To the left is Russian President Vladimir Putin. To the right is Dobby from Harry Potter 2. Do they look alike? Apparently, some Russian lawyers think so. They're threatening to sue Warner Bros. over it. While it's unlikely it will reach a court of law and they don't exactly look alike, it's funny to think about, isn't it?

What is it with this sudden avoidance of the educational process? Once you make mistakes, you're supposed to learn from them to be better the next time. Yet the creative solutions to avoid this should get them some credit.

A boy got a pretty bad report card and didn't want to show his parents. Instead of just hiding the report card from them or just ripping it up, what was his solution? In the process of burning it, it gets outs of control and subsequently burns the house down.

Another boy, in Portugal, wasn't prepared for a math test. Instead of cutting class or guessing, he somehow obtains toxic gas and sprays it in the classroom, sending the teacher and six students to the hospital. Though he did manage to avoid the test, he may get 8 years in jail or wherever they put teens in Portugal.

Like I expected, the Super Bowl music wasn't a complete success. French-Canadian Celine Dion sang God Bless America. Oxymoron perhaps? Or just moron? The Dixie Chicks sang the national anthem. I dont know, I don't like it when people put their own personal touch on it. Shania Twain lip-synched. That was terrible. She goes into the crowd and her lips just stop moving. No Doubt and Sting were good, but they should've sang some newer songs. And what was with Sting's shirt?

I was in the bus today when I passed by the Hot Tub store. I've probably passed by it hundreds of times now, but today as the bus was stopped, I noticed their hours of operation. They're open from 11:00am to midnight. Midnight? There are many questions that are raised from this: What kind of hot tub store has to be open until midnight? What kind of things are happening over there? How can I get in on the action?

In the news today was the first U.N. weapons inspection reports from Iraq. Basically, they said we couldn't find anything because Iraq isn't willing to provide full disclosure. I always thought inspections weren't a good idea. I mean, Iraq is in a lose-lose situation. If they find weapons, it will force Bush to go to war to force Hussein out of power and remove the weapons. If they don't, it will force Bush to go to war to force Hussein out of power and find the weapons himself to remove them. So what's the point? Go to war now or leave them alone. Delays through inspection, indecision, and infighting shouldn't be an option.

Has anyone seen the commercials for this Final Destination 2? Have these people called their agents? Have they thought about the lines they are saying? Oh, "it's caused a rift in death's design." Please!

And I thought I'd never see this: Darkness Falls beats National Security for the top spot at the box office.

What began with loud cheers and promise ended with silence and disappointment. The Raiders lost 48-21. Congrats to the Bucs. As for the riots, could someone look out for my apartment and make sure it doesn't burn down?

Today the Super Bowl occurs and while the game will be exciting and the commercials promising, I have to ask about the entertainment first. Doesn't it seem focused on one segment of the American audience? Look at what you have. Celine Dion. Dixie Chicks. Shania Twain. No Doubt. Sting. Nothing against the last two, two of my favorites, but aren't these some of the blandest in music today? If I have to hear That Dont Impress Me Much or that French-Canadian voice again, I just might scream. I mean the last two years have been good, even great compared to this stuff they have this year. Two years ago, they turned it over to MTV, which gave Aerosmith, N'Sync, Britney Spears, Nelly, and Mary J. Blige. Last year, it was Mariah Carey and U2. Now, they've got a COUNTRY star, a band who hasn't hit mainstream quite yet with a lead singer who isn't getting any younger, and a guy whose popular days are behind him. This is the best the folks at Disney could do?

Sure, I don't have to watch, so I won't. Once halftime hits, I'll turn to SNL's Weekend Update on NBC. After the game, watch Alias. It could sure use more viewers watching Jennifer Garner. If it doesn't, it might get cancelled.

During the game, most people not interested in football will watch the commercials. I've only seen a couple but those two are very funny. One involves the Ozzy Osbourne with Florence Henderson and The Osmonds. The other by FedEx re-enacts the last scene of Castaway where an actor, playing the role of Tom Hanks, shows up to a house to deliver the package that kept him going through those years on the island. The woman answers the door and receives the package. The actor asks what was in the package and she replies, "Oh, just a satellite phone, water, some supplements, and seeds."

