Extension: me

Got my first ever work-related phone call on my phone specifically
today! Wee! Somebody called the company looking for me about
official business!

Movie review: The Big White

OMG, you poor saps are missing out. All you law abiding citizens that don't download illegal movies off the internet. It's not all porn y'know! This is exactly why it's worth it to break a few laws now and again. With this movie not going mainstream and relegated to art houses and film festivals, many will never even hear about this little gem.

In the big white landscape of Alaska (actually shot in Winnipeg... in May), Paul Barnell (Robin Williams) needs money. His wife (Holly Hunter) is mental and his travel agency is failing. The life insurance policy on his long time missing brother is so close, yet so far due to technicalities. The solution gets dropped off in front of his door and his problem mushrooms as he becomes the big white whale for an over-zealous insurance agent (Giovanni Ribisi), and his wife is held by two really sweet hitmen. One can't help but like the one doing wrong for good reason rather than the one doing good for the wrong reasons. This comedy is morbid and quirky, the characters simple but lovable, and never has Tourette been so funny. What more can one ask for?

Definitely along the same themes as Fargo, especially the final scene. Although I didn't like Fargo that much and thought it was just plain over-rated. The Big White is much more enjoyable. The music is also excellent and so fitting in every scene. Big name actors too with Robin Williams, Holly Hunter, Woody Harrelson and up and comers Giovanni Ribisi, Alison Lohman, and Tim Blake Nelson. If only Meat Loaf was in the movie, instead of the guy that played him.

I don't have enough thumbs to put up, and this will definitely be in my DVD collection as soon as I find it.

20/21 stars! I love this movie!

The Big White

Trivia: Same studio as Lord of War, in theatres this week. Now I want to see it even more! The writer of The Big White is from Winnipeg, and also wrote a short film Farm Sluts, about spiraling misunderstandings that began with unsafe-for-work e-mail. Those Manitobans...

Who reads me?

So who actually reads this? Please leave comments! If you don't, it makes me sad, and rock back and forth in my chair. Comments make bloggers feel loved...

Movie review: Constant Gardener

I was totally looking forward to this movie. Even before I knew what it was about, the trailer looked awesome! Then when I found out it was about an evil pharmaceutical company, I thought it was even more appropriate that I see it.

I was nauseous.

Not because I was sick to my stomach for working for an evil industry, or how corruption has destroyed any chance for the African population. It was because the cinematography was a piece of shit. Shakey close-up, out of focus shots so prevalent in movies that hope to add "realism". So you're on their thrill ride. Quite frankly, fuck that shit. I hate it so much. It's Blair Witch all over again. I was so sick after the movie and I had to keep averting my eyes from the giant moving screen. If I want realism, I'd go and live my life. If I'm at a movie, I'm trying to escape said life. It's out of focus and shakey enough as it is.

And really, it didn't make sense anyway. I guess if I knew nothing about drug companies, I'd buy it. But it makes no sense to gather crappy safety and efficacy data on an African population. You wanna make money, you gotta file in north america and europe. You wanna file in NA or EU, you gotta have clinical data from NA and EU. If I were an evil company, it'd be much more useful to simply infect the people with my pathogen of choice, then test my panel of drug candidates.

I guess the movie's also about goverment corruption brought on by corporate interests. Yawn. Like we need to leave the continent to see that. Nor can fiction out-shock what them yanks have to offer in that department.

Good acting from the usual suspects of critically acclaimed personel.

3/8 stars

(lost points for adverse event: emesis)

Constant Gardener

Combinatorial

Well, it's official, I definitely do have to wear a tie everyday, except for "casual" friday. Although I still had to wear a tie this friday because of some big meeting. Anywho, I now have 8 ties, 10 work appropriate shirts, 6 pairs of pants, two belts and two pairs of shoes. That really should equate to almost two thousand outfits. But of course, not everything goes with everything else, so the number is more like 30. So that's about seven or eight weeks without repeating any specific combo? Hmmm... I better make up a spreadsheet and keep track...

Ah yes, so few posts. Unfortunately, so little of what goes on at work is bloggable. I think the confidentiality agreement actually says I will be drawn and quartered.

Went fishing again. Just as successful as last time! Apparently honey and garlic sausages doesn't work better than orange peels. I did see a beaver deathmatch though. Fascinating!

