The Coppolas

A fading light paints a gentle caress of leaves across the fathers face, while Sophia lies seductively on her back at his feet. He holds his notes across his lap and he seems lost in the middle of some rambling story. Her eyes and full lips indicate no emotion, yet we imagine she is lost in a private thought about her father. A rich wood table leans toward Sophia, carrying the father's notes and glass to the edge. Sophia holds a curious magnetism that appears to draw all the surrounding objects towards her. An aging father juxtaposed against the flawless elegance of his reposing daughter.

Each crowned the best filmmaker on earth at one time, there must be a lot to discuss.

NBA Commercial

i've dreamed about winning it all
since i was probably 9 years old
i remember seeing byrd/jordan win it all
i made up my mind right then
that was gonna be me
that i was gonna be part of that
some dreams fade over time
but not this one

Say Hello to my Little Friend

T shirts! Yay!

Rather than updating the blog I have spent most of my free time working on the t-shirt business. Most of you probably know this already, because most of you are also working on the t-shirt business with me... thanks for that.

Anyhow, today is a minor milestone, as I submitted my first design to Threadless.com

Click on the link to view it. Feel free to comment. The final copy isn't due until the 15th.

Rough Day

I had one of my all-time rough days today. Topped only by yesterday, and possibly the day before. Work is really getting to me lately (though I won't get into the details.)

What is worse is that this is a catastrophic day of mourning for me--- as I lost my very expensive Revo sunglasses somewhere between home and work. The last time I lost a pair of sunglasses was my junior year of high school. They fit my face perfectly, and I wore them all the time. Then one day I lost them while playing golf, and was devastated. I literally jogged across about 6 miles of fairways looking for them in the dark, but to no avail. In memory of my loss I swore I wouldn't wear another pair for at least a year. But a year grew into two, which turned into 6, which turned into 9...

I may have sworn off sunglasses forever, but with my recent laser surgery I began an intensive search for a replacement (sunglasses are required). After an hour of searching the 20x10 ft Sunglass Hut in my neighborhood, I finally begrudgingly picked a black pair of Revos with the wrapping corners-- the one's major league outfielders wear.

At first, the new sunglasses just reminded me of my lost love (the old high school shades), but over the last few months my revos became a part of me... and today they mysteriously disappeared on my way into work. I spent an hour after work asking security officers if anyone had turned them in, and searching the lost and found..

At this point I am just going to have to rely on the good faith and integrity of the people who work for the government.

So, yeah, I will never see them again.

New Hummer

My friend Helen linked me to this new website uncrate.com. Its pretty amazing... it sifts through the coolest items available for purchase and organizes them for your viewing pleasure.

I stumbled across the new hummer design, which admittedly makes me drool even though I drive a Hybrid...

Four Hour Workweek

A couple months ago I began reading a book called "The Four-Hour Work week."

This book makes sense to me on so many levels. Aside from being a huge proponent of only working four hours a week-- the whole methodology for streamlining an efficient business makes me think I am quite capable of starting my own business.

Which is convenient, because I am starting my own business.

Threadless

If you appreciate funny/ artistic t-shirts, you need to visit the website Threadless. It is truly amazing...

I looked through their shirt designs for a couple hours today... so many are so funny and so creative. I really want to win one of their weekly contests...

Bill Clinton: 'Screw it, I am running for President'

Ah... Onion... how I love thee...

click here

New Banner

What do you guys think of the new banner? I downloaded a free digital drawing program so that I can begin making T-shirt designs.

Anyone want a T-shirt with The New Sun Banner?

They will be a mere $75*



*not really.

End of My Rope

Who wants to start an internet T-shirt business?

In the words of the late Jerry Maguire:

"If anybody else wants to come with me, this moment will be the ground floor of something real and fun and inspiring and true in this godforsaken business and we will do it together! Who's coming with me besides...'Flipper' here?"

So... who wants in? The time is now!

Steroid Social Network

Check out this interesting Steroid Social Network, created by some guys at slate....

Queue NBC Song "The more you know..."

