So, how is Jesse.

Pretty damn good.

One must be asking oneself how someone with such a long and dark history of cynicism, pessimism, and depression can now be found strolling the streets of Los Feliz with such a grand look of contempt. Well, my curious little friend, I've never been so in tune with my creative side. I'm writing more than I ever have, spending less time in front of the television screen, researching films, listening to great tunes, and spending my weekend nights with the prettiest 21 year old girl you'll see all year. How could I not be feeling pretty, pretty, pretty damn good.

"It's not you, it's me"

You've got to be shitting me.

BACK AND BETTER THAN EVER, BABY!

I'm back to writing and guess what (hint: the title gives it away) I am feeling freaking great! This dirtbag at work today even brought up the fact that I don't seem to mope around anymore. In fact I'm the complete opposite: energized, optimistic and laughing all the time. Cheers for me.

...

Rolling Roadshow

There's a group of people touring the country screening films that pertain to the specific city they tour to. They're called 'Rolling Roadhouse' and are sponsored by 'The Alamo Drafthouse' (famous theatre in Austin, TX) and 'Levi's'. The screening are free and lots of fun. Two nights ago I made the pilgrimadge to Bakersfield to see one of the greatest films of all time, 'There will be Blood'. Check out their website, maybe they'll be in your town.

http://rollingroadshow.com/

Lost

I'm beginning to regress back to my comfort zone: depression. To help, I've decided to focus on the positives in my life.

- Despite the beliefs of the hypercondriac inside of me, I still have my health.

- I live in a relatively safe neighborhood.

- My apartment has more space than I know what to do with.

- I have the luxury of having a maid clean my apartment.

- Financially, I'm doing much better than many of the people I went to school with.

- I'm in relatively good shape.

- I'm attractive. At least I think so.

- I have great taste in film and music. God, just listen to my playlist! WOW!

- I have personality.

- I have intelligent friends who constantly challenge me.

- I still have passion burning inside of me.

- I still have a dream.

There. Now I feel better.

Don't trust anyone.

They will always disappoint you.

Just don't. Trust me.

Bowling with people you don't know

While bowling with 2 of my closest friends I took the opportunity to test out the HD video recording and editing software on the iPhone4.

Here is the result.

Movies to watch

The swedish film "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" was released earlier this year in the United States, immediately jumping on to my very short list of films I've seen in this incredibly sad year for films that is actually worth remembering. It was released on video in the past week to help boost interest for its sequel "Girl who Played With Fire", which is being released in theaters today. Look for the second sequel "The Girl who Kicked the Hornets Nest" later this year.

Grizzly Bear + Beach House

Two of my favorite contemporary bands came together for this song. It creates a sonic orgasm so powerful it would make Justin Bieber cum from his toe nails. You've been warned.

From the Twilight: New Moon soundtrack (I'm not gay! I never even saw the movie! Ok, maybe I did, BUT IT WAS FOR WORK, PEOPLE! FOR WORK!!!! )

Extreme Boot Camp!

Saturday begins my month long Extreme Boot Camp fitness course. That is all.

Thinking of buying a car.

I'm thinking a convertible. It's a bit tricky going about buying one when you're income can't feed your hunger for the luxurious. 90% percent of what's out there is way beyond my means. So what now? Oh... I know.

A Jeep Wrangler.

It's rugged, goes off-road, cool and reasonably priced. Why the hell not? Sure it eats up a ton of gas but that's why I have a scooter, my main source of transportation. The Jeep will mainly be used to go on long trips, visit new places, friends, and most importantly staying away from the rain.

Now it's just a matter of finding that great deal.

What I've been up to in the past few months.

I worked really hard to get down to 175 lbs, got drunk for 20 days straight, gained 10 pounds. Worked 12 hour shifts 3/4th of the time; I hardly had time to myself.

It should be quite clear to you that I obviously didn't get the loft in downtown. The loft I applied for is currently only available for those with low-income, something I am not (although, not by much). I did purchase the sound system I wanted but opted to stay away from a projector for the time being. In less than a month I'm moving into Loz Feliz with a friend and we've agreed to use his television as our main source of entertainment in the living-room. I was a bit disappointed at first, since I had been so obsessed with building the perfect home theatre but, it's for the best. I need to be more focused on my career and less on entertainment. This includes less drinking and going out.

