Have you heard these news yet?

"Shutterbug Popped At Britney's" - "A shutterbug taking
aim at Britney Spears' Malibu estate over the weekend with his camera in
the hopes of snapping some pictures of the pop tart's baby shower wound
up being a target of a different sort when he was shot in the leg by a
pellet gun, the Los Angeles Times reports."

I've gotta say, the paparazzi have got to have some of the lowest
people in the world when it comes to morals. So I was glad when this
news came along. Somebody BB gunned a paparazzi, and the world should
cheer. In fact, I hope and wish that more people start taking action
like this against those pests, so that they know when they are simply
not wanted.

They simply don't deserve much respect in the first place, because a
lot of them lack that manner. The paparazzi do not care about being a
nuisance to people, and have already caused unecessary damages,
injuries, and even death due to their involvement. They even reason all
that because it's "their job" and "they got to make a living." What's
worse is that people still purchase these sensationalized news
tabloids, which in turn is actually supporting the paparazzi's line of
work.

All I can say is that there really needs to be some well enforced law
that prevents those idiots from being out of line. If not, then I call
upon all those who own a BB gun to be prepared for action.

what I'm listening to this week...

1) Stroke 9 - Nasty Little Thoughts
2) Gwen Stefani - Love. Angel. Music. Baby
3) Himsa - Courting Tragedy and Disaster
4) Anna Nalick - Wreck of the Day
5) various artists - Metalliclash: Tribute to Metallica

You are a Black Coffee

At your best, you are: low maintenance, friendly, and adaptable At your worst, you are: cheap and angsty You drink coffee when: you can get your hands on it Your caffeine addiction level: high

I didn't notice it before but there is apparently a new size to popcorn
in movie theaters.  Large isn't the largest anymore, there is now
a "MEGA" size. So my brain stopped to a halt at that point and I
wondered why anybody would want a size larger than Large? Does the free
refill not apply to the Large size now and it's only for the Mega? But
wait, who the hell actually gets a refill for the Large size in the
first place, considering that it's freakin huge already? There's only
one word to describe this; besides stupidity, it's Gluttony.

c'mon people, how much food do you have to eat? You shouldn't even use
the excuse of "getting your money's worth," because all that'll do is
get you fat fat fat.  Is that something you really want? I admit I
splurge once in a while on food and have personal feasts, but I'd like
to think that I know my limits and wouldn't bother with a MEGA sized
meal. There's soo many people dying from starvation in the world out
there, and people apparently want to make up for their loss by having a
lot of gain.

droogle (link)

carry a big gun (video)

temptation blocker (link)

playing with a snake (video)

stackopolis (flash game)

bambi stew (video)

muffin tops (link)

freestyle dunkin (video)

jump the couch (link)

bachelor party prank (video)

dad 'n me (flash game)

interview gone wrong (video)

It has to be compared, so I've got to say that "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" is in fact a totally different kind of movie than "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory." 
The simpliest way to explain this is that the 2005 version is more of a
fantasy drama with a more twisted perception of the story, while the
1971 version is more or less a fantasy musical that is very kid
friendly. I also prefer Gene Wilder's eccentric Wonka, compared to Johnny Depp's
demented and disturbed version. But it's really not fair to choose a
favorite, because like I said already, they are two totally different
kinds of movies. Charlie & the Chocolate Factory is a more inspired
adaptation of the book, with it's magnificent visuals and having more
focus on the characters of Charlie Bucket and Willy Wonka. You
understand those two characters a lot more with this version, and in
many respects, Freddie Highmore and Johnny Depp are more memorable in those roles than the
1971 movie. Willy Wonka though is a very disturbing character in the
first place, and in a more "normal" setting, the parents of the other
kids would definitely have threatened some law suits on him. So keep in
mind that even though the movie feels like it's based in a realistic
world, it's still a fantasy.  The oompa loompas were pretty
awesome too, and while the songs aren't as memorable as the 1971
musical, the ones they had here were pretty damn good. Great movie and exceeded all my expectations. "B+"

