Too Real

Iron Man

2008-05-17T06:20:03Z

Iron Man In Theatres
Action / PG-13
Starring :
Robert Downey Jr. (Charlie Bartlett, Zodiac)
Terrance Howard (Awake, Hustle & Flow)

Beginning 3 out of 3 - Yes! Action then character introduction and back story. Way better than having to sit through boring stuff first.

Middle 3 out of 3 - Maybe I'm a sucker for Marvel Comics and their stories, but it was a very good middle.... and Ironific.

Ending 3 out of 4 - Loads of action and crazyness going on. Door has been left open for sequel, but not necessarily. Sweet!!

Overall 9 out of 10 - Definitely worth paying to see this film in the theatres. Although I did go on cheap night (Tuesdays), but that's probably just because I'm white.

A note about my movie rating system

2008-05-10T06:11:00Z

I've decided to start doing some movie reviewing (well more like rating, I don't wanna be a big ruiner), mainly because I've watched a shit ton of movies lately and feel "hey, wtf can Siskel do it but not me?". Secondly the ole Too Real is getting a little stale here and could use some action.

Anyways, here is how it will work. I will break the movie up into three categories; the beginning (first ten minutes), middle, and ending. Seems kinda obvious, I know, but oh so necessary. All together the three categories will give the movie a rating out of 10. This way you will be able to see the worthiness of the movie all together as well as it's parts that make it up. I've made the beginning worth 3 points. the middle is also worth 3 points. However the ending is worth 4 points. Reason being is that the ending makes or breaks the movie, that's why it's worth the most.

Having the 10 point system makes it real easy to tell if a movie is crap or not. A 5 out of 10 or lower is like getting a "F" on an exam, a big fat fail and probably a waste of your time. A 6 out of 10 is like a "D" on that exam, having enough cinematic effort to be considered a movie but not necessarily a good one. A 7 out of 10 is a "C", or good movie. 8 out of 10 is a "B", and so forth up to 10.

I don't plan to restrict myself to movies that are currently being featured in the theaters either. I'm going to attack all movies as they come across my plate, big or tall, little or small! So I hope you enjoy the ratings, otherwise too bad!!

Hero Wanted

2008-05-08T06:02:55Z

Hero Wanted out on DVD
Action / 18A
Starring :
Cuba Gooding Jr. (American Gangster)
Ray Liotta (Smoking Aces)

Beginning 2 out of 3 - At first I thought this movie was pretty low budge... until later on in the movie I realized it was just my cheap Yahoo brand DVD player. Anyways the beginning was pretty decent, it had enough stuff going on to keep me interested. (i.e. Cuba barfing, and a car crash)

Middle 2 out of 3 - You got some action going down, a little bit of killing, and some good ole' bank robbing... sweet! The plot jumps around between the past and the present and how one thing leads to another sorta deal.

Ending 3 out of 4 - Lots of action and guns, which is always good. Some twists and turns and an actual realistic resolution! (not like some of those stupid movies that just end... randomly)

Overall 7 out of 10 - Go out and rent it, watch it, whatever... it gets my stamp of approval for a good movie.

A note about Too Real and our future

2007-04-25T13:34:38Z

I’m sure all of our valued regular readers (the enlightened few, as we call you folks) have noticed a sharp drop off in the regularity of postings here at Too Real. I’m just here to clear a few things up about what’s going on around here, and what’s going to happen in the (near) future.

For the last few weeks most of us that call ourselves writers have been entrenched in final-mode at our respective universities and colleges of choice. On top of that, winter is finally showing signs of ending up here in the “great white” north, which has given rise to our overall real-life-morale, which in turn had a direct result in our writing motivation.

I promise we’ll got on top of it soon, and we’re also on the look out for other writers. If you think you’d like to join Too Real as a writer, hit my inbox at stephen [at] tooreal [dot] net, and we’ll talk.

In other TR news, we’re going to be doing a full-scale redesign around these parts pretty soon as we’ve grown tired of our current digs, and will be changing up the format of Too Real in a big way. I expect full-scale postings to happen before that is finished, as it is probably going to be a lengthy process, although I guarantee that the new design and format will be worth the wait. You’ll see.

If you have any suggestions about the future of TR, or comments about the past, feel free to drop a comment below, or if you’ve got something lengthy to contribute send me an email, stephen [at] tooreal [dot] net.

Thanks for staying interested. See you in a bit.

It's time to put an end to Internet Peer Pressure

2007-04-24T13:19:34Z

Ever find yourself being bullied by your so-called friends? Maybe not in person, but on the internet? They do it on instant messengers and in your e-mail inbox. This is happening to millions of Canadians as we speak. And it is very concerning.

