• "Mmmm...64 slices of American Cheese. 63. 62...."
- Homer
 11:51 PM   •  ø 

• Picture of the smoke billowing from the WTC.

This picture has not been altered.

 11:41 AM   •  2 opinonated pieces of What? 

• I had a dream last night that a jet crash landed just beyond my block (but it was my neighborhood in New York, not here in California). I was standing outside with my Grandma, and we watched it as it screeched over our heads, disappeared past the houses and then exploded into a million pieces. As the cloud of smoke and debris rose up into the sky, we jumped into our car to protect us from when it fell. Then suddenly it began to pour slush. Kind of like the a Snoopy Snow Cone ice, except that it wasn't flavored. My Grandma chickened out and ran into the house, but I sat out in the car and watched it quickly begin to pile up around me.

It was a combination of things that helped create this dream. Because, on Friday my Mom (and maybe myself, if we can get a ticket) are flying out to Florida, to see my Grandma. In light of the recent terrorist attacks, my dreams created a scenario of more planes being crashed. And my house in NY represented how the planes crashed there. And, all the slush that fell out of the sky was like the buildings that fell, and all the dust and crap that it created. But, in my dream it was slush because that was like in Magnolia when all the frogs fell out of the sky.

So, what does all this mean? I'll tell you, because I haven't given it much thought. It means, there's a day coming when all the people will rise up to slay the evil ice cream vendor, and they will steal all his frozen bannana's on a stick. In a great rage, they will blend them up, and feed them to all the Eskimos in Alaska and Canada. In that day, there will be a great storm, and that storm will bring melting ice from the sky, and cover the land. That is when Claire Forlani will realize her true love for me, and show up on my doorstep -- in lingerie -- with tapioca pudding in one of those neat little tupperware containers that have...NEVERMIND THAT!! She will be at my door dressed in lingerie. What more do I need to ask for?

at least, that's how it would happen if I could have my way.

 4:34 PM   •  2 opinonated pieces of What? 

• I don't have much to say right now, but I couldn't stand leaving the same post's up w/o any change for so long. I'm doing this for me, as well as for you. You can thank me in monetary fassion next time I see you.
 11:03 AM   •  ø 

• I was reminded of a Levy Tale last night as I was driving him back to my house from Costa Mesa. Apparently, I totally forgot this, but, Chris was at my friends bachelor party a couple years ago in Long Beach. At some point during the night he wandered out of the appartment, which was on the 29th floor of the International Hotel, strolled four blocks to the Albertsons downtown, and purchased two hotpockets microwaveable meals; he walked straight to the back of the store, found the employee break room, where he microwaved his food, sat down, and ate his dinner before returning to the party.

Like every good story, I'm tempted to exaggerate the facts. I want all my stories to ring of excitement, adventure, humor -- interest; but this I cannot do, because there is no need for it. I want to say that he went undetected, as he stealthly slipped through the 'employee only' doors by the freezers, in the back. But I can't. I want to say that he didn't even pay for his food, as no one noticed him eat the microwaveable dinners. But alas, it isn't so. What I want, is to say that an employee -- no, the manager on shift, had to escort him out of the store before he could even take the pockets out of the oven. I want to say that he had to explain himself, or that there was a crowd. Yet, I'm obligated to relay the story as it truley happened. For, Chris Levens isn't a guy who needs any introduction, nor is he the sort of person that needs any exaggeration to add color to his tales.

He left the party; he walked to the store; he bought his meal; he went straight to the breakroom; he microwaved his dinner; he consumed his dinner, all the while the employees came and went, no one saying a thing. If it was anyone else, there would be something missing, like a plot, or some action. But not with Chris as our main character. No, with Chris, every story is complete. Chris Levens -- you are the golden egg.
 2:07 PM   •  1 opinonated piece of What? 

• “We have suffered so much. Every night so many children go to bed hungry. What do we have to live for? Let the rockets come and set this whole country on fire once and for all.”
Zalmai, an Afghan teacher.
 2:54 PM   •  1 opinonated piece of What? 

