Friday, June 29, 2007
Just a phone?
You know what I hate. I hate people who think they're too good for everything and who down talk people who say get excited about movie premieres, DVD releases, TV show season finales, video game releases, concerts, new albums. I hate people who think that getting excited about these things is a bad thing.
What I love is obviously the opposite. I love when people group together to go see midnight premieres of the latest Lord of the Rings installment. I love people who buy the super ultimate crazy hyper-extended platinum edition of the Matrix on DVD when they already own the gold plated edition. I love people who come to work the next day and say, oh my god - did you see the last episode of Lost!
It's not because I love these things that makes me love the people who get excited about it. I just love the fact that the people are excited about anything. Somewhere along the line, it became cool, or morally better to be apathetic towards these quote fluffy things. But seriously - screw that. These people are excited and positive about something, and they're generally happier people who bring you up and make you happier to. I tell you, I'd much rather hang out with those people than the downers.
So, why has this come up in my blog today - because of the hype of the iPhone. Today was a monumentous day for tech lovers as the most coveted digital product since, well the beginning of time perhaps, was released creating lines and lines of people.
On several blog posts, people would pass the lines and shrug lines like "all this for a phone? man these people are idiots?" Again, maybe the phone doesn't deserve this amount of attention. But who cares - it's the commotion and excitement that's so cool about it. The hype. The fact that people will camp outside stores for days is just all so positive and energizing.
For me - I don't care how fluffy the product is - I respect the fact that people get excited. Of course I'd question if they're were massive lines to buy this brand new bottle of water that features an added grain of salt - but I'd still respect the excitement and the commotion surrounding the event.
Similary - I don't care what your feelings on the iPhone (I think it's an absolutely brilliant piece of hardware), but don't shun those who spend days on end lining up to get one. 'Cause I guess in the end, if I didn't live in Canada and had $700 to spend, I'd be one of those people. And I'd probably have a blast being one.
Thanks for reading.
(image courtesy of Engadget.)
Thursday, June 28, 2007
iWish iWorked for Apple
So if there was ever a time you thought about a career change? One year ago might have been a good choice. And one year ago, you should have applied for one of the over 17,000 positions at Apple Inc.
A while back, during a "Town Hall", Steve Jobs wanted to thank his employees for all the hard work and thus, gave them all a free iPod shuffle. Fair enough, each one is only $79 and that's after markup. Pretty tame.
But now, during today's "Town Hall", Stever Jobs announced that once the hype and sales have subsided a bit (July), every Apple employee who had been with them for at least a year will be getting a FREE APPLE iPHONE! How crazy is that! Like this is probably one of the most, if not THE most coveted product to come out over the next couple of months - not to mention one of the most expensive - yet if you work for Apple, you're getting a free one in July. Man that's nuts!
I guess the ever so small downside is that Apple employee friends will have their iPhone first. But that's a small price to pay - especially compared to $500 or so US.
One of my buddies from back in my university days is one of the lucky ones and happens to work for Apple. Check out his website Give Me a Dollar Ottawa.
Thanks for reading.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
If you're gonna ride Dan-o, ride in style
So it's finally coming. After years of anticipation one of the most exciting events in my ilfe is about to happen. And oddly enough - I'm not talking about the iPhone (as amazing as that device is). Rather, I'm talking about the release of Michael Bay's Transformers.
I didn't have a lot of crazy treasured childhood memories, but Transformers was definitely one of them. I was fortunate enough that for a long time, my parents would take me to K-mart almost everyday to buy a new transformer. How cool was is to have a toy that actually acted like it did in the cartoon! Transformers were seriously probably the greatest toy of all time.
The show was half decent too - but what really sold me on it and what has truly kept me excited about Transformers is the 1980's Animated Feature Film. That was absolutely unbelieveable! I won't give any spoilers away, but everyone knows what an original, breathtaking film that was (I'm not exaggerating).
When news came of the live-action movie, there was of course nervousness running around. As we loomed closer, robot designs, Michael Bay's direction, Optimus Prime's lips and more put the movie into question. But now that we're only days away, the movie is shaping up to be one sweet ride.
According to early reviews, the special effects are supposed to be utterly mind-blowing and set a new standard - ILM does it again!
