I Was Attacked

There I was, minding my own business today on the disc golf course, when I was attacked.  This was an unprovoked attack, too, as I was simply walking along and enjoying the outdoors.  Yes, I was attacked by some sort of stinging insect.  The first bite or sting came out of nowhere.  All of the sudden, a sharp pain in my right shoulder alerted me to my brutal attacker.  I called out to Brandon that I was just stung, and no sooner than I got the words out, I was bitten again on my hand.  Now I was starting to freak out.  Was this is a swarm or just some sort of coked-up, PCP- induced bee that had it in for me?  As I swung my hands around to prevent further pain, the dude landed right on my sunglasses, letting me see the culprit first hand and up close.  It was like the scenes in the movies where you see your attacker's face right before you die and the screen fades to black.  Up close, it LOOKED like a bee, save for the orange color being replaced by a bright yellow hue.  I swung to get him away from my person and Brandon shooed him away with a disc.  But then, it started to attack him.  I guess he must have been swinging enough as he never got bit.  By the time I regained my composure and thought to go save him from impending doom by the mutant zombie bee from Hell, it had flown away.  A few hours later, my stings still hurt.   In fact, as I type this nearly 8 hours later, I still get little tings of pain here and there, as if the bee is still reminding me, "Yeah, I got you, bitch!"  That was my day.

In better news, I got a new TV.  Well, I should say WE got a new TV and we also got new living room furniture.  Yeah, I am a spoiled brat.  Check out the before and after pictures as we went from brown furniture and a 40 inch LCD to DARK brown furniture and a 55 inch Samsung LED.  Yeah, it rocks...

A Battle to the Death!

These two people about to kill each other (which I took of course) pretty much describes what I witnessed in my first ever game of Bunco on Friday night.  Jess and my Mom started a Bunco league a few months ago and it has been really successful so far.  However, this month, she was short two people and unable to get subs so she suckered me and Brandon into filling in.  2 guys and 10 women and it was a totally different world.  Unlike my poker games, which are relatively quiet, these women were LOUD, often resorting to yelling at each other, hurrying each other up, and calling each other some colorful names.  Sure, it is all in fun, but the decibel level often reached the level of a decent rock concert.  The night was QUITE unforgettable, for sure!

But back to those army pictures and why they were really taken!  A few months ago, hell, maybe 6 or more months ago, Brandon mentioned he found all his old army men at his parents' house and I asked him to bring them over for photo opportunities.  I still remember the night of emptying the boxes on the poker table and separating them into the colors of each army.  It may not sound fun, but we were also doing tequila shots so that can make any mundane task that much more fun!  I am sure that the sounds Jessica and Yvette were hearing from the next room sounded like we were doing something much more fun than we actually were.

Anyways, at that time, I was still doing the picture of the day, but wanted to save the army men until I had time to set a bunch of them up.  Well, the picture of the day project came and went and I totally forgot the army men were still here in a closet until today.  So with work done for the day and Jess at work a few more hours, I set up some of the men and took some shots.

Here are a couple, but you can see the complete set with the link below...







Check out the whole awesome set here!

Taking it to the EXTREME!

When I first saw the extreme sport of Street Luge a few years backs while watching the X-Games on ESPN, I thought it was so cool and so crazy at the same time.  Lay flat on a board going downhill on concrete at blinding speeds?  Where do I sign up.......to watch?  Seriously, it is crazy and so dangerous.  The wipeouts are spectacular. 



So are you an idiot if you try it?  Not if you are a superhero!!!  Today, Iron Man showed me how it is done! 









 So, I stood in the middle of a fairly busy street to take these.  I must have waited about 10 minutes for a clear break in traffic.  You do what you gotta do to get the shot, right?  In retrospect, I should have angled the camera a little so it looked like he was going downhill.   That was a fail on my part.  Eh, what are you going to do?

Fun With Science!

Friday, my family and I went to San Francisco to the California Academy of Sciences.  Despite it not being THAT far away, none of us had ever been there.  It is amazing how many cool things can be right in your own back yard that you never take advantage of.  Hell, living in Sacramento, there is so much history pertaining to the Gold Rush and I know many people don't take advantage of all the places they can go to learn.  But, this article isn't about that.


Back to talking about the place we actually went, the Academy was really awesome.  We got to learn a lot, see some cool animals, watch a planetarium show, and otherwise, just immerse ourselves in science and learning for the day.  It was somewhat similar to the Natural History Museum that we went to in DC a couple of years ago, but just not on such a huge scale.  If I had to pick a favorite part, it would probably be a tie between watching all the adorable penguins and taking pictures of the butterflies in the enclosed rain forest habitat.  Cuteness vs cool pictures is really a tough decision! 



or


Yeah, I don't know, tough decision.  Anyways, if you want to see the rest, and I know you do, go here!

Then, after a drive back home to Sacramento, rest for a few hours and some sleep, we were back on the road Saturday morning to the Bay Area for a yearly family reunion on Jessica's side of the family.  As usual, there were games organized to keep people entertained and we had a lasso golf tournament.  I even took a break from losing in the semifinals to take a few pictures!





It was a great time, and although I didn't take many pictures, you can see the rest here!

Nice Day For a Picnic

Yesterday, Jess, Leia, and I did something I think we had never done together - we all went for a picnic in the park.  Hell, I can't remember ever going to a park for the simple goal of having a picnic.  Jess and I had actually been planning on doing it for a couple of months and I even bought a picnic bag. I just figured, we have a park down the street, we enjoy eating, and have to eat lunch, why not go to the park and have an actual picnic.  It was really nice, too!  The only drawback was that the ground was a little wet and it kind of soaked through our towel, but overall, it was great, relaxing, and yummy.  Interesting side note: I take Leia to the park all the time to go for walks in the morning.  She behaves herself and ignores other people for the most part.  During our picnic, however, when ever someone entered the park, she started barking and even got in trouble once for not stopping.  Same park, same people, but I guess the actual act of sitting down means she is claiming that park and nobody else can come in?  Was she being protective because we were on the ground?  It was odd.  Oh well.

