BACK TO THE FUTURE.

Everybody has a favorite movie, or maybe even a few of them.  One of my favorites in the film "Back to the Future" starring Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Crispin Glover, Lea Thompson, and Tom Wilson.  The movie is a mix of several genres: sci-fi, drama, and comedy.

The plot is very complex.  After introducing the characters, Marty (Michael J. Fox) and Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) meet up at the local mall parking lot so Doc can show off his latest experiment.  He pulls a Delorean out of a trailer, but this is no ordinary Delorean, this one can travel back in time.  Doc shows Marty how it all works with the time circuits, 88mph, Flux Capacitor and such.  Long story short, some pissed Libyans drive up in a VW van shooting at Doc and Marty.  Doc gets shot and Marty's only escape is in the Delorean back to 1955.  Once there he runs into his mother, played by Lea Thompson.  In 1955 she is in high school and is pretty hot.  She begins to fall in love with Marty, which means that she is not in love with Marty's father, George McFly.  If his mother does not fall in love with George McFly then Marty is never born in the future.  Marty is now in charge of hooking up his own parents while attending high school with them.  I don't wanna spoil the end, so I'm gonna stop there.

I enjoyed the movie for several reasons.  First of all, it is cool as hell.  Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd are both awesome.  The characters they play are very developed and entertaining.  Doc Brown is a sort of mad scientist and totally plays up the part.  Also, the fact that Director Robert Zemeckis was able to come up with an time travel story for all age groups was impressive.  Both parents and children alike enjoy this movie.  The parents love the 1955 parts and the kids love fantasy of time travel.  That's completely rad.

There were also two sequels to the movie.  That means that there is a Back to the Future Trilogy.  There is one more reason to love the movie, who doesn't like to say "trilogy?"  The second and third movies were also excellent.  The second film is very tightly integrated into the first, using the same shots at some points.  It is almost as if the movies are one long film.  It is seamless.  

Nick, over and out.

A couple months back I was exploring the internet when I came across this series of videos featuring Adam Savage of Mythbusters fame.

He discusses how he has a creative projects folder.  His definition is of a creative projects folder is simply a folder that contains photos, videos, documents, and audio files that may interest me.  

After seeing this I was inspired.  Now, whenever I go on the internet and find something that interests me, I save it to a 'creative projects' folder that I created on my external hard drive.  I have been accumulating material for this folder since September 14th, 2008.  At that time, I was fascinated with NASA.  I was anticipating the launch of the STS-125 mission that was supposed to take place October 8th at 1:35 a.m. but was postponed due to equipment that hadn't arrived yet.  As of now, the launch is scheduled for February 17th, 2009.  Ugh that seems so far away.  Anyways, I came across a site that featured photos of the Space Shuttle in the vehicle assembly building at Cape Canaveral and was totally fascinated.  There were huge cranes that were there to lift the shuttle so they could attach it to the boosters and the whole process was simply awesome.  You can check out some of them here.

As time goes by, the more that is in the folder represents my interests.  At this moment my folder is almost 2GB.  It contains about 600 images of NASA stuff, trains, cars, art, geologic stuff.  There are 2 movies: one about H.H. Holmes, and the other a documentary of the Red Hot Chili Peppers recording their Blood Sugar Sex Magik album.  I plan on adding even more when I get a chance.  I am creating a library of my interests, and I like it.

There are lots and lots of events featured in this trailer.  In order, they are.

1)  A press conference.  This could be one of many hilarious press conferences held at the White House.  Lots of silly things happened.  My favorite was when the W. claimed that "human being and fish can coexist peacefully."  This claim can be argued with this video clip.  Those fish are organized and we had better prepare for the worst.

2)  There are several clips scattered throughout the trailer of W. partying in his pre-political years.  He got into a little bit of trouble over this, but still managed to become the leader of the free world.

3)  Next there are a few clips from the Invasion of Iraq in 2003.  We were looking for "weapons of mass destruction" and found Saddam Hussein in a hidey-hole.  Coincidence?  I think not.

4)  The next few shots show him on the lawn of the White House.  He appears to be playing with his dog.  This was a pivotal point in his presidency.  Also, a little clip of his wife Laura Bush appears.  She likes to read books to children.

