Noggin Thought

Here’s a good post on procrastination. It’s almost exactly how I feel. I view procrastination as lying to ourselves. If I say I don’t want to take out the trash now I’ll do it later, I’m just lying to myself to make me feel okay with my decision. The reality is that I’m not going to want to take out the trash later, but I know I don’t want to now. Then later becomes now and I still feel the same way.

I do like the viewpoint in the post. I never thought of it as burdening my future self with the problems I failed at today, but that’s what it is. And also setting up a pattern of procrastination that my future self is more likely to follow. Either way I don’t agree with it. I feel that if something needs to be done, do it! It’s much better that way, because who knows what else may come up later that you didn’t know about now.

Robert Downey Jr. was an excellent Sherlock Holmes. I enjoyed the movie on many different levels.

It was funny. I found myself laughing at times that I wouldn’t have expected. This was due, in large part, to Downey Jr.’s portrayal of the eccentric detective. Also the chemistry between Dr. John Watson, played by Jude Law, and Sherlock Holmes was completely natural. They really seemed like friends that loved the thrill of the case, despite the constant perils and life threatening situations.

It was action. Not too much action though. I think the trailers painted it as an action thrill ride. It wasn’t like that at all. The action scenes were definitely there but didn’t detract from the story; they helped to advance it.

It was smart. Sherlock Holmes was not a superhero detective. He was very intelligent. That was apparent in how he handled assailants and how he solved cases. Maybe not so much with women, but that just adds to the character.

There was one issue I had…well, sort of. The action scenes were quite loud and the quiet scenes were very quiet. Hopefully all of the Blu-Ray versions aren’t like this. Ooh doesn’t like loud TV unless it’s something she’s watching but that’s a whole other post, which isn’t necessary. So the extreme volume differential between scenes was quite distracting because I had to keep raising and lowering the volume. I hope it wasn’t like that in the theater.

It also stars Rachel McAdams, and Mark Strong.

If you want a smart, funny, somewhat action-packed, mystery. See it. If you don’t, see it anyway!

An entertaining journey through the wasteland that the world has become after the war with the machines. 9 is the last of a group of dolls (don’t know what else to call them) created when humanity was dying out. It isn’t explained why humans couldn’t just retreat and regroup like any other apocalyptic movie we’ve ever seen. For some reason dolls with souls was the only way to survive.

This movie suffered only because it couldn’t decide whether to appeal to kids or to adults. Adults want things to be explained. Maybe some character development and back story. Kids want it to be fun. Scary (animated) visuals take it out of the small kids realm. And style over substance may put adults off. I liked it despite the shortcomings because I went into it with no expectations; a by-product of reading some of the reviews before viewing. I enjoyed the action and the pacing of the story. And the stylized visuals was enough to keep me interested until the end.

See it for the visuals, don’t expect a deep story.

Voice acting by Christopher Plummer, Martin Landau, John C. Reilly, Crispin Glover, Jennifer Connelly, and Elijah Wood

This article here disturbs me.

I know people don’t really “get it” until after 25 but many of them still aren’t getting it. There is something wrong with each of these statistics.

The first, eating, doesn’t distinguish between eating alone or with others. So, let’s assume that it’s with others because what you do when you eat alone doesn’t really matter. When you’re with others, it’s rude! If you want to read a text here or send a text there and it’s not continuous, I don’t see a problem with it. But I would guess this refers to text conversations. A text conversation is like a phone call, would you accept a non-emergency phone call while having dinner with someone else? You’re thinking yes aren’t you, you disrespectful ass? I don’t want to have dinner with you, because you’re probably talking to someone else. If you don’t have anything to say to the person you’re with, so what. Look at the TV, look at the sunset, look at the person, or just enjoy your meal in silence.

The second, using the toilet, really? Now, I’ve been known to read a book or on occasion surf the internet during extended time sittin’ on the throne. But communicating with others…not the time for that. Would you want someone to stand there and talk to you while you’re using the toilet? I didn’t think so.

