Year's Recap of Movies

Thankfully I started to tag all blogs with a movie review in it or figuring out which movies I've watched would have taken far longer...I also found the blog I wrote in 2009 about the movies I watched. I managed to double my viewing of movies (in theater or DVD) over last year (currently at 66, but I keep remembering movies I've seen and not listed yet). That's scary...I managed to watch all the movies I wanted to watch (Secretariat, Narnia, Harry Potter, Eclipse, Robin Hood, etc). I also managed all the ones on DVD I wanted to see except Invictus. It's in my Netflix queue, but it's far down there...

Now for my rankings...

Favorites of the year (no particular order):

• How to Train Your Dragon
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1
  
• Inception
• Toy Story 3
• Tron
• Despicable Me (just for the minions, I admit it)
  
• Tangled
• Megamind
  

Must see movie of the year: Inception
Runner-ups: How to Train Your Dragon and Tron

Favorite stupid comedy: She's Out of My League
Runner-ups: The Other Guys and Kick-Ass

Romantic/Romantic Comedy: Just Wright
Runner-up: It's Complicated

Horror: N/A - Didn't seen any this year

Family film (non-animated): Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1
Runner-ups: Karate Kid and Secretariat

Family film (animated): How to Train Your Dragon
Runner-ups: How about them all? Toy Story 3, Tangled, Despicable Me, Shrek 4ever After, and Megamind. They were all very enjoyable and shouldn't be missed.

Action-Adventure: Inception
Runner-up: Salt

Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Comic: Iron Man 2
Runner-up: N/A - Nothing measures up to a runner-up position

Drama: Extraordinary Measures
Runner-up: N/A - Nothing measures up to a runner-up position

Worst of the year: The Last Airbender (by FAR my least favorite movie...Ugh...Horrible...)

Movies I want to see on DVD from this year (no particular order):

• The Tourist
• Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps
• The Fighter
• Easy A
• Eat, Pray, Love
• The Legend of the Guardians
• The American
• The Social Network
• The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest
• The King's Speech
• Black Swan

Movies I want to see next year (no particular order):

• Green Lantern
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2
• Cars 2
• Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
• The Hangover 2
• Kung Fu Panda 2
• Transformers: Dark of the Moon
• Thor
• Captain America
• Sherlock Holmes 2
• X-Men: First Class
• Dreamwork's "Puss in Boots" movie

Most excited for Green Lantern, Harry Potter, and PotC (just saw the trailer for it!). It's definitely the year of sequels...

Movies

Shrek Forever After (DVD) - Good solid Shrek movie. Just as good as the rest. Nice meaning in the story too. Not much else to say since it's on par with the rest of the movies. :) Grade: A

The Other Guys (DVD) - A silly, funny movie, which you would expect from the two lead stars. I laughed a lot in it, but it is a little slapstick humor. If you don't like movies like The Hangover, this one won't appeal to you either. It's not a a crud movie or anything, but it does have a tone that is making fun of everything (e.g., the "nerdier guy" is hit on by all these really good looking females, while his partner would normally be considered the better looking guy is totally ignored by all of them). Anyway, like I said, if you like The Hangover or Knocked Up, you can handle The Other Guys and will think it's just as funny/good as those. Grade: B

Scott Pilgrim vs The World (DVD) - What a weird movie. It wasn't what I expected at all since it's done in a way that's kind of like a video game and Scott Pilgrim has to defeat the "Seven Evil Ex-Boyfriends" before he can truly date this one girl. It's different, but wouldn't be for everyone. I'm going to agree with a friend that said, "You'll either love it or hate it, but there won't be much in between." I'm leaning towards the "love it" because it's rather uniquely done. It's uniqueness does put it "out there" moviewise because it's an odd storyline that takes a while to truly get into. I almost gave up on it after 30 minutes (starts off kind of like a non-movie, you're simply following this guys life around, and it's slooooow), but by the end...I appreciate it for what it is. Grade: B

Tron: Legacy - First off, save your money and don't see it in 3D. What a rip off. I HAD to see it in 3D because that was the only version they were offering at the theater here, but 80% (maybe 90%?) of the movie isn't even IN 3D. So when there were some shots that WERE in 3D it was distracting because your eyes are suddenly starting to bug out. However, the special effects are AMAZING. Inception had some amazing special effects too, but this one hits on the purity of technology special effects and less about the "tricking the mind" that normally occurs in movies (e.g., Lord of the Rings). Since you're on the grid for most of the movie, it's a very "technology" feeling to the whole movie. The storyline isn't anything new and original and doesn't have any twists in it, but I think it's the presentation and execution more than it is for the basic story (e.g., Harry Potter's basic story is not new, but it's the presentation and execution that make it unique, well-liked, and well-received). This movie definitely executed and presented itself very well. I would go see the sequel (as Disney is banking on), buy it on DVD, AND I want the soundtrack for it (a very wide arrange of instruments and styles used (some electronic, some 80's, some basic orchestra, etc -- Draft Punk (a real group(duo?)) did a good job). I truly love the Harry Potter movie and think it's great and hope everyone sees it, but Tron is definitely the movie to go see this holiday season (of the ones I've seen). It is really fast paced, though. It makes the 2 hours go by fast, but you also want the fast pace to end. I think about 1.5 hours into the movie (with our only real breather), I started wondering when the movie was over. It was partially because the movie is long, but also because I wanted to know when the agony would end. :) The acting is really good too. So, yes, go see it. :) Grade: A

Next post will be my top movies of the year. I have to go back and remember everything I saw now... :)

First death of the fish tank

Well, technically the 2nd death since a suckerfish I had bought died after 48 hours, but the first "real" death of my fish tank.

Apparently the female shrimp was farther along. She couldn't swim. She somehow had righted herself up and I thought she'd have a little longer, but the other female shrimp came to look at her and she fell down to the bottom of the tank and couldn't move after that. It's a sad death because my shrimp were always entertaining to watch. Chris hummed a little tune for her as he carried her to the toilet (I wouldn't look) and flushed her down to fish heaven. (Perhaps it was a little more fitting that I watched Finding Nemo tonight than I thought...) And so passes one of my female shrimp.

I shall be watching the other two a little more closely now...

I've also decided my fish tank needs a full clean-out, which will be a super pain catching all the fish/shrimp. I found when the female shrimp was dying my fish tank has a few more flatworms than I'm happy with. You can't see them really, but it's a sign that the organic matter in my fish tank is a little high and I haven't cleaned the tank since I moved here 3 months ago and I'm terrible about doing a good 25-50% clean. So...It's time.

Ghost Shrimp Health Failing

I regret to inform you all that one of my female ghost shrimp's health is failing. I don't know if she'll make it past tomorrow. She's still breathing and ticking away as if she was fine, but...she's doing it all while upside down and, you know, that's not a good sign. She's also a little more opaque than normal, curled up a little, and missing a pincher. They average 1-2 years and my shrimp grew in size REALLY quickly (usually speeds up the life expectancy the faster they grow) so it's about time...I've told Chris he has to flush her. I hate doing it...Grosses me out. So...we'll see. The other two look fine, though they both are showing their age. They're not as clear as they used to be. The other female shrimp has a new batch of eggs too. The rest of my inhabitants are fine, but I have to seriously start throwing away part of that plant I got. It's growing too quickly for my tank and I trim it and replant the pieces, but now it's getting to the point there's just too much plant in general. Feels like a waste to throw away perfectly good pieces of freshwater plant, but I definitely got my $4 worth out of it!

Oh yeah, I think I may have some algae eating shrimp hitch hikers...I was cleaning out one of my filters and this bug thing came out. It's super small (less than a quarter inch in length), but has the shape and look of an algae eating shrimp, but it also reminds me of amphipods in the ocean too. So who knows. Maybe they'll get bigger and I can tell. I just hope they're not something I DON'T want.

In other news...I saw Narnia this week. It's okay...I haven't read the book so it's hard to compare, but the story revolves around defeating this "green mist" thingy which basically is the source of greed, lust, etc. It was a little weird. In comparison to the other 2 films...It was better than the 2nd, but not as good as the 1st. I still like the BBC version better. Do I want them to make The Silver Chair? No. Will I go see it if they did make it? Yes. It kind of left you with this weird feeling of just "blah" wasn't really memorable and wasn't really terrible.

The amazing Zenyatta

I saw Zenyatta today. Such an amazing day and unforgettable to see a thoroughbred of her caliber and fandom in person. This will definitely be a day I won't forget and I'm sure I'll be able to talk about later on in the years. (I equate it as to someone seeing Secretariat in person and being around when he raced -- I wish I was alive then!)

Anyway, I took so many photos and video it's kind of funny. 11,216 people turned up today at Hollywood Park and I bet 95-97% of those people were there for her. Actually, Bob Baffert won his 2,000th race today (I'm so excited I got to see that! He's one of my fav trainers and I thought he attained that earlier this week!) and he said in an interview that it was nice to win the milestone when there were more than 500 people there. :P Mike Smith was autographing things again and there were so many people there...he had to come back a second time and he STILL didn't get to everyone. I'm so glad I got there early or I may never have gotten my autographs, which I really didn't need. :P But...Hey. Why not. :) That reminds me...Hollywood Park made BANK today. They sold out of a lot of stuff (the shirt I got was gone an hour after I got it) and they had copies of the Blood-Horse Zenyatta commemorative issue in the gift store, which sold out in probably record time. Chris and I got there and I'd say there were 25-30 copies. 15 minutes later (the time it took for us to look around) there were maybe 5 left. Crazy. I got mine autographed, but it's within my Blood-Horse mag (kind of awkward, but oh well. My actual copy hasn't arrived yet...).

Chris and I sat around waiting for the 6th race to go to post (3pm and we got there about 10:30am) so we could see Zenyatta in the paddock. We stood at the paddock rail from about 1:45pm to the time she showed up (around 3pm) to make sure we got good spots for photos/viewing. I brought some snacks and stuff so we didn't buy anything there food/drink wise. That's one thing I like about horse tracks. They don't do security checks and they don't disallow you to bring your own food/drink. The things I don't like, though, are they allow smoking practically anywhere (ugh...Chris and I had to move after the 3rd race because we were sitting down wind of two smokers) and it's, well, a little dirty. However, I think any sports venue when it's NOT new (Hollywood Park has been around for a while) has that well-used/"dirty" feel to it. It's not like DIRTY, dirty, but you know. Things are a little old. I do like getting their early to hear the National Anthem and see the flag being raised. Something about being there first thing. I do think if I lived near a track, I'd end up being a railbird. I wouldn't bet, but I like being at the track.

