Month: May 2006

  • You Are Iceman
    You tried to live a normal life, but it just wasn't possible
    A bit of a slacker, you rather tell jokes than cultivate your powers

    Powers: turning self and others into ice, making ice weapons, becoming nearly invisible

  • really quick rant...

    you know what I'm starting to get really tired of? Me practically apologizing for something because I don't like it, or me practically apologizing for something because I do like it.
    I'm also really tired of people complaining about things with no real proper logic behind it.
    Just stop people. Stop.

    *edit*

    alright, the real reason for that rant? X-Men : The Last Stand. I haven't seen a *geek* film more polarizing in opinion since the Matrix sequels. I think I'm in the minority opinion once again, go figure.

    I like "X-Men : The Last Stand" because of the story / theme more so
    than the actual film making. I can nitpick all I want, but I can't deny
    that I was in fact greatly entertained by the movie.

    I
    found faults in some character development, but at the same time I
    thought they did all they really had to to serve the plot. The inner
    turmoil of the Phoenix is something I would have liked to have seen
    expanded on, but for the other characters, I thought their motivations
    were presented well enough. I also felt that in comparison to the other
    X-Men movies, I didn't feel a great difference in their characters.
    Only Wolverine / Professor X got the best comic to movie adaptation
    when it comes to the films, as everybody else were altered to great
    degrees.

    I can say that as a director, Brett Ratner was more to
    the direct point of showing / explaining a theme, while Bryan Singer
    would have lingered a little bit more to completely let it sink in. I'm
    sure Singer would have let the movie run 30 minutes more though, which
    I would have liked.

    I've been defending X3 since I saw it, and
    through all the discussions and arguments that I experienced, I have to
    admit that my grade for the film might change. I know, it goes against all rules about reviewing movies, but I'd like to see this as a special case. I originally gave it a B+ but now I might be willing to drop it to a B-
    (the same grade I gave the first X-Men movie). You can look towards an edit in my original review to see if I indeed lowered the grade.

  • Random Peace

    Matrix Neo vs Robocop (video)

    trampoline basketball carnage (video)

    Jimmy Kimmel gets bit by a snake (video)

    alien sculpture (link)

    monkey punch (video)

    water powered vehicle (video)

    the world's greatest magician     (video)

    trivial blitz (game)

    SUV rolls 10 times; driver survives (video)

    runaway tire (video)

    vintage superman (video)

    soccer tops (game)

  • movies I've seen recently...

    X-Men : The Last Stand (2006)  B-

    X-Men : The Last Stand (X3) ended up A LOT better than I expected. In
    fact, I think it's better than the other two x-men films. Why? The
    first one     was good, but the need to introduce the characters got in the
    way of the movie a bit, and the action was also very subpar then. The
    second one     however goes the opposite direction by having as much action
    as possible, while the plot was relegated to your simple "running from
    bad guys, then fighting bad guys, and oh don't persecute me" cliche. X3
    on the other hand is nice combination of both, in that we've got two
    plots that I thought worked rather well (the cure + Dark Phoenix), and
    action that was necessary when the story needed it to be (as opposed to
    X2 where the plot mostly revolved around the action).

    I could be a super fan boy geek and complain about why Sentinels this,
    why Angel that, or why a favorite mutant isn't more prominent in the
    story, but I'd rather judge the movie as an entity outside of the comic
    book continuity, as what was established by the other two films. In
    that regards the MAJOR event changes to some of the characters do make sense,
    especially considering this is most likely the last X-Men film outside
    of single character spin-offs (Wolverine).

    The fact that this IS a movie with a huge cast means that there will be
    primary characters and secondary characters. So comic book fans of
    characters like Colossus or Psylocke will have to accept that they will
    play a much more minor role compared to how they were in the books.
    That's the reality of the matter. Speaking of characters, it's true
    that there aren't too many additional character development among the
    established cast. But that's just it, the main majority of the primary
    characters have already been established from the previous films, so
    the only development revolved around the plot (which it does
    well). Out of the newer characters, Kelsey Grammar as The Beast did an
    excellent job, and was given the appropriate amount of screen time.
    Ellen Page as Kitty Pryde was a delight as well.

