not the belagio, not even close
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
the last shift
myspace sucks because 90 percent of this weekend i couldn't log into it because it was down. myspace sucks because the login has to be an entire email address and not just a unique word or something. myspace sucks because it can't remember your password on your computer.
Lady in the Water (2006): a water nymph thing (narf) is trying to get back to her own world or something, but before the eagle can come and take her away, she must first get past the wolf made of sod. sounds crazy, i know. so most of the time while i am watching this unfold, i'm thinking that m. night is going to pull a fast one on us as usual and this ridiculous story will all make sense in the end. but no, it is what it is. there are no cool twists and turns or big revelations or surprises at the end. so right off the bat, don't expect an ending like any of his other movies. i guess the closest it comes to is signs. anyway, the story is set in some apartment complex that seems to be completely cut off from the rest of the world. most of the movie is a stupid mystery game to try and figure out everyone's role in getting the eagle to her. it just goes back and forth between characters and it gets old pretty quick. the characters themselves were really interesting and all played well. watching the tree monkey things fighting at the end, i felt like it was jumanji or basically some pg-13 fantasy for kids. finally, all the characters in the apartment complex are excited and concerned for the well being of this narf and not once does anyone stop and say, "this is the craziest crap i've ever heard of." there are some skeptics but they only began questioning well into their involvement with the whole thing. this was easily my least favorite of shyamalan's major movies. don't see.
disappointing, C-
today is pioneer day and everyone has the day off but me. we do get time and a half however. today happens to be my last day working as a dispatcher. it's been a long three years working here. in fact i've worked here longer than any other job. it's been fun i guess. easy for sure. i never had any huge emergencies or major medicals to deal with. never got into any trouble with anyone as far as i know. there have been a fair share of annoying coworkers, but so much isolation exists as a dispatcher here that there is very little personal interaction between myself and anyone else. there are also a few i will actually miss also. countless hours were spent on video games and movies. hours of sleeping upright in a chair. all this police procedure and dispatching knowledge will begin the process of being forgotten starting tomorrow. i would have liked to of stayed here and took over the dispatch supervisor position. it pays terrible and is basically one big headache, but it would have been fun.
last week i beat that video game i was playing (xiii). toward the end it started getting ridiculous and would take hours to master a level well enough to get through it without dying, so for about the last quarter of the game i started using cheats to get myself through the levels. otherwise i'd probably still be playing. instead i'm working on hitman. it is really hard and again you cannot save during a level. and in this one they don't even give you health. there is so much you have to figure out to pass each mission that i'm lucky to be able to pass a level with half a day worth of playing. after this i might take it easy on the games for a while because right about when i've beaten this game, school should be getting ready to start.
just slightly over three more hours until i'm off. today was a lovely twelve hour shift so my entire monday has been wasted by being here. there are going to be fireworks any second though from the school after the baseball game is over with. the game is tied and right now they are in the ninth. death cab for cutie is playing at uvsc in a few weeks. i'd totally go if i wasn't going to be living in another state during that time. i'm also going to miss a little get together of dc intern cohorts at the end of august which pisses me off. this may have already been mentioned, but i really wish i could go. i need to talk to kim and work something out. hmm.
Lady in the Water (2006): a water nymph thing (narf) is trying to get back to her own world or something, but before the eagle can come and take her away, she must first get past the wolf made of sod. sounds crazy, i know. so most of the time while i am watching this unfold, i'm thinking that m. night is going to pull a fast one on us as usual and this ridiculous story will all make sense in the end. but no, it is what it is. there are no cool twists and turns or big revelations or surprises at the end. so right off the bat, don't expect an ending like any of his other movies. i guess the closest it comes to is signs. anyway, the story is set in some apartment complex that seems to be completely cut off from the rest of the world. most of the movie is a stupid mystery game to try and figure out everyone's role in getting the eagle to her. it just goes back and forth between characters and it gets old pretty quick. the characters themselves were really interesting and all played well. watching the tree monkey things fighting at the end, i felt like it was jumanji or basically some pg-13 fantasy for kids. finally, all the characters in the apartment complex are excited and concerned for the well being of this narf and not once does anyone stop and say, "this is the craziest crap i've ever heard of." there are some skeptics but they only began questioning well into their involvement with the whole thing. this was easily my least favorite of shyamalan's major movies. don't see.
disappointing, C-
today is pioneer day and everyone has the day off but me. we do get time and a half however. today happens to be my last day working as a dispatcher. it's been a long three years working here. in fact i've worked here longer than any other job. it's been fun i guess. easy for sure. i never had any huge emergencies or major medicals to deal with. never got into any trouble with anyone as far as i know. there have been a fair share of annoying coworkers, but so much isolation exists as a dispatcher here that there is very little personal interaction between myself and anyone else. there are also a few i will actually miss also. countless hours were spent on video games and movies. hours of sleeping upright in a chair. all this police procedure and dispatching knowledge will begin the process of being forgotten starting tomorrow. i would have liked to of stayed here and took over the dispatch supervisor position. it pays terrible and is basically one big headache, but it would have been fun.
