Great mamba it's hot! I remember last year it hit 115° up here in the Valley, it's currently 105°... who knows how damn hot it's going to be! And I have a right to complain about all this heat too; our house doesn't have insulation nor an AC system, not to mention my car's lack of AC as well, but I don't care about that one as much. But don't worry too much, we manage to stay cool with these room AC systems, but without insulation, the cold doesn't like to stay inside the house. Ah well. But I didn't come here to complain about the heat, oh no. Not even close.

I don't go through phones as much as a few people I know, but I think I go through more than most. In the past five years I've owned six phones. It started off with the Samsung R225m, not the first phone I've ever owned, but the first phone I've ever owned on my own. Nice blue backlight, I felt so powerful with a phone at the age of thirteen. Then came the beautiful Samsung v205, still seen on television shows and commercials (not sure why, it's pretty old); it was my first flip phone and it has my best memories associated with it (not to mention one of the first phones with a freaking camera!). After this one was destroyed and all hacked up, I needed a new phone and I went with the company my first family phone belonged to, Nokia. The Nokia 3660. It was my most anticipated phone, a totally different feel than the phones from the past. It had an actually real OS, Symbian and the first video camera on a phone. But I only kept it for a few months because I got so damn sick of it. I took a break from Samsungs and Nokias and went into my short Motorola phase, just as we all did, with a Motorola MPx220, branded to Cingular, I got it unlocked and working on T-Mobile. I had so much fun with this phone, I had two at one point, haha. It was the first time I could get unlimited real Internet on it, the v205 gave me Internet, but not full access. It was also my first Windows Mobile phone and I stuck with that OS when I replaced it with the lovely T-Mobile SDA or HTC Tornado, the most recent of my phones. It had to have been the best of the phones I've owned, my first Wi-Fi enabled phone. The first time I bought a phone directly from T-Mobile in a while. But then it was time for an update. I needed a new phone, it hit the eighteen month period and it was time to try something new. So I decided I'd give my original phone manufacturer, the original phone manufacturer, a try and I bought a Nokia. The Nokia E61i. I was looking into this phone for months, and every time I looked at it or read some news on it, I could not see myself ever owning it, it was too good for me. It was not released in the US, no carrier wanted to (nor still wants to) take it under its wing. But I had to have it. I was getting bored of my phone (no offense Mr. SDA) and I wanted a new one, but the only other phones out there with Wi-Fi were pretty dumb, the Dash, the Wing, and this other thing from HTC called the Touch, which is one of the phones the iPhone rivals in terms of touchability. But those were all pretty dumb, I felt. Maybe I just got bored of Windows Mobile, I wanted something different.

This phone is all I wanted and more. It's a GSM world phone just like the SDA (as all phones should be, CDMA is a joke). Has Wi-Fi 802.11g, Symbian S60 version 3. Thin as hell with a huge, huge screen (320x240 pixels and 2.8" diagonally and 16 million colors) with also a great full text keyboard. 3G, EDGE/GPRS capable, push-to-talk capable, and microSD capable of up to 2GB. Infrared, Bluetooth, USB, Voice calling, and True Tones. Built in software is also great. Built in Office software, Adobe PDF, Web Browser, Music Player, Real Player, Flash Player, Printer support, the works. And not only all that, because it's a Symbian, you can download oh so much more software. I got Gmail, Google Maps, Mobile Weather (for weather), Opera (for browsing), Screenshot (to take screenshots), Y-Browser (file browser), DivX Player, Virtual Radio (for Internet radio), to name a few. The phone is without a doubt the best feature wise that I have ever owned. It has such a beautiful design as well! It might be a little wide, but it's beautiful. The keys and the layout of everything is just fantastic, very professional looking. Customization to the max as well. PC software is also great, no comparison to any of the other things out there. Everyone loves BlackBerry - I personally do not like them too much, I'd buy this phone than a BlackBerry any day. I was even looking at the 8800, but it didn't have Wi-Fi. There's a new 8820 out that has almost all the things this E61i has (minus Symbian), and it also has UMA which lets it work off of Wi-Fi for free minutes (as T-Mobile's HotSpot @home lets you), so that's the only thing going for it, but I really prefer the Nokia's OS. But that's not to say this phone is perfect either, it has its limitations. In comparison to Windows Mobile. One of the most annoying parts of it for me is the time it takes to switch from app to app, or just to go to the 'desktop'; I have to hold down the Menu key and click 'Standby', in Windows Mobile, all I had to do was click the 'Home' button. That simple. Another annoying thing about this phone is the Call Log. It doesn't list for how long you were talking! It only lists the latest call, or all calls together, not individual calls! That really gets to me. And the built in web browser isn't as good as the Mobile IE. Even Opera's free mobile browsers are horrible. Let's hope Firefox gets onto Symbians, and fast! Other than that, it's the perfect phone, kinda wide though, but I gotta get used to that. And it kind of is a little slow to me, maybe it's cos I'm not used to it. But it's so much simpler and easier to use than any other phone I've owned. I plan to hold onto this one.

