Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Air Bud


"In the immemorial style of young men, they decided to lie down for a while and waste time." - Michael Chabon, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay

Ferris Bueller said it best: "life moves pretty fast." I can't really sum up how I've been feeling as of late better than that, because it feels like everything and everyone around me is moving so quickly and I'm caught in the midst of it all. The perfect storm that is life is raging right now, with school, work, and everything else at their respective peaks of productivity and output.

I don't sleep as much as I used to. That's a common theme for most people in college, right? The issue for me is that I spend a lot of time in my bed not sleeping and thinking about things that either need to be done or daydreaming about events that I want to think about instead of actually dreaming. Real dreams are terrifying and can go haywire without you having any input in them and they're never really "good."

I've learned in my time in college and through different forms of discipleship over the past two years that I struggle a lot with wanting control of different aspects of my life. I am terrified of the idea of not having control over my future or my work situation or what I'm doing next summer, but I understand that it's part of knowing God has a plan greater than anything I can dream of. I'm starting to grow slightly more comfortable with that aspect of life, perhaps because recently I've learned how much I really don't like dreams. (Sorry to dream lovers, but the nightmare to not nightmare ratio has been a solid 3:1 as of late. I can't explain it other than it's inherently related to sports and/or any coming-of-age movie released in the last decade.)

Perhaps that's why the quote you see above seems extremely relatable to me. I only have so much time in life to not be anxious about what lies ahead. Maybe it's time for me to lie down and daydream and not worry so much about what's due tomorrow or where I'm going to be in five years. I'm pretty confident that God's in control of that, so why should I be worrying anymore? (New idea: I write something about anxiety that's halfway coherent so people have a better grasp of INFP struggles.)

Because of time constraints and my inability to live in New York, I had to wait until now to release a best-of film list of 2013. I don't have a better introduction than that. Sorry.

The 20 Best Films of 2013, Ranked


Good Lord, what a year. Typically, I don't particularly enjoy the discussion of "was this a good year for film" that takes place at the end of every December, but there's no doubt in my mind that this year was the best in a decade or longer (since 2001?). I can't recall seeing such a large amount of films that I truly, deeply enjoyed, and it was legitimately painful to leave some of them off of this list. Because I hate decision making and making cuts, I've included a few more that should be watched.

Honorable Mentions


Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues. I need to be honest here: I wasn't totally convinced that I really liked this all that much, and then Vince Vaughn appeared and all was right with the series again. If it's possible to keep the story fresh (not that easy) and to maybe narrow it down to just Ron and Brick as a potential news duo, I'm not opposed to a third.

Blue Is the Warmest Color. So yeah, I watched this, and I didn't explode into flames! Imagine that. Yes, those certain scenes (look, just Google it because I'm not detailing them) are not exactly must-see (I think you can chalk it up to being "artistic" all you want, but it really kills the flow/pace of the film to that point), but the story as a whole is really beautiful and well-told. I'm especially rooting for Adele Exarchopoulos and Lea Seydoux, who deliver incredible performances and should get some award show attention with any luck.

Blue Jasmine. More or less a 2013 version of A Streetcar Named Desire with Cate Blanchett as Blanche, but it works, because Woody Allen is Woody Allen and Blanchett pulls off "downward spiral divorcee widow potential schizophrenic" like no one else can.

Dallas Buyers Club. I've already written several words on the McConaissance, but perhaps the most important ones were delivered by the man himself upon winning Best Actor (Drama) at the Golden Globes on Sunday: "this movie's not about dying, it's about living...to which I say, just keep." There's never been so much victory in an awards speech.

Despicable Me 2. I really didn't want to like this movie, mostly because I've hated just about every animated sequel ever (save for the Toy Story series). Simply put, those Minions are absolutely impossible to not be drawn in by, and Steve Carell is yet again too good as the voice of Gru. Kristen Wiig's character/love interest is a nice touch, too.

The Great Beauty. Confession: I haven't actually watched this yet. However, it's my honorable mentions list so I can do what I want, and from the 15 minutes I have been able to watch it would've been on here anyway.

The Hunt. The second-best horror film this year, for no other reason than it portrays an absolute nightmare situation for a teacher and it does it all too well. I can't recall ever wanting a happy ending more than I did watching this, and this is coming from someone who can't stand forced happy endings.

Philomena. Judi Dench + Steve Coogan = beautiful, heartbreaking true story. Go see it.

The Place Beyond the Pines. Another confession: I will watch anything Ryan Gosling's ever been in (this stops when it comes to the Notebook), because I'm not afraid to admit I have a mancrush on Mr. Gosling. I think half the reason I liked this so much was that I wanted to be Luke Glanton for Halloween for four months after seeing this in theaters.

The World's End. The slightly more funny apocalypse comedy from 2013 (no discount to This Is the End, however; it just missed the cut for this list). As long as Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg remain a team and spit out a film every four or five years, we'll be fine.

