Ramblings of a Rubber Mouse

La política

2008-11-04T20:29:00.003-09:00

Okay, I don't like politics. Not one jot. And while it may seem a bit late, now that the election is over, but I simply must let out my feelings.

First off, I am independent and I voted that way this election. I am independent because I have yet to find a party that holds close enough to my political leanings that I feel the need to associate myself with them. I am somewhat of a idealist when it comes to voting. I feel that the only "wasted vote" is the one cast for a candidate you don't really feel is the best. I absolutely hate the whole partisan mindset that the the country has. "Well, I don't like guy A, but I don't want the guy B to win, so I'll vote for guy A." I just want to throttle those people and ask "Don't you realize that it's that sort of mindset that is messing the country up?" If everyone just realized that if every major party member who didn't like their chosen candidate voted for who they honestly and truely believed would be the best president/senator/whatever, the two-party system wouldn't be such a freaking monolithic behemoth. We would see more and more powerful third parties that could actually have an influence on the course of the country.
But no. People just figure that if they don't vote for "their guy" then he'll obviously lose, because no one on the other side is going to break party lines. It's that sort of complacency and willingness to sell out one's beliefs that just... GAAAAR!!!! I don't even know how to articulate the full extent of the frustration that I feel. Why can't people just see that it's in no one's best interest to give up like that.
Whenever someone tells me that it's a choice between A or B, I immediately start thinking of every other possibility that may exist. Even if it's a stupid option, the possibility does exist! So obviously there are more choices than just A and B. Now let's assume that some of the other options aren't stupid, it's just that most people are too lazy to try and look for them. That's what politics is. Most people are just too freeking lazy to search for another candidate that may have a platform closer to their beliefs than one of the major candidates. And those are the people who even bother to study out the candidates at all. Don't even get me started on the people who vote in ignorance. If I weren't so forgiving, I'd say it should be a criminal offense. I mean, seriously, this is for the preaking people who decide our freeking laws! How can you just vote blindly without having the slightest idea of what the people stand for? Go here to see what I mean. I mean, seriously! Holy freeking frak! People on both sides of the fence are voting one way or the other and they have no freeking idea what the frak their candidate stands for! Just... AHHHH!

*deep breath*

Okay... Anyway... If I had just one political message for the United States and/or any other country with democratic elections, it would be this: Don't bind yourself to voting a certain way just because you think you should. Actually study the issues. Open your mind and see if the people who think differently than you might have a valid point. And for heaven's sake, don't ever vote for someone just so someone else won't win. It doesn't help anyone. If the other person truely is the worse candidate, then they'll show it in office and get ousted out the next election.
Although I guess that's several messages rolled into one. And it only works in a perfect world where everyone is honest with themselves and each other.

Whatever.

Honestly, I don't care if it's never going to happen or not. I'm going to act as if it's possible and I'm going to work towards making that world real, because if I do, maybe it might. But if I don't, it certainly won't.

P.S. I'm not proofreading this post, so if it's got problems, I'm sorry, but it was written in the heat of the moment, and it's staying that way.

P.P.S. My favorite episode of the Simpsons is the Treehouse of Horror VII, with Citizen Kang. Go out and watch it. Pay especial attention to the end. That's EXACTLY what I'm talking about.

Beueeeeeno...

2008-10-05T10:53:00.002-08:00

Ufff... I was pretty sick a week and a half ago. It was very much not fun. I haven't had much time for anything recently. Been too busy trying to catch up on my homework. I swear, one of these days I'm gonna figure out how to actually get my homework done asap instead of during the last minute.

*sigh*

Oh well...

I'm trying to put together a short film contest for the symposium I'm on the committee for. Hopefully that all goes well. Not much else going on. Just school, school-related activities and being married. Nothing to complain about, except for a couple problems caused by my own laziness. I'm working on that though.

Well.... Later.

Una cosita

2008-09-17T07:59:00.004-08:00

I just had a funny experience that helped solidify my love of being a nerd.

I was walking down the hall in one of the buildings on campus, and some guy, some random guy I'd never seen before, was wearing a shirt that said: "one day all of this will be yours." Immediately I thought to myself: "What? The curtains?"

¡Adelante!

2008-08-17T15:07:00.004-08:00

Okay, so... not a whole lot happening. I got fired from my job a week after giving three weeks notice. That was less than endearing. It's like, soooo... you figure that since I'm leaving anyway you'll get rid of me first just so you don't have to pay me as much? That's not very cool. Friggin' bites is what it does.
Anyway... I might actually get a part time job that only lasts a week, next week, which would be just about what I need. Not perfect, but it's better than complete unemployment.

So, that movie I've been talking about. It's called Casshern. It's a Japanese action flick, supposedly. However there's very little action, especially considering I've seen an OAV that it's based on. I was expecting a strait, mindless, blow-up-robots-with-bare-hands action movie. What I got was... weird. I mean... the best word I have to describe the movie is "weird." There was so much that happened in the movie that made no sense whatsoever. Even after everything was said and done and everyone's motives were revealed and all the secrets in the open, it made almost no sense. And the amount of robot-destruction was at a minimum. I spent most of the movie scratching my head and being disappointed at how little action there was. I'm not against non-action flicks, but I had certain expectations, you see, and those expectations were not met.

Yet I think I really loved the movie.
Maybe I didn't enjoy it per se, but the movie touched me. You see, throughout the movie, everyone makes bad choices and does everything they can to advance their own agendas, usually while hampering those of others. And not in a nice way either. It was vicious. The "bad guys" want revenge in quite literally the worst way possible; Casshern (the good guy) really was just trying to stop the violence and killing, usually ending up just making things worse; his father is consumed by grief, making him perform atrocities; the government is about as controlling and evil as it can be; the several government people we meet are evil and conniving, ranging from selfish to well-intentioned-but-still-evil. And by the end, everyone dies. Some more than once.
It was rather depressing. Yet what got me was at the very end... (again, it was weird,) Warning: Possible Spoilers ahead:
There was a montage of clips of all the characters acting in the exact opposite roles, spliced in with the shot of the protagonist and his fiance being taken away in a beam of light to another world (I think). It shows the son who berayed his father instead is caring for him lovingly; the simpleton who is confused at all the violence surrounding him is happy, sitting on a bench and learning simple joys; The protagonist and his fiance just being together in peace. A bunch of other stuff like that: All of these people who did horrible things to each other and to humanity, almost all of who were either sad, angry, evil, or had given up hope were doing the opposite they were all kind, good people and you could just sense the peace and happiness come off of them. The beautiful music helped a lot too. It was really unexpectedly emotional. And when contrasted to the previous 99% of the movie, it was all the mroe powerful. Kind of like being beaten with negative emotion nerf bats for two hours and then suddenly Mike Tyson punches you in the nose with a positive emotion boxing glove. The emotions it stirred up in me made me want to be a better person, to re-evaluate my life and change it for the better. It made me want to improve the condition of my fellow man and mankind in general. For lack of a better term, it was a spiritual experience. (The only reason I hesitate to use that term is because, except for the last few minutes, its a very, very dark film.)
I would hesitate ever so much to suggest that you go out and watch this film. Let me say that this film is very, very worth watching. Just, don't expect it to make sense. If you go into it with the expectation of you will not understand what is going on or why, then you will enjoy this movie a lot more. I don't know if it will touch you in the same way it touched me, but the potential is there. Pay more attention to your emotions than your brain when you watch this, and you just might be able to make sense of it.

¡A escribir!

2008-07-30T13:09:00.003-08:00

Well, I keep meaning to update on Sundays, and I keep getting side-tracked. So, since I remembered to do it now, and I doubt I'll get to it unless I write something right now, I'm going to write right now.

Sooo.... What's going on? Not much. I've discovered two serieses (is that the correct plural?) that I like. One is the Kingmaker, Kingbreaker series. It's two books, I'm almost done with the first book. What I like the most is that the prophesied hero is a fisherman who actually talks and feels like a low-class bumpkin fisherman. Most fantasy novels with prophesied heroes who start out on the farm or whatever still sound and feel exactly like all of the soldiers/nobles/inkeepers/whatevers around them. Not in this one. The protagonist speaks with a very low register (at first) and talks just like you would expect a stubborn, rough-around-the-edges fisherman surrounded by people far above his station would. Other than that, it doesn't really break much new ground. It's different from most fantasy I've read, but I don't read as much as I used to or would like to. Still, I find it enjoyable and well-written.
The other series is The Dresden Files. I'd heard of it a while ago but never gotten around to it until now. I must say that it is VERY entertaining, especially if you love looking for cultural references. It's on book nine, I believe, now. I love the character development. Over a single book it's more subtle, but over the whole series (especially considering there might be as much as a year fast-forward between books) there's been quite a bit, and it's been pretty beliveable. Take one book ata time and it's a quick, light, easy read. Take them as a whole and a deep, long-reaching story arc appears. I like that.

*phew.* Okay, hopefully that kick-start will help me to be more consistent.

P.S. Expect my comments on the movie mentioned in the previous post in my next post.

Until later.

Hay que quitar las telarañas

2008-07-04T18:49:00.002-08:00

Happy 4th of July!

Wow... who new that being married would take up so much time?

Heh.

Well.... It's been far over a year. That makes my last post rather ironic in retrospect. Huh. I wonder if anyone will ever realize that I've updated. Anyone who may have ever read this blog on a regular basis probably gave up a long time ago. Oh well.

Anyway... married life is good. I enjoy it and recommend it to anyone who feels mature enough to trust everything they have/are to someone else and accept the same in return.

So... Man, I love those elipses too much. I really should try and use them less.

Returning to the subject of the blog. I really do enjoy blogging. It's the only sort of journal I've been able to keep. I realize it's not a real journal, but it's something. So, I'm once again going to try and re-start this. Just, please give me a chance. Between marriage and *shudder* work. I don't have that much time. But I will try. Don't get me wrong, I'm not against work by itself. It's just that my current job, while it pays well, in a word: bites. It's a call center. The crew bosses are really cool, but the the job itself is slow torture for someone with my personality. If I could find another job, even just part time, I would take it in a second. But for some reason all the job offers I can find either pay too little or are for people more qualified than me. That, or there's some other reason that I wouldn't take it. Eh, maybe I'm just too picky. I don't think I am. I took a call center job, after all. Well... Time will tell.

You must see this.

I'd like to post a review of something. A movie, a book... anything. While I have watched a few DVD's recently, I have only watched one thing that moved me to any degree of emotional response one way or another that I feel I must post something now. And that one thing (which I watched today) moved me so much, that I feel I have to wait at least until tomorrow to say anything about it so I have time to digest it properly and say what I really want to say rather than just some OMG! TAHT WUZ T3H UBER COOLZ! because the movie was far more complex than that. Also, I am too poor to have seen any of the big blockbusters that I've been wanting to. I'm waiting for them to hit the local dollar theater so I can afford to watch them.

So, I'll be weighing in soon with something. Maybe as soon as tomorrow or Sunday, but don't hold your breath. These things take time to develop into a habit.

Os pido disculpas.

2007-03-25T19:30:00.001-08:00

well... uhhh... I do believe that this is the longest I've ever gone without any update at all.

Dang.

Well... Pretty much I have no excuse other than what I've already said. Well... everything I've said before, (i.e. I got busy, and then the longer I went without posting made it that much harder to... and blah blah blah...) and the fact that... I'm engaged. Yeah, remember my girlfriend from the previous post? Yeah, we're getting married. So... that's one of the reasons I've been so busy the past 4 months. So please forgive me, and I shall try... I shall make a herculean effort to begin updating once more.

Thank you for your patience.

Also in the news, I got accepted into the Spanish Translation major here on campus. WHich is really cool because it's limited-entry, only 25 people a year allowed, and you have to pass two entrance exams. One in English and one in Spanish. Funny thing was that the English test was way harder. I would have thought the Spanish test would have been, but hey.

Anyway.

El día de acción de gracias

2006-11-24T09:00:00.000-09:00

Well, yesterday was Thanksgiving, obviously. I went with my girlfriend to the house of one of my sisters who lives not too far away. (My girlfriend's family lives out of state.) All 5 of my sisters were there, one of them with her husband even driving in from out of state to join us, so it was really nice.

Huh. Well... I thought I was gonna say more, but I really don't have much to say. It was just really nice to spend Thanksgiving with both my family and my girlfriend.

Aburrimiento

2006-11-12T21:32:00.000-09:00

So... I'm not sure if I've ever said this before on my blog, but I want a new head. The one I have is defective. Seeing as I'm not likely to get a new head, free from cluster headaches anytime soon, I'll just have to aguantarlo. Errr... Deal with it. But hey, I guess it could always be worse. I mean, my headaches go away eventually. They come back... but then they go away again. Someone with, say, cancer... frak, man. THEY got it tough. So I probably shouldn't complain too much.

