While Microsoft has only just begun fighting the perception problems surrounding Windows Vista, the company is already thinking and planning way beyond its latest operating system. We all know that Windows 7 will build on top of the foundations laid by Vista, and that it will include a fancy multitouch framework (and a mysterious new taskbar). According to Microsoft, Windows 7 is still on track for January 2010, and in a memo to his employees, CEO Steve Ballmer outlined some interesting new approaches the company might try with Windows 7 - including being just a little more like Apple.

It is a more or less generally accepted fact that Apple 'has it easy' when it comes to developing certain parts of its operating system when compared to Microsoft. While the former needs to address a mere handful of hardware configurations, the latter has to provide support for a more or less infinite amount of possible hardware combinations. Apparently, Steve Ballmer agrees with this, and notes in his memo that Microsoft's commitment to providing choice (when it comes to hardware, I assume) interferes with the company's ability to provide a decent user experience.

In the competition between PCs and Macs, we outsell Apple 30-to-1. But there is no doubt that Apple is thriving. Why? Because they are good at providing an experience that is narrow but complete, while our commitment to choice often comes with some compromises to the end-to-end experience. Today, we're changing the way we work with hardware vendors to ensure that we can provide complete experiences with absolutely no compromises. We'll do the same with phones - providing choice as we work to create great end-to-end experiences.

What that exactly means remains to be seen, but we can be pretty sure Microsoft wants to at the very least prevent the utter disaster where loads of OEMs created sub-standard hardware that simply wasn't cut out for running Vista, or where Microsoft itself marked computers Vista-capable, while in fact they were barely Vista-possible. Some Apple/Mac websites even go as far as to say that Microsoft will "mimic the experience offered by the Mac maker", but I don't believe we'll see Microsoft coming out with computers themselves, or even reference boards. A firm tightening of a possible "Windows 7 capable" campaign seems a lot more feasible.

And sensible.

Nelly Furtado ft. Timbaland - Promiscuous

Nelly Furtado - say it right

Nelly Furtado-Powerless

Nelly Furtado - I'm like a bird <<-- ;)

Nelly Furtado - Forca

Yes, we were doing some work while living it up in Los Angeles.

Above: Plumber's Convention - more fun than E3?

Other factoids to come out of the TechRadar Ray Maguire interview include:

Hints that two of Sony's headline E3 press conference games - InFamous and MAG - will not be showcased at Leipzig.No price cut in the immediate future for PlayStation 3 in the UK (although TechRadar points out it's still not ruled out for the Christmas period).Europe's big first party PS3 titles for the holiday season will be LittleBigPlanet, Motorstorm: Pacific Drift and Resistance 2.Still no official 'release date' for PlayStation 3's social network/game lobby portal Home, although Maguire tells us to expect something new at Leipzig. GamesRadar was informed semi-officially at E3 that we could expect to see a Home open beta roll out in October this year.

And that's about it. Interestingly, the interview makes no mention of Sony's other big European-based development Heavy Rain, in production at French studio Quantic Dream. Odd because it's already been demoed at E3 in a secret-ish presentation, and we've been assured it will make it's first public appearance since 2006 at the Leipzig Game Convention. At least there's something new for PlayStation 3 owners to look forward to, then...

As someone who uses Windows Vista practically daily, I've always wondered where all the negativity in the media comes from. Sure, Vista isn't perfect (as if any operating system is), but I just don't see where all the complaints are coming from. It runs just fine on my old (6 years) machine, all my software and hardware is compatible, and it's stable as a rock. Microsoft has been wondering the same thing, and after a little test, they may have found out why people seem to dislike Vista so much.

Microsoft went to San Fransisco, rounded up a few die-hard Windows XP fans, and asked them about their opinion on Windows Vista, all while videotaping them. They were then introduced to a secret project within Microsoft, code-named "Mojave", a new operating system from Microsoft. Over 90 percent of the respondents gave positive feedback to Mojave. "Oh wow," said one user.

And then they were told the truth. There is no Mojave. Mojave was 'just' Windows Vista.