Top 20 Films of 2013

Only some of these have pictures, because I have better things to do than Google images from each of these, so I've included one for every five films (the top three are the exception). I'm sorry. Kind of.


20. Ain't Them Bodies Saints. From the title alone, it sounds like a parody of every Sundance film ever, and yes, it's kind of a Terrence Malick ripoff. Then again, we're praising American Hustle for trying to be Goodfellas Part 2, so who's really winning here? Casey Affleck remains underrated, but it's Rooney Mara who steals the show. Look for her in an actual Malick film in 2014 (or 2015 or maybe 2020. However, you can't read the cast list and tell me it won't be incredible.)

19. Leviathan. I refuse to recommend this to anyone because it's something that myself and maybe two other people I know could really enjoy. It's Deadliest Catch with Go Pros, no dialogue, and some unusually beautiful and striking shots. I have no idea if that sounds appealing to anyone but me and the Atlantic Ocean fishing industry, but it was worth 80 minutes of my time.

18. Prisoners. Hugh Jackman plays father with missing child who doesn't really understand the idea of "maybe you shouldn't do that." Jake Gyllenhaal plays detective who tries to knock sense into Jackman, admits defeat, still wins because he's Jake freaking Gyllenhaal. I really liked this.

17. The Kings of Summer. Conventional in outcome/use of snakes? Yes. However, I loved this maybe too much for my own good. Nick Offerman is brilliant as always, and the young actors (all of whom were previously on Disney Channel shows) are great performers. Also, it's hilarious and serves as a great counterpoint to the unnecessarily depressing and underwhelming The Spectacular Now.

16. Upstream Color. Quick backstory: Shane Carruth is brilliant, made Primer in 2004 (which I've watched three times and still can't figure out despite understanding a decent bit of the physics references), does not care about traditional plot structure, does not care that his movies require great amounts of research and study to really understand, and is 2-for-2 so far as a filmmaker.


15. Gravity. This is an incredible theater experience and it's going to be years before anything like it will be seen in theaters, but Mark Harris of Grantland perhaps described it best: "Gravity is hugely respected by the Academy, but the screenplay is more tolerated than loved."

14. Mud. Hit US theaters in late April and was all but forgotten by the end of the year, which is a shame. Jeff Nichols knows the South as well as anyone (Arkansas native) and really gets the most out of his cast (including McConaughey/child actors) and the people around them. Flimsy story held together by great direction/cinematography/etc.

13. American Hustle. As I said earlier, it's more or less a 2013 update on Goodfellas with a different story, but I can't sit here and pretend like I didn't enjoy this a lot. Christian Bale continues to own his roles, Amy Adams gives her third incredible performance in four years (The Fighter/The Master), Bradley Cooper shows up and does well, etc.

12. Stories We Tell. Can't describe this in much depth without giving away key plot points, but a really good genre-busting documentary. What a year for documentaries, you guys.

11. 12 Years a Slave. I do think that it's honestly very good and that it probably deserves most awards it'll get this year, but I just feel like it's either a bit overlong or I don't get why Benedict Cumberbatch is in this or what. The tree scene with Solomon may be the best/most stunning scene of the year, though.


10. The Act of Killing. The director's cut of this is around 2 hours and 40 minutes and it's almost 45 minutes longer than what one would've seen in theaters, but my decision to watch the former was one of the best I made recently. I can't really describe this documentary, mostly because I don't want to. The final half-hour is as heartbreaking as anything I've seen in years.

9. Fruitvale Station. I don't buy the line of "12 Years a Slave as most important movie" that floated around late in the year, because in the wake of the Martin/Zimmerman case and outcome, this is the film I felt I needed to see the most. Not only is it well-done and well-acted (Michael B. Jordan and Octavia Spencer are highlights), the story (true, save for Oscar Grant's girlfriend/other events made to accentuate his character) is powerful and needs to be known in 2013.

8. All Is Lost. One man and a boat and a wide-open ocean and the sea experience from hell erupting around him. Robert Redford owns this and could potentially own the Best Actor Oscar soon. Essentially, this is Gravity at sea, but with much less dialogue and for a higher common denominator.

7. Inside Llewyn Davis. I saw this for the first time late in 2013 and I almost felt as if I had missed the point, because for whatever reason I had forgotten that the Coens don't make happy films for happy people. It's beautiful in its misery and Oscar Isaac is finally getting the recognition he deserves.

6. Frances Ha. Could I watch this GIF forever? Yes. Kind of like how I could watch Greta Gerwig dance forever and how this movie wins the "Movie I'll Rewatch the Most in the Next Five Years" and how Frances makes me want to love New York like Woody Allen does.
5. Before Midnight. Before you forget that Ethan Hawke can, indeed, act, you should watch Before Sunrise. Then Before Sunset. Then this. Jesse and Celine's story gets rocky in the third installment, and it hurts because of how real it feels. I want one of these every nine years until one of Hawke/Julie Delpy is unable to perform anymore.

