Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Google Pagerank

Hey there. Today is the day that Google updated the page ranks. From what I read, it used to be done every 2 to 3 months but it looks like they are going to update the rankings every month. Because I'm still new to the game, I had a huge "N/A" as my ranking. I checked it out this morning hoping that it would improve. Honestly, I don't know if a big fat "0" is better than "N/A". lol On the bright side, at least I have a number as a rank now. lol So... I guess I'm happy. For those of you with sites, here is a website where you can check your google ranking on. PageRankZone.com

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Emotion without Words

Music. How else can one express so much emotion without saying a single word? It's a shame that many music programs across the country are losing out on funds and the one of the first programs to go is the music department... but that doesn't mean that you or your child can't get a quality education in music. Amadeus Home Music School offers lessons is practically every instrument so that you or your child can express themselves freely through the voice of music. Don't miss out friends. Check it out today.

This is a sponsored post


The Crime of Padre Amaro


Hey there. I checked out this movie over the weekend with my wife. My wife told me so much about it and every now then she would bring it up and since we're part of the Netflix family, we decided to get it so that I can watch it. Despite the fact that the movie is in Spanish, with English subtitles, I found myself very involved with the film. Because of all the scandals that we hear in regards to our local churches, you can imagine that this film is not very popular with the catholic church.

The film starts off with newly ordained priest, Amaro, sent to his first church to study under Padre Benito. Benito considers himself an ogre and implies to Padre Amaro that that is the reason the bishop sent him there is to whip him into shape. With a new pair of eyes now overseeing the small town, Padre Amaro observes that Padre Benito is sleeping with an owner of a restaurant. She is known as the Sanguera. The Sanguera has a daughter named Amelia, and she is deeply devoted to the church. Since Amelia is having troubles with her boyfriend, Ruben, she turns to her church for comfort and guidance.



She soon falls in love with Padre Amaro and when Ruben writes an article uncovering corruption of the church, by accepting drug money to fund a hospital and offering weapons in guerrilla warfare, Amelia breaks off with Ruben and pursues Padre Amaro. After the two acknowledges their feelings towards each other, the priest tells Amelia that they need to be careful about their love. He then lies to the sexton, telling him that he needs the sexton's spare room to teach Amelia the ways to become a nun. The sexton is astounded by the news but agrees to leave the room to the priest. Padre Amaro then, lies to Padre Benito by telling him that Amelia has offered her services as a catechism teacher to the sexton's mentally ill daughter. Padre Benito states that Amelia will be wasting her time but is soon convinced that even the mentally ill need god in their lives.

Padre Amaro and Amelia meet frequently in the sexton's room for a little bit of bible study... NOT!!!! lol They're in there getting on, all hot and steamy status. Soon after Amelia tells Amaro that she is pregnant. She is distraught that Padre Amaro will not consider leaving the church to marry her. He makes it very clear that he will not sacrifice his studies of the church to just leave. Because of this, Amelia considers getting back with Ruben, to "save her baby." When that doesn't happen, Padre Amaro goes to plan B.



Padre Amaro goes to the local "bruja" for help, since he overheard that she knows a "doctor". The bruja knows right away what is going on and asks if Amelia is pregnant, which Padre Amaro denies. He hands her money and the bruja says that she will contact him. Soon after she gives him the info and the three of them head off to a "hospital" where abortions are done. During the abortion, the doctors can't stop the bleeding and when the bruja rushes out to tell Padre Amaro, he then rushes in and takes Amelia. He places her in the truck and he speeds off to a hospital. Amelia, then, dies in the truck due to heavy blood loss.

The next scene shows the city's mayor and wife getting ready for mass. They speak about the "poor girl" that died. The mayor's wife then gives the "facts" about Amelia. According to her, Ruben got Amelia pregnant and he took Amelia to get an abortion. Padre Amaro, being the saint that he is, found out about this and rushed to Amelia's aid. As he rushed her to a hospital, she died.

During the funeral, Padre Amaro speaks of confessions and gives out his mass. Padre Benito, sitting on a wheelchair due to a medical emergency, listens and watches with disgust. Shortly after, he turns around and wheels himself out of the church. The last shot is the camera showing Padre Amaro giving his mass, standing over Amelia's coffin.

A very intriguing film and you guys should definitely check it out. The tone of the film gradually shifts from that of a good guy, feel good movie, to one of, what a selfish asshole. He not only put himself above the woman that he claimed he loved, but he ultimately gave her life away to save his ass. It's debatable if he even shows remorse during the last scenes. Since we are not sure if the church fabricated the whole thing of it was all Padre Amaro's doing, but the fact that Padre Benito, mind you the "ogre", looked on with such disgust, may imply that Padre Amaro may have gone to the church to help cover up his mess. Powerful movie, my friends. You need to catch this one.

