We'll Never Know Random
The Ballad of G.I. Joe (video)
Mario and Princess Sex Tape - NSFW (video)
noob Boyfriend (video)
Dog Versus Man Dance Battle (video)
I Was My Own Birthday Candle (video)
Inappropriate Barney Dance (video)
dad records 7 year old son driving (video)
Apoliva Commercial Terrifies 100,000 Swedes (video)
When Ex-Lovers Take Revenge (link)
Laser Pointer Dog Attack (video)
while I was away (video)
before District 9 - Alive in Joberg (video)
- With "G.I. Joe : The Rise of Cobra's" big box-office take in it's opening weekend ($56.2 Mil), are movies really now more or less critic proof? Are movie critics pretty much a dying breed, because nobody cares what they think anymore (looks at Transformers 2 reviews)? Sad to say but the answer is "yes" to both those questions. If a movie "looks good" to watch, or at least already have an established fan base, then it's easy for the film to make money. Forget movies that are suppose to be quality films, it simply better look good enough for people to even be interested in seeing it at all (bad news for Independent films). The only critics that people seem to trust nowadays are via word of mouth like from their friends, because movie critics frankly seem to "know too much" about movies, that they come off as being overly judgmental. The problem lies on the fact that most movie critics can't compromise their opinion of a movie, especially when they are too harsh on movies that are just suppose to be a "stupid but fun" film (which a lot of people can enjoy). I feel that we are getting closer and closer to a point when movies are moving farther and farther away from being an "art form," and are just made simply for entertainment sake.
- Out of curiosity, I looked at what my most viewed video is in my youtube channel, and to my surprise it's the comic-con video of the Jonah Hex panel, that has the guy asking Megan Fox if she'll be interested in making a celebrity sex tape (what a douche). Yeah, maybe I shouldn't be surprised that it's my top video. I was actually expecting one of my Kevin Smith videos to be the number one most viewed, and I'm even more surprised to see that it's currently at number THREE (behind a video of "The Cure"). Speaking of comic-con videos, some of the footage that were shown there that a lot of people have been asking me for since the event ended (NO, I did not film them, we weren't suppose to), have finally started leaking online. In particular, the Iron Man 2 footage that people have been begging for is out there (still nothing on the trailer for Nightmare On Elm Street reboot though). You just need to catch it before the copyright police finds out of course.
- With all the MMA news and events that's been happening recently, Fedor to Strikeforce signing, UFC 101, WEC 42, Dream 10, Affliction MMA folding, etc... I thought I'd just post here my current top five choices for Pound For Pound MMA fighters.
1- Anderson Silva
2- GSP
3- Fedor
4- Lyoto Machida
5- Miguel Torres
A few days ago, popular websites like Twitter, Facebook, LiveJournal, YouTube, etc, were under the attack of a Distributed Denial Of Service (DDOS) attack. Out of all the websites that were being attacked, Twitter was probably the one that was affected the most. In fact, out of all the news reports about the DDOS, Twitter was the main subject related to the attack. A lot of attention was specifically put on Twitter, and some people were practically in a panic, making it seem like we lost some kind of important infrastructure that we couldn't live without. I know, ridiculous right? This got me thinking that "wow, Twitter really has infiltrated society so much, that maybe it might be more than just another fad that would eventually fade out." Sure, tons of people have already proclaimed how much Twitter is going to be a relatively short lived website, or at least have said that it's popularity will be severely diminished in time (like what happened with myspace). You know what, I still believe in that prediction. I've said my piece before, but that was before I decided to take the plunge and actually use Twitter, so that I could see what the fuss is all about. So allow me to say another piece...
Now after months of using Twitter, the same conclusion seems to have popped up, and it's that Twitter has many things going against it that will probably turn people away from the service in droves. From the 140 character max entries, the luckluster way it shares links (photos, videos, etc), to the horrible way it handles conversations and threads. Twitter did originally intend for this social network to consist mostly of banal things like "currently ordering a Frappuccino at Starbucks," but people realized that they wanted to do more with it, except it wasn't really thoroughly designed to handle more detailed posts. It's simply a mess and a chore to fully do the things you want to do with Twitter, especially considering social sites like Facebook has done it right, and that came up a few years before Twitter was even born. Comparing Twitter to Facebook, is seriously like comparing a pager to a cellphone (I don't really intend this to be a Twitter versus Facebook topic, because that's been done to death).
With the current state of Twitter, we have six types of common updates that I've noticed. You've got the "currently doing the laundry" updates, which is what Twitter was made for. There are those who use it to share current events news updates, which is something the service does admittedly well, since Twitter is more like a newsfeed ticker. Posting thoughts or mini-blogs like "I saw "x" movie, and it was great," which is something that I think works well with Twitter. Updates that focus on just sharing a web link to a video, photo, or article, is another thing that's welcome. Then there are those who do the whole Twitter trend stuff like "Follow Friday" or "Music Monday," which is honestly kind of annoying. Then there are the updates that are apparently part of a conversation with other Twitter users, which is frankly a frustrating thing to do in this social network.
