Raise and Win With A Pair of Jacks

There are a lot of things about people you can tell just by looking at them. You might look at my bushy, uncombed hair and tell that I am lazy. Indeed, after towel drying my hair, I don't give it a second thought.

On the other hand, there are certain things about people that can't be told from appearance alone. Who would have guessed that O.J. Simpson was insane? In a similar way, people find it hard to believe I am an identical twin.

"There are two of you walking around?" is a common response. Jokingly, I hope. But it is true, my brother and I have identical DNA. There might only be seven minutes between our births, but our personalities are worlds apart.

Providing that bit of information brings about a plethora of questions, so I figured I would address some of these misconceptions.

No, we don't finish each others' sentences, and we didn't go to each others' classes when we were in grade school. We simply strived to be different.

When my brother and I look back on our childhood photos, we sometimes can't tell the difference between the two of us, which provided a reason for why we decided to grow so far apart from each other.

Before my twin and I went to college, we made everything a contest. When we were younger, we would wrestle - more like beat the crap out of each other - just to see who wouldn't have to sit in the back seat of the van.

Because of this long-standing competition, we grew to dislike, maybe even hate each other. Our relationship was as healthy as a custody meeting with a divorced couple - awkward at best.

We intentionally didn't do the same things, for the sake of being different. My mother would blame herself, but it isn't her fault.

It is just natural for two people who are genetically similar to try and be as different as they can. It allows us to form our own identities, which we did.

I stayed in California for college, and he got the good-neighbor discount on his tuition from University of Nevada, Reno. He wanted to drive a big truck, while I am satisfied with almost scraping the ground in my sports car. He chose to major in business, while I chose to live a life of poverty with journalism.

He likes his waffles on the crispy side, while I enjoy them closer to fluffy. His favorite car at the moment is the astonishing Bugatti Veyron, while I think the best in the world is the 806-horsepower Koenigsegg CCX.

He bought a yuppie Mac, but I have a powerful PC.

He roots for the Wolf Pack, while I cheer for the Spartans.

We have our differences, and we always will. But when it comes down to it, trying to become different people made the both of us grow closer. And in the same way we ended up liking some of the same things, from trying to be different.

Our tastes in music are somewhat identical. We both have brunette girlfriends - and no, they are not twins. And even though we don't cheer for the same college football team, we managed to be in the same conference. He has the bragging rights this year.

Even though we probably wouldn't admit it, we don't mind the other being around, dare I say enjoying the other's company. So relax, Mom, we turned out all right.

As for the question of who is the evil twin, we haven't reached a conclusion. But he does have a T-shirt that I accept as his confession.

Column for December 9, 2008. It is my material. © 2008

Journey to the Center of a Woman's Purse

It is a week away from the beginning of finals and I can't think of a better time to stop complaining about the work I have to do. But I can't - I am the self-proclaimed king of procrastination.

The trouble is some people see the things that I do as a waste of time … like sitting on the toilet. I read somewhere (probably on the can) that over a lifetime, the average man "wastes" 394 days sitting on the throne. I think that most men would agree that those 56 weeks is a time to be cherished.

On the other hand, the eternity spent waiting for a lady to find something in her oversize handbag is not. While most women carry one, it confuses me beyond comprehension as to why.

The time spent looking for things that have fallen down below the amassed clutter is a true waste of time.

If I suspect that a friend of mine keeps her cell phone in a purse, I will just write an e-mail. I fear that 40 minutes of a Bon Jovi ringtone while she rummages around for her phone would end up with a few pissed-off people or a smoldering cowskin clutch - talk about a "Blaze of Glory."

I can't figure out why ladies need more than one purse and why most have 20. I was once told that it had something to do with the seasons, so I guess that means there are 16 more that I don't know about.

It is also said that a pocketbook can make or break an outfit. I happen to think that no piece of tanned cowhide will help the worst of fashion faux pas. But what do I know? I am just a man.

I am not familiar with the contents of these cumbersome carryalls, so over the weekend, while my sister wasn't looking, I took a peek inside her bag.

Floating on top of the ocean of hodgepodge was the mighty iPhone and some members of the makeup family. But as I dove under the epipelagic zone, I encountered a pair of large sunglasses and a school of used chewing gum wrappers. I was tempted to explore deeper into the abyss but retreated, fearful of losing a limb or being sprayed by an estranged pepper spray canister.

Had I ventured deeper, I may have come across currency from a country that doesn't exist anymore or a prescription for a medical ailment that cleared up years ago.

I know things tend to get lost in bags of females, so I keep waiting to read interesting headlines in junk-news tabloids.

"Paris Hilton finds bones of past pet Chihuahua in Prada purse." Or "Secret al-Qaida hideout found in Laura Bush's handbag."

I can hear the ladies screaming right now, "We just want to be prepared!"

Well, that is all fine and good, but do you need cough medicine for kids you haven't had yet, or eyeglasses for astigmatism you haven't been diagnosed with? Just ask a man.

I don't leave my house without my phone, wallet or key ring, all of which can fit inside the pockets of my jeans. The great part is that I still have an open pocket to hold a rolled up copy of a newspaper. That comes in handy when I am spending quality time on the commode.

Column for December 2, 2008. It is my material. © 2008

Defeating the "Green" Purpose

I read somewhere that the average speed of passenger vehicles driving during times with no congestion is around 75 mph in California. And residents of the "Golden State" are still complaining about fuel prices?

If drivers started driving 55 mph, they could reduce fuel consumption and the impact it has on their bank accounts. As much as this information is pertinent - Sammy Hagar predicted it - they can't drive 55.

I found myself behind a fuel tanker on Interstate 680 last week, and I admit I was moving too slow. But I tailgated tanker trucks the entire way to my folks' house and found my gas tank happy and more full than usual.

While gliding along in the slow lane, I noticed a strange phenomenon. Toyota Prius drivers were having trouble staying out of the fast lane. It wasn't because some had the diamond-lane OK, by way of clean-air vehicle passes, but instead their drivers couldn't keep the accelerator pedals off of the floor.

Hybrid owners beware: Just because you have one, doesn't mean you are saving the environment. So, you folks who drive 90 mph on the freeway in your "green" vehicles, you're not helping the environment at all. In fact, you might as well be flipping the bird to the leader of global warming awareness, Al Gore.

By driving your hybrid car that fast, you are defeating the purpose of having one in the first place. The fuel efficiency of a hybrid comes from using the electric motor, which only is used in times of limited power demand. Since the Prius has the aerodynamic qualities of a wedge of cheese, on the freeway it is always in demand for power that is supplied by the gas engine. So driving above the speed limit makes hybrid users just as guilty of polluting the atmosphere as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and his Hummer.