    It terms of the story itself, I feel that "the cure" was appropriate to
    the movie. The mutants have always been an allegory about minority
    cultures. The first film introduced us to what mutants are. The second
    film introduced us to mutants being persecuted. The third film now
    introduces us to the idea that if you are a "minority" who could do
    something to become part of the "majority," would you do it? X3 does a
    good job in pointing out that being a mutant isn't always a gift for
    everybody, but a curse as well. Out of the three movies, this is the
    one that actually merits philosophical discussions.


    Jean Grey as the Phoenix     was simply amazing to watch. The shocking actions she does in the movie shows how far she's gone
    from the person she once was. It gives weight to the notion that she
    really is somebody to fear. Heck, she can telekinetically manipulate
    things in a molecular level, and the movie doesn't shy away from that
    by watching her literally turn people and anything else into nothing.

    X-Men : The Last Stand does have it's flaws though, in that some
    dialouge were kinda weak, and there are action sequences that were a
    little unbelievable. Overall
    though, I feel that this is the best movie that got the proper feel of
    how the comic books really were. Kudos to Brett Ratner as director, and the
    screenplay by Simon Kinberg and Zak Penn.

    *edit* after watching it a second time, I felt compelled to change the grade for X3. Sorry.

    Where The Truth Lies (2005)  B-

    "Where the truth lies" is something of a film noir-ish murder mystery. It deals with how back in the 1950s/1960s, celebrities lived a loose lifestyle that sometimes faces some real tragedy. 15 years later, Alison Lohman plays a journalist trying to unravel the death of a young woman, who was last seen with two celebrities played by Kevin Bacon and Colin Firth. While Bacon and Firth were excellent in this film, I thought Lohman seemed absolutely mis-casted as the journalist (and I'm a fan of hers from Matchstick Men). The story itself is interesting in that while you are figuring out whodunnit, you are also watching a  woman who gets sucked into the dark under belly of celebrity life. The movie even suggests an "Alice in Wonderland" comparison, with Alison's journalist being "Alice" going into "the rabbit hole" that is bizarre world of celebrities.

    There are some moments of unbelievable coincidences though that kinda brings down the story a bit. While in the end the mystery worked well enough, the whole thing isn't as compelling as it probably should have been. I enjoyed it enough though. Oh, it has to be mentioned that there are several nudity and sex scenes in the movie, so this is not a mystery you want to watch with kids.

  • "Rockstar games;" most famous for the Grand Theft Auto franchise, have released one of the best games out right now for the xbox 360. "Table Tennis." You read that right, table freakin tennis. At first it's easy to ask what's so great about a table tennis video game, but it's one of those simple fun games that is able to give you many hours of entertainment. Just think of another game that people dismissed at first, but then realized it's one of the best multi-player games out there; Virtua Tennis. It's because at heart, this game has a great game engine. Not only that, but the competition and energy that comes forth from the gameplay can be very addicting, especially when you are playing a human player. Getting a good shot pass your opponents paddle is very satisfying. Having a rally where the ping pong ball goes back and forth 115+ times between the players is also very very intensely fun.

    You also have online play where you can play other gamers from around the world. Me and my friend tried playing online recently, and we experienced NO LAG at all. It was almost as if he was sitting right next to me, especially since we were using the xbox360 headset to communicate with each other (also no lag delay there). At one point of our online game session, the game notified us that we even had a "spectator" watching our match. It was kinda neat competiting in front of an audience, even if it was only one stranger.

    Rockstar games' Table Tennis.
    Awesome Awesome Awesome.
    Now if I can only play like that in real life.

  • Hold Me Random

    need some home remedies? (link)

    body moving (video)

    Jodie Foster quoting Eminem (video)

    Game Distributor Sued Over Boy's Suicide (link)

    the poopflingers (video)

    barking cat (video)

    pre-owned PS3 games BANNED (link)

    table tennis champ     (video)

    the kitten and the rooster (video)

    The Highest Viaduct Ever Photo Set (pics)

    the dance get hot     (video)

    powers of ten (video)

  • Well that's it. This has been one of the best TV years I've seen so far, as it's the first time that I actually felt overwhelmed with the amount of shows to watch. Actually because of that, this is the first time I consciously had to cut out a lot of the shows I watch. In fact I'm resolved to prevent myself from watching too many of the new shows that'll be showing up in the 2006-2007 TV year ("Heroes" has caught my eye though). Not to mention, some shows I like have finished their run already.
    To recap...

