Roger Ebert: Still Got It

June 29, 2009

When Transformers came out, we actually rather liked it. I mean, you have to turn off your brain entirely, but sometimes that’s just perfect for a hot summer afternoon. And okay, it was a little too much like a two hour long GM (or some car company, I forgot) advertisement, but well… overall brainless good fun. When we heard that there was going to be a sequel, we weren’t sure if we were going to see it, figuring, “Only if it gets good reviews or word-of-mouth or something.” Today I read Roger Ebert’s review. Totally damning! He calls it a “horrible experience of unbearable length” and says that “this isn’t a film so much as a toy tie-in.” It’s not that I read Ebert’s reviews always, although he is generally good, whether I agree with the review or not. Usually I just check Rotten Tomatoes, but I was browsing around and well, this one was so excellent. I’m going to guess the movie isn’t worth seeing, but the review is full of vitriolic splendor.

We did see Up finally this weekend, in 3D, which is the new popular thing, I guess. I don’t know if the 3D was a big deal to this movie — it was nice, but it didn’t particularly seem important. I would say that Coraline was a better experience in 3D than Up. I liked Up, I just think it would probably have been fine either way. Anyway, wow what a tearjerker! If you told me that Jodi Picoult or Nicholas Sparks or some other such writer wrote the original story, it wouldn’t've surprised me! I thought the movie was good though, especially the silent montage, which I cried through. I was warned, and I’m warning you now, all the people who read this who haven’t seen the movie (what is that, 0?), but honestly if you are at all prone to crying in a movie, well, you’ll probably bawl. So go watch, and bring tissue. By the way, Ebert liked it too.

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Eye Exam

June 25, 2009

I had an eye exam last week. Nothing new, my eyes are terrible. I asked again about daily disposables; last year I tried every brand available at the time. None were a good fit on both eyes, and there haven’t been any new products out this year, CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT?! :p So that’s a no go.

Oh they plucked one of my lower eyelashes out, which was a totally new experience for me. The darn thing was growing towards my eyes instead of outwards. I didn’t know eyelashes did that! They were worried about my corneas getting scratched when I wear glasses (contacts would protect the eyeballs, but you can’t wear contacts all the time). Ouch. Dude, do they make eyelash curlers for lower lashes? I might need one of those. Totally medically necessary and all that. :p

New glasses

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Posing

June 12, 2009

I have to admit, everytime I’m being touristy, even remotely, I’m tempted to do the v-sign pose. Double, actually. But there are other choices! :) [via kottke]

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Worst Evar

June 8, 2009

It was the worst weekend of card playing ever. I was thinking of trying to use the quote from Dickens, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” but dude, it wasn’t the best of times at all; I lost at cards to everyone! Not that I was always last, but I never won.

I lost to K at Scotch Bridge or Up and Down the River or Oh Heaven, Oh Hell (whatever that game is called), then to Mike at Napoleon, then to Yuli at Napoleon. All the young’uns are growing up and I’m growing old. I probably only didn’t lose to Jimyo cos he was playing Block Party and Plants vs. Zombies and other video games for part of the time. Gaaaaah.

Speaking of Plants vs. Zombies, I think it’s been a hit with the whole family. We’ve played a LOT of Plants vs. Zombies. :) Worthy buy at ~$20.

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More Yogurt!

May 13, 2009

There are two new tart frozen yogurt places in Berkeley — that I know of — for a total of five tart frozen yogurt places and at least seven frozen yogurt places total (tart and sweet alike). It’s madness! I’m not complaining, mind, but I’m just shocked that there is this much market for frozen yogurt in one place. Even accounting for the different parts of town they are in, it’s still amazing.

The two new places are the self-serve types, meaning you grab a bowl and put however much yogurt, however many flavors, and whatever toppings you like, then pay by weight. Yes, you can see the problem already, can’t you? It’s hard to get just a little bit, it never looks like much and it’s yogurt, healthy yummy yogurt. It’s also hard(er) to not go. Like… after dinner, when you’re so full, but well, you can just get a little bit of yogurt, so why not. (And by “you” I mean “me.”)

In case there was any doubt, I’ve tried all of the places. Creations on Shattuck between Channing and Durant and charges 36¢ per ounce and Yogurtland on Bancroft near Telegraph (although the website says they are also opening one on Shattuck) charges 30¢ per ounce. They’re both good, but Creations has more of the fruity flavors that I like. The one time I went to Yogurtland, there were green tea, coconut, chocolate, tiramisu, and cherry vanilla flavors amongst others, but Creations had blueberry, mango, lychee, passion fruit, strawberry, chocolate, and green tea flavors (amongst others, I don’t go enough to have both menus memorized I swear!!!). On the other hand, Yogurtland has biodegradable spoons, and regular Cap’n Crunch which is a plus. Creations so far only has Crunch Berries so if I only want the regular Cap’n I have to pick them out of the Crunch Berries. But overall, I think I like Creations a little better than Yogurtland.