I found out a while ago that I don't enjoy going to the movies alone anymore. Last year and during the summer it wasn't bad. But when this year started I went to a few by myself and, well... it just kinda felt empty. The movies were still good, but I didn't seem to enjoy them as much as I should have. I kept wishing someone had been there with me. A friend, a date, a relative... ANYONE. So, I think that's why I really havn't seen any new movies recently: I just havn't had the desire to go alone.

Soooooooo.... Hmmmm.... Not sure what more to say, though I feel the need to, not vent, but talk. I've been so quiet lately that I almost think I should make up for it.
I'm doing mostly well in school, although I completly forgot to do a short essay for one of my Spanish classes. Ugh. It's not too but now that it's late, I can only get half credit, and the essays are a pretty large chunk of my grade. DARGH! Why am I so stupid and forgetful?

But, to quote the ever-amazing movie "The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra": Oh well.

Nothin' to it, just gotta be smarter next time. (Pretty hard for me, but I can try.)

So, Thanksgiving, (or as it is called in Spanish "The Day of Action of giving Thanks." The fact that "giving" is italicized is because the word is implied but not actually said in Spanish,) is on its way. Less than two weeks. I havn't the money to go to Alaska to be with my parents, unfortunatly, but I will be spending it with some of my sisters & their families (where applicable) who live in the same state. So I will be spending Thanksgiving with family, which is good. Family is important. Anyone who thinks otherwise never had one. And that's sad. I don't say that in a condescending manner where "sad" means "pathetic". I mean that it literally is crying sad, or "triste" as we say in Spanish. (No ambiguity there.) Family is that important to me. As much as we tend to fight with each other, we're usually smart enough to make up and forgive.
It's good to know that there are people who will usually love you unconditionally, despite the fact you're a stupid moron who makes mistakes.

Anyway... I'm getting tired. I'm going to bed now. 'Night all.

No estoy confuso. ¿Porque?

2006-11-10T19:14:00.000-09:00

Have you ever been in a situation where you felt like you should be confused. But you aren't?

That's what going on in my life right now. Interesting times ahead, it looks like.

Anyway... not much to report. Havn't seen any movies lately, and no new games to review, really. Just... boring. But I'm sure I've quoted my mother before when speaking on boredom.
"Boring is good, because it means nothing bad is happening."

Non ho niente di dire.

2006-11-05T17:06:00.000-09:00

Well.. it's been quite recently. Maybe a little too quiet.

That is all.

Asesinatos misteriosos

2006-10-29T17:38:00.000-09:00

So, I've recently been on a Murder Mystery bent. The other day I watched "Clue" the movie and there's going to be one of them murder mystery dinner party things in a few weeks that I am contemplating buying a ticket or two for. This has led to a re-awakening to the part of me that loves a good mystery. I don't know why, but I've always liked best those murder mysteries where everyone is traped isnide a house or whatever, and they have to figure out which one of them is the murderer. So, I've been formulating an idea for a murder mystery-themed, all-day party to have with my those few of my friends and club-mates who are also staying put for Christmas break. The basic idea is to switch between watching murder mystery movies and murder mystery style games. Example: Watch "Clue" the movie, then play Clue the board game. Then watch... oh, say "Murder on the Orient Express" then play, por ejemplo, Kill Doctor Lucky. Etc. Then, after doing that all day, top off the night with a murder mystery dinner-party game. I think it'll be quite fun. Especially since most everyone will be gone, and those few of us who remain will need SOMETHING to do.

That is all. My life is boring.

Beh.

2006-10-15T18:36:00.000-08:00

I'll be honest with you. I'm too lazy and too tired to actually write anything today. Sorry.

Tarde, otra vez.

2006-10-05T18:33:00.000-08:00

Bueno pues... So, let's see... Not much has been happening. I have been catching up with my school work... for the most part. Psychology not so much, but I just took a test, so for now I don't have to worry about reading those chapters. (I did rather well, 81%, considering how little of those chapters I read. In-class review and studying notes helped.)So I can work on staying caught up. If I remember correctly, the final isn't comprehensive so I don't really need to worry about those chapters at all. (*crosses fingers*). Let us hope.

What else? Well, digamos que stuff that wasn't too fun happened over the weekend, so I broke my promise to myself to not buy anything for the next month. It must be the influence of 5 sisters, but when I get depressed I tend to buy things. (Books, mostly.)
The campus bookstore also is trying to get rid of most of its surplus DVDs and CDs. There were some tempting DVDs that I almost bought, but decided against. But there were two CDs that, at 30% off, were just too tempting. The soundtracks to The Good, The Bad and the Ugly; and Stubbs the Zombie. I love both of these. Very good purchases.

That's about it. Other than that I'm making cookies tommorow. I love making cookies. The making is almost as fun as the eating them afterwards.

Have fun. I know I will.

Soy bastante flojo. Para que sepáis.

2006-09-24T16:27:00.000-08:00

Well... I'm finally getting caught up(-ish) with school. I'm not yet caught up, but am getting there. It mostly has to do with the fact that I am finally getting myself organized. My normal chaotic "panic-and-get-it-done-2-minutes-before-it's-due" just never really lends itself to good study habits, you know? So, I'm finally partitioning out my time, and setting goals for schoolwork, while still allowing for (reduced) playtime. If all goes well, within two weeks I should be ahead of schedule, isntead of behind. (Gosh, ,I hope I can stick to my schedules.) The theory is quite simple really. Right now I'm caught up in my easy classes and a little behind in my harder classes. All I need to do is first get ahead in my easy classes, then get caught up in my harder classes. Then, while maintaining my lead in the easy classes, keep working on my harder classes until I am also ahead in them.
Sounds easy... whether it will be that easy to do... *shrug*

So, I had a ton of things to talk about. I forgot a bunch of them, and some of them have become rather moot points. Sooooo... I'm sorry. Yes, I am a loser. But you love me anyway, don't you all? (You'd better!) Let's start with a blank slate.

So, current events: I found a GI-freeking-normous thread at rpg.net with gaming/nerd-themed "inspirational posters." They were so funny I had to try my had at a few myself. As one with such a self-biased opinion as I do, I think I didn't do too bad a job. Here's one for your enjoyment(?).

Have I ever mentioned how much I love Samurai Jack? It's an awesome show. Too bad that Mako died. He really was about 33 to 50 percent of the show as Aku.

Let's see. I saw Jet Li's fearless Friday. It was pretty good. I was kinda afraid it was going to be a "China's the awesomest and the West is EEEEEVIL" type movie. Fortuneatly, if it was, it was very subtle about it. (Except for the first few minutes, but even then... it wasn't enough to bother.) The movie was MUCH more about humility and acting honorably than it was about nationalism itself.

So, it's been YEARS since I've seen The Nightmare Before Christmas. I don't remember much. I know that Tim Burton's a pretty good director. I know that I liked Corpse Bride and everyone tells me that Nightmare is much better. And I know that I hate (most-to-all) musicals. So I'm kinda torn about watching the 3-D re-release. I'll probably do it, but... I just don't know.

Anyway... that's it for now. Later, and paz afuera.

lol... I crack me up.

Me siento mejor.

2006-09-13T17:15:00.000-08:00

I'm feeling a bit better now, but I'm now a bit behind in my school-work, so I will postpone serious updates until I am caught up.

Estoy de mal humor

2006-09-11T15:35:00.000-08:00

Sorry, I really do have a ton of stuff to write about, but today has been an especially disagreeable day. I'm not going to get into details. So you'll just have to wait for things to get a little less "let's-frak-Ross-over-as-much-as-we-can"-ish.

No os preocupéis

2006-09-08T22:04:00.000-08:00

I'll have a new post up relatively soon. I have a lot to say, too. So, worry you all not.

Otra vez, nada que contar

2006-08-27T21:40:00.000-08:00

Meh. Not much to say. Past couple of week have had friends over on Saturday and we've been playing RoboRalley. A great little game. Takes a lot of strategy and a little bit of luck. All-in-all great times have been had.

I will most likely not post anything next Sunday, because I will be traveling down to college. 2 days before classes start. (When I go down, not today.) It's cutting it a bit close, but oh well. It was the cheapest fares we could get. I might post something later this week, or maybe later next week. It depends on whether or not anything intereting happens between now and then.

One question I have is that why do people ALWAYS ask if you're excited? (I'm suddenly having a sensation of Deja Vu.) I just don't know. I guess I'm just not that excitable of a guy, but I don't feel very "excited" all that often for trips like this. All sorts of emotions run through me, but not "excited." (Especially since this isn't exactly the first time I'm leaving home for a short while.)

I'm trying to dedicate myself to reading more, both Scripture and fiction. I've slipped quite a bit this past summer. Last summer I went to the local library most every week. Every two weeks at the most infrequent. Speaking of which, Homer is getting a brand-spanking-new library. It's much larger, and is tricked-out with all sorts of cool stuff, like wi-fi internet connections, newer computers and, (most importantly,) more books! It should be pretty awesome. (It had better be, they raised our taxes a whole percent, supposedly to fund the library's construction and maintainence.) The only problem? It's grand opening will be two weeks after I leave.

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DAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Is anyone else seeing something wrong and unfair with this picture??? Oh well. Así es la vida, supongo.

Nacido de Niebla

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

I'm not sure if that's the best translation, or even a very good one, but hey.

Anyway, sorry for the late post this week again. I have a VERY good excuse though: Mistborn, by Brandon Sanderson. I've been reading it a lot. It is, without a doubt, one of the best books I have EVER read, and the reason I hadn't posted anything. It even pulled me away from playing City of Heroes.

Now, I loved Elantris. I could hardly put it down. Mistborn I just plain could not put down. I havn't had a book keep me up til 1 in the morning since the first time I read The Lord of Chaos. (my favorite book of the Wheel of Time series.) And even then... well, let's just say that I personally think that Mr. Jordan isn't quite as good as Brandon.

I use his first name because I do know the author. Not very well, but I have met him on several occations, and he and my brother were in at least one club together in college. He's a great guy, real nice.

But that's not the reason why I give such a glowing review. This book really is that good. The characters have depth; the action is quick-paced but not forced; the fight scenes are among the best I have ever read; etc. and so on. Much like in Elantris, the magic systems are well fleshed-out and are much like chess: Simple to learn, yet difficult to master. (For the characters in the story, not real people.) Plus the book has a little of everything: Thieving crews, fights between magic-users, plotical intrigue, suspense, and a cool little twist at the end. It took me to page 499 to figure it out, but I'd already been given all of the clues. But I'm slow that way. I'm sure other, more smarter people could figure it out faster than I did. (Yes, that was an intentional joke, not a typo.)

I figured Elantris would make a decent movie, I still do... but Mistborn, if done right, (like say, kinda what Peter Jackson did with LotR,) it could make for one of the best movie fantasy epics ever. I add the caveat because it's far too easy to take great source material and then completly violate it in the worst ways in order to turn it into a movie. (See any movie based on a video game, especially if "Ooh-Vey Bowl" is the directer. He's so horrible that I refuse to write his name correctly.) Anyway, Often when I read books I kind of "see" it in my mind as I read. Most books crate a bit of a fuzzy image and it just is something that accompanies the book. Other books, usually books I really like (not always, but usually,) invoke a much clearer image in my mind. Elantris is one of those books. But Mistborn... Mistborn felt like I was watching a movie, and the words were really just more like subtitles. You know? It's hard for me to describe, and it seems a bit paradoxical, but to me, the words created the images so clearly in my mind that it was almost like I wasn't even reading said words, but peering into Brandon's mind*. But that's just the way I read books.
(*disclamer: individual results may vary.)

If I were to give numbered results to my reviews, Mistborn would get the rather cliched "11 points out of a possible 10." But since I DON'T give numbered results, I'm just going to say: "Go out and buy as many copies of this book as you can. Then, if you don't want all of them, give some away to friends, so they can also share in the wonderful awesomeness that is this book."

So, did you hear about Pluto? A bunch of eggheads voted to make it no longer a planet. What's with that? What am I supposed to do with my Mnemonic "My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas" phrase? End with "Nine"? Whatever happened to tradition? Sure, I don't think that they should be adding all of those extra "mini-planets" even though one of them is bigger than pluto. It's our solar system too! Don't we get a vote? I never voted to take out Pluto. I never even had the chance! Why not bring this up to a vote of the people, not eliteist eggheads who never give us a chance. We may not get everything they talk about, but I think we can understand talk about planetary size and whatnot.

Freeking eggheads. Think they knows everything. Thinks they's smarter than I is. I'ma show them! (Yes, once again this was a joke. Crud, ain't nobody can take a joke anymore.) (Well, the last paragraph was a joke, not the whole "voting about Pluto" thing.)

Mira eso

2006-08-15T16:39:00.000-08:00

Hey, check this out.

