Film #2 of 300: "Following" (1998)

"And when it stopped being random, that's when it started to go wrong."

Christopher Nolan's award-winning debut into features was certainly a good indicator of things to come. Nolan's knack for suspense in "Following" helps set the stage for some of his later masterpieces such as "Memento" and "Inception", as well as "Batman Begins", "The Dark Knight", and the yet-to-be released "The Dark Knight Rises".

This black and white crime/mystery/drama/thriller follows a young writer named Bill who takes simple curiosity with everyday people to a whole new level by following them as they go about their day.

As his fascination increases, so does the suspense as Bill discovers that one of his "interests" is on to his little game. Enter Cobb; a well-dressed razor-tongued burglar who decides to take Bill under his wing. As Bill learns the ropes of breaking and entering, the viewer can't help but think that there might be more to Cobb than originally thought.

In this excellent homage to one of films greatest Noir

artists (perhaps you've heard of Hitchcock?), suspense and

mystery are accentuated by quick editing and

a story that has viewers questioning when

and where from start to finish.

Film #1 of 300: "Midnight in Paris" (2011)

Much in the same way that he brought magic to life as a boy, Woody Allen continues to do it on the screen. This time with an all-star cast of A-listers almost as famous as the characters which they portray in this quaint story of a middle-aged writer looking for something more.Gil (Owen Wilson) finds himself in Paris with his wife Inez (Rachel McAdams) and her overly-critical parents who are on a business trip and decides that perhaps some of the Parisian lifestyle might do his writing a bit of good. Passing up a night of dancing with Inez and some friends, Gil takes a late-night stroll through the city.

After accepting a ride from some seemingly harmless socialites in a 1920 Peugeot Landaulet, Gil realizes that he is no longer in the same Paris. He finds himself transported back to the 1920s in the company of some of literature and art history's greatest personalities. Midnight after midnight Gil finds himself in the company of F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald (Tom Hiddleston, Alison Pill), Ernest Hemingway (Corey Stoll), Gertrude Stein (Kathy Bates), and Salvador Dali (Adrien Brody).

As the days pass, Gil's own life situations start to deteriorate and he finds himself caught between two worlds, two eras, two lives. His life in 2010 with his un-supportive wife and in-laws, and his newfound life in the roaring 20s which also happens to contain Adriana (Marion Cotillard).

Will Gil finally discover his own story or will his new "old" friends simply fade as quickly as they came? Woody Allen truly creates his own brand of magic in "Midnight in Paris"

The times they are a changing...

So I was talking with a co-worker the other day and he was telling me about a book he was reading. The book was "All I Ever Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten" by Robert Fulghum. In the book, Fulgham explains, through life experiences of his own, how all of the life skills that you need to survive are learned in kindergarten and how everything after that point is just supplemental "icing on the cake" as they say.

This title, for whatever reason, stuck in my mind for about a week after having the conversation. Now I remember seeing posters for that same book in the school library when I was in elementary school but I never really thought too much into it until now. The reason it stuck with me is because I think Mr. Fulgham should write a new book, a revision of sorts, and title it, "All I Ever Really Needed to Know I Learned from Google".

I mean, let's get serious. When I was younger and would ask my Dad a question about something his reply would always be "Look it up!" To this day he still says that when I ask him a question, but then I pull out my iPhone and "Google" whatever my inquiry is. Sure Wikipedia is up there as far as "credible" resources too but the initial search entry usually belongs to Google.

I guess all of this never really struck me until I started working in a middle school classroom where computer use is a daily activity and watching the frequency with which Google is used among my students. It's second nature now. I still remember when we used Encyclopedia Britanica and World Book for research. It's rather mind boggling to think that less than two decades ago a teacher believed that everything a student needed to know in order to write a "report" could be find in any one book of a 20-15 volume set of them. If Google published it's own encyclopedia today it would probably require that the entire Amazon rain forest be cut down just to print all of the NEW material that has come out since I was in high school 6 years ago.

I guess this was just more of a random thought of the day post but I think it's an interesting conversation starter to think of how far information gathering has come in only a matter of years.


(.....and now back to your regularly scheduled programming.....)

It's For The Best

"It takes more time than I've ever had,
Drains the life from me,
Makes me want to forget,
As young as I was,
I felt older back then,
More disciplined,
Stronger and certain,
But I was scared to death of eternity,
I was saved by grace,
But destroyed by naivety,
And I lied to myself,
And said it was for the best..." - Straylight Run

Two steps forward, three steps back....kicking the man when he's down.....beating a dead horse.....one more coal in the fire..... Never have all of these phrases meant so much to me as they have in the past couple days. It seems that whenever I start to get back some of the order that used to be my life, something happens and I end up with yet another taxing debacle to throw everything back into chaos (I've always wanted to use "debacle" in a sentence).

