TheBilcourt

I moved my blog

Saturday, March 14, 2009

I moved my blog over to wordpress. So feel free to go
here to read my latest bloggings. Thanks!

Apparently I haven't blogged in a while.

Monday, March 09, 2009

Apparently I haven't blogged in a while.
Haven't updated in a while. Just been busy I guess. Bloggin hasn't been on the forefront of things to do.

It's been an interesting last couple of months.

1. My sister is expecting and is due in July. The forecast is calling for girl but I'm still hoping that maybe the forecast will be wrong like it sometimes is and we'll get a boy.

2. I got to see my friends Josh and Jesse a few weeks ago. They were in town from their whole "Peace Corp in Jamaica" thing. They weren't here for a good reason but nonetheless it was still good to see them. Hopefully they'll be back in the fall. They have been such great friends to me. I wish them well and I can't wait to see them again!

3. If you haven't joined twitter yet, do it! Follow me at "www.twitter.com/billyhammock" Twitter is pretty fun and addictive. You can add tweets via different phone apps on blackberries or iphones. If you don't have a smart phone device, you can add tweets via text messages. It's REALLY easy to setup. "BrightKite" is pretty cool too if you want to join that. It's also like twitter. Go to brightkite.com to set it up.

4. I had a birthday. I still don't feel like I'm getting older but apparently my age says I am. That sucks.

5. My car got hit in a hit and run. I can't get the police to give me a report because they don't do them anymore. Geico needs a police report to fix my car. I can't give them that. Guess who isn't getting their car fixed anytime soon? I hate the Nashville Metropolitan Police Department for screwing people over like that. I really appreciate it guys.

6. I'm tentatively scheduled to go Cabo San Lucas,Mexico with my dad at the end of the month. I've never had a reason to get a passport and now I do. Too bad it cost me $207 to get one expedited. Hopefully I get it in time. You pay to have it expedited and its still not guaranteed to get here.

7. Works ok. I guess. Nothing new really. Thats about it on that end.

8. I've kind of lost two friends. One got upset that he thought couldn't bring his estranged family to a get together at a another friends house. Which was never really the case. He just doesn't understand the whole "ask before you bring people over" thing. It's not a big deal. It's just common courtesy. Everyone else agreed. Of course we all got blamed for it. He's still welcome to whatever we do. There was never any ill will intended.

My other friend publicly humiliated me at work in front of at least 6 people when we were having a stupid disagreement. At that point, I said to myself, "I'm done". It was completely uncalled for. It sucks to throw away such a great friendship. I have given and tried so hard during it. But there was no reason to get yelled at the way I did. It was humiliating. And not just for me.

9. I joined a new gym. I kind of got tired of having to play the "find a machine" game at the Y. I also got tired of all the little kids and just the sheer busyness of it. So I joined Urban Active right next door. I get a cheaper rate thanks to work and its more grown up. I like the dark room that plays a new movie everyday on a projector screen while you work out. So far theres' only been one movie that made me say, "I'm not going in there today..." The movie?? "Are We Done Yet?" Starring Ice Cube.

10. I got to go see AC/DC last month. It was pure awesomeness. Definitely my favorite rock band of all time.

11. I've decided not to go to Bonnaroo this year. There's just not enough bands this year that peak my interest. There are lots of big name people that I'm sure will put on great shows, but it will probably be like Pearl Jam last year. I've heard of them, know a grand total of about 3 songs, and am bored for 80 percent of the show. I'm not a Springsteen fan and I'm definitely NOT a Phish fan. I don't like jam bands. Period. Hopefully I'll go back next year.

12. I haven't bought any new dvds in a long time. Thats extremely weird for me. It's not that I've grown out of buying movies. I guess there just hasn't been anything out that I had to buy.

13. For the most part I'm really liking the current tv season....
Chuck- Please resolve the Chuck/Sarah storyline soon. I'm actually getting REALLY bored with the whole will they/won't they thing. 3-4 seasons worked ok for Pam and Jim, but not Chuck and Sarah.

Heroes-This show is a trainwreck that we members of the so called "Geekdom" can't look away from. Each season is a new direction. Its annoying. One week the show gets good. The next week, the show becomes stupid. It flip flops like this. It's annoying. If they were smart, they would end all 20 different storylines and have them work together as a group like X-Men or something. I don't care about the Bennetts anymore. I don't care about Matt Parkman and his quest to find Daphne. I don't care about the Petrellis except for Peter. I'm tired of Mohinder and his once a year predictable "I'm going to help the bad guys" plotline. I think the only storyline that I even really care about is Sylar. They know we'll all keep watching but really, your show is stinking up the joint.