While the test of course lacks vital elements of the whole Vista experience, such as installing, upgrading, hooking up hardware, connecting to the network, and so on, this little test does demonstrate an important aspect of the whole negativity surrounding Windows Vista: some of it is based on nothing but perception, instead of experience. To how much that "some" amounts remains to be seen, of course.

Still, I'd hazard a guess it amounts to quite a bit, and so does Microsoft. They're starting a campaign to tell "the real Vista story", and this Mojave test, including its footage, provides Microsoft with some decent ammo to combat the perception problems troubling its latest operating system.

嘿。。。这不是我房间，这是宿舍。
在这两年多来，我差不多算是半个
宿舍生了。

嘿。。。对了，这就是jimmy的房间。
不过他还在睡觉，昨晚想人想得失眠了~~~哈哈

嘿。。。jimmy要换裤子了~~~~哈哈
不过他一直在避镜头叻！！

chie !!!换好就没搞头了 -_III

烧哦！！！我们是senior，应该是我们先
present的，不过不知怎么我们会变去最后的。
真无聊~~~~
嘿。。。按照Replay的说法~~~~
无聊最好就是拍照来打发时间~~~~拍照

嘿。。。这两条水在谈什么~~~笑到酱阴险

嘿。。。汶荣酱迟还出现

嘿。。。jimmy~~~你又在看让你10%的东西了

嘿。。。育玮也在看书打发时间了

嘿。。。登富，笑到酱开心的~~~
《七龙纪》有酱happy玩的meh？？

嘿。。。绍轩打发时间永远都是~~~
dota-ing

嘿。。。阿德，我们毕业了就是你的
天下了~~哈哈。不过还有育玮会留下来
陪你的~~~

嘿。。。子豪，你一脸白痴样在看什么哦？

嘿。。。烧哦！！原来是melvin在无聊
表演乒乓杂耍

嘿。。。等了酱久，总于到我们上场了！！

稍微拍下老师，没想到。。。育玮的就结束
了。真的是烧哦！左起：
west lee, apple, 主任

哇！！我不会来到动物园了吧~~~
是谁来的哦~~~

原来是----阿水（曼华）

嘿。。。笑到几happy~~~
你是最后一个人了。。。

走出后就结束了，以后就再没有DID-06B
的present了。。。

嘿。。。这种时候合照是少不了的
=--DID-06B--=

在未来的日子里，或许我还会继续present。。。
对老板的present；对客户的present；对任何的present。
嘿。。。不过，在这里时的present我是不会忘记的。。。
第一次present
工业和广告一起present
工业自己的present
从婉香厅present到设计系有本身的present room里present
present结束后一直拍照
别人present时，我们一直kacau
我的工业（一）present时的笑话。。。
随着越多的present，就有越多的回忆
这些回忆我会一直记得的，如果我忘记了
那时你们就要提醒我了~~~哈哈
我讨厌这间学校的腐败；讨厌这里的人无聊时就
只会说闲话；讨厌这里的饭难吃；讨厌小商店
东西比外面卖得还来得贵。。。
嘿。。。不过我却不讨厌你们！！

MMMMMMM. Delicious.

Nothing is better then switching back sweet and bitter tastes. For example the wonderful coffee/donut or coffee/chocolate combo.

That's how you rock it Amadeus.

So as you all know I have not been posting for sometime. I am sorry that I have not been posting for some time but I promise you I will be getting back to regular blogging from tomorrow. There will be a special epsidoe tomorrow and I am sure you will all like it.

Till then, all I have to say is goodbye and hope that you will return tomorrow for the next episode of "The Daily Dose Of Information".

BTW - Federer will not loose his No. 1 position this year! He will be back to his great form soon!

This is Sahil Bhalla, your host, signing off!

The WNBA is a tax write off for the NBA. That's why it still exists.

As it's own independent thing it is a commercial failure, let's make no quams about this, but that's okay. The WNBA hasn't attracted male viewership because the quality is not as good as the NBA. It's that simple. It's the reason foreign soccer viewership is up, but not MLS. People want to see the best soccer just like they want to see the best basketball. There's only so  much sports to watch and people watch women's tennis because it is actually an excellent product. Everyone says that Candace Parker's consecutive dunks are transforming the game. They're not. A step in the right direction? You bet.

