GPhone to rival the iphone?

Rumors multiply of ‘Google Phone’ launch

Star Watch (Part 1)

Note: Now that I will be living in L.A., I am officially starting a Star Watch post. On this post, I will tell you what celebrity I saw, what they were doing, and who they were with. Oh, and of course I will put my spin on the situation.

Star: Justin Long

Where You May Have Seen Him: Apple Commercials, Live Free or Die Hard, Accepted, and my personal favorite, Ed.

What was he doing?: It appears Mr. Long was shopping on Sunset because a limo was parked waiting for him and he came out of a clothing store carrying a bag and a cup of coffee. The limo was double parked and I was trying to make a right hand turn onto Sunset when I saw Long. At first I was pissed because it is difficult to get around a double parked limo, but when I saw Long my anger subsided because I remembered he was in Ed; one of my favorite shows from a few years back that was critically acclaimed but wasn’t that popular and is sometimes mistaken for that terrible movie Ed T.V. with Ellen and Matthew McCounehey. So, Mr. Long you can double park your limo anytime…unless you start dating Lindsay Lohan. That automatically outweighs all grace given to you with your performance in Ed.

To Live and Die in L.A.

The thought -or even the dream- of spending my early twenties working for a hip and trendy media organization located on Sunset Blvd. never even seemed to be an option -until yesterday. My life took a big turn straight into la la land when I decided to jump feet first into a job at buzznet.com.

Like a Hollywook script things just seemed to fall into place during my visit to Los Angeles yesterday. I was scheduled to visit with the folks at Buzznet.com at 4 p.m. for an interview and decided that I would check out a couple of apartments that were available for rent. This started off a hectic day that I will give in chronological order:

8:00 a.m.– Day starts off with a stop at Starbucks for a caramel machiato and a blueberry muffin. Five minutes later the muffin bag rips and falls onto the floor of my newly washed car. The people at Starbucks will pay for this… dearly.

9:30 a.m.– Stop at Tejon Ranch, which is the final stop before the grapevine. Take a piss and notice that a new In-n-Out is going in. Realize that California is awesome based on the sole reason that In-n-Out will soon be in every city of the Golden State.

10:30 a.m.– Get to Los Angeles and drive to apartment number one. Now, after talking to J.D. I already know that this first apartment is going to be in a rough neighborhood. But, come on, I can handle it… right? No, this place was in the freakin’ ghetto. I got lost for about forty minutes and thought that at any moment during that period some crips and bloods would start a shootout and I would get hit with a stray bullet. Thug Life!

noon– Make it out of the ghetto into the posh area of Glendale. I felt like every rapper does when they sign that first record deal and get to move out of the projects into some multi-million dollar home. First I thanked God, then felt relief, then felt like blowing all my money on useless crap like gold chains and expensive cars. Oh, to Live and Die in L.A..

2:00 p.m.– Checked out second apartment where I met Larry -a chill Christian brother who I knew I could live with immediatly. Although this apartment was a little bit pricy for my strict financial budget (see below), it was in a great neighborhood, only a fifteen minute commute to work, and had a Ralph’s right next to it. Now I can re-enact the first scence of the “Big Lebowski” anytime I want.

4:00 p.m.– Meet with the people at Buzznet.com. Buzznet, for those of you who don’t know, is an entertainment and pop culture social networking site aimed at primarily 14 to 21 year-old girls who listen to Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance. The website has 3.3. million members and was the second fastest growing entertainment website last year behind only YouTube. Although entertainment and celebirty news isn’t exactly my thing, I will get to put my endless array of pop culture knowledge to use.  Pretty sweet, right? Well, yes… and no -at least from a financial standpoint. I will be on intern status for at least eight weeks and will make only $10/hr. But, on the other hand, the office I will be working in has a view of the Hollywood sign, I will be workin with a bunch of cool cats and have only one boss instead of seventeen. High risk versus high reward -sort of like selling drugs.

5:00 p.m.– Take position and leave office that is located in the middle of Sunset Blvd. Look around and realize that for at least the next 5 months I will be living and working in LA. Freakin’ LA, where dreamers go to make dreams happen…and usaully end up working at Starbucks making crappy muffins that fall on the floors of customers cars. Oh well, at least I have Barista experience.

My Take on Mr. Vick (aka Dog Killa)

If Michael Vick had a rap name it would be Dog Killa. His first album -The People vs. Mike Vick- would be a collaboration with Snoop Dog that would sell a few million albums based on the hit single “Doggie Gang (the ATL remix)”.

We live in a country that quickly forgets the crimes its athlete’s commit when it concerns drugs, abuse, or even conspiracy for murder. Yet, America will never forget, or forgive, the acts of number seven. Why, because we can’t imagine someone hurting a defenseless animal.