As for the actual game, it should be an interesting one. Tampa Bay's #1 defense against Oakland's #1 offense. I'm home in San Jose so win or lose, I'll be safe in case those Oakland fans decide to burn the city down. This time, I think offense wins out, barely. Oakland 24-21.

When I saw this on the news, it made me want to write about it here. When I saw the people at the Daily Show make fun of it, it made me want to write about it here even more. Last week, our President made a trip to St. Louis to drum up support for his economic stimulus plan, a bold, if flawed, plan to boost the economy a couple percent this year. (It's too big, doesn't help the middle class enough and provides no help to the states, which will raise taxes anyway, neutralizing Bush's intended effect.) Anyway, he decided to make his speech in a warehouse, where supposedly the heart of the economy occurs, in the shipping process to various stores.

This particular warehouse is full of boxes. He could have chosen anywhere to stand and there would be boxes behind him. Yet, where they set up the podium, they also put up a large poster board with a picture of boxes, which looked awfully weird and totally fake. You could also see wording on each of the boxes, prominently saying Made in the USA. This would be no problem except for the boxes in front of the president's podium. These had tape on them in one particular area. It was covering up the fact that each of the boxes had Made in China written on them.

Now, scenery was only half the problem. The other half was Bushisms. President Bush decided to tell the audience about an encounter he had with a small business owner supposedly enthusiastic about the economic plan.

"So I met a guy today named Joe. He runs Software-to-Go. He's got three employees. He said, I looked at your plan. Where are you, Joe? There you are. He said, I looked at your plan. He said, by allowing businesses to expense up to $75,000, it means somebody is more likely to buy a copying machine, or in this case, an architectural fancy machine. But the point is, is that he then has more business opportunity, even though this tax relief doesn't affect him directly. It affects his customers. It makes his customers more likely to buy a product. And when Joe's customers are more likely to buy a product, he's more likely to be able to employ people."

If you can figure out what an architectural fancy machine is, you're on the president's level. And I'm really sure Joe looked at the plan and said those exact words. But hey, the president's a nice guy, isn't he?

Also of interest was that "should any Iraqi officer or soldier receive an order from Saddam Hussein, or his sons, or any of the killers who occupy the high levels of their government, my advice is, don't follow that order. Because if you choose to do so, when Iraq is liberated, you will be treated, tried and persecuted as a war criminal."

Hopefully, he meant prosecute.

Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
Chuck Barris (Sam Rockwell) wasn't a successful guy growing up. Girls rejected him. Jobs were going nowhere. It wasn't until television was introduced to his life when things started to get real and interesting. He worked for NBC as a tour guide. He wrote a popular, if terrible, song for television. And finally, he was the producer of a few game shows including The Gong Show, The Dating Game, and the Newlywed Game. During the early part of his career, a CIA agent, played by George Clooney, recruits him and soon he's trekking all over the world to assassinate various communists and revolutionaries, all under the guise of chaperoning kids on their game show winning trips to such location as West Berlin. Soon, once he's in their world, he's forced to balance his delicate home life of his game show, which some say is deteriorating the culture of America, and his smart girlfriend Penny, wonderfully acted by Drew Barrymore, and his secret life consisting of these assassinations, a beautiful girl named Patricia played by Julia Roberts who supplies the information, and the suspicions that someone is after him.

