GerkMax in NYC

The Flu = The Suck

2009-09-27T12:54:00.000-04:00

I'm at home, got the flu, don't want to stay in, but it's rainy, not hungry, back aches, no one wants to massage it, head hurts, probably from the stuffed up sinuses, eyes hurt too, don't want to stay in bed, coffee doesn't taste right, I hate complaining/whining, I know this is a run-on sentence, but... what I need is a few good punches to my back.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Missing Link Found?

2009-05-20T21:40:00.006-04:00

How cool is this? It's possible that scientists have found the missing link! Another clue into our common origins. Who knows what knowledge and information might come from this.

I'm sure there are a lot of people who do not want this. People who refuse to believe we evolved from apes, Creationists, religious fanatics, etc... They refuse to see evolution as having nothing to do with our place here on Earth. That God created us, just as we are today, and that's it. Which doesn't make sense to me as there are some huge differences among humans that don't seem to have been in line with us all coming from the same one man and one woman.

I'm of the mind that God played a role in human (and all animal) evolution. God is great and powerful, and His plan isn't meant for us to understand. And evolution would work perfectly into that line of thinking.

Tito El Bambino - El Amor

2009-05-01T09:58:00.003-04:00

Sometimes I get a song in my head, and I'll play it over and over until... forever.

Right now, the latest addiction is "El Amor" by Tito El Bambino.

The lyrics: (in Spanish)
El amor es una magia.
Una simple fantasia.
Es como un sueño,
Y al fin lo encontre.

Es como una luz,
Que se esparce por el alma,
Y recorre como el agua,
Hasta que llena el corazon.

Y va creciendo y creciendo,
Como nubes en el cielo,
Dando vueltas por el mundo,
Es increible, asi es el amor,
Y al fin lo encontre (x2)

El amor te ciega,
Aunque aveces te engaña.
El amor es puresa,
Si es que a alguien tu amas.
El amor te atrapa,
Y de el nunca escaparas.
Solo tienes que aprender a amar, amar (x2)

Y va creciendo y creciendo,
Como nubes en el cielo,
Dando vueltas por el mundo,
Es increible, asi es el amor,
Y al fin lo encontre. (x2)

El amor te ciega,
Aunque aveces te engaña.
El amor es puresa,
Si es que a alguien tu amas.
El amor te atrapa,
Y de el nunca escaparas.
Solo tienes que aprender a amar, amar (x2)

El amor es una magia.
Una simple fantasia.
Es como un sueño,
Y al fin lo encontre.

Es como una luz,
Que se esparce por el alma,
Y recorre como el agua,
Hasta que llena el corazon.

Translation:

Love is a magic.
A simple fantasy.
It is as a dream,
And in the end I found it.

It is like a light,
That it is scattered by the soul,
And it crosses like the water,
Until it fills the heart.

And it is growing and growing,
Like clouds in the sky,
Racing around the world,
It is incredible, such is love,
And in the end I found it. (x2)

Love blinds you,
Sometimes it deceives to you.
Love is pure,
If it’s somebody you love.
Love traps you,
And never lets you escape.
You must learn to love, to love (x2)

And it is growing and growing,
Like clouds in the sky,
Racing around the world,
It is incredible, such is love,
And in the end I found it. (x2)

Love blinds you,
Sometimes it deceives to you.
Love is pure,
If it’s somebody you love.
Love traps you,
And never lets you escape.
You must learn to love, to love (x2)

Love is a magic.
A simple fantasy.
It is as a dream,
And in the end I found it.

It is like a light,
That it is scattered by the soul,
And it crosses like the water,
Until it fills the heart.

I've Watched the Watchmen

2009-03-17T11:12:00.004-04:00

WARNING: There may be spoilers. I'll try to limit them but I make no promises. Read at your own risk.

Let me start off by saying a little about the story.

"The Watchmen" was first published in 1986, and it was the book that changed the way comic book stories were/are written. This was the first "serious" comic story. In essence, this was the point where comics hit puberty. Until then, comic books were still something innocent, and mainly "for the kids". This book is special. It's carried in high regards by comic book fans. When comic books hit puberty, a lot of comic book fans also hit puberty. You had twenty-somethings looking at the world with new eyes. They started to see all the F!ed up stuff in the world. (Don't laugh. Some people see the world through things they love.)

