Two Important WordsofWisTIM

I work at a grocery store during the summer so I can pay my college expenses. Being a cashier in itself is not a particularly fun job, but some of the people that you meet and some of the things you see do make you smile.

Today there was an old lady, probably in her eighties, who seemed awfully frail and had trouble putting her groceries on the conveyor belt. A lady who had planned to come through my line paused a minute, the information that an old lady who couldn’t get her groceries on a belt would take too long slowly reaching her brain. Now, most people see that and walk to the next available register because they’re in a hurry to do something. They’re usually very important things, like “get home and watch TV”, “get my car washed” or “get home to sit down”.

Sadly, this shows how much our society has become one that stays in fourth gear, whether it be actual driving or grocery shopping. With the latest technologies making everything faster and more accessible, people have become used to getting what they want when they want it without waiting. Only a few hours ago, I was complaining to my brother about how my internet connection was slow today because my espn homepage didn’t come up ten seconds after I clicked it. This coming from the person whose home computer at 13 was a Windows ’97. That thing was slow as snails and waiting five minutes for anything to happen, and I’m not exaggerating, actually five minutes, taught me the true virtue of patience. I still have that virtue (Thank God…no, seriously, I thank Him every day), but I do think that I have lost a little bit of it because of the technological fast-speed world we live in today. Looking back, I used to get a kick out of those Comcast Slowskys’ commercials, because they were always talking about how they didn’t want things to go faster, and sometimes, I think maybe that would be for the better.

Anyway, back to the story. So, naturally I expected this younger lady to start walking to the next register, ignoring this older lady’s obvious predicament, because no one these days seems to ever care about anyone other than themselves. To my surprise, this lady asked the elder if she needed help, put down her own stuff, and started moving the old lady’s stuff onto the conveyor belt, something that made me smile. People don’t do this enough, which brings me to my first WordsofWisTIM:

1) Do something nice for someone else.

Look to better someone other than yourself. Pay it Forward. If you don’t know what “pay if forward” means, I strongly suggest you look it up, or click on the link I provide here. Pay it Forward is also a great movie by the way if you haven’t seen it. You can see a trailer for it if you’re interested here.

Now the second part of this story occurred late this afternoon, when, like I normally do, I asked a customer if they were having a good day. The man, bald, chubby, and in his forties, replied “fine” in a nasally voice. Some of my friends have jokingly said that I have a nasally voice, and so I have received the nickname “Squidward”. I didn’t know if he was making fun of my voice or not, so I decided to let it go. After I finished bagging his groceries and handing him his receipt with my customary, “Have a nice day”, he replied “Thanks, fruit”, and walked away.

Now, regardless of what side you are on in regards to the gay marriage debate, calling someone a fruit has no benefits at all. That made me very angry and the only reason I didn’t a) jump over the counter and start pounding on him or b) start an expletive-filled tirade, was because I was so shocked by what I had just heard. It was uncalled for. I had done nothing that offended him or anything, nothing wrong in the slightest, but I was made a mockery in my own workplace. This brings me to my second WordsofWisTIM:

2) Don’t be “that guy”.

If your goal in life is to do things like this, please feel free to move to Canada, Mexico, or if possible, another planet. No one wants you, “that guy”, around where they live, work, or hang out. They don’t want to be associated with you nor have to deal with you on a regular basis. If there were less of “you people” in the world, it would be a better place.

Congress Urges Redskins to Change Name

On many occasions, people have asked me why I hate Congress. Why people would ask this in general, I don’t know. There are so many reasons why people hate Congress that I suppose they just want to see which one I choose. I can just picture a game show announcer saying,

“Will it be

a) because Congress struggles to perform one of their most important responsibilities each year, that being to pass a budget

b) because they fail to represent the people they serve

c) because they vote against legislation that the majority of the public is in favor of

d) because they accomplish nothing

or e) all of the above ?”

Among all these, I would like to add that Congress doing stupid stuff in general should probably be an option, but when I say that to people, they ask me, “What do you mean?” and “Can you give me an example?” Most of the time, I’m not able to come up with one off the top of my head, but thanks to Congress, I’ll have one to talk about for a long time.

