Battle of the Sexes

Well, now we're into a new season of reality television. I'm a passive viewer of 1 vs. 100 and this week they had the battle of the sexes. 1 woman vs. 100 men and 1 man vs. 100 women.

Now anyone who knows me, knows I'm not sexist, even though I love the ladies. I just find these few facts about the show interesting:

• The woman was intelligent, but she lost the game on a math question. Hmm.
• I never thought I'd see anyone ever beat 100 people on this show. The man was the first person to ever win a million dollars and it was against all women.

No, I'm not saying men are smarter than women. I just find this episode interesting.

Celebrity Apprentice is awesome. Omarosa is going to be interesting to watch. She's definitely not there to make friends and she's the only one there who has two faces.

Innovation During the Writers' Strike

As I mentioned in my past blog’s about the writers’ strike, there is an opportunity to be innovative in the way television is brought to the masses.

 

While writers, producers and soon-to-be actors are on strike and unwilling to produce new programming, we the general public now have the opportunity to partake in new forms of entertainment.  The longer the strike goes on the more these new innovations will develop and weaken standard television programming as we know it today.

 

3 fill “Void” with Biggies (Hollywood Reporter, 12/21/07) – Today’s Hollywood Reporter is bringing a story of three writers who have signed a revenue-sharing agreement with Biggies to create web-based programming called “The Void”.  This reason this story is important is we’ve gotten rid of the corporate studio and writers union and now all parties involved in this project have agreed upon a way to create and be compensated for work.

 

Writers’ strike sends TV pilots into tailspin (Reuters, 12/20/07) – Reuter reports about the change to the face of the traditional television season.  The television season is from September to August.  With the strike the networks are now forced to change the time table of the season.  Or better yet, to get rid of the season timetable all together.  Why does there need to be a season?  The general public does not demand it.  You can thank cable for providing programming year round and now the networks should start looking at this model.  “Hey Networks, your television models are now declared useless.”  Give me quality programming year round.

The Shortened TV Season

Let me first state that I’m for the most part on the side of the Writers in the strike.  A lot of their work will earn money that they will not see.

 

I’m reading the LA times today and I find it interesting that the Producers have hired Mark Fabiani and Chris Lehane as advisors.  These two joker were former aides to Clinton and Gore and they are pretty nasty when it comes to attacking political adversaries.  They took a dig up as much dirt on your opponent and spin it as bad as you can approach.

 

Hollywood writers are for the most part liberal Democrats.  All I can say to the liberals have fun as your being pelted by your own.  The LA Times suggest the writers hire some GOP advisors.

 

I’m just frustrated that my favorite shows have gotten interesting and there will be no resolution for a long time.  Rather than people figuring out a solution its institutions – corporation vs. union.

 

The conservative in me just says that everyone involved in a production should just negotiate individually rather than resting on industry deals.  The internet seems to be the big sticking issue, the problem here is that the revenue model for the internet is not yet established.  No one really knows if money can be made from downloads and streaming content.  Sure you can advertise, but just how effective it that.

 

Are people really going to flock to the internet for on demand programming?  I’m not convinced that people are willing to do this.  Yet we’re trying to come to a final decision on this new medium.

 

They way entertainment is being distributed today is still up in the air.  All the strike is doing right now is weakening the tradition method, network television and studio productions.  If the strike goes on, no one is going to win except for those who are innovative.  This strike is going to make amateurs a lot of money.

The writers strike so far.

So what do I think of the writers strike so far.

 

As a conservative, I am generally not a fan of unions.  Philosophically I believe in the free market negotiation of products and services.  Unfortunately, that’s a moot point because by the end of the year I’ll be watching repeats (with a few exceptions).

 

I’m very disappointed.  The issue of the strike seems to revolve around DVD sales and internet downloads.  Writers want more money from DVD sales, which has increased significantly since the last contract negotiation.  Also, internet downloads.  Both activities that I have actively engaged in.

 

I downloaded from iTunes that last season of the Office and I’ve been watching episodes of shows that I like online at various network websites.

 

I believe the writers have every right to demand a part of these new streams of revenue.  I also believe the producers have the right to play hardball.

 

Writers see others making money off their work and producers see higher expenses, smaller TV audiences and lower advertising revenues.  Writers will never see their work on the big screen without producers and producers will never have quality products without talented writers.  So keep striking and keep negotiating.

 

What needs to happen now is innovation.  Hey everyone, technology has brought us to a point where anyone can create, produce and distribute their own material online.  I know plenty of talented non-professional writers who can’t get their foot in the door because the union won’t let them in until they’ve paid their due or because they know someone in the industry.

 

Hey amateurs, take this opportunity now to be creative and get your work out there.  Let the world see your work.  Start making money on your creativity.  You have no competition at the moment.  People will watch your work, because in a few weeks there will be no new programming on the air.

 

Now’s the time to make a name for yourself.

 

Hey Unions, rather than placing an entire industry on hold, consider the fact that now you’re in a position to negotiate your position from a project-to-project basis.  Actors in movies are doing it all the time, where they will appear in a movie and receive only a percentage of the revenues.

 

Hey Producers, you’re competition is growing.  You better find a way to make everyone happy.

 

Good luck and hello YouTube.

Herbalife - the aftermath

This is one of the hardest things I've ever had to do.  Thanks to all of you who have encouraged me.  I've been making calls and sometimes rejection is something you have to deal with when making calls.  I've wondered if a male voice is really the voice of comfort to people who need to lose weight.  Laurie's had just about the same amount of success that I have.

 

My goal so far is to send out Sample Packs.  I've had about 32 people to call.  I reached a few and they just weren't interested.  It's a little discouraging, but I'll keep plugging away.

 

I have 2 potential leads but now it's a game of phone tag.

 

If you saw my last blog there's a comment from a fellow distributor.  She was very encouraging.  I'm trying to sound natural and passionate about the product.  I'm just trying to figure out if it's me or just the way things go.  You know, people just not willing to respond.

 

It's a great product.  I'm losing weight and I'm feeling healthy and energetic.  I just need to persevere and get my ratios established.

 

Now I'm just rambling.  I'm trying to be honest in this Multi-Level Marketing business.  I just want to get at least one pack out.

