M.B.'s Musings

The Dark Knight...line

2008-07-17T23:41:00.000-07:00

Here I thought getting to the theater nearly two hours early would
give me an advantage. I was wrong. I've never seen a theater this
packed for a midnight showing. I'm so excited about this flick. I've
been waiting threes years for it. Tomorrow I will try and see it on
IMAX. According to everyone that is the way to see it.

Holy shit!

2008-04-04T17:56:00.000-07:00

I stumbled upon this youtube video of a boy soprano who couldn't be much older than 11 or 12 singing Der Holle Rach from Mozart's Die Zauberflote, or more commonly known as The Magic Flute. Mind you, the notes aren't always pitch perfect and he has a minor crack here and there, but for the most part it is spot on. I just couldn't believe it. Have a view for yourself.

What's this world coming to?

2008-03-25T11:10:00.000-07:00

To answer that pressing question, here comes the latest via the National Post. A man, I mean woman, wait I mean man, is giving birth to a child. What, don't believe me? Check it out for yourself!

Pixar's Wall E

2008-03-24T00:17:00.000-07:00

Pixar, my favorite animation studio, is back again this coming summer. This time it's about a robot in the future called Wall-E. Frankly, I don't care what their movies are about. I'm there no matter what.

My first exposure to Pixar was several years ago when Toy Story 2 came out on VHS/DVD. My sister, my nephews, and I took a trip down to Cincinnati and they had brought it with them to watch. I had avoided seeing the Toy Story movies because I thought they were truly kids' movies. Well, they are to a certain extent, but what I realized with that first viewing was a well told story with characters that had depth and a story that could captivate children as well as adults.

After that I was hooked. Since Monsters, Inc., I have seen every Pixar film in the theaters and own all of the movies on DVD.

Wall-E is coming out this summer and I anxiously await its arrival. Have a look at the trailers. It looks like they have another winner on their hands.

Climate Change?

2008-03-22T19:40:00.001-07:00

Count me as one of those skeptics when it comes to global warming being caused by man. Here comes an interesting article/interview from The Australian by Christopher Pearson on an interview with Michael Duffy and Jennifer Marohasy. In it, the latter two discuss some very interesting data being collected by NASA's Aqua satellite in which many of the models from the global warming freaks are not accurate at all. Have a read for yourself.

I guess this means that Al Gore's cash cow for carbon offsets might be a bust? Let's hope!

Sub Notebooks

2008-03-22T18:56:00.001-07:00

A whole slew of companies are coming out with these sub-notebook computers for $400 or less. The most popular one is the Eee PC from Asus. There's also the Everex, which has gotten some bad reviews. Now comes one from Intel, who you might recall had a competitor to the OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) computer. It's called the Eco PC and will get you a 900 mhz Celeron, 512MB ram, 40 GB hard drive, Wifi, and ethernet. Engadget has some pics of the machine.

These machines are basically internet devices. You're not going to be doing any video rendering or playing Crysis on them. So why the hell do I want one of them? Again, as I discussed with the Chumby, it's not anything I need. I have this desire to have these gadgets and anything that looks cool is something I want.

With that said, if you're looking for a notebook to have at your home that you want to be able to take around and have the ability to surf the net, these are the ideal thing for you. It won't set you back a lot and it will satisfy that desire of wanting to be always connected without having to be attached to your desktop.

One note: Keep in mind that most of these sub-notebooks, under$400 are primarily run by Linux. Asus is supposedly going to give you the ability to purchase it with Windows eventually, but that will also raise the price. So YMMV.

Theme parks aren't for me

2008-03-20T12:09:00.001-07:00

Yesterday my wife and I decided to go to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (formerly known as Marine World) in Vallejo. My wife had asked me to go last season. I was up for it until I found out that it's a theme park. Well, we decided to go anyway and I have officially decided that theme parks just aren't for me.

I've never been a fan of the tall roller coasters. I remember when I was a kid going to Astroworld all the time and loving it. Yet, I do remember being terrified of those roller coasters that went up really high. In fact, the first time I was able to ride the Texas Cyclone at Astroworld, I screamed the entire time and had my head down as well.

First off, theme parks are a rip off! Last November we went to Seaworld in San Diego and I paid almost $50 a ticket that included a military discount that my wife's aunt got for us. Then I had to pay $10 for parking. Third, Shamu was closed that day and frankly there weren't many animals there to see. I saw more at the San Francisco Zoo. We ended up leaving after only having been there for a few hours.

So we get to Discovery Kingdom yesterday and I am forced to pay $15 for parking!!! Can you believe it?! I paid $35 a ticket online PLUS a $3 convenience fee for purchasing it online! What the hell is that? And of course when you get there, you have to go through a metal detector and have your bags searched. Fine, no problem. What are they looking for in your bags? Oh that's right! They're looking for your outside food and drinks. You're forced to pay their exorbitant prices, where they want you to pay $3.50 for a 20oz. bottle of soda!

Fine, I can accept all of this. But then all of the freaking rides were closed and didn't open until half way through the day! Even a number of their animal exhibits were closed. What a ripoff!

For the entire time that we were there, we rode a total of three rides. And those rides were relatively tame. One was a ride where you sit in a bucket cart of some sort and it spins you around and around. The second was a big boat that went back and forth, like a pendulum, gradually going higher and higher. That one did not sit well with my wife and frankly, it didn't sit well with my stomach. The third was basically a big swing that we all went around in a big circle going higher and higher.

I think this is the final lesson for me. I really don't care for theme parks. And I don't get my money's worth. I think I paid $13 a ticket for the San Francisco Zoo. I saw much more, enjoyed it and felt I got more than my money's worth. I also got to park for free.

Seriously folks, you still question capital punishment?

2008-03-18T18:26:00.001-07:00

Unreal! How can people like this exist? I really hope this bastard gets the full punishment of the law! And no, I don't mean life in prison! I want the SOB hung by his balls!

I'm drooling

2008-03-18T18:19:00.000-07:00

Engadget has hands on with the upcoming 2.0 firmware for the iPhone. I really hope the wait is worth it. Can't wait for June!

Ick!

2008-03-18T18:09:00.001-07:00

As if it couldn't get any sicker for some of these politicians, comes this from Fox News:

Both former New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey and his one-time driver insist that they engaged in three-way sex with McGreevey's wife, Dina Matos McGreevey, who is in the midst of a nasty divorce from from the now openly gay ex-governer.

Really, when is this crap going to end?

Democrats trying to suppress the vote again

2008-03-18T17:29:00.001-07:00

Michigan was slapped and smacked earlier this primary season for moving their primary up in the schedule against the DNC wishes. So Barrack Obama (Hillary Clinton decided otherwise) and other democrats pulled their names from the vote since Michigan's delegates were not going to be counted.

Well, that was all well and good when it didn't matter at the time. Now it does matter since Hillary refuses to quit (Don't you just LOVE it!). And since Florida's efforts to do a another vote have failed, Michigan is trying their course.

Well, it turns out the DNC won't allow those cross over democrats that voted in the Republican primary a chance to vote if this possible do-over happens. According to the AP, "Michigan Democratic Chairman Mark Brewer says the party has the right - and the responsibility - to prevent non-Democrats from having a say in who the party's presidential nominee should be." And here I always thought it was Karl Rove that was the master mind behind voter suppression.

Yikes!

2008-03-17T20:29:00.000-07:00

Alright, I'll ask the more pertinent question: What if I don't want either one, little alone a combo? Oooohh, I think I'm going to have nightmares about this one.

More on Reverend Jeremiah Wright

2008-03-17T15:08:00.000-07:00

Politico.com has an article from Ben Smith about a major speech that Obama is going to give tomorrow in Pennsylvania on race relations and his former pastor. "The caricature that’s being painted of him is not accurate," according to Obama. Oh, so now it's not accurate! Does that mean you really do agree with what he has to say Mr. Obama?

Tent Cities and the supposed mortgage crisis

2008-03-16T21:24:00.000-07:00

Below is a report from the ever objective BBC about tent cities that are popping up in the U.S. due to the mortgage crisis. Where's the rest of the story? As one of the women interviewed states, as soon as she gets a full time job and save money for a car she'll be on her way up. But wait? What I want to know is when these people lost their homes, that meant they lost their jobs and their incomes as well??? Sure, I'm buying that! Something doesn't make any sense. If you were a Brit and didn't know much about the U.S., this report almost makes you think that these tent cities are a common occurrence here. There is something else missing from this report: the blame for all of this! Which of course, we all know is due to Bush's tax cuts for his rich cronies like Michael Moore, Bill Clinton, Barbra Streisand, et. al.

