With Valentine's Day coming up, I know that there are a couple readers of this blog who are married or dating. So, here's something I pulled off the 'Net that I found pretty darn funny... even more so when I imagined some of the 8-year-olds at my church or my cousins saying them. Some of these are actually remarkably prescient...

Tips On Love From Those That Should Know
(all questions were answered by kids, age 5-10)

What is the proper age to get married?

"Eighty-four, Because at that age, you don't have to work anymore, and you can spend all your time loving each other."
(Judy, 8)

"Once I'm done with kindergarten, I'm going to find me a wife."
(Tom,5)
ed. note - sounds like Eric in the previous post... haha...

What do most people do on a first date?

"On the first date, they just tell each other lies, and that usually gets them interested enough to go for a second date."
(Mike, 10)

When is it OK to kiss someone?

"You should never kiss a girl unless you have enough bucks to buy her a big ring and her own VCR, 'cause she'll want to have videos of the wedding."
(Jim, 10)

"Never kiss in front of other people. It's a big embarrassing thing if anybody sees you. But if nobody sees you, I might be willing to try it with a handsome boy, but just for a few hours."
(Kally,9)

The great debate: Is it better to be single or married?

"It's better for girls to be single but not for boys. Boys need somebody to clean up after them."
(Lynette,9)

"It gives me a headache to think about that stuff. I'm just a kid. I don't need that kind of trouble."
(Kenny,7)

Concerning why love happens between two particular people.

"No one is sure why it happens, but I heard it has something to do with how you smell. That's why perfume and deodorant are so popular."
(Jan,9)

"I think you're supposed to get shot with an arrow or something, but the rest of it isn't supposed to be so painful."
(Harlen, 8)

On what falling in love is like.

"Like an avalanche where you have to run for your life."
(Roger, 9)

"If falling in love is anything like learning how to spell, I don't want to do it. It takes too long."
(Leo,7)

On the role of good looks in love.

"If you want to be loved by somebody who isn't already in your family, it doesn't hurt to be beautiful."
(Jeanne, 8)

"It isn't always just how you look. Look at me. I'm handsome like anything and I haven't got anybody to marry me yet." (Gary, 7)

"Beauty is skin deep. But how rich you are can last a long time."
(Christine,9)

Concerning why lovers often hold hands

"They want to make sure their rings don't fall off because they paid good money for them."
(Dave, 8)

Confidential Opinions About Love

"I'm in favor of love as long as it doesn't happen when 'The Simpsons' is on television."
(Anita, 6)

"Love will find you, even if you are trying to hide from it. I have been trying to hide from it since I was five, but the girls keep finding me."
(Bobby, 8)

"I'm not rushing into being in love-I'm finding fourth grade hard enough."
(Regina,10)

Snippet of a conversation with Eric...

Bob (2:42:28 PM): well, either way.. med school is what, 7 years?
Eric (2:43:55 PM): 4
Eric (2:44:03 PM): i wanna get married after that :-)
Bob (2:44:56 PM): well, 4 and then you have the whole residency and all that
Bob (2:45:03 PM): so the entire process is 7 years or so yeah?
Eric (2:45:21 PM): yeah
Bob (2:45:21 PM): before you actually start making a livable salary? (I'm assuming interns and residents don't get much)
Eric (2:45:38 PM): nah...35 a year :-)
Eric (2:45:42 PM): i dont care about the money
Eric (2:45:46 PM): i want the woman

By the way, fiddled around with the colors on my blog just to differentiate it from all the other people out there who copied me :-). Some of them, I even gave the blog template code to widen the columns!

Blue and Gold baby! Go Bears!

There's a lot to write about... getting together with the old SITC missions folks on Saturday night... the Super Bowl... the new direction of Alias... Bush's State of the Union address... reflections on 2002 and some more goals for 2003... but, [sigh], things have been overly busy. I've been staying past 8 to 8:30 pm for the last several days at work, and will probably continue that for the next week and a half... probably go into the office this weekend too.

So, in lieu of original material, I give you this link to a feature article on my favorite basketball player, Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs. One of the truly great players and people in the league, I think that the article does a good job of highlighting his values of simplicity and fundamentals on and off the court, yet also gives a glimpse into a fierce desire to be the best.

Hopefully things will ease up soon...

Everyone knows that in America, the biggest eating day of the year is Thanksgiving.

Did you know that the second biggest eating day of the year is Super Bowl Sunday?

The quantity of chips and beer consumed boggles the mind.

"Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed." (Isaiah 40:4-5, KJV)

"I HAVE A DREAM"

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity.

But one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize an appalling condition.

In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check -- a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God's children. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment and to underestimate the determination of the Negro. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.

We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to
distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny and their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.

And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities.
We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.

I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor's lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania! Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado! Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California! But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia! Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee! Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

- Martin Luther King, Jr. (Delivered on the steps at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1963)

...

