Month: February 2010

  • We’re already a month and a half into 2010, and you know what you may not have really thought about? We’re in the future! For many many years, books, TV shows, movies, etc… have foretold what the future would be. Looking back at the predictions from… say 30 to 50 years ago…  the question people should be asking now are “where’s my personal jet pack? “where’s my hover board?” or “where’s my flying car?” Sure the jet pack exist, but it’s nothing we all would really want to use. The hover board might exist in some form out there, but probably nothing like it was imagined in the “Back To The Future” movies. The flying car supposedly does exist, but it’s probably just so impractical at this point for us to care.

    Other predictions I could think of about this century, are fantastical stuff. Aliens from space should have already being contacted. World War III was always foretold to happen, and with the state of the world right now, that may still happen soon for all we know. Predictions about clothing has always been a fascinating thing to see, but thank goodness the aluminum “shiny” look that the future is suppose to have has not caught on with society.

    Now how about things we actually do have today, like the DVR? MP3 Players? High Definition Video? GPS devices? Smart phones? All these things would definitely be considered futuristic 30 to 50 years ago. Heck, go back 15 years when it was still all about the VCR, CD players, and pagers. Mentioning things like recording TV programs digitally on a box, having a small device that could hold thousands of music in it, or that the cellphone is pretty much a hand-held computer, would completely impress somebody in 1995. Now how about the fact that the internet is completely a part of our everyday lives? E-mail. Google. Blogs. Youtube. Facebook. Twitter. Imagine showing somebody in the past what can be done on the internet of today, and it might completely overwhelm them. 

    I still remember my life back in 1984, and what we have now would have been things I could only see in movies about the future (or James Bond films). There’s no need for me to use my imagination anymore for these fantastic things we now take for granted. If I’m thinking “wow, what a life we have now,” what is the reaction of a 90, 80, or 70 years old person, who is browsing the internet, while talking to their grandson via their iPhone?

    It’s 2010 folks. Welcome to the future!

  • What Kind of Heart Do You Have?

    You Have a Loving Heart
    You believe that love can solve all problems. Love is powerful, and people definitely need more love in their lives.
    You love easily and you love often. You believe in unconditional love.

    Your heart is giving and willing to put it all on the line. You aren’t afraid to show some love.
    Your love life is deep and fulfilling. Because you are able to love so easily, you get a lot of love in return.

    What I’m listening to this week…

    1a) SModcast – go f*** yourself, southwest airlines
    1b) SModcaster – youtube edition
    1c) SModcast – thinicism
    2) Editors – in this light and on this evening
    3) Fear Factory – mechanize
    4) Never Shout Never – what is love
    5) Overkill – ironbound
    6) Metallica – dave ‘em all

  • If you didn’t already know this by now, let me tell you. Television News can be such a joke to watch. TV News may give you information about current events, but it’s still like any TV show that cares more about getting ratings. BTW, the NBC 11PM local news programs complaining about their low ratings, due to having “The Jay Leno Show” as a bad lead-in, is what eventually led to the events of Conan O’Brien leaving the Tonight Show.

    Every time I see TV news, there’s always something that’s ridiculous about how they conduct themselves, that it’s honestly embarrassing to watch at times. So many things to complain about, here are just a few….

    - They tease you about a news story that you have to wait 20 minutes for; which completely kills the idea that this is a useful program that is suppose to give you information.

    - “Storm Watch.” They make it seem like it’s the end of the world when bad weather comes in, and then have reporters asking people on the street what they think about it (when will they learn, year after year, the same responses).

    - Field reporters who are reporting from an area that only “looks like” the actual area where the real news is. Sometimes they just stand in front of some miscellaneous area that has nothing to do with the actual story, but is there because they need to have some “live on the scene” type shot.

    - It’s also bad when you know more facts about a news report than the reporters telling it. “Get you facts straight!”

    - “Fluff pieces.” ’nuff said there

    Most recently, some of the annoying traits by TV News unfortunately showed up when they were reporting on the death of Olympic Luger N. Kumaritashvili. First they warn you about how graphic the video footage of the accident is, and then they proceed to show it over and over again, with slow-mo footage, plus multi-angle shots. In one news report I’ve seen, they transition that particular sad news story immediately into another story that starts with the field reporter saying “It’s quite a party out here” with this big smile on his face. Yeah TV News, real respectful there.

    If you want the news, you’ll have better luck with the internet than with TV News.

