Raptors Tonight
Bosh with a season high 7 turnovers.
Calderon's free throw streak ends at 87.
Jermaine O'Neal ejected - 16pts, 2 technical fouls.
Kapono with a n00b lane violation on a free throw.
Disgusting 2nd and 3rd quarters by the Raptors.
96-85 Bucks. What a terrible night.
On the bright side, trade deadline coming up! Hahaha. Ha.
Octuplets + 6
The delivery team giving a press conference.
There was a recent story about a Californian woman who gave birth to 8 babies in a span of 5 minutes and the huge medical team needed to deliver them successfully. It turns out she already has 6 children and filed bankruptcy in the past.
So, ethically, questions arose as to why she was allowed to undergo IVF or ovarian hyperstimulation when she already had 6 kids and was 33 years of age at the time. Then again, one doctor counters this by saying it was his job to only educate but not police how many children someone can have in the US. The mother, who was properly informed, opposed to selectively aborting some of the fetuses.
Socially, will the children each live healthy and fulfilling lives? Will one or two end up being neglected? Can this family stay afloat financially during such troubling times? Imagine the cost of a baby crib, diapers, and other baby necessities and multiply it by 8. The stress coming from all the babies crying and needing different things is going to be immense on both the children and the parents.
Physiologically, will the babies grow and develop into healthy individuals? With a finite blood supply, did she eat enough for 8 and did each of the babies equally receive enough? Were the babies exposed to the fertility drugs? Also, the babies were born premature due to the back strain she suffered and some of the babies' stomachs can't receive breast milk yet.
Anyway, for now, everyone's celebrating the miracle of life. However, challenges lie ahead and they need all the help they can get. To take care of finances, maybe they can do a reality TV show - since I don't know their names, "X and Y Plus 14". Beat that Jon and Kate! Hahaha.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_octuplets
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7860041.stm
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article5618449.ece
Body, Mind, and Soul
Today, I realized how I don't know myself as well as I thought. My mind was saying one thing but my body was saying another. There was really no reason why I was acting that way. But it made me think deeply about it for it must have come from somewhere. Maybe all these years have affected me in ways I can't even imagine. Happy, relieved, or sad - I have no idea. So, left in a state of internal confusion, I can only ponder this:
Why did I shed tears in front of her?
Song of the Week #24: The Real Tuesday Weld – Last Words
This is from the movie Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist, a movie I enjoyed watching. It stars Michael Cera and Kat Dennings as they embark on a night adventure looking for their favorite indie band "Who's Fluffy?". I could relate to a lot of what the movie was showing in terms of their night adventure (although none of mine could compare to the awesomeness they experienced). Straightedge is a word that came up while describing Nick (and Norah, iirc).
For those who didn't click the link, it's a lifetime committment to not drink, smoke, or do drugs. The latter two are obvious choices for someone like me but the former is something I'm coming to terms with in today's society. It's not by my choice but was biologically decided for me at birth. I can attempt to build tolerance and take all the heartburn medicine (for the ranitidine and famotidine) all I want but the alcohol flush reaction and the subsequent "no-fun" for the rest of the night is inevitable. So after a minor medical scare, I've accepted this bodily limitation and reaffirmed this committment. It's made it harder to fit in but I'm finding my way.
Here are the lyrics to the song, which fit well to the scene:
Over Elkin Avenue
The helium balloon, disappears into the sky
You give some money to a junkie
Watch as the sunny day drifts by
Can't tell you why
These are the last words
I'll say them to you
These are the last words
I'll say them to you
You said you loved me
And I kind of believe that
But these days who knows what it means
So we sat by the laundry mat with magazines and cigarettes
Talked about a million other things
These are the last words
I'll say them to you
These are the last words
I'll say them to you
Last night I dreamt that somebody had died
And it was one of us
I did the biggest thing that I could
But I was not enough
These are the last words
I will say to you.
For the Record
Obama did NOT screw up the oath. The Chief Justice John G. Roberts messed up and Obama paused to allow him to realize the mistake. But in the end, they both misspoke, but only cause Obama had to repeat the Chief Justice's words exactly.
"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
What happened:
“...execute the office of President of the United States faithfully..."
Not the smoothest delivery of the oath but this is hardly a big deal anyway (at least for me). But Obama-haters just love to jump on him for just about anything. Expect people to make a huge fuss about it in the following days.
For your reference (there's tons of these on Youtube):
For further nitpicking, the lady at the beginning says "oaf" not "oath".
"So help you God?" Haha, okay, I'll stop. 
Edit: Okay, really, bottom line is that today is a day to celebrate and certainly wasn't ruined by that moment. So I think those bloggers and news agencies out there making a serious issue out of this need to drop the whole thing. I doubt lawyers will drop it cause they just love racking up those billable hours but for the rest of the people, they should support their President. Anyway, hope there's a second chance in January 2013. I think he'll do a good enough job to make it there.
Killzone 2
Probably the first contender for Game of the Year 2009, Killzone 2, a PS3 exclusive, looks amazing and apparantly has good gameplay to go along with the visuals. The voice acting is superb as well. They weren't kidding when they said they were going for the "Hollywood realism" approach.
In their February 2009 issue, the US version of Official PlayStation Magazine gave Killzone 2 a score of 5/5, stating players "will instantly tag this sequel as a powerful contender for best game of 2009."
