Of course, after the best comes the worst. None of these movies were true stinkers. No. Instead, they were just really bad. And the worst movies this year are...

1. Scooby-Doo - It didn't need to be made but it did and it doesn't even come close to the decent cartoon it's based on.
2. The Tuxedo - Whoever thought Jackie Chan and Jennifer Love Hewitt could have on-screen chemistry should be fired.
3. Jason X - Mindless killing. If that's your kind of movie, then maybe it's on the wrong list.
4. The Rules of Attraction - College kids on the brink of killing themselves. Just die already.
5. National Lampoon's Van Wilder - It all seemed out of place to me. Can you really stay in college for 8 years?
6. Solaris - Even at 2 hours, it felt like 20.
7. The Mothman Prophecies - Really...we're supposed to be scared of a moth?
8. Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams - Strays past the original and into bizarro land.
9. Full Frontal - It looks bad, the story's bad, the acting's bad, it's bad.
10. Eight Legged Freaks - It has Kari Wuhrer, but big spiders sadly do not mean a better movie.

I've seen an enormous amount of movies this year, 60 by my count. That's way too many but that's enough to make what every critic makes at the end of the year, a list of the best and worst of the year. It's just the combined rankings from the two lists from the summer and fall from the left sidebar and the few movies I saw in the beginning of the year.

1. The Pianist - Roman Polanski's new take on the Jewish holocaust is one of the best on the subject. Adrien Brody masterfully brings realism to the picture.
2. Minority Report - Cruise and Spielberg team up to make a great movie for sci-fi fans as well as the mainstream audience.
3. Chicago - Sets the bar high for the continuing revival of the musical started by Moulin Rouge.
4. Gangs of New York - Captures 1860s New York superbly with Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead role. Daniel Day-Lewis gives a masterful performance.
5. The Quiet American - Michael Caine and Brendan Fraser fight for the same girl in 1950s Vietnam.
6. About Schmidt - Jack Nicholson gives one of his finest performances ever. And the movie's pretty good too.
7. Punch-Drunk Love - Yes, that really is Adam Sandler toning down his slapstick comedy just a tad to let in some dramatic scenes.
8. Catch Me If You Can - Another DiCaprio flick with Tom Hanks this time. The chase and its inevitable end is entertaining and funny.
9. Y Tu Mama Tambien- Great coming-of-age story about two Mexican teenagers growing up by learning about themselves and an attractive woman.
10. Antwone Fisher- The power generated by poor Antwone can no longer be ignored in this true story directed by first-timer Denzel Washington.

Of the 60 movies I've seen, these are the top ten movies of the year through a composite ranking of 129 prominent critics (i.e. professionals, not a nobody like me) courtesy of moviecitynews.com

1. Y Tu Mama Tambien
2. About Schmidt
3. Adaptation
4. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
5. The Pianist
6. Chicago
7. Gangs of New York
8. The Hours
9. Punch-Drunk Love
10. Minority Report

Catch Me If You Can
Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks star in a highly enjoyable and fun chase movie involving bad checks, deceptions, and women along the way. DiCaprio plays Frank Abagnale, Jr., a high school kid whose just found out his parents were getting divorced after his mother was caught cheating on her husband, played by Christopher Walken, with the Rotary Club President. But Frank won't accept this new turn in life and instead runs away. After failed attempts to get some money, he notices how well-liked and adored pilots are and soon turns into one with a little research. Soon, he is living the high life, traveling around the country, and eventually the world, and making checks that are such good copies that the banks can't tell they're fake until it's too late. Hot on his trail is Carl Hanratty (Hanks) from the FBI. He always seems to be one step behind but like he says in the film, the house always wins and in the end, he does.

The movie is told in flashback mode, so you know right from the beginning that Frank is going to get caught. It's just a question of how and when. The ways he alludes the federal agents is just a riot to see, both in its ingenuity and the fact that a group of trained agents can't catch a high school aged boy. Though with a length of 140 minutes, some of it gets a little repetitive and storylines are cut one after another. It would have been nice to see what happened to some people in the film or events that occured, but the editing done by Steven Spielberg's team keeps things moving along at a lively pace, leaving us to enjoy the authentic-looking 60s world created by Spielberg and the events that kept Frank out of jail for 6 years. 3.5 stars

Christmas is almost upon us, which means I have to go finish buying presents. Luckily, this year, there's only one left so that's what I'm gonna do for the rest of the day. Too much food already after my birthday dinner, and now tonight's stuff, tomorrow, my dad's birthday at the end of the week and New Year's. I'll just have to get through it all. So merry christmas, happy new year and in general, happy holidays.

I leave you with something I found a long time ago, I think 1990, by now probably distributed by many. It's the math/physics point of view of the job Santa does on Christmas night. Sure, there are various rebuttals to disprove the proposal, but come on, it's just a fun read.

1) No known species of reindeer can fly. BUT there are 300,000 species of living organisms yet to be classified, and while most of these are insects and germs, this does not COMPLETELY rule out flying reindeer which only Santa has ever seen.

2) There are 2 billion children (persons under 18) in the world. BUT since Santa doesn't (appear) to handle the Muslim, Hindu, Jewish and Buddhist children, that reduces the workload to 15% of the total - 378 million according to Population Reference Bureau. At an average (census) rate of 3.5 children per household, that's 91.8 million homes. One presumes there's at least one good child in each.

3) Santa has 31 hours of Christmas to work with, thanks to the different time zones and the rotation of the earth, assuming he travels east to west (which seems logical). This works out to 822.6 visits per second. This is to say that for each Christian household with good children, Santa has 1/1000th of a second to park, hop out of the sleigh, jump down the chimney, fill the stockings, distribute the remaining presents under the tree, eat whatever snacks have been left, get back up the chimney, get back into the sleigh and move on to the next house. Assuming that each of these 91.8 million stops are evenly distributed around the earth (which, of course, we know to be false but for the purposes of our calculations we will accept), we are now talking about .78 miles per household, a total trip of 75-1/2 million miles, not counting stops to do what most of us must do at least once every 31 hours, plus feeding and etc.

This means that Santa's sleigh is moving at 650 miles per second, 3,000 times the speed of sound. For purposes of comparison, the fastest man-made vehicle on earth, the Ulysses space probe, moves at a poky 27.4 miles per second - a conventional reindeer can run, tops, 15 miles per hour.

4) The payload on the sleigh adds another interesting element. Assuming that each child gets nothing more than a medium-sized lego set(2 pounds), the sleigh is carrying 321,300 tons, not counting Santa, who is invariably described as overweight. On land, conventional reindeer can pull no more than 300 pounds. Even granting that "flying reindeer" (see point #1) could pull TEN TIMES the normal amount, we cannot do the job with eight, or even nine. We need 214,200 reindeer. This increases the payload - not even counting the weight of the sleigh - to 353,430 tons. Again, for comparison - this is four times the weight of the Queen Elizabeth.

5) 353,000 tons traveling at 650 miles per second creates enormous air resistance - this will heat the reindeer up in the same fashion as spacecraft re-entering the earth's atmosphere. The lead pair of reindeer will absorb 14.3 QUINTILLION joules of energy. Per second. Each. In short, they will burst into flame almost instantaneously, exposing the reindeer behind them, and create deafening sonic booms in their wake. The entire reindeer team will be vaporized within 4.26 thousandths of a second. Santa, meanwhile, will be subjected to centrifugal forces 17,500.06 times greater than gravity. A 250-pound Santa (which seems ludicrously slim) would be pinned to the back of his sleigh by 4,315,015 pounds of force.

In conclusion - If Santa ever DID deliver presents on Christmas Eve, he's dead now.

Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
The Fellowship of the Ring was a competent film that was way too long for a movie meant to introduce us to the world of Middle Earth. While The Two Towers is a marked improvement, it suffers to a lesser extent the same problems its predecessor had.

The Two Towers continues on with the adventures of various groups of characters right where they left off after the Fellowship was no more. Frodo and Sam are still trekking toward Mount Doom to destroy the ring. Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli are trying to follow their tracks as well as the tracks of Merry and Pippin, who have been taken hostage by Orcs.

For Frodo and Sam, they meet the creature Gollum, who wants "his precious" back, but is soon forced to lead the way into Mordor. But they are soon discovered by a group from Gondor led by Faramir, the brother of Borodir, and taken as prisoners.

For the others, Merry and Pippin escape from their captors after they were slaughtered and head into a forest where the trees are alive. Here, they find that Gandalf is alive and he tells one of the trees to protect the two for the time being. When the tree and the two hobbits find part of the forest cut, the trees soon declare war on Isengard. Alas, the army from Isengard are in a weakened Rohan, where most of its troops have been banished by an affected king and the Isengard threaten to overrun one of its most indestructible fortresses, Helm's Pass. It is here where Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli help them make their stand.

Fellowship of the Ring spent way too much time introducing us to the characters that it didn't spend enough time on the exciting action relegated to the end of the movie. The Two Towers doesn't have this burden to bear but still takes the time to re-acquaint us with the first movie through dreaded flashbacks, which are unneeded. In my eyes, the movie doesn't truly start until Gandalf reappears in the forest. From then on, the pace quickens and the events more exciting, but it never falls into a rhythm. They want to remain faithful to the book, which is commendable, but there's so much going in so many different places that the only way to touch bases with them all is to cut away every few minutes to the next place. It all degenerates into pieces of battle scenes and chase sequences put together into a jigsaw puzzle. What it has going for it however is that these battle scenes and chase sequences are all top-notch, especially the big Isengard vs. Rohan battle where thousands of troops fight each other in rain, different terrain, and in the midst of lots of arrows at Helm's Pass. It's a worthy middle chapter, if long (3 hours!), and leads in greatly with the third and final chapter of the trilogy Return of the King. 3 stars

Gangs of New York
After 30 years of research and a year's worth of delays, director Martin Scorsese's work finally gets released to theatres and it's a masterpiece. Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Amsterdam Vallon, the son of a priest killed by Bill the Butcher, remarkably played by Daniel Day-Lewis, over control of the Five Points, a section of growing New York City, between the Natives and a coalition led by the priest's Dead Rabbits gang. In the wake of his father's death, Amsterdam is sent to a reform school for sixteen years before being let go. Once out, he goes back to his old home of Five Points to see that Bill is still in charge and his father's death celebrated as a local holiday annually. He soon makes it his mission to kill him for revenge. His old childhood friend Johnny works for Bill and Amsterdam uses those ties to get close to bill, even becoming his right-hand man. Along the way, Amsterdam befriends Jenny (Cameron Diaz), a pickpocket and former assistant of Bill's. When Amsterdam's attempt at killing Bill fails, he is cast off and forced to find a new way to accomplish his mission. He resurrects the Dead Rabbits and challenges Bill. He accepts, leading to the final battle, coinciding with the draft riots, a bloody ordeal protesting the Civil War draft.

