Cool Things My Friends Do: ULTIMATE RESOLUTIONS LIST

There are many things that inspire my writing . Artwork, music, relationships (or lack-there-of), movies, books. But few things inspire me more than my friends. And so I present you with this blog series: “Cool Things My Friends Do.”

FRIEND #1: Niki Ianni

COOL THING #1: “213 in 2013 Project”

Niki and I met at a party sophomore year of college, discovered a mutual love for theater, and started Insomnia Theater on Temple University’s campus. Since then, we have passed on the torch, but have still remained good friends.

When Niki and I did the theater company together, we worked very well. The group would not have functioned without her. She is determined, detail-oriented, thinks in bullet points but still has fun. I did the more touchy-feely team-building stuff. There were times when we played good cop (me)-bad cop (her), and in hindsight I unintentionally made her play that part. She should not have had to suffer simply because she was the more competent one. She is one of the most successful people that will grow up in my generation.

This being said, I knew at the time that Niki was sacrificing a lot of her free time and social life to get on the “ladder of success” as she coins it. I didn’t want to be the friend to tell her “slow down and look around,” because I did not feel it was my place to steer her off the path. So it is with great pleasure that I find she discovered this for herself. This is one of the most ambitious people you will ever meet. She taught me how to keep my head in the clouds and feet on the ground.

Niki made a list of 213 things that she wanted to accomplish in 2013. Click here to see it. 

FLOCCADELPHIA: Which are you most scared to accomplish?

NIKI: There are a few I’m not looking forward to, although I know the experiences will make me a better person in the end. One of the things I’m hoping to find this year is a foundation for my spiritual/religious beliefs because I want so badly to have something bigger than myself to believe in.

FLOCCADELPHIA: Which do you think is the least achieveable?

NIKI: I think all of them are definitely achievable…but I vowed I wouldn’t get worked up or stressed, no matter how challenging it will be. Who knows, I might not even finish! The entire point of the project is to enjoy my life to the fullest. Whether I accomplish all 213 or only complete 100, I know it’s going to be a year I’ll never forget.

Here are my favorites:

• Attend a religious service I’ve never attended.
• Take Mike (her fiancée) on a romantic date.
• Stay up all night and watch the sunrise from Lincoln Memorial.
• Learn to say hello in 30 different languages.
• Participate in Chat Roulette…with my cats.

I hope this inspires you to grab life by the you know whats as much as it inspired me.

Tattoos

I have recently decided that I am going to get a tattoo on my foot. Pictures to come, but I want it to be a summation of my travels. It's going to be an area code of every place that I have lived thusfar in order. These are  203 (Danbury, CT)....610 (Reading, PA)....215 (Philadelphia).....39(06) (Rome, Italy)....310 (Los Angeles)....312 (Orlando/Cape Canaveral).

I recently saw all this hullabaloo (I said it) about Justin Bieber apparently smoking pot. You know what? I know he's an inspiration to millions of kids, so that kinda sucks. But at the same time, he's human. Give the guy a rest. That also got me looking into more stories about him. And I came across this...he has like 10 tattoos! That's not an exaggeration! And most have been obtained in the last year. That is so many tattoos! Relax dude, we appreciate your maturity. Don't try to grow up too fast.

http://justinbiebertattoos.com/

Les Misérables on the Stage and Screen

I had a theater professor at Temple University who taught our class that when words are not enough to be said, they must be sung. I’m pretty sure it was him…either that or a text book. He was talking about emotion so EXTREME that it HAS to be sung. Musicals have, of course, made a huge comeback on the silver screen over the past 10-15 years (oddly enough, alongside the Superhero genre), and yet only Chicago and Moulin Rouge! were indisputably popular and successful. Dreamgirls was pretty close. As wonderful as most of these films are for musical theater lovers, the audience en masse has (understandable) reservations about people busting into song in the middle of a scene. However, with the recent success of television shows Glee and Smash, the musical genre has become more accepted.

While of course there is nothing like live theater, the masses do not have the same access to the highest of its quality. I have had the privilege of being raised around New York City and Broadway. Yes, there are professional tours around the world that are just as good as the Great White Way, but their tickets cost the same amount of money. Yes, Broadway has rush tickets, but not everyone lives close to the city and can get those. Point being (and I say this as an actor that has been raised in it), theater can be a very exclusive world. In Shakespeare’s day, good theater was accessible to people of all financial means. Now, it is almost inaccessible. Top quality film, however, is accessible to the masses. When my family and I walked out of Les Misérables, my mother said “It was good, but I guess I’m just spoiled by having seen it on Broadway.” And you know what? She’s right.

