:: Privatjokr ::

As I walked into the auditorium to begin my orientation to law school yesterday afternoon something occurred to me. It is strange to think that I can be in a room full of attorneys who are all trying to steal my clients and I am completely at ease yet as I step into a room full of incoming law students I am nervous.

As I am sure you are wondering, the nerves waned and I was comfortable after only a short time. It is a weird thing to imagine myself a part of this profession. I know lawyers have a poor reputation with the masses, but to be able to say, "I am an attorney" will be an immensely positive milestone in my life.

I am comfortable saying that I was able to relax yesterday in the orientation when through instruction I was able to find closure with my decision to go to law school. It all came on very suddenly and I no longer have the luxury of panic. Classes start Monday, I am ok with that now.

It is said that Anna (Annastasia) Cayne was born in a thunderstorm. A slightly spooky and complicated high school girl with a penchant for riddles, shortwave radios, Houdini tricks, and ghost stories, Anna spends much of her time writing obituaries for every living person in town. She is unlike anyone the narrator has ever been with, and they make an unlikely, though happy, pair.

A week before Valentine's Day, Anna disappears, leaving behind only a dress placed nearly near a hole in the frozen river, and a string of unanswered questions.

Desperate to find her, or at least to comprehend what happened and why, the narrator begins to reconstruct the past five months. And soon the fragments of curious events, intimate conversations, suspicious secrets, and peculiar letters (and the anonymous messages that continue to arrive) coalesce into haunting and surprising revelations that may implicate friends, relatives -- or even Anna herself.

A mesmerizing labyrinth of art, magic, and cryptic codes that sparks the imagination and teases the intellect, As Simple as Snow is a mind bending mystery, as well as a poignant and wise look at young love, loss, and family.

Visit AsSimpleAsSnow.com

An eccentric girl comes into the life of our narrator. She, through her mysterious means, turns his life upside down. How could this girl, so different from the rest, have such an impact? How could she burn an impression so deep into his soul?

Galloway had the narrator mesmerized by Anna, but he was not the only one. I, too, was fascinated by this character.

I am very impressed with the story and the writing. The situation is one which has me torn on my opinion of the author. I am torn between the idea that I would not want to read another book by him and that I cannot wait for him to write many more so I may read them all. The only reason I would not read his other writing is I would be afraid it would not be as original; not as good. It is an odd feeling, one I am not used to, to finish a book and be left with this strange appreciation for the author because of the work he completed. The book was not the best I have read, but Gregory Galloway took me in directions that are usually left untraveled in my literary adventures and for that I thank him.

Of course I have a few complaints with the book, more loose ends than anything; a few points with which I would like closure. Other than those, I really enjoyed this book. It is not often that I read something other than a mystery. Sure there was mystery wrapped up in this piece of fiction, but there was also much more.

...There's a whole world all around more interesting, wonderful, terrifying, mysterious, amazing than any novel ever written. Pay attention. Take a chance. Dare life. (p.19)

Buy As Simple as Snow $16.29

| Forum |

I have joined the ranks. Now, I too, own an iPod. I broke down.
It is a purchase I had contemplated for some time and this weekend took me to the breaking point.

The plan all along was to get the 40 GB model, but Apple has since discontinued production. My contingency plan called for the 20 GB model. Even that idea went out the window. I am what is affectionately termed an "impulse shopper". Now, I know what you are thinking, but no, I did not get the 60 GB. I bought myself the 30 GB iPod Photo (the price when compared to the 20 GB made this a no brainer).

When I am in an airport and on an airplane and do not have enough time to watch a movie, I have my iPod. Thanks to my iTrip, when I am in the car I no longer need to carry around a huge cd case that only scratches my cds anyway.

I am immensely happy with my purchase. Though the process of getting the music on the iPod can be a slow one, I have nothing but time. If I had the decision to make over again, would I do it differently? Yes. I would not wait so long before buying my iPod.