• Tell me what you think of this (someone emailed this to me):

Nostradamus' prediction on WW3:
"In the year of the new century and nine months,
From the sky will come a great King of Terror...
The sky will burn at forty-five degrees.
Fire approaches the great new city..."
"In the city of york there will be a great collapse,
two twin brothers torn apart by chaos
while the fortress falls the great leader will succumb
third big war will begin when the big city is burning"

NOSTRADAMUS

He said the third will be bigger than the previous two.
2001 is the first year of the new century
and this is the 9th Month
New York is located at the 41st degree Latitude.

 1:40 PM   •  3 opinonated pieces of What? 

• Widespread but only partial news coverage was given recently to a remarkable editorial broadcast from Toronto by Gordon Sinclair, a Canadian television commentator. What follows is the full text of his trenchant remarks as printed in the Congressional Record:

"This Canadian thinks it is time to speak up for the Americans as the most generous and possibly the least appreciated people on all the earth.

Germany, Japan and, to a lesser extent, Britain and Italy were lifted out of the debris of war by the Americans who poured in billions of dollars and forgave other billions in debts. None of these countries is today paying even the interest on its remaining debts to the United States.

When France was in danger of collapsing in 1956, it was the Americans who propped it up, and their reward was to be insulted and swindled on the streets of Paris. I was there. I saw it.

When earthquakes hit distant cities, it is the United States that hurries in to help. This spring, 59 American communities were flattened by tornadoes. Nobody helped.

The Marshall Plan and the Truman Policy pumped billions of dollars! into discouraged countries. Now newspapers in those countries are writing about the decadent, warmongering Americans.

I'd like to see just one of those countries that is gloating over the erosion of the United States dollar build its own airplane. Does any other country in the world have a plane to equal the Boeing Jumbo Jet, the Lockheed Tri-Star, or the Douglas DC10? If so, why don't they fly them? Why do all the International lines except Russia fly American Planes?

Why does no other land on earth even consider putting a man or woman on the moon? You talk about Japanese technocracy, and you get radios. You talk about German technocracy, and you get automobiles.

You talk about American technocracy, and you find men on the moon -! not once, but several times - and safely home again.

You talk about scandals, and the Americans put theirs right in the store window for everybody to look at. Even their draft-dodgers are not pursued and hounded. They are here on our streets, and most of them, unless they are breaking Canadian laws, are getting American dollars from ma and pa at home to spend here.

When the railways of France, Germany and India were breaking down through age, it was the Americans who rebuilt them. When the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York Central went broke, nobody loaned them an old caboose. Both are still broke.

I can name you 5000 times when the Americans raced to the help of other people in trouble. Can you name me even one time when someone else raced to the Americans in trouble? I don't think there was outside help even during the San Francisco earthquake.

Our neighbors have faced it alone, and I'm one Canadian who is damned tired of hearing them get kicked around. They will come out of this thing with their flag high. And when they do, they are entitled to thumb their nose at the lands that are gloating over their present troubles. I hope Canada is not one of those."

Now, I don't want to go too far with this. I found this article interesting, and to have some truth, while maybe overly dramatic. In either case, I thought I'd post it in hopes that everyone who read it, would respond to it.
 4:00 PM   •  1 opinonated piece of What? 

• Interesting point:

Just one half hour ago, Ari Fliesher, the Press Secretary for the White House, gave a news conference. He stated that there was extremely credible sources that informed them that both the White House and the Air Force One were targets yesterday. The plane that was meant to hit the White House, obviously missed, and ended up hitting the Pentagon. There was speculation to that yesterday, and we can consider that confirmation. However, a reporter brought up a very interesting point regarding the Air Force One threat, because we know that the four planes that were highjacked were no threat to the President while he was in Florida. We must infer then that there was something else going on yesterday that we were unaware of. But, in typical fassion, they wouldn't say anything more than that, and so we're left speculating further.

 2:03 PM   •  2 opinonated pieces of What? 

