Random Factoid #145

20 12 2009

The other day, digging through my closet, I rediscovered the roll of posters that I had tucked away in the corner.  This roll consists of dozens of posters that I have accumulated over the years, most coming from the late ’90s.

Something that particularly jumped out at me was how many posters I had for the movie “Quest for Camelot.”  I had not only the main poster but also several character posters.

The main poster adorned the entrance to my room for quite some time.  But I was 6, and I decided that the poster needed some “homy touches.”

A homy touch to the six-year-old me was writing in red marker on the poster “MARSHALL’S ROOM” at the top and “DO NOT ENTER” at the bottom.


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Random Factoid #144

19 12 2009

When I tested for first grade, part of the application process was doing a simulated class session.  I was a very lively and animated seven-year-old, so whenever participation was asked for, I sprang to action.

The teacher conducting the session asked about what we wanted to do over the weekend.  I raised my hand and told her that my mom was going to take me to see a movie.

Part of the activity was to get the class to spell what we wanted to write.  Some girl in the back said that movie was spelled m-u-v-e-e.  I, of course, knew the real spelling, and to see muvee written on the board was painful for me.  I raised my hand and tried to tell the teacher that the word was spelled wrong.  If  I can remember correctly, she didn’t call on me.


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Random Factoid #143

18 12 2009

You know what I hate?

Well, actually, if you read my factoids frequently, you know a lot of things that I hate.  In fact, I probably talk about what I hate more than I talk about what I love.  Why is that?  Probably because its more entertaining to listen to me talking about what I hate…

But anyways, things I hate #24601:

Theaters with no leg room.  I went to see “Avatar” in IMAX today, and they packed in so many rows that there is so room between them.  I had my friend wait in line while I went to go get some Buncha Crunch and popcorn, all the while with the need to use the restroom.  During my seven centuries waiting for the line to move, he managed to get in the theater to get us seats.  I couldn’t relieve myself toting around a bag of popcorn, so I had to go into the theater, deposit the goods, and squeeze back out.

But there was a slight problem with the plan.  My friend had plopped down two seats away from a very large man who, in order for me to get by, had to stand up and scoot back.  As soon as I sat down with the food, I knew I would feel bad having to make him get up two more times.  Yet at the same time, I could not sit through a 2 hour and 40 minute movie holding my bladder.

I had to awkwardly inch past the man two times.  I felt so bad making him get up, and I walked down the aisle muttering some idiotic combination of, “So sorry…excuse me.”

And to think, it could have all been avoided with a little leg room.


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Random Factoid #142

17 12 2009

I have alluded to the missing ticket from 2003 several times, so I figured this would be a good time for some clarification.

The ticket was for “Freaky Friday” on Saturday, September 20th (or possibly the 13th).  It was my third time to see the movie.  It was in theater 2, just like it was the second time I saw it.

But for some reason, the ticket was lost to me.  I don’t know how it got lost, or why it did, but the memory of its loss still bears heavy on my soul.  I can only pray that whatever landfill this ticket has found a permanent home in treats it with the dignity and respect that my sheet protectors would have given it.


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Random Factoid #141

16 12 2009

I probably could have milked a whole post out of this, but I needed a factoid today.

I did something this month that I hadn’t done in over 6 years: after seeing a movie based on a book, I went to the roots and read the book.  I read “Push” by Sapphire after seeing “Precious,” and I must say, I actually liked the book better.  I don’t agree with the statement, “The book is always better than the movie.”  Usually whatever you experience first, you like better, although it was not the case here.

Here’s a small bit of commentary: Sapphire’s novel gives us so much more insight into the fascinating character Precious.  Lee Daniels turns her into such a passive figure that we think little is going on inside her head, but in the book, she is quite the opposite.  We are able to feel how she feels during some incredibly despicable acts committed against her, and the movie did not quite get those sentiments across.


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Random Factoid #140

15 12 2009

The first PG-13 movie that I ever watched without the express consent of my parents was “Spider-Man.”  I spent the night at a friend’s house, and they turned on the movie.  My parental units were still very strict on movie ratings at this time, and I had a gut feeling that they wouldn’t approve of my viewing.  But I didn’t let that stop me; I watched it and liked it.

I had to tell her the next morning when she picked me up.  Surprisingly, she wasn’t all that upset.


