P-Diddy on Skin Care

P-Diddy recently appeared on an infomercial for the (surprisingly effective) Proactiv skin care system. As usual, he offered eloquent commentary on the benefits of the product:

"It moisturizes my situation, and preserves my sexy."

Finals

Planet Soul Network.com

Planet Soul Network is a fantastic site my friend Mat recommended to me. It's got great underground house music and offers songs superior to any Launch.com station featuring similar music.

And the best part, you can stream the site through Winamp, Windows Media Player, or RealPlayer (the latter two of which stink and suck, respectively).

See http://www.planetsoulnetwork.com.

The Bowels of Television

Have you ever seen any Matthew Lesko advertisements? He sells a book offering you access to government grants, which is a fine idea except for the fact that Lesko has the worst peronsality in the history of television.

Do people only respond to absurdity and obnoxiousness now? I suppose that would explain the FOX News Channel . . .

Freshly-Cut: Albums of the Month

(November 2005)

1. Songs: Ohia / "The Magnolia Electric Co."
2. The Dave Brubeck Quartet / "Stardust"
3. Thievery Corporation / "Babylon Rewound"
4. Tom McRae / "Just Like Blood"
5. Thelonious Monk / "Jazz Profile No. 24"

The Movie List

So, here it is. My infamous movie list in its full glory.

The idea for this list came to me a few days before I graduated from high school. I wanted to compile a list of great movies. A movie can be "listworthy" for many reasons: directorial quality, acting, screenplay, cinematography, music, camera work, special effects, tone, comic relief, set design, or just that unquantifiable feeling you get when you watch a good movie.

Sometimes I know a movie is listworthy the moment I see it (Million Dollar Baby). Sometimes it takes me a few months to mull it over (The Polar Express). The point is that there is no mathematical rubric for getting on the list. I will say, however, that a film's ability to put me in a foreign space and allow me to remember that space--its texture, lighting, mood, weather--and also remember the characters that emobody that space makes it more likely to be listworthy.

You will find dramas, comedies, animated films, art films, musicals and foreign films on here. I have not ranked the films because it would be too arbitrary considering the wide range of movies on the list. Feel free to add on to the list (or tell me why something should be taken off the list) by commenting.

