Hero Inc.

My original expectation of this movie was that it would be bad. Possibly even worse than X-Men: The Last Stand. I sure hate it when I’m right.

Since this review will mostly consist of the negatives, I’ll start with some positives. Ryan Reynolds was perfectly cast as Deadpool (Wade Wilson) and Liev Schreiber was a great Sabretooth. Visually, I was not pleased with The Blob at the beginning of the film, but his second main appearance in the movie definitely turned things around. The movie also does a good job of leading into the other spinoff movies Fox is hoping to produce (X-Men: First Class and Deadpool).

Now that the positives are out of the way, you can hear why this movie was so bad. Early rumblings from those that watched the early pirated copy stated that the biggest issue was the special effects. Well, they didn’t seem to update them much. One particular scene with Wolverine’s claws (the bathroom) looked laughable. Almost as if some teenager was doing the animation for them using Flash. I would have rather seen Hugh Jackman holding kitchen knives between his fingers.

Everyone was waiting for Gambit in an X-Men movie and they finally got it with Origins.  The response previously for not having him appear was because his character was too close to Wolverine (loner that isn’t a team player) and would be difficult to differentiate on screen. Looks like someone got that one right because his inclusion was lackluster and laughable.  Not sure what it was, but his powers seemed less impressive on screen.  Maybe the first X-Men movies tried to select mutants whose powers would look “real” on screen.

Overall, the movie was boring, long, slow, and limiting on the action.  It was a true origins story. For those that do go to see this movie, I wouldn’t wait around after the credits. The extra clip my movie had was not worth it and I have heard the same for the other alternative endings as well.  Here’s hoping Star Trek makes me forget this entire mess.

And I seriously feel bad for the movie reviewer who decided to download this movie early and provide a review. He was promptly fired and now gets to tell his family he lost his job over a terrible movie.

[Rating: .5/5]

The 2009 NFL Draft is now in the books.  It was a day of football super hype where we won’t know the true outcome of who was right and who was wrong for another 4 years, but that will never stop us from offering our critique today.

I will of course start this all with “I was right.”  Go back and read my preview and you will see that I stated if Peria Jerry was on the board, then we [Atlanta Falcons] take him regardless.  For those that have known me over the years know that this is a big deal for me to get a pick right.  So therefore, I throw to you my new favorite joke.

Hip! Hip! Peria!  (You pronounce his name as Per-RAY)

Overall, the Falcons draft grade from me is (B+). Here’s the quick summary of the picks thanks to NFL.com.

1. Peria Jerry (Mississippi) – Defensive Tackle, Round 1 Selection 24 ==> The Falcons address their thin defensive line by picking up Jerry. As a hard-working one-gap penetrator, Jerry gives Mike Smith the “3-technique” that he covets in the middle of the defense. Though Jerry’s production in college was a byproduct of an aggressive movement system, he’s a solid player who fits in well with the Falcons.
2. William Moore (Missouri) – Safety, Round 2 Selection 23 (55 Overall) ==> The former Tiger was regarded as a top-tier prospect heading into his senior season until injuries and inconsistency derailed his play. In spite of those flaws, he’s an intriguing prospect with the potential to blossom in the Falcons’ two-deep scheme. His range is above average and he has a knack for coming down with INTs. If he plays to his potential, he’s one of the draft’s biggest sleepers.
3. Christopher Owens (San Jose State) – Cornerback, Round 3 Selection 26 (90 Overall) ==> The Falcons pick up an aggressive corner with good cover skills. Owens loves to challenge receivers with his physical style, and he’ll compete for time as a nickel or dime corner in the Falcons’ sub-package.
4. Lawrence Sidbury, Jr. (Richmond) – Defensive End, Round 4 Selection 25 (125 Overall) ==> Sidbury Jr. played in the Shrine Game and then flew right to the Senior Bowl. He has really good pass-rushing skills and had 37 tackles for loss and 20 sacks in college. He’ll be a situational pass rusher for the Falcons.
5. William Middleton (Furman) – Cornerback, Round 5 Selection 2 (138 Overall) ==> The Falcons continue to stockpile defensive players on the draft’s second day. Middleton gives the team another athletic corner to groom as an eventual nickel or dime defender in their sub-packages.
6. Garrett Reynolds (North Carolina) – Offensive Tackle, Round 5 Selection 20 (156 Overall) ==> The former Tar Heel is a tough, hard-nosed blocker with the size to be an imposing right tackle as a pro. With time, Reynolds could develop into a potential starter.
7. Spencer Adkins (Miami) – Linebacker, Round 6 Selection 3 (176 Overall) ==> Adkins is an undersized linebacker with excellent speed. He’s a very good kick coverage player on special teams. The Falcons can use Adkins to beef up their special teams.
8. Vance Walker (Georgia Tech) – Defensive Tackle, Round 7 Selection 1 (210 Overall ==> Walker had 29 starts in college with 11.5 sacks. He did not have a great Senior Bowl week, but he was struggling with a bum ankle. Walker ran slow at the combine, which is why he fell down the draft. He fits in a four-man front that stunts and is a one-gap guy. He helps the Falcons add depth to what was a depleted defensive tackle position.

