my arm hurts from throwing snowballs from the roof at the 7th floor of the condo building across the street.

hmm i think Ani DiFranco is an acquired taste...

I saw RENT the movie, but first...

I was drawn to the musical 7 years ago. a little cheesy yeah, but I related to the over all feeling it captured. alone and trying to understand myself and others, going through some sort of transition and yeah trying to create art. I wasn't living with hiv or dying from tb but the bohemian tale appealed to me. and i like the new york feeling it had.

I am a dork. for years i have plotted how i would adapt Rent into a movie. and though at one time I could sing almost every cheesy over dramatic lyric, I always knew it was... cheesy.

on stage, i think it is technically an opera. there is very little talking at all. and most of the singing-conversations (in the second act) were either spoken or dropped out of the movie. I liked the darker side of Rent. the side that the movie seemed to neglect.

I think i can best compare the feeling to...
walking around in the east village at 3am on a winter night. no one on the street. dark. freezing. looking for an opened place to eat and use the bathroom. i think everyone in NY has been in that situation and has cursed about the fucking "city that never sleeps." feeling miserable. wanting a reason to live and wanting to be in bed. and well... that was my little dream to give to everyone. that along with some cheesy songs, taking place in the 90's and with less synthesized instruments.

Now about the movie,
the casting was great and the acting was good considering they spoke in rhyme. If they aren't going to sing the lines they should have written a script rather than just say the lyrics. and I wish Rodger had shorter hair so i wouldn’t have been reminded of the "lion-man" from the 80's tv series Beauty and the beast with Linda Hamilton. but that might just be me.

the editing/continuity was very confusing. i didn't see the point of dragging the events of one night into three days and nights. I guess so it wouldn't have been a "christmas movie." but la boheme also took place on xmas eve.

Songs and situations are rearranged for the movie format. that doesn't bother me, but it would be nice if characters didn't know one another before they even meet.

I didn't like the camera work. I'm not a cinematographer, but i care. there must be a book that film people read that says: to convey seriousness use a close up. to show everything is "out of control" use a handheld. to make something feel unsettling use a dolly zoom. arg they might as well have a caption that reads what emotion they are conveying.

i don’t feel like writing anymore.

overall i felt like the director, Columbus, didn't really take a chance. It's basically the musical on film at thompson square park and around there. and lots of talking in rhythm.

Rent!!

I finally finally received my last check from bluesky! this is great because i can now pay rent. i was down to my last $25.84. should i be ashamed to say that?

well i know my xmas present from mom. a plane ticket.

my dad has this dream of taking his kids to a kansas city chiefs game on xmas eve. he already bought the tickets for me and my brothers. i plan for dad to buy me lots of beer and a hotdog for this. We will be dropping my mom off at the casino. that's her new thing. she won't play tables though.

I have a project that i hoped to finish by Dec. 20th. this way i could visit my family and not have to hurry back, but looking at my schedule i can see it's not possible.