SINGH IS BLING, NR ( 2 hr & 20 min )

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I went to see this on Saturday, October 10th, 2015, in Richmond, CA, at the CENTURY HILLTOP 16, for the 9:45 p.m. show in auditorium 13, 5th row ( counting from the front ), 5th column ( counting from the left ). The price of admission was $11.25. And I bought a medium upgrade on a free small Buttered Popcorn for $0.65 and a medium Powerade Zero Orange for $4.20 at the concessions counter.

Quickie Review: A bumbling son who cannot hold a job is sent by his exasperated father to another city to work for a family friend. Through sheer luck, his bumbling ways endear him to his boss and gains him the position of personal bodyguard to his boss's beautiful and sexy niece.

The audience liked it. Go see this if you like comedy.

As for me, although this movie was funny and light-hearted, I think that Akshay Kumar needs to broaden his acting repertoire as his movies seem to be "cut from the same monotonous cloth". The plot and dialogues in this movie needed some more polish. Bear in mind, with the international success of SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE and LIFE OF PI, India has the potential to make itself a serious contender in international films.

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I hadn't visited my friend, Hector, and his family, in quite a while. I figured that it was high time that I paid them a visit at their place in Oakland, CA.

I did some grocery shopping first because I seem to always be the "designated" cook whenever I would pay them a visit.

I stopped at the Pinole, CA, Safeway Supermarket for groceries. I met Charles there. I used to work with him a few years ago. He lives in Vallejo, too, like I do. But he prefers to commute and pay toll, I guess.

The afternoon commute on the freeway was starting to get heavy as cars moved in stop-and-go traffic. Then, just about half a mile away from the Ashby Avenue, Berkeley, Exit on I-80, at approximately 2:12 p.m., I WAS REAR-ENDED! I put on my hazard lights as I drove across four lanes to stop at the shoulder to inspect for damages. The other driver, Anthony C., pulled over to the shoulder, too. He was a 27-year old Pilipino who was traveling with his two Pilipino friends. We showed each other our IDs and we took pictures of each other's car. His car's driver's side airbag didn't deploy. So, I guess that he was driving at a low speed when he rear-ended me. There was no damage to my car's rear bumper but his car's front bumper was very slightly, ever so slightly, misaligned on the right side edge and his front license plate was slightly bent. Imagine that, my old Hyundai is tougher than his young Honda.

Anyway, Anthony asked me more than once if I was okay. I should have lied and said that my neck was whiplashed at impact. Well, my neck had been bothering me for over a week since before the accident.  I think that I slept on it wrong; I blame it on one particular pillow that I used. I will just have to have my chiropractor pop my neck back into alignment next week.

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When I got to Hector's place, I found out that his cat, Harry Potter ( a.k.a. Snow White ), went missing for about a week and returned home hardly able to walk. I commented that since his cat is white, and since they live in a predominantly colored neighborhood, Harry Potter was probably accosted and abducted by a gang of colored cats who worked him over everyday until he was able to escape his captors.

Harry Potter looked okay to me. And, like most cats, he slept most of the time that I was there.

I brought some canned cat food with me because Rusty, the old stray orange tabby that I feed at my condominium complex, has been missing since mid-July. I believe that Rusty had finally passed away. He was not looking well the last time that I fed him, and he hardly ate his food. I guess that he showed up just to make his final goodbye to me. Rusty was a good cat. If only I was able to own a cat at my condo, I would have gladly taken him in. I hope that he fares better in his future life. Rusty lived for about 17 human years.

Hector had bought one of those adjustable lens eyeglasses, the one called, Instant 20/20 Vision. I tried it. And it works but you have to set each lens to a certain distance each time you look at a different object.

I cooked some Arroz Con Cojones for everyone.  Basically, it's just Arroz Con Gandules but with some quail eggs added in--my own invention. The can of quail eggs said that it had 8 servings of 5 eggs each. Heck, it had a total of only 14 eggs in it! What a rip-off. I knew that I should have bought 2 cans instead of just one.

I bought more than enough tomatoes, peppers and cilantro earlier at the grocery store to make a salsa dip for a bag of purple corn chips that I brought along with me. I also brought a little tub of hummus for them to try.

