aru-vatar!!!

by aru, tudi, aash, rob, mip, gohan, and rach [this exchange of e-mails back in november made me want to do a blog, just so i could post it!!!] [aru] Date: Friday, November 19, 2010, 9:48 PM        okay, finally watched it...trying to figure out where the hell my brother was crying... even taking out the IMAX 3-D thing...did the alien whatevers (you know it's bad that after 3 hours an SF nut can't remember what the aliens are called or any of their names) didn't they look really phony?? like a well-done video game, but not a revolutionary cinema experience...when he's being chased by the giant forest creatures, i was like, "is this even a little scary, aashna?"  "nope."        and the plot was like "how to train your dragon" plus various indiain/african/vietnamese good, whitey bad movies, aliens, every japanese giant-robot movie ever made...and the big debate was whether the battle scenes reminded us more or "ewoks vs stormtroopers" or "jar-jar saves the planet" in episode 1.  either way...not exactly bowled over.        on the other hand, we just watched sherlock holmes 3 times in a row, and it's better every time...sorry, tudi!     [aashna]  okay  about  that jar-jar thing though  you know  where in the1 movie  where he  wins  the war  acsedently  one handed  with those  blue  enormous ball thingies                 aashna [rach]   ok, so last january when you asked, i said that i that i liked sherlock better.  i thought that you would dig it , but told you that avatar, in the theatre and in 3d, was worth it just for the "wow" factor.  avatar was spectacular on screen, but didn't have the dialogue and charisma or charm of sherlock holmes.  my opinion though.  be sweet to your brother.  everyone is touched by something!!!!! xo, rach ps. laughed my ass off with the "jar-jar" reference [aru]        yeah, you and my brother...fucking cried, jesus...i mean, sigourney weaver's avatar looked so silly, i kept expecting fucking shrek to pop out...which would have added some dignity to the proceedings...doesn't help that sam worthington apparently took american accent lessons from mel gibson...        anyhoo, yeah, i believed you, that's why i saw sherlock, though...avatar, not bad enough for people to say "don't see it," but (even given my fondness for all things victorian) a huge cultural phenomenon??  what the fuck?!?!?!       and i have to say, terminator 2-still looks SPECTACULAR 20 years later, on a TV...ditto aliens...how come those CG alien creatures are not .001 as scary as the "cheesy" puppets in aliens?  because they actually thought, well, these are pretty limited, we might actually have to put some effort into building tension and using actual cinematic techniques like lighting...       they were talking about the star wars movies in the comic shop (of course!)  and why the first three were so much better...and i was saying, the first series, george lucas was imitating kurosawa, which made his movies cool...in the second series, he was imitating himself, which made him a hack...is avatar not just an overblown parody of aliens?   (throw in a little tarzan, last of the mohicans, apocalypse now...) [gohan] Does that make me the only one on the planet who still hasn't seen it? [aru]     you are the last one-stay that way.  think aliens meets tarzan meets shrek (yes, shrek) meets apocalpse now meets dances with wolves (which i never saw, but i'm guessing...)  and watch sherlock holmes instead... [mip] I'm the other one. [aru]      oh god, i'm jealous!!!  tudi, i admit if i had seen it in IMAX 3D, i might be singing a different tune, but 83% on rotten tomatoes???  it ain't citizen kane (which might be a hair overrated anyway)      aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand, coming in 2014:  avatar 2!!!!  (really, i want a cameo by shrek and buzz lightyear!!) [aru (+aash)] did  i mention totoro?  he better turn up!!! i'm losing track!  okay, the offical cameo wish list: ·         tarzan ·         shrek ·         jar jar binks ·         buzz lightyear ·         totoro ·         hawkeye from last of the mohicans ·         mobile suit gundam ·         the ewoks ·         the guy in apocalypse now who says "...a...spear...." ·         a predator ·         the macho woman from aliens (drops out of a tree, saves the day with a knife through the skull) ·         airwolf ·         any character with a mohawk from the road warrior ·         bambi ·         the incredible hulk ·         dances with wolves (i guess...never seen it) ·         jolly green giant-ho ho ho ·         the wonder twins ·         the aliens from the abyss ·         wallace and gromit -OR-gumby ·         michael biehn's character from the abyss (big moustache!!) ·         bugs bunny (aashna:  "it would have been funny, when they were cutting down the tree, if he leaned against it and said 'what's up doc?'" ·         aashna says: "tudi should be the bad guy and pepper spray should shoot out of his eyes..." [gohan] ·         Voltron ·         Speed Racer or any relative ·         BJ and/or the Bear ·         Ponch or John ·         "CHIM CHIM" - totally!!!!! [aru] VOLTRON!!!!   i was just telling aashna about my watch which-i'm not making this up-turned into voltron...so awesome!!!