Lastly, having sex…ok you people have problems. There is no way we should be that disconnected with our partners and at the same time so connected to someone else. Pornstars don’t do that and it’s just a job for them. A few questions come to mind. Is the sex that bad that you choose to do something else during? Really that’s the only question. Now I see why women aren’t satisfied and men try to have multiple partners. Neither one of you is focused! Society is breeding losers who receive awards for good effort. That’s bullshit! Stay focused on the task down below. Give it your all. Don’t just be in the game. Pound the competition! And ride it out for the win.

Based on the numbers the people under 25 are worse than the people over 25 but the lesser of two evils doesn’t make it any better. And the last statistic should be zero.

I’ve been playing Battlefield: Bad Company 2 for the last couple of weeks. This is how late hours of my nights are spent. At about 2230 (sometimes earlier) I move my comfortable chair in front of the TV, fill up my water bottle, make sure my snacks are close by, strap on the headset, and power up the 360. Ooh used to laugh at this setup, now she’ll occasionally watch for a few minutes and ask questions about the game. It’s a slow process but she’s getting cooler day by day. Eventually she may play a game. I’ll keep you posted but don’t hold your breath.

Bad Company 2 multi-player is great. It’s so enjoyable that I haven’t even touched the single player campaign yet. I used to play Modern Warfare 2 multi-player almost every night. Even though there were numerous frustrating things to deal with. There were the little bitches that would use the Lightweight Marathon Commando setup; which means you can move faster, sprint forever, and knife enemies from farther away. One would think, well if it’s part of the game then you just have to get better to defend against it. No. I don’t care if you are a Commando you can’t run through bullets and kill me with one knife thrust; which would be the last option in war. Arnold Schwarzenegger couldn’t do it so neither can you. Then there were the whores that would use dual shotguns. Again, one might think, it’s part of the game, deal with it! But in this case the shotgun was accurate and lethal at large distances while being wielded with one hand. It was bullshit! I got tired of signing on to play and hoping to not run into people using the bitch setup. Now, I don’t deal with that. Occasionally I’ll have teammates that are a little lost or do stupid things but it’s been much more bearable.

In Bad Company 2 there is a Squad Deathmatch gametype. It’s simple, there are 4 squads and you kill members of the other squads to reach 50 kills the fastest. Used to play something similar in MW2 but I rarely play Deathmatch now, and I definitely don’t play MW2. Now I play the Rush gametype which is attacking/defending bases and the Conquest gametype which is securing bases. It’s so much more rewarding to play a game where teamwork matters. I can revive and heal teammates when I’m a Medic; I can provide ammo when I’m an assault trooper; I can spot the enemy and call in mortar strikes when I’m Recon; and I can repair vehicles when I’m an Engineer. All in all very good, balanced gameplay.

I recommend it but only if you like working with a team to reach a common goal. Bitches need not apply.

I need less time. Whenever I have plenty of time to do a few things I barely get them done. When I have plenty of things and not much time, I plan and manage the time so effectively that I usually have time left over. I just think it’s funny. I don’t want more things, that I know for sure. But less time may not be so bad. We’ll see. Maybe I will shorten my available waking hours in the day. I don’t know what I’m going to do with those hours yet. I don’t need extra sleep. I get my 7-9 hours every night. Okay, maybe I do want more things. I’ll find more things to do, but only if they provide some return on investment; a little extra money maybe, or some enlightenment. Or maybe more time with friends. I have been neglecting my friends a bit lately.

I’ll get started on this soon. Now I have a wedding to go to. Haven’t been to one of these in a year, might be fun. It’s an Indian wedding so lots of color.

I was looking forward to The Hurt Locker ever since I saw the preview many months ago. And I think every one else was too because I had to wait a long time to get it from Netflix. I’ll start by saying, I like movies about war. I don’t really want to explain why. I could try to give a lengthy explanation about it but it doesn’t matter. I’ve never been to war, and I don’t want to go. So don’t call your local recruiter and tell ‘em about me. Needless to say (don’t quite understand that phrase, but I think it fits here), I really wanted to see this.

The plot is very simple, a glimpse into the life of an elite Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) unit in Iraq. We see what they deal with on any given mission. The man watching you from the balcony could be the bomber. The man herding goats could be a sniper. Then there’s the bomb in front of you that could blow up. The director does a wonderful job of putting us in the field with the EOD unit and showing what they have to do to cope. Everybody isn’t built the same. Some need the adrenaline rush to feel alive. Some don’t know whether they can make the hard decisions. And others still can’t figure out where they are in their lives and don’t realize that it’s time to take that next step.

