True Confessions

True confessions is something one of my best friends says to me right before she is about to say something either really personal, personally embarrassing, or embarrassingly funny. I think that this post is going to contain a mixture of all of the above.
Embarrassingly Funny
I heart Michael Jackson. OK I said it, it feels good to say it publicly, because the last ten years it has been uncool to pop in an MJ cd unless it is Halloween and you are ripping Thriller for a bad A party. I am ashamed to say that I would have to jam to MJ when driving in my car by myself. If only you could see me bumping to "Beat It" or "Billy Jean" or "Smooth Criminal" or fill in the blank with any MJ song, for the last ten years you probably would have been embarrassed for me. Well guess what it is finally cool again to heart MJ. So suck it, now when you hear me blaring down South Temple with "The Way You Make Me Feel" following behind, please recognize my coolness, and take a moment of silence for the greatness that was MJ.
Personally Embarrassing
His death has had me thinking a lot. Like a little too much about death and how unexpected it is. I really feel bad for him. He was dealt a pretty tragic life. He had an abusive father, shoved into the spotlight at a young age, and had to deal with the never ending onslaught of fame and the public eye for all of his life. I have noticed with great musicians, when they reach this iconic level of amazingness, that they break. Each break differently in their own uniquely weird way (Elvis, John Lennon, Janis Joplin, Jimmy Hendrix, David Bowie, etc)where there musical Guinness takes a hold of them and they sort of lose touch with reality. Unfortunately for MJ this was all too public, all too misunderstood, and far too sad. I really think he was a good person, who did a lot of good for others, and changed music forever.

Really Personal
I blog a lot about how much I look up to my parents and family. They mean everything to me. But I think I don't tell some of my friends, who are true personal heroes to me, how much I look up to and admire them. So this part of the true confessions is going to be dedicated to a few of them. If your name is not listed here, don't flip out. I don't have the time to list everyone, just a few that I really need to tell them because I really want them to hear it.

Brianne:
I think it is amazing how fast that we have been able to become amazing friends. If you don't know her, or know her well, I really think that you are missing out. She is my hero because she has sacrificed so much of her life to take care of a little boy who needed a home and had no where else to go. She took him in, gave him the one thing that he really needed, unconditional love, and has given him everything. She literally has saved her little guy, and it is because of her that he will become an equally amazing person. You know in the scriptures you read about charity. Charity being the pure love of Christ. I think it is because it costs something, it requires a real sacrifice. She exudes what real charity is day in and day out raising a small boy as a single mom, and I hope she knows how well she does it. Also she is one of the funniest people I have ever met.

Wes:
I don't see or talk to my old roomie near as often as I would like. If you haven't met Wes, just know that he is one of the coolest people I have ever met. In all honesty, I never felt adequate enough to be considered one of his friends. And I am pretty awesome, and for me to admit that, should just tell you how awesome he really is. He is just one of those people who is naturally good at everything. He can play any sport, can play the guitar, sing, and everything else, better than you will ever be able no matter how hard you practice at it. I have probably played Wes in tennis over twenty times and have lost to him every single time. I hate losing. I hate it, especially at tennis. But somehow he never gloated about it. He is always just really laid back and chill and one of the most down to earth guys I have ever met. That is why he was able to marry Jesse, who equals him in the awesomeness I just used to describe Wes. Those two are so effortlessly cool, I was lucky to have Wes as a roomate and them both as people I considered to be really good friends who I really look up to, and hope to be cool enough to not feel inadequate when around them.

Leigh:
Leigh has this innate and unique ability to get people. All people. No matter who they are, what circumstances they may find themselves in, she gets them and understands them. I kick myself in the face for never being as good of a friend to her as she has always been to me. She is one of the greatest friends anyone could ever ask for.

Jaimey:
She just came back to visit and I am so glad she did. She just got married not too long ago to a cool guy named Jim who is in the armed forces. She sacrifices him everyday in order to ensure the freedoms that I enjoy every day. She has done this for a few months and will for a few more until he comes home. I find that amazing and inspiring. She is a constant reminder for me to pray for the military and for their families back at home, because without them, me and my big mouth would have landed me in the slammer in so many other countries. But because of their sacrifice I can live in the here and enjoy the freedoms that I have.

Cole:
This kid I miss big time. He was my best buddy in high school. I like to laugh so all of my best friends can make me laugh like no other. Gilfillan. You know how there are just certain people that you just kind of lose touch with, even though you don't want to, it just kind of happens, but when you do see them it is magically like it hasn't been two years since the last time you talked. He is one of those kind of people.