It happens when these "friends" bomb your inbox with all sorts of junkmail. Usually with a subject line that says "Freddie has added you to Facebook!!" or "Jason has sent you a friend request on myspace" or some other garbage like that. You know what i'm talking about. It ranges from Hi5, to Facebook, to Myspace, to WAYN, even to that Flixster crap. Once you get in the actual e-mail to check it out, it wants to put you to work right away; Click this link, view profile, sign yourself up. Because if you don't, you can't accept the "friend request", and nowadays that is the biggest diss you can lay down on someone. Aside from sleeping with their wife or girlfriend or whatever. But seriously what happened to the days when you could just check yo mail, do your replies and that's it?

Now if you don't go through all the trouble of setting up a new profile, uploading pictures, accepting the friend requests and all that other bull you will get straight harassed. First they resend the friend requests, then they pester you on your instant messenger. Some of them even e-mail you up saying "Aren't we friends" or "That's not friends". The harassment doesn't stop there, they even break it down on you in person. Well I say that screw that noise! It used to be that friends were determined with a handshake or handslap. Now it's all done with webprofiles and and friend request. Handshakes have turned into profile comments. That doesn't seem very real to me. So don't let these internet suckers push you around. Because real friends holla at you in person, not just from behind computer screens and keyboards.

The Problem with Weather Forecasting

2007-04-23T13:31:21Z

It is my favorite season. Some would say summer is their favorite, hey there are even winter lovers out there, but spring wins it hands down for me. I look forward to it all winter. Those first few days of above 0 temperatures, the first signs that winter is coming to an end, nothing beats that feeling for me. I get into a good mood and as the days get warmer I get happier. Then I remember I live in Saskatchewan, my good mood slowly starts to fade.

I flip on the Weather Network to see the upcoming forecast. I squint a little, this can't be right? It is the end of April; it's supposed to be getting gradually warmer. Those guys at the network must have been used to adding the minus sign in front of the temperature. They still must have neglected to update the icon from snow to rain, sheesh these guys are behind, damn slackers.

I go online to find a reliable forecast. I am telling myself the whole time that what I just saw was wrong, they are never right anyways, so I am not that bothered. Yet that is.

I scroll down on weather site after weather site, now I start to realize they all can't be wrong. Can they? Well it is Saskatchewan so there is always the possibility it may be wrong, or at least a tad inaccurate. Unfortunately the actual weather is almost always a few degrees colder than predicted. In fact, in all my years in this province, I have never experienced the wow some experience when they predict -30, only to have the temperature show up around +24. Yeah, that never seems to happen. Although quite frequently, especially in March and April +15 and sunny, can become -10 and snow within a 24 hour period. Well sometimes 2 hour period, but that's a whole 'nother story.

I question why the great inaccuracies? I can't seem to grasp why for weeks on end the network/Internet weather forecasts are dead on, but March hits, and they can't even seem to predict what the afternoon will be like in the morning forecast. I don't even understand why I watch it. It is wrong more times than right, and it seems to fuck up my day, causing me unwanted and unneeded stress.

I think I may have a solution. I will do my own forecast. I wonder how hard this may be, but in reality it can't be more wrong than any other forecast, wrong is wrong, so what is the difference? I will start off with a 5 day forecast and I will see how I do. Hey who knows maybe Too Realwill be your one-stop weather update site from now on?

Here we go, the five day forecast brought to you by me.

Next 5 days

Day will start out cold, followed by a warming trend, then a cooling trend with a chance of snowy showers, turning to flurries, with a possibility of mixed precipitation, and a chance of sunshine in the afternoon. Evenings will be milder turning to cooler with no precipitation, but a chance of flurries is possible. Possible accumulation for the next five days is between 0 and 300 cms of snow or 5mm of rain. Probability of precipitation is 0%. There is still a strong chance of wind, but may in fact be calm. Clouds will prevail until the sun pokes out. Will be a nice day on Thursday, but by mid afternoon there is an 80% chance of freezing rain.

There you have it, my first forecast ever. Seems pretty straight forward doesn't it? Check back in five days and tell me if I was right or not.

That is the point I am trying to prove. It is the vast usage of the words, probable, and chance, and maybe even, that makes weather forecasts a joke to me. Five days from now, you could look back on this and there would be no way I could be wrong. I covered rain, snow, mixed precipitation, sun clouds, wind and calm. All I had to do to be right is say a chance, or maybe. I know there is a lot of science involved, but if all science is this much guessing, what is the point?

Now get outside and enjoy the sunny, with probable clouds, with no chance of precipitation, but possible flurries day.

