Tuesday Quickie...

Busy day today, just a quick video to commemorate the release of Star Trek (2009) on DVD and BluRay today! =]

CH-CH-CHECK IT OUT!

Embedding is disabled on that video, but check it out, it's really funny. Check for a full post soon!

El Salvador--20 Years Later

Image via BBC News.

November 16 marks the 20th anniversary of one of the most horrifying political actions of the 12-year Salvadoran Civil War--The Jesuit Massacre. If you click the link above you'll be taken to a picture portal of BBC's website that recounts, visually, the efforts of Salvadorans to remember those slain--6 Jesuit priests, their housekeeper and her daughter.

Film Review: TwentyTwelve, Thirteen, Fourteen...

So what's all the buzz about 2012? Well, it's the latest and greatest Roland Emmerich film to hit the talkies! I find it redundant to have to recount the overall plot of the film, but here goes. It's the end of the world, as we know it--and I feel fine. Ah, R.E.M., how I love you, you make my segues so smooth. But, no, really it's an apocalyptic film, like: Independence Day, Godzilla, The Day After Tomorrow, and 10,000 BC.

Oh Rémi...Je T'aime

Every now and then I'll post some information about a site that I just can't get enough of. This time around, being the inaugural time actually, I want to showcase probably my favorite French person, ever. Rémi Gaillard is just this hillarious prankster that has been terrorizing France for years with elaborate pranks, jokes, and infiltrations.

This one is the first one I ever saw that just made me want to check out his site, with a full listing of all his pranks.
It's called Bat, and it's just him in full-Bat costume running around France at night, doing things one would never really do, ever.

Oh Rémi, je t'aime.

The Moon is Made of Cheese! No, not really

It's fitting for me to use this mash-up image of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon as a header picture on the heels of a recent announcement of the LCROSS mission that had come to fruition last month. For those of you, and by you I mean anyone who's not a total nerd like I am, who don't know, the LCROSS, Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, mission was that of a rocket with a really big slingshot. This time, however, the pebble was a multi-million dollar probe that was jettisoned to the surface of the moon at dizzying speeds with one mission only--crash, really.

Get well And Be Punished?

Image copyright Don Barletti/The Los Angeles Times

I originally read this article on the LA Times' website, that I've conveniently linked up there, but it's been a topic that I've been debating with myself over for a couple of weeks now. The very reason I started this blog was because I called in some sick time and had a lot of free time on my hands, just getting better. Earlier this year, I wouldn't have been able to say the same thing. Calling in sick is something that a lot of people who get paid to do it take for granted. The image above is of a woman named Glynndana Shevlin who's been working at the Disneyland Hotel for 21 years. Now, if you click that link you'll be taken to the landing page for the Disneyland Hotel chock-full of overly adorable music and a sense of being in a Disney movie yourself. What they don't let on is that Disney is probably one of the least favorable places to work for. See, Glynndana is a unionized employee with Disneyland that doesn't have paid sick days. A product of a bad economy and a company infamous for saving every penny, paid sick days seems to be a luxury only afforded to the upper echelons of Disney's workforce that work a few blocks down Harbor Blvd. in the corporate offices.

AT&T vs Verizon, FIGHT!

So, I've been following this story since they first aired the "There's a Map for That" ads on tv depicting the difference in 3G coverage between the nation's two big carriers: Verizon and AT&T. I remember talking to my roommate, Max, about it. He has an iPhone 3G on AT&T and I have a Blackberry Storm2 on Verizon. Apart from the simple jabs we make at each other, we've both seem to have the same amount of coverage and shortfalls with our respective services...

Music Review: Muse's The Resistance

On the heels of Muse's The Resistance's two-month anniversary I felt it necessary to talk about my initial thoughts on the album and its place in Muse's discography. I purposely wait a while before I talk about an album because music is one of those things that has to grow on you.

Oh Internet Memes...

I can't help but love it when internet memes are carried over to the airwaves successfully. On the same note, it's kind of sad that I know all of these memes. Oh, internet, what have you done to me.

Great Local Photography

Today I'm profiling a great photographer friend of mine, Andrew Guiyangco who goes to California College of the Arts in Oakland, Calif.

I especially like the way he manipulates light and gradients in ways that especially highlight the eccentric qualities of the model. Good job, Andrew! Keep up the good work so I can keep oo-ing and aah-ing at it some more.

Hit the read link below to check out some more of this very talented artist's work!
[READ]

Fly Me to the Mo-I mean Mars...?

Scientists have developed a means by which to reach Mars in about 115 days using plasma propelled rockets! This is very interesting because the latest Mars Lander took about 295 days to reach Mars. The implications of these findings are astounding--namely that the idea of colonizing is becoming a much more real option in case, you know, this whole 2012 thing actually turns out to be true. Vasimr, or Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket, steadily pulses its way around the earth for a month and then jettisons itself off to that cute little red-neighbor of ours. Maybe they'll develop some of this tech for the next generation of moon-walking.

Hit the Read Link to check out the NY Times' nifty diagram.

[READ]

Re-Mastered Beatles on a Stick!

In a bit of old news, but still exciting nonetheless, I felt it important to share the fact that the Beatles are taking one step closer to becoming digital. Although a far-cry from being totally available on iTunes, EMI Records and The Beatles (or what's left of them at least) are releasing this limited-quantity of 30,000 just in time for the Holidays. Currently, they're 'temporarily sold out' in the US storefront, hopefully with more coming in soon? If they do become available again, it's retailing for about $280 of your shiniest pennies.

Film Review:The Men Who Stare At Goats

The Men Who Stare At Goats came out on November 6, 2009 with critics left and right giving it both positive and negative critiques. A star-studded cast spearheaded by Ewan McGregor and George Clooney deliver a surprisingly underwhelming film hastily put together by novice Director, Grant Heslov. The film had redeeming qualities at times, most notably a great comeback performance by Jeff Bridges who harks back on why people love him, because he's The Dude. Clooney is always a treat on screen and has yet to perform poorly in a film, no matter how terrible it is. Ewan McGregor, however, has been going down a perpetual storm of terrible acting gigs (read: Angels & Demons.)