Piratas del Caribe 2

2006-08-13T13:57:00.000-08:00

Sorry, I am very sorry. I started writing this, and then had to do something else before finishing it. Then I just forgot to. Sorry.

Welcome back my adoring public. At least, I'm guessing that if you still read my junk after all this time you must be. Or I'm just dilusional. Or both. Who can tell? Anyway... I don't even know why I'm acting so strange today, I havn't had any caffene, so that's not it. If I had, it would explain everything. Anyway.

Pirates. They are cool, as we all know. Pirates of the Carribean 2 is also very cool. Now, most of you have probably already seen it, but I'm in Alaska cruddangit. We don't get anything on time where I am, so BACK OFF!
Anyway. I really like this movie. I'm having a difficult time comparing it to the first movie in terms of which one I like morewell, because it just feels like I watched only half of the movie. (Which, pretty much I did, considering that they obvioulsy made the movie with the intention of being followed by a sequel.) So, that much is frustrating. Also, there were a few parts in which they seemed to just try too hard to make references to the first movie. Don't get me wrong, some of the references were VERY cleverly done, but some of them were just strained. And some of Jack's more confusing lines weren't near as good as they were in the first movie. Also, I don't like some of the special effects they used. They just didn't fit in with the movie. Hombre, most of them did, but there were a couple scenes with special effects that just didn't belong in the movie.
Okay, that's what's wrong with the movie. Now on to what's good! The biggest thing that stand out in my mind is that they actually managed to make the scale of the movie so much larger. I mean, going into the movie I figured: "They fought Zombie-Pirates in the last movie, how could they possibly get bigger than that?" Oh, but they did! Davy Jones and his crew and the Kracken is just on a whole different level altogether. Plus, there's cannibals and voodoo priestesses along the way. Second, for the most part it captures the spirit and adventure of the first movie, and then adds even more. It adds even more pirate conventions and, dare I say, Fanservices? (Someone climbing the mast rigging with a dagger in his teeth, anyone? What about literally gambling with one's life? Or peg legs? Oooooh! And Buried Treasure! That's a pretty good staple.) It was great. The actors did an amazing job, the dialogue was pretty good, most of the time, and there were plenty of twists and turns that I certainly never saw coming. (Like the end of the movie.) I seriously cannot wait for the third movie. I get the shakes just thinking about it.
I heard it said that the people who made Superman Returns thought (for some reason) that it was going to start off a new franchise on the scale of Star Wars. (Nah, they don't have inflated egos. [/sarcasm]) Personally, I think that the Pirates of the Carribean could be the next Star Wars franchise. The movies are definately good enough for it.

I was going to also talk about Who Wants to be a Superhero!, but I think I'll wait until all six episodes have run before making any final judgements on it.

Well, it's not everything I meant to get to, but it'll do. Later.

Lo siento

2006-08-10T19:29:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry, I've been very lazy this week. I meant to review Pirates of the Carribean 2 and a couple other things, but you'll just have to wait 'til next Sunday. Sorry.

Tutti siamo bambini

2006-07-30T18:51:00.000-08:00

I need to clarify something after my last post, now that I've had some time to cool down.

Though you might not know it to read my posts, I am a mostly optimistic person. I just... well, I'm also a realist. This is a bit strange, I know, but I attribute it to my faith. Things are bad, and they're gonna get worse, but it'll be all right in the end.

Anyway, though most everything I posted just before is true, I also want to say that despite all that is wrong with society and the world, I wouldn't trade it for a thing. Sure, there is hardship and trials, but those are really what make life worth living. You see, that's another reason why I am against the search of hedonistic pleasure. Sure, it can be nice, but in the end, you're just deadening yourself to true pleasure and joy. If you go through hardships, and practice self-control, your joys and pleasures are all the sweeter. Just like how candy is sweeter after eating something bitter, so are pleasures after self-control.

Anyway... I'd just like to quote the words of William Henry Hudson when he said: "When I hear people say they have not found the world and life so agreeable or interesting as to be in love with it, or that they look with equanimity to its end, I am apt to think they have never been properly alive nor seen with clear vision the world they think so meanly of, or anything in it - not a blade of grass.

todos somos niños

2006-07-30T16:44:00.000-08:00

So, I got an interesting e-mail this last week, a complete stranger complimenting me on my blog. That's cool. But they also asked me to comment on the mess over in the middle east. I'm guessing that the person who e-mailed me either didn't read all of the archives or missed what I have said earlier about politics, (it would be easy enough to miss.) Basically, I'm going to say it again, but more in-depth this time: I hate politics. I get very over-worked when it comes to politics and start rambling like you couldn't believe. I have very strong political beliefs, but I like to see all sides of the story before making any decision, but I find that 99.9% of other people don't care about the truth at all and just look for the stuff that "proves" thier preconcieved notions and then proceed to ignore anything and everything else. Those people believe that they are "fair" and "un-biased" and anyone else is a raging (right/left)-winger who won't listen to reason, when the truth is that THEY are.
It's for reasons like this that I abhor talking about politics, despite the positions that I take so strongly. So, that is why I do not talk about politics on my blog, because I would rant... on and on... about how stupid people in general are. (Because, really, people are sheep.)

So, I've been tip-toeing the line of politics, so I'm going to place this post firmly into the confines of social commentary. It's going to be about the closest to politics I ever get. And as far as I'm concerned, it's too close. But I've already written so much I'm not going to just let it go to waste.

I was thinking a bit today. Yes, I actually think, believe it or not.

Anyway, I was thinking about my brothers two children, and how they, like all children, really only need the logic of "I want to" and "I don't want to". That's all the argument they ever use, and in their minds, probably will ever need. Children are impulsive: everything they do is done without thought and done "because they want to do it."
As we grow up, we learn to use more varied and complex reasons for doing things. At least, that's the theory. But more and more these days, society tells us that self-restraint is bad. We are told that we need to "do what we want" because that's what society wants us to believe will help us become a well-rounded individual. The search of pleasure and trills has become more important that the search to become and adult, and take responsibility for one's actions.
That's another thing that society teaches us we shouldn't do. Responibility for our own actions has no longer become our responsibility, but that of the government. A man kills another, and it's not HIS fault, oh no... it's society for leting him grow up in a manner that would cause him to kill another man. Forget freedom of choice. A man smokes his whole life, knowing that it's probably going to give him cancer and kill him, but when he dies, it CAN'T be his fault, it's the cigarette companies for selling him the product. People these days do what they want, yet they don't want to recognize that actions bring with them consequences. These people are freeking imbeciles. They are morons. They are stupid. Son tontos. They are idiots who not only believe what our society is telling us, they are believing it because, you guessed it, they WANT to.
Now, I'm not saying that we aren't all like that at times. I know I do plenty of thigns that I know I shouldn't. I eat too much candy, and not enough fruits and veggies. My body would be a fat, blobby mess if I didn't have such an active job. I do all sorts of other things that I shouldn't, but I want to do them. Thing is, I never excuse myself. I understand fully that any negative consequences that arise from my poor self-control is my fault and mine alone. The problem is with people who do things that they know they shouldn't, (or at the least, should know that they shouldn't,) suddenly feel that when something goes wrong, it automatically MUST be someone else's fault. Usually the government's.

DAAARRR!!! YOU SEE??!!?!?

Okay... okay... I'm going to force myself to stop, because if I go any further, this sham of not being political will go from tenuous to non-existant. But you see what I mean. I don't just ramble. I RANT. A lot.

Anyway. Enya is cool, I like her music. Bill Cosby is realy funny as well. He's one of my favorite comedians.

There: I've done some more normal-like stuff. Now be satisfied dangit! And please... DON'T EVER ask me to talk about politics again. I hate it. Thank you in advance.

Nada que contar

2006-07-23T19:52:00.000-08:00

Meh. Not much to report. Missed my chance to watch Nacho Libre in theaters. I guess I'll just wait until it comes out on DVD. City of Heroes/Villians had a "Double XP" weekend. That was cool. I got another paycheck, so I have money in my account. I'm considering buying the next couple of Fullmetal alchemist DVDs as a celebration, but I also am thinking that I should hold off on that, so I don't have to leave quite so much junk up here.

College stinks that way: When you return home for the summer and go back down for the winter, you basically have to divide your stuff up into "Home storage" and "College storage" so you never have full access to all of your stuff. Even if you just want to sell some of it, you can't because it's on the other side of the country. Argh.

Oh well.

More to come when and if I think of it.

Quiero una cabeza nueva

2006-07-16T15:19:00.001-08:00

Have I ever mentioned that I want a new head? The one I have is defective.

I get cluster headaches. They are nasty suckers which creep up on me every couple of months and make the next 7- 14 days a living infierno. They are anything but fun. And I hate them.

This is all. I will now go back to praying that the headaches have passed and that I don't need to take another Excedrin in the next few days.

Oblivion

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

Well... It was a tiring week this week. Yesterday wasn't so bad. Got the day off of work, and a friend of mine just returned from a two-year mission in Argentina. Gonna have to help him re-integrate into normal society. Church was good today. I kinda feel like I need a nap though. Probably since I never get enough sleep. But that's my own fault.

So, yeah. Oblivion. Truth be told, I honestly don't know where to start. It's just such a freeking awesome game. Great graphics; amazing story; HUGE game world; the radiant AI was incredible; there are (seemingly) bazillions of side quests; and the ending in-game cut-scene.... =0 Holy Crud! it was so freeking awesome.
I really enjoyed that the game could be played in really any way you wanted it to, as certain skills increased as you used them more. And some of the guild quests... oh wow... they were great. I especially loved the Theif and Dark Brotherhood guild quests. Man those were just plain FUN. I would say more about the quests, but I don't like spoilers, so I'm sorry if you were expecting more.
The game world is just so BIG. You can wander and wander and wander, if you want, and keep running into new stuff. Shrines, inns, even small towns. But really, it's all of the little small touches that the guys at Bethesda did that kept me hooked. Physics-based traps, unique quests, (heh) not-so-random attacks when you least expect it, the list just goes on and on.
I have only two gripes: The first one, really isn't a gripe, but I wish that there was more variety in the voice acting. There's only about 6 voice actors for literally hundreds of NPC's. But, truth be told, that never really distracted me from the game. The second really is a gripe, and that's how omniscient the city and imperial guards are. There were so many times when I would do something that there was no possible way to have been seen or discovered, and 5 seconds later, here runs the city guardsman to arrest me. Ugh, frustrating.
Other than that though, the game is just... so amazing, in so many ways. I really, REALLY hope that they have a true expantion in the works, and not too far distant in the future.

Other than that... not much goin' on. Trying to write more. Also trying to compile a list of great evil laughers. (List includes but is not restricted to: Mojo Jojo; Murray, the evil, demonic skull; and Dr. Evil.)

Las hermanas son muy molestosas.

2006-07-02T16:02:00.000-08:00

Again, a relatively uneventful week. My niece had a birthday, she's now seven years old. This is my OTHER niece. The one that doesn't want to take over the world. (Why she doesn't I'll never really understand.) I went and saw "Akeelah and the Bee." It was a really, really good movie. Good messages, funny and it broke basically every Hollywood convention. There were at least 3 places in the movie where I was thinking to myself: "Okay, this is going to happen, because it's what always happens in Hollywood movies." And, to the movie's credit, it did something else. Go watch it. It's worth it.

4th of July is this week. The holiday to celebrate why the U.S.A. is better than everyone else. LOL! Seriously though, it's a great chance to celebrate a great country. Sure, it's not perfect, but despite all of its flaws, it really is one of the best, (if not the best,) countries out there. Plus, I get part of the day off of work! It's hard to beat that.

My birthday is Saturday. I'll be 24.

...
...
...

Dang. Being 24 and unmarried is practically a sin in my church. I mean, it's NOT a sin, but there are waaaaay too many freaks out there who treat it that way. My sisters aren't among that crowd, but that's not a blessing since they have some sort of need to see me married anyway, and they WON'T. FREEKING. LEAVE. ME. ALONE. If the conversation gets even anywhere near dating or relationships at all, they start getting on my case and try to get me to let them set me up with complete strangers. (Urge to kill, rising.) I just want to yell at them: "Listen, it's not that I don't want to get married... I do. But I want to do it on my own fraking time. And that includes actually knowing someone, and not just marrying them because my sister wants me to."
Ugh.
*frustrated sigh*

Anyway. I should stop ranting in case one of my sisters is reading. So... that's the reason I try and avoid such conversations with my sisters.

On a happier note... ummm... uhhh... hmmm... Yeah. I reached level 20 on my main character for City of Heroes. I also beat Oblivion. Oh, yeah. I need to talk about how freeking awesome Oblivion is. I'll do it this coming week.

El último día de la semana.

2006-06-25T17:40:00.000-08:00

Well, I almost missed this weeks post. Mostly because not much is happening. Yes, I know that we Americans consider Saturday to be the last day of the week, but in Spain, Sunday is considered the last day of the week. So by Spanish standards, I'm still on time. HAH! In your faces!

