-tw
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Jingle Bells
Great Day its Christmas. Peace and Goodwill to all men. So Im typing this on my Christmas Gift a new Macbook Pro. I started my day with a great Belgium waffle and some eggs. Then my sister and I went to my parents house to exchange gifts. So then we decided that while awaiting dinner we should watch some movies. The picks were Rush Hour 4, 1408, Illegal Tender, and Trust the Man. Just watched Rush Hour 4 and it was bust, worst of the franchise. I guess now its time to wait for dinner. Hope you and yours has a great Christmas, and that you spend it with the ones you love.
Monday, December 3, 2007
Monday Night Football
Fire Brian Billick.......
The coaching staff for the Baltimore Ravens should be emabarrassed. Their defense held the New England Patriots to 27 points. The offense held up and scored 24 points (great by ravens standards) and somehow the Ravens Staff (Rex Ryan) managed to pull the bonehead move of the night and call a timeout on 4th and 1 and cost his team a stop. Maybe he felt uneasy or something didnt look right to him, but I say this of all the defenses in the league to just let it go with its the Ravens. Those guys played their hearts out and the staff let them down. Props to Kyle Boller for playing up to his potential, and to Ray Lewis' 8 tackles for proving he wasn't too old. In the words of Denny Green after his team's Monday Night Meltdown "We had them where we wanted" and "They are who we thought they were", isn't that the truth.
R.I.P Sean Taylor
The coaching staff for the Baltimore Ravens should be emabarrassed. Their defense held the New England Patriots to 27 points. The offense held up and scored 24 points (great by ravens standards) and somehow the Ravens Staff (Rex Ryan) managed to pull the bonehead move of the night and call a timeout on 4th and 1 and cost his team a stop. Maybe he felt uneasy or something didnt look right to him, but I say this of all the defenses in the league to just let it go with its the Ravens. Those guys played their hearts out and the staff let them down. Props to Kyle Boller for playing up to his potential, and to Ray Lewis' 8 tackles for proving he wasn't too old. In the words of Denny Green after his team's Monday Night Meltdown "We had them where we wanted" and "They are who we thought they were", isn't that the truth.
R.I.P Sean Taylor
Sunday, December 2, 2007
So last september I went the MET. I had never been to NYC and thought I would take in some culture. I love taking pics so I figured what place would be better than to do the museum tour in NYC. I went to the MET, MOMA, and the Museum of Natural History. The MOMA was favorite that I saw but I really wanted to check out the Guggenheim which was designed by Frank Loyd Wright my favorite architect this is the Wright room at the MET. The picture is a little dark because the room was dark and and flash photography isn't allowed, but I still like this picture.
-tw
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Sunday, November 4, 2007
American Gangster: Great Movie
American Gangster (AG) is a biopic of sorts about Frank Lucas the notorious heroin dealer in NYC in the late 60's early 70's. its been said that at his height Lucas made a million dollars a day in the drug trade. AG was a great movie, it was full of great dialogue and contained plenty of action. You cant condone Lucas' actions he was a drug dealer and he was a criminal. But you cant knock his business sense either making a million dollars a day takes initiative. He bucked the current system of purchasing his supply through middle man and went straight to the source for his heroin. Then he turned around and sold it cheaper than his competition while making more money on it than his competition did.
I cant decide how I feel about the character of Ritchie Roberts portrayed by Russell Crowe. In some ways I feel that the character is underdeveloped and as such it makes me question the amount of screen time that Crowe is given. Alot of Robert's time on screen is spent dealing with his personal life separate from how it affects his chase of Lucas. In many ways the dichotomy of these two characters reminds me of the relationship between Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro in Heat. In both films you have very strong actors all leading men in their own right but confined to stories where there is only on leading character and possibly not enough meat for both to eat on artistically. In both instances we are treated to large parts of the secondary lead's private life that has nothing to do with the real movie. In the end to bring them together both movies use a scene a diner in Heat and prison conference room in AG to put two strong actors together and let them work. It comes out well in both. Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington are two of the best actors of their generation.
