(O) 5th generation iPod, 80 GB (Apple, 2006) grade: B+

Before this updated iPod was announced on Sept. 12, I had told myself that I would only get it if it had a widescreen and a touch screen (as I had been reading about in the many rumors circulating on the internet). Alas, these featured weren't included, but i still caved and got a new iPod. This was partly influenced by my iPod being serviced and also wanting to watch Flavor of Love at the hospital when I have nothing to do.
So as New Wave can confirm, I became obsessed with getting this iPod the DAY it came out, driving to multiple stores and calling all Apple Stores in the area. Finally I got it, and I must say that I love it.
It looks great, bright screen, the colors are fantastic. Video looks great on it. I was skeptical at first because of the tiny screen, but I've watched several vids on it and they look great. Most of the videos are ripped from my DVDs (Flavor of Love, music videos, South Park) and some are video podcasts from iTunes. The expanded hard drive (80 GB) is perfect to have ALL the crap you would ever want in your pocket...love it.
I wouldn't go so far as saying you MUST go out and get one, but its a cool gadget to have.

(O) Vegas. (Sept 8 to 10, 2006) Grade:B
Thoughts: I went with Darth to Vegas because he had his bowling league thing. It was fun. I got my Wynn buffet (they had lychee there), lost money on Wheel of Fortune and saw some movies. It was still hot but not crowded so that was good.

(TV) How I Met Your Mother. (Fox Studio, first three eps) Grade: B

Thoughts: I found out they were going to have a screening for the first three eps of the second season of HIMYM so I had to be there. This is one of the few comedy shows I will actually make time to watch. I've given up on Scrubs and I'll watch the US Office every once in awhile. The first ep was great and the other two were pretty good. Sitting right near me was Josh Radnor (Ted) while Jason Segel (Marshall) and Cobie Smulders (Robin) were nearby. However, I really wanted to see Alyson Hannigan (Lily) and Neil Patrick Harris (Barney) ... NPH!! but both were not there. :(

(M) The Illusionist. (Neil Burger, 2006) Grade: B-

Thoughts: In the turn-of-the-century Vienna, Edward Norton is Eisenheim, an extraordinary magician. He is trying to save Spohie (Jessica Biel) the woman he loves from wedding Crown Prince Leopold (Rufus Sewell) while avoiding Chief Inspector Uhl (Paul Giamatti). The film was very predictable but I didn't mind because Edward Norton is an amazing actor and what a voice, so calming. Jessica Biel was okay but I still think of 7th Heaven when I see her.

(M) The Lake House. (Alejandro Agresti, 2006) Grade: C+

Thoughts: I had to watch this film because I saw the Korean version it was based on. Although not as good as the Korean one, they did a decent job. Sandra Bullock was good but she is always good in romantic movies and Keanu Reeves was decent because you don't really have to act in romantic movies. Oh and Keanu is very good looking even if he can't act. I did have this overwhelming desire to check out Chicago afterwards. It seems like a wonderful city.

(M) Heung Joh Chow Heung Yau Chow (Turn Left, Turn Right). (Johnny To & Ka-Fai Wai, 2003) Grade: B-

Thoughts: This film is very similar to the Lake House except the two main characters are in the same year ... they just always seem to be missing each other. John Liu (Takeshi Kaneshiro) and Eve Choi (Gigi Leung) are two loners in Taiwan who meet one afternoon and click. They soon find out some 10 years ago they liked each other but never got a chance to meet due to circumstances. Now is their chance to reconnect however fate steps in and separates the two for a majority of the movie. The movie moved along a bit slow but it was fine.

Count: 90 movies

From Cnn.com - "Dawn breaks over Ground Zero on the morning of the fifth anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center towers in New York."

(B) After the Quake (Haruki Murakami, 2003) Grade: B
This short story collection centers around the 1995 earthquake that devastated Kobe, Japan. Most of the stories have a sense of wonder and the strange, unanswered narratives did, I have to admit, frustrate me. But the last story, “Honey Pie,” was so lovely and engaging that all was forgiven.

Word of the moment is yindie, which means “yuppie indie.” Die yuppie scum, die. Oh wait, you’re yindie? Well, let’s hop in our Minis and get some Starbucks while we listen to Arcade Fire then.

DANCING WITH THE STARS....OH YEAH!

haha so last season i registered to get free tickets because i wanted to watch the season finale. today i got an email saying that they had tickets for the season premiere. i checked it out and they gave me 4 tickets! now i know i know you are all thinking i'm lame, but my mom is all about the ballroom dancing and i um...kinda like it...er just a little bit. so on tuesday sep 12 i will be watching the season premire. that's right i get to go see mario lopez AND joey lawrence WOAH!

The fall season has started and school is now in session, which signifies that the end of the year is near. Rather than be reflective about 2006, for now, I’ll focus on what I’m looking forward to in pop culture:
Sept. 12 - Only Revolutions: Mark Z. Danielewski’s follow-up to his amazing 2000 tome House of Leaves. I wonder how long it will take for him to complete his third book...
Sept. 22 - The Science of Sleep: Michel Gondry’s film starring Gael Garcia Bernal and Charlotte Gainsbourg (the daughter of Serge!) should be the perfect balance of strange and quirky
Oct. 3 - The Crane Wife: One can depend on The Decemberists for good albums. I also just heard a cover they did of Joanna Newsom’s “Bridges and Balloons.” Brilliant!
Nov. 3 - Love Is All @ The Echo: The Swedes behind noise-pop record Nine Times That Same Song return. Glee!