1. 100 Rifles (1969)
2. 12 Angry Men (1957)
3. 12 Monkeys (1995)
4. 13 Conversations About One Thing (2002)
5. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
6. 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea (1916)
7. 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea (1954)
8. 8 Mile (2002)
9. A Beautiful Mind (2001)
10. A Better Place (1997)
11. A Bronx Tale (1993)
12. A Bugs Life (Animated) (1998)
13. A Christmas Story (1983)
14. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
15. A Few Good Men (1992)
16. A Fish Called Wanda (1988)
17. A Hard Day’s Night (1964)
18. A History of Violence (2005)
19. A Perfect World (1993)
20. A Place In The Sun (1951)
21. A River Runs Through It (1992)
22. A Simple Plan (1998)
23. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
24. A Walk In The Clouds (1995)
25. Aan (Foreign) (1952)
26. Aberdeen (Foreign) (2001)
27. About Schmidt (2002)
28. Affliction (1997)
29. African Queen (1951)
30. Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes – ‘Aguirre, Wrath Of God’ (Foreign) (1972)
31. Airplane! (1980)
32. Aladdin (Animated) (1992)
33. Alice in Wonderland (Animated) (1951)
34. Alien (1979)
35. Aliens (1986)
36. Alive (1993)
37. All About Eve (1950)
38. All Quiet On The Western Front (1930)
39. Almost Famous (2000)
40. Amadeus (1984)
41. American Beauty (1999)
42. American Graffiti (1973)
43. American History X (1998)
44. American Movie: The Making of Northwestern (Documentary) (1999)
45. Amores Perros – “Love’s A Bitch” (Foreign) (2000)
46. An American In Paris (Musical) (1951)
47. An Angel At My Table (1990)
48. Anatomy Of A Murder (1959)
49. Andrei Rublyov – “Andrei Rublev” (Foreign) (1969)
50. Animal House (1978)
51. Annie Hall (1977)
52. Apocalypse Now (1979)
53. Apollo 13 (1995)
54. Arlington Road (1999)
55. Around The World In 80 Days (1956)
56. Atanarjuat – ‘The Fast Runner’ (Foreign) (2001)
57. Badlands (1973)
58. Batman (1989)
59. Batman Begins (2005)
60. Ballet Mecanique (Foreign) (1924)
61. Before Night Falls (2000)
62. Being John Malkovich (1999)
63. Being There (1979)
64. Ben-Hur (1959)
65. Bend It Like Beckham (2003)
66. Best In Show (2000)
67. Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
68. Billy Elliot (2000)
69. Birth Of A Nation (1915)
70. Blood Work (2002)
71. Blue Chips (1994)
72. Blue Velvet (1986)
73. Body Heat (1981)
74. Bonnie & Clyde (1967)
75. Boogie Nights (1997)
76. Born On The Fourth Of July (1989)
77. Bound (1996)
78. Boys Don’t Cry (1999)
79. Boyz N The Hood (1991)
80. Braveheart (1995)
81. Breakdown (1997)
82. Bringing Out The Dead (1999)
83. Bringing Up Baby (1938)
84. Broken Rainbow (Documentary) (1985)
85. Bruce Lee: A Warrior’s Journey (Documentary)(2000)
86. Buena Vista Social Club (Documentary - Foreign) (1999)
87. Bugsy (1991)
88. Bullitt (1968)
89. Bully (2001)
90. Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid (1969)
91. Caddyshack (1980)
92. Calling the Ghosts (Documentary) (1997)
93. Cape Fear (1991)
94. Capote (2005)
95. Carlito’s Way (1993)
96. Casablanca (1942)
97. Casino (1995)
98. Changing Lanes (2002)
99. Chicago (2002)
100. Chinatown (1974)
101. Cidade de Deus – ‘City of God’ (Foreign) (2002)
102. Cider House Rules (1999)
103. Citizen Kane (1941)
104. City Lights (1931)
105. City Slickers (1991)
106. Close Encounters of the Third Kind: Special Edition (1977)
107. Collateral (2004)
108. Coming To America (1988)
109. Contact (1997)
110. Courage Under Fire (1996)
111. Crash (2005)
112. Da Hong Deng Long Gao Gao Gua – ‘Raise the Red Lantern’ (Foreign) (1991)
113. Dancer In The Dark (2000)
114. Dances With Wolves (1990)
115. Das Boot - The Director’s Cut (Foreign) (1981)
116. Dave (1993)
117. Days of Heaven (1978)
118. Dead Man Walking (1985)
119. Dead Poet’s Society (1989)
120. Dead Ringers (1988)
121. Deliverance (1972)
122. Die Hard (1988)
123. Die Hard: With A Vengeance (1995)
124. Dirty Harry (1971)
125. Dirty Pretty Things (2002)
126. Do The Right Thing (1989)
127. Doctor Zhivago (1965)
128. Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
129. Donnie Brasco (1997)
130. Donnie Darko (2001)
131. Dr. Strangelove: Or, How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb (1964)
132. Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
133. Duck Soup (1933)
134. Dumb And Dumber (1994)
135. Dut Yeung Nin Wa – ‘In The Mood For Love’ (Foreign) (2000)
136. Elephant (2003)
137. Emak Bakia – ‘Don’t Bother Me’ (Foreign) (1926)
138. Empire Strikes Back (1980)
139. Entre-Acte – ‘Between the Acts’ (Foreign) (1924)
140. Escape from Alcatraz (1979)
141. E.T. The Extraterrestrial (1982)
142. Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
143. Falling Down (1993)
144. Fantasia (Animated) (1940)
145. Far From Heaven (2002)
146. Fargo (1996)
147. Field Of Dreams (1989)
148. Fight Club (1999)
149. Finding Nemo (2003)
150. Fire In The Sky (1993)
151. Forrest Gump (1994)
152. Four Days In September (Foreign) (1997)
153. Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)
154. Frailty (2001)
155. Frankenstein (1931)
156. Frequency (2000)
157. Frida (2002)
158. From Here To Eternity (1953)
159. Full Metal Jacket (1987)
160. Game of Death (1978)
161. Gandhi (1982)
162. Gasman (Foreign) (1997)
163. Gattaca (1997)
164. Ghost (1990)
165. Ghostbusters (1984)
166. Ghostworld (2001)
167. Giant (1954)
168. Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)
169. Gods And Monsters (1998)
170. Goldfinger (1964)
171. Gone With The Wind (1939)
172. Good Morning, Vietnam (1987)
173. Good Will Hunting (1997)
174. Goodfellas (1990)
175. Gosford Park (2001)
176. Grumpy Old Men (1993)
177. Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner (1967)
178. Habla Con Ella – ‘Talk To Her’ (Foreign) (2003)
179. Hamlet (2000)
180. Happiness (1998)
181. Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone (2001)
182. Hate (Foreign) (1996)
183. Heat (1995)
184. High Noon (1952)
185. Homicide (1991)
186. Hoop Dreams (Documentary) (1994)
187. Hud (1963)
188. I Heart Huckabees (2004)
189. Igby Goes Down (2002)
190. In America (2002)
191. In The Bedroom (2001)
192. In The Line Of Fire (1993)
193. In The Name Of The Father (1993)
194. Innocence (2000)
195. Insomnia (Foreign) (1997)
196. Insomnia (2002)
197. Interview With The Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994)
198. It Happened One Night (1934)
199. It’s A Wonderful Life (1946)
200. Jackie Brown (1997)
201. Jarhead (2005)
202. Jaws (1975)
203. Jerry Maguire (1996)
204. Jesus’ Son (1999)
205. JFK (1991)
206. Jing Ke Ci Qin Wang – ‘The Emperor And The Assassin’ (Foreign) (1999)
207. Jungle Book (1942)
208. Jungle Book (Animated) (1967)
209. Kalifornia (1993)
210. Kill Bill: Volume One (2003)
211. Kill The Day (Foreign) (1996)
212. Kundun (1997)
213. Kolya (Foreign) (1996)
214. L’atalante: Remastered Director’s Cut (Foreign) (1934)
215. L.A. Confidential (1997)
216. Last Of The Mohicans (1992)
217. Lawrence Of Arabia (1962)
218. Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amelie Poulain – ‘Amelie’ (Foreign) (2001)
219. Le Samorai (Foreign) (1967)
220. Leaving Las Vegas (1995)
221. Legends Of The Fall (1994)
222. Lethal Weapon (1987)
223. Lethal Weapon 2 (1989)
224. Life Is Beautiful (Foreign) (2000)
225. Lion King (Animated) (1994)
226. Lolita (1997)
227. Long Day’s Journey Into Night (1962)
228. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Extended DVD Edition (2001)
229. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
230. Lorenzo’s Oil (1992)
231. Lost Highway (1997)
232. Lost in Translation (2003)
233. Love and Death (1975)
234. Lovely and Amazing (2002)
235. M*A*S*H (1970)
236. Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome (1985)
237. Magnolia (1999)
238. Malcolm X (1992)
239. Man With A Movie Camera (Foreign) (1929)
240. Manchurian Candidate (1962)
241. Matchstick Men (2003)
242. Mean Streets (1973)
243. Menace II Society (1993)
244. Metropolis (1927)
245. Midnight Cowboy (1969)
246. Midnight Express (1978)
247. Mies vailla menneisyytta – ‘The Man without a Past’ (Foreign) (2002)