24- Jack Bauer is the man. I love that show

LOST- Awesome. Just great.

The Office and 30 Rock- Still the two funniest shows on tv.

Smallville- I like how they're trying to comic book it up. As long as its on, I'll keep watching it.

Grey's Anatomy- Good. I'm ready for them to resolve the Izzie story for good. Overall, its a lot better than last year.

BSG-I'm really going to miss this show in a few weeks once it airs its series finale. I love that its a scifi show yet its more drama than it is sci-fi. People won't watch because its considered sci-fi, yet when you can get someone to watch it, they realize that it's so much more.

Fringe- Really great show in it's first season. I'm really excited to see where it goes.

Thats about it for now. If I think of anything else, I'll blog it.

25 Random Things....

Sunday, February 08, 2009

These "25 things" lists that are now popular at first were kind of dumb. Now that I really think about it and actually have done a few of them, they're actually quite surprising and revealing!

After doing this, I kind of feel like Forrest Gump! All this stuff is true. I've just never sat down and wrote it all out.

1. When I was 10, I came within 5 feet of being eaten/attacked by a Bear in New Mexico. Seriously. I can tell you the story if you wish.

2. I once won a horse in a movie trivia contest.

3. I HATE BEANS. Green beans and green peas are acceptable but no other type of bean. They taste like nasty little pimples in your mouth! Just the consistency of them makes me sick.

4. Charlton Heston once personally told me at Opryland Hotel to tell my friends to "keep packing heat". He said that to me after I told him he was my favorite actor of all time and I admired his stance on guns. To this day it upsets me that I didn't have pen to get an autograph from him.

5. One thing that drives me absolutely crazy are People in large vehicles that slow down to go over a small speed bump- You drive a big truck that (according to commercials) you can drive through a burning house, drive fast and stop just at the edge of a cliff, drive up a ramp hauling a ton of weight while withstanding excessive heat and other elements, but you can't go over one tiny speed bump. Really?! Also, I can't stand people that drive anything below the speed limit when there's no reason to.

6. One of my lifelong goals is to somehow go to a taping of SNL. It's one of the most difficult shows to get a ticket to. Its usually by chance or if you know someone working on the show.

7. One of my other lifelong goals is to have Morgan Freeman narrate just five minutes of my life. It would be the coolest thing ever.

8. When I was about 8 or so. I got my arm stuck in between the wall and that big garage door spring when I accidentally pushed the garage door opener. I was stuck there for a little while until I could finally maneuver myself back over to the opener. Needless to say, I had a spring indention in my arm for a few days.

9. One year for Christmas my uncle shaved his beard, drew a picture of himself with colored pencils on a face shaped piece of poster board, and then glued his beard to the face. He called it his "self portrait". That year I won Gerry House and the House Foundation's contest for "most unique gift" on 98 WSIX.

10. I never bothered to learn how to ride a bike until I was about 13. I just never cared.

11. When I was 7-8, I had pajamas that looked like Pee-Wee Herman's tuxedo. It even had feet that looked like his white loafers.

12. I have a knack for taking a bad step or tripping over my own feet.

13. On my dad's side of the family....All of my cousins, my sister, and I are all left handed. My grandparents, parents, and all of my aunts uncles are right handed.

14. I played baseball when I was younger and I got on base more than any other player on the team. I never hit the ball once all season. Think about that one for a minute....

15. The Rock once signed a movie poster for me thinking that it was going to be donated to a children's charity. For my defense, I didn't tell him the lie. That's what he thought though.

16. When I was in the third grade, my class was scheduled to go on a field trip. My mom signed the permission slip for me to go. A couple days before the trip, I got into trouble at school and my teacher decided as punishment to not let me go to on the field trip. I didn't tell my mom. On the day of the trip, I went to school and was stuck doing work all day in another class. When I got home, my mom asked me how the field trip was. I told her a bunch of bull and never told her I didn't get to go. To this day, she still has no idea that I didn't go. he he he....