All my heroes are dead

2007-04-20T13:46:44Z

The world has become much less fun recently, and here’s why. It begins like this:

Listen:

Kurt Vonnegut has finally become unstuck in time.

It end like this:

Poo-tee-tweet.

Kurt Vonnegut has finally become unstuck in time. He passed away Apr. 11, and now I can truly say that all my heroes are dead. For those of you unaware of who this literary genius was, he was one of the greatest writers of the century.

He wrote such great classics as Slaughterhouse-five about an optometrist, Billy Pilgrim, who lives his life like some non-linear Tarantino movie, constantly reliving moments of his past, present and future. Nothing surprises Pilgrim, not when he was taken as a POW by Germans in World War II and witnesses the Dresden firebombing, when American and British aircraft dropped thousands of gallons of napalm on the town killing more people that the Hiroshima/Nagasaki nuclear bombs combined, including thousands of American POWs. Nor was he surprised when he was abducted by aliens from the planet Tralfamadore, who see everything in four dimensions, kind of like Pilgrim himself. These did not surprise Pilgrim, because he had literally seen it all.

Vonnegut himself was taken as a POW to Dresden during his war years, and he even makes a cameo in the story as a POW who Pilgrim encounters while locked away in Slaughterhouse-five in Dresden. That was I. That was me. That was the author of this book. (125) He writes.

Another great book by Vonnegut was Mother Night. A story about an American playwright Howard W. Campbell, Jr. who was living in Germany before the Second World War broke out. He is drafted by the CIA to send secret messages to the allies. In order to do this, Campbell is forced to get in good with the Nazis and become one of their most popular radio propagandists. Through his radio broadcasts, he would alert the Allies about Axis unit placements, strategies and the like. Once the war ends, the CIA denies any involvement with Campbell who, because of the anti-Semitic garbage he was forced to spew, became the most hated war criminal in the world. Those of you who have read Slaughterhouse-Five will recall Campbell as one of the characters who visited Pilgrim in Dresden to recruit Americans to fight alongside the Nazis, but I digress. Mother Night was later made into a movie with Nick Nolte as Campbell, and John Goodman as the CIA operative who recruits him.

I first came across Vonnegut while watching the Rodney Dangerfield movie Back to School, when Dangerfield hires Vonnegut to write an essay about Vonnegut. He made a brief cameo in the film. Dangerfield was later derided by his professor for the paper he submitted about the infamous author, saying whoever wrote this doesn’t know the first thing about Vonnegut. (Back to School). Of course when that movie came out I had no idea who Vonnegut was. As far as I was concerned, he was a fictional creation of the movie writers.

A little side-note about this movie. Keith Gordon, who played Dangerfield’s son later went on to direct the movie version of Mother Night.

But I digress.

When I was seventeen, my dad brought home a copy of Slaughterhouse-Five which he gave me. I read it once, and I was in love with the writing. I read it again and again (there are few books that I will read over and over). I was hooked on Vonnegut, and it is my goal to read all that he has written.

I don’t shed a tear for Vonnegut, because I know Vonnegut would not shed a tear for me. Also, I shed no tears because I know that he welcomed death. In his 2005 book, A Man Without a Country, Vonnegut writes:

I am going to use the Brown & Williamson Tobacco Company, manufacturers of Pall Mall cigarettes for a billion bucks! Starting when I was only twelve years old, I have never chain-smoked anything but unfiltered Pall Malls. And for many years now, right on the package, Brown and Williamson have promised to kill me.

But I am now eighty-two. Thanks a lot, you dirty rats. The last thing I ever wanted was to be alive when the three most powerful people on the whole planet would be named Bush, Dick, and Colon. (39-40).

And in his essay Fates Worse than Death, he writes:

American humorists or satirists or whatever you want to call them, those who choose to laugh rather than weep about demoralizing information, become intolerably unfunny pessimists if they live past a certain age.

Of all of Vonnegut’s characters, one touched him more than others and made appearances in several of his stories. This character was none other than the mediocre science fiction writer Kilgore Trout, who Vonnegut refers to as his alter-ego. In Timequake published in 1997, Vonnegut kills Trout who was getting old and believed that being alive is a crock of shit.

So I shed no tears for my fallen hero. Just as I shed no tears for Hunter S. Thompson, another of my hero writers when he took his own life two years ago. These were men who realized that life was harsh and pointless, and that there was much humour and beauty to be found in that reality. Men who were not afraid of death, who saw death as a prize for having lived.