The sport simply needs more physicality so it can look like modern basketball. It'll happen with due time. Women are getting taller and stronger. It's just a matter of time before they can throw it down over someone consistently. This isn't sexist. Not in the slightest. It's just a matter of sports nuance. Are WNBA players great shooters? You bet. They have incredible fundamentals and I'd be happy to show kids tape on how to create ball movement for set shots. But sit down and watch a game? It just doesn't measure up to the physicality.

Which is exactly why the sports biggest new star getting into a throwdown last night is so important. Because it is awesome. Brawls are exciting. I don't care what anyone says, brawls exhibit passion, pride, and physicality. The very thing that viewers like to see. The story has ALREADY gotten way more hits and interest than any other story in the WBNA and it happened last night. And it's not all retarded catfight jokes. It's much more legitimate than that.

Said throwdown:

Yesterday I was out with KJ and she told me that her friends called me fat
so now I have new motivation lose weight. :D
I need to clean my room, but I'm feeling a bit doozy today.
I don't really understand why, though, because I had a banana and I'm drinking water.
Whatever, though. Some slight dizziness won't stop me from walking to NM's house
or from doing whatever I want. I've had worse.
Today is the second day in a row that I haven't gone to running camp.
I really really don't want to go tomorrow.
Because I don't have any donation things. I feel bad, but I don't have anyone to sell it to!
So if I do wake up on time, I'll just go running by myself. :D

I've been hanging out with NM, AM, and AZ a lot. Well, not a lot. But for the past couple of days we've been hanging out. I dunno. But I like hanging out with them. They're funnn. And I realized that I really am over AM and I never really liked AZ. How do I know? No butterflies in my stomach. Hah.

Okay, I'm off now. Hanging out with NM first and then AM is picking us up or coming over or something. I don't know. :D

Peace. <3

I know that's hard to believe
But there are people you meet
They're into something that is too big to be
Expressed
Through their clothes
And they'll put up with all the poses you throw
And you won't
Even know

That they're not sizing you up
They know your mom fucked you up
Or maybe let you watch too much TV

But they'll still look in your eyes
To find the human inside
You know there's always something in there to see

Beneath
The veneer
Not everybody made the list this year
Have a beer

Make me feel tiny if it makes you feel tall
But there's always someone cooler than you
Yeah, you're the shit
But you won't be it for long
Oh, there's always someone cooler than you
Yeah, there's always someone cooler than you

Now that I've got the disease
In a way I'm relieved
Cause' I don't have to stress about it like you do
I might just get up and dance
Or buy some acid washed pants
If you don't care
Then you got nothing to lose

And I won't
Hesitate
Cause every moment life is slipping away
It's ok

Make me feel tiny if it makes you feel tall
But there's always someone cooler than you
Yeah, you're the shit
But you won't be it for long
Oh, there's always someone cooler than you
Yeah, there's always someone cooler than you
Oh, there's always someone cooler than

Life is wonderful
Life is beautiful
We're all children of
One big universe
So you don't have to be
A chump

And you know
(You know)
That I won't
(I won't)
Hesitate
(Hesitate)
Cause every moment life is slipping away
(Away)
It's ok
(It's ok)

Make me feel tiny if it makes you feel tall
'Cause there's always someone cooler than you
Yeah, you're the shit
But you won't be it for long
But there's always someone cooler than you
Oh yeah, there's always someone cooler than you
Because there's always someone cooler than you

Cooler than you
Boy
Cooler than you
Girl
Cooler than you
Sir
Cooler than you
My Lady
OH!

Nerds gone wild
Yeah yea

LIKE is treated in different ways depending on what database you are using, case sensitivity is a particular area where the differences can be seen and can become important.  MySQL for example, treats like as case-insensitive (you can set it to be case sensitive, but by default it ignores case - see http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/case-sensitivity.html for more information).  But in many other database servers, for example Oracle, LIKE is case-sensitive by default.

While this may seem semi trivial (as I found out today) people often assume searches are case-insensitive and thus having a case sensitive query can be a big problem.

One way to get around this is to use the keyword UPPER to use an all uppercase version of the field to compare with the search string (which you should ensure is also all uppercase.  (LOWER may also be used to compare with all lowercase strings).

