September 2nd, 2010
Chuck loves movies more than almost anyone else I know. This morning at work he tailored his Top 100 list for me. Staring at the list during a lockup Zac made a Top 50 list for me and not having 50 more, didn’t want to compile a Top 67 Movies list. So here they are in all their glory.
Please feel free to add, subtract, criticize…
Chuck’s 100 Movies For Marne
1. The Graduate
2. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
3. Die Hard
4. Raiders of the Lost Ark
5. The Godfather
6. The Terminator
7. The Silence of the Lambs
8. Pulp Fiction
9. Alien
10. Aliens
11. The Day of the Jackal
12. The Breakfast Club
13. City of God
14. Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
15. Finding Nemo
16. United 93
17. Toy Story
18. Pink Floyd: The Wall
19. The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
20. Singin’ in the Rain
21. Sunset Blvd.
22. Bonnie and Clyde
23. 12 Angry Men
24. Goodfellas
25. Dangerous Liaisons
26. Platoon
27. The World According to Garp
28. The Bridge on the River Kwai
29. Charade
30. The Incredibles
31. Brazil
32. JFK
33. Schindler’s List
34. The Ninth Configuration
35. The Princess Bride
36. L.A. Confidential
37. Toy Story 2
38. Jesus Christ Superstar
39. For A Few Dollars More
40. Close Encounters
41. Jaws
42. Treasure of the Sierra Madre
43. Citizen Kane
44. Forrest Gump
45. Do the Right Thing
46. A Few Good Men
47. Seven
48. Beauty and the Beast
49. Stalag 17
50. Babe
51. Back to the Future
52. Body Heat
53. Casablanca
54. Erin Brockovich
55. On The Waterfront
56. Life of Brian
57. Ikiru
58. The Godfather Part II
59. A Face in the Crowd
60. Once Upon A Time in the West
61. Notorious
62. Romancing the Stone
63. The Elephant Man
64. The Matrix
65. Memento
66. Nashville
67. Excalibur
68. They Shoot Horses, Don’t They
69. Unforgiven
70. Strangers on a Train
71. Mean Streets
72. True Romance
73. The Big Easy
74. Birdy
75. The Hunt for Red October
76. The African Queen
77. Lethal Weapon
78. The Nightmare Before Christmas
79. Double Indemnity
80. Mary Poppins
81. Dog Day Afternoon
82. Duck Soup
83. It Happened One Night
84. E.T.
85. The Birds
86. The Right Stuff
87. The Blues Brothers
88. Airplane
89. The China Syndrome
90. Rope
91. Lawrence of Arabia
92. West Side Story
93. The Manchurian Candidate (original)
94. Lolita
95. Barry Lyndon
96. Manhattan
97. Night of the Hunter
98. The Apartment
99. Hannah and Her Sisters
100. The Third Man
Zak’s 50 Movies for Marne
1. Raiders of the Lost Ark
2. Die Hard
3. Groundhog Day
4. Galaxy Quest
5. Shaun of the Dead
6. The Great Escape
7. Back to the Future
8. Ghost Busters
9. The Thing
10. The Shining
11. Sunshine
12. The Incredibles
13. Monster House
14. Unbreakable
15. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
16. The Naked Gun
17. Young Frankenstein
18. Who Framed Roger Rabbit
19. The Matrix
20. Jurassic Park
21. The Night of the Hunter
22. Sullivan’s Travels
23. Batman: Mask of the Phantom
24. The Apartment
25. Double Indemnity
26. Seven
27. Snatch
28. Airplane
29. Tombstone
30. Robocop
31. Payback
32. Desperado
33. From Dusk Till Dawn
34. The Host
35. The King of Kong
36. Alien
37. Aliens
38. Terminator 2
39. True Lies
40. From Russia With Love
41. The Rocketeer
42. Dick Tracy
43. Highlander
44. Anchorman
45. Maverick
46. Drag Me To Hell
47. Monsters Inc.
48. The Nightmare Before Christmas
49. Big
50. North By Northwest
Greg’s 51 American Movies after 1970
1. Happiness
2. Election
3. Die Hard
4. Naked Gun
5. Trees Lounge
6. Beer Fest
7. Full Metal Jacket
8. King of Comedy
9. Dumb and Dumber
10. The Fury
11. Evil Dead 2
12. Hell Raiser
13. The Shining
14. Fargo
15. Raising Arizona
16. Bully
17. Godfather I
18. Godfather II
19. Terminator
20. Aliens
21. Big Lebowski
22. Children of Men
23. Jaws
24. Taxi Driver
25. Reservoir Dogs
26. Back to the Future
27. Blue Velvet
28. Happy Gilmore
29. Silence of the Lambs
30. Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
31. Dirty Harry
32. Eight Men Out
33. Major League
34. Poltergeist
35. Texas Chainsaw Massacre
36. The Thing (1982)
37. The Fly
38. Dead Zone
39. Total Recall
40. Starship Troopers
41. Robocop
42. Funny Games (U.S.)
43. North Dallas Forty
44. Time Bandits
45. Bad Lieutenant
46. Port of New Orleans
47. Woman Under the Influence
48. In the Company of Men
49. Gummo
50. King of the Hill
51. Darkman
September 1st, 2010
While at home, the dog brings toys to get them launched down the hall. During rare streaks of productivity I never get up to play, rather I am just used for my arm in the same way a batter utilizes a pitching machine. Time passes and a new toy is brought. More time, more toys.
