My Blog
It's been way too long
Hey everyone....I have not written since MAY!!! That really is ridiculous I can't really believe it. A LOT has happened to me...some good...some bad...lets just say my other last relationship did not work out and I am single and happy. I must say it is not easy being single but for the type of things that have happened to me in the last seven months... I don't think its meant to be for me right now. It is Christmas Day and I sitting at my brand new laptop. Listening to Frank Sinatra to my new Ipod....Santa def. remembered me. Haha...my parents got me an amazing laptop and my sister gave me the Ipod because I now work out all the time and the music at the gym is just torture. So I totally pumped up and can wait to keep writing each day. To some of the people that have read my blogs religiously I am so sorry for just dropping off the face of the earth....and let me tell you its a miracle I remember this freakin' password for this site. Took me a couple of tries. I have missed writing and promise to update often ....I need this release!!!! Muah! Merry Christmas....let the magic of Christmas carry with you all year long! Haha..i am so corny.
What I am listening to on my Ipod: Maneater- Nelly Furtado
goodbye for now...
There are so many things that I want to say but I find that I am no longer able to say them honestly within this blog. I am going to take some time off for awhile and try to work out my problems as best as I can. Who knows, perhaps one day I might be able to continue my humble little blog page once again. Soon I will be starting the next chapter of my life so perhaps this will be the clean start that I have been needing for awhile. If you see someone in trouble, try your best to help them out. We may not be able to change the world right away but a simple act of kindness will always be remembered by both parties involved and thus will continue to be passed along to the next person. One person at a time and eventually we will be changing the world for the better. Good luck to everyone and may you all be able to solve your own individual problems on your own terms.
- Chol
"All By Myself"...
Title: "All By Myself"
Artist: Eric Carmen
When I was young
I never needed anyone
And makin' love was just for fun
Those days are gone
Livin' alone
I think of all the friends I've known
But when I dial the telephone
Nobody's home
All by myself
Don't wanna be
All by myself anymore
All by myself
Don't wanna live
All by myself anymore
Hard to be sure
Some times I feel so insecure
And love so distant and obscure
Remains the cure
All by myself
Don't wanna be
All by myself anymore
All by myself
Don't wanna live
All by myself anymore
weird dream.....
i was in a race. apparently i had friends that were also in the race and then something happened between us and my friends determined that i could no longer participate in the race. somehow my car was destroyed and so i had to go on foot. i was in a strange area which i couldn't recognize. all i remembered was stuffing all of my things into my trusty backpack and that it was heavy as hell. getting ready to leave the place i was staying, i couldnt find my shoes. oh crap i gotta walk to who-knows-where and i dont have any stupid shoes. dream gets weirder. instead of walking out the door of the place i decided i needed to find a secret passage. i think it was a closet that i busted up the back panel and went through the back wall. the hole led to someone else's house. i think it was a mobile home. in the mobile home there were either invalids or children in bed. i tried to sneak though and then i think it was a babysitter who said "what the hell are you doing in here" or something like that. i told her i wasnt a robber but was just trying to find a way out. funny part was that she didnt freak out or call the cops but pointed a way out for me. on the way out i ran into a fat old woman i'm assuming was the owner who was freaking out and kinda chased me out the door. after finally made it outside i ran into some rednecks and asked them what the shortest way was back to austin. one of the dudes pointed to the left and i continue on my journey.damn i wish i could have finished the dream but the alarm woke me up. what a weird-ass dream it was. i know it was boring but i never have such a strange dream as this and thought i better document this so that i can analyze it later.
have a good day everyone.
new apartment...
well i finally got off my lazy ass and went to look at that apartment i saw online. since i live alone, i really didnt care about what nice area i will be living in. i just wanted to move to a smaller place so that i can save some money. i have signed 3 six month leases at my old apartment already. every 6 months they raise the price by $10-$20 which i think is bullcrap cause i always pay my rent ontime or early. the new place is kinda ghetto but it was on the upper floor like the way i like for security reasons and is also located at a very convenient area of town. since i already plan on having my car in the shop often for repairs, there is an auto repair shop right across the street. right next door is a little asian mall where i can walk to buy groceries or eat out when i dont feel like cooking. in front is a pizza hut. down the road is a laundry mat and convenience stores. the bus stops right in front and the main bus terminal is a few blocks away. a big advantage is that they have a huge pool. i've called around and high speed internet will actually cost me $10 less than what i'm currently paying. they pay for water, gas, and trash which saves me another $23. all in all i will be saving $85 per month by moving. not too bad. the drawback is that i have to come up with $185 up front for deposit and application fee. i was able to talk the manager into letting me move in 3 days early so that was pretty cool. the bad part is that i wont get paid until aug. 1 and i have to come up with rent money by july 29. trying to sell some stuff online to see if i can get the money by then. if not then i'm gonna have to borrow some money from my homeboy. oh yeah... gonna sign a 1 year lease so i guess i'm gonna be stuck in texas for at least that long again. bleh! wish me luck and have a good day everyone!"In My Dreams"...
- Chol
Title: "In My Dreams"
Artist: Rick Trevino
I used to think I was the only one.
Who never knew what it was like to fall.
But you came along, changed all the rules that day.
And just for a moment I had it all.
You are the dream I live with, you are the wish I'd made:
The name I always whisper in every prayer I pray.
Now that you left me; while you forget me.
I'll hold you in my dreams.
Now I go on here in my lonely world.
But there's still a bridge I cannot cross.
I can't let go so please forgive me, girl.
'Cause God only knows all that I've lost.
You are the dream I live with, you are the wish I'd made:
The name I always whisper in every prayer I pray.
Now that you left me; while you forget me.
You are the dream I live with, you are the wish I'd made:
The name I always whisper in every prayer I pray.
Now that you left me; while you forget me.
I'll hold you, I'll hold you, in my dreams.
"The Godfather II, III"...
damn its been getting hot lately. today will be the 3rd day in a row that it will be 37.7° C (100° F). actually the weather is forcasted to be 40° C (104° F) to be exact. most of the nation is going through an early heat wave. i have some outside work that needs to be done but since my a/c doesnt work in my car and my windows aren't tinted, there's no way in hell you're going to be getting me out in this heat during the day.last night i pulled a godfather marathon. i started watching the "godfather II" at 8 pm and finally finished "godfather III" at pretty close to 2 AM. from the moment i watched the opening scene, i was lost in another world and in another time. i soaked up every scene, my senses overwhelmed by the authenticity of it all. everything was perfect, the cinematography, the music. throughout all of the brutality, the godfather still showed so much love and devotion to his family. for a man in such high status, you never saw him cheating on his wife. i respected that. the first 2 godfathers seen back to back is such a powerful movie. the 3rd movie on the other hand was such a huge disappointment, the godfather quickly became a frail old man and grooms his nephew to be his replacement. andy garcia is one of my favorite actors and in most of his films he shows such great intensity. everything else i found a little flat. perhaps its just that the 3rd part takes place during the late 70's, thus losing some of its historical charm. the third part just had too much going on and didnt flow quite as smoothly. the forbidden love between first cousins, corruption in the church banking system. mainly i think it was due to the frailty of the godfather which doomed this movie. no one wants to see the godfather become a sickly old man. one scene i found memorable was when the godfather confessed his sins to a priest and breaks down emotionally. another thing i found memorable is the love for his ex wife and how he never re-married after their divorce. perhaps i like the movie so much because i admire so many of the themes that it conveyed. dedication to one's family, and loyalty. so many memorable scenes, such a powerful movie.
