Last Day at Synnex!

W00T!! Ok, last day at work. Starting tomorrow, I'm officially unemployed. I'm so excited!! =)

Anyway, I might as well make today as productive as possible....


Ok, I'm over that. Hey, check this out.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/story/0,3605,1674705,00.html
That's amazing. A complete vehicle overhaul and redesign. It seems like it could be a very cool idea. I'm not sure if we, as a society, in America is able to comprehend the personal transit sharing system but the car itself is pretty nice. Stackable chassis, wheel robots that take away the need for an engine, wafer-thin displays on the dash, programmable exterior color, etc. etc. If this works, it'll be revolutionary in terms of what's possible in vehicle design and vehicle safety. Unfortunately, it'll be killed by oil companies. So, we'll probably never see this in a practical sense, just as a novelty.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/12/30/teen.iraq/index.html
This may not have been the smartest of ideas but it seems like the kid was trying to stick to his guns and trying to find answers for himself. This is something I'm always a fan of. Good for him. This are some kind of balls on the kid and if he continues in the journalism field, he may just find some success.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/12/30/nsa.leak/index.html
....If I'm reading this article correctly, are they investigating the leak instead of the program itself? What kind of BS is that? A potentially illegal and unconstitutional program is launched in the NSA by Bush and when word of this program's existence breaks, instead of investigating the program they investigate the leak? BS! Those are 3's, not Kings. Pick up the pile, Mr. Bush.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/internet/12/29/spy.agency.privacy.ap/index.html
WHAT THE HELL? The NSA is definitely reminding me of the Gestapo.

This administration is really scaring me. I hope this serves a very important lesson to all the people who I talked to in 2004 who told me they were voting for Bush for re-election because they wanted him "clean up his own mess." Thanks to his administration, we could be looking at a complete reversion of Civil Rights.

Hi again

So, what's in the news? Well, Toronto Canada had a record 52 gun-related deaths this past year. It's nearly double what they had last year. They're blaming America for somehow importing their violence. I agree. We do have a ton of gun-related deaths. Frankly, I'm surprised that Canada survived this long without more gun-related deaths considering they're just a drive away from America. I'm surprised we haven't shot more Canadians. I hope they find an effective way of stemming the violence because I'd hate to think we're actually contagious.

[Ok, that whole paragraph sounded sarcastic. I was actually serious. We are really dangerous and I hope that we don't actually spread. But I wouldn't doubt it if we do.]

CNN's reporting that Bush is reading a book about Teddy Roosevelt's feelings of frustration after he left office. Bush is, apparently, starting to think about life after he leaves the White House. Frankly, I am too. I hope nothing happens these next 3 years in terms of what he's capable of doing while he's still living in the house.

As far as Susan Kennedy joining the Schwarze-whats-his-face's administration as his chief of staff, I'm going to swim against the flow and say good for her. All these Democrats are grumbling aboud Schwarze-blah-de-blah-blah's uber-Conservative agenda and how it's ruining California and etc. etc. Well, do something about it, then. Sheesh. At least Kennedy's trying to do something about it. By having such a prominent Democrat in the position, I think it opens up the door to more bi-partisan actions by this administration. And, if it doesn't, well, at least she tried. How're you ever supposed to change the world if you're not even allowed in the ballgame? Give her a break and let's see if she can bring some semblence of political stability back to California.

http://kotaku.com/gaming/christmas-spirit/dad-replaces-bad-kids-360-with-coal-145033.php
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. that's funny. sucks for the kid. but funny as hell.

http://www.engadget.com/2005/12/28/teens-get-busted-mmsing-pics-of-marijuana-buy-locations/
Use MMS to sell your pot quick. Use MMS to get arrested quick. I guess that's a fair trade-off.

Happy Holidays!

Yes, happy holidays. Not merry christmas.

Anyway, I had a good Christmas. It was very relaxing. Didn't do much of anything that day. I hung around at home, watched the Lakers game (sniff... so close to winning...), had Christmas dinner with my family, and went out with friends that night. All in all, it was a good day.

