Oh, to the sports teams who lost yesterday. It was a losing cause on all fronts as all of them provided a letdown at some point leading to disaster ahead, some that can be fixed, others a lost cause.

To the Cal Bears, who let down after their upset win last week against USC, losing to Oregon State 35-21. Why Tedford kept Rodgers in the game after a 25% completion percentage at halftime is a mystery since he continued that dismal stat into the second half. They drop to 3-4, 3 more losses away from being eliminated from bowl contention. After 7 games in 7 weeks, they get a bye this week before traveling down to UCLA.

To San Jose State, who led equally dismal Rice 24-14 with a quarter left only to lose 28-24. Kudos to Neil Parry, he of the amputated leg, who actually got to hit somebody on the field. The team dropped to 1-4.

To the Giants, whose manager, Felipe Alou, decided not to go with Jason Schmidt, and instead went with rookie Jerome Williams saw his move backfire. His team trailed 5-1 to the Florida Marlins. Though they came back, they couldn't hang tough with a collision at home being the thing that prevented a tie and a Game 5. As it is, they lost 7-6 in the game, and 3-1 in the series, eliminating the World Series runner-ups from last year.

To the A's, the Bay Area's last hope. Coming into Fenway up 2-0, things were riding high. Tied 1-1, it was when Tejada was called out at home for obstruction that you knew it was the Red Sox night. And wouldn't you know it, at the 11th inning, the Red Sox scored 2 runs to win 3-1 and move closer in the best of 5 series.

Have you ever watched Newlyweds on MTV? On the show, Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey chronicle their lives after being married. But the show just seems like a prelude to divorce, showing every bickering moment they have with each other. The show also seems to have a fun time showcasing Jessica's spoiled past, leading to her cluelessness today. Which makes the questions on this quiz all the more entertaining, a test to see just how clueless Jessica is, courtesy of the Detroit Free Press. A couple are obviously made up but the others are just some of the classic moments from the show. I started watching it but then there were just so many better things to watch that I just gave up on it. I couldn't hear her whine anymore when I can watch 24 or something. Click for the answers.

1. True or false: She refused to try a buffalo wing, explaining, "I don't eat buffalo."

2. True or false: She took her Louis Vuitton handbag on a camping trip.

3. True or false: She thought the plural of mouse was "mouses."

4. True or false: She assumed you can listen to AM radio only in the morning.

5. True or false: She mistook a plastic bag on the beach for a jellyfish.

6. True or false: She had trouble figuring out how to use a garage door opener.

7. True or false: She didn't know how many beers were in a 12-pack.

8. True or false: She asked if she was eating chicken or fish while consuming Chicken of the Sea.

Remember in horror when people gasped at the thought of $10 movie ticket prices? That phenomenon is almost here to San Jose. Good thing there are student discounts at most places.

The highest around I've seen is $9.50 at Metreon and AMC. Century usually charges 8.50-9.50. Tomorrow marks the opening of Century Oakridge and it will boast the highest ticket prices around according to Fandango. Weekend evening shows will go for 9.75. On weekdays, it's a quarter less and matinees will go for 6.75. According to the price list, no student discounts, but that'll probably change. The theatre's at a mall and high schoolers won't pay $10 to see a movie.

Truly, I don't believe anyone else would pay $10 to see a movie. How New Yorkers, who pay $10 and there's no such things as matinees, can watch movies is amazing.

It's just awful and it's hiding the fact that less and less people are seeing movies since box office results are inflated and reflect the increase in ticket prices. I'll probably be at the opening though. You can't go wrong with 50 cent hot dogs and drinks.

Election Day is next Tuesday so everyone should go out and vote or if you're like me and too lazy to go out to the polls should've gotten an absentee ballot. It's a really simple ballot this go-around. One question, one pick from many choices, and two propositions.

Should you vote to recall Gray Davis? Depends on what you believe is more important. If you believe in education and the environment among other things, then you should vote against it. Davis has a strong track record in these issues including increasing school accountability and funding, protecting park lands and wetlands, and extending the moratorium on coastal oil drilling. If you believe the budget is most important, then you should vote for the recall. Davis is simply powerless in forcing the Legislature to do anything substantive in crunch time and that usually means delays in the budget. His slow response to the energy crisis while eventually balancing the enormous power deficits facing the state has pinned us to expensive contracts still years from expiring. A $38 billion deficit this fiscal year is still at least $8 billion next year, even with tripling the vehicle license fees and a hike in UC and CSU tuition as well as countless other cuts to state funded programs. Yes, the whole budget process needs to be overhauled, but under this system where two-thirds approval is needed to pass a budget, it seems Davis needs two-thirds of the Legislature to be Democrats in order for a budget to be passed. Since that won't happen, he's pushing for the threshold to be lowered, instead of working with the Legislature to pass a reasonable budget. In my opinion, the budget is priority one since it would affect eduation and the environment directly. It's obvious Davis can't handle this aspect of the job, especially with special interest money clouding his judgment and his need to fully fund his projects. As a result, I'll be voting yes on the recall.

Then again, that vote may be premature after looking at the candidates to replace Davis. In the 2002 gubernatorial election, voters were apathetic to the choice of candidates they had then (Davis and Simon) and had to choose among the lesser of evils. (Davis, only because Simon was a terrible campaigner.) In this election, a similar dilemma faces voters as all the candidates are flawed. The front-runner is Arnold Schwarzenegger. It's obvious no one's gonna push him around and he's got a host of advisors, mostly from the Wilson administration, to help him. But he's got no experience, broadbased ideas for California's future, and now some trouble with sexual harrassment from his past. Cruz Bustamante has the legislative experience as Speaker of the House in the Assembly and now Lieutenant Governor. But his time as Lieutenant Governor has been eerily quiet and now his integrity is in question from millions of dollars in donations from Indian tribes, fueling his tumble in the polls. Tom McClintock is an accomplished State Senator. But as a truly conservative Republican in a left-leaning state, his ideas may be too radical for a state looking for stability to swallow. Same problem for Peter Camejo, the Green Party candidate, who would have the same trouble moving to the right of his own extreme leftist stances.

Americans have voted for idiots before only to surprise later on with their leadership. Most prominently would be George W. Bush. Here, if you had to choose among these people plus the other 132 candidates for Governor, Schwarzenegger would be your best bet. Yes, voting for either McClintock or Bustamante would be a vote for experience (geez, their names are long), but unhappy voters are craving for someone outside the state system to institute true reform in California and Schwarzenegger, at least on the outside, has that image. Schwarzenegger may have trouble with his wild past and Democrats have denounced these actions, but troubles with their personal life does not mean it can worsen their effectiveness as a leader as hypocritical Democrats rallied to defend President Clinton after his own sex scandal.

Two propositions are also at the end of the ballot and both should be voted against. Proposition 53 mandates that 3% of state funds be set aside for infrastructure improvements. In the 70's, infrastructure accounted for 20% of the budget but today it's only about 1%. Mandating 3% be set aside handcuffs the state into trying to pay for programs from a smaller share of the pie. Sure, infrastructure is important but not as much as the quality of education in the state or other important projects that may be facing California. So vote against it. Proposition 54 would stop the collection of race data in state studies. Proponents believe this will be another step to a colorblind society where merit is paramount. Opponents believe it will leave minorities further in the dust. When even with these studies and special programs, the racial gap can't be closed, it's obvious minorities need more help instead of taking away what little help they have left. I'll vote no.

The Rundown
The Rock finds himself trying to build upon his acting career by playing a retrieval expert simply paying back his debts in order to receive the money he needs to start his own restaurant. The job that will put him over the top sends him to Brazil to find the boss' son. He's played by Seann William Scott. As a poor man's Indiana Jones, he believes he has found a priceless ancient artifact somewhere in the jungle. Before he can get it, the Rock swoops in to get him. While he got permission from the local tyrant (Christopher Walken, acting like his usual self) who's working the people in the mines and treating them harshly, Walken nixes the deal to let Scott find the artifact. That's no good according to the Rock and they start to leave only to be chased. After an accident and getting lost in the jungle, they're intercepted by the rebels hoping to overthrow the tyrant, led by Rosario Dawson. The three soon stumble upon the treasure and go on to try to save the town as well.

Sure, you'll have a lot of fun when you watch this film. But too much of a good thing can be a problem. And by the 7th or 8th fight scene, I got a bit bored by the whole thing. The first one was great with the Rock dealing with a bunch of football players. But by the time you get to the last one, the Three Amigos-ending minus the villagers helping out, you'll wonder what the point was. Well, it's simple. The point is to watch The Rock. He's got the look of an action star and comedian all in one. And in this showcase, he overshadows everything including the flimsy plot. Scott is a one-trick pony and that's in the dumb guy role, something he does well in this film. Dawson seems a bit miscast as it seems the role called for someone with more toughness. It's an entertaining venture that gets a bit tiring as it crosses the finish line. 2.5 stars

Matchstick Men
Roy (Nicolas Cage) is just another con-man with problems, a host of mental problems ranging from obsessive-compulsive disorder to panic attacks. When his drug supplier suddenly skips town and is in need of some medication, his partner in crime Frank (Sam Rockwell) recommends a therapist he knows. Dr. Klein (Bruce Altman) strikes up a conversation with him and it soon becomes known he has a daughter named Angela (Alison Lohman). The encounters Roy has with Angela soon become crash courses in fatherhood as she comes by to stay with him. At the same time, Roy and Frankie are setting up a long con with a rich guy (Bruce McGill) dealing with foreign exchange. If it goes well, millions will be earned. Inevitably, these two storylines will combine. The outcome, on the other hand, is not so predictable.

