Patriots Vs. Pats (Ugh!)

Is anyone else feeling slightly nauseous about the Super Bowl this year? I mean seriously, Giants vs Pats? Yuk. Not that I really favored any of the final teams... But I guess I'd have to say the 49ers, it was a huge deal for them and it could've been fun to watch them go far. Still, they probably would've choked, making the Super Bowl and joke to watch. Stupid Seahawks need to get their butts in gear.

I guess I'll have to say I hope the Patriots get it, not because I like them any better, and definitely not because they're a better team (if anything, that puts points against them- I hate the NFL empires) but because Robert Kraft's wife Myra just died. They were both known to be big philanthropists, warm and generous people, and now Kraft only has his team to run alone. Gotta feel bad for the guy. I also heard that Myra has backed some women's flag football programs, and even visted them personally. I would say she was a loss to all football-lovers. So I have to go with the Pats.

Solar Storms

So, I have a friend studying astronomy and she sent me this link- pretty amazing!

http://www.dawn.com/2012/01/24/strongest-solar-storm-since-2005-hitting-earth.html

It mentions that the plasma may pull the northern lights, or Aurora borealis, farther south. I wonder if we'll see them here in Seattle! I sure hope so...

Coca-Cola and Why Money CAN Buy You (Little Doses of) Happiness

I recently heard that Nestea is leaving the U.S... Man, I hope that's not true. At least we've still got Coke though. The best part of my day! :)

Check out their new ad, I love it! A friend posted it on my Facebook wall.

Wikipedia's Blackout

What a brilliant way to blackout... I must say, rather inconvenient though. I guess that was the point... To show how much the internet and its free knowledhe affect our lives, how much we've grown to rely on it. Seriously though, amazing picture, very dramatic and clean. You understand the tone of the message long before you read it... Well done, Wikipedia. And I hope SOPA and PIPA got the message!

Cruise Nightmare

So, I know this is old news but I just read this article on CNN and my god, what a horror story! Can you imagine being on a luxury cruise (on your honeymoon, let's say) and suddenly hrealizing the ship is going down? Terrifying! I've been on a cruise before, and I'll be honest, no one went to that safety briefing. It's hard to believe it can really happen to you. And this ship had more than 4,000 people on it! Imagine the chaos and the utter panic.... It's unbelievable that only 6 bodies were found so far. I hope they find the last 29 people safe and well....

Definitely a bit confused as to how this happened, though the theory at the end of the article does make a little bit of sense... Still pretty dumb though. If it really was an honest mistake, I feel terrible for the captain... That's a lot of responsibility, and this is hard to swallow... Check it out.

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/01/16/world/europe/italy-ship-scene/index.html?hpt=wo_c1

Educational Tidbits and Internet Endeavors

So, this might make me come off as a bit nerdy, but I love finding quick, educational things on the internet, since I'm usually just hanging around killing brain cells on Facebook. But every now and then I stumble on something fascinating or just a bit eye-opening like a new discovery on National Geographic. This time, it was the website of an organization called Shapell manuscript Foundation with a small project called Between the Lines: A Unique Look at This Day in History.

Now, I check it every so often. Some entries are more interesting than others, but I love reading about these historic events that I probably would never have learned about or pondered on my own. It gives it an interesting twist, knowing that such great events took place on that specific day many years ago... Really gets my imagination flowing. Great stuff!

Review of Sherlock Holmes 2: Game of Shadows

I just saw Sherlock Holmes II: A Game of Shadows, and I really enjoyed it! Unlike most people, I was very disappointed with the first one. I liked the actors, characters dynamics, etc, I just felt like the mystery aspect of the story was pretty dumb, and I definitely don't enjoy watching something with a twist and a solution that I have no way to predict. Don't get me wrong- I don't expect to be as smart as the detective in the film, but I want to feel satisfied with the conclusion, and also anticipate feeling rather frustrated in my inability to be that perceptive. But the first movie's conclusion made no sense, and there was nothing to foreshadow the ending or the way Holmes solved the case. Mark Strong was not a very believabe antagonist, either, his portrayal and his character were mediocre at best.

The second one, however, was much more convincing. First and foremost, it was hilariously entertaining and fast paced, cracking up the audience but managing to keep the plot serious and pressing as well. The 'bad guy' (Jared Harris) was perfectly creepy and very convincing. His image was fluff-less and flair-less, making him all the more terrible. Madame Simza was great, Watson was perfect, Robert Downey Jr. mastered Holmes wonderfully.... And the film gave you the tools to figure it out, if only you were as insanely brilliant as Holmes. Which, of course, we are not, but it is more satisfying at the end. I definitely recommend watching it, and I think I'm going to go see it again.