Out of those six types of updates, half of those are actually kind of useful. News updates, sharing links, and mini-blogs are something I want to see more with Twitter, although Facebook does those better as well (wait, I'm not suppose to say that F word anymore). To my knowledge, there are in fact tons of people out there (and businesses) who does post the noteworthy updates, which makes the service tolerable to use, but then all the useless stuff are still there as well. If people can just concentrate more on the good that Twitter can do (like the case with Iran this year), and not worry so much about how many people are "following" them (it's like that "friends thing" with myspace all over again - horrible), then I can see this social network thriving pass that fad phase. I know that I do still plan to use Twitter in conjunction to my Facebook updates, so for the time being it at least looks like this service has proven to be beneficial to me after all.
www.wired.com/epicenter/2009/08/twitter-apparently-down/
g4tv.com/videos/40545/Problems-With-Twitter/
www.vancouversun.com/technology/Young+people+ignoring+Twitter+trends+survey+finds/1862961/story.html
twitter.com/optimum5
The Random Western World
YOU pick my baby's legal first name (link)
John Hughes Tribute (video)
G.I. Joe Trailer Re-enacted with G.I. Joes (video)
Unexpected Divorce Intro (video)
The Real Game Genie (video)
Bohemian Whapsody (video)
Girl Get Scare From Horse (video)
lazy cat fight (video)
Weezer covers MGMT and Lady Gaga (video)
9 Popular Cover Songs You’ve Probably Never Heard Of (video)
15 Creative Coca-Cola Bottle & Can Designs (link)
Hard Sell: The Top 12 Ineffective Celeb Ads (link)
movies I've seen recently...
(500) Days Of Summer (2009) A
In the first few sequences of "(500) Days Of Summer," I had the feeling that this was going to be yet another pretentious hip take on relationships and culture. Some people might actually agree with that assumption (oh look, another movie that has a little kid talking much too mature), but by the end of the movie I personally thought the movie was brilliant. An offbeat, charming, and humorous film that deconstructs love and the people in relationships, "(500) Days Of Summer" is simply a wonderful fresh take on a very common and tired subject. Directed by Marc Webb, the movie takes full advantage of the visual medium by some clever editing, video tricks (great use of split-screen in one scene), and even a little bit of animation at some point. Written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, the dialogue is very witty, smart, and amusing ("Just because she likes the same bizzaro crap you do doesn't mean she's your soul mate."). The two elements that really ground this film however, are the great chemistry and performances by Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the love struck Tom and Zooey Deschanel as Summer; who incidentally doesn't believe in love. Filled with memorable sequences from playing house in Ikea, Karaoke scenes, a black & white featurette, to even a song and dance number, I really really enjoyed watching this movie. I can't forget to mention the soundtrack, which contains songs from "The Smiths" to "Hall & Oats," and makes this movie also a joy to listen to. "(500) Days Of Summer" kept me smiling and arrested to the screen, and it is very much a must see. My favorite movie of the 2009 summer season by far (no pun intended).
Oh, and I love how the movie starts with a disclaimer...
"The following is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
Especially you Jenny Beckman.
Bitch."
the Hurt Locker (2009) B+
As a movie about the war in Iraq, "the Hurt Locker" does not care too much about the politics involved with it. This movie is about the soldiers who fight in this war, and how each one handles it in their own way. As directed by Kathryn Bigelow, the movie also has a pseudo documentary feel to it, because of the shaky digital camera style, that it's easy to feel like you are actually there in Iraq with the characters on screen. There also isn't much of a huge story line to follow except for the lives of these soldiers, as it's really more a character study than anything else. However somebody could also argue that this is very much like an action-drama, as there are a lot of suspenseful and tense moments when you are just anticipating when the bomb is going to go off, or scenes where the characters do not know who is or isn't an enemy that could kill them on sight. I've got to give credit to Jeremy Renner who absolutely made this movie, as the gung-ho wild man Staff Sergeant Will James, who is the bomb technician that acts like he does not have a care in the world about the fact that he could die at any moment (much to the displeasure of his fellow team mates). As the movie progresses, you will see that Will James is more than just this war adrenaline junkie, and Renner gets to show what a stand out actor he is deserving of many accolades. "The Hurt Locker" isn't exactly a movie that's made for everyone to see, nor is it perfect (does have some cliche plot points), but I feel that it's a very strong and powerful film about war that needs to be seen.
