Smell that? Yup. Football season is definitely here. Pro ball isn’t for another week and a half, but that’s ok. Why? College ball started today and it started with USC eking out a win against VT. Yeah, they got the win, but they’re gonna have to do it in a way more convincing fashion from now on if they even want to think about a national championship. This is, after all, Pac-10 ball.

I’ll probably put together a pick’em league sometime this week just like I have the last 2 years, so look out for that.

Passed my MSF course today. In the words of Napoleon Dynamite, “Do the chickens have large talons?” Err, I mean, “Yesssssss!!!” That means I just have to wait my 2 weeks to get my certification in the mail and take it to the DMV to get my license. I smell like gas and I’m way tired so I think I’m staying in and watching the Olympics. Does anyone else think Carly Patterson is freakin’ cute?

Having read about them a while back, I finally saw a pair of Bumper Nuts on a Chevy S10 Xtreme today on the freeway. I couldn’t get a good shot with my camera phone, though. Oh well. At least I know they really exist now.

The gf asked me some strange question out of nowhere today. If I could own and operate any kind of store I wanted, what would it be? My answer was quick. Comics, video games, and collector toys. Why? Well, because I’d get first pick at any of the shipments for one. The other would be to get first pick at any shipments. I’m sure there are more reasons out there, but my headache isn’t letting me think right now. Her response was a something like an coffee shop/art gallery/social thingy where bands could play and artists could show and sell their work. I have to admit, that sounds pretty good too, but I’d get pissed off at all the kids coming in because of how “trendy” it would be. What kind of store would you want to own and operate?

Last weekend when I did the first part of my course, they supplied us with the helmets and motorcycles. As you would think, they were in pretty piss poor condition. There are two riding classes on Saturdays. A morning and evening. I had the evening class, so that means I wore a helmet that had been worn for several hours before me. It was, to say the least, nasty. Nasty enough to give me a good breakout on my forehead and cheeks. Well, I bought a helmet yesterday and that should solve that problem. I was set on getting an HJC AC-11 but the bastards at the shop convinced me to spend $200 more on a Shoei RF-1000. I guess you can’t spend enough when it comes to your mellon.

Two clips from AvP.

I’ve read a lot of other reviews for Alien vs Predator and the feedback is overwhelming. The traditional critics absolutely hate everything about it. Story. Acting. Even the action. You name it. They hate it. To this, I say “nay, nay”.

There are many versus in the realm of scifi/fantasy but the true fans know nothing come close to the Alien vs Predator crossover. Being a fan of the Dark Horse comics since the beginning, my opinions may be a little skewed. Bottom line, this flick delivers exactly what it promises. Finally, Aliens and Predators clash together on the big screen and hit you with some truly awesome fighting sequences. This movie is “eye candy” in every sense of the words. It is, in fact, the very definition of it.

Now there are problems with it and they can be defined with just one word… humans. In most of the comics, humans are non-existent and when they are around, they’re usually bad ass colonial marines from the Alien series. Instead, we get a bunch of wussy explorers who you’re more than happy to see get killed. This is a Hollywood movie and therefore someone thought it needed a plot. Again, we get something extremely half-assed together. I’m not going to worry about giving up any spoilers because it just doesn’t matter and I need to tell you to prove my point. Towards the end of the movie, a Predator actually takes the last human (who you knew from the start was gonna be the only survivor) under his wing and they have to work together to escape. Umm, no. Just plain wrong. If the writers and director actually did their homework and read any of the comics, they’d know that’s about the lamest thing ever. Predators hunt anything and everything that aren’t other Predators. Swing and miss on that one guys.

Even with with complaints, I don’t know how you can’t get excited when you hear the hissing of the Aliens or the crackling voice of the Predators. Nothing can explain the rush you get when the two look at each other for the first time and you know, it’s so on! You know what? Nevermind the terrible acting and a plot that shows exactly how many rewrites it’s gone through. Fans like myself have been waiting years for this. People! Do you see what I see? There are Aliens and there are Predators and they’re on the big screen. They are kicking the shit out of each other and that is just plain cool! ‘Nuff said.

I had the first half of my motorcycle courses this weekend and considering I had never been on a bike before, I did pretty damn good. Friday night was all classroom stuff. We went over different classes of bikes, rider protection, accident prevention, and risk management skills. Very good stuff. There were people in the class who had been riding for years and even they were impressed with what they were learning. All day Saturday was on the range. I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was nervous. They basically threw us on the bikes and we were off doing different exercises all day long. Basic controls like accelerating, braking, and turning. We also did a bunch of clutch control exercises. Then towards the end they showed us a technique called counter-steering. That’s basically when you lean into turn and steer the opposite way you want to go. Scary at first, but you soon see how effective it is and how quickly you can negotiate turns with it. We basically rode for 5 hours. Might sound like a long time, but it was so fun that it flew by so fast. Next Friday is classroom time again. We’re suppose to have a 50 question multiple choice test that we have to pass and then Saturday is all range again. After that, you have a motorcycle license.

Oh, I forgot. Joe Rogan was taking the class with us. You know. The guy from The Man Show and Fear Factor. It was his first time too. He was either there with a bunch of friends or contestants of Fear Factor learning to ride. We were all riding in a line and he was behind me on the last exercise of the day. I heard a crash and then a “shit” followed by an “uh oh”. He dumped the bike and broke the clutch handle clean off. That was the end of that bike’s day.

Anyway, Friday can’t come soon enough for me.

Michael Mann has got to be one of the coolest directors of our time. Ali was amazing, The Insider was extraordinary, and Heat has to fall into my top ten list of the greatest movies ever made. Although each of those movies are very much different, they do have one recurring trait… brilliantly acted performances. Mann simply has a knack of taking actors and directing them in completely believable roles and there is no exception to this in his newest flick, Collateral. I’m too tired right now to do a decent review, but just know the following. Collateral is shot beautifully, written intelligently, acted perfectly. Jamie Foxx is well on his way to being a first rate drama actor and (although it may be hard for some people to believe) Tom Cruise masterfully plays a very very bad man. Two big thumbs up for this one.

Wanna see the Batmobile in action before everyone else does? Check this link out. Better do it quick because I don’t see it being around for long. I had doubts about it when I first saw the pictures, but seeing it roll around is definitely making me a believer.