It's not known whether it's a true tale or not. Even though Barris himself wrote it, he calls it an unauthorized autobiography. This movie truly doesn't answer that question clearly. Still, the tale Barris tells is a fascinating one, adapted to the screen by Charlie Kaufman, who released another movie in the form of the film Adaptation. Director George Clooney does a good job directing for the first time, keeping a good pace throughout the film even though nostalgic folks will lament the lack of old clips or re-enactments of Barris' game shows. Also, there's so much to show, some scenes get cut short, sometimes not deservedly so. In fact, we could have seen more of Barrymore's Penny and Roberts' Patricia since they're the most important people in Barris' life, contrary to the screen time they're given. But I'll give Clooney points for fitting in all he did. Rockwell brings energy to his role in one of his best roles to date, both in his portrayal of the game show Barris the public knows and the range he shows in solitude and his secret life. 3 stars

Yesterday and today was nothing too exciting with the exception of my real analysis class, where we saw a different side of my professor. First, when he counts in his head and uses his fingers, he always starts with his middle finger, which kinda bothers me. And now a few choice lines:

"So what?...So what?...So what?...So what?...So what?...OK, now why?...So what?"--in response to a question he put out to the class.

"So what are you trying to say to me?"

"I just don't like it when I'm writing and you're asking a question or I'm talking and you're asking a question. Just wait until office hours and be quiet."

"And now I have a challenge problem for you!"--in some weird high-pitched voice.

Oh, and in my UCSD satellite class, the professor tries to put class participation from all 3 classes into all his lectures. But this is troublesome when he tries to tell a joke, when punchlines need to be told quickly. Yesterday, we were discussing Walras' Law when he asked a question to the UCLA folks that was meant to be a joke: "What is the common misspelling of Walras' name?" Obviously, it's Walrus but with satellite delay, it just made the joke worse than it already was.

Observations on this the official first day of school:

I had the best night of sleep in what seems to be months. I fell asleep at midnite with the hope to get up and be unhurried as I made my way to class at 9:30 in the morning. That came crashing down when I neglected to set my alarm clock and woke up at 9. I guess I'm lucky I woke up that early. So I rushed to get ready and forgot to eat breakfast as I raced for a non-existent bus leading to a run, well a brisk walk, up University to class at Pimentel.

The realities of attending a public university mean having to sit in the aisle of a huge lecture hall. Yes, my class was over-enrolled and with me getting there, technically, on time, there were no more seats left. So I sat in the aisle with the big air conditioner above my head. 80 minutes of that and a lot of body aches later, I rushed out. Only 90 minutes til my next class so I went to eat something. I think it was a hot pocket.

There were a lot more people roaming the campus for some reason. As usual, I tried to stay away from them, most with flyers in their hands. I hate those people so much. Let's see, line at the student store. Line at the class pass place. So I chose to do those things tomorrow.

I got back to encounter another crowded classroom, 55 people in a room meant to handle 40. I got there five minutes early and managed to get a seat but it was at a right angle to the chalkboard. I tell ya, either less students or bigger classrooms, please! The professor actually got into the material today. I wrote 4 pages of notes and I wanted to go home. But it was a Tuesday and I had another class afterwards. That class was bigger, but that only means they get to cram more people in, but it wasn't as bad. The only seat left was in the back, and with the way the room is, I'm at a disadvantage with my limited height.

And you know what, that's it. It didn't feel like a first day of school. After all, I've been in Berkeley for two weeks now. But still, it was busy and I'm really tired. Now it's nothing til noon tomorrow.

Super Bowl XXXVII will pit the Oakland Raiders against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after their victories yesterdayy in their championship games. Tampa Bay managed to score 27 points against the #2 defense of the Philadelphia Eagles (Tampa Bay's #1 on defense) while Oakland, themselves the #1 offense, scored 41 on Tennessee's respectable defense. While my loyalties lie with the 49ers, it's hard to overlook Oakland and its Raider nation. And it's comforting to know that win or lose, they'll still riot in the streets.

I predicted Raiders-Eagles, but with the latter out of the mix, look for the Raiders to win another Super Bowl in a medium-scoring close game against Tampa Bay and its former Oakland coach Jon Gruden and look for me to cover my ears as my dad cheers them on.

Most will forget that San Francisco was supposed to host the Super Bowl this year. Wouldn't that have been somethin? Oakland playing in 49ers Stadium for the championship. Yet, it wasn''t meant to be. The plans for the $500 million stadium/mall fell through and San Francisco gave up its rights as host to San Diego. Today, a new stadium for the 49ers is still up in the air while the team continues to play in the deteriorating Candlestick Park/3Com Park/San Francisco Stadium at Candlestick Point.

