Sunday, March 15, 2009

About Me #1

I have an unexplainable need to run up stairs whenever I find myself at the bottom of a set of them.

I have never seen Citizen Kane.

I still have every book given to me for "required" reading for English and Literature classes in high school. I have never finished any of them because I could never bring myself to read any of the "classics" after I read the first chapter of Catcher in the Rye.

I didn't eat meat of my own volition until I was 19.

If I have a weakness, it's my sweat tooth. If I have two, the second is buying electronics.

I love geometry almost as much as I love Secret of Mana.

I shot a bow and arrow on a weekly basis for two years.

I can remember my kindergarden gym teacher's name.

I think stereotypes are hilarious especially when they apply to me.

Not so deep down inside, I want to be James Bond.

Who Doesn't Watch the Watchmen?

Who Watches the Watchmen

Let me preface this with the following: I have in fact read the graphic novel, and I believe that contributed heavily to my understanding and enjoyment of the film.

Ok, now that that's out of the way...

I loved the movie. It currently stands as one of my most favorite films (up there with Terminator 2, Juno, Iron Man, and the Godfather Parts 1 and 2). The Watchmen is a culmination of everything I look for in a movie: Solid performances from multiple cast members (not everyone played their parts equally well, but there was certainly no Sofia Coppola ala Godfather Part 3), gripping/well-thought-out story line, and a perfect soundtrack...perfect in that it could not have been any better in my opinion. The music fit the irony of the entire story. Perfect.

That all being said, as I mentioned up top, I do think that in order to get a solid appreciation for the brilliance of the movie, you really really need to read the graphic novel ahead of time. The "characters" in the background (*wink*), the excellent and wise change to the ending, and the overall feel for the world of the Watchmen have to first be experienced in their original form. I had a ton of friends go into the theater expecting Spiderman even after I explained to them over many in depth conversations the significant depth and lack of "Hollywood epicness" of the graphic novel.

So to summarize: Unbelievably brilliant movie...read it first.

Monday, March 9, 2009

New Workout Routine

I've started running through a 30 minute, focused workout routine at lunch 3 times a week. Chest/triceps for Mondays, biceps/shoulders for Wednesdays, and back/legs on Fridays. The whole routine is based around doing 4 sets of 10 reps on 3/3 exercises for each muscle group. There's supposed to be very little down time in between, so my two buddies and I rotate between 2 or 3 different exercises at the same time. So far, it's kicking my butt...but I feel great afterward.

I run twice a week with the team on T/Th (sprints and long run respectively)...overall, I think I've got fitness down as much as I can for now. I like feeling healthy (and not guilty about the occasional pizza...heh).


PT Test the first week of April...hopefully this all pays off!

Peace.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Rifle Marksmanship

Part of our company went to the rifle range this weekend. I shot 37/40 which qualified me for Expert which made me really excited especially considering the disaster that was my BCT qualificiation (broken rifle, first round no go, minimum qualify...bleh)

We've got a Class A inspection tomorrow so I had to get my new marksmanship pin...and they really needed to be resized as well. The jacket I was issued at BCT was waaaay too big for me...hilariously oversized.

Kind of an off-day tomorrow and some fun volunteering on Saturday. More on that later!

Peace.