[tudi]
Um,..........

·         Yul brenner in Underworld

·         Danny bonaduce

·         Um, millli and vanilli

·         Cobra Commander

·         She-Ra

·         Freddie Prinze (Sr.)

·         Uh, Reverend Billy G

·         Frankenfurter

·         Buddha

·         Jesus onna Stick

·         Red Peanut M&M

·         Doug and Wendy Whiner

·         Jane (the ignorant sl*t)

·         John Henry Bonham

·         Mr. Yuk (ha! Thats a good one!)

·         Rock-em-sock-em Robots

·         "you got your chocolate in my peanut butter" guy

·         Dumbo
This partial list is brought to you by:
The number 3, and the letter M

[aru]

okay, back in the early 90's when we both had long hair, and people called us milli vanilli (rach, you remember that notepad i found in the closet??) (and i would tell them all to go to hell)..tell the truth, deep down inside, you thought you were milli, right?  i know i did...

[tudi]

I thought i was the COOL one. Which one was that?

[aru]

that was MILLI, dumb@$$...come on!!!!

why the hell are you still awake?  don't you have to get up at the crack of dawn to fight crime???

[tudi]

You cant say @$$ ! This is PG-7 ! Also, i work 6pm to 6am.

[aru]

      wait, you're WORKING right now?  you have a computer in your patrol cart???  (that's not a typo, y'all)  yuka wants to know what you're doing right now...are you in the sherriff (2 r's?  2 f's?)  office?  are you "circling around?"  how's hot pursuit work with the cart??  yuka wants to know if it's cold.

[rach]

aidan is wondering why "ALF" didn't make either of your lists.............

[aru]

alf is a little to sophisticated to be in avatar 2...seriously, though...jabberjaw or the sleestaks from land of the lost really would fit the tone of avatar better than alf or hal 9000...the most expensive hanna-barbera cartoon ever made??

[tudi]

     Ok. I have a list , also, of peeps/things i would like to share:
Items/things/people i would like to goto Berkeley and pound/sit on aru's head-

-H.R. Puff-n-Stuff
-the water buffalo from Apocalypse Now
-a meercat (Blossom)
-a fart
-Marvin the Martian's dog
-Milo and Otis
-a Wild Thing
-Gleep (blue monkey)
-Hannah and Tony Montana
-George of the Jungle (Brendan Fraser, not the cartoonie one)
-Chester Cheetah
-Malibu Barbie
-Stewie
-Mr. Clean
-Billy Mayes
-Lurch ("youuuuuuuu raaaanng")
-Oprah
-Richard Simmons
-Dobby (house elf)
-Aslan
-Tonto
-Bruiser (the chihuahua from Legally Blonde)
-Willow (the MIDGET)
-fat man/little boy
-Mr T.
-PepperAnn
-a pet rock
-a cabbage patch doll
-any Disney princess (Cinderella, Ariel, Jasmine, Snow White, Sleepy Beauty, Mulan, etc...)
-Sally Jessie Raphael
-a tribble
-Snap, Krackle, and Pop
-Boo-Berry
-Ignatz
-Howdy Doody
-Dorothy Wrigley (hahaha)
-Captain Jack Sparrow
-Captain Kangaroo
-Captain and Tenille
-Captain Pike
-Captain Crunch
-The Blob
-Cary Grant
-Clinton Kelly
-Mike Holmes
-John Holmes
-Mr. Magoo
-Tennesee Tuxedo
-Speedy Gonzales (my wife says "that fast rat..")
-Huckleberry HOUND
-Rambo
-Fat Albert
-Tinkerbell
-Jiminy Cricket
-mom's stufffed bellpeppers
-Dora the Explora
-Where's Waldo
Clifford the Big Red Dog
-Mr. Rogers
-Charlie Brown
-a Care Bear
-a My Little Pony
-Magic Rocks
-Ronald McDonald
-Elmo singing "Elmo's World"
-Uncle Mano
-the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man
-Creulla DeVil
-Mrs. Cole the pie-anna teacher
-Booboo Bear
-Baloo
-Smokey the Bear
-BrownBear and BernardBear
-The 3 Bears & Goldilocks
-Ernie&Bert (everyone else calls them BertnErnie)
-Snuffalupagus
-Donkey
-why did Tigger look into the toilet?
-Grape Ape
-Aashna the heroin (sp?) with lavender-scented soap bubbles emitting from her ears
-any moron who is/has been called any of the following: "Ip", "Aaney (ah-knee), "orangutang"

[aru]

wait...is deputy dawg NOT on your list?!?!?!  (i'm too lazy to go back and check)

plus the look on yuka's face as she's reading these e-mails...