It should be noted this is not a great method if you are searching a large database as it will perform a full-text search instead of utilizing indexes, thus increasing the time each query takes.

An example:
SELECT * FROM tablename WHERE UPPER(lastname) LIKE '%SMITH%';
or
DELETE FROM tablename WHERE LOWER(firstname) LIKE '%john%';

Googling UPPER, sql will give you some other methods for case-insensitive searching that utilizes indexes and speeds things up. This is just a base level fix that is useful for smaller databases/tables.

And there was uploading, and there was computer crashing, and there was some stomping and huffing and sulking - and then there was blogging. Horay for blogging. And tea.

I'm not going to do this in any particular order - I'm just going to post, comment, laugh, eat biscuits (you can't have any - they're hard to share over t'interweb) and post what I suspect is going to be a picture-tastic uberblog. You might want to pop to the loo before you carry on. Not because I think I'm going to be particularly funny (though I am a comedy genius, topped only by my brother - who is of course better at everything than I am. Apart from shopping. Actually, no - I think he has me beat there too! Wonder if he ever did go back and get those shoes in grey as well as brown...apparently they were the most comfortable shoes ever and, in his own words, "Like walking on a cuddle"!) but because you may be here some time and I wouldn't want to cause any long term damage to your kiddleys (kudos to "Finance Guy" at work for that)

I was walking (crawling, in exhausted long commute type manner) tubewards after work a few days ago when I saw this fella jogging along; bizarrely shaped muscley men are always odd to look at - it being unnatural and a bit gross - but it's even more wierd when they're running and pulling a little old lady-type shopping trolley along with them!

then once I staggered onto the tube I saw that I was far from being the only one shattered and making the journey

There's always at least one person fast asleep on one train or another.
Bumble and I were on our way home from somewhere or other - my fatigued brain forgets where - and there was a rather portly gentleman, all suited and booted, snoring his head off loudly and sound asleep - we were a bit worried he might miss his stop and did try to wake him but he was having none of it! Hope he made it home eventually...

One of the things I detest most about public transport is morons. They come in many forms and everyone who's ever had to share their mode of transport with a single other person will have come across countless morons; the worst are the ones who stop right at the top of the escalator (DON'T TUT AT ME - HOW COULD I AVOID WALKING INTO YOU - THE GROUND I'M STANDING ON IS MOVING AND YOU AREN'T! MORON!) the ones who don't know how to work the barriers at the station or who forget to get their ticket out their purse until they're standing RIGHT in them, thus blocking it for everyone behind them and causing a big queue of people, all of whom are determined to stand on my feet - and once you're on the train, the idiots who use their horrible tinny sounding mobile phones to play their chav music out loud for everyone to "enjoy" causing potentially good tunes to sound like Alvin and the Chipmonks on speed.

Such as this fellow.

I think the woman sitting opposite me would quite gladly have used his mobile to carve off all of his limbs by the time she reached her stop. She was certainly doing her jaw some damage grinding her teeth so much.

You see all kinds of 'alternative' people in London (specially in the fun bits like Camden and Brick Lane and actually anywhere there are markets) and I wish I could get photos of all of them. I wish I'd got a photo of the purple girl - hair, clothes, make up, shoes, giant fake eyelashes, every single piercing - and there were a lot - and braces on her teeth, all purple, it made your eyes hurt to look at her! I did get a photo of this girl's hair and liked it because of it's stripeyness.

Energy flagging...chocolate break...all is well.

I love catching people who are into fashion and who really go for it when they follow what they're told to - I have no idea where to find half the things I see people wearing - and I liked this girl (who also smelt lovely) because she was so colourful, which in rush hour heading into work in the city makes a nice change from the sea of monochrome (including, for the most part, people's skin due to utter exhaustion and tube-smut)

Fighting for your own space on the tube is never easy either - I wouldn't mind so much if it weren't so hard to find something to hold on to - they're rather bouncy on starting and stopping and it makes you fall over, which is embarassing AND means that everyone around you HATES you because you've sat on them or touched them or got too close to touching them - so you have to elbow your way to the few places you can cling to then stand there with some moron (I believe I've mentioned the morons?) hitting you in the face with the paper he insists on reading even though there's no space to hold it up without taking out some eyes...

