Toward the end of John Kerry's speech tonight to the Democratic Convention, he said he would say something Franklin Roosevelt never could. Go to JohnKerry.com to learn more about his policies and beliefs he later said. While Kerry meant to convey that there was no Internet back then, you could also say that FDR would be asking, who in the world was John Kerry? After tonight, we know a bit more, but the things we already knew about him were emphasized including, yes, that he went to Vietnam in the war. Now how many times do we have to hear that?
Kerry exuded the optimism every presidential candidate is meant to communicate. By outlining broadly the several directions he wants to take the country, criticizing the Bush Administration on the war in Iraq, and proclaiming that America can do better, Kerry succeeded in conveying a positive message to sway the key undecided voters, whose numbers grow thinner as Election Day draws nearer. However, he did little to blunt the attacks by the Republicans who portray him as a flip-flopper or waffler who originally voted for the war in Iraq.
We know he went to war in Vietnam and he became a prosecutor, but conspicuously missing from his biography or his speech is his 20 years in the Senate. He barely mentioned that significant portion of his life. While he's been to high places in the Senate, including the intelligence committee, he has done little in terms of major legislation.
And what of the speech itself? It seems major lines were taken straight out of the Republican playbook. "Help is on the way" was in both the 2000 Cheney speech and this Kerry speech, as was the line about America would be proud to have John Edwards succeed Dick Cheney as Vice President of the United States. Bush used it in his speech for Cheney and Al Gore. The words honor and dignity have now been replaced with trust and credibility.
The funniest line? I could have been hearing it wrong but I think Kerry misspoke when he said that 25% of Harlem children suffered from asthma because of hair pollution.
Oh well, but in all cases, this convention looks like its been a success. It'll take some time to see if it had its desired effects and one month from now, it's the Republicans' turn.
7/29/2004
7/28/2004
Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle
There have been lots of movies dealing with quests but none seem so close to our lives than this quest for a late-night snack. Harold (John Cho) and Kumar (Kal Penn) are done for the day after a long day of work for Harold and another intentional dive in a medical school interview for Kumar. After getting high, they're hungry and easily suggestible. With a timely commercial from White Castle, their meal is set. But with the restaurant a long journey away, the weirdest things begin to happen. A fight with a raccoon. Dealing with college students and weirdos. Having their car stolen. Ending up in jail. Etc. But when the night is over, life lessons are learned and quite ironically, getting high leads to better things.
It's dumb. It's idiotic. It's far-fetched. But you know what? It's hilarious. Yes, the trademarks of a teen comedy are there: the gross-out jokes, the drug use, and the sex, all done with the usual comic effect. But what makes this comedy work better than the others is the team of Cho and Penn who take the Asian stereotypes in stride and manage to produce consistent laughs throughout the course of the film. At times though, the randomness of a few jokes and scenes knock the wind out of the movie, but director Danny Leiner (who also directed Dude, Where's My Car?) eventually re-captures the comedic rhythm of the film with the help of a few cameos including a freaky Christopher Meloni and a freaky (in a different way) Neil Patrick Harris, who can't escape his Doogie Howser persona. In the end, you may not be craving White Castle, but you just might be hungry for a sequel. 3 stars
There have been lots of movies dealing with quests but none seem so close to our lives than this quest for a late-night snack. Harold (John Cho) and Kumar (Kal Penn) are done for the day after a long day of work for Harold and another intentional dive in a medical school interview for Kumar. After getting high, they're hungry and easily suggestible. With a timely commercial from White Castle, their meal is set. But with the restaurant a long journey away, the weirdest things begin to happen. A fight with a raccoon. Dealing with college students and weirdos. Having their car stolen. Ending up in jail. Etc. But when the night is over, life lessons are learned and quite ironically, getting high leads to better things.
It's dumb. It's idiotic. It's far-fetched. But you know what? It's hilarious. Yes, the trademarks of a teen comedy are there: the gross-out jokes, the drug use, and the sex, all done with the usual comic effect. But what makes this comedy work better than the others is the team of Cho and Penn who take the Asian stereotypes in stride and manage to produce consistent laughs throughout the course of the film. At times though, the randomness of a few jokes and scenes knock the wind out of the movie, but director Danny Leiner (who also directed Dude, Where's My Car?) eventually re-captures the comedic rhythm of the film with the help of a few cameos including a freaky Christopher Meloni and a freaky (in a different way) Neil Patrick Harris, who can't escape his Doogie Howser persona. In the end, you may not be craving White Castle, but you just might be hungry for a sequel. 3 stars
7/26/2004
One of the lighter moments of The West Wing last season was when President Bartlet was to throw the first pitch at a baseball game. With security threatened at almost every turn, the Secret Service urged him to wear a bullet-proof vest. Charlie had his doubts that his boss could throw the baseball to the plate, so they spent the day practicing.
Flash forward to real life. John Kerry is at the Yankees-Red Sox game getting set to throw the first pitch to a military man back from Iraq. If you don't look too athletic, the next parts don't apply. But Kerry prides himself as being an athletic guy, so these do apply. If you don't want to look like an idiot when throwing a first pitch, you must do at least these two things. You must stand on top of the mound. Don't step up to the front of it. Second, don't one-hop the ball or throw it above the catcher's head.
So what did Kerry do? Stepping up amid cheers and boos from the Boston crowd, site of the Democratic National Convention, he stood in front of the mound, looked at the catcher and threw weakly toward the soldier, one-hopping the ball and having it pass the soldier. That's what is called a wild pitch. Hopefully, he was wearing a vest, since that can mess people up.
Day 1 of the Democratic National Convention saw a positive spin on the Democrats' view of the world today. But under the bright lights and the nice words, you could feel the presence of a greater being in the house, that man being Bill Clinton. As the overseer of the greatest economic expansion in American history largely due to the rising growth of the Internet and e-commerce, Clinton was and still is an eloquent man who fought for what he believed in even if he was morally challenged. He has earned respect from even this Republican. But listening to the speeches tonight, most, including Clinton himself, have been looking at the period of 1993-2001 and saying, look at what we did then, and think about what we can do now. No doubt those years were very good. But that's a good argument to try to re-elect Bill Clinton to the presidency, something I wouldn't be opposed to if it weren't for that Constitution. None of the speakers made a convincing argument to try to connect that to the potential presidency of John Kerry. I'm sorry but John Kerry is no Bill Clinton. If Kerry believes he can ride the coattails of Clinton to a victory, he is sorely mistaken. Voters will be disappointed. Clinton's theme song was not to stop thinking about tomorrow. Kerry can't use the Clinton years as a base for his campaign. Use Clinton to attract a crowd and then communicate his own dreams and ideals for a brighter future.
