Movie Review (Chronicles of Narnia;The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe)

I rented this for our "family movie night" this past Saturday. It was quite a challenge to take on a story that so many people have read, and a story that provides a beautiful metaphor for Christ's sacrifice. For the cast, relative unknowns delivered outstanding performances in the children's roles and the main adult charachters were also superb. While the theme of the movie is simply wildly fantastic, the story was brought to the screen in a very real sense. Andrew Adamson, of Shrek and some Batman fame, presented the story consistently and wonderfully. The scenery and action scense were pretty well done, although I would like to have seen all of the cgi done as well as Mr Tumnus' legs and the centaurs. It might be that they actually wanted some of the charachters to appear less real to enhance Aslan's appearance. As expected Aslan giving his life to prevent the death of an undeserving "traitor" was done exceptionally well, and conveyed the message of Christ's sacrifice completely.
I recommend this movie to ages 5 to 155, there are some frightening scenes but that's why the parents should be there with their children.

LeBron James

I know the Cavaliers lost their series, and I don't really even like basketball that much, but this kid is really good. I watched him for the first time last night then decided to look up some of his stats after seeing how well he plays. I just wanted to say how impressed I was with his game, and how well he seems to handle himself both on and off the court.

Movie Review (King Kong)

I am a fan of the original movie even though the entire premise of the movie becomes semi-ridiculous with the whole ape loves a woman undercurrent. I will also admit that I had pretty high hopes for Peter Jackson's remake, I normally try to view a movie with a clean slate but just couldn't this time.
So for my review here is the good:

Jack Black delivered a great performance in a non-comedic role.
All of the actors held their own and played their parts very well.
SOME of the cinematography is absolutely exceptional. ( Island natives scenes, stage scenes, some of the jungle.)


Here is the bad:
WAY too much cgi animation. I understand the need for animated parts, but I am pretty sure the entire thing was shot on a blue screen.
All of the "monster" scenes went a bit too far. It felt like a video game at times.
The exagerration of some of the animals was ridiculous. The bats and some of the "bugs" at the bottom of the valley were plain ludicrous.

Here is the ugly:
Naomi Watts is a pretty girl and actually looked athletic enough for many of the jarring scenes; however, she has a set of choppers that would make Bugs Bunny Jealous.
Adrien Brody was also exceptional yet definitely not the classic "leading man". I actually like to see non-pretty actors sometimes.
Jack Black, 'nuff said.
It was neat to see "plain" looking folks taking the lead and some of the "pretty" actors work in supporting roles

Overall I would not recommend the movie. I feel like Mr. Jackson was kind of going for a Lord of the Rings type of film and Kong just doesn't have enough to work with. I would love to see a version that was more true to the original although, as stated previously, the entire animal person love theme undercurrent is ridiculous to start with.

Oprah Winfrey (divine?)

I think Oprah Winfrey does some absolutely marvelous things for SOME people, and at times exhibits the type of kindness we should all strive to give others. I also think that whoever wrote this article is off their rocker. It is sad that people still try to conform God to themselves instead of themselves to God. Oprah is not divine, and is not a good spiritual role-model. Oprah believes marriage is archaic and has no place in modern society, this flies in the face of several doctrines not just christianity. I don't mean to knock Oprah, just anyone who views her this way.

Once again, to clarify, when I say God I mean God who sent his son Jesus to die for MY sins that I, a common sinner, might live forever in the Kingdom of Heaven. I don't mean some ephemeral superstitious god that you cannot know, or have to learn a secret handshake, or be of a certain "level" to see the inner sanctuary.

What is torture?

