MAY

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Made the mistake of going on more than one 7.5 hour hike in brand new work boots (w/ steel toes and soles) as a method of breaking them in... bad idea. The hike was great! Had a lot of fun and made it from here almost all the way to Clarmont and back.

The boots ripped my feet apart but at least I broke them in lol because they fit beautifully now.

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This is the "yes, it will sound stupid but it's damn important to me" rant of the day"

The number one lesson of the summer, for me anyway, is don't worship your heroes... and people make mistakes. It sounds stupid but it's outrageous how depressingly true it is. It's a lesson I actually learned already when I first watched/read Rumble Fish (thank you for the referral *Neko-Hanyou-Sakura, I learned more from The Motorcycle Boy and Rusty James than i ever could have from The Greasers, but hey, that's a story for another day). My mistake was not applying what i had learned to myself.

So anyway, I've got a million and one people asking me "What do you think of the whole Arnold thing?", "How are you gonna defend Arnold now?" etc. so I'm gonna tackle this now and then not talk about it anymore until I've figured some things out.

Simple answer to #2 "I'm not." slightly longer answer to #1 "Man, I don't know what the hell to think." And really, in the grand scheme of things, what I think doesn't matter because its got nothing to do w/ me. Sure the guy was my hero. I essentially modeled my entire plan to following my dreams after him (and a few other people) and I learned a lot from the guy. But now I'm sitting here trying to figure out what of that knowledge I should keep and what i shouldn't , and I'm looking at my walls and my DVD collection and my action figures trying to figure out what the hell to do now. A friend of mine invited me over to watch Terminator 2 (and to anyone who doesn't know, it's my favorite movie of all time) but i can't watch it. I can't watch any of them.

I guess what I'm trying to say here is, I spent so much time looking up to him that i just kinda feel ripped off, even if it's got nothing to do w/ me. I've given it a lot of thought and I still don't know what to think. All i know is that when school starts again in September there's a chance I'm going to get a lot of attention that i don't want because they know he was me hero.

We're just gonna have to wait and see.

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Alright, depressing part over.

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A friend of mine asked me "If you could only watch 5 movies w/ your favorite actor in them EVER again, which 5 would they be?"

The answer: Dolph Lundgren

1) The Punisher (1989)
2) Red Scorpion
3) Icarus (a.k.a. The Killing Machine)
4) Rocky IV
5) Universal Soldier

and he didn't think I could pick 5 lol

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Went on another hike and got what we thought was poison ivy all over my lower legs but the rash disappeared after 3 days. No clue what it was.

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I have listened to the song Jesus of Suburbia by Green Day OVER 180 times in the last 2 weeks and it is quickly becoming the song that will define my summer experience.

I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing but, man, it speaks to me.

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HALF WAY TO MY MAC BOOK PRO!

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Skadoosh!

Went to see King Fu Panda 2 and actually really liked it. I had my doubts because it was the second one and all but it was actually really epic. Had just as many laughs as the first one and and the animation was so intense! I LOVED how they used the cut-out/stop motion-esque animation for the narrative and the full out cell shading for Po's flashback-age. It fit in quite nicely w/ the 3D style of the rest of the film. Definitely worth seeing though i will admit, it was a little depressing in the middle but it was cool cause it delt w/ Poe's real parents and where he came from and what happened to them and so on. It's kinda like Happy Feet in a way. It may be depressing in the middle but it all works out in the end.  


P.S. as if i didnt think this movie was good enough, the second i heard Van Damme's voice I was like "oh, man, i didn't think it was possible but this movie just got better."

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On the topic of Happy Feet ... see the trailer for Happy Feet 2 yet?

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saw The Hangover 2...

and, wow, was it a carbon copy of the original. Well, not quite, but man was it close. A friend of mine asked me what i thought if it and the only way i could think to describe it was through a scene out of TRON. So here it goes:

Remember in TRON: Legacy when Alan Bradley asks Richard Mackey what the difference between FlynnOS11 and FlynnOS12 is and he's says "this year we put a 12 on the box" ? this year they put a "2" on the cover lol

I think that sums it up quite nicely.

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Advice, Like Youth, Probably Just Wasted on the Young  by Mary Schmich

Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of '97,

Wear sunscreen. If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long term
benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis or
reliable then my own meandering experience.  I will dispense this advice....now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, nevermind, you won't understand the power and
beauty of your youth until they've faded, but trust me in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of
yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous
you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine.

Don't worry about the future, or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra
equation by chewing bubblegum.

The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind: the kind that blindsides
you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing every day that scares you.

Sing.

Don't be reckless with other people's hearts; don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss.

