Octopus Hat
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Monday, June 30, 2003  

Worst Nightmare
A woman in Austria was awake for 45 minuets of her abdominal surgery after the OR crew forgot to hook her up to the anesthesia machine. And she is only suing for $80K!

posted by JMV | 6/30/2003 11:14:00 AM
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Support Union Labor
America was built on the back of the workers, and unionization was what gave the workers power in the country they built. Sure the system is flawed, corrupt, and unfriendly, but it beats some robber-baron working the common man like slaves. And now, even strippers have unionized! Maybe there is enough time for Matt to work this into his stripper-epic.

posted by JMV | 6/30/2003 11:09:00 AM
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Bursting Bubble
Man with sword kills two in my hometown. Some Albertsons employee went off the deep end and rampaged with a Katana on Sunday killing two coworkers and wounding a bunch of other people. The witness accounts are interesting because shit like that doesn't happen in Irvine and they just don't know how to deal with it... Near the end of the article there is a quote from a middle aged woman who was getting a pedicure at the time, "A kid once called this place 'the Bubble' because it was so safe." She missed the point. EVERYBODY under 30 calls Irvine a bubble. At it isn't because it is "safe" but rather because it is so damn insulated from the reality of modern America.

posted by JMV | 6/30/2003 10:32:00 AM
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Angry Man, Once A Man, and No Damn Men
Friday evening I caught a show of the new "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle." I was looking forward to this as I really like the first one. McG is a hell-ova action director, and you really can't lose with the formula. The film was about what I was expecting. I was a little disappointed that the visual-style was so uneven, but was happy with the crazy set-ups. A great pop-corn flick though nothing we haven't seen before.

Saturday we ventured to the midnight show of "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" downtown. It originally came out about the time I was working at Westside Video and I must have been told I had to see it 100 times. But I STILL managed to miss it. I was blown away. SO good. I'm going to buy the soundtrack. I'm pissed that it took me SO long to see it. I was smiling ear-to-ear during parts, and touched during others. SO good.

And today we saw a matinee of "The Hulk." I'll do a more detailed review tomorrow, but let me say that I really liked it. It blew-away all of my expectations. It was perhaps the best translation of the comic book visual language into cinematic language of the comic book flicks. A lot of split-screen, a lot of really creative transitions, and incredibly cool shots. Somebody read Understanding Comics before setting out to make this movie! Highly recommended if you like comics, and want to see on of the most stylistically unique film to come out of Hollywood in recent memory. Oh, and lets not forget the awesome performances of all three leads! Nolte's turn as mad scientist was wonderfully over the top, and it was cool to see Bana play up the intoxication of the Hulk rampages. But Jennifer Connelly stole the show. The writing could have been better, but the direction more than made up for it. Ang Lee is truly a master filmmaker.

All in all a great weekend! The surprise I promised on Friday will happen tomorrow. It took WAY too long to get it up and running. It is nothing too exciting to anybody but me, but it is something I've wanted to do since I started Octopus Hat, so I'm stoked!

posted by JMV | 6/30/2003 12:22:00 AM
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Sunday, June 29, 2003  

Orson Wells Was A God
He holds the all-time record for most Chili-dogs eaten at Pinks. Eighteen. Eighteen freakin' chili dogs.

posted by JMV | 6/29/2003 11:11:00 PM
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Technicolor Citrus
Someone needs to name a blog that.

posted by JMV | 6/29/2003 10:58:00 PM
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Friday, June 27, 2003  

Too goddamned Hot to Blog
I have so much to say, but I'm too over-heated to say it. Santa Cruz is in the midst of a heat-wave. Wednesday it was in the mid-nineties at our apartment (a whopping 5 blocks from the beach.) Yesterday was cooler, but not much. This is unheard of for Santa Cruz, and it is beginning to wear on me. To make matters MUCH worse, they shut off AC to my office because of the construction.

One side-effect of all this heat is having to sleep with the windows open (something I usually try and avoid because of my allergies.) This combined with the broken screen door caused Julie and I to be devoured by mosquitos last-night. I have no less than 15 distinct bite, including on my face, scalp, and an incredibly painful one on my wrist. But Julie got the worst of it as, while she slept, one of the bugs bit her on the EYE LID! So when she woke this-morning it was completely swollen shut. It was scary and I took her to urgent care where they told us nothing we didn't already know. But I don't like screwing around with eyes, so I thought it was best to get a professional opinion.