last week i beat that video game i was playing (xiii). toward the end it started getting ridiculous and would take hours to master a level well enough to get through it without dying, so for about the last quarter of the game i started using cheats to get myself through the levels. otherwise i'd probably still be playing. instead i'm working on hitman. it is really hard and again you cannot save during a level. and in this one they don't even give you health. there is so much you have to figure out to pass each mission that i'm lucky to be able to pass a level with half a day worth of playing. after this i might take it easy on the games for a while because right about when i've beaten this game, school should be getting ready to start.
just slightly over three more hours until i'm off. today was a lovely twelve hour shift so my entire monday has been wasted by being here. there are going to be fireworks any second though from the school after the baseball game is over with. the game is tied and right now they are in the ninth. death cab for cutie is playing at uvsc in a few weeks. i'd totally go if i wasn't going to be living in another state during that time. i'm also going to miss a little get together of dc intern cohorts at the end of august which pisses me off. this may have already been mentioned, but i really wish i could go. i need to talk to kim and work something out. hmm.
Friday, July 21, 2006
Thursday, July 20, 2006
the program
this past weekend i read an article about how crappy the u.s. is in every type of world competition, most recently noted in the winter olympics, world cup, and wimbledon. we also lost some world baseball thing a few months back. but they didn't mention cycling, where apparently we seem to be pretty decent. some guy who is not lance armstrong is currently in the lead and has a good chance of winning. who knew? it's really too bad that we suck at almost everything else. it would be interesting to see a study done on why it is that with all our might and money, we still suck on the playing field. any ideas?
so did i speak too soon or what? before i could even post this, landis, the american cyclist from above, did terrible and went into like 10th place. but even since then he has bounced back to 3rd. he better not let us down since he is america's only hope at sports on the global stage.
greg ipson. man, what can i can even say. he died like two nights ago in a car accident near vegas. we all went to high school with him and he was an interesting character if i remember right. he was lds and served a mission in las vegas. the ipsons are a great family and i can't imagine how crappy it is for them right now. my heart certainly goes out to them. we were just at his sister melanie's wedding and he was right there leading the reception. so many people will remember him and how amazing he was at that wedding, so that's pretty cool. it really sucks but these things happen i guess. you can't help but stop and think about your own fate. i think six feet under has really prepared me for anything god can throw at me in the way of death. i suppose even my own. i'm sure i would eat those words if something did actually happen, but i'd like to think otherwise. kim and i are in talks about maybe going out there for the funeral.
Nacho Libre (2006): a monastery cook is torn between his commitment to god and the orphans he cares about, and his life long dream of professional wrestling. the movie was funny, but lacked any substance. some of the conversations were really long and dull, which dragged the movie down tremendously. there is no real point to the plot. he basically sucks as a wrestler, then has the big championship fight at the end. there is stuff going on with the church and a sister he is going after, but i never found myself concerned for his circumstances. he is vain and a jerk from start to finish (although he is nice to orphans). i found it interesting that there were so many homosexual and transgender overtones in the movie. i was hoping for something really original from this movie, but it is obvious that the creator of napoleon dynamite directed the movie and it is obvious that tenacious d rockin’ jack black is nacho. they should have left those characters and signature styles out of this movie and worked it all from scratch. there are a number of really funny moments, but that was mainly because there was a crazy lady laughing her head off at every joke. while it's not terrible, i think too little time was put creating the story. don't see.
disappointing, C-
i am scared to death over the program. and when i say "the program", i mean the only program that matters which is the interdisciplinary telecommunications program, or itp for short, or the program as i prefer. the program is going to suck. not suck, but just be very difficult. i fear that i really will fail some of these classes. let's see, we have telecommunications theory and applications, network economics and finance 1, telecommunications seminar, and telecommunications business strategy. however, after some thinking, i will most likely drop business strategy. so the schedule actually isn't as frightening as before, but it's still no walk in the park. and my straight A obsession is long gone now. all i'd like to see now is a passing grade.
after showing our place to a few more folks this past weekend, we had a few offers and decided to just go with whoever was first so long as any credit/background checks turn out good. grandma lady couldn't deal with the stairs so the two brothers are in. they seem like really good guys so we are glad. there was a married couple who really wanted the place and we are sad we didn't give it to them. but they did have two cats though so i think it worked out better this way. it's nice knowing our new carpet won't be destroyed by a two year old's spaghetti sauce or two cats throwing up on each other. i don't know why they throw up on each other, but i'm sure this couple's cats will. so a nice weight has been lifted. but still, nothing compares to the program.
kim has been in park city the past two days with work stuff. tonight i'll drive up and spend the night with her at whereever she is staying. it should be fun, although i've enjoyed my nights of movie watching and game playing. and trying not to stuff my face. gotta love that.
so did i speak too soon or what? before i could even post this, landis, the american cyclist from above, did terrible and went into like 10th place. but even since then he has bounced back to 3rd. he better not let us down since he is america's only hope at sports on the global stage.
greg ipson. man, what can i can even say. he died like two nights ago in a car accident near vegas. we all went to high school with him and he was an interesting character if i remember right. he was lds and served a mission in las vegas. the ipsons are a great family and i can't imagine how crappy it is for them right now. my heart certainly goes out to them. we were just at his sister melanie's wedding and he was right there leading the reception. so many people will remember him and how amazing he was at that wedding, so that's pretty cool. it really sucks but these things happen i guess. you can't help but stop and think about your own fate. i think six feet under has really prepared me for anything god can throw at me in the way of death. i suppose even my own. i'm sure i would eat those words if something did actually happen, but i'd like to think otherwise. kim and i are in talks about maybe going out there for the funeral.
