CONSISTENCY... I know that the "C" word is mostly a chick thing (or am I being sexist?), but I'll just write about that here, anyway. Kinda funny how I can try to be outgoing and friendly most of the time, and she could be the same way when we first run into each other at some place (not gonna get specific). But by the end of the day/night, she's go quiet, especially around me, and I'm like, WTF? Either someone else pissed her off during the day/night that she doesn't feel like being "outgoing" or "friendly" anymore...or she just felt obligated to act all friendly to me only at the beginning (i.e. being FAKE). But right when she knows she's gonna leave, she could care less about saying 'bye' or whatever. Or it's a half-hearted 'goodbye'. Again, what the fuck? I mean- WTF? Why the complete 180? Are you just trying to lead me on? Keep in mind this has happened a lot recently. If that ain't inconsistency, I don't know what is.

I can be inconsistent too, but like what one of my siblings told me yesterday, don't "burn bridges" with people. But hell, I did that a lot in life, so what makes you think I won't let history repeat itself? What goes around, comes around, y'all.

Please DON'T call me "Par"... Just wanted to point out that generally, I don't mind it when people call me by my last name. However, this usually only relates to co-workers who I could care less about anyway (just kidding) and long-time friends. But when it comes to someone who I'm really fond of (I'm obviously talking about a girl), being greeted in this impersonal matter by her is actually an issue. In fact, it ticked me off when she called me by my last name (which took place yesterday and Saturday night). Sure, to you folks it's a trivial matter...but when someone you like addresses you as if you're just an acquaintance and nothing more, it's actually pretty disheartening. In fact, I was actually afraid that this was gonna happen. Since I see her a lot at work, obviously, she's gonna be just like my other co-workers and start to call me "Par". I would let her know how I feel about that, but then I would have to elaborate and say something like, "Hey (name of girl). I'd prefer it if you call me "Richard" instead...as I really like you and feel really bad that you address me in such an impersonal matter. Please don't make me feel bad and refer to me by my last name. Thanks. Oh, and do you want me to buy you a drink?" Yea, that won't work. Presumably. Anyways, I'd say more...but I might start repeating myself. Want to know who I'm talking about? It's in the first journal entry I posted for August. I won't link to it.

ONE MORE THING: I'm well aware that people I know who stumble upon this Blog will probably start calling me "Par" just to piss me off. Haha...very funny, you rat bastards.

WAR... The film is surprisingly good. Obviously not good as in 300 good, but the plot was actually interesting. There was a nice twist during the story. Although...the ending left something to be desired. Sure, it was ambiguous, but still— I think a happy ending would've actually sufficed here. [SPOILER: Another nice twist would be for Jason Statham and Jet Li to team up at the end after Statham finds out Li was his "long-dead" partner all along (which was the actual twist in the movie)...and they become one Triad/Yakuza ass-kicking duo.] Oh well.

SUPERBAD... For those of you who haven’t seen the film yet (and are planning to), I just couldn’t resist the urge to list some of the most hilarious lines in the movie. So DON’T read on! Unless you want to be spoiled. Note: These are the lines that stood out to me after watching the movie (twice last weekend... The second time was for free). Only one of these quotes were looked up online, as I didn't know the exact wording.

-Seth (after Evan’s mom walks away): "I am truly jealous that you got to suck those tits when you were a baby."
-Evan: "Yea well, at least you got to suck your dad’s dick."

-Seth: "Look at those nipples."
-Evan: "They're like little baby toes. It's just not fair that they get to flaunt that stuff, you know...and like, I have to hide every erection I get."

-Seth (commenting on Fogell's vest): "You look like Pinocchio."
-Evan (to Fogell): "Take that vest off. You look like Aladdin."

-Officer Michaels (as he, Officer Slater and Fogell watch surveillance footage of Fogell getting punched by a thug who robbed the liquor store Fogell was trying to buy booze at): "You took that hit like a champ!"

-Seth (talking about Jules to Evan): "She wants to fuck me. She wants my dick...in and around her mouth!"

-Seth (to Evan): "You know how girls say 'Oh, I shouldn't have gotten shit-faced and fucked that guy at that party', we can be that mistake!"

-Jules (after she asks Seth if he could buy her booze for her party): "You scratch my back. I scratch yours."
-Seth: "Well the funny thing is, Jules, my back is located on my cock."

-Evan (commenting on Fogell's fake ID): "McLovin? What kind of name is that? Are you trying to be an Irish R&B singer?"

-Seth: What? "Making her tits small is like slapping God across the face for giving her a great gift!"
-Evan: "She got back problems, man."

-Officer Slater (to Fogell after checking his fake ID): "You're an organ donor. My wife wanted me to become one."
-Officer Michaels: "It's just like a woman... Even when you're dead, she wants to tear your heart out."

-Officer Michaels (to Fogell regarding a comment made about the TV show "CSI" and semen): "If the man ejaculated before he punched you in the face, we'd have a really great shot at finding him."

-Seth: "No one's gotten a handjob in cargo shorts since 'Nam."

