Day-In Day-Out: M. I. P.

Sad Story

2012-01-08T23:42:00.000-08:00

For those of you who don't know or haven't heard of the movie Inglorious Basterds, it is a fictional story written by the filmmaker Quentin Tarantino about the Germans, French, and Americans involvement in the war and about how the downfall of Hitler came about.

Now in this movie, Aldo Rein, an American infantry unit leader, and his men ambush Hitler at a cinema event where he is caught off guard, while Mrs. Mimieux, the cinema owner, also attempts to kill all in the theater by burning nitrate film reels. Aldo's men gun Hitler down and all others as the cinema burns to the ground.

A friend I use to work with saw this movie with his girlfriend, a model. For all with any basic knowledge whatsoever of the World War, you know this story couldn't be farther from the truth. It was at this moment that Nick's girlfriend turned to him and said:

Idiot: Is that really what happened?
Nick: uh...... Yep (smiles)
Idiot: Oh! That's what I thought.
Nick: (says to himself "wow, I have to leave her")

Sad it is, the lack of basic common sense there is in the world.

Ice Cream Man

2011-12-20T12:08:00.000-08:00

As a kid I was happy to hear the tone of his truck driving on my street, as I ran at front, hoping to not be too late to catch him and get an ice cream bar in the shape of an animated character with gum balls for eyes. Now as I see this creepy man driving, most recently in September, which I know is not current but I felt compelled to write about it, I think that his role is not much different then ol' Mr. Sandusky, attempting to lure children, preferably in large quantities, away from their homes and to his place. The difference is the Ice Cream man builds some rapport with the children and has the nerve to charge the kids money! I'm onto you! Ice Cream Man Beware...

Teen Mom

2011-12-10T09:10:00.001-08:00

At one in the morning, Manuel and I happened to come across the television show called Teen Mom. The fascination with this show is still beyond our comprehension, but as our interests were peaked by the sad people who subject themselves to these ridiculous circumstances, we began watching it more and more. Later joined by Toni and Brad, we embarked on a marathon of watching this television show and following the stupid decisions made by these idiotic adolescents. Say what you will about this television show, these people have some pitiful lives and that makes it interesting enough to watch.

Get Out

2011-12-05T11:11:00.001-08:00

Recently I began a new job. This occupation was a display specialist for products under Berkshire Hathaway. Now, the pay was good, hours reasonable, and the duties themselves, easier than being a Mom, the easiest job in the world. However, after only my first week I will be forced to quit based on one sole factor, association. Before you say that is ridiculous,let me tell you a story my co-worker relayed to me."My life sucks man. I'm just wrapping up my divorce that is going to cost me upwards of a million. I consulted a friend about having her killed and he said for $10,000 he would make her disappear...Couldn't do it though. I'm too honest. If the police would've asked me I would have told them the killers name." Now this story is not only true, but not even the worst I have heard. I had to get out!

Cinema (Part 2)

2011-12-03T18:59:00.001-08:00

The following films are the latter half of my top ten list. I have recently completed the first 100 films on IMDB's top 250. I previously posted my top five and whats below is my number 6-10:

6. Reservoir Dogs- In this film, a jewelry heist goes wrong because of a tip-off from an insider. The story explains each character and their search for a mole.

7. The Shining- This showcases what I think to be Jack Nicholson's finest acting. A writer becomes caretaker to a winter lodge where while he is secluded here, is driven mad and attempts to kill his family. He has a real knack for playing a psycho.

8. Gladiator- Terrific acting and filled with action, a man is falsely accused of killing the emperor and sentenced to slavery. This story explains his journey back to freedom.

9. The Godfather- Enough said.

10. Momento- A Christopher Nolan film, about a man who searches for the man who killed his wife, though he struggles to remember all of what happened.

The Box

2011-12-01T13:54:00.001-08:00

A movie where a man offers a choice, a test of morals. Now for some the answer would be easy yet, for others maybe not. What follows is what would happen if I would have been offered this deal:
Man: Brock, if you press this button two things will happen. First thing, you will receive one million dollars...
Brock: (Pushes the button)
Man: Uh, didn't you want to know what else happens?
Brock: Nope.
Man: Well someone just died.
Brock: Why didn't you say that before hand?
Man: I tried to. Well, you failed the moral test.
Brock: Dang!