  • Here, Here And Random Here

    Russian Insurance Commercial (video)

    Alex Trebek = Jerk (video)

    Jurassic Park 4 (video)

    Back to the Future Sex Scenes (video)

    Real-Life Super Hero Makes Daring Train Rescue (video)

    Google Search Stories: 77777 (video)

    The Muppets: Beaker’s Ballad (video)

    Adorable Puppy Rapes Chicken (video)

    Kittens Reenact ‘Cliffhanger’ on Stairs (video)

    Honest Twister Commercial (video)

    Anti-Terrorism Honor System (video)

    Jumping Jack Fail (video)

  • Looking for somebody to be in love with is something most single people continually search for in their everyday lives, and in many cases non-single people still feel the same way. There are those who are hoping for that “love at first sight” ideal that it’s easy to find somebody to love, and share the rest of their lives with. It usually comes down to two things however, finding love based on compatibility, and finding love out of incompatibility (“opposites attract”). Okay, maybe there’s a third scenario… finding love out of passion, although I believe that actually applies to both of the previous situations.

    I fall under the side that believes it’s really important for a couple in a relationship to share common interests, as I feel that the idea of “opposites attract” will only get you so far. Sure finding somebody who is very different from you could mean that it just allows the chance that it makes you a better person by broadening your mind of who you could be, with that person’s help. I suppose I’m cynical in thinking that in the end, all that really happens is that somebody in that relationship eventually just wants to change the other to be more compatible, and we all know that idea hardly ever really works out for the best.

    With all that said, I got to mention that I recently re-watched the movie “(500) Days Of Summer” and a few lines of dialog between an older brother (Tom) talking to his younger sister (Rachel) about somebody he is falling in love with, needs to be repeated here…

    TOM : She likes Magritte and Hopper. And we talked about Bananafish for like 20 minutes. We’re so compatible, it’s insane. Well, she’s not like I thought at all. She’s amazing.
    RACHEL : Oh, boy.
    TOM : What?
    RACHEL : Just ’cause some cute girl likes the same bizarro crap you do, that doesn’t make her your soul mate,

    Rachel makes a great point that not everything falls under just being compatible to make a successful relationship, but I’m sure you can’t deny that it helps a lot. The key is simply balance, patience, and understanding. That’s always been important with life in general anyway. So if you start with finding somebody that you already share common interests with, it helps ground the relationship to those compatible features although that isn’t where it should end. Everything “extra” that you don’t necessarily share similar interests will determine whether the relationship will grow stronger or just fall apart.

    Although I have a particular point of view on the subject, I admit that analyzing how to find somebody to love and having a relationship may be all fine and all, but the truth of the matter is that nothing is finite. Love is not pure science, and it’s not really that simple to explain. Anything can and will happen. People end up together in unpredictable and even predictable ways. Overall, it comes down to this one other line from the movie, as said by the main female character the film title is based on…

    SUMMER : It was meant to be.

  • My recent Status Updates, Texts, and General Thoughts

    - Re-watched “(500) Days Of Summer.” Still holds up as one of my most favorite films of 2009. Love it’s take on relationships.

    - http://twitpic.com/1342e7 – hehe, not planning to see this movie, but hehe…

    - Came back from Vet. My brown dog’s ear infection is officially gone. Yay!

    - My dogs, looking for the squirrel – http://tinyurl.com/ycvwn6g – ……There He Is! – http://tinyurl.com/ycy8p46 -

    - Warner retreats from free music streaming – http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8507885.stm – That’s Bull$#!^ Warner Music!

    - Final Fantasy XIII themed XBOX360 that comes with FFXIII, a 250GB HDD, and 2 controllers for $399? Sweet deal – http://tinyurl.com/yhxuute

    - NPD: U.S. January Retail Video Game Sales Sink 13 Percent – http://bit.ly/aPm69Q – (via @gamasutra)

    - I shouldn’t be surprised, but I’m actually really loving Susan Boyle’s album “I Dreamed A Dream.” Fantastic vocals!

    - I think it’s simply hot and sexy when a girl is able to play the guitar. Rocking out on Rock Band / Guitar Hero is fine too. =)

    - Kevin Smith & Scott Mosier have an entertainingly hilarious discussion about “Avatar” – http://www.smodcast.com/smodcast/smodcast105.php

    - What did I just see in the sky over Orange County? A falling meteorite? A crashing UFO? Dunno.