In other news, I have a surprise for OH readers that will hopefully happen this evening! So check back!

Oh! And I realized that I forgot to award Pink's the official . Consider it officially guaranteed!

posted by JMV | 6/27/2003 04:25:00 PM
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The Everlasting Lure of the Grab-Bag
I loved those things as a kid. Getting offered a cool toy, or a box full of unknown stuff I'd always pick the box. Amazon is now capitalizing on people like me's thrill of the unexpected: Behold the Amazon Goodie Box

posted by JMV | 6/27/2003 04:16:00 PM
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Empty Box Brewing
Well, how official! Greg took some time lastnight and set up a site for our little brewing operation! Check it out!

posted by JMV | 6/27/2003 01:24:00 PM
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Friday
Another Friday Five. I was going to do the one I missed from last week today as well, but it sucks. All the questions are about hair. But here is this weeks:
1. How are you planning to spend the summer?
Getting ready for the big move. And then moving. With a smattering of margaritas and cervezas to help it all along.

2. What was your first summer job?
Working in the warehouse of a tool-supply company.

3. If you could go anywhere this summer [winter], where would you go?
The friggin Moon.

4. What was your worst vacation ever?
What a dumb question. Vacations are like pizza. Even when they aren't all you hoped for they are still better than WORK!

5. What was your best vacation ever?
My Honeymoon! 3-day cruise to Mexico and then a couple of nights in Vegas!

posted by JMV | 6/27/2003 01:07:00 PM
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Thursday, June 26, 2003  

Belated
This too was supposed to be posted yesterday, but thanks to Blogger's new and "improved" interface it wasn't.

I wanted say here that I had a great time over the weekend, and it was good to see everyone! It was especially nice to hang with my parents as it had been six months! I look forward to having my Mom over for dinner and bringing meat over to my Dad's to grill. It won't be long now! I wish I had more time to workshop with Chun, as I value his opinion and would have liked to give him some feedback on his project, but again, soon! It was great to see Paul (and he has the cutest dogs EVER) and finally meet Michelle! And Beau's birthday party was great fun! Got to party with a core group of people in new surroundings! Bravo on the meal Todd, I look forward to getting a chance to cook with you soon. Thanks to everyone who's couch/bed/floor Jules and I crashed on!

posted by JMV | 6/26/2003 12:16:00 PM
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Blogger is broken

posted by JMV | 6/26/2003 10:40:00 AM
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This Should Have Been Posted Yesterday...
Back at work after the extended weekend. The drive back was uneventful, but REALLY long as we drove around Burbank for a couple of hours. Overall I was pretty overwhelmed by the amount of apartments for rent. The goal of the trip was to figure out what neighborhood we wanted to live in, and that turned out to be tougher than I expected. We basically have it narrowed down to Burbank east of the 5 or West Hollywood. WeHo as it is known is much more urban, much more trendy, and nearly as gay as the Castro. Burbank is cheaper, more suburban, and may be closer to work. Maybe fate will intervene and miraculously provide a job for Julie or myself that will make the decision easier...

Pictures from the trip and from the party will be up shortly... I'm kinda swamped at work today and don't think I'll get time to post them.

Lastnight Jules and I watched "Die Another Day" the 20th James Bond flick. Overall it was pretty bad. The plot was laughable, the gadgets were disappointing, the one liners were awful, and the super-weapon was LAME. But there were some notable action set-pieces, which is why I watch a Bond movie in the first place. The opening sequence, a friggin hovercraft chase, was insane. And the opening credits, set to Madonna's theme song, was perhaps the coolest of any Bond movie. So overall I was happy with it.

