Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Flavor Fest

This is a "festival" that took place in the park down the block near my home, which was sponsored by Whole Foods. Not too crowded, since when we went it was raining or misting... but the idea of this was to try organic, natural foods. Essentially it was a sample bonanza, where I got to taste lots of chips, yogurt, drinks, and even a hot dog that were all made from organic, non-___ (fill in the blank) foods. They were all quite yummy, and I really can't taste the difference between all of them and all the preservative-laden foods I eat, so I'm wondering if it's really that much better for you. There were chef presentations too, but I couldn't sit through the end, because he kept saying that we ought not to by this, that and the other; but instead should be non-genetically altered foods, organic, home-grown, hand-picked, etc., and it just started to piss me off. What's so bad about technology anyway? Does "loved" food taste better? I doubt it.

Sunday, August 27, 2006

Brick

Another indie-type movie. This one won some Sundance film festival awards, and was raved about of course in the following. I had wanted to see it ever since I saw the trailer, however again, due to the hype around the movie, I was disappointed.

The movie is about a boy who firstly investigates the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend, and then the cause of her death. He gets involved with drug-dealers in the nearby areas, including muscle and eventually guns. If I told you much more, I'd really give it all away and since it unravels so well, I'd hate to spoil it. The beginning was very confusing and it was hard to tell what the plan was or what was going on and who was who, but it cleared itself out over time and developed well. It was a good movie nonetheless (from my disappointment), and I would recommend it. The characters were all very fascinating, and the main actor (the boy from 3rd Rock From The Sun) was good and odd all at once -- very fitting.

Saturday, August 26, 2006

Mistress of Spices & Friends with Money & Clerks

A super movie marathon. Also known as my life. Mistress of Spices is a movie I found through Margie, who didn't really like it and compared it to magical realism, whereas I found the movie cute enough - and her having a sixth sense rather than it being Marquez-esque. I liked it well enough.

Friends with Money was very strange, with three married couples and Jennifer Aniston who are all friends dealing with relationships, too much money, too little money, jobs, their families, etc. It was an interesting movie, but not a fabulous one, and not as good as I had expected. The reviewer on imdb seemed to hate the movie, thinking it all seemed very unrealistic and unliking the relationships set up by the movie makers... But, eh. What's done is done, and unless you really love the actors - don't bother watching I think.

Clerks, a movie I had never seen was odd. I didn't expect it to be in black and white, and I figured it would be much more funny overall. "I'm not even supposed to be here today." That's the catchphrase. The movie is just about this guy's day working at the Stop n Shop all day long. Crazy crazy, and very unreal. Aw well, I guess it's one of those movies you just have to see once.

Thursday, August 24, 2006

Pluto, the non-planet

Article

The article above, from Wired, is similar to many others that just got posted up today in the news after the International Astronomical Union voted Pluto to not be considered as a planet anymore (it had been so-called since 1930) and is now to be called a "dwarf-planet."

It's all quite disappointing even though the astronomers are happy -- I'll need a new acronym for remembering the 8 "classical-planets." The old one I knew was: My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas. Oh well. I guess she could serve us... nuts, or perhaps Nutter-butters. Aw.

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Rear Window Sign

Drivemocion

This contraption has an LED display that you place in the rear window of a car to communicate with other drivers... but think of the uses! I have a feeling that if I got one, it'd be trained to say not so nice things, but perhaps only because I'm a semi-agressive driver. But it makes happy faces, and prints out a Thanks! sign, which is all well and good and nice. Very cool nonetheless.

Good Night, and Good Luck & Moonstruck

Two fabulous movies. I was dying to see Good Night and Good Luck ever since it came out, but I put it off since it is a serious movie. It's about Ed Murrow (a journalist) who has a television show about current happenings, and he takes down Sen McCarthy. It's about the news-team, the problems they begin to have as they get crusaded against, and how real the times were then. Watched it with my grandparents and David... and my grandmother commented on how she wouldn't leave the TV when the trials against McCarthy were on television. My grandparents remember one of their friends being scared as she had joined some youth social group which was listed as one of the groups affiliated with communism. It's amazing that they are old, remember so much and have lived through so much.

Moonstruck is a movie about Cher and Nicholas Cage, who meet up and fall in love, evne though Cher is the fiancee of his brother. It's about love and the moon as an indicator of love, and although it's quite cheesy, it really is a nice movie. Cher has such big big hair, and she and Cage have NY accents. Quite humorous as well. :) But very enjoyable.

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Friday Night Lights

The end of the sports movies? No, there still exists one more... and I'm sure they'll make more. Not to spoil the movie or anything, but my brother asked me after it ended if I was surprised. Nothing in these sports movies ever surprises me, and of course they always end well. This movie is about Billy Bob Thorton who becomes the coach of a high school football team in a town where football is the most important thing.

