King Kong (2005)

Posted on January 7, 2009 by Joel

I finally watched Peter Jackson’s King Kong, the 2005 remake of the 1933 original. That was an interesting movie.  I liked it, but it was a long 3-hour movie, clocking in at 188 minutes.  Don’t get me wrong.  I thought this was a good popcorn flick…… that should be watched over the course of 2-3 days.

The story was a bit richer than the original 1933 version, and it added some additional realism missing from a movie from the 1930’s.  I thought the special effects were superb, except for the Brontosaurus chase (yeah, that was CG special effects.) I thoroughly enjoyed watching Kong himself, because he came across less of a big monster, and more of a magnificent creature — old, scarred, toughened, lonely. A lot of personality in that big ape.

I will say that the bug scenes were absolutely horrifying and disgusting.  Talk about creepy crawlies.  Yech.  I read that Peter Jackson has an juvenile appreciation for that kind of stuff, but jeez, it was gross.

King Kong (2005)

King Kong (2005)

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CNN.com: “How I got taken by a work-at-home scam”

Posted on January 7, 2009 by Joel

I once sold knives for two months one summer when I was in college.  What an unrewarding experience, but I was desperate for cash, and had found one of those promising flyers in a lecture hall during Finals week. Anyway, if you are ever tempted to sign up after seeing a “Work from home!” advertisement, don’t do it.  Read this — How I got taken by a work-at-home scam.

“Scammers are busier than ever because tough economic times are making people more desperate to make money”, says Christine Durst, CEO of Staffcentrix, a company specializing in home-based careers that sifts through home-based job leads every day.

Durst says people are searching more for home-based jobs to save money on gas, clothing and child care. Seniors are also looking to supplement their dwindling retirement income.

Durst says Staffcentrix researchers screen about 5,000 home jobs leads every week, and there is a “54-to-1 scam ratio.”

“This means that for every 55 [work-at-home] leads we investigate, only one passes our legitimacy standards,” she said.

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CNN.com: Porn industry seeks federal bailout

Posted on January 7, 2009 by Joel

Oh come on. Are you kidding me? Now I want a bailout too.

CNN Political Ticker: All politics, all the time Blog Archive – Porn industry seeks federal bailout « – Blogs from CNN.com.

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‘Jealous wife’ charged in fatal genitals fire

Posted on January 6, 2009 by Joel

Ouch.  It’s nice that she cared, but seriously?

‘Jealous wife’ charged in fatal genitals fire – Criminal weirdness- msnbc.com.

BTW, looking back at the title of the posting, I’ve finally accomplished my long-unfulfilled dream to write about a “fatal genitals fire.”

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Anjulie gives you the “Boom”

Posted on January 6, 2009 by Joel

I regularly visit Download.com for their Free MP3 of the Day feature.  Free music, no DRM — what’s not to love?  Some of the rap music they put up, I don’t like, but I like the indie rock and pop music that they post.  Check out upcoming Toronto artist Anjulie.  I think she’s really good.  Here’s the Download.com review/blurb about what they like about her music.

In a time when ’60s pop-soul is back in style, artists such as Amy Winehouse and Duffy are in high demand. Anjulie is right there in the mix with her catchy throwback single “Boom,” which has enough bounce for the dance club yet is laid-back enough for headphone listening.

Anjulie - "Boom"

Anjulie - "Boom"

You can stream some of her new songs on her MySpace Anjulie page. Funny, the first thing I ever liked about MySpace.

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In Gaza, living with anger and fear – CNN.com

Posted on January 6, 2009 by Joel

I’ve been reading and viewing the various photographs on the news sites about the fight in Gaza.  I’m not calling anyone blameless in this latest installment of the bloodshed and misery that Israel and the Palestinians are putting themselves through.  The world itself needs to find a solution to solve the problems of these two, or it will continue for another 30 years.  I will say that the scenes of violence, especially the injured or killed children, and the images of devasation, are disheartening to say the least.

In Gaza, living with anger and fear – CNN.com.

