10,000 BC

As a member of a primitive tribe during the dawn of man, 21-year-old mammoth hunter D’Leh (Steven Strait) travels through unknown lands on a quest to rescue his people from extinction. D’Leh, leading an army, uncovers a lost civilization while in pursuit of a warlord who kidnapped his love, Evolet (Camilla Belle). D’Leh and his army encounter saber-toothed cats, mammoths and other prehistoric creatures in the journey to save his tribe.

I think this is going to be a great film but I am worried that it will be similar to “Clan of the Cave Bear”. Instead of a woman from a lost tribe you have a man that finds a lost tribe. All in all I think this is a fresh take on an old story. So far the movies that have been coming out have been Sci-fi or Action Adventure.

I look forward to seeing this when it shows and hopefully it will be entertaining and fun.

January 29, 2008 | Posted by Brian under Movies

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Jan Got an iPhone

Jan got an iPhone on Sunday. I am so jealous. I have wanted one for a long time now. Just couldn’t justify paying $600. Even now at $400 I still think that is too much. Specially for a phone that I still have to hack. I’m pretty satisfied with my T-Mobile rate plan and don’t feel like switching.

Anyway, we went to the AT&T store with her after brunch at the Good Egg. Not quite decided, we all went to Best Buy to check out the iPod Touch. Ultimately, the iPhone proved to be a better deal so Jan returned to the AT&T store to purchase the phone while Brian and I went check out this open house in College Hill. Brian got a ticket in the process. I don’t even want to talk about the ticket because it is so stupid. No, it’s not a speeding ticket. A speeding ticket would actually have been preferable, and probably even cheaper.

Went to check out the house, then stopped by mom’s open house (Tita Bev’s house at the Remington), and then went to Jan’s to check out her new iPhone. While there I got to watch a bit of Staying Alive (don’t ask) and a bit of Inside Man (interesting movie). Apparently, I need to catch up my 70s John Travolta movies.

Jan fixed us each a glass of pomegranate martinis except for Brian, of course. He had to drink sprite. [Note to self: It's always five o'clock somewhere.] Here are some of the photos.. Read more

January 28, 2008 | Posted by Ching under Toys, Wishlist

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Mom’s Beverly Hills Smile

Here’s a conversation Brian and I had in the car on Friday night..

BRIAN: It would be cool to work for Viega, but I would be traveling a lot.

CHING: And that’s bad?

BRIAN: We haven’t been apart for more than a week. I couldn’t do it.

[ It was actually two weeks back in 1999 but whatever. ]

CHING: You’re such a wuss. My dad did it for three years.

BRIAN: Yea, but I love you too much.

CHING: You don’t think my dad loves my mom? He paid $30K for her beautiful teeth even though she didn’t need them. If that’s not love, I don’t know what is.

BRIAN: But that was for sexual reasons!

[ Inside joke. We both busted up laughing. ]

CHING: I’m so going to tumble this!

BRIAN: Don’t! Your mom will kill me.

CHING: She brought it on herself.

[ More laughter in the car... ]

Not to pick on mom but her Beverly Hills smile, a work in progress over the last two years, is now complete. She is so proud of it that she tends to over-share. Who can blame her, though? Her teeth are absolutely perfect and truly something to behold.

Anyway, mom had her smile makeover done locally by Dr. Coad. For those can afford it, you can get a true Beverly Hills smile from Beverly Hills dentist Dr. Maddahi. Dr. Maddahi performs smile makeovers using advanced dental techniques including painless air drills, miniature cameras, and digital x-rays. Now, you too can have a perfect smile like my mom’s!

January 28, 2008 | Posted by Ching under Family, Life, Sponsored Post

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The Post Office Ate My Mail

This is what happens when you send a packet of poutine gravy by mail. The mail sorter gets hungry and eats it! LOL.