• One other piece of news, that I forgot to mention, is that gas has sky rocketed in most states almost immediately yesterday. In Kansas, it was reported that price per gallon was $5. In most other states, it had gone up at least 20 cents. Everything from utilities to groceries are going up people. I'm in big trouble now....
 12:43 PM   •  2 opinonated pieces of What? 

• The one advantage to calling in sick at a time like this, is the fact that you get to stay updated all the time. Here are some interesting updates, incase you've missed them:

- They have identified, by name, the highjackers on one of the planes. They had come from Portland, Maine, into Boston. They purchased tickets with cash, using New Jersey id's, and they were mid-eastern.

- There has been confirmation that there was a struggle on the plane that went down in Penn. At least three people stormed the cock pit and forced it to go down in the unpopulated fields outside of Pittsburgh. The plane was headed to Washington. Apparently there were a number of phone calls that were made from the plane, which will be a major help in the investigation.

- The NY Rangers were supposed to be in a hotel in the vecinity of the towers, but had rescheduled last month. Phew...that would have destroyed the season! and the league!!

- The Pentegon has smouldered all night, and is now on fire again. It has been evacuated.

- The Taliban have taken all their hard disks, and even I believe, their hard drives from thier computers, all the while denying any connection with the attacks. Hmmm, yeah, right. They have pleaded with us not to kill Bin Laden, or to attack Afghanistan, because they say it will only cause more problems. Well, even if Afghanistan is harboring Bin Laden, I wouldn't say lets bomb them. Definately they should be dealt with politically, but not literally destroyed like some people are calling out for. Bin Laden, however, ought to be hung by his testicles. (sorry, but it must be said)*this one may be inaccurate, so if you have heard anything about this help me out*

- The bomb threat in Boston is supposedly a booby trap left behind by one, or some, of the highjackers who may have been staying at that hotel. Again, this may be inaccurate, and is something I just heard on the news.
 11:46 AM   •  2 opinonated pieces of What? 

• Good ol' Ma, trying to pull the old "do as I say, not as I do" trick last night in school. We had a quiz, which we were told about two weeks ago, and here she was trying to cheat off me! Her very own son, who she raised to be honest, and she was asking me for answers!! What do you think of that? I figure, sure, I did it in high school, but she always got mad at me for it when I got caught, so why should I help her now? Right? I mean, am I right?
 6:41 PM   •  1 opinonated piece of What? 

• It is simply amazing what some news people will do to capture an event. I watched a camera man, not standing too far from the buildings when the second one collapsed, tape the building fall. As people ran as fast and hard as they possibly could, this guy stood there, and even wiped his lense off. Suddenly, boulders came rolling and bouncing down the sidewalk, bowling over people like they were shrubs, and then BAM! The camera guy gets plugged. Moron.

If any of you haven't gotten a chance to see the footage of todays tragedy, I highly recommend it. Not to be morbid, but this event is so magnificent in proportion to how it will effect our nation, and the world, that it is very worth your while to see it all as it was captured on tape. Simply amazing. My prayers certainly go out to those that are in NY, and/or somehow involved directly or indirectly.
 12:07 PM   •  ø 

• Thank you, once again Levy, for the subtlety.
 10:55 PM   •  3 opinonated pieces of What? 

• Okay, so out of fear of further ridicule, I'm altering my rating scale to the status quo, four star scale. (Ya boob) But, hey, who wants to be a philistine?

Am I right? I mean, am I right???

And, upon my recent viewing of Momento, I'd love to write my thoughts on it, however, I can't fully do it justice until I see it again. Now, there's a movie that demands multiple returns. Again, I've fully enjoyed my movie going experience (for the third time in a row...I believe that makes it a streak), and can honestly say that it ranks. My first impressions were extrememly positive, but in order for me to organize my thoughts on how to critique it, well -- I have to have the movie organized in my head.

Great flick, however, and if you haven't seen it, you should.
 9:20 AM   •  ø 

• While it didn't leave quite the same impression on me as Moulin Rouge, or say, Fletch, or Stripes, I still found Chocolat to be a likeable movie viewing experience, that may even lead to it's addition onto my "must buy" list. The picture may have lacked the originality of -- say a Terry Gilliam movie, but there's no way around quality, and that is why I liked it. Chocolat offered a combination of both quality acting (Johnny Depp has only gotten better), and a stirring resemblence of the Mary Poppins-esque plot (which only provokes pleasant sentiments).