Let's see... what DID happen this week?

I got discs 3 and 4 of Fullmetal Alchemist from Amazon.com. (*does happy dance*) And I also broke down and bought City of Villians and three months of playtime. (Which equals 4 months, including the free month that comes with the game.) Now, I must explain: I NEVER intended to buy ANY MMORPG, ever. But I started getting all of these 10 day/2-week free trials. It started with WoW. Yes, THAT WoW. I figured, I got two weeks, and it's the biggest thing there is out there. I'm a gamer, so I might as well try it out. I did, found it somewhat addictive, but was able to put it down after two weeks. Next was City of Heroes. I found it rather fun and somewhat addictive as well, but was, again, able toput it down. I tried out a few others, but none were able to keep my attention like those two.
Then came the City of Villians free trial. Ooooh, playing THAT was a mistake. Since CoH and CoV have the same subscription, when I played the free trial for CoV I was also able to continue my CoH trial. I was reminded of how fun CoH was, and loved CoV just as much. Only, this time, I liked it even more. I can't explain it, but it's like that extra 10 days just clenched it for me. I was able to put it down, but I didn't want to leave it down. So I broke down, and bought an online code for CoV, allowing me to play both games.

Such is the fall of a man who swore never to pay for playing an MMO. CURSE YOU FREE TRIALS! CUUUUURSE YOUUUUUUU!!! They sucked me in, and took my money, and made me glad of it. The moral of the story is: Free trials are EVIL!

Torta de Queso

2006-06-18T00:51:00.000-08:00

My mom made the most delicious cheesecake I have ever eaten in my life yesterday. I'm not even joking. It's was a-freeking-delicious. Not just normal delicious: "a-FREEKING-delicious."

That's all. Nothing else happened this week but a lot of work. But MAN, that was a good cheesecake.

Medianoche

2006-06-10T00:20:00.000-08:00

I'm writing this at about 12:20 (give or take a few minutes) because I know if I don't write something, right now, before gong to bed, i'll skip this week. I don't want to do that, so please excuse my rambling in advance. (Although, technically you're here for the rambling. Or you're visiting for the first time. Either way you really don't need to excuse anything, since that's how I'm trying to write. So I guess I should say "excuse the even worse rambling.")

Anyway. Work continues. We took on ANOTHER lawn contract for the summer, after we're already over-full. Ugh. And come this next Wednesday we're starting a 10k square-foot sod installation. Oof! It's going to be good money, but boy will it be hard work. Don't get me wrong; I'm not complaining... Much... I really need the workout and we need jobs like this to actually make money during the summer. Plus, since it's a family business, the more money that the family makes = the more money I get for college. I've very roughly figured out that if we can earn enough for me to earn 6 grand this summer I can get by another year without resorting to student loans. *crosses fingers* But, in order for us to make that much money, we need huge sod jobs like this one we've got next week. Hence, I may sound like I'm complaining, but I'm really not. I just like to complain. Like, well, pretty much everyone else in the world.

Hehe... I'm such a cynic. I really shouldn't be, but... well... I dunno. I don't even have so much as a lame excuse as to why I don't stop being a cynic. (Maybe it's because I'm more of a realist than a cynic, but also being an optimist, I simply don't want to admit it.) Who knows?

Genios Malvados

2006-06-01T16:51:00.000-08:00

I'm teaching my 7 year old niece how to be an evil genious. I've made her my "lieutenant" for taking over the world. I guess you could say that she's my protégé. She has quite a good evil laugh and has even come up with her own plan for taking over the world. (It was one of the first assignments I gave her after deciding to teach her the ways of James-Bond-like bad guys.) I want to share this plan with all of you, because I'm just so proud of her. (I've corrected the spelling, and some of the grammar, for ease of reading.)

"Make miniature robots and program them to take over the world. Make them to be on our side and make all of them be evil robot bunnies. Then the other people would think they're harmless and we will rule the world. Then we laugh evilly, get a palace, and laugh evilly again."

*sniff, sniff* I'm just so proud of her. She's only seven years old, and she's already come up with a good, solid, even complicated, plan to take over the world. And it was completely made up by her. So don't even think about stealing it, or I'll find you. I'm a much more experienced evil genious, and I have the experience to make you pay.

All joking aside, I really am quite surprised at how well she's progressing. I'll make a nerd out of my niece yet. She'd make a great nerd, but my sister, her mother, was one of the "popular" girls in high school. ("Popular." Now there's a word I could go on for ages about it's literal non-existance and the negative effect it has on society.) I don't think she ever came to grips with the fact that her brothers were such complete and unashamed nerds, and I doubt that she'd like her daughter becoming one either. But I'm patient, I have time. All it takes is time and knowing what hooks to use.

MAWUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!!!

Samurai Jack, temporada 3.

2006-05-24T18:02:00.000-08:00

(Insert evil laughter here.) On Monday I got the third season of Samurai Jack on DVD. I think I can sum up my feelings in a single word: "Sweet!"

The first two seasons were amazing, and the third lives up to the reputation. I still havn't managed to watch the whole thing yet, (work keeps me too busy,) but what I have seen is just amazing. I can't wait to watch the rest.

I also got "Guapa" the fourth album by La Oreja de Van Gogh, a Spanish pop group. (Spanish as in "from Spain" and not just "Spanish language.") They're an amazing group. I personally think that overall their third album is a little better than this new one. That's not to say that it's not good. Far from it. This is an amazing album, I love it and am listening to it even as I write this post. I just happen to love the thrid album more.

Jardinería

2006-05-16T22:47:00.000-08:00

So, I've been back home for a few weeks now. It's been nice being here where the weather acts the way it's supposed to. None of this oppressive heat business. The one thing that gets to me is the extreme lack of girls. I honestly didn't think it would be that big of a problem. It's not like my love life ever had too much of a pulse. But I got up here and practically started going through withdrawal. I can only figure that either 1. Even though I didn't date much at college, it was still nice to have the option; or 2. They're just nice to look at. NOT IN THAT WAY! Get your mind out of the gutter! Girls are just a lot prettier and nicer to look at than guys. It's true. I could have equally pleasurable conversations with either gender, but would much rather choose a girl, because frak man... she's a lot easier on the eyes.

Alaska's pretty famous for having poor odds for the bachelor. It's roughly 2 single, adult men to every single, adult woman. We Alaskans even have a joke about it. "When dating in Alaska, the odds are good. But the goods are odd." Heh. You'd have to be an Alaskan to get all of the intricacies of that joke, but it's pretty much one of those "it's funny because it's true" jokes. So, yeah, the lack of eligible ladies is lamentable, but I comfort myself with the knowledge that I will return to the land of plenty within a few months. A few looooooong months.

The lack of women is compounded with the fact that roughly 99% of my friends from my pre-college days have gone elsewhere. That also stinks up a pueblo.

We (my family) have been starting up with our landscaping business. A few sod jobs, some mowing, some fertilizing, but mostly just making sure everything still works and fixing what doesn't. That'll change soon.

My brother is coming up with his family from Texas to help out for the summer. I'm looking foreword to it. He's got some real cute kids and a real cool wife. With them here, and my few remaining friends, the summer shouldn't be too bad.

Well... I'll try and be less lazy in the future. But with working gearing up, I might just be too tired in the future to post anything. I guess only time will tell. Meh. See ya later.

P.S. Let's make a bet: We'll see if I can't at the very least review something by next week before Thursday. Just to get into the habit of posting each week.

If I fail, you all can choose some form of reasonable penitence. Deal?

Camino a casa

2006-04-28T00:29:00.000-08:00

Well, I checked out of my apartment yesterday and got on a plane. I'm now (midnight, local time) in Anchorage, waiting for my 4:20a.m. flight home.

I need some real sleep.

Which reminds me... why is it that when you sleep while traveling, it's never as good as sleeping while on a stationary object? Just one of those mysteries, I guess.

suspiro profundo

2006-04-25T21:32:00.000-08:00

Well, I've finally got all of my finals done. Now I've just a single day to pack up, clean the apartment, and sell some plasma before going home on Thursday.

ugh.

Wish me luck.

Finales, invierno, 2006

2006-04-23T09:27:00.001-08:00

Well, I've got three finals done. One more to do, and one more to finish. My Spanish final is on Blackboard, so we can save it and return to finish it later. It's also open-book. So, I'm not too worried about that. But my Elang final I am pretty worried about. I've never been very good about remembering terms, and my Elang class has more terms in it that I have to remember than any other class I've ever had. Plus, it doesn't start until tuesday evening, so I've got all that day to ruminate about the thing.

I saw the Benchwarmers last week. It was pretty funny. Not as funny as i would have hoped, but it was worth the 5 bucks I paid. I was pretty surprised, because it was like a tame Adam Sandler movie. In other words, it didn't have any crude sexual jokes, and the body humor (farts, poop, etc.) was at a fairly low level. But it had the same entirely random stuff happening and the same complete disdain for political correctness. The actors were pretty good, but Jon Heder, though he also did a good job, basically re-played the roll of Napoleon Dynamite. It was an appropriate roll for the movie, but I'm certain that he can play other types of rolls.
I kinda snuck in a conversation on campus about this. They were comparing it to Chris Farley. He was a great actor, but once he got into movies, he basically re-played the same roll in different situations, and his movies did kinda suffer for it. I'd hate to see that happen to Jon Heder before his career really starts.

Se me olvidó deciros

2006-04-17T18:54:00.000-08:00

Oh, yeah... I forgot to tell you... I made a slight change to my top 10 favorite movie list. You can scroll down and check it out if you want to.

El intentar.

2006-04-15T19:50:00.000-08:00

Sorry... Finals and all that are messing with my free time. Well, that and the fact that I'm pretty pathetic and spend a lot of time doing nothing whatsoever when I should be doing homework.

It's times like this I'm reminded of a Simpsons quote. "Kids, you tried your hardest, and you failed miserably. The moral is: Never try." I had that written up last month on my apartment's whiteboard as the quote of the week.

It's funny how often The Simpsons is correct, even when it doesn't try to be.

Anyway... I'm sorry if I'm depressing you. This post here is more of just an outlet of my own self-frustration that I wont ever actually say to another person, face-to-face.

The internet's weird like that. You'll write out to a billion strangers stuff you would never say to their face.

Aún estoy vivo.

2006-03-23T09:40:00.000-09:00

Sorry, I've been super busy with school and the like. I will get around to updating soon.

(I hope.)

La Pantera Rosa

2006-02-24T18:59:00.000-09:00

So, I saw the Pink Panther on Monday of last week. All-in-all, a good film. Even better company.

I wasn't exactly sure what to expect from the movie, I mean, it's got quite the pedegree to live up to, ya know? But also, as I was asking Brittany afterwards: did I really want to see an exact clone of the original movies? Not only would that be an almost impossible task to do, I just don't know if I would want them to succede at it, the originals being such classics. If anyone could reproduce a classic like the P.P. movies at will, what would be the point of them being classics in the first place?

I was happy that Steve Martin played the part of Clouseau. I felt that if there was only one guy who could pull of this movie, it was him. I hasn't too happy about Beyonce, since she was obviously only added for sex appeal (and I personally don't find not wearing clothes to be all that "sexy," not to mention the fact that she's not nearly as pretty as everyone seems to think she is. Oh well, to quote/paraphrase Ringworld "the minority is always insane.") And there were two scenes which I felt were waaay too suggestive for a PG-rated movie. The originals were never that suggestive. They had a couple suggestive parts, but not THAT suggestive.

Anyway... moving on...

I wanted to review the movie in a context that didn't pit it against the originals, and I finally realized that that would be impossible, so I will try and be as unbiased as I can be, but I will, of necessity, have to compare it to the originals.

The movie runs at a much faster, (more modern,) pace. Sometimes that was just fine, but at others it made the movie feel too rushed. Not so much that it was a major distraction, but it was a distraction. They also threw in a lot more action, ("a lot" being relative, considering that the originals contained zero to none... discounting the Cato fight scenes, which were arguably the best parts of the original movies,) which was a mixed blessing.

I was sorry to see that Cato was not included in the movie, but he wasn't in the opriginals either until the third movie. (I think it was the third movie, at least.) I was also kinda surprized that Clouseau's assistant wasn't Hercule. Not that he was in very many of the originals, but you'd think that they'd go for whatever ties they could get.

The opening credits were nice... I guess. They had a few good moments, but, really, they needed a lot more work. They seemed choppy. The originals were always fluid and almost told a story by themselves. This new opening was just a bunch of random scenes.

But my biggest beef with this re-make is the fact that Clouseau actually solved the mystery all by himself. In the originals, one of the parts that made the Pink Panther movies what they were was the fact that it was this entirely imcompetent detective (after the first movie, at least,) who manages to solve the mystery in spite of his detective skills. It's as though his poor detective skills which always led him in the wrong direction managed to, paradoxically, be exactly what he needed to solve the case. But in this new one, even though he was mostly incompetent, he was still able to use his brain and real detective skills to solve the case on his own. That's not how it is. I may or may not have wanted a clone of the originals, but if there is one thing they shouldn't have changed, it was that.

