Monthly Archive for April, 2006

Book Review: The Da Vinci Code - 4/5

Published
by
Austen
on April 30, 2006
in Books and Reviews
. 4 Comments

The Da Vinci Code: a very controversial book that has been very popular for the past few years. Over the spring break, and on the eve of the movie coming out starring Tom Hanks, I decided to read it and see what I thought…

The plot starts out with a murder in the Louvre museum in Paris, the curator was murdered, but he had aranged himself like Leonardo Da Vinci’s “The Vitruvian Man” and written a code on the floor beside him. The main character, Robert Langdon and Sophie Nevue then must follow this dead man’s clues through Paris, going from one code to the next, trying to uncover this man’s dying secret. We are told the theory that Jesus actually had a wife, and that he may of even had kids, and a bloodline could still be alive today. There are more mysteries than just this, and Dan Brown (the author, in case you were wondering) takes the reader on a ride through Da Vinci’s paintings, churches, bank vaults, museums and more across Paris.

Brown does a terrific job at keeping the story interesting, surprising, but not TOO surprising, which I think is what will eventually be the TV show Lost’s downfall, to many twists and turns. The story blends religion, history, and modern day things like cell phones together in a way that many people cannot do. The book questions the entire Christian faith, and mentions some of the church’s… more violent actions in the past. Once you dive into this book, it is very hard to put it down. Despite it’s title being “The Da Vinci Code”, less than the first third of the story focuses on Da Vinci’s code. Once it’s found out what it is, it kind of leaves Da Vinci behind and him an his paintings are less significant to the rest of the story - what the paintings suggest, are significant though.

What I like most about this story is the way that Brown takes certain things, like that instead of 12 men at Da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” their appear to be only 11, and one women - Jesus’s wife. He then takes theory’s that people have had and combining them with other theorys to create an entire history of things, that makes the book such a fascinating read.

There are some things that I didn’t like about The Da Vinci code. First, the epilogue wasn’t an epilogue. It was the climax. So it needed a real epilogue. Also, at times it did seem to be a little bit far fetched, the ideas that Brown was suggesting, but hey, Lost is a lot worse. In addition, the seemingly bad guys were shown much lighter sides in the end, which I think kind of ruined the effect. Anyway, I give this book:

[rating:4]

_________________________________________________

Now I’m reading another one of Dan Brown’s books, featuring the same main character, Robert Langdon that was written before The Da Vinci Code called “Angels and Demons.” Review coming for that one once I finish it.

NY Times 9/11 Article

Published
by
Austen
on April 25, 2006
in Life
. 0 Comments

This article is the main story from the September 12th, 2001 New York Times. It’s interesting because it shows the initial reaction that people had when the towers fell, and in the following days.

U.S. Attacked; Hijacked Jets Destroy Twin Towers and Hit Pentagon in Day of Terror

It kept getting worse.

The horror arrived in episodic bursts of chilling disbelief, signified first by trembling floors, sharp eruptions, cracked windows. There was the actual unfathomable realization of a gaping, flaming hole in first one of the tall towers, and then the same thing all over again in its twin. There was the merciless sight of bodies helplessly tumbling out, some of them in flames.

Finally, the mighty towers themselves were reduced to nothing. Dense plumes of smoke raced through the downtown avenues, coursing between the buildings, shaped like tornadoes on their sides.

Every sound was cause for alarm. A plane appeared overhead. Was another one coming? No, it was a fighter jet. But was it friend or enemy? People scrambled for their lives, but they didn’t know where to go. Should they go north, south, east, west? Stay outside, go indoors? People hid beneath cars and each other. Some contemplated jumping into the river.

For those trying to flee the very epicenter of the collapsing World Trade Center towers, the most horrid thought of all finally dawned on them: nowhere was safe.

