In Dinner for Schmucks, We're the Schmucks

Can you spot the schmuck?

On Sunday evening, I had the unfortunate experience of seeing Dinner For Schmucks.  It is a wholly predictable plot where the characters have no depth and throughout most of the film the "jokes" are merely cringe inducing moments involving an over the top Steve Carrell.  I spent most of the movie just feeling bad for Carrell's character and angry at Paul Rudd for being a tool.

On top of it all, the audience doesn't really get a chance to connect with any endearing character with the possible exception of the eccentric artist Kieran, played by Jemaine Clement of Flight of the Conchords fame, who gives the film its only few funny moments.

This movie is based on a French film, Le dîner de cons ("Dinner for Dolts"), which probably was a far superior film if only because the American version is so bad.  Do yourself a favor and slam your head against a wall if you want to see this film.

What Happened in Inception: Part II

After another day of pondering about what happened in Inception, we're going to dive in a bit more into the film.  Not since The Matrix have we seen a film that questions what is real and what exactly is reality.  While The Matrix was much more explicit about this point, Inception is much more subtle, and confusing.  Once again, this contains spoilers so if you haven't seen the film *SPOILER ALERT*.

What the Hell Happened in Inception?

First of all, Inception is an excellent movie.  Go see it.  Now.  I'll wait.  It is about a team of people, led by Leonardo DiCaprio, who can extract information from people while they are dreaming.  From there the plot is very complex and deserves a very big *SPOILER ALERT* for those who haven't seen the film. 

Okay, so what actually happened?  At the end of the film was he awake or dreaming?  Here are some thoughts on what happened.

1. Cobb was dreaming at the end of the film.  This seems to be a fairly accepted consensus by those who have seen the film.  The big reason is that the children have not aged and they are wearing the exact same clothes.  They are also in the same positions that they are in the other instances we see them in.  Also, the top (which may or may not be relevant - I'll explain later) does not stop spinning.  We see it wobble, but right before the final cut, it straightens up.

2.  Cobb's wife did kill herself.  We can use Cobb's wife as a dream indicator.  Whenever we see his wife, we know for sure Cobb is dreaming.  We never see her during "reality."  Ever.  Since Cobb messed with her internal workings by planting the idea that her world was not real, she could never escape from thinking that she was in a dream which haunts Cobb's unconscious.

3.  Cobb's totem is not the top.  We see in Cobb's explanation of what happened to his wife that the top was her totem.  Since it was not his, he does not know what is real and what isn't.  He needs Ariadne to guide him out of the dream labyrinth.  She convinces him to let go of his wife and ultimately forces him to let her go by shooting her inside of Cobb's limbo.

4.  The whole thing could be a dream.  Or not.  It depends on where you want to draw the line.  Since Cobb's totem is not the top, he does not know for sure if he is awake or not.  The viewer is left to make that distinction.  I personally choose to believe that the mission was real (unless there is some convincing argument otherwise) and that Cobb just did not really wake up but made a world where he could be happy.

Leave a note and express your opinion!

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: No, It's Not a Tramp Stamp.

I recently read Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, over a long weekend and it is well deserved of the hype.  Titled "Men Who Hate Women" in its original Swedish, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo slowly draws the reader into a world of intrigue and murder. 

22 TV Themes in 7 Minutes

These guys perform 22 TV theme songs in 7 minutes.  They hit a lot of good shows so just watch and you'll find out.  If you don't know the song, they were kind and put the show's name right there on the screen.

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Ireland! Guinness! Sheep!

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I'll be taking you on an armchair trip to Ireland.  Ireland is a beautiful country located just west of Great Britain.  As far as one could tell, the dental care in Ireland has not been affected by this proximity.

Tito, the Nissan Note

We will begin our trip in Shannon, where much of the air traffic from the west arrives.  The Shannon airport is small in comparison to other airports, but it serves its purpose.  For this tour we will be driving a Nissan Note, code named "Tito," which is a manual transmission four-seater compact (and the driver sits on the right).  As we land, there is a light, but constant drizzle which is typical of Ireland. 

Dabbling in Photography: Episode 2

A while back I walked around Columbus (or as it's sometimes called C-bus, or simply the 'Bus) and took some photos of the buildings.  I still don't know a whole lot about taking pictures so if they are blurry or something, blame incompetence. 

The arch outside the library.

Lots of shadow, perhaps a different time of day would work better.

First Christian Church has a halo, kind of.

Many a perp ends up here...

An alleyway in downtown.

Adventures in Lisbon

Lisbon at dusk

Lisbon is an amazing city with loads of history and incredible sights.  Ancient Lisbon was originally built by native peoples on two hills overlooking a sheltered bay leading the Tagus River out to the Atlantic. Lisbon became a trading port with the Phoenicians and Greeks and it Greek it was known as Olissipo.  Later, in Roman times, Lisbon was part of the Carthaginian empire and after the defeat of Hannibal in the Punic Wars, the Iberian Peninsula became a Roman Territory.  After the fall of Rome, the Iberian Peninsula was invaded by Germanic tribes and controlled Lisbon until the Moors invaded in 711 from North Africa.  In 1147, the Moors were expelled from Lisbon and it was returned to Christian rule.  In the Middle Ages, Portugal began to explore and in the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries Lisbon was a major center for the Age of Discovery expeditions.  As a premier nautical power and pioneer in the world Portugal and Lisbon were the beneficiaries of this exploration and much of Lisbon's art and architecture reflects this golden age of the Renaissance.