Some notes about tonight. The rising podium is scary. It's noisy and it seems like it can drop any second to the floor. Hillary Clinton is not the orator her husband is. And do you know who's running for president on the Democratic side? If you heard Hillary, she only mentioned his name probably 100 times.
On MSNBC, Tim Russert tells of the joke Al Gore had to cut out.
Gore says Bush's war on terrorism is like a drunk man looking for his keys. So the guy is looking around and asks a friend to help him find it. "I think I lost it over there," he remarks. So the friend asks, "why are you looking here then?"
"Because the light is over here."
I agree with Jon Stewart sitted next to him.
"Well, that wasn't even funny."
Flash forward to real life. John Kerry is at the Yankees-Red Sox game getting set to throw the first pitch to a military man back from Iraq. If you don't look too athletic, the next parts don't apply. But Kerry prides himself as being an athletic guy, so these do apply. If you don't want to look like an idiot when throwing a first pitch, you must do at least these two things. You must stand on top of the mound. Don't step up to the front of it. Second, don't one-hop the ball or throw it above the catcher's head.
So what did Kerry do? Stepping up amid cheers and boos from the Boston crowd, site of the Democratic National Convention, he stood in front of the mound, looked at the catcher and threw weakly toward the soldier, one-hopping the ball and having it pass the soldier. That's what is called a wild pitch. Hopefully, he was wearing a vest, since that can mess people up.
Day 1 of the Democratic National Convention saw a positive spin on the Democrats' view of the world today. But under the bright lights and the nice words, you could feel the presence of a greater being in the house, that man being Bill Clinton. As the overseer of the greatest economic expansion in American history largely due to the rising growth of the Internet and e-commerce, Clinton was and still is an eloquent man who fought for what he believed in even if he was morally challenged. He has earned respect from even this Republican. But listening to the speeches tonight, most, including Clinton himself, have been looking at the period of 1993-2001 and saying, look at what we did then, and think about what we can do now. No doubt those years were very good. But that's a good argument to try to re-elect Bill Clinton to the presidency, something I wouldn't be opposed to if it weren't for that Constitution. None of the speakers made a convincing argument to try to connect that to the potential presidency of John Kerry. I'm sorry but John Kerry is no Bill Clinton. If Kerry believes he can ride the coattails of Clinton to a victory, he is sorely mistaken. Voters will be disappointed. Clinton's theme song was not to stop thinking about tomorrow. Kerry can't use the Clinton years as a base for his campaign. Use Clinton to attract a crowd and then communicate his own dreams and ideals for a brighter future.
Some notes about tonight. The rising podium is scary. It's noisy and it seems like it can drop any second to the floor. Hillary Clinton is not the orator her husband is. And do you know who's running for president on the Democratic side? If you heard Hillary, she only mentioned his name probably 100 times.
On MSNBC, Tim Russert tells of the joke Al Gore had to cut out.
Gore says Bush's war on terrorism is like a drunk man looking for his keys. So the guy is looking around and asks a friend to help him find it. "I think I lost it over there," he remarks. So the friend asks, "why are you looking here then?"
"Because the light is over here."
I agree with Jon Stewart sitted next to him.
"Well, that wasn't even funny."
7/22/2004
The Olympics are coming up and as a Vietnamese person, I was always curious on how people from the homeland did in the games. And always, it was disappointing. In the history of the Olympics, guess how many medals Vietnam has won so far. Come on, guess. You won't have to guess too many times.
1.
1 time. At the last Olympics in Sydney, a lady won a silver medal in Tae Kwon Do. Other than that, nothing to show. Soccer? Ranked 100th out of 205. Track and field? Might as well get into bobsledding. Are we good at anything else?
Then it all came into focus. Watching TV tonite, a commercial came on to tout the idea of having poker as an Olympic sport. While the description on the site makes the idea sound silly, there is a petition. With all the Vietnamese gamblers out there, you know who you are, and if this was an Olympic sport, I'm sure we'd double our medal total, at least.
1.
1 time. At the last Olympics in Sydney, a lady won a silver medal in Tae Kwon Do. Other than that, nothing to show. Soccer? Ranked 100th out of 205. Track and field? Might as well get into bobsledding. Are we good at anything else?
Then it all came into focus. Watching TV tonite, a commercial came on to tout the idea of having poker as an Olympic sport. While the description on the site makes the idea sound silly, there is a petition. With all the Vietnamese gamblers out there, you know who you are, and if this was an Olympic sport, I'm sure we'd double our medal total, at least.
7/20/2004
Communication is vital in any workplace. But at mine, some forms work better than others. Case in point: instant messaging. My department can't live without it. One co-worker said it's much easier than going around the corner to my office or to even look up my number and calling. My boss even instant messages me. He's three doors away! During one such instance, he was giving me an assignment. At the end, he wrote, "No need to stay extra late!" I said okay, but I was laughing out loud. I probably wasn't going to stay late anyway.
Training for that new system is underway. But so far, it's been a complete mess. I don't think it's even at beta mode yet. The teacher was showing us a new programming language called LUA. Who's ever heard of that? He went on to say that it was written in Brazil. Yeah, like I'd trust a programming language from Brazil. Might as well teach me Scheme again. Well, sometime later, the server crashed in the middle of class so they had to postpone instruction. I just started, but now I think using spreadsheets are much easier than this.
The Sharks released their schedule for the upcoming season, if there is an upcoming season, and lo and behold, there is actually a game relatively close to my birthday. December 18 to be exact. Come on, you know you wanna come along. No? Fine then.
The results for that appraiser test came in and out of the hundreds who took it, my half-serious approach to it got me #10. But you know, they probably only have 9 jobs waiting.
One of the highlights of the New York trip last year was watching Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. That was a wonderful experience and so I have high hopes for the movie coming out this December. But what's with the trailer? It's like Michael Bay edited it. So if you watch the trailer, you just might get a bit dizzy.
The L.A. trip is off. Work won out with end user training and testing of that new system beginning on the day I was supposed to go. Guess who gets to train them? Yes, me, the so-called super user. I'm obviously qualified to do it considering my 4 days worth of experience using the system.
Training for that new system is underway. But so far, it's been a complete mess. I don't think it's even at beta mode yet. The teacher was showing us a new programming language called LUA. Who's ever heard of that? He went on to say that it was written in Brazil. Yeah, like I'd trust a programming language from Brazil. Might as well teach me Scheme again. Well, sometime later, the server crashed in the middle of class so they had to postpone instruction. I just started, but now I think using spreadsheets are much easier than this.
The Sharks released their schedule for the upcoming season, if there is an upcoming season, and lo and behold, there is actually a game relatively close to my birthday. December 18 to be exact. Come on, you know you wanna come along. No? Fine then.
