Bryce Moore's Blog, page 313

October 1, 2010

My Experiences with Raiders of the Lost Ark

Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (Special Edition) NOTE: Today's post is brought to you by Browsing Room, my library blog that I keep updated as part of my job. I was happy with today's entry and thought I'd share it with you all, too. Enjoy!



So today's movie review isn't much of a review. I mean, I assume it goes without saying that virtually everyone in the world has seen Raiders of the Lost Ark. You have, haven't you? (If not, could you please tell me why not?) So what's the point in reviewing a movie most people have already seen, and the majority of the film world views as a classic?





Instead, I'm going to talk about the impact that movie has made on me. Because we all know reviews are all about the reviewer anyway, so why pretend they're about anything else?*





My earliest Raiders memories are quite vivid in my mind for a number of reasons. Number one, my family rented it from the movie store, and I dropped it down the stairs, breaking the video tape. The movie came out in 1981, so I figure I was probably in first grade or so by the time I dropped it down the stairs, although I suppose I might have been a bit older. I remember pretending to be Indiana Jones on the playground. In my mind, this consisted of rubbing my face a lot in contemplation, and then pretending to whip just about everything in sight. All I was missing was some facial stubble.





And of course, there's one other reason Raiders stood out in my elementary school mind: people's faces melted in it. Literally melted. Like, you could see their bones and everything. How cool was that? To think I lived in an age where I could see people's faces melt . . . beyond awesome. Looking back at that memory, I kind of wonder what the heck my parents were thinking, letting me see it. I mean, I think my son's still a year or two off from being able to watch it, but maybe I'm just more of a stickler than my parents were.





In any case, Indiana Jones was a pinnacle in my mind from a very early age. Since then, I've watched the movie many many times. I own the box set of the trilogy, and I enjoy seeing it each time. For more nitty-gritty details on the movie, check out the excellent imdb page on the movie. I love that site, and have spent many hours happily immersed in movie trivia and behind the scenes tidbits. (For example, did you know Raiders was Alfred Molina's first film? Or that the screenplay was done by the same guy who did the screenplay for another classic: Empire Strikes Back? Stuff like that just fascinates me. Gotta love the movie connections.)





My question to you all is this: what are your first Raiders memories? Please share, if you're willing. I'd love to hear them. And if (gasp!) you've never seen the movie, it's waiting here in Mantor for you to check out. Come on by and pick it up, then tell me what you think.





Happy Friday, all!







*To explain--Reviews vary wildly based on the reviewer. One person may love a film, another may hate it. I'm sure there are people out there who have never seen Raiders, or who wish they'd never seen it to begin with. That's okay. There are people who don't like bratwurst, either. The trick with reviews is to find a reviewer whose taste are close to your own, then listen to that reviewer and ignore everybody else. Who cares if 99% of reviewers hated a movie, so long as you loved it? Today, with Rottentomatoes and the like, people seem to want to defend their tastes. They're upset if other people disagree with them. That's silly. I can love a movie; you can hate it. I can't tell you that you're wrong, and vice versa. There's no right or wrong when it comes to taste.





Except with Raiders of the Lost Ark. :-)



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Published on October 01, 2010 11:51

September 30, 2010

Adventures in Amoxicillin

The Exorcist (The Version You've Never Seen) We had some fun with projectile vomiting today. TRC stayed home. He has strep throat. He's on the pink stuff* now, and he's feeling quite a bit better, thanks for asking. Last night was less than fun, but today has been okay. (Of course, it doesn't help that I'm now feeling sick, too. No sore throat yet, though. DC had a bad something or other a few days ago, so I'm kind of waiting this one out to see if it just stays a general sickness like hers or turns into strep, too. Blech.)



Anyway--all was going fine. TRC was eating breakfast and drinking juice while watching PBS.



Then, Mount St. TRC erupted.



The couch, the rug, Denisa's pajamas--you name it. I was lying down in bed when it happened, but I arrived for the aftermath and the cleanup.



It's not pretty.



Wherever you are today, be glad you're not sick.



*Confession to make. I still remember how that stuff tastes, and I'm always a bit jealous when my kids get to take it. Am I alone in this?



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Published on September 30, 2010 09:10

September 29, 2010

In Which I Feel Like a Jerk

The Idiot (Signet Classics) Remember that post of mine yesterday? The funny one where I gave the nice little anecdote about my son feeling "sick" in an effort to stay home from school?



They called from school today. I had to go pick him up because he had a fever of 101. He's now resting on the couch.



In other news, I'm getting a headache and am starting to feel flushed myself.



Is that karma knocking? Oh well, I'd better go answer it . . .



In the meantime, why don't you all go over and check out my friend Isaac's website, Inkwing? He did the book design for my Cavern of Babel book, and he also did much of the internal artwork for Brandon Sanderson's books. You can get a cool Mistborn Llama t-shirt, and much more. Go Isaac!



