Sunday - A Day of Rest

Hey there. I am beat. We had our rock night last night and we're still pretty tired from it. We must have gone to bed at about 3 AM. I'll post the pics and details tomorrow, since I'm too lazy to go and get the camera right now.

Today is our "we're not gonna do sh*t" day. You need those every now and then. We slept til 10, which is a huge luxury for us, and then made breakfast for the kids. We've been lounging on the couch since, watching TV. We caught the Bulls - Celtics game, which was great. My wife likes to give me grief cause I'm a huge Laker fan and the Celtics gave the Lakers a beat down in last year's finals. Seeing the Celtics playing, she was going for the Celtics (friendly trash talking ensued). My wife, not really a basketball enthusiast, was pretty into the game. The game was definitely an exciting one, that was close throughout and didn't name a victor until the 2nd OT. Bulls came up with some huge blocks in the 2nd OT for the win. Dont' worry friends, I'll convert her to a Laker fan soon enough. lol

After the game, she switched it over to some movie about Amy Fisher on the Lifetime Channel. I'm not very familiar with her story but the movie was awful, in the sense that it cut at the most inconvenient of places and the dialogue was not all that great. All the while, I'm tossing Reese's Pieces in the air, trying to land them in my mouth. Yes friends, I was chucking candy into the air and trying to eat them cause "silly daddy" is cool like that. lol My wife soon joined in, but to show me how it's done. I'm not very good at it and I'm sure that there's still a few pieces on the couch somewhere. Eh... too lazy to look for them now.

Once the movie was over, we switched it over to the Travel Channel where we've been watching the "paradise" series. Good stuff. You put anything in front of Paradise and you'll get the best places in the US to get some of that food. We caught the Ice Cream Paradise (Mmmmm We need to visit Ben & Jerry's to do their tour), Deep Fried Paradise, and now, Sandwich Paradise (I've eaten at the Stage Deli in NY!!!).

The Magic and Sixers are playing. I'll catch you guys later. I got some more lounging to do. Later!

Log Your Miles To Help Find A Cure To Breast Cancer

Hey there friends. Breast Cancer accounts for nearly 33% of the cancer detected in women. That's a fact that is stated in the Breast Cancer Facts & Figures section of Cancer.org. We don't need a month to bring awareness to this horrible disease. It's something that should be year round and if I can help spread the word, or help an organization aid in funding research, I will. This is why I have registered with Bumblebee Foods' BeeWell Miles program. Sign up is quick and easy and Bumblebee Foods is donating $.15 to the Breast Cancer Network of Strength® for every mile you log in the website. They are donating up to $150,000 and if everyone pitches in, we can easily hit the 1,000,000 miles needed for the company to donate an additional $50,000. We have until 10/31/09.


Easy, right? You walk, you run, you help save lives. It really can't get much easier, but it does get better. Everyday that you log in your miles, you will gain one entry to win an instant prize. You can also receive a coupon for $15 off Lady Footlocker (Min $75 purchase), $5 Subscription to Health Magazine, or other great prizes by entering the code found on specially marked cans of Bumblebee Foods. You simply enter the code here and see if you're a winner. The website also makes it extremely easy to calculate your miles. Enter two addresses (or land marks, or two points on the map provided) and miles will be calculated for you. There is also this nifty tool where you can log your meals, nutrition, miles, and activities so that you can do a side by side comparison on how many calories are being burned compared to how many are being entered in your body. All for the sake being active and health conscience.



Check out my profile, sign up, and become my friend. Yes, it shows a bunch of 0's now, but that's because I signed up prior to this post, but I want that "I Made a Difference" badge and I need to log 100,000 miles for it. It's quick and it's easy and you'll not only help a noble cause, but be healthier because of it as well. Later!

Metallman = Buckethead for Saturday Night's Rock Out

Hey there. I've decided. I'm going to be Buckethead for Saturday night. I mentioned earlier that my wife set up a game night for this Saturday and the twist added is that guests would need to be dressed up as a musician. My wife has already called a "preggers Gwen Stefani" while I was still undecided... until today.

