Monkey Love

Nothing is better during the holidays then giant apes, so we went to go see King Kong before Christmas. This is the second remake of the 1933 original, so the story is fairly well known: girl meets monkey, girl and monkey fall in love, girl's friends capture monkey, monkey takes a dive off a tall building. It's a classic tragic love story.

How was this latest version? It was really good...and really long. Like over three hours long. Better use the restroom before the movie starts. Remember when movies used to be two hours? For a while, they were clocking in at about ninety minutes, now everyone is making big, long epic movies, whether or not the story merits it.

A good movie can be as long as it likes, as long as it holds your attention. I have to admit that I my attention was beginning to wander within the first hour. It took the movie an hour to get to Skull Island, which is where everybody knows the action really begins.

I particularly enjoyed the movie when they were on the island. Dinosaurs, bugs, bats, head-sucking leeches, what's not to like? The CGI in this movie is top-notch; it's amazing how life-like King Kong looks. They've come a long way from guys in monkey suits and apes made out of clay. This Kong is one handsome-looking gorilla.

Naomi Watts did a good job. As my fiancé says, she's a likable Nicole Kidman. Jack Black was good, but I think everyone will agree that it's more fun to see Jack Black as himself rather than a serious character is a serious movie.

The funniest thing about this movie are the reviews:

"Here is the jaw-dropping, eye-popping, heart-stopping movie epic we've been waiting for all year"
"It's everything people have ever wanted from the movies- action, romance, surprise"

"One of the best movies ever made"

"This movie will change your life. If you have two children, you should rename one King and the other Kong"

Mmmm...bananas...

I made the last one up. Keep your pants on, people. It's a good movie, but it's not earth-shattering good.

It Came From The Bargain Bin: Nano Breaker

In an earlier entry, I wrote about my unbridled love for cheap video games. In a nutshell, the sins of a game at $50 are a lot easier to swallow at $20; …most of the time.

I picked up a used copy of Nano Breaker for around 15 bucks. I was curious about the game because I love a good hack ‘n slash game (like the Dynasty Warrior series), and the screenshots I’ve seen showed buckets of blood. What’s not to love?

Well, there were many times during this game I was ready to eject the disc and never play it again. With my trusty Action Replay Max, I bulled my way through the game to the end. Without it, I wouldn’t have bothered; life is too short to waste on mediocre video games.

What was wrong with the game? Mostly the bad camera angles and frustrating time I had jumping around on platforms. I think I wore out the “x” button on my controller. There’s nothing I hate more than the double jump on a platform that eventually drops or vanishes. With this game, the bad control scheme and awkward camera angles combine together to make a difficult thing even more hair-pullingly difficult.

The best thing about this game was the gallons of blood splattered on every wall and floor. You can change the color of the blood from red to blue, green, yellow, and purple. You even have a multi-colored blood option. It’s like someone swallowed a rainbow and vomited all over the place. It’s pretty amusing.

Other than that, there’s not a lot to recommend about Nano Breaker. If you’ve got twenty bucks to burn, be my guest; but there are a lot of better games out there.

By the way, there are no less than four different covers for this game (for various international releases). It's like getting a big box of poo in four different flavors! Collect them all!

Fifty!

Hey! It’s my 50th post! What a milestone! Actually, it’s not much of a milestone. Considering I started this blog in late August of this year, I should have been past my 100th post if I had my act together and wrote something every day.

Unfortunately, I’m not that prolific.

Anyways, to commemorate this unremarkable milestone, I’d thought I list some of my favorite blogs I like to read. In no particular order, here they are:

mocha + blue: This is the one that inspired me to start my own blog. I looked at this blog and said, “Gee whiz, this looks fun. Gosh darn it, I’m gonna start my own blog!”. So I did (but I don’t really talk like that, for cryin’ out loud). If you look closely, this is where I swiped my sidebar setup from (thanks, Monica!)

Dave’s Long Box: I check this blog religiously for new posts. It’s all about Dave reviewing his comic book collection, and it’s the one blog that makes me laugh out loud. Dave has a sharp eye and a keen wit about all that is good and bad (mostly bad) about comics.

