The Art of DVD Collecting

Good morning friends! As I patiently wait for my brand new coffee-maker-with-timer miracle machine clicks on, I thought I'd post a little about one of my favorite hobbies: DVD collecting. Now, I've always been a fan of collecting films ever since I had earned enough allowance to start purchasing VHS tapes and this hobby has only increased with age. However, the process of purchasing and collecting DVDs is, I daresay, an art. Your collection is a mark of individuality and for DVD whores like myself, you will inevitably judge and be judged by the DVD company you keep. Therefore, I'd like to present a few of my own categorizations of people based on their collections. See if you fit in anywhere.

1. The 4-star collector: One of the most the most obvious categories of collectors is the "4-star collector" whose passion is to build up a collection of Oscar-worthy films. By this I mean films deemed 4-star "Best Picture" films like Citizen Kane, To Kill a Mockingbird, Schindler's List, or Million Dollar Baby. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing with choosing this route. There is a reason why Hitchcock is considered timeless. However, I have 2 problems with people who shop only within this category: 1) It's completely uncontroversial. One of the fun things about looking through someone's DVD collection is finding little quirky films that are of debatable quality and that are surprising because you would never guess that about your friend. "Dude, how come you own Romancing the Stone and Jewel of the Nile? Kathleen Turner 1980's fetish?." But with a strictly Oscar-worthy collection, you don't get to have that kinda fun. "Dude, you've got On the Waterfront? Freak!!!" See, it's not the same because they're all stellar films. 2) One of the big problems I have with collecting movies strictly from this category is that you can't watch them over and over (or at least I can't). Yes, I appreciate what a masterpiece Schindler's List is, but it's not something I could watch every day. And thus, in my mind, it is disqualified as a potential film in my collection. That has been my mantra when buying movies for the last few years "Only buy it if you can watch it over and over again."

2. The Film-school geek/movie snob: I am not an expert in this particular genre of collecting, but I've been around enough film geeks to know the types of films that are in their collections. The buzzword in this category is "obscure". "Hey Sebastian, I finally hunted down that 1972 film by (insert obscure filmmaker here). Isn't it so profound how none of the actors speak in the film, but it's so rich in symbolism because of the flying donkeys in the background and how the whole set is blue?" Many of the films in this category have subtitles, which is cool. I'm all for foreign films, as I have a sprinkling of them in my collection myself. But usually they're really obscure foreign films that I would have no chance of grasping the symbolism of and would not particularly want to watch for fun outside of film class.

3. The Frat Boy: This is one fo my favorite categories of collectors, because you can always count on these guys for a great action film or comedy to watch on a Friday night. While "the frat boy" collector does not necessarily have to be in a frat to collect these types of movies, most of my guy friends from college fit into this category, so I have a lot of experience with what films make up these collections. While which exact films are included in each category vary by individual, I've found that certain films can always be found in this category: 1) At least 1 film by both Adam Sandler and Chris Farley. My personal preferences are Happy Gilmore and Tommy Boy, but Billy Madison is a frat boy collector fave as well. 2) Wall Street- Michael Douglas as Gordon Gecko, waxing poetic about greed. 3) Boiler Room- Late 90's knock-off of Wall Street. Still a great film for this collection. 4) Die Hard- Or any other Bruce Willis movie for that matter. 5) Braveheart- Freeeeeedommm! 6) Anything written by Tom Clancy that's been made into a film. 7) The Program- Much underrated football film with Craig Sheffer and James Caan. 8) The Empire Strikes Back- Probably the other 2 films are in this too, but this one is unquestionably there (let's not even talk about the new films). 9) Fight Club- Guys beating the crap out of each other for sport. 10) Office Space- best movie ever. It should be on everyone's list!

4. The Eclectic Collector- This is really a catch-all group made up of smaller sub-categories. Most people in this group have a few films from each of the above categories, but tend to have a mini-collection within their larger collection in one of the following sub-categories: 1) TV seasons (anything from Golden Girls to The Thin Man to 90210). 2) Childhood classics (here's lookin at you Mo) Such greats as The Last Unicorn, The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, Anne of Green Gables and The Worst Witch. 3) 80's Brat Pack Films 4) Rodgers & Hammerstein Musicals 5) Sci-Fi collections. Most people I think fit into this group. I do as well, although because I'm the author of this post, I can make up a 5th category just for me:)

5. Emily "Buy Whatever Makes You Happy" Category- This is a category I made up for myself because I tend towards films that I can watch over and over again. This means that I own lots of "dubious" films, some of which star Freddie Prinze Jr., because these are the fluff that gets me through when I'm stressed out. Because of this, my collection is fairly confusing because when people look through it, they can't tell what kind of person I am. While I do have some "4-star" films like Hotel Rwanda and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, I also own lots of chick flicks like Bridget Jones Diary and The Truth About Cats & Dogs. And while I possess some art house cool films like Best In Show and Amelie, I also favor The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Bring It On.

