Sunday, November 28, 2010

Chargers Starting Lineup Against the Colts



It's been a while since I did a post about the San Diego Chargers starting lineup. The first posts were speculation on who would be starting, and boy has it changed since the beginning of the season. The Chargers have gone through more players this season than they did all of last season.

Most of the starters are the guys we've come to expect, but there are some significant changes since the beginning of the season:

Offense:
QB - Philip Rivers
RB - Mike Tolbert (With Ryan Mathews still injured, Tolbert will be the guy)
FB - Jacob Hester
TE - Randy McMichael (If Antonio Gates can't go, then McMichael will get the start)
WR - Vincent Jackson (His first game eligible after serving his suspensions couldn't come at a better time. Patrick Crayton has stepped up, but injured his wrist last week against Denver)
WR - Malcolm Floyd
LT - Marcus McNeill
LG - Kris Dielman
C - Nick Hardwick
RG - Tyronne Green (If Luis Vasquez can't go, then Green will get the start)
RT - Jeromy Clary

Defense:
CB - Quentin Jammer
CB - Antoine Cason
SS - Paul Oliver (Steve Gregory is listed as Questionable, so it looks like Oliver might start)
FS - Eric Weddle
OLB - Shaun Philips
MLB - Stephen Cooper
MLB - Kevin Burnett
OLB - Antwan Applewhite (Shawne Merriman is gone, and Larry English has been hurt, but he'll see time on the field)
DE - Luis Castillo
DT - Antonio Garay
DE - Jacques Cesaire

Special Teams
P - Mike Scifres
K - Nate Kaeding
LS - Mike Windt (I've lost track of how many Long Snappers this team has used this season, but it's got to be a record!)

Enjoy the game, and good luck identifying all those guys, especially on Special Teams, who weren't there a few weeks. I don't know how many times during a game I got "Who the hell is number __?"

Go Bolts!



*Please note, this lineup is based of of my guesses and information taken from www.Chargers.com and www.SignOnSanDiego.com/news/sports/chargers

Friday, November 26, 2010

Some New Diseases



I saw my cousins for Thanksgiving, and as part the Christmas gift exchange (since we won't all be together again this year), this is what I ended up with. From left to right, I got herpes, crabs, HIV, chlamydia and giardia. Thanks, cousins!

Want to learn more about the giant microbes? Check out http://www.giantmicrobes.com or check out Giant Microbes here.

Friday, November 19, 2010

Was Michael Vick's MNF Game the Best Fantasy Performance Ever?


I've been pondering this question since Michael Vick put up a ridiculous 333-yard passing, 80-yard rushing, 6 touchdown (4 passing and two rushing) performance. So I've been wondering if this was the best fantasy performance of all time, or at least the last 10 years (which is about how long I've been doing fantasy football).

I was going to limit my search to the last 10 years because I unfortunately don't have the time to scour the internet and historical NFL stats to find out. But fortunately for me, there are people on the internet with more time than me!

One of the top results for "best fantasy performances" was this article from Total Pro Sports: http://www.totalprosports.com/2010/11/16/was-michael-vicks-monday-night-performance-the-best-fantasy-football-performance-ever/

Since fantasy football rules vary from league to league, they used a fairly standard set of rules and found that Michael Vick's performance was....the top fantasy football performance of all time! Well, sort of.

Billy Cannon put up more points than Vick, but it was a year before there really was "fantasy football." But I say that Cannon is still number 1, just for accumulating 300+ yards of rushing and receiving plus 5 touchdowns.

Performances of note: Clinton Portis at #4 with 218 yards rushing, 36 yards receiving and 5 touchdowns. This was an important performance because I had him on my team that year, so I remember this distinctly. Yay me!

Thursday, September 23, 2010

How Long Should You Wait To Discuss TV Shows?

I had a terrible time coming up with a title for this post, but I think it sums up everything I'm curious about.

It's premier week on TV, and I haven't had time to watch any of the shows I love. A friend asked me if I'd caught the premier of "Glee," and when I said that I hadn't, she didn't go into anything about the show, but said that I needed to hurry up and watch it so she could get someone else's opinion on it. And this got me thinking...

Technology has changed the game. In the past, you could watch something on TV, then the next day you would go to work and talk about it. Now, you tweet while you're watching the show, and everyone around the world can see it. This is a great way to discuss what's going on with other people, as it happens, but it can also sting if the wrong person sees it.

Living on the west coast, I'm part of the group that gets burned. I remember a few years ago logging onto Yahoo, and finding out that Carrie Underwood had won American Idol....2 hours before the show aired where I lived.

