Jamie in VA

The District-9 Post

2009-08-15T12:17:00.000-07:00

District-9 is the best movie I have seen all year, if not longer. Emotionally compelling, visually stunning and well balanced- it succeeds in every category it dabbles in. It’s nice to see a science fiction movie that focuses on dramatic character development and poignant undertones rather than making an adrenalin fueled blast-fest. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy alien blasting movies once in a while, but D-9 spreads its focus across other avenues and the end result really pays off. Where D-9 really succeeds however is in its universal appeal. You don’t need to be a sci-fi geek to really appreciate this movie. I can honestly say I’d recommend it to anyone who likes movies, period.

The movie is composed of many different camera styles, which adds a level of realism to the otherwise very believable visual effects. The interesting mix of gritty handy cam shots and aerial panoramas works well and is mixed seamlessly, resulting in a very ‘real-world’ feeling presentation. The effects on the aliens are truly impressive. You honestly forget it’s CG on the screen as they feel as though they are as part of the scene as the people and props. It really is a masterful weave of elements.

This movie is borderline perfect. That pacing, plot, effects, acting; all phenomenal. The main character is a bumbling bureaucrat played by Wilkus Van De Merwe. After seeing him blab to the camera for the first few scenes I was asking myself how the hell I was going to survive watching him for 2 hours…. However the transformation of his character (both inside and out) during the course of the movie turned me into a believer. He does an unexpectedly terrific job of the role, and I can’t think of any way to improve his efforts. (Sorry for ever doubting you.)

The movie as a whole is a bit racist, which is a bit hypocritical considering it’s supposed to highlight the dark underbelly of human ignorance.

Every character, besides the two protagonists; fit neatly into the following categories. White people: heartlessly sadistic oppressors. Black people: Gun wielding, voo-doo obsessed criminals and Prawns: Trash rummaging cat food junkies.

I don’t think there are any actual racist implications of course, however this is the only thing I can see critics having any wiggle room with.

I am very glad to see this movie turn out so well for the directorial debut of Neill Blomkamp after the whole ‘Halo’ fiasco. Admittedly having Peter Jackson producing doesn’t hurt things, but it is nice to see new talent in the theaters. Very cool that in the current Hollywood environment a short film could impress the right people and net someone a big break still. He earns his success with this first entry into what will hopefully be a long list of future projects. Simply put District-9 is the most thrilling and emotionally charged science fiction movie to come along in a long time. Definitely a must see.

The GI-Joe Post

2009-08-08T13:14:00.000-07:00

GI-Joe: Rise of Cobra, is like the popcorn and large soda you scoff while watching summer blockbusters; You know its bad for you but you want it anyway. By all accounts this is a terrible film, but hell if I wasn’t entertained the entire time.

The movie has so many faults that you stop noticing them pretty quickly. The acting in particular will have you wanting to pull your hair out. There is one character, ‘Cover Girl’ (who thankfully doesn’t last too long in the storyline), who is portrayed so poorly it’s almost painful. I could play a more convincing blonde chick in uniform than this girl can. It’s sad when the best acting in a movie comes from the writer and star of White Chicks…but Marlon Waynes is actually the only ‘Joe’ besides Dennis Quaid who’s bearable in the movie. Ray Park is the man, but he doesn’t talk and his face is covered the entire film and Sienna Miller is a good Baroness, but both roles are eclipsed by shoddy screen time taken up by the film’s lead ‘Duke’ played by Channing Tatum. Good lord this guy can’t act. It’s very evident that they picked him for his look and nothing more. Duke is actually pretty funny, charming and likable, but all the soul of his character is sucked out and crapped on by Tatum’s abysmal efforts.

I think we are spoiled these days with movies oozing eye-candy from every orifice, because GI-Joe’s effects often seemed really cheap and fake looking. Some of the more action oriented parts where right on point, but a few of the vehicle portions looked notably dated and very ‘computer graphicy’ if I had to use a term.

Fortunately there are a lot of scenes where the Baroness kicks stuff….so the eye candy quota was well met come curtain fall.

Considering the ridiculousness of the GI-Joe brand and all its aforementioned shortcomings, as a whole this movie is remarkably watchable. The plot features brainwashing, evil-doers living under the polar icecap and terrorist missiles that melt national monuments- basically it’s a 80’s cartoon. What many people will fail to see is that this film doesn’t want to be much more than a cheap (scratch that EXPENSIVE) thrill. ‘Joe is a pretty explosion wrapped around a nostalgic franchise for old school fans and people who like seeing bad guys getting blown up. If you can’t get behind that then you are as and as the monument melting Cobra terrorists.

The Funny People

2009-08-08T11:27:00.000-07:00

Funny People relies on its well equipped cast and crew to pull laughs out of a dark and depressing plot-line. It’s hard to describe a laugh-a-minute comedy as a story that centers around a home-wrecking, lonely man who is dying from a terminal illness. But somehow Apatow’s ever present penis jokes and traditional cast pull it off. I’m a fan of the Apatow crowd and Funny People does a great job expanding the stable and letting a few new comediennes into the group of familiar faces. Adam Sander fits right in and adds his distinctive flavor to the movie. Its not old toll-booth-Willie-Sandler and it’s not Punch-Drunk-Love Sandler either- it’s a believable mix of aged comedian and it fits the tone of the film perfectly.

The movie’s direction and tone take a few interesting turns, but it starts out as an homage to Sandler and his past efforts through his career, thinly veiled as a tribute to his character who is all but Sandler in name. The use of real-life clips from past efforts really adds to the realism of the character. As well as cameos and bit-parts that make it feel like the audience is being let into the secret world of comedy that only ‘funny people’ know about. The support from Rogan and co. is top-notch and the whole movie feels as real as one can expect. A far cry from the Will Ferrell ‘scream-comedy-romps’ that are all too common these days. I did tire of the cameos after a point however, primarily because they weren’t that funny.

There are a few scenes where we see a bunch of comedians from across the board like Sarah Silverman and Dave Attell to Andy Dick and Paul Reiser just sitting around being ‘hilarious’. Unfortunately it feels like an inside joke and little more than validating the comedians implied humor supremacy.

That said its a small taint on a otherwise very enjoyable film. I was expecting something less demanding and more situational as far as the comedy goes, but I am honestly glad that Funny People is as weighty as it is. Hardly an emotional roller coaster by any means, but enough drama mixed into the hilarious jokes and charming cast to pull out a win.

The Ugly Truth Post

2009-08-01T08:05:00.000-07:00

I wasn’t expecting The Ugly Truth to be as raunchy or aggressively vulgar as it was. The advertisements for the film had painted to look like a classic chick-flick, when in reality the end result is closer to There’s Something About Mary than Bridgett Jones or a Meg Ryan vehicle. Honestly it’s a breath of fresh air to see a romantic comedy that fits guys into the equation. What’s the point in having a romantic date-movie if the girls can’t drag their guys along to see it? The Ugly Truth adds just enough inappropriate hilarity to keep guys strung along while women get the cliché love arch that has sold so many memberships to the Mr. Darcy fan club.

That being said there is a lot wrong with movie as you might imagine. Catherine Heigl continues to be borderline unwatchable in everything she does, and is a very unrealtable main character. Her ‘too busy for her own good’ character who works as a producer at a failing TV news program is too far away from the every-woman who will ultimately want to go see the movie. If I had to do a chick-flick reference I’d say she was a cheap caricature of Cameron Diaz from 2006’s The Holiday. Gerard Butler is pretty much on point as Heigl’s counterpart and plays a role that every guy would like, short of his King Leonidus in 300 (2006 also). The only problem I have with Butler in this movie is his atrocious American accent. We are so used to hear forced British accent attempts, especially in romantic comedies, but this is beyond the opposite. His rootn’ toon’ attempt at sounding like a good-ol-boy is almost as laughable as the awkward scenes he puts Catherine Heigl through. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it-- keep him sounding like the gruff Scot that he is.

Besides those issues the movie is honestly a lot of fun. I was laughing out loud along with the sold-out theater of couples who looked like they where genuinely enjoying themselves. There are some scenes that will offer laughs for everyone while sticking to a love story that meets all the requirements for the chick-flick genre.

It is a perfect date movie that will keep guys happy and girls appeased. Get in your boyfriend points while this one is still in the theaters, before something sappy comes out. (Or you might end up sitting through 130 minutes of Meryl Streep)

Characteristically though, if you strip it of all the hilariously inappropriate comments from Butler and awkwardly amusing scenarios Heigl gets into, it is a tad formulaic. Honestly the film feels like director Robert Luketic went to the movies one lonely Saturday night back in 2006 to watch Butler’s 300, then snuck into a late showing of the Holiday and decided to go home and write a combo-script. Then when he found that it wasn’t that good he decided to take out Leonidus’s weapons and replace them with vulgarity. Three years later someone gave him the money to make film and this survivable little movie pops out. “And that my friends is The Ugly Truth”.

The Half Blood Post

2009-07-15T19:54:00.000-07:00

Harry Potter is an acquired taste and many people write it off as a franchise altogether. Those who tough it out all agree that it is a charming and wonderful series of books. Among the book’s fan base however there is a large rift of people that do and don’t like the movies. In the films’ defense there is an awful lot packed into those books and the vivid wizarding world is not one that can be summarized with ease. Many directors have tried their hand at a film (or two) and some have been hits for me…and others big misses. The hardest part is sitting through a movie you have high expectations for and a very vivid understanding of what should happen before the curtain falls. If the director puts his own spin on the film, or a particular scene is shifted, shortened or even cut, then it really rubs you the wrong way. Goblet of Fire is my favorite of the books, with the dragons, the Quiddich Cup, Mad Eye Moody, Uncle Sirius… so much great material. Unfortunately the movie fell so short of my expectations that it actually soured me to the series as a whole.

Half Blood Prince is my second favorite of the Rowling’s books, and I can happily say that David Yates does not disappoint in his second Potter directorial role.

All the drama, magic and character entanglements that riddle (!) the latter chapters in the Potter saga are fully realized in ‘Prince, and nothing feels compacted like it has in the previous few entries. At close to 3 hours this movie definitely has a lot in it, but it is presented at a perfect pace and never feels rushed. I will say that while everyone else seems to be growing with their characters, Emma Watson is struggling. Her overacting is really noticeable this time around compared to her more natural classmates, which is unfortunate. That and the fact that Fenrir Greyback’s wolf-hair looks more like a full body, lunch lady hair net…are the only real complaints I have with the movie.

The effects are substantially more action-packed this time around and everything from wand-work to Quiddich matches are much more gritty and effective. There is a certain level of cheese layered on, especially towards the end with the various climaxes and love interests, but the movie keeps a hold and doesn’t let anything get too carried away. It really is a pitch-perfect port of seemingly unmanageable content. I am both impressed and enthralled by this entry to the collection. With the exception of the first movie (that will always have the upper hand with it being the initial magical introduction to Potter’s universe,) Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is the best of the Harry Potter films to date.

The Bruno Post

2009-07-15T18:01:00.000-07:00

Vatsup!? Bruno is a hard movie to review because it breaks all the conventions of what a ‘movie’ is supposed to be. Yeah there is a plot, and a few characters, and a conflict, but that’s about it. The whole premise is pretty much to stuff an ostentatious character into awkward situations with real people, and to watch their horrified reactions or see them do (or say) some incredibly stupid things. It’s amazing to see the situations Sacha Baron Cohen is able to get himself into while keeping the guise of ‘Bruno’ up in front of the oblivious victims. And for that he should be commended. It's even more amazing some of the real reactions he is able to get out of people. It’s a bizarre world we live in, and this ‘movie’ does a great job of pointing that out to us.

Unfortunately Bruno is simply another flavor of Borat, and without its forefather setting the stage, this movie would be unable to exist on any level. Instead of pushing ethic boundaries, this Cohen effort pushes the sexual orientation issue and exploits people’s fears and ignorance much the same way its predecessor did. The boundaries get pushed further with Bruno though, for shock value if nothing else.

There is far too much penis on the screen in this movie for no other reason than to gross out the audience and make everyone feel uncomfortable.

While that in itself is funny, it has pretty much alienated Bruno from being the sort of movie people would see again or want to own…or even speak favorably about. I am glad I saw Bruno, it was a roller coaster of awkward horrors that had me laughing the whole way. Will I ever see it again. Most definitely not.

The Co-Op Launch Post

2009-07-15T17:45:00.000-07:00

Last Friday was the official launch of Co-OpComic.com! Treebeerd and I worked on 5 strips to open with, and will be supplementing the site with a new episode every Friday from here on out.

To promote the site I’ve set up a few ad banner exchanges with some friendly sister sites as well as got a FaceBook group going, to which we have quite a few members already helping to spread the word. Twitter has a new Co-Op Comic feed @coopcomic which you can follow if you want reminders and updates whenever anything new is added to the site. I just wrapped up the colors on this Friday’s episode and we’ve got the next months worth mapped out and ready to go into production. I’m really excited to have the ball rolling on this and finally getting back into regular updates. Check out the site at http://www.co-opcomic.com and tell your friends!

The Year One Post

2009-07-05T15:15:00.000-07:00

Year One feels like the end product of a small child making up a story as they go along. Seemingly random events occur for no other reason that it might be a little amusing and keeps the plot moving. With the Ghostbusters having a 25th anniversary revival I was looking forward to getting on the Harold Ramis bandwagon and enjoy this movie, but it seems that Egon needs to stick to PKE-Meters and leave the writing to Apatow’s other cronies. This movie rambles on and never accomplishes anything besides the simple gags that we all have seen from the trailer.

Jack Black and Michael Cera play the same roles they have for the past five years, though Black fits the bill and works with the formula. The odd-couple pairing doesn’t fair so well for Cera, who’s 100th iteration of his Arrested Development role doesn’t work with a caveman wig on. In fact this movie simply highlights how horribly typecast his career has become. With cameos by anyone who ever made you laugh before, this film has all the ingredients for a hilarious movie- but unfortunately the sum is less than the parts. It really feels more like a costume party for funny people that somehow ended up being videotaped.

Honestly you really should skip this one. I didn’t have the highest of hopes for it from the outset but after sitting through this mess I feel compelled to save anyone else the bother if I can.

The Transformers 2 Post

2009-06-25T18:07:00.001-07:00

Transformers was a massive hit and a movie I really liked. It’s flawed to a degree that any legitimate critic can do little but point out all the faults, but what it lacked in Oscar nods it made up for with good old fashion ass-kickery. Transformers 2 follows suit and is exactly what everyone is expecting; a second high octane adrenaline romp with amazing eye candy, awesome action and some good laughs. It’s the quintessential summer blockbuster. Is it a ‘good’ movie? No probably not. But is it is a must see experience that is just all out fun. What I like best about Transformers 2, is that everything that was good in the first one is created exactly the same way in the follow-up. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it they say, and apparently Michael Bay agrees with that mantra.

Unfortunately the roster gets padded out with too many new robots that are never really fleshed out. With the exception of the ‘Twins’ all the new characters go largely unannounced and feel very tacked-on. Somehow their inclusion is able to rob enough screen time form the original cast of mechanized monsters just enough that they seem shortchanged. Mainstay Bumblebee is the most notable victim here, which is a shame because he is my favorite character. Optimus Prime fans won’t be disappointed however as his role is actually increased from the original and is jacked up with extra-badass for good measure. Megatron, the previous villain is overshadowed now by a more evil and more powerful enemy; The Fallen, who honestly is a pretty weak enemy. Why not just have the exact same plot but by Megatron’s design instead of diluting his evilness and bringing in someone more senior than him? Doesn’t make sense to me.

The first movie had too many humans (Anthony Anderson I am looking at you) and this movie seems to have too many robots.