Still, I miss Christmas the way we used to celebrate, back in the day. I mean, nowadays, I look back on it with rose-colored glasses, I realize, but it just seemed like a better time. Back in the day, when my grandmother on my father's side was still alive, we used to go down to my aunt's house every Christmas. We would either drive down Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, depending on where Christmas fell on the calender. More than likely, we'd go down on Christmas Eve. We'd get in and put all the presents for my aunt's family under their tree. It was always in the same place and decorated the same. Heh, I'm just remembering now about how my aunt would even put Christmas cards in the tree but, if you look at them, they were all blank. I think they just bought cards from the supermarket and stuck them into the tree instead of using cards that people sent. Anyway, we'd drop all the presents under the tree and I'd hang out with my cousins. More than likely, we'd watch movies Christmas Eve. On Christmas morning, we'd all sleep in. We'd wake up at like 10 or 11, go downstairs, and play video games all day. Then, we'd gather around for dinner and have a huge dinner. After dinner, we'd all go to the living room where the tree was set-up. Grandma would get the chair sitting directly opposite the tree and my family would all crowd around the other couch. My cousins and I would be around the tree, picking out the real presents from the prop presents (who does that? Can someone who does explain to me why you put fake presents under the tree? I don't get it.) Anyway, we'd pass out the presents and open them. And then play with our gifts for the rest of the night. Or go back to video games. It was fun. Sure, not an actual tradition, but it's how I remember Christmas. No snow, no skiing, no hot chocolate, no carols. Just being together and happy.

Anyway, I'm at work now, celebrating the fact that I've got 3 more working days before I'm outta Synnex for good. Then, a month vacation. Hopefully I'll be able to get off my ass and travel around a bit and see friends. And next year, who knows? I suppose it's time to think of New Year's Resolutions. So, here we go.

1. Be more accepting of things in general. - Life's tough and everybody has it tough. Let's not get pissed off at the stupid things in life.

2. Be happier - Life's tough but life, for me right now, is good.

3. Keep in touch - I've gotta try to write more emails and letters and IM people more and call people more (well, maybe calling people is going to be kinda hard. I suck at that.)

4. Write more - Read and sleep and watch TV, I accomplish. Writing, however, I never do as much as I wish I did. Must write more. That's how you get better. Practice practice practice.

5. Find a more permenant job - Ok, it's time to get out there and find a job that I'm more spiritually satisfied with. Hopefully it'll install more purpose to my life and give me more opportunities to make a positive impact.

6. Learn how to cook more - Heh. Probably shouldn't be making this list while I'm kinda hungry. Well, as long as this is here, I hope I can learn how to make more food-stuffs. I've got a bunch of recipes on my computer that I've never tried before because... well, I just never tried. Time to get cracking on that.

That's a good list. That'll keep me busy for a year. There are probably some really important ones that I missed (or chose not to write). So, between these 6 and a couple of unwritten ones, I'm set.

I hope everybody has a good New Year's and a good 2006 (wow, we're getting old).

Merry Christmas!!!

Happy Holidays! Merry Christmas! (etc. etc.) I love this season. I love this holiday! I love the presents, the trees, the singing, the decorations, the traditions, the hot chocolate, everything. It's too bad my family's too lazy to really celebrate it. Hell, I don't think we even have presents for each other. Still, it's Christmas and I'm loving Christmas.

So, HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO EVERYBODY!!! I HOPE EVERYBODY HAS THE GREATEST HOLIDAY SEASON THIS YEAR!!!!

Topless Sandal follow-up

Ok, looking at the topless sandal shopping page really quick, I have to admit: this seems very Santa Cruz. I think this is just my UCSC side talking but these are really interesting and I'm probably going to be buy a pair.
Men's Topless Sandals

Other interesting things this morning

Does anybody else find these sandals amusing?
Topless Sandals - New Launches
I kinda wanna try a pair. For 15 bucks and the guy who made these saying it'll last a year, that seems like a good deal.

