... according to the Sunday Mail (I've bolded the ones I've seen and italicized the ones that I've considered watching in the past):
1 Apocalypse Now
2 The Apartment
3 City of God
4 Chinatown
5 Sexy Beast
6 2001: A Space Odyssey
7 North by Northwest
8 A Bout de Souffle
9 Donnie Darko
10 Manhattan
11 Alien
12 Lost in Translation
13 The Shawshank Redemption - perhaps my favorite non-Star Wars/Lord of the Rings movie)
14 Lagaan: Once Upon A Time in India
15 Pulp Fiction - I walked out of it the first time around, but I'd consider seeing it again, I suppose
16 Touch of Evil
17 Walkabout
18 Black Narcissus
19 Boyz N the Hood
20 The Player
21 Come and See
22 Heavenly Creatures
23 A Night at the Opera
24 Erin Brockovich
25 Trainspotting
26 The Breakfast Club
27 Hero
28 Fanny and Alexander
29 Pink Flamingos
30 All About Eve
31 Scarface
32 Terminator 2
33 Three Colours: Blue
34 The Royal Tenen-baums
35 The Ladykillers
36 Fight Club
37 The Searchers
38 Mulholland Drive
39 The Ipcress File
40 The King of Comedy
41 Manhunter
42 Dawn of the Dead
43 Princess Mononoke
44 Raising Arizona
45 Cabaret
46 This Sporting Life
47 Brazil
48 Aguirre: The Wrath of God
49 Secrets and Lies
50 Badlands
Looks like I have some work to do before I die!
Friday, July 28, 2006
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Best graffiti ever
A former Cal grad told me about the best graffiti he's ever seen, found in a bathroom at LeConte Hall on the Berkeley campus (for the uninitiated, LeConte is the physics building):
Heisenberg may have been here.
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Bad news / Good news
Bad news: at work, since I'm now overseeing the sub-team that handles, among other things, second-level tech support (basically, we support the regular tech support people when they encounter something they can't handle), I now have my personal cell number entered into the directory in case anyone wants to get in touch with me regarding high priority issues outside of regular working hours.
Good news: the company will now start paying for my cell phone service.
Old times
After a conversation with Danny about our good ol' younger days, I've taken to reading some of the early entries of the 5824 blog. Even though I didn't live there, the exploits of Danny, Cal, and JLau were immense fun to read... talk about your legendary bachelor pads. Now that JLau is hitched and Danny's in SoCal, I guess it's kind of like the Diaspora.
Some favorite early entries:
Are you a metrosexual? quiz - 9.23.2003
Spider on fire 10.4.2003, Beginning of East Bay/South Bay weapon-making rivalry 10.15.2003
Bacon-wrapped, bacon-stuffed turkey 12.5.2003, 12.6.2003, Christmas poem 12.24.2003
State of the house
What other house would have its own T-shirt?
Good news: the company will now start paying for my cell phone service.
Old times
After a conversation with Danny about our good ol' younger days, I've taken to reading some of the early entries of the 5824 blog. Even though I didn't live there, the exploits of Danny, Cal, and JLau were immense fun to read... talk about your legendary bachelor pads. Now that JLau is hitched and Danny's in SoCal, I guess it's kind of like the Diaspora.
Some favorite early entries:
Are you a metrosexual? quiz - 9.23.2003
Spider on fire 10.4.2003, Beginning of East Bay/South Bay weapon-making rivalry 10.15.2003
Bacon-wrapped, bacon-stuffed turkey 12.5.2003, 12.6.2003, Christmas poem 12.24.2003
State of the house
What other house would have its own T-shirt?
Saturday, July 22, 2006
Ode (?) to a trustworthy tool
About 3 weeks ago, I was getting ready for worship practice in our church's sanctuary. I got set up, pulled my trusty Yamaha FGX412SC out of my case, jacked in, and strummed - no sound. Checked the cable - no sound. Checked the battery - no sound. Tested a different instrument with the same cable and battery - it worked. My unfortunate conclusion: the pickup in my acoustic-electric guitar, which had served me faithfully in leading worship basically every other week for six years, had finally burnt out.I first bought the guitar my junior year of college after a trip to Guitar Center with a few other guys in my college fellowship for a package deal of about $500 (guitar, case, tuner, capo, strings, picks) and promptly got the action lowered, and in the years since, it's followed me to New York City, the beach, camping trips, and most often, on stage at my church. While it sounded better than average for a mid-range guitar and was nicely low-maintenance, I never developed the loving affection for it like some other friends did for theirs. To me, it was a useful tool that sounded good and performed its function well, but I had no qualms about letting other people borrow it and wouldn't even wince too much if someone banged it into a wall.
