The Bourne Identity (2002)

Posted on November 25, 2008 by Joel

Truth be told, this is not the first time I ever saw The Bourne Identity.  I saw this with a whole mess o’ friends back in June 2002 when it was first released.  However, I didn’t like it.  I don’t remember particularly why, but I just wasn’t all the impressed or into it.  Maybe I had other stuff on my mind, maybe it was the rush from tthe BBQ we were at earlier, I couldn’t explain it.

Years later, two sequels have been released, scores of people rave about it, and I’m scratching my head.  If so many people like it, am I wrong?  I decided to give it a chance, through the magic of Netflix. I watched it this past weekend, and I liked it.  I liked it a lot.  I thought the story was good, and I liked Jason Bourne himself, and not to mention the action. I have The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum queued up next, and I can’t wait.

The Bourne Identity (2002)

The Bourne Identity (2002)

So here’s to 2nd chances after the first impression!

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My rubber bands are doing what now?

Posted on November 24, 2008 by Joel

Don’t get me the wrong way, but I don’t think the Chinese are trying very hard anymore.  Okay, not all of the Chinese people — just the ones making chinese fortune cookies.  When was the last time that your fortune in the fortune cookie was interesting?   Nowadays, I’m finding the Chinese language lessons on the back more interesting.  My last fortune cookie was ridiculous.  It said, “The rubber bands are heading in the right direction.”

What does that mean?  Are they playing Mad Libs over at the Chinese Fortune Cookie Factory in Flushing Queens?  It reminds me that South Park joke about how the writers of Family Guy come up with jokes — they have a manatee in a large tank choosing random words, and that later becomes the joke.

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Retro Kidz “New Era”

Posted on November 21, 2008 by Joel

It’s a song and video from a new group, but very retro.  I liked it, because it brought me back. Too bad I couldn’t find a higher resolution video.

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Star Wars: The Old Republic

Posted on November 21, 2008 by Joel

First off, yea!

LucasArts and BioWare on Tuesday announced their forthcoming massively multiplayer online game, Star Wars: The Old Republic. The game takes place chronologically about 300 years after the previous Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic franchise and about 3,500 years before the Star Wars films.

ST:TOR Duel

ST:TOR Duel

No release timeline yet, but this will effectively be the next game in the Knights of the Old Republic series, and I am stoked.  I’m not into MMO games, as I generally don’t want to compete against the 14-year old kiddies who have plenty of time on their hands to play hours and hours a day building up their characters, completing quests, etc.  However, for KoTOR, I would make the exception.  I still won’t be able to play hours and hours, but I’ll try the game.

I love the KoTOR series.  I’ve got both the original 2003 Game of the Year winner, and the 2005 follow-up.  They were both fun, and great looking.  There’s so many more stories that could be told in that period, so I’ll pay the monthly subscription to play this.

I repeat.  Yea!

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419 scam claims another foolish person

Posted on November 20, 2008 by Joel

An Oregon woman mortgaged her house and wiped out her husband’s retirement fund due to the same old Nigerian scam.  They lost $400,000.  Even the bank and the FBI begged her not to continue sending money, but she just wanted to believe.  So sad, and yet, what was this woman thinking? Here’s another article I found on the incident.

Interview with the victim Janella Spears below.

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30 Rock is NewsRadio 10 years later

Posted on November 19, 2008 by Joel

30 Rock is currently one of my favorite shows.  The acting is top-notch, the plots are very quirky, and I find the show extremely entertaining.  Much like NBC’s reimagining of the BBC’s The Office.  It premiered alongside that other show about a sketch comedy show, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, which I did not find enjoyable, and was ultimately canceled.

30 Rock cast

"30 Rock" cast

However, 30 Rock continues to struggle in the ratings.  I suppose it’s doing decently, but plenty of decently performing shows that are actually good, eventually get canceled all the same. The cast works comedy magic — Tina Fey, Tracy Morgan, Alex Baldwin, Jane Krakowski, and all the supporting cast members in the ensemble.

30 Rock’s predicament reminds me of another quirky comedy on NBC back in the mid-90’s, where the acting was top-notch, and the plots were hilarious: NewsRadio. The cast also featured comedy pros — Phil Hartman, Dave Foley, Stephen Root, and other strong ensemble cast members.  NewsRadio didn’t make it, as NBC kept shuffling it around the schedule every season.  After Phil Hartman’s tragic murder, the heart of the show was gone.  The show never recovered, and it was canceled.

"Newsradio" cast

"NewsRadio" cast

I hope 30 Rock lasts many seasons.  I need the laughs sometimes.

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Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)

Posted on November 18, 2008 by Joel

I finally enjoyed a day off, using a belated Veteran’s Day floating holiday. After finally getting my new license plates and updated vehicle registration, I drove up to NY to hang out with my buddy Doug.  We picked up some sandwiches, and rented Forgetting Sarah Marshall, a 2008 Judd Apatow production, but written by starring actor Jason Segel (of How I Met Your Mother fame.)

Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)

Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)

I thought the movie was absolutely hysterical.  I have not laughed that hard in a long time, and I’m a huge critic of these formulaic comedies.  The characters were memorable, the lines were hilarious — our sides were hurting from laughing so hard.

Rent. This. Movie.

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Sex and the City: The Movie (2008)

Posted on November 16, 2008 by Joel

We finally rented and watched Sex and the City: The Movie, the movie version of the long-running HBO series featuring the further exploits of Carrie Bradshaw, Samantha Jones, Charlotte York and Miranda Hobbes.

I was bored. Don’t get me wrong — I used to watch the show with my wife when it was running on HBO.  However, this movie was boring.

Sex and the City: The Movie (2008)

Sex and the City: The Movie (2008)

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I see a vacation on the horizon

Posted on November 14, 2008 by Joel

“Vacation, all I ever wanted.
Vacation, had to get away”

I have taken very little vacation this year.  I forfeited nearly a week of 2007 carryover vacation that I didn’t get to use before the March 2008 deadline.  I think it partially explains why I burned out earlier in the year than usual. Living with a newborn infant is, of course, the other reason I burned out so early this year — sleep deprivation for months will do that to anyone.

I have roughly, if you count sick days, 24 days to take before the end of year.  Today, I started submitting time all over the place up until Dec 31st.  I requested next Monday off, a few days around Thanksgiving, and Dec 15 through the rest of the year. Seriously, that will be 3 weeks of straight vacation in December. I’m still going to have carryover, but at least I won’t forfeit more vacation days this year.

Next year, I’m hoping to allocate at least 5 days per quarter, so I can recharge a few times during the year, instead of running to the finish line and praying that I don’t crash short of December 31st.

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Spider-Man 3 (2007)

Posted on November 13, 2008 by Joel

I watched Spider-Man 3 a la Netflix Watch Instantly (video streaming) on my PC tonight.  I was thinking back to 2006 and 2007, when I was blogging about how this movie looked so good.

Yeah, not so much.

Sometimes when I don’t quite think a movie is all that, I’ll describe it as “Eh.”  “Average” “Okay.”  “Simple popcorn flick.”  I thought Spider-Man 3 was “cheesy.”  What was that?  Hammy acting, stupid I-couldn’t-care-less story line, and a total hash of the established history.  Furthermore, I didn’t think the special effects were all that, and the character motivations (and mood swings) felt contrived.

Seriously, what was up with having an Emo version of Peter Parker?  And that dance number in the jazz club?  This movie was dumb.

Spider-Man 3 (2007)

Spider-Man 3 (2007)

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