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For those interested in Anime...

Click here for a great article that not only outlines a few soon to be released movies that will make waves, but also chronicles the history of Japanese Animation.

This was great information for me, someone who enjoys the movies/shorts/shows, but never understood much about the industry and how it began.

(The article appears in the September 2004 issue of Wired Magazine)

We are quickly approaching what is easily the best time of year. The leaves will soon change. The temperature will soon begin a slow, yet steady, decline. The apples will ripen. THE CIDER MILLS WILL OPEN!

My limited experience outside of this lovely Great Lakes state has left me disappointed. Spending four years in Philadelphia without a single trip to a cider mill was painful. Mind you, I am not saying cider mills do not exist on that side of the world, for I am not sure if they do or not. What I do know is that if they do, they are not a big deal, and that is a shame.

I need to be careful writing this next part as it is still early in the day and I know I will be powerless to stop the onslaught of hunger that will broadside me as I describe to you the cider mill experience...

You might wonder where the attraction is for a plain cake donut. You might wonder why it is that I could make the arguement that a plain cake donut from a cider mill is a religious experience. You will definitely wonder why on earth anyone would want to eat a plain cake donut after they saw how easily a dozen of them have their way with the brown paper bag in which they are given. Grease to some is a dietary deterrent. When addressing cider mill donuts, I ask you to set aside any intolerance of grease. In fact, I am not sure grease would be the word for what it that seeps from the donuts to saturate the paper bag. If I had to use a better word, "Nectar" comes to mind. Delicious, it's that simple.

I've not even flirted with the topic of the cider itself yet and already I salivate. Imagine this sweet elixir of life as fresh as it is available. Cider is available in all major grocery stores in all markets in the country, that is common knowledge, but not like this. The ability to buy your cider from the mill is getting your product direct. It is purchasing the highest quality product available.

The donuts and the cider make an excellent snack, though there is no need to stop there. Cider mills are simply store fronts for the apple orchards themselves. This means a fortunate surpluss of apples to be transformed into candy and caramel apples.

It does not get better than this.

Many, it would appear, are open until November 28th!
Find one near you (SE Michigan only).

(I'm hungry)

First things first, let me say that no, I am not stupid enough to call one sister lovely #1 and the other lovely #2 as if to prioritize them.

That aside, my little buddy left today. She (also, not pictured) is on a plane as I blog, headed to London as a stop on her way to Rome, Italy.

We were able to hang out yesterday; spending that sibling time together before she left. It was very nice. I'm glad we were able to make time for it (and not only because she was cleaning my condo!!). She seemed very excited for her trip so I feel much calmer about it overall. It's so hard to watch them go, I can only imagine what it is like for our parents.

With Alison leaving Tuesday, I was no more prepared for Lesley leaving today, which was not really a surprise. I knew it would never be easy to say goodbye to my little sisters for any extended period of time.

This is, however, such an exciting opportunity for them both: being abroad for this semester. I hope this is a decision they never regret and a trip they remember fondly for the rest of their long lives.

(I'm holding your Peanut M&Ms for you until December 18th... )

So I recently got that second PC up and running. Yeah yeah yeah, I know it took forever. In my frustration over it not working, I never noticed that I had not yet ordered a mouse.

Decisions. Decisions.

I've become Logitech fanboy #1 since purchasing the mx700 however, I could not order another. The reason behind this is that my two computers sit relatively closely in my "home office" setup and I read many reviews that stated the mx700 has only one channel and when you put two of them in a close proximity there is some interference between the two. I did not want any interference and also as I was reading reviews for mice I wanted to pick up a good one for gaming. As I am awaiting the release of WoW I want to make sure I have the hardware to make the game run smoothly. This led me to the Logitech mx510. The mouse comes in both red and blue design, I opted for the blue (shown). The reviews I read were highly complimentary stating that the mouse was the quinticential gaming mouse; responding quickly to any movement while providing ultimate comfort. As I have not been one of the lucky few to be chosen for the WoW beta, I was forced last night to reinstall Warcraft III in hopes of getting some small taste of what Blizzard has in store for me.

What can I now tell you about my mx510? Granted I've only used it sparingly to this point, but I am 100% satisfied with my purchase. It has the same design as the mx700 which fits very well in my oversized paws. It moves with a motion more fluid than I feel should be possible. The mx510 is a great mouse. Logitech strikes again.

I generally like to order my parts from NewEgg.com, but shopping around I found that Amazon had a better deal this time.

So both of my sisters are going to be in Europe for this upcoming semester. I have been relatively ok with this idea as I am extremely happy for them to be facing such an exciting experience.

