice, and the problem remained.
Now, in fairness to my PS2, it does have an overreaction problem to layer changes, but if it's giving me real issues, usually the disc does have a problem, though it may be lesser on better palyers.
My backup DVD player is my old PC that I don't ever use any more except as a backup DVD player. It started the movie right.
Then, at a certain point, right after a 72-year-old man yells "We don't need a hand out, we need a hand up!" the disc stops, and my DVD program freezes completely. I try again, using chapter-skip, and it does the same thing. The disc itself looks pristine.
So I can't bring you a full and complete review. What I can tell you is that the movie is endless repetition fo different people sayign their name and how long they've been on the street. Wiseau is barely present on camera; instead, there's a blond ponytail guy with a less pronounced Transylvanian accent (though it's there if you listen).
One of the homeless women claims to be married to an NBA star. I wonder if that's true -- she doesn't name him, at least in the part I saw.
The cinematography is way better than in THE ROOM, but other than that, there's nothing to recommend the movie as either a quality statement or a camp classic. It's shallow and facile, but deals with a real problem.
And the disc ruins my DVD players to the point that they need reboots.
Your disc is TERRRRING ME APAAARRRRT TOMMY!
(in related news, I probably won't make it to THE ROOM this Saturday)
Posted by LYT at 8:24 PM | Comments (21)
Comicon: Ghost Rider panel
Last year's Comicon also had a Ghost Rider panel, but without any footage. This year also brought Nic Cage, in full Elvis garb with huge sunglasses he never took off. He also sounded stoned out of his mind, which explains the sunglasses, and can be explained by the fact that he's been hanging out with Oliver Stone at the WORLD TRADE CENTER junket.
Quotes are paraphrased, as I didn't actually take notes. Cage was quick to point out that his tattoo isn't actually of Ghost Rider; it's a flaming skull, which could be taken that way but also represents honesty and not wearing any kind of mask (except, presumably, huge sunglasses when you're high).
Asked what superpower he'd like to have, Cage responded: "I used to think I'd like to flyyyy...But I fly every niiiiight. (pause) In my dreeeeams. I'm good at it...When I wake up, I try to lift off sometimes. Then I'll see my wife, staring at meee...I guess that's a wake-up call."
Later he said that as a kid, he turned into Ghost Rider to scare a bully (you interpret "turned into" any way you want -- it's what he said), and that was one of the things that made him want to do acting.
Eva Mendes looks totally supermodel-hot until she starts talking, then the way she speaks seems kind of nerdy. I don't know quite how to describe it. Director Mark Steven Johnson basically admitted that DAREDEVIL wasn't as good a movie as he wanted it to be, but hoped that maybe now that Marvel has its own studio, he might get a second crack at it, doing more of an origin story (a re-do similar to what they're doing with the new HULK film).
And then there was this tiny kid who walked up to the Q&A mic and just yelled everything as loud as he could.
Kid: HI, THIS QUESTION IS FOR EVA MENDES (pause) HI, REMEMBER ME?
Eva: I think so, were you in that movie that...
Kid: NO. I ASKED YOU A QUESTION LAST YEAR, REMEMBER?
Eva: Oh yes, I do!
Kid: YOU GAVE ME A HAT!
Eva:Yeah, I totally remember you! You made my day!
Kid: MY MOM MOVED TO ARIZONA.
Eva: Did she take you with her?
Kid: YEAH, SHE TOOK ME WITH HER.
Eva: Well, it's good to see you.
Kid stops talking, stays in front of the mic, is eventually ushered away.
Now, how was the footage? It looks halfway between the Spawn movie and the Daredevil movie, which I know is not the most optimistic assessment. I'm not sure I buy Nic Cage in a bad wig and Eva Mendes as a serious couple. They showed a bit where Cage's face burns away to become Ghost Rider, and that looked cool. The Ghost Rider himself, well, it's tough to make a guy look "real" when his head is a hovering, flaming skull, but it's passable. Peter Fonda plays the devil, and there's a bit where his mouth morphs into a fucked-up demonic mouth and back again. Wes Bentley is Blackheart, and does some demon type stuff. There's a scene that's obviously supposed to be comic relief of Eva Mendes interviewing a super-fat goth chick (in fairness, though: this super-fat goth chick looks way more authentic than the usual Hollywood portrayals of same).
The movie opens Valentine's day. Avi Arad was asked why not open it on Halloween, which led to a pre-prepared speech about how the movie isn't a monster movie, but rather a love story. I wonder if that line works on the ladies when he uses it. Probably not, so I wouldn't try it unless you're dating a goth.
I have hope that the movie will be fun, but not so much hope that it'll be really good.
Posted by LYT at 4:40 PM | Comments (4)
Escalation
My landlord came by yesterday and handed me a letter threatening eviction if I didn't remove the A/C unit from the window within three days. The rationale had changed, too; nothing about the wiring was mentioned in the letter. Instead, it relied on a clause in my contract forbidding "alterations."
It never occurred to me that opening the window and putting something on the sill counted as such. Regardless, I called some good friends who were willing to come by on short notice, and we lifted the thing out of there. It's not worth fighting, and I can't really afford to move.
Still looking for a second job though. Anybody got anything?
Posted by LYT at 4:23 PM | Comments (4)
Reviews
Yep, them. Remember those things I'm supposed to write?
