Maybe it's because I first read about this on the first anniversary of my dad's death, or maybe there's something God is trying to tell me, i don't know.
But I read about this student who had been missing since May 1, Gerald Smith (he was a member of the Lockergnome community run by Chris Pirillo. He was found dead last night (click title for article). I "knew" yesterday afternoon that he was gone. When I read last night that his body had been found, I cried.
I'm not against crying or afraid to do so, or even afraid to admit that I do. But I'd sure like to know why it has affected me so much.
Saturday, May 09, 2009
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
Finally
Well, after months of hemming, hawing, and darning, I have finally joined a gym. Dieting can only do so much, but in the past, working out has done wonders for me. And I really need to drop some major pounds, especially before I go back to the doctor in a couple of months. And I really want to be off my medication but soon. I'm tired of being overweight.
Tomorrow morning is my first workout (with a trainer). At 6:30 a.m. Future days I hope to start earlier.
Tomorrow morning is my first workout (with a trainer). At 6:30 a.m. Future days I hope to start earlier.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
One Month Later
While I started out with a bang this year on the blogging front, I quickly sank back into old patterns. It's been a month since my last post. To be fair, I've not been blogging a whole lot; hence, the lack of posts. Yep, think about that one a moment.
I set up mobile blogging a few days ago but haven't played around with it much. Don't know how "bloggy" I can be on a phone. Should voice recognition in the next G1 update come to fruition (they're adding an API for it, and it's there in rudimentary form currently), that might be more better [sic].
On to the purpose of this post (finally): I'm so looking forward to Terminator:Salvation. It's the continuation of the Terminator franchise, though this time after Judgment Day. John Connor (Christian Bale) has come into his own as the leader of the human resistance, and SkyNet is winning. Not having really read anything about the movie and its plot (I prefer to remain uninformed and enjoy the movie for what it is), the couple of trailers I've seen lead me to believe that SkyNet developed some kind of synthetic skin/body-type stuff, quite successfully. Check out the latest trailer.
I'm so stoked about seeing this movie. I got goosebumps seeing trailer 2(?) a few weeks ago, and I thought the only way it could be better was to open a week later on my birthday. Christian Bale rocks, period. I haven't seen everything he's done, but everything I've seen him in, he has done a good—great, even—job.
People are going to hold his tirade against him. "I'll never watch anything with him in it again." "He's an atrocious person." All because someone leaked a recording of Mr. Bale blowing up, a recording from a closed set, violating the trust and privacy of all involved. I have to trust the director, McG, when he says that Bale apologized to the offended party the day it happened. Why do I believe him? Maybe because he was there.
I'm sure those condemning Mr. Bale have never had a bad day, have never lost their temper—ever, and have never done anything they regretted. And certainly not had it recorded and then made public for all the world to see and pass judgment. I guess in today's world, those perfect people must cast stones because it's their prerogative. God left them in charge, obviously.
I set up mobile blogging a few days ago but haven't played around with it much. Don't know how "bloggy" I can be on a phone. Should voice recognition in the next G1 update come to fruition (they're adding an API for it, and it's there in rudimentary form currently), that might be more better [sic].
On to the purpose of this post (finally): I'm so looking forward to Terminator:Salvation. It's the continuation of the Terminator franchise, though this time after Judgment Day. John Connor (Christian Bale) has come into his own as the leader of the human resistance, and SkyNet is winning. Not having really read anything about the movie and its plot (I prefer to remain uninformed and enjoy the movie for what it is), the couple of trailers I've seen lead me to believe that SkyNet developed some kind of synthetic skin/body-type stuff, quite successfully. Check out the latest trailer.
I'm so stoked about seeing this movie. I got goosebumps seeing trailer 2(?) a few weeks ago, and I thought the only way it could be better was to open a week later on my birthday. Christian Bale rocks, period. I haven't seen everything he's done, but everything I've seen him in, he has done a good—great, even—job.
