“Its like that legal Crack” Those are the words a friend of mine uses to describe things that are amazing, things that are so awesome they should not be legal. There are very few experiences in life that you can say are so amazing, life changing and perspective altering. In my time I have experienced very few.

I am not the type to write book reviews, I have no claims to be as credible as Oprah’s book club suggestions but I believe I know a good book when I see one and that is what “Getting Real: The smarter, faster, easier way to build a successful web application” is. before writing this review I thought about the most concise way to explain how good this book is or how important it is and basically all I can say is that it is that legal crack.

Getting Real is a book written by 37 Signals. This is a the company that created Basecamp and Campfire or probably more known for publishing the famous Ruby on Rails framework. The title of the book could not be more appropriate, it a book basically about cutting the bullshit in creating web applications and actually doing the damn thing. Moving from Computer engineering to Software engineering was a huge perspective change for me but reading this book just put those “Crack” principles in concrete. Getting real takes you through a product life cycle, from how to act from the conception of the idea to the deployment and maintenance of your product. It gets you in the mindset of discovering and implementing what really matters.

The greatest aspect of the book is that it’s scope is beyond the web applications. The principles in this book can be applied in all sorts of companies and even in your life, so even if your not a code monkey or a vetran geek this book is still worth your read. Getting Real is for anyone who has an enterprenueral or creative mind and for people who are interested in making their lives more efficient. The book comes in three forms, you can buy the actual book for $25, the downloadable pdf for $20 or read it online for free. I urge you to check it out, it may work wonders for you as it did for me.

So I rolled out with a couple of buddies to go check out this movie on its pre-release date. It was not a disappointment. I think the best description of the movie was given by Paul Stamatiou when he twittered “star trek movie was interesting in a so-so kind of way“. It was a good movie but it was not particularly epic in any particular way. Great cinematics, CGI, plot and actors (even though the cast was unusual) but there was like a missing punchline at least that is the way I felt.

What was particularly impressive about the movie was the time traveling and alternative realities embedded within the plot. I think J.J.Abrams must have drank some time travel cool aid cause it is sprinkled all over the shows he has on TV now and this movie too. I think relativity is one of my favorite topics in physics that is why I am drawn to  time travel.

The movie is basically about James T. Kirk who was a rebellious but intelligent/genius guy. He finds his calling to join USS Enterprise after he is given an inspirational talk by Capt. Christopher Pike. The movie basically chronicles how he becomes Captain of the USS Enterprise, but not without going through several trial and tribulations and learning life lessons on the way. Within the sci-fi and action there is a decent amount of humor tucked into the movie. This is definitely a summer blockbuster, best seen on a big screen.

I recommend it to people  who love futuristic tales and mind warping plots (on a scientific level)…There is much to be appreciated.

My rating = 95% (Will definately watch again)

Well basically the movie has been called the male version of Devil wears Prada. This is because it is basically a story of a guy (Simon Pegg) who always wanted to enter the Hollywood circle. He eventually started writing for a famous magazine but wanted to tell the truth while his job demanded him to write puff up pieces for celebrities. He found it hard to climb up the because of his principle and eventually gave in to attain his dream life.

The movie was a great to watch, it was funny, had embarrassing moments and I found some scenes enlightening. What I loved most about the movie was the underlyning theme of the movie. This dude had a dream but wanted to attain the dream in a particluar way (Telling the truth) he was principled but found that being principled was not going to get him what he wanted. This is a batlle I go through almost daily, the idea of getting what you want or getting it the way you want. Sometimes the world is not gonna bend for you and you are required to bend. The interesting thing was that after he bent and got what he wanted he realized the Hollywood circle was not what he wanted. I guess if you break your personal principles to get what you want you will not be satisified because you do not feel achieved or self actualized. I also explicity understood the meaining of selling your soul to gain the whole world. It was an interesting movie and is a really good one to watch with friends.

Well I was 20 minutes early to Watchmen so I got to see some previews, it so happens that all the movies that caught my eye seem to be coming out in May. I guess its gonna be a good month.

Star Trek

Wolverine

Terminator 4

Transformer 2

Movies that have cool trailers but will probably suck

Angels and Demons

I wake up 6:45 am (only God knows how). To start my day off, I haggle with AT&T for 45 mins about my phone bill and the call ended with me paying $554 (Long story, ask me when you see me). I then head to class, Note: remember that I have missed two days of school, so I had the WTH expression on my face for the whole day cause I did not understand what the professors where talking about.

Earlier that day I had also emailed the company I last did co-op with so they could send my W-2 so that I can file my tax returns. I have changed my address since I last worked there but magically two hours later my roommate tosses me an envelope with my W-2 in it which just came in that day. Keep in mind no one in the company knows where I live now or anyone in my old apartment.

Next thing I am driving home and I get a phone call from a company telling me my Car is out of warranty and then they try to get information about me and my car. I was like naaaaaaaaaah! I gave them fake info.

Then I check the mail (snail mail) and then I get a shirt in the mail addressed to me, I check the price tag it cost $110. I look at the return address, I have no clue who it is from, never seen that name before but the package is addresed to me. What the hell is going on a whole day filled with the most random events.

It got me thinking, why do we laugh at these bad situations? someone might say it helps us get over things or it makes the issue lighter but I tend to disagree. What if we laugh because these sad things are supposed to be funny. Think about it… What is the funniest thing that you have ever seen, I’m not talking giggle funny, I am talking rolling on the ground rib cage in pain funny. I bet it was something that was sad for someone else, embarrassing for someone else at the least. Like that time Johnny peed his pants or when Adim fell face first into the snow or the time you saw someone passed out under the table at a club. Those are all situations that are ridiculous, well mostly for you. I found that the best comedians are the ones that make fun of our life issues, things that all of us can relate too and then paint a ridiculous story over them. Even in the Bible it says in all situations give THANKS to God, how can you thank God for your car being totaled?… unless your not supposed to see it as a bad thing but a situation to something greater.

So if our ability to find something funny is based on the perspective we look at the issue from and not that the issue itself is funny or sad then what if we are not supposed to get angry or sad in tragic times, maybe we are always supposed to look at the good in all situations. Sometimes I feel we humans take ourselves too seriously. Don’t get me wrong I feel we should allow ourselves to get upset for sometime to let the emotion out but but as my friends do, quickly find the comedy within this sadness and move on. Do not be afraid to laugh.

This movie was about two friends Vicky and Cristina who agree on everything except the way to love. They go to Barcelona for the summer for vacation and fall into a love triangle with this very blunt but real painter after a strange encounter and a random trip to Oviedo. I found the characters in this movie very real. Cristina was the free spirit friend, she was up for anything as long it was exciting, all Cristina knew about herself was what she didn’t want. Vicky was the cautious friend, she had the conservative job and had a safe fiance and did not understand Cristina’s free spirited nature sometimes and Juan Antonio was the painter who had just ended a heated relationship with his ex-wife who ended up stabbing him.

“Only unfufilled love can be romantic”. A quote by Maria Elena, Juan Antonio’s ex-wife, which ended up to be the basic theme of the movie. The movie showcases the mystery and dissatisfaction of love and how sometimes love I not as cleanly cut out and perfect as the world demands it to be. This is more of an indie movie than a Hollywood blockbuster staring actresses like Scarlett Johansen (I will see any movie she is in), Rebecca Hall and Penelope Cruz (What more can you ask for). I will reccomend this movie for a day when you are introspective and maybe need a change of perspective from all you know.

My rating: 88%

Rotten Tomatoes: 82%

Trailer