Roberts is a funny copy in the juxtaposition of the rest of the movie. He is blacklisted by his Department because he was honest and turned 100K without taking any. Because of this no one will work with him, but this leads to him being the choice to be the guy to go after Lucas. He is honest but he isn't at least not in other facets of his life. He is about as dishonest as Lucas is honest, and Lucas is a totally bad person he has some good intentions, but some very questionable practices. In the end Lucas was a thief, killer, and a dealer. But his life is an interesting story. And even when you know that Lucas is living the embodiment of evil toward his people and his time period you still find yourself rooting for him in his struggle with dirty cops and the Italian Mafia.
check out more frank lucas @ http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/people/features/3649/
I cant decide how I feel about the character of Ritchie Roberts portrayed by Russell Crowe. In some ways I feel that the character is underdeveloped and as such it makes me question the amount of screen time that Crowe is given. Alot of Robert's time on screen is spent dealing with his personal life separate from how it affects his chase of Lucas. In many ways the dichotomy of these two characters reminds me of the relationship between Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro in Heat. In both films you have very strong actors all leading men in their own right but confined to stories where there is only on leading character and possibly not enough meat for both to eat on artistically. In both instances we are treated to large parts of the secondary lead's private life that has nothing to do with the real movie. In the end to bring them together both movies use a scene a diner in Heat and prison conference room in AG to put two strong actors together and let them work. It comes out well in both. Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington are two of the best actors of their generation.
Roberts is a funny copy in the juxtaposition of the rest of the movie. He is blacklisted by his Department because he was honest and turned 100K without taking any. Because of this no one will work with him, but this leads to him being the choice to be the guy to go after Lucas. He is honest but he isn't at least not in other facets of his life. He is about as dishonest as Lucas is honest, and Lucas is a totally bad person he has some good intentions, but some very questionable practices. In the end Lucas was a thief, killer, and a dealer. But his life is an interesting story. And even when you know that Lucas is living the embodiment of evil toward his people and his time period you still find yourself rooting for him in his struggle with dirty cops and the Italian Mafia.
check out more frank lucas @ http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/people/features/3649/
Friday, November 2, 2007
A Saturday in DC
so my boy emilio hits me up a couple saturdays ago and invites me to check out this solar decathalon competition on the lawn in dc.Emilio, his roomie Eliezer, their girlfriends and our boy Clarence headed downtown to see the event. colleges from all over the world come and compete in their ability to design a functional but solar dependent residence and they only have 800 square feet to do it. it was very interesting to see how when you have to scale back how much stuff that we take for granted to find in a residence goes out the window. in this competition everything must be functional and necessary in order to make it into the design. check out the entries here http://www.solardecathlon.org/ you might find something you like.
after the decathlon and scrounging up some food from a street vendor. we decided to check out the national archives. i had never been to the archives but apparently this was the saturday to go because it was packed. 30 minutes after arriving we finally got in. there's some very interesting things on display in the archives. report cards from the presidents. declassifed recordings from former presidents, even a video of the 41st Bush exclaming his dislike for broccoli. i found a few things i didn't know such as President Gerald Ford was offered a contract to play for the Green Bay Packers for $200 a game. Ford turned it down and went to work at Yale. however the highlight of the archives is the display of the Decalaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. it was amazing to see the history of country on paper. it was funny because i had this picture of the display room placed in my mind from watching the movie Natural Treasure. i figured the room would be bright and well lit, maybe with a few windows in the ceiling. no such thing; the room is dark and cold. the documents are displayed as they should be, behind thick uv light protected glass.
when looking at the documents i thought it was interesting that you cant read them anymore. the ink on these writings has faded. someone could decide to tell the world the constitution said something in particular and we couldnt go back to the source documents to validate it. but i guess your cant expect ink from over 200 years ago to last forever. really the only thing you can still read are the signatures, john hancock's is huge, you can understand where the term came from after looking at it. you can make out most of the others if you strain a bit. but go check it out, our country's history on display, its viewing can make for an interesting day.