Notice for Wife

2011-11-29T15:37:00.001-08:00

Dear Future Wife,
Please don't get the real world mixed up with limbo and then kill yourself in the real world while at the same time making it extremely difficult to do my job by always showing up uninvited and shooting or stabbing someone. If you could just make sure you keep a metal spinning top on your person at all times to distinguish reality that would be great.
Thanks,
Brock

Cinema

2011-11-29T11:01:00.001-08:00

I'm a big fan of cinema and most recently have made it my goal to make sure I have seen the best 250 movies in the world. As I work my way down this list, I see old movies, new ones, black and white, color, documentaries, and even series and trilogies of movies. I plan to continually add to my own list of the top movies. These following films will be my top five for the time being but might change as time goes on.

1. Citizen Kane-This movie searches the life of the greatest publishing and political tycoon Charles Foster Kane and digs to define the meaning of his dying words, Rosebud.

2. 12 Angry Men-This film depicts a jury in which all but one man, acted by Henry Fonda, attempt to convict a man solely on the purpose of leaving the court early. This man, unconvinced of his guilt, keeps the men in the room trying to get them to go over every aspect of what happened.

3. The Shawshank Redemption-This story is about a man, stuck in prison because of the accusation that he killed his wife. The movies shows his time spent in prison and his clever plan for escape. Anything else said might spoil it for those who have not yet seen it.

4. A Clockwork Orange-A brilliant Stanley Kubrick film based of the book; A young boy named Alex and his droogs wreak havoc around the town committing murder and other atrocities. Once caught, Alex is put into an experiment with the purpose of reforming. This method damages him and upon release is tortured up until being hospitalized.

5. No Country for Old Men-Javier Bardem delivers a frightening, yet incredible role as Sigur, a man in search of a case of money from a drug deal that went south. He will go to whatever measures possible to retrieve it.

Photo made with Juxtapose. By Rob Trahan.
Available on the app store.

WalMart- The skidmark

2011-11-27T08:19:00.001-08:00

WalMart is the skidmark on the underpants of grocery stores. Don't get me wrong, apart from the rednecks who view this place as a haven where they cannot only purchase groceries, but gun shells and fishing line, there are a class of regular people there to find the good deals on food, drinks, etc. However, apart from these "regular" people, these others have only a few reasons for coming to this dull store of grey and blue walls where all the employees look at you with a look of defeat in there eyes as if that were the last option. Dirt cheap beer and anything that is the great value brand. The only reason I say this is because my last encounter at WalMart consisted of a man purchasing two cases of Natural Light, and great value sausage. I laughed at first until I saw another person doing almost the same thing. Two cases of Budweiser and great value chips and then as if it were a dream, two more. One was carrying Bud Light and great value wings and the other, sure enough, with Miller Light and great value milk. I certainly hope they don't all plan on mixing the following. Maybe it's because I see these things that I think of those at WalMart as a lowest of the low class but with good reason. Rednecks mixing up football and baseball teams, even more recently a young man bolting out with a 50 inch flat screen making it as far as Whataburger, people putting alcohol ahead of providing for their famiy, and now add to that list the sad way people spend their money.

Binary Code Post

2011-11-25T09:00:00.000-08:00

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How to Correctly Fall Off a Scissor Lift

2011-11-19T20:57:00.001-08:00

I was asked a compelling question the other day. Now this inquiry was obviously an ironic question asked in hopes of receiving a goofy excuse of a response. Unknown, to even myself, as to why this question made me think so much, I began constructing a bulletproof plan to survive a three story fall while a motorized vehicle is being tipped over with you on the top of it. I have devised it into a few steps to be shared with you incase you ever find yourself in such a predicament.

1. You must figure out which direction this scissor lift is tipping so you can determine which side you will have to jump off of.

2. You must wait until the lift is at a tilt of at least a 39 degree angle before you climb over the railing on the opposing side.

3. Once you climb off you will have 3.7 seconds to walk down the side of the falling lift as it nears hitting the ground.

4. Now, at the very moment the lift reaches a 7 degree angle you will then have 1.8 seconds to jump and roll to break the fall, absorbing any of the counter energy from the height of your flight.