Of course, I took my camera!  Here are a couple of pictures and be sure to check out the small slideshow right after! 

I was shot this past weekend

Yup, you read that correctly, I was shot this weekend.  In fact, just like 50 Cent, I was probably shot NINE TIMES!  How did I make such a miraculous recovery to be able to blog just two days later?  Well, luckily, I was only shot with paint balls.  Yeah, Saturday, I went paint balling for the first time in my life and I loved it!  There was a group of 9 of us who went out early Saturday morning to celebrate Brandon's birthday, and if I am correct, none of us had ever done this before.  It was pretty cool though because they put us in groups of beginners-only.  I think some people who had obviously played before slipped into our games, but for the most part, it seemed pretty fair.  Despite my prowess at shooting people in video games, my actual skills did not translate into the real world of shooting human beings.  My gun never seemed to shoot straight and I was shot more often than I actually shot other people, but I was never frustrated.  I think if we do it again, I will also choose something different in the way of clothes.  I had some jeans on and I really felt they kept me from moving how I wanted to.  Granted, I am not a nimble bunny rabbit, but I might have been able to play a little better had I been able to crouch down or run a little quicker.  I may even wear shots as I never did get shot below the knee. 

Paintballs


So the question you probably want to ask is - did it hurt to get shot?  You know what, not really!  Out of all the times I got shot, I think only one of them hurt and that is because I came around a corner and got shot from like 5 feet away by a guy who I think didn't belong in our beginner group, especially as he had his own more powerful gun.  But even then, it only stung for a sec.  Unfortunately, the after effects were worse and it bruised and formed a welt that still hurts if I move my arm a certain way. 
This was taken yesterday and it actually looks worse today!


This one on the arm doesn't hurt nearly as bad.


We were able to get some pictures of us actually playing because the girls showed up halfway through to take some pictures - after I took a picture of them, of course!


I'm the good lookin' one.  :-)


Yeah, I look deadly, don't I?!


It was a super fun time and I actually can't wait to go again.  Want to see the whole set in slideshow form?  Go here!  

After a whole day of that and being in the sun, it was home for a quick shower and then back to Brandon's house for the actual birthday party where I partook in the nectar of the gods tequila shots and stayed over until almost 3 in the morning before a cab ride was in order.  By this time, Jess was in no shape to drive home either!  As you can guess, Sunday was spent vegging on the sofa!  Good times as usual! 

I'm as mad as HELL, and I'm not going to take it anymore!

You all probably know the story by now, but read this article taken from gothamist.com

"Yesterday a JetBlue flight attendant, Steven Slater, made a dramatic departure from his job after a passenger on his flight refused to follow the rules. The meltdown occurred when Slater told a passenger not to remove bags from the overhead compartment until the plane was stopped. When his request was ignored, the 39-year-old Slater took to the intercom and declared: "To the fucking asshole that told me to fuck off, it's been a good 28 years!" He then grabbed a couple of beers, activated the emergency chute, grabbed his bags, and slid to his freedom.

Well, almost. Shortly after the Port Authority police busted him at his home in Queens (where he was already resting easy in bed with his boyfriend), but even the 50 cops that showed up couldn't kill his buzz from (those beers and) quitting his post at Jet Blue—plenty of photos and video show him smiling while in custody. He allegedly told investigators that he took his personal belongings from the plane, too, "Oh, yes. I threw the bags onto the chute. Then I slid down after them."

Slater has been charged with criminal mischief and reckless endangerment. Passenger Phil Catelinet told the TODAY show that Slater "was smiling—he was happy he had done this. He was happy he was done with his job at JetBlue." Slater is HIV positive, and also a recovering alcoholic who previously battled substance abuse problems. A couple of years ago he wrote on his MySpace page, "I am enjoying being back in the skies. Beating alcoholism and substance abuse one day at a time." As if that weren't enough, Slater is also dealing with his mother dying of lung cancer; neighbors told the Daily News "the prognosis is not good."
TMZ has the scoop from the family's end, saying "Slater told his mom he tried shutting the bin, when [the passenger] 'maliciously' pulled the bin down, striking Steven in the head." Meanwhile, the NY Times talked to those peripherally in Slater's life, who overwhelmingly called him a "very conscientious, responsible individual.”"

First off, Bravo, Steven Slater, bravo!  I commend you for your Office Space type meltdown.  Why?  Because even though he took it too an extreme that, perhaps, he shouldn't have,  I am glad this guy took a stand against the idiot who WAS BREAKING A RULE.  We will get back to that asshole in a second.  But Slater is my hero.  He took a "fuck this" attitude and went out in a blaze of glory.  Something not in the article but that you may have heard by now - right when he exited the plane, and before he went down the shoot, HE TOOK TWO BEERS WITH HIM!  Dude, that is awesome!  The only thing better would have been if he turned around once last time and put both middle fingers in the air or perhaps put up peace signs, Richard Nixon style.  Or perhaps yelled, "Fuck you everybody, goodnight!"  Again, truthfully, yeah, he went overboard, but he clearly had had enough and now that it is done, I think he is a hero to the working man. 