Otherwise, here are my quick hit thoughts from the draft.

• Is Oakland trying to create the NFL’s version of the Florida Gators?  Their huge reach in the first round was fueled by speed more than anything else.  Why not take Crabtree who was available instead of going after the 5th best available WR, Darrius Heyward-Bey?  Did his grandfather play in the NFL and that’s who Al Davis thought he was picking?
• Yay, the Jets have a QB.  Now I’ll get to hear about nothing else from Mike & Mike in the morning other than the J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets.
• If I was an NFL team and the Patriots offered to trade their picks to me, I’d quickly hang up the phone because I would know that whatever I use that pick for would be wrong.  How many more years before the petition the league to remove their requirement for accepting a 1st round pick?  I know of no other team that continues to try to trade further and further down the draft.
• There was no real crier this year because you can’t pick Michael Oher due to his situation/story.  However, Michael Crabtree was as close as you could get.
• Michael Oher has a great story so I’m going to make a terrible joke here and state that I need to start timing the homeless that I see to scout for the best 40 time.

Georgia Players Selected

• Mattew Stafford (QB) – Detroit Lions, Round 1 Selection 1 (1 Overall)
• Knowshon Moreno (RB) – Denver Broncos, Round 1 Selection 12 (12 Overall)
• Mohamed Massaquoi (WR) – Cleveland Browns, Round 2 Selection 18 (50 Overal)
• Asher Allen (CB) – Minnesota Vikings, Round 3 Selection 22 (86 Overall)
• Corey Irvin (DL) – Carolina Panthers, Round 3 Selection 29 (93 Overall)
• Jarius Wynn (DE) – Green Bay Packers, Round 6 Selection 9 (182 Overall)

And if it matters, this year’s “Mr. Irrelevant” is Ryan Succop, a kicker from South Carolina.

The end of April is almost here and that means Draft Day baby. This is the day that ushers in the NFL season for me even though we are several months away. I’ll crowd around a TV and watch 4 hours of what some may call boring television in order to discover the newest players and where my Birds will go from here.

Thanks to the amazing season last year, the Falcons pick 24th in this year’s draft. The following bullets are a compilation of several mock drafts I found online about 2 months ago.

Mock Draft, Round 1

• Brandon Pettigrew, TE OSU
• B. J. Raji, NT BC
• Mike Mickens, CB Cinci
• William Moore, S Missouri
• Brian Orakpo, DE Texas
• Louis Delmas, S Western Michigan

Mock Draft, Round 2-End

• Peria Jerry, DT Ole Miss
• Jared Cook, TE, South Carolina
• Michael Hamlin, SS Clemson
• Emanuel Cook, S
• Dorel Scott, DT Clemson
• Chase Coffman, TE Mizzou
• Mark Parson, CB Ohio
• Max Unger, OC Oregon
• Willie VanDeSteeg, DE Minn
• James Casey, TE Rice
• Alex Magee, DE Purdue
• Ramon Foster, OT UT
• Lawrence Sidbury Jr., DE Richmond

I’m also throwing in the mock drafts for UGA players.

Mock Draft, Round 1 UGA

• M Stafford, QB Lions (1) or Seahawks (4)
• K Moreno, RB Browns (5) or Bucs (19) or Jets (17) or San Diego (16)

Mock Draft, Round 2-End UGA

• Mo Mass -> Jets or Dallas
• A Allen -> Cardinals or Lions or KC
• Jeremy Lomax -> Baltimore
• Brannan Southerland -> Steelers
• Corey Irvin -> Compensatory Pick

Now with the mocks out of the way, here are my thoughts.