17. Channel 4 once did a news segment on our family and our daily morning routine. It was and still is, soo embarrasing.

18. When I was a toddler, my family and I were on a plane flying from Dallas to Nashville. The stewardess thought I was a cute little kid and decided to pick me up and take me on a tour of the plane. After a while, she had not brought me back and my mom became a little worried. She decided to go looking for me. When she found me, I was in first class. I was sitting on (at the time) Tennessee Governor Lamar Alexander's lap. She was speechless.

19. I once lived in a house that had been owned by Jim Varney aka. Ernest P. Worrell. You know the guy from the Ernest movies???

20. To this day, if I'm at the pool or even in the shower, I don't like getting my face wet.

21. If I had to pick my least favorite celebrity it would probably have to be Queen Latifah. I absolutely cannot stand her.

22. One year in school, one of our class projects was to write to 3 famous people. I was the only one to get a response. In fact, I got responses from 2 out of the 3 people. One was from my all time favorite baseball player, Nolan Ryan, who sent me an autographed picture. The other was a first class letter from The White House. It was a personal letter to me from the first President Bush. My mom had no idea I had written him and she was shocked when I got the package in the mail. I still have the letter in a frame and we did verify that it's a real signature,lol.

23. One time at church around 95-96, they were doing a toys for tots drive. I happened to walk by the box and I noticed that someone had placed 3 un-opened action figures from "The Empire Strikes Back" dating back to 1980. I took the toys.

p.s. Just so that you don't think I'm evil and going to hell....I did tell my associate pastor and my parents. They completely understood that it wasn't wise for an underprivileged child to rip open some rare toys. I did end up putting twice as many toys back in the box.

p.p.s. The Star Wars toys were appraised for a grand total of about $600. Cha-ching!

24. I'm pretty good at movie trivia.

25. I've gotten to meet Keifer Sutherland and Gene Hackman. Two of my favorite things are 24 and anything Superman. My personalized original "Superman: The Movie" poster is one of my most prized possessions.

Sophie Can Walk

Monday, January 19, 2009

This is pretty funny, especially at the 1:40 mark.

- funny videos

Today's Links- 01/13/09

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

This guy's face painting skills are amazing!
Check out his flickr!

Check out his flickr!

Make sure to read the reviews before deciding if the
Bic Crystal Ballpoint Pen is for you.

We've recently began teaching my grandparents how to use the internet and email. I've started getting the forwards from them. So, to me this is hilarious....
Old People News

I can't help but think of my friends Josh and Scott when I see this.

Upon further research into this movie, it's called "Hard Ticket to Hawaii". It definitely looks like the perfect 80's movie to watch when you're drunk.

This is why I love telling people I'm from the south. Not really.

Update on my lists...

Friday, January 09, 2009

I had the chance to see Gran Torino and The Wrestler over the past week.

Gran Torino- At 78 years old, Clint Eastwood is still someone I wouldn't want to mess with. While the acting from most everyone else in the movie isn't that great, Clint is amazing. It's classic Eastwood to be more accurate. His portrayal in the movie just reaffirms my belief that he is still one our greatest actors. I would definitely recommend seeing this movie.

The Wrestler- I've never seen a lot of Mickey Rourke movies. I think the only thing I've ever really seen with him that I actually remember him in was Sin City. I know his whole story but I've just never cared about most of the movies he's been in. Wrestling on the other hand, I've watched my entire life. I still watch it! Yes, it can be corny but its fun to watch. I keep up with it. I know the ends and outs of it. I still think "Beyond the Mat" is a great documentary about the wrestling business. So I would like to think that if any of my friends are going to find fault with this movie, it would be me.

Mickey Rourke is absolutely amazing in this movie. He does such a good job that you actually think you're watching a documentary about Randy 'The Ram' Robinson and not just a movie. His portrayal of an aged wrestler is one of THE best performances this year that I have seen. I really hopes he ends up taking home the Oscar for Best Actor over Sean Penn. I'm sure Sean Penn was good in Milk, but I will be the first to admit, I cannot stand him. The only Sean Penn movies I have ever liked were Fast Times at Ridgemont High and I am Sam. I would probably rather sit through all three High School Musical movies than watch a Sean Penn movie. Anyways, enough about Penn. If you get the chance when it comes to town, go see The Wrestler.

My Best of and Worst of Movies 2008

Friday, January 02, 2009

Hey all!