4. The Wolf of Wall Street. No 2013 film (or any film I can think of previously) was as vile, dirty, and lovingly loathsome as Wolf, and that's why it's absolutely incredible. Martin Scorsese pulls no punches in portraying someone as terrible as Jordan Belfort, and we love it. Leonardo isn't the Wolf, Marty is.


3. Nebraska. I can't count the amount of times while watching this that I thought I could easily interchange characters from the film with people from my family. If you have ever known anyone from the Midwest or have Midwestern family members, Nebraska is way too relatable. This is the definitive road movie of the last 25 years.


2. Short Term 12. Already covered my love for this earlier, but Brie Larson is becoming a star and I'm more than okay with that. I can only hope we'll all be comfortable with her role soon enough.


1. Her. Sammy Rhodes summed it up best for me the other day: "Her hits close to home for those of us who find comfort in the iWorld because we can't handle real intimacy." As Amy Adams says in the film, love is like a socially acceptable form of insanity. It doesn't make sense, and I'm not really sure it's supposed to. But that's not going to keep us from trying, because we want to love and we were made to love. It's been years since I've loved a film like I loved this. I want to keep going back to it and keep having to hold back tears every time because I understand. Team Joaquin forever.

Films I missed out on but will watch eventually: In a World, August: Osage County, A Single Shot, To the Wonder, Cutie and the Boxer, Computer Chess, Post Tenebras Lux, Room 237, Drug War, Drinking Buddies, C.O.G., Prince Avalanche, Stoker, Behind the Candelabra, Wadjda, 20 Feet From Stardom, About Time, Pacific Rim

 The 15 Best Performances I Saw in 2013

 Unranked, because these are all excellent enough to the point that I don't want to discriminate. Fifteen because I really didn't want to limit it to only ten.

  • Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
  • Julie Delpy, Before Midnight
  • Bruce Dern, Nebraska
  • Adele Exarchopoulos, Blue Is the Warmest Color
  • Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave
  • James Franco, Spring Breakers
  • Greta Gerwig, Frances Ha
  • Oscar Isaac, Inside Llewyn Davis
  • Michael B. Jordan, Fruitvale Station
  • Brie Larson, Short Term 12
  • Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club
  • Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years a Slave
  • Joaquin Phoenix, Her
  • Robert Redford, All Is Lost
  • June Squibb, Nebraska
As a reward for making it through all of those words, here's a Spotify playlist (featuring the song in the title of this post) and my favorite response to anything ever.

But this is what love is for,

Will
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Tuesday, December 24, 2013

The Best Things of 2013 (Pt. 2)

Part One featured writings on Matthew McConaughey, the 25 best albums of 2013, and much, much more. I'm hoping to make this post just as comprehensive and wide-ranging as the first, along with new subjects to write about. I hope you enjoy it. Side note: thanks to every reader for getting me nearly 300 views in a day last Monday, which is utterly ridiculous. You're all wonderful people.

I already said a good bit about this weird year in the first post, but I feel as if it's necessary to spit this out while it's still fresh in my mind.


Last Tuesday, I saw Alexander Payne's Nebraska. It's an absolutely brilliant and authentically Midwestern film, featuring characters I could've easily interchanged for certain family members. I highly recommend it. However, that's beside the point of what I'm talking about in this post.

To give some background to the story, Woody Grant (Bruce Dern) and his son, David Grant (Will Forte), agree to take a trip from Billings, Montana to Lincoln, Nebraska so they can collect a prize Woody believes he has won. The prize? A million dollars, per the letter Woody received in the mail for winning some sort of sweepstakes (yes, it's fake). They face all kinds of adversity throughout this trip, the most of which is Woody drunkenly falling, splitting his forehead open in a hotel in South Dakota.

About 90 minutes into Nebraska, Woody and David are standing on the grounds of Woody's childhood home in Hawthorne, NE. Woody has just taken David, his brother, and his wife on a tour of the house. Woody and David survey the vast, open field ahead of them. David asks his father: "did you ever want to farm like your dad?" Woody, well into his 70s and already demonstrating a considerable issue with hearing, pauses for a moment to think and process.

Woody opens up to let out what may be my favorite and most relatable line of 2013 in film: "I don't remember. It doesn't matter."

What happened over the course of 2013 was nowhere near like what I anticipated happening at the beginning. Any expectation I had was blown away to the point that I legitimately cannot remember what I hoped for out of this year. All I can remember is that the expectations I had were influenced by very different motives than what motivates me now.