Shell shock came two nights ago as I said goodbye to Alison (not pictured). She was leaving yesterday afternoon for France so after dinner Monday night, we said our goodbye. It finally occurred to me that they will both be across the pond for over three months. This is simply unacceptable. Who authorized this? I know I never signed off on anything.

She will be living in Dijon, France with a host mother. Every class will be in French, she will be living entirely in French. This will be a great way for her to gauge whether or not she wants to go to cullinary school over there.

She got on the plane yesterday afternoon. December 11th will not come fast enough.

My question is how many people really quote movies well? I would imagine that a decent percentage of teens and even twenty-somethings would have a good handle on movie dialogue. There is no way I am the only one who breaks into an occassional movie line.

My sisters get mad when our brother is in town as we've been known to go off on tangents of conversation involving 100% movie quotes. Sure I may throw them in more frequently than most people, and sometimes they tend to be slightly obscure (both the quote and the movie they it is from), but I never do expect you to know them. Well, some I do expect you to know.

(My sisters both missed an Augustus Gloop reference last night at dinner...)

I do like, however, that I do get to watch movies with people on a more frequent basis when I quote movies that they have never seen. It's a nice way of indirectly finding out which movies your friends can't live another day without watching. You should look into it.

(The comic is Heart of the City)

For whatever reason(s) I've only had one meal each of the past two days. This, surprisingly, has led me to become quite hungry today. I was trying to hold out for lunch today so I could eat real food, however I am only human. This takes me to the scene of the incident.

I step up to the vending machine in search of the only thing that can cure what ails me...Cheetos (What did you expect me to say?) I don't see any Cheetos in the machine. As I glance to the spot in the machine where the Cheetos usually reside I see Bugles.

Bugles?!?!

Flustered, I think to myself, "Self, what possible reason could there be for Bugles squatting in the valuable vending machine real estate where my Cheetos belong?" At that moment I notice that there is but one bag of these foul Bugles followed by an entire row of Cheetos. This is where the dilemma presents itself.

Do I waste (yes waste) $0.50 on the bag of Bugles as sacrifice to clear the path to the Cheetos? Or do I improvise my morning sustenance?

As it turns out I decided not to give the vending machine company the pleasure of knowing they can sell the inferior snack that Bugles are simply by using them as a salty barricade to the Cheetos.

Today I had Fritos for the first time in a long time and they were delicious.

| Forum |

So I've been seeing commercials for this new razor from Gilette for awhile now. I have to admit I've been skeptical as I did not understand the concept. Who needs a non-electric razor....with a battery?

Seems silly to me. Basically you push a button on a mach 3 razor and it begins to vibrate. When I realized this, I thought there was absolutely no way that this thing would not slice my face in any less than one million places.

While shopping yesterday with my parents, we happened upon the m3 power. My dad says, "Why not? We'll both get one." Since he was buying, who was I to argue?

I tried my m3 power for the first time this morning. This thing is amazing. This is the closest shave I've gotten in at least a long time, if not ever. Great shave and no cuts. This was a fantastic pick up. I found myself a new razor.

Turns out a non-electric razor...with a battery, is one hell of a great idea.

So despite the fact that this movie has been playing around here since it's limited release began, I finally saw it on the night of it's national release.

The question is how do I start to talk about this movie. I guess I should start with telling you how amazing this movie is. I have been waiting for this movie to come out for a long time. This movie has been heralded as the movie that will define my generation. That I feel is an understatement. The beauty of this movie is that I can tell you that and I know that it will not ruin your movie-going experience. I can say that because I follow it with this: this movie will mean something different to everyone that sees it. I came through with my character defining laugh that annoyed every person in the theatre minus myself many many times throughout the movie, though the encompassing plot was not a comedy.

This is a compassionate tale of a dysfunctional family that through a series of tragic events may have found a way towards functionality. The movie more than anything to me meant hope. It was great to walk out of this and just feel good. Mind you, this was not a feeling of "boy am I glad I was not forced by my parents to take Lithium for the majority of my life" kind of good, this was the restoration of faith in humanity to make a story that had no explosions, no nudity, and plenty of fun.

Garden State really is just about real people. Sure the real people it's about need a little help, but this movie shows that who doesn't? There was nothing in this movie that was out of place. Everything that happened, even the few things unexpected, were expertly pieced together.

This was my kind of movie.

| Forum | Zach Braff's Blog |

I've been dealing with a furniture store here in MI with which I have not been too happy. They have very nice furniture, however, they run a poor business. (I wasn't going to do this, but you have a right to know...Klingman's Furniture)
Issues began over the stuff I ordered to presto-changeo my spare bedroom into my computer haven, errr...."home office."