Unlike last time, I actually tried handicapping the races. Well, not really. I didn't read the Daily Racing Forum (tempted to buy it since Zenyatta was featured in it, but I hate the ink print on it since it smears onto your hands) or looked at past performances or anything. I just read the blurbs on them and checked the jockeys, trainers, and stallions (which I actually know pretty well) and picked accordingly. I actually hit the exacta for the first race and the trifecta for the 2nd race (could have won almost $200 off two $2 bets). I had Baffert's horse squared into my exacta for the 3rd race as a place not a win, but dang it...that was still pretty good! I did want to place him as first, but...didn't. 4th race I didn't call the winner, but I had him as a place, I think. The 5th race I called with Amazombie (what a name...). With no real money in play, I'm a pretty darn good handicapper! LoL No way will I EVER place real money because I will suck to no end then. :P

Zenyatta is amazing, though. Simply amazing. There's just this presence, grace, and intelligence she exudes. It was also amazing to be with THAT many people who also love her a lot. The energy of a place does help a great deal. She's so gorgeous though and I wish I had a better camera! She's dappled to high end and is so incredibly fit! Mario (her groom) is amazing with her too. You can tell he really, really loves her. I'm really glad I went (and bought a Zenyatta t-shirt!). I really can't say more on it because it was just a gush of feelings the entire time and the crowd was fun too. People chanted "Zen-ya-ta" and "Horse of the year" and it was just overall fun and GREAT to see her in person. More (minor) comments in my photos. I actually forgot racing was occurring when she came out so when they called the 6th race, it was a little jarring. LoL I had been transported into some other realm of Zenyatta's and hearing the call was planting me back on Earth. It was easy to get back into Zenyatta because they actually gave her about 45 minutes with no races occurring, which was pretty generous. She's so gorgeous.

With that...Photos, videos, and articles of the day!

Picasa album: Zenyatta appreciation day
Paddock #1 (walking towards and away): Paddock
Paddock #1 (right in front): Paddock2
Track board (since it was hard to see her in the winner's circle): Track board

Blood-horse article (I like that photo a lot)
Hollywood's recap of the day
Baffert's 2000th win article

Those articles give me warm fuzzy feelings because I can say, "I WAS THERE!" Plus, they make me tear up...It was a good day. I got a Zenyatta t-shirt (just says her name with the silk colors - liked it better than the one with her on it), bought two small photos (only $1/each and helped The Second Race), and, most importantly, I got to see her in person. I'm a happy camper! :)

Stuff

My brain is lacking in vocabulary or creativity (one or the other or both) so you get a boring title. :)

I finished my final yesterday. I'm 50% confident on the material I answered. The other 50% is up in the air. I'm particularly worried about the last question's first two parts. I had NO clue so I more or less took an educated guess. Hopefully I was right or I'm screwed. I already turned my paper in. I couldn't take having the final and knowing I still had my paper to turn in so I edited it one last time (I think I could have edited it forever...) and turned it on Wednesday night. I have to tell you, having the final over and no more paper to worry about is a nice feeling. I'm glad I turned it in early.

I still have some GP work to do this next week, but it's a little more leisurely so I feel better having the final complete and my classes finished. I'm more-or-less taking the weekend off and will work next week on GP. If I work diligently, I should have it finished in 1-2 days.

Tomorrow is Zenyatta's appreciation/farewell day at Hollywood Park. Chris isn't looking forward to being stuck at Hollywood Park almost all day (it opens at 10:15pm, but she's not parading till around 3pm). I'd like to get there later, but don't want to miss anything earlier in the day too...So...We'll get there around 10-11am. Apparently someone from the Dodgers will be giving Zenyatta her own Dodgers jersey too. I'm intrigued to know if she'll actually be able to wear it or not. LoL I suspect a couple thousand people (easily) will be there tomorrow (another reason I'd rather get there early). Camera will be in hand! Now if I only could steal a kid for 10 minutes so I can get one of the Zenyatta coloring books they're giving away to kids... :P Mike Smith will be autographing again so I'm *cough* printing photos to have him sign, but may just have him sign my Blooodhorse commemorative issue for her instead. We'll see. In the midst of looking for photos, I stumbled across the photo finish of Zenyatta's Breeders' Cup Classic loss. It's painful to look at. She really did lose by a head. She was SOOO close. Ugh. Painful. Anyway, tomorrow should be fun and interesting. The energy of Hollywood Park should be incredible too.

Next Friday The Tourist and Narnia comes out! I'm still not 100% sold on The Tourist, but I'll probably go see it at some point and Narnia (of course) I will see. :) I think this year (or next) I will do what my friend does and try to see all the movies nominated for Best Picture for the Academy Awards. I'm intrigued by the one Colin Firth is in (The King's Speech), which has him as King George VI and Helena Bonham Carter as Queen Elizabeth. It's already getting comments that Colin Firth may be nominated for Best Actor award. There are some other small pictures I'm interested in too, but tend to watch on DVD instead. We'll see, though. I think last year I ended up seeing most of the Best Picture awards, but not all of them.

Well...with that...I'm off to watch my Criminal Minds DVD and continue to relax. :)

Movies and Life

I've seen Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 twice now (almost saw it for a 3rd time today, but saw Tangled instead). I think it's the ONLY Harry Potter I have had the strong desire to see over and over again in theaters. I've rewatched a few of the others in theater, but it was for various reasons other than pure enjoyment for the film itself. I'd even see it again for a 3rd time. It's definitely one I will want to buy on DVD and gives me hope for Part 2. I cried through a good majority of the film, but it's a good one on a more low-key level than the latter half of the book. Everyone definitely stepped their game up for this film to bring a great film. So, yes, if you like Harry Potter, go see it in theaters!! I am super excited for Part 2 and can't WAIT till part 1 and part 2 come out on DVD together. By far my favorite Harry Potter film. Oh yeah, Desplat as the composer, might just be my 2nd favorite composer of the films. He really goes all out with various instruments. No one will compare to John Williams, but Desplat does a really good job and I enjoyed the sountrack more than others.

I saw Tangled today, which apparently is Disney's 50th animated film. Alan Menken (Beauty and the Beast, Little Mermaid, etc) is the composer for the film, which was nice to see. There were some awkward moments in the film for me because they reminded me briefly of Little Mermaid or Beauty and the Beast, but it was a cute film. It's about par with Princess and the Frog (I may like Tangled a little bit better, but it's close). I liked the movie and the telling of Rapunzel. Some of the songs seemed a little forced where they were placed, but I'm not sure if that's because I'm not used to animated films where characters break out into song anymore or what. The songs themselves were cute. They're similar to Enchanted (also composed by Menken) and there's, of course, the "wish" song which for Rapunzel is the "When Will My Life Begin" song (reminded me a little of Little Mermaid). Donna Murphy sings this funny song called "Mother Knows Best." She plays the villain, but it's a good song. My favorite song is "I See the Light". It's supposed to be the "A Whole New World" type of song and it's not as "strong" as some others you've heard (i.e., you don't immediately fall in love with it), but it fits for the movie and the characters. I like it and I'll warm up to it more, but it took me a minute or two to fully "get it." The "Kingdom Dance" song is pretty amazing since Menken throws in some Celtic flair, but Princess and the Frog also had a pretty amazing dance song too (is that a requirement nowadays?). Anyway, the movie is a good Disney film. It's not the Disney animations of old, but they're enjoyable films with a good story and some nice character singing and compositions. Plus, you gotta love Pascal the Chameleon and Maximus the Royal Guard Horse (Chris's favorite thing about the movie was the horse)! I don't know if I'd see it again in theaters (maybe a home rental), but I'll buy the soundtrack for sure and probably the DVD.

As for the rest of my life...I am finished with classes on Friday (the 3rd). It's totally nerve wracking because this week is stress, stress, stress. Tomorrow (Monday) we have our review meeting via the phone with our client (and then my classes so I'm on campus for 5 hours straight). Tuesday I have to meet up with a group to finish my last lab for environmental modeling (I already completed the REAL last lab). Wednesday is ANOTHER review meeting (was all supposed to be on Mon, but a last minute scheduling issue came about) with our external advisor (and lab is due for enviro modeling and I'm stuck on campus with 5 hours of stuff again). Friday is my CBA final, which accounts for 50% of my grade and we are not allowed a page of notes. Sad to say, but this is THE first final I've had in grad school that is your "typical" final. I've either had no final, final with notes, or take home final. So am I nervous that I have to remember the ins and outs of 7 different CBA methods and 5 other lectures? YES! I have been studying for a few days now and it's about my primary concern for this week. However, I am having some bad dreams about GP and I'm not even presenting....At least my CBA paper (worth 40% of my grade) is written and edited. I may re-read it one more time to check for grammatical errors, but I could print it out now and feel good about it too. So...yes...I'm stressed and nervous all at once. Ugh. I just have to keep reminding myself I will be finished come 4:30pm on Friday (final is from 2:30-4:30pm) and Sunday I will be wishing Zenyatta a farewell at Hollywood Park. Zenyatta ships to Kentucky on Monday. It'll be a sad day, but at least I'll get to see her in person! I am glad I don't have anything to do on finals week. So I'll have an extra week of Christmas break. :)

Anyway, with that, I need to run off to do my reading for tomorrow's classes and study CBA some more.

Zenyatta's Retired

It was officially announced today that Zenyatta is being retired and will be sent to Kentucky in early December. If I ever visit Kentucky, I am hitting up so many farms it won't even be funny. LoL All the farms are pretty good about letting you take a tour, see the facilitie,s and the horses, but any farm (Lane's End for Zenyatta) is going to have to be particularly good about letting fans see her just as much as the stallions.

I'm glad she's retiring sound and happy, but it is sad knowing I won't get to see her run again. A part of me hoped they'd keep her around another year and race her around the country against males. Oh well. Now I'm worried Hollywood Park will want to parade her THIS weekend. It'd be pretty stupid, all around, if Hollywood didn't allow time for her to have a farewell parade. It'd make them automatic money from the bazillion people driving out to see her and it'd be good for the fans. I'm hoping they do it the 27th because it's Mike Smith bobblehead giveaway day so that'd be more fitting an it's closer to the time before she leaves. Unfortunately, since the retirement is this week...it might be this weekend and I'll be in Monterey. :( We'll see...