As reported by espn.com, ten members of Congress are urging the Redskins to change their name because it is offensive to Native Americans. Congress can’t pass a budget, pass basic gun control laws, fix the economy, or get out of overseas wars, but you can bet they are capable of writing a letter to Redskins owner Dan Snyder demanding he change the name. Honestly one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard of. There are more important things then playing the race card on a football team, Congress. Perhaps you should take another look at out financial debt, unemployment rate, import/export ratio, health care, education, and I don’t know, maybe things that actually affect the American public. Native Americans are practically if not entirely extinct as a race, so forgive me if I sound insensitive, but unless you want the whole country starving again like you guys did on the Trail of Tears, I’d suggest you write a letter to your congress members telling them to shut the hell up.

Something else that really bothered me about this was that one of the leaders that wrote this letter, Tom Cole, is a representative from the state of Oklahoma, which is where that horrible tornado ruled through. Well, Moore, Oklahoma happens to be in his district! So instead of putting all of his time and effort into relief efforts for all of the people that have lost their homes, if not friends and family members, he’s writing a letter to Dan Snyder saying that “Redskins is offensive”.

There are so many things that I would like to say here, but as someone who hopes to be a journalist someday, I have to keep my expletives to a minimum. What I will say is this:

1) Tom Cole, you should be ashamed of yourself, not just as a representative but as a human being

2) I’m about this close < from praying every day that you get voted out of office and maybe on the way out you can slap all the tornado survivors in the face since you’ve basically done that through your actions

3) Dan Snyder, do one good thing in your life and keep the name the same

Anyone who thinks Congress is doing a great job needs a serious reality check people. Seriously people. I think our high school graduates could do as good a job.

The Future of Horse Racing

NFL defensive stars Brian Urlacher, Ronde Barber, and soccer phenom David Beckham retire

Ronde Barber of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Brian urlacher(3) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As a sportsfan who was born in the 90’s, I have to admit that I feel I’m getting old these days. That’s sounds pretty stupid upon first reading, since I’m not even 20 yet, but if you look further into it, you’ll get what I mean. Recently, star athletes Brian Urlacher, Ronde Barber, and David Beckham all announced their retirement. Urlacher and Barber were two of me and my brother’s favorite football players growing up and so they’ve always been a part of my childhood. Even though I’ve never been a huge soccer fan, I used to play the sport and I think everyone should have respect for David Beckham, easily one of the best soccer players of all time. Seeing these three go, as well as Ray Lewis earlier this year, shows that a new generation of athletes is about to begin and that the old generation is about to walk out of the spotlight. Congratulations to all three of these guys careers. They all should be elected into their respective hall of fames. Thanks for all the great childhood memories guys. Check out these articles for stats, hall of fame candidacy talk, and more: Brian Urlacher Ronde Barber David Beckham

Reporting for Duty, Sir

Freshly Pressed turned out another great article, this one about a soldier. Another great piece of work and one I strongly encourage my visitors, followers, and other bloggers to read.

Listening to War

With the permission of his family, I report, with much sadness, that another young veteran whom I have had the honor to serve died this past week. The cause of his death remains unclear, but all agree that it was not self-inflicted, and it does appear that he died suddenly and without suffering.

Ethan (not his real name) first came to my office a couple years ago. He was not in good shape. He had suffered a significant traumatic brain injury (TBI) from an IED (improvised explosive device) explosion while having served in the Middle East, and he had subsequently become hooked on opiates (painkillers). When I first met him, he was gaunt of body and of gaze. He had the distractibility that I have often seen in veterans who are struggling with the consequences of TBI, but his had a desperate edge to it, an irritation that appeared to…

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When You Cut Someone Out Of Your Life

If you’re going through a breakup or have recently seen an ex, this is something you should read. Even if you haven’t, I’d still read this. Truly a great piece of work.

olivethepeople

January 5th 2012

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She had one extra ticket.

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For a movie screening in downtown Manhattan. She kept one for herself. And she offered the extra one to me.

I said yes.

I met Leah at the corner of Houston and  E

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At approximately 7:15 pm. “It’s called Sunshine Cinemas” she said. “I’m jumping on the subway now, and I’ll see you soon.”

