TRON: Legacy Movie Review
Recently I saw the much acclaimed Tron Legacy in 3D. When I first heard of the movie and saw that it was a Disney movie, I didn’ t really expect much since Disney has never appealed to me. This is because many of Disney movies have been mostly family movies so Tron seemed like it would be an average movie to me at first. To be honest, I only went to watch the movie since many people were talking about its high quality graphics.
In its essence the movie is about the concept of the grid, a computer world where virtual programs and humans fight in various games. This concept of Tron intrigued me since I had never heard of something like this. In the movie, the father of the protagonist goes into the grid and creates two programs called Tron and Clu. These programs are designed to control the grid and make it into a utopic world. The movie is basically based upon how Clu drastically changes the grid for the worse to achieve perfection.
Although the movie wasn’t the best, I really liked the interesting games that were played in the movie and I also liked the spectacular graphics that were shown in the film. Personally, I think the movie was a bit predictable and the plot was not the best. This is because the climax didn’t even seem like a climax, and near the end the protagonist is supposed to get a ring that would lead them into the real world but this part is made a little too easy for the protagonist. I would probably watch or buy the movie again since I really liked the graphics and personally I think it’s one of Disney’s most technologically advanced movies.
[youtube L9szn1QQfas]Video of the Day: Finding Bibi
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Interesting Facts
If you are right handed, you will tend to chew your food on your right side. If you are left handed, you will tend to chew your food on your left side.

If you stop getting thirsty, you need to drink more water. When a human body is dehydrated, its thirst mechanism shuts off.
Chewing gum while peeling onions will keep you from crying.
Your tongue is germ free only if it is pink. If it is white there is a thin film of bacteria on it.
Banana peels can be used to clean leather shoes.
The Titanic was the first ship to use the SOS signal.
The pupil of the eye expands as much as 45 per cent when a person looks at something pleasing.
The average person who stops smoking requires one hour less sleep a night.
The roar that we hear when we place a seashell next to our ear is not the ocean, but rather the sound of blood surging through the veins in the ear.
Bats always turn left when exiting a cave.
Upset iPhone Users!
It was 8:39 a.m. on New Years Day and I woke up looking at the clock and realized that I was supposed to start work in 21 minutes. As upset as I was, I rushed out the door and managed to make it to work just on time. I was unsettled all day and after work I found the need to check online as to why my iPhone was not working. It was comforting to know that I was not the only one facing the problem, apparently there are millions of iPhone users who are disgruntled by the glitch in the software. Most surprisingly the glitch’s popularity stemmed through millions of Tweets on Twitter about how people’s iPhone alarms did not go off.
The root of the problem seemed to be a glitch in the alarm settings and the only way to fix was to set a recurring alarm, which means you choose the days you would like the alarm to repeat itself rather than setting repeat to never. However the technology giant promises the public that as of Jan. 3 the alarms should resume working. This itself has been the third alarm failure crisis from the product. Another problem arose during Daylight Savings Time in Europe, when iPhone alarms did not recognize the time change and went off an hour late.
I am glad that I was fortunate enough to have made it on time to work, despite my alarm not going off. But there are millions of people who have lost money and time because of this glitch. There are families who missed flights, tours, meetings, and other once in a lifetime opportunities because of Apple. What responsibility does Apple have for their losses? Should the victims of this bug be reimbursed by Apple?
For a full list of complaints visit: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2702635&tstart=0
Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Dancing Men
You are what you read. Stuff yourself with poetry, short stories, comic strips, novels, and scripts, and you leave yourself always full of wonderful literature and you’re never hungry. That is why I am trying to ingrain the habit of reading good literature right before I go to bed, and I had the great pleasure of stepping into the foggy, murky and sullen streets of Victoria’s London, riddled with frightful criminals and petty pickpockets, to be eradicated by the brilliant and erratic consulting detective, Sherlock Holmes. I have just recently finished the short story of my favourite novel book character, Sherlock Holmes, after his return from the dreaded Reichenbach Falls.
I’m pretty sure most members of society are familiar with the infamous story of Sherlock Holmes and his adventure of the dancing men, at first seeming to be mere childish scrawls that instead, when more deeply analyzed, hides a most sinister message locked in code. It’s a race against time to find the mysterious messenger and to prevent the devastating tragedy that Sherlock anxiously foresees. Of course, theories are to be built to be formed by facts, and not to have facts twisted to fit theories, and thus indulges very little of his thoughts and conclusions until he sees it best fit to reveal them, even from his dear chronicler, Dr. Watson.
Video of the Day: Quadruplet Babies Laughing
Check this out!=)
These babies are super cute!
[youtube CQo2FJPLeQk]Video of the Day: Baby Hates Everything
SaM’s Serving of NeRd: LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
Where would the nerds of the world be if it weren’t for Harry Potter? I have no idea, but I know I personally wouldn’t have turned out to be so lame awesome without it 😉
Now, the LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 game has somewhat recently come out for consoles, but what some of you may not know is that it has also come out for iPhone, iPod and iPad users 😀
For a limited time, this game is only $4.99!!! Needless to say, I pounced on it–and it was quite the struggle! It took me well over three hours to attempt to update my iPhone’s operating system and now I have no music on it 🙁 but I have the game! That’s all that’s important to me ;). I must say, as a fan of the LEGO video games for various consoles, the touch interface is a lovely addition to the LEGO-style gaming.
Run around stupifying people, find missing items for fellow students, and collect those wonderful little LEGO coins, all with a little help from some magic ;). Of course, you get to play as all of your favourite characters like Hermione, Ron, Hagrid and Harry! Complete tasks, recreate scenes from the books, and defeat Lord Voldemort (yeah, that’s right, I say his name XD)!
So, if you’re still looking for a wallet-friendly gift for your Harry Potter junkie/gamer/nerd, this game would make the perfect gift. I would highly recommend it. =)
Check out the iTunes preview! 🙂
Happy Gaming!
Experience the events of Harry Potter’s first four years at Hogwarts – LEGO® style!
~* mischief managed.
SaM’s Serving of NeRd: Shingles
No, not the ones on your roof! Shingles are the wonderful relative of chicken pox that rarely shows up in people under the age of 50….however, sometimes if your immune system is down or you have an exceptionally great amount of stress or some other unknown reason, they can pop up. Yes, this is what I got for my holiday gift 😛
SIDE NOTE: please do not worry about getting shingles if you are stressed or have a low immune system. They are relatively rare in youth–I’m just lucky, I suppose (haha). I find such things interesting, so if you aren’t a fan of somewhat gross things, you might not want to continue reading.
So what are shingles? Well, its actual name is Herpes zoster (isn’t that lovely :P) and is a viral disease characterized by a rather uncomfortable skin rash with beautiful (ha :/) blisters in a limited area on one side of the body, often in a stripe. Mine are on the right side of my upper back and currently look like North America xD.
People can only get shingles if they have already had chicken pox (I was 7). The chicken pox virus never actually goes away, but lays dormant in your nerve cell bodies. For some people, years or even decades later (10 years for me), the virus can travel down the nerve axons and cause the lovely viral infection, known as shingles, in the region of the nerve. The virus may spread from one or more ganglia along nerves of an affected segment and infect the corresponding dermatome (an area of skin supplied by one spinal nerve) causing a painful rash. But not worry, the rash usually heals within two to four weeks, and when treated within 72 hours of the outbreak, a medication can be prescribed to reduce inflammation and shorten the duration of the infection (after one day, I hurt WAY less :D).
At this point, you may be freaking out a bit, but not to worry! As long as you don’t touch the fluid in the blister (and why you would do that, I don’t want to know) it is not contagious! YAY! 🙂
If you are worried, I feel much better than yesterday. It’s more of a nuisance than anything else, as it is sensitive to light pressure, such as my sweater moving when I walk, and, being connected through the nervous system, a prickling feeling occasionally shoots down to my elbow. But it’s all in good fun! 😀 (BTW: Tylenol works wonders–ibuprofen didn’t seem to work on it.)
Hope you are all having a wonderful winter break! 😀
“Music for a Winter Evening” benefits concert!