Now we go to the part that pisses me off.  Why is the guy who started the issue, the passenger, still anonymous?  Dude was asked to follow directions and straight out refused and then swore at the attendant actually trying to enforce the rule.  What gives this man the right to do this?  Why is this man so goddamn important that the rules don't seem to apply to him?  And then when the attendant tries to get the man to stop, he opens the compartment in Slater's face, hitting him.  And HE is not arrested?  I thought airlines flights were pretty strict now after 9/11 towards all rules.  

What irks me is that this is just another example of a growing trend in society where people think they are so important and they get to do whatever they want without regards to others.  I see it all the time now in growing frequency.  Cars don't let you back out of your parking spot and instead, zoom by you because they and their time are SO important.  People weave in and out of traffic just to move up one spot...because they are so damn important.  People cut in lines at stores....well, you know the drill.  And you may argue that this has always happened.  That is true, but I feel it is getting a LOT worse.  And there are many more examples of this in society.  People think they are just way too important nowadays and screw everyone else.  And this is exactly what this prick on the plane did.  So screw you, dude.  If Slater gets in trouble, you should too.  In fact, you started it.  You should get punished even more.....jackass.

Let's calm down with some pretty flowers I took pictures of today.







Want to check out the whole set of 10?  Just click here!  

I'm Published!

Ok, so I technically made the book myself, but my pictures are now in book form.  It took me a couple of months, but I took all the pictures from my 365 days of pictures project and put them in a book courtesy of Blurb.com.  It was cool because I got to totally layout the book how I wanted: size of pictures, where I wanted them, what text, size of text, and so on and so on.  It was basically like a blank slate on every page that I got to design exactly as I wanted.  This actually made the project take a while, but it was worth it to have it exactly as I wanted.  When I got the book, it was amazing to see the pictures that I took in an actual book.  It also brought back so many memories, both good and bad.  It is almost like a visual diary of my year.  Jess, understandably, even cried a bit reading through the difficult parts of the book.  Another miscarriage, the loss of her stepmom, and the loss of our dog all in a year will always be remembered when we pick up this book.  But that's life.  You can check it out here! 

Want a video preview?  Here ya go!

BITE ME!

As previously me mentioned, Jess and I took a camping trip with some of her family this past weekend.  We went to Big Basin which is near Santa Cruz in the Redwoods.  I had never been to the Redwoods, at least as far as I can remember, and it was amazing seeing these skyscraper-like trees.  It was truly remarkable.  I actually didn't take many pictures, but found the picture below to be absolutely beautiful.



Or check it out here to see it bigger and on black! 

We mostly just hung out at the camp site.  Most of the family did a short hike on Saturday, but with Jessica's knee, we didn't risk it and stayed back and read our Kindles, played card games, etc.  The overall trip was good - good food, good laughs, and good company.  The only setback - a TON of mosquitoes.  They literally had a feast on me.  And it seemed like they were nonstop, day and night.  And my issue is, mosquitoes have always liked me.  If there is even one around, and tons of people, it will choose ME to bite.  And not only do they choose me and I get bitten a lot, but my bites swell more than the normal person.  It sucked.  I survived, but it sucked.  I even used all kinds of mosquito prevention stuff.  What are you going to do?  Hopefully, when I camp in a few weeks, I don't have this issue as I can't take another weekend like that!

The Evidence is in the Video

Pretty short, but fun post tonight as we are pretty wiped out from our camping trip from this past weekend.  I didn't take many pictures, but I'll show then in a post tomorrow.  Meanwhile, remember after our cruise in June, I talked about parasailing and how I paid the boat driver to dunk Jessica in the water?  Well, Yvette and Brandon uploaded their videos to youtube and now we have video proof of me being a stinker and what would follow.  Check out this video proof!

1st, Jessica and Jason take off and it is then that I decide to offer the guy $20 to dunk them even though Jess asked to just get her feet wet.



2nd, here is what my $20 bought me!  Dunk time!



Next, it's my turn to go.  Yeah, I know I will probably get dunked too, but I go anyway...


But finally, I didn't think I would get dunked THAT much!



I guess you don't mess with the Jess.  Thanks to B and Y for uploading those.  

Misdirected Anger

Check out my new banner above!

Suddenly, I have so much to blog about, but I won't overwhelm you with more than one post in a day.  Actually, this will be my last post for a few days as we are leaving for a quick camping trip tomorrow morning and coming back Sunday morning.   So when I come back, I'll have to update you on the renovations we made in Jessica's cabinet, the photography book I had made of my year in pictures project, and the camping trip.  And I am sure there will be more.  But for now, I have to talk about an email I got today.

I delete most forwarded emails, but one today caught my attention.  It read: "Let's make a stand against the governor."  All the anger directed towards Arnold over the furloughs and state problems kind of amuses me because I firmly believe it isn't ALL his fault.  I feel sorry for those having to deal with the furlough issues in our state, but to put the blame entirely on his shoulders is, in my opinion, narrow minded.  With that in mind, I wanted to read the email to see how people were planning on taking a stand against him.  So what did the email say?

Let's all make a stand against the Governor by boycotting his new movie "The Expendables" scheduled to be release August 13, 2010. I'm asking everyone not to see it. Whether you are working for the state, city or county - his decisions have affected you. Let's affect his paycheck for a change. Please copy and paste. Email friends. Let's get the word out.

How does he have time to make a movie when the budget is not passed, yet he wants state employees to work for minimum wage or take furloughs because his job is not done!