Vonnegut taught me that the traditional narrative structure of English literature hampered creativity. That life is to be enjoyed, that laughter is the only cure for tragedy, and that taking yourself too seriously can be detrimental to your mental health. He taught me that cautious satire was a much more useful tool of social criticism than yelling and screaming and raising a stink. And that radicalism, no matter how noble the ideas it espouses, breeds horrible acts in men. And that those horrible acts have some humour hidden deep within. And that in the end, we should always laugh, no matter how much we feel like crying.

Although I don’t believe in heaven, I hope for Vonnegut’s sake that I am wrong. I hope that he is united with all the loved ones he has lost and written about. But regardless, I know that at his final resting place, there will be a headstone with the epitaph “Life is no way to treat an animal”. And atop of the headstone, at the crack of dawn as the sun rises and glimmers off the grave marker, there will be a bird perched, and the bird will sing its song: poo-tee-tweet.

Joost shows more promise with CBS deal

2007-04-13T13:04:38Z

Joost (pronounced ‘juiced’) has been the talk of the internet for months now, and is really starting to ramp up the publicity as of late. I was invited to beta test Juiced two or three weeks ago and have spent a little bit of time playing around with it. These are my impressions:

From What’s Joost?:

Joost is a new way of watching TV on the internet. With Joost, you get all the things you love about TV, including a high-quality full-screen picture, hundreds of full-length shows and easy channel-flipping.

They get it pretty much right with their description, but they leave out a few fundamental differences between television the way we know it, and television the way Joost wants us to know it. While Joost does have channels (actually, a lot of them, but more on that later), they aren’t channels in the current sense. You can’t just tune into a channel and have the day’s programming continue playing. You choose a channel, then choose a show on that channel you want to watch. If you don’t change the channel or pick a different show, it will pick another show from the channel you are on. While similar, it is not the same.

Although I haven’t spent as much time playing around with Joost as I would like, one of the big things I’ve noticed is that there isn’t much in the way of advertising—yet. It is clear and should be painfully obvious that this will change as Joost expands both it’s user and content bases.

On the content base topic, while we’re there, Joost is doing very well for themselves so far. Joost currently sports a lineup of more than 75 channels, including some household names: BET; Fifth Gear; Guiness World Records TV; IndyCar Series; MTV; MuchMusic; National Geographic; VH1 and more.

However, the biggest news on the content front was announced just yesterday: CBS will be offering a ton of its top content on Joost. For free.

This CBS deal marks a huge milestone for Joost as it marks the first time they’ve inked an agreement with one of the top over-the-air networks. The major deal, however, is not exclusive. CBS will also be licensing its content to AOL, Microsoft, CNET, Comcast and others. Notably absent from this list is Google, and especially YouTube, where CBS has been providing some content since September of 2006.

If Joost can come to an agreement with at least one more of the major networks (NBC, ABC or FOX, specifically) and keep the program free (well, ad supported, but what TV isn’t?) I can see it really take off. I expect my Joost viewing time to sharply increase as soon as the good stuff from CBS is added, and I’m sure it will for a lot of other people as well.

Joost still has a sign up for their beta program available, and if you’re at all interested I would suggest going for it. It took months for me to get my invitation but I think they’re ramping up their invites as they get closer to public release (now at version 0.9.2).

UPDATE May 2, 2007: If you would like to receive an invitation to download the Joost beta, leave a comment with your first and last name, and fill in the email box with a working email address. If that doesn't work for you, drop an email to stephen [at] tooreal [dot] net, with your full name and email address. I'll make it happen. - SG

What can we do about the high cost of education?

2007-04-10T13:29:28Z

For a lot of people a post-secondary education is something they consider vitally important to success later in life. Studies have consistently proven that that earning a college or university degree or a skilled trade will exponentially increase the amount of money you will earn. Chances are also likely that you will have a more fulfilling job and will have more career opportunities no matter what you want to do.

As the need for a higher education grows seemingly by the day, so do the hurdles potential scholars need to overcome on their way to a better life.

Some provinces have instituted a tuition freeze, there is no guarantees on regarding how long these niceties will last. During the 1990s, tuition rose at a rate of 9.6% per year—a rate well above inflation. And while the tuition freezes are nice, none of the other (high) costs that students face remain in a range they can easily handle. Everyone knows the saying “starving student,” and for a great deal of people working toward a university education the cliché holds true.

In cities like Calgary and Vancouver, unless you live with your parents the cost of living expenses can be very prohibitive. Almost every Canadian city that contains a university is also seeing a rise in cost of living, making the cost of an education even higher from coast to coast. And already tuition, books and other academic costs only account for roughly 25% of the total cost of a university education!

So, while employers are increasingly requiring their recruits to have strong educations (as high as 70% of all new job opportunities in some provinces), these educations are becoming harder and harder to acquire.

