Peter’s Blog V2

We went to see the second Transformers movie on IMAX.  I had never seen a real movie in an IMAX theater before.  This was a great first time.

It’d be asking too much to expect a sequel to top the original, but Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen did have every element from the first movie that everyone raved about: big(ger) robots, big(ger) explosions, hot cars, funny people, Megan Fox, etc.  Sure, the focus on things blowing up might’ve been slightly over done, but whatever.

My personal biggest disappointment was with the Constructicons / Devastator combo.  The Voltron-copycat had been my second favorite Transformers after the Dinobots, so I was thrilled to hear that Michael Bay recruited some of the world’s largest construction vehicles for this.  Unfortunately, this guy didn’t do much in the movie… at all… the camera didn’t even focus on any of the giant machines before they merged into a vacuum cleaner.

(what he should’ve looked like)

The greatest parts of the first movie were the subtleties that fans could pick up on.  Why did we all cheer as the big truck rolled out?  Well we knew who it was before the formal announcement.  In this movie, there were two or three places where I saw an excavator and said, “YESSS!  A Constructicon!!!” and was wrong about it.  That was pretty lame.

What I can say?  Let’s hope the Dinobots kick ass in Transformer 3!

*** Update *** I did not know that the satellite-hacking thingy was Soundwave!  Well glad that another of my favorite old-timers made it into the movie, although that’s quite a fancy ”upgrade” from his tape player disguise.

I’ve been waiting for this movie since 2005.  Only one more year to go!

Click to see the teaser trailer:

Here’s to being awake in another class all day (with a pen and a pad of paper).  Without Snoopy, we’ve got the elk on the Hartford’s logo:

Sitting in a classroom all day with a pen, a stack of paper, and a MetLife Snoopy doll can produce surprising results.  Here I present to you: Life of Snoopy:

Face masks are a common accessory in Asia.  People in Taiwan wear it to shield themselves from dust, pollens and viruses, and to keep their own sicknesses from spreading to others.  Hong Kong, Japan, and likely other surrounding countries, share the common etiquette in their cultures - something I slowly forgot after moving to the United States.

This morning, for the very first time in the US, I saw somebody wear a face mask in public.

And the second time.  And the third.

The swine flu has hit the US at a threatening level, and NYC has been hit the hardest.  The first couple of cases were discovered right here in Queens, which is also a crowded neighborhood for any virus’s convenience. Morning commute on the Subway is filled with endless surprises even without a pademic warning out there, so no wonder people started taking action to protect themselves.  Hmm. Maybe I should be worried too?

The E and F trains transport a majority of New Yorkers living in Queens and Brooklyn.  Now, for supposed work to “make track improvements”, their service will be reduced during rush hours, until the end of the year.  That’s right - our sucky commute will suck even more until (?) 2010.

Dude, it’s only April!

What should the millions of New Yorkers do about it?  Beloved MTA recommends “allow for more travel time”, meaning “fuck yourself.”

On a blog that I visit frequently, I found a link to the article How To Not Be A Douchebag Tourist In NYC.

(Warning: links on the side of the page may be inappropriate for work)

The article speaks all New Yorkers’ hearts.  But it’s funny to read the massive number of comments, most of which are from “the rest of America” who apparently hate and despise New York.  We understand that New Yorkers behave like assholes, but the outsiders don’t understand the kind of shit we live through everyday.

Another random fact about New York… very few places in the U.S. have over 10k people in one square mile.  The second highest population density is in San Francisco at 16.6k.  New York has 26.4k people per square mile, 60% more dense than San Francisco.

Uncle called and said, “Sean’s visiting New York.  You still remember him, right?”

“Of course,” I said.  But the caveat was, if he still looked like what I remembered, I’d be pretty concerned.  It had been a while.

It was great to meet up again.  Kind of like making a new friend, kind of not.

Last Saturday night, people around the world turned their lights off to conserve energy, in celebration of the Earth Hour 2009.  Click to see some amazing city skyline transitions from light to dark.

I did not hear about this event until Sean and Alice brought it up, when I took them sightseeing and they questioned why the office buildings don’t shut their lights off at night.  Obviously, you don’t see New York in this series of pictures as an Earth Hour participant.