Your World As I See It

As many of you know, I am a huge fan of science fiction, and typically think highly of films regarding the "Final Frontier". However, a genre that rivals and perhaps surpasses the realm of space in my aesthetic hierarchy is that of martial arts / samurai type movies. I greatly admire the Akira Kurasawa - Toshiro Mifune collections and am such a fan of Jackie Chan that I have been known to frequent a certain Honolulu eatery devoted to the actor. From Bruce Lee to Jet Li, I will watch pretty much any kind of authentic kung fu flick. That being said, it is then no small wonder that I was overjoyed to discover that two of my favorite kung fu stars would be sharing the stage in an action feature. This was quite the pleasant surprise for me, as I had long been disappointed by Hollywood's continued failure to make any of my "dream teams" a reality. As you might expect, I, like many in the theater Friday night, had quite high expectations of the film. You will be...

  Sonics | NBA approves Sonics' move to Oklahoma City | Seattle Times Newspaper And there you have it...the NBA has approved the move of the team formerly known as the Seattle Supersonics.  The only two owners unsullied by the monumentally disgusting decision were Portland's own Paul Allen and Dallas Maverick's owner Mark Cuban.  I applaud these two for sticking by their morals in the face of the unmitigated greed of their peers.  This entire situation has been nothing more than the NBA's continuing war against the average fan.  For all the flack Barak Obama has been catching recently about being an elitist, no one is more so than the NBA, and pro sports in general.  This group of the super-rich moan constantly about not making enough money, and how hard it is to be a billionaire.  They hold cities hostage by threatening to move or contract teams, demanding that municipalities fund their hobby.  Consider the case of the Sonics-Bennett demandi...

  The Art of the Timeout - WSJ.com Click the link above to for the full article...   Another reason that Nate McMillan should be coach of the year-the impact of his timeouts on the play of the team.  This fine article outlines the fact that Portland is the best team in the league in post time-out performance, a direct reflection on coaching acumen.

So, no doubt most of you were wondering what the Dalai Lama's visit to Seattle was like. Being that I was an audience member at his honorary degree ceremony at the University of Washington, I suppose I can give some idea. Anyway, the ceremony itself was held in the Hec Ed Pavilion (the Bball arena right next to Husky Stadium) on a rainy Monday afternoon. Upon arriving at the scene, there was a group of pro-China protesters at the entrance, though I, having arrived later than most, went through an unprotested entrance. Now, it certainly seemed odd to have people protesting an honorary degree, but then again, we do like our protests up here in Seattle. The ceremony itself was quite interesting, with all the pomp and circumstance of a regular graduation ceremony. All the faculty were there in their academic regalia, complete with various brightly colored robes and hats, representing their respective field or school. The band played in the rear of the stage, while the audience o...

  On a somber note, we here would like to comment on the passing of cinema legend, Charlton Heston.  To me, he was the man who defined the epic movie actor.  To be sure, there have been others whom I have thought as great and emblematic of their time, but ol' Chuck stands above them all in my book.  I think growing up, I saw more of him than any of the others, with the many great dramatic must-see epics that were thankfully also quite family-friendly.  His accolades are many, staring from classic Biblical and historical roles as Moses and El Cid to the far reaches of Sci-Fi in films like Planet of the Apes .  Additionally, he brings to mind what I think is the greatest movie scene ever, namely, the chariot race from Ben-Hur .  He was the perfect man to play the larger than life hero, the star of a somewhat bygone age in history.  Truly quite the memorable star.  for you movie renters out there, you should really pick up a few of his movies an...

So, I suppose all of you want to know what life is in the guard...well, I've got to tell you, not so interesting as the commercials make it out to be. There is no jumping out of helicopters or anything like that. It mostly consists of sitting around or going out and practicing some skills that will very likely have absolutely no bearing upon anything we have to do in a deployment situation. This makes for a rather tedious weekend of duty. Making it worse is the fact that we have to come in Friday nights now too, in addition to having to come in an hour earlier on Saturdays and Sundays. Not to sound like a complainer, but it's one thing if we actually had a lot to do on these weekends, but the fact of the matter is we don't, and the end result is that have to spend even more time doing the same amount of work. Adding to this dilemma is the remarkably ineffecient manner in which everything is handled-training that could be finished in small groups in a couple hours take...

Well, it has certainly been a long time coming but I am finally in my last quarter here as an undergrad at UW. Of course, my previous plan would have left me with a few quarters to go, but, certain issues have precipitated the need to tweak the old schedule. And by "certain issues" I am referring, of course, to the fact that I am once again being sent to desert duty. Not very pleasant, especially given that I was so close to being finished with the whole thing. Oh well...hopefully whomever the next president is has a plan for a quicker withdrawal... That being said, I am happy with the classes I'm taking this quarter, and it looks to be an enjoyable one, especially is I put forth a little more effort than I did last quarter (hey, I got good grades, but I made myself work much harder than I needed to with all the time I set aside for procrastinating!).