Halloween=Horror Movie Marathons (or Davids favorite horror movies)

So...I have complied a list of movies that I will (at least try) to watch on (or around) Halloween:

Here we go

To start things off: Shaun of the Dead (Gotta start things off on a positive note...)

Evil Dead

Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn

Halloween

Alien (A different choice--but somehow still works)

Dawn of the Dead (1977)

Dawn of the Dead (2004)

Friday the 13th (1980)

Dead/Alive

28 days later...

The Bride of Frankenstein (if I can get a hold of it)

Psycho



...if I can get around to watching half of these...I'll be a happy guy.

New Spoon Album! Yes!

New Spoon Album! Yes!

23 on the 23rd

Right now I am laying on the couch, stomach down, stretched out, listening to the new Yo La Tengo album Popular Songs. It is excellent, and the rain coming down outside only adds to the melanholy ambiance coming form my macbook's little speakers.

Yesterday was my birthday, and I spent it hanging around the house with my fiance and her family. If you had asked me any other day what I would've preferred to do on my 23rd birthday, hanging out with family may have not been the first thing I would've said. But for some reason yesterday it just felt perfect. I talked Steelers football with my soon-to-be brother-in-law, while my fiance and her sisters gabbed about family stuff.

Am I getting older, or does has the appeal of going out and "partying hard just because" lost its allure?

I think it's probably both but all I know is that this weekend is going by sweetly. Also, 23 is an age that sounds old. 21 and 22 still sounded young, but for some reason 23 seems different.I mean my life is drastically different today than it was a year ago. So maybe that has something to do with it. Actually, Im pretty sure it does.

Yesterday Afternoon...

Yesterday I blogged about my dog, Amelia and how much she meant to me. Later that day, when I went home to grab a quick bite to eat, I found something horrifying: Amelia lying in the kitchen surrounded by blood and diarrhea.

I franticly cleaned up the mess and called the nearest vet asking if there was anyway that we could come in for an emergency. They responded positively telling me to hurry because of the severity of her symptoms.

I rushed as Amelia lethargically walked out the door with me and hopped into her spot (my passenger side seat).

Five hours, countless tests and $750 later, the vets inform me that they think Amelia may have ingested a type of rat poison because her blood was not clotting. They also informed me that had I waited to bring her in, she would have bled to death because of how thin her blood had become due to the poison.

I quickly vanquished my shock at the amount of bills I had to pay. Amelia could have died. I glanced over at Lia, who had come to the vet's with me. She rubbed my hand reassuringly and told me that it didnt matter what we had to pay. That Amelia is our dog and we would have done anything to keep her safe and healthy.

Even when Amelia had epilepsy, I never thought that she might actually die from it. I spent the night cuddling her and stroking her head. Telling her, once again, "Everything is ok. Daddy is here."

Its amazing the power these creatures can have over us. Amelia is not just a canine companion. She is part of my family.

Must Love Dogs

This morning Amelia had an accident all over the kitchen floor. It was awful, and not very good timing either as Lia and I decided to sleep in a little later than usual. As we held our breath and cleaned up the mess, Amelia walked over to her chair and hopped in. She curled herself up and put her little head down on top of her paws as she watched her Mommy and Daddy grumble and work. She knew that we were dissappointed in her.

I walked over once we finished and scratched her on her head. Her droopy eyes looking up at me like a child preparing for a scolding.

"It's okay sweetheart," I said as I leaned in to give her a kiss. "It was only an accident and Daddy still loves you."

I named Amelia after the french film Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain or Amelie. I didnt want to be cheesy and make it a completely direct connection so I altered the name just a bit. In the film the main character, Amelie, dedicates her life to bringing small bits of joy to others in different ways. I bought Amelia in the wake of a rough break-up, so naturally I was a bit in the dumps. When it came to naming her it was the first thing to come to my mind. I knew I would be relying on this little black-and-white pup to cheer me up as I knew that more rocky roads were ahead.

Of course I was right on both accounts. I ended up going through rough patches in school, I made bad decisions, and decided to change up my life--pushing the people who I thought were friends out of my perimeter. It was something that needed to be done because I was not functioning well in the group I had created.

The one thing I didn't expect was how lonely my decisions would make me.

