Even the world's most important geniuses like Albert Einstein knew how great this blog is. If Einstein loves this show, then so should you.
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Free Driver's License Search
Find information and photos of people's driver's licenses through this website. Go ahead and insert your name in there and see if a copy of your driver's license is digitally stored there. It's kewl.
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Syriana
Corruption, Espionage, and Oil.
Syriana is a powerful thought-provoking movie about the complexities surrounding the world's dependence on oil. You have to pay close attention as it confusing during the first half of the movie as you try to figure out what's going on. This movie does a remarkable job in telling the story from a macro and micro scale. It focuses on different characters that are all just a part of the wheel of the world. This movie is particularly relevant today as gas prices keep surging upward.
Syriana is a real term used by government officials to describe the hypothetical reshaping of the Middle East.
George Clooney plays a CIA agent who is assigned the task of assassinating Prince Nasir. However, things don't go as planned and he gets captured and tortured. I thought it was pretty brutal when he got his thumbnails yanked off.
Clooney is ultimately freed but the CIA betrays him and uses him as a scapegoat. Clooney tries to help Nasir from being killed, but the government uses a long range missile to blow them up to smithereans.
Prince Nasir wanted to bring about change to his country and make it a better place. He's American educated and pretty liberal. He wants to bring more freedom to women and make his nation more self-reliant. When the U.S. finds out, they try to take him out. Nasir is the heir apparent, but the U.S. wants to have his younger brother, a flamboyant hedonist, become the next Emir.
Matt Damon plays an energy trading company analyst who is invited to the Emir's palace to talk about his business ideas. Unfortunately, Damon's kid gets electrocuted in the swimming pool due to faulty wiring in the lighting system. That scares me because now I'm hesitant to jump in my swimming pool. I'll let someone else jump in first. That was a nice pool in a huge palatial estate. I can't believe they cheaped out on the pool contract.
Bennett Holiday (Jeffrey Wright) plays an ambitious Washington D.C. attorney who is conducting due diligence on a big oil conglomerate merger. He's put in the bad position of trying to make sure the merger goes through and at the same time, trying to give the U.S. Justice Department someone to prosecute for past shady dealings. He finds out that he's caught in the middle of something very dangerous.
Wasim is a Pakastani that came to the Gulf region with his dad to work and find a better life. However, he soon finds out that life sucks for immigrant workers and can't get a job. The oil company he was working for was bought out by another company so they were all laid off. He scrounges around for crappy jobs. He gets a job as a beekeeper, but gets stung because he has no protective clothing. He gets invited to join an Islamic school which seek to indoctrinate him and his other friends into a radical interpretation of Islam. For the first time, he feels some meaning living in an unfamiliar country. He believes that his actions will lead him to a better life in the next world. He rides a boat with a bomb on board and crashes it into an oil refinery.
The Highs: Great acting. A powerful look into the corruption of our government and evil corporations trying to control the world's supply of oil.
The Lows: Confusing beginning. Hard to understand what's going on as it constantly switches between the inter-related stories. Not enough action.
The Verdict: We must do something to reduce our dependence on oil.
My rating: B, 85.
Syriana is a powerful thought-provoking movie about the complexities surrounding the world's dependence on oil. You have to pay close attention as it confusing during the first half of the movie as you try to figure out what's going on. This movie does a remarkable job in telling the story from a macro and micro scale. It focuses on different characters that are all just a part of the wheel of the world. This movie is particularly relevant today as gas prices keep surging upward.
Syriana is a real term used by government officials to describe the hypothetical reshaping of the Middle East.
George Clooney plays a CIA agent who is assigned the task of assassinating Prince Nasir. However, things don't go as planned and he gets captured and tortured. I thought it was pretty brutal when he got his thumbnails yanked off.
Clooney is ultimately freed but the CIA betrays him and uses him as a scapegoat. Clooney tries to help Nasir from being killed, but the government uses a long range missile to blow them up to smithereans.
Prince Nasir wanted to bring about change to his country and make it a better place. He's American educated and pretty liberal. He wants to bring more freedom to women and make his nation more self-reliant. When the U.S. finds out, they try to take him out. Nasir is the heir apparent, but the U.S. wants to have his younger brother, a flamboyant hedonist, become the next Emir.