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Random Factoid #139

14 12 2009

I have a new self-imposed rule: I cannot watch foreign movies past 9:00 P.M.  My eyelids start gaining a magnetic attraction at about that hour, and I get pretty lost and frustrated with subtitles when that happens.


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Random Factoid #138

13 12 2009

In my room, I keep all of my pens, pencils, and other utensils in an enormous “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” cup.  It holds a sentimental value to me because I bought (er, my parents bought) it on the first day that the movie came out.  I remember it being an event so huge that parents were taking their kids out of school early to go see it.

A few years ago, the bottom of the cup gained a large crack.  My mom insisted that I throw it away and find something else to hold my utensils, but I refused to use anything else.  To this day it sits on my desk, a reminder of that unforgettable day.


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Random Factoid #137

12 12 2009

In eighth grade, my English class was given an assignment to research an issue or controversial topic and write a paper. Some people wrote abortion, immigration, and torture.

You know me. What did I do?

I wrote a paper about the movie ratings system and the controversy around it. It’s always good to write about something that you are passionate about because I scored above a 100 on the paper.


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Random Factoid #136

11 12 2009

I mentioned way back in Random Factoid #33 that the only ticket missing from my collection was “Hamlet 2” when they seized my stub in exchange for a refund.  But for a long time, that was not the case.

Usually as soon as the theater employee rips the tickets, I demand to put them in my pocket so they don’t get lost or thrown away.  Perhaps when I saw “Talladega Nights,” I did not have pockets because somehow my mom ended up with them.  When I tried to find them the next day, they were no where to be found.  After a search spanning several days, my efforts appeared futile.  Upset and in dismay, I could no longer say that I had not lost a ticket since July 2003.

Fast forward a year or so.  I’m at the pool and I need more sunscreen.  I go digging through my mom’s pool bag looking for it, and it appears to be nowhere to be found.  But by some stroke of fate, I happened to look in one of the interior pockets.  And lo and behold, there was the ticket that I had been missing.  It was better than discovering money.


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Random Factoid #135

10 12 2009

Apparently I’m still not growing up.

I mentioned in Random Factoid #87 that for a while after turning 12, I was still able to get into movies at children’s price.

Over the Thanksgiving holidays, I went with my 9-year-old brother to see “A Christmas Carol” in IMAX.  I asked the lady at the kiosk for one student and one child ticket.  When I paid, I thought it sounded pretty cheap.  I looked down at the tickets.

She charged us for two kids.

I am 17 years old and still look under 12, apparently.  I can drive a car and see an R-rated movie, yet I can pass for a child.


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Random Factoid #134

9 12 2009

I once kept Blockbuster’s copy of “Munich” for over a month, convinced that I would find some time to watch it.

I didn’t.

I took it back and only paid a small late fee.  So much for “no more late fees,” Blockbuster.  Although considering how long I kept it, I should be thankful for how little I paid.

(In case you were wondering, I watched “Munich” a few months later and loved it.)


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Random Factoid #133

8 12 2009

I have only used YouTube to watch movies twice – and both of those were only to finish a movie.

I watched the end of “The Departed” at school because I couldn’t finish it on TiVo before I had to leave.

I watched the end of “The Graduate” because my computer destroyed the DVD (which belonged to the Houston Public Library) and rendered it unwatchable.


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Random Factoid #132

7 12 2009

About yesterday’s factoid regarding Beth Rowley and “You’ve Got Me Wrapped Around Your Little Finger” from “An Education”: I listened to the song three times in a row so it would become the most played song on my iTunes and so I could get not just one, but two factoids out of it.


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Random Factoid #131 / Shameless Advertisement #6

6 12 2009

Congratulations to Beth Rowley and her song “You’ve Got Me Wrapped Around Your Little Finger” for taking over the long-held #1 most played song on my iTunes from Alexandre Desplat’s “Postcards.”

It should come to no one’s surprise that this track came from a soundtrack.  I first heard the song in the trailer for the movie “An Education,” and the soothing voice of Beth Rowley immediately struck me.  I had to hear more, so I bought the whole song off iTunes.  Then, as I started listening to it on repeat, I became curious to know more about Rowley.  After hearing a few of her songs, I bought her whole debut album, “Little Dreamer,” which is truly amazing.  She has a voice similar to Norah Jones but much more angelic.

So I decided to use this factoid to shamelessly advertise Beth Rowley.  I implore you to listen to some of her songs that I have embedded here from YouTube – my two personal favorites from the album – and instantly fall in love with this up-and-coming artist.


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