Another Steve Haskin piece on Zenyatta (and life/movie update)

This article by Steve Haskin is about Zenyatta and the impact she has had on people. These are touching personal pieces about people who have had different obstacles in their life and how Zenyatta has helped them get through them. She's better than most therapy and most of these people have only seen her on TV or read about her. I think part of her allurement is the fact she dances and paws the ground before and after races, but she's also known to have this very, very sweet temperament which is highly unusual for Thoroughbreds (they tend to be high strung, territorial, etc).

Haskin's article: Zenyatta Stirred the Emotions

No news on her retirement yet and she's back in California. I suspect they'll wait a little longer to think it out and watch her.

School right now is a little stressful. I have 3 weeks left until I'm finished. I don't have anything finals week so I end up being finished Friday, December 3rd (so I get an extra week of break -- 4 weeks instead of 3!). Unfortunately, it's a packed 3 weeks between GP, environmental modeling, and cost-benefit analysis. GP is stressful...VERY stressful. I think Wednesday is an "oh crap" meeting since our advisor won't be there. We also have to decide who will present for our progress report meeting, which is being scheduled Monday, November 29th. Environmental modeling was pretty easy in the beginning of the quarter and now they're reformatting a little so I'm a little stressed this weekend and early this next week. I have managed to make up for my 6.75 first assignment (there are nine 10-point assignments and 10 pts for participation) and have pulled myself to a 91%. I just need to keep pulling 10's and high 9's and I MIGHT just manage to pull an A in the class. I at least am on target for an A-. Phew. I'm starting to write my CBA paper. I decided to do a critique instead. I need to start studying for the final too. So, yeah, I'm a little stressed. On the other hand, I'm nowhere near as stressed as some of my fellow classmates. So...I keep trying to tell myself that. :P

In other news, I MIGHT be going to the doctor on Monday. I'm drinking tons of fluids and it seems to be helping, but my kidney or appendix (something down near there) and stomach was PAINFULLY hurting Thursday night and all day Friday (it was a sharp pain if you pressed it, if I laughed, etc and my stomach was having these sharp pains too -- so weird). I've drunk over 36 fluid ounces of cranberry juice and am trying to push fluids and it seems to be helping so I'm hoping I was just a little dehydrated and my kidney wasn't being flushed enough. Now that it's being flushed, it'll be okay. It does seem to feel a lot better this evening, but it still hurts a little. Fingers crossed the pain goes away Monday and it was just the kidney not being flushed. Anything else I can't afford to have (monetarily and school wise).

Other than that...not much is going on. I did see Just Wright (Queen Latifah), The Girl Who Played with Fire, and Megamind in the last month or so. Just Wright was surprisingly better than I thought it was going to be. It's predictable, but the chemistry was good, the story was good, and Queen Latifah was great in it. It's one of the more enjoyable rom-coms I've seen. I wouldn't buy it (it's not The Proposal caliber), but it was a good rental. The Girl Who Played with Fire is the 2nd book in the Larsson series. Another good movie. It had more of the feeling of the 2nd Bourne movie (she's being set up for crimes she didn't commit, has to go out and prove herself, find the guys, etc). If you liked the first, you'll like the 2nd. You can't watch it without the first movie, though.  Megamind was also good. Of all the animations I've seen this year (How to Train Your Dragon, Toy Story 3, Despicable Me, and Megamind), I'd rank them How to Train Your Dragon (Toothless is just TOO cute!), Toy Story 3 (very, very, close second), Megamind, and then Despicable Me. Despicable Me wasn't that fantastic of a story. What made the movie enjoyable were the minons. Without them, the movie would have fallen flat for me. Megamind had a good story and the trailer I always saw actually is NOT what the movie is really about. Brad Pitt makes a big headliner for the movie, but...he's not in the movie that much at all. So perhaps that's one reason why I liked it more than Despicable Me.

Upcoming movies I'm looking forward to are Due Date (I know it's already out -- maybe a rental at this point), Harry Potter (!!!), Tangled (new Disney), Narnia, and Tron. I MIGHT want to see The Tourist, but I'll wait for the reviews (Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp romantic thriller). Next summer is going to be interesting! Gotta see Thor and Captain America (gotta get ready for Avenger!),  Pirates of the Caribbean 4, Kung Fu Panda 2, Cars 2 (that was a surpriser for me), The Green Lantern, and Transformers 3. I haven't decided yet if I want to see Breaking Dawn next fall...Gah I hate that last book. I think I will invent my own version of the Twilight Saga and it will only be 3 books!

With that...Back to writing my CBA paper (due Dec 3). I've written 4 pages and the max is 10 pages. I think I'll write till I can't write anymore about a critique of this paper. Hoping it'll be around 8 pages, though. Tomorrow's homework is all dedicated to environmental modeling and then I'll study CBA the rest of the week off and on too.

Warner Bros. VIP Studio Tour

Chris and I today went to the Warner Bros. studio to do the VIP tour, which I've wanted to do for years now! It was fun, a little pricey (price has gone up), but fun. We went in a group of 8 and they drive you around the lot on your little tram with your tour guide. Each tour is unique and tailored (more-or-less) to each group. Ours wanted Chuck and Harry Potter so that's what he focused on.

We learned a lot of interesting tidbits, but especially the fact that Jack Warner was an interesting character...I guess if anyone would disagree with him, he'd say, "Let's take a walk." And he walked them to the water tower where it's got the WB logo and he'd say something like, "That's great, but whose name is on that?" There were some other things too like the WB logo on Stage 15. Jack Warner wanted it on that particular stage because it faces Paramount and so every time they look out and down the hill, they see the big WB logo. Sounds like an interesting character...We saw the antique hall (everything there was 100+ years old) and went to this place where all these cars used in films were. We went to the Central Perk coffee house, which is in Friends. So we got to see that set, which is pretty cool. He also allowed us to take photos on the couch. He took us to the set of Chuck. So we basically stood instead Buy More (rip-off of Best Buy). It was CRAZY! It was huge and it looked like a real retail store -- flooring, exit signs, overhead signs, the products, etc. The products on display are real products (product placement). The DVDs are films that everyone working on Chuck has something to do with and all that. It was pretty cool. Then he took us to the situation comedy set of Mike & Molly. We got to see how the audience views the TV show. It was pretty cool. He said they film they about a month before hand so almost all the Christmas episodes have now been filmed. So we basically got to see an hour long production set and a 30 minute production set and they're vastly different from each other, but equally neat to see. After that he took us to the museum, which is basically a costume and some prop museum. They had costumes there from Dark Knight, Where the Wild Things Are (the big monster costumes were soo cool!), Watchman, Casablanca, Willy Wonka (Johnny Depp version), etc. They also had 5 Academy Awards we could see. The second floor was entirely Harry Potter. They had the cupboard under the stairs, the Knight bus bed, the Weasley Twin suits when we see them at WWW for the first time, Umbridge's costume, all the wands, a petrified Hermione (downstairs and it was a little creepy!), a signed set of Harry Potter books and artwork from Mary GrandPre they bought at an auction. the Nimbus 2000, Quidditch ball set, Arthur and Molly's costumes, various trio costumes, the Hagrid outfit when he first brought Harry to Privet Drive (that was creepy because there's a fake baby in the sling and it's right at eye level for me...), the Triwizard Cup (that thing looks like it's heavy if it's really made out of pewter), the egg from the Triwizard tournament, etc. They also had THE sorting hat from the first film! So you could get sorted. I got sorted into Slytherin...It was pretty cool to see all the costumes and props, though. I just wish I could have taken photos! On the other hand, I probably would have ended up being in there for more than 20 minutes. :P We got driven around the back lot (or was it the front lot...?) to look at the outdoor buildings they use. We also saw the stages and offices for the Ellen Degeneress show, Conan, etc. The tour was over 2 hours and it went by FAST. It was fun. I'd go again, but maybe in a few years when things have had a chance to change out a little. It's definitely a better tour than the Universal one and I'd recommend it to anyone who hasn't gone before. :)

Anyway, photos!: WB VIP Tour

Steve Haskin's Classic Recap and More Zenyatta

Steve Haskin is by far one of the greatest horse racing writer's in the country. Every week after a big race, I sit on Blood-Horse waiting for his articles to be published on Tuesday and always read whatever he writes. He writes so eloquently, but also really gives horse racing a face. He throws in some history of whomever he's writing about and really shines a new light on the people and horses involved in the industry.

I've read a few of the Blood-Horse blogs (and others) on the Classic recap and they've been good, but not great. Since Saturday, I've REALLY been waiting for his piece to come out knowing it'd be good. And it truly is good. He's one of the first people to really write about the emotions and history that the race inspires and creates and not the whole "Blame or Zenyatta for HoY" debate that is now going on (I can't take the debate...This is the 3rd year in a row a horse I don't want for HoY will get HoY, even though said horse had the "harder" campaign).

My favorite line about Zenyatta written anywhere is by him: In victory after victory, she captured the heart. In her lone defeat, she captured the soul.

This line really is what happened and where I stand currently in my feelings. I'm still sad and I still don't really want to talk about it, but I still love her and sometimes it's nice knowing that the "pressure" on her is gone. On the other hand, she could have retired this year 20-0 and that would have been great and would have solidified a lot of things, IMO! The owners haven't mentioned anything about her formally retiring yet, so I'm semi-wondering if they'll keep her in training another year. Blame and Quality Road have been formally announced to be retired already. Goldikova is staying another year (Europe's champ and 3-peated the Turf Mile this year) and they want her to 4-peat next year. So...Who knows. I have mixed feelings about her retiring or not. On one hand (and as her trainer says), she's got nothing to prove. On the other hand, since she's 19-1, sound, and training well, why not keep her another year, send her to the East and keep her fans goin' another year? Most great horses these days retire once the nation start to love them. We've had an extra year with Zenyatta (was supposed to retire last year), so I think that's one reason I wouldn't mind her retiring, but...it'd be great to see her race more as long as she's sound and happy.

Anyway, if you want to read Haskin's report about the Classic, you can read it here: Haskin's BC Classic Recap

The Great Zenyatta (and My Heartbreak)

I've been a fan of horse racing since 2002 when War Emblem won the Derby and was trying to win the Triple Crown. Before that, I knew about Silver Charm and his bid for the TC in 1997. It's been over 8 years since my first horse race I watched and I've had some other favorites like Big Brown, Barbaro, Azeri, Pleasantly Perfect, etc. At no point, though, had I ever been super obsessed about a horse currently still racing (Secretariat is my all-time favorite and I own quite a few Secretariat things). Zenyatta changed that all for me.