Yahoo has since learned their lesson, and they (like most other sites) won't post anything crucial on their main page. You have to click through to see it. I think I even saw that MSN wouldn't put Olympic medal news on their main page until after it had aired.

But major websites aren't the real problem. It's the individual on Facebook or Twitter. And when I say "problem," I don't mean to imply that most people do it intentionally (like the assholes who went around to Harry Potter midnight release parties shouting "Dumbledore Dies!"). I just mean that individuals tend to say what's on their mind, without an editor saying, "Wait, we can't post this just yet."

Recently on Facebook, Chef Kevin Gillespie, a former contestant on Top Chef posted something about this season's winner. He quickly took it down and apologized to the west coast viewers who hadn't seen the show yet.

So when is too soon to spoil something? I think we can all agree that if you're on the east coast, maybe give the west coast their 3 hours to catch up. But most people don't seem to follow that. You can hop on twitter and your east coast friends are tweeting away about what just happened.

OK, so you can avoid social media for a few hours if your on the west coast. It doesn't seem fair, but it's probably the best way to avoid spoilers.

But then we get to the next dilemma: DVRs. Lots of people have busy lives, and I know I'm one who tends to let shows accumulate, then catch up on the weekend, or maybe on a weeknight later in the week if there's time.

I've spoken to several people who seem to agree that most shows deserve at least a day or 2, because of the DVR situation. Let your friends catch up before you start dropping spoilers.

But what's an acceptable time frame? Do we give people 2 days before we drop any spoilers? Give them through the weekend? That might be basically a full week if the show is on Monday. What do you think is a fair amount?

NFL Picks - Week 3

Ouch, not so hot last week. Only got 6 games right. Time to make up for it! I'm going to be out of town this weekend, so I'm posting my picks a little bit early.

Here are my pick's for week 3 of the 2010 NFL season. Remember, I'm an unabashed San Diego Chargers fan, so I'm not going to pick their games for this weekly column. Home team in caps:

GIANTS over Titans
Bengals over PANTHERS
BUCS over Steelers
PATRIOTS over Bills
RAVENS over Browns
CHIEFS over 49ers (I had a tough time with this one. I'm not 100% sure I picked right)
TEXANS over Cowboys (I've been going against the Texans all year, and I've been wrong. And the Cowboys don't look good)
Lions over VIKINGS (It has to happen eventually, right?)
SAINTS over Falcons
Redskins over RAMS
Eagles over JAGUARS
Colts over BRONCOS
CARDINALS over Raiders
DOLPHINS over Jets (Remember what Brandon Marshall has done to Antonio Cromartie in the past?)
PACKERS over Bears

Last week: 6-9
Overall: 18-12

Monday, September 20, 2010

The Next Day - Jaguars at Chargers

My week 2 thoughts the day after the Chargers game.

Wow, what is there to say? The team played well in all aspects of the game. There were way too many turnovers, and that wasn't cool, but the defense got plenty of takeaways.

So here's my summary:

THE GOOD

*Philip Rivers - What can I say? He's always good!

*The defense was aggressive. Sacks, QB hits, turnovers, I liked it all. At least one of the pick's came because Garrard was getting hit as he tried to throw and the ball just popped up.

*Mike Tolbert could be our starter. I would like to see him get his carries, kind of mix it up with Ryan Mathews. Keep both of them fresh.

*Antoine Cason is proving that the Chargers were right in trusting him to take over Antonio Cromartie's CB spot.

THE BAD

*The turnovers. The picks might have been dropped or off of receiver's hands, but Rivers wasn't always perfect on the throws. A better throw, an easier catch, and it's a completion.

*The return game. Sproles averaged 18 yards per return yesterday. I'd like to see Sproles return to being that guy who was a major threat as a returner. Maybe it's the blocking, I'm not sure, but I do want to see better returns.

And that's it for this week! Next week, the Chargers head up to Seattle!

Saturday, September 18, 2010

2010 NFL Picks - Week 2

Wow! What a great week 1! I picked 12 out of 15 games correctly. Must be early season luck! On to week 2.

