Lohan Has Digital Breast Reduction

Hollywood.com

Teen actress Lindsay Lohan's breasts have been digitally reduced for forthcoming Disney film Herbie: Fully Loaded, to avoid offending family audiences.

Test screenings for the new movie, the fourth sequel to the 1968 film The Love Bug about a Volkswagen Beetle car with a mind of its own, indicated that some parents felt Lohan's character Maggie Peyton was too raunchy for a children's film.

I'm sorry, but coming from a company with a character like Jessica Rabbit under their name, this is funny to me.

How am I worth? (Personality Test)

I am worth $1,238,550 on HumanForSale.com

Gender: Male $200,000
Age: 22 $30,000
Ethnicity: Pacific Islander $0
Height: 5'6 ($11,000)
Weight: 154 lbs. $0
Body Type: Average $0
Hair Color: Black $5,000
Eye Color: Brown $1,000
Handed: Right $5,000
Body Hair: A Little Hairy $10,000
Shoe Size: 9 $1,000
Bald: No $10,000
20/20 Eyesight: No $0
Bra Size: NA $0
Cavities: More than 4 $0
Athletic Ability: Below Average $10,000
Attractiveness: NA $60,000
IQ: 130 $162,525
SAT Score: NA $0
HS GPA: 3.5 $33,250
Education: High School $1,000
Bilingual: No $0
Income: NA ($10,000)
Profession: Arts/Entertainment/Publishing $0
Alcohol: Never $0
Smoker: No $15,000
Pot: No $10,000
Drugs: No $10,000
Exercise: Seldom $2,500
Divorced: No $0
Committed Felony: No $15,000
Watch Television: Occasionally $5,000
Sexuality: NA ($40,000)
Style: Below Average $20,000
Artistic: Below Average $20,000
Sense of Humor: Average $30,000
Addictive Personality: Yes ($15,000)
Give to Charity: No $0
Adult Content: Often $0
Gamble: Never $0
Multiplier x2

Total $1,238,550

I don't even want to know how they came up with some of the numbers or even why my height lowers my overall worth.

Movie Trivia # 030: A Reversal of Fortune

Flipped film causes campaign signs in Nixon 1995 to read noxiN when Anthony Hopkins enters a ballroom at Los Angeles' Beverly Hilton hotel.

This and other Movie Trivia posts brought to you by Roman Soldiers Don't Wear Watches by Bill Givens.

Sith Happens

Just got back from watching the latest Star Wars installment. Yes, I'm well aware that it is a week after the opening, but going on opening day/night does get old after a while. Plus, I wouldn't be able to get a seat anyway.

First off, Natalie Portman cannot fake cry to save her life. She has two big crying scenes, and each one she couldn't sell me the emotion. When selling something as complicated as that kind of heartbreak, you have to do it well with me otherwise I can't believe in the character. I can't feel like Padme was real when she cried.

The light saber duels were really nice, and to see Sith vs. Jedi is a highlight several have been waiting for a while. The thing was, the fights were too fast. I don't mean they were short in the film. To do that would be cheating out the fans (as if Lucas didn't do that already), but to be perfectly honest, the light saber battles must have been done completely in Force Speed. Most of the time all I saw were blurs of light.

Hayden, on the other hand, I'm starting to wonder. I can see he can potentially be a great actor, but this "debut" into the mainstream may make or break him. I mean, Harrison Ford got the better end of the stick compared to Mark Hammile. I'm starting to think that may be the case between Hayden and Ewan. What's also got me thinking about him is the fact that Hayden has an obligatory "shirtless" moment. And yeah, he's got a hot body. I mean, really hot.

The biggest thing, however, are some of the little blips here and there as far as what Lucas dropped in as far as politics go. It kind of felt ironic that he would sneak in lines like "What if we are on the wrong side? What if the real enemy is the government we are trying to protect?" and "So this is how liberty dies... with thunderous applauds." Given this countries current political situation, as well as the ones that have affected everyone that is conscious of them, you can't help but see the parallels... and maybe fear them. After all, we are on a cultural invasion.