I had known about her winning streak last year before her Breeders' Cup Classic win, but no female had ever won the Classic so I wasn't sure she could do it. As it turns out, she could. When her owners decided to not retire her and let her race another year, it excited everyone. I've watched all her races this year with excitement and nerves she'd lose once. And everytime she's somehow managed to win. As we all watched Rachel Alexandra's weird year and eventual retirement, everyone's eyes turned to Zenyatta. Oprah profiled her, she was on 60 Minutes, etc. Today was the biggest test of her career and I was hoping she'd win, but also had a fear she couldn't do it.

As the race was about to start, I was pacing. My heart was beating super fast and I was nervous. So nervous I thought I might pass out. I kept saying, "I can't do this. I can't do this. I can't watch. What if she doesn't win?" I was a total mess. The race started and she was last, very far back. She got into some traffic on the turn for home and that's when I knew she was out. But...no...here she came barreling down the home stretch and I'm yelling and screaming and making noise hoping she'd get the final jump. Unforunately, she lost by a head to Blame. A horse I didn't want to win at all. I wouldn't have minded if Lookin' at Lucky (4th and probable 3yo champ) or Quality Road (12th/last and former contender for Horse of the Year/Older male champ) won over her (as much), but it had to be Blame. Blame will now be Horse of the Year and Champion Older Male and Zenyatta will be, once again, older female champ (3rd year in a row).

I try to remember Blame had his year, ran his race, and his owners (Claiborne Farm) are some of my favorite owners (and had Secretariat when he was at stud), but it's hard to get past. She was the best horse in that field. I can't imagine how upset Mike Smith (Zenyatta's jockey) must feel. He's already blaming himself for the loss. It's heartbreaking. She's America's horse and outshone Goldikova (Europe's phenomenal female who won her 3rd straight Turf Mile today -- simply amazing). I was very upset after Zenyatta's loss. This race is her probable last race and she lost. She's 19-1, which is amazing but she missed perfection by a head. If she had another furlong, she would have won. She's still perfect in my mind, but it's sad she couldn't get the 20-0. I think the saddest thing for me about the race's outcome is, even though she only lost by a head, she'll only be considered one of the great female horses and not one of the all-time greats. She still is the only female horse to win the Classic and tied for the longest win-streak in N. America, but she raced mostly on synthetics in California and against females in all but 2 races (one which she lost). Horse racing can be very competitive and the East-West rivalry is still strong, especially with CA's synthetic tracks. She gave us all a ride and brought new fans, but that slight decrease in her "great" ranking bothers me! Logically, it makes sense, but emotionally I don't want it this way!

Anyway, she's still one of the greats in my book and I hope I can be at Hollywood Park for her retirement parade (if they have one). She's a beautiful horse and I'm glad she came out of the race well. I hope Mike Smith can get past the loss (he was tearing up afterwards). I look forward to seeing her babies in the future, but I hope I don't go through this again with another horse! I was/am upset about the loss, but also oh-so-proud of her run. She'll always be Queen Z to me, even with the ache in my heart.

(Pictures get bigger if you click on them)

Look at that face
I love it when her tongue sticks out. She's so gentle for such a big horse (5'8" at the withers or 17.1 hands high)
Famous dance steps she does and look at that dappled coat

Psych College Tour

(Background Information: Psych is a TV show that airs on USA. It's about these two best friends (Shawn Spencer and Burton "Gus" Guster). Shawn is hyper-aware so he can notice details most people wouldn't notice. Shawn's dad is a former police officer so he used to make Shawn practice using his hyperawareness. Now that he's an adult, he pretends he's psychic and helps solve police cases with Gus (as more the voice of reason). The show is very, very funny and not your typical crime-drama. It's more of a crime-comedy (no bloody scenes or bodies like CSI, no autopsies, no forensic labs) and more on the detective end (finding clues, following leads, etc). It's a great show to say the least with a lot of humor and James Roday (Shawn) and Dulé Hill (Gus) are a great pairing in the show. BTW, Dulé Hill was in The West Wing as Charlie Young. So seeing him in a more comedic role compared to his role in West Wing is pretty interesting.

They decided to a college tour at a few different colleges to do a pre-screening of the season 5.5 premiere, give away free stuff, and feed us free pizza. I went and the event was held on campus and was open to UCSB students and faculty. The two main stars came along with some other big execs. It was fun and totally free! BTW, the show "takes place" in Santa Barbara. Unfortunately, they actually film the show in Vancouver. :P)

What a CRAZY and fun night!

They let us in around 5:45pm, but it didn't start till 7pm. They fed us Domino's pizza (pepperoni or cheese) and gave us sodas and water.

Steve Franks (creator of the show) was basically the MC for the evening. He also gave away most of the stuff too. He did it pretty randomly, but they gave away bobblehead sets, pineapple stress balls, pineapple pillows (those were the big ticket items), Magic 8 balls, the big green "The Psychic is In" mugs, smaller Psych mugs, Psych footballs, and DVD season 4 sets (that wasn't a throw away gift). I think that was it...They must have given away like 5 of everything except the pineapple stress balls and the mini-footballs which they had to give away like 10-20 of those. There was a moment when all three (Steve, James, and Dulé) were just chucking them out into the crowd till they were out. 

We watched the season premiere (Season 5.5) of Psych! I won't spoil it, but it was AMAZING to watch with 600 other people. LoL They were a very good crowd too so they cut the cheering very quickly. It's a good episode on its own too... :) After the episode (even with the outtakes), Steve came back out and had Dulé Hill (Gus) and James Roday (Shawn) came down the aisles and of course the place exploded. They did a 30 minute Q&A with them and Steve picked out ALL the crazy questions. :P I guess Steve has some of his own questions, but he liked ours so much (said they were the best of any place...take it with a grain of salt :P ) that he wasn't going to ask any of his own. Most people who had a question asked got something and James and Dulé would randomly sign things as they passed. Someone championed them to do an episode at UCSB (I mean, come on...the show is supposed to take place in SB!). Steve also told us that the producers (or whomever) wanted him to base the show in Seattle. LoL James seemed to be the only one who doesn't mind that the show is filmed in Vancouver. He likes being away from L.A. Dulé's response was, "Vancouver, really?" Steve told us Nestor Carbonell (Jules boyfriend Decland Rand) does not wear eyeliner, that's the way his eyes naturally are. :P We got Dulé to tap dance and do an impersonation at the same time (I forget of who...I think I was too excited he was going to tap dance...). One girl put in a question card, filled it all out, and forgot to put a question so Steve put her on the spot and told her to come up with a question. She was having troubles thinking so he said he'd give her a bobblehead set to help her think (James and Dulé signed it). So people were shouting out questions for her and she asked, "Can I have a hug?" They obliged so she got a hug AND signed bobblehead set from them. :P Later on, James actually gave a girl a kiss on her cheek along with the hug! LoL She got pulled up to the stage and James had to give the speech that Shawn gave to Jules at the end of Season 5 (about Jules going away on her trip) to the girl in some manner. I forget the manner, but it was hilarious. So afterwards she got something and boldly asked them to sign it for her and that's when she got the hugs and the kiss. At the end of the Q&A, they told everyone to check underneath our seats because they put little signs underneath them. If you found one, you won a signed copy of season 4. The guy sitting THREE SEATS down from me won! SOO close. Oh well. They also raffled a new iPad and $200 iTunes gift card so you could download all the seasons of Psych. I, of course, did not win it. :( Oh well.

Anyway, after the whole chaos of Q&A (it got pretty crazy at points), they wrapped it up and said they'd stick around a little to sign autographs! It was a frickin' mob! They passed out the lyrics to the theme song so we could all sing it together so I had them sign that. It's a little mutilated, but I got all 3 autographs! I had to basically be a little forceful to get them, but I got them -- amongst all the people, sweat, and everything. Dulé was really nice and talked to people, looked at them when he handed back your whatever after he signed it, and even gave a girl a hug when she asked. James was a little more quiet. In fact, he was pretty quiet the entire time. He was almost aloof. Though, he did come in with this big jacket on and Steve at one point said, "James, you look hot in that jacket." Which, all the girls screamed to. So Steve got him to take his jacket off and underneath he had a UCSB Gauchos hoodie on! Of course, it made us all go crazy. LoL It was probably the most personality he showed most of the night. He did chuckle at times and other things, but he's definitely not Spencer. :P Not to say he wasn't nice like the others or anything. :P Steve was incredibly nice. You just instantly knew he'd be the type of guy you'd want as your next door neighbor. You can also tell he just really, really enjoyed himself doing this tour.  Also, in the audience was a lot of the big-wigs for the show and their spouses. Steve's wife was there.

Once you left, you received a Psych t-shirt that says "I'm a Psych-o" with a pineapple on the front and it has the tour locations on the back. (It's in white...why did it have to be in white?!) We also received one of the mini-footballs. No hats or bags like some of the other places, but the "swag" people or workers had the bag, t-shirt, hat, AND some even had pins. So...Maybe those photos were of them and not the actual attendees. :) We did get caramel popcorn with the Psych sticker on it, which was very random. Popcorn and a TV show premiere? :) Maybe not the best thing about the event, but one of them was this ENTIRE thing was totally FREE! I don't even want to think about how much these things cost them. LoL Luckily, big bulk? :P Domino's was probably happy for the business, but maybe not making 60 pizzas (I swear there was around 60 pizzas).

Photos: Psych College Tour

Bren's Ceiling Collapse

Bren Hall had an exciting Halloween weekend!

Saturday afternoon the ceiling collapsed in front of one of the elevators. No one was hurt, but they had to do a structural survey of the building, which took time. So classes on Monday were canceled because it was late Sunday by the time they figured out the building wouldn't be open. Tuesday's classes were moved to the neighbor Marine Science Institute (MSI) building. Since I only have classes Monday and Wednesday, I had a 6-day weekend (Thursday-Tuesday)! The building was opened today, Wednesday.