So I guess my point is that DVD collecting is an art because it can both categorize you and prevent you from being categorized. My best advice, keep a running list of movies you want to add to your collection and always check the $5.99 bin at Walmart and the used movie section at the video store, because you never know where you're going to find gems for your collection. Right now I'm personally on the hunt for the 1980's underrated Patrick Swayze classic Road House, so keep an eye for me;)

P.S. I though it'd be fun to list the top 5 films in your film collection as well as the last 5 films you've purchased. I'll go first...

Top 5 Gems in my Collection
1. Best in Show
2. Amelie
3. Murder By Death
4. Pride & Prejudice
5. Star Wars Trilogy (original 1970's VHS tapes)

Last 5 DVDs Purchased
1. The Rocky Horror Picture Show
2. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
3. Empire Records
4. The Firm
5. Sabrina

Back-to-School Shopping 101

Good morning friends! It's a lovely java-filled morning here in S.C. and I thought I'd write this morning about some of the things I've been noticing about the back-to-school season and it's ensuing rituals. As many of you know, for as long as I can remember the back-to-school season has been my favorite time of year. I realize that many people dread this period in time because of the obvious marking of the end of summer and the approaching months of deadlines and homework associated within the hallowed halls of school. I, however, have never been that fond of summer, instead preferring the fall and spring, so I'm psyched for this time of year. Bring on the fall! Bring on the football games! Bring on the falling leaves! Bring on the pumpkin shakes at Dairy Queen!

But what's been interesting to me over the last week is observing the rituals of back-to-school shopping and the bizarre things people by for their dorm rooms/apartments. For example, yesterday I went to the PSU bookstore to purchase my books for this semester. It was obscenely busy with incoming students and their parents, buying up all the PSU memorabilia and JoePa gear they could find. I was perusing the homeware section of the store when I noticed a set of parents discussing what other useless knicknacks they should throw into their basket for their daughter. They settled on a pen ("Look honey, it says Penn State on it. And it's only $4"), several t-shirts, and some Nittany Lion stuffed animal...along with the requisite computer printer "bundle" and Yaffa Blocks. While paying $4 for a PSU pen seems a bit much (I just steal mine from various administrative offices around campus. Hehe!), I wondered just how obsessive we've all become with cramming new crap into our dorms. I mean, after 20 years of being a student, this is the first year that I've accepted that I don't need to make a trip to Staples for school supplies because I've sufficiently stockpiled enough pens and binders over the years to last me for another 20. But it just seems contrary to the nature of the back-to-school season not to shop, so I ventured out to Walmart at 9pm last night to join the fray and buy me some stuff!!!

I don't know why I was surprised, but Walmart was packed at 9pm last night with students and parents doing their back-to-school shopping. It was nuts! It reminded me a little of Macy's at Christmas! Their were yaffa blocks and egg crates a flyin all over the store and you couldn't even get within 2 aisles of the school supplies* (*not really, but it sounds more dramatic this way;) Seriously though, it was funny to see certain items being fought over in the store. Brita filters were being bought like they were going out of style, as were toilet plungers (Ha! I got mine last year), egg crates, and coffee makers. Even though I already have a perfectly good coffee maker, shopping fever quickly spread over me and I elbowed a middle-aged lady (accidentally) to get the last Coffeemate Coffee Maker with a timer for $20. I've always wanted a coffeemaker with a timer and now that I'm teaching at 9am MWF this semester, I can wake up every morning filled with the smells of Dunkin Donuts French Vanilla coffee. Glowing from my victory of securing the last coffee maker with a timer, I set out to find other stuff that I may not need, but certainly would like to have. In the end, I came away with 2 new reams of printer paper (you can't have a back-to-school season without buying some type of new paper), my glorious coffee maker, new Brita filters, and Season 2 of The O.C. on DVD. To only come away with 1 DVD (or 1 season in this case) from Walmart is pretty good for me considering they have that lovely $6.99 and $9.99 DVD bin that calls out softly to me every time I'm there. I think I'll save my philosophies on DVD purchasing for another time though:)

In the end, while not truly satisfied with my back-to-school shopping experience (I am still without a first day of school outfit), I do feel that I was able to pay some homage to the back-to-school shopping gods. Plus, the feeling of hearing the coffee maker switch on automatically at 9am this morning was glorious!!!