My Arroz Con Cojones.-

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Once again, there were no plates, forks, spoons, and glasses in the kitchen. I found out from Hector that his youngest son's girlfriend that lives with them in the garage takes the tableware and silverware down to the garage and throws them away once she and Ivan, the youngest son, were done using them. I am simply tired of buying bowls, plates, spoons, forks, knives and mugs every single time that I go over for a visit! I told Hector to sit his son down and give him a good talking-to. I have not visited Hector for a long time because of this particular son and the girlfriend of ill-repute ( don't ask me to elaborate, you know what I mean by it ). The next time that I go for a visit, I hope that his son will have come to his senses and will have gotten rid of the girlfriend or that both of them will have moved-out by then! I don't even think that Hector knows about his youngest son's girlfriend's true "profession", and I have the mind to eventually tell him so!  Whatever, I am losing interest in my long-standing friendship with Hector because he lets his youngest son and his crazy wife take advantage of him and he doesn't listen to sound advice from me or from any of his other children.

I took this photo after the movie ended. This poster is displayed directly across from the men's room.

On my way home, traffic came to a crawl just about a mile away from the toll booth plaza because most of the toll lanes were closed for the evening. It was already past midnight. They left open 3 fast track lanes and only 2 cash only lanes. Some drivers who were paying in cash drove further down before squeezing in. I just hate idiots who cut in line like that. The two cars ahead of mine changed lanes and I followed them. Oops! I made a mistake. And I couldn't get back in line because the other cars wouldn't let me in. I felt like everyone thought that I was one of those assholes who cut in line. Mercifully, a driver finally allowed me back in the lane. I learned my lesson. Next time, in such a situation, I will swing on over to the right lane a.s.a.p. because the left lane is where assholes cut in line!

And how was your commute?


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THE MARTIAN, PG-13 ( 2 hr & 22 min )

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where: CENTURY 14 VALLEJO in Vallejo, CA
when: Thursday, October 1st, 2015
show: 8:30 p.m. 2-D advance screening
costs: $11.25 Ticket + $5.05 junior Buttered Popcorn + $4.70 one litre Dasani Water = $21.00
auditorium: 7
seat: 5th row ( counting from the front ), 9th column ( counting from the left )

synopsis/overview: During a manned Mars mission, astronaut Mark Watney ( Matt Damon ), is presumed dead and left behind when a fierce storm jeopardizes the crew's mission. Mark must overcome the red planet's seeming inhospitable environment to stay alive while awaiting a rescue mission that may or may not be successful.

noteworthy scenes: 1.) Storm warning; 2.) Suit breach detected; 3.) News coverage; 4.) Surgery; 5.) Video log; 6.) "I'm not gonna die"; 7.) Food supply; 8.) "Mars will come to fear my botany powers"; 9.) Crucifix; 10.) Explosion; 11.) Condensation; 12.) Rescue proposal; 13.) Satellite emergency; 14.) Satellite images; 15.) Disco music; 16.) "I'm gonna have to science the shit out of this"; 17.) Heating problem; 18.) Plutonium; 19.) Hot Stuff; 20.) Meeting; 21.) Potatoes; 22.) Map; 23.) Pathfinder; 24.) Yes/No; 25.) "I know where he's going"; 26.) "Hows the crew"; 27.) Video File Received; 28.) "They won't shut-up"; 29.) "Greatest botanist on the planet"; 30.) "He's the Fonz"; 31.) "That's assuming nothing goes wrong"; 32.) Malfunction; 33.) Duct tape; 34.) "Forty-seven days"; 35.) "It's not real science"; 36.) "I need more coffee"; 37.) Stretched food rations; 38.) Iris Launch; 39.) E-mail; 40.) Chinese; 41.) Eight days; 42.) Calculations correct; 43.) Astrodynamics; 44.) Flyby; 45.) "Five-hundred thirty-three days more"; 46.) Joint mission; 47.) International Waters; 48.) "I'm the first"; 49.) "Capt. Blondbeard"; 50.) Tarpaulin; 51.) Convertible; 50.) Eject; 51.) "They're on their own"; 52.) Below Target Altitude"; 53.) "Sixty-eight kilometers"; 54.) Iron Man; 55.) Bomb; 56.) "Hey, there"; 57.) Day One; and 58.) Bonus Scenes during the Ending Credits.

