Uber Ultraviolet

So tonight I saw the movie Ultraviolet. I was not expecting much. It looked like an AeonFlux knockoff. (Basically, an all action movie set in the future with funky camera angles and no character development.) I didn't even see AeonFlux. But after my friends and I were done eating at Cafe Pierpont that was all that was playing at a decent hour. So I went in expecting very little.

What I got was incredible. There is so much to talk about with this movie. First of all, I take it this movie is based on a comic book. And I can tell you, every frame in this movie could be made into a very well done comic frame. Or... it could be framed and put on your wall. It is a very stylistic film. The colors are vibrant and the action is fluid and intense. A lot of people die in this movie but it is all done very artistically. You see the movement of the sword but you don't see any gore. Very well done. It was like a combination of the good visual elements of The Matrix, Hero, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Very well done.

The not so good parts of the movie: There is very little dialog. What dialog there is, you could very well put in a talk bubble just like in a comic. That isn't a good thing. Because there is not an emphasis on the dialog, we don't get to know the characters very well and we don't form a bond with them. If that had been so, this movie would do very well in the box office.

Now when this movie comes out on DVD I will certainly be buying it. It will add an artistic blending of sci-fi, action and martial arts to my film collection. Sadly, I know this movie will not do well in the box office because it is so stylistic. Many people will scoff at some of the effects or the dialog. Not everyone will see the art in this film. And that's really what it is... very well done art.

Monticello Monsters

Yes. I was not able to re-sign contracts with my complex. Why? Well, because the managers decided that many of us were too much trouble to let us re-sign. Their complaints range from, "You have been rude to us." to "You are a difficult roommate." or even "You slammed the door on us once." Yeah, they seem like petty reasons to me too. I am one who can't re-sign because I've had late rents. Now the good thing is a *few* of the people who received notes were able to convince Monticello to give them another chance. One of my roommates and one of my friends are some of them. However, I was not that lucky. Now the aggravating thing is that they gave us these notes five days before contract signing. How are people supposed to make housing plans in five days!?

I am very sad to have to move from this house. I have been here six years this spring. It's big and roomie and I have excellent roommates. I am going to miss it a lot. I am going to try to stay in the ward and move into a house across the street. It's a little smaller, but it's furnished well. I will do alright.

And for all the negative things... at least I won't have to deal with bass ackwards management anymore. You know, this isn't the first time they striked. Ever since they became managers they've been trying to break the status quo and homogenize their tenants. I'd love to list all the new rules and problems they've created. It makes me roll my eyes uncontrollably. My roommates are afraid of management now. They're afraid of holes in the wall, failing cleaning checks, getting late rent fees and all manner of things for fear that Monticello management will write it down in their little black book and next year trot it out and tell them that they cannot re-sign. Yeah, they cited things that happened over a year ago in order to not allow people to re-sign. Ugh.

There are many problems with our managers. I think their largest problem is the that they want zero confrontation with their tenants. I don't like seeing us, talking to us, writing to us, calling us, nothing. They want to pretend we don't exist. They complain and react if anything to the contrary happens. Let me first say, you HAVE to communicate with your tenants in order to be a manager! Second, if you don't want to see us or communicate with us, then MOVE away. Don't live on the same property as us, don't live next to us. We dislike you as much as you dislike us. Sadly for all of us... Sam still has TWO more years of school. So it's highly unlikely that any of us will outlast him. Bob have mercy on your souls Monticello tenants.

Versus!

VS

First of all, I have successfully transferred from Internet Explorer to Firefox. There are a lot of cool things that I can use on Firefox, from blocking ads (permanently) to going back a page from just my mouse movement (no silly little back button.) The downfalls to Firefox are mostly to do with the Yahoo page. I can't do searches on Yahoo.com or watch musicvideos on launchcast. There are some problems with Quicktime as well. Luckily I did get a extension that will load pages in Firefox with Internet Explorer. It sounds complicated and but it really isn't.