"Youngsters DJ (voiced by Mitchel Musso), "Chowder" (Sam Lerner), and Jenny (Spencer Locke) are intimidated by creepy old man Nebbercracker (Steve Buscemi, animated in such a way that one can easily imagine how well he might have played Gollum) and his frightening old house, which seems to literally consume toys carelessly left on its lawn. When Nebbercracker apparently has a heart attack, the house gets even scarier, acting autonomously and making scary "faces" with its windows, door, and porch. Eventually the kids go inside, more or less copying the climax of every Harry Potter movie, in which the hero, the heroine, and their goofy friend go down into that scary room no one has ever entered and face supernatural trials. The coolest thing about Monster House is that Kathleen Turner's face was actually motion-captured to create the house's expressions, creating perhaps the most literally wooden performance of all time. "
more here
"A colleague at the screening suggested that there's a very simple Stephen Dorff rule — if he's in the movie, it'll suck. Looking back over his filmography, Blade seems to be the only project worth talking about, and even that was overrated, boasting special effects that were state-of-the-art at the time but look pretty feeble now. Dorff, it turns out, is the best thing in Shadowboxer. Enough said. "
more here
Posted by LYT at 11:24 AM | Comments (5)
July 26, 2006
THE WOODS U.S. dvd release - finally.
Jaye is reporting word that it's coming out October 3rd. I had heard that independently from a trusted source, so it sounds like it's fairly official at this point.
Don't expect any extras on the disc. But who knows, maybe if it does well enough, they'll consider a more deluxe disc in the future.
Posted by LYT at 11:55 AM | Comments (7)
Fame of sorts
Popular blogger Ann Althouse seems intrigued by MAD COWGIRL.
(link via Cinerati)
Posted by LYT at 2:08 AM | Comments (1)
Clerk-off
I'll be damned. Kevin Smith won me over.
It was an uphill climb, to say the least. I haven't been much of a fan since I worked at the Sunset 5, where Roger the manager would try to shut me up with lines like "Nobody CARES what YOU think of Mallrats." I always figured someone should care what I think about movies, dammit. Nowadays, some do. But the point is that I liked CLERKS quite a bit, adored MALLRATS, and was kind of okay with CHASING AMY, though it felt like a step down. What I liked about those movies was that they were the first to show people onscreen that resembled people I really knew. Kevin's characters admittedly got laid more than the people I knew, but besides that, hanging out at the mall all day discussing comic book arcana just hadn't been shown in movies quite like that, and it was a life I knew. That reality basis was Kev's biggest strength, and when he went all high-concept with DOGMA and JAY AND SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK, it just did not work for me. Those were grounded in no reality at all -- DOGMA does have some solid theology in it, but it's mixed in with enough stupid bullshit like a turd monster that it doesn't work, plus Smith isn't much for staging action. I'm glad he isn;t doign THE GREEN HORNET, but on the other hand, I'm also kinda glad no-one's doing THE GREEN HORNET.
Oh, and he gave the world Ben Affleck. And completely miscast George Carlin a few times.
Then, more recently, he started having hissy fits about individual critics, getting those he didn't like kicked out of screenings. This I had a huge problem with. As a freelance film critic, if I don't get a screening of the movie I'm assigned in a given week, I DON'T GET PAID. The worst I can do is hurt Kevin's feelings; the worst he can do is affect my livelihood. And by the way, if a critic disses Kevin Smith, guaranteed he or she'll get some pretty vehement hate mail that more than equals any critical cheap shots.
And with all that said, I really liked CLERKS II. It feels real. The only moment that doesn't is the only moment that doesn't 100% work: a musical number set to the Jackson 5's "ABC."
Ten years on, Dante and Randall are still working minimum-wage customer service jobs, but Dante's about to get married, inexplicably, to a rich blonde whose family will provide him with a job and a house. The fiancee is played by Mrs. Kevin Smith, ironically cast as the epitome of everything guys hate about marriage. Though the casting is nepotistic, Jennifer Schwalbach is fine in the role. Nothing special, but nothing flawed either.
The movie details Dante's last day at work at the Mooby's fast food chain, which involves some degree of sexual tension with boss Rosario Dawson (now, no offense to Kevin, but most of us, given the choice between Jennifer and Rosario, would not take long to make up our minds). Seemingly desperate for attention, Randall does his best to be a bigger ass than usual, and tries to arrange a beastiality sex show for the evening. Trevor Fehrman plays a weenie Christian coworker who loves Transformers and Lord of the Rings. Randall's putdown of the latter is almost word-for-word what I've heard from some of my friends.
Jay and Silent Bob are back, but they're amiable supporting characters this time. Randall gets all the good lines, leaving Jay to be just plain weirder than ever before (it's apparently Jason Mewes' first performance sober), and it works.
What makes the movie work most fo all is the way it addresses the uncertainty of the world of the growing-up gen-Xers. We all thought we should pursue our dreams and not bother with jobs we dislike, the way our parents did, but when adulthood can no longer be ignored, and you're still dreaming of greatness with a reality that sucks, what then? I ask myself the same right now, so this hits me where I live. And yeah, some are comparing this to movies like THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN, but I never for a second believed the title character of that movie, whereas I totally get these guys.
Music is almost wall-to-wall, which I often hate, but many fo the choices are canny, especially the way Smith uses the Smashing Pumpkins song "1979," so often overplayed on KROQ, in a fittingly poignant way. And I never liked Soul Asylum's "Misery" until just now.
There's one part where Dante and Randall are arguing and the camera spins around them several times -- it's at least one time too many. But other than that, the film-making is fine. The ending may be too convenient, but hell, it's about convenience store clerks, ya know?
End credits = longest ever, listing all of Kev's myspace friends. Whew.
I look forward to another CLERKS movie in another decade. When we all hit middle age, let's see how these guys -- and those of us viewing them -- have come along.