Alec Baldwin is distressed

2008-03-16T16:49:00.001-07:00

Poor Alec Baldwin is distressed over losing his buddy Elliot Spitzer. He's distressed because he was principled. Baldwin was just as excited about Spitzer's election as much as the elections of such principled politicians as Bill Clinton, Teddy Kennedy, and Up Chuck Schumer. Bill Clinton who did not have sexual relations with that woman, Teddy Kennedy, the man who was responsible for Mary Jo Kopechne's drowning. I suggest Baldwin find some other politicians to look up to!

More on Obama's Pastor

2008-03-16T00:02:00.000-07:00

Hotair.com has more video, courtesy of Fox News Hannity & Colmes, on some of the outrageous things that Obama "vehemently disagree[s] and strongly condemn[s]". Uh huh...and Bill Clinton didn't inhale or have sexual relations with that woman!

Why do I want one of these?

2008-03-15T22:15:00.000-07:00

I am a complete and total gadget geek! If I had the money, I would buy virtually every mildly amusing gadget on the market. Alas, I do not have the money so I have to pick and choose. For now, I have to be content with my iPhone, iMac, Macbook, PSP, Nintendo DS Lite, and my original 4G iPod. But dammit, I want this toy too!
It's called the Chumby and I really want one. It's a Linux based device that you can sync via WiFi with the internet to get personal updates on news, sports scores, etc as well as function as an internet radio device. If it were only a little cheaper. $180 is a little steep for this kind of toy, though.

CNN in trouble?

2008-03-15T22:08:00.000-07:00

Could this be a sign? Only the God Lord above knows for sure.

For those that question capital punishment...

2008-03-14T14:24:00.000-07:00

....I give you Mr. Corey Saunders. (Click the photo for the full story)

Let's hope the bastard gets what's coming to him!

WTF!?

2008-03-14T12:33:00.000-07:00

One of my dreams is to go scuba diving with sharks. However, I don't know if I want to get this close.

Obama's Former Minister

2008-03-13T15:38:00.000-07:00

Barack Obama's former (just found this out today) minister has said some pretty damning things (pun intended) about America and Hillary Clinton.

Obama has attended this church for over 20 years. And now this same minister is an adviser to his campaign. As Michelle Malkin points out, we now know why Michelle Obama is suddenly proud of this country for the first time in her adult life.

The Elliot Spitzers and the wives that stand by them

2008-03-13T15:28:00.000-07:00

So I'm sitting here wondering why women continue to stand by their man when they have repeatedly sinned against them and their vows. Why do women like Spitzer's wife or someone like the presumed President Hillary Rodham Clinton do this? Is it the power? Is it the insecurity? Is it the children? Is it the love the wife has?

My wife and I are still newlyweds, but I can't imagine her sticking by me if I were to do something like this. So why do they stand by their man? I've asked a lot of questions. Unfortunately, I have no answers.

iPhone hacking woes

2008-03-12T11:37:00.001-07:00

I have no intention of writing another review or suggestions for this or that. My wife bought the both of us iPhones back in August. I've loved my iPhone ever since and frankly, it's the best phone I've ever had.

What I'm writing about is a cautionary tale. Shortly after we got our phones, I discovered the world of jailbreaking the phone. Jailbreaking, for those that don't know, is basically hacking your phone so you can install unapproved, third party applications on the phone. There are numerous programs out there to accomplish this. One of the first programs out there was AppTap. It is still the primary program to install third party apps on it. Back in the 1.0 to 1.0.2 firmware days, all you had to do was basically put the program on your phone and you were good to go. Then Apple came out with firmware 1.1.1 and that all changed.

Many people that wanted the phone, were also not happy about being locked to AT&T as their provider. So some clever people figured out how to unlock the phone using software. There are numerous ways to accomplish this. When 1.1.1 came out, Apple "bricked" a lot of those phones. And by bricked, I mean they were no longer able to use the phone, period! Apple requires that the iPhone be activated through iTunes. This enables Apple to maintain control over YOUR phone! And I'm sure AT&T wasn't too happy about losing that revenue, since they're locked in to a 5 year exclusive agreement with Apple.

When 1.1.1 came out, it was hacked by exploiting a security hole in Safari. Fortunately, after 1.1.1 came out, a lovely little site came out simply called, jailbreakme.com. All you needed to do was point Safari to that website, and with a couple of clicks, your phone was hacked.

Then 1.1.2 came out and that hack was changed. Now what had to happen was your phone needed to be downgraded, then hacked using the aforementioned security hole, then upgraded again, that is, if you were dumb enough to upgrade it in the first place. Yes, I was that dumb.

Here's the dumb part, I did this not only to my phone, but I did it to my wife's phone as well. Well, I left her at 1.1.2 and I eventually grew tired of my phone crashing. That's the problem with some of this hacking and what not, you never know how reliable it is going to be. My phone would repeatedly crash and I'd have to reboot. This would happen several times a day. So I eventually eliminated the hacked (I HATE that the geeks out there call it jailbreak!) part of the phone and went legit again.

I left my wife's phone hacked. So when 1.1.3 came out in January, shortly after Jobs' keynote at Macworld, I was stoked about the pseudo-GPS capabilities on Google Maps. I upgraded again and left my wife's phone hacked with 1.1.2. Then 1.1.4 came out at the end of February and I heard about this iPhone jailbreak app that I hadn't heard about before. It's called Ziphone and the app is quite handy and user friendly. In the early days of jailbreaking, there were some one-touch apps that would do the job, but a number of the techniques required command-line access and hacking that was beyond my scope of skills. The thing is, after I went legit again, I still missed a number of the third party apps out there. So I just couldn't resist.

Well, after hacking it again for the umpteenth time, all was fine, for about a week, that is. The first thing that went wrong, was after getting off the phone with my wife, I lost speaker volume and couldn't get the phone to make any sounds. That was enough for me, so I went legit AGAIN! Wait, didn't I say earlier, "The first thing that went wrong..." Yes, you guessed it, I couldn't resist! So I hacked the phone one more time.

It was nagging me that my wife's phone didn't have the latest firmware. So I updated her phone and put her legit as well. That's when hell broke loose (note the spelling folks!) for me! I couldn't get her phone to activate. Oh crap! Did I just brick her phone? I tried everything. I restored, I forced a manual restore. I used Ziphone to "refurbish" it and nothing! The site said the iTunes store was not able to activate and gave me error (-4). I was crapping myself! I couldn't get it to work. So finally, I tried another jailbreaking app called iNdependence and used that app to finally activate it. All was well in the world.

Or so I thought. Then I attempted to sync my now hacked phone, and guess what? Remember how I said, "The first thing that went wrong..."? Well the SECOND thing that went wrong was I got another error that said iTunes couldn't sync my bookmarks because the iPhone canceled the sync! WTF!!!!??? That's it! So I decided to restore it and put it back to it's legitimate ways again. I had had enough!

Well, here's the THIRD thing that went wrong: I couldn't FUCKING ACTIVATE MY PHONE!!!!! So I had to use iNdependence again, this time on MY phone. Guess what? A fourth thing went wrong! I STILL couldn't sync my bookmarks and got that same error as before. Well, it turns out that one of those lovely third party apps I had installed, put some bookmarks on my phone's bookmarks that iTunes apparently did not like. Simple solution for this was just to erase those bookmarks.

Oh yeah, remember all that trouble I had with activating both my wife's and my phone? Well, it looks as though the iTunes site was indeed down for that. Because during my typing of this post, I restored my phone again just to make certain since I found it odd that both phones would have that problem. It activated through iTunes with no problems.

Here's the moral of the story: Think long and hard before you decide to do something like this. Keep in mind, I am a computer geek and I am, for the most part, very comfortable with the inner workings of apps and hardware. Not that I am an über geek, but I am a geek. If you don't know what you're doing, DO NOT attempt this! Hell, I am going to take my own advice and not do this ever again. I loved a lot of those third party apps, but it just is not worth the instability and the possibility of your phone getting totally fucked.

Fortunately, Steve Jobs announced the long awaited SDK (software development kit) for the iPhone on March 6. Unfortunately, we have to wait till June for that. And who knows, they may even have a new, updated iPhone come out the same time.

michaelblack.com

2008-03-10T17:28:00.001-07:00

So I was working on getting some of my finances situated today and I decided that I needed to make certain my no longer used domain of michaelblack.com didn't accidentally expire and someone else take it from me.