 

Alan Ng

 

Herbalife - Weight Management and Nutrition Products

Disney Collectibles Store - www.themeparkshopper.com

Lose 16 pounds in a month. Free sample.

Alan Ng Home Page

 

Big Herbalife Day

Well, today is the day.  I am making my first set of phone calls for our new Herbalife business and, needless to say, I'm nervous.  I've gone through all of the training and I feel confident that I can do it, but I'm nervous none the less.  Maybe a little stressed. (Please pray for me).

 

Anyways from the weight loss standpoint, I am officially under 200 pounds and I'm excited about this.  I figure I can lose 5-10 pounds more and I'll be where I need to be.  Then it's off to the gym for some muscle building.  I definitely can see the difference.  My double chin is going away and my belly is starting to shrink.

 

The best part is that I'm doing this without starving myself.  I have three meals a day and I'm taking the vitamins so I know I'm keeping healthy.  I love this program.

 

If you want more information at this diet please do not hesitate to contact me or visit my website at www.energeticfolks.com.

 

Alan Ng

 

Herbalife - Weight Management and Nutrition Products

Disney Collectibles Store - www.themeparkshopper.com

Lose 16 pounds in a month. Free sample.

Alan Ng Home Page

 

Earning a Little Extra - Part 2

Its been about 2 and half weeks since Laurie and I started our Herbalife training and I'm happy to say we're finally done with the first phase of our training.  We're ready to sell and make phone calls.

 

Let me give you an update on weight loss goals.  My hope is to get to the 190 - 195 level.  That's a good weight for someone my size and build.  After 10 days of being on the Herbalife diet, I'm currently at 201 lbs.  I'm two pounds away from being under 200 pounds, which I haven't been at since college about 15 years ago.  My clothes now look horrible on me.  I'm like a little kid wearing grown up clothes.  With good comes bad I guess.

 

Laurie is having good results too.  She is definitely shrinking and still looking very fine, like the hotty she is.  She's going to have the same clothes problems as well.  I'm just happy that she's having three healthy meals each day and not going on one of her pageant-starvation diets.

 

Nows the time for us to hit the ground running.  We have phone calls to make tomorrow.  Don't worry, it's not to you, our friends, but these are leads from our website.  The system is pretty easy, we have a website, www.energeticfolks.com. At this website we offer visitors a chance to request a sample diet pack for free.  They just pay for shipping and handling.  The pack comes with samples of our products and a DVD to watch.  The DVD will do most of the selling for us.

 

Once the pack is sent, we'll book a follow up appointment to discuss the DVD and samples and hopefully get an order at this point.

 

To be honest, I'm a little nervous.  I'm not the salesy type.  What helps is that I'm actually one the product and I'm actually seeing results.  In two weeks, I should be at my target weight.  At this point, it's to the gym to being toning.

 

If you're interested in the sample pack, please call me at 888.349.8471 or visit my website at www.energeticfolks.com or to purchase Herbalife products now, go to www.herbalfolks.com.

 

Talk to you soon.

 

Alan Ng

 

Herbalife - Weight Management and Nutrition Products

Disney Collectibles Store - www.themeparkshopper.com

Lose 16 pounds in a month. Free sample.

Alan Ng Home Page

 

Earning a Little Extra

As some of you know, Laurie and I are trying to earn a little extra money for a special event coming up. We've gotten into the Wellness industry and are now selling Herbalife products. I wanted to blog about this and let you know how things are going.

Herbalife is definitely a multi-level marketing program. For those of you not familiar with multi-level marketing, it where you make money selling a product and then you make more money by bringing other people in to do the same thing.

The reason the Laurie and I really hate doing this is because, we don't want to approach our friends and family and get them to sell this product too. That's not our style. What we like about Herbalife is that we don't have to do this. We can make this business succeed primarily with total strangers. I'll talk about this another time.

Part of the program is for Laurie and I to actually use the product. If you know me, you know that I'm slightly heavy for the height, but I'm not exactly overweight. I'm 6' 1" and 210 lbs. According to iVilliage, I should be around 168 - 192 as ideal. I'm definitely on the higher end of the scale, so I'm shooting for 190.

I had a kidney problem earlier this year and before the Kidney specialist looked at my chart, he immediately said I need to lose weight. Fortunately, there's nothing wrong with my kidneys.

Anyways, I'm on the program and as of this morning, I weigh 203 pounds. That's 7 pounds in 7 days. I'll take that. I'm well on my weigh to hitting my weight goals. I'm also supposed to measure myself in inches. I am measuring my chest, waist around belly button, waist around hips, waist around buttocks, thighs, calves and biceps. I started at a total of 261 inches. I'm now at 263 inches. I've gained 2 inches, but if you look at my chart, I lost 4 inches in my waist and butt, but gained 6 inches in my legs and arms.

Basically, I'm losing my belly and improving my muscles. That's not bad either. I definitely can see the change in my gut.

So week 1 on Herbalife seems to be working for me. Well, friends, I would love to talk to you more about this in person, because I don't want to send you spam. If you'd like to get Herbalife products or be a seller, please let me know. alan@mypalal.com

Visit either of these sites - www.herbalfolks.com or www.energeticfolks.com

Alan

Star Trek is ready for Launch

Hey Folks,

 

Looks like they have the cast ready to go for the J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek prequel.  Let’s take a look.

 

Captain Kirk – Chris Pine.  Credits: Just My Luck, Smokin’ Aces.  Didn’t see any of those. Not familiar with his work.

Spock – Zachary Quinto. Credit: Heroes, 24.  As a Heroes fan, I’m so jazzed about this casting.  Can’t wait to see Sylar in the ears.

Bones McCoy – Karl Urban. Credit: Lord of the Rings, Two Towers and Return of the King.  Karl played Eomer in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.

Scotty – Simon Pegg. Credits: Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz.  I never thought I’d like Shaun of the Dead but it was a hilarious movie.  Those are the only horror movies that’s I’ll watch.

Uhura – Zoe Saldan. I’ve never seen any of her work.  I see though she’s been a two episodes of Law and Order.

Chekov – Anton Yelchin. He’s a TV dude appearing in episode of this and that.

