"All the World's a Stage, and Most of us Are Desperately Unrehearsed." -- Sean O'Casey

Gahh! My eyes! Too much green! All due respect to Kermit the Frog, but it's not easy seein' green...

Awfully cool picture, though...

OK, it's O Day! No way, Jose! Hooray! Let's foray! Ummm.... Norway! uh... yeah, nevermind... lost steam, thank God. That was likely as annoying to read as it was to write... right?

Thank you to everyone that is still dropping by to read these posts. Of course, having to be stuck inside this big round head of mine, I can't help but just assume that y'all will be as interested in my opinions as I am! I mean, why not? I'm so brilliant, right? Say one thing about Dave, say he's enlightening! Or gassy. One or the other. OK, fine, I'm gassy... of course, bringing up "gassy" "enlighten" and "brilliant" in one paragraph like this is the perfect excuse to link to this video again... say one thing about Dave, say he's juvenile...

On to our "O Day" offerings!

Favorite Movies (O):

On The Waterfront (1954): Winner of 8 Academy Awards, including Best Actor (Brando), Best Supporting Actress, Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay, this was the first movie I recall watching that clued me in to how amazing Marlon Brando was. It really got me interested in the craft of acting; made me want to do it. In fact, I think I can even narrow it down to the precise scene in the film. No, not the scene in the car where Brando tells his brother (Rod Steiger) that he "coulda been a contenduh." It's this one...



I love that scene, especially the long initial take where they walk and chat, and he sits and puts the glove on. All those lines were written on a page, they came from someone else... but, man, it just looks like a natural conversation, like all of Brando's lines are just springing from the moment. Like he's listening to her, and thinking about what she's saying, and replying accordingly. Not stiff at all, like just about everything else in movies up to that point. His eyes, his pauses, the way he considers his words, sometimes casual, sometimes hesitant, sometimes careless, all in one take/shot. Brilliant. Brando was the best. Way ahead of his time. He was awesome in Streetcar as well, of course. But I didn't watch that one until many years later. Interesting to contrast the acting styles of Brando and Vivien Leigh. Old school and new school.

Oscar (1991): Certainly not an Oscar winner, but a terrific screenplay nevertheless. A prohibition-era gangster comedy with brilliant writing, tons of laughs, great characters all over the place, a terrific ensemble cast, and so many twists and turns, you really do have to watch it repeatedly to catch it all... trust me, you won't mind. It is a joy to watch, and it improves with each viewing. Don't let the fact that Stallone plays the lead dissuade you at all... he's perfect. Find this movie and watch it! Then buy a copy for your library.

Favorite Performances (O):

Tatum O'Neal in Paper Moon (1973): A con man during the great depression connects with a precocious girl that may or may not be his actual daughter, and ends up using her to assist him in his Bible-selling schemes. May not sound very interesting to you, but trust me, this is another film you need to add to your Watch List, if you haven't seen it before. Tatum O'Neal is just incredible in her role, doing many incredibly complex, long takes crammed full of dialog, with her dad Ryan... probably only possible in the first place because they were father/daughter in real life, and could devote the time to rehearsal. No surprise that it took its toll on their relationship. But on screen, she is mesmerizing. So much so, she won the Oscar that year for Best Supporting Actress... at 10 years old, she is still the youngest person to have won an Oscar.

Favorite Actors/Actresses (O):

Gary Oldman: This guy has worn so many different disguises in such an amazing array of roles over the years, you've likely seen him in films and didn't even realize it was him. A terrific actor, as far as craft, and incredible versatility combine to secure him a place on my Favorites List. 70+ movie and TV appearances, with no less than 5 currently in some stage of development (post/pre), coming soon to a screen near you. He's even done a lot of video game voice work. I certainly don't claim to have seen everything he's done, but a good chunk... among my favorites are his roles in The Fifth Element, JFK, and the Book of Eli. He was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar this past year, for Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy (haven't seen it yet, but will).

Favorite Movie Characters (O):

Brad Pitt as Mickie O'Neil in Snatch (2000): Not a movie for the faint of heart or the easily offended, Snatch nevertheless features a fun, funny script, tons of great characters, a terrific cast, lots of action and twists and turns, memorable dialog, tension... and violence and profanity. Pitt plays Mickie, who is a gypsy that speaks a near-unintelligible form of heavily-accented English, and is a bare-knuckle fighter. Through a course of events too labyrinthine to even begin to summarize, he's forced to fight an underground bare-knuckle fight for a local mob boss and throw the fight to avoid all manner of unpleasant repercussions. But Mickie has his own agenda, and turns the tables on the situation, with a vengeance. It really is a great performance, in a film full of them. But again, don't watch it unless you can tolerate a rather substantial amount of grit and underbelly.

OK, no more movie-related categories...

Favorite Games (O):

Oblivion (2006): I won't explain this at length. Those that know of the game will understand why it's a favorite of mine (since it is likely yours as well), and those who don't know won't care.... let's just say that I've given a few hundred hours to this game and it's sequel Skyrim... yeah, I'm an adventurous hero-type like that...

Favorite Songs (O):

Over You by Daughtry: I like Daughtry because he looks just like Ed Bassmaster...

[Honorable Mention: The Obvious Child, by Paul Simon.

One, by Metallica]

Odds & Ends (O):

Favorite Webcomics: The Order of the Stick

Well, just one Odd and End! I wonder which one it is, an odd or an end? The Order of the Stick is a great webcomic, even though I never got into D&D games as a kid. I guess I'd call it an Odd, since it can be rather odd (in a funny way), and I really don't want it to end...

OK, fine, that's that. Say one thing about Dave, say he's thorough.

"O Day" is Over and Out.

Adios for now.

Dave the Odoriferous, Ostentatious and Odd