Shaolin Showdown

Matthew Polly's quest is really quite extrodinary, seeming like a real version of the monomyth. His call to action comes early, when he first watches Legend of the Iron fist. China is his land of fullfillment, Choach Cheng his supernatural guide. He goes through all the trials, meets a girlfriend (his godess) and fights against the communist coaches (his antagonist) and eventually, returns home, having become strong and sure of himself. His return home is rather odd though. He returns to China, like that was his home. A bit strange no?

Needs to be shown...

You must see this link. I was looking up vigilantes and this came up. It's utterly, totally, and f-ing bloody brillant. I mean seriously

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=4707217

OTW

I think that most of the the people in the waterfront beleive that any body who rats is a stool pigeon. It's obvious in the way they act. Like that kid. He looks up to terry like a father but when Terry testifies against the mob, he kills all of Terry's pigeons. HARSH. I mean, that must seem like a cardinal sin to these peopolle to justify that sort of violence. Yeeshus Chrysler, I mean.... come on... any way, my beleif's on the subject? Tell. If it involves organized crime, you always tell. On second thought... crap.... I just thought of something. Corrupt cops! What do you do if their on the payroll? Great now I got a headache.... arrgh

Surreal people.

In American Shaolin, Matthew meets some pretty surreal people. Wether it's the genius/crazy man Mikael, or the Iron crotch master coach Dong, there are some people in his memuars that seem to surreal to exist. But beleive me, people like that do exist. I've met them. I was once in the Galleria, going to barnes and noble (I read more than I should) and saw a woman sketching simply amazing artwork. From abstract to classical she had it all. I asked her about it, complimenting her on the work. We struck up a conversation. And then it got weird. She knew things about me I'd shared with nobody else, and I mean nobody. No, she wasn't a stalker. She couldn't've been. Why? She showed me her driver's liscence. It was from Hawaii. Shortly after, she left. I never saw her again. But she is confirmation to me that there are people far beyond the ordinary.

AMS

Joe, I think, obviously decides that family is more important. He wouldn't let anything get in the way of that, since he knowingly shipped out the broken cylinder heads.
I beleive that when it comes to small, unimportant things, like shoplifting, discipline should probably be handed out by the family. But anything that really harms another person, such as, I don't know, KILLING THEM! Is a matter of socieatial justice

Iron Crotch Kung Fu. There, now I have your attention

Matthew Polly, author of American Shaolin, is best described as... Persevering. He left harvard, after taking huge amounts of chineese, to go chase his dream. Namely, to be taught in the martial art of Shaolin. Many people dream of becoming a kung fu master. This guy actually goes for it. And he's met some pretty weird guys in the process. Monk Dong, (not making this up) practicioner of Iron Crotch Kung Fu. Tiger man, a movie director about the size of an orangutang. And Mikael, nordic giant hovering somewhere between genius and madness. These people seem larger than life, but he does have pictures. Talk about truth being a lot stranger than fiction

Buccaneer King. Pt. UNO

Okay.... This wasn't nearly as entertaining as I thought it would be. The first couple of chapters are like reports on the economic status during the 1600s. Honestly. Does it have to be so boring?
It's about a pirate, for !@$@ sake!

A Golden Heart

On november first, one day after of her thirteenth birthday, My dog, margaret, "maggie" Brost Died. She was put down due to paralyzing arthritis pains. My heart hurts. Maggies been with me ever since I can remember, and even before.. She was my companion, my fellow in growing up. She knew when I came home and was always waiting for me. She was the one who would keep me company on dark nights. She was the quintessential man's best friend; Unjudging, unbiased, gentle, and kind. She did not care what rules you broke, what mood you were in. She didn't care if you were mad. She just loved you, no matter who you may have been. Some may claim that animals do not have souls. Well, to hell with them. This one did. She lived and loved every day of her life, and kept us happy no matter what. So don't tell me she didn't have a soul. She did. One that was purer and more brilliant than any human posesses. So shine on Mags. Shine on.... We'll never forget you.