Continue reading ‘NY Times 9/11 Article’

Website/Program Review: Google Calender

Published
by
Austen
on April 24, 2006
in Reviews
. 0 Comments

Inspired by my friend writing reviews about movies and more, inspired by me writing reviews of just movies, I have now decided to go into the “and more” part. Google Calendar: It had to happen eventually. But then again, doesn’t everything with Google?

Google Calendar is the latest addition to the Google family. It’s still in Beta, but again, isn’t everything with Google? I mean Gmail and has been out for more than a year now and it’s STILL in Beta. Anyway, Google Calendar is simple, colorful, and just plain fun. It’s basically a calendar. You can put in anything you want: meetings, dates, appointments, birthdays, television shows, holidays. It’s great! You set the date(s), time (all day is also possible) and a short description and your done. You can have multiple calendars and color code each one like I did on mine (look to the left). I have one for just normal stuff in blue, and one for birthday of people that I know in red (pinkish really).

So that’s all cool, fun, and totally google simplicity, but here comes the REALLY fun part. You can (with permission) add other people’s calendars to view. For instance, at left I can view Aaron *Big Black Space*’s calendar to (at least what he wants me to see…) and check or uncheck it. It’s unchecked above because of the repetitive schools (wish I could get rid of those repeats…). And then, there are OTHER public calendars that you can search for using the power of Google like Holidays. They have all types, US, Jewish, British, Australian, Islamic - basically any kind of holiday you could want! And then, people create OTHER calendars, like movie release dates, or Apple event dates (I wonder who would find that helpful…?) when the TV show Lost airs and what episode it is (I know…). Thousands of things, that can automatically be put in your calendar with a simple check color-coded to your liking - what else could you ask for???

You can also print easily from Google Calendar your agenda (great for work) and view your calendar in five different ways: Day, Week, Month, Next 4 Days (kinda pointless), and Agenda which is PERFECT for printing. You can also sync it with iCal (mac program) both ways, though not at the same time I hear from Aaron. There is quick and easy scrolling through months, and the settings are very nice and custimizable. For instance, you can choose which day the week starts on, choose your custom view, and set it so you get an email when a new event happens.
So what’s wrong with Google Calendar? As I mentioned before, it would be nice to get rid of repetitive events between users like “School” being shown twice and taking up space. Also, only four events at a time can show on each day in the Month view, but what else could you do? Finally, no mobile - yet. This is great, but not everybody is on the computer all of the time like me, so the email things and notifications wouldn’t really work - unless you have it on a cell phone that’s with you ALL the time. I can’t wait for that.

9/10

Movie Review: Brokeback Mountain - 4/5

Published
by
Austen
on April 23, 2006
in Reviews
. 2 Comments

We finally got the DVD from Netflix this weekend, and we all sat down to watch “The Gay Cowboy Movie”. There was/still is soooo much controversy about this movie and how they’re gay, and how the movie is still a beautiful movie, etc. My mom saw it in theaters, and said that it was pretty good, but loooong. It’s actually only a little bit over 2 hours.

But anyway, it starts out with two guys herding sheep, and then they find out that they’re gay and love each other. One is open about it, while the other is in denial. After the sheep herding (about 50 minutes of the movie) they both go their seperate ways, scarred for life. They both get married and have kids. Then one day, a letter comes to the one in denial (Keith Ledger) asking for another trip to Brokeback Mountain where they had originally herded the sheep. “You Bet” he replies. This starts a 20 year relationship where they pretend that they’re “fishing pals” every year or so and go back to visit Brokeback Mountain, and well - love each other.

The movie is BEAUTIFULLY shot, the locations on Brokeback Mountain, the way the shots are set up, it’s all amazing, also how this movie can be about two gay cowboys (actually, they’re sheepboys), and not be shunned by the entire world (The movie, that is.) The movie is emotional, and although slowly paced, (It was originally a short story) it keeps you fairly interested throughout, and the situations are great. But in the ending BEGIN SPOILER.

Someone dies, and it’s just not brought out in the same way that it should. It’s not as emotional as it could and should be and the ending just leaves you kind of feeling empty.

