Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull May 24, 2008
Posted by Joe in : Entertainment, Uncategorized , add a comment
I figured I’d finally get around to updating NJTechie with a review of Indiana Jones 4.
In his latest adventure, Indy is caught up chasing a mysterious crystal skull that our old friend Ox (Professor Oxley) managed to stumble upon. Shortly after, Ox goes crazy, tries returning the skull to a mythological city made completely out of gold, and is later captured by the KGB.
The movie is very Indy-esque; equipped with WAM BAM sound effects for kicks and punches and the same general theme/color of the original films. The movie really holds true to the originals, for the most part.
As an aging actor, Harrison Ford surprisngly looks very similar to the earlier iterations of Indiana Jones. He has a lot of great action sequences and does take jabs at his age (as do the other cast members).
On a scale of 1 to 10, I’d say this movie is about an 8. The actors were fantastic, the movie had great sound and visuals, and the story is about the only thing preventing it from getting a perfect 10 from me.
I won’t give anything away about the story, other than the fact that this mysterious crystal skull is oh so much more than a crystal skull. A twist you wouldn’t have expected from an Indiana Jones movie, for sure.
After seeing the movie, I’m not so sure that the plan to create more sequels starring Shia LeBeouf is such a good idea, but only time will tell. Without Harrison driving the film, it just won’t be Indiana Jones anymore, or, well, it will be, but… yeah, you’ll just have to see the film to understand that.
How to Hook up A Receiver January 5, 2008
Posted by Joe in : Technobabble , add a commentIn shameless self promotion, I direct your attention to my new website HowToHookItUp.
This particular How-To gives you the low down on hooking up a home theatre receiver. It goes in depth describing each type of input, laying out your setup, and connecting the cables. Check out How to Hook up a Receiver today!
Warner Brothers Drops Support of HD DVD January 4, 2008
Posted by Joe in : Technobabble , add a commentIts unfortunate, but this may just be the end of HD DVD.
Today, Warner Brothers announced it will discontinue support for HD DVD after May of this year. From then on out, Warner will only put out Blu-Ray and regular DVD movies.
You can read more about it from the Warner Brothers press release indicating the move to Blu-Ray exclusively.
HD DVD still has Paramount and Universal, two huge players, but they support both HD DVD and Blu-Ray. I was really hoping HD DVD would pull through, but it doesn’t look good.
Rudy Guiliani: New Host of “Fear Factor” in Near Future
Posted by Joe in : Political Circus , add a commentThat is, of course, after he loses the 2008 Presidential Election.
If you’ve seen some of Rudy’s election ads on TV, you might have seen the ones that insinuate America will be under attack by terrorists in the near future, and that Rudy is ready to kick some ass.
Read on to see one of these ads and find out why Rudy should never be your president.
BSN Syntha-6 Review January 3, 2008
Posted by Joe in : Health and Fitness , add a commentAs the only supplement I’m still taking as part of my workout regime, Syntha-6 is an essential component to body building. Its protein, people!
Two scoops of Syntha-6 gives you approximately 44 grams of protein. More than enough for one workout. Ideally, you should have 2-3 of these shakes every day and especially three on workout days. Your body needs anywhere from 80 to 180 grams of protein per day to build new muscle. Don’t starve it!
Review continued after the jump below.
TomTom One XL is Garbage December 31, 2007
Posted by Joe in : Technobabble , add a commentSomeone I know recently bought themselves a TomTom One XL GPS. I’ve never owned a TomTom device, so I went about researching them online.
The One XL unit in particular seemed to receive your typical reviews with some ups and downs. Overall, it looked like a solid unit, and at a price of $200, I figured it was a good buy.
Oops.
The Quality of Modern Music December 29, 2007
Posted by Joe in : Entertainment , add a commentDepending on how long you’ve been around (remember records…?), you might have witnessed a decay in audio quality over the years. Ask a teenager if CD quality audio is as good as it gets, and they wouldn’t know any better. Someone who has grown up with other audio formats, however, can tell a different story: today’s music is loud and bland, unlike music that used to come on records and 8-tracks.
Why is this? For lack of better words, ignorance. Rolling Stone has an article all about why our audio quality has slowly degraded over the years and tells us what we’re missing out on.
Click on that Rolling Stone link to read about the decline in audio fidelty. Then get angry!
Aliens Versus Predator: Requiem (Reviewed!) December 27, 2007
Posted by Joe in : Entertainment , add a commentIf you are a fan of the Aliens franchise, Predator franchise, or, like me, both, than you were probably falling out of your chair when you first heard they were making an Aliens vs Predator movie. Yeah, me too. Too bad it wasn’t so great, right? Cheap and limited story, terrible actors, and not enough, well, Aliens versus Predator! Not to mention, everyone really, really wanted Aliens and Predators running rampant through the streets; not hidden away in a pyramid thousands of feet beneath the surface in the North Pole. Boring!
Hellboy II: The Golden Army Trailer. Wow. December 25, 2007
Posted by Joe in : Entertainment , add a commentYou’d better just head on over to IGN and watch the Hellboy II: The Golden Army trailer - right now.
If you liked Hellboy, I think you’re going to love Hellboy II. The masterful creatures created under the influence of everyone’s favorite horror/fantasy directory, Guillermo del Toro, really shine in this trailer. Even with a realtively low budget, the monsters and effects involved here are extraordinary.
If you saw Pan’s Labyrinth (a fantasy by del Toro), you’ll see some similarties in The Golden Army creatures to those of the Labyrinth. Not a bad thing at all; they were fantastic, and in Hellboy II, Guillermo looks to really push the creative envelope. Hellboy won’t be dueling with just one or two baddies this time around, and it all looks to be very exciting. Can’t wait to see it.
Merry Christmas from NJTechie
Posted by Joe in : Unintelligible Rants , add a commentAtheists celebrate it, too 
To fully appreciate the effects of Christmas on your fellow man, head on over to Snopes for an article about a particular Christmas during World War I.
As much as I feel Christmas is just a race to spend money for reasons unknown, that article really shows you that the Christmas spirit can be one powerful force.
