Didn’t I already do this?
Ok. I’ll do it again.
I like movies, music, books, magazines, slide shows, holograms…anything media oriented. I’m also very interested in other cultures. Tell me about yours.
Music
I’ll try anything once. I was a music geek before I was a film geek. All through high school that’s all I really cared about. My big thing is classic rock, but I’ve branched out quite a bit lately.
The Beatles and U2 are at the top of the list, but there are so many artists that I love that it’s hard to narrow it down. The Rolling Stones, The Who, Warren Zevon, Neil Young, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton (and all the bands he entails), REM, Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush, Green Day, Nirvana, Led Zeppelin, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson (the only two country artists that I like), The Police (and the first four Sting albums…he’s a pansy now), The Cars, The Clash, Pink Floyd, Tom Petty, Depeche Mode, CCR, The Beach Boys, The Zombies, The Sex Pistols, MC5, Bruce Springsteen…It’s a long, long list.
I used to say that I only liked the old guys, but I’ve found a few skinny indie kids that I like a lot. The Fiery Furnaces, Mogwai, Snow Patrol, Broken Social Scene, Explosions In The Sky…another long list. And, yes you freaky hipsters, I actually ENJOY the music.
But I can’t dance. I’ll watch you dance.
I’m not big on country or hip-hop, but I’m learning…sort of. Still not my favorites. And don’t even get me started on disco or metal after about 1980. Two great big balls of suck. (Can someone please explain to me the popularity of Guns And Roses? Nevermind. Don’t. I don’t care. I hope Chinese Democracy never comes out. Fuck Axl Rose.)
And also don’t get me started on American Idol, quite possibly the biggest travesty to ever hit popular music. It even managed to take INXS with it. Guys, you were awesome when Michael Hutchence was alive. Now, not so much. It’s over. Move on. Don’t be like The Doors.
Wait. Too late.
I have some guilty pleasures, too. But I gotta know you better before I admit to them.
Movies
Ah, movies. My other bread…or my other butter. Um…one of my various breads and butters.
I love watching anything…except maybe gay porn. Not so much my thing. There are also three John Travolta flicks that I just won’t watch. But they’re close enough to gay porn to not be counted.
My favorite movie is a sentimental favorite, Stand By Me. It may not be a flashy “film geek” type of movie, but it’s my favorite, so shag off.
Others? Ok.
Ghostbusters, Duck Soup (all Marx Brothers movies, really…but this is my favorite), Donnie Darko, Star Wars (yes, I even like two of the prequels…and I don’t totally hate Phantom), Suspiria (I’m a HUGE horror/gore-hound), Austin Powers, Spider-Man (love comic book movies, but never been a big comic book fan—weird, huh?), Reality Bites (yeah, another sentimental favorite), Almost Famous, Better Off Dead, High Fidelity, The Blues Brothers (even like the second one…sue me)…I’m just gonna stop now. I don’t want my fingers to bleed.
I’m a big fan of the auteur theory, too. Spielberg, Hitchcock, Scoresese, de Palma (hasn’t done much since Carlito’s Way, unfortunately), Argento, Truffaut, Coppola (in the old days), Woody Allen, Sam Raimi, Peckinpah, Bryan Singer, Rob Reiner in the 80s, Burton, Coen Brothers, Michael Moore, Christopher Guest, Pennebaker, Kurosawa…again, the list goes on and on.
As I said, I’ll watch anything, from the cheesiest kid flick (I saw Yours, Mine And Ours…not by choice, really, my roommates rented it and it was moving pictures on a screen) to the sickest of the sick (Cannibal Holocaust is the farthest I’ve gone…imagine Blair Witch with more gore than you can handle…then multiply that by 3), from Disney (Pinocchio is also among my favorites) to anime (check out the prequel film for “Rurouni Kenshin”…Kurosawa-esque beauty and violence).
Television
I’m not a huge TV fan these days. There are a few shows that are worth it (South Park, The Simpsons, The Daily Show, Family Guy, The Sopranos, The Colbert Report), but, for the most part, all of the good shows were cancelled. And I can never remember when the GOOD shows are on, so I just don’t watch.
Until, that is, DVD. Now I can watch all of the awesome shows that the networks didn’t like. Arrested Development was great. Firefly was nearly perfect. Futurama was a lot of fun. (Love cartoons, by the way. I was REALLY excited when the old Looney Tunes started coming out on DVD.) But my favorite awesome but axed show is Freaks And Geeks. One season of perfect high school angst with a kick-ass soundtrack that was, amazingly, intact by the time it made it to DVD.
Unfortunately, it looks like the same won’t hold true for The Wonder Years. It’s my favorite show ever, but they’re having problems with the music. Too much money for all of it, so they’ll probably have to put new, generic music in. SUCK IT, MUSIC INDUSTRY!!!
Other great ones: MASH, SCTV, old school SNL, Kids In The Hall, The X-Files, Star Trek (most of the series…I never watched Voyager or Enterprise), Monty Python, Fawlty Towers, Cheers, Taxi, Laugh-In….um….OH! And Perfect Strangers!
Does anime count as TV? Sure, why not? Rurouni Kenshin was awesome for two seasons (the third sucked a little ass), Cowboy Bebop, Here And There Now And Then, Serial Experiment: Lain, Hack//:sign…that’s all I got for now.
But wait! There's this:
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Books
I’m a pretty slow reader (at least, I used to be…I’ve blown through them lately), so I don’t read a whole lot. But I do always have a book going.
My favorite book ever is Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy. Douglas Adams was a fucking genius. He wrote better (Last Chance To See is his best), but he was never funnier. I miss him a lot.