audience reaction: The audience liked this movie. But no one gave it a "Hands Clapper" ending.

recommendation: I liked this movie, too. Go see this movie.

spoiler alert! The day after the storm, as the camera zooms-in for a close-up of Mark's helmeted face, the cameraman's reflection could be seen on the face shield. I would think that his suit would slowly leak air once punctured. During the self-administered surgery, his hands should have been shaking as he fought with his hands' tendency to pull away from the self-affliction. Hmm ... the last time that I checked, we all exhale Carbon Dioxide. And we don't inhale pure Oxygen, either. In extreme subzero temperatures, microbes die off, including microbes in fecal matter. And since it is the microbes that are responsible for the smell of feces, feces won't have its characteristic smell in a subzero temperature Martian environment. In that breached habitat on Mars, he would need more heat to warm up that particular room because of the extreme subzero temperatures. If the rescue mission was so critical, why did the head of the planning division at JPL sit around to watch video transmissions from the stranded astronaut when he was already under pressure to finish his task a.s.a.p.? Owing to the distance between Earth and Mars, the transmissions would have long pauses in-between the transmitting and the receiving phases. Why were the Russians not involved in the rescue mission?

And according to space.com, the Martian Ares 3 habitat's location on Acidalia Planitia is actually rough and hard to traverse, contrary to how it's depicted in this movie.  http://www.space.com/30400-the-martian-how-to-stay-alive-on-mars-infographic.html

fyi: My notes are incomplete because my ink pen wouldn't work every now and then. I think some popcorn grease got smeared on my notepad and caused the ink to skip every now and then. I might have to switch to using a gel pen. Because it is hard to correct such a problem in a darkened theatre auditorium!

Now, why would they let-in the movie audience on how to make a cheap bomb---Kids, don't try this at home!

Why are outer-space missions named after pagan gods? Some conspiracy theorists believe it's because there is a secret society that controls the world and which worships the Devil. Hence, space missions are so named to appease the "gods".

Sandra Bullock's GRAVITY ( 2013 ) and this movie share one thing in common: The Chinese are always there to save our sorry asses in outer space! What the heck is going on? Are we that scientifically incompetent or is Hollywood blatantly currying favor from the Chinese? This reminds me of FATAL ATTRACTION ( 1987 ). Back then, Japan had a "most favored nation trade status" with the US. So, Hollywood had a different FATAL ATTRACTION ending made especially for its Japanese market. So, now, I guess that it's China's turn to have a "most favored nation trade status" with the US!

One of my co-workers, years ago, told me that while he was away at college, he subsisted mostly on a diet of eggs, ramen noodles and lots of potatoes! I think the writer of this movie was also a potatoes-kind-of-guy back in college.

word of advice: "At some point, everything's gonna go south on you." Astronaut Mark Watney

tidbits: Aside from this movie, there were three other movies that were shown as special screenings. I couldn't possibly see all of them. So, I decided on seeing this movie.

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HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 2, PG ( 1 hr & 29 min )

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I went to see this 3-D movie today, Monday, September 28ht, 2015, here in Vallejo, CA, at the CENTURY 14 VALLEJO, for the 1:10 p.m. show in auditorium 2, 4th row ( counting from the front ), 7th column ( counting from the left ). The price of admission was $10.75 ( 1st show 3-D matinee price ). And I bought a Snack Pak ( junior drink, junior popcorn w/ butter and natural fruit gummies ) for $5.35 at the concessions counter.

Quickie Review:  Count Dracula's daughter gives birth to a half-human baby boy. But is the baby boy just mostly human or half-vampire? Only time will tell.

There were just a few people in the audience. And I don't think that I noticed any brats with them. But they seemed to all like this movie.

I liked this movie enough. Your little brats might want to go see this movie.

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I started my day with a trip to my chiropractor's office for a spinal adjustment. He also popped my right shoulder back in place.

I hurt my shoulder almost two weeks ago. How did it happen? I dislocated my right shoulder simply by putting on a polo shirt! Yep, that was all it took to mess-up my already bad shoulder.

I first injured my right shoulder back in 1975 or 1976 when I went swimming across the path of a water duct which was filling the artificial lake, Lake Elizabeth, in Hayward, CA, with water. The water stream was strong enough to tear my rotator cuff.