First of all, if you follow my blog, you know there is no way in hell I am missing this movie.  Unless Stallone himself burns down my house between now and August 13th, I won't miss the movie.  So, with that said, let's look at the boycott in general from a normal person's point of view.  First, the email says the movie is "his" movie.  No, it's not!  He has a cameo.  It is roughly 5 minutes long I am told, at the most.  That is hardly "his" movie.  It is a Stallone and company movie with Arnold and Bruce Willis having a small cameo simply because the three are friends, and they just wanted to do one small scene together for the first time in their careers.  It is really just for fun and for the fans.  But hardly, "his" movie.  Truthfully, you are boycotting a Stallone movie, and what the heck did he do (besides kick ass lately)?

Secondly, they want to do it to take his money.  You know what, the L.A. Times reported he did the film for free (much like he is our governor for free).  Why do the movie for free?  See the paragraph above; it was for fun.  Arnold's finances will not be affected one way or another, no matter if this film makes no money or a lot money. You'll be hurting Stallone, and he rocks!

Thirdly, what about the argument that he should have been concentrating on fixing the state's problems instead of being off and shooting a movie. You know how much time his scene took?  You know how much time he was away from his official duties as governor?  Again, according to reports, he was occupied for.......wait for it.....TWO HOURS.  On a Saturday morning.  When he decides to take in a basketball game or something similar, he takes even more time out of his day.  Where are those complaints?

Fourth, if we boycott a film, people are not spending their money and that keeps money from being spent and stimulating the economy.  I think that hurts the state more than it helps and all because people have a vendetta against Arnold.  Isn't a better economy a good goal to shoot for?

Sadly, this forwarded email fails.  I am sure the original writer had good intentions, but going after this movie is totally the wrong outlet for the person's anger against Arnold.  Go see Expendables.  Instead of boycotting the movie, go see it and help bring kick-ass action movies.

Manuel on Movies #22

Last one until I see some more movies!

Twilight: Eclipse - Well, as you read in the last review, I have HATED both of the Twilight movies so far.  We got to see this third installment by doing a little movie hopping.  We sure weren't paying for it (well, maybe paying for it by watching it!).  But you know what, it was actually pretty good.  Not surprisingly, this was also my favorite book in the series.  The movie/book takes a darker turn and it actually feels like a vampire movie in some parts instead of the sappy love garbage that drags the story down.  We have a lot of death, epic battles, and the acting even got a tad better by the leads.  You know what, I enjoyed it for the most part.  The only thing I didn't like is that the CGI werewolves were REALLY bad.  The movies make all this money and you can't do better with your special effects?  They were pretty darn horrible and thankfully, it didn't take me out of the movie too much.  7 out of 10

Predators - The best Predator movie since the first one with Arnie!  That first one was epic with enough testosterone to give the upcoming Expendables a run for its money.  This one really proved to be a worthy sequel.  And yes, it is a sequel in a round about way since they mention Dutch in the first film.  I thought the action was spectacular, the acting was commendable, and the story, very entertaining.  And I LOVED all the homages to the first film, from the score to the references to the set pieces.  It really was the love child of the first film and I firmly believe that if you loved the first one, you will probably like this one too!  8.5 out of 10

Toy Story 3 - Another worthy effort by Pixar films.  Seriously, they can do no wrong (well, Cars was just ok).  It was so great to see the Toy Story characters again and although the first two weren't THAT long ago, it really brought out a bit of nostalgia.  And the new characters that they introduced were great too.  This didn't feel like some sequel that is just taking the easy way out and going for the cash.  I feel that this was on par with the other two films and just as touching.  And I feel that the ending was perfect.  If they make another one, I'll go see it, but I really hope they stop on the ending they finished on.  8.5 out of 10

Inception - Brilliant.  I could stop there, put a score of 10 out of 10 right after it and make you interpret the rest.  I don't want to say too much because when I saw it, I knew nothing of it either.  But honestly, this movie is spectacular.  It was so unique, something you rarely see nowadays in Hollywood.  I don't mind sequels/remakes/etc, but when something unique comes along like this, it is so refreshing!  First off, the acting is brilliant all the way around. The whole cast.  The storyline is amazing and although it is very complex, it isn't really that hard to follow as long as you pay attention.  The special effects, especially a zero gravity fight scene with Joseph Gordon Levitt are amazing!  An action/sci-fi movie that makes you think is so rare and they really pulled it off in this film.  Other than that though, I am not going to give you points about the plot.  It will be more fun if you see it yourself and experience it yourself not knowing anything of the plot.  Discover it yourself.  This movie is outstanding.  10 out of 10

Manuel on Movies #21

Getting close to finishing up these reviews...

Sunshine - This is a sci-fi movie where an expedition is sent from the Earth to try and reignite the sun as its power has gone out (or maybe is about to go out? I forget).  The acting was pretty good, led by Cilian Murphy and Chris Evans.  The ship and the way it was filmed really gave me a vibe similar to the first Alien movie even though it has nothing to do with aliens at all.  Of course, if they just flew to the sun and got the job done, it wouldn't be that interesting so the movie centers around some of the dangers and obstacles they face in their task.  The ending is slightly odd and takes a little away from the movie as a whole, but it isn't a BAD ending, just odd.  Overall, it was pretty enjoyable with some good acting and some great special effects.  7.5 out of 10

Sorority Row - A sorority prank goes wrong, killing one of the sorority sisters and then a few months later, someone starts killing off the sorority sisters.  Yup, that is all you need to know other than a Carrie Fisher is in it which is always kind of cool.  The deaths were kind of cool and the head sorority sister, who is made to be the head bitch, is actually kind of amusing in her put down of other people and her one-liners.  6.5 out of 10

