DanielC's Xanga

Thursday, May 10, 2007

Thu, 10 May 2007 03:42:08 GMT

as is my usual habit of xanga'ing during finals, its 12:30 in the morning before my final final, so i thought i'd post some pictures from sunday's festivities. this past sunday i think i turned 27. i say i think because for lunch at red robin, i was given the ice cream and sung the happy birthday jingle for my 16th birthday (so embarrassing), at church i was repeatedly wished a happy 18th, and at coastal flats, i was given my inaugural 21st alcoholic drink. but amidst all the excitement, i really felt blessed to have such dear friends that would come out and celebrate with me. thanks to everyone who showed up.

so without further ado, some pictures:

and in the hopes of curing my wicked slice, i was presented with this beauty:

what a great day...

Monday, March 12, 2007

Mon, 12 Mar 2007 15:30:12 GMT

what a weekend. after a particularly stressful week at school, i was so ready to just have some fun and relax. what an awesome beginning to my spring break. (warning, this is a long entry. you may wish to print it out and save it later for the metro ride home or when you're taking a deuce)

the weekend started off on friday when i got a call from my sis to come out and have lunch with her and richard. since it was her birthday, i gladly acquiesced as i got my sushi on. little did she know that richard had planned well in advance for a surprise party for her that night and i was just a lowly accomplice. after lunch, i recommended we go see 300, a movie i had been dying to see ever since the preview where the lead character yells out "this is sparta" and kicks some dude into an endless pit. without going into much detail, the movie rocked the house. it had everything. even as i have been gushing about it all weekend, i still cant get out how much i liked this movie. it was almost so good that i dont think a raving review will do it justice. perhaps its because there's been such a dearth of good movies; whatever the case, i thoroughly enjoyed myself. afterwards, we went to starbucks where we just chilled, waiting for dinner time. i had been cued earlier to nonchalantly suggest "maggianos" for dinner, which i pulled off in a performance worthy of an academy award. noona didnt suspect anything. richard had planned well. so off we headed to the restaurant where a bunch of my sister's friends would be eagerly expecting here. did i mention that i was the only male at this gala affair (save for the husband)? truly the estrogen did flow. anyways, my sister was completely surprised upon seeing all of her friends and her reaction was truly one of happiness. (the full recap can be seen at noona's).

however, i'm sorry to say that this was not the highlight of the night. rather, the high point came when a tall black man entered the restaurant and casually made his way to the pick up window where he was apparently getting some food to-go. he seemed awfully familiar, this man with the intense eyebrows. yet noone around was acting the least bit aware. maybe its because of the cool, confident way he walked; perhaps it was the fact that he seemed to be deliberately trying to travel incognito. but i knew this was a baller. no, not a "balla." he was an actual baller of the nba persuasion. or so i suspected. yet, i wasnt going to let my suspicions go unheeded. and as he turned around to walk out the restaurant, i knew it was him. so i grabbed him by the arm and i asked like a wide-eyed school boy on his first day of kindergarten, "excuse me, are you antawn jamison?" and as he nodded in affirmation, i signaled my accomplice, one gracious shally, friend of my sister, that he indeed was antawn and that she must get ready the camera. so i then asked, "can i take a picture with you?" (i may have actually asked, "may i take a picture of you?" to which he gave me a strange look, but i think i corrected myself) in any case, this was the fruits of my labor:

notice the casual dress of antawn, a man who needs no fancyness to hide the fact that he's part of the top .0001% basketball players in the world. also see the odd smile on my face as i cant believe i'm touching an nba star. also, my hand, actually holding onto antawn's arm lest he flee this deranged asian boy. and the white male in the back, looking amused? confused? perhaps jealous because he didnt think of taking a picture with antawn first. what an awesome day. oh yeah, and happy birthday noona :)

saturday would come and with it, perhaps the last day of the snowboard season. as one used to boarding at least 10 times a season while in cali, coming to the east coast was truly a rude awakening. the snow was harder, the base smaller, the mountains pitiful compared to even the smallest resorts in southern cali. and to make matters worse, last year i was unable to go at all for the first time in six years. thus, i was determined this sesason to make up for last. and i'm proud to say that i have, for in the last three weeks, i've managed to go three times, leaving me with a satisfied feeling that though the conditions left much to be desired, at least i was able to ride. but i digress.

