Harry Potter Experiment of 2009

This girl:

is going to attempt something that this guy:deems physically impossible. Maybe he's right, maybe she will fail. But there's only one way to find out.

Sometime, in the near future, Jesse Kay Betts will attempt to read all 7 immense Harry Potter books in 24 hours. Stay tuned.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Justin and I just watched Woody Allen's new movie "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" last night. I don't know if anyone knows a lot about it or if anyone is planning on seeing it. We figured there might be a good chance some of our family would see it since it is rated PG-13 and Penelope Cruz is nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance.

Justin and I were not big fans of the movie itself, but that's not really what I wanted to say about it. I just wanted to warn everyone before they see it that I think it probably should have been rated R. I don't remember there being any language and there is very very little violence. However, the entire plot, and almost all the characters, represent very immoral behaviors. Adultery, bisexuality, and 3-ways are predominate themes in the plot.

I just didn't want anyone to see this movie expecting something totally different, and be disappointed, like we were.

Snow Day

It has been snowing non-stop for hours! It's crazy! I've never seen so much snow in my whole life. Now, this morning, my uncle Kleston plowed our driveway for us. These pictures were taken about 5 hours later. Oh, and the snow was still coming down steadily.

This is a ruler. The snow is at about 11 inches.
This is Keshia's car. The snow is almost covering the tires!
This is when I was trying to get in the car. When I opened the door, it pushed some snow out of the way. As you can see, it's as high as the door.

Wrensssssss

Here is a link to the page where you can download the rough version of the song that the wrens recorded last monday. I think it's fantastic and can't wait to hear a final version of it.

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/download/148719-new-music-the-wrens-new-song-mp3

100 tunes yeah

Coming soon is my 100 favorite songs of all time. I emailed this list to bryan last year sometime but i have decided to do something differently so the list is going to be completely different. So stay tuned to see the awesomeness. This re-editing of my list is inspired by nic's musical quest. Thank you nic. And get on with it....please.

The Academy Awards Ballot

As Justin passionately stated before, the Academy Awards nominations came out today. It was my brilliant sister, Kelsey, who gave me a great idea. Those of you who can't come to our Academy Awards party, but still want to participate in the contest, you can. So, decide who you think will win all the categories below, and email (heapofloser@yahoo.com) it to me before the winners are announced, and if you guess the most right, you win the prize. And if you would also like to include who you think SHOULD win, even though you don't think they will, just for fun, that's cool too. (Oh, and, no going to prediction websites and reading expert opinion on who the winners will be because, hey, doesn't that just feel like cheating?? But, it's cool if you want to read about the movie if you don't know what it is.) And don't stress too much, no one knows what sound mixing is :) And if you want to know who to beat, I am the defending champion.
Academy Award Power Ranking:
1. Jesse
LAST. everyone else.

Oh, and before I list the ballot, on a personal note I would just like to say that it is a TRAVESTY that Clint Eastwood's "Gran Torino" was totally overlooked, especially for best original screenplay and best actor. Shame on you, academy. To the ballot!

Best Actor in a Leading Role

Richard Jenkins -- THE VISITOR
Frank Langella -- FROST/NIXON
Sean Penn -- MILK
Brad Pitt -- THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
Mickey Rourke --THE WRESTLER

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Josh Brolin -- MILK
Robert Downey Jr. -- TROPIC THUNDER
Philip Seymour Hoffman -- Doubt
Heath Ledger --THE DARK KNIGHT
Michael Shannon -- REVOLUTIONARY ROAD

Best Actress in a Leading Role

Anne Hathaway -- RACHEL GETTING MARRIED
Angelina Jolie -- CHANGELING
Melissa Leo -- FROZEN RIVER
Meryl Streep -- DOUBT
Kate Winslet -- THE READER

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Amy Adams -- DOUBT
Penelope Cruz -- VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA
Viola Davis -- DOUBT
Taraji P. Henson -- THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
Marisa Tomei -- THE WRESTLER

Best Animated Feature Film

BOLT
KUNG FU PANDA
WALL-E

Best Art Direction

CHANGELING
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
THE DARK KNIGHT
THE DUCHESS
REVOLUTIONARY ROAD

Best Cinematography

CHANGELING
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
THE DARK KNIGHT
THE READER
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

Best Costume Design

AUSTRALIA
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
THE DUCHESS
MILK
REVOLUTIONARY ROAD

Best Directing

David Fincher -- THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
Ron Howard -- FROST/NIXON
Gus Van Sant -- MILK
Stephen Daldry -- THE READER
Danny Boyle -- SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