This is really freakin' amazing. This is totally where computers are going to be in the next six months to a year.
eHomeUpgrade | Mac mini Kitchen Installation
Someone took apart a Mac mini and modded it into a switchplate so that it could be installed into literally a hole in the wall in the kitchen. Using Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, this computer's hidden and essentially invisible to the naked eye. I'm really impressed someone actually took the time to do this and to do this successfully. It's really kinda crazy what's possible this day and age.

Ok, I'd post more but I actually work to do right now. On the upside, my boss is going to be out tomorrow so tomorrow's gonna be achill day. On the downside, since my boss is going to be out tomorrow and I'm going to be out Monday/Tuesday, I'm going to have to get him all the work I owe him this morning instead of next week. So, back to work.

Snoopy iPod Nano

This is really cute. I'm kinda hoping that Apple takes this to heart and start coming out with a couple of random engraved iPods.
Akihabara News - Snoopy-styled iPOD Nano
I'm not going to buy a new one or anything but I'd like the option in 4 years when I replace the iPod I have now with the new uber-super-crazy-model of the year that Apple puts out then.

Flock Testing

Just outta curiosity, I downloaded the Flock browser just to see what it looked like. I'd heard about it for the past couple of months but I didn't wanna d/l it because it's still in developer preview stage. Still, after listening to the Flock broadcast on the Inside The Net podcast, I decided to check it out.

Frankly, I like the clean cut look. It's interesting how when browsers first came out, there was an emphasis of more and more and bigger and brighter and now we consider Google's homepage to be the quintessential design and Apple's iPod to be the goal in product design. Clean, crisp, easy.

So, the Flock browser is a'ite. I like it. It's still in developer preview stage so it crashes every now and then but it's to be expected. I suppose anything's better than IE, right? =P Don't abandon Firefox just yet, tho, because Mozilla's still better. Flock's good tho.

This is a test of the auto blogging feature on the Flock browser. If this works out well, it'll definitely save time blogging. =P

Writely blog 2

Ok, I've put my graduation speech online.
http://www.writely.com/View.aspx?docid=bapbn7cps8p4

I'm kind of a fan of writely.com. It's easy and simple and impressive. Yay for innovation! (Bill Gates is in trouble now.)

This may get me back into writing more now. I think I'll put a story I've been working on here. Then, as I write it, y'all can read it and tell me what you think. This is really cool.

Writely.com Fun

Hi y'all. I'm posting in my blog with www.writely.com, an online word processor. It's actually really cool. I'm enjoying the user interface and the fact that I can save documents online and access them from any computer. What's more is that I can post directly into blogger from it. So, use it and enjoy!

Next up is my attempt to try and share things. I'll make a test and see where it gets me.

Yay! I graduated!

Yay! I gradu-ma-cated! =D

Ok, to be honest, I'm pretty sure I had graduated already when I woke up on that Saturday morning many months ago, got dressed, put on a polyester gown, walked down with a whole shitload of people to the bleachers, spoke for 7 minutes, listened for 2 hours, walked across the stage, and got that rolled up piece of paper. HOWEVER, I was apprehensive... you know, just in case... But, yesterday, in the mail, I got my diploma. (Took its sweet time getting here. It's DECEMBER! Sheesh. Ok, the reason's probably because we moved and so the post office did some switcheroo with the mailing addresses which takes like an extra month and a half for any of our mail to get to us. Still...)

Yay! *Happy Dance*

I'm quite excited. This diploma thingie is my proof that I actually graduated. (I never checked my grades for the final quarter.) I'm gonna frame this sucker and then frame all those rejection letters I got from other schools and hang them right next to it! (I just found them last week while cleaning out our old house.) Up yours, SJSU!! (Long story but suffice it to say, I got accepted into UCSC but rejected from SJSU. Go figure.) So *glee*.

As an aside, how weird is it that I have Arnold Schwarze-whats-its-face's signature on my diploma? It feels kinda like I went to a Terminator 4 preview, saw him, but didn't have a piece of paper on me so he signed my mail. And, if I take it to Boston, will people laugh when they see his signature on my diploma? The Goven-ator.

As an aside...