Next matchup: The Ultimate Showdown This is a must see. Have you ever wondered who would win if all of the world's super-heroes and super-villains got it on? Well, now you can... and you might be surprised who wins. Once you've seen the clip... be sure to vote on the links underneath. It's important. ;)

Yet another showdown: Pirates versus Ninjas

Then one last showdown: Your icons. This one is just plain fun.

Funny that,

So as I spoke about in a previous post... I am in a Trek mood. So I have done something about it. I now have joined a Star Trek Sim: The USS Katana of the Obsidian Fleet. For those of you who don't know "nerd" well enough to translate, I will help you. In a Star Trek sim, I portray one character (in this case my favorite character, Lt. Scott Donnelly, Chief of Security) . We write in story format about our character and their interactions with each other and the missions we go on. The captain chooses the story arcs and the things that go on. And no... there aren't any dice to roll, meeting in dark basements to trade cards, going to conferences or any such "nerd fare". It's just writing using Trek as a backdrop. I really enjoy writing. This is a great outlet for it.

I have also downloaded a whole bunch of Star Trek desktop photos. They look very good in fact. I am also in the process of finding and downloading all of the Star Trek: Voyager series. In case you were wondering, Voyager is my favorite Trek series. And for those of you who do speak "nerd", before you burn me at the stake... I like Voyager best because how familial the crew is. Next Gen always seemed like they just treated each other like co-workers, you come to work, do your thing, and then go home and forget about the other people. So Janeway or not... I like Voyager best.

"Better safe than assimilated."

Why oh why...

...Would the BigRedHammer write two posts in one day? Well, because this deserves blogging!

Those of you who know me well know that I don't mind repetition in songs. I love electronica music and repetition is paramount to that. I also enjoy internet phenomena such as "the hampster dance, the Star Wars kid, etc." Well, both of these beautiful things have come together at last. I warn you now that this will take repetition to a *new* level.

Please go to each of these sites in order:

Badgers! - The classic

Potter! - Always wanted more Harry?

Zombie! - For the living impaired

Aragorn! When the elves fail

Santa! The Jolly Old Elf has been replaced

Wikipedia! Pay special attention 4th paragraph. Someone has *too* much time!

I've had badger playing in the background for 15 minutes now. I think the original is my favorite. If you listen to (at least) the original Badger... the word "badger" seems to morph into the word "magic". Also of interest, follow the link to inherently funny word on the wikipedia article. Now I should have successfully dislodged any song you had stuck in your head with my new earworm. And if you're wondering what an earworm is... go *here*

Star Trek musings

Well, for some reason I'm in the mood for Trek tonight. Well, I want to watch a Star Trek movie... but none of them interest me. So I looked up info on the "next" movie on Yahoo. That kept me happy for a little bit. Then I started checking up on my old Star Trek rpg. I didn't recognize any names on the crew.

So anyway, here are some of my ideas on Star Trek.

My idea has always been to have a non-UFP based series. At first I thought Klingons... but I scrapped that for two reasons. I don't find Klingons that interesting as a species. There isn't much in way of Klingon diversity of personality. Second, it would be hell for the makeup artists to put Klingon makeup on every character for every episode. So I came up with the Romulans. I never really considered Romulans as very much in the Trek world until I saw Nemesis. But face it, they're devious, intriguing, sneaky, emotional and multi-faceted. They take minimal makeup and costuming as well.
It would be fantastic to see the inner workings of the Romulan Empire. How are they coping with the fall of Shinzon? The Romulan-Vulcan unification movement, the awful Federation, etc.? There's so many possibilities. Now I think this could work for a movie too. The way I see it, we either need a spectacular movie and then follow it up with a great series or vice versa. I think a Romulan series would do better than a movie, but I'll take either! I miss watching Trek.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Saturday, I saw The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Let me tell you, it was wonderful. As a child or preteen I had read the books after seeing the BBC series based on the books. I really was captured by the magical world and the religious influence in the books. I figured out that Aslan represented the Savior and I thought I was the only one who I had guessed. lol.

