Saturday, November 29, 2008

Movie expectations

Movies are all about expectations. So i decided to share with you the five biggest surprises and the biggest dissapointments I have seen. This is obviously subjective, and i present these in no particular order.

Dissapointments

5. Sequels:

Everyonce and a while a great triology such as LOTR or Bourne come along and give us just enough hope to think that sequels can be decent. Its time we learn

eg. The phantom Menace, Rocky 5, Jurrassic Park 2 and 3, Pirates of the Carribean 2 and 3, Matrix 2 and 3, Spiderman 3, The new indiana jones, All the old batman movies except the firs one, x-men 3

4. Remakes of classic movies

You can't help but get excited about some of the best stories of all time being remade. But they almost always suck.

eg. Pearl Harbor, Superman returns, King Kong, Godzilla, War of the Worlds

3. Scarface

Skyler and I watched this a couple of years ago. It was one of the worse movies i have ever seen. Watching foot fungus grow would be more enjoyable. How did this movie ever do well to begin with.

2. AI

Wow. Up to this point i actually beleived whatever stephen speilberg touched went to gold. This movie was so long, and shoud have ended about 500 times before it finally dwindled to an end.

1. Final Fantasy

As a big fan of the admittedly poorly named final fantasy video game series, I was super excited for this movie. I saw the clips and the CGI looked revolutionary for its time. Too bad the story sucked beyond belief.

Suprises - movies that are not necessarily good but which i thought would suck beyond belief and were not that bad. (in no particular order)

5. Mean Girls

I had been living with my roommates for maybe a week when they come home excited. They told me that they invited some people over to watch mean girls. I was bewildered, confused and angry. However, the movie was decently funny. I may be sick but watching people get hit by buses never gets old.

4. Hott Fuzz

I remember watching the previews for this movie. They looked horrific. But the first half of that movie was hillarious! the second half was kind of fun, overall it way exceeded my expectations

3. Monster house

Ok so Drew and I invited some friends over, and we are going to enjoy some pizza and a good movie. Problem was we couldn't find a movie we could all agree on. So finally Drew picks a movie, doesn't tell us what it is and we go home. Turns out its Monster House. For a movie we were all sure would suck it was pretty darn funny.

2. You've got mail

Up to this point i had never seen a chick flick i enjoyed. Don't get me wrong im not going to be watching it by myself anytime soon. But it was enjoyable.

1.Stardust

My roommates dragged me to this movie in the dollar theatre. I couldn't believe we were actually seeing it. I was expecting some sort of horrible mix of eragon with pride and prejudice. It was actually very enjoyable, the best farrie tale movie i had seen in a very long time.

Friday, November 28, 2008

Top 10 Favorite time wasting websites that will surely result in me failing law school.

10. Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procrastination

I love Wikipedia. As a by product of either living with very argumentative roommates or freakishly knowledgable roommates, I have to know the answer to everything. If anyone asks a question I don't know or makes a ridiculous argument i am on the internet with in seconds trying to figure out the answer. Honestly my obsession with obtaining random factoids and general knowledge is one of the primary reasons I have chosen a profession where i spend 80% of my professional life researching.

9. Woot. http://www.woot.com/

My rommate Nathan first showed me this website. It is awesome (or at least can be.) Everyday they have a new deal on some electronic that they are selling for really cheap. I have seen some amazing deals, today for instance they are selling a 4 gb mp3 player with a leather case for $30. Everyonce and a while they have a "woot off" in which throughout the day they consistantly change the objects they are selling. During the "woot off" they will put up a "bag of crap" it costs a dollar and you get a bag of random electronic assortments. However, every time the magical bag goes online the server usually crashes because so many people are trying to bid.

8. Craiglist / Ebay -http://cgi.ebay.com/Selling-my-Soul-to-Find-FIRE-N-ICE_W0QQitemZ250333721438QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item250333721438&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1309

I rarely use these sites for anything practical, but there is so much cool stuff to look at.