While driving to work this morning, my wife showed me a picture of a friend that sent a text message to her. She was wearing a hat that resembled something like the hats worn by the "Hot Dog on a Stick" workers. Then, it dawned on me. I shall be Buckethead! lol Funny how you associate 2 completely unrelated items. In this instance it's Hot Dog on a Stick and Buckethead. I laughed and told my wife that we need to get a bucket of chicken and a white mask and I'm set. So far, I know of 3 "rockers" that will be attending Saturday. We have Buckethead, Gwen Stefani, and Maynard (Tool). Everyone is else is keeping quite of their identities. Hopefully, we won't get any people that will flake out and not come in costume. Later!


UPDATE:

Confirmed appearances by:

Buckethead
Maynard (Tool)
Noodles (The Gorillaz)
The Donnas
Miss B (My Ruin)

Unconfirmed appearances by:

Axl Rose (G n R)
Cindy Lauper

Be Careful Where You Sit!

Hey there. As many of you know, my wife and I are expecting and we have gotten many well wishes from across the globe. We also started to get many pregnancy jokes from friends and family and this is one that crossed my inbox earlier today. Thought is was hilarious and the fact that it claims to be true makes it even more hilarious. Enjoy.

ACTUAL AUSTRALIAN COURT DOCKET 12659 - CASE OF THE PREGNANT LADY

A woman, about 8 months pregnant, got on a bus. She noticed the man opposite her was smiling at her. She decided it was a little weird so she moved to another seat. This time, the man's smile turned to a grin. Feeling uneasy, she moved again. This time, the man seemed more amused. When the woman moved for the fourth time, the man burst out laughing. The woman, freaked out and complained to the bus driver and the he had the man arrested.

During court, the judge asked the man, in his 20's, what he had to say for himself.

The man replied, "Well, your honor, it went down like this. When the lady got on the bus, I couldn't help but notice her condition. She sat down under a sign that read, "The Double Mint Twins are coming", so I smiled. Then she moved and sat under a sign that read, "Logan's Liniment will reduce the swelling", so I grinned. Then she placed herself under a deodorant sign that read, "William's Big Stick did the trick", and I could hardly contain myself. Then, your honor, when she moved the fourth time and say under a sign that read, "Goodyear Rubber could have prevented this accident", I just lost it.

The case was dismissed.

The NBA Playoffs are Here

Hey there. I am a huge basketball fan and I have been waiting for this for almost a year. THE NBA PLAYOFFS ARE FINALLY HERE!!! I'm a huge Lakers fan. I've been following them since the days of Byron Scott, AC Green, Magic and Pat Riley. I pledge loyalty to no other team but the Lakers. If you follow basketball, then you would know that the Lakers were humiliated by the Celtics in last year's championship round. Do or die time for the Lakers, and what did they do? Lay a turd the size of the L.A. river... The bastards pretty much just rolled over. How embarrassing. This year will be different. It better be different. I caught the Lakers put a beat down on the Jazz this weekend and the team looked strong. The final score does not tell the tale of the game since the Lakers were in control early (up by 22 at the half) and pretty much was on cruise control the rest of the game. We're a bunch of focused individuals and this season will be a failure without a title. Being a fan, I didn't just watch the Laker game, the weekend was full of surprises in what is turning out to be a pretty interesting first round.

First game of the playoffs, Chicago @ Boston. The Celtics are the reigning champs and should be able to dispel an upcoming Chicago team. Well, the C's were without Kevin Garnett and the Bulls refused to go down without a fight. Soon to be rookie of the year (in my opinion, at least) Derrick Rose scored 36 points in his playoff debut. A huge deal since it's something that Michael Jordan nor Magic Johnson accomplished in their debut. The guy was on fire. He kept his team in the game by calmly hitting 2 clutch freethrows to put the Bulls up 1 near the end of the game. While Paul Pierce hit 1 or 2 moments later to tie the game instead of putting his team up by 1 near the end of regulation. The Bulls continued the momentum into OT and managed to edge out the Celtics for a surprising win. Rajon Rondo is having difficulties staying in front of Derrick Rose. Unless they contain Rose in the coming games, this could be a long series that can go either way.

