Everyone knows that in kung fu movies the white-haired white-eyebrowed old guy can kick anyone's ass. These guys always have the longest eyebrow lashes ever, presumably due to old age. I know that the noses and ears of men never stop growing, but eyebrows too? Not so long ago I was in Chinatown with Yilin and we saw this little old man with crazy white eyebrows and a super long white beard. I nearly fled in the opposite direction at full speed in case he was an evil kung fu master who felt like destroying a common peon with his crippling techniques, instead of being a kind and gentle kung fu master who would let me live, for now. As it turns out, he let me live.
But what is the correlation between kung fu master and length of eyebrow lashes? Is it that the kung fu masters are just old and as a result have long eyebrow lashes? This could be true, although I have not seen a regular old man in a kung fu movie with long eyebrow lashes. Or is it that they have long eyebrow lashes because they are kung fu masters? This is more likely, as only old kung fu masters have long eyebrow lashes. A perfect correlation based on my observations. Or yet, could they be kung fu masters because they have long eyebrow lashes? Hmm? How about that?
So much to my delight I recently discovered that 2 of my eyebrow lashes, one above each eye, are unusually long. Now, we all know that I have thick full eyebrows to begin with. I would say that the average length of my eyebrow lashes is at least half an inch. But these two are each about a full inch long! I think they are still growing, too, as I only recently discovered them. In fact, I hope the others follow suit and become incredibly long as well. Then I will be a certified kung fu master! Chuck Norris here I come!
Friday, February 24, 2006
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Coogan's Photo Show
I am a member of the photography club here at the Health Sciences campus. This allows me virtually unrestricted access to the darkroom, with full use of the chemistry to develop and print as many black and white photos as I desire. The woman currently running the photo club asked me to join a few of the other members in having a photo show at a local restaurant/pub. (For those of you who live in WH, the establishment is Coogan's.)
I agreed, and as such had to present about 20 pieces to the other 4 participants on Tuesday night. The idea being that as it was our collective show, we would collectively decide which pieces from each person's portfolio would be included. Of course, each person presented a small number of photos (20) that they had preselected, so it's not as if they had no say in what was chosen. I intentionally did not bring any of the panoramic landscape photos that I have because I don't want to deal with the hassle of printing them on our delinquent lab inkjet printer or shelling out ~$150 each to have them (cheaply) custom matted and framed. (We have to pay to have our own pieces matted and framed, which isn't cheap. Precut mats and frames for standard sizes can be gotten for about $20-$50+. Panoramic photos must be custom matted and framed.)
You can see the 20 that I and Yilin chose here. (NOTE: If you haven't noticed, when you view my slideshows you can click on the actual photo itself and you are given the title and a short description. It's a pretty cool feature that Flickr has incorporated into its slideshows, and I recommend you try it out.) All of the photos are digital, except the B&W photos (minus the flower) which are film photos that I developed, printed, and scanned.
Of course, I was asked why I didn't bring any of the panoramic photos. Of those that I brought, four were chosen to be included in the show. These are the four. (The 'Anenomes" photo which everyone seems to like was nixed from the get go by the woman running the club as I had auctioned that for a fundraiser last year. She wants the show to be comprised of work we haven't publicly shown, which is fair.) These four were chosen almost thematically. If people would see the beauty of the 3 photos of the Canadian Rockies compared to the "beauty" of the courtyard in Washington Heights, then they would realize how lovely a place WH is. Ha ha ha.
As a caveat, I was asked to bring some small prints of the panoramics for the others to look at. If they decide that they like those better then I will be asked to print/mat/frame those in place of some that were chosen. I will probably fight it, as I don't really have the money to spend on that right now. Feel free to leave feedback, particularly if you have seen other photos of mine.
(Oh yeah, if you like any of these, clicking on the photo in the slideshow will allow you to click a link which will "open photo in new window". When you do that you are brought to my Flickr page, which allows you to download the photo in different sizes, including the 'original' which is 1024 in the largest dimension, for your desktop pleasure. If you really like the photo, you can order prints. None of that is controlled by me, nor do I get money for it.)
I agreed, and as such had to present about 20 pieces to the other 4 participants on Tuesday night. The idea being that as it was our collective show, we would collectively decide which pieces from each person's portfolio would be included. Of course, each person presented a small number of photos (20) that they had preselected, so it's not as if they had no say in what was chosen. I intentionally did not bring any of the panoramic landscape photos that I have because I don't want to deal with the hassle of printing them on our delinquent lab inkjet printer or shelling out ~$150 each to have them (cheaply) custom matted and framed. (We have to pay to have our own pieces matted and framed, which isn't cheap. Precut mats and frames for standard sizes can be gotten for about $20-$50+. Panoramic photos must be custom matted and framed.)