1. First, I know everyone is saying TE for Atlanta, but I don’t know why. Our offensive system does not throw to a TE enough to pay 1st round money to a TE, maybe late rounders but not 1st.
2. The Falcons have several needs on defense but the top of the list is defensive tackle so that is my pick when Mr. Goodell calls for the Falcons.  Of course, if a better athlete is available here, then you draft best available.
3. People talk about the CB situation with the Falcons.  Please understand that is not as big of a hole as people not familiar with the team might think.  Yes, they lost Foxworth, but Houston played well.  Rookie Jackson held his own.  Grimes is small but speedy.  Hutchins returns from a season ending injury.
4. If Peria Jerry is available at 24, then the pick better take less than 1 minute to make.
5. I honestly believe this will be a failed draft for the Falcons.  I’m stating this on nothing more than the fact of how well last year’s draft went and the numerous wins.  I just don’t see lightning striking twice.  This is the Falcons and the back-to-back curse must continue.

Now to end with the pre-Draft awards.

• Best Player in the Draft – Aaron Curry (OLB), Wake Forest => This guy is a freak of nature.  He’s fully ready to start on day 1 and can be a leader in the locker room.  If you have a a defensive hole on your LB line, take him yesterday.
• Most Overrated Player – Matthew Stafford (QB), UGA => I’m a UGA fan, but I’ve never truly been a Stafford fan.  Hearlded as the next big thing for UGA, he never accomplished all he was hyped to win.  Arm strength is nice, but it isn’t everything.  For a QB to be taken within the top 15, he must be prepared to start on day 1 and lead.  I just don’t believe that Stafford is that guy.  If he goes to the Lions, he will fall harder than Carr.  If he goes to a team where he can sit for a year or two, then he will have a better chance in the long run.
• Most Underrated Player – Pat White (QB), West Virginia => The biggest issue here is  where to place him on the field.  Scouts want to convert him to a WR, but he wants to play QB.  He doesn’t have the size but he has the skills.  The question is what team can convince him to sign up for WR but work him into the new hot wildcat offense.
• Most Likely to Cry on Draft Day – Percy Harvin (WR), Florida => I’m not making this pick because of his school of choice, but because of the dumb things since leaving UF.  He amazed the scouts and had many offensive minds thinking of a new, better Reggie Bush explosive player.  Now his outside the lines issues are coming to light and could drop  him farther than he originally was predicted in going.  Percy, you will follow the same footsteps as Matt Lienart. I hope to enjoy the quality television.  If it gets bad enough Percy, you can contact Andre Smith and discover you weren’t the biggest loser on Draft day.

I’ll post again after the draft to list all of the new Falcons as well as where my UGA Alumni are headed.   Draft coverage begins at noon and the 1st round starts at 4PM (not sure why this late other than to  keep the west coast people quiet).

Here’s the next set of reviews from my Netflix queue.

King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters Who would have thought a movie about Donkey Kong could be so entertaining? “People work because they can’t play video games.” [Rating: 4.5/5]	This Film Is Not Yet Rated This film is rated A for Awesome. I’m glad I now know that the ratings system means absolutely nothing. Thanks Hollywood. [Rating: 4.5/5]
Punisher: War Zone This is the best Punisher movie yet…wait, that’s not really saying much. At least we actually got the violence part this time. [Rating: 2/5]	Choke For those not fans or familiar with Palahniuk’s style or humor might have a difficult time swallowing this film. The book is better, but the movie stays as close to the pages as possible. [Rating: 3.5/5]
F**k: A Documentary It started out strong and was interesting at times but I did find that the movie lost itself at as time passed. [Rating: 3/5]	Get Carter Your typical 70’s movie (sex, violence, etc.) but Michael Caine is always fun to watch. [Rating: 3.5/5]

For those noticing a pattern, I am trying to switch between regular films and documentaries when I can.

Yes you are reading this correctly. I went to see Dragonball Evolution and I’m actually stating it publicly. Have you ever known that a movie would be terrible but knew if you got the right group of friends together that it could be decent? Well it worked for Snakes On A Plane so maybe it could work as well. Only problem is that most of the original viewing crew backed out at the last minute. Booooo on them.

Also for the record, I’d like to state that I am not fully knowledgeable of all things Dragonball.  I only  watched Dragonball Z when it was being shown on Cartoon Network and that is apparently a different era of time.  Go figure.

As for the movie, I must state that it was much  better than I had anticipated.  That could be due to the fact that I lowered the bar so low for this movie but it’s always nice when things end up surprising you.