As an aside to all this Bush, the song that definitely exemplifies this administration: For What It's Worth by Buffalo Springfield.

"I think it's time we stop, children, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down."

Ok, I know I'm dwelling...

Ok, I'm dwelling. I admit it. I can't let this one go just yet.

Concerning the wiretaps, Gen. Michael Hayden, head of the NSA, said "I can say unequivocally we have got information through this program that would not otherwise have been available." President Bush said "To save American lives, we must be able to act fast and to detect these conversations so we can prevent new attacks." Ok, granted, it probably stopped some attacks. You know what else could probably stop attacks? Internment camps for Arab-Americans. Random security checks for anybody whose name translates into "Son-of-the-Prophet." Banning Mosques in major cities. Deputizing local militia. Training Bush Youth camps for the next generation of NSA/National Guard soldiers. These are civil liberties that are being violated through the unauthorized communication invasion that the NSA has been implementing. Does the president realize this? "It has been effective in disrupting the enemy while safeguarding our civil liberties." Hm... looks like he doesn't. Maybe he needs a civics lesson.

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." Spoken by Benjamin Franklin, stolen from The West Wing.

Bush = jackass (Big Shock, I know)

George W. Bush gets my official Jackass badge of shame!


(Ok, MTV's official Jackass badge of shame. Whatever =P)

And why is our illustrious president a jackass? (Aside from previously stated reasons.) Concerning his recently revealed 2 years of secret surveillance on America citizens:

"'Leaders in the United States Congress have been briefed more than a dozen times on this program,' Mr. Bush said. 'And it has been effective in disrupting the enemy while safeguarding our personal liberties. This program has targeted those with known links to Al Qaeda.'

'My personal opinion is, it was a shameful act for someone to disclose this very important program in a time of war,' Mr. Bush said. 'The fact that we're discussing this program is helping the enemy.'"
-- From the New Yorks Times article

So.... let's see now: it has been revealed (by the New York Times. Yay for journalism!) that Bush secretly authorized unmitigated surveillance on American citizens without a court order, something which is illegal for 99.9% of America but I guess is alright for our commander-in-chief, 3-4 years ago. Then, while being questioned on it at a press briefing, Bush calls it a legal and necessary [HIGHLY QUESTIONABLE]and has announced that it will continue. He has stated that while it's only been used for international communication [HIGHLY QUESTIONABLE], they would not hesitate to [ILLEGALY] eavesdrop on domestic communication. [EXCUSE ME?!?!] Bush then uses the post-9/11 bullshit rhetoric about "anybody who questions this government is a traitor to America" to criticize whoever leaked this story. [DOES IT NOT BOTHER HIM THAT THERE WERE NSA OFFICIALS AND GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS WHO WERE AGAINST THIS FROM THE BEGINNING?!?!!] "Helping the enemy"? Our president-elect [HIGHLY QUESTIONABLE] is a Jackass.

According to the same New York Times article, Bush "with some heat in his voice," shot down a reporter who questioned where he was "trying to assume 'dictatorial powers'" and while he "criticized those senators who have so far blocked renewal of the USA Patriot Act."

Between this and the trying to push through an amendment stating making gay marriage unconstitutional, I'm beginning to wonder if W. knows what the Constitution is for. Or what it says. Or what it is. I'm beginning to wonder if Bush passed 8th grade History/Social Science class.

BTW, while we're on the subject of him, Bush, last night, also talked about the "success" of the Iraq war. He said: "my fellow citizens, not only can we win the war in Iraq, we are winning the war in Iraq." That's good to hear. Too bad it's not true.

"I do not expect you to support everything I do, but tonight I have a request: Do not give in to despair, and do not give up on this fight for freedom." Makes me wonder if he understand why we don't support him or on what issue we don't support him. Also makes me wonder if he knows what "despair" means.

And the most ironic statement award goes to House Speaker Dennis Hastert: "House Speaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois said House Republicans would stand firm against any calls for withdrawal 'despite attempts by some Democrats to play politics with this war and America's national security.'" (From CNN.com)

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the jackass who is running our nation. No wonder Canada's looking so nice this time of year.