have a wonderful day everyone.
dear anonymous...
dear anonymous,thank you for taking the time in providing a link to the source for the proof of your theory on america's reason to go to war in iraq. for the people out there that wants to read a little bit more about your source i have provided the link below so that everyone can see how biased the site really is. i mean what do you expect from a website that has a caricature of george w. bush holding a barrel of oil. again thank you for your efforts and have a nice day.... NOT! hahaha
http://www.oiladdict.com/facts.asp
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"The 40 Year-Old Virgin"...
i didnt realize that my last blog was going to start a such political debate. so anonymous hates the USA, big deal. take a number and wait in line like the rest of the world. i don't agree or approve of my governments actions in regards to world events and think that a foreign country should be responsible for governing and ruling itself. as for the US going into iraq only for oil is just rubbish theory. oil prices increased here because of the war and instability in the middle east. the billions of dollars spent on the war so far hasnt gained anything economically here back in the US. i respect your hatred for my country but at least back up your accusations with some facts.bleh! i said i didnt want to get into a political debate. now see what you made me do? hahaha.
ok now onto the lighter side of things again. i recently watched "The 40 Year Old Virgin" and thought it was a hilarious movie. andy, the 40 year old virgin, was such a dork in the beginning. u had to kinda feel sorry for the guy cause all he does is stay at home and collect action figures and paint little toy soldiers. sometimes when he feels wild and crazy he'll play his baritone or with his game machine. a night out for him is hanging out with old people and watching "survivor" with them. his co-workers were a pretty weird group of people also. u had the black dude that was a real lady's man. a rocker type dude that was into kinky sex. a normal looking dude from the outside who is still obsessing after an ex gf even after 2 years of breakup. a pair of middle easterners that really cracks me up, especially the old dude who claims he has a new york accent even when speaking with a thick foreign one. the "i know why you're gay" jokes were really dead on and reminds me of when i was back in high school. i really recommend this movie because its just so stupid and doesnt take itself seriously. 2 thumbs up.
here is a professional review below.
Brian Lowry, Variety
Carell plays Andy, an unassuming clerk in an electronic equipment store who gets drawn into a poker game with a trio of his co-workers. As the guys swap sex stories, it becomes painfully evident that Andy doesn't have any of his own, having given up on women after a couple of painful (and painfully funny) early miscues.
That's right, as hard as it is to believe, a fellow who collects superhero action figures that fill his apartment and still rides a bike to work has managed to reach 40 without getting laid. So after subjecting Andy to some schoolyard humiliation, his newfound pals -- salesmen David (Paul Rudd) and Jay (Romany Malco) and stock worker Cal (Seth Rogen) -- make it their business to remove the scarlet "V" from Andy's resume.
They begin with the easy stuff, coaching Andy on how to pick up "drunk *****es" in bars or prodding him to chat up customers, which leads to Andy's relationship with Trish (Catherine Keener), who runs a "store" that sells people's stuff via eBay. (It's one of several prominent product placements in the movie.)
Trish wants to take things slowly, which is just fine by Andy, whose lack of experience has him dreading the moment perhaps more than anticipating it.
Written by Carell and producer Judd Apatow, "Virgin" derives much of its humor from the non-virgins trying to lead Andy to the promised land -- three stooges who, each in his own way, are far more dysfunctional than he is. David, for example, hasn't gotten over a girlfriend he's borderline stalking, Jay chronically cheats on his soul-mate, and Cal is a roly-poly goofball full of moronic dating advice.
"Be David Caruso in 'Jade,'" he says in one of the better obscure non-sequiturs in recent memory.
Following his starring role in NBC's adaptation of "The Office" as well as first-class stints in "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy" (which Apatow produced) and "Bruce Almighty," Carell is established as a possible addition to the ranks of comedy headliners, while pic wisely lightens his burden with an able supporting cast. Beyond the guys, that includes Jane Lynch -- a veteran of Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy's "Best in Show"troupe -- as Andy's boss and Elizabeth Banks as another potential conquest who he chats up, with surprising success, using Cal's seduction tips.
Although there are a few big sight gags -- highlighted by the hirsute Andy's extremely painful body wax -- most of the comedy comes from the quirky characters and their decidedly unenlightened views regarding sexual conquests. Rudd, the scene-stealing Malco (currently seen in Showtime's "Weeds") and Rogen (a veteran of Apatow's TV shows "Undeclared"and "Freaks and Geeks"are all dead-on, making the most of high school put-downs of the "You know why you're gay?" variety.
As with "Wedding Crashers," "Virgin" is occasionally guilty of trying too hard, and there are a few dry spells that probably could have been cured by judicious editing. For all the cleverness displayed here, there's not quite enough gas in the tank to sustain what's nearly a two-hour running time.
Still, there's an ample supply of inspired irreverence to amuse a younger audience, and pic closes with a catchy sequence that should stir even a slightly older demo into humming an especially appropriate song from the '80s -- "Just Got Lucky" -- as they head up the aisles.
world madness...
yesterday i was goofing off online and came across an article about the "killing fields" of cambodia. the khmer rouge thoroughly documented their victims prior to executing them. seeing the faces of the victims touched me in a way i never would have imagined. u could tell how frightened they were by the looks in their eyes. they looked like ordinary people. not soldiers. not troublemakers. just common people who were rounded up because they were educated, a member of the former regime, or related to any of the above. whole families were rounded up to prevent fear of retaliation down the line. women, children, babies. some of the methods used to kill children was like reading something out of the middle ages. to save bullets, children's heads were slammed against a tree. babies were thrown onto bayonnets. adults were killed by bamboo spikes penetrating their skulls, bludgeoned using logs, or gardening hoes. once murdered, they were dumped into mass graves containing hundreds of bodies in each pit. it was estimated that up to 2 million people were killed during the 3 year reign of the khmer rouge from 1976 - 1979. that wasnt such a long time ago. how could such a thing ever been permitted by the world? the topic of genocide has always fascinated me because i can't imagine how a people can kill their own countrymen on such a wide scale. serbia, bosnia, yugoslavia, even now in iraq where u have muslims killing other innocent muslims with suicide bombings. just yesterday terrorists in iraq abducted 24 passengers on a bus, bound them, then shot each in the head. they werent killed because they were soldiers, just innocent people living everyday lives.sigh... so much madness in this world. when will it ever end?
"Shine On You Crazy Diamond"...
- Chol
Artist: Pink Floyd
Remember when you were young, you shone like the sun.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Now there's a look in your eyes, like black holes in the sky.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
You were caught on the cross fire of childhood and stardom,
blown on the steel breeze.
Come on you target for faraway laughter, come on you stranger,
you legend, you martyr, and shine!
You reached for the secret too soon, you cried for the moon.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Threatened by shadows at night, and exposed in the light.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Well you wore out your welcome with random precision,
rode on the steel breeze.
Come on you raver, you seer of visions, come on you painter,
you piper, you prisoner, and shine!