Eye candy-wise this movie definitely delivers. The transformation animations are still spectacular and some of the battles are really pretty gritty and epic. From the giant wheel-bot rampage in the first act, to the massive, multi-transformer beast, 'Devastator' at the films climax- the cgi is simply amazing. I do worry that the novelty of transforming cars has been overshadowed now and that things are only going to get even bigger form here on out. The charm of a boy finding that his car is a guardian robot is lost in the sequel and the characters seem more jaded to the idea of transforming aliens than they should be. Ok its two years later, but come on…that semi-truck just turned into a talking robot! We don’t need to simply see bigger and bigger robots to keep the Transformer franchise engaging- I hope that Bay and co. can see that.

Speaking of jaded, maybe I am just getting picky, but Meghan Fox was a little weird looking in this film and was not the knockout she was in the original. I think its largely due to a change in her character, who now has been reduced to a waif of spends most of the movie doting on Shia laBoeuf. But the real damage comes form her botoxed looking lips. Those things are as big as some of the robots in this movie- chill out lady!

All said and done this movie is exactly what everyone is expecting, including myself. It’s big, its expensive and its good old fashioned summer fun. This is why they invented popcorn. And Cameros.

The Up Post

2009-06-25T17:08:00.000-07:00

I always had my reservations about Pixar’s Up. To be perfectly honest, when I first saw the concept sketches and promotional art for the movie I had genuine worry that Pixar might have dropped the ball. With such strong entries in the stable like The Incredibles, Toy Story and the recent Wall.e, Up has a high bar to hurdle right out of the gate. Unfortunately I don’t quite think it cleared the post.

Up falls into the sub-category of less than stellar Pixar movies along side A Bugs Life and Cars. These are not bad movies, not by a long shot, but they just don’t blow me away like their other classmates do. Up honestly feels like it should have been a Pixar short, shown before a real entry to the prestigious library. The main character, the plot and the whole approach to the film seems like it could have been a 5 min charmer before a big film. It’s pretty much an atmospheric music video, stretched out over an hour and a half.

Visually it’s of Pixar caliber, and the animation is top notch. Pixar are the best of the best when it comes to CG animations and Up has all the polish and frills that we have come to expect from these guys over the years. The characters are rather charming and the pairing of the grumudgeny old Carl with the overly enthusiastic boy scout; Russell, works quite well. They are an odd-couple pairing that bring out the best in each other, which is quite enjoyable to watch. The movie is actually very morose at times and the back story on Carl is rather touching.

People where crying during a Pixar movie…that’s weird to me.

Once the heartbreak tapers off, the adventure begins and unfortunately after the adventure gets underway, sheer randomness takes hold and the movie starts to fall apart. Ok a guy ties balloons to his house to sail away on an adventure…yes that’s pretty weird, but these movies are allowed a fantastical element or two. But it’s when an army of talking dogs in biplanes, a chocolate obsessed, 15-foot rainbow toucan and an airship piloted by a madman join the mix this movie just felt too oddball to be taken seriously. On one hand our hearts are bleeding for a old man who wishes to fulfill a promise to a long lost love, and on the other we have to deal with a talking dog who wants to take an extinct bird prisoner. The randomness robs the movie of any real soul and we are left with a rather empty movie when the crazy-dust settles.

The scenery is fantastic, the modeling and animation are phenomenal and the main characters are rather endearing. However everything else is a soulless romp through randomness, and that ultimately hurts this movie.

The Twitter Killed This Post- Post

2009-06-08T19:50:00.001-07:00

When I started out as a blogger I was a little hesitant to really dig into the idea of a glorified online diary. What’s the point of sharing these posts with people may or may not even know? Who cares? After giving it a go primarily as a method of communicating my goings-on with those I left behind when living in Orlando, I found myself thinking like a blogger. If I did something cool or came across something interesting I instantly started thinking “oh I need to get this up on my blog!” and started thinking what I wanted to say before I even got to my computer. My life soon became a string of events that where justified solely by an online presence. If I did something, I did it to blog about it later.

Simply put, Twitter is killing my blog.

How could I go from positing 5-6 times a week about anything and everything, to barely getting 5 posts off in a month? Its not the fact that I am back home again, because my 2nd blog took off right where the Orlando one left off and boasted just as many posts as its predecessor. Honestly the downfall of my blogging fervor is that little blue birdy that everyone is talking about: Twitter.

The ability to shoot of a rapid posting from my phone at any point, is much more appealing than sitting down at the keyboard and hammering something out at the end of an evening. Twitter is so much faster, better streamlined and much simpler than a fully fledged blog. It’s Facebook and Blogspot’s illegitimate lovechild. All the benefits of both, with none of the drawbacks. Social networking has never been easier and neither has blogging. I still like posting more than 140 characters once in a while, particularly movie reviews. But Twitter has undeniably put a dent in my (and many others) blogging by appealing to short attention spans, hunger for updates and the need for social networking.

The Hangover Post

2009-06-08T19:13:00.000-07:00

The Hangover pushes a lot of boundaries and relies a lot on shock value to fuel its gags. But where films have tried and failed before, the Hangover actually pulls it of and has the whole audience laughing from start to finish (especially the finish).

The key I think is that while these characters are the cause and effect of all of their misadventures, they are not necessarily the focus of the movie. The characters all have their own roles to play and they fulfill them well, but the truth is that you could sub any one of them out for another actor and the movie would still stand strong. I don’t mean to say I’d like to swap-out Cooper, Helms or Galifianakis- far from it, they are brilliant together. But their movie is hilarious despite their efforts and its nice to see that the comedy doesn’t hinge on their celebrity to make it funny. The end result is something genuinely hysterical, not a movie we feel should be considered funny simply because of all the components. We’re all fed up of Will Ferrell playing the same character and making a fool of himself (see this week’s box office open for Land of the Lost) and this movie goes to show that you don’t need to have big stars doing slapstick with a silly voice to get a rise out of the audience.

The premise is as simple as they get and harkens back to director Tod Phillips’ Old School in its effortless, but rewarding approach to story telling. These guys aren’t really ‘everymen’ and this isn’t an ‘everyman scenario’ (when taken to the extremes that this movie does) but somehow the characters and story connect with the audience by simply being outrageous and perverse enough to make you stop and think

“yeah that’s pretty much what I’d do if I found a tiger in my bathroom… or if my friend got punched in the face by Mike Tyson…”

One of the best parts about the way the movie came to a head was that during the whole film you are with these poor guys who are trying desperately to retrace their debaucherous night, and have to follow a trail of evidence that implies that things got pretty wild. Then at the end of the movie there is a surprise that allows the audience to see (with an odd mix of utter disgust and pure jubilation) exactly what did transpire at that fateful bachelor party. The payoff was unexpectedly rewarding and ties together all the terrible events that where implied and hinted at through the film.

The Hamptons Post

2009-05-25T19:46:00.000-07:00

For the Memorial Day weekend Eric, Sarah and I headed up north to the Hamptons to visit Paul and Christina. They moved up about a year ago and I’ve often said I’d go visit but have never made it up. This long weekend served the perfect opportunity to take a road trip and do just that. Being that my car doesn’t have AC and Eric’s car cannot go in reverse anymore, Sarah stepped up as the wheelwoman and drove. It took a little longer than we’d have liked heading up due to the holiday traffic but we made it eventually. It was really nice to see Paul again and spend some time with the newlyweds in their own home. We hot up a few of the popular Hampton shopping districts to meander about and grab some grub. We also drove along the shoreline checking out the massive mansions that line the coast. Some of the houses out there are absolutely beautiful. Others…not so much. It seems that some people think that ‘massive’ is the only criteria for a multimillion dollar house, and forget about taste…

We went to a local brewpub so I could get my fill of regional brews, aswell as a local bar that was featured on Kitchen Nightmares; Finn McCool’s. When we weren’t out drinking and eating we headed back to Paul and Christina’s house to hangout with Roxy, their adorable dog, and just enjoy each other’s company. I look forward to going back during the summer months to enjoy the season bars/clubs that weren’t quite open yet.

The ride home was a bit hectic as we missed our exit and ended up having to navigate downtown Manhattan with a failing GPS. It was a little scary, but cool to get to see the city again; albeit for a few minutes and from the confines of Sarah’s Yaris. Snapped the piccie below on the way out. Fun weekend.

The Post Hunt Post

2009-05-18T16:28:00.000-07:00

Sunday, Sarah and I teamed up with Katie, Aaron, Eric, Coy, Chelsea and Jason to take on the 2009 Post Hunt, in DC. The hunt is organized by the Washington Post Magazine, and is a series of riddles and puzzles spread out across the Freedom Plaza area of the District. Thousands showed up from all over to race to the finish and take a shot at the $2000 reward. Our team wasn’t really in it for the money (not that we wouldn’t take it of course) more so the thrill of the chase and see how far we could compete. The contest consisted of 5 lesser puzzles hidden throughout the area that competitors needed clues and a copy of the Post Magazine to locate. At each location there was a different riddle awaiting the teams- each yielding a number as the solution. Once all 5 solutions where found the numbers corresponded with a series of clues also found within the magazine. Those, combined with a clue that was presented by Dave Barry after a few hours had passed, was the super-puzzle that offered the grand prize. We put a solid dent in 4 of the 5 puzzles and solved 3 of them correctly- which is more than we where thinking we would. Collectively as a team we where pretty good, though I felt like dead weight to a degree, with only a few useful revelations to contribute. Check out the official Post Hunt website to see the puzzles and the solutions. They are worth watching! I was very impressed with the production value that went into this thing. It was a Da Vinci Code/Carmen Santiago hybrid, and a ton of fun from start to finish. I am really glad we went out for it, and look forward to trying our hand at it again for the 2010 Hunt!

The Star Trek Post

2009-05-11T19:48:00.001-07:00

I will come right out and say it; I have never liked Star Trek. It’s a little odd that I dig Star Wars, but not the ‘Trek I suppose, but when you consider that all the action and drama in Star Trek’s past has been presented with wiggly camera, flashing red lights and constant yelling to ‘use full shields’…maybe it’s not that big of a stretch. What my predisposition does prove though, is that JJ Abram’s reinvention of the brand a high caliber, because I really, really enjoyed this movie. The characters where all great casting jobs and where instantly likable, Kirk in particular (Chris Pine) was terrific thought the movie, and Zack Quinto’s Spock was exactly what he needed to be. My favorite part about the movie though was that the action was gritty and frantic while still having an air of futuristic sophistication about it- a nice fresh take on what I have always thought to be a stifled aspect of Star Trek as a whole. Yeah we’ve got laser beams and spaceships, but sometimes its all about throwing fists!

I don’t want to spoil too much, but it’s safe to assume that no Trekkie would ever read an amateur blogger’s review at the expense of camping out on opening night for a new Star Trek so I feel safe telling you that the plot involves time travel. More specifically Spock’s time travel and the effects he has on all the cannon Star Trek characters. This is a really clever way of both meshing this new franchise with the old while a the same time completely separating it. Spock Prime (played by a returning Leonard Nimoy) serves as a central plot point and lip service to the old-school fans, while at the same time taking a back seat to the Next Generation (yeah I said it). It works well and is something not often seen these days. Perhaps cutting all ties to previous efforts and starting with a complete reboot is the coward’s way out? If so Trek deserves recognition for its accomplishments in this regard.

It’s not a perfect movie however…. The bad guy; Nero is terrible and pretty weak to be honest with you. He wants to avenge his planet that he thinks is destroyed. But the guy doesn’t think to go and check on it, which he really should do because he went back in time and the thing is just fine. Does he go and look for survivors? Nope, he hangs around in space waiting for Spock to get revenge. Sure he uses his Death-Star-wannabe ship to take out a whole planet; but he just doesn’t seem like the kind of villain to pin a franchise relaunch on. Why not stick in some Borg-Klingons? All we get is Eric Bana with Darth Maul face paint flying around in a space-laser… meh. Besides that though everyone does a bang up job and are instantly likable. Simon Pegg wins though with Scotty, but Kirk is a close second.

The Biker Gang Post

2009-05-05T15:44:00.000-07:00

This weekend Ken and I went out in search of a new bike so I might join the elite cyclist group (as ken likes to refer to them as) Living in Reston yields the fantastic payoff of having some lovely public parks, walks and bike paths on my doorstep. I wanted to get a bike that wouldn’t break the bank, but would be a good fit for me. If left to my own devices I’d probably end up riding a girls bike I got from WalMart… so I enlisted Ken to help me size up something that would be economic but still what I need. I ended up grabbing a hybrid Schwinn Frontier that I am really pleased with. Well as pleased with it as can be expected considering I have only ridden it around the parking lot behind Performance bikes…The earlier has been so miserable however that I haven’t had a chance to take it for a spin yet. The weekend is looking like it will be the first chance I get, so I am looking forward to the sun. Might want to look into getting some shorts to. Some EXTRA tight ones! Ow Ow!

The Getting Goosed Post

2009-04-27T18:12:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Sarah and I went over to Leesburg to hang out at Ali and Bob’s and see Nana and Papa during their week stay with them. We also got to meet the newest member of the extended family ‘Goose’. Goose is Ali and Bob’s new dog, he’s four years old and full of energy. The special thing about Goose is that he is stone cold deaf. Trained to respond to hand commands and pulses from an electronic collar, he is one of the most trained dogs I’ve seen, and you honestly wouldn’t be able to tell that he had a disability from seeing him romp around the garden with his tongue and ears flapping behind him. He gets his name from the way he likes to great you. Getting ‘Goosed’ is the now trademarked act of him sneaking up behind you and pushing through your legs from behind. It’s quite funny when he catches people by surprise. Binti is having a bit of a hard time adjusting to having another dog running about the house, but I’m sure she’ll adjust. Getting to wear the Alpha-dog hat will surely help deal with the new whippersnapper.

The Il Fornaio Post

2009-04-27T17:36:00.001-07:00

Nana and Papa are in visiting from Scotland this month. They spent last week with Ali and Bob out in Leesburg, this week with Lel right across the street in Reston, and plan on spending their third week over with Mum and Dad at the house. Last night we all met up in Reston Town Center at Il Fornaio, a really nice Italian restaurant in the Midtown area of the town center. I hadn’t been down that end of the block in a good while, and the new fountain area is really nice now that the majority of the construction is over and done with- I definitely want to make a point of wandering down there again once the weather gets consistently pleasant. The restaurant was really nice, very clean and open feeling. The food was fantastic and we all definitely ate more than our fill! Somehow we made it thought three courses and a fair few bottles of wine and left the restaurant after the sun set, rubbing our bulging bellies. It was a really pleasant evening. Sarah and I are having N&P over for dinner on Thursday so we will have time to work off the massive meal by then.

The Rock The Red Post

2009-04-27T15:49:00.000-07:00

It’s a good time to be a Caps fan, and I am definitely taking advantage of their awesomeness. As of today I am 5 days into a Playoff-Beard which is getting on my nerves to be honest with you…. Yesterday I grabbed an Ovechkin jersey for the game, and I’ve been out to bars in the area to catch games with friends whenever possible. I am really looking forward to Game 7 tomorrow and have high hopes that the Ranger’s will head back to New York empty handed. Fingers crossed! Planning on heading down to the Chinatown area to catch the Verizon Center buzz from a neighboring bar with friends.

The Co-Op Content Post

2009-04-26T15:52:00.001-07:00

Co-Op is coming soon. We are a few weeks away from opening the site officially, but the content Kelly and I have completed is looking good. I hope to finish the back-end stuff this coming week and then start promoting it though various community blogs and sites, hopefully we’ll get some buzz going in our favor and it will be a successful launch. Eric said he'd help program some advertisement rotation code for sponsors too, so all in all I think things are going well. More to come.

The Games Night Post

2009-04-18T08:32:00.001-07:00

Last night Sarah and I hosted our first Couples Games Night. We had a few of our paired-off friends to come round and face off with each other over board games. Pictionary, Scategories and Balderdash where featured amongst others. We spent more time than we probably should the week prior picking up booby-prizes and adding polish to our grand prize: a spray painted Mr. Perfect action figure/trophy we dubbed Senoir Perfecto. It was a fun night and I think everyone there got into the spirit of the evening. Definitely something we’d like to try again, maybe have a theme and ask people to bring their own prize to add to the pool... Either way we need to have another chance to win back Senior Perfecto! Pictures are up on Sarah’s Facebook. If you aren’t friends with either of us on there then…well why aren’t you friends with us!?