My earliest memories of Johnny Depp, like most people my age or older, aren't that fond, dating back to his tour of duty on the TV hit series 21 Jump Street. It's good to know he had sense enough to grow his mullet out in order to further his career. I'd hate to imagine Nicolas Cage as Donnie Brasco (oh, the shame that would have been), or how well Canoe Reeves would have depicted Ichabod Crane. In a talent pool the size of Hollywood, Johnny Depp must rank pretty near the top, and it's a relief that one of his gifts is in immitating accents. Something he might have taught Brad Pitt to do, had they chosen him over Johnny, of course. But, I must applaud the producers for their overall good choices for each character.

The actual production is where I found the most flaws, for lack of a better word. There were a number of different scenes where I thought they might have been better off chosing a different angle, or maybe changing the edit, to create something more innovative. The choices they made in these aspects were the things that I felt held the movie back from really being as powerful as it could have been. The flow of the story was good, the characters were both likeable and adequately developed, but it was a bit plain as far as cinematography. I don't like to focus too much on the bad things, if they aren't strong enough to ruin a movie, but while I did like this movie very much, I can't find enough to completely rave about. On a five star scale, I'd give it a 3 1/2 star rating.
 2:52 PM   •  2 opinonated pieces of What? 

• I can't imagine Moulin Rouge being the key that reopens the hollywood door to musicals. Although, in an industry where timing is almost everything, I can't imagine a better time than the past year for hollywood to welcome a musical to the silver screen. I'm not a big fan of the genre, while there have been a few magnificent musicals in the past to have captured my interest (Singing in the Rain, for instance, or Bing Crosby flicks). And, I had seen the trailors for Moulin Rouge without it ever catching my curiosity, at least enough to get me to shell out admission fees to go see it. However, this past Monday I found myself standing infront of the two dollar theatre forced to decide between Moulin Rouge, or Tomb Raider, and, I'm confident I made the right decision.

In a matter of minutes my senses were absorbed by the brilliant spectrum of psychedelic colors produced by Donald McAlpine (dp), and his team of cinematographers; a masterpiece yet to be rivaled, interlaced with an imaginative set, and fancy costumes, that only augmented the trip. Baz Lurhmann (director) may not have been on drugs when he envisioned this artisticly flared piece of work, but you could have fooled me. As if there were no limits, or any rules to making a movie (which I believe there's only one: just make it good -- at all costs), Lurhmann continued to push the envelope by constantly changing film speed, and utilizing awkward jump cuts (normally a nuisance in any main stream picture), contributing to the brilliant artistic appeal of the psychedelia bohemian underworld. Moulin Rouge is a visual feast that will make your eyes sweat!

But Lurhmann didn't stop with the cinematography and the editing. He continued to push even further, by forcing us to open our imaginations, and let go of our associations, by transforming familiar rock classics into melodious, beautiful, pieces. It was a surprize to me how well Ewen McGregor could sing; so well, so, that I have even found a new appreciation for his abilities as an entertainer. But, it was a combination of both McGregor's and Kiddman's gifted voices that brought life into the sounds of Moulin Rouge.

While some may say that it was a rehashed story, I find that to accuse Moulin Rouge of anything "hashed", is to deny the originality of the picture. If a "love story" is rehashing, then I believe it would be safe to say that there are no original plots left to explore. And, while it is true, I do believe we will never see a truly original plot, for the afore mentioned reason, I say then, that it's pointless mentioning it unless the movie in question finds no other way to explore possible paths of creativity. Moulin Rouge introduced hollywood to a new style, whether or not anyone will choose to, or is even capable of, following in its path. Therefore, Moulin Rouge gets my whole hearted vote for most creative movie I've ever seen.
 9:28 AM   •  10 opinonated pieces of What?