Sulu – John Cho.  Credits: American Pie Movies, Harold and Kumar go to White Castle.  I like this casting but again it brings up one of my pet peeves.  A Korean playing the role of a person who is Japanese.  I guess it’s true. All Asians look alike.

 

Can wait to see this movie.

Funny Weight Loss Story

I just lost 4 pounds in 3 days on my new Herbalife diet.  I have a funny story.

 

My clothes are not fitting me at the moment.  Thank goodness it's because they are too big.  So I'm at Disneyland and I'm at one of the stalls in the bathroom.  Normally the way it works is that your rear end keeps your pants up while you're doing your business.  In this case, because I lost a few inches on my hips, my pants fell down exposing my underwear from behind.  Oops.

 

When anyways, if you're looking for a safe and healthy way to lose weight, visit our Herbalife website at www.herbalfolks.com. 

 

Alan Ng

 

Alan Ng Home Page

Herbalife - Weight Management and Nutrition Products

Disney Collectibles Store - www.themeparkshopper.com

Lose 16 pounds in a month. Free sample.

 

The TV Season So Far - Part 2

Let’s keep going.  I’ve given you my thoughts so far on the TV season, but I have a few more shows to go.

Ugly Betty. I’m a passive viewer on this show.  My wife and I are constantly fighting over the remote in our bedroom.  This is one of the shows that I’ll watch because I can tolerate it.  That’s basically my feeling on the show.  I tolerate it.  It’s got its moments and the season premiere was not that bad.  The shows just a little over the top, but I like the Spanish Soap Opera feel to it.

Aliens in America.  Due to Tivo conflicts, I’m not able to watch this show live.  I downloaded it from iTunes (currently free).  I really like this show.  I’m not sure I like it well enough to remove the shows it has conflicts, but it’s got a sweet side to it and a different take on the whole fish out of water story.  Good acting and good start.

Cavemen.  On the other hand, this is a rehashed story of the Fish out of water plot.  But now with Cavemen.  I expected this show to be really bad.  It wasn’t.  I expected this show to not be great and it was.  It was OK.  The writing was descent and it was tolerable.  There’s just nothing profound about the show.

Pushing Daisies.  I was looking forward to this show.  It’s being hyped like crazy by Disney and it was Kristin Chenoweth in it.  I think I got my hope too high on this one.  I really liked the pilot, but not at the level I was expecting, but great start.  It’s got a quirky, beautiful look to a TV show.  My concern is that it’s going to battle between whether it’s a love story or a procedural show.

Survivor: China. Ashley’s no longer on the show, I’m not going to watch anymore.

30 Rock:  Another great start for the show.  Can’t wait to see Carrie Fisher next week.

The TV Season So Far - Part 1

It’s the first week of a new Season and I’ve had a chance to watch all of my shows, new and old.  Here’s my initial thoughts.

 

The Office.  I’ve talked to a lot of people who were disappointed with the Office this week.  I for one was not.  Yes, it wasn’t the most hilarious episode ever, but it was still funny.  I loved Andy’s chaffing nipples.  I think what turned my friends off was Dwight euthanizing Angela’s cat.

 

My Name is Earl.  I’m a silent fan of Earl.  It’s appeal is that Earl tries real hard to be a new person and that’s something America can really relate to.  This is the same reason why Michael Scott is nothing like David Brent.  David Brent really offends you, Michael Scott has an endearing quality and Earl is the same way. That’s why you have Joy as the extreme opposite.  I’m looking forward to seeing more of Earl in jail.  I hope they go most of the first season in prison.

 

Kidnation.  Boring.  I caught the episode where they voted on whether to kill chickens.  Leave it to the liberal media for portraying meat eaters as the enemy.  For the show in general, I don’t think this show is very controversial.  The concept might be, but this is not what you are watching.  I guess if the Kids start killing each other, then you have something.

 

Heroes.  Good start for Heroes.  It definitely does not have the energy that it had when the season ended, but that’s the point of a season finale.  Everything leads to a dramatic conclusion.  The season premiere sets the stage for the rest of the season which will lead to an exciting finale.  I was sad to see George Takei killed in the first episode.  Can’t wait for Elle to make her first appearance.

 

Dirty, Sexy Money.  Despite the title, I really like this show.  It has Peter Krause as a moralistic lawyer who takes the place of his father as the family lawyer of this incredibly rich family.  He finds out that his father was murdered and is going to take the job, balance this family life and find the murderer.  Laurie and I thought the premiere was one of the best this season.

 

Desparate Housewives.  Great start for the season, especially with Dana Delany and Nathan Fillian.  The best part was the end when everyone pledged to never keep secrets from one another.  This was a much better start than last season.

 

Kitchen Nightmares.  This is the side of Gordon Ramsey that I like to see.  He just a jerk on Hell’s Kitchen.  Now you truly stand behind his need to yell and swear at people.

 

Survivor China.  I stopped watching survivor after the third season.  I saw the primiere and liked it a lot because of two of the contestants – WWE Diva Ashley and Poker Pro Jean-Robert Bellande.  Because of it’s timeslot, TIVO will not record the rest of the season for me.  Oh well.

 

Journeyman.  About 20 minutes into this one I was about to shut it off.  I got through the rest of it.  I’m going to give this 2-3 more episode.  It better get better.

 

Las Vegas.  Las Vegas to me is a silly show, but I love it.  Sad to see James Caan leave the way he did, but I guess they needed to make sure he wasn’t coming back anytime soon.  Tom Sellick is a good replacement as owner.  This first episode reminds me of Disneyland and their Million Dreams campaign.

 

That’s it for now.  I’ll have the rest of the shows next time.

 

Another Case of Liberal Descrimination

It amazes me how liberal democrats can say they take the mantle of equal rights and free speech and at the same time dish out the same level of discrimination and censorship.

 

TMZ.com reports that Barry Manilow cancelled his appearance on The View because he did not want to be on the same stage as Elizabeth Hasselbeck.  Manilow states “I strongly disagree with [Hasselbeck’s] views. I think she’s dangerous and offensive. I will not be on the same stage as her.”  To their credit, Barbara Walters said it was “too bad” about Barry’s stand and producer Bill Geddie adds “we don’t do that…we support everybody…he’s not going to call the shots.