Kick Ass - Awesome, awesome, awesome.  Kick Ass is based on the comic of the same name, something that both Jess and I read.  The movie centers around a nerdy high school kid who decides that he wants to be a super hero even though he lives in a world where people don't have powers.  He becomes an internet sensation and catches the eye of another hero pair, a father and daughter team called Big Daddy and Hit Girl.  Hit Girl, just like in the comics, steals the show.  They fight crime, but I can't give out too much of the plot without ruining key aspects.  Just know, this movie rocks (I could have said the movie kicked ass, but that seemed below me)!  It looks like a movie for all ages, but it is a hard R for sure.  It is super violent and the language is pretty crude.  But it is an awesome movie that really reinvents the super hero genre.  So fun!  9 out of 10

Iron Man 2 - I LOVED Iron Man 1, but tried to go into Iron Man 2 with slightly lower expectations so as to not be disappointed.  I didn't want this to be another Transformers 2.  And I wasn't disappointed.  Now, there is a fairly large contingent that did not like Iron Man 2 as much and I can clearly understand why.  Iron Man was just a fun movie for all ages.  It was non stop fun.  The second goes into his story a little more so it slows down the pace a little.  But personally, I thought the whole story aspect was great and it also helps pave the way for the upcoming Avengers movie, but I understand why some people might not have liked it as much.  Of course, I also think it had to do with people's short attention span, but that is just my opinion.  Was it just as good as the first one?  Maybe not RIGHT there with the first, but only because the novelty of just how good Downey was in the role of Stark wasn't as much as a novelty as it was in the first.  We knew what to expect going in.  But it was damn close.  9 out of 10

Twilight: New Moon - I read the Twilight series to see what the fuss was a while back and I actually enjoyed them for the most part, well, at least the first three.  The first movie, however, was a travesty in film making.  Out of curiosity, and because I could just borrow it from someone, we decided to see the second one.  Well, it wasn't much better.  I mean, it was slighty better.......like, how getting a pinkie cut off is probably better than getting a thumb cut off.  But it was still just a bad film.  And it isn't all the fault of the actors or the directing.  You can only do so much with the material you are given.  Despite liking the books, they are full of cheese and it just didn't translate well on the screen.  5.5 out of 10.

Manuel on Movies #20

Good thing this is a Sunday where most people are too busy to read blogs because this one won't be too interesting, movie review-wise.

Last House on the Left - This was the remake of the movie of the same name where a girl is shot and left to die by some criminals.  The criminals sucker their way into staying the night at the girl's parents' cabin for the night and when the wounded girl shows up, the parents want revenge.  It was decent if anything because it felt pretty gritty and the kills were pretty cool and gruesome.  But it wasn't anything special and the kind of movie you forget after it is done.  Surprisingly, I have heard some people describe the movie as too disturbing to sit through, but I didn't get that feeling.  6 out of 10

The Final Destination - I enjoy the Final Destination films for what they are - somewhat entertaining films about people who cheat death and Death coming back to claim them and kill them off in fairly amusing, if not clever ways.  This fourth in the series was, unfortunately, not as good.  The kills were still somewhat clever, if not too over the top this time.  The movie was overall, way to cheesy compared to the others.  The special effects seemed piss poor compared to the others and it seemed more like a direct to TV sequel filmed for the Sci-Fi channel or something - just really lower quality. Disappointing...  5 out of 10

Halloween 2- I am actually one of a small group that actually liked Rob Zombie's reboot of the Halloween series a couple of years ago.  I thought it was a very clever reimagining of the Michael Myers origin and I was quite entertained.  I heard from several people that the sequel was pretty bad, but finally decided to give it a chance.  They were correct.  This was a horrible, convoluted, clusterfuck of a movie.  I love gore, but it seemed to be gruesome just for the sake of being gruesome and the story was so subpar, I really didn't care for any of the characters, and really, only cared about when the movie would end.  It had a few good scenes, but mostly, this was a piece of unfortunate crap.  3 out of 10

This Is It - This is concert film made up of tapings of Michael Jackson as he prepared and rehearsed for the This Is It tour that he was going to do in England before his untimely death.  As much as I enjoyed it, this really is only for Jackson fans as all it is clips of songs being rehearsed in the order I imagine they would have been sung at the concerts. They also interviewed background singers and dancers for the performances, but it is kind of bittersweet as all the interviews are taken from rehearsal time and it sad to see these people that are so excited say that these upcoming concerts are a dream come true and will be life changing.  Sad, because with Jackson's death, all of them really had their dreams shattered.  It is also sad because with the footage provided, it really did seem like Jackson was back and had the chance to make a big time comeback.  The concert and all the set pieces they were practicing really were going to be epic.  So sad.  7 out of 10

Alien v Predator: Requiem - I LOVE the Aliens movies and I LOVE the Predator films.  The fact that they were going to make an Alien VS Predator film was a dream come true, and even though it wasn't spectacular, I was entertained and mostly happy with the first Alien v Predator film.  For some crazy reason, I didn't get around to seeing the second Alien v Predator film until very recently.  I couldn't even finish it.  Seriously, it was that bad.  About 2/3 of the way through, I actually turned it off.  This too, felt like a Sci-Fi channel film all the way down to the horrible acting.  A pure travesty in the history of these two great characters.  1 out of 10. 

With that (mostly)garbage out of the way, I do have some new photos.  This morning, I woke up and felt like taking some pictures so I decided to go down to the park and take a few while I knew it would still be empty.  Nobody takes their kids to the playground on a Sunday at 7:30 in the morning!





See a slideshow of the whole set here!  