5. You have just successfully fallen 3 stories and avoided a life threatening accident. Your welcome.

Enforced By Aircraft

2011-11-17T17:55:00.001-08:00

As I'm driving through Tennessee on my way to New York, I notice a lot of the same signs in every town until Virginia. "No Radars, Speed Limit Enforced By Aircraft." Now it could be just me but I don't think they want you speeding. All I could imagine is the car in front of me accelerating about to pass a car and suddenly, shhhhhhhhhhHHHHHHHHHH DOOM BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM SHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhwhooo. Any city that is willing to kill those speeding means that they are taking their right to exercise the death penalty way too far, as another guy speeds up and DADDADADADADADADA. So this is a forewarning to those who think, " 70 mph? I'll do 75." It could mean your life!

Cocaine and Coffee

2011-11-16T07:00:00.001-08:00

It's funny how through closer examination the simple yet popular drink so many are dependent on is so similar to a drug outlawed for the dangerous process the brain undergoes when using it. I had a few points I found interesting that I wanted to share.

Contrary to popular belief, coffee or caffeine doesn't just inject energy into your bloodstream. Your nervous system produces amounts of adenosine, which, when it has reached a certain level, induces sleep. Now, those levels are monitored by receptors of the brain known as the A1 receptor, which sends signals to the body about what function to begin.

So, essentially, what this caffeine is doing is telling these receptors to hold off on the sleeping or resting processes that the brain attempts to set in. When cocaine is administered into the bloodstream, the dopamine forms to these same receptors, repeating the same process, heightening the opposite of what the receptors wish to do. The amount of intensity is obviously different to an extent, especially when the drug had been laced with a by-product, but still it has the same effects.

The real harm doesn't come until the process of preparing the cocaine is left up to the street dealer in which it then undergoes many unsanitary processes to save on money. As coffee progresses onward and people's addictions on it become worse, these same processes to prolong use for less money may come into place, making it no better than cocaine.

Who would've thought this beverage that many lives "depend" on wasn't far off from the dangerous street drug with a reputation of hospitalizing people over prolonged use?

The Long Road Home

2011-11-15T10:23:00.001-08:00

I'm driving back to Texas from LA and there is nothing more boring than a long winding highway of flat land with no scenic value whatsoever. I firmly believe that over the course of the next 15 years, that Apple's duty should be to develop Siri's capabilities to handle that of operating motor transportation. This technology is already advanced enough to have the sleight understanding of human reasoning. All that's missing is auto pilot. Before Steve Jobs died it is said he left some invention ideas. Prepare yourself for the Apple A1 car. It's coming...

A Cure on the Move

2011-11-14T13:02:00.001-08:00

In June of 2009, a man named Ken Miles suffered from a heart attack. He was told that 30% of his heart was damaged and that his life would never be the same.

3 weeks following this a man by the name of Mike Jones suffered from a similar heart attack, uncertain of whether it would ever be within his ability to recover. However, the odds were pressed against both them.

They had both agreed to undergo a procedure of treating the damaged areas of the heart with stem cells grown from their own heart weeks earlier. Now according to studies, a patients Left Ventricle Ejection Fraction, a measure of blood flow to the heart per each contraction, has to be above 40% to have not suffered from heart damage. These patients, both at around 30.3%, had within 3 months improved this LVEF to 38.5%. And as they continued treatment for a year, had revived to back to 42.5%!

Advancements like this show the direction of where research is being applied, and though not every sickness will ever be healed, they are making amazing strides towards minimizing the vast numbers of people suffering from heart damage and failure.

Influence of Television on Desire

2011-11-14T10:36:00.001-08:00

After a brief conversation with Mr. Rob Trahan yesterday I discovered how often a craving or desire is induced from a simple series of actions or repetition on a television show. We recognized that after the both of us had watched the Big Bang Theory, that the common meals of Thai food they ate without letup every Thursday had resulted in our own personal hankering for this cuisine. The more we discussed the matter, the more it became apparent that it was more than this that held true to be an influence on me. Their repetitive use of only Fiji water, their schedule of watching old superhero movies, and even their arrangement of their cereals, organized based on fiber content. All of these factors had worn off on me over the course of watching this series. The thought that a simple show could induce a particular behavior and set of actions without that even as a primary intention is truly astonishing. Through this I began analyzing other habits I had picked up from watching my regular series, and sure enough, there were plenty to which I had never given thought. I suggest as a daily exercise you just meditate on your daily schedule, your habits, and likes as well as dislikes and contrast them to your common television series to see what you come up with. It's likely that over the course of time you have developed tendencies like that of common characters on television.