    - If you are familiar with the movie “Flashdance,” you should find the humor in this video – http://tinyurl.com/ygce2qz – luv it

  • Random Kiss You Goodnight

    Snow Timelapse (video)

    Insane 5-Story Snow Jumps (video)

    Weatherman’s Big Moment 2 (video)

    Sarah Palin Cheat Sheet (video)

    All The Violence From 2010 Super Bowl Ads (video)

    Wes Anderson’s Spiderman (video)

    Dog on the Phone (video)

    Dog says I Love You (video)

    Monkeys Discover Camera (video)

    Two Successful Roof Jumps (video)

    it was over when… (link)

    wanna get a Hottiegram? – NSFW (link)

  • When social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter made “status updates” a regular thing on the internet, there was a fear that this will decrease the general need to blog. The thinking behind that is “why bother writing a full blog, when you can just micro-blog?” The obvious response to that is that you can say and do a lot more on a regular blog, than with 140 characters on Twitter. However there is a certain convenience to just saying a little bit of what you want to say, than spending the time to elaborate on your thoughts. The idea behind status updates is to just spread out what you are thinking, but not necessarily have to explain it right away. “Micro-blogging” indeed.

    I’m afraid I’m kinda falling under that trap. I seem to have embraced status updates, as I’ve been been blogging considerably less than I used to, despite my weekly “random links” and “blogthings / what I’m listening to” posts. I’ve even started posting a blog, listing my status updates from twitter/facebook, which feels ironic to do. I’ve blamed time being a factor that’s been eating at me, with all the things I do (or want to do) on my regular day to day life, and spending the time on my blog has suffered. It’s just been too tempting to take advantage of the alternative option of spending less time by just micro-blogging my thoughts on Twitter/Facebook. However I’d like to say that I’m still completely on board with this blog, but the frequency of my entrees are probably going to be a little bit irregular.

  • Marketing is a huge deal for movies, and a good chunk of that goes to showing the trailer for it. Seeing a movie trailer is the primary marketing tool that helps movie goers decide on whether they want to see a movie or not. What if the trailer fails to get people to want to see the movie? Can a movie rely on just actor / director guest appearances on talk shows, or promotional tie-ins to increase support?

    One thing I’ve noticed recently is that when a movie is Rated-R, the marketing team just goes back to the trailer once again, and re-release it as a red band trailer and see how that goes. Although red band trailers have always been around, usually I would have to hunt it down somewhere on the internet just to see it. Nowadays though, it seems that marketing is now a little more open in releasing these trailers online. I suppose it makes sense to show a trailer with an increase in sex or violence, if the movie in question takes advantage of sex or violence. May as well show what you are really marketing right? The worst thing that could happen is that they get the same results with the red band trailer that they got with the green band trailer, nobody still wants to see the movie.

    There are three upcoming movies that are perfect examples of what I’m talking about. “Kick-Ass,” “Cop Out,” and “She’s Out Of My League.” They released green band trailers first, but only seemed to have gotten a mild response from the audience, but later was able to increase anticipation for the movies via the red band trailers. In my case, I wanted to see “Kick Ass” because of what they showed at Comic-Con, and I’m seeing “Cop Out” because of Kevin Smith, so the green band trailers never really mattered to me (although it apparently did for others). The initial green band trailers for those two movies however really weren’t that great, so I was glad that the red band trailers fixed it’s problem. In the case of “She’s Out Of My League,” I wasn’t going to see that movie at all, but I am now after seeing the red band trailer.

    I admit that reactions to red band trailers may vary among people, and I’m basing it mostly on the comments I’m reading from other people on the internet. It’s still a limited audience who gets to see the red band trailers, despite the easy availability of them on the web. In the end, the first weekend box office numbers will determine whether this strategy was in any way successful, and it’s going to be hard to say whether the red band trailers made any influence at all as it’s still vague at how influential internet marketing can be.

    - links for the trailers below -

    “Kick Ass” trailer : Green Band / Red Band
    “Cop Out” trailer : Green Band / Red Band
    “She’s Out Of My League” trailer : Green Band / Red Band

    Other Red Band trailers can be seen at http://www.trailerspy.com/categories/19/Red-Band

  • What’s Your Valentine’s Day Personality?

    Your Valentine’s Day Personality is Practical
    As far as you’re concerned, Valentine’s Day is simply a commercial holiday.
    You don’t place any real meaning on it. You don’t think it deserves too much celebration.

    For you, Valentine’s Day is just the day you avoid restaurants and candy stores.
    If you love someone, you already show it. You don’t need to go all out for a silly holiday to prove your love.

    What I’m listening to this week…

    1) The /Filmcast: After Dark – ep 85 – ethics of making “kick ass” and dvds we hate
    2) Spoon – transference
    3) Bowling For Soup – sorry for partyin
    4) Brainstorm – memorial roots
    5) Susan Boyle – i dreamed a dream
    6) Metallica – dec 10, 2009. honda center, anaheim, ca