A number of countries throughout the world (Germany, Cuba, etc.) provide post-secondary education to their citizens at a tuition cost of zero, or a nominal charge of a few hundred to a thousand dollars a year. While I don’t pretend to think that this would work as is in Canada, I think we need to strive to lowering the total effective cost for an education in this country. By providing more affordable housing to students (and not just dorms, because dorms suck unless you’re a freshman), we would be making a great first stride toward doing something.

Students have enough on their plate trying to study and get all of their assignments done to worry about the skyrocketing cost of their education.

Self-image obsession isn't only female territory

2007-04-09T12:53:21Z

I work out from time to time. OK, I obsessively work out. If I am out and about and there are stairs to take, I will. I try to eat healthy, but good ole Rotten Ronnie still makes his presence known. I read all I can and chart out the "perfect" diet. Two days later I’m at the counter asking "Can I get a double quarter pounder with cheese please?"

I know I shouldn't be there, and the worst part is I am most likely to be there after a nice 2 hour workout. All that hard work for nothing.

Don't get me wrong, I’m not fat. Truth be told, I have a few extra pounds but who doesn't? Still, I wake up everyday, flex in the mirror and feel unimpressed.

Could it be my self esteem is low? Well, possibly, but in all reality it is most likely to do with the picture of the 300 pound monster of a human being, on the cover of Muscles "r" Us magazine I just looked at. I know you have heard about young ladies looking through magazines and then picking up an eating disorder, trying to look like the models in the magazines, but what about us guys? It affects me just as much.

I strive to look that way. Like I said before, I read about nutrition; I hit the gym hard; I waste my days trying to look like someone in a magazine.

It starts off simple enough. I made the decision to join a fitness club to add a few pounds of muscle, nothing serious though, because I convinced myself a long time ago I never want to look like those bodybuilder types. The veins and all that muscularity just isn't what I was looking for. Well at least I tried to convince myself of this, but then I start taking it a bit serious and got a few results. That is when all the problems began.

Once I was impressed when I lifted 200 pounds, now 300 is easy and it still isn't enough. I once thought size 36 jeans were a great thing, now 34 is the goal. I just read that Mr. Bigmuscles has a size 34 waist, so I should too, right? I pump out that one last set. I decide 45 minutes of cardio would be a great way to finish off. I hit the elliptical, sweat out some fluids, quickly weigh myself and head home. I flex in the mirror, smile from the nice pump, take a shower, and then hit MacDonald's. Working out makes you hungry you know? Unfortunately lazy as well. Who wants to cook after all that hard work?

I know there are many better choices than MacDonald's but most of the time that would mean getting out of the car to get it, so drive thru it is.

I munch it all down, it has never tasted so good. I get a bit of gut rot and head to the toilet for some relief, pick up Muscle Madness magazine to read while doing my business, then after a few pages start feeling depressed. I can't believe I just ate that. I ate great all day, why screw it up now? How will I ever look like Willy Hugearms now? Maybe I should just give it all up. It is pointless to try now right?

I decide it isn't time to pack it in quite yet. I write down a great diet, I schedule a special grocery trip, I am now more motivated than ever before. I will not fail this time. Oh wait it seems all too familiar, I have said all this before, so what makes me think this time will be any different? I guess I will just cross my fingers.

Tomorrow is another day, another chance to reach my goals, but sometimes I question if the goals I set myself are realistic or not. I wonder if I can ever look like the guys in the Strong & Big magazine I just read. I even wonder why exactly I want to look this way to begin with. I ponder the questions for a bit. What to do? What to do? The answer just never seems to come to me, maybe it never will. Maybe you know the answer I am looking for? Oh wait I found it www.iwillhavetouseamassiveamountofsteroidstolooklikethat.com. Ah it is so clear now.

Easter should remain Easter

2007-04-06T13:01:06Z

As long as I’ve been a student (coming up on twenty years now—two fucking decades, shiiit…) I’ve been blessed with holidays based around religious dates such as Easter and Christmas.

I’ve never been much of a practicing Christian but having these times of the year off were cause of great celebration, usually surrounded by intense partying (once I entered high school, anyway) and even more intense slacking off. These holidays are very holy to the people of the world; especially the students.

Throughout the early years of elementary Easter holiday was a week long departure from reality where my yet-to-develop colleagues and I would search every nook and cranny of our homes looking for chocolate eggs and VHS movies and whatever else the Easter Bunny decided to leave in our homes. Much like Christmas and Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny only left crap like that for the good children—however, I was definitely never a deserving kid and just scarfed on the chocolate before he found out I was bad and came to steal it back.