Sorry for not updating in such a long time. I guess I just haven't felt too much like bloggin or anything like that. I guess the good news is that I'm back and I'm ready for my yearly movies best of/worst of list. I usually have 4 categories for this.

List one- Movies I loved
List two-Movies I hated
List three- Movies I thought were good and you should see, but I highly doubt I will ever watch them again unless their on tv.
List four-Movies I have not seen,but want to even if their bad just so I can have an opinion.

Will everyone like my lists? Probably not. Guess what? I don't care. If you do care, feel free to write your own blog with your opinions....I'm just kidding.

On with the lists!!

First up, the 2008 Movies I loved....in no particular order really except 1-10....

1. The Dark Knight-Hands down my favorite. They took something I was unsure of how it would work and then made it epic. I just can't imagine how they will be able to make a third movie and it be better than the sequel.

2. Wall-E -Absolutely amazing movie. Everything about it is just beautiful. Pixar continues to do no wrong.

3. Slumdog Millionaire- A great story of a boy living lowest of the low in India and how his life led him to be on Who wants to be a Millionaire just for the love a girl.

4. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button-A really great movie blending Forrest Gump with Big Fish. Brad Pitt always manages to make great movies.

5. Iron Man-The Dark Knight is in a league of its own this year when it comes to comic book movies, but Iron Man is easily the best adapted comic book movie of the year. When you make a movie, you want to make the audience believe that there was no one else that could have ever played the a specific character. Robert Downey Jr. did that for Iron Man. I just can't imagine anyone else who could have done it better.

6. Forgetting Sarah Marshall-Funniest movie of the year. I can watch this over and over and still find it as funny as the first time I watched it.

7. Tropic Thunder- An all-star cast that managed to be really funny and make a good movie. Thats hard to do. Once again, Robert Downey Jr. shows how great of a performer he is.

8. Quantum of Solace-I'm a sucker for James Bond movies. This one was action packed all through out and thats how I like them. No need for too much over the top techno babble. Just let Bond be Bond and save the world from evil. Can't wait for the third movie. Daniel Craig is the best James Bond in my opinion since Sean Connery.

9. Young@Heart-Best documentary I saw this year.This will make you want to go hug an older person and then sing with them!

10. TIE-Horton Hears a Who! and Kung Fu Panda-I love it when "kids movies" turn out to be smart and funny. More often than not, animated movies aren't funny. Maybe to a child who doesn't understand what all is going on, its great. But for those of us who do understand, they're usually just drivel. Crap cheaply made with not a lot of thought just to make a quick buck. Horton and Panda manage to stay funny and fresh and keep everyone entertained. I remember seeing Horton with about 3-4 other adults. I think we we're laughing harder than the kids in the auditorium were. It really has nothing to do with the actors per say, but it's just plain ol good writing and creativity that make these movies great.

My other favorites of 2008-
Step Brothers
Wanted
Get Smart
Cloverfield
Rambo
Definitely, Maybe
Charlie Bartlett
Semi-Pro
The Other Boleyn Girl
Speed Racer- I don't care what anyone says, I had a lot of fun with this movie considering how hate anime and the original cartoon.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull-The only thing allowing this to be on the list is Harrison Ford and his awesomeness. Most everything else about the movie wasn't that great.
The Foot Fist Way
The Incredible Hulk
Hancock
Burn After Reading
Marley and Me

Now the 2008 movies I did not like....or a few movies that might make having diarrhea sound possibly fun! Not all of them but some of them.....

1. The Strangers-For the love of God, one of my biggest pet peeves in movies is this. A director leads you on a story that keeps you interested the whole time and keeps you in suspense. Then the ending comes and you're expecting a payoff to make the movie great. Instead the director basically says in his own terms, "Suckers! I just got all your money and now there's nothing you can do about it. So heres a crappy ending my 4 yr old came up with!" The Strangers is that movie. I absolutely LOATHE this movie. I swear, if you watch the trailer, you now know as much about the movie as you would have if you had watched the movie. This movie gives you nothing at all. Just freaky scene after freaky scene. Then when the ending comes, you get no closure at all. Not even a hint. Nothing. Nada. Nil. Uh-uh. The people responsible for this movie should join the guys who have made Meet the Spartans and Disaster Movie and never be allowed to make anything tv/film again. Quarantine is on the verge of making it into this category due to its no resolve make you feel like you just got suckered ending.

