Hop's Thoughts

No, this will not be some memoriam to every celebrity who died this past year. While I too was saddened by the losses, it’s our individual lives and how those loves affect others that means the most. I won’t even discuss my personal woes, because the reality is, they’re mine and I own them. It’s called accountability and while this is in no way a pat on the back, it’s a lost art.  This year has been a stressful one for me, but how can I complain when I have friends who have lost their parents, their siblings, their husbands and wives, even their children? I can’t in good faith ask for their pity or even their sympathy, or is it empathy, when I know the pain of losing the person who matters most to them. I can understand and show empathy and from where I am now, I can only do so by quietly dealing with life. Not the lemons we equate to bad tidings, but life. People are enamored by clichés and their use of them says a lot about how we misunderstand our existence. Life isn’t meant...

Living in a studio apartment for over a decade, then moving into a home that wasn't mine, followed by my current locale, a motel room, has lead me on a search for a new home. But, what do I "need?" What we want is at the forefront of our everyday lives and an entire capitalistic industry has fed of our desires, but it ignores what we need. I won't bore you with the mathematics, but have you ever thought about hotels? I'm not talking about the Waldorf Astoria or the ones you see in Dubai. I'm talking your standard hotel room. Maybe even your standard motel room. You're paying somewhere in the vicinity of $100 for what you need. In actuality, you're getting more than what you need and you're paying much more than you should, but most of the money is going towards convenience. As I look at "my" room, I have everything, but a stove. I have two beds, I need one. I have three chairs, I need two, should I decide to entertain a guest. I have a ...

This blog used to be much more personal. A way for me to get off my chest and mind the things I couldn't always talk about. Nobody read it, which made it somewhat like screaming at the mirror, but for whatever, it helped. I gave it up a while back, when I started talking to real people, but I started to realize their ideas, thoughts, opinions and often their criticisms, were entirely based on their lives and not mine. I lost my outlet and I started to internalize. I'm not saying this will be my go to source for therapy, but maybe I need it. Maybe I don't. Maybe internalizing isn't such a bad thing after all. I mean, nobody really wants to hear other people's problems anyway, unless of course, they can make a buck off of them. So an incident happened back in November and it put me in a bind. Without getting into a long-winded, detailed account, I threatened someone. Apparently, I threatened them in the worst way I could. I threatened to treat them as they had treat...

I Was Born, But - Ozu's 1932 silent film plays like a Japanese Our Gang and it's wonderful. The Victim - Thai horror film has as good a first hour as any I've seen, then the puzzle begins. The Sea Of Trees - Van Sant fails, by making the most predictable movie ever made. Cold Fish - Starts off strong, but devolves into splatter film with very little to admire. Sausage Party - A 90 minutes dick joke that lost me in the first 90 seconds. Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword Of Vengeance - Part one of six is everything you could want. Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart At The River Styx: Wonderful second part delivers loads Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart to Hades: A tad slower than the first two, but quite good. Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart In Peril - A little better than third, but still fun. Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart In The Land Of Demons: Gets back on superb starting track. Lone Wolf and Cub: White Heaven In Hell - Superb finale. Absolutely brilliant set. I Am The Pretty Thing T...