Like I've said before, I've read the book by Eric Garcia prior to watching the film and I'm happy to see the screenwriters, the Griffin brothers, and director Ridley Scott mostly stay faithful to the book, aside from the ending and the effort to make it a little more comedic and easier to follow. There were a lot of things to keep track of in the book and to watch it on screen, complemented by the performances of these actors, was such a joy to watch. Cage particularly shows his range as a neurotic neat-freak to a clueless but caring father to accomplished con-man, something hard to balance. Rockwell plays his funniest role to date and Lohman shows both the poise and spunk of a 15-year-old teenager, a role 24 years in the making. While the ending somewhat works for this movie, as the book's ending works with only the book, it doesn't in the sense that everything seems right at the end of this whirlwind. It was nice to see, but wasn't necessary. But what is necessary is to appreciate this film for its ability to tell one truly great story in a truly great way. 3.5 stars

Man, what a bust. I was all set on watching The Rundown tonite. Yes, it was being shown at Wheeler, but I chose to go to Van Ness in the city. But the traffic killed us. We got there at 7:00 for the 7:30 show. One huge line awaited us and so we waited patiently as the line started to move. We were almost there with 6 people in front of us and then...it was a full house. No more people were allowed in. I was crushed. I'll actually have to pay money to see a movie by the Rock or, at the very least, watch it as part of a double or triple feature. I did get to see Matchstick Men, one of the few movies where I read the book prior to viewing. I know, what am I doing reading books? But hey, it was a really good film. I'll sit down and write some kind of review later.

Various torrent sites have the Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King trailer from Asia. It looks like a nice, relatively low-key trailer to a grand, if long, adventure. Sure, we know it has a Braveheart type battle and the resolution of Frodo's travels, but I don't think I can, or care to, spend 10 hours in a theatre to watch the whole trilogy again to see simply that before the film alone will be released, something more than a few I know want to do. Sure, the first two were good, but weren't they just boring?

Also out is the new Matrix: Revolutions trailer at the official website. This looks like the more adventurous third parter to see.

I'll be home this weekend, but it's all business. There's a midterm on Monday to study for and I'm here for my cousin Nathalie's wedding at Villa Montalvo.

So I took that first midterm on Monday. It really did seem early. My friends felt it was early; most of them don't have their first for another few weeks. And when I walked out of that math test, I felt awful. Even with open everything a la a CS exam, it was 5 long questions in 45 minutes. I'd only finished 3 of them before there were 5 minutes left. The two I skipped I didn't have a clue on how to do and it was buried deep in my notes. So I gave a one sentence guess on both of them and turned it in. Ugh, at least the whole class didn't feel well.

Fast forward to today. The professor commented he was surprised with the results. Though no one finished in 45 minutes, he thought the exam would take no more than 5 (!) minutes. And on a 5 point scale, it you got a 4, you did well. If you got a 1, there's work to be done. If you're stuck in the middle, the future looks cloudy. I'm in the clouds, but in the brighter side of the scale rather than the darker side. I did better than I thought since he graded on general ideas instead of exact answers. Though on one where I guessed, I had to find the best approximation of a Euclidean norm with a polynomial of degree zero in the interval from 0 to 1, a mouthful indeed. I looked at it and scribbled down 1/2 without explanation, which luckily was the correct answer.

Evans Hall is to be torn down soon and be remade into 2 smaller buildings. And while this project may not be finished until 2020, it's still too late in my book. Whoever put that building there in the first place should be shot. It's not just its ugliness but its terrible to get up when elevators break down like it did today.

Now that that is behind me, there's other things to talk about. Tonight is the final debate among California gubernatorial candidates now that the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has reinstated the election date of October 7. If you haven't registered to vote, it's too late! The deadline was last Monday. Arnold Schwarzenegger is actually in this one and while the questions are given in advance, the format is open and prone to interruption so expect a free-for-all. Of course, the one who can compose himself or herself the best will take the debate. 6:00 tonight on most stations.

Darrell Issa contributed $1.7 million to the recall effort but may vote no on the recall. If Schwarzenegger and State Senator Tom McClintock stay in the race, it will split the Republican vote and allow Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante to coast to victory. Issa obviously thinks Bustamante is worse than Davis in that Bustamante has proposed raising taxes considerably and would rather support Davis than allow Cruz to cruise. But you know, I actually think Bustamante would be better than Davis due to his legislative experience which may be helpful in working with that body, something Davis has failed to do in his tenure and something that has shown with the constantly tardy budgets.

So be true, go watch, and be informed.

Lost in Translation
In this delightful and masterful character study, Bob Harris (Bill Murray) has arrived in Tokyo to shoot a whiskey commercial for $2 million. He's an unhappy and out-of-work actor, bored out of his mind, and alone in a different world. Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) has arrived in Tokyo with her husband, a phtographer (Giovanni Ribisi). When he leaves for his photo shoot for a few days, Charlotte is unhappy, bored out of her mind, and left alone in a different world. On one of their many trips to the bar on the hotel rooftop, they meet and instantly develop a rapport with each other. Together, they discover Tokyo and embrace its food and culture while, despite their differences in age and maturity, discovering love for each other.

This is Sofia Coppola's second directed feature (The Virgin Suicides) and it shows that when she has a great idea, she runs with it and is ultimately successful. It's the rest of the movie where it somewhat falls apart. The film is built upon the chemistry of Murray and Johansson and it is strong. Murray, with his roots as a comedian, has always been underappreciated for his recent works, especially Rushmore, as a serious actor. Here, he shows off both of his acting sides to rousing approval. Bob and Charlotte turn out to be very smart and perceptive of their roles in their relationship knowing one is firmly rooted with a family at home and the other is still young and still establishing a direction in life. And even so, they are a perfect match for each other. But when Coppola's attention turns away from this relationship and into their individual lives, she doesn't quite finishes what she starts. Ribisi suddenly disappears in the middle of the film. His friend, a ditzy movie actress played by Anna Faris, shows up but I haven't a clue what she's doing there. And what of that singer? But again, the focus is on the two main characters and that's all you really need to laugh going in only to become so poignant at the end. 3.5 stars

At the start of this week, it will be the 5th week of instruction. Time really does fly. With so much time passing, it was inevitable that a midterm would be posted and wouldn't you know it, my first one is on Monday. And considering I'm completely lost in that math 128 class, it's not gonna be any fun.

While researching other 128 midterms, I noticed one math professor has a running contest up Evans, that 10 floor monstrosity. Now, I get winded going up two flights of stairs, let alone ten. No clue why anyone would want to do this. But on his list, it says a student ran up 10 floors in 48 seconds, which for some reason, sounds amazingly impossible. This semester's race is scheduled for this Thursday.

In the 6th week, there's another midterm in finance econ. That class has degenerated into nap time for me. Maybe it's because Datman got out and isn't bothering me anymore. It doesn't help that the professor is dull. He's a paper type man, not a presentation type. With his monotone voice and his laughs after every little mistake he makes (too numerous to count), its prime sleeping time, something my classmates around me agree with. Yesterday, he lectured and gave a summary of what he said and said he was done with 10 minutes to spare. Nobody moved. 10 seconds of eerie silence. It took him to say, "ok, you can go now" to get the crowd to leave.

Survivor started Thursday night and it looks interesting. They stranded them in Panama with only the clothes on their backs and a little money to buy supplies at a fishing village. The ladies are pretty attractive and there's this one guy who looks like he's been stranded on an island for months already, with his long beard and pirate-like voice. It just so happens it's a pirate theme this year. Two things I noticed: Lots of Abercrombie and Fitch clothing worn. Why is that? And during the challenge, the Morgan tribe did it naked so it was funny when Drake was leading, the chiron showed "Drake ahead" and then "Morgan behind" with the camera showing their blurred butts.

Everyone's got these Prop 54 buttons to show their opposition to them and it was the topic of this week's 179 lecture. It's a nice idea to continue toward a color-blind society by stopping collection of racial data by state agencies. But this vague, wide-ranging constitutional amendment may be too far ahead of its time. Racial inequality exists in some form in some agencies and to stop collecting racial data would hinder efforts to stop the inequality.

Freddy vs. Jason
Many years in the making, Freddy Krueger, he of Elm Street who gives you nightmares, and Jason Voorhies, he with the machete and hockey mask, come together for the fight of a lifetime. In the way, of course, are dumb teenagers looking for a good time. Freddy brought the fight on himself though. You see, he preys on people's dreams in order to exist but the police's effort to make the townspeople forget about him (of course, drugs) seems to be working. Enter in Jason, whom he calls to come to rile up the town to make people remember. But Jason does his job too well, killing everyone in sight. As a result, it's Freddy vs. Jason in a fight to the death. Since both can't really die (you can only hope to contain them, ha!) and considering the amount of money it has made so far, they'll be back again, no matter who wins this round.

At the height of their so-called popularity, Freddy and Jason did their best to scare audiences. But by now, both characters are old and tired in a society where other horror and horror spoofs have spoiled our young minds. So while we crave for more to scare us, "Freddy vs. Jason" offer typical slasher material in typical teenage situations. Even the featured matchup, though taking up about half the movie, seems awfully short and takes so long to get to, I didn't care when they would start fighting each other, I just wanted to know who wins and get out already. 1.5 stars

Thirteen
Tracy (Evan Rachel Wood) is your typical 13-year-old girl. She's the good girl living with her brother and her divorced mom Melanie (Holly Hunter), who's trying to make ends meet by running a beauty salon/babysitting service in her own home. When Melanie starts bringing home her boyfriend, a recovering drug addict (Jeremy Sisto), the bonds between mother and daughter begin to crumble. It shatters completely once she hits junior high. Instead of living her life out normally, the pressures of being with the "in" crowd while seeking direction from someone different than her mother leads her to Evie (Nikki Reed), the bad girl everyone wants. One purse snatch and a fashion change later, Evie and Tracy are out on the town, experiencing a lifetime in a short period of time. Pain, piercings, drugs, and sex fill her life while Melanie is unable to adapt quickly enough to her daughter's sudden changes. It soon may not be the question on if she will become a lost cause, but when.