Don't waste your time on jealousy.  Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind.  The race is
long, and in the end, it's only with yourself.

Remember compliments you receive; forget the insults. (if you succeed in doing this, tell me how).

Keep your old love letters; throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch.

Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life.  The most interesting people
I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives; some of the most interesting 40 year
olds I know still don't.

Get plenty of Calcium.  Be kind to your knees -- you'll miss them when they're gone.

Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't.  Maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't.  Maybe you'll
divorce at 40; maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary.

Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself, either.  Your choices are half
chance, so are everybody else's.

Enjoy your body: use it every way you can.  Don't be afraid of it or what other people think of it; it's the
greatest instrument you'll ever own.

Dance...even if you have no where to do it but in your own living room.

Read the directions (even if you don't follow them).

Do not read beauty magazines; they will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents; you never know when they'll be gone for good.

Be nice to your siblings: they're your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in
the future.

Understand that friends come and go, but what a precious few should hold on.  Work hard to bridge the gaps
and geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you
were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard.

Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths: prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old; and when you
do, you'll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble, and children
respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don't expect anyone else to support you.  Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse,
but you never know when either one might run out.

Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time you are 40, it will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it.  Advice is a form of nostalgia;
dispensing it is a way of wishing the past from the disposal--wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts, and
recycling it for more than it's worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen

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The United States of Awesome has some new members

President.............................Sylvester Stallone
V.P........................................Arnold Schwarzenegger (pending)
Secretary of Defense..........Dolph Lundgren
Internal Affairs....................Jet Li
Air Force General................Jean Claude Van Damme
God.....................................Bruce Willis
Jesus..................................Mickey Rourke
The Devil............................Chuck Norris

and, my personal favorite, Jason Statham ...

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The Mechanic (he's the hitman, people, he doesn't fix cars .... although, i guess he could fix some cars lol)

Yes, this is what we do in our spare time.

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... I forgot Showdown in Little Tokyo T_T

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I hear they're making a Candy Land movie... I'll admit my expectations aren't high but it's my favorite boardgames so i'd go see it, and i know im not the only one. the only reason i think its got a chance at working is: it the board game did anything it was establish characters that could be easily written into a plot... i think i could do it right now... lets see...

so Lord Licorice decides he's the rightful ruler of Candy Land .... screw this... just go watch the Masters of the Universe movie then replace Skeletor w/ Lord Licorice, Castle Grey-Skull w/ Candy Castle, and Eternia w/ Candy Land then have the main characters transported into Eternia... I mean Candy Land, instead of out of it lol battle ensues, etc. etc.

though im not sure who would be Teela OR Man-At-Arms but Gloppy the Molasses Monster could be Orko... or Gwildor i guess since i referenced the movie and not the show, and Queen Frostine would be The Sorceress...

I'm probably getting a lot of strange looks right now, but don't worry, I havent been thinking about this for days. I just kinda started typing.

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JUNE

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ALRIGHT! I DON’T FEEL LIKE WRITING SO I’M GOING TO DO THIS STRAIGHT FROM THE NOTEBOOK!

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Nintendo “Wii U”

The starting game library? My bet is Zelda, Mario, Metriod, Smash Bros., oh and I hear they’re doing a Kid Icarus, a bunch of Dolphin (GameCube) remakes?

No, the Wii U is NOT Gamecube compatible! One of the reasons I wouldn’t buy one, but as far as Nintendo goes that it probably a good choice. It will (hopefully) encourage people to but new games instead of just using the ones they already have.

Target audience? According to a Nintendo freak friend of mine the target audience for Nintendo is mainly constructed of casual and non-gamers. I’m a Sony person so I can’t say anything for or against that but I don’t understand Nintendo making a system, that I’m sure will cost a fortune, and marketing it toward this audience. Yes, I know a price hasn’t actually been released yet and Nintendo is usually pretty good about pricing systems fairly low but you have to keep in mind the tech they are selling has a cost and they do need to make a profit on selling it.

No Blu-Ray? Again that’s probably a cost/sales price thing.

The other question involving the price is: Will it still be able to compete w/ PS3 and 360? (Just a question)

But aside from all that…

The tablet/console tech mash up is a cool idea. I don’t understand why someone would want to play something they could play on a large tv on a tiny screen concept (which is why I never really bought into the whole Zelda: OOT being released on the 3DS thing) but I do like that it can be used in combination w/ the system for games like golf (as shown it the trailer) etc.

(2 more)

Is it like the 3DS? Is it something that I need to wait for someone else to buy so I can try it before I put any money into it? Don’t know. Actually, come September I probably won’t care anymore lol there are more pressing things to worry about than Nintendo.