Did you know that the poster child for the "torture" being conducted in our military facilities was supposed to be the 20th hijacker on 9/11? This article is interesting in that it actually states that this man intended to be cutting open Americans and flying a jet into out Capitol yet his torture is so awful. I hope his life sucks until the day he dies, if it weren't for Jose' Melendez this guy would have killed many more people with zero remorse. The worst thing about the whole situation is the Mr. Melendez's actions would be considered unfair and discriminatory by today's standards. Thankfully he was allowed to do his job. The tactics used are very mild compared to what real torture is. Having music blared into your room or being sleep deprived, maybe having womens underwear put on your head is certainly not the worst thing in the world. Having your fingernails extracted, electro-shock, and chemical interrogation would be torture. The PC police should have to go to S.E.R.E. school. It's just as bad as anything our detainees have been faced with.

All that being said, I do think it was ridiculous that some of those jackasses "played" with inmates and snapped a bunch of pictures, that is certainly grounds for dismissal and should be dealt with accordingly. Sadistic idiots like that should not be guarding prisoners, but unfortunately we are forced to let people who aren't qualified have jobs they shouldn't have becuase we try to treat everyone equally. People who will be guarding deadly prisoners like these should have a bit tighter selection process, but of course that might hurt someone's feelings so we will let whoever volunteers have the job.

Next time you have the privilege of meeting a veteran please thank them for what they did/do, and leave your politics out of it.

American Idol (Chris Daughtry)

Sometimes I wonder if this contest is fair, or do I really just like a style of music that isn't popular? Probably I just like music that isn't popular, but now I don't have any contestants I would enjoy watching. On the plus side I did hear someone refer to Elliot Yamin as "teen wolf" which I found very funny. Feel free to sign the petition, click here.
I also like the conspiracy theories:

Rebecca Romijn loves Taylor?
Link 1
Link 2

This week's funny

If you aren't a parent it won't quite be the same but here goes.

Every now and then I find these notes under my pillow or stuck to the back of my laptop that are simply the funniest thing ever. I will find this brightly colored piece of construction paper with typically some sort of picture drawn on it which represents my family. Often written in crayon but sometimes just whatever piece of parchment and writing utensil was closest. When I unfold the piece of paper or discover the post-it stuck to my screen there will, invariably, be some little girl giggling that will emanate from around a corner or under a bed or behind a door. The picture will show all members of the family having some sort of fun together whether it's playing outside, playing a game, watching tv, or just having supper. The text will read as follows:

" Dear Daddy
I love you,
I hope you do to
love,
sekret mirer"

So far I have been unable to catch this person but I do have a pretty good idea who it might be. This is one of the many joys of parenthood I thought I could pass along.

Psalm 127: 3-5

More crappy drivers

Is there honestly a reason everyone seems to drive 10-20 M.P.H. over the speed limit now? Everywhere I go I see ridiculously agressive drivers who fly by me then sit and wait for me at the next traffic light or stop sign. I was going 35 mph in a 30 mph zone yesterday and some jackass passed on a curve just to turn into a subdivision entrance. He wasn't late for work, which isn't a good excuse either, or trying to get medical attention, just headed home. I haven't seen a speeder pulled over for years anywhere. I want the cops to get out there and start slowing people down, in fact the only place I have ever seen a cop looking for speeders in the last several years is on the interstates. Even there they seem to let people go 15 over and recently I saw two huge semi trucks going 80 in a 55 right past a cop and he did nothing. I am going to keep writing to my local Police until I see something done about all these crappy Nascar "wanna-be" drivers. Here is a great web page on how cool you are if you drive like one of these idiots. Click here.

I am also getting really tired of seeing idiots with cell phones trying to negotiate things like intersections. I mean I don't mind people talking if they use a heasdset or on the open road, but it's really stupid to try in traffic. If you would like to know how talented you really are at multitasking get two of your friends and have each one of them start reading a different story to you that you haven't previously heard. Take a quick test at the end and see if you were paying attention equally, I bet one story suffered more than the other. For more on this subject click here.

I had no idea

I didn't know illegal immigration was so expensive. Check out some of this stuff:
Yahoo Answers
L.A. Daily News

Some of these numbers are astounding, please remember that this refers to illegal immigrants only. Legal immigrants pay taxes and contribute to society just like any other U.S. citizen.

