Those of you who have seen recent (or not so recent) Facebook pictures of me may have noticed that I'm a big guy. Much bigger than I need to be, actually.
Basically, I'm at a point where I have to lose roughly half of my current weight to be a size that while maybe not totally acceptable to the BMI Police will still be something that will be a lot easier for me to maintain my health. I do want to at least be around for the next three Star Wars films, after all.
To that end, I will use this blog to track my progress. I have set a goal of myself to get to the "half of me" point in two years or less. Definitely doable, as long as I stick to it, and I hope to stick to it by being vigilant. My incredibly loving and supportive wife is helping as well to make sure we have things in the house that are better for me than cupcakes, which is quite a list, surprisingly. She is also gently encouraging me to get my oversized posterior off the couch and to the gym or at least outside to walk around several blocks.
So, welcome to the journey. Some of you may wonder why I am starting with "HALF OF ME: DAY 2." Well, I've actually been trying to start this since January 1, but as you can see, it has had difficulty taking. So, I figured this time I would wait until "day 2," which I have successfully made. Onward and upward, as they say.
Half of me: I will get there.
Excelsior,
Brent Alles
Alles in Wonderland A collection of sediments at the delta of my stream of consciousness.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Saturday, January 26, 2013
"SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK": DAVID RUSSELL'S "JERSEY GIRL" (not a bad thing)
Camille and I saw "Silver Linings Playbook" tonight. While it was enjoyable, I don't really think it deserves an Academy Award or anything. Quite honestly, it reminded me a little of "As Good As It Gets," and it's nowhere near the quality of that film.
That being said, there is great acting from Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, and Robert Deniro (not surprising for any of them, but it's nice to see Robert doing something that doesn't make you cringe thinking of what he used to do). The supporting cast was also solid.
At first, I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy it. As they set up the main characters, I thought, "Oh boy, I'm not going to want to spend two hours with these people." Gradually, though, the actors and the writing won me over.
Then came the ending, which was a little too pat. This lead me to conclude that this is David Russell's "Jersey Girl."
Allow me to elaborate: the first David Russell movie I saw was back in my undergraduate days at Syracuse: 1994 to be exact. It was a wonderful little indie comedy gem called "Spanking the Monkey." I'll spare my more delicate readers a full summary (you can Google it if you're curious); needless to say, it explored the taboo in a way that made you laugh.
Also, in 1994, I saw another wonderful little indie comedy gem that also explored the taboo in a way that made you laugh: Kevin Smith's "Clerks."
After "Clerks," Kevin Smith made other scatological and yet thought-provoking and hilarious (if sometimes uneven) films, and he eventually came to 2004's "Jersey Girl." That film polarized Kevin Smith fans, with some of them accusing him of "selling out" and "going Hollywood."
Now, I enjoyed "Jersey Girl," but I could somewhat see the point of the haters. While "Jersey Girl" maintained some of the old Kevin Smith "independent spirit," the ending was a bit of a standard Hollywood rom-com sell-out. Compare it to, say, the ending of "Chasing Amy," which was not your standard Hollywood rom-com and didn't "sell out" at the end with a "perfect Hollywood ending."
Coming full circle on the analogy, then, that is where "Silver Lining" falters: for a film that does a good job at being quirky and somewhat unpredictable, the ending is a little bit too pat and wrapped up in a neat bow. Not enough to completely sink the film for me, but enough that I wished for a somewhat less "traditional" Hollywood ending.
GRADE: B
Camille and I saw "Silver Linings Playbook" tonight. While it was enjoyable, I don't really think it deserves an Academy Award or anything. Quite honestly, it reminded me a little of "As Good As It Gets," and it's nowhere near the quality of that film.
That being said, there is great acting from Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, and Robert Deniro (not surprising for any of them, but it's nice to see Robert doing something that doesn't make you cringe thinking of what he used to do). The supporting cast was also solid.
At first, I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy it. As they set up the main characters, I thought, "Oh boy, I'm not going to want to spend two hours with these people." Gradually, though, the actors and the writing won me over.
Then came the ending, which was a little too pat. This lead me to conclude that this is David Russell's "Jersey Girl."