 

This is not the only instance of liberal not wanting to be in the vicinity of conservatives.  It’s just the most recent.  Here’s the hypocrisy of the whole situation:

 

• Censorship. Liberals support your freedom of speech as long as you agree with liberals or if you don’t, then keep your mouth shut.
• Discrimination.  Liberals will discriminate against you based on creed and religion.  There’s a reason why Hollywood and the press are mostly comprised of liberals.  Once a liberal finds out that you’re a conservative they automatically label you as closed minded and fanatical. This, my friend, is classic prejudice. 
• Hatred. Liberal will say that conservatives hate minorities, the poor, etc.  But with even more passion, they can get away with hating a person with opposite views.  They describe any outspoken conservative and evil and hateful, or as Mr. Manilow puts it “dangerous and offensive.”

 

I have many liberal friends, but I will tell you that when Bush won re-election in 2004, I was not a well-liked person.  It wasn’t for anything that I did personally, but it was based solely on my beliefs.

 

In response, I did not “hate” my liberal friends when the Democrats took back Congress.  Because they had nothing to do with it.

 

Your comments are welcome.

The Emmy's Last Night

For those of you care, here’s my thoughts on the Emmy awards broadcast.

 

As many of my critics can attest, I love to watch television and so I enjoy watching the Emmys.  Unlike the Oscars, I probably have seen most of the entries, especially in the comedy categories.  So with that, let’s get to it.

 

Censored Moments.  I saw three censored moments and was curious to see what happened:

 

1. Ray Romano’s stand up was replaced by preshow footage of the audience.  Here’s what he said.  In making comments about Patricia Heaton and Kelsey Grammer starring in the new show “Back to You”, Ray said “Frasier is screwing my wife.”  Is the s-word in the case forbidden?  I guess from my conservative Christian background, this is just not that big a deal to me.
2. Katherine Heigl mouthed the real s-word when hearing that she won for best supporting actress.  OK. I’ll give this one to them, but it’s interesting that you can say the s-word on other cable channels after primetime.
3. Sally Field said “Let's face it, if the mothers ruled the world, there would be no goddamned wars in the first place.”  Other than this being a really stupid statement from a no nothing liberal.  I ask myself, when was “goddamned” a bad word?  I would have let this one slip.

 

Other thoughts

1. Ryan Seacrest was OK as host.  I’m glad that they decided to give him and minimal amount of jokes to tell.  This allowed the show to move on quickly, even though it ended late.
2. I had just seen the second season of Extras and Ricky Gervais was hilarious and deserved the Emmy.  My only thought was that the show was only 6 episodes; it just doesn’t seem like enough.
3. Loved Ray’s standup, not much into Brad Garrett’s.
4. Sopranos is finally never going to win another Emmy.
5. Terry O’Quinn was the only award that I cared about.  When I saw the episode of Lost where we find out how Locke ends up in a wheelchair, I thought, Terry better win than Emmy or to me the whole award process is political.
6. Another surprise was Conan O’Brien winning the best writing for a variety series.  I was ecstatic that he won, especially over the Daily Show.  This last season was especially brilliant.  Can anyone say “Horny Manatee?”

 

That’s what I think.  Also, Kim won Design Star, which I thought would happen.  She has the presence to be the host of a show, more than anyone else.  The worst part of the finale was the video montage of all the HGTV hosts saying a few words to the finalists.  I hated this piece, because everyone obviously shot their segment before the finalists were even selected.  The constant barrage of “hey you two deserved it”, “I loved all of your work”, you deserved it was starting to make me gag.  All you needed to do was show someone say, “Hey Todd and Kim, you rock.”  Next time, don’t waste my time with worthless praise and that’s what it was, worthless.

 

Don’t forget to do your Halloween shopping at http://www.themeparkshopper.com/disney_halloween.html

 

Alan

New Website Upgrade

Things are getting real exciting for me and this website.  I've recently upgrade to Coldfusion 8 and there's a lot of cool features.  You can see some of them right now with the WSOP Photo Gallery.  With the latest upgrade from Adobe, they have tightened up the way things are done and as a result I've had to make fixes (good fixes) to the site.  If you're interested in a new home site and would like to take advantage of some of the automated features of this website, let me know.  Contact me at rep@humblefolks.com.

You can see the work that I've done at www.mypalal.com - Alan Ng Home Page. I've been able to link my various blog sites to my main site, so that my main site acts as dashboard of all of my blogs. The main site also help build the Search Engine rankings for each other.

 

Alan Ng

 

Alan Ng Home Page

Disney Collectibles Store - www.themeparkshopper.com

 

Sci Fi Channel, Mega Snake and I want my life back

I hate to admit this but Laurie and I are fans of Who Wants to Be a Superhero on the Sci Fi channel.  Last year we were religious watchers of the show and very happy when Feedback won.  So anyways.

 

Sci Fi announces a new movie featuring Feedback called mega snake.  In fact here's the ad...

 

 

Third billing is Matthew Atherton (AKA Feedback).  This is supposed to be a Feedback move.  Instead he appears at the end of the movie as Feedback a guy who teaches kids about electricity to children at state fairs.

 

I may not have minded so much, but I had to endure a really back monster move and sit there until the 1:50 mark to finally see Feedback and of course he had not super powers.  Sci Fi channel, I want two hours of my life back.  You owe me big time.

 

Alan Ng

 

Alan Ng

Disney Collectibles

 

Good Wrestling Memories

I was checking out the WWE website today and I found a little section called “Poems from the Genius.”  I was excited.  It a photo of the Genius Lenny Poffo and a little poem about the upcoming Battle of the Billionaires at Wrestlemania.  The WWE has been doing a “Where are they now” segment and letting me get caught on my favorite stars of the past, especially Brutus Beefcake.

 

Good memories.

 

www.wwe.com

http://www.wwe.com/inside/thegenius/

 

New York bans iPods

According to Reuters (2/7/07) a New York State Senator wants to ban pedestrians from using iPods or talking on celphones while walking on the street. Apparently 3 people died because they stepped off the curb and was hit by a car for not paying attention.