Entering high school it was just a reason to not attend class (not that I really needed one, but you know) and get drunk on a Tuesday night. It wasn’t quite as good as May long weekend, but it was still a week off from school and we took what we could get.

Now that I’m in college I get a single day off… today, “Good” Friday. I assume a lot of students around the country will be using it to study for impending finals (two weeks or so away). I, on the other hand, will be using it to exercise my drinking muscles that will see the light of day in a massive way coming up in May.

There has been a lot of discussion lately about dropping the religious names from holidays and moving to a more secular version. Like the “Spring Holiday” for Easter, or the “Winter Holiday” instead of Christmas.

I just don’t really see the point.

We’ve gotten on fine for the last century or more celebrating these dates with their respective religious names. Over time they’ve grown to lose meaning and we’ve still managed to cope. Christmas seems more of a capitalist holiday than a religious one these days, and even the religious folk have found a way to stay above ground with the whole day. It wouldn’t really matter to me what we call the day, but for some reason non-Christian families are shitting bricks in their briefs about what we call the holidays in their children’s schools.

Does it really matter? I’m writing this at 1:00 AM on Friday morning, so I don’t really have time to go out and survey a large number of the public on the question, but, I would wager if a large number of people were polled, the majority would equate the word “Christmas” more with the tradition of swapping gifts than celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.

Same goes with Easter. Ask any kid and the only thing he or she will care about is the gratuitous giving of chocolate on Easter Monday (or whatever day it is you decide to help out your kid on their race to obesity).

People need to realize that tradition is the reason we are still calling these holidays by the terms we call them. We aren’t out to promote Christianity or attack your religion by using these terms. We’re just used to it. Get over it. Celebrate it whatever way you wish. Celebrate your own religious holidays and call them whatever you want. You don’t hear Christians whining about the names of other religion’s holidays. Let the kids have some fun and relax.

Have a Happy Easter, Too Real will be back on Monday. We don't even take the extra day off... we just keep it lazy every weekend.

Top 5 Ricer Cars

2007-04-05T15:11:39Z

Definition: Any oriental import car that has been modified for no real performance gain.

Ricer: An oriental car with no engine mods, a body kit, and possibly stickers. Made to look fast.

Not a ricer: An oriental car with a fully built engine, drive train, and suspension regardless of appearance.

Here is a list of their favorite platforms.

5. Honda del Sol: The car is a favorite, because of its ease to find obnoxious body kits, the ability to attach huge mufflers to, and its relatively cheap price to obtain. Some may argue that it is the definition of "chick" car because there are an abundance of female owners. Huge wings and graphics go hand in hand with the del Sol, as well as many VTEC emblems. If you are lucky enough you may bump into a Mugen Type-R VTEC supercharged turbo. Look for it, it is definitely out there.
4. Acura Integra (non Type-R): This car has become a favorite ricer car over the years, and is a tad different from the del Sol because it has a little performance out of the box, more just noise but more than the del Sol regardless. Once again huge kits and spoilers are a must, because down force is a necessary upgrade for these FWD monsters. Stock 0-60 times approach a minute, and the 1/4 mile takes longer than I am willing to watch, but that does not stop most riced out Integra's from a full out 6000 rpm launch at every stop light. You have a Z-06 Vette? Motherfucker they have VTEC (well some of them do anyways).
3. Mitsubishi Eclipse/Eagle Talon (non turbo, non awd): Fast and the Furious, is a little to blame for these, they are cheap, abundant, and many aftermarket parts are available for them. I have had the honor of running into a Mitsubishi Eclipse with a beautiful DOHC VTEC emblem on the back. I asked him if the VTEC helped his quarter mile times, and he responded with “it doesn't hurt it, that is for sure." I just nodded my head and quickly sought refuge inside of the 7-11. You never know with these guys, they tend to pop off as quickly as they think their cars are.
2. Mitsubishi Lancer (non EVO): These cars are mere pocket change brand new off the lot, and with 0% financing and Mitsubishi's lax credit checks, there are more Lancer's on the road than taxis. A common upgrade to these cars, is various EVO badging, random combination badging (EVO OZ editon Ralliart is one of my favorites), and massive spoilers (I assume because the EVO has one, but these are not EVO spoilers at best they are "EVO like" spoilers. Many Lancer drivers believe that their cars are awesomely insane rally cars, and race inspired, so it is never uncommon to witness some seriously intense e-brake drifts in the Wal-Mart parking lot.
1. Honda Civic: There are so many various reasons why this is the #1 platform choice for ricers world wide. Cheap, abundant and basically a must to have owned at least one civic in your life time, to be taken serious by the ricer crowd. Many DX Civics on the street are no longer recognizable as a Civic, because of the Lexus headlight conversion, along with the Skyline GTR Tail light conversion, and massive wide body kit to make sure the 10" wide rear tires will fit. Lambo doors, huge exhausts, and non turbo blow off valves are a must. Most are badged incorrectly, and for some reason nitrous stickers are a definite must, regardless if they have a nitrous kit or not. Most riced out Civics according to their owners will do a 10 second 1/4 mile on their street slicks, which they have at home, because they only bring em out if they are racing for "pinks.” Beware of the non-painted loose body kit parts that may fly off at you in traffic.