I then remembered about this occasionally used blog space of mine and figured, "Hey, why don't I forward it to here instead of a dead page with nothing on it?" So here it is! michaelblack.com is officially back! Not that the one or two readers out there even knew it existed.

I started an opera related site over 10 years ago. Around that time, I registered my name. Remember, back then the internet was still a fairly new phenomenon with the general public. Try getting a common name now with a .com attachment! Anyway, I operated the site heavily for about four or five years. Gradually, I lost interest and it slowly died, so to speak. So now it is back and I can't officially say whether or not it will get anymore active than what this blog is already.

Netscape is dead...

2007-12-28T11:26:00.000-08:00

Well, it's a sad day for all of us geeks. According to TechCrunch, AOL has officially decided to pull the life support plug on Netscape. My first exposure to the internet was in the summer of 1995 with AOL. After getting an $80+ bill (in those days, AOL didn't have unlimited usage) I had to find other means of accessing the web. I found a local ISP with unlimited service and then went to town. But wait! I needed something to explore the internet. What? A browser? What is that?

I had no idea what a browser was at that time. So I downloaded Netscape and away I went. At the time, the internet for me was this whole other world that the vast majority of the public still didn't know about. Of course, for several years after I got on the internet people were still thinking that AOL WAS the internet!

Of course, AOL ended up buying Netscape and not really doing a whole lot with it. I tried to keep using Netscape while Internet Explorer was beginning its dominance, but finally had to give it up in 1999 due to the fact that an increasing number of web sites were not functioning properly on Netscape.

I used IE for a few years until Firefox came out, and I haven't looked back since. Here's to you Netscape! It was nice knowing you for when I needed to know you!

Prospective New Job Updates

2007-12-26T16:32:00.000-08:00

I was doing some searching through my emails last week or so and I came across the automated email response for the dispatcher job that I'm currently in the process of going through. It was dated August 29th! I didn't realize it had been that long. It'll be four months since I began the process for this hopefully new job.

Anyway, I have passed all of the tests. The "orals" was actually an oral exam. Get your minds out of the gutter! I realize I live in the Bay Area, but let's keep it PG-13ish....ahh fuck it! The first part of that exam was a written part where I was given some scenarios and situations with available officers. I had to write how and why I would use the available officers and when I would use them.

The oral exam that was in front of a three person panel was that I was given six different call scenarios. For each of these scenarios I had to answer three questions: What would I say to the caller? What would I tell the caller? and What would I do?

A couple of times I changed my decisions on what exactly I would do. I guess it didn't count against me too much since I placed sixth amongst all the other applicants that made it this far. For one of the scenarios it dealt with a woman that was just raped and it got in to some detail. At first I started to get incensed at the situation, but then I thought, "Hmmm...I bet this is what they're looking at. If I can't stay calm in this type of situation there's no way in hell I'd be able to handle the real thing." I guess it all worked out.

So after I received the positive results for that, they sent me the background packet. They wanted to know virtually every single sordid thing I've ever done. They wanted to know if I've ever molested a child, had or shared child pornography, all of the illegal and legal drugs I've done recreationally (thank God that's an extremely short list), if I've ever been drunk in public to the point I couldn't take care of myself, if I've ever hunted or fished without a license, if I've ever been fired, if I've ever hit and run with or without injuries, and if I said yes to any of those questions they wanted to know the details. On top of all that, they wanted to know where I've lived for the last ten years and ALL of the jobs I've had. Plus they wanted copies of my driver's license, social security card, official copies of my high school and college transcripts as well as an official copy of my birth certificate.

I sent that packet out two weeks ago. I had a little scare with the packet and its arrival there. I sent the packet via certified mail. The following day I sent out my high school transcripts via certified mail as well. I waited the entire weekend for confirmation that they received it. Finally, I got confirmation that they received my high school transcripts, but not the all important dossier with my sordid life story. So I crapped myself. The last thing I wanted was to be disqualified because I didn't get the paperwork in on time due to the post office. So I called them up and fortunately they called me back the next day informing me that they received the packet the very next day. Woo!

The moral of that story is never send important documents by certified mail. The tracking system isn't very good. The next time I'll send it FedEx or UPS. They have much better tracking systems.

That's it for now. They said it would be several weeks before they notify me about an interview for the background investigation. With that, I'm imagining is going to be the polygraph. I'm very apprehensive about that. We'll see.

Oh, and a bit of good news for me: Trish and I are getting married on January 14th. We're planning on doing it at city hall in San Francisco. It's going to be a small intimate wedding ceremony. Nothing fancy. We're planning on having the big wedding in the Philippines in July.

Sweeney Todd

2007-12-26T14:35:00.000-08:00

Trish and I went and saw Sweeney Todd last night. I have to be honest and say that I've never been a very big Stephen Sondheim fan. I've also never had the chance to see a staged version of the musical. However, I must say that the movie version is absolutely delightfully wicked! I loved it! In fact, I think I may go see it again.

Tim Burton has really nailed the visual look. It is so colorful and deep in its absence of bright, cheery colors. From the way the camera moves, to the hair, makeup, costumes, and production design, it is absolutely brilliant and totally apropos for the mood and atmosphere.

The singing has been much discussed on the web and it is true that Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter are no great singers. But what they lack in vocal acrobatics they supplant with wonderful characterizations.

Depp's Todd is dead on with a man unduly wronged and set out for vengeance. Carter is a wonderful Mrs. Lovett who is also sympathetic and amazingly wicked.

It seems odd that Burton would tackle a musical and one of the most celebrated American musicals at that, but he does a wonderful job with the direction in this work. He has set the right mood for this Victorian London in which we see Sweeney Todd planning his revenge and the steps he takes to achieve it. Burton is able to keep a terrifying musical terrifying which is no easy feat when one thinks about it. How does one keep a modern audience terrified when you have a bunch of people singing almost non stop through out the piece? Well, he does.

If you're in to good story telling or wonderful mood pieces, you should definitely check it out. And of course, if you're in to musical theater or Sondheim, you'd be a fool not to check it out.

ADDENDUM:

I was thinking about this after I posted this and there were two things that I wanted to add. The first is that this movie has a LOT of blood and it has several rather gruesome scenes. Those that know me, know the gorier the better as far as I'm concerned. And the gore was added with great dramatic effect.

The second thing I wanted to add was this: the more I thought about it, the more I felt that I wasn't watching a musical. That is not meant as an insult. In fact, it should be taken as a compliment both to Stephen Sondheim and Tim Burton. Sondheim really blends the spoken word with the musical numbers quite naturally and effortlessly. It doesn't feel like the typical musical in which you know that at a given moment it's going to be time for the actors to break in to song.

As I said before, this is my first exposure to this work and it's one that I'm going to have to investigate further. With a quick Google search, I discovered that there are a couple telefilms that were made from the original story "The String of Pearls: A Romance" by Thomas Prest in 1846. Christopher Bond's play, simply titled Sweeney Todd was the version that was eventually adapted for the musical version.

Wikipedia has an interesting entry about this story. I think I'm going to have to investigate it more. It seems that this story could be partially true with some nice urban legends thrown in to the mix.

Been a while

2007-10-15T16:07:00.000-07:00

For the one or two people that actually might read my blog, I know it's been a long while. Frankly, when "professional" bloggers claim that blogging isn't that easy, they're correct.

Anyway, there hasn't been much going on with me. I got engaged in August. We don't know when exactly we're going to get married yet. Trish is working on passing the boards to be a certified R.N. Me, I'm trying to find a new job. I have some prospect on that.

I'm in the process of hopefully getting hired by the city of San Francisco as an emergency 9-11 dispatcher. I passed the written and typing tests. The next step is going in front of a panel for the "orals" as the woman that administered my typing test described it. I guess that's the interview part. I'm hoping I get it. The job starts at $30 an hour, which beats the $17.24 an hour I make now.

I'm really ready for a change in my job. I've grown frustrated with my current job and the realization that they're not going to promote me. I'm too vocal. They want someone that isn't going to cause problems. Then again, I look at some of the supervisors that they promote and keep in their non-union jobs (i.e., they could relatively easily get rid of them without having to fight the union) and it makes me wonder. They have people in supervisor jobs that are constantly getting in trouble and what not. Oh well...I'm just not going to kiss ass and I will not be a "yes" man. Of course my mouth has gotten me in to trouble more times than I care to remember throughout my life.

The other frustrating thing about my job is that I am an instructor. Not to mention that all of the other instructors make more than me! I train and teach new-hires. I've successfully taught, with equal help from my colleagues, several hundred employees. And as soon as they graduate, they make the same amount of money that I make. Factor in the reality that half of the people that were recently promoted were either my students or I helped train in some capacity. So now they're my bosses! Oy! Talk about frustrating!