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She was perfectly on time. She usually was. And I trailed in 2 minutes too late. Like I usually did. She handed me my free ticket when she saw me. And also a voucher that…

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Movie Review: Star Trek Into Darkness

Zachary Quinto as Spock in the 2009 Star Trek film (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

English: Chris Pine poses for a photograph at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait following a screening of Star Trek. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The sequel to the the first Star Trek movie came out on Thursday and since I saw the first one, I felt obligated to go see the second one. Just like every time I go to see a sequel, I was praying that it wasn’t going to be a bust. Let me assure you that Star Trek: Into Darkness was certainly not a bust. Once again, my overview of the movie now and the spoiler’s edition later on.

For starters, something I liked straight off about this movie was that once again J.J. Abrams was directing. Pretty much everything I have seen that Abrams has directed I have enjoyed, from his work with TV shows like Alias and Lost (up to like the end of the fourth season because let’s be honest, after that, it stunk), to his work with movies like Mission Impossible III and Ghost Protocol, as well as the first Star Trek. Abrams knows how to produce success.

The original cast all came back for the sequel, something I appreciated because for the most part, I hate recasts. (for example, Maggie Gyllenhaal as Rachael in The Dark Knight instead of Katie Holmes?!) The plot line was great for this movie and in my opinion much better then in the first one. I’m sorry, but if you come from the future with a massive ship accompanied with advanced, revolutionized technology that the world has never seen and you still can’t win a battle with the tiny Enterprise, you’re a pretty crappy villain.

Anyway, as I was saying, the plot was much better than in the first one. The infamous Khan, played by Benedict Cumberbatch, was a much better villain and he did an incredible job making his character come to life, so props to him. I’d never heard of him before, but I think I’ll be remembering the name for a while. The love interest between Spock and Uhura continues, even though in the original series there never was such a thing. I originally was against this being included in the original plot, but I don’t mind it so much now, partly because it helps add to character chemistry and development and partly because we only get short glimpses of it so that it doesn’t interfere with the main plot and action of the movie. The action scenes in this movie by the way were epic, so epic that I bet Michael Bay is asking for a paternity test to make sure that Abrams isn’t his long-lost brother or something. Regardless of whether you’re a die-hard fan of the original series or not, I think the cast that Abrams has brought in has done a fantastic job. Chris Pine has brought a new flare to Kirk’s character and Zachary Quinto has portrayed Spock to near perfection. Both actors really impressed me in this movie and I’m looking forward to a third one.

Once again, if you’re new to my blog,  I’ve always ranked movies on a scale of 0-100 (I don’t know why, I just always have). Here’s the grading scale.

 90-100  It’s a great movie and definitely one worth buying. (Iron Man 3)

80-89   It was a pretty good movie and definitely one worth seeing, but it doesn’t quite scratch my top ten percentile.

70-79   It’s okay but I’ve seen better. It has its moments, but it has its flaws, too. (Oblivion)

60-69   It’s got plenty wrong with it but I still got enjoyment out of this one.

50-59   This movie isn’t intolerable but it’s not blowing my mind either. I’m trying really hard to get some sort of enjoyment out of this.

40-49   This movie is just mediocre. It’s not doing anything other than the bare minimal, so morbidly boring that sometimes I’m actually angry I watched this.

30-39   Definitely worse than mediocre, the 30’s ironically define the 1930’s, full of depression, lack of accomplishments, poverty and just so dumb.

20-29   What did I just watch? Cliches, stupidity, nothingness, did I mention stupidity? Just…wow.

0-19      Watching this movie resulted in one or more of the following: seizure, loss of brain cells, falling asleep/unconsciousness, feel you wasted your time/day, accomplished nothing for you, left the movie knowing less about it then you did going into it, constantly asking yourself why you came to see this movie, or near-death experience. In short, staring at a wall was just as entertaining as watching this movie. This movie deserved a sticker or a label that said, “WARNING: EXTREME AMOUNT OF SUCKAGE”.

