Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Matt's E.R. Video

Hey fam! Remember way back in August when I went to Pittsburgh with the band Elizabethan Report? Here is the first rough cut of the video. I wanted to get your opinions, as movie lovers, music lovers, and most importantly FRESH EYES that haven't seen any of this footage.
I don't mind criticism at all on this, in-fact, I want it. Please let me know if it's dragging on in some area's, if it's confusing, or just wouldn't be interesting to someone who wasn't there.
However, keep in mind that the people who will be watching this will most likely know what the NAMU festival was.
I am most worried about the Performance part, you may find that part to be the slowest. I am working on getting all the footage that American Eagle Outfitters filmed of the whole show, to change up some of the angles, and get a better recording of the Audio. That should improve it immensely. I am also thinking about re editing that part by showing just the highlights of all the songs they played, so it's a little faster paced. I also haven't done any color correction or effects, which will make it a little more visually entertaining. Anyway, tell me what you think!
Much Love!!


How To NAMU with Elizabethan Report from Matt Wright on Vimeo.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Thank you Catherine, Travis and Emily!

I'm not sure any of you Wyoming people knew this, but Ben was here this past weekend. He came out for one of those Impact intense weekend workshop thingys. He stayed with me and Cam Friday and Saturday nights. While I was driving him down to the Impact thingy on Saturday morning he told me that he would really like to spend Sunday at his storage unit. He wanted to go through it all, get rid of a lot of it and really condense it down as much as he could. He has been paying $95 a month for that unit! $95 a month to store junk mail, gross pillows, half drank Mountain Dews and ketchup packets. He said Dan had offered to help and could meet him there around 3, and he asked if I could help too. I was willing to, but I knew it was going to take more than just the three of us.

So I called in a huge favor to Catherine and Emily. They both not only said yes right away to helping, but they also said they were willing to help store some of his stuff. When Catherine showed up, she had Travis with her! I totally wasn't expecting that and I am so grateful he was there. He was a huge help!

It snowed on us the entire day. It went from rainy snow to pretty much a blizzard. We've had like a week of cold, but clear days, and the day we do the storage unit, it's a freakin' blizzard!

You guys would be amazed at the amount of crap Ben got rid of. I think Travis took about 10 trunkloads of garbage to the storage unit dumpster. Mostly old magazines and junk mail. Some of the junk mail dated back to the 90's! I took 2 huge truck loads of stuff to Savers. Luckily there is a Savers just a mile or so away from the storage unit. I have to hand it to Ben. He wasn't as bad as I thought he would be, but I think we all helped him a lot with his decision or lack of decision making.

Despite the miserable conditions, we kept our spirits up and had a lot of good laughs. Some of the highlights include:

--When Emily found a fast food salsa packet. She had predicted the day before that there would be ketchup packets in there, but salsa works. A while later, I found an empty salsa packet.

--When Cat found the box of empty boxes. Yes, he had a big box full of smaller empty boxes.

--When Cat grabbed a laundry basket full of clothes and towels and picked up an item and realized it was a pair of Ben's underware. She kind of screamed and threw it down. I could not stop laughing.

There were some other funny things that happened. I just can't remember them at the moment. Dan ended up being a huge help too. He was great at convincing Ben he didn't need to keep things like the little plastic drawer thing that was just full of old business cards and pens and pencils and other really random stuff.

And thanks to Travis for letting us throw away all the cardboard boxes at your work dumpster, since we had completely filled the storage unit dumpster. And thanks to Cam for having a nice hot dinner and a roaring fire in the fireplace when I got home. I was completely soaked to the bone. And thanks again Cat and Em for helping, I hate to think how that would have gone if you guys weren't there.

Love you!! Kisses!!!

Sunday's With Sue

The Muppet Movie! I love this movie! Thanks to mom, I own it plus all the other movies they did. I watched it a few months ago, and it is so funny. If you haven't seen it for awhile, I suggest you watch it. It's great for kids and adults. And by the way, I'm sorry this posting is late. If you read the comment I just made on the last SWS posting you'll see that I've been having computer problems the last few days. And I'm really sorry B that I didn't do a Wednesday hint. I simply forgot! Anyway, so who won? Are you ready for this? It was Catherine! Way to go Cat! You beat Em by about half an hour. Matt guessed third, and that's all the guesses I got. Unless someone else guessed and over the last couple of days that I've been having computer problems, I didn't get it. Let me know. I'll take your word for it.

Here is this week's movie quote. And I'll remember to do a hint quote tomorrow too:

Sometimes there just aren't enough rocks.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Podcasts

I'm guessing that our family isn't too into podcasts, as they are never mentioned. They are fairly new to me, but I have decided to explore this world and have discovered some interesting ones in this process. I thought if some of you are interested in listening to podcasts, but don't know where to start, here are some I can recommend.

