Mario reloaded

Press Play!

Movie review: Stay

I was kinda interested in this movie during its short stint on the silver screen. But there were more enticing choices at the time so I haven't seen it till now. I was very impressed with this movie. It was visually amazing. Not in exposive special effects or computer generated dinosaurs, but in the style it moved the movie along. The transitions between scenes are seemless and really help with the chaotic feel of the movie and the characters involved. I can see how many people might not like this movie. It really requires a very open mind, and very little preconceived expectations. The whole movie, especially the ending, leaves much to interpretation. But I won't ruin it by covering any of the plot.

Stay 7/8

Louise squared

Had another trip to the mountains, quite possibly the last of the season. We had some great end of season spring conditions. The warmth made things a bit slushy and heavy at times, but it got colder the second day, even with some fresh snow!

For this trip I made a baked spaghetti with fresh tomatos, zuchinni and meatballs. It turned out pretty well! I like zuchinni. For a while I hated them because my mom used to grow them in the backyard when I was little. Anyone who's grown zuchinni knows that they sprout like rabbits fuck. So you end up with a million gargantuan zuchinni that you try to give away to the neighbors. This time I used smaller ones which also tasted better since it had a better skin to volume ratio.

We were also in Calgary for the day because I was there for a publicity photoshoot for the AHFMR. It only took a little while and I was able to go to their Chinatown to find me some buns. And of course I had to visit the infamous Opulence Center, where chinese to english translations go awry. It was pretty ghetto to be called opulent though.

On the way back, we also learned a lesson about the police. They drive on the highway and wait for people to pass them to catch them for going at the same speed they are! How cruel. So next time you see a cop car on the high way and think some speeding is reasonable and they won't care, they do!

Movie review: Waiting

Ryan Reynolds returns as... Ryan Reynolds. Same character as in every other Ryan Reynolds movie. But that'll work for him till people get bored of him. But as long as he shows his abs off for the occasional girlfriend that was dragged to one of his movies, he'll do fine, I reckon. It's like Van Wilder, but in a restaurant. Pretty good as long as your expectations aren't high. I was tired, and in the mood for mindless fun and he delivered. It'll be hard to go to a chain restaurant again though, and I'm glad my part time jobs of yesteryear did not involve any kind of a penis showing game.

Waiting 9/14

Working Sm@rt with Outlunch

The papers on my desk had become a fire hazard and I was sent to a course to manage my time better. Working Sm@rt with Outlook was supposed to change my whole process of working the day. I mean, c'mon, they cleverly replaced the 'a' with a '@'! It's gotta be good. And it wasn't bad, but it was mostly tips and tricks for using Outlook. And for a $600 course, I was really expecting some sandwiches. But it was held at the Oddysium, so that was cool. I guess time will tell if I'll work any sm@rter...

Oh yeah, this image is completely unrelated to that course. I just like to insert random pictures with every post. It's fun.

Movie review: V for Vendetta

So now they've gotten to the lesser known less popular and presumably cheaper to license comic book characters to make into movies. I can't imagine kids were dying to read the adventures of a revolutionary trying to make a statement to the government and fought with knives. But the character gave the Wachowski brothers a medium to criticize the US government. And they made it fun to watch too, so bravo! I really liked the movie, even through the obvious political motives.

Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of Fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is it vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished, as the once vital voice of the verisimilitude now venerates what they once vilified. However, this valorous visitation of a by-gone vexation, stands vivified, and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin vanguarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition. The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose vis-à-vis an introduction, and so it is my very good honor to meet you and you may call me V.

I went through the whole thing thinking it was Pierce Brosnan or some-schmoe under the mask. But it turns out to be Mr. Smith from the Matrix! Poor guy doesn't get to show his face except for a nano-second in one scene. But it's okay, Natalie Portman still would have had all the attention anyway.

V for Vendetta 3/4

Baby mudskippers

My mudskippers didn't have babies, but I wish they did because I saw some at the pet store today! I so wanted to get some, they were so damned cute! Man I wish they had 'em this size when I started the tank. Although I guess they'd be weaker too. Ah, maybe when I can get a bigger tank I can have a few babies in there. But it'd be a traumatic childhood, being beaten up by the middle-aged mudskippers...