Ok, enough of that! I did finally move out and am happily roommate free! YAY! I won't bother you with details, just needless to say it was a living nightmare and one that I will not repeat. Just some advice to you guys out there: AVOID HAVING A ROOMMATE IF YOU CAN AT ALL AVOID IT!

I turned 30 this past July. Hmmmm....in some ways I do feel like I'm getting older but in more ways than not I don't feel old. I'm certainly stodgy and set in most of my ways as one might describe an "old" person. But I still feel like a kid.

A little bit of politics: I find this whole Rush Limbaugh and "phony soldiers" controversy to be absurd! As some know, I'm a big Limbaugh fan and have listened to him for several years now. As someone that listens to him on a daily basis, the idea that he isn't supportive of the military is a farce! He's one of the biggest supporters of the military regardless of their political beliefs. Why is it that the Democrats are spending time, energy, and our FREAKING MONEY on trying to admonish a private citizen???!!! And don't bring the tit for tat argument of the General Petraeus incident. It's not the same. The Moveon.org ad is from a non-profit group viciously attacking a highly decorated officer and Democrats, like Tom Lantos, basically calling him a liar in public! Read the transcript yourself here.

I'm currently listening to Vienna Teng. Her music is really something else. You can buy her albums from Amazon's download music service for I think $8 an album. It's a better deal than buying from Apple's iTunes store. Plus, you get it at a higher bit rate and DRM free.

That's enough rambling for now. I make no promises, not that anyone actually reads this, of when I will make another post.

Superman Ultimate Collection

2006-12-17T13:47:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I've felt like posting on anything. I got the 14 disc Superman Ultimate Collection last week. I've gone through a lot of the discs, but certainly not all.

It's quite a set. It has the original 1978 version of Superman: The Movie, as well as the 2000 expanded version. It also includes the original Superman II version as well as the newly released Richard Donner version. If you're unfamiliar with the history of Superman II, take a look at my review for Superman Returns.

I read somewhere, and I can not remember where exactly, that recommended watching the Lester version (i.e. the original theatrical release) of Superman II, before watching Donner's version. I was so reluctant to do this, especially since I had recently watched Lester's SII back in May. What made it more difficult to do that was the fact that ever since I learned about a possible Donner Superman II, I had been extremely anxious to see it. Well, the advice I read is the best advice. Watch Lester's SII before Donner's. You will have forgotten little details here and there and it's nice to be able to note the differences.

I'm not interested in writing a review of Donner's SII, but let me say that it is a much more satisfying film than Lester's.

Also included in this set is all of the original Max Fleischer Superman cartoons from the 1940s. As well as the never before aired Super Pup pilot that was thankfully never picked up. If that wasn't enough, it includes SIII, SIV, and the new Superman Returns which itself include a 3 hour making of documentary. There's a documentary on the making of all of the original Christopher Reeve Supes movies. What? You said that isn't enough?! Ok, they also included the Superman and the Mole-Men movie with George Reeves. Sheesh! Are you happy now? But wait! There's more! (This seems more like an infomercial) They also included the Look, Up in the Sky documentary on Superman himself.

Be aware that the first disc, Superman: The Movie (1978 version) is missing the Dolby Stereo 2.0 sound track and the Superman III disc is missing the advertised extras. Warner Bros. is offering replacements for these discs at no cost to you. I called the 800 number the day after I got it. They're supposed to be sending me mailers, but I haven't received them yet. Here's the 800 number for those of you that buy it: 1-800-553-6937

It is definitely an impressive set. All the more impressive is the fact that you can get it for $70 online. That works out to $5 a disc. I have a number of box set DVDs. That's apparent to anyone that has taken a look at my DVD collection. While I don't know if this is the best DVD box set, it is certainly one of the best. If you're any sort of a Superman fan, you really can not go wrong with this set.

Casino Royale

2006-11-21T16:53:00.000-08:00

My biggest complaint about the movie is the marketing. Frankly, the trailers that they showed, revealed too many little details about the movie. With that said, let's talk about the film.

I was skeptical about a blond James Bond. But the more I saw of the previews, the more I thought the producers made a good choice. And after having seen the movie now, I wholeheartedly agree with my progressing opinion. Daniel Craig made an excellent Bond and I look forward to seeing him in future James Bond films.

This movie is a prequel, so to speak, in that Bond is just establishing himself as a Double O. I love the camera angles they used in the opening scene. That, along with the black and white, made it feel almost as though I were watching a film noir.

Casino Royale definitely has a different feel than previous Bond films. We don't hear the familiar Bond theme until the end. We also see how he gets his famous drink.

The film had a good mix of drama and action and the first action sequence was quite good. The actor/stunt man that played the guy that Bond chases in that action sequence does some quite exceptional things. He's flying in and out of tight spots and climbing like a monkey or something or another. I thoroughly enjoyed that part.

I'm going to keep this review short, because I just don't have much to say. I will just say that the movie was a good deal of fun and I anxiously await its arrival on DVD.

Yay for higher taxes!

2006-11-07T20:42:00.000-08:00

Well, it's 8:36 PM here on the left coast. The U.S. House of Representatives has been called in the Democrats favor. And the Republicans are barely holding on to the Senate. That might be determined later tonight or tomorrow morning. I guess the constant barrage of bad news from Iraq has finally worn down the populace. It's no surprise. But what now of the Democrats' conspiracies of voter fraud? Are we to ignore that? Well, since the mainstream media is in the back pocket of the Dems I guess we will.

So now what? Higher taxes? Charlie Rangel has basically said so. He has been quoted as saying that he'll repeal every Bush tax cut. Yeah, so that means higher taxes. And I'm sure when he's finished with that he will raise them. Oh, and spare me the whole tax cuts for the rich nonsense! When their costs go up, who do you think they pase those cost increases on to? That's right, the blue collar worker that the Dems apparently look out for. Then again, we never hear about that aspect of raising taxes.

I guess that might mean we'll pull out of Iraq. Never mind that the vast majority of Democrats voted for the war. Yes, the far lefties from DailyKos and Moveon.org don't let those Democrats forget that. Hey, at least Joe Lieberman beat Ned Lamont. I guess we will have a repeat of Vietnam. Pull out before the war is won and never mind about those 3 million Cambodians that were slaughtered after we left. So much for the Dems being the great humanitarians they claim to be.

I wish I could find some silver lining in all of this. I just can't. I'm not going to pull a Democrat and blame it all on this or that fraud and what not. We lost. It's that simple. Now we need to pick up the pieces and hope that we at least retain control of the Senate. And if we don't, hopefully Bush will actually veto some spending bills.

My Mac

2006-10-30T14:52:00.000-08:00

Last month (September '06) Apple quietly released a new update to their iMac line. They introduced the Intel Core 2 Duo chips to them. For those that don't know, I've been a PC user for most of my life. I started with an XT 10 Mhz IBM Clone (that's what we used to call the non-IBM computers back then) with 1 MB of memory and two 10 MB hard drives. I've been using Windows ever since 3.1.

For the last couple of years I've wanted a Mac. Why? I don't know. Well, ok, I do, but it is kind of a lame reason. When Apple announced that they were going to move to Intel chips I thought that the time would be right. When they came out with their first Intel products in January I was underwhelmed. I wanted an affordable one and the iMacs and the MacBook Pros at the time weren't fitting the bill. So I waited for the inevitable budget laptop MacBook. It came out in May and I was underwhelmed by the price and specs. I felt it was a little too pricey for what it was offering. So I continued to wait.

Then came last month and they finally offered me something that was in the price range I was willing to spend and specs that would satisfy this computer geek. So they now offer four different iMacs. I opted for the second one for $1200. (For the record, I did not buy mine from the Apple store. I bought mine from Amazon.com. First off, I didn't pay any tax from Amazon, got free shipping, got $100 mail-in-rebate, 0% interest for 6 months by applying for and getting a new Amazon.com credit card, AND got $30 off from that credit card on my first purchase. All said and done, I will have paid only $1069 for it AND no interest. Compare that to $1305.92 PLUS interest if not paying cash. That last figure will vary depending on what your sales tax is. In California we have to pay not only sales tax but we also have to pay an environmental tax for anything that has a screen.)

I have now had my Mac for a little over a month and I must say that I love it. There are a few little things have taken some getting used to in Mac OS X, such as using the Command button for many keyboard shortcuts rather than using the CTRL key that I would in Windows, as well as the Close, Minimize, and Maximize buttons being in the top left corner versus the top right corner. All in all, it has been a smooth transition. I will still keep a PC because there are some things that you can only do with a PC. But that may change if I ever getting around to installing Windows on my Mac.