 

Tragic events, but now the New York City police can not fine people $100 for walking with an iPod or celphone.

 

Government, please get out of our lives and let us do whatever the hell we want to do.  Then again I think it's the governments job to meddle into our lives. They tell us how to live and what to think.  They have nothing better to do then regulate what we wear on our ears when we walk down the middle of the street.  Let's not give up our freedoms people.

 

Alan Ng

 

www.mypalal.com

www.themeparkshopper.com

 

 

California Bans the Light Bulb

According to Reuters (1/30/2007), California lawmaker Lloyd Levine wants to ban all incandescent lightbulbs by 2012.  This is way I love living in California.  When lawmakers can bring their San Francisco politics and enforce it upon me.

 

First off, yes, there is global warming, but the impact of man has yet to be conclusive.  I think nature has more to do with Global Warming than we do.  Also, the answer to repairing the Ozone is switching over to nuclear power.  If France can do it safely, we can too.

 

The banning of lightbulbs.  Can you imagine the black market lightbulb?  Incandescent pushers seeing illegal lightbulbs on playgrounds.  Police raids upon unsuspecting Californians.  Walmart executives arrested for willfully violating the illegal lightbult act of 2007.  Middle aged contractors performing back alley track lighting.

 

Oh well.  I can dream.

Indiana Jones is a Go

It's official.  According to a LucasArts press release, the fourth Indiana Jones movie is going to begin production in June 2007 and released in May 2008.  The screenplay was written by David Koepp and Steven Spielberg is quoted "George, Harrison and I are all very excited.  We feel that the script was well worth the wait."

 

I'm excited.

 

Alan Ng

 

www.mypalal.com

www.themeparkshopper.com

 

 

A Frustrating Christmas

Christmas this year really has to start improving soon. I'm going to start screaming.

The good. So far the best thing about Christmas so far is Disneyland's Candlelight procession. It was beautiful and really touched my spirit.

Church and every other Christian event has left a lot to be desired. It's our effort to be "contemporary" that has really ruined things.

I'm all about making the gospel relevant. But if you're going to make thing relevant, understand what relevant means. Changing the melody of a popular song does not make it "contemporary."

My company breakfast started with a video of war, disaster, hopelessness and a really somber need for a savior. As true as this is...whatever happed to the joy of Christmas.

I really miss the traditions of Christmas. Carols. Natvity scenes. As old as these traditions are, I still believe it's relevant.

There's 12 more days. Let's hope things improve.

Major Halo 3 Announcements

It's been 5 years since Halo made it's debut on the Xbox.  Bungie just made some huge announcements that I'm excited about. http://www.bungie.net/News/TopStory.aspx?cid=9182

 

First, on December 4 during Monday Night Football (ESPN), there is going to be a Halo 3 commercial.  This commercial will not feature game play, but it will be created by Digital Domain and utilizes Halo models and assets to create a photo realistic "movie" of Halo characters.  It should be cool, but it will not give any clues to the gameplay of Halo 3.

 

Second, Halo 2 is getting 2 new maps.  It will be available in the spring and will only work on the Xbox 360.  Since I have one, I'm excited about this, but it will cost money.

 

Third, Halo 3 beta is going to be available on the Xbox 360 in the spring and will allow gamers the opportunity to preview Halo 3's online multiplayer and allows Bungie to insure that Halo 3's online gaming will work correctly.

 

Other than a publish date, this is good news.  It appears that Halo 3 won't be available for at least another year, but it's not forgotten.

A Little Burnt Out

I'm back from Vacation...Republicans lose Congress...Britney Divorces K-Fed.  I'm just a little tired and I've not been in the blog mood.  So I'm making the attempt.

 

I have a lot of ideas at the moment for ways to move this site forward and make it more fun and dynamic.  It's now just finding time.  Thank you for those of you who have bought something from my website... www.themeparkshopper.com.

 

You help is greatly appreciated.  I'm back to playing a little poker at night.  I also have a new line of products available on the website.  Check out our Jim Shore stuff.  Anyways, look for things to come.

Sad Week Indeed for Me

This has been a rough week emotionally speaking.

 

1. Republicans lose Congress.  As much as I hated to see this happen, I was emotionally prepared for it.  I've got my opinions, but really the Republicans have a horrible PR machine and they let the Democrats control public debate.  The problem now is that the Democrats really don't have any solutions.  Their entire message this election was "we're not Republicans."

 

2.  Britney and K-Fed.  So sad.  We can all stop getting married now, because the perfect marriage is no longer attainable.  I knew things were going bad when Reece and Ryan broke up.  I have to believe this is a great reason to teach abstinance.

 

3.  Bud Black now the manager of the San Diego Padres.  All the Angels need is to lose one of their core coaches.  Good luck, Bud.

 

4.  Lost is off the air for 13 weeks.  What a cliff hanger too.

 

I should start drinking.

My Facsination with Professional Wrestling

It's the early 80's and I'm a young kid living in a home without cable. There's just not a lot of content on TV. that's when I stumbled upon wrestling. More specifically I'm talking about the World Wrestling Federation. My earliest recollection was footage of Hulk Hogan defeating the Iron Shiek for the World Heavyweight Title. Then there are the images of Cindt Lauper helping Hulk, Captain Lou and Mr. T stand up to Rowdy Roddy Piper and Cowboy Bob Orton at Wrestlemania. These were real images of real people fighting for honor, their image, etc. I have to admit I wanted this to be real. Even then I knew it had to be fake, but my heart wouldn't let me believe it.

Every week I'd watch my favorie wrestler battle it out. Each battle would lead to the upcoming live event at the sports arena in Los Angeles. My parents refused to ever let me go. They said it was fake. Sigh.

It would be 2004 before I would attend my first live event.

Next time...Wrestling.

Just a lazy day.

This blog comes to you from my palm pilot. I'm just a little bored. I'm going on vacation soon and I'm overcome with anticipation.

More to come.

My Christian Life

As many of you know, I'm an evangelical Christian in every sense of the world.  Well, maybe most senses but not all.  In my world, there are the extreme's. 

 

On the right, you have the ultra Conservative, take the Bibles literally and live by the strict interpretation.  These are the Bible Thumpers, suit and tie at Church, study the Word of God.