Syd Barrett....
one of my all time fav group is "Pink Floyd" and i discovered a few minutes ago that one of its founding member recently died. late last year i was getting back into my rock mode and downloaded everything i could about Syd Barrett cause i had heard so much about his influence on alot of musicians. i thought his songs were ok but they werent really that special to me but what i found interesting about him was his transformation from a rock star into a very deranged and mentally ill person. i have many pictures of him from the early beginnings of his career when he was a cool looking dude to an old and weird looking old man during the latter stage of his life.i'm sure someone will make a movie about him pretty soon because his life story was very tragic.
may you always rock on and finally rest in peace, Syd Barrett.
Here's an article about his passing that i found online.
Pink Floyd Founder Dies
By Josh Grossberg Tue Jul 11, 3:45 PM ET
Pink Floyd has lost its "crazy diamond."
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Syd Barrett, the brilliant, erratic catalyst for Floyd's early success, "died peacefully at home" last Friday at 60, according to his brother. The musician had been in ill health for years, battling type 2 diabetes, as well as stomach ulcers.
A singer and guitarist, and originally the band's principal songwriter, Barrett masterminded Pink Floyd's breakthrough album, Pipers at the Gates of Dawn, before being sidelined in the late 1960s by LSD-induced behavioral problems.
In a statement, the surviving members of the seminal band, said they "are naturally very upset and sad" at the news of Barrett's passing. "Syd was the guiding light of the early band lineup and leaves a legacy which continues to inspire."
Barrett teamed with bassist Roger Waters, drummer Nick Mason and keyboardist Richard Wright to launch Floyd in 1965, deriving the name from two bluesmen, Pink Anderson and Floyd Council.
Barrett fronted the band during its initial rise to fame, culminating with the 1967 classic The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, which mixed jazz, rock and R&B with psychedelia--a template for the prog-rock sound the band refined in its 1970s heyday--and propelled Floyd to stardom.
But Barrett couldn't enjoy the band's triumphs. He began to suffer from increasingly severe mental problems brought on by his heavy use of LSD and mood-altering drugs, frequently faltering during concerts.
In January 1968, his Floyd mates invited friend and fellow guitarist-vocalist David Gilmour to take over playing Barrett's parts during live shows, but with the understanding that Barrett would continue writing and recording songs.
Ultimately though, as Barrett grew increasingly unpredictable and his musical output dwindled, he was booted from the band. Only one track he wrote, "Jugband Blues," made it onto Floyd's second album, 1968's A Saucerful of Secrets.
With Waters assuming band leadership, Floyd cemented its legendary status with a string of masterpieces, including 1973's Dark Side of the Moon, the 1975 tribute to Barrett, Wish You Were Here, which featured the epic track "Shine On You Crazy Diamond," and 1979's The Wall.
The post-Barrett Pink Floyd sold over 200 million albums and became one of the most mesmerizing live acts in music history. The band, Barrett included, was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.
On his Website Tuesdsay, David Bowie recounted how he was influenced by Barrett. "The few times I saw him perform in London at UFO and the Marquee clubs during the '60s will forever be etched in my mind. He was so charismatic and such a startlingly original songwriter. Also...he was the first guy I'd heard to sing pop or rock with a British accent," said Bowie, who recorded a cover of the Barrett-penned Floyd song "See Emily Play" for his 1973 album, Pin Ups.
"I can't tell you how sad I feel...His impact on my thinking was enormous. A major regret is that I never got to know him. A diamond indeed."
He was born Roger Keith Barrett, on Jan. 6, 1946 in Cambridge, England, the youngest of five children of a pathologist and his wife. Barrett studied music when he was a boy at the behest of his parents and acquired the nicknam, "Syd" as a nod to a local Cambridge musician named Sid Barrett.
After joining together, Barrett, Waters, Mason and Wright began by playing mainly R&B covers as did their contemporaries in the Beatles, Rolling Stones and the Who.
Eventually, Barrett and company began to improvise more and incorporate feedback and echoes into their live shows, drawing a passionate following at London's UFO club. The band secured its record deal based on the Barrett composition "Arnold Layne," and he wrote eight tracks on Piper, the most successful being the Top 10 U.K. single "See Emily Play."
After leaving Pink Floyd, Barrett recorded two solo albums, The Madcap Laughs and Barrett, both of which failed commercially. He subsequently exited the music industry altogether and became a recluse, spending the rest of his life living with his mother.
Barrett shocked his former band mates by paying them a surprise visit during recording sessions for Wish You Were Here.
According to Nick Mason's book, Inside Out; A Personal History of Pink Floyd, it was a sad reunion--Barrett had become virtually unrecognizable to the band, having gained weight and shaved his head and eyebrows. Barrett had also taken to randomly brushing his teeth and jumping up and down in place. The sight so upset Waters that he nearly broke down.
"Roger was in tears, I think I was; we were both in tears," Wright once told VH1. "It was very shocking...seven years of no contact and then to walk in while we're actually doing that particular track ["Shine on You Crazy Diamond"]. I don't know--coincidence, karma, fate, who knows? But it was very, very, very powerful."
That image of Barrett was later recalled in a scene in Pink Floyd's The Wall, Alan Parker's 1981 feature, when Bob Geldof also had his eyebrows shaved.
No immediate word on a public memorial, but Barrett's brother Alan tells the British music site NME.com that there will be a private family funeral in the next few days.
i need a life...
taking a break from writing movie reviews i started reading some peeps blogs. man u guys lead pretty interesting lives. it seems many of u are so talented with ur fancy little blog pages with lots of pictures and stuff. makes me kinda want to jazz up my page a little bit also. too bad i'm too damn lazy! haha. foreals some of u are extremely talented writers. sometimes i'm in my intellectual mode and write in a decent manner but usually my blogs show how crude i am. haha. i used to care how i come across but often i just write the blogs for myself as a record of what i have been up to.from personal observation it seems that bloggers are an intelligent bunch of individuals. i see lots of books reviews, poetry, art, and whatnot. personally i think blogging is what keeps me semi-literate. i mean i would be a complete idiot if i didnt blog. it gives me a chance to practice my typing skills and spelling. it also is a good way to exercise my two typing fingers. haha. they say to combat alzheimers u gotta keep ur brain exercised. haha.
don't get me wrong when u read some of my blogs. i'm not a complete hermit. i do get invited to parties. its just that i'm too damn lazy to ever attend. =)
keep up the good work everyone by continuing to blog cause i really need something to read while i'm eating. haha. have a wonderful day and enjoy the summer!
"Nacho Libre"...
first of all, i love stupid comedies. when i saw the previews for "nacho libre", i thought to myself "man i gotta see that movie". the movie didn't let me down. it was so silly and retarded that u couldn't help but laugh. i'm not a fan of jack black and i think he's an extremely annoying actor, but he was perfect in this movie. the wrestling scenes were hilarious and seeing jack black in his "stretchy" wrestling pants will crack u up. 2 thumbs up for a very stupid movie that knows it was stupid.here is a professional review below.
By Carina Chocano, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
Hurtling across the screen in sky-blue stretchy pants worn under apple-red underwear, Jack Black makes a lasting impression. He's bouncy. He's kinetic. He flies into solid objects with great force. Days after seeing him in "Nacho Libre," Jared Hess' sweet, dumb-funny follow-up to "Napoleon Dynamite" (which he also co-wrote with his wife, Jerusha Hess), I kept picturing Black as a giant Super Ball. I loved Super Balls as a kid, and regarded them as the amazing apotheosis of a major scientific advancement of some kind, just as the box copy told me to. Anyway, simpler times.