And my left shoulder's rotator cuff was torn when I wrestled in high school back in December of 1977.

Both shoulders get dislocated every now and then. I just have to get a chiropractor to pop either one back into its socket. Believe me, it initially hurts to have it popped back in. But, when done right, the shoulder is once again "good-to-go" until ... it ... gets ... dislocated ... again! Oh, boy, it's not something that I look forward to.

After my doctor's appointment, I drove on over to Fed-Ex Kinko's new location on Admiral Callaghan Lane here in Vallejo to have some xerox copies made. This mail-and-print business relocated just a few yards away from their old location. Their old location was formerly a restaurant. Black Angus Restaurant, I think. Their new location once was an Indian lunch buffet restaurant, Stara Indian Cuisine.

There used to be three Indian buffet restaurants here in Vallejo. Now, there's none. The closest one is in the adjoining city, Benicia.

And I walked on over to the nearby Safeway Supermarket to buy some hairspray and a loaf of organic bread.

My periodontist's clinic is right behind the Safeway Supermarket. I swung by there to drop of a payment.

Before I did anything else, I debated with myself whether to see the 12:00 p.m. 2-D show or the 1:10 p.m. 3-D show. I decided to see the 3-D version, instead.

But that meant that I would have to while away the intervening time by having lunch first ( 1st meal of the day ) then shopping next. I drove on over to Selecta Pilipino Buffet Restaurant on Springs Road for lunch and to buy some lottery tickets. Then, I went next door to the 99-Cent Only Store to buy a protein shaker bottle and an over-door hanging hook.

The Selecta Pilipino Buffet Restaurant owner and I got to talking about last night's lunar eclipse. He said that since it was a special kind of eclipse, he had to watch it. Especially since the next one won't be around for another 18 years. He jokingly remarked that he might not be around by then.

Then the restaurant owner talked about the possibility of life after death, that we move on to another planet in our next life.  I said that that is quite conceivable since our Sun is at least a second generation star which would mean that there was possibly a solar system in place well before our current one was created. And I mentioned that Einstein's equation, E = MC squared, simply means that mass turns into energy--or soul/spirit, in our case. And that "for every action, there is an equal but opposite reaction," meaning that the cycle of life and death goes on; therefore, the universe has got to be infinite. And he mentioned also that he was present at the moment of death of one of his patients back when he was a Navy corpsman; that the air current in the room changed direction at the patient's passing. He believes that it was the soul/spirit of the dead man leaving the room. And he added that scientists have noticed that a person is noticeably "lighter" at the moment of death. He said that this is proof of life after death.

The man ahead in line of me at the checkout lane in the 99-Cent Only Store had me go in front of him since I only had two items. That was nice of him. OR ... he didn't like having me stand behind his hot wife as I waited for my purchase to be rung up. Ha, ha, ha.

At the theatre, I learned that one of the employees lives in Benicia. He recognized me. Imagine that, he lives in Benicia but works in Vallejo. And I live in Vallejo but work in Benicia. We talked about last night's 4th Tetrad Blood Moon/Harvest Moon. He watched it down on 1st Street in Benicia, at the dock. I watched it across from the condominium where I live, at Dan Foley Park's Sports ( soccer/baseball ) Field.

As I was getting napkins and jalapeno peppers ( to put on my buttered popcorn ) at the condiments counter, I overheard a couple of black ladies deciding on what snack to buy. When one of them mentioned getting a Snack Pak, I showed them my purchase just to give them a good idea of what to expect for their money. Of course, most of the employees at the theatre know that I'm a regular customer and they always give me generous portions whenever management is not around to watch! Those ladies might get disappointed once they're presented with their portion sizes. Ha, ha, ha.

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September 27th, 2015, Sunday.  The Fourth Tetrad Blood Moon/Harvest Moon Lunar Eclipse:

I found this on the Internet. As I mentioned on my FOUR BLOOD MOONS blog ( April 15th, 2015 ), tetrad blood moons are directly connected to events that solely impact Israel. We'll know in the next few days if there is substance to this claim.

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I went to the sports field at 7:40 p.m. and I left at 9:00 p.m. I saw the one-of-a-kind lunar eclipse just as it was waxing 'til it started waning. It was visible right above the field and to the left of it. How I wished I had the foresight to buy an astronomy telescope with an attached camera beforehand! The next such lunar eclipse is expected to happen approximately 18 years from now. I had better have an astronomy telescope by then!