Scorsese does his best to raise this movie above the level of a simple story of revenge. Not only does he show the ordeal Amsterdam faces, he does it in an environment that is so real and authentic, it's as if we were there. From the snow-covered ground turned crimson red by the bloody battle of the first scene to the horrible riots that swept all across New York, both rich and poor, Scorsese creates a world where nothing is guaranteed and the shocking isn't so surprising.

While Bill Cutting may be the antagonist, he could also be the film's tragic hero. When he bleeds, patriotism bleeds from him as well. He honestly believes what he does is what's best for his people and in the spirit of the United States. His powerful monologue while wrapped in the American flag shows this. It is helped tremendously by the performance of Day-Lewis.

If the film has a flaw, it would be the performance of Diaz, who doesn't seem to be comfortable in the role she's put in. It seems as though she wants to do more in a male-dominated society (and movie for that matter) even though doing so makes her look a tad awkward. Don't get me wrong, her performance is well-done, one of the top female performances of the year, but it doesn't come close to the work put forth by Day-Lewis and DiCaprio. Otherwise, Scorsese puts forth a story that is utterly compelling to watch not only for the tale it spins, but also for its role as the roots for a new nation, as some of the corruption that tore people apart back then seems to still exist in a different form today and as some of society's views have changed to keep up with the times. 3.5 stars

The day of December 20 marks two important milestones. First, people realize there there are only 5 days left til Christmas and now they need to rush and swamp those shopping malls, looking for the perfect present that will get them out of there as quick as they can. Second, Oscar movies. All movies up for consideration must open by December 31 in Los Angeles to qualify for the Oscars, which makes now the best time to catch a movie, for during this period, quality usually stands out from the pack. This year, there's too much quality. So if anyone wants to come with me to catch any of these flicks, I'd be happy to go. Now the list, in no particular order.

Gangs of New York, The 25th Hour, Antwone Fisher, Chicago, The Hours, Catch Me If You Can, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Narc (the poster looks like Traffic, doesn't it?), About Schmidt, and Adaptation.

Finals are over and as I await the bad news, I went home to beat the rainstorms pounding the Bay Area today. Chances are it will also rain tomorrow, Friday, December 20, which is a shame. In fact, all my memories of the 20th have been rainy days. But, (dusting off my old weather stuff from school, I know, nerd alert), the record rainfall in San Jose on the 20th is 0.51 inches, well below the records for other days in December. While weather is unpredictable, based on history, there is a 29% chance it will rain tomorrow and it looks like nature will beat the odds.

You don't know what happens on the 20th? Shame on you. You know but don't care? I don't blame ya.

Here are some things I've noticed in the past few days.

America Online won the patent on instant messaging. As a result, those of you who use Yahoo or MSN Messenger for your chatting needs may need to switch over to AIM soon or pay a hefty fee. Then again, AOL may not take advantage of their patent. Ha, fat chance.

I was flipping the channels and caught Final Jeopardy. The answer was, "This man (name I forgot), who died in 2001, was the last surviving veteran of this war." First guy guessed World War I, good guess but no. Second guy answered the Civil War. What!?! That would mean the guy lived to be at least 140 years old. This is Jeopardy people. I thought smart people got on the show. The third guy redeemed the group, correctly answering the Spanish American War.

Rick Rosner, the producer of CHiPs back in the 70s, is coming back to make a new show, CHiPs. This one is different he insists. This one is set in the Bay Area. Hmm, I don't about you but while I did like the original show, that reunion movie set in modern-day was a disaster. Changing the locale makes matters worse. Who wants to watch two guys in motorcycles weaving through rush hour traffic?

Worst premise for a movie coming out next year has to be The Core. Scientists have discovered a way to artificially induce earthquakes. Why and how anyone would accomplish this is beyond me but they did it in this film. But as a side effect, the earth's core has stopped spinning, which can only mean disaster for the planet above. What to do? These same scientists figure the earth just needs a jump-start in the form of a nuclear bomb. Simple! All we have to do is drill to the center of the earth, plant the bomb, and get out before the thing explodes. Nothing like the movies to allow us to laugh in the face of disaster.

Star Trek: Nemesis
With the sounds of Sheryl Crow's "Soak Up the Sun" and U2's "Beautiful Day" blaring from my alarm clock, I woke up early to venture into very rainy and windy San Francisco to shop and to watch the new Star Trek movie. As a fan, I'm a bit biased, but I can distinguish between the good and the bad Trek adventures. And this is one of the better ones. Though sadly, this #10 doesn't come close to becoming a classic every Trek fan will reference, as #2 and #4 have.

With the assassination of the Romulan senate, Shinzon and his Reman followers take control of Romulus and ask the Federation to come and talk about peace. With the Enterprise nearby, Starfleet (specifically, Admiral Janeway from Voyager) sends Picard and his crew to Romulus to see what they want. Along the way, they find a prototype of Data, named B-4, obviously primitive with a limited positronic net, though visually alike. Once at Romulus, Picard is shocked to discover that Shinzon is a double of himself, instead of the vampire-like Remans. In fact, he's a clone of Picard. But even this relevation does not convince Picard to trust him and it forces Shinzon to move ahead with his own plans. The cloning process has an expiration date, and for Shinzon, time was almost up. As a result, he needed a full transfusion from the original, Picard, to stay alive. Furthermore, he's promised the Romulan fleet who put him in power that Earth will be destroyed in a matter of days to pave the way for invasion. He intends to do so with a newly controlled radiation once thought to be purely theoretical by Federation scientists. Instead, a microscopic amount can kill everyone on a ship. All this leads to a big battle in a rift with an ending where both sides lose.

The movie starts off awkwardly with the sudden death of the Senate, Riker and Troi's wedding, and the discovery of B-4. The infusions of small comedic touches seemed a little forced and sometimes not funny at all. It was nice to see Whoopi Goldberg and Wil Wheaton reprising their early roles from TNG. And I might've heard incorrectly, but the planet B-4 was on was a pre-industrial, pre-warp society. Then how did they get vehicles to chase after Picard, Data, and Worf? After this awkwardness, the movie gets into a good rhythm and has a very good climactic ending. Credit the creative solutions from Picard for this good ending. Truthfully, credit John Logan's script, who co-wrote Gladiator and an admitted fan of Trek. Direction was okay but whoever did the photography on the B-4 planet needs to be fired. It was so bright and bleached yellow, you couldn't see a thing. And who cast Shinzon, played by Tom Hardy? His acting was fine, but he doesn't look anything like Picard. True, in 30-40 years, you may look different from young to old, but really, that different? You get to see an Academy photo of him (looking just like Shinzon with shaved head) and you get the idea of "wow, no wonder he's never been married." Finally, this movie doesn't have much crossover appeal. Non-fans probably will be turned off by the inside jokes and the technobabble, making this a movie for fans and people familiar with the Trek phenomenon.

The final question is, is this the last we'll see of this crew? Judging from the box office receipts, yes. A $20 million opening weekend doesn't bode well for a film that cost $70 million. Judging from the ending, probably not. They leave the door open to another feature but they do show, as it is mentioned throughout the film, that Riker finally gets the command he's been chickening out of the entire series. I, for one, hope this crew does get another one. The other Star Trek series aren't strong enough to get a motion picture. DS9 was set on a space station, not too much hope for exploration and such. Voyager's premise was that they were stranded across the galaxy. Now that they're back, who cares? Enterprise is young and the fact that the timeline is before the feature films will confuse people. So if this was the end, it's a fitting one. After all, this is an even numbered feature film, it has to be good. 3 stars.

The updated order of Trek films from best to worst: 2 (Khan), 4 (the whales), 8 (the Borg), 6 (peace with the Klingons), 10, 7 (Kirk dies), 9 (eternal youth), 3 (Enterprise blows up), 1 (V'Ger), 5 (search for God)

The terrible trio of finals has passed and appropriately on a rainy Friday the 13th. With one more final next week, I'm gonna try to take it easy this weekend, especially with a trip to the city tomorrow and football on Sunday. Today, I'm stuck in the apartment. My friends have cited the rain and finals to stay indoors. So, seeing as how I can't see any carpet in my room, I'm going about cleaning my room. O, and ordering gifts online. A fascinating thing.

I just got a call from AT&T thanking me for using their long-distance service. I listened and soon they offered me local service. I wasn't interested but somehow he heard it as a yes and he transferred me to their sales department. I hung up but they do this for a living, don't they know the difference between yes and no?

To fill up the rest of this post, I'll comment about what I've seen on TV.

ABC showed Christmas in Aspen, where ABC stars talk about Christmas and share in the spirit. I don't know, I just don't want to see the cast of 8 Simple Rules singing Christmas carols. They might turn into the Brady Bunch.

Fox is introducing Joe Millionaire. It's set up just like the Bachelor except at the end, it's revealed that the bachelor is just an average joe instead of the millionaire as advertised. Please, these shows have to stop.

ABC had Extreme Makeover on Wednesday. Yeah, this has to stop too. But they won't as long as people keep watching, and they do watch in large numbers.

