For those of you reading this with a RSS Reader, click through and check out the new springy design of my blog! I was feeling inspired with the warm weather and the dogwood tree starting to bloom outside of my office window.
Last night we went to see the movie 21 based off of Ben Mezrich’s book Bringing Down the House. Although the reviews were not stellar, I loved the movie. I read the book a few years ago, and even though it didn’t follow the story line to the T … who cares … it’s a movie! It’s suppose to be entertaining, and entertaining it was! The Showcase Cinema’s in Revere has gone through a huge overhaul, adding a winebar, piano entertainment in the lobby, and a gorgeous new theater called The Director’s Hall with pre-assigned seating and people that will actually go get snacks for you! We liked it before because it was easy to drive and park there, instead of taking the T downtown. The Lowes Boston Common is still my pick for a big movie night out, but this one is great for those no-hassle nights, as long as you are willing to deal with all the teenagers and wanna-be thugs.
I am a huge fan of the new NBC TV Show – Chuck. Its a fun show, with a lot of comedy and drama. The opening song is the best …. reminiscent of the opening to a James Bond movie, bold colors and spy characters, are splashed across the screen … all set to the instrumental version of Cake’s Short Skirt/Long Jacket. I couldn’t find a good ringtone based off of this song, but I already had the full version, so I made my own. Here’s what I did:
- Download Blackberry Desktop Software, including Roxio Media Manager. The install is a mess … I had to uninstall it after the first busted run, and then do it again. It launches a bunch of other windows including 2 Install Shield instances, and a winzip self extractor … so don’t be surprised. Be patient and just let the whole thing run straight through, even if it looks like it is frozen.
- Plug in your Blackbery Pearl, and run the new software you just installed for Roxio Media Manager. By the way, if you thought the install was flawed, wait until you run this software! It crashed on me more than once!!
- Using the media manager, navigate to your song, right click it, and Edit with Quick Sound Editor.
- Using the Quick Sound Editor you can take any piece of the song you want. I only wanted the very beginning instrumental, so I chose that and saved it.
- The part of the song I wanted is only 12 seconds long, but a ringtone goes on longer than that. So I downloaded FAST (File Append and Split Tool). Then I used that to append my spliced mp3 to itself, creating a repetitive ringtone.
- Back in the Media Manager, I dragged my newly created mp3 ringtone, down to my Pearl’s Ringtone folder. Make sure you put it in the Ringtone folder, and not the Music folder.
- To change the ringone on the Pearl go to Profiles->Advanced->select profile->Phone->Tune … Tune is where you can change the ringtone, and your new ringtone added from the Media Manager should show up at the top of the list!
Easy, right?? Email me or post a comment if you want more details!
Speaking of Elvis Reincarnate …How about this on Idol last night?!
This is hilarious …. Get your taste now, because it conflicts with Grey’s Anatomy & The O.C. I know I know … I AM ridiculous … but there is only so much the DVR can handle, and with The O.C. going OFF the air, I’ve got to be loyal until the very pathetic end.
Really funny article if you are a fan of The Office (thanks Krissy!) My favorite part:
How to fast track your career? Do you have any advice for our readers?
The most important job in any office is being a great number two. Being a great yes-man. I would much rather work at Avis then at Hertz.
And why is that?
They’re number two and they try harder. Just as I do.
Link to interview: http://money.cnn.com/2006/08/10/magazines/fortune/rainnwilson_interview.fortune/index.htm
I enjoyed the book and I enjoyed the movie – The Da Vinci Code that is. All the codes and puzzles are right up my alley. Most of these were breezed over in the movie, for time’s sake, so I was glad I had read the book and really got the full affect. The Fibonacci sequence used at the beginning of the story was fun, the sequence being a set of numbers where the next number is calculated by the addition of the previous two numbers. Fibonacci numbers appear all over nature – the branching pattern of leaves or the spiral patterns found in shells are a couple of examples. This also reminds me of the study of chaos theory in mathematics and how fractals are formed. A friend of a colleague at work started his own website based on his love of nature and mathematics. Some of his nature photos are truly breath taking, and they really show how things like Fibonacci numbers and the Golden Ratio are subtly interlaced in everything around us. His fractal images are equally astonishing.
Speaking of the Golden Ratio, ~ 1.618033989, apparently Dan Brown did not get it quite right. There were some references in the 20th chapter of the book to how Da Vinci was influenced by the Golden Ratio, and in many of his paintings, the proportions that he used were based on this number. A recent article disputes that theory …..
there’s no proof Da Vinci, nor any of the artists, musicians or architects whose works are often cited as examples of the Golden Ratio in action, were really influenced by the mathematical notion or used it as a basis for their work.
The Greek Parthonon and the modern day United Nations building are examples of where this Golden Ratio is used in architecture. There may not be proof that Da Vinci was using the Golden Ratio on purpose, but I think it’s possible he used the golden number without even knowing it. Since this divine proportion is so ascetically pleasing to the eye, and Da Vinci’s work is revered as genius, wouldn’t it make sense that this ratio was something that Da Vinci subliminally used when he painted, something his genius incorporated into his works automatically.