You can see the 20 that I and Yilin chose here. (NOTE: If you haven't noticed, when you view my slideshows you can click on the actual photo itself and you are given the title and a short description. It's a pretty cool feature that Flickr has incorporated into its slideshows, and I recommend you try it out.) All of the photos are digital, except the B&W photos (minus the flower) which are film photos that I developed, printed, and scanned.
Of course, I was asked why I didn't bring any of the panoramic photos. Of those that I brought, four were chosen to be included in the show. These are the four. (The 'Anenomes" photo which everyone seems to like was nixed from the get go by the woman running the club as I had auctioned that for a fundraiser last year. She wants the show to be comprised of work we haven't publicly shown, which is fair.) These four were chosen almost thematically. If people would see the beauty of the 3 photos of the Canadian Rockies compared to the "beauty" of the courtyard in Washington Heights, then they would realize how lovely a place WH is. Ha ha ha.
As a caveat, I was asked to bring some small prints of the panoramics for the others to look at. If they decide that they like those better then I will be asked to print/mat/frame those in place of some that were chosen. I will probably fight it, as I don't really have the money to spend on that right now. Feel free to leave feedback, particularly if you have seen other photos of mine.
(Oh yeah, if you like any of these, clicking on the photo in the slideshow will allow you to click a link which will "open photo in new window". When you do that you are brought to my Flickr page, which allows you to download the photo in different sizes, including the 'original' which is 1024 in the largest dimension, for your desktop pleasure. If you really like the photo, you can order prints. None of that is controlled by me, nor do I get money for it.)
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Welcome to Washington Heights & Have a Nice Day!
This weekend Yilin moved up to my neighborhood (the WH). She found a really great one bedroom apartment that is well within her price range. The move itself was hands down the fastest move I have ever participated in, and I have helped about 15+ people move since living in NYC.
Why was it so fast? Because of planning and experience. Yilin had everything pretty well planned out and I lent my experience to this endeavor. The key things to know when moving:
If you leave large objects for last then you run the risk of having to partially unload and reload the truck. Most people grossly underestimate the amount of stuff they own. Even then, you will still be ok if you efficiently pack boxes and efficiently load the truck. Failure to do either of those things means multiple trips or your friends take stuff to the new apartment for you while you drive the truck.
How fast was the move? Try 2 hours total. Total! People were asked to show up at 2pm. One person was 10 minutes early, but we couldn't start until the next 2 showed up at 5 minutes after. Others showed up a few minutes later. At 4pm exactly we had moved everything into the new apartment. Note that we drove about 155 blocks in Manhattan to get from Yilin's old apartment to her new one. I think it was about 30 minutes or so, but imagine 7.5 miles of driving in the center of NYC. (We actually made better time, I believe, but I wasn't watching the clock as I was swerving around pedestrians and cutting off cabdrivers trying to set the Manhattan land speed record.)
I think I have to retire from helping people move as that is my new personal best record. Any other move would be an antithesis.
Why was it so fast? Because of planning and experience. Yilin had everything pretty well planned out and I lent my experience to this endeavor. The key things to know when moving:
- Everything should be in boxes.
- Large furniture/beds should be loaded first.
- Load the truck from front to back, using all available space up to the ceiling.
If you leave large objects for last then you run the risk of having to partially unload and reload the truck. Most people grossly underestimate the amount of stuff they own. Even then, you will still be ok if you efficiently pack boxes and efficiently load the truck. Failure to do either of those things means multiple trips or your friends take stuff to the new apartment for you while you drive the truck.
How fast was the move? Try 2 hours total. Total! People were asked to show up at 2pm. One person was 10 minutes early, but we couldn't start until the next 2 showed up at 5 minutes after. Others showed up a few minutes later. At 4pm exactly we had moved everything into the new apartment. Note that we drove about 155 blocks in Manhattan to get from Yilin's old apartment to her new one. I think it was about 30 minutes or so, but imagine 7.5 miles of driving in the center of NYC. (We actually made better time, I believe, but I wasn't watching the clock as I was swerving around pedestrians and cutting off cabdrivers trying to set the Manhattan land speed record.)
I think I have to retire from helping people move as that is my new personal best record. Any other move would be an antithesis.
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
V-Day.
