Creeps

So in honor of it almost being Halloween, here is a poem that I wrote around this time last year. Enjoy.


Creeps

There's a monster hiding 'neath my bed,
And it fills my heart all full of dread,
For calm leaves fear in its stead.
A creeping in the night.

I trouble my guardian for a light to borrow
So I may push back this gripping sorrow.
"Save all complaints for the 'morrow!"
A shrieking in the night.

How coldly she does reject my plea;
She says an orphan should never cry, you see?
Bad children are locked away without a key.
A squeaking in the night.

But what if this ghoul is so full of spite
That it pops up here for a bite?
The very thought is such a fright!
A weeping in the night.

To look under my cot, I wouldn't dare,
For its malicious gaze, I couldn't bare.
Eyes of the Styx and keeper of its fare.
A reaping in the night.

Yes, I will wait here for the sun to rise
And cast away this night's cruel guise,
But you can never truly know in what tomorrow lies.
A creeping in the night.


Copyright © 2008 Jarred Lee

Where the Wild Things Are Impressions

Alright, since I took such a long time to put this up, I will get right to the point. "Where the Wild Things Are" was a wonderfully imaginative, beautifully scored, and tastefully dark film. The characters were also likable in their own ways and the cast did an excellent job with their respective roles (especially Max Records, of course). While some of the plot was a little messy (especially before Max travels to the land of the wild things) I believe that the film was an excellent adaptation of the relatively small source material.

Now, for what surprised me. First, the depth. Now, I am sure that you expected something more than ten sentences out of a feature length film, but "Where the Wild Things Are" really makes you think. The film takes the idea of the "wild things" and instead of just making them creatures created by Max's imagination, they each become representative of different aspects of his life. I won't go too much into this, though, because it will be more enjoyable if you form your own opinions on the matter. I mean, who am I to ruin a good conversation?

Another thing that surprised me was the rather depressing route it decided to take. Max is not really escaping anything when he goes to the land of the wild things. Rather, he is forced to come face to face with all of his conflicting feelings. This gives way to the large number of underlying domestic issues that lurk behind the film's main events. I honestly question the idea of marketing this film to younger audiences, and apparently the box office agrees me as only a small percentage of tickets sold were child tickets.

I am awarding "Where the Wild Things Are" four and a half stars out of five for being deep, interesting, and very well done, but having a slightly messy start. If you haven't seen this film yet, you should probably reflect on your current lifestyle because you have either become separated from your sense of imagination or you are overworked. Either way, you are cheating yourself out of a great movie experience.

Scary Science!

Is there a better way to kick off Halloween week than with actual science? I don't think so. What kind of science, you ask? Why, science of the crazy and disturbing nature, of course.

The popular sci-fi blog, i09, recently posted a list of the "25 scariest science experiments" that really makes you wonder why we find "horror" movies to be the slightest bit scary. A good number of the experiments on this list are far more frightening! (Most notably the dog head thing!) Anyway, if you're interested you should take a look. Link below.

"25 of the Scariest Science Experiments Ever Conducted"

Stuck On the Ground

Acrostic: "A poem or series of lines in which certain letters, usually the first in each line, form a name, motto, or message when read in sequence."

This is the seventh entry in my Acrostic Adventure series. Where is this mysterious woman leading him? Is this just another mind game cooked up by whoever, or whatever, lies beneath the Overlooked City? It seems that those peaceful days have been left far behind.


Stuck On The Ground

Curious thoughts and surreal fantasies
Hover high overhead like
Ancient abstract paintings that were only
Slightly washed away.
Is the veil covering this lost city
Not as thick as he once believed?
Glimpses of color in gray surroundings.

Color that begins to fade as the woman
Leads him deeper into the
Opaque graveyard of cold
Understandings and decayed emotions.
Do not allow peaceful moments to be taken for granted.
Sometimes simplicity is hard to find.


Copyright © 2009 Jarred Lee

The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello

The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello is a short film that was released back in 2005 has received a great deal of praise since then. The silhouette-based art style takes a little getting used to, but it definitely fits with the short's eerily dark mood. Also, allow me to say that this is without a doubt the best short film I have ever seen. Twenty-six short minutes that can easily best many of the recent feature-length releases. The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello excellent must-see. So what are you waiting for? Watch and enjoy!