248. Million Dollar Baby (2004)
249. Millions (Foreign) (2004)
250. Minority Report (2002)
251. Misery (1990)
252. Mississippi Burning (1988)
253. Modern Times (1936)
254. Monsoon Wedding (2001)
255. Monster (2003)
256. Monster’s Ball (2001)
257. Monsters Inc. (Animated) (2001)
258. Monty Python And The Holy Grail (1975)
259. Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939)
260. Mulholland Drive (2001)
261. Mulholland Falls (1996)
262. Murder In The First (1995)
263. Mutiny On The Bounty (1935)
264. My Cousin Vinny (1992)
265. My Fair Lady (Musical) (1964)
266. Mystic River (2003)
267. Napoleon Dynamite (2004)
268. Narc (2002)
269. Natural Born Killers (1994)
270. Network (1976)
271. Night Falls On Manhattan (1997)
272. Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)
273. Nirgendwo in Afrika – ‘Nowhere in Africa’ (Foreign) (2001)
274. Nixon (1995)
275. No Mans Land (2001)
276. North By Northwest (1959)
277. Notorious (1946)
278. October Sky (1999)
279. On The Waterfront (1954)
280. One False Move (1991)
281. One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
282. Ordet – “The Word” (Foreign) (1955)
283. Out Of Africa (1985)
284. Pane e Tulipani – “Bread and Tulips’ (Foreign) (2000)
285. Panic (2000)
286. Passage (Foreign) (2001)
287. Paths Of Glory (1957)
288. Patton (1970)
289. Per un Pugno di Dollari – ‘A Fistful of Dollars’ (Foreign) (1964)
290. Peuple migrateur, Le – ‘Winged Migration’ (Foreign Documentary) (2001)
291. Philadelphia (1993)
292. Phorpa – ‘The Cup’ (Foreign) (1999)
293. Pi (1998)
294. Pink Floyd: The Wall (Musical) (1982)
295. Platoon (1986)
296. Pleasantville (1998)
297. Pollock (2000)
298. Primary Colors (1998)
299. Prince Of Tides (1991)
300. Private Parts (1997)
301. Psycho (1960)
302. Pulp Fiction (1994)
303. Punch-Drunk Love (2002)
304. Quills (2000)
305. Quiz Show (1994)
306. Raging Bull (1980)
307. Raiders Of The Lost Ark (1981)
308. Rainman (1988)
309. Rambo: First Blood (1982)
310. Ran (Foreign) (1985)
311. Rashomon (Foreign) (1950)
312. Ratcatcher (Foreign) (2000)
313. Ravi Shankar: Between Two Worlds (Documentary)(2001)
314. Raw (1987)
315. Rear Window (1954)
316. Rebel Without a Cause (1959)
317. Requiem For A Dream: The Director’s Cut (2000)
318. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
319. Return Of The Jedi (1983)
320. Revenge of the Nerds (1984)
321. Road To Perdition (2002)
322. Rob Roy (1995)
323. Robin Hood (Animated) (1973)
324. Rocky (1976)
325. Rocky II (1979)
326. Ronin (1998)
327. Rope (1948)
328. Run Lola Run (Foreign) (1998)
329. Rushmore (1998)
330. Salaam Bombay! (1988)
331. Saturday Night Fever (1977)
332. Saving Grace (2000)
333. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
334. Sayat Nova – ‘Color of Pomegranates’ (Foreign) (1968)
335. Scent Of A Woman (1992)
336. Schindler’s List (1993)
337. Searching For Bobby Fischer (1993)
338. See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989)
339. Sense And Sensibility (1995)
340. Se7en (1995)
341. Shadow Of A Doubt (1943)
342. Shakespeare in Love (1998)
343. Shane (1953)
344. Shawshank Redemption (1994)
345. Shiqi sui de dan che – ‘Beijing Bicycle’ (Foreign) (2001)
346. Shrek (Animated) (2001)
347. Sideways (2004)
348. Silence Of The Lambs (1991)
349. Singin’ In The Rain (Musical) (1952)
350. Sleepers (1996)
351. Small Deaths (Foreign) (1995)
352. Smoke Signals (1998)
353. Solaris (Foreign) (1972)
354. Some Like It Hot (1959)
355. Sound Of Music (Musical) (1965)
356. Spaceballs (1987)
357. Spartacus (1960)
358. Stagecoach (1939)
359. Star Wars (1977)
360. Stir Of Echoes (1999)
361. Strange Days (1995)
362. Sunset Boulevard (1950)
363. Sunshine State (2002)
364. Switchback (1997)
365. Tape (2001)
366. Tarnation (2004)
367. Taste of Cherry (Foreign) (1997)
368. Taxi Driver: 20th Anniversary Edition (1976)
369. Ten Commandments (1956)
370. Terminator (1984)
371. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
372. The Age Of Innocence (1993)
373. The Apartment (1960)