All in all, I'm super excited about this movie, and you should be too. If you haven't watched a trailer or have no idea what I'm talking about, be sure to visit the official site.
July 3rd is fast approaching.
Thanks for reading.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Fit To Live 2007.06.25
Sick sick day! (for those just tuning in, sick=good). Anyway, drink water and thanks for reading.
To Blog or Not to Blog
Hmmm, that really seems like a lazy title. So today, my buddy Arjay was considering starting a blog and asked me the profound question of what the appeal to blogging was. And although I had something to say - who's to say really what the appeal of blogging is?
There's really several reasons. I mean, for me - I think it's really the sense of little fame that I'll achieve from this blog. The idea that people are actually interested in what I have to say is always a nice feeling. When I get evidence that people I completely don't know are reading my blog - it always gets me a little bit excited. I think that's kind of the appeal of youtube too. People will post their videos for the little bit of fame they'll get for it. And really, there's nothing wrong with that. I think it's great that the internet provides a means that anybody's voice can be heard. Filmmakers, musicians, and even quote regular people who have something to say now have an audience.
I guess the other thing is that a lot of the time, I just have a lot on my mind and no one to really talk to - enter the blog. The nice thing about blogging, is that you can kind of just speak your mind without feeling the need to defend anything or fight for your beliefs. You just type, and people read. They either like or not. But you're never caught in a situation where you actually have to defend your point of view. It's a nice place to just speak.
The bonding's nice too. Think about it. You run into so many people in the world that you share common interests with. And when you find out you have that common interest with someone, you instantly feel a bond, a connection. And most of what I write about falls into that category. I was telling Arjay, it's like a comedian. Comedian's do a really good job of bringing light to situations that we all know - the basis of observational humour. We all know what they're talking about but they articulate it in words to make it entertaining and funny.
I guess that's what I kind of feel like as a blogger. I take situations that everyone knows about and articulate it in a way that's hopefully interesting. I mean that whole Klondike Big Cookie Sandwich posting - c'mon, I can't be the only person who loves that treat. But I'm probably one of the small percentage in the world that would actually right about it's perfection. And the other people in that small percentage will read it and say "Hey, that's so true."
I suppose other people have various other reasons for blogging. Some people have very personal diary style blogs. I've never found that super interesting. Of course you'll probably follow those blogs if they're family related, or if you have a crush on that person, or if you're just a really good friend who's interested in your friends' lives. But I found those blogs or more for the bloggers themselves. And that's totally cool - after blog stemming from the word web log, it just makes sense. It's just it never interested me in writing entries that detail my day to day activities.
Rather, I take something in my day to day activities and then turn it into something that might be interesting to read for others - not just my friends and family. For example, when I found out that Nestea Green Tea had more calories than regular Nestea - it was part of my daily activities, but I turned it into a "did you know" kind of article.
Basically, when it comes down to it - bloggers main blog for themselves. Or at least that's what I think. I basically blog for myself. I basically just speak what's on my mind. If other people happen to be interested in what I have to say - that's all the better. I'm not gonna pretend that the audience aspect doesn't play a huge part in the reason I blog - but again, the audience factor plays into a reason that benefits me. Kind of the no-selfless act theory.
So my advice?
Sites like Blogspot have made it so easy to start a blog. It's one of the main reasons I started. Because of this, really it's an awesome venue to get your voice out there, keep in touch with family and friends, or just keep a diary of what going on in your life (sometimes the greatest part about having a blog is going back to your old posts). If nothing else, it gives y ou something to do in your spare time.
I love blogging, there's nothing really else to it.
Before I go, all this talk about blogging I thought I'd give a shout out to all my fellow bloggers and tell you a little bit about 'em.
Black River Paddle Company
This is my buddy Chris' blog. It's basically the website to his Paddle company. Definitely check it out and support his business.
Canadian Civil Service Reform
This is my buddy Dave's blog which doesn't really update much, but I'm sure if you guys visit it enough, you can bug him to start posting.
Convoluted Coalescence
Andrew's blog. Andrew is one of my friend's who blogs about some pretty cool things (like random celebrity encounters) and other randomness in his life.
