800

This is my 800th post. Normally, I would make a fancy graphic for it (like here, or here), but I'm on vacation. Thanks to my fans (all six of you) for the love and support.

And if you're one of those people who checks in from time-to-time, but never comments... well, you're OK, too.

TREK THIS!

Now that school has ended (until August), I've been meaning to catch up on a few things... first, let's chat about how great Star Trek turned out to be. OK, so I've already talked about it (here). And as you'll recall, I posted some behind-the-scene photos from the movie on my site here.

But I never showed the finished product, after much CGI work:
That's the library from the school I'm attending (left), moved to San Francisco thanks to a little industrial magic (the generic kind, not the trademarked George Lucas, "My Scripts Suck, But Check Out These FX" kind). Oh, and they modified the shape of the building a tad.

If you get the chance, check this flick out. I like it so much I saw it twice (and even paid for it the second time).

I KNOW WE ALL LOOK ALIKE BUT...

I received a letter from the Texas Attorney General's office (above) stating they "had my new address" and if I wanted to get my child support checks on time, I should notify them in advance of moving.

Now, a closer look at the letter shows it was addressed to Juan Jose Garcia... not me. Oh, and I've never lived in Texas, and don't have any children requiring child support payments.

After an unanswered email, and a few phone calls, a supervisor assured me this "clerical" error was now fixed. Since being "fixed" over $1700 in additional checks have arrived, bringing the total to just under $3000. Talk about your child support fraud!

Don't get me wrong... I'd love to cash these checks and hit H&M, but that would be wrong. Very wrong. So, each time a check for Juan Jose arrives, I send it back.

It had to be Texas, didn't it?!

CIRCLE OF JERKS

OK, so school is out for summer, so I've gone back to the gym. I don't have any illusions about what kind of gym I joined (white, straight, upper-middle class, conservative), I'm surprised by a couple of things I've noticed:

*the MMA Club (Mixed Martial Arts): A bunch of guys, rolling around on a mat with their head in each other's crotch, humping each legs, grunting... and what's not gay about this?

*circle jerks (not like you think, so just read on, you prude): groups of straight, muscled, tattooed guys, standing around a single machine/work out station, touching each other's muscles, showing off (and tracing with their fingers) tattoos and general guyness (grunting, touching, flexing, etc.).

I'm not going to comment any further on this, except to say, um... no, never mind.

IF ONLY...

UM... OK

SO LONG, YEAR ONE

I just took my last final, completing the first year of a two-year graduate program. I think I did alright. A mix of A's and B's. Now, I can just sit back and...

Oh crap, now what?

GREAT FOOD, GREAT SERVICE

It's no secret, I love Carl's Jr.'s Western Bacon Cheeseburger. And I love the commercial Top Chef's Padma did for them. (You can watch it here.)

What I didn't say is how much I love the music in the commercial. I sent an email to the company (via the Hardees site), asking about it. This was about a week ago. Today, I got an email from them. Turns out the song is called "Round the World" by Chris Winston featuring Aisha Francis.

Not only did they respond to my crazed-fan mail request, they did it quickly and professionally. I know the founder of Carl's Jr. is a right-wing nutjob, but kudos to his employees for the awesome food and kick-@ss customer service.

Unlike Staples (long story for another day), Carl's has a customer for life.

JUST FOR THE RECORD

I love this stuff.

Here's the groovy commercial:

FROM THE MOUTHS OF BABES

Every year the Los Angeles Times puts on a panel of local teens who watch and rate summer movie trailers, called The Summer Movie Posse. The Posse's past predictions have been frighteningly accurate, predicting the summer's big box office winners and losers.

I read this article every year, as I find it both entertaining and informative. But one of the panelist's comments about the new Transformers movie really made me giggle, so I had to share it.

After watching the trailer for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, one panelist said "He (Michael Bay) keeps making the same movie over and over, as if he hopes someday he'll get it right." Amen to that!

And for the record, they rated the new Michael Bay movie second to last, just above Sam Rami's Drag Me To Hell.

TOO FUNNY FOR WORDS

I saw this over on Donnie's blog (here) and nearly peed my pants.

WHAT THE #@%&?

I've been a Mac die-hard customer all my life.

No, really. When I was about six or seven, my parents bought an Apple LC II. You know, the ones with the green screen, before they had a mouse? Anyway, since then I've been a loyal customer and avid defender of the Apple way of life.

But I have a bone to pick with the folks up in Cupertino... the staff in the stores. I've shopped at a number of locations (Thousand Oaks, The Grove, Simi Valley, etc.) and I've noticed that no matter the size of the store, no matter how ethnically diverse the town, the majority of the employees were of the same demographic: white teenage boys.

Not don't get me wrong. I have a taste for all things Wonderbread (just not underage, mind you). But it gets a little old, you know?

And Apple has always been one of those brands that represented diversity and inclusiveness. I mean, the original Apple logo was a freakin' rainbow apple for cryin' out loud.

sigh

YOU SAID A MOUTHFULL...

"In the past, as now, Hollywood was a stomping ground for tastelessness, violence and hyperbole, but once upon a time it turned out a product which sweetened the flavor of life all over the world."

Screenwriter, Anita Loos... who died in 1981.

OK, I'M OUT...

I've been watching The Dollhouse semi-faithfully since it debuted. But with the last few weeks' twists and turns, I'm losing interest. I don't care about the back story. And "Alpha" should have been hotter, no?

The writing, the acting, the direction... none of it is worth it anymore. The show has simply stopped making sense while simultaneously ceasing to be entertaining.

So sorry... but I'm out.

OK, I GIVE IN

I just got back from Star Trek, and I have to say... it was pretty good. There were some plot snags I wasn't too fond of. And (as usual) JJ Abrhams stunk up what was an otherwise great film. (Enough with the shaky, hand-held style filming, and short, stuttery, jump cuts... we get it, you're edgy, or whatever.)

I would give this film a rating of 8.5 out of 10.

DANCING IN... MY MIND

At random (and totally inappropriate) times over the past few weeks, I've found myself humming the classic club tune, "In De Ghetto" by the Bad Garden Club. If you knows it, you knows it... if you don't...

well, I guess you weren't cool then, either.

P.S. This isn't the coverart for the version I had stuck in my head. This is just the one I found first, and I liked the colors.

FIND THE TOP OF HILL, GIRL!

Love me some Hunter & Jessica.

ROCK(STAR) IS DEAD

After reading this, I decided to never drink Rockstar Energy Drinks. I've been more of a 5 Hour Energy guy as of late (they really do work), but reading about the anti-gay, anti-autism remarks of the company owner/co-founder made me swear off this drink. Tell everyone you know about this.

THANKS, SCI-FI CHANNEL

I'm tackling a sizable "To-Do" List today, including some pre-finals schoolwork. But while folding two batches of (finally) clean laundry, and waiting on hold with the Auto Club, I turned on the telly... only to find that Sci-Fi is running a Doctor Who marathon. (From the good series, not the early ones.)

Now I'm not going to get anything done I can't do in front of the tube... Oh well, at least I'll get my schoolwork done, no?