Broken Mirror

I went skeet shooting today... wow, it is fun to shoot clay pigeons. I highly recommend it. Unfortunately, I also broke a mirror today, so I have some bad luck to overcome for the remainder of my twenties. However, I didn't let the broken mirror deter me from playing poker tonight... where I promptly lost all my money.

It could be worse... I could be the make-a-wish foundation in this video....




Child Bankrupts Make-A-Wish Foundation With Wish For Unlimited Wishes

The Onion....

This morning I noticed the Onion headline:

Olympic Runners Feeling Stupid For Cutting Off Legs Before Finding Out About Prosthetic Ban

Which is funny because I made the same joke two days earlier....

Double-Amputee Banned from Beijing Olympics

You are welcome, Onion writers.

Top Ten Tech Watches

For those of you who are fascinated by geek gadgetry like me... you might find this little top ten list interesting.

click here.

Legal Woes: Tree-killer gets 5 years

A man was recently sentenced to five years for illegally cutting down some trees in his community... and when I say "some" I mean 546.

Article here.

Update here.

Thanks Jordan.

Conan

I am a longtime fan of Conan O'brien...

I saw his show live three times in NYC. Twice I yelled out "I Love you, Conan!" just as the lights came on and the show began. Each time he had a funny response ("I love you too, SIR./ Thanks... mom!)

Today I stumbled across some historical footage of Conan, as he was first being passed the baton from David Letterman. It is amazing to see how young and uncomfortable he seems in front of the camera.

Two Steps Forward...

American Idol is back.. Wow there was some weirdos on tonight. If I were one of the judges I would insist that snipers have their rifle's trained on the contestants at all times.

Next week's preview shows Paula dancing with some small asian contestant. It looks pretty amusing. This little clip spurred a conversation between Heather and I about whether it was Paula Abdul or the cartoon cat who choreographed her dance routines.

Somehow this led to us dancing and singing "Opposites Attract," when Heather ad-libbed this genius phrase:

I take two steps forward,
I take two steps back
We come together
cuz Paula likes cats!

Bringing Intellectualism to the Internet

When I first learned about Big Think I was struck by how much it resembles an idea I pitched back in 2003 to a small media Bureau Chief in DC. So, in other words, I like it... even though it makes me feel bad about myself.

Of course, an idea isn't worth anything if it isn't implemented, and I give full credit to the two Harvard students who pushed this idea around and got millions of dollars from some of the biggest names in technology and academia.

The idea is this: Get famous people to answer intellectual questions and create a giant video database of their answers. The goal is to create a place where people can learn, hear opposing viewpoints, and develop academic sources.

The model for their setup is unique. There is no "interviewer" per se. The interviewees are placed in closet size room with no distractions, and questions are posed via teleprompter. The goal is to reduce any outside inputs-- this isn't about stimulus, it is purely about the ideas inside peoples heads.

Here are some I found interesting:

-Sen. John McCain on Government Secrecy, http://www.bigthink.com/policy-politics/1391
-Sir Richard Branson, Chairman Virgin Group http://www.bigthink.com/philanthropy/607
-Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Fellow American Institute, Former Member of Parliament in the Netherlands, Outspoken Activist for Women's rights in the Muslim World on International Issues.
http://www.bigthink.com/the-world/the-middle-east/3500
-Daniel Gilbert (Harvard Psychology Professor and Author) on happiness. http://www.bigthink.com/love-happiness/505

Steroid Investigations New Target: Rappers

It isn't just baseball players who need to worry about steroid investigations now. Allegations have recently been made against 50 Cent, Wyclef Jean, Timbaland, and even Mary J. Blige for steroid use.

Apparently, their superhuman frames were enhanced! Who knew?!

In interviews I suggest they cite the case of the paralympian (see below) who uses prosthetic legs to gain an "unfair" advantage against other athletes. That ought to do the trick.

NYTIMES Article

Double-Amputee Banned from Beijing Olympics

The story of the day belongs to the double-amputee runner who was recently barred from competing in the Beijing olympics based on a German study suggesting his prosthetic legs give him an "unfair advantage."