Also, remember this... Alan Moore, wrote this. And one thing you need to know about Alan Moore, is that the man is insane. Oh, he's "The dark god of comics"... but he's an insane, dark, comic book god. The man has rejected Hollywood and it's money. Who he hell rejects MILLIONS of dollars? For work he's already done! AND, he doesn't even want his name on the films! He did it with "Watchmen", he did it with "V for Vendetta", "From Hell" and he did it with "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" And you can be sure, he'll do it with any other of his works that someone tries to adapt to film. Dave Gibbons described him as "bat-shiat crazy", which seems to fit perfectly.

Okay, let's move on to the Watchmen film. And let me start off with what I didn't like about the movie.

First, this isn't a "fun" story. It's serious. Yes, it's comic book heroes, but it's more "mature" in subject than say Batman fighting the Joker. And it doesn't ends with the villain being defeated, so don't expect a happy ending. There are scenes where there is a lot of action, excitement and drama, but it ends almost with a whimper.

The ending.... the ending is different from the book! And that's a no-no for the comic fans. "YOU'RE MESSING WITH MY GOSPEL, SNYDER!!!" Imagine going out to see the Superman movie. Except now, his rocket lands on Paradise Island, he's raised by the Amazons... Wonder Woman is like his sister... and they form the Justice League as a family of "New Gods"! BLASPHEMY!! I understand why Snyder changed the ending, no one wants to see a giant vaginal alien squid.... but it's different! This project was doomed once the first person thought "Hey! This could be a movie."

These aren't well-known characters like Superman, The Hulk or Spiderman, so there's no "instant connection" to the character mythologies for those who haven't read the comic book. Also, it's very hard to transition the spandex (costumes) to the big screen. But I have to say, that Zack Snyder's wardrobe people did a pretty good job in making modern day, big screen versions of the costumes. It's hard to transition a work created for one medium into another. Each fan already has their own mental picture of what the characters look like, so presenting them with something else is... "wrong".

Also, the blood... didn't like it. The bar scene with Dr. Manhattan... you didn't need to have all that gore. It didn't even feel right. Like Snyder was trying to hard to make us "get" that scene. Dude... we got it. Take it down a notch or twenty.

Now what did I like about the movie...

Many times during the movie, I felt like scenes were ripped right out of the comic book and plastered on the big screen. Visually, the cinematography was O-MAZING! Wow. It was simply beautiful. (stands and applauds) WOOT! WOOT!

Rorschach (easily my favorite character, since the book) is SPOT on. Jackie Earl Haley has RUINED anything and everything else for me. When I read Rorschach... it's his voice I hear. I bought the motion comic DVD and the voice was just "off"... because it wasn't Haley's Rorschach. The costume, the voice, the mannerisms and nuances... He just did an amazing job. (stands and applauds) KUDOS, SIR! KUDOS!!

The video intro with Bob Dylan's "Times They Are a'Changin'"... WOW! Amazing. (stands and applauds) FANTASTIC! There was so much of the backstory in there that Snyder was able to cut out about 20-30 minutes from the film. That was a lot of stuf he would have had to cut out due to time constraints.

The prison scene, the ones with Rorschach, NOT Nite Owl and Silk Spectre... was awesome. Rorschach is a crazy, violent bastard. He actions have to be violent, bloody, gory and just plain scary (not Dr. Manhattan). "Don't you get it? I'm not trapped in here with you...YOU'RE TRAPPED IN HERE WITH ME!"

I think this movie is great. The comic book fans will have problems with it, but they should still love it. The average non-comic viewer should like it. They might think it's too dark, and kinda weird, but they should like it. Overall, I'd give it an A-/B+

I can't wait until the DVD comes out! I'm going to wear it out looking at each and every single scene.

NY Comic Con 2009

2009-02-08T23:47:00.006-05:00

AWESOME

That is the word for this year's NY Comic Con. It simply did not disappoint! Okay, of course it can always be better, they could give cash at the door but... It was good.

On Saturday at the Watchmen Panel, they screened the first 18 minutes of the movie. EXCELLENT! THEN, they showed a scene from later on in the story that looked like it was literally ripped from the comic. I don't want to ruin anything for anyone so I'll try to code this for those who know...

"None of you understand. I'm not locked up in here with you. You're locked up in here with me." AMAZING SCENE!

I have NO doubt that the movie will not disappoint.

Costumes. Each year, fans always make that extra effort on their costumes that feels like they did it just for you. When you see the characters, you know that this isn't just a a bunch of people who love comics... this is THE COMIC CON! I don't think I've ever seen so many people get up for the costume contest as this year. I think there was over 200 people who got up on stage. It was awesome.