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Galco Holsters



Hey there friends. Tired of carrying your gun in your pocket? Shot yourself in the foot more than once? Then worry no more, my friends. Check out the Galco holsters at LA Police Gear and ease your pain. Galco is already known for it's innovative and high quality gun holsters. Use this link, Galco , and receive a free coffee mug on your first purchase of a holster. What better way to start your day than with your gun and lady liberty by your side.

This is a sponsored post.



Thursday, April 24, 2008

The Girl Next Door



Hey there. Wow. This movie is just insane and what makes it even more unbelievable is that it is based on a true story! It's told via David's view so only God knows what else when on in there when he wasn't there. Some of the shots in this film just made me cringe... Especially the one of Meg, when you get a frontal view of her hanging. Just straight out chilling...

The story starts off with David Moran saving the life of a homeless guy who just got run over by a van. He administers CPR and the guy lives. He then goes home, with his narrative, speaking of pain. And how one of his wives didn't know what pain is. He then rolls out a water color painting and stares it...



Take us back to the 50's, David is a boy, out by the creek catching crayfish. Some after Megan is introduced and hangs out with David. They start their friendship and soon discover that they are neighbors. Meg and her sister, Susan, are staying with the Chandlers. Their parents were in a car accident killing them both. David is good friends with the Chandlers and frequently visits their house. He and the boys decide to head off the carnival. While there, he runs into Meg and they share a ride on the Ferris wheel. It's pretty obvious at this point that there are mutual feelings between the two.



Ruth Chandler is first introduced while David is hanging out at the Chandler's house. It is pretty clear from the start that there is something wrong with the woman. There was this great shot of her that emphasises her piercing, cold blue eyes that just sent chills down my spine. Anyways, she offers the boys beer and smokes heavily in front of them. She mentions the carnival and states that it's not what it used to be because it doesn't include the freak show and "hoochie coochie" girls. Since the boys don't know what that is, she explains to them, in explicit and provocative ways, what the girls are. Meg soon walks in and Ruth tells the boys to finish their beers so that they don't miss the carnival. She implies that Meg is fat on their way out.



Next scene shows David buying a burger and Meg coming from behind asking to borrow money, since she has not eaten for days. She then tells David that it's because Ruth said she's fat. He tells her that she was probably just kidding since she's just like, "one of the guys". Meg tells her that she's different around her. She then tells him how she loved to paint, even though she didn't think she was good. David suggests she paint for Ruth. Meg detests, so then David asks her to paint for him. She agrees and delivers her painting to him at his house (same painting that is shown in the beginning of the film)

David decides to give the painting to Ruth saying that it's from Meg but Ruth sees right through his plan. She then gives her boys a "lesson" on how girls are "easy, dumb, and suckers." Explicitly detailing to the boys how girls only want one thing and if a boy gives something to a girl, then a girl will do anything for the boy. She then asks David if the painting was all he received from Meg. He says yeah. This scene hints at what may be Ruth's problem. While giving her lesson, and practically calling Meg a slut, Ruth recounts of how she was going to be rich with her husband but then he left her. Causing her to be strong for her boys. This may very well be why she dislikes girls and is more like, "one of the boys".

Ruth also gives the boys lessons on femininity, when Meg did not want to burn down these things hanging by the trees and another on connivance, when the boys are tickling her and when they didn't stop, she accidentally strikes one on the face. When Ruth is told, Ruth punishes Susan for not stopping Meg. Bare in mind, Susan has leg braces and cannot walk with out crutches. Ruth then pulls Susan's undies off and strikes her several times while Meg is held by the boys. David, it being the first time he witnesses this, is told by Ruth to keep quiet because it's a domestic dispute and those types of disputes are kept quiet.

Meg tells a policeman about the incident, with one of the boys watching her. When Ruth finds out, all hell breaks loose. She invites David over so that he can hear that she's scared of no man and that a cop will not save Meg and Susan. She sends them all away so that she can think.

David is then asked to spend the night and while at the Chandler's, he finds that the family has hung Meg by her arms in the basement. He's in disbelief but Ruth is allowing her boys to do as they please and as they torture Meg, the eldest boy strips her of clothes. Blindfolded and gagged, the terrified Meg is defenseless against the Chandlers. Ruth then walks up to Meg and tells her that if she doesn't get the "confessions" that the boys ask for, then she'll just have to go to the other sister to get them. The only thing that Ruth objects is that the boys touch her naked, since she says that Meg is a dirty slut.



The boys head back downstairs since it was their first time seeing a girl naked "down there" and wanted to get a closer peek. They give Meg water and tell her that if she screams she's gonna "get it" but because the boys were not supposed to be there to begin with, Meg refuses and threatens to tell Ruth they were down there. They leave, but before they do, David eases the straps on Meg so that she's not hanging as much.

More visits to the basement shows that the neighborhood kids now know of Meg and started punching her around or cutting her for fun. It's eating David up inside. He feels powerless to do anything and you can see the emotions he goes through when he can't sleep or he attempts to tell him mother of what is going on. David, not being able to stand it anymore, sneaks into the basement and hands Meg a pocket knife. Tells her that he'll leave the door open for her that she should just run and that he'll look after Susan to make sure she's ok. He also tells her that he'll hide some money for her by the creek so that she'll have some money. David stays up most of the night waiting for Meg to leave and when that doesn't happen, he checks the spot where the money was it see if it's still there. It is.