And if you don't believe me, check what Movieguide says:
"All of this abhorrent content is extremely tiresome and thoroughly evil. Only a hateful moron or a mentally deranged person could create it or appreciate it. Faced with such a work, MOVIEGUIDE® must seriously question the judgment and intelligence of the filmmakers, the actors and the studio executives behind CLERKS II."
Posted by LYT at 1:21 AM | Comments (7)
July 25, 2006
AUUGHHHHHH!
Landlord says I have to take the air conditioner out. The wiring in the building cannot support it, he claims.
Just when I thought life might actually be getting better.
ADDENDUM: I know I have journalist friends reading this. Possible human interest story to be had on people during a heatwave who are forbidden from using their own air conditioners?
Posted by LYT at 11:30 AM | Comments (11)
July 23, 2006
Coming soon
In addition to Comicon catch-up, I'll have a very special review coming to this site in the next couple of days.
One of my birthday presents was the 30-minute documentary HOMELESS IN AMERICA, directed by...Tommy Wiseau, "auteur" of THE ROOM (which is screening this coming weekend...who's up for going?)
I have not found a review online anywhere for HOMELESS IN AMERICA. I may be the first. Stay tuned.
Posted by LYT at 10:04 PM | Comments (4)
One more quick note before I head back to the con
Regarding the Spider-Man 3 footage:
Venom looks like Venom should.
And as for Pirates of the Caribbean 3 -- Chow-Yun Fat's character is bald, with a long fu-manchu beard and deep scars criss-crossing his head. Jack has a scene where he uses the backfire of a cannon to propel himself out to sea, and there's a swordfight between Jack and Davy Jones on the deck of a ship during a "perfect storm" looking thing at sea.
Posted by LYT at 8:18 AM | Comments (3)
It's my real birthday now
yay.
Posted by LYT at 12:49 AM | Comments (4)
The Holy Shit Moment
Every Comicon has one. The first look at footage from the Sin City movie. MirrorMask. Last year's Superman Returns first look.
This year didn't seem to have one until Saturday morning, when it gave us two.
First was 300. This is a movie adaptation of Frank Miller's comic about the Persia/Sparta battle at the pass of Thermopylae. Based on what we saw, think TROY meets SIN CITY. There are kids beating each other bloody. Babies thrown off cliffs. Wolf battles. Slo-mo action gore. Fucking. Lesbians. Huge rampaging rhino. Toxic Avenger-style mutants. Sea battles. Land battles. Rains of arrows that block out the sun. Nearly nekkid mortal combat.
Oh, and there will be toys. Here's one of the mutants, rendered in plastic by NECA:
Stars David Wenham and Gerard Butler were in attendance, making wisecracks about how heavy the capes were and how unfit they are now relative to in the movie. Butler was a lawyer for 7 years before returning to his true childhood passion of acting -- let that be a lesson to some.
The second Holy Shit moment was for GRINDHOUSE. For those who don't know, this is a retro-style exploitation movie double-feature, made up of a movie by Robert Rodrigues, PLANET TERROR, a movie by Quentin Tarantino (I forget the title), and fake trailers in between (including one for MACHETE, a non-existent action spin-off for Danny Trejo's SPY KIDS character).
Also, the film will be fake-aged to look like a bad drive-in print. Rodriguez's segment is almost done, and we saw a lot of badass clips (the first Rodriguez movie in years to not look blatantly digital, btw). Looks to be a zombie movie, with Rose McGowan as a badass babe who loses her leg and eventually replaces it with a machine gun. Tarantino's will be a slasher, with Kurt Russell as the villain, a stuntman gone bad. Zoe Bell, star of DOUBLE DARE and Uma's double in KILL BILL, plays herself in a significant role. Tarantino plays "the Sid Haig role" in Rodriguez' segment.
Oh yeah, there are toys for this one too. Also by NECA.
Here we see a prototype of the pre-amputee Rose McGowan figure (combine with the James Duval Donnie Darko figure for some Doom Generation action!):
In other Tarantino news...He plans TWO anime spin-offs of KILL BILL. One will be the origin of BIll, the other features the Bride, though he didn;t say if it's prequel or sequel. Probably both, knowing him.
Also, he's goign to restore a theater in LA's Chinatown and make it a full-time Chinese language movie theater (Mandarin or Catonese, he didn't say).
Posted by LYT at 12:28 AM | Comments (2)
July 22, 2006
Some overdue con blogging
First panel I attended Thursday was for FLYBOYS. The pluses -- a WWI aviation combat movie. The minuses -- produced by Dean Devlin and starring James Franco. They showed one of the six battle scenes, which looked decent, then an FX reel, indicating that this movie is the first to use motion capture on actual biplanes, which isn't as cool as in WINGS where they used real planes, but superior to models at least.
WB -- Clips were shown from the new Ninja Turtles movie, titled with the "hip" appelation of just "TMNT." It's more or less a sequel to the live-action movies, similar to SUPERMAN RETURNS in that it's ignoring most of the third one. The action in it looks well done, and the cityscapes are amazing looking, but then the humans are stylized and cartoony, which gave me pause -- I was hoping for a more Eastman/Laird look, but they're more like 3-D manga. Shredder will not be the villain, and Mako is the voice of Splinter, though the turtles will be voiced by relative unknowns. Peter Laird was heavily consulted, and John Woo is not involved.