 

[gohan]

Hanna and Tony Montana was truly brilliant.

[rach] 

I have to agree! The whole list was inspired!  One thing, wasn't "Willow”  a dwarf? Here, in the overly sensitive/politically correct Bay Area, we know the difference!!!
Thanks for making me laugh,

Rachael

[tudi]

thought Aru might not think that list wuz humourous, i meant to include Lion-O and Snarf and some Smurfs Smurfing his Smurf! I capitalizd "MIDGET" cuz i knew some pc, liberal, sanctimonius, 'Californian' would correct me. Only i expected them to be related to me (incl. Lil' Arunan). All shorties, in The South, are Midgets. Some examples would be:

·         Bridgette The Midgette (my fave)

·         Willow

·         Danny DeVito

·          George Burns

·          Aashna, etc

     Why is it i am not asleep?  The only 'dwarves' are 7 in quantity, found somewharz in outer space (thats whar they took Bubba ! (for his Proctological exam)), OR sometimes rassellers (wrestlers).   I find it particularly challenging to respond, using only PG-7 language, for the newest member of the Arunan-Reply-All List (who may OR may not actually be 8).   Also, thanks, on the Montanas, my wife did not get it.

bikes!!!

That was a 1959 Triumph 350cc(blue)twin; the first year it was produced. The fenders were metal.See attached pic.
Before that Triumph had 500cc(black)and 650cc(red)twins. Mine was the smallest machine.  Sustained cruising speed around 100kph (just over 60 mph)  In those days that was fast.

canyonlands, utah, 2006

movie of the year??

     I approached him and said, "Mr. Rooster Cogburn?"

He said, "What is it?" His mind was on something else.
      I said, "I would like to talk with you a minute. "
      He looked me over. "What is it?" he said. 

     I said, "They tell me you are a man with true grit. "





...it's a really good book!!   but-i think this may be a first-the movie is actually better!  the coen brother's new version is a stunningly well written/shot/acted/costumed/cast/directed tour-de-force of fimmaking!  when you go in with high expectations and it exceeds them, that's something...



      matt damon plays his part with a great mix of bravado and pomposity and jeff bridges is a force of nature;  but the attention to detail in casting is what really stands out.  tiny parts like the sherriff, mattie's friend from little rock, the horse trader, the judge and lawyers, the kid in the stable,  the ferryman are all perfectly cast and acted.  especially josh brolin and barry pepper (playing ned pepper, oddly) are utterly fantastic with very little screen time.

      the directors' attention to detail really struck me:  there's a scene where ned watches rooster shoot his gun thru a telescope and there's a second's pause before you hear the distant shot-who would even think of that???

     there's also a part in the beginning of the book where mattie comments on tom chaney:

  He had no hand gun but he carried his rifle slung across his back on a piece of cotton plow line. There is trash for you. He could have taken an old piece of harness and made a nice leather strap for it. That would have been too much trouble.

 she does NOT mention it in the movie, but when he turns up, his rifle is, yep, slung on with a rope...wow! that's attention to detail!
        but what everybody's been talking about:  despite all the praise and oscar nominations, hailee steinfeld may still have been a little underrated...it's also a very well-written, charming, witty part, sticking closely to the book.  when she takes off to find the man who murdered her father, she wears his coat, hat and belt-it's sad and charming and somehow still feels authentic and looks really good, too.  true grit is really her story, and the title refers to her as much as anyone else in the story.
  if you have not seen this, it's still playing!  do not walk, RUN to you nearest theatre and give yourself a treat!!!

your majesty!!!!

no idea how it started, but whenever someone belches or farts in our house everyone* yells out, "youuur majesty!" 

if it's really good, it will be "your most gracious majesty!"

(*by everyone, i mean, me, aashna and whatever stuffie is on hand or maybe andy pandy...yuka stands there looking shocked-EVERY SINGLE TIME-which just makes it funnier!!)

aashna's new camera!!

allright y'all, brace yourselves!!!!

it's metallic pink and she paid for part of it with her allowance. 

 she passed up hello kitty for this one because she wanted more megapixels...

and yes, i  DO happen to think everything my kid does is brilliant, so fuck off!!!

crank dat!!!!!

travis barker!  fucking awesome!!!

kiwi!!

from contributor aash via tudi.  oddly moving...