The transformation of Wood, best known as the lesbian teen in Once and Again, from a good girl to bad is an eye-popping one. Her performance breathes life into a film that desperately needs realism so that it doesn't look like an after-school special on what not to do. But while Tracy is the character we're supposed to be worried about and the one we learn the most from, writer-director Catherine Hardwicke and co-writer Reed pay little attention into understanding the character of Evie and her foundations. (It's Reed's experiences from her childhood in the role of Tracy that are the basis of this film.) It's easy to conclude that in a household led by a working divorced mother (cousin?), bad things are bound to happen. But many things she does, including the little twist of character at the end, left me wondering why she did such a thing. The film does an equally terrific job of watching the worried mother trying to deal with her rebellious daughter. Like Tracy, Melanie becomes lost in a new world and must find someone who can help her, but unlike Tracy's growing relationship with Evie, Melanie isn't able to succeed with anyone she reaches out to, whether its her ex-husband, boyfriend, son, or her salon customer who's some kind of therapist. It seems life goes down many paths but you need the right person to head down the right path. 3 stars

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has delayed the California recall election to March 2004. The basis of this ruling stems from the antiquated punch card ballots that raised much ire during the Florida election fiasco. Since the error rate is higher than that of optical scan or electronic balloting, punch card ballots were deemed obsolete and were to be replaced by next March. This finding of obsolescence by the Secretary of State was based on the fact that there were to be no more statewide elections until then. However, with the recall in October, 6 counties including Los Angeles, San Diego, and Santa Clara, could not get their new systems up and running by then, meaning they had to go back to the punch cards. This, proponents argue, would violate the Voting Rights Act in which every person has the right to have their vote correctly counted. Thus, the 9th Circuit, known far and wide as the most left-leaning appeals court in the country whose decisions have been overturned by the Supreme Court more times than any other court, agreed with the argument and delayed the election. Opponents argue punch card ballots in California have not had as big of a problem as Florida has had and in most times, run smoothly. If the process can be used to elect the governor, why can't it be used to recall him?

What does this mean for the poor voter? Interested parties have a week to appeal. The election for now is going on as planned. But if the decision holds, we may have to go through this recall stuff for four more months, by which time we'll be out of our minds while Davis most likely would stay in office since the Democratic Presidential Primary would be occurring the same day, sending out Democratic voters in droves while Republicans not interested in the recall would have even less incentive to vote since President Bush is running opposed for the party ticket.

Two unrelated side notes: Did anyone see the statue of Mark Twain/Samuel Clemens in Doe? It looks freaky, just staring at the wall like that. It should be in a more high profile spot. And another cuz of mine has a birthday today, this time it's Christy who turns 20.

Once Upon a Time in Mexico
Director Robert Rodriguez unleashes this latest part to the El Mariachi saga by bringing in Johnny Depp to prop up an otherwise dull drama. Depp is a CIA agent in Mexico to prevent the rise to power of General Marquez, whose army is being bankrolled by cartel king Barillo (Willem Dafoe), after a planned assassination of the President. To accomplish this, Depp recruits people far and wide to do the dirty work. The principal figure in this is, of course, El Mariachi (Antonio Banderas), who has lived in his home village ever since Marquez killed his wife and daughter and El was merely shot. Now he's out for revenge and this is the perfect opportunity. Depp also involves a retired FBI agent, whose partner was killed by Barillo, and Eva Mendes as the police officer who doesn't get any respect from her peers.

The first two installments of "El Mariachi" and "Desperado" had an air of confidence when you watched it. El Mariachi stood before the face of danger and shot it to pieces in simple stories of bad vs. badder. But here, Rodriguez, who wrote, shot, scored, and directed the film, tries to spin a tale worthy of epic proportions, a lofty goal that both complicates the plot with its twists and turns, that moves away from the brilliant gunfights that highlighted the first two films, and even shifted the story away from its main character. Even though the action was few and far between and sometimes inexplicable as to its motive (i.e. Banderas and Hayek chained together and swinging down a building), Rodriguez always had an eye for these types of things and is well-done. As for the performances, most do wel with what they're given. Hayek gets something like 5 minutes of screen time. Depp's distinctive style seems inventive and fresh until the material blindly tries to mine laughs out of his predicament. And Banderas, who is who he is, a gunfighter and patriot to the end. 2 stars.

Funny thing happened on the BART ride home today. Yes, I'm at home this weekend instead of, what I'm sure to be, the "festive" VSA picnic. Apologies to those who care, probably a select few. Anyway, the train made its way past Ashby station when it suddenly stopped. It usually never does. So we're sitting there in the tunnel when the AC turns off and the lights go out. An eerie silence hushes the passengers as the emergency flood lights in the tunnel illuminate the bewildered passengers. I was half-asleep with my CD on full-blast so if the lights didn't turn off, I wouldn't have noticed anything. About 5 minutes later, this technician comes out of nowhere just running through the trains getting from the back to the front in no time. Soon after, the conductor says the train needed to be turned off to reset its hydraulic braking. Why someone would design a contraption to turn off the train in order to reset the brakes is beyond me. It seems a bit unnecessary. So we started and stopped and started and stopped all the way to MacArthur station before returning to normal. But with no word on what was going on, sitting in that dark tunnel was just scary. At least there wasn't tons of water above my head.

Also pretty scary is David Letterman becoming a father at 56. The lucky woman is his long-time girlfriend Regina, who isn't that young herself at 43. He may be right when he says he'll be the father and the grandfather. Well, this is much better than the idea proposed by Richard Simmons when he came on the show. Himself childless and in his fifties, he proposed he and Dave combine their sperm in some test tube and then artificially inseminate someone. Eww.

After Letterman's announcement, Simon and Garfunkel performed and announced their reunion tour. Watching Art sings reminded me of the time when he and his son performed to sing the National Anthem at some tennis match, I think it was last year U.S. Open. The thing is, his son looked just like him, right down to the thinning curly hair and the mannerisms. Eww.

Finally, there were new poll numbers released by the Los Angeles Times about the recall. Recalling Governor Davis is now within the margin of error with yes on recall leading 50-47. Bustamante is at 30% support, down from 35%. Arnold went up by 3 to 25, but the real surprise is McClintock, who went up 6 points to 18%. If I were voting with my political beliefs, I would be for McClintock but the pragmatist in me may lead to a vote for Arnold, even though I'm still not convinced he's right to be governor.

They say time heals all wounds and while those directly affected haven't and probably won't be completely healed from the tragedy of September 11th, the muted reception of the second anniversary shows the country as a whole has moved on. The bells on the Campanile won't be marking any 9/11 events as it once did last year but will do what it usually does: mark the passage of time.

New York City was as crowded as ever when I visited there last month. Politically, togetherness has given way to partisan bickering as the President's approval ratings have gone down to their original levels from 2 years ago and people fret about the worsening budget deficit and the enlarging Iraq money pit. Agonizing on whether the worst can happen tomorrow has given way to worrying about when Ben and J. Lo will get married (now postponed indefinitely). But always in our hearts and on our minds, the victims will never be forgotten.

The Names by Billy Collins

Yesterday, I lay awake in the palm of the night.
A soft rain stole in, unhelped by any breeze,
And when I saw the silver glaze on the windows
I started with A, with Ackerman, as it happened,
then Baxter and Calabro,
Davis and Everling, names falling into place
as droplets fell through the dark.
Names printed on the ceiling of the night.
Names slipping around a watery bend.
26 willows on the banks of a stream.

In the morning, I walked out barefoot
among thousands of flowers,
heavy with dew, like the eyes of tears,
and each had a name --
Fiori inscribed on a yellow petal.
Then Gonzales and Han, Ishikawa, and Jenkins.
Names written in the air
and stitched into the cloth of the day,
a name under a photograph taped to a mailbox,
monogram on a torn shirt.
I see you spelled out on storefront windows
and on the bright, unfurled awnings of this city.
I say the syllables as I turn a corner,
Kelly, and Lee,
Medina, Nardella, and O'Connor.

When I peer into the woods,
I see a thick tangle where letters are hidden,
as in a puzzle concocted for children.
Parker and Quigley in the twigs of an ash,
Rizzo, Shubert, Torres and Upton,
secrets in the bows of ancient maple.
Names written in the pale sky.
Names rising in the updraft amid buildings.
Names silent in stone
or cried out behind a door,
Names blown over the Earth and out to sea.

In the evening, weakening light, the last swallows,
a boy on a lake lifts his oars.
A woman by a window puts a match to a candle,
and the names are outlined on the rose clouds --
Vanacor and Wallace,
(let X stand, if it can, for the ones unfound)
then Young and Ziminski, the final jolt of Z.

Names etched on the head of a pin,
one name spanning a bridge, another undergoing a tunnel.
A blue name needled into the skin.
Names of citizens, workers, mothers and fathers,
the bright-eyed daughter, the quick son.
Alphabet of names in green rows in a field.
Names in the small tracks of birds.
Names lifted from a hat
or balanced on the tip of the tongue.
Names wheeled into the dim warehouse of memory.
So many names, there is barely room on the wills of the heart.

One of the better aspects of Berkeley life is the weather. Cloudy mornings lead to sunny afternoons. Fine by me though I wish it were cloudy all day. But you know, ever since leaving New York, it seems I brought the hot and humid weather with me. The thermometer may say 70 but it feels way too uncomfortable. The lightning last week made things a little weird. I wouldn't know it since I didn't hear any of it, a testament to the tons of insulation that makes my apartment quiet (yeah, right) or I just slept really well. Today was even weirder. Class started at 2 and when I walked out of the apartment, the sky was blue and the sun was shining albeit it was a very small spot of blue. Lots of clouds and fog. The bus wasn't there so I started walking. Here, the clouds dominated. Then it started to sprinkle. A friend of mine told me to bring my umbrella earlier in the day. I didn't understand why. I didn't hear anything about rain. Once I hit Evans, it was a pretty heavy mist. What the hell happened?