Many thinks to our Canadian friends, Chris and Kim Feifel, for the wonderful Christmas wishes. Even though the poutine gravy didn’t make it. It’s the thought that counts!

January 27, 2008 | Posted by Ching under Life

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Actor Heath Ledger Dies at 28

I am sure that by now you all have seen the headlines and watched the new and know of the tragic death of actor Heath Ledger. Personally I was a big fan of his and found him to be one of the more promising actors in the world today. Heath Ledger was found dead Tuesday of a possible drug overdose in a Lower Manhattan apartment.

The Academy Award-nominated actor was 28 and was found naked and unresponsive, facedown on the floor at the foot of his bed by a housekeeper trying to wake him for an appointment with a masseuse, Police are saying that they found prescription pills next to the bed that looked to be for Anti-Anxiety and Sleeping Disorder and believe that this may be an accidental overdose.

Police have stated that no note was found and there was no indication of foul play and they believe by all indications that this was not a suicide. Ledger was found at about 3 p.m., and was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency personnel about 3:30 p.m.

A crowd of onlookers, photographers and reporters gathered outside the apartment building after news of Ledger’s death was reported. Police officers were called in to guard the doors from news crews, paparazzi and anyone else wanting to get too closer glimpse of the actor.

Ledger’s family called his death “very tragic, untimely and accidental”. Heath’s father Kim announced on the Australian news “Heath has touched so many people on so many different levels during his short life, but few had the pleasure of truly knowing him.He was a down-to-earth, generous, kindhearted, life-loving, unselfish individual extremely inspirational to many.”

The autopsy that was performed this morning and so far the evidence is inconclusive as to the cause of death. According to officials it could take up to 15 days for the information to be accurately determined.

Heath ledger left behind a 2 year old daughter from his girlfriend Michelle Williams as well as other assorted family. He was a gifted actor, a great person and will be missed by the world.

Our Hearts and Blessings go out to his family and loved one.

January 23, 2008 | Posted by Brian under Life

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Custom Mailing Labels

The one thing that I love about my insurance company is that every year, around the holidays, they send me these pre-printed, self-adhesive mailing labels with my name and address on them. Brian and I both get one, and then we also get ones with both of our names on them. They are really helpful because we used to have to handwrite our name and address on our mailing envelopes. If you have a lot of bills like we do then handwriting your name and return address on envelopes is a tedious process, which is why the free mailing labels were such a lifesaver. The only downside is that we are using holiday-themed labels throughout the year. We don’t really care, though, because it saves us time. We use them anyway.

A couple of months ago, right before I got some more from my insurance company, I ran out of these. I had to handwrite a few. It didn’t take long before I finally decided to purchase some address labels from Vista Print. I am really glad I found their web site! The labels are not expensive at all. They start out at only $7.99 and you can customize them or design your own altogether. No more holiday mailing labels in the middle of summer!

Of course, as luck would have it, I got some new mailing labels from my insurance company so I didn’t have to buy my own after all. But that’s okay, I will save the ones from the insurance people for emergencies because the ones from Vista Print are much, much nicer.

January 22, 2008 | Posted by Ching under Sponsored Post

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Cloverfield Revealed

Well I took advantage of the weekend lull in my schedule and went to see Cloverfield. Let me tell you that I was a little disappointed in the movie. I was impressed with the special effects but that was about it. The camera footage was very nauseating and was almost a little too much to watch. The monster was pretty cool but you don’t really get to see too much of it because the the camera footage is so jerky and bad.

As I stated before, I was excited to see this film because it was a J.J. Abrams film. However, I was worried about this being just a Sci-fi version of the Blair Witch Project and I was right on. The story was not complete, it did not tell us where the monster came from. It did not really tell us if the monster was destroyed. It gave no real explanation of the creature other than it was really big, dropped little bugs that could infect you with something that made you explode and was damn near indestructible.