Are you kidding me? The guy doesn't have legs... and you think he has an unfair advantage? Talk about your all-time heartless decisions. Even if he did have some kind of advantage--- it isn't steroids... This is the only way this guy can compete. Do we fear that people will start sawing off their feet so that they can shave a few seconds off their mile time? Let the guy compete. Even if he doesn't win, it will be the feel good story of the century.

FYI: The runner is appealing the decision...

http://msn.foxsports.com/olympics/story/7658380

Al-Qaeda also fed up with Ground Zero Construction Delays

Al Qaeda Also Fed Up With Ground Zero Construction Delays

The Onion

Son's Black Market Value Checked Online

WHITESTONE, NY—Shortly after viewing a television report on the international child-slavery trade, 42-year-old father David Newsom was "alarmed" Monday when a subsequent Internet search revealed that his son, Dave, Jr., would fetch more than $35,000 in an underground Burmese child-sex-slave operation.

"To think that there are sickos out there who would pay an extra five grand just because he's blond," said Newsom, who claimed he was shocked by how easy it was to upload photos to the illicit organization's website. "These people are absolute monsters with their height requirements, though."

Newsom added that he was just glad to know his 11-year-old son was happy, healthy, and in possession of two normal and absolutely toxin-free kidneys.

Tom Cruises Unauthorized Biography

If you are like me, you have been anxiously anticipating the release of Tom Cruise's Unauthorized Biography since the first time you saw Top Gun at age 8.

Slate did a quick overview for those of you who don't have time to read the interesting tidbits about whether Tom is a control-seeking homosexual who believes his baby is the incarnation of L. Ron Hubbard.

The full article is here.

But here is a taste, for you lazy vistors:

"Inside the Actor's Closet

Ever since that ridiculously homoerotic volleyball scene in Top Gun, the world has wondered about Tom Cruise's sexuality. But Andrew Morton's Tom is a hot-blooded heterosexual.

Page 13: One of Tom's first girlfriends, Carol Trumpler, still gets "misty-eyed" when she remembers her brief dalliance with the future star: "He was a very good kisser, very much at ease with it all. But what do you know at eleven?" Sadly for Carol, Tom moved on pretty quick. "I was trying to be a good girl, and when I didn't give in to his ways he moved on."

Page 68: Remember the sex-on-a-train scene in Risky Business? Morton alleges that "while Tom and Rebecca [De Mornay] were nervous before playing the scene, those who snuck onto the closed set are convinced that the answer to the question of 'did they, didn't they' really get it on on camera is a firm yes."

Page 195: High-school girlfriend Diane Van Zoeren doesn't give any credence to the "Tom is gay" rumor: "I don't get it. I find these stories just hard to believe. We romanced in my dad's Oldsmobile doing what you are not supposed to."

Page 34: Nancy Armel, another high-school flame, also remembers fooling around in a parked car. She told Morton: "I was black and blue from the gearshift."

Page 65: Tom tried to impress Nancy by taking her to the Broadway musical La Cage aux Folles, but he "was unaware of the story line—about two gay men living together in St. Tropez." According to Nancy, "he couldn't handle it. We had to leave before the intermission. It really bothered him. He was definitely homophobic."

Page 195: Morton claims that "Tom was uncomfortable around gay men. Those who saw him in the company of some of Nicole [Kidman's] gay friends, who included designer John Galliano, noticed that he was awkward and ill at ease, much preferring the company of jocks who talked about football rather than fashion."

Courtly Knight/Night Stalker

Page 259: Just one day after Sofía Vergara met Tom, Morton says the Colombian actress "faced a blizzard of phone calls, text messages, and e-mails." Tom also "sent her flowers, notes, and chocolates."

Page 263: Eventually, Sofía got freaked out by Tom's attentiveness and his faith. When Tom arranged for a trip to Clearwater, the Scientology center in Florida, she allegedly "stood him up, packing a bag and 'disappearing' for a few days." Tom, however, wouldn't let up: "For five days he left messages and texts, but she resolutely refused to return his calls."