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Published on September 29, 2010 11:44

September 28, 2010

Skipping School and Growing Up

Ferris Bueller's Day Off So TRC had some issues with going to school today. It was my night shift at the library last night, so I was asleep when it started, and eventually it escalated to the point where Denisa came to get back up from me. Here's how the conversation played out:



Me: So, you're sick, huh?

TRC: Yeah.

Me: How sick?

TRC: Well, I coughed four times, and I've already used five tissues.

Me: Do you think you need to go to the doctor's?

TRC: No!

Me: Oh. Do you have a fever?

TRC: No.

Me: Are you throwing up?

TRC: No.

Denisa: If we were going to go to the movies, would you go?

TRC: No. (pause, thinking) Well, yes.

Me: I don't think you're sick enough to stay home.

TRC: But I stayed home from Kindergarten when I was this sick.

Me: Kindergarten doesn't count.

TRC: I wish I were still in Kindergarten.

Me: Why don't you want to go to school?

TRC: Well, I'll get there, and I have to work on my journal and then do more work, and we only have one recess now, and . . .

Me: It's not as much fun, huh.

TRC: Yeah. Why would I need to go to the doctor's?

Me: Because you have to go to school, and if you don't go to school, they like to know why.

TRC: Oh.



After some further discussion, it was decided he was well enough to go to school, and he and I would play a game tonight when we both came home. The discussion got me thinking, mainly about how I still feel like TRC some of the time. Don't we all? Going to work can be difficult. The poor guy is just getting his first taste for what will be a life long issue.



Let's all have a moment of silence for TRC.



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Published on September 28, 2010 11:16

September 27, 2010

Dear British Airways,

Dumb and Dumber Dear British Airways,



I don't usually dislike entire corporations. I mean, you typically have to do some pretty stupid things to make me start to think negatively about an entire company. But in your case, I think you've made the cut. You certainly went above and beyond the call of duty to make me dislike you.



What did you do, you ask?



Well, there was that time in Vienna when you made Denisa and me go traipsing around the city to get a "transit visa" for Heathrow Airport, since she comes f...
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Published on September 27, 2010 14:10

September 24, 2010

Writing Full Time

Barton Fink For reasons I can't really get into at the moment, I've been doing a lot of writing lately. A lot lot of writing. Like, an hour in the morning, a half hour during my lunch break, then six hours when I get home (assuming I haven't been otherwise occupied with a certain woodshed). Today, I'm home sick, but--you guessed it--I'm still writing. It's been like this for the past few weeks.



So what does it feel like, writing full time in addition to working full time?



Stressful. I'm not much of a t...
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Published on September 24, 2010 11:07

September 23, 2010

Why I'm Taking a Class on Beethoven

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure You all know how much I've been complaining about how busy I've been. Of course you do--if you've been reading at all consistently, you're probably sick of hearing about poor me. In fact, some of you are probably not reading this, since you wandered to other corners of the internet due to just how much I've been complaining about my business. It's like the dentist chain of articles a couple of years ago, just with less Novocaine.



So it might surprise you all to hear that I'm taking a class f...
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Published on September 23, 2010 09:41

September 22, 2010

King of Kong Update

The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters Have you seen King of Kong? It's one of the coolest documentaries I've come across in quite some time. I reviewed it back in 2008, saying, "For those of you who haven't heard about it, it's a documentary that focuses on an average guy who decides to try and break the world record for highest score in Donkey Kong, not knowing that he's treading into ubergeek territory, since the current record holder is the equivalent of a video game geek god. A fascinating look into a world I never really...
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Published on September 22, 2010 11:48

September 21, 2010

Thanks for the Birthday Wishes!

Happy Birthday to You! That's right. Another birthday has arrived for yours truly. I'm 32 today. And the popular question everyone's had for me so far is: what am I going to do today? Well, I'll tell you. I'm going to be at work, then I'm going to go home and work on writing, followed by a family birthday party, and probably some more writing after that. I sure do know how to party, don't I? I've got a lot of writing to do, and if I'm not doing that, then I need to scrape the barn. Choices, choices . . .



I suppos...
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Published on September 21, 2010 10:28

September 20, 2010

Sunday Talk: Tithing

Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God and Other Puritan Sermons (Thrift Edition) For all those curious as to what I subjected an entire congregation of 180 people to for 20 minutes, here's the full text of my talk. It took me long enough to write--at least I can get a blog post out of it, too. NOTE: not all references are given. In my rush, I cut and pasted scripture with abandon. Hopefully God doesn't bust me for the sloppy citation work.







"He that is tithed shall not be burned at his coming." D&C 64:23 That's it. That's my talk. I'll give you three guesses which...
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Published on September 20, 2010 09:32