Top Ten 2015 Fall Movies I Would Kill Someone To See

Well, I don't think I would actually kill someone, but just trying to snag some attention from the SEO spider robots out there.

In any event, I like Autumn. Like. But I fucking love Fall Movies. After scanning Rotten Tomatoes, reading Entertainment Weekly and listening to the scuttlebutt around the office (there are a lot of Millennials here), I've compiled a list of my Top Ten Anticipated Movies that myself, and my beer-drinking jacket, will attend.


Oh, haven't I ever told you about my beer-drinking jacket? Well, since most theaters in my area don't serve alcohol, I have this old black pea coat that I've had for about 12 years. But what makes this pea coat extra awesome it that I purposely ripped out the internal seams so I can easily and stealthily fill it with about four or five cold cans of beer. I can pass keenest ticket takers in the industry with this kick-ass jacket. Some may call me an alcoholic. But I look at myself as a precocious, forward thinker.

But, first the (not-really) Autumn (but not-really) Summer Movie I Would Kill to see:

Everest (Sept. 18)
All-star cast. Death and drama during the deadliest night on Earth's highest mountain in 1996 ... maybe I'll take the kids :)

And, here's the the Autumn 2015 list:

The Martian (Oct. 2)

I thought the Andy Weir book was highly enjoyable. I have full confidence that Master Director Ridley Scott will knock this film adaptation out of the park.

Steve Jobs (Oct. 9)

Academy-award winner Danny Boyle works with Michael Fassbender as Jobs in hopes of eclipsing the disappointing 2013 film that starred Asthon Kutcher. Won't be too hard.

Beasts of No Nation (Oct. 16)

The dude who directed the first True Detective. The good one. Cary Fukunaga. Netflix world-wild distribution. Gritty African Civil War. Mercenary Fighters. Sold.

Crimson Peak (Oct. 16)

Like a little freaking fan boy, I always get excited when Guillermo Del Toro gets behind the camera (Hellboy, Pacific Rim, Pan’s Labyrinth) – let alone behind the camera of a horror movie in which he created the story and the screenplay.

Spectre (Nov. 6)

I’m not a big Bond fan. But I’m intrigued by what Academy-Award winning director Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Road to Perdition, Skyfall) and new cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema (Interstellar, Le the Right One In, Her) can whip up.

The Good Dinosaur (Nov. 25)

After the success of Inside Out, Pixar goes for a two-fecta in the same year. Trailer looks amazing. Looks like a mixture between Ice Age and Disney’s Dinosaurs, but better.

  

In The Heart of the Sea (Dec. 11)

I’m a sucker for stories involving bodies of water and some sort of disaster and/or crazy creature (i.e. Jaws, Lake Placid, All is Lost, The Perfect Storm) – especially if said film has both a disaster and a crazy creature, and was supposed to be the true inspiration for the book Moby Dick. 

Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Dec. 18)

Duh.

The Hateful Eight (Dec. 25)

Quentin Tarantino brings Reservoir Dogs to the Wild West. Saddle up!

The Revenant (Dec. 25)

The Academy-Award winning director of Birdman. Leonardo DiCaprio. Kick-ass cinematography. Revenge drama set during 1820. Oh, and a bear attack. Yes, please.

Did I miss any favorites on your list? Well, I don't care. If you see me and my pea coat in full glory at one of the above movies, be sure to tap me on the shoulder for a lukewarm one on me.

See you at the theater!

Anatomy of an Eimertoon - Floism

About a year, or so, ago, our Creative Director asked us to put our illustration/design talents to the test and create some sort of illustration highlighting a Floism - a popular saying from a Progressive Flo Ad.

Well, I chose "I'll Get You A Rental Car" from the following Flo Spot titled 'Chick Flick' which pokes a little bit of fun at the famous rain-soaked scene in 'The Notebook' :

I had an idea that Flo was doing this all the time ... just showing up at different catastrophes around the country and getting people rental cars. I just thought about the different types of accidents people would get into - and then added a little diversity and locales.

I did a rough sketch ... mapping out how this poster could possibly flow (no pun intended). Truthfully, this came together pretty easy after I figured out the five other scenes.

After laying this out, I thought it would be a better idea to highlight the other 'accident's' first and then end the illustration with the shot of Flo standing in the rain with the handsome guy (as seen in the spot above).

And Voila! After a couple of rough drafts (which I can't seem to locate now) I came up with this final drawing, which is proudly hanging in our media room at Campus 2 ...

(click image to enlarge)

Georgia Appalachian Trail Trip - 2015

99% Humidity. Close to 80 miles in five days. Lost about 10 pounds. It was a brutal hike of the Georgia AT. The type of hike that you wish was over, then - two days later - you wish you were back out there, sweating and suffering once again.

If I could do it over, I would have done less miles, increased our overall days, and would have either tried to achieve this in May/Early June or October. Backpacking in Georgia in August is plain insane. But, we did it. And it took me a couple weeks to heal.

In any event, my good buddy and hiking partner Shuan put together this video for your viewing enjoyment. It's about six minutes long, but it's worth a look-see - especially if you're considering this hike. Enjoy.



Also, if you're really interested, check out my Flickr Account to view more hiking pics.

Space Elevator! I called it ... sort of.

So I was browsing DrudgeReport for my daily right-wing news (don't worry, I also visit CNN for the left) and came upon this article via The Telegraph.

It talks about a patent that has been granted to a Canadian firm for a ‘space elevator’ which will shoot cargo 12.4 miles into the stratosphere from where it can be launched more easily.

Holy shit, right?

Look, I know it's been discussed before by Robert Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke, but I wrote this post way back in 2007 talking about the SAME, EXACT THING. Looks like my thought process is seven years ahead of the current time continuum.

Eat yer heart out Michio Kaku. 

If you're a space geek, this is exciting news, because it bring us regular folk one step closer to having  a chance to be a space tourist, and possibly see all those aliens that are flying around checking us out and stopping our war-like behavior as well.

Yes, this is a post giving myself a pat on the back, because it justifies that these posts are all for nought.

Later.