This here

Is a station I wouldn't normally have seen - nor would The Bumble, had I not rushed us onto the wrong train in a panic thinking we were running late. In the end we were quite late - because we went comletely the wrong way but were so hooked on our sudoku that we didn't realise until quite some time (and distance) had passed. Go Jelly! (I am refusing to accept that I'm one of those morons...though I'm getting closer to being one!)

I love shoes - I love high heels - and I do tend to spend a lot of my time eyeing up and lusting over all the nice shiny shoes the London girls are wearing - and I was very impressed with these ones; not only with the fact they were rather lovely but, more importantly, that their wearer - a rather lovely looking young lady in something of a hurry - was practically sprinting in them. That takes some dedication.

Then we come to today.
Today I had to share my public transport (and my very limited and fiercely protected personal space) with smelly people.
How hard is it? Take a shower. Sponge bath? Squaddie shower would do! Just please, please, please don't be stinky in my personal space - it makes me want to ralph all over your feet!

I'm pretty sure there's a whole lot more to add - but I can't think any more and I'm out of chocolate so I'm going to have to go on the search for some real nutrition.

Love, and all that jazz

Jelly

I think my friend Head uses his thumb for more practical things like holding down diapers and sticking it up men's bums.

We also walked down the F station at 179 and got a healthy look and whiff of human feces on the wall. Great.

you're starting to like me BUT you don't know you are. it's like having a dirt on your face, you don't know you have one unless SOMEBODY TELLS YOU SO. therefore, you need someone to tell you that you're starting to like me. or YOU LOOK IN THE MIRROR long enough to notice that tiny dirt. therefore, you should look hard, try to think about it so you'll realize.

of course, i am assuming again. you know, you've done something again that made me think you do like me. funny eh? but you see, you have to stop doing to me what you're doing so i'll have no reasons to interpret your actions and that i'll stop thinking that you like me. :P

do you have any idea how hard it is to interpret? i bet you know. so stop.

you're making me think so hard that it emanates in my academics. i'm doing very very well in school. inspired? motivated.

thank you nonetheless.

-DU

You often hear the sincere greetings and good intentions, he has a touch of the joy, a smile in the slightest touch mouth, although between you and I seem to have become complicated and confusing, I am still innocent transparent in the air waiting for an elegant Situation, perhaps a kind of floating between the different thoughts, or sorrow or passion or attachment or Danran…… but you did not encounter the atmosphere of expression when a particular scene in front of the numerous performance will pour in . Others have not tolerate the slightest bit of the response, emotional like flash floods out.

One kind of pure strong wine is drunk the human who drinks again to understand, one kind of scented tea only then knows including the fragrant tea pot, one kind of feeling only will then miss from morning until evening will only then remember with eternal gratitude, you wants to build a wall at heart for you and take the sentiment as the water and take will love as the putty, sprouting take the net, sealling by the heart, experiencing millennium's standing a severe test, passing through the innumerable Spring and Autumn Period winter! The light breeze passed over gently and swiftly you to send the tree top to stroke your cheek, perhaps, that was I holds the wind the blessing which delivered for you!

In another apartment-lusting session,
(citihabitats.com stop tormenting me)
I pondered the prospects of a new blanket.

I considered a fancy luxury branded blanket,
or something in the impossibly comfy cashmere
but then I came upon these blankets.
Organic.
Undyed.
Knit.
Simple.

And what is more comfy and loving than organic knit blankets?

As of Today, The Dark Knight is the #1 film of all-time on IMDB.

Fuck the Godfather, Batman rocks!

Okay, it's impossible to deny The Dark Knight is a very good film. I'd go so far as to call many of its aspects phenomenal and can't imagine someone not liking the films as a whole. Universal adoration is tricky feat and TDK might have pulled it off. And sure, I hope it gets some Oscar respect because it is tremendously well made and most Oscar-calibur films are bland as sin (not including last years No Country and There Will Be Blood). And like most award films, TDK features a bevy of great performances (and even one classic performance). I hope it gets its due, yada yada yada, all that good stuff.