374. The Battleship Potemkin (1925)
375. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
376. The Big Lebowski (1998)
377. The Boxer (1997)
378. The Bridge On The River Kwai (1957)
379. The Candidate (1972)
380. The Cell (2000)
381. The Circle (Foreign) (2000)
382. The Color Purple (1985)
383. The Contender (2000)
384. The Conversation (1974)
385. The Crow (1994)
386. The Crying Game (1992)
387. The Deer Hunter (1978)
388. The Doors (1991)
389. The Dreamers (2004)
390. The Edge (1997)
391. The Elephant Man (1980)
392. The English Patient (1996)
393. The Filth and the Fury (2000) (Documentary)
394. The French Connection (1971)
395. The Fugitive (1993)
396. The Godfather (1972)
397. The Godfather II (1974)
398. The Godfather III (1990)
399. The Gods Must Be Crazy (1980)
400. The Gold Rush (1925)
401. The Good Girl (2002)
402. The Graduate (1967)
403. The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
404. The Green Mile (1999)
405. The History of English: The Loaded Gun (Documentary)
406. The Hunt For Red October (1990)
407. The Hustler (1961)
408. The Insider (1999)
409. The Joy Luck Club (1993)
410. The Killing Fields (1984)
411. The King And I (Musical) (1956)
412. The Laramie Project (2002)
413. The Last Emperor (1987)
414. The Last Temptation Of Christ (1988)
415. The Last Waltz (1978)
416. The Little Mermaid (Animated) (1989)
417. The Longest Day (1962)
418. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
419. The Matrix (1999)
420. The Minus Man (1999)
421. The Mirror (Foreign) (1974)
422. The Natural (1984)
423. The Night of the Hunter (1955)
424. The Passion of the Christ (2004)
425. The People Vs. Larry Flynt (1996)
426. The Philadelphia Story (1940)
427. The Piano (1993)
428. The Polar Express: An IMAX 3D Experience (2004)
429. The Professional (1994)
430. The Quiet American (2003)
431. The Road Warrior (1981)
432. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
433. The Sandlot (1993)
434. The School of Rock (2003)
435. The Score (2001)
436. The Searchers (1956)
437. The Seven Samurai (Foreign) (1954)
438. The Shining (1980)
439. The Straight Story (1999)
440. The Sword In The Stone (Animated) (1963)
441. The Thief (Foreign) (1997)
442. The Third Man (1949)
443. The Untouchables (1987)
444. The War Room (Documentary) (1993)
445. The Wild Bunch (1969)
446. The Wizard Of Oz (1939)
447. The Yards (2000)
448. Thin Red Line (1998)
449. This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
450. Tigerland (2000)
451. To Kill A Mockingbird (1962)
452. Todo Sobre Mi Madre – ‘All About My Mother’ (Foreign) (1999)
453. Tombstone (1993)
454. Tootsie (1982)
455. Toy Story (Animated) (1995)
456. Toy Story 2 (Animated) (1999)
457. Training Day (2001)
458. Trainspotting (1996)
459. Treasure of Sierra Madre (1948)
460. Trees Lounge (1996)
461. Trois Couleurs: Bleu – ‘Three Colors: Blue’ (Foreign) (1993)
462. Ulee’s Gold (1997)
463. Un Chien Andalou (Foreign) (1929)
464. Unforgiven (1992)
465. Usual Suspects (1995)
466. Vertigo (1958)
467. Viskningar Och Rop – ‘Cries and Whispers’ (Foreign) (1972)
468. Von Ryan’s Express (1965)
469. Vormittagsspuk – ‘Ghosts Before Breakfast’ (Foreign) (1928)
470. Waking Life (2001)
471. Wall Street (1987)
472. Wallace & Gromit: A Close Shave (Animated) (1995)
473. Wayne’s World (1992)
474. Weekend at Bernie’s (1989)
475. Welcome To The Dollhouse (1995)
476. West Side Story (Musical) (1961)
477. Whale Rider (Foreign) (2002)
478. When Harry Met Sally (1989)
479. White Men Can’t Jump (1992)
480. Wild Strawberries (Foreign) (1957)
481. Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory (1971)
482. Wonder Boys (2000)
483. Wings Of The Dove (1997)
484. Wo Hu Cang Long – ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ (Foreign) (2000)
485. Wuthering Heights (1939)
486. Y Tu Mama Tambien – ‘And Your Mama Too’ (Foreign) (2002)
487. Yankee Doodle Dandy (Musical) (1942)
488. Yellow Submarine (Animated) (1968)
489. You Can Count On Me (2000)
490. Z (Foreign) (1969)
491. Zelig (1983)