Lionsgate -- Clips were shown from SKINWALKERS, a werewolf movie with Stan Winston designs, though you'd never know that by the confusing, poorly acted clip they showed, in which people are put in leather restraints, and then some bad guys come and kill the dude who put the people in restraints, and demand to know where a certain child is. I got nothing out of it, but Winston came out afterwards and said "It will fuck you up!" Sure. Maybe. He claims it will be the ultimate werewolf movie.
Saw III -- A clip was shown of one of the traps, in which a man has some Clive Barker-esque rings through his skin, attached to chains, with the nastiest of all being through his mouth and coming out under his jaw. He's in a room with a bomb, and can only escape by ripping out all the rings. Notable also is that the voice through the Jigsaw puppet is no longer disguised as much as it used to be -- it's very clearly Tobin Bell. Bell, by the way, is as methodical and creepy in person as his character.
Got to head back now -- more later.
Posted by LYT at 9:37 AM | Comments (0)
July 21, 2006
Choking my chicken, or, Horton hears a hurl
This story has some unpleasant moments, but things work out in the end.
It begins with a standard day of movie panels at Comicon, the details of which I may perhaps relay later, though others will likely do it better. The panels begin in the morning, and at 3:30 p.m. or so I decide I need lunch. Fiending for the seafood lasagna I've known aqnd loved in years past (one year it was all I ate for lunch every day), I head to the Horton Plaza food court. The fish place no longer has it.
But there's that Indian place that gave me free samples the other day, where I then bought some greasy yummy samosas. I go for the combo. I race a young couple to the only free table in the shade, but they get there first, so I ask if I might sit there too - direct sun is pretty hot. They agree, and keep their conversation private by switching to Spanish.
Now let me tell you about my esophagus...
It's a treacherous body part, and one where being poorly endowed is considerably more impractical than in other areas. My esophagus and me have a testy relationship -- it hates pills bigger than a Benadryl, usually constricting around them in anger before retuirning to sender. It gets wacky with the air bubbles, sometimes sending them up while I'm trying to deliver beer downward. Dry-ish food like canned tuna can stick to its walls for a long time. It's nearly killed me at least once, but unlike an appendix, it must be reasoned with rather than eliminated.
Today was the perfect storm. Dry throat. Air bubble coming up. Food going down. Food that adhered to itself unusually well (chicken tikka masala and rice).
It stopped. Not a blockage -- I could breathe -- but the food would neither come up nor go down. Attempts to force it down with Coke were met with resistance.
I packed up everything, left the table, and moved to a more private corner. Then decided something even more private, like a restroom cubicle, might do.
On my knees in a nasty-ass mall restroom, pathetically making an attempt at bulimia, my sunglasses fell off my head and broke. And the button on my pants flew off.
I should emphasize that, as I could breathe, I did not fear for my life. But I was in pain. Until a large burp finally hit and saved me.
Then I finished the food, chewing every morsel 30 times and drinking large quantities with each bite. I paid for the damn lunch, after all. But now I needed new pants.
Hot Topic had nothing to offer, just tight stripey things. But I found this other store where they sell G-Unit and Sean John clothes. Normally these are out of my budget, but denim shorts were half price. Plus they had the word "Phat" stitched on the leg. Sold.
I was shaking, and shaken. Choking sucks. I had planned to not drink, but headed straight for the Marriott bar for a double jack and coke (only $2 more than a single, just so's ya know).
And it was here that I met the most charming woman, a storyboard animator with bright purple hair and a rock star sense of style.
The lousy lunch may have made me a new friend.
Posted by LYT at 10:46 PM | Comments (4)
Almost all I want...
Guess what we have here?
Now guess whether they were alive or dead when I ate them.
Most places that advertise live shrimp mean that it's live until the chef prepares it. I thought that was the case here too, until one of them jerked itself right out of my hand.
The convulsions of these things remind me of sexual thrusts. Life versus death. I tried to bring death quickly. The brains are delicious.
This sushi place in San Diego, sushi Nippon, on 4th street, defies my usual law about "if the ginger's dyed pink, the food might stink."
They also had jellyfish sushi. I love when a place can surprise me like that. It's prepared flattened and cut into noodle-like strips, that are then bunched up in an uni sushi-style brick -- on a hunk of rice wrapped in seaweed wrap. Mostly tastes of the eel sauce and sesame seeds it's prepared with.
I also had raw octopus. Not alive, alas -- but much better than cooked, at least as prepared here, though it came with an overabuyndance of cucumber for my liking.
Posted by LYT at 1:35 AM | Comments (10)
July 19, 2006
Comicon photos
RE-ANIMATOR Herbert West figure from SOTA
Leprechaun figure from SOTA
Nicholas Cage as Ghost Rider action figures by Hasbro:
12" scale Jabba the Hutt figure by Sideshow. Jabba alone is $120; the throne is $199, and Salacious Crumb + extra accessories goes for $33. Hefty!
An upcoming Charles Band movie:
NECA: Resident Evil, V for Vendetta, Lara Croft, Kain:
NECA: Shaun of the Dead 2-pack
Mezco South Park
Masters of the Universe "Staction" figures: Sssqueeze, Evil-Lyn w/Screech, Rio Blast. The Kobra Khan figure on the shelf beneath will be a future exclusive.
McFarlane: Flintstones and Simpsons
Mattel DC Superheroes Catwoman
McFarlane's LOST figures:
McFarlane: Animated-style Spawn fiogures (Series 30)
Sideshow 1:1 Saw puppet. Lionsgate will be painting faces likie this li'l guy over the weekend, and I intend to go for it.
A few more pics on my Buzznet site.
Posted by LYT at 10:51 PM | Comments (6)
July 18, 2006
On the road again...
