I don't recommend these. At least not for you.

--This is day 1 of the "7 Last Days of Summer"--


Readers beware: This is long.


Recommendations are tough things. I never know how I feel about them.
The art of recommending something is, well, just that, it's an art.


Part 1



When you go to recommend something, you need 3 things first:
1. An extensive list of possible recommendations.
2. A 3-5 minute conversation in which you say certain things and watch their reactions.
3. An quick, cursory understanding of their current situation.

If you have those 3 things, you may start the recommendation process. Your first recommendation is crucial. Even if you have the 3 things, you still need to be cautious on the first recommendation. I usually try to let people recommend something for me first.

Example: (We're going to use movies for our examples today. You'll see why later on. Books, music, art and internet sites can also be applied.)

Me (speaking): Yes, you're right. I do love movies. What's your favorite movie?

Me (thinking): The fact that you didn't answer that immediately with, "There's no such thing as my favorite movie. I love all movies" means that my choices are being cut down to about 800 choices. (800 is taking into account the list of 3 things that you have already acquired)

Them: Well... I would definitely have to say.. You know I really love.... I'm not like normal people who just watch certain types of movies....It would probably be....I think maybe....Okay, my favorite movie is Pirates of the Caribbean.

Me (thinking): Oh brother. That cuts down my list to about 150 choices.

Me (saying): Yeah, Johnny Depp is good in that.

Them: Yeah, he's funny, but I really like Orlando Bloom.

Me (thinking): 50 choices.

Me (saying): So did you like the second and third ones too?

Them: Absolutely.

Me (thinking): 25 choices.

Me (saying): Really? I'm not that huge of a fan. But tell me, what's another one of your favorite movies?

Them: Well, maybe... Okay, don't tell anyone this, because it's not really checkable, but I really love Sahara.

Me (thinking): 10.

Me (saying): Wow, you gotta to be careful with that one. I'll definitely keep that between us. Any other bad movies that you're into?

Me (thinking): The fact that I didn't instantly puke when you talked about Sahara is another thing I would like to keep between us.

Them: Well, my greatest movie of all time is...I mean this is the one that I could watch all day....And it's sad, and good, and funny, and it's got great action...And this one, it's rated....well it's rated R....but it's really not bad....I promise....it's just kind of violent.....anyway, it would have to be....(insert one of the 3 options here)

Me (thinking): 2.

Me (saying): You know what you would probably like? You would probably like the National Treasure movies.

Them: Oh my word! Those are some of my favorite movies. I can't believe I didn't mention them. They are so great, do you like them?

Me (saying): I like the fact that you like them.

Me (thinking): because it means I was right again.

See how essential the process is?
Follow these steps and you can be recommending with the best of them.


Part 2



It's been a good summer in many ways, but one of it's ways is the way that I was able to accomplish many things I have wanted to accomplish for a while.

I'm talking about two movies, and two shows.

The first movie was perfect. I've seen it three times since I first saw it, and every time I finish it, I want to see it again. The first time I saw it, I wasn't aware that I was so completely pulled into it. When it was done, I couldn't believe that that much time had passed. I thought about it for days afterwards. I read reviews, I wikipedia'd, I googled imaged. And I wanted to talk about it, I really wanted to talk about it. Because, it was perfect.

The second movie was perfect. I had heard little about this movie, but once I finished it I wanted to tell everyone I knew to watch it. The movie was beautiful. Truly, truly beautiful. There were scenes that you couldn't tear your eyes away from, there were moments that made you want to weep, and there were beautiful, beautiful, beautiful shots. When the last shot came, it was so beautiful that I caught my breath. It's so hard to convey emotion in that way, and he did it perfectly. When the credits began, I rewound it just so I could see that image again. I wanted to be sure I wasn't dreaming it, but I wasn't. It was even more powerful the second time.

The first show was perfect. I was introduced to it late in the summer by good friends, and after the first 12 minutes, I was hooked. It was so incredibly wonderful that I didn't want to finish it. And then, to my great enjoyment, I realized that it was a show that could be watched again, and again. Also, I now know what I need for my new ringtone. It's one of the greatest tragedy's in the world that it got pulled. But, we do thank all of the cast/writers/producers/narrator for the genius that they shared with us.

The second show was perfect. I've been working on it for a while, and I finished it today. I cannot describe to you how much I love this show. I plan on buying all the seasons, and re-watching them all again. There's a reason it was lauded for it's ensemble cast, there was never one moment in which the acting was poor. And if you don't believe me, it's clearly only because you've never seen this show. Every single character was perfect, every single episode was moving, every single song was intoxicating, every single time. I could spend hours lauding the show's leading character, but that wouldn't be fair to all the amazing support that the other cast members offered. There were many times in this show when I realized that my mouth was open, that I was tightly clutching my pillow, that I felt like crying, that I was so angry, that I was aching, and I was left wondering how long I had been that way. I want to go on, but I can't. What more can be said about perfection?


Part 3



I can count on less than one hand the people that I will recommend anything to, and chances are, that you aren't one of them. If you are, rest assured, you've already heard about these four things.
If I felt like I could recommend these blindly to you, they would each have their own separate post. But I couldn't do that. I wanted to post about them, but in a way that you would be okay with me not supplying their names.


These are some of the most wonderful movies and TV shows that I have ever seen.

But I don't recommend them. At least not for you.