Compared to my old favorite, Yogurt Harmony (where they serve you, have compostable everything, regular Cap’n Crunch, and free wireless), it’s tough. Because even with all of those advantages for Yogurt Harmony, it’s nice to be able to decide to mix three flavors and a little bit of three toppings and control (or not control) how much to get. I think Creations is especially a good value if you like flavored (instead of plain) tart and if you want a little bit of multiple toppings. So I go to both, depending on what I feel like — Yogurt Harmony for plain yogurt with two or no toppings, and Creations for lychee, mango, passion fruit yogurt with mochi, and/or Cap’n Crunch. I’ve mentioned the compostable spoons and Cap’n Crunch problems to the Creations folks, so hopefully they will fix that. It’s getting to be nicer weather, so I am back to a minimum of once per week, so I dunno, maybe they won’t fix it because no one cares; I’m just weird!

Haha, just had the following chat with Yut:

yut: they will just kill each other’s business after a year when the craze starts to fade
mim: It worries me cos I mean… I want the ones I like to make it
mim: This talking about yogurt makes me want some
yut: you can’t support their livelihood all by yourself

:p

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So Sleepy

April 25, 2009

I like sleeping. I mean, I know, we all need it, but let’s be honest, some of us like it a whole lot more than others. I love sleep and I’m a pretty bad night owl. (But consider the cultural prejudices that make me say, “bad” night owl! I didn’t even realize until after I typed it.)

So refutation, from 3 Smart Things About Sleeping Late (more details in the article):
1. You may need more sleep than you think.
2. Night owls are more creative.
3. Rising early is stressful.

“Until the invention of the lightbulb (damn you, Edison!), the average person slumbered 10 hours a night.” Didn’t know that, didya? (I totally didn’t, myself.) Take that, early-bird, six-or-seven-hours-a-night people! Haha, Benjamin Franklin quoting, Leonardo da Vinci factoid spewing folks! :) [via Caterina.net]

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At Least Decriminalize It

April 20, 2009

Thoughts on Pot vs Alcohol from a former Police Chief

If one of these two drugs is implicated in dire health effects, high mortality rates, and physical violence–and the other is not–what are we to make of our nation’s marijuana laws? Or alcohol laws, for that matter.

Anybody out there want to launch a campaign for the re-prohibition of alcohol? Didn’t think so. The answer, of course, is responsible drinking. Marijuana smokers, for their part, have already shown (apart from that little matter known as the law) greater responsibility in their choice of drugs than those of us who choose alcohol.

The crazy thing (to me) is that Prohibition in the US lasted only for thirteen years, while marijuana which has few negative effects and proven medical uses has been illegal … well I dunno, but if you count from the Controlled Substance Act of 1970, then 39 years?! [via Daring Fireball]

I just had two posts about drugs in a row, ha, oh well — today’s April 20 and coincidentally I’m feeling a lot better, better enough to think about blogging, I guess; the inhaler, cough syrup, and antibiotics really worked whatever I had. Still coughing a little bit — the doctor says sometimes it takes a while for the mucus membranes to calm back down. Or something like that.

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Pharmacy

April 9, 2009

I went to see the doctor yesterday to beg for relief from my cough which has been keeping me (and Yut) up at night; the over the counter Robitussin, honey and tea, Ricola, etcetc weren’t working. I was starting to feel like a zombie from the lack of sleep. Also Yut’s requests for me to go see the doctor were getting more insistent, since he was suffering with me. It’s not that I have anything against going to see the doctor, but I kept thinking it was a cold, maybe the flu, and if it’s viral, there’s really not that much a doctor can do except tell you to rest and drink plenty of fluids. And I’d already taken four days off from work over this (although granted, no more than two consecutive days at a time), and I’ve been guzzling tea and water and soup. Well I guess three weeks worth of coughing with three days of fever and a coughing fit in the doctor’s office (and pathetic begging for sleep) means a small pharmacy’s worth of drugs.

medicines

There’s an antibiotic, an inhaler, and Cheratussin AC which is a cough syrup with codeine. Btw, the cough syrup doesn’t help as much as you’d think because the dose is 1-2 teaspoons every 4-6 hours, but I’ve been taking it every three hours at night because I wake up with a coughing fit about three hours after I take it. It’s still better than never quite falling asleep all the way because of coughing all night, but it’s not quite the awesomeness I was hoping for. And all of these medications are expensive, $55 even with insurance! This doesn’t include the co-pays for doctor’s visits. Health care is crazy — it’s scary to think what I would do without insurance. I mean, if I worked at a job with no insurance, I think I would have to seriously think about hoping it all goes away on its own — how do you afford to see the doctor (I think the visits are listed at $70 before insurance on my receipts) and medicine and days off? Frightening.