The results for that appraiser test came in and out of the hundreds who took it, my half-serious approach to it got me #10. But you know, they probably only have 9 jobs waiting.
One of the highlights of the New York trip last year was watching Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. That was a wonderful experience and so I have high hopes for the movie coming out this December. But what's with the trailer? It's like Michael Bay edited it. So if you watch the trailer, you just might get a bit dizzy.
The L.A. trip is off. Work won out with end user training and testing of that new system beginning on the day I was supposed to go. Guess who gets to train them? Yes, me, the so-called super user. I'm obviously qualified to do it considering my 4 days worth of experience using the system.
7/15/2004
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
In 1970s
There is no doubt that without Ferrell, this film is a dud. It is his lunacy and over-the-top psychotic style that gives the film, a skit stretched to 95 minutes, enough laughs to make it through the whole thing. That’s not to say the rest of the cast wasn’t good. Carell is the stand-out performer as the dim-witted weatherman and the cameos from the usual suspects like Jack Black, Ben Stiller, and Vince Vaughn spice things up. However, various gags are dead on arrival or overstay their welcome. A couple of scenes were met with dead silence from the audience. It puts a damper on a comedy that’s a few jokes short of greatness. To its credit though, Ron Burgundy has spawned a wealth of promotional material that’s even funnier than the film itself including the actors’ news conference and the two skits in the MTV Movie Awards. 2.5 stars
The Terminal
Viktor Navorski (Tom Hanks) had a simple task to undertake. It would probably take a day to do and the implications of which would last for the rest of his life. If only he could get into the country. His home country became unrecognized by the
7/10/2004
I was going over the statistics page for the blog and it notes that I passed 150,000 words. Oh my, I don't know what's worse, the realization that I wrote 150,000 words or the possibility that some guy out there has had their life ruined by wasting their time reading these 150,000 words. For the record, this is post #457. My skills as a math major tell me that there are 43 more posts until 500.
So I took that appraiser test today. 100 fellow test-takers (plus many more with the announcement that more groups were expected later in the day) tackled the 75-question exam, ranging from basic math to understanding basic appraisal rules. Those appraisal passages were very lengthy and I wasn't taking this test very seriously so I just chose the answer that seemed right. Maybe I wasn't taking the test seriously enough. Once I got to to question 60, I looked around and people were just on #20 or 30. I finished a hour early and got out of there as quickly as I could.
This week, with the return of my manager, I actually had work to do as the first full week of the quarter was underway. It mainly dealt with in-quarter tracking. The business unit is really bad at this. It can't predict how many drives it will sell one month ahead, let alone one quarter ahead. So continuing the work a contractor did before, I updated the data and saw what developed. Next week, I begin my training of a new supply chain management system, in which I am a so-called super user.
Last night, with Jeanette along for the ride, we got to see Jon's new place in Mountain View. It's a remarkably clean studio apartment nestled by Highway 237. From the outside, it looked nice enough, and it was quiet. That's always key to any place. But with the darkness, we didn't get to see what Jon considers the gem of the complex, the deserted pool.
We also got to see the new Camera Cinemas downtown, watching Anchorman. What used to be an 8-screen theatre for United Artists is now a 12-screen theatre. But one thing remains from its predecessor: the emptiness. On its grand opening Friday night, with a major movie opening, the theatre was only half-full. Take advantage of the special offer: $1 popcorn and drinks for the rest of the weekend.
Last Comic Standing is hitting the home stretch with only two more comics to kick off before the final event. I might be going to that final event in L.A. in the first week of August, so we'll see what happens. Who do I want to see take it? Probably either Corey or Kathleen.
I applaud Kerry's choice of Edwards as his VP choice. But if somebody mentions that Edwards is the son of the millworker again, I'll have to scream. During the primaries, I privately wished Edwards was the nominee. But then again, I'd rather see Bush re-elected. Edwards certainly makes up for Kerry's lack of charisma. And Kerry makes up for Edwards' lack of experience. It'll be a powerful combo, but not powerful enough to sway votes. It will ultimately be Bush vs. Kerry that'll decide it. I'm betting Bush wants Cheney to have a heart attack or something so he could get Powell or McCain or Giuliani to run in the VP spot. J/K.
Finally, my brother pointed this out to me earlier. Robot is not the Spanish word for robot, but advertising in Latin America has the title for "I, Robot" as "Yo, Robot" which can be said in many, often funny, ways.
So I took that appraiser test today. 100 fellow test-takers (plus many more with the announcement that more groups were expected later in the day) tackled the 75-question exam, ranging from basic math to understanding basic appraisal rules. Those appraisal passages were very lengthy and I wasn't taking this test very seriously so I just chose the answer that seemed right. Maybe I wasn't taking the test seriously enough. Once I got to to question 60, I looked around and people were just on #20 or 30. I finished a hour early and got out of there as quickly as I could.
This week, with the return of my manager, I actually had work to do as the first full week of the quarter was underway. It mainly dealt with in-quarter tracking. The business unit is really bad at this. It can't predict how many drives it will sell one month ahead, let alone one quarter ahead. So continuing the work a contractor did before, I updated the data and saw what developed. Next week, I begin my training of a new supply chain management system, in which I am a so-called super user.
Last night, with Jeanette along for the ride, we got to see Jon's new place in Mountain View. It's a remarkably clean studio apartment nestled by Highway 237. From the outside, it looked nice enough, and it was quiet. That's always key to any place. But with the darkness, we didn't get to see what Jon considers the gem of the complex, the deserted pool.
We also got to see the new Camera Cinemas downtown, watching Anchorman. What used to be an 8-screen theatre for United Artists is now a 12-screen theatre. But one thing remains from its predecessor: the emptiness. On its grand opening Friday night, with a major movie opening, the theatre was only half-full. Take advantage of the special offer: $1 popcorn and drinks for the rest of the weekend.
Last Comic Standing is hitting the home stretch with only two more comics to kick off before the final event. I might be going to that final event in L.A. in the first week of August, so we'll see what happens. Who do I want to see take it? Probably either Corey or Kathleen.
I applaud Kerry's choice of Edwards as his VP choice. But if somebody mentions that Edwards is the son of the millworker again, I'll have to scream. During the primaries, I privately wished Edwards was the nominee. But then again, I'd rather see Bush re-elected. Edwards certainly makes up for Kerry's lack of charisma. And Kerry makes up for Edwards' lack of experience. It'll be a powerful combo, but not powerful enough to sway votes. It will ultimately be Bush vs. Kerry that'll decide it. I'm betting Bush wants Cheney to have a heart attack or something so he could get Powell or McCain or Giuliani to run in the VP spot. J/K.