It might be trendy for people to appear environmentally friendly, but if you bought a Prius for its looks, you might want to lay off the greenhouse gases. But automakers are starting to change the way consumers think about "green" vehicles.

The electric car company Tesla Motors produces an electric sports car capable of reaching 60 mph from 0 in 3.9 seconds, with thoughts of making a faster model. Dodge has dropped the production and development of future Dodge Vipers and has replaced it with the EV, a two-passenger, rear-wheel-drive sports car. The only problem with these zero-emissions vehicles is that you would have to spend around $100,000 to "do your part" in saving the environment.

The upshot to dropping the down payment on a house is that you won't have to buy gas for your car again. With that money, you could send your kid to engineering school and have her become the genius who invents the saltwater-powered car.

Electric and hybrid cars are not the solution to global warming, and maybe that is why I see most of these hybrids exceeding the speed limit.

But if there is any hope for solving the problems with the world's dependence on oil and fulfilling Al Gore's prophecies, then we should start looking at our driving habits.

If things keep going the way they are with global warming, I am going to start saving up for a solar-powered houseboat.

Column for November 25, 2008. It is my material. © 2008

Five Digits of Freedom: Finally Getting A ZIP Code

Column for November 18, 2008. I know this is a lazy excuse for a blog post, but it is my material. © 2008

Those yuppie hipsters in Beverly Hills just revitalized the hit teen drama "90210" and I couldn't be less interested. Bringing back the historic ZIP code proves that people often don't think about the five-digit region they live in, unless it is famous.

Tommy Tutone immortalized the unforgettable phone number in the song "Jenny." I apologize if you start belting out 867-5309 at your dinner table this evening. But unless your city is famous, most people across the country don't know where you are. You could argue that California, from Oakland to Sactown, the Bay Area and back down, became famous in Tupac Shakur's "California Love."

Unless you're constantly standing in lines at the post office, you may be unaware of your local ZIP code, let alone your neighboring town's, but that is not the case for folks in Larose, La. They have been traveling to their neighboring town's post offices to get their mail for four decades, according to an Associated Press article.

According to that same article, beginning Saturday, "the 7,000 or so who live in the town can start using 70373 and should soon receive letters and packages in their roadside mailboxes for the first time."

This bit of news really made me think about how I take the post office for granted. In the last two and a half years, I have lived in three different ZIP codes, but because of their design, I have received all the mail sent to me and rejoiced when I received my first articles of junk mail.

While there are certain things about the U.S. Postal Service that make people scream, like identity theft and countless amounts of coupon pages, these are things that the citizens of Larose have not had the experience of pulling out of their end-of-driveway boxes.

Now they have the joy of experiencing everything that comes with owning a mailbox. Like having it knocked over by a reversing truck or a disgruntled teenager with a baseball bat. As well as the occasional animal or insect that decides to make its home inside or the possible ridicule from neighbors that dislike your flamboyantly pink piglet mailbox housing.

The children of Larose will now get the chance to try and hide their report cards from their parents. Magazine subscriptions can be read on the day of delivery instead of on the day that you had enough time to go to the post office.

Members of the campus housing community may be sympathetic to Larose's plight because when I lived in Campus Village Building B, I often found myself saying, "But my mailbox is all the way in Joe West."

According to the AP article, "Residents petitioned for years to bring a rural route to the area, but the switch wasn't made until a recent survey showed widespread support, said Daisy Comeaux, spokeswoman for the U.S. Postal Service."

If only the survey would have been conducted 40 years beforehand …

So, congratulations, citizens of Larose, you no longer have to go to the neighboring town to get your mail. Now you have entered into a world of global identity that includes possible anthrax letters and Victoria's Secret catalogs.

I Just Don't Understand Tarantino

Like my previous blogs have mentioned, I have to catch up on my blogging, so I am going to catch up with number three on my list.

3. I watched "Reservoir Dogs" over the weekend and I will give you my review. Mainly how I don't fully understand Quentin Tarantino.

This excessively bloody, vulgar and violent movie is what Quentin Tarantino was looking for when he directed the film. It continues his successful line of movies that make audience laugh, cringe and scratch their heads.

The laughing is induced from the hilarity of some of the over-the-top gore and contrasting situations the characters are placed in. The cringing comes from an abundance of grotesque violence that is visually and audibly terrifying. The sheer amount of blood involved could make blood banks happy for years.

But the third point, the point I just don't get in Tarantino's masterful design is the cut-and-paste format that he uses for the majority of the film. To me it is a distraction from the forward progression of the plot. Some people love it, some people hate it.

I am split. I like the idea of doing the puzzle piece movie style because it makes the viewer try to put everything together, much like a jigsaw puzzle, but you try to put it together before the movie puts it all together for you.

On the other hand, I don't like it because the movie is going to solve it for us anyway. I have seen plenty of good movies that have forward progression and hit on the plot twisting tales in real time, or through flashbacks. You might know this as the "Oh factor." The point in the movie where you go, "Ohhhh, I get it now!"

As for the movie review, I liked it enough not to turn it off ... the second time. I began the movie and felt it took too long to get moving. Also I felt that poor Mr. Orange has the unfortunate roll of bleeding to death the entire film. Two hours of barely moving and profusely bleeding from the stomach must have been an awkward script to read and accept. "Yes, I want that role!"

The movie has an amazing cast, minus Tarantino casting himself like usual. The cast of Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, Steve Buscemi and Harvey Keitel do a great job of filling Tarantino's expectations, but frankly, I think they were a little too low. This movie could have been a classic bank-robbery-gone-wrong movie, but instead is just another decent rental for a slow, lonely Friday night.

I can see a lot of people disagreeing with what I have written because, like I said, you either love him or you hate him. So, I guess I hate him. Drum roll please...

Verdict: (3 of 5 stars) - Pictures and stars to come, when I get to my desktop.

You're Either Blind or Retarded

Like my previous blog posts, I have to catch up on my blogging, so I am going to catch up with number two on my list.

2. Why are all new cars getting xenon and halogen headlight bulbs? And why does almost everyone use their high beams more than their normal driving lights?

An open-ended letter to drivers everywhere,

Ahem. I am talking to you the annoying driver. Yes you! The one who uses their high beams all the time. Yes you, the person who spent money on brighter headlamps but still can't see without your high beams. There are only a few explanations I can think of, and I will shoot down your excuses. Here we go.

You may argue that when no one is around, you use them to be extra cautious, hoping to see that animal or unsuspecting bend. Well, tough.

Every person has to drive at night with the possibility of hitting some form of wildlife or not judging a turn correctly. But that is why speed limits are created. They are designed so that in case of an emergency (like a deer running n the road) you have ample distance and braking ability to stop in time. Besides, when you use high beams, you always forget to turn them off when approaching another on-coming car.