Page 145: During their courtship phase, Tom sent Nicole Kidman "flowers, usually red roses, almost daily."

Page 157: Tom's romancing didn't stop with clichéd flora; he also had a way with words. Morton claims that "one householder in Toronto who rented her house to the Cruises was bemused to find several love notes in her sofa cushions when she moved back in. At first she thought her husband was being uncharacteristically affectionate. Then she realized they were penned by Tom."

Idea of the Day

Dear Hasbro (and fellow gummy bear makers of the world),

Why don't you just make red and clear gummy bears? That is all anyone wants to eat. Is it that the yellow, green, and orange gummies are made from the waste of the red and clear gummies? is that the little scam you have going? because I am not fooled. Sell bags of only red gummies and your profit goes up 50% this year, mark my words.

Sincerely yours,
C

Article of the Day

The Washington Post had an interesting article today on why Barack Obama has been embraced by white voters, but not by black ones. The article points out that many civil rights leaders have been hesitant to support him, either because they believe white America would never elect an African-American candidate, or conversely because it would signify the end of the struggle for civil rights.

Article Snippet:

As Obama Rises, Old Guard Civil Rights Leaders Scowl
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/11/AR2008011102000.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

The most amazing thing about the 2008 presidential race is not that a black man is a bona fide contender, but the lukewarm response he has received from the luminaries whose sacrifices made this run possible. With the notable exception of Joseph Lowry, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference veteran who gave a stirring invocation at Obama's Atlanta campaign rally in June and subsequently endorsed him, Obama has been running without much support from many of the most recognizable black figures in the political landscape. That's because, positioned as he is between the black boomers and the hip-hop generation, Obama is indebted, but not beholden, to the civil rights gerontocracy. A successful Obama candidacy would simultaneously represent a huge leap forward for black America and the death knell for the reign of the civil rights-era leadership -- or at least the illusion of their influence. [Rev. Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, etc.]

The most recent example of the old guard's apparent aversion to Obama was Andrew Young's febrile YouTube ramblings about Bill Clinton being "every bit as black as Barack Obama" and his armchair speculation that Clinton had probably bedded more black women during his lifetime than the senator from Illinois -- as if racial identity could be transmitted like an STD. This could be dismissed as a random instance of a politician speaking out of turn were it not part of an ongoing pattern.

The power of great dialogue...

Good luck writers, with that strike of yours...

Image of the Day, part II

Who knew the comedian Carrot Top was so jacked? It is kind of scary that a non-humorous comedian be so huge... it must be some attempt to deter hecklers.

This photo compares him to Blanka from the video game Street fighter Two. Blanka was that incredibly cheap creature who could electrocute you or turn into a ball and fling himself at you.

Given my choice, I would still prefer to hang out with Blanka.

PRK update

I know you have all been anxious to hear the report on how my eyes are doing... so I will tell you.

I got surgery on my eyes in late August, and now my eyes should be through their healing process. I spoke briefly to a friend of mine who has just scheduled her own PRK appointment. I suspect she secretly wants to kill me and take over my life. Once I saw her and she was writing in her notebook, and she had just written my name over and over again. But that is another story.

Anyway, my eyes see wonderfully. I do experience a slight halo effect on lights at nighttime. I have noticed that my eyes are sensitive to sunlight now. I continue to where sunglasses whenever I am outside (per instruction), which is sometimes as much hassle as wearing regular glasses. The main difference is I look (or appear as if I am trying to look) cooler.

My eyes do get dry sometimes. I put moisture drops in my eyes about once a day. And if I don't put this gel in my eyes when I go to sleep at night, my eyes get extremely dry while I am sleeping, and it is painful (sometimes excruciatingly) when I wake up. This is heightened dramatically if I have done any drinking the night before.

One other weird side-effect is that flying really, really dries out your eyes. Definitely put a moisturizing night-time gel in your eyes, and bring lots of drops if you are flying. The first flight I took I was unprepared, and was literally squirting drops all over my face to the horror of the passengers to my right and left. The cramped quarters of plane, and frequent turbulence, makes it difficult to do eye drops, FYI.