     so judy had convinced me to go this saturday, though i was iffy because of the chance for gross conditions. gross meaning rain. and if you've ridden in rain, you know what i mean. your clothes become soggy instantly; your eyes are blurred by the falling drops, as your goggles only exacerbate your vision; the portion of the landing area after the lift is like a pond, gaping wide, daring you to fall in (which one of our party actually did, landing flat out back in a huge puddle, his back soaked to the core. i laughed). but i knew that this would most likely be the last chance to go this season and i knew i must go up one more time. and we did. and surprisingly, i had a lot of fun. did i mention i also hate going on weekends? the crowds are normally beastly and it takes forever to get on the lifts. furthermore, with sprawled newbies strewing the mountainside, the chance of bailing out and going over the cliff are that much greater. perhaps it was the gloomy forecast, but whatever the case, the crowds were way less than i anticipated, thus adding to my joy. this wouldnt take away the fact that half the time we were riding in a downpour, but it did help. in any event, we had a great time of riding, capped off by a trip to lighthouse where we got our soondubu on. was it worth the bts? you betcha. pictures can be found at judy's

look at what we had to wear while riding in the rain. is that dedication or what? though in reality it looks like we were part of the janitorial staff:

       the weekend would end on sunday (well, duh). because of the new switch to daylight's savings time, not only was i sore from the previous day's excursion, but i also lost an hour of sleep. yet, it turned out to be a great day at church, with a good message, capped off my a particularly enlightening small group leader's meeting where i was further reminded of the grace we are so undeserving of. this was then followed by, but of course, another trip to the movie theater where i would watch 300 yet again. are you getting how much i like this movie yet? once again i'm gushing, but i really believe this movie was that good. the dialogue, acting, action sequences, all done to a perfection. and yet again i came out of the theater ready to go to battle. why couldn't i have been a spartan born during the time of ancient greece. sure, they probably would've made me a councilman due to my small stature and bulbous brain, but i'd like to believe that i would've risen against all that and become at least one the rear soldiers who built the wall full of the dead. in any event, the second time was as good as the first and i think i could watch it again. so go watch it already!
      the night would end with some tasty steaks, courtesy of big D, a group of us playing the "bean" game, a card game that takes go fish and adds a hundred new rules, followed by me trying to learn how to play settlers, but in five minutes time becoming bored and going home.
    in conclusion, even though the lakers were utterly demolished by dallas, the bruins fell to a number 2 seed because of their lackadaisacal play in the pac10 tournament, and the rain fell in the mountains, the weekend was awesome. and now i must turn to my books. i cant wait to graduate...

Sunday, February 18, 2007

Sun, 18 Feb 2007 22:08:30 GMT

i always liked dwight howard as a basketball player. as the first pick of the draft, he was destined for great things. plus, it didn't hurt that he was a christian. but after yesterday's all star slam dunk contest, he really now is my favorite player (behind kobe). as a 7 footer, the judges were already biased against him (the commish rejected his request to dunk on a 12 foot rim... 12 feet! that's more than 2 of me!), since they seem to favor the shorter players (nothing wrong with that). but his dunk was something else. on the creative meter, it was off the charts. taking an alley-oop pass from his teammate, dwight sky'ed, simultaneously slapping the backboard with a sticker near the top of the backboard and slamming the ball down. official measurement, 12 ft, 6 inches. it was something sick. but that wasn't what got me so hyped. i had pre-recorded the slam dunk contest and as the camera quickly zoomed onto the sticker, i paused the picture so i could read the fine print. i then took a pic of it with my phone b/c i couldnt find it online.

on the sticker, it showed a picture of dwight's face, but written in a sharpee were the words: "All things through Christ. Phil 4:13." how sweet is that.

Monday, January 15, 2007

Mon, 15 Jan 2007 06:47:29 GMT

dancing movies rock. today i was able to catch "stomp the yard" with a couple of willing friends who actually wanted to watch the movie as well. i have not had the best track record when it comes to picking movies (see "hellboy," "van helsing," et.al) but i was really hoping that this movie would live up to my great expectations. as a proud fan of cinema gems such as "bring it on," "you got served," and "drumline," i knew i had to watch this movie. would "stomp the yard" be the hybrid dance movie melding tight battle sequences, smooth dancing skills, and "bring it" mojo that i was waiting for all my life?