A day late, but it still gives me chills.

Ramblings

Apologies for the paucity of posts lately. Right now is an extremely busy season in my life, with things at work fairly stressful (being the team lead of QA while your company is trying to get a product to shipping status will do that), and then when I leave work, there's a lot of planning and praying to do for the various ministries I'm involved in. So, there's not a whole lot of time to rest and just veg... I'm always looking ahead.

If you're wondering why I just used the word "paucity" in a sentence, one of my New Year's goals is to take the GRE this year. So, might as well start getting used to the vocabulary...

Hey, on that note, here are some other of my New Year's goals off the top of my head:

- research the biotech field. I'd like to explore whether my gifts could be put to good use in this field. I can write all about my whole attitude towards work/purpose in another post (I haven't done that yet, have I?), but in general, I think that there are three important parts in considering what we spend our time with, career-speaking: 1) You enjoy what you do. 2) You have some talent, gift or skill at what you do. 3) You believe the work you do is important. Personally, I can say #1 and #2 about my current job. #3, I'm not so sure about yet. Plus, there's no reason not to explore different avenues. I'll expand some other time...

- listen to more classical music. I've raided my parents' stash of CDs and brought them to work, so right now I'm listening to Beethoven rather than my usual diet of pop/rock. Maybe it'll make me smarter. Don't think I'll ever be a classical music guru, but this is good stuff.

- be more informed of world issues. It's sad, I know almost everything that goes on in the world of sports, but I didn't follow local and global events regularly - so Yahoo! News and CNN.com have become part of daily reading.

- learn to play golf competently enough to get out on a course with my dad and my bro and enjoy it. I occasionally head over to the net-enclosed range at West Valley to practice. This'd be a fun way to spend time with them.

- a couple of spiritual goals that I might detail in another post.

- (kinda far-fetched) learn to play the hammered dulcimer. The sound is totally unique and very cool. 'Course, I'd need to get one first, and then figure out how to learn to play it. Heheh...

Other ramblings...

- It was good to see some of the old Berkeley gang two Saturdays ago when we got together up in Danville at Pam and Andy's place. Some of those folks I haven't really talked to since we graduated, even though I saw many of them at various weddings. Interestingly, most people haven't changed a whole lot, but apparently I shocked some people when I told them I never finished my intended Computer Science minor at Berkeley. I had too many units and needed one more class :(. Ah well. Look where I am now.

- My opinion about stop-and-go traffic: when there are many cars on the freeway, slowing down is inevitable and even preferred, for safety's sake. However, when you come to a complete stop anywhere on the freeway, that means some inconsiderate person is holding up the lane somewhere up the road, probably trying to cut in and thus causing people to brake hard to avoid rear-ending him. This annoys me greatly on a near-daily basis as I drive on 85N trying to get onto 237E. Be considerate and switch over to the on-ramp lane early on so you don't hold up everyone else later.

Coming up in future posts... some lessons I learned in 2002.

Freeway changes in South Bay

Interesting news item from this morning's Mercury that will affect everyone in South Bay:
Carpool changes ahead: 3 people may be the rule

Specifically, the proposal would uniformly increase the number of people in a car for the carpool lane to 3 people. The other part of it would be to introduce the idea of paying a toll for a solo driver to use the carpool lane.

Personally, I don't do a whole lot of driving during the prime rush hours - I typically leave for work after 9 am and leave work for home close to 7 pm. So it'd be interesting to consider whether I'd be affected by this change. In general though, I don't know any carpoolers personally - and I'm guessing there are very few people that could find 2 people to carpool with. There is a portion of the article that mentions the possibility of lengthening the morning carpool hours to 10 am rather than the current 9 am, and that would definitely affect me.

However, the idea of paying a toll for the right to use the carpool lane - that is intriguing. Again, I don't know if I'd use it because I don't drive during rush hour much, but I think it's a very sensible idea.

27 Signs of LOTR Overexposure - yanked from somewhere online - I've put **** next to the ones I like most

You introduce yourself by saying, “Tell me your name, then I shall tell you mine.”

You go to Dilliards and ask them if they have received their winter mithril clothing line yet. When the confused sales rep tells you that she has no idea what you are talking about, you angrily spew that you are never shopping there again and that stores in Lothlorien had better service.

You refer to every toddler and little child as a “halfling”.

You believe that Mike Ozowski from Monsters, Inc. is really the Dark Lord Sauron

**** You refer to your car as Shadowfax - the lord of all cars.

You refer to your basement as the Mines of Moria and when your mom tells you to clean it you tell her that you cannot due to the presence of a "Balrog" down there.

You set up meetings with friends as follows: “Look for my coming on the 5th day as the sun rises in the east.”

**** When other vehicles cut you off in traffic, you yell out the window, “You…shall not…pass!”

When startled, you exclaim, "Fool of a Took!"