Monday, October 29, 2007
The Color Green
in a world in which people switch sides and loyalty often, i think that it is important to add that in addition to realizing that the grass is not always greener on the other side, people should also know this; CRABGRASS IS GREEN TOO! lets be careful how we judge what might be a better thing.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
An Exercise in Fiction: Daylight
my senior year of college i took a fiction writing workshop, i figured it would be a good way to work on my writing. random topics for me are always a good way to start. give it a read and let me know what you think. im thinking i might post something from the writing book once a week. hopefully it will encourage me to keep writing.
-tw
------------
-Daylight-
She awoke to the most beautiful sunrise she had ever seen. It was as if the night had never visited her house. As she stood on the porch steps she thought about how different today and tomorrow would be for her. This was the first time she had really looked at the sunrise. She was normally too busy with chores. She had ironing to do and breakfast to cook. She had decided not to wake the children for school this morning there was really no reason. Instead she took time for herself; she walked out onto the pebbled walkway and walked out into her yard. She walked through the grass, neither worried nor concerned about fresh morning dew that was accumulating on the hem of her skirt as she perused her hands taking notice of the rose bushes along the side of the house. Ouch... she pricked herself, but the pain of nature had never felt so good; she was merely happy for the experience.
It seemed as if the yard went on forever just as life often seems to. As she walked the sky was enduring a metamorphosis from a purple mass into a greenish blue sparkle accented with sunshine. Today it was her life as it would be tomorrow and the next day. She looked forward to it. She went and stood near the old brick wood stove. It hadn’t been lit since the previous season. She thought about tearing it down and extending her flower bed a bit. Maybe she would plant calalilies, something beautiful to replace something ugly. She had always wanted to plant some but had not been able to. Today she could nature was her symbol of independence.
-tw
------------
-Daylight-
She awoke to the most beautiful sunrise she had ever seen. It was as if the night had never visited her house. As she stood on the porch steps she thought about how different today and tomorrow would be for her. This was the first time she had really looked at the sunrise. She was normally too busy with chores. She had ironing to do and breakfast to cook. She had decided not to wake the children for school this morning there was really no reason. Instead she took time for herself; she walked out onto the pebbled walkway and walked out into her yard. She walked through the grass, neither worried nor concerned about fresh morning dew that was accumulating on the hem of her skirt as she perused her hands taking notice of the rose bushes along the side of the house. Ouch... she pricked herself, but the pain of nature had never felt so good; she was merely happy for the experience.
It seemed as if the yard went on forever just as life often seems to. As she walked the sky was enduring a metamorphosis from a purple mass into a greenish blue sparkle accented with sunshine. Today it was her life as it would be tomorrow and the next day. She looked forward to it. She went and stood near the old brick wood stove. It hadn’t been lit since the previous season. She thought about tearing it down and extending her flower bed a bit. Maybe she would plant calalilies, something beautiful to replace something ugly. She had always wanted to plant some but had not been able to. Today she could nature was her symbol of independence.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Photo for the Day
this is a picture of my friend Rosanne when she is getting ready for her wedding. i took a lot of pictures that day but this is one of my favorites. although you can't see what she is doing, you can pretty much imagine what is going on. in the original picture you can see her applying her lipstick in the reflection in the mirror.
UFC: Hostile Territory
on yesterday i spent my evening at the Buffalo Wing Factory watching a UFC pay per view with some friends. at some point in the evening i started talking to one of the guys at my table about watching UFC "back in th day" before the sport evolved into what it is now.
i grew up watching professional wrestling in spite of knowing that it wasn't real. during the mid and late nineties Saturdays and Mondays (wrestling was outlawed on Sundays in my house) were spent in front of the tv watching WCW and WWF on TBS, TNT and USA networks. grown men putting themselves through unnatural punishment. now i cant say that wrestling is fake its not, its scripted. those gentlemen take all the bumps you see on television and just because you know its coming doesn't mean it hurts any less. maybe they are better described as stunt men than athletes but i wont argue that they aren't talented.