Peter Ueberroth, the savior of the 1984 L.A. Olympics and former baseball commissioner, dropped out of the California recall race. While he denies it, reports were that the Republican party was pressuring him and State Senator Tom McClintock to drop out to allow for Team Arnold to lead the way to Sacramento. The latest Field Poll has Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante with a 5 point lead over Arnold, 30-25, with McClintock at 13, Ueberroth at 5, Arianna Huffington at 3 and Peter Camejo at 2. Revealing second choices if McClintock dropped out showed Arnold with a 2 point lead, so the pressure's on. In the meantime, Davis is looking more gubernatorial, signing bills and holding town hall meetings. It remains to be seen how his remark that the governor of California should be able to pronounce California (an obvious remark against Arnold, who makes it sound more like Cauliflower) will affect the campaign. The State Senate voted 19-2 with 19 abstaining, condemning the remark and demanding an apology. And sorry, but to me, signing that bill which allows illegal immigrants to obtain driver licenses is more pandering than effective law, especially after Davis vetoed it twice before and signed it after making the law weaker.

Do you know who the 9 Democratic Presidential Candidates are? Did you know there were 9? Did you know the election is in a short 14 months? Which is why they're holding debates now on their way to the first caucus and primary in Iowa and New Hampshire in late January. Tonight's wasn't particularly noteworthy. First, why was it hosted by Fox News, a network that pretty much caters to Republicans, even with its Fair and Balanced slogan? They were asked about Bush's $87 billion request for military funds and while they were looking for a yes or no answer, nobody would give it to them, many citing the need for more information. That's what's called ducking the question. Interrupting the debate were Lyndon LaRouche supporters, a perennial candidate who has a niche following but never makes any headway in the (at least) 4 times he has run for President. I say niche since I always see the same 3 people trying to give me flyers about him in Sproul. About every 10 minutes, a man or woman start yelling at whoever's speaking, usually Joe Lieberman, and speaks his mind, all of which was amusing especially seeing the candidates' reactions. Last week's was much better, simply to see white people try to speak Spanish.

Spike TV has a new show called the Joe Schmo show, which has an innovative idea but the execution is a bit lousy. One guy believes he has entered a reality show, when in reality, the people around him are all actors in on the joke. It would have been a better show if they were serious about the premise of the show and played more into making fun of other reality shows, but the material has succumbed to being more ridiculous and outrageous than its counterparts. While it may be Spike's mission to see two girls fondle each other or see how long it takes people to take their hands off a porn star, but ultimately it hurts a fairly original show.

It's sad to see the passing of Warren Zevon, 56. A man who put death in the forefront in most of his songs succumbed to terminal lung cancer. Doctors had given him 3 months to live, but lived a year + a few weeks. Werewolves of London was his best song but that Hockey Song was memorable too, especially since there couldn't be more than 8 or 9 hockey songs in the world.

The Restaurant was a fine show, but Mark Burnett wants to try it in a casino. Sorry, won't work.

Finally, happy birthday to my cuz, Trang, up in Davis, enjoying the last few days of summer school.

What a day for sports. And NFL Sunday hasn't even begun yet.

Andy Roddick was about to be eliminated from the rain-delayed U.S. Open, having lost the first two sets and facing match point in the third set. But you know, he won that tiebreak in the third set and easily cruised over Argentine David Nalbanian in a short 3 and a half hours with his 140 mph serve. It's too bad it won't be an all-American final as Andre Agassi couldn't win his semifinal match, leaving Roddick to face Juan Carlos Ferrero in the finals tomorrow.

In college football, Cal lost. Colorado State totally dominated the game with its quarterback Van Pelt leading the way. It was amazing to see the score as close as it was (23-21). The way the Rams moved the ball and the Bears couldn't, it should have been a blowout. But lucky bounces for the Bears' defense allowed them to contain the Rams offense late and keep the game close. SJSU lost. After scoring the first 10 points, Stanfurd scored the next 31 and may have found its new quarterback in local product Trent Edwards replacing senior Chris Lewis midway through the game.

But all eyes were on the Miami/Florida game. Brock Berlin used to be Florida's quarterback but transferred to Miami. Now both teams were highly ranked and eagerly awaiting a battle. It looked as though a blowout would occur. After jumping to a 10-3 lead, Florida scored the next 30 points. Miami's double-digit regular season and home winning streaks were in jeopardy. This was when it hit the Canes to do something. And with that, they scored 4 touchdowns to win the game, keeping Florida and its true freshman quarterback from scoring at any future point in the game. And so the streaks are still intact with its 38-33 win.

With the ugliness of the Manny Ramirez situation out of the way, the Red Sox seems to have gotten it together at such an opportune time. They crushed the Yankees again for a second day, leaving them only 1.5 games out of first place. Heck, even the O's won. How crazy is that?

And does anyone realize come October, Sharks season will begin?

Gigli
Larry Gigli (Ben Affleck) is your typical hit-man. Get the information you're hired to get and then get rid of him. This time, he gets a different job. He's hired to kidnap the mentally challenged brother of a powerful district attorney. By mentally challenged, think Dustin Hoffman in "Rain Man", but at a much lower level. What he doesn't know is that the guy has also hired another person as backup. Enter Jennifer Lopez as the lesbian partner in this scheme. As you can expect, without sex in a relationship, there's fighting and plenty of it. But at some point in the movie, they bond, and quite shockingly, learn to live with one another. Along the way, writer-director Martin Brest puts in some cameos as Christopher Walken is typical Walken, Lainie Kazan is her typical funny self but totally unneeded, and Al Pacino is more over-the-top than usual as the New York mobster who's the top man in this operation. And I think the ending is just like the one from "The Wizard" when the weird kid finally spots where he wanted to go all this time while riding along on the freeway.

So here's hoping that when Affleck and Lopez fell in love, it was on the set of Jersey Girl, because if their real love life was like their on-screen chemistry in this film, there wouldn't be talk of marriage but of breakup since there is none. Who would like to fall in love with a character like Gigli in the first place? Played by Affleck, this bad guy turned good guy in performed with utter ineptitude. Affleck can't turn this trick. It's either one or the other. IIRC, he's only played two bad guys. He was a car thief in Reindeer Games, though he turned out to do the right thing. And he was that evil angel in Dogma and at least he stayed evil in that one. In Gigli, watching Affleck try to pull off the mobster role is just as cringing as trying to watch Hayden Christensen court Natalie Portman in Attack of the Clones.

The dialogue is plain awful. I won't even dignify it by quoting from it. The transitions in the script from the crime part to the relationship part are pretty bad though you wouldn't know the crime parts if it hit you on the head the way the two kept chauffeuring the kidnapped boy all over L.A. You mean to tell me the cops never make a peep about it? Okay, so it's bad, but it's so laughingly bad, it'll get something for that. 1/2 star

Major gubernatorial candidates debated for the first time this afternoon and while 135 people on the ballot and only 5 of them debated, it seemed like a lot to listen to as the entire debate seemed rushed to cover a wide range of questions and a wide array of answers. It was nice to hear candidates speak in one sentence or two instead of mouthing on and on. It was also interesting to hear candidates disagree quite openly on the issues. One person offers support on an issue, another flat out says no. And usually, it seemed State Senator Tom McClintock was the one saying no, from legislation allowing illegal immigrants to obtain drivers' licenses to overtime rules. It all contributes to the circus-like atmosphere that is the California recall.

Of course, Arnold Schwarzenegger wasn't a part of this debate. His strength is definitely not spontaneous question and answer sessions. That's why you'll be seeing him in the only debate that releases questions in advance on September 17.

How's this for spontaneous? Speaking in Cal State Long Beach, someone threw an egg at him, hitting his left shoulder. His response? "This guy owes me bacon now. I mean there's no two ways about it because, I mean, you can't just have eggs without bacon."

Meanwhile, here in Berkeley, PS 179 today offered the voice of Georgy Russell, one of the other 130 people not participating in the debate. She is the woman who offered thong underwear on her website as a way to finance her campaign for governor. A Cal grad with a degree in computer science, Russell's 20 minute speech did not go into detail as to what she would actually do if elected, but instead offered up lessons learned on the long road up to this point; a mildly entertaining talk giving mini-profiles of the major candidates plus recall financier Darrell Issa. I say mildly since while it was an excellent spin on the recall, most of the facts given have been covered ad nauseum by the media as well as in the statements given by the Cal Democrats and the Berkeley College Republicans a few minutes before. What little she said about what she would do included raising taxes for the wealthy and to find alternative sources of funding to eliminate the need for borrowing.

Last weekend in sports saw Cal beating Southern Mississippi 34-2. The Golden Eagles' vaunted defense was heavily favored to dominate the game, led by an All-American linebacker whose name escapes me, but instead it was Cal's defense that stole the show. All facets of the game were great except for goal-line offense, where for the second straight week, could not get a touchdown from the 1-yard line. Colorado State is next on the Bears' hit list. After shutting out Grambling State 29-0, San Jose State returned to its high pay, high loss type game as it earned about a half-million to play Florida. The Gators sport a new look as their star quarterback Rex Grossman went to the Bears. The rest of the team had a lot of turnover as well. However, it didn't affect their winning ways as they beat the Spartans 65-3. Up next for SJSU is Stanfurd.

Two shows generating buzz over the last few weeks are Playmakers and the O.C. Playmakers is ESPN's first drama series. I always thought ESPN was about live sports but it looks like there's a shift going on. Playmakers examines the lives of a football team while being concerned with ripped-from-the-headlines issues. For example, this last episode was about drug testing. The star running back, who's been seen taking all types of drugs multiple times so far in the series, is concerned with the piss man coming. (Old Nick fans will notice it's Omar Gooding, host of that game show Wild and Crazy Kids, a show where kids did wild and crazy things to win cash and prizes.) So what does he do? Does he get clean? Yeah, in a way. His buddy gives him a fresh bottle of urine and he injects it into himself with the help of a doctor. Though you don't see it, it's pretty cringing. Otherwise, so far, it's a pretty average show. An addicting show is developing in the O.C. cause that's how it's done in the O.C. I must wonder if the rich people of Newport Beach actually act like the people on the show. Do they actually have fancy beach parties almost every night? Casino nights where a house turns into the Bellagio? A cotillion? What the heck's a cotillion? I'd never heard of such a word before. It gets a little whiny yes, but the storylines are pretty interesting.