Am I the only one who was dying to type that? According to this, I don’t think so. If you are lost reading this right now, you are missing out on one of the smartest shows on television – LOST.
One theory posits a huge psychological experiment. Another tinkers with numerical analysis. Other schools of thought examine collective consciousness, electromagnetism and theology.
I of course, am drawn to the numerical analysis theories. The fact that 4+8+15+16+23+42 = 108 and these numbers must be punched into the computer every 108 minutes is intriguing. Also, the number 108 appears strategically hidden in different scenes, such as in the hatch where the number is inscribed in a mural on the wall. I did some additional tinkering with the numbers and came up with these facts:
- Adding up each digit yields: 4+8+1+5+ …. + 2 = 81. Interesting because the same digits 8 and 1 are seen in both sums.
- 812=6561, 6+5+6+1=18. I thought it was neat that the digits 81 became swapped after a square and addition series.
- Looking at the deltas between each number yields 4, 7, 1, 7, and 19. Note that 4+7+1+7 = 19. So the first 5 number’s deltas equal 19, as does the delta between the last two numbers. Maybe this shows how the numbers can be separated from each other.
Whether any of this analysis means anything or not, is yet to be determined, but these numbers were obviously chosen for a specific reason. One idea notes that they are all retired numbers of the New York Yankees. It is true, I googled it, but since I am a Sox fan, I choose to ignore that theory. Oh, and for any anti-numberers out there, there are other non-numeric clues [BOR-ING 
] hidden throughout the show – the titles of the books in the hatch is one example. I’ve always loved giant puzzles, so this is definitely fun for me to theorize about. Hopefully we’ll get some answers about these numbers by season’s end.
For extensive details on the show and all the theories, check out this wikipedia entry … man, does that site have everything! I remember when Britannica was IT … all 50 volumes of IT!
Surprisingly enough, Brokeback Mountain was not the big winner at the Oscars last night. Even more surprising, there were hardly ANY gay cowboy jokes. I was really expecting them to over do it, and I’m glad they didn’t. That would have gotten really old really fast. The film did take away best director – Ang Lee, and best original score which makes sense because I loved the music! That last scene when Innus is sniffing Jack’s shirt, and the music builds … man, it just sucks you in!
Anyway, my favorite part of the night is when Reese Witherspoon won best actress for Walk the Line. Awesome movie and she was amazing in it! So adorable! I can’t even imagine having to learn how to sing and play that funny instrument that looks like a mini-harp crashed into a mini-piano. Can you believe she went from Legally Blonde just a few years ago to playing June Carter Cash?! What a stretch … but she definitely pulled it off! Good for her, I say. Her acceptance speech was perfect too, and I like how much she acknowledged her co-star, Joaquin (which I like to pronounce JAAAAH-KEEN, just for fun) Phoenix.
The big winner of the night – Crash! I was surprised because I was sure Brokeback Mountain would clean up for Best Picture, but Crash swooped in for the win. I think it’s great. The movie was so complex and calculated and thoughtful. And it wasn’t one of those movies that from the start you expect it to be a big hit. It was quietly released and as more and more people saw it, it got a bigger and bigger following. It took a while for the buzz to begin, but once it did it was very strong. Like a swarm of killer bees strong! It’s kind of nice that the underdog came out on top this time.
My best dressed pick – Salma Hayek – loved the color!
My worst dressed pick – Charlize Theron – the giant bow on her shoulder killed it for me!
Feel free to comment on your picks too!
21Feb
In CategoryTV/Movies,
misc
Bylab
Who thinks I was a little too hard on Dick…
Maybe I was, so here is the other side of the Turin vs. Torino name scandal! Okay … so it’s not really a full blown scandal … but it does sound much more dramatic that way!
Friday night: Brokeback Mountain – Loved it! I’m sure you’ve heard the storyline. It was very touching, beautiful scenary, and totally not what I expected. The story really pulls you in and plays with your emotions. The acting was incredible – truly amazing! I highly recommend it!
Saturday night: Blood In Blood Out (1993) – Excellent! Talk about a complete 180 from Brokeback Mountain! The story line revolves around gang life in Los Angeles, specifically Los Vatos Locos, a Mexican gang. There are three family members – two brothers and a cousin that are part of the gang. The cousin Miklo has a white father and a Mexican mother, and it’s interesting to see his struggle to be accepted both inside the gang, and later when he goes to jail. The movie is extremely dynamic, and if you like that Spanish “flava” you’ll enjoy the tidbits of conversation and Spanish slang – there’s a lot of fun new words to pick up! None that I would repeat in front of mi padre, but fun nevertheless! “Vatos Locos 4-eva!”
Sunday afternoon: The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants – Two nights of heavier films lead to this one. I even roped Kevin into watching it with me! I was hoping for a light-hearted chick-flick, but it ended up being really sad. I cried for the last 10 minutes – NOT exactly what I was hoping for. Overall … pretty bad, and any movie that makes me cry better be good – otherwise I’m left with swollen eyes and the annoying flashbacks of cheese filled scenes! Ahhhh … so not worth it!