As I was at work, my mom volunteered to hang out at my place and wait for the desks to be delivered. The company gave her the three (3) hour window of 11am-2pm for delivery. I was also leaving right from work that afternoon to head out of town, which bummed me out as I would not get to hustle home and see my new stuff before heading out. Turns out it didn't much matter as the delivery was not made until 7pm. If that is not enough, the two gentlemen who were delivering were (I am told) "scrawny" and unable to lift the furniture over the railing in my front steps so they had to come in through my garage and up my narrow back stairs. I feel the need to point out that it's a narrow back staircase as they took a chunk of drywall with them as a souvenir whilst maneuvering upstairs.

=> Read more!

New show from the collaboration of Fox and the Creators of The Family Guy: American Dad.

This show and the new episodes of The Family Guy are set to begin airing in 2005. I would like to think it is expected in earlier 2005 as opposed to later.

Seth MacFarlane, creator of The Family Guy will be the voice of Stan.

I'm pretty excited for this show, no surprise there. I am most looking forward to Klaus who is their lascivious, German-speaking goldfish – the result of a CIA experiment gone seriously wrong – who has an unhealthy crush on Francine (Stan's wife).

From what I can gather Klaus is Quagmire, Stan is a Peter/Joe cross. Steve, Stan's son is a Stewie/Chris hybrid. Roger, the alien Stan saved from Area 51 is apparently a Brian mirror. The two women, Francine and Hayley (daughter) seem to also mimic the Lois and Meg from the Family Guy.

I don't care what you do. Put Peter, Brian, Lois, Chris, Meg and Stewie on the screen and give them different names and I won't consider that a rip off. These guys are gold. I just hope they don't water it down now that it is back on Fox so as to not get cancelled...

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What is the one and only way that Fox can compete with the Olympics?

Family Guy.

Sure the show was cancelled a few years ago, but since it's become the highest grossing tv show released on DVD creator Seth MacFarlane has signed on for new episodes. Maybe this was the kick Fox needed to realize they were sitting on a goldmine. Yes the show is a little offensive. No, it's not politically correct. Yes this show is funnier than anything else on tv.

Head to head between The Simpsons and The Family Guy?
I feel as though I have to give this one to the Simpsons, simply because the show has been on for what? 14 seasons now? Pound for pound which show is funnier from one episode to the next? The Family Guy wins that one.

Now I own both DVD sets of the Family Guy so why not watch the Olympics?
Cuz I don't want to. Family Guy is on.

I have not seen them play. I've never had an opportunity this far to see a game to my knowledge. Though, I am not sure if I did have the chance to watch that I would. I may in my own little way be boycotting this team. I actually told Doug yesterday that I hope we win every gold medal for which we compete as Americans with the exception of men's basketball. I think I would rather see them go home empty handed. Not just no gold. No medals period. In my world: Melo > Bron Bron, but he dropped significantly in my books when he guaranteed the gold. If there had been any other willing players in the league, they should have kicked him off the team on the spot for such a comment. He does, however, speak for his team. That is unfortunate. That is the attitude of this olympic squad. They are a bunch of pansies who are so set in the ways of the NBA they cannot step outside the mold into international play and compete. They rely too strongly on their physical ability and completely ignore any inclination to think. They are very capable, very capable. They are also babies.

What horrible names can I call these athletes who are too good to stay in Olympic Village? Tell me that Duane Wade makes more money than Andy Roddick. Tell me Richard Jefferson's sponsorships are more than Michael Phelps'. Why does this team need to walk into Olympic Stadium apart from the rest of it's country's representatives? Who are they? What gives them the right? You know what, stop talking. Play. Win games. Win a medal. Then and only then will you earn any of my respect, though never will I accept justification for their staying on naval ships or whatever off the coast of Greece.

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Lunch today, I have to say was INCREDIBLE. Sure Qdoba always performs, that is not news to anyone, but today was different. We (Wil and I) went through the usual routine:

• walk in
• place my order
• hand my Qcard to the employee

But this is where things got odd. Wil tells the girl at the register he'd like an order of chips. Whilst he ponders what salsa he wants to accompany the chips she chimes in, "Would you like salsa or queso?"
Needless to say he opted for the queso and it was glorious. My chicken queso burrito (no beans) and an order of chips and queso? Forget about it.

I want to officially thank everyone that was around last weekend for my trip to Philly.

As I have told some of you before, there is not a day that goes by that I don't wish I still lived out there. Sure things are going well here: job is great, bought my own place, new friends are fantastic people. To me, however, there is something to be said for living in a city. I love to walk. It is my preferred method of transportation. Living in Philadelphia I had the option to walk anywhere I needed to go. Philly was also mine. Home is not mine. Home I share with my entire family, Philly was only me. I could stretch my wings a little bit out there, it was nice.