Allow me to elaborate: the first David Russell movie I saw was back in my undergraduate days at Syracuse: 1994 to be exact. It was a wonderful little indie comedy gem called "Spanking the Monkey." I'll spare my more delicate readers a full summary (you can Google it if you're curious); needless to say, it explored the taboo in a way that made you laugh.
Also, in 1994, I saw another wonderful little indie comedy gem that also explored the taboo in a way that made you laugh: Kevin Smith's "Clerks."
After "Clerks," Kevin Smith made other scatological and yet thought-provoking and hilarious (if sometimes uneven) films, and he eventually came to 2004's "Jersey Girl." That film polarized Kevin Smith fans, with some of them accusing him of "selling out" and "going Hollywood."
Now, I enjoyed "Jersey Girl," but I could somewhat see the point of the haters. While "Jersey Girl" maintained some of the old Kevin Smith "independent spirit," the ending was a bit of a standard Hollywood rom-com sell-out. Compare it to, say, the ending of "Chasing Amy," which was not your standard Hollywood rom-com and didn't "sell out" at the end with a "perfect Hollywood ending."
Coming full circle on the analogy, then, that is where "Silver Lining" falters: for a film that does a good job at being quirky and somewhat unpredictable, the ending is a little bit too pat and wrapped up in a neat bow. Not enough to completely sink the film for me, but enough that I wished for a somewhat less "traditional" Hollywood ending.
GRADE: B
Sunday, August 5, 2012
THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (SPOILERS!)
Well, I finally saw it. Enjoyable but not awe-inspiring. Great but not epic. "Dark Knight" is definitely the best of the three of the Nolan trilogy... it's tough to call at this point which is the better between "Begins" and "Rises."
THINGS I LIKED:
* Anne Hathaway was great as Selina Kyle ("The Cat" - you know who).
* Michael Caine was, no surprise, great as Alfred.
* Morgan Freeman... ditto.
* Gary Oldman was awesome again as Commissioner Gordon. After the Dark Knight, I commented that I would totally watch a film that was just Commissioner Gordon and GCPD battling the forces of crime, which is what you basically got in this film. However, that leads me to:
THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE SO MUCH
* For a Batman movie, this did not have a lot of Batman in it. It's almost like Nolan crammed too much into it and Bruce got put a bit to the side.
* At the end, when Selina Kyle blasted Bane, it felt cheap. Bane broke Batman... and then Batman's ultimate redemption against Bane was being saved by Selina and a big gun? Even though it gave Ms. Hathaway a good one-liner, it seemed a bit anticlimactic.
THINGS I'M... WELL... IN THE MIDDLE ON
* Tom Hardy as Bane. Still trying to decide if his vocals were brilliant or too over the top.
* Connections with previous two films. I enjoyed the cameo of Dr. Jonathan Crane (Scarecrow). However, if you're going to do that... and bring back the ghost of Ra's Al Ghul, then one would think that the major villain of the second film (Dark Knight) would at least get a mention. I understand with the death of Heath Ledger that it's a sensitive area, and I'm not saying you needed to recast someone for a cameo of the Joker, but it was kind of bizarre that everything from the first two films got a mention except for, you know, the major foe Batman faced before Bane showed up.
* The ending. Bruce gets to live in Italy with The Cat and make kittens? (Thank you brother Kent for that amusing line. :) ) And John Blake becomes the new Batman? I did enjoy the brief line: "You should use your full name... Robin..." but again, not sure if I'm totally on board with how this ended.
Overall, the acting of all involved was top notch and Nolan knows how to direct action, that's for sure. As far as the superhero movies I've seen this summer, Avengers remains the best and most enjoyable. I would rank them as follows:
* Avengers
* Dark Knight Rises
* Amazing Spider-Man
That's it for now... it will be interesting to see who will play Batman in the future because after Avengers made over a BILLION dollars, you can bet your sweet bippy that Warner/DC is going to get a Justice League movie together STAT.
GRADE: A-
Cheers, BGA
Well, I finally saw it. Enjoyable but not awe-inspiring. Great but not epic. "Dark Knight" is definitely the best of the three of the Nolan trilogy... it's tough to call at this point which is the better between "Begins" and "Rises."
THINGS I LIKED:
* Anne Hathaway was great as Selina Kyle ("The Cat" - you know who).
* Michael Caine was, no surprise, great as Alfred.
