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July 20, 2003 by A.J. Wood

Movie Review – Bad Boys II

WOW. Some cool car chase sequences in this film. Maybe there weren’t terminator cyborgs or albino ninjas with cool sunglasses, but the driving was intense, the bodies were rollin’ and the explosions were BOO YA BABY!!!

Bad Boys II makes no reference to its predecessor, we’re dropped head first into the action. As far as a character timeline it’s hard to be certain if the movie takes place eight months or eight years from the last film. Sure the plot is held loosely together and maybe there could have been more witty banter, but lack of action this film does not have. There are plenty of gun battles, car chases and they still had the time to throw in Martin Lawrence tweakin’ his own nipples. In fact, one of the chase scenes reminded me of an old Jackie Chan flick.

As with Pirates of the Caribbean, the special effects didn’t distract from the action at hand. There are some great “bullet time” sequences which captured some pretty gruesome action. Was the movie realistic? Probably not, but like Monday night wrestling this film had you cheering on the good guys as they kicked ass and made the bad guys feel the pain.

Grade: B+ (Why they chose Dan Marino to cameo I have no idea)

in Arts/Media 3 comments

June 7, 2003 by A.J. Wood

Tattoos 101

I posted this once on a forum and dug it up `cause I’m tired & lazy tonight. The images in this post are of my tattoos, and for all the newbies out there here are the Do’s & Don’ts when getting a tattoo:

1. Don’t Get A Tattoo On A Whim.
Sure it’s a cool idea now, but what happens tomorrow when there’s no peer pressure from your drinking buddies or that gal you decided to impress is dating someone else? Maybe a tattoo isn’t as permanent anymore, not with laser removal surgery, but stop and think – Do you really want to pay twice as much to have a tattoo removed as you did to get it in the first place? Not to mention the time involved. Also is the Tasmanian Devil what you want to show off when you’re 65 swapping war stories in the old folks home?

“Heh, I remember the time I got drunk and those buddies of mine had No Entry tattooed on my butt!” Ooh, now there’s a cherished memory.

2. Ask Around, Find A Reputable Tattoo Shop.
Not all places are built the same. Before you just walk in and say “Ink me!” make sure you know something about the shop. Get recommendations from friends who’ve had tattoos done, look at an artist’s portfolio, check to see if they use disposable needles and have a clean shop. A good shop won’t tattoo you if you’ve been drinking (thins the blood, takes longer to ink & heal) and don’t be surprised at the number of bad shops that are out there. (I remember a chain of shops that were closed in Detroit due to the spread of Hepatitis from dirty needles). That being said I would never get a tattoo done in another city I was just visiting.

3. OK, So You’re Going For It, Now What?
So you’ve found a shop and you’re going to get inked. Have you given some thought to what you want? I did mention that this was permanent right? Are you getting color work done or just black & white? Will your piece be filled or just an outline? Depending on what you choose, be prepared for more than one trip to complete your tattoo. Generally a color piece can take two days as you’ll be outlined & shaded first, then the color will be added after your skin heals a little. Make sure you ask about the inks. Organic inks are not as bright, but some people (myself included) are allergic to synthetic inks.

4. Where Should I Put My Tattoo?
That’s up to you. If you are work or opinion conscious then you may opt for a place that can be covered like you back or upper arm. Generally the more muscle in the spot the less pain you will feel. Anything close to bone, i.e., toes, knuckles, base of spine, will feel like your funny bone is being pinched. As you can see, I’m literally covered in tattoos, but nobody knows as I generally wear a shirt & tie for corporate gigs. I do get weird looks the first time someone new catches me at the lake… LOL.

5. I’ve Been Inked, I’m Done Right?
Nope. Immediately following the procedure you’ll be instructed to keep the tattoo moist. You can use Vaseline or any Vitamin E ointment so long as you don’t let the skin get dry. You tattoo will have an embossed look and your skin will feel like it’s been sunburned when you touch it so you’ll probably wear loose clothing for a few days. (Take this into account when choosing your location as it would suck not to be able to sit down in those capri pants, cruisin’ while your ass heals) If you don’t take care of the tattoo then you might end up ruining what you just paid for. I had a friend who couldn’t stop pickin’ at his arm after having a wraparound tribal done. It looked nasty after only one month, because he scratched it so much that it was uneven and broken in spots.