Yes, it is true. I am officially going to law school. There has been speculation of this fact for sometime, but lay the rumors to rest. I got in. Here is my story. I will warn you, it is a long one.

=> Read more!

The story of two young boys who try to make their way through life with their father. Their mother has passed rather recently and the family tries to make a new life in a new home.

One of the two boys has an extremely active imagination and through which is often visited by dead Saints. He has studied documentation for any Saint he can get his hands on. He realizes that he often times sees things that are not there which is why he goes to get his older brother when a duffel bag full of money lands next to the fort he built by the train tracks.

The question arises of how to spend it all without telling their dad about it and while ensuring that none of the money (British pounds) becomes useless as the conversion to Euros is only days away.

The younger boy wants to use all of it to help those in need while his brother begins to research an investment portfolio.

I cannot say that I was not disappointed. Throughout the movie I just thought they could have done more with the story. Aside from the two boys, character development was a little weak. While I understand that the movie was centered around the two of them, I was hoping for a little more involvement from their father. It is not until the very end of the movie that we finally learn anything about it and at that point, why bother?

The ending overall was good. In previews I had a good idea what to expect and from that I was left touched. The very very end of the movie though, while symbolic, was probably unnecessary.

I liked the movie, sure. I do not think it was nearly as good as I had expected, though. I feel bad putting a "Don't Watch" on this movie, but I feel it's most appropriate.

| Forum |

I was honked at today. I had a gentleman who was absolutely furious with me today as I was on my way from work to home.

It is the classic scenario of two lanes may continue straight through the light, though the right lane will end shortly there after. I do not believe this concept is new to anyone.

Another part, which I am sure you will all be familiar with as well is that this guy opts for the right lane through the light in hopes of a merge before his lane ends. It was only a few days ago that I brought this exact point up in the Pet Peeves thread on the forum.

Why is it that when this guy makes no effort to merge (despite the large space between me and the car behind me) before he just starts sauntering into my lane. This guy ASSUMES I am going to let him in. What gives him the right to my lane? Just because he is going to try and take it? I think not.

I know I am not alone in saying that I stood my ground. I will not let you into my lane like that. Sure, if there are times when I let people in. I am not saying that I rule the roadways. It is this situation that gets under my skin, however.

Oh, right, so he just starts to move into my lane casually as if I might not notice him coming over. He sees that I make no move to offer him the spot and brakes hard (he had no more lane) and gets behind me while honking and flailing his arms wildly.

Can anyone explain the mentality of this guy? There are million other drivers that do this same thing. I admit that I will be that guy, but I will get over only when there is room. Never do I assume it is my DMV given right to change lanes.

These are the current conditions outside.

Michigan weather is always crazy, but this is a little ridiculous. It was 80 degrees on Tuesday. It has no been snowing for what has to be nearly 24 hours straight. And it is forecasted to be a high of 51 degrees tomorrow. That should, in theory, melt any and all of the accumulation.

Ok, in my observing and people watching tonight at the bar, I came home with two new favorite things to witness at the bar. Tonight was not the first time that I saw either thing, but I have new found appreciation.

1) It is early. There is practically no one on the dance floor yet. Sure, let the place fill up a bit and accordingly the dance floor will see more and more action. However, before the people pile in the door, you will see four girls dancing together. They dance in what would seem a square. Each of the four is dancing to the song, doing what would be considered a conservative move to the music. Without warning one member of the group will catch inspiration and *BOOM* she breaks it down. One hot move, maybe even involving takin' it to the floor and before anyone notices she is back to her routine like the others.

2) Many males at the bar do not understand that they need to dance. No one said they have to be good at it, only that they accept the fact that it behooves them to do so. Some guys have an issue with this, though their girlfriend/date feels to the contrary. The girl wants to dance. She takes him with her and she is understanding. She knows that he will not dance if it involves anything more than holding his drink in one hand and shaking the other as if he is in a bad rap video. This leaves all of the work to her. She takes control and makes him feel like a king. All she does is grind her ass into him and he thinks he has moves to rival both Usher and Fred Astaire. Get off the dance floor you clown, and while you're at it leave your girl where she is!

