i should've seen these earlier

Wow, over the past month I've seen two incredible movies that I really feel I should've watched the moment I had the chance to but didn't. They both were rented on iTunes, and they both were the only movies I've ever rented on iTunes. (This was when I put my computer right in front of my bed because Charlotte had the flu and I put the mainframe at the foot of the bed so we could watch movies, then I never put it in its proper spot until just today.) Both movies had me crying, one of which was at the end, the other was throughout. So, I'm going to tell you what the two movies were, and then I want to know if you ever had a chance to see these, and what you thought about them.

Movie 1: When Harry Met Sally

I was going out of my mind with people surrounding me at home, so I locked myself in my room and watched a romantic comedy by myself, and I totally fell in love with this movie. Instantly. I loved the old couple dialogues that appeared throughout the movie, I loved Smeg Ryan, I loved Carrie Snell-Fisher's promise about the wagon wheel, I loved the ending reach-out for Smeg's character by Billie's character, and I just cried and cried and cried. Bridger had to watch this for a film class, and he told me how much he liked it; I promised myself I'd watch it, but never did until now. The video below has two (2) F-words in it:

Movie 2: The Green Mile

Before I left for England, Charlotte and I made a list of movies that we wanted to watch together. She listed some that she had seen and I hadn't, I listed some that she hadn't seen that I had, etc. This TV show was on her list of I-have-seen-you-haven't-seens; we only watched one movie while I was there. We then made a list of movies again, this time for when she was coming here. We watched more than one movie, but The Green Mile wasn't one of them. So, a few days after I watched Smeg and Billie on the screen, I watched Tom Hanks and Morgan Fairchild go head-to-head in this wonderful film. I won't tell you much of what the picture includes, but I'll say that when I heard about this movie when it first came out, I simply thought it was a death-row, inmate, jail cell type of picture. It has a lot more than that, though. I had to cover my mouth with my hands as I sobbed when I watched this. Some really funny moments, some really graphically violent moments, and a lot of wonderful moments.

Have you seen these pictures? What did you think about them? Are there any movies that you haven't seen that you know you should see, or any that you finally got to see that you've been meaning to see for a long thyme?

I'm not sure if I'll keep doing any posts, but I wanted you to know that I loved these two movies very much.

Well...

I think I'm almost positive that I'm done blobbing. It just doesn't suit my kneads.

End of the Year Thoughts

I decided to post a best of 2008, considering that it's the end of the year and that it has been a great one, as far as years go. I realized after I typed that that it was true; some eventful thingz really have happened. What a nice thing. So I'll go through some of the best and worst items of the year, and we'll see what next year brings for us.

Best Song of 2008: Joe Hunt's Every Freakin' Night. I don't have to explain much more, it speaks for itself. I don't know if it was actually released in 2008 or not, but I learned about this modern piece of true musical art in 2008, so I'm counting it as such.

Worst Song of 2008: Joe Hunt's Every Freakin' Night. Once again, I don't have to explain much, it speaks for itself.

Favorite Album of 2008: Beck's Modern Guilt. I enjoyed it enough and haven't really gotten into other music that was released this year to be considered for this spot. I have been listening to a lot more music that is older recently, and looking for new music wasn't one of my hobbies this year.

Favorite trip of 2008: So far, it has been San Francisco. One exciting aspect of it was buying an additional plane ticket a day before the vacation for Charlotte. We drove in a Priceless Taste™ Cruiser, went on the Dangerous Minds roller coaster in Santa Cruz, saw works of art, had amazing breakfast, saw wonderful roses and trees, had a photoshoot in leopard and zebra print robes in a lavish hotel room, and experienced the BEST public bus ride - it definitely beat my crashing into a building when I was on a public bus in Clarksville, TN. As fantastic and relaxing that that vacation was, I'm pretty sure that my next trip of the year - starting in five days - will take the cake.

Favorite electronic gadget of 2008: My Nokia cell phone that I bought at Walgreen's® for twenty American dollars made me realize how much I don't need an elaborate cellular phone. After my semi-decent, moderately-priced phone's screen went on the fritz (in San Francisco, actually), I bought the Nokia so the rest of my party could contact me. It did the job, and I figured out how to work around its design flaws to turn it into a diamond in the rough. I lost it recently, and I'm heartbroken. I hope to get another one soon, but in the meantime will be out of touch with reality.

Favorite Movie of 2008: I really think this one goes to The Dark Knight, as much as it sounds like I'm one of those guys who has a poster of the movie and who also says: "Dude, I was so mad that Jack Nicholson wasn't going to be the Joker! But Heath Ledger looks waaaayyy awesome!" It really was a very well done movie, so good job to everyone who took part in it.

Favorite Snack of 2008: Banana. I'm pretty sure it's won the favorite snack award every year for the past 20 years.

Favorite Event of 2008: Getting to know Charlotte. It honestly made the year 1000 times better.