I would like to state for the record that for every 2500 riced out cars on this list, there is a true enthusiast with something special. Unfortunately they are hard to spot because of the non- projector HID conversions that blind you, on most of the ricer cars on the road. Have fun out there, just be careful, you never know when Uncle Ben will make an appearance, so breathe steady, calm yourself and relax. Take solace in the fact that eyesore will soon be wrapped around a light pole in some parking lot because the McDonald's trays were extra slippery during his mad intense FWD drifting session, yo.

Wiggers Live Dangerously

2007-04-04T13:37:09Z

I talk to a lot of people each day. Many are what you would refer to as "wiggers." I know not a very nice term, but you know the type. Born and raised in a small city or town. Have seen a hand gun or shot one. Have no idea what a gang really is, yet will tell you that they will get their crew, and smoke you if you get in an altercation with one.

There are now more and more of these types of people walking the streets, and the interesting fact is that the major cities are sprouting more and more daily.

What makes that so interesting is that in these cities, there are real guns, real crews, and real danger associated with their way of life, yet so many people think it is a good idea to pretend to be one of them.

They copy the way they talk. They copy the wardrobe. They even go as far as copying tattoo's at times. It is a dangerous decision for the most part but it doesn't seem to faze them.

They don't consider that they have just chosen to place themselves in harms way. They can't seem to fathom the idea that they may get caught up in something they are not prepared for. They just don't get it.

Most of the real gang members, although it can be argued against, didn't choose their paths. Their paths were partly chosen for them long before they had any control over the decision. They believe deep down it is the only choice and they have no other option. Although a sad thought I can sympathize.

Their lives are filled with hardships. They face dangerous situations daily. They have a decreased state of remorse for their actions. They are harassed by the police. They support addictions with crime. Yeah seems glamorous to me, maybe now I get the reasoning for copy catting them.

No I don't. I never will. I can not seem to grasp why someone would choose to mimic this way of life.

Is it because they think it makes them tougher? Is it that they think they won't get messed with, because others will assume they are part of a gang? Well what happens when this doesn't work, or worse yet they run into a rival gang? I mean I don't see any benefits.

Now I know there are just those guys/gals that walk around and pretend to be from Compton California, and they are in no way in any danger of running into a rival gang member, but it still makes me wonder what goes on in their heads. Throwing up gang signs, talking with so much slang it is hard to tell if it is English or not. I just will never understand.

Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that these wannabes are bad people. I am not even saying they shouldn't mimic these gang members. I am just wondering why? I wear Sean John, Enyce, Akademiks and a lot of urban inspired clothing. Hell I even use slang here and there, but I am always true to who I really am. I don't try to pretend because I have the new G-Unit hoodie on that I am 50 Cent, I just "do" me you could say.

They may argue that the just "do" them, and in some cases, it is the truth. Well at least to them it is. They walk the walk, they talk the talk, but where they are walking and talking is different. Take them out to Compton and see how long they would last.

17 Easy Ways to Reduce Your Pollution Output

2007-04-03T13:22:15Z

With all the talk lately about global warming and protecting the environment, I decided to compile a short list of easy, inexpensive ways to reduce your pollution output. Pick a few off the list and do your part to help out the environment. You’ll probably feel good about yourself.