Hollywoodland

2006-09-08T17:41:00.000-07:00

All style and no substance. Is that enough for a review? Ok, so I'll elaborate a little more on it.

Let me start with the good stuff first. The acting by Diane Lane and Adrien Brody is top notch. They really have their characters down and bring nice subtleties to their respective roles. Alan Coulter, the director, definitely has the film noir style down and moves the camera effectively.

My two biggest problems are with Ben Affleck and his weird dialect and the story itself. Affleck does a good job of portraying George Reeves, but whether or not it was his or the director's idea to use a very affected dialect is something I do not know. It bothered me through out the entire film. Mind you, I am far too young to have grown up watching The Adventures of Superman on TV with Reeves, but I did watch the show on Nickelodeon while growing up. It's also been a while since I have seen any of the episodes, but I don't remember Reeves having some weird dialect or accent. He had a typical midwestern, neutral American accent. Yet, Affleck uses this accent to annoying effect. I really wish he would have just used his normal speaking voice.

My other problem with the story is that all it does is asks questions and poses theories but never really conclusively attempt to answer any of the questions. Perhaps the reason for this is practical. In over 47 years, there has never been any conclusive evidence that Reeves didn't commit suicide. And the theories the movie proposes seem plausible enough, but they also lay sufficient ground work that Reeves did commit suicide due to his apparent sadness about the direction of his career and personal life.

It's a movie I really wanted to enjoy, but it was totally unsatisfying and left me restless during its entire duration. Everyone, including all of the peripheral characters, bring a very realistic portrayal to it all, yet the story seemed to lack some cohesive direction. It didn't quite know if it wanted to be a docu-drama in an Oliver Stone JFK sense or if it wanted to be a drama based on actual facts.

Roswell: TV Series

2006-08-24T17:56:00.000-07:00

Ok, so why in the hell am I writing a post about a show that went off the air over 4 years ago?! Because I feel like it, that's why!

For whatever reason, I avoided and or missed the show when it was on the air. I think I may have avoided it because I was tired of the whole alien conspiracy thing from the X-Files. I stopped watching that show about a season or two after its production moved to Los Angeles to accommodate the star of that show David Duchovny. I think many will agree that that show went down in quality after moving to L.A. Thanks a lot David! Never mind the consideration of your other cast and crew members! I digress.

I caught a couple episodes of the last season of Roswell when it was still on the air by chance when I was in NY. Where I was staying at NY had very few station choices and it was during that time in the winter when everything was a repeat. I liked what I had seen, but unfortunately, shortly thereafter, the show ended and aside from those few episodes I saw in NY, I never got a chance to see it again.

I bought the season one DVD of the show a good while back. For some reason I put off watching it until recently. Being that this is the summer and most everything is a repeat I decided to FINALLY watch it.

Well, I was hooked! I quickly ordered the final two season on DVD and couldn't wait to watch them. I had developed a bit of a routine. I would watch an episode or two at dinner time (hey, I'm a bachelor living alone! Cut me some slack!) and then an episode or two right before I would fall asleep. It was one of those things that I looked forward to every evening.

And then it happened. That moment that I knew would happen but was hoping somehow it wouldn't. Yes, that's right. I watched the final episode. It happened a week ago today.

So why is it that it has me sad? Am I truly that pathetic??? Ok, don't answer that one! The show ended over four years ago, but for me it ended a week ago. And whenever I think about it, it makes me a little sad. I feel as though I lost a friend that I will never see again.

I really did enjoy the show and the characters' stories. It's not the best show ever, but it was a show that I could easily identify with. I guess I sympathize with the solitude and isolationism of those hybrid aliens and their cohorts. Watching the on-again, off-again relationship of Michael and Maria was fun and then the romantic side of me couldn't help but pray and hope that Max and Liz would eventually work things out and be together as they were destined to be.

The hopeful side of me is wishing a TV movie could be made so as to update the fans on the characters, however, the realistic side of me knows that after four years and absolutely no talks or rumors of such a thing happening that that will probably never be. If you haven't seen the show, I'd definitely recommend checking it out on DVD.

I have to say that one of the many great things about DVD is that TV shows that had short lives on TV or not long enough of a run to be syndicated can continue to live and be entertaining on the DVD format.

The Descent

2006-08-24T16:16:00.000-07:00

I finally got a chance to see a movie today. I had every intention of seeing this movie last week, but I just couldn't get my lazy ass out of the house to go see it. This movie was definitely worth the wait.

I had reservations about seeing the movie until some of the word of mouth on the internet started pumping it up a bit. I thought it was going to be a retread of last year's The Cave. I will admit that I did not see that one. The reason was because the word of mouth on that one was nothing but negative.

The movie is very intense and had me twisting and turning in my seat throughout most of it. The three lead characters start off in a river rafting boat careening down some river. It's to set up that these girls are a bunch of thrill seekers. A tragedy takes place to the one character early on and then we jump ahead one year later.

The three main characters meet up again with three other women on the eve of a big cave descent somewhere in the Appalachian Mountains. After they arrive at the location they descend down to an entrance way. From there they find their way in to a larger cavern looking for the next entrance way. After they find the very narrow and tight entrance way, the lead character Sarah gets stuck. Her friend that is ahead of her turns around and helps her through. The next thing we know, this entrance way is collapsing. Now their way out is blocked. What to do?

Following this episode, gore, guts, blood, and mayhem ensue. All of the wonderful ingredients of a great horror film. I was literally turning away at many moments, but yet, I found myself HAVING to look. The tight moments in the film made me feel a bit claustrophobic and I am not.

The gore was definitely gruesome and intense. I have to say that the film made me think a lot about John Carpenter's The Thing. Instead of a bunch of guys in some isolated frozen tundra, we had women isolated in a deserted cave. And instead of some alien, shape shifting creature, we had these albino, blind mindless killer humanoids. These women were isolated and knew they had to depend on eachother. What happens to them is extremely disturbing and unsettling, but then again, I love movies like that.

If it's still playing in your area, you should definitely check it out. But be warned: it is indeed very intense and graphic.

2006-08-17T22:58:00.000-07:00

Ok, so my last blog entry was kind of abrupt and open ended. Life doesn't suck, per se. It's just difficult. A couple weeks ago, I was finally starting to get excited about singing again. And then I had a lesson. It didn't help matters that I was having allergy problems and not singing my best for that lesson. In the meantime, my teacher completely bummed me out. She doesn't do it intentionally, but she can sometimes be a real downer for me.

My teacher and I are a lot a like. We're very demanding of ourselves and others and expect the best. Sometimes those expectations are reached. A lot of the time they are not. And when I can not meet those expectations, I really get distressed about it. My problem is that I have no clue how to relax. I'm a very intense person. I think anyone that knows me can attest to this. It doesn't matter what I am doing.

I certainly hope that I can learn to mellow with age. Unfortunately, singing is not so much about the intellectual as it is about kinesthesis. And sometimes I get myself so bound up mentally that it blocks any progress. That's what happened at that lesson.

It's funny. Everytime I think I have things figured out, somehow, someway, something throws me for a loop and then I'm back at square one. Is there any real way to figure these things out? I don't know. I still feel ambivalent towards singing and this so-called career of mine.

I was lounging around my apartment today and decided to do some singing. It felt good. I felt relaxed. When I get in my lesson environments, I get extremely tense. When it's just me taking it easy, I'm so much better at my singing. The funny thing is that I'm completely relaxed in a performance situation.

I will never forget my theatrical debut. I was 15 going on 16 and it was the part of Ali Hakim in Oklahoma! I was a nervous wreck the day of and before opening night. Mind you, nerves are a normal part of a performer's routine. Even the most seasoned performers get nervous for a performance. It's what you do about those nerves and how you manage them that separates the amateurs from the professionals.

Anyway, the nerves were mounting. And then the strangest, most bizarre thing happened to me. The second I stepped on stage in front of the public, my nerves went away completely. To this day, it still doesn't make any sense to me.

So my problem is not performing. It's the lessons and coachings, as well as the audition process that drives me insane. I wish I knew how to relax in those situations. Hell, maybe I should just get drunk before every lesson. Somehow I don't think that would be a very good idea.

The problem for me is that I over analyze everything. When I throw myself in to the music and the role, my singing completely changes. It's hard, however, to do that when your teacher is constantly stopping you and correcting you and then you add to the fact that I do the same thing to myself. Hey, that's what a teacher is there for. I've had teachers that basically told me how great I was and you do not learn anything from those situations.

