last supper.

so before i leave, i'm having some friends together for dinner at my favorite Mexican restaurant up north (in the annual tradition of my birthday...which i count as my personal new years).


as seen above, i doctored up a quick pic for the invite (click image to zoom). when shared, my favorite Catholic sent me a note finding it "terrible." which got me thinking...what make's it so terrible?

if i had changed out everyone's else's face (to that of my friends attending the dinner), would that have been better?

if i had simply drawn my own cartoon version of this (subbing in myself and/or my friends), would that have been better (since it would simply be a "cover")?

fortunately, this wasn't an Islamic image i Photoshopped, otherwise my fate would be worse than the guilt from creating (and since posting) the image.

i clearly have too much free time in this big, empty house.

"as you see there's no one around."

so i've been feeling a bit lethargic these past few days, as it dawns on me that i'm about to uproot my life and leave it behind for NY (as if packing up my life, an empty house, and sleeping on the floor had not sunk that in).

anyhow, this one song always cheers me up for some odd reason. i didn't have it on my laptop, so i pulled up the video and was taken back by such an excellent video (even tho Billy C has a creepy profile/look about him) which i still remember from my highschool days. enjoy.



have a safe & happy new years.

my life [in boxes].

so the day is finally here.

after about a month of sorting through EVERYTHING i've ever owned, it's all been sorted, organized, and packed away (well, what i didn't give away or sell...hope you like the TV/couches Jason). a cathartic experience, for sure, and yet i feel i still have too much (we all do, seriously).

i'm NOT getting rid of all my comics though (thanks for the bike Karl!)

everything seen (save the Christmas tree above + futon mattress on the floor i'm sleeping on) is going straight into a storage unit. hopefully by the time we move (6 months) closer to the city, and everything is taken out of storage, i'll have discovered how little i REALLY need (the essentials are being taken in my car when i drive out to NY after new years).

das ist alles (literally).

happy holidays

merry christmas from the entire team at ramancoke.com (seen below), where we're working dilligintly to not bring you all the latest information that you need. that, and saving the world from invading alien races...

see you after the holidays.

be safe. and give uncle Leo a big wet kiss for me.

will they ever learn?

ok, it's time we took the high(-er)brow, "nature is so majestic/i like to travel" nature of this blog down a few notches (again). last night, my roommate pointed this out to me:

W...T...F
?

(beyond the Sun breaking such important news, of course).
let's be clear. i have NOTHING against Eddie Murphy. i just don't think he is "the new awesome Batman movie series material.

in fact, Coming to America is one of the funniest movies EVER MADE. but riddle me this: did Chris Nolan (who, thankfully, is staying the director's chair) not see Norbit. or Bowfinger, or Beverly Hills Cop III, which undid all of my fond memories of Beverly Hills Cop I & II (tho the song "Axl F" is still quite awesome, i sing it in my head occasionally when completing awesome tasks at work)?

YES, i much preferred the idea/rumor of Jonny Depp (despite Pirates I & II), and while i knew it would never have happened, i expected Msr.Nolan to pull a rabbit out of a hat (and pull a HAT trick! groan) and deliver me an under-the-radar actor for the role, not a household name. but to add insult to injury, and i quote:
"Execs have also signed up rising Transformers star SHIA LABEOUF, 22, to play Robin.

further:
"Meanwhile, Brit RACHEL WEISZ is said to be up for the Catwoman role."
seriously. did they not read my post entry on what MAKES for good (and BAD) comic book movies? specifically Batman movies?!?

please, i beg you, allow me to elaborate:
BAD: did they NOT see Batman Returns (bearable, but pushing it w/ two villains, despite the sheer coolness of Christopher Walken basically playing himself, and the pure hotness of Michelle Pfeiffer in a black leather suit...though i think i can get behind the choice of Rachel Weisz)?

WORSE: did they NOT live thru Batman Forever ("holy rusted metal"...Robin, the Riddler, and Tommy Lee Jones in a pointless role as Two Face?)