This being said, the film was able to explore Victor Hugo’s incredible story in the way it was originally transcribed: up close, gritty, raw, and heavily emotional. Les Misérables is an ensemble piece about common people with everyday misfortunes. Theater can provide intimacy, but Les Mis cannot, at least not at a professional level. It is a mega musical, and the only ones who will get the blood sweat and tears of Jean Valjean, Fantine, and Javert are the ones who are paying hundreds of dollars to sit in the front row, and presumably cannot identify with the destitute characters before them. Film can bring that intimacy via camera work, as well as bring that same intimacy to rich and poor across the world as a mass-produced medium.

Bottom line, the piece works in both film and theater in each its own way.

While hearing Fantine lament over Cosette in a live theater is an extraordinary experience, to see tears streaming from her eyes, bruises and scars on her face as she belts out “I Dreamed a Dream” on the big screen leaves one weeping. Anne Hathaway was riveting in the part. Director Tom Hooper made the choice to do almost every big solo as a close up and a long take. Hugo’s original novel is actually formatted in much the same way as the solos were depicted in the film. The book is in six parts, each one titled with the name of a different character. It seems as if Hooper was paying homage to the original work.

While Hathaway, Hugh Jackman, Colm Wilkinson, Sacha Bara Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter were all wonderful (sorry Russell Crowe, you sounded like you had a sock in your throat), the younger cast was incredible and made the film a gem for me.

The performances delivered by the younger cast (Amanda Seyfried, Aaron Tveit, Eddie Redmayne, Samantha Barks and Daniel Huttlestone) were all incredible. While many of their singing voices will never match Broadway or West End performances, the way they are played for the screen is perfect. Perhaps I identify more with their stories because I am the age of their characters. I identify more with their emotions: the absolute love and torment for another person, not having that love returned, playing as a child, and longing to make the world a better place through any means possible.

Young progressive thinkers usually fuel revolutions. The rebellions and protests in the past few years across the world; across the middle East, the Occupy movement, the gay rights movement, hell, even the hipsters, all of these are built upon the foundations of revolutions of the past. Though of course there were intimate moments at the battle piece of the film, this is the part that is definitely the most theatrical. I could feel the fire in the hearts of Marius and Enjolras as they fought side by side. From “Red and Black” to the final battle, every camera angle, every booming tenor voice brought nothing short of the most epic and grandiose emotions to every audience member. THAT is the theatricality of the original musical that I have been raised upon, know, and love. That same epic robustness is brought to life again for the finale, as the streets of Paris blend with the ambiguous world of the stage and heaven.

The entire second part of the musical (from the moment Cosette grows up), is why I work in theater, film, and television. It is a perfect example to give for those who doubt the professions of actors, writers, directors, and all those who work in this industry. The entertainment field is only lucrative for the select few. But artists do not work for lucrative means. We live, work, and die for the love of the story. Most stories fiction in nature are media for which the art makers and audience members can comprehend and fathom the real world.

A mother struggling in the ghettos of North Philadelphia or Harlem might identify with Fantine. A Vietnam veteran might identify with Marius and Enjolras. A lovesick teenager who just got dumped on prom night might identify with Eponine. The parents of the children at Sandy Hook, or any parent for that matter, might identify with the harrowing story of Gavroche. Contrary to popular belief, actors and other artists do not shroud themselves in a fictional place to escape the real world. We engross ourselves in it to bring that real world to light and learn life’s lessons. The greatest lesson that Les Misérables teaches us is to step in the shoes of another. That is what actors do. They step into the role to identify and to learn empathy. That is what this world is about: understanding and connecting with fellow human beings.

“To love another person is to see the face of God.”

Why 'Lincoln' is incredible.

WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS.

One would expect a film about Abraham Lincoln to entail gruesome battle details of the American Civil War, loud canon fire, and the former president’s infamous assassination. One would think any film that carries the weight of such magnitude, between a star-studded cast, a prestigious director, and a historical drama will be nothing but an epic. This is not the case of Lincoln, however. While it is definitely a period-piece in artistic direction, it plays like a small indie film in many ways. There are no blood-soaked battles and Lincoln’s assassination is not even shown in the film.