Nacho Libre (2006): a monastery cook is torn between his commitment to god and the orphans he cares about, and his life long dream of professional wrestling. the movie was funny, but lacked any substance. some of the conversations were really long and dull, which dragged the movie down tremendously. there is no real point to the plot. he basically sucks as a wrestler, then has the big championship fight at the end. there is stuff going on with the church and a sister he is going after, but i never found myself concerned for his circumstances. he is vain and a jerk from start to finish (although he is nice to orphans). i found it interesting that there were so many homosexual and transgender overtones in the movie. i was hoping for something really original from this movie, but it is obvious that the creator of napoleon dynamite directed the movie and it is obvious that tenacious d rockin’ jack black is nacho. they should have left those characters and signature styles out of this movie and worked it all from scratch. there are a number of really funny moments, but that was mainly because there was a crazy lady laughing her head off at every joke. while it's not terrible, i think too little time was put creating the story. don't see.
disappointing, C-
i am scared to death over the program. and when i say "the program", i mean the only program that matters which is the interdisciplinary telecommunications program, or itp for short, or the program as i prefer. the program is going to suck. not suck, but just be very difficult. i fear that i really will fail some of these classes. let's see, we have telecommunications theory and applications, network economics and finance 1, telecommunications seminar, and telecommunications business strategy. however, after some thinking, i will most likely drop business strategy. so the schedule actually isn't as frightening as before, but it's still no walk in the park. and my straight A obsession is long gone now. all i'd like to see now is a passing grade.
after showing our place to a few more folks this past weekend, we had a few offers and decided to just go with whoever was first so long as any credit/background checks turn out good. grandma lady couldn't deal with the stairs so the two brothers are in. they seem like really good guys so we are glad. there was a married couple who really wanted the place and we are sad we didn't give it to them. but they did have two cats though so i think it worked out better this way. it's nice knowing our new carpet won't be destroyed by a two year old's spaghetti sauce or two cats throwing up on each other. i don't know why they throw up on each other, but i'm sure this couple's cats will. so a nice weight has been lifted. but still, nothing compares to the program.
kim has been in park city the past two days with work stuff. tonight i'll drive up and spend the night with her at whereever she is staying. it should be fun, although i've enjoyed my nights of movie watching and game playing. and trying not to stuff my face. gotta love that.
Monday, July 17, 2006
the reviews of four motion pictures
i'm really starting to get over the whole complex i had about my age, however now i'm thinking about how i will be in school another two years, at least. i feel like people are doing things and having babies and i'm just getting older and going to school. and don't leave comments with advice or anything because there is nothing that can be said that i couldn't already think of if i wasn't wanting to go watch my movie right now. i just hope i can pass all my classes.
recent dvds added to the collection: first knight, toy soldiers, grand hotel.
The Lake House (2006): two people, two years apart, fall in love after communicating to each other through a magic mailbox. and apparently usps doesn't deliver to this mailbox because they never get any mail except each others. the end just got too complicated for me to enjoy it. by the time i'd think too much into it and figure the connections between events and time, a new twist would take place and i'd have to start figuring that out. i'm sure it won't seem compicated for some viewers though. there were too many coincidences and moments of fate; too many in that it just starts to become unbelievable. the convos they would have through the mailbox was sometimes unrealistic, and more like they were talking on a phone or through im. the middle started to drag. all the music in the movie is pretty stupid. and as far as the actually lake house, i was disappointed that they rarely show the inside of the house. there is a massive tree growing in the middle of the house, yet they sometimes only show a glimpse of it. maybe this was all intentional and they wanted the viewer to never be allowed inside the house for some reason that might relate to their relationship, but obviously i didn't get their symbolism. don't see.
mediocre, C
a few days ago i found out that ozma is opening for the rentals when they come to town. i knew ozma was playing with them for an la show, but had no clue they were touring the country together. this is going to be amazing. this just makes the concert twice as good as it was going to be before. i am so stoked for this you have no idea. single file is playing tomorrow night in slc at the kilby court, which i remember being basically a garage of some old houses or something. it is pretty run down, but wicked fun. unfortunately i have to work, otherwise i really would have liked to have gone. oh well. i don't really like their stuff that much anyway.