Another argument that is common is older drivers who complain about their poor eye sight. No offense, but if you are over the age of 60 and wear glasses, there is a good chance you shouldn't be driving when it gets dark out. If a driver is having trouble with vision while driving, then just turn around and go home.

I have also heard the argument that in bad weather it is OK to use high beams. This couldn't be farther from the truth. In rain and fog it is a terrible idea to use your high beams. In most cases you will be making the situation worse for other drivers. In fog, all high beams do is brighten the condensed moisture in the air. The higher amount of light at an elevated level with the more dense particles that are picked up by the light create a wall of glare that reduces visibility.

Basically it is a bad idea to keep selling cars with high intensity light bulbs. The people that have the money to buy the more powerful bulbs are the ones that use their high beams too often and who do not turn them off.

For the sake of other car drivers everywhere. Learn how to drive with your running lights only.

A Night of Politics, A Week of Hell

Like I mentioned, I have to catch up on my blogging, so I am going to Catch up with number one on my list.

1. The election review, where I was, what I was doing and why the election has ruined my social and blogging life.

Obama Wins!

So I spent my entire election night furiously reading stories for the paper the following day. Around me, fellow editors and writers huddled around the TV, watching the poll results file in and CNN projecting the outcomes of states.

My colleagues and I spent the entire week creating a voter's guide, informing students of the propositions that were available in the Santa Clara County, and it drained us.


Some of the staff writers managed to keep us entertained through the entire ordeal, live blogging the election coverage and adding their own tidbits of humor. The occasional photo of the presidential candidates in funny or awkward situations. The good stuff always arises during humor.

The infamous moment that will live on in Daily humor came with CNN's use of a hologram of Will.I.Am. CNN thought it would be smart to have a hip-hop artist give his views of the idea of an African American being elected President.

I think that was why they had him on, but I don't remember because everyone was laughing too hard. Mainly at the fact that one of the live bloggers posted a picture of R2-D2 from "Star Wars" projecting Princess Leia's message to Obi-Won Kenobi.

But after the elections were over, most of the Daily staff was excited and happy it was over, because the majority of us were up until the early hours of the morning each day, providing the campus with political information. It was debatable if they cared or not.

A Look at the Blogs to Come

I have been really busy since the election, so here are the blogs sitting in my draft box, or are being worked on for the upcoming week. Just a warning, I will not have much time to work on things for the next few days so, don't expect to see anything new until as early as Friday.

1. The election review, where I was, what I was doing and why the election has ruined my social and blogging life.

2. Why are all new cars getting xenon and halogen headlight bulbs? And why does everyone use their high beams more than their normal driving-night lights. My prospective.

3. I watched "Reservoir Dogs" over the weekend and I will give you my review. Mainly how I don't fully understand Quentin Tarantino.

4. And I am working on a column for two Tuesdays from now, since I don't have one this week because of Veteran's Day. I might give you a sneak peak, or write something completely different. Check in to find out.

You Voted: So Now What?

Hooray, it is Election Day. Wear that "I voted" sticker with pride. Whoopee. You possibly voted, are planning on voting later today or have decided not to vote. Good, congratulations on participating in the democratic process. But now that the election is soon to be over, what are you going to do?

Will you remove that McCain & Palin sticker from your car's bumper? Will you still be wearing that "Obama for Change" T-shirt in three months? Chances are that you will lose all interest in politics until the next election - that is OK too.

Think about all the fun things that will happen between now and the next time most people in the United States turn out to vote in the 2012 presidential election. You may get the chance to see four more baseball teams make it to the World Series. Possibly even your team, Cubs fans.

By that time, California will have a new governor; well at least we hope - hope for that person not to be an actor/actress. Gavin Newsom may still be the mayor of San Francisco and the heartthrob of middle-aged women everywhere. But at least you can rejoice over the reduction of political junk mail.

But let's think short-term right now. What about in the next three months?

Hello, holidays. There is Thanksgiving, the second of the festive eating occasions, being a little less than one month after most of us swore off eating candy all together. And yet we stuff our faces until we can't manage another bite. At least no one phone banking for a political party will be calling and interrupting the family feuding.

Unfortunately, before you find time to take the election sign posts out of your lawn, Christmas and other December holidays arrive, continuing the tradition of eating food that isn't good for us and overindulging on sweets until we convince ourselves to go on diets.

What do you know? Just in time for New Year's, a time to make promises to yourself that you most likely won't keep, much like the lofty promises of high school presidents … or nationally elected ones, come to think of it. But at least this gives you something to look forward to, something other than election campaigns.

But just because the elections are coming to a close doesn't meant you have to stop being politically active. How about getting involved in local elections or joining campus political organizations? Just because the presidential elections are not around doesn't mean you can't become informed.

You can become informed on anything if you do some initial research - research I hope people did about the propositions on the ballot and the presidential candidates.

Becoming more informed can help with things such as the calorie count of the syrup and marshmallows used on candied yams, the maximum number of light strands you can string together on a Christmas tree and the number of drinks that can be consumed on New Year's before you find Dick Clark attractive.

So find something to get passionate about and stick with it. Just remember that if your political party didn't win this election, say what the Cubs fans have been saying since 1909: "There is always next season."

Nothing Cool about "Cool World"

Sometimes you hear about a movie and something about the film makes it appealing. That something was there with Ralph Bakshi's 1992 creation "Cool World." I had seen "Who Framed Rodger Rabbit" when I was younger and figured the blend of animation with human characters would work.

I was sadly mistaken. This overly sexualities, almost soft-core porn (and somehow PG-13) movie just was a waste of 102 minutes. Right from the start, the movie doesn't make sense and any attempt to clean up the plot throughout the movies makes it worse.

Frank Harris played by Brad Pitt is a solider who returns form home from fighting in a war who get literally sucked into a cartoon. It is explained that he entered "Cool World" when a scientist Dr. Vincent tries to enter the 'Real' world and the process backfires.

What makes this movie strange, is that Pitt's character doesn't play the lead male role. And instead is Jack Deebs, played by Gabriel Byrne, who is an incarcerated cartoonist who created the comic "Cool World" while in prison for killing the man who he found sleeping with his wife.

Deebs is leaving prison because he has served out his sentence and in the midst of trying to go back to a normal life, he gets pulled into his own creation by lead female role and main sex symbol, Holli Would, voiced over and played by Kim Basinger. There is a lot of travel between the real world and Cool World, so let me try and sum up this crappy movie.

Basinger's character wants to leave Cool World and go to the real world so she can have men there give her everything she wants. Her plan is to sleep with Deebs in Cool World which would make her a real person and then have Deebs bring her back with him into the real world.