Sports shows have been talking non-stop about the BCS, where the best teams in college football gets lots of money to play in playoff games. Critics want a playoff system to reward hot teams who had an unfortunate loss in the beginning of the season that ruined their chances at the championship. Why not combine the two? As I see it, this year, there are three Saturdays between the last regular-season game and the BCS bowls. The 6 big conference champions and the top 2 remaining teams should be seeded according to the BCS rankings and play against each other. After the first Saturday, the losers stay home and the winners advance. They face off the next Saturday and those winners play in the national championship. For the $13 million they're being paid to participate, I think they can afford it. Everything else is business as usual. It preserves the bowl system and puts in a playoff. Still, it makes so much sense, no one will consider it.

What is it with SNL and non-comedic hosts? John McCain, Robert DeNiro, and this weekend, Al Gore. The show is truly hurting after the departure of Will Ferrell and Ana Gasteyer and it's not helped when the only laughs you get is when a straight-faced guy is in a different situation.

Who watches 24? The show is still pumping out quality episodes with the exception of Kim Bauer. She has to be stuck in one of the worst plotlines in history. She's a nanny who's on the run from the abusive father she works for. Oh yeah, she's taken the daughter with her. The last episode had them stealing his car and making a run for it. The police stops them for speeding and finds blood dripping from the trunk, only to find the wife. Soon, she's supposed to deal with a cougar. Her plot is such a waste of time, I flip channels until the adventures of Jack, CTU, or the President come back.

So this new Busta Rhymes video "Make It Clap." A long commercial for the Clapper?

VH1 and AMC have lost their way. VH1 used to show music videos, you know, an MTV for the older generation. Now? They're showing fashion shows and 80s comedies. Bull Durham and Major League? These don't involve music. They've pushed the music videos exclusively to the mornings. AMC stands for American Movie Classics, emphasis on the word Classics. What's a classic to them these days? Charlie Sheen's Hot Shots, Keanu Reeves' Chain Reaction and Speed, and Robocop 1 and 2.

Solaris
George Clooney and Steven Soderbergh have teamed up again to produce this "sci-fi" flick named Solaris, named for the mysterious cloud planet of light a space station is orbiting. After watching this, I had to ask, where has Soderbergh gone? After Erin Brockovich, Traffic, and Ocean's Eleven, he's come up with one dud, Full Frontal, and this monster.

Clooney gets a call from his buddy from the space station proclaiming strange things are happening on the station. He wants him to travel and investigate. Upon his arrival, he finds his friend dead, a crazy female scientist who doesn't want anyone near her and a guy who just seems out of it. He gets himself acclimated to his new environment when his dead ex-wife suddenly appears. Obviously surprised, Clooney shoots her out into space in an escape pod only to have her re-appear later. The female scientist explains it's a copy from Solaris, a visitor. Why? It's not explained. Soon, Clooney re-develops his relationship with his wife only to have herself commit suicide in the end. In the process, the space station is getting sucked into Solaris. The female scientist leaves but Clooney stays. Did he die? Is he alive? That's for you to decide.

But to get to this question, we have to go through so much that moves so slowly. The camera lingers at such unimportant things that all of it is just a waste of time. Clooney's performance is good. You can feel the emotions he's going through, from the surprise, to the anger, to the terror, and finally to sadness. And the shots of Solaris are beautiful. But it's all much ado about nothing. 1.5 stars

Finals have started meaning there's been a lack of updates. The sidebar still gets updated and look for reviews of Solaris, the Santa Clause 2, and Star Trek: Nemesis over the weekend. Though I'm going with people on Saturday to watch Nemesis, my schedule's open on Friday to watch it if anyone's interested.

The last day of instruction has arrived. Everyone, including me, celebrates. Then it left. Now it's just a couple of days until the reality of finals sets in. Then, as you ruffle through your scribbled notes and crumpled up old homeworks, you ask yourself, where has the time gone? Maybe I cut one too many classes? Did I really do 12 weeks of homework? All these zeroes don't add up to much. Then you go to a review session, where your GSI tries to sum up 100 hours of the course into 1 or 2 hours, a great idea, but not executed very well. I already went to my first one, a Stats one with my GSI on Thursday night. That was a big bust. Concepts I actually knew about were covered first leaving the other iffy questions I had in the dust. I ask him if I could ask questions on a later date and he says in a heavy European accent, "no, I'm leaving Berkeley tomorrow." So now I have to rely on my professor with a heavy Indian accent to get me through this. I've got two more review sessions on Monday and Tuesday. That's two more days of going to campus when I don't have to but feel like I do.

In more news and notes, I'd never heard of the movie Equilibrium with Christian Bale and Taye Diggs, but suffice it to say, judging by its ad, I'm not planning on seeing it. The ad is an obvious ripoff of the Matrix, but the big quote on top says to forget the Matrix because this is the next big action movie. Not only that, it also proclaims that Vin Diesel should move over because Taye Diggs is the next big action star. For some reason, these two statements really made me laugh. REALLY made me laugh.

Winona Ryder was sentenced to three years probation, a fine, and 500 hours of community service. It is said that this service also includes work with the blind. I must ask, is this really safe? She could steal their belongings and nobody would know.

The Sharks went out and won their first game under head coach Ron Wilson with a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets. While it all sounds good, it's anything but. The first period was a jumbled mess as players weren't making anything work including giving up a shorthanded goal. It looked as though Wilson shuffled the lines and that got a spark out of the team and as a result, got a few lucky goals off a bad goaltender. They also traded Marcus Ragnarsson for Dan McGillis. Yes, they needed another tough defenseman, but the trade of Ragnarsson really surprised me.

Once the Sharks game was over, I switched over to the Lakers game. People can deal with me being an Orioles fan but the Lakers? Yes, it's true. (Did you know I've mentioned the Lakers more in this blog (4) than the Orioles (3)? But nothing beats the Sharks at 13 times.) At halftime, they trailed by 28, a blowout in the making, and 27 entering the 4th quarter to the surprising Dallas Mavericks. I admit, I didn't have too much hope. But then something amazing happened. They came back. Yes, they overcame a 28-point deficit to win by 2, an amazing feat, and a NBA record. Maybe this season won't be a disaster after all.

First, happy birthday Jon.

(pause for reflection or to ask yourself who Jon is) For future reference who paused for the latter reason, of all the hits this page has gotten, at least 2,000 since August (really, who reads this crap?), Jon is the only one who regularly comments on the things I write. Thanks for that. So go out and enjoy your first day of true adulthood at age 21.

Moving on, did anyone catch the Simpsons on Sunday? The beginning of the episode had Homer getting tickets to an arena luxury box after metal plating gets dropped on his head. When he comments that he's excited to be going to a basketball game, he's informed by Lisa that they're actually going to a hockey game. He reacts by screaming and sobbing. A similar reaction is seen by fans arriving to the arena and reading the marquee.

Now, I'm gonna talk about hockey in this post so if you react to hockey like they do, you can happily skip the rest of this post.

According to the Mercury News, the Sharks are all set to hire Ron Wilson as their next head coach. For the most part, this seems to be a good move. He was fairly successful in Anaheim, where he worked with current Shark Teemu Selanne. But with a mediocre defense and spotty goaltending from Guy Hebert (comparable to the Sharks' Arturs Irbe, successful goaltender for one year), Wilson only made the playoffs in his last year and his contract was not renewed. He then headed to Washington. With a mediocre team, but great goaltending in Olaf Kolzig, he managed to mostly make them into winners, achieving 90+ point seasons in 3 out of 5 years, even reaching the Stanley Cup finals his first year. His last year was also a winning season but they did not make the playoffs. Ownership at this point felt it was time for him to go since after all, they got Jaromir Jagr, the league's leading scorer, and still couldn't win.

The Sharks obviously have the pieces to go all the way. But Sutter's defensive philosophy probably limited their potential. Too many games passed when they lost by 1, including most notably the season-ending Game 7 loss to the Avalanche 1-0. This season, Sutter seemingly continued to promote defense first but the fact is the Sharks have the worst defense at home and penalty killing was 26th in the league last I checked. Sure, people can point out that Jillson is having a hard time replacing veteran Gary Suter, that the defensemen are having trouble adjusting to the new crackdown on obstruction, that Evgeni Nabokov just came back to being a goalie 3 weeks ago. But 24 games into the season, these things should have been fixed, and frankly, they haven't.

That's the general manager's thinking. I still think firing Sutter was the wrong thing to do, at least not yet. He's been around for five years, bringing this team to be a competitor, not a cellar-dweller. He should've been given more time than this. A trade or some benchings may have stirred the team enough. But hiring Ron Wilson is a good move on a team where scoring is balanced and the goaltending is solid, and what Wilson has going for him is that he has 56 more games to get this team back into the playoffs.

Luckily, under interim coach Cap Raeder, the Sharks won tonite 3-2 in overtime against Phoenix on the strength of a Selanne goal.

I went to see Solaris yesterday. I had high expectations with the names attached but boy, was it boring. Full review later.

I also caught the Saved by the Bell: True Hollywood Story. I find it amazing how popular the show was back then and how crazy those fans were. I found it disappointing, but not too surprising, that they could only get Screech and Mr. Belding for interviews. They showed clips of earlier interviews for the rest of the "stars." Geez, Mr. Belding has really let himself go after all these years.

This story caught me off guard. The Sharks, frequently documented in the sidebar, have been struggling. It was thought once they got their pieces back together, they'd succeed. They got Thornton back. Then Nabokov and Stuart signed. And what happened? Only slight improvement. With this talented group of people, someone had to take the fall. And so, the coach got fired. Darryl Sutter was a good coach. He brought the Sharks back to respectability. This was no way to treat him. Management will note his poor home record and the fact that their biggest struggle is on defense when Sutter utilizes a defense-first system, but he's been coaching this team 5 years. At least give him more time to let the team gel again. The Lakers have Shaq back after his injury, but they're still struggling. Yet, no one's advocating the ouster of Phil Jackson.

But GM Dean Lombardi got a little impatient and so we wait for his next coach. This will be his third coach to hire. His first choice should have been Sutter, but instead went for Al Sims, who only lasted a season. Let's hope his choice won't last just one.