I can't allow myself to continue on with this go nowhere life style I've adapted.

That's all I'll write for now. That last sentence seems like the right place to end this post.

SERIOUSLYOMFGREALLY!

I can't wait for June 24th!! Why?

TAKE A WILD FUCKING GUESS!!!!!!!

Coming soon...

MORE OF ME!

Stay cool, my babies.

No time whatsoever

I have tons to write but absolutely no time to do so. I've been working 10 - 12 hour days, 6 days a week for the past 3 weeks and there's hardly any indications that this will end any time soon. I'll keep this post short and briefly let you know what's been taking up my minds time outside of work.

I recently applied for a loft in Downtown LA and am completely obsessed with setting up the perfect home entertainment center once I move in (if I move in).

At first I wanted a plasma television but after much, much, MUCH research I stumbled upon a review for the worlds first economically accessible 1080p projector for your home. I NEED THIS!

Then I thought about splurging out on a Bose 2 speaker sound system but read more than a few negative comments on it, and after much research I've decided to go with this sound receiver.

Currently I'm doing research on speakers and a screen to project on.

Wish me luck on the loft. I really, really, REALLY want it.

Ciao!

UPDATE!

I'm going with these speakers. They're listed for $999 but many dealers are selling it for as little as $400. The reviews say these are fantastic and well worth the price. I CANT WAIT!!

UPDATE x2

And I'm going with this screen.

In your face, bitches.

Ciao!

My new favorite film: HAUSU

Jesus Christ, what a movie. The New Beverly has been screening this hidden little gem for the past week and boy is it not to be missed. It's everything the word fantastic was made for. What exactly is it, you ask? I do not know. No one has been able to accurately describe this weird ass 1977 Japanese film from Nobuhiko Obayashi. The best description I can come up with is a children's horror story told by a man on LSD. Yes, it's awesome. Check this out immediately.

I'M BACK!

So i took the time to rework my Facebook page and came up with what could be my most satisfying self description I've ever written.

Check it out:

I drive around this city in my black, leather jacket taking in the sights, sounds and cool winds as I ride on my shiny, black... scooter. Yup... a scooter. As I ride around on my shiny, black scooter I see many interesting people/places/events that subconsciously hardwire themselves into little stories I make up in my head involving made up people, in made up situations which get tweaked, re-imagined and dramatized for days, months, and sometimes years until they finally reach a stage in which I deem them worthy of paper.

As I spend God knows how long (is there a God?) translating these thoughts into a format best understood by the masses, I tend to get sidetracked by my love of the arts. Too much time is spent catching the weirdest film screening in town and following it with awesome live music. Save me.

Other procrastinating events that take place in my world are: spending countless hours reading in coffee shops, going to museums, fantasizing about learning how to surf, avoiding anything that involves the word cooking, sweating up a storm at the gym, trips to new and afar places,camping, last minute and completely spontaneous as well as impulsive drives to Vegas in the middle of the night, art shows, and more drunken debaucheries than i'd like to admit.

I am what some would refer to as a film school grad.

Sorry

I'll get back to writing on here soon. In the meantime enjoy this hilarious video that was shown to me a few weeks ago.

Where's Jesse?

I have nothing interesting to say this week. I've been pretty bored and mostly playing Assassins Creed 2. I did move to dayshift this week and that's pretty awesome and all but... meh. I feel like I need some excitement in my life. Maybe a new friend is in order. Guess it's online dating for me.

The only other thing I have to share at the moment is the suicide note written by todays IRA attacker. Read it here. It's very interesting and you'll have a hard time arguing against the man (also, reading it. It's longer than a motha[censored].

Until next time my smelly yet unbelievably sexy readers.

Word of the day: Presidents day edition

lob·by·ist

noun

a person, acting for a special interest group, who tries to influence the introduction of or voting on legislation or the decisions of government administrators

Word of the day: Valentine edition

ar⋅dor

–noun

1. great warmth of feeling; fervor; passion: She spoke persuasively and with ardor.

2. intense devotion, eagerness, or enthusiasm; zeal: his well-known ardor for Chinese art.