Game 2 featured the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Detroit Pistons. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. It's highly anticipated that the Lakers will meet the Cavs in the finals so I keep a close eye on this game. The Cavs look strong in their win. I don't see them losing to Pistons. The Pistons looked like a team that is worn out. GM Joe Dumars has done a great piecing together a great team there but that team may need to start the rebuilding process soon. The Cavs are too strong and too good to lose to an old team.

Game 3 featured the Dallas Mavericks and the San Antonio Spurs. I only caught glimpses of this game, since I spent most of the afternoon doing come yard work and heavy duty cleaning. What I did see was the Spurs up big in the second qtr, which, quite frankly, I expected. When I looked at the highlights later in the evening, shocker #2 came to light when it showed that Dallas pulled out the win. San Antonio needs the injured Manu Ginobli if they wish to get far. This is a toss up for me since the Spurs have championship experience and a great coach in Greg "Poppa", but it may not be enough this time.

Game 4 was the Rockets and the Trailblazers. I should have watched this game, but payed no attention to it all. Was still outside working... I will say this however. Portland was looking very formidable near the end of the regular season. It's a huge disappointment for them to come out flat and lose to Houston home. Portland is the only team in the West that I see posing a problem to the Lakers. Their big guys can definitely match up to our bigs and the battle won at the post will determine the winner of the game.


Image courtesy of FoxSports.com

Sunday

Game 1 was Lakers at Jazz. Already spoke of this game and I'll be extremely disappointed if we dont' take care of the Jazz in 4 or 5 games. They are not strong enough or big enough to contend with our length. No excuses Lakers! Handle your business.

Game 2 featured the Orlando Magic and Philadelphia 76ers. The Magic was in control of this game from the start. Up by 18 or so by the end of the 3rd quarter, the Magic had this game in the bag. Then, they collapsed. The Sixers were the aggressors, constantly in the lane, hitting layups. Now, if you have a monster like Dwight Howard on your team, NO ONE SHOULD BE GETTING LAYUPS! The guys is a beast, and he's only 22! He's only going to get better from here. Chalk it up to inexperience if you want, the Magic gave this game to the Sixers in that 4th quarter.

I didn't see the next two games, but considering that they were beat downs, I don't think I missed much. The Hawks gave a huge hurt to the Heat. Surprisingly, they handed them a 26 point beatdown. I didn't see the game, so I don't know the facts, but where was Dwayne Wade? He's a killer talent to have on a team and he tends to shine in the playoffs. His leadership may need to be questioned if he allowed his team to be on the receiving end of a beating like this.

The other game was the New Orleans Hornets at Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets have the second seed in the West and considering how tight seeds 2-8 were, it speaks volumes that they were the ones to claim that spot. This was another one where Chris Paul should not have let his team lose by so much. He's the leader of that team and should have lit a fire under his team. Also, I was not impressed by his press conference explaination. It seemed to me that he was making excuses than taking measures to rectify the team. It's a chess match during the playoffs. Adjustments, and then readjustments are made and the team that can do it better tends to win.

If you keep track, you'll notice that the road team won in four of the contests, stealing home court advantage. I don't believe in home court advantange. You either have the skills to win, or you don't. It shouldn't matter whether the game is in different cities. The 4 teams that won on road displayed their skill. With the exception of the Rockets, the road team fought back after being down to take the win. It was an exciting slate of games this weekend and the playoffs are looking to be extrememly entertaining. Later!


Image courtesy of FoxSports.com

Old Boy: A film of Love or Revenge

Hey there. I first caught of glimpse of this film back in October, when the Bravo network was running their 30 Even Scarier Movie Moments. Yes, the show wasn't all that great, but considering that it was Halloween time and being a fan of the horror film genre, I just could not tune it out. The film Old Boy ranked near the top 5, I believe, and I made a mental note to check it out one day. Well, that day came earlier this week.

I've stated my new found passion for the IFC and Sundance channels before. This week, they've brought another gem of a movie to me. Old Boy is a South Korean movie that will blow your mind away. It is rumored that Quentin Tarantino was so moved by the film, that he lobbied for the film to receive the Palme d'Or award during the film's showing at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. The film is subtitled in English so the one negative thing I will saw about this film is that it's difficult to focus on the actors and their facial expressions while reading.