toward the end of the nineties fans of professional wrestling had a new choice of entertainment; the UFC was what we always wanted real fights, blood and knockouts. Over the last 8/9 years UFC has evolved what was once overly violent without many restrictions or protections has become a more well rounded and mature sport. where once they could not operate in the United States they are now approved by most athletic commissions. these changes have not degraded the quality of fights or fighters it has actually made it better. the fighters are better protected which has allowed them to continue to fight for the promotion longer. better fighters and a more mainstream audience has allowed them to be able to put on more pay per views and a television show, giving them more exposure. so much so that espn now dedicates a page to mixed martial arts the fighting discipline that UFC falls under.
while UFC was on the rise pro wrestling's stock was falling. WWF bought WCW and the lack of competition killed the creative juices of the industry. meanwhile UFC was promoting the general dislike some fighters had for one another while encouraging the displays of respect that others had. it was manufactured relationships of wrestling versus the realistic interactions of others all for about the same prices. for the average fan i think it was an easy choice.
now UFC is moving in on the audience that once belonged to boxing. due to pretty much the same reasons as professional wrestling pro boxing has left itself vulnerable to a loss in standing within the sports fighting industry. the interesting thing about this relationship is that unlike pro wrestlers, pro boxers have asserted that they are the better athletes and that boxing is the the better sport. in fact fighters like floyd mayweather jr. say that UFC fighters couldn't make it in a boxing ring. im not sure of that but im pretty positive that boxers wouldnt make it in the octogon. but only time will tell which sport survives.
i grew up watching professional wrestling in spite of knowing that it wasn't real. during the mid and late nineties Saturdays and Mondays (wrestling was outlawed on Sundays in my house) were spent in front of the tv watching WCW and WWF on TBS, TNT and USA networks. grown men putting themselves through unnatural punishment. now i cant say that wrestling is fake its not, its scripted. those gentlemen take all the bumps you see on television and just because you know its coming doesn't mean it hurts any less. maybe they are better described as stunt men than athletes but i wont argue that they aren't talented.
toward the end of the nineties fans of professional wrestling had a new choice of entertainment; the UFC was what we always wanted real fights, blood and knockouts. Over the last 8/9 years UFC has evolved what was once overly violent without many restrictions or protections has become a more well rounded and mature sport. where once they could not operate in the United States they are now approved by most athletic commissions. these changes have not degraded the quality of fights or fighters it has actually made it better. the fighters are better protected which has allowed them to continue to fight for the promotion longer. better fighters and a more mainstream audience has allowed them to be able to put on more pay per views and a television show, giving them more exposure. so much so that espn now dedicates a page to mixed martial arts the fighting discipline that UFC falls under.
while UFC was on the rise pro wrestling's stock was falling. WWF bought WCW and the lack of competition killed the creative juices of the industry. meanwhile UFC was promoting the general dislike some fighters had for one another while encouraging the displays of respect that others had. it was manufactured relationships of wrestling versus the realistic interactions of others all for about the same prices. for the average fan i think it was an easy choice.
now UFC is moving in on the audience that once belonged to boxing. due to pretty much the same reasons as professional wrestling pro boxing has left itself vulnerable to a loss in standing within the sports fighting industry. the interesting thing about this relationship is that unlike pro wrestlers, pro boxers have asserted that they are the better athletes and that boxing is the the better sport. in fact fighters like floyd mayweather jr. say that UFC fighters couldn't make it in a boxing ring. im not sure of that but im pretty positive that boxers wouldnt make it in the octogon. but only time will tell which sport survives.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Scores
Well the LSAT didnt quite go how i hoped so back to the studies. I might not be going to Apple after all.
-tw
-tw
Friday, October 19, 2007
everyday from now until december 31st starbucks is offering one free itunes download. today's selction is alice smith "new religion". go pick it up its a great song.
http://www.hearmusic.com/#STARBUCKS_|_ITUNES/SONG_OF_THE_DAY
http://www.hearmusic.com/#STARBUCKS_|_ITUNES/SONG_OF_THE_DAY
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Job Fair at the Apple Store
i had the most interesting experience on sunday when i attended a job fair for apple computer, it was unlike any interview experience i have ever had. it was very interactive, they had us create introduction documents for partners along with a sales presentation for an assigned product. i have always been impressed with how happy the sales people seem to be when working at the store. and of course i have always loved apple products, so hopefully i will get the job. supposedly i will find out tommrow. tw coming to an apple store near you.