Politics aside (because I have no clue what I am talking about), the film does fill in all the various holes of the movies nicely. We learn how the Clone Troopers became the Storm Troopers. We learn why and how Anikin gets from being a pretty boy into the walking metallic version of Death know as Darth Vader. We learn how Luke and Leia got separated. We even get a hint as to what Obi-won meant by the line "If you strike me down, I will become more powerful than you can ever imagine."

What I don't like? The fact that Jedi Jackson kind of lied about him "not going out like a 'punk'," for one. Then there's the voice of Palpatine when his true form is exposed. Too much reverb if you ask me. And finally, why the hell are there Wookies? Well, I can answer that in one word. Cameo. You'll know what I mean if you've seen it.

In any event, it's worth the ride at least once. Twice if you like it. And if you are a fan boy, my opinion doesn't matter because you've already reserved you DVD by now.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to look up a few things about the Aeon Flux movie MTV is apparently putting out.

Because I Feel The Need To Say Something

For the last several weeks, I haven't been blogging as much as I used to. I haven't been as committed to pretty much anything related to this blog short of the movie trivia blips.

Well, I have my reasons.

To be perfectly blunt about things, I'm just not finding anything worth blogging about the moment it happens. I mean, honestly, why would anyone be interested in my thoughts about whatever?

However, the past weeks haven't been without their series of events.

Around when the semester ended, I began collecting several pictures from various sites. Some personal model sites and some pornographic. I was looking for any picture with any kind of foreshortening of limbs or some kind of great and interesting spacial dimension to practice on. I have a nice collection right now to which to work off of.

Whenever I was finished with a piece, I'd upload it onto the Gaia Art Arena to get some feedback from someone that isn't a professional. Sadly to say, Gaia does have its fair share of artists and art students, most of whom assume that I haven't had an education. One person went to far as to say that my stuff looks like something a first year charcoal student would produce while doing a homework assignment. Apparently, art is taught a lot more radically at Watkins than I originally thought. While other schools concentrate on technique, Watkins lets me actually create what I want to do. It looks like I am getting the better education.

Meanwhile, the camera got fixed and I was giving it a test run. The pictures came back recently, and it doesn't look like anything bad has happened as far as light leaks and various other things. My dad didn't tell me how much the repair job cost, but he did get a shield for the viewfinder for some reason. Even if it is a dinky little rubber thing, it probably cost him a little more than the actual repair and clean-up he asked. Anyway, I have several choice pictures that I'll be uploading and sharing soon if anyone cares to look.

I've also been trying to get a live model. Unfortunately, I don't know anyone that is willing to pose for me. I've opted to use the personal ads I have scattered throughout the internet as my source for a potential model. Only one person actually sounded interested in the deal, but after a week of not returning my calls, I doubt that will happen. Experience has taught me that if someone has a great interest in you at the beginning and then just stops suddenly, they don't want anything to do with you. As much as the naive side of me wants to think "Oh, he's just busy," I know better now.

Lastly, the drama that is me and the boys has more than likely drawn to its official and long prolonged ending. Bill, having turned 18 and being on summer vacation, went to Disneyland, and didn't enjoy himself. Everyone else is pissed off at me in one fashion or another, mostly because I get on their nerves with my money habits as well as my idiotic want to philosophically debate them so they can see their own faults instead of believing they are perfect and no one can touch them. They keep saying that I haven't changed and I probably never will. And they're right. I haven't changed. They are the ones that did. But I won't get into that little pearl of wisdom I got from the anime Zatch Bell.

This is what's been going on. I bet you were hoping to find out that I got a job or that I'm learning how to drive, huh?

Movie Trivia # 029: Jettisoned Jets

Smuggler Paul Bartel lands in New York in The Usual Suspects (1995) in a jet which, when seen from the front, has four engines. Cut to a rear view of the same landing plane and it has only two.

This and other Movie Trivia posts brought to you by Roman Soldiers Don't Wear Watches by Bill Givens.

Why Teens are Lousy at Chores

From Yahoo! News:

Finally researchers have come up with a reason other than pure laziness for why teenagers can't shower and brush their teeth or unload the dishwasher and wipe down the counter.

Blame it on "cognitive limitations." Their brains can't multitask as well as those of the taskmasters.