Reclassified

I'm in a shirt and tie, dress pants and shoes, and a neighbor on the elevator still asks if I was heading to university.  C'mon!  Why was that assumption made?  I live downtown, the likely analysis would have put me enroute to work.  Old people.

 

Yup, not too many new posts.  It's amazing how little happens when one works.

Those wacky Americans

Oh right, it's 9/11 today. Picture from another blog whose address I've lost.

MoBlog Gallery

Hmmm... I guess that was significantly sooner than I thought. These are all really old though since I haven't used the camera function on my phone in a while. But now I'll have a reason to take random voyeur pictures!

The PhotoMoBlog Badge on the side will have pictures from my camera phone.

Powell Street

Time for another new look! This is "Powell Street", courtesy of Blogger Templates.

Also be sure to check out the sidebar and the Points of Interest section, with links to previous highlights from this blog.

Soon, I hope to add a MoBlog gallery!

Intolerance to Venipuncture

ven·i·punc·ture [ vénni pùngkchər, vni pùngkchər ] (plural ven·i·punc·tures)

noun

Definitions:

medical puncturing of vein: the puncturing of a vein for any medical
purpose, e.g. to take blood, to feed somebody intravenously, or to
administer a drug

Yup, fancy way of saying scared of needles.

Where nobody knows your name

This other world where the old heros don't exist. Nobody knows who you are here, Watson. You're just another toy transplanted from a different crowd. But you'll wow them. Bob on.

Feet felt much better today. Mostly because I wore hiking shoes to and from and just left the dress shoes at work. There they'll be forever. Also brought some nuts, raisins, candy, everything I need if I'm trapped in the building due to billowing smoke from below.

I get life insurance. I get benefits and amenities of this new gig. Like access to the exercise facility in the building. Small, but it's got a pool. I'll probably never use it though. There's also a movie theatre room that one can book and watch movies in! Our tower is also next to a few other residential towers. From my window, it's quite close to a few balconies. I can see into their space, reading, talking on the phone, watering plants. Ah, the amenities.

The Dilbert life

The first of many days. Didn't even get to work and I was already injured. These $20 shoes are $20 for a reason I guess. It had already cut into my ankle between the LRT station and the office. I'm quite finicky about my shoes. These will have to receive some... modifications...

Other than that, a good first day. Met everyone, tried to remember some names. It's good that everybody seems to like working there so I'm sure that's a good sign. Unfortunately, it'll be alot of boring reading for a while. That's expected though. That's what you get for turning your life upside down and change careers!

Movie review: Red Eye

Oh poor Cillian Murphy. With your creepy eyes and lip combo, you might be forever relegated to the villain. Not just any villain, but the one that at first seems well mannered, but turns out to be the intelligent psychotic puppetmaster as see in Batman Begins. The eyes, THE EYES, they give you away.

A good movie. Not great. Doesn't really try to do too much or twist anything. I guess that's good since I was expecting some ludicrous turn that so plagues movies now. And this is definitely a thriller and not a horror as the trailer or Wes Craven's name may imply. Probably a decision of the studio to make it seem like it'll be in line with his previous well-earning movies.

Red Eye

5/7

Movie review: The Incredibles

Oh, should have seen this one in the theatres!

The storyline is quite a bit more sophisticated than most animated movies for kids. The same mushy morals remain. But will kids get it all? Oh well, too bad for them. I thought Frozone only had a bit part and not really integral to the story. Why wasn't he captured by Syndrome? I really liked Holly Hunter's accent as Helen. I knew it sounded familiar, but couldn't quite place it till I looked it up. Not sure why they drew her butt so big though...

Great movie, but really, everyone's seen it but me, so I'll stop here.

The Incredibles

7/8 stars

Random picture (albertaday)

I'm all in

With the new job, comes a new look. No more pencils, no more books, no more teachers, dirty looks! No more t-shirts and jeans anyway. It's all dress shirts and pants from now on. I guess it'll be nice to not look like a student everyday. But what about my years of investment in funny t-shirts?!

So I've spend a few hundred to start a necessary new wardrobe. Some highlights: two pairs of $20 shoes, a tie from my dad that's probably older than me, and a pair of pants to be hemmed. I still need to get a tie clip though. I like to accessorize.

And of course now I have to learn to tie a tie! I guess I probably should no longer tie a tie once and leave it tied forever on a hanger. Windsor? Half windsor? Four in hand? Pratt? I believe I'm going with the Pratt knot...

Random picture (blossom)