The top 10 movies that define me

The holiday season is full of top ten lists.  Therefore, here's my top ten movies that made me the geek boy that I am.

First some honorable mentions:


Tropic Thunder:

There are a lot of comedies on my list.  This one is hilarious and has a spectacular ensemble cast.   The Tom Cruise performance almost put it on the top ten.


Brazil:  

Terry Gillian is a genius.  Brazil is a classic from my youth and was only edged out by 12 Monkeys (The Fisher King was also in contention).

Galaxy Quest:  

This is one of the most quotable movies I've seen.  Never give up.  Never surrender.


Idiocracy:

When this movie came out it was very much out there in terms of a dystopian future.  Now it looks about spot on.


 True Lies:

One of the best Arnold movies ever.  Nuff said.


Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back:

Should be in the top ten, but the Wrath of Kahn edges it out slightly.


Seven:

This is one of the best movies  and probably my number 11 overall.  I love the suspense and the twist ending. ...  Don't open the box.


The Edge of Tomorrow:

In an era where Hollywood doesn't take chances, comes this truly original and truly wonderful science fiction movie.  I love everything about this film.

Okay and now on to the top 10:

10: Star Trek: The Wrath of Kahn

By far the best (IMHO) of the Star Trek movies.  At the time it legitimized the original series.


9: A Hard Day's Night

I'm a big Beatles fan and this movie truly captures Beatlemania and the vibe of the band.  It is also an excellent movie in its own rite.

8 ; The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou

I love Wes Anderson movies.  They are sweet and quirky and full of child like wonder.  Life Aquatic is my favorite.  Bill Murray just knocks it out of the park with this movie.


7: O Brother, Where Art Thou? 

The Cohen Brothers have also made so many good movies.  This retelling of the story of Ulysses is spot on in the way that it captures Americana.  The performances of Clooney and Tim Blake Nelson are stand outs in my opinion.


6: The Avengers

This was the best interpretation of a comic book ever.  Joss Wheedon got everything right in this movie and it cemented the Marvel name as one associated with quality.


5: Young Frankenstein 

Mel Brooks is a comedic genius.  This movie has it all, with the great interplay between Terri Garr and Gene Wilder.  A classic in my mind.


4: Twelve Monkeys 

Dystopian science fiction is one of my favorite types of story.  This work is excellent, with a great Bruce Willis performance.


3: Princess Mononoke

Hayao Miyazaki is a master of animation.  His movies are wonderful pieces of art.  This is my favorite.  I love the message and the tone.  Truly beautiful.


2: The Adventures Of Buckaroo Banzai Across The 8th Dimension

I don't know how many times I've seen this movie.  Too many but not enough.  This movie not only defines the 80s but is eminently quotable and so much fun.  This is my undisputed number 2.


1: Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb 

My undisputed number 1, ever since I've seen it, was this wonderful Kubrick film.  This movie has everything I want to see in a movie.  I love it a lot :)

There you have it. 

The Untruth of the Whole Immigration Issue

So, people are upset about all the 'illegals' that 'flood' the US and bemoan 'liberal' attempts to give 'amnesty' to all of these interlopers.

So, that overly inflated sentence is meant to inflame.  It's hyperbole and indicative of the debate (if you want to call it that) in this country.

Why is there illegal immigration?

This is the question that isn't really explored.  People with a short attention span would say that people come to this country for our jobs.  Well, that's partially true, but what most people don't get is that the jobs that illegal immigrants usually get are the lowest paying type of service jobs that many in this country don't even want.  In addition to the low pay, employers are not really encouraged to hire 'real Americans' over illegals for those types of jobs, because they save money by ignoring the fact that those people are not American citizens.  The illegal worker doesn't demand health care or try and collectively bargain for a higher wage.  They are a class of people in indentured servitude, unable to complain.  They can only work and die.

The attack on illegal immigration is currently aimed at trying to find, round up, and deport illegal immigrants.  This is massively inefficient.  Why is there no real attempt to address the reason for illegal immigration at the root; the people who knowingly hire illegal immigrants?  The simple answer is that it is politically easy to hire officers and throw people who don't have a voice in this country out.  It's a political win/win.  Increased attention on tax paying employers who have political clout and produce items at a low cost to the consumer are a much harder sell.

Now, we sit here with no legal ability to bring people into this country, few resources to deal with what is here (due to a systematic reduction in funding for those agencies that deal with immigration) and a new crisis on our border due to the influx of children coming from war torn areas of Central America.

Congress turns a blind eye to the whole issue, but uses it as a cudgel against their opponents because it is an easy issue, without an easy solution.  The key points behind any comprehensive immigration reform is to have a valid path to citizenship for people who legitimately want to make a go of it in this country, but there also needs to be funding for interdiction and a crackdown on employers who hire illegals.  It totally ignores the fact that legal immigrants add to the national revenue.  This is a hard sell.