Giveaways. This is always an important component of comic conventions.

I always remember the two times DC gave away Green Lantern rings. I was so giddy, it was like I had been given an actual lantern corps ring. This year, I had been hoping for the various other lantern corps rings (yellow, red, blue, etc..), or at least one of them. Instead, they gave out Flash rings. Which was still AWESOME! This was, in my opinion, the best giveaway. Second best was a tie, between Wonder Woman tiaras (for the upcoming Wonder Woman animated movie) and Wolverine dog tags (for the X-Men Origins: Wolverine game from Activision). Honorable mention to the "Friday the 13th" Jason hockey mask keychains.

The Future

2009-01-25T16:47:00.004-05:00

The future... it's here!

Teleportation has been achieved!

A team of quantum scientists at the University of Maryland have been able to teleport something about a meter in distance!

Okay, well it's only "quantum information", but that means they can recreate an object in a new location. But that is what the Star Trek transporters do. They break down an object or person, send the matter stream to that new location, and rebuild it there using the object's (or person's) "blueprints", or "quantum information".

Okay, it was only a particle. But once you have one particle, you can have two! So it's still a BIG step.

Okay... it's only accurate about 90% of the time. Yes, I'd hate to be in that 10% where my arms are where my legs were, and/or vice versa... but still. You have to admit 90% is still great!

Star Trek... here we come!

Benediction excerpt

2009-01-20T13:32:00.002-05:00

I had heard it before, but I loved it when I heard these words spoken by Joseph Lowery (used previously in other speeches)

"..help us work for that day when black will not be asked to give back, when brown can stick around, when yellow will be mellow, when the red man can get ahead, man; and when white will embrace what is right. That all those who do justice and love mercy, say Amen. Say Amen"

Obama's plan

2009-01-14T00:02:00.006-05:00

Obama on how he's going to clean up Bush's messed up economy:

People! I already told you...

I GOT THIS!

Pet Peeve #3

2009-01-05T23:42:00.002-05:00

~~Watching~~ TRYING to watch TV while someone talks and asks questions non-stop.

"Who's that? Why did he do that? You know that other show that guy is in? The one with the money? You don't know the show? You know the show. Remember? With the money. And the guy falls? It was on like a year ago. What's the name of that show? Oh, what's that girl's name? She's on that other show now. How can you not know her name? For real? You don't know her name? Are they doing a new show? I thought you knew. I remember you saying something about a new show. How can you not remember? You told me the other day. Oh, maybe that was someone else. Oh yeah, it was someone else. And it was about another show. On a different channel. Damn, I'm like retarded. Hey, wasn't that guy on the show last season? Oh wait, we're watching reruns. But it's a good show, right?"

AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!

Ped Egg

2008-12-29T23:37:00.002-05:00

My wife bought a Ped Egg this weekend and I decided to try it out.

It was nice! My feet felt must smoother. But there were still a few rough spots. So I gave my feet a few more passes.

BIG MISTAKE!

My feet hurt SO MUCH! Yes, they feel good... but they hurt like I've been marching in army boots all day! I need to get used to having "nice feet". I even got a little scratch under my foot when I stepped on something in the hallway! I'm too used to my "monster feet". These things are delicate now! I'm not used to "delicate"!

SWEET CHRISTMAS!

2008-12-29T23:24:00.006-05:00

$1.37 A GALLON!!

I saw it (and bought it) personally in NJ!

That's almost a quarter of what it was just THIS PAST SUMMER!

I heard a huge load of BS in the news the other day. That the gasoline companies had decided to lower gasoline prices "because the American people were suffering" so they lowered prices to "help the American people through these tough times". Must be a coincidence that prices started going down just as Obama won the Presidency. They must not have had any influence in the setting of gas prices... until now. Just a coincidence that Haliburton is connected to the Vice-President. And now that he's on his way out, gas prices are going down.

All just a big coincidence.

WHAT EVER!

Small bit

2008-12-29T09:21:00.003-05:00

I just read this and thought it was awesome.

Rosa sat so Martin could walk,
Martin walked so Obama could run,
Obama is ran so our children can FLY!!!

$1.54

2008-12-08T12:05:00.002-05:00

In North Bergen, NJ... gasoline was $1.54 a gallon!

God Bless Barack Obama!

Boo to the haters!

Strange Life

2008-12-03T10:01:00.004-05:00

I just came across this animal while reading an article. It's called the "Giant Coconut Crab", and the name is very appropriate.