And that's not the only thing I bought. I switched my parents back to Nokia as well with a Nokia 6133 for my Mom's birthday. My Mom's been asking for a new Bluetooth headset, so I got her the Nokia BH-200, which she hated, but I secretly fell in love with it at first sight, which is mostly why I bought it. Well I ended up keeping it and she's going to get a headset on her own from Costco. As long as I got my beautiful headset, I don't care, haha. I won't ever use it - I find Bluetooth headsets all too annoying, but this one sure is purrty. So, enough talking about my new toys, how about slobbering over them? I created an album/gallery a few days ago (I've had the phone for eight days now) and it's been up for anyone to see from the Photography section, but now it's got a link, so go and check the photos out! Unboxing galore! And not only that, screenshots are up, and for the first time too. And because I've had it for eight days now, I can surely say for sure that even though I still need a little getting used to switching to a new OS after three years, I think I'm glad I switched and have this new toy. It's a great phone, not matter what Google might be coming out with in the near future, okay fine, a little part of me is really pissed that I didn't wait another six months or so, even if the story's been going round and round since last year, haha. Check out the gallery here. This will be the last post of the month, I have a few things planned for September, Insha Allah, and Sunny's coming back! Take care everyone. see u.

Boy am I glad I had nothing to do with the school newspaper above submitting some photos, because it seems like it was a very, very rough environment; cat fights nearly everyday! A few months ago we were in Carroll's class, a class in which we could do nothing and still avoid trouble with the teacher sitting right next to us, interrupting our fights, when this particular cat fight became explosive. It did not come out of the blue, oh no; it was the continuation of a fight from the previous day's Journalism class when Editor Sandy blew up at Editor Marc, an almost daily occurrence. Sandy accused Marc of never doing his work and that he and his cronies always mess around and as a result she has to baby sit the whole class. Marc did not seem too happy with the tone that he received from Sandy because the following day he confronts her about the disrespect he was shown. But she can show as much disrespect as she pleases, because "it's a free country". Later on, Marc accuses her of trying to act like a leader in front of everyone and Sandy corrects him stating that she does not have the sort of "big-headedness" like Marc does. Ouch. Taped by Josue and Imadul and uploaded to YouTube by Imadul, this wonderful two minute clip shows a beautiful beat down by Sandy. A wonderful watch. haha. The video is embedded here, or you can watch it by clicking here. Give it a 5!

In case you guys are wondering what happened to that God's Warriors special, it's in syndication all weekend over on CNN. I'll have the three episodes up within the week, Insha Allah - they're rather long, almost 100 minutes each. But don't worry, you don't have to wait that long for another post, I have a surprise for you guys tomorrow. Not telling you what, but it's going to be big. Well tiny, but big. Oh, and Superbad freaking rocked. Until later, take care. see u.

It's so hot now a days in LA that at around 3 or 4 in the afternoon, if I have my AC running with my computer, half of my room blows a circuit! So it's either sweat profusely for two hours a day or turn the computer off; often times I feel that I can do without the computer for a little while. I need to really think about splitting my room up into a third circuit and having my AC dedicated on one of 'em. Ah well, maybe next summer. Anyway, the reason I bring this up is because on Sunday, 60 Minutes aired a piece they aired back in April (on April Fools' Day, mind you), but it was technically new because they made some changes - what I'm not sure. So I saw it back in April, and saw it again on Sunday to see any changes, I would've had it for you yesterday but my room kept exploding on Monday, because I was much too lazy to get it ready on Sunday. haha. Anyway, the segment is pretty good. It isn't a bit to convince people to start going out and buying electric cars and investing thousands of dollars on your home to convert it to run on solar power; it's just a piece to show the proof of global warming, in Antarctica. Antarctica, says Scott Pelley, is a country that until recently no one thought would be affected by any such global warming, but now it is missing miles upon miles of ice. The scientists he speaks to say that areas of ice they were standing on just a few years ago are now gone and melted, that this rapidity in melting in the past decade is nowhere near to how much has melted in the century before that. That these people were very skeptical about the whole idea that man is creating global warming, and now there is no other explanation. It's a very important piece to us, and very informational to anyone wondering about global warming or anyone that wants to see proof that it is occurring in our world, so check it out. You can download it here.