2. The Happening-I haven't enjoyed an M. Night movie since The Sixth Sense. Mark Whalberg is terrible in this. Seeing people get killed in gory situations just for the heck of showing it isn't entertaining. Plants being the big mystery is stupid. The movie, it's just stupid.

3. The Love Guru-I love the Austin Powers movies, but this movie is awful. It's not funny. It's not even remotely funny. It's just bad.

4. College- Another dumb college movie that wants you to think that college is 90 percent trying to get laid and going to over the top unrealistic parties.

5. Disaster Movie- The people responsible for this should never be allowed near a camera and/or any kind of studio again. These bad parody movies are an insult to the great parody movies of the past (Airplane, The Naked Gun,etc...) It's like these people are preying on society's dumbest people.

6.Appaloosa- After how amazing 3:10 to Yuma was last year, this movie is just plain bad. You would think a western with Ed Harris and Viggo Mortenson might be good, but this movie is filled with bad acting and Renee Zellweger. Her character alone pretty much ruins this movie, bad acting aside.

7. The Mummy:Tomb of the Dragon Emperor- Instead of making a worthwhile next entry in The Mummy series, Universal just saw dollar signs and made a crappy movie. This movie makes the first two Mummy movies look like masterpieces. Not one time when I sat through this movie did I think this is an ok sequel. It definitely makes the other Mummy movies and Universal look bad.

8. 10,000 BC- Me watch bad summer movie. Me want to throw up. Me wish Roland Emmerich would stop making these crappy too much CGI'd movies.

9. Max Payne- Mark Whalberg is 2 for 2 on this list. I never played the video game and now I will never want to. Thanks Mark Whalberg. Say hi to your mother for me.

10. Hamlet 2- They tried so hard to make the next South Park movie here. Yes I know its live action, but the humor was very South Park'ish. It tries like South Park to be offensive yet, be offensive in a really funny way. This movie fails on that attempt. It's not funny and it just comes across as stupid.

My other worst movies of the year....

Mamma Mia
Journey to the Center of the Earth
Quarantine
Nick and Norah
Twilight
The Day the Earth Stood Still
Be Kind Rewind
Vantage Point
Zohan
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Righteous Kill
W.- I swear this really has nothing to do with me supporting W to begin with. This movie just felt like SNL trying to make a dramatic movie. It also seemed to make fun of things that really aren't all that funny in real life. Like the praying at the end of a meeting. Its not funny, but they try and make it look like it is stupid.

Now for my list of movies I thought were good and you should see, but I highly doubt I will ever watch them again unless their on tv...

27 Dresses
Fool's Gold
Jumper
The Spiderwick Chronicles
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
Doomsday
Drillbit Taylor
21
Run,Fat Boy,Run
Baby Mama
Made of Honor
Son of Rambow
Narnia: Prince Caspian
Hellboy 2
Pineapple Express
Death Race
The House Bunny
Ghost Town
Eagle Eye
Flash of Genius
How to Lose Friends and Alienate People
Body of Lies
Zack and Miri Make a Porno
Madagascar 2
Role Models
Bolt
Yes Man

And finally my list of movies I have yet to see but I want to. These movies could possibly change either top ten list once I see them. Especially some of the Oscar movies...

In Bruges
The Bank Job
Street Kings
Babylon AD
Rachel Getting Married
RockNRolla
Changeling
Synecdoche,NY
Australia
Transporter 3
Milk-I really could care less honestly. I can't stand Sean Penn 90 percent of the time. I just want to see it for Oscar season.
Frost/Nixon-Really want to see it!
Gran Torino-Really want to see it!
Doubt
The Wrestler-Really want to see it!
Seven Pounds
The Spirit
Valkyrie
Defiance
Che
Let the Right One In
Happy Go Lucky
JCVD

There are I'm sure, quite a few movies that The Belcourt theatre here in Nashville had that I didn't get to see. I love The Belcourt and I love their place in the Nashville film community. I hope to get a list of some of the Independent films they had that I might have missed. Hopefully I will be able to add those to my favorites list.

So there are my lists. I appreciate any and all comments whether you disagree or not. Hopefully I will get a chance to start seeing some of these later movies sometime soon before the Oscars.

I moved my blog

Apparently I haven't blogged in a while.

25 Random Things....

Sophie Can Walk

Today's Links- 01/13/09

Update on my lists...

My Best of and Worst of Movies 2008

What's Sneaky Billy up to right now???

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