The I Love You Man Post

2009-04-04T20:33:00.001-07:00

I Love You Man is a terrific movie that I toughly enjoyed (Dare I say I loved it man?... Yes, I dareth). Peter is getting Married but doesn’t have any friends because he has always put all his efforts into his girlfriends. Now he’s stuck trying to wrangle up a friend to be his best man. During a humorously unsuccessful search he meets Sydney, a down-to-earth, honest-to-god ‘dude’ in every sense of the word, and hilarity ensues. Rudd and Segal are in top form and deliver heartfelt and lovable characters that the audience can’t help but instantly relate to. Their nonchalant back and forth dialogues are priceless and bear an Anchorman-eske quotability. "Totes m’goats" has completely replaced ‘totally’ in my vocabulary. I really hope this, along with last years ‘Sarah Marshall’ helps put Segal on the map; he’s a really funny guy that I’d love to see get the Seth Rogan treatment more often.

Supporting cast where perfect from JK Simmons and Andy Sandburg in Rudd’s hilarious family, to Jon Favreau and Thomas Lennon’s distasteful encounters with Peter throughout the movie. Everything fit so well. In fact the only weak link the chain is Rashida Jones who plays the to-be-wife. She’s just not likable enough for some reason. I kinda wanted Rudd and Segal to ditch her and go on their bro-mantic way. In fact the females don’t really pull their weight in this movie on the same level that the guys do. Considering the plot this isn’t necessarily unexpected, but with two characters so instantly likable and a supporting cast of hilarious male actors, it is very noticeable which team wins this movie’s battle of the sexes.

This movie had me laughing out loud and really enjoying it all the way through. There where a few too many awkward moments that where a bit rough to sit through, but squirming at the unfortunate circumstances always paid of with pure hilarity. I definitely see where this film will strike cords with people and be very reliably hilarious. Strongly recommend this one if you are looking for some good laughs.

The American Celebration Post

2009-04-04T19:59:00.000-07:00

Last night we headed out to Georgetown to celebrate my citizenship. Putting the word out with FaceBook I tried to wrangle up as many of my fellow Americans in the area to come out for a beer at the Guards. I had a great night spending time with my good friends. It was a lot of fun and was great to see everyone. Erin and Tim sent on a bag of goodies than included an Uncle Sam hat amongst other very patriotic paraphernalia which made for some interesting photo ops with friends and strangers alike. (Pictures on Sarah’s FaceBook) I don’t think I had ever been to the Guards before but it’s definitely a place I’d head back to; nice bar environment with a lower deck for the more dancing-inclined patrons. It was a really nice ending to a day worth celebrating. Thanks to everyone who made it out, for all the well wishes and congratulatory texts, tweets and IMs. You guys are the best, thank you so much.

The Swearing In Post

2009-04-04T19:40:00.000-07:00

Friday morning we got up bright and early to head into DC for my Naturalization Ceremony. Sarah and I where both really tired after a late night thanks to AirTran delaying and rerouting Sarah flight in from Texas, but we made it out to the Capitol Building for the 8:00 arrival time. After waiting in some long lines we were seated in the auditorium to wait for the ceremony to start. Skipping breakfast was a bad idea because the whole thing didn’t kick off until 10:00. Once it got going though I quickly forgot how loud my grumbling stomach was as I was caught up in a very moving lineup of speakers, video packages and singing of the Star Spangled Banner. The DC Police Color Guard brought the flags out for the Pledge of Allegiance and Michael Aytes- the Acting Deputy Director of the Immigration Services performed our oath. A few speakers where there to welcome us to the country and speak a little bit about what it means to become an American. Amongst the speakers where Representative Zoe Lofgen (CA), The Deputy Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security; Rand Beers and Representative Anh Cao (LA). All had very kind things to say and extended warm welcomes to us all.

There where 150 people swearing in at the ceremony hailing from 48 different countries. One by one they called out the names of the countries participating and everyone stood up when their country was called. There where lots of press and TV crews filming the whole thing as not only was it a special ceremony but it was the first time the new auditorium had been used, it was pretty cool to be among the first to be there. After all the speakers had welcomed us and the countries recognized, we where all called up one by one to the stage and handed our certificates of citizenship by Mr. Aytes, followed by a round of handshakes from all of the speakers. It was really genuine and very moving; I couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear as I shook the lineup’s hands. Seeing some of the other fresh citizens’ faces light up with pride and happiness when they received their certificate was incredibly stirring. It was really a wonderful event and I am so happy and proud to get to take part in the proceedings. I can’t think of a better place to become an American than the Capitol Building and I am ridiculously proud and excited about getting to partake in the special ceremony. It’s a day I will always remember and a defining moment in my life.

The Birthday Fridge Post

2009-04-02T16:21:00.000-07:00

Monday was my 25^th birthday. I am now officially a quarter of a century old…I don’t know how I feel about that to be honest. While I don’t feel old, I definitely am not as jazzed to be a year older this time around. Before now each birthday was a step in the climb towards adulthood. Now I appear to reached a point where getting older just doesn’t seem as appealing… That said I still had a great birthday so I definitely not complaining!

The weekend before Sarah and I went down to Ballston to hang out with Eric and Coy at Union Jacks, which is fast becoming my favorite bar in the area), and on Sunday I went bowling with Jake and Dad which is always a fun (if not humbling time). On the actual day Mum whipped up some crab cakes and bought a massive chocolate cake to celebrate on the day with the family, which was nice. We spent the evening around the table eating and making fart jokes (maybe I am not that old after all!). Ali and Bob came over too. Sarah is away this week on a businesses trip to Texas, so she unfortunately wasn’t able to be there, but she will be coming home early to attend my citizenship ceremony on Friday so I completely forgive her. Eric started a new tradition of me receiving present sin the refrigerator… how he came up with it I am not quite sure, but his delivery method inspired subsequent present deliveries so it looks like its hear to stay.

Eric: “Hey want a beer? Check the fridge”

Jamie: “Sure thanks,” *Opens Door*

Eric: “Present!!!!”
*Pointing excitedly to frozen Xbox game nestled amongst beer bottles*

It does save on wrapping paper I suppose. Though when Sarah copied it she wrapped her gift… Spread the word, gift-giving is going green! I just hope no one ever decides to give me a puppy.

The Mystery Goose Post

2009-04-02T16:17:00.000-07:00

Across from my office building there is a multistory parking deck for a neighboring office building. It’s about 3 stories shorter than my window so I have a pretty clear view of the entire roof of the structure. It came to my attention last week that there is an unexpected inhabitant of the rooftop in the form of a lone Canadian Goose. Every morning around 10 the goose wanders to the corner of the roof closest to my building and stares out across the street, He’ll stay there for a good 2-3 hours barely moving. Occasionally he will leave by noon-ish depending on the day, and often reappear briefly later in the day. I find it comical how clockwork his activities are. I only noticed last week, but he has been there constantly every day since. I wonder how long he has laid claim to that rooftop? What is the fascination with that particular corner of the complex? Is he waiting for a V of geese to fly overhead and join up with them? I’ve seen him fly away, so it’s not like he’s stuck in a goose prison up there. My theory is he’s a trained spy-goose for the Canadian government. There are government offices around here and an unusual amount of helicopter traffic in the area….hrm.

The Going GaGa Post

2009-04-01T21:20:00.000-07:00

Update: The show has been cancelled!?! DAMN IT. Pissed. (link)

I am knackered! After waiting in line for over 4 hours on a moderately miserable night I sit here with my ticket to the Lady Gaga show next month at 9:30 club! I know a 25 year-old guy should probably not be so excited about going and seeing such a poppy show...but damned if it isn’t catchy. (And between you and me she is far from unattractive) Jevan waited with me in line so it wasn’t too bad, though when people started dancing and singing in line I started to get a little fed up. When the doors opened and they actually went on sale the line moved pretty quickly so I can’t really complain. Flashbacks of waiting in line for HFS tickets where aplenty. Tickets weren’t cheap either but there where still some balcony spots left which we grabbed. Long wait, but it will all be worth it come show time!

Happy April Fool's Day!!!

The Paul Walker Post

2009-03-29T09:34:00.000-07:00

Last night Sarah and I stopped by Nick’s place for the oddly themed ‘Paul Walker Experience’ party. There where cutout Paul Walker heads hanging on every wall; a giant Fast and The Furious theater banner in the kitchen and the TV was running back-to-back PW films (featuring such classics as Joy Ride and Running Scared). I personally love a good theme for a party, and the idea of picking the worst theme possible and doing it justice is hilarious to me. Even though we couldn’t say for long (Sarah being important enough to warrant business travel the next morning, and all) it was good to stop in and catch up with Nick. The guy’s portfolio has some impressive pieces to it, and it’s nice to see creative people getting to enjoy their work. I’d love to take him up on his offer to collaborate on a video project in the not to distant future.

The Tweater Post

2009-03-28T08:32:00.000-07:00

I really like Twitter. At first I didn’t really ‘get it’ as many of you probably don’t. But after giving it time and seeing the power of the social networking tool I am beyond sold. For those of you still on the fence or in the dark about the whole thing, let me try and pitch it to you.

Twitter is a micro-blogging service. What’s micro-blogging you say? Well think status updates or mini, one-sentence blog posts and you are pretty much there. The beauty of Twitter is that you subscribe to the people you’d like to ‘follow’ and every time they post a comment (Tweat) then you are notified. Over a given day you will be constantly connect with whomever you want to follow and will receive updates during the day. Some people use the service to promote things with links or offers. Others simply like to keep you updated on whatever they are thinking or doing at any given time. What you use it for is completely up to you. I keep track of my favorite webcast releases and the score of the Caps games for example. As well as follow people you can view mini-profiles of anyone on Twitter and see who they are following. This is a great way to expand your network as well as see what other streams people are subscribing to. I am particularly fond of Twitter’s iPhone abilities and find having a mobile Tweatdeck to be very addictive and engaging.

So that’s pretty much it. Its one of those things that is blowing up right now and will become the norm very quickly. With celebrities and companies jumping on the bandwagon, and other sites mimicking its features and layout (I am looking at you Facebook) Twitter is going to be around for a while. Might as well get in on the ground floor.

There are many pages out there (like this one) that list celebrities and Tweater’s of note. Some Celebrity Streams I subscribe to, to get you started:

In the world of Jamie (@ lobodestroyo) a few of my friends have jumped on board. You can catch there streams below:

The South Korean Post

2009-03-27T18:00:00.000-07:00

Last night I headed out to Auld Shebeen to get a few drinks in with Alex, Jev and Matt in a little send off for Alex. He is moving to South Korea of all places for work and will be gone for the better part of three months. The usual Alex nonchalant attitude hid his excitement pretty well, but it was pretty evident that he was excited about the opportunity. Can’t say I blame him though! His company will be sending him over there to observe clients and assess needs in person, and will be putting him up in a swanky hotel and compensating him for his time. I imagine he will have a fun few months over there seeing all the things the country has to offer. I can’t imagine living in a foreign country that’s so…well foreign, but I respect the hell out of his adventurous endeavor.

I convinced him to start a blog of his various misadventures, so stay tuned and I’ll update you guys with links when he has something up. It was good to get to spend some time with him and the guys before he got on his plane. There was a bachelorette party going on at the bar while we where there and I have a pretty hilarious picture of the bride to be autographing Alex’s rear-end. So if he never makes it back from the other side of the world at least I’ll have found memories of him immortalized in my iPhone.

The Duplicity Post

2009-03-27T17:40:00.000-07:00

Duplicity is a tough movie for me to review because it is so bland I can’t rant or rave about it- which generally makes for boring blog posts when it comes to a reviewing things (least in my case). The movie failed to excel in any given category and left a bland taste of nothingness in my mouth after leaving the theater. I had high hopes for the film,
Not-so-secretly-hoping it would be a marriage of Ocean’s 11 and Mrs. & Mrs. Smith, based on what I had seen from the trailers, and deliver as a quirky crime drama/romantic comedy. Unfortunately nothing about this film impresses.

There is a lot wrong with this mess but the real kicker is that the whole thing relies on the performances of its leads (Owen and Roberts) but sticks them with stereotypical, cardboard-cutout roles that are pretty much self-centered conmen who are completely unrelatable on all fronts and fail to woo or charm anyone but themselves. The director clearly picked two people he thinks would look good in bed together and slapped them on the cast list without a second thought because there is zero chemistry in this movie between the two otherwise competent actors.

Considering this movie is essentially a longwinded chronicle of said non-existent chemistry (with a side of cliche money grabbing) it is safe to label this movie a failure.

Besides the soulless cast, the film’s plot is redundantly pointless. I found it far too much effort to care about two wooden characters stealing formulas from stereotypically evil shampoo companies… taking into account all the wrongdoing that goes on in this world I think they could have come up with something a little more engaging.

The whole thing just felt like a big waste of time. Do yourself a favor and skip this one.

The Perverted Puppets Post

2009-03-22T10:41:00.000-07:00

After our DIY dinner at Ali and Bob’s on Friday we decided to head down to the Tally-Ho theater in Leesburg (it’s a quick walk from their house) to catch the improve comedy show that was going on. The show started D-Cup, a comic troupe specializing in off-color comedy. We came in halfway through the first act which was…lets say…a little terrible. Ok, a lot terrible. We had been there for about 15 minutes when they took an intermission to set up for the second half of their act. We where debating if we wanted to stick it out but ultimately decided to give it a shot. Fortunately for us our perseverance paid off because the second part of the show centered around ‘Simon, Simon and Simon’, three eerily decrepit ventriloquist dummies with a tendency to say the most horrendous things you can possibly imagine.

I am no comedy connoisseur, but when you have awkward situations and an abundance of vulgar references it’s just not very funny. However if you have the same references and foul mouths coming out of puppets…well then it’s instantly hilarious. Some of the lines from the night had us all in absolute stitches, and one comment in particular became the quote of the evening for us long after the show is over…no I won’t repeat it, for fear of loosing my bloggers license. That and out of context it would make no sense…actually come to think of it, in context it makes even less sense…maybe that’s why its so damn funny! If you get a chance to catch the Simons with D-Cup I’d recommend it (least the Simon-portion of the act). That is if you have as poor of a sense of humor as I do, and can stomach puppets doing and saying things that puppets should never do or say....

The GWFD-Dinner Post

2009-03-22T09:56:00.000-07:00

On Friday Sarah and I headed over to Ali and Bob’s for the first official “Guests, What’s For Dinner-Dinner”. Ali and Bob suggested the idea a few weeks back and we’d been looking forward to giving it a try. The concept is pretty simple, but makes for a really interesting dinner event. Guests bring 4-5 random ingredients over for dinner which will have to be used in some way to build the meal everyone will be eating. For every ingredient brought an additional ingredient can be added. So for example if I brought over a lettuce, we could add some tomatoes to the list of items and make a salad. Necessary extras like seasoning, salt and sugar are free passes. Sarah and I brought over the following for the trial run:

Chicken Breasts
A Cucumber
A packet of English Muffins
A bottle of Morimoto Soba (Beer)
Dipping chocolate

After deliberating around the table for a while thinking about our options we eventually settled on what we where going to shoot for and what we needed to add as the 5 allowable ingredients to add to the mix. After some thought about what we could and count leave of the list Ali and Bob added the following ingredients:

Apples,
Peppers
Tomatoes
Rice
Feta Cheese

The evening was spent working away as a team building the meal out of what we had. I am not a cook by any stretch of the imagination, so working with Sarah, Ali and Bob was fun and educational for me. I learnt the best way to chop chicken (against the grain) and methods of determining when certain foods are cooked properly. When the dust settled we where left with a three course meal starting with a tasty Feta Salad, followed by a zesty dijon chicken dish served with toasted peppers over rice, and followed it up with a baked apple log drizzled with chocolate. It worked out really well and the meal was very tasty. If definitely didn’t taste the like the random assortment of ingredients that where splayed on the counter top a few hours before. The whole evening was a lot of fun and definitely something we’d like to try again. Hopefully any future attempts will result in as tasty a meal. Bob’s tagline for the event is ‘If the Dinner Goes Badly You Can Blame the Guests’- so we’ll have to be sure to pick wisely next time!