Daily Gluttony: This is all about a Southern California resident who loves food. She spends a lot of time going to new eating places and rating the food. It’s well written and pretty entertaining, although it doesn’t do me much good. If only we had a blog like this for the Bay Area…

Sketch Club: A group of artists pick a person they see during their lunch break, and each draws this person from memory. It’s interesting to see how each perceives the subject, as well seeing each artist’s distinct drawing style.

Go Fug Yourself: I’m not into fashion, but how can you not like a blog that pokes fun at what celebrities wear? It can be really vicious at times, but it never fails to amuse.

So much for the big 50th post gala celebration; be sure to check back for the even bigger 100th post blowout…in about five years.

Rockin' The AK Rocker

I've been a good boy this year (or so I think), so I'm enjoying my Christmas gift early: the AK Rocker. My better half was kind enough to get this for me and let me open it early. Either that, or I would be looking forlornly at the big box in the corner until the 25th.

What is the AK Rocker? It's chair made for playing video games! There was a time when I would scoff at things such as this - it seemed so unnecessary. Why would anyone need a special chair just for playing video games? Preposterous!

Well, I just happen to be in need of such a chair. My work/entertainment space where I play most of my games (in other words, not the living room) really needed a chair for me to sit by the tv. I was pretty much dragging my desk chair over and lowering the chair height to properly see the tv. What I needed was a real low chair, since sitting on the floor gets a little uncomfortable after a while.

Enter the AK Rocker. It's entirely made of plastic with a cloth cover that fits snugly over the seat area. It's easy to assemble and pretty lightweight. Once you hunker down into the chair, it's quite comfortable.

The best part is that it's a rocking chair - but it's not your grandmother's rocker. You know how most guys, at some point in their life, like to lean back in their chair and balance on the two rear legs of the chair? I bet all guys have done this at least once, and I bet 90% of them have fallen completely backwards (I did it in high school, right in the middle of English class).

The AK Rocker lets you relieve those good times without the pain of smacking the back of your head on the floor. If you keep leaning back, the chair will go backwards, but it will gently settle you into a horizontal position. Look at the look of bliss on these two guys:


Rock on, dudes. All you need now is for someone to help you up.

Poopmouth

Here's my new word for today: logorrhea (law-guh-REE-uh), which means an excessive use of words. I've heard the phrase "diarrhea of the mouth", but I never knew there was actually a word for it. Logorreha is derived from the Greek word logos ("word") and rhein ("to flow").

Oddly enough, while the Greek word rhein is also part of the word diarrhea, I don't believe "dia" means poop.

OK, that's enough scatological talk for today. See? There's another word for you. Don't say that blogs can't be educational too.

Still Poppin' Fresh After All These Years

Before I forget, happy birthday to Poppin' Fresh, the Pillsbury Doughboy. Born in 1965, the little guy made of dough is 40 years old and still going strong.


Not too bad for a guy who's been poked in the gut more times than any human being can stand.

Embarrass Your Dog

You know those funnels that dogs have to wear so they can’t gnaw on themselves? I’ve always thought that they make dogs wear them just to make them feel silly. I bet that other dogs point at the funnel-wearing dogs and laugh at them. I certainly do.

Here’s a whole new way to get your dog ridiculed: get him a bodysuit made out of Lycra. I’m sure it has a lot of practical purposes, like keeping your dog warm and preventing dog hair from getting all over the place. But don’t you think your dog will feel a little embarrassed to wear this thing?


Hey, if you want your dog to be a dancer, or a speed skater, then this outfit is perfect. Better yet, have him join the circus:


If you really want to make your dog feel like a total tool, then finish off the ensemble with some headgear:


It’s not easy being a dog.

Rent

We saw Rent last week on opening day, which kind of tells you about our anticipation of seeing this movie. We usually wait a few weeks before we go see a movie in a theater, or else end up seeing it on DVD a year later.

We loved it…four stars…thumbs up! If you live in the Bay Area, our little man was clapping out of his chair.

However, we already loved Rent the musical before we ever saw the movie. I’ve seen it four times, and my fiancé has seen it five times (maybe even six, but who can keep track?). I’m personally not a big musical fan: the only other musical I’ve seen is Les Miserables (wait, I also saw The Music Man at Great America when I was little - but that doesn’t count). But the songs and spectacle of Rent is one of those rare things in life that never fails to be both uplifting and tear-jerking at the same time.