Joining the Masses
Alicia is a friend who I met purely through blogging - she's been nice enough to visit my site multiple times and drop me some comments. She updates nearly everyday, and has a lot to say.
Miscellaneous Debris
This is NIk's blog which hasn't been updated in awhile, but features some really cool photography that he has taken over the years.
Nancy and Lee's Amazing Belizian Adventures
This is a couple I know from my University days. They took a trip to Belize and diary'd (is that a word?) it on blogspot.
Nelson
This is a blog that was started by two of my good friends from back home, Aaron and Brodie. This is a blog that in the same realm as mine - basically random thoughts and feelings that we share with the world in a semi-structured article form.
So that gives you a taste of just what's out there - and that's only 7 out of 50 billion gillion blogs out there. Be sure to browse 'em.
So that's it. To blog or not to blog? Who knows, but when it comes down to it, it's a part of my life that I don't see going away for awhile. Thanks for reading.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Casey's Simpsons Quote of the Moment 2007.06.24
(this one's coming straight from the movie)
Marge: How did the pig's footprints get on the roof?
Homer: Spider-pig, Spider-pig, does whatever a Spider-pig does...
(...speaking of, you guys should check out the new trailer if you haven't yet. Here's the link.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Perfection
Now, I'll be the first to admit that I hand out the word Perfection quite a bit. Every year when a new 911 comes out, I call it perfection. And I've pretty much run out of examples. So maybe not. Maybe I don't hand out that compliment all that often. But it looks like I found another product worthy of my praise.
Every now and then you decide to splurge and indulge yourself with the luxuries of life. Whether it be buying over $100 worth of DVDs in one shot, or treating all your buddies to a shots at the bar (not that I'd know considering I don't drink) - it just feels good sometimes to just cross that line of morality and responsibility and indulge.
Me? What was my latest indulgence? Well, since I'm kind of on a workout program that has dietary requirements - my indulgence involves buying a high calorie treat for myself the other day. It was a nice summery day, and I decided to browse the ice cream freezer at 7-Eleven. I stumbled upon Breyer's Klondike Big Cookie Sandwich - and let me tell you - PERFECTION!!!!
Wow, this ice cream sandwich is pretty much as good as it gets. It features amazingly soft (but not too soft) chocolate chip cookies surrounding vanilla ice cream that has been marbled with hints of chocolate ice cream. The perfect amount of chill between the 2 perfectly textured discs of sweetness! Don't let the picture I put up fool you - there are no chocolate chips in the ice cream itself - that'd completely ruin the prefection.
480 Calories later I was quite satisfied and did not have the buyer's remorse - which I've been finding lately with junk food (which I guess is a good thing). But whatever, it was a deviant move from my diet, but was well worth it.
Be sure to try one yourself, even if it means you should walk to the store rather than drive. Thanks for reading.
Plastic Surgery
Alright, so if you've been following my recent posts, you'll know that I recently bought 3 box sets of DVDs - Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, and the Powerpuff Girls (yes, I neglected to mention that last one). Here's the thing. For about 6 years now, I've been collecting DVDs, and more recently Blu-rays - so my collection has definitely gotten up there in terms of numbers. Now, I've completely enjoyed this collection of mine, including all the hours of watching, the special features, the beautiful packaging, and such. But there is one thing that has constantly annoyed me - the plastic packaging! I realize it's an necessary thing to keep your DVDs nice and new - but seriously, the peel off the plastic you spend countless minutes trying to open the damn thing. What makes it hard is that you're trying to be careful not to damage the rest of the packaging at the same time. Then there's there are those security stickers that they have on each side which sometimes leave a terrible sticky residue.
Basically, there's a big hassle to opening your DVDs. Granted they're not nearly as bad as those hard plastics that can cut, but it's still a hassle. That's why this week, I was quite pleasantly surprised to find all three of my box sets packaged with an easy to open plastic system. Basically, it's plastic that just overlaps itself at the back, so you just reach under and rip it apart.
So, if I may - I'm sending a shout out to all DVD packaging companies to make it easier. Get rid of those stupid security stickers. No one steals DVDs anymore (they all just download them:)). And as for the plastic, just create this easy to rip overlap system. It'd save me previous seconds in my life.