UPDATE (08.04.03): I finally got around to posting the aforementioned pics. Enjoy.

posted by JMV | 6/26/2003 10:11:00 AM
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Monday, June 23, 2003  

Linkmine
This is a list of links that I want to check-out when I have more time, and am not connected via a damn modem...
Book I need to get...
WWDC Transcript
The new Apple G5!
OS X 10.3 Panther!
Phone Cam Blogging
Car-puter
A good new blog?
More driving today. Burbank was cool. Dinner with my pop and then hangin' with the posse later... Tomorrow we make the drive back to sunny Santa Cruz.

posted by JMV | 6/23/2003 04:38:00 PM
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Saturday, June 21, 2003  

Soaking up the, Uh.... Gloom?
LA is great. The weather bites. Thursday night in Westwood (or WeWo as I have taken to calling it) was excellent. I finally got to experience Pink's, the "Hollywood Legend since 1939." Pinks is a tiny little hot-dog joint on the side of the road in West LA with, quite possibly, the best dogs west of the rockies. And DEFIANTLY the oddest dogs. The serve up something called the "burrito dog" which is a hot-dog + fixings wrapped in a tortilla. It keeps the fixings from escaping before you can eat them, and is a great idea! The were featuring the "Matrix Reloaded Dog" which was THREE hot-dogs, chili, cheese, bacon, and onions wrapped in a tortilla. I had a "lord of the Rings Dog" which is the 10" "stretch" dog covered in onion-rings and BBQ sauce.
Friday was spent driving around West LA checking out neighborhoods and apartment complexes. We also checked out the Apple Store in the grove. I got my replacement iPod remote (free of charge!) and a kick-ass lap-top bag (finally!) Beau picked up a 15Gig iPod, and I'm jealous of it. We did dinner at my favorite Italian spot in Sunset Beach with my mom. Today is a 5Lbs prime-rib at my dad's before driving back to WeWo for Beau's dinner party. Good times!

posted by JMV | 6/21/2003 04:40:00 PM
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Thursday, June 19, 2003  

Oh Man!


It was at this point that Julie and I had to jettison the trunk full of Emu that we were attempting to bring into LA county to sell on the black market.

posted by JMV | 6/19/2003 08:49:00 PM
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The Long and Winding Road
Bags are packed.
CDs are Burned.
Car is Gassed.
Here we motherfucking come.

I'm bringing down a bag-load of tech and will be blogging from the road and any spot we are crashing at. Maybe. That is my intention at least.

posted by JMV | 6/19/2003 01:56:00 PM
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When Will People Learn to FEAR Robots?
Seriously. We have ALL seen all the movies. it is inevitable that the machines will rise up against their fleshy creators at some point... We should be more fearful of them. Gizmodo has a story about some companies plans to re-appropriate the giant robotic arms used in heavy industrial assembly as the new thrill ride. The idea is you get strapped to the end of it and then it swings you around like some pseudo-coaster. The funny thing about it is the company, Kuka, is touting its use of a windows PC to control the whole setup. I think the editor of Gizmodo says it best, "I wouldn't even trust a PC to control my air conditioner, let alone some gigantic robotic arm that could potentially hurl me to my death."

posted by JMV | 6/19/2003 12:30:00 PM
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Something I Must Try!
It has come to my attention that, supposedly, several of the shorts on the Animatrix DVD "synch-up" with several of the tracks on the new Radiohead disc "Hail to the Thief" ala "the Wizard of Floyd." For those that don't know, the Wizard of Floyd is an urban legend of untold origins that states if one begins playing the Pink Floyd album "The Dark Side of the Moon" just after the second roar of the lion during the MGM lead-in during the opening of "The Wizard of Oz" then the Pink Floyd's music become the new soundtrack to the movie complete with matched scene/song changes, and all kinds of other effects synched to the film. Now, I call it an Urban legend simply because I don't know of anyone who has actually TRIED it, but the rumor has been around for SO long that I have no doubt that it actually works (I've even seen ads for public screenings of the combo.) I have difficulty with this new pairing though... It just seems like the two items were produced to close to each other (time-wise) for there to have been any conscious effort to create a meta-text. But that doesn't mean I won't try it! Here is the discussion board thread that I first saw the info (yeah... I'm a friggin geek) The song-film combinations that supposedly work are: "Matriculated" (on the DVD) with the songs "The Gloaming" and "There There" (played consecutively) if they are begun when the robot goes into the matrix, and "The Second Renaissance pt 1" (DVD) with "2+2=5". There are supposed to be other combos as well. If you find any, or if you try it post a comment!

