Lorem Ipsum

Ever wondered what that website dummy text "Lorem Ipsum..." meant? I googled it and according to this site, it's from Cicero's "de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum" (The Extremes of Good and Evil), written around 2,000 years ago. The line goes:

Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem.

which supposedly means:

Nor again is there anyone who loves or pursues or desires to obtain pain of itself, because it is pain, but because occasionally circumstances occur in which toil and pain can procure him some great pleasure.

So there. The whole thing is a commentary on pain and pleasure.

(It's quite a cool trivia to know. Plus, Cicero's whole text itself makes sense.)

:)

Would you

Would you like to have this trailer for your next desert jaunt?

:)

Clever

In order to spread awareness of global warming, an ad company created this for HSBC. Both the idea and the implementation are way clever. I like! :)

Solace

I got this from IMDB trivia for Bond 22: "Quantum of Solace", from Ian Fleming's short story with the same title, is "a precise figure defining the comfort/humanity/fellow feeling required between any pair of people for love to survive. If the Quantum of Solace is 0, then love is dead." (Haven't read the story myself as the only Bond literature I ever read was 'Dr No', but the Bond geeks in the IMDB community can't be wrong.) Anyway, it's a cool concept to know.

:)

22

I finally got to watch Quantum of Solace (aka Bond 22), for which I had to prepare myself so that I thought of nothing but Bond before going to the movie house. For the duration of the movie, my eyes were glued to the screen: it was so action-packed that I was afraid of missing a sequence if I so much as blinked.
My thoughts:
Daniel Craig carried the Relentless-Avenging-Angel Bond very well, especially in the intro chase sequence and the consequent dome-hanging sequence (way cool!). I was quite a bit ticked-off with M (talk about unsupportive work mother), for not standing up to the Prime Minister and for not trusting Bond enough. (OK, so trust is not quite the rage in their line of work, but still, he's her best agent!) I felt sorry for Mathis (though I thought he was a villain that last time). Olga Kurylenko's character matched Bond's, in that both of them had scores to settle, and I was glad Bond didn't have to go through it alone. At least both got closure. I liked the way that the story unfolded, though I would have liked to see Bond vent his anger on Vesper's Ex (read: trash the jerk guy into a pulp). Bond's character development from the start to the end of the film was great, and the events of Casino Royale and 22 kind of explains why Bond is, well, Bond. And the hanging mystery of the Word-wide Evil Organization (in which the villain du jour, Dominic Greene is a member of) makes for an interesting sequel starter.
I liked Casino Royale's intro better, with the cards-and-shadow concept. This one's intro ("Another Way to Die" by Jack White and Alicia Keys) was great half-way through: I liked the sands-and-woman's-contour idea, but didn't like it when the sequence reverted to the usual dancing-women's-shadow concept common in most Bond films.)
Bond Girls usually have ... interesting names (e.g. Pussy Galore, Plenty O'Toole, Kissy Suzuki, etc) but I was caught off-guard when I learned from IMDB that Agent Fields' first name was Strawberry! (Hahaha Strawberry Fields! Oh, the jokes I could make on her name...) And for the record, I was upset that she had to go...
Was Dominic Greene villain enough? I say taking control of a country's water supply (among other evil things) is just plain devious. But did he make it to my top 5 Bond villains? Hmmm, I haven't decided yet...
And I just have to say this: MI6's computer monitor was way beyond cool! I want one! (And I will accept a doorless Aston Martin.)
Overall, all elements are accounted for: evil villains, fast cars, beautiful and tough Bond girls, cool gadgets, hot man in a tuxedo, fantastic scenery, action and more action. I like Casino Royale better, but Bond 22 still rocks! (And I am looking forward to a new sequel!)

16

They say that hindsight is the best sight. But I wish someone had told me about this list before letting me loose into the world. Cool insight, highly appreciated.

:)

Victorious

And Hopeful.

:)

While waiting

While waiting for election results, here are some funny images from flickzzzz.com:

1. Weird signs
2. Funny animals (Expand the "Reason Sometimes Dogs Hate Humans" section.)

:)

An important choice

In a few hours, popular voting for the highest office in the United States of America and the World, will commence. Both candidates have stressed that change is needed. This is the time when we most need someone who can bring about justice and fairness not just for Americans but for the rest of the world. I pray that the one chosen will be the one that the world needs, not just the one that the world deserves.

(As an aside, I wagered a friend that my Presidential bet will win by popular and electoral vote. And I have faith in Americans: David Cook DID win in American Idol 7, so it is not unwise to hope that the right guy will also be chosen for the Presidency. :P )