It's been a while. I got back from my travels on Tuesday.
The trip to Kentucky/Tennessee was successful. It wasn't spectacular, but I did get to see downtown Nashville, which was pretty cool. Believe it or not, I go back on the 6th of August. I'll be teaching some different people this time around.
As you were all aware, I went to Vegas right after I finished up my last TDY. I'm not going to go into detail about everything that happened because I might be breaking some Vegas law about "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas."
I did drink a lot, but not as much as I have before. I wasn't as lucky on the tables as I have been before either. That was mostly since we didn't gamble too much. I did get to see a Beetles themed show, which was really cool. I also got to see the Wynn hotel and the top of the Eiffel Tower in the Paris hotel. We also went to a couple of clubs; the Tangerine at Treasure Island and Revolution at the Mirage. The Tangerine was horrible, way, way too many people. Assholes and elbows as I always say. No room to dance or even walk around for that matter. Revolution was really cool, they played a very large variety of music, from Journey to Guns 'n Roses.
I spent a lot of money, but had a really great time. We figured that we should make it a yearly trip, even though I needed 3 days to recover fully from it.
If anybody wants to go next year (around July) let me know....we'll hook up!
Peace,
Tony
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Alright boys and girls...
Story time. Most of you know this story, but I feel bored so I'm going to tell it anyway.
When I was in the army, I used to be a paratrooper. It really wasn't for me, and here's why: my second jump of airborne school I was the "chalk pusher." This means I was the last to exit the aircraft. Two jumpers ahead of me, the soldier decided to exit very poorly (he sat down on the platform, instead of walking out of the aircraft). This caused me and the person in front of me to exit poorly as well. I hit the side of the door as I left the aircraft. This caused me to spin uncontrollably. When I was finally able to check my chute, I realized that half of the lines that connect me to the canopy were cut. On top of all this, there were two rather large holes in my chute.
I pulled my reserve, and to my dismay, fell lifelessly. In that spit second, my life truly passed before my eyes. I always thought that was just something people put in movies to make it sound more dramatic.
Lucky for me, I failed to realize that it takes a second for the chute to catch air. Next thing I knew, my reserve was open. I was still heading for ground at a rapid pace, so I was wondering what bone I would be breaking once I landed. I ended up landing on my side, mostly on my shoulder (to this day, my shoulder hurts, but nothing was broken).
There was an investigation that concluded that it was my fault for the accident. I exited poorly causing all of the problems. Later that day we had another jump. As I ate my lunch, I was shaking horribly, and the head instructor noticed. He came by and asked if I was good to go for the next jump, and that if I wanted, I could wait until next class to finish up. I told him that I already had two down, I might as well go for the last three. So later that day, I completed my third jump.
Well there you go. The day I almost died, for your reading pleasure. If you have any questions about it, leave a comment.
Oh yeah, two days until I start my vacation.
Peace,
Tony
When I was in the army, I used to be a paratrooper. It really wasn't for me, and here's why: my second jump of airborne school I was the "chalk pusher." This means I was the last to exit the aircraft. Two jumpers ahead of me, the soldier decided to exit very poorly (he sat down on the platform, instead of walking out of the aircraft). This caused me and the person in front of me to exit poorly as well. I hit the side of the door as I left the aircraft. This caused me to spin uncontrollably. When I was finally able to check my chute, I realized that half of the lines that connect me to the canopy were cut. On top of all this, there were two rather large holes in my chute.
I pulled my reserve, and to my dismay, fell lifelessly. In that spit second, my life truly passed before my eyes. I always thought that was just something people put in movies to make it sound more dramatic.
Lucky for me, I failed to realize that it takes a second for the chute to catch air. Next thing I knew, my reserve was open. I was still heading for ground at a rapid pace, so I was wondering what bone I would be breaking once I landed. I ended up landing on my side, mostly on my shoulder (to this day, my shoulder hurts, but nothing was broken).
There was an investigation that concluded that it was my fault for the accident. I exited poorly causing all of the problems. Later that day we had another jump. As I ate my lunch, I was shaking horribly, and the head instructor noticed. He came by and asked if I was good to go for the next jump, and that if I wanted, I could wait until next class to finish up. I told him that I already had two down, I might as well go for the last three. So later that day, I completed my third jump.
Well there you go. The day I almost died, for your reading pleasure. If you have any questions about it, leave a comment.
Oh yeah, two days until I start my vacation.