They tore down the ceiling near the other elevator (there are two at Bren) since it also looked like it may fall down. The weird thing about the whole collapse is they found no water damage or leaks and the ceiling was built to structural standards/conditions. So they don't know why the ceiling collapsed and apparently it's concerning a lot of people now (makes sense!). Bren Hall is considered one of the forefront LEED standard buildings at UCSB, but also at other campuses. So there's something to worry about. They also put scaffolding at all the walkways because the ceilings above were constructed in similar ways and they want to better look at it.

They kept the fallen piece of ceiling so they can take it somewhere and really study it and see if they can figure out why the ceiling collapsed. To say the least, going to classes today meant a lot of overhead panels were being checked and just various stuff. It also made us all go, "Hmm...is the ceiling going to collapse on me?" when going to class. It's scary, but thankfully no one was hurt and it was only a small section and not like a whole floor or something.

I took photos today which you can see here: Bren's collapsed ceiling
Here's Bren's news announcement of it: News release

Being sick is never fun...

So this past week I have been sick. I'm blaming Chris since our friend Tori (one of the friends we saw in San Diego) also got sick roughly the same time as me. Chris was sick before either of us got sick, so...I'm betting he started it all! It's been a not fun week between GP (stress) and being sick with the worst cold I've had since I got my tonsils out. In fact, this is the sickest I've been since I had my tonsils removed a little over two years ago.

Anyway, last weekend Chris and I went to Hollywood Park! Mike Smith (Zenyatta's jockey) was signing autographs and they were having a Zenyatta stein giveaway with paid admission. So I talked Chris into going. :) I want to go to Santa Anita next (winter/spring meet is Dec 26th to mid-April!) and I'm in luck since Todai (Asian food and sushi buffet Chris likes) is practically next to the park. :P Anyway, it was fun! I had a LOT of fun seeing the paddock, seeing the track, seeing all the people stand up and start cheering as the horses approach the finish line, etc. There's just something about the racetrack! It might also have to do with all the BEAUTIFUL horses there, but I liked it. We didn't place any bets and I doubt I ever will, I would go back to a racetrack for sure. I think I have decided going to the racetrack on big meet days might be fun, but also more of a pain than fun. I don't know...I might have to witness a big race day and then decide. :)

I'm SUPER excited for the Breeders' Cup races coming up next weekend too. Zenyatta is going for 20th straight win (North America record), finish her career with a perfect record, and become the first horse to win 3 Breeders Cup races (Ladies Classic, Classic, and the Classic again this year). So it's big. Goldikova is hoping to win her 3rd straight Turf Classic against the boys (a record and Goldi is a female). The Classic this year is pretty big by itself. Zenyatta, Lookin' at Lucky, Blame, and Quality Road are in contention for Horse of the Year and whoever wins the race will likely determine who is HoY. I'm hoping Zenyatta wins (she's my fav!), but I'd be happy with Lookin' at Lucky or Quality Road too. Between Blame and Quality Road (the two top Older Male horses), Quality Road is my pick. So...It should be a good race and also completely nerve wracking for me. I started to cry when Zenyatta won her 19th race and I watched it live on TV. Yup, cried. Never done that while watching a horse race before! She's so pretty too. :) HUGE too. She's a very tall horse.

Anyway, with that, gotta head to the store to bunker down for the Halloween weekend here in IV/SB.

Hollywood Park photos

Movies

Secretariat - I saw Secretariat the weekend it opened. It was a good film for the entertainment and race shots, but there were some weird moments. For example, for the final stretch run of the Belmont, gospel music starts to play. Wha...? It totally killed the mood for me! There were some things they changed that I liked and there were simply some that made me scratch my head. I liked some of the racing shots though since they used real horses the entire way. Unlike Seabiscuit where the store was about the jockey, trainer, and owner, Secretariat is more about the owner (Diane Lane plays her). The story feels a little incomplete on the end of the family/husband end, but it's okay I suppose. Riva Ridge was also removed completely from the story, makes sense not to confuse people since Riva Ridge won the Derby and Belmont the year before Secretariat, but Riva Ridge also helped in the recovery of the farm. So...historically accurate this is not, good entertaining film it is. :) I'm going to buy it, but that's probably more to do with the fact Secretariat is my all time favorite Thoroughbred and watching his races on YouTube give me the goosebumps and I know how it's going to turn out! Grade: B for shear entertainment

Karate Kid (2010) DVD - Gotta hand it to Will and Jada Smith's kids...Will already stared in a film and has a CD coming out and now Jaden started in Karate Kid. It's a good remake. I enjoyed it. I will be honest and say I've never watched an entire Karate Kid film before (I've seen pieces here and there) so I can't really judge it as a remake, but I thought it was good. You could tell Jaden REALLY worked out hard to be in shape for this film because it's seriously scary what he could do physically. Seeing different places in China was also fun. It was a good film and probably good for a 10-year-old boy. Grade: B

Robin Hood (2010) DVD - Something was "off" about this film to make it truly good. I don't know if it's the fact this version is more the "prequel" to Robin Hood and not the typical Robin Hood movies. It essentially plays out how he met Marion, how he became an outlaw, why the people love him, etc and then stops once he becomes an outlaw by King John. The Sheriff of Nottingham has basically no role at all, but you can see his greed and lust for power in the 2 scenes he's in. So, it's different story wise and super long (2:20 hours), but there's just something off about it! It's got a really strong cast too (Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, etc), but it just didn't work for me. I'm not sure if it's because Crowe is so much older than you typically see a Robin Hood or the accents were off. I don't know. It just didn't all "click" for me. On the other hand, Crowe's horse through the movie is simply GORGEOUS. Blanchett also has a beautiful horse and the main antagonist too. Crowe's by far is my favorite of the 3 though. It does the high leg gallop so it just looks powerful, regal, and majestic. Oh yeah. Lots of horses! So, anyway, if you want to watch a 2:20 hour long prequel to Robin Hood (not a whole lot of fighting as you'd expect for this type of film; they're pretty short scenes when they are present), this would be the film to watch. Grade: B

Fun times! And stressful times...

Last, last Saturday (the 9th) Chris and I went to the Santa Barbara Harbor and Seafood festival with a friend of mine and her mother. It was fun. It's like a harbor street fair. There are booths for people to sell their stuff and lots of food booths. The maritime museum was open for free and they had some boat rides along with a tall ship present. I tried a mussel for the first time and it wasn't a pleasant experience. I guess they didn't get all the juice and stuff out of them and biting into it was a big burst of saltwater -- ICK! Yeah, didn't get to swallow it. It just wouldn't go down...Chris was slightly amused. I did order albacore and got 2/3 of that down before my system (possible mental state) just couldn't take it anymore. :P I did get a strawberry shortcake and strawberry lemonade and those were REALLY good! Anyway, it was fun! Chris says it should happen every weekend. LoL

Last Wednesday I saw Jhumpa Lahiri (Pulitzer Prize winner for fiction - Interpreter of Maladies) and got a book signed. It was one of the quickest book signings I've been to and there were a lot of guys. Most signings I go to (perhaps with the exception of Neil Gaiman...) there are not a lot of guys. Lahiri read from Unaccustomed Earth and took some questions. Some of the questions were just "odd." Like one lady asked about how positive thinking is a big movement right now and Lahiri's books aren't so "positive thinking" and what she thinks of it or something. It was odd. Basically she was saying what Lahiri thought about how most books these days have to have a happy ending at the end of them and Lahiri's books don't always have a happy ending, but something more realistic. Lahiri's books are usually about immigrants or moving from one area to another and everything that goes with that -- positive and negative. Anyway, it was weird and Lahiri asked back, "Are you saying my books are depressing?" It made us all chuckle. She seemed tired, though. So she wasn't as chatty as you'd imagine someone like her would be. Or, maybe that's just her personality. Who knows.

Last weekend, Chris and I went down to San Diego and visited our friends Tori and Andy. :) It was fun! We went all around San Diego on Sat and Sunday we all went to Medieval Times. Sat was a busy day since we went to Todai and the Birch Aquarium. They took us to dinner at this place called CheeBurger, which is pretty cool. It's like The Counter (custom burger place), but it's a 50's theme and they basically do everything custom - milkshakes, burgers, sodas, etc. The milkshakes were insane because you could mix a TON of stuff together and the burgers too. They also do a pounder and if you eat the entire thing, they announce it to the whole restaurant and you get a picture up on the wall. We arrived right when someone ate one and I saw one guy who couldn't finish one. Chris says the next time we go down, we're ALL ordering a pounder and finishing it. If I finish it, I won't be able to move...Birch Aquarium was super small, but fun to see. I still enjoy going to aquariums even if they won't live up to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Medieval Times was really fun! We got an upgrade so we had seats in the first row, which was cool, but the 2nd row might have been better. There was a stupid glass piece in front of us (it's fine), but there was a bar at the top! So the bar was right in your line of vision. Other than that, it was fun, though. We want to do the Pirates Dinner Adventure next (it's right next door to Medieval Times).

School is pretty much the same with stress about GP piling on...So much to do and we're just not making much progress. We all know what to research, but there's just a LOT to research! So it's stressful. Especially since our review meeting is in a month. *sigh* Oh well. What are you going to do? All you really can do is keep working at it and hope it all comes together when you least expect it to. :) Rest of classes are fine. They're so repetitive now that it's kind of boring and uneventful. I need to start writing my econ paper so I don't let that get lost in my "easy" class schedule and start looking over stuff for the final. Environmental modeling we have our 3rd assignment due tomorrow, but we haven't received our last 2 back yet. So who knows how I'm doing there! I'm definitely looking forward to next quarter...Maybe not environmental institutions (might be interesting), but the rest should be interesting.

My fish and shrimp are doing well. My water definitely doesn't evaporate as fast here in SB as it does in Monterey. Not sure why, but I'm sure it has something to do with the temperature. The one new plant I bought when I moved back is growing like gangbusters! I keep having to trim it and planting the new trim. One of my shrimp missed a cycle. It looks like she may have aborted the eggs, but I can't tell for sure. I don't check them enough to really know. I just know she had the eggs and then she didn't have another set ready. I'm pretty sure, though, she had another set of eggs ready when she got rid of the last set. So...I don't know. They're healthy, though. They live to 1-2 years and these guys are going on a year old, so maybe they're slowing down a little.

It's been raining here in SB and lots of thunderstorms, which is kind of nice! The only downside is the power flickers. It hasn't gone out but it definitely flickers every once in a while. I don't remember rain this early last year so maybe we'll get more this rainy season! Let's hope for less warm days, though. This school year definitely started hot and it wasn't this hot last year!