Pride and Prejudice (2005): the bennet sisters go in and out of love and relationships in 18th century england. it's worth noting the great opening shot that the movie starts on. some of the dialogue is kind of difficult to understand because it's so shakespearean. and it is much more than sense and sensibility was. the characters are also far more complex than sense. it's a decent movie with some great acting, but sense and sensibility would be much more worth your time. don't see.
fair, B-
the game i'm playing these days is xiii (pronounced "thirteen"). it's another first person shooter, whose storyline is really confusing. the game sucks because you can't save in the middle of the game. each time you die you either start the level over or from a checkpoint of that level. so a single level that might take ten minutes start to finish, will take me two hours because i will die a few dozen times. to give me some kind of credit, i am playing on the second to hardest difficulty. other than that it's a blast and reminds me of max payne. and it's something to do.
Donnie Darko (2001): donnie is a teenager trying hard to be a normal high schooler and maybe even get a girlfriend. his only problem is that a rabbit, which is sure to give you nightmares, keeps popping up in cryptic dreams and forcing donnie to commit some creative acts against society. throughout most of the movie i was reminded of 'a beautiful mind,' where i hoped he is really just a special person who can do special things, and not just some loon. i won't spoil it here and reveal which type of person donnie is. there are lots of great songs that are played through the film. there was a very good use of almost every camera technique possible. i found the whole flow and style of the film very kubrick-like. some of the characters were really great. the ones that really stood out were by drew barrymore, patrick swayze, and mary mcdonnell's performance as donnie's mom. oh and of course jake gyllenhaal. i haven't seen a bad performance from him yet. the juxtaposition all throughout the movie was really effective added to the movie. and there were a few really good edge of your seat moments that were pretty awesome. the ending though wasn't as neat and clean as i would have liked it. i never want to be forced to think way too much. there were a few questions that weren't answered for me, including where the plane engine came from. and there are a few more i have about the worm hole and how it all worked. anyway, obviously you just have to see it. it's really a fun and interesting movie to watch and even with an odd ending, it's definitely worth seeing. a little weird though. if i can maybe make sense of the ending i will probably put it on the list to buy.
good, B
our place is now officially up for rent. we put an ad out in the daily herald and have gotten a few calls on it already. kim showed the place to a some brothers on saturday and an old grandma lady wants to see it tomorrow. all of our stuff is packed in boxes now and in storage. i put in my two weeks notice at work. this week we will start the dreadful task of painting. things are moving right along.
Cheech & Chong's Up In Smoke (1978): two stoners in la set out on a journey. i think it's to find more weed. the dialogue is amazing between c and c. it's really the highlight of the whole movie. there are some really funny parts, but the plot is really weak. i guess they are just driving around looking for more dope, but there is also this undercover drug bust going on in the background. it's like harold and kumar and half baked, only with less of a plot. i don't know, it's alright. for a stoner comedy, it's worth seeing.
flawed, but not terrible, C+
recent dvds added to the collection: first knight, toy soldiers, grand hotel.
The Lake House (2006): two people, two years apart, fall in love after communicating to each other through a magic mailbox. and apparently usps doesn't deliver to this mailbox because they never get any mail except each others. the end just got too complicated for me to enjoy it. by the time i'd think too much into it and figure the connections between events and time, a new twist would take place and i'd have to start figuring that out. i'm sure it won't seem compicated for some viewers though. there were too many coincidences and moments of fate; too many in that it just starts to become unbelievable. the convos they would have through the mailbox was sometimes unrealistic, and more like they were talking on a phone or through im. the middle started to drag. all the music in the movie is pretty stupid. and as far as the actually lake house, i was disappointed that they rarely show the inside of the house. there is a massive tree growing in the middle of the house, yet they sometimes only show a glimpse of it. maybe this was all intentional and they wanted the viewer to never be allowed inside the house for some reason that might relate to their relationship, but obviously i didn't get their symbolism. don't see.
mediocre, C
a few days ago i found out that ozma is opening for the rentals when they come to town. i knew ozma was playing with them for an la show, but had no clue they were touring the country together. this is going to be amazing. this just makes the concert twice as good as it was going to be before. i am so stoked for this you have no idea. single file is playing tomorrow night in slc at the kilby court, which i remember being basically a garage of some old houses or something. it is pretty run down, but wicked fun. unfortunately i have to work, otherwise i really would have liked to have gone. oh well. i don't really like their stuff that much anyway.
Pride and Prejudice (2005): the bennet sisters go in and out of love and relationships in 18th century england. it's worth noting the great opening shot that the movie starts on. some of the dialogue is kind of difficult to understand because it's so shakespearean. and it is much more than sense and sensibility was. the characters are also far more complex than sense. it's a decent movie with some great acting, but sense and sensibility would be much more worth your time. don't see.
fair, B-
the game i'm playing these days is xiii (pronounced "thirteen"). it's another first person shooter, whose storyline is really confusing. the game sucks because you can't save in the middle of the game. each time you die you either start the level over or from a checkpoint of that level. so a single level that might take ten minutes start to finish, will take me two hours because i will die a few dozen times. to give me some kind of credit, i am playing on the second to hardest difficulty. other than that it's a blast and reminds me of max payne. and it's something to do.