Thanks for reading.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
September 18th is Doomsday
Alright, for those who've been reading my blog since the early days, I had a posting about the beauty of 2D animation. Specifically, I was praising the recent Marvel Animated Features, The Ultimate Avengers, The Ultimate Avengers 2, and The Invincible Iron Man. These were three great straight to DVD movies that deserve some recognition. Well, it seems that DC will not sit idly by while Marvel rakes in the fame and fortune - and I couldn't be more excited.
I recently, as in today, bought volume three of both the Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain TV series. I slapped in the DVDs and was delighted with a preview of DC's first animated feature - and what a way to start - they're releasing on September 18th (same day as season 6 of Smallville), a straight to DVD animated feature based on The Death of Superman! It's being called Superman: Doomsday and although only at the animatic stage, this is shaping up to be a sweet feature.
Check out the official site here.
Thanks for reading.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Blog Entry 2007.06.18
Alright, so as usual, an apology is in order. Actually 2 are in order. First of all, to my regular readers - I'm sorry for the lack of updates over the past week or so. As my fellow blogger, Alicia, guessed - I was shooting a short film again. We had 6 night shoots - which basically means we work from 7:00pm or so til 7:00am or so - so that leaves me really tired and unable to blog. So sorry for that - and thanks to those who have been checking in.
Second apology? After reviewing my past posting, the Top 10 Most Overrated Cars - I have to retract my statement about every lotus being overrated. They are actually nice cars and deserve the recognition that they have going for them. Or if they don't, they for sure don't deserve to be at the top of that list. What does? I'm not sure really, but you can be the judge.
K - so now that that's out of the way - I was wondering what I should write about today? Well, I thought I just may take the leap and actually just write about what's been hapenning in my life recently. I know that's a stretch for a blogger, but I'm just gonna have to do it.
Well, I'm not gonna talk about the shoot 'cause as exciting as it was - it's not really the kind of thing I could make interesting. So I'm gonna jump into some personal exciting news. My long time friends just announced that they're getting married. So a shout out to Tess and Iain. They're the kind of couple that you couldn't wait to get married. The kind of friends whose marriage you've been waiting for because all the other weddings you've been attending haven't been all that involving. I've actually been friends with Iain since kindergarten - so that's definitely chill. What's more - he's named me his best man - so that's definitely cool! Basically I'm pretty stoked about this wedding.
Video Games. Ah video games. Me and my buddy Arjay on Friday - after finishing shooting our films, had some time to hang out and we just had the itch to play some video games. So we rented ourselves an XBOX360 along with Fantastic Four, Forza 2, Call of Duty 3, and Fifa '07. And I gotta say, as fun as those were to play - they just didn't scratch that itch quite fully. So then today, we, along with our other partner in crime Chris, decided to pick up Gears of War. K - seriously - how amazing is this game!!!!! I can't remember the last time I had this much fun with a video game (well, actually i can, it was Guitar Hero, but nevertheless). The graphics are absolutely phenomenol, and the gameplay - oh man the gameplay. That "A" button movement is so brilliant, and the challenges they present are just so intense. No to mention the co-op mode - that has to seriously be the best part. I'm sure most gamers have gotten their hands on this not so hidden gem, but if you haven't do not deny yourself the pleasure.
Saturday night. Oh man Saturday night was a blast. Back where I was living for the last five years, I had a weekly gig at a bar playing acoustic shows for about 3 hours every saturday night. It was a sweet time to actually have a place I could regularly play. After I moved out here in October, however, I had nowhere to play. I was new to the city and it was just hard to get a gig anywhere. So I had been missing it sorely. Come last saturday, this house party popped up and I was invited to bring my guitar - so I did - and I played my heart out and it was amazing. I don't think I'd ever sung better, and the people there really enjoyed it. So that was definitely an amazing night. I was pumping out the Dave Matthews, Damien Rice, Blue Rodeo, and even snuck in an original tune. Just unbelieveable night.
Alright, so I guess that's really it. I'm gonna try to get back into the gym this week and potentially startup Fit to Live again. We'll see. Realistically it'll be happening earliest wednesday. The good news is, I've been losing weight over the shoot week anyway:) (maybe not the healthy way, but some way:))
Hopefully I'll be updating more frequently, but as for now, thanks for reading.