5)  The trailer then shows those closest to Mr. Bush.  His mother Barbara, his wife Laura, Vice President/Marksman Dick Cheney, Secretary of Defense Colin Powell, and his broccoli-free father & former president George H. W. Bush.

6)  Shortly after introducing his H.W. there is a clip W. smacking the floor and a pretzel flying out of his mouth.  While watching a playoff game in 2002, George choked on a pretzel 90 minutes into the game.  He fell to the floor and briefly went unconscious.

7)  There are also clips of protest held against our popular president.  It is difficult to tell which protests are features because so many have been held.  Oh yeah, and flag burnings.

8)  There is a clip pointing out that he is not very well versed in history.  Talking about John Adams being president "like 300 years ago."  

9)  Karl Rove is featured.  He is famous for telling people things he shouldn't have, letting people go, and email scandals.  He is also Episcopalian.

10)  Condi!!!  Probably one of the smartest people in Washington.  She is also a concert pianist.

Now, just because I like it.  Here is a video.

And that's it.  That was fun.  How come there isn't an Andrew Jackson movie like this?  He did some interesting things and met some interesting people.

Bacon Rules

Bacon rules.  Everybody knows it.  I recently found a couple articles on some food websites about bacon and all of its magical glory.  Let's explore bacon shall we?

Bacon begins life in the form of a pig, also known as the wonder animal.  Wikipedia states that bacon is a cut of meat taken from the sides, belly, or back of a pig that has been cured, smoked, or both.  It is often enjoyed as a breakfast side dish typically accompanying any meal served at IHOP.

Some people enjoy their bacon crispy, others like it a little bit more pliable.  I like my bacon pliable, dipped in maple syrup.  MMMMM......  There are lots of different uses for bacon around the world.  A couple weeks ago I ran across this website that claims "Everything is Better Wrapped in Bacon."  The website seems to be pretty legit, at least their title is true.  They list some interesting sounding foods including "bacon-wrapped stuffed pork sausages" (pig wrapped in more pig), bacon-wrapped corn, bacon-wrapped hamburger, and my favorite, bacon-wrapped bacon (OMG).  While bacon-wrapped bacon seems pretty extreme, another degree of awesome could be added by sprinkling bacon bits on top.  

I am not the only one who loves bacon, comedian Jim Gaffigan also shares my passion.

Just incase you have ever wondered how bacon is made, here is a video. This video will not sit well with vegetarians or any other people who dont like seeing cut up animals.

So that's all for now. Until next time, keep eating bacon.  I know I will.

Well, I will start by saying that I have never seen the stupid chihuahua movie, so I don't know if it is any good or not.  Therefore, I will be judging a book by it's cover.  

People enjoy movies not just for entertainment value, but also because there is less thinking involved.  On top of that, people enjoy stupid movies.  The first stupid movie that I recall seeing was "Dude, Where's My Car?"  I believe that so many people saw it because it was so stupid that it was funny.  There are tons of movies like these, but why do people constantly go to see them?

One reason may be because somebody has seen every other movie out in theaters and watches the movie out of boredom.  There are people so boring that instead of living their own life, they go to the movies and design their life according to what happens on the big screen.  In the case of the chihuahua movie I don't think anyone would try to mimic it, but rather adapt it to their own lives.  

Another possibility is that people simply like chihuahuas.  I, on the other hand do not like them.  I think they are ugly.  If you like something, you are more likely to watch a movie about it.

To me, it appears that the movie is a doggy chick flick, and I will now use the phrase "bitch flick" in the rest of the entry.  This bitch flick features dogs that are owned by celebrities and live a much better life than most of the people watching the movie.  Not only that, but these dogs are in love.  A human type of love with an infatuation and all that mushy stuff.  From what I can imagine, the movie is similar to a doggy soap opera.

I will never truly understand people.  Especially ones that pay $10 to see some ugly dog love story musical.

So the other day, while exploring the internet net as I often do, I discovered this video.