 

On the left, you have the free Spiritual charismatic, who loves God, loves the Bibles and loves to worship.  They love to spend all of their time reading the Bible and studying the Bible and loves being in the spirit when they sing and worship.

 

The difference to me the one likes the intellectual pursuit of God and the other likes the emotional pursuit of God.  I am in the middle.  Although my life is flanked by people on the extremes and the funny thing is.  I don't think either side believes I'm saved.

 

I find it strange that both sides are such polar opposites of each other, but at the same time they feel they have the right to judge me and my Christian maturity.

 

They like to criticize my role in the family, my leadership style has a husband and father, the amount of time that I watch television and my pursuits in witnessing.  Ugh.

 

On the right, they judge me because I don't follow what the Bible says, while on the left, they judge me because they don't feel like I'm following the Lord.

 

My response...I don't really care.  I'm not above criticism, but I am above judgment from others. And that's alright by me.  I gotta go. My TV show is on.

Blog, Blogging, and other Bloggery

It's almost been month since I began this active blogging.  I've somehow managed to create about 5-6 blog sites, all on different topics and created an automated system to post these blogs.

 

If you notice, I have various topics that I'm interested in.  I have a few blog spot accounts as well as a myspace account.  So all I have to do is create a blog in an email, send it.  It's posted to my blog spot site and then it's posted on my personal website (www.mypalal.com) and I'm done.

 

They only way that I can make this work right is to basically make it easy to update.  And I believe I'm at a point where I'm happy.

 

Here's some things to consider if you want to get into the blog business:

 

Have something to say.  I'm still working on this.  I comment but I don't necessarily say anything.

 

Get in the habit.  Just start writing.  Don't be afraid.  Just do it.

 

Maintain your privacy.  You're more or less making your life public on the internet.  Don't do anything stupid.  A few years ago, I wrote about my horrible manager on my website.  That wasn't good.  Good thing now that I have the best manager who ever lived.

 

Sorry, I'm wiping some brown stuff on my nose.

 

I want to let you know what I think, but at the same time, I don't want you coming over to my house.  Let's talk through this forum first.  OK.

 

That's all I have to say now.

Lost, Veronica Mars, Heroes

I'm going to continue to talk about some of the season premieres that I've encountered so far.  If you'd like to know more about previous shows, please read my previous blog - www.mypalal.com. Spoiler Alert.

 

Lost - The season premiere of Lost was awesome.  I like how all of the premiere have started with the plane crash.  This time with the perspective of the others.  It's amazing just how the writers like to mess with your mind.  My understanding is that the first 7 episode will deal primarily with Jack, Kate and Sawyer.  Who will Kate end up with?  I don't care.  The "Henry Gale" character is getting creepier and creepier and I like that.  I also like the fact that the show at this point is very different from the first two seasons.  The whole "others" question is going to be fascinating to watch over the next 7 weeks.

 

Veronica Mars - I missed the first half of the season opener.  My TIVO didn't pick up on the fact that the show moved to the CW and I didn't find out until too late.  Nice start.  Veronica at college.  It's kind of Saved by the Bell - College Years, because lo and behold everyone is going to the same college. I just watched episode 2 last night and I like the fact that Veronica is not perfect and she can ruin two people's lives in one show.

 

The Nine - Great show so far.  I have to give it a few episode for final judgment, but a very strong open to introduce and kill off characters.  This show is in danger of becoming cheeseball very easily.

 

Heroes - I hesitated watching this show for a while.  It was sitting on my TIVO for a few days after the second episode.  I like this show, but it has the danger of becoming cheeseball too.  It reminds me a lot of Unbreakable a movie I loved.  People with powers discovering it's effects in subtle ways.  I think this show is going to go the way of Surface.  Great show but only one season in it.

 

Ugly Betty - Sticks.  I would like to like this show.  I'm not a big fan of the fact that pretty people are on all of the other shows, but It's just not that compelling and a little overrated.

 

The CSI series - So far, kudos to Las Vegas (the original) great start.  Great cliffhanger with Catherine's "rape".

 

More to come on this season.

Compassion Peddlers, Mediums and Ghost Whisperers

If you are in a profession of compassion, you have a responsibility to use your power for good.

 

Remember that I'm a conservative, born-again Christian before you read this.

 

I just ordered the 3rd season of Penn & Teller's Bullsh*t.  I am such a big fan of this show, except for the part where they discuss religion.  What I like about this show is that they expose people who exploit people who are hurting.

 

The biggest villain in my life are those who I will call "Compassion Peddlers."  These are people who use compassion to manipulate others for their own selfishness.  You will recognize they frauds because they will show you a great amount of compassion and in return you'll give them money, fame or power.

 

Who are these people?

• Psychics
• Mediums
• Herbal Medicine Peddlers
• Some Ministers, Healers and Pastors (especially those on Television)

These people basically tell you what you want or need to hear, take your money and move on with life.  The problem is that rather tell you that you should follow basic common sense, they tell you this advice is from nature, aliens, the psychic aura, a dead relative or God.

 

In the article, I'll discuss for a moment Mediums.  People who claim to talk to the dead.  Watch any show where there is a person talking to the dead, like John Edwards.  I won't go into how they do it but it's all B.S.  Essentially what they do is claim to speak for a dead loved one and then offer a peace of advice, such as I love you, be strong, let me go and be happy.

 

To some degree this is nice, they are at least not telling you to do something stupid like rob a bank.  The problem is that they are Bastardizing the memory of your loved one.  For this example, your father passed away.  You have memories of your father, both good and bad.  But these are real memories and you should cherish them, because it defines that person in your life.

 

Now comes a medium who tells you that your father loves you and admits that he wasn't a perfect father and now is the time to let go and let him "cross over."  The problem is...YOUR FATHER NEVER SAID THAT.  Now you have this "medium's" words and this session to screw around with your real memories of that person.  Sure the words of the medium may be benign but again, that's not your father saying it.  It's a false father and now they have damaged your memories of someone special.

Good Job, Phil Angelides

I thought your attack ads on Governor Schwartzenegger during the 20/20 special about the death of Steve Irwin was so well timed.  Thanks for taking a touching moment and using it as a platform to promote your political career.