    - The shows that I will definitely continue with when they return...
    24, House, Veronica Mars, Law & Order : Special Victims Unit, Lost, South Park, Drawn Together, The Office, Monk, the Venture Bros, Family Guy, American Dad, Robot Chicken

    - Variety / reality / game shows that I'll still keep an eye on...
    Deal or No Deal, Punk'd, X-Play, Best Week Ever, Ebert & Roeper

    - TV show I'm still on the fence to continue...
    Supernatural

    - TV series I watched that ended...
    Arrested Development, Alias, Invasion, Joey, Justice League Unlimited, Malcolm in the Middle

    - TV series I stopped watching...
    NCIS, Law & Order, CSI, Everybody Hates Chris, My Name Is Earl, Numbers, The Simpsons

    - TV show I wish I could just quit...
    Smallville

    Below are links to the 2006-2007 TV schedule...
    CBS - 2006-2007 primetime schedule
    NBC - 2006-2007 primetime schedule
    The CW - 2006-2007 primetime schedule
    ABC - 2006-2007 primetime schedule
    Fox - 2006-2007 primetime schedule

  • Your Five Factor Personality Profile
    Extroversion:

    You have medium extroversion.
    You're not the life of the party, but you do show up for the party.
    Sometimes you are full of energy and open to new social experiences.
    But you also need to hibernate and enjoy your "down time."

    Conscientiousness:

    You have medium conscientiousness.
    You're generally good at balancing work and play.
    When you need to buckle down, you can usually get tasks done.
    But you've been known to goof off when you know you can get away with it.

    Agreeableness:

    You have low agreeableness.
    Your self interest comes first, and others come later, if at all.
    In general, you feel that people are not to be trusted.
    And you're skeptical that anyone else really feels differently.

    Neuroticism:

    You have medium neuroticism.
    You're generally cool and collected, but sometimes you do panic.
    Little worries or problems can consume you, draining your energy.
    Your life is pretty smooth, but there's a few emotional bumps you'd like to get rid of.

    Openness to experience:

    Your openness to new experiences is high.
    In life, you tend to be an early adopter of all new things and ideas.
    You'll try almost anything interesting, and you're constantly pushing your own limits.
    A great connoisseir of art and beauty, you can find the positive side of almost anything.

  • For the longest time, I have not seen a single episode of Fox's American Idol, that is not until I was introduced to the beautiful Katharine McPhee by "Ralph" of KROQ's Kevin & Bean show. Actually Ralph has been talking about her for months since Season 5 started, but once I heard her performance of "Someone to watch over me," I immediately got the "McPhee-ver!" Then I saw her perform a Whitney Houston song the following week, and by then there was no turning back for me. I'm not saying I'm necessarily a fan of American Idol now, because since I record the show on my TiVo, I actually only really watch Katharine's performances because I fast forward through the other contestants.

    Tonight will be the last night she can convince America to vote for her to be the winner of this season's American Idol. Honestly though, I have a feeling that the odds are actually against her. There's been enough female winners in the show already and people are actually looking forward to a male winner this time around. There's talks that fans of Chris Daughtry and Elliot Yamin blames Katharine for them being voted off, so that's another strike against her. McPhee also doesn't have the huge home town support that the other contestants have, because she resides in Los Angeles; which already has it's fill of celebrities to support. But even if Katharine loses the competition, I believe that she already won either ways. Heck, I'll definitely buy her solo album whenever it comes out, and I'm sure that she has great potential to be as successful as Kelly Clarkson is now.

    videos : "Someone to watch over me" & "I have nothing"

    KROQ 1st interview
    KROQ 2nd interview : part 1 & part 2

    hot links...
    http://www.americanidol.com/contestants/katharine_mcphee/
    http://www.myspace.com/katharinemcphee
    http://www.myspace.com/k_mcpheefanclub
    http://www.katharinefans.com/

  • This Is Such A Random Pity

    final superman returns trailer (video)

    wrong car for the job (video)

    levitation (video)

    tornado kick (video)

    subtitle movie     (link)

    Toyota Human Touch (video)

    dog has seperation anxiety (video)

    bullet bill (game)

    failed superman bike trick (video)

    10 things I hate about commandments (video)

    home made roller coaster (video)

    tumbler (game)