Celebrities and their causes

Has anyone noticed that celebrities attach themselves to causes which require intervention from politicians? I agree that the atrocities in the Sudan are awful and something should be done, I don't mean to downplay that. Truly, what is keeping celebrities from feeding the homeless right here in this country, or helping to build a home for a single mother who left an abusive situation or lost someone? I see some athletes doing that but not any movie stars. Is it not high-profile enough, or does it place too much accountability directly on the individual choosing to be involved?

National Immigration Day

Today thousands of immigrants, legal and illegal, are going to boycott shopping and going to work or school. This display is intended to show the American legislators how critical they are to our society. While I welcome immigrants to this country, I only welcome them through the legal channels. Illegal immigrants tend to not pay taxes and send the majority of their income back to their families in some other country. I also don't understand how skipping work and school will display what productive citizens they are or how vital to our economy they might be. I had hoped there would be better organization and the ability to argue their point rather than taking to the streets to protest en masse. Once again I feel that this tactic will backfire. Large crowds that are very passionate about their cause often turn into something violent or are viewed as hostile by those who aren't part of the movement. In my town there is not much impact, five Mexican restaurants are closed and a few stores. Those stores serve predominantly hispanic/latino customers so that is not really affecting anyone's routine.

Good News

No one else named Clausen will be playing at Tennessee. Jimmy Clausen has decided to go play for Charlie Weiss at Notre Dame. I am not really a Vols fan, and I am certainly not a Clausen fan. Jimmy is purported to be the best of the three brothers, but that really isn't saying too much. I do hope that he goes on to have a fantastic career at ND and fully takes advantage of the great coaches they have there. It's creepy how much he looks like Casey, I hope he isn't as arrogant.

Cell phones while driving

No Kidding!

Tom Cruise (off the deep end)

So, did anyone see this guy last night with Diane Sawyer? I think he has lost his marbles, everything he said sounded like he was a used car salesman trying to convince the world to buy some borken down rust bucket. I don't know who is managing his medication, but the crazy mood swings between Oprah and last night are pretty entertaining. By the way he also can't remember the last time he had a cold and attributes that to Scientology. Scientology is just a fantastic topic on its own, but can bea easily summed up with the word Xenu. Xenu has enslaved us all with his psychic influence, and L. Ron Hubbard figured out how to save us all. by the way Xenu is an alien, not a protest marching alien a real "I got a flying saucer" alien. Here's some fun reading on the religion that seems to be very popular right now. Pretty soon I won't be able to go to the movies anymore, all the actors irritate me too much. I wish they would just go back to being pretty.

I'm so buff

I have been wanting a Bowflex for several years, and finally broke down and bought one. I am already feeling the benefits and I haven't used it. It's like it grows muscle for you, just lugging the three hundred or so odd pounds up the stairs made me feel incredibly fit. Perhaps I will use it again three years from now. I debated some before and after type photos, but the before stuff would honestly just be bad news for everyone, and the after might be six or seven years from now.

Movie Review (Wedding Crashers)

This movie was fun to watch despite one or two small shortcomings. First let me say you must enjoy juvenile typically "male" humor to like this movie at all. If that's your bag, you will be in stitches during certain portions of this movie. Truly the only thing I didn't like was the tendency to drop some F-bombs in th emiddle of a scene that was funny enough without extra swearing. This type of problem was also evident in the movie The 40 Year Old Virgin. That being said the story is a riot balancing between tense moments of being busted and laugh out loud moments where I could not contain myself at all. For those of you that have seen this flick, the conversation on the stairs in the mansion between the two main charachters was a timeless piece of comedy. Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson are perfect for this and will hopefully work more together in the future. Christopher Walken also delivered a perfectly balanced and well-acted charachter, something that is all too rare at the movies today. I do recemmend seeing this if you don't mind the premise and the sometimes overly strong language.

