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Random Reviews on Random Things
by: Nick So
“Chief Executive Head Coordinator of Graphic Layout Design” / Columnist
Transformers yet is still able to attract listeners who are
As a kid, I never used to the cookie-cutter alt-rock sounds
really followed of “Theory of a Nicklefault.” If you really
the Transformers want to blow your brains out with LOUD
cartoon franchise. HEAVY bass, buy the vinyl version of the
So when news album (or download a vinyl rip of it).
came out about
Grade: A+
a Transformers
live-action movie
being made, my first thoughts were
“that’s kinda cool… I guess.” At 50-
something percent on RottenTomatoes,
Transformers was a movie I would not
have planned to see. However, once
1.
I started hearing the buzz from friends
(plus the fact my girlfriend is a big nerd
and wanted to see it), it sounded like a
2.
pretty cool movie. I had tried to watch it
the first weekend, but both the Oakridge
3.
and Downtown theaters I went to were
already sold out. I finally saw it on
4.
the second weekend…and IT WAS
AWESOME! Well it didn’t blow my mind,
but for a mindless, turn-off-your-brain
5.
action flick, it was pretty sweet. Plus,
it was worth it just to see my girlfriend
6.
bouncing up and down in her seat like
a giddy 12 year old boy when they
finally started Transforming. Oh yeah,
Bumblebee kicks ASS.
Grade: B+
The White Stripes – Icky Thump
2001 was not the year of A Space
Odyssey, but rather a Rock Odyssey.
The ‘official millennium’ brought the
revival of raw, rock and roll that hadn’t
been seen in mainstream music
since the days of Nirvana. In the year
2007, only one band has been able to
maintain the critical acclaim and the
following of fans they gained in the rock
resurgence of 2001: The White Stripes.
The new ‘Stripes’ album goes back to
the pure rock/blues roots of the band’s
early albums (e.g. De Stijl), but also
maintains the evolution they made in
their sound with their last album, Get
Behind Me Satan, with quirky sounds
from instruments you