People are going to hold his tirade against him. "I'll never watch anything with him in it again." "He's an atrocious person." All because someone leaked a recording of Mr. Bale blowing up, a recording from a closed set, violating the trust and privacy of all involved. I have to trust the director, McG, when he says that Bale apologized to the offended party the day it happened. Why do I believe him? Maybe because he was there.
I'm sure those condemning Mr. Bale have never had a bad day, have never lost their temper—ever, and have never done anything they regretted. And certainly not had it recorded and then made public for all the world to see and pass judgment. I guess in today's world, those perfect people must cast stones because it's their prerogative. God left them in charge, obviously.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Late or Never?
Wow I've been busy. I started out blogging with a bang, and now it's been what, five weeks since I last posted. So much I've wanted to write, but haven't taken the opportunity to do so.
Okay, watched Stanley Kubrick's The Killing. Pretty good movie, and very accessible for a Kubrick movie. His stuff is not for everyone, but I think most people can enjoy this. The basic story is about a robbery of a horse racing track, the lead-up to the robbery and the aftermath. The story is told in a fairly straightforward manner, kind of a precursor to Dragnet stylistically. It's pretty violent for its time (1956), and I suppose still a tad violent for today. It's definitely not for kids.
I went to see Watchmen and enjoyed it very much. Probably not everyone's cup of tea, but I think well worth seeing.
Went last Saturday to see Race to Witch Mountain — by myself! (I don't have a problem going by myself). I never did watch Escape to Witch Mountain beforehand, but I don't think it matters. Race pretty much only made reference to Escape, and it wasn't necessary to see the latter; Race is its own movie completely. I so wanted it to be so much better, and I feel Disney just rushed it before completion (ending work on a project doesn't mean it's finished, just stopped). Dwayne Johnson pretty much carried the movie on his broad shoulders. This is another one of those (few) "moments of goodness" interspersed with longer patches of "blah" and "oh, get real".
Tuesday night, while working until 2:30 in the a.m., I finished watching Darling. An interesting movie, kind of bizarre. There was one scene, The Truth Game, I'm still not sure about the meaning other than recognizing psychological dysfunction and perhaps symbolic of a "multiple-interaction gathering of an adult nature", but what?
I also watched a Japanese film whose English title is Branded to Kill. The number three killer is hunted/taunted by the number one killer after taking out the number two killer. Well done but odd.
And tonight, I watched Key Largo, with Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, among others. I would have testified I had seen this movie before, but what I saw tonight makes me wonder what movie I did actually see so many years ago. There was a hotel and a hurricane, but other than that, the movie doesn't match anything from my memory. (maybe I should watch Escape to Witch Mountain, just to know that I'm not mis-remembering).
As of 5:30 yesterday afternoon, I hit 40 hours at work. Fun.
Okay, watched Stanley Kubrick's The Killing. Pretty good movie, and very accessible for a Kubrick movie. His stuff is not for everyone, but I think most people can enjoy this. The basic story is about a robbery of a horse racing track, the lead-up to the robbery and the aftermath. The story is told in a fairly straightforward manner, kind of a precursor to Dragnet stylistically. It's pretty violent for its time (1956), and I suppose still a tad violent for today. It's definitely not for kids.
I went to see Watchmen and enjoyed it very much. Probably not everyone's cup of tea, but I think well worth seeing.
Went last Saturday to see Race to Witch Mountain — by myself! (I don't have a problem going by myself). I never did watch Escape to Witch Mountain beforehand, but I don't think it matters. Race pretty much only made reference to Escape, and it wasn't necessary to see the latter; Race is its own movie completely. I so wanted it to be so much better, and I feel Disney just rushed it before completion (ending work on a project doesn't mean it's finished, just stopped). Dwayne Johnson pretty much carried the movie on his broad shoulders. This is another one of those (few) "moments of goodness" interspersed with longer patches of "blah" and "oh, get real".
Tuesday night, while working until 2:30 in the a.m., I finished watching Darling. An interesting movie, kind of bizarre. There was one scene, The Truth Game, I'm still not sure about the meaning other than recognizing psychological dysfunction and perhaps symbolic of a "multiple-interaction gathering of an adult nature", but what?