He then goes to the basement, where the neighborhood kids and Ruth are witnessing Ruth's oldest boy rape Meg. David, wanting to leave, is made to stay and Ruth says who wants to be next to "fuck the slut". She doesn't want her youngest boy to be next cause she says it's like incest. He'll be swimming in his brother's juices. After David struggles to free himself, Ruth decides to give another lesson. She says how girls are only good for sex and since Meg is a slut, she should be branded so. She then craves out "I fuck. Fuck me" on Meg's stomach with a burning bobby pin so that no man would want her. But then she thinks, what if she still wants him? And looks over to David. She then proceeds to tell the kids that she needs to take all of Meg's pleasures away so that she'll learn her lesson. She then pulls out a torch, and burns off Meg's clitoris. Gruesome stuff... Especially knowing that this is all based on true life events...

David then wakes up in the middle of the basement floor, strapped and bonded. He unties himself and finds Susan sitting with Meg. Meg bloodied and bruised. Susan blames herself for Meg's pain. Meg tried to escape but would not leave Susan behind. She got caught because of her. She also lets him know that Ruth used to go to her room and "touch" her and that when Meg found out is when Ruth began to really punish Meg. David assures Susan that he doesn't hate her and begins to think of a way out. He packs lint and fireworks in a bucket and lights it on fire. Smoke fills the house and the alarms go off. Ruth rushes in the basement and the moment she steps in, David hits her in the head with Susan's crutches. He kills her. Ruth's boy then pounces on David, pulls a knife and is ready to slice his neck, when a police office comes in and stops him. David goes over to Meg, lies next to her and they talk to each other. David assuring her that all will be ok. Moments later, Meg dies.

Back to older David, still looking at the painting. He speaks of how Meg taught him how actions speak more than anything else and that she'll always be with him. The last shot is David, back at the creek, looking into the water, next to his reflection is a reflection of Meg.

I don't know how people can do this to children. You could tell there was something wrong with Ruth. Like the beer and smoking, not to mention the provocative and vulgar language around the kids, wasn't enough... but her eyes told the story. Casting did an awesome job on this and Ruth made this haunting tale really stand out. Even now, I feel little distraught over the actions that she took. I mean, she allowed her boy to rape her and then coolly asks, who wants next? To be honest with you, it felt good to see David whack her in the face. A small pleasure in this film full of unmentionable nightmares.

Careful with that crazy aunt you're always making fun of... She may actually be, well... crazy. Until then, later.

Odin's House

Hey there. So I decided to build Odin a dog house. I went to Home Depot yesterday and got all the wood that I needed. The only thing that I did not get was the exterior plywood sheet... Since we're in a mid sized car, there was no way in hell I was going to be able to fit that in. I'm thinking of maybe having HD deliver it to me... but not if it doesn't make sense cash wise. So as I was unloading the wood planks, I told my boy that he's going to help build it. From what I hear, he's excited. Gonna try to get the house done by nightfall so that I can have plenty of time to watch The Girl Next Door. Received it yesterday, but because the Lakers were on, I didn't watch the movie. Watched the game instead. So yeah. lol I got my plans, got my wood, got my saw, and I got my helper so I'm good to go. Will fill you in how that turns out.

Hopefully, I won't be on the news... as the guy who chopped his hand off. Until then, later.

Monday, April 21, 2008

Perfect Blue


Hey there. I just caught this flick and I can say that I enjoyed this psychological thriller. It's a story of Mima, the lead singer in the pop star group, Cham. Mima has spent years on her perfecting her voice, but her agent and agency feel that she make "big bucks" as an actress. Mima announces to her fans during her last performance of her decision to become an actress. Not many fans are thrilled and Cham is now a duo instead of a trio.


After her last performance, as Mima is walking home, a fan hands her a note. As Mima enters her apartment, she opens the note and it contains a website. Since Mima is computer illeterate, she did not understand the note and figured it to be threatening. At that moment, she receives a fax with the word "traitor" written all over it. Shortly after, Mima says goodbuy to Cham and starts to pack her Cham memoribilia, including a huge Cham poster on her wall.


Mima gets a small role in a straight to video movie called, Double Bind. She only has a single line and she says it over and over so that she would not forget it. As she is called for her part, the director and screen writer pass by to talk to Mima's agents to deliver her letter of fan mail. The agents state that Mima is no longer a pop star so that she is readily available to take on a bigger role. As the director and screen writer walk away, they speak briefly, contemplating on using her more, since the script is not finished.

While Mima is getting ready for her shoot, her agent opens her fan letter. It explodes, injuring his hand.