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Taking a Stand

Papayas smell like vomit. There, I've said it. I feel better now.

Moods of Berkeley

Lost power at 3:30am. It was just restored. I suppose the winter is coming, which means Berkeley has rolling power outages for no reason at all.

The Pitfalls of Webmail - Part 1

I hate webmail. Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail . . . even Gmail, too.

I have about 7 email accounts that have accumulated over the years and I like having them all synchronized in one place. As a side note, I prefer Outlook 2003. Here are some reasons why I hate web-based email:

1. Space Limitations: so what if Google is giving me 2 gigs of space. Most of the emails I get are HTML based, which take up a lot of space if you don't want to delete them. With Outlook, you can keep your email server free from clogs and have everything locally.
2. No visiting multiple webpages: people sometimes have an email address from work or school in addition to one or two for personal use. I'm not logging into multiple sites just to check my email. The fix to this problem is to just have all of your email forwarded to one address (but see #3).
3. Identities: even if you forward all of your email to one central webmail location, it is difficult to reply from the address of your choice. If you are in Gmail and you want to reply to a message sent to your Hotmail address from within Gmail, your recipient will see the message as from "JDoe@gmail.com on behalf of JDoe@hotmail.com" which is frustrating.
4. Calendar and Contacts: many businesses and individuals want a sophisticated calendar and contacts management system because they depend on it to keep themselves up to date and propose new meetings. Webmail is not tightly integrated with any calendar applications, so kiss it goodbye.
5. No advertisements: I want to read my mail in peace and not be bombarded with popups or banner ads when I am reading. I would say privacy is an issue, but I doubt that my mail is that much more private in Outlook as compared to webmail.
6. Archiving: what happens Gmail is no longer the hottest thing and you want to change accounts a few years from now? How are you going to forward that mail? If you sit there and forward them one-by-one, not only will this take a lot of time, it will also permanently alter your To, From, Date Sent, Date Received, and Subject lines. This makes it very difficult to organize your mail later on.
7. Starting Over: even if I decide that I want to start using Gmail, how do I import all of my existing Outlook email into Gmail without losing my ability to categorize and cross reference emails? I've seen a few hacks, but they all have drawbacks. And again, if I forward my email one by one, I have the same problems listed in #6.
8. Integration with Microsoft Office/Adobe: this is very helpful when you want to send out documents for review constantly and want to keep track of them. Dragging and dropping attachments is a lot easier than navigting to them through some half-assed attachment menu. Note: Yahoo! and Hotmail have promised drag and drop functionality in an upcoming release.

I think issues 6 and 7 are the most important to me. To have no effective way of exporting or importing email in a number of different formats is a deal-breaker.

What Not To Wear on TLC

This Friday (11/18), the show What Not To Wear on the TLC network will air an episode featuring a friend of mine from college, Susan. The show is on at 9:00pm on TLC.

Universal Truths

Unproven in the traditional sense, the following 30 statements are and will remain to be true:

1. Although bad for you, smoking is cool.
2. Even if brand new, episodes of Charlie Rose that have the washed out gray color in the background warrant turning off the show.
3. Rudy was the best Cosby kid.
4. You are right, Windows does take longer to boot up as time goes on. And you are wrong, Windows will always take that long to boot up.
5. Prego pasta sauce does have a metallic taste to it.
6. King of the Hill is boring.
7. Arcade games are no better than they were five years ago. Arcade games five years ago were no better than they were five years before that.
8. Kenyon Martin will never admit to fouling anyone.
9. Tablet PCs are stupid.
10. Any slice of pizza more than $1.75 is too much.
11. Tweeters make your car stereo sound like crap.
12. Google is overvalued. Nevertheless, it will reach $450 per share.
13. Hybrid vehicles are filtered cigarettes.
14. We all know you do a half-assed job washing your dishes.
15. The Matrix wasn't as good as you thought it was.
16. Predator was better than you thought it was.
17. Yes, that smell is you.
18. Wiping off the toilet seat does not constitute cleaning it.
19. A wristwatch with any kind of computer, weather information, e-mail, stock information or scheduling information will necessarily fail.
20. Natural Born Killers is not easier to get through the second time around.
21. Navy and black worn together is fine.
22. The inset hinges that Toshiba and Compaq use for their notebooks are hideous.
23. Nobody cares about Bam Margera.
24. The market won't "take care of it."
25. There is such a thing as too much bass.
26. iPods suck.
27. Parking meters that automatically reset when you leave the spot constitutes a government taking.
28. Will Smith plays the same character in every role he does. And yes, the Fresh Prince of Bel Air is unwatchable today, even though it was decent five years ago.
29. If anybody claims they were doing it for "research purposes," they are lying.
30. Gillette will beat out Shick in releasing "The Ocho" in July 2008.

