Setting Goals after Grad School

So here I am, a few weeks after finishing up my degree, and I've decided to set myself a couple of goals.

First of all I tried to think of a couple things I would like to do with all the free time I've suddenly got with school behind me; so I've decided to go for both something good and something good for me.

First the good for me - since starting Grad School back in 2011 I've put on 25 pounds (which put me up to just over 250), so I've been spending the last month increasing my general activity and nutrition (basically I'm taking more walks and keeping track of what I eat using a website called MyFitnessPal), and so far so good - I'm down 7.5 pounds from when I started, which isn't a massive amount (for me), but is still a pretty nice start considering I haven't made any major changes so far.

Next up is my fun goal - I'd like to give Netflix a try, and think a good way earn it (besides paying for it), is to finally get around to watching the stack of movies and TV shows I've been meaning to get around to for the last few years (the stack is currently about 2 1/2 feet tall, so it'll be a while), and once I'm through all of those, I can check out this fancy new thing everyone else has been using for the last couple of years.

So far that's my entire list of personal goals - just a couple, and I'm working on them in a slow and steady fashion, but hey - that's how I finished both my Bachelors and my Masters Degrees, so I know it works for me.

Books to Movies: Divergent

On Sunday I went to see the film Divergent with my youngest daughter, and as I'm the type of guy who needs to read a book before I see the movie, I also read novel last week.

So here's what I thought; both were actually quite good - and as I've seen a number of YA books to movies over the last few years (Ender's Game, Hunger Games, etc.), I have to say that I really enjoyed the film adaptation, it did a great job of following the book, but at the same time left out a couple of the more intense sequences from the book, so someone who saw the movie first would still have a number of surprises (unlike say, Hunger Games readers - which I also enjoyed), but the two versions of the same story had a lot of value independent of each other.

Both are well worth checking out, but my daughter does strongly recommend thinking twice before you read books two and three (although I'll have to check them out as I've already started the series).

Watching The Expendables 2 with my 15-Year-Old Daughter

Highlights of watching The Expendables 2 with my 15-year-old daughter today.

"...Are you sure I don't need to see the first movie?"

"How many knives can that guy possibly be carrying?"

"How did they get that plane so fast?"

"NOW can I ask questions again?"

"Who's That Guy?"

"Okay, that was kind of funny"

"Expendables 3?  Seriously Dad!?!"

Bookmonkey's top 5 Genre Films to see this summer

We are now just a few weeks away from the beginning of May and the start of the years really big genre flicks. Like lots of people, I want to see more movies than I can afford, and therefore I've got to be picky about what I'm going to see.

Here are the five genre films I am definitely hoping to make time to see this summer - I may end up seeing others with my kids (please not Eclipse), and there are a few non-genre movies I'll be checking out, but in the category of Fantasy, Horror and Science Fiction, these are my current must sees.

Inception

Put simply enough, I'm a huge Christopher Nolan fan, I loved Memento, and the new Batman movies have been a lot of fun. The movie looks not a little bit like a mix between The Cell and Dark City - but as I liked both of those films a lot, this one is a must see for me.

Iron Man 2

I was really suprised by how much I liked the first one, the acting was great, the action sequences fantastic and the story was really fun. Plus I loved Micky Rourke in The Wrestler, and am really looking foward to him as a villain here.

Ondine

Actually I just saw the trailer for this one a couple days back and totally loved it. Originally I was going to put The Sorcerer's Apprentice as my pick for a summer fantasy film, but this sweet looking film about a fisherman who fishes a girl out of the sea has totally got me intrigued. Plus Colin Farrel plays the fisherman, and as my wife is a huge fan I may have no say in the matter.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

To anyone familiar with my blog, it's pretty obvious I'm a big fan of Scott Pilgrim; I talk about the series a lot. Add to my love of the series the fact that the movie stars one of my favourite Canadian actors and is directed by the guy who did Shawn of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and Spaced, and I can say this one is the movie I'm most looking forward to this summer.

Splice

I'm always on the lookout for new horror, and as re-imaninings and torture-porn continue to fill up the theatres, it can be more than a little tricky to find clever new horror. Last year my favourite horror movie was Drag Me to Hell, this year, I'm excited about the Frankenstein-influenced film, Splice, starring another of my favourite Canadian actors.

Thing I've Noticed #9: People can tell a lot about you by your collections

What do you think your book or DVD collection says about you? I mean, what would a new friend think about your tastes in books and movies when they look over the stuff in your house? We've all done it, checked out our friends collections and been a little surprised at the titles they own.

One of my favourite quotes from the 1983 film "The Big Chill" goes as follows:

Michael: Harold, don't you have any other music, you know, from this century?

Harold: There is no other music, not in my house.

Michael: There's been a lot of terrific music in the last ten years.

Harold: Like what?

Although not as strict as Harold, I do think there is a definite benefit to going through your book and movie collections and culling out stuff you no longer want people connecting with you.

Every August (just before my birthday) I go over my DVD and book collections and shift them around. Basically there are three stages to a titles life in my house.

Stage One: Out on the shelves in my living room or study. These books or movies are ones I'm currently interested in, or are titles I'm planning to check out soon. When people come into my house and look around, these are the titles that they notice and can safely assume I'm currently proud to own.

Stage Two: The titles I keep in the basement are either ones I want, but not around my kids (mostly horror titles), or titles that I think I might still need. Most of my University course books are down there, old RPG books are down there, my VHS collection is down there.

Stage Three: The Garage. These books are in bins and are treated as follows, if they stay there for a year, they go to the Used Book store. It is important to note that this isn't a one way trip, titles can migrate back and forth from these three spots for years.

I think it is fair to say that people do judge you by your collections, and honestly it can be a pretty good place for them to start, as you probably paid money for these things and are displaying them in your home. I've got lots of favourites, and whether they are classics, or guilty pleases, I definitely stand by them.