Adaptation
Directed by Spike Jonze, this stars Nicolas Cage as Charlie Kaufman, the screenwriter hired to adapt "The Orchid Thief" by Susan Orlean (Meryl Streep). Yet, he can't come up with any ideas as to how the movie version of the book will be. It's just a long book where nothing really happens. Charlie's brother, Donald, complicates things by constantly bothering him about his own screenplay he's writing. Every once in a while, the movie shifts to the events of The Orchid Thief, where Susan is researching about John Laroche (Chris Cooper), the main character who does anything and everything to steal orchids, the one thing he loves so dearly. So, as Charlie's struggle continues, he decides to meet and follow Susan, leading to the spark that leads to a finished script, but at a price.

Adaptation is partially a true story with Charlie Kaufman and Spike Jonze teaming up to adapt "The Orchid Thief" after their critically-acclaimed hit Being John Malkovich. Donald is an imaginary character, but received a screenwriting credit for the film.

This borderline drama/dark comedy was captivating for the first half hour as we heard the voices inside Charlie debating what to do about his screenplay while developing the relationship between Susan and John. The scenes with Donald are fun to watch as an obvious novice attends one screenwriting seminar which leads to a script being shopped around. But this one note was being played throughout the movie and eventually wore itself out. The constant self-referencing had my head spinning and sometimes made me lost. It didn't last long as the twist to bring together the two separate storylines was a brilliant plot device. It's interesting to note that the finished product Charlie creates is exactly what he wanted to avoid writing in the beginning of the film. Overall, this movie about the difficulty of writing a movie was funny and interesting to watch. Cooper and Streep turn in excellent supporting performances but Cage's lead role will probably get lost in a year filled with strong lead performances. 3 stars

The Pianist
Renowned director Roman Polanski has created a Holocaust movie. The subject matter has been beaten to the ground already, but Polanski, himself a Holocaust survivor, breathes new life into it by basing it on the memoirs of a Polish pianist named Wladyslaw Szpilman (Adrien Brody), starting with a bang, and ending it with triumph. The story begins with the German invasion of Poland. Warsaw has been bombed and the process of separating the Jews begins. First, they're barred from parks and various businesses. Then they have to wear armbands with the Star of David. Then it's a move to the newly created Warsaw ghetto. Then everyone must have a certificate of employment. All the while, Germans are everywhere, pushing them around and in some cases, killing them for no apparent reason. In the midst of these events, Szpilman and his family are forced to follow every rule passed down by the government until finally the Germans create concentration death camps for most of the Jews to go to. At the last minute, Szpilman is singled out by an old friend and spared. Separated from his family, he must survive on his own, going from place to place to place within Warsaw to avoid being caught. And through it all, his knowledge of the piano never leaves him. In fact, he keeps going because of it and owes his life to it in the end.

Brody's performance moves this film along. He has that innocent look a young child would have even though he has gone through a hellish period in his life. You could tell he would always remain positive, if muted, even when people were dying right in front of him. And with that, the audience remains mesmerized. How could he go through so much and not be dead yet? This instinct of survival has an unbelievable quality, but Brody makes us believe through the realism he brings into the role.

Polanski himself does a good job directing, rebounding from the disappointing The Ninth Gate from four years ago. It is a slow and calculating movie, showing every detail of Brody's transformation from successful pianist, to down-at-luck pianist to laborer to nomadic survivor, without lingering on any single event in the movie, like the shootings or the classic ghetto scenes firmly placed in our minds by previous films. Instead, everything by itself seems to be a blur but collectively, it marks one man's survival of five years in war-savaged Warsaw. 4 stars

Lately, I've been eating a lot more bananas. I don't know why. I'm reminded of the old Mitch Hedberg joke of bananas and traffic lights. (Green means hold on, yellow means go ahead, and red means where the heck did you get that banana at? Mitch Hedberg performs in San Jose in March.) Now with this new news from scientists, I'd better eat all the bananas I can because in 10 years, they'll all be gone. Gone? Can this be right? It's one of the most popular fruits in the world and they're running out. Well, not really running out, disease is decimating banana crops around the world and bananas aren't just diverse enough to fight all of them. So, scientists estimate they'll disappear in ten years. Instead of guessing its extinction, maybe these scientists should be doing something about it. A surprising Did You Know: there exists an "International Network for the Improvement of Banana and Plantain." Wow, a name like that just rolls off the tongue, doesn't it?