Peace,
Tony
Saturday, July 14, 2007
3D Showing...
Well, that's what I ended up watching last night when I saw Harry Potter in an IMAX theater. It was actually pretty good:
Story- I almost finished the book (about 150 pages left) before I saw the movie. They left out a lot, but most of what needed to stay in was there. The story kept you glued in, since most of the movie you're thinking "it can't get much more worse for Harry, can it?"
Character Development- There was only really one character that needed an introduction, Dolores Umbridge. The character was very well played, and had every annoying mannerism that was in the book. As for the other characters, it would seem that they may be getting a little too old to be playing their respective parts (Daniel Radcliffe is already 17, he'll likely be in his early 20s by the time the series is complete). I guess we'll see how that turns out later.
Visuals- Great! Special effects were a big part of the movie, but you could easily forget they were special effects and just think they were really using magic. This was all punctuated by the 3D battle at the end. If you are a Harry Potter fan, I suggest you find the nearest IMAX theater and see the 3D version, even though there is only about 20 minutes or so of 3D effects.
Direction- Harry's transition into a moody teen has been pretty good. Daniel Radcliffe seems to be such a happy person in real life, that it probably took some good direction from David Yates. He also did a good job of keeping the whole movie pretty dark. The characters rarely were outside, and when they were, it was usually either raining, or they were in the Forbidden Forrest.
All in all, it was a pretty good movie. I still have another week here in KY/TN. I actually start teaching on Monday, so hopefully this week will not take as long to go by. I'll be teaching soldiers how to use a mapping software. Funny thing is, I just learned this particular software a few weeks ago.
That's all for now, if anything cool happens, you all will be the first to know.
Peace,
Tony
Story- I almost finished the book (about 150 pages left) before I saw the movie. They left out a lot, but most of what needed to stay in was there. The story kept you glued in, since most of the movie you're thinking "it can't get much more worse for Harry, can it?"
Character Development- There was only really one character that needed an introduction, Dolores Umbridge. The character was very well played, and had every annoying mannerism that was in the book. As for the other characters, it would seem that they may be getting a little too old to be playing their respective parts (Daniel Radcliffe is already 17, he'll likely be in his early 20s by the time the series is complete). I guess we'll see how that turns out later.
Visuals- Great! Special effects were a big part of the movie, but you could easily forget they were special effects and just think they were really using magic. This was all punctuated by the 3D battle at the end. If you are a Harry Potter fan, I suggest you find the nearest IMAX theater and see the 3D version, even though there is only about 20 minutes or so of 3D effects.
Direction- Harry's transition into a moody teen has been pretty good. Daniel Radcliffe seems to be such a happy person in real life, that it probably took some good direction from David Yates. He also did a good job of keeping the whole movie pretty dark. The characters rarely were outside, and when they were, it was usually either raining, or they were in the Forbidden Forrest.
All in all, it was a pretty good movie. I still have another week here in KY/TN. I actually start teaching on Monday, so hopefully this week will not take as long to go by. I'll be teaching soldiers how to use a mapping software. Funny thing is, I just learned this particular software a few weeks ago.
That's all for now, if anything cool happens, you all will be the first to know.
Peace,
Tony
Monday, July 9, 2007
Howdy from Tennesee!
No, I'm not really that excited to be here.
I flew in on Sunday, first class even. What's even better is they played that song "Glamorous" by Fergie on the airplane radio before we took off. Coincidence?
I'll be here until the 20th, which is cool since I'll be going to Vegas the day I get back. I'm really looking forward to going. I've been in need of a vacation for some time now. We'll be staying at the Hooters hotel while we're down there.
Speaking of Hooters, I found a Hooters energy drink yesterday. It was actually pretty good, but really sweet. Kind of like a liquid pixie stick. We even ate at the local Hooters for dinner today.
Another thing I've noticed are the girls (especially in Nashville). Man, oh man, am I a sucker for blonds.
The guy I'm here TDY with is a big Harry Potter fan, so he asked if I wanted to see an IMAX screening when it debuts this Friday. I've seen all of the Harry Potter movies so far, at first so I could see the previews (which were the Star Wars trailers for the first two). I'll be sure to give another review once I see it on the (really) big screen.
Thats all for now....catch ya on the flip side.
Peace,
Tony P.
I flew in on Sunday, first class even. What's even better is they played that song "Glamorous" by Fergie on the airplane radio before we took off. Coincidence?