For our appetizer this evening we'll start with the fact that today was my first day back to work since the 11th of January. Turns out they were right and white men can't jump...or maintain proper balance while playing basketball as my right ankle so painfully proved that morning at work when it decided it wanted to be more intimately acquainted with the gymnasium floor at work. If it weren't ironic enough that it was the very first day of our basketball unit at the school, let it also be noted that I am the youngest member of the Phys Ed staff...and supposedly most likely to not get hurt...supposedly. Initial Self-Diagnosis: Broken Ankle. Initial Professional Diagnosis: third degree sprain (lucky me).

Well at least it happened at work right because they cover stuff like that right? And now to the meat and potatoes of the meal. Given the nature of my work (restraining bad kids and all that fun stuff that you wish you could do at your job) I am classified as a category 3 employee. What's a category 3 employee you ask? Well it means that if I get hurt, I may only return to work if my physician clears me for full duty labor (no restrictions). At face value that sounds great... at least until you find out that your time off is only covered if you're out more than 14 days and even then you're only paid at two thirds your weekly rate. Ok, I guess it's still not too bad because you're getting something for sitting around watching The Golden Girls all day for 3.4 weeks right? Wrong. According to the caring people at the agency that handled my workers compensation case, since I was cleared for light duty (sitting work only) I technically could have (by their standards) returned to work therefore I was only eligible for "partial disability benefits" a.k.a. one third my weekly rate regardless of the fact that my job category has no light duty work....in a nut shell I hauled in an astounding $343 for 3.4 weeks off of work...and there's nothing I can do about it... Think getting hurt at work was still a good thing? I could have sold paper cranes on the street corner and made more money.

Mmm...the second course of this meal looks pretty tasty. While all of this was transpiring during my "vacation", that wonderful time of year known as tax time rolled around again. To keep this part of the meal on the lighter side I'll just say that somehow or another I managed to claim two dependents on both of my W9 forms for the two jobs that I held during the 2009 tax year so all I can say is "Good Job Trevor and good luck breaking even this year!"

To finish off this most filling of meals it's time for the icing on the cake. As I said before, today was my first day back to work since the 11th of January and I couldn't have been more excited to say goodbye to Oprah and the rest of the daytime television line-up. Waking up extra early to get ready and be to work to get my desk and paperwork back in order I walked into the school with what I can only imagine was the dumbest grin on my face simply because I was doing something productive with my day. After several minutes of the expected "Hey! How are you?! Good to see you back!" and the like, our principal pulled me aside and informed me that come Monday I would no longer be working in Phys Ed....(cue the bomb drop)...Apparently, given the state of things with New York State and non-secure detention educational facilities, there are cutbacks that needed to take place and removing the 4th staff member in the Phys Ed department was it. My new choices: middle school math or Elementary.

I'd like to take this moment to point out that our CEO just received a generous 10K raise in his already 6 figure a year salary for gracing us once a semester with his presence to hand out a couple mugs to new staff and have them sign a banner with our company norms on it...but there's cuts....in the school...IN THE SCHOOL!!!!! Am I completely missing something here? Great logic. Let's buy a 60+ man that new upgrade to his condo in Florida instead of keeping staff in the classrooms of what are probably the most needing of youth in the state (At-Risk youth).

I guess what I'm trying to say is I hope the Algebra part of my brain wasn't affected by the aneurysm that I had at about ten minutes after 8 this morning because I'm gonna need it come Monday morning.

"And I lied to myself and said it's for the best..."

Self Pep Talk

Who brings this on but myself? I mean, there's absolutely no reason why I should have any feeling like this anywhere near my conscious being! What is it that makes me "think" that makes me "question" that makes me "reconsider" what I already know is right, good, happy....?! Why am I never content to take things as they are? To hear one thing and accept it for what it is when it is where it is how it is.... When did I become so.....concerned? No that's not the right word.....paranoid? No that can't be right either.........When did I become so......hmm...maybe paranoid is the right word...but not that severe. I have a great life and a great job and even though it doesn't pay me well it's something that makes me happy. I have a girlfriend who I love and who loves me very much in return. I have a family that loves me even more....I'm in good health.....a roof over my head....a bed to sleep in (two actually)...........................WHAT IS IT THEN!!! What is it that makes me feel sad, if I don't have something to say, something to add, something quick-witted and funny, something that will make everyone smile.......why does that bother me? When did I start caring? It's good to care, just not about things like that, and Trevor Wilson, Trevor Douglas Wilson has never given a crap about things like that because he is who he is, plays his little piano, sings his little songs.....I run this church for a logger.....Get over yourself kid! Start caring about not caring. Just be. Just.........live. For God's sake be you, and not the you that you think others want you to be. Be the fucking you that you've always been. That's all. Nuff said.