Crustacealicious

Crustacean Spaghetti Alfredo

Man-O-Man did this turn out good! It's got chunks of prawns and pieces of fake crab meat in a white sauce with bacon and onions. I fried up the meat first with lots of garlic. The shrimp has been passed down through several generations in my family in a frozen state but they tasted pretty good. Still good texture, maybe just a bit bland. But overal, this pasta was excellente!!!

Movie review: Dave Chapelle's Block Party

It's really more of a concert movie than something with a story. Lots pf rap and hip hop acts I'm not familiar with, interweaved with Dave Chapelle's funnies. It was a pretty good diversion, but could have been a half hour shorter. It'd be interesting to get this as a soundtrack I bet. Shure looks like they had a good time!

Dave Chapelle's Block Party

9/13

The new high five

I guess high fives are no longer cool. Good riddance, it probably transmits alot of germs anyway. But I guess it's all about the fist thing now. A meeting of clenched knuckles in approval of a job well done. I don't like that either, but it's technically less contact surface area.

By the way, I found this picture by putting "fist" into Google. BIG mistake.

Of dreams incessant

Four months ago, somebody asked me if I have any recurrent dreams. Now I am able to recall one. I often can't just recall some random topic that my brain didn't come up with. My memory is like a box of chocolates.

But I remember now I often have this dream where my teeth are crumbling. It starts with a loose tooth that my tongue just can't stop playing with. Then it falls out and I try to recount if it was a baby tooth and supposed to fall out. Then another becomes loose, and so on. Other teeth start to crumble into pieces instead of just falling out clean. I can feel the bits shifting in my gums. It's not painful, just a bit scary. I run around with a mouth full of tooth fragments trying to find something to hold them. So what does it all mean?

Many explanations are available on the web of course:

1) Stress, problems and difficulty at work

2) Anxiety about appearance

3) Foreshadows health problems

4) Reproductive worries (since, y'know, now I can't carry my kids in my teeth from one nest to another)

I think it's because when I was little, I've always had a hard time with my baby teeth falling out. I was a big chicken when it came to pulling them out. I'd be stubborn and resist til a tooth's connection has all but receded away and it's only in place because I keep pushing it back in. Oh, and my dentist was also quite generous with the threats of rotting teeth if I didn't brush and floss and stuff.

I'll try to recall other recurrent dreams. Funny, I've never ever had the naken in public one.

Movie review: It's All Gone Pete Tong

I still don't know what the titles means exactly or who this Pete Tong is, but I still liked the movie! It's about a famous ultra-popular DJ, and if I were in that 'scene', I'm sure I'd know who he was, but I'm not so I don't. Apparently, he had quite the following.

The first half is a bit slow, probably more meaningful to the fans, but details Frankie Wilde's peak to fall because he starts to lose his hearing. He tries to cling on to what little is left of his ears, and attempts to fake his way through daily work and life. Eventually, he has the face the music, or lack thereof and admit he can no longer DJ. His wife leaves and he takes a tail spin to the bottom. After a few months in a padded room and dirty underwear, he clears his mind and decides to find a way to live. Through this, he enlists the service of a naturally deaf woman to learn how to read lips. She teaches him to rely on other senses and finally he is able to have his comeback as the legendary Deaf DJ. But he also realizes he no longer needs the life he lost.

From the same director FUBAR, and the boys even make an appearance here. It's a bit predictable, and fans of house music or DJs, or that kinda thing will probably get more out of it. I enjoyed it though; it was funny, well told, and at least it had a happy ending!

It's All Gone, Pete Tong

7/9

Lived in

Four months in and finally a "party". Nothing wild, no balcony diving, no lampshade on the head, just a quiet get-together. Had way too much munchies. I'll have to have a hungry-people only party next time. But there was some video games, some... mostly video games, didn't get to the board games. Sounds happenin' huh? Yup, the bachelor life.