 

Why not run some 9/11 ads while you're at it.

Shocking News from TNA

Few people know this but I am a big fan of Professional Wrestling.  I followed the WWE in the early 80's.

 

Today there was a huge announcement from TNA wresting and that was the signing of Kurt Angle.  I have never had strong feelings about a wrestling announcement until now.

 

My understanding is that the WWE released Kurt Angle to allow his body to heal and to fix his marriage and family.  Now he backstabs WWE be signing with their competitors.  I understand the benefits of going with TNA (e.g. easier traveling schedule, less politics, etc.) but come on.

 

Anyways, good luck Kurt, but please take care of yourself.

Mel Gibson and the Liberal Media

I've always believed the media in general has a liberal agenda.  Many will say they don't, but they do.  Here's what I call the subtle example.  It's not blatant but it's a tactic that I see a lot.

The principle here is that you report a story that should be positive toward a public conservative, but you have to cast doubt.  The key though is that is doesn't matter who dissents.  Any one will do.

---------------------------------------

AP News - 12/7/05
Mel Gibson Plans Holocaust Miniseries

Mel Gibson is stirring passions again with his latest project - a nonfiction TV movie set against the backdrop of the Holocaust.

Gibson's Con Artist Productions is developing "Flory" for ABC, based on the true story of a Dutch Jew named Flory Van Beek and her non-Jewish boyfriend who sheltered her from the Nazis, The New York Times and Variety reported in Wednesday editions.

Critics claimed Gibson's blockbuster film "Passion of the Christ" was anti-Semitic, a charge Gibson has denied. Gibson's father also is on the record denying that the Holocaust took place.

"For (Gibson) to be associated with this movie is cause for concern," Rafael Medoff, director of the David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies in Melrose Park, Pa., told the Times. "He needs to come clean that he repudiates Holocaust denial."

---------------------------------------

Who is the hell is Rafael Medoff?  He's the only guy the media could find to say something outrageous about Mel Gibson.

An example of this happens against conservatives as well.  If a story that favors the legalization of abortion comes out, the media doesn't go to those of us who have thoughtful opinions about abortion, the media goes right to the religious lunatic.

If the press was really about fair reporting, they would get actual experts on both sides to quote.

Liberals Make Up Your Mind

Democrats have a great strategy when it comes to taking down Republicans.  It helps that they have to media to be their mouthpiece.  The strategy is simple, take an issue and attack Republicans on both sides of the issue.

The prime example of this is high gas prices.

Liberal Criticism #1 - Gas prices are so high because evil gas company executives are greedy.
Liberal Criticism #2 - Evil gas company executive was to do more drilling and build refineries and they don't care about the environment.

Evaluation of Criticism #1 - Liberal are taking the side of the poor and attacking greed.  How can the poor who have to travels to their jobs afford to work with gas prices so high.  Let's punish gas companies by taxing them more.  Gas companies need to lower their price so that gas is more affordable to the working man.

Evaluation of Criticism #2 - Liberals are taking the side of the environment. Don't let gas companies do anymore drilling or upgrade and build new refineries, because gas and cars are destroying the planet.  Gas prices should be high, you evil SUV owner.

How can you win?  You can't because to the liberal it's not about improving society.  It's about maintaining political power.  Democrats need to take Republicans down, so they will attack for the sake of attack.

You have to remember the Immutable Law of Liberals, they don't need any ideas, they just need to be in office.

Dark Tuesday

As you can tell, I'm a conservative.  I was very disappointed by the results of last night's election.  I may not be in tune with Governor Schwartzenegger from a social standpoint, I am in sync with him on the public policy agenda.

He supported four very good pieces of legislation and they all when down to defeat.

The problem was that the propositions in and of themselves were good and smart ideas.  They just happen to go up against people we should admire - Teachers, Police, Firefighters and Nurses.  All four groups deserve a lot of respect.  Unfortunately, they were made the targets of these propositions, when the real targets should have been the unions they belong to.

Proposition 74 - I love teachers and they deserve to be paid more, but at the same time, a principal should be able to fire bad teachers.  Bad teachers should not be allow to hide behind tenure.  The issue is not what's in the best interest of bad teachers, it's what's in the best interest for our children.

Proposition 75 - I love teachers, police officers, firefights and they deserve to be paid more.  Their unions on the other hand should represent their members.  If they did, there would have been no reason to even have this proposition on the ballot.  The unions spent $100 million on political campaign. If the liberals think the money on the Iraq war should have gone to inner cities, then money to political campaigns should go to the membership, instead of raising dues to pay for ads.

Proposition 76 - I love schools and it's important to educate children no matter race or economic position.  But at the same time you can not hamper a state's budget with guaranteed funds.  If the state is going through an economic crisis, the governor and legislature should be allowed to reallocate funds as necessary.  This makes sense to me.  Otherwise the only alternative is to raise taxes.

Proposition 77 - Who do I trust to draw district boundaries?  Politicians who want to keep their jobs or an independent council of judges and the people of California.  Think about it.

I feel better now.

Ng's in the News

Kim Ng, Assistant General Manager, for the Los Angeles Dodgers was the first person to interview for the main post as General Manager for the Dodgers.

 

Other famous Ng's...

 

Rita Ng, Miss California

Evelyn Ng, Professional Poker Player

Charles Ng, Serial Killer

 

I thought this was interesting.

Supreme Court Candidate Alito

So far so good on Bush's Nominee.  One Democrat senator from the Gang of 14 has complimented Judge Alito on his openmindedness and void of political agenda.

Here's an interest word from AP - In college, Samuel Alito led a student conference that urged legalization of sodomy and curbs on domestic intelligence, a sweeping defense of privacy rights he said were under threat by the government and the dawning computer age.

Three decades before the Supreme Court decriminalized gay sex, Alito declared on behalf of his group of fellow Princeton students that "no private sexual act between consenting adults should be forbidden." Alito also called for an end to discrimination against homosexuals in hiring.

But they saw in the 1971 report a prescient thinker taking on issues ahead of their time, including the need for computer encryption, stronger oversight of domestic intelligence and curbs on the surveillance powers of states.