Most Expensive Photo in the World

2011-11-14T08:06:00.001-08:00

While cruising along the dreary coastline, a man must've decided that the most compelling photo ever was to his left. At this he snapped a quick photo and somewhere in the course of time decided an appropriate name for it to be "Rhein II" by Andreas Gursky. Days ago this photo's name changed to a title, the most expensive photo ever sold at the outrageous amount priced at $4.3 million, exceeding the old record of $3.8 million. Attached will be this photo for your opinions and open for comments on how you view the purchase of this piece.

Tech/Dub/House

2011-11-07T11:56:00.001-08:00

The recent explosion of the electronic side of music has both perplexed and awed many. The amount of listeners has increased by 52% alone this year. This style of alternative music has existed for some time but has remained relatively underground besides some of the headliners like Daft Punk and older early stage Deadmau5. It has grown so rapidly because of its appeal towards different audiences. Whether your a hardcore music fan and enjoy Skrillex, the old singer of From First to Last, or whether you prefer more upbeat tunes like that of Justice, there is something out there for everyone. Will this new wave of BPM's and electronic overlays progress onward in this constant changing music scene?

Planking?

2011-11-03T15:12:00.000-07:00

After consideration on what makes these most recent games so popular I came to the conclusion of what they had in common. They are all stupid. Yet, people still find them fun. These are a few of my "planking" like ideas that will hopefully become popular of the next few years.

Fetalling
(Fee-Tahl-Eng)
Verb
v. 1. the act of performing the fetal position in unorthodox places

Morganing
(More-Gahn-Eng)
Verb
v. 1. the act of performing the captain morgan stance in extremely dangerous places; such as the roof of a skyscraper on a windy day

Time-Outting
(Tym-Ow-Ting)
Verb
v. 1. the process of you and a collection of friends filling the corners of a room, facing the wall
(This was brought to you by the intricate mind of Chaz Sherill, his blog is entitled stuff you need to be aware of and its located under the blogs I follow.)

Eagling
(Ee-Gahl-Eng)
Verb
v. 1. the act of jumping from one story buildings in a full spread eagle position

Owning
(Oo-Ning)
Verb
v. 1. the act of running up on a random person while simultaneously throwing a collar with a leash on around their neck

Sheldon Cooper

2011-11-01T22:31:00.000-07:00

Star of the Big Bang Theory, Sheldon Cooper shines under his role as a Theoretical Physicist who's brilliance portrays him to be ignorant to many of the common formalities or conventional understandings we have. His character develops as an obsessive compulsive scientist working on M Theory or String Theory. He comes to countless dead ends and is constantly distracted and sidetracked by the shenanigans of his roommate Leonard, and his friends Penny, Raj, and Howard. This never deters him, however, as he continues to move closer and closer to an end result with his research. As this series progresses, he becomes less robot and more human, allowing his friends to teach him to be more like a "real boy." His acting is superb and role in this series continues to amaze me. This show has no interest in stopping anytime soon and that couldn't make me happier.

Fast Food

2011-11-01T10:04:00.000-07:00

It's funny how, much more recently, the quality of the already mediocre fast food restaurants has been in a decline. What use to be a quick stop where you could eat a fast, greasy meal for very cheap is now long lines wrapping around the parking lot with combos pricing 7-10 dollars, smaller portions, and cheaper ingredients. Though this has been a realization for many for quite some time already it was not until recently that I discovered how truly inedible some of these once tasty fast food joints have become. Taking a break from my search for the world's best burger, I decided to grab a bacon cheese burger really quick on my way home. The first place I come across is Wendy's, where I use to really enjoy their burgers. As I pull into the parking lot to go to the drive thru, I come across what appears to be 6 cars in the line. I figured that according to their title of "fast food" that this line would move at a relatively quick pace. This was wrong. I sat there for 20 minutes before I was even able to order in which I had a lady recall over my very basic order at least 7 times, as she constantly added mistake after mistake. After another 10 minutes I made it to the window and drove off feeling unsatisfied with the experience already. When I made it home, I sat down to eat what better have been the best burger of my life based on what I went through. The meat was over cooked, cheese tasted as if it had been sitting out, bun was hard, and there were tomatoes which I had asked for none of multiple times. Now I understand, after having worked at a McDonald's that the goal of a fast food restaurant is to make a profit of what cost you next to nothing to make. But the sacrifice of quality that was poor to begin with is a crime. This food will becoming a dying breed if it continues in this direction and based of what I tasted, this wouldn't be a bad thing.