So the question is, would the movie version live up to the stage version? I say yes, although you can never beat the excitement of seeing it live. The movie did a good job of bringing a new dynamic look to the songs. Apart from a few numbers that were left out and a slight rearrangement of some of the songs, the movie stayed faithful to the stage version. It seems to me that the source material is so strong, you’d have to do something really stupid to mess it up. Like changing the setting to outer space and making all the characters robots.

I don’t think the movie will win very many new fans, but Rent the movie should make the current fans happy.

Friday, Bloody Friday

Our annual tradition is upon us: braving the crowds on Black Friday, the big shopping day after Thanksgiving where a lot of the major retailers offer great bargains on their merchandise.

We woke up this morning around 3 am, and got to our local Best Buy at 4 am. Not surprisingly, there were a couple hundred people already waiting in line (in the rain, I might add). The people at Best Buy were nice enough to provide coffee and Krispy Kreme donuts for the waiting customers, with a couple of store employees with bullhorns providing the entertainment. It helped make the time go by faster.

We also like to make fun of the people in line, so that helps too.

The doors opened promptly at 5 am, and people filed orderly into the store…then the hardcore shopping began. Most people know what they want, so they more or less know where they need to go. However, that doesn’t stop the people who just seem to get in the way with their shopping carts that are too wide to fit in the narrow aisles.

My fiancé and I had our gameplan all worked out, so we picked up what we needed, did a few fact-finding side missions, and made it to the checkout line in no time. That’s pretty much the drill on Black Friday: wait in line to get in, run around for a little bit, and then wait in another line to pay.

It was very civil, and there weren’t any scuffles. Not like at Wal-Mart, where there were several incidents reported. Savages.

People can be animals, but Wal-Mart should take the blame as well. Not just for being a soulless, blood-sucking corporation; they should have anticipated this. Wal-Mart blows.

Anyways, we also made trips to CompUSA, Circuit City, and Costco, but it seemed the real deals were at Best Buy. Best Buy gets a gold star for having the best sale, plus they did a great job with their crowd control. All in all, it was a pretty good Black Friday this year.

Now, we can go back to sleep.

Speak Softly and Carry A Big Sudoku

My Sudoku obsession has subsided a bit, but I still do at least a couple of puzzles a day. I’m beginning to see Sudoku board games, so the puzzle has pretty much worked itself into the pop culture landscape for now.

Astraware has created a Sudoku game for handhelds available in Palm OS, Pocket PC, and Windows Mobile Smartphone formats. More information is available here.

They also have a separate Soduku site here. It’s got a daily puzzle, plus it has a pretty interesting guide for puzzle-solving techniques. I have a sequence of steps in my head for solving the puzzles, but I would never try to list them, much less give them names like “X-Wing” and “Swordfish”. “Nishio” is the last-ditch method I use if I simply cannot fill any more of the blanks. If you don’t have your technique down yet, this guide may help.

Not surprisingly, the site also sells its very own Sudoku gear. They even have t-shirts where you can proclaim your skill level to the world. This is the one t-shirt that kind of stands out:


I suppose it was inevitable, but they’ve finally dragged Sudoku into the gutter. Damn you, Astraware!

Go Bears!

It doesn't matter how many wins or losses the Cal Bears have in a year. It doesn't matter which bowl the Bears are going to, or even if they go to a bowl at all.

It doesn't even matter if we got spanked by USC, UCLA, Oregon, and Oregon State.

None of this matters, because somehow all is right in the world when the Cal Bears beat Stanford in the Big Game! Berkeley keeps the axe for the fourth straight year in a row.

Cal 27, Stanford 3

Go Bears!

Walk The Line

I must say that this is one of the coolest movie posters I’ve seen this year. Maybe it’s in my top ten best movie posters of all time…, but I don’t have a top ten list, so let’s say it just rocks.

It’s nice when a movie advertisement can break away from the typical stylings of the modern poster – you know, like the “big head in the sky” showing the headshot of the star of the movie . The designer of this poster pretty much created a work of art – it goes way beyond a movie poster, it’s something that you could frame and hang on your wall without any connection to the movie. I’d be interested to know if the designer also makes concert posters. To me, the image simply states, "Johnny Cash, Badass". That should have been the tagline to the movie.

