"I need access to the Vatican Archives"

The Setting: Spoken by Robert Langdon in the movie Angels and Demons.

Angels and Demons is actually the prequel to the Da Vinci Code. I liked the Angels and Demons book more than the Da Vinci Code so I was looking forward to this movie.

The Pope has died and all cardinals are gathered at the papal conclave in Vatican City to elect a new pope. Four cardinals are kidnapped and a message is received that the four cardinals will be killed, one by one. Not just any cardinals; these four are the Preferiti - one of them is most likely to be voted by his peers as the new pope.

The kidnappers have also stolen and hidden a canister of antimatter which, if allowed to expode, would completely destroy Vatican City along with its priceless art, documents, architecture. Get it? Science vs religion. Symbologist Robert Langdon and physicist Vittoria Vetra are in a race against the clock to locate the kidnapped cardinals before they are killed. So the mystery this time is Langdon and friends trying to determine the locations where each cardinal will be killed and save them, while at the same time trying to figure out where the antimatter is hidden.

The storyline of the movie does not stick exactly to the book but the gist of it is still intact. Expect lots of scenes of Robert and Vittoria staring at old documents for clues, lots of cars racing through the streets, and actually, lots of action. There are moments that are not very believeable or feasible, but hey, it's Hollywood. It has enough action and plot twists to keep it interesting. Several times from where I was sitting in the theatre, I could see people literally sitting on the edges of their seats. All this time, I thought that was a cliche.

The movie stars Tom Hanks and Ayelet Zurer. I give it three thick Slurpees.

I scream for iPhone

The Setting: After thinking about it and thinking about it, I'm going to take the leap. Yes, I decided that I'm finally going to get a Smartphone.

My next decision is which one to get. I'm analytical so I must do my research. I asked friends their opinions about phones they've used. They let me try them out. I searched on the Internet for info; there's all kinds of comparisons charts out there. I gravitate towards the Blackberry and the iPhone. They're both obviously very cool and offer a bunch of features. Ultimately, it comes down to whether I care about being able to receive work e-mail on my phone, because the iPhone is not supported for that where I work (is it anywhere?).

I really just wanna be able to do a wide variety of things, most of which do not involve work in any way. I'm sure that time is coming, but it's not here yet, so... I am 95% sure at this point that I'm getting an iPhone. I was all ready to run to the Apple store to grab one but a new version is coming out in July. Depending on which site you read, that could be in 2009 or 2010. I'm hoping it's actually 2009 'cause I'll wait for it if I go with iPhone. Til then I have several weeks to go to the stores and try different phones out further and ask whatever questions I have, so I could change my mind before July (doubtful). I'll let ya know what happens.

Here's one of many sites that discusses the features that the Next Gen iPhone is rumored to have.

Who are you and what have you done with my mom?

The Setting: Don't tell anyone, but I'm an American Idol fan. My mom and I are both like Adam Lambert.

I watched the season finale with my mom and here are my three favorites moments of the night:

1. I saw a commercial for the Sims 3, which will be released on June 2. I haven't played the Sims in a couple of years, and I'm curious to see what improvements they've made.
2. I saw a preview for a Jerry Bruckheimer movie called G-Force that my friend Theresa helped animate. She is amazing!
3. When Adam started singing with KISS, my mom (who, BTW, is in her 70s) yelled, "Alright!" I turned to see her clapping her hands and jamming down on the couch. I asked, "Do you even know who KISS is?" She said, "Yes. I don't particularly care for their makeup, but I like them." As I stood there thinking "WTF?!" she added, "but I like U2 more." Party on, mom.

Who you callin' a Tweeter?

The Setting: I figured it was about time I learned more about Twitter, since I use it and everything.

Yesterday, I was Googling and found this great Twitter Resource. It provides a plethora of information including Twitter basics, a glossary, apps and services... the list goes on and on. Check it out.

News about my 200.5K plan

The Setting: After several months of denial, disappointment, and despair, I finally broke down and checked my 401K.

It actually wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Still bad, mind you, just not quite as bad as the devastation I felt around the end of last year. My funds have actually made some gains this year.

At this rate, I might actually be able to retire around... I don't know... say, 12 years after I die. Yaaaay!

Here's a related article on CNN Money.

Live Long and Prosper

The Setting: Yep, I went and saw Star Trek.

I really liked this movie. It was a great prequel to the TV series and does a good job of explaining how the characters came together. The casting was great. Spock, played by Zachary Quinto, was my favorite.

The movie has Titantic syndrome (you show the ship's gonna sink in the end); meaning, you know none of the main characters are going to die because it then wouldn't be possible for them to later exist in the series. But it has enough great action to keep it interesting, cool special effects, and things blowing up, and I'm a big fan of all of those things. Especially when there's popcorn involved.

There is this time travel thing going on, which is just a little illogical, but that's another story. It's Star Trek - just go with it. Also, certain parts of the storyline were a bit of a stretch, but overall I thought it was well done.

I give this movie three Slurpees out of five.

I'm glad I finally did it

The Setting: My friend Cindy gave me a very cool birthday gift - a gift certificate from Kiva.org.

Kiva describes itself like this:

Kiva is the world's first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs around the globe.

Basically, Kiva allows you to make a small loan ($25-$50) to an individual who is attempting to get a business started in their community. For example, someone might be trying to start up a restaurant or open a store but she just doesn't have the money to get things going. With your loan and loans from others, she can get the business started and eventually pay you your money back. After she pays you back, you can then loan the money to someone else to help them get their business started.

I think it's a great idea. A few friends had told me about Kiva before but I admit that receiving the gift certificate made me take a closer look and actually get involved.

Brack Alabama?

The Setting: Amazon's Kindle device can't pronounced Barack Obama's name. Apparently, it says it like Brack (rhymes with black) Alabama.

Nuance Communications, the company that licenses its text-to-speech engine to Amazon for the Kindle, has added the correct pronunciation to the dictionary and plans to push a wireless update to Kindle devices. You can read the whole article here.

Oh, and by the way, Amazon is set to release the new Kindle DX device, which has a 9.7" diagonal screen and "boasts 16 shades of gray for clear text and sharp images". Sixteen shades?! Whoop whoop!! When I went to Amazon.com, the home page has a letter to customers about the Kindle from Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon. You can pre-order one for shipment sometime this summer for a mere $489. I still haven't decided if I want one or not since my posting back on February 4, 2009, although those 16 shades of gray just might do it for me.

And just for kicks, way back from November 12, 2004, here is David Letterman's Top Ten Ways to Mispronounce Barack Obama. I think number 5 is my favorite.