Having never been to war (and still not wanting to go), I think the world we are shown is very real. And if this is what they have to go through in 1 month, I couldn’t imagine being stationed their for 1 year. I have the utmost respect for these people that do, everyday, what I couldn’t imagine doing once in my life.

Brilliantly directed by Kathryn Bigelow, with top performances by Jeremy Renner and Anthony Mackie.

See it.

Children of Men takes place only a few years in the future (about 21 at the time of release). It’s a harsh world that Alfonso Cuaron has created but not unlikely given the events leading up to it. It’s been 18 years since the last birth and humanity is facing extinction as everyone continues to age. Out of this dystopian, war-torn landscape appears a young woman who is 8 months pregnant. The underground rebel group called the The Fishes wants to keep her away from the government’s prying eyes. And the mysterious scientific, research group called The Human Project wants to study her to save mankind. This all hinges on Theo Faron played well by Clive Owen. He is an activist turned cubicle drone and turns into the unlikely protector of humanity’s future.

Cuaron is successful at creating a future that no one would want, and he weaves through it with this story of savior and protector that is ultimately believable because it has to succeed. I appreciated a realistic world where cars may not start when trying to make a fast getaway; where you can’t find shoes that fit because you didn’t have time to pack; where you lose a few friends along the way. Little things like that helped to draw me in and make me want to see them survive. It also had one of the more moving scenes that I’ve come across in a movie, where they walk right through an intense fire fight between rebels and soldiers.

The movie also stars Michael Caine, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Juliane Moore.

See it.

Syriana appealed to me because I’ve been interested in political thrillers ever since watching Body of Lies. While that was focused on terrorism in the Middle East this was about oil, the earth’s liquid gold.

I was a tad confused in the first 30 minutes while we’re introduced to all the players. There are 2 big American oil companies, the CIA, the Department of Justice, a Middle Eastern government (can’t remember which one), a legal merger oversight firm, the nation of islam, and Christopher Plummer as the powerful old white man. And everybody has to answer to somebody (except Christopher Plummer). The 2 oil companies are trying to complete a merger which will make one of the most profitable companies in the world. They have to answer to the legal firm performing the investigation. The legal firm has to answer to the Department of Justice, which means they have to produce some sort of evidence of wrong doing, so that the public thinks everyone is doing they’re jobs and catching criminals.

You would think the CIA is all powerful, but even it has a master (in this case, an undisclosed government body, or maybe it was the people but that doesn’t sound right; when does the CIA ever answer to the peopel?). One of it’s agents, on a mission for the CIA, gets in a tight situation and what is the first thing it does?…investigates the agent on accusations of espionage. Have to answer to somebody.

The Middle Eastern goverment on one hand wants to grow it’s economy for the benefit of it’s people and the future of their nation. And on the other, is so money hungry it can’t see straight. Then the nation of Islam represented in the film by young followers only answers to God. And they’re actions, while quite drastic, are only questionable by God. In some ways that’s unfair, but in this movie I don’t really have issue with it.

I liked George Clooney as agent Bob Barnes, who tried to do his job without question until he started to see the big picture. Alexander Siddig as Middle Eastern Prince Nasir Al-Subaai, who truly wants his people to succeed. Matt Damon is an oil stock broker turned private consultant to the prince while simultaneously coming to grips with a family tragedy. And Jeffery Wright is the lawyer investigating the oil merger. He is quite stoic in his presentation (in half of the movie but very few lines or emotions) but is important in advancing the story.

The world we are shown is very real. Actions have consequences. Everyone has his own agenda.

See it.

Remember when I said follow the money because of the article supporting milk consumption. This simple info-graphic shows where the money is. And the single line of text after the graphic says it all.

So, yes we may have to spend a little more money to eat healthier, but so what. Wouldn’t you rather spend the money now on healthier food instead of later on health care? And what else are we doing with our money anyway? New gadgets? Shoes in a different color? Another latte? All that’s for naught if we develop diabetes. We can’t wear shoes if our feet get amputated, can’t have lattes because of the sugar, and gadgets won’t matter if we can’t see.

So, yes, this is why you’re fat.