Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. Oh geez, i've been waiting for this one. I mean, who could resist a movie titled: "..a Menstral Roller-Coaster of a Ride!"? Who wouldn't want to watch a cast of ladies complaining and generally doing Steel Magnolia type things? Sure, Sandy (that's what she likes to be called) Bullock and Ashley Judd are nice on the eyes...but so is a 55" HDTV. I'll catch this when it hits the Lifetime Movie Network.

Bad Company - Ok, we're sick of the "can you hand me a towel" bit..and yes, your brother was in the C.I.A.

Undercover Brother - I admit, at first viewing of the trailer I had to say no, but the more I see of it, it appears to be pretty damn funny.

Minority Report - Days of Thunder without the NASCAR! Looks to be a solid Sci-Fi Thriller..and Tom Cruise sure does take my breath away! DOH!

Forgot to mention that I saw Sum of All Fears last week. A nice Jack Ryan flicks that has some cool scenes, but the overall picture--not so good Al. If you don't know anything about Tom Clancy books, here's a quick rundown of Sum of All Fears: Ben Affleck plays buddy to a misinterpertated Boy Genius name Will Hunting. Doh, that's like that other Ben Affleck movie.

posted by The H.Bomb| 3:36 PM | email | archive

Covet thy neighbor's wife! Was talking to The Gimp last night while he poured out his woes of finding a girlfriend. "Man, there just ain't no 24 yr. old women out there!". I guess the pool of 24 yr. old women went stagnant and I was completely oblivious to it. Here's a quick rundown of our conversation:

The Gimp: Man, she was totally cool too!
Me: But Shawn, she was married.
The Gimp: Yeah, but she was totally cool! and she liked me too!
Me: Yeah, but she was married.
The Gimp: Why's this always happen to me?
Me: Because...you're The Gimp.
The Gimp: ..because I'm the Gimp..

Nah, it didn't actually go down like that verbatim, but you get the idea. Thank the Lord that it's PHRIDAY!!!!!
posted by The H.Bomb| 1:04 PM | email | archive

Don't wanna know why. Bleeaaauuurrrgghhh! About to go crash. My dear Emily went and bought me a copy of Hitchhiking in Vietnam! Gonna go read it...I Hai Le recommend it...muahahahahahaah-cough-cough..Oh yeah, P.Diddy has already posted his review of the new Counting Crows album, Hard Candy. He's forwarded me some songs, although a little bent towards pop, stands to be another Koala-T recording.

Song for the Evening:
1.) Elliot Smith - Bled White.
posted by The H.Bomb| 11:13 PM | email | archive

Hitchhiking Vietnam. Karin Muller's expedition in Vietnam is fascinating. I've been reading excerpts from the book off of PBS.ORG and it's looks like a sure fire read, so I'll have to pick it up sometime this week. One of the most interesting/disheartening entries from her journey was when she was hitchhiking through the SaPa Valley (Northwest Vietnam). The indiginous people of the SaPa Valley are considered a minority in Vietnam, possibly (if I recall) of Sino-Tibetan decent (they are basically the equivalent of Native Americans).

Here's the excerpt (reprinted, of course, without permission..!):

Evening found me clambering up a gash in the hillside between two rice fields. Bamboo groves rose on both sides, snaring tendrils of the incoming mist and deepening the gloomy shadows inside the narrow gorge. I had just given up hope of finding a hut for the night when I stumbled upon a run-down shack with a rat-tailed, deeply obnoxious dog. After several moments of feinting and parrying, I was rescued by an aged grandmother who came out and motioned me inside. The family shrine, just inside the door, held nothing more than a month-old orange, half deflated and hard as leather. Blackened corn-starched cobwebs hung from the drying racks over the fire and the customary second-floor reserve of stored rice was nowhere to be seen. The children were thin-faced and slunk around in the shadows with hopeful, wary faces.

The old woman bargained poorly and I gave her more than she asked for. It was a sad place where the children cried often and silently. All of the resident adults - with the possible exception of the grandmother - were addicted to opium. I shrugged off my pack and escaped the cheerless hut for the only marginally brighter garden. A middle-aged woman stood among the mustard greens, aggressively weeding out the leftover vegetables to make way for the new years' planting. She unearthed two white radish roots, hairy with fibers and tough as wood. A nearby shaven-headed girl immediately dropped her hoe and snatched them, depositing one into the hands of her younger sister and gnawing on the other without bothering to wipe the dirt off first. Her smaller sibling sat on a rock and clung to her grubby treasure, occasionally rubbing it against her cheek or nicking it with her nail and then sucking on her finger.

Dinner was pickled banana heart and cooked weeds, same as the pigs. I ate with the children while the family's unmarried sister prepared the opium. She had a beautiful, thin-boned face, the luminescent smile of an addict, and the wracking cough of a terminal tubercular. She lit a kerosene lantern and carefully lowered herself to the thin, woven mat to begin her preparations. She kneaded the brown paste into a long tube, then cut it into balls with the meticulous precision of a watchmaker. By the time she had filled her bong and taken her first puff the others were ready to join her. Only the grandmother stayed apart, holding a tiny infant between her knees and poking at the fire with a stick for warmth. I was given a bed of straw laid perilously close to the flames and a brick for a pillow, and fell asleep to the flickering kerosene flame and the sad, old eyes of the woman cradling her starving grandchild.

If you get a chance, check out the PBS site of Hitchhiking Vietnam. Here's a good site with pictures, regarding the ethnic minorities in Northwest Vietnam.
posted by The H.Bomb| 1:58 PM | email | archive

A very muscular portfolio... We had one of those 401K presentations today, and even though some of my mutual funds got knocked in the 2000-2001 timespan, it's reassuring to know that I'm a complete freaking yuppie. But when i'm "that" age, it'll be nice being able to purchase a nice trawler and go out netting for some crawfish and shrimp at the bay. Maybe a nice riding lawn mower, a John Deere or Cub Cadet. Rows and rows of fishing rods, lures and catfish chum. Many nights, listening to Toni Bennett and/or Dean Martin. Pimento spread. Discount at Luby's. Weak bladder...whoops already got one of those. The old life = The Good Life.

Song of the Day:
1.) The Rolling Stones - Happy. All the Exile on Mainstreet action you can handle--and Keith Richards on vocals! COOL!
posted by The H.Bomb| 10:35 AM | email | archive

Yo, I know it's been awhile since I rapped which ya.. but I've been busy with life and moving people to Austin. Last weekends horror of moving P.Diddy's 35" Sony Trinitron up a flight of stairs was enough to take it out of anybody. Actually, I didn't even lend a hand in moving that monstrosity up, but I got beaned with The General's shoe. Anyways, his new pad is sweet! I wonder if they got the in-wall surround sound speakers working yet.

Here's some brands i'm expecting at the grocery store soon:

posted by The H.Bomb| 7:38 PM | email | archive

Poor Moo Jersey Nets! They have to face the Lakers in the NBA Championships. Good job goes out to the Kings for putting up one hell of a series!
posted by The H.Bomb| 10:26 PM | email | archive