Meet me in San Diego, if you can and if you dare. I'll post a schedule of the events I'm most likely to attend shortly.
I had hoped to have a cell phone for this year's event, but that isn't happening. I'll check email morning and night; if you want to meet up on a given day, e-me with your phone number.
I know you think I stand out in a crowd -- but when the crowd is almost half a mile huge and half of it is in crazy costumes...not so much. Don't be so sure you'll run into me at random, though my friend Brian, who works at the booth of artist William Stout, may have the best visual confirmation on me at any given time.
Posted by LYT at 2:29 PM | Comments (2)
July 17, 2006
Attention NEW YORK (now with correct address)
MAD COWGIRL will be playing in your fair city for a week starting Wednesday. 9 p.m. every night at the Pioneer Theater, 155 East 3rd St.
Get tickets now! Right here
Those of you with friends or family in New York, please tell 'em to go see.
For those on the west coast, Walter Koenig will be appearing at the San Diego Comicon this Sunday at 10:30 a.m. Be sure to ask him about Mad Cowgirl if you go.
Posted by LYT at 12:59 PM | Comments (2)
July 16, 2006
Party pictures
The A/C held up. The food was plentiful. Valley Film Festival organizer Tracey Adlai brought a delicious birthday cake. Webmaster Brian Gaughan gave TV sci-fi pointers to science blogger Ben Sullivan. Poperratic's Jaye Luckett gave a stirring karaoke-style performance, culminating in covers of INXS' "Need U Tonight" and (ambitious as all hell) "Bohemian Rhapsody," which everyone could sing along to. Jersey boys Brenden McVeigh and James Avallone, never having met before, compared trivia on their hometowns. Big Brother season 1 winner Eddie McGee cranked up the tunes as unofficial DJ. There were beautiful ladies and lots of booze. Gifts ran the gamut from the obvious (alcohol) to the personal (many filmmakers brought me copies of their movies), the bizarre (a French subway poster for POLICE ACADEMY 5), and the truly off-the-wall (a marionette of Joey Fatone from NSYNC).
MIA: Joe Bettis, who rsvp'ed in the affirmative on the day of the party, and never showed up.
If you missed it, here are some of the sights:
Tracey's cake:
Eddie McGee busts the new Johnny Cash CD out of its plastic-wrap prison:
One of these guys is aware of the camera!
Poperratic, as seen in a rare photo from the 1970s...er, I mean in really low light:
"Ghostboy" David Lowery:
Beauties (Lindsay Stone, right, and her friend Kendra)...
...and the BEASTS! Matt King seems ready to put his fist in his mouth, as future tax attorney Albert DiMarco looks on:
Jaye and Edwin Santos:
The official party invite:
Posted by LYT at 8:57 PM | Comments (2)
July 15, 2006
Thank you, anonymous gift-giver.
Whoever ordered me the Masters of the Universe classic-color Sorceress mini-statue, thank you. There's no identifying info on the invoice it came with, except for an email address seemingly belonging to one "Jose Cheung."
I assume this is the alias of a friend of mine. If not, hey, many more thanks, stranger!
Posted by LYT at 3:16 PM | Comments (1)
July 14, 2006
Hey, everyone who hasn't responded to my Evite...
If you show up anyway and we run out of beer, don't blame me...I can only base supply on perceived demand.
Posted by LYT at 4:49 PM | Comments (2)
My Grandfather's Column (not about me, despite the title)
Rainbow People
One of the things that most of us have learned during my lifetime is that the people of our world come in all shapes and sizes, all colours and from hundreds of different cultures with all sorts of ideas and experiences. The Church of England is a small but influential part of the world-wide Anglican Communion, which exists in virtually every part of the world. As many of you will know the Communion is in deep trouble largely because it has forgotten its very essence. This can be described as holding the historic Christian faith, while allowing great freedom of interpretation, with no central government, allowing each province (or collection of dioceses) to decide on what is the right thing for their people to do. We have a fine tradition of giving love and respect to all our fellow believers however much they may hold different interpretations of Scripture and tradition.
Fortunately here in England our Church has always been able to live with considerable disagreements about many secondary aspects of our faith. On July 2nd I happened to attend an ordination service in Exeter Cathedral. At one point before the service itself started, 21 clergy processed into the part oif the church where we were sitting. The truly astonishing thing (to me) was that each of these clergymen wore robes that differed from all the others'. One of the strange absurdities of our Church is that this variety of attire indicates some difference of opinion about matters of doctrine. The man wearing a short cotta (mini-surplice), adorned with lace would be showing that he probably believed the Roman Catholic Church was more to his taste than the bulk of the Church of England; while the man in cassock but no white garment worn on top probably felt that "the surplice was a popish rag". None of these differences made any difference to the fact that they were together at worship and all joining in prayer for those being ordained.
Quite rightly most people who are not deeply involved in the Church of England are either indifferent or bewildered by all this nonsense; but the great thing is that in spite of all our disagreements we are one inclusive Church. The sad thing is that at the present time there are those who would split the Church on the basis of their particular interpretation of the Bible in secondary matters. These concern solely matters about gender and sexuality: what is the place of (a) women and (b) homosexuals in the Church's ministry? Jesus had nothing to say on either subject, as far as we know. But he did promise that the Holy Spirit would guide us into all truth. So we live in hope that ultimately we and all Christians shall once more be able to live and work comfortably together.
-Peter Graham.
Posted by LYT at 12:40 PM | Comments (2)
July 13, 2006
The future of film criticism?
It wouldn't surprise me too much if this is what we'll see.