As my fiancé points out, the only unfortunate thing about this movie is that Reese Witherspoon is in this movie. I originally never had anything against her, but in his book Silent Bob Speaks, Kevin Smith talks about how “Greasy” Witherspoon pretends to be an upper-crust kind of person who is incredibly condescending. She insults him behind his back, and is incredibly rude to him in person. How can you not be nice to Kevin Smith? He’s just a typical guy like one of us - except he hangs out with movie stars and has boatloads of money.

Now I don’t worship Kevin Smith, but Clerks just happens to be one of my favorite movies. We went to hear him speak in San Diego last summer, and despite all the fart jokes, he’s amazingly entertaining to listen to. Just check out the Evening with Kevin Smith DVD – you’ll see what I mean.

In conclusion: I’m inclined to believe what Kevin Smith says, so “Greasy” Witherspoon sucks. But she’s in Walk The Line, which has one of the coolest posters ever; hopefully the movie itself will live up to it. So for now, we’ll just have to tolerate her...Greasy Reese.

Santa, Please Don't Get Me Karaoke Revolution Party

Video games are a form of escapist entertainment. In video games, we can drive recklessly or whoop a guy that is twice as big as us. Our worlds are contained in the TV screen, and the only reality we have is the joy of victory or the agony of defeat (in my case, defeat consists of the use of multiple cusswords and a controller thrown across the room).

Why then, do they make games like Karaoke Revolution Party? Is it just to torture me? I bought Karaoke Revolution a while back for my fiancé to play, because she can legitimately sing. When she plays the game, the crowd starts cheering and everything lights up. This game was meant for her.

I however, was not put on this planet to sing. I can do “Ring of Fire” in a deep Johnny Cash voice, but if you ask me to actually carry a tune in the correct key – sorry man, no can do. When I’ve attempted Karaoke Revolution, the lights go out, and everyone leaves.

I haven’t tried Karaoke Revolution Party yet (nor do I intend to), but apparently along with the singing, you can also include a dancing routine on the Dance Dance Revolution pad as part of the act. Singing and dancing? At the same time? Geez, the majority of today’s pop stars can’t do both at the same time, how they can expect this out of us mere mortals?

I’m guessing the whole point of this is to humiliate people in front of others. Since I am I am both vocally and rhythmically challenged, I will be definitely steering clear of this game. You won’t get me, Karaoke Revolution Party. Ha!

I must sound like a big stick in the mud. Well, the holiday season is rapidly approaching…

Bah humbug!

Hot Dog!

Every time we step into a plane, I always take out the in-flight shopping catalog and gaze wistfully at the Home Pride Ballpark Hot Dog Rotisserie Griller. Sure, you can always get the hot dog/bun combination toaster, but do you really think it will do a better job than the rotisserie griller? Hey, if it’s good enough for movie theaters across the country, then it’s good enough for us!

In our house, we’ve had differing opinions on how to cook a hot dog. I usually boil them for a few minutes into they are cooked. My fiancé likes to cook them on a skillet. Well, with our new rotisserie griller, a détente has been reached.

We just purchased it from our local Fry’s for forty bucks, and tried it out last night. I think we were both a little surprised that the contraption really worked. You can lay up to four hot dogs on the metal rollers, and it takes around ten minutes or so to fully heat up your dogs. You can also toast two buns on its upright metal spikes. Also, unless you cook really oily dogs, the whole thing can be easily cleaned by wiping down the rollers.

It would have been nice if we could toast four buns since you’re cooking four dogs already, but I guess hot dog cooking technology hasn’t quite reached that plateau yet.

The only question now is: how long will this device last? We knew all along that the rotisserie griller could be a piece of crap, and the jury still out on that.

But until then, hot dogs for dinner every night!

Look At Me! I'm A Record!

I told myself I wouldn't take anymore of these silly quizzes, but I couldn't pass this one up:


My Bloody Valentine - Loveless

What essential indie rock album are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

I can live with this - My Bloody Valentine's Glider EP is a favorite of mine.

This will be the last quiz I take. For now. Maybe.

TO Blows It Again

What in the world is wrong with Terrell Owens?

The guy undeniably has talent: he’s big, strong, fast, and can catch a football. However, he also has the biggest ego and the most selfish attitude ever seen in professional sports.

Whatever happened to the guy who was a wide a receiver in the 49ers with Jerry Rice and J.J. Stokes? Back then, he didn’t make a peep; he just went out and did his job. With Jerry Rice’s departure, he apparently got to show his true nature and the size of his mouth.