But... we need a little appropriation and discretion here. To those swarming the boards of IMDB, it's not the greatest film ever. Time decides those kind of things. Not internet rating systems. Not critics. Not reviews. Not awards. Only Time. And time is the very reason people still reference Shawshank Redemption and Pulp Fiction but seem to have forgotten about forest gumps very existence (seriously, I've seen more references to Cast Away recently in the wake of Wall-E).

Hell, I wouldn't even call The Dark Knight the greatest comic book movie of all time. It's in the conversation sure, but to make the argument so clear-cut as most critics and fellow nerds have is slightly ridiculous. Tim Burton's original Batman was just as visionary, albeit in other ways. Even Spider-Man 2 dealt with a lot of the same issues as TDK and I might say it's even more flawless. Hell, I had just as good a time watching Iron Man as I did this film. And that's okay folks. Serious doesn't = better. It's just different.

Another thing. The Dark Knight DID NOT transcend comic book movies. That's a bold face lie propagated by a lot of reviewers and people who don't read comics. If anything, the movies have just finally caught up to the comics after 20+ years. There's nothing about TDK that hasn't really been explored by Batman: Year One, The Long Halloween, and The Killing Joke. And guess what? That's also okay. It's been a long time coming and I sincerely appreciate the effort.

I think what makes The Dark Knight such a hit with critics and audiences is that we all collectively realize there should be a lot more films like it. Iron Man was brain candy perfected, the very thing studios have been wanting to shell out to us for years. It was sweet, fun, exciting and light. A perfect concoction really.

So why is it we all go apeshit for 3 hour crime epic on the nuances of anarchy and alternative heroism?

Easy. Because we don't get enough thoughtfulness in our popcorn movies. The studios are looking to turn in a product they can predict and so a genuinely scary bad guy who strives of anarchy makes em a little nervous. And our cultures "serious" films are almost as flimsy and predictable as the super-hero movies. The various endings of prestige pictures have become as predictable to american audiences as "the good guy wins."

American film-going audiences are much better than people realize. Yeah, many can't necessarily articulate their sentiments but they are perceptive as hell. and that's why TDK is getting so much acclaim. It's filling a void modern movies have left in us and I love that.

So as for the actual movie... here's some nerd analysis:

TDK was bloated. There's no way around. It was all incredibly well executed and directed so you don't notice it so much. But damn, a lot of stuff never really came to fruition (what was the significance of Joker breaking the Asian crime-lord guy out of jail? I think he burned him in the money pile but it was never made clear. Seriously. Messy for something that occupied a half hour+ of running time.

The film also features a lot of great political, social, and legal commentary. It's stuff you don't get too much of in these films and that's shame. Sure it's laid on a little thick, but at least it's not politico-lite (corruption versus good! etc). It's a nice touch (Devin Faraci did some nice work in his review comparing it to The Wire)

Honestly, I loved Aaron Eckhart (I usually appreciate his work in general) and his take on Harvey Dent. He was really the driving force of the film since the entire plot is really just a reaction to his very presence. They enforce his whole persona very much: he is our very ideals, as the oft referenced "White Knight." It was all really nicely observed. With Eckhart being our ideals, that leaves Gary Oldman to pull off some tremendous humanity as the everyman Lt. Gordon. Considering how many baddies Oldman's played in his time it's a special revelation to see him like this. I liked him just the same way with his performance in Batman Begins. Maggie Gyylleennhhaallll shows why Katie Holmes not-as-distracting-as-everyone-claims performance in BB was actually much worse than I thought: with just a few more scenes she turns the Rachel character from merely servicable to fully-functional with in the world of TDK. I'm amazed how much her presence changed the dynamic, and even made the endeavor a little sexual, which is desperately needed in the dour landscape of this films. And yeah, Michael Caine is good as always. Hell, all the actors in this film are just good.

Which brings us to Heath Ledger.

