SURPRISE!

Hello ADU readers. I promised you a surprise so here it is.

BEFORE

SCROLL DOWN

AFTER

I'm all cleaned up. New short haircut and clean shaven face. I'll try it out for a bit.

News:

Avatar is now the #1 movie of all time. It surpassed Titanic and holds the record for the biggest total gross, and international gross. It will surpass the domestic gross total this weekend. Way to go Mr. Cameron.

The A's re-signed Michael Wuertz, another great relief pitcher. That makes our bullpen even better.

I learned how to open a beer bottle with a lighter.

That is all.

Currently Listening To: Beach House

Exclusive First Look At Australia Day Video...and the news

Dearest faithful ADU fans, I present to you the first exclusive look at my Australia Day Video. When I completed this video it was 3 GB big. In order for it to fit online I had to compress it. So the quality is not as good as when it first came out, but still watchable. I'll upload another version with a little better quality to FB tomorrow. I don't know If I will continue this Vlog thing, as I feel awkward holding a camera to myself and I sound funny on camera as well. But I hope you enjoy it.

Now to continue this post I want to talk about a few things...

First off on my list is the California High Speed Rail. Its about fuckin time. In case you haven't heard, Obama has given the state of California 2.5 Billion Dollars for rail funding. The plan is to build a high speed train from Sacramento to San Diego, stopping in various cities along the way. They estimate that the train will go about 220MPH and can go from LA to SF in 2.5 hours. That is just awesome.

In other Bay Area news. Now that the A's have signed Ben Sheets, it looks like the A's have one of the best pitching rotations and bullpen in all of baseball this year. Go look up the A's pitching roster, yes it's that good.

And finally, I must say RIP to J.D Salinger. The beloved author of one of my favorite books "Catcher In The Rye". Now that he is no longer with is, do you think they'll finally make a movie out of it with Jake Gyllenhaal as Holden? I would love to see old Jakey boy step into his Donnie Darko shoes again.

I think I'll start talking about current events that I can relate to in this blog from now on. No, I won't pick the boring stuff.

So what do you think about me continuing a Vlog. Yay or Nay? Maybe The American Down Under will have his own Youtube channel someday.

Currently Listening To: Led Zeppelin

Australia Day

So yesterday was Australia Day. That is the 4th of July of Australia. It was clear blue skies and hot. Everyone got work off and the festivities carried on through the day. I met up with some friends in Hyde Park. Surrounding Hyde Park and continuing down the road were hundreds of vintage cars form all over the world. After browsing and dreaming we made our way down to Circular Quay and the Rocks. There was live music and festivities, pretty much a giant block party was going down in the streets. We grabbed a beer at a bar and headed out to the water for some views of the Opera house. As the afternoon began to turn into evening we made our way to Darling Harbour and managed to sneak our way through the crowds of thousands and get a seat right by the water. There was a whole night time celebration with performers and a boat parade. All leading up to one of the best firework shows I have ever seen. It absolutely gave New Years a run for its money. When all the festivities were said and done, I made my way back to the bus stop, only to watch the bus I needed pull away and drive off. After waiting another 30 min for the next bus, it ended up being packed with people and there was no room for me to get on. So I made the walk all the way back home. Now this walk wouldn't have been as bad if it was so hot and humid at that time of night.

So, now that you have read that boring introduction I'll get to the good stuff. Australia day is rad. Yes, I did use the word rad. It was a great time and I am glad I got to experience it. The best part is I brought my camera. Not only did I take pictures but many videos as well. This means, once I have time I'll throw those on the editing block and make myself and Australia Day 2010 video/ vlog. Mmm, mmm, mmm, now that sounds good. It will be like the tribute to 2 Kurrawa Study Abroad video I made, except this time it will have pictures and actual video. If you haven't already checked out my Australia Study Abroad tribute to my house mates, I highly recommend it. You can look on my FB profile under videos, it will be there. Disclaimer: It may bring tears.

So look for my new Australia Day video to be out sometime in the next few days. Also, I have a surprise for all of my faithful readers. But it is a secret and you'll have to wait until the weekend to find out/ see. So stay posted.

Currently Listening To: Tiesto/ Mika

Recently Watched: Blade Runner- Not good. I don't like film noirs, period.

2009 Top Movie List

It is finally here. Mike's annual movie list. Keep in mind the list was compiled only of movies I saw that had a USA release date in 2009. It may look a little ridiculous, but I carefully analyzed each movie and put them up against each other in terms of both entertainment value and filmmaking value. Enjoy!