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Momma’s Boys – Monday nights on NBC

Posted on January 6, 2009 by Joel

Has anyone seen Momma’s Boys?  It’s a new reality show on NBC.  I caught the last 30 mins of this show.  Anyone care to comment?  I was mostly shocked at the racist undertones from two of the mothers.  Isn’t it 2009?  Does anyone else find it uncomfortable that “Mrs. B” is really bothered that her son is kissing “a black girl”?  Two of the mothers on this show were stereotypically opinionated mothers.  Do a lot of mothers sound/act like this, or is it just TV?

On a related note, I was discussing with my wife a short while ago the notion that everyone finds their own parents annoying.  Not that my parents or your parents are necessarily bad people, but our collective parents have annoying quirks that really push our buttons.

The reason I bring this up is that I think my wife and I are normal 30-somethings, but in about 15-20 years, our sweet little kids are going to be discussing how annoying they think we are.  I know nobody is perfect, but how are we going to be annoying?  I wouldn’t necessarily think we are, but the fact is, they’re going to think we’re annoying.

Discuss.   🙂

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LG gets official with Netflix-enabled Broadband HDTVs

Posted on January 5, 2009 by Joel

Engadget’s Darren Murph is reporting that LG is debuting new LCD and plasma HDTVs this Spring that will allow you to stream movies instantly from Netflix directly to your HDTV.  No need for a Roku box, Xbox 360, or other Satanic cult ritual.  Neat.  I still like Panasonic plasma TVs, but LG is nice too.

LG's new Netflix-enabled HDTVs

LG's new Netflix-enabled HDTVs (mock screen)

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Switcher’s lament: The case against Mac | Apple – CNET News

Posted on January 5, 2009 by Joel

I was at a Best Buy store today, waiting for my friend Doug to show up, and I walked by a mini Apple in-store kiosk, where they had a 24″ iMac.  Those things are absolutely gorgeous.  I’ve been wishfully thinking about making my next desktop computer an iMac,  Why?  Have you seen the darn things?

The iMac

The iMac

However, it turns out that not everyone is finding the transition from a Windows world to the Apple way of life all that easy.  See the recent travails of C|Net journalist Rafe Needleman’s article “Switcher’s lament: The case against Mac.” It doesn’t all sound like a world of gingerbread houses, chocolate streets, and candy cane lightposts.

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World’s Greatest Hobby Model Train Show

Posted on January 4, 2009 by Joel

I have always loved trains, and especially the miniature train sets that look so real.  The neighborhood train set on Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood with Trolley going past, Gomez Addams train set on the Addams Family…  I also loved watching up close the big Conrail freight trains go by down the street from the house I grew up in.  Even when I was in the womb, I used to pretend to be the train engineer.  🙂

I love how people can be so creative, and have so much patience, to create a miniature world.  Miniature children playing on playgrounds, realistic factories, towns, cars, lakes, rivers, bridges, etc.  It’s really some kind of neat. I would have a set, if we had more space in the house.  Of course, I don’t think I have the patience or skills to carve the buildings and trees and such out of styrofoam like these guys do.

I saw a tv commercial for the World’s Greatest Hobby Model Train Show last week, and my head just popped up, ears listening attentively.  What?   A model train show?  My wife had no interest, but she was supportive to let me take Josh to the Valley Forge area to see the show.

It was a pretty neat show — so many models, so many sets, all put together by model railroad clubs in the Pennsylvania and South Jersey areas.  The details were absolutely neat, such as the the flashing lights on at train crossings, the bridges, the tunnels.  Man, oh man. The show featured:

  • 50,000 sq ft. of Huge Operating Model Railroad Railroads (lots of model railroad clubs.)
  • They had a giant Thomas the Tank Engine riding train for kids (Josh’s favorite part.)
  • 200 Booths of Manufacturers and retailers (but we didn’t end up buying anything.)
  • A room with 100 Thomas the Tank trainsets for Kids to play with (I let Josh play for 45 mins.)

Model Railroad Train Show

Photos will be published when I get the disposable camera film developed.

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