posted by JMV | 6/19/2003 11:46:00 AM
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Matrix LARP?
The Japanese premiere of Matrix: Reloaded saw over 100 fans dressed up as agent smith in two different cities. This Thread has more pics and videos of the pretty remarkable gatherings in Shibuya and Osaka.

posted by JMV | 6/19/2003 10:45:00 AM
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Wednesday, June 18, 2003  

Slacking
About time that I updated today. I've been making playlist for the drive down to LA all day... Julie and I just finished re-ripping (very nearly) ALL of our CD collection into AAC (MP4 whatever.) The final count is something in the neighborhood of 4700 songs, 14 days, and 19.3 Gigs. It is a lot of music.
Oddly enough it looks like it might be cooler in LA than it is in Santa Cruz. And now I'm making small-talk on my blog... Great.

posted by JMV | 6/18/2003 04:47:00 PM
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Tuesday, June 17, 2003  

Enter the Really Big Matrix
The Matrix: Reloaded has now officially opened on the IMAX theaters across the country! I cannot wait to check it out in all its super-huge glory (and to see Monica Belucci struggle to stay in that latex dress rendered 100 feet tall.) Here is a review of the IMAX Matrix experience.

posted by JMV | 6/17/2003 01:50:00 PM
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Fo Shizzle on the Wizzle
For all those confused by the latest in Hip-Hop/Urban slang. Snoop explains it all.

posted by JMV | 6/17/2003 10:50:00 AM
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Where Was This 3 Years Ago?
A portable Dreamcast! Courtesy of the hardware hackers of Hong Kong (possibly the most Cyberpunk city in the world) the "Treamcast" as a built-in flip-up LCD, head-phone jack, and comes in a specially made case. It runs about $190 US and shows that, for many people, the Dreamcast is very much alive. The site where that article is from, Mod Town, is pretty cool on its own and full of interesting articles

posted by JMV | 6/17/2003 10:40:00 AM
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Monday, June 16, 2003  

Inching Ever Closer...
The weekend was filled with activity (we just Saturday really.) My Brother-in-law Graduated on Saturday, so we went and sat in the sun and then drove to the In-law's house in Los Altos Hills for a party. There was a keg of Coors, TONS of food, and an impromptu jam with a couple of bass guitars, a guitar, a small drum kit, and a Theremin! I attempted to play the bass for a while, but was quickly depressed to discover I had forgot EVERYTHING about playing in the 7 years since the last time I picked one up... But a good time was had by all, and I was able to meet the Film Commissioner of San Mateo County. Sounds like a really fun job! She is a very nice woman, and when I gave her my card, she said that she would put me on the contacts list for projects shooting in the area. I've been cruising Craig's List, and some of the other show-biz type job boards, and have yet to receive a single reply to any of my inquires. Which is frustrating, but kinda expected. I've taken to making my e-mails more vague and inflating my credentials a little more... So we will see if that helps any.

In other news, Jules and I leave for LA/OC on Thursday afternoon for our first neighborhood hunting expedition. I've stoked to get our of Santa Cruz and looking forward to seeing my folks (it's been 6 months!!) Updates will be sporadic over the weekend... But I'm going to try and take a lot of pictures.

posted by JMV | 6/16/2003 04:07:00 PM
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Friday, June 13, 2003  

All it takes is a little finagling...
Comment are BACK BABY! So do me proud and and lets start some killer blogversations! And here is something to get everyone started:

posted by JMV | 6/13/2003 11:21:00 AM
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They Just Keep On Coming...
Friday Five is here again... But you don't have comments so it will suck. Here goes:
1. What's one thing you've always wanted to do, but never have?
Go to London. Go to France (actually I've been to france). See Jenna Elfman's Underpants...

2. When someone asks your opinion about a new haircut/outfit/etc, are you always honest?
Most of the time. But not always... I'm more inclined to tell you that your outfit is lame than that you have a bad hair-cut. It is too shitty when you get haircut and then realize, too late, that it looks lame.

3. Have you ever found out something about a friend and then wished you hadn't? What happened?
Oh yeah! My brain has forever been branded with unpleasant images. In retaliation I tease him incessantly. I'm a bitch.