TOP TEN:

10. Up In The Air/ Night At The Museum 2

Number ten on my list is a tie between these two very different movies. UITH was extremely well written and well made. It was touching and just snuck onto my top ten list. NATM2 was very entertaining and kept me smiling almost every minute of it.

9. Star Trek

I was never a trekkie but I had to see what all the buzz was about. This new age version of ST succeeded in both keeping the old and bringing in the new. The cast and special effects kept this movie entertaining and fun to watch.

8. Avatar

Surprise, surprise the 1.6+ billion dollar masterpiece made my list. James Cameron strikes again with the (currently) 2nd highest grossing movie of all time. The storyline was simple and predictable, but still enjoyable. What made it get the number eight spot was its visuals. This movie is visually stunning, and with the new 3D technology, the audience is put inside this made up world. In my opinion it deserves to knock Titanic out of the #1 grossing spot.

7. Twilight: New Moon

I know what your gonna say, but any movie that leaves my jaw wide open at the end deserves to be on my top ten list. NM kept me entertained almost the entire time. With and interesting and unique storyline and great filmmaking techniques, this movie was bound to make my list. If it wasn't for the lack of solid acting performances, it probably would have ranked higher.

6. The Brothers Bloom

A very well written and well executed movie. The cast, the plot, and just about everything else fell into place to create this one of a kind movie, that affects both your heart and your head at the same time. Hats off for this one.

5. (500) Days Of Summer

This little indie made a big splash. Great original screenplay that told it how it is. With a great cast and a great soundtrack to go along with a simple but very relatable storyline, this little flick was one to remember.

4. Inglorious Basterds

Jews killing Nazis in a Tarantino way. Simple as that.

3. X-Men Origins: Wolverine

I have loved the entire X-Men series and this isn't any different. Hugh Jackman is a badass and I can watch him any day. This movie was exactly what I expected out of it. It had great action sequences and a good unique plot that gives us insight into the X-Men world and its characters in the early days.

2. Watchmen

Having not read the graphic novel, I had no idea what to expect. This was a superhero movie like no other. While Snyder kept his "300-esque" visual style of awesomeness and camera work, he still managed to maintain a great and well thought out storyline. This movie had excellent filmmaking techniques as well as a great soundtrack and a great story. The entire story is symbolic and leaves the audience with something more.

1. Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince

The movies will never be as good as the books, but this came close. It seems the HP movies are getting better and better as they come out. This one was the best yet and followed true to the book better than any of the other movies. I was expecting it to be good, but it was great. I realized that I was more excited about this movie than any other this past year, and since it exceeded my expectations it deserves the number one spot.

Bottom Five (these need no explanation):

5. Miss March

4. Confessions Of A Shopaholic

3. The Box

2. Year One

1. Gigantic

I hope you all enjoyed my list. Comment and tell me your favorite movies of 2009.

Currently Listening To: DJ Hero -video game soundtrack

1st week of work done...Sydney Festival

So my first full week of work is done. It started off slow but it seems like it will begin to pick up. It is hard to get sales the first time you talk to someone, so you have to schedule call backs. For next week I have like 50 callbacks. So we will see. What matters most to me is that the people I work with are great and the base pay is great.

Sydney festval started last night. They closed of some of the streets and parks downtown and have various stages set up. Every night for the next 15 nights they will have performers everywhere. It was opening night last night and the legendary Al Green performed for free. It was his first show in Australia ever. So that was pretty cool. The festival has a great atmosphere to it. It is like Coachella with a lot more old people and inside of a city. I do enjoy walking in the middle of the streets with no problem.

Currently Listening To: ATB

Recently Watched: The Hurt Locker. Very good, one of the most realistic war films I have seen. Really puts you inside Iraq.

Pictures and a clean shaven face...uh oh!

So my default screensaver is random pictures that are stored in my computer. Except every year I take the previous years photos, put them on my external hard drive and delete them all of my computer to make room for the upcoming years photos. When my external hard drive is plugged in, since I have no 2010 photos, the screensaver is now showing random pictures from my entire external. Its like seeing my life in pictures it is so weird. There are pictures from 2005 when I first start University. There are pictures of my hair in all its stages: short, spikey, buzzed, shaggy, longer, messy, awkward. And then my face, wow. I look so young in some of the pictures, with a clean shave, with awkward scruff attempt, with a mustache, with an attempted mustache, and with successful scruff.