Anyways, this is probably more than you wanted to know about my medications, but I stayed home from work again today (slept ’til 2pm) so it’s basically all that’s “happened” to me today. :p

Well, wait, that’s not true! Yut’s selling turnips cos they went up to 551 bells this week!!! YESSSSSSSSSSSSS! Our lil Animal Crossing folks are RICH! Yut’s promised me a town fountain. :D

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UNC: Didn’t Embarrass the President

April 6, 2009

When President Barack Obama made his picks, he said, “Now, for the Tar Heels who are watching, I picked you all last year — you let me down. This year, don’t embarrass me in front of the nation, all right? I’m counting on you. I still got those sneakers you guys gave me.”

The admonition worked; the Tar Heels won, 89-72! They didn’t even ever have any close games (or am I forgetting something?), and the final game was certainly not close. I never saw Michigan State do better than within 15 points (I think at one point they were within 13 but I didn’t see it, I think I was sleeping zzzzzz). You know what that means! Yan and Lew TIED! Strangely, the actual championship game wasn’t close at all, but our pool was as close as it could be. The tiebreaker, that Total Points Scored in Championship Game field that seems useless and is an afterthought for everyone, actually came into play! The total points scored in the championship game was 161, and YB guessed 166, which is closer than 143 which is what Lew said so… YB is the winner! Congratulations!!! My goodness, all those years battling for last, but this year, triumph! She wins a congratulatory text message. :D

Final Standings:
YB: 87
Lew: 87
Ant: 81
(POTUS: 80)
CT: 77
misa, YuHK: 74
Steve: 72 (what a comeback!)
Al: 68
Yut: 67
mim: 66
Lingo: 65
Jimyo: 64
Special K: 54

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Final Four’s Only Half Done, But…

April 4, 2009

Michigan State won!!! NOBODY in this pool called Michigan State. In fact, a lot of people, including me, thought they were ranked too high or something and picked them to make a rather early (or at least earlier than their rank would indicate) exit. But nooooo, they made it, they upset Louisville and they upset UConn and now they are going to the finals on Monday. The next Final Four game, Villanova vs. UNC will start in a few moments. It is sooo sooo important. Y’see, there’s only ONE person who picked Villanova to go this far and to get into the final, and that person is CT, our current leader. (Complete non sequitur: I suddenly had visions of Kim Jong-il when I typed the words “our leader.” I blame Team America.) On the other hand, if UNC wins, Ant will once again overtake CT for the lead, closely followed by Lew (honestly, UVa making the NCAA Championship Tournament has been nothing but helpful for him) and YB (who in previous years has spent time near the bottom, so this is a complete turnaround). If UNC wins it all, then Lew and YB will TIE!!! A first (although there’s that tiebreaker of course)! If Michigan State wins then Ant will win it all. And it goes without saying that if Villanova wins it all, CT will be the winner. CT, the one who called me not an hour ago to ask if Villanova was any good, and did they have a chance!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Geezus. I’ll post again after the UNC-Villanova game. Sorry for the lack of updates, I’ve been sick, and worse (in terms of time suckage) I’ve been watching the Korean version of Boys Before Flowers; I’m finished with that one now, but I’ve started Meteor Garden, which is the Taiwanese version of the same story. It’s a sickness all in itself. Julie and Al (who can’t earn any more points, although that describes a lot of us) are the ones who told me about Boys Before Flowers. Erm, thanks! :p

Current standings:
CT: 77
Ant: 75
Lew, YB: 73
Al: 68
yut: 67
mim: 66
Lingo: 65
Jimyo: 64
misa, YuHK: 60
Steve: 58 He managed to call one more game correctly, so…
SpeK: 54 we can safely call SpeK for last. Congrats! :)

UPDATE:
Final Four

Villanova lost! CT’s hopes are dashed!

Standings:
Ant: 81 (but he can’t earn any more points)
Lew*, YB*: 79 (but if UNC wins they will earn more points)
CT: 77
Al: 68
Yut: 67
mim, misa*, YuHK*: 66
Lingo: 65
Jimyo, Steve*: 64
SpeK: 54

* denotes the possibility of 8 more points if UNC wins it all.

Yup, it all comes down to if UNC wins or not. If UNC wins, then it’s Lew or YB, whoever guessed closer to the total points scored in the championship game (Lew: 143; YB: 166). If UNC loses, then no one will earn any more points and Ant will win! It all comes down to Monday.

Dude, basically 4 people completely kicked ass. Only Ant, Lew, YB, and CT got more than 70 points! And YB! In the hunt for first place! She hasn’t made it out of the middle of the pack and has challenged for last before! (Let this be an encouragement for you, K!) Lew’s actually been in first place for a couple of days in the past, just hasn’t won it all, so it’s a little bit less amazing, I suppose. Well, in any case, I can promise one thing: your prize may be nothing or anything, but it will definitely not be a kiss and a handshake. Or a trip to Chicago!!! Hmmmmmph! I hate being totally outta the running! I can’t even earn any more points! Gaaaaaah!

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