Fall is almost upon us, meaning its Oscar movie season. Let's face it, very few films from the first 8 months of the year ever hear a peep come Oscar time. This year, it's the same with only Seabiscuit, Finding Nemo, and The Matrix: Reloaded probably the only major contenders with a glimmer of a chance. The rest of the nominees will come from the next 4 months. That means tons of movies will be released eager to get your attention, your money, and your votes. The following list just happens to mention some of these movies as well as others that aspire to entertain rather than receive awards.

Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star - I'm sorry. I believe this missed the August dumps by a week. David Spade is a former child star looking to re-establish his career by growing up again. (September 5)

The Order - Most of the cast of A Knight's Tale, including Heath Ledger, reunites for this pic about a murder mystery becoming something much more: sin eating. (September 5)

Cabin Fever - What could go wrong with 5 friends spending time in a cabin? Yeah, one of them has a flesh-eating virus. (September 12)

Dummy - Before the Pianist, Adrien Brody filmed this little pic about the relationship between his ventriloquist character and the puppet he brings to life. (September 12)

Lost in Translation - Directed by Sofia Coppola, Bill Murray gets a second chance in life, exploring Tokyo with young friend Scarlett Johansson from Ghost World. Judging from the trailer, it looks to be one of the best of the season. (September 12 in Los Angeles, September 19 in the Bay Area)

Matchstick Men - Nicolas Cage's life turns upside-down when he finds the daughter he never knew he had. It's one of the few books I've read before seeing the film and if director Ridley Scott stays true to its dark, comedic themes, he's got a great movie on his hands. (September 12)

Once Upon a Time in Mexico - Robert Rodriguez gets away from the Spy Kids trilogy to complete this trilogy of the gun-toting, guitar playing Mexican (Antonio Banderas). Here, a CIA agent (Johnny Depp) hires El Mariachi to take care of a cartel boss. (September 12)

Anything Else - The annual Woody Allen film finds Jason Biggs as a comedy writer who discovers breaking up with Christina Ricci is harder than it sounds. (September 19)

Cold Creek Manor - From the director of Leaving Las Vegas comes this mystery of an unsolved mystery where not much is known about the former occupants of Cold Creek Manor until they stop by for a little visit. (September 19)

The Fighting Temptations - Along with shifting release dates from August to September, the star of the film has shifted from Cuba Gooding Jr. to Beyonce. (September 19)

Secondhand Lions - A boy is sent to live with some crazy uncles in Texas. Playing the boy is Haley Joel Osment. Playing the uncles are Michael Caine and Robert Duvall. (September 19)

Underworld - Vampire (Kate Beckinsale) + Werewolf (Scott Speedman) = One Crazy Relationship. An action/fantasy Romeo and Juliet? (September 19)

Duplex - Drew Barrymore and Ben Stiller learn to live with an annoying old neighbor in a duplex that's falling apart. (September 26)

The Rundown - The Rock's first role as a real-live person, not some wrester or mythical figure, finds him in a comedy with Seann William Scott. (September 26)

Under the Tuscan Sun - Diane Lane moves to Italy for a fresh start, a beautiful home, and new love. (September 26)

The Human Stain - Anthony Hopkins is an African-American professor who has spent his life being a Jewish white man. But when he utters a racial slur in the classroom, he finds comfort in a cleaning woman played by Nicole Kidman. (October 3)

Out of Time - Denzel Washington is the police chief everyone loves until some secret financial transactions lead him to be the lead suspect in a murder. (October 3)

The School of Rock - More lunacy from Jack Black, he's a substitute teacher desperate to win a Battle of the Bands contest. So what better place to recruit a band than the classroom? (October 3)

Wonderland - The life of porn star John C. Holmes and his link to a quadruple homicide. Holmes partially inspired P.T. Anderson's Boogie Nights. Val Kilmer plays the title character. (October 3)

Mystic River - The only major American entry into the Cannes Film Festival (let's not talk about The Brown Bunny) stars Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, and Kevin Bacon as friends who were brought together after a traumatic event to one of them when they were young and unite again after Penn's daughter is found murdered. Directed by Clint Eastwood. (October 8)

Good Boy! - The top canine agent from a distant planet travels to Earth to find out what happened to his fellow canine spies. (October 10)

Intolerable Cruelty - The Coen Brothers bring us on another wacky adventure as George Clooney plays a divorce lawyer who falls for his client's soon-to-be ex-wife (Catherine Zeta-Jones). (October 10)

Kill Bill: Volume One - It's the big experiment from Quentin Tarantino. His big comeback is literally so big, it's being released in two parts. This martial arts spectacle stars Uma Thurman and Lucy Liu. When's Volume Two comin out? Who knows? (October 10)

Pieces of April - Katie Holmes tries to make peace with her estranged parents. (October 17)

Runaway Jury - Adapted from the John Grisham novel, John Cusack will sell his jury to the highest bidder. Among the bidders, Gene Hackman and Dustin Hoffman. (October 17)

Sylvia - Gwyneth Paltrow hopes to build some Oscar buzz into this pic about a troubled poet. (October 17)

Texas Chainsaw Massacre - Classic, mindless killing continues its comeback (see: Freddy vs. Jason). (October 17)

Beyond Borders - Angelina Jolie's humanitarian soft side hits the big screen in a love story between a socialite and an aid worker. (October 24)

Brother Bear - The classic animals vs. humans animated story where animals will win save for one or two casualties. In a twist, a boy and a hunter are morphed into bears. But come on, I bet you're just dying to hear the next songs from Phil Collins. (October 24)

Elephant - Gus Van Sant's look into high school violence won the Palme D'Or in the Cannes Film Festival. (October 24)

Gothika - Psychiatrist Halle Berry gets her roles reversed as she finds herself as a patient in a mental hospital accused of killing her husband. Also starring are Penelope Cruz and Robert Downey Jr. (October 24)

In the Cut - Meg Ryan plays a professor who falls for the detective (Mark Ruffalo) investigating a murder she witnessed. (October 24)

Radio - Cuba Gooding Jr. plays a mentally challenged boy who befriends the high school football coach (Ed Harris). (October 24)

Scary Movie 3 - The franchise looks to rebound from its sorry sequel to make fun of a whole bunch of fresh material. (October 24)

Alien - Ridley Scott's classic is re-released with a few minutes of unseen footage. (October 31)

The Matrix: Revolutions - True fans don't need to be reminded as to when this film will be released. Hopefully, it succeeds where its prior edition, Reloaded, underwhelmed. (November 5)

Elf - Will Ferrell discovers he's a regular human instead of a North Pole Elf and so, travels to the big city to find his family. (November 7)

21 Grams - A car accident brings together a grieving mother, a crazy mathematician, and an ex-convict. (November 14)

Honey - Jessica Alba dreams of becoming the next big dancer. We wonder if it aspires to be a hit (Flashdance, Save the Last Dance) or become a dud (Showgirls, Glitter). (November 14)

Looney Tunes: Back in Action - The animated shorts make a live-action comeback. (November 14)

Love Actually - Can you tell love is a major theme of the movie? If not, the 10 storylines that involve those 4 letters will beat you over the head with it. Stars Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Laura Linney, Billy Bob Thornton and a host of others. (November 14)

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World - Russell Crowe is out on the high seas in the British navy in this long-delayed film. (November 14)

The Cat in the Hat - Mike Myers stars as The Cat, in this Dr. Seuss classic. (November 21)

Big Fish - Tim Burton comes back to direct this pic about a man listening to the facts of his dying father's life as told through his wild imagination. (November 26)

The Haunted Mansion - Yet another Disney ride comes to the big screen as spirits haunt Eddie Murphy's attempt at a family vacation. (November 26)

Timeline - Based on the novel by Jurassic Park writer Michael Crichton, Paul Walker and Frances McDormand are archaeologists who find themselves transported to the 14th century. (November 26)

House of Sand and Fog - Self-fulfillment leads to self-destruction as recovering alcoholic Jennifer Connelly struggles to get her home back. (November)

The Last Samurai - Seemingly the Asian Glory, Tom Cruise is a Civil War veteran who comes to Japan to lead its army but instead chooses to lead a band of samurai. (December 5)

The Missing - Ron Howards directs Cate Blanchett as a mother in the Western frontier faced with the discovery of her father after years of living with Indians and the kidnapping of one of her daughters. (December 10)

Something's Gotta Give - Jack Nicholson is in love with Amanda Peet. Keanu Reeves is in love with Peet's mother, Diane Keaton. Put them in a room and I'm sure they'll figure things out. (December 12)

Stuck on You - The Farrelly Bothers manage to convince Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear to come star in a comedy in which they are conjoined twins. As you can imagine, hijinx follow. (December 12)

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - Will it be the greatest of the three and break through with an Oscar win that its predecessors could not win or will it become a disappointing battle-dominated pic along the lines of the similarly titled "Return of the Jedi"? (December 17)

Mona Lisa Smile - Julia Roberts hopes to convince college girls that life isn't just about marrying a rich man and having children. (December 19)

The Alamo - A re-telling of the classic battle between Americans and Mexicans. Remember, there's no basement at the Alamo. (December 25)

Cheaper by the Dozen - Steve Martin. 12 kids. Stir. (December 25)

Cold Mountain - As an injured Jude Law comes home from the Civil War to see his love Nicole Kidman, he encounters many characters along the way including Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Natalie Portman while Kidman struggles to revive the family farm with the help of Renee Zellweger. (December 25)

The Company - Acclaimed director Robert Altman leads a film about a ballet company. (December 25)

Paycheck - Ben Affleck hopes to shake Gigli off him by starring in this John Woo directed-pic about a computer programmer who trades in his memory for a paycheck and must re-trace his steps to find out who he is. (December 25)

Peter Pan - A live-action re-telling of the animated film. Fine, but take away the Coldplay music from the trailer. It makes the movie sound creepy with it. (December 25)

Now for the trip report. The trip was divided into two parts, New Jersey and New York. As you may now, the farthest east I've gone was Vegas so all of this was a new experience. One thing you immediately notice is the temperature. It was hot and humid, even at night. As we would see, it would stay hot throughout and would finally cool down when we left.