So now what? Couple of options:1) I can check to see how much it would cost to fix the pickup in my guitar. Depending on the repair cost, it may or may not be worth it.
2) I can revisit my previous musing on upgrading to a "last guitar I'll ever need" like the Taylor 414 pictured to the right.
3) In the band setting, I've found that while I have the most experience leading on vocals and guitar, I have the most fun when I'm playing a supporting instrument or singing backup. So perhaps I'll start learning mandolin... or drums... or get better at bass... percussion... the possibilities are endless! (although bound by my finances, darnit)
New shades
After reading this article on how sunglasses work, I'm now thinking of ditching my usual "$10 generic brand at the flea market" sunglasses and investing in a nicer pair. Although the generic ones probably have UV protection, why take the chance on actually making things worse? Quote from the article: "The cheap sunglasses block some of the light, causing your iris to open to allow more light in. This lets in more of the UV light as well, increasing the damage UV light can cause to the retina."
So, I'm planning to either make use of one of my optometrist connections to get Oakleys or Nikes for considerably less than retail, or just go to REI and pick up a pair of polarized sunglasses for around $35 (heard about this from a coworker).
Update 2006/07/24
Yesterday I went ahead and bought these from REI. They're nice, but not so nice that I have to pamper them...
Heat
Here's a map of the US current temperatures from this afternoon:
Looks like the Great Lakes area is a nice place to be this time of year!
Fortunately, the weather in California should start cooling down next week back to the mid-70s we pay so much money to enjoy 90% of the year.
Besides, while driving in my air-conditioned car this afternoon in 104 degree weather, I saw some guys outside on the street holding those arrow signs trying to entice drivers to check out apartments and condos, and promptly decided to try to avoid complaining as much as I have been.
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Jars of Clay favorites
I recently took part in a poll on a music website listing my favorite songs from my favorite band, Jars of Clay. Here's the current list from their entire discography so far (their newest album, "Good Monsters", is scheduled to release later this year). Maybe one of these days I'll get around to making a mix...
From "Jars of Clay":
Liquid
Like a Child
Boy on a String
Flood
Worlds Apart
From "Much Afraid":
Overjoyed
Fade to Grey
Tea and Sympathy
Truce
Hymn
From "If I Left The Zoo":
Unforgetful You
Collide
Sad Clown
I'm Alright
Can't Erase It
From "The Eleventh Hour"
Something Beautiful
Revolution
From "Furthermore":
Frail (prefer this version to Much Afraid's)
From "Who We Are Instead":
Trouble Is
Lesser Things
Jealous Kind
From "Redemption Songs":
I'll Fly Away
On Jordan's Stormy Banks I Stand
From other sources:
This Road
From "Jars of Clay":
Liquid
Like a Child
Boy on a String
Flood
Worlds Apart
From "Much Afraid":
Overjoyed
Fade to Grey
Tea and Sympathy
Truce
Hymn
From "If I Left The Zoo":
Unforgetful You
Collide
Sad Clown
I'm Alright
Can't Erase It
From "The Eleventh Hour"
Something Beautiful
Revolution
From "Furthermore":
Frail (prefer this version to Much Afraid's)
From "Who We Are Instead":
Trouble Is
Lesser Things
Jealous Kind
From "Redemption Songs":
I'll Fly Away
On Jordan's Stormy Banks I Stand
From other sources:
This Road
Sunday, July 09, 2006
Assorted food pictures
Some of the good eats from the past two months...
Rack of lamb (some French restaurant in LA)
Seafood soup medley (same French restaurant):
Fish over leeks with some kind of fruit sauce (same French restaurant)
New York strip steak (same French restaurant)
Biggest sashimi platter I've ever gotten (Japanese restaurant in LA). I wasn't even able to finish all of the tuna chunks! Guess how much it costs? Hint: it's the lunch special.