The film exposes the emotion, heartache and moral compasses of our leaders in Washington during the war. At the helm is the president himself, dealing in stories and parables. While the war rages outside, the film’s plot encompasses the Federal Government battle over the 13^th Amendment, which would eventually free all slaves in the United States. Though the audience obviously knows the outcome, the journey of how the president and his fellow lawmakers get there is extraordinary. The man battles not only for the amendment, but on his own home front. He is tested on all sides, and we see powerful and raw emotion behind the giant man with a top hat and beard.

The parallels to our time, coupled with the timing of the film’s release, make it an extremely powerful piece. Spielberg’s Lincoln weaves in poetic rhetoric that is at times confusing, but leaves the audience with an insurmountable sense of importance.  His impeccable speech parallels that of president Barack Obama, whose rhetoric, if nothing else, has captivated the world and arguably won two elections.

One cannot overlook the opening scene, when president Lincoln is speaking with a black union soldier at the time of his re-election. The soldier says with much determination what the future will be for black people in this country, all the way up to the White House. And here we are, in the immediate aftermath of the re-election for the country’s first black president.

I do not usually cry in films of the historical or biopic genres. But in this film, my eyes welled up multiple times, at unexpected places. I watched drama unfold as many of the men who ran this country changed their stance from the ways they had been raised. They had the courage to sacrifice convention for what was right. Their attitudes towards the black population changed. There are lawmakers today fighting the exact same battle for same-sex equality. Though the message is hammered into one’s head during the film, it was extremely moving to see these powerful empathize with the minority. Another battle wages in our House of Representatives  today, and the same men (and now women) are changing their stance on the issue of equality. Lincoln belongs to the ages much more than history could ever predict. He lives today in the fight for equality.

The Un-First Day of School

When I went to bed last night, I saw the multitude of Facebook statuses about the first day of school. I felt old, and am slightly depressed. Each post was a bit different, and from various types of people. Some were teachers I had in high school. Others were professors. Many were underclassmen who are now embarking on their senior year of college. Many were freshmen who were just beginning college or even high school. (Don't worry, the only kids I'm friends with at that age are my cousins.) A new breed of "back to schoolers" became my friends that graduated in May and are now teachers themselves. Mind. Blown.

As for me, I stayed up late last night drinking wine and beer on the back porch with a few very close friends. I have shared 11 first days of school with one of them, as we live around the corner from one another and both attended Temple University. With another one, I had only experienced one first day of school, because we did not become friends until our junior year of college. When I woke up this morning, it was not extremely early. I did not take a bus. I did not groan at my mom as she cried, or later that day read the note that she snuck into my lunchbox. I did not pack my backpack. I did not make sure to look for my lunch money. I didn't throw copious amounts of gel in my hair (Confession, still haven't showered yet today). I didn't pick out an outfit last night, didn't wait in long lines at the overprices bookstore. I didn't hug old friends I hadn't seen all summer. I didn't run around like a chicken with my head cut off through crowded hallways or bump into thousands of people as I maneuvered with my map or syllabus around campus. I didn't sit in my first classes, wondering who in that room would be a friend, an acquaintance, a hook-up, a gym buddy, a crush, or a stranger by the end of the year or semester. I didn't listen to some disgustingly nostalgic playlist that I always put on during times of transition (though...I am now, don't judge) on my iPod (or Walkman) on the way to school.

Instead, I slept until 9:00, made myself breakfast, watched the news, and went on Facebook to see all these notifications about the first day of school.

Obviously, I'm a bit sad. I'm happy about the no homework thing. Hallelujah. Also happy about the fact that I'm not spending ridiculous amounts of money on books I may or may not open. But make no mistake, I have accepted that school is over (until I go to grad school for...something. And until I become a teacher later on down the road), and I am on to the next piece of my life. Many of us are. One status read as follows:

Everyone is posting their pictures of their new ID badges for their new careers and posting about their first day. Just a shout out...I'm so proud of all of you for making your dreams come true! 