My score for Star Trek: Into Darkness: 89

This movie’s action scenes and special effects were just as good as in any other action thriller I’ve seen. The cast really made the characters come alive for me. Only one thing bothered me about the movie, which I’ll discuss in the spoiler’s edition, but aside from that, great movie. When I was younger, I watched the Star Trek movies with my dad and overall, I found them really boring. Abrams recognized this is how many young people today would view the original Star Trek series and modernized it, using more action scenes and special effects to wow young audiences. A truly great job. Not sure if I’d buy it, but it’s something I’m considering, that’s for sure.

*SPOILER ALERT* IF YOU DON’T WANT THE MOVIE SPOILED, STOP READING!!!!!!!!!

*SPOILER’S EDITION*

There were very few things that I didn’t like in this movie. I would’ve liked to have learned a little more about Khan’s character since I don’t remember everything from the original series, but they gave me enough that I was able to follow, so not a big deal there. My one major complaint is following the attack on the research lab, Kirk, Spock and all the other higher-ups in Starfleet Command all get together in the same place for an emergency meeting, the purpose being to discuss the attack on the lab. Starfleet protocol says that after an attack like this, Starfleet Command must all get together in the same place for an emergency meeting. I don’t know about you, but that sounds sketchy to me. Some of you will say, well the president, the cabinet, and all the higher-ups get together after a terrorist attack. This is true, but do they all get together in a room with no walls, full glass windows, and no nearby security planes or anything to stop a terrorist attack? I’m sorry but as soon as Khan started shooting the place up I was like, “wow, really?”. Whoever decided that having a meeting with all the leaders of Starfleet Command in the same place, that place being not an underground bunker or a fortified installation defended by armored vehicles, tanks, anti-air, and/or air support like common sense would suggest, but a high level of a building with non-bullet proof glass windows with two security guards and no other form of security, was incredibly stupid. I just thought that was really lame. Aside from that though, great movie.

Is it celebration time?

There’s a lot of truth in this article. Definitely one worth reading.

efcgraceblog

I’ve been struck by two different celebrations I’ve seen on the news this past week.

The first was when Jody Arias was found guilty of killing her boyfriend after a long, lurid and highly publicized trial.  As the guilty verdict was announced the split screen the news network had up showed two images side-by-side.  On the left was a close-up of Ms. Arias sitting expressionless except for a lone tear running silently down her cheek.  On the right was an overview of the large crowd outside the courthouse erupting in loud cheers and celebration over the verdict.  I accept the verdict and was glad to see justice done but somehow the contrast between the two images was chilling.

And then yesterday it was “déjà vu all over again” when abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell was found guilty of the murder of three live-born infants in his clinic, along with a host…

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Movie Review: Oblivion

I have to admit the trailer for the Oblivion, starring Tom Cruise and Morgan Freeman, peaked my interest, especially after Cruise’s Jack Reacher, which was filmed in my native Pittsburgh, ended up being such a success. As always, I’ll leave my initial reactions in the first part and a spoiler edition in the second half.

I’ve never read the book so I knew nothing about the plot aside from what the trailer gave me going into this movie. However, early on it kept my interest. It slowly began to give more details into Cruise’s character, Jack Harper, as the story progressed. Vic, his “girlfriend”, seemed to be excited to get off the planet and head for the Tet, which is the space station that all the humans are living at aside from Jack and Vic (no I’m not spoiling anything). Jack retells Vic the story of the last Super Bowl that was played, and in a later scene they show Jack visiting a small shack with a bunch of material possessions stored there, a shack that appears to be his, giving the audience the impression that he doesn’t want to leave. In the second half of the movie, things get a lot more complex with a few unexpected surprises. While most of these aren’t hard to follow, some do have unrealistic components, ones that seem to be closing all loose ends rather than trying  to make sense. Morgan Freeman, who is supposed to be the secondary star actor in this movie, was in the movie for a total of no longer than 20 minutes, which was a huge disappointment. I’m sure it is a fair statement to say the ending was highly controversial, as it required you to take a lot of things for granted and just assume the director/writers know what they’re talking about.

Once again, if you’re new to my blog,  I’ve always ranked movies on a scale of 0-100 (I don’t know why, I just always have). Here’s the grading scale.

 90-100  It’s a great movie and definitely one worth buying. (Iron Man 3)

80-89   It was a pretty good movie and definitely one worth seeing, but it doesn’t quite scratch my top ten percentile.