4. If you could live in any fictional world (from a book/movie/game/etc.) which would it be and why?
That is a hard friggin question! The first thing that comes to mind is the "Bitchun Society" of Corey Doctorow's "Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom" but that is probably because I just finished it. (it is a utopia where every one is immortal, überconnected, and socialist.) Other than that, I would have to say Candyland.

5. What's one talent/skill you don't have but always wanted?
Ability to play a musical instrument, or be one of those people (who frustrate me considerably) who can pick up any instrument and play it. Or to be able to shred on a skateboard!

posted by JMV | 6/13/2003 11:05:00 AM
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Suck It
Is Dubbya the new Ford? On his "extended weekend of Golf and fishing" our esteemed president was chillin' at Kennebunkport when he decided to try out a segway with somewhat disastrous results. He ate it big time, evidently he executed "a flying leap over the machine" to remain standing.

posted by JMV | 6/13/2003 09:55:00 AM
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Thursday, June 12, 2003  

My Brithday is Around the Corner
And this is what I want...

posted by JMV | 6/12/2003 11:25:00 AM
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Curses
So, my stop-gap fix for the whole blogger-ftp-new server thing has evidently broken the comments. Which is absolutely unacceptable and means I'm going to spend all my free time today hammering out the CSS for the movabe-type index. Until that is up, sorry about the lack of comments, the broken archives, and the ugly template. Consider this the most ghetto blog on the net.

posted by JMV | 6/12/2003 11:23:00 AM
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Wednesday, June 11, 2003  

Full Steam Ahead (or something)
Ok. I forgot that now that eds.org doens't except unsecure telnet and ftp connections Blogger will no longer be able to FTP the site to eds.org. So I have set up a temporary host at blogspot.com (hence the ad.) This is just a temporary fix, and i mgiht add the LAST straw for blogger. Completing the conversion to MT is now at the TOP of my list. CSS here I come!

posted by JMV | 6/11/2003 11:21:00 PM
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I Mean it This Time
Eds.org is now back up for good. Evidently the server was suffering from a bad NIC. All fixed!

In other news:

posted by JMV | 6/11/2003 10:44:00 PM
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Tuesday, June 10, 2003  

Back Once Again...
Eds.org (the machine that hosts Octopus Hat) is back up and running! Once I get the hang of procmail I'll be fully operational again...
My iPod got all jacked-up today and I had to re-format it and re-add all the MP3s. Which, I was meaning to do any-way so it wasn't too big of a deal. The only bad part is I lost the play-counts for all the songs (the iPod keeps track of how many times you have listened to each track.) My top 5 was something like 3 Magnetic Fields songs and 2 White Stripes songs all at 23-21 plays since the last time I had to re-add all the music (January.)
Other than that... Running a pretty even-keel today. Greg and I are going to brew a new batch tonight; a Vanilla Wiessbier. Should be a good summer-evening ale. I have the final "hindsight" interview for the documentary I'm working on (after tonight I get to start editing!) tonight as well. And I started working on the treatment for the script Matt and I will be writing over the summer. I'm really excited about the project; it is a ghost story and a crime-drama at the same time. And that's all I'll say for now since we are in the very early stages.

posted by JMV | 6/10/2003 04:02:00 PM
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Monday, June 09, 2003  

Military Intelligence
Why, oh why is the military industrial complex getting so DUMB? This article discusses the proposed "scorpion ensemble:" an infantry equipment load-out that promises to cut the weight of gear carried by the average grunt in half. It contains such revolutionary ideas as a HUD in the goggles that can display thermal or IR views, built-in body armor, vital-sign sensors, and all manner of wireless connectivity. The goal it to make each soldier on the battle-field more connected to everyone else, while reducing the amount of information that they have to deal with. The scientist developing the new equipment talk excitedly about the new capabilities being built into the suit. Things like non-lethal ammunition, remote controlled gun-platforms, and auto-administering first-aid. The DoD is sinking some 15 BILLION into the development of tech that was featured in my adolescent war-stories. Nearly all the "ground breaking" tech discussed by the research monkeys is old-hat to any 10 year-olds playing with GI Joes. For 15 billion dollars you think that the government would hire some friggin futurists to come up with truly ground-breaking tech to go after. Frankly I'm disappointed the state of modern skunk-works. Forchristsakes there isn't even any LASERS or PLASMA guns mentioned. How the HELL are we supposed to keep the dirty terrorist off our shores without plasma rifles?