The part of the brain responsible for multitasking continues to develop until late adolescence, with cells making connections even after some children are old enough to drive, according to a new study in the May/June issue of the journal Child Development.

The frontal cortex, which starts just behind the eyes and goes back almost to the ears, figures out (or doesn't) what to do when a person is asked to juggle multiple pieces of information. Imagine, then, how "make your bed and bring the laundry down" might befuddle a 13-year-old.

The ability to remember multiple bits of information developed through age 13 to 15, the study found. But strategic self-organized thinking, the type that demands a high level of multi-tasking skill, continues to develop until ages 16 to 17.

Hopefully, some angsty teen has found this blog and is reading this. To them I say, you now have an excuse not to do chores.

Drug's Effect on Cancer Stuns Doctors

From Yahoo! News:

Specialists said Revlimid now looks like a breakthrough and the first effective treatment for many people with myelodysplastic syndrome, or MDS, which is even more common than leukemia.

"It may be, if not eradicating the disease, putting it into what I would call deep remission," said Dr. David Johnson, a cancer specialist at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center who is familiar with but had no role in the research.

It looks like we are one step closer to curing cancer.

Spring Time Perfection

For more pictures, make sure to visit
Photographic Memories.

Well, for a while now, my aunt and I have been testing out a disposable digital camera. Neither one of us really have any kind of opinion about the technology.

And furthermore, not one of us had a decent shot. Out of everything we took, this picture was the best one. Sadly to say, it wasn't from my camera. Oh well, I'll get the next one.

Lonely students show weaker immunity

From Yahoo! News:

"The loneliness and social isolation that university freshman experience in their first semester is powerful enough to have a very real impact on immune function, with potentially health relevant implications," study author Sarah D. Pressman, a doctoral candidate at Pittsburgh's Carnegie Melon University, told Reuters Health.

In light of this, it is important for students to "form social connections to protect themselves against illness, (and against) poorer immune response to vaccination," she said.

Pressman and her team looked at the influence of loneliness and social isolation on the immune response of 83 healthy men and women in their first semester of college.

At the start of the study, the college freshmen completed questionnaires about their psychological status, including their degree of loneliness. Then they began recording information about loneliness, stress and mood in their palm computer. Two days after the students began this online diary, they were vaccinated against influenza.

Chronically lonely students mounted a weaker immune response -- as measured by their production of antibodies to the influenza virus -- at both one and four months after vaccination than did those who reported less loneliness, the researchers report.

The association was true for students who consistently reported loneliness throughout the four-month study period, but not for those who only reported a high degree of loneliness at the start of the semester, Pressman noted.

A poorer immune response was also seen in those who reported having a small social network -- that is few friends or family members with whom they were in regular contact -- at the start of the study as well as for those who remained socially isolated throughout the study period, the researcher report in Health Psychology, a journal published by the American Psychological Association.

Students who consistently experienced a high degree of loneliness also reported more psychological stress. Stress is known to be bad for a person's health so it may be a "good pathway," by which the immune system is affected, according to Pressman. "Loneliness and stress are obviously closely intertwined," she said.

In light of the findings, "parents shouldn't worry about the transient loneliness that their children may experience upon their transition to a new school and a new city," according to Pressman. "But if their children seem to be experiencing social isolation many months into their new program, it might be best to advise them to try to get out there and meet people," she suggested.

"Even participating in a club or society might be beneficial because of the social contact that it offers."

So the reason why my sister is sick is because she is just naturally easily susceptible to viruses. The reason I get sick is because I'm lonely?

Given that everything I do is shortening my life in one fashion or another, I can only wonder if the social isolation I experience will shorten it even more. I don't feel like doing the math, but my rough estimate would be that I wouldn't see age 50 if what everyone is saying holds true.

The one thing that this article doesn't meantime is that they assume people that are always lonely can easily meet new people. That's always pissed me off. It's like going to a homeless person and saying "Get a job!" It's not that easy for some people. A homeless person looking the way they do more than likely cannot get a job on their own. A person that has a hard time talking to people, meeting people, or anything related to the social arena probably cannot go out and meet people.

I really wish educated people could at least consider this before they start making the kind of recommendation like this person did in any kind of area where there may be an exception. And there is always an excpetion.

