I've Been the Needle and the Thread
The college student's dream is less than two weeks away. No, not free pizza until graduation. Spring Break. Some of my friends are headed to Boston, some to San Francisco, and some are headed to that exotic locale of Manchester, Connecticut, but I am headed down south.
Since I started working at Trek, I have always wanted to take a solo backpacking trip, and since there is way too much snow on the ground in Colorado to go there, I am going to Big Bend for Spring Break. Of course, this drives my Mom crazy. One of the books that she bought my Dad for Christmas this year was Aron Ralston's autobiography. For those of you who do not know Aron's story, he was the guy who went canyoneering in Utah alone in the Spring of 2003. He was working his way down a slot canyon when he dislodged an 800 lb. boulder that came down on his arm and wedged it against the canyon wall. Faced with quite a dilemma, Aron ultimately cut off the lower portion of his arm with his pocket-knife. When I tell my parents about my desire to take a solo trip, all my Mom can think of is me coming back with less limbs than when I left.
I have managed to quiet their fears by telling them that I will not make the same big mistake as Aron Ralston: not telling anyone where I am going, but that I will also talk to the Park Rangers at Big Bend, so they will know my proposed intinerary. I'll be sure to also post that phone number on here, so that if I do not come back at the appointed date, you guys can raise the search and rescue team.
Current Listening: Songs about Jane by Maroon 5
I liked the controversy that my list of the most influential albums in the 90's raised last week, so I will try to make that a regular feature. Today, I will start off with an easy one: Top 10 Movies. These are my own personal choices and not necessarily the most influential of a certain time period. Anyway, here goes:
- Braveheart
- Gladiator
- The Shawshank Redemption
- Saving Private Ryan
- Band of Brothers (I know, it's a miniseries, but it is too good to leave off)
- Dead Poets Society
- Fight Club
- The Natural
- The Sandlot
- Groundhog Day
What are your picks? Feel free to mock some of my choices or to cheer them.
posted by Justin @ 2/24/2005 09:31:00 AM
10 comments
10 Comments:
What? No Schindler's List or LOTR or Princess Bride??
I'll try to be less elitist snobby when I joke about stuff.
Maybe you can stop by MY blog sometime!
Scotty J-
Great list for the most part. A) NO objection for putting Band of Brothers on the list B) The Natural=Good Call C) Fight Club needs to be higher up D) WHERE IN THE HECK IS "FIELD OF DREAMS"?
Gladiator? Really? Of all time? Gladiator? I just thank God you didn't list Tombstone.
Dead Poets is good but overrated.
Ditto to what Daniel said about "Gladiator" and "Dead Poets." I love the "Poets," but I still get pissed off at Neal every time I see it. I'm a romantic, but the movie is a little too romanticized for me. The characters don't stand up for anything (literally) until the very end when it's too late.
You also forsake anything predating 1984 and most of the list comes from the '90s. Why is that? At least include the '70s with "The Godfather," perhaps along with its sequal two of the coolest movies ever made.
Oh, and just to make you mad, I'm glad "Shakespeare in Love" beat "Saving Private Ryan" for Best Picture. You just can't beat it, and you need to see it. It's beautiful.
Ok everyone,
Thanks for the comments. I have seen that ColeGriff and Sarah C. brought up some movies that finished just off of the list i.e. "Field of Dreams" and "The Godfather 1 and 2." Just for a sidenote, "The Godfather Part III" never happended, but I digress. Sarah, your comment about Saving Private Ryan was below the belt, and I'll go to bat for SPR any day. I think that 25 years down the road, people will still be talking about it as one of the most graphic and accurate representations of warfare that has ever been captured on film, and "Shakespeare in Love" will just be playing on TMC. There you go, I said it.
Them's fightin' words.
Have you even seen "Shakespeare in Love?" You hadn't the last time we had this conversation. If you still haven't, you can't judge. Love is all you need, man, and nothing about war is glorious.
Sarah Katherine,
I have seen "Shakespeare in Love" and I still stand by my statement. Yes, it is a good movie, but for me, Saving Private Ryan was one of the defining movies of Spielberg's career, which is quite a career. Another thing, I never said that war was "glorious" or that Saving Private Ryan depicted it in a "glorious" manner. In fact, because of the graphic nature of the film it is more likely to cause people to despise and hate war because of the depths of pain that human beings are capable of inflicting upon each other.
Wow. You used my middle name.
I say we stop the blog battle before it gets out of hand. I know you didn't say war was glorious, I was just stating it. And yes, this movie reiterates that fact. They are both good movies.
Be my friend.
I just wanted to express my appreciation for Groundhog Day. I too love to bask in the glow of Bill Murray.
Courtney
Get rid of the Murray, he's done better. I present to you Disn'ey's Heavyweights - a classic in its own right. Braveheart is overrated. Throw up some trilogies on there. Star Wars? Indiana Jones? LOTR? Am I the only nerd here? R2D2 says, "Be bop bo beep!"
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