Here are my pick's for week 2 of the 2010 NFL season. Remember, I'm an unabashed San Diego Chargers fan, so I'm not going to pick their games for this weekly column. Home team in caps:

PACKERS over Bills
VIKINGS over Dolphins
BROWNS over Chiefs
COWBOYS over Bears
FALCONS over Cardinals
PANTHERS over Bucs
Eagles over LIONS
Ravens over BENGALS
TITANS over Steelers
BRONCOS over Seahawks (We get to find out if the Seahawks are actually good, or if the 49ers are that terrible)
Rams over RAIDERS (The Rams have to win eventually, and the Raiders looked terrible last week)
REDSKINS over Texans (I think last week's win over the Colts was big for the Texans, but they definitely came to play for that one)
Patriots over JETS
COLTS over Giants (Peyton at home on a prime time game. I'm still not going against that)
Saints over 49ERS


Last Week's Picks: 12-3
Season Pick's: 12-3

Supercooling Water

This morning I decided to try out a simple experiment I had seen online: supercooling water. What is "supercooled" water? According to Wikipedia, "Supercooling, also known as undercooling, is the process of lowering the temperature of a liquid or a gas below its freezing point, without it becoming a solid." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supercool)

Upon aggitation, the water will instantly freeze, as you can see in the video below:



So how do you do this experiment at home? Very simply! You need some very pure water. I read that Fiji water works well, or also distilled water. I used Fiji water.

1. To start, find a flat surface in your freezer and leave the water in there. I left it overnight to make sure everything got nice and cold.

2. Once the water is below freezing, carefully remove it from the freezer (One way to gauge that it's cold enough is to leave another bottle of tap water next to it. Once that's nice and frozen, you know it's cold enough).

3. Agitate the water and it will freeze! As you can see in my video, I attempted to shake the bottle, although that didn't quite do it. After I picked it up to shake it, I ended up putting some force into setting it back down, which did it.

You will find that the water doesn't freeze into a solid block, but rather it's more of a hard slush. But it's a simple experiment, and pretty cool to do!

Thursday, September 16, 2010

What Was Your First Album?

Lately I've been listening to lots of old CDs in my collection. For whatever reason, I've just been feeling like listening to old stuff from high school, and this morning I ended up pulling out one of the very first CDs I ever bought - "Garbage" from Garbage. It was actually the second CD I ever bought.



The first CD I ever bought? Another self-titled one. "The Presidents of the United State of America." Why? I don't really remember. I do recall my friend James introducing me to them, somewhere around 7th grade. And I really did like them a lot (and I do still enjoy listening to those first few albums.



So what was the first album you ever bought? Leave a comment below with your first album!

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

The Next Day - Chargers at Chiefs

Week 1

My weekly thoughts after having a day to think about the week's Charger game.

Even though I've had time, my thoughts on last night's game are pretty much the same. San Diego should have won that game. Kansas City really had 3 big plays: the big run by Charles, the punt return by McCluster and the forced fumble. Outside of that, the Chiefs couldn't convert on 3rd down and couldn't drive the ball. San Diego had their times in the game where they couldn't move either, but also had times where they couldn't be stopped. So what are the good and bad things to take from this game?

The Good
*The defense looked good. Other than the one big run, the Chiefs were held to 141 net yards. I'm sure part of this is on the Chiefs offense, but the Chargers defense was good.

*Philip Rivers can lead a comeback. If my team is down by a touchdown with 2 minutes to go, he is one of the few quarterbacks I want leading my team.

*Antonio Gates is a beast. The Chiefs had to double and triple team him to take him away.

The Bad
*The punt coverage. Need I say more? I wish I could find stats on hangtime, but it seemed to me like the Scifres wasn't getting as much hangtime as he normally does. Maybe I'm wrong.

*The receivers need to step up. They had their moments, but when Kansas City was attacking Gates, it seemed like there wasn't anyone picking up the slack, or maybe no one that Rivers felt comfortable/trusted enough to throw the ball to.

Next week the Chargers return home to face the Jacksonville Jaguars. Kassim Osgood returns to San Diego, and he'll probably be fired up now after catching a touchdown last week. I think the return home will help the Chargers get the victory.


Monday, September 13, 2010

Chargers at Chiefs - Halftime Report

Wow. This game is looking rough so far. The Chargers came out pretty strong before the rain started.

So what's wrong? The Chargers were big favorites in this game, yet they're down 21-7. there is no single answer, but if I had to pick one, I would say "stop the big plays." 50+ yard TD run, 95+ yard punt return for a TD, and Ryan Mathews was stripped and the fumble was returned close to the goal. Kansas City has the momentum right now.

The Chargers really need to get composed at the half and come back in the 2nd half and march down for a TD. Get momentum back and control the game.

San Diego is down by 2 TDs, but they have a half, and we've got Philip Rivers, so I feel like we can do this.

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Sunday, September 12, 2010

2010 NFL Picks - Week 1

OK, I'm a little late getting this posted, but I'm going to try to pick all of the NFL games this year. Just win-loss, not against the spread. I already had picked the Saints over the Vikings (you'll have to trust me since I didn't get it posted). I'm late, so I can't get too much description going, so here are this week's picks (home team in caps). I won't be picking any Chargers games since I'll pretty much always pick them to win, and I refuse to pick against them. I'm a homer, I know.