Christa:
One of my really close friends. Another sacrificer. She really gives so much to other people that it is really humbling for me to see how much someone will do for their family. I am so glad that we are neighbors and that we have become such good friends.

McCall:
Everyone at work knows why McCall is a hero. Work just isn't quite the same with her gone. I get really sad whenever I go into her old office. Sometimes I forget and come into work with something that I have to tell McCall and then remember and think crap, she is not there. I don't think she understands how helpful and cool she really is. Lucky people in Pittsburgh are getting her and her just as cool husband Tannon for the next few years. They better be greatful.

Anyways, I hope this post is coherent. It is almost four in the morning and me and my dumb insomnia are finally calling it quits for the night. Please, if your name was not listed here, don't get mad, I don't have all day to list everyone, I just needed to tell these guys this. You will probably get an honorable mention in a post at sometime in the near distant future. Just know that I appreciate you friendship.

Top Ten: NYC Version

Ok ok ok, I get it. People want to see pictures from my trip to NYC. So here they are in a top ten form. Enjoy.

10. The Chrysler Building



This is one of the coolest looking buildings that I have ever seen.

9. Time Square at Night



8. Ground Zero



My hotel was two blocks away from Ground Zero and I walked passed it almost every day I was there. It was a really sombering sight to see. I think that we have forgotten.......sad.

7. Besties



This is a picture of the besties I made while I at the Unicef Conference that brought me to New York. Meet Shristi and Olivia, and that is my friend Aj that I work with and helped start the club Unicef Red. We had a lot of fun from chilling at the conference from Shristi and Olivia pretending to be Mormon with me for a night. Classic. They were a ton of fun.

6. 30 Rock



It is no secret that I love NBC Thursday night comedy line up and Saturday Night Live. Hence spending most of a day at Rockefeller Plaza. Here is an awesome pic of the GE building.

5. Random Pic I photo-shopped



I walked down this street on my way from the headquarters for the US Fund for Unicef. So I decided to take a picture of it and then played around a little with it. What do you think?

4. Top of the Rock view of Central Park



Really amazing.

3. The Statue of Liberty



The Statue of Liberty really is an amazing sight to see. I layed down in the grass in front of her and took a lot of pics. This one for some reason is my favorite.

2. View of Manhattan from the Top of the Rock



I spent 45 minutes on top of the Rock taking pictures and just admiring New York. It was really my favorite place in all of New York.

1. Time Square Remix



I black and whited this pic and then added a color focal point of the yellow taxi. I really love this pic and am going to blow it up and frame it.

All in all NYC was a lot of fun. So glad I went. So glad that I made new besties and got to be with one of my old besties, Leigh. It was soooooooo good to see and be with her again. She is definately one of my heroes.

The Big Apple

So I am going to New York. I board a plane in roughly 21 hours and 4 minutes.....but who's counting? I don't mean to sound like a wimp or anything but I kind of have butterflies in the belly, kind of nervous anxiety where my mind can't stop thinking and I feel like I have to be tapping my foot. New York is the place I have dreamed about going since, Idk, forever. I have always thought of myself as an East Coast person, ironic because I have never been to the East Coast. More specifically I always thought of myself as a New York kind of person. I heart big cities. Going to Chicago on the mish confirmed and reinforced my love of big cities. I love the buildings, the people, the diversity, the business, the way you can get lost in a million people yet find yourself kind of thing that big cities encompass. At least Chicago has done that for me. I know that definately I could move to Chicago and I would be perfectly ok. I kind of know that about San Diego and the O.C. as well.

But New York is different. Much much more different. It's New York. Over the past 15 years I have dreamed of going to NYC and have built it into something that I am afraid could easily disappoint. I hope it doesn't. I think NYC is the mecca that progressive thinking Americans must take at least once in their lives. And here I go, on my own little Mecca to the capital of everything awesome.....I think I am about to pee my pants. And I will feel that way until a few days after I get back.

A few random thoughts....

So I have been thinking lately and this is what I have come up with:

- What if I go to Cornell for Law School? That would still be cool. Maybe I can join an a ca pella group, and we can call ourselves "Here Comes Trebel." If we do this than the first song we should learn is "Take a Chance on Me." What are your thoughts?

- Maybe I know way too many random bits of information about the Office......and should stop trying to incorporate it into my every day life.

- What's up with Meg Ryan's face? That's weird.