You argue with yourself, including the accompanying facial gestures for effect.

You tire of having to explain to people that Elves are NOT midgets wearing green that help Santa Claus, but a mysterious people with mystical power!

You plan to name your son Aragorn and change your own to Arathorn so you can call your son, "Aragorn, son of Arathorn" and refer to him as, "no mere ranger".

They refer to you at school as "Strider"

You’re arrested for shooting birds in the park, claiming that they were spies of Saruman.

You toss your ring into the fire, waiting for words to appear.

Whenever you get locked out of the house, you find a large log and try to break in.

You finally obey those “Do not throw rocks in the water” signs.

You actually begin craving a “second breakfast”.

When you go swimming you jump in the pool and sing in your best Gollum voice, "The rock and pool, ‘tis nice and coool...!"

You attempt scaring birds away by shouting, "Fly, you fools!"

You get upset at the local grocery store when they inform you that they don’t have any “lembas” currently in stock.

You tell a client that they can send their documentation to your Shadowfax machine.

You can’t find "There's Something About Merry" at your local rental store.

You look for Oliphaunts at the local zoo.

Your mail continuously gets lost when you insist that your address is #1 Bagshot Row, Hobbiton, The Shire.

**** At the next Olympic torch bearing, you jump up and shout, "Kill him, Legolas! Kill him!"

You change your answering machine message to the following: "This is the Dark Lord Sauron! Give me a ring!"

All That Jazz

Coming up in future blogs: some quotes and discussion from Tozer, some reflections on the year 2002 (a good year for me personally), and some resolutions and goals for 2003.

But for right now... here's a quick take on the movie-musical Chicago, currently in limited release, starring Renee Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Richard Gere. Saw it tonight with the whole family.

I typically write plot-specific spoiler-type stuff in "invisible font" so as to not distress those of you reading this who like to be surprised. Fortunately, there's not a whole lot to spoil in this movie...

Plot synopsis - we're taken back to Chicago in the Roaring Twenties, where everything is sensationalized, the media can make imprisoned murderers into popular and sympathetic figures, and show business/vaudeville is at an all-time high. Zeta-Jones is Velma Kelly, a singing-and-dancing diva who is imprisoned for killing her sister (the other half of their sister-sister act) and her husband when she catches him being maritally unfaithful. Zellweger plays Roxie Hart, a younger woman married to a mechanic, who has dreams of becoming a big star chorus girl. She is also imprisoned for killing the man she's having an affair with when he tells her that his supposed connections with show business were all a lie. The rest of the movie revolves around how Roxie hires Chicago's smarmiest and most successful lawyer Billy Flynn (Gere) in order to not just be acquitted but to also gain enough public notoriety to launch her stage career.

Personal thoughts:

- this is quite the production. As another movie review I read put it, the story here is just to put some space in between the songs. Unlike last year's basically plot-and-character-driven Moulin Rouge, this is not so much a movie-musical as it is a musical on a movie screen. Dialogue is short and over-the-top, character development is just about nil, but the song-and-dance numbers are well-choreographed and aptly performed.

- I'm typically not a big fan of over-production, tending to prefer story/plot and memorable dialogue from a good screenplay. For example, I'd probably rather see Les Miserables again than see Chicago again. However, there's a certain delight in seeing actors and actresses that you know from other work up there strutting their stuff. Apparently Zeta-Jones used to be a dancer before she went into acting, and both Zeta-Jones and and Zellweger don't do too badly on the singing (ZJ has more of a throaty, resonant diva voice, while Zellweger's is much more thin and sultry, lending itself more to a lounge feel). What I got a real kick out of though, was seeing Richard Gere on the big screen tap dancing, flipping hats around, and singing. Now, his singing wasn't bad - everything was on key and did a good job of portraying the smarminess and sleaziness of his character - but his voice is very thin and it almost sounds like he's singing everything with his mouth half open - kinda nasal.

I'd have to say that I probably wouldn't have been nearly as entertained if there were a bunch of no-namers headlining the flick... I think some of the charm in this and in Moulin Rouge was seeing these actors and actresses stretch themselves into an area where we haven't seen them before. Who knew that Nicole Kidman or Catherine Zeta-Jones could sing? I remember reading a while back about a trend where several top thespians, such as Kidman and Kevin Spacey, were taking time off from Hollywood to study theater in London. I can totally see how it would be a natural avenue for an entertainer to go in order to try some new things and stretch themselves in new areas.

- Zeta-Jones is Welsh. Yet in almost all of her movies she's been able to eliminate any trace of an English accent.

