I really can’t dance…

It ends up being awkward. I think the only way for me to properly salsa or pop dance would be for me to just lay on a vibrating bed for two weeks. That way my body would be completely limber and ready to move. I went to my salsa class this evening, it’s a free class my friend teaches at school, and tonight they decided to do some pop & hip hop routines. All was well at first, I feel like I did my best but then we started krumping.

Urbandictionary.com: Krumping is intended as an outlet for anger and as a nonviolent alternative to the street violence widespread in many of the areas where it is performed. Consequently, its dancing style is fast and aggressive. It usually involves physical contact between dancers, which can often look like a fight to outsiders. However, the participants understand this to be part of the dance.

So, you have some kind of idea what I’m talking about… or no idea at all. You have no idea. After watching a bit of that video, you can easily surmise that I looked ridiculous even trying… though I did try. And it was fun. But it has made me want to keep giving dance some effort… Of course, I can’t escape my new to constantly amuse those around me. So, my ultimate goal would be to learn all of these dances and then perform them as a sports team’s mascot.

Bond 22

I went to see Quantum of Solace today and I have mixed feelings about it. Not in a bad way though and I guess the point that I will eventually get to is: Casino Royale is a better film. But on that note, since QoS is the first Bond film to be a direct sequel, you can easily gather that it is really one long story… In any case, you could definitely tell that it played unlike other Bond films, from the absent gun barrel sequence in the beginning to a seemingly endless, intermittent series of chase and fight scenes. I wouldn’t call it ‘dark’ but it was definitely mellow.

The ending of Casino Royale equaled: Let’s go out and kick ass right now! The ending of Quantum was more along the lines of: Okay, that’s the end of that chapter… but now I just want to know more about the Quantum organization. I think that’s what makes me even think about questioning the solid Craig-era Bond films. This movie was about Bond helping himself for once.

And that brings up my final point on this, another reason why I left the theater a bit empty-handed… In Casino Royale, Bond was obviously inexperienced and hadn’t become the solid MI6 agent we’ve come to expect. He falls in love and finds out the hard way that you can trust no one. And so, when the movie ends I was under the impression that, “Ah, in the next movie he comes into his own. Classic double-O.” Alas, in Quantum he still had some growing to do, getting over his relationship with Vesper and at the end, once again, I was thinking, “Ah, so in the NEXT movie he comes into his own.”

I think I just need to accept that the film series has changed under Craig. His Bond is his creation. However, I would like to see the next movie get back to more Casino Royale elements. Not quite as gritty and with more class and gadgetry. As I read in a review today, “James Bond is not a superhero.”

Mad props though for the homage to Goldfinger. And I did really enjoy the movie. I think a second viewing would clear the air for me.

A year later…

Hello, all. I’m just testing some settings here real quick. Am I mounting a comeback to my old digs? I can’t tell for certain, but I do know that my days of micro-blogging has gotten to me and I need a more long-form of writing. It will help me feel more productive but more importantly, I can start doing some critical thinking on a regular basis. Actually getting some thoughts out on screen. Not just, “Obama FTW.”

In my absence, however, I have been well. Currently, as you may see in my updated about/contact page, I am looking for some employment for the spring semester. It will be necessary. In the mean time, I am in good spirits. I have a new apt. and a new haircut! The haircut is a lie. But I haven’t changed much. In fact, maybe not at all. I still ramble. On a serious note, I’ll check back in soon. Thanks for reading my so called “Weekly Publication.” More like, tentative-monthly. You get the idea.

Nothing to report

|It’s a late night for me. Too bad. It’ll be hard getting up for my 11 AM class… except not really. In any event school is back in full swing and I have a pizza in the oven. I’m taking 19 hours but I think I’m managing my time wisely. It helps quite a bit that three of my classes only meet one day a week. That helps to keep me sane. There are indeed a few things that I didn’t take into account when foreshadowing my free-time this semester, more specifically how much work I would have to do for the Communicator: I didn’t anticipate the number of new staff members we would have and I didn’t anticipate how much better at my job I would become. Both elements contribute to my job getting a little easier and thus, the school newspaper will be taking up a little less time.

|In other news, there is no other news. I picked up a new New York Times crosswords book (my other two got too difficult) and a sudoku book, both edited by Will Shortz. Those will keep me occupied when I’m not studying. So, I’ve got that going for me. I’m also mourning the loss of Luciano Pavarotti, who died yesterday morning. My grandma made me aware of him when I was younger and I’ve continued to admire his voice. It’s definitely a sad day for humanity I think, whether the world recognizes his loss or not. Pavarotti’s death truly is an end of an era. I hope continued media coverage and memorials do him justice.

|In any case, that is all for now. I wanted to jot something down and hopefully get a little more blogging in before the month is out. No guarantees of course.

The other tenant

This took place a few weeks ago. At that time I posted these pictures to my facebook. In any case, I’ve ran into this guy a few times while taking out the trash but thanks to modern technology, I’ve captured him on film. I went in closer but the Raccoon delved deeper in the dumpster. I didn’t want to pop my head in there and get a coon claw to the face.