All this got me thinking, since it is the new year should I change something about my appearance. What do you guys think? I may just start with a clean shave, but I do like the scruff look, it makes me look older.

Currently Listening To: The Beastie Boys

Recently Watched: The Lovely Bones- Too disturbing for me. Failed in my opinion. C- grade.

First day back to work and movie talk.

I had my first day back at Brightstars today. It is intimidating with the new system and no more fuckin around. Its time to start talking to real people and do what I was hired to do. I was sick today and all congested so that made the job even harder. Luckily the system is acting up so they sent everyone home early. Hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow.

I think I am done at the bar. I got my taste at whats its like, and frankly I don't like it. Maybe it is just the bar I am working at, it is way too loud and rowdy. It sounds like a lot of fun to those of you who have never tried dealing with 100s of drunk Irish people and taking their drink orders. My hearing is pretty much gone because of the noise and I'm sure I am sick from working to close at the bar each night. It was a good run, but I am done. They didn't schedule me for next weekend, thank god. So I hope they were just using me as a holiday worker and I'm done now. Not counting tips I make more hourly at Brightstars or another job anyways, so why put myself through the stress?

My annual movie list will be coming out soon. I will post it on this blog. For those of you who don't know what that is, I'll explain. At the end of every year I look at all of the releases of the previous year (2009 in this case) and I list all the movies I have seem that came out in that year. Then I order the list from the best of the year to the worst. Of course this is only the movies I have seen, not every movie. This year I saw less movies than in 2008, due to financial restraints and the fact that I was in Australia in Nov/Dec which is when Oscar season is.

On another movie note, I just want to comment that 'Avatar' has reached the 1 Bil worldwide mark, which is phenomenal. Titanic holds the record at 1.8 Bil. Who directed Titanic? James Cameron folks, the same director of Avatar. I am secretly rooting for Avatar to match or surpass Titanic. Then James Cameron would have the 2 highest grossing movies in the history of movies which makes him gold and makes things interesting. So if you haven't seen it yet, go see it.

Currently Listening To: Foo Fighters

Recently Watched: Brothers- goodish, good acting, slower movie. Can lose interest fast. America should stop making remakes of foreign films, especially those which only came out 5 years earlier.

NYE... It's 2010 now folks.

Before I tell you about my New Years Eve lets reflect on some of the major things that happened in 2009.

-Rang in the New Year in Las Vegas with Mark and family.

-Coachella with Mark and TJ.

-Attended my first real film festival -The Newport Beach Film Festival- with Brandon.

-Finished my first feature film script.

-Graduated from university.

-My short "The Dream" got accepted into the GIAA Film Festival in NYC; Mark won best actor.

-Went on a Eurotrip. Saw 3 new countries I have not been to.

-My 22 birthday.

-Moving back home for 2 months.

-Went to NYC for the GIAA Film Fest. Saw my movie screened on a big screen and my sister.

-Went to Philadelphia and saw my study abroad friends and the Fall Festival.

-Moved to Australia.

-Found a place to live in Australia.

-Found 2 jobs in Australia.

-NYE 2009 Sydney

That brings us to New Years Eve in Sydney Australia. Lets just start with the beginning. A group of us went to a place called Pipers Point. There was a little grass area on the water that had perfect views of the Harbour Bridge (where everything goes down). I arrived there at about 1:30pm and drinking, eating, and games began. Little by little everyone showed up. We had the largest group there and took over about 25% of the entire grass. At midnight there was an amazing firework show of the Harbour and throughout Sydney. Look at pics below.

Fireworks shooting off the top of the buildings in Sydney CBD.

My view from Pipers Point.
More Views.

Continue reading...

After the firework display and and wishing everyone a "Happy New Year", it was time to go home. There was one problem, we had no way of getting home. Piper Points is too far out of the way and their is no public transport that goes where we need to go. Some decided to sleep there till morning, others wandered off and god know what happened to them. Three of us decided to try to catch a taxi. So we walked down to the main road and kept walking along hailing every taxi we could see. Now, on a regular day there is usually no problem with catching a cab in Sydney. There are thousands of them driving everywhere all the time. But this was no normal day. This was New Years, which meant that out of maybe 100,000 taxis in the city, there was 1.5 million people trying to get in them. There was no empty taxis at all available for us. So we kept walking and walking, and my only thought was if someone gets dropped off right near us then we can take their cab. At the precise moment, like heaven sent, a taxi pulls to the side of the road right next to us.