When the credits rolled there were so many people just sitting in the theater wondering if that was it. As the music started people slowly got up and walked out but still looking at the screen like they were waiting for more to happen. I sat and waited till the very end just in case (but mostly because I was disappointed and wanting more). My wife was with me as was my father and my wife looked at me after the credits and said quite disgustedly “What the hell was that”. Then I had to listen to how dumb that was for the next hour. Now I am going to have to go see at least 4 chick flicks to make up for it.

All-in-all, I was a little disappointed in this film as was most of the people that I saw in the theater. This was not J.J. Abrams best in my opinion.

January 20, 2008 | Posted by Brian under Movies, Reviews

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Sabor Latin Bar and Grille

A friend of ours we play OGame with told us about Sabor Latin Bar and Grille a few weeks ago. He said it was outstanding. I think he was a little inebriated when he was giving his recommendation so I didn’t pay too much attention.

I did have the opportunity to try Sabor at lunch with a couple of coworkers on Thursday. He was absolutely right! Food at Sabor is outstanding!

I saw the “Tostones” banana chips on the appetizer list and was immediately drawn to it. I love banana chips. Whenever we went to Healing Waters, they had these muchie bags and I would always pick out the banana chips. Sometimes we would buy banana chips at the grocery store for muchies at home while watching TV. So I ordered some for us to try.

The “Tostones” were nothing like I expected. These are actually plantain chips, sliced very thinly lengthwise and salted. So they were not sweet like regular round banana chips. I had never savored anything like these before. I’m not sure how they are prepared. They look like they have been dehydrated and then fried. They are very thin and crispy. They’re served in a vase-like presentation vessel with sauce holders on either side for chimmichurri (a delicious concoction of olive oil and herbs) and avocado crema for dipping. Avocado crema makes me think of guacamole, but this is ten times better. Personally, I don’t like guacamole but I really enjoyed the avocado crema. I preferred it for my chips over the chimmichurri. Read more

January 20, 2008 | Posted by Ching under Food, Reviews

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Ever Heard of Dry Shampoo?

I really wish I knew about dry shampoo before. Seriously. I could have really used this on our flight to Jamaica. The restroom facilities on the plane don’t lend themselves well for washing your hair. It would have been nice to have been able to freshen up, though. Clean hair would have been a nice perk. I could have cleaned my hair with the dry Salon Grafix’s spray powder shampoo line. Unfortunately, I’d never heard of it until just the other day from a Canadian friend. I guess this Salon Grafix stuff is really big over there. The other hair styling products have been around for a while but this dry shampoo stuff is pretty new. It’s great for those who travel a lot, or for those busy days where you have to be at work (or school) all day and then you have a special function to attend at night. You get fresh, clean hair with no muss or fuss.

January 19, 2008 | Posted by Ching under Sponsored Post

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Doomsday

If you’re a big Sci-fi fan like myself then you already know about the upcoming apocalyptic thriller Doomsday, the newest film from The Descent director Neil Marshall. A brand new trailer has launched for this sci-fi action thriller and I have included it for you in this post.

Personally I think the trailer looks good. However, I find some similarities to films like Mad Max or Escape from New York. Even thought the scenes and the action will be top notch, I am worried that they are trying to compete with the likes of the 28days films or other apocalyptic films of this nature that have come out recently or will be coming out in 08.

Looking at the previews I think I might want to watch it but will it be worth the price of admission, or will I just wait to add it to my ever growing Netflix list. Reading about the film on other web sites I find myself torn with the concept of the film itself, thinking that they are trying to rekindle the flame that was once the Mad Max franchise and this time instead of a gritty Aussie they got a stunning brunette with a great rack to attract all the fan boys to the theaters.

Either way I am sure that the film will captivate the fan boys and keep the action junkies on the edge of their seats. I look forward to the film when it releases and I am sure I will provide you all with an update to it once I have finally seen it in all its big screen glory. Until then, enjoy the preview below.

January 18, 2008 | Posted by Brian under Movies

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