Chili dog, teriyaki chicken, and veggie medley (Guy's Appreciation)
Strawberry and Nutella crepe (Crepes-a-go-go, Berkeley):
Lamb chops and potato puffs (Gregoire, Berkeley):
Rack of lamb (some French restaurant in LA)
Seafood soup medley (same French restaurant):
Fish over leeks with some kind of fruit sauce (same French restaurant)
New York strip steak (same French restaurant)
Biggest sashimi platter I've ever gotten (Japanese restaurant in LA). I wasn't even able to finish all of the tuna chunks! Guess how much it costs? Hint: it's the lunch special.
Chili dog, teriyaki chicken, and veggie medley (Guy's Appreciation)
Strawberry and Nutella crepe (Crepes-a-go-go, Berkeley):
Lamb chops and potato puffs (Gregoire, Berkeley):
Saturday, July 08, 2006
Assorted scenic pictures
A picture post, ranging back to our family vacation in May (note: for some reason I still avoid posting pictures with people's faces in them, yet people who know my ID can go and browse my Yahoo photos at their leisure. Go figure. Maybe someday I'll be more comfortable with it):
Yosemite
With the huge amounts of rain dumping tons of snow on the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California, going to Yosemite and other national parks in May just as all of it was melting resulted in some breathtaking visuals of waterfalls and rivers swollen beyond capacity.
Yosemite Valley:
Bridalveil Falls:
Yosemite Falls:
There was even so much water that Yosemite, famed for its waterfalls, had more than a few impromptu waterfalls show up on the valley walls:
Sequoias
These trees, the largest living organisms in the world, are both awe-inspiring in their size, age, and majesty - and yet interesting in the sense that they aren't as all-powerful as they look. In order for the seeds to take root, they rely on lightning-caused fires to clear out the underbrush on the forest floor so that they don't have to compete with other plants for nutrients. They need squirrels to help them disperse seeds from the cones. And finally, despite their ability to live several thousand years, they can actually be quite fragile in that their root system is very shallow.
Amazing that a little brush like this one (which came up to my mid-shin):
Could eventually grow into the General Sherman tree, the largest living organism in the world (2300-2700 years old, 275 ft high, 103 ft in diameter at the base):
Getty Center
Entrance:
Garden:
Independence Day fireworks
From the Shoreline Amphitheatre after the Movie Magic concert (see Esther's and Karen's recaps, as well as Karen's video of the grand finale):
Bursting over Great America:
Yosemite
With the huge amounts of rain dumping tons of snow on the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California, going to Yosemite and other national parks in May just as all of it was melting resulted in some breathtaking visuals of waterfalls and rivers swollen beyond capacity.
Yosemite Valley:
Bridalveil Falls:
Yosemite Falls:
There was even so much water that Yosemite, famed for its waterfalls, had more than a few impromptu waterfalls show up on the valley walls:
Sequoias
These trees, the largest living organisms in the world, are both awe-inspiring in their size, age, and majesty - and yet interesting in the sense that they aren't as all-powerful as they look. In order for the seeds to take root, they rely on lightning-caused fires to clear out the underbrush on the forest floor so that they don't have to compete with other plants for nutrients. They need squirrels to help them disperse seeds from the cones. And finally, despite their ability to live several thousand years, they can actually be quite fragile in that their root system is very shallow.
Amazing that a little brush like this one (which came up to my mid-shin):
Could eventually grow into the General Sherman tree, the largest living organism in the world (2300-2700 years old, 275 ft high, 103 ft in diameter at the base):
Getty Center
Entrance:
Garden:
Independence Day fireworks
From the Shoreline Amphitheatre after the Movie Magic concert (see Esther's and Karen's recaps, as well as Karen's video of the grand finale):
Bursting over Great America:
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Random links
Interesting news, posts, and movies from around the web...
- Superman showdown - ever wonder what would happen if Superman had to take on a Jedi, a Sith, the Death Star, the X-men, Galactus, Gandalf, or Harry Potter? Check out this article for some of the breakdown. We do know that Batman has taken Superman down before with Kryptonite-laced boxing gloves...
- Kong vs. 3 T-Rex's - View the entire wildly entertaining fight scene between King Kong and 3 tyrannosaurs from the movie "Kong". As one of the comments put it, "When did Kong take lessons from Steven Seagal?" You can see him using some aikido-style moves, utilizing the momentum of his opponents to throw them into each other.