That being said, I must repeat that I did enjoy the movie. It was consistantly funny, as is to be expected of Steve Martin. (Steve Martin did an excellent job.) There were more than a few parts that had me laughing hard enough to miss hearing a few lines and even the "groaner" jokes weren't all that bad.
The movie did, more or less, what I expected of it: It made me laugh. Was it a good movie? Yes. Is it a true or a worthy successor to the originals? Well... That's quite a different question. I would say... somewhat. I don't think that it's nearly as good as the originals, but, having said that, I do think that it could stand amongst the originals with it's head held up high. (After all, it was a lot better than "Son of the Pink Panther." Make of that what you will.)

Me duele la cabeza.

2006-02-10T23:07:00.000-09:00

Well, at least my head was hurting. I took a long nap, and now I can't sleep. So, I'll do something I've kinda been meaning to do for a while: Put up my top 10 favorite movies!

Now, I have a lot of favorite movies, but this really took some thinking on my part, and I also had to move some around, becuase I've always said that X movie is in Xth place, but I decided that I had to be sincere with myself and give movies their rightful ranking, and nostolgia couldn't count as a major factor. A minor factor, yes, but not a major one. Also, since I'm compiling this list from memory and I can't remember every movie I've ever seen, I reserve the right to change this list without notice. So, without further adieu...

10. It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
This is one of the greatest comedies of all time. It isn't so much of a belly "ha ha" laugh, but it is very consistent in it's pacing. It has various different types of humor, a classic all-star cast, and lots of interesting cameos. Again, I have to mention the pacing. It starts off ever so slowly and keeps picking up speed, all the way to the climax, yet never feels rushed. And when it finally slows down at the end, it doesn't feel like it was artificiallly brought to a stop. I personally am not gifted enough to fully expound upon the genious of this movie.

9. The collected works of the Marx Brothers.
Okay, so these aren't a single movie, but you have to admit that the Marx Brothers are easily one of the greatest, (if not the greatest,) comedy teams of all history. They've got puns, they've got wacky situations, they've got insult humor, they've even got musical interludes, for crying out loud! How can you not like them?

8. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
If you've seen this movie, you know why it's here. I you havn't seen it (shame on you!) I can't explain it to you, because if I did, I would end up quoting half of the movie.

7. Gattaca
I'm not really sure what to say about this movie. I really like this movie, but I can't quite put my finger on why. I mean, it has one of the most beautiful soundtracks I've ever heard; great acting; great directing; great emotional impact; and lots more. But... I dunno. There are other movies with the same, but I'm not sure why Gattaca stands out so much to me. It just does.

6. Life is Beautiful
So is this movie. It's another great movie that has it all: Comedy, drama, romance and a bitter-sweet ending. Not to mention beautiful music.

5. Casablanca
What can I say? This is a true classic. And I think I've said it before in this blog, I'm normally the kind of guy who is rather wary of movies and books that get called "classics." But this movie is VERY deserving of the title. It's got humor, suspense, action, romance, and more. And it wraps it all in a great story that's told very well. After I finally saw it, I no longer wondered why people thought it was so great. I wondered why the heck it took me so long to get around to watching it.

4. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Beautiful film. Just beautiful. Great fighting that isn't gratuitous; wonderful acting; beautiful music... It's just hard to praise this movie enough.

3. The Fugitive
For me, one of the most important aspects of a great movie is the ability to watch it again without being bored the second time. "The Fugitive" easily takes number three on my list because no matter how many times I watch this movie, it's just as good as the first time. I have never tired of this movie. When I first saw the sequel, "U.S. Marshals" I actually thought it was a better movie. The I watched it again and was bored. By that time I had already seen "The Fugitive" at least ten times and was still loving it each time. I could go on for all the reasons why, but for me, the fact that I don't get tired of the movie says it all.

2. The Incredibles
Let me say this right now: Brad Bird is a freeking genious. When I first saw "The Incredibles" and the credits started rolling, I wanted to shout, it was so good. I settled for clapping my hands for longer than anyone else, but I really wanted to shout: "THAT WAS FREEKIN' AWESOME! WOOOOO!" (Or something to that effect, at least.) Even more than Casablanca this movie had it all: Non-gratuitous fight scenes; humor; family values; suspense; emotional impact; twists and surprises; flawless voice acting; beautiful animation; great charicature... the list could go on and seem endless. Like I said with "Crouching Tiger": It's just plain hard, if not impossible, to praise this movie enough.

1. UHF
Greatest freeking movie in all of existance.
Okay, I'll be honest: This movie beats out "The Incredibles" because of the nostolgia factor. I mean: It's by "Wierd Al" for cryin' out loud. I mean, it really is the funniest movie ever made, but on it's own that's not enough to put it at number 1. For that you need the fact that this is "Wierd Al's" movie.

Well, there you go. Feel free to post (intelligent) comments as to what you think.

Que soy muy flojo, ¿Vale?

2006-02-06T15:17:00.000-09:00

Unfortunately, I don't really have a whole lot to write about. Life, The Universe and Everything, a speculative fiction-based symposium is coming up in a few weeks. I am the head of the games track, so it's getting a little bit hectic for me. Heh, it not nearly as bad as it could be though. Games track is actually apretty small job comparitively. Oh well.

Let's see, what's new? What's new? I'm finally getting caught up with my classes. I was taking 17 credits but that was just too much, so I dropped a class and am only taking 14 right now. I should have been caught up by now, but I'm very lazy. *sigh* Oh well, recognizing you've got a problem is the first step to recovery, no?

I've been finding in the past few months that I am a far more cynical and critical person than I ever thought I was. I'm not usually mean to people's faces, but I find myself making cynical remarks inside my head all the time. I mean, MAN... if people could read my mind, I doubt anyone would even want to know me, even if none of my remarks were ever directed at them specifically. I think that this is a recent development though. I hope so. I mean, I can't remember being so critical before, (not of other people at least,) but it could just be that I was so critical, but I'm only now just realizing it. Sure, some people need critisizm, but it should be constructive critisizm, otherwise it's just being a jerk, and I don't want to be a jerk. I know far too many of them and don't want to be associated with them.

I've always been more or less into anime. Not a ton, but I've never been adverse to it, and have seen some of the more popular stuff and the occasional obscure, late-night/budget VHS anime movie. I also had some knowledge of some of the more well-known stuff. But compared to most anime-geeks, I was essencially anime-illiterate. Since I've come here at college and joined Quark (the local campus nerd club) it's like having been on an accelerated course. I've even started buying some manga. I'm finding that it's actually a pretty good medium for storytelling. I am always surprised at how far ahead of America Japan is in so many categories. Japanese anime is just way ahead of most (read: not all) American animation, and some of the manga I've read just plain does a far better job at telling stories than most U.S. comic books. There are exceptions, of course, and not all manga/anime is good. Some of it is downright awful. Remember, I'm talking in generalities here.
I'm not really sure where I'm going with this. Oh well... Anyway... Yeah, them Japanese is good storytellers when it comes to visual mediums. I know that anime and manga are really just niche markets still, but they are getting more mainstream, and if America wants to compete in the cartoon/animation storytelling business, we need more studios like Pixar and Kanbar (who just did a great job with Hoodwinked, I'm looking foreward to their next project); more animaters like Craig McCraken and Genndy Tartakovsky (Powerpuff Girls, Samurai Jack, and more); and more comic books like, well... Okay, so there's plenty of good comic books out there, but there's a lot more that's just either just dumb or pure garbage.
But these people and series tell stories and tell them well. They don't just have stories, which is a different thing. I mean, most of the stuff out there is fine enough. They have stories. But anymore it seems that no one pays attention to them unless you get really outlandish story arcs and every single one is a matter of saving the world. Which is okay, if done well, but it's becoming increasingly hard to do that since rescuing the world has become so cliché. I mean, we're up against stuff like Escaflowne, Cowboy Bebop and Fullmetal Alchemist. Not to mention just about anything by Studio Ghibli. Most of these aren't about saving the world. They're about people. They tell the stories of these people in an amazing and captivating way. To me, THAT is what books and movies (be it animated or live-action, printed word or sequential art) is all about: Telling a story in a way that people care about it.
Maybe it's just because I'm an idealist, but we really need to wake up as a society and start caring about the story we are trying to tell. Explosions and fight scenes are all well and good, but if they don't help the story out any, they're useless and have no purpose.
It's like with video games. Sure it's nice to have a graphics engine that so pretty no one will be able to even appreciate the fact until more powerful hardware comes out next year. But if the game is no good, what's the point? They made games back in the day with pixels for graphics that are still better than 90% of the games released today. There are games out there today, Like Urban Dead, which essentially have no graphics but are still more fun and addictive than junk like WoW. (Which I admit is addictive, but not very fun.)
Yet there are still morons out there who wont even look at a game unless it's graphics are top-notch. They award "fun points" based on the amount of heavy ordinance weapons you can hold, rather than level-design and mental challenge. Point in case: Oni. A great, if not perfect game by Bungie. Fun as heck. I was talking about it to some kids I used to baby-sit when they were younger. They wouldn't even consider playing it because "you can only carry one weapon at a time."
Well... DUH! That's part of the genious of the game: It forces you to choose your weapons wisely. Do you go with a plasma that has more ammo but does less damage, or a sniper rifle with only two shots? Do you trust your skill at hand-to-hand, or do you want to soften them up a bit before engaging? That game was the PERFECT blend of a shooter and a fighting game (No game I know of has ever come even close to doing as good a job as Oni did), but they didn't want to try it out since you could only carry one weapon at a time, [sarcasm]and how many weapons you can carry is OBVIOUSLY an indicator of how fun a game is.[/sarcasm]

Anyway... I've got homework to do. If I let myself, I'd be at this rant all day. Maybe I'll go on a bit more later.

Ci vediamo.

¡Guau!

2006-01-24T12:52:00.000-09:00

Someone actually reads my blog enough to bother me about updating! This is one of the better days of my life!
Okay... Well, I know I've been neglegent. It's just I've been rather down-ish. I'm taking a 17 credit load, which is a lot; the LTUE symposium (www.ltue.org) is in less than a month, so that adds a freeking TON to my load; and the past few weeks just have not been my best, you know. Like being hammered to death with nerf bats. And not even the solid ones! The floppy ones that really can't do much of anything at all. Just one or two swings isn't anything much, but 50 zillion kinda get to ya.
*sigh*
What else?

So, I went and saw Hoodwinked. It was surprisingly good. I was expecting a halfway funny kids movie, and got a really funny family movie instead. (I am actually finding that most kids movies have only a few elements to them that if removed or slightly altered, and I do mean slightly, would make the movie much more accessible to more mature audiences.) The movie was a little predictable, and the animation is quite outdated, but niether of those actually detracted from the movie itself. The movie had good jokes, not too many horrible puns, and one of the more entertaining villains I've seen in a move for quite a while. (paraphrased examples): "And Kieth... Change your name, or something... I mean, it's just not scary. Try 'Boris,' or something..." "(sarcastically) Ooh! My name is KIETH!"

I think that's all for now. I can't make any promises about when the next update will be, other than my usual: "I will try for weekly."

Hay que ver.

2006-01-02T11:12:00.000-09:00

Well... To be honest, I just havn't felt like writing anything. That's why I was silent for so long. Christmas was okay, I got KOTOR, some CD's and some candy. All-in-all, a good haul. For new years, I had some guys from Quark, (the sci-fi club on campus) come over for the Cartoon Network Naruto marathon. It was cool. I broke a window in my apartment last night. It was uncool.
I didn't meant to, but I was kicking off my sandals and I guess I kicked one off a bit too hard. Oh well, I guess you havn't really lived the college experience if you havn't broken something in your apartment.
I'm still a bit out of it, so I'll try and post something a bit more in-depth later. I just wanted to let you all know that I'm still alive. No tengais miedo.

Se acabaron

2005-12-14T07:12:00.000-09:00

Well, finals are over for me now. Mawuahahahaha!

Let's see. I got Elantris read. And let me tell you, it was GREAT. And I don't say that just because I know the author. It really was a GREAT book. I'm not gonna lie and say it was the best book I've ever read. (Not including religious books that would be Fahrenheit 451.) But, honestly, it's been a long time since a book has reached out, grabbed my attention and forced me to read it like Elantris did. (It will soon be added to my favorite books list on my profile.) It's a fantasy novel. Not really the high fantasy of Tolkein, or even Jordan, but that really isn't a bad thing, it's breath of fresh air really. It's only got Humans and some intelligent balls of light, with magic being kinda funny: It's simultaneously everywhere yet used very little. And it's one of the few stories where I can say that the ending truely surprised me. It wasn't really one huge surprise, but there were quite a few smaller and middle-sized surprise twists. Each one isn't really enough to knock you off your feet, but they are enough to keep you off balance just long enough to be kept off balance by the next. I recommend this book in the strongest terms possible.