And now for something completely different

Who's better, pirates or ninjas?
http://www.freewebs.com/scurvypirates/yarr.htm

I'm quite grateful to actually know now. I was kinda worried there for a bit when I found myself trapped on a dark street with the Pirates gang (arr!) on one side and the Ninja gang (hai!) on the other. Now I know which side to throw my allegiance to.

Holy Crap

Holy Crap. John Spencer, who plays Leo McGarry on The West Wing, has passed away. He died of a heart attack. He was 58.

I'm pretty shocked. John Spencer truly a great actor on the show. I was always impressed by his acting ability and felt that the show was one of the best TV shows on the air in part because of his portrayal of Chief of Staff Leo McGarry. If, for some reason you read my blog before you read any news outlet sites, be warned that there are major spoilers in every article due to Leo's role in the show this season.

RIP John Spencer.

As long as we're on entertainment news, Tom Cruise is a jackass with his 9/11 medication comments. Yep. Tom Cruise = jackass. And I also feel kinda like a jackass for putting Tom Cruise's name in the same post with John Spencer's name. So, me = jackass. Tom Cruise = bigger jackass.

Scary Story

If you want to read a scary story:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/16/politics/16program.html?hp&ex=1134795600&en=c7596fe0d4798785&ei=5094&partner=homepage

So, the government's been spying on us for 3 years now. Now, to be fair, US doesn't mean EVERYBODY. The article states that best guess is a rotating cycle of 500 suspcious citizens. However, the critical aspect of this is that the NSA's been spying on us without Federally issued warrents. In fact, the New York Times article that "there were few controls on it and little formal oversight outside the N.S.A. The agency can choose its eavesdropping targets and does not have to seek approval from Justice Department or other Bush administration officials." Wow. How's that for unchecked power?

I think the implication of the article is that these powers were given to the NSA by Bush after 9/11. The rampant fear of safety that blew through the country in 2001/2002 allowed the NSA a justifiable base to go fishing for any suspected terrorists. However, I'm concerned more about the implication of this action. Just like with the Iraq war, the checks and balances that are supposed to be in place in our government failed and we took an unregulated, unneccessary amount of action that we probably shouldn't have any right to. "[T]hey said most people targeted for N.S.A. monitoring have never been charged with a crime." Yet, our NSA feels the unmitigated need to spy on citizens who have a right to privacy. I know that privacy feels more like a myth than a fact in this current age of information but there should still be a certain amount expected. Constitutional issues abound from this stunning revelation. Is this legal? Is this constitutional? There are arguments on both sides of the table and the one I'm most swayed by is the idea that this would constitute an illegal search. After all, email should be treated like mail. Tampering with it should be considered a violation of Federal laws. Yet, the NSA doesn't feel bound by these standards.

I'm not going to argue that the program doesn't have any validity. It does stand to reason that if we listen in to every phone call we could stop many terrorist threats before they become actual threats. That being said, we're staring down the barrel of the line the divides Totalitarianism and Democracy. Can we persecute people based on their thoughts? Their feelings? Their opinions?

By the way, when one of your own officials says: "Seeking Congressional approval was also viewed as politically risky because the proposal would be certain to face intense opposition on civil liberties grounds," that should be a clue.

What would have happened if they had heard something really important? What if they had heard some sort of crucial clue? Is this evidence admissible? Any lawyer worth his salt can probably argue this one outta the court. Then what? Is this even the best course of action? Did civil liberities get violated for no good reason?

The big questions is: now what? Now that the New York Times have released this story after sitting on it for a year, what are we going to do as a society? Hopefully we learn and grow and try to avoid the same mistakes again and again. Hopefully we tell the NSA that this type of action is wrong. Hopefully we pass laws that strictly regulate illegal searches and Constitutional violations. Hopefully we never have to deal with this blatant disregard for basic human rights again. Then again, if wishes were horses...