So the first three days were in New Jersey. My aunt moved from SoCal to the Garden State for her husband as a new job opportunity opened up. They've got 3 kids with 2 boys, 7 and 5 if I remember correctly, and a girl almost 3. All are into art, as evidenced by the art gallery of paintings in the basement, doubling as a massive toy room.

It seemed as though they lived in the middle of a forest. Trees are just everywhere and even louder animals. At night, it's very noisy with some kind of animal (its name escapes me) chirping louder than crickets. My sister and I stayed in the aforementioned basement, so we didn't hear much.

Since we got to the house at 1am Sunday morning, it was a good time to turn in. So on Sunday, we went through the surrounding locale. They live close by to Princeton University so we visited its shops, buildings, and art gallery. It's a nice place to visit. I could even see it as a much cleaner Berkeley with buildings more spread out and made of bricks. We had dim sum that day, supposedly the best one in the area. It was adequate but I'll go back home to eat with some more quality. And for some odd reason, I never did see a green onion in anything I ate. Only yellow onions. I know, petty comment but I like green onions.

The next day was spent in Philadelphia. We just had to go see the Liberty Bell. It's what the city is known for, as is its Philly Cheese Steak. Sure, you can have one almost anywhere, but now you can eat one in its hometown. Then it was to Chinatown and some mall near Chinatown. An interesting place to be at but an advertisment said to spend two days instead of one in Philly, something I can't imagine doing. I'd rather spend the extra day exploring the rest of Pennsylvania if I had a choice. Wouldn't you rather go to Hershey?

On the last day, we went to a sculpture garden named Grounds for Sculpture. It's a very simple place; get a plot of land, hire some people to build and maintain outdoor sculptures, and charge people to see it. It was a nice place to visit if it didn't get so hot.

And you know what, just like that, New Jersey was a faded memory. Came Wednesday morning, we were taking a NJ Transit train to the heart of New York City at Penn Station. I was told I acted as if I lived there once we got to NYC (or should we call it 'the NYC' like 'the OC'? I tell ya, that show is hilarious). Well of course I wanted to. I didn't want to look like a tourist. It was easy to play the role though with the many pictures that were being taken, so I had to limit my tourist stench somehow. One way was I knew where I was going. That helped a lot. We stayed at the Hilton New York. When most people stay in NYC, they like to use the small hotels since they provide better service than most chain hotels. But this being our first time, I thought it would be best to stay with a name brand, hence we chose the largest hotel in the city. Stayed on the 33rd floor. Not much of a view; it was an office building next door. Small bathroom. But the room was of a decent size and it was quiet. That's all you can ask for when most of the time, you probably won't be in the room. We got to NYC at noon. So a little sightseeing around the hotel was the order of the day. Basically walked in a circle. Went past Radio City Music Hall and into Rockefeller Center. From there headed west to Broadway and walked up, past the Letterman studio up to near Central Park. By this time, with the sightseeing, shopping, walking, etc., we were all dead tired and hungry. So we ate at the first place we saw. That happened to be the Hard Rock Cafe. I know, they're everywhere with half-decent food, but hey, it was there, we were filled and we were off.

The next day started bright and early. It was 8am when we headed to Rockefeller Center to try to get on the Today Show. On the way, we stopped at Fox and Friends too; they were giving out free donuts. It was 8:30 when we got to Today. From a distance, we saw the Rockettes, Matt Lauer and Ann Curry. Katie was on vacation. Soon enough, Al Roker came by to our section of the railing. With many people in front of me, I didn't make an effort to be seen, though I saw the camera, so if you watched real close, you probably could see me. My dad on the other hand was jumping like a maniac waving wildly. The NBC people took a picture of us so we headed to the NBC store to buy our photo. While there, some sales guy coaxed my dad to try out a virtual experience machine over there. They dragged me in there not knowing what was going on. It was going to be an interview with Jay Leno. I don't know if you can tell, but let's just say I'm not a Jay fan. I wasn't too thrilled to be on-camera. We definitely didn't know what was going on, and as a result, we didn't buy the tape. Missed opportunity for you to see me act like an ass. You'll just have to wait until you see me again.

Later on, we headed east toward Grand Central Terminal. It was recently remodeled and then destroyed when asteroids hit it and... oh wait, that's Armageddon. But there was a great mural on the ceiling of the constellations and a nice (read:expensive) food court where we ate lunch. Further east was the United Nations. Security is really tight over there. Gates everywhere with SWAT teams and security guards swarming. But the amount of history there is amazing. Everyone there though was in a somber mood as UN Headquarters in Iraq was destroyed earlier in the day by a car bomb. We moved back west on 42nd Street toward Times Square. I really didn't appreciate it during the day but luckily I saw it again at night and that's when you get to see its beauty of lights and whatnot. Passed by ABC and MTV. You ever see those commercials on MTV about the MTV store? How it's a can't miss? I think you can miss it. The store is as big as my apartment. On the other side of the spectrum is the Toys R Us. 4 stories of toy shopping with a large T-rex roaring on the top floor and a big ferris wheel operating in front of the store. Once we were done, we kept on moving south to Macy's and the Empire State Building. Macy's is billed as the world's largest store, something I can believe. It's a whole city block. It's bigger than anything I've ever seen plus they were remodeling.

At that point, it was still hot and we needed to freshen up so we taxied back to the hotel. Boy, those taxi drivers amaze me. I don't think I could last 5 minutes driving in that town. Later that night, we were to see Phantom of the Opera. Before that, we ate at Carmine's, an Italian restaurant down the street from the theater. They specialize in family-style eating which means the portions are huge. This was evident with the calamari. When you order calamari at say the Olive Garden, you're lucky to get a few pieces per person. Here, calamari could be the meal itself. They just stack it up on a big place and say enjoy. All the other dishes were good too, especially the different pastas. Now, before you ever see a Broadway show, look for discounts. I found these on broadwaybox.com. The Phantom tickets were in the 5th row and usually priced at $100. We got it for $45 and it was an excellent show, even with 2 understudies performing in the major roles.

Oh geez, it's already the last day. Where had the time gone? This day would be cut short since we had an early morning flight the next day. It was devoted to Lower Manhattan. That meant a trip on the subway. The subway is a speedier but dirtier version of BART. Many people take it and it can get very hot down there. The trains luckily are air-conditioned but the stations aren't. At least the popular trains come every few minutes. Our first stop was Chinatown. And you know what, it didn't look very Chinese. No Chinatown can be called Chinatown when it has McDonalds, Burger King, Starbucks, and Haagen Daz within a two-block radius. It should be noted that these restaurants have their names in Chinese, to at least blend in.

We subwayed to the Staten Island Ferry to see the Statue of Liberty. Due to security concerns, you can't go inside the Statue anymore, so why bother going on the island? Besides, the ferry is free. And that's a price you can't beat. Afterwards, we stopped by the World Trade Center. It's nice to see they've begun construction on the memorial. Large screens blocked off most views of the disaster site, though I'm sure they'll be opening everything back up for the 2nd anniversary. From there, it was a short trip to Wall Street. You can't go inside the New York Stock Exchange but you can still see the big flag that covers its front. Across the way is the site where George Washington was inaugurated as president. We ended up at the South Street Seaport, the closest thing NYC has to a mall.

And that was the trip. One day later, I was back in Berkeley, ready, but tired, for the first day of school.

As you can tell from the numerous posts, I'm back from New York, a very enjoyable and mostly flawless trip, save for the first day, which is the topic of this post. I'll get to the rest of the trip in a later post.

Heading into the trip, it seemed something didn't want us to go to New York. There was a highly publicized shooting at City Hall. And then, there was the great blackout, which darkened New York and most of the Northeast. After that blackout, we were supposed to fly there the next day!

We had an early morning flight at 7 am to Newark, where some of my family live nearby. They were going to pick us up at 5 pm, when the plane touches down. There isn't a direct flight to Newark anymore as Continental decided to cut that flight out of the schedule. So we chose the cheapest one, which happened to be American Airlines. There was to be a connection in St. Louis. The flight to St. Louis was a breeze. No problems. Though, the airline is getting cheap with food. Yes, airline food is pretty bad, but I was hungry and all they gave us was yogurt, a granola bar, and some raisins. We got to St. Louis at 1:00 with a one-hour connection.

So by 2:00 we were sitting on the plane at the gate waiting. And waiting. And waiting. At 3:00, the captain informs us thunderstorms were in our flight path and the FAA wouldn't let any planes leave the airport. He also thinks it will be another hour, so he forces everyone off the plane since it's probably more comfortable in the terminal. During this time, we had our share of overpriced terminal food, a small $7 sandwich and a $3 bottle of water. So by 4:00, we were off and running. Well, flying. The captain says we're almost to Cleveland when the radar breaks. With low visibility and thunderstorms below us, we have to land somewhere to fix it. Cleveland won't take us; they're socked in by thunderstorms and still recovering from the blackout. Chicago won't either; they've got thunderstorms too. So, we make a major U-turn and head back to St. Louis. It's 6:00 when we land again in St. Louis. We must wait another half hour for another plane to get ready. By 7:00, everyone's on the plane, anxious to leave. We taxi to the runway and start to speed up. Just when we're ready to take off, silence. The right engine dies. You can't really fly with one engine. We taxi back. Passengers sigh and are angry, rightfully so. They begin to ask for vouchers, food, anything that will appease them for their inconvenience. The airline stays silent and simply refuses. Keep in mind, no drinks or even peanuts have been served. So everyone's hungry and tired and angry, a terrible combination to have in an enclosed space.

We go back to the terminal at 7:15 only to find it empty. Apparently, they close it down early, leaving no food places open for us. Everyone is resigned to slump on chairs, awaiting the next folly. The new plane is finally ready and by 8:30, we leave, boarding for a 4th time. Soon, we are flying in what will be a trouble-free flight. What did we get for our troubles? A bag of pretzels. No, wait... 2 bags of pretzels. Just an awful experience.