BUCS over Browns
Dolphins over BILLS
PATRIOTS over Bengals
Colts over TEXANS (sorry, Texans. Get it done and prove me wrong)
JAGUARS over Broncos
FALCONS over Steelers
TITANS over Raiders
GIANTS over Panthers
BEARS over Lions
Cardinals over RAMS
PACKERS over Eagles
49ers over SEAHAWKS
REDSKINS over Cowboys
Ravens over JETS

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Rough Day for Former Fresno State Football Players




Today was decision time. NFL teams had to cut down to their 53-man roster today, and the rookies from Fresno State did not fare well.

Ryan Mathews was the only Bulldog drafted in the 2010 NFL Draft. He went 12th overall to the San Diego Chargers, so there was really no way he wasn't going to make the roster.

No one else on the team was drafted, so they were long shots to make an NFL team.

Also picked up by the Chargers, as an undrafted Free Agent, WR Seyi Ajirotutu was cut today. San Diego Union-Tribune writer Kevin Acee has speculated that Ajirotutu will make the practice squad, however.

RB Lonyae Miller was cut by the Dallas Cowboys. He was a long shot to make it anyway, behind veterans Felix Jones, Marion Barber and Tashard Choice.

On a positive note, CB A.J. Jefferson did not get cut by the Arizona Cardinals. Although I didn't see any of their preseason games, I imagine that Jefferson's abilities as a returner had to have helped him there.

Rookie WR Chastin West was also cut by the Green Bay Packers.

And finally, although he was not a rookie, former Fresno State QB Tom Brandstater was cut by the Indianapolis Colts.

2010 Chargers Starting Lineup - 9/4/10 Edition

To view the 2011 Chargers starting lineup, please visit http://www.jaimeh.com/blog/chargers-starting-lineup/



Check out the Chargers lineup for 11/28/10 against the Colts here: http://jhowrites.blogspot.com/2010/11/chargers-starting-lineup-against-colts.html

Today is the day that NFL teams have to cut down to their 53-man roster. I'm not brave enough to take a shot at guessing who will or won't make it, but I think now is a good time to update my guess at who will be the in the starting lineup for the San Diego Chargers when they open against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Not much has changed since my original lineup, which you can find here: http://jhowrites.blogspot.com/2010/08/2010-chargers-startin-lineup.html. The changes are marked with an asterisk, and I added some more comments about various players.

Offense:
QB - Philip Rivers
RB - Ryan Mathews (No notes about his roster spot, I'm just really excited to see him in a game!)
FB - Jacob Hester* (Looks like the coaches like him as a FB, and Mike Tolbert will get more action as a running back in certain situations)
TE - Antonio Gates
WR - Malcolm Floyd
WR - Legedu Naanee (The trade for Patrick Crayton makes me wonder where they want him on the depth chart, but he's only got a little bit of time to get adjusted)
LT - Brandyn Dombrowski
LG - Kris Dielman
C - Nick Hardwick
RG - Luis Vasquez
RT - Jeromy Clary

Defense:
CB - Quentin Jammer
CB - Antoine Cason
SS - Stephen Gregory (Experience counts. Darrell Stuckey has talent, but he's not starting on opening day)
FS - Eric Weddle
OLB - Shaun Philips
MLB - Stephen Cooper
MLB - Kevin Burnett
OLB - Larry English (The fact that Shawne Merriman has been limited in practice and hasn't played in a played in a preseason game since signing make me nervous.)
DE - Luis Castillo
DT - Antonio Garay
DE - Jacques Cesaire

Special Teams
P - Mike Scifres
K - Nate Kaeding
LS - David Binn

And that's it! What do you think? What changes would you make? We'll see how I did when the final depth chart comes out!



*Please note, this lineup is based of of my guesses and information taken from www.Chargers.com and www.SignOnSanDiego.com/news/sports/chargers

Monday, August 23, 2010

Biohazard (Zombie Apocalypse) Movie Trailer

Yep, that's me


Earlier this summer I was an extra in an indie movie filmed here in Fresno, called "Biohazard (Zombie Apocalypse)". A while back, a rough teaser trailer was released, which you can see here: http://jhowrites.blogspot.com/2010/07/biohazard-zombie-apocalypse-trailer.html

I've been trying to follow news about the release of this movie, and somehow missed this new trailer that came out last month. And guess what? You can see me in it! Only for a quick second, but I'm there. Probably helps that I know where to look. But can you spot me? Even if not, enjoy!