Note: This is just an interesting connection.

For anybody taking the art of film, watch heroes. it's full of great symbolism and music, and the way it's shot... It's fun just to analyze it, and see how masters use a camera

analog going the way of dodo

This article talks about how analog photography is starting to go out of date. The disadvantages are starting to show. Any analog photo some one takes is singular, and cannnot be replaced. With digital, you have an electronic backup that can be copied any number of times. With analog, you have to watch your film. In digital you can take any number of photos. These avantages are appealing to more and more people. Digital is slowly taking over






Unguru, Cosmin. "Digital vs. Analog photography"
Batch Photo, April11th 2006
http://www.batchphoto.com/articles/digital-photography.html

A photo of mine, a photo of yours

This is my photograph for the assignment. Below is the article

Bhuddists... with laser swords!

I was reading Siddhartha when the thought hit me. There was another group, another people I knew of which had many of the same values. They meditate to control their emotions, they beleive that all living things are unified, and some of them have even acheived Nirvana. I am talking about the jedi. I shuffled through the bookshelf a book I'd gotten for my birthday: Jedi Vs. Sith: the Essential Guide to the Force ( Offical )(http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Jedi_vs._Sith:_The_Essential_Guide_to_the_Force)
and what do you know, the beleifs of buddhists and jedi mix very well. The bhuddist way of living an life of detachment and meditation is exactly like the Jedi's who all must live with only one physical item: their lightsaber. Buddhist mediate constantly to control thought, and so do the Jedi, to control the force. Nirvana has been achieved by many jedi (google force ghosts) And the way the Bhuddists beleive in balance is very very simillar to the jedi keeping the balance between dark and light

An alarmingly close iCall

Thank you god. Thank you tough working digital music people. A little while ago, the digital music industry (most noteably Itunes) was wracked with worry. Royalty rates were spiking so badly that I tunes rep Cue said, If iTS (iTunes Store) were forced to absorb any increase in the mechanical royalty rates, the result would be to significantly increase the likelihood of the store operating at a financial loss - which is no alternative at all.
"Apple has repeatedly made clear that it is in this business to make money, and would most likely not continue to operate iTS if it were no longer possible to do so profitably,"
Well thank god it didn't The world, or at least everyone with Ipods, can breath easy. We are safe.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7645537.stm
http://www.dailytech.com/Royalties+Scare+Abated+iTunes+and+Web+Radio+to+Rock+On/article13102c.htm

And Lo, on the seventh day, the Larry the Allmighty Studied, For He had An Exam the Next Day.

Have you ever wanted to play god? Will Wright has. He has created a game, in which you the player, assumes the role of creator of an entire species. A whole new race, that you get to create, change, and evolve however a person wants. It's a hit. Over a million units have been sold since sept 7th, and over 25 million creatures have been created. And it's easy to see why. Playing god has an almost universal appeal to people. So much in our own lives is far from our own control. Spore allows us to control the tiniest aspects of everything, from single celled organism to galactic civillization. It gives us power, and it's basic human nature to want that.
Maybe that's why it sold so well

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3170143

Odysseus.

Was odysseus a hero for modern times? That's a good question. While he full of timeless themes, I think he is distinctly dated. Times have changed, and aspects of odysseus have become distinctly dated, especially if we consider him to be the star of a fantasy. In that case, we have to change him a bit. For one thing, if the guy is grim. Very grim. Not one wit of humor throughout the whole thing. (nor the liliad now that I think about it). Today's heroes usually are able to conjure up one funny moment, but odysseus is distinctly lacking. Give me one example where he's cheerfull, and funny. Just one. Not when he leaves circe, not when he defeats polyphemus

He's just not any sort of funny, and that's essential in a modern day hero. Harry potter, ender, the list goes on and on. Every single one of them has some element of humor to them. Odysseus has none