Jim Norton

Today was a very very good day, at least in my world here in Albany, NY (aside from the fact that I'm starting to get a cold, which I am proud to say I haven't gotten since January.  Now the only problem is getting rid of it). 

It was sunny, blue skies were all around me with the slightest wisps of clouds, and I could even tolerate the wind today.  Class went a lot quicker than I had planned, and for my Russian film class, I managed to put quite a bit of input into the discussion (nothing to do with the fact that at the time, there were only three other people in the room and my professor was urging me to go on the entire time).  

Dinner was absolutely amazing, too.  Italian night always is, with their special foods they only let us taste every once in a blue moon.  I had a mushroom calzone finished off with tiramisu (I don't care about what Lauren and Danielle say. I think it's amazing even if it's not authentic).

But dinner is not what made my day so good.  Neither is the weather or the class situations.  It mostly revolves around my night, which was spent in the Ballroom of the Campus Center of the SUNY Albany campus.

My friend Lauren had been telling us all about this amazing comedian named Jim Norton, and I, not knowing who in the world he was, kept blowing it off, because stand up comedy has never been a strong interest of mine.  After a lot of convincing, I finally headed over to the Copies Plus center to buy my ticket, and even then, it still wasn't this thing I was excited about. 

I wasn't really excited about it really, until today, because we usually have nothing to do on Thursday nights, and I'm always up for discovering new things, especially big acts that the college brings to us (last year, they brought Sue Johanson, the infamous host of "Talk Sex with Sue Johanson" and we literally were put into another room because of the crowd that had come) and with the disappointment of Parkfest (at least for my friends and I) coming up, it couldn't really be any worse.  

When I got there, a fairly large crowd was lurking in the stairwell and on the ground floor, managing to outrun the humongous amount of people who were coming in behind me (how I did it, I will never know).  We even got second row seats, which has never happened to us before.   Everything else we've seen has been from the back of the room practically.  A photographer came by to take our picture, mostly because Danielle had seen him and screamed, "Us next!", but he was taking pictures of everyone in the front anyway, so maybe in the upcoming days, you can see us on the Times Union website.  

The first act, Erick James, was really funny.  He instantly tuned in with everyone and made the entire room shake with laughter.  I felt kind of bad when he announced Jim Norton and the entire room clapped and yelled, because he really did not get that kind of attention when he first walked on stage. 

But I have to say, Jim Norton was definitely amazing.  He has this weird twitch in his eye, that you can notice as soon as you see his face, and he walks kind of funny.  But, he uses that to his advantage and when he makes certain expressions, it's priceless.  I

 personally loved when he talked about the tiger at the San Francisco zoo.  I guess it appealed to me because I've been there, and I've actually seen the other tigers there (and the huge gap

 that the tiger jumped over, which is SO big.  It's crazy to think that something jumped across it) and I hate the fact that stupid kids ended up making it happen.  I know I should value human lives more than tiger lives,

 but I'm pretty sure that tiger was on an endangered species list, and having it killed bothered me a lot.

Anyway, I could go on and on about the jokes he told and the reactions he got, but in all reality, it's hard to capture the magic that was on that stage tonight.

  (Jim Norton is the one sitting, Erick James is up above, just the headshot)

Attention all people: Spring is here!

This weekend has been one of the nicest weekends of the year so far, which makes everything seem a lot better than when the constant cold keeps me from wanting to go outside.  I love being able to throw on a light jacket and walk through the campus comfortably, and that I definitely did. 

It's funny how everyone seems to have the same idea when the sun finally comes out and the temperatures rise.  While my friends and I were studying outside, middle school boys performed tricks on bikes down the stairs (which I have to admit I was jealous of.  Those kids were crazy! There was this one boy who landed backwards!  I want to land backwards on a bike!)

Also, a few minutes prior, loud shouting came from the middle of the fountain (which doesn't have water right now).  I walked over to the edge and noticed a group of about ten guys step dancing in sync with each other, while onlookers clapped loudly.  

Everybody was smiling, laughing, and basking in the sun, and it made me really excited about the future of this semester.  It's absolutely amazing to be outside all of the time, instead of being cooped up in the small dorms, where hours pass by without you knowing.  

Happy Spring everyone!  Here's hoping it lasts for a really long time! 

I know the above picture has like nothing to do with what I've just been talking about, but I just couldn't resist putting a cute little chick in my post for today.  They are just adorable.  I would totally get one for a pet (that is, until they were chickens because they're ugly.  And if, for some unreasonable explanation, I did in fact like said chicken, I'd be freaked out for the rest of my life whenever I ate one)

IMAX time

I've never been to an IMAX theater.  That alone made me extremely excited yesterday when my friends and I went to go see Watchmen, the highly anticipated movie based off a popular graphic novel.  I had seen the trailer, which was mind blowing itself, and I desperately wanted to know what everyone was going on about.

Without the IMAX screen, it would have been amazing.  But with the IMAX screen, I was quite literally blown away.  I walked in, after waiting on the longest line ever and sat in the front row.  When the screen first appeared, my heart raced in my chest (it was a lot louder than I thought it would be).  The previews blared on, which I've got to admit are one of my favorite parts of the w

hole cinematic experience, and even though I've seen them all, such as the Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince and Transformers.  When it finally got to the movie, I was mesmerized.  I don't know what I would have felt if it had been on one of those normal screens, but all I know is, I'm pretty sure it wouldn't have been the same.

Since we're on the topic of things I've never done, one of those is that I've never read a graphic novel.  My high school Spanish teacher had been an avid fan of the genre, always recommending titles to her students.  When she told us about them, I wasn't fully convinced they'd be my cup of tea.  They were full of dark violence, grotesque humor, and a twisted sense of morality I wasn't read

y to experience.  The works we had to read in class had always carried subtle hints of those three elements and that was enough for me.

However, as I grew older, I began to accept them, which lead me to actually like them.  For example, as weak of an example as it is, Sweeney Todd became one of my favorite musicals of the year last year.  300, which was also based off a graphic novel, had me on the edge of my seat for the entire film even though, when it first appeared on the screen, I was skeptic, due to the grey hues of the sky and the intimidating war that was bound to happen.  

I always write about the movies that I see, about how amazing they are, and how you, as a reader, should also go watch it.  Watchmen is definitely one of them.  It's been a day later and it's still having a huge impact on me.  Just don't bring your children with you.  It was a 10:30 showing, which was the earliest that wasn't sold out.  In the middle of the movie, whic

h was full of blood and depressing themes, a small  child, who couldn't have been over the age of 8, started crying.  I just don't understand parents who bring their kids to an R rated movie.  So, if you're in the mood for a dark comic, full of romance, gore, justice, and villainy (this is a word, I just looked it up), go see it.  It will not disappoint.