Mute Math - Typical

Be blown away.

Everything is backwards.

Romeo and Juliette?

YES WE DID.

A Movie Quiz (as stolen from Ms. Meredith Beck)

1. Name a movie you have seen more than 10 times.

I'm not sure..... Probably A Muppet Christmas Carol, A Christmas Story, Jurassic Park, and I'm probably leaving a few out. The first two aren't necessarily because i absolutely love the movies either, it's just that we see them around every Christmas.

2. Name a movie you've seen multiple times in the theater.

War of the Worlds, I don't care, I liked this movie. Collateral, The Lord of the Rings (all three of them).

3. Name an actor who would make you more inclined to see a movie.

Steve Carell, Will Ferrell, Morgan Freeman, Christopher Walken, Dustin Hoffman, Johnny Depp, Kiera Knightly, Audrey Hepburn, etc.

4. Name an actor who would make you less likely to see a movie.

Ice Cube, 50 Cent, Ashton Kutcher, Tara Reid, etc.

5. Name a movie you can and do quote from.

Kung Pow!, Anchorman,

6. Name a movie musical in which you know all of the lyrics to all of the songs

Does Team America count?

7. Name a movie you have been known to sing along with:

Team America

8. Name a movie you would recommend everyone see.

This is a REALLY tough one. Maybe Godfather I or II.


9. Name a movie you own.

My proudest purchase was the Godfather trilogy


10. Name an actor who launched his/her entertainment career in another medium but who has surprised you with his/her acting chops.

Luda! I was seriously blown away by Chris "Ludacris" Bridges' acting ability.

11. Have you ever seen a movie in a drive-in? If so, what?

Actually I've seen many in a drive-in theatre. There's one about 30 minutes away from Toccoa that's so much fun to go to! The best movie I've seen there is Cars, but we also saw The Fantastic Four, Mr. And Mrs. Smith, etc.

12. Ever made out in a movie?

Hahahaha

13. Name a movie you keep meaning to see but you just haven't gotten around to yet.

Memento

14. Ever walked out of a movie?

I try to never walk out of a movie, no matter how much I hate it.... but we did stop watching I Heart Huckabees about halfway through it.

15. Name a movie that made you cry in the theater.

I cry for almost anything..... Finding Nemo made me tear up.

16. Popcorn?

Rarely. But with LOTS of butter.


17. How often do you go to the movies (as opposed to renting them or watching them at home)?

I try to go often, but don't. I probably see about one or two every few months.

18. What's the last movie you saw in the theater?

300. I'm sorry, although I'm completely biased because I'm a guy, I LOVED that movie. And I really wouldn't normally.

19. What's your favorite/preferred genre of movie?

Comedy, Suspense, Thriller, etc.


20. What's the first movie you remember seeing in the theater?

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: the Secret of the Ooze I think.

21. What movie do you wish you had never seen?

Grizzly Man.


22. What is the weirdest movie you enjoyed?

The Science of Sleep

23. What is the scariest movie you've seen?

Event Horizon.

24. What is the funniest movie you've seen?

Wow, this is tough. Probably one of these: Borat, Little Miss Sunshine, Team America, Anchorman, etc.

On Aging

I was flipping through a magazine, and found an article that dealt with scientists trying to find a "CURE" for aging.

Yuri Orlov in Lord of War says "I don't want to be remembered..... Being remembered means your dead."


And so on.




Now, I will go ahead and just state that I'm 21, so everything I say about getting old doesn't mean much. I still essentially believe that I am going to live forever and am invincible. Only occasionally will I realize the futility of living and how I could die from ANYTHING at ANY MOMENT. And during those moments I'm absolutely terrified.

But why is there this intrinsic fear of aging? I know it's partially because of the impending doom ahead, that every second of life is just a countdown to our potentially painful death. But aging does mean something else, something far more incredible: WE'RE ALIVE.

Chiquita Working With The Terrorists!

AHHH!!!! Our bananas are tarnished!!


First, the article:

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070314/terrorism_bananas.html?.v=5


Chiquita to Pay $25M in Terror Case
Wednesday March 14, 11:11 pm ET
By Matt Apuzzo, Associated Press Writer Federal Prosecutors Say Chiquita Officers Did Business With Terrorist Organization WASHINGTON (AP) -- Banana company Chiquita Brands International said Wednesday it has agreed to a $25 million fine after admitting it paid terrorists for protection in a volatile farming region of Colombia.

The settlement resolves a lengthy Justice Department investigation into the company's financial dealings with right-wing paramilitaries and leftist rebels the U.S. government deems terrorist groups.