Biohazard (Zombie Apocalypse) Trailer 1 from Clay Von Thomas on Vimeo.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Facebook Profile Photos

I'm not really adamant on this, but I've decided that people need to have some sort of an identifiable profile picture on Facebook. I feel like my logic is reasonable. I apparently went to school with lots of people name David and Steven or Stephen, and it seems impossible to find them. I search for "Stephen Smith" and get 1,000+ results.

Not a really big deal, it's just frustrating to search for someone, get tons of results, and half of the profile pics or of some random non-person thing, or the individual people aren't identifiable in the thumbnail-sized pic.

Or maybe I should have just had friends with more unique names.

2010 Chargers Starting Lineup, 8/10/10 Edition

To view the 2011 Chargers starting lineup, please visit http://www.jaimeh.com/blog/chargers-starting-lineup/




Check out the Chargers lineup for 11/28/10 against the Colts here: http://jhowrites.blogspot.com/2010/11/chargers-starting-lineup-against-colts.html

(Update: You can view my updated lineup prediction here: http://jhowrites.blogspot.com/2010/09/chargers-starting-lineup-9410-edition.html)

I know it's early, but with training camp started, the preseason officially going, I'm spending my days thinking about football and what is going to happen in the next few months. The Chargers are yet to take the field for a preseason game, but it's never too early to speculate.

So who will the starting lineup for the Chargers be come opening day? Obviously things will change. We don't know how the young guys will do, there will be injuries, and possibly signings to fill voids. But if you had to pick your starters now, who would they be?

Some of the spots are locked (Phillip Rivers is the guy obviously), and I'm largely guessing. I don't live in the San Diego area anymore, so I'm going off of reports by Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune and Bolts From the Blue (http://www.boltsfromtheblue.com/), to name a couple (isn't Twitter great!?). And I'm no expert, just a fan needing some Charger talk to get me through the next month.

Offense:
QB - Philip Rivers
RB - Ryan Mathews
FB - Mike Tolbert
TE - Antonio Gates
WR - Malcolm Floyd
WR - Legedu Naanee (Maybe it's health issues, but I just see him beating out Craig Davis as the starter)
LT - Brandyn Dombrowski
LG - Kris Dielman
C - Nick Hardwick
RG - Luis Vasquez
RT - Jeromy Clary

Defense:
CB - Quentin Jammer
CB - Antoine Cason
SS - Stephen Gregory
FS - Eric Weddle
OLB - Shaun Philips
MLB - Stephen Cooper
MLB - Kevin Burnett
OLB - Larry English (Since Shawne Merriman hasn't signed yet, I have to assume he won't, at least for this version of the starting lineup)
DE - Luis Castillo
DT - Antonio Garay
DE - Jacques Cesaire

Special Teams
P - Mike Scifres
K - Nate Kaeding

Clearly I didn't venture out and make too many bold predictions. And keep in mind this is only opening day. As best I can tell, there aren't a whole lot of opening spots really open right now. Most of the competition is for backup spots (the third and fourth corner spots should be interesting). And as much as I can't wait to see Cam Thomas, Ogemdi Nwagbuo and Vaughn Martin in some rotation on the line, I just see experience winning out with Garay and Cesaire. Plus I hear that Garay is having a great camp so far.

This is only version one, I'll update this as camp goes on and people are cut or signed. Maybe I'll even get brave and try to guess the 53-man roster. But this is as of August 10, 2010.

So what would you change from my list of starters? Who do you think is or isn't going to be starting?




*Please note, this lineup is based of of my guesses and information taken from www.Chargers.com and www.SignOnSanDiego.com/news/sports/chargers

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Inception



Before I say anything, let me warn you that this post will contain spoilers! So if you haven't seen "Inception" yet and you plan to, then stop reading now and come back after you've seen it!

Before we get to the obvious part that everyone is talking about (the ending!), let's talk about the visual effects. Crazy special effects are the norm now, and we see them in every movie. But I though the effects in this movie were very smooth. In the scene where the architect was first learning to mold dreams, and she folded the city to a 90 degree angle, it looked almost natural, and it wasn't awkward as she and Cobb stepped up onto the perpendicular walkway. I loved that it didn't look clearly CGI or fake in some way.

I also loved the scenes inside dreams when gravity was being toyed with. As the van was in free fall, and people were floating in midair, whether it be a fight scene, or just moving around, I felt like I was watching The Matrix for the first time again. Just the unreal physics involved, and a totally new way of seeing a movie shot were amazing.