Best Documentary Feature

THE BETRAYAL (NERAKHOON)
ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD
THE GARDEN
MAN ON WIRE
TROUBLE THE WATER

Best Documentary Short

THE CONSCIENCE OF NHEM EN
THE FINAL INCH
SMILE PINKI
THE WITNESS - FROM THE BALCONY OF ROOM 306

Best Film Editing

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
THE DARK KNIGHT
FROST/NIKON
MILK
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

Best Foreign Language Film

THE BAADER MEINOF COMPLEX
THE CLASS
DEPARTURES
REVANCHE
WALTZ WITH BASHIR

Best Makeup

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
THE DARK KNIGHT
HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY

Best Music (Score)

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
DEFIANCE
MILK
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
WALL-E

Best Music (Song)

Down to Earth -- WALL-E
Jai Ho -- SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
O Saya -- SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

Best Short Film (Animated)

LA MAISON EN PETITS CUBES
LAVATORY - LOVESTORY
OKTAPODI
PRESTO
THIS WAY UP

Best Short Film (Live Action)

AUF DER STRECKE (ON THE LINE)
MANON ON THE ASPHALT
NEW BOY
THE PIG
SPIELZEUGLAND (TOYLAND)

Best Sound Editing

THE DARK KNIGHT
IRON MAN
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
WALL-E
WANTED

Best Sound Mixing

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
THE DARK KNIGHT
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
WALL-E
WANTED

Best Visual Effects

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
THE DARK KNIGHT
IRON MAN

Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
DOUBT
FROST/NIKON
THE READER
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

Best Writing (Original Screenplay)

FROZEN RIVER
HAPPY-GO-LUCKY
IN BRUGES
MILK
WALL-E

Best Picture

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
FROST/NIXON
MILK
THE READER
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

Acacemy Mucking Up for 82 years

Wow. The academy has totally messed it up again. They even contradict themselves this year with their nominations. The nominations came out this morning and once again they proved that all you have to do to get nominated for best picture is make a political or holocaustal movie. The curious case of benjamin button rightfully leads the pack with 13 nominations. As i have said before it is the best movie of the year and deserves every last one of those. However, the second best movie of the year manages to not get nominated for best picture. Why? Because it is a 'super hero' movie and that is the only explanation. Seriously. And somehow Christopher Nolan (Batman director) didn't get nominated for best director. For me, these are the two biggest hollywood screw ups in a long long time. Let me explain. The Dark Knight got nominated for seven technical awards (not counting the acting awards here), yes i said SEVEN. So obviously the academy felt that it is a really well made film in all aspects of filmmaking. Oh yeah and everybody thought it was a good highly entertaining movie on top of that. Now Milk, which got a best picture nomination over The Dark Knight was nominated for three technical awards. Yes, i said THREE. Then Frost/Nixon and the Reader both only scored two technical nominations. Say it with me now. Yes, i said TWO. But what do all three of these movies have in common? They are all political or holocaustal. How on earth is something nominated for that many technical awards not even get nominated for best picture? Obviously it was more well made in five other categories. I am too angry to accurately articulate what i am thinking but i think you get the point. What a sham.

WEEKEND

So, I thought everyone might be interested in what we did this past weekend with Bryan, Ashley, Chris, and Mike visiting. Here is the break down:

Sleeping: 18.5 hours (actually less for Bryan)
Playing Rock Band: 23 hours
---Playing gigs: 18 hours
---Dressing up the band: approx. 4-5 hours
Eating real meals: 7 minutes
American Idol Karaoke: 3.5 hours (just the girls: Ashley, Jesse, and Keshia)
3-Person Mutated Speed: 2 hours (just the girls)
Apples to Apples: 3 hours
Talking: 1.5 hours (The Happening, Mark Wahlberg, K-Fed, plumbing, wind direction, anger, bees, gay midget rappers, AIDS, Shyamalan's Disorder, theories, math...etc.)