With Heath's Joker, well, you really have to just see it. There's no real way to explain and the reason the hyperbole doesn't get in the way is because there's no real apt way to describe it. It's a special performance. It's unique. It's easily one of the great all time villain performances. My friend Ken aptly described it as "100% nihilistic glee" but there's more to it then that. It's jaw-dropping in its nuance and exclamations. The Joker's intro to the crime syndicates (not opening bank job) was electric, the entire theater just came alive watching him on screen. I can't remember the last time I've seen something like that. Right afterwards, I wanted to see the film again, but only just his scenes. They took what was started with Alan Moore's The Killing Joke and perfected it. There's no origin story. Attempts to throw a little pop psychology in the mix are wonderfully ridiculed by the Joker himself. As the Nolan bros put it, their Joker is "absolute."

Which makes the whole thing a little bittersweet. There's a line near the end where Joker looks at Batman and says "we're going to do this forever." It's a tremendous nod to the endless cyclical nature of hero and villain in comics... But it won't be going on forever. Ledger died and I think this incarnation of the character dies with him. Perhaps it's just too good to spoil. It's too much his own. And a part of me hates that. I hate that we won't see more of him. Maybe it's better that way, maybe it makes it timeless. But the very turmoil in my mind is proof-positive of the effectiveness of his performance: We want it to live forever.

You'll also notice I haven't made mention of Batman or Bale yet. That's cause Batman's boring.

Let's get serious folks, people are attracted to Batman because he is our dark fantasy. He's what we wish we could be, but that makes him far from human or interesting. In the better versions of the comics he's only interesting when we get into those more difficult moral dilemmas. The film deals with that stuff tangentially but far too swiftly (I sincerely hope it's what they address it more clearly in the next one).

But I finally came on board with this version of Batman with that memorable ending. Well, it's memorable to me. It's not a stunner or anything, but just a remarkable clarification of the things you realize they've been hitting you over the head with the entire movie. They finally get to heart of Batman's very existence as really nothing more than an idea. Which is really the right way to go in this thing. At the very end, after we realize The Joker was really going after the White Knight Harvey Dent (Devin Faraci also did a nice comparison saying that Batman almost works as the Joker's accomplice in anarchy), they finally bring it back to Batz. He makes a choice to sacrifice his own image, which is sometimes the one thing a hero is never seems willing to do. And by making that sacrifice, he honors his namesake:

He's The Dark Knight bitch.

UPDATE: I like, just can't believe that like, the words "like" and "just" are like, so big in that word cloud. I just like, felt like I just wasn't using those words, just like, as much these days. Like, I need to just start like, writing more without like, just using the words "like" and "just" so much..

\

so fly

After a tired day spent reading at Borders in between work, somehow I came up with an idea.

Instead of paying $25 for something I will never touch twice, and resell for maybe $7, why don't I see if I can download it. And so, I have downloaded an e-reader for my Blackberry.

I'm deeming it the cool new thing. Reading is cool. And saving trees is very cool. And so is ignoring everyone else but your beloved Crackberry.

Anyhow, after a lost (and not found) debit card, a found mini debit card (I knew it would be useful someday- and soo cute-, I downloaded the reader and eagerly downloaded some chick-lit to read out in the non-existent sunshine that I was planning on enjoying on my half-day-off.

In my efforts to be frugal (yay NYC!) I decided not to download the newer book I began in Barnes and Noble (Chasing Harry Winston, don't judge me.) but rather begin on the $3 Everyone Worth Knowing, which looked worthy of major brain candy. Don't judge me.

But alas, in my efforts to save money, and be cool, I mistakenly downloaded STAR TREK: Out of the Cocoon. WTF. "For the forty-seventh time in the past eight days, Elizabeth Lense ran her medical tricorder up and down her abdomen and checked the scan results. Yep. Still pregnant, all right." (Quote STAR TREK: Out of the Cocoon"). Maybe I'll give it a try. (Enter awkward joking face.)

(Discovery. I tried it again. Almost clicked buy. When I discovered that there is a mislink. The title of Star Trek next to a picture of a trendy girl behind a velvet rope. I think this is some ebook nerd's sick humor to get back at those bitchy girls in high school. You win. But I'm not a bitch.
Fuck it. I'm buying the expensive book I wanted all along.)