WORST: did they NOT weep as they watched Batman & Robin (Robin returns as still-a-jerk, Alicia Silverstone is forced in as Batgirl, Uma Thermann is Poison Ivy, and lest we not forget Ah-nold as Mr.Freeze, "Everybody Chill Out!").



have they not learned from the mistakes of comic-book yore?
there is such a thing as TOO much. just give us a good, simple movie! sigh. but i guess Christopher Nolan has also included 2 villains in each of his Batman movies (which were excellent, some of the BEST comic book movies EVER MADE).

i think his trick has been to draw them out over 2 acts (if anything, the more important one APPEARS at the beginning, goes away for the gimmick villain, then returns at the end for the true character punch):

Batman Begins: Rhas Al Gul (geek fact: literally translated as "the Demon's Head," excellently played by Liam Neeson the guy who was unfortunately Darkman, but awesomely the jedi Qui Gonn Gin) in the opening sequences as Ducard (but really Rhas), Scarecrow as the protagonist, and the return of Rhas in the end for the true end-battle.
Dark Knight: Harvey Dent introduces himself as the flip side of Batman's coin, the Joker steals the show, and Two-Face returns to knock us all out in the finale.

but good directors are prone to fail as well. just look what happened with the Spider-Man franchise (another example of Hollywood ultimately pooping on my childhood). SM 1 & 2, by director Sam Raimi (of Evil Dead fame) were actually both great, but SM 3? IT HAD THREE VILLAINS! between 2 of the 3, you had enough character drama to make TWO movies!
think about it...
Harry Osborn hates Spidey, becomes Hobgoblin, terrorizes Pete personally.
Eddie Brock hates Spidey, becomes Venom with the suit our hero rejected, terrorizes Pete personally
...ok, so it's a bit formulaic, but that's what makes Spider-Man awesome. he's the tortured everyman (the everyman that climbs walls, spins a web, any size, and catches thieves, just like flies...look out!!!).
don't even get me started on Sandman (oh Lowell, how far you've come since your Wings days)
but i digress.

Christopher Nolan, while i have my reservations, don't blame me. i've been hurt, nay burned, far too many times. but i'm willing to get you a chance. A CHANCE.

don't let me down. otherwise you'll be on my list.
(you don't want to be on my list)

don't cry for me [argentina]?

though long overdue for a post, photos from my post-Antarctica trip to Argentina/Uruguay can be found by clicking below. be prepared to be...entertained?

highlights are gazing cemetery statues, hilarious local children, and a really big pillow fight. see if you can spot all 3!

below are the individual albums, i've starred those you might find more interesting than the rest:

• ushuaia return, 17-18.nov2008
• buenos aires wanderings, 18-22.nov2008
• cemetario de recoletta, 19-nov2008*
• el tango argentino, 20-nov2008
• colonia, uruguay, 21.nov2008*
• pillow fight! 22.nov2008*

desk architecture RETURNS!

for a limited time only (as i was populating my replacement's desk):

(no idea what this is all about? click here)

it is highly unlikely this tradition shall be continuing in the new year (esp since i'll be working remotely), but you never know. i might start going crazy sitting around a "home office" too much...

and just for continued holiday sh*ts & giggles:

why does Luke "i-can-fly-an-xWing-and-blow-up-the-Death-Star-like-i-was-shootin-Womp-Rats-coming-back-from-Toshi-station" Skywalker NEED A MOTORCYCLE?!?
...tho adding R2D2 to the back was a NICE touch.

use the force.

stupid christmas gifts.

today, as i was wandering our friendly neighborhood consumerist megamart (searching for a white elephant/dirty santa gift for the office christmas party...which i wound up choosing to re-gift something from my own wonder-stash), i naturally wandered down the toy aisle to see what was hot with the kids this year around. along my journey, i found 2 VERY STUPID toys:


#1. Aqua-Man & his Aqua-Sub:

ok. other than being the most awesome superhero to wear an orange shirt and green pants (and the subject of a Vincent Chase hit movie), why does Aquaman need a submarine? he's AQUAman. HE CAN BREATH UNDERWATER. sigh.