1. Take public transit.: This is just plain common sense. By hopping on the bus or (especially) riding Light Rail Transit, you are taking another car off the road. Whenever it’s possible, use public transit.
2.Walk, duh.: Going to the store five blocks away? Do you really need to drive? No. Slip into your favorite pair of kicks and hike down the street. As an added benefit, you’ll get some much-needed exercise.
3. Don’t use the drive-through.: Idling your car in the drive through, especially during peak times is bad. It may be convenient, but why not park your car, walk inside and stand in line? Or you could cook something for a change.
4. Turn things off.: Turn off your television, computer, lights, etc. when you go to sleep for the night. I’m terrible for leaving computers on, but I’m going to make an effort here.
5. Recycle.: We all recycle our bottles and cans because we get money for them, but we should be recycling other paper, plastic and aluminum products… and anything else we are allowed to.
6. Open your windows during the day.: Why waste money on air conditioning on the not-so-hot days? Open up the windows and get some fans. It’s cheaper and much less harmful on the environment.
7.Use natural lighting.: This is a no-brainer. Make even more use of the windows in your house. Draw the shades and let in the sunlight. Natural sunlight is much more appeasing to the eye than artificial lighting is anyway.
8. Buy local goods.: Trucks pollute. Goods come to your city on trucks. Why not get rid of a lot of that pollution and buy locally-produced goods? Plus you’ll be supporting the local economy—always a good idea.
9. Buy recycled goods.: See number 5. Using recycled paper is probably the easiest thing to do, just look for the recycled logo and pick it up. Bonus points if you can find locally-produced-recycled goods.
10. Don’t use paper plates, cups, etc.: I’m guessing most of the time that you use paper plates and cups at get-togethers they end up in the trash, and subsequently the landfill. Just use something you can clean and stop being so lazy.
11. Use reusable goods.: Next time you stop at Starbucks or Tim Horton’s, have them fill up your thermos instead of a paper cup. Shopping at the grocery store? Buy a couple reusable bags and have them fill those up instead of the plastic bags they are using now.
12. Carpool.: Not only will you be taking a car or two off of the road in the daily commute, but you will have the benefit of hopping in the HOV lanes in certain cities. Plus you’ll be socializing.
13. Plant trees.: Lots of trees. The more the better. Plant em!
14. Use warm or cold water for every other load of laundry.: This is just common sense. You’ll save money, hot water and the environment. If you don’t need to use hot water, why waste the energy to heat it?
15. Use efficient light bulbs.: While it may be a little more expensive to spring for the fancy bulbs, you will save money and help the environment. If you’re broke, switch out one or two of the bulbs in your house—not all of them.
16. Drop the thermostat a degree or two.: If everyone were to drop the heat by a degree or two in the winter it would make a huge difference. And will the extra degree really bother you that much? Doubt it.
17. Work from home a couple of days a month.: This isn’t possible for everyone. But if you work in an office that makes it easy for you to do your work from your home office, stay home from time to time. This goes back to keeping your car off the road during the commute. Plus, you don’t even need to get dressed for work, which is always a bonus. However, there are some rather serious hazards.

There are hundreds of little things we can do to improve the planet we inhabit. Submit your suggestions in the comments area.

How To Pick Up Women Using 5 Easy Tips

2007-04-02T13:11:03Z

So many have spent many lonely nights wondering why they are alone. They have tried new hair styles, new clothes, even sweated their asses off at the gym in the pursuit of the opposite sex, yet so many of them are unsuccessful. Are they just undesirable?

I spent last night on the phone, in person, and on MSN trying to get insight on what makes a guy desirable to the opposite sex.

36 females ranging in age from 18 to 34 gave me their insight on what to do and what not to do when attempting to pursue them, here is what was uncovered.

1. Don’t ever think a “cheesy” pick up line will work.: All 36 answered in a similar manner, but the jist of it is that if they hear it come out of your mouth, regardless of what physical attraction they may have had for you, you just lost your chance. Sounds harsh to me, but seriously who uses pick up lines these days anyways?
2. Listen to them.: The majority put an emphasis on their partner’s ability to listen—not just hear them. One of the women gave an analogy I think fits perfectly: You listen to music and if you enjoy it, you learn every word. We want you to enjoy what is coming out of our mouths just the same. (Melanie, 26)
3. Your/Their past sexual partners only matter to you.: They are not interested in whom, or how many other girls you have slept with, only guys put emphasis on things like that. Not one of them said they cared how many other females you have had sex with, yet every one of them said that almost every guy that they have been with has asked them for totals. They told me it was pretty much the beginning of the end when that question was asked.
4. They want to be #1 in your life.: Once again the majority stated that they need to feel important, most going as far as saying they need to feel like you couldn't live without them. I feel, by listening to their explanations, is that they know it isn't true, but they want you to make them believe it anyways. Confused? Join the club.
5. They want sex.: No surprise here 100% stated to me that they indeed want sex as much, or in some cases more often then us guys. Difference being they know how to hide it. I suppose it helps that they don't have 6-9 inches of " I am horny " billboards trying to bust through their jeans, but I gathered that the meaning of being able to hide it was deeper than that. Although, their explanations did have me lost within a few sentences. Refer to # 2.

Other answers ranged from take a shower, to dress up for dates, but I left those out as in most cases it was common sense. I also determined that every girl knows exactly what they want in a guy, but are willing to make exceptions, they are realists. They understand that the guys of their dreams only exist in romance novels, so as long as you are close you have a fighting chance.