* Morgan Freeman... ditto.
* Gary Oldman was awesome again as Commissioner Gordon. After the Dark Knight, I commented that I would totally watch a film that was just Commissioner Gordon and GCPD battling the forces of crime, which is what you basically got in this film. However, that leads me to:
THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE SO MUCH
* For a Batman movie, this did not have a lot of Batman in it. It's almost like Nolan crammed too much into it and Bruce got put a bit to the side.
* At the end, when Selina Kyle blasted Bane, it felt cheap. Bane broke Batman... and then Batman's ultimate redemption against Bane was being saved by Selina and a big gun? Even though it gave Ms. Hathaway a good one-liner, it seemed a bit anticlimactic.
THINGS I'M... WELL... IN THE MIDDLE ON
* Tom Hardy as Bane. Still trying to decide if his vocals were brilliant or too over the top.
* Connections with previous two films. I enjoyed the cameo of Dr. Jonathan Crane (Scarecrow). However, if you're going to do that... and bring back the ghost of Ra's Al Ghul, then one would think that the major villain of the second film (Dark Knight) would at least get a mention. I understand with the death of Heath Ledger that it's a sensitive area, and I'm not saying you needed to recast someone for a cameo of the Joker, but it was kind of bizarre that everything from the first two films got a mention except for, you know, the major foe Batman faced before Bane showed up.
* The ending. Bruce gets to live in Italy with The Cat and make kittens? (Thank you brother Kent for that amusing line. :) ) And John Blake becomes the new Batman? I did enjoy the brief line: "You should use your full name... Robin..." but again, not sure if I'm totally on board with how this ended.
Overall, the acting of all involved was top notch and Nolan knows how to direct action, that's for sure. As far as the superhero movies I've seen this summer, Avengers remains the best and most enjoyable. I would rank them as follows:
* Avengers
* Dark Knight Rises
* Amazing Spider-Man
That's it for now... it will be interesting to see who will play Batman in the future because after Avengers made over a BILLION dollars, you can bet your sweet bippy that Warner/DC is going to get a Justice League movie together STAT.
GRADE: A-
Cheers, BGA
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Danny Trooper Write-Up at CompHealth Intranet
Brent Alles puts on production of “Danny Trooper and the Hall of Valhalla”
03 May 2011 | Grand Rapids Allied Health Staffing, Our People
What do you get when you combine students ages 7 to 18, dedicated community members and characters such as Wrex the Wunderdog and Princess Starlight?
Cast members of "Danny Trooper and the Hall of Valhalla" pose for a photo.
If you’re Brent Alles, you get a brand-new production: “Danny Trooper and the Hall of Valhalla.” Brent, a client representative for CompHealth allied health staffing in Grand Rapids, wrote and directed the play, which is being performed May 5-7 at the Lowell Peforming Arts Center in Lowell, Mich.
“This play is actually a sequel to my play ‘Danny Trooper in the Land of ModMyth,’ which was produced two years ago locally here in West Michigan,” Brent explains. “That play examined the idea of ‘modern mythology:’ that is, what ‘mythological’ figures are created by children (and some adults) by what they view on television and film, read in books, etc. In the original play, Danny found a passage into another world where all of the heroic and villainous characters from television, film and literature from the last 100 years reside.”
The Danny Trooper sequel continues the original story, with Danny’s father keeping his promise to take him to Asgard to meet the Norse gods on his thirteenth birthday.
Brent says that this production shows Danny getting older, aging from 11 to 13, and helps kids to understand the adjustments that happen in their relationships with their friends and family and their expectations in society, too.
“I was obsessed with mythology as a child, and I’m still pretty much obsessed with mythology, science fiction and fantasy to this day,” Brent shares. “So ‘Valhalla’ is still about that obsession, I suppose, but it also looks at growing up and what changes to you as that happens.”
While he spends a year writing, revising and rewriting every play he produces, Brent also invests time into auditions, which last two days, and rehearsals over six to seven weeks. He mentions balance as one of the difficulties that come with putting on a production.
“With community theater and working with kids, your challenges, of course, are dealing with all of the other things that kids and adults do besides community theater,” Brent says. “Obviously, we all still have to show up to school or our jobs.”
Despite the long hours required when putting these productions together, Brent finds the process rewarding in many ways.
