Lethargy

It’s been relatively quiet around here for the last few days. I have a number of things that I would like to delve into, but I haven’t really gotten around to any of them due to a lack of drive. Yes, you heard me - a lack of drive. I think when a person hits the ground running, and doesn’t stop running for a very long time, they collapse when they get a chance at lethargy. Being able to enjoy some time away from school has been nice, and I’ve really enjoyed catching up on unseen movies.
It was mentioned to you that I wasn’t terribly satisfied with the music industry this year, but I did plan on listing some of my favorite reissues. It seems that Pitchfork beat me to it. I think I’ll still lay down a few of my own thoughts though. There are a number of reissues that Pitchfork failed to cover in their list, and I’d be pleased to link you to my thoughts.
In other news, the screenwriting is coming along well. I haven’t begun any actual writing yet, but I have been doing a tremendous amount of research on the subject of opium. It’s dark subject matter to delve into, but I suspect my research will serve me well.
I did take some time out of my busy schedule (ha!) to register for next semester: I’ll be taking cinematography and screenwriting II. We’ll see how that goes when I jump back into the student life a few weeks from now.

In the meantime, I’m already brainstorming over my favorite movies for the past year. As mentioned, it has been a great year for movies. I really couldn’t pinpoint an exact time when there wasn’t something in the theater that I wanted to see. Now I’ll get down to the grit of the matter and compose my own “Eyes Like Static Awards for Cinematic Relevance”. (Inside joke abound.)
I know that the Oscars and other prestigious award shows are going to neglect some fine work from 2004 and play the game of politics when they hand out their statues. So I’m going to mimic their categories in my own selections and try to pick some winners that they might not even consider worthy of being a nominee.
That means I’ll cover…

Best Actress
Best Actor
Best Supporting (for both)
Best Cinematography
Best Director
Best Film


Will Lemony Snicket nab the best cinematography...or will The Village beat it out?

Anything else that pops into my head is fair game as well. These selections of mine won’t be spoken of until the “new year” however. I still have a few films to see before I can make a fair decision.

Finally, even though I’ve been lethargic for the last few days, I did manage to put together a mix to commemorate the end of the year. On the way to the screening a couple of weeks ago, Gabe and I listened to a mix he compiled that went by the name of “the Sad Mix”. And it was a somber mix all right. He put stuff from Cat Power, Frou Frou and The Beatles on his mix, composing one dour tape. Yes, even the Beatles were unhappy. Anyway, he inspired me to make my own mix. I tried to take it from the opposite tempo however:

Paperface – Weezer
Sierra – Cursive
The Final Push to the Sum – Grandaddy
I’ve Got It All (Most) – Modest Mouse
Havalina – Pixies
Electrify – The Beastie Boys
I’d Rather Dance With You – Kings of Convenience (Gabe introduced me to this one)
The Way We Get By – Spoon
Needle in the Hay – Elliot Smith
Rocky Raccoon – The Beatles
Macaque – Failure
Art – The Firebird Band
Please Die – Nowhere Man and A Whiskey Girl
Judy is a Punk – The Ramones
4. – Fatigo (The song from Gabe and Josh’s The Glove Box)
Alabaster – Rocky Votolato
I’d Rather Be Wine Drunk – The City On Film

A little bit more upbeat I suppose…save for a few tracks.