Black & White Photo 1 Pictures

For more pictures, make sure to visit
Photographic Memories.

At long last and after many errors involving flickr or Blogger, I put all of my pictures from this past semester of B&W Photo I up on my photo blog. All 59 pictures from before the camera broke are up.

In a related story, the camera has been fixed. However, it is unknown if it will work properly or if a new problem will occur. It is recommended I that take it out and just take pictures of anything and everything with a spare roll of film I could care less about.

If I have any gems, I'll probably post those too, but as of right now, I'm just giving the camera some mechanical theropy. (You know, similar to physical theropy when you break your leg for a long time and need to learn how to walk again?)

Movie Trivia # 028: The Reincarnated Hamburger

At the beginning of E. T. (1982), Drew Barrymore and her mother (Dee Wallace) are eating dinner. Watch Drew's hamburger as it is restored from being half-eaten to whole, then it's gone. And when everyone's saying good-bye to E. T. at the end of the movie, in the background Mom stands up twice in less than a minute.

This and other Movie Trivia posts brought to you by Roman Soldiers Don't Wear Watches by Bill Givens.

Gay Men Respond Differently to Pheromones

From Yahoo! News:

The study, published in Tuesday's issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, was done by researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.

They exposed heterosexual men and women and homosexual men to chemicals derived from male and female sex hormones.

These chemicals are thought to be pheromones — molecules known to trigger responses such as defense and sex in many animals.

Whether humans respond to pheromones has been debated, although in 2000 American researchers reported finding a gene that they believe directs a human pheromone receptor in the nose.

The Swedish study was one of a series looking at whether parts of the brain involved in reproduction differ in response to odors and pheromones, lead researcher Ivanka Savic said.

The brains of different groups responded similarly to ordinary odors such as lavender, but differed in their response to the chemicals thought to be pheromones, Savic said.

The homosexual men's brains responded more like those of women when the men sniffed a chemical from the male hormone testosterone.

Savic said the group is also doing a study involving homosexual women but those results are not yet complete.

"It is one more piece of evidence ... that is showing that sexual orientation is not all learned," said Sandra Witelson, an expert on brain anatomy and sexual orientation at the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada.

Take that, you people that think I chose to be gay.

A Drawing I Did

Feel free to rip me a new one in the comments area. Or, if you don't feel like doing so, click on the image to be linked to a Ratings Page and vote what you think of it.



By the way, that's a guy. And no, that's not me. It's the alter-me.

Movie Trivia # 027: Maybe He Decided Not to Retire

Early in the horrific film Seven (1995), Morgan Freeman's character name, "Somerset," is partially scraped off his office door leaving "erset" as he prepares to retire from the force. But a shot later, the full name is back again.

This and other Movie Trivia posts brought to you by Roman Soldiers Don't Wear Watches by Bill Givens.

Happy 50th Birthday, Disneyland!

For more pictures, make sure to visit
Photographic Memories.

Today is the day when Disneyland's 50th Anniversery Celebration begins. It was 50 years this summer (July 17, 1955) that Disneyland first opened to the public. Since then, millions of visitors have come to know it as the Happiest Place on Earth.

In honor of this milestone, I have posted what vacation photos I've taken and kept from my own Disney vacations to Walt Disney World. It's not the same, but there's a reason.

See, I haven't been to Disneyland since I was 3 years old. Back then, I couldn't remember much of anything, much less what rides we went on. The only thing I do remember was the Tiki Room scaring me to death when the walls started to sing. (Hey, I was three! What did I know?) There were times where I wanted to go back, but we never got around to doing so. Mostly because of financial reasons.

Now more than ever, I really want to visit Disneyland again. There are a lot of new things going on for their big 50th birthday! Several of the vehicles on rides that have been around since the park opened have been given a golden touch. There is a new fireworks show which is in the round. That means that they fire fireworks from all sides around you and not just from behind the castle as they always have been. There are new parades, and several rides have been fine tuned for the flood of visitors, both regular and first-timers.

Bottom line is that it looks like a lot of fun to me, and the little child in me is screaming to go. If only my wish could come true.

Cinco De Mayo Pictures

For more pictures, make sure to visit
Photographic Memories.