About two weeks ago I decided that I wanted to get Yilin something nice for Valentine's Day. This is not as easy as it sounds, for a variety of reasons.
Jewelry? Nope. Everytime I see a piece that I think she would like, I point to it and ask her what she thinks. She doesn't really love it. It's not quite her style. It's just ok. Besides, jewelry is too expensive a thing to get wrong. I don't need to buy her a pair of earrings only to have them end up in one of her many jewelry boxes, buried in 3,000 other pairs of earrings that she doesn't wear.
Fancy restaurant? Ha. Unless you want to make reservations for Valentine's Day months in advance (which I sort of forgot about), you aren't eating anywhere fancy. Although that is fine with me, I am sure she would break up with me if I took her to El Malecon for Valentine's Day. Besides, I wanted to get her something that she could keep forever. (Ok, memories are something that we can keep forever, but she is very forgetful.)
Then it resurfaced from deep within my brain. A vague memory of Yilin telling me that she wanted a hip flask. There was no context, no scenario with which this statement was attached. But there were no red flags either. Normally, if a woman were to just blurt out "I want a hip flask," I would immediately think "alcoholic." It's a natural response. Therefore, since there were no red flags, I assumed that Yilin and I were walking down the street, passing by window displays at some mega-expensive department store, and she saw an assortment, nay, a vast array of hip flasks. Then, and only then, she revealed a secret desire that she had thus far been unable to act upon. Her intense yearning for a hip flask, which she had been harboring for years. I realized at that moment that only a man like me could fulfill such a desire. So I stored that piece of information sans warnings and sirens. (At least, that is the story I will tell since I can't remember the scenario at all.)
I emailed my dad, who works for a company that does engraving on a large scale, asking if he could get some of the guys to engrave a message for me on a hip flask. He wrote back saying that the hip flask needed to have a matte finish for the best results, as a mirror-like sheen would reflect the laser and not become engraved. (I envisioned reflected laser beams shooting across the room, wreaking havoc in a James Bond sort of way.) Great, now I just needed a message, and it had to be in a file format that is used in computer aided design.
So naturally I emailed a fellow friend and classmate who is from China. Not only is she from China, but years ago she won second place in a huge (I think "national") calligraphy contest, which means that she has beautiful handwriting. I sent her a message which she kindly translated, wrote out, scanned, and emailed back to me. I then converted the scanned image to the proper file format using good old Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, and emailed it to my dad.
The guys he works with engraved the hip flask, and my parents wrapped it up nicely and mailed it to me. The result:
I think it looks great, which is why I am posting a photo. I am not going to tell you what it says because it is lovey-dovey and mushy and, well, it basically says that it is from me to Yilin, and has the date: February 14, 2006. (I realize that Mr. and Mrs. Chen will be able to read the inscription, and I considered blurring it, but I wanted everyone to see how beautiful the characters look. The next time I see them I will certainly be embarassed.)
Great, I got the gift. Now I needed a plan. I told Yilin that I would make her dinner for Valentine's Day. Yesterday, when I finished up in lab, I ran to the grocery store to buy all the ingredients I needed to make seafood risotto using this recipe. Of course, the Washington Heights Gristede's does not have fresh shrimp and scallops, or dried porcini mushrooms. So I used frozen cooked shrimp and sliced white mushrooms. It came out fantastic. It was so good that I had to get Yilin to stop picking at it despite the fact that I told her that I had made dessert as well. (She knows that when I make dessert I always include her favorite food in the whole wide world, perhaps her favorite thing in the whole wide world: dark chocolate.)
I brought out dessert next: dark chocolate bowls containing vanilla ice cream and accompanied by pretzel sticks dipped in dark chocolate and chopped peanuts. I even made a dark chocolate and peanut heart for Yilin, too. She was so high from all the chocolate (and the white wine) that it was hilarious. She told me that she "loved the whole meal." Mission accomplished.
Then I went for the extra credit and pulled out the ribbon wrapped box. I was nervous that she might say, "Why the heck did you get me a hip flask? Do you think I am an alcoholic?" or "What does this say? Am I supposed to be able to read this?" She opened it, and at first was a little confused as to why I got her a hip flask, but read the inscription and told me that she loved it. All was well on Valentine's Day. Phew!
Jewelry? Nope. Everytime I see a piece that I think she would like, I point to it and ask her what she thinks. She doesn't really love it. It's not quite her style. It's just ok. Besides, jewelry is too expensive a thing to get wrong. I don't need to buy her a pair of earrings only to have them end up in one of her many jewelry boxes, buried in 3,000 other pairs of earrings that she doesn't wear.
