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the matrix reloaded
i was hoping to be pleasantly surprised, i wasn't. the special effects and the fight scenes lived up to their billing. neo's fight with 100 agent smith's was cool, though if you look closely at their faces it looks like a very good video game. my fears that the philosohpical issues would be lost in the action were unfounded. unfortunately, all of these good things were what killed the movie.
the fight scenes were too long and monotonous. how many times can one jump in the air, float and kick each attacker in the head and it sitll be exciting to watch? sometimes it seemed they slowed down to bullet time only because they wanted to prove they still knew how.
morpheus's, the oracle's and merovingian's (new in reloaded) rants about truth, choice, programs, backdoors, reality, fate and causality are ridiculously repetitive and unnecessarily inserted into scenes. the movie kept it's deep philosophical side...but you'll probably wish it hadn't.
for those that care about such things, it seems the wachowski brothers discovered profanity and sex sometime since the original and apparently neo and trinity don't get much time alone on board the nebuchadnezzar. unfortunately we get to watch their first night back in zion.
cut the fight scenes in half, the philosophical diatribes by more and remove the completely unnecessary sex and rave scene and the matrix reloaded would be great. the last 45 minutes or so is excellent though it seems to me they could have gotten to that part of the plot about an hour earlier than they did. the twists presented once neo reaches "the source" is very unexpected, though you'll have to pay very close attention to keep up with what "the architect" is telling him.
i would still suggest going to see it if only because the story is unique and you gotta see this to know the full story. just be sure you go to the early show and get plenty of sleep before you go. otherwise you might find yourself struggling through.
IMHO
bush vs bush
i'm a fan of george duyah. first because he's an outspoken Christian and second because he was obviously the lesser of two evils in the last election and most likely will again. however, i think it's probably pretty fair to say that when it boils down to it, he's still a politician. i'm also a fan of "the daily show" on comedy central. they always have an interesting perspective on things. a while back they hosted a debate featuring governor george dubyah vs president george dubyah. quicktime movie
matrix reloaded
i'm going to see the matrix reloaded tonight. i've read the beginnings of several reviews by folks who went to see it in the sneak previews last night. all are somewhat negative. it's hard to tell for sure wether the negative reviews are coming from the reviewer having built the movie up into something unachievable in their mind, which i've probably done as well, only to be disappointed by reality.
i've worried ever since reading information on the incredible technology used in the making of the sequels that they would become just another action movie to showcase the technology and vision that the wachowski brothers had come up with. as impressive of a movie as that would make, it would fall short of the depth of plot and philosohpical issues and symbolism that the first matrix hit on.
i guess i'll see tonight.
when i was little
somewhat amusing site with pictures of regular people when they were little and now.
history of the internet
a history of the internet with a bit of sarcasm and humor thrown in to ease the geekiness.
iloo was a hoax..well maybe not
In a statement issued last night Microsoft UK had this to say.
The MSN iLoo was not false or a hoax.
It follows a UK strategy to bring the Internet to as many people in Britain as possible and encourage debate about how the Internet can affect our lives now and in the future.
It follows other initiatives such as MSN Street and MSN Internet Bench where we placed the Internet in real world scenarios.
The press announcement was a UK story about a UK market initiative and naturally was aimed at British culture and humour. However it was a serious concept that came about after the success of MSN Internet Bench. It was properly researched to concept stage with product designers and specialist manufacturers to see how people would react to it in the UK. It was always meant to be a one-off pilot not a major manufacturing project.
The attention the story generated has made us sure that the concept is valid, however there was some misunderstanding about the context of the initiative along the way and therefore it will not be built.
once again microsoft proves itself.. something
text only "where's waldo?"
i remember in 5th grade the "where's waldo?" book in our school library was so popular that after it was returned the librarian would hide it in the library somewhere and whoever could find it got to check it out. this further affirmed to me that dewey's decimal system really wasn't useful and that she could have done that with every book in the whole library and no one would have ever noticed. in any event, now i don't have to search a library for a "where's waldo?" book, i can play the text only version online.
not my cd
i pushed play on my cd player in my living room, of course assuming that whatever cd was inside would be fine because it's my cd player and i live alone and who elses cd would be in there. turns out the cd wasn't fine. it was the soundtrack from "moulin rouge". you guessed it..it wasn't my cd. written in familiar handwriting on the cd was "jj".
congratulations jj, you made the blog.
zazoo ad
of course ideally this ad would end with some clever abstinence slogan. but as it is it's still pretty funny. video
deadly dead fish
apparently these frat boys didn't practice their skit beforehand.
Junior business economics major Kevin Sanderson was sent to the hospital Sunday after a mishap in the belly flop competition at the Delta Gamma Anchor Splash. Sanderson entered the competition with three of his Sigma Chi fraternity brothers - Jeff Thorp, Sten Ericson and Gavin Kelly - and three dead catfish. During the course of events, Sanderson ended up with a fish stuck to his face and a trip to the hospital.
"It was hilarious," Sanderson said. "The guys were laughing and I was laughing too, but the girls were all screaming."
As part of their performance, the fraternity brothers threw the three catfish into Campus Pool, performed their belly flops, swam after the fish and then planned to beat each other in the head with them. Unaware that their fish of choice- the catfish - have sharp, pronged spines in their pectoral and dorsal fins, Thorp began pummeling Sanderson over the head with one of the fish.
"It was part of the skit to hit each other," Thorp said. "If he hadn't hit me, I would have hit him."
The final blow came when one of the fish's inch-long spines got stuck in Sanderson's forehead.
priceless.
superman name is a no-go
just in case you ever thought about naming your kid "superman"
Aside from collecting taxes, the authority also oversees rules for names in the Scandinavian country. Officials have nixed the plan of a couple to name their baby Superman.
comments problem fixed
the comments problem is fixed. i'm an idiot. small problem...easy fix...just stumbled upon the solution.
3d
cool 3d pictures for your enjoyment. my favorite is the one that appears to be a priest being scared by bananas.
mike price mess
this whole thing with mike price has brought quite a bit of negative attention to the university. i think they made the right call, especially with some new info that has come out in the sports illustrated article about it. the best quote from the article is from the owner of "arety's angel's", the infamous strip club where price spent his evening in florida.
i feel for price, but if he does has an alcohol problem, which this incident and some previous incidents may indicate, this is probably best for him. i wish him well and of course can't wait to see what mike shula can do with the tide now.
roll tide.
my "life comic"
except for garfield being a cat, i've always felt a certain fondness for him. this is why.
airplane sleep aid
taking a long flight anytime soon? this will definitely help you sleep a little easier.
monkeys can't write shakespeare
Lecturers and students from the University of Plymouth wanted to test the claim that an infinite number of monkeys given typewriters would create the works of The Bard.
A single computer was placed in a monkey enclosure at Paignton Zoo to monitor the literary output of six primates.
But after a month, the Sulawesi crested macaques had only succeeded in partially destroying the machine, using it as a lavatory, and mostly typing the letter "s".
glad we got that myth cleared up.