Friendships are much different. My walk with Jesus has changed a lot (for the better). Life events were far from what I expected them to be. My summer was the polar opposite of what I expected it to look like in December 2012, and I'm extremely thankful for that. All of this, and I can't remember very much about what I wanted 2013 to look like, because God blew up those plans, inserted His own, and it was way more interesting than what I dreamed up. It's funny, because I've forgotten most of those dreams.

I don't remember. It doesn't matter.

The Five Best Sports Moments of 2013, With Complete and Total Personal Bias


I hate me too.
  • 5. The Fake Spike. Also known as "kickstarted the part of the season where Lions fans tricked themselves into being confident."
  • 4. The Steal. What a pedestrian caption for one of the most electrifying (and important) plays in basketball last year: "Trey Burke made a dunk in the second half."
  • 3. Michael Palardy Redemption Tour.
  • 2. Iron Bowl.
  • 1. The Shot. A. Basketball, the best game on Earth. B. I miss this in more ways than one (the amount of times I tried to make this shot at Pratt this summer: too many).
The Best Purchases of 2013, In No Order

  • Anything I bought at Prince's Hot Chicken
  • Audio-Technica record player
  • A $5 blue V-neck from H&M
  • Febreze car air freshener
  • Both Ben Rector shows
  • Any of the seven Detroit Coney Island dogs I ate in four days in July
  • Little Caesars (thrice)
  • A car
  • Garden and Gun magazine
  • Mott's Apple Juice
Best Rap Lyric That Doubled as the Next Episode of MTV Cribs

 
 "My yard so big, I got pet deers." - 2 Chainz, "Black Unicorn"

The 51st Best Song of 2013


Kurt Vile, "KV Crimes". As is Brian Cook of the brilliant MGoBlog, I'm one of those people who thinks the Big Lebowski is a substantially deep film. I think Kurt Vile's a lot like the Big Lebowski: you don't really get it the first time and you think it's corny, forgettable, and pointless. Suddenly, you can't stop talking about nothing and everything at the same time, because come on, dude, let's go bowling.

Thing I Bought That I Regretted Immediately


I bought these shorts from American Apparel, because I convinced myself that they weren't "too short" and that they would be acceptable in some form of social gathering. A. They were neither of these. B. I have worn these once and I still had to wear athletic shorts to work that day because they were more appropriate.

The Best Movie I Saw in 2013


 Short Term 12. I'm still waiting to put out a full best-of list until I'm able to see Her and The Wolf of Wall Street, but this little indie film blew me away. Brie Larson steals the show as a supervisor at a home for "troubled" teenagers. For anyone planning to work at a school, with children, or in any form of social work at some point, see this immediately.

Ten Other Great Movies I Saw in 2013, in No Order


Nebraska, American Hustle, 12 Years a Slave, All Is Lost, Fruitvale Station, Before Midnight, Frances Ha, The Kings of Summer, Inside Llewyn Davis, Upstream Color

 The Best Redbox Rental of 2013


Before Midnight. This film is also home to the Best Scene of 2013. Without revealing too much, Celeste and Jesse have a fight in a hotel room for over 20 minutes, in real time. That doesn't exactly jump off the page, but if you've watched the Before series (Sunrise/Sunset), you understand. Rarely do you get to see a scene like this go for so long and remain so emotionally compelling and taxing. This scene is the culmination of 18 years of work from director Richard Linklater, and how brilliant and precise it is.

Best Show I'm Three Years Behind On

Breaking Bad. 1. Life is hard. 2. The schedule I have makes it absolutely impossible to keep on track with shows I want to watch. I've seen one episode of Parks and Recreation this semester. ONE.

Show I Will Start Watching, Eventually

Mad Men. No promises.

Five Things I Didn't Like in 2013


  • Big Sean. The guy's best verse of his career was on the same song as the best verse of the entire year as dropped by Kendrick. Sucks to suck.
  • The Duck Dynasty "scandal." Can we really call it a scandal when A. they've already filmed season 4, B. people really shouldn't be surprised anymore by what 70 year old Southern Christians have to say about the marriage debate, and C. people are still going to watch the show regardless of what happens if not more so?
  • Anything Seth MacFarlane did, because he's the worst.
  • The Purge. Worst execution of a potentially solid premise in years. Worst acting since Hayden Christensen/Jessica Biel's glory days.
  • Upper respiratory infections. I HAD TWO OF THESE THIS YEAR WHICH IS TWO MORE THAN ANYONE SHOULD HAVE EVER.
Things I Liked in 2013 (Part Two)

Rembert Explains America

 

Let me get this out of the way as quickly as possible: I love Grantland. I don't really love Bill Simmons, but I love his vision for the sports + pop culture site he created in 2011. There's brilliant writing, hilarious pieces, and occasionally Simmons will post something that I don't find obnoxiously New England. What ties this site together for me is Rembert Browne, an Atlanta native, Dartmouth graduate, and NYC resident who did this summer what I think we've all wanted to do or still want to do at some point in our lives: road trip the USA and talk about your experiences. Among his best writings from this summer: Burning Man, Detroit, the incredible Essence Festival, and moving. My personal favorite, though, is this epic saga of his trip to Chicago, featuring everything from a traffic citation to the death of a friend, which Rembert handles beautifully, as always. I hope we all get the chance to explain America for ourselves at some point.

