Growing Pains

Why are people in such a hurry to move their lives to the next step? If they keep at this pace then before they know it there won't be any more steps to take.

Growing Pains

You stared up at the sun
As you drifted away,
But you didn't know how far out
You had gone
Or where you were going.

Who is going to pick you up
If you push me down?
Where would you be
Without me?

You would surely be pulled under
By the force of the current
Moving beneath us.
How could you resist
Such an unusual thing?

A complicated undertow
Full of wondrous vice
And calculated misery.

We have only been independent
For a short while now,
Why are you in such a hurry to go?
Couldn't we enjoy this silly little place
For just a while longer?

Aren't we still kids
At heart?

We are only free to avoid responsibility
For so long,
What would we gain by running towards it?
I am just not ready to bear the weight of it all,
But please don't leave me behind.

What is so great about growing up anyway?


Copyright © 2008 Jarred Lee

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Trailer

The trailer for the next Harry Potter film, The Half-Blood Prince, dropped a few days ago and it looks promising. I really enjoyed The Order Of The Phoenix's dark spin on the previous films and this new movie really looks like it is holding to that precedent. I hope later trailers look as good. The movie itself is due to release on November 21st of this year.

Be sure to check out The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor this Friday if you'd like to see this trailer on the big screen, I'd honestly like to pass but I'll probably end up seeing it. I wish they would have kept Rachel Weisz as the wife though.

Artist Spotlight: Wen-M

So I finally decided to go ahead and spotlight other artists whom I enjoy, and who you should enjoy too. With that mind, I of course have to cover Wen-M as my first spotlight. I had no other choice. With a cool 7,478,736 pageviews, and growing quickly, in just four years, some consider him to be the unproclaimed king of deviantArt. If you're lucky enough to receive a favorite from him then you are really on your way. So without any further ado, I present some of the art of Wen-M. You can see his full gallery here.

Ramblings Of An Insomniac

So it's 5:00 A.M. and I can't get to sleep. Here's a video. Watch it, it's cool.

Happy Birthday To Me

July 22nd

While sometimes employing unorthodox approaches, you are capable of handling large scale undertakings.

You assume great responsibility and work long and hard toward completion. Often, especially in the early part of life, there is rigidity or stubbornness, and a tendency to repress feelings.

Idealistic, you work for the greater good with a good deal of inner strength and charisma.
An extremely capable organizer, but likely to paint with broad strokes rather than detail.
You are very aware and intuitive. You are subject to a good deal of nervous tension.

Cool stuff that happened on July 22!

The Dark Knight Impressions

I must honestly say that this feels like the first time I have ever seen a "true" comic book movie. The Dark Knight was perfect. The suspense, the themes, the visuals, the characters, everything. I actually felt like I was watching a graphic novel play through on the screen. I would also have to say that this film is probably the most ambitious Batman film to date as it is the first to really get into the darker side of the comics. It wasn't afraid of moving away from the more comical style we've seen in the previous movies and entering a grittier and more realistic one.

Also, this was the first Batman movie that fit together without having to focus on just one person or event. It didn't need the half-baked "doomsday plan" structure most comic book movies go for. It didn't require that we follow Bruce Wayne all over Gotham in his attempt to establish himself as a "defender of justice." Sure, we saw him grow, but we also saw the growth of a number of other characters as well. We saw the rise and fall of Harvey Dent. The moral struggle between Gordon and his unit. The coup d'etat lead by the Joker on Gotham City's criminal underworld. One of the biggest mistakes made by movies these days is the belief that the action needs to focus on the protagonist to hold the attention of the audience.

Two thumbs up for all of the cast, but I must say that Heath Ledger stole the show this time around. His rendition of The Joker was flawless. Now Jack Nicholson did an excellent job of playing the Joker in the first Batman film, but Heath's Joker made Nicholson's seem sane. He was truly sadistic and frightening. It's a shame that he won't be able to reprise the role. Aaron Eckhart also did an amazing job as Harvey Dent/Two-Face, and he was a much better fit for the role than Tommy Lee Jones was in Batman Forever. These two are probably the best comic book villiains I have seen in any movie, actually. Followed closely by Jack Nicholson's Joker, Willem Dafoe's Green Goblin (sans the crappy suit), and Jim Carrey's Riddler.

I am awarding The Dark Knight a well-deserved 5 stars out of 5 for being the biggest and most spectacular Batman film I have ever seen, as well as the best movie I have seen this summer. (And I have seen A LOT of movies this summer.) More like this DC!!

Jesse's Dance Craze

"It's sweepin' the nation!!!"