The Man and the Iron Past

I woke up a few days ago and have suddenly gained the ability to iron dress shirts with the utomost skill. It's like becoming a speed reader after you get into a car accident, only more useful.

Gordon Moore on Charlie Rose

In case you missed it, Charlie Rose interviewed Intel's co-founder Gordon Moore tonight. The full-hour interview was fantastic. Moore was candid and accessible, acknowledging that he has become a historian of the industry because his technological expertise became instantly obsolete when he removed himself from the engineering trenches.

To properly gauge Moore's performance, compare him to Charlie Rose's earlier interview with Lee Raymond, Chairman and CEO of Exxon/Mobil, who was slicker and more evasive than most guests on the show. Raymond would avoid most questions and find a way to backtrack, repeating the phrase, "Well that's not what I said" or "Not necessarily" (or some version of that) at least nine or ten times. Although sometimes it is fun to see someone successfully avoid questions by truly using the art of rhetoric and persuasive speech, Raymond was clearly not up for the challenge. He opted, instead, to ignore questions or just move on.

If you would like to see the Gordon Moore interview, the episode will be on re-run tomorrow on PBS.

A History of Violence (2005)

David Cronenberg's A History of Violence is quiet but not unassuming.

Set in a quiet town in Indiana, we are introduced to Tom Stall, a family man with a seemingly stable home life. Tom is played by Viggo Mortensen--who I only remember from the Lord of the Rings Trilogy but has been in a number of famous films. His wife, Edie, is played by Maria Bello. He has two children and works as a cook in a diner.

From the opening credits and the title of the film, we are all aware that this movie has a darker, more sinister side to it. Without giving too much away by way of plot, two men try to rob the diner Tom works in. It's almost as if Tom silently changes into an efficient killer. Tom completely wipes out both robbers in a rather grotesque manner. And it is from that point on the audience begins wondering what kind of past Tom Stall has, or used to have. That's all I will give in terms of plot.

The film's basic message is that violence has a way of spreading, almost like a virus. We see in very straightforward ways how Tom's son has violent tendencies, inherited of course from his father. Coming from the director who made Dead Ringers (1988), starring Jeremy Irons, I was expecting a lot more in terms of creativity. The relationships in Cronenberg's new film are too straightforward in comparison to his earlier work, which was enigmatic and puzzling. As I wrote earlier, this film is quiet but not unassuming. The film assumes too much. It sees too mathematical a relationship between family and violence.

I particularly hated the "bully" character who was picking on Tom's son. The bully gave the most ridiculous evil eye when Tom's son caught a fly ball in gym class, which the bully was on the losing side of. Are we to believe that they really fought over a lousy baseball game during gym class? Couldn't they write a better reason for their fighting into the script? Why not just make the bully the type of bully that has no reason for picking his victims--those are the worst ones, aren't they?

The audience laughed at various points, sometimes intended and sometimes unintended by the director. One of the most unexpected scenes was towards the end of the film with William Hurt. The film transforms from a mystery/drama into a semi-comedy. But the change in tempo and tone is welcome and the effect was well appreciated. This laughter worked well in offsetting the actual images of violence in the film. These scenes were designed perfectly. The gun shots are isolated, with very little music or sound in the background. It has the eerie quietness that reeks of realism.

Apart from the rather one-dimensional writing and smaller problems with the plotline involving Tom's son, A History of Violence is fantastic in its general effect.