s o u l i z b l o g

they did a story on JayDee.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100628822

I wrote this entry a while back, but decided to transfer my thoughts to this blog:
I’d only seen a couple of De Niro films when I was younger: Casino(1995) and the Godfather: Part II(1976). I knew he was a talented and respected actor in Hollywood, but the movies I’d watched starring him in the past had him playing intimidating, not-so-lovable men, therefore, uninteresting to me. And unlike Dustin Hoffman, who reigns on top of my All Time Favorite Male Actor list, the ability to produce empathy from the audience(well, from me as a kid) as well as giving a stellar performance wasn’t as apparent. He was just an actor who had stayed in the Hollywood game for a long time, in my mind. Maybe I only feel that way because it was very young the last time I saw his movies. That view totally changed this afternoon when I finished watching Taxi Driver (1976) where he plays a mentally disturbed taxi driver who is haunted by his own loneliness and depression. It was a complex role, totally unglamorous, unlike Sam Rothstein or Don Corleone, which I liked. It allowed him his performance to be completely raw, skinning himself of style and intimidation, then engulfing his whole being into the disturbed state of the war veteran who isn’t able to adjust to the norms of society. It says in the trivia section of IMDb that he drove a taxi twelve hours a day for a month to prepare for this role. I loved that. I love it when an actor tries so hard to make his performance authentic by preparing for it in depth like this.

Movies like this makes me wonder what it’s like to work on a set with such dedicated actors like Robert De Niro and directors like Scorsese. By contributing whatever you can to the film, such as being a lighting guy or even just a PA, then seeing the movie make its mark as a Hollywood masterpiece would be an amazing experience. No matter how small your role is, you can say that you were part of that movie’s production process. It’s like being able to say that you ran to the store to buy Picasso his paints. haha, I don’t know. Just saying that to be around such greatness in action would be surreal, no matter how small or large your role is to the production.

Anyway, Robert De Niro has certainly proved himself worthy of being on the top three of my favorite actor list. Maybe I’ll do a De Niro marathon one weekend, to see if he’s really worth it for me to bump Dustin Hoffman to second. I say that he has much potential, since he’s so much better looking and mut-she-suh than Hoffman, but Hoffman’s boyish charm and the wide range of roles that hes able to perfect is going to be hard to beat.

This is what usually happens when i have a random ingredients leftover and dont know what to do with them. I bunch them together and shove it in the oven for some baked goodness. Today’s randomness tasted extra good.

tomatos, onions, sweet peas on torn whole wheat lavash bread. sprinkled with parmesan and pepper. served with tahini sauce. YUM!

Tonight I watched Cool Hand Luke (1967) starring Paul Newman.

“I got my mind right”, was the cry of desperation to appease the harsh guards who continues whip him out of punishment. An imdb user states that this movie isn’t about prison but about refusing conform to the world that forces you to live by its rules. I wonder if it’s about the refusal to do so or the inability, or perhaps even the unwillingness to live as the world tells him to? hehe, because he lives by his own rules? Whatever his reason, he’s Cool Hand Luke.

I missed the Post-It Show at Giant Robot 2 last month, poo. I always wanted to go, but had forgotten about it. This video gives people a good idea about the show, so I thought I’d share it. Plus, Eric Nakamura is in it introducing the show, which I thought was pretty cool because he’s most definitely one of the coolest guys in LA.

Happy Nutella Day!!

What a great application!!! Totally in need of one of these. I’ve always been the committed blackberry user, but I want an iPhone, specifically to get this app now. Jealous!

by Terrius Kim

• The work of Terrius Kim. No artificial light used on this picture and NO ps, can you bereefit? He is so talented!

• The work of J Dilla. J Rocc put up a set he did of Dilla’s music three years back, just two weeks after his tragic death, on the Stones Throw website. Click to listen to it here. February is the month of Dilla’s birth and death so we should definitely pay some respects.