3. burning heat.

Happy Valentines Day

God, today has been such a romantic day! Woke up hung over as shit, walked over to Jack in the Box and had an extremely healthy grilled cheese sandwich. Oh man, that thing is so good for your heart. Returned to Richard's casa to productively whoop my friends asses on Super Smash Bros Melee. Countless, hardworking hours were put to good use there. After all this, I placed my hands on this thick, beautiful, sensuous, black computer keyboards and proceeded to finger my way into networking Richard's computer and Playstation together.

Tonight I'm heading over to the Silent movie theatre to catch a series of clips from cheesy love films followed by a cheesy 80's love film. Should be a very erotic evening. After that I'll be heading back to my place where I'll vigorously [censored by editor].

Please enjoy this video

Word of the day

fa⋅ce⋅tious

–adjective

1.	not meant to be taken seriously or literally: a facetious remark.

2.	amusing; humorous.

3.	lacking serious intent; concerned with something nonessential, amusing, or frivolous: a facetious person.

Taken from Dictionary.com

Coachella wish list

WOO HOO! Coachella is almost here and I can not fucking wait to get ultimate trashed to some of my favorite bands. Beach House, Grizzly Bear, Fever Ray (OMFG, Fever Ray!), Camera Obscura, and Thom fucking Yorke.

Now, even though I think this years Coachella line up is amazing, here are a few bands that would have made it orgasmically amazing had they been invited -

Fuck Buttons

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

Daniel Land and the Modern Painters

Ulrich Shnauss

Dan Deacon

Animal Collective

Radiohead

Flaming Lips

Pixies

Girls

And of course, Morrissey

Word of the day

Main Entry: oc·clude

Pronunciation: \ə-ˈklüd, ä-\

Function: verb

Inflected Form(s): oc·clud·ed; oc·clud·ing

transitive verb
1 : to close up or block off : obstruct

2 : Sorb

intransitive verb

1 : to come into contact with cusps of the opposing teeth fitting together
2 : to become occluded

Taken from /www.merriam-webster.com

Best of Twitter vol, 1

A few moths ago I joined the Twitter bandwagon and haven't looked back since. I instantly enjoyed the benefits of communicating (releasing) my thoughts/feelings to a few dozen strangers, which would otherwise go unheard and bottled up inside me, begging to be heard by really just about anyone. Most of the time it's simple thoughts that just pop into my head, but at least once a week I come up with some pretty funny stuff.

Follow me at http://twitter.com/jesgar130

Here are a few highlights

I really hate myself when I finish off an entire bucket of ice cream; mostly because It forces me to get out of bed and buy some more.7:35 PM Jan 31st

When both the people on the tredmils next me leave at the same time I can't help but feel that maybe my farts had something to do with it.4:19 PM Jan 29th

Don't you hate it when you think you're checking out a hot babe from behind and then they turn around and it's a succubus? Me too... me too.1:36 PM Jan 23rd
Happy birthday, David Lynch. If I were a woman my vagina would be yours (But Morrissey would have dibs. I hope you understand).11:12 AM Jan 20th