7. Kongregate / Asobrain - http://games.asobrain.com/

Two of the most addictive games ever can be played on the internet. Kongregate hosts the horribly addictive game desktop tower defense. Fortunatley i have given up on beating "the 100" but the hundreds of hours that i wasted playing and watching my roommates play were good times. Asobrain, allows you to play an apparent knock off of Settlers of Catan online against other players. My family periodically will all sign on so that although the Barnetts are in Portland, I am in Utah, and my family is in California we still have an opportunity to yell and cheat one another.

6. Blogger - http://booyaabuela.blogspot.com/

I started working on my outline for my Torts class and decided to write this blog. Enough said.

5. Espn. com / SI.com - http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/081114

I am a pretty advid sports fan (well really just football, basketball, tennis and the olympics.) Obviously these websites are famous enough that they really don't need any introduction. Proably my favorite thing to visit on ESPN are Bill Simmons' ("the sports guy") articles. They are hillarious. There is an interesting war on which website i visit. Espn has a lot of its best articles blocked so that only members can see them, but SI often has too many tempting adds to visit the swimsuit pages.

4. Playlist - http://view.playlist.com/7724249099

This is only website that will actually help my grade. It is such a cool website, you go online and pick all the songs you want to listen to. Instead of downloading them, the site just remembers where they are and you can stream them over the internet. Its got thousands of songs, and since your not downloading anything you don't feel like your pirating or worry about getting crazy viruses.

3. Yahoo Fantasy Football

Im number 1 in a rather competitive league. I look at my team probably 3 times a week and ussually dont change anything. It is amazing how much time i waste over something that has so much luck.

2. Digg - http://digg.com/

I absolutely love this website. Hundreds of thousands of nerds like my self waste their time on the internet, what Digg does is allows the nerds to share what they found interesting. Everytime a "digger" finds something interesting they give it a "digg" by the end of the day the most interesting websites will rise to the top of the list. There are so many funny sites and pictures. Warning, although posting of pornography isn't allowed some of the popular diggs can be quite obscene. Still it is an amazing site, go and search the top images for the last year and start wasting your time away.

1. Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=48737453377

Not much to be said here. I usually keep it open while i am studying which means technically I am on facebook for 10-13 hours a day. The new chat function is ridiculous, some of my friends can't sign on without me being compulsed to chat with them. I feel like i am back in 7th grade on AOL instant messenger.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Typically I don't bother you with my own thoughts and ideas, but today I feel like sharing. Don't worthy Booya Grandma wont become a typical blog and will continue to provide you with a random assortment of articles and images.

I find it dissapointing the number of people who use the church as an excuse to sell their dreams short. I just got out of priesthood and the lesson was on about how following the commandments is the most important thing, and no other worldly success can make up for not being temple worthy. I 100% agree. However the conversation soon became twisted to the point where people were preaching that it is wrong to try and achieve "greatness" in other realms of life. As someone who has pretty lofty goals this bothered me. Ive noticed this trend in two areas of life: professional and romantic.

I dont want to come across saying that if you don't have a career your a bad person. On the contrary, i want to say that the gospel is compatible with most goals, including professional goals. If you look at the Apostles, you have several men who reached the top of their given profession: Elder Eyring is a world renouned scientist, Elder Nelson is a revolutionary heart surgeon, Elder Oaks served on a Supreme court, and Elder's Holland and Bednar both reached the top of the eductional spectrum. You simply cannot rach the top of your profession with out having a dream to do so and working your butt off to get there.

I have also seen this trend in the dating realm. For instance, many people like to cite President Kimballs statement that "any two people could be happy together as long as they follow the commandments of God." In the words of my former roommate Nathan, "That simply isn't good enough." The quote is meant to help us deal with the inadequacies in our mates, and know that no one is perfect. However, I think its a huge mistake to use the quote as an excuse to settle for someone that you don't find wonderful and amazing.