Fancy restaurant? Ha. Unless you want to make reservations for Valentine's Day months in advance (which I sort of forgot about), you aren't eating anywhere fancy. Although that is fine with me, I am sure she would break up with me if I took her to El Malecon for Valentine's Day. Besides, I wanted to get her something that she could keep forever. (Ok, memories are something that we can keep forever, but she is very forgetful.)
Then it resurfaced from deep within my brain. A vague memory of Yilin telling me that she wanted a hip flask. There was no context, no scenario with which this statement was attached. But there were no red flags either. Normally, if a woman were to just blurt out "I want a hip flask," I would immediately think "alcoholic." It's a natural response. Therefore, since there were no red flags, I assumed that Yilin and I were walking down the street, passing by window displays at some mega-expensive department store, and she saw an assortment, nay, a vast array of hip flasks. Then, and only then, she revealed a secret desire that she had thus far been unable to act upon. Her intense yearning for a hip flask, which she had been harboring for years. I realized at that moment that only a man like me could fulfill such a desire. So I stored that piece of information sans warnings and sirens. (At least, that is the story I will tell since I can't remember the scenario at all.)
I emailed my dad, who works for a company that does engraving on a large scale, asking if he could get some of the guys to engrave a message for me on a hip flask. He wrote back saying that the hip flask needed to have a matte finish for the best results, as a mirror-like sheen would reflect the laser and not become engraved. (I envisioned reflected laser beams shooting across the room, wreaking havoc in a James Bond sort of way.) Great, now I just needed a message, and it had to be in a file format that is used in computer aided design.
So naturally I emailed a fellow friend and classmate who is from China. Not only is she from China, but years ago she won second place in a huge (I think "national") calligraphy contest, which means that she has beautiful handwriting. I sent her a message which she kindly translated, wrote out, scanned, and emailed back to me. I then converted the scanned image to the proper file format using good old Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, and emailed it to my dad.
The guys he works with engraved the hip flask, and my parents wrapped it up nicely and mailed it to me. The result:
I think it looks great, which is why I am posting a photo. I am not going to tell you what it says because it is lovey-dovey and mushy and, well, it basically says that it is from me to Yilin, and has the date: February 14, 2006. (I realize that Mr. and Mrs. Chen will be able to read the inscription, and I considered blurring it, but I wanted everyone to see how beautiful the characters look. The next time I see them I will certainly be embarassed.)
Great, I got the gift. Now I needed a plan. I told Yilin that I would make her dinner for Valentine's Day. Yesterday, when I finished up in lab, I ran to the grocery store to buy all the ingredients I needed to make seafood risotto using this recipe. Of course, the Washington Heights Gristede's does not have fresh shrimp and scallops, or dried porcini mushrooms. So I used frozen cooked shrimp and sliced white mushrooms. It came out fantastic. It was so good that I had to get Yilin to stop picking at it despite the fact that I told her that I had made dessert as well. (She knows that when I make dessert I always include her favorite food in the whole wide world, perhaps her favorite thing in the whole wide world: dark chocolate.)
I brought out dessert next: dark chocolate bowls containing vanilla ice cream and accompanied by pretzel sticks dipped in dark chocolate and chopped peanuts. I even made a dark chocolate and peanut heart for Yilin, too. She was so high from all the chocolate (and the white wine) that it was hilarious. She told me that she "loved the whole meal." Mission accomplished.
Then I went for the extra credit and pulled out the ribbon wrapped box. I was nervous that she might say, "Why the heck did you get me a hip flask? Do you think I am an alcoholic?" or "What does this say? Am I supposed to be able to read this?" She opened it, and at first was a little confused as to why I got her a hip flask, but read the inscription and told me that she loved it. All was well on Valentine's Day. Phew!
Monday, February 13, 2006
Let it snow!
This weekend we got 26.9" (according to some weather guys in Central Park) of snow! Although it is the most snow dumped on NYC in a single storm in recorded history, and although I am immensely happy about it, I feel that it is too little too late. This does not make up for the 3rd warmest January in NYC history, or the total lack of solid precipitation this winter.
It was amusing watching people try to cope with the weather. If you were unaware, New Yorkers (as in New York City dwellers) are the weakest and most sensitive people on the planet. You know the fairy tale of the Princess and the Pea? Well, multiply that by 8 million people and you have New York City. A dusting of snow in a 5 mph breeze results in all kinds of bitching and moaning about how "horrible the weather is."