The flight to Newark took two hours. From above, we still saw the thunderstorms. It was cool to see a lightning strike black out a community almost immediately. It would be 11:30 Eastern time when we finally landed. My aunt was kind enough to stay up that late to come and pick us up, only 6 hours late. I'd been up for 16 hours flying and all I wanted to do was go to sleep.

Luckily, the flight back was pretty much flawless. Only a 10 minute delay from Los Angeles to San Jose was the only hiccup.

As for the six days in the New Jersey/New York area, that'll come later. Now, I've got a late class to attend.

First day of school today. Nothing inspiring happening. The usual explanation of the syllabus and a roll call. Funniest moment today has been a guy in one of my sections named Peter Pan. That's classic. 2nd place goes to a lady from England who asked what was the significance of the "upside-down triangle" written next to one equation. The professor replied it was simply an exclamation point.

My econometrics professor teaches both levels of the class, 140 and 141. I'm taking 141. What's the difference between the classes?, someone asks. He answers, "In this class, you actually get to know stuff." He's worked at numerous companies and taught in at least 6 universities. Is there some reason he's taught at so many places or does he like to travel?

Significant goings-on in the California Governor Recall. Bill Simon dropped out on the grounds of Republican unity. Cruz Bustamante is finally attracting the Democratic vote, making him the leader of a Los Angeles Times poll. He's garnering 35% of the vote compared to Arnold Schwarzenegger's 22%. Considering the poll was taken before Simon dropped out and half of those polled said their votes might change, the race is still very volatile.

Blink and you might have missed it. College football season started with games played by Cal and San Jose State. Cal lost to the 5th-ranked team in the nation Kansas State. But hey, they beat the spread. Favored by 28, K-State only won by 14. San Jose State, usually in the basement of Division 1-A football faced the number one team in Division 1-AA Grambling State. This game really showed the difference between that one A. SJSU won 29-0. While there was a football game, the true draw was Grambling's marching band, the baddest band in all the land.

Seabiscuit
Straight from Northern California comes the story of Seabiscuit, a horse too small to be considered a winner but with a heart of a champion. Charles Howard (Jeff Bridges), a product of a rags-to-riches success story who transitioned from bicycles to automobiles and made a fortune, was riding on Cloud 9 until the Depression hit both in America and in his life. While he was financially okay, his son was lost in a car accident and his wife was lost to divorce. After he finds a new love at a racetrack, he decides to get a horse of his own. Overlooking a host of race-bred horses, he agrees upon an unlikely, and very cheap, horse chosen and trained by Tom Smith (Chris Cooper). Smith, in turn, chooses an equally unlikely jockey in Red Pollard, who is oversized, at least in jockey terms, played by Tobey Maguire. Soon enough, the west coast is abuzz with word that Seabiscuit is the fastest horse out there. Of course, things are way different in the east, which has a horse of their own in War Admiral, a horse which has won many prestigious races including the Triple Crown. The group of Howard, Pollard, Smith, and Seabiscuit make their way to the east to try to compete and gain respect. But every race Seabiscuit races, War Admiral fails to show. The two parties decide to hold a two-horse race of their own on War Admiral's home turf. They're all ready to race until Pollard, testing out a horse for an old boss, is stepped on, breaking his leg. He's told he can never ride again. It is here that the human spirit takes flight as a story of perserverence results.

This is such a grand piece of work. I've always been a fan of Gary Ross movies, from Big to Dave to Pleasantville to this one. (Okay, Mr. Baseball was a minor setback.) In every one of these films, the surroundings every character interacts plays a major role in his development, whether it is the big-city lifestyle Tom Hanks adjusted to, the busy cut-throat political scene in Dave, the naivete of Pleasantville, and, yes, Tokyo for Tom Selleck. But while these are generally specific to one locale, Seabiscuit's story, as well as the prime cast of characters involved, could have been repeated at any old racetrack. But Ross, while showcasing handsomely the development of 4 losers into winners, never does forget his surroundings, creating the look and feel befitting a champion Seabiscuit became in the 1930s. Though sometimes Ross gets a little carried away and chooses to over-emphasize the connections each of them have with each other and also gives us some extraneous scenes, he knows how to tell a good story (adapted from Laura Hillenbrand book) and tell it well.

All the actors give great performances. Bridges and recent Oscar-winner Cooper can always be counted on to give a good perfromance, but the standout is Maguire, who shows a wide range of emotion, from the frustrating defeats to the highs of winnings, and the lows of suffering an injury and watching his friend accept honors he should have won. William H. Macy provides comic relief with his announcer shtick, giving us time to enjoy what we've just seen while staying updated on what that amazing horse keeps on doing. Seabiscuit wins...and it is some winner. 3.5 stars

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
There's a scene when Allan Quartermain (Sean Connery) is being introduced to the league when he utters, "I'm waiting to be impressed." Well, after watching this film, I am too.

Quartermain is the leader of a group of literary characters circa 1899 including Tom Sawyer, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the Invisible Man, Captain Nemo, and so on. They're brought together by the British government to stop a plot by the Fantom to kill the world's leaders congregating in Venice. The world isn't really a fun place to be in as tensions heat up between countries, a fire only stoked by the actions of the Fantom. With the help of the Nautilus, the League travels the world in order to track down the Fantom and stop him before he does any further damage to the deteriorating ties in the world.

I think this film has deserved the moniker several critics have given it: The League of Extraordinary Crap. In terms of plausibility, believability, and just pure storytelling, the movie fails on all three. Every time we're whisked to a place, they talk, they fight, and they leave, all of it held together by a sliver of plot. Why did such and such happen? How should I know? But before I can answer, Tom Sawyer is driving around trying to chase an underwater bomb? What the ? Underwater bomb? Tom Sawyer driving? Isn't he a kid? Can you really drive through Venice? Since it's based on a comic book, it seems we needed to be exposed to all the characters whereabouts, seemingly, all at the same time. But at least in a comic book, we can go back and re-read. In a movie theatre, you can't. And I don't know why anyone would want to rent this mishmash of incoherence. 1 star

I'm off to New York for a week, so predictably, nothing will be updated.

There's space for a Seabiscuit and a League review, even, yes, a Gigli review, but I didn't have time. So too for the fall movie preview. Wait for all of these soon.

Also, I understand I'll be missing Steven's going away party as he heads to USC film school. Congrats to you.

Now that the major candidates have announced their intentions, I can write about it.

While I'll vote to recall the governor, voters shouldn't have been given this option in the first place. Recalls should only be used in the most extreme of circumstances and the reasons proponents have given for this one are a worsening budget and the slow reaction to the energy crisis, reasons to be outraged but not reasons to recall.

But now that's in the past. 1.7 million people signed a petition to recall Gray Davis and Californians now have the chance to do it. When coffers were full, Davis did his best on his one campaign issue that he focused on when he beat Dan Lundgren in 1998: education. He increased funding for it, proposed standardized tests to hold schools accountable and increased financial aid for college students. Everyone was pretty much happy. Then his first true test came in the form of the energy crisis. The previous governor, Pete Wilson, passed electricity deregulation, opening up competition. In the test site of San Diego, it was obvious it wasn't working as rates went up astronomically. As early 2001 approached, more power was needed from out-of-state sources, raising prices at a similar astronomical rate while threatening businesses and residents with rolling blackouts. Months after the crisis started, Davis finally retreated from his power conservation stance to finance power plant building and sign contracts that guaranteed the price of power. Today, power plants are still being built even though are power needs are being temporaily met and that price Davis got for power is running higher than the free market price today.

Then, the combo of 9/11 and the tech bubble bursting had a powerful effect on the economy. Capital gains revenue as well as taxes from the rich, both of which fund the majority of the state's budget, fell off dramatically, leading to the predicament we have today. Davis has shown he has a hands-off approach to the budget. He proclaims "I have a budget" and leaves it to the Legislature to figure things out. And that's no easy task with the recent implementation of term limits. There's simply no incentive for cooperation when you're going to be booted out in a few years. So, legislators do what's best for the party and/or their constituents, instead of reaching a compromise. Davis' failure to be more involved in reaching compromise (his only involvement seems to be weekly meetings with the leaders from each house) has resulted in late budgets that do no real good. Already, there's an $8 billion deficit next year.

So with such dire conditions, why would anyone want to be governor of the state? I wouldn't know, but 135 want to convince you that they're willing and able. The longshots include a porn star, a woman who sells thong underwear, a police officer, and just everyday people. How about the main cast?

Arnold Schwarzenegger is the front runner, garnering 25-45% support, depending on which poll you want to believe. His political experience is short, passing Prop 49, the after-school initiative. A social liberal with a conservative financial mind, Schwarzenegger is not being too forthcoming with information about positions on the issues. When asked about the budget, he said a plan would be forthcoming. When asked whether he'd release his taxes via satellite, he said he couldn't hear the question. While Davis attacks him for being a person of one-liners, at least he has a variety of one-liners. Davis says the same old thing about one liners and experience in every speech he gives. Until Schwarzenegger speaks out more, I won't be truly convinced of his political worthiness, but name recognition alone will probably get him to the top unless somebody proves he's not ready to be governor.

Two people wanting a second chance are Bill Simon and Peter Camejo, both of whom lost to Davis in the last election. Davis did an unheard of thing by attacking Richard Riordan during the Republican primary, allowing Simon, a businessman and political novice, to become the party's nominee. Davis is known for his ruthless campaigns, attacking a candidate from all sides. This was especially noted in a 1992 Senate primary campaign, comparing Dianne Feinstein, the eventual winner, to tax cheat Leona Helmsley. For Simon, it was non-stop ads about his business dealings, dealings in which he was found not guilty of any wrongdoing. Still, the damage was done. Even with the ineptitude of his campaign, constant staff turnover, and a few blunders, it was amazing he lost to Davis by only 5 points. His conservative message may be tempting again, but with State Senator Tom McClintock and former baseball comissioner Peter Uberroth splitting the conservative vote, all 3 will have a tough time getting votes.

Camejo is part of the Green Party and earned 5% of the vote last time out. The Green Party is left of the Democrats on the ideological scale but third parties traditionally don't have a chance in the two-party system. He does believe that by taxing the rich even more, California would not have a budget deficit.