The Chronicles of Narnia. Oh... My... Gosh... This was a great movie. I wouldn't say that it was quite as good as I was expecting, but, (and I realize I'm contradicting myself here,) it was better than I thought it would be. It was VERY faithful to the books, and the main characters, even though they were teenagers and children, did a VERY good job. I was really surprised by the quality of the kid actors they got. I thought that Liam Neelson was a little monotone in the part of Aslan, but not so severely that it detracted from the movie. I've heard some complains about the White Witch, but I thought that she was portrayed quite well. I really liked the fact that she was such a butt-kicker with her swords. And speaking of fighting... The battles... WOW.
The CGI was great, and having the animal characters protrayed by animals (CGI animals, but animals nonetheless,) was a big step up from the old BBC version of "Huge, furry costumes with lots of make-up."
Perhaps the best part of the movie was how they stayed true to the Christian symbolism, especially that of the atonement of Christ, yet they didn't shove it in your face. I think they did a great job with that. It would have been too easy to have either suppressed it or to have overblown it, either of which would have offended a large group of people.
All-in-all, a great move, and I would be sorely dissapointed if it didn't at least recieve a nomination for movie of the year. It might not win it, but it at least deserves the nomination. If it doesn't get it, that will prove beyond a doubt the anti-religious bias of Hollywood.

Oops, I'm getting political again, aren't I? Sorry.

Anyway... I'm not sure when I'll post again. I'll try to at least once a week, but between job-hunting and a week-long vacation with my sisters to visit another sister of mine in Las Vegas, I don't know how much time I'll have.

Just in case: Merry Christmas! Also, Happy Hannukah! (I really hope I spelled that right.) And have a nice whatever non-Judeo-Christian holiday that you may celebrate.
(There, that should just about cover it all.)

Finales

2005-12-06T08:52:00.000-09:00

Finals are nigh.

That "special project" i've been going on about for so long is on possibly permanent hiatus. I'm really sorry. I give you permission to be very angry at me. All two of you who actually read this blog.

¡Ya tengo Internet!

2005-11-29T10:03:00.000-09:00

Hey. My internet's been back up for almost a week now. But with Thanksgiving and everything else, I havn't had much time for anything. Sorry. I will do my best to get my special project up in time. I'm not sure what to tell you until then.

Oh, wait.... Yes I do. Check out Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show. You won't regret it. It's a classic style sci-fi magazine, only it's done on the internet to cut down on costs, and the savings get passed onto us, the readers. It's got some great stories and columns, plus stuff by OSC himself as well as each issue will have a new story set in the universe of Ender's Game. How awesome is that?

Check it out. Be good. See you later.

Aun no tengo internet.

2005-11-19T18:38:00.000-09:00

My internet's still down. Sorry. It should be back up early next week.

'Cause if it's not...

Just in case you're wondering, I'm posting this from campus.

¡Ai! ¡Lo siento!

2005-11-15T19:13:00.000-09:00

My internet has been out for the past few days. Actually, it still is! So until it's back up and I can update from the comfort of my own tiny apartment, here's my current reading list:

Of Mice and Magic, by David Farland, the same guy who writes the Runelords series. It's meant for a more juvenile audience, and it shows. But it's a good read despite that. I'd suggest it to ages 9-15, and anyone else who's simply looking for a real quick read.

El Juego de Ender, por Orson Scott Card. Or, in other words, Ender's Game, in Spanish! I love it.

Mortalis, by R.A. Salvatore. It's my first time reading anything from the Demonwar saga. Having loved his Drizzt books, (I don't care if there are other characters, we all know that Drizzt is the only reason 99% of us read them,) I was a little surprised at how slow-paced the book is. It's still a great read. I would say it's better (perhaps far better) than any of his D&D stuff. It's just that the pacing is very slow and there is very little action.

Last of the Mohicans, by James Fenimore Cooper. A classic, to be sure. I myself am rather wary of the term "classic." (I personally find most "classics" to be rather boring, or just plain stupid. Very few live up to their name.) This is my first time reading the book, and to be honest, I'm reading it for a history assignment. I'm not very far into the book, but I find it to be written in a rather poetic style, and I like it. I'm not going to make any judgements just yet, but so far, so good.

I have a few books lined up for after these, the first and foremost being Elantris, by Brandon Sanderson, but I'll wait until Christmas break before I start any really heavy reading.

Estoy por terminar.

2005-11-09T13:10:00.000-09:00

Please don't worry. I've got all of my tests done, but I do have two papers due next Monday. After that, it should be pretty calm until finals come around. But I should get onto starting my big speacial Blog project for you all next week. Until then, please just be patient.Thank you.

¡Uff!

2005-11-01T18:25:00.000-09:00

I've got three tests, an oral exam and a quiz this week, followed by another test next week, and a big history paper due in two weeks.

Ugh.

It's not too fun. But hey. I already have the oral exam and one test out of the way, so there's that off my chest, but I've still got quite a bit left. Anyway, In the next week or two I should have something special up. Until then though, just know that I am (usually) studying pretty hard.

Ha vuelto mi musa.

2005-10-20T10:04:00.000-08:00

Well, I've started writing again, after, like 4 months of nothing. I'm not talking about this blog, but rather my own personal writings. Yes, I suppose I am what one could call an "amatuer sci-fi/fantasy writer." Only I've never published anything and have no following. So maybe "poser" would be a more appropirate term.
Meh. I don't care. I just enjoy creating worlds and characters, and then writing about them. Some people collect stamps. It's all a matter of perspective.
So, I got a 3-week trial of City of Heroes in my PCGamer last month. It's cool, [DELETED] and we'll leave it at that. Anyway, the game itself is kinda cooler, but WoW is better and more user-friendly. But, I do have to say, City of Heroes just has the better setting. I mean, become a super-hero. You can't beat that. Maybe being a super-villian in the upcoming City of Villians will be cooler, but still...

Serenidad y La Novia Cadáver

2005-10-09T20:33:00.000-08:00

Well, I saw Serenity last week and Corpse Bride yesterday. I'd have to say that even though I'm not used to shelling out 8 bucks for a movie, they were both well worth it.

If you saw the series Firefly, and haven't yet seen Serenity, shame on you. Repent now and go and watch it. It is a must. Because it continues the storyline, if nothing else. To be honest, I'm kinda disappointed, because the series was so well done, and so well set up with so many supporting characters and bad guys that it had the potential for a good two seasons, maybe three. But it seems that with the cancelling of the show, Joss figured: "Well, might as well wrap the story up for closures sake." I dunno. I mean, I can't really blame him, since it's unlikely that the show will ever get picked up again. Ah, well.

Corpse Bride really surprised me. I wasn't really sure to expect, since it had been forever since I'd seen The Nightmare Before Christmas, but it looked good and I'd heard good things. After watching it I felt that it was a great movie. The villain was a just a tad underdeveloped and a little too cliche, but other than that, everything was very well done and quite artistic. I found especially interesting the fact that the world of the living was rather monotone, while the land of the dead was much more colorful. And the ending, while considered bittersweet, I found rather... beautiful. I can't think of how else to describe it. Ambiguous, maybe, but still beautiful.

For now, there's not much that really catches my eye that I can't wait for the dollar theater, expect, of course, for the Chronicles of Narnia. I cannot freaking WAIT for that movie to come out.

Well, it's gettin' late and I got an early class tomorrow. We'll see if I can't get this blog up and running to a post a week! Later.

Dile al Sol...

2005-09-29T12:19:00.000-08:00

that it's too dang hot! Anyway... Not much happening. 16 credits is a bit more than I was expecting, and I'm having trouble keeping up. But for the most part I am keeping up. I'm in a couple clubs, which is cool. I'm loving my Spanish and Italian classes. And I like most of the rest. Geology is hard though. But hey...

So, I'm really looking forward to the Serenity movie coming out Friday. I just watched the series for the first time last week and it was awesome. It's one of those series' that never got the chance it desereved. Like Brimestone or Nowhere Man.

Speaking of which, NOWHERE MAN IS COMING OUT ON DVD!!!!!!!! I am so freaking psyked. It's not till December, but I figure, I've waited eight years to watch it again, I can wait a few months more.

I love UrbanDead. It's an awesome game. If you like zombies, check it out.

I was one of the questions on the Latest PCGamer podcast! That's awesome. Plus I'm glad to know that such hardcore gamers like the PCG editors aren't like most of the idiot gamers out there who are just like: "If it doesn't have killer graphics it's not worth my time." Man those idiots are morons. But hey, I guess the world needs idiots like them to make the rest of us feel smart. No?

que yo no digo nada. (Aquí)

2005-09-24T09:48:00.000-08:00

I don't talk politics on this site. But I've decided that that won't stop me from linking to other places that do. I do promise that this will be rare, though. Here is a column done by Orson Scott Card. One of the greatest Sci-Fi authors of our day, if not of the past century. It says a lot of the stuff I believe in a much more eloquent manner that I could ever do. It doesn't say everything that I think, but it covers a large portion in a small space. Check it out, and keep an open mind.

Todo está bien en Sión! ;)

2005-09-14T15:03:00.000-08:00

Well, everything has gone pretty good for me today. It started out kinda bad. I forgot to finish a take-home quiz for Spanish and though Italian was a great class today, I kinda made an idiot of myself without meaning to. But then it got pretty good. I got all of playing cards today, so I can lay some Magic/Battletech/Rage/Magi-Nation smackdown now. Then, I bought a new Orson Scot Card book called "First Meetings in Ender's Universe" about Ender and his parents. (I didn't even know it existed before. And it was a nice complement to the Spanish Ender's Game I bought 2 days ago,) and Then went to an Orson Scott Card book signing!!!! WOO HOO!!! He explained about the EG movie a bit. (Basically, it boils down to: "If we can agree on a script, it might be out in 2-5 years. If not, no movie. Oh, and he wants Queen Latifah in the movie. He said that in the script HE wants he wrote a part for her. No joke.)
Anyway, it hasn't happened yet, but in just a few hours I'll be going to a film forum to watch and discuss "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Winds." SWEET! I am happy. Could it get any better? ('cause I know it could get worse.)

La Universidad

2005-09-01T12:15:00.000-08:00

Well, here I am, at college. Been here for just over a week now. It's pretty good. Rather big. A lot bigger than what I'm used to, but I'm sure I'll get accustomed sooner or later. I like all of my clsses so far, but I had to spend almost $400 on text books!!!! Holy freeking crud, that's a LOT. But hey, there's so many cute girls here it's almost worth it. Now if I can just convince one to go out with a nerd like me... But, hey. One step at a time, no?

problema arreglado

2005-08-20T20:19:00.000-08:00

I fixed the problem about stretching out the games. but now the problem is that the games seem a bit pixelated. dang. if it aint one thing, it's another. ah, well. I hope I can fix that too.

Mi ordenador portátil

2005-08-07T19:33:00.000-08:00

Well, I just bought a new laptop computer. It wasn't cheap, but hey, when you get something like this and your as big a nerd as I am, the minimal requirements are much bigger. Of course it's no dream machine, but it'll do. It won't play Doom 3 with all options maxed out, but it'll handle most everything thrown at it, I believe.

It is a Compaq Presario X6000 with a P4 2.8 Ghz processor, 1 gig RAM, 40 gig HD, ATI Radeon 128 MB graphics accelerator with a DVD R/RW. And if you didn't know, the X6000 was a Widescreen monitor. Movies play like a freaking DREAM on this baby. Although, I find that my older games aren't made to play on a wide screen, and get streched out, making them kind of ugly. The newer games I've tried out don't seem to have the same problem. At least, if they do, it's not as serious. But I'm gonna check it out, see if I can't find a solution.

Lista de Lectura

2005-07-10T21:14:00.000-08:00

Right now I am reading: "Wedge's Gambit" a Star Wars book by Michael Stackpole; "Enchantment" an original book by Orson Scott Card, and "Wolf Pack" a Battletech book by Robert N. Charrette. Next in line is the "Hand of Thrawn Duology" by Timothy Zahn and the Novelization of "The Chonicles of Riddick" by Alan Dean Foster. So, it's nice... I'll be busy for a bit.

Cumpleaños Feliz

2005-07-08T16:20:00.000-08:00

Well, it's my birthday today. 23... wow... There is absolutely no special significance to that number. But hey. I personally don't see what the big deal is about aging, and why so many people are against it. It's natural... It happens whether you like it or not. So why fight it? Anyway...