Harris, who has become a police officer in Cool World tried to stop this from happening and also tries to convince Deebs he is being used, but fails because of the man's built up sexual drive.

Anyway, the plan doesn't work. Deebs figures out she is using him a little too late, and Pitt tries to save the real world by stopping Holli Would. For the sake of this moving being SO terrible and it not being worth talking about anymore, I am going to leave it at that.

I wouldn't watch this movie if the president asked me to watch it with him. It was that bad. I don't have a zero star rating, so it will have to suffice with a 1.

Verdict: (1 of 5 stars) -Don't even bother seeing this.

Waiting for Some More Originaltiy

Column for October 28, 2008. I know this is a lazy excuse for a blog post, but it is my material. © 2008

It is deja vu all over again. Or at least the lack of originality in Hollywood makes me feel that way. Movies are created from popular books, TV shows are dragged on until the 20th season or producers "reinvent" a classic TV show. As I surf through my 74 channels of television, I think that nothing new is being produced these days.

I seldom get to watch television anymore, but when I do, a monotony of programming is available - endless hours of unoriginal material. I wouldn't say that all of it is crap, but my favorite example is Jerry Bruckheimer's "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation." I have to admit that I liked the first version of this show, but became slowly annoyed with blatant spin offs of the show. "Same idea, different city" must have been their production motto.

Another example of this lack of effort from the screenwriters is "Law & Order." Again I am a fan of one of the particular versions, but how many different sub-series can you make Mr. Dick Wolf? What is next? "Law & Order: Animal Cruelty Victims Unit"?

But it is not just the endlessly continuing series that are adding to this bleak existence known as television programming. We can also blame the brains behind revitalizing older TV shows. Whoever thought it would be a good idea to bring back "Knight Rider" without David Hasselhoff was severely mistaken.

Sadly, the sampling of content doesn't end with TV. When I look back at the last 10 years of movies, I can't think of more popular movies than the "Lord of the Rings" and the "Harry Potter" series, both of which are interpretations of now well-known books.

Yes, these movies were made because of their popularity, but can a guy ask for some original thinking? The last good movie I saw in theaters was "Eagle Eye," but to be honest, it felt like a more mobile version of the theatrical disaster "Phone Booth."

I understand that there was a writers strike last year and that some things are created solely based on their popularity, but I think the world can do without "High School Musical 3." If anything, it makes me feel like we are all just a gullible group of movie-going idiots, taking whatever the movie producers throw at us just because the flick has a new title.

But we are partially to blame for the existence of big-screen blunders. Bruckheimer's trilogy, "Pirates of the Caribbean" is now being extended with a fourth and possibly fifth and sixth version. Why? It could be because Jerry found a new aspect of the popular Disney ride that he hasn't explained yet, but probably because it is making him a boat load of booty.

The sad part is that it doesn't end with movies. Producers of video games are beating the proverbial dead horse by re-releasing titles with yearly changes. The most notable being the Madden series, coming out with a new game each year with the allure that each team has all the correct players and up-to-date statistics. Is that why they have Brett Favre on the cover of Madden '09 in a Packers jersey?

I know you might question if I have a point, and I do. I will not go to the theater or turn on the TV until there is something compelling to watch. If people keep making movies from books I have read and TV shows from the ones my grandmother used to watch, I am not going to go to the theater or turn on the TV. If the creativity doesn't start flowing from Hollywood, I have a feeling that writers will start killing their audiences if they keep "stickin'" to their guns.

"Who Need Reasons When You've Got Heroin? "

I have been lazy and didn't write the 'Trainspotting' review until now. I can't say I thought up all the material on my own. Thank you IMDB for refreshing my memory of the plot.

Mark "Rent Boy" Renton played by Ewan McGregor is a young Edinburgh heroin addict trying to kick the nasty habit. The only problem? His friends, his job and his desire for "one last hit" keep him injecting the needle. Along with his friends, he is trapped in an urban underworld of despair.

His family tries to keep him clean, resulting in house arrest against his will. Even though his struggles and friends bring him back into a fantasy world, Mark always is looking to make something more of himself, other than a junkie.

With that in mind, Mark sets out for London to make his fortune, and at first he does well - he successfully gets a job in a property lettings agency and starts to pursue his new life. However, his old friends won't leave him alone.

First to arrive from Edinburgh is violent alcoholic Begbie, who is on the run after an armed robbery gone wrong. Soon Mark realizes that his old life is going to be hard to leave behind.

When the possibility of a major heroin deal tempts the others, Mark finds it impossible to isolate himself from his friends. As he is the only one of the group they all trust to test the drugs, he is also going to have to face temptation again, the hard way.

Based on the 1993 Irvine Welsh novel of the same name, 'Trainspotting' is a gritty, realistic look at the world of the urban drug addict. Although the subject matter could be off-putting, in this film it is handled with surprising sensitivity, neither glamorizing drug use nor condemning it.

Instead of being a film about drugs, it is really about the characters, all of which are fully developed and extremely well played by an outstanding cast. Young Ewan McGregor shows astonishing emotional depth in this, the breakthrough role that possibly made him the actor he is today.

The look of the film, and its direction, perfectly portray both the gritty reality of addiction and the surreal aspects of an addict's life.

I know it took a while for me to review this movie, but I liked it a lot and think most people (18 years and older) would to. I am going to add it to my movie collection. Definitely worth seeing, just not with your mother or on a first date.

Verdict: (4 of 5 stars)

Chalk It Up To Karma

I have a story about karma. Some people argue that when you have something wrong done to you, and that person who wronged you eventually gets wronged, that is what most people consider the idea of karma.

It is not the spiritual definition that some adopted, but in any case, this is how karma is seen. Now let me preface the story with a description of the situation.

On Thursday, I parked my car in the overflow lot. I had been having a bad day — A late night before and an early morning, full of "You forgot to" statements. I was greeted with either, "You forgot to ..." or "Are you alright." Most likely from the raccoon eyes and the half-dead look.

So to say the least, I was not in a good mood and was just looking to get back to my car, so I could go home.

I was walking from the journalism building (the center of campus) to the bus stop, which happens to be at the southern most point of campus. It was hot for an October day, somewhere between 80-90 degrees.

As I round the last building that separates me from the bus stop, I see the bus almost full of people and looking like it is ready to go. So, in no mood to run, I increase my walking pace and head toward the bus. As I pass the door of the Science building, it swings open and a woman wearing heels and on her cellphone runs my feet over and slammed my ankle with her rolling backpack.

I apologize to her even though it wasn't my fault, hoping that she would apologize for the hit-and-run. Instead she bursts out, "Damn right your sorry!," then proceeds to tell the person she was talking to on the phone that, "Some damn idiot walked right into me."

