Thieves, Pirates and Superheroes

I seem to have enjoyed Ocean's 13 better than Pirates 3 and Spiderman 3.


































However, Pirates 3 had the best trailer:

 

Arvin Has Graduated from Middle School

My brother Arvin has graduated from Portola Middle School. He will be going to Taft High School next school year.

Here's a picture of my bro and my subtle attempt to share the glory by (partly) holding his diploma:


















Congrats Arvin!

 

Airball

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was on campus for a signing session of his new book "On the Shoulders of Giants: My Journey Through the Harlem Renaissance". He was at the Ackerman Union from 1pm-3pm.

I got to school too late at 3:40pm. It was a bad miss, like an airball.

Kareem is a UCLA alum. He also spoke to the graduating seniors this same day.

 

This Week is...

National Men's Health Week. Err, this should apply internationally as well. MSN Health lists the following as the top causes of men's death in the US (in increasing levels of risk):

10. Alzheimer's Disease
9. Kidney Disease
8. Suicide
7. Pneumonia and Flu
6. Diabetes
5. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (CPOD)
4. Stroke
3. Accidents
2. Cancer
1. Heart Diseases

 

Stephen Colbert Interviews US Congressman Adam Smith (Hilarious)

Stephen Colbert interviews Washington State Representative Adam Smith. This is an absolutely funny interview.

Some notes:
1) Colbert points out that Washington D.C. is a district, not a state, and therefore is not part of the "United States" of America.

2) Rep. Smith admits to Colbert that he doesn't know what UNICEF stands for.

3) As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Smith refuses to talk about classified US weapons technology, of which he has access to. He ends up neither confirming nor denying the existence of military shrink rays.

4) The best part of the interview follows right after Item #3.

 

The Bus-Game Experience

My previous blog was inspired by my recent experiences in catching the bus, including tonight's.

Just for fun, I now treat the catching-the-bus experience as a game of "Making It (On Time) or Not". Usually, I leave class before or at exactly 9:30 pm which gives me enough time to get to the nearest bus stop before 9:50 pm, the scheduled arrival of the bus. It is the only one that goes straight to the San Fernando Valley at night, where I could then catch another bus that drops me off a few blocks from my place. The next bus after 9:50 comes at 10:50 pm - an hour's wait and parallel to an eternity of punishment for me.

If I miss the 9:50 bus, I have the choice of waiting for the next one for an hour (10:50) or going a different route via Hollywood and taking the Metro Red Line (Rail System). This latter route takes 3 rides instead of the usual 2. Experience has shown that there is not much time difference whether I choose to wait for the 10:50 bus or go through Hollywood. I still arrive between 11:45 pm and midnight just the same.

Since I leave class at about 9:30, I usually get to the stop at around 9:40. In such cases, I always hope that the bus would arrive earlier than the scheduled 9:50 so I could get home earlier. If it does, then good.

These past classes, I could never get myself to leave at 9:30, let alone earlier than that, because of our Database Management project. I get to leave at just past 9:40, in which case I had to do a half-sprint all the way to the bus stop hoping that the bus arrives on time (if I am on track to make it by 9:50) or a little late (if I can't make it by then). Just being a few seconds late doesn't cut it. If I am still on the other side of the street and the stoplight still says "Stop" for pedestrians, the bus will most likely not wait for me and proceed through the green light.

The meeting before last, I left class later than 9:30 and was able to get to the bus stop at about 9:46. There was still hope for me since the schedule says 9:50. But alas, the bus might have gone too early (something that I would have liked if the situation was different) since I ended up waiting for the 10:50 one.

This recent meeting, I again left late at way past 9:40 pm. And again, half-sprint I went to make it to the bus stop at exactly 9:50. It turned out that the bus was a little late, arriving at about 9:52 or 9:53. I made it this time.

Sometimes I win, sometimes I lose.

So I made it on time but the second bus I rode going home stunk, literally. That counts as a minor loss but what the heck, I still won, in this particular instance.

 

Buses in L.A.

The Good:

1. Priority for the disabled and elderly. There are special seats for them near the driver (and entrance/exit). The front bus doors have an automated mechanism that provides a platform where people with wheelchairs can smoothly enter and exit the bus. There's also a special spot where wheelchairs can be properly secured inside the bus, hence preventing the wheels from moving along as the bus goes.

2. Less cramped, because of less person-to-bus ratio. Seldom will there be pushing when people are entering the bus. More space to move around inside.

3. Space allocated for each seat is relatively larger than the ones in the Philippines. I could wiggle my butt and still stay within the bounds of my seat.

4. Daily, weekly, and monthly passes make it easy for you to "ride-all-you-want".

5. They have several small screens which show news items, trivia, or advertisements to keep you from being bored.

6. There are thick strings on the sides along the length of the bus that you can pull to tell the driver you want to get off (on the next bus stop). You don't have to shout to the driver.

7. They have allocated bus stops. They don't just stop anywhere. This helps reduce traffic and the safety risks. Also, most buses have speaker systems that announce the next stops.

8. They have definite timetables which they "usually" follow. The timetables are more of guidelines to help you estimate the time you have to wait.

9. Most of them go slower than almost all other vehicles, even more so in the freeway. Potentially, they can make you safe.

The Bad:

1. The small screens never show TV shows or movies. Except for the news items, I've gotten bored with what's being shown.

2. From my experience, some buses stink, especially at night.

3. They have allocated bus stops. They don't just stop anywhere. This means more walk for you. Imagine if you miss the bus stop because you pulled the string too late. Imagine if you miss the bus stop because, even if you pulled the string on time, the driver failed to notice it.

4. They have definite timetables which they "usually" follow. At night, some buses have intervals of more than one hour, even if they're the only ones running on that route. Others don't travel at all.

5. You are sometimes at the mercy of the bus driver. The driver can choose not to board you if you are not within the bus stop, even if you're just a few steps away. It is also possible that the driver won't see you and blow past the bus stop. If it happens at night, when intervals are wider, just smile.

6. Most of them go slower than almost all other vehicles, even more so in the freeway. Potentially, they can make you late.

******

These are all based solely from my experiences and are therefore, flawed, faulty, and relative. I've only ridden in buses in the Philippines and Los Angeles.

By buses, I was also referring to the public transportation of L.A., which includes the rail system.

 

Esmee Denters

How could some random girl singing her own version of Justin Timberlake's "What Goes Around" get 2.5 million views in Youtube within one week?

I was curious enough so I decided to watch her video to know why. And boy, did I just love her version. To say the least, I liked it as much as the original by Justin. The surprise ending is also awesome (no wonder it hit the million views mark). Check to see why:

The girl, Esmee Denters, turns out to be a Dutch girl who gained popularity on Youtube for posting videos of herself singing songs: both popular ones and her own compositions. Her profile says that she joined Youtube last August. It surely has been a blast since then as she has become some sort of a celebrity.

According to Wikipedia, Esmee signed a record deal with producer Billy Mann, who has previously worked with well-known music artists such as Sting, Ricky Martin, Celine Dion, Backstreet Boys and Boyzone. She is also the first artist to be signed by Justin Timberlake to his own record label, Tennman Records.

Here are some of her videos (I absolutely love her renditions):