Finally, my brother pointed this out to me earlier. Robot is not the Spanish word for robot, but advertising in Latin America has the title for "I, Robot" as "Yo, Robot" which can be said in many, often funny, ways.
7/05/2004
Happy belated Independence Day! Nothing says 4th of July than barbeque and Paris by Night screaming in the background. Did you know they're in the seventies now? I had no idea they got to there by now. Last I checked, they were on 18 or something.
Go to this link at Ain't It Cool for a hilarious news conference from the Anchorman team. It opens Friday.
Before I got this job at Hitachi, I spent March and April applying for work, sending out the resumes and seeing what stuck. Well, very little stuck. But, one opportunity hanging by a thread opened up just yesterday, two months after I applied. It was an appraiser job for the county. They invited me to take an exam next weekend. Now I find it hilarious that they would wait this long before they tell me, but my parents said just take it anyway. Couldn't hurt they said, and it might pay more. So that's where I'll be next Saturday. I won't plan for it too much. I read that last time, 300 people took the exam, 60 people passed, and 5 got the job.
In response to Steves in a comment below, yes, I'm happy Dat Phan has found success in the world. He has accomplished a lot so far as a comedian. If you watch him once, and only once, his material is hilarious. The problem with him is, we saw him perform on the show probably 4-6 times, and each time, the same exact jokes. The guy in the stall gyrating. The funny Asian voice. Put in something about karate. Same jokes about his family. It was all getting tired. He didn't even do variations of jokes; he did it exactly as he did it the first time, as if he was a machine. Appearances on the Tonight Show, Comedy Central, BET, etc. All the same jokes from what I can see. He's touring now. That's great. Not only are people watching him (hopefully), he now has an hour's worth of material to spit out probably with varying degrees of success since he would have said them all already many, many times. As for Dave Mordal, I like cynical humor, and not just that, he also had variety. He was consistently funny and I felt bad he got kicked out before America could vote.
And Dodgeball? That's one fine film. I wish I could say the same for White Chicks. No wait, I don't wish that at all.
Go to this link at Ain't It Cool for a hilarious news conference from the Anchorman team. It opens Friday.
Before I got this job at Hitachi, I spent March and April applying for work, sending out the resumes and seeing what stuck. Well, very little stuck. But, one opportunity hanging by a thread opened up just yesterday, two months after I applied. It was an appraiser job for the county. They invited me to take an exam next weekend. Now I find it hilarious that they would wait this long before they tell me, but my parents said just take it anyway. Couldn't hurt they said, and it might pay more. So that's where I'll be next Saturday. I won't plan for it too much. I read that last time, 300 people took the exam, 60 people passed, and 5 got the job.
In response to Steves in a comment below, yes, I'm happy Dat Phan has found success in the world. He has accomplished a lot so far as a comedian. If you watch him once, and only once, his material is hilarious. The problem with him is, we saw him perform on the show probably 4-6 times, and each time, the same exact jokes. The guy in the stall gyrating. The funny Asian voice. Put in something about karate. Same jokes about his family. It was all getting tired. He didn't even do variations of jokes; he did it exactly as he did it the first time, as if he was a machine. Appearances on the Tonight Show, Comedy Central, BET, etc. All the same jokes from what I can see. He's touring now. That's great. Not only are people watching him (hopefully), he now has an hour's worth of material to spit out probably with varying degrees of success since he would have said them all already many, many times. As for Dave Mordal, I like cynical humor, and not just that, he also had variety. He was consistently funny and I felt bad he got kicked out before America could vote.
And Dodgeball? That's one fine film. I wish I could say the same for White Chicks. No wait, I don't wish that at all.
White Chicks
Remember when the Wayans Bros. were funny? Me too! "In Living Color", that's right. But with the exception of the first "Scary Movie", it has been one dud after another. Chalk "White Chicks" up as another dud. Shawn and Marlon Wayans are Kevin and Marcus Copeland, FBI agents on the verge of being fired. Their last hope is an assignment to protect the Wilson sisters from a kidnapping plot. When the group gets into an accident and the sisters are unable to show themselves in the Hamptons, the Copelands take it upon themselves to act as the sisters to keep the cover. While trying to learn more about the would-be kidnappers, Kevin and Marcus are forced to assimilate into high-society sisterhood in a few short days.
Aside from the fact that the movie is short-sighted and implausible, the mere look of the sisters is totally wrong. How could everyone be fooled into thinking that they are actually the sisters? Just put up a picture of them and compare side-by-side. I'm sure you'll notice a difference. Recent gender/race reversal parts have also had actors who could easily pass off as the ones they are portraying. Eddie Murphy, Robin Williams, and even Dave Chappelle are examples. The Wayans don't act the part like those actors did and though their blatant flibs are scripted, by then, somebody should have questioned them, right? But nope, they take it in stride. The jokes and gags are few and far between and those that work are beaten incessantly with repetition. Quite possibly, the mere thought of the Wayans Bros. as white women would and should carry this film, but it doesn't. The joke gets tired long before the credits mercifully roll. 1/2 star
Remember when the Wayans Bros. were funny? Me too! "In Living Color", that's right. But with the exception of the first "Scary Movie", it has been one dud after another. Chalk "White Chicks" up as another dud. Shawn and Marlon Wayans are Kevin and Marcus Copeland, FBI agents on the verge of being fired. Their last hope is an assignment to protect the Wilson sisters from a kidnapping plot. When the group gets into an accident and the sisters are unable to show themselves in the Hamptons, the Copelands take it upon themselves to act as the sisters to keep the cover. While trying to learn more about the would-be kidnappers, Kevin and Marcus are forced to assimilate into high-society sisterhood in a few short days.
Aside from the fact that the movie is short-sighted and implausible, the mere look of the sisters is totally wrong. How could everyone be fooled into thinking that they are actually the sisters? Just put up a picture of them and compare side-by-side. I'm sure you'll notice a difference. Recent gender/race reversal parts have also had actors who could easily pass off as the ones they are portraying. Eddie Murphy, Robin Williams, and even Dave Chappelle are examples. The Wayans don't act the part like those actors did and though their blatant flibs are scripted, by then, somebody should have questioned them, right? But nope, they take it in stride. The jokes and gags are few and far between and those that work are beaten incessantly with repetition. Quite possibly, the mere thought of the Wayans Bros. as white women would and should carry this film, but it doesn't. The joke gets tired long before the credits mercifully roll. 1/2 star
6/28/2004
Spider-Man 2
A lot has changed since we last left Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire). He's in college now pursuing his love for science while work, school, and being Spider-Man preclude him from persuing his love for Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst). MJ is the star of Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest" while friend Harry (James Franco) runs the company inherited from his father. Harry is currently funding the project of Dr. Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina) is which his fusion project would generate massive amounts of energy if harnassed correctly. Yet the demonstration goes awry and Dr. Octavius is stuck with the robotic arms needed to control his project. Without the inhibitor chip, it is more correct to say the robotic arms control him. As a result, he decides to build his project again. Meanwhile, MJ is put off by Peter's lack of attention for her and runs off with an astronaut. All of this has a profound effect on Peter, affecting his senses and webbing and considers giving it up. But will the lure of fighting crime be enough to bring him back?