Honorable mention goes to the four 35+ year old women who only stay until 10-10:30pm. They, similarly to the girls in favorite situation #1, dance in a square. They, however, do not even attempt a dance move you have ever seen before. Sure, we're younger, perhaps the moves simply require a dusting off and they would be recognizable to someone a year or twelve older than I. These women intrigue me.

Even if you are in the whatever percentage of people who do not wash their hands after a restroom stop, would there not be any additional social influence to do so when you are in a public place?

How do people leave a stall or walk away from a urinal in front of a long line of soon-to-be urinators and make a b-line past the sinks? When there is a line in the restroom you have an audience. There is nothing to do in the line to use the restroom except watch the guys who got there before you.

Why does this not impress upon you the need to at least run your hands under the water just a little bit. No one will ever know that you didn't really wash your hands. It can be a secret you take to your grave.

I just don't get it. Wash your hands.

Is there another commonly used phrase that can leave you in as many awkward situations as "you too"?

Often times it is expectation of a comment to which we are trained that "you too" is proper and polite. You end a conversation with someone (as I just did) and you bank on the fact that the next thing out of their mouth will be something to the effect of "have a nice day" as so many phone calls with clients and vendors do. You are then thrown for a loop as this person throws a curve.

"Thank you for your time," she said.
"You too," I, like a jackass, reply as we both move to replace our phone handsets in their cradle.

Sure the call is over, yet the feeling remains. It is not one of embarrassment; I will never speak to this particular vendor again and even if I did, so what? The feeling is one of defeat. No matter how many times it happens, we never guard against it.

My particular favorite takes us to the airport. Maybe you are checking in for your flight or checking your luggage, perhaps you are buying a magazine or a pre-flight snack. The details surrounding the situation are irrelevant, what is important is the conversation. They help you with your reservation or facilitate your purchase and then it happens.

"Have a nice flight."
"You too."

Are you serious? This airport/airline employee is clearly not about to board a plane. You, by your presence in the building alone, have stamped on your forehead that you are travelling. They are trying to be a well trained, polite employee and ensure to wish you a safe voyage. Why can we not accept this in an intelligent manner?

You can tell me that you have never done this, but we both know it's not true. Your secret, though, is safe with me.

Someday. Someday...I will get it right. At least that is what I tell myself.

(Thank you to Population Statistic for the image of Hootie.)

The Chicken Bacon Cheddar Ranch from Burger King is far and away the most exciting new arrival to the Burker King menu in a very long time. Typically I will not deviate from the double cheeseburger when I hit up the home of the whopper, but I could not pass on this. Two toppings that belong on each and every food item, bacon and ranch appear together on this one sandwich. You can't go wrong.

I had to try this for the second time tonight. The first time my order was messed up. I asked for no tomato and no onion, I got my sandwich also with no bacon or chedddar. Defeats the purpose, no?

Tonight they righted their wrong and I'm glad they did. Good sandwich, one worth even sitting through those awful commercials.

Sin City is based on Frank Miller's graphic novels by the same name. I have never read any of the books, but I like many others have now seen the movie.

An important point: Remember, you're watching an adaptation of a comic book. The things you see are not intended to be an accurate portrayal of things as we experience them in real life. Use your imagination and have fun watching Sin City.

I will try to give you a quick timeline of my thoughts throughout the movie, that should be the best approach to understanding this film a little more.

The opening credits roll and names flash on screen and all I can think is that this cast is amazing. Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, Jessica Alba, Clive Owen, Rutger Hauer, Elijah Wood, Rosario Dawson, Benicio Del Toro, Jaime King, Brittany Murphy, Michael Clarke Duncan, Michael Madsen and Josh Hartnett are all cast members in Sin City.

The first scene flashes a woman in a brilliant, red dress with red lipstick set in a black and white film. Throughout the movie, this black and white film, creators highlighted certain objects in their full color. The effect was a stark contrast against the background which created for stunning aesthetics. The style is similar to that used in Chinatown.