"The document itself is amazing," said Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center. "It is a dramatic statement in support of the right of privacy.

We'll see what's to come.

Prop 75 Impact

Will Prop 75 have an impact?  In Utah, they passed a similar law and found political participation drop from 68% to 7% and in Washington 80% to 11%.  The key point to notice is that again, union leadership did not speak for the constituents.

In California, the teachers' union spent 60 million between 2000 to 2004 on political campaigns for its 335,000.  That's $36,000 per member per year.  What do you think would happen to the quality of education and the happiness of teacher had the union put $36,000 in a retirement account for each member every year?

How about this?  What if they union took half $18,000 per member and placed that in a retirement account, and spent the rest on political causes?  I don't necessarily support that, but it's staggering to think about the possibilities.

Proposition 75 - Why Liberals Lie

I'm always frustrated during election times.  Mostly because of the lying sound bites you get from both sides of the aisle (although mostly from Democrats).  Today is Prop 75.

In a nutshell, Prop 75 requires written permission from union members to use a portion of their union dues for political use.  For example, union dues can be used for supporting or opposing propositions or candidates.

Under current law, a union member can opt out.  Under proposition 75, a union member must grant permission.

I obviously support this law.  Recently unions have raised union dues specifically to fund political campaigns.  It is not fair for a person to have their dues raised without their permission and then used to support a cause they don't believe in.  That's why the AFL-CIO lost some major unions recently - http://www.mypalal.com/blog/UnionsBolt.html. The AFL-CIO spent the majority of their time and money supporting political campaigns that they lost their membership base.

The reality is there would be no need for Proposition 75 if the unions spoke on behalf of their membership.  Then again, if the unions did actually represent their membership, they have nothing to fear from Proposition 75.

Calvary Chapel

I've not talked about this much, but I have serious problems with Calvary Chapel churches.  Read here: http://www.bobofett.com/psychoticmail.html

 

She sounds crazy but I happen to believe her story for it is consistent with my experience with some Calvary Chapels.

So so depressed

The Angels are out.  It was so bad, I couldn't listen to the final game.  I wound up going to Disneyland with my wife.  The omen of the night was losing my Anaheim Angels wristband while taking off my sweatshirt.  Oh well there's always next year.

 

My real frustration was the fact that these lousy umpires couldn't make a right call all night.  For example, if the umpire makes the out motion.  The player is out.  If the catcher interferes with the batter, then the runners are safely on base.

 

Then again, if the Angels could hit, they'd be in the World Series today.

I Love the Angels

On Monday, I begged my wife to let me go to the last game of the ALDS. Angels vs. Yankees.

 

She let me go and I bought tickets on eBay.  That was a mistake.  I got ripped off. I'll tell this story later.

 

There's nothing like being in a stadium with 40,000 fans and we're all cheering for the same thing.  Everytime a run was scored, I'm high fiving complete strangers.  It was surreal.

 

I'm standing in the terrace section behind home plate during the final inning and praying that the Yankees will not tie this up.  Finally Erstad makes a great catch at first and throws out Matsui.  I'm in my section standing up, screaming and jumping like a little girls.

 

What a fantastic game. Now off to my car for an hour of not going anywhere.

The Rebirth of the DNC

AP just did an interview with Howard Dean, former presidential candidate and governer.  He discusses the strategy of the DNC.

 

His goals are:

• Making Democrats the party of values, community and reform. Armed with extensive DNC polling, Dean is consulting with party leaders in Congress, mayors and governors to recast the public's image of Democrats with a unified message.
• Improving the party's "micro-targeting," the tactic of merging political information about voters with their consumer habits to figure out how to appeal to them.
• Building a 50-state grass-roots organization using Internet and community-building tools.

Let's sum up this strategy. The Democrats will poll America and that will decide what the Democrats believe.  The biggest problem that the Democrats have is that they believe in nothing and rely on polling to remain in power.  Get a backbone people.  Take a stand on something.

The Bush Master Plan

Could Bush be a genius?  He nominates a woman who is a complete mystery. He then gets conservatives to express concern.  Now Democrats will just sit back and vote in an unknown, just to "tick off" conservatives.  Time will tell.

Anaheim Angels Post Season Blog

And now for something completely different.  I'm hoping you won't get too bored with my politics, I know turn to sports.

 

I'm sitting with my wife and the first game of the ALDS is going to start in a few hours.  I'm an Angels Fan. I was going to say big, but I couldn't get to any games this year.  My wife has chronic knee problems and I can only get wheelchair seat and that requires planning.

 

I think the Angels have a good shot this year.  My only concern is the hitting.  That's the only thing they lacked this year.  Vlad was out for most of the season and Finley has just not been what I hoped for.

 

To you Yankee fans, you're going down just like you did in 2002.

Yet another example of Media Bias

From AP (10/3/05) Headline - Hispanics Upset Bush Passed on Them

"President Bush has again ignored highly qualified Latino judges, attorneys and law professors who could serve the nation ably on the United States Supreme Court," said Ann Marie Tallman, executive director of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, after Miers' nomination was announced Monday.

"The failure of this administration to nominate a Hispanic judge to the Supreme Court is a slap in the face to all those highly qualified Hispanic judges that dutifully serve on our federal courts across the nation," said Raul Yzaguirre, former president of the National Council of La Raza. "Our community continues to contribute to the greatness of this nation and yet, we are ignored for a vital role on our third branch of governance."

Here's how the media goes to liberal groups to get quotes about the President's Actions that are unwarranted. This story would have had some credence if the organization they interviewed were actual Bush supporting organizations.

If Bush had nominated a Hispanic, then the National Organization of Women would have been all over Bush's case for not replacing O'Conner with another women.  Either way you had two separate groups that the media was eager to get comments based on the nomination.  Bush should have picked a Hispanic Woman.

One last thing, we already know that the Democrats would have shot down two of Bush's Hispanic nominees because they were too conservative.

Example of Liberal Media Bias

Today, President Bush nominated attorney Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court.

One would think that an unbiased news organization would have a headline that might say:

"President Bush Nominates Miers to Supreme Court"

No, here's AP's headline (10/3/05):

"High Court Nominee Has Never Been a Judge"

Which headline reports the fact and which one offers opinion?