The Office Lurker Post

2009-03-22T09:15:00.000-07:00

My company operates on three floors of an office building behind Tyson’s 2. There are other tenants in the building which I believe spans about 9 floors or so. ID badges are issued to everyone that grants access to the necessary levels and offices. Anyway, being sick and slovenly in the mornings last week led me to forget my ID badge on Wednesday. I made do all day by borrowing co-workers’ tags when I needed to hop floors or go on a break. However on one particular trip away from my desk I forgot to procure a card and found myself locked out. I began dialing a co-worker to come let me in, but as I did so someone came out of the elevator and walked towards our door. I hung up and politely waited for her to open the door. I explained that I was locked out and calling to get in but now I can just tag along with her. She smiled and seemed very obliging. I went back to work and thought nothing more of it.

An hour later an email came in to all tenants reporting the sighting of an ‘unidentified person lurking on one of the floors’. The note advised that we keep an eye on who is in our suites and to lock up all valuables. The incident with my key-card had long since left my mind, so I was actually taken aback by the email. I asked my cube-mate Eric if he got the email, and he told me that this sort of thing is rather common, and that he had known of people being robbed in the past in a similar fashion. The whole thing shocked me to be honest, and the use of ‘lurking’ on the email made me picture an evil man in a trench coat luring children into abandoned offices with candy. Then it dawned on me… what if I am the lurking creep? I had never seen the woman who let me into the office before, and while she seems obliging she might have just been polite to cover up her worries that I was some sort of evil-doer… There wasn’t any other instance reported during the rest of the week, so either the lurker moved on, or he’s still in hiding. Possibly behind the water cooler. Waiting for the perfect time to strike!...Or its just me and I need to lose the trench coat if I ever want to be accepted in the workplace.

The Sniffles Post

2009-03-22T09:01:00.001-07:00

So I am behind on my blogging and for that I apologize. I’ve been wallowing in self pity with flu symptoms for the past two weeks on and off. Today I was going to head down to the Emerg-a-care place if I don’t feel better. I think I called my illness’ bluff though as I feel a million times better this morning. Still not 100% but notable improvement. About time too really. Being sick for an extended period of time really gets the better of me after a while and I become particularly mopey. So anyway, I’m about to do a blog-dump and purge myself of postings that would have ordinarily been spaced throughout the week/end. Please excuse me.

The Shamrockfest Post

2009-03-15T18:23:00.000-07:00

This weekend DC101 and Hot 99.4 put on their annual Celtic music festival; Shamrockfest. Having heard rave reviews about previous years, I decided to trek out to RFK Stadium and partake in the festivities. There were live bands, multiple stages, beer trucks galore and lots and lots of drunken people wearing leprechaun beards and clover hats. We went VIP and got the all inclusive tickets which was nice, and Sarah was kind enough to be my taxi-cab for the day, so I was able to kick back and not have to worry about getting myself anywhere afterward. Unfortunately the weather was pretty dreary and the majority of the day was spent standing in large puddles. The whole experience reminded me a lot of the old days of HSFstival… Eric and I had a great time and met up with a few of his friends while we where roaming the grounds. All in all a pretty fun way to spend the day, I just really which the weather wasn’t so authentically Irish.

The Congressional Invite Post

2009-03-09T17:12:00.000-07:00

It’s officially official now. Friday April 3rd I become a U.S. Citizen.

Being that I was unable to take the oath when I passed my citizenship test, I had to wait for a notification in the mail that would tell me where and when I can go back and swear in. They can only swear in so many people in a given day, and when I sat the Citizenship test and had my interview with an officer, they had already filled up the session for that day. So it delayed my naturalization a bit…shame. But now it will all be worth it because I get to go to a special naturalization ceremony in the Congressional Auditorium in the US Capitol Building! From time-to-time they hold the ceremonies in special locations and at historic landmarks. To get to become an American in the Capitol Building is absolutely amazing. I was excited about the day I’d take the oath before, but now it’s going to really be a momentous occasion for me. Sarah has rejiggered her trip to Texas so she will be able to attend the ceremony as well, which is awesome. I am really excited! I need to stock up on apple pies and fireworks!

The Watchmen Post

2009-03-08T18:52:00.000-07:00

Watchmen is one of the big releases for me this year, and is a film I’ve been looking forward to intently for a good while. Considering the breadth of the original graphic novel, Zack Snyder has done an amazing job of tethering down the 12-comic series into a 2:45 movie. The film is true to the source material almost to a fault. The artistic direction and visual appearance on screen is a frame-to-frame match with the graphic novel. Unfortunately the pacing and plot progression that worked so well for a series of comic books, doesn’t work the same way for a motion picture. While respectively accurate, the necessary pacing adjustment needed to keep the audience engaged where not made, and I found myself very aware of how long the movie was throughout. As a prior fan, I am more than willing to forgive that because I was entertained from start to finish, but I don’t think that the average moviegoer will say the same though. One thing I can’t forgive however, is the soundtrack….oh my god It was rough, almost comically so. The tie-ins where shameless at best and really detracted from the scenes. I also found the gore to be overblown in many instances, and beyond the level of violence needed to get the point across in any given scene.

There where certain elements that couldn’t be touched and had to be done exactly right to make this movie go over with the fans. If Dr. Manhattan was botched CG, or the Comedian’s dark-side was reeled in for ratings, the fan boys would cry foul. I can say though with confidence that if you are a fan of the original characters, you will be blown away by how well they are portrayed in the movie. Jackie Earle Laley IS Rorschach/Walter Kovacs so much that it is scary. The efforts that have gone into maintaining the integrity of the characters and the world they live in, is incredibly impressive. Any changes that where made where done for the right reasons. The main two being the removal of the Black Freighter subplot, and the alteration of the ending. Personally I applaud these changes wholeheartedly and think that their inclusion would have soured even more people to this already unique movie.

Watchmen is a hard movie to review because I honestly think that many people will hate it, and it’s not easy to defend. I see all of its shortcomings, but at the same time forgive them. If you don’t walk into this movie already a fan I don’t think you’ll walk out one. However if you are familiar with the source material you wont be disappointed with this dark and atmospheric social commentary-of a hero movie. I can’t stress enough how this movie is not for everyone, and won’t be what a lot of people are expecting. That said, its one of the best comic adaptations I think possible, and a dynamically engaging movie that I enjoyed immensely despite its shortcomings.

The Lonely Island Post

2009-03-02T09:28:00.000-08:00

People have mixed feelings about the state of Saturday Night Live these days. Some feel that it is well past its prime and the cast is but a shell of what it once was. Other are still big fans who tune in every weekend. Personally I have never been a huge fan, but always enjoyed catching an episode here-and-there if I was home. After high school I sort of forgot it excited unless there was a guest star I was particularly excited about. That said I am a huge fan of the new Lonely Island CD that came out a few weeks back; Incredibad. The Lonely Island is a comedy group that are also SNL staff members [Wikipedia]. The CD is not for everyone and is downright tasteless at times, but oh man it cracks me up. Depending on your sense of humor you ay want to check it out- or run away from it. My personal favorite tracks are Space Olympics and I’m On A Boat, the latter incidentally came on at a bar the other night which made me very happy.

The iPhone Post

2009-03-02T09:06:00.000-08:00

This weekend I made the switch from Version over to AT&T in order to get an iPhone. I’ve been after one for a while, but with the carrier exclusivity I never really considered it an option. Our family plan is up next week and I was excited about having the option to upgrade my phone to something more iPhone-like. The Blackberry Storm was my front runner after hearing positive reviews from people who picked one up. However after thinking about my options I found that it was silly to get something as-close-too what I actually wanted rather than just ditch my old number and switch to AT&T. The downsides are that my family and Sarah (who get the majority o my calls) are all on Verizon, so I wont be using in-network minutes. That and I need to get my new number out to everyone before the old phone goes dead next weekend. If you call the old # you can get the new one from my voicemail. The iPhone is so great- I have already added a few free applications to it and am very impressed so far. Too bad today I am sick as a dog and can’t really enjoy it as much as I want to. Oh well, I’m stuck in a 2-year plan, so it will be there tomorrow.

The Co-Op Reboot Post

2009-02-23T15:23:00.000-08:00

Co-Op, the webcomic my fellow gamer Treebeerd and I created last year has been on somewhat of a hiatus. The comic became too much of an ordeal and a large production each issue- and in all honesty got too focused and obscure to really be relatable to many. Well we learnt form our mistakes and are coming back for round two with our Co-Op Reboot next month. Aiming for shorter, single-gag strips rather than full page stories, this version should be much more entertaining and accessible to readers. We are also giving it the royal treatment with RSS feeds, web 2.0 frills and its own website. Initial efforts are looking good. Stay tuned for more on the re-launch and expect to see the comic going live next month!

The Oscar Worthy Post

2009-02-23T15:01:00.000-08:00

I didn’t really watch the Oscar’s last night. Unless you count having it on in the other room while I was working at the computer…in that case then I totally watched the whole thing! There where only two categories I was particularly invested in this year and those where Best Supporting Actor and Best Animated Feature Film. Not that I was worried about my picks, but I wanted to make sure Pixar’s Wall.e got the nod over the competition for the best animation. I laughed out loud at Jack Black’s Dreamworks burn- very nice. I, like so many people watching, was hoping that Heath Ledger’s Joker would win the Oscar nod. It’s so rare that a comic-based role is given such a powerful portrayal, and even rarer that it should have the academy notice. Combined with his early death and the buzz associated with a post-mortem nomination there really was a reason to keep an eye on the category. I am really glad that he won. Not to discredit the other guys, but I am very pleased that his family got to walk away with his gold. The standing ovation they got and the teary-eyed shots of his former peers was really rather emotional. Topping that for Batman 3 will be a tough one Mr. Nolan… think you can do it? How about a wager? If you top Dark Knight then I’ll go see slumdog millionaire*.

* I’ll give you a head start, get a twisted version of the Riddler in there and pair him with a visual effects bad guy like Killer Croc or Bane. Even then it'll be hard to top Ledger's Joker.

The Taken Post

2009-02-22T08:04:00.000-08:00

Taken is one of the best movies I’ve seen this year. It’s a terrific mix of all the action and detective work form the Bourne series (minus the terrible camerawork) mixed with the tense drama moments form traditional thrillers. Liam Neeson is the perfect casting choice for the film, and does not disappoint. His character, Bryan Mills, is an ex-CIA/spy/agent-of-some-sort who had left his old life to live closer to his estranged daughter, whom he lost in a divorce with his now extremely bitchey ex-wife Lenore (played with on-point bitcheyness by Famke Janssen). When said daughter takes a trip outside of the country she is abducted and taken into the flesh-trade ring. Mills is on the phone with her when she is taken, and vows to come after the guys who have taken his daughter. The lines he so calmly delivers down the phone really resonate;

“I don’t know who you are but if you don’t let my daughter go I will find you. I will kill you”.

Neeson’s casting is particularly perfect because he traditionally plays the paternal teacher roles, which he fall into early on in the film, as the kind, well-to-do father who wants nothing more than to be in his daughter’s life. His transition into his former self during his pursuit of his daughter’s captives is paced perfectly, and we see Neeson’s character progress from a father wrapping up a present for a birthday party, to a natural born killer dispatching goons with neck chops and headshots.

The extreme measures his character is willing to go to, to get his daughter back is often chilling, but there is an unavoidable sense of enjoyment when you see that he is willing to take out the scum that he faces (even after he’s got what get needs form them). The movie does an excellent job of making Mills accessible and very likable, but tossing in some edgy curveballs that keep you guessing as to what he is prepared to do.

Neeson’s acting in the beginning of the movie was a, little wooden, probably due to his character’s awkward transition to a normal life, but as a result a few of his lines seemed oddly lacking in charisma. That said I really have nothing negative to say about this film. If Taken can be faulted for anything it’s the lack of hype that went into promoting it. The advertisements that where shown didn’t little more than to highlight the premise of the movie and don’t do an effective job in letting you know how adrenaline-fueled this movie really is. Neeson is 100% bad-ass in this movie- to the degree where the commercials should consist of little more than a montage of flying elbows, car chases and jugular uppercuts.

The International Post

2009-02-15T15:36:00.001-08:00

I have to start off and admit that I never intended to see The International. Sarah and I have had our eyes on another Clive Owen movie (Duplicity) which apparently comes out next month. Being that Owen starts in this film as well, we just sort of assumed it was the same movie. The mistake dawned on us after we where sitting through the trailers before the International started and an ad for Duplicity came on. “Well this never happens” we said to each other “Why show a trailer for the movie people are already about to see? Seems stupid,” But we soon found out who the stupid ones where... So with that said here is my review of the movie I never meant to see: The International*

What if the world’s largest bank didn’t make its riches off of overdue account fees and interest? What if all the world’s terrorist and military forces where funded and tied to one big financial institution? Could one man ever unravel such a plot? Have you ever found yourself asking these questions? Probably not… but if you ever did, The International is here to show you that there is pretty much nothing you can ever do about it should said evil bank ever exist. The main theme running though the film is that this problem at hand is much bigger than Owen’s lion-hearted detective character, and is not something he can stop. Unfortunately it’s not done in a hopeful, battle-against-evil kind of way. More so it’s just a miserable romp with minor splashes of intuitive detective work.

None of the characters are fleshed out or particularly likable, with the unexpected exception of the hitman character. The movie focus’ on Owen’s character (the name escapes me) as he teams up with a district attorney (played by Naomi Watts) as they attempt to build evidence in a case against an evil bank that profits from international conflict. Along the way they track down a hitman, solve an assassination mystery and have a shoot-out in the Guggenheim. The shootout was particularly engaging however and the hitman character they are hunting for a large part of the film, turns out to fetch an interesting mix of conflicted emotions from the audience. Some of the detective work was impressive and pretty clever, but in the end it just seems like it was a waste of time, as the ending fails to deliver.

The International is not a bad movie, but it reeks of mediocrity. There are pangs of greatness but they are fleeting and not enough to engage or impress. Now admittedly the fact that this was not the Ocean’s 11 meets Mr. & Mrs. Smith movie I was expecting to see might be souring my opinion of the movie. But I really did have a hard time getting into this movie beyond the big action scene and the occasional clever part.*Stay tuned next month for Duplicity's review!

The XNA Post

2009-02-15T15:02:00.000-08:00

Eric and I have decided to join forces and work on a side-project together. The last joint venture of ours I remember was NintendoZone.com, back in freshman year of High School, and that was a pretty big success story (until Nintendo threatened to sue, and shut us down-jerks). This one is also gaming related but pushes us both in a more direct route. We will be attempting to make our own game for Xbox Live Arcade. Microsoft offers a developers community where, for a fee, wanna-be game developers can build and publish arcade games for the 360. It’s a whole developer-community, with forums, tutorials and various tools for building games centered on the Xbox console. Were both really excited about the prospect of building something that could one day be available as a game for sale. It’s a personal goal of mine that I have had for a long time to make a game, and with Eric’s programming skills and my artistic talents I think we might stand a chance at pulling it off. We want to start of with something simple to learn the ropes then gradually build up to a more involved and complex game. Even if nothing ever comes of our efforts, it will be a great learning experience and a lot of fun along the way. To be continued!