- Transformers: The Movie teaser trailer - I have some grave misgivings about this live-action movie, but the fact that Spielberg is attached to the project gives me some hope. The trailer is kind of fun too.
- I'm suffering a little bit from NBA withdrawal... hm, just realized that I haven't commented on the league since before the end of the Finals! The Heat are a worthy champion, and Dallas just choked... but they'll stay among the elite level for the next few seasons. Dwyane Wade is one of the more entertaining players in the league to watch, but I wonder if his body is going to start breaking down before he turns 30 (in 6 years) due to the pounding he takes from his style of play.
Warriors may be in the running for Al Harrington or Richard Jefferson after trading Derek Fisher for essentially cap space. Either one would provide some punch in the starting lineup (the Dunleavy-Murphy pairing sorely needs upgrading), but the real impetus for change would be Baron getting in shape and playing a full season.
The Pistons lost Big Ben to the Bulls, in a move which appears to make Chicago a team to reckon with over the next few seasons. this writer has an interesting take on the reasons behind the perhaps-exorbitant deal for the not-so-young-anymore Wallace - basically, that teams in the Eastern Conference have a 2-3 year window to win a championship before Lebron, DWade, and Dwight Howard begin dominating on an annual basis, so basically you need to push your chips all-in now. Interesting hypothesis.
Awe-inspiring basketball video: This is labeled a 720 degree dunk, but is probably closer to 540 - it's still jaw-dropping all the same.
- When is it not distasteful to praise someone with $9.25 billion in the bank? When he gives the other $37 billion of his fortune to charity. Kudos to Buffett and Gates. Hey, even if you hate Microsoft's business practices and software, you have to give appropriate due to the charity work that Gates and his wife are doing.
- Here's an interesting read on gender roles within the church. Any thoughts on whether his take is on or not?
- Finally, try this link to see how fast you can type! Clicking on the text area will bring up a portion of text for you to type. If you make mistakes, you need to correct them before the timer stops ticking and gives you your words/minute rate (note: they only want 1 space after periods, rather than the customary 2 spaces). After familiarizing myself with the interface, I tried it maybe 5-6 times and got top scores of: 160.67 wpm w/ 0 mistakes, 143.92 wpm w/ 0 mistakes, and 142.67 wpm w/ 1 mistake.
- Superman showdown - ever wonder what would happen if Superman had to take on a Jedi, a Sith, the Death Star, the X-men, Galactus, Gandalf, or Harry Potter? Check out this article for some of the breakdown. We do know that Batman has taken Superman down before with Kryptonite-laced boxing gloves...
- Kong vs. 3 T-Rex's - View the entire wildly entertaining fight scene between King Kong and 3 tyrannosaurs from the movie "Kong". As one of the comments put it, "When did Kong take lessons from Steven Seagal?" You can see him using some aikido-style moves, utilizing the momentum of his opponents to throw them into each other.
- Transformers: The Movie teaser trailer - I have some grave misgivings about this live-action movie, but the fact that Spielberg is attached to the project gives me some hope. The trailer is kind of fun too.
- I'm suffering a little bit from NBA withdrawal... hm, just realized that I haven't commented on the league since before the end of the Finals! The Heat are a worthy champion, and Dallas just choked... but they'll stay among the elite level for the next few seasons. Dwyane Wade is one of the more entertaining players in the league to watch, but I wonder if his body is going to start breaking down before he turns 30 (in 6 years) due to the pounding he takes from his style of play.
Warriors may be in the running for Al Harrington or Richard Jefferson after trading Derek Fisher for essentially cap space. Either one would provide some punch in the starting lineup (the Dunleavy-Murphy pairing sorely needs upgrading), but the real impetus for change would be Baron getting in shape and playing a full season.
The Pistons lost Big Ben to the Bulls, in a move which appears to make Chicago a team to reckon with over the next few seasons. this writer has an interesting take on the reasons behind the perhaps-exorbitant deal for the not-so-young-anymore Wallace - basically, that teams in the Eastern Conference have a 2-3 year window to win a championship before Lebron, DWade, and Dwight Howard begin dominating on an annual basis, so basically you need to push your chips all-in now. Interesting hypothesis.