There was limited action for a movie based on an action packed anime cartoon but there was enough (for those that arrive on time. 😉 )  The characters were campy and believable at the same time.  I mean, how realistic can you be with a big green alien fighting a young white kid that should have been played by an asian. Master Roshi (Chow Yun-Fat) was probably the best cast character but everyone else  worked well too.  I wasn’t truly happy with the white kid instead of an asian for Goku (Justin Chatwin), but I was able to get over that issue quicker than I thought.  Just think of a younger Keanu Reeves and you’ll be able to picture the look and dialogue for Goku.

Nice to see Jamie Chung of Real World fame getting the part of Chi Chi.  Ummm….I’ve probably already said too much.

Overall, it wasn’t worth the high price to see it on the big screen, but I’m at least up for renting any sequels they make. The rating below is a strong 3 out of 5.

[Rating: 3/5]

There’s a new member of my computer family. The new bundle of joy arrived on Wednesday afternoon and has amazed all of those that have seen it in person.  That’s right peeps.  I’m the proud owner of a netbook.

My original intent was not to get a netbook, but to possibly purchase a new mp3 player.  However, most of the ones I found were not better than my current Creative Zen Vision W.  I wanted my new player to be able to play music and videos as well as provide the basic ability to surf the web.  After looking at my options, it seemed that a netbook could produce the same results.  Therefore, I purchased the ASUS Eee PC. For those unable to click the previous link, here are the basic stats on it.

• 40GB Solid State Drive (No moving parts and less weight)
• 1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor
• 2 GB RAM (I upgraded during the purchase and installed myself)
• 6 Cell Battery (long life)
• Linux (Xandros or Debian variant)

Now before we go any farther, this technological wonder needs a name.  For those that are truly unfortunate to know me, understand that I name my pieces of tech based on, what else, but super heroes (Inventory =>  Old Desktop: Lantern1, Old Laptop: Gray Ghost, New Desktop: Black Panther/Lantern, Media Hard Drive: Cerebro).  The netbook’s name is so perfect that I love to share it.  Based on the color and processor mentioned above, I dub thee Black Atom. It is a combination name based on both Black Adam and The Atom. Bring on the geek jokes.

For those living in fear of Linux because you heard it is “difficult,” then this netbook is perfect for you.  Out of the box and fully charged, Black Atom runs like a charm.  It comes with all of the necessary software already installed and configured for your daily use, such as a browser (Firefox), Office Suite (StarOffice), Music Player (Amarok), Instant Messenger (Pidgin and Skype with web cam ability), Photo Organizer (Picasa) and Video Player (Kaffeine).  The interface is trimmed to not pose as a full desktop.  Some people may hate that, but I think for those non-techies it is perfect for what a netbook is used to do and it gives those techies the perfect ability to make the needed changes through back channels.

Now on to tweaking Black Atom to my liking (opening the Linux up more for my use, adding my music, installing extra software, etc.). I will leave you with a quick video I made of the machine starting up (notice the speed that comes with a solid state drive) and walking through the interface.

For future reference, here are a few great links that are helping me make Black Atom into the machine I want it to be.

• Tweaking for Beginners
• Icons, Icons, and More Icons (In French)
• Install Filezilla

I’m still doing the Linux thing at home and will be doing it in a mobile way soon (more to come later), but I figured I’d park my latest information concerning Linux for those interested as well as my own personal journal of my linux journey (A Penguin And Me Lives!). At least this way if I screw it all up in the future, I’ll remember what to go back and do.

• Databases – Due to work at my job and other online related work, I’ve come to join the simplest most powerful tool I know, the database. In my eyes a database should be created for anything and everything. It can be as disposable as a piece of paper but as powerful as the information contained within it. It holds my music habits as well as posts for this site. At work if I get frustrated by the more powerful Excel commands, I’ll offer to throw everything into a quick database to run queries against. I’m lazy and don’t feel like giving more of my mind to Microsoft at the moment.

  Overall, I’ve found that the best GUI tool available, for me at least, is DBVisualizer. It works on Windows for those interested and is free. Yay, free. Most repositories should have it available for quick install. I did encounter an issue when trying to start the program initially after the install. It would fail every time. Thanks to the internet, yet again, I found that I needed to modify the “my.cnf” file and comment out the “skip-networking” line. With that simple change, I was up and running with ease.

• Application List – From the beginning of my work installing Linux at home, I’ve kept a application list document that helps me keep track of what I use daily and what I need to install to keep everything running smoothly. This application list is not distro specific.

  I’ll continue to update it as I go for those, other than me, who are interested.