I could quote all the cheesiest movies right now in the form of Ferris Bueller's send-off, but instead I'm just going to talk about how awesome school was. Maybe I just got lucky or fortunate to have a great school, great after-school programs and extracurricular activities, great teachers and professors. Not everyone has that. But honestly, education is absolutely one of the best aspects to life. It is the first major aspect of our lives. Education takes up the first quarter of one's life. Does that sound right? I was never good at math. Got a 5 out of 40 on an Algebra II test. Four points were for my name. One in every four of the days are spent on learning. We learn not only about foreign languages, grammar, histories of every corner of the world, training in our career fields, and scientific equations, but about ourselves and about people around us. Here are some of the best lessons I learned over the course of the past 20 years of education (excluding ages 1-3).

1. You have to balance breadth and depth of your interests. It's good to know a lot about a few subjects,  but to dabble a bit in the rest of them so you have basic knowledge.

2. No risk, no reward. You miss 100% of the shots you don't take. You have to take a chance, on a new class, on a new friendship, on a new lover, on a new neighborhood.

3. The ability to collaborate with others others is one of the most successful, unique and beautiful aspects of human nature.

4. Always keep the door open. Literally and figuratively. You never know who may walk in.

I think that we both dread and get so amped for the first day of school because it is a way to start fresh. That can be fresh coming off a bad year, or fresh coming off a good year and continuing in the same way. The first day of school is something we can all share. Education and these first days have taught me that there is so much to learn about in the world. Maybe that's where I get the nerdy excitement. There is a great deal of suffering in this world, as well as a great deal of (oftentimes rightly distributed) pessimism. I think, however, that many don't realize how good we have it, both as Americans students and as human beings. The earth is huge, time is huge. It's a all a big textbook waiting to be explored. One of the expensive glossy ones though. You can find it brand new or in the used section. Either way, it's a good book. Not like the crappy Calculus books.

Happy First Day of School.

Summer Movie Update

This has so far been a dissapointing summer in terms of films for me. Which is weird...because I am the easiest to please when it comes to them. And the critics are usually much more harsh. However, either the critics are getting lazier, or I am setting my standards too high.

Film..................................................Rotten Tomato Rating | My Rating | My Review

Moonrise Kingdom..........................94%  | 50 % | Pretentious, Overrated, Tried to be deep but was just weird

The Amazing Spider-Man................74%  | 69% | Beautiful 3D (Close to Avatar and Titanic), Incredible Soundtrack, too similar storyline, tried to be darker but wasn't, Spider-Man is not a hipster.

Ted.....................................................69% | 58% | Whereas Family Guy is hilarious and offensive, this is even more offensive and not that funny

Brave ................................................76%  | 65% | Not up to par with other Pixar movies

Beasts of the Southern Wild..............85% | 90% | Stunning characters, artistic department, cinematography. Story could have picked up a bit at the beginning

Next on my list to see: Katy Perry, Magic Mike, Dark Knight Rises, Ruby Sparks

Then I take a break until Oscar season.

Stay tuned!

Lessons I learned from The Amazing Spider-Man

As many know, Columbia Pictures has released yet another Spider-Man film, despite having released the first one and two sequels (apologies, one sequel and one musical...and no I'm not talking about the actual musical). Here are my thoughts after seeing the latest rendition.
WARNING: MAY CONTAIN MINOR SPOILERS

Lessons I learned (in no particular order).
1. Emma Stone is still a goddess.
2. Flash Thompson should be living in my bedroom and not in this movie.
3. Peter Parker apparently = angsty/sassy good-looking hipster.
4. There is a reason why most films do not have three screenwriters.
5. Bad guys ALWAYS sound better with a British accent.
6. Gashes on human flesh heal in about a day without stitches. Good job, make up department.
7. Incredible soundtracks matched with an average movie make the composer look like a fool and a genius at the same time.
8. The producers are catching on to the fact that 3D/IMAX films are overpriced, and reward its audience by giving them free posters now.
9. Marc Webb still found a way to make an extended indie music video.
10. Cranes are so. effing. cool.
11. 3D was made for three films: Avatar, Titanic, and this one.
12. Cell phones have perfect reception in the sewers.
13. Spiderwebs can stop a bullet wound.
14. Your hands are only sticky sometimes if you're Spider-Man.
15. The weight of the word "responsibility" only works in the first film.
16. Spider-Man/Peter Parker is the only one that deserves character development. All other characters are allowed to be one-dimensional and have weak objectives.
17. The second Dark Knight Rises trailer apparently makes me cry when it is on a big screen.