Posted by LYT at 3:14 PM | Comments (1)
This pisses me off to the extreme
Price of an ambulance ride to the hospital: $622 plus extra mileage fees.
Mark my words, as one who knows firsthand -- there are going to be people who die or make their conditions far worse because of reluctance to pay that steep a fee.
Why not charge a fee if a fire engine comes to save your house? Or for calling the police?
The people who can easily afford these fees are precisely the ones who don't need the service.
In the meantime, if you get sick...call a fuckin' cab!
(link via LAobserved)
Posted by LYT at 12:39 PM | Comments (1)
Been a while since I offered some new reviews
so here's one...
"So you know how Parker Posey nearly always plays sarcastic, uptight smokers? In The Oh in Ohio, she finally stretches a bit: Here, she's a sarcastic, uptight career woman . . . who doesn't smoke! Also, she wears her hair down, whereas it's usually pulled back into some kind of tightly wound style more synonymous with being uptight. She's a natural looker, and she must love the opportunity to finally show it. "
And here's a quick take for the Voice.
Posted by LYT at 12:28 AM | Comments (1)
July 12, 2006
Added links
Just added two new ones to the bottom of the Friends list on the links page. I've never met either man in person, but I think we'd all be friends, so I made the supposition.
Nate Nance is a guy I found because he's one of the first bloggers out there to actually write something nice about me. Turns out his politics and love of porn are similarly in the right place, despite living in Texas.
Tim McGarry's been commenting here frequently in recent weeks, and his is a perspective I appreciate.
I'm too lazy to add hyperlinks here again. Just go to the links page if you want to find them.
Posted by LYT at 9:43 PM | Comments (1)
My Los Angeles Film Fest column is up at E!
I didn't write 100% of it -- the Harrison Ford encounter, regrettably, was not one I was able to attend, so that paragraph comes from a writer more fortunate.
But the rest is me. Go read it!
Posted by LYT at 6:23 PM | Comments (2)
July 11, 2006
A/C - D.C.
(Air Conditioning = Damn Cool)
Finally, a day where I do something useful to improve my quality of life.
My free air conditioning unit, plus some dear friends willing to do a li'l construction for the price of a free lunch, and some ingenious use of wood, plastic, and duct tape, has led to the truest moment of sheer bliss I've experienced this summer.
Now, if you'll pardon me, I'm going to go stand naked in front of it for hours as my electricity bill goes through the roof.
Posted by LYT at 5:50 PM | Comments (4)
July 10, 2006
Must be that wacky right-wing "humor" I keep hearing about
Here's a new T-shirt suggesting that journalists should be lynched.
To clarify: I don't have a problem with this T-shirt existing, but I think that we're getting to a dangerous place if the sentiment it expresses is considered in any way mainstream. Left-wingers are often caricatured as angry, but you don't see T-shirts saying that Republicans should be hanged.
And P.S. to conservatives -- lynching all journalists would also eliminate Fox News.
Posted by LYT at 3:15 PM | Comments (4)
I miss having music videos on TV
But here's one you shouldn't miss. Remember Genesis' '80s hit "Land of Confusion," with that awesome video full of Spitting Image puppets?
Wouldja believe...the same song, with heavy metal band Disturbed channeling Phil Collins, and Todd McFarlane animating today's world leaders?
Posted by LYT at 2:58 PM | Comments (9)
"I'm not nude...I'm just drawn that way"
Winona Ryder has long had a no-nudity contract, most absurdly noticeable in BRAM STOKER'S DRACULA, where every other girl rips off clothes, and Winona feebly tugs at her cleavage, removing nothing.
But in A SCANNER DARKLY, her character gets naked. However, because the entire movie is rotoscoped animation, it's not entirely clear whether or not this "counts." Also, in the particular scene, she morphs into another actress and back. So it's possible the breasts belong to the other chick. I hope Richard Linklater addresses this on the DVD, or a-undresses it, if you like. I want to know who was filmed and whether it violated a previously held belief.
As for the movie itself, it's playing in the freakin' Cinerama Dome in Hollywood, which is arguably the best screen in town, usually reserved for big action movies.
It's not possible to discuss SCANNER without bringing up WAKING LIFE, Richard Linklater's first rotoscoped-animation feature. That was basically his test run for this, even if he doesn't know it. My take on WAKING LIFE, more or less, was: Animation awesome, random philosophizing slightly annoying...wait, a plot is gradually developing...Wow, this is finally getting really interesting and strange.
If your take was similar, you may love this new film as I did, because it has a plot the whole way through, and an amazing ending.
To get some very obvious things out of the way (I'm sorry to have to say them, because everyone else will too, but they're true:
Keanu Reeves gives his most ANIMATED performance ever!
Robert Downey Junior and Woody Harrelson are great as drug addicts, because well, ya know, wink wink nudge nudge, I hear they've had some issues with the narcotics themselves from time to time!
Yes, lame, but correct. If this were the only film you'd ever seen Keanu in, you would seriously wonder why anyone would ever make fun of him for being a one-note actor. He's really good. Cue Max or somebody saying I can't be trusted on that point because I liked the Matrix sequels, but see for yourself -- with eyes as unbiased as you can manage -- then get back to me. Winona's better than she's been in a while, playing all strung-out...I wasn't 100% sold on some of her scenes toward the very end after her character takes a dramatic turn, but she's a very convincing junkie. Hey, maybe that's because she has had some difficulties with law enforcement in the past, ya think?
I'm sorry. This review isn't turning out very well.
If you get motion sickness from movies ever, you might want to be careful with this one. The animation rolls like ocean waves at times.
If not, go see it. It's good stuff.
