Pandora is basically a Local Area Network

Finally got a chance to watch the acclaimed film "Avatar" and here are some of my thoughts:

1. Saw it on IMAX 3D and there's only one fitting reaction and I'm going with one of the reactions mentioned in the James Cameron interview in Attack of the Show which goes like this:

"Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuude..."

*ahem*

I can tell you that you've never seen anything like it before.

2. Pandora is a planet where the biosphere is essentially one big internet: creatures come with their own USB ports, the native population have their own USB/LAN cables attached to their bodies, trees are servers, and their nature deity issues orders through wifi...duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuude...

3. the visuals are awesome; the story -- well -- is familiar. People have made (unkind) comparisons to Dances with Wolves, Pocahontas, and even Fern Gully!

4. There was this one scene where Jake Sully (or Jake Sooli) is making this big speech to rally the Na'vi. In one sentence I caught the phrase "...this is..." and I went "Sparta?" while chuckling to myself.

5. How the hell do Na'vis f*ck? One animator decides to speculate...



6. I want my own flying dragon -- thing -- whatever that was!

7. I didn't want to return the 3D glasses when it was all over. For the money I paid I decided to wear it until the exit, refusing to take it off with my own hands -- I actually leaned over to the usher so he could pluck the glasses off my face.

Au Revoir, Conan!

I used to stay up at night watching Conan O'Brien and his crazy show Late Night and I have always found its humor most entertaining compared to Jay Leno or David Letterman. Perhaps its the late night time slot that this show once occupied that allowed Conan and his bevy of writers to think up the most insane, surreal, and oftentimes mildly offensive skits to assault the senses of the late night viewer. If you were awake while Late Night with Conan O'Brien was on you're either drunk, wasted or extremely bored out of your skull and a good 'ol dose of crass, juvenile, and plain idiotic humor would do you good.

My fond memories of the show...

1. In the year 2000 - always done with a surprise guest, this skit continued even beyond 2000 -- a fact that they jokingly referred to in one of their segments. I always liked the seemingly homemade production featured in this skit. Looks like this was dreamed up by the writers in their basement while stoned on something...



2. Conan O'Brien hates my Homeland -- insulting the nations of the world to figure out where the show is aired worldwide. This particular clip paved the way for Conan's foray into international politics



3. Conan O'Brien and Tarja Halonen -- only Conan can boast of this achievement: who among the talk show hosts can lay claim to having influenced an actual electoral contest? and having a country's chief executive as a look-alike?



4. Walker Texas Ranger - the man, the show, the clips, that lever.



5. Pierre Bernard's Recliner of Rage -- for geeks only. hehehe



6. Conan and Max small talk moment -- the stare down really cracks me up. It just comes out of nowhere...Max and the band often participates in really absurd skits.



7. The Masturbating Bear -- to clarify, the late night version really featured wanking but since the clip is from the tonight show well...at least we see the bear for one last time...



8. Manatees Gone Wild -- I only found the "Horny Manatee" clip. But you can imagine the "gone wild" part hehe



9. Triumph the Insult Comic Dog -- one of the most famous acts on Late Night with Conan O'Brien.



10. Joel Goddard -- and even the announcer joins in the fun!



I'll miss Conan O'Brien and his show. But if he decides to resurface again, he's got one viewer happy to join in the craziness all over again...

Heil Landa!

Congratulations to Christophe Waltz, a.k.a. Colonel Hans Landa, for winning the Best Supporting Actor Award at the Golden Globes.

His performance in Inglourious Basterds is alternately disturbing and comedic -- with just a touch of charisma and sadism. All of his scenes are noteworthy but this one's the funniest of them all...



An Oscar is just a breath away...

WTF? Death Metal Rooster

And a New Nerd Found...

If a “gaydar” is said to exist…is there a possibly that there is also a “nerd-dar” – a social “device” to “detect” nerds?

Classmate ko siya sa Archaeo class. Una akala ko sit-in kasi second meeting na siya pumasok. Grabe pa mag-english. “Call center English” ‘ata – todo pronounce ang “t” sound at may twang pa. Siyempre di ‘rin ako patatalo sa kanya so English din ako. Pero walang twang…di yan tinuro sa amin hehe.


He arrived a bit late for our class, and since he was absent last meeting he was asking around regarding the previous discussions. That’s when we struck up a conversation. Out of nowhere he mentioned about xenoarchaeology and the possibility of life on other planets.

Silent alarms sounded in my head. I decided to test the waters…

I mentioned the possibility of extraterrestrial life was speculated upon by scientists. In fact there’s this formula…

“Oh, you mean the Roddenberry formula…” Call center English quipped.

…that was made by Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek, I managed to finish.

CONFIRMED!

One more…to determine if he’s the “old school” nerd or more contemporary…

We were discussing hominids, hominins, the culture of the early humans when I turned to him and nonchalantly said…

“Another possibility is that the Cylons are our ancestors…”

Call center English looked at me and chuckled.

“The Cylons,” he replied,”were the reason why humans came to earth in the first place.”

There was no need for words to figure out where that came from. Battle Star Galactica. The Reimagined Series.

Huli ka. haha

WTF? Day Job Orchestra

profanity + illegal drug reference + overdubbed gibberish + Star Trek: TNG + APPLE JUICE! = AMAZING!

See You in Manila

Warp ten na 'to...todo na 'to. hehe

Will be back in Manila this afternoon. Looking forward to the last few months. Hope everything plays according to plan this 2010...