I was furious, I had what seemed to be a welt forming on my ankle and this b*tch was telling me that I did her wrong in some way? I felt like calling her every dirty name in the book, or throwing her piece of sh*t rolling backpack under a bus, but I kept my cool.

Because her sideswiping me, we both did not make the bus. And I sat waiting for the next one while she bitched and complained to the person on the phone with her that I was the cause of her day being hell. A football player has seen what had happened and was talking with me about it, both of us laughing at the situation and, even though painfully, the bruise on my ankle, now somewhat purple.

So, the next bus came and she got on the bus and I did not. There was no way in hell I was going to get on there and risk sitting in an ear shot of her. I would have snapped her tiny little, blond-haired head off. Not like it would be difficult, since there was probably no brain in there.

Besides, I was too busy laughing because she got on the wrong bus ... And there karma for you folks. This woman was in such a rush to get back to her car, that she got on the long route. The one that goes all the way around campus from that entry point, before going to the parking lot. The one that takes an extra 45 minutes to get where she was intending on going.

Had she not been complaining so much to her friend on the phone about what she claimed I did, she might have noticed two things. One being that the red sign on the bus said long route, and that the majority of people standing around the bus station were not boarding with her.

My ankle is fine, just took a half hour of an ice pack to make the swelling go away. Probably in less time than it took miss drive by the time to finally get back to her car. In the words of a famous college newspaper designer. "Dumb b*tch!"

Future Foe Scenarios

There are certain things about people that bother me. One being talking about things you know nothing about and the other is uncleanliness. I have lived with some messy people and I think that is the main reason that I am a neat freak. Their excessive filth has made me into Mr. Clean's crazy cousin.

All roommates do things that eventually get on your nerves. Everyone has these things, and I am sure that all of my roommates have things about me that they don't like — Like coming home late every morning.

But one of my roommates has created a sh*t storm in our house and has no intention of ever changing his ways. This roommate has a disorder of a phobia or something. It is something like the fear of finishing something, or the fear of washing dishes. I think he has Genophobia, but you will have to look that up on your own.

It is hard to explain what it is that is driving me mad. So I have collected evidence to show you what is bothering me. Starting with...
This is a photo I took in our bathroom. I have the luxury of sharing with this guy and he is a complete idiot. When the toilet paper starts to run low (about two sheets from the glued piece) he will take the roll off and put the almost finished roll on top of the toilet.

This would be fine if he used the pieces, but instead he starts using a new roll and leaves the old roll for someone else to use. Over winter break he accumulated five of these almost-empty rolls on top of the toilet. My other roommates and I told him not to do it anymore, but he stopped for a few weeks before returning to his paper-wasting habits.

This is funny because he is so stingy that he tells us not to waste but then won't even finish a toilet paper roll. It is almost like he thinks that if he finishes it, he will have to pay for a new roll or something. Which would make sense ... if he helped pay for paper products in the first place. Freeloader!

Second on my "should be slapped for" list is...
If you can't make out the image, just click on it, but this is the dirty plates in the sink complaint.

The dirty roommate must have a phobia about getting soap on his hands because he hasn't washed a dish since we moved into our new place. This particular dish sat on this side of the sink for three days. And he walks past the kitchen sink in order to go to his room.

If this wasn't bad enough, when he does have the consideration to try and wash his plates, he puts them in the dishwasher (still with caked on food) and then waits for someone else to start it. My other roommates and I have been washing our plates after eating in an attempt to make him start washing his own dishes ... To no avail.

I think he is doing these things just to piss the rest of us off. If that is the case, then it is working.

Here are two other examples of the his foolishness:





The photo of the bread bags is a confirmation of him not being able to finish anything. In this case leaving the ends of loafs of bread in the bag and opening a new one. The other is what happened when we confronted him about his dirty dish in the sink. He lifted up the side of the plate to drain off the water that had spilled onto it (which helped him partially wash it) but shows the mess he left in the sink. Inconsiderate jack*ss.

Maybe that is why no one wants to date the guy. If we can't stand him, I don't see how a lady could.

The eBay of the Police World

My column for the weekly newspaper, for the publication date of 10/21/2008.

Imagine yourself at a funeral for a loved one and he has just been taken from you. The funeral home charges you for sending that relative to the greater beyond. That is somewhat normal; you set aside money for a funeral and want it to be respectful.

Now imagine the funeral home sells off the valuables placed in the coffins.

That is a comparison I link to a police collaboration called Property-Room.com that sells seized and unclaimed items.

I was watching the 10 o'clock news when I heard about this service. Property Room specializes in the auction of stolen, seized, found and surplus goods and vehicles, serving more than 1,100 law enforcement agencies nationwide according to its Web site.

Initially, I thought this was a good idea. Police departments need space in their inventory rooms and have few options to help clear out acquired items. When watching the news report, the reporter showed viewers the assortment of items, from power tools to designer handbags. Jewelry, cameras and even out-of-service-police cruisers are available for bid on this site. What could be better than a boosted gravestone?

The way the story was presented made me feel like the police were providing a service that was of benefit to the general public. I was terribly misled.

Sure that laptop or that beat-up Honda Civic was previously in possession or used by a convicted felon, but what the heck, a car for as cheap as $500, what's wrong with that?

In my opinion, this site is a misuse of the Internet by some police departments. The items that are available for auction have been cleared for sale by the department after an "attempt" to return them to their original owners.

This site gives police departments an excuse to not try as hard to return items to their owners, with the incentive of bringing revenue to the force.

According to its Web site, Property Room harnesses the power of the Internet to quickly move items out of police property rooms, reduce personnel costs and generate revenue well beyond traditional police auction methods.

It sounds like an ideal situation for both cash-strapped consumers and our boys and girls in blue, but is it a greed-driven ruse?

I feel their problem with available space could be solved with a couple more man-hours in the checking of property serial numbers and increased awareness of seized property that needs to be claimed.

A few years back, my sister's car was stolen and her personal belonging were taken from inside the vehicle. She filed a report with the local police and didn't hear back from an officer for a while, eventually getting a new car considering the old one lost.

After purchasing the new vehicle she was told that her car was found and was almost sold in an auction when a representative of the towing company who found the car finally checked the serial number.

I am not tar-and-feathering the police department. They do a good job serving and protecting, but this site seems to go step to the side of the basic services of the police department.

Is it right to sell the inventory items when they are the stolen property of someone else?

If you are browsing the pages looking for something that was stolen from you, the Web site also offers a service through a sub-category called stealitback.com. The stolen goods repository can help theft victims be reunited with their stolen property by checking serial numbers of recorded auction items.

Again, why should you have to search to find your stolen goods? Wouldn't you like a little help in finding your missing merchandise? Isn't that the idea behind filling out a police report?

I Could Have Been Wrong?

