You’ve Got A Friend In Me…Temporarily.

 

People often complain about how the friends you have on Facebook aren’t real friends.  Personally they are perfect for me because the friends I make in real life are often have a short shelf life.

I’ve only ever had a few really great friends.  I can probably count them on one hand.  In my years I have encountered a select few people who can see that while sarcastic and slightly mean spirited I can be entertaining given the chance.  Given my hobbies and passions outside of work my home has almost always been a great place to relax and entertain.  The friendships I have cherished have burned brightly but never lasted as long they should of. 

Highschool friendships were doomed for the most part almost immediately.  The person you are for those 4 years can change rather quickly once you enter the real world.  I actually have better relationships with most of my ex-girlfriends now and hardly talk at all to any to the guys I went to school with.  That either says something about them or something about me.  I’m not sure which.

College friends are next up.  Only had one close friend in college and I can’t count him dying in a car crash against my ability to keep friends.  We spoke with decent regularity up until the days before the accident.  With meeting my wife at college I didn’t really bother getting close to many other people.

The friends I had in Orlando were mostly drinking buddies since the jobs we did kept us wanting to constantly drown our sorrows and bad days.  I had two friends that were more than that to me and honestly I just lost one’s phone number and they other never replied to messages for the longest time. 

Making friends once I moved to where I am now was tough.  I was constantly older than the high school kids we would employ at work and being a homebody meant I never went other places to meet other people.  I had video game buddies who would come over numerous time each week but it took a long time to meet some decent people who I connected with. 

Those few would go on to before very close friends and a few even became neighbors.  I’d feel much worse about losing them and having them just be Facebook friends but the destruction of those friendships were not all my doing and that is a bit of relief to me.  I certainly miss them and I’ve even reached out to them before to try and recover what was lost.  I enjoy the time I spend with my wife and son but it certinly would be nice to have a friend to go out with or just hang out with but honestly after all I’ve written about above I’m doubtful I’ll even bother making “real” friends again. 

A Moments Piece

I still hoping to keep up on this blog but it seems that finding time to sit and really focus on an entry is going to be the real challenge.  I wouldn’t say that we have a set routine or schedule but finding time to add another task to my daily list will take some fancy footwork.  Getting time to see Green Lantern wasn’t easy but it had to be done since it was one of the few movies this summer I felt would be worth seeing in the theatre, 

So….Green Lantern.  I was pretty pleased with the movie when it was over.  Origin stories are necessary but they often drag down a movie.  It isn’t until the second movie in a series that you can just get off an running.  GL did have slow and wordy moments but you often cut between those moments with some other pretty spectacular scenes.  I know they spent a ton on effects and then a few months before the release they opted to spend even more on them to spice up the film a bit more.  The best visuals were easily Hal Jordan’s suit and the things he created with the ring.  I was actually disappointed with the fact that he did get to create more with his ring because those creations not only looked great but they were often pretty creative.  Ryan Reynolds wasn’t someone fans of the comic really wanted in the role at first but he was by far the only person that I enjoyed in the movie.  The other actors were very forgettable and that was something that often took me out of the film. 

What else did I not like?  Well….I really didn’t dislike too much else until I started to read other reviews and listen to some of the podcasts I subscribe to,  Once I heard others point out faults in the film I realized they were right but I was in denial since I wanted it to be the best thing ever.  The biggest complaint I read was the fact that the Green Lantern Corp has over 6,000 members but yet when Hal goes to ask for help to save Earth he is told he needs to do it alone.  It’s a shame that they kept talking about this huge army and what they could do with these amazing rings but never showed a multi Lantern battle. 

I just checked the green that Lantern brought in this weekend and while not a flop it didn’t make the kind of money that secures a sequel.  This is the real stinger of the box office results:

To put the numbers in perspective, fewer people saw "Green Lantern" on opening weekend than the film adaptations of lesser known superheroes like "Daredevil" and "Ghost Rider."

Ouch.  But then again they are rebooting Daredevil and making a second Ghost Rider with Nic Cage so Hollywood often doesn’t learn a lesson when flops hurt their bottom line. 

Gotta Live A Little

I have to say that the past few weeks has been a real departure from my normal routine.  Usually nothing makes me happier than getting a movie or a game and just staying in.  I normally hate going out because of crowds and my general intolerance of said crowds.
In diverging from my normal routine recently I've been able to see talented performers that I have enjoyed for ages. 
Weird Al isn't for everyone and I get that.  His music, which is often someone else's music, isn't something that will get radio play or be a huge seller. With all that said the guy has been around and in the public eye for ages.  He is also a pop culture icon who gets referenced more often than some of the stars he parodies.  Getting to hear him and see live was amazing and having it take place in such an intimate venue was even better.
Dave Foley might of faded from the spotlight for a few years but The Kids In The Hall was an early comedic influence for me.  Getting to see the whole cast at the Hard Rock Theater in Orlando so many years ago was a blast.  The entire cast was entertaining but for me Foley was always the standout star.  He is new to the stand-up business and I hope that it works out for him. I also hope the sitcom he has coming up is a hit. 
I appreciate my wife's patience when it came to me spending money recently that we didn't necessarily have.  I guess that she knew how badly I wanted to go to these events since I rarely want to leave home.  I don't have a fancy or extravagant "Bucket List" but I have been able to cross a few things off my list recently.  Now to save up for the more costly things on my list.