The Hours
Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore, and Meryl Streep star in different stories all connected by one Mrs. Dalloway. Virginia Woolf (Kidman) is in the midst of writing Mrs. Dalloway in the solitude of an estate far from London, where she truly wants to be. But the madness she's experiencing forced her husband to move her away from the city in the hopes of settling her. Laura Brown (Moore) is in the midst of reading Mrs. Dalloway. She's a depressed mother of one with another on the way. She doesn't like the role she's playing in life and obviously isn't able to function well in this role, but indecision clouds how she will decide what to do in the future. Clarissa Vaughan (Streep) is seemingly in the midst of being Mrs. Dalloway. Like Dalloway, Clarissa is hosting a party, this one for her long time friend, Richard Brown (Ed Harris), an AIDS-inflicted poet who has just won a prestigious award. But as her story progresses, she moves along as if absolutely nothing will come of it and soon questions why she's giving a party in the first place.

I'll have to admit, I found the first half of the film awfully boring. I didn't feel any connection with the material director Stephen Daldry was presenting though I did like the score, done by Philip Glass. But like a rush of water coming downstream, by the second half, I got caught up with the characters and realized their characters are so much deeper than one would seem. But as depressed as each of them are, the questioning of what it means to be alive in the world continues and each character handles it differently, all with consequences for the people around them. Instead of focusing on the story, which would be spoiled if I said anything more, this movie will be remembered for the brilliant acting done by Kidman, Streep, and Harris, even though he only had a limited supporting role. While Moore's performance was strong as well, she always seems to play strong female characters. 3 stars

In the news today, my old elementary school, Hayes, is not about to close down due to declining enrollment in the school district. It had been one of the schools on a short list targeted for closure. Instead, it's sad news for those near Blossom Valley and San Anselmo, whose schools have been recommended to close. If things get really bad in the future, Glider would be the third school to go.

In football, he Niners faltered yesterday, badly, losing 31-6. You seemed to know that by the first quarter, it was already over. And in fact, it was. But seeing how Coach Mariucci performed for the past 5 years, he deserves better treatment than the firing rumors he's been getting. He deserves that $3 million he's asking for. Besides, there's no one else around that'll be able to coach unless Bill Walsh wants to come out of retirement.

I didn't even watch the Raiders game cause I knew they were going to win. As hot as the Jets were, the Raiders are just way better. It will be either them or the Eagles that will win the Super Bowl in two weeks.

While watching the aforementioned 49ers game, I saw a Woodworks Furniture commercial. They're going out of business and liquidating their inventory. The problem with this? They've been "out of business" for 2 years now! So when will the closing happen?

And why must ABC News always mention that they're searching for America? They do realize they're already here, right?

The Curry-In-Hurry restaurant has put up a new sign for their storefront. They've got a cartoon picture of a chef touching his moustache. I'm sorry, he looks more Italian than Indian.

The powers that be in Berkeley have decided to set up a big red 30-foot piano tuning fork in front of the BART station. WHY? I have no clue.

Why is San Jose the safest big city in America? Because it doesn't have "conspicuous urban ghettos" of course.

Finally, I like the Amazon.com way of linking to other pages. Every time you click on an item, they provide recommendations for other products. You know, usually in the form, "Customers who bought this DVD also bought..." But they might want to re-word their clothing recommendations because as it stands, they proclaim, "Customers who wear clothes recommend..."