The problem is basically mine. I have to learn to deal with it and accept it.

P.S. I wish I would write some movie reviews. I haven't had a chance in the last couple of weeks to see anything. But I did see Monster House, Pirates of the Caribbean, and You, Me, & Dupree. The last one is a clunker, but the other two are worth checking out.

Comic Book Movies

2006-08-04T14:54:00.000-07:00

Let me first start off and say that I am not a comic book reader. I do not know all of the intimate details of the various characters and what not. So my analysis is not based on that at all. My analysis is just based on what little I do know and the overall quality of films.

I don't think anyone can talk about comic book movies and not mention the film that brought comics in to the modern era. Yes, Superman: The Movie. Richard Donner created a spectacle that promised viewers that we would believe Superman could fly. And that they did. Even to this day, the movie still looks remarkably modern with its special effects.

Special effects were really what prevented a serious telling of comic books for the big screen. As the technology and abilities of effects technicians and artists increased, so has the ability to bring these larger than life characters and stories to the silver screen.

Superman: The Movie had a solid story with a good cast, most notably the unknown at the time Christopher Reeve and a big boon for that production in snagging Marlon Brando to play Jor-El, Supes' father. In fact, that was the big reason for getting the money for that production. The studio was reluctant to put up the money with a bunch of unknowns. But the producers were able to get Brando as well as Gene Hackman.

Of course, as history shows us, Superman: The Movie was a box office success. The producers at the time were making both Superman: The Movie as well as Superman II at the same time. They had to temporarily suspend production on the rest of Supes II in order to finish Superman as they were running out of money. Unfortunately, the producers and Donner were not able to get along and ended up releasing him from his contract for the sequel. So what we got was a less than stellar sequel. Fortunately, Donner's cut of Superman II will be coming out to DVD later this month.

One might have thought at the time that this would have opened an opportunity for more comic books to be made in to movies. Unfortunately, we got three crappy Superman sequels. Spider-Man was in the works, but it got put in to development hell for nearly 25 years.

The next significant comic book film was Tim Burton's Batman. The studios were reluctant to make Batman because of the baggage that the campy 60s TV show that was attached to it. Fortunately, they came to their senses and allowed Burton to create a dark and serious portrayal of Batman. There was a bit of controversy at the time with Michael Keaton as the Dark Knight, and even I thought at the time that it was a bit strange. That was until I saw Keaton in the movie. He was very good and Burton knew what he was doing when he cast him in the role.

After that we got a not-so-great sequel of Batman Returns. It was much darker than the original and just wasn't as good as the first one. Tim Burton gave up the reigns and Joel Schumacher took over for Batman Forever and Batman & Robin. The former was a silly, fun romp. It wasn't as serious as the first one, but it was still an enjoyable escapist adventure. I wish I could say the same about the latter. One word describes it: AWFUL. Even Schumacher admits that he totally blew it on that one. If you watch some of the extras from the 2 disc special edition DVDs that came out last year you will see some of that refreshing honesty about that film.

And that last Batman pic came out 1997. Sure, we had a pathetic Judge Dredd with Sly Stallone and Rob Schneider as well as a pathetic Punisher with Dolph Lundgren. There was a B movie Captain America and a Fantastic Four that was never released and only made so as the studio could retain the film rights to the movie. There was also The Shadow with Alec Baldwin and The Phantom with Billy Zane. I'm sure there were others that I can't remember in that time period, but all of them amounted to nothing in terms of quality and actually making money.

It wasn't until 2002 that the current crop of modern comic book films really took off. That was the year that Spider-Man came out. The film makers made a brilliant teaser that came out a year before the film debuted that contained footage only intended for the teaser. That is the now infamous teaser with Spidey capturing the crooks' helicopter in a huge spider web in between the Twin Towers in Manhattan. This was before 9/11/01 and shortly thereafter the teaser was removed from online sources. It is still out there and definitely worth finding.

Spider-Man really got the ball rolling. It made HUGE money and totally eclipsed the Star Wars: Episode 2 at the box office. Sam Raimi, the director of such classic films as Dark Man (ah, another comic book film!) and Evil Dead and Evil Dead II, was a life long Spidey fan and brought his sensibilities and style to a movie that this geek had been waiting an entire lifetime for. It was not only a financial success, but it was also a creative success as well.

After the success of Spider-Man, it wasn't long before we got others. We got Daredevil, Hulk, Fantastic Four, Batman, Elektra, graphic novels such as V for Vendetta, Sin City, and a few others. Wait, did I say Batman? Oh yes, how could I forget Batman?

Christopher Nolan took over the franchise and what a refreshing take on the origins of Batman. He and David S. Goyer, writer of the Blade films, created a whole new back story and universe for Batman Begins. They ignored the previous four Batman films and as a fan, I was grateful for that. What I like most about Batman Begins is the realism that Nolan brought to the story. We see Batman/Bruce fail and make mistakes, particularly on his first outing in Gotham as his evolving alter ego. They also give us plausible explanations about how they created and produce a lot of his gadgets. Frankly, that was one of the things that was the least believable about a super hero with no actual super human abilities. Even as a kid, I never found it believable that Bruce Wayne and Alfred created all of those gadgets and did all of that scientific work themselves. How could 2 men have such immense knowledge and abilities amongst everything else they need and have to do?

I saw Batman Begins in the theater twice and have watched it a number of times since its DVD release last year. Everytime I watch it, I am in awe of the picture. For me, it's an almost perfect comic book film. The one negative about the film is the inclusion of Katie Holmes. Yes, it's probably because of her now famous relationship with Tom Cruise, but she is definitely a weak link in a really stellar cast. This film has Christian Bale, a very good actor in his own right, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Rutger Hauer, Tom Wilkinson, Michael Caine, Ken Watanabe, and Liam Neeson. It's actually remarkable that a comic book movie was able to get these quality actors in a Batman film. Kudos to the producers of Batman Begins by getting good actors to fill out the supporting roles.

Of all the comic book movies I have seen, Batman Begins is by far the best of them. Even better than Superman: The Movie, Spider-Man, or Spider-Man 2. I would be interested in reading what others think in regards to comic book films. I just think that Batman Begins has the best production values, story, and acting compared to any comic book films that have come out.

I know Heath Ledger does not seem like the most obvious choice for the Joker in the sequel, but I'm willing to wait and see. After recently seeing Nolan's The Prestige, as well as Batman Begins, I'm not going to rush to any premature judgement before I see The Dark Knight.

Short and to the point

2006-08-04T14:24:00.000-07:00

Life sucks! That is all I have to say on that subject.

A Constant State of Confusion

2006-07-12T21:56:00.000-07:00

So I wanted to write something tonight, yet I don't really know what I want to write about. Perhaps I should talk about my constant state of confusion about my life.

As I discussed in my last blog entry, I'll be turning 29 soon. For most of my life, music has been a major part of my life. In fact, I will have been studying music for 20 years this fall. That's a long time for anyone. I've constantly thought that music is what I wanted. However, since I've moved out here to San Francisco, I've been questioning it. Don't get me wrong. I love music, but frankly, I'm tired of sacrificing for virtually nothing in return. I suppose that's the life of the "starving artist."

One of the things that my voice teacher is famous for is having slept on a park bench in Central Park during her student years. That's dedication! Keep in mind, she wasn't homeless. She was just sharing an apartment with too many people and needed her space, so to speak. I don't think I have that type of dedication. I want nice things. I like being able to pay for things with cash and not continually going farther and farther in to debt.

For the first time in my life, I have a job that I'm making decent money and while I still can't afford to buy extremely nice things, I am at least able to keep myself from going farther in to debt while at the same time paying it off. That's a nice and comforting feeling, let me tell you. Too many of us young people get in to so much financial trouble with those damn pesky credit cards that they send us while still in college.

So how do I tackle this problem of wanting more, yet not quite having the dedication? To pursue my career, it takes more than talent. I know I have the talent, it's just the dedication and ambition I'm lacking these days.

Youth no more?

2006-07-04T21:49:00.000-07:00

Two weeks from today I celebrate my 29th birthday. It's my last year of my 20s. My age and birthday has never been a very big deal except for when I turned 21 when I could start "legally" drinking. I never make a big deal about them.

However, today I started doing some reminiscing. I was thinking about my high school days. I even did some searching for some people on Myspace.com. Unfortunately, I was a relative loner and didn't do a whole lot of socializing so I really didn't remember many of the people that I supposedly went to school with.