#2. Spider-Man Web Rocket Spider-Car:

rather than explain this one, i'm going to sing the lyrics to the Spider-Man theme song (which, whenever you see me deep in thought, is usually going thru my head...the Ramone's version, of course, which was almost the subject of ANOTHER Vincent Chase movie):

Spiderman, Spiderman,
Does whatever a spider can
Spins a web, any size,
Catches thieves just like flies
Look Out!
Here comes the Spiderman.
--
Is he strong?
Listen bud,
He's got radioactive blood.
Can he swing from a thread
Take a look overhead
Hey, there...
There goes the Spiderman.

ok. in what part of the lyrics do you see, "Drives a car, down the street. Floors the pedal, with his feet"? taking it even FURTHER, let's talk about Peter Parker (Spidey's secret identity...shhhh! don't tell anyone!). Pete's a poor, down-on-his-luck photographer/teacher/student living in NYC. he can't afford a car. and if he could, he doesn't really need one. HE'S FREAKING SPIDER-MAN.

sadly, this one is not very original, it was already done YEARS ago.

indeed.

antarctica. documented.

if you see only one thing, it should be the above video, created by a professional photographer on our trip, who mounted his camera to the ship's bow had it take a photo every 15 seconds. the finished product is amazing...no, brilliant, especially as you see us coming through the ice (look for the ship-sized iceberg that passes us when the camera is trained on the ship's stern). make sure you have your volume turned way up.

so after about a week of downtime (turkey, family, work), i've sorted through some 5000+ pictures from my recent trip to Antarctica/Argentina, and included the ones from Antarctica below. click the mosaic above to see the entire collection of albums i took while there (though in all honesty, the photos do not do the trip justice). if you're more interested in specific elements of the trip, here are the breakdowns by day/album:

• ushuaia arrival, 6-7.nov2008
• setting sail, 7-9.nov2008
• entering ice, 10.nov2008
• first landing, 10.nov2008
• penguins & friends, 11.nov2008
• continental hikes, 12.nov2008
• flatland invasion, 13.nov2008
• island fever, 14.nov2008
• return journey, 15-17.nov2008

MOST of these pictures are also posted to my Facebook photos (where there is a bit more color commentary, on the part of me, and several of the friends made while on the trip as well). up next: Argentina.

mumbai.

while a post on this topic is a (few) day(s) late and a dollar(s? rupees?) short, the more i go back and read the events of last weekend in india, the more offended i am. i tried to stay away from the coverage as it was unfolding, popping in and out of the news, even though there were so many who could not just "turn it off".

anyhow, i just saw this, and while amusing, it pretty much sums up my thoughts on terrorism.

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Mumbai Tragedy

and while i think i have already linked to this before, but this article also clarifies my POV.

more (uplifting stuff) to come soon, i promise (hope!)

end radio silence.

just got back to the US today. consider radio silence terminated (but it will be sorely missed by all).

in summary: flew to southern tip of Argentina, set sail in a Russian "acoustic research" boat, spent several days in Antarctic land and sea, stopovers at Ukrainian AND British science stations, crashed an abandoned whaling station in a sunken volcano, was in awe of majestic icebergs, in fear of ginormous glaciars, run amock by unpredictable weather, cruised around in Jacque Cousteau's Zodiacs, shared quite a few drinks with (mostly) funny Europeans, and even went to Uruguay.

oh and then there were penguins. LOTS of penguins:

...there were a few seals, whales, and assorted albatrosses as well.

and as if that wasn't enough, there was also quite a large pillow fight:

...but that was MUCH later.

it will be about a week before i get my pics posted (3000+ taken to be sorted through, and a few friends' videos to share), so stay tuned. in the meantime, enjoy some sci-fi geekout.

coming soon:

already happened:

antarctica.

the day has finally arrived.

sadly, this trip only marks #6/7 (of my goal of "7 continents by 30 - Africa, the mother of all creation, is my final destination). you won't be hearing ANYTHING from me for awhile, so enjoy it while it lasts.

a rough itinerary of the impending journey:

Days 1 & 2: Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina
Arrive in Ushuaia and transfer independently to your hotel. Next day you will have a chance to explore Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world. Enjoy the spectacular setting beneath the snow-capped mountains of the Andes. Later in the afternoon, the Expedition Team gets you settled aboard your ice-strengthened ship as we sail into the Beagle Channel to start your Antarctic expedition.

