Friday August 29, 2008.
Hello, fellow readers, this is the Claw, writing the weekly address of my own personal musings with poltics, current events, technology, entertainment, etc.
As I woke up, we learned that Senator McCain has chosen Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska as his VP running mate. In light of former President Bill Clinton’s speech on running as an unknown, as well as Senator Obama’s failure to choose Hillary Clinton as his VP candidate (I predicted that he would choose her), John McCain is going after the “she vote” by selecting a first-term unknown governor of a large state with a small population. Perhaps he picked her to influence Congress on ANWAR? Who knows? But I’m sure the Republican Party is just as surprised as anyone, although this could backfire given the qualifications stated above.
Speaking of conventions, I only saw parts of the Democratic National Convention that took place in Denver (I wish I would’ve gone to the one in Los Angeles in 2000, but I was out-of-state at the time). I noticed that during Hilary Clinton’s speech, there were a bunch of camera shots aimed at women. All I can say is that Hilary said what needed to be said: Health care, War in Iraq, Bad economy, etc. It was nothing too special, really.
I finally got a new laptop computer! Woo-hoo! It has 4GB RAM, 320 GB of hard drive, 1.83 GHz duo CPU processor (Intel Centrino), NVIDIA 8800M GTS graphics with 512 MB, and Windows Vista 64-bit. In other words, I got a gaming computer in par with an Xbox 360… and it’s a laptop computer! Now I don’t have to worry about the wiring in my room anymore. I can now play Call of Duty 4, Gears of War, Elder Scrolls IV, Mass Effect, BioShock, and others that I would not play in my previous computer.
The bad side of it was the setup and some compatibility issues with some of my games. It took almost the entire weekend for me to install all my programs I had in my previous computer. Also, since it’s a Windows Vista 64-bit, I was not able to install Star Wars: Jedi Knight because the game is 16-bit (don’t mistake the “bit” lingo with the 1990s video game consoles because it’s not the same). I thought this was pretty much b---s—t, because I thought that all programs from previous OS’s would be compatible. There is a compatibility mode that allows you to install a program using previous OS’s, but it wouldn’t work on this particular one. I also had to reinstall my printer using software from the Internet as opposed to a CD that I had… also B.S.
So I think this laptop computer will treat me well for a long time.
I saw the movie “Henry Poole is Here” (Yes, the official site is on MySpace) in the theaters yesterday. I really wanted to like this movie. The performances are powerful and sincere. Even George Lopez surprised me with his performance as a no-nonsense, yet compassionate priest. But the message of the movie is this: if you believe that something can really heal you, even blindness and a death bed, then you’re all healed buddy. Of course, the movie does show that, but I’m not so sure it can do that in real-life. No one in their right mind, at least amongst Christians, wants to be the Doubting Thomas, but he may have been up to something when he said “If you don’t show me proof, then I won’t believe.” Of course Thomas was proven wrong, and Jesus says blessed are those who haven’t seen yet still believe. I’m not sure that Jesus would apply to something as an image of a wall, which was the subject of conflict in the movie. We’ve seen a lot of stories of images, though I have yet to see perform a miracle on physical ailiments. The closest thing I’ve seen to that is alternative medicine, and that has still yet to be proven as real science. So I’m gonna give this mini-review**1/2 out of ****.
I went to my 10-year high school class reunion. I was surprised on how many people actually remembered me as well as the amount of discussion we had throughout. It was small and intimate, but it was satisfying. If you have a 10-year reunion coming up, I say you should go, with reservations. I say that because if you were not involved in your school, and just didn’t do too well overall, then it’s best if you don’t. But if you enjoyed your school, then I say go for it, even if only 15 people are there. To me, it was worth it.
Whew! There were a lot of happenings this week, more than I anticipated, but this is my last week of summer vacation before I start working again next week. Ciao!