In summary, some quick descriptions of my tattoos: #1 The face & heart-skull represent love & loss and the dragon symbolizes wisdom. #2 The cat-face represents passion & creativity, the hawk is ambition, the Indian woman forgiveness & the warrior represents honor. #3 This back piece was meant to represent what I’ve learned from past relationships. The dragons are representative of my persona. The image on the left shows how sometimes I dominate the relationship and smother my partner, while the image on the right shows how my partner takes advantage when I’m too distracted by inner turmoil. The wizard was done by a different artist and while it anchors the piece, it was not part of the original concept.

June 6, 2003 by A.J. Wood

Bloggity blog blog…

Well, my attempt at humor fizzled out the other night and I never really did express my opinion on the whole blogging thing. Now I know what you’re thinking, “Oh God, does EVERY blogger have to chime in on this topic?” Isn’t that the point? There are hundreds of thousands of blogs each unique in their personality, but essentially redundant in the theme of their content. Whether it’s political, personal, thought provoking or bland there’s sure to be somebody else who’s thinking, feeling & typing similar content. Each of these blogs exist as a microcosm, some post into a void while others enjoy the benefits of community.

The thing I find interesting is I’ve yet to meet someone who reads blogs that doesn’t actually write one of their own. This common thread would lead me to believe all bloggers share similar motivations in their writing. As Dawn pointed out there is no right or wrong way to write a blog and I absolutely love this entry by Da Goddess which makes it clear the blogosphere will be here with or without you. Don’t forget Ryan stated twice now it’s all bullsh%t anyways.

I have to admit when I first started blogging I was too focused on receiving reader comments. I would get pissed if I posted something and then days, weeks, months later someone else would post the same thing and they got a bazillion comments. It wasn’t until I really decided what compels me to blog that I could enjoy it for what it is. My reasons for blogging are simple –

I enjoy capturing my thoughts of the moment, navel gazing is always fun when you can see where you’ve been.
This website allows people I don’t see everyday to peek into my life occasionally.
I enjoy taking photographs and sharing them on the `net.
I have discovered I enjoy writing and constant practice will only improve my abilities.
(I aspire to write as well as Ryan McGee & The Hosemonster)

I once sent an e-mail to Tony Pierce asking him what makes a good blog. Frankly, he said, “Ultimately the best way to look at the blog is worry about good content first and public attention second. Even the best sites don’t get a lot of comments.” Let’s be honest blogging is a selfish endeavor. Unless you’re running a charity site, you can’t claim “I blog for the people!” that sounds quite silly. If comments are what you are after you may be better off joining a really good forum or join a blog community site with authors of similar interest. Don’t worry about losing readers because you may find yourself gaining new ones.

Finally if you figure out how to get people to comment AND comment often, document the process and sell it for tons `o money.

in Editorial 13 comments

May 27, 2003 by A.J. Wood

Weekend Recap…

Pardon the misspellings and poor grammar, but I’m still waking up (who am I kidding, F7 spell check coming right up). Before I kickoff the weekend recap, it appears Cyn had a guest poster Friday & Sunday. The direct post links seem to be down, but look for guest post #1 & #2 as I’m still chuckling.

Well the weekend was an adventure. I have MANY pictures to go through and I intend on sorting sometime today amidst all the chores Michelle & I left undone before heading out of town. As I mentioned Saturday night, we spent the weekend in Austin. It was Jamee’s birthday Sunday and our good friend Amy flew down from Michigan to join in the celebration. I met both Jamee & Amy while hangin’ out at Michigan State (no I never actually attended, I just got drunk there on many an occasion). It had been a couple of years since Amy’s last visit so it was quite the birthday treat. Here’s a quick recap of our weekend:

Thursday – Amy flies into Dallas from Detroit. We grab dinner for three at Applebee’s and toss back some Perfect Margaritas.

Friday – Michelle, Amy & I drive to Austin. Except for the two hour delay trying to get out of Dallas, the drive is mostly uneventful. Sorority screams and high pitched squealing ensue after arriving at Jamee’s place. The birthday celebration has officially begun. After settling in and hugs followed by more hugs, the five of us (Amy, Jamee & Scott, Michelle & I) make our way to 6th street which is the club district in Austin. As it was Game 3 of the NBA playoffs, we just had to start off the evening at a sports bar. Amy & Jamee went next door to a brewery after dinner while Scott, Michelle & I watched as the Spurs took Game 3 away from the Mavericks.