Sorry, I digress. Despite only one trip to Pat's, I had a great time. Pleasant surprises were the news of how many people were actually coming into town Friday night. Going to the Bew Pub is never my first choice for the hot spot, but I did get over it this time.

I did take a few pictures, though only of the museum, water works, and one or two of boathouse row. They will hopefully be up this week. No, I'm not that busy. Yes, I am that lazy. Don't push your luck.

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Life of Pi is a masterful and utterly original novel that is at once the story of a young castaway who faces immeasurable hardships on the high seas, and a meditation on religion, faith, art and life that is as witty as it is profound. Using the threads of all of our best stories, Yann Martel has woven a glorious spiritual adventure that makes us question what it means to be alive, and to believe.

Growing up in Pondicherry, India, Piscine Molitor Patel -- known as Pi -- has a rich life. Bookish by nature, young Pi acquires a broad knowledge of not only the great religious texts but of all literature, and has a great curiosity about how the world works. His family runs the local zoo, and he spends many of his days among goats, hippos, swans, and bears, developing his own theories about the nature of animals and how human nature conforms to it. Pi’s family life is quite happy, even though his brother picks on him and his parents aren’t quite sure how to accept his decision to simultaneously embrace and practise three religions -- Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam.

But despite the lush and nurturing variety of Pi’s world, there are broad political changes afoot in India, and when Pi is sixteen his parents decide that the family needs to escape to a better life. Choosing to move to Canada, they close the zoo, pack their belongings, and board a Japanese cargo ship called the Tsimtsum. Travelling with them are many of their animals, bound for zoos in North America. However, they have only just begun their journey when the ship sinks, taking the dreams of the Patel family down with it. Only Pi survives, cast adrift in a lifeboat with the unlikeliest oftravelling companions: a zebra, an orang-utan, a hyena, and a 450-pound Royal Bengal tiger named Richard Parker.

Thus begins Pi Patel’s epic, 227-day voyage across the Pacific, and the powerful story of faith and survival at the heart of Life of Pi. Worn and scared, oscillating between hope and despair, Pi is witness to the playing out of the food chain, quite aware of his new position within it. When only the tiger is left of the seafaring menagerie, Pi realizes that his survival depends on his ability to assert his own will, and sets upon a grand and ordered scheme to keep from being Richard Parker’s next meal.

As the days pass, Pi fights both boredom and terror by throwing himself into the practical details of surviving on the open sea -- catching fish, collecting rain water, protecting himself from the sun -- all the while ensuring that the tiger is also kept alive, and knows that Pi is the key to his survival. The castaways face gruelling pain in their brushes with starvation, illness, and the storms that lash the small boat, but there is also the solace of beauty: the rainbow hues of a dorado’s death-throes, the peaceful eye of a looming whale, the shimmering blues of the ocean’s swells. Hope is fleeting, however, and despite adapting his religious practices to his daily routine, Pi feels the constant, pressing weight of despair. It is during the most hopeless and gruelling days of his voyage that Pi whittles to the core of his beliefs, casts off his own assumptions, and faces his underlying terrors head-on.

As Yann Martel has said in one interview, “The theme of this novel can be summarized in three lines. Life is a story. You can choose your story. And a story with an imaginative overlay is the better story.” And for Martel, the greatest imaginative overlay is religion. “God is a shorthand for anything that is beyond the material -- any greater pattern of meaning.” In Life of Pi, the question of stories, and of what stories to believe, is front and centre from the beginning, when the author tells us how he was led to Pi Patel and to this novel: in an Indian coffee house, a gentleman told him, “I have a story that will make you believe in God.” And as this novel comes to its brilliant conclusion, Pi shows us that the story with the imaginative overlay is also the story that contains the most truth.

Buy Life of Pi $8.09

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It is time for my blogging to begin. I have been waiting too long for this. This is now my second install of b2evolution at privatjokr.com. The first one was a few months ago that I never used because I was waiting to customize the css to make the rest of privatjokr.com seamless. That, obviously, never happened. To force my own hand now, I have decided to simply start using the blog and convince myself that I have to customize the css or I have to deal with a page that looks a way with which I am not comfortable.

The blog will be for many things. I want to be able to simply put down on virtual paper all of the little nuggets of wisdom that pass between my ears at any given moment as well as provide you all with reviews (movies, books, music, video games, hardware) to which you can relate.

I will be linking the majority of my blog posts to the message board (www.privatjokr.com/forum) for increased discussion.

I hope this page becomes a useful tool for you as well as fun for me.

Come back soon!