Matt Damon plays an energy trading company analyst who is invited to the Emir's palace to talk about his business ideas. Unfortunately, Damon's kid gets electrocuted in the swimming pool due to faulty wiring in the lighting system. That scares me because now I'm hesitant to jump in my swimming pool. I'll let someone else jump in first. That was a nice pool in a huge palatial estate. I can't believe they cheaped out on the pool contract.
Bennett Holiday (Jeffrey Wright) plays an ambitious Washington D.C. attorney who is conducting due diligence on a big oil conglomerate merger. He's put in the bad position of trying to make sure the merger goes through and at the same time, trying to give the U.S. Justice Department someone to prosecute for past shady dealings. He finds out that he's caught in the middle of something very dangerous.
Wasim is a Pakastani that came to the Gulf region with his dad to work and find a better life. However, he soon finds out that life sucks for immigrant workers and can't get a job. The oil company he was working for was bought out by another company so they were all laid off. He scrounges around for crappy jobs. He gets a job as a beekeeper, but gets stung because he has no protective clothing. He gets invited to join an Islamic school which seek to indoctrinate him and his other friends into a radical interpretation of Islam. For the first time, he feels some meaning living in an unfamiliar country. He believes that his actions will lead him to a better life in the next world. He rides a boat with a bomb on board and crashes it into an oil refinery.
The Highs: Great acting. A powerful look into the corruption of our government and evil corporations trying to control the world's supply of oil.
The Lows: Confusing beginning. Hard to understand what's going on as it constantly switches between the inter-related stories. Not enough action.
The Verdict: We must do something to reduce our dependence on oil.
My rating: B, 85.
Monday, May 08, 2006
Sarah driving the ultra-luxury A8. We had a great time driving these cars. Unfortunately, after we got back in our own cars, they felt like crap (ddong chas). These Audis made my Honda Accord feel cheap in comparison. I think Audis have the best interiors overall out of all the major makes. But after awhile I readjusted to my Accord. I still love it.
Here I am waiting for my Audi to pull up. This was a great event. We got to drive these fancy shmancy luxury cars around the streets of WeHo. It was too bad there was a motorcycle cop on Santa Monica Blvd just itching to pull one of us over. It was still cool driving around feeling like a million bucks. There was also some yummy food provided by Wolfgang Pucks. I wish I GTA'd one of these Audis. They're tight!
Sarah and I went to the Audi car show this past Saturday at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood. We drove the new Q7 SUV, the A6, A8, and the kick-ass 420 hp RS4. I've driven the A4 at another event before. The line up also included the A3 and TT (which I affectionately refer to as the "Titty"). This show was about introducing Audi's new SUV, the Q7. They had the Lexus GX 470 and the BMW X5. The Q7 was a very nice luxury SUV. It handled extremely well and has the biggest sunroof I've ever seen in a car. However, with gas prices reaching $4 per gallon and rising these days, one has to wonder whether Audi is too late of an arrival in the SUV craze.
Bambi II
I saw this movie at Mikey's (Sarah's nephew's) 4th birthday party this past Sunday. It's a cute movie for little kids. The animation is colorful and beautiful to look at. I just don't recommend this movie to anyone over double digits in years since it really doesn't have anything to appeal to them, unless they are watching it with their own kids.
The movie is a direct sequel to the original Bambi movie.
A bit of trivia: This movie breaks the record of the longest interval between a sequel and it's predecessor, previously held by The Wizard of Oz (1939) and Return to Oz (1985). Bambi (1942) was released in 1942, "Bambi II" in 2006, 64 years later.
Plot: It's the first day of spring. The Groundhog doesn't see his shadow so he officially declares it Spring. After Bambi's mother's death, his dad, the Great Prince of the Forest, raises him. At first, the Great Prince is a little annoyed at his son's rambunctious nature. He thinks of him as merely a nuisance.
Bambi tries really hard to please his dad, but he's a bumbling woosy. He gets picked on by his old archenemy, Ronno, who is a bully, but a coward at heart. He makes fun of him for having a girl's name, --a name particularly popular with blonde bimbos. Faline, is the ingenue, who plays Bambi's love interest. Ronno is jealous and wants pretty Faline for himself.
Bambi's old buddies, Thumper the Rabbit and Flower the Skunk, try to help him impress his dad. Bambi gets confused by Man's evil whistle that makes Bambi think his mom is calling him. He freezes like a "deer in a headlight" when the Hunter's vicious dogs come charging after him. The Great Prince has to come and save his ass. Afterwords, his dad scolds him for not running when being told to run.