The dialogue was cheesy and over-acted. I am pointing that out as a movie strength. It bothered me at first, then I realized what I was watching. Take a comic book in your hands and bend the tips of the pages with your hand and release them in rapid succession the way you would as a kid to see a series of pictures in animation. That is essentially what Sin City is, a moving comic book. If you have ever read one, you know the writing is often corny and overly dramatic, but it makes sense on paper. When read aloud it seems odd as it is not colloquial. This was not a difficult point to get past, and only added to the uniqueness of the film. Only a few times did I get flashbacks to years ago when I watched Dick Tracy.

The action was fun. Does that sound weird? It was though. Sure when guys would get hit they would fly further than humanly possible, but remember it is a comic book.

The story, for lack of a better term, revolves around your usual scenario of following a series of characters and showing important intersection points between their existence. The effect is four separate vignettes that comprise one story; they are different, though the same.

My favorite was the second, the one involving Marv (Rourke) in his search to find the man who killed Goldy (King), his beloved hooker.

My least favorite was the last, it seemed to serve only in making the movie longer. It was so slow and nearly made me fall asleep. In this one Hartigan (Willis) must confront the Yellow Bastard in his attempt to find Nancy, the young girl from his past.

The movie is over the top in gratuitous nudity and excessive blood and gore. The sound effects as bodies are dismembered, coupled with the rest may be a reason not to take your children to see Sin City. In no way was it too much for me. I rather enjoyed it.

The movie as a whole was good, not great. I think the experience of seeing a movie made in a mold not used often was more entertaining than the movie itself. See it to see it, nothing more. I do not anticipate seeing this movie again. I do not see any "rewatchability" potential in Sin City. Having seen it once is enough.

| Forum |

I just took a call from a client who asked for my e-mail address. I asked if there was anything else I could help her with after providing the information she sought. She said that was all she needed and we ended the call.

The question now becomes: Will she e-mail me something that clearly could have been handled over the phone? Or maybe since my boss is out of the office for a few days this particular client was told to contact me with any questions in her absence.

I am sure all of you readers out there in readerland...both of you (love you mom and dad) are waiting with baited breath. I know I am...

Sapporo is a diverse location. The restaurant features a trendy bar, a traditional dining area and their piece de resistance, the Teppanyaki style tables (Hibachi to some, or even Japanese Steakhouse if you prefer).

Their dining room menu looked extensive, but from our perspective, if you are going to go to a place that will do Teppanyaki style, that is what you have.

If you have never been to a restaurant in this mold (Benihana's, Kyoto's, Kobe) I highly recommend it. Tables are set up to seat 8 people along one long and the two short sides of a rectangular table. The other side of the table is reserved for the chef to work as he comes and prepares your food on the grill surface in the center of the table. The chef's are trained to not only make delicious food, but also entertain you while you wait. They are masters of their equipment and I am sure do not recommend you try any of their tricks at home in your own kitchen.

Sapporo serves your meal with fried rice rather than most of the other restaurants which offer fried rice as an add-on to the meal and serve steamed white rice. I was glad to see fried rice come standard; it is the highlight of the meal for me (isn't it criminal to hear me say that when I order two lobster tails as my entree?). Each dining guest receives a bowl of mushroom soup, a salad with the house ginger dressing, a shrimp appetizer, mixed grilled vegetables and your entree. It sounds like a lot of food. Well, ok, it is a lot of food. But don't worry, while chopsticks are on every place setting, forks are available.

Many if not all of these restaurants offer Kobe beef, which before our dinner at Sapporo, I had never tried. One in my party ordered it and offered some to share. I have to make this statement clear: Kobe beef was the best steak I have EVER had. Kobe beef is from cattle whose days feature massages and a diet enriched with beer, and no I am not kidding. (*You will never want to order Kobe beef cooked longer than medium rare.)