Donnie Darko (2001): donnie is a teenager trying hard to be a normal high schooler and maybe even get a girlfriend. his only problem is that a rabbit, which is sure to give you nightmares, keeps popping up in cryptic dreams and forcing donnie to commit some creative acts against society. throughout most of the movie i was reminded of 'a beautiful mind,' where i hoped he is really just a special person who can do special things, and not just some loon. i won't spoil it here and reveal which type of person donnie is. there are lots of great songs that are played through the film. there was a very good use of almost every camera technique possible. i found the whole flow and style of the film very kubrick-like. some of the characters were really great. the ones that really stood out were by drew barrymore, patrick swayze, and mary mcdonnell's performance as donnie's mom. oh and of course jake gyllenhaal. i haven't seen a bad performance from him yet. the juxtaposition all throughout the movie was really effective added to the movie. and there were a few really good edge of your seat moments that were pretty awesome. the ending though wasn't as neat and clean as i would have liked it. i never want to be forced to think way too much. there were a few questions that weren't answered for me, including where the plane engine came from. and there are a few more i have about the worm hole and how it all worked. anyway, obviously you just have to see it. it's really a fun and interesting movie to watch and even with an odd ending, it's definitely worth seeing. a little weird though. if i can maybe make sense of the ending i will probably put it on the list to buy.
good, B
our place is now officially up for rent. we put an ad out in the daily herald and have gotten a few calls on it already. kim showed the place to a some brothers on saturday and an old grandma lady wants to see it tomorrow. all of our stuff is packed in boxes now and in storage. i put in my two weeks notice at work. this week we will start the dreadful task of painting. things are moving right along.
Cheech & Chong's Up In Smoke (1978): two stoners in la set out on a journey. i think it's to find more weed. the dialogue is amazing between c and c. it's really the highlight of the whole movie. there are some really funny parts, but the plot is really weak. i guess they are just driving around looking for more dope, but there is also this undercover drug bust going on in the background. it's like harold and kumar and half baked, only with less of a plot. i don't know, it's alright. for a stoner comedy, it's worth seeing.
flawed, but not terrible, C+
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Monday, July 10, 2006
the game of life
nothing exciting is going on. we are in constant discussion about when we should move because there are so many dumb factors involved. every few days i will go work with jacqueline at their biz. it can be physically demanding at times, but it's easy work i guess. every now and then i will screw up pretty bad and jax will bring it to my attention and i will feel really stupid. but she did just add a little more scenery to her mammary region so i guess it's worth waking up before 11 to get to work.
the song daniel by elton john is one of the gayest songs i've ever heard. ironic because daniel lee from high school is pretty damn gay.
i'm finally at a point where all ties to dc will be cut off because there is really no more point to keep in touch now. and oh how sad it is. that possibility simply ends and i kind of find it a hard reality to face. i need to force myself to only look at what's ahead for me. but oh just think about it. a sigh. but i am happy with what i am doing now. it's ridiculously hard however. i'm reading kim's data communications textbook and i'm barely into chapter three. all the information is doable, but there is so much to remember and so many details. and kim tells me that the class she took was really an overview of everything. great. i guess in a way this subject is a lot like law. there are so many rules and exceptions to those rules. i really think this program will be just as challenging for me as what law school would have been. who could have predicted it?
it is crazy how much times goes into moving. but i am still making time for fear factor every night. who knew they had so many episodes? i have been watching the show for probably close to three months straight now, and it never gets old. actually it got old probably some time in april, but i just pretend like it's the highlight of my day. and grand theft auto: san andreas ended for me. i finally got 100 percent a couple weeks ago. i had hoped to put all my wonderful stats on here but i'm too lazy. unless a single person tells me to post the stats, then i won't put them up. they are amazing though. now i am playing some expansion game for call of duty. it's funny that i'm playing this now because i thought i remember the second call of duty coming out a while back. usually i am slightly behind in the times. no biggie though. it's a pretty good game. for some reason i think i like metal of honor games better though. my next game i've decided will be that battleground vietnam game. bully won't come out on pc for a while, if ever, grand theft auto 4 isn't coming out until fall '07, and i want to play a war game that is not wwii. however, that's the next game i am buying. the next game i will be playing is one i have yet to decide on.
so yeah, tom is getting married. pretty exciting. in september. pretty crazy. it's really hard to put into words, any sort of reaction to this news. i'm really happy for them though. they are perfect for each other and it will be a pretty fun wedding i'm sure. it's so strange watching all of this unfold. marriage and kids, or kids and marriage, whatever works. but all these people i've grown up with are kinda dropping like flies. it's certainly not a bad thing. the natural order of things i suppose. september 8, 2006. mark your calendars. i think that's the right date. i remember that it's on a saturday.
i grew up thinking that holy diver was sung by the scorpions. today i always have to be reminded that it's dio. who the hell was dio? never mind. i looked it up on wikipedia. see, that's one bad thing about the internet. i feel lazy now if i ask a question out of curiosity because i know the answer is only keystrokes away. the internet will certainly be in the top five of man's greatest creations, but it still takes away any, what's the word, mystery to life.