Days 3 & 4: Across the Drake to the South Shetlands
We enter the Drake Passage, named for Sir Francis Drake. Various seabirds, including the Wandering Albatross, accompany us on our crossing. We also sail through the Antarctic Convergence, which – as one of our specialists will be happy to explain, poring over a map in the lounge – is a natural boundary formed by the meeting of cold Antarctic and warmer Subantarctic waters. By Day 4 we should reach the South Shetland Islands, where we plan to visit penguin
rookeries and walk remote beaches sighting Antarctic fur seals and southern elephant seals.

Days 5 - 9: Antarctic Peninsula
There will be many unforgettable close-ups in the days ahead, but if you painted the broader canvas of your Peninsula experience it would begin with endless vistas of windswept ice; jagged mountain peaks crowned with snow; massive glaciers descending into the sea; and our ship winding through deep blue waters dotted with floating icebergs. Then there is the wildlife: Gentoo, Chinstrap and Adélie Penguins; Weddell, crabeater and leopard seals; orcas; humpback
and Minke whales; and every kind of bird, from Blue-eyed Shags and Snowy Sheathbills to Kelp Gulls, Cape Petrels and Antarctic Terns. During this period we hope to visit one of the archipelago’s many research bases, and on some departures we are able to sail right into the sunken volcanic caldera of Deception Island. Around this point in the journey, those who opted for polar camping (we did) will set off with their expedition tents for an unforgettable night on the ice. Next, if conditions allow, we navigate the Neumayer and Lemaire Channels, taking in stunning views as the ship passes between towering rock faces and spectacular glaciers. Weather permitting; we may also sail up to the Peninsula’s northern tip into Iceberg Alley – where massive pieces of the ice shelf have calved into the Antarctic Sound. Travelers who’ve chosen the sea-kayaking option (not us, it was an additional $600) enjoy an even more dramatic perspective as they paddle among the icebergs. Your exploration of the continent proper typically begins at Neko Harbour or Paradise Bay. Neko Harbour is prone to relatively frequent glacier calving, and offers excellent views of Andvord Bay and the Gerlache Strait
.
Days 10 & 11: Back across the Drake to Ushuaia
As our ship makes the return voyage across the Drake Passage, we’re escorted much of the way by an impressive variety of seabirds, including magnificent Wandering Albatross, as well as Giant and Cape Petrels. You’ll often spot whales and dolphins en route as well. Illuminating presentations and lively chats continue as the Expedition Team reviews the journey and invites your perspective on all we’ve seen and experienced.

Day 12: Disembark in Ushuaia

more details on the trip can be found here (note - we only paid half price, as we jumped on some last min cancellations)

we'll be spending a few days after wandering around Argentina/Chile/Uruguay (during which i MIGHT make some intermittent posts, but probably not), returning to the US on Sun Nov 23rd.

das ist alles.

yes we did.

tweet the vote?

i really have nothing of profound significance to say today (i stayed up all night packing so i wouldn't freak out about my trip tonight so could relax + focus on freaking out for the election), unlike some people, but thought i'd share yet another interesting election tracker that is unique this year around (thanks Josh for sharing):

here's another couple of interesting ones i just noticed from our friends @ Facebook:

and it took them awhile, but our pals @ Google finally got their election day logo up:

seriously, go vote.

...quit reading this, GO!

fair & balanced

my buddy John from Chattanooga recently posted the following disturbing pic:

...reminiscent of an earlier post from Cincinnati:

good to know that ignorance knows no political affiliations. but evil does*!

*just kidding (or am i?)! go vote already.

man that's targetted!

watching SNL clips of Johny Mac on Hulu, and look what i saw...

(HINT: look just slightly below the guys in the suits)

brilliant!

...and someone recently told me that Seth Meyer (shown left) was now the HEAD WRITER of the show? it seems like just yesterday that he was but just a boy (in a top-hat)

boo!

the kids loooove "raman the ninja"!

