Terminator Vs. Ringwraith

Written and Directed by Arnold Lee

The Terminator (aka Ahnuld) was minding his own business when all of a sudden a Ringwraith appeared in his path.

The Terminator asks,"What do you want?" "The Ring," replies the Ringwraith. "Now listen to me very carefully. I have no ring. You may be confused with my metal alloy. I'm a cybernetic organism. Living tissue over a metal endoskeleton," says the Terminator.

The Ringwraith grumbles and says,"Then, I must kill you to get the ring." The Terminator replies, "What is wrong with your eyes?" And with that insulting question, the Ringwraith raises his sword in striking position.

"Chill out, dick wad," says the Terminator. The Ringwraith swings his sword at the Terminator and the following battle ensues.









"Hasta la vista, baby!," says the Terminator. "You have been terminated."

Black. White.

I started watching a new reality series being aired in the US called "Black. White." It's one of the best reality shows I've seen as it attempts to answer the question, what is it like to live in someone else's skin?

The show is a six-part documentary from Emmy® Award winning producer R.J. Cutler and actor/producer/writer Ice Cube. "Black. White. examines race with an extraordinary approach by putting new faces on an African-American family, the Sparks, and Caucasian family, the Wurgels. Through the transformative power of make-up by Academy Award® nominated make-up effects artist Keith VanderLaan (The Passion of the Christ), the Wurgels become black and the Sparks become white, which challenges their beliefs and core values in ways they could have never imagined. The make-up process for each family member took 3 to 5 hours for every day of transformation." - Yahoo TV.

Both families live together in a home in Tarzana, California. They go about the day doing daily things in communities they would have never spent time in. The black family, tries to act white, and the white family, tries to act black. It is a chance to give the white family, the Wurgels, a dose of what it is like to experience racism that black people have to deal with day to day in America. It also gives the black family, the Sparks, an opportunity to understand where the white family is coming from in a real and personal way instead of what they see on TV or in daily activites. The episodes are tension filled as both families try to understand each other's culture and a lot of stereotypes are being broken due to ignorance and naivete.

I was so amazed at the transformation and how difficult it is to assume roles they would have never thought of taking on. I've watched three episodes and I'm so hooked. I can't wait to watch the next three and see how these families change.

Rose, the girl from the white family, the Wurgels, has had the most change so far in terms of understanding race and how we can learn from each other's culture. It's funny seeing her trying to act black as a white girl. She took this all-black poetry class and many of the guys and girls were confused because of the way she carried herself. They've never really seen a black girl talk and act the way she does. It's hilarious.

It's striking to see how racism is more prevalent in our parent's generation. The days Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr. took a stand on racism happened not too long ago. I can see how my generation is going to look a lot different than our current situation. A lot of the kids these days don't care whether you're gay, black, white, green, or blue. That's really cool and this show emphasies that there is till a lot more work to do in breaking down stereotypes.

The series is not aired in Canada, but you can download them if you know what I mean.

Peace.
The Sparks BEFORE.
The Sparks AFTER.
The Wurgels BEFORE.
The Wurgels AFTER.
Here's the link to the website: http://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/originals/blackwhite/main.html

Arctic Astronaut

I wrote a 90 multiple choice exam this morning for a Meteorological Observer position I applied for with the Canadian government. I was invited by Environment Canada to write the exam and it was pretty challenging. I think I passed. The next step is getting an interview. It's a longshot because only one position is offered and I'm sure hundreds have applied. But just got to try, wait, and see, eh?

The actual position is pretty cool. If hired, I would basically gather meteorological data, observe surface weather conditions, and maintain meteorological equipment. It's a two-year contract based in Stony Plain, Alberta and for a few months at a time I would work in the arctic at a research base in a place called Alert, Nunavut. It's the most northerly inhabited settlement in the world (close to the North Pole). They have bi-weekly deliveries of food, supplies, water, etc. The research base has it's own generator and there's a small team up there on a rotational basis. It's like being an astronaut. My dream job would have been an astronaut, but this position I applied for is pretty close to it.

I'm still waiting to hear back from the Canadian Coast Guard which I believe I have more of a chance of getting accepted into the college. We'll have to wait and see. I'm much more optimistic this year and it'll be exciting to see what God has planned for me.

Peace.

Self-Portrait

I finished my last midterm exam (number 7...phew) this morning. It was Statistics...a joy, but I get a week off for Spring Break next week to chillax. There will be a lot of late nights, sleeping in, watching hockey and movies, and playing my PSP. I was playing around with my Sony Cybershot today and took a self-portait, just in case you forgot what this handsome devil looks like.

Peace.

They don't ask, they enroll you

I received a call this evening from my credit card company telling me about these benefits I can get for a small monthly charge. The thing that bothered me was that the sales rep didn't ask me, but assumed I wanted the benefits by enrolling me and asked me to confirm my information. I was like "hold up!" and I told him to just send me the information and I'll think about it. He was quite pushy and said I was missing a great opportunity yada yada...and I can cancel anytime. I told him I don't want to enroll in something I don't know much about and then receive the info 30 days later. He kept pushing and I was like look man, just send me the info and that's it.

I've been noticing companies are assuming you want things and just want to confirm your info so they can enroll you. I think that's a sly tactic and pretty rude to not ask you if you want it and confirming to enroll before they actually ask if you want it.

Another thing I noticed was the sales rep had a pretty thick Indian accent. I wonder if he's calling from India because I saw this pretty good documentary about Indian call-centre employees on CBC. I know American credit card companies have set up call-centres there so that they can save money and increase their profits. They actually have their employees go to accent reduction classes to sound more American. Interesting stuff.

Peace.