To go with this little news subject I've created for today, CNN is running a three day special starting tonight about religious activists and their 'effects on world politics', entitled God's Warriors (I heard about it from the Netflix envelopes and later saw a commercial for it on some Turner network). Reported by Christiane Amanpour, the three day special covers the three major monotheistic religions, or Abrahamic religions, in the world: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Tonight focuses on Judaism, tomorrow night is Islam, and Thursday is Christianity, Insha Allah (I felt that was necessary, haha). I can't really get too much information about the special except its air dates and some behind the scenes footage at their site. I must not be looking hard enough as it is highly rare for something like this to have almost no extra coverage. I have a feeling this has aired in the past. But there is not much time to research as it starts at 9PM. A two hour special. I can't promise that I'll have them up on the site as I know nothing about them. I'll record them of course just in case, and if they are good then I'll post them, otherwise, this will be the last time you hear me speak of the special. So if you're interested, watch it tonight at 9PM on CNN, with a re-air at midnight just in case you miss it. It might be 'fun' to see how much anger or hatred this might stir up.... Until next time everyone, take care. see u.

Forza 2 was great, it still is, but I hit a point in the game where it just got boring; perhaps in a few weeks I'll get back into it. Last month, Potter 5, the movie, came out and then a week afterwards Potter 7, the final book, came out; I went all Potter crazy. I felt so attached to the Potter series and felt so disgusted after it ended that I had only one thing left to do, buy the fifth game. It too is a great game. Just like the movie. Graphics aren't that amazing, but it's really, really fun. I was hooked. I played it until there was nothing left to play. Beat it 100%, achievements and all. Afterwards, I developed an empty feeling inside my gut. Potter was forever gone, until the next two games and movies came out of course, but that's not for another year. I started going down a list of games I wanted to get and came across The Godfather.

Oh Godfather. For so long I've been wanting to buy you. Forgive me Godfather for even considering Double Agent in place of you. There is no comparing you and Sam Fisher. Godfather, you are the best thing I bought for $30. Please Godfather, make a sequel. Okay, enough of that. So I bought the Godfather a little over a week ago on eBay, pretty good price, cheaper this week though. But hey, that's how it goes. Anyway, I've been playing the damn game everyday since Sunday. I am beyond hooked. It's one of the greatest games I have ever played. Everything you could ever want in a game. Not only is it really fun to play, it has a great story line - which is a given as it's based on one of the greatest films/books of all time.

You start out as a child, a young kid; you don't know anything. A little kid on the street and your dad gets killed by the Barzini family, one of the five rival families in the story. You watch your dad shot dead. You're standing there, crying your eyes out confused as to how your life will span out with your dead father in your arms, when Don Vito comes up to you and tells you that someday, you will get your revenge. The blood washes off your hands and you grow up in a matter of seconds (at which point you can design how you look and what you wear, and you can change it at any time in the game by going to a tailor or to the barber's) and your mom shows up to the Don's daughter's wedding. Fathers always have to grant favors on his daughters wedding day, so she asks him to watch over you. You're turning into a bad kid. Rotten little good for nothing gangster. You're hanging with the wrong kids. Shame on you. But the Don says he will take care of you. He sends Luca Brasi to recruit you and to show you the ropes. We all know what happens to Luca after all this, wink wink. You develop as a young mobster, raising in ranks from an outsider to finally an underboss, second in command in the Corleone family. You're a made man. You got girls, guns, and... money. And that's basically it, you just gotta take over all the cities' shops and rackets and fight all the rival families until you own everything, bribing cops and FBI agents along the way. The story in between is taken from both the movie and a fictional account created just for your character. All the major characters are there too, and they look beautiful, it's just like a freaking movie (except for Al, the Michael we all know and love isn't in it because Al did not support it - neither did Francis, but come on guys! Who cares if you don't get royalties, support the story even if it is a bit different!). The final point of the game is when you become the Don of NYC, after you take over all the families. You're on top, boss. Fortunately, this game is based entirely on the first movie; a second game is in the works. But if you've seen the second movie, you know how confusing it might be to play a game like this, so I'm interested to see what they'll do. So that's where I've been for the past week. Playing my 360. Bravo is showing Godfathers 1 and 2 today (2 is on right now and will be over in about an hour - I guess they didn't think 3 was good enough to be included... I kind of agree, but it was totally necessary) and De Niro turned 64 yesterday (a very Happy Birthday to you), so I think this is a very appropriate post, haha. So go and get the game and kill some Tattaglias, or if you haven't seen the movies, shame on you. Go watch them. Until next time. Take care. see u.