In addition, being a Bay Area coach doesn't mean you'll be in it for the long haul. With the removal of Sutter, 49ers coach Steve Mariucci will be the only guy with more than 1 year of Bay Area experience in any pro league. The Raiders, A's, Giants, Warriors, and now Sharks all have new coaches this year. Include the colleges, you add in SJSU football coach Fitz Hill and the basketball coaches at Cal, Ben Braun, and Stanfurd, Mike Montgomery with some experience. All the others have new coaches this year.

Finally, when I got back to Berkeley, there was a return to normalcy. It seems the homeless have turned the area in front of City Hall into People's Park. Many tents out in front or just big blankets. It's a funny sight for some odd reason, but then again not so since I live 4 blocks away.

On Wednesday when I left campus, I had the hint of a stuffy nose. So I shrugged it off and went about my business, getting home to be ready for Thanksgiving. By the next day, it was a full blown stuffy nose. The aromas of dinner could not enter, limiting my enjoyment of Thanksgiving, full of turkey, roast beef, ribs, and all the other fixings. Sure, I was full, but with half of your tasting senses out of the way, it's not too enjoyable. I bet it was all Datman's fault. Hai got him sick earlier last week and then I have two classes with him 6 hours a week. Today, I was feeling miserable and had a really heavy cough. It was bad enough to cancel plans for today, possibly tomorrow as well. So friends, keep your fingers crossed that I can get better.

With me at home, I got around to cleaning my room and catching up on mail. The mail's been piling up since I only pick off the credit card bills. One piece of mail that caught my eye was from the old high school sending out some community newsletter. You've no doubt read about the football team in this blog. Some people say I'm still living in the past, talking about Oak Grove so much, but so what? Yes, it was in the wrong pile but I read it anyway.

The director (Not a principal, but one of 3 directors. To make more money, they implemented some ridiculous pathway program and that needed the principal and assistant principals to be on the same level.) talked about the modernization of the school and made some pretty funny (at least to me) comments about the "beauty" of the school, writing that it is "considered as one of the top schools in the district, both academically and aesthetically," that it is already the “jewel” of the East Side Union High School District, and that its modernization efforts will make it "one of the finest facilities in the state."

The campus did have some good qualities, but just looking at it, it's really one ugly school. One thing is the poop brown color of the buildings. They couldn't have chosen a different color. ANY color? One teacher told me once that it's supposed to match the school's name by reminding us of a bunch of oak trees. Then why not plant some oak trees instead? Drive along Blossom Hill Road and see the sea of brown walls. Front and center, see the 2-story admin building. Oh wait, there's an ugly fence in front of it. Go toward the student parking lot and instead see portables. Hey, at least they're grey. Finally, you can make it to the athletic fields or mud holes, take your pick as to what you want to call it, surrounded by the chain link fences. Oh well, but I guess any remodeling will do it good, even if I never step foot into the place again.

Okay, now back to being sick.

Wishing those reading a happy Thanksgiving. Hopefully, you're one of the lucky that gets to gorge on all the various Thanksgiving favorites. I know I will and that's why I'm writing this now instead of later in the day when I won't be able to move.

The Stanfurd Axe was slowly re-introducing itself to the Berkeley crowd by being prominently displayed at the Axe Rally today in Sproul Plaza. After the usual thank-yous and the band, it started to be paraded around campus, visiting each of the large lecture halls and interrupting classes. It was during its trip from VLSB to Evans when I got my time with the axe. I ran up to it and found an opening in the many rally comm members protecting it. I gave it a good pat and a wipe. And then it went ahead. I followed it for a while with my old dorm friend next to me. Along the way, a nameplate on the Axe fell off at the Faculty Club but it was easily fixed, blinds were closed when the Axe showed up outside a lecture hall window, and the crowd was disappointed when the Chancellor wasn't found at California Hall. I finished up cheering at Wheeler, where we interrupted an Econ lecture, and then went separate ways. I didn't have a camera with me, but rest assured, when it's paraded around next year when Cal beats Stanfurd again, I'll have a camera to document the whole thing.

The Axe has now made it back to Berkeley with an impressive 30-7 victory over the Cardinal of Stanfurd. Tradition gets sketchy since it has been 8 years since this happened, but apparently there's a rally on Monday at Sproul Plaza to parade the axe around.

And now the Stanfurd Jonah:

When the training days are done,
And the Big Game's just begun,
And there's music in the air;
When our team runs on the field,
Stanfurd knows her fate is sealed,
For the Golden Bear has left his lair.

When the yells from lusty throats,
Start to getting Stanfurd's goat,
And the rooting section seems a howling mob, Hey! Hey!
Then you grab your hat and shout,
You let folks know you're about,
For you know that Stanfurd Jonah's on the job.

So...then... it's...
Up with the Blue and Gold,
Down with the Red;
California's out for a victory.
We'll drop our battle-axe on
Stanfurd's head, Chop!
When we meet her, our team will surely beat her.
Down on the Stanfurd Farm there'll be no sound,
When our Oski rips through the air.
Like our friend Mister Jonah,
Stanfurd's team will be found
In the tummy of the Golden Bear!

Relegated to the bottom of this post are the facts that the Sharks lost to Pittsburgh 4-1, the Spartans of San Jose State finished their season 6-7 with a lost to Fresno State 19-16, dashing their hopes of a playoff bowl bid goodbye, and Oak Grove was eliminated from the CCS Playoffs by Homestead 48-34. They finish their mediocre season at 7-4. Also defeated were my sister and her band/colorguard team. They finished ninth in the preliminaries and did not qualify to compete in the finals of the big Western Band Association finals in San Diego.

Die Another Day
I was witness to two events steeped with tradition today. The first was the Big Game Bonfire Rally, an ongoing event for 70+ years to get everyone psyched up for the Big Game against Stanfurd. Being the third one I've attended, this one was probably the best yet, highlighted by the fact that they lit the bonfire on their first try after failures in previous years to light it with the victory cannon in 2000 and some kind of loud boom last year. A lively event with the fire, the band, the cheers, and the history, it adequately energized the crowd to root for California as they battle the Cardinal today.

The other was the latest installment of James Bond, celebrating its 40th year with its 20th film, Die Another Day. Can you Die Another Day if Tomorrow Never Dies? I don't know, but unlike the bonfire rally, this film ultimately disappointed.

This time, we find 007 in North Korea, trying to stop some illegal weapons transactions that could tip the scales in the battle between North and South. But Bond is caught and tortured. 14 months later, Bond is exchanged for the North Korean colonel's number one lieutenant. But Bond won't let this go, and so he goes off on his own to hunt for him again. It leads him to Hong Kong, Cuba, England, and Iceland. In the midst of these events, we're introduced to Gustav Graves, a newly-knighted adventurer who owns some diamond mines. Bond suspects he's hiding something and that he has connections to Zao, the guy he's hunting. Along the way, Halle Berry's character, Jinx, is introduced, along with Miranda Frost, a MI-6 agent who hasn't had an outstanding record but manages to stay close to Graves. With the help of Graves' satellite, Icarus, its mirror is used to redirect the sun's rays into a focused energy beam. As a result, the minefield protecting South Korea could be compromised. Will 007 stop them in time?

To me, this managed to combine the comedic timing of Austin Powers, the gadgets and ridiculousness of XXX, the gene therapy from Star Trek: Insurrection and the satellite from Batman & Robin. Gosh, it was boring. Admittedly, every Bond movie will provide solid entertainment. And this one was no different. But Bond seemed to have a different air to him this time. Maybe it's the lack of suspense. Maybe the sudden appearance of a personal vendetta. Whatever it was, it made him seem bland, less charismatic and maybe even a little old. Even the theme song by Madonna was subpar. The last two by Sheryl Crow and Garbage respectively were far better than this...thing. The effects were a cut below ok. Sure, everyone can do explosions, and that's something done with an abundance in this film, but that second surfing scene looked so fake. Why not have him surf for real and add the icebergs later? Somebody really needed to watch Blue Crush.

The writers looked to the past to find the villain Graves, with his one-dimensional thinking on world domination plopped into a futuristic environment. Please, is it really wise to have all those lasers, explosions, guns, and whatnot in a glass/ice environment? In Iceland of all places. Weren't we taught that Iceland had grass and Greenland had ice? Fine, we'll say Iceland does have ice at this time.

But the women steal the show as Halle Berry and Rosemund Pike act circles around their male counterparts. Pike's Miranda Frost seems to be a more traditional and interesting Bond character while Berry's Jinx introduces a new action element to the Bond heroine. But the plot doesn't give Jinx too much to do, really only playing the role of eye candy, save for a fighting scene with Frost at the end. With this introduction, I don't understand how Jinx deserves her own movie but maybe being by herself will make her into an even more desirable character.

Finally, the license plate on Bond's Aston Martin says EWW. What does this mean? Could it be a reference to the sick amount of technology found in the car? Or could it be the quality of this film?

No, the other films in the Brosnan era weren't quite up to the level of the best of Connery's or Moore's, but they had an air of professionalism, coolness, and suspense that Die Another Day severely lacks. 2 stars

Now, President Bush, with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, doesn't look too goofy in this picture, does he? Picture published in the Chicago Tribune.

As Star Trek fans may know, only 22 days remain until the 10th installment of the feature film series, Nemesis, is released. But if you click this link to ifilm.com, you can watch a good 5 minute snippet of the film. Granted, it probably gives away one of the more dramatic special effects shots of the film, but it really shows the potential of the entire project. Promises to be a great film. And with a morning final that day, it's shaping up to be a day of Star Trek. Geez, what a nerd I am.