Steven King is always good for a lot of gory description. Say what you will about what he writes, he’s actually a great writer. You can’t say that you don’t feel every word.
Love Harry Potter, too. (Shut up!) I don’t read a lot of books more than once, but I’ve read all of them twice so far. Can’t wait for the end of the series…sort of. I hate to see it end. JK Rowling did something amazing: she created a classic character that people feel for AND she actually got kids to read again. THAT is an amazing feat.
Michael Chabon will always be on my list of favorites for one reason: The Amazing Adventures Of Kavalier And Clay. As I said before, I’m not a huge comic book fan, but this book is, as it says, amazing. Read it. Live it. Love it.
I’m a big sci-fi guy when it comes to books. I love Asimov, Clarke, Huxley…all those guys. They were great and strangely prophetic. Check out Brave New World and tell me that we’re not living it to an extent.
Heroes
Heroes, huh? That’s kind of a tough one. (CLICHÉ ALERT!!!) Of course, anyone who has ever saved a life is a true hero. (Cliché over.)
John Lennon is a big hero for me because he managed to be true to himself, be an activist for what he believed in and still entertain millions of people. He hated hypocrisy and violence and tried his best to keep peace in the papers above the war in Vietnam. (That’s what all those weird-ass Bed-Ins were for. Yeah, they were silly, but that was ok as long as peace was the story.) He grew up in one of the more violent parts of England (Liverpool in the 40s and 50s) and became one of the biggest advocates for peace the world has ever known. He loved America, but was never afraid to talk about the problems he had with our government.
All of the filmmakers and musicians on my lists here are heroes because of the entertainment they’ve brought to so many people.
Oh, and Bobcat Goldthwait. Of course.
The University Of Texas At Austin
Austin, TEXAS
Graduated: 1999
Degree: Bachelor's Degree
Major: RTF
Clubs: Dicking around; Doing anything but school work; Not graduating (Failed at this one eventually and was forced to graduate)
1993 to 1999
Westlake H S
Austin, TEXAS
Graduated: 1993
Student status: Alumni
Degree: High School Diploma
Clubs: Tech Theatre; Band
1989 to 1993
Mark's Companies
Cockbuster Video Austin, TX US Asst. Manager um...Sales?
1994-2000
AVW/Telav Audio Visual Austin, TX US Dir. Of Operations, Hyatt Regency Hotel AV, I guess
2000-???
Mark is not update worthy. Posted at 5:11 AM Apr 27 view more
About me: (Thanks to Greg for the new headline. Bastard thinks he's clever. And I guess, sometimes, he is.)
I have embraced my geekness. I see being a geek as kind of a badge of honor.
There are different versions of geek. I’m a media geek. Any kind of media, I’m all over. Film and music are my big ones, but I’ll read, look at, watch, listen to, eat just about anything. Entertainment is the greatest invention of Man. Without it, life would be pretty fuckin’ boring.
Pop culture is annoying as hell, but it’s also fascinating. It’s interesting to know why people are so interested in Britney’s motherhood and Tom’s religion. I could care less about them, but they (and their fans) make me laugh.
I used to think that I wanted to be a filmmaker. There’s a part of me that still does, but I think I’m kind of over it. I would rather write or talk about film now. Film History Professor might by my dream job, but I can’t stand the thought of 20 more years of school. Film Critic is a bit more possible…but first I need to find a way to replace Roger Ebert.
I help my friends out with films. Sometimes I even start one up myself. But they’re usually contest type films that need to be done while standing on our heads with Twinkies in our ears.
My friends are incredibly important to me. I think I have some of the awesomest friends in the world. Even the ones who annoy the piss out of me are pretty awesome. (And there are a few of those.)
That’s it from me. I’ve blathered on long enough. Drop a line if you think I’m worth it. If not, shag off. This is my place. I got no time for you.
If you want to see more of how media has ruined my life, check out my real website at The Geek Of All Media.
(Just so you know, this link is perfectly safe. I am not phishing for your password NOR am I selling something. It's safe. Go ahead. It's right around the corner. Right there! Go on! Nevermind the guy with the gun.)
Who I'd like to meet: Do they have to be alive? Should they be famous? Or is this a general, "I want the girl that I marry to have that certain....special.....sooomething!"
I always love it when people say, “I want to meet cool people.” Thanks, nimrod. I thought you wanted to meet assholes. “I want to meet the next Hitler!”
Fuck that. I want to meet people who have no problem calling themselves geeks. I want to meet people who think they’re not geeky. I want to meet people who have nothing in common with me and people who agree with me 100% on everything. I want a short haired girl who sometimes wears it twice as long.
In short, I want to meet everybody.
As for famous people: John Lennon is at the top of my list of people to meet. Too bad about that Chapman dude. Fuck him. Fuck him right in the ear.
JOHNGOMI/BEATIMPRINT. COM/GOMI-AUSTIN. COM PRESENT FRIDAYS @ THE FIFTH 305 E. 5TH 9PM-12MIDNIGHT COVER:FREE CURRENT ART SHOW: DIA DE LOS MUERTOS feat art by THE STAY BUSY CREW this week in house guest artist the SKZA with live percussion & effectations by ANATAN, & IRDBISA
Hi, Mark Thanks for the Add! Keep watching the CRASHER movie MYSPACE page and look out for my new movie CRASHER in 2008. See if I can meet my hero, WILLIAM SHATNER while crashing the Emmys, Golden Globes, SAG Awards, Grammys and Oscars!!! Thanks! Scott Weiss (CRASHER)