This is the result of a lot of free time and a little Rick Astley. Video by my good friend Jesse. Laugh and enjoy!

Original page here.

Watchmen Trailer Actually Looks Impressive

Watchmen, a short comic book series turned graphic novel, showcases a much darker side of DC. The story takes place in an "alternative history" United States on the brink of war with the Soviet Union where the "superheroes" are much more gritty and realistic. I won't go any further into the story, but you can be sure that Zack Snyder, who directed the artistic masterpiece that was 300, will try his hardest to make sure the downbeat, Cold War era, comic maintains its rough feel and tragic storyline.

Though I am only familiar with the comic in passing glance, and not too keen on DC, I am really excited about seeing this film. I will definitely have to check out the graphic novel as soon as I can and hopefully it will be brought to life before my eyes, and all of yours, when the film drops on March 6,2009.

Please feel free to go here for a better version of the trailer, because apparently blogspot is not that great at video uploading.

Penny Arcade Sums Up E3 Conferences

This made me laugh so hard when I first saw it! While I will concede that there was a bit more to each of the briefings, it still doesn't mean that this strip was any less hilarious. For all those who can't tell, the strip goes from left to right with Microsoft first, Nintendo (haha look at Reggie!) second, and Sony last.

Credits to Penny Arcade for the strip.

Final Fantasy XIII To Be Released On 360

For all you crazy people out there who didn't know this, E3 kicked off today with Microsoft's briefing conference. While I found the majority of the briefing to be lackluster, Resident Evil 5 slated for March '09 and Gears of War 2 to be released whenever, the heaviest hit came when Square-Enix head Yoichi Wada stunned the crowd by announcing that the upcoming Final Fantasy XIII would be releasing on the Xbox 360 as well as the Playstation 3. This is huge news. HUGE. This would be the first Final Fantasy from the main series to be "released" without Playstation exclusivity since Final Fantasy VI, which was adapted to the Playstation from the original Super NES version.

Now I'm not exactly sure how this happened... well that's not true, I know exactly "how" it happened and it rhymes with "wuge wums of woney." What I really want to know is how Sony allowed this to happen. Final Fantasy has always been a big seller for the company in the past, and this news coupled with the Xbox 360's recent price cut could mean big trouble for them. I suppose we'll just have to learn more before we can make any true predictions as to how this will play out, but I fear Sony isn't going to like the result.

Anyhow, below I've included the new trailer for the game, and I must say that I'm fairly impressed. I'll report later when more of the actual gameplay for FF XIII is shown. For now, however, just enjoy the trailer. Nintendo and Sony's briefings are set for tomorrow around 9 A.M. Pacific. It will be interesting to see what they have in store, respectively.

The You I Love

It has been forever since I put up any of my own photography and writing. Early June was the last time I believe. I have to try and remember that this blog is just as much for me as it is for all of you.

Anyhow, I got the idea for this piece while looking through an old yearbook at my friend's house. Sometimes things can be so much prettier in pictures, you know? Have so much more depth in photographs. But it isn't that simple. The picture will never recognize you, or remember your touch. It will never know you or sympathize with you. The photo will never let you in, but the person just might.

The You I Love

The "you" I love
Is wrapped up in books.
A mystery girl
With a beautiful smile
And eyes deeper than
The sea,

But will never see me.

The "you" I love
Is bound by paper and glue.
A pretty face in a sea
Of generic expression.
A precious gem buried in
The mud,

But can never cry out.

The "you" I love
Is unmoving and eternal.
A voiceless wonder
Born from ink
And placed on shelves.
To be touched,

But can never feel.

The "you" I love
Is a picture.
An idea on the edge
Of my sanity
That I will never really
Know,

And can never know me.

I wish it were
That simple.

Copyright © 2008 Jarred Lee

Hellboy 2: The Golden Army Impressions

While I thoroughly enjoyed the idea, and trailers, of Hellboy 2: The Golden Army, I found it just too difficult to become attached to the film itself. Don't get me wrong, I believe Guillermo del Toro did an excellent job with the art direction, as he has proven capable of before (Pan's Labyrinth), the actors did a great job with the script they had to work with, and visually it was far more impressive than the first film, but The Golden Army lacked the action and suspense that we saw the first time around. Extensive dialogue and overuse of comedy really pulled this film down and caused it to lose its focus all too often. In truth, it just didn't feel all that significant by the time the credits began to roll. There was never a point for me where I felt that the situation was in any way hopeless.

Also, while I greatly enjoyed the "villain" of the film, Prince Nuada, he didn't give off the imposing sinister feel of the previous Hellboy antagonist. He seemed more like a disturbed child than a true villain. This was by no means the fault of the actor though, because I honestly felt like the script failed to bring out the strength in most, if not all, of the actors and actresses.

