My Morning Jacket,
M Ward, The Shins, Red House Painters, Wipers, The Smiths, Glenn Gould, Al Green, Alison Krauss & Union Station, The Church, Built to Spill, Pat Metheny, Wayne Hancock, Death Cab For Cutie, The Cure, N.E.R.D. Big Sandy & The Flyrite Boys, Tad,
Kelly Joe Phelps, Beatles, Ray Charles, Modest Mouse, The Replacements, Elliott Smith, Aimee Mann, Keane, Interpol, Tom Waits, Iron and Wine, XTC, Johnny Cash, Dwight Yoakam, Aztec Camera, Bright Eyes, Queen, Van Halen, Pink Floyd, Nirvana, Buck Owens, Soundgarden, Jimi Hendrix, Radiohead, Led Zeppelin, Cheap Trick, Reverend Horton Heat, The Police, ACDC, Pixies, The Clash, Neko Case,
Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Ramones, Whiskeytown, Poison Idea, Screaming Trees, The Doors, Cocteau Twins, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs
Gram Parsons, Jane's Addiction, The Decmberists.
Movies
..I am a huge film geek but I still love all kinds of films.
Most of the films by Stanley Kubrick, Martin Scorcese, Francis Ford Coppola, Woody Allen, Alfred Hitchcock, and Orson Welles are persistent classics in my book and so many other...
So I'm not going to list all of those.
I will list the following films. Because they kick ass...
but please remember I am a film geek.
And they are not in any particular order...
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
The original with Gene Wilder is absolutely brilliant and fascinating. Gene’s acting was on par with the greatest Oscar performances. I loved it as a kid and I still love it now. Good day sir!!
Out of the Past
Classic film noir with Robert Mitchum, one of my all-time favorite tough guys. With a squirmy Jane Greer and corrupt Kirk Douglas directed by Jacques Tournier, a masterful director, this is a great film with oe of my favoirte lines, "Joe couldn't find a prayer in the bible."
Fargo
The Cohen Brothers' masterpiece. Barton Fink is a close second. The environment is a major player in this film.
Dark and funny.
Lost in Translation
I have this romantic connection with Japan. I studied Japanese gardens and pruning techniques in college and then became enamored with Japanese cinema which closely resembles the Italian and French realist cinema. Also I fell in love with Scarlett Johansson, Sophia Coppola's directing and I have always identified with Bill Murray.
This, for me, is a perfect film.
Woman in the Dunes (Japanese)
This movie is unique and gorgeous. The story is allegoric and the environment is metaphoric. If you've ever felt like you are buried and can't get out, whether it is a job or a relationship, this movie will stick with you like sand.
L'avventura (Italian)
Every time I watch this I learn more. Michelangelo Antonioni films definitely require some patience. The environment and the actors are metaphoric and absolutely breathtaking. The secret to the whole film lies in the difference between Anna and Claudia. And dammit, Monica Vitti was so hot!
Swingers
This movie is So Money! lol. It portrayed a little piece of cultural history. The Swing era of the 1990's. In case you were a little young or a little too old there actually was a swing culture. It became kind of saturated and tired after a while (like right around the time this movie came out) but it really never died out entirely. There are still a lot of Swingers out there to this day.
The Big Lebowski
Cohen Brothers again? Yup, this is just plain fun. The Dude is the best character ever put to film. Makes you want to give up the rat race and take up bowling. Anyone for a Caucasian?
Knife in the Water (Polish)
Roman Polanski's first feature. Polish. This is another favorite that flaunts a bit of metaphor. This deals more with virility, humiliation and sexuality. The black and white cinematography is astounding and as you can see below Mr. Polanski knew how how to set a scene from the beginning of his career.
Fires on the Plain (Japanese)
This is an anti-war film set in the Philippines during WWII and basically shows the nightmare of a soldier witnessing the hell of war.
The Thin Red Line
One word: Poetic. Take some of the greatest actors of all time add rich color, real violence and a beautiful landscape as war torn as it is and you've got a serious, thought provoking film about war.
Harold and Maude
I saw this when I was young and it stuck with me. The music, the mood, the carefree attitude of Maude reflected how my mother viewed the world.
Say Anything
You have to see this. This reminds me of high school and truly falling in love for the first time. Also, I used to have a fire inside me like Lloyd. I really have to rekindle that.
City Lights (Chaplin)
If anything it's just for the way Chaplin conveys emotion in his acting and captured it on film without sound. I think it was the first Chaplin film I saw.
Sex, Lies and Videotape
One of my favorite directors, Steven Soderbergh, with one of my favorite actors, James Spader. There are so many commentaries on relationships, friendships and loneliness in this film.
Rushmore, Bottle Rocket
Wes Anderson gets it right out of the gate. He had his style from his first film and hasn't wavered at all. Anyone who can use Bill Murray so effectively is alright in my book.
My Own Private Idaho
Gus Van Sant blew me away with this film. River Phoenix became a legend here and Portland was finally portrayed appropriately on film. That's how it felt in the '80s and '90s in this dark, damp little corner of the world.
The Sweet Hereafter
Atom Egoyan is one of my favorite directors and this is his masterpiece. The environment once again is a major player. Is everyone really this screwed up? I hate to say it but I think so.
