I think it's time for a recap of the movies I saw in June, as well as the grades I gave them.

On the Big Screen...

- Batman Begins  ( A )
- Lords of Dogtown  ( B- )
- Mr & Mrs Smith  ( B )

On the little screen...

- Agent Cody Banks  ( D+ )
- the Jacket  ( C- )
- Kinsey  ( B+ )
- Lifeforce  ( C- )
- Mortal Kombat  ( D+ )
- Star Wars Ep4: A New Hope  ( A+ )

A pretty good month in being a movie fan. I got to see three movies on
the big screen, which meets my desired minimum.  I got to also see
six movies on DVD, which exceeds my desired minimum. I also got a range
of movies that were great, good, mediocre, and crappy.  Excellent
commitment to my number one hobby this month.

But wait, I'm not done with June yet. I went to see War of the Worlds today.

One word to describe War of the Worlds,
INTENSE.  The first thing people will think going into this movie
is most likely going to be about the special effects and explosions and
what not.  But the thing about Steven Spielberg
is that he always puts a human element to the story, and this movie is
no different. You feel the wonder and panic that engulfs humans when
they are put in such a helpless position as being attacked by beings
that appear to be unstoppable.  The helplessness of knowing that
you will die is portrayed very well here, and you see people make
difficult choices that you wish you never have to make.  Survival
is key, but staying with your love ones can be more important too.

Ofcourse, the special effects are really good, and the first
attacks by the aliens are incredible to watch, because just like the
people in the film, you are stuck in awe at what is transpiring on the
screen. What probably surprised me a little is that they actually showed people getting shot by the aliens.

If there is anything that I would complain about is that even though Tom Cruise
is afterall the star of the movie, he is put in so many impossible
situations but still survives when everybody around him dies. 
Suspension of disbelief, sure, but c'mon now. You also have a couple of
inconsistencies with the Alien's attacks. Another thing I would
probably complain about is how the movie ends, and even more suspension
of disbelief must be observed. I can understand why it's done that way,
and I believe the book was the same way, but I consider it flawed.

But overall even with flaws, the movie is still good, entertaining,
exciting, and freightening at the same thing. Recommended, go watch. ( B )

what I'm listening to this week...

The Living End - Modern Artillery
Train - (self-titled)
Jet - Get Born
All That Remains - This Darkened Heart

Metallica - St.Anger

Well, June 28, so this goes out to the lady in my life.

Happy Bah-bah-bah-BIRTHDAYeah!!!!

Welcome to the age of 27.  I'm glad I could spend that first day of your new year with you.

sobics blocks (flash game)

kournikova brand tennis shoes (video)

your ISP as Net watchdog (link)

finger twister (flash game)

Scientists see women's brains switch off during sex (link)

flip book (flash)

I used to believe (link)

people hypnotized to believe they are having an orgasm (video)

biblical curse generator (link)

so, you really wanna fight? (video)

Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PS3 - A Hardware Discussion (link)

magnetism (flash game)

I'm known to be a guy who greatly enjoys time travel stories, so naturally I had to see The Jacket.
Unfortunately, it's not exactly the best film out there in the time
travel genre.  The plot is very questionable in the first place,
what with it's need for you to have a HUGE leap of faith of the story
and the characters.  Admitedly, you have to have a suspension of
disbelief when it comes to time travel anyway, but at least most movies
makes an attempt to make the concept sensible, adding that sci-fi
touch.  The Jacket refuses to explain anything to the viewer and
it then becomes more like a Twilight Zone episode, where things simply
happen because they do, damn you if you can't believe it. Fine, I can
understand that and kinda enjoyed the film in that regards, but it just
didn't completely win me over.  I also found it unecessary for the
camera to have soo many close ups of a person's eyes or mouths, to the
point of over excessiveness.  On a side note for you Keira Knightley
fans, she does an attempt of an American accent here, and she once
again shows that she doesn't mind doing some nudity in her movies. " C- "

I went to see Batman Begins
again, and it still leaves me with a big smile on my face.  It's
like the perfect super hero / comic book film, and is definitely the best movie
adaptation of Batman's origin.  Some people said that the movie feels a
little too earnest and that a comic book film is suppose to be pow bop
zam fun! But once again, that complaint is due to the brainwashing that
comic book films shouldn't be taken too seriously.  That's the
same problem comic books have faced for many decades now, and it looks
like it'll continue on film. Another thing I noticed is that there's a
consensus among people that they don't want to see a reappearance of
the villains on the previous Batman films.  I on the other hand
wants to see a "more serious" version of those villains in this new
franchise, and can't wait to see the next Joker.