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Little Miss Sunshine

Ah the cast of Little Miss Sunshine, the movie, is in the picture. The movie is really about this dysfunctional family, their problems with each other and their problems in life. It has it's moments of sadness, but is quite funny and full of laughter nonetheless. And the end is fabulous. A great movie, and a must see if you like these types, and are not too easily weirded out.

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

nsf.gov - SRS What Do People Do After Earning an S&E Bachelor's Degree? - US National Science Foundation (NSF)

http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/infbrief/nsf06324/

This article is very interesting about what people in the sciences (undergrad) end up going to do. Apparently ~41% of engineers go on to get additional degrees, one of the lowest of all the sciences (with Math/CS following at 39%). Also Engineers seem more likely to go into business than any of the other fields, or at least get degrees in Business. Some of it goes contrary to what I've seen at school, and other bits of the article make more sense.

If you don't feel like reading, I suggest you click anyway to see the pie chart in the beginning, it's very fascinating!

OK Go: Here It Goes Again

The OK Go music video was something I saw a few days ago on Elaine's blog, and contemplated posting it up... but figured too much copying wouldn't be good for the world. But it is indeed very cool, and has them dancing on treadmills. Awesome! It was brought to my attention today when someone emailed it to summer-l (the email list for the school that is present over the summer), meaning it must be super important. I don't think the sender understood how many people were actually going to see the email with the title "Hot Video" or even be brave enough to click the link, but it is neat.

Watch away...

Saturday, August 12, 2006

Scoop and Wordplay

So, Anna and I hit up a double header on Friday, at the AMC, which has movies before noon for an astonishing 5 dollars. So we got to see two movies. Scoop, the Woody Allen movie with the story of Scarlett as a investigative reporter who falls for a man who may or may not be the "tarot card killer." It's about her and Woody Allen trying to solve the mystery with help from a ghost from the past, looking for his last SCOOP. How cliche, you think? Well, it quite really is, but the movie is fun in that Scarlett is really channeling Woody Allen, in a freaky sort of way. The glasses really put it all together, but you can tell it's his lines she is performing. The movie is cute, and not as bad as Match Point, where you end up hating a bunch of the characters. And a very good ending, also unlike Allen's last movie.

Recommended? Yes, but only for the Allen movie lovers

The other movie we saw was Wordplay, one I've been dying to see for a long time, and this was the last theater in the city of Chicago showing the movie (including the suburbs)... guess I did put it off for a long time. A documentary film, that I had read about in the newpaper/or online and which Prof Yong mentioned that I might find interesting. Although Anna and I may be interested in crossword puzzles, we most certainly cannot be considered fanatics, like the people of the movie. Will Shortz does those amazing word puzzles that are aired on NPR, and the movie is about crossword puzzle solvers, himself (the editor), the creators of the puzzles, and the annual competition and its competitors. THe movie is somewhat reminiscent of Spellbound, except that this one is much much more interesting and still done well. There are bits in the middle with ex-President Bill Clinton, Jon Stuart, and the Indigo girls about their love for the NY Times Crossword. It's very fascinating and the movie is wonderful.

Recommended? For most -- except those bored by a tiny bit of an academic-type movie. :)

After all that, Anna and I went back to the crosswords we had been working on lunch before the movies, and inbetween the two movies, and finally solved one! Hoorah! My goal is now to attempt a crossword puzzle each and everyday. But maybe I'll start on Monday with an easy one.

Blogged with Flock

Flock, Round 2

flock.png

So I've decided I do love flock the browser. It's really similar to Firefox, loads with the same speed, etc. (probably becuase it is based almost entirely off the other), but the drag and drop feature and built in blogging are quite nice too. See for yourself!

Thursday, August 10, 2006

BookMooch

The idea of this websites, like many others, is to offer your library up online and mail out books when others request, which gives you the ability to request them from even more others on the site. BookMooch, is a new site, which I just happened across that does things similar to Zunafish, which Margie uses. I used to like the idea of BookCrossing, which says to leave your books behind in random places with a sticker -- so people can get the book for free and it can be tracked all the time. But I was mostly hesitant because if you saw a random book, would you actually pick it up and take it with you? Seems shady. The mailing books to others seems less shady, and a good idea if it all works out. I posted up a few, and even ones that were on others "wishlists," and requested one too. It just sucks time out browsing the site, but if you know what you want it is real easy. Check it out!

D*I*Y Planner

I've been checking out this website, who knows how it was found, but it allows you to print your own planner, which seems real useful as you can have only the pages you want, and offers a index card version. The downloads are all free, and the website itself is blog based and has additions and information about planning life.