Awe-inspiring basketball video: This is labeled a 720 degree dunk, but is probably closer to 540 - it's still jaw-dropping all the same.
- When is it not distasteful to praise someone with $9.25 billion in the bank? When he gives the other $37 billion of his fortune to charity. Kudos to Buffett and Gates. Hey, even if you hate Microsoft's business practices and software, you have to give appropriate due to the charity work that Gates and his wife are doing.
- Here's an interesting read on gender roles within the church. Any thoughts on whether his take is on or not?
- Finally, try this link to see how fast you can type! Clicking on the text area will bring up a portion of text for you to type. If you make mistakes, you need to correct them before the timer stops ticking and gives you your words/minute rate (note: they only want 1 space after periods, rather than the customary 2 spaces). After familiarizing myself with the interface, I tried it maybe 5-6 times and got top scores of: 160.67 wpm w/ 0 mistakes, 143.92 wpm w/ 0 mistakes, and 142.67 wpm w/ 1 mistake.
Saturday, July 01, 2006
Patriotism?
Happy Fourth of July weekend! Always nice to have four days off, unless you happen to be an Oracle employee... poor people. Check out MSNBC.com's special section on "What does it mean to be an American?" Try taking their citizenship quiz to see if you know the answers to some of the questions that would be on the naturalization test. I got 90%, missing questions number: (mouse-over) 8 and 16, which qualifies me for citizenship! Yay!
Patriotism has become an interesting topic to me over the last few years, particularly when observing America, the Evangelical Christian culture (while it might not seem like it in the Bay Area, there are quite a few Evangelicals in this country), and how a "religion" with so many adherents can heavily influence areas ranging from politics, to public policy, to entertainment, to the environment, and so on. Many Christians tie nationalism/patriotism in with their religion and consider America to be a "Christian nation."
I'll try to post more thoughts on this topic in future posts, but for now, as we sit down to our fireworks and barbeque and appreciate the history behind the struggle for freedom in this nation of ours, I would like to invite at least the readers who would call themselves Christians to check out this thought-provoking post and read the discussion afterward, and think about the question - Is my primary pledge of allegiance to a nation? Or is it to a King and a Kingdom?
Patriotism has become an interesting topic to me over the last few years, particularly when observing America, the Evangelical Christian culture (while it might not seem like it in the Bay Area, there are quite a few Evangelicals in this country), and how a "religion" with so many adherents can heavily influence areas ranging from politics, to public policy, to entertainment, to the environment, and so on. Many Christians tie nationalism/patriotism in with their religion and consider America to be a "Christian nation."
I'll try to post more thoughts on this topic in future posts, but for now, as we sit down to our fireworks and barbeque and appreciate the history behind the struggle for freedom in this nation of ours, I would like to invite at least the readers who would call themselves Christians to check out this thought-provoking post and read the discussion afterward, and think about the question - Is my primary pledge of allegiance to a nation? Or is it to a King and a Kingdom?
Random questions
Is there any situation where it's acceptable to wear something other than sneakers or sandals with shorts? If it is possible to wear loafers or casual shoes, must the socks be white and ankle-high only?
Are there any situations where it is acceptable to wear white socks with black shoes, with the possible exception of if you're planning to impersonate Michael Jackson?
When you pass by someone in the office or on the street, do you purposefully look down at the ground or somewhere other than at the person? If your eyes happen to meet, do you ignore the person or give some sort of acknowledgement (like the only-guys-are-capable-of-doing-it upward head nod)?
How much do you tip? If the server does a poor job, do you tip less than 15%? Do you tip at buffets? How far away would you park to avoid having to do valet parking (I actually had this one flit through my mind last weekend at Olivia and Jonathan's wedding)?
Are there any situations where it is acceptable to wear white socks with black shoes, with the possible exception of if you're planning to impersonate Michael Jackson?
When you pass by someone in the office or on the street, do you purposefully look down at the ground or somewhere other than at the person? If your eyes happen to meet, do you ignore the person or give some sort of acknowledgement (like the only-guys-are-capable-of-doing-it upward head nod)?
How much do you tip? If the server does a poor job, do you tip less than 15%? Do you tip at buffets? How far away would you park to avoid having to do valet parking (I actually had this one flit through my mind last weekend at Olivia and Jonathan's wedding)?
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