I was very impressed.  This guy was doing stuff on his bike that I didn't even know was possible.  I thought that is said a lot about society.  Danny Macaskill was using his bike to perform what he thinks is art.  He used his bike as a tool to perform tricks on all kinds of landscapes.  He uses stairs, sculptures, and even everyday sidewalks.  Normal people would see these things and think nothing of it.  Danny, on the other hand, used them as his canvas.  I always found it impressive when people found uses for objects other than their intended purpose.  What Danny is doing is two-fold.  He is using his bike as a means of an extreme sport instead of a means of transportation, then he is using stairs as his stage.

Most people would frown upon his actions, arguing that he is being destructive and shows no respect for his environment.  I used to skateboard, so I would argue the other way.  Riding a bike is just another sport, all that has changed is where he is doing it.  Not to mention that to do what Danny is doing takes an incredible sense of balance and strength.

From my past experience of visiting Jamaica, I knew that most people there weren't very well off relative to the US.  While doing some research on my topic, I discovered some interesting statistics about Jamaican society and control of wealth.

I discovered that Jamaica is ranked #34 in the Human Poverty Index Rankings.  Compared to the United States, much of Europe and Japan that aren't even ranked.  Some organizations measure poverty as strictly a financial state, while others include factors such as poor drinking water, life expectancy, literacy rate, and underweight children.  Depending on how you measure poverty, about 15-20% of Jamaicans live in poverty.  

As far as social classes and the control of wealth goes, there is almost no middle class.  In Jamaica, either you have it, or you don't.  The highest %20 of Jamaicans with income control 44% of the wealth.  While the lowest 20% controls 7% of the wealth.  This is a huge spread.  This is also exactly what I saw when I was there.  Kingston, Jamaica is located in a bowl.  Around the rim of the bowl is where the wealthy live, with their houses perched above the city.  The lower class live in the middle of the bowl, as if trapped in their social status.

This provides some interesting insight as to why Jamaican society is so different from ours.

Things that Annoy Me 1

There are just some things that I find annoying, often super annoying.  Some of things I have never liked, others may have started as a good idea then turned sharply downhill.  Most of the items in the list are inconsiderate actions.  For example, and in no particular order:

1.  People who walk slowly in the middle of the sidewalk.  I can't tolerate this mostly because I think it is inconsiderate.  There are some common courtesies that I feel our society is missing.  Another similar one would be people not using interstate lanes how they are meant to be used.  (Slower drivers on the right, pass only the left.)  If people understood traffic flow highways would be less congested and I would not mumble curse words under my breath at people.

2.  Inappropriate cell phone use.  For one thing, people should hang up and drive.  Driving used to be an activity done in and of itself.  Now it seems like it is a secondary activity to get you somewhere while performing another task.  People already have way too many distractions in their cars like GPS units, fancy dashboards with way too many complicated buttons and gauges, children, and car stereos.  It is almost as if people are not aware they are even driving.  Whenever I see a bad driver, I do my best to ignore them, but only after mumbling curse words under my breath.  What did people do before cell phones?  Oh yeah, there was something called the pay phone.

3.  Social networking websites.  The internet seems to be making people less social, and in some cases, socially awkward.  I think it all started with email and the IM.  The IM made it possible to have entire conversations with people without having to speak to them.  I remember in middle school, I could be having 5 or 6 conversations at once.  Talking to people on the phone became too much of a hassle.  Why call somebody when I can site in front of my computer and converse with everybody I need to?  Also, the internet is slowing destroying the English language while creating a newer, shorthand version.  Phrases like LOL, GTG, STFU, LMAO, and PWNED are all understood on the internet as entire words or phrases.  No, you stfu.

4.  The "4D" experience at the World of Coca-Cola.  First of all, the 4th dimension is commonly used to represent time, where as the first 3 are used to represent space.  Therefore, no shit it's a 4D experience, your whole life is.  What would be really impressive is a "5D" show, where the audience is taken into alternate realities.  Not to mention, all that make it a '4d' show is the fact that air is sprayed at you, you get poked in the back (which actually hurts), and the chairs move.  

As I come up with more things that piss me off/annoy me I will post them in future updates.

That's all for now.

Memberships.

I always thought memberships were fantastic, especially for places you live nearby and are interested in.  Let me tell you why.