Well, with that, I need to head off to do more reading for GP. We've got our team meeting tomorrow and we got an e-mail from our project manager that kind of was a slap in the face to wake-up and smell the coffee. On the other hand, I don't think it was needed (I already knew everything she said), but none-the-less it was good.

Photo albums:
Seafood Festival
Birch Aquarium
Medieval Times

Steve Martin with the Steep Canyon Rangers

I saw Steve Martin perform tonight with another band called the Steep Canyon Rangers. I'm really glad I decided to do the splurge and see him. It was very well played bluegrass/banjo music and Steve Martin was entertaining throughout.

It was playing at the Granada theater, which I'm convinced is SB's "music" venue and the Arlington (one block down, literally) where I saw David Sedaris is the "theater" venue. The theaters are completely different. Arlington inside looks like the outside of a little villa in Italy or something (ceiling is painted blue with clouds for example) and the Granada is, well, more grand. :P I think it's larger than the Arlington too. It has a similar set-up as the Carnegie Hall except the seats in the balcony are practically vertically up. LoL Having the student rate tickets meant I was in the nosebleed seats (seriously). My friend and I were in row U. I think there were not 5 rows behind us either. I think we were the 3rd from the top. So it was a little weird looking down on the stage because you're high up at a very steep angle. Anyway, it didn't matter so much since they were simply standing and playing music.

They played most songs that he wrote -- a few new ones that are going onto his next CD with the Steep Canyon Rangers featured (he said in 6 months) and a few from his current CD The Crow. He was amusing in between songs and there was a point where he left the stage (in an amusing manner -- "I haven't Googled myself in an hour, so I'm going to let the Steep Canyon Rangers play for a little" and then asked for a beer from the bass who apparently has a cut out in the back of it and he pulled out a beer) so Steep Canyon Rangers could perform a few songs. They played two, he came out and said, "I'm too drunk to play. Can you play another?" So they did an A Capella song about being in heaven walking around and seeing all these people in different colored shirts and saying who they are and the chorus was basically "Why don't you sit down? I can't. I just got to heaven". It was very, very well done and we all clapped and cheered so Steve came out and had these pieces of paper he handed to the guys and said, "Religious people have their beautiful songs. Atheists don't have any songs..." and went onto this thing and they sang a song called something like "Atheists don't have songs." It was HILARIOUS. They sang it A Capella and Steve sort of sung with them (piped in a line here and there) and it just cracked us all up. It was like Christians have their "Rock of Ages", Jews have their something else, etc, etc, Atheists have their Blues. Then it'd go to the chorus which was basically about atheists don't have songs. Then it'd go through various songs/types of music for various religions like Catholics have their Gregorian Chants...Atheists have Rock 'n' Roll. It was really funny.

He played a song that was about his dog and after the song ended, this dog suddenly springs across the stage, goes immediately to Steve who is getting his other banjo, he pets it, there's a collective "awww" from the audience and then the dog is called back off. It was so cute!! He brought his dog, whose name is Walley or Wally. It was a yellow lab.

Steve has 4 banjos which he keeps at different...pitches? Tunes? Something since his songs are all so different. It's to help eliminate tuning in between songs, except he ended up having to retune A LOT. It became a joke and at one song he couldn't get it to tune (he has an electric tuner he uses) and the banjo player from Steep Canyon Rangers had to tell him which key. So Steve got it tuned and said, "Thanks for making me look bad in front of the audience." And then made a joke saying the banjo was suddenly really out of tune like someone did it. And he looked at the other banjo player. He also made a joke about the other player since he has 4 banjos, he told the guy, "I don't consider you the 2nd banjo player...(we all think this is sweet)...I consider you the 5th banjo player." We all laughed.

He also uses an iPad for his set list, which he had on stage. So he made a few iPad jokes, one being the fact he uses the iPad ($600 as he said) for the set list when the Steep Canyon Rangers use a piece of paper or paper plate when they play alone, which is much less expensive. So he made a joke later about how it's not really an iPad. It's just a very old iPhone. He put it up to his hear and pretended he was talking into it. He also made a joke that the great thing about having the iPad was he could Tweet in the middle of concerts. So he did a pretend tweet "Tonight's audience is especially hot..." and we all laughed and he said "laughing out loud...l-a-u-g-h...abbreviate loud...l-u-d-period". We all laughed of course.

So, anyway, it was an enjoyable night. He's known the Steep Canyon Rangers for sometime, I think. He met them through his wife and this is the first time they're touring together. Actually, I think Santa Barbara might have been the first stop? They said it was day 2 of the tour (Steve kept making jokes he'd been on the road too long, which is why his memory was failing or why he was so "tired" and couldn't get things correct). I got nothing signed by Steve, though I came prepared with his CD The Crow and Shopgirl. LoL They had signed posters of the tour for $35 (I've spent more on books before...), but I passed. I could have bought a Steep Canyon Rangers CD and had them sign it too, but it was too crowded and the guys were in a place I couldn't even see. LoL Overall, it was a great performance and I'd see him again if I could. Ticket pricing would be the kicker... :P I'd do $40 at max, if it was just me. Course, I spent $30 and it was a student rate (plus fees)...Eck.

ETA: They actually started tour on the 1st of the month...Go figure. No clue why they said it was the 2nd. LoL It's been a week!

What happened to the first two weeks?

I can't believe the 2nd week of the quarter is already finished. I'm not sure if the week is going by fast or if I have so much to do that time seems to be going fast...

We had our GP meeting with our advisor yesterday. It was a good meeting because it got us on track to what our outcome at the end of this quarter should be and a way for us to present options to BLM. I feel like we're all back on track now. Last week's meeting was a good discussion, but it put us into a "What the heck are we doing now?!" mindset. I feel good about the project again; however, I think we all feel a little down about it. Mercury is such a hard topic and being with the Fed gov and Cache Creek's issues encompassing different jurisdictions (Tribal, Fed (BLM, EPA, Wilderness, etc), State, and private), it's kind of ridiculous to think that the mercury issue will be solved thanks to us or, in fact, that much progress will be made with our suggestions. So, that's kind of depressing, but we're all trying to stay positive about it and remember that no results is also a result. It'll take some convincing too. One of my teammates did the internship during the summer up there and she said a lot of fed people were basically "Yeah, there's no solution." So...they're skeptical and we'll have to be extra convincing with our final paper. The amount of work we have to do in the next 4 weeks is a little scary. We have to have a progress review about mid quarter, but need a draft of it completed before then and since the 2nd week is already finished...4 weeks it is! We're hoping to have the review sometime during the 8th week so it gives us a few weeks to get a draft written and handed out. I mean...The quarter is finished in 2 months! The last day of the teaching week is the 3rd of Dec with finals the week after. Goodness...Time to buckle down and stop slacking!

Other than that...This week has my first homework assignment! And I'm utterly stuck on it. It sucks. LoL I can't figure out if my research question is not a good modeling question or if I just can't model my question well. I feel like I'm missing something to be able to retool my question to model well or missing a state or rate (or misunderstanding a rate) to make it work. Hopefully I'll figure it out by Sunday because the assignment is due Monday! And we have another assignment due next week since we ended up with 2 labs this week (usually once a week). I have to be on campus to finish it and I need my friend because my R got messed up on my account (or maybe it was just that computer...?) and requires a re-installation. Anyway, environmental modeling sounds fun, but I feel like the prof kind of through us into the deep end. It's like I semi-know what she's talking about, but there is some terminology and math I need a refresher on or more explanation. So it's a little frustration too. I'm sure it'll get better (or I hope so), but we'll see. CBA is easy. He lectures once a week and we do a discussion once a week. I'm afraid the final is going to be horrible! My paper should be good (doing a proposal based on a topic I did last quarter), but the final might not be good. We have no assignments at all so it's basically "in your face" once the final arrives. I did ask him to do a practice exam, so hopefully he finds time to accomplish that. Being here for only 1 quarter and working with another prof too means he doesn't have the same amount of time as other profs may have (even my enviro modeling prof since she's here a year).

Well...with that...Time to watch Bones and eat dinner!

DVD Rentals

Recent DVD rentals...

Date Night - Dynamic comedic duo...oh yeah! Carrel and Fey were really good in this movie, especially since I read some interviews with them about making the movie. I enjoyed this movie for what it is -- a cute, older couple who is trying to get through married life without getting dull and happen to get themselves into some trouble with a mob. It's got a cute message in it about being married and how life tends to get into this rut, but also about the simple thing of enjoying your life and how you wouldn't change it anyway. It was entertaining, though. Not overly funny, but cute. Its appeal is probably more because Fey AND Carrel are together in one film than it is for the actual movie/story. Grade: B

Letters to Juliet - Predictable film from the get-go, but it's a cute chick flick with one of those very romantic stories intertwined into the, well, main love story building. :P Not much to say, other than there's some great Italy scenery and some of the foods make you want to drool, but it's cute. Learning a little about the Juliet Club is also cute. Grade: B

Dear John - Oh Nicholas Sparks...when will you have a book made into a film where I won't cry through half of it?! This one, at least, has a relatively happy ending at the end compared to say...Walk to Remember, Nights in Rodanthe, etc. Good film, just like the others. It's emotional, heart wrenching, happy, etc. I think it's slightly different than his others since this one's love story ends up revolving around 9/11 and the male lead re-enlisting in the army to serve after 9/11. It's still a good film, but I seriously cried through half the film at least. LoL When will I learn?! Grade: B

The Back-Up Plan - Well...it's Jennifer Lopez in a pretty typical rom-com from her. Unfortunately, I think I enjoy the Wedding Planner and Maid in Manhattan more than this one. It's okay. Predictable storyline with a different twist in a rom-com than you normally see (she wants a baby, hasn't found a guy, gets artificially inseminated, bumps into a guy!), but that's about it. Grade: C

Kick-Ass - This film was more amusing than I thought it was going to be. Chris wanted to see it so we rented it. It's basically a normal guy wants to be a real life hero. He has no powers or money like Spider-Man or Batman. He buys this dorky outfit and tries to save someone, but ends up in the ICU with pretty much pins and screwed up nerves so he tries to go out and help again! It's kind of on the stupid end of films and there is some cussing, but it's amusing in its own way. The little girl and Nicholas Cage (her father) are an interesting pairing and nice addition for the film. The father has actually trained the girl to be a fighter and love all things weapons and be able to take being in intense situations. She's like 7 too. So there are some funny moments involved with that. The father used to be a cop and a mobster basically ruined his career by setting him to look dirty so he trains his daughter and himself to be able to get revenge one day (the mother was killed by them or committed suicide or something because of it). So they run into Kick-Ass (the main character's "hero" name) and end up being caught together. If you don't mind the slightly stupid factor and like super hero films (this one can give an air to spoofing, but it's not), then this would be for you. Grade: B

