My name is Terry and this is my blog.
I am currently living in Los Angeles.
I like films, music, and don't even get me started on long walks on the beach.
I don't read a lot of books, but am always fishing for book recommendations.
My parents are Vietnamese and I was born in America.
That's all you really need to know upfront.
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Lil Ceesco aka Francis Huynh
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Keith Schofield
Matt White
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Liam Harrison (rarely updated)
Mitch Glaser
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Thirsty Thong
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Apple posted the trailer for Lust, Caution directed by my BFF Ang Lee, starring my man crush Tony Leung , Joan Chen and newcomer Tang Wei. I'm very excited about this one, but just to be a dick I'm going to refer to it as In the Mood For Guns.
terry on 07.30.07 @ 07:24 PM PDT [link]
I saw Chromeo last Thursday night at the Echoplex with Flosstradamus. Dance music - I finally get it.
Never heard of Chromeo? Ch-ch-check it -
In other news, through an embarrassing episode that involved a bowl of pho chicken soup, a french-vietnamese girl and my favorite downtown Vietnamese restaurant, I learned the Vietnamese word for "Switzerland" (it sounds like "Swissay").
terry on 07.30.07 @ 06:42 PM PDT [link]
music: Let it Rain, I hydroplane in the bank
mood: Coming down with the Dow Jones
The Dow Jones dropped more than 310 points today. This gives me the perfect excuse to post the music video of my 2007 summer jam.
On hearing the line "Rainman is back with Little Miss Sunshine, Rihanna where you at?" I realized I can quote Jay-Z better than I can quote Shakespeare. Time to hit the books again.
terry on 07.26.07 @ 07:06 PM PDT [link]
Hey - so I think the new Hot Hot Heat single "Let Me In" is really, really, really good. How good? So good the blogoshpere has decided not to leak the song or make a radio-rip of it (or maybe the Hype machine is just not listing it).
You can listen to the complete track by tuning into a modern rock radio station and waiting for them to play it. If you're not into waiting, you could call the station and just ask them to play it (they will). So old school.
terry on 07.22.07 @ 02:30 PM PDT [link]
music: freedom within freedom without
TIDBITS:
This past Monday I went to my first ever baseball game. Yes - First. Ever. The reasons for never attending a game before Monday are still unbeknownst to me, but I had a fun time with my friends M, T, and R (who provided the hook-up on awesome seats and the preferred parking pass! you are the best!). Luckily the Dodgers won that night - 10 to 3 against the Phillies. I use the word "luckily" because the next day they lost 15-3 against the Philies. Well, at least Monday's ticket stub got us 10 free hot wings at Hooters, which M, T and I cashed in on Tuesday. I keep forgetting that the food is actually decent at Hooters.
After the game on Monday, I hung out with the Winch and Pulley crew at Cha Cha Lounge for what I would call hipster karaoke. Members of our group belted thru such hits as "Parents Just Don't Understand," CCR's "Lookin' Out My Back Door," "Hand in My Pocket," Patsy Cline's "Crazy" and "A Day in the Life." I eventually worked up enough courage to do the Jackson 5's "I Want You Back" My performance was abit off. I think it was because I was sober.
Oddly, the week fizzled socially as work and other commitments took over. In the end, despite the pleadings of Sir Bob Geldoff, Mondays aren't sooo bad.
Sadly, this week saw the death of Sherman Torgan, owner of the New Beverly Cinema, one of my favorite places in all of L.A. I've had the opportunity to see some great classics here, including The Conformist, Army of Shadows, Walkabout, The Last Wave, L'Enfant, and a handful of Fellini and Godard films. A few months ago, my friends and I caught some pretty fucking crazy grindhouse film courtesy of Quentin Tarantino.
The theater is temporarily closed and my hope is that Sherman's family takes all the time they need to sort what they need to sort out. I'm crossing my fingers that the theater re-opens sooner than later as it is a staple of my (and other's) L.A. life.
In other tragic news, LAIST.com reported on the July 10th suicide of writer and filmmaker Theresa Duncan, who ran the Los Angeles blog The Wit of the Staircase. In their article, they also report that her husband, artist/painter Jeremy Blake has gone missing and is presumed dead. Various sources report that Blake was missing off New York's Rockaway Beach on July 20, 2007 a week after Theresa committed suicide.
To refresh everyone's memory, Blake's paintings were featured in Paul Thomas Anderson's underrated Punch Drunk Love and he also designed the cover for my favorite Beck album Sea Change.
Respect to all. You will be missed.
Jeremy Blake's video for Beck's "Round the Bend"
terry on 07.21.07 @ 05:05 PM PDT [link]
music: I wish you could swim like the dolphins
mood: Everyday is like Sunday
Last night I saw Die Hard 4 and all I can say is that I had a good time. Sure, the hacker plotline is a bit dated (in one shot I saw a screen grab for dogpile.com - so 1999) and the idea of someone shutting everything down in the US for billions of untraceable dollars is preposterous, but the action was kick-ass. Despite my hatred for the PC vs. MAC commercials, Justin Long was bearable and the little smokestack who plays Bruce Willis's daughter was better eye candy than Megan Fox in Transformers.
My only real beef was with John McClane's reference to Maggie Q's character as that "dead Asian hooker bitch" but I guess he was just being dramatic for the sake of being dramatic.
If you like ridiculous car crashes and shoot-outs - check it out.
Nerd Alert - did anyone else notice that Justin Long's hacker character was reading the comic book "Albion" by Alan Moore - which also happens to be a Pete Doherty song? My attention to detail unnerves me, sometimes.
I also saw Sicko recently and thought it was okay. My only hope is that it raises a sensible debate on universal healthcare. I am in no position to make a claim that universal healthcare is the best thing for this country.
In other news, I bought a very nice rice cooker recently. It's a Zojirushi and it plays twinkle twinkle little star when it starts cooking the rice.
terry on 07.08.07 @ 05:08 PM PDT [link]
music: The National is the only thing I am listening to right now
mood: TGI Weekend.
So I saw Transformers a few days ago and after much deliberation, it is probably my favorite action movie/blockbuster movie of all time. Yes, better than Terminator 2, better than Batman Begins, better than The Matrix. Simply put - this movie is SICK. There was never a dull moment and the CG was off the hook. Say what you want about Micheal Bay, but can you imagine anyone elese doing a better job? Maybe James Cameron, definitely not Sam Raimi.
Pray there's no sequel. Now the only other summer movie I am looking forward to is Harry Potter 5.
While I'm thinking about it - Voltron - directed by Antoine Fuqua - starring Winona Ryder and Adrian Grenier - screenplay by Jonathan Lethem or Stephen Gaghan. Get to it!
In other news, I will be returning to York, Pennsylvania in August to attend my 10 year High School re-union. My great hope is that after it's all over I will no longer have dreams where I am back in highschool and did not study for a final that I didn't know I had to take.
terry on 07.07.07 @ 05:21 PM PDT [link]
Win Butler smashes the camera at 3:49. Link via Dead Flowers.
And guess who got terrace seats for the Arcade Fire/LCD Soundsystem show at the Hollywood Bowl in Sept? This guy! Now all I need is a date.
As a bonus for the lack of posts recently, here's some bloopers from the Jonathan Ross episode from the 2nd season of EXTRAS. I couldn't get into the first season, but the second season blew me away. "Are you having a laugh? Is she having a laugh?"
terry on 07.03.07 @ 03:39 PM PDT [link]