Cheers N' Jeers

Evenin' friends! I was reading Lisa's blog yesterday and she's caught the fever with making a "Cheers n' Jeers" list on her blog. I thought I'd play along and make a list too, just for shits and giggles.

Cheers: Back-to-school time...Stalking the aisles at Staples for new pencils, pens and binders; Obsessively planning the first day of school outfit; football season beginning; pumpkin shakes at Dairy Queen.

Jeers: Back-to-school time... Deadlines, writing papers (that were deferred from last semester), candidacy exams, teaching at 9am MWF.

Cheers: iced caramel macchiatos at Starbucks

Jeers: $4 for said iced caramel macchiato + construction going on outside Starbucks so I can't sit outside and enjoy the macchiato in the sunshine.

Cheers: my new "old school" Nintendo

Jeers: The fact that I now suck at playing Nintendo since I've been out of practice for 10 years.

Cheers: The new seasons of The O.C., Gilmore Girls, and Grey's Anatomy are starting in a few weeks.

Jeers: Until then, we're forced to watch re-runs of bad reality TV shows every night

Cheers: Pre-season NFL football

Jeers: T.O.'s contract dispute (he needs to get over himself already!)

Cheers: Not having to get up for ITA testing tomorrow.

Jeers: Having to get up for ITA testing on Thursday:(



Night folks! Sweet dreams!

Damn you "page migration!"

Damn you Blogger! I just finished work on a post for a 1/2 hour about my experiences in ITA testing and how all the grad students end up like rats in a cage, just waiting to see who'll go crazy first (trust me, I had a whole theory and everything!) But then I went to publish and it migrated to some other page, thus losing my beloved post!! Well I'm not writing that whole thing again so I'll just leave you with some key words and phrases that would've been in the post, but now you'll just have to connects the dots for yourself and make up your own story:

ITA testing

little waiting room

new grad students

8 hours/day

pound puppies

government experiment

logic puzzles

rats in a cage

Hmmm, almost looks like a beat poem of some kind...

R.I.P. Frere Roger

Evenin friends! I'm back in S.C. and while I have lots of commentary on my last week in Ohio, this evening's post is a small dedication to one of the holiest men in the world, Brother Roger, the founder of Taize in France who was brutally murdered yesterday. For those of you not acquainted with Taize, it's an ecumenical Christian Spiritual retreat in Burgundy, France that focuses on youth between the ages of 20-30. You typically go and spend a week there living with the monks in the countryside and working the grounds of the retreat in exchange for food and shelter and you spend your time in silence meditating or chanting.

The Taize Experience

I don't consider myself an extremely religious person, but it's a great place to gain perspective and peace. I spent a week at Taize in June 2002 with my friend Alice as a way of gaining closure to my Fulbright year in Germany. When you hear that you're going to be spending most of the time meditating and chanting and going to church services 3 times a day, it doesn't normally sound appealing. Of course, after a year that included Poppi (my East German landlord), 9/11, and the first school shooting in German history (in the next town over) I was up for some spiritual cleansing.

The Taize French Countryside

Anyhow, Alice and I made the pilgrimage to Taize and it was one of the best experiences of my life. Not only was it in an idyllic setting (the French countryside), but it was a no pressure situation in which reflection (aka spacing out) was encouraged. Plus I got to meet young people from all over the world, which was was really cool.

But one of the best things about the Taize experience was Brother Roger, the founder of Taize. He was almost 90 and had started Taize in 1940 as a monastic community where they even housed Jewish refugees during WWII. The man was amazing and even brought his buddy Mother Theresa to Taize sometimes. I had the great privilege of getting to meet Frere Roger during my stay at Taize and was even blessed by him one night, which was the most amazing experience. I have never been one of those people to claim religious experiences, but God is a Taize. You can feel it and there's no way to explain how amazing it is there without experiencing it yourself.

Anyhow, onto the tragic news of the day. I received an email from my friend and fellow Taize-goer, Alice, today telling me about Frere Roger's passing. What I didn't know until I googled his name is that he was brutally murdered in the middle of a prayer session in the Taize temple yesterday afternoon in front of thousands of people by a crazy Romanian woman.

During the evening prayer on Tuesday 16 August, in the midst of the crowd surrounding the Community in the Church of Reconciliation, a woman - probably mentally disturbed - struck Brother Roger violently with knife blows. He died a few moments later...