Anyway, my opinion is that the Lord wants us to be happy, and that happiness includes the fufilling of righteous goals. I find nothing unrighteous about seeking to succeed in professional and social life. Putting the church first does not entail selling your dreams short. That is all.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Don't steal from a 1L we are too stressed


Why You Should Never Try to Steal a Law Student's Laptop
by Dan Reilly, posted Nov 14th 2008 at 2:41PM
A thief learned the mistake of trying to steal a law student's laptop last week after after becoming a punching bag for an Arizona State student he tried to rip off. Armed with a baseball bat, the intruder, Gabriel Saucedo, allegedly climbed through an open window into Alex Botsios' apartment, waking the student and threatening to smash his head in. Botsios was willing to let Saucedo take his wallet and guitars. Then the robber made the mistake that ultimately landed him in the hospital -- he went for the laptop. According to Botsios, he said "Dude, no -- please, no! I have all my case notes...that's four months of work!" Saucedo, obviously underestimating the fury of an overstressed, overworked first-year, was unsympathetic. That's when Botsios could take no more.Wrestling Saucdeo to the floor, Botsios separated the bat from the thief and repeatedly punched him in the face. When it was all over, police had to get Saucedo stitched up before charging him with armed robbery and kidnapping, while Botsios only suffered some scrapes and a bruised knuckle. Most importantly, at least to the student, is that his laptop, which he called "his baby," escaped unharmed. Next time, Saucedo might want to try robbing a third-year student, as they're generally more docile. [From: KTAR.com]

A tribute to Where's Molly?

I was recently mentioned by name in Where’s Molly’s third CD. It only seems appropriate that I show my appreciation by giving a little tribute in my blog. After all any band whose lead singer loves his voice so much that he actually records his songs twice so he can harmonize with himself deserves a blog entry. Where’s Molly claims to belong to the genre of “subversive acoustic indie pop/ska-without-those-annoying-horns/punk/folk-abilly,” and is probably in the top 10 of bands who claim that genre. The band is lead by Skyler Anderson, a self proclaimed Beavis look-a-like, who receives support from fellow band members the “Bassmaster” and the superbly talented Jim. The trio spends their time using sarcasm to mock everybody and everything from teachers to genocidal inclinations. Here is a list of some of the people who have suffered their rage.

---Guys who try to pick up girls by playing the guitar---

“You are a pretty woman and I play the guitar; why can’t that be enough? Let’s not complicate things, with all this silly getting to know each other slowly over some romantic picnic at the beach, where it soon becomes painfully obvious that music is not enough. It may have got me a first date, but after that it’s up to my charm to be at its best. I must confess that flattery and sensitiveness are not my forte.

---Girls who fall for guys who try to pick up girls by playing the guitar---

“Chicks dig a guy who plays the guitar, uglier guys and worse singers have gotten pretty far. So I thought I would try it out on the first pretty girl who came my way. I guess you will do, this one goes out to you. Just to see your face fills with the sweetest lullaby words of true love come so easily and conveniently rhyme. I impress you with my ability to sing and play at the same time.., so tell me, honestly, have I impressed you enough to have the chance to woo you further over dinner and a movie or some crap like that? Cause if not, I best off before I lost too much of my time with some silly broad who sees through my façade.. Let me tell you girl there is plenty more where you came from! and this little scam of mine will work on at least one!”

---Any girl who isn’t hot but isn’t ugly---

“She got a perfect face except for that nose, but at night time it hardly shows. Her gut hangs slightly over her back side but it’s easy enough to hide. With such a pretty smile it’s hard to see her little mustache and yellow teeth. My little would be perfect would be a perfect girl, but she ain’t no pearl. She’s all I got so I guess I’ll fall in love.”

---Guys who think girls are always leading them on---

“Girl you gotta a lot of nerve leading me to believe that you love me when that was the furthest thing from your mind. Your sick twisted mind! We are living in a society where we are expected to deal civilly with our fellow man, but that’s something that you just don’t seem to understand. How dare you wave that pretty little had at me, give me a smile and wave and call me by my name (crystal clear signs you want to get with me.) So without delay I made my move saying “Hey little lady, how about you and me run away together foreverafter baby? You say, ‘let’s just be friends,’ With friends like that I’d rather walk this cold cruel world alone! You did me dirty girl! Don’t you know that pretty girls can’t be nice? It’s simply isn’t right if they aren’t willing to back it up. I thought it was understood if you don’t love us you should not even look at us.”