Apparently there had been some commotion. The cab had 3 girls and a guy, who had come from some fancy party and were obviously inebriated. There was a screaming match and then 3 of them got out of the car, while one girl stayed in and dialed the taxi company complaining. Somebody was trying to rip someone off. Yada Yada Yada. I could care less about their issues, what mattered to me was there was now an empty taxi sitting in front of me. We had to wait 5 min before the last girl finally got out of the cab and it was empty for us.

Now what happens next was one of the craziest jaw dropping things of my life. Out of no where, like fuckin ninjas, a couple slips right in front of us and into the cab and the cab drives away. In about 20 seconds we were robbed of the only taxi we found available. Again, we were stranded on the street, except now with 4 angry drunk people.

We decided to walk with them in the general direction of where we needed to go. We heard their stories of the night. One girl's dress was wet because she had been pushed into a pool, and so on. (Drunk girl talk, I've learned how to tune it out over the years).

Eventually we ended up at a train station. Knowing that Central Station is somewhat near my house, and that it is the hub for most trains, we got on a train. Luckily we made it to central and took a cab home from there. I got home at about 4am after almost 3 hours of wandering. It was definitely and interesting way to spend the first hours of 2010.

So that brings us to today January 2, 2010 for me. Yesterday I worked at the bar from 3pm to 2am with no break. Got lots of tips though, and overtime pay for the extra hours. So its okay. The only problem I am having now is I have completely lost my voice. Not raspy, gone. So I need to relax and take it easy. I work at the bar again Sun night, which I am not looking forward to. Then on Monday I start back up with Brightstars full time. This may be an issue since my job consists purely of talking to people. I need my voice back.

Alright, the moment you have all been waiting for. New years resolutions. I probably have many, but the only ones I can think of right now are these:

-Start working out and eating healthy again/ less drinking.

-Appreciate the small things more.

-Have fun and live it up. 2010 will be a great year.

I would love to hear all of your resolutions. So go ahead and tell me them in the comments.

Happy New Year everybody!

Currently Listening To: Ben Kweller

Below is a video of part of the fireworks over the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Sorry if it's a little shaky, I was being burnt by a sparkler.

I think I am allergic to the rain...and the Irish

Yeah, its raining. I know, I know, I deserved that one. Yes I apologize for my previous post about how the weather is great here and it sucks to be you Americans. Now I am stuck will rainy cold weather. Its been like this for 3 days now and according to the forecast it will stay like this until Sat.

Im getting all nasally and stuff now. I'm not sick so it must be allergies. I think the rain brought it on. But what is it? Is it inside the rain? Is it the water in this country in general? Who knows. Good news is I can leave my window open and get some cool fresh air into my room, with no mosquitos to worry about. Bad news is since I have no dryer I have to hang dry my clothes outside, and since the air is so moist my clothes are still damp for 2 days now.

In other news. I worked the bar again last night and man was it crazy. Remember this is already an Irish pub, so you expect it to be rowdy. Now add an Irish folk band into the mix. It turned into the loudest pub I have ever been in. There was screaming (what they thought was singing) and shirts came off and "dancing" ensued. It was out of control. But I think I had my best night so far when it comes to looking like an actual bartender. I also got $34 in tips, which is good for a non-tipping country. $24 of that came from a drunk guy who gave me a $50 for his drinks and then left without getting the change from me. I hope that happens more often.

Currently Listening To: Vampire Weekend

Recently Watched: High Fidelity- It was okay. I think it is overrated.

First night as a bartender.

Great. It was really busy. I learned a little more. I looked like a pro some times. I looked like a fool sometimes. I got $9.50 in tips. $6.50 of it came from a drunk guy who gave me change and asked me to change it for him then walked away. The buses don't run when I get off so I have to take a $15 cab ride home after every shift. Lets just hope I get at least $15 in tips. I smell like alcohol. I only have 1 pair of black pants so I plan on having those pants smelling like alcohol permanently. Irish people get angry when you don't serve them. I need to figure out a method to serve everyone evenly. It is too hard to see who got there first at such a big bar. I need to just go right to left then left to right. If you don't like the little head on your beer worth one sip, or the shot isn't full enough for you, go fuck off. I work again tomorrow on Christmas Eve. I'm hoping to get a lot of "Merry Christmas" tips. Yes, I bank on the system.

Currently Listening To: Barenaked Ladies