Some kids remarked that the moon looked red. Funny, it looked brown to me! Whatever ....

There was an adult soccer match taking place as I watched the lunar eclipse. Actually, there were two matches, one after the other.

During the 1st match, I went to the snack bar to see if they had Cheese Nachos. But the Hispanic lady at the snack bar informed me--in Spanish, no less--that they were out of cheese, that she could just sell me a plate of nacho chips. Funny thing was, I understood her perfectly even though I spoke to her in English. I guess that if you drop me in the middle of a Hispanic crowd I'd be easily mistaken for one of them. Hey, Hollywood, are you paying attention here? You can use me as a "walk-on extra" in a Hispanic Crowd Scene. Ha, ha, ha.

As I watched the game, I noticed a funny-looking dog being walked on a leash. 'Thing was, it wasn't a dog at all. It was a Siamese cat that was perfectly fine being walked on a leash. A leashed dog approach the cat but nothing bad happened between the two of them. I think that the dog just thought of the cat as a weird-looking puppy. A little girl tried to walk the cat. But the cat got loose as it playfully chased after something. Its owner was able to fetch it, though.

I ended up with two mosquito bites on the outside of my right forearm,  just below the elbow, as a reminder of the time that I watched the rare lunar eclipse.  Two bites isn't bad, I guess,  because there were other human bodies at the field for the blood-sucking bugs to feast on.

At 9:00 p.m., I decided to leave because I wanted to see the last 2-D showing of this movie which was scheduled for 9:20 p.m. But, by then, it was too late and I didn't want to rush to the theatre just to see a movie in time. Besides, since I was off the following day, I could just go and see its 3-D 1st show matinee then at a cheaper price of admission!

Did any of you guys get to see the 4th Tetrad Blood Moon/Harvest Moon Lunar Eclipse last night?

And September also marks the end of a Shemitah Year ( in Jewish tradition, a release from old debts ). People are expecting a stock market crash any time soon!


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Double Feature Tuesday, September 15th, 2015

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Since it was a $5.00 All-Day Tuesday at the EDWARDS FAIRFIELD STADIUM 16 & I-MAX in Fairfield, CA, I decided to take my time going to the movies and have lunch first at Great Moon Chinese Buffet located at the opposite end of the Westfield Shopping Mall, in Fairfield, from the theatre. I haven't been there in about a year. It was my first meal of the day. I arrived there at 3:45 p.m., meaning I only had 55 minutes before the start of the 1st movie that I wanted to see that day.

It was a pleasant surprise to see that they really serve Mongolian Beef. Other Chinese buffet restaurants have taken to serving Mongolian Pork, instead--boo! And they had a couple of chicken dishes which I liked ( I forget their names, though ). But, I didn't have enough time for dessert because the 1st movie was about to start. I spent $8.49 for lunch plus $1.00 for tip.

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I went to see the 3:40 p.m. showing of 90 MINUTES IN HEAVEN ( PG-13, 2 hr & 1 min ) in auditorium 15, 4th row ( counting from the front ), 5th seat ( counting from the left ). The price of admission was $5.00---Cheap!

There were a number of people who turned out for this show which is based on a true story of a pastor who was killed in a head-on collision one rainy day but miraculously came back to life. The audience liked this inspirational movie. You might want to check this movie out if you like faith-based inspirational movies.

But I couldn't help but wonder why God would have the pastor go through all that pain and misery just to affirm his Divinity. Did the pastor do something terrible, or take God's name in vain, for God to allow him to suffer in such a way?

I had a one-hour break in between movies so that I was able to do more Zhunti Mantras in the privacy of my car. Then, it was back to the movies for me.

Speaking of Mongolian ....

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I went to see the 7:00 p.m. I-Max 3-D showing of WOLF TOTEM ( PG-13, 2 hr & 1 min ) in auditorium 12, 5th row ( counting from the front ), 6th seat ( counting from the left ). The price of admission was $11.50 since it was in I-Max 3-D. I used my movie watcher reward to get a free small Fruit Punch and a $2.00 small Popcorn at the concessions counter.