Detroit


Look, I honestly tried. I really didn't want to force everyone to read my thoughts on a city that occupies so much of me despite my not living there for any permanent amount of time. I covered most of my feelings on Detroit late this past summer. I tweet and talk and post a lot about this city, once holding a population of 1,800,000+, now of around 700,000. They're bankrupt. It's not a very safe place to be. The police force is undermanned and outgunned. There are 78,000 abandoned buildings as of the most recent count. It's a shell of its former self, and I couldn't be bothered to care. Do I understand the previous facts? Yes. Do I still love this city with a burning passion in 2013 despite what it is? Yes. I will always love Detroit unconditionally because of the impact the city and its people and the family I have there have made on my life. I'll always rush to its defense in conversation. Detroit is where I feel at home, and nothing can change that. And yes, unnamed friend, it is a real city.

The Resurgence of Vampire Weekend


I feel like I need to explain further on my "white people getting over themselves to love Vampire Weekend again" comment from the first part of this installment. Post-Contra (really, even after their first self-titled album), way too many self-ascribed "hipsters" began to see it as cool to dismiss the group as "typical" indie rock and being too deep. Pardon me, but what does that even mean? Vampire Weekend in 2013 have crafted the year's best album and are not just an A-list indie group, but an A-list rock band, and they're there permanently. What a joy it is, too: Contra, VW's second album, sagged and wheezed to the finish, a fairly underwhelming follow-up to the neverending bouncy fun of their first album. During the formation of Modern Vampires of the City, the band seemed to realize they had to change something to be Vampire Weekend again. They did it: an album about growing older and searching for faith is the most listenable and enjoyable album of the year. A-listers, indeed.

2 Chainz


What you see above is not only easily the picture of the year, but also a picture that could've only happened in this weird and wonderful year we call 2013: 2 Chainz, a 36 year old rapper who already bounced out of one forgotten Atlanta rap group to start a now-three year old solo career, is ASCAP's Songwriter of the Year. Thank God for that, because we need rap to be fun in 2013. I'm enjoying the Kendrick vs. Everybody theme of this year as much as anyone, but sometimes you just need comic relief. Who else but Tauheed Epps to deliver it? The man has now made two just-listenable-enough albums that have individual songs with replay values that hang with the best of music, but at this point, he's more than just a rapper. He's a social icon. After Barack's reelection, #2Termz shirts were a real thing. The amount of white kids in schools that yelled "TWO CHAAAAIIIIIINZ" this year was off the charts. Everyone, including your grandparents (even Bob!) knows who 2 Chainz is. What a victory that is, because you don't get someone like this every lifetime.

CRU


Brace yourselves, because this is going to be really sappy. I found out what CRU was on my fourth day of college when the guy who impacted my life the most over the next two years, Grant Minchew, talked about it with me over dinner after getting my name in a survey for a ministry I had no idea about. Ever since then, it's been a two-plus year growing experience in my walk with the Lord, and it has been an amazing and unforgettable ride. My life simply wouldn't be the same without this incredible and Godly group of leaders I get to work and live with. I've made lifelong friendships and the memories of events like Fall Retreat and Rave-o-ween are, of course, too much to handle. My relationship with Christ would not be anywhere near where it is without the influences of this community around me that encourages me to serve and love the people around me. Friends, you're collectively the best.

To use the only term I liked in journalism classes, that puts a --30-- on this year. I'm still working on the Bruce Springsteen Case Study (the wait is because it takes a lot of work me to rank 300+ tracks and to write longforms in general), but that could potentially be done before the New Year. If so, you may see another post on here before 2014. If not, thanks for everything you did for me in 2013, whether you supported me by reading my scattered and sometimes incoherent thoughts on this blog or by being a friend in real life. I don't say it enough, but you guys are great. Thank you.

A fresh wind and bright sky,

Will
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Monday, December 16, 2013

The Best Things of 2013 (Pt. I)


This is part one of a two-part series, because several promising films are crammed into the last couple weeks of 2013 and obviously everyone likes reading these (cue Walter Sobchak's "AM I RIGHT?") so I'll stretch this out as long as I can. Or it's also because I'm not up for typing 3,000 words at this exact moment. (Spoiler: it's 2,664, to be exact. Close.).

Weird. Wonderful. Interesting. Frustrating. Idiotic. Stressful. Fun. Those seven words are interchangeable for my feelings on the year 2013, because I've felt that each of those words could aptly describe the most unique year of my time on Earth. I'll/we'll never see anything like it again, and I don't know if I should be sad or thankful. 2013 had a lot going for it and against it, but we'll count that as a net gain.