OVERHEARD!!! (kinda)

from a student's mom:  "A**** thinks it is Interesting that you skipped second grade and now you teach second grade, cause you want to see what it is like"

THAT'S why i teach 2nd grade!!!
(I actually did 2nd and 3rd in the same year...my 2nd grade teacher was my favorite, so of course my parents put me in 3rd grade halfway through....)

sherlock holmes fans!!

holmes apparently learned "baritsu"...how cool!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartitsu

and the tower bridge...what an amazing picture this is!!!!

kate bosworth's eyes...mmmm

yeah, she's cute!!!  according to wikipedia:   "Her left eye is blue while the right has a goldish brown hue on the bottom. This rare phenomenon is called Heterochromia iridum." 


[BTW:  a linked article states: Although David Bowie is often cited as being heterochromatic, both of his eyes are blue. His left eye was damaged in a fight and remains permanently dilated, which produces the appearance of having differently coloured eyes.]

meltdown?!?!?!?!?!

from contributor appaiya...who has worked as an engineer in this field for 50-odd years...
http://www.businessinsider.com/japan-reactors-pose-no-risk-2011-3
and in japanese:
http://bravenewclimate.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/fukushim_explained_japanese_translation.pdf
check out all the links on the first article...i guess this is kind of a big deal????

the park!!

we spend a lot of time on the UC campus (just "the campus" around here) playing frisbee, soccer, sky ball, mountain bike stunts...so yesterday:
 "hey aash, let's go ride around campus."
"where?"
"the campus."
"what's that?"
"the UC campus?  the giant area with a lot of grass no streets that takes up most of downtown?"
"oh, the park!!!"

tsunamis?!?!?!

sri lanka...japan???  really???  what the fuck???  if i go to vegas for a bachelor party and decide "it's a second home to me," will it get hit with a fucking tsunami, too???

overheard!

in arinell's pizza:
,(two girls, maybe high school)
"so he was the first, what's it called, 'conscious objector?'"
"was this world war 2?"
"no, it was recent,  george bush."

makes you wonder, how much half-cooked knowledge are you still carrying around?  (and no, i didn't interrupt, even though i had finished my pizza and was just WAITING for aashna!!  arunan has learned self-control!)
send in your "OVERHEARDs!" 

one day is with the Lord as a thousand years-from contributor rob

Have you heard about these guys (link below) that think the world is ending on May 21? it is a big joke among the Christian community (that is to say most Christians think these people are crazy or stupid or both) .

Based on reference in Genesis where G*d (speaking to Noah) says he will destroy the world in 7 days , and another in 2 Peter where "that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years" they conclude that May 21 is exactly seven thousand years (seven days) after the flood. i just paraphrased it for you but you can read the convoluted mess yourself in the link below.

http://www.familyradio.com/graphical/literature/judgment/judgment.html

The problem is that no one, Jewish, Catholic, Protestant, or Evangelical, has ever interpreted the seven days from Genesis chapter 7 as anything but seven literal days. the passage makes no sense in any other context. From any perspective, if you look at the Bible as Spiritual Truth or as an historical document, their argument is nonsense.

Speaking of Genesis, have you read Robert Crumb's book of Genesis? i highly recommend it. Ironically, this is the best illustrated interpretation to date since Crumb, as an Atheist, had no religious dogmatic agenda he was trying to insert into the text he tried to just present the Hebrew text as is with no embellishment.

 http://www.amazon.com/Book-Genesis-Illustrated-R-Crumb/dp/0393061027

 

acromania!!!

aashna is helping me fill out a change-of-address form and wanted to know what to put for my middle initial, and i got curious if she put "NMI" on the form, would they know what it meant??

okay, check this out (highlited me favorites):

Acronym	Definition
NMI	No Middle Initial
NMI	NSF (National Science Foundation) Middleware Initiative
NMI	Northern Mariana Islands
NMI	Non-Maskable Interrupt
NMi	Nautical Mile
NMI	National Measurement Institute (Australia)
NMI	Natural Marketing Institute
NMI	Normalized Mutual Information
NMI	NASA Management Instruction
NMI	Neuro-Muscular Incapacitation
NMI	Need More Info
NMI	Network Management Interface
NMI	N-Methylimidazole
NMI	Non Metallic Inclusions (steel industry)
NMI	National Maritime Institute
NMI	Nuclear Medicine Institute (University of Findlay; Findlay, OH)
NMI	National Maglev Initiative
NMI	Number of Methods Inherited
NMI	National Military Intelligence
NMI	Normalized Moment of Inertia
NMI	National Meteorology Institute
NMI	Neuromagnetic Imaging
NMI	No Message Included (used in subject of message to indicate nothing is in the body of the message)
NMI	Non-Major Item
NMI	National Monuments and Icons
NMI	Norwest Mortgage Incorporated
NMI	Near Miss Incident
NMI	Number of Module Instances