The wonderful thing about the movie, was that it stayed true to the magic of the books. The religious nature was subtle. The story was strong and the characters were interesting and you could relate to them. I think it was a beautiful adaptation. I hope that this movie will do very well in the box offices so that we can be sure the other movies will be made. I read in some article that Narnia has the second place record for ticket sales on a December weekend. *eyeroll* I don't know what that even means. Narnia has number one spot for a movie released during a new moon and peanut sales are up. Anyway, it is an excellent movie and it is definitely worth seeing many times.

**Stop reading if you haven't seen the movie**

The thing I would have changed in the movie:

Aslan is a wild lion. Yes, he is gentle and good. But there needs to be a little bit of fear when you're interacting with him. When you are bad, you could expect a scolding on one side and being eaten on the other. Aslan is just and you will only get what you deserve, but he is not a tame lion. If you haven't read the books, it's very hard to explain. In the movie, he seemed only tame. You never feared him in the least.

Special mention:

Lucy really stole the show. Her cute, child-like wonder and precocious wit really stole the show. Her acting was superb. And her smile really lit up the screen. I'm glad that we get to see Lucy throughout the series. Wow.

The White Witch was equally impressive. Her single-minded determination shown from the screen. Once she set her eyes on some goal, she worked towards it and removed everything in her path. This fits perfectly with what we know about the Queen from the other books in the Chronicles. She inspired fear because of her ability to accomplish whatever she wanted.

Happy Anniversary!

Yesterday was my eight year anniversary of when I entered the Missionary Training Center. Wow. How time has flown. It's interesting, I look back at that time... Back then I thought I was this intelligent, wise adult. Being a typical teenager, I thought I knew everything. I remember making fun of things I didn't understand. I also had weird coping strategies for the stresses of the MTC. My MTC district can attest to that. lol

In four days I'll celebrate my sixth anniversary of arriving home. I remember that well too. I remember walking off the plane and meeting all my family and relatives at the airport. Everyone had grown so much. Little cousins and nephews were no longer so little. It was very overwhelming. I remember telling my mom that I really wanted to cry but that the tears weren't coming at all. Then we walked into the parking garage and I'm sure my eyes nearly bugged out. The cars were all so *HUGE*. I remember thinking how rich Americans were. Driving home I was wondering why everyone was yelling. Everyone speaks so much louder here than in Romania. When I first watched TV I was amazed at how fast people talked and things happened. On Simpsons, people would walk in the room, speedily say something, leave and then the scene would change. Wow, it would just blur by. I came home on the 15th of December. I don't even remember that Christmas. I wasn't ready and I was in full culture shock. My mom said I didn't really leave that "weirdness" until I got back from my return visit to Romania in August the following year.

Hehehe, I'll stop the reminiscing now... I didn't say a thing about the two amazing years between then. That's a whole 'nother 100 blog posts.

Merry Christmas!!

BigRedHammer Indicted in Murder Case

Yes... I've been indicted again. I can't seem to keep myself away from these "shady dealings". It seems I like to hang out with suspected murderers. I actually wish it was me... I'm never the murderer! Thanks to Kate and Gill for hosting another excellent Murder Mystery! We had a lot of fun. This Murder was a convoluted family affair. I could have won an entire English estate. Sadly, I was happy just buying it from some other heir. Dang.

Christmas Tree OR Holiday Tree

So I just read about the most ridiculous thing I've heard in awhile. Let me preface this by saying I am distinctly 'anti-pc' or political correctness when it comes to the English language. I receive mail from my mail man no matter his gender. Anyway, back to the story.

In many places across the country, there are tree lighting ceremonies for cities. And in order not to be offensive, some of these cities have begun to call their trees "Holiday Trees". So stupid.