I'm a big fan of the Battle Royale Japanese film from 2000, and an even bigger fan of the novel by Koushun Takami that it was adapted from. In 2003, the sequel for the movie was released as Battle Royale II : Requiem,
so I was excited about it.  Just like the first film, I planned to
wait for the promised director's cut before watching it, and so I
waited....and waited. It wasn't until this year that the director's cut
for BRII (now subtitled "Revenge") was released. Well, I finally
watched it, and I've got to say that I'm gravely disappointed. 
I've been warned that it's nowhere near as good as the first movie, but
I didn't think that it would be this far off the quality of the first
one.  The first film (while not exactly flawless) had memorable characters, character
development, an engaging premise, Takashi Kitano
as the memorable teacher, well directed sequences, and an emotional
core.  The sequel however tried to reach those same achievements,
but failed.  Admitedly, it might partly be due to the fact that the director
passed away during production, and that unlike the first film this one
had no established novel to base it's story on. This one literally is a
direct sequel to the story established in the first film. The way the
sequel was done, it easily reached increased levels of pretentiousness,
it was overly melodramatic, the acting was absolutely atrocious, and it
was on the verge of campiness. It simply couldn't meet that fine line
that the first film was able to achieve. While I admire this movie's
take on terrorism and the idea that powerful nations can get out of
hand, I'm afraid that this sequel really really wasn't necessary. "C-"

I don't know if this is news to you like it is to me, but did you know that the term "creationism" (you know a God created the universe) is now called "intelligent design?" I heard this phrase when I learned that U.S. President George W Bush is publicly endorsing teaching Intelligent Design in schools. That in itself is controversial and has already met some complaints from people.
But once again, going back to "school and religion should be
separated," I don't think it's wise to teach "intelligent design" in a
science class.  Create a theology class or teach it in some
cultural awareness class, but not science class. Intelligent Design is
not a science, it's a belief of faith. They just don't mix with
science. Actually screw calling it "intelligent design," because it's
like saying that it's the "smarter" concept by tossing in "intelligent"
in the phrase. I'm quite happy with it's more popular and honest term
that is Creationism.

Creationism vs Evolution has always been mortal enemies in society for
quite a long time now.  There are two popular stances in this
case, those who believe in one or the other, no exception.  But
there's a very non-vocal group of people who believe in BOTH
creationism and evolution.  I happen to be one of those people who
can accept that God created the universe through evolution.  There
are many who can't accept that, because it's either "we can't say we
came from monkeys" argument or it's the "believing that an unseen being
magically created the universe is ridiculous." Folks, why can't you all
just get along?

fat man walking (link)

when diving boards attacks (video)

Japanese condom wrappers (link)

wierd dog sounds (video)

faces of WoW (pics)

drinking with friends (video)

David Hasselhoff games (flash games)

dogs in star wars costumes (link)

unstoppable tracy (video)

bicycle show and swap meet (pics)

blind rubik's cube (video)

experimental flash galleries (flash)

You know what the biggest problem movies are facing lately? No, it's
not how there's less audiences in theaters. It's not that, but it sure
is another subject that I might blog on.  The biggest problem
movies are facing nowadays is perception.  That's right
perception.  In the age of the internet, with how easily critical
reviews of movies by anybody from age 5 - 99 gets spread out to the
public, the opinion of a movie can make or break it. That's where the
perception comes in, because lately, with how movies are entrenched in our culture, everybody is a film expert. 

Being that everybody is a film expert, it's common for people to have
their "idea" of what a movie should be like, before it's even been
seen. Once the movie has actually been seen, and it doesn't turn out to
be what they priorly perceived it to be, they automatically think that
it's a bad bad baaaddd movie. They then proceed to criticize the movie
ad nauseam to try and convince other people to agree with their opinion
of how bad the movie is. By that point, I'd like to say back up for a
minute here. You mean to tell me that just because a movie didn't turn
out the way YOU wanted it to be, means that it's bad? What are you an
idiot?! Are you that egotistical about your opinion about the movie,
that you aren't able to judge the movie on how the movie actually is?