I've been promising a review of Episode three, haven't I? Well, to be honest, I was rather disappointed. Amongst all the hype of "OMG IT'S THE BEST" I was expecting something more. I think that it had the potential of being the best of the prequels, especially with the Yoda/Palpatine and Obi-Wan/Anakin fight scenes. But they were far too short. (Before I go any father, I have to say that I LOVED the fight scenes, they were excellent. They saved the movie from being a total flop.) Palpatine had an amazing, snake-like, close-range fighting style that was rather interesting, it would have been cool to have seen more of it against Yoda's wall-climbing/lighting-fast attacks. Plus them throwing the senatorial seats at each other was pretty sweet. But the fight seemed truncated, and I felt like Yoda fled far too quickly. I mean, one moment, there they are: fighting, equally matched. And then, Yoda just disappears. I mean, sure, I guess it was to avoid having to fight Palpatine AND the incoming clones, but, still...

Then there was the Obi-Wan/Anakin fight. This really had the potential of being THE BEST fight sequence in the whole series, definitely it should have been the most emotional. But again, it seemed too short.

The rest of my complaints are the same as everyone else's: Cheesy dialogue, stiff acting, The "Frakenstien" scene where Darth Vader looks scrawnier than Urkel, Etc. and so on. I did like some of it. Like the fight scenes, and how Midi-Chlorians were mentioned. It was like Lucas was saying: "Take that! It my universe, and I don't care what you think." Which it is. I don't care if the M.C.s are a stupid idea. It's his universe, and he can do as he pleases.

Una Cosa muy Rapido

2005-06-28T21:05:00.000-08:00

Before I come out with my Episode 3 review, I just want to say that people who do things just so they can purposely p***-off poeple are asses and deserve to be beaten. This is true of everyone, but people who have large audiences and know that a lot of people will read and be offended, are assess three times over. They wouldn't like it if I came up to them and started talking about how their mother is a whore and services pigs. Expecially if said mother was dead. So why in the world do such people do similar to others?

The only conclusion I can come up with is that those people are asses.

ya volveré

2005-06-24T19:35:00.000-08:00

Okay, so i just wateched Revenge of the Sith. I'll be back in a few days with my thoughts on it. You may be surprised. Or not. It depends on what you're expecting.

¡A trabajar!

2005-06-05T23:07:00.000-08:00

Well... I've been very busy recently. The landscaping business never seems to slow down. Unless it's raining. Then it depends on how much of a slave-driver the boss is. And since this particular boss happens to be my dad...

To give you an idea of how busy we've been: last week alone we cut, moved and installed a little bit over 6,000 square feet of sod. The cutting is done by a machine, thank heavens. But the rest is all done by hand. Now, if you don't understand just how much 6,000 square feet is, let me tell you: it's a lot. It took us about three days, averaging 2,000 feet a day. And we still had all of our normal lawn mowing to do, as well as a few other seeding jobs and miscellaneous tasks.

This coming week we don't have much planned, so far. But it never stays that way. After we get all of the weekly contractual stuff done, there's still going to be: more sod, digging holes for trees, probably a seeding job, and another of the endless, 1-time mowings for people who haven't mowed their lawns in months for some, strange, inexplicable reason. And after that, 50% of those people complain about how expensive the mowing costs. (If you had wanted it done cheaply, you should have called us a months ago!) I don't say that, of course, but it's still annoying when they complain about how expensive it is. I mean, geez, why's you hire professionals if you couldn't afford them? Go get some neighborhood kid and offer him 20 bucks for the job. It's not like we hide the price from you. In fact, quite the opposite, we tell it you up front, before we do anything...

I'm sorry... I'm venting again, aren't I? Well... Let me change the subject, to lighten the mood up a bit.

Sooooooo... How 'bout them Brooklyn Dodgers? Heh... heh... *sigh*

Okay, seriously. I've not had any new computer games come through, so I can't say much in that direction. In fact, I'm going to be selling most of my gaming stuff. Within a month I hope to sell all of my Magic, Battletech and Wheel of Time CCG stuff, with the exception of a few decks for casual play, of course. I'll also be getting rid of all of my Warhammer and Warhammer 40k minis, my Pirates of the Spanish Main junk, and a few of my Computer games which I no longer desire. The problem with all of this is that apparently eBay has hiked its rates, so as to take even more money from the sellers. Which means for items which don't sell for very much, I'll be making even less profit than before. That's not very cool.

I haven't seen any new movies recently either, and Episode III doesn't show up here in my hometown until the 24th!!! Dang-freeking-crud! ¡Me cachi la mar!

Murphy's law of computers: As soon as an Alaskan gamer gets a broadband internet connection, he no longer has any computer games to play over the internet.

Well, at least now I have a cool camera for my computer.

La Guerra de las Galaxias

2005-05-18T13:20:00.000-08:00

Well, freek. With "Episode III" coming out, there's a buttload of doomsayers out there who are all like: (in a high pitched squeaky voice) "oh, it's gonna stink. It'll be as bad as Episodes I and II. Etc. and so on, blah blah blah... I'm a big sissy..." ad nasuem.

Anyway... I'm so mean to these people because they have no grip. You know what? I LIKED the first two episodes, and I'm really psyked about the 3rd. Yes, I love the original movies too. Maybe Episode I wasn't as good as the first three, but you have to admit, it was a freekin' great movie. Sure, Jar-Jar was annoying, but not THAT annoying. and Midi-Chlorians... Well, it IS George's universe, he can do whatever the frak he wants to with it. If you don't like it: TOUGH. I mean, for crying out loud, everyone sounded like little spoiled rich kids that only got 9 out of the 10 (very expensive) toys (that most children can never afford) for their birthday. Throwing a temper tantrum because they didn't get EXACTLY what they wanted. I mean, come on. He created the thing in the first place. If he want Midi-Chlorians, then so-freekin'-be it.

Anyway, since I live in Alaska, I'm probably not going to be able to see the movie for at least a month or so, unless we get REALLY lucky and get it 1st run. (highly unlikely.) So why are you guys even complaining. 99% of you will be able to see it before half the world anyway, whether you like the movie or not. So get over yourselves and just enjoy it.

¡LIBRE! ¡LIBRE!

2005-05-03T10:20:00.000-08:00

Well... I'm done with school for the semester. Now I just gotta wait for grades to come in and get ready for this fall. You see, I'd been attending school here in my home town at a branch of KPC, which is a branch of UAA. (University of Alaska) But this fall I'll be headed down to BYU in Utah. Great language programs there, which is what I'm shooting for. I'm still undecided on my exact major, but I do want to learn more languages. I think I'll start with Italian and, if I have the time, German too. (As you've hopefully been able to tell, I already speak Spanish.)

But now, instead of school, I've got work to do. My family has a landscaping business here in our little town. We do most everything, but the large bulk of our work is divided between sod and mowing lawns. It's not too bad. It's nice exercise, and you get to spend a lot of time outdoors. It's very healthy. I like it. I mean, it's not always fun, but it's money, and it's better than working the fish docks.

So I've also been getting back into Blood Bowl a lot. It is, without a doubt, my single favorite game, of any sort, type or especie. Bar none. Unfortunately, there aren't a whole lot of players in town anymore. Ever since The Arctic Dragon (the local hobby shop) went out of business a while back, the gaming scene's just kinda died. But it is possible to find a couple of players out there still, so we're startin' up a league! Woo Hoo!

¡Jolínes!

2005-04-17T14:16:00.000-08:00

Well, I havn't said anything in the past while because of school. The semester is winding down and so the work is piling up. I'm in the last two weeks though, so I should be able to post more often starting then. Until then you'll just have to deal with my absence. I'm sorry. If I have time, or something REALLy big happens I'll post. But if not, you'll just have to wait.

La nieve

2005-03-30T15:55:00.000-09:00

So, like 2 weeks ago it was spring up here in Alaska. Like, seriously spring. Almost no snow, nice sunny days and each day warmer than the previous. So then we get a week off for spring break. And then the snowing starts.

It wasn't very much to begin with, and it would almost completely melt by the end of the day, but three out of five days snowing does not make for a very spring-ey spring break.

As I write this, it's snowing worse than it has for about a month. The roads are icey for the first time in as long. It's in-freeking-sane!

Not to say that I don't like the snow... I do. It's just that, even though I know it happens almost every year, I'm one of those guys that figures that once it starts seeming like the next season, it should STAY the next season.

But, oh well. Garlic and water... Garlic and water...

Este tiene que ser el dia mas feliz de mi vida.

2005-03-27T16:56:00.000-09:00

I just got The Incredibles yesterday!!!!!!! It was almost a week late, but I'm so happy just to have my Widescreen special collectors edition DVD of The Incredibles, that I don't care. I'M SO HAPPY!!! The only problem is that I got it at the END of spring break, instead of the beginning, like I was planning, so, due to classes, I can't set aside a day for an 18-hour Incredibles marathon, like I was hoping to do. Oh, well.

Did I mention that I'm happy?

Solo para que yo sepa...

2005-03-18T16:04:00.000-09:00

I just wanna know if anyone actually reads this blog. I'm doubting it, but, hey, you neve know. So if you do, please write a comment to this post and let everyone know.

Thanks.

Vale... vale... ya estoy tranquilo.

2005-03-15T10:15:00.000-09:00

Sorry about that last outburst. I was having a VERY bad day that day. Anyway... I finally have a job... of sorts. I am selling stuff on eBay for consignment fees! It's cool. I get to make money by being lazy and staying on the internet all day. And no, I'm not just selling people's random junk, either. I am actually working for a now closed hobby store that had a ton of excess products that didn't sell before they closed. Also, the owner, (a close friend of mine,) is probably going to refer me to his sister who owns a toy store here in town that has a bunch of excess, unsold products that she wants to get rid of. So, I'll be set up for a while. If you're interested, my eBay id is "wolfkind". I'm not putting everything up at once, but you should expect new items every 5-7 days.

What else? I found this cool shareware company called swiderweb software. (www.spiderwebsoftare.com) (go fig.) I've been playing the demos. I must say, I wish I had the money to register the games, because they're pretty good RPGs.

Another tiny, unheard-of shareware company is Totally Screwed Software. (http://www.totallyscrewed.net/newsite/home.htm) I played their old "Zombie Smashers X" game a while back. it's was pretty fun. Real old-school type games. Worth checking out.

So, uh... until next time. Love you all! HEY! NOT IN THAT WAY!

¡CALLAROS YA!

2005-02-26T12:35:00.000-09:00

Sometimes I get really tired of trying to be the nice guy. I sometimes wonder: "What's the point of trying to be nice and play by the rules when NOBODY else does." Even in something as simple as a conversation. I mean, what's the point of trying to be neutral and impartial, when the person you're talking to is SO FRAKING CLOSE-MINDED?

I'm sorry. It's just that I got into a political disscusion yeseterday, really agaisnt my will. and the person I was talking to was saying dumb things like: "What news sources do you listen to?" Obviously implying that any news source that I listen to MUST be biased, while all of his sources of information diffuse the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, with no bias whatsoever. Yeah... fraking... right.

I mean, how do you even have a discussion with someone who will automatically dismiss any points you make, merely because they don't agree with his world view? It's like a wind tunnel, in one ear, and out the other. Sometimes I wish I could be just like them, blithely ignorant to the world around me and the possibilities that I might be wrong about some things in life.

I'm sorry to vent like this on you... but... UGH!!!! IT'S SO FRUSTRATING!

Aburrimiento

2005-02-25T16:09:00.000-09:00

My life is BORING! School, followed by homework, floowed by more school, followed by procrastination of homework, followed by job hunting, just to be ended with school and more homework.

UGH!

La muerte de una tormenta

2005-02-10T13:14:00.000-09:00

Well, I just read that Eidos just closed down Ion Storm. The people who brought us Anachronox and Thief 3 and Deus Ex are no more.

JOLINES, ¿QUE PODRAN ESTAR PENSANDO? LOS TONTOS, ¡LOS ODIO!

Sorry. Anyway, Eidos is one frak of a dumb studio. I don't mean that the people there are stupid, but that Eidos has a record for making lots of money from cr*p games like Tomb Raider. Then, they also sell games from like the thief and System Shock series that are works of art from 3rd party developers like Looking Glass Studios, and run them out of business. It's like: "What? You're jealous that you can't makes games that are as good as theirs, so you run them out of business?"

I freeking hate Eidos.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not against capitalism, I'm for it; but sometimes it really can get on my nerves, when stupid too-much-money CEO's line their pockets with the blood and sweat of others, while stifling actual innovation. But, hey, them's the brakes. And, to be fair... Without Eidos, we might never have gotten those great games in the first place, so I guess a few great games is better than none. No?

(And that's the most political you will ever see me get on this site. Don't expect very much of it.)