-Officer Michaels (after he and Officer Slater raid Jules’ house party): "Prepare to get fucked by the long dick of the law."

-Officer Michaels (to Officer Slater after he breaks into the room where Fogell is getting laid): "You cock-blocked McLovin!"

-Officer Slater (to Fogell): "I am truly sorry that I blocked your cock."

-Becca (straddling Evan in bed while wasted): "You have such a smooth cock."
-Evan: "Thanks. If you were a man, yours would be too."

-Becca: "I'm so wet."
-Evan: "Yeah, they told us that would happen in health class."

-Becca (after getting frustrated that Evan doesn’t want her to do him ‘cause she’s drunk): "Why are you being such a bitch?"

(You would understand the magnitude of that question if you saw that scene and realized how crazy Evan was for turning down Becca’s numerous “propositions”.)

-Fogell (as Nicola starts sucking on his finger in bed): "I have a boner."

-Jules (after Seth, completely wasted, stumbles forward and headbutts her before collapsing to the ground): "Whaaat the fuuuck??"

-Becca (the day after she got wasted at Jules' party): "I didn't vomit on you, did I?"
-Evan: "No, it went past me. I was like, stay away!"

And last, but not least:

-Fogell: "I AM McLovin. Chigga, chigga YEA!"

There are A LOT more hilarious lines in the movie, but I won’t ruin those for you...

HELL'S KITCHEN... I was rooting for Rock to win. Glad he won... At least Chef Gordon Ramsay definitely picks substance over style as the winner (Heather over Virginia in Season 2, that grunge star-looking dude Mike over the, um, burly New Yorker guy Ralph in Season 1)...

Don't get me wrong though, I'm glad Bonnie reached the finals. How else can you ensure high TV ratings for your two-part season finale other than making sure a hot blonde nanny from Southern California becomes one of the last two contenders in the competition? Just kidding... Or ARE I? (Bad grammar done intentionally...)

WHERE’S STEVE JABLONSKY?? Part II: Continuing from this previous journal entry on the Transformers music score... There’s an online petition asking Paramount/Dreamworks to release composer Steve Jablonsky's work on compact disc ASAP. Rumors of its release date are all over the place—ranging from it being released this month to possibly coming out around Christmas.

Anyways, if you enjoyed the film's music like I did, here’s the petition (3,838 signatures as of this Blog):

http://www.petitiononline.com/tfmjabcd/petition.html

Courtesy of The Planetary Society (http://www.planetary.org)

PHOENIX DVD: A MEMORIAL... Now that the Phoenix spacecraft is safely en route to Mars, I think it is okay to mention the significance of some of the 250,000 names that were inscribed onto the disc. Like what was done with the microchip aboard the still-operating Stardust spacecraft—which contains the names of 58,000 soldiers who are also listed on the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C.—the names of those who perished in recent national tragedies are now onboard the Phoenix DVD. The 17 astronauts who lost their lives aboard Apollo I, space shuttles Challenger and Columbia (respectively) have their names on the disc... The names of the 17 sailors who were killed in the 2000 USS Cole bombing near Yemen have also been immortalized on the DVD...and last, but definitely not least, the names of the 2,000-plus victims of September 11, 2001 will also be part of an unofficial memorial on the northern plains of Mars. Unfortunately, due to time constraints (and the fact the list is still growing), the names of the 3,000-plus soldiers who have so far lost their lives in the Iraq war were not submitted for inclusion on the disc.


NASA JPL

On the other hand, the names of many noteworthy historical figures (obviously not to disrespect the people mentioned above) have also had their names submitted for the DVD. Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Jr., Gerald Ford, Pope John Paul II and even Gandhi are on a virtual journey to the Red Planet. On the contemporary showbiz side, Kiefer Sutherland (of the TV show, 24), Hugh Laurie (of the TV drama, House), their co-stars and a few other celebrities (even Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz of I Love Lucy fame) will hopefully find their names on the fourth planet from the Sun in May of 2008. How do I know about all this? I just do.


NASA / Lockheed Martin

That's what makes these public outreach efforts by NASA so interesting. Other than having our own names aboard spacecraft that will literally head for the stars, it gives people the opportunity to submit the names of family members, friends, other close acquaintances and respected public individuals for inclusion on what amounts to virtual monuments in deep space. Dawn and Kaguya (a Japanese moon mission formerly called SELENE) will hopefully follow suit next month (though Dawn should’ve already been in space BY NOW. Oh well... Kaguya is scheduled for launch on September 13). In terms of future opportunities to have our names flown to the heavens, the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover will launch in 2009, and the Juno spacecraft will lift off for Jupiter in 2010. Having a public outreach effort for MSL should be a given...as every Mars lander since the 1997 Pathfinder mission have had names of thousands of people included on them [the names that were submitted for the 2001 lander mission (which got cancelled in response to the loss of the 1999 Mars Polar Lander at the Red Planet), which eventually got resurrected as Phoenix, were instead placed on DVDs that are now on the landers for the Spirit and Opportunity rovers...which are still operating on Mars more than three years after they landed in 2004]. Anyways, that is all.