They are all lucky that I don't control the weather. If I did, it would be nonstop snow from November 1st to March 31st. Well, maybe it would let up for a day or two so that the sun could come out. It certainly would never get about freezing, however. Winter is supposed to be cold. When I grow up, I am going to live somewhere where winter is winter. (What an odd sentence, grammatically.) I am going to live somewhere that has only two seasons: winter and Winter. There will be so much snow that the only forms of travel will be snowshoe, back country skiing, or tunneling. It will be grand.
It was amusing watching people try to cope with the weather. If you were unaware, New Yorkers (as in New York City dwellers) are the weakest and most sensitive people on the planet. You know the fairy tale of the Princess and the Pea? Well, multiply that by 8 million people and you have New York City. A dusting of snow in a 5 mph breeze results in all kinds of bitching and moaning about how "horrible the weather is."
They are all lucky that I don't control the weather. If I did, it would be nonstop snow from November 1st to March 31st. Well, maybe it would let up for a day or two so that the sun could come out. It certainly would never get about freezing, however. Winter is supposed to be cold. When I grow up, I am going to live somewhere where winter is winter. (What an odd sentence, grammatically.) I am going to live somewhere that has only two seasons: winter and Winter. There will be so much snow that the only forms of travel will be snowshoe, back country skiing, or tunneling. It will be grand.
Saturday, February 11, 2006
Sexy Beast
Last night I shaved the beard. However, I did not shave it fully. I left a 'stache. The purpose: the annual rugby banquet, to which every guy shows up in some sort of crazy outfit/costume. I wore the suit I got for Christmas from my two cousins Ritchie and Russell. I got so many compliments on the suit and the mustache that it was out of control. In fact, one guy on the team proclaimed that he would bet $5 that I was going to "get laid" last night, and nobody was willing to wager against him.
Yes, there is something enigmatic, something elusive about the under-30 mustache. Almost nobody can pull it off, yet many young guys try. Aged men sometimes can do a mustache justice. We all can think of a "real man" who sports one: Burt Reynolds. Tom Sellick. Chuck Norris. Charles Bronson. I only know one young man who did it well: my buddy and sort-of-roommate Chris in college. (I believe he shaved it off one time, and we made him grow it back.)
In fact, some genius made a movie about the under-30 mustache entitled "The Glorious Mustache Challenge." (I really really want to see it.)
In a way, it's funny because the mustache will never die. Many men try and try to grow a serious mustache, but it is far from fashionable, as Yilin will surely attest. Any guy reading this who says that he never ever considered what he would look like with a mustache is a liar. If you are a woman, ask your significant other (if he's a he) if he ever wondered what he looked like with a mustache. If he says "yes" then you know that he always tells you the truth. If he says "no" then you need to start worrying.
For your viewing pleasure, I present "The Mustachioed Josh: A Pictorial." Let me know what you think. ;)
(Disclaimer for my mom, my girlfriend, and her mom: Do not worry, the mustache will be gone by the time you read this. Furthermore, I do not intend to grow and maintain a mustache in all seriousness. This was just for fun.)
Yes, there is something enigmatic, something elusive about the under-30 mustache. Almost nobody can pull it off, yet many young guys try. Aged men sometimes can do a mustache justice. We all can think of a "real man" who sports one: Burt Reynolds. Tom Sellick. Chuck Norris. Charles Bronson. I only know one young man who did it well: my buddy and sort-of-roommate Chris in college. (I believe he shaved it off one time, and we made him grow it back.)
In fact, some genius made a movie about the under-30 mustache entitled "The Glorious Mustache Challenge." (I really really want to see it.)
In a way, it's funny because the mustache will never die. Many men try and try to grow a serious mustache, but it is far from fashionable, as Yilin will surely attest. Any guy reading this who says that he never ever considered what he would look like with a mustache is a liar. If you are a woman, ask your significant other (if he's a he) if he ever wondered what he looked like with a mustache. If he says "yes" then you know that he always tells you the truth. If he says "no" then you need to start worrying.
For your viewing pleasure, I present "The Mustachioed Josh: A Pictorial." Let me know what you think. ;)
(Disclaimer for my mom, my girlfriend, and her mom: Do not worry, the mustache will be gone by the time you read this. Furthermore, I do not intend to grow and maintain a mustache in all seriousness. This was just for fun.)
Friday, February 10, 2006
Your Homework for this Weekend
You read that correctly. You have a homework assignment this weekend. It's fun, so don't get stressed out. It's a reading assignment, where retention of any element of the story is not necessary whatsoever. You just need to know whether you liked it or not, and email my friend Dan.