Because I live in a new city, I like to go out and see the sites, do the touristy stuff so I can say that I did it.  There are several reasons why I have a Coke membership and an Aquarium membership though.  The first being that I am a college student, with some free time now and then, with nothing else to do.  This spare time can be used having fun at the aquarium or drinking all the coke I want.  The second, I do not have a car, so any fun things to do that are more than 5 miles away from a Marta Transit Station is pretty much out of the question.  I can easily ride my bike the 1.5 miles on a whim.  The memberships also pay for themselves, usually after 2 of 3 visits.  For example, a day pass at the World of Coke is $15, and an annual pass is $30.  As long as I go twice within the year, that pass pays for itself.  The aquarium is a little more expensive though.  Day passes are $30, annual memberships are like $75 I think.  So as long as I go 3 times (which I definitely will) it pays for itself.  Not to mention that half of the aquarium pass was a gift.    Thank you Markwith Family  :)

The reason that I bring up the topic is because I have this Saturday off, and I plan on spending a good part of my day drifting in and out of The World of Coke and the Georgia Aquarium as often as I please.  I also plan to look at all the fish I please, drink all the coke I please, then go back to look at more fish.  All I need now is an underwater camera for the touch tank.  That would be pretty wicked.

I'm not sure exactly what the worst thing I've ever done is, I may never know.  The worst thing that I think I have ever done still stands out in my mind.  

I forget exactly how old I was, probably around 13.  My family had a black mutt of a dog named "Kelly" who lived in our backyard.  We loved this dog and took good care of her.  At night, though, she would often bark at the darkness for no apparent reason, so we would always let her into the garage for the night.  That is where her bed was anyways.  One night when my parents were out, I went and opened the door, but Kelly just wouldn't stop barking.  She was very aggressive and sounded a bit in distress.  She was barking at an opossum.  The opossum had backed itself up against the fence.  I didn't want to try to separate them myself or get in the middle of their dispute.  Not knowing exactly what to do, I grabbed a shovel to defend myself.  Using the shovel I tried my best to get between Kelly and the beast.  Once in between them, I guess the adrenaline got to me, I went out of control and hit the opossum as hard as I could with the shovel.  But not just once, maybe 4 or 5 times, I honestly don't know how many times I hit that poor thing.  The opossum had stopped moving.  I picked it up with the shovel and threw it over the fence and took Kelly inside.

I felt terrible.  What had I done to this poor opossum.  It didn't do anything wrong.  It was just in the wrong place at the wrong time I guess.  I felt so disgusting that I took a shower.  It was one of those showers where you just stand there and think.  It was probably one of the longest showers I have ever taken.  Even after the shower, I still felt like shit.  I finally was able to fall asleep.

The next morning, the opossum incident was still all I could think about.  Did I kill the animal?  Curious, mostly for peace of mind, I went behind my fence to see if the opossum was still there.  It wasn't.  That made me feel better.  Looking back, I should have just tried to get Kelly under control and leave the poor scared opossum to itself.

That is probably the worst thing I have ever done.

Debate.

The debate to me seemed very one-sided.  This could be either because I'm biased or the debate was very one-sided.

Senator Obama seemed to be better at debating than Senator McCain.  First of all, I feel that Obama responded to the moderator's questions much more effectively, focusing on structuring his answer instead of rambling.  McCain, on the other hand, is a rambler.  Provided he had a few good points during the debate, he never made eye contact with Obama, even when Moderator Jim Lehrer insisted he speak directly to Obama.  Avoiding eye contact made it seem like McCain was trying to cop out of responses or even that he was scared of Obama.  Body language, as well as verbal language, speaks volumes.  Obama was very stable and still during the debate while McCain swayed back and forth at times.  Both candidates did smirk at times while the other was speaking, but I noticed that McCain did it much more often than Obama.  Also, McCain cracked some jokes, which I thought was inappropriate for a debate.

As far as the policies go, I do favor Obama's economic plan.  He plans to cut taxes for people making less that $250,000 annually.  Also, he plans to close loopholes in the corporate tax codes.  McCain seems to know what he is doing from a military standpoint, but he has very openly admitted he is not very strong economically, which is what our country needs at the moment.

In the end, the debate was very informative and boring.  Luckily, I did not have to be present at the debate or I would have been asleep.  Remind me when the next debate is so I can make other plans.