Superman Returns (2006): the dc comics hero is back to face lex luthor, in a story that supposedly takes place after superman ii. the effects are obviously great and i'd say actually better and more realistic than most other big effects movies. the guy who played cyclops in x-men has a large part in this movie and he actually wasn't too bad. what most likely happened was he auditioned for the part of superman, but the casting people said, "sorry, we have this other guy who looks more like christopher reeve and has his mannerisms down to perfection, but you can play this other guy." *spoilers* so lex luthor's plan was to create a big land mass in the atlantic. this would cause the ocean to be displaced, covering the earth, killing billions of people, and it will cause people from all over the world to flock to his new continent and live there, giving lex tons of money. the problem i have is that the land he creates looks pretty much like the asteroid they land on in armageddon. no one is going to flock there. i think this will really appeal more to people who don't remember anything about the reeve movies. much of the movie reminded me of the old movies. which reminds me, i found three blatant rip-offs/nods of 2001: a space oddysey. if you see it, look for the alignment of the planet and sun, pen in zero-gravity, and the music when superman is pushing lex's beachfront property into space. it's hard to put a finger on why i'm not the biggest fan of this movie. the casting was really perfect. i think the problem is the story line. the climax of the movie really isn't that great, because although metropolis and the world are in fact threatened by lex's plans, i never really felt these people were that much in danger. like every other action movie made today, they completely left it open for a sequel, not only for superman but for his son as well in ten years. it's worth seeing, but once will be enough.
good, B
Clerks (1994): a really crappy day for a convenience store worker. there are countless scenes that seem to go uncut for like ten minutes. you'll find a lot of talent from these actor in their performances. the movies jumps from funny to serious to funny again all very smoothly. and there is a great soundtrack to top it all off. great script, really funny moments, and a few very unfunny moments, like the egg inspector guy. in the end, what's not to like? you don't have to be a gen-x'er to really get into this movie. i'm looking forward to clerks 2 now. buy it.
memorable, B+
the song daniel by elton john is one of the gayest songs i've ever heard. ironic because daniel lee from high school is pretty damn gay.
i'm finally at a point where all ties to dc will be cut off because there is really no more point to keep in touch now. and oh how sad it is. that possibility simply ends and i kind of find it a hard reality to face. i need to force myself to only look at what's ahead for me. but oh just think about it. a sigh. but i am happy with what i am doing now. it's ridiculously hard however. i'm reading kim's data communications textbook and i'm barely into chapter three. all the information is doable, but there is so much to remember and so many details. and kim tells me that the class she took was really an overview of everything. great. i guess in a way this subject is a lot like law. there are so many rules and exceptions to those rules. i really think this program will be just as challenging for me as what law school would have been. who could have predicted it?
it is crazy how much times goes into moving. but i am still making time for fear factor every night. who knew they had so many episodes? i have been watching the show for probably close to three months straight now, and it never gets old. actually it got old probably some time in april, but i just pretend like it's the highlight of my day. and grand theft auto: san andreas ended for me. i finally got 100 percent a couple weeks ago. i had hoped to put all my wonderful stats on here but i'm too lazy. unless a single person tells me to post the stats, then i won't put them up. they are amazing though. now i am playing some expansion game for call of duty. it's funny that i'm playing this now because i thought i remember the second call of duty coming out a while back. usually i am slightly behind in the times. no biggie though. it's a pretty good game. for some reason i think i like metal of honor games better though. my next game i've decided will be that battleground vietnam game. bully won't come out on pc for a while, if ever, grand theft auto 4 isn't coming out until fall '07, and i want to play a war game that is not wwii. however, that's the next game i am buying. the next game i will be playing is one i have yet to decide on.
so yeah, tom is getting married. pretty exciting. in september. pretty crazy. it's really hard to put into words, any sort of reaction to this news. i'm really happy for them though. they are perfect for each other and it will be a pretty fun wedding i'm sure. it's so strange watching all of this unfold. marriage and kids, or kids and marriage, whatever works. but all these people i've grown up with are kinda dropping like flies. it's certainly not a bad thing. the natural order of things i suppose. september 8, 2006. mark your calendars. i think that's the right date. i remember that it's on a saturday.
i grew up thinking that holy diver was sung by the scorpions. today i always have to be reminded that it's dio. who the hell was dio? never mind. i looked it up on wikipedia. see, that's one bad thing about the internet. i feel lazy now if i ask a question out of curiosity because i know the answer is only keystrokes away. the internet will certainly be in the top five of man's greatest creations, but it still takes away any, what's the word, mystery to life.