So this morning I turned on my car and half way down the street I realized that my post from Thursday could have been all for nothing. I complain and complained about how Californians drive too damn fast.

But something is probably wrong with my car as the photo above shows. Oil leak, or my car is burning oil. That or the guys who changed my oil last put the wrong oil in.

However it happened, I am not looking forward to the cost of things it could break, so I am changing the oil myself as soon as I have free time. I did it when I was in high school auto shop and I am pretty damn confident that I will not screw anything up.

I have a theory that the guys that work on cars for companies are told to create problems that will appear after 3,000 miles after the service. After all, if they fixed it like they were supposed to, the would be out of a job.

Anyway, in a stranger note. I got my phone bill and from calling my girlfriend in London, I managed to spend $462 dollars. So I convinced the representative that I was unaware that "talking in the same network was not free outside of the United States." So I only paid $32 and $3 more for to change my plan so that I pay 28 cents-per-minute to talk internationally.

A Coma Inducing Weekend

This weekend was possibly the most loaded four days of sports I have ever had the pleasure of viewing.

Thursday night was a freakish reminder that the Red Sox don't know the definition of the word defeat even though I still want the Rays to go on and win the World Series.

Friday I got to sit around and watch the Sharks play the Anaheim Ducks, even thought they lost. There were some great hits and scoring chances, but no goals.

Saturday was hectic to say the least. I was rooting for my college to defeat their division opponent and maintain first place. They were away, so as I sat in a bar eating dinner before going to the San Jose Sharks vs. the Philadelphia Flyers, I watched them on TV as well as game 6 of the ALDS, again with Boston showing that they will not accept defeat.

So we went to the Sharks game. Walking to get dinner I got to give a high-five to TV broadcaster and host of Shark Byte, Drew Remenda as well as one of my professors.

And as you might have seen from picture from my iphone above, I had amazing seats. Row 1 next to the penalty box. I was banging on the glass as Jody Shelley of the Sharks and Riley Cote of the Flyers got into a fight. You might be able to see me in my white jersey around 27 second into the video. Also clapping when they show Shelley after being separated.

It was a great game and the sharks won in overtime.

Then after getting home late, I was off to the Oakland Raiders vs. the New York Jets in Oakland. I got there early and tailgated with my folks and my uncle Bob. And then again I witnessed a good game (wasn't that great) that also went into overtime. The Raiders won when kicker Sebastian Janikowski made a 57 yard field goal to win in overtime. That field goal being the longest in Raiders franchise history.

So I had a good weekend. My teams won except for the Sharks on Friday and the Rays on Thursday and Saturday, but ... the Rays won tonight and are going to the World Series.

Lead Foot Nation

While driving home, I found myself perplexed by a question. Is my car slow? I drive a 90s Camero and consider it to be a relatively fast car.

I was not sure is there was something wrong with my car, or if I was driving too slow, but people were passing me on the left and the right and my speedometer said I was going 75 mph.

I like to cruise at a speed that keeps my revs decent and doesn't kill my fuel economy. I have found that happy medium to be 75. I get where I need to go reasonably fast and I don't feel like a convicted felon fleeing from police.

Now that you understand how I drive the freeways, you might understand my concern. How is it that people pass me at excessive speeds and not seem to care?

I felt like the slowest car on the freeway, changing lanes out of the fast lane to let people pass me. Eventually I pulled into the slow lane and sat behind an big rig until I felt like I was crawling along then moving back over only to be bullied back into the slow lane.

I wouldn't be upset about this if the cars were Mercedes, BMW or Corvettes, but instead I was being passed up by the Prius army. I saw more hybrids pass me than future hookers at a Texas beauty pageant.

I was stunned. Two things ran through my mind like a raging bull, almost forcing me to pull of to the side of the road.

"Why Priuses?" I asked myself, "How could hybrids be choosing to go that fast?" After all, I was under the assumption that everyone who owned a hybrid cared somewhat about the environment or lowering their fuel consumption.

By driving your Prius at 90 mph, your defeating the purpose of owning one. You might as well syphon out half of your fuel tank when you get home, because all your doing is wasting it.

So drive slower, I read somewhere that if you drive 55 mph (drive behind a big rig) you can increase your milage range up to 30 miles per gallon.

If everyone in California wasn't in such a damn big hurry all the time, maybe they would consider this. But telling people here to slow down is like taking a bottle from an infant, they just cry and cry and cry until you give it back to them.

Do Not Pass Go; Do Not Collect $200

Rolling dice in a game like Monopoly has few consequences. The worst thing that can happen is landing on a hotel-loaded property owned by an opposing player. The dreaded Boardwalk and Park Place, that is, unless you own them.

Toward the end of the game, if you manage to not give up in frustration, players trade off taking chances, landing on each other's properties until eventually one person emerges victorious.

With the current economic downturn, it makes me wonder if the CEOs and heads of companies can distinguish real life from the board game businesses they are running.

Banks need bailouts yet owners are receiving golden parachute plans and some corporations are laying off more than half of their employees to stay afloat while the CEOs buy new yachts.

In a game like Monopoly, the bank has all the money and players try to obtain amassed wealth by bleeding other players dry - unlike the U.S. economy where the banks don't have any money to give out anymore, leaving the general public rolling on a board full of "chance" spaces.

Forget about a bank error in your favor. Instead of collecting $200, the Federal Reserve reaches into your pocket and pulls out your share of the $700 million bailout, leaving players hoping to roll into jail or pass go. Only one of them exists in reality.

Just like in the game, the guys who own the top-tier properties are making suckers out of the thimble and race car but are not prepared to cover their losses if they land on someone else's fully-developed dominion.

Even though there are laws that prevent companies from having full control of the market, it doesn't keep them from trying to create the dreaded "M" word. It wouldn't surprise me if at board meetings of large companies, the business strategy sessions included hypothetical business acquisitions arranged on a Monopoly board.

These are the same people who play with company-owned aircraft like their own personal shuttle service, having them ready at all times to take them to "emergency budget meetings" in Aruba. It would make sense that they are good at moving player pieces in a circle around a square board.

So what do CEOs do with all their extra money? Some of them are somewhat humane and give some of their extra wealth to charities. But, do they give enough? After all, there are no tax havens in Monopoly.

Sure they don't need to give everything they make to the less fortunate, but some thrill seeking by the wealthy is being taken to new heights. And by thrill seeking, I don't mean rolling consecutive doubles.

According to an article by the Associated Press, Richard Garriott, game designer and son of U.S. astronaut Owen Garriott, paid $30 million to the Russian Space Agency to be a passenger on the sixth tourist trip to the International Space Station. The designer made his fortune from the computer game, "Ultima Online," another game that you can play for hours and not accomplish anything.