Chicago
Last year, the movie world was abuzz with the arrival of Moulin Rouge and the return of the musical to the modern cinema. This year’s must-see musical is Chicago, based on the Broadway hit. Roxie Hart (Renee Zellweger) has been charged with murder after she shot her lover when he failed to live up to his promise to provide connections to the theatre scene. She’s thrown into a prison for women, where she meets her idol, Velma Kelly (Catherine Zeta-Jones), also charged for murder. Into the mix is Kelly's hot-shot lawyer, Billy Flynn, played by Richard Gere. He’s never lost a murder trial as long as he gets paid. When he sees Hart’s story would play greater in the Chicago media than Kelly's would, he agrees to take her case with the help of her naïve husband’s hard-earned money.

Truly, I’ve been turned off by the musical. As a kid, I watched Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, a great story mired by the terrible songs they were forced to sing. Whenever I watch it, I have to change the channel when they’re singing. But Chicago succeeds on so many levels. Its songs have meaning. Its songs are catchy. Its songs are sung reasonably well. It also leads to a tempo for the movie as if it itself was one big song, with its high beginnings and its low but defining ending. Its serious scenes have a light touch just as it should be because fundamentally, it’s such a ridiculous story that in any sane forum, we just have to laugh. It’s all to keep us entertained, mimicking what the media wanted to do in the film to get the public to keep buying newspapers. 4 stars

About Schmidt
The retirement of one Warren Schmidt brought up one single question: what the heck had he done for the past 67 years? And from all the thinking and soul-searching he did, really nothing of interest. Basically forced out of the insurance company he’s worked for all his life and his wife dead shortly after, Warren Schmidt, remarkably played by Jack Nicholson in one of his best performances, decides to try to start over and accomplish something memorable in his life and make himself happy. He starts out by traveling to Colorado to convince his daughter that she is marrying the wrong man.

I was listening to Alexander Payne, writer and director of this and Election (which, for some odd reason, I saw a preview for before watching About Schmidt), and he said that everyone mentions the great performance by Nicholson but nary one word about the movie. Don’t worry, the movie’s good, but Nicholson stands out, since after all, it’s about him. With one look at a clock, we know exactly what’s wrong with him and his life. His character pours his soul out through letters to a Tanzanian boy and you just have to feel for him, not just for the content, but also for the emotion he puts into his narration.

The supporting cast doesn’t seem to change too much in terms of character through the course of the movie. In fact, nothing changes at all and it got a little tiring seeing them strike that one note they’ve been assigned to do, some for full comedic effect. But without any change, Warren can’t and won't fulfill what he set out to do. Instead, Warren just needed a sunnier picture on life to be happy. 3.5 stars

The Santa Clause 2
It’s almost Christmas again and the North Pole is busy at work finishing presents. Santa Claus/Scott played by Tim Allen will once again deliver those presents as long as he fulfills the second clause overlooked by the other elves. He needs to find a Mrs. Claus by Christmas or else he’s not Santa anymore. To complicate things, his son Charlie is misbehaving at school. So Scott goes down to fix both of his problems. It is here when he meets Principal Newman (Elizabeth Mitchell). Love and the Christmas spirit soon take its course and bring the two together on a joyous occasion. While Scott’s down on earth, his copy is wreaking havoc at the North Pole, who checked his list again and has deemed all the kids naughty. Can Scott come back, be married, and save Christmas for the world?

The holiday spirit is strong in this one and it’s just as good as the original. But I had the feeling it was all a bit overblown. Elves revolting against toy soldiers? Action scenes involving reindeer? It seemed a little bit unbelievable, even in a film based on mostly magic. I guess I was looking for a little authenticity instead of Allen making presents out of thin air. Especially after the music reminded me of Home Alone, which had a kid single-handedly saving Christmas from the bad guys. No magic involved, but those robbers were pretty dumb. Still, The Santa Clause 2 is enjoyable to watch, even now after Christmas. 3 stars

Analyze That
Robert DeNiro and Billy Crystal team up again for the sequel to Analyze This. DeNiro's mob boss character has become crazy while residing in jail and Billy Crystal is called in to get him sane again before his parole hearing. Once he's out, he turns back to normal since it was all a ruse (yeah, like we didn't see that coming). One of the conditions of his temporary release is to get a job and after successful failures, finds the right one as a consultant for a Sopranos-type show. A heist shows up to complete the film, seemingly out of nowhere.