I can name a couple of movies that seem to be getting bum raps for
supposedly being bad, especially ones that I can easily argue as to why
they aren't.  But if you ask them what was bad about the movie,
they would go on and complain how they "wanted to see this or that," or
how "it would be cooler if," basically a lot of perceived ideas that
weren't met by the final product. The worst complaint I hear is "it's
too Hollywood." BullCrap! A lot of the times, people who complain that
something is too Hollywood are actually the people who WANT it to be
"too Hollywood." 

With that in mind, I give you the movie of summer 2005 that people seem to love to hate on, Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds.
When you think of a movie like
that, what's the first thing that comes to mind? Cool epic battles
between humans and aliens? Well, the movie ended up becoming a human
drama about trying to survive an invasion.  It was less about
fighting, and it was more about the human struggle to survive. In that
regards, it did a phenomenal job (except for the ending).  But
people complain to the ends of the earth that they wanted to see epic
battles, and that the movie is bad because it didn't have that element.
"Enough with the family, I want to see some Alien shoot outs!" In fact,
some people claim they prefer a movie like "Independence Day"
over War of the Worlds.  Are you kidding me? "ID4" is the
embodiment of a "Hollywood movie" that supposedly "cool" movie watchers
don't want to watch. At this point, I direct you to this link as to why Independence Day is much much worse than War of the Worlds. If a movie like ID4 wanted to be a  respectable epic action movie, at least be good at it!

NOW, since we're on the subject of "War of the Worlds" and it's crappy
ending (that's right, I think it's crappy too), do not punish the whole
movie for that flaw. My opinion still stands in that Tom Cruise
survived the invasion a little too easily and the ending totally blew
by being so outdated in concept to the rest of the film. But I still
think the movie is really good.
Why? Because it's stupid of me to be
too hung up on one or two flaws when the rest of the movie is
good.  I'll challenge this to you right now, think of one of your
most favorite movies ever and I bet you that I will be able to find a
flaw in it. So I
repeat, just because a movie has a flaw or two doesn't necessarily make
the whole movie bad. If you don't like War of the Worlds, you better
come up with a better excuse than "the ending sucks," because it's
quite honestly not enough.  Or think of it this way, maybe you don't like War of the Worlds
because it's simply not YOUR kind of movie.

bah, I've gone totally into a rant now.  Anyways, keep your
perception about movies in check, and judge the movie for what it
actually is.  If it really is crap, it's really crap, but when you
don't really have a valid reason as to why it's crap, then you should
look into yourself and think about why YOU think it's crap.

what I'm listening to this week...

1) Andrew W.K. - I get wet
2) the Offspring - Ixnay on the hombre
3) Dream Theater - Octavarium
4) Jason Mraz - Mr. A-Z
5) various artists - Fade to Bluegrass : the bluegrass tribure to Metallica

How You Life Your Life

You seem to be straight forward, but you keep a lot inside. You're laid back and chill, but sometimes you care too much about what others think. You tend to have one best friend you hang with, as opposed to many aquaintences. Some of your past dreams have disappointed you, but you don't let it get you down.

man, July was suppose to be the month that I would go see a lot of
movies on the big screen, but alas that wasn't the case.  There
were a lot of movie releases that I simply skipped (for August), movies
I were originally planning to watch but decided not to (wait for DVD),
and even had three free movie screenings that I didn't get to go
to.  On the small screen however, I was able to give the DVD
player some loving. One for the big screen, and five for the small
screen.

On the Big Screen
- Fantastic Four  ( C+ )

On the Small Screen
- The Return To The Batcave : the misadventures of Adam and Burt ( C+ )
- Perfect Blue  ( C+ )
- Dogtown and Z-Boys  ( A- )
- Ocean's Twelve ( C+ )
- 8 mile  ( C )

yeah, I haven't done my write up for 8 mile
yet, so here goes. Wasn't impressed, in fact I was kinda
disappointed.  I heard accolades and compliments for the film, but
didn't see why. It was a very generic standard film that followed all
the cliches that comes with a movie like this.  In fact, it could
have passed as a made for TV movie.  Eminem
wasn't even that great of an actor, and practically had only one facial
expression and one personality throughout the whole film.  There
are only two positive compliments I can give the film. The city was
represented very well and really came to life.  The rap battles
were also pretty cool. So yeah, mostly an overrated film. "C"