This type of absurd spending could have gone to a greater cause. In the article, Garriott said he spent the money to fulfill a childhood dream. In my opinion, he could have spent the money to help fulfill millions of children's basic desires: a winter coat, a new pair of shoes or possibly some board games.

With the current economic situation, multi-gazillionaires need to help the less fortunate more than ever. Helping the underprivileged would be giving them a much needed get-out-of-turmoil-free card.

Tisk Tisk Warren Beatty

Sometimes you can get a feeling from a movie that gives you a preconceived notion of who it is going to be. I desperately wanted this movie to be at best an OK movie. Being one of the comics I liked to read when I was a child, there were hopes and aspirations for the 1990s adaption.

To be frank, it sucker punched me in the testicles within the first five minutes. Let me explain.

There is a certain ruggedness that the Dick Tracy from the comic book carries around. He is tough and square-chinned and ... a bad ass. And Warren Beatty, you are not. I do wish I had your first name, but your acting and directing in this movie was not to be desired. If I could offer a suggestion to you before you made the film, I would have casted someone other than yourself to play the lead role.

The story is a compelling one, because it involves some of the famous mob bosses of the series. In particular Big Boy Caprice, played by Al Pacino, and his sometimes loyal assistant Mumbles, played by Dustin Hoffman.

Tracy's main squeeze in the flick, Tess Trueheart, played by Glenne Headly who I know from Sgt. Bilko, does a relatively good job playing the innocent but vulnerable love interest, minus her squeaky voice.

The only other character worth mentioning from this over-anticipated movie is the role of Breathless Mahoney, played by Madonna. And may I say, Modanna was hot when she was younger. Too bad time has not been nice to her. Although Alex Rodriguez doesn't think that.

Madonna plays an up-and-coming singer in the city who is struggling to grab the attention of Dick Tracy. She makes numerous attempts to persuade him, all sexual in nature, but Tracy is steered toward his true love, Ms. Trueheart.

Madonna is partly to blame for the bleakness that is this movie. She sings songs in the movie for more than two-thirds. I swear it is a big Madonna music video. After a while, I muted some of her songs until we saw moving lips, other than Madonna's.

In the movie, Tracy plays a detective trying to get rid of the mobs in his city. He eventually gets some of the mobsters to talk, and tracks down and arrests the henchmen of Big Boy Caprice.

As you might assume, everything turns out fine in the end after a few drastic plot twists. Also as you might imagine, being rated PG-13 and the main characters name being Dick, there were numerous penis jokes that flew under the radar.

In one scene, the mobsters tie up Tracy and set a buildings piping system to blowup. While leaving the building before his henchmen, Caprice says, "dumb Dick," an intentional misuse of the name to imply an explicit phase.

Shortly after, the henchmen leave the building, skipping toward the car saying, "30 seconds, no more Dick! 30 seconds, no more Dick!" While this is not vulgar in context, my room mates and I chuckled ... because we are immature. Occasionally, while working in my room, I will hear that particular phrase uttered as someone walks down the hall.

We were also hoping that 30 seconds later the movie would end...

If someone offered me this movie for free, I would have to decline. I have seen it once and would rather not see it again. Later this week I will review "Trainspotting," whenever Blockbuster send me the DVD.

Verdict: (2 of 5 stars)

Long Time Coming

I know I have been absent from the blogging scene for almost a week, but a lot of things at the newspaper and over the weekend kept me from updating all of you on my happenings.

Over the weekend a day of making up for lost sleep kept me in bed until about noon, followed up by a day of catching up with the things I needed to do before noon. I did watch another Blockbuster movie and was planning on doing a movie review, but the flick was the 90's version of "Dick Tracy" and am hesitant to make references to genitalia.

I also spent the weekend handing out copies of the special section that my paper produced, which kept the editing staff in the newsroom until 6 a.m. I still think I have not recovered. In more interesting news, I got to go to a LAN party this weekend and have decided it would be wise to share my nerd-dom with all of you.

So we networked our computers together and blasted off into the junk food consuming world of first-person shooters and real-time strategy games. The occasion? Usually because the group has time to meet and our schedules don't conflict. The reality? It was our friend's girlfriend's birthday and she wanted to host a LAN.

For all of you who don't know "Geek," and LAN stand for local area network, which is a way for nerds to hook up their computers to one another and play games against each other, while having an excuse to eat crappy pizza and to drink a lot of soda.

Normally we would play through the night, switching up games based on energy level and amount of interest in the current game, playing straight on through the morning. We used to play for a couple of days, but the reduction in personal hygiene would get to us and now being sleep deprived as a college student we don't have the stamina ... for that kind of action.

So we played a couple hours of StarCraft, followed up by some Half-Life: Team Fortress "the Hunted." If all of this is over your head, then you probably aren't reading anyway. We drank more than five two-liter bottles of soda. Keeping us awake and ... focused?

At the end of the night we packed up our computers into our cars, cleaned up our messes and then traveled back to our homes to re-set up our computers and make it to bed before 2 a.m.

So, as you can see by the tangled mess of Ethernet cables and pizza boxes, we have a good time. Even though we play video games for hours, sometimes days, we at least have good, safe fun. At least we aren't out drinking and driving, or vandalizing homes. Besides we could be addicted to worse things in life. Right?

Protection for an Infectious Staff

Every once and a while at our daily newspaper we get some free promotional stuff that companies are hoping we can somehow integrate into story ideas.

The most common pieces are movie media kits, CDs to review and occasionally some funny material.

Well our good friends at Trojan sent us over some samples of their products for whatever reason, most likely in an attempt to have us promote safe sex on campus.

After the laughter subsided, we realized just how much stiff, I mean stuff they had sent us. And after pulling one box out, realized it was just the 'tip' of the iceberg. Sorry I can't help but make phallic references.

The opportunity arouse to acquire a box or two of the contraceptives, but then I realized that my lady friend was in London until the middle of December. Even though their expiration dates were well beyond the scope of my current predicament, I decided to forgo the penile protectors.

We continued to laugh at the assortment of condoms they gave us and to top it all off, they put it inside a big black sack (That was not intended to be dirty).

On top of being random and the fact that they didn't include a letter, left us confused but satisfied. No one has taken any, I guess in concern that they will be labeled fornicators, which isn't an entirely bad thing in my opinion (As long as it is in the realm of legality).

As I look at the table where all the products were placed, I see that they are all gone. Maybe someone took advantage of the opportunity for worry-free fornication supplied by our friends over at Trojan.

When Technology Hurts In The Classroom

Here is my column from Tuesday, October 7, 2008.

You know those parents who use television as a babysitter? They have been considered responsible for the rise of child obesity and the early development of attention deficit disorder.

I hold the ____ Wireless Laptop Pilot Project that was introduced in 2003 in the same regard.