END SPOILER. It’s “gayness” is a bit disconcerning throughout, though you get used to it about half way through. I don’t know, it just doesn’t seem to come together at the end the way other movies like Crash did. Personally, I think that Crash DEFINITELY deserved the Academy Award for best picture more than Brokeback Mountain, as it did win it. I mean, Brokeback Mountain is a great movie, but it’s just not really meaningful at the end, and makes you feel like you missed something, and there is something missing, though it’s hard to place what. Heterosexual love? Maybe. But it does have that - kind of, I mean they both get married and have kids which just makes it seem kind of weird how they both live striaght lives and gay lives alos. Or maybe it’s just that it was taken from a short story as opposed to a full length book, or just an original screenplay.

[rating:4]

RSS Feed

Published
by
Austen
on April 23, 2006
in Netsua.com
. 1 Comment

I don’t know if the readers of this blog are aware, but this blog DOES have an RSS feed:

Netsua.com RSS Feed

It’s hidden in the little orange button () on the sidebar down by “Latest”. It’s RSS 2.0. Aaron is RSS crazy on his blog, so if any of you use RSS Feeds (Really Simple Syndication) you know where to find mine.

Movie Review: Paycheck - 2.5/5

Published
by
Austen
on April 23, 2006
in Reviews
. 0 Comments

Paycheck is one of those techno-thrillers that take place in the near future and star a big star. The big star: Ben Affleck. The plot of the movie is that in the future when a company hires an engineer (Ben Affleck) to work on a project, they lock him in a room for months, sometimes even years to create their product. Then, once they’ve finished, their mind is wiped of the entire process, so they can’t cheat with other companies, and they have a big fat paycheck waiting for them. Ben Affleck is one of these guys, but one goes wrong…

He develops a time machine, and forgets the entire thing, and people are trying to kill him for it. It’s not a time machine, but it shows the future, and the movie goes on with a lot of Ben Affleck running from the FBI, and a lot of other scary things, and unfolds as a mystery to the climatic ending where the machine predicts that he will die.

Personally, I didn’t like the movie. It was okay - but it just didn’t have anything to it. He just kept on running and uncovering this mystery and it was a fun ride, but just didn’t have the story or emotion that it could of had. I mean, there were some interesting mystery techniques used throughout it, but it didn’t have that special touch of a director doing something unique.

The soundtrack is a quick-paced strings thing that had a few brief themes, that were great for the movie and it’s quality, but just not my style of soundtrack music.

[rating:2.5]

My new bike!!!

Published
by
Austen
on April 22, 2006
in Life
. 3 Comments

Finally, today the rain stopped coming down so I convinced my dad to bring me to the bike store to buy a new bike! I particularly wanted Aaron’s bike, which is pretty cool. We went to 2 bike stores that didn’t have it, so we went to the one that Aaron recommended, the one where he got his. They had it, and the service was great. They found me the right size, I tried it out by sitting on it, took my (our) info like phone number and adress, and outfitted the bike with a kick stand and a bottle holder. In addition, they tweaked the breaks and gears to make sure they worked. And here’s the best part: For 3 years I can come back to any of their stores and they’ll tweak it up, like if the break or gears get a little loose, or I need some kind of adjustment. Cool!
Compared to my oldish, small, cheap bike (Walmart!) that I’ve had since I was about 8, it’s SOOOOO much better. The bike is silver and blue, has 21 gears, is easy to ride, easy to change gears, thin-ish tires, but a straight handlebar - perfect! It’s just like Aaron’s, but a little bit smaller (15-inch). Can’t wait to take it out into the park where I can really speed up!

UPDATE: Here are some pics! First if of my old bike, to compare to the new one!

Craigslist update

Published
by
Austen
on April 22, 2006
in Uncategorized
. 0 Comments

As Aaron dutifully pointed out, it’s “Craigslist” and not “Craig’s List”.