posted by JMV | 6/09/2003 06:06:00 PM
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Downtime and Lack of Updates
It looks like the scheduled maintenance to the server got pushed back until tomorrow, so I'm expecting a little down time as the new machine goes live... And speaking of downtime, I've spend ALL morning re-installing the OS and Apps on my work iBook after my assistant formated the hard drive after I left on Friday afternoon, so my two planed monday morning updates will have to wait until I get this all squared away.

posted by JMV | 6/09/2003 03:10:00 PM
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Friday, June 06, 2003  

It Had To Happen
OMG! A government/maffia has developed in the Sims On-line. Seriously if you only click on one link all week. Click this one! It is unstoppably readable. I'm not quite ready to comment on the implications of a virtual crime syndicate just yet... But this story has made me very happy. Sims On-line cannot be a failure if such a dynamic and original on-line community has formed. Will Wright is a fucking genius.

posted by JMV | 6/06/2003 01:44:00 PM
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Friday 5
1. How many times have you truly been in love?
I thought I was in love in High school, but the love I feel now dwarfs anything that I have ever felt before. So once I guess. Currently.

2. What is so great about the person you love the most?
She is rich with life and laughter. And her dimples! They rock.

3. What qualities should a significant other have?
Dimples are a plus. But more important is a loving and caring attitude and uncanny ability to say the right thing when it is needed most.

4. Have you ever broken someone's heart?
Probably. Maybe.

5. If there was one thing you could teach people about love, what would it be?
That it is more important than $$$ and a more potent drug than crack. That it is a 5-star roller-coaster. That it lends light to the dark times, and tempers the bright times with shade. Oh... Damn, that was like 5 things.

posted by JMV | 6/06/2003 01:04:00 PM
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We Won One
The courts have ruled in favor of the recently challenged cell phone number portability law! This means, come November, you will be able to change mobile carriers but keep your mobile number! This is nothing but good news for us wireless customers as it will decrease the death-grip that the carriers have one their customers. I can't wait for the day that one carrier offers to pay your early-termination fee if you switch to them. Then maybe I can get out of my newly-renegotiated contract with Cingular!

posted by JMV | 6/06/2003 12:50:00 PM
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Don't Believe Everything You Read
Evidently the story about Keanu Reeves giving millions of dollars to the SFX crew on the Matrix was a bunch of Hooey. Figures. I nearly didn't post that story because the source (Hello Magazine from the UK) is pretty sketchy. It was the publication that Michael Douglas and Katherine ZJD sued for printing unauthorized photos of their wedding. Consider this a retraction.

posted by JMV | 6/06/2003 11:13:00 AM
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Thursday, June 05, 2003  

Pending Machine Update
Steve the sys-admin for the machines that host the site will be setting up a new server tomorrow (Friday June 6th) and some down-time is expected. Consider your self warned.

posted by JMV | 6/05/2003 03:20:00 PM
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Gag This
At the recent "All Things Digital" conference, put on in part by the Wall Street Journal, reporters in attendance we instucted to view anything said on stage by the speakers (including Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and Barry Diller) as "off the record" and not fit for publication without the consent of the speaker. But some bloggers in the audience were not informed of the gag-order and reported on the conference on their sites. This raises interesting questions about the future (present?) of journalism and the impact of web-logs on the conventions of reporting. Who isn't a reporter these days?

posted by JMV | 6/05/2003 12:12:00 PM
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Still No Archives
Poop. I still can't get my blogger archives back up. They exist (as far as I can tell) on the blogger servers, but willnot publish to my site. As a stop-gap I have increased the number of post shown on the main-page from 10 to 30. Sorry to those on dail-up or GRPS.

posted by JMV | 6/05/2003 10:36:00 AM
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Abunch of Friggin Idiots
The scholars over at VH1 AFI have compiled another top 100 list, this time the 100 best heros and villains in American movies. Julie and I watched the last hour of the 3 hour(!) show on Tuesday and were pretty put-off by the results. Matt, of I Fought The Law fame, was also compelled to blog about the poor quality of the list, saying "Atticus isn't a movie hero. He's a literary hero. Has anyone born after 1975 actually *seen* To Kill a Mockingbird apart from watching it in your eighth grade English class after reading the book?" And I agree with him fully and would like to add: Darth Vader only #3? What the Hell?