Nobody can deny the guy works hard on and off the field. He was a great receiver on his way to making his mark in the history books. Unfortunately for T.O., he will be remembered, but not for his contributions to the game.

Sure, celebrating a touchdown on the Cowboy’s star was obviously uncalled for. The Sharpie touchdown celebration was actually kind of clever, but wrong. I actually think the pom-pom celebration was his best work (and completely harmless). But everything pretty much went south after this, as T.O. was constantly getting himself into trouble, or pissing someone off.

His latest hijinks was his criticism of the Eagles organization for not paying him the respect he thought he deserved for his 100th touchdown. He also publicly insulted Donovan McNabb, saying they would be better off with Brett Favre as their quarterback. To add insult to injury, he also got into a brawl with one of the Eagle’s ex-players who accused him of faking an injury. You have to admit, the guy knows how to dig a hole for himself.

Hasn’t he seen Spider-Man? “With great power comes great responsibility”. Terrell Owens could learn a thing or two from this. Not that he needs to put on tights and rescue people from burning buildings, but at least he could learn a little humility. The guy doesn’t need to toot his horn over every one of his accomplishments; everyone knew he was a great football player, and he had the fat contract & the cheers from the fans to prove it. A grown adult should know how to go about his business while showing a measure of restraint and respect towards others. It’s not that he shouldn’t speak his mind; but he doesn’t need to be such an ass about it.

So he’s done with the Eagles for the rest of the year. Eventually, some other team desperate for a wide receiver will take him. If there’s any justice, he’ll end up playing for the league minimum for a crappy team.

Eric Powell & The Goon

If you take a muscle-bound lug with a heart of gold (sort of), mix in some zombies & robots, throw in a little action and a lot of humor, and what do you get?

The Goon, of course!

I just finished reading most of The Goon comics to date, and it’s an entertaining ride. To date, there have been eight self-published issues and about sixteen issues from the current ongoing Dark Horse series. Most of the early issues are available in trade paperbacks.

The Goon is about a big bruiser-type guy who along with his pal Franky controls a portion of a Chicago-style town. What’s unique about this town is that normal people live side-by-side with monsters and aliens who also live in the town like normal Joes. The Goon’s world revolves around protecting his turf and the people who live in it, as well as breaking the legs of those who owe him protection money.

One of strengths of the comic lies in the ever-growing cast of characters, including Merle the lonely werewolf, the Muds who live in a tree stump, Dr. Alloy the evil-good-evil scientific genius, and Nameless One the Zombie King, the Goon’s arch-nemesis.

My personal favorite is the Psychic Seal; in this scene the Goon and Franky visit the seal for information on a friend in danger:

Sure, it’s a one-note joke, but I get a big laugh every time I think of it.

Eric Powell is a guy who didn’t really gain notoriety until he started publishing The Goon. Artistically, you can see a lot of Will Eisner, Jack Kirby, and Wally Wood influences in his work. You can also see his love for old science fiction and horror movies. He’s pretty much the guy who came out of nowhere with some really well-developed drawing and writing skills, and he keeps getting better. It’s nice to see how his skills have developed since the early issues. Currently, he’s using a hand-rendered shading style that you don’t see a lot of anymore. It’s a nice touch from a guy who cares about his work.

The Goon is a fun book to read, and it’s worth checking out before Eric Powell gets really, really famous.

My New Career In Crime

I took another quiz, and here's the result:



You are: TWO-FACE!

Which Batman Villain Are You?

Uh...ok. At least I'm not Catwoman. I think.

I gotta stop taking these quizzes.

This Week's Movie (Posters) No. 3

Ah, November. As the days get shorter and the temperatures get nippier, our thoughts turn to our poultry friends; namely the turkeys, and based on our first upcoming movie poster, chickens.

Chicken Little – I'm almost speachless - we’re looking right up a chicken’s butt. This is what our world has come to. I know this is a Disney movie, and I know it’s harmless, but we’re looking at a chicken’s piehole. Am I the only one that thinks this is a little weird?

I’ve seen this poster at bus stops, and I’m surprised no one has defaced any of them in a vulgar way. Maybe that’s the power of Disney; you just don’t mess with them, or Michael Eisner will come knocking on your door.