Zombieland Impressions

I will get straight to the point here: Zombieland was definitely a fun movie to see, but there were just too many times when I was disappointed by the lack of zombies. It's "Zombieland!" Come on! Also, I felt like the film leaned too heavily on its "surprise cameo." I won't spoil it for you, and I love the actor/actress as much as anyone else, but there were no zombies during that entire portion and it kind of ended up feeling like a partially unscripted break. A one hour and twenty minute film just doesn't really have time to take a break. Especially one that should be filled to the brim with zombies.

Other than that, the characters were likable (with the exception of Abigail Breslin's kind of pointless "little" girl) and the film was mostly humorous. Some of the jokes were kind of stale, though. Also, the Monday night football themed inserts went from amusing to overused pretty quickly. Especially the whole "double tap" thing. If you leave the theater without understanding that concept then you obviously fell asleep at some point.

I am awarding Zombieland three and a half stars out of five for being fun and never taking itself too seriously, but wasting too much time and having poor zombie management. All in all, I'd say Zombieland is a great film to go see with friends, but don't think too hard about what's going on.

The Bachelor and the Bride

There's a wrinkle in the water
Where we laid our first daughter
And I think the wind blows so sweetly there.
Over there.

And the windows and the cinders
And the willows in the timbers.
The infernal rattling of the rain
Still remains.

"But I," said the bachelor to the bride,
"Am not waiting for tonight.
No, I, I will box your ears
And leave you here stripped bare,
Stripped bare."

Hear the corncrakes and the deerhooves
And the sleet rain on the slate roof.
A medallion locked inside her hands.
In her hands.

And his fingers, are they telling
Of the barren of her belly?
Do his calluses cure her furrowed brow,
Even now?

"But I," said the bachelor to the bride,
"Am not waiting for tonight.
No, I, I will box your ears
And leave you here stripped bare,
Stripped bare."

"But I," said the bachelor to the bride,
"Am not waiting for tonight.
No, I, I will box your ears
And take your tears
And leave you, leave you here
Stripped bare."

Hey Ash, Whatcha Playin: Little King's Story

"Anthony and Ashly Burch enjoy videogames, surreal humor, cupcakes, and videogames. In that order."

So HAWP has apparently started back up? And they're already spoofing the Hitler outburst scene from Der Untergang? While actually speaking German (or at least speaking really good fake German)? Awesome. Too bad no one cared about Little King's Story, haha. If you interested in seeing the original scene, then follow this youtube link.

I'm Talking About Wild Things (Where the Wild Things Are mega-post)

So as you all probably know, Where the Wild Things Are opens in American theaters on October the 16th. As most of you probably know, I am absolutely ecstatic about this film. I honestly can not remember the last time I have said that. Now, I know that most people are interested in the film because of the nostalgia created by the book, but it is really different for me. Don't get me wrong, I loved the book, but the sense of imagination I have seen in the trailers for this film is simply captivating. More like this, Hollywood. More like this.

As an added bonus, this being a "mega-post" and all, I am including a link to where you can listen to a stream of the Where the Wild Things Are soundtrack (which was written by Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs) in its entirety, and a video of the Where the Wild Things Are book. Now, I am not sure if the video is "official" or not, but it is really well done either way. It reminded me of those video reading tapes we used to watch in elementary school. Anyway, enjoy! See you at the premiere!

Soundtrack by Karen O And The Kids (music player under post opening picture): http://stereogum.com/archives/stream-the-where-the-wild-things-are-soundtrack_092471.html

This Day in Calvin and Hobbes: October 1, 1991

Teachers. You give them the correct answer, but they subtract points anyway because you didn't give "their" correct answer. This isn't the case for Calvin, of course, but I will just say that I never thought I would get an exam back where all my answers were correct, but I still scored below an eighty.

The funny thing is that after I talked to my professor about the exam, she couldn't even give me a clear answer as to what I failed to do. She even "let" me email her rewritten answers for partial credit. Thank you Wikipedia.