And the Beat Goes On?

David Halberstam passed away recently, in a car accident. If you don't know exactly who he is; you're probably among the majority. Halberstam was a journalist and a great writer.To be honest, I only got into him because of his basketball themed books (Playing for Keeps: Michael Jordan and the World He Made) but that expanded out to his other works and over time, I came to think of him as someone whose career I'd love to emulate; however poorly....

The Host (2007)

I watched this movie in the most beautiful movie theatre I've ever been in. They played opera before the showing, the popcorn was perfect, and the stage/theatre was just amazing. La Paloma Theatre in Encinitas, San Diego. Check it out.I thought the movie was pretty good too. A bit slow but every time the pace slacked, the monster would arrive. That's the best part about the movie; they didn't skimp on showing the (very obviously) CGI monster. I...

Grammar Style

Ever wondered how to properly use apostrophes, colons, semi-colons, and hey, punctuation in general? Check out this short primer titled, "How to Use English Punctuation Correctly," and become a pro. I've always been confused by colons and semi-colons and now that I know how to use them, I can't stop. I've become an over-punctuator; after a lifetime of being restricted to commas and periods, I'm now making up lost time. I used to score well in high school grammar class simply because I winged it; now I actually know why and what I'm using punctuation...

Buy, Sell, or Hold

"It is said that we are all three different people: the person we think we are (the one we have invented), the person other people think we are (the impression we make) and the person we think other people think we are (the one we fret about).You could say it would be a lifetime's quest to reconcile this battling trinity into a seamless whole. Maybe, but for the time being I am convinced that, in Kurt Vonnegut's words: you are what you pretend to be."-The Gentle Art of Selling Yourse...

Cast Off

Planning some summer getaways? Not sure when to purchase those tickets? Well, here's something that might help. Farecast uses a secret algorithm (or really smart people, whichever) that looks at trends in airplane tickets. Based upon the results of that research, the site will advise you when to purchase a ticket and where to purchase it from. I myself am headed to quite a few places in the upcoming few months so this could be useful information.I'm...

The Fountainhead (1949)

I didn't realize the Fountainhead movie was adapted to the screen by Ayn Rand herself. She only did it on the condition that "not one word be changed." Typical, right?The movie isn't half bad actually. Gary Cooper and Patricia Neal are about what you'd expect as the main characters, and due to the style of the movie, all the dialogue (essentially ripped straight from the book) sounds somewhat natural. I don't think this movie could be made today...