So now let's get to the really fun stuff! So Cobb gets off the plane, heads home, spins his top, and gets distracted. The top continues to spin, we see it wobble just a little bit, then cut to the credits. So anyone can argue their point. He's awake, we just didn't get to see the top fall over. Or he's still in a dream, which means that the entire movie was a dream, which means that we don't even know if anyone else is real or just a projection. I'll be honest, I was a little too wrapped up in the story as a whole to have been studying the little details that might give it away. This is why I can't wait for the DVD to go back and re-watch the movie, knowing that that top was still spinning. Look for clues that he was dreaming all along.

What did you think? Was Cobb still dreaming or in limbo? Was he actually awake?

Adorable Stories of Healing

Ok, so in the news recently I've seen two incredible stories of cats who faced a terrible situation, and were helped to recovery in a couple of different ways. The first is about a cat who was paralyzed, and through hydrotherapy, learned to walk again. Check out the full story here: http://www.tonic.com/article/kittie-paddling-saves-paralyzed-cat/

The second story involves a cat that was in a terrible accident and lost both of its back legs. But someone was able to develop bionic legs, and the cat is walking again! Amazing! Check out the story here: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/06/bionic-cat-walks-on-prosthetic-legs/

And apparently there is now video of Oscar, the bionic cat:



Both of these are great stories, but which do you like better? I think the bionic cat is very fascinating, but I find the hydrotherapy cat to be an incredibly adorable story.

Friday, July 16, 2010

Full List of Cities that Have To Change Their Name

Here I'll keep the list of cities (in alphabetical order) decreed to need to change their name. Why do they have to change their name? Because they're riding the coattails of a more famous city with the same name. See the original post here: http://jhowrites.blogspot.com/2010/07/some-cities-need-to-change-their-name.html

Berkeley, Illinois (Added 7/16/2010)
Dublin, California (Added 7/16/2010)
Las Vegas, New Mexico (Added 7/16/2010)
Manhattan, Kansas (Added 7/16/2010)
Miami, Ohio (Added 7/16/2010)
Paris, Texas (Added 7/16/2010)
Portland, Maine (Added 7/16/2010)

Some Cities Need to Change Their Name

Update 7/16/2010: I've added a full list of all the cities that need to change their name. This is where I'll keep updating the full list of cities that I decree have to change their name: http://jhowrites.blogspot.com/2010/07/full-list-of-cities-that-have-to-change.html

Maybe I'm crabby because it's freaking hot today (Weather Channel says it's 106, but it "feels like" it's only 105!) and I need a nap, but I've decided that some cities need to change their name. Today I saw a label on some equipment that was from Berkeley, Illinois. Now when I hear the name Berkeley, I immediately think of northern California and Cal. This experience also reminded me of a few months ago when a friend of mine was going to Maine. She told me she was off to Portland, and I had to stop and say, "Wait, I thought you were going to Maine?" She clarified that there is a Portland, Maine as well as the one in Oregon.

So my decision is that cities that have the same name as a very famous city need to change their name. Maybe it's because I'm in California that I immediately think of Portland, Oregon or Berkeley, California, but I think both of those cities are famous enough to make Portland, Maine and Berkeley, Illinois change their names.

What else is there? There are no questions about Paris, Texas and Las Vegas, New Mexico. Both of those cities have to change their name. Clearly you can go to 99% of people and say Paris or Las Vegas, and they immediately think of France or Nevada. And how about Manhattan, Kansas? They have to change their name too.

Ok, so when I hear someone in northern California mention Dublin, I don't bat an eye, but that's only because I always see the signs along the freeway when I head up to the Bay Area. But I think on a national and global scale, Dublin, Ireland wins. Sorry, Dublin, CA.

I am willing to let less famous cities keep their names though. I live in Clovis, California, and I happen to know there is also a Clovis, New Mexico. Neither city is particularly famous on a national scale though, so they can both keep their name until one becomes big enough to knock the other off.

Who will decide which cities have to change their name? I'm thinking I should, since I came up with the idea. What other cities have I missed? I know there are lots out there. Leave your other nominations for cities that have to change their name in the comments, and I'll give my decree.

"Kitties Are Creatures of Habit" or "My Cats Are Ridiculously Cute"

So yesterday Erin sent me this picture that she took while she was getting ready.

cute gizmo cat

After I saw it, I was reminded of this video I took back in January of this year, when Gizmo was apparently a lot smaller!



Then I remembered a couple of pictures I took of Dublin when she was younger. The first one was taken in May of 2008, and the second one was taken in August of 2008. Guess our cats have their spots and poses they like to use frequently (even if Dublin did decide to turn the other way!).

cute dublin kitten

cute dublin cat

Monday, July 12, 2010

Raising Money for a Good Cause

A friend of mine, Karen, is raising funds to help battle childhood cancer. I have decided that I'll give whatever earnings I get from sales made through the link below to her fundraising efforts. This will apply to any items added to your cart and purchased during the session, as long as it's an order in the United States or Canada.