It may be only pre-season and it may be the second game of the year, but the Saints are playing tonight on CBS, this time at home. They lost to the Steelers on Sunday kind of badly; I didn't get to watch the game because I was out of town, but it probably wasn't shown nationally anyway. Tonight, as the Saints come back home, they play the Buffalo Bills (remember, two Fs, and one L) with Marshawn Lynch against Reggie Bush. As I wasn't able to see Sunday's game, I have no idea how the team looks this year, but looking at the stats, Deuce and Reggie have gained some help from rookies Antonio Pittman and Pierre Thomas. Everyone's heard of Antonio Pittman of Ohio, but probably not Pierre Thomas. I don't know much about him either (and neither does Wikipedia; his page is all screwed up confusing him with some 17th century French scholar, haha), but the stats show that he's a pretty good running back and a maybe even better wide receiver. Yay! The Saints didn't really work on their defense so much (they should have), but they still got their guys Smith, Fujita, Bullocks, Thomas, McKenzie, etc; they don't have Will Smith for tonight's game as he's out due to a death in the family, and no Scott Fujita either as he injured his foot, sliding. So I won't be surprised if their defense will be kind of bad tonight; it's only pre-season though. Their first game of the season is on the 6th of September away with the Colts (don't fall too in love with that Super Bowl champion title, Colts, because we're going to be taking it away in a few months) 5:30PM on NBC, first game of the season. Don't tell anyone, but I think I'm looking more forward to basketball this year than football, it's going to get pretty crazy in the NBA; at least it's only two months away. Take care everyone. see u.

I'm back! And what a way to welcome me, an earthquake! Well it wasn't really a "welcome-home, buddy!" earthquake as I've been home for a day or two already, it was more like, "Hey buddy, you get unpacked? Take this!" Those are always nice. It wasn't even a bad one though, 4.5. I guessed a 4.3, I was wrong. But I think it was a big deal because I know people in San Francisco heard about it on the news. I'm not afraid of earthquakes like people should be, I actually get excited. That rumbling in the ground that happens very rarely and topples over the items you've grown to love, I don't know, it all kind of intrigues me. It's a new thing, a rare thing, and I kind of like it. Call me crazy.

I was four when the big one hit a few years ago, January 17, 1994. I don't remember much from that age (let alone from the age of ten), but I don't think I'll forget waking up and walking to the front door where my Dad stood after it all happened, with a bloody wound to his head. My parents were trying to shake me awake when it was happening, but I had never experienced an earthquake until then and I thought it was all a dream; I had no intention of leaving my warm bed - a car bed, of a white Lamborghini Countach, haha. Anyway, after the shaking ceased, I finally arose and joined my parents at the front of the house. They told me my Dad got up a few minutes before the 4:31 quake hit to go to the bathroom. Luckily too, as a big cabinet fell on his side of the bed during the quake (my Mom was fine). His head received the wound after a light fell down on his way back from the bathroom due to the 6.7 shake, it wasn't too bad of a wound, but the light, yes the light was gone forever. Things were in ruins, for days. No water, no power, no food. DWP was a wreck. It was a strange environment. People parking their cars to block off intersections so cars would not pass as gas leaked from the streets from broken pipes, people living in their cars in front of their house and cooking and cleaning in their front yards. I was a kid so it didn't dawn on me that things were kind of strange, I regret not being older because I would've been having so much fun, stuck in the front yard all day long. But sure, if I was older, I would've known the danger of all of this, the danger of staying like this for too long and the danger of the funds not coming in on time to help us all, the fun would've been sucked out of it so quickly. I would've realized that people were dead because of this earthquake, that many people were injured, in hospitals and still under the rubble. The great thing about all of this is the lie of the Northridge Earthquake, the lie that ended up helping us all. The epicenter was never really in Northridge, but in Reseda, my hometown, at 34°12′47″N, 118°32′13″W. That's right near 18500 Elkwood off of Reseda/Saticoy, a few blocks from Imadul's house (I don't think he lived there at the time though). That's all a few miles south of Northridge. Yet, Northridge homes a more upscale community than Reseda, naming it as the epicenter would've garnered more funds compared to just calling it the "Reseda Earthquake". "Reseda Earthquake" doesn't even have a great sound. Sounds Mexican kinda; "Northridge" has that white tone to it - "ridge". They love them white folk, haha.

And now they're talking about this "big one". This 8 magnitude earthquake that is said to be around the corner and is only waiting to hit us. Ever since our "big one" in '94, I've been hearing about parts of California being ripped off and sent to the ocean, my cousins joking that we'll have ocean front property and our home's value will skyrocket. With every year that passes, the "big one" being notably absent, I can't help but get more nervous over how disastrous it will be. But no matter how long it'll take, or last, I'm sure I'll enjoy the rumble, until it stops of course.

But let's get over all this earthquake stuff. Kobe's in town! Well, he's always in town, but last night he was in town to be on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. It's a fun little interview. We Los Angelenos love our Kobe (and our earthquakes). Kimmel talks about Kobe's back that was recently injured, pathetically, and his term with the Lakers and his term overall, as well as his love for Harry Potter. Kobe, a true fan would come out during the series, not after. I'm ashamed. Ah well. You'll do wonders with Derek at your side... hopefully, check out the download here. Oh, have you seen the new Sunny ads? They're hilarous! New season starts September 13, Insha Allah, and Seasons 1 and 2 DVDs come out September 4. Until next time everyone. Take care. see u.