Cash - So utterly bizarre...This has Sean Bean in it (Boromir in LotR), but...that's about the best thing with the film. LoL It's basically Bean trying to get back this several hundred thousand dollars his brother (who happens to be him...) back from this couple who stumble upon the money. His brother was robbing the bank, got caught, and dumped the money so he could get it after he got out of jail. Unfortunately, the couple found the money and started to spend it right away. Bean sees the brother and tracks down the couple to get every penny back from them. The brother in jail wants him to just forget getting everything back, but he won't stop! So it's basically a movie of Bean getting the couple to rob stores and sell stuff to make the money back. It's...weird and not exactly thrilling to watch. :P I wouldn't recommend it unless you're a HUGE Sean Bean fan. Grade: C-

Diary of Wimpy Kid - Having sold the book so many times, it was necessary to see this movie! It's definitely a cute pre-teen movie. It has an interesting message about friends and liking people the way they are instead of trying to change them and being there for each other. The story is pretty gentle. Nothing too scary or gross, but takes place at the school most of the time. It's cute. Not much to say really. Probably wouldn't be a normal thing for adults to watch without kids around or unless you read/know of the book. :) Grade: B

Looking forward to seeing Secretariat in Oct. I know it won't be the book (the book by William Nack is an EXCELLENT read) nor what the real story is, but it'll be entertaining and great to see the horses and such. It's also a good cast. I'm just trying to remember it's Disney...they take liberties.

Welcome back to school -- have a cold!

Unbelievable...Tuesday I came down with a cold. It's nothing too big, but it affected my head the first few days and now it's moved to my nose and sinuses. It's rather annoying because I keep waking up in the middle of the night coughing because a part of my throat dries out (it happens when I'm getting sick or am sick ever since my tonsils came out). My throat also hurt a lot the first few days too (the most in a long while). It's all so annoying, especially since it's so warm here! It was in the low 80's today! What the heck? It's now fall! Where's fall weather?! On the other hand, it's been kind of nice having the sun since Monterey's summer consisted of about 5-7 sunny days the entire time I was there. :) Now I miss the fog...grass is always greener on the other side, right?

The move down went well. My fish all survived and I picked up a new plant and 3 neon tetras! The neon tetras are much more lively than my glowlight tetras so it's kind of amusing. Since the water is also warmer here (easily between 78-82 degrees), my fish and shrimp are much more active in general. One day I caught all 6 fish chasing each other around in a conga line. I'm a little worried for my glowlight tetras because my neon tetras are much more aggressive food wise. I'm not sure if it's because that's thew ay neons are or if they're just smaller so they're more aggressive about it. My glowlights are full size so maybe they don't need as much food? I'm not sure. My glowlights seem to be getting enough, but the neons are FAST and definitely out compete them for food. My sucker fish are actually doing their job too. Not as well as when I first put them into the tank months ago, but they're seen actively eating on the logs. I MIGHT get an algae eating shrimp (they're smaller and look a little different than the ones I have), but we'll see. If my logs start growing hair again, I'll get one. Chris thinks I should get even more fish, but I like my tank balance right now. The problem with more fish is more waste. But...we'll see. I do enjoy my fish tank. :)

Classes started on Thursday and Bren had its reception on Thursday. I went to say hi to people and it was good to see the class again. I actually don't have class till Monday since I only have class on Monday and Wednesday. My classes are lookin' pretty easy at this point. I'm taking 232 - environmental modeling, 245 - cost-benefit analysis, and GP.

I'm pretty excited for cost-benefit analysis. I know a little about cost-benefit analysis and the different methods, but I've never in detail have gone through each of the methods and really tried to learn them. The class looks pretty easy with 50% of our grade based on the final, 40% on our term paper, and 10% for class participation. He lectures and also gives us examples to read (based on the syllabus). The book wasn't required to purchase since it's available to us electronically, but I decided to buy the book. It's $50, but it'll be easier to read (and I actually want to read the book) and it'll be something I can have forever since it goes over the basic CBA methods. It's published by the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development), which is an international organization. So it'll be handy.

232's environmental modeling should be interesting too. I have to take a modeling/computer type class for my POS (program of study -- our "schedule" of classes we're taking to complete our specialization requirements to graduate). I was going to take GIS to fulfill the requirement, but I'm technically already certified (I have a certificate and everything) and it's offered only in the spring. I initially thought my spring 2011 quarter was going to be crazy busy, but it turns out I'm only taking 8 units and it'll be a light quarter. So I still might take it, but I'm taking ecological modeling as my requirement. That class looks like it'll be fairly easy too. We have a lab assignment due once a week (9 of them) and then the rest of our points is for participation so...90% labs, 10% participation for a total of 100 points. I have a good friend in that class too so I'm not sweatin' it. I'm hoping this prof is good, though. I'm planning to take conservation planning in the winter with her to make-up for a class I needed in the spring not being offered this year. So...we'll see. She's a visiting professor this year, as is the professor who's teaching CBA. So...interesting year at Bren!

GP is startin' up again. It's time to put back on my mercury remediation and BLM policy cap and start thinking, researching, and planning for the GP. We basically have to do all our research this quarter and have it pretty squared away so we can start writing and finalizing things the beginning of winter quarter. I think our paper is due end of winter quarter-ish and our defense presentation is close to the end of winter quarter (maybe week 8?). They haven't finalized dates yet. Should be intense! Hopefully I won't be cursing GP too much this quarter. :P

Well...with that. I'm off to watch my CSI: NY episode from yesterday. Fall TV shows started this week. :P So this week comprised of CSI, CSI: NY, Project Runway, America's Next Top Model (totally a guilty pleasure...though I never finish the season...), Bones, Glee, and Castle. I don't think I'll watch House or Dexter right now. Dexter is too high intense for me wondering if he'll get caught this season or not. LoL House is about the same thing, though Huddy happened so...maybe I'll tune in for the House-Cuddy drama as they try and work through their relationship while she's his boss. :P I'll do a movie update later. I've watched Date Night, Letters to Juliet, Dear John, The Back-Up Plan, Kick-Ass, Cash, and Diary of a Wimpy Kid

My snail's radula: a video

I filmed my snail at the top of my tank last night and uploaded it to YouTube. You can see the radula moving (tongue with teeth -- sort of), which is pretty cool. The snail also eats a piece of fish food a little more than a minute into the video. Unfortunately, YouTube downgraded the quality so it's not as easy to see, but the video is still cool all the same. Or I think so at least. :P No music so excuse my sigh/excess noise.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4ICHC6p_Lc

Link to what a radula is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radula

Some snails CAN eat other things that are not plant related, FYI. Apparently my snail is one of those since it likes to each the fish flakes. My mini snails I think only eat algae.

Still need to post about the boat, which I'll do later. If I remember...

Oh work...How you've taught me the craziness of, well, work

I have 2.5 weeks left of my internship (goodness, gracious me. Where did the time go?) and I'm somewhere between keeping up with work well enough that sometimes I have these slight lulls and so bogged down with things to do that I don't know how I'm going to get it finished. It's kind of awkward at times, but I'm enjoying it. I like my co-workers and the rest of the team for the report a lot and this internship is teaching me a lot too. For example, when you're working with 6 others and none of them except yourself are working on the project for more than 20-30% of their time, deadlines tend to slip a lot and nagging will ensue. Also, scheduling meetings is basically impossible. Oh, on the topic of meetings, meetings tend to be more about talking than actually doing; though, on the other hand, the talking is something needed even if it's not exactly productive. It's one thing to hear about this, but to actually witness it? It's quite a different thing. In all seriousness, though, I'm learning a lot about managing my time, refining my internet search capabilities, team work, managing my documents and versions better, and keeping track of what I've done and what still needs to be done. So I feel like I've gotten a lot out of the internship that will be very transferable to a future job. It's also nice because they're skills that work in any job situation. So my internship place is a bonus, but at least I'm not doing some side project that I write a short paper for that some internal people read and never really goes anywhere. I'm working on a full blown Packard Foundation grant report that I'm helping to write and compile (pretty spiffy), with a well known NGO, and learning skills that are transferable to any job. Not to mention my boss will also open doors for me in Santa Barbara and she knows some of my CSUMB and UCSB profs. At the end of the day, I couldn't have asked for a better internship.

Anyway, beyond my glowing remarks, I'm feeling the stress of the ever-growing-closer deadline. I'm basically the person who gets to format everything and keep the master document, which I admit is instilling considerable trust in me from my boss (thank you Judy and your recommendation!). On the other hand, I do have the skills from working with Judy and I am the only person on the team who is 100% working on this report. So, it makes sense. Unfortunately, the report won't be finished by the time I leave (my last day is the 15th). Therefore, making sure this report is in a complete rough draft form before I leave is pretty crucial. However, that means I will be going cross-eyed by the time the 15th rolls around form scrutinizing everyone's pieces to make sure the format is consistent across the board. Should be fun!-ish. Oh well, welcome to the real world?

On the good news side of work, though, I will be heading to Morro Bay next week! Oh yeah! I'm getting a sort-of-vacation in this summer! I'm actually getting paid, but...hey. I get to go out to sea to do some ROV work trawling impacts. It all happened thanks to one of those lovely networking connections of my boss and my former professor at CSUMB (a professor I got grad school recommendation letters from!). She and I got to talking about something, which brought up the project and then the fact my former prof is part of it and then -- voila! -- I was invited to come after she talked with my prof. They're going out the 19th to the 6th so I'm going out mid next week. They will be LONG days since we have to leave the home they rent (some vacation home) at 6am and we don't get back to the docks till 4pm. Hopefully I'm so tired by the time we get back that I roll into bed pretty early because getting up at 5-5:30am is NOT going to be fun. I'm also hoping the seas are good. I've never gotten seasick on all the trips I've been on, but I've also never been on a boat for almost 10 hours straight. It should be fun, though! I love being on boats and it's ROV stuff so it should be cool. Plus, I'm being paid my salary to go and I'm basically extra help. So much fun! I'm hoping there are whale sightings (little late in the season, but you never know).