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Top 10 Overrated Cars
Alright, so I couldn't resist. In response to my posting about the Top 10 Most Underrated Cars, it got me thinking about the most overrated cars. So here they are, for your controversial pleasure. Thanks for reading.
10. Ford Mustang
9. Every Maserati
8. Every Bentley
7. Hummers
6. Chrysler 300
5. Mercedes CLS
4. Dodge Viper
3. Nissan 350Z
2. Every Jaguar (except the new XK)
1. Every Lotus
Casey's Mix of the Moment 2007.06.06
Alright, every now and then, and it's pretty rare, but you come across an album that's completely in the same mood. Some album's are praised for the variance in sound, but usually, when you're in the mood for music, you want one type of music. Luckily, their are some albums that are pretty uniform in feel - and they are great albums - Damien Rice's "O" and Teitur's "Poetry and Airplanes" are perfect examples. In celebration of the movie Once, I'm dedicating this edition's Mix of the Moment to the stars behind the brilliance that is the movie "Once". So today's mix of the moment is just the Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova album, The Swell Season. Do yourself a favour and buy this album. You won't regret it. Thanks for reading.
1. This Low by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova
2. Sleeping by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova
3. Falling Slowly by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova
4. Drown Out by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova
5. Lies by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova
6. When Your Mind's Made Up by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova
7. The Swell Season by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova
8. Leave by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova
9. The Moon by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova
10. Alone Apart by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova
Random Thoughts of Casey Li
Yeah, yeah, yeah, the sens lost - fans, suck it up. Be glad that your team made it to the finals at all, and it's not the end of the world that they lost. On a completely different note, let's think for a second. My blog since its inception - like before it was on blogspot, before it was on facebook, before it was on myspace, when it started out as a MS Word published webpage on my school server, it had always been called lyricsOFtheMIND: randomTHOUGHTSofCASEYli. But to be honest, and as my old roommate Aaron pointed out - there's hasn't been really anything random about my postings. They're all structured articles on my life and the world around me.
So I decided that today would be a day for actual random thoughts. So enjoy and thanks for reading.
-Once is probably one of the best movies I've seen in a long time, and it's soundtrack is some of the best work Glen Hansard has done.
-Why don't all iPods have the headphone jack at the bottom like the nano. Seriously - if you think about it, it makes so much more sense at the bottom - from when you hold it, to the way you'd naturally place it in your pocket - they should all feature the headphone jack at the bottom.
-Why didn't Futureshop or HMV have season 3 and 4 of the Cosby Show on the release date? I've been waiting for those box sets for a longtime.
-Does it mean you're getting old when you love the routine of watching the Leno after you brush your teeth but before you go to bed?
-If you're one of those people who's anal about keeping things clean and organized including your toothpaste, then you probably squeeze from the very end of the tube, and roll the tube up as you use it. Now, if someone messes that up, have you ever considered that you can fix it in 2 seconds just by leaving the cap on, and squeezing everything to the front. While we're on that topic - this doesn't work with the Colgate flip cap.
-Doesn't it suck that it justifiably makes sense that someone who fails then succeeds get way more recognition than someone who's succeeded all along?
-Why can't I write any songs that are nearly as good as Falling Slowly by the Frames?
-The iPhone is going to be one of the greatest gadgets on the market, and anybody who disagrees is probably just jealous of those who have one
-As much as I respect Steve Jobs' business saavy and his company, and products, I think I respect Bill Gates more as a person.
-Are Steve Jobs and his minions robots that are preprogrammed to say certain phrases? Case in point, anytime anybody mentions a feature of the iPhone, they always seem to word-for-word say "It's also the best iPod we've ever made".
-Why do I respect the craziness of soccer fans more than that of hockey fans?
-Why do people, including myself, like something, but then hate it when everyone knows about it?
-On that same notion, is it a form of insecurity when people say "I liked their older albums better" - aren't they really saying "I know them more than you do"?
-And on that notion, I think most of what annoys me most about people can all be traced back to insecurity
-Film buffs may dislike Michael Bay - but c'mon, his style is absolutely perfect for the Transformers movie.