In this series, I'll be talking about both positives and negatives: things I liked in/about 2013 (spoiler: anything Matthew McConaughey did) and things I didn't. (Spoiler: anything Big Sean did.) I have a lot to talk about and this post features a lot of lists, rankings, and words, so enjoy.

The 25 Best Albums of 2013

The Five Best New Artists of 2013

  • Chance the Rapper
  • Lorde
  • Mutual Benefit
  • Run the Jewels (more of a supergroup-type thing, but still counts)
  • Rhye 
Twenty More Tracks From 2013 You Should Know


This can also be seen as a companion piece to The 30 Best Songs Released in 2013. It can also be identified as "Will found a couple songs that probably should've been on there, so we'll add some more to the list." Some of these are already listed above in the albums article, but here's your emphasis for Spotifying these. ----------------------->Spotify playlist HERE.<----------------------
Best Music Video of 2013 


The National, "Sea of Love." I've posted this five times on this blog, but whatever, it's still amazing. I end up loving something different every time I watch, whether it's the kid or Bryce Dessner's dancing.

Other Best Music Video of 2013


Toro y Moi, "Say That." 1. It's an exercise in brilliantly awkward dancing. 2. Best attempt at recreating the Neature Walk series as a music video to this point. 3. The faux-turtleneck. My God.

Best Vine User


Cousin Terio: singlehandedly making Vine not suck this year.

Best Joseph Fauria Touchdown Dance


All of them, but Bye Bye Bye.

Best Unplanned Moment of 2013


Miguel's Leg Drop. Nothing at an awards show may ever top this again.

Best Thing That I Promise Is Almost Done, Seriously

TIE: The Mixtape Series and the Bruce Springsteen Case Study. I can promise both of these will be of high quality...it's just a matter of finishing both of these up. Mine and JL's first mixtape should be out very soon, as he's out of Arkansas and back into the promised land of Tennessee. The Case Study will be a Christmas break project.

Best Christmas Break Project of 2013

Finishing Breaking Bad (seasons 3-5) and The Wire (entire series) in fourteen days. If this actually happens I may not watch TV of any kind for months.

Most Applicable Quotes of 2013

"God isn't calling us all to go to Indonesia. He's calling some of us to stay here." - Greg Pinkner, associate pastor at Fellowship Church in Knoxville

"As I began to cry in the middle of Starbucks (not from listening to Bon Iver), I could almost hear Jesus saying, 'Yes. But I want to go with you, hold you by the hand, and weep with you there.'" - Sammy Rhodes, RUF pastor at the University of South Carolina, on overcoming hard memories

"I believe in what I've done. I don't apologize for what I've done. If they want to fire me, go ahead." - Bo Pelini, Nebraska football coach, last seen with guns blazing
Things I Liked in 2013 (Part One)

To be fair, a list of things I liked in 2013 could literally go on forever, so I'm only writing about the ten things I tweeted about recently. For space and time, I'm limiting myself to no more than 250 words on each of these items. These are done in article format, they aren't for everyone, and if you hate this I'm sorry.

Matthew McConaughey

"McConaughey here ... just keep livin'." Matthew had a short prologue featuring that quote leading into some Dallas Buyers Club teasers this fall, and they were brilliant. It's nuts, because we're not supposed to be here with him right now. Before 2011, McConaughey had featured in exactly two quality films: 1993's Dazed and Confused (first and perhaps best performance as a high school graduate who still socializes with high schoolers) and 1996's A Time to Kill (I'm being a little flimsy with the term "quality", as this is about the fourth or fifth-best John Grisham film adaptation). Suddenly, a switch flipped in Matthew's head ("I don't have to star in all of these godawful romantic comedies no one talks about anymore") and we're here. Just look at the ridiculous list of nominations over the last two years. Dallas Buyers Club features what will probably be regarded as the performance of his career to this point, Mud is quietly great, and he owns his role in Bernie (a criminally underrated film, by the way). Has anyone surged harder from "forgotten B list actor" to "top tier" in less time? We're comfortable with this, too, because Matthew remains as endearing as ever. Just keep livin', indeed.

The Indiana Pacers


I can't get enough of the 2013 Pacers. Paul George went from "that guy the Pacers overdrafted for in 2010" to a top ten player in one season. The Pacers, formerly known as the New Old Pistons, are now the new guard in the NBA, the first team that we can firmly identify as better than Miami, whose odds at winning a third straight title are dwindling with every hard-nosed Indiana defensive performance (currently on pace to be the best defensive team since the 2003-04 Pistons, as determined by points allowed per 100 possessions). Even though George is easily the best offensive player Indiana has had since in-his-prime Reggie Miller (Danny Granger's two-season stretch in a "take whatever's open" fast-paced offense is looking more and more like an outlier), this is still a very identifiably state of Indiana team: "us against the world" approach, a legitimately annoying team to play against (first time since the mid-90s), and beautifully blue-collar, featuring Roy Hibbert disguised as a 7'2" Mack truck. We're lucky to see a franchise like this in 2013.

