I thought Diary of a Wimpy Kid was going to be about a sweet little wimpy kid who gets picked on at school. I guess the movie is about that, but its also about how this little wimpy kid is also one cocky son of a bitch.
The movie is about this kid, Greg Heffley, who thinks he’s the shit and nobody in school feels the same way about him except his fatso friend, Rowley. The saddest part of Greg’s existence is that he will do anything to get ahead in the social scene at school. He’ll throw Rowley in front of gah dang bus if he thinks people will accept him and want to sit near him at lunch. Greg Heffley’s whole existence is set on becoming a popular kid at school, that is why he is a little whore.
I was honestly surprised at how much of a dickhead this little kid was because he’s the main dude in the film. Usually the protagonist of a movie is someone like-able, someone the audience can feel for, someone the audience roots for. I kept hoping that someone would pull a Columbine on this fucking middle school and have Greg Heffley be their prime target. I would maniacally laugh with sheer glee and pleasure to watch this little shit run as his gun totting friend Rowley chases him through the corridors with an Armalite AR-10 Carbine-gas semiautomatic, bitterly pumping round after round into teachers and fellow students before blowing Heffley’s head open and serving up a brain stew for hot lunch.
Towards the end of the movie Greg loses his only friend Rowley, even Rowley can’t stand to be around such a cocky fuck. Before the movie is over they do reconcile their friendship though. Greg Heffley stands up for Rowley, I guess he realizes Rowley is the only one who’s ever gonna be his friend anyway.
You ever sit back in your La-Z-Boy and wonder what it would be like if Henry Rollins and Glenn Danzig were like really, really, really good friends? You know, like more than regular friends? You like, if they were gay.
Fame is something that has always sort of fascinated me. We look at celebrities as people that aren’t really real, that’s why we get so starstruck when we meet them. It’s a shock to the system when you see someone in the flesh that you’ve only seen in a printed magazine or television screen before. It is experiencing the unreal becoming real and even with that, the experience of meeting them often doesn’t even seem real either. Celebrity is often thought of as something unattainable, we think of successful artists, musicians, actors and athletes as something that doesn’t happen to everyone, and that is a big part of why it doesn’t.
Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work is obviously about Joan Rivers but I would argue that isn’t really what the main focus of the film is at all. The film is about fame, its about the hard work it takes to get there, the hard work to stay there and what it feels like to be there. I literally knew nothing about Joan Rivers other than the old lady who interviews celebs on the red carpet, asking what/who they are wearing and then making fun of half of them for what/who they were wearing. I never knew how she got to that point, and I never really cared either. I’m not a fan of Joan Rivers, but I don’t dislike her either. I’m indifferent. I was interested in this film on her life because it provides a view into fame and show business.
From day one, Joan Rivers worked hard, like a filthy street crack whore looking for her next fix…except replace the crack addiction with stand up comedy and her next fix being her next gig. To this day, this lady has a work ethic that puts both you and me to shame. She does stand up here, jumps on a plane talks about some shitty celebrity outfits there, does an appearance here, jumps on a plane and does a few book signings in this city, jumps on a plane does another stand up gig in that city, gets on the next plane does a home shopping network gig for her jewelry line, jumps on a plane and gets roasted by other celebrities about how her vagina is a mess and so is her face…this is all in a days work for Joan Rivers.
The film sheds light on a world that most of us don’t know anything about. I’m not saying celebrities have such a horrible life, but it definitely isn’t easy. Life in the limelight is bitter-sweet. Its a cruel life and Joan Rivers is a product of that lifestyle. She has to put up a wall to defend herself against the rejection and ridicule. Show business has no place for the elderly, more-so it is a place of perfect beauty and you have to do everything in your power to preserve any physical beauty you have. I don’t think Joan Rivers is an obsessed plastic surgery addict but her career forces her to do whatever she can to preserve “beauty”.
I couldn’t help but feel a bit of sadness while watching the movie. Joan Rivers seems a bit lonely and loneliness isn’t the first thing most think of when it comes to a celebrity. Celebrities can’t leave the house without being stopped by people but they can still feel lonely? I think some people work so hard to become famous just so they can finally be loved. The sad thing about fame is that they love you when you’re up but when your down there is nobody around.
The time of school is fast approaching and I want to give the heads up to any other Queens College students looking for something to do between class. Being a graduate of Queens College, I feel its my civic duty to inform the youngin’s of what they could potentially be doing aside from the normal Dunkin Donuts, school cafeteria crap. The answer is College Green Pub. This place is the diviest of dive bars. Watering hole is an understatement and ‘old man bar’ fits the bill. But like any bar, it does have some (one) redeeming qualities. Aside from being a hop, skip and jump from Queens College, I want you to closely look at the sign on the banner shown below.
I know that motorcycle draws your attention but nevermind that, focus on the banner. If you can’t read the sign, I’ll give you the gist of it. $2.00 Chicken Sandwiches, Italian cold cut sandwiches, or 1/4 lb. burger. $1.00 waffle fries (my favorite) or onion rings. And the icing on top, $5.00 pitcher of Rolling Rock. I can not tell you how many times I’ve knocked down a couple pitchers and some waffle fries and returned to my later afternoon class, only to return later as my post-class reward. It’s from 12-7 and you need your Queens College ID. When you consider the other options in the area, the grass does look greener at College Green Pub. Get your learn on then get hammered or vice versa, I always mixed it up.
Some bands claim to be eclectic and I guess any band can try to pull off different musical stylings and call themselves “eclectic”. I think maybe the meaning behind eclectic became an artist that doesn’t do anything right so they just try it all. So yea, there’s a lot of eclectic bands out there. It’s kinda like throwing shit against the wall and whatever sticks, sticks. Ween is a band that can not only switch it up but they can do it right too. The Mollusk is an album that rocks my fucking socks.
I don’t claim to be a huge Ween fan, I really only have fully listened to The Mollusk but that album alone is worth listening to. Some songs on this album really feel Beatles-esque to me, similar to Yellow Submarine or Octopus’s Garden. Gene and Dean Ween create this really imaginative album, the whole thing really sounds and feels like it’s underwater. I think I need to smoke a J, put this on, stick in the ear buds and walk through an aquarium. Whoa man…trippy! It really comes as no surprise that Ocean Man, one of my favorite tracks off the album, is featured in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie.
So get some headphones, close your eyes and push play. This is one of those records where the whole thing is good, every song, from start to finish. What a crazy concept.