Well, I got four emails about my bike on Craigslist! That’s right, four! So I chose the one with the best price ($50) and they dropped by yesterday afternoon at around 6 o’clock to get the bike, and give ME the money! (Okay, my mom took it, but that’s just for safekeeping.)
Oh, I haven’t mentioned the deal yet: If I come up with $50 my dad will buy me a $250 bike. Well… I just got $50 and I have my eyes on this bike. It’s the same as Aaron’s bike. We were going to go to the bike store today, but it’s raining, so maybe tommorow even though it’s supposed to rain then too. Just my luck.

Added my bike to Craig’s List

Published
by
Austen
on April 21, 2006
in Life
. 1 Comment

Craig’s List is a site for people to find jobs, homes, bikes, paintings, jobs again, and much more. I just added my bike to Craig’s List. Why not do ebay? Because ebay requires shipping. Craig’s List, though, is centered by city and area so basically, someone will look for a bike in Manhattan, and see I’m from the Upper West Side which is right near them. So then they just email me, set up a time to pick up the bike, and take it, and give me $50. So if anyone lives near me and wants a bike that fits a 8 to 12 year old, just click here.

The Da Vinci Code

Published
by
Austen
on April 20, 2006
in Books and Life
. 0 Comments

I’m about halfway through the book, which I decided to start reading this spring vacation. It’s very, very good - kind of like a Harry Potter for adults. It’s interesting, historical, and a real page-turner.

No one tell me the end yet, I already learned a bit to much while watching a TV program about Da Vinci, which mentioned some of the book. Anyway, I SHOULD be reading Anne Frank’s diary. Yeah, whatever. Then I have to write a paper on it. I mean, it’s a pretty good book - but it’s just not my………. genre.

Still, the Da Vinci Code movie is coming out May 19th (a year after the 3rd star wars movie) and I can’t wait to see it, since I’m reading the book right now. Great timing, huh? It stars Tom Hanks (isn’t he getting old? And is hair is… ew!)

Movie Review: Crash - 5/5

Published
by
Austen
on April 18, 2006
in Reviews
. 1 Comment

Crash won the Academy Award for best film this year, surprising most people who were rooting for Brokeback Mountain. I had not seen Crash, so obviously it was on my (and our family’s) Netflix list. Finally, it has come and we all sat down to watch the film this past Sunday night.

The movie takes place in LA, definitely showing the darker side of that city. It takes place over a 36 hour period following multiple people’s lives, and how they interconnect in to each other - or “Crash” into each other. The main confict in the movie is racial ties. Everyone in this movie is confronted with racism, and are racists themselves. There are Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, Koreans, Mexicans (only joking, for those who have seen the movie) and much more. The movie is essentially a drama, but is so engaging, realistic, and it just adresses so many problems of our world today.

I loved this movie. It’s dramatic, sad, even funny at times (but you wonder why you’re laughing, and feel guilty). I don’t want to give away the story if you haven’t already seen it, but the way the director interlocks (I hope that that’s the right word) these people’s lives in a short period, the tensions that happen, it’s amazing. The acting is great, realistic and really touches you. In the end (of course) certain character(s) die, adding to the effect of this movie.

The soundtrack is interesting, it’s not your average type, but mostly a women singing softly, strings, and sad, mounrnful music. This music throughout the majority of the movie is OK, but nothing compared to the beautiful music played during the dramatic parts, which you’ll have to hear to believe.

I HIGHLY recomend that anyone who is looking for a good movie, and a good reason to ponder the ways of the world see this movie. Be aware that it is rated R, and rightly so. Adult Situations may seem simple, but these situations are NOT for kids (whoopsies!).

[rating:5]

More Florida 2006 and Vance’s Birthday

Published
by
Austen
on April 17, 2006
in Life, Netsua.com and Photos
. 1 Comment

I’ve added about 15 more pictures to the Florida 2006 set taken from my own camerathat incude some pictures from the house, and a bit more.