Sapporo is located at 14344 N. Scottsdale Road near the Greenway-Hayden Loop.

Laughter is a tranquilizer with no side effects.

Rabbit Redux by John Updike

The assumptions and obsessions that control our daily lives are explored in tantalizing detail by master novelist John Updike in this wise, witty, and sexy story. Harry Angstrom—known to all as Rabbit, one of America's most famous literary characters—finds his dreary life shattered by the infidelity of his wife, Janice. How he resolves or further complicates his problems makes for a novel of the first order.

Buy Rabbit Redux $10.50

| Forum |

I have decided that there needs to be a change. This would ultimately not be some huge change, but a small change with huge scope.

There exists something on television that we will never be able to escape. There is no avoiding it, try as you may. The only hope for humanity is finding a middle ground. With acceptance of the fact, we can all move on. Acceptance though, comes only through compromise.

This is not a daily occurrence, and often times is not even weekly. I estimate the frequency would correlate to the amount of television watched by any one individual.

Ok, you've had enough suspense have you not?

What is it that comes on TV when you least expect it and you are entirely powerless against it?

Feminine Hygiene Advertising.

There, I said it.

Originally, my platform when running for Emperor would be to eliminate these commercials across the board. I realize now that in the interest of a free market society and the tradition of competition and capitalism that this is not a reasonable ban. That leads me to this post today.

It is time for the makers of feminine hygiene products to take a page from beer distributors. Imagine a world where your favorite program will break for a short word from its sponsors and *boom* there is no longer a woman walking on the beach telling you how much certain things itch and irritate.

No, I do not have the creative juices flowing nor the comedic ability to come up with the new ad. Sure you can all say that if I am unable to provide a specific example of this new phase I suggest that my point is less valid. I will let you be the judge. My ideas are in your hands, the hands of my critics.

Funny commercials are always the best commercials; I am sure that most if not all watchers would support that statement. Yes, it is true that some people would even argue that no commercial is a good commercial, at least the channel flippers of the world would take that stance.

Look at the online stock trading firms. This is not an industry the feminine hygiene companies should emulate. This is the only situation in which I would NOT want to see a monkey in a commercial.

In no way do I dispute the argument that in an attempt to make these advertisements funny we, as the male demographic, may be more disgusted than anything...at least at first. That is fine. There will need to be a grace period. I understand that it may take some getting used to, but under the current regime I am not sure feminine hygiene products and male viewers will ever meet on common ground.

There needs to be a change, that much I know. Will this change ever come? I am not sure. Will this change involve, say Terry Tate Office Linebacker? Probably not.

Imagine the following conversation occurring on the Monday morning after the Super Bowl.
"So what was your favorite commercial last night?"
"No question, it had to be the Tampons."
"Yeah, that one was so funny, but I think my favorite was the yeast infection ointment. I laughed so hard I spilled my beer."

Think about it. Viva la revolucion.

Writer Carl Granville -- down on his luck personally and professionally -- is approached one day by a hotshot publisher who says she'll pay him a startling amount of money to turn a top-secret diary into a novel. Gift from God or devlish trap? ... The conspiracy he gets tangled in plays on some seriously topical fears.

A starving author is asked to ghost write a political memoir and disguise it as fiction. He is given no details. He is, however, given a sizeable sum of money. Too good to be true? Well yeah, no one would read this book if there was an absense of conflict. What this young author does not anticipate though, is helping facilitate the most dangerous political scandal in the history of the United States.

I bought this book near when it was released in paperback nearly 6 years ago. It was not until I finally got enough of a recommendation from a friend that I got around to reading it. Surprisingly, it is not too often that anyone recommends books to me, though I wish they would (not that I don't have a big enough "to read" pile as it is).

Towards the end things get a little out of hand. Events seem a little too far-fetched in the interest of keeping some characters alive and making other characters less alive. It was a work of fiction, so I guess things like that are allowed, just not too often.

Gideon was a good book. It was a recommendation that I pass on. Protagonist Carl Granville is very likeable. Sometimes main characters are tough to follow; that was not the case in this book.