While you're there at ifilm, catch the mockumentary The L.A. Civil War, making fun of the fact that the San Fernando Valley tried to secede from the city of Los Angeles by putting it into the context of the American Civil War. Watch as a valley soccer mom starts the whole thing by storming a Catalina Island ferry, how "Link Hahn" becomes the new mayor of Los Angeles, and how O.J. Simpson leads the Valley against the forces of L.A., led by the NRA's Charlton Heston to a bloody conclusion, while all the while leaving Downtown L.A., the Beverly Center, and the Sherman Oaks Galleria in ruins.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
To recap, I've never read a book of the series. I haven't understood why millions of little kids have, and 300-400 pages at that. Even the latest one is 750 pages. But when roughly 15 million people in the first 3 days spend a collective $90 million to watch it, something must be up. The first one didn't make too much of an impression on me. In fact, I didn't remember much of what happened in the first movie coming into this one. But that's okay. As long as you remember that Harry Potter is the most popular wizard out there, then you'll be fine. Sure, there are other good things to know. He lives with a mean family before heading out to Hogwarts. His best friend Ron is scared of practically everything. His other friend, Hermoine, is the smart one of the bunch. All of these plus more are part of the Gryffindor clan while their rivals are part of the Slytherin, headed by Malfoy, who even has that mean look on his face. Professor Dumbledore, played by the late Richard Harris, heads the school, etc, etc, etc.

What's changed in this second installment? Well, Harry seems to be the same even if he's been told that he shouldn't be there but really, really wants to be there. Ron is scared of everything and gets the added element of incompetence through his broken wand. Hermoine is smarter and eventually figures everything out. Malfoy is meaner. The family he lives with is more controlling albeit briefly seen in this one. And the school gets a new professor in Gilderoy Lockhart, played by Kenneth Branaugh. He's a famous magician who's written many books but can't seem to get the right spell at the right time.

So what is the Chamber of Secrets? It's a chamber with secrets. Seriously, legend has it that Slytherin built it and kept evil spirits inside until somebody opened it and released them to kill anyone but the pure-bloods at the school. When weird messages in blood start appearing on the walls and people get frozen, everyone at the school gets scared and if the person who's doing it can't be found, the school may be closed. So the little trio start investigating this for themselves and do many things that eventually lead them to the truth of the chamber of secrets and stops it before it's too late.

Really, this movie kept me riveted. This whole thing was way more interesting than the first one. I'm guessing it's because they didn't need to be bogged down by introducing the Harry Potter world to us. As a sequel, it could get straight down to business. But that's no excuse to extend this movie to 150 minutes. My attention span is short enough, Some scenes could have been cut out without any sacrifice to the plot. Case in point: the spiders. What was the point in that? It really needs to get away from presenting the book sentence by sentence. That's why people see the movie, so they don't have to waste time to read the book. But what's the point if watching the movie takes as long as reading the book? But again, it's an interesting story with many twists and turns and the eventual most important secret of the chamber proves to be a little surprising if not unexpected. You really get involved in what the wizards are looking for and there are even some frightening scenes that induced some screams from the audience. Well-performed by all those involved.

After this, expectations for the third movie will be sky-high and it won't be easy. Many difficulties are arising already. They're taking a 6-month break. As a result, they're all gonna look way older when they get back as teenagers get to be. Richard Harris is now the late Richard Harris so they have to find someone to replace him. And a new director is taking over, one who had problems with the screenwriter in one film, Great Expectations, and directed a very excellent film, Y Tu Mama Tambien, a NC-17 flick about two Mexican boys exploring their sexuality; a complete 360 from Harry Potter. So good luck to them.

3 stars

After watching Harry Potter, birthday dinners were combined under one roof and off we headed to The Cheesecake Factory. They just opened another one at Valley Fair to offset the grand opening of Santana Row. It's comparable to the one in the city with the exception of the floors of Macy*s below the restaurant and the many couches on the 8th floor. This new one's down to the ground and separate from the mall, though it is right next to Macy*s.

I really don't understand how this place stays in business. First, the wait is terrible. Our party of 7 arrived when Jose Cortez missed that 41-yard field goal that would've won the game. That was at 4:30. We got seated during the 2nd quarter of the Raiders game. 6:35.

Then it's too noisy. You've got many people in a small space and bad music playing over the speakers. Oh yeah, it's too small. If they made it a little bigger, we wouldn't be waiting for 2 hours.

Once you finally get seated, you're handed a big menu. It's a book! Too many things to choose from, but not too descriptive. It's a place that seems to pride itself on presentation and yet the menu doesn't have pictures?

Wait, wait, wait. We wait for the food to arrive. Once it does, it's all jumbo-sized. I mean, who really wants a mutated piece of roasted chicken? Probably bigger than even a whole roasted one at Costco? Everyone will have to ask for boxes because there is no way people can finish the whole thing.

Yet, when people leave, they'll remember the big menu with its many choices and the good cheesecake for dessert, people will say, hey, let's go here again. And so the cycle begins again and I guess that's how this place stays in business.

So, the question remains...anyone want to go to the Cheesecake Factory?

Letting you know about sports this past weekend...

Cal lost to the worst team in the Pac-10 when Arizona flew by them 52-41. The Wildcats were in a bit of turmoil when their head coach held back tears and publicly apologized for his own effort and his team's performance. I believe this is the most pathetic defense Cal is shown this year. The problem was big and smart wide receivers, of which Arizona had 2. They just ran all over the Bears' secondary. This and the defense's effort does not bode well going into this weekend's Big Game against Stanford, who themselves possess their own big, smart receiver in Teyo Johnson and own a 7-game winning streak over Cal. The game is on Channel 7 on Saturday at 12:30pm for those who don't want to pay $52.50 to get in. The Big Game Bonfire Rally, a towering display of fire compared to Stanfurd's lighting of a cardboard box, is held at the Greek Theatre Friday at 7:00pm.

Invisible San Jose State has a chance to get into a bowl game, most likely their own Silicon Valley Football Classic, if they can just win this weekend's game against Fresno State. They won Saturday against lowly Tulsa. It's a shame too. There's an excellent chance Bulldogs fans will outnumber Spartans fans at Spartan Stadium.

The Sharks split their weekend against the Florida teams, winning at Florida but losing against Tampa Bay.

The 49ers realy need to cut Jose Cortez. He has shown time and time again that he cannot hit a clutch field goal. He missed the first two field goals of the season against the Giants. Missed a game-winning field goal against the Raiders. He quieted his critics by hitting even more important field goals after that. This time, he missed another clutch field goal against the Chargers. But, there would be no second chances. Because of his inconsistency, he is the only player capable of being surprising. And that's something this team doesn't need. Owens does enough to figure out new ways to celebrate touchdowns.

Finally, Oak Grove lost a close one 14-7 to Piedmont Hills. And with it, their streak of 5 consecutive league titles went poof and they were demoted to the Division II playoffs for the first time since 1986 when it was called the Division I-3A playoffs. In fact, even though they were 7-3 this year, they haven't had 3 losses going into the playoffs since 1995. Playoffs start this week with a game against Homestead. One prediction from calpreps.com says Homestead will win by 4.

For the last 24 hours, it seems my priorities have been crooked and needed some straightening out. Starting at 3:00pm Thursday, I embarked back home to attend a concert featuring Garbage and No Doubt. Hai, the biggest Gwen Stefani fan I know, just couldn't wait and we left on BART to meet Linh (whose birthday was yesterday, so happy birthday) who would take us the rest of the way. After missing multiple turns, hitting traffic at all the usual places on 880 and 280, we finally hit Downtown San Jose, a dead place that wants to be lively but just can't. We're to meet even more people on campus. Campus? Yes. San Jose State University. The forgotten university in the shadows of Cal and Stanfurd.

By 5:30, it's already been a long day, but it would just be starting. Jeanine, Mint, and her sisters finally arrive after waiting forever and we head for something to eat since Hai seems to be hungry. Yes, he's always hungry but we had time to kill too. The restaurant of choice is Togo's, or as I know it, to go's. It's like down the block but we drive anyway and it takes 15 minutes to park, even getting kicked out by this guy who says this is his parking lot for his Italian restaurant. Geez. It's a quick eat and by 7:00, we're there. $13 for parking! My brothers used to work at the arena parking lot so maybe I should've pulled in a favor. Then again, it was many years ago. But hey, they were wearing the same uniforms.

So, the concert. I would be seating with my siblings so I separated from the big pack to get to my lower level seats. First on the billing tonite were The Distillers. Yawn. Sure, they were loud, so that kept me awake.

Garbage was next, one of my faves. They were entertaining but they were limited in what they could do; after all, they're not the stars of the show. Good 10 song set lasting 45 minutes. All the old favorites, Only Happy When It Rains, Stupid Girl, Push It, and the new ones, Shut Your Mouth, Cup of Coffee, and Cherry Lips, were played.

All of this led into No Doubt. Now, ever since they put a little reggae into their music on their last album, Rock Steady, I've just been turned off. But there's no denying the power Gwen has over the audience. Through good songs and bad, she seemed to keep the crowd mesmerized and lively. Among these people were the people in front of me, in particular, one guy. Ever seen Seinfeld? If you did, you'll remember the mocking of Elaine's dancing. This guy danced the same exact way, added by arm motions that mimicked my friend James (no, not Trendy James) when he was half asleep or drunk. My sister and I couldn't stop laughing. Anyway, the group managed to prominently feature the songs that made them famous, Don't Speak, Spiderwebs, Simple Kind of Life, and now Underneath It All, all to wild applause.

And a short three and a half hours later, it was all over. Hai was hungry as usual so we went to look for a place to eat. It seems nothing is open at midnight on a Thursday night, so we just headed for Denny's, sans Mint and her sisters. And at 1:30 in the morning, I was found at home.

That should've been end of story. But no. I couldn't sleep. I didn't know why. Finally, the eyes closed at 3 only to wake up at 5. You see, I didn't finish my homework due on Friday, so I couldn't turn it in early. And with an important concept being lectured on in my Stats class, I had to make it to school today. I left the house at 6:30 to get to Daly City BART at 7:15 to get to Berkeley at 8:00. I got to my apartment and for the longest time, I just stared at my bed. I couldn't stop staring. Finally, I snapped out of it and convinced myself I couldn't work in this environment. So, I made the trek to school at the obscene hour of 9:00. Yes, you people have 7 and 8 o'clock classes, but for me, this is early. I got to the library and got to working. Heck, I must've been focused because 15 minutes later and 2 hours of sleep in me, I was done. I killed time by working on even more homework, including this little extra credit assignment for Econ. Yes, Datman, I finished it except for question 8. I got to lecture at 10 and fell asleep on more than one occasion. The class wouldn't end! But there was light at the end as the professor ended class and I was free to leave.