Movie Review (Monster In-Law)

This movie sucks, and I don't mean "I'm a guy who doesn't like romantic comedies" type suck. I mean "Perhaps you can die of boredom" type sucking. I belive the story and script are well-written, but the acting was horrid. Jennifer Lopez and Alias dude were mediocre, and Jane Fonda was TERRIBLE. Wanda Sykes could have made the movie, but all she said the whole time was stupid stuff like "Oh, shit!" The main reason I think it was the acting and not the story was that when J-Lo's roomates are in a scene it's pretty decent. Unfortunately, those scenes are pretty rare. The story was predictable but could have been funny if the acting or perhaps the directing of certain actors had been better. I recommend avoiding this picture at all costs.

Representative McKinney's apology (or not?)

I would like to first say that I appreciate the efforts of our lawmakers and elected representatives. They make enormous sacrifices and work very hard. Now please read this "apology".

"There should not have been any physical contact in this incident," McKinney said.

"I am sorry that this misunderstanding happened at all, and I regret its escalation and I apologize," she said surrounded by colleagues on the House floor.

She said she would vote for a resolution expressing support for the efforts of Capitol Police.

Is she apologizing for her actions, or the actions of the officer? This is the kind of double-talk that gives both Democrats and Republicans a bad name. It's the way petulant children apologize when forced by a parent.
Example given:

"I am sorry you are such an idiot!"

Great Video

Eye Opener

I recently had to quit the praise team at church for a few months because I am actively serving in too many areas. This was a difficult decision since I get so much enjoyment from leading worship, and being around my fellow band members. The eye opener was two weeks ago my 6 year old was worshipping next to me during the praise service, and in the middle of the second song she stopped cold and said "Why aren't you up there?" I realized my children have never seen their father not leading worship. I knelt down and explained to her that "Daddy is too busy right now." My beautiful sensitive little girl stuck her hands on her hips, looked me up and down then asked "Doing what?!?" As far as she is concerned I should be up there since I can be out in the congregation at that moment, unfortunately the 3-6 hours a week that ministry involves just aren't there for me right now. I am very hopeful that I will be able to rejoin the band soon, I miss it.

Islam doesn't suck

No, it isn't ok to bash Muslims it does appear to be perfectly acceptable for a Muslim to kill a Christian however they see fit though. The top picture speaks for itself. You would think the story of that poor man who converted to Christianity would spark a little more debate than it has. I hope he gets to live in peace somewhere without some jackass hunting him down and killing him for no good reason.

In another rant I have noticed that several Latino groups are protesting in the streets about some new immigration law. I have to say that taking to the streets in this manner may cause people to enact the very legislation they are trying to fight.

R.I.P. 02/05/97 - 03/24/06 (Brooklyn)

My first baby is gone. After nine years Brooklyn had begun to injure herself terribly whenever she was left alone. Attempts to find her a new home were unsuccessful, and even the Weimaraner rescue advised that she be put down. The girls took her to the rescue's veterinarian Friday. I don't think they understand yet that she is really gone, and both of them want to know when we can get another dog.

In more exciting news I got rear-ended right after they dropped the dog off at the vet, and had to leave the band at church for awhile. Last week sucked.

Harry Reid on CNN

How can you be so liberal and so narrow-minded:
This is from Dr. Bill Frist, reading the interview I would have to agree.

"During the course of the interview, Harry Reid said:

1. The wiretapping of Al Qaeda terrorists by the NSA was illegal.
2. That he, as leader of Senate Democrats, would not rule out impeaching President Bush over the wiretapping program.
3. He would seek to filibuster the border security legislation, Secure America’s Borders Act, that I introduced in the Senate last Thursday because it focused only on border security and interior enforcement.
4. He is in favor of “fair track” amnesty for the estimated 11 million illegal aliens.
5. He does not believe in improving the physical security of our borders, because with better interior enforcement of employers, illegal immigration would stop (Harry forgot about the very real possibility of drug runners and terrorists crossing our porous borders…I imagine they wouldn’t be looking for jobs).

Comments like this make very clear what is at stake in November.