I've heard lady gaga in NY so many times I'm actually starting to like it. #whydoeseveryonethinkimgay?9:20 PM Jan 7th
Just got a haircut. Don't know why they're a little hesitant when you take your pants off here.12:10 PM Jan 7th
Can't stop looking at this gorgeous burnet dancing on the floor. Good lord! I'd give years of my life to take her on a date. #imapussy9:50 PM Jan 3rd
Pick-up line of the night: Are we about to get it on? Cuz I'm as hard as a diamond in an ice storm.8:30 PM Jan 3rd
My roomate left for vacation this morning but left her dildo on the living room sofa. Smooth, real smooth.3:39 PM Dec 23rd, 2009
"I'll admit I'm hot, but don't blame me for global warming" - 12 year old girl at Target.9:10 PM Dec 13th, 2009
Clam chowder: semen of the sea?8:53 PM Dec 12th, 2009
Why do I keep bumping into the same douche from film school? Is the world trying to tell me I'm a douche as well, or that I should use one?2:51 PM Dec 9th, 2009
Let me tell ya, it's not fun having to explain to a cop that you forgot to bring an extra pair of underwear to the gym and thus have none on3:43 AM Dec 8th, 2009
Sometimes I pass the time by making up music videos in my head starring me. My favorite: like a virgin by Madonna9:32 PM Dec 4th, 2009
I just saw the strangest thing flash in the sky. Logic tells me it could be a comet. My heart tells me it's a quiff.1:59 AM Nov 19th, 2009
What if each of us have a different perception of time? Think about it.8:53 PM Nov 5th, 2009
I've been using a British accent with every stranger I've met for the past two weeks.3:43 PM Oct 30th, 2009
There's a woman on the bus who won't stop taking pictures of me!!!!!!!! What the fuck! She's even moving seats to get better angles. Ugh!!!!7:04 PM Oct 24th, 2009
Mmm! Eating Cracker Jack for the first time in years! Not to be confused with "Cracka Jack."8:33 PM Sep 29th, 2009
Not a fan of going commando, but sometimes you just forget. Today is one of those days.1:20 PM Sep 13th, 2009

Soundtrack to my life: voL. 2

Dreamy, etherial, warm and just plain gorgeous are the words I'd use to describe Daniel Land and the Modern Painters debut album "Love songs for the chemical generation". With every listen it grows on me significantly, slowly and softly pushing me deeper and deeper down this dark, unescapable well I call love. If you think that last sentence was cheesy as hell, that's because I can't help it; it makes me all warm and gooey inside, like a catholic school girl.

Currently there aren't any reviews for this album from publications I trust, but trust me, it's great. Listen to a few tracks here, download it here or buy it here. It's not out on vinyl at the moment, which is a major bummer, but I recommend you all buy it when it is. Definitely going on my top ten of this year.

ENJOY!

The Incredible Hulk and Star Trek

This week I've found myself watching one mildly exiting, yet mind numbingly dumb film followed by a surprisingly entertaining action sci-fi phenomenon.

Having worked on "The Incredible Hulk" and having seen it countless times without sound, I had absolutely zero desire to view it. The film seemed to offer nothing for me; I'm an "art house" kind of guy. I'm in it for thought provoking story, human emotions, escapism, not stuff blowing up. Yet for some reason I found myself watching The Incredible Hulk during a state of absolute boredom. I was actually very surprised with the first 15 min, it wasn't a bad as expected and Edward Norton didn't really bother me as much as I had anticipated. But then the film let me down in a big way.

I'm a huge admirer of Ang Lees' version; some found it boring and too talky, I found it to be a perfect blend of art house and action. This film is all action. I felt as though the "talking" scenes were merely there to set up the action scenes. By the time the film reached its halfway point my eyes started to wander away from the screen. And when the inevitable showdown between two giant Hulks in Harlem, New York (which by the way, feels nothing like Harlem) came around, I really didn't care about anything or anyone in this film. I went from slightly liking the film to just wanting to throw it out the window. Blah.

That same day I found myself equally bored, and rather then doing something productive I popped in Star Trek (2009). Not a bad film.

As most of you probably know, this is a reboot of the series; only difference with this reboot is it actually doesn't throw any of the past events from the series out the window. Rather, they came up with a way of combining the two.

It's not a great film, but I was very entertained by it, short comings and all. The film suffers from a few unnecessary action sequences and one very bad comiedic scene involving Kirk and his hands. But the film does a good job of picking its self up. In my eyes, there's really just one major flaw that might occlude you from enjoying it, and that's the whole old Spock and young Kirk meet-up. It's completely absurd and leaves you with a very disgusting WTF taste in your mouth.

Incredible Hulk: 2 out of 5 stars

Star Trek: 3 out of 5 stars

Soundtrack to my life: vol.1

The unofficial soundtrack to my New York trip and January goes solely to Grizzly Bears' "Veckatimest".

I wasn't too taken away by this May of 2009 release at first; finding it a bit too slow and boring for my tastes, I soon forgot about it and moved on to other things. It wasn't until December when I kept finding it on many top 10 lists of the year that I curiously gave it another listen and found myself opening up to it a lot more than I had originally anticipated. My favorite track (it's opening track) "Southern Point" is currently playing on this blog as you are reading this.