"Mathew Staver, president of Liberty Counsel, a legal group that focuses on religious issues, said the mayor's use of 'Christmas tree' means there's no need to go to court over the issue. His group's Christmas campaign aims to stop what it views as religious censorship and 'political correctness run amok.' It is endorsed by the Rev. Jerry Falwell.
'It's like calling a menorah a candlestick,' Staver said. 'It's wrong. It's offensive. And it disenfranchises a large segment of the community.'"

I agree with Mr. Staver. It is offensive. If there are people out there who are offended by the term "Christmas tree", they need to reevaluate themselves. By definition a Christmas tree is: "An evergreen or artificial tree decorated, as with lights and ornaments, during the Christmas season. " That's how it's defined by the dictionary. So let's call it what it is. None of this PC crap to try to placate those PC thugs among us.

Getting to know me...

I copied this idea from my good friend Amy. You can see her answers and blog at the PSRaT link on the right. Enjoy getting to know me better.

1. What time did you get up this morning? 10:30
2. Diamonds or pearls? Pearls, I guess
3. What was the last movie you watched? Return to Oz
4. What is your favorite TV show? The Simpsons and Family Guy
5. What did you have for breakfast? Good question
6. What is your middle name? Roy
7. What is your favorite food? Lasagna
8. What foods do you dislike? Coleslaw, Au gratin potatoes
9. What is your favorite chip flavor? Vinegar
10.What is in your CD player right now? A mix of techno songs I’ve made
11. What kind of car do you drive? none
12. Favorite sandwich? Sweet Onion Teriyaki at Subway
13. What characteristic do you despise? Boring people
14. Favorite item of clothing? My “I have candy” t-shirt
15. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Back to Romania, by way of England and Italy.
16. What color is your bathroom? Beige mostly
17. Favorite brand of clothing? Aeropostale and Hollister
18. Where would you retire? Somewhere warm with a short winter, California perhaps.
19. Favorite time of the day? Summer nights
20. What was your most memorable birthday? Mmmm… good question. They’re all good.
21. Where were you born? Yakota Air Force Base, Tokyo, Japan
22. Favorite sport to watch? I don’t watch sports. But basketball is good.
23. What kind of desert or treat could you go for right now? Chocolate cupcakes sound good.
24. How tall are you? 6'
25. What fabric detergent do you use? Western Family Economy with bleach
26. Coke or Pepsi? 90/10 Pink lemonade and Sprite
27. Are you a morning person or night owl? Night owl. I can be a morning person too if I need to be, but if left to my druthers I will stay up late.
28. What is your shoe size? 10.5
29. Do you have any pets? Not allowed. However, I’d like to have a cat and a dog
30. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with your family & friends? I’m pregnant.
31. What did you want to be when you were little? A pediatrician
32. Favorite Holiday? Christmas, it’s a time full of love, memories and traditions.
33. Do you consider yourself political? Yes. Registered Republican voter
34. Do you consider yourself religious? Very much so.
35. What is the latest book you have read? “Prey” by Michael Crichton

A different perspective

"Anthropomorphic animals, when taken out of narrative into actual visibility, always turn into buffoonery or nightmare -- at least with photography," C. S. Lewis wrote.

"Cartoons (if only Disney did not combine so much vulgarity with his genius!) would be another matter. A human, pantomime, Aslan would be, to me, blasphemy."

Another One Bites the Dust

The BigRedHammer puts on his black mourning clothes. My good friend is dying. He gave me the gift of movies and music for free. We only knew each other several years, but it was a good friendship. I'll miss dear Kazaa very much.

For those of you who are in the dark:

The operators of the Kazaa file-sharing service have until December 5 to update their software with a filter to screen out copyrighted material or else face the rospect of being shut down.
The filter will prevent users from trading files containing 3000 keywords selected by record companies, including the names of popular artists and songs. The filter can be updated every two weeks to include the latest and most popular releases, the international Federation for the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) said in a statement.