Now, I may be a Star Wars geek, but lets see here: Hannibal Lector vs a representation of archetypical evil. There is a reason why Star Wars has impaced so many people for so long, and it is the power of myth. Lucas, evidently stoned off his ass, wrote a story that interfaced with a thousand years of human mythology. He created characters that drew on archetypes that crossed cultural borders and spoke directly to us as humans. Luke, Leia, and Vader are characters that have been around SO long they our built into our very humanity. And yet Norman Bates and Hanibal Lechter get higher spots on the AFI list? Two friggin serial killers. Crazy and villainous are two different things. I know someone (Matt perhaps? Or will it be the always disagreeable Pauly-T?) will mention that Vader was just a henchman for the Emperor, and it is the Emperor that was the bigger villain. Well, while that is true, the narrative of the trilogy is more focused on Vader. The Emperor is there to motivate Vader and though his presents, give Vader more depth. And as a final argument let me say that Vader cut off his own son's hand! That is just fuckin COLD.

Update:
I just saw this on the list: Mahatma Gandhi is listed as the 21st best Hero in American cinema. What the HELL. It reminds me of the story of the Author who tired to sell a script about Elliot Ness and the Studio passed because they didn't want to deal with securing the rights to "the character from the Untouchables" and they refused to believe the author when he told them that Ness was a REAL PERSON and thus not subject to Copyright...

posted by JMV | 6/05/2003 10:33:00 AM
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Wednesday, June 04, 2003  

For Julie...

posted by JMV | 6/04/2003 10:46:00 AM
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Full Circle
Over on Gibson's Blog there is a post about the new Turkish edition of Nuromancer:

Translation: "Matrix Hunter." I find this attempt to capitalize on the success and hype of the Matrix quite funny since, without Nuromancer there could be no Matrix. I believe it was Gibson who coined the term "Matrix" to mean computer network. I also really dig the guys sunglasses.

posted by JMV | 6/04/2003 10:45:00 AM
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Tuesday, June 03, 2003  

Whoa...
Keanu rocks! Mr. Reeves somehow worked the mother of all back-end deals to do the 2 Matrix sequels. He negotiated for 15% of the total gross of the two films. If Reloaded tops 200 million (and I'm sure it will) Keanu is looking at 30 million; and then there is "Revolutions" which means another 30 mil easy (and that is the JUST DOMESTIC totals.) Being the grounded stoner that he is, he decided that he has enough money for a couple of life times and so is giving a cash bonus to the SFX crew that worked on the movies. Reports say the bonus will amount to somewhere between 1 and 3 million dollars for each of the 29 crew members. DAMN! I and was worried that we was going to use his new-found riches to shove Dogstar down our throats. Whew.

posted by JMV | 6/03/2003 01:54:00 PM
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Monday, June 02, 2003  

June.
Jesus Christ. I cannot believe that it is friggin JUNE! My head is spinning with the acceleration of my day-to-day life. I have just over 2 months to find a new job, new car, and new house and move 400 miles to the big-city! Uhg. This week should be pretty anxiety-filled as I struggle get my head around all the stuff I have to do.

But at least the weekend was good! Friday afternoon we caught a matinee of Finding Nemo, which I enjoyed! Though, I don;t think that it was as good as Monsters Inc. We wrapped up friday with some people and cocktails at our apartment. Saturday we spent the day at Andrew and Jodi's wonderful BBQ. A perfect way to celebrate the beginning of summer. We were able to show-case our last few batches of beer, and they were all an outstanding success! I thought a tussle was going to break out in the kitchen over the last bottle of the Phat-Buzz. Greg and I still need a good name for our brewing operation. A kind of "brand" name for our beer. Any suggestions? We had to leave the BBQ early to make it back to SantaCruz for our geeking appointment. Sunday was low-key. Did some shopping, and then got into a fender-bender in the parking-lot. And now our trunk will not open. We also discovered because of this that for the past 2 years we have been driving around with less insurance coverage than we thought we had. But hopefully everything will work out with the insurance companies...

posted by JMV | 6/02/2003 01:10:00 PM
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