NASA JPL

Have a safe journey to the Red Planet, Phoenix...as you are headed for a date with destiny on the Martian northern plains. There, you will slowly be entombed by ice months after you study Mars’ North Pole...and the DVD on your flight deck will await discovery by future astronauts who venture to the Red Planet. Hopefully, that’ll be around 30 years from now, haha. Unless the Vision for Space Exploration completely falters by then. God forbid.

PHOENIX Blog Entries Archive:

May 8, 2007
July 28, 2007
August 3, 2007
August 4, 2007

BARRY BONDS HITS HR #756... How many home runs would he actually have if he wasn't doped up on- Oh wait, I already asked this question here. Move along... move along...

UPDATE: Rest in peace, Hal Fishman (August 25, 1931-August 7, 2007)... I remember watching the 10 PM KTLA news broadcast when I was a kid (more than 15 years ago)...to see if Fishman reported on any space-related news item that night. Yep, those were the days. I wonder how much he was paid to make that cameo in Spider-Man 3?

TWO YEARS AGO, TODAY... I drove down to San Diego to go skydiving for the first time. A totally kick-ass experience... My two brothers have also gone skydiving (one went to San Diego, the other to Perris Valley... I went to both, haha), while my sister is the only sibling who didn’t leap out of an aircraft two miles above the ground. I guess she ain’t as crazy as us. Oh well.

BARRY BONDS HITS HR #755... How many home runs would he actually have if he wasn't doped up on 'roids? Or did I just get nominated for the Most Obvious Question of the Week Award? Haha.

NASA / Regina Mitchell-Ryall and Jerry Cannon

DICK PARNO IS HEADING TO MARS! Well... Not literally, of course. But my name is! Around 2:26 AM, Pacific Daylight Time today, a Delta II rocket carrying the Phoenix spacecraft successfully lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Now in deep space along with the Mars lander is a mini-DVD bearing the names of 250,000 people...including that of Yours Truly. I’ll go into more details about this in a future Blog. But for now, I just want to say..."Woohoo!" Next up for launch: Dawn (onboard it is a small computer microchip imprinted with the names of more than 360,000 people...including Yours Truly)...which should be heading back to its launch pad to prepare for liftoff to the Asteroid Belt around mid to late-September. Also launching next month is Japan’s Kaguya space probe...which will head to the Moon with an aluminum sheet carrying the names and messages of more than 412,000 people...including Yours Tru— Well you get the idea. Back on topic... Godspeed Phoenix (I wonder how many times I've used that term?)! I’ll be rooting for you to safely touch down on the Red Planet next Spring (May 25, 2008, to be exact). Later.




NASA / Lockheed Martin / The Planetary Society



PHOENIX Blog Entries Archive:

May 8, 2007
July 28, 2007
August 3, 2007

TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT! Exactly 6 hours from now, the Delta II launch vehicle carrying the Phoenix spacecraft will hopefully rocket away from Florida's east coast, sending Phoenix on a 10-month voyage towards Mars. More on this tomorrow! (Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann)

PHOENIX Blog Entries Archive:

May 8, 2007
July 28, 2007

DON’T MIND ME... Just posting up a Blog that isn’t about space or movies, haha. Anyways... Last night, I worked for the first time with Susie L.—who is the sister of one of my long-time co-workers (who is also a film school alumnus who graduated from Cal State Long Beach in 2003). I’ve known her for the past two years, and I think we get along pretty well (particularly on MySpace). She’s Chinese, tooootally attractive (in fact, she models! Even a blind man wearing a handkerchief could see that one coming) and she has a great personality. Oh, and she already has a boyfriend...but they ALL have boyfriends—so we'll overlook this point. Unfortunately, all the other factors will make working with her excruciating...'cause obviously, I’ll care more about talking to her during the shift than getting work done. That’s not a good thing. As long as her brother is on the same shift as me, Susie will also be there. She’s been working in this company since June (for stupid reasons, her job at Cal State Long Beach—she’s walking in the commencement ceremony there next Spring—released her from employment a few months ago. Those bastards), and it’s supposedly gonna be a part-time gig. Which brings up the dilemma— Will I feel bad for her eventually leaving this job to work somewhere else? Or will I feel relieved? She actually worked in this job a few years ago, but supposedly left because her parents either didn’t want her to work during that time...or because one of our supervisors spooked her into leaving (I would be pissed if it was that last reason). Dunno... I’ll find out the day her bro shows up to work and she doesn’t.

Susie left for the Hawaiian island of Oahu more than an hour before this posting. She’s gonna be there for a week with her boyfriend and his family. Have fun, Susie... And don’t forget to keep track of the things you do on the last two days of your trip (inside joke, haha). Oh, and remind your boyfriend to bring home some volcanic rocks or sand, ‘kay? Just kidding. Her boyfriend's cool. Luckiest guy in the world. Do research on Hawaiian rocks and superstitions if you don’t know what I’m talking about, folks. That is all. I always end my journal entries with that sentence. How 'bout, um... End communication?


Ako ibigin niya. Siya ay maganda.