Stream of Consciousness
Last night as I was waiting for some tests to finish running, I was browsing through the archives of
The Sports Guy on
ESPN.com... funny, funny guy. Periodically in his columns, he'll just write up a series of ramblings about whatever topics happen to pop into mind. So, since I haven't written in a while and there's plenty to write about, here's some stream of consciousness for ya...
Yosemite... I have fond memories of that place because throughout high school and into college, one of my family's traditions would be to go camping in Yosemite each 4th of July weekend. Since campsites are limited and coveted, my mom would wake up at like 6 in the morning a half year in advance in order to call to reserve a site, along with a bunch of her buddies. Usually only a few would get through and would reserve a few sites for other people. Yeah, we're diehard...
In my opinion, the Yosemite Valley is probably the prettiest place in the world. Granted, I haven’t seen much of the world, but the combination of waterfalls, mountains, rock structures, redwood trees, a clear night sky, and a bustling river is hard to beat. Biking around the valley is one of my favorite activities, as you get miles of uninterrupted bike trail, gorgeous sights, a decent workout, and the freedom to go almost anywhere and do anything. Can't think of a better way to spend about 4 days than camping in Yosemite - 1 day to get there and set up, 1 to do a fairly strenuous hike (Half Dome, Glacier Point, etc.), 1 day to relax (raft, bike, read, nap), and 1 to head home. Unfortunately, this year we were only there for 3 due to my job. Ah well. 'Twas nice anyhow.
Jen, Jerry, and Ted are headed away from the local Canaan Church family this month. We bid farewell to Jen last Sunday, and Jerry and Ted will be heading off at the end of the month.
Jen, Byron, Maria, Gideon, and I formed the core of what I like to call the "Young People's Revolution" at Canaan :-). We were the first of the new wave of young adults that now make up the majority of FNL. Hm, I sense my ego coming into play here, but this is my blog... anyhow, I served with Jen for a few years in the worship ministry; very talented person and a good friend.
Jerry showed up and became Byron's roommate. Looks a bit like Tiger Woods (and apparently does a pretty good "tiger" (little "t") impression). Hm, you know a geek's doing the writing when he nests parentheses. Anyhow, while we'll remember Jerry for memorable sayings and doings (and the fact that his huge biceps are as big around as his calves), he was a faithful men's group leader and never ceased to exhort us to "FOCUS!"
Ted will always be remembered for his talented violin (which added a classy component to our musical worship), rainmaker high-arching shots from 28 feet out, his rabid Lakers support, and combining with JT to form the most ardent karaoke enthusiasts of our young adults group.
Fare thee well to all three of you...
Terminator 3. (Drag mouse over following lines if you want to read...)
Just can't compare to the masterpiece that was Terminator 2. There are two major problems with the movie: 1) there was just about nothing new in the way of plot or special effects, and 2) we don't care about the characters.
We've seen the plot before: Arnold comes back through time to prevent a newer-model Terminator from killing one of the humans' future leaders in the resistance against the machine overlords. The new bad-girl terminator, T-X (Terminatrix) was liquid metal over a skeleton, so morphing from one being into another - we've seen it done better by Robert Patrick. Granted, having the skeleton underneath the liquid metal gives the Terminatrix an array of guns and such to add to her arsenal (recall that the T-1000 could only form blunt and bladed shapes), but we find out at the end of the movie that having a physical body - covered with liquid metal or not - can be a hindrance because it allows you to be affected physically. In T2, I suspect that the T-1000 could have recovered (albeit slowly) from being shot by the grenade launcher if he hadn't tumbled into the molten metal. In T3, the T-X gets grabbed and blown up by Arnold sticking his power pack into her mouth at the end of the movie. If she was all liquid-metal, that couldn't happen. Finally, The T-X simply doesn't have the same sense of menace that the T-1000 did as Patrick was skewering people with his rapier-fingers and broadsword-hands.
We also don't care about the characters. In T2, Sarah Connor was played hauntingly by Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong played the young John Connor with likable rebelliousness and irrepressibility, and Arnold's T-800 main character development was learning how to be "more human" to the point where he becomes a surrogate father-figure for John. I suspect most moviegoers were somewhat touched at the ending where, his task completed, Arnold says goodbye to the Connors saying, "I know now why you cry - but it's something I can never do." In T3, with Arnold being an entirely new Terminator, the dialogue is somewhat forced, attempts at humor are over-the-top, and characters don't become likable - by the end of the movie, no one really cares if John Connor survives or not, or if Arnold completes his mission.
All in all, a mediocre movie. Do yourself a favor and rent or buy T2 again.
Sports. It's mid-July and my sports-fandom is still being consumed by the NBA, several weeks after the Spurs took home the trophy. There's a great deal of intrigue with LeBron James entering the league and the Lakers building quite a team through free agency (although it's disappointing to hear today's Kobe news). All this is translating into increased interest in the sport, and to that I say, bravo!
At the office, we have both men's and women's bathrooms, even though there are 12 guys and 1 gal. I guess when the gal is the CEO, she can claim her own bathroom.
A running joke at my company - some context, of the 13 employees, we have 8 Chinese (all immigrants, with the exception of... me), 3 Indian, 1 Romanian, and 1 Caucasian-American from Missouri. So there's a lot of cultural education going on, which is pretty cool. One day, one of our Chinese engineers (WenYong) got into kind of an agitated state due to work, and went up to an Indian engineer (Diwakar). Forgetting who he was talking to, a stream of Mandarin came out of his mouth. Ever since then, Diwakar will periodically go up to WenYong and say, "ariosa cknklvu?" or some other gibberish. It's hecka funny.
In last Sunday's Simpsons episode, a Native American is describing an idyllic nature scene, then it appears on screen - fish jumping out of a clear brook, rabbits hopping, a flock of birds flies and lands on a moose's antlers. Then, the birds begin flapping and carry the startled moose away. I was cracking up.
Last night, "Top Gun" came on TBS at around 11 pm. That did it... I ended up staying awake till 1 am to finish watching the movie. Perhaps no more eminently quotable flick for the mid-twenties crowd. "Your ego's writing checks your body can't cash." "Now
this is what I call a target-rich environment." So over-the-top and yet so cool. Love that soundtrack too.
Isn't it fun watching older movies and seeing famous people before they become famous? In Top Gun, aside from Cruise/Preston, there's Michael Ironside, Anthony Edwards, and Tim Robbins (I realized the latter just last night). In "A Few Good Men" (another Cruise flick - coincidence?), we see Cuba Gooding Jr. and Kiefer Sutherland.
Weekend here I come!