In the February 2009 issue of the Official UK Playstation Magazine, they awarded Killzone 2 a 9/10 with the editor Tim Clark stating, "The most surprising thing isn't the visuals - anyone who's seen recent footage will know it's the most handsome thing on the system - but the fact it's got the gameplay to match. Killzone 2 is without question the most exciting release due in the first half of 2009."
Source: Wikipedia entry on Killzone 2 (and obviously, the referenced magazines)
Here's a video from Youtube showing the intro and gameplay (At the end, the person playing is a little "noobish" - throwing a grenade at his buddy):
Lol at the black stereotypical voice, which was what Tropic Thunder was getting at with Downey's character.
Song of the Week #23: Snow Patrol – The Lightning Strike
This isn't really just one song but three put together as one. At just about over 16 minutes long, Snow Patrol fans have called it "16 minutes of pure orgasm". Well, I'll just say the entire A Hundred Million Suns (2008) album has made it on to my iPod. The last time I put an entire album on to my iPod was OneRepublic's Dreaming Out Loud back in 2007.
Anyway, here are the lyrics for each of the songs in "The Lightning Strike":
(I) What If This Storm Ends?
What if this storm ends?
And I don't see you
As you are now
Ever again
The perfect halo
Of gold hair and lightning
Sets you off against
The planet's last dance
Just for a minute
The silver forked sky
Lit you up like a star
That I will follow
Now it's found us
Like I have found you
I don't want to run
Just overwhelm me
What if this storm ends?
And leaves us nothing
Except a memory
A distant echo
I want pinned down
I want unsettled
Rattle cage after cage
Until my blood boils
I want to see you
As you are now
Every single day
That I am living
Painted in flames
All peeling thunder
Be the lightning in me
That strikes relentless
(II) The Sunlight Through The Flags
From here the caravans are kids toys
And I can hold them all in my palm
I watch the sea creep round the corner
It connects the dots from here to you
The sunlight burning through the loose flags
Painted high on white church walls
I chase my blood from brain to thumped heart
Until I'm out of breath for trying
Worry not everything is sound
This is the safest place you've found
The only noise beating out is ours
Lacing our tea from honey jars
These accidents of faith and nature
They tend to stick in the spokes of you
But every now and then the trend bucks
And you're repaired by more than glue
Worry not everything is sound
This is the safest place you've found
The only noise beating out is ours
Lacing our tea from honey jars
Why don't you rest your fragile bones
A minute ago you looked alone
Stop waving your arms you're safe and dry
Breathe in and drink up the winter sky
(III) Daybreak
Slowly the day breaks apart in our hands
And soft hallelujahs flow in from the church
The one on the corner you said frightened you
It was too dark and too large to find your soul in
Something was bound to go right sometime today
All these broken pieces fit together to make a perfect picture of us
It got cold and then dark so suddenly and rained
It rained so hard the two of us were the only thing
That we could see for miles and miles
And in the middle of the flood I felt my worth
When you held onto me like I was your little life raft
Please know that you were mine as well
Drops of water hit the ground like God's own tears
And spread out into shapes like
Salad bowls and basins and buckets for bailing out the flood
As motionless cars rust on driveways and curbs
You take off your raincoat and stretch out your arms
We both laugh out loud and surrender to it
The sheer force of sky and the cold magnet Earth
Something was bound to go right sometime today
All these broken pieces fit together to make a perfect picture of us
It got cold and then dark so suddenly and rained
It rained so hard the two of us were the only thing
That we could see for miles and miles
And in the middle of the flood I felt my worth
When you held onto me like I was your little life raft
Please know that you were mine as well
Drops of water hit the ground like God's own tears
And spread out into shapes like
Salad bowls and basins and buckets for bailing out the flood
Push
Hahaha! I'm definitely not the first to say this, but here is Heroes: Volume 4 ... in movie form. It also reminds me of Jumper but only cause of Djimon Hounsou's character hunting the people with abilities down. And of course, this reminds me of an entire story arc of X-Men. Now, I don't really care as art often relies on imitation (up to a certain extent) and improvement but the whole "hunting people with abilities" is getting old to me.
I haven't seen Dakota Fanning on the big screen since War of the Worlds and here she is. She looks so different but that shouldn't be a surprise at her age. I don't know if it's the writing or her acting but her character is awkwardly devoid of emotion (based on the trailer). Also, the last film the director worked on was Lucky Number Slevin, which was one of my favourites for that year, so this film might work (but my gut feeling says "no", haha.)
Push opens in theatres on February 6th, 2009. I don't know if I'll get to see this.
Anyway, here's the trailer from Youtube:
Blizzaga
Just wanted to say that within 5 minutes of being outside around this time, my ears were numb to the touch. Any longer and I would've gotten frostbite. Naturally, after a warm meal, I put on my earmuffs for the trek home.
So thanks, friend, for the earmuffs that have served me well for the past winters and continue to serve me well today.
It's going to be a cold weekend. Oh, and salt does nothing at this cold temperature. Don't bother.
Subtle Relevance
From the front page (at least, my front page) of Youtube today...
I think these are some well shot short films. And what do these have to do with me? The first video relates to a time when I was clueless. The second video ... has a lot of things. I'll leave it at that.
And to end with something ridiculous:
Poor MRI machine. I hope this isn't in Canada cause MRI lines are bad enough as it is. Heck, even if it wasn't in Canada, we could've put that machine to better use.
