Significant changes have occurred in my life to get me to this point, not the least of which is a renewed interest in my personal health. I have put on over twenty pounds since I moved to Anaheim almost 2-1/2 years ago, and a heightened cholesterol level, breathing problems at night, and a general sense of ickiness left me flustered and sick with myself. Then, the Orange County Transit Authority bus strike hit, and I was left with one option only: walk 3 miles to and 3 miles home from work each day. I had already done 3 miles total each day from my old job in Anchorage, so I was merely doubling my old routine. As of today, I haven't caught a bus on a workday for five full weeks, walking a total of 129 miles in that time, not counting mileage on my walks with the pups or going places on the weekend. Additionally, I cut out my regular soda routine at work two full months ago (I do not keep it at home either, but I haven't done that for four months). What's more, I am eating smaller amounts at meals, eating only half of anything I order when out and about, and upping the frequency of these small meals. And, eating a lot more in the way of fruits and veggies.
The result? The happy loss of a handful of pounds thus far, the lessening of the ol' love handles, and a severe boost to my already rather robust (ask anyone who has ever been in a room with me) energy level. Dr. Pepper, or any soda, which I will still have when at a restaurant, now tastes almost foreign and far too sweet to me. My headaches, for the most part, which used to be several times a week, have almost totally dissipated into an awful memory (I now get my caffeine from tea, and have come to believe the bulk of my brainache problems stemmed from the massive amounts of sugar I was intaking). I have also discovered that regular exercise is much like any type of addiction; I have merely shifted from a bad to a good one. Personally, I feel better now than I have felt for several years, and I look forward to getting back to my fightin' weight...
The other big recent change is that I have been spending undue amounts of time on a website called Spout, which I have written about a couple of times before, and where I am now part of a review group where we receive promotional screeners for films and then are obligated to review them for the site. The best part is that I get to keep the DVDs that they send me -- gratis. All of the reviews will appear here as well (and, vice versa, most other posts here will appear there eventually); you may have noticed my post last week for my first Spout Mavens review, Familia, which completely surprised me as I let myself slip into pre-judgment over its cover, something I am fighting to control. I am currently working on getting my film lists matching up with my similar personal lists on IMDB, and have currently rated over 6,400 movies there, also finding out in the process that I have spent well over 15 months of my existence watching the movies on that list once. I don't even want to think about how much time that is when weighing those films I have seen over 20 times, like Kane or Falcon, or Kong, which I have seen probably around 40 to 50 times (I have watched it yearly since I was about 13, and then some...) Oy!
So, if I seem distracted and not posting a lot on here lately, well, it's because I've been exactly that. II meant, at one point, to write about most of the films that appear below, and I likely will for most of them at some point. I just wanted to let everyone know that I am seeing new films in the theatre, something which I don't often write about, and I am now making strides to start getting back to where I was: a constant, buzzing annoyance. Bzzz...
The List (in no particular order):
Papurika
Dir: Satoshi Kon // 2007 [Edwards Irvine, Irvine CA]
Cinema 4 Rating: 7
Umberto D.