RIP Stanley Williams

This is a post in response to the execution of Stanley Tookie Williams. For those of you who don't know, Stanley Williams, along with Raymond "Truck" Washington began the Crips gang in 1969. The Crips. Yes, those Crips. Perhaps you're familiar with the fued they had/have with the Bloods. It's the modern day Hatfields and McCoys. (Or, the Hatfields and the McCoys are the old school version of the Bloods and Crips, in case you're historically challenged.) Anyway, Williams was arrested in connection with four murders (one during a robbery of a 7-11 and 3 in a robbery of a motel). I'm not going to try and argue whether or not Williams is actually innocent of these crimes. He claimed until his dying day that he was convicted after a trial so I suppose that's one of those things that will remains shrouded in a certain amount of mystery. (I also understand that the 3 killed in the motel robbery were Taiwan immigrants, so that hits close to home.)

What I wanted to comment on was the morality of his execution. Is it right that a man is killed in the place of 4 victims? Perhaps. I do believe that the use of the death penalty is, at times, necessary. However, morally it does present a problem. It is still the taking of a life. By deciding that there are those that deserve the death penalty is essentially putting not just a value on a human life but putting a value on a life for the sole purpose of comparing it to the values of other lives. It becomes even harder to determine the just use of the death penalty when it comes to somebody like Williams.

It's hard to deny that Williams was a troubled individual. Murders aside, Williams is known to have committed some questionable acts while in prison, from threatening guards to getting into violent altercations with other inmates to mistreatment of visitors, etc.

However, after a stint in solitary confinement, Williams came out a changed man. While never renouncing his life up until that point, Williams did take many steps in trying to atone for whatever crimes he may have had, both directly and indirectly. He began to speak out against gang violence. He wrote/co-wrote a series of children's books that spoke out for non-violence (I read one for a class and it was actually an interesting read). He apologized for his part in the creation of the Crips gang. He even created the Tookie Protocol for Peace, a shaky truce between the Bloods and the Crips in California and New Jersey. He was commended by George W. Bush (normally I wouldn't consider this necessarily a virtue but it's worth mentioning because W. was the only president that was in office during this period of Williams's life so I'm using him not as a person but as the office of the President of the United States. When you read the last sentance just thinking "Williams receivied a commendation from the President").

So, I question the ethics of the death penalty applied in this situation. Is there not a better candidate for at least a temporary reprieve?

Williams has commented before that starting the Crips was not because he wanted to indulge in gang violence. He mentions that he wanted to put an end to the random outbreaks of violence in his neighborhood when growing up. He hoped that by banding the people in his neighborhood together, it would decrease the amount of violence and death that occured. For many, gang life represents the best option at the time. It provides an identity, a family, a source of income, a source of protection, a source of pride.

Also, it has been pointed out that Williams represented one of the best hopes of a peaceful solution to gang violence. His mere presence inspires a level of respect and interest that other people would be hard-pressed to duplicate. His life represents a life that still provides an immense amount of value and meaning, even after his mortality is so clearly defined. As far as morals go, this is the quintessential example of the value of human life. Williams proved in the past 5 years that his life still had meaning. He made a huge difference and would've continued to make a huge difference had he continued to live. Where are all the pro-life people now? Where are the churches? Is not his fate destined to be decided by heavenly powers, not mortal men? I'm convinced that politics and religion cannot be a good mix and this is good proof of that.

So, Williams was condemned to death by lethal injection. Expecting nothing less, I was pleased to hear that Williams died with dignity. With honor. Williams never renounced his life with the Crips nor did he ever turn in any names of other gang members. Some people use this fodder for saying the Williams had never truly changed and was still the same person as he was when he was convicted. I think this shows an immense amount of honor in Williams. I respect his inner morality, his commitment and loyalty. He never betrayed the ideals he had tried to instill into the group that he helped formed that was eventually be called the Crips. He never renounced his membership because he still believed in the idea of the Crips. I believe that he understood that there is inherent value in a gang structure. Just not in gang violence. I think that there are too many people who get written off. They lead "dead-end" lives. They represent nothing but trouble and hardship. However, Williams proved that there's no such thing as a dead-end life.