I'll be here until the 20th, which is cool since I'll be going to Vegas the day I get back. I'm really looking forward to going. I've been in need of a vacation for some time now. We'll be staying at the Hooters hotel while we're down there.
Speaking of Hooters, I found a Hooters energy drink yesterday. It was actually pretty good, but really sweet. Kind of like a liquid pixie stick. We even ate at the local Hooters for dinner today.
Another thing I've noticed are the girls (especially in Nashville). Man, oh man, am I a sucker for blonds.
The guy I'm here TDY with is a big Harry Potter fan, so he asked if I wanted to see an IMAX screening when it debuts this Friday. I've seen all of the Harry Potter movies so far, at first so I could see the previews (which were the Star Wars trailers for the first two). I'll be sure to give another review once I see it on the (really) big screen.
Thats all for now....catch ya on the flip side.
Peace,
Tony P.
Saturday, July 7, 2007
Still in Jersey, but...
I went to New York City today. For those of you who know me well, I don't really like spontaneous things, and I kind of went against that today. I did have SOME planning, but only to get to NYC, not what I was going to be doing up there.
I left today around 9am, and took a train to Penn Station in NYC. When I got there, it was almost overwhelming since I come from a small town (especially in comparison). I've been to Seoul, South Korea before, and it kind of reminded me of that. Really, the only difference between the two cities is that in Seoul, the buildings are newer.
It was outrageously busy. Cars honking and people rushing around to who knows what. When I left the train station, I just started walking. I ended up a few blocks down at the bus station, where there were people selling double-decker bus tours. I went ahead and got one for downtown Manhattan. The tour was really nice. I got to see things that I'd only seen on TV, like the Macy's department store, Empire State Building, and Central Park. I mostly stayed on the bus, but I did get off at the WTC site and the park where you catch the ferry to the Statue of Liberty. I took some pics of both areas, but I don't have a digital camera (I got this laptop that I'm typing on instead). Once I get these pics developed, I'll be sure to post some.
Ground Zero at the WTC was a humbling experience. Lots of construction is still going on, but to see and stand where so many people lost their lives is pretty moving. I'm looking forward to the memorial they put there. As for the Statue of Liberty, I ended up staying at the park instead of going to the island. There was an hour and a half wait to get on the ferry, and I didn't have the time for that. I took some pics of Ellis Island and the Statue, and walked around a bit. I ended up at Times Square, which was awesome.
I even had some good 'ole NY pizza. It was from a small shop near the WTC site, and was actually pretty good. Next I have to go to Chicago and try theirs.
It was a great time. I've always wanted to go to NYC, and now that I have, I want to come again and actually spend some time doing things. One of these days I'll come back.
Funny side note: I decided to eat at the Olive Garden when I got back into Jersey. When I was finishing up my meal I noticed that I had dropped some sauce from my meal onto my shorts, but I also noticed that my fly was down. Man, I felt like a dope. I walked all around NYC with my fly down, D'OH! Oh well, hopefully no one noticed.
That's all for now, tomorrow I fly to Kentucky. I just checked my itinerary and saw that I'll be flying first class, whoo hoo!
Peace,
Tony P.
I left today around 9am, and took a train to Penn Station in NYC. When I got there, it was almost overwhelming since I come from a small town (especially in comparison). I've been to Seoul, South Korea before, and it kind of reminded me of that. Really, the only difference between the two cities is that in Seoul, the buildings are newer.
It was outrageously busy. Cars honking and people rushing around to who knows what. When I left the train station, I just started walking. I ended up a few blocks down at the bus station, where there were people selling double-decker bus tours. I went ahead and got one for downtown Manhattan. The tour was really nice. I got to see things that I'd only seen on TV, like the Macy's department store, Empire State Building, and Central Park. I mostly stayed on the bus, but I did get off at the WTC site and the park where you catch the ferry to the Statue of Liberty. I took some pics of both areas, but I don't have a digital camera (I got this laptop that I'm typing on instead). Once I get these pics developed, I'll be sure to post some.
Ground Zero at the WTC was a humbling experience. Lots of construction is still going on, but to see and stand where so many people lost their lives is pretty moving. I'm looking forward to the memorial they put there. As for the Statue of Liberty, I ended up staying at the park instead of going to the island. There was an hour and a half wait to get on the ferry, and I didn't have the time for that. I took some pics of Ellis Island and the Statue, and walked around a bit. I ended up at Times Square, which was awesome.