In spite of my disappointment, I am still going to award Hellboy 2: The Golden Army 3 and 1/2 stars out of 5 for it's stunning visuals and imaginative design. Poor writing, extensive dialogue, and lack of true focus really kept this "decent" film from being "great" though. Live and learn I suppose.

This Day In Calvin And Hobbes

Yes, I have decided to start yet another new "thing" for the blog. From time to time I will post a Calvin and Hobbes strip from my collection that was printed on that same day "x" number of years ago. Sure it may just sound like filler, and I suppose it really is, but I love Calvin and Hobbes and I have the entirety of the series so you can just bugger off if you don't like it. =]

This strip is from July, 08, 1988, probably the best year ever, and is actually one of the more profound strips in the series. I always enjoyed the messages Watterson included in his strips, they really made you consider things even though you were just reading the "Funnies" section in the newspaper.

Weekend In Retrospect

This Doctor Who fan art was done by a friend of mine from deviantArt. (Btw the little thing next to the fake Doctor is a pull-string for all of those who don't get it.)

Not really too much to report on from this past weekend. My ancient Aunt came over from California to spend time with my mother so most of my "at home" time was spent tip-toeing around her and whatnot. The 4th of July was just any other day for me. I didn't spend it with anyone, unless of course you count the Silver Comet Trail as a person becuase in that case it and I would be considered the best of friends, and because my dad and brother were in Orlando at the time, we didn't even have a nice dinner. Well, unless you consider oriental style ramen a nice dinner. Mmm... oriental style ramen.

Anyways, my big plans for the weekend were supposed to take place on Saturday in the form of the Doctor Who season finale. This episode was to mark the ending of Russel T. Davies' position as head writer, and after what I saw in the finale I honestly can't wait for the switch. The episode before the finale left us with a huge cliffhanger ending that basically sent fans worldwide straight to the forums for speculation and whatnot. Well, when the episode finally aired, that cliffhanger was wrapped up in the first five minutes. Five minutes. It was like one of those "Boo! Just kidding..." kind of moments where the person says that they are kidding way too fast and it ruins the whole thing.

Continuing from that, the episode itself was written in what I can only describe as the "safest" way possible. Seriously, no risks were taken at all in this episode. Just tie a ribbon on it and ship it off to the crazy grandmother that you never really visit. Pretty much everyone in the cast, including all of the lame characters from the two spin-off series, got out "unscathed" from what was supposed to be a threat that, well, threatened the entirety of reality itself. Not a single cut or bruise was given to anyone. Moving along, everything in this episode was just too convenient to be convincing and at one point one of the characters actually looked right into the camera and smiled. I don't know if this was something that the editors missed or what, but that really only served to be the proverbial "pickle on the crap sandwich" that was this finale, as Dr. Elliot Reid so kindly puts it. We didn't even get the patented "What?!" ending that has marked the past two Tenth Doctor finales, which kind of killed me a little inside.

Anyways, I am glad Davies is gone, though I heard he would be writing the Christmas special this year (I hope it's just a rumor), because the show really needs a breath of fresh air. I mean, how many times are we going to see the Cybermen and the Daleks in this new series?! The old series has hordes of creatures that could be drawn upon and hopefully the new head writer will do just that.

I Met The Walrus

"In 1969, a 14-year-old Beatle fanatic named Jerry Levitan, armed with a reel-to-reel tape deck, snuck into John Lennon's hotel room in Toronto and convinced John to do an interview about peace. 38 years later, Jerry has produced a film about it. Using the original interview recording as the soundtrack, director Josh Raskin has woven a visual narrative which tenderly romances Lennon's every word in a cascading flood of multipronged animation. Raskin marries the terrifyingly genius pen work of James Braithwaite with masterful digital illustration by Alex Kurina, resulting in a spell-binding vessel for Lennon's boundless wit, and timeless message."


This is such an interesting piece of work. It is really amazing to hear what Lennon had to say even though the "interview" was unannounced and unprepared for. I just find it hard to believe that someone could be so well-grounded in their beliefs that they could convey their ideas as clearly as Mr. Lennon did. It's inspiring I'd say.

Outstanding work by Jerry Levitan, Josh Raskin, James Braithwaite, Alex Kurina, and co. for putting this video together.

Album Of The Moment #1: Viva La Vida

Well, it seems like Coldplay has done it yet again. Whatever "it" is anyway. After a little over three years since their last album, X&Y, their long awaited follow up has proven to be even more successful than the before-mentioned multi-platinum record.

Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, better known as just Viva la Vida, is Coldplay's fourth studio album and has reached more than ground-breaking proportions. The album dropped in early June, though I just got my "hands" on it, and managed to sell over 721,000 in United States in just the first week. The album debuted at #1 in 28 countries, and in the first week it had reached #1 in 58 countries. Viva la Vida was certified as platinum on seven sales charts, double platinum in the U.K., and Gold on two more charts.

Moving away from the sales success of the album, Viva la Vida really seems like a fresh new look at the band. The album's title means "Life Lives On!" or "Long Live Life!" in Spanish and the album's cover artwork is a painting called "La Liberté guidant le peuple" which is translated as "Liberty Leading the People." The painting was done by a renowned 20th century Mexican painter named Frida Kahlo. Coldplay has stated that the album draws from Hispanic influences because it was mainly recorded in churches and other areas in Latin America and Spain. However, the band has since pushed the fact that the influences can't be found in any specific sound, but in the general feel of the songs. I love the entire album, but if I had to choose a favorite song it would have to be either "Lovers in Japan" or "42."

Coldplay is touring avidly, as they have done in the past, promoting the new album, you can check dates and locations here, and hopefully you will be able to get out and see them perform these amazing songs live. They play near me in early November, but I have yet to acquire the funds to see them. In any case, go out and find this album whether or not you are a fan of the band, because afterward you just may find yourself to be one. You never know.

This Week In Cinema [Wanted and Hancock Impressions]

The past few weeks have been fairly amazing for the box office, what with big titles like Wall-E, Get Smart, Wanted, and Hancock dropping on we, the eager and expecting audience. These past seven days for me, however, have been fairly disappointing. I say fairly because 2 out of the 3 new movies I went to see, Wall-E being the one good film, were pretty much garbage. This is just another instance in a long line of instances, *cough* Spiderman 3 and Transformers *cough*, where intake and quality just don't match up.




Let me first begin by saying that I "wanted" to see a good film with cool effects. I "wanted" good plot and a nice little twist that cleared away all of the fog behind said plot. I "wanted" to see the amazing Angelina Jolie in yet another "bad girl" role that showcased her bad girl... ness? Well, all puns aside, I got the latter in eye fulls. Angelina Jolie was an excellent cast for the sly and sexy Fox. Everything else, however, fell far far below par.

The main character's voice annoyed me at every juncture, which really sucked because he was the narrator of the film as well. This really surprised me seeing that Morgan Freeman was one of the main characters. In all honesty, I thought Morgan Freeman deserved a larger role in the film and the director stopped short of allowing him to be the fantastic actor that he is. Anyways, the main character's narration was also poorly executed because his script as narrator felt like an attempt to mirror Fight Club's token philosophical cynicism, but landed far short in light of not only the character's immaturity, but his lackluster portrayal of events as well. Another shortcoming I noticed, and it really wasn't hard, was that the plot made no real sense. Especially after the twist. It's really sad when the plot makes more sense before the truth is revealed. And last of all, the scene transitioning was terrible. I mean it was awful. I couldn't tell if it was days passing, or just minutes. At one point in the film I swear on my life I heard Morgan Freeman say "That was some montage wasn't it?"

I am awarding Wanted a glum 2 and 1/2 stars out of five because it really failed to deliver plot-wise. It pulled the trigger, but there was just no bang.




While Hancock failed to deliver nearly as much as Wanted did, my biggest problem was not with the film itself, but with the trailers. It has become more and more common nowadays for the movie trailers to show so much of the film that moviegoers like myself are really only going to the theater for an elaboration on the events. This saddens me because it feels like we are being robbed of the joys of experience all in the name of advertising. I noticed it to a great extent with Hancock and I am noticing it again with upcoming films like Hellboy 2 and The Dark Knight. We're just being shown too much.

Moving back to the film, I found Hancock to be entertaining and somewhat humorous... for the first half. The second half of the film was so tied up in itself that it scarcely made any real sense. The film turned from a partially believable story about a superhero with amnesia and a love for liquor to a romantic tragedy full of gods, goddesses, and a man with a hook for a hand. I really enjoyed the action, and I thought that Will and David did a great job, but I really believe the backstory could have gone a lot deeper than it did. Yes, I know Charlize Theron was in film as well, but I really think that her character was ruined due to the bad writing. I mean, the majority of her screen time was filled with close ups and eye shifting. I really wanted to scream out in the theater "She knows something that we don't. We get it! Move on!"

I award Hancock 3 stars out of 5 for its humor and stunning visuals, but illogical second half. At one point during the film I had absolutely no idea what was going on and actually wondered whether or not I should even care.