(and my favorite)

Why the “Wii U”? Of all the names out there that’s what they went w/? (and yes I do understand why they went w/ that title, don’t worry). I think it would have been cooler if they had stuck w/ the project name. ‘Cause who wouldn’t want a system called the “Nintendo Café”?

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X-Men: First Class

Loved it. Go see it ….

Ok fine.

Once you get past the fact that there are some characters that shouldn’t be there and some characters that aren’t there but should be then you’re good.

The story is well told and the cameos (which there are a few of) are clever and well placed, and those yellow suits are so nostalgic! When they walked out in those I was so awe stricken. It was like I’d been thrown back into my childhood, which is perfect!

I loved the first movie… the rest not so much. I kind of held onto the second one because it was the only one w/ Nightcrawler in it and he has been my favorite of the X-Men ever since I was a kid, but after than that I wasn’t really into the series. When Origins came out, I was like “Oh, ya, this’ll be cool” … and then they butchered Deadpool’s character and I walked away (to anyone who doesn’t know, that’s the only movie I have EVER seen in theaters that I left half way through, and that’s saying a lot ‘cause I managed to sit through the butchering of Harry Potter 6).

This is THE BEST X-MEN MOVIE TO DATE!

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Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Anyone who knows me knows that I’m not a huge fan of remakes. There are some that I like (Death Race, The Mechanic, The Hitcher) but most of the time they just piss me off. So when I heard that we were going to start at the beginning again w/ POTA I was a little skeptical. Now I’ve seen the trailer, and, man, does it look good or what?

[link]

I’m thinking I’m gonna have to go see it.

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Super 8

It was alright. I loved the first half but by the second half the lens flares were driving me insane and I really wished that Nelec has been Trautman (that’s Richard Crenna in the Rambo series) and that the deputy had been played by Bruce Campbell, ‘cause how cool would that have been?

I did love at the end (during the credits) when the actually played the kids super 8 movie though.

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Green Lantern

Well… I felt a little ripped off by this one and I’ve got some questions **Spoiler Warning**

-Why did they decide to start w/ a Parallax arc instead of the classic Sinstro goes evil arc? I know they set it up for that to be the sequel w/ the forging of the yellow ring and all but still.
-Now that Parallax is dead does that mean that Hal Jordan will never go evil, never become Specter, and Kyle Rayner will never be introduced?

-And, yes still on the topic of Parallax, why the hell was he a giant octopus made out of smoke?

The thing that pisses me off is that this would have been the perfect chance to bring the DC continuity into the movies and then who knows, Justice League maybe? But it’s just about Hal doing his thing and all the other lanterns get cameo appearances. Man, I wanted to see more Kilowog! My favorite of the lanterns.

p.s. best line in the movie…

“by the power of Greyskull.”

Because EVERYONE loves a He-Man reference.

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Michael Bay and Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Oh no, we need to have the Michael Bay talk. I was trying to avoid this as long a possible…. **sigh**

Alright, I’m not at all a fan of Michael Bay. There are some of his movies I like, two of the actually (The Rock, and The Hitcher (yes, it’s the remake)) but 99% of them I do not. Now this is not to say that I don’t appreciate what he does as a director. I do, in fact, respect him quite a bit. This is mainly because these days it is a lot cheaper to use CGI than it is to hire people to do stunts or blow something up and Michael Bay is one of the few remaining directors who, given a choice between the two, would rather do everything in real life for the camera than on a computer. I grew up watching 80’s action movies (and TRON but we’ll bet to that some other time) and back then CG wasn’t really around (certainly not like it is today) so seeing someone willing to take the time and effort and not just say “Oh, we’ll do it on post.” All the time is very refreshing. I can respect that.

Ok talk over. On to the movie:

Here: [link]

MovieBob has said everything I need to say but a million times better than I ever could. So if you want to know watch the video.

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I’ve just realized it but there is a TON of pressure on Captain America to be a good movie adaptation. It’s basically up to him not to defend the name of comicbook movies everywhere!

Please don’t let us down, Cap.

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Apparently ads at the beginning & the end of EVERY  video on the internet weren't enough! Now I have to watch and ad, and then HALF a video,and then an ad, then the ending! and then another ad...

The internet must me trying to seek revenge because i wouldn't go see Harry Potter: Deathly Hallows. I refused to watch half a movie so it's getting back at me by making me watch half a video.

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Bought a Pocket Pikachu Color finally. Yes i know I'm only 11 years behind.

Its the classic American release silver edition and I have named it "SAM". If you get that you're awesome