Republicans need to rally around the President. We need to support our Senate and House candidates. We need to volunteer on their behalf. We need to walk door to door. We need to write letters to the editor. We need to post messages on popular online bulletin boards. And we need to wake up to the reality of what a Democrat controlled Senate led by Harry Reid would mean for our country.

To read the full text of the Reid interview please click here."

Weird news stories

Check these out:
http://www.cnn.com/US/ too weird.

In other news, I have had to give up a hobby/ministry I really enjoy for a little while. I am just too dang busy these days.

George Clooney (loser)

Sometimes, however rare, actors today tend to think they understand politics or that we care what their opinion is concerning global matters. While I appreciate the talent these people have and enjoy some of the work they do I can't help but marvel at the abject stupidity which plagues certain members of Hollywood's elite. During the introductory monologue by Jon Stewart when hosting the Oscars he joked that "The Oscars is really I guess the one night of the year when you can see all your favorite stars without having to donate any money to the Democratic Party. And it's exciting for the stars as well because it's the first time many of you have ever voted for a winner." Let me point out the truth and humor here.

Truth: "The Oscars is really I guess the one night of the year when you can see all your favorite stars without having to donate any money to the Democratic Party."

Humor:"And it's exciting for the stars as well because it's the first time many of you have ever voted for a winner."

That's good stuff that we can all giggle and laugh about. Something not as funny is what someone like George Clooney actually believes. He believes that entertainers, himself included, are some sort of hero or someone to be admired for more than their stagecraft. His acceptance speech was truly ridiculous and quite indicative of several Hollywood attitudes. While it would be admirable if what he said was true, it simply isn't. Some facts about the media and AIDS are readily available for anyone to read. I would have to say that the heroes with regard to AIDS or civil rights or anything else he attempted to take credit for are the people who actually paid the price and fought the fight. Hollywood may later shed some light on the subject from their point of view, and certainly cash in on the ideas or actions of someone else but they never lead the way. Guys like Clooney and Cruise are really starting to polarize Hollywood against what the perceived majority of America tends to believe. The other thing I don't understand is why all of these people (entertainers) are part of the Church of Scientology, is it trendy and cool? Perhaps they get more information than others, it would be worth researching.

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.
Teddy Roosevelt

Ford (Choosing Sides)

So, Ford Motors has decided to actively support and fund some homosexual groups. I think it was probably not very smart to choose sides in this debate, I would take the Disney "gay day" approach. Disney does not support or discourage this event and it isn't sanctioned or funded by them, a bunch of gay people just happen to show up that day and probably shock some unsuspecting kids and families. Choosing sides in this type of situation will most certainly hurt your bottom line, no pun intended. The AFA is already circulating this link in the hopes of getting Ford back on neutral ground. The odd part of this campaign is that no one ever asked Ford to denounce the gay lifestyle, just don't fund it.

Newest NFL shakeup (Edgerrin James)

The Arizona Cardinals signed Mr. James to a four year $30 million contract. The good news for him is he can earn almost half, 14.75, the first year in salary, signing bonus and roster bonus. This is also bad news for Arizona one of the weakest teams I have ever seen and this move will help them very little if they don't grab some more talent. Edgerrin a few years ago probably could have shouldered the team but those days are probably behind him.

Tim McGraw

In typical Hollywood/Entertainer style Tim McGraw and Faith Hill toured the gulf coast area devastated by Katrina and began to harshly criticize the federal government and specifically President Bush. Ironically this comes five days AFTER President Bush made his fifth visit to the area and chastised congress for their slow response. He also asked for 38 billion dollars to be appropriated as quickly as possible to speed up the process. Of course this act doesn't make the news since it wasn't something seemingly evil. Someone needs to get a handle on how much high profile people are allowed to shoot off at the mouth before they apprise themselves fully of a situation. I also think Tim McGraw plans to pursue politics when he quits the music business, nice start buddy.

Fish News

I caught my Jack Dempseys doing their mating dance, check it out. First he flares all of his fins out, he then shakes his entire body back and forth very powerfully. He also seems to start twitching between those other displays.