Manly drinking etiquette is important in today's society. With the right etiquette applied you can become a cold, hardened sociopath who doesn't care about anything, or anyone, you'll literally be harder than frozen dog shit. Without it, you are nothing more than an effeminate little nancy boy spending his, bitch-boy, pocket money on alcohol he can't hope to appreciate, floundering and drowning in a sea of your own feminine hormones.

First off, If it isn't beer, whiskey, vodka, or a bourbon, you shouldn't be drinking it.

Here's a basic run down of the "dos, the don'ts", the "do drink"s and the "don't drink"s, of dominant male culture.

Beer, the wine of the common man.

Drinking beer is often done in a time saving, haphazard, fashion by men.

"The faster I drink it, the faster my night will stop sucking." - Seems to be the generally applied rule these days. But, a fine beer, is like a fine meal, granted it's a liquidized meal, but it's a meal all the same. You should savour each moment of drinking your golden nectar. Drink it slow. Another important tip would be to not spill your beer over a waitresses breasts, it may seem hilarious at the time, and while being slapped in the face is definitely a sign of manhood, wasting beer most definitely isn't.

Whiskey, brewed from Clint Eastwood's sweat.

Ah whiskey, my alcoholic beverage of choice. It should be noted, that whiskey, is a different breed of animal. If you're used to drinking beer, you may need to practice drinking whiskey at home. So, break up with your girlfriend, buy a bottle of Jameson's, go home, and sit in the dark and practice your whiskey face.

In an ideal world, no man would suffer from whiskey face, i.e., that distortion of ones entire face, that looks like an epileptic, tied to a chair, in front of a strobe light.

However, this world is not ideal, and if it is entirely impossible for you to drink whiskey without pulling faces, at least try to ensure that when you involuntary spasm into your whiskey face, you look like Clint Eastwood having a shit. The preferred whiskey face is always "grimace." (More on grimacing later.)

Whiskey, like most alcoholic beverages, tends to make me quite violent and angry, which is probably helps to explain why I, self-destructively, drink it by the bottle.

However, it should be noted, that after consuming an entire bottle of Whiskey, your ability to throw a punch, let alone fight will have been reduced to zero. I like many others learnt this the hilarious way.

Vodka, it's mantastic!

Vodka tastes like having an angry Russian man shove sand-paper, and carpet that a cat has urinated all over, down your throat. As such, it's really fucking manly. Again drinking Vodka takes practice. Vodka should never be taken in shot form, a shot of Vodka is moronic, and for women.

Vodka doesn't have a high enough alcohol percentage to be taken as a shot, I'd just like to make this clear, because I see way too many people asking for shots of Vodka and Whiskey these days, if you're going to order a shot, it is to be absinthe 75% or higher.

Bourbon, the gentleman's drink.

Bourbon one of the few drinks that can make you look like either of two extremes, a 75 year old down and out heroin junkie, or a sophisticated socialite on a high flying night out. Ensure you look like the right one.

Bourbon is a drink that should not be thrown down your throat in a matter of milliseconds to the chant of "CHUG CHUG CHUG." So don't do it. It makes you look like a moron.

Alcopops, the scourge of male alcoholism.

Alcopops make you look like a slutty teenage girl. Don't drink them, ever. Let's say a man comes up to you and your woman in a bar, he notes you're drinking an alcopop, he starts hitting on your woman, feeling her up and what not. You demand he stop, as all manly men do.

What does he do? He continues.

Why? Because he has no respect for you, he sees you as an uglier version of your girlfriend with no tits and no luke-warm hole in your crotch.

In short alcopops are about as manly as sitting down to pee.

Mixing Spirits

It makes you a little fucking girl. What's the fucking point in ordering a drink as manly as Vodka, only to show a complete lack of respect for "the destroyer of men" by mixing it with fucking orange juice.

Don't mix shit, only women mix their drinks, and you're not a woman.

10 manly things to do on a night out.

1. Fight.
2. Drink.
3. Smoke a cigar.
4. Get laid.
5. Have sex with a friend of your ex.
6. Use a fat friend as a wing-man.
7. Be really misogynistic.
8. Make fun of the weakest man in the group.
9. Get a blow-job in a toilet cubical.
10. Destroy public property. (I highly recommend phone boxes.)