Your Eyes Do Not Deceive You

Yes, after years of the same blog look, I just changed it up.  I was ready even if I did dig my old look.  I added a few things too.  After each post, you will see the little buttons that you see on most web pages now where you can link an article to Facebook, Twitter, etc.  You just click on the button and it will link it wherever you choose to.  Pretty cool!  Also, On the right hand side, for you technical geeks, I added an RSS feed to you can subscribe to my blog.  Thanks to Drew for the suggestion!  The only thing I am not sure of - my header at the top of the page.  The color, blue, doesn't match with the rest of the blog.  So, do I dump it?  It is so me and the pics symbolize who I am, but I am not sure I like it there anymore since it doesn't match.  Keep it for its symbolism or move on to something else?!?!  I'll listen to some ideas.  No movie reviews today as I haven't got a chance yet and I am out for the rest of the night.  Probably none tomorrow either as my dad and I will be installing laminate flooring in Jessica's office.  Maybe Sunday.  'Til then, enjoy your weekend, everyone!

Manuel on Movies #19

Here we go with some more movies...

Knowing - Interesting Nic Cage movie where he finds these set of numbers and realizes the numbers correspond to dates of disasters that have happened in the world.  Then he sees that some of the numbers actually predict disasters that haven't happened yet.  Finally, he realizes that one of the sets of numbers actually predict the end of the world and that it is VERY soon.  The film then follows Cage as he attempts to see if it is correct and if so, if he will be able to predict it.  It is at that point near the end when things get slightly weird, but overall, this was a pretty decent movie, at least more than I expected.  7  out of 10.

My Bloody Valentine - This was a pretty straight forward slasher film about a guy who kills people with mining equipment like a pick axe.  It was nothing special, but the kills were pretty cool.  This film was actually in the theaters in 3D, and was one of the first before this HUGE 3D boom hit us.  You could tell some of the kills would have been pretty neat in 3D.  Entertaining, but forgettable.  6 out of 10

Jennifer's Body - Pretty awesome movie starring Megan Fox where she is killed by a group of guys and then comes back from the dead to wreak havoc and kill.  It may sound like a simple horror, but it actually does well because of the dialogue of the characters.  This was writer, Diablo Cody's (who wrote the great Juno), second script and despite the horror aspects, this really is a clever, witty film on par with what Juno was, albeit, in a more sadistic style.  It's fairly violent and crass, but highly entertaining because of the script.  Definitely better than it seems at first glance.  7.5 out of 10

9 - An amazing computer animated film that takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where all humans are dead and only machines are alive.  However, there are some dolls that were brought to life right before the war and these little creatures soon discover that not only do the machines want them dead as well, but that they may have the key to the future of civilization.  It sounds kind of confusing, but it is fairly straightforward.  What makes this film so amazing is, visually, it is beautiful.  Watching this on Blu Ray was an absolute joy because of how simply amazing it looks and how great it sounded.  And storywise, it is very touching and very well done.  This may have slipped under some people's radars, but it is an absolute must see.  9 out of 10

Sherlock Holmes - Truthfully, Robert Downey Jr. can do no wrong right now and this movie was no exception.  I had never seen anything Sherlock Holmes related so I had zero attachment to the character coming in, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself during this movie.  The banter between Holmes and Watson is great and the directing was spectacular like usual from Guy Ritchie.  I thought it got maybe a little slow in some parts, but the action scenes and humor more than make up for it.  The scene in the docks where the giant ship comes loose shook my whole house as I got my money's worth with my speaker towers and sub woofer.  It sounded AWESOME!  8.5 out of 10.

Manuel on Movies #18

Here we go with some more gems...

The Hangover - Why even review this when I know everyone has to have seen it by now?  So, I won't even bother with the plot as I am sure everyone HAS seen it.   Back to the important aspect of if I liked it or now.  Meh.  I mean, the way people were talking about it, I expected it to be the funniest movie ever made.  I enjoyed it, I chuckled, and maybe laughed out loud once or twice, but I didn't find it to be the definitive end all be all of movies.  I have been accused of being a comedy snob and maybe that is so,there are a lot of movies that just don't make me laugh as they do other people.  And I wanted to like this one and didn't come in with a bad attitude.  I fully expected to laugh my ass off and that was not the case.  What are you going to do?  7 out of 10.

Repo! The Genetic Opera - If you haven't heard of this movie, I am sure you are already confused by the title alone.  This is a horror-ish musical kind of like Rocky Horror and Paris Hilton is in it.  Tuned out already?  Don't be, because it was actually pretty good.  The story revolves around a company (this is going to sound like the movie Repo Men which came out AFTER) that sells organs should one of yours (heart, lung, etc) need replacing.  However, if you can't make the payments, they send the repo men to repossess the organs by any means necessary.  The owner is trying to decide who will replace him as head of the company once he is gone.  As a story alone, it was actually pretty good and could of made a good "normal" movie.  But then you throw in the musical aspect of it and it actually makes it even more entertaining.  The songs are catchy and I could see this as a sing along movie like Rocky Horror (which I don't like by the way).  It's over the top and through the first twenty minutes, I was wondering if I would be able to finish the movie, but I stuck with it and enjoyed it quite a bit.  Seriously, if you want something way different, give it a try.  7.5 out of 10

Pride and Glory - A dirty cop movie starring Colin Farrel and Edward Norton.  You know, it was good, but it has all been done before.  They play brother-in-laws and there is a corruption scandal, blah, blah, blah.  You know, I enjoyed this movie when I saw it, especially because I like both of the actors, but it was a fairly forgettable movie once it was done.  Don't get me wrong, the performances were good and the storyline was pretty decent, but I didn't find anything special about the movie.  6.5 out of 10

Paranormal Activity - Ok, this scared the SHIT out of me.  Seriously, I have never been more scared.  It's the kind of movie that you either get freaked out at or you find not scary at all.  I fall into the category of scared shitless, having dealt with the paranormal at my parents' house when I was younger.  Yeah, there house is haunted.  So watching a realistic type movie about a couple dealing with the paranormal in their house, even though I know the movie was fake, really had an impact.  What makes this movie is how little they actually do show.  It is just the anticipation of what is going to happen that makes the creepiness so real.  And it was so good at it and yet, I don't know if I could watch this movie again.  I want to, just to take it all in one more time, but man, I don't know if I can.  But damn good.  8.5 out of 10.