While billed as an action movie, director Sam Raimi and the screenwriters were obsessed with teasing the love story between MJ and Peter. Yes, it is necessary to tell, but it soon came to the point where I was indifferent to what happened to them. And one of my pet peeves about movies is when they foreshadow to the next movie and here in this film, it is obviously blatant. Yet, one look at Spider-Man shooting webs at buildings and flying right past them will have you hooked. I mentioned in the first film that if the sequel could get a villain better than the Green Goblin, the movie would be better and Dr. Octavius is a better one at that, even if his screen time is limited. Molina makes the most of his Gollum-like performance and the fighting scenes at times exceed the level of the first, but you'll have to wait a little while for them. It is a fine sequel with its trademark humor, some nice special-effects wizardry, and Spider-Man himself. Can't wait for the third one; at least we know what the story will be. 3 stars
A lot has changed since we last left Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire). He's in college now pursuing his love for science while work, school, and being Spider-Man preclude him from persuing his love for Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst). MJ is the star of Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest" while friend Harry (James Franco) runs the company inherited from his father. Harry is currently funding the project of Dr. Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina) is which his fusion project would generate massive amounts of energy if harnassed correctly. Yet the demonstration goes awry and Dr. Octavius is stuck with the robotic arms needed to control his project. Without the inhibitor chip, it is more correct to say the robotic arms control him. As a result, he decides to build his project again. Meanwhile, MJ is put off by Peter's lack of attention for her and runs off with an astronaut. All of this has a profound effect on Peter, affecting his senses and webbing and considers giving it up. But will the lure of fighting crime be enough to bring him back?
While billed as an action movie, director Sam Raimi and the screenwriters were obsessed with teasing the love story between MJ and Peter. Yes, it is necessary to tell, but it soon came to the point where I was indifferent to what happened to them. And one of my pet peeves about movies is when they foreshadow to the next movie and here in this film, it is obviously blatant. Yet, one look at Spider-Man shooting webs at buildings and flying right past them will have you hooked. I mentioned in the first film that if the sequel could get a villain better than the Green Goblin, the movie would be better and Dr. Octavius is a better one at that, even if his screen time is limited. Molina makes the most of his Gollum-like performance and the fighting scenes at times exceed the level of the first, but you'll have to wait a little while for them. It is a fine sequel with its trademark humor, some nice special-effects wizardry, and Spider-Man himself. Can't wait for the third one; at least we know what the story will be. 3 stars
Fahrenheit 9/11
For full disclosure, I must say, yes, I'm a Republican supporting George W. Bush. Going to Berkeley for 4 years didn't convince me to join the other side. On the other hand, I'm a big fan of liberal writers like Michael Moore and Al Franken. They're two of the best political humorists out there, even if Republicans are the butt of most of their jokes. So I was at a crossroads when I began watching this documentary. "Fahrenheit 9/11" goes about trying to explain how the Bush Administration deceived the American people by explaining first how Bush won the election, showing the ties Bush had to Saudi Arabia, emhasizing Bush's slow response in reacting to the World Trade Center hits, and showing off the war in Iraq.
Moore does an effective job in telling the stories of the documentary. The mother who lost her son in Iraq. Kids in the inner city being recruited to join the military. That sorta thing. The weak part is the non-stop facts that attack the President. Maybe I'm looking at it like a journalist would, but Moore fails to show any response by the other side to defend themselves. Yes, I'm sure they would have rejected his requests for an interview, but he at least should have shown himself trying, like he has done in previous movies. It's like in public, we're seeing a kinder, gentler Michael Moore. But in the comforts of a voiceover while making President Bush look like a fool, it makes the first half degenerate into "Crossfire" except that Paul Begala and James Carville keep screaming at you without Tucker Carlson and Robert Novak there to calm them down. There are some cheap shots and, dare I say, inaccurate or at least stretched comments among his facts he uses throughout the film, the frequency of which makes the attacks repetitive, but what Moore presents does raise some good questions; questions I wish he could have gotten some Republican to answer. 2.5 stars
For full disclosure, I must say, yes, I'm a Republican supporting George W. Bush. Going to Berkeley for 4 years didn't convince me to join the other side. On the other hand, I'm a big fan of liberal writers like Michael Moore and Al Franken. They're two of the best political humorists out there, even if Republicans are the butt of most of their jokes. So I was at a crossroads when I began watching this documentary. "Fahrenheit 9/11" goes about trying to explain how the Bush Administration deceived the American people by explaining first how Bush won the election, showing the ties Bush had to Saudi Arabia, emhasizing Bush's slow response in reacting to the World Trade Center hits, and showing off the war in Iraq.
Moore does an effective job in telling the stories of the documentary. The mother who lost her son in Iraq. Kids in the inner city being recruited to join the military. That sorta thing. The weak part is the non-stop facts that attack the President. Maybe I'm looking at it like a journalist would, but Moore fails to show any response by the other side to defend themselves. Yes, I'm sure they would have rejected his requests for an interview, but he at least should have shown himself trying, like he has done in previous movies. It's like in public, we're seeing a kinder, gentler Michael Moore. But in the comforts of a voiceover while making President Bush look like a fool, it makes the first half degenerate into "Crossfire" except that Paul Begala and James Carville keep screaming at you without Tucker Carlson and Robert Novak there to calm them down. There are some cheap shots and, dare I say, inaccurate or at least stretched comments among his facts he uses throughout the film, the frequency of which makes the attacks repetitive, but what Moore presents does raise some good questions; questions I wish he could have gotten some Republican to answer. 2.5 stars
The Stepford Wives
Joanna (Nicole Kidman) has, in some respects, lost it. Her controversial reality shows has gotten her fired from her job as a network executive and has left her depressed. Husband Walter (Matthew Broderick) feels the only way to let her recover is a change of scenery. So the family moves to Connecticut to the town of Stepford. It seems like a fantasy-land with its cavernous mansions and numerous amenities, but something seems odd: the wives. They are the perfect companions to the generally nerdy male population. Once she changes to people right before her very eyes, Joanna is suspicious of all around her including Walter and the leaders of the community, Claire (Glenn Close) and Mike (Christopher Walken), and sets out to discover the truth.