True, Vick’s acts are inexcusable, but are they any worse than when Ray Lewis was a conspirator to murder…of a human being. Or worse than Jason Kidd using his wife as a punching bag. Or Ron Artest beating up a fan. I don’t think so. All of these crimes should have carried the same severe punishment as the one Vick will surely receive. But, because of how these acts were perceived by society, and more importantly the media, Artest turned his thug image into a three album rap deal with modest outrage while Vick will never get the chance to release an album under Dog Killa.

The only thing I can hope is that the Vick case will result in harsher punishment for all acts of violence -on humans or animals- and that we won’t see any more exploitation by the rap industry to use acts of violence as a source of making “bling”.

Of course, there could always be the opportunity of Vick pulling a Pac Man Jones and having Dog Killa be a member of the WWE. Imagine what his finishing moves would be.

Contrite Vick apologizes after entering guilty plea – USATODAY.com

Link to the Dunder Mifflin Website

Here you go “The Office” fans. I reccomend reading the press release on the hire of new vice-president of regional affairs Ryan Howard.
Dunder Mifflin: A Micro-Cap Regional Paper and Office Supply Distributor

U.S. Government to reach Muslim Youth Through YouTube

This is great. Who comes up with these ideas? In another classic “what the hell are you thinking” move by the U.S. Government, Muslim Youth’s, who are brainwashed at a young age to hate America, will be reached through YouTube in a help to ease relations. Yes, because LonelyGirl 15 and a video of a bear jumping on a trampoline is going to make Al Queda members suddenly realize that America is not so bad. I am American and it is crap like this on YouTube that makes me hate our country at times.
Beliefnet: News – Current News On Beliefnet

It Ain’t Nothing but a G-Thang

As I contemplate my life, and sending nasty profanity laden letters to the human resource departments of every place I have applied to and not heard back from, I realize life ain’t that bad for a g.

I am starting to come to terms and at peace with the fact that despite graduating with latin honors from the top journalism school in the country, nothing in life is a guarantee. Yes, I am aware the University of Missouri-Columbia has claimed a 100 percent job rate within six months of graduation. But, honestly, this is probably bullshit and it may mean people are taking jobs in Blackfoot, Idaho for $22,000 a year. I for one will not be living anywhere in Idaho unless I am making at least $50K. I also won’t take a job that has me sitting at a desk and uploading stories onto a website for eight hours a day. How often do we get to be 22? How often do we get to be single and find out what we truly want out of our lives? Then, how often we will spend working in an office?

I have never been comfortable staying stagnant. That means, I can’t stay in one place for very long and it means I have a hard time staying at one particular job unless I absolutely love it. To be honest, I have yet to find something I truly love yet. And, until I do I will continue grinding life out, living paycheck to paycheck until I discover who I am, what God wants me to do, and how I will live the rest of my life.

In two weeks, I make my move from Visalia to San Luis Obispo to live with David. It will probably be a brief segment of my life but should be an enjoyable one. My hope if to substitute teach, work at a winery or restaurant and enjoy the coast that I have missed for four years. Is it scary to live while only making $10 an hour, yes. Then again, its also entertaining… for now.

Bourne Ultimatum Review

Jason Bourne vs. James Bond. The debate between these two manly men who can avoid sure death and can kill 10 guys with their bare hands while conducting a symphony has been raging in my mind since I viewed the ” The Bourne Ultimatum” Friday evening. Sure, Bond has the women, good looks, and cars and gadgets, but there is something about Bourne’s CIA assassin character that I just love.

In a weird way, Bourne is more believable than Bond. Yes, in the Ultimatum Matt Damon’s character avoids certain death 37 times… in the first 10 minutes of the movie. And, who can really drive a car like that and avoid not killing themselves or others. This dude would be the best F1 driver in the world if he wanted to be. But, saying that, Damon does a superb job to make us care about Bourne. Although Daniel Craig did a wonderful job in the latest Bond, there had been too many people who have played Bond as someone we may have wanted to be like, but knew could never be. Bourne has issues like all of us, and he is just trying to survive… and kick ass while doing it.

The Ultimatum is a two-hour thrill ride with zero dull moments. The acting is solid, except for Julia Stiles who I wish was killed off. The directing is solid, although the shaking camera perspective can get annoying. And, the stunts are the best I’ve seen since Casino Royale. All in all, the movie is…well… a solid summer action flick.

Grade: A-

Cooking with Christopher Walken

I’ve got a fever…for Chicken with Pears… and the only prescription is more oregano
YouTube – Chicken with Pears

What makes Sweet Tea So Damn Special?

When I went to Nashville for an interview at a television station there, I was taken out to lunch by some of the station’s top editors. This was the most memorable experience of my trip because 1. I saw Keyshawn Johnson, and 2. I got the chance to drink Southern Sweet Tea.

For us West Coasters, we have no idea what sweet tea actually is, until we go to the South and try it. Sweet Tea is one part iced tea and twenty parts sugar. Seriously, it’s like drinking a tea flavored pixy stick.

Anyway, this article describes why southerners love their sweet tea and apparently don’t mind getting diabetes from it.

What makes Southern sweet tea so special? – By Jeffrey Klineman – Slate Magazine