Buy Gideon $6.29

| Forum |

One of the most critically acclaimed films of the year, The Dangerous Lives of Alter Boys, is a movie experience you won't forget.

Tim (Kieren Culkin) and Francis (Emile Hirsch) are best friends, doing their best to cause trouble without getting caught. Under the watchful eye of Sister Assumpta (Jodie Foster), the boys plot to unleash the ultimate prank, involving a man-eating cougar, their school's statue and a lot of cough medicine. While the boys imagine their exploits in a comic book called the Atomic Trinity, Francis begins his growth to adulthood with Catholic schoolgirl Margi Flynn (Jena Malone).

Four young boys from unhappy working class homes find comfort in their friendships with each other. Each has three friends with which to get in trouble and escape reality through the form of their secret identities. These four boys are incredible super heroes with extraordinary powers. Well, in their comic book they are at least.

Jena Malone plays the slightly disturbed young girl that becomes one of the boys' girlfriend. Contragulations to her for being 100% type cast to play the strange young girl with questionable morals (see also: Saved!). I think if I saw a movie in which she played a wholesome character I would not be able to take her seriously.

Aside from that, this movie was good; one I'm glad I finally got around to seeing.

A similarly themed (and better) movie you will enjoy is Sleepers.

If you like Kieren Culkin movies, see Igby Goes Down.

The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys is based upon the novel by Chris Fuhrman, whose cancer kept him from seeing it published. The movie is dedicated to his memory.

Buy The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys $15.95

| Forum |

I have been entirely too lazy to go out and build myself a photo gallery and to date I have not found one off the shelf that I like. At least for now I have found a solution; it is in the form of Flickr.

Flickr offers the use of a "badge" which is an array of thumbnails that you may place on an external site that links directly to your catalog. If you scroll down the blog to beneath the categories you will see a selection of 5 images.

I had the option to choose the 5 most recent pictures or 5 random pictures. While I thought it would be nice to use the most recent so you would know when I add pictures to my photostream, I know I will not do so often so I chose the option that provided the most variety. If you desire to know when and if I have added new photos, you may hope the new pictures display on the badge (which in theory they will with enough refreshes as the badge reloads random images each time the page loads) or you may simply click through to my flickr page and see. The power is yours.

Enjoy.

I would love to be the guy that holds the patent on the revolving door. Did you ever think about that? Can you imagine the royalties? That is my kind of residual income.

Every bar I have ever walked into has had an alarmingly poor ratio of men to women (too many men and not enough women). I have often wondered if every bar has too many men, there must be one place where all of the women go. Where is that place? That question was once rhetorical. It turns out, in Scottsdale, Arizona, that place is Barcelona's.

We were seated early in the section that is cleared out to make way for a dance floor as later in the night Zooey Boey takes the stage. We started with a few appetizers, of which my clear favorite was the macadamia nut encrusted shrimp; they were incredibly good (I do not even like macadamia nuts). The portions were more than generous for each person at the table. I had the bone-in-ribeye which came with a Bearnaise sauce on the side that was very good. They serve a molten chocolate desert that was heavenly on a soft bed of ice cream. We all left extremely full and even more satisfied with the meal.

The place is a little pricey, but Barcelona's is easily my new "go-to" restaurant in Scottsdale. Attire is casual through professional.

Barcelona's is located on the Greenway-Hayden Loop east of Scottsdale Road.

I can't wait to get back.

Allegedly a "surefire" way to rid yourself of your hiccups is to suck on a wedge of lime that has been covered in bitters. (Bitters is an ingredient used in bartending mixology.)

This comes from a waitress we had at a restaurant in Scottsdale, Arizona. She said she was a long time bartender and this trick never failed.

I am yet to try this one, myself, but it is now out there for your information.

Though I am currently unable to say what exactly drew me to this movie in the previews, I made it a point to see this one in the theater. It is safe to now say that I wish I had not done so.