I feel nauseous even as I write this knowing that some sick bitch slashed the throat of one of the holiest and most benevolent men on the planet. So tonight when you say your prayers, please take the time to honor Frere Roger. He will be missed!

Frere Roger

Double Duty in Ohio

Ahhhh Ohio! Every time I come home, there seems to be another adventure in small town living. Bridgeport is a quintessential small town. There are about 3000 residents in Bridgeport, although my general area seems bigger because it's made up of several towns all connecting: Wheeling, Martins Ferry, Bellaire, and St. Clairsville. Anyhow, this morning I was awoken by the sound of jack hammers outside my window, which reminds me of another reason I love (and hate) small towns. In small towns, every member of the community does double duty. So as I went outside to see what the racket was, I bid good morning to the excavation crew fixing one of the pipes on our street. While this is not interesting in and of itself, you should know that the head excavation guy is also the mayor of Bridgeport and his assistant is his son (who is also missing several key front teeth). No matter how many teeth the man has, I was raised with manners and so I made the mayor/excavator and his crew/son some coffee (from the wonderful Wheeling Coffee Shop) and spent some time outside amusing myself with the peculiarities of this type of existence. As we drank coffee leaning against the bulldozer now parked in the yard next to my mother's geraniums, the daughter of one of the city council members drove by and stopped to talk to the mayor. I realized that not only is her father on the council, he also owns the body shop in town. I then realized that even I was connected to all these people in the manner of small towns because my Aunt Mary Ann is the mayor's assistant and her husband, my uncle, is on the school board and was a teacher at the high school for 30 years. Of course, as I type this, I'm keeping one eye on the mayor out the window since the last mayor we had, Mayor Furbee (also my next door neighbor in a lime green house), left the position in disgrace after they found out he had been embezzling thousands of dollars of the town's money for years. Of course, that's old hat compared to the newest scandal in the town, which involves the head of water supply in town (also a neighbor) also being investigating for fraud. Who says small towns are boring? Of course it probably isn't too tough to steal from the town when the city building/jail/mayor's office doesn't even use computers. That's right! Everything is still done on a typewriter in the town of Bridgeport, which I know because my aunt is the one who types everything out. Of course I teased the mayor about this this morning and he said there are new computers coming in soon. I would pay money for a ringside seat to watch my aunt (who's over 60) and the other old lady who works there try to use the computers for the first time. Ahhhhhh Bridgeport! I think I'm going to go now and maybe visit the mailman/librarian/dry cleaner (just kidding). Have a good one!!

Choose Your Own Adventure

Hey friends! A friend of a friend had a link on his blog, in which some guy came up with all these alternative "Choose Your Own Adventure" stories that didn't quite make the cut. They are freaking hilarious!!! I don't know about you, but I loved reading those books while growing up. I used to check them out of the grade school library by the armful, which I think was much happier than the crack habit I have today (jk mom & dad;) Check out the cover of one of these "lesser-known" adventures:





One another note, my "old school" Nintendo NES that Reed got me for my birthday finally arrived today! Whoohoo!!!! Pics of me cussing out The Legend of Zelda to follow:) I don't know why I thought I'd be good at Zelda at age 26. I sucked when I was 9 and I still suck now. Oh well, once Super Mario Bros. 3 comes in the mail, it's so on!! So tonight's post is in honor of Reed, who's allowing me to re-live my childhood once more. Love ya babe!

New breakthroughs in distance education!

Ahoy friends! It's Tuesday evening and I thought I'd let you guys know that I've just read an article that officially crowns us Americans as the laziest SOBs in the world. On the NYTimes website this evening there's an article describing a new breakthrough in distance/online education in which students can now take gym through correspondence. GYM!!! Otherwise know as exercise and getting off your ass from in front of the computer. As reported by the Times:

The [online gym] course allows students to meet requirements by exercising how they want, when they want. They are required to work out hard for 30 minutes four times a week and report to their teachers by e-mail.

I don't know about you, but if I was getting credit for Phys. Ed. online and the only way for them to know if you're doing it is through email, I'd be all super-imposing my face on pics of athletes in the pool or running on the track, while I'm really laughing my ass off at home watching Dawson's Creek re-runs and eating Ho-Ho's. Here's a sample pic of what Emily would email her professors of her "exercising" for the class...

Emily going the distance for her online "gym" class

If you like that, imagine me doing gymnastics...;) Anyhow, check the article out. Our culture is so disturbing.