Dir: Vittorio de Sica // 1952 [Critertion Collection DVD]
Cinema 4 Rating: 8
Shrek the Third
Dir: Chris Miller // 2007 [Century Stadium Promenade, Orange CA]
Cinema 4 Rating: 5
28 Weeks Later
Dir: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo // 2007 [AMC Downtown Disney 12, Anaheim CA]
Cinema 4 Rating: 6
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Dir: Gore Verbinski // 2007 [AMC Downtown Disney 12, Anaheim CA]
Cinema 4 Rating: 6
Ed Gein
Dir: Chuck Parello // 2000 [Showtime]
Cinema 4 Rating: 6
Marebito [The Stranger From Afar]
Dir: Takashi Shimizu// Japanese, 2004 [Showtime Beyond]
Cinema 4 Rating: 6
A Flock of Dodos: The Evolution-Intelligent Design Circus
Dir: Randy Olson // 2006 [IFC]
Cinema 4 Rating: 6
The Barefoot Executive
Dir: Robert Butler // 1971 [TCM]
Cinema 4 Rating: 5
Buddha's Palm and Dragon Fist
Dir: ?? // 197? [DVD]
Cinema 4 Rating: 4
Gaau ji [Dumplings]
Dir: Fruit Chan // [Sundance]
Cinema 4 Rating: 7
Namu, the Killer Whale
Dir: László Benedek // 1966 [TCM]
Cinema 4 Rating: 5
Hot Fuzz
Dir: Edgar Wright // 2007 [Edwards Brea Stadium West 10]
Cinema 4 Rating: 8
Gokudô kyôfu dai-gekijô: Gozu
Dir: Takashi Miike // Japanese, 2003 [Showtime Beyond]
Cinema 4 Rating: 6
Kibakichi: Bakko-yokaiden
Dir: Tomoo Haraguchi // Japanese, 2004 [Showtime Beyond]
Cinema 4 Rating: 5
Jingi no hakaba [Graveyard of Honor]
Dir: Kinji Fukasaku // Japanese, 1975 [IFC]
Cinema 4 Rating: 6
Il mio nome è Nessuno [My Name is Nobody]
Dir: Tonino Valerii // Italian, 1973 [TCM]
Cinema 4 Rating: 6
Spider-Man 3
Dir: Sam Raimi // 2007 [Century Stadium Promenade 25, Orange CA]
Cinema 4 Rating: 6
Blades of Glory
Dir: Josh Gordon & Will Speck // 2007 [Century Stadium Promenade 25, Orange CA]
Cinema 4 Rating: 5
Croupier
Dir: Mike Hodges // 1998 [Showtime]
Cinema 4 Rating: 6
Creature Unknown
Dir: Michael Burnett // 2004 [Showtime]
Cinema 4 Rating: 3
Octopus
Dir: John Eyres // 2000 [Sci-Fi]
Cinema 4 Rating: 3
Calvaire
Dir: Fabrice Du Welz // 2004 [Showtime]
Cinema 4 Rating: 4
Rokugatsu no hebi [A Snake of June]
Dir: Shinya Tsukamoto // Japanese, 2002 [Sundance]
Cinema 4 Rating: 6
Romasanta [Werewolf Hunter: Romasanta]
Dir: Paco Plaza // Spanish, 2004 [Showtime]
Cinema 4 Rating: 5
Whisky Galore!
Dir: Alexander Mackendrick // British, 1949 [DVD]
Cinema 4 Rating: 7
FUCK
Dir: Steve Anderson // 2005 [DVD]
Cinema 4 Rating: 5
Mimic: Sentinel
Dir: J.T. Petty // 2003 [Showtime]
Cinema 4 Rating: 4
When A Stranger Calls
Dir: Simon West // 2006 (Showtime]
Cinema 4 Rating: 4
Bulletproof Monk
Dir: Paul Hunter // 2003 [DVD]
Cinema 4 Rating: 5
Sora-te baka ichidai [Karate for Life]
Dir: Kazuhiko Yamaguchi // Japanese, 1977 [IFC]
Cinema 4 Rating: 5
Gendai yakuza: hito-kiri yota [Street Mobster]
Dir: Kinji Fukasaku // Japanese, 1972 [IFC]
Cinema 4 Rating: 6
Three Days of the Condor
Dir: Sydney Pollack // 1975 [DVD]
Cinema 4 Rating: 6
Vanishing Point
Dir: Richard C. Sarafian // 1971 [DVD]
Cinema 4 Rating: 6
2 comments:
Congrats on kicking soda and the ilk. I've been doing a lot of what you seem to be doing. I kicked hard soda in November(IE Coke, Pepsi, anything with caffeine). I have rootbeer occasionally, but not as often as before. My headaches have also decreased. I guess all that sugar and all those chemicals weren't good for us. Who knew?
Also congrats on the health kick! I don't know that my lack of drinking soda has improved anything other than my waistline, but I KNOW the daily exercise has given me more energy and overall stamina, along with weight loss. Keep up the good work!
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