The Art of Shaving Post

2009-02-15T14:35:00.000-08:00

This Valentine’s Day was a good one, as it makes the first time Sarah and I where actually in the same place for the event in the past 6 years. Sarah gave me a gift card to The Art of Shaving, a small store in Tyson’s Corner that focus’ on, well, shaving. I had an appointment and went in for a ‘traditional shave’ where Al the Barber- as he introduced himself, gave me proper shave. Now I’m no wild-man, but I do rock the stubble probably a little more than most. Having a proper shave, and potentially learning the best method to replicate it on my own was really exciting to me. Plus I like the occasional pampering, and this is manly pampering… right? Anyway I had the whole hot towel and wet shave treatment in the store’s barber chair. It was a little odd feeling like I was on display to a degree, but as with getting a haircut/wash, the soothing nature of it all sort of negates any awkwardness. I had conveniently ran out of shaving cream last week and was pushing a borderline beard when it came time for my appointment, so Al-the-Barber had his work cut out for him. It was pretty cool all in all. Sarah also gave me a shaving kit with the lather brush and various creams, so hopefully I’ll be able to improve my own skills (or lack there of) with a razor. It was a great idea for a gift, and a particularly creative Valentine’s idea. Afterward we did a little shopping, caught a movie and went to Brio for dinner. All romantically, and whatnot.

The American Interview Post

2009-02-12T18:15:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I took the day off work to head in for my Citizenship Interview. The penultimate step on my application for US citizenship. All that’s left now, after passing the exam is for me to swear the Oath of Allegiance, at which point I will complete the whole process and have citizenship. The swearing in will happen within a month or so, according to the officer who did my interview. The interview consists of three parts; a background check under oath, a reading/writing assessment and a short civics quiz. I had been preparing for the civics portion with Sarah for a while leading up to the interview so I was well prepared and knew the material rather well. I’m really glad to have the process all but completed and look forward to receiving notification as to when I can go in and take the oath. There will be an All-American Themed Party to celebrate shortly following the event. Stay tuned.

The Cubicle Shuffle Post

2009-02-12T18:13:00.001-08:00

This week has been a bit of a crazy one at the office due to department shuffling. The company has been expanding staff rather rapidly over the past few months (my hiring included) and needed to increase the office space we occupy in our current building. In addition to filling up the 5th and most of the 8th floor we have now expanded to the 7th, and Marketing and Sales have been bumped to the new space. This is of particular note for me because I am finally in the same workspace as my department. Previously I was on the 5th and they where on the 8th. I now share a divided cube with Eric our events manager. It’s a fair bit bigger than my previous space and has a window which is always nice. View’s not bad from up there either. I won’t lie, I have walked up to my empty cube on the 5th a few times out of habit.

The Car Show Post

2009-02-10T16:43:00.001-08:00

Sunday, Eric and I went with Ken and Alex to the National Car Convention in DC. It was pretty cool to see all the cars on display, from the affordable to the very-much-not. I got to check out personal favorites like the Saturn Sky and Mazda RX-8. Sitting inside the cars and seeing them up-close, in all their polished glory, was a lot of fun an a great experience. While not scoping out cars that I could see myself cruising around, we wandered into the luxury vehicle sections, crazy hybrid-future cars and some massive RVs that made tour buses look paltry. I got the see the Chevy Volt up-close which was pretty impressive. The idea of spending .12 cents to got 40 miles is amazing. I can’t wait to see how the development of these efficient cars in the not so distant future.

After the show we headed to Chinatown and grabbed food at RDF. The substantial beer selection was terrific and between the four of us we sampled a fair few eclectic brews. My favorite was a banana bread ale from England. Good stuff! My surf and turf steak burger was fantastic too. Definitely a place I’ll return to next me I am in the area.

The Twitterish Post

2009-02-09T17:14:00.000-08:00

I’m new to Twitter, and being that I don’t use my cell phone for texting much, I am a pretty poor Tweeter. Much like my blog posts, my Tweats are sporadic and often belated. If this is all jibberish to you check out this page and get up to speed. However the other day when logging in I found someone was watching Barack Obama. I checked out his feed and decided to follow suit. This morning I get a notification in my inbox informing me that Barack Obama is now following me on Twitter. Sure it’s no more impressive than having a celebrity on your MySpace friends list, but I still get a kick out of it. I’m pretty sure if you follow him, you’ll find yourself under the presidential eye too. I don’t know how he (or the person he pays to monitor his account) keeps tabs on all 253,562 people he follows, but I am pretty sure it has something to do with Santa Clausian powers only Presidents can wield.

The Coraline Post

2009-02-08T08:05:00.000-08:00

Coraline is an interesting film and takes a direction not often tread by comparable movies. A uncanny and twisted adventure with just enough weirdness and creepiness to keep it entertaining and mildly terrifying a the same time. A fairytale nightmare most closely matched by the previous Henry Selick outings Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach- Coraline features the same stop motion animation seen in previous movies, but done on a level that truly impresses. Partnered with highly stylized art direction and character design, the film is as engages the audience in multiple ways with its story and its composition.

The basic plot centers on a young girl (Coraline) moving against her will to a secluded little down with her folks. Often ignored and brushed off by her overworked parents she becomes very disgruntled and depressed in her new home. Though a series of events she fiends a doorway to another version of her life, a dream world that’s ‘perfect’ with a mother who would do anything to keep Coraline happy, and stay with her on the other side of the door forever. The dream world is a wonderful place for the little girl or so she thought. Dot dot dot. I won’t go any further but the twisted tale involves a witch who steals soles and replaces children’s eyes with buttons. Not what one would expect from a seemingly childish fairytale.

My main gripe with the movie is that there is not enough character development with any of the main characters, which unfortunately really hurts this film more than most. If you are trying to get my to buy into the fact that this plastasine wireframe is a person I should care about, then you need to flesh her out even more so than other moves do when they have flat characters. Coraline just wasn’t established well enough before her adventure started, and unfortunately was less relatable throughout as a result. The worst instance of the characters being to single sided is with Coraline’s parents. We don’t see any of the good-side of them until the end of the movie, and considering that the plot hinges around their value to their daughter and her choosing between her real mother and her other-mother, this is a big drawback.

Despite character issues however the movie is very entertaining, and eerie enough to stay fresh throughout. There where some downright scary elements to the film that are the stuff of nightmares, but in its childish presentation it works really well as a whole. There are some things that just don’t make sense, and a few issues with pacing, but overall it’s an enjoyable movie, if not a hard to place one.

The New Couches Post

2009-02-08T07:32:00.000-08:00

Yesterday our new couches arrived a the apartment, which was something we’d both been looking forward to since we ordered them back in early January. Ben and Jacob where over early in the day with the Hunt’s mini-van to collect the couches we where borrowing from their basement. After a few trips moving the things up and downstairs it was determined that two trips where needed to get both couches home. It’s really hand having vehicles that can lugging a large payload around- and people willing to let you borrow them!

The new couches look pretty awesome in the living room, though they will need a little breaking in. They are a alot firmer than the ones in the showroom, but I think a few weeks of couch potato-ing should fix that right up .I’ll just need to make sure to use the cushions in rotation! I felt bad for the guys that has to lug the sleeper sofa up the stairs…with the mechanism inside it, that thing is HEAVY! I had to have Jake and Dad come over to help me bump it into the corner after the delivery guys left because it couldn’t be a done with a one-man crew. There is a small tear on the chair, and the sleeper is missing a few bolts to tether down the back legs. A guy is coming over on Wednesday to maker the necessary repairs. Besides that we are very pleased with them. When combined with our other furniture purchases/presents of late the apartment is really looking nice!

The Punxsutawney Post

2009-02-02T19:26:00.000-08:00

Groundhog Day, the most ridiculous of all the days came and went today leaving us with 6 more weeks of winter thanks to a rodent seeing its shadow. Who came up with this one? Shame on you people for keeping this thing going. Head over to the official website (groundhog.org) and read how this magical rat is apparently over 120 years old and lives in a home called Gobbler’s Knob, and stays alive by drinking a secret elixir of life recipe. I wish I was making this up. But considering the crazy mustaches on the guys that hoist the guy in the air on this day every year, then this is pretty much the most logical thing I’ve ever read. Apparently there where opening for ridiculous holidays in February.

The XLIII Post

2009-02-01T20:44:00.000-08:00

Super Bowl 43 or “ex-el-eyeeeeee!” as I like to call it was tonight and while the first three quarters where a snooze-fest for me (not being a Cardinals or Steelers supporter) but the last 20 minutes where pretty good football. Bruce Springsteen was pretty dull to be honest, but his groin-slide into the camera was pretty hilarious. I loved his smug face after it happened. Considering he just tea-bagged America I can say a smirk is somewhat warranted. All said though I am one of those guys that watches the game mostly for the ads.

I have to say the commercials where particularly disappointing with a few exceptions. Everyone had mixed feelings going into it because of the state of the economy and the high cost for the 30-second spots. What was upsetting to me was that the ads that did have the money pumped into them where some of the worst ones there, and the 3D glasses gimmick was atrocious. I will seriously never drink a Sobe product ever again after that monstrosity of a commercial. Go-Daddy lowered even their standards and put out some of the worst ads of the night too, but that was pretty much expected. The best ad of the game goes to the one with the Koala punching (Career Builder) because I was rolling on the floor laughing. Doritos’s get an honorable mention too for the snow globe ad, and the Audi spot with Jason Statham was just awesomely badass (and has me looking forward to the Transporter hitting blu-ray next month).

Sarah and I headed out to THE CITADEL to watch the game with Eric, Coy, Holly and their friends. It was good time with loads of food and good company. Turns out that I was sitting on a packet of Rollos the whole night that Sarah had slipped into my back pocket on the way up to Eric’s apartment. So tomorrow I might be shopping for a new wallet.

The West Coast Brother Post

2009-02-01T10:28:00.000-08:00

Virginia has a hard time containing my little brother it seems, as it hasn’t been two months since he returned form Iraq, and he’s already leaving town. His girlfriend, Courtney has landed a leading role in a television pilot for HBO, and she and Stefan will be heading to their new apartment in L.A. on Tuesday. I’m really excited for them despite the fact that they will be on the other side of the country. If the show gets picked up then it’s exactly what Courtney needs for her career to get going, and it’s not like there is any shortage of fires to fight in California, so Stefan’s career will be heading in the right direction too.

Sarah and I went out for Thai with them last night so we could spend some time with them before they loaded up the U-Haul and hit the road. We went to a place in Reston Town Center that was really nice. My ‘Kapow Chicken’ definitely earned the 3 chili-pepper rating on the menu for its hotness. Ended up having to drink a glass of half-and-half (they didn’t have any milk) to take out the spice afterward. It was fun to spend some time with Stef and Court, we’ll miss having them around for sure. But when they know all the movie stars and have a kick-ass social network setup over in Hollywood, then they will be the perfect people to go visit! I keep joking that I need to get my screenplay to Courtney so she can put in a good word… Now I just need to write it….

Hopefully their four-day road trip will go by quickly for them. I know they plan on stopping and seeing friends along the way so that will be nice, but lugging one of those trailers has to be a pain. Especially with the 55mph speed limitation on the tow-hitch. Best of luck to you both, send a postcard (or 10).

The Gaming in 2009 Post

2009-01-29T17:59:00.000-08:00

I am trying to cut back on rampant video game spending now that I am living with Sarah and have to pretend to be a grown up. Having your girlfriend living in a other state or country was a wonderful excuse for pumping lots of money and time into my game collection. That said I will always be a die-hard gamer, and there are definitely some titles coming out this year that I just can’t wait for. Here’s a brief look at some of the titles on the top of my list for 2009:

Ghostbusters

This game has been a long time coming and has gone through enough cancellations and turnovers that I had given up hope that it would ever see the light of day. Essentially taking the role as the 3rd Ghostbusters movie the game will star the likenesses and voices of the entire original cast from Billy Murray all the way down to the guy who played the Mayor. The level of detail and brand appreciation going into this title is impressive, especially for a longtime fan like me. I anticipate ho-hum controls and irritating technical issues, but all things considered it’s the little 10 year-old inside of me that wins out, and has me counting down the days until I can strap on a proton-pack.

NHL 3-on-3 Hockey

Sports games don’t vary much year in, year out. Pretty much all they do is add some new feature that makes the game more realistic. This interesting little arcade download is coming out next month on the 360 and looks to be a lot of fun and a step in the right direction. As the title would suggest you get to play 3 on 3 arcade style hockey with the over the top and unrealistic controls and exaggerated characters. While most die hard hockey fans would scoff a the idea of playing a bobble-head-look-alike players and not being able to field a whole team, I am really excited about this training wheels version that look to have more of an emphasis on fun, not realism.

Banjo-Tooie XBLA

Banjo-Kazooie on the N64 is my favorite game of all time, hands down. It’s sequel, Banjo-Tooie never blew me away. Probably because of the amount of hype I built up for the title as a kid waiting for it to come out. With Kazooie getting a November release last year as an arcade download, it was only a matter of time before Tooie arrived. This port features widescreen HD graphics, achievements and the fully realized integration of Stop-n-Swop, the Banjo-Kazooie to Tooie connection that never worked out on the Nintendo 64. While the game never took the top spot away from the original, this sequel is still very much welcome and eagerly anticipated in my collection.

Street Fighter IV

Street Fighter games are a mixed bag for me. I really like playing them, and enjoy the arcadey feel of the fighter as a whole. My only issue comes along when I get my butt handed to me by a guy who as 50 different combos memorized and can play the game in his sleep for the amount of time he has sunk into mastering every character. I just want to punch some people and enjoy some pretty graphics, and it looks like IV is going to let me do just that. I have no doubt there will be the super-hardcore out there, but I think I’ll be able to keep my distance and still have a good time with this latest entry in the franchise. Plus thee is a luchadore character. Sold.

Resident Evil 5

Resident Evil 5 is going to be a really kick ass game. Take RE4, a terrific survival horror game- and up the ante in every way whilst still keeping the game play the same and you really cant go wrong. The graphics look really impressive and the added co-op mode will make this a great one for online play with friends. Hopefully the achievements aren’t too ridiculous because I think this will be the next title I choose to knuckle down and shoot for the fully 1000pts with. That is if I ever beat Prince of Persia…

Batman: Arkham Asylum

Arkham Asylum is a dream game to both comic and video game fans. Play as Batman in the twistedly appealing asylum where all of the his enemies are locked away, fighting your way through themed levels as you try to lockdown the escapees and get out with your life. The Dark Knight’s brooding dark tones have come through and have been accentuated in the art direction, and gritty, demented versions of classic Batman foes are sure to little themed levels and pose some fantastic boss fights. I really can’t wait for this title. Unless they royally screw it up, I can see this being my game of the year.

Also one the list of highly anticipated titles are Final Fantasy XIII (and Vs. XIII), Assassins Creed 2 and Uncharted 2. All of which will have me picking them up the day they hit shelves. Unfortunately its looking like they wont make it in time for 09.

The Snow Driving Post

2009-01-27T19:04:00.000-08:00

Today was the first major snowfall since I’ve been back, and while not that impressive as far as inches of snow on the ground, the roads where particularly perilous around the apartment. I knew I was in for a hard time when my car couldn’t leave the apartment complex through the main entrance. The incline was too slick and the Celica was spinning out and sliding allover the place trying to get up it. I had to commit and made it to the top after taking it reeeeally slowly, but once I got to the top I turned around once I hit the main road just because it was too slick. I opted to head through the back roads which where all downhill and made it out to a road that had been plowed. However on the final decline my breaks grinded and locked up and I slid down the hill. Fortunately there was no one else on the road and I was able to slowly gain control of the car and get onto a plowed road.

It’s a horrible feeling not being in control of your vehicle and I’m really hesitant to venture out in the Celica again if the roads are going to be this bad. One of the great things about working for Avectra is that I have the flexibility of dialing in and working from home if need be. So I can wait for them to plow my street before heading in, while getting work done from the house. It’s nice to work at a place where I have that flexibility and a definite plus of working for a bigger company. We are expecting another 4 inches overnight which, if today was any indication of, will be pretty hazardous on the roads. My advice…stay home if you can. Oh and don’t drive rear-wheel sporty little cars up icy hills.