The Unborn - And then you have a horror movie like this.  This sucked.  The plot revolves around a girl who is having visions and is slowly being possessed by the spirit of her brother who died in the womb and the spirit can travel and possess new bodies like in Fallen.  They want to get to the spirit out and shenanigans ensue.  It was disappointing because the trailer for this movie looked really freaky, but then again, most movies with freaky kids looks like a scary movie.  But this, despite having a few decent moments, was not good at all.  4 out of 10.

Manuel on Movies #17

Well, with 29 movies to review, you have to start somewhere, right?

Cashback - We saw this on instant Netflix a while back on a whim while looking for something interesting to watch.  It ended up being pretty good.  The story followed a young guy (early 20s maybe) who has just broken up with his girlfriend and finds he can no longer sleep.  He ends up taking a job at a grocery store doing the graveyard shift as he can't sleep anyways.  While working there, he finds he has the ability to freeze time while he can go on doing whatever he needs to do.  He takes this chance to freeze time whenever he works so that he can draw the customers in the store (he's a struggling artist).  Some of the women he even undresses so he can do nude art, but tastefully, of course.  This means, yes, there is nudity in the film.  The story goes on with him getting over his ex, developing a new love interest, and coming to terms and trying to figure out why he has this freezing time power.  I actually thought it was a well written, beautiful story that relied heavily on the great, funny script full of English humor and the good performances by the cast.  If you are looking for something different and out of the norm, check this one out.  7.5 out of 10

Drag Me To Hell - This was Sam Raimi's long awaited return to the horror genre (he got his start with Evil Dead).  There was a lot of buzz going into the release of the film as a throwback to how good horror movies used to be made.  And you know what, if that is what constitutes how horror movies were made, count me out.  Yeah, I didn't really like this movie.  I mean, it had an okay premise - girl is cursed by a gypsy and she tries to find a way to break the curse whilst dealing with all the bad things happening to her.  The thing is, the movie tried to be a gross-out horror film and I found it simply comical and stupid.  It had some okay scenes, but truthfully, I didn't find much appealing about this movie.  Oh well.  5 out of 10

Man on Wire - This is the Oscar winning documentary of the man who attempted to tight rope between the Twin Towers in 1974.  Yes, those Twin Towers, WAY up there.  Well, we know the man didn't die because he is the one narrating the film, but everything in between from the idea to do the attempt to his life after is fascinating stuff.  As it was quite illegal to pull off a stunt like this, it is edge of your seat kind of stuff listening to him plan the attempt, break in, etc.  And he is quite amusing while he is telling the story too.  If you like good documentaries about interesting events in history, this comes recommended.  8 out of 10

Obsessed - This wasn't Oscar winning material by any means, but it was pretty enjoyable.  This is basically a Fatal Attraction type story without the actual cheating aspect ever taking place.  Ali Larter has a thing for her boss and does everything in her power to try to get him and break up his marriage to Beyonce at the same time.  It is fairly entertaining stuff and something that can keep your attention span up for two hours, but nothing more than that.  Not bad at all though.  I'd probably watch it again if it was on TNT or something and there was nothing else on.  7 out of 10

Powder Blue - This is the movie where Jessica Biel finally gets naked.  Ok seriously, I started off with that because that is the reason most people have either heard about it or actually seen it.  But you know what, if you did get a chance to see it, it was actually pretty good.  This was one of those different storyline movies where we follow four people and somehow at the end of the movie, their lives all come together.  It has been done before, but it was actually pretty good, if not, kind of a downer.  We follow a stripper, an ex-con, a suicidal ex-priest, and a mortician whose lives are all less than stellar.  Through fate and a pretty good script, their lives are intertwined. This really wasn't bad at all and in the end, had more going for it than, "Jessica Biel gets naked!"  7 out of 10

Party and Pictures

I realized today that I have not done a Manuel on Movies post in a long time.  I decided to make a list of what movies I've seen since the last one that I have yet to review.  You know how many movies were on that list?  TWENTY NINE.  That is a LOT of movies to write about and not only could I not sit and write that many at a time, there is no way in hell you guys would read that many in one sitting.  I would end up writing 29 reviews only for the comments to be, " I liked that one movie," and ignoring the other 28!  Hell no!  So, I am going to break it up into 5 at a time.  Starting tomorrow, June 20th, I will do a Manuel on Movies every day with 5 new movies and that will hopefully make it easier for the both of us.  There are some good ones on here, but remember, some of these go back quite a ways so no, "You JUST saw that?" from the peanut gallery.  So, that will be starting tomorrow. 

Jess, Brandon, Yvette and I went to the new Dave and Buster's here in town for the first time on Friday.  None of us had ever been to one so we didn't know what to really expect, but we had a TON of fun.  First off, the food was excellent.  I know we were all happy with what we ordered.  Then we got to the fun and it was nice to play all the games they offered without the nuisance of kids running around.  Here is a video of a few clips from the evening.



I have a few pictures to share from the last couple of days.  The first couple of pics are of a top that I got at a convention a few months ago.  It's from the movie Inception and as I didn't see Inception until this past weekend, I had no idea what the top symbolized.  The movie was spectacular, but you have to wait for the review.  Until then, or unless you have seen the movie already, you're just going to have to enjoy the pics for what they are, pictures of a top.