The American public would have to stomach higher prices for produce and other currently 'low cost' goods for a lasting immigration solution.  The political landscape is such that the Democrats want to try, but their efforts are seen as week (even though Obama has deported more people than any other President).  The Republicans want a stronger presence on the border and to focus on introduction, but are loath to pay for that increased presence and they don't even want to address the employer (the people that vote for them).  So we are stuck with no real solution and a permanent Catch 22 on how to deal with this.

There is no easy answer.  The hard answer costs money and pisses people off and causes higher consumer prices.  Therefore, it's okay to bitch and moan about illegal immigration, but if you do so and think that there's an easy answer and that one political diatribe is superior, then you are fooling yourself.  Nobody wants to address the people who employ illegal immigrants.  Nobody wants to tell Americans that they will have to pay more for food and other services.  That's the hard answer.

But the overall problem is one of a culture...

Okay, THIS was a long article, and I have  (as a life-long 'nerd') have a lot to say about it.

First and foremost we have to understand the culture that we live in.   What do we see?  What are we constantly barraged with?  Images of beautiful people living beautiful lives.  'Nerds' or intellectual and generally socially awkward people strive for that ideal that their favorite media bathes them in, but, in order to thrive, they need to grow and develop the skills to understand how the real and flawed world works.

I start with a basic disagreement on the author's look at the TV show Big Bang Theory.  Yes, the show started as a bad stereotype, but has evolved beyond that.  The main reason for that evolution (in my opinion) was the addition of the female characters of Bernadette and Amy.  Those two gave the Penny character more depth and allowed a more holistic view of interpersonal relationships, where everyone was quirky.  The addition of the equal and interesting female characters in addition to the 'pretty blond' helped show something more than a stereotype of how 'cool people' thought nerds were supposed to act.

The idea that the California shooter's psychosis was enhanced somehow by the way that 'Nerd Culture' perpetuates certain stereotypes or expectations is blatantly false.   True 'Nerd Culture' is not based on social awkwardness, but on intelligence, and the fascination of the world.  It is my contention that truly intelligent individuals understand that relationships are best based on a deep attraction of ideas and that the so-called social norms heaped upon us by society are there only to be mocked and parodied by those who see relationships as deeper than just the superficial and carnal.

American culture breeds misogyny.  Misogyny is present in all corners of our society and does need to be exposed and battled.  It shouldn't be belittled by only highlighting the extreme.  Intelligent people with a love of pop culture are not misogynistic as a matter of course.  They are a complex product of society and the pressures that their cohort put upon them.  Some people are unstable and break due to those pressures.  The majority exist in harmony with the world.

Many nerds are socially awkward and don't have good interpersonal skills.  The article asks:

So, a question, to my fellow male nerds:
What the fuck is wrong with us?

The short answer is that you are a product of a culture that perpetuates a misogynistic attitude and that you haven't studied enough to realize that if you thrive by NOT being in the mainstream.  You hate the mainstream.  An enlightened nerd realizes that it takes time to find like minded individuals who you also might want to partner with in a more physical way.  The killer from California was sick, paranoid, and probably arose out of a place where his isolation would be buffered (because fellow nerds can understand and protect isolation).

Perpetuating that misogyny is somehow a bigger problem in this sector of society and not in ALL sectors of society is a classic bait and switch.  We can't just throw the nerds under the bus and let the rest of the world go on.  We have to realize that misogyny is not to be tolerated in all segments of society and not in just those segments that 'normal' people can ignore.

Also, in such a culture, there exists multiple individuals who resent the fact that they haven't found the right person to partner with.  However, the fault lies in the more popular culture for the skewed expectations (watch a James Bond movie if you don't believe me).  I believe that so-called 'Nerd Culture' is, or at least can be, more enlightened where ideas are more sexy than anything else

Movies A --> Z

So, a friend of mine posted on Facebook a challenge to list the top 10 movies for a particular letter in the alphabet.  Being a big movie nerd, I took that a step further and looked at the top 5 for each letter.  This was very hard for some of the big letters like B, D, R. S, and T and some letters like Q only had a few.  At any rate, without further ado...