Green Lantern : First Flight (2009) B-
As an origin story for Hal Jordan becoming the Green Lantern; voiced by Christopher Meloni, "Green Lantern : First Flight" oddly enough seems to be more interested in telling the story of Sinestro; voiced by Victor Garber. Hal literally becomes the Green Lantern in the first few minutes of the movie, and no more than a few minutes later, he is in outer space with other Green Lanterns and part of a large mystery that will determine the fate of the universe. This movie simply moved fast. Sinestro as the "veteran cop" who is willing to break the rules to get the job done is by far the most interesting character in this story, that's saying something considering that his name is not in the title of this movie. Hal Jordan's side of the story as the very adept rookie who becomes the hero of the tale, pretty much has a "been there, done that" feel about it. There are some nice plot developments though, but the story moves along as expected. The action sequences in this animated movie were really well done however, and the creative uses of the Green Lantern ring's powers by Hal Jordan is fun to watch. So while "Green Lantern : First Flight" does not necessarily have an incredibly strong story to tell, it was still pretty entertaining to see.
| Are You A Weirdo? You Are 20% Weirdo |
 Have you ever considered running for political office? You're so normal, people can't help but feel comfortable with you! |
What I've been listening to lately...
1) Extra Life Radio - #222 breakin in
2) The Sounds - crossing the rubicon
3) Cheap Trick - the latest
4) Chickenfoot - chickenfoot
5) Jack Johnson - sleep through the static
6) A Hip-Hop Tribute To Metallica - the ultimate mash-up
- KROQ 106.7 has finally allowed The Kevin & Bean show to get back their "lost" hour at the end of the morning show. It's back to it's 5:30AM - 10AM schedule, and this is GREAT news, especially if you are a faithful listener to the show.
http://www.kroq-data.com/kevinandbean/index.asp
- A lot of words are being exchanged among Mixed Martial Arts fans, about MMA fighter Fedor Emelianenko signing up for Strikeforce MMA, instead of the much more popular UFC. Fedor is to many MMA followers considered the number one heavyweight fighter in the world, and a lot of people were hoping for a Lesnar vs Fedor fight in the near future. So is Fedor "ducking" the UFC heavyweight competition, or was this business as usual to his management team of M1-Global? It's probably a little bit of both IMHO. Fedor does not really have much experience fighting in the cage, so using Strikeforce MMA as a "warm-up" might benefit him in the long run (ofcourse Overeem, Werdum, and Rogers, are more than just a warm-up). On the business side, say M1-Global had six terms that needed to be met, to allow Fedor to sign up with either Strikeforce or the UFC, well simply put Strikeforce agreed to all six terms, while UFC only agreed to five. The one sticking point that the UFC could not agree on is the co-promotion deal that M1-Global wanted. So what's going to happen now with Fedor? A lot of fans are questioning how much of a number one fighter Fedor is, if he isn't even in the most popular MMA organization that is the UFC. There is supposedly three more fights that Fedor needs to do under M1-Global, then after that who knows, he might indeed be free to fight in the UFC. Will that be too little too late though? Imagine if he actually lost a fight at Strikeforce.
http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/update-fedor-to-strikeforce-ufc-responds-18883
http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles/coker-on-fedor-deal-18906
http://www.sherdog.com/news/blog/three-for-three-evaluating-the-ufcstrikeforce-talent-gap-18893
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/josh_gross/07/31/fedor.ufc/index.html?eref=T1
http://www.mma-elo.com/rants/2009/fedor-has-no-competition-outside-the-ufc/
- Oddly enough to my surprise, I think I still haven't left the event that was/is the San Diego Comic-Con 2009. It's almost like I'm in withdrawal. Sure it's been over for more than a week now, but I'm "still living it" by still finding news, videos, and photos from Comic-Con (that I've been adding to my "related links" part of my overall recap post). There's also the G4TV specials that I still haven't completely watched through, so it really does feel like it isn't really over for me yet. Comic-Con this year really made an impact on me, more so than other years it seems.
http://patrick005.xanga.com/708372786/item/
All We Need Random
Young Girl gets it very wrong (video)
KTN News: A Shocking Report (video)
Greatest Hole-in-one of All Time (video)
Amazing 57-Yard Field Goal (video)
Try AOL 19.0 (video)
Extreme Anti-Smoking Ad (video)
Don't Ask Don't Tell (video)
YouTube Extensions (video)
MySpace Graveyard (video)
Office 2010: The Movie (video)
"Dangerous" Inmates (video)
Man Pays Impound Fee with Pennies (video)
This past night, I was at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, Irvine, CA, to see "No Doubt" in concert, with "Paramore," and "The Sounds" as the opening acts. I haven't seen The Sounds before, although I have heard a few of their albums, so I'm curious to see how they are live. "Paramore" I've seen several times, and while I've enjoyed their live set every single time, I was more looking forward to them playing their new songs. Now as for "No Doubt," I have seen them once a long time ago (I believe it was a decade ago), in a much smaller venue in San Diego (I think it was UCSD). I wanted to see them live again, and here was my chance.