Last post of 2009....I think...

Day 365: Only hours left now. Not only does 2009 come to a close but with it the end of the first decade of the 2000's. Time to tear that last page from your day-by-day Far Side calendar or replace your desktop planner. Time to look back on the past 52 weeks and try to devise a plan on how you're going to make the next 52 weeks of your life even better. Time to think about the bad decisions you made and realize that they might not have been as bad as you thought because, well, you're still here aren't you? Unless you've managed to find your way to living under a bridge or somehow misplaced your hands you should consider 2009 somewhat of a small victory. For some people, this is a time to make "new years resolutions" or as I like to think of them "new years attempts at controlling some uncontrollable part of our life". Not to say that people don't follow through with their resolutions because the occasional shmo will make good on their promise to continue going to the gym or refrain from eating fried foods for the first couple months of the year but let's be real, are those really good resolutions? I mean, if you're going to make a resolution make it big. Like give up hustling Aldi's out of the quarters in the shopping carts, or try and give financial advice to the bums on the street rather than yelling at them. Try "Get a job!!" instead of "Get lost". I mean, chances are they're already pretty lost. They just need that little push towards a goal. My resolution this year: Stop complaining about my financial situation and start doing something about it. If there's one thing I can't stand it's the sound of my own mouth when the only thing coming out of it is the sound of my lazy lack of committment to pursuing a personal goal. So I guess what it boils down to is that my new years resolution is, "For God's sake just follow through with whatever resolution you pick, no matter what the hell it is!!"

Happy new year to all and I'll see you in 2010....so in like 10 hours.

September Update

I have recently discovered that, from time to time, fate intervenes even in the blogosphere and people will eventually find (and possibly even read) your blogs.

With that having been said I've decided to give it a shot for the month of September seeings as there's only approximately 24 hours left before October. So without any further adieu, I give you........ SEPTEMBER UPDATE!!! (not a very grand title I know but be glad you're getting anything)

Since my last post there's been a lot of things going on in my life. My dream of performing in the Russian ballet fell through on the heels of a bad night with a leotard and a liter of Stoli so I decided it best that I look for something slightly more befitting of a 23 year-old in the midst of a quarter-life identity crisis. After searching for jobs for the better part of the summer, something happened that I certainly didn't forsee: I was hired.

I suppose it wasn't so much the fact that I was hired that surprised me but the position that I was hired to fill. It was a position as a teacher's aide in a school for children with behavioral/mental disorders. To clarify, this does not mean that I work in Special Education. In fact, it's almost the opposite. The students come primarily from broken homes where substance abuse, sexual abuse, physical abuse, and crime are all common to daily life. To say the least, these young people need as much support and guidance as they can possibly receive.

The reason why it was so much of a shock to me that I was being hired for this job wasn't only that it would be a great opportunity for me to try my luck out in an educational setting, but also because only a month before all this I had come to the decision that I wanted to try and get into guidance counseling. Now I've always been fairly skeptical of "signs" and "fate" but the mere fact that I had been called in for an interview with this type of school got me thinking that there might be more to this idea of getting into counseling than I had thought.

Now, three weeks into the school year I can already see positive signs that this could turn into something much bigger for me. Coming home happy, not being anxious to leave work right at three, or spending my free time at home thinking about different ways to make the classes more fun and interesting to the students: these types of things don't take a rocket scientist's analysis to determine that I'm clearly happy there. Now I know that I've only been there for the better part of three weeks and that anything can happen, but at the same time, when I was unemployed and looking for work, anything COULD have happened, but not just anything happened: SOMETHING happened, and it's "something" that was exactly what I was looking for all along. To quote President Obama, I get to be the change I wish to see in the world, and if anyone believes that there's something better out there than that, then I'd like to introduce you to some of the kids I work with, or the kids that the people of United Way work with, or the kids that the people of Make-A-Wish work with, or the kids that the people of Roswell Park work with... then we'll talk.