So while doing all of this it started to dawn on me. I'm getting older. No, I'm not old. I'm more self-aware to realize that I'm not old. But I am getting older. My gray hairs and my larger than desired belly prove it.

I graduated from high school 12 years ago and college 8. My oldest nephew is 18. My sister is 38 and my parents, particularly my mom, are almost 60. When I was younger I never really thought about getting older. I suppose that's how most people are. The funny thing is that I don't feel my age. I feel as though I'm 21 or 22. I still have a lot of life to live and a lot more things to accomplish.

In the end, it's what you do with your life that counts most and I still haven't done what I feel destined to do. As our country celebrates its 230th birthday, I say God Bless the youth and especially those that have lived longer than us that have the wisdom to show it.

Superman Returns

2006-06-28T22:32:00.000-07:00

I have an early, traumatic chidhood memory. Yes, I know. It's tragic, isn't it? I remember the day my mom told me Superman died. No, no, I'm not talking about Christopher Reeve's passing. I'm talking about the original Superman. Ok, so even he wasn't the original Superman.

So you're probably wondering who or what the hell I'm talking about. Well, for my mom and dad's generation, George Reeves was their Superman. George Reeves portrayed Supes in the 50s TV series The Adventures of Superman. Before Reeves, it was Kirk Alyn.

For my generation, it was Christopher Reeve. And since then, we've had Superboy, Lois and Clark, and the popular TV series Smallville. The last time we saw Supes on the big screen was in 1987 with the dreadful movie Superman IV: The Quest for Peace. If you haven't seen it or it has been a while since you've seen it, I suggest you rent it or buy the DVD. I think you can buy the DVD for under $10 now. It was awful and it's a shame that that was the last time we saw Supes on the big screen until today.

With the ever increasing popularity of comic book movies like X-Men, X2, Spider-Man, et. al, Warner Bros. decided to finally get Superman out of development hell and get a competent director to take the helm. Bryan Singer brought us the first two X-Men movies and the clever and thrilling movie The Usual Suspects.

So what did we get from Singer? We got a thrill ride with a good story and an intriguing twist. This movie picks up where Superman II left off. Superman has been gone for 5 years in the search of his home planet Krypton in hopes of finding it or any other Kryptonians.

If you go in to this movie expecting to see the Clark Kent or Superman from the original movies, you will be disappointed. While it does pick up from there, it is not the same interpretation of the characters. And frankly, I'm thankful for that. I've always been a supporter of remakes and retellings. The idea that there is only one interpretation of a story or a role is utterly ludicrous in my humble of an opinion. But I'm afraid that many of my generation will refuse to see it because in their eyes only one person can be Superman on the big screen.

God rest his soul, but even if Christopher Reeve were still alive, he'd be too old to portray the role. So what does that leave us? Should we be denied the ability to see Supes on the big screen because Reeve is no longer with us? I think it's silly to take that stance, but I suppose many of my generation will.

Brandon Routh does not have the goofiness of Clark that Reeve portrayed so well. But he definitely looks the part and looks good in the role. Kate Bosworth has not been getting too good of reviews for her role. I have to agree that she is not the strongest Lois we've ever seen. Frankly, I think her young age (22 at the time of filming) does hinder her a bit. She doesn't have the wisdom of just a couple of years that would give her portrayal a little more depth and humility. Kevin Spacey is not Gene Hackman! GASP! I know. It's a shock. As much as I loved Hackman's portrayal of Lex Luthor, I really liked Spacey's. His Luthor is definitely more evil and less jokey. But it's a maniacal villain that is a pleasure to see.

This brings me to another point that may disappoint fans of the original films. This movie is not a comedy. Supposedly the Salkinds, the original producers of the original films, wanted the movies to be more comical. Richard Donner reportedly got fired before he could finish Superman II precisely because of his disagreement with the Salkinds over this. Thankfully Singer follows Donner's preferred approach. There are some chuckles in the movie, but it is not a comedy. It is more serious and an even more human approach to the role of Superman/Clark.

John Ottman composed the score for the movie. He did keep John Williams original theme which is almost impossible not to do. And of course we get to hear the famous main theme for the opening credits, which admittedly almost brough a tear to my eye. He peppered some of Williams' themes throughout as well as creating some of his own. He did an admirable job and I will continue to listen to his score as well as Williams' score in my iPod.

There is much to love about this movie if you're a Superman fan. It's not a perfect movie by any means, but I can't wait to see it again tomorrow, nonetheless.

Houston's AstroWorld

2006-05-12T08:20:00.000-07:00

As some may or may not know, I grew up outside Houston in a small town (well, small for Texas) called Baytown. I was there from the age of 9 months to the age of 16. Some of my fondest memories are going to the Six Flags theme park called AstroWorld. I have this vivid memory of riding the wooden roller coaster called Texas Cyclone for the first time. I was probably about 9 or 10. I was riding with my then brother-in-law. I crouched my head underneath the cart and screamed the entire time. I have many similar type memories of having gone there over the years.

We moved back to Ohio in September of 1993. As of yet, I still have not returned to a visit to Texas. I long to do that, but it just hasn't been in the cards lately.

I am hoping to get the time off from work to go back to Ohio so I can visit my family. One of my plans is to take my nephews to Cedar Point. It's not a Six Flags theme park, but it's supposedly one of the best in the world for roller coasters. I was searching for flights today and it got me thinking about AstroWorld. So I decided to look it up on the internet just to rehash some childhood memories. Much to my dismay, I came across the official web site and discovered that it closed at the end of the 2005 season. I guess the property became too valuable and the upkeep and parking issues were becoming too much of a hassle.

This came as a total shock to me. I thought for certain AstroWorld would be there for as long as I would be around. And if and when I were ever to get back to Texas, my plan was to go visit there for old time's sake. I guess that is not going to happen.

Perhaps it is true that you can't revisit the past. I don't know. I wish there was a definitive moral to this story. Maybe the moral is don't put off visiting friends, family, and even places for too long because you never know when they will no longer be there for you to visit.

Karas: The Prophecy

2006-05-09T17:46:00.000-07:00

When it comes to DVDs, I can be a bit of an impulse buyer. I never rent them. I always buy them. I have probably about 500 DVDs, if not more. I was in Wal Mart a couple weeks ago buying stuff and when I go there I always check out the DVD section. In their new release end cap, they had this anime movie called Karas: The Prophecy. In all honesty, what sold me on the DVD was a little blurb of a review from Anime Insider on the back cover. What were those three little words? "Like Batman Begins..."

There was something about the cover of the DVD that caught my attention. Despite the screen name that I often use to post online (Cowboy Bebop), I am generally not that big of an anime fan. Particularly when you're dealing with kid stuff like Pokemon and Digimon. With that said, I do enjoy movies and shows like Akira and Cowboy Bebop.

I finally got around to watching, what is apparently the first of however many they are making. The story is a little confusing at first. Basically, it's a spirit and demon world that often happens unseen and unknown to the humans that are constantly battling each other. Karas is influenced by Yurine who guides and teaches him. Karas is similar to an idea or warrior that is passed on from one warrior to the next. It is actually a metaphysical tranformation that takes place as the "person" becomes Karas. Karas is battling Eko, a former Karas, who is attempting to take control over the city of Tokyo. This is very much similar to the story of Batman Begins in which Ra's al Ghul and the League of Shadows is trying to destroy Gotham City in order for it to rebuild.

I must admit that I felt a little dumb, because the story it a bit convoluted and hard to follow at times. The writers have constructed the story in a way that a lot of what is going on is understood. Perhaps it would be easier for Japanese viewers to follow at first. I had to watch it twice in order to gain a better understanding of it.

What blew me away the most about this movie was the animation. It is a hybrid of computer and traditional animation. It is some of the absolute best animation I've ever seen in my life. I love animation and animated movies. It's more impressive than the disastrous Final Fantasy film and the excellent Toy Story.

The thing that is most impressive is how the creators were able to beautifully blend computer and traditional, hand-drawn animation. Yes, if you know what the two look like, you can tell the difference. What is impressive is how both are so beautifully drawn and that the combination of the two works so damn well. They're able to get some 3D cinematic shots using computer animation with the traditional that they would only be able to get with computer animation. And the fight sequences are absolutely amazing. It's almost impossible to take your eyes off the screen. It's a movie that just keeps popping with imagery that is unbelievably beautiful. This is definitely a movie to see and own.

Mission Impossible III

2006-05-05T20:02:00.000-07:00

I saw Mission Impossible III today. It's Tom Cruise's first film since all the hoopla last year around the release of War of the Worlds. I never did get around to seeing War of the Worlds, mostly due to the negative word of mouth about it.