Some of these I can loosely recommend, some I am REALLY liking. My favorite one I have discovered so far is this:


This is a podcast done by two guys in LA, one goes and sees the movie, the other has not seen it, and his point of view is based on the propaganda for the film. What I most like about it is that they are respectful of most movies (ok, they really hate the animated comedies such as Madagascar). What sold me was that they didn't totally trash Twilight, which I would expect of two guys in their late twenties/early thirties that have never read the books. They are funny, insightful and genuinely seem to love movies, AND talk about them without the snobby air that seem to come with most movie reviewers.
A great segment of their program is their dvd picks. They pick a dvd (and encourage the listeners to write in with their picks too) of a movie that is loosely related to the movie they are discussing that week. This week they reviewed Notorius (The Notorius B.I.G story), and their dvd pick was "favorite bio movies" (one picked The Doors the other picked Coal Miner's Daughter) then they discuss those movies for a bit. For Twilight they picked "favorite vampire movies", you get the idea. It is fun to hear them talk about old movies you've seen or maybe have missed. There is some swearing, but not what I would consider gratuitus.
2. I listen to two history podcasts. One is called simply "History Podcast", the other is called "Stuff you Missed in History Class". The latter one is done by the Discovery Channel network, and I warn you can be a touch cheesy. So far it hasn't ruined it for me, but I am a bit wary of that fact-- a lot of radio talk is cheesy though, so you have to kind of learn to ignore that sometimes. They are both just short segments and I like them, because I like to brush up on random history facts sometimes. Such as: Wyatt Earp, Lady Godiva, Roman Aquaducts, and the Boston tea party. They also discuss what is rumor about these events, and what actually happened. I like it, but sometimes I'm a nerd.


Now this one is only for the die hard LOST fans out there- I know of a few. I am sure there are countless podcasts on Lost out there, but this one is pretty interesting. It is accredited enough, that the producers (or someone high up in the LOST food chain) send these guys the episodes early to watch so they can discuss them better. It gives insight on what is going on (most of it, that I have missed). Callers call in with crack pot theories that are entertaining. Anyway, it is always fun to talk LOST and hear theories and this one is kind of fun in that regard. I only started with this new season, and I already feel way more informed.



I know I don't have to sell this one to Cath and Sue, as they have been listening to this show WAY before I ever have, but I am enjoying it. The dude that does it (Ira Glass), takes a subject about something random and interviews people and it is always interesting. I liked one he did about this huge Santa Claus group (people that play Santa in department stores, etc.) I think you have to have a real Santa beard to belong and go to the conventions. The politics and corruption that is involved in the higher ups of this club, were shocking and very funny. Who knew?

Podictionary - this one is a little dry, but it is about word origins and I am a bit of a word nerd myself, and enjoy this because of that. They are just mini less then 5 minute, podcasts focusing on one word, it's respectable for any etymology nerds out there.

Now for some duds. I tried out for fun some Harry Potter and Twilight ones. Whew! I had a real nerd wake up call. The #1 Harry Potter one I could only stand about 15 minutes of, the hosts sounded like the nerdiest, self satisfied, snot noses I had ever heard. I can't say I was really surprised, but good grief, I can't believe so many people listen to it, I wanted to jump through my Ipod and strangle the twerp. I can only hope it's largest audience is under 12. The other Harry Potter podcast I heard wasn't THAT bad. It is run by the Leaky Cauldren people, which I respect as being a good source of Harry Potter on the web. They have even done exclusive interviews with JK Rowling, which I listened to and enjoyed. But I am not going to be spending much time listening to that, it was still a little too nerdy for me. The two twilight ones I heard were just a total disaster. I couldn't handle them at all, way way too fan girl and not the least insightful. Again, I wasn't too surprised.

I'll keep a look out for good ones. You can still listen to podcasts by the way if you don't have an Ipod. You just have to do it through your computer.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

the Visitor (again)

I had the kitchen TV on at 6:40 this morning while I was feeding Duncan and fixing my Pero and Peanut butter sandwitch. They announced the Oscar nominations on the TV and Richard Jenkins was nominated for best actor in the Visitor. I watched the movie last night by my self as mom was at the Phister doing the American Idol thing and doing something else. Anyway, I loved the movie. Do see it. Tarek and Zainab and the mother were just great as was mr. Jenkins. Read Sue's Posting about the movie and then go rent it.
Hard to believe "The Dark Knight" didn't get best picture nomination. Snobs and elitest creeps that vote are nuts, but they do get a few things wright as per Richard Jenkins.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Excitement over a phony 5 dollar bill


Just posting an old picture of our Catherine. 
Aint she cute!!