Music can uplift souls, and in this case, raise money to go towards The Mustard Seed. A good friend of mine had invited me to see this wonderful benefits concert at the Jack Singer Hall at the Epcor Centre for the Performing Arts. “Music for a Winter Evening,” in its 10th annual Christmas fundraising concert, was performed by the wonderful Corpus Christi Male Chorale and guest star, Juno award winning artist Steve Bell.

The Mustard Seed Affordable Housing Development will provide 224 units of stable housing for Calgary’s homeless population, with all proceeds from the “Music for a Winter Evening” benefits concert going to this cause. Encouraging patrons to help furnish these units by donations, the concert proved to be very special to the Mustard Seed in other ways as well. Several Mustard Seed clients were able to attend the benefits concert, sponsored by wonderful and generous individuals that allowed the beautiful music of a live concert experience to touch very deserving hearts.
The Corpus Christi Male Choral was quite an inspirational and fantastic group to watch for me, watching for the first time, a purely male choir perform.
Video of the Day: Monsters are Real
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Movie Review: Inception

I was a little late on a watching the most anticipated movie of the year, Inception. I am usually a tough critic on movies and I can usually spot the cliché and corny movies left, right and centre, however unlike many other anticipated movies this one was not a letdown. It surprisingly lived up to its hype and did not give me any grief whatsoever. The movie brought into play existentialism, a philosophy of making your own fate in life. For example, the extractors crafted a hallucinatory world in their victim’s dreams however they wished. I appreciated Christopher Nolan working in such a complex idea such as existentialism into his film.
However what made the movie so great for me was the sudden twists in the plot, and the idea that you never really knew what was going on in the movie until the very end. The plot in the mystery movie Shutter Island is very similar to Inception because there were many unexpected twists and an ending which left at the edge of your seat.
All in all, Inception is hands down one of the greatest movies of all time. Inception brought meaning in many different levels, past the literal story line there were themes embedded deep within the text which made you reflect on the meaning of life.
Video of the Day: Guerrilla Handbell Strike Force
Christmas is a merry time of good tidings and joy, and is also deemed “to be the most happiest time of the year!” It’s also that time to consider and reflect upon the year. There are so many great volunteer opportunities available in Calgary dedicated to spreading the cheer and Christmas spirit to those in need of a warm hug.
Here’s another great video by Improv Everywhere, highlighting what a little giving could do and turning it into a lot! Which is why they’re bringing in the big hand bells. Bring in the Hand Bell Guerrilla.
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