I was recently the subject of a psychology test that was administered
to me by a grad-student friend of mine.  I only took the written part of it,
while my girlfriend was given the whole verbal, written, and exercise
portions. My friend joked that it was probably torture for me to answer
564 questions, but actually I didn't mind one bit.  One of my
philosophies in life is the need to evaluate yourself and analyze who
you are as a person.  This not only helps your understanding of
who you are, but also helps stabilizes your role in life and what you
are or aren't capable of. 

The only problem I found with the test where that the questions tend to
be a bit tricky in how they are phrased.  It was like asking "Are
you not a lazy person?" for a True or False answer.  They could
have just said "Are you a lazy person?" but then the answer would be
different wouldn't it?

It's good to participate in these kinds of exercises, as it'll help get
to know yourself better.  You should try it yourself someday.

the 25 greatest Batman graphic novels (link)

the dog bites (video)

Collection of James Bond 007 gadget props (link)

Rachel gets fruity (video)

George Lucas : the man who ruined my life (link)

video game ads (video)

Grand Theft Auto San Andreas Uncensored (link)

video game lookalikes (link)

Poom! (flash game)

robot runs riot at California hospital (link)

Jack Johnson Surfing (flash game)

sega logo fun (link)

You ever goof off at work? Sure you do.  But there is always a
time and place for that. Most of the time, you really have work to
do.  But what if you are put in a situation where somebody at work
has that opportunity to goof off with no qualm, while you yourself
should continue doing work? What if that somebody invites you to goof
off, even though you know that you don't have time for that?

I suppose that situation is no different than peer pressure with school
kids, but it's on a totally different level in a work environment. In a
work place, you have to worry about losing your job, that provides
money for you to survive.  You also have responsibilities that
will affect other people if you do a poor job at it. But just like in
school, how you are perceived by the people at your work is just as
important in making the work place easier to deal with. This is
especially true in a "team oriented" environment.

So when put in a situation where you are invited to goof off with your
co-workers, or continue doing important work, what would you do? Do you
sacrifice your work to be more socially acceptable, even though you
know this might affect somebody else at work? Do you decline their
invitation by going back to work, knowing that you possibly lost some
potential future contacts that might be able to help you advance in the
company? I suppose the real key to this would be to balance both
aspects, and find that compromise to make it work for everybody. 
But sometimes you just don't have that option and you have to choose
one or the other. Which would you be? The party pooper or the party
goer? The safe bet or the risk shot?

The music I'm listening to this week...

AC/DC - Back in  Black
Various artists - Punk goes Metal
The Bravery - self-titled
Sisters of Mercy - Floodland
Metallica - Reload

Is working graveyard such a bad thing to people? Everytime my work
shift is mentioned to somebody at work, they always assume to say "I'm
sorry," as if I didn't have a choice.  Then they are surprised
when I tell them that it's my choice because I prefer it.  If they
ask me, this is the response I give them.

There are five distinct work shifts, day, mid-shift, night, graveyard,
and early morning.  If I work the day shifts (9am - 5pm) or the
mid-shifts (1pm - 9pm), I usually find that the day ends up being
nothing but work, because you don't have time to do anything else
around those work times.  If I work the night shifts (6pm -
2:30am), there's a little bit of luxury before you have to leave for
work, but there's that compressed time in the afternoon that all it
does is makes you too conscious that you have to leave for work soon.

Working graveyards (my 9:30pm - 6am)  has a huge advantage in
having some free time around work if you want it. I usually sleep at
about 7am and wake up at 1pm - 3pm, so from when I wake up to when I
have to be at work, there's about 6 - 8 hours worth of free time.
That's enough time for me to do chores, relax at home, go to the
movies, etc... The only other shift that has somewhat the same luxury
as this is the early morning shifts (5am - 1:30pm), but that would mean
I'll have to go to sleep as early as 8pm - 10pm, and I'd rather not.

So working graveyard folks? Not so bad.