"Nacho Libre" is set in those times — specifically, the '70s — in a monastery in the countryside outside Oaxaca, Mexico. Black plays Brother Ignacio, a reluctant friar who works as a cook at the orphanage where he was raised but dreams of the fame and glory of the padded lucha libre ring. From the moment he experiences his first, small success, however, you know he's really in it for the kids. Pursuing his passion in secret, with the help of a fey man-urchin named Esqueleto (Héctor Jiménez), he pours his earnings into improving the lives of the orphans by increasing their daily roughage intake, and dreams of buying them a bus for field trips. He also entertains romantic notions of marrying the beautiful nun Sister Encarnación (Ana de la Reguera), who has come to the orphanage to teach. That is, if he can talk her into not being a nun anymore.
Although, by comparison, "Nacho Libre" is a silly piece of kitsch, it put me in mind of the old Cantinflas movies, and not just because Ignacio's rival sports Cantinflas' trademark quote-mark mustache. Cantinflas was the well-known persona of Mexican actor and comedian Mario Moreno, whose characters were all variations on a penniless outsider who uses his gifts for obfuscation and confusion to get out of scrapes or get ahead. Ignacio is no wily Cantinflas, and "Nacho Libre" contains nothing like the barbed satire of Moreno's films, which merrily skewered Mexican society.
But there's a quality to Black's character that recalls a certain kind of underdog common to Latin American and Italian comedies of the '50s and '60s: the little man who is beloved precisely because he is ridiculous, pathetic and innocent, not in spite of it. His humanity gives him dignity, and his warmth and generosity earn him love. Underdog stories are relatively common in American films too, but their characters' happiness usually depends on an ultimate triumph, usually reached in a narcissistic, obsessive-compulsive, zero-sum quest for success. What's rare to see, and what ultimately makes "Nacho Libre" so enjoyable, is the story of an underdog who's allowed to remain a humble clown all the way to becoming a hero.
Black is a gifted physical comedian with surprisingly expressive eyes and an even more surprising tender streak, and Hess makes ample use of it in the training and fighting scenes, as well as those with the kids and Sister Encarnación. In one scene, he invites her to his room for an evening snack of toast, whereupon they discuss their favorite color. As Esqueleto, Ignacio's geeky sidekick, Jiménez is feral and cuddly in the most lunatic way imaginable, and Ana de la Reguera is charming as the nun who comes to appreciate the big-hearted, barrel-chested fighter.
Hess and his production designer Gideon Ponte also endow the movie with a visual flair that's rare in studio comedies — everything about the look of the movie is appealing — and he makes wonderful use of a score by Danny Elfman, old Mexican pop songs and music by Beck. The movie is closely attuned to detail, making excellent use of the locations and incorporating all sorts of local features. (A local treat — corn on the cob on a stick, slathered in mayonnaise and chile powder — is put to lethal use in one especially gruesome scene.)
Much of "Nacho Libre" takes place in the ring, where Ignacio (going by Nacho) and Esqueleto duke it out with a bevy of bizarrely attired wrestlers whose signature moves include things like slamming their opponents with folding chairs, and, say whatever you will about them, Black and Jiménez can take a beating. But the charm of "Nacho Libre" is mostly to be found in the two friends' ruminations on faith (Esqueleto believes in science), love, dreams and nutrition. If ever a movie paid homage to fresh fruits and vegetables, it's this one. And if ever a born loser looked like the winner of the future, it's Nacho.
"The Island"...
the next few entries will be about movies that i have recently seen.n some were good ones, most were stinkers but i'm gonna go ahead and document them for future posterity. haha. i just realized that i watched ALOT of movies recently. i guess its better than goofing off online. =)first of all we'll start with "The Island". the main reason i wanted to see the movie is of course because of Scarlett Johansson. the second reason is that i love science fiction movies. ever since i first saw her in "lost in translations" i have been a huge fan. what can i say but that she just has a "presence" about her. the premise of the movie was also quite interesting. a group of humans who were supposedly the only remnants of the human race after some kind of catastrophe who are forced to live in a self contained man-made environement. free thought is frowned upon. everyone is expected to fit in. they spend their lives in a very controlled manner. they are forced to all dress the same, and have their diets and everyday routine extremely regulated. every few days there is a lottery and the winner gets to be transferred to "the island". the island is supposedly the only place untouched by the catastrophe, a sort of paradise that is outside their little self-enclosed world. of course everyone dreams of getting chosen in the lottery so they can leave their dull lives. the lead character keeps having dreams and his inquisitive nature finally exposes himself to the truth of what their perfect society really is. he discovers that there really is no "island". people that win the lottery actually is killed and various organs are harvested from their body. when his gf (scarlett johansson) is chosen by the lottery, they find a way to escape their enclosed world to the outside. it is there that they discover that they are really clones. after going through many perilous events on the outside, they finally help lead a revolt by exposing the truth to all of the other clones. i will give the movie 2 thumbs up because it had very interesting concepts that really made you think.
below is a review written by someone else.
Reviewed by Jeffrey Chen:
Could “The Island” be that “Logan’s Run” remake we have all been waiting for?
“The Island” stars Ewan McGregor as Lincoln Six-Echo, a man who lives in a perfect, yet very strict environment. His utopian world is filled with duties and routines which Lincoln begins to question. How does his perfect world actually operate?
The only real salvation that Lincoln and the people of his controlled world have is a daily lottery where winners are whisked off to the mythical paradise “the island” to live the rest of their lives in freedom. Where is this “island” and what do you do when you get there?
The more questions Lincoln raises the more he begins to doubt his surroundings until he learns that he is in fact living a lie and that he is a clone. Lincoln grabs fellow resident and his friend Jordan Two-Delta (Scarlett Johansson) and they begin to run for their lives. Together they will find out all the secrets that their world hides.
“The Island” is one of those films that the less you know going in the better the experience it will be. The problem with that kind of film is that it’s very hard to market especially when you have a high-profile director like Michael Bay at the helm.
The opening and experiences that Lincoln Six-Echo encounters while still within the utopian society are interesting and really draw you in. Director Michael Bay’s restraint here is actually impressive where we begin to see a story with real substance and he allows his actors to act.
I really enjoyed McGregor and Johansson as the leads in this film and the humanity they bring to their characters. McGregor is one of the most intriguing actors working in Hollywood today and this proves it once again. I can’t imagine what this film would have been like without him. Can you imagine a hack like Colin Farrell in this role? Perish the thought.
The production design and basic plot elements reminded me a lot of the sci-fi classic “Logan’s Run” where the utopian survivors begin to doubt that the outside world is contaminated and that their society is in fact a lie so they must run. Don’t get me wrong this isn’t a direct remake but it does house a lot of the same philosophy.
The idea of replacing the whole “dated” nuclear holocaust angle in “Logan’s Run” with this cloning angle is actually very intriguing and seems a perfect way to bring that story into our world and deliver a similar impact it had back in the 1970s.
I was enthralled by “The Island” and started to believe it was the best movie of the summer. For over an hour, I was transfixed to the screen. Then the more the film moved along the more signature Michael Bay shots I started to see. Man stepping from helicopter in slow-mo with blades whizzing above him. A cluttered freeway crash sequence ripped right out of “Bad Boys 2”. And even more explosions and bellowing action stunts that are way, way over the top.