Posted by LYT at 12:15 AM | Comments (8)
July 8, 2006
Coming up for air
Thanks to an awesome Fourth of July party, I am now in possession of a second-hand air-conditioner that might possibly work.
However, it's a heavy-azz mofo and I'm not entirely confident that I can put it securely in my wondow without it falling into doom on the parking lot beloe.
So, to any of my friends in the L.A. area -- can you help me with it? I'll throw in some free food or drinkstuff, or maybe both. Shouldn't take long to figure things out, but I'd like someone who's done it before to be present. And help me lift the sumbitch without blowing my calves or lower back out.
Posted by LYT at 10:35 PM | Comments (3)
July 7, 2006
Birthday wishlist
I know that most people I know, self included, are dead broke right now. But if you are thinking of a birthday gift, I have some ideas:
Here is my Amazon wishlist
Other things I would like to have in my possession include (I take size L for shortsleeve shirts, XL for longsleeve):
The Sandman, Terry Funk, and Sabu shirts seen here
And if anyone can find them in stores: WWE Classics figures Mr. Perfect, Sabu, Classic Undertaker/Paul Bearer 2pack
Nothing is expected. These are just some possibilities.
Posted by LYT at 7:18 PM | Comments (2)
Cinema Alerts for Los Angeles
The Pirates can wait...
Today is also the opening of THE PUFFY CHAIR, a great little indie that I reviewed HERE. It's at the Nuart. Go see it.
Also at the Nuart, midnight tonight, FLASH GORDON!
Only one of the ten greatest movies ever made. See y'all there.
Posted by LYT at 1:11 PM | Comments (4)
More LYT on DVD
On Wednesday, I went into the studio once again to add my dubious value to a forthcoming DVD, this time for the 1968 Japanese rape-softcore NAKED PURSUIT.
It may well prove a controversial thing, though I find it hard to imagine that anyone watching the movie will be turned on or hugely offended -- for one thing, the so-called rapist keeps his pants on the whole time.
Anyway, I did this commentary track with my new critical partner Jess Hlubik, who did some pretty thorough homework. I think we have another winner.
follow the link to preorder this on Amazon. I suspect it'll be on Netflix also.
Posted by LYT at 1:48 AM | Comments (1)
July 6, 2006
Pilates of the Curried Bean
The first time I saw the original PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN movie, I thought it was fine but a little underwhelming. Next to MASTER AND COMMANDER, the ship battles left a bit to be desired. Months later, I watched the DVD with my family, and appreciated it far more, especially seeing them appreciate it too. I was quite surprised that my teenaged female cousin liked Johnny Depp better than Orlando Legolas. Pleasantly surprised.
I’ll keep that in mind for part two -- I may like it better second time around. Which isn’t to say I didn’t have fun; there’s always enjoyable stuff to look at in the new one. What there isn’t is a coherent story or any real heart, save a literal one used as a plot device.
So keep in mind I liked the thing, but I am going to be critical to it. I know a lot of you may say, “Turn your brain off, it’s a big dumb action movie, what did you expect?” Some of those who think that way may at the same time be those who think X-3 wasn’t up to snuff because it didn’t follow an epic comic book storyline full of neon spandex and alien invasions to the absolute letter of fealty, or who don’t like the new Superman because “Superman wouldn’t leave without saying anything.” PIRATES is in almost no way faithful to the ride it’s based on -- I don’t remember any Captain Jack Sparrow mannequin or sea monsters, though they’ve since been added -- but it’s unlikely we’ll see the same kind of nit-picking.
The best thing about this movie are the monsters. I’ve always liked monsters, and I may have a weakness for them, but I think most kids do too. Designer Mark "Crash" McCreery has finally used CGI to achieve work that in my mind is on a par with Ray Harryhausen and Willis O’Brien. These creatures look 100% real and tangible, and each one is unique. I don’t know exactly which name corresponds with which in the credits, because long gone are the days of RETURN OF THE JEDI, wherein it was pretty obvious who Squid Head and Yak Face were. Fandom now insists that such characters would obviously have names for themselves that aren’t quite so blatant, which is why Squiddy became Tessek the Quarren, and the Yakster is now Saelt-Marae. Anyway, I know because of the toy line that Hammerhead Shark Guy is named Maccus, and Coral Reef Scallop Head is Palifico. I also want to give props to Conjoined Twin Dude, Hermit-Crab Head, Puffer Fish Guy, and Chap Whose Brain is Attached to the Wall. Perfect mergers of CG and performance, and you believe you could touch them, but not if you expected to get your hand back.
And then there’s Davy Jones (Bill Nighy + CG octopus; NOT a squid, as too many critics, perhaps recalling our ol’ pal Tessek, keep saying). Davy Jones looks good enough to eat, and I mean that literally. I kept wanting to throw wasabi soy sauce on him and have at that beard with some chopsticks. I would never have known this was Bill Nighy if I were not made aware of it.
In other good news: Keira Knightley is hot. Unfortunately, she’s hot in a “Hollywood model” kinda way, which means she doesn’t exactly fit in with the whole period look. Orlando’s head appears to have grown wider, as if to match the action figure headsculpts produced by NECA, which now look more accurate.
The plot, what little there is, involves everyone running around the high seas in search of Davy Jones’ treasure chest. Jones, you see, rather stupidly buried it on the beach somewhere, despite the fact that he is unable to set foot on dry land except once a decade (his crew have no such problem, for no particular reason).