Lastly, we are doing more home improvements - this time in our middle bedroom or as we call it, Jessica's craft room.  Like we did in our bedroom, we are painting, ripping up the carpet, and installing laminate floors.  Jess ordered a giant cabinet for all her craft supplies and it will look great once it is all done.  Her new card making business deserves the great space.  Anyways, while she painted today, I took the chance to shoot a few pictures.  Enjoy...

Batshit Crazy

Back before I got so into the whole photography thing, remember when I used to blog a lot about stupid people?  Remember when I used to blog about things that were big in the news?  Remember when I used to blog about celebrities?  How about I cover all those subjects by talking about one guy?  How about I just put a picture up that pretty much sums it all up?

Apparently, Mel Gibson wasn't venturing too far from the norm when he played Riggs in the Lethal Weapon movies, was he?  Here is my view on the subject.  Dude is flat-out crazy and clearly has issues.  But, I keep hearing from people, "Oh, his career is RUINED.  It's OVER"  No it's not.  Hollywood has to be the most forgiving place you can find - just ask Roman Polanski.  People hate him now, but if he comes out and says, "I want to do another Mad Max or Lethal Weapon movie," not only will some studio approve and finance it, the viewers will go see it.  Boycotts simply do not work.  So, take your punches and jabs at him while you can.  Hell, I am.  But take my word, for better or for worse, dude will be back.  I just hope if he goes to jail, his first word when he comes out is, "FREEEEEEEDOM!!!!

For Good Measure

First off, I need to get my thoughts out on the whole LeBron situation even though most probably don't care or are done with it.  First, why did he feel the need to be on TV to announce it?  Well, here is what I said to someone on Facebook about it.  Every NBA fan wanted to know where he would go as he is the best of second best player in the league and could choose wherever he wanted to go.  People were on pins and needles.  He decided to have charity benefit a little from it and got ESPN to donate all ad revenue from the show to charity.  So.....he could simply announce it on Twitter, or by phone call, or email or something private like that and make NO money for charity or he could do the TV special, announce what people want to know anyways, and help make money for charity in the process and add a little good to the whole ridiculous situation.  Sounds like a no brainer to me. 

And what about the fact that he is now leaving Cleveland, the town where he played and also grew up?  Is he a traitor?  NO.  Absolutely not.  Sports are about first and foremost, WINNING.  He didn't feel his best chance of winning was in Cleveland.  He wanted to win, pure and simple.  So, that left his decision up to Chicago or Miami.  And he chose Miami.  Why?  Two of his best friends, Wade and Bosh were going to play there too.  And in case you haven't played sports before, it is FUN to play with your friends.  He could have gotten more money had he chosen to stay in Cleveland or perhaps chosen a city like New York.  But he chose friends and winning over money.  I don't think there is anything wrong with that when it comes to sports.  The whole thing was crazy, but LeBron, I commend you. 

With that out of the way, I did my first themed picture project today.  I chose to do the theme of "measurement" since there are so many picture opportunities in the house.  It was a ton of fun!  Here are two of the sixteen I took.





Check out the whole set here!  

Here Comes the Boom

I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July weekend, or for my international readers, I hope your weekend was pleasant.  Friday and Saturday were great as I had the four quarterfinal match ups for the World Cup and any time I get to watch 4 games in 2 days, my weekend can be considered awesome.  But those games were only the beginning of an overall, spectacular weekend.  Saturday night was poker night and I was able to pull out a victory, my first one at my house this weekend.  After that, I went over to Brandon and Yvette's as Jess was over there already hanging out and playing board games with the girls.  I even got some games in, but got beat pretty bad.  I guess winning poker and board games was too much to ask!

Sunday was 4th of July and we spent it over at our friends Duncan and Kari's house for the second year in a row.  He lives a little outside of town so some of us did the caravan thing to his house where we barbecued, played some bocce, threw water balloons at each other, did a TON of fireworks, had a campfire in the backyard with smores, and then finally, camped in his big back yard.  Of course, going to bed after 2am and then having the sun wake you up at 730 kind of sucks.  And I didn't even drink that much!  Regardless, all of Monday was spent on the sofa minus the 2 hour nap around midday.  Of course, I had my camera and of course, I took pictures.  Here are a few and the whole set has a link at the bottom. 














The whole set is HERE!

Son of a Motherless Goat

We are down to the final 8 in the World Cup.  What started out as 32 teams (Hell, 205 teams if you count how many teams tried to even qualify for the tournament) is has been whittled down to 8.  Unless you have been under a rock, you heard that the US made a spirited run to the final 16 teams only to have a fairly poor showing against Ghana.  They really should be in the final 8 and in their next match, they could have even had a fighting chance to make the final four.  It would have been epic and helped that much more to the baby steps soccer is taking towards become an actual sport people in the US watch.  You don't think people in the US cared? Watch this extremely touching video of reactions across the US when we scored in the very end of the our third game to qualify for the second round.  This just gives me goosebumps beyond belief.  It gets extra points because one of my college hangouts made the video!



I still think we are about 10-12 years away and one GOOD run by the US in the World Cup from soccer becoming a big thing here.  But to see people who couldn't care less about soccer beforehand suddenly talking about the game made me so proud.



So how will the final 8 go?

Well, I see it going like this...

Holland defeats Brazil
Uruguay defeats Ghana
Argentina defeats Germany
Spain defeats Paraguay

From there, we shall after this weekend!

Ok, before I sign off, you are probably wondering what the hell the title of this thread had to do with this post, right?  I just found this great video on YouTube that shows the 100 greatest insults of all time that are in movies.  It's friggin' hilarious, but watch somewhere where people won't get offended by bad language.  Trust me...