But in the battle of pirates versus the media industry, you can expect to have casualties. We've lost Audio Galaxy, Kazaa, Napster, among others. But the good thing is I've already moved on to LimeWire Pro. It actually is a much better system than Kazaa. I have no doubt that it eventually will fall to the evil lawyers too. So keep your eyes out for more P2P programs.

BigRedHammer throws his rose onto Kazaa's grave.

Saturday!

Yesterday was an excellent day! That morning my friend Aaron came over. We were planning to play Capcom vs SNK (which is a Street Fighting-esque game). But we ended up watching The Goonies instead. I'd never seen it before. It's a fun movie. I imagine it would have been especially nice as a 10 year old boy. We made some lunch and then I headed to work. I was only scheduled for three hours, but I ended up only having to work two hours. They sent us home early. That made me very happy. I would have enough time to make my scalloped potatoes for the Murder Mystery. So yes, I went to a Murder Mystery. I was Rogan S. Coundrell, a rich millionaire who made his fortune through blackmail and thievery. I won't tell you who the murderer was, in case you play the game. However I did not guess correctly. We had a great time though! After that, some of us came to my house and we watched Return to Oz. I'd never seen that either. It stars the girl from The Craft. She was way young in Oz. That movie was very interesting, very different from the original. It was a little darker and a little more realistic. I liked it.

What an excellent day!

Vacation! (2)

I'm here in Morgan Hill, California. It is awesome! Let me tell you, the weather could not be more perfect. Mid-seventies and blue skies have been the norm. Yesterday we drove south along Route 1 which follows the beach. I saw beautiful scenes, waves crashing on the rocky coast, driving along a beautiful cliff, and then at the end seeing the sun set over the water. It's so cool, it's light much longer after the sun goes down because there's no mountains blocking it. Just ocean going on forever. Way cool. We also went to this apple orchard and got fresh apple pies. Let me tell you, that stuff is way good. Just the right amount of tartness and sweetness. I am having a great time.

Vacation!

So this Friday at 9:05 AM I will be flying out of Salt Lake City Airport to San Jose, CA. I'll be staying with my friend Chris till Monday night. Well, I just looked at the forecast for that area: a high of 72 degrees! We currently have a high of 39 and a low of 23 here in Provo! I just walked home from work (5 blocks) and it's COLD! But in a few days I will be nice and warm, shirt sleeves and the like. *grin*. I will also be doing fun things like visiting the Bay, going to Muir Woods Park and walking among the redwoods. You know, when I planned this vacation I didn't really need it. But I was invited out and it was cheap, so I did it. Now... I need it. I need a break from the mundane and the repetitive. I know it will freshen my outlook. I still have a lot to do be ready, but it will be done.

Yeah for sunny and warm California!

Et Cetera

It's Saturday night. It's cold outside. But I'm feeling warm and comfortable sitting here in my hoodie. (This is the first hoodie I've ever owned.) I have some food in the oven. It will be ready to take out in about 12 minutes. It's penne pasta with marinara. Mmmm.

A few recommendations:

Fall Out Boy - Dance Dance
The song has energy! And as the song suggests... Dance! I only know one other Fall Out Boy song, "Sugar, We're Going Down" and I recommend both for download. They have a unique sound.

Erasure - Breathe
The song is soft and slow. I'm sure you could do some kind of zen meditation with it in the background. (As if I knew anything about zen meditation.) I'm going to be downloading the other Erasure songs from the same album. I've high hopes.

Axe - Touch
Sounds like a heavy metal hair band doesn't it? This acutally is not a song... but a deodorant bodyspray. You've probably seen the commercials. Well let me tell you, it's almost more of a cologne than a deodorant. And well, women love it! So men, here's the BigRedHammer's recommendation! (And the bottle is red too. Perfect.)

So that's all I have to say tonight. Here's the BigRedHammer signing off.

Salute to Elder Evanko!