---The Bassmaster’s mom. ---
(Mrs. Graham once suggested they replace Skyler with a new lead singer.)

“I tried to write a pretty song... but Mrs. Graham said that I suck and should find someone else to sing…Didn’t Hitler start off the same, relieving stress artistically? Life got him down so he would paint, till all his rage left him nice and peacefully. Then someone told him he was bad, and should find something new. So the next time he felt sad he went and killed 6 million Jews. Well is that what you want Mrs. Graham, another senseless genocide? You thought the holocaust was bad just and wait and see how many millions more will die! I’ll butcher every human being without music as my escape! She said ‘if that would stop your singing it seems a small price to pay.’”

---And finally anyone who supported the band by paying for a CD---

“You got ripped off.. Adam.”

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Raven's revenge

My randomness knows no bounds.

Monday, November 3, 2008

The bus = unadulterated randomness

So I ride the bus. Most of the time its full of other students but everyonce and a while you get to sit with some of the bus veterans. Today this huge fat bald guy with an awesome beard sat down next to me. After a few minutes he strikes up a conversation by saying, "if swimming is so good for you, why are whales fat?" I just laughed and was left without a good retort. So he then he wished me a happy "voting day eve." The conversation then turned to the election, and of course the entire bus started interjecting into our conversation. Some one mentioned that Steve's Young's wife donated $50,000 dollars towards the push to vote no on prop 8. I mentioned that although i completley disagree with her take on the issue, you gotta give her props for standing up for her beliefs despite her husband, church, and friends. This obviously didn't go over well in the conservative black hole i live in. The fat guy then said, "I'll stand up with anyone, just next to those who have lightning bolts thrown at them." It turned out that several of us were from California and one of the girls lived in Mission Viejo. I asked her what ward she lived in and she said Ladera Ranch. The Fat guy then said, "They changed the ward name recently, right?" The girl was a little confused.. then he said "It used to be called the psychiatric right?" It was one of the more entertaining 5 minute bus rides I have had.

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Favorite Movies

So on more than one occassion my friends and i have attempted to compile the greatest movies of all time list. Its impossible. The problem is that movie genres are so completely different. Today i made a list of different genres and included one of my favorite movies from that genre. Im not going to say its my favorite but its what immediately came to my head. I am also going to include my favorite scene from the movie. I highly recommend anyone of these movies if you havent seen it.

Action: Terminator 2 - When the Terminator is commanded to smile
Adventure: Raiders of the Lost Ark - When Indy shoots the samarai
Animation: Aladdin - Robin Williams's opening dialouge
Biography: Braveheart - The famous speech
Comedy: Forest Gump - "Sometimes there are not enough rocks"
Court Room Drama: To Kill a Mockingbird - Atticus's final remarks
Documentary: Endless Summer 2 - The Lions
Drama: Shawshank Redemption - Morgan Freeman's monolouge about the escape
Family (non animated): Hook - "Who's the shrub!?"
Fantasy: Return of the Jedi - I love it all
Foreign: Life is Beautiful - When the boy "wins" the tank
History: Shindler’s List - The violin solo
Horror: Silence of the Lambs - Jodi Foster's first interview with Hannibal
Independent: The Usual Suspects - The Line up
Musical: Beauty and the Beast - Gaston talking to Belle
Mystery: LA Confidential - The interrogations
Race related: American History X - I just like the overall message
Romance: Love Actually - The end of the portuguese story
Sci-Fi: Jurassic Park - "when you gotta go you gotta go"
Slap Stick Comedy: Dumb & Dumber - When they sell the bird to the blind kid
Sport: Cinderella Man - When you see that his managers house is empty
Thriller: The Fugitive - The tunnel / dam scene
War: Saving Private Ryan - The beach scene
Western: Open Range - The 30 min gun fight