Favorite thing to not tell people about in 2008: My American Idol auditions. I had to tell the story again to my new boss, and I felt SO stupid explaining to someone that I actually tried out for that thing. I'm glad that I got fairly far compared to the rest of those bozos that tried out, but having to tell someone that I tried out for it makes me turn bright red.

Least-favorite thing to look forward to in 2009: American Idol season 8. I hope hope hope that they don't have my audition on the television set. I'll just collapse and die. Unless they just show me doing the movie trailer voice, then I'll be fine with it. But if they show me forgetting the lyrics to Ain't No Mountain High Enough by Marvin "Totally" Gaye, then I am going to move far away.

If any of these items change, or I decide to add more to the list, I promise you that I will post the changes.

Beep Beep

I've been doing some side projects lately. I have produced some radio spots for local spa gurus Bullfrog Spas, the Richard Ellis for state treasurer campaign, and on Monday will be doin' some Rob Bishop for congress campaign radio spotz. I've made some X-tra money on the side for this and I'm pretty proud of myself. Here are two of the five commercials that I made:

Also, for those of you who don't already know, I'm heading to England in December for about 3 weeks and I am completely thrilled. I'm also going to be spending some time at Uncle Jack's oceanside bed and breakfast in Wales. Uncle Jack is an actual person. I realized after I typed that that it sounded like an actual place called Uncle Jack's B&B, but he actually is an uncle of someone.

Any exciting plans for anyone else?

Ecstasy and AIDS: The James Jarrard Story...

I decided to give anyone who wanted to know about my experiences today (September 16th) the opportunity, so here goes my story of hope, betrayal, scandal, and glory:

As many of you know (and I wish now I hadn't told as many people as I did), I took the plunge and tried out for the 8th Season of American Idol. I know what your thinking: "But Jimmy, you're just silly and goofy!" Well, you're wrong. I am an incredible singer. In fact, I made it past two (2) rounds before my story came crashing down on me in disbelief. I tried out on July 29th, one of the longest days of my life, where I sang in front of producers with flying colors. After some interviews and questionnaires, I was told I would need to come back to the Energy Solutions Arena for my second audition (which was today).

Well, I showed up and learned that there were actually going to be two (2) rounds today. One was in front of more producers, where I would sing two (2) songs of my choosing. If the judges liked me, I would go on to another room where I would sing not only the two (2) songs, but a third song that, at the beginning of the day, we were told to learn. It was that nasty song Ain't No Mountain High Enough by Marvin "Totally" Gay [sic]. I've always dislike this song, but for the sake of the audition, I spent a lot of time memorizing the lyrics while I waited to audition. The first round of the audition, I only had to sing the two songs, but if one was to move on to the second audition (which I did), then you had to not only sing the two, but the third song that was to be learned that day.

The second audition room consisted of a backdrop and a nice little American Idol floor, surrounded by cameras and lights, and a big long table with the executive producers. You'd be thinking "Oh man I bet you were waaayyy nervous, James!" Well, let me say that I wasn't. My heart was beating a little faster than usual, but other than that I wasn't so nervous that I wouldn't perform poorly or forget any lyrics.

Well...

When I first got into the audition room, I had a great stature about myself. I stood up straight, I didn't cross my arms, and I made the execs (that's what you call 'em: execs) smile and laugh a bit with my antics (they asked to hear my Movie Trailer voice, and I indulged them. They really fell for it). My first two songs were a hit with the execs, and I thought I had the cat in the bag. When I got to Ain't No Mountain®, I started to sing, and it was going good until I COMPLETELY forgot the lyrics to the third line of the first verse. Completely. In order to casually dismiss this, I decided to make up the lyrics. That sounds like a good idea, right? Instead of stopping, apologizing, and quitting, it's usually better to move on like it never happened right? WRONG.

It would've worked had my improvised lyrics actually made sense. Looking back, I honestly can't remember what I said. The execs looked incredibly confused, and that in turn made me incredibly confused, and I sang the rest of the chorus in a completely strange falsetto voice that sounded like a witch's cackle. I didn't wait for them to stop me, I stopped myself and, after hearing what they had to say, gracelessly left with a bruised ego and a giant sticker on my stomach. It's a very funny story, honestly, and apart from feeling a little stupid, feel completely fine about it. I got very very far, and had I not forgotten the lyrics, I'm quite certain something positive would have come from this.

Well, that's the story. I hope you learned something from this. If you have any questions, feel free to ask and I have no problem giving you the dirty details.

omg

Running out of things to blob about...

This semester I've been fickle about registering for classes. I finally settled for seven (7) credits, and the classes don't start until mid-October. I was pretty proud of myself for doing it. But then I noticed that one of the classes I signed up for isn't just a 5:30 - 9:20 Friday night class (and I was fine with sacrificing my Friday nights for this), but is also a 8:00 - 4:20 Saturday morning class as well. !!! I cannot let myself do something like that. I'd rather be found floating in the Jordan River bloated and dead. What a travesty. Who would in their right mind put in a full day of school on a Saturday?