I liked Michael Bay a lot when he was restrained from using his signature stuff and I even believed for a second that he could be a great director if given the right material. But once I started getting hit with Michael Bay mayhem I started to lose touch with the story and the characters. Don’t get me wrong there was also some of the adrenaline junkie stuff I liked but it just seemed tiresome and routine especially the truck sequence.
Surprisingly the product placement in the film didn’t bug me as much as it has been talked about. There are some scenes where I did notice it but for me it wasn’t any worse than it was in “Minority Report”.
I liked “The Island” and a lot of what it had to offer but I think the film should have stuck more with the story and less with the explosions.weekend of sports...
it was a very busy weekend for me for a change. saturday was spent unsuccesfully working on my friend's truck to figure out what was wrong with it. after reseating every electronic module we could find, we decided to give up when all our attempts failed. called the tow truck and hoped that the mechanic was gonna take pity on us. 5 hours later and the truck was back in his hands again. the stupid truck had a dirty sensor which confused the onboard computer into not wanting to work properly. final price for my friend, including towing... $225. not so bad. the bad news is that if the sensor malfunctions again, replacement cost is $403. ouch! thats why i prefer low tech vehicles. haha. while waiting on the truck to be repaired i watched a full days worth of sports. watched some women's golfing which was pretty interesting. the women were pretty good but most of them were kinda boxy looking. haha my bad. afterwards i watched the wimbledon's double championship which was won by the american twins. the rest of the night was spent watching some movies, which i'll review at a later time. earlier today i watched the wimbledon singles champaionship, federer against nadal. nadal kind of annoys me with all the grunting that he does and other on court antics. federer showed alot of reserve and class and i'm really glad he finally beat nadal this year. all in all i have to say it was a great match. ok now for the big one. world cup finals, italy vs. france. it was a very hard fought game with the french outplaying the italians but it was still 1 - 1 going into overtime. i dislike the french but Zinedine Zidane was a sentimental favorite of mine. he is the captain of the french team. throughout the tournament he's shown so much class, until tonight. in the 107th min. of the game after exchanging words with Marco Materazzi, Zidane turned around and gave a vicious head butt to the chest of Materazzi. the refs didnt see it but after the scene was replayed over and over again, a ref came forward and gave a red card to Zidane. this is Zidane's final world cup and he had played brilliantly until now. a fantastic career defined by an act of such poor sportsmanship. i guess he was so ashamed that he didnt even participate in the final ceremony. such a pity he had to go out that way. well no one scored in extra time so they had to go into penalty shoot out. the italians pulled it together and hit all 5 goals. the french had one ball that hit the edge of the goal and bounced out. it was an extremely exciting finish. watching the joy and exuberation on the faces of the italians and u cant help but feel happy for them also. this will probably be the last you will hear me about sports for the next few months. i don't really watch baseball until the word series. gosh... the next few months without sports. how will i ever survive? guess i'll have to concentrate all of my attention on a very special person. wink wink. have a wonderful weekend everybody.more bad luck...
my luck keeps getting better. yesterday my friend called me up and asks if i can come help him do some yard work. he doesnt have a lawn mower so has to borrow one from someone so after all of the rain we have been getting its been a few weeks since he has cut his grass. i say sure, no problem. he has a fairly large yard with lots of bushes and trees and stuff but the problem is that he gets really bad allergies and "can't" do yard work cause it makes him have an allergic reaction. every few weeks he calls me up and i cut the grass for him. he repays me by buying me dinner. i don't mind this arrangement cause i love doing outdoor physical activities and also get a free dinner afterwards. seriously the grass was like a jungle. the lawnmower choked because the grass was too high and stops every few feet. he has a gas powered weed eater but it doesnt automatically feed the line so every few mins i have to disassemble it and manually pull out the line. i'm not such a big guy and gas weedeaters are quite heavy for me to use, so u can imagine how tired i was after finally finishing.when everything was done to my satisfaction we proceeded to get in his car and head off to go eat. 6 kilometers from his house and his truck starts to lose power. we pull into a parking lot and try to figure out what was wrong. by this time it was about 11:30 PM at night. i'm dead tired and starving and we're broken down in the middle of nowhere. i check out his truck and notice that the "alarm armed" light keeps blinking. after reading the manual i figure out that his anti theft system has malfunctioned thus making the truck in-operative. it was late at night and i was in no condition or mood to walk so we call for a taxi. 45 mins later and we're back at his house. by the time i get home it was 1:30 AM. i open up a can of salmon and that was my dinner. i finally was able to sleep at 2 AM.
You can imagine the kind of mood i'm in this morning. the night before i got about 3 hours sleep and i get maybe 3 1/2 hours last nite. my body hurts and i'm in a pretty pissed off mood. oh yeah... i fail to mention that the replacement hard disk i bought for my laptop last month started making noise. it seems the motor is burning out. i had run a media diagnostic on it when i first received it and it passes. there's about 60 gigs worth of movies that are in jeopardy of being lost. hahaha.... god i love my life! well thats enough venting for the day and i really need to get started on work. hope your day turns out better than mine. laterz.
"V for Vendetta"...
yesterday was quite an uneventful day as usual except i finally got a little grocery shopping done. yay for me! trying to be a little creative, i bought many items which i don't normally buy. bean sprouts, cabbages, spinach, basically lots of veggies. looks like i'll be doing lots of stir fries the next week. i was extremely busy at work so missed much of the world cup action between portugal vs. france. i like neither teams but have made a blood pact to hate portugal for the rest of my life. haha. the finals will be interesting and i think i have to go with the italians, not because i like them but because i dislike the french even more.ok now to the movie review. i think Natalie Portman is quite pretty so watched her latest movie only for that reason. haha. I knew nothing about the movie only the hype surrounding when she shaved her hair for the role. i could tell already 10 minutes into the movie when that masked dude first made his appearance and started spewing that theatrical mumbo jumbo, the movie was gonna be a real corny one. don't get me wrong, the action sequences were kinda cool. V had some skill with the swords he always carried around but the political and social statements of the movie i found quite boring. 30 minutes into the movie.....i fell asleep. this rarely happens to me so u can imagine how extremely boring the movie was for me. haha. Natalie Portman did look great in the movie tho and her accent was extremely nice to listen to.
i personally will have to give the movie 2 thumbs down but to be fair here is a positive review from someone that liked it.
Author: anmueller from New York City
There are some that will, upon seeing this film, say that it was akin
to Andrew Lloyd Weber attempting to make a political statement: overly
dramatic. These people would be well served to remember that the symbol
of drama is a mask, which certainly begs one important question- Why,
if you are so put off by an overtly dramatic motion picture, would you
choose to see a movie that stars as the (anti)hero a man in a mask? I
just saw this film at an advanced screening and I must say it is
nothing short of uniquely brilliant. Entertaining from the start, V
manages to combine a strong socio-political message in a compact and
highly intense experience. Infused with issues and concepts that
pervade in the global political climate of our times, this movie is
endowed with a tremendous timely relevance that belies its trappings as
a mere action adventure.
The acting, the cinematography, the effects, and the general vision of
this film all lead me to believe that it will likely receive a cult
following. It is only my hope that the message of this film will come
to summarize the history of our future ascendancy to true liberty.
Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your
country. In the meantime, go see this movie.
amnesia...
looks like i survived another holiday. hip-hip-hoorayyy. lolz. i really like it when i make plans to do something but then ended up not doing a damn thing at all. i wanted to go out of town to houston for no particular reason but just to goof off in chinatown. did that happen? heck no. (lol i said "heck"). i planned on going to the huge july 4th electronic sale. did i do it? nuh uh. i wanted to go to the grocery store and stock up on food. nope... didnt do that either. what did i do the whole holiday? not a damn thing. man i can't even remember if i watched any movies or not. i had a good first half but spent the rest of the day kinda thinking and in a daze. i hate thinking too much. it was bad enough that i almost opened up a bottle of vodka but was too lazy to do so (and also because i hate drinking). what the heck DID i do last night? i honestly can't remember. bleh.i'm wasting time so i better just stop writing. i hate just babbling like this. have a good day everyone.
July 4th epilogue...
I guess we can't escape the past as easily as we both wanted to. The phone call from you was completely unexpected. Even though it lasted less than 2 minutes and was such a small gesture, nevertheless it really meant alot to me. In another month it would have been 2 years since we've seen each other yet everytime I hear your voice I still can see you in my mind's eye as clearly as if it was only yesterday. The problem is, and will always be that we shared and experienced too much with each other. Everything we went through together was carelessly tossed aside, feelings covered up in denial, memories shoved back into the darkest recesses of our minds. Putting the blame on each other and time it seems has diminished the memories and emotions very little. If only we were given a few more months surely things would have turned out differently. I think our deepest regret will be that we each could have, should have, been more patient and tolerant. Austin is not the same. I am not the same. Neither of our lives will ever be the same. I can never thank you enough for everything that you have done for me and I will never forget the lessons you have taught me about life and love. I wish you a happy life, Alexandra.Germany (0), Italy (2)
i am still in shock but glad i didn't decide to shower until the match was over. it was scoreless until the 119 minute mark of the match when Italy finally scores. i guess the Germans were stunned because Italy quickly scores again during the 120 minute mark. just like that and it was all over for the Germans. i still can't believe what i just saw. i hate to admit it but the world cup is now in anyone's hands. i thought Germany would surely be in the finals. well its shower time so take care everyone.Happy July 4th!
well its been a pretty laid back july 4th thus far. i made plans to do alot of things today but ended up chatting naked online all day instead. haha, i'm such a nudist sometimes. got a surpised gift from my friend in japan yesterday. she sent me alot of japanese candies, snacks, seaweed paper, and a really awesome jap t-shirt. the first time i've ever received a gift from overseas. its supposed to be an early birthday gift for me cause she will come on vacation next month to the states. it would be so awesome if she can fit me into her schedule.as we speak, germany and italy are battling it out in world cup play. its halftime during the second half extra time. looks to be a stalemate again ( 0:0 ). i have a feeling its gonna be going into penalty kickoffs like most of the other matches this world cup.
well its 4:14 PM my time and i think i need to shower, put some clothes on and fix me something to eat. lying down naked under the a/c vent while typing with a growling stomach isn't as nice as it sounds to be ;)
have a good one peeps and seeya later!
wow01gold...
first i thought the wow01gold guy was a little weird, i mean i didn't know there are hard core gamers out there willing to pay for world of warcraft points until i saw an advertisement from a dude selling some gaming points for like $600 USD. man i gotta learn how to play some of those games so that i can sell and trade my points. =)looks like easy money to me babyyyyyy. those wacky gamers.... hahaha
thanks for making me laugh for the day wow01gold guy. take care everyone.
"The World's Fastest Indian"...
well i guess this week is movie review week! last night i finally got to see the the movie i have been wanting to see for the past 4 months, "The World's Fastest Indian", with sir anthony hopkins. i have to say that it was worth the wait. for those of you who remembers hopkins for only hannibal the cannibal lecter, this movie will be a major shock for you. the word i can think of that describes this movie is "inspirational". hopkins portrays the lead character as a very frail and eccentric old man who spent most of his adult life in pursuit of a dream, to build the world's fastest motorcycle. the movie was quite entertaining following his quest to go from a tiny town in new zealand to the Bonneville salt flats of utah for the speed trials. it shows all of the people he meets along the way who helps him out on his quest. there are some exciting twists and turns in the plot that makes you think that he will fail in his quest. its nice to see that the movie has a positive ending and makes you leave smiling and happy for the main character.i can't even remember what movie won the oscar this year but i can tell you this movie deserved the nomination. 2 thumbs up and i hope you all give this surprising little movie a try.
Here is a short little biography about the real life Burt Munro.
In 1920 a 21 year old Southlander stood gazing at a brand-new motorcycle in an Invercargill garage. His eyes roved over the neat little V twin engine, the cast alloy primary case, the leaf sprung front fork. His hand lovingly stroked the gleaming red paint and the sparkle of the polished nickel matched that in his eyes. The proprietor was spoken to, a deal was struck, and the young man bought his
motorcycle, beginning a partnership which was to last until his death in December 1978. The man was Burt Munro and the bike was an Indian Scout, destined to become the world's fastest Indian.Burt Munro was born in 1899 at his parents home in Invercargill. His twin sister died at birth and Burt, said the doctor, "won't live till he's two". Fortunately for New Zealand's motorcycle history the doctor was wrong.
In 1915 he bought his first motorcycle, a Douglas, and by 1919 had saved enough to buy a Clyno with sidecar. This cost him £50 new. The sidecar was removed and the Clyno entered in local races. Speed records were set at the Fortrose circuit, near Invercargill, but the Clyno wasn't kept for long when the Indian came on the scene.
The Indian Scout came from the board of Charles Franklin, an Indian employee since 1914 and the first trained engineer to be employed by the company. Franklin's background well qualified him for the position. Born in Ireland in 1886 he graduated from the Dublin College of Science in 1908, securing a position in the engineering department of Dublin's municipal government. He became interested in motorcycling, owning several makes of machine and becoming interested in Indian in 1910. He entered local competitions where his ability and success brought him to the notice of the sole British importer of Indians, Billy Wells. He was a member of the Indian team in the 1911 Isle of Man TT, gaining second place behind Oliver Godfrey, and in front of Arthur Moorhouse, both also Indian mounted, in the historic first 1-2-3 by the same make.
Franklin conceived the design for the Scout as early as 1912, through his
studies of advanced motorcycle design and built a prototype, under Indian auspices, in early 1919. Tests were satisfactory and production started in September of that year on the,1920 models, commencing with engine number 5OR001.The bike bought by Burt Munro carried engine no. 5OR627 and can therefore be seen to have come very early in the life of a machine which remained in production, in basically the same form until 1931.
The Scout itself was a 37cu.in. (60Occ) 42 degree V twin with side valves. A helical gear primary drive was contained in an oil-tight, cast alloy case and a 3 speed, hand change gearbox with foot clutch was fitted. A double down-tube cradle frame was used, rigid at the rear, and a leaf-spring provided the forks with nearly 2 inches of movement at the front. Chain drive was used in contrast to the drive systems still commonly used on English motorcycles.
Burt began modifying his bike in 1926. His methods, to say the least, were unorthodox. He used an old spoke for a micrometer and cast parts in old tins although one American report has him casting pistons in holes in the sand at the local beach! He built his own four-cam design to replace the standard two-cam system and converted to overhead valves. He made his own barrels, flywheels, pistons, cams and followers and lubrication system. In their final form he in effect hand-carved his con-rods from a Caterpillar tractor axle, and hardened and tempered them to 143 tons tensile strength. He built a seventeen plate, thousand pound pressure clutch and used a triple chain drive. He experimented with streamlining and, in its final form, the bike was completely enclosed in a streamlined shell.The leaf-sprung fork was dispensed with and what appears to be a girder fork from a 1925 - 1928 Prince substituted.