- I went and saw Dane Cook live. It was what i like to call hilarious. Completely inappropriate and crude but overall was big smiles time. My favorite bit: "Have you seen those ads about being politically correct. Like the one that has two ladies shopping and one tries on a jacket and asks the other how it looks on her, and the friend replies, 'it looks really gay on you.' Then out of no where Hillary Duff comes walking out explaining how we shouldn't use the word gay to describe something you don't like. Thank God for Hilary Duff. What would we be doing without her. We would be calling things gay left and right. For now on, whenever I find myself in a little conundrum I am going to ask myself, 'What would Hillary Duff do?'"

- One of my high school teachers begged me once to try stand up. She wanted me and a friend to be on SNL really bad. What would life of been like if that would have ever happened.......

- I have learned that I have so many friends and family with bdays in april and may. Literally one bday party a week (Two times there were two) for every weekend in April and May. My bestie Brianne's was hilarious. Honestly who had adult bouncy houses for their B-day? Only the coolest. It has been awesome. Which means August and September must be a busy time for couples.

- I don't know if I am ready for one on one yet.

- If ever in a really awkward situation I like to ask people if they have been working out..... it really makes things less awkward and weird silence is gone and no one gives you a weird look.

- I am going to see the Killers on Sept. 26th. I am buying my tickets next week.

- I am so sad that comcast doesn't have the tennis channel. I would be watching me some French Open 24/7 if I did. Luckily the parentals do. I should get them to DVR me some Sharapova (for obvious reasons) and Roddick (because he is my fave).

- For the first time in my life I have been wondering if maybe I should change my sleeping habits. For the past two weeks I have been going to bed around 3 in the am and waking up at 8:30. A little over five hours of sleep I am still fully functional but often complain about being tired. IDK, I will keep you informed.

- I had my first Wendover experience two weeks ago. It was awesome. 12 of us made the trek there and then came back at 4 in the am. It was big smiles times.

- I wanna go camping sometime soon.....who's in?

- There has been a homeless man sitting out in the plaza in front of my work all week. I have given him a dollar as I walk in to work and this morning he wasn't there. It is supposed to be a hot day so I brought him my favorite new drink a Sobe Life Water. I had to drink it myself. Sad.

Well I guess that is about it.

The B-radley's

It is now finally time for me to give out my picks for the best movies of last year. Kind of like the oscars but not gay and slightly less anticipated. It took me a while to see all of the movies that were nominated for awards but I have now done it with the exception of Vicki Christina Barcelona, and I really don't have any desire to see that movie. Penelope Cruz is not that talented in my opinion and Scarlett Johanson has potential but picks stupid movies to do. So that one will not be counted. So here it goes.

Best Supporting Actress
- Amy Adams (Doubt)
-Viola Davis (Doubt)
- Tariji P. Henson (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
- Marissa Tomei (The Wrestler)
- Frieda Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire)

And the winner is........ Viola Davis for Doubt. She is only in the film for less than ten minutes but her five minutes overshadows the two power houses of Phillip Seymore Hoffman and Meryl Streep.


Best Supporting Actor
- Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)
- Phillip Seymore Hoffman (Doubt)
- Michael Sheen (Frost/Nixon)
- Josh Brolin (Milk)
- Brad Pitt (Burn After Reading)

And I give the B-radley to...... Heath Ledger of course. But I will note that both Michael Sheen and Brad Pitt were deserving in their roles. I did not include Robert Downy Jr. in Tropic Thunder like the Academy Awards- it was a dumb movie, and his role was not that great, or Michael Shannon in Revolutionary Road (Because I haven't seen it yet.)

Best Actress
- Kate Winslet (The Reader)
- Meryl Streep (Doubt)
- Angelina Jolie (The Changeling)
- Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married)
- Frances McDormand (Burn After Reading)

And the winner is . . . . . I will give it to Kate Winslet. The Reader wasn't as good as I thought it was going to be, but she was great in it. I have thought about this one long and hard (that's what she said) and at first I wasn't going to give it to her I was going to go with Angelina Jolie or Frances McDormant (who unfortunately wasn't even nominated by that other award show, which is a shame) but went with Kate Winslet because she really was great in a mediocre film. I would much rather her have won this for Eternal Sunshine or Finding Neverland but she is due for a win, I just wish I would have liked the movie better.