According to the Web site, "_____ Wireless Laptop Pilot Project is committed to creating a dynamic and collaborative educational environment that enhances teaching and learning, creativity, scholarship and global connectivity through a wireless laptop initiative."

To me, this is a giant leap for mankind … in the wrong direction. The campus has a wireless Internet service that allows students and faculty to surf the World Wide Web almost anywhere on campus.

While this is a marvelous luxury, students and professors are grasping the laptop initiative with the wrong frame of mind. The project is supposed to "enhance" teaching and learning. All I seem to notice is blatant misuses by both parties.

All too often I witness students in my classes, who claim to be taking notes, blasting off into the crap-filled cyberspace. Gmail chats, Perez Hilton and any other time-wasters appear on the lithium-ion powered windows to the Web.

Some could claim to have A.D.D., which was a feasible excuse in high school to doze off during a lecture, but not all the students I see wandering off into the Web can be suffering from a deficit of attention.

The Pilot Program's Web site also talks about creating "global connectivity through a wireless laptop initiative." If anything, it is making people less interested in learning about the world around them, instead making their social circles more close-knit through instant messenger.

The misuse of laptops in class ends with the students, but begins with regulation by the course instructors.

I have been in classes that allowed them, banned them or didn't care either way.

I think classes that don't allow the use of laptops are correct in having them banned from students' composite-wood workstations. Pen and paper work just fine for taking notes and, in my opinion, help the material become internalized.

Professors are setting up classes to be more laptop-friendly when they should be making less of their lectures require technology. Sure, papers need to be written and PowerPoints need to be produced on computers, but these things can be created outside of class.

Students should not use laptops to take notes and teachers should not use their computers to give lectures. Teachers who use PowerPoints to teach classes should use them as supplements to lectures instead of substitutes. I have seen lectures given word-for-word off of the projections instead of the PowerPoints being used as visual aides.

So the (university's) laptop initiative becomes a circular argument. On one side, there is a desire to make our campus "green," paperless and more computer-friendly. It seems like an ideal goal if there was a way to remove the students' desires to wander beyond the realms of Microsoft Word.

I understand that in some medical and special needs cases that students need laptops for classes. And I am fine with that; I am just against the improper use of laptops in classes.

Also, some classes require laptops and include them in a list of course materials, for instance, some journalism courses. But other departments such as math and science don't need to make digital lectures.

Think what you want about the use of laptops in class, but I think the (the university's) Wireless Laptop Pilot Project is an excuse for students not to pay attention in class and for teachers to not have to teach the curriculum.

Underscores and parenthetical replacements used to remove personal references.

Double Trouble

Last night, I went to the movie theater and saw "Eagle Eye" staring Shia LaBeouf, Michelle Monaghan and Billy Bob Thornton. "If you want to live you will obey" is the wicked slogan and creation of director D.J. Caruso.

This fast-paced, confusing mystery was entertaining and worth the student-rate ticket price.

I don't think this is a big part of the movie, so I will elaborate a little bit about something that pertains to me in the movie. This would be about addressing the common questions asked about twins. Yes I have an identical twin brother; I am older by seven minutes and our names are not "Pete and Repete."

In the movie, several times, they bring up the connection between Shia and his brother. I don't want to make a public statement for all male twins, but my brother and I have never been that close. Partly because while growing up, we were forced to do everything the same. Our parents got us the same clothes in different colors, we got the same haircuts until we were eleven or twelve and had to be in the same classes until we got into middle school.

All of that made us grow apart. The close proximity didn't make us grow into a close knit bunch, instead we became the two most competitive people anyone knew. If it could be a competition, it usually ended up that way and that is the opposite bond that is portrayed between Shia and his brother in the movie.

My twin and I used to joke that a close relationship between twins was always reserved to female twins. The ones you hear about who share closets and have "twice the number of outfits." Yeah, we aren't like that. We don't end each other's sentences and we never went to each other's classes to take each others tests.

Neither did we try to fool people. We might have been the least fun group of twins when it comes to using our unique looks to fool people.

So this movie portrays twins as well as the "Parent Trap" made it believable that there were two Lindsay Lohans.

I think I would have liked this movie more, if they didn't butcher the role of the twin brother in the movie. Although, while watching the "flashback" videos in the movie, I felt somewhat sympathetic for LaBeouf's character who was good at things, just overshadowed by the success of his brother. I was that type, where I saw us being similar and chose to be the opposite to become an individual.

Other than my particular temperament toward the twin aspect of the movie, I thought it was relatively interesting. The idea that "Big Brother" is looming over you and can use your technology to hear what you say and see what you do at all time was creative.

Some scenes were predictable and because of that became funny. Occasionally making me laugh in a quiet, intimate moment. I would give this movie a shot while it is still in theaters. Also because there is nothing else good out right now.

The Thomas Crown 'O Contraire'

This weeks queue, "The Thomas Crown Affair" (1999), arrived on Wednesday but had to be put off until (yesterday) because of work. So her we go!

"The Thomas Crown Affair", directed by John McTiernan is a late 90s re-make of the original 1968 version staring Steve McQueen.

Thomas Crown, played by Pierce Brosnan, is a wealthy company owner who has expensive tastes, hobbies and collectibles. He finds joy in expensive things and as he says, "everything is obtainable."

Crown enjoys playing games of wit in hopes of obtaining things he desires. He could buy them, but what is the fun in that? A little game of cat an mouse keeps him on his toes and keeps office lounging, paper signing, boring work life interesting. He is single and alone, a position he feels could be filled, but only by someone who challenges him mentally and would enjoy playing in his games of deceit.

He meets his match in Catherine Banning, played by Rene Russo, an insurance re-claimer/bounty hunter, sent to investigate the theft of a Monet painting. She figures out quickly that Crown is the witty burglar and spends her time trying to beat him at his own game. She works her magic and uses interestingly sexual tactics to obtain enough information to put Crown behind bars.

Michael McCann, played by Denis Leary, is a New York detective who is assigned to the robbery case. He plays the smart cop who figures out everything except for what the suspect will do next. It was nice to see him in something other than a stand-up bit or "Rescue Me." He plays a good, honest cop trying to solve the case.

The game that Brosnan and Russo play, tests both their characters limits of trust and commitment ... to their personal interests. Each one is led on a wild chase through each others' traps, mostly Banning through Crowns.

Without giving too much away, the curve balls the story throws at you will keep you wondering what is next. And is a good movie to watch if you are looking for a late 90s romantic comedy. I would not suggest watching this with kids around because it is rated R for sexual content and adult language.

To give my verdict, I must remove my Pierce Brosnan James-Bond-fan bias. One moment please ...

Verdict: (4 of 5 stars)