Pizza Battle Royale

2011-10-31T12:55:00.000-07:00

In Lake City, Florida two Domino's managers decided that they would go to any means necessary to secure their spot as the number one pizza provider. Papa John's had been making a run at their "turf" so what these managers did is launch an all out attack. They set fire to a Papa John's in hopes of eliminating this competition but seemed to let it slip their mind that arson is a felony. Now, both under arrest, these managers admit it was a bad idea but they think it was an attempt to rise to supremacy. Sad times we live in.

A Pressing Matter

2011-10-30T14:43:00.001-07:00

Today I plan to break from my original format to talk a little about a very pressing matter. A question that has been asked for years... If you were a superhero, what power would you have? However, my plans to address this question will be different from what most say. Each and every power has a weakness and a specific sense of responsibility accompanying it. For all selecting super strength, there are ones indestructible or able to out run your deadly attacks. For all super fast, there are ones who can stop time. For the ones stopping time, the indestructible ones will not suffer because of their ability to withstand what ever follows. This would be a never ending cycle of dog eat dog in which no one ever emerges victorious. Maybe this is why powers and superheroes are not real. They are dreamed up figments of our imagination used to fill the void in our lives of wanting to make a difference. Now the initial positives of a hero would soon be outweighed but the negatives and their ability to choose where to apply their powers, good or evil. So the answer to this long pressing question should be as such, "none, because choice of a power would result in the downfall of this planet and diminishing of our population."

Trick or Treating?

2011-10-29T21:51:00.000-07:00

It's sad, a holiday based on spending money to set up a costume, buying your own candy to give away at your house as you send your young children out in the dark to go knock on strangers doors asking for candy. At a younger age even, my mind has always thought of a better way for these pagans to do this. Why waste all the money on costumes, candy to give away, and do all this risking the safety of your young children? Why wouldn't they just go buy the kid 50 dollars worth of candy and some toothpaste? Not to mention they wouldn't have to waste all their extra energy walking throughout an entire neighborhood. The reality is that people really have their priorities messed up. Over the past 4 years, 540 kids have died from 4-10 P.M. on Halloween. You would think this would ring a bell in parent's heads but instead these facts are ignored. This holiday held so dear by the world is truly frightening. I post this because of an employee at Target asking me why I don't celebrate Halloween. After this awakening she said she wasn't sure if she even felt safe with her kids going in this door-to-door spree with the goal of being scared and at the same time receiving treats from these unknown figures. Sometimes it appears that just some of the truth behind these pagan rituals can prove as a witness.

Pursuit of the Burger

2011-10-29T17:51:00.000-07:00

For the last three weeks Chaz Sherill and I have been in pursuit of the best burger in Dallas. As we try these restaurants, from a whole in the wall up to a five star restaurant, we have found that each selection is better than the last. The most recent endeavor was at a place by the name of Wingfield's, which I had a brief review written in my other blog The Happening. This burger was astonishing. The surroundings weren't the most ideal, being that its next too what appears to be an auto shop that's actually a drug or money laundering front and every building besides that has barred windows. I entered a seven eleven to obtain some cash from an ATM and was greeted by my first sight which was a group of women purchasing Budweiser and what appeared to be more than necessary for them to get the job done. I quickly went through the money withdrawing process before a local gang-banger would be able to catch sight of me and steal my money, escaping in his Chevy Impala on 30 inch blades. Lucky for me two officers of local law enforcement, not traffic division, were outside. I made it out alive and with the best burger I have had yet so overall, a good experience. However, I expect the next to be better than the last. So on we move in our never ending adventure for the best burger.