Season's Greetings

So, I haven't really really posted in a long time. It's not really a result of anything in particular. It's more a combination of lack of interest on my part, an increase in workload, and an onset of pseudo-depression as evidenced in my post about work sucking. However, since I have only 9 more (working) days left at Synnex, my recent birthday, the upcoming holiday season, and a whole new future to look forward to, I've moved past this phase and am quite happy with life now. Plus, I'm listening to O-Zone's Dragostea Din Tei song (the Numa Numa song) as I'm typing this which is a great "upper" (this song's WAY too catchy. Even in Romanian (and the CD title the song was in? DiscO-Zone! How great is that!!?!).

My life's hasn't changed very much in the past month. I've watched more movies. I've listened to more songs. I've watched more TV. I've driven further. Other than that tho, no immense changes.

I really enjoyed Rent, Pride and Prejudice, Narnia, and King Kong. I liked the film version of Rent. I thought that the story was translated very effectively onto the big screen. I loved the directorial choices and some of the changes were very smart (like stretching the time frame and events out). I did miss some of the symbolic theatrics that were used on stage (at least when I saw it here, in San Jose) such as the angelic Angel and the "padlock." I also missed Mark's subplot. But these were minor. I just loved watching everything happen.

Pride and Prejudice is a very good movie. Keira Knightly looks as cute as can be in it. She pulls the entire Jane Austin range really well. Plus she has a really great genuine laugh that translates well on screen. I liked the style of the movie. It's more... down to Earth than other versions I've glimpsed. I liked that. It made the story feel a lot more real. Still, even in this "real" world, they made no shortcuts in the dialogue. It's seeped in the Victorian era, from the dancing to the dialogue to the bowing (the incessant bowing).

I really liked Narnia. It completely captured the story again for me. To be fair, I should be calling this movie The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe but that's just freaking too much to type. Anyway, the movie reminded me a lot of the old BBC version. The pacing is very much like it, as well as the character interaction. The children were perfect. Lucy and Edward were the best. Tilda Swinton, as usual, knocked my socks off. I totally think she should be in more movies. She's absolutely great. Liam Neeson as Aslan was dead-on too. He just had such power and grace. Also, the fighting was awesome. WETA did a great job, as expected.

Speaking of WETA, King Kong's a MASTERPIECE. It's so good. It's a great movie to watch at a relaxed pace. Everything about it screams in delight. Naomi Watts, Adrian Brody, and Jack Black were unbelievable. Kong was beyond perfect. There was such emulation, such emotion, such empathy. The scenes between Serkis, as Kong, and Watts, as Darrow, were majestic. Peter Jackson certainly proves his mettle (again) with this film. I think this film's transformed him into the go-to-guy in terms of directors. If anybody were to make a JLA movie, he's who I'd want to direct it.

Movies aside, I'm really happy it's near Christmas. I think it's going to be a good holiday season. I made a list of people I have to do holiday shopping for still. I think I've got a lot of shopping ahead of me. Still, labor of love so it's all good.

This is totally my favorite time of the year. I'm quite content indulging in the merriments of December. And, with that, I'm done with this post. I have another post too that's more somber. How's THAT for emotion swinging??

Thinking about UCSC

I think one of the things I really missed about college was the school pride. Almost everybody I met at UCSC was really happy to be there for whatever reason. From all walks of life, everybody bonded about stuff and everybody got absorbed by whatever was around them. I've never met so many people so happy to be called banana slugs! =D People usually indulged in some sort of school pride, whether it be pride in their major (Go Lit!), pride in their college (Go Cowell!), or pride in their house (Go Beard! [sorry, Beardian for life]), people were just genuinely happy to be at UCSC. I miss that sense of pride, that camraderie.

Wish I had that pride for where I work. Too bad I don't.

11 days until I quit! Woo-hoo!!

Keeping a story alive

Just trying to keep a story alive.

http://thomashawk.com/2005/11/priceritephoto-abusive-bait-and-switch.html

Very proud of somebody trying to fight back. I'll make a real post later today.