Friday, January 25, 2008  |  

- big daddy drew does it again -

Big Daddy Drew's latest, "poorly-thought-out and not dick jokey enough point about this whole blogs vs. MSM bitchfest" Jamboroo is precisely the reason why he is my new hero.

I'd like to see Stephen A. Smith with all his "training" and "expertise" write something even half as brilliant.

Current music: Tegan and Sara - Hop a Plane

Thursday, January 24, 2008  |  

- writers' strike ruins everything -

Having gone to the gym 18 out of last 19 days, I gave myself a well-deserved break: some spicy ramen (Kim Hye-soo style, of course), a little Amy Winehouse moment, and hours of recycled TV.

In chronological order:

1. Pure in Heart: A Korean soap opera (or "drama" as we call it) on the Multicultural Channel. It's one of those super cheesy/old-fashioned shows that reminds me of everything I hate about the Korean culture, but I try to catch it whenever I can because Mom got hooked on it during her visit and still calls to ask for recaps. Yes, really.
   
   
2. 30 Rock: An old episode from Season 1 featuring Conan O'Brien and Ryan O'Reily from Oz. My favorite moment: When Liz asks Donaghy why he's wearing a tux, and he answers "It's after 6 o'clock, Lemon. What am I, a farmer?"
   
   
3. Scrubs: It had that creepy carjacker dude from Six Feet Under as some dude who tries to kill himself. Or something. I don't really know because I was flipping back and forth between this and...
   
   
4. The Office: The one where Michael testifies at Jan's wrongful dismissal lawsuit. I like the US version better because Michael Scott, even with all his flaws, is ultimately a good guy (unlike David Brent who really had no redeeming qualities).
   
   
5. Futurama: Everyone gets a $300 tax refund and hilarity ensues. I should watch this show more often. So brilliant and underrated.
   
   
6. Hey Paula: Before you say anything about Ms. Abdul: Did you know that Straight Up was the first English song I ever learned lyrics to? That I bought Spellbound (on cassette!) on the day it came out? Paula may be batshit crazy (like Defamer once wrote, if your stylist is also your best friend, that's a sign that you have disengaged from reality), but she's still Forever My Girl.
   
   
7. Elton John's 60th Birthday Bash at MSG: Which made me reminisce about seeing him live back in 2006. Easily the top 5 happiest moment of my life. Except when he sang like 5 new songs in a row, preceded by a lengthy explanation about the songs' meanings. That was not cool.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008  |  

- geek joke du jour -

Oldie but goodie:

Q: What does Oracle stand for?
A: One Real Asshole Called Larry Ellison.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008  |  

- air, shmair -

Fuck Thinnovation. I'd take Lenovo X300 any day of the week and twice on Sundays.

Current music: Alicia Keys - As I Am

Monday, January 21, 2008  |  

- i'm brian fellow -

OK, so winning by 9 probably doesn't qualify as a "blowout" but whatever. And if you thought Eli would be the only QB to not throw an interception on Sunday, you're lying.

Oh well, at least we have been spared of a 2-week Favre lovefest.

Some counterprogramming for the weekend:

1. SNL: The Best of Tracy Morgan: I've never been a fan of the man, but this is one of my favorite SNL sketches of all time. That bird better pray he don't screw up my credit!
   
   
2. Judy Garland: The Concert Years: Random pick-up from the library. Shut it.
   
   
3. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: Not bad for a free iTunes download. Just wondering though: if the machines are so smart, why don't they just send a robot who pretends to be a "good" terminator, befriends John Connor, then kills him when he least expects it?

Friday, January 18, 2008  |  

- bring on the slurper bowl -

With only 3 games remaining in the NFL season, I would like to point out that I was 4-for-4 on my picks last weekend. Booya.

My picks for this Sunday:

1. Pats over Chargers in a blowout.
   With or without Marmalard, San Diego is fucked.
   
   
2. Packs over Giants in a close one.
   Can Eli have another INT-free game? Computer says no.

Tuesday, January 15, 2008  |  

- he blinded me with scientology -

ICYMI: The "terrifyingly creepy" Tom Cruise Scientology indoctrination video. (Here is the two-minute highlight reel if you don't want to watch all 9 glorious minutes of it.)

Dang, this motherfucker's crazier than I thought.

Which reminds me: my very own Close Encounter of the Scientology Kind.

Senior year college, Man, Tim, Hai-Po and I all landed co-op jobs at PMC-Sierra in Burnaby (this was way back when I fancied myself as a hardware design engineer). Being the only Vancouverite of the bunch, I offered to show them around the town, including the magnificent DTES where Man spotted a Church of Scientology temple. He had to take a picture, of course. We managed to successfully sneak in for a photo-op, but then got "caught" by the front desk guy on our way out.

Scientology dude: Would you like to learn about Scientology?
Us: Um... Sure.
Scientology dude: Well, Tom Cruise is a member.

Monday, January 14, 2008  |  

- goodbye gizmodo (hello engadget) -

Brian Lam responds to the uproar stemming from the now-infamous Gizmodo TV-B-Gone prank at CES 2008:

You don't get more access by selling out for press credentials first chance you get, kowtowing to corporations and tradeshows and playing nice; you earn your respect by fact finding, reporting, having untouchable integrity, provocative coverage and gaining readers through your reputation for those things. Our prank pays homage to the notion of independence and independent reporting. And no matter how much access the companies give us, we won't ever stop being irreverent. That's what this prank was about and what the press should understand.

Thursday, January 10, 2008  |  

- catching up -

My new year's resolution: buy nice socks. No, really.

No comment on the whole Clemens/McNamee situation. To quote Rocket himself, "I don't give a rat's ass."

In heavy rotation on my iPods these days: In Our Bedroom After the War, The Con, 100 Days, 100 Nights, We Are the Night.

Speaking of Stars, I can't decide if Personal is a funny or sad song. Probably neither.

I thought Pan's Labyrinth was a children's movie? Holy shit.

I was all fixin' to go see Juno, but then found out that it was written by Diablo Cody. Needless to say, I'm waiting for the DVD now.

Hannah's been trying to get me to see Lars and the Real Girl with her. Not gonna happen.

On the top of my to-see list: Persepolis. I think it's sort of like Maus except it has no mice in it. And not about the holocaust. And in French. OK, maybe it's totally different.

Also on my to-see list: nothing else.

Kintaro's cheese ramen is fucking gross. I should've known better than to trust white people's opinion on Japanese food.

Re-injured my knee on the very first run on the year. I was smart enough to stop at the first sign of pain this time around (unlike last May when I just kept on running -- for 7 more miles -- and ended up messing up the other knee as well) and started rehab right away, so I'm still hopeful for the Sun Run in April.

This year's target time is 45:33, but I'd be thrilled with anything under 50 minutes.

I'm starting to get sick of football. Go Pats -- just get it over with already.

Current music: Junior Boys - So This Is Goodbye