Unfortunately, I can't mention what her group is (due to restrictions in the affiliate agreement with Amazon), but I can give you her main fundraising page if you want to make a donation directly to her, or just to read more about her story and why she is raising money for childhood cancer. Her site is here: http://bit.ly/befiEd. You can also learn more about hers and her son's journey here: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/isaachatfield

I'll keep doing this until the end of her fundraising efforts, so feel free to stop in until then!

If you'd like to support her through your regular purchases, just start by using the banner below, and any new items added to your cart and purchased during the session will count toward the donation made to her cause:



Or use this link: Amazon.com shopping link

Friday, July 9, 2010

Biohazard Zombie Apocalypse Trailer

In my last post, I mentioned that I was recently a zombie extra in a film that was being made locally (http://jhowrites.blogspot.com/2010/07/last-night-i-rose-from-dead.html). Well, it seems the director, Clay Von Thomas, has made a rough teaser trailer for the film. It takes a little bit to get to any actual shots from the movie, but it looks pretty good still. It's neat to see the video, and recognize that "Hey, I was there!" So anyway, enjoy the video below, and I'll definitely keep posting more information about this as movie as I hear it!

BIOHAZARD TEASER TRAILER Directed by Clay Von Thomas from Clay Von Thomas on Vimeo.

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Last Night I Rose From the Dead

Yesterday a friend of mine sent me some info about a movie that was being filmed locally that needed extras for a scene. Basically the call was for "100 zombies." She said she immediately thought of me, and lucky for me, I was free to do it!

**Edit, Ok, it looks like I might have gotten some of the bio info a little wrong. Clay Von Thomas might not be from Fresno, but I do know a lot of the actors were**

The working title is "Biohazard," and it was directed by Clay Von Thomas. I looked up a little and found out that he's from the Fresno area, and most of the actors were from the area as well, so it was definitely a locally filmed indie movie. Here is a little page I found with some information (although not much) about the movie: http://www.zombiehub.com/biohazard-zombie-apocalypse.html.

I got to the location around 6, they started applying latex makeup pretty quickly, and then there was lots of waiting. They told us we'd start doing the big scene with all the zombies around 9. But as these things tend to go, it was a little late. I'm guessing it was around 11 when we started doing the scene, and it took a couple of hours. Actually, the time went flying by once the filming started. But it was a pretty mellow night in Fresno, so it wasn't unbearably hot or anything, which was great.

Below are a few pictures I took. I had a lot more, but something went funky, and they're not on my camera anymore. The first one is me with the first layer of makeup, and the second one is me at the end of the night. The last two pictures are just big shots of lots of the other extras getting their makeup done.







Wednesday, June 23, 2010

New Website Launched

So I've been away from the blog for a few days, but I've had a decent reason. I've been working on a new website, and it's called "Find Zombie Gear." You can find it at http://www.findzombiegear.com.

It is a shopping website, and our focus is zombies! Movies, books and games, however you like your zombies. So if you get a chance, check it out. I'm still working on some of the aesthetics and whatnot, so if you have any suggestions, feel free to leave a comment. Thanks!

http://www.findzombiegear.com

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Thoughts About E3

Looks like lots of cool stuff is debuting at E3 this year. One day I'll figure out a way to go and check out this stuff live, but for now I'm stuck reading about it. This is by no means a full collection of what has debuted, but it's just stuff that I've personally found interesting for various reason.

Kinect for XBox 360 (http://www.xbox.com/en-US/kinect)
The motion sensors and camera don't require a controller. The demo videos I've seen look like it picks everything up pretty smooth. Gamestop has is for pre-order at $149, so it's not cheap, but it really could be a lot of fun. (Looks like the scheduled release is November 2010)

Kirby's Epic Yarn (for Nintendo Wii)
This is probably the thing I was most excited about. The screenshots looked awesome, and made me think of Super Paper Mario, in that it's a familiar character, but a very unique look for the world. I'm looking forward to more details on the story and gameplay. Due out in October, it can already be pre-ordered from Amazonby clicking here.

Yoostar 2 (http://www.yoostar2.com)
I've posted plenty of my Yoostar videos on this site, and Yoostar 2 is the next step. Instead of being PC or Mac based, this is going to be on XBox 360 and PS3 using the Kinect and Playstation Move. The game doesn't require a green screen, and looks to have a scoring system, so there will be an actual game to it instead of just the acting. Also, checking out the list of movies that will have scenes is getting me really excited about this.