Prince's Hot Chicken



We live in exciting times. Food is as important as it's ever been, and quality is at an all-time high. Unfortunately, we're still failing to notice what is our most integral component to enjoying food: originality, creativity, and legitimate quality (we're not talking about that "quality" #5 you just ordered at Wendy's). That's why it's important to take note of truly excellent restaurants, like Prince's Hot Chicken, located in north Nashville. I don't have enough time or space to explain Nashville hot chicken to someone who knows nothing about it, so just read this. It's more of an experience: you have to feel the delayed burn of the cayenne pepper. You have to feel the sweat rolling down your face as your thoughts are screaming "how is this considered 'medium?'" You have to realize for yourself that it's one of the most unique eating experiences you can find, along with being incredibly rewarding.

Bob Warren's Facebook


My words can't really do justice for this, so I'll just save them. Here's a compilation.

Michigan-Area Sports


What a year. Some of these are pending, but these are the things I was excited about in 2013, all relating to this subject:
  • The Detroit Lions sit in first place in the NFC North; they'll gain their first divisional title of any kind since 1993 if they hold on
  • University of Michigan men's basketball finished as national runner-ups, their best season since 1993 (sensing a pattern?)
  • The Detroit Tigers won their third straight AL Central title
  • The Detroit Pistons are somewhat relevant again and currently sit at fifth in the Eastern Conference
  • The Detroit Red Wings made the NHL playoffs for the 22nd (!) year in a row (this isn't quite as important to me as a Predators fan, but they're in different conferences now, so...)
Michigan won 2013. No state was more relevant in every major sport, and what a year to do it when the state and its most prominent city are facing tumultuous times (spoiler: Detroit gets its own short article in part two of this installment). I didn't realize how much I identified with these teams until I was sitting on the MARTA in Atlanta on April 6th, ready to shell out up to $200 for a seat miles from the court at the Georgia Dome (don't worry, they were more expensive than that, so we watched at a bar ten miles north of Atlanta) to watch a group of similar-aged people play the sport I loved the most. It's insane, but it makes sense, because sports make sense. It's why I would've driven to Detroit for the World Series parade had the Tigers won it. It's why my December paychecks are potentially going towards the 16 hour round trip for a Lions home playoff game. Sometimes in life, you latch yourself to things that are rational to no one else but you. I ride an emotional roller coaster with these teams and sports as a whole, and I love every second of it. Have a sub. It's crazy.

Part II will be posted within the next week and will feature writings on my feelings toward Detroit, Vampire Weekend's resurgence, and Big Sean, among other occasionally important things.
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    Tuesday, December 3, 2013

    Romulus

    Song. It's been a really long time since I wrote something. I'm sorry. I'll have two more posts before the new year happens: the Bruce Springsteen Case Study and some sort of end-of-year thing.



    The most important find of my fifth semester in college is this little green bouncing ball (like a Sky Bounce or whatever they're called at regional supermarkets, but older and smaller) I dug out of a storage compartment a month ago. This ball has become the Swiss Army knife of my room. It can be tossed into the air, viciously thrown at a wall post-stressful event, or bounced off the ceiling to see how fast your reaction time is. (I also think I'm realizing that I'm very easily entertained.) It's really useful in the most idiotic ways possible and I love it.

    I remember hearing around a year ago in a CRU or Crossroad talk (at this point, they're starting to run together for me, because life is nuts) that God is a lot like a Swiss Army knife. The Swiss Army knife is just one tool, but it does so much more than we can imagine. There are so many functions that God has that are absolutely mind-blowing and I've seen a lot of that this semester. I continue to set records for stress levels seemingly each week and I had to admit to myself that I really wasn't enjoying junior year. However, I can see God using all these things going on in my life to draw me closer to Him and to realize that He is all I have.

    I have a little over a week left in semester five of eight. That's one of the most ridiculous things I've ever typed because it feels as if college just started yesterday. These 2.5 years have flown by faster than I could have ever imagined. I've made the best friends that I'll ever make and have been blessed to be part of an incredible community in CRU. God has taught me critical lessons through everyday experiences. It's been fun and I'm already getting apprehensive and nervous about it ending. Good thing I've got three more of these to finish.

    Bullet points:
    Andre Drummond,

    Will
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    Saturday, October 26, 2013

    Interstate 8


    Song reference. Up next/soon: a case study on Bruce Springsteen, featuring lots of words about a 64 year old man and his music.