Man...school is creeping up quickly and I haven't (*cringes*) worked on my GP since the first month of summer. Ugh. I need to step that up quickly. Fall quarter is when all our work is supposed to be in full swing and basically wrapping up. In other news, though, I will be seeing Steve Martin perform October 8th! He's going on tour again with his banjo and some other bluegrass bands, so that should be fun! I'm also seeing Jhumpa Lahiri who is a Pulitzer Prize winning author for Interpreter of Maladies in October.

My fishies are still doing well. My shrimp are still procreating every 6-7 weeks. They are like clockwork I tell you! They're pretty much full grown now. They don't molt as often, but they still manage a molt every 2 months or so. Since the females can't molt while they're carrying eggs, they always do it in between breeding. I ALMOST thought my large female was done having eggs (even though I could see them), but she just decided to wait almost a week. It was kind of bizarre. My suckerfish who decided the bottom of the log was his/her place to be finally decided to come out again. It was actually doing its job! Then it stopped and now hangs out on the plant with the other suckefish. So bizarre.

The rabbit has taken to coming into my room also. She recently learned she can go up and down the stairs and has decided trying to get underneath my bed (and simply going up and down the stairs) is her new job in life. She comes running into my room, goes to my bed, tries to move things out of the way, checks out the rest of the bed, and then decides to run back out of my room. After the first 3 times she ran underneath my bed, I blocked off access to underneath my bed (Autumn is not happy about it, btw), which is why she now tries to move things (it's kind of funny to watch). The only thing is, she's decided she needs a nibble before she leaves and has tried chewing on 2 books and my clipboard! The books are stacked neatly in my bookcase so she has to get up on her hind legs and chew on it. Not cool. I've chased her out so many times now. I can't really close my door because of the cats when I'm in my room. So...it's a little bit of a pickle I'm in.

Well...with that...It's seriously time to hit the sack. I meant to go to bed an hour ago. Whoops.

Baby Green Sea Turtles

I volunteered today at the Aquarium and I got to see the baby green sea turtles! There are 10 of them and they're SOOO cute. They're about the size of a dinner plate. They don't look green at all. So I wonder if they were formally black sea turtles. Black sea turtles recently were decided they would not be their own species and they've been lumped in with green sea turtles. Don't ask me how that was decided, but the science community decided it.

Here's a photo: http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/maNY14gTKV-ld-yBq8_dg6UVOY2tKEcGomRI704GiNI?feat=directlink

And a short video: http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/f5bkhth5842zzGOrBtu8pw?feat=directlink

And another short video: http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/RPtvFtRpi3-MnlMTLjGqLw?feat=directlink

You will probably want to mute the video since there's a mother/daughter next to me talking pretty loud. The photo and videos were both taken with my iPhone 4! They turned out pretty good. The video looks better not on Picasa, but it's not too bad. The photo I'm purely amazed about. It didn't come out blurry from the turtle moving.

I got my iPhone 4!

Oh yeah...it's charging right now so I can activate it, but I got my iPhone 4!! It's so pretty...I'm going to have troubles wanting to use it because it's all shiny, new, and scratch free. It's heavier then I remembered and I still don't really like the square feeling, but...it's so pretty!!! I love it.

I forgot Salt...

Goodness...keeping track of all the films I watch gets tricky.

I saw Salt too. It was a good typical action-adventure film. It's pretty amazing the stunts Angelina Jolie does and I do enjoy her action films. The crazy infiltration stuff added an interesting layer to the film you didn't really see coming at you. They kept it pretty well out of the trailers so you didn't exactly know what's going on. I'd see a sequel if they made one and it's set up to have one. It does remind me a little too much of the Bourne movies but with a female, but it was still good. B

Movieholic continues...

I totally forgot to write about Extraordinary Measures. In fact, I forgot I watched it till I read the back of the DVD cover earlier this past week. *forehead slap*

Extraordinary Measures (DVD) - I really enjoyed the film. I thought Harrison Ford and Brendan Fraser did really good acting jobs. The story itself is amazing and based on a true story about a father who raises money to save his two children who were dying from a rare disease. Harrison Ford is the scientist who ends up helping the cure, but there's a power struggle there too. It was one of those heartwarming, root for the underdog type of stories that's based in truth and has great acting. A-

Repo Men (DVD) - Action movie with a twist at the end. I kind of suspected the twist, but gave up on the idea after a while because it just seemed to not be. Of course, the twist came at the last 5 minutes of the movie. Oh well. Anyway, it's an action film with some blood. I can handle autopsy type of stuff as long as they're dead on film, but this was more like they were either dead or simply unconscious. Repo Men is a futuristic film about these, well, repo men who repo artificial organs when people get behind their payments. The sales people are specifically made to convince people to buy these outrageously expensive organs for their best interest even at almost 20% interest, but the company does this so they can make money and then repo the organs. Anyway, Jude Law's character is a repo man. He goes through some personal stuff about the job he does (you're basically a grim reaper) and then he ends up in a sticky situation where he gets an artificial heart. Suddenly, because of his new view on life, he can't repossess the organs from others and falls behind on his payments (repo men work on commission) and the rest of the story is about him getting away from the repo men, finding this girl, etc. Not a bad film if you can handle the cutting into people. B

The Losers (DVD) - Think the A-Team, but not. A bunch of guys in the military set-up in Bolivia to mark this drug/terrorist type guy. They get the job done, save these 20 kids, put the kids on a helicopter, and the helicopter gets blown up after the guys hear the command for the helicopter to be blown up. In essence, the guys are supposed to be dead now, so they "fake" their death by putting their tags into the fire and bide some time to get back. They end up hooking up with this chick who can fund them and will help them get back at the guy and yaddy, yaddy. There's a traitor and a lot of action. It's basically an action-action film, whereas Repo Men would be more like action-drama (if that makes sense). Anyway, it wasn't horrible, but not great. B-/B

Clash of the Titans (DVD) - I enjoyed the pegasus more than the whole movie! I think I would have enjoyed the film more if they didn't mess with the actual mythology stories. That was disappointing. It's not like mythology stories are even that long! The story of Io was completely changed 100% and the love interest changed for Perseus. The pegasus was REALLY cool though. Sometimes they CG the entire horse, but here they only added the wings so it was a real horse with wings. Pretty neat! I think the beginning of the movie is better than the end. The giant scorpions were pretty neat. The Medusa fight was okay. The final fight was kind of "eh." For me...the pegasus saved the whole film! B-

Brooklyn's Finest (DVD) - Not what I expected at all. It's the story of 3 very different cops in Brooklyn. They're different in their jobs and their personalities. One is undercover and has been for years and wants out, but won't be let out (his wife ends up filing for divorce). One is about to retire, goes to a hooker at night, and is pretty cynical. The other is a drughouse type raider with kids and a wife that is pregnant with twins and her asthma is bad because of the mold in their house walls. They all end up intersecting in a weird way at the end of the movie. It's a semi-sad ending and somewhat...not ironic...but something like that. The acting is really good from Richard Gere, Don Cheadle (who I won't forgive for replacing Terrance Howard in Iron Man 2), and Ethan Hawke. There are definitely more nuances in each character like Cheadle's undercover cop starts to have loyalties to the drug traffickers he's supposed to be reporting on. Ethan Hawke's drug raiding cop is actually corrupt because he steals drug money to try and have enough to buy a new house for his family (especially wife who ends up in the hospital with severe asthma issues from the mold in their current house). Anyway, not what I expected. It's not my normal type of film I'd enjoy, but it wasn't bad either. B

Our Family Wedding (DVD) - A cute rom-com type film. Basically a Mexican female and an African-American male fall in love and have to break the news to their family. Unfortunately for them, their dads have already met and don't like each other due to a towing incident. Her family isn't happy with her man (he's not Catholic, he's not Mexican, etc) and his father doesn't like her father and doesn't really like the idea of him getting married. So it goes through the trials and tribulations of the families trying to meld and the bridge/groom trying to get through it. As the quote in the movie is, "Our marriage, their wedding." Wasn't anything really new, but it was okay and the melding of the two different groups was interesting. B

She's Out of My League (DVD) - Surprisingly better than I thought it would be and I liked it. It's funny and it has the common insecurities that some couples have in their relationship. The main one in this movie is dating someone that's hotter than you and convincing yourself the relationship won't last so in ways you "sabotage" it so it doesn't work out. Or you're simply not surprised when it doesn't last and all that stuff. It's not really a rom-com since it's a male lead, but it's cute and if you've witnessed the "number system" it's kind of entertaining in that way. B+

Sorcerer's Apprentice - Maybe my expectations were really low for this, but it's better than I thought it would be. LoL The movie doesn't flow in some weird way. It's 2 hours long, but feels like it's missing something to connect everything together in a smoother way. It was entertaining and I was worried it'd drag along at 2 hours, but it kept a steady pace. I'm not a huge fan of Nicholas Cage, but I mostly got past him being in the movie. I like Jay Baruchel (stars in She's Out of My League) so that helped even if he's basically pigeonholed into the same role in everything he's in. Anyway, I think the story is what ended up helping this movie along. It had some good points in it and some interesting tidbits, but it is missing something. The change in Jay Baruchel's character Dave was a little too quick without some huge revelation. It was more like a girl said something to him so it boosted his confidence enough to take down an evil sorcerer? I'm not sure, but I enjoyed it more than I thought. B/B-

I saw the Narnia trailer for the first time in front of Sorcerer's Apprentice and that movie looks good! I really liked the BBC version and with the fallout of Disney, I'm hoping Walden Media with Fox can go back to the original story more and do well. There were some scenes in the trailer that looked almost exactly from the BBC version so I'm hopeful. The Secretariat trailer still makes me tear up every time I see it. I'm probably going to be crying through that film when they show Secretariat's Triple Crown races. They're so magnificent to watch. Anyway, I'm excited for that and never get tired of seeing the trailer. I just want to see it!! The Girl Who Played with Fire is out in theaters which I'm totally slow on. It's the sequel to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo so I'd like to see the Fire one eventually. I didn't connect the series to the movie till recently. LoL Since Fire is out, I wonder if they'll make The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (the latest Stiege Larsson book in the series).

Anyway, with that, time for bed. I'm working from home for most of the week and I need to write a 1-page draft of my findings by the end of this week along with my normal research. Some change up will be nice!