Bambi then challenges a porcupine when he tries to cross a log to get to the other side of the stream. He then gets his ass kicked by the porcupine.
Finally, Bambi scores some points with his pop when he jumps over a cliff after running away from Ronno. His pops finally sees Bambi as his son and not just as the heir apparent. They start goofing around as father and son.
One day, Bambi gets chased after the Hunter's sinister dogs again. He climbs on top of the cliffs. His dad tries to save him by clobbering some of the dogs. Flower the Skunk pharts in front of one of the dogs and knocks him out with his stink. When one of the dogs manages to come near Bambi, he kicks the dog off the cliff. Bambi falls as well and the Great Prince thinks he's dead so he cries. But, Bambi's alive and all the forest animals party hard to celebrate.
This movie is strictly for kids. It's great for them. It gets Mikey's seal of approval. Mikey likes it. Not recommended for adults, especially for singles.
The Highs: Bambi lives. Great colorful animation. Cute and innocent storyline.
The Lows: No parodies of other stories like other Disney movies such as Finding Nemo and Shark Tales. So, nothing of interest for older folks.
The Verdict: Bambi and dad. A modern family story of dad's raising their kids. Times have changes since the 40's when mothers were the primary figures who looked after the kids. Where's mommy?
My rating: A for young Children. C for Adults.
The movie is a direct sequel to the original Bambi movie.
A bit of trivia: This movie breaks the record of the longest interval between a sequel and it's predecessor, previously held by The Wizard of Oz (1939) and Return to Oz (1985). Bambi (1942) was released in 1942, "Bambi II" in 2006, 64 years later.
Plot: It's the first day of spring. The Groundhog doesn't see his shadow so he officially declares it Spring. After Bambi's mother's death, his dad, the Great Prince of the Forest, raises him. At first, the Great Prince is a little annoyed at his son's rambunctious nature. He thinks of him as merely a nuisance.
Bambi tries really hard to please his dad, but he's a bumbling woosy. He gets picked on by his old archenemy, Ronno, who is a bully, but a coward at heart. He makes fun of him for having a girl's name, --a name particularly popular with blonde bimbos. Faline, is the ingenue, who plays Bambi's love interest. Ronno is jealous and wants pretty Faline for himself.
Bambi's old buddies, Thumper the Rabbit and Flower the Skunk, try to help him impress his dad. Bambi gets confused by Man's evil whistle that makes Bambi think his mom is calling him. He freezes like a "deer in a headlight" when the Hunter's vicious dogs come charging after him. The Great Prince has to come and save his ass. Afterwords, his dad scolds him for not running when being told to run.
Bambi then challenges a porcupine when he tries to cross a log to get to the other side of the stream. He then gets his ass kicked by the porcupine.
Finally, Bambi scores some points with his pop when he jumps over a cliff after running away from Ronno. His pops finally sees Bambi as his son and not just as the heir apparent. They start goofing around as father and son.
One day, Bambi gets chased after the Hunter's sinister dogs again. He climbs on top of the cliffs. His dad tries to save him by clobbering some of the dogs. Flower the Skunk pharts in front of one of the dogs and knocks him out with his stink. When one of the dogs manages to come near Bambi, he kicks the dog off the cliff. Bambi falls as well and the Great Prince thinks he's dead so he cries. But, Bambi's alive and all the forest animals party hard to celebrate.
This movie is strictly for kids. It's great for them. It gets Mikey's seal of approval. Mikey likes it. Not recommended for adults, especially for singles.
The Highs: Bambi lives. Great colorful animation. Cute and innocent storyline.
The Lows: No parodies of other stories like other Disney movies such as Finding Nemo and Shark Tales. So, nothing of interest for older folks.
The Verdict: Bambi and dad. A modern family story of dad's raising their kids. Times have changes since the 40's when mothers were the primary figures who looked after the kids. Where's mommy?
My rating: A for young Children. C for Adults.
Friday, May 05, 2006
Best Buy Swarmed by 80 Pranksters
Click on the link below to see a pretty interesting prank organized by a group called Improv Everywhere. You've got to check out the pictures and videos on their site.
I think most pranks are pretty stupid, but some are funny. This one is definitely interesting because of the sheer number of the pranksters involved. About 80 people gathered together at Best Buy's in New York dressed in blue polo shirts and khaki pants. They were all standing in different spots in the store. They were helpful to other customers but told them that they were not Best Buy employees.