on friday, a bunch of us went to the theater to get some five guys (in n'outs still better) and catch "stomp." while eating a semi-leisurely dinner, some mentioned that we should probably buy tickets before showtime in case it sold out. not thinking clearly, we never imagined that a movie about stepping would ever sell out. unbeknownest to us, people in tysons corner like to get their stomp on as well, and when we went to buy the tickets, the show was sold out. however, unperturbed by this set-back, we couldn't just waste a night moping about and calling it quits when we had been so close to watching the homies stomp the yard. fortunately, our friends who had had dinner with us that night, but had chosen to skip the movie, lived close by and allowed us to crash their pad. what to do now? well, we had all gathered to see someone getting served, and whatdya know, our hostess conveniently had "bring it on" and "drumline" on dvd... two movies that were close enough. so we spent the night watching "drumline" (a pretty good movie, actually makes me wish i had kept up my trumpeting skills and joined our college marching band, but nick cannon will always be way too cocky for my taste), satisfied that although we didnt get to see frat boys steppin to it, the upbeat drums of the atlanta a&t marching band would have to suffice.

thus, we come to today's events, highlighted by the matineee showing of "stomp the yard." i wont go too much into detail because i'm sure most of you are going to rush out and see it, but it was basically the most predictable movie i have ever seen. every nuance, every line, i could pretty much see a mile away. but did that take away from its overall awesomeness? no sirree bob. most of the movie i was on the edge of my seat, wishing that i too could stomp with such fluidity, battle with such aplomb, and rise up from the hood to become the theta frat bro that destiny had planned for me all along. sure the plot mirrored "you got served," to almost copyright infringement levels, but does that take away from the tight battle sequences that hit you from start to finish? of course not. you cant expect to go into a movie titled "stomp the yard," and expect to use your brain. you go because the dancing cant stop, wont stop and rocks the beats to the break of dawn. but seriously, i dont think anyone would be disappointed after watching this movie. after watching the disappointment that was "the good shepherd," i needed something poppin to wash the taste of damon's bland performance out of my mouth. forget those squares from the washington post, this movie gets two windmills way up.

"i don't stomp... i battle" - dj ("stomp the yard")

truer words were never more spoken.

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Wed, 20 Dec 2006 14:43:48 GMT

its finally over. hallelujah. half way done with school. i can see the light. you know what that means. no more xanga entries for awhile. played video games till 3 am last night. how old am i again? but it feels oh so good. three weeks of bliss. you ever have so much free time on your hands you dont know what to do with yourself? first order of business, watch 24 season 5 from start to finish (thank jer). merry christmas and happy new year.

Saturday, December 16, 2006

Sat, 16 Dec 2006 06:02:54 GMT

suh-weeettt

i dont care what the haters say, kobe is a freakin beast. racing home after an xmas party to make sure i caught the tail end of the game, i was rewarded with double OT's. and thats after the lakeshow were down 18 at the half. tightness.

finals not over yet. one more take home. oddly enough, i refuse to take it, leaving it to the last minute, in the hopes that i'll actually use this precious time to prepare myself. argh, i hate theoretical classes.

had our gift exchange today. i actually came home for the first time with something that i really like... a laser wireless mouse for my notebook. granted its not all fancy and jonx, but its pretty tight and its so small. its great! and we dont play no wussy white elephant style, we play by great white shark rules, where you have to defend by flipping a coin to see if you have to eat a spoonful of tobasco to defend your gift. but the coin gods were good to me. 3 tails in a row! i know these rules arent making any sense since i'm not explaining myself at all, but just know that i went home without having to eat any tobasco and with my mouse. tiiitteee.

my new years resolution is to get buff. i stupidly signed up for gold's gym just because they're opening a brand new one steps from my house. but i'm gonna force myself to go. no joke. hmm, we'll see how long this lasts.

i'm out like kobe's 53.

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Wed, 13 Dec 2006 04:14:40 GMT

dude, finals sucks. i know its a moot point to harp on, but finals really suck. you try to find anything to distract you from studying, anything whatsoever. suddenly, the bbq competition on channel versus (yes, there's a channel called "versus") is more interesting. old episodes of family guy have new meaning. and you begin to find yourself going crazy. trains go by outside my window. they're pretty loud. i thought i had become accustomed to the rumblings of the 3:55 CSX freight train, but when you study at home with nothing but debentures, fiduciary duty, and ultra vires to keep you company, crazy thoughts start to creep in. like running onto the tracks or thinking up psychotic ways of stopping the trains from getting to their destinations, just so i could have some peace and quiet. my final is in 9 hours. i could either go to sleep right now, hastening a quick start time... or i could study some more. i'm conflicted. i find it annoying that they dont play the lakers games. i have to watch gamecast and see the numbers gradually change. kobe is still awesome. even without odom he wins. ucla is still number one as well. the game against a&m was closer than it should've been. but i'm not gloating. i'm just happy that la sports are doing so well. i like to study alone, because when i'm around other students, especially law students studying for finals, their stress levels are palpable and it drives me insane. but now i'm thinking that barricading myself in my room may not be such a good idea. after next week i'll be halfway done. time is really flying by. 2006 is almost over. thats enough musings for now. i'm out like donny rumsfeld.