Also, I decided as I was typing this to put in a survey:

Indepth Survey About You [Perfect For Allowing People To Get To Know You Better]

::Background Info::
Name: James
Age: 23
Date of Birth: Valentine's Day
Place of Birth: Murray
Ethnic Background/Ancestry: Native American
Languages You Speak: English, a little Spanish, one phrase in Italian
Relationship Status: In one
School Situation: Sort of in school (see above)
Job Situation: In a job, looking for another one as well
Do you drive?: Yes. I drive a 4 door car.
Do you smoke cigarettes?: Not lately.
Do you drink alcohol on a regular basis?: Not regularly
Do you do recreational drugs at least occasionally?: I've watched the TV show Weeds and it made me think that I would love to try it.
Family Situation [Who do you live with?]: My parents. It's just the three of us.
::Your Appearance [Physical]::
Natural hair color: Believe it or not, I'm a blonde.
Hair Type [Straight, Wavy, Curly, etc]: Sort of straight, sort of wavy.
Long or short?: Short
Current Hair Style: Unbelievably bad
Eye color: Brown
Eye shape: Oval, deep-set, like the sea
Do you have freckles?: No
Skin tone/complexion: Olive
Do you have a tan?: No
Height: 6
Body Type/Build: fatso
Shoe Size: 10
Any scars?: on my left arm
Physical feature that stands out the most: i have a big clay nose
::Your Appearance [Fashion]::
Tattoos?: I have a bass clef inside a rhombus on my inner thigh
Piercings?: .
What subculture do you gravitate towards the most?: Goth
How would you describe your style?: Goth
Tshirts and jeans -or- Dresses/Suits?: A nice pair of jean
Sneakers -or- Heels/Dress Shoes?: a beautiful pair of heel
Tight or baggy pants?: tight
What color do you wear most often?: a lighter bleu shade
What do you wear on an average day around the house?: shirt and tie
What do you wear to sleep?: suit and tie
What is your jewelry style?: pearls pearls pearls
How about shoes? Any brands you love/wear a lot?: i like my slip onz
Do you paint your nails?: not since the accident
What is your make-up style?: blush, rouge, gloss. repeat.
Do you carry around bags or purses?: when i travel
What are your favorite accessories?: blush, rouge, gloss. repeat.
Do you wear sunglasses a lot?: no.
What is your favorite way to dress? [Sexy, Cute, Modest, Professional, etc]: modest
Does fashion mean a lot to you?: not particularly
::Your Beliefs::
Do you have a religion/spirituality?: yes i do
Do you believe in a supreme being?: yes i do
Life after death?: yes
Heaven and Hell?: these sticky buns are just heaven
Angels and Demons?: Angel hair pasta
Aliens?: n/a
Reincarnation?: as a wolf
Horoscopes?: when desperate
Fortune Telling?: i would love to
If you have a faith/relgion, is it the most important thing in your life?: it should be, and i'm trying harder to do that
What are your views on abortion?: this makes me not even want to continue the survey
Gay marriage?: omfg
Politics?: no one's business
Political Correctness?: omfg
Are you more Liberal or Conservative?: n/a
How do you feel about sex outside of marriage?: feels great
::Dating and Relationships::
Would you date a person with a different religion than you?: yeah
How about polar opposite political beliefs?: n/a
What are qualities you look for in a bf/gf?: T&A
What kind of personality issues do you dislike?: personality
Looks or personality?: looks
Are you shallow?: yes
Do you fall in love easily?: i do
How do you know you like someone?: when that person is constantly on my mind
What do you usually do when you like someone, or think you like someone?: nothing
Do you like to take things fast or slow?: medium
Casual dating -or- Serious committed relationship?: medium
What is your philosophy on dating/love/relationships?: screw this
Is there a difference between liking someone and having a crush on someone?: n/a
Do you like the other person to make the move first?: well, i feel stupid after the other person moves first because i realize that i should've moved first
What would ruin a relationship?: murder
Would your ideal guy/girl call you? Or would you call them?: medium
Would you expect them to make all the moves?: no
Would you expect them to be with you 24/7?: no
Are you a jealous person?: no
Obsessive?: no
Overly emotional?: no
Do you think you would be a good gf/bf?: yes
::Your Future::
What do you want to do with your life?: win american idol
Is getting married important to you?: it actually is
Want kids?: three girls
How many?: three
Do you wanna be rich?: idk anyone who doesn't
If you had to choose between a huge career and a family, would you?: i would choose
What is your idea of success?: 12 figure salary
What is your main goal in life?: 12 figure salary
::A Little Bit of Random Stuff::
Favorite music?: anything but RAP and Country! eww!!
Favorite bands/artists?: blah blah blah
Any plans for today?: Sleepin in
What do you like to do with your free time?: make food

I'm Tired

I've never felt more exhausted in my entire life. God Bless America