While at home, Mima confides to her agent, and friend, Rumi, about the note and she explains that it's a website and she later sets up a computer in Mima's apartment so that Mima can be more computer literate. While exploring the internet, she finds a site called, "Mima's Room" which details her every day life in extreme detail. Mima laughs it off, thinking that people out there really know her well. She makes it a habit to check this site on a regular basis.

While visiting her agency, the remaining members of Cham come in to celebrate them breaking the top 100 with their new single. They mention that they never reached that high with Mima in the group. Mima is guinenly happy for them, but you can see that she is second guessing her decision to leave music. The director of the movie then walks in offering Mima a lead role in the movie. Mima has to play a rape victim in the movie. Rumi is quick to say no, believing that that kind of exposure will ruin Mima's reputation as a pop star but Mima accepts, saying that she'll have to take it head on if she's ever to be considered a true actress.

Mima is traumatized while shooting the rape scene. Since she was reluctant to accept, she feels that she has to do it if she is to become a serious actress. Soon after, she begins to have discussions with her "pop star Mima". Pop star Mima is a hallucination that calls Mima a naughty girl for doing rape scenes in movies. Mima slowly starts to unravel since she's forcing herself to continue her acting.

In order to gain publicity, the directors insist that Mima do a spread for a magazine to promote the movie. The photographer sweet talks Mima to take it all off for the interview and snap several provacative pictures. Soon after, Pop star Mima puts Mima down by calling her a slut and that pop stars don't do things like that.


Suddenly, people associated with the movie are being killed. One is killed in an elevator and another was stabbed to death, very similar to way that Mima killed people in the movie. Mima finds herself waking up in her apartment, not being able to account for what she did the night before and starts to find evidence to imply that she may have had something to do with the murders.


Mima soon starts to have frequent visits from her hallucination and threatens to take Mima out if she decides to continue to act, since in Mima's heart, she should be singing. After checking Mima's Room, she finds that the author is "Me-Mania" and the author is posting some very personal details that only Mima would know. She becomes freaked out and a little on the paranoid side. Especially since there have been killings.


After the movie shoot, everyone congratulates each other on such an awesome job. Mima is given props for her role, since it was such a demanding role for a first timer. Mima and Rumi are invited to an after party and Mima runs off to get dressed after receiving some advise from Rumi. Mima runs in "Me-Mania" who is a disfigured man who is uber-obsessed with Mima. He claims that he knows the imtimate details of Mima because the "real" Mima Emials him on a daily basis. He then confesses to killing the others and plans on killing Mima. As he beats her and strips off her clothes, Mima reaches out for a hammer and strikes him in the head. Me-Mania falls on a platform and Mima stumbles out of the room, running into Rumi.

Rumi then takes her to Mima's Room. As Mima awakens, she notices that there is a Cham poster on the wall. The room looks just like Mima's but she confirms that it's not hers when she looks out the window and does not see her normal view. As she turns, Rumi walks out and talks in the Mima personal, claiming that she is the "real" Mima and that she needs to take the imposter out. As Rumi chases Mima, Mima catches glimpses of pop star Mima in Remi. I thought that the way the differentiated the two during this sequence was great. As pop star Mima is gliding through the air, you see her reflection showing a huskier Rumi frantically funning. I thought that was great.


Anyways, Rumi manages to stab Mima twice and as she has the upper hand, Mima yells that she's not going to take it anymore and rips Rumi's wig off. This causes her to go into a panic and dives for the wig. She ends up stabbing herself in the stomach and is profusely bleeding. She stumbles into the street where a big rig was about to smash but Mima rushes out and saves her from death.

Rumi ends up in a psych ward where the warden tells Mima that she sometimes comes out of the Mima persona but she mostly believes that she is Mima. Mima then walks away and a couple of nurses comment that she looks like Mima, but don't believe that it is her since, Mima is a big star and would not be alone. As Mima dirves off, she states, "No, I'm the real thing."

I thought this movie was great. It was made in 1997 so you can say that it forshadowed what many of us, and celebrities fear today. We just don't seem to have any provacy in this day and age and almost anyone can find out some personal information on anyone. There's millions of celebrity blogs out there that basically detail the daily lives of many popular celebrities. This film shows how one obsessed fan can easily be manipulated. Even though it's animation, the theme is a very real and present one that many of us face today.

Live your life and always be the real you. Until then, later.

Sunday, April 20, 2008

The Girl Next Door

Hey there. I love me some horror flicks. I stumbled upon a review for this movie and I must say, I'm looking forward to watching this. Stephen King says, "This is the dark-side-of-the-moon version of Stand By Me". High praise from who many consider to be the king of horror. I haven't seen the movie yet but it I should be getting it soon. I was a little disappointed because I thought I was gonna get this in this weekend's Netflix shipment, but alas, it wasn't to be. Looks like I'll be getting it on Wednesday. I can't wait!

Be wary of your neighbors. You never know who are close to. Until then, later.

*Update:

I just read a review for the flick, "Bug". Now I wanna watch that too.