After a day working in inside our office at the apartment, Saba stopped bringing toys. I got up to make dinner, realizing that she had emptied her toy basket. She exhausted herself after also having a busy day of work.
A hard day of work is exhausting.
August 31st, 2010
Years ago this piece of set decoration was made for a (now cancelled) television show labeling me as the returning chess champion*. Recently it showed up at The Office. We’re not on the same stage, not even on the same lot. Hollywood is a small world. 
Weird.
*I am awful at chess, if I am the returning champion Sarasota has larger issues then previously thought.
August 30th, 2010
I cannot say for certain, but I think this whole “late call” to start work that is actually still a 7am call is payback for the years my mother fought to get me out of bed by the same time. If it isn’t orchestrated as revenge, she is at least getting a lot of enjoyment out of it.
August 22nd, 2010
After seven years, Red Bull Flugtag returned to California. Rainbow Harbor in Long Beach was many hot hours under the sun jostling for a seat among a very interesting group of people (no, I’m not denying being one of these people). No one was completely prepared, but between a small group of guests preparation came together in order to enjoy the day.
Watching participants enjoy themselves while simultaneously making a fool of themselves is time well spent. What could make it better? Participating. …as long as I’m not the pilot. What could make it even better? Crewing a Grey Goose Vodka craft. They are really missing out on a sponsorship/pairing… goose = flying, vodka = vodka red bull.
Too many photos were uploaded.
Do make sure to check out skyaking.
Be weary looking through them if: You are afraid of heights, water, flying, not-flying, sharks, Chuck Norris, or giant sombreros. You are sensitive about big ears, the coast guard, cavemen, UCLA, Gilligan, or giant babies.
August 17th, 2010
High school history teachers rejoice. Someone has taken the time to adapt WWII into facebook terms allowing the modern teenager to finally understand (or care) what that scuffle was all about.
OMG WWII on Facebook!
(Funny even for those way past their teenage years.)
August 15th, 2010
Yarn bombs. Sounds like kids playing a really effeminate game of war or soldier. What is is seems to be a group of incredibly fast knitters; or people with too much time on their hands.
I’d like to run across this somewhere, although it would have been more fun to stumble upon having no idea what it was.
Yarn Bombs (26 Clever and Cool Examples) under the cut.
Yarn on. Thanks to John Cabrera who passed on the idea in the first place.
August 5th, 2010
Sunday brunch was interrupted when two antique phones were brought out, needing to be documented by a shiny new phone.
*Poor image quality due to photo being taken by a secret third phone
August 4th, 2010
Proposition 8 was ruled unconstitutional in California today, meaning there is another chapter to add to the ever expanding legal battle. Hopefully it will mean more videos like this gem from after the last election.
What was my favorite prop? Am I supposed to have a favorite prop? The one in Titanic that the guy binged off of during the sinking of the ship was pretty good.
July 20th, 2010
I judge a book by its cover. After years of being warned not to, I find it the second best reason to know whether or not a book is worth reading. First being friends or family recommending it. Third would be having a teacher tell you to read it. Fourth would be seeing it on the Daily Show or some other show where the author speaks. Reasons three and four can easily be trumped by one, and often are negated by two.
Covers Waiting to be Judged
When judging a book by its cover, don’t stop with the front. The back holds some valuable information as well. On audacious days check that cute little flap on the inside for a change of pace. The price listed in there has some immediate impact, sure sucks for those Canadians, but that is hardly a lasting deterrent.
After years of reading books I don’t understand the big fuss. Judging a book by its cover (though often the back or inside) is where a description of a book comes into play. Except for reasons one and four I don’t understand why one shouldn’t judge a book based on this merit. There are even quotes from others, and while I understand the editing process that goes into these quote decisions and therefore skip over them, I’m sure that holds a little power of decision for some.
The cover art comes in handy too. If I don’t trust this person’s judgment choosing a simple photo how can I trust the rest of what they’re about to try and make me consume. The art is there in order for you to save your reading energy for the inside where there are 399 more pages words.
If the cover is bad and you still have an unexplainable urge to read the thing, buy it in hardcover and take off the dustcover whose existence makes no sense to anyone anyways.