“It’s always great to see my stories brought to life by actors, but the things I enjoy the most about doing theater for youth are getting kids involved in theater, which I think benefits them in a multitude of ways, [including] presentation skills, self-esteem and self-confidence, and getting kids to come watch theater and hopefully want to see additional shows,” Brent says.
03 May 2011 | Grand Rapids Allied Health Staffing, Our People
What do you get when you combine students ages 7 to 18, dedicated community members and characters such as Wrex the Wunderdog and Princess Starlight?
Cast members of "Danny Trooper and the Hall of Valhalla" pose for a photo.
If you’re Brent Alles, you get a brand-new production: “Danny Trooper and the Hall of Valhalla.” Brent, a client representative for CompHealth allied health staffing in Grand Rapids, wrote and directed the play, which is being performed May 5-7 at the Lowell Peforming Arts Center in Lowell, Mich.
“This play is actually a sequel to my play ‘Danny Trooper in the Land of ModMyth,’ which was produced two years ago locally here in West Michigan,” Brent explains. “That play examined the idea of ‘modern mythology:’ that is, what ‘mythological’ figures are created by children (and some adults) by what they view on television and film, read in books, etc. In the original play, Danny found a passage into another world where all of the heroic and villainous characters from television, film and literature from the last 100 years reside.”
The Danny Trooper sequel continues the original story, with Danny’s father keeping his promise to take him to Asgard to meet the Norse gods on his thirteenth birthday.
Brent says that this production shows Danny getting older, aging from 11 to 13, and helps kids to understand the adjustments that happen in their relationships with their friends and family and their expectations in society, too.
“I was obsessed with mythology as a child, and I’m still pretty much obsessed with mythology, science fiction and fantasy to this day,” Brent shares. “So ‘Valhalla’ is still about that obsession, I suppose, but it also looks at growing up and what changes to you as that happens.”
While he spends a year writing, revising and rewriting every play he produces, Brent also invests time into auditions, which last two days, and rehearsals over six to seven weeks. He mentions balance as one of the difficulties that come with putting on a production.
“With community theater and working with kids, your challenges, of course, are dealing with all of the other things that kids and adults do besides community theater,” Brent says. “Obviously, we all still have to show up to school or our jobs.”
Despite the long hours required when putting these productions together, Brent finds the process rewarding in many ways.
“It’s always great to see my stories brought to life by actors, but the things I enjoy the most about doing theater for youth are getting kids involved in theater, which I think benefits them in a multitude of ways, [including] presentation skills, self-esteem and self-confidence, and getting kids to come watch theater and hopefully want to see additional shows,” Brent says.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Spring Break 2011 - SoCal - Days 1-2
As always, I'll probably be horrible about remembering to do this, but here we go.
As we were a bit Florida'd out after last year, we decided this year we would visit southern California. I had been there a couple of times before; Camille had never been there in her life.
Saturday was our flight out and surprisingly no problems. Got into Minneapolis and had an hour delay, but all things considered these days with airline travel, it could have been worse. Then into LAX, which wasn't quite as nightmarish as I remember it from previous visits.
We went to get the rental car and as usual, they gave us something relatively inappropriate for two people - in this case a souped-up black Dodge Charger. Believe me, though, we're having fun driving it.
The weather was unbelievable... 75 and sunny when we arrived. Coming from 32 and snowy in Grand Rapids (and 21 and cold in Minneapolis), Camille and I almost felt like bawling.
Our euphoria was soon muted, however, as California traffic was as bad as I remembered it, even on a Saturday afternoon. We slowly drove into Norco (where we are staying with my aunt and uncle) and settled down for the night.
Sunday it was off to church, where my uncle used to be a minister but due to some tectonic shifts is now just a member. (Long story, but aren't they all.) Shifting back to a non-Catholic way of worship is always interesting after being a confirmed Catholic for 7+ years, but we handled it well. Camille even tolerated the contemporary music.
At the luncheon after church, an incredibly nice lady Hazel and her husband Jesus (hay-zeus) informed us of all the things we could do in southern California during the week. I believe she named close to 100 before taking a moment to gulp down some air. With our heads swimming, we decided to head for Temecula for the afternoon.