Why Is Everything Always Set in New York or L.A.?

The Chicago River at night, perfect for TV

Chicago is the "Second City," but on television, it is definitely behind New York and Los Angeles.  But I wanted to know just how far behind, so I looked up the current television lineup for all the network shows and determined their settings (I did not count reality shows, news programs, or game shows).  Many shows locations are unknown, such as The Simpsons, but others do have a setting.  What I found out was somewhat startling:  Chicago tied for dead last in the number of shows set at a location.  Here is the location list from most to least:

1. Los Angeles/California: 11 [90210, Brothers and Sisters, FlashForward, Melrose Place, NCIS: Los Angeles, Numb3rs, Private Practice, The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men, The Mentalist, Trauma]
2. New York/New Jersery: 9 [Mercy, 30 Rock, Castle, CSI: NY, Gossip Girl, How I Met Your Mother, Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU, House]
3. Virginia/D.C. : 4 [Bones, NCIS, The Cleveland Show, The Vampire Diaries]
4. Miami/Florida: 3 [Cougar Town, CSI: Miami, Miami Medical]
5. Pennsylvania: 3 [Cold Case, Three Rivers, The Office]
6. Indiana: 2 [Parks and Recreation, The Middle]
7. Chicago: 1 [The Good Wife]
8. The Rest Where a Location is Known: 11

To me, this was very surprising as Chicago is the third largest city in the United States as well as having previously had a fair number of shows set there (Perfect Strangers, Family Matters, Chicago Hope, ER, etc).  What was perhaps the most startling to me was that Indiana had two shows set there.  Granted they are both in fictional towns, but come on, the Hoosier state rarely gets any TV love so I'm counting this. 

Remember When Phil Hartman Played Regan on SNL? Me Neither.

Those guys on Funny or Die managed to pull of a reunion of the last six presidents even though two are dead.  Listen for a cameo voice over by Ron Howard for extra points!

Funny or Die's Presidential Reunion from Will Ferrell

Adventures in Photography: Messing Around Without Knowing What I'm Doing

Recently, I've been dabbling in photography and I realized a couple of things when looking at the photos I've taken: 1.  I don't know what I'm doing and 2. The Puggle is a predominant theme.

Disapproving Puggle...

Puggle in the sun

Colts pride!

Bounding in the snow

Funny ears

Ok Go.... Watch This Video

You may already know the band Ok Go for their one take video on the treadmills, but this one is far more impressive. The timing involved for their Rube Goldberg machine is amazing and that alone makes the video worth watching (it also helps that it is a good song). If you are curious about how this was made you can check out Wired for details.

Cool Video of Tokyo at Night

tokyoglow-low from Nathan Johnston on Vimeo.

More TED Talks

As Puggling has posted before, TED puts on various presentations by famous (and not so famous) folk about very interesting topics, usually aimed at improving the world we live in.  Here is one such talk by a former Microsoft guy who has a HUGE variety of interests.  Topics range from penguin poo, to nuclear reactors to T. Rex bones.  Enjoy!

For a more serious topic on what needs to be done.  Bill Gates (you may have heard of him) gives a presentation on energy usage.

Too Fat to Fly? Yes, Fatty Deluxe, Yes.

Many fliers have had this same experience.  You arrive at your seat only to find that half of it is taken over by a person who is best described as "rotund."  What can you do?  You paid for a whole seat and only get half and the other half is taken up by mounds of Crisco.  Well, the debate over what to do with fat fliers has been mainly focused on the rights of the tubbo in question and there are two sides to this story.  Yes, it does suck that a person is too big to be in one seat, but the person in the seat next to them is equally, if not more, inconvenienced by the offending bulge.
Admitted fat guy and flier, Kevin Smith (who also is a director of funny films like Clerks and Mallrats and un-funny films like Jersey Girl), was recently kicked off a Southwest flight for being too fat.  This case highlights some of the complexities of this issue.  Smith claimed he could get the armrests of the seat down which means that he could fit in the seat.  This is an acceptable method of determining who is too big to fly and who can get their tons of fun on the plane.  If you can get the armrests down, you don't impede on the other passengers.  This is actually a serious issue.  Overloading an airplane can mean difficulties in take-off and landing and seriously hamper fuel efficiency.  As American waistlines have expanded, airlines have noticed that they use significantly more fuel.  So, how to know if you're too fat to fly?  Here is a simple list that will let you know:

1. You have been featured on a newscast, but they only showed you below the neck.
2. Your choice of fashion is consistently in the "muumuu" category.
3. You use one of those Jazzy scooters at Walmart and you are not handicapped.
4. You regard a flight of stairs as "daunting."
5. You have had multiple diabetes scares.

If you fit one or more of these above, you need to purchase two (or more) adjacent seats on an airplane and probably warn the pilot to really put the pedal to the metal on take-off because you Shamu, are a fat ass.