I also watched a Japanese film whose English title is Branded to Kill. The number three killer is hunted/taunted by the number one killer after taking out the number two killer. Well done but odd.
And tonight, I watched Key Largo, with Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, among others. I would have testified I had seen this movie before, but what I saw tonight makes me wonder what movie I did actually see so many years ago. There was a hotel and a hurricane, but other than that, the movie doesn't match anything from my memory. (maybe I should watch Escape to Witch Mountain, just to know that I'm not mis-remembering).
As of 5:30 yesterday afternoon, I hit 40 hours at work. Fun.
Sunday, February 08, 2009
What's Going On?
Yesterday (Saturday), I rented three movies from RedBox: Balls Out: Gary the Tennis Coach (Can't believe I'm admitting that), City of Ember, and The Wackness.
Balls Out has virtually no redeeming qualities. It's not too often you see a movie about tennis; at times, it is roll-on-the-floor funny, but so much of it is potty humor, the cussing is horrendous, and there are many cringe-inducing moments. I don't recommend this at all.
City of Ember was decent. The basic plot is that a city was established underground due to some global calamity. After 200 years, the people would come back up to the surface. Only, the box being used to track the countdown has been stuck in a closet, and no one knows what's supposed to be happening. Food is running short (except for the foodstuffs horded by the mayor), and the generator supplying electricity is failing. No one knows how to fix any of the problems, only apply gross patches. I'm not sure why this movie didn't do better; I know marketing was horrible for it. What I was expecting from the spotty memory of the trailer is not at all what happened.
The Wackness is very odd. Since movies are due back at 9 for RedBox, I ran out of time to watch much more than about 20 minutes of this one. I don't think I need to see more. Interesting note: the main guy, Josh Peck, was in the Nickelodeon show Drake & Josh. The movie definitely should not be watched by any tween/teen fans of the TV show.
Right now, I'm listening to The Dan and Joe shoe, episode one. It's a talk show between Dan and Joe where they discuss movies and music and whatever. The link is www.danandjoeshow.com, a pretty basic site. Kind of humorous.
Balls Out has virtually no redeeming qualities. It's not too often you see a movie about tennis; at times, it is roll-on-the-floor funny, but so much of it is potty humor, the cussing is horrendous, and there are many cringe-inducing moments. I don't recommend this at all.
City of Ember was decent. The basic plot is that a city was established underground due to some global calamity. After 200 years, the people would come back up to the surface. Only, the box being used to track the countdown has been stuck in a closet, and no one knows what's supposed to be happening. Food is running short (except for the foodstuffs horded by the mayor), and the generator supplying electricity is failing. No one knows how to fix any of the problems, only apply gross patches. I'm not sure why this movie didn't do better; I know marketing was horrible for it. What I was expecting from the spotty memory of the trailer is not at all what happened.
The Wackness is very odd. Since movies are due back at 9 for RedBox, I ran out of time to watch much more than about 20 minutes of this one. I don't think I need to see more. Interesting note: the main guy, Josh Peck, was in the Nickelodeon show Drake & Josh. The movie definitely should not be watched by any tween/teen fans of the TV show.
Right now, I'm listening to The Dan and Joe shoe, episode one. It's a talk show between Dan and Joe where they discuss movies and music and whatever. The link is www.danandjoeshow.com, a pretty basic site. Kind of humorous.
Friday, January 30, 2009
A Quick Note to Christian Bale
Mr. Bale,
Happy Birthday!
Thanks for your work. It is greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Jack
Happy Birthday!
Thanks for your work. It is greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Jack
Saturday, January 24, 2009
New Things
Part of my non-year resolutions is to do more things that involve not staying at home watching movies (though I want to more of that, too, whittling down that list of unwatched DVDs I have not compiled yet).
Last Tuesday, for instance, I had planned to go see Jon McLaughlin in concert at Warehouse Live (he sang the song "So Long" from Enchanted); I have his album Ok Now, which I've listened to three times now, according to Windows Media Player; apparently I like it quite ok now. Ahem. By the end of the day, exhaustion had set in, and I just didn't feel good, so I didn't go. I regret not getting to see him perform, but I don't regret not going.