-Let's give M. Night Shamylan a break - stop comparing all his movies to the Sixth Sense, and stop basing his movies entirely on the shock endings and realize that his movies are good for other reasons.
-I think some of the most underrated, or at least underacknowledged artists, are composers for TV commercials - no, not liscened pre-recorded music, I'm talking music that was specifically composed for the commercial.
-House is an amazing show, but it wouldn't be nearly as good without Hugh Laurie.
-For those of you who kind of enjoy weddings, but realize they're never really as fun as they're made out to be or should be - how could they fundamentally be improved? What radical ideas could make weddings truly fun for everybody?
-People complain about Apple releasing new iPods every several months - but seriously - it's not like after you buy an iPod, they release a new one, and you're all of a sudden mad that you have the one that you have - you still love the product you own.
-And while we're on that topic, why doesn't anybody get angry at any other company that does that?
-You know what's good - those little things that tech companies put on their products that are specific and don't apply to all, but if they apply to you their amazing. For example, Sony puts Memory Stick slots on their TVs - which only applies to Memory Stick camera users. If you don't have one, it's useless, but if you do have one, it's great! These little specific things don't make it annoying, they make it great.
-If you get an iPhone - would you be nervous about using it in front of people? Like, how could you casually use something like the iPhone without showing it off?
-There's so much that House says in the show that makes so much sense.
-Screw the disbelievers, LOST is an incredibly amazing show.
-Am I the only person who thinks Jessica Alba is overrated when it comes to looks?
-I'm pretty sure Samsung has surpassed Nokia as my favourite cell phone manufacturer
-Slider phones are the best form factor for a cell phone for sure - but even better was the pop-sliders that seem to have gone extinct
-I feel like I could keep typing, but I think I'll stop soon.
-I hate when people bring up things that they think they sound insightful about, when really, everyone knows that already. Example? I hate when people say things like "Reality TV isn't really real. There's a lot of staged stuff." - yeah, yeah, yeah, we all know that already.
-While we on the topic of Reality TV - I hate people who think they're too good for it. Like somehow they're better than the people who do watch it.
-Disney's The Weekenders is actually a really really good show. I know the target audience is young, but it's really entertaining. Not to mention Disney's Fillmore.
-If you haven't seen the movie "A Simple Plan", you really should.
Alright, that's it for now. Maybe this'll become a regular segment, not sure. We'll see. Again, thanks for reading.
Sunday, June 3, 2007
...just once
Alright, I'm sure you'll be reading a very similar entry on Convoluted Coalescence - but that's because what we're writing about completely blew us both away. I'm talking about the movie Once.
In short - take all the brilliant frames songs, lace them into an incredibly sweet and touching love story and you've got probably one of the greatest movies I've seen in a really long time. Along with Shopgirl and Eternal Sunshine, this movie definitely ranks among the best love story movies.
Here's the thing - I could talk ad nausea about how great the movie is - but I don't want to overhype it or nitpick at it. It's one of those all encompassingly good movies, that talking about any individual part kind of diminishes it's brilliance. So I'll just say this. Once is a great movie. Go see it. Nuff said. Thanks for reading.
Saturday, June 2, 2007
Top 10 Underrated Cars
Alright, so of course you have your 911 Turbo's, your Ferrari F430's, your BMW M5's, and even your Honda S2000's. Yes, most car lovers, and even non-car lovers agree on the cream of the crop cars. But there's a few cars that people seem to forget about that once they're announced, people put them in the back pockets of their minds and never talk about them again. Yet, when it comes down to it, they're excellent cars. Whether it's their value, their uniqueness, or their beauty, these cars deserve recognition. Of course when you bring them up, people will still agree with you that they are great cars, but for some reason when you ask people to name you their favourite cars, these never seem to come up. So, here I am, bringing to the public's attention once again, the top 10 underrated cars:
10. Cadillac CTS
9. Infiniti G35 Coupe
8. Masda MX-5
7. Acura RL
6. Lincoln LS
5. Mazda 6
4. Porsche 911 Targa
3. Volvo S60R
2. Acura 3.2 TL
1. Honda Accord Coupe
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