It was a very fun, interesting weekend! Hope we can have many more like it in the future. :)

The Office At Hollywood

So whenever I hang out with any of my siblings it makes me awfully silly. So needless to say hanging out with bryan and ashley this weekend was awesome. It wasn't nearly enough time, but can it really ever be? So when i went to work today i really didn't want to be there. I still wanted to be having fun and like i said i was feeling very silly. I was scheduled to work tonight with the two new people. Neither of them are new to hollywood video but they are new to our store. They transfered from other stores. It was really busy tonight, and when it is busy it is very obnoxious when the phone rings. So, the phone rang. I answered amongst all the chaos and nobody was there. That absolutely drives me nuts. But then i had this idea. I hadn't done a prank with the game crazy guys in awhile and austin was working over there. Perfect. So i walked over to austin and told him to call the store constantly and never answer when they picked up the phone. Austin was all over this. He called every two to three minutes for the next five hours and never once answered. The two i was working with were getting so mad. At one point i had them convinced that it was the cordless phone that was just not working and they had to answer the other one. Then austin would call after them not getting a response for a million turns and i would answer it and he would pretend to be a customer. We had to keep them answering the phone. It was absolutely hysterical. And a couple times he called from his cell phone and game crazy's phone at the same time so both lines were ringing and they both answered it. I had to really try not to laugh. The best time was when he called ryane answered it and of course nobody responded, then she hung up and before she could put the phone down it rang again. I almost lost it. It was so funny. Knowing how much bryan and ashley love the office i thought they would enjoy this. I don't know if it sounds as funny on the screen but the phone ringing every couple of minutes for five hours is pretty dang funny. I am 12.

Justin's new dilemma

So i have a dilemma that i need some help to resolve....well not even that because i want to do what's in the best interest of us and i know what that is i just want to know if it is a crappy thing to do. So here it is. I work at hollywood video. Inside some hollywood video's there are 'game crazy' stores. They are owned by hollywood video but employ different people and work off of a separate corporate thing. Anyway, not really important. We have a game crazy in our store and all of the guys that work there really like me. They think i am the bee's knees. I am not to fond of any of the people that i work with, and they don't appreciate me at all. I do all the freaking work in the entire store and never get any credit and get paid squat in the process. But i do really enjoy working with movies and i know everything. I really do. So Austin is the store manager of the game crazy and he wants to offer me a job, because he sees me doing all the work and getting all the pooped on. He could pay me fifty more cents per hour and give me the same amount of hours. Plus they get commission. Oh and they also get free rentals from hollywood just like i do. So it seems like a pretty easy choice, but the problem is i know everything about movies and don't know bomb diggity about games. So i would be a little out of my element. Plus i feel like if i went over there i would be doing a slimy thing? Is this true? I would really like some honest feedback about what i should do, and if going over there would be slimy of me. Jesse and i have already talked about it if that's what you are thinking i should do. I just want to see some other opinions. Let me have it...please....ok..bye.....amen.

For Nic

Nic this post is for you. I hate your blog. Why? Because twice now i have tried publishing comments on your post about your new music project, and neither time did my comment post. It drives me bonkers. My comment on your blog basically said that i love your idea and i will listen to every single song. I like a lot of them, but disagree with a lot of them. 'Imagine' should be number one on their list because it is freaking amazing and i hate the first two songs. I think they are stupid. But i salute your ambitious undertaking and want to be a part of it. My mama didn't raise no foo'.

Invitation

Last year, Justin and I threw an Academy Awards Party. We had fun, and I think everyone who came also had fun. So, we decided to repeat it this year. (I'm also putting a reminder on the sidebar so no one will forget.) Everyone who wants to come is invited! Everyone can stay with us, too, as long as you don't mind being squished wherever we can put you. :) It's going to be awesome. We'll have ballots for everyone to guess who they think the winners will be, and a prize for the person who gets the most right. We'll play games during commercials, and have lots of food to eat. Please let us know if you think you want to come and/or will be able to come!

The Ever-Changing Hair of Nicholas Cage

Justin and I noticed something kinda funny, and we thought we would share it with everyone. We noticed that Nicholas Cage's quality of hair in a movie hints at the quality of the movie itself. Here is the proof:

(We apologize if someone likes a movie we're about to bash.)

BAD HAIR MOVIES

THE WICKER MAN

GHOST RIDER
NEXT
NATIONAL TREASURE: BOOK OF SECRETS
(This movie isn't as bad as the others, and neither is his hair.)

BANGKOK DANGEROUS

GOOD HAIR MOVIES

THE WEATHER MAN

LORD OF WAR

NATIONAL TREASURE

MATCHSTICK MEN

WINDTALKERS

Now, here is an exception. One of Nicholas Cage's best movies: Adaptation. His hair is awful. However, he is portraying an actual person: Charlie Kaufman So, we excuse his awful hair.

ADAPTATION

So, there you have it! I'm sure there are more exceptions, but it's funnier to pretend there aren't.

2005 Justademy Awards

Hooray for the 2005 justademy awards!!! I enjoy doing this. I wish i could do this for my job...that would be great. Just a little note before we get to it. Back in 2000 when i was watching magnolia with stacey i said and i quote, "this guy will win best actor in the next five years, i guarantee it." That was in reference to the mostly unknown at the time Philip Seymour Hoffman. And i was right. I am ridiculously awesome. Remember the red highlighted ones are the real winners, the italicized and asteriked ones are my changes and the pictured one is my winner, and possibly the real winner. And here we go.

