mercyless1's Xanga

Saturday, November 07, 2009

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 06:50:13 GMT

   The Men Who Stare At Goats is hilarious. not uproariously so, but just enough. there was a good mix of stupid funny, slapstick humor, and good ol' dry, witty funny with deadpan delivery (my favourite kind of funny). George Clooney is good at funny. he's a great actor with a lot of range, and is pretty good in everything genre of film he's worked on. Ewan McGregor stars opposite, and does a decent job of staying with and balancing out Clooney. i didn't get the feeling that they were as strong in chemistry as Clooney is with Brad Pitt and Matt Damon in the Oceans movies, but they were still quite an enjoyable duo. it was also strange hearing McGregor's American accent. there was a running gag about a character he's played in other movies that pretty funny.

   despite the good acting and laughs, i didn't really know where the movie was going. it was an interesting story, and was certainly a fun adventure, but i just wasn't quite sure the payoff would be worth it. at first it was a bit anticlimactic cuz of its simplicity, but in the end i was satisfied. the simplicity of the story was part of its charm, and helped to keep the running time low (about 90some minutes). one character was looking for his calling, the other redemption. they each found what they were looking for, but paid for it in laughs. Goats is my second favourite movie this year. nothing's gonna beat Inglourious Basterds this year.

   i'm reasonably sure that no actual goats were harmed during the filming of this movie. hopefully.

image courtesy of The Internet

random Vegas stuffs

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:58:57 GMT

adult ads litter the streets of Sin City at nite
i wonder who cleans all of this up

the model in this ad cracks me up
she's just way too enthusiastic about the buffet

more cars that do not belong to me

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:25:44 GMT

above is a Chevelle SS, year unknown

below is one of the new Dodge Challengers

Wednesday, November 04, 2009

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:52:43 GMT

this is the dash display from the Ford Focus SES that i rented last month
i like the font

"HALL-y" McPeak

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 02:32:36 GMT

congratulations to Holly McPeak, who was enshrined to the Volleyball Hall of Fame this week

read all about it and her career here

Monday, November 02, 2009

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:05:26 GMT

a feather in the sand

there's no meaning here. just a photograph

Monday, November 02, 2009

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 02:21:32 GMT

there's an indoor garden at the Bellagio that's quite a magical place

my pocket cam didn't know what to focus on here, dang it

i'm a day late, but i hope everyone had a happy and safe Halloween
this isn't necessarily a Halloween display, but just a Fall one

this is an animatronic talking tree
it looked right at me out of the corner of its eye as i snapped this. creepy

there were these giant pumpkins that were like 800-1000+lbs each

Chinatown Las Vegas

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:00:07 GMT

i've been to Vegas 10-11 times now, but this was the first time i visited Chinatown. i don't spend much time off The Strip. with all the driving outside of Vegas i did during the trip, why not drive off The Strip as well? seems to me that the main part of Chinatown is two strip malls along Spring Mountain Road. there's stuff on the side streets too, but i didn't explore beyond this. it's all the same to me.

the Monkey King (and friends)
Journey to the West

you can see the Wynn and Encore in the background

Chinese barbecue--roast duck and pig

gold (coloured) knickknacks

bespoke

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 01:47:13 GMT

i've forgotten what store this was a window display for

good bye to the "guppy"

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 21:32:26 GMT

UAL is retiring its entire fleet of Boeing 737s. the move is a part of the company's many cost cutting measures since emerging from bankruptcy several years ago. the 737 has been cited as our least fuel efficient aircraft. however, there is suspicion that it was also a ploy by the company to get rid of a large number of pilots--a large portion of UAL's huge labor costs. whatever the ultimate reason, the 737--more affectionately known as the "guppy"--left ORD for the last time this morning. N331UA's final voyage had legs in each of UAL's hubs: starting with IAD, then ORD, DEN, LAX, and finally SFO, where it will undergo decommissioning procedures. after that, it will journey to its final resting place out in the desert, most likely in Victorville CA.

i've spent much of my time on the "guppy" during my career at UAL. it was certainly the easiest aircraft to work. hearing some of my fellow coworkers and mechanics speaking of it, it was certainly one of the more reliable aircraft of UAL's fleet. i enjoyed my time with the 737, and would like to say a fond farewell and good bye to the "guppy."

many of UAL's VIPs and employees turned out for the departure

two of my coworkers saying "hang loose"

i don't remember any specifics about 9931, but i wonder how it was decided that it would be the last

one of those times when you can shoot an airplane and not get in trouble

two members of a crew that has worked on "guppies" for about 100 years
or the equivalent of the entirety of the 737s' existence