Dan, an aspiring novelist, has had the guts to post the second draft of the first two chapters of his novel on his blog. He asks that anyone who reads them please give him feedback, whether it be positive or negative, constructive or destructive, or even just say "yes" or "no" to indicate if you liked it.
So I ask you, my faithful readers, to peruse his developing novel and let him know what you think. Your input could help shape his book!
Dan, an aspiring novelist, has had the guts to post the second draft of the first two chapters of his novel on his blog. He asks that anyone who reads them please give him feedback, whether it be positive or negative, constructive or destructive, or even just say "yes" or "no" to indicate if you liked it.
So I ask you, my faithful readers, to peruse his developing novel and let him know what you think. Your input could help shape his book!
Thursday, February 09, 2006
Undermarketing
Last night Yilin and I went to see perhaps the most undermarketed movie in recent history. Well, perhaps not so much 'undermarketed' as 'improperly marketed.' We saw "Hoodwinked."
It's a computer animated movie. I had seen the trailer many times, and was amused by certain clips, but it just looked like an ok kids' movie. As a testament to the ineptitude of whoever cut and edited that trailer, I can't believe I pigeonholed that movie so inaccurately.
Upon seeing the trailer, the first thing that made me less than interested was that the animation left a lot to be desired. I wasn't impressed at all. I do not require top-notch animation, and certainly not realism, but some sort of style that goes beyond what a graduate student in computer animation could do would be nice. (Having used two of the industry-leading computer animation software packages myself and seeing "Hoodwinked" make it to the big screen, I think I am going to write my own screenplay...)
Secondly, it seemed like a marginally amusing kids' movie. Don't get me wrong, I love childrens' cinema. I could watch cartoons for hours and hours; just ask my mom. But let's face it: there are lots of crappy kids' movies out there, and I don't want to spend $11 to see another one.
However, there is one particular clip in the trailer ("Dee-na-mee-tay") that always made Yilin laugh, and yesterday she needed a good laugh. So I surprised her by dragging her to the theater to watch this movie.
We laughed out loud many times, and we weren't the only ones. There are so many levels of humor, so many references that would be above kids' heads, a very clever plot, great dialogue, top-notch actors doing the voices, and so much outright silliness that I can't believe they released the trailer that they did. This seemed more like an animated movie for grownups that kids will like, too. In fact, I don't remember any children in the theater at all.
One or two of the gags seemed a bit forced, but there were so many good ones that it was easy to overlook them. Besides, how many comedies actually succeed at getting audience members to laugh at every single joke?
This movie isn't in too many theaters in NYC right now, which means that it is probably in none outside of NYC. However, if it is playing near you I recommend that you go see it. Also, I would recommend that you don't watch the trailer (if you haven't seen it or forgotten it) before seeing this movie. Watch it after the movie and see if you ask yourself, "What were they thinking?" If it isn't playing near you, wait for the DVD.
On a side note, there are a lot of computer animated kids' movies coming out soon, and they all seem very redundant (although many of them look very funny, too). For instance, there is "The Ant Bully" which I thought was "A Bug's Life 2" from the trailer. We've seen "A Bug's Life" and "Antz", so do we really need another movie about ants? There is another movie coming out about animals from Central Park Zoo, ala "Madagascar" (which I have been wanting to see, but haven't yet). Then there is "Over the Hedge" which looks great, but still has that animals-living-amongst-humans thing that reminds me of "Madagascar" (the link points to the actual "Teaser 2" as the Apple Quicktime page here has the link wrong). "Ice Age 2" is hitting the screen, which I am sure will make me laugh, as well as a hilarious-looking computer animated movie simply titled "Doogal".
Lots of good stuff coming out this year!
It's a computer animated movie. I had seen the trailer many times, and was amused by certain clips, but it just looked like an ok kids' movie. As a testament to the ineptitude of whoever cut and edited that trailer, I can't believe I pigeonholed that movie so inaccurately.
Upon seeing the trailer, the first thing that made me less than interested was that the animation left a lot to be desired. I wasn't impressed at all. I do not require top-notch animation, and certainly not realism, but some sort of style that goes beyond what a graduate student in computer animation could do would be nice. (Having used two of the industry-leading computer animation software packages myself and seeing "Hoodwinked" make it to the big screen, I think I am going to write my own screenplay...)
Secondly, it seemed like a marginally amusing kids' movie. Don't get me wrong, I love childrens' cinema. I could watch cartoons for hours and hours; just ask my mom. But let's face it: there are lots of crappy kids' movies out there, and I don't want to spend $11 to see another one.