Writings

Hey there. Gonna start my writings again. Short stories, poetry, maybe even a few fan fics. I'll most likely start on them tomorrow. I'll need to see how I'm going to be able to sort them out or organize them. I still don't know the tricks of the trade so I'm not sure if "tagging" the posts will work in regards to keeping them together. Guess I'll work on that once I have them down. I have a few ideas of what I want to write about and as of right now, I'm thinking of maybe posting a chapter at a time... if I decide to write a story.

We'll see how it comes out. Until then, later.

Google

Hey there. Looks like I got a new sponser. I'm giving this Adbrite a shot since Google claims that there was "clicking fraud" on my site, causing my account to be disabled. Now, I understand if there was an issue on my site, but I would've appreciated a warning or better yet, suggestions to prevent this so called fraud. Instead, I just get an Email stating that it's disabled. I was pissed. But after doing some research online, I find that I'm not the only one whose account was disabled without much proof, since Google will not disclose any infomation what so ever. There's a lot of unhappy bloggers out there that Google has just shut out with out so much of a warning and once you're blocked out, you are blocked out. No point in trying to get back in the program. So eh... I don't write to advertise, but I wouldn't mind having a little something here and there. It's just upsetting that you can be shut out from a program, especially when you're not at fault.

Friday, April 18, 2008

Abortion?

Hey there. What's with this woman from Yale claiming to have impregnated herself 9 times and forced her body to miscarry each and every time for the sake of art. I call complete bull shit on this. I understand that people will some pretty weird things in the name of art but this is not art. This is just plain wrong. I don't know if she's doing this for her 15 mins of fame, considering that the shock value is so high. Yale has come out and quickly attempted to squash the whole thing by saying that the student, Aliza Shvarts, was submitting her work as "creative fiction" while Shvarts, herself, claims it was very real. Supposedly, she received semen samples from males, only god knows how, and she inseminated herself, my best guess would be with a turkey baster if she wasn't doing the guys, and on the 28th day after her mentrual cycle, she would ingest these herbal abortion remedies for force a miscarriage. She video taped the whole thing and collected blood samples. She did this for a total of 9 months. 9 months!!! She plans on showcasing her "exhibit" by having her blood swirl around some thing hanging from a ceiling and her videos playing on walls. Is this woman screwed up in the head? Would you want to display the intentional killings of an unborn? And for what? To claim it as art?

Pay Per Post

Hey there. As I was surfing the net, looking for a way to make a few bucks with my blog, I stumbled across this great opportunity. Everyone is a critic, so why not put those skills to good use? Many of us rave or rant about our everyday lives, and often include about how we feel about a particular product or service. payperpost lists advertisers that want reviews of their products from us bloggers and they are more than willing to pay for quality posts. Why not get paid for something that most of us already do at no charge? Signing up is free and the program could not be any easier. Sign up, accept an opportunity to review, and post. Easy as 1-2-3, no? This program is perfect since you're not at the mercy of the advertisers. We can be ourselves and integrate the review right into our blog. You are clearly in control and can only review those products or services that you actually use. And you once you start generating enough buzz, don't be surprised if advertisers go directly to you for a review! With the Payperpost direct feature, advertisers can go directly to you requesting you to post a review of their products. And again, you are in complete control. You can accept or deny the request and the best part about the Payperpost direct feature... You can choose your own fee! Check it out friends, you'll be glad you did.




Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Society

Hey there. I was in a discussion with a friend about her lunch and she was discussing with some of her colleagues on whether eating fruit before or after a meal is more beneficial than the other. I told her that I remember reading somewhere that eating fruit a good 15 - 30 mins after a meal aids digestion. She said that she remembered someone saying to eat fruit before to help you feel full.

This made me think for a second and went on to say that society now a days, doesn't know what good for them. You read about all kinds of shit online, see all types of ads on TV, either promoting or demoting products. I expressed this thought to her using a runner as an example. Doctors and what not say that it's beneficial to run, better circulation, good exercise. But, you also hear the opposite side of that, running puts a heavy strain on knees and feet, and to a lesser extent, causes fatigue. She laughed. She told me that she sees my point, stating how she wanted to join a cycling class to help strengthen her knee, since she has a bum knee. Her husband, on the other hand, thought it as a terrible idea, because... she has a bum knee.

Proteins are good, proteins are bad... Carbs are good, carbs are bad... then there's the ultimate... "medicinal" marijuana is good, marijuana is bad. C'mon people. Who are we to believe in this day and age? Before you know it... we'll start hearing that food is bad, causes fatness and obesity. 2 mins later, we'll hear that food is great, provides the nutrients that a "growing" body needs. WTF?!?!!?

You just can't trust what you see or hear anywhere anymore. lol Until I decide what to believe, later.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Odin


Hey there. Something odd happened yesterday. We left our dog, Odin, outside our house for the first time while we were at work. As we left in the morning, we saw him outside through our gate. When we got back home, HE WAS IN THE HOUSE!! We were like, WTF!!! As we walked through the house looking for an opening that he may have came in from, we found nothing. And the doors were locked and all windows closed. I joked with my wife that our dog can walk through walls. I walked around the outside of the house, looking for any way that he could've entered the house and found nothing...