There was an earlier teaser poster that I like much more:


Ha ha! “Little chicken”… “Chicken Little”. Now that’s a good pun. Somewhere in his frozen cryogenic pod Walt Disney is smiling.


Jarhead – I like the simplicity of this poster. No need for a big sweeping illustration of the unrivaled might of the US Army; that’s not what the movie is about. They could have put Oscar-winning Jamie Foxx’s face on it, but they resisted that temptation too.

I like how they put the image of the burning oil fields only within the borders of the dog tag. Nice little analogy to what the movie’s about, the Gulf War seen through one soldier’s eyes. From the poster alone, it seems that Jarhead goes way beyond your standard military action movie.


Slim pickings this week for movies - you get to choose between a chicken or a jarhead...or you can see a homicidal maniac in Saw II.

Instant Greeting Card

Here’s a picture that will make everyone say “awww”. If you don’t, then your heart is shriveled up and is the size of a walnut.

With the power of this picture, here’s a suggestion for the guys: the next time you say something stupid to your loved one (and you know you will), take this picture and write “I’m sorry” on it. Give it to your better half, along with whatever apology methods you use, and voilà! You’re on the road to recovery.

Hey, if the look works for a puppy that just whizzed on the carpet, it may work for you too.

Avast Matey! Arr! Uhhh... Avast!

So I took a quiz, and here's my pirate name:

My pirate name is:

Mad Tom Kidd

Every pirate is a little bit crazy. You, though, are more than just a little bit. Even though you're not always the traditional swaggering gallant, your steadiness and planning make you a fine, reliable pirate. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from fidius.org.

The funny thing is that I took a Myers-Brigg test last year, and I'm an ISFJ. This personality type is all about the "steadiness and planning" that will make me a "fine, reliable pirate".

Sigh. I guess even in the swashbuckling pirate world, I'm the same person. Arr!

This Week's Movie (Posters) No. 2

A quick peek at the posters for this week’s opening movies:

Legend of Zorro – This falls into the “big head on top” family of movie posters (like last week’s Dreamer). Like I said before, there's nothing wrong with it – it’s a tried & true format for a movie poster. Catherine Zeta-Jones (or as we call her around here, CZJ) is looking good. If I’m not mistaken, this is the sequel to the movie that made her into a household name.

Here’s what bugs me about the poster for this movie: there were a couple of teaser posters realeased earlier this summer that showed Antonio Banderas and CZJ individually. On the final poster, they simply took these images, enlarged them or decreased them in size and pasted them together. Sin City did the same thing with the all the characters grouped together. Now, there’s nothing wrong with the final layout, but would it kill them to use some different images between the posters?

Prime – Sparse, clean layout. Simple text at the top, main characters at the bottom. No other miscellaneous clutter on the poster. This movie isn’t about the setting or the time period, it’s purely about the people. This poster says to me it’s a comedic drama about the emotional interactions between these three characters.

Somehow, I don’t think there’s going to be any explosions or gunfire in this movie.

It also says to me that Meryl Streep is doing this movie to collect a paycheck. I guess for every Bridges of Madison County needs to be balanced out with a She-Devil.


Saw II – I really like this poster, although the layout kind of reminds me of the one done for Hannibal. Nice colors, cool "Saw" title font, really good tagline: “Oh yes…there will be blood”. Tells you exactly what you need to know (It's safe to say that this won’t be a double feature with Prime). I would have left off the two fingers in the “2”, but I guess that’s the cheeky humor in this movie.

Another thing that I like about this movie is that I've seen a bunch of posters for this movie that are all very different. I really like the variety between them – tells you someone was thinking. Movies spend so much on marketing, why can't they pay their graphic designers a little more to produce a few more designs?

The Weatherman – This is the type of movie that Nicholas Cage should be in. I like him much more as a sympathetic loser rather than the action hero (I know he’s going to be Ghost Rider, but that’s going to be more about the special effects). Who else can do that forlorn expression? He also does good stoned look, like he did way back in Valley Girl.

This is a pretty good poster which probably highlights the funniest part of the movie – Nicholas Cage getting pegged by food and drinks. During the trailer, I always get a kick out of seeing him get nailed in a head with a Big Gulp. That’s comedy.

Come to think of it, I have spilled a whole super-size Coke in my car before. That wasn't funny.