wasted words: 2013

September 29, 2013

Exit Sandman

The baseball season ended today, but my favorite moment came just a few days ago. It was Mariano Rivera's last game ever, capping off a Hall-of-Fame career as the greatest closer of all time. True to form, he retired every batter he faced until there was one out left. But just as everything seemed so choreographed, his long-time teammates, Derek Jeter and Andy Pettitte, took a trip to the mound.

As Pettitte signals to the bullpen and Jeter says "Time to go!" the full weight of the moment sets in, and Mo is overcome by emotion. We witnessed his last pitch without knowing it, and it was perfect.

April 22, 2013

Reasons I Am Deactivating My Facebook Account

-Because my dad has more friends than me.

-Because it's nearly May and I've read half of one book and 23479 useless statuses.

-Because I know more about people's babies (born and unborn) than I'd like to.

-Because this tweet is sadly true.

-Because all decisions have a tipping point and this was mine.

-Because despite all the above, I'm still on it far too often.

February 20, 2013

The Blind Will See

The last contacts I ever wore

Yesterday, I underwent corrective vision surgery, ending my 16-year journey with contacts and glasses. I went from -9.25 to 20/20 for $6,000 and it was worth every last penny.

February 3, 2013

Twenty Twelve

My Favorite Songs

Anchor & Braille "In With the New"
Carly Rae Jepsen "Call Me Maybe"

Dead Sara "Weatherman"

Foxy Shazam "I Like It"

fun. "Some Nights"

Further Seems Forever "So Cold"

Good Old War "Amazing Eyes"

Howler "This One's Different"

Japandroids "The House That Heaven Built"

Lana Del Rey "Video Games"

One Direction "What Makes You Beautiful"

Tegan & Sara "Closer"

Vacationer "Good As New"

Yellowcard "Always Summer"
The 1975 "Sex"

My Favorite Albums

10) Daytrader Twelve Years

9) Shiny Toy Guns III

8) Now, Now Threads

7) The Gaslight Anthem Handwritten

6) The Killers Battle Born

5) fun. Some Nights

4) Further Seems Forever Penny Black

3) Metric Synthetica

2) Anberlin Vital

1) Japandroids Celebration Rock

My Favorite Movies

1) Argo The least amount of air I have exhaled in a two hour period. It's to Affleck's credit that knowing the (happy) ending didn't stop it from being a white-knuckled, pulsating thriller. With how good CIA movies were this year, kinda makes me question my decision not to join.

2) The Perks of Being a Wallflower The rare movie that is as good as the book (helps if the author is also the director/screenwriter, it would seem). Nailed the casting. Also, Emma Watson, swoon.

3) Zero Dark Thirty The death of Osama bin Laden is one of those remember-where-you-were moments that is forever etched in your memory (sadly, I was just checking Twitter but it did result in this great photo to the right). It was incredible to see the tireless process and nail-biting end to how we got "Geronimo" put to film.

4) Anna Karenina The benefit of film adaptations of Russian novels is that they compress sprawling, 700+ page epics into two hours. The condensed format worked wonders for my favorite Russian novel, which also nailed the casting, even if Anna and Vronsky were a little too young.

5) Prometheus The unanswered questions aside (it's clear the screenwriter didn't learn anything from his LOST experience), if you just consume this purely as a thriller, it executes perfectly. Gorgeous-looking film (and not just 'cause of Charlize Theron).

6) Looper In a film landscape that increasingly relies on established properties (even the five films above are guilty of this), Looper was a valuable reminder of original storytelling's unique ability to transport us to the unfamiliar. I am so jealous of Rian Johnson's imagination - to come up with this concept and world construction is nothing short of brilliant.

7) Wreck-It Ralph This is the imaginative storytelling Pixar has not been delivering the last few years. Of these 10, I'm pretty sure this was the only movie I misted up in - I don't know what being moved by animated characters says about me, but at least it means I'm not a robot.

8) The Queen of Versailles Fascinating and revolting, this documentary is a glimpse into the 1% of the 1%. Following one of the world's richest families as they build the world's biggest home (until the recession brings that plan to a screeching halt), it's fly-on-the-wall access into the ultimate life of excess (and the unhappiness that accompanies it).

9) Django Unchained Highly support Christoph Waltz becoming Tarantino's muse. Comedy just comes too easy for Tarantino - he makes me laugh more than comedies that are actually fishing for laughs. Unfortunate that a great 'what if' hangs over this movie - he wanted Will Smith for the 'Django' role, which you have to think would have been something special.

10) Les Misérables This & The Dark Knight Rises achieved the impossible this year - they actually made me like (dare I say enjoy) Anne Hathaway. "I Dreamed A Dream" was chill-inducing. As for Javert, I'll let The Onion voice my thoughts:

My Favorite Book

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Stephen Chbosky

My Favorite Video

Grandmotherly Love

I sometimes question why I'm still on Facebook, but then I see a moment like my maternal grandmother wishing my paternal grandmother a happy birthday, and I get my answer.