Burt, then a grandfather, visited the Bonneville salt flats several times from 1962 onwards. In that year he set a then world record of 178.971 mph with his engine out to 51 cu.in. (85Occ). In 1963 a con-rod broke while he was traveling at an estimated 195mph. In 1966 it was displacing 920cc, when Burt, unhappy with some loss in top speed, completely rebuilt it again.
In 1967, with his engine punched out to 58 cu.in. (950cc) he set a class record of 183.586 mph. To qualify he made a one-way run of 190.07 mph, the fastest ever officially recorded speed on an Indian.
His visits to the salt were not without incident. In issue no. 1 of Motorcycle New Zealand, published in 1973 Burt is quoted as follows:-"At the Salt in 1967 we were going like a bomb. Then she got the wobbles just over half way through the run. To slow her down I sat up. The wind tore my goggles off and the blast forced my eyeballs back into my head - couldn't see a thing. We were so far off the black line that we missed a steel marker stake by inches. I put her down - a few scratches all round but nothing much else". At the time Burt was traveling at close to 206 mph!
Burt, then a grandfather, visited the Bonneville salt flats several times from 1962 onwards. In that year he set a then world record of 178.971 mph with his engine out to 51 cu.in. (85Occ). In 1963 a con-rod broke while he was traveling at an estimated 195mph. In 1966 it was displacing 920cc, when Burt, unhappy with some loss in top speed, completely rebuilt it again.
In 1967, with his engine punched out to 58 cu.in. (950cc) he set a class record of 183.586 mph. To qualify he made a one-way run of 190.07 mph, the fastest ever officially recorded speed on an Indian.
His visits to the salt were not without incident. In issue no. 1 of Motorcycle New Zealand, published in 1973 Burt is quoted as follows:-"At the Salt in 1967 we were going like a bomb. Then she got the wobbles just over half way through the run. To slow her down I sat up. The wind tore my goggles off and the blast forced my eyeballs back into my head - couldn't see a thing. We were so far off the black line that we missed a steel marker stake by inches. I put her down - a few scratches all round but nothing much else". At the time Burt was traveling at close to 206 mph!
His team at Bonneville consisted of Indian enthusiasts from all over the USA, who came voluntarily to provide help and encouragement. "Picked up a station wagon for $90 in Los Angeles last time," said Burt in the same interview. "It was the headquarters for Team Indian".
Burt Munro died in December 1978. The Indian, which had been his for 57yrs is in the hands of an enthusiast in the South Island. As well as the bike he left behind a legend of skill, perseverance, and courage which typifies the ingenuity and resilience of the New Zealand spirit, and of which all New Zealanders, motorcyclists or not, may be justly proud.
After a blow-up. The original engine no, 50R627 is visible. Rumor has it that Burt made his barrels from pieces of cast iron gas pipe, which he scrounged from the gas company after they had been dug up for replacement.
He reasoned that, after some years in the ground, they were well seasoned. He then made aluminum slices which he shrunk over the pipe to make fins.I can believe it looking at this picture (click for closeups and see the damage to cases & barrels)
"Korean Garden" restaurant...
saturday started off really bad for me cause england had got kicked out of the world cup. afterwards i tried calling someone for a full 45 minutes but wasnt able to connect. pehaps due to the fact that it was during world cup time, and we all know how europeans are crazy about that sport. lolz. the rest of the day was spent chilling inside cause i was having some pains and also due to it raining outside. about 8:00 pm i took about 5 painkillers and dragged my lazy ass to take a shower. felt in the mood for some korean food so headed off towards my destination. i hate going to the korean restaurant alone. its such a nice restaurant and i always feel uncomfortable having to go out to such a nice place all by myself. this particular restaurant i havent been to in almost a year so was quite startled when an old friend i knew worked there. talk about major discomfort! fortunately it was quite busy that night so we really didnt have time to talk. i have been craving for squid stir fried with vegetables for about 2 months so ordered that. to my surprise my friend brought me a platter of sushi and told me its on her. i thanked her sheepishly and began eating cause i really was quite starved not having eaten for the past day and a half. thru the middle of my appetizer she brought me a plate of fried dumplings called mandoo. she still remembered that it was my favorite appetizer. i was shocked and extremely embarrassed cause i hate receiving free food but she insisted. after many thanks i knew there was no way i was gonna finish all of this food. prior to the main course, she brought over all of the side dishes. in authentic korean restaurants u are given many vegetable side dishes that accompanies your meal. typically around 5 side dishes. she brought 7 side dishes and my table was literally covered with food! there were small bowls of seaweed, squash tempura, kimchi, pickled sesame leaves, mochi rice cakes, fish cakes, fish mochi cakes. that is alot of food for 2 people so u can imagine how it looked for a table for 1. lolz. i was very full by the time the dish i ordered arrived. taking a couple of bites i was too full to finish so asked for a to go box. i thanked her again for everything and told her it was nice to see her again. after promising to come again i prepared to leave. the bill was so small compared to the amount of food i received so i left her a 95% tip. don't know if it was the right thing to do or not but like i said, i hate receiving free food. thats one reason why i dont go to a few reataurants where i have friends that works there. same thing with gifts, i hate receiving them. i love giving but am always so embarrassed to receive them. damn i'm weird.well its a rainy sunday so it looks like i'm gonna be stuck in the house again. have a wonderful weekend everyone!
world cup update...
almost forgot to mention world cup. haha. germany beats argentina in the penalty shootout, 1 - 1 (4 - 2). ukraine was knocked out by italy, 3 - 0. earlier today england was defeated by portugal 0 - 0 (3-1) in the penalty shootout. the major upset was france beating brazil 1 - 0. the semifinals next week is gonna be awesome! its gonna be germany vs italy and portugal vs france. the first all-european world cup since 1982. how cool is that? personally i can't wait.have a good 4th of july everybody. take cares
"The Godfather"...
i was bored outta my skull the other night and was compelled to watch an old ass movie that i never watched before, "The Godfather". that movie always made the list of the best movies ever made but since i wasnt really into old timey gangster movies, i never took the time to watch it. 2 1/2 hours later when the movie was finally over i kept thinking to myself, "wow". it was so nicely made. everything looked so authentic. the violent parts were extremely violent. the cinematography was beautiful. the musical score perfectly complimented the visuals. al pacino's transformation from an innocent war hero into a ruthless underworld leader was amazing. makes me wanna watch parts 2 and 3 now. the movie is highly recommended for those who have never seen it."Unfaithful" ....
- Chol
Song: "Unfaithful"
Artist: Rihanna
Story of my life
Searching for the right
But it keeps avoiding me
Sorrow in my soul
cause it seems that wrong
really loves my company
Hes more than a man
and this is more than love
the reason that the sky is blue
the clouds are rolling in
because I'm gone again
and to him I just can't be true
and I know that he knows I'm unfaithful
and it kills him inside
to know that I am happy with some other guy
I can see him dying
I don't wanna do this anymore
I don't wanna be the reason why
Everytime I walk out the door
I see him die a little more inside
I don't wanna hurt him anymore
I don't wanna take away his life
I don't wanna be...
a murderer
I feel it in the air
as I'm doing my hair
preparing for another day
A kiss up on my cheek
He's here reluctantly
as if I'm gonna be out late
I say I won't be long
Just hanging with the girls
A lie I didn't have to tell
Because we both know
where I'm about to go
and we know it very well
cause I know that he knows I'm unfaithful
and it kills him inside
to know that I am happy with some other guy
I can see him dying
I don't wanna do this anymore
I don't wanna be the reason why
Everytime I walk out the door
I see him die a little more inside
I don't wanna hurt him anymore
I don't wanna take away his life
I don't wanna be...
a murderer
our love
His trust
I might as well take a gun and put it to his head
Get it over with
I don't wanna do this
Anymore ...