Dead Fish

I came in this morning to find my fish tank missing one of its residents. I initially thought one of the Jack Dempsey's ate it, but he was on the floor under the tank. The girls had just named him tiger. The Dempseys actually seem happier now and appear to be trying to kill each other. I hear this means they are really fond of their mate.

American Idol (front runner already?)

So, I admit I like watching this show. The first three weeks are hilarious, and the last three are usually pretty stellar. While there have been some funny moments thus far, no one has really been "great". There have been some good singers, all better then me, and some decent performances yet nothing that made people or the judges say wow. Last night that all changed when this happened. Check it out, dude brings it.

Free Agency

There isn't a lot of good that can be said about free agency, eventually it will tear apart your favorite team. The merry-o-round has started and already there appear to be some good free agents available. Mike Anderson, Stephen Davis, and Trevor Pryce are some of the big names that were cut loose yesterday. It does always make for an interesting off-season.

Hockey Fans (Knoxville IceBears)

I took my kids to "family night" last week so they could get enjoy an evening out and see a medium-sized sporting event. I was a little worried since I have always thought hockey fans are pretty rude and really only go to see the fights. I was completely wrong about the fighting, in fact, the family in front of me was so engrossed with the game they completely ignored their two 6 year old girls. The girls tapped me on the knees and legs all night asking questions about this and that, and when they tried to ask their parents to go to the bathroom they had to wait for an intermission. I was right about the rudeness, even on family night when an opposing player was introduced everyone would yell "SUCKS!" after his name was announced; classy. After every goal a rousing rendition of Gary Glitter's rock n' roll part II would kick up only to have a chant kick up at the end that went " We're gonna beat the hell outta you...." That's stuff I guess I just need to expect around something like that but the worst thing was the complete lack of fair play and respect for an opponent. At one point the opposing team clearly scored a goal that was not awarded to them. When the officials reviewed the play and gave them the point the place erupted in profanity and shrieking. That's the worst display of sportsmanship I have ever seen. Yes, you should want to win and compete very hard. No, you should not want to win at the expense of fair play.

Mac OSX (got jacked!)

Hmmm, looks like some hackers are starting to take advantage of the, sometimes, overconfident Mac users out there. I had been wondering how long it would take for people with ill-intent to start going after Apple. FYI every operating system is exactly as secure as the person poking the keys.

Word of the century (so far)

I heard this from a young person the other day and almost died laughing. See also "Foop".
Shart.

Winter Olympics Coverage (sucks)

NBC is really trying hard to cover the Olympics, but can't seem to understand why their ratings are poor. Let me sum up television viewing for all of the networks, as if they give a crap about what I think. When the time difference for the host country is six hours ahead, you face significant challenges because of the Internet. The best way to cmbat this is to have a more flexible schedule. Do not try to save the "high-profile" events too long. For example they are trying to broadcast in our area from 8-12 at night, I can assurethem that only about three people in this country have any desire to watch Ice Dancing during prime time. The events that interest me are sanwiched between the most boring events in the world. I would rather just read the results than try to suffer through curling or some gay ice skater. If they want people to watch they need to get the American athletes to win, and if not win then at least stop acting like some sort of primadonna. They should also show the "more exciting" events as soon as possible to prevent people from dying of boredom during "the crucial third rock" on sheet b of whatever the crap that means.
The other thing to understand is that you can hype an unpopular sport or program all you want, you can show it in everyone's favorite tv watching time, you cannot make it not boring or stupid though. If you show a crappy show/sport thurday at 8 p.m. on thursday, it won't make people watch it. I can't figure out why this is so difficult to understand, T.V. executives are firmly convinced that showing crapola in a hot time slot will boost the ratings. It will, but only because they are hunting for their favorite show which you just stuck at 10 pm on Sunday.
Moving a good show to a crappy time slot can significantly reduce its lifespan. This is because no matter how much you like a sport/show it isn't worth dragging yourself into work late or dead tired just to catch some show. Of course none of this will work if we keep trying to push unpopular ideas, Commander-in-Chief or The Book of Daniel, on people who don't want to watch it. Sure there is a small minority that want to see this stuff, but T.V. just can't be in the business of pleasing the smaller crowd or they will lose all their money.
I will now wait by the phone for the job offers from all the T.V. networks.