In celebration of Cinco de Mayo, I've posted the pictures from our trip to Arizona and Mexico back in 2001.

Personally, looking back at these photos, I'm reminded of how lame the trip was. We didn't really get a full taste of the REAL Mexico, but some border town that was trying to make a living off of tourists like us. I'm surprised I was able to take pictures of the area that gave it some charm and appeal. Especially since that day was all dark and cloudy.

Also among the pictures I posted at this hour (HINT! HINT! I plan to post more.) are pictures from our trip to the Grand Canyon. Nothing of the quality of National Geographic, but we can't all be professional photographers whenever we want to be, now can we? This means, for those of you that haven't already seen them, you'll get to see what my parents and sister look like. Keep in mind that these were taken about four years ago. They've changed quite a bit since then as far as looks go.

Anyway, enjoy the pictures I put up on my other blog.

Texas House Bans 'Suggestive' Cheerleading

From Yahoo! News:

After an alternately comic and fiery debate — punctuated by several lawmakers waving pompons — the state House on Tuesday approved a bill to restrict "overtly sexually suggestive" cheerleading to more ladylike performances.

The bill passed on a 65-56 vote. It still must be approved by the Senate and signed by Republican Gov. Rick Perry.

One critic questioned the legislation's priorities.

"Have we done anything about stem cell research to help people who are dying and are sick advance their health? No," said Democratic Rep. Senfronia Thompson. "Have we done anything about the mentally ill, school finance or ethics?"

It's amazing how fast our governments can pass laws saying that a court should hear this case or to stop smut from being shown while still avoiding the real issues at hand.

Let's see, what's next? What could one of our state governments or even our national government tackle next that, in the end, is rather meaningless and not really all that important?

Texas considers ban on sexy cheerleaders

From Yahoo! News:

Legislators in Texas, famed for its Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders, considered legislation to ban 'sexually suggestive' performances in schools.

The law would ban dance routines by school cheerleaders at sports events that one politician said was like something out of a strip club.

"Some of them are just downright vulgar, something you would see at an adult club or something," said Joe Deshotel, a Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives, which is considering the bill. "The problem is in the eye of the beholder, I guess."

One of the co-authors of the bill, Republican Corbin Van Arsdale, said many parents want restrictions because they go to Friday night games to see young men clashing on the football field, not girls shaking their behinds on the sidelines.

Supporters of the legislation say those kinds of excesses show why change is necessary. They want to take Texas back to simpler days, when drill teams performed traditional routines, wore patriotic clothing and longer skirts.

"I think we should look at going back to the old traditions, to the art of dance," said Representative Tommy Merritt, a Republican. "It doesn't have to be all bumpin' and grindin'," he declared.

Okay, call me a raving loon, but this guy is suggesting that cheerleaders go back to the art of ballet? I mean, how far back do these guys want to go as far as the art of dance is concerned? All the article hints at is that they no longer want girls on the field getting the people in the stands all fired up because of their "sexually suggestive" routines.

You know, at this rate, they might as well ban wrestling. After all, who wants to watch nearly naked men roll around on the floor grabbing each other and trying to pin them for x-amount of time? And I don't mean just professional wrestling. I mean both sports.

While we are at it, we might as well ban beach volleyball. I mean, need I remind you of all the butt-slapping the female US volleyball team did during the Summer Olympics? And I don't mean just on the professional level either. I mean even casually during the summer vacation months. I mean, we all know that the guys watching the game are probably watching for the skin show.

And surfing? And swimming? They better have a wet-suit then or some kind of second-skin swimming suit, because some of the guys' speedos are hanging rather low and leave just close to nothing for my imagination.

Yes, I'm being sarcastic.

Honestly, now. Cheerleaders are suppose to be sexy. If they don't want them to be, then they might as well turn back to clock to the era when they didn't do anything but scream "LET'S GO BULLDOGS! LET'S GO!" and then clapped twice. And then, just for good measure, they throw in that letter-calling thing. I bet teenage girls with insecurities about their image and popularity would love to do that instead of dress up in short skirts doing flips and pelvic thrusts to the beat of some pop song. And if not them, I'm sure their parents wouldn't object.