It's a crab, it can crack open coconuts, and... yes, it's gigantic!

Here's a link to some more images and videos of them in action. All I can say is HOLY COW! They may be harmless to humans, but I'd hate to wake up with one of them in my lap.

"C'mere! Gimme yer wallet!"

Nerd-osity

2008-11-28T03:01:00.002-05:00

I just got hit by my nerdity again. I just saw this webcomic over at Sinfest that features Obama AND the Justice League. Nice. Very nice.

Two bad phrases

2008-11-26T10:00:00.003-05:00

I was jumping around the Internet and I ran across this blog with a great post entitled "Two Phrases That Destroyed American Culture" (ViolentAcres)

The two phrases are "The customer is always right" and "You have to earn my respect".

The first, "The customer is always right", is a phrase that's good ONLY for that particular customer. It usually means that:

1) the employee will have to work harder to please that ONE customer.
2) the owner/manager will be stressing that employee more.
3) other customers will receive LESS work in terms of quality and amount.

I have been on the receiving end of this before, and I always hated it. Not because I was wrong or right, but because (just as the post implies) the customer is usually a friggin' jerk about it.

The second, "You have to earn my respect", is too often spoken by someone who either doesn't deserve the respect he's demanding and/or is someone who's been disrespected and is now trying to take it out on the poor sap who is unfortunate enough to be standing in front of him/her when their panties got into a bunch.

Too many people get full of themselves and think that somehow they're better than anyone around them, that the world owes them something. Whether it be because they have money, or they have a certain title attached to their name, they believe that somehow it's okay for them to behave like jerks and treat treat people like crap.

I much prefer the other saying "You have to GIVE respect, BEFORE you can earn it".

When I was in high school, I used to work at an ice cream shop in Penn Station (NY). One day a customer asked me for a chocolate milkshake. I prepared said milkshake, served it up with a smile, collected payment, gave change and even said "have a nice day". After taking care of the next customer, my manager calls me over and I see the customer with the milkshake sitting on the counter. My manager tells me that the customer is complaining because the milkshake wasn't thick enough. I tell my manager that I prepared it the way I was trained, two scoops, some much milk, so many shots of syrup and to the blender for such and such amount of time. The customer now has other complaints "he works too slow", "he blended it too long", "he gave me the wrong change", "he walked away before finishing up with me", etc...

The regional manager happens to be walking by, hears the customer and decided to "handle this". He tells the customer he'll take care of him, prepares a new shake with about FIVE scoops of ice cream, to make it real thick. He takes a LONG time as the blender has trouble handling that much ice cream. He gives the customer the new shake, berates me in front of my manager and the customer, then refunds the customer his money saying it'll come out of my paycheck. I'm thinking "Okay, he's only doing this because the customer is here".

NOPE! He continues to talk smack after the customer walks away!

He even quotes that line, "The customer is always right"!

NOTE: He once yelled at me for giving away a scoop of ice cream that was too big. ONE scoop. That was only SLIGHTLY bigger than an average scoop. For a guy that worked in the station. That ALWAYS came by for a cone. AND... it was his birthday.

I say "If you want me to prepare shakes like that, no problem. I'll add as much ice cream as the customer wants." He starts calling me a smart ass, that I better not "cut into the profits", that I should be happy he "gave me a chance", blah blah blah. I tell him "If I have to pay for that guy's milkshake... from MY paycheck... then he should not complain about me giving away a little extra ice cream." He tried to reassert himself by threatening to fire me. As a high school kid, I didn't want to lose my job, that would have been the end of the world for me. But, I said "I can always find another job. I'm a GOOD, HARDWORKING person."

He dropped it, because... of course you can't give away as much ice cream as the customer wants! That would be incredibly stupid. He knew he was wrong. It's one thing to try to make the customer happy, but the customer, at the very least, can be mistaken. And by going above and beyond what's appropriate, only leads to spoiled customers.

That same customer came back now and then, making complaints, trying to get more for his buck, pushing the limits... Eventually, my manager told him to take his business elsewhere. And I was SO happy to be there when he reported it to the regional manager, who had to say "Yeah, you can't always make everyone happy."

The customer is definitely NOT always right, and you SHOULDN'T expect to get respect if you don't give respect.

Thank God for Obama

2008-11-25T12:13:00.000-05:00

The price says it all:

Weird Spray

2008-11-25T12:08:00.003-05:00

When I first noticed this spray paint around the neighborhood, I realized that someone was spraying the dog poo that was left lying around. I thought it was some kind of spray to kill bacteria.