By my short account of the film, you can tell I didn't care much for the film. The first struck a correct balance that made fun of the mob business. But that first one pretty much did all the good jokes one could do about the mob business. This just picks up the scraps. Its saving grace was Robert DeNiro. I still laugh at his attempts at comedy. But please, no more mob comedies until the next Sopranos shows up. 1.5 stars

There's a new dumb reality show out there called Joe Millionaire. It's like The Bachelor except that the bachelor is really a poor guy instead of a rich guy. Eh, if it works in the ratings with a rich guy, I guess it could with a poor guy. But my investment in the show will be the 5-second reaction of the "lucky" woman who finds out her man is not a millionaire. So until then, I'll be watching 24, which has a nuclear bomb, and Alias, which has bombshell Jennifer Garner.

And look, speaking of the Bachelor, they have the Bachelorette! Pass.

And Celebrity Mole! I liked the original Mole with Anderson Cooper as host. For this version, I have one question. What's putting the word celebrity in Celebrity Mole? Pass.

Star Search? I don't remember Supermodel as a category. Pass.

The Grammys announced the nominations for their upcoming awards show, and just looking at the people nominated, there's something about it that's screaming NOW! to me. Look at it: Avril Lavigne (who mispronounced David Bowie's name, Bow-ie instead of Bo-wie, that was awful), Vanessa Carlton, Nelly, Norah Jones, Dixie Chicks, Ashanti, Michelle Branch, etc. Who was left out? Garage bands with the word 'the' in front. And what the heck is the difference between the record of the year and the song of the year? It looks the same to me. And not only that, they've got various vocal performance categories recognizing, what else, songs! Maybe it really is that easy to get a Grammy.

Bonus note: The opening of the Curry in Hurry restaurant coincided with the opening of a restaurant called Lip and Rib a few doors down. Who's coming up with these names? Yes, I know the lip refers to how the meat is cut, but will the average person know that?

Observations on this, the first unofficial day of school:

Berkeley is enjoying some of the finest weather I've seen for a January day. 67 degrees and sunny with a little wind. Too bad no one else is here to enjoy it. The campus was deserted. The only people that were on campus were laid-back professors getting their lesson plans ready or students getting to my class in Dwinelle. Yes, I was walking to campus. The bus was a no-show as usual.

As I've said, it's a satellite class from UCSD as Econ 113 and broadcast to UCLA as Econ 188Z and Berkeley as Econ 103. The pauses were hilarious as the professor waited for us to respond to his questions. It shouldn't be too bad; the first midterm is at the end of the month. All the kinks in the system should work themselves out.

While walking to class, I noticed a new Indian restaurant opening at the former Burger King. Its name is "Curry in Hurry." As you think about the comedic possibilities and the grammatical errors in that name, I also mention that there have been three Indian restaurants opening in the last few months on University Avenue alone. Is there really that much of a market for Indian cuisine?

I trudged down to Safeway, so that I could get some eggs. Buy one get one free, you know. And I noticed all down College Avenue, the power was out. What's up with that? No rain or thunder in sight and the power is out. I expect that at home most of the time, but not in Berkeley. I haven't experienced it once here, with the exception of power surges.

If you know about Safeway courtesy, you know that they'll thank you by name once you've paid. The cashier I had was one old guy who liked football. I nodded my head when he asked me about the 49ers game yesterday. Great game by the way. 24 point comebacks don't happen too often. Anyway, he says "Thank You, Mr. Phan." And three steps toward the door, he stops me and says, "Hey! If your name was Football, you could be Football Phan. You know, like football fan?" Yeah, I gave a smile and got out of there as fast as I could.