70-79   It’s okay but I’ve seen better. It has its moments, but it has its flaws, too.

60-69   It’s got plenty wrong with it but I still got enjoyment out of this one.

50-59   This movie isn’t intolerable but it’s not blowing my mind either. I’m trying really hard to get some sort of enjoyment out of this.

40-49   This movie is just mediocre. It’s not doing anything other than the bare minimal, so morbidly boring that sometimes I’m actually angry I watched this.

30-39   Definitely worse than mediocre, the 30’s ironically define the 1930’s, full of depression, lack of accomplishments, poverty and just so dumb.

20-29   What did I just watch? Cliches, stupidity, nothingness, did I mention stupidity? Just…wow.

0-19      Watching this movie resulted in one or more of the following: seizure, loss of brain cells, falling asleep/unconsciousness, feel you wasted your time/day, accomplished nothing for you, left the movie knowing less about it then you did going into it, constantly asking yourself why you came to see this movie, or near-death experience. In short, staring at a wall was just as entertaining as watching this movie. This movie deserved a sticker or a label that said, “WARNING: EXTREME AMOUNT OF SUCKAGE”.

My score for Oblivion: 72.

The action scenes in this movie were suspenseful and adrenaline-filled. Character development was there, and while some parts made me scratch my head, I’m happy I went to see this movie. Not a must-buy, but it’s the type of a movie that if I found it on TV, I would probably watch it.

*SPOILER ALERT* IF YOU DON’T WANT THE MOVIE SPOILED, STOP READING!!!!!!!!!!!!

*SPOILER’S EDITION*

One of the problems with this movie that arose was the idea of cloning. While it was probably the only way to somehow get Jack Harper on the aliens side aside from brainwashing, cloning means there are more than one you on the planet, and what happens if two of you run into each other, etc. Another problem was that as the movie moves on, you as the viewer realize that the Jack Harper you’ve been staring at the whole movie isn’t actually Jack Harper, he’s one of the clones. The idea of clone Harper having the same feelings/emotions as the real Harper isn’t too far-fetched because if he’s a perfect replica, I suppose that makes sense. However, the ending involves clone Harper dying in the nuclear blast and three years later, another clone Harper appears at the shack where Harper’s wife and newborn girl are living. First, if a clone impregnated a human being, what is the byproduct of that? A normal human or a half-clone half-human? That’s confusing just thinking about it. Then, you have to assume the writers are correct in saying that this new clone Harper is the same person as the previous Harper that just died. Now in theory I suppose that’s how cloning is supposed to work, but in practicality I have a tough time believing that. In a way, it’s saying that whenever Harper dies, all his wife needs to do is find another Harper clone to replace him with. What???!!! Also, can you really love someone that is a clone of the person you actually loved, let alone a clone of a clone? All your experiences and memories that you once shared are gone, so she would have to detail to the clone every experience that they ever had. I don’t know about you, but that sounds iffy to me. Finally, during the scene when the three drones are shooting up the rebel base, Freeman’s character, Beech, engages in a battle with a drone, machine guns blazing. Following the conclusion of the battle, Beech is lying on the floor with numerous bullet holes, giving the audience the image that Beech is seconds from death. Then, when Harper takes the nuke to the Tet, Beech jumps out of the capsule pod to set off the nuke with Harper. What?! Really?! That capsule pod might be able to put you to sleep for a long time, but I’m pretty sure it doesn’t stop you from dying. Beech would have died a long time ago. What was the problem with an empty capsule? It seems unnecessary to place a character that would have died a long time ago in a later scene where he’s really not needed. If this movie didn’t have so many confusing, scratch-head scenes to it, it would have been a must-buy for me, but these questionable events coupled with a weak conclusion really hurt the final product for me.

Movie Review: Iron Man 3

So I saw Iron Man 3 the other day and it was a fantastic movie, in my opinion definitely the best of the three. Now, so as not to spoil the movie for those who have not seen it yet, I’m going to write my reactions in the first part of this article, and the spoiler alert section in the second half, which I promise will be clearly marked.