Movie Review (Sahara)

This movie also had enormous potential that seemed to be unrealized. The premise was great, and I never really wanted to turn the thing off, but I was also never really engaged in the story. In their defense, moviemakers in the Indiana Jones-style really have a lot to live up to and probably won't ever be able to reach that level. The sidekick charachter in this movie is hilarious, and everyone does a credible job, the story just isn't great.

Movie review (40 yr old Virgin)

Done in the National Lampoon style this movie had enormous potential. This potential was unrealized as the writers seemed to rely on excessive foul language for laughs when it just wasn't needed. Several very funny scenes are interrupted by the F word when it just doesn't work with the situation. There are several hilarious moments, but unfortunately they don't overcome the ridiculous abuse of cuss words. In the end, the guy actually waits until he is married to have sex.

Bryant Gumbel

So I heard a rumor that Bryant Gumbel said he isn't interested in the Winter Olympics because there aren't enough black athletes competing. Interesting that Mr. Gumbel can say that and not be called a racist. Let's try that same statement a different way. "I don't really watch the NBA because there aren't enough white athletes playing." I think my statement would be received differently for some reason. I am pretty sure that Bryant Gumbel rarely says things of this nature, and this type of statement seems out of charachter for him. By the way that's a picture of him with his wife Hilary.

Movie Review (Firewall)

I read somewhere that this movie was boring, Harrison Ford's performance was weak, and it was technically inaccurate. This movie was very entertaining, and the directors and writers did a good job of allowing their main charachter, Ford, to make significant mental leaps that a security analyst would be capable of. Harrison Ford was vintage Jack Ryan which is what some people are knocking, they must have forgotten how well he played that part. This charachter is similiar and Ford did a great job with it.
Now for the nerds thatread this, there are several things that were a little off. In the beginning of the movie as Harrison Ford and one of his employees decide to activeky block a hacker attempting to breach the bank's security. They choose to insert a router ACL instead of using a security device. While this method is effective, no security analyst would place the load on their infrastructure routing mechanism when other means were available. Additionally he uses a ridiculously simple password for home security, and his personal identity was very easily compromised. All screenshots I can recall showed accurate Cisoc IOS and Unix commands, nothing looked fake or Hollywood like Swordfish and other "hacking" movies. Overall I would say this movie is a lot better than most other things that have come out recently.

Al Gore and Hollywood

Al Gore has once again proven he will say whatever seems to make the people in the room happy regardless of the truth. This past Sunday he was addressing a room of people in Saudi Arabia and apologized for all the terrible abuses arabs have suffered since 9/11/01. He stated that arab men were "indiscriminately rounded up" and held in "unforgiveable conditions". This is just not true, and if he had come out from under whatever rock he was hiding under at the time he would have known that. In his defense this may have still benn during his sulking bearded stage after losing the 2000 Presidential election. While I believe people are entitled to their opinion, this anti-american crap is stupid.
Speaking of anti-american, have you seen Billy Zane and Gary Busey's new project Valley of the Wolves Iraq? This movie portrays U.S. Marines actively shooting civilians intentionally, and Gary Busey's Rabbi charachter harvests organs from dead arab children and sells them on the black market. So not only is this anti-american like Munich, Syriana, and most of the asshats in Hollywood, it's anti-semitic. Since it was made in Turkey it isn't getting a lot of press. Yes Turkey, our NATO "ally". This is not the way I like our country portrayed, especially by people who have never served our country and certainly never served during a war.

Mrs. King's Funeral or (The Democratic National Convention?)