-tw
-tw
Monday, October 15, 2007
my new iPod.... 160 gigs
so after church on sunday i found that my ipod was not currently acting up to par. thankfully i bought my ipod at the wonderful world of costco where anything can be returned no questions asked. well at least if you bought your mp3 player prior to 3/2/07 when they changed their return policy, i did so im grandfathered in. so i went home and neatly packed up my ipod and took it back to costco where the nice lady working behind the counter gave me a refund of $304 on a giftcard. armed with my new money i went off in search of a new ipod. i had originally planned to get the 80 gig figuring it should work out with the amount of money that i was gonna get back, but when i got to the displays i realized for a mere $50 more i could get the 160 gig ipod. all the mp3 player i would ever need. i can now walk around with my entire mp3 collection at my fingertips with room to spare. well i am now in love with my new toy the new features such as cover flow are awesome along with now being able to have folders with in folders just like you can in itunes, this makes my organization much easier. i dont know what i would do without my apple toys. ipods make the world go round.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Knocked Up
I just finished watching Knocked Up. This was prolly the funniest movie I have seen since Wedding Crashers. There are so many funny scenes in this movie its rediculous. Seth Rogan might be the funniest man in Hollywood right now. However, after watching the crowning scene during the birth I am no longer sure that i want kids. lol.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Sports...Pats...USC
So tell me how Bill Bellicheck gets caught stealing signals from the opposing team and only gets fined $500K thats totally disproportionate to the fine given to Wade Wilson the QB coach for the Dallas Cowboys who took HGH (with a legal prescription) to help keep his diabetes in check. Bill should have gotten 5 games plus a fine. A coach stealing signs is tantamount to a player taking steroids. Its all about competitive advantage. Oh and by the way USC with their win over Nebraska proved their college football supremecy. I dont care what the coah of LSU says the road to the National Championship leads through Southern California.
Friday, September 14, 2007
stream of conciousness
i just want to write a steady stream
write lines and thoughts of rhythm
paragraphs of protagonists and antagonists
expansive spaces of words that make a difference,
that recall a story
i want to tell my life or someone else's.
a long life and a short life
strung together by my words
giving meaning and a new perspective
i want to expand a moment
speak a thought about a particular moment in time
a period, nonexistent to another
of some great importance yet revealed
I want to write in spatial places
far flung countries
brand new languages
unknown tongues
i want to write with excitement
words that could be said with passion
unforgettable words, songs of freedom
important life changing sentences
in every-man phrases,
i wanna write for the instruments of Johnson
powerful words to save souls
for preachers and politicos
for saturday nights and sunday mornings
words for saints and sinners all
i don’t want to see the words coming
i want to be surprised
like meeting a stranger
having conversation
feeling like you should've known them all your life
write lines and thoughts of rhythm
paragraphs of protagonists and antagonists
expansive spaces of words that make a difference,
that recall a story
i want to tell my life or someone else's.
a long life and a short life
strung together by my words
giving meaning and a new perspective
i want to expand a moment
speak a thought about a particular moment in time
a period, nonexistent to another
of some great importance yet revealed
I want to write in spatial places
far flung countries
brand new languages
unknown tongues
i want to write with excitement
words that could be said with passion
unforgettable words, songs of freedom
important life changing sentences
in every-man phrases,
i wanna write for the instruments of Johnson
powerful words to save souls
for preachers and politicos
for saturday nights and sunday mornings
words for saints and sinners all
i don’t want to see the words coming
i want to be surprised
like meeting a stranger
having conversation
feeling like you should've known them all your life
Purchases
I am sitting here blogging as my students work busily on an assignment that I have given them. Over the last eight months of teaching a New Investigator's Course once a month I have realized that adult education is considerably different than dealing with children but in many ways is very much the same. However my big decision for the day is wether or not I want to give Sprint $400 so that I can be done with their crappy customer service and move on to the wonderful world of the iphone. However I think that their crappy customer service was very much exasperated by my overpowering desire to buy an iphone.
...906am
...906am
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