Bob Esponja

2005-02-04T20:01:00.000-09:00

Okay, i don't get it. Relly, I don't get "Spongebob Squarepants." It has got to be one of the DUMBEST cartoons I've ever seen. Don't get me wrong: I don't think that all cartoons are just for kids. (I'm not talking about The Simpsons, either.) I like "Scooby-Doo," I LOVE "The Tick," and "Gargoyles" was okay. (I think that it would have been a lot better, if it had been specifically made for an older audience.) And yes, I'm not ashamed to say it: I like "The Powerpuff Girls." It really isn't just for kids. Yes, it's wholesome, and that's part of why I like it, but apart from that, a lot of the jokes would just pass over the heads of most younger viewers. (Like the entire "Beat-Alls" episode.)

Anyway... I've seen a bunch of S.B. cartoons, and never even came close to cracking a smile. I was bored the whole time. Maybe it was because I went in expecting so much, after having heard its praises trumpeted on every street corner and from the housetops, and then it was like: *meh.*

Of course, more than a few staunch supporters of S.B. didn't think "The Tick" was funny, so at least with a portion of the S.B.-lovers it's a matter of stupidity. But I refuse to belive that ALL S.B. watchers are dumb. So what is it, exactly?

Corazones

2005-02-01T21:09:00.000-09:00

I HATE Microsoft's little "hearts" game. I swear the stupid thing cheats like nobody's business. [frustration] GRRRRRR. [/frustration]

Mas Allá de la Divinidad

2005-01-27T13:07:00.000-09:00

Well, I think I'm ready to review Beyond Divinity.

Okay, here's what ya got: A really, REALLY good story with some nice game mechanics and good character development wrapped up in only a decent presentation. Oh, the graphics are great, I love them, but... The voice acting. After three and a half acts, my ears are ready to bleed. The voice acting is just... SO BAD! Divine Divinity;s voice acting wasn't stellar, but it wasn't BAD. With the exception of the Dark Knight character, every single voice in the game is just excrement. I'm really sorry, but they must have run out of money when it came down to voicing the characters, because that's what it seems like.

Then, there are the battlefields. A good idea. A laudable idea, even. But what's good on paper isn't always good in practice. The BF's are just too repetitive and flat. Maybe if they were more than just the same 5 merchants giving useless quests, I wouldn't mind. But they have no life. One of the cool parts about the rest of the game is that it does seem alive. There are neutral creatures and the monsters are appropriate for the area that they're in. But in the BFs, you just show up and have to kill a bunch of random monsters. woop-de-doo.

Okay. Now that I've got that out of my system, I need to be a bit more diplomatic. (Why is it that the negatives are always stressed the loudest?) Anyway. Aside from the Battlefields and the voice acting, I rather like Beyond Divinity. It's long, so you don't have to worry about spending your money's worth, it's got a great story to it, and the skill system is so unique and flexible, I'm sure that it's got a lot of replayability. All-in-all, I do enjoy this game.

If you can find this game for $20 or less, I would defiantly suggest getting it. If it's more than that, I would say, consider it, but unless you really need something to play, and there's nothing better out there, then you should probably wait a bit.

¡Que Horror!

2005-01-18T13:35:00.000-09:00

Well. I should be studying right now, but I was falling asleep. So I figure I should take a break. Hopefully I won't waste as much time that way.

Anyway. I write fiction and movie scripts as a hobby. Sure, I would love to get them published, but I harbor no illusions that such will happen. I do it mostly because I enjoy doing it. Well, one script I'm writing, (a sequel to a movie some friends of mine and I made for our 2nd-year Spanish class,) is about 70% done. (Rough draft.) But It's not as funny as I was hoping. Of course, I also realize that half the humor is in how badly the movie is made. I was showing the original movie to a friend of mine the other day. (Trust me, this movie is BAD. On a level with Ed Wood. Which, of course, it why its so funny.) Anyway, we were talking a bit about bad movies and why they're so good, and I made the comment about how it seems that cheesy horror movies are making a comeback. Just look at "The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra." It's got a pretty good cult following. And my friend mentioned "Van Helsing." He said, in not so many words, that he loved that movie because it was the same thing: a cheesy horror movie. The only differences are that it had a huge budget, and they tried to make it look serious.
That got me to thinking. He's right. Look at how DUMB the script was. Look at the stupid over-acting. The inconsistencies, the poor dialogue, the emphasis on action that didn't really help the story. All of these are classic cheesy movie ingredients. So, before where I really didn't like "Van Helsing," now, I actually kind of do, because I now realize that it was just horror going back to the roots of the 50's and 60's, (like "The Thing That Wouldn't Die," and "Plan 9 From outer Space,") rather than the roots of the classic monster movies. (Like "Dracula," and "The Wolfman.")

para que sepáis

2005-01-11T13:11:00.000-09:00

Just in case you havn't noticed, I've added the feature of being able to post comments. Please, don't be stupid, and only post RELAVENT comments.
Thank you very much.

hay que aprender

2005-01-09T19:49:00.000-09:00

Well, the new semester starts tomorrow for me. Wish me luck. (Cruddangit I hate math.) Oh, well.
So, anyway, I figure that for the heck of it I'll do a "Current Reading List" of all the books I'm reading every now and then.

Right now I'm almost done with "The Ethos Effect" by L.E. Modesitt; I'm halfway done with "The Prince" by Machiavelli; I've started "The Screwtape Letters" By C.S. Lewis; and the next book I start will probably be "Dune: House Corinno" by Brain Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. Also, I'm reading the Federalist Papers for the first time, but I don't think that they can be properly called a "book."

El añonuevo y otras cosas

2005-01-03T16:56:00.000-09:00

Well, it's 2005. That's cool, I guess. Although, you may call me a whacked-out jerk, but I've never really seen what's so special about the new year. This year was the first time in six years I havn't been in bed by 10:00. People always put such a big emphasis on being able to put the old behind and starting over. That's nice, but... the way I see it, you should be doing that every day. Why is it that people only make resolutions at New Year's? If it was really that important to you, why don't you resolve to do it the minute you think of it? That's why I personally never make New Year's resolutions. I figure that if it's something I really should do, I set the goal right then. (If I actually get it done is something else, but at least I don't procrastinate my procrastination.)

Feliz Navidad

2004-12-25T19:14:00.000-09:00

Happy holidays! Be what that may be to your religious preference (or lack therof). For my part, it's a Merry Christmas. (And for the most part it was. mmmmmmm... The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra on DVD *gurgles*)
Whatever it is for you, may it be a good one.

Divinidad Divina

2004-12-19T14:09:00.000-09:00

So, I've been playing a lot of Divine Divinity recently. Far too much, really. It's a pretty good RPG. Diablo-style, but with actual fun. Don't get me wrong, I found Diablo II very addictive. But addictive is not indicative of fun. To be honest, I played a ton of Diablo II but was bored stiff the whole time. Yet I couldn't stop playing. It was weird. But Divine divinity I actually enjoyed. The only problem I have is that I want to play it through again with a different kind of character, but I'm afraid that it's not going to be any different. It's like the movie U.S. Marshals. Great movie. But only the first time. Well, I'd better move on to Beyond Divinity, see if it's as good. I've heard that it isn't, but I'll just have to see for myself.

Exámenes

2004-12-12T14:31:00.000-09:00

Well, it's finals week for me. [false excitement] wooooo... [/false excitement]

Fun... Right... Oh well. I'm actually looking forward to my history final. Not so much my Biology final. My English take-home final is almost done, and I should do okay-ish on math. All I have to do is not even touch a computer for the next 6 days and I'm set!
Pray I don't go through withdrawal.

Feliz Día de Acción de Gracías

2004-11-25T11:52:00.000-09:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

Los Increíble

2004-11-24T16:10:00.000-09:00

Well, I saw The Incredibles for the second time in two days last night. I can honestly say that it is one of the greatest movies I have ever seen in my life. A very potential contender for a spot in my top 5 favorite movies. (At the very least, it's on the top 10.)
As I was watching the second time, I was trying to figure out why I liked it so much. It had Super-heroes, okay, but that by itself isn't much. It was funny. Funnier than the other Pixar movies. (And that is saying something.) But it wasn't the funniest movie I've ever seen. About 20 minutes into the movie, it hit me: It was so realistic! Okay, super-powers and impossible technology aside, the script was about as close to life as you could get. The voice actors were convincing in their dialogue, and even the animation was realistic. (Point-in-case: when Mr. Incredible finds that the villains haven't discovered where his wife is, his sigh of relief and the way he fell back into the chair was EXACTLY how I would envision a man in his position to act. It was almost perfect.) I could go on, bring up instances like the argument between Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl, or when Frozone asks his wife for his super-suit, or the family dinner. The list goes on.
Of course, there were other reasons I liked the movie: The aforementioned Super-heroes; the fact that it is VERY funny; the action scenes are very well done; the music is great. . . To be perfectly honest, I have only one bad thing to say about this movie: I object to Edna's use of the Lord's name in vain. I didn't like that, and the movie didn't need it. (Although I will admit that it fits with the character.) Other than that, though. . . I have nothing bad to say The Incredibles. I'm gonna buy it the second it comes out on DVD.

tened paciencia

2004-11-15T14:36:00.000-09:00

Hey, i have a huge biology test this wednesday and can barely waste the time to write this. I will get around to writing something worthwhile. You'll all just have to wait a few more days. Sorry.

Por poco!

2004-11-09T10:25:00.000-09:00

*whew* Saved by the bell on that one. I almost made a huge mistake by writing a political blog here. But after I had had it all written, I decided that I didn't want any politics on this site, and erased it all. So, I'm sorry if you wanted political stuff, and I'll make it up to all zero of you and put up something worthwhile in the near future. Thanks for your patience.

Happy Happy, Joy Joy!

2004-10-31T20:55:00.000-09:00

It's SNOWING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okey doke

2004-10-19T21:35:00.000-08:00

Alright... Looks like everything's working right.
Sooo... Uh. I guess I should something of substance up.

Just to start: I'm not normally a very wordy kinda guy, but sometimes I just gotta say something. Doesn't matter if it's just been on my mind or something I've been wanting to shout out for weeks. When I need to say something, I'll put it up here. And without further adieu I present: My first blog!

Last Saturday I saw Napoleon Dynamite for the first time. It was AWESOME! First off, I've never seen such an accurate portrayal of high school. Only they managed to make it funny. The movie never really made me guffaw or laugh from the gut like Chris Farley would, but I almost never stopped laughing during the whole thing. It was great. I had seen Sky Captain just before that, which was a good movie, (but there were a few things that kept it from being a great movie,) but Napoleon Dynamite was far, far superior. It was the best movie I've seen in a long time. Plus it was proof that you can make a great movie without resorting to sex or violence, which managed to move the movie up a couple of notches on the cool scale. (Hard for something that had such a high rating to begin with.)

Do yourself a favor and watch it A.S.A.P. if you haven't already.

test... test... Does this work?

2004-10-19T17:54:00.000-08:00

Looks like.

Ramblings of a Rubber Mouse

La política

Beueeeeeno...

Una cosita

¡Adelante!

¡A escribir!

Hay que quitar las telarañas

Os pido disculpas.

El día de acción de gracias

Aburrimiento

No estoy confuso. ¿Porque?

Non ho niente di dire.

Asesinatos misteriosos

Beh.

Tarde, otra vez.

Soy bastante flojo. Para que sepáis.

Me siento mejor.

Estoy de mal humor

No os preocupéis

Otra vez, nada que contar

Nacido de Niebla

Mira eso

Piratas del Caribe 2

Lo siento

Tutti siamo bambini

todos somos niños

Nada que contar

Quiero una cabeza nueva

Oblivion

Las hermanas son muy molestosas.

El último día de la semana.

Torta de Queso

Medianoche

Genios Malvados

Samurai Jack, temporada 3.

Jardinerí­a

Camino a casa

*suspiro profundo*

Finales, invierno, 2006

Se me olvidó deciros

El intentar.

Aún estoy vivo.

La Pantera Rosa

Me duele la cabeza.

Que soy muy flojo, ¿Vale?

¡Guau!

Hay que ver.

Se acabaron

Finales

¡Ya tengo Internet!

Aun no tengo internet.

¡Ai! ¡Lo siento!

Estoy por terminar.

¡Uff!

Ha vuelto mi musa.

Serenidad y La Novia Cadáver

Dile al Sol...

que yo no digo nada. (Aquí)

Todo está bien en Sión! ;)

La Universidad

problema arreglado

Mi ordenador portátil

Lista de Lectura

Cumpleaños Feliz

Una Cosa muy Rapido

ya volveré

¡A trabajar!

La Guerra de las Galaxias

¡LIBRE! ¡LIBRE!

¡Jolínes!

La nieve

Este tiene que ser el dia mas feliz de mi vida.

Solo para que yo sepa...

Vale... vale... ya estoy tranquilo.

¡CALLAROS YA!

Aburrimiento

La muerte de una tormenta

Bob Esponja

Corazones

Mas Allá de la Divinidad

Jardinería

suspiro profundo