When her husband does not come home, a woman deduces that he must have fun off with his secretary to Sweden or someplace; thus leaving her with the sole responsibility over their four daughters. The four daughters range in age from one in middle school to a final year college student. Kevin Costner plays a former baseball star and current drunk who now works for a radio station in Detroit (101.1 WRIF). He, having associations to the family, learns of this husband's disappearing act and offers his support...in form of courtship of the mother. She, now bitter towards the entire world (especially her daughters), parries his advances.

The only thing I took any enjoyment in was the fact that it was to be set in Michigan. Beyond that, this movie brought nothing to the table. I know that many people see Kevin Costner's name near a movie and start their bad reviews on the spot, but he was actually good in this one. His character, however, was 100% unnecessary. The makers of The Upside of Anger did a fantastic job of making his character useless. If you are not left with an empty feeling regarding Costner in this one, I am amazed.

I have so many complaints with this movie, but I will not let on any specific spoiler information in this medium. That is, if I even knew where to begin venting them all.

The only "Upside" to this movie was when it ended.

Despite my feelings towards this movie, it is still getting good reviews. Ok, I will concede that there were a few parts at which I laughed. In no way did those parts save this sinking ship. I would love to pick the brain of someone who actually enjoyed it.

| Forum |

My first Ted Leo experience came through Yahoo! as they run the streaming music I listen to in the office (Launch). The first track I heard was "Me and Mia" and I had to hear more.

Little did I know, Ted Leo is a rock icon. From his younger days with the band Chisel to now working with the Pharmacists, Ted Leo has made many fans through the ages. He can now add me to that list.

I feel rather out of the loop on this guy since he is so immensely popular and I am just hearing about him for the first time, but such is life. Shake the Sheets is a healthy dose of punk music appropriate for any listener.

My favorite tracks on the album are "Me and Mia" and "Counting Down the Hours". Their other albums are Hearts of Oak and The Tyranny of Distance. They released an EP called Treble in Trouble.

Buy Shake the Sheets $12.99

| Forum |

4. Villanova
The Wildcats could be the cool pick to win the title next season. If it weren't for a suspect travel call, they might have been in this year's Final Four. Tell us who will have better scoring guards than 'Nova in Randy Foye, Allan Ray, Mike Nardi and Kyle Lowry. Curtis Sumpter will be healthy and so, too, should be Jason Fraser. That's a stud starting five (plus one) worthy of potentially winning the title.

The entire Top 25 from ESPN.com

There is nothing in sports that can rival "One Shining Moment". When the crew signals the conclusion of their broadcast and signs off for the end of the tournament and Luther Vandross' piano comes to life, you are taken to a special place. When he hits that first key you get chills. Last second shots, dunks, long range three-pointers, blocked shots, key fouls, triumphant celebration...and tears; One Shining Moment has it all.

Where else do you see the ups and downs of so many teams involved? At that moment (no pun intended) the celebration is not just about the national championship team, but all 65 teams who were invited. The celebration is of so many games played. So many dreams come true, and so many hopes dashed. Giants prevail, underdogs tough it out. Winners move on, losers go home. For a few short minutes, whether they make the video or not, each team is enshrined in one final tribute.

With 52 weeks in the year, is it hard to decide which 3 are the best? No, certainly not. College basketball and the NCAA tournament bring to life the spirit of hard work and epitomize competition.

Kudos to CBS for keeping up with their own standard; a bar they have set high. Year after year, whether you win your pool or not, whether your team wins or not, One Shining Moment ropes you in.

There is no watching the video. There is no listening to the song. What there is, however, is experiencing that "One Shining Moment".

And to think, next year I get to do it all over again.

I happened to glance at my cell phone while lying in bed this morning (ok, so it was this afternoon, quit being so picky). The time on my phone is updated via satellite and apparently it was not until this moment that it received the updated time. As I watched, the time switched from 12:37 to 1:37. At first this came as a self-diagnosed sign of growing lunacy, though upon further consideration it was lessened to a realization of the time change.