But then I noticed that it didn't wash away, and that it was just neon spray paint.

Then the other day I saw this:

Ahh.. it's a "neighborhood dog poo vigilante".

Who do you think you're kidding?

2008-11-17T14:22:00.003-05:00

First, John Walker Lindh writes to President Bush (yes, GEORGE W. BUSH), asking for a pardon. A PRESIDENTIAL pardon! Yes, John Walker Lindh, the "American Taliban"! That's ballsy, to say the least.

Then... Prince, or "The Artist Formerly Known as Prince", or "The Artist", or "Love Symbol #2" (that's the trademark name for that unpronounceable symbol he used as a name for a while.. which is a combination of the symbols for male and female), or whatever he's calling himself today... declared that "God is against homosexuality". For real! THIS GUY said THAT! The same guy who wore "butt-less pants" on TV! Yes, Prince. The same guy who made a lot of money off his androgynous, homosexual character! Or, maybe it's just me?

I'm not saying you can never change your thinking on a subject, or even say you're sorry you thought a certain way about something... BUT DAMN! I mean is it me? Or, do these guys have huge balls?

Obama and me

2008-11-11T18:44:00.003-05:00

Damn, that sounds cute. (no homo)

I made the decision to sign up to Twitter mostly because I read that Obama twitters messages to people. How cool is that? The President(-elect) of the United States of America twitters messages to the average citizen? It's almost like a modern-day version of FDR's fireside chats.

I added linked to Obama's twitter, and then... he linked back to me! Obama... is following what I'M doing! AWWWwwwWWWESOME!

Note: I know it's probably one of his staff, but that's cool.

I am so happy that Obama won. I think he'll be this modern technology age's president.

Note: He hasn't sent a message since he won the election, but I know he'll start again once things settle down.

OBAMA!

What is it to you?

2008-11-11T18:41:00.002-05:00

A nice commentary on gay marriage by Keith Olbermann. I like how he puts very plainly, and even puts it in context to how marriage was viewed in the past.

IT'S NOT A HOLOGRAM!!

2008-11-10T10:00:00.002-05:00

One of the things to come out of the 2008 Presidential Elections (OBAMA, BABY! YES!) is the new "hologram technology" by CNN.

IT'S BOGUS!!!

A real hologram, is a three dimensional image in front of the viewer. Wolf Blitzer did NOT see Jessica Yellin in front of him. He was looking at a monitor where he saw the broadcast image (what we saw).

Again, Wolf Blitzer did NOT see Jessica Yellin in front of him. And it's not like they didn't know, because they explained it! There were cameras at the remote location, duplicating the positions, direction and focus of the cameras at CNN's local studio. A computer then cut Yellin's image (note the red circle she was standing on) from the remote video, and superimposed her image into the local video (with Blitzer).

It's the same as when the weather forecasters are standing in front of the green screen. They are actually looking over at a monitor to see what they are pointing at. In 300, green screens were used extensively and so well, most people thought those scenes were real.

They even gave it look bluish aura, and a kind of "crappy hologram-ish" feel, like the hologram of Princess Leia in Star Wars. Anyone watching a major football game can see WAY better computer effects.

So why do that? Why mislead the viewing public? Why make give the image a less "clean" look?

To make us think that it was a real hologram. To make us think it was more advanced than it really was. To make us want to watch CNN more. Just another bit of "sensationalism". To make us see more of this "pretty, shiny" technology, so we think their coverage is better than the next reporter's. They want to seem "cutting edge" while doing the same amount and quality of work.

Next, they'll probably start making up their own news events. Then they can be "FIRST ON THE SCENE".

Green

2008-11-10T03:28:00.002-05:00

Took an online personality test, and it said I am Green. Green is said to be the most "eye-catching" color. GREEN.

GREEN

You are a very calm and contemplative person. Others are drawn to your peaceful, nurturing nature.

Find out your color at QuizMeme.com!

Okay, okay... just one more, maybe.

2008-11-10T00:03:00.002-05:00

I just saw this short video on Andrew Sullivan's "The Daily Dish". HYSTERICAL!

Get the latest news satire and funny videos at 236.com.

HA!HAAAA!HAHAHA!

Obama Art

2008-11-09T03:03:00.003-05:00

I have to stop posting about Obama. It's too much.

NO IT ISN'T!!!

OBAMA!

YES WE CAN!! YES WE DID!!

Okay, the reason for this post is about this website:

designforobama.org

There is some very nice work up there. Check it out.