We arrived in Temecula and shuffled around Old Town, which has a rustic charm to it. Many shops, many bars, and apparently quite biker friendly, as they were swarming around the place.
I needed a pair of sunglasses (always remember to forget something when packing, doncha know), so we stopped at a shop and Camille picked out a pair that she liked for me to wear. Lest you think I'm totally hen-pecked, this is actually necessary as I have (a) no fashion sense and (b) some gender confusion, apparently, as I have picked out sunglasses in the past that I thought were manly but turned out to be designed for women.
Anyway, the sunglasses Camille liked for me were jet black and had a pair of wings through an "X" with it. She thought it was cool. Apparently it had some biker connotation, though, as I was greeted in a friendly manner the rest of the day by various bikers. Thank goodness none of them asked me to go through an initiation.
We also stopped at a jerky store where I purchased a "sampler" pack of exotic meats, including alligator and ostrich. The alligator, of course, tasted like chicken, although the jerky producer sort of cheated by including beef with the overall package. Still, I'm looking forward to the kangaroo/beef stick I have waiting for me later in the week.
Many wineries inhabit the Temecula area, but as they had a massive festival going on, we decided not to be part of the throng and save the wineries for another day. Back to Norco for some rest and relaxation.
Today it's off to San Diego for the zoo, Gaslamp Quarter, and other assorted fun sites. Back later to update you Rabbit Holers on how that all went.
As we were a bit Florida'd out after last year, we decided this year we would visit southern California. I had been there a couple of times before; Camille had never been there in her life.
Saturday was our flight out and surprisingly no problems. Got into Minneapolis and had an hour delay, but all things considered these days with airline travel, it could have been worse. Then into LAX, which wasn't quite as nightmarish as I remember it from previous visits.
We went to get the rental car and as usual, they gave us something relatively inappropriate for two people - in this case a souped-up black Dodge Charger. Believe me, though, we're having fun driving it.
The weather was unbelievable... 75 and sunny when we arrived. Coming from 32 and snowy in Grand Rapids (and 21 and cold in Minneapolis), Camille and I almost felt like bawling.
Our euphoria was soon muted, however, as California traffic was as bad as I remembered it, even on a Saturday afternoon. We slowly drove into Norco (where we are staying with my aunt and uncle) and settled down for the night.
Sunday it was off to church, where my uncle used to be a minister but due to some tectonic shifts is now just a member. (Long story, but aren't they all.) Shifting back to a non-Catholic way of worship is always interesting after being a confirmed Catholic for 7+ years, but we handled it well. Camille even tolerated the contemporary music.
At the luncheon after church, an incredibly nice lady Hazel and her husband Jesus (hay-zeus) informed us of all the things we could do in southern California during the week. I believe she named close to 100 before taking a moment to gulp down some air. With our heads swimming, we decided to head for Temecula for the afternoon.
We arrived in Temecula and shuffled around Old Town, which has a rustic charm to it. Many shops, many bars, and apparently quite biker friendly, as they were swarming around the place.
I needed a pair of sunglasses (always remember to forget something when packing, doncha know), so we stopped at a shop and Camille picked out a pair that she liked for me to wear. Lest you think I'm totally hen-pecked, this is actually necessary as I have (a) no fashion sense and (b) some gender confusion, apparently, as I have picked out sunglasses in the past that I thought were manly but turned out to be designed for women.
Anyway, the sunglasses Camille liked for me were jet black and had a pair of wings through an "X" with it. She thought it was cool. Apparently it had some biker connotation, though, as I was greeted in a friendly manner the rest of the day by various bikers. Thank goodness none of them asked me to go through an initiation.
We also stopped at a jerky store where I purchased a "sampler" pack of exotic meats, including alligator and ostrich. The alligator, of course, tasted like chicken, although the jerky producer sort of cheated by including beef with the overall package. Still, I'm looking forward to the kangaroo/beef stick I have waiting for me later in the week.
Many wineries inhabit the Temecula area, but as they had a massive festival going on, we decided not to be part of the throng and save the wineries for another day. Back to Norco for some rest and relaxation.
Today it's off to San Diego for the zoo, Gaslamp Quarter, and other assorted fun sites. Back later to update you Rabbit Holers on how that all went.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
382
1st week of Weight Watchers Online in the books... 3 pounds lost... goal for this week is more exercise.
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