I consider myself more or less a "veteran" to the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater (formally known as Irvine Meadows), so I knew how late I can leave home to get there on time, I knew the parking system (free parking this time), I knew the best "hidden" men's restroom to go to, and I knew what to expect in terms of my viewing angle to the stage. Now my seat wasn't that close to the stage, nor was it that far from it either, however I already knew that I would have a little more work in terms of capturing any of the performances on video (worried more about the tall people in front of me). Luckily I was sitting at the very end of my aisle, which gave me a little more leeway to move a little bit to the side for a better view.
As it usually is the case, I did go by myself to this concert, but the pretty blonde girl next to me actually sparked up a conversation. At first it was about the digital camera I was using and the photos/videos I was taking, then it was about the concerts we've been to (she was also at this year's Warped Tour Pomona it seems). Then it was talk about backstage accesses in concerts, to knowing someone who knows someone in the music industry, and what not. I definitely enjoyed her company while enjoying the concert, and I got to give her kudos for saying "I saw Meg & Dia for the first time at that Warped Tour, and they were really good." Nice. One humorous moment however was when one of the security people practically wanted to kick us out of our seats (checked our tickets and all), because we were moving around so much to the music, that we were "overflowing" from our row of seats to the middle aisle (which he wanted completely cleared). Guy was doing his job sure, but he didn't have to act and talk like a dick.
All the acts pretty much started and ended on time, which surprised me a bit since that doesn't always happen in concerts. The first opener was "The Sounds," and they had this new wave music going for them, which I loved but did not necessarily think would work with this Orange County crowd that was in attendance. I would say that 95% of the audience didn't even know who they were (pretty blonde girl next to me knew who they were though), so only a few of us were really enjoying their set. Singer Maja Ivarsson had a great presence on stage (plus, nice legs), and I really liked the bands overall performance as well.
The second opening act was "Paramore," and as they have always proven time and time again, they are a GREAT live band. This time, the majority of the audience was in full support of the band, singing and moving along with Paramore. Even though I've seen them several times already, it still surprises me how lively this band is on stage, with Hayley Williams as a fantastic front woman able to get the crowd going, to the little synchronize headbanging that I see once in awhile, and even flips in the air by one of their guitarists. They did play two new songs ("Ignorance" and "Where the lines overlap") off their upcoming new album, and of course they finished their set playing "Decode" from the movie soundtrack of "Twilight." Paramore is just awesome through and through.
"No Doubt" had an hour and forty-five minutes set, starting with one of their most popular songs "Spiderwebs." Actually just about all their songs are well known hits, so the audience was singing along a lot throughout their whole set. That's the kind of thing a band really appreciates. I like their stage setup, that has several ramps that lead to drummer Adrian Young in the middle. Gwen Stefani is still very much a really great front woman, and worked the crowd a lot. I liked how Gwen interacted with who are clearly the die hard fans located in the pit at front of the stage. At one point, a fan gives her a set of dolls (looked like the band I believe), which prompted Gwen to tell the guy to hop on stage so that they can get a picture together. Later on she takes another photo in front of those fans up front, which really showed how much the band appreciated their following. For those keeping tabs, Gwen did four costume changes. Later on for their encore, they played their newest song "Stand and Deliver," and even got vocal help from Maja Ivarsson of The Sounds. Since the members of No Doubt are mostly from Orange County, CA, there was definitely a lot of love that the band and the audience were sharing with each other. This is the band and the main majority of the audience's home turf after all, and it showed.
As soon as No Doubt's last song played, I was on a mission to get out of the parking lot as soon as possible. The parking lot for Verizon Wireless Amphitheater is notorious for keeping you in it much longer than you'd like, because of the traffic bottle neck that the exit represents. I walked as fast as I could, and then when I was out the door, I ran as fast as I could, and did a beeline for my car. I parked backwards in (of course) so I immediately left my parking spot with no hassle, and went straight for the exit, which took no more than five minutes tops. I could already see the cars piling up at the moment I left the parking lot, and I could only imagine that if I stayed a few more minutes longer, I would have been stuck. This was a nice night to go see a concert, and a great way to top off my weekend.
*click here for the photos I took *
*click here for the videos I took *
As a Pinoy who lived through the Philippines' "People Power" of the 1980s as a young boy, I'd like to pay my respect to Former President Cory Aquino. She died at the age of 76, early Saturday after a year long battle with colon cancer.
May she rest in peace.
At least she is now with her late husband, Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr.
song : "I have Fallen in Love (with the same woman three times)"
lyrics by Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr
Sang by Jose Mari Chan
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