The Democrats' main choice is Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante. Bustamante has been a quiet lieutenant, nothing too flashy, nothing to get him in trouble. But it seems he never sees his governor often. At two different times in the past few weeks, he was asked whether he has talked to Davis and both times he's said no. And while they're both Democrats, Bustamante disagrees with Davis' raising of the vehicle license fee, which tripled the cost of registering your car. Davis maintains it was mandated by law and enacted by his budget director. Bustamante, McClintock, and various Republicans have come out against it and some are going to court to stop it. As Democrats' only major choice, Bustamante should be the front runner in a state that has more Democrats than Republicans (44%-35%). Instead, it shows how much name recognition Schwarzenegger has and how much work Bustamante has to do to push through his "No on the Recall, Yes on Bustamante" campaign.

Arianna Huffington is also in the ring as an independent. She's the former wife of Congressman Michael Huffington, who lost to Feinstein in a 1994 Senate contest, and then proclaimed he was a bisexual. Arianna is running as an independent, hoping to break the stranglehold big money has on the Capitol while pledging to spend only $10 million for her campaign.

Finally, there's Larry Flynt, founder of Hustler Magazine. He promises to bring in slot machines and use the tax revenue to raise $3 billion. What else he wants to do, I don't wanna know.

Whatever happens, by October 7, Californians probably won't care who it is, as long as he or she does something interesting.

S.W.A.T.
When a situation needs more than simple handguns, call in those people with special weapons and tactics. Quelling a bank robbery went reasonably well with the exception of a hostage getting injured. That alone gets Jim Street (Colin Farrell) demoted to the gun cage while partner Brian Gamble (Jeremy Renner) chooses to leave the force. 6 months later, the luster that is the L.A.P.D. is dulling and some fresh blood is needed. Bring in the old guy, Sergeant Hondo (Samuel L. Jackson), to form a new S.W.A.T. team and be the best of the best. As a result, he recruits Street, Chris Sanchez (Michelle Rodriguez), David Kay (LL Cool J), and two other S.W.A.T. veterans. The first true situation they must handle is a prisoner transfer (Oliver Martinez) wanted in 12 countries. With his money, he offers $100 million to anyone who can break him out. Predictably, the gangs come out to do the deed but one breaks out of the pack, led by Gamble himself, pitting old friends against each other.

What it lacks in story and, especially in the second half, plausibility, S.W.A.T. exceeds in simplicity. And simplicity in an action movie is a good thing. A flimsy start leads into a great training sequence which seems real and was very interesting. The second half is a series of chase scenes, explosions, and a plane landing, but it doesn't go overboard like this summer's Bad Boys II did. It gives reason for each of those things to happen, even if it is crazy to believe it could actually happen in real-life. A lack of fanciness leads to function and this is a decent thriller. Stick Jackson into any picture and it pretty much excels (well, save for those Star Wars pics). Yes, it could have been a bit smarter by making the priosner exchange go through a few more hoops, and that means not having the Gamble character connected to Street all together. Nevertheless, it's a fun movie to watch, from initial training to the final track. 3 stars

As some of you may or may not know, this time next Saturday I'll be headed to New York for a one-week stay there. Since I've never been more than 500 miles away from home, being 3,000 miles away will be a different experience. So I'll be playing the role of tourist, wearing shorts and a shirt, taking pictures of every big thing (the buildings, the celebrities) to all little ones (the rats). One of the things I was looking forward to was the talk shows. As evidenced by the Letterman guest list on the left panel, that was a good place to start.

But also to be noted was the fact that they'll be in reruns that week. So that's no good.

Okay, how about Conan? He's an entertaining guy. No, he'll be in reruns too.

The Daily Show. Funniest politico talk in the business. Success! He's doing shows that week. Call up and ask for tickets. "Yeah, first available tickets we have are for October 27." Click.

Even Regis takes two weeks off before Labor Day.

So I'll be taking pictures in front of marquees while waving like an idiot on the Today show.

American Wedding
Half of the gang from the first two films are back for another piece as Jim (Jason Biggs) and Michelle (Alyson Hannigan) are about to be married. The prior antics of Steve Stifler (Seann William Scott) has gotten him excluded from the festivities, but manages to get in anyway through his supreme dancing skills and the promise of a bachelor party. And with that, planning gets underway, parents meet for the first time, and pre-wedding jitters start to set in. As a side story, Stifler and Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas) fight for the hand of pretty Cadence (January Jones), Michelle's sister. Stifler tries so hard to impress her and her parents that he becomes a preppie while Finch obsessively tries to show Cadence the real Stifler. As for the wedding, obstacles from impressing the bride's parents to dead flowers hamper the days leading up to the wedding, but in the end, everything ends up happily ever after.

The first film struck the chord of pure comedy. The second strayed from this formula and turned to mostly gross-out jokes, seriously hampering the quality of the film. The third seems to combine the two with mixed results. When the movie wants to be funny, it's hilarious. But the gross-out skits that result have flimsy connections to the main story. I found no joy watching the dance-off since it seemed highly unnecessary. The bachelor party reaches a funny climax but takes too long to set up. These two scenes plus a couple of others (notably the dog poop) seem to take on a different tone than the rest of the film, making it a roller-coaster ride to watch. When it sticks to its two main plot points (the follies of planning a wedding and the courtship of Cadence), the movie excels. The characters are allowed to act the way we've seen them in the past without succumbing to pointless gross-out scenes, well, save for Stifler. (Funniest of them all is the deadpan comedy of Eugene Levy.) And that's how we like them. 2.5 stars

For some odd reason, I did a lot of driving this weekend and the one thing I always notice, yesterday more than ever, is no matter how fast you go, there's somebody on the road who wants to pass you. Driving home from the Mercado maze at night, I was speeding along at 80 in the fast lane. Pretty soon, this souped-up car is rapidly approaching me and a few feet away. He's flashing his lights from regular to high beam, wanting to push me over to the next lane. Please, I'm speeding as it is, no way I'm gonna move over. Let him pass me. I sped up to about 85, even 90, but he just follows. About a mile later, he finally gets fed up. He cuts off the guy in the next lane, passes me, and gets back into the lane, barely hitting my bumper, and speeds away probably at 100. Really, what's he trying to prove?

On Friday, I went to see the new main library in San Jose. That thing is huge. 8 floors of books, videos, and computers. A vast improvement over the old building. There's even a counter on the wall showing how many books have been checked out and just in the first few hours, it was already above 20,000. It's a new experiment in library services since it combines the city's main library with San Jose State's library, the top half for the latter. It may be too big for its own good but once it works out the bugs, it should be fine. The only problem is the parking. Light rail used to ride you right in front of the old building but now it's a few blocks away. Parking used to be validated but if you come in on weekdays its like $2/hour in the garage. You can take your chances for metered parking on the street, which is what I did after seeing the garage was full, but as anyone from San Jose State or works in downtown knows, you might as well park a mile away.

With the release of the critically trashed Gigli, VH-1 reminded viewers of one of the last films to receive such a bad reception by showing Showgirls over the weekend. Watching the original was bad enough. Just seeing the "children-friendly" version was worse. What's the point of showing it on TV? The only reason to watch it was the naked women, not the heartwarming tale of a lady with a dream only to join an adult dance show. Of course, to show it on basic cable, they had to cover up the nudity but come on, instead of just blurring it out, they used flesh-colored covers, probably used from Microsoft Paintbrush. It's the worst job of CG work I've seen, probably ever, on the worst movie I've ever seen. Well, wait, I did pay to see Blankman. Now that was a low point in my movie-watching experiences. And I haven't seen Gigli yet, so the worst may be yet to come.

California signed its budget and with the cuts its imposing, UC is raising its fees 30%, to around $6,000 per year here in Berkeley. To think, it was only $4,500 when I started. A new plan being floated around is forcing those families who make $90,000 or more to pay an additional $1,000, something my family barely qualifies for. Charging a fee like this is totally unfair. Why should some people get charged more for the same services? Another plan which adds a surcharge for people who enroll in over 16 units is also dead in the water because it hurts those who want to get ahead. If these plans do go into effect, hopefully it'll be next year when I'm long gone.

I'll save my rant about the recall until next week, when the candidates announce officially they'll be running. One thing I'll mention is that Governor Davis is suing to put his name on Question 2 about who shall replace the governor if he is recalled. Does it make any sense to replace the governor with himself? To me, it makes no sense whatsoever. If polls continue as it is, the governor will be recalled. But if the percentage of Davis supporters in question 1 also support him in question 2, that percentage will most certainly beat the next top-vote getter, making the recall moot. So what's the point of letting him on #2?

Instead, most news' attention is on Howard Dean, the former governor of Vermont and now, presidential candidate. He's surging in most polls and is now leading in the fund-raising category. Time and Newsweek have him on their covers. The former nobody is now somebody. Watching him on Larry King, his demeanor seems a little bit Gore-like. He doesn't move! He moves his mouth to speak, he smiles, and he blinks his eyes. That's it! I didn't see him nod or shake his head. No hand gestures. While painting himself as a fiscal conservative, his position on being anti-war has portrayed him as left of the other Democratic candidates, save for Kucinich. His plan to reinstate all taxes cut by the Bush administration, including those for the middle class, to pay for Medicare and close the budget deficit is being criticized by Republicans and even some Democrats. And for some reason, hearing him say "I approved this message" in his commercials makes him sound like Bush (the last thing he wants) in the way the President, coming from a business background, delegates tasks to his staff and then come back to give recommendations.

Finally, almost every test I take, it's pretty obvious who's cheating; the way they look around at everyone and the way they hide their blue books. Most of the time, professors didn't care or weren't paying careful attention, allowing the cheating to run rampant. Taking my mid-term last week, the girl across the aisle slipped a little sheet in the back of her blue book. Her motions seemed natural enough but I guess she checked one too many times and was caught. Instant dismissal. Nobody should have an unfair advantage over others. Then again, it's only cheating if you get caught.