As With All Great Movies—Watch it Alone: Two Girls and a Guy

There's a feeling that I get, every so often, that's hard to explain. Whenever I'm lucky enough to be blind-sided by it, I do one of four things: I start working on the blueprints of my someday-to-be international travel abroad company; I start working on ideas for the next great screenplay; I start reading great screenplays written by great minds; or I turn to Robert Downey's Jr. unwanted masterpiece Two Girls and a Guy. I made the mistake once of telling my sister-in-law that this was one of my favorite movies; to this day, I get the feeling I am the last person she would ever ask for a popcorn-laden, Saturday night movie recommendation. Time to make the mistake again: this is one of my favorite movies.

RDJ's performance, in this stage-like classic, is nothing short of brilliant; Wagner's performance is borderline painful; while I've turned off most of Heather Graham's movies, she actually delivers here. My writing isn't good enough to provide a review, so I'll direct you here for that. But I must say that Downey's performance is a clinic for actors. It's not a perfect movie; it's not a perfect performance--but in an age where Hollywood continues to produce commercial trash, this small movie stands as a reminder of the power of film and performance.

Like you should do at least once with all great movies--watch it alone. If I ever find the courage to go back into acting, this performance would be one of the reasons why.

Video Vault: Snow Patrol, Chasing Cars

Too bad this song got overplayed on the radio. Great song nonetheless; also a great show.

"Taxes a Pleasure? Check the Brain Scan"

Statistical Outliers:

NY Times: "Taxes a Pleasure? Check the Brain Scan"

Tunnels, The New Harry Potter

Could boy archaeologist be next Harry Potter?

A secret world underneath London? A boy archaeologist's journey to the center of the earth? Yes please.

I'm on Book 5 of the Potter series and am enjoying every second.

Video Vault: Damien Rice, 9 Crimes (Live)

Another brilliant song from Damien Rice and Lisa Hannigan:

Video Vault: Dave Matthews, Stay or Leave

Definitely one of Dave's best and most brilliantly performed songs:

Video Vault: Damien Rice, Blower's Daughter

Possibly the greatest song of my generation. I'm not sure if it gets much better than this:

Video Vault: Ayn Rand Interview (by Mike Wallace) 1959

A. Rand - Mike Wallace Interview 1959

Preface: Ayn Rand takes many of her ideas to an extreme that, to a lot of people, are arrogant and uncomfortable. I am nowhere close to understanding the principles of her philosophy; this interview is about as far as I want to go to get to know her; her characters, on the other hand, now that's a different story. What I admire about Rand was her courage to take a stance. She interpreted life in a unique and unwavering way and believed in a system of thought that is rooted in reason and sustained by men and women who are willing to delve—even if the people around them watch with scorn—into the true nature of selfishness. I do not consider myself an "Objectivist": to do so would be, for me, limiting and irresponsible. While there's certainly a great deal that I subscribe to here, I'm just a guy trying to figure out where I stand.

Video Vault: The Fountainheaded

Nothing wrong with a little Ayn Rand comedy. At least she's being made fun of by geniuses:

In Solitude Together

It doesn't really make sense why I have not posted yet on The Fountainhead. Maybe it's because I don't want to share my thoughts with the world; maybe I've been afraid of the influence such thinking will lead in terms of action (ridiculous); maybe I've started to be influenced by what others think of Rand, her philosophy, and her two books (Atlas Shrugged being the second most read book to the Bible; I finished The Fountainhead years ago and I am 700+ pages into Atlas). Regardless of the reason, as I get older, I am realizing that it is now impossible for me not to think about the issues she tackles—objectivism, selfishness, solitude, the individual, politics—or the characters she brilliantly created. By no means do I think The Fountainhead is a great piece of prose literature when compared to the likes of Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms or The Sun Also Rises, but it is the most influential piece of writing that I have ever read.

I need an outlet for the emotion that I feel when I think of this book; when something happens in my life that forces me to wake up, break out and fight the complacency and monotony that our culture produces, I need a place to go; I need a place that will help me remember those days where I spent countless hours trying to understand what the hell she was trying to say. Since I go to this blog everyday, and because I am so busy, why not have that outlet be here: it's safe; it's personal; it's mine. It's not like anyone is actually reading this anyway.