...sweet christmas i'm running out of candy. and the kids KEEP coming...

talking points, up for debate.

oh Barry + Johnny Mac, you make me laugh/cry/laugh....

thanks to @prauchenstein for sharing via Twitter (original post)

holy crap!

cover artwork for Scott Pilgrim V5 (Scott Pilgrim VS the Universe) released:

Scott Pilgrim just turned 24, and things couldn't possibly be better! This means things are about to get infinitely worse. Suddenly, TWO of Ramona's evil ex-boyfriends are in town, and they're playing dirty. His band is in turmoil, and his own exes aren't making things any easier. And what's up with Ramona, anyway? She's been acting kinda weird ever since they moved in together. It's the SECOND LAST VOLUME of SCOTT PILGRIM: Scott's precious little life is coming back around to bite him in the butt, and it may not be pretty!

omg i can't wait. 9-Feb-2009. and i plan to go get it from my main man Bryan Lee O'Malley (writer/artist) at the NY Comic Con. it's gonna be suh-weet.

if you have not read this book yet, go get it. seriously. it's ker-awesome.

yea yea, quit making fun of me already. like Scott P, i too have a hot/awesome girlfriend that can kick your ass. seriously. she knows kung-fu.

strange visitors?

things accomplished over the weekend:

thanks in part (mostly) to visiting ex-roommate Will (with whom i'm headed to freaking Antarctica in a week's time)

yes we...carve?

saw this last night (sick in bed), and it made me smile, but not [yet] carve a pumpkin. perhaps this weekend...



see more at yeswecarve.com. though you DO realize halloween + carving pumpkins is actually a Pagan holiday/ceremony, and last i checked, that's pretty darned un-American [wink!].

anywho, if people are willing to do this sort of thing for my main man Barry, it's no wonder he won AdAge's [coveted?] Marketer of the Year.

it's my fault.

sorry! really:



"i am worried that John McCain will bomb my goats."

"all God's children welcome
except for raman sehgal."

seriously guys. go vote [early].

facebook gone too far.

so i got a note from Facebook earlier tonight. turns out the guy who used to beat me up in elementary school (and tried in junior high, but i learned to fight back*) found me online + wants to be my friend...

the nice thing about Facebook friend requests, is that it lets you take a quick peak at their profile (as you can see above). so what do i do? part of is relieved to find that he grew up into the stereotype i assumed he would turn in to. part of me is proud of the person i turned into, even though i had idiots like this guy bullying me around in those awkward years. and part of me says, "ah screw it, why not."

what would you do?
*not really, i just learned to disappear/blend in, and had other, cooler friends to keep me out of trouble.


on a related note. my buddy megan sent me this, which i'm sure many of you have already seen:

[racism] on the ground in OH.

bringing DOWN the tone of my [usually light-hearted] campaign coverage to a disturbing low, see the following news out of [my battleground state] Ohio shared from friends near and far.

first, from a[nother] Singaporean colleague (Arvind):


now you're probably saying, "that's a pretty biased report, it's from a backwoods town in eastern Ohio. plus, it's from Al Jazeera, isn't that an Islamic based news outlet?"

well, my friend Vikas brings it even closer to home. from his hometown of Fairfield, OH, in fact (which is a northwestern suburb of Cincinnati):


you can find the original posting here.

making it even more personally relevant, while canvassing yesterday in Madisonville, OH, at one house, when my buddy Karl + i identified us as volunteers w/ the Obama campaign, we were asked by one gentleman (in a less than inviting tone) to "get off [his] porch."

as i continue to tell many of my very optimistic friends on coast east and west, i remain "cautiously optimistic" about this election. don't underestimate the racial (racist?) undertones of middle (and southern) America, where i've spent most of my life.