Today, I got up early, got my oil changed (at 7:01!), then to Sam's to pick up tax forms, then to Wal-Mart for my snack bars and some other stuff; home to do the taxes; a shower, and then off to the next thing I wanted to do. I was determined to do this, this thing. This thing turned out to be MP3 Experiment 1.0 with the Houston Flash Mob. We downloaded a an mp3 we weren't supposed to listen to until the event. Check out Houston Flash Mob web site for more details. The experiment was down at Discovery Green downtown. Everyone participating started the mp3 at the same time, and then we were all instructed what to do as time went on. It was a blast! I waved, danced, played freeze tag, melted, Chariots-of-Fire ran, and clapped. It was so much fun. And I went by myself and had such a blast.
I'm watching Kung Fu Panda tonight, rented from Red Box. It's been quite humorous, and a decent story, too. I'll probably add this to my collection; it's been far more enjoyable than I ever anticipated.
Updated 1/25/2009: corrected link to Houston Flash Mob website; I had reversed two letters. sorry for the confusion
Last Tuesday, for instance, I had planned to go see Jon McLaughlin in concert at Warehouse Live (he sang the song "So Long" from Enchanted); I have his album Ok Now, which I've listened to three times now, according to Windows Media Player; apparently I like it quite ok now. Ahem. By the end of the day, exhaustion had set in, and I just didn't feel good, so I didn't go. I regret not getting to see him perform, but I don't regret not going.
Today, I got up early, got my oil changed (at 7:01!), then to Sam's to pick up tax forms, then to Wal-Mart for my snack bars and some other stuff; home to do the taxes; a shower, and then off to the next thing I wanted to do. I was determined to do this, this thing. This thing turned out to be MP3 Experiment 1.0 with the Houston Flash Mob. We downloaded a an mp3 we weren't supposed to listen to until the event. Check out Houston Flash Mob web site for more details. The experiment was down at Discovery Green downtown. Everyone participating started the mp3 at the same time, and then we were all instructed what to do as time went on. It was a blast! I waved, danced, played freeze tag, melted, Chariots-of-Fire ran, and clapped. It was so much fun. And I went by myself and had such a blast.
I'm watching Kung Fu Panda tonight, rented from Red Box. It's been quite humorous, and a decent story, too. I'll probably add this to my collection; it's been far more enjoyable than I ever anticipated.
Updated 1/25/2009: corrected link to Houston Flash Mob website; I had reversed two letters. sorry for the confusion
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Boys from Brazil
The Boys from Brazil (by the way, there might be spoilers, so be warned. I'll try to be careful, but you never know.)
12:47 PM about 17 minutes into the movie. Paused the movie.
Notes so far:
1:08 PM a plane lands at night on a body of water. Lights! and someone vaguely reminiscent of Hitler appears -- Dr. Josef Mengele (Gregory Peck). and a meeting. funny moment: Kohler's eavesdropping device suddenly blares at him.
1:11 PM clicking heels galore, almost a parody of Nazis (but I don't think it's meant to be one). BIG IMPORTANT MEETING. Aryan race! big involved plans: 94 men must die on specific dates over next 2-1/2 years. Yikes! why?
1:18 PM "by killing this old mailman, I will be fulfilling the destiny of the Aryan lace" [race - but it sounded like "lace"] ... ooo they've been found out! hunt the bug! now how did that get there? that crafty Kohler
1:22 PM no, not the kid! you're a pretty stupid, naive guy, Kohler. they're coming to take you away, ha ha; they're coming to take you away, he he.
1:26 PM Eek! double Eek!!!!! and I don't mean just the cat.
1:29 PM stupid DVD has no subtitles; heavy accents can be hard to make out sometimes
1:34 PM death count of the 94 begins.... what the heck! those eyes...
1:40 PM well, Lieberman is definitely the key to stopping the nefarious scheme, whatever it is. Imagine, a world-wide laboratory. How can it possibly result from the deaths of these 94 sixty-five year old men from various nations? There's certainly no resolution yet. And a large tracking chart on display! Also, what would it be like to track all the violent crimes in 10 countries? 10 cities in the U.S. would be job enough, let along then countries.