Numbers:
3:10 To Yuma
The 6th Day
The 13th Warrior
300
2010

A:
The Adventures Of Buckaroo Banzai Across The 8th Dimension
Aliens
American History X
Army Of Darkness
The Avengers

B:
The Big Lebowski
Big Trouble In Little China
Blade Runner
Blue Velvet
Brazil

C:
Casablanca
Catch-22
Clerks
A Clockwork Orange
The Commitments

D:
The Dark Knight
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Dogma
Donnie Darko
Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb

E:
Easy Rider
Edward Scissorhands
Elysium
Escape From New York
Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind

F:
Fargo
The Fifth Element
Fight Club
The Fisher King
Full Metal Jacket

G:
Galaxy Quest
Garden State
Ghost World
Gladiator
The Graduate

H:
A Hard Day's Night
Heathers
Hellboy
High Fidelity
Hot Fuzz

I:
Idiocracy
Inception
The Incredibles
Indiana Jones And The Raiders Of The Lost Ark
Iron Man

J:
Jackie Brown
Johnny Mnemonic
Jumanji
Juno
Jurassic Park

K:
Kelly's Heroes
Kiki's Delivery Service
The King's Speech
A Knight's Tale
Kung Fu Hustle

L:
L.A. Story
Ladyhawke
Lawrence Of Arabia
The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou
Life Of Brian

M:
MASH
The Matrix
Memento
Monty Python And The Holy Grail
Mystery Men

N:
Natural Born Killers
Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind
The Nightmare Before Christmas
North By Northwest
Notorious

O:
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
October Sky
Office Space
Old School
Once Upon A Time In Mexico

P:
Pitch Black
The Princess Bride
Princess Mononoke
The Producers
Pulp Fiction

Q:
The Queen
The Quiet American
Quills

R:
Raising Arizona
Rear Window
Repo Man
A Room With A View
Rushmore

S:
Serenity
Seven
Shaun Of The Dead
Slaughterhouse-Five
Spirited Away

T:
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Top Gun
Trading Places
True Lies
Twelve Monkeys

U:
U-571
Unbreakable
Uncle Buck
Unforgiven
Unstoppable

V:
V For Vendetta
Valkyrie
Van Helsing
Vanilla Sky
Virgin Suicides, The

W:
Waiting For Guffman
Where The Buffalo Roam
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Willow
The World's End

X:
X-Men
X-Men - X2
X-Men: First Class
XXX

Y:
Y Tu Mama Tambien
Yellow Submarine
Young Frankenstein

Z:
Zathura
Zero Dark Thirty
Zodiac
Zombieland
Zoolander

Eldritch Horror: My Game Review

So, we got a chance to play the new game based on the Cthulhu mythos, Eldritch Horror.  This game is like the younger sister of Arkham Horror, the cooperative game based on H.P. Lovecraft’s world.  I love Arkham Horror.  I have all of the expansions and very much enjoy that game.  As a cooperative game, Arkham Horror is much like a table top role playing game, where your characters develop through the game and the game is programed to kick the snot out of you.  I say all of this because Eldritch Horror has a lot to live up to.  I’ll cut to the chase for those who are ADD.  This game rocks.  It gives a much better story development through the game than Arkham Horror.

Components:

As it is with most Fantasy Flight games, the components are top notch. 

The game board is big enough, but there’s enough room for easy game play.  I really like this board and don’t believe that future expansions should expand the board at all.  Where the components fall down is in the number of encounter cards in the base game.  Fantasy Flight needs to come out with a card expansion sooner than later.  The limited number of encounter cards at each location decreases the replay value of the game considerably (until the card expansion hits… I hope).

Game Play:

Arkham Horror has become a very fiddly game.  There are a lot of rules and with about 6 expansions, Arkham Horror is a bit long in the tooth.  However, even the base game of Arkham Horror has a rather complex rule set.  Eldritch Horror has streamlined the rules quite a bit.  The game is still complex and story driven, but Eldritch Horror flows much better than Arkham Horror.

Rather than running around town closing and sealing gates, Eldritch Horror revolves around solving 3 mysteries associated with the Great Old One that the investigators must face.  Also, to gain a clue, you need to have a clue encounter that is associated with your great old one.  These mechanics are much more thematic in Eldritch Horror than in Arkham Horror.

Rules and Complexity:

The game is still sufficiently complex for those who are used to playing Arkham Horror, however, the rules are much more streamlined.  The rule book is short at 12 pages.  They also include a reference book that accompanies the rules.  I am of two minds about this approach.  I am glad that they are including a reference book, but the book doesn’t cover every question that you might have, so you end up flipping between both books.  All in all, if you play Arkham Horror, this game will be easy to pick up.  If you are new to gaming, and want to challenge yourself with a cooperative game with role playing overtones, than I believe that the rules are clear enough for anyone who wants to get into this type of game.  I would definitely recommend this over Arkham Horror for that segment of the population.

Closing Thoughts:

Eldritch Horror is the hot younger sister of Arkham Horror.  I really enjoy this game and find it superior in game play to Arkham.  However, the relatively small population of encounter cards makes me hope that the card expansion to this game comes sooner than later.