Superman Returns (2006): the dc comics hero is back to face lex luthor, in a story that supposedly takes place after superman ii. the effects are obviously great and i'd say actually better and more realistic than most other big effects movies. the guy who played cyclops in x-men has a large part in this movie and he actually wasn't too bad. what most likely happened was he auditioned for the part of superman, but the casting people said, "sorry, we have this other guy who looks more like christopher reeve and has his mannerisms down to perfection, but you can play this other guy." *spoilers* so lex luthor's plan was to create a big land mass in the atlantic. this would cause the ocean to be displaced, covering the earth, killing billions of people, and it will cause people from all over the world to flock to his new continent and live there, giving lex tons of money. the problem i have is that the land he creates looks pretty much like the asteroid they land on in armageddon. no one is going to flock there. i think this will really appeal more to people who don't remember anything about the reeve movies. much of the movie reminded me of the old movies. which reminds me, i found three blatant rip-offs/nods of 2001: a space oddysey. if you see it, look for the alignment of the planet and sun, pen in zero-gravity, and the music when superman is pushing lex's beachfront property into space. it's hard to put a finger on why i'm not the biggest fan of this movie. the casting was really perfect. i think the problem is the story line. the climax of the movie really isn't that great, because although metropolis and the world are in fact threatened by lex's plans, i never really felt these people were that much in danger. like every other action movie made today, they completely left it open for a sequel, not only for superman but for his son as well in ten years. it's worth seeing, but once will be enough.
good, B
Clerks (1994): a really crappy day for a convenience store worker. there are countless scenes that seem to go uncut for like ten minutes. you'll find a lot of talent from these actor in their performances. the movies jumps from funny to serious to funny again all very smoothly. and there is a great soundtrack to top it all off. great script, really funny moments, and a few very unfunny moments, like the egg inspector guy. in the end, what's not to like? you don't have to be a gen-x'er to really get into this movie. i'm looking forward to clerks 2 now. buy it.
memorable, B+
Monday, July 03, 2006
Sunday, July 02, 2006
the stadium of fire review
by the way, the two year mark for my blog was this past week. think about how much time you've wasted on this shit. go find something better to do. taylor hicks was amazing by the way.
Saturday, July 01, 2006
the end - the doors
i can imagine that senator hatch right now is ticked at senator bennett. hatch was the sponsor of the marriage protection amendment that failed to pass a couple of days ago. supporters were only one vote shy of it passing in the senate. i first heard bennett's stance on this issue over a year ago before i even interviewed for the internship. he has always said he doesn't support a flag burning amendment and sure enough he stuck to his guns and voted against it. even with tremendous support of the amendment from utahns, the senior senator of our state being the amendment's main sponsor, there being only one vote away from the two-thirds need, and overwhelming support from republicans and bush, he still voted with what he believed was right. i admire him and totally agree with his decision and reasoning, however was his decision right to vote against it when a number of polls in utah have shown the state's support for it. of course when they were showing this on the news all last week, i never heard a word about bennett. even when a reporter was asked which senators are probably being lobbied the most right now, she listed a few of the more popular ones but no bob. you know hatch was all over him this week. anyway, hatch just wasted everyone's time in the united states senate once again.
ashdown is the dem in utah running against hatch this year and the poor guy has no chance. even if he actually had campaign funds, or if he hired a stylist, or even if he had both of those and was republican, i think he'd be lucky to get a quarter of the votes. we'll see. sadly i won't be here to participate. i should see what's going on in colorado. maybe i could pick which election i want to vote in.
someone needs to create a new war video game. it doesn't matter which war, but i will say world war 1 since there aren't very many of those type of games out there. you can play the usual range of difficulties like easy, medium, hard or whatever, but there should be one level called realistic or something. the level of difficulty is basically how it would have been in real life or in that actual battle. you couldn't get shot seven times before dying. they would also have to make accuracy of weapons real as well as the amount of gunfire we would all be under. i suppose you could say that games today might have "legendary" levels which are near impossible and probably close to the real thing, but unless they advertise it as such, i'm not satisfied with just playing the hardest level. they've tried things in other games like if you get shot in the leg, you now limp or can't walk. wait a second, it's coming to me. this game already exists and it's operation flashpoint. it came out like four years ago. never mind then. it's a great game. more should be made like it. this one wasn't wwi, but the next best thing: fictional cold war, circa. 1980. a few more games are coming to me as well, but it would still be cool to be in some trench battle that was to as close to the real thing as we can make it.
myspace sucks because their music section depends on what retards put out there. their selection is just too small and random.
i’m going to see the rentals at the end of this month. this is beyond being stoked. i wouldn’t even be this excited if i were seeing the weez again. unless they were playing in my living room, then i guess that would top the rentals. it’ll be fabulous and i cannot wait.