This odd movie directed by Frank Oz sets down one path but winds up on another. It starts out as a comedy, which was fine. I laughed out loud a few times. Making fun of reality shows may be a tired subject, but it was humorous. So were the actions of the wives of Stepford along with Joanna's reactions. But as Joanna discovers more and more about what's really going on, the movie loses its light touch and descends upon a murky path that is a heavy contrast in tone and difficult to believe. It would have been better to continue the light-heartedness and lengthen the scenes of Joanna adjusting to knowing the truth in the end, especially considering the film is only 90 minutes long and with the lack of moral implications. Alas, a movie with good intentions has gone sour. Performances by all the top stars were otherwise top-notch. 2.5 stars
Joanna (Nicole Kidman) has, in some respects, lost it. Her controversial reality shows has gotten her fired from her job as a network executive and has left her depressed. Husband Walter (Matthew Broderick) feels the only way to let her recover is a change of scenery. So the family moves to Connecticut to the town of Stepford. It seems like a fantasy-land with its cavernous mansions and numerous amenities, but something seems odd: the wives. They are the perfect companions to the generally nerdy male population. Once she changes to people right before her very eyes, Joanna is suspicious of all around her including Walter and the leaders of the community, Claire (Glenn Close) and Mike (Christopher Walken), and sets out to discover the truth.
This odd movie directed by Frank Oz sets down one path but winds up on another. It starts out as a comedy, which was fine. I laughed out loud a few times. Making fun of reality shows may be a tired subject, but it was humorous. So were the actions of the wives of Stepford along with Joanna's reactions. But as Joanna discovers more and more about what's really going on, the movie loses its light touch and descends upon a murky path that is a heavy contrast in tone and difficult to believe. It would have been better to continue the light-heartedness and lengthen the scenes of Joanna adjusting to knowing the truth in the end, especially considering the film is only 90 minutes long and with the lack of moral implications. Alas, a movie with good intentions has gone sour. Performances by all the top stars were otherwise top-notch. 2.5 stars
6/26/2004
My new laptop is finally performing as it should. You see, the wireless internet was acting a bit odd on my computer. The router and the desktop was working fine before. The laptop and some wireless networks in Berkeley were also good. But my laptop with the router was just terrible. The connection would drop about every 5 minutes and then you had to manually reconnect. After a month of this and some research, I finally found a fix to the problem. All I had to do was turn off 802.1x authentication and voila, no more drops. If only I knew it was that easy...
My work office became somewhat complete with the nameplate that is next to my door. Three days later, I get a survey about the nameplate including: Was the service prompt? Was the job performed to your satisfaction? Well, let's see. I got a knock on the door. The guy asks, is this your name? I say yes. He slides the nameplate in. Done. Probably took 10 seconds.
So at work, there are numerous safety signs in the bathroom. You know, the usual things, but one thing that stands out is that it says not to stand on the toilet seat. While this seems funny by itself just to tell adults this, the kicker is the accompanying illustation of what not to do, including the faceless body standing on the toilet seat.
Thursday was a change of pace as I went to a symposium about supply chain optimization at the Santa Clara Marriott. Of course, it was advertised to me as free food for both breakfast and lunch. The people from the sponsoring company were so eager to give you their business card. Even me, who has pretty much zero influence in the ability of getting their business. But you can tell it was awfully boring. The guy next to me was drawing triangles of all different sizes. And that was one of their representatives. But hey, it ended early and I had the rest of the day off.
My mom bought these fruit snacks that described the flavors as mixed berries. You've got your strawberries and blueberries and whatnot. But I've never seen a berry that's blue green before.
I stumbled by the Daily Cal website and I see serious journalism is still the name of the game over there. Did you see that hard-hitting piece on drinking fountains?
Last Monday, CNN headquarters was struck by lightning, leaving it without audio for 15 minutes. But even though its audience dropped to a quarter of its normal viewership, it almost matched the audience watching MSNBC at the same time. You have to wonder why MSNBC still manages to exist. Maybe its for their consistent audio.
My work office became somewhat complete with the nameplate that is next to my door. Three days later, I get a survey about the nameplate including: Was the service prompt? Was the job performed to your satisfaction? Well, let's see. I got a knock on the door. The guy asks, is this your name? I say yes. He slides the nameplate in. Done. Probably took 10 seconds.
So at work, there are numerous safety signs in the bathroom. You know, the usual things, but one thing that stands out is that it says not to stand on the toilet seat. While this seems funny by itself just to tell adults this, the kicker is the accompanying illustation of what not to do, including the faceless body standing on the toilet seat.
Thursday was a change of pace as I went to a symposium about supply chain optimization at the Santa Clara Marriott. Of course, it was advertised to me as free food for both breakfast and lunch. The people from the sponsoring company were so eager to give you their business card. Even me, who has pretty much zero influence in the ability of getting their business. But you can tell it was awfully boring. The guy next to me was drawing triangles of all different sizes. And that was one of their representatives. But hey, it ended early and I had the rest of the day off.
My mom bought these fruit snacks that described the flavors as mixed berries. You've got your strawberries and blueberries and whatnot. But I've never seen a berry that's blue green before.
I stumbled by the Daily Cal website and I see serious journalism is still the name of the game over there. Did you see that hard-hitting piece on drinking fountains?
Last Monday, CNN headquarters was struck by lightning, leaving it without audio for 15 minutes. But even though its audience dropped to a quarter of its normal viewership, it almost matched the audience watching MSNBC at the same time. You have to wonder why MSNBC still manages to exist. Maybe its for their consistent audio.
6/23/2004
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
Vince Vaughn plays Peter LaFleur, the owner of Average Joe’s Gym, a mom-and-pop type health gym which doesn’t force its fitness ideals on its customers. Instead, it lets them choose the regiment they feel like doing. This is possibly due to LaFleur’s laid-back management style, but nonetheless, financially, it isn’t working. Across the street, the behemoth Globo-Gym run by White Goodman (Ben Stiller) stands and is just waiting to buy up Average Joe’s and monopolize the market. As a result, Vaughn needs to come up with $50,000 to save his business. As luck would have it, a dodgeball competition with a top prize of $50,000 is going to begin in Las Vegas. So LaFleur and his rag-tag team of workers begin on this journey filled with dodging, ducking, dipping, diving, and dodging.