In court documents filed Wednesday, federal prosecutors said the Cincinnati-based company and several unnamed high-ranking corporate officers paid about $1.7 million between 1997 and 2004 to the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, known as AUC for its Spanish initials.

The AUC has been responsible for some of the worst massacres in Colombia's civil conflict and for a sizable percentage of the country's cocaine exports. The U.S. government designated the right-wing militia a terrorist organization in September 2001.

Prosecutors said the company made the payments in exchange for protection for its workers. In addition to paying the AUC, prosecutors said, Chiquita made payments to the National Liberation Army, or ELN, and the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, as control of the company's banana-growing area shifted.

Leftist rebels and far-right paramilitaries have fought viciously over Colombia's banana-growing region, though the victims are most often noncombatants. Most companies in the area have extensive security operations to protect employees.

In Colombia, authorities reported Wednesday that nine geologists searching for gold were captured by the FARC. In addition, the army confirmed that four contractors hired by Colombian oil giant Ecopetrol were missing near Colombia's border with Venezuela.

Colombia has one of the highest kidnappings rates in the world. Arrangements between companies and either guerrillas or paramilitaries are not uncommon, but it is impossible to know how much money is paid each year.

"The information filed today is part of a plea agreement, which we view as a reasoned solution to the dilemma the company faced several years ago," Chiquita's chief executive, Fernando Aguirre, said in a statement. "The payments made by the company were always motivated by our good faith concern for the safety of our employees."

Chiquita sold its Colombian banana operations in June 2004.

Details of the settlement were not included in court documents, but Aguirre said Chiquita would pay $25 million in fines, which it set aside this year. The company reported the deal to the Securities and Exchange Commission. A plea hearing was scheduled for Monday.

The payments were approved by senior executives at Chiquita, prosecutors wrote in court documents. Prosecutors said Chiquita began paying the right-wing AUC after a meeting in 1997 and disguised the payments in company books.

"No later than in or about September 2000, defendant Chiquita's senior executives knew that the corporation was paying AUC and that the AUC was a violent paramilitary organization," prosecutors wrote in Wednesday's court filing.

Company attorneys made it clear the payments were improper, prosecutors said.

"Bottom line: CANNOT MAKE THE PAYMENT," the company's outside counsel advised in February 2003, according to an excerpt of a memo included in court documents.

In April 2003, company officials and lawyers approached the Justice Department and told prosecutors they had been making the payments. According to court documents, the payments continued for months.

The document filed by federal prosecutors is known as an information. Unlike an indictment, it is normally worked out through discussions with prosecutors and is followed by a guilty plea.

Associated Press writer Toby Muse in Bogota, Colombia, contributed to this report.

Chiquita: http://www.chiquita.com

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First of all, I don't see how the Federal Government has ANY right to slap this fine on Chiquita when EVERYONE knows that the government has been shady at times.

And what do you guys think? I mean, it seems that sometimes you HAVE to work with the bad guys. For instance, beginning businesses in Moscow are ALWAYS visited by the mafia, offering "safety" or "security insurance." If you accept, and pay them regularly, you'll be fine. But if you don't, they can't be responsible for anything that might happen, including, maybe, a fire that happens just a couple days later.

See what I mean. Sometimes paying a "bad" group doesn't mean you're working with them--or you agree with them. But sometimes it's just what you have to do--like bribing a police officer in Moscow.

A Foray Into Podcasting

Well, I've been working on putting Rachel, Dana, and my Tuesday Evening TXR show online in podcast format, and it's taken me forever to figure things out here and there. But it's coming. If you're interested in listening, and can't tune in from 7-9 on Tuesday nights... just download it off of iTunes!

I know the demand for this is near non-existent, but I really want to try out making a podcast. And who knows.

My First Actual Promotional Video

Hey guys,

As Ive said before, I am now doing promotional videos for companies with Harris Communications, Inc. Well, here's the first one of (hopefully) many:




It's in th process of some small revisions, but I'm liking it a lot so far!

IT'S GETTING HOT IN HERE: SCRANTON STYLE

And here's another one for you.

Thanks Stephen, for showing me the best Office parody around.

Ahoy, Spring Break!!

I know Meredith has already posted this, but here's some joy to get your Spring Break off to a good start!






And a funken ring ("funken" is a German word; I don't know what it means) is basically a ring that shoots sparks when wound up! I can't wait to have fun with that! :-D

In preparation for April Fools

I just ordered a Funken Ring!