Shortcuts
Raymond Carver and Robert Altman. Nothing else needs to be said.
Oh, okay.
Amazing.
Magnolia
Paul Thomas Anderson. Another favorite director. Take Shortcuts and add a dark cloud of Frogs and the music of Aimee Mann; you've got Magnolia
Ed Wood
Tim Burton really is a creative genius. He brings a unique vision to everything he does. Ed Wood has two of my favorite actors in it; Johnny Depp and Martin Landau. In fact Mr. Landau's performance is one of my favorites of any film I have ever seen. It is really that amazing.
Bodies, Rest and Motion
Eric Stoltz and Bridgett Fonda. It's kind of like a lighter, more humorous Sex, Lies and Videotape. Bridgett Fonda is smoking hot in this.
True Romance, Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs
The Tarantino trilogy of purely entertaining sex, drugs and violence. Yeah I know he only wrote True Romance. That counts in my book.
Stranger Than Paradise
Jim Jarmusch. This, for me, is his masterpiece. He's the only American besides Sophia Coppola and Gus Van Sant who really, truly speaks the language of European and Japanese realist cinema.
You Can Count On Me
Mark Ruffalo and Laura Linney (I'm in love with her). It's just got this mood.
The Station Agent
Another one that just has that mood. About people who just don't seem to fit each other or anyone else but they seem so ordinary and they get along so well.
Office Space
It's truly a hilarious comedy. Ron Livingston needs to do more. I think he had a stint on Sex and the City but I have tried to avoid that show for quite some time. He's in another of my top movies; Swingers.
The Nutty Professor and The Ladies Man
(Jerry Lewis) Yes, you heard it right. I grew up watching Martin and Lewis when I was a kid. The Nutty Professor is Jerry's masterpiece and The Ladies Man is right up there.
Hey, Vampira, bring your kit!
Television
Family Guy
Ghost Hunters
Battlestar Galactica
Boondocks
Poker After Dark
Turner Classic Movies
Books
Anthem by Ayn Rand
Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
The Killer Inside Me by Jim Thompson
Rum Punch by Elmore Leonard
Will You Please Be Quiet, Please? by Raymond Carver
I was born just outside Los Angeles in Whittier, California.
My mother used to drive way too fast through
Turnbull Canyon.We left California after the Manson family
was convicted and Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and
Jimi Hendrix died.
I took my surf hits vinyl record with me.
I have lived in Portland, Oregon since I was about six years old.
I was a complete dork until I was in junior high.
The whole rocker thing was a savior for me.
Slow dancing to "Beth" with girls in tight painter pants,
under flourescent lights, think:Dazed and Confused.
The Oregon Coast is my favorite place
in the world - rain or shine.
I used to pack up my barely-running VW Bus
with clothes and a mattress, my walking stick, a good book
and I'd head to the beaches.
Cape Falcon at Oswald West State Park
is where I want my ashes spread when I a move on.
750 foot rise, 2mile hike.
I own my own business. It's all about poker right now.
My business and my personal life really. I need a distraction
I want to meet someone genuine,
honest, open, forgiving, intelligent and creative.
Natural and inner beauty is important;
Inner beauty even more so. Of course beauty
is in the eye of the beholder and in the heart
of the subject, so confidence is key,
but modesty is important.
PEOPLE FROM THE LAND OF THE DEAD:
james butler "wild bill" hickok
john henry "doc" holiday
marlon brando - john f. kennedy - robert mitchum
john lennon - jimi hendrix - akira kurosawa
stanley kubrick - jim morrison - river phoenix
marilyn monroe - johnny cash - albert einstein
montgomery clift - james dean - pablo neruda
dean martin - frank sinatra - lenny bruce
ansel adams - gaius julius caesar - augustus caesar
leonardo da vinci - pablo picasso - george sand
steve mcqueen - sitting bull - cochise - babe ruth
frida kahlo - river phoenix - franz kafka
thelonious monk - miles davis
AND FROM THE LAND OF THE LIVING:
barak obama - benecio del toro - woody allen
sophia coppola - david sedaris - hugh laurie
george clooney - jon stewart - bill murray
jimmy carter - vince vaughn - scarlett johansson
jim jarmusch - johnny depp - catherine keener
the coen brothers - james gandolfini - martin scorcese
francis ford coppola - wes anderson - jeff bridges
guillermo del toro - alejandro gonzalez inarritu
conan obrien - vincent pastori - aishwarya rai
heidi klum - terrence howard - tim burton
jerry lewis - leonardo di caprio - sean penn
robert rodriguez - jennifer tilly - doyle brunson
robert deniro - al pacino - salma hayek
sarah vowell - cate blanchett
Hey there, pretty nice page here yourself! I'm definitely up for poker next time:) Hopefully I won't be one of the first people out this time.. haha. See ya soon!
Hi Sam! Thanks for the comment. By the time I got it, I was already at home. Dan didn't come with me but I told him you said hi and he says hi back. I think about you a lot too. Looks like we'll be visiting in either May or June for the godparent ceremony. We're David's godparents and must meet him and do the service at the church. So we'll be visiting. He sent me a picture of you holding David and I LOVE it. I'll have to post it for you on your page when I have more time. I'm off to court. Been really busy with work. Things are good here! Hope they are for you too. Love you!
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