"Country First," indeed.

why i love the internet.

made me happy as a kid:


made me happy as an adult:


(related post)

friday night fun.

thanks to my soon-to-be father friend Andy for sharing (and making my night complete):



check out the wicked eyebrow action. you can see the determination in his eyes!

the ol' switcharoo.

in an effort to provide more non-original, thought-provoking posts, i'll share something a good friend from my Singapore days recently forwarded (the poorly photoshopped image above came from a different source).

sadly, i'm not aware of this "article's" original source. and while it's being written in a BIT of a one-sided way, it does make a broader, more interesting point:

Obama/Biden vs. McCain/Palin A Review in Perspectives.

Obama/Biden vs McCain/Palin ~ what if things were switched around?...think about it. Would the country's collective point of view be different? Could racism be the culprit?

Ponder the following:

What if the Obamas had paraded five children across the stage, including a three month old infant and an unwed, pregnant teenage daughter?

What if John McCain was a former president of the Harvard Law Review?
What if Barack Obama finished fifth from the bottom of his graduating class?

What if McCain had only married once, and Obama was a divorcee?

What if Obama was the candidate who left his first wife after a severe disfiguring car accident, when she no longer measured up to his standards?

What if Obama had met his second wife in a bar and had a long affair while he was still married?

What if Michelle Obama was the wife who not only became addicted to pain killers but also acquired them illegally through her charitable organization?

What if Cindy McCain had graduated from Harvard?

What if Obama had been a member of the Keating Five?
(The Keating Five were five United States Senators accused of corruption in 1989, igniting a major political scandal as part of the larger Savings and Loan crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s.)

What if McCain was a charismatic, eloquent speaker?

What if Obama couldn't read from a teleprompter?

What if Obama was the one who had military experience that included discipline problems and a record of crashing seven planes?

What if Obama was the one who was known to display publicly, on many occasions, a serious anger management problem?

What if Michelle Obama's family had made their money from beer distribution?

What if the Obamas had adopted a white child?

You could easily add to this list. If these questions reflected reality, do you really believe the election numbers would be as close as they are?

This is what racism does. It covers up, rationalizes and minimizes positive qualities in one candidate and emphasizes negative qualities in another when there is a colo difference.

Educational Backgrounds:

Barack Obama:
Columbia University - B.A. Political Science with a Specialization in International Relations.
Harvard - Juris Doctor (J.D.) Magna Cum Laude

Joseph Biden:
University of Delaware - B.A. in History and B.A. in Political Science.
Syracuse University College of Law - Juris Doctor (J.D.)

VS.

John McCain:
United States Naval Academy - Class rank: 894 of 899

Sarah Palin:
Hawaii Pacific University - 1 semester
North Idaho College - 2 semesters - general study
University of Idaho - 2 semesters - journalism
Matanuska-Susitna College - 1 semester
University of Idaho - 3 semesters - B.A. in Journalism

Education isn't everything, but this is about the two highest offices in
the land as well as our standing in the world. You make the call.

vote early, rock late.

screw TV, alt marketing.

believe it or not, contrary to the title, this is NOT a work related post. now i could easily go on and on about the debates, the negative TV ads, or the borderline hateful stump speeches.

but i'm not [that smart]. rather, i'm just going to show you some cool examples of how one campaign is leveraging alt marketing. whether or not it works, i cannot comment. but man this is cool. one candidate clearly gets how to reach (and leverage) me.

1. roadside advertising:

but that's not seen on the road. that's in a video game baby!


2. iPhone application:

what's coolest about this? not only can i get all sorts of nifty campaign info, but it IMPORTS my contact list, and prioritizes them by the most important battleground states. neato.


3. Twittering [tweeting] candidates:
to be fair and balanced, i'll let you click to compare & contrast BOTH Obama & McCain on my favorite addictive web service:

McCain was a little late to show up to the game, but rather than simply direct you to where the next stump speech (like Obama), McCain's tweets go on the offensive.


BUT WAIT, there's more (i saved the best for last)...


4. Obamunism:
just to show you that i'm not COMPLETELY biased, check out this t-shirt my (right-leaning) roommate is considering buying. which i find ironic, since, y'know, right leaning peeps usually frown upon communism (which is relatively left leaning, or so i hear).

regardless, it still is a pretty durned cool design (that statement will probably get me in trouble when i choose to run for public office). that's all i got for now. see anything interesing out there? please share!