Days were speant going to school, coming home, walking Amelia on endless walks, going into work, and then studying or going to sleep. Human connection was kept at a minimum.

The only thing that never dissappointed me was Amelia. She was always there, at the foot of my bed, eager top be played with or talked to.

Perhaps it is no wonder if you ask my fiance, Lia, what one of the first things she liked about me was my dog. In fact one of the first times Lia and I ever "bonded" was when Amelia was sick and we both sat with her stroking her head. Nothing is more heart-breaking than a dog who doesnt know what is happening to them. Amelia has idiosymatic-epilepsy, which means that she can have seizures at any time and anything can trigger it. Once, Amelia had one of her fits whenever Lia was over at my apartment. We looked over and rushed to her side. Lia sat and watched as I poured over my girl calming her, and whispering "It's ok, Daddy is here."

The results went something like this: Lia fell in love with my dog, and in turn fell in love with me.

I owe a lot of things to my dog. She was there for me when I felt like I had noone. She nuzzled her head into my hand (something she still does to this day) just when I needed it. She helped me find the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with. Man's best friend seems like an understatement.

We Were Once A Fairtytale- Spike Jonze and Kanye West

So this is what you get when you meld the minds of two creative geniuses. Perhaps this was a timed career move for Kanye, but when the results are this introspective, who the hell cares. I sure hope Kanye can get his act together, because he has so many gifts it would be a shame to see them fade away.

Jonze is, of course, one of the most creative inventive directors working in cinema today. I mean just look at the emotions he can convey without the use of millions of dollars of CGI. Jonze uses whatever means necessary in order to capture his vision and the results are always stunning.

Inside all of us...

We went and saw the film Where the Wild Things Are on Saurday night. It was a fantastic movie. More beautiful and insightful than I had expected (which was a lot). It brought out some emotions in me that I hadn't felt in a long time. Those basically belonging to my inner-eight-year-old. It made me miss being young and free. So much of that is lost so quickly, and we never even realize it is leaving.

I miss the days when the biggest tragedy of the day would be because my igloo got stomped on, or I got sent to my room. Im not saying this to suggest that now that I'm "grown-up" I've got bigger, more important things to worry about. I'm saying this because when those things are your biggerst worries, your biggest concerns, your imagination is set to run wild. Life is limitless, and all things are possible. Its only until we grow older that we start viewing the world in a more cynical way. We begin to learn that people will always dissappoint us, no matter how close we are to them. We learn that things don't always work out the way we want them to--and that merely is a part of life. We begin to expect less of people and our surroundings.

That is the true tragedy of growing up. Not the responsibilities that start to weigh down on our shoulders. Not the loads of bills that acrue on our kitchen table that we pretend arent there. The true tragedy is that we begin to lose sight of what made every day a new adventure. Things become boring and mundane.

I think we should all try to at least see through the eyes of an eight-year-old at least once a day. Do things that we normally wouldnt because we would normally think "what's the point?" Run up to a bunch of birds and watch as they all fly away. Kick a big pile of leaves only to get our shoes wet and dirty. Lie on our backs and let our dogs lick our faces.

I am grown-up now. I have a job, a beautiful fiance, two amazing dogs, a townhouse, and a car. My life is more complicated today than it was fourteen years ago. But that's life.

I think I'm going to try to see the world through the eyes of an eight-year-old at least once a day.

Starting today.

Good Stuff

God Bless Thom Yorke.

Phoenix- Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

Im pretty sure this album came out this summer therefore Im a little late, but damn if this isnt a good album. I mean it is such a fun, tightly constructed piece of music. I cant really imagine enjoying something else more this year.

I listened to it on repeat at work today, thinking I was going to make my co-workers sick, but of course Bob, a 40-year-old ex marine (the last person you'd think would be into music like this) asked me what I was jamming out to because he was on his way to best buy on the way home.

I was first introduced to Phoenix through Sofia Coppola's film "Lost in Translation" to which they provided the fantastic song "Too Young." I know I should have payed more attention to them when I first heard that track back in 2004, but of course some bands somehow manage to fall through the cracks. Phoenix obviously was determined to not let that happen to them as they churned out two of the most accessible, fun, albums of the decade.

If you are in the mood for something breezy, fun, but still a bit introspective, I'd give this album a listen. It will definitely be in heavy rotation in my car!