I don't wanna do this anymore
I don't wanna be the reason why
Everytime I walk out the door
I see him die a little more inside
I don't wanna hurt him anymore
I don't wanna take away his life
I don't wanna be...
a murderer
brief remembrance...
you like basketball alot. i like basketball the least. you are and will always be a rocker. i rock less and less nowdays. you like to draw. i am scared of trying to pick up my pencil and sketch pad ever again. such two different personalities we are, yet we will always be eternally connected because of the brief moment in time that we once shared.reflections...
i can't believe its almost july. we have just passed the midpoint of another year and what do i have to show for it? i have a newer car, an ipod, new flat panel monitors, a new laptop and computer. do i feel fulfilled? not hardly. have i gained more wisdom? i feel slightly wiser, yes. have i done anything this year to improve the world? *thinking*.... no. yes, i have material things but i am missing the most important thing of all. every day i come home to a quiet apartment. when i go shopping, i go alone. when i go out to dinner, it's usually a table for one. i fear i am becoming too accustomed to my solitude to the point that i lack the desire for human companionship. my only interaction with people is when i go to work and am exposed to a handfull of the same people. the only pleasure i get is when i allow myself to call my girl, 15 minutes a day. 15 minutes, such a miniscule amount of time in a 24 hour period.another month passes... soon another year will pass as well. perhaps another piece of my humanity is passing also.
i need someone to save me before i completely lose all feelings and become the robot i once was told that i was.
"Fearless"...
time for another movie review. i've just watched the new jet li movie called "fearless". supposedly its his final martial arts film. "fearless" is based on the story of the real life wushu master, Huo Yuanjia (1868-1909). the martial arts in this film was absolutely incredible. few people realize that jet li is actually a master of martial arts and not just an actor.he has won:
- 1974 — Youth National Athletic Competition: broadsword form gold medal, optional empty-hand form gold medal, all-round gold medal;
- 1975 — Third Chinese Wushu Championships: long fist form gold medal, spear form silver medal;
- 1977 — National Wushu Competition: long-fist form gold medal, broadsword form gold medal;
- 1978 — National Wushu Competition: long-fist form gold medal, optional empty-hand form gold medal, broadsword form gold medal, all-round gold medal;
- 1979 — Fourth Chinese Wushu Championships: long-fist form gold medal, optional empty-hand form gold medal, broadsword form gold medal, sparring form gold medal, all-round gold medal.
here is a little biography about the main character.
Huo Yuanjia (1868-1910) was a Chinese martial artist. A practitioner of the Mi zong fighting style, he is considered a hero by some Chinese for his defeat of foreign wrestlers, boxers, and judoka in highly publicized matches at a time when Chinese sovereignty was being eroded by foreign concessions and spheres of influence. He was the founder of Jing Wu Men, a martial arts school in Shanghai.
Huo Yuanjia was born in 1868 in Xiǎonán Village in Jinghai County in Tianjin, the fourth of his father Huo Endi's ten children. Huo Endi made his living by guarding caravans, as members of families with a long tradition of martial arts like the Huos often did, but the family's primary source of income was from farming. It was his father from whom Huo Yuanjia learned martial arts, specifically his family's style of Mi Zong Yi/Quan (literally "Untraceable Skill" or "Missing Fist"). His learning of martial arts did not come by default for Huo's father did not intend him to follow his footsteps. Huo initially learned Mi Zong Quan in secrecy, until his progress was discovered by his father. In 1890, a wushu master by the name of Du came from Henan Province to visit Huo's father. His manner provoked a trial of strength with the boxers of the family. Thus, Huo competed with him and defeated Du. The bout made Huo Yuanjia famous in his village and the neighbouring areas. Huo later took jobs from a local loan collector as well as his friend in the herb trading business, who participated in Dr. Sun Yatsen's plan to overthrow the Manchurian government.
Some of Huo's best-known fights were open challenges from foreign fighters.
It was a 1901 match with a Russian wrestler in Xiyuan Park, Tianjin that first made Huo famous. The wrestler had openly insulted the Chinese, calling them "Asian weaklings" or "Sick Man Of the East" because no one would accept his challenge to a fight. Huo either defeated the wrestler or the wrestler forefeited the match, which was widely publicized by news papers.
In 1909, Huo, accompanied by his apprentice Liu Zhensheng, traveled to Shanghai to accept an open challenge posed by a British boxer named Hercules O'Brien. The match was preceded by disagreement over what rules it would be governed by. O'Brien insisted on Western boxing rules limiting attacks to punches above the waist. Huo, on the other hand, was more accustomed to the rules of Chinese leitai challenge matches, which lacked such restrictions. They finally agreed that the first person to knock down his opponent would be considered the winner; however, the match never took place and Hercules O'Brien fled the area before the date of the match.
That same year, Huo opened the Jing Wu Ti Cao Hui (Jing Wu Men) martial arts school at Shanghai's north gate.
The 2006 Jet Li film Fearless (Huo Yuan Jia), described an event that took place on September 14, 1910. According to the film, this day is one of the most significant dates in Huo's life. Ever since the country's defeat in the Opium War, Chinese morale had been relegated to a depressive low. His victories had led to a gradual rise in Chinese nationalism. Fearing a possible rebellion, a meeting was called between the leaders of the four industrial powers occupying China at the time — France, Britain, Russia, and Japan. It was decided upon that each of these nations would send a combatant to challenge him in an effort to squelch Chinese optimism. On September 14, 1910, he fought and defeated each of his four challengers. Although the speculated rebellion did not ensue, Chinese pride soared; he became a legendary symbol for Chinese nationalism and is still regarded with great reverence today.
Huo died in 1910. It is often alleged that his death was caused by being poisoned by the Japanese. The films Fist of Fury (starring Bruce Lee) and its remake Fist of Legend are highly-fictionalized accounts of the events following his death. According to Huo's grandson, Huo's death came after the defeat of the 10 members of the Japanese Judo team. During a subsequent dinner with his opponents, Huo's illness (perhaps tuberculosis) prompted the Japanese to offer medical help, but he suffered a severe and fatal reaction to the medication given by the Japanese doctor. Recent films have also included a student by the name of Chen Zhen ( who was portrayed by Bruce Lee in Fist of Fury), who has been determined to be a highly fictionalized character. Jet Li's latest film, Fearless, is also greatly fictionalized as the stories about Huo's family and the actual matches were far from reality. The grandson of Huo Yuanjia, Huo Shoujin, filed a lawsuit March 7, 2006, claiming that the movie dishonored Huo Yuanjia by fabricating information about his life and portraying him as a wealthy man who was childless. Huo Yuan Jia's legacy was carried on by 3 sons and two daughters, and one of his great grand daughters still carries on his legacy as a renowned martial artist.