There was only one other person in the auditorium with me which was too bad because this is a really good movie, a potential Oscar contender for Best Foreign Film, in my opinion. Go see this French/Chinese movie collaboration. It's in Chinese with English subtitles.

This movie is set in 1967 China/Mongolia. An idealistic college student and his friend are sent to Mongolia to teach the mostly illiterate nomads about the Cultural Revolution under Mao Zedong. He and his friend immerse themselves in the nomadic way of life among the Mongolians. And they soon learn the delicate balance of life between the nomads and their main threat, the wolves. When some greedy enterprising people decide to upset this balance, unforeseen consequences take a toll on the nomads' very existence, with innocent lives needlessly lost. In the end, the two friends return to China forever changed and humbled by their personal experience, and learned the importance of responsible coexistence.

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THE VISIT, PG-13 ( 1 hr & 34 min )

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I went to see this on Thursday, September 10th, 2015, here in Vallejo, CA, at the CENTURY 14 VALLEJO, for the advance screening at 9:30 p.m. in auditorium 6, 3rd row ( counting from the front ), 7th column ( counting from the left ). The price of admission was $11.25. And I bought a medium Buttered Popcorn and a medium Powerade Mountain Berry Blast for $9.90 ( $2.00 Off Special with a movie watcher e-mail reward coupon ).

Quickie Review:  Two kids finally get to visit with their life-long estranged grandparents. But things are not as they seem.

The audience liked this quirky Comedy Horror Movie. But none gave it a "Hands Clapper" ending.

I liked this movie, too. M. Night Shyamalan did a good job on this one, if you don't mind the few obvious gaps in logic. Go see this movie if you like Comedy Horror Movies because it will more than likely not disappoint you.

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I've been busy for over a month now "Facebooking" on politics because election year is right around the corner. I'm normally apolitical, never even having bothered to register to vote. But in my 50+ odd years, I've observed a downward spiral in American politics and culture. And I am quite alarmed! Teens who are eligible to vote but are less than a third of my age have identified themselves with the radical and liberal party front-runners solely based on Facebook memes! Don't they know history at all? Well, of course, they don't! They haven't lived long enough to do so.

Yes, the whole country is tired of career politicians who will resort to anything to garner for themselves illegal votes! Yes, the whole country is tired of an emasculated Congress that lets anyone run roughshod on the US Constitution! Yes, the whole country is tired of politicians who renege on their campaign promises! Yes, the new generation of young voters want to carve for themselves a different political identity! But the career politicians that they want to represent their generation are all old enough to be their grandparents. And how is that supposed to represent their generation?

I've reminded them more than once on Facebook that Socialism doesn't work. It failed miserably as an experiment on Plymouth Rock, not once but twice! And it's now failing Venezuela and Greece. The United States will be headed down the same way if the Socialists/Communists have their final say on the matter.

Why would someone of sane mind romanticize the idea of a socialized welfare state wherein the few productive workers must work extra hard to support the lazy, irresponsible lowlifes who feel entitled to the hard-earned wealth of the few? Socialism will only drive businesses away and impose price hikes and limits on commodities as time goes on! And these teens, with their short attention spans, who take things for granted will just end-up being forced to impatiently stand in a mile-long line to buy one measly roll of toilet paper, to use Venezuela's recent predicament as an example, if their socialist movement comes to fruition!

Of all the present presidential campaigners, Donald Trump sticks out prominently with his politically uncouth manners and the fact that he's not a career politician. But are these two things good enough to qualify him to run the country as its president? A good president is someone who has a good cabinet to delegate tasks to. That is what it all simply boils down to. Donald Trump will use his business acumen to do just that. And, of all the campaigners, only Donald Trump was generous enough to give money to the needy everyday folks years before he even decided to run for president! The other campaigners never displayed such generosity. Therefore, Trump is someone who truly cares for the people and the country. And he is the one I would like to see in office who will work to make the US great once again and not renege on his campaign promises.

I had the opportunity to warn the public prior to the 2008 presidential election but I decided not to because I naively thought that people would vote using their minds; but people used their hearts, instead. The same thing happened in 2012! But, in 2012, I tried to warn people, only to have some lowlife shut down my internet connection with a virus!

I may just register to vote in the upcoming Primaries and in the Presidential Election. And I hope that my message will have gotten across this time around.

God Bless America!

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