Read more about it and listen to it here, illegally download it here, or buy it here.

Enjoy.

One crazy night in New York: After Hours

I viewed After Hours yesterday for the first time and have to admit I was a little let down. I can see why Scorsese would be attracted to a script of this nature, as it does sound like a very fun story, but over all I can't really say I had fun viewing the film. The way Scorsese tries to combine very serious and dark material with comedy doesn't really work for me. Some will, and have found some of the subject matter hilarious, but I thought it was a little disturbing.

In one scene a character mentions that her husband (of three days) was obsessed with "The Wizard of Oz" to a point that he would yell out "Surrender Dorothy!" when climaxing during sex. Now, this type of comedy sounds like my cup of tea on paper, but on screen in the hands of this very serious minded film maker, it all comes off as really creepy. Keep in mind this is the man who directed Raging Bull, Taxi Driver and Mean Streets.

Here's the scene:

Marcy:

My husband was a movie freak. Actually, he was particularly obsessed with one movie, "The Wizard of Oz." He talked about it constantly. I thought it was cute at first. On our wedding night, I was a virgin. When we made love - you've seen the movie, haven't you?

Paul Hackett:

"The Wizard of Oz"? Yeah.

Marcy:

Well, whenever he - you know, when he came...

Paul Hackett:

Yeah.

Marcy:

...he would scream out, "Surrender Dorothy!" That's all! Just "Surrender Dorothy!"

Paul Hackett:

Wow.

Marcy:

Instead of saying something normal like, "Oh, God," or something normal like that. I mean, it was pretty creepy! And I told him I thought so, but he just, he just couldn't stop, he just, he just couldn't stop, he just... couldn't stop.

And the film is filled with scenes like this. As with The King Of Comedy Scorsese once again tried to build the bridge between comedy and drama, and for some it worked (see Roger Eberts review), but for me it was a minor fail. Yes, I did enjoy myself (to an extent) but I can't really recommend this film to anyone other than film aficionados as myself.

I could write much more on the matter but really, who cares?

3 out of 5 stars.

Polish film posters

I recently stumbled upon a site that features Polish film posters. They're very intriguing and always highly imaginative. Check out http://www.cinemaposter.com/FSTallgal.html and google "Polish film posters" for more. Enjoy.

Edge of Darkness

I'm really looking forward to this film. Why? Because it stars a man I highly admire, Mel Gibson. Yeah, I know the guy's not really all there upstairs but there should be absolutely no doubt in your mind that he's an immensely talented film maker. Face it, the guy's a genius. I may not have enjoyed Apocalypto as much as others but I'd be a damn fool if I didn't admire the work Mel did behind cameras. With a better script one has no doubt he would have delivered a perfect film.

But Jesse, Mel didn't direct this film. This is true, but it's his first starring role since his public breakdown and thus an important one. Something about this script told Mel that this was the one to bring him back into the public eye. The one which proves to everyone including himself that he's still got it plus more. Mel doesn't need money, he's got an island to himself for Christ's sake! Clearly he's not going to attach himself to any project floating around Hollywood, but to a strong, clear, thought provoking script, one he deems worthy of his talent. At least one would hope that's the case.

Now, the film is directed by Martin Campbell of Casino Royale fame which I admired, but more for its script and serious tone than its directing. Anyone with a clear head could have directed that film. I'm not saying the guy's a bad director, just that I've yet to see anything from him that says to me that he's an artist rather than just a guy for hire. This became completely obvious to me upon learning that he was the man behind the mind numbing Zorro pics. But this isn't just another Zorro. This is a remake of Campbell's own BBC miniseries, which gives me another reason to hope this project is good. It's personal.

Yes, it's completely possible that Mel attached himself to a mediocre script full of action and suspense just to win back the hearts of the majority of film goers (let's face it, most people have terrible taste) but I'm hoping, really hoping this isn't the case. Early reviews on Rotten Tomatoes say it's a pretty solid film with few flaws (80% approval). Fantastic for a film released in January, a time when studios usually toss their garbage our way. When more reviews come in later in the week I hope they'll continue to be on the complementary side.

So... who wants to see this with me?