We found him outside, today... But we still can't get over the fact that he was in our house after we left him outside. It kinda freaked out my wife a bit.

Keep an eye out for my "ghost dog", Odin. Until then, later.

Monday, April 14, 2008

"Cube" of Death


Hey there. No friends, I don't mean a killer crouton. lol I caught this flick during the weekend and I thought it was great. Maybe cause I'm just a freak when it comes to numbers. I thought the whole concept of being enclosed in a cube where certain rooms are traps was just too good to pass up. I wouldn't doubt it if this film, in some way, shape or form, had anything to do with the Saw films. And I love me some Saw. lol

The intro to the movie ended up raising some questions at the end of the movie. I'll tell you why at the end of this post. A man by the name of Alderson, I believe, wakes up in the cube. The cube has 6 small doors on each wall, which seem more like latches to me, and after opening a few and peeking inside, he decides to enter one of the adjacent rooms. After a brief moment, and a quick "swoosh", the guy falls apart all diced up in little cubes. Obviously, the room was trapped and the dude paid the price.

The movie then continues with several people running into each in quick succession. The party has no idea how they got there or where "there" exactly is. After a quick discussion on who everyone is, Quentin, the cop, realizes that Rennes is an escape artist and is known for escaping from several prisons. Rennes quickly assumes the task of getting out and devises a method of "booting" each room to see if they are safe. He'll tie his boot with the shoelaces and toss it into rooms. If anything happens to the boot, try the next room, if not, he assumes it to be safe. After going through a few rooms, his method fails him as when he jumps into a room, an acid sprayer comes out of the wall and gets him right in the face. The others pull him out but it's too late for him. As his face disintegrates, the others watch in horror.

Quentin, then figures that they were chosen for a reason and are not there by chance. He then asks what everyone's occupation is. It is then stated that Holloway is a doctor, Worth is a "nobody" guy just doing office stuff and Leaven just hangs out with friends and goes to school. Quentin, putting his cop skills to use, observes that all jewelry was taken away yet Leaven was allowed to have her glasses. Since he believes that everyone has a purpose, he tries to pry into Leaven and asks her what else she does. It is then revealed that she is a math whiz.

Leaven, then, realizes that in between the rooms, there is a set of 3 digit numbers. She quickly theorizes that if one of the numbers is a prime number, then the room is trapped. This theory serves them well until they reach a room that is surrounded by prime numbers. Quentin then climbs to the ceiling (the rooms have handle bars across all the walls, including the ceiling and floor) and opens the door. Kazan, then falls through the door and nearly crushes Leaven. It turns out that he is mentally handicapped and Holloway wants to bring him along where the others feel he'll just be a burden. Quentin is quick to believe that Kazan is a trap, there to slow them down and to get them killed.

As the party continues, Quentin jumps into a "safe" room only find that it contains a trap. Blade like "strings" attached from the ceiling and floor encircle Quentin and right before they close in on him, he jumps though a gap and heads towards the door, but not before getting his leg sliced. Temper flaring, he blames Leaven saying she screwed up but Leaven reassures that the numbers are not prime. This makes them reassess their strategy.

While sitting around, and some heavy questioning by Quentin, Worth reveals that he is an architect and that he was hired to build the "outer shell" of the cube. He states that the cube is some 400+ feet on each side. Leaven quickly does the math and figures that the cube has some 17.5K rooms. Knowing that, she realizes that the numbers in between the rooms are the coordinates of the rooms. After more math analysis, she denounces that they are 7 rooms from the edge of the cube. With a renewed sense of accomplishment, the party continues.

They then reach a room where all the adjacent rooms have traps. Frustrated, Leaven suggests they back track but Quentin wasn't having it. He decides that the room under them, is their best chance to get through. It's a sound activated room and when they yell into it, spikes shoot out of each wall covering every inch of the room. Kazan, not fully understanding the situation, yells out at random activating the trap. Quentin and the others feel that he'll get them killed but Holloway insists that he'll be quiet. After some tense moments, one by one, they get to the other room. As Quentin ascends, Kazan makes a sound, damn near getting Quentin shanked. Enraged, he shouts at everyone that Kazan's purpose to kill them all and that he is practically dead weight.

They finally reach the edge of the cube and when they open the door they see that the outer shell is not attached to the cube. Holloway volunteers to try and swing to the other side via a rope made of their clothes. As she swings, the cube shakes, causing her to fall. Quentin, reaches out and grabs the rope before she falls to her death. As Holloway climbs and grabs Quentin's hand, she smiles. Quentin does not smile back. He then lets her go. Quentin re-enters the room and tells everyone that she slipped. The party then decides that a time out is needed and get some sleep.