12:00 I was at my apartment. I wanted to go to sleep and end this but no. The post below mentions something about two birthdays this weekend, my sister-in-law's and my mom's. So I was up and atom again, headed back to BART and back home. But I was just there! Yes, but it will soon be over. 4:00 I get home. I get to my room and see my bigger bed and just want to climb in and waste away my Friday night by sleeping.

And it almost happened until my dad yelled at me to mow the lawn. Anyone who's seen my lawn knows it's dead and yellow. But it keeps growing and it's helped by the fact my dad put new seed and fertilizer on all the bald spots. End result? Half the lawn is 6 inches higher than the other half and it's a different shade of green. Sigh. And here's poor me cutting it to equal length.

Now it's over and I'm writing this right now. But as I am doing so, the day will not end. My mom tells me my uncle's relatives from Australia just happened to choose today to cross the ocean and visit everyone here, which means I'll be off again in about an hour or so. So happy trails to me and my hope for more sleep today. Instead, I get Vietnamese belly-laughs and the smell of alcohol everywhere. Hopefully, there's good food.

With midterms finally over, it unofficially ends the hardships of studying (at least until finals) and begins a short period of wonder and whimsy, which means I'll be broke soon. You see, the last six weeks of the year is crammed with occasions in which I'll be obligated to give some thought and go out to buy gifts. It's a chore, I'll have to set foot in a mall, and it empties my wallet really quick. I was figuring this out today so this will also be somewhat of a planner. And it all starts this weekend.

Family birthdays are the worst. November 17, 18, December 1, 27. Luckily, mine is on the 20th of December so money will be appropriate and needed.

On Christmas, everyone in the family gets a gift. That's six more.

December 7th is my parents' anniversary, #28.

Money is spent on the big holidays Thanksgiving and New Years. Hey, drinks are expensive.

Finally, it's the friends' birthdays. Some November one, forgot when, December 4, 22, 26, and January 8 if I got that right. Sorry, no time to get gifts. But if you want a nice meal, you got it. Apologies to those I forgot. Let me know when yours is and I'll include it.

Totally unrelated and in the back of my mind are the finals, December 11, 12, 13 (a Friday), and 18. At least there's none on my birthday, as has been the case for the last two years.

The Ring
The Ring stars beautiful rising star Naomi Watts as a reporter whose niece has passed away for mysterious reasons. Once she finds out her niece's boyfriend dies at the same exact time, her interest is piqued and starts to investigate. It leads to a cabin and the discovery of a videotape. She's told that whoever watches it gets a phone call proclaiming she has seven days to live. Well, she watches it and sure enough, she gets the much-feared phone call. It then becomes a race as she tries to prevent her death, dragging along her ex-husband and their child, who both see the tape.

The movie frankly is a bit creepy. The clues it provides along the way don't seem to make any sense at the time, but director Gore Verbinski (Mousehunt, The Mexican) gives us hope that it will at some point in the movie. It's all very compelling. My only problem is the extended ending. It could have ended at two separate points, leaving with us the wonder of what just happened and making us imagine what might happen. But the "third" ending spells it all out, that even though it explains a few other things, it would have been much better to leave it in the dark. Nevertheless, all turn in a fine performance, led by Watts, who was also excellent in Mulholland Drive, and while not gory as recent horror films have been, the scary parts are all in your head, where they should be. 3 stars

8 Mile
Eminem stars in this autobiographical movie of sorts documenting his roots from poor punk to renowned rapper. He stars as Jimmy Smith, Jr., a guy who's left his pregnant girlfriend, but with no place to go, he heads back home, where his mom is with a dead-end boyfriend who claims he has a settlement check coming. While he works at the stamping plant, his true plans are to rap with the best of them. But something seems to hold him back. The first time he tries to battle at the Shelter, he chickens out. In the course of a week, his life goes through many twists and turns, including the introduction of Alex, played by Brittany Murphy, promises of free recording time going poof into the air, beating up the aforementioned boyfriend, etc. And through it all, he finally discovers the only way to overcome his weaknesses is to admit them first and inevitably, it leads to success.

A movie like this is meant to be formulaic so the key is the presentation. And while the battles that bookend the movie are well-done, the movie quickly gets tired showing the aspects of Smith's downed life. Yes, he's poor. Yes, he's white. Yes, he's at a dead-end job. No point in showing it over and over again. Yet, director Curtis Hanson does indeed pile it on to the point where we all feel so low, we gotta root for Smith at the end.

The women in the film have nothing to do in the film. All they become are sex objects. That's how we see mother Kim Basinger in the beginning of the film. That's what Jimmy and Alex do at the stamping plant. That's what Alex and Jimmy's managerial connection do at the radio station. Heck, that's what Alex will probably do in her future modeling career.

But above all, all of these so-called events in the movie are too funny to be in a gritty drama. There's the obvious comic relief with Cheddar Bob, always saying the "white" thing in a black crowd and awkwardly stopping a fight by pulling out a gun, firing a shot in the air, putting it back in his pants, and accidentally shooting himself in the groin. But then there's also scenes which I guess are not mean to be funny. Like when Jimmy discovers his friend doing it with Alex, he starts beating him up, but soon enough, the cameras go to the point of view of the other side of the glass window where people are talking on the air, but don't seem to notice the events on the other side.

But the battles, sometimes incoherent by the audience reactions, save the movie and Eminem does well in a role he's suited for, playing himself. 2.5 stars

After writing about Election Day in the previous post, it's only fair to share the results.

As anyone who has taken a Political Science class knows, Americans like to see the system of checks and balances stay true to form. As a result, in the first midterm election after a Presidential election, the Presidential party will lose seats in both houses of Congress. But the added variable of President Bush's high approval rating pushed this philosophy aside. Republicans had a great night at the polls, widening their lead in the House and regaining control of the Senate. The last race in the mix is Louisiana, where the incumbent failed to get 50% of the vote on a ballot with nine candidates. So a runoff will take place in 3 weeks.

In any case, Republicans have a 51-47 Senate lead with 1 independent with surprising victories in Minnesota, Georgia and Missouri and a tough loss in South Dakota, though a recount is scheduled here. The House currently has 226 Republicans vs. 204 Democrats with a handful of races to be decided.

While Republicans were making gains all across the country, they were unheard of here in California. All statewide offices were swept by Democrats with the highest one of Governor going to Gray Davis by a margin of 5 points. Davis earlier in the day had expected to speak at around 10pm to claim victory, but at that time, Simon was still leading in early returns. By about 11pm, Davis took the lead and widened it to about 4 points, assuring victory. Arnold's Proposition 49 passed but Proposition 52's same-day voter registration failed. Turnout was a record-low 46%, even lower than the 58% prediction by the Secretary of State.

Here in Berkeley, Tom Bates will be the next mayor, replacing incumbent Shirley Dean. Bates will try to use his state assembly experience to unite a fractured city council of half liberals and half extremely liberal. Measure P, limiting heights of buildings, failed, as did Measure O, which would have forced Berkeley coffee houses to sell politically correct coffee (organic or bought in "fair trade").

Back home in San Jose, it was all quiet. Measure F, raising the hotel tax to 14%, and Measure J, my high school district's proposed parcel tax, both received a majority of the votes but did not receive 2/3 of the vote, so both failed.

Tuesday is Election Day. Yes, it's only midterm elections, but it is your patriotic duty to vote or this thing called democracy just wouldn't work.

The country faces one of the most evenly divided elections in history and now more than ever, a single vote can change the balance of things. Just ask Al Gore from a couple of years ago. The Democrats lead the Senate by only one seat with 34 seats up for grabs, 6 of which are considered competitive. The Republicans lead the House by 6 seats with all 435 seats up, with only 44 competitive. Pundits are concluding the House will stay with the Republicans but the Senate is a toss-up.

Here in California, we're in a region the national parties have forgotten. Why? We're mostly Democrats. And with a stronghold like this, resources don't need to be devoted to us. But there are key races to be decided tomorrow, if you're registered to vote. Most important is Governor. Bill Simon and Gray Davis have run negative campaigns that has scared away the electorate (Only 58% voter turnout expected with 25% undecided as to how they'll vote). So now it's a question of who is the lesser of two evils. If you believe a professional polling service, Davis has a seven point lead. Believe Simon, you've got a 1-2 point race. Believe Davis, it's up to 10-15. As one of the few people registered as a Republican in Berkeley, (so few in fact, articles have been written about it), Simon is it for me since Davis has proven he can't do the job: he isn't well-liked, hasn't been able to work with the Legislature, let a budget surplus turn into the largest budget deficit in state history, allowed the power to turn off, earns campaign money every chance he gets, and the list goes on and on. No, Simon isn't perfect at all. His missteps during the campaign, false accusations, taking a position and then taking it back, shows off his inexperience. But the last time accusations like this were being made, we got George W. Bush into the White House. So it might not be so bad after all.

Arnold Schwarzenegger was here recently to promote his proposition, Prop 49, the after school initiative. Supposedly, it increases funding for more after school programs to keep kids off the streets. It's a nice idea, but vote no. In these tough times, money needs to be allocated where it's needed. This initiative will just tie up the money for after school programs and nothing else. Besides, today, after school programs receive lots of money already. Placing a guarantee on this money will just make times harder, possibly cutting into education funding all together, which is something that should be avoided.

Proposition 52 should also be voted down. Same-day voter registration not only is open to fraud, but it adds an extra burden to counties trying to modernize voting systems and making sure votes are counted correctly. Heck, I voted absentee this time and I still got a chad ballot. So you can imagine how many problems poll workers will face on election night.