Nintendo 3DS (http://e3.nintendo.com/3ds/)
Yet another awesome new toy that I really don't need, but I can't wait to see. The screen will be in 3-D, without the need for glasses. I am really excited to see how this looks.

Playstation Move (http://us.playstation.com/ps3/playstation-move/)
Playstation's motion sensor system. It looks pretty cool, although since I have an XBox, this isn't quite as exciting to me. Also available for pre-order at Gamestop. (Looks like the schedule release is September 2010)

Monday, June 14, 2010

Zombies Attack!

It has finally happened, the zombie apocalypse is upon us, and Newsweek.com broke the story!

Well, sort of. Earlier today (and actually, as of about 10PM Pacific Time), you could go to newsweek.com and punch in the Konami Code (Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, ) on the main page, and the main page would change all the headlines to news regarding to the recent Zombie Outbreak. In case it goes down, I've grabbed some screen shots of all the stories (the links on the page just bring you back to the main page, so what you see here is everything that was/is available on Newsweek's site). Click on the images to get a bigger view.





Sunday, June 13, 2010

The Vader Project

On June 12, 2010, we took a trip down to Los Angeles to check out The Vader Project. 100 artists were each given a replica of the Darth Vader helmet and asked to make something with it. The helmets have been on tour and were on display in Los Angeles before making the trip to Pennsylvania to be auctioned off. The day we chose to head down, there happened to be 25 of the artists available to sign the catalog. I have to say, all of the artists were incredibly nice, and I really appreciated that they were there.

Below are some of the pictures we took. As you can see, the artists took their projects in all different directions, using all sorts of different materials.

If you want more information about The Vader Project, go to www.thevaderproject.com. If you get a chance to see it before the art goes on auction, I highly recommend it!

(Click on the picture to see a bigger version)

"The Revenge of Mr. Hahn" by Joe Hahn



"Darth Bacon" by Dan Goodsell



"Carmen Mirandarth" by Girls Drawin Girls



"Nauga-Vader" by Paul Frank



"Unavader" by Ferg



"Full Metal Vader" by Eelus



"Darth from Above" by Marc Ecko



"Untitled" by Dehara



"Hanus" by Jim Koch



"Spy Vader Spy" by Peter Kuper




"Untitled" by Mad



"Darth Banana" by Mad Barbarians



"Praise the Lord" by Plasticgod



"Son of the Suns" by Suckadelic




"Untitled" by T9G

Thursday, June 10, 2010

My Summer Reading List

It's summertime, which used to mean carefree afternoons, being lazy and hanging out, until the last couple of weeks before school when I had to start on the dreaded "summer reading list." There was always a test on the first day or two of school to make sure you'd read the books that were assigned. This type of stuff in school is what killed the joy of reading for me. When I was a young kid, I read all the time, and in elementary school they just encouraged me to read all the time.

By the time I hit middle school and high school, there were assigned readings. And it always had to be a "classic," which (almost always) bored me like crazy.

In recent years I've tried to get myself to read more. I found a few books that I really enjoyed. The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was one I found, and became one of my favorite books all-time. It's definitely one of the few that I have re-read multiple times.

The Harry Potter Series is a series I was introduced to and loved.

But beyond these books, there was very little I loved reading. There was a book here and there that I enjoyed, but nothing that really stuck with me. So that makes 8 books I loved and a handful of others I enjoyed over a period of about 8 years. Not exactly a great average.
In the last few months, I was introduced to a few books that had me hooked from the start. Books that literally took 2 days to finish because I was reading every free minute I had. This has really left me feeling excited about reading, anticipating the next book, a feeling I haven't really had since I was a kid. Fortunately it will keep going. A few of the books I read are part of a series, and I have to wait until at least September for the next book.

But in the meantime, I've decided to give myself a reading list for this summer. There is definitely a theme to most of these books (which should be pretty obvious), but it's a genre I enjoy.

So in no particular order, here are the books I want to try to get through this summer:

The Living Dead - A compilation of stories, including works by Stephen King and Clive Barker.

Play Dead - A high school football team is killed by their rivals, but a local witch is able to bring the team back from the dead to play for the championship. Combining football and zombies? What could be better!

Ghost Road Blues - Sort of a requirement, since I accidentally bought the second book of a trilogy, and this is the first. Gotta go in order!

Clive Barker's Books of Blood 1-3 - I always see this book in the store, and I'm always tempted to grab it, but something else usually grabs my attention. But I do enjoy Clive Barker's work, so I'm going to dive into this book.