amazing olympics

the most amazing opening ceremony ever. i believe that is the sentiment that i have heard over and over, from friends and commentators. i agree, but 'amazing' might not even be able to capture it. i think that other nations will have a hard time matching this; the majesty, the history, the power of so many people. how many times did you say, 'that must be computerized' or 'wow, look at all the hydraulics' only to have another human being pop out of a box and prove you wrong? how many times did you get chills at seeing so many individuals working as one?

i think what i loved the most was the confirmation that, when we (read: humans) do work together, we can achieve amazing things (read: go to the moon, develop hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, create weapons of mass destruction, produce beautiful pieces of art). i hope that people around the world got that message, hidden within the multitude of other messages sent that night (because obviously china was sending messages as well, and they have too. with a growing middle class, a strong sense of national identity is essential to maintain the countries unity), and continues to hold onto it for years to come.

other things to note: phelps is as good as everyone said, ditto for hoff, our basketball team(s) will soldier through, our soccer team(s) will make it out of their group(s), our men's volleyball have rebounded (both beach and normal), etc. etc. please watch, all these links are making me tired. i promise that you will not regret it. go usa, switzerland, japan (gave me my first 'real' job), germany (ancestrial commitments), great britian (again, ancestrial commitments), china (for hosting such great games), etc.

indeed, as morgan freeman says, 'go world.'


in other news, albuquerque is the place to make movies. i saw sin city and loved the artistic elements of that movie and i'm sure i'll love this one as well. besides, both chinh and i think that eva mendes is flipping hot.

peace,
ko

good music

i am in the process of ripping my cd collection onto my macbook in an attempt to discourage loss (as they say in 'the industry'). as i flipped through the pages of old cds, i felt myself moving farther and farther back in the years, each turn of the page like another turn of my adolescent life. and i was struck by how much good music i had (i don't care if you think its good or not, because ultimately you're wrong). soundgarden, rage against the machine, alice in chains, incubus, beastie boys, linkin park, these were the songs that shaped me in so many ways. notice that most of these bands are either considered 'dark' or 'anti-establishment'. yes, i was a 'goth' type of kid, a far cry from the 'rhuel' boy i am now, yes?

of course i should temper this by noting that i also own beethoven's moonlight, mendelssohn's symphony no. 3 and a collection of bach.

i want a vulcan. yes, i know i'm a child, but i hardly think that anything that takes 6 D-cell batteries and shoots 3 darts per second is considered completely a 'child's toy'. besides, based on the nerf rules of engagement, i think that swinging something with that much weight around will make pistol whipping much more enjoyable. come on over jason and andrea, we got something fun waiting for you at the top of the stairs.

speaking of goth and guns, the dark knight was fantastic. i really think that heath did an excellent job of portraying the madness of the joker. the jerky, obsessive, vicious nature that i loved in a villain. he truely was/is the best villain of them all, both in terms of his cunning and madness, requirements for a good villain. please go see it and push titanic off its high hill.

a new page

hello everyone, see anything different? no? well, then you don't come here enough. i've changed the look a bit, added a bit and taken a bit(e) out of crime. so, all you thieves out there best watch your back. i'm slicker than dr. horrible and that's the truth.

apparently its still the same weak content...

one of the main changes will be the introduction of labels for each post. i believe (hope) that this is a great way to try and organize the posts into the various themes/content that you or i are interested in. makes it easier to link to it later. this is a big step because it means that i am investing in this particular location. previously, i could post, or not. i could update the look of the site, or walk away, and not feel like i wasted any effort on the whole. committing to posting a couple of times a week (surprise) and keeping the look up to date means that i do not have the freedom i initially did. why make this commitment? i guess i would answer that with my own question, do you have anything you created online that has lasted more than a couple of years? yep, i would like that as well.

all this website theorizing would probably be much more believable if i wasn't so addicted to defending my desktop. ya, you heard right all you creeps out there. i got a level 5 basher and water cannon just waiting for you (that is, if you make it through the level 5 frost and dart). seriously though, don't click that link, it s like super intense crack laced with caffeine and a pinch of saffron for color.

speaking of good movies, chinh and i saw the hulk this past weekend at the "dollar" (i think it was $1.50) theater. it was such a relief to see a movie redeem a hero like that, i encourage you to wipe your mind of any previous hulk movies. also surprising is that i liked the hulk much more than the golden army. while the character costumes, set work and even overall story (idea) was impecable, i felt that the acting prevented me from really being able to lose myself in the movie. ahh well, third (or fourth, or whatever number it is now...) time is a charm.

peace,
ko