Dodgeball is the name of the game in this movie. It’s this film’s biggest plot mover. When it strays from it, the movie slows and most of it is just forced laughter. Even the motivation for dodgeball, Globo Gym’s acquisition of Average Joe’s, is a non-starter. But once the training begins and the balls go flying, the physical comedy is at its best and the one-liners are sharp. It’s led by a great performance from Rip Torn as the wheelchair bound former dodgeball champion Patches O’Houlihan. Also of note are the cameos in the film (Lance Armstrong, William Shatner, Chuck Norris, among others), which contribute greatly to the film’s comedic success. Overall, this overly physical and sometimes ironic comedy is certainly one of the funnier movies to come out in recent memory. 3 stars
Vince Vaughn plays Peter LaFleur, the owner of Average Joe’s Gym, a mom-and-pop type health gym which doesn’t force its fitness ideals on its customers. Instead, it lets them choose the regiment they feel like doing. This is possibly due to LaFleur’s laid-back management style, but nonetheless, financially, it isn’t working. Across the street, the behemoth Globo-Gym run by White Goodman (Ben Stiller) stands and is just waiting to buy up Average Joe’s and monopolize the market. As a result, Vaughn needs to come up with $50,000 to save his business. As luck would have it, a dodgeball competition with a top prize of $50,000 is going to begin in Las Vegas. So LaFleur and his rag-tag team of workers begin on this journey filled with dodging, ducking, dipping, diving, and dodging.
Dodgeball is the name of the game in this movie. It’s this film’s biggest plot mover. When it strays from it, the movie slows and most of it is just forced laughter. Even the motivation for dodgeball, Globo Gym’s acquisition of Average Joe’s, is a non-starter. But once the training begins and the balls go flying, the physical comedy is at its best and the one-liners are sharp. It’s led by a great performance from Rip Torn as the wheelchair bound former dodgeball champion Patches O’Houlihan. Also of note are the cameos in the film (Lance Armstrong, William Shatner, Chuck Norris, among others), which contribute greatly to the film’s comedic success. Overall, this overly physical and sometimes ironic comedy is certainly one of the funnier movies to come out in recent memory. 3 stars
6/19/2004
This week was my first week on the job at Hitachi. Many people kept asking me, so what are you going to do there? And you know what, I had no clue. Even after this week, I only have a vague notion of what I'm gonna do. In any case, Hitachi makes all kinds of things but in San Jose, they make hard drives, a product from buying out IBM's hard drive business. I'm in what they call the Mobile BU (Business Unit). They are in the business side of selling mobile hard drives to distributors and manufacturers which includes the pricing and allocating and forecasting, etc. So again, what do I do? Well, let's see. This week, I didn't do much as they wanted to ease me in to everything. So my week consisted of reading the basic files they use and running around meeting the other team members and having them explain these basic files to me. My manager is a young guy who's about to temporarily leave soon as his wife is gonna have a baby. He got lots of keys and stamps around a lot so you can hear him coming a mile away. I've got a cheap laptop in my very own office. How cheap? It couldn't run one of the files they gave me so they're requisitioning another one. At times, it got very boring. Even fell asleep once in that white-walled dungeon. But hey, soon I'll do something. Apparently, I'll be responsible for two things in the short term: in-quarter forecasting and maintenance of the main file used to keep track of sales.
So, it's been a week. What have I missed?
Last Comic Standing whittled down the competitors to 10 from 20. This was the episode where the celebrity judges complained the wrong people were being chosen to enter the house while more deserving comedians were being left out. Dan Ahdoot, Monty Hoffman, Kerri Louise, Dan Naturman, and Jim Wiggins all deserved to get in while Ant and a couple of others obviously did not. According to Jay Mohr though, each celebrity judge got to pick 10 of their favorites of the 20 and if at least 3 of the 4 celebrity judges agreed on a comedian, they would get in. This applied to 7 of them, meaning NBC and the producers of the show got to choose the other 3. Man, as long as they can get a better comedian than Dat Phan, then I'll be happy. And from the looks of it, that should be easy.
I'm unhappy though that they've taken out Dave Mordal's rants about this season. Mordal was the funniest of the bunch in Last Comic Standing last year. He said some things about Ant and the talent scouts but those were edited out a few days later. And now, they've completely taken his comments out. What's the deal?
My sister discovered Nick GaS at her friend's house. Apparently, they show old Nickelodeon game shows and other things. You remember, shows like Finders Keepers, the Legend of the Hidden Temple, Guts, Double Dare, etc. So then, they were talking about game shows and she remembered a show where one half of a duo would pick out prizes and then they would get those prizes if the other half picked the same things, but she couldn't remember the title, so she came to me. I remember it too, but I don't remember the title. Anyone??
They've announced the dates and times of the presidential debates and one thing caught my eye. The second debate, which is a town hall meeting, is going to be on a Friday. Friday!!! It's bad enough barely anyone watches the debates, but you had to put it on Friday?
Long live Camera One and Camera 3. Both theatres in Downtown San Jose are closing and being consolidated into the old Pavilion which was an 8-screen theatre by United Artists. Camera is re-opening it up as a 12-screen theatre. Good for them. I never did like the empty feeling the area had out there.
You would think I would have officially moved out of the Berkeley apartment but no. One bill still remains. I got sent a $60 bill from Comcast. My internet account was apparently still active. So I call them up and they say this is normal. NORMAL? I cancelled my account in May! They said the accounting will reflect that, but until they physically disconnect my account, billing will go on. When will the disconnect happen? Early July. Please, they should really get their act together.
So, it's been a week. What have I missed?
Last Comic Standing whittled down the competitors to 10 from 20. This was the episode where the celebrity judges complained the wrong people were being chosen to enter the house while more deserving comedians were being left out. Dan Ahdoot, Monty Hoffman, Kerri Louise, Dan Naturman, and Jim Wiggins all deserved to get in while Ant and a couple of others obviously did not. According to Jay Mohr though, each celebrity judge got to pick 10 of their favorites of the 20 and if at least 3 of the 4 celebrity judges agreed on a comedian, they would get in. This applied to 7 of them, meaning NBC and the producers of the show got to choose the other 3. Man, as long as they can get a better comedian than Dat Phan, then I'll be happy. And from the looks of it, that should be easy.
I'm unhappy though that they've taken out Dave Mordal's rants about this season. Mordal was the funniest of the bunch in Last Comic Standing last year. He said some things about Ant and the talent scouts but those were edited out a few days later. And now, they've completely taken his comments out. What's the deal?
My sister discovered Nick GaS at her friend's house. Apparently, they show old Nickelodeon game shows and other things. You remember, shows like Finders Keepers, the Legend of the Hidden Temple, Guts, Double Dare, etc. So then, they were talking about game shows and she remembered a show where one half of a duo would pick out prizes and then they would get those prizes if the other half picked the same things, but she couldn't remember the title, so she came to me. I remember it too, but I don't remember the title. Anyone??
They've announced the dates and times of the presidential debates and one thing caught my eye. The second debate, which is a town hall meeting, is going to be on a Friday. Friday!!! It's bad enough barely anyone watches the debates, but you had to put it on Friday?