The New World (2005): an extremely visual, pg-13 telling of john smith and pocahontas. the opening to the movie and first twenty minutes or so are flawless. the music and stillness of the scenes really show the peace and calm that existed before the eurotrash landed in the americas. the beginning also had one of the most effective and efficient montages i've ever seen. you really get a sense of what these different groups of people were going through during this moment in world history. the story was somewhat similar to dances with wolves, only that john dunbar is john smith, and stands with a fist is pocahontas, although you'd never know she was pocahontas because they never say her name in the film. the locations where they shot the film were very believable. it feels like they really are in an untamed eastern united states. there is very little dialogue and i sometimes wished there had been more because it was sometimes hard to really get deep into the characters when they say nothing. i didn't like the ending very much but the first half is amazing. the story of how things turn out just didn't do it for me. it's hard to complain about story elements that are taken from historic accounts because no one wants to change history too much for the sake of entertainment. that's assuming this movie was somewhat authentic to what really happened. i'm going to have to recommend skipping this movie. it's decent and has lots of really high points, but it just kind of loses steam by the end. don't see.
fair, B-
yesterday my mom, younger brother and me went tubing down the provo river. the water was a crisp 50 degrees but the temperature outside made the two hour float quite enjoyable. tonight we are going to the stadium of fire thing in provo. we never go because we can see most of the fireworks from outside the stadium and the headlining act for the show is always a crappy country singer. this year is no exception, as lee ann womack will be there. opening for her will be beach boys, queen, and abba cover bands and some variation of osmond children. i'm not sure it could get much worse. but we did buy tickets this year because leeann womack has been upstaged because taylor hicks is now the main act. so we are pretty stoked to see him. we'll also get a different view of the fireworks than usual. and it's a nice way to end our time here in utah. i remember kim and i going to a byu game before i had moved out here. since then i can't remember a single time we've been back to the stadium. but tonight we'll be there. right now kim is out buying new carpet for our condo. sucks we won't get to enjoy it, but it's gonna be pretty sweet when it's done. i probably have a million other things to say but i must be off.
ashdown is the dem in utah running against hatch this year and the poor guy has no chance. even if he actually had campaign funds, or if he hired a stylist, or even if he had both of those and was republican, i think he'd be lucky to get a quarter of the votes. we'll see. sadly i won't be here to participate. i should see what's going on in colorado. maybe i could pick which election i want to vote in.
someone needs to create a new war video game. it doesn't matter which war, but i will say world war 1 since there aren't very many of those type of games out there. you can play the usual range of difficulties like easy, medium, hard or whatever, but there should be one level called realistic or something. the level of difficulty is basically how it would have been in real life or in that actual battle. you couldn't get shot seven times before dying. they would also have to make accuracy of weapons real as well as the amount of gunfire we would all be under. i suppose you could say that games today might have "legendary" levels which are near impossible and probably close to the real thing, but unless they advertise it as such, i'm not satisfied with just playing the hardest level. they've tried things in other games like if you get shot in the leg, you now limp or can't walk. wait a second, it's coming to me. this game already exists and it's operation flashpoint. it came out like four years ago. never mind then. it's a great game. more should be made like it. this one wasn't wwi, but the next best thing: fictional cold war, circa. 1980. a few more games are coming to me as well, but it would still be cool to be in some trench battle that was to as close to the real thing as we can make it.
myspace sucks because their music section depends on what retards put out there. their selection is just too small and random.
i’m going to see the rentals at the end of this month. this is beyond being stoked. i wouldn’t even be this excited if i were seeing the weez again. unless they were playing in my living room, then i guess that would top the rentals. it’ll be fabulous and i cannot wait.
The New World (2005): an extremely visual, pg-13 telling of john smith and pocahontas. the opening to the movie and first twenty minutes or so are flawless. the music and stillness of the scenes really show the peace and calm that existed before the eurotrash landed in the americas. the beginning also had one of the most effective and efficient montages i've ever seen. you really get a sense of what these different groups of people were going through during this moment in world history. the story was somewhat similar to dances with wolves, only that john dunbar is john smith, and stands with a fist is pocahontas, although you'd never know she was pocahontas because they never say her name in the film. the locations where they shot the film were very believable. it feels like they really are in an untamed eastern united states. there is very little dialogue and i sometimes wished there had been more because it was sometimes hard to really get deep into the characters when they say nothing. i didn't like the ending very much but the first half is amazing. the story of how things turn out just didn't do it for me. it's hard to complain about story elements that are taken from historic accounts because no one wants to change history too much for the sake of entertainment. that's assuming this movie was somewhat authentic to what really happened. i'm going to have to recommend skipping this movie. it's decent and has lots of really high points, but it just kind of loses steam by the end. don't see.
fair, B-
yesterday my mom, younger brother and me went tubing down the provo river. the water was a crisp 50 degrees but the temperature outside made the two hour float quite enjoyable. tonight we are going to the stadium of fire thing in provo. we never go because we can see most of the fireworks from outside the stadium and the headlining act for the show is always a crappy country singer. this year is no exception, as lee ann womack will be there. opening for her will be beach boys, queen, and abba cover bands and some variation of osmond children. i'm not sure it could get much worse. but we did buy tickets this year because leeann womack has been upstaged because taylor hicks is now the main act. so we are pretty stoked to see him. we'll also get a different view of the fireworks than usual. and it's a nice way to end our time here in utah. i remember kim and i going to a byu game before i had moved out here. since then i can't remember a single time we've been back to the stadium. but tonight we'll be there. right now kim is out buying new carpet for our condo. sucks we won't get to enjoy it, but it's gonna be pretty sweet when it's done. i probably have a million other things to say but i must be off.
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