Saturday, December 02, 2006

Sat, 02 Dec 2006 23:51:45 GMT

UCLA UCLA UCLA UCLA UCLA!!!!!!! YES YES YES YES!!!!!

Friday, December 01, 2006

Fri, 01 Dec 2006 15:26:36 GMT

last day of internship. finals just around the corner. perfect recipe for another useless blog. i was looking at the archives and saw that this time last year, instead of studying i was casting the crew for harry potter: the cast that should've been. but since there arent any movies worth re-casting these days, i'll just give you a few random musings.

lakers are awesome. did anyone catch kobe lighting the jazz for 52 last night? andrei "ak47/drago from rocky IV" kirilenko looked like a lost child as kobe rained jumper after jumper upon the russian's hapless 6'9 frame. mr. 24 himself was unstoppable as he went off for 30 in the 3rd quarter, while the whole utah team (1st place in the league right now, mind you) could do nothing but watch in humble adoration. this is why we traded shaq away. sure they got a title, but as shaq puts on those pounds while recovering from surgery (mark my words, he'll be the next charles barkley), the lakers are poised for a breakout season. do i smell championship contender?

speaking of contenders, just down the road, my beloved bruins have quietly raced to the top of the ncaa bball polls as they're sitting nicely in the number 1 spot. with ohio being beaten by the carolina blue, the bruins seem unstoppable. during the maui invitational, the blue and gold were like men among boys. howland's combo of stifling defense and generous points in the paint pretty much guarantee that ucla will go deep into march, and where last year we were 1 win away from it all, this year it'll be a much different story. boo yah!

thursday nights on nbc have finally returned to their former glory. remember when thursday nights really meant must see tv, where seinfeld and friends rocked the house on a weekly basis? well, its taken awhile, but nbc has finally found the perfect rotation of sitcoms that makes me look forward to thursday night television. with the return of scrubs, 8-10 on nbc is must watch tv. the office gets better and better each week. did anyone catch last night's episode? i was literally lol'ing (i hate that word btw) when michael donned a doo rag and busted out harry potter lingo when talking about prison life (dementors!). that was awesome. even 30 rock brings it, with alec baldwin's dry wit and tina fey's pseudo-lesbian persona. good stuff all around.

3 on 3 bball is freakin fun. though our team is 0-2, its not winning thats important, right? its the fellowship. and as soon as i can find a way to make a basket, its on like donkey kong.

whats up with this gross weather? its december and its 70 degrees on the east coast? where's the snow? where's the ice? i look forward to this time all year when i can finally break out the heavy coats, gloves, and layers and look like i stepped out of a j.crew catalogue, but i cant when its a sweltering 69 degrees. hopefully some of that white stuff will come our way soon.

after using the same phone for over two years (a personal record), i finally took the plunge and got myself the new chocoloate flip. this thing is hotter than angelina as mrs. smith (i just got the dvd. this is one of those movies that gets better every time you watch it. 5.99 at circuit city. get it). can a phone really be sexy? yes it can. and this phone is it. ugh, i need a girlfriend.

last year was the first season i wasnt able to hit the slopes (thank you very much professor who schedules conference on saturday). but i promise that i will go many times this year and makeup for lost time. sure, i fear breaking various bones in my body, precluding me from both typing and driving, but you're only young once. gotta live it up.

that it for now. i'm out like kfed's nuptials.

*oh yeah, forgot to add... how awesome would it be if ucla beat suc? it could happen...