What is it that causes today to be such an incredibly short day? Sure we lost an hour. One hour. That is all. In the grand scheme of things it is not so much to lose. In fact, we will even get it back in a few months.

So what psychologically makes today pass so quickly? (Please spare me the quips about wasting the day by not rolling out of bed until it is more than half over.)

I had heard just the other day that the time change was coming soon, though I did not know when. Daylight savings is just not something that has made it onto my list of things to remember.

Wow today is almost gone already. Well, aside from my feeling uncomfortably unproductive today, I have to say it was a good day. Would that hour have made some huge difference? Some huge difference other than making today pass in the blinking of an eye, that is.

You can tell me that the lost hour today is but a small price to pay in the long run of warm weather and sunshine that is now on our seasonal horizon, but it still hits so suddenly. Maybe if we could work our way into it. Say: springing forward 10-15 minutes each day over the days necessary to equate to the full hour.

Think about it. Get back to me; there is no rush.

A young woman has 20 minutes to rescue her boyfriend from the mob's clutches in this stylistic German thriller. Filmed in hyper-kinetic visual style, the story is told from three different perspectives, each with a different outcome.

Franka Potente is Lola. We are taken for three turns on a wild ride as she attempts to save her boyfriend. Pretty simple really, all she needs to do is come up with 100,000 marks in 20 minutes. Ok, so maybe that is not so simple. The movie derives its name from the fact that, due to a lack of other modes of transportation, Lola must run.

The three different views come from slight variations in timing and action. What I liked most about the film is the idea that there is no "fate"; there is no written script for our lives. We see through Lola that even the smallest event can have an entirely life altering affect on not only yourself, but also on others around you. In each of the three versions, Lola encounters the same people; people she runs past as she attempts to save Manni, her boyfriend. As she passes a few specific people we get a small glimpse of how their lives turn out. Sure the point can be made that by running past an old woman and bumping into her by accident or running cleanly past her will not directly be the difference between two polar opposite outcomes in her life, but the message has a broader meaning.

I cannot recommend this movie to anyone in any given movie-watching situation. I think that if you are in the mood for something more out of the ordinary or maybe something slightly artsy then giving Run Lola Run a try is worth it. I was not in either of these moods, but hey, I will watch anything once.

Buy Run Lola Run $14.96

| Forum |

Aqua Teen Hunger Force - Volume Three Disc One

From the Main Menu select "Episodes". Here choose 5-9 from the top middle of the screen. Located to the Right of episode 5 (The Cloning) and the Right of episode 6 (Broodwich) there is what appears to be a sock hanging out of Carl's dresser drawer. Highlighting it and pressing Enter takes you into a bizarre version of the opening of the show.

Aqua Teen Hunger Force - Volume Three Disc One

From the Main Menu select "Episodes". Automatically episode one is selected (Frat Aliens). If you press to the Right two times you will see that nothing is selected. If you press Enter at this point you will see home video footage as a sound effect is recorded. You can also access this egg by highlighting episode three (Kidney Car) and pressing to the Left.

In case you never click on the "New Features!" link when it appears at the top of your G-mail inbox, here is the latest news.

G is for growth
Storage is an important part of email, but that doesn't mean you should have to worry about it. To celebrate our one-year birthday, we're giving everyone one more gigabyte. But why stop the party there? Our plan is to continue growing your storage beyond 2GBs by giving you more space as we are able. We know that email will only become more important in people's lives, and we want Gmail to keep up with our users and their needs. From Gmail, you can expect more.

We're not in the plains anymore
Fonts, bullets and highlighting, oh my! Gmail now offers rich text formatting. And over 60 colors of the rainbow. Discover a land of more than just black and white.

It was weird when I logged in last night and saw that my inbox size was 1281MB and today it was 1335MB. This explains it. And it was just yesterday that I was wishing I could italize part of what I was sending. And *poof* today I can.

Where will you be when Google takes over the planet? I will most likely be sitting on the couch.