Let me start off by saying that it was a decent flick. It was entertaining enough, but I wish it had been a little more entertaining. Cruise, along with his production partner Paula Wagner, hired Alias and Lost creator, J.J. Abrams to direct this latest entry in to the series. Philip Seymour Hoffman has the fun task of playing the bad guy.

I won't give anything away. But for me there are movies I have to own, movies I don't care to own, and then movies that I don't care to see or never want to see again. This movie falls in to the category of a movie I don't care to own. It's worth a viewing at the cineplex or a rental, but it's not a movie that will get better with repeat viewings.

The movie lacked a sense of urgency when Cruise's character Ethan Hunt gets in to a bind. I never felt as though he wasn't going to accomplish the task at hand. The big reveal at the end was not really a big surprise either. I just wish the movie had more kinesthetic energy behind it. Don't get me wrong. There was energy behind the telling of this, but I just never felt as though I was pulled in for the ride.

If you're going to make a popcorn flick, such as this, you really have to bring the audience along for the ride. And I felt as though Abrams was going through the motions of an action film. At least it was nice to see Keri Russell and Ving Rhames.

The Next Propaganda Technique for the Illegal Immigration Debate

2006-04-28T09:29:00.000-07:00

Frankly, this illegal immigration debate is really starting to irk me! We're just supposed to allow anyone and everyone in this country with no restrictions?! Well, that's what many on the opposite side of the debate want. They're going to try and accomplish this through their propaganda with the mainstream media. It might work, but I think they're going to cause an even bigger backlash.

First, it started with someone from CBS News sending out a memo stating that they shouldn't use the words "illegal immigration," but rather use the words "undocumented worker." Then came the rallies in Los Angeles and various other places where these protesters insisted on using MEXICAN flags! They want to live and work here and become U.S. citizens, but they use MEXICAN FLAGS???!!! Someone finally wised them up and got them to start using U.S. flags on subsequent protests.

Last night, on the O'Reilly factor, he had a guest on his show by the name of Domingo Garcia basically stating that using "illegal alien" is a racial slur! Since when is a factually accurate descriptor a racial slur? Ok, how long is it going to take for someone to say the word "criminal" is a racial slur?

Now, I read about this "new" version of the Star Spangled Banner, the U.S. National Anthem for those that aren't taught about it in our public schools. So what's this new version, you might ask? Is it a country-rock version? Is Neil Young going to be singing praises for Bush? Oh wait, he's soon to release an anti-Bush album with one of the songs brilliantly titled "Impeach the President." Oh brother, how original! Is this new version going to be a jazz version? Is it going to be a Latin version? Wait! Stop the presses! We have a winner! Sounds cool, huh? Only if you want a Spanish language version!

Yes, that's right folks. Some idiot named Adam Kidron, thinks it's a wonderful idea to have a Spanish language version of OUR National Anthem. What's next, a Spanish version of the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution next to the original ones at the National Archives? It wouldn't surprise me if there already was one.

The level at which some will go to bash Bush...

2006-04-27T09:37:00.000-07:00

I visit a technology web site several times a day. It's called digg.com. It's a web site in which people submit technology related stories to it and based upon how quickly and often people click on the storie, i.e. digg, it will make it to the front page and then get a lot of exposure.

Just a little while ago, I clicked on one of the stories that made it to the front page about a live re-enactment of the classic Super Mario Bros. game at a talent show at a small college. In addition to the links of these stories, there's a section where people can post comments about the story.

Well, a number of numskulls just couldn't help themselves. This college is apparently an "evil" Christian college in Massachusetts. And this is what one poster had to say:

"Ummmm..... I would call it a piece of shit. Christians need to find better shit to do beside love Bush and doing gay ass shit they think is funny. I would go to church if I didn't have to put up with the childish retards praising the lord by writing notes in service. Damn savages. Fucking pseudo-christians."

Those liberals are real tolerant, huh? This type of attitude towards Christians is absolutely repugnant. It never ceases to amaze me at what lengths they will go to attack Bush and or Christians. Yet, they're the ones that are supposedly so much more understanding and open-minded!?

Thank You for Smoking

2006-04-17T18:22:00.000-07:00

So I went and saw Thank You for Smoking today. It's based on the book of the same title written by Christopher Buckley who is son to the famed William F. Buckley, Jr. I read and heard many things about this film being funny and witty and the like. It was amusing and I had a few good chuckles, but it wasn't so funny that I bust a gut. Ok, so my expectations were raised too high. No big deal.

Anyway, Jason Reitman did a very good job in directing this feature. He kept the pace moving well and did not try to hit you over the head with any view of cigarettes being bad. As someone wrote on imdb.com, he wasn't heavy handed with anything. Aaron Eckhart did a very good job of portraying the slimy lobbyist while keeping him sympathetic at the same time.

We've been conditioned by the mainstream media to believe that cigarettes and especially "big tobacco" is evil. That's for you to decide. What was refreshing is that the anti-smoking Senator from Vermont, played by William H. Macy, was portrayed in the same satirical light as the tobacco lobbyist. At least they were brave enough to label the Senator as a Democrat. Because only in the real world would the Democrats be out to get any sort of tobacco industry. In other words, he was not portrayed as some sort of idealistic hero out to protect little Bobby and Suzy.

This is one of those movies that is entertaining but really only needs one viewing. If you feel like spending two hours at the movies for some light entertainment, then by all means this will fulfill that void. If, on the other hand, you'd rather just wait for the dvd release, then that's ok too.

Parking and Californians

2006-04-17T18:17:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I don't know if this applies to all Californians or just the ones in Northern California, but they have this habit when it comes to parking their cars that absolutely drives me nuts! So you're going to the grocery store. The parking lot is semi-full. What do you do? Do you drive around waiting for that perfect spot to come available or do you just take the first parking spot available? Well, if you're a Californian you do something more annoying.

They will spot a shopper exiting the store. They will stalk them down to see where their car is. When they do, they will wait, and wait, and wait, and wait, well, you get the point. What are they waiting for? They're waiting for them to empty their huge shopping cart stuffed to the brim with stuff and for them to vacate that parking spot. What, that's not a big deal? Yeah, well it is when you're behind this person and just trying to find a parking spot. They will literally hold up traffic in parking lots in order to get this perfect spot. For crying out loud, just take the first spot available! Is that too much to ask? I suppose it it.

Happy Easter

2006-04-16T12:04:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter everyone! I'm at home just chilling and taking it easy. I am very much a hermit so I prefer to stay in the confines of my home. Thank God that the little kiddies will be done with spring break and things can get back to normal until summer rolls around!

First blog entry

2006-04-16T11:40:00.000-07:00

I don't know if how often I'll be doing this. And probably no one will read it. That's ok too.

I'm known on many message boards throughout various internet forums as Cowboy Bebop. For those that don't know, it's a popular title of a Japanese Anime show. I bought the movie on DVD on a whim one day. I'm generally not a fan of anime, but this one caught my attention and gave it a try. Sure enough, I liked the film and thus the show.

Anyway, I figued I'd add my two cents to the multitude of cents out here on the internet ethos on the things that matter to me.

I have lots of pet peeves. One of my biggest is the decline in grammatical ignorance plaguing the internet. The grammar that I see being posted is absolutely atrocious. Kids and adults appear to have difficulty discerning the difference from your/you're, to/too, we're/were, and their/they're/there. I realize that the English language is a difficult language, even for native speakers. But there's really no excuse for that! What are kids being taught in schools these days?

I don't have any children, but if I did, I know that I would not be sending them to public schools. It's mind boggling to me why kids and adults don't know the difference between these common, everyday words. I think part of the problem is laziness on both the student and the teacher. I don't know what else it could be. And don't give me that bullshit that teachers are having to focus entirely on teaching kids the necessities on how to pass state exams. If they did their job in the first place they wouldn't have to spend much time on that.

People like to play the "gotcha" game with me many times. They'll catch me making a typo or even an out and out grammatical error. I always forgive typos. They happen and when we're in a hurry are often time unavoidable. But what I don't forgive is the same people making the same mistakes again and again.

Ok, so you're probably wondering what the hell is the big deal. It's not a big deal in the small scheme of things, but I believe it is a problem in the big scheme. Young people need to understand that they're not going to get hired for a good paying job if their resume or cover letter is unintelligible. You won't even make it to the first interview, little alone any subsequent interviews.

I also feel that language and communication is important and that that is what separates us from other species. When that all goes to hell, then what separates us from them? Well, if you talk to the PETA nuts they'll say the animals deserve higher treatment than us, but that's another rant!