1:44 PM I've seen that face before. I can guess what he's around for.
1:50 PM I knew it! and creepy, too! and uncalled for and vicious. And totally fitting the story. I wonder if the extra death will affect "the plan". <so hungry, and I have no food>
1:57 PM another impetuous young man, Bennett (John Rubinstein) enters the picture to carry on Kohler's work... a big reunion... questioning orders among the ranks and a reminder to loyalty. "It doesn't have to be Saturday"... Anne Meara!!! ... and the plot thickens more, and a glimmer of understanding crosses Jack's brain.
2:07 PM this is becoming spooky and just plain creepy.
2:14 PM major piece falls into place (as I thought)... Dec. 11? questions answered, but more appear.
2:19 PM I can't believe he said it. It's true, but I can't believe he said it.
<a brief rest stop>
2:29 PM and still I ask, just because we can do something, does that mean we should? Cloning, it's not just for sheep anymore.
2:34 PM sends a chill up my spine just thinking that someone would want to clone Hitler. From a purely technological, amoral point fo view, the idea of cloning is cool. But should we? and who gets to decide who should be cloned? Regenerating body parts is one thing, but a full body. And would it even be the same as the person?
2:43 PM Evil, I tell you, pure evil... why would you go into a house not your own when no one answers your tepid knock on the door? ... great shades of Mike Tyson!
2:56 PM Such hatred. And "similar" is not equivalent to "same".
3:02 PM Evil Evil Evil, all the way around. End of movie.
I declare thee creepy in the highest order.
This was a very good movie. There are some mighty big ideas in this story: cloning, retribution, Hitler and his conspiracy theories (or theories about his survival, cloning, etc.). If you had the chance to go back in time to take out Hitler, would you? Would that be our prerogative?
12:47 PM about 17 minutes into the movie. Paused the movie.
Notes so far:
- Gregory Peck!
- Laurence Olivier!
- James Mason!
- some pretty big names.
- very nice opening music (Jerry Goldsmith)
- and look, co-starring Steve Guttenberg! (I find that particularly hilarious.) He's 19 or 20 when the movie comes out.
- opens in Paraguay. not enough movies take place in Paraguay. I wonder why.
- some goose-stepping soldiers. Foreshadowing, perhaps (yes, because I know the movie involves Hitler)
- A man at a café goes with passenger of Mercedes that pulled up beside goose-stepping soldiers.
- Barry Kohler (Guttenberg) rushes to his Vanagon(?) to follow them. a bull fight, and some eavesdropping. a meeting at a private plane.
- and we're in Vienna.
1:08 PM a plane lands at night on a body of water. Lights! and someone vaguely reminiscent of Hitler appears -- Dr. Josef Mengele (Gregory Peck). and a meeting. funny moment: Kohler's eavesdropping device suddenly blares at him.
1:11 PM clicking heels galore, almost a parody of Nazis (but I don't think it's meant to be one). BIG IMPORTANT MEETING. Aryan race! big involved plans: 94 men must die on specific dates over next 2-1/2 years. Yikes! why?
1:18 PM "by killing this old mailman, I will be fulfilling the destiny of the Aryan lace" [race - but it sounded like "lace"] ... ooo they've been found out! hunt the bug! now how did that get there? that crafty Kohler
1:22 PM no, not the kid! you're a pretty stupid, naive guy, Kohler. they're coming to take you away, ha ha; they're coming to take you away, he he.
1:26 PM Eek! double Eek!!!!! and I don't mean just the cat.
1:29 PM stupid DVD has no subtitles; heavy accents can be hard to make out sometimes
1:34 PM death count of the 94 begins.... what the heck! those eyes...
1:40 PM well, Lieberman is definitely the key to stopping the nefarious scheme, whatever it is. Imagine, a world-wide laboratory. How can it possibly result from the deaths of these 94 sixty-five year old men from various nations? There's certainly no resolution yet. And a large tracking chart on display! Also, what would it be like to track all the violent crimes in 10 countries? 10 cities in the U.S. would be job enough, let along then countries.