And I’ve also added a few pictures from Vance’s Birthday party (3 weeks late - it’s a fad in our family) to it’s own set. There are only a few, all of them of Vance and Lulu with an ugly flash (except for Alex sleeping.) Still, they’re not bad pictures.

Movie Review: The Ring - 3.5/5

Published
by
Austen
on April 17, 2006
in Reviews
. 1 Comment

I saw this movie a few weeks ago after spotting it on TV, which I instantly recorded with the powers of DVR. This scary thriller is beyond other horror films. The basic storyline is this: You watch a video that apparently has a lot of random images - a women brushing her hair, a light house, a basement, and someone jumping off a cliff, etc. - and at the end of the video you see “the ring” (in poster at left) and then you get the phone call “You’re gonna die in 7 days” a eerie, whispery voice says, and hangs up.

This happens to one such girl, who’s Aunt, after the girl’s death goes to watch the tape and investigate it, it’s orgins, and goes on a mystery frenzy to find out about the tape with the clues given in the video. Then her son watches it, along with her ex-husband which raises the stakes even higher.

The movie all has a darkened feel - probably because the actual images seem to have more shadows than most movies,and it’s filmed with that “old technology” kind of green tint that makes things look old and used. The movie is fairly scary featuring many loud drum sounds and then a scary image like a young girl with the hair all over her face. (It’s scarier in the movie, you’ll see.) I really liked this movie because it brought you along with a mystery that didn’t make any sense, but soon started to. Not to give anything away, but a main character DOES in fact die in 7 days (the others don’t) and it’s a totally awesome scene.

Finally, the soundtrack is perfect, not action-adventure music, but instead a quiet background music playing throughout much of the movie. There are a few themes that play throughout, and the song the girl is singing quietly before she dies (again, you’ll see) that just gets stuck in your head. Overall, a good horror film, but horror isn’t my favorite genre. So…

[rating:3.5]

Broken Stove Movie

Published
by
Austen
on April 16, 2006
in Filmmaking and Life
. 0 Comments

It’s a typical Friday night (except that it’s during spring vacation) and Dad’s in the kitchen cooking dinner when suddenly a loud noise is heard, but unlike usual there is no curse following it, no screaming. Worried, me and my mom run to the kitchen. The entire stove is… well, just see for yourself:

Watch it here (There are some problems with the video embeding)

The Department of Education

Published
by
Austen
on April 15, 2006
in Life
. 2 Comments

It’s long been known that children aren’t allowed to bring cell phones to school because the Department of Education doesn’t allow cell phones, iPods or ANY electronics in any public schools. First off, this is stupid. Cell phones are, first of all, a device that has saved thousands of lives, and second of all, bought by parents for their kids SO THAT IF THEY’RE IN TROUBLE THEY CAN CALL….. lets see; where are kids our age most of the day? At school! So what’s the point of having a cell phone if you can’t even have it for the majority of the day???????!!!!!!!!! Now our school has a policy, don’t let us see it, and we won’t say anything. We’re allowed to have them, but they should be off.

And other electronics, like iPods: School isn’t the only thing we do all day. So they’re saying that we can’t bring electronics to school? What if you’re going over to a friend’s house after school to practice for the talent show, and need the ipod to get the music from??? We can’t have an iPod in our backpacks to use LATER??? As long as they don’t see it in our school.

But now it’s just getting worse because the Department of Education is doing “random security checks” for guns and other weapons at random schools. Our school might be “randomly chosen.” No problems there. It’s just if they find a cell phone (or any electronic for that matter in our backpacks or something, they’ll take them and one of our parents has to come to the school just to pick it up!

Adults bring cell phones to work - they can do whatever they want. They can bring an iPod to listen to on the way there and on the way back - and while they’re there for that matter. But NOOOO kids can’t. We’re just little zombies to be controlled. Go to school, learn, go home, do homework, go to bed. We can’t do anything else - bring any electronics to school, we can’t do anything!!!