The Themed Party Post

2009-01-27T16:16:00.001-08:00

Last weekend was one for themed parties, least it was for us. Friday, Sarah took me as her ‘plus one’ to her company holiday party. Personally I think when Chinese New Year is the only holiday on the menu then its too late to call it a ‘holiday’ party. Happy year of the Ox by the way. It was pretty fun despite its misplaced name. A quasi-formal dinner with awkward DJ inspired dancing soon to follow. Sarah and I left after the speeches as the Electric Slide and Macarena where never our strong suits. (Though if they do the chicken dance then its ON!)
Saturday we headed out to Falls Church to Mike’s house for a ‘Late 80’s Early 90’s’ theme party. I wore a ‘Keytar Hero’ t-shirt we came across in a bargain bin, and Sarah rocked the side ponytail and old school Nintendo getup. Needless to say we looked rather ridiculous, but where put to shame when Mike broke out his famous wig collection and Michael Jackson attire. Personally I think the whole thing was an orchestrated reason for Mike to get out said wigs- I’m onto you Batista. Fun weekend overall. Themes add a nice change of pace to things. Sarah and I could have themed parties only from now on. I’m thinking Nerf-Gun-Battle party, bring-your-own-darts….
No Titan you are not getting an invitation.

The Podgy Pounding Post

2009-01-24T11:23:00.000-08:00

So I am a little tired of the condition I’m in. Somehow I manage to balance a not-so-healthy combo of skinny and lanky with lovehandly (it’s a word). This next month will be the start of a valiant-ish attempt at getting on course. I have tried various methods in the past but without being pushed I always flatter after minimal effort. Our gym offers a program called TNT which meets twice a week with trainers and a small group of 5-6 members. The trainers put you through the ringer with various exercises and make sure to keep on you about completing your sets and pushing yourself. They also do dietary monitoring and provide cardio-routines for homework on off days. Sounds a little cliché but it’s the sort of thing I need to keep up any attempt. Unless someone is there to motivate/force me I just don’t give 100%. Hopefully this will put an end to that,. It’s a three month program, so when all is said and done I should be in decent enough shape to gym without training wheels.

Sarah is a big fan of the Biggest Loser, and I’ve caught a few episodes of this season with her while waiting for Scrubs to come on each week. They are doing a Pound-for-Pound Challenge where-in people pledge an amount of weight they will loose and the show donates a pound of food for every lb. dropped. It’s a pretty good promotion I think. Save a few fatties whilst feeding a few skinnies. Win win! I pledged a whopping 5lbs, which is hardly impressive, to be lost by my birthday (end of March) but if Wii Fit is any indicator then its going to be cutting it fine.

The Painting for Eric Post

2009-01-24T10:35:00.000-08:00

I finally finished the canvas I have been promising Eric since before Christmas! The picture is for his condo (aka THE CITADEL) in Arlington, so I wanted to get a DC-flavor to it, especially considering the current décor in the lace has a DC slant to it. I stuck with the basics and did a traditional (for me) color wash with high contrast black and whites on top. Simple and colorful is the way I seem to like to do these things. I’m rather pleased with the way it turned out, hopefully he’ll enjoy it. I wrapped the painting around the sides of the canvas and opted to sign it on the side as well. Overall it’s a nice effect that I think I’ll continue for future canvases. I’ve already had a request for one come in so it’s fair to say that I’ll be doing another one pretty soon. Heading over tomorrow to hang it up.

The Hurranrunner Post

2009-01-24T07:43:00.000-08:00

Wrestling, fake? If that's so then how come this half-pint luchadore can toss a man 3 times his weight out of the ring like this?:

Man, if my girlfriend was terrified of luchadore masks I'd move to Mexico and by front row season tickets. For the record I am a recovering wrestling fan. This is the first 'match' I've watched since Wrestlemania last year. (It's a 12 step program I'm on)

The Baracknroll Post

2009-01-23T05:06:00.000-08:00

Tuesday was a big deal for America especially people in the DC area. The Presidential Inauguration has closed down the city for the better part of a week, been on the lips of every radio and television reporter, and generated a buzz unlike anything has in quite some time. I didn't head down to the mall to watch in person simply because I got a taste of the craziness at a pre-president rally and didn't want to attempt to tackle it again. I would have loved to go, but logistically it just didn't make any sense. I watched the swearing in and his address on the TV at the office, so I didn't miss out. Everyone clapped after he took the oath. It was really quite moving.

I will be the first to admit that I live a fairly unremarkable life. I am not making or breaking laws, forging new paths of the future or the center of an international event. That said I cannot help but recognize how while myself might not be changing the world, the world is definitely changing around me. I live (as we all do) in a very remarkable age and through events that will fill new editions of the history books we all read in school. The idea that I am being a part of history in this way is rather satisfying to me, and puts a lot of things in perspective. I look forward to looking down at a history book and remembering where I was when a historical event happened, and being able to tell my children or grandchildren what it was like being alive during various events and times- good and bad. The idea that any given day could be the next 911 or political breakthrough; the beginning or end or the next war, or a scientific discovery. I respect all that has happened and look forward to what lays ahead.

The 30-Post

2009-01-20T15:41:00.000-08:00

Netflix has been getting some great use now that it streams over the 360. Sarah and I have knocked out the first season of 30 Rock and have a good chunk of the seconds watched as well. It's a great show that I am really enjoying. Hopefully I'll finish up the season before the next one starts on TV. I never thought I'd see anything that I actually liked Tracy Morgan in, but this takes the cake (Alec Baldwin is the absoulte MAN in this show though). If I can stomach working the Comcast DVR I think I'll add that and Conan to the to-be-taped list. Currently only Scrubs is one there, but the stupid thing is ridiculously finicky and tapes at seemingly random times and skips episodes on it's own whim. I miss good old Tivo.

When I grow up I want to be just like Jack Donaghy

The Chupacabra Terror Post

2009-01-20T15:27:00.000-08:00

Stefan and Courtney recently recommended that we watch a little movie called ‘The Chupacabra Terror’. The film is about a blood sucking beast (the Chupacabra) which is pretty much the south American version of Big Foot but with a less tell-tale name. Actually that’s not true, Chupacabra translates to ‘goat-sucker’ apparently. Anyway, so this illusive beast is caught by a scientist guy who takes it on a cruise ship (um…why not) and the thing escapes and pretty much eats everyone on board. It’s up to John Rhys-Davis and a guy called Lance to stop the thing. Pretty much it’s absolutely terrible- but in a hilariously good way. Due to the awfully-bad slash amazingly spectacular nature of the film I have decided to take an alternative route than the usual movie review post. Without further ado here is the top 10 reasons (in no particular order) why you should definitely / definitely not see the Chupacabra Terror:

The fact that this movie came out in 2005 and has the production value of a Xena Warrior Princess episode.
It stars Jonathan Rhys Davis (the dwarf from Lord of the Rings) who apparently ran out of hobbit gold.
The Navy Seal uniforms consist of skate helmets and Ranger Surplus vests.
The Chubacabra's wallhumping/evil scampering (done in super high tech fast-forward)
"So I am guessing you aren't really an insurance salesman. " "Right now, I'm the best insurance you got!" [cocks gun]
The “To Us!” toast given by two a-hole honeymooners before they get Chubacabra-ed
How drunk the dishwasher-guy gets off of one swig of stolen wine (right before he gets thrown off a balcony by the monster).
The enthusiastic “Tango Bango! Get some!” comment by the Navy Seal’s when they get the call to go help the distressed cruise liner.
The fact that the illusive creature can be caught in the woods off of a highway with a goat as bait and a fishing net.
Any and all lines delivered by Chelan Simmons. “Ugh, it’s the Chupacabra!” being the number one pick which I unfortunately cannot find a YouTube link for.

The Final Steps Post

2009-01-15T15:10:00.000-08:00

Last week I received a notice in the mail that I will be sitting my exam for American citizenship early February. I am really excited that the process has taken much less time in Virginia than forecast down in Florida. I dug out my civics question CD and have been listening to the questions and answers I’ll need to know for the exam. I’ll also be required to prove that I have reading and writing abilities in English, which should be relatively easy despite the quality of my blog postings. Now if you’ll excuse me I need to figure out the difference between Mark and John Warner.

The Scrubbing Back In Post

2009-01-08T16:21:00.001-08:00

Scrub’s is back on TV this time it’s made the jump to ABC. Tuesday was the season premier and I have to say, so far it looks pretty good. I’ll like the show no matter what they do with it in all honesty, but I would be a lair if I didn’t admit that the last two seasons have been sub par. Fortunately they seem to have learnt from their mistakes and have the show back on track. While it may be a bit soon to call only 2 episodes in, but I am noticing that it feels more like classic Scrubs, and less like the goofier random-plotted episodes of late. Any show where your main characters get less screen time than the cardboard minor characters should start thinking about getting back to basics. You listening Simpsons!?)* Gone is the ridiculous self parody and self referencing form the last two seasons and back are the quazi-heartfelt plots dripping with hilarity. Good job guys. My only complaints are that J.D. needs to shave the stubble pronto, and we need more Elliot being hot. That’s it. The rest is golden.

*Minor characters are key. Don’t get me wrong. But Ted the lawyer and Professor Frink don’t need spin-off shows.

The Bemoaned Ad of 08 Post

2009-01-08T16:19:00.000-08:00

Do you like hilariously inappropriate commercials? I know I do. This is apparently the most complained about commercial of 2008. Its from Australian tampon manufacturer Kotex. Honestly its not bad at all, but is pretty funny. Considering the product it’s pushing its light-years better than the completion’s attempts. Check it out.

The Benjamin Button Post

2009-01-05T20:22:00.000-08:00

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is an interesting tale of a man who lives life backwards. Born as a geriatric baby that grows into a charming old-man of a toddler, all the way back to senile baby (with the obligatory Pitt-stop* In his hunkey midlife of course). Button brings in elements of past charmers Big Fish and Forrest Gump and mixes them into an interesting blend of outlandish fantasy and a humble life. Button’s tale recounts a magical existence being told from the end-backwards. while mimicking Gump by living through the ages experiencing everything one should do during the decades of his existence. He goes to war, he works the seas, he travels from country to country and city to city. He becomes a ping pong champion…no nevermind.

Pitt himself does a terrific job of playing the part during it’s various stages, and the supporting cast do a great job of playing their parts in Button’s life. Captain Mike and 'Lightning Geezer' where my personal favorites. Cate Blanchett did a good job of playing the equally complex counterpart to Pitt’s Button also, and evolves with his devolution with notable symmetry. The aging effects are rather remarkable but for some reason Brad Pitt looks like Yoda for the first hour or so of the movie and then turns into Val Kilmer for half an hour. Who knew?

The movie does an excellent job of highlighting the cyclical nature of life and bringing to light the childlike nature of being elderly and the senile aspects of infancy. The long length of the movie while clearly intentional works against the film more than it helps in the (very) long run. When a film is based on illustrating a mans entire existence while at the same time taking great efforts to portray said life in a manner that forces the viewer to think differently about life as a whole, its pretty much expected that it will run for the better part of three hours. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but don’t ever randomly decide to watch this Curious Case. Only commit if you have the time and emotional energy to dedicate an evening to it. That being said it is a fantastic movie and very well made, but not one that I feel I need to see again to appreciate. As with Button himself this only needs to be experienced once per lifetime.
*Sorry, had to.

The 2009 Post

2009-01-04T10:11:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to everyone! Sorry again for being so delayed with my postings… I have really let things slide as far as getting things on here in a timely manner. I’ll try to be more on the ball in the future. Speaking of half-hearted resolutions I don’t think I am going to be making any this New Year. I’d rather just keep last years ones running for now unless I think of something better to add to the list.

New Year’s Eve itself wasn’t what we where originally planning on and ended up being a lot more low-key that Sarah and I would have ideally liked. We has spoken to Eric who is similarly minded on the matter and have decided that this year we are going to make a point of doing something big to bring in 2010. Hopefully we’ll be able to get more people on board that in the past, but either way we want to have a blast and aim big. I am leaning towards an overnight cruise or a ball at a swanky hotel, maybe book a penthouse suite somewhere ostentatious if we can get enough people on board. We do have 12 months to decide so I’m not stressing yet, but it’s definitely something I want to do this year. Watching Carson Daily and some party streamers aren’t going to cut it for the 2000- double digits! I want to go big leagues. Or maybe just bigger-league.

The iMac Post

2009-01-04T09:54:00.000-08:00

Duncan is starting up a new business that will focus accessibility in the DC-metro area, and has enlisted me as his graphical confidant for much of the project. I won’t go into detail on the company itself as there is much to be ironed out and much more to share in a future posting- in order to get things rolling Duncan is getting his ducks in a row with the financial planning and making sure he has the manpower and hardware to pull off his ideas. To overly sweeten the deal on my end he has very generously equipped me with a refurbished iMac to work off of. I have been wanting to make the adaptation to being a dual PC-Mac user for a while. Being a graphic designer and living in the PC-only camp is a rarity these days and can potentially be a hindrance. I will never be a 100% Mac-Head but I definitely see their merits and want to become as versed with them as I can be. This is the perfect opportunity to make that transition.

Well it would be…if we could get the damn thing to stay on for more than 20 seconds. Unfortunately there are some technical issues with the hardware (Duncan is thinking its still the power supply) which means that the pretty white screen has to sit idle at the moment until the stubborn thing can be repaired. It’s very upsetting… but so pretty…. Oh I can’t stay mad at you. Time for another dusting!

The December Festivities Post

2009-01-04T09:38:00.000-08:00

One of the best parts of the holiday season is the constant flow of holiday parties and gatherings. Spending time with the family is always fun, but throw into the mix social gatherings with co-workers and friends that otherwise tend not to happen in the less festive months and December is always a nice change of pace.

After being at my new job for two weeks Sarah and I went to the company Christmas party which was a lot of fun. One would except that after only meeting people for less than a fortnight, going to a formal party would be a bit difficult. Fortunately that was not the case and we both had a lot of fun. The next day we were tasked with coming up with ugly holiday sweaters for Eric’s annual Christmas Sweater Party at THE CITADEL. I opted to borrow one of Mum’s eclectic teacher waistcoats while Sarah and Melissa decided to craft their own festive attire with various Christmas craft items. It was a lot of fun and getting to see the Arlington crew (as they are now to be dubbed) was much overdue. Unfortunately with the move in full swing at the time we weren’t able to attend Coy and Holly’s Christmas dinner the night after however which was a real shame but unfortunately just not in the cards for us that weekend.

Christmas itself was a whirlwind of family gatherings. With Sarah’s sisters in town, Stefan making his return, Craig visiting, plus all the regular shady characters who we like to call ‘family*’ being around we barely has a moment where we weren’t wrapping gifts, stuffing our faces or spending time with loved ones- you know all the stuff that the holidays are great for. We went out to the Russia House for a delicious Christmas Eve dinner to celebrate everyone being together- promptly followed by the traditional Hunt Family Sheppard’s Pie dinner (somehow I was still able to finish a whole plate at both meals). Christmas day had many stages being at the apartment, my house, Sarah’s house and the customary overeating at two family Christmas dinners.

Two days after Christmas we went down to Re-Ra’s in Clarendon for a surprise welcome home party for Stefan and Greg’s return from overseas. Both families where there in full force as well as all their friends to great them. Greg’s family has it organized that the guys thought that they where going to out to a family dinner with both sets of parents. They where surprised when all of their friends where upstairs in the bar waiting to greet them. It was a fun night.

So January might have its work cut out for it when it comes to matching the variety of after hours entertainment of December… or it might give everyone a chance to rest…maybe do a few crunches and work off the 3rd helping of figgie pudding.

*Sarcasm of course guys. Except you Jake… you’re pretty shady.