The action scenes in this movie were fantastic if you ask me, so I was really impressed with that. A couple of surprise plot twists that I didn’t even see coming gave some extra drama to the movie, and most of all, I think you really get to see more into the character of Tony Stark. In the first two movies, he’s more of a cocky, doesn’t-take-anything-seriously guy. I felt the first two movies focused more on the plot line then on the development of the characters, while in this one, you can see different elements of his personality, and one could say, who Tony Stark really is. By no means am I saying the first two movies were not good, I thought they were great, but I think that this one was the most successful in telling the story of Iron Man and detailing the character of Tony Stark to those who never read the comics or didn’t know a whole lot about him before the movies, such as myself. No, the movie doesn’t go along 100% with the comics, so be prepared for that, but if you’re not pleased with this movie, I’d be surprised. In my opinion, it’s a great conclusion to the series and aside from The Avengers, it’s the best superhero movie I’ve seen in the last five years.

Now, I’ve always ranked movies on a scale of 0-100 (I don’t know why, I just always have). Here’s the grading scale.

90-100  It’s a great movie and definitely one worth buying.

80-89   It was a pretty good movie and definitely one worth seeing, but it doesn’t quite scratch my top ten percentile.

70-79   It’s okay but I’ve seen better. It has its moments, but it has its flaws, too.

60-69   It’s got plenty wrong with it but I still got enjoyment out of this one.

50-59   This movie isn’t intolerable but it’s not blowing my mind either. I’m trying really hard to get some sort of enjoyment out of this.

40-49   This movie is just mediocre. It’s not doing anything other than the bare minimal, so morbidly boring that sometimes I’m actually angry I watched this.

30-39   Definitely worse than mediocre, the 30’s ironically define the 1930’s, full of depression, lack of accomplishments, poverty and just so dumb.

20-29   What did I just watch? Cliches, stupidity, nothingness, did I mention stupidity? Just…wow.

0-19      Watching this movie resulted in one or more of the following: seizure, loss of brain cells, falling asleep/unconsciousness, feel you wasted your time/day, accomplished nothing for you, left the movie knowing less about it then you did going into it, constantly asking yourself why you came to see this movie, or near-death experience. In short, staring at a wall was just as entertaining as watching this movie. This movie deserved a sticker or a label that said, “WARNING: EXTREME AMOUNT OF SUCKAGE”.

My score for Iron Man 3:  95. 

While looking back there were a few unanswered questions, this is a fantastic movie that is a must-see and must-buy.

Related articles

Iron Man 3 (Review) (vectoristreviews.wordpress.com)

*SPOILER ALERT* IF YOU DON’T WANT THE MOVIE SPOILED, STOP READING!!!!!!!!!

*SPOILER’S EDITION*

As I said a couple of times above, I loved the character development with Tony Stark. While that did mean seeing less of Pepper Potts in this one compared to the first two, I was okay with that. Then Pepper died, and I was like “wow, that sucks”. I’m thankful that she survived but I’ll be honest when I say had she died, I think I still would have loved the movie. The Mandarin guy being an actor was a huge surprise to me, just because in the videos he seemed so menacing. This movie made Stark a regular person, just like everyone else, something I liked because it showed how he related to the public. As for example, in this movie he developed anxiety attacks and interacts with regular people like that little kid. I loved that kid by the way and thought he added something special to the film. While my brother didn’t like the scenes where Stark was shooting guns and not in his suit, I didn’t mind it just because it showed him battling adversity, showing he could still get crap down without his suit. Many people say Tony Stark isn’t even a candidate for the best superhero ever because without his suit he’s nothing. This movie proved otherwise. In the end, Stark has the metal taken out of his heart, which severely aggravated my brother, who claimed that that never happened in the comics, and Stark destroying his suits angered him, too, because then how can he be ready for the next conflict? In the end, I feel it was an event similar to Spider-Man throwing out his suit in Spider-Man 2. Yeah, he doesn’t have his suit on him, but when the time’s right or he’s needed, he’ll come back. Finally, at the end of the movie, Stark says something to the effect of “in the end, the suit was just a cocoon. I am Iron Man.” I really liked this quote because the suit helped shield his true self from the outside world and when he didn’t have the suit in the third movie, it allowed his personality to truly shine. Like I said, great movie.