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Wed, 08 Nov 2006 17:42:12 GMT

(once again, a post that has absolutely no relevance)

instead of the normal movie review, i thought it'd be interesting to compare and contrast two movies i recently saw: jack ash 2 and borat: cultural learnings of america for make benefit glorious nation of kazakhstan. both are filmed in mockumentary fashion as cameras follow the adventures of on one hand, a bunch of crazy white boys and the other, a satirical fictional character made famous from da ali g show.

my first reaction to both these movies is that in america, its become commonplace that in order to bring in the big bucks and score the top grossing film of the weekend, all you need are two ingredients: shock and awe. while i'm not proud that i actually saw both movies in the theater, i must say that both provided much laughter and belly-aching, as i was literally rolling in my chair from various scenes in the movies. lets first take a look at jack ash.

there's really not much to say about jack a$$ 2. you're all familiar with the premise. a group of suburban males in their mid to upper 20's go around, looking for wild and crazy ways to inflict pain upon themselves. the formula's been done to death, sparking numerous copycats who think that by jumping from a moving car and posting their lame videos on youtube will bring them fame and beautiful women. but i must hand it to the guys at jack ash, they really know their stuff. you see, i saw the first jack ash in the theater and i was thoroughly disgusted and entertained. watching a guy go into a hardware store and squeeze one off in a display toilet was something that i think noone would ever do. i was further disturbed when that same guy peed on a snowcone and ate it. as an aside, i feel that this one character, the one who does all the grossest stunts, deserves more attention and acclaim than his more famous counterparts (i.e. johnny knoxville, steve-o, et al.). you see, i've already forgotten what those more pronounced cast members did in the first jack ash, yet i still retain the vivid images of "scrub" (heretofore how i will refer to the guy who does the sickest of the sick) well after i've seen the movie. this trend continues in the second installation where scrub takes gross-out gags to a whole nutha level. as i was saying, after watching the first jack a$$ i was quite disturbed and didnt think they could in any way top that film. even when i watched some of the commercials, i doubted that they could overcome the extreme expectations that only us hardcore jack ash fans have come to expect. however, to my utter chagrin and horror, the fine boys at jack ash films upped the ante to a level never seen before. you see, where in the first jack ash, steve-o did stunts such as sniffing a glob of wasabi up his nose, in the second, even he of the weak ash stunts allowed a leech to suck his eyeball. and where in the first, scrub took a dump in his pants, in the second, he ate a piece of poo!!! perhaps the most disturbing aspect of this all, was that instead of being horrified by the scenes flashing before my eyes, all i could do was laugh and wipe the tears from my eyes. one stunt even had me dry-heaving... i wont mention what it was, but i'll just say it involved someone drinking a horse's secret ingredient.

we then come to borat, a powerful film motivated by a desire to expose the political and social framework of our society. you wouldnt think by the commercials that this film has any purpose, but one must look below the hairy man in the disturbing bathing suit to see a soul that longs to uncover the uglyness of racism and bigotry that still dots this landscape. obviously, i'm being facetious, but in its own way, this film does say a lot about america's heartland and how discrimination is still well and alive today. but beyond that, borat is a film about friendship, between a man and his manager, who eventually find themselves wrestling nude in a hotel ballroom in front of a meeting presentation. perhaps the most telling aspect of borat is the way it makes us feel as an audience, where we dont know whether its okay to laugh at that joke (such as when borat comes up for an alter call at a pentecostal church and starts convulsing and speaking in "tongues" when the pastor places his hand upon his head) or what our reaction should be when a drunk frat boy says that slavery should still be around. furthermore, i was quite disturbed at the visuals of a parade filmed at dupont circle, a neighborhood not far from where i write this. its scenes like these that make us uncomfortable, only because we know their truth. borat's methodology should not be imitated by any means, but as the first of its kind, this movie truly exposes the ugly underbelly of suburban america.

in comparing the two, i'd have to say that borat was the better film. originally, i had wanted to go into the theater, shut off my brain and allow myself to be immersed in 1.5 hours of nonsensical jabberings and broken english, with the occasional prank. instead, i was forced to see images that are now burned into my brain, which shall be difficult to erase. on second thought, thats exactly how i felt after coming out of jack ash 2. so i guess both have their positives and negatives. should you go watch either film? thats difficult to say. i dont think there's any real advantage to watching a man strapped to a rocket or a poor confederate antique store owner seeing his shop destroyed by a clumsy kazahk, however, if you want to laugh, then by all means, go watch these both. just wait till they come out on dvd.

while i'm reviewing movies, i'd also like to make a plug for "the prestige." seen as an afterthought, this movie was quite awesome. i'm sure many refrained from watching it because they had absolutely no idea what the plot was about, or because they used an adjective in place of a noun for the title, but you should definitely go out and watch this movie. i gaurantee you will not be disappointed. hugh jackman and christian bale are awesome, and of course scarlett johansson is the icing on the cake. this one gets two thumbs way up.