GEARS OF WAR... On Sunday, I played this game on one of my friends’ Xbox 360, and it kicked ass!! Totally addictive (it took my mind off the fact that I was this close to getting Kobe Bryant’s autograph at the Fiesta Lakers event in Los Angeles earlier that day... More on this in a future blog). So not only was the commercial for the game that was aired on TV last Fall memorable, because of the fact it used Gary Jule’s "Mad World" song as the background music, but the game itself had to be so darn entertaining that I’m now thinking of buying an Xbox myself. Just kidding... I’d rather use my money on buying movie DVD’s and going to strip clu—Nevermind.



But seriously though, Gears of War rules. I’m glad New Line Cinema is planning to adapt it into a film. Rock on!

SPIDER-MAN 3: The final trailer... Go HERE to watch the last preview to this May's upcoming blockbuster film. Venom is finally shown in this trailer, as well as some cool footage of the aerial battle between Peter Parker and Harry Osborne on the glider. You'll notice that there aren't that many shots of Sandman in this video, but that's because his story was already featured in the teaser and the first full-length trailer. Anyways, sling on! Or whatever one would say to, um, Spidey.

PARMAN’S PAGE Update... Recently, I updated my Artwork section with tons of new pics. Check ‘em out! Two of the latest additions are the Battle of Hoth image above and the Grail (from the comic book series Wetworks) drawing below. Yes, I actually drew those. I’m kinda amused that I was once capable of creating such awesome artwork. Back in high school, I might add (next year is my alma mater’s 10-year reunion, just to show you how long ago that was)! In fact, much of the artwork on that page was either drawn during high school or junior high! God, I rock!! Shameless arrogance aside (you know I was just joking above), I obviously had lots of free time on my hands, haha. Anyways, as I said, check ‘em out! That is all.

PHOTO OF THE DAY... Yesterday, I stumbled upon this U.S. Post Office-sponsored mailbox shaped in the form of R2-D2. It was near a Taco Bell located across the street from the Warner Brothers studios in Burbank. FYI, this is the 30th Anniversary of the release of Star Wars (Episode IV: A New Hope, that is). As you can tell, I took this pic with my, um, trusty camera phone.

"There’s no reason why we can’t be civil." Funniest line in the movie, if you know what was going on in that particular scene. Anyways, I watched 300 on Friday (in IMAX, I might add), and in terms of what I thought before my opinions were slightly tarnished by the reviews I read on RottenTomatoes.com, that movie kicked ass! Excuse me for sounding like a sadistic SOB, but the way that all the slaughtering of the Persians were portrayed on screen, was pure masterpiece. Okay, I may be exaggerating a bit...but the Battle of Thermopylae sure looked awesome! The biggest highlight took place during the first clash between the Spartans and the Persians. There was a long, continuous shot of King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) mowing his way through the enemy, and in slow motion we watched him easily dispatch Persians left and right on his path (see pic above). Again, excuse my sadism (and cheesiness...as well as repetitiveness), but it was poetry in motion watching the Persian hordes getting slice-and-diced so effortlessly by Leonidas and Company. Pure masterpiece. And I’m sorry, but the movie wouldn’t have rocked as much if we didn’t see soldiers getting impaled by spears so clearly on the big screen. Thank you, visual effects. The actors playing the Spartans were actually jabbing at nothing during filmmaking (obviously)... The unlucky Persians who felt the wrong end of the spear were added digitally during post. And don’t forget that earlier shot in the movie where we see those Emperor Palpatine lookalikes—err, Mystics—watching that Oracle (Kelly Craig) gyrate while predicting the fate of Leonidas’ army, if it confronted Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) and his forces. Did you know that shot was filmed underwater? Awesome. 300 made $70 million in North America alone on opening weekend (while the film itself cost 'only' $65 mil to make)?? It’s a masterpiece, I tellz ya. So what is my opinion now that I read some of the reviews on Rotten Tomatoes? I forgot.



EDIT: Did anyone watch tonight’s episode of The Simpsons? That Lord of the Rings spoof with Bart and Lisa in that cardboard castle was pure, um...masterpiece. Might as well overuse that word before I end this entry. Later.

Since early February, I was keeping track of a bird (which is part of the family Trochilidae... Eh, screw it. I'm talking about a hummingbird) that was nesting in my backyard. I took photos, which you can check out here. I know, I know... Not exactly the same as posting up pics of hot import models (click here for that), but whatever. Kinda cool tracking the progress of the chicks as they matured from little hatchlings to full size, um, hummingbirds that eventually left the nest (that, and the amount of bird feces that accumulated on the leaves around the nest over the past month). Makes me want to get a job at National Geographic or the Discovery Channel or something, haha. By the way, did you know the typical hummingbird can flap its wings from 15 to 80 times per second, and have a heartbeat as high as 1,260 beats per minute? You know you find that amusing. For more info on this avian, visit Wikipedia.

BLACK SNAKE MOAN... I saw the film last Friday, and it was actually pretty good. Especially if you're a Christina Ricci fan, haha. Kinda interesting how Justin Timberlake went from being a member of a defunct boy band group to becoming a respectable actor (while Britney went from a pop sensation who made irritating songs to a mom trying to impersonate Sinéad O'Connor). And was it intentional that Samuel L. Jackson did a second film in less than one year with the word "Snake" in the title? Maybe not. And you're not watching a real Sam Jackson movie if he doesn't say "motherf--ker" at least once in the film (unless it was a Star Wars prequel). Black Snake Moan continues the tradition. This Friday, prepare for glory! The movie 300 comes out that day.