(O) my new baby nephew, Adrian Jiménez (b. Sept 6, 2006) grade: A+

add another one to the list, this makes #15 i think. we mexicans reproduce like crazy!

video was uploaded by my youngest sister (not the mom)

(M) Non Ti Muovere (Don't Move). (Sergio Castellitto, 2004) Grade: B-

Thoughts: Sergio Castellitto is Timoteo, a well to do doctor who has a beautiful wife. One day his Volvo breaks down in a poor part of town and he meets Italia (Penelope Cruz), a poor and ragged woman and proceeds to rape her. Yup I said rape and then goes back home to his wife and perfect life. But the kicker is he keeps going back to Italia and in the beginning it is just for sex but then he genuinely falls in love with her. She represents to him his way out of his tiresome life. The movie ends on a bittersweet note but it was a decent film. Sergio Castellitto is better as an actor than director.

(M) The Third Man. (Carol Reed, 1949) Grade: B

Thoughts: A pulp fiction novelist Holly Martins (Joseph Cotten) arrives in post war Vienna to get a job from his friend Harry Lime (Orson Welles) only to learn he is dead. The twist is how Harry died and if he is even dead. This is my first exposure to film noir (Brick doesn't really count) and it was pretty good. It had detective/mystery/whodunit all over it.

(M) Sjunde Inseglet, De (The Seventh Seal). (Ingmar Bergman, 1957) Grade: B+

Thoughts: I saw this movie over 4 months ago but never wrote a review for it. This movie is heavy on religion, God, the Devil, living and death. I don't even think I can review because it is so rich in themes and layered. Antonius Block (Max von Sydow) is coming back with his squire Jons (Gunnar Bjornstrand) from the Crusades. The Black Plague has hit the countryside and people are dying left and right. Through all this Death (Benkt Ekerot) comes for Block's life but Block makes a deal with him - they will play chess and if he wins, he will live but if Death wins, he will die. The Seventh Seal is considered one of the greatest films of all time and I can see that. I would have to watch the film a few more times to fully take it all in.

(M) Fall for You. (Cha Chuen Yee, 2000) Grade: D+

Thoughts: An odd and strange Chinese movie I rented that made little to no sense and was very random. I couldn't even finish the film because the disc was strached up. Oh well at least Francis Ng was in it. He is an amazing actor.

Count: 87 movies

I think Suri is super cute and sort of Asian looking. Too bad she is going to grow up all strange :(.

Interesting quiz I found on Cup's page. There are only two questions so it is pretty easy but I think it describes me well. Ha ha.

the Asserter Thanks for taking the test !

you chose AY - your Enneagram type is EIGHT. "I must be strong" Asserters are direct, self-reliant, self-confident, and protective. How to Get Along with Me Stand up for yourself... and me. Be confident, strong, and direct. Don't gossip about me or betray my trust. Be vulnerable and share your feelings. See and acknowledge my tender, vulnerable side. Give me space to be alone. Acknowledge the contributions I make, but don't flatter me. I often speak in an assertive way. Don't automatically assume it's a personal attack. When I scream, curse, and stomp around, try to remember that's just the way I am. What I Like About Being a Eight being independent and self-reliant being able to take charge and meet challenges head on being courageous, straightforward, and honest getting all the enjoyment I can out of life supporting, empowering, and protecting those close to me upholding just causes What's Hard About Being a Eight overwhelming people with my bluntness; scaring them away when I don't intend to being restless and impatient with others' incompetence sticking my neck out for people and receiving no appreciation for it never forgetting injuries or injustices putting too much pressure on myself getting high blood pressure when people don't obey the rules or when things don't go right Eights as Children Often are independent; have an inner strength and a fighting spirit are sometimes loners seize control so they won't be controlled fugure out others' weaknesses attack verbally or physically when provoked take charge in the family because they perceive themselves as the strongest, or grow up in difficult or abusive surroundings Eights as Parents are often loyal, caring, involved, and devoted are sometimes overprotective can be demanding, controlling, and rigid Link: The Quick & Painless ENNEAGRAM Test written by felk on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

So long good buddy.




Steve Irwin, the immensely popular Australian television personality, known worldwide as the "Crocodile Hunter," was killed Monday by a stingray while filming off the Great Barrier Reef.

All indications are that Irwin, 44, probably died instantly when attacked by the stingray while filming a sequence for his eight-year-old daughter Bindi's new television series called "Deadly Sea Creatures".

Article

(B) The Accidental Asian (Eric Liu, 1999)
Grade: B
This memoir explores Liu’s upbringing as a Chinese American but also is a more general dialogue about racial identity, asking what role race plays in defining who we are. Is race merely a classification system of human invention? Or am I, say, good at math because I am Chinese? Perhaps racial definitions are too limiting. Consider Tiger Woods (his dad is .5 black, .25 Native American, .25 Chinese; his mom is .5 Thai, .25 Chinese and .25 white). I can’t do the math and combine these percentages to label Tiger, because I am, in fact, terrible at math. (Most Americans, however, thought, “Easy, he’s black.”) Though Liu is a bit too optimistic for a future without racial barriers, I do identify with the profound loss felt in looking back upon my heritage and my disconnection with it.

So Jordan Catalano started a band called 30 Seconds to Mars. The question at hand then is Jared Leto better as an actor or singer? I think singer. Here is their lastest video and seriously Jared looks like his character Jordan in it. Ha ha.

(A) Wolves (My Latest Novel, 2006) Grade: A
Sometimes I might find myself drawn to a band before hearing any of its music. For example, MLN is 1) Scottish; 2) bookish; 3) compared to Arcade Fire with a touch of the B&S sound. OK, but I downloaded the debut album and it’s a corker. To confirm my fandom, the video for single “Pretty in a Panic” features a typewriter and the use of a box to symbolize experience and journeys. So twee. Love them!