My roommate Kyle left for the MTC this afternoon. Tonight is his first night there. In fact, he's probably headed to bed right now. (What a difficult transition that must be for Kyle!) He would often stay up later than I did. And I'm sure the shock and loneliness could be there tonight as he lays in bed. Wow. Just thinking about all the transitions a teenager has to go through to become a missionary... it's mind boggling. But he will be there two months. People who have been there 4 weeks will seem like old timers to him. He'll be there Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. It's like the group right before me in the MTC. I hope he has good teachers and does his best. I know he'll do very well as a missionary.

Here's to you Kyle!!

Happy Birthday!

Well, Sunday was my 2xth birthday! Now those of you who don't know how old I turned.... quick, take a guess. Got it? Well, I just turned 27. Two days before my mission I was at work and talking to two girls. I mentioned that my birthday was soon. They asked how old I was turning. I told them 27. The one girl next to me said "No way. I totally thought you were pre-mission." The other said she wouldn't have guessed I was that old either. *grin* Other people have guessed 23-24. It's good to look younger than I am. Though a preemie... hm, that's kinda out there.

So here is how my birthday went. Being on Sunday as it was, I wasn't expecting much to happen. My parents wouldn't be coming down till Monday and I hadn't planned a party or anything. So I figured I'd just have a quiet birthday. That morning my friend Aaron called me and woke me up to wish me happy birthday. I also talked to my mom on the phone, my sister, and my nephew Shane (who turned 11 that day too. He was born on my 16th birthday.)

Later, my friend Kristen asked if I was going to the CES Fireside that night. I did go to that. President Monson gave an excellent talk. He's great because his stories really illustrate his points and he has a great sense of humor. Anyway, when we came back the house was decorated! Kristen had made me a cake as well. It had homemade chocolate frosting that was wonderful. Amy came over and had made an apple pudding cake that was incredible too. :D Amy also gave me real Romanian chocolate! Mmmm!

After that my friend Mike came and picked me up and brought me over to his house. He and Robert had baked me a giant cake. It was shaped as a ying yang. One side was chocolate and the other white cake. heheheh, the thing was huge! Some more friends came over and we hung out and played Settlers of Catan. I lost the first game and won the second. *grin* We also watched "The Interpreter". The movie was pretty good. Though it was pretty confusing too.

Monday I got to spend time with my friends again. We went to an Italian restaurant on Center St. It was waaaay good. We also went miniature golfing and to the movie "The Fog". I had a great time. Then they dropped me off and I went to the Olive Garden with my mom and dad. Mmmm, the chicken paramgiano I had there was so good. And filling. We came home and I opened my gifts. I got a really nice coat and new shoes too. So it was a really great birthday! I'm happy to be 27! Menace nothing!

Halloween Aftermath

So this Halloween was a success. A grand success. This weekend I went to a Halloween party that was a blast! There were so many incredible costumes. There was an ethnic Albanian costume, plenty of cowboys, devils, and angels. Let me tell you wings are so overdone. I am so tired of being poked by those stupid wings! I didn't actually know about this party until it was underway, so I didn't get to dress up. But, they did have a pool and hot tub. So half-way through we went and got our swimming trunks and soaked in the tub. That was fun.

Monday I was in Preston, ID for annual haunted garage/barn. My brother, sister-in-law, two nephews, mom, dad and I were in it. We scared 100 something kids from the neighborhood. I used my air horn from my own haunted house. It was really cool. In my haunted house I didn't get to use it myself. When you use it right, people jump two inches into the air. I was very glad the weather cooperated. Often it's already snowed in Preston or actually snowing as we scare. It can get so cold. But not this year, it was a clear night and relatively warm. I got by with just a fleece on. The foggers were a very big success too. They give such atmosphere! For whatever reason, there were less adults that went through the house. I think that adults can be more fun to scare. The best though are pre-teen and teenage girls. They scare so easily and we love to hear their screams.

I LOVE HALLOWEEN!