Some favorite scenes/production numbers (invisible, click and drag to view):

- Velma Kelly's opening number, "All That Jazz" - serves notice that this isn't a typical movie
- Queen Latifah's song, "When You're Good To Mama", was pretty good, and she exuded confidence in performing it - perhaps because she's the only member of the main cast for whom singing is a regular part of her career.
- the interplay between Billy Flynn's "We Both Reached for the Gun" and the press conference he's holding. The stage direction and choreography in this song is probably the most innovative; all of the media members act as if they are puppets being played by the strings that Billy is pulling, and Roxie acts as if she's a ventriloquist's dummy just saying the things that Billy wants her to say. Very clever.
- the editing between Flynn's "Razzle-Dazzle" and the courtroom trial, where Flynn pulls off some fast cross-examination of witnesses while then singing in the next scene. Kinda reminded me of A Few Good Men on speed.
- Lucy Liu has a cameo. I get the sense that she will never escape her image as a butt-kicking man-hater.

CURRENTLY READING: The Pursuit of God, A.W. Tozer. Good stuff... I'll post some quotes later.

CURRENT MUSIC: Been listening to some Rich Mullins CDs lately, both A Liturgy, A Legacy, and A Ragamuffin Band and The Jesus Record (demos). One of my favorite lyrics from the former that I had never noticed before:

From "Hard" - an amusing, witty, and insightful take on Jesus' teaching to not worry about clothing or food in Matthew: "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?... And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.

Well His eye is on the sparrow
And the lilies of the field have heard
And He will watch over you
And He will watch over me
So we can dress like flowers and eat like birds

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Recap of 12/24/02-01/02/03

I love having time off from work...

What'd I do all week? Let's see what I can remember...

Hung out with family for Christmas... day after Christmas, went to the Fry's sale to get a nice 27" Panasonic TV for my parents' room. Friday, had lunch at nVidia where we got to hear Alice's story of how Tomio proposed to her on Christmas day... hilarious to hear just how confused and surprised she was. In the afternoon, hit up Eastridge Mall with Andrew W, Janet, Olivia, and Joy; in other words, the folks who didn't have to work on the 27th... picked up some basketball shorts and a new blank journal, and got to laugh at Janet's tour guide-ish tendencies as we drove around in Southeast-ish San Jose. That night, ate dinner at Hunan Chili with a few folks then went to the Farley houses for some ping-pong and foosball, which led to this memorable exchange...

me: (after a particularly forceful ping-pong forehand by Karen) I think Karen is making a statement.
Olivia: Well Karen, I'm all ears.
Karen: [burp]

Last couple days, been playing some poker with the guys (Jeff/Mike/Dave/Eric), a few game nights (Taboo/Cranium), went to Todai with my bro, rang in the New Year with some folks from church. On Monday, spent some time reading through my journal over the past year and reflecting on lessons learned and memorable experiences... I'll probably write up a new blog with some thoughts there. Helped set up new DVD systems in my parents' room and at a friend's place... today was relaxing, did some reading, bike riding, practiced some golf over at West Valley.

As I was biking to get to West Valley, I rode through some of the residential parts of Saratoga. Passing by rather large houses with nice Benzes, Bimmers, and Lexuses parked in front, I found myself wondering whether I could really see myself living a quiet, suburban life when I grow up- er, when I grow older. I think I'll write more on this later...

Last Sunday, a couple of us watched The Count of Monte Cristo... better movie than I expected. Guy Pearce (the actor playing the villain) does a very nice job being smarmy. Also, there were a few good quotes, some poignant, and some hilarious - there was a high level of unintentional comedy in this movie... I'll end this post with some quotes. I think I'm going to start up a new page, perhaps off of geocities, where I just put some of my favorite quotes of the moment.

Abbe Faria: God said "Vengeance is mine".
Edmond: I don't believe in God.
Abbe Faria: That doesn't matter. He believes in you.

Edmond (to the teenage son of his rival and enemy): Life is a storm, my young friend. You will bask in the sunlight one moment, be shattered on the rocks the next. What makes you a man is what you do when that storm comes. You must look into that storm and shout as you did in Rome. "Do your worst, for I will do mine." Then the fates will know you as we know you...as Albert Mondego - the man.

Dorleac: Now you're thinking, just now, "Why me, O God?" The answer is, God has nothing to do with it. In fact, God is never in France this time of year.
Edmond: God is everywhere and sees everything!
Dorleac: Let's make a bargain. You ask God for help, and I'll stop (flogging you) the moment He shows up.

Luigi: We watch you and Jacopo fight to the death. If Jacopo wins, we welcome him back to the crew. If you win, I have given Jacopo the chance to live, even if he did not take advantage of it, and you can take his place on the boat.
Edmond: What if I win and I don't want to be a smuggler?
Luigi: Then we slit your throat, and we're a bit shorthanded.
Pause
Edmond: I find that smuggling is the life for me, and would be delighted to kill your friend the maggot!

Jacopo: I swear on my dead relatives - and even on the ones who are not feeling too good - I am your man forever!