I passed by the new dining commons at Unit 1. I was impressed by the building except for the color. Its mango/dark brown color sent chills down my spine since it kinda looks like the color of my old high school. As for Units 1 and 2, it's a war zone out there. With the students away, the construction workers have come out to play as they work to tear down the center structures and build multi-level dorms.

Okay, now I'm bored and no one else is around to be bored with me for I am only one of the few students in Berkeley.

And at the end of this abbreviated winter break, I have to stop with the fun and get to the business of school again. Wait, don't you go to Berkeley? Don't they have a semester system? Yes, I do. But I will be learning the concepts of mathematical economics from a professor at UCSD, which starts school on Monday. So I'm rushing to get my stuff in order and trudge back up to campus, where I will join 50 other college kids going to class two weeks early, so that I can listen to a guy on a satellite feed, broadcasting to Berkeley, UCLA, and in person in San Diego. Plus, I'm on the waiting list. The joys of being a college student.

This whirlwind winter break brought me to favorite places of my parents: San Francisco, the Monterey Peninsula, and Reno. And I barely had time to fix the digital camera, which I still have not done, and which may not ever be done for quite a while.

I went to the Sharks game last night. Not much needs to be said. They lost in a horrible performance.

Congrats to the Ohio State Buckeyes for winning the college football championship. Before I came to Cal, I was a big Miami fan but Ohio State had a good run this year. 14-0! Plus, my uncle went there and always reminds me of that fact.

Omar Daal, an average National League pitcher, signed with the Orioles. You know he's excited on coming when he's quoted as saying, "I told my agent that I'm pretty sure I want to go to Baltimore."

And so another year passes. Now that the partying is done, we ask ourselves, what the heck happened last year? And in retrospect, uncertainty reigned.

In the news, Iraq's intentions are an unknown. They might have destructive weapons or maybe not. Maybe Saddam wants to use them, if they exist, and maybe not. Probably President Bush wants to go to war to get rid of him and then again, well, he most certainly will one way or another. North Korea wants to start up its nuclear programs again. Al-Qaida runs rampant throughout the world. Back here, the economy is sputtering. While minor growth occurred, holiday shopping was sluggish and all the president wants to call for is more tax cuts.

In sports, unlikely teams reigned in the world as the New England Patriots, Anaheim Angels, and the Miami Hurricanes (under a first-year coach) all won championships. Local teams did ok but turmoil and coaching turnover was experienced by almost all. This includes the Sharks, who fired their coach just two months into the season. The A's and Giants let their managers go after runs into the playoffs. The only one without a new coach is the 49ers and Steve Mariucci could be let go if they don't make it deep into the playoffs.

In entertainment, sequels and franchises reigned, questioning Hollywood's ability to create the original idea instead of milking one idea for as much as they can. This spread into TV where CSI: Miami is the number one new drama and the best so-called reality show occurs in an environment where 25 women vie for one guy. This while original shows aren't doing well and subsequently being cancelled left and right.

The world also had its share of deaths from advice columnist Ann Landers to famous director Billy Wilder to Wendy's founder Dave Thomas to Bugs Bunny creator Chuck Jones to the Queen Mum to master comedian Milton Berle to TLC's Lisa Lopes to great baseball player Ted Williams.

What do we have to look forward to? More of this same uncertainty.

The economy isn't going to be fixed anytime soon. Case in point: the school district in my area is considering closing down my old elementary school. Sure, there aren't that many kids in my neighborhood anymore and two schools around us could easily pick up the load, but the memories will always linger.

War is seemingly inevitable. Will it be serious enough to activate the draft?

And personally, it will be my last full year of college. All that time to make an impression on someone to get me a job somewhere. If only I can get decent grades in these math classes. And my sister just passed the written portion of her driving test. I'm truly sorry to those of you who will drive on the same roads she will.

But even with the air of uncertainty, we've always known that we're more than capable to handle anything that comes our way and soon uncertainty will lead to a conviction toward a better life for us all. And on that note, have yourself a happy little new year in this 2003.