     I have a lot of material from the last month to cover and no one reads these introductions, so here's a lot of bullet points with something occasionally italicized.
    • Fall Retreat with CRU was yet again a wonderful time. As always, the people of CRU poured into me and made me feel at home for another year. I love this ministry and all of the people in it. This year I was given the opportunity to be a discussion group co-leader and it was pretty amazing. I met some great new friends through it and I'm incredibly encouraged by the amount of love and willingness to discuss and interact this freshmen group has. If any of you are reading this (dear Lord please tell me someone reads this otherwise what am I doing), you're great.
    • Along with this, the Lord has blessed me with an absolutely incredible Bible study in Clement Hall. All of the guys there are awesome and have taught me more than I've taught them. I grow more and more thankful every single day that I have the opportunity to serve here.
    • Important events update: I finished the Bruceathon on October 18th after 13 days of nothing but Springsteen. 17 albums in 13 days was more than a bit of a chore, to say the least. Bruce has some absolutely epic stuff (Born to Run, Darkness on the Edge of Town, Nebraska) and some things that really shouldn't have happened (everything from 1987 to 1995). I'll be covering all of this in a post devoted to the Boss soon. (It's because I wasn't allowed to write my term paper over it so I've got to talk about it to someone wait no one's going to read that whoops)
    • The Official List of 2013 Movies That Will Liked (as of October 26th, to be updated next month) (ASCENDING ORDER):
      • Short Term 12 (10/10)
      • Gravity (9.4/10)
      • Fruitvale Station (9.1/10)
      • Mud (9/10)
      • The World's End (8.9/10)
      • The Place Beyond the Pines (8.5/10)
      • Upstream Color (8.4/10)
      • The Conjuring (8.2/10)
      • The Kings of Summer (8.2/10)
      • Despicable Me 2 (8/10)
      • This Is the End (7.7/10)
      • Monsters University (7.5/10)
      • Captain Phillips (7.4/10)
      • Rush (7.2/10)
      • Star Trek Into Darkness (7/10)
    • Movies that will likely earn a place on the above list after I have the chance to watch them in late October/November: Before Midnight, Prisoners, Blue Jasmine, 12 Years a Slave, Nebraska, and Dallas Buyers Club. (Yes I understand I care too much about movies leave me alone)
    • Important moment in American history: Matthew McConaughey (sorry, I promise I'm almost done) has a little preview for Dallas Buyers Club running at the two Regal Cinemas locations I went to this week. He starts his preview to the preview with "hey, McConaughey here" and ends with "just keep livin'." There are so many questions presented because of this. Can I end every conversation with "just keep livin'?" What does that even mean? Does it have a deeper meaning to it than the one I've made up for it? Does Matt McConaughey start every phone conversation with "McConaughey here?" Can I do that too?
    • The October/November Playlist for Other Awkward White People:
    • MIXTAPE UPDATE (mupdate?): By the end of 2013. First single, titled "Michelle Obama" and written by Young Jay Thugga, can be found HERE. Eventually we'll probably just rename the first mixtape "Sorry For the Delay."
    • Something I've realized this semester that I'm very passionate about is analyzing and diving into wealth and racial inequality in America and how it affects our school system. As a hopeful future middle/high school English teacher, it's very hard for me to read articles like this from The Atlantic, which shows how your school district and others compare to state, national, and international levels of subject proficiency. It's absolutely heartbreaking reading about how proficiency levels in reading and math in many areas of America (especially inner-city districts) are declining and how kids in these districts are given a much lower and less likely opportunity at success than their more affluent neighbors. I think we can at least begin to attribute this to the gigantic wealth gap in the United States (the top 1% in America takes home 25% of the wealth; the bottom 80% take 15%). As someone who was able to see racial and wealth inequality in unbelievable ways in Detroit for part of this past summer, I feel more inspired each and every day to play a part in trying to help turn this around. I feel like the Lord has given me the opportunity to serve somewhere (wherever that may be) through teaching and I pray that wherever He sends me it's an area in need of help and care.
    • This week at the Clement study, we diverted from going through Ephesians for a couple minutes to analyze Galatians 2:19-21. This is one of my favorite passages in the Bible and it's three verses that I want to continue to apply to and understand in my life daily. I love this.
    • Unfortunately, the world's greatest baseball team did not make the World Series this year. However, the Tigers provided the world with two of the best GIFs this season. (Next year.)
    • Tennessee gets to (and wins) a bowl this year.
    • Unfortunately, it's 1:30 AM at the time I'm typing this and I had to wake up almost 20 hours ago, so writing is an extreme struggle right now. I'll cover these VERY important topics soon: Big Sean's merits, or lack thereof; the official list of the 100% worst things ever; Jim Leyland and Grandfather Bob's similarities; more, potentially.
    • Last but not least, no one is allowed to complain about how "cold" it is until the temperature drops below freezing at any point. 50-60 has never been and never will be cold; please don't do this to me.
    I haven't slept in a really long time,

    William Edward Warren I
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