The real Best Buy employees started panicking thinking the pranksters had some dangerous conspiracy planned. I thought it was hilarious when one employee yelled, "The Thomas Crown Affair! The Thomas Crown Affair!" It can also be likened to the scene in V for Vendetta when the mob dressed up all wearing the Guy Fawkes' masks.
I can definitely sympathize with the Best Buy employees who must have been really confused and scared thinking something big was about to happen.
These pranks can turn out to be really bad for the original planners if some crazy guy joins them. It looks like their prank turned out to be okay and they had their laughs. But what if some bad guy who dressed up like them started stealing things or caused a fight or riot? Their prank could have all gotten them arrested for conspiring to commit a crime such as burglary or a riot.
Anyway, it was a good social experiment to see the effects a mob of people all dressed alike can have on another group of people.
I think most pranks are pretty stupid, but some are funny. This one is definitely interesting because of the sheer number of the pranksters involved. About 80 people gathered together at Best Buy's in New York dressed in blue polo shirts and khaki pants. They were all standing in different spots in the store. They were helpful to other customers but told them that they were not Best Buy employees.
The real Best Buy employees started panicking thinking the pranksters had some dangerous conspiracy planned. I thought it was hilarious when one employee yelled, "The Thomas Crown Affair! The Thomas Crown Affair!" It can also be likened to the scene in V for Vendetta when the mob dressed up all wearing the Guy Fawkes' masks.
I can definitely sympathize with the Best Buy employees who must have been really confused and scared thinking something big was about to happen.
These pranks can turn out to be really bad for the original planners if some crazy guy joins them. It looks like their prank turned out to be okay and they had their laughs. But what if some bad guy who dressed up like them started stealing things or caused a fight or riot? Their prank could have all gotten them arrested for conspiring to commit a crime such as burglary or a riot.
Anyway, it was a good social experiment to see the effects a mob of people all dressed alike can have on another group of people.
Word of the Day
Sylph
Pronounced:(silf)
Noun. A slim, graceful woman or girl.
Eg. I learned this word from my office elevator. I get a lot of news and information from that elevator monitor in the mornings. Anyways, when Sarah and I were at church one day, we were walking down to the children's classrooms with cups of hot tea. We were trying not to spill the tea as we were walking slowly and carefully down the stairs. All of a sudden, this Sylph comes walking down past us with a cup of hot coffee filled to the rim. That sylph was walking in high heels too. We couldn't believe how she could walk so fast without spilling any coffee. It was unreal.
Pronounced:(silf)
Noun. A slim, graceful woman or girl.
Eg. I learned this word from my office elevator. I get a lot of news and information from that elevator monitor in the mornings. Anyways, when Sarah and I were at church one day, we were walking down to the children's classrooms with cups of hot tea. We were trying not to spill the tea as we were walking slowly and carefully down the stairs. All of a sudden, this Sylph comes walking down past us with a cup of hot coffee filled to the rim. That sylph was walking in high heels too. We couldn't believe how she could walk so fast without spilling any coffee. It was unreal.
Thursday, May 04, 2006
Quote of the Day
"Why is it that when we talk to God we're said to be praying, but when God talks to us we're schizophrenic?" -Unknown.
Daddy, How Was I Born?
A little boy goes to his father and asks "Daddy, how was I born?"
The father answers: "Well son, I guess one day you will need to find out
anyway! Your Mom and I first got together in a chat room on Yahoo. Then I
set up a date via e-mail with your Mom and we met at a cybercafé. We sneaked
into a secluded room, where your mother agreed to a download from my hard
drive. As soon as I was ready to upload, we discovered that neither one of
us had used a firewall, and since it was too late to hit the DELETE button,
nine months later a blessed little Pop-Up appeared and said: You've Got
Male!"
The father answers: "Well son, I guess one day you will need to find out
anyway! Your Mom and I first got together in a chat room on Yahoo. Then I
set up a date via e-mail with your Mom and we met at a cybercafé. We sneaked
into a secluded room, where your mother agreed to a download from my hard
drive. As soon as I was ready to upload, we discovered that neither one of
us had used a firewall, and since it was too late to hit the DELETE button,
nine months later a blessed little Pop-Up appeared and said: You've Got
Male!"
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