Warning: If you plan on watching the film and do not want me to kill it for you, then I strongly suggest you stop reading here. Go watch the film, then come back to read up on my thoughts. Thanks.

The film revolves around Dae-su, a family man with a drinking problem. One night, he is so drink, that his friend, Joo-Hwan, has to retrieve him from a bar. As Joo-Hwan phones Dae-su's wife, to let her know that he'd bringing him home, Dae-su disappears. Spending no more than 5 to 10 seconds in the phone booth, Joo-Hwan is dumbfounded at his disappearance. As the camera panned out to show the sidewalk, you get the feeling that this was not a random kidnapping.

We are then shown of Dae-su's whereabouts. He is being held captive in a hotel room. While there, he discovers that his wife was murdered, with him being the prime suspect, and his daughter was sent to a foster home. Dae-su then spends the 15 years in the hotel room.

One day, out of the blue, the hotel room door is opened. While getting some sushi, he passes out and the woman chef, Mi-do, takes him. When he awakens, he receives a call from his captor and Dae-su vows to get even. Dae-su, then goes on a mission, gathering clues, as to his captor's motives and identity. Soon after discovering that he was captured because "talks to much", he comes face to face with his captor, Woo-jin. Woo-jin, then gives Dae-wu the ultimatum, discover the reason he was imprisoned. If he fails, Mi-do, will die, and if he succeeds, Woo-jin will kill himself. Mi-do, becoming more than just a friend to Dae-su, is then held hostage before Dae-su to show Woo-jin's seriousness.

Mi-do and Dae-su pack up and stay in another hotel to avoid Woo-jin and his gang. During this brief time, they express their love for each other and end up having sex.

Shortly thereafter, Dae-su uncovers the motive. Woo-jin was a classmate of Dae-su back in their high school days. Dae-su discovered the incestuous relationship that Woo-jin and his sister had. Leaving town the next day, Dae-su spoke about what he saw to a friend before leaving and his friend started spreading rumors of the relationship. The rumors even got as far as Woo-jin's sister being pregnant. Shortly thereafter, his sister is found at the bottom of a dam, dead.



Dae-su confronts Woo-jin and tells him what he has uncovered. He then accuses him of killing his sister to hide his "shameful" secret. Woo-jin laughs it off and present Dae-su with a gift. It ends up being a Dae-su' family photo album featuring many pictures of his daughter. As he flips through the book, it is revealed that Dae-su's daughter is Mi-do. Horrified of what has become of his relationship with his daughter, Dae-su begs Woo jin to keep this a secret from Mi-do. He even goes as far as cutting off his tongue to show that he will not speak of what transpired. Woo-jin then spills the beans of his plan. His capture, his daughter, the murder of his wife, all done so that Dae-su and Mi-do would fall in love. Woo-jin expresses his love for his sister to Dae-su and calmly asks him if he can do the same with Mi-do. Keeping good on his deal, Joo-win commits suicide.


The film ends with a disturbing image. Dae-su and Mi-do are out in the snow and Mi-do hugs Dae-su saying that she loves him. Dae-su has a smile on his face upon hearing this, but that smile soon fades and transforms to a look of grimace.

The movie did leave the question, does Mi-do know of Dea-su's secret? It also left me wondering if Woo-jin is the antagonist of this movie. Woo-jin and his sister had a lover's relationship, as witnessed by Dae-su, but Woo-jin's parting words to Dae-su left me wondering if, had Dae-su not mention what he saw, would it all have been avoided? Did Dae-su, the persona that we follow throughout the ordeal, deserve what he had coming? The fact that a film will have me talking about it well after I've finished seeing it speaks volumes. This is one that you definitely need to check out.

The camera work in this film is also suberb. I mentioned facial expressions earlier because the film uses them to great effect. When Dae-su grimaces, you grimace, when Woo-jin sneers, you get a rush of hatred. It's used to great effect and should be greatly applauded. Another great effect occured during Dea-su's memorable fight scene. Over 3 and half minutes of action, all done in one shot, being reminiscent of the Final Fight video game. So I leave you with this. A video of one the longest fighting sequences in a film. Later.