Now here’s the thing: I will buy the outlandish premise that Davy is cursed because at one time he fell in love, and then he got pissed off and cut his own heart out, and now that heart’s in a treasure chest surrounded by letters no-one ever reads or bothers to examine, and that possession of the beating heart allows you to boss Davy around. Also that cutting his heart out turned his head into an octopus. Fine. I accept that.
Buuuut...In his first major scene, we establish that Davy can seemingly dematerialize and rematerialize at will on a different ship, yet he doesn’t know who has his heart? Oh, and the regular human bad guy, who’s all about reason and capitalism and an end to superstition, is somehow obsessed with getting the beating heart of an octopus guy in his possession? How does he even know about it?
These aren’t make or break issues, but one problem I do have with director Gore Verbinski, much as I like some of his work (THE WEATHER MAN is highly underrated), is that he doesn’t do big action all that well, and you’d think Jerry Bruckheimer could help him out a bit.
For example, there’s this part where three characters are in a swordfight, and in the distance is a big empty stone ruin with a giant water-wheel attached. The building is empty and contains nothing useful, yet the three fight their way up three stories and onto the wheel. Why? Oh, it just looks cool. Then the wheel gets rolling, and this has the making of a good sequence, with Verbinski defining the geography of the scene very well. But then...HE FREAKIN’ CUTS AWAY! To the comic relief characters Pintel and Ragetti! Did Spielberg cut away from Indiana Jones on the front of the Nazi truck? Did Merian C. Cooper cut away from King Kong fighting the planes (Peter Jackson did, but that was a bad move)? Did Richard Marquand and George Lucas cut away form the JEDI speeder-bike chase? You don’t do that! It kills the momentum of the wheel fight, which should be the major setpiece (there’s a big toy playset based on it, after all).
But isn’t Johnny Depp great? Not so much. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it felt like in the first movie he was really discovering something new as an actor, and perhaps the fact that it freaked the film-makers out a bit was what made it feel more daring. Here, his act seems more forced, like he’s executing a piece of choreography. He makes a great entrance, but the rest rings of more calculation than it should.
Orlando = still a stiff. And there’s no excuse now that we learn Stellan Skarsgard is his dad. Jack Davenport is pretty good as the disgraced former fiancé of Keira. And Pintel and Ragetti may be gratuitously obvious comic relief, but they are actually funny, which helps. Mackenzie Crook’s Ragetti is, to me, the scene-stealer here that Depp needs to be.
Remember, I still liked the movie, but I never felt engrossed in any kind of tension. The movie doesn’t even build to anything except a “To Be Continued...” final scene that features one decent surprise (albeit one spoiled almost everywhere, including in Carina Chocano’s LA Times review), but means that there is no significant showdown between Jack Sparrow and Davy Jones so far. Cliffhanger part twos are not often a great sign for the next episode anyway -- MATRIX REVOLUTIONS, RETURN OF THE JEDI, and BACK TO THE FUTURE III have their charms, but they weren’t worth the extra tension.
So hey: Fun giant squid, fun octopus face, fun monsters, and Stellan Skarsgard covered in barnacles. Good things to look at. Not much else, but do you care?
Posted by LYT at 12:48 AM | Comments (21)
July 4, 2006
Happy birthday USA!
Posted by LYT at 12:52 PM | Comments (2)
Presenting...The dumbest action figure ever!
I'm not going to spoil it, except to say that it costs $20 and is part of a new ROCKY movie line.
You have to see this to believe it...
Posted by LYT at 12:12 AM | Comments (2)
July 2, 2006
Just Married
Zoe Graham and Luke Kennard
Sorry I couldn't afford to be there.
Posted by LYT at 4:37 PM | Comments (2)
Okay, forget the valid email thing.
It isn't making a damn bit of difference. You may now post without contact info again.
Posted by LYT at 2:26 AM | Comments (3)
July 1, 2006
sort of a poem (probably be better as spoken word, but oh well)
All I want is a hand to hold from time to time.
All I want is to feel the increase in temperature from someone’s breath against my ear.
All I want is someone who’ll split a Macho Nachos with me.
All I want is to have somebody who’ll lean her head on my shoulder at a concert when they play the power ballad.
All I want is that when I wake up in the night sweating, I feel a warm body there in the darkness, and know that all is not wrong in the world.
All I want is someone who’ll eat live shrimp with me.
All I want is to drive out to some small town in the middle of the desert with her, exploring our surroundings by day and our bodies by night.
All I want is to present someone to my family, and have them say, “We’re glad someone finally appreciates him.”
All I want is not to have to shower alone if I don’t want to.
All I want is to hold and to be held, the human touch taken for granted by those who may not believe that some never, ever, find the ability to find it.
All I want is someone to sing to.
All I want is someone who remembers a conversation we had two months ago, where I casually mentioned what I wanted most, and presents it to me on my birthday.
All I want is to be there when someone calls.
All I want is to have a party where one special guest doesn’t leave until the next day.
All I want is someone who doesn’t say, “I’m really just looking for friends right now.”
All I want is to believe in someone else as much as I try to believe in myself.
All I want is not those famous three words, because it only needs to be two, and they only need to be whispered, because I’ll be close enough to hear you say, “I care.”
All I want is too much to ask.
Posted by LYT at 6:18 PM | Comments (30)
Comments change
For the forseeable future, all comments will now require a valid email address.
This changes nothing for most of you. But it may stem some of this ridiculous non-sequitur spam that has been barraging the site, and not even advertising or linking anything, so I don't see the point at all.
I will not use your email address for anything. After some time has passed, I may even rescind this requirement.
[This entry is now a magnet for spam, so comments below are closed]
Posted by LYT at 2:58 AM | Comments (6)