And there are these notebooks I've found that are essentially covers and rings, and you can put your own pages/lined paper inside. Meaning that when I only use half a notbook - the rest of the paper is salvageable, and the papers can be clipped together and saved. Look into Five Star Flex and Rollabind. Very cool.

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

Home, Chicago

So, finally home. After an early day at the airport and a day off flying... I finally am home. Or what is home? Being here reminds me of a lot of things, including those that I don't wish to be reminded of. The movie Seven Brides for Seven Brothers was on television tonight, as I browsed on by all the channels, and I remember that being one of my mom's favorite movies and watching it with her. Couldn't make myself watch it tonight, but maybe another day.

Instead I was up to watching "So You Think You Can Dance" but haven't yet voted enough. :). It's one of those shows where you just end up hooked and thus can't stop watching it. The dancing is really great, and although I read a joke about the show mentioning that both the winners and the losers will end up fading into obscurity, I can't believe that it's true. They'll dance for life if nothing else, and that'll be good for them, cause I'm sure they'll love it.

Everyone I ever see now asks me what I'll do with my life -- they all question my engineering, will I really do it? Will I end up at graduate school? Business? Etc. It all just makes me nervous. Not the questions themselves but the grand scheme of things.

American Beauty

This movie is just sort of messed up. Everyone in the movie is harboring secret ideas, feelings, and actions from each other, and it revolves mostly around two families who are neighbors. If I explain much more, the movie will just give itself away, but I think it's important to watch it from the beginning and catch everything (cause that is what makes the movie after all). Janet mentioned this was her favorite movie, but I think this goes on the list of strangest movies of all time. Plus there is that whole creepy stalking part, and pedophile part, which just gives me the creeps. The cinematography seemed good, if I am even versed enough to comment on it, and I think this is possibly what makes the movie such a classic.

My opinion: A see once type of film.

Dropping off the Car

Ah. So before leaving sunny (and warm) California, I was sure to take care of the car, and I left it in the garage of some family friends we have that live in L.A. I was going to take an earlier train back to Claremont, but since I hit traffic, I ended up on the later Metrolink. I took a walk to Little Tokyo and bought myself some snacks. It is really nice there, and I'm kind of sorry that I never took better advantage of the train system during the year. There are a lot of things close to Union Station in L.A. which would be fun and exciting and all that jazz. Maybe when I return from study abroad I'll start doing things more often off-campus.

It is interesting how parents and tours always ask what I do off campus, when the answer is really that I do almost nothing off-campus. I wonder how many other students really feel the same way, and how many actually take advantage of the coolness that is L.A.

Anyway, back to the main story. I have pictures I'll put up later from my phone... I never remember to bring my camera when I should, but I guess I didn't expect to be there so long. I'll have to do better in the future. Glued to the camera should do.

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

A picture from the Fair

Martin and Jason are examining the dairy goats I believe. They had large animals and small animals and a lot of them looked really groomed, which surprised me. There were cows in a barn, and chickens, and mice too, but not altogether. And no one wanted to pet the little chicks, which were in the petting area. Instead, we spent longer examining the odd fruits and vegetables, including the largest pumpkin, and strangely shaped carrots. Posted by Picasa

A tisket, A tasket

Saturday was spent at the O.C. County Fair -- and since I'd never been to one, it really was quite fun. Martin, Jason, and I got to see all the prize winning animals -- goats, pigs, cows, bunnies... and the winning fruits and vegetables. This was much different from the Taste of Chicago. There was a chair-lift that went over the whole fair, and which we rode, which allowed us to see everything that we hadn't already walked through. I was quite surprised at the size, and the lack of crowds (but I guess that's coming from a city girl), but they had plenty of stands and rides. Right before leaving the sun came out (which resulted in a nice little sunburn) and we went on a ride where it spins so fast you get stuck to the wall. How come after that ride, you always end up laughing, and when you leave, it appears that your eyes have teared up as well. Is it really that funny? Perhaps.

Yu-Loung finally left HMC for China, and the traffic today was abominable. Walking through Atwood (where Yu-Loung is going to live) reminds me of Freshman year and SI. It makes me all think how much I really do like this school after all. We played a final game of settlers last night in an empty room in the suite.

It's all very strange, life that is, when it comes full circle. I am halfway through my college life, and it all feels very odd. I was looking at a list of the birthdays of the incoming students for SI, and it makes me feel old. Yes, yes, I know, I'm not old, but 20 years is a long time, and it makes me think of the future. What will I do? What kind of person will I be? What engineering type? Engineering or not engineering? Life is really full of choices, not all attainable, but all there and visible if nothing else.

I'm also getting excited to go home to Chicago... it'll be a nice change, since I haven't been there for 8 months. That's a long time. And I'll visit my grandparents and perhaps New York too. Visiting the east coast just seems so much easier, and I'm not quite sure why.