Monday, January 19, 2009

Attractive Celebrities

I can't figure out how you guys all contributed to the same post. So I'm doing a separate posting of celebrities I find attractive.
Tobey Maguire

There is just something about Tobey. Love him. So dang cute.

Guy Pierce
I first saw Guy Pierce in Memento. Very good looking.
Wentworth Miller
He is in Prison Break. This is a T.V. show I got hooked on about 1/2 way through the first season. Hated the second season, but third season is good.

Joe Perry
He has just the greatest jawline ever (much like Jonny Greenwood).


Kurt Cobain
I've always thought Kurt was way cute.

                               MATT'S PICK

Thomas Carroll - Elizabethan Report

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Sunday's with Sue


Ghostbusters! Man did I get you guys with this one! I even did an extra hint quote and I still only had a couple of guesses. I remember seeing this movie at the Main Street movie theater in Spanish Fork with Mindi Bills when it came out. Man that was a long time ago! So, Emily got it first! Then Matt. That is it for Wright guesses! Cat guessed Uncle Buck, which I think is a good guess. I can totally see Uncle Buck saying all those things, but alas it is wrong Cat. Way to go Em, you can chalk up one more win against Matt.
Here is this week's quote from a movie:
It's not often you see a guy that green have the blues that bad.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

B's Top 5 Most Attractive Celebrities

In no particular order:

I was raised on the music of the Rolling Stones, and a documentary of them, and I always wanted to marry Mick.

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Tom Hanks may be my favorite actor of all time. He's also brilliant, and was adorable when he was younger. He has since aged very well.

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Matt and I watched a Bob Dylan documentary a while ago, and young Bob was SO cute and into his music, and didn't care what anyone thought. He just wanted to play. I also LOVE his sloppy recording style. He could just play it through once, how he thought it might be, and that was it. It was so cool!!

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This is Gaspard Ulliel (Gas-par Oo-lee-ay). He is one of the 5 attractive French boys that I found while I was over there, and he's one of their superstars to boot! He is in one of my FAVORITE French movies, called Une Longue Dimanche de Fiancailles (A Very Long Engagement), that I absolutely loved. He also played a young Hannibal Lecter in Hannibal Rising, and has a dimple on just one cheek.

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Starring alongside Gaspard in Une Longue Dimanche was the cutest person on the planet, Audrey Tautou (Aw-dray Tah-too). You must all go rent Le Destin Fabuleux d'Amelie Poulain (The Fabulous Destiny of Amelie Poulain) right now. It is rated R, due to the French peoples nonchalance about nudity, and one of the characters works somewhere questionable. However, the storyline and cinematography are the best things EVER, so if you can stand subtitles, GO RENT THIS!! She is soooo cute. She also starred (alongside Tom Hanks) in the DaVince Code. Here she is in Amelie demonstrating how one of her favorite things to do is crack through the top of Creme Brulee. This is probably my favorite movie ever.

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Hehe, one honorable mention. Despite my aversion to all things country now, I used to want to marry Garth Brooks if Mick Jagger wasn't available. He was cute in a cowboy way, and I still am a huge fan.

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Emily's picks








I used to be obsessed with the dude from Train's mouth. I always just liked his mouth. His music? Eh.







I went 30+ years never realizing how cute Jude Law was. He is cute! Perhaps the only fair haired man I have ever thought good looking.
I do like Colin Firth

Denny, the guy who died waiting for his heart in Grey's Anatomy is attractive

And last but not least-- Jonny. Now, this is not the reason I love him so much, it is just incidental. His talent far out weighs his looks.
I added this picture just for you Sue, Look! He is almost smiling...

Haley's Picks:
(By the way, I totally agree with Em and B that I really could care less about attractive celebrities. I may notice but just move on and think how cute my husband is! Hehe. So, in no particular order, here are my picks.)

Christian Bale
I think I first thought he was cute when I was a teenager and saw him in Little Women. I also think he makes a great Batman.

Josh Hartnett
Call me 13, but I have always thought he was cute.


John Travolta
What more can I say?


Legolas.....
Hehe. Confession time. I don't know why but I thought Legolas (Orlando Bloom) was good looking.


Richard Armitage
I think my mom and I both thought he was good looking when we watched "North & South." Haha. Which was really good by the way Em, nice recommendation.


Sue's picks:
First, I just want to say WAY TO GO!! Thank you girls for not picking obvious choices like Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Johnny Depp and Leo!!! Although some of the picks are beyond me, (Garth Brooks for instance) this is a great post that shows what we all see as attractive. This post was hard for me because looks really mean nothing to me. So, over the last couple of days, I really tried to concentrate on what actors just look good to me. I came up with three actors that, when I see them in a TV show or a movie, I say to myself "dang, he is good-looking".