I even had some good 'ole NY pizza. It was from a small shop near the WTC site, and was actually pretty good. Next I have to go to Chicago and try theirs.
It was a great time. I've always wanted to go to NYC, and now that I have, I want to come again and actually spend some time doing things. One of these days I'll come back.
Funny side note: I decided to eat at the Olive Garden when I got back into Jersey. When I was finishing up my meal I noticed that I had dropped some sauce from my meal onto my shorts, but I also noticed that my fly was down. Man, I felt like a dope. I walked all around NYC with my fly down, D'OH! Oh well, hopefully no one noticed.
That's all for now, tomorrow I fly to Kentucky. I just checked my itinerary and saw that I'll be flying first class, whoo hoo!
Peace,
Tony P.
Thursday, July 5, 2007
This isn't the first, nor will it be the last...
Greetings readers,
Today I'm in New Jersey, living it up. I got in on the 4th of July, just in time to watch the fireworks display from Manhattan on TV. The day didn't start off that well, I missed my flight. It's alright though because they had me on such a long layover in Phoenix that I was able to take the next flight (1h30mins later) and still make the original connecting flight. The rest of the day was uneventful, with me getting in roughly around 7:30pm.
With the formalities out of the way, I'll give my very first review: Transformers.
I wanted to give some sort of substance to my reviews since I hate looking at Yahoo reviews that say "THAT MOVIES SUX!!!1 IHATE MICHALE BAY! In that, I have developed a couple of categories: Story, Character Development, Visuals, and Direction. There are other categories that may influence such as Soundtrack.
On to the review:
Story- Almost non-existent, but not missed. More will be discussed in the visuals section
Character Development- Mostly strong. The main characters Sam Witwicky and Mikaela Banes were pretty well developed, except the "past" of Mikaela. It seemed thrown in, to add depth to a character that was pretty much the eye candy for dominantly male audience. The whole sub story of the "signals analysts AKA hackers" could have been left out of the movie, since they also seemed to be squeezed in as filler. The Transformers themselves got plenty of (expensive) screen time. The pace of the movie added to the need to leave out the backgrounds of the robots.
Visuals- The moneymaker, by far! Every special effect, every transformation, every 200mph fight, taxes your senses. It's almost overwhelming. At several points during the movie, I truly felt like a kid again. The lack of story was completely a non-factor here, since the visuals truly told the story.
Direction- Michael Bay. That's all I have to say about that. If you've seen Armageddon, Independence Day, or any other BOOM movie by Michael Bay, you know what I'm talking about. If not, see above.
That's all for now. If any thing cool happens, you all will be the first to know.
Peace,
Tony
Today I'm in New Jersey, living it up. I got in on the 4th of July, just in time to watch the fireworks display from Manhattan on TV. The day didn't start off that well, I missed my flight. It's alright though because they had me on such a long layover in Phoenix that I was able to take the next flight (1h30mins later) and still make the original connecting flight. The rest of the day was uneventful, with me getting in roughly around 7:30pm.
With the formalities out of the way, I'll give my very first review: Transformers.
I wanted to give some sort of substance to my reviews since I hate looking at Yahoo reviews that say "THAT MOVIES SUX!!!1 IHATE MICHALE BAY! In that, I have developed a couple of categories: Story, Character Development, Visuals, and Direction. There are other categories that may influence such as Soundtrack.
On to the review:
Story- Almost non-existent, but not missed. More will be discussed in the visuals section
Character Development- Mostly strong. The main characters Sam Witwicky and Mikaela Banes were pretty well developed, except the "past" of Mikaela. It seemed thrown in, to add depth to a character that was pretty much the eye candy for dominantly male audience. The whole sub story of the "signals analysts AKA hackers" could have been left out of the movie, since they also seemed to be squeezed in as filler. The Transformers themselves got plenty of (expensive) screen time. The pace of the movie added to the need to leave out the backgrounds of the robots.
Visuals- The moneymaker, by far! Every special effect, every transformation, every 200mph fight, taxes your senses. It's almost overwhelming. At several points during the movie, I truly felt like a kid again. The lack of story was completely a non-factor here, since the visuals truly told the story.
Direction- Michael Bay. That's all I have to say about that. If you've seen Armageddon, Independence Day, or any other BOOM movie by Michael Bay, you know what I'm talking about. If not, see above.
That's all for now. If any thing cool happens, you all will be the first to know.
Peace,
Tony
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