I watched the eulogies delivered yesterday for Mrs. King and was shocked at the remarks made by President Carter and Reverand Lowery. What a terrible forum to present your politics and slander a man who was actually in the room. This type of grandstanding is shameless.
President Carter made reference to the Kings being wiretapped many years ago, which was something that should not have happened. Comparing that to what the NSA is currently doing however is ludicrous. Did you know that for the NSA to monitor you under the current conditions that one end of the monitored call must be destined to or originate from a known terrorist country? That's right, calls within the borders of the United States are not monitored. As for Rev. Lowery's ridiculous speech about WMD and the "fact" that they don't exist I guess he hasn't read this. Might make some people question who they call a liar.
I don't agree with everything the President does or says, and sometimes I wonder if it would be possible for him to further alienate some people from his cause. Yesterday's remarks from the left certainly demonstrated that you can further alienate people from your politics with just a few poorly chosen words at exactly the wrong time. The funniest part was President Clinton acting like his wife will be the next President, that just won't happen I've been over that before. It is always best to wait for the correct forum to wage your political wars, yesterday was not it.

Muslim Cartoon

The violence over the "anti-muslim" cartoons is ridiculous. Muslims all over the world continually slander Jews and Christians in their media even portraying them as Nazis. The difference is Jews and Christians don't start rioting and killing people over it. The hypocrisy of these acts is astounding, the majority of these rioters apparently think it's ok to portray jews as child killers as evidenced in the top cartoon, but you can't poke a little fun at Mohammed. I think Mohammed can take it just a bit if his people are willing to dish it out. Here is a pretty decent article. He has several nice Muslim cartoons in there, anyone want to start a riot?

Gangsta Rap (doesn't suck, no)

So the whole persona of rap seems semi-ridiculous, but apparently it has a niche with the ridiculous misspelling of words and mostly terrible lyrics. Recently a co-worker of mine rented a car with a gangsta rap cd stuck in the CD player. We decided to try and identify the artist by the lyrics, they went something like this:

" MotherF***in' n**ga too f***in' hype." " bust a f***in' cap in yo' n**ga a**." " Oh hell yeah, you like it like that."

This was every song on the disc. I stuck the lyrics in Google and apparently these lyrics are actually in several different songs by different artists, it really didn't narrow anything down for me. We did get a good laugh out of the whole experience though.

Movie Review (Crocodile Hunter)

I saw this about three weeks ago on Fox, I believe, during a slow rainy weekend. The movie was pretty funny and as entertaining as the regular show is. I am giving it a negative review because it has been on every weekend for the past three weeks, and it has been on multiple times duruing those weekends. This crappy lazy programming is awful, I mean really they have to have enough movies in the vault to show something different.

Truckers

Let me start by saying I know how much truckers contribute to our infrastructure by performing their jobs. America cannot survive without these men and women.

That said I also think only about 1/3 of them are actually decent drivers. If you ever listen to channel 19 on a CB they are constantly whining about "4 wheelers". That means you and me in our family vehicles. They constantly complain about us being in their way, which is probably valid since most people around me seem to think they are on a Nascar track. The problem I see is when these giant vehicles are flying down the road at around 80 mph on average. This is compounded by the fact that on hilly terrain they can only go 50 uphill and 90-100 downhill. The drivers are also paid by the mile, so the farther they can go and the faster they can get there, the more they get paid. All of this is a recipe for disaster, if you don't believe me just take a trip on an interstate anywhere, if you survive these giant drowsy speed demons you will probably agree. I think they should start paying these guys a regular salary or just by the trip. They currently are required to keep some sort of log, but apparently it's pretty easy to fake it.

Movie review( Underworld Evolution)

I saw Underworld Evolution with some co-workers this past week. If you liked the first one, you should definitely go see it. Like the first movie, the plot is not what's important. The cinematography was not quite as good in this one and the fight scenes were all kind of anticlimatic. Making up for all of that however was Kate Beckinsale looking uber smoking hot in, and sometimes out of, her tight leather outfit. I give it a 2.5 out of five stars.