Jason Bateman. He is so dang cute! I have had a crush on him since I was like 10 years old. I think if you were to look up "cute" in the dictionary, a picture of Jason Bateman would come up. I am also a huge fan of his acting. "Arrested Developement" was a great show and he was so great as the druggie, commentarie guy in Dodgeball.



Ed Norton. I think he is one of the best looking Hollywood guys there is. There is so much to like about him. He is a great actor, he is good looking, he is a great actor etc.... He has such a great voice! I am a total voice person. And I love the sound of Ed Norton's voice. He is one of the few actors that I will see a movie just because he is in it.



And my pick on the most attractive celebrity? Peter Sarsgaard! So far, he has mostly done Broadway and some Independant Films. He is so talented and cute, he will someday win an Oscar for sure. He is an amazing actor and he has one of the best voices I've ever heard. For some reason, the actual sound of someone's voice, is quite attractive to me. If you want to see how good he is than see Garden State or Shattered Glass. Or just wait until Hollywood realizes how amazing he his. He is definitely my pick on the best looking actor out there.

Nicolas Cage cannot move his eyebrows.

I have no idea how he got wrinkles on his forehead. 

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Except when he was younger. This is the only film I've enjoyed him in. 

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Friday, January 16, 2009

The Glass Castle


I just finished this great book. I love to read talented people telling stories about their messed up childhoods. Think David Sedaris; think Augusten Bourroughs. Well this is another great read in this genre. It's written by a woman named Jeannette Walls and this is her story. It is truley incredible in it's honesty. She is the second born in a four child family story born to these two people who you just have to read about to describe. It takes place in the fifties through the eighties. If you guys read this book, you will be amazed (as I was) at how these poor children had been forced to be grown-ups (because their parents just weren't) at such a young age. It really was entertaining an well-written. I really liked it, but it has a bad word or two.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Sunday's with Sue

I knew this would be an easy one for everyone! It was flippin' hard to find quotes that might kind of stump you, gosh! This movie was so popular in our family that 2 of my cats are named after characters in the movie! Have I ever told you guys how funny it was when our neighbors, and now friends, who happen to be from Mexico asked what my cat's name was? When I told them Pedro they gave me the strangest look. So anyway, Matt guessed first! Then Cat, then B, then Amy, then Emily, then Haley. Geez Em, what happened? Is your newly pregnant brain going to start slipping when it comes to movie quotes?

Here is this week's movie quote:

Nimble little minx isn't she?

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Name this quote suckas

Can anyone name this quote from a tv show: Well excuuuuse me for having flaws I don't work on!!!!

My pick on the celebrity that has aged the worst

Some celebrities can look just as good at 70 as they did at 20. Paul Newman for example looked great his entire life. Meryl Streep looks like she did Kramer vs. Kramer just last year! But some don't age so well. My pick on the celebrity I think has not only aged bad, but seems to have transformed into a completely different person?




MICKEY ROURKE!!!!!

Here is a good looking Mickey Rourke with such promise.


Very nice picture. Almost James Dean handsome.




Seriously, is this the same guy?



EWWWW!





AUGHAUGHAUGHAUGH!!! That is him on the right. This picture looks like it was taken while filming his new film "The Wrestler", which is supposed to be really good. But come on!

I just had to do this post. I've seen a few previews for The Wrestler in the last few days, and I just can't believe that is him. Anyone else have any picks on who has aged badly?


Emily (and Rob's) Picks

He's no Mickey Rourke, but I don't think age has treated Kevin Costner well:


And Meg Ryan? YIKES! Her problem may be a botched plastic surgery, but whatever happened, she used to be so cute....Seriously, this is tragic.

Now, we couldn't find any picture of Gary Busey young, but I've got to believe he looked better then this:


Last but not least, our personal favorite: Nick Nolte


We realize this is a mug shot, so perhaps not fair, so here is another one.......



I got curious about Kenny Rogers (I didn't know about his surgery) and found an article called "15 worst celebrity botched up plastic surgeries" (or something) anyway, here he is: He is apparently quite open about it and regretful.
Look how cute he was before.


Ok, here is another one I found. Look at Melanie Griffith!!! What? I was never her biggest fan but holy crap!She is only 50!




Ok, I've never heard of this lady, but she rightly made #1 on the list:She is a wealthy socialite, and her husband left her, so she spent 4 MILLION dollars in plastic surgery. I am just speechless. I don't think she got him back.

Anyway, sorry for the tangent, I just had to share those. If you want to see all 15 go here.

Em.