However, there is one particular clip in the trailer ("Dee-na-mee-tay") that always made Yilin laugh, and yesterday she needed a good laugh. So I surprised her by dragging her to the theater to watch this movie.
We laughed out loud many times, and we weren't the only ones. There are so many levels of humor, so many references that would be above kids' heads, a very clever plot, great dialogue, top-notch actors doing the voices, and so much outright silliness that I can't believe they released the trailer that they did. This seemed more like an animated movie for grownups that kids will like, too. In fact, I don't remember any children in the theater at all.
One or two of the gags seemed a bit forced, but there were so many good ones that it was easy to overlook them. Besides, how many comedies actually succeed at getting audience members to laugh at every single joke?
This movie isn't in too many theaters in NYC right now, which means that it is probably in none outside of NYC. However, if it is playing near you I recommend that you go see it. Also, I would recommend that you don't watch the trailer (if you haven't seen it or forgotten it) before seeing this movie. Watch it after the movie and see if you ask yourself, "What were they thinking?" If it isn't playing near you, wait for the DVD.
On a side note, there are a lot of computer animated kids' movies coming out soon, and they all seem very redundant (although many of them look very funny, too). For instance, there is "The Ant Bully" which I thought was "A Bug's Life 2" from the trailer. We've seen "A Bug's Life" and "Antz", so do we really need another movie about ants? There is another movie coming out about animals from Central Park Zoo, ala "Madagascar" (which I have been wanting to see, but haven't yet). Then there is "Over the Hedge" which looks great, but still has that animals-living-amongst-humans thing that reminds me of "Madagascar" (the link points to the actual "Teaser 2" as the Apple Quicktime page here has the link wrong). "Ice Age 2" is hitting the screen, which I am sure will make me laugh, as well as a hilarious-looking computer animated movie simply titled "Doogal".
Lots of good stuff coming out this year!
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
Where am I?
My mom called this morning wondering if I am still alive. You know how parents will call you sometimes wondering what's going on and how you are (especially if you haven't called them in a while)? My mom did that this morning. Of course, I haven't really talked to my parents on the phone in a long time, but that's ok with them, as long as they can read my blog.
Of course, that means that I need to keep updating my blog. I didn't post a weekend review on Monday morning, or Tuesday even, which is what prompted the phone call I am sure. So, even though the restaurant reviews, movie review, and photos will be delayed, here is a recap of my weekend with my wonderful girlfriend:
Friday night we went to dinner with her roommates to a great tapas bar called "Salon de Tapas" which is located... somewhere downtown. (Neighborhoods "built" without proper civil engineering, i.e. numbered streets, are mostly unknown to me; they provide little interest for anti-hip mountain men like myself.) It was a good time.
Saturday I worked a lot. I treated Yilin to dinner at a great restaurant in Little Italy called "Il Palazzo" as she was craving fried calamari, and this place supposedly has the best. We had a really good time there, even though Frank Sinatra (and every other paesano on the radio) was singing a little too loud.
Sunday I worked some more, after a breakfast rendezvous with Yilin at Balthazar. Very nice. That evening she cooked me a fabulous dinner. Well, she probably cooked it for herself, but I was allowed to eat some of it, and it was darn good. I hope she cooks more dinners for herself and is generous enough to let me taste them. We then went and saw "A History of Violence." Good stuff; reminded me a lot of my favorite western, "Unforgiven."
But the real news is that Yilin signed a lease for a new apartment. By the end of this month, she will be living in a very nice one bedroom apartment a mere 4 blocks from where I work! I am very excited about this. It means that I can work hard and still see Yilin frequently. I will have to try not to see her every night, or otherwise she may get sick of me. But I will pop over every other night or so to see if she is cooking something yummy for herself. (Hopefully she will be in a sharing mood and I will be allowed to eat whatever is left over.)
She might not realize it, but she is joining the slowly amassing group of hip young professionals moving into the happening neighborhood of Washington Heights. One could say that an apartment is like a giant accessory to your outfit, and by choosing the accessory of WH, she is very fashion forward. ;)
This is Josh, signing off.
Of course, that means that I need to keep updating my blog. I didn't post a weekend review on Monday morning, or Tuesday even, which is what prompted the phone call I am sure. So, even though the restaurant reviews, movie review, and photos will be delayed, here is a recap of my weekend with my wonderful girlfriend:
Friday night we went to dinner with her roommates to a great tapas bar called "Salon de Tapas" which is located... somewhere downtown. (Neighborhoods "built" without proper civil engineering, i.e. numbered streets, are mostly unknown to me; they provide little interest for anti-hip mountain men like myself.) It was a good time.