• Amarok Scripts – In a previous post, I mentioned writing a simple script to turn Amarok into my own personal alarm clock. Maybe I should have saved time and performed more research because someone built it before me and a billion times better. I feel so small now. WeekAlarm has a better interface than my script (mine had none) and the configuration parameters make it much easier to setup and control.

  I even found a good Amarok script that works with my IM client, Pidgin (see below).

• Pidgin Plugins – There are many different IM clients available (Google Talk, Skype, MSN, Yahoo, etc.) and I’m certain many people have accounts on all of them. Having 4 applications open that perform the same task is just annoying in my eyes. That’s why I use Pidgin. Not only does it work across multiple clients, but it is extensible in the same way that FireFox and Amarok are, via scripts or plugins. As mentioned above, I have a Pidgin plugin, called MusicTracker, that will update my IM status with whatever is currently playing from Amarok. Since music is huge to me, this is kind of nice and easy for me to share. However, the best plugin for Pidgin is one that comes by default. This plugin, Text Replacement, is my biggest tool in my ultimate goal of scripting my life away. Out of the box, it helps with the general everyday corrections that one commonly needs while sending messages online. By adding on top of that, you can basically turn four letter word into a complete sentence that you type 20 times a day. As an example, I use Pidgin at work and have the following text replacement scenarios setup (Text:What To Replace Text With).

  ATL:Atlanta, SFO:San Francisco, LAX:Los Angeles, FWD:Forward, FWDD:Forwarded, PLS:Please,HA3:Ha ha ha.

  I usually add a few more each day because I can’t stand typing all of these out every time. It may be my OCD taking over but I’d say it helps to speed up my typing.

Oh yeah, for those also interested, Waldo has been found.

…To Zambia.

As the press release states, my good buddy David is leaving the country. I’m not truly sure why since it is in such perfect shape now, but that’s a different story for a different day on a different site.

In order to aid in the extradition transfer of this wonderful American and great guy, he is calling on the help of as many people his voice, his brother’s voice, and any one else’s voice can reach. You could even get a cool t-shirt out of the whole deal.

If you have the time, if you have the funds, if you have anything you can do to help, take the time and effort to help however you can. Please use the information contained on the press release for donations or best wishes.

Feel free to join the Facebook group as well.

Thanks in advance and did I mention the press release that you should read?

Eye of the Tiger I do not have.

Late last year, a few people noticed that I had a raised bump located on my left eye. After much prodding from the girlfriend, I finally made an appointment to see what the issue was. Here‘s a quick photo of what I looked like during this period. You can easily notice that something is up with my eyes. Of course, this was only after a second bump appeared under my right eye. It turned out that the bumps were styes. These can be ordinary for some people, but mine were not in ordinary locations (on my left eyelid and under my right eye). After countless drugs and steroids (I’m a user and abuser), I chose to undergo a minor procedure to have them removed because they were irritating my eyes and killed my “beautiful face.”

I’m not going to lie. The procedure hurt. A needle is used to inject the substance to numb the area around my eye. It’s an intense burning pain that lasts about 5 seconds. Normally I can just make a tight grip to get beyond most pain, but this was a different type altogether. Anyway, all other aspects of the procedure were quick and painless and I was on my way. Now, on my way meant I was Pirate Ben for the day and looked like I had just lost a fight to my girlfriend.

For those interested in the gross and disgusting, here is a quick link to some youtube videos showing the procedure being performed. I highly recommend the squeamish turn away (this means you Will). Even I was disgusted and I had already gone through the procedure.

Check out the Pictures section for the after shots of my eyes.

Overall moral of the story? Take Care Of Your Eyes!

Here’s the next set of reviews from my Netflix queue.

Wal-Mart: The High Cost Of Low Price Yeah, this movie pretty much killed any chance that I will go back to Wal-Mart. Shame on the Waltons. Shame. [Rating: 4/5]	Little Britain – Season 1 Disc 1 Not as good as the episode I saw on HBO while I was on the road but it was your typical British comedy. [Rating: 3/5]
Appaloosa Best Western I’ve seen since 3:10 To Yuma. Of course, it is the only Western I’ve seen since then. Ended well though. [Rating: 2.5/5]	A Streetcar Named Desire “Can’t you hear me yella. You’re putting me through hella. Stella. Stella!” Damn you Simpsons. Ruined my ability to…to… [Rating: 3.5/5]
Heat I felt like I was watching TDK’s bank heist but a long drawn out version of it. And was I the only person not to be in this movie? [Rating: 4/5]	How to Lose Friends & Alienate People Simon Pegg is great even in not so great movies. “Orlando, you used to be English.” [Rating: 3/5]