The Christmas Lights Post

2008-12-24T14:14:00.000-08:00

We finally got the Christmas lights up and running at Mum and Dad’s house and its pretty impressive. Light up trees, hanging icicles, wreaths, moving reindeer and a sleigh all dot the lawn and light the path in flickering colors at night. I meant to get some pictures but have yet to unpack my camera battery charger (who packs it separate form their camera…honestly! So disappointed with myself). But fear not I got a video of the guy across the street’s set up. It’s a bit ostentatious, to be honest, but considering that I don’t have any pictures to share it will have to do. Show off.

Update: Ok snapped a shot leaving the other night. Here's the house all festived-up.

The Back From Iraq Post

2008-12-24T13:39:00.000-08:00

Stefan touched down in the US earlier this week and today he is back in Virginia after making the trip up from South Carolina. I’m sure he’s glad to be back. Tonight we have a Christmas Eve/Welcome Back dinner together as a family at the Russia House which we have all been looking forward to for a while. Knowing that Stefan will actually be able to make it is really making everyone’s Christmas. He’s off at his own apartment after getting back into town to drop off his stuff, re-acclimate for a little bit before we all meet up in Herndon for dinner. While the timing of his return is very ‘Christmas-Magic’y for all of us, I imagine he’s pretty stressed running around getting back into town one day before the holiday. That’s doesn’t mean he can get out of getting me a present. Far from it. I just feel bad that he has to. I am really looking forward to seeing him later tonight.

The local paper did an article on both Stefan and his friend Greg who where deployed and returned on the same day. You can check out the newspaper here: Vienna Connection December 2008

The New Apartment Post

2008-12-24T13:28:00.000-08:00

A week and a half after getting the keys to our new apartment and I’m finally able to squat in front of my computer and get together some semblance of a posting. Over the past few days Sarah and I have been making attempts to get the apartment in some sort of functioning order. To our credit there is a lot going on with the holidays so progression has been slow and limited to short bursts of effort after work before collapsing and falling to sleep. The apartment is looking pretty good though and despite it’s very apparent ‘temporariness’ it is starting to feel like a home. If you ignore the abundant shipping boxes and rolls of bubble wrap, you’ll find that we have a bed setup, as well as our TV stand with all the electronic gubbins. Mum and Dad where really generous and gave us an early Christmas present in a dining room table and chairs that we have set up (well 2/4 chairs still require assembly), the Hunt’s gave us a two-seater sofa and coffee table on loan from their basement, which really pulls everything together nicely for now. Cable and internet are up and running too. I am typing this sitting in front of my monitor that lays in the spare bedroom corner, cross legged, surrounded by milk crates filled with Sarah’s LPs. The holidays are here and Sarah and I both agree that the apartment can wait. It will be great…but give us a few weeks before calling up for a visit though.

The Bad Blogger Post

2008-12-19T16:42:00.000-08:00

So lot’s has happened in the past few weeks but I have not had a spare moment to sit down and get any posts off. A new job, new apartment, Stefan's entering US airspace any moment, friends are getting married, Christmas is going into full swing with holiday parties and light hanging, there was a fire… Living in a separate location to one’s computer makes blogging rather difficult I’m finding. This weekend we will attempt to get the internet running over at the new place so until then I’ll have to leave off with a dot dot dot and ‘to be continued’. Stay tuned.

The Mad Trucker Post

2008-12-10T15:49:00.001-08:00

So yesterday evening the office was surrounded by blaring sirens and a ton of police activity. It started out relatively distant but got extremely loud. A few of my cubicle neighbors went to windows to see what was going on, and I overheard a lot of comments along the lines of “There goes another cop”, and “That was a state trooper”. I didn’t check as I has a lot on my plate at the time and didn’t want to rubberneck if there was an accident or something close by. On my way home I listened to the news and heard the reason for all the hubbub;

Apparently it was the tail end of a high-speed police chase. It started in Maryland when a murder suspect-truck driver was going through a routine truck station. Apparently his information red-flagged him (as most murder suspect's information usually does I assume) and he fled. Driving all the way down to Tyson’s, rolling over spike strips and being chased by a cavalcade of cop cars. Eventually they stopped him when he finally lost control and crashed into some trees right down the street from my office building. After the crash he refused to get out of the cab and was tazered… I’m starting to wish I took a look now.
I couldn’t find any actual pictures that where any good so he’s one of another madman in a runaway truck. A Dark Knight came out on Blu-ray this week so it seems fitting. (Christmas shopping hint. wink wink, nudge nudge)

The Stefan's Return Post

2008-12-10T15:32:00.001-08:00

“You stay classy Iraq. I’m out!” is the Facebook status on Stefan’s profile at the moment, which he posted just before leaving his post and starting the trek back home. We are all hoping his return trip doesn’t have too many layovers and that the Army do a good job of getting him back for Christmas. That’s the plan, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it will pan out that way. Having him back would really make Christmas. I’m sure he’s far from the only guy over there hoping to make it back on time for the holiday, and I know many wont. I really feel for those guys, especially at times where family ties really mean everything. Being away from the country you love and the family you are protecting during the holidays must be awful. I can’t imagine what it really must feel like, and selfishly hope I never will. I know I’m not the only one looking forward to Stefan’s return, and I’m sure he will be somewhat of a local celebrity with all the visits he’ll be making and people who will want to spend time with him. I really can’t wait though. Having my little brother back home, and the family all together will be terrific.

The Delightfully Piney Post

2008-12-06T20:48:00.000-08:00

This morning the family, Sarah and I met up with Ali and Bob out at Ticonderoga for the annual Christmas tree selection. The last few years we have gotten some really nice trees from the tree farm out there, and used Bob’s trailer to lug them back to the house. After wandering about scoping the options (and freezing our buts off) we settled on a really nice shaped one that we where all pretty happy with. Except Sam who was torn between a few other trees- I think she came around in the end though.

Bob’s trailer proved to be invaluable again, as we ended up picking a 14 footer that wouldn’t fit on any of our vehicles by a long shot. Ali and Bob picked out a tree for their house too and tethered the greenery to the trailer securely before making the trip back. As usual getting the sucker inside and standing upright was a bit of a task, but with the extra hands proved to be pretty painless. No lights or decorations on yet, as we want to let iot settle and see where the branches fall before sticking any adornments on it. We’ll probably have to trim back in a few spots and possibly rotate it so the nicest side faces the room, but right now its looking pretty good. I am loving how potent the tree is. The whole house smells delightfully piney, which is putting me more and more in the Christmas spirit. Mum took some snappies and has them up on FaceBook.

The Vapiano's Post

2008-12-06T20:31:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Sarah treated me to dinner at Vapiano’s in Dulles Town Center. We had often wandered past and thought it would be interesting enough to warrant a visit but never really found ourselves particularly hungry around the place. Well we decided to make a trip of it and headed up to the mall to try it out. We are really glad we did.

The restaurant is unconventionally charming and offers great food and an interesting dining experience. When you walk in you are given a RF I.D. card and a mini-menu to peruse. The majority of the menu is pasta oriented, but there are some antipasti and pizza options also. Once you have picked what you would like you walk up to one of the counters and specify the pasta you’d like. A chef will whip it up in a wok right in front of you while chatting with you. They where brutally efficient but still entertaining to watch as they steamed our pasta and fried up our chicken (or mushrooms in veg-head’s case). Once the grub is up and you’ve ordered your drinks, you hold your card up to the counter top device and away you go.

It’s a sit where you want sort of arrangement with wooden Ikea looking high-stools and raised countertop seating. Stylish and simple is how I'd peg the decor. A very nice balance of feeling chic but not overly so, while still really fresh and clean. Each table has fresh herb plants for you to break off and add to your food if desired. The food was excellent if not overly filling and is definitely something we’d recommend checking out. There is a trendy little bar at one end of the restaurant also that looks equally worthwhile as well. All in all it’s a great place for reasonably priced food, in a different setting that really delivers an interesting and fresh feeling meal. Check it out next time you are out that way (There is also one is Ballston).

The Black Friday Post

2008-12-01T17:10:00.001-08:00

Turkey sandwiches and deal-crazed shoppers are the two things that the day after Thanksgiving is good for. While I do love a good turkey and stuffing hoagie I must say that if I had to pick one of the post holiday traditions, I’d side with the Black Friday madness. There is something about rampant merchandising that gets my blood boiling, and with the temperatures outside at 4am in Virginia, that’s a good thing. This year I didn’t have anything in particular I wanted to pick up, even after hours of flyer scouring with Sarah. Regardless of my own shopping agenda we rose at 3:30 and blitzed all the major retailers to catch the best of the holiday fervor. We managed to score some excellent deals on behalf of other (more sleep oriented) people but largely didn’t put any dents in our own shopping lists. I don’t know what it is about holiday merchandising that gets me going, but I can’t stand not to be a part of it, even if I don’t actually buy anything. The Christmas music in the car while we wait for the sucker to warm up makes it all worthwhile. Is that sad? That’s what my shrink said… till I got him a great deal on a Cannon 6 mega pixel camera!

The Twilight Post

2008-11-28T19:29:00.001-08:00

Being that I am not a 'tweenage girl with a vampire fetish, Twilight is not aimed at me. That said I came out of the movie not being totally upset. That I left to Sam, who was incredibly outraged at ‘what they did to the book’. My sister has read all of the Stephenie Meyer books and is a pretty big fan of the franchise, and apparently the big screen adaptation of the first chapter is not close to what the books offer. I can sort of relate as I am constantly let down by how much they manage to shave off of every Harry Potter storyline each time the red carpet rolls out. Pretty much if you are a fan of the books you will either love the movie or hate it, but this film won’t exactly reel in any non-believers.

The acting was a bit wooden and I couldn’t get behind Kristen Stewart as the lead girl for whatever reason. The family of vampires came across as a Disney channel TV show gone wrong- I half expected them to all start rocking out High School Musical style in each scene. The movie is pretty much a Robert Patterson vehicle, as he plays Edward the lead vampire slash heartthrob that the movie largely centers around. They really did tailor the vampire legend to fit into a Gossip Girl formula- for example sunlight doesn’t kill vampires, it only makes them sparkle like glittery angels. Apparently it’s every adolescent girl’s dream to be swept off their feet by the undead, providing of course they have chiseled features and a crap-load of hair product going at all times.

So this is pretty much the most useless review I could really offer anyone. I havn’t read the books so I don’t really have anything to compare it too and the fans apparently galvanize at the love or loath ends of the spectrum. For Twilight felt a little rushed, had some pacing issues and needed to highlight the vampire fights/conflicts a little more and less on the high-school drama. Take my opinion for what its worth considering I am not the target here by a long shot. But as a movie, it’s as average as they come and won’t really do anything for the typical movie goers unless you are at least three of the following:

1: A Girl
2: Shop exclusively at Hot Topic
3: Cringe at the sight of tans
4: Own a vampire backpack sticker
5: Are in a Cederic Diggory fanclub

The Thankfull Post

2008-11-26T13:43:00.000-08:00

This Thanksgiving I have a lot to be thankful for. Beyond having friends and family all together for a celebration at Ali and Bob’s tomorrow I am also looking forward to December 1st because that is my first day on the job as the new Marketing Designer at Avectra. I received the offer yesterday and have accepted the position. I’m really looking forward to getting started.

In other progress related news, Sarah and I have been approved for a terrific apartment in Reston. We are getting a great deal on a 2 bed, one bath (or 1 bed with den depending which floor plan you look at) right down the road from Reston Town Center. Avectra is based out in Tyson’s Corner so I will have to contend with the traffic to some degree, but Sarah’s commute will be less than 5 minutes. The apartment has all kinds of shops and the bike path within walking distance, as well as extremely easy access to Route 7 and Reston Parkway. Getting around will be easy. I am particularly excited about being a 1.6 mile cab-ride back from the Town Center (we measured it). There are so many new and interesting bars and restaurants out there I am sure Sarah and I will be taking advantage of the social scene there a lot after the move. As it stands we have a hold on the apartment and will be moving in on the 15th of December. Making the move right before the holidays is not the best timing but the special rates we where offered made the offer to hard to pass up.

I am really excited going into the holiday with all the progress that has happened these past two days. It seems Virginia is finally come around and is ready to have me back.

The Netflix 360 Post

2008-11-26T08:38:00.000-08:00

The Xbox 360 is pretty much my entertainment hub for everything besides Blu-Rays (that hat is worn by you alone PS3- I still love you) and it just got a lot more hubb-ier. With the latest Xbox update Microsoft added tones of new features including adorable little avatars of gamers, a new menu and party system and live Netflix streaming. I can add movies or shows to my DVD queue at Netflix then watch everything from a list on my Xbox. I now have full seasons of shows I never got the chance to catch at my fingertips, as well as a large library of movies I can watch without having to wait those pesky disks to show up in the mail. It’s really a terrific service and a nice perk to being a subscriber to both Live and Netflix. First on my list of must-see’s is 30-Rock, closely followed by seasons 2 and 3 or Heroes. Finally my comeuppance for having no television for the past two years! Time to play catch-up!

That’s me in avatar for the record. I know the limited customization doesn’t allow for rugged awesomeness quite on the level I was hoping for, but considering my options I think the nerd-ladies will be pleased.

The Birthday Girl Post

2008-11-23T18:46:00.000-08:00

Last night was Sarah’s birthday celebrating her 25th. We went out to DC with a group of our nearest and dearest and had a great time in Adam’s Morgan and the surrounding area. Sarah’s friends from work came out to celebrate with her, and she had a great time. Kevin, Alex, Matt, and the elusive Patricio made it too which was awesome. Paul is in town for Thanksgiving so he and Christina where able to make it out also, so there was a lot of good times to be had for me chilling with my Virginia peoples. I had a really fun night, as did Sarah, though I think I was the only one really hurting for it this morning (not fair- she’s the old one!). Pictures will be on her facebook shortly.For the record that’s not a middle finger salute. That’s simply me trying to mimic impromptu posing while holding a beer. That and it’s probably the most flattering picture of me in the whole set.

The Return to Florida Post

2008-11-23T18:28:00.001-08:00

Last week Sarah and I where in Orlando paying the sunshine state a visit. Bruce was kind enough to let us stay in his pool house for the few days we where there which was great. It was nice to see everyone back at the office and to see that I hadn’t been forgotten. We caught the tail end of the space shuttle launch from the top of a multistory parking deck. Its one of the last few shuttle launches out of cocoa so it was a pretty big deal and had people coming from out of state to watch it blast off. Being a light launch you can see if for hundreds of miles as it lights up the night sky. We spent some time chilling down in Kissimmee with Sarah and Neil as well as grabbing some food at Elephant Bar with Tony, Amanda and Fabbio. All in all I got to see a lot of my Florida people while in Orlando and had a really nice time.

After Orlando we headed down to Tampa for Sarah’s bio availability conference which she was working for HGL. She spent long days down at the conference center manning her booth and playing ‘booth babe’ for the crowds, leaving me to my own devices for the majority of the trip. I have to say, Tampa is rather dull for a major city, and surprisingly quiet. I was expecting to blown away with things to do in the area, but found that everything was largely closed on weekends and only commuting office workers pay the area any attention. There where some great little venues, bars and restaurants along the channel, but everything was deserted which was rather disappointing.

We did catch a Tampa Bay lightning match though which was pretty cool. Even cooler was the fact that I got cheap nosebleeds for eight bucks at a special fan rate because I was at the box office early after walking Sarah to the conference hall. Then when we where inside getting our grub on before face-off a stadium employee came over and traded us our tickets for seats six rows from the glass. Nothing quite like getting $200 seats at nosebleed prices! Our last day in town we drove out to St. Pete and visited the Salvador Dali museum, which I had long wanted to check out after hearing about it in Orlando. The museum itself was rather drab considering the subject matter they had on display, but getting to see so many of Dali’s original works was very cool. I was heartbroken to find that they didn’t have ‘Les Elephants’ though, which is my favorite Dali piece. It was really nice to get to spend some time with Sarah though and we had a great time overall.

The Zune Post

2008-11-23T18:06:00.000-08:00

This is a real advertisement by Microsoft for the Zune MP3 player. All I can say is ‘wow’. This is a horrible advert and so inappropriate it’s not even funny. That being said…well ok it is funny. Consider this a warning though. Play at your own risk. And wash your hands afterwards.