2005 Best Supporting Actor Nominees

George Clooney {Syriana}

Matt Dillon {Crash}

Paul Giamatti {Cinderella Man}

Jake Gyllenhaal {Brokeback Mountain}

William Hurt {A History Of Violence}

Justademy's 2005 Best Supporting Actor Nominees

Terrence Howard {Crash}**

Ray Winstone {The Proposition}**

Paul Giamatti {Cinderella Man}

Jake Gyllenhaal {Brokeback Mountain}

Jared Leto {Lord Of War}**

And the Winner is...

Ray Winstone {The Proposition}

2005 Best Supporting Actress Nominees

Amy Adams {Junebug}

Catherine Keener {Capote}

Rachel Weisz {The Constant Gardener}

Frances McDormand {North Country}

Michelle Williams {Brokeback Mountain}

Justademy's 2005 Best Supporting Actress

Amy Adams {Junebug}

Catherine Keener {Capote}

Rachel Weisz {The Constant Gardener}

Frances McDormand {North Country}

Michelle Williams {Brokeback Mountain}

And the Winner is...

Rachel Weisz {The Constant Gardener}

2005 Best Actor Nominees

Heath Ledger {Brokeback Mountain}

Philip Seymour Hoffman {Capote}

Terrence Howard {Hustle & Flow}

David Strathairn {Good Night And Good Luck}

Joaquin Phoenix {Walk The Line}

Justademy's 2005 Best Actor Nominees

Heath Ledger {Brokeback Mountain}

Philip Seymour Hoffman {Capote}

Robert Downey Jr. {Kiss Kiss Bang Bang}**

David Strathairn {Good Night And Good Luck}

Viggo Mortensen {A History Of Violence}**

And the Winner is...

Philip Seymour Hoffman {Capote}

2005 Best Actress Nominees

Judi Dench {Ms. Henderson Presents}

Charlize Theron {North Country}

Felicity Huffman {Transamerica}

Keira Knightley {Pride & Prejudice}

Reese Witherspoon {Walk The Line}

Justademy's 2005 Best Actress Nominees

Miranda July {Me And You And Everyone We Know}**

Charlize Theron {North Country}

Felicity Huffman {Transamerica}

Joan Allen {The Upside Of Anger}**

Reese Witherspoon {Walk The Line}

And the Winner is...

Reese Witherspoon {Walk The Line}

2005 Best Director Nominees

Ang Lee {Brokeback Mountain}

Paul Haggis {Crash}

Bennett Miller {Capote}

George Clooney {Good Night And Good Luck}

Steven Spielberg {Munich}

Justademy's 2005 Best Director Nominees

Chan Wook-Park {Oldboy}**

Paul Haggis {Crash}

John Hillcoat {The Proposition}**

George Clooney {Good Night And Good Luck}

Steven Spielberg {Munich}

And the Winner is...

John Hillcoat {The Proposition}

2005 Best Picture Nominees

Crash

Capote

Munich

Good Night And Good Luck

Brokeback Mountain

Justademy's 2005 Best Picture Nominees

Crash

Capote

Munich

Good Night And Good Luck

The Proposition**

And the Winner is...

Capote

First day of school!!!

Today was that dreaded first day of school. Although, i must admit it was not that bad. My first class was communications and i should definitely get an "A" in that class. There are four speeches for the class, but public speaking doesn't bother me so i should be fine. The second class i was a little worried about. It's intro to diversity and my teachers name is Kholouroud Al-Qubbaj. I was just hoping that she wasn't going to show up with a bomb strapped to her chest. She didn't but she was wearing panties on her head so i guess i break even for the day. I think it's going to be fun to learn all about those stupid middle eastern religions, and why they insist on being wack jobs. Do i need this diversity class? Some would probably say i do, and i would probably call them retarded. Anyway, the first day of school was not so bad and i should get "A's" in both of those classes so that's good. Oh and i didn't have to stand up and introduce myself in either of the classes, so i believe that is a big fat victory for me.

Christmas is over...sad.

This thingy has sound, just so you know. "I Saw Her Standing There" The Beatles

Oh, and thank you Mom and Dad Laws for Justin's new winter coat, I couldn't include it because he has it with him at work.

And thank you Kurt and Kelsey for the gift card to Wal-Mart

And if I forgot any others, sorry and thank you and we love you, honest.