1:44 PM I've seen that face before. I can guess what he's around for.
1:50 PM I knew it! and creepy, too! and uncalled for and vicious. And totally fitting the story. I wonder if the extra death will affect "the plan". <so hungry, and I have no food>
1:57 PM another impetuous young man, Bennett (John Rubinstein) enters the picture to carry on Kohler's work... a big reunion... questioning orders among the ranks and a reminder to loyalty. "It doesn't have to be Saturday"... Anne Meara!!! ... and the plot thickens more, and a glimmer of understanding crosses Jack's brain.
2:07 PM this is becoming spooky and just plain creepy.
2:14 PM major piece falls into place (as I thought)... Dec. 11? questions answered, but more appear.
2:19 PM I can't believe he said it. It's true, but I can't believe he said it.
<a brief rest stop>
2:29 PM and still I ask, just because we can do something, does that mean we should? Cloning, it's not just for sheep anymore.
2:34 PM sends a chill up my spine just thinking that someone would want to clone Hitler. From a purely technological, amoral point fo view, the idea of cloning is cool. But should we? and who gets to decide who should be cloned? Regenerating body parts is one thing, but a full body. And would it even be the same as the person?
2:43 PM Evil, I tell you, pure evil... why would you go into a house not your own when no one answers your tepid knock on the door? ... great shades of Mike Tyson!
2:56 PM Such hatred. And "similar" is not equivalent to "same".
3:02 PM Evil Evil Evil, all the way around. End of movie.
I declare thee creepy in the highest order.
This was a very good movie. There are some mighty big ideas in this story: cloning, retribution, Hitler and his conspiracy theories (or theories about his survival, cloning, etc.). If you had the chance to go back in time to take out Hitler, would you? Would that be our prerogative?
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Upcoming Movies
A quick look at upcoming movies. Note: It's January; studios dump movies in January, but also open wide the Oscar-caliber movies (a la Gran Torino)
releasing Jan 16:
Too tired to continue in this post. Will work on later weeks some other time.
releasing Jan 16:
- My Bloody Valentine 3-D I think I'll pass on this. most others will do so in droves.
- Notorious A bio-pic of Notorious B.I.G. Do you honestly think this will be worthwhile? Any movie that gets touted as "best movie of the year" in January is virtually doomed to failure.
- Defiance This movie looks quite interesting. It stars Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, and Jamie Bell, all three decent actors. Basic plot: a group of Jews during WWII (the second war to end all wars) hide from the Germans in a heavily-wooded area (aka forest).
- Hotel for Dogs Take the kiddies; at least someone will enjoy it.
- Paul Blart: Mall Cop I hold no thought this will be good. But it sure looks real entertaining if the funny parts aren't all shown in the trailer.
Too tired to continue in this post. Will work on later weeks some other time.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Movies
I haven't posted a lot about movies lately other than to talk about what I'm currently watching (The Boys from Brazil) or what I've recently seen (Ivan the Terrible part 2; Cat Ballou).
Anyway, I'll have to soon come up with a list of upcoming movies I'm looking forward to (quite a few). In the meantime, here's the trailer I ran across that reminded me of doing this (in addition to all the other drivel I write).
Fast and the Furious <-- link to page with trailer.
Don't know about the rest of the movie, but the first 45 seconds of the trailer are pretty intense. Vin Diesel is back, so it might just be fun. I know he's not a great actor or hasn't demonstrated it yet, but he does have a commanding screen presence.
Anyway, I'll have to soon come up with a list of upcoming movies I'm looking forward to (quite a few). In the meantime, here's the trailer I ran across that reminded me of doing this (in addition to all the other drivel I write).
Fast and the Furious <-- link to page with trailer.
Don't know about the rest of the movie, but the first 45 seconds of the trailer are pretty intense. Vin Diesel is back, so it might just be fun. I know he's not a great actor or hasn't demonstrated it yet, but he does have a commanding screen presence.
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