Long live Camera One and Camera 3. Both theatres in Downtown San Jose are closing and being consolidated into the old Pavilion which was an 8-screen theatre by United Artists. Camera is re-opening it up as a 12-screen theatre. Good for them. I never did like the empty feeling the area had out there.
You would think I would have officially moved out of the Berkeley apartment but no. One bill still remains. I got sent a $60 bill from Comcast. My internet account was apparently still active. So I call them up and they say this is normal. NORMAL? I cancelled my account in May! They said the accounting will reflect that, but until they physically disconnect my account, billing will go on. When will the disconnect happen? Early July. Please, they should really get their act together.
Before I get to my first week on the job, I just got an interesting call on the cell. I didn't recognize the number but it did have a 972 prefix like my home number, so I answered.
Him: Hey, it's (inaudible).
Me: Who?
Him: Stop fooling around.
Me: I'm sorry, who's this?
Him: I need a ride.
Me: (Long pause)
Him: You still there?
Me: Yeah.
Him: So are you comin' or what?
Me: Not til I know who you are.
Him: Fine, mother fu...(click)
Him: Hey, it's (inaudible).
Me: Who?
Him: Stop fooling around.
Me: I'm sorry, who's this?
Him: I need a ride.
Me: (Long pause)
Him: You still there?
Me: Yeah.
Him: So are you comin' or what?
Me: Not til I know who you are.
Him: Fine, mother fu...(click)
6/13/2004
Certainly, not much has changed since I graduated three weeks ago. Sleeping is still down to a minimum. My room is still the mess I made it when I moved back. My time since moving back has been mostly spent on the computer. In the future, these things will probably be unchanged with the exception that I'll be paid. My job at Hitachi begins in earnest tomorrow at 8:30 am. I don't know much about it. I do know it's a full time adventure complete with numbers to put into spreadsheets in order to analyze them and find patterns and whatnot. I really didn't like how my new boss said that this kind of job is usually given to people with 10 years experience. My only thought was how crazy could they be by giving the job to me? Hopefully, I'll be up to the task or else they'll fire my ass very quickly. I'll let you know about my trials and tribulations in the coming weeks.
What does this mean for you? I'm going to be really busy so I probably won't have time to hang out with you. This is different from before in that I had nothing to do but I still didn't want to hang out with you.
So anyway...
Earlier this week, the Tampa Bay Lightning won the Stanley Cup, which continues the streak of San Jose being an accurate predictor of who won't win the Cup. The team which eliminates the Sharks (the Flames this year) has never gone on to win the championship. Over in basketball, the Pistons are up 3-1 on the Lakers in their championship series. No team down 3-1 has ever won the series. These Lakers are acting much like this year's Avalanche in the NHL. Both teams signed veterans, arguably past their prime, who contributed little to the team. The Avs' Paul Kariya was injured most of the season and Teemu Selanne had his worst year ever. The Lakers' Karl Malone was injured most of the season and Gary Payton is struggling mightily in the face of the team's established stars in Kobe and Shaq. The Avs were eliminated early in the Stanley Cup playoffs but the Lakers are still in it, but are on life support. Never in this series has the Lakers shown the dominance of years past and when the series is over, win or lose, most likely lose, the Lakers really need to dismantle the team and rebuild because this isn't working.
What does this mean for you? I'm going to be really busy so I probably won't have time to hang out with you. This is different from before in that I had nothing to do but I still didn't want to hang out with you.
So anyway...
Earlier this week, the Tampa Bay Lightning won the Stanley Cup, which continues the streak of San Jose being an accurate predictor of who won't win the Cup. The team which eliminates the Sharks (the Flames this year) has never gone on to win the championship. Over in basketball, the Pistons are up 3-1 on the Lakers in their championship series. No team down 3-1 has ever won the series. These Lakers are acting much like this year's Avalanche in the NHL. Both teams signed veterans, arguably past their prime, who contributed little to the team. The Avs' Paul Kariya was injured most of the season and Teemu Selanne had his worst year ever. The Lakers' Karl Malone was injured most of the season and Gary Payton is struggling mightily in the face of the team's established stars in Kobe and Shaq. The Avs were eliminated early in the Stanley Cup playoffs but the Lakers are still in it, but are on life support. Never in this series has the Lakers shown the dominance of years past and when the series is over, win or lose, most likely lose, the Lakers really need to dismantle the team and rebuild because this isn't working.
6/12/2004
Super Size Me
The story begins with two girls who are suing McDonalds for causing their weight gain. However, the judge strikes down the case, stating no such link could be found. Enter Morgan Spurlock. He decides to run an experiment in which his diet would consist of only McDonald's products. Lasting 30 days and under the supervision of 3 doctors and his vegan chef girlfriend, Spurlock soon begins to notice a significant change. He has gained weight, his cholesterol is up, he has headaches and chest pains, and, most importantly, his sex drive is down. Doctors soon predict death if he doesn't stop the experiment. But Spurlock makes it while telling us the story of how McDonald's, and fast food in general, is hurting American physical fitness through its fattening simplicity and the manipulation of our kids.
After watching the film, I guess it's clear what we have to do...eat at Burger King. But seriously, nothing Spurlock told us is shocking. We all know what is offered at these fast food outlets are fattening and bad for you. It's the way he shows how none of us seems to mind that is informative. His little experiment is compelling and a riot to watch. The way he admires the food and makes little jokes about the scheme of things before eventually throwing it up or sitting lazily while digesting it is kinda sick to see but all so perfect in communicating the fact that fast food isn't the best of things to have. Just remember, if you must, always take it in moderation. 3 stars
The story begins with two girls who are suing McDonalds for causing their weight gain. However, the judge strikes down the case, stating no such link could be found. Enter Morgan Spurlock. He decides to run an experiment in which his diet would consist of only McDonald's products. Lasting 30 days and under the supervision of 3 doctors and his vegan chef girlfriend, Spurlock soon begins to notice a significant change. He has gained weight, his cholesterol is up, he has headaches and chest pains, and, most importantly, his sex drive is down. Doctors soon predict death if he doesn't stop the experiment. But Spurlock makes it while telling us the story of how McDonald's, and fast food in general, is hurting American physical fitness through its fattening simplicity and the manipulation of our kids.
After watching the film, I guess it's clear what we have to do...eat at Burger King. But seriously, nothing Spurlock told us is shocking. We all know what is offered at these fast food outlets are fattening and bad for you. It's the way he shows how none of us seems to mind that is informative. His little experiment is compelling and a riot to watch. The way he admires the food and makes little jokes about the scheme of things before eventually throwing it up or sitting lazily while digesting it is kinda sick to see but all so perfect in communicating the fact that fast food isn't the best of things to have. Just remember, if you must, always take it in moderation. 3 stars
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