We took our victory celebration over to the Ginger Man and joined what was now a large group of people wishing Jamee happy birthday. From the Ginger Man we moved on to Poly Esters for some disco dancing & karaoke. Needless to say it was a long night which ended with my recap of Game 3 at 3am.

Saturday – For some reason everyone slept in pretty late. The day didn’t begin until Noon and required massive amounts of coffee as motivation. Jamee’s friend Juliet offered to host a crawfish boil (yes, new experience for me too). We packed the truck and drove out to Lake Travis where Juliet has the most AMAZING house overlooking the lake (this is me green with envy). Scott labored all afternoon preparing 100lbs of crawfish. By the end of the night Juliet was walking next door to ask her neighbors to come and take a few pounds of leftovers. Never has such a small party gorged themselves so thoroughly. The evening wouldn’t be complete without some fireworks and a small brush fire.

Sunday – Jamee’s birthday!!! Woo Hoo!!! While still a late morning, we managed to pull ourselves together and head out to Hamilton Pool. This by far was the highlight of the weekend. Yup, Michelle & I are only jobs away from moving out of Dallas. The park only allows 75 cars in at one time so we had a bit of a wait before we were able to enjoy the pool. Unfortunately, we arrived in the late afternoon, so we didn’t have time to really take in the scenery. I snapped off some quick pics along the trail to the water, but next time I’ll get some better photos. After lounging in the water we drove out to the Salt Lick Barbecue for dinner. WOW! Can you say tasty eats? On a Sunday evening we had ourselves a 45 minute wait, but it was well worth it. GINORMOUS portions of ribs, brisket, pork, chicken with side plates of potatoes & coleslaw – YUMMY! Oh and if you’re ever out that way, the Salt Lick is BYOB.

Now I know what you’re thinking – you did manage to watch the Spurs game Sunday night right? Well, fortunately Michelle is ALWAYS prepared and although dinner did not include a TV, she did manage to bring her headset radio. In-between drinks and the occasional morsel she spouted out game scores for Scott & I. You’d think after gorging ourselves two days in a row that the food coma would have set in quite nicely. Seeing as it was Jamee’s birthday we left the Salt Lick and moved on to Lake Austin for drinks at the Hula Hut. We sat outside drinking “fish bowls”, Michelle announcing game scores while I took pictures of the ducks and Jamee & Amy caught up on all the latest gossip.

We closed the bar out and briefly thought of going back to 6th street before heading home. Jamee & Scott fired up the “ghetto tub” and we had ourselves one last night cap before passing out… err… well Michelle & I had one last drink. Rumor has it the birthday girl &amp company stayed up until 4am, hence the slow moving and hangovers the next morning.

Monday – Yeah, I know what you’re thinking – Why didn’t YOU stay up partying `til 4am? Well seeing as how a 3-4 hour drive absolutely sucks with a hangover; I figured I’d make the smart play for once. It was fun pouring Amy into the car and watching Jamee attempt some for of morning conversation in-between sips of coffee. The drive back to Dallas went quicker than we anticipated and Michelle & I dropped Amy off in record time for her flight home.

So there you have it. I’ll get to the pictures later and hopefully post them today. But first I’ll go wake up Michelle and get some stuffed french toast for breakfast.

in Editorial 1 comments

April 24, 2003 by A.J. Wood

they say size doesn’t matter…

Katie mentioned that perhaps I’m getting a little out of hand with all the pictures of scantily clad women so I thought I’d whip up a peace offering.

(Yes, I know her comment wasn’t serious)

I say for all the marketing surveys that tell impressionable young girls that their bodies aren’t perfect (breasts are too small, hips are too big, etc) there are actually some of us that don’t fall into that trap.

You know what’s sexy? CONFIDENCE. Would you want to be with the guy in the picture over there? (I didn’t ask would you sleep with him) I totally dig Michelle NOT because she poses for pictures like this, but for knowing that model isn’t a better person because of her appearance. In fact, it was Michelle’s idea to do that photo and it was the model “Nicole” who hesitated just a bit. How can tall & leggy compare to arms like this? Michelle is my Jennifer Garner.

Don’t fall into the hype. There will always be somebody with more money, larger breasts, a bigger dick, more athletic or brains like Einstein. Capitalize on your strengths, be confident in who you are and if the other person can’t love you for that then they aren’t worth your time. I might not be John Holmes, but Michelle certainly isn’t with me for my financial status.

UPDATE – The votes are in for Katie’s Two Lies & One Truth game.

in Editorial 2 comments