In Berkeley, we're trying to elect a new mayor. The incumbent, Shirley Dean, is facing a tough battle against Tom Bates, a former state assemblyman. Both have good qualities. Whoever gets elected will do a fine job. So tie goes to Dean since she's already mayor. The most important city measure is Measure P, regulating the heights of buildings on University, San Pablo, and other major streets in Berkeley. Some residents are worried tall buildings will pop up all around the city, making that closed-in feeling until the city is just gone, gone, gone. Height limits like the ones this measure is proposing are ridiculous. There's already reasonable height restrictions in the books already and public input, already pretty lengthy considering when I'm channel-surfing at midnight, the City Council meetings are still going on, will make sure buildings are built the way they want it.

Back home in San Jose, not much is going on. We still have the same Congresswoman, basically running unopposed. No other seats are up for grabs. The major measure is Measure F, increasing the hotel tax. I never stay in a hotel there, so it won't affect me.

So go out and vote. And you'll get a cool sticker too.

Other things that have caught my eye this week:

Google has included this site once again in their search engine. Some of you may remember me mentioning that you could search the site on Google last month and then a day later, it disappeared. Now it's back again, but the last time it passed over it was October 3rd, so I guess it's everything up til then.

Remember Growing Pains? It was a solid family show that I felt overstayed its welcome but also ended prematurely. They came back for a reunion movie where Maggie runs for Congress. Well, the Brady Bunch with its many reunion movies is making another one and it's also going the political route. Little Bobby has found a $65 million lottery ticket. (Yeah, right..."found") So, as a Brady, he gives it to his dad, who tracks down the real winner and gives it back. The President of the United States of all people then feels that Mike Brady could be the right guy to be his running mate. And so it happens. And they win. And the Bradys are going to the White House. What a movie. Among the hilarious moments they'll have: Greg falls for an intern, Jan thinks she hears Abe Lincoln, and Cindy reveals one too many family secrets. Reprising their roles from the previous movies as the parents are Gary Cole and Shelley Long. I guess their careers have stopped dead in their tracks. This movie may be a bit too much. They should just show some reruns. It'll probably be much better than the drivel this will produce.

More TV movie hilarity. Home Alone 4 is being shown tomorrow night. Being 10 years old, I liked Home Alone. Being an older, wiser 13 year-old, I laughed through Home Alone 2. Home Alone 3? No, I didn't bother. I tried watching it on TV, but I couldn't make it through 10 minutes of it. Now Home Alone 4? Pass completely. Watch The Simpsons. You'll laugh a lot more. (A lot is two words, right? I saw a commercial where they used "alot.")

Tired of 1-0 and 0-0 soccer games? Head down to Madagascar where the recent game between Stade Olympique l'Emyrne and AS Adema produced a score of 149-0 with the latter winning. Stade Olympique I'Emyme was unhappy with the officiating during the games leading up to the playoffs and so proceeded to scoring in its own goal as a protest.

Ever wonder how some athlete got into a prestigious university even though he was just a dumb jock? Of course, the NCAA has requirements about these things. Yes, you need a 2.0 GPA in high school to get recruitment offers. They also had a SAT requirement of 820. Yes, you had to score at least this much to get recruited. But the rules have changed. You still need a 2.0 and they've increased the number of high school core courses to take from 13 to 14, and they've increased the number of units you need to take as a college freshman. But the thing that bothers me is the SAT requirement. It's been dropped to 400. To those not in the know, 400 is the lowest score you can get. You write your name and then you can leave. You've got your 400. If the requirement is 400, why bother with the test at all? Of course, it's up to the university to admit the athlete, but if he's really talented, some university won't even hesitate in giving him admission.

If a nicotine patch doesn't work, how about cough drops? Yes, nicotine cough drops will soon be hitting the stores to help you kick the habit of smoking. But is this wise? Nicotine with a candy coating? You could easily down a whole bag of them. Plus, it's Halloween.

One house was recently charged $500 for a month of electricity in Pennsylvania. This could not be, they said, so they called the electric company, which sent out a technician. What he found was an illegal cord siphoning power to the apartment next door. Now it's bad enough that people are stealing power. It's even worse when they're powering lamps growing marijuana plants.

Finally, some of you have asked about one of my recent away messages on AIM. It goes "keep looking, keep learning, keep laughing." The short story goes like this. I was watching ESPN the other day when NFL films started to show some of their most embarrassing moments. One of them was an inspriational kids show called "Field of Dreams," an educational show meant to get kids to read. At the end, the football player leaves the girl with the message "keep looking, keep learning, keep laughing." The problem was, they needed to fill in about a minute of airtime. So instead of doing something productive, they had the two repeat the saying to each other. In the end, they would say it 16 times. And each time they said it, it just got funnier.

Haven't posted in a while. And for good reason too. I was busy failing two midterms. And with that done, I'm free for another two weeks until the next one before the home stretch one month after that. There are things I want to mention that I found interesting.

First, if you read the sports updates every weekend, you'll notice I mention San Jose State attendance. You see, nobody's interested in sports there. And if things get worse, they'll be demoted. How disinterested are they? A friend of mine directed me to their athletic web site which ran a poll asking whether or not they would attend midnight madness for basketball. 83% said no. So at least the fans are honest.

Second, listen to Warren Zevon's music, one of the best songwriters out there. He's gonna die in a matter of weeks due to imoperable cancer in his lungs.

Third, The West Wing is one of my favorite shows but the way they've been portraying the election seems odd. The Republican candidate is seen as a strong guy but one lacking head-smarts and resorting to short, simple-minded responses. In contrast, President Bartlett trounces him with his witty, fact-filled remarks. Yet, quite oddly, the President is losing. Now how in the world is that? It needs to show the other side of the story. But it's too late now. The election's next week so game on.

Fourth, do people really watch and like The Bachelor?

Fifth, does anyone bother watching Survivor anymore?

Last, there's turmoil at the Daily Cal. As a frequent reader of the newspaper during my math and stats class, the quality seems to have headed south. First, they didn't have enough to write, so they cut the size of the paper. Then, they take out Dilbert. How can they do that? Then there are no more sports columnists. All they have is that guy doing short takes on sports once every other week. Plus, those columnists on page 3 aren't as interesting as they used to be. As interested as I am in Berkeley politics or Middle East turmoil or what they did over the weekend, I don't want to read it in their columns. Then they cut the number of places you can get the paper. It's due to the recession. Pshhh. Then they quote a guy who said the Bali bombings were planned by the United States, even though he didn't even come close to saying that. Honest mistake. Pshhh. Then they endorse Proposition 52 which is same-day voter registration, an idea so dumb, the Daily Cal has endorsed it. And now, three editors have left the paper due to a new policy mandating that those who don't finish editing by 9 must stay until 12:30 and see it go to the printers. Now that's a dumb idea. Why punish someone who's three minutes late by making them stay for 3 more hours? There's something wrong at the Daily Cal. But I'll still keep reading. It's free and it's better than listening to the professor.

Yes, there were small victories to be had this weekend, but ultimately, everyone was left with a sour taste in their mouth.

First and foremost, the Giants had victory in their grasp Saturday night, holding a 5-run lead with a 3-2 series advantage. Then everything that went so well for them during the season just started to fall apart. The bullpen turned into batting practice during a home run derby, allowing 6 unanswered runs to the Angels, forcing tonight's Game 7. The Giants got the first run, but the Angels chased Livan Hernandez, Game 7 winner five years ago for Florida, picking up 4 runs. The Giants had 6 innings in which to catch up, but the Angels' bullpen was just too strong and they held out for the 4-1 win. With defeat come the questions including whether or not Dusty Baker and Jeff Kent will return next year and will the Orioles defeat the Giants in the World Series next year. Only time will tell.

So when the victorious Angels yell out "I'm going to Disneyland!," don't they play right next to Disneyland? Not too special I guess.

Lost in the baseball shuffle was the 49ers' win today. They overpowered the Cardinals, jumping out to a 31-7 lead. But there are two halves to every game and the 49ers defense stayed in the locker room for the second half. The Cardinals got as close as 38-28, but the 49ers intercepted their last pass and time ran out. Andre Carter, Oak Grove and Cal product, had a sack and forced a fumble. They face the Raiders next week in a Bay Bridge battle. Hopefully, the game will be sold out so we all can see it.

The Sharks were a mixed bag, winning Friday against Columbus but losing tonite to the Blackhawks.

Cal lost on Saturday to the Beavers of Oregon State. They couldn't get any offensive rhythm going while limiting them to 24 points. They get a bye next week before facing surprising Arizona State.

San Jose State lost to mighty Boise State. Only 10,000 showed up for the game. They probably play next week but I have no clue who they're facing.

Oak Grove had a bye this week. Band and colorguard went to a competition in Gilroy and earned first place in their division. I tell ya, scoring these competitions must be one of the most complicated things to do. Just rows and rows of numbers added up for one magic number. And OG happened to have the highest one.

As some of you know, I'm a stats reader. Now I think I've been fair in grading homeworks (90% average according to my figures). And how do the spoiled kids respond? They cheat. They copy off each other's homeworks. Now a little copying is fine, one problem here, another there, but when it's the entire thing, red flags go up. And that's just wrong. I've always been suspicious, but they've all been getting good grades so it's hard to see who's copying who. But with this weekend's somewhat difficult assignment, papers stand out. Already three sets of copying with about 25 more papers to grade. One even did a problem in the wrong chapter and then the other guy copied it!

It's not that hard to get full credit from me. You got the right answer? Ok, full credit. I don't need complete explanations or laid-out work. I don't read it. But at least do it yourself. Besides, the people you're copying off of may be wrong too (of the three sets out of 130 points: 62, 92, 101 earned).

Punch-Drunk Love

"And all at once, I knew, I knew it once, I knew he needed me."
--lyric from Harry Nilsson's "He Needs Me" as sung by Shelley Duvall, a song which will be known as the song from Punch-Drunk Love instead of that song from Popeye with Robin Williams.