Best Actor
- Sean Penn (Milk)
- Brad Pitt (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
- Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon)
- Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire)
- David Kros (The Reader)
or instead Clint Eastwood (Grand Torino)

And the winner is.......... I have to give it hands down to Frank Langella for Frost/Nixon. Frank Langella was amazing as Richard Nixon. I was amazed. Sean Penn's acting in Milk was good but way too reminiscent of his performance in I am Sam. Harvey Milk was gay, not mentally handicapped. He was good but not good enough. Brad Pitt was really good and I am mad that Dev Patel wasn't even nominated for his job in Slumdog by the Academy. I did not find Mickey Rourke's performance to be that great in The Wrestler. I was really disappointed with the movie. Maybe I was so distracted by Rourke's weird looking face to pay attention his acting, but I think it was over-exaggerated. David Kros was great in the mediocre film The Reader.

Best Film
- Frost/Nixon
- Slumdog Millionaire
- Doubt
- Milk
- The Dark Knight

And the winner is . . . . . . . Slumdog Millionaire. Yes it really was as good as everyone made it out to be. Followed closely by Frost/Nixon. Almost nominated was The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. See last post. But Slumdog wins it.

Best Flick
A flick is in no way a typical award winning movie but is still awesome and deserves some recognition.
- Role Models
- In Bruges
- Pineapple Express
- Kungfu Panda
- W.

And the winner is. . . . . . . . Role Models. It really was hilarious and probably the funniest movie of last year.

Well that is it for the first annual B-radley's. Let me know what you think and what I missed or should have changed.

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

I watched this movie last night and it blew my mind. It is one of the best Holocaust movies I have ever seen. Probably right under Schindler's List and tied with the old school black and white version of The Diary of Anne Franke. It is an Israeli film telling the story of a boy who's father is a German soldier during World War II. That is all I will tell you because I am afraid if I say anything more it could spoil a little part of it and I like you all too much to do that. Just please see this movie. It is short, only PG-13, and seriously a great film- that is if you can handle depressing Holocaust like movies.

I love these types of movies. I like them because they are real. In reality you don't fall in love with someone through their son calling a radio station and saying that he needs a new mom or a rich businessman picking up a prostitute with a heart of gold blah blah blah (referncing Pretty Woman and Sleepless in Seatle). Real life can kind of suck sometimes, and every once and a while it is refreshing to see a film that doesn't shy away from reality, that tell it to you in a way that makes it so you are speechless and drained of energy at the end of the film, but leave you to wake up the next morning making you think of what can I do to make the world a better place, a place where there will never be another Holocaust again, where people treat each other decently just because that is the way it should be.

I know liberal idealist bull, but nice thoughts to think about. Maybe it takes seeing things like that to wake me up from a simplistic every day nerf life where a bad day consists of waking up before 9 in the AM or catching the common cold or having to do the dishes.

Anyways, sorry for the long absence in blogging, I am back from school caused hiatus, and will hopefully be able to fill you in more on my life and my never ending rants on the way things should be (see above rant).

Coming soon: After I watch Frost/Nixon a list of my nominations for best films, actors, actresses, etc for last years movies. I think that is the last one on the list of all the oscar nominated films that I haven't seen yet. So that will be neat-gives you something to look forward to.

Things I Miss

1. First and fore most bad 90's music that is awesome. Ace of Base, Kris Kross, Vanilla Ice, Milli Vanilli, Paula Abdul, and the my life mentor, MC Hammer. Long gone are the days of being driven to soccer practice while jamming out to I Saw the Sign, 2 Legit, and Kris Kross makes ya wanna JUMP JUMP. Straight up now tell me you don't agree with that one.
2. Speaking of soccer practice I miss oranges that someone's mom had already cut up for you, capri suns, and juice boxes. Also shin guards
2. Saved by the Bell. I haven't seen it in years. Sad.
3. Old school xmen, thundercat, and TMNT cartoons.
4. Night games. The classics like kick the can and steal the flag.
5. Climbing in trees. Although I was banned after falling/jumping out of a tree and breaking my foot, I miss it.
6. Signing casts- everyonce and a while I will think of something when I see someone get hurt......or when I get hurt and think - ha ha that would be awesome to have stuck on a cast for six weeks.
7. Going to Bear Lake. My family used to go to Bear Lake all the time. I miss that.
8. Wave running and swimming to the buoey at pineview.
9. Going and hiking waterfall canyon or northfork
10. A lot of my long time friends that I don't see much anymore. Stupid marriage
11. High school sometimes, mainly just my debate class and my friends in there.
12. The Drive In. I haven't been to one since premish times. I used to have parties there all the time. I miss those.

Sorry just reminiscing. Thanks for listening.