Saturday I worked a lot. I treated Yilin to dinner at a great restaurant in Little Italy called "Il Palazzo" as she was craving fried calamari, and this place supposedly has the best. We had a really good time there, even though Frank Sinatra (and every other paesano on the radio) was singing a little too loud.
Sunday I worked some more, after a breakfast rendezvous with Yilin at Balthazar. Very nice. That evening she cooked me a fabulous dinner. Well, she probably cooked it for herself, but I was allowed to eat some of it, and it was darn good. I hope she cooks more dinners for herself and is generous enough to let me taste them. We then went and saw "A History of Violence." Good stuff; reminded me a lot of my favorite western, "Unforgiven."
But the real news is that Yilin signed a lease for a new apartment. By the end of this month, she will be living in a very nice one bedroom apartment a mere 4 blocks from where I work! I am very excited about this. It means that I can work hard and still see Yilin frequently. I will have to try not to see her every night, or otherwise she may get sick of me. But I will pop over every other night or so to see if she is cooking something yummy for herself. (Hopefully she will be in a sharing mood and I will be allowed to eat whatever is left over.)
She might not realize it, but she is joining the slowly amassing group of hip young professionals moving into the happening neighborhood of Washington Heights. One could say that an apartment is like a giant accessory to your outfit, and by choosing the accessory of WH, she is very fashion forward. ;)
This is Josh, signing off.
Friday, February 03, 2006
8
I have been exercising fairly frequently this week, following a two week hiatus, with mixed amounts of exercise in the fourth quarter of 2005. Around Christmastime, I decided that my weightlifting workouts would become more focused on bodyweight exercises rather than lifting actual weights. I believe that this will help with my goals of increasing my strength towards climbing, while at least maintaining (if not increasing) my strength for rugby, without adding too much mass. (While body mass is good for rugby, it is very bad for climbing.)
Basically this means that I have been focusing on pushups, pullups, chinups, parallel bar dips, the rings, one-legged squats, and jumping exercises (ala plyometrics). If you think that you cannot get stupidly strong from bodyweight exercises, you are very much mistaken. Top gymnasts in the U.S. mostly never lift weights, yet are amazingly strong. I was reading about one guy who tried to see how much weight he could add to his body (using a belt that allows you to add weights to a chain hanging between your knees) and do chinups. After adding 125 pounds he was laughing at how easy it was. The most I have ever added was 70 pounds, and I wasn't laughing during those 6 repetitions. Certainly he was not only stronger than me, but I weighed about 195 pounds while he was something like 155 (to be fair he was 5 inches shorter).
Obviously, nobody gets really strong doing just chinups or pushups, but if you change how you do them you get stronger. This morning marked the fifth time that I incorporated one-arm pushups into my workout. My form has improved a lot, but the number of repetitions hasn't increased much yet. Which brings us to the title of the post: 8. Today I did 8 one-arm pushups with each arm. Not very impressive, but it's a start. When I can do 20 I am going to start doing crazy stuff like Stallone in Rocky IV: switching arms while in mid-air, etc.
Yeah, nobody is really interested in the meathead side of me, but it is still there.
Basically this means that I have been focusing on pushups, pullups, chinups, parallel bar dips, the rings, one-legged squats, and jumping exercises (ala plyometrics). If you think that you cannot get stupidly strong from bodyweight exercises, you are very much mistaken. Top gymnasts in the U.S. mostly never lift weights, yet are amazingly strong. I was reading about one guy who tried to see how much weight he could add to his body (using a belt that allows you to add weights to a chain hanging between your knees) and do chinups. After adding 125 pounds he was laughing at how easy it was. The most I have ever added was 70 pounds, and I wasn't laughing during those 6 repetitions. Certainly he was not only stronger than me, but I weighed about 195 pounds while he was something like 155 (to be fair he was 5 inches shorter).
Obviously, nobody gets really strong doing just chinups or pushups, but if you change how you do them you get stronger. This morning marked the fifth time that I incorporated one-arm pushups into my workout. My form has improved a lot, but the number of repetitions hasn't increased much yet. Which brings us to the title of the post: 8. Today I did 8 one-arm pushups with each arm. Not very impressive, but it's a start. When I can do 20 I am going to start doing crazy stuff like Stallone in Rocky IV: switching arms while in mid-air, etc.
Yeah, nobody is really interested in the meathead side of me, but it is still there.
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