Adam Sandler stars in a role that is a departure of sorts, but manages to keep some of his comedic side on-screen through Punch-Drunk Love, a romantic comedy that in some ways, isn't one at all. He's a guy who's all alone with barely any interaction with others, save for his seven sisters. He does become a civil engineer and makes and sells unbreakable designer handles for toilet plungers. Things in his life come to a standstill when he ruins his sister's birthday party by breaking some glass doors and confessing to his brother-in-law that he needs to see a therapist. Desperate for interaction, he calls a phone sex line and across from an empty chair, talks to Georgia. But soon, she keeps calling back and eventually asks for money, which he refuses to do. At the same time, he meets Lena, played by Emily Watson. Motivated by a picture on the wall, she wants to meet him and get to know him. And it seems it was love at first sight. When she leaves to Hawaii for business, he promptly chases after her, even if his scheme for one million frequent flyer miles won't go through for another 6 weeks. It is when they get back from Hawaii, and this path meets up with the path of Georgia and her money scheme, when Sandler's Barry Egan finally begins to realize direction in his life.

Director Paul Thomas Anderson has mostly been associated with long, carefully detailed films on dark subject matter such as the porn in Boogie Nights or death in Magnolia, itself a 3-hour movie. But this 90 minute movie flies by so fast, I was wanting more. Watching Sandler and Watson interact on-screen was fun to watch. Even the one song in the film fits in perfectly with the situation those two find themselves in. But Sandler shows real growth from the simplistic characters seen in his purely comedic roles. From loneliness to craziness to a romantic to headstrong, he plays everything in this film. He could actually make the leap to dramatic roles, as most recently Jim Carrey has done with modest success. And in this chracter-driven movie, Sandler really lives up to expectations and exceeds them. During the first half of the movie, his character was erratic and distant. But once he had someone to care for and knowing the feeling was mutual, he takes control of everything, his love, his anger, everything, as shown when the 4 blond brothers who are getting Georgia's money from him get beaten up after hitting Barry's car, giving Lena a cut on the forehead. Yes, at the end, there will be questions. Like why does Barry let Georgia's boss go after confronting him about stealing money? But what PT Anderson movie doesn't make you ask questions? All I know is, it was entertaining to see and I'd see it again. And that's that. 3.5 stars

Did anyone watch Boston Public Monday? Replicating the recent riot among students in San Francisco's Marshall High School last week, Winslow High also had their own riot to complain about their learning environment. With POD's anthem, Youth of the Nation, blaring in the background, the students pretty much tore up the school. Of course, the whole scene was drama at its fullest, but where were all the adults? The vice principal screaming from the stairs and the principal just staring blankly into the crowd ain't gonna do anything while some kid breaks glass for no apparent reason. It's inner city Boston, where were the police?

Continuing on the theme of the students' voice, the Daily Cal had an op-ed piece by Tom Daschle (D-SD), the Senate majority leader. Titled "Student Voice May Shift Federal Power," he says that "now is this generation's time to not only keep our republic but to strengthen it. Now is their time to shape America to their ideals, and that work begins at the ballot box. So I urge students to get involved in this year's elections, regardless of party preference." While the purpose of the article was to get students to vote this Election Day, he manages to sneak in some partisan Democratic comments doesn't he?

Every elected official, Democrat and Republican, understands that the safety and security of the American people is our first responsibility. Democrats, however, also understand that the challenges we face go beyond national security and homeland security.

I would argue that, during the past year, Democrats have used our majority in the Senate to enact positive change, and to keep inadequate and even harmful legislation from slowing our national progress.

So where's the Republican response? Running a Democratic article seems to tip the scales doesn't it? At least they ran it in the opinion section, probably the least-read section of the newspaper.

This weekend in sports is highlighted by Cal's victory over UCLA in football. It was an ugly game with Cal setting a record for penalties. But that along with the pressure of a decent-sized 46,000+ crowd at Memorial Stadium under the portable lights and also in front of a national audience on TBS didn't break the Golden Bears as they stood their ground for a 17-12 win. With 5 wins, they have more wins than the last two seasons combined. One more win and they can qualify for a bowl, if only they weren't on probation. Of course, Cal is appealing the ruling.

I went to the homecoming game of Oak Grove vs. arch-rival Santa Teresa con mi amigo Jon, the guy leaving all these comments around the blog. With the game moved to nighttime, the classes took advantage by adding lights to their homecoming floats. The senior class won, their theme escapes me, but it was noted that they are the only class to win all four years. The game was boring as OG won 41-0.

San Jose State football lost 52-24 to Nevada-Reno. I guess the high-altitude, gambling, and buffets took their toll on them. Against Boise State this weekend, they're hoping for a turnout of 20,000. If you remember, they were expecting 15,000+ against Tulsa a few weeks back. Instead, they got only 10,000.

The Sharks really need to sign those free agents. They lost to Colorado by giving up two goals late and lost tonight to the Canucks by giving up 5 goals in 7 minutes, a Sharks record.

Niners lost. Raiders lost.

Finally, go Giants. They're tied 1-1 in the World Series, with the next 3 games held in nearby San Francisco. And as we know from the tune, when the Giants come to town, it's bye, bye, baby.

On September 1st, I posted a link to an article about the little-known facts of the Karate Kid trilogy. Look for it in the archive. It's funny. After getting home from a screening of Punch-Drunk Love (excellent movie), I turned on the television to find Part II on Telemundo. Yes, it was in Spanish, but the language of the Karate Kid is universal. Luckily, or unluckily, there was only the last 10 minutes left. But the ending is so laughable, I thought there was laughing gas being pumped into my room. Fighting over a girl, Daniel and the tough Asian guy square off on a bridge. After sparring for a bit, the taiko drums begin banging and those little drums with pegs attached to a string are being twirled around as fast as possible as if giving strength to Daniel. Just like in the WWF when Hulk Hogan got stronger after every punch or the Ultimate Warrior got strength by pretending to be electrocuted from shaking the ropes. Soon enough, they start trading blows. As hard as they can, they hit each other 12 consecutive times. (12!) And it doesn't even hurt until the final one when the Asian guy goes down. Daniel goes in for the kill, then pitches his nose. Ah, that Karate Kid. Hilarious weak guy that he is.

In the meantime, while the President may be giving us unintentional laughs, other parts of government have been doing it on purpose.

Colin Powell spoke a few nights ago about Iraq and decided to joke about the Iraqi election of Saddam Hussein as mentioned below. "In Iraq," he says, "they don't have hanging chads. All they have are hangings."

Senator John McCain hosted SNL last night. I haven't watched it yet, but judging from past appearances by other politicians, it could be mildly entertaining. Then again, SNL has been off its game this year after Will Ferrell and Ana Gasteyer left.

And according to the Daily Cal, it's suspected that somebody brought in a tank of laughing gas into the Senate chambers on campus and pumped it in during a session last week.

Wednesday night's ASUC Senate meeting was business as usual until the senators broke out into uncontrollable laughter for 20 minutes at midnight.

"You are all out of order. I don't know if you guys are ADD tonight," said Executive Vice President Han Hong at the meeting, before being distracted herself by one of the many side conversations.

Aloha Independence Senator Kris Cuaresma-Primm announced that his girlfriend, UC Berkeley senior Mika Thieme, had released laughing gas from a scuba tank in the senate chambers while sitting in on the meeting.

Thieme later denied that any laughing gas had been released, although she admitted she did open a scuba tank outside senate chambers.

"I don't know why everyone was laughing, but it had nothing to do me," Thieme said.

Although the laughing was uncharacteristic of behavior at senate meetings, senators said it did not interfere with their ability to conduct business.

Whether mangling words, obliterating a famous cliche or just saying something weird, President Bush has injected occasional awkward moments into many public appearances, typically leaving listeners with quizzical looks on their faces.

The president recently told an audience at a Nashville school: "We're trying to figure out how best to make the world a peaceful place ... there's an old saying in Tennessee - I know it's in Texas ... it's probably in Tennessee - that says, fool me once, shame on ... Shame on you. It fool me. We can't get fooled again."

The WB first gave us a young version of a heroic guy through Smallville, which features a young Superman. While the show did do us a favor by giving the world the pretty Kristin Kreuk, I just couldn't sit through watching the show. It seems awfully boring, especially in comparison to the Superman movies that were so entertaining. (OK, maybe not parts 3 and 4.) And that's why 24 is the show I watch Tuesdays at 9.

And now comes word that they want to make a show revolving around a young MacGyver. Now MacGyver was one of my favorite shows in the 80s. Man, the things he could do with a paper clip and some bubble gum. Along with the movie that they're planning, it all seems like a really bad idea. MacGyver was a smart show and in an age where The Bachelor is a big hit, Young MacGyver may get dumbed down too, being on the WB, or else nobody will watch. Besides, we all saw how horrendous the Young Indiana Jones Chronicles were. Stop it before it's too late.

Today is Iraqi election day. It's a day when Iraqis can voice their opinion on who will be their next president. The candidates are Saddam Hussein and, um, yeah, that's it. The last time he was re-elected, he got 99.96% of the vote. So, presumably after eliminating 0.04% of the population, estimates are that he might go for the big 100% this time. Sure, you can abstain from voting, but all ballots have a code with your voter card, so they'll know who you are, so that next time, they will reach 100%. Sure, by then, "regime change" will occur, but he can hope right?

UPDATE: Saddam has been re-elected with 100% of the vote.

Speaking of regime change, here's why President Bush wishes to accomplish it, in cartoon form.

With the reappearance of the movie list to the left, some of you have asked, why haven't you seen so-and-so movie? Officially, it's because I'm studying. Really, I'm just lazy. But like September, October has seen its share of uninteresting movies. Knockaround Guys? Swept Away? That talking vegetables movie? The Man From Elysian Fields? Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever? (I know, this came out in September, but really, it's never gonna get any good in any month.)

But the award for best ad for a movie I won't see goes to Wasabi. No, it's not about eating sushi. It has Jean Reno, the professional from The Professional, or Leon, as hardcore fans know it.

The ad writes that Wasabi is "quite possibly, the greatest French-language, English-subtitled, Japanese action-comedy of all-time."

So if you can even name another French-language, English-subtitled, Japanese action-comedy, you really must ask yourself, is it better than Wasabi?