While sleeping, Quentin grabs Leaven and takes her to an adjacent room trying to convince her they are the key to surviving. A man and a woman, the brains and the brawn. He makes some advances towards her and while she struggles, Kazan and Worth rush in to help her. Worth then fights with Quentin and Quentin ends up tossing Worth into the room below. Worth starts to laugh and everyone peeks in to see why. Worth laughs because after all that movement, the room that he fell in has Renne's body in the corner. It was the room that they were in earlier. Everyone thinks that they were going in circles.

After some thought, Leaven realizes that the numbers are not only to detect traps and the coordinates, but that they also tell of where the room relocates too. After some more calculations, she claims that the room that they started in would have relocated to connect them to the outer shell. She also comes to the realization that the trapped rooms are rooms that contain the power of a prime number and that it would take a computer to figure that out on 3 digit numbers. This is where Kazan comes into play. The dude is a genius and he's able to do decipher the numbers with out a hitch.

As they proceed to the first room, Worth tricks Quentin causing him to fall to a room below as the rest of the party move on. Since Quentin was acting mad, they had to ditch the dude for their safety. They finally reach the room and wait for it relocate to the appropriate spot. Once there, they open the door and it reveals the light. Worth refuses to go on, stating that he has nothing to live for. Leaven tries to convince him and as they share a Kodak moment, Quentin appears and stabs Leaven, killing her. Worth, pissed, gets up and fights with Quentin while screaming at Kazan to go through the door before it's too late. Quentin stabs Worth, believing to have killed him. He then sets his sight on Kazan who tried to get through the door. As Kazan gets through, Quentin is at the doorway reaching out for him. Worth then grabs Quentin, stopping him in his tracks. At that moment, the room starts to relocate with Quentin's body in between 2 rooms. As the room shifts, it crushes Quentin's body. Worth then lies down next to Leaven.

Kazan, being the only one to get out, proceeds to walk towards the light. Once it engulfs him, the credits roll.

Now this is where my question comes in. If the characters each had a purpose, what was the purpose of Alderson? His appearance in the cube was for no more than 3 mins and nothing is ever mentioned of him since none of the other characters met with him. It's intriguing to me that they would place this character in there and not reveal his purpose. I know that there is 2 more flicks in the Cube series and I'm definitely thinking of checking em out. You know what I just noticed... Alderson is the only character in the movie poster... How odd.

Don't go getting trapped in a cube now. Later.

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Forgotten


This nameless feeling engulfs me
A burning sense of desire
A hopefulness to belong

A starry night, with it's king, Moon
Illuminates my soul
Revealing the emptiness that I am

The soft leaves of the Sakura tree
Fall gracefully
Brushing away my tears

With small vile, clutched in hand
Filled with devil's blood
My escape that I seek

Swirling winds, cry for me
The chilled glass pressed against my lips
The cold blood enters my soul

Without much waste
My throbbing heart stops
Securing my soul's place in hell

With swollen eyes
Stone cold skin
My body lies in still

With King Moon
Frowning down
Forgotten, will be my tale

-Metallman

Monday, April 7, 2008

T Mo Dash



Hey there. I've had the T Mobile Dash for about a year now and I still can't get the damn thing to play videos in "OK" quality. I've tried downloading the TCPMP video player and installing all the codecs and I still get very choppy video. The frame rate is atrocious and I've practically given up on the video play back. I checked out the mobile version of youtube, just to test it out, but the video quality was just plain bad. Just about everything else on this phone is great, though. Battery life is great, the music play back is great, call quality is more than OK, but the video play back is what peeves me. Any suggestions as to how I can correct this?

This phone really shines once you have it hooked up on a wi-fi network. The download speeds are quick and the pages load pretty fast. One downfall though. One occassions, the internal memory can't handle some extremely loaded pages and the phone will either freeze on you, cause you to retart, or the internet explorer will shut down. Both are bad, but if it were up to me, I'd rather the IE just shut down since I can't just got to my history and get back on the page.

All in all, the phone receives a 9 out of 10. Considering that I'm more of a multimedia person than an actually talker, this phone has more than enough gizmos and gadgets to keep me entertained. The video playback is it's huge downfall and I'm hoping that there is a program out there that will either boost the phone's performace or increase the frame rate so that a video will run smoothly and not like a poorly dubbed Japanese film.

Until I can get the secret of video playback, later.

Friday, April 4, 2008

Penance


Will I walk through flames
To purge these thoughts
Of lust and lechery

Will I bleed away
This need to feed
And pleaseure this gluttony

Will I lie down
On my face
To pay for my avarice

Will I be made
To show my strengths
Hard work and diligence

Will I promote
The need for peace
To offset my spite and wrath

Will my eyes be sewn
While envy's pleasures
cloud my every path

Will I fall from heaven
And follow Lucifer
In pride and malevolence

Will all be lost
As I bide my time
For the answer to my penance

-Metallman

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Veoh TV

Hey there. Veoh TV must be having some issues because I was trying to catch the remaining 5 episodes of the Amazing Nurse Nanako and no vids came out. Wondering if it's fate that doesn't want me to watch it. lol

Until the screen flickers back on, later.