That's about it. I am open to questions. I would certainly do it again. I have 20/15 vision now.

Picture of the Day

No comment necessary. (thanks Jordan)

TV Update

Last October I got a great deal on 42-inch HDTV. I was so happy about it that I wrote one of my longest posts ever on how I am exceptional at finding good deals. (http://thenewsun.blogspot.com/2007/10/internet-specials.html)

Well, my vanity has punished me.

I spent the last few months discovering why I got such a great deal. The Westinghouse TV I purchased seems to have a defect in it- all of them do. My TV has randomly tormented me with sound problems. The repairman finally came today and told me that "All Westinghouse's have this problem."

Anyhow, the morale of this story is... always overpay for electronics.

The Wonderful World of Slate and Online Prediction

Although I never really talk about it in public, my favorite website on the net is a little news outfit called "Slate.com" It provides a wide range of intelligent news with a rare combination of intelligence and wit.

One of the interesting things this website introduced me to was the pastime of online prediction markets. http://www.slate.com/id/2086316

Apparently, there is a whole range of websites (of questionable legality, mind you) where you can buy and sell pretty much any kind of wager. One topic I find particularly interesting is the future trading on the next Democratic Presidential Candidate. A few days ago Hillary's stock price for clinching the Democratic Nomination on InTrade was at 2.2. This means that only about 22% of people thought Hillary would become the Democratic nominee (this was after Barack won Iowa, mind you.) The day after Hillary won New Hampshire her price shot up to 7.7 or, 77% probability.

Markets like Intrade have been demonstrated to be some of the most accurate barometers of political prediction. When money is on the line, people tend to be giving the matter serious thought. Taking an average of all these serious thoughts gives one some accuracy.

Unfortunately for Americans, I believe the U.S. Attorney has recently made some rules against online betting. I am not sure whether Intrade qualifies... but I don't recommend anyone placing monetary bets. Intrade does have bets for play-money though, if you are interested...

Fake News Department

Joe Gibbs announced his retirement from the NFL today.

Gibbs, a hall of fame coach who won three superbowls, left the Redskins today. Unfortunately the sixty-seven year old coach's second tour with the Redskins was lackluster with only one playoff victory in four years. Reports indicate Gibbs might be interested in a third try in 2028, at age 87.

Chuck Norris Quote of the Day

Chuck Norris doesn't kill two birds with one stone. He kills all birds with two stones. The two stones in his pants.

The Smugness of Tom Brady

I don't talk much sports, but i feel compelled to say a little bit about how much I dislike the Patriots and Tom Brady.

Some people feel that there is nothing worse than a smug human being. I find, however, that I am far more perturbed by humans who act completely humble, because I suspect they are closet-cocky people . Tom Brady fits this mold for me. He always has the perfect humble answer for every question reporters throw at him. I keep waiting for him to slip up and talk in the third person about his greatness like a regular football player. Something like "What? I am Tom Brady.. TOM f'ing BRADY. I am a living Legend. Of course I was going to break that record."

All season long I have maintained the hope that not only the Patriots would blow their perfect season, but that the drama would force Tom Brady to cry. I still think this is on the table... especially as the post season draws down.

It would be doubly satisfying if Coors Light turned Brady's conference cry-session into one of those commercials where they pretend to be having a conversation with the coors light guys.

Coors Guy #1: Brady... what happened to your beer?
Brady: (referencing game) I... I... just... fumbled...
Coors Guy #2: It's alright, Brady.. we have more beers...
Brady: It's not alright!! I lost it!! Okay I lost it!
Coors Guy #1 and #2 exchange wide-eyed glances.

Yes. That would be sweet.

The Oakland A's are moving to Fremont

For those of you who don't know me that well. I am from the bay area, and my hometown team the Oakland A's, are being moved to a new stadium in Fremont. While I don't really have a strong opinion on the move (as I live 3,000 miles from both locations), I was touched and moved by this humorous video.



(video was pawned from a friends myspace page.)