The Quantum of Post

2008-11-23T18:00:00.000-08:00

I first have to admit that Quantum required a repeat viewing for me to catch everything and not be left with a few unanswered questions. I found many of the important parts where mentioned in brief or otherwise assumed, and the various entanglements between the various parties to get rather convoluted at times. That said the action sequences where really engaging and had the edgy new grittiness that made Craig’s first Bond a crunchy delight. They seemed to break up the more melodramatic moments and keep an aggressive pace in a movie that could potentially be a tad too reflective for a Bond flick at times.

In Casino Royal we where introduced to Mr. White, and Quantum deals with new color coded villain; Dominic Greene, both parts of the mysterious group known only as ‘Quantum’ an evil organization that is delightfully reminiscent of Bond’s former foes ‘Spectre’- though I doubt they can find anything that Q.U.A.N.T.U.M could possibly abbreviate.

M, Felix, and Mathis are all back and on point. Olga Kurylenko plays the new Bond girl and does a great job but unfortunately has her hotness downplayed for some reason or another in the film. The ladies’ names this time around are pretty weak. Olga is known only as ‘Camille’ which is fittingly frumpy, and ‘Strawberry Fields’ might be the worst name for anything ever, let alone a Bond bed-bunny. ‘Money Penny’ is sounding like the most logical and attractive name ever by comparison.

Those wanting vodka martinis, laser watches and Q branch to make appearances will be disappointed, as it seems that this new Bond is saving those franchise staples for a later date. Craig is on for two more films after this one, so there is plenty room for their comebacks. For the most part ‘Quantum wraps up the birth-of-Bond plotline established in ‘Casino and introduces the potential league of enemies James will butt heads with in future episodes. One could argue that Greene is not a strong enough evil entity to carry the main plotline, but as part of a whole this is a great entry to the Bond collection and as sophomore effort since the reboot that proves that Bond still delivers twenty-two movies later.

The Super Post

2008-11-07T11:34:00.001-08:00

Feel like storming Alaska and defeating an army of lipstick wearing pigs? No? Oh well don’t click below then because you wont find this very funny at all. That said, if you are more the McCain type you can always repeatedly send the little guy off cliffs.

The Hunt Continues Post

2008-11-07T11:32:00.000-08:00

This past week has been an interesting one for me in regards to my job hunting. After a relatively quiet reception since moving back last week turned out to be a great step in the right direction. I did a few working interviews though my temp agency with a solutions company in Tyson’s, making graphics for proposals; had an interview with a magazine in Maryland that is looking for a layout and advertising designer, and had a very interesting review with one of Bob’s friends who is looking to bring on a designer in some capacity in upcoming weeks to his company’s marketing team. All in all things are starting to look like working might be in my near future! I’m looking forward to hearing back from them soon. If you, or anytime you know might have graphical needs in the DC metropolitan area please don’t hesitate to pass on a link to my portfolio. Much appreciated!

The 5th of November Post

2008-11-05T18:28:00.000-08:00

Remember, remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason, why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.

Happy Bonfire Night to everyone. If lighting a bonfire isn’t your thing (or not permitted in your apartment complex) may I suggest catching V for Vendetta. Once I have my own place with a bit of land to my name I think I am going to start a yearly celebration and have people round for some fireworks and an effigy. “Guy Fawke’s Night at the Guy’s”…I like it! According to a few historical recounts of our family name, we are related to the poor bastard, so it is really the least I could do.

The Presidential Post

2008-11-05T18:12:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a big deal for America, and I am so happy that Obama won out and will move into the White House in January. I met up with Sarah down in Arlington for a happy hour at Rockbottom Brewery to hang out with her coworkers and watch the polls come in. Not being able to vote sucks, especially on a day like yesterday, but its great to get to be a part, in a small way, of the big change that Obama symbolizes. I envy those of you who got the opportunity to wait out in the record breaking lines to cast your ballots, but being a part of history and being able to say that I supported and was there watching brings a grin to my face. I can’t wait to see what is in store in the next four years- and I will keep rocking the car magnet with pride. Congratulations America, you did good.

A lot of people are pissed that McCain is out, and I can understand their reservations, but I have to say I really think the better man for the country right now, won. McCain’s concession speech was fantastically done despite the idiots yelling during his heartfelt words. I was never a big fan of his stances on many issues, but when push comes to shove he would have been a good president. (Palin….not so much.) Obama’s acceptance speech was nothing short of fantastic- his statements and humility really drive home the feeling that this is a big turning point for America, and one that makes my stomach jump with anticipation. I can’t remember ever being this genuinely heartfelt about anything political. It feels really good. Well done Mr. President.

Oh and check out Lando Calrissian's political ads if you have a free minute. Hilarious.

The Body of Lies Post

2008-11-03T07:27:00.000-08:00

Body of Lies is the latest Ridley Scott vehicle and another attempt to shed a different light on the conflicts in the Middle East. It centers around Russell Crowe and Leonardo DiCaprico as they speak a lot to each other via earpieces as they attempt to track down Muslim extremists. Crowe stays in Langley while Leo runs around a myriad of countries as they try to bait and track a particularly nasty terrorist organization.

Not that he does a poor job, but DiCaprio always seems to play the same role with slightly different facial hair to me. His character Ferris in this film is just too goody-goody and cliché for my liking. His apparent love for the Middle East feels hollow considering all he does there is pick up pieces of his either deceased or untrustworthy comrades and generally gets his shit kicked every time he’s there. The love interest feels tacked on and very unrealistic, and its attempt to mesh opposing worlds is largely unsuccessful. I also found Russell Crowe to be a bit of a waste here. We’ve seen this guy play all kids of exciting and dynamic roles, but Scott has him do little more than talk into an earpiece ands stare down his own nose over the top of his glasses. His character feels desperately undercooked despite his star status.

The movie’s pacing issues made a two hour movie feel substantially longer and had me loosing interest at the halfway mark. The payoff for the audience’s patience’s is unfortunately not on the level that I was expecting and could have been accomplished more concisely and effectively in half the time. Body of Lies is not a bad movie, it’s just really not what I look for in entertainment. It felt too slow, too dry and didn’t deliver the emotional experience a cross cultural action/dramas should.

The Rocknrolla Post

2008-11-03T06:53:00.001-08:00

Guy Richie made Snatch- one of my favorite movies in recent memory. Unfortunately he also managed to squeeze out Revolver a few years back, which ranks as one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen (proof). Despite the conflicting quality to his films I was excited for Rocknrolla and his apparent return to making good movies. Fortunately I wasn’t let down as Rocknrolla is an intertwining, gritty crime drama just as much as Snatch or Lock Stock ever where. There is a notable lack of Riche’s regulars, namely Statham and Jones, but that aside the movie matches up with all of the trademark elements needed to get the movie off the ground and as far away from Revolver as possible. The plot, as it has been in the past, is too convoluted to summarize, but primarily focuses on a ragtag group of crooks who end up stealing from something a lot bigger than they had originally expected. Throw into the mix a Russian billionaire’s lucky painting getting stolen by a cracked-out rock star (who is supposed dead) and you’ve got a rough idea of what to expect.

Some of the interactions, particularly between Gerard Butler and his team where brilliantly amusing. The indestructible henchmen where priceless, and the ‘lucky painting’ has me scouring the galleries for a magic canvas of my own. I think I’ll find myself quoting this one just as much as its predecessors and I have already perfected the ‘Famous Archie Slap’ so watch out. I found that they where really over-milking the gay jokes and the rant about Cigarettes was twice as long as it needed to be- also the inclusion of Ludacris and Piven was an unnecessary tack-on that felt undercooked and little more than a couple of American name drops. That aside I have nothing bad to say about the movie. Fun. Action packed, clever and hilarious. Check it out.

The Halloween Post

2008-11-03T06:22:00.001-08:00

Friday night Sarah and I headed down to THE CITADEL to meet up with Eric and a few of his friends. We took a bit of a cop out approach and rehashed our costumes from last year. It’s really no foul though because we never really got to use them properly in Orlando and it’s not as if anyone here had seen them. Don’t tell them. The rest of our group consisted of April O’Neil, 80’s Girl, a giant Taco, and…well whatever it was that Reed decided to call his knight-with-bowtie concoction. We hung around THE CITADEL for a good while before heading down to a couple of places in Clarendon. Afterwards we jumped in on a reservation at Ihop for some late night/early morning eggy-ness. Jackie ended up signing-off Channel 6 a bit early (see picture below- then recognize how awesome our Ninja Turtle references are). Fun night, weather was perfect for it.

The Little Big Post

2008-10-28T17:41:00.001-07:00

Little Big Planet is the latest gaming craze, this time on the Playstation 3. The game has a really modest approach to gaming and focuses on creating and sharing your own levels with other gamers online. You can customize everything by adding your own photos, objects, background elements and the like. What’s really refreshing is that the online community with game is all about creating, sharing and having fun, rather than the goal of most games (which are maim, shoot and/or relentlessly ridicule). If you have a PS3 I strongly recommend picking it up. And if you don’t have one, and where on the fence then maybe this is one of the games that will make the purchase worthwhile. Sarah loves it, which pretty much is the green gaming light (so far Tetris and the Lego games are the only ones to gain the coveted seal of approval.

The Doner Time Post

2008-10-27T08:06:00.000-07:00

Last night I went to hang out with Ali and Bob out in Leesburg for the evening. A local German restaurant called Hamburg Döner was having an Oktoberfest celebration so Bob and I wandered over to check it out. The place was teeming with people chowing down on German grub and drinking from their extensive collection of import brews. There where people wandering around in full lederhosen getups and a couple of St. Paulie Girl looking ladies, which I had a hard time determining if they worked for the place, or where just German enthusiasts. There was a polka band playing in the back and tents setup outside. Bob grabbed us some gigantor beer steins loaded with tasty goodness…a full liter to be exact. We got to keep the steins too which is cool, as neither of us could manage a refill on the monster. The things are so big it’s actually hard to drink out of them. Bob kept splashing himself in the face every time he set his down, and I swear my wrist popped out of its socket trying to tip that thing for a sip. Good times, lots of fun and a wonderful atmosphere on a Sunday evening.

The Save the Whales Post

2008-10-27T07:41:00.000-07:00

On Sunday I headed down to the Mall with Eric, just to wander and enjoy the nice weather. It’s nice being back in DC and having an appreciation for how much ‘stuff’ goes on here. We walked the length of the mall and saw some pretty interesting things. The Marine Corps Marathon was finishing up right when we got there so we got to see people jaunting across the finish line while the onlookers cheered and applauded them. 26 miles…yikes. Well done guys. A little bit further down we ran into Mr. Can Head, posing by some landmarks in his trademark bin-on-head outfit. Don’t ask me why, here’s his myspace. I went over and asked him why he had a bucket on his head and he gave me his card and disappeared. Strange. Very strange.

The best part on our walk of seeming randomness was the Save the Whales rally going on in front of the Capitol Building*. Heroes’ Hayden Panettiere was there giving a press conference about the importance of whale conservation and whaling regulation. After she finished guys from the Whaleman Foundation staked out an area of the lawn and positioned people in the shape of a giant whale. They needed extra people and where giving out free t-shirts, so Eric and I joined in and became part of the whale's tail. A large cherry picker across the street with photographers took pictures…which I am yet to find on the net yet (here’s one they did elsewhere). Afterward we where going to stop for a picture with Hayden, but a reporter grabbed her for an interview that my bladder just couldn’t wait for (I had downed a large bottle of water on the metro and had spent the last hour laying on the grass as part of a whale butt), so we bailed and I sprinted for the Smithsonian bathrooms. If you’d like more info on the foundation you can find it here. While I personally agree that whaling and polluted ecosystems are destructive and need attention, I find it hard to focus in the issue at the expense of other travesties that are happening across the globe. That said I support the movement and think it’s great that people want to do something about it, I mean who wants to actually harm whales??

* I say seeming because we where actually looking for it.

The Maryland Theater Post

2008-10-27T07:09:00.001-07:00

Saturday the family, Sarah and I headed into Maryland to American University’s Greenburg Theatre. Stefan’s girlfriend Courtney is headlining the current production of Thoroughly Modern Millie. The show centers around naive Millie Dillmount (Courtney) moving to the hustle and bustle of 1920’s New York city with nothing but a dream in her pocket. She quickly finds that life in the big city is not all its cracked up to be and an aspiring actress has her work cut out for her. Along the way there are evil fake-Asians, white slavery hostels, stints in speakeasies and hanging off of rooftops. I am not big into going to theater, but I really enjoyed it. It was funny, catchy and all around a lot of fun. Courtney did a phenomenal job, as did the rest of the cast. It’s a shame Stefan isn’t back to see the show while it runs, but the family wanted to be there on his behalf for her, and we where all proud and very impressed.

The Obama Rally Post

2008-10-23T08:49:00.001-07:00

Yesterday Sarah took off work early to pick me up and take me out to Leesburg for an Obama rally. We piled into the van with Patti and Jacob and headed off down the Greenway along with 10,000 other vehicles who all has the same hopes of seeing Obama speak. Traffic was INSANE and considering how much time we left in advance I was amazed to see how off the mark we where. It took us about 2 hours to travel a distance that should have taken 25 minutes. Had I know the rally was on I would have spent the day down with Ali and Bob who live within walking distance of the park where the rally was being held. Oh well. We made it there and marched down the street at a quick clip to the park and managed to shuffle through the crowd to the top of a hill overlooking the rally. There where so many people there it was ridiculous, elbows and arms where in people’s faces, children where getting trodden on, and moving was all but impossible. It’s amazing how pushy and rude people can be at these sorts of events when they think they might catch a glimpse of celebrity. Everyone was vying for a view, and some seemed to want to get onto the stage with the amount of elbows they where throwing. Negativity aside I am really glad I got to go and see him speak before the election in two weeks. I hope to say I was there at something historical when he becomes the next president but I don’t want to jinx anything yet. I was there. (albeit at a good distance). I can’t imagine what DC will be like the day the new chief is sworn in…

I think the best part about the whole rally though was the aftermath. There where McCain supporters who posted up on the opposite side of the street shouting things like “Don’t’ Vote for A Terrorist!” and various ramblings about how they don’t want to be taxed more (I really wish they would read the plan and see that's just crap…but whatever they seemed happy). The worst of it though where a group of children that had duct tape over their mouths and hand-painted signs that said “Aren’t you glad your mother chose life?” which I thought was ridiculous. I felt bad for the kids if anything, standing their in the cold while Mom and Dad tossed jibes back and forth with the exiting mob from the rally. Said mob was rather entertaining walking down the Leesburg streets. Everyone was chanting OBAMA! OBAMA! And booing at any McCain signs people has on their lawns. Crowd control was rough when the motorcade came and went with people lingering the streets and in many cases wandering aimlessly in the middle of intersections. All said and done it was quite the experience to say the least, and well worth getting to be a part of even if I can’t vote for the guy.

The Chicken Tika Post

2008-10-20T10:25:00.000-07:00

Over the past two years I have mainly been eating two types of food. Those that are microwavable and those that begin with 'Mc'. Sufficed to say I am a pretty shitty cook, or at least a very out of practice one. Since being back Mum has taken it upon herself to include me in the preparation of a few meals that she things would be things I could take away and cook myself in the future. Last week we made Tuna Cakes or as I like to call them Poor Man’s Crab Cakes, which where tasty and really easy. And this past weekend I cooked one of my favorite dishes; Chicken Tika Marsala with thick Naan Bread. It was a lot of work, particularly the bread, but after a good few hours in the kitchen, when it was time to eat, everyone seemed to agree that it worked out well. I took a snappy to prove my culinary prowess, though I promise it tasted better than it looked. Next week’s menu: 13-fish Bouillabaisse and Beef Wellington!Also pictured: Lankshark Lager. Now available in Virginia. Woo hoo!