Deliverance

His seeds of hate have been planted
This emotion I know so well
His spell that has me so enchanted
And has me chained tightly to this cell

His words that so evoke me
Has locked me in this trance
Nevermore will I be allowed to be
to give my soul it's final chance

His swollen words and mystic smile
Has taken it's effect
With shrieking vows full of vile
I'm now just his puppet

Mother of grace, save me now
From his lord, the dark prince
Forgive my sins, please disallow
And answer for my deliverance

-Metallman

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Thoughts on... Ratatouille

Hey there. Just got through watching this film with the kids and I must say, I enjoyed it very much. C'mon now, a cooking rat that interacts with humans? You don't see that everyday and you see plenty of crazy things out there in the world of animation. Far and beyond, my favorite line of the movie is, "I don't mean to be rude but... we're French" Oh man, I laughed my ass off on that one.

Hell's Kitchen

Hey there. Man, am I glad this show is back. I've watched the 3 previous seasons and I thought they were great. Funny how you get into a "cooking" show. lol But this Ramsey guy really knows how to turn on the fire. lol



Season opener was last night. Great idea to have the chef disguise himself so that he can be among the contestants. So they are all chillin' on a bus talking shit and Ramsey is taking it all in. Some of the comments made included this one dude saying he's the "Black Gordon Ramsey" (which is a complete joke) and this other dude with this ridiculous hat saying he's gonna shove it into Ramsey. lol



After the Jean Philippe welcomes them he asks them to put on their best Ramsey impressions. They all sucked. Then Ramsey revealed himself and half the contestants started shitting bricks. He asked them to make their "specialty dish" which sucked, but this one dude decided to mix caviar and chocolate. Bad decision dude, the first time ever, you see Ramsey upchuck that junk into a bin. That's highlight footage right there. lol

Dinner service was no better. Not a single entree was served. Not one! They even struggled to get the appetizers out and these people were supposed to be the best of the best. Blue team didn't do shit. Black Ramsey was the leader and he didn't "want to dig right in" and do something about sinking ship. Then to top it off, one of the guys, I think his name was Jason, was off smoking and picking at his feet BEFORE he rushed into the kitchen to cook. What the hell was that!?!?! I didn't see that guy go into a restroom to wash up. He was all cooking and touching food with his foot fungus all over his hands. Man, that ain't right.

It wasn't until the little dude came into play and manned the ship that the blue team got "rolling". Least they got a few appetizers out... BUT the guests were already out the door. It was funny cause Jean Phillipe was got to the table with the food and he looked around and they were gone. lol I'd be pissed too if I waited 3 hours for dinner and I all I had was complimentary bread. Fuck that. I'd be over at the local fast food joint after waiting for 1 hour!!!! You don't mess with a man and his food. lol

Least the ladies (red team) did better. After some mini chaos and switching of the stations, the ladies were able to get some appetizers out but again, not a single entree was served. If the ladies need to be burned on something, it was the fact that they all let this one woman cook some eggs and they were pretty pathetic looking and while attempting to cook an entree, someone cooked a "rubber chicken" and that bird was chucked up against a wall. lol

After all that, it was no surprise the loser of the losers was the blue team. Little dude had to pick 2 nominees and he chose Black Ramsey and this other guy that I don't even remember being part of the show. lol Guess that's why he was the one that was ultimately eliminated.

It's still early in the show and I have no favorites to win yet. I am fond of the black woman on the show. I think her name is Jen. She's a cool cat and she brings personality to the kitchen and if it wasn't for her, the show would have been pretty blah since everyone seemed to be like shy mice. Hopefully, next week's show will be better.

I'm staying away from flaming pitch forks... Until then, later.

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Humor



Hey. Just spreading a little humor. A friend sent this to me, I thought it was pretty funny. lol I just think that is something that I would say. lmao






April Fool's Day

Hey there. April is here. I read this article on the "10 best Hoaxes" and I laughed at the Burger King prank, advertising "left handed Whoppers" It reminded me of a time when my wife and I were eating at Subway, and me being the fat ass that I am, ordered the foot long sub. After eating half of the sandwich with my right hand, I grabbed the other half and started eating it with my left hand. My wife noticed this and asked, "Why are you eating that one with your left hand?" To which I replied, "Cause this side is the left handed side." She damn near choked on her sandwich, she was laughing so hard. lmao I was being serious. lol After a few minutes of laughter, she then grabbed my sandwich, turned it over and said, "There, now it's the right handed side." Good times, good times. lol

Here is the entry that made me think back on that hilarious moment. If you care to read the full article, check it out.



-- Burger King, another American fast-food chain, published a full-page advertisement in USA Today in 1998 announcing the introduction of the "Left-Handed Whopper," specially designed for the 32 million left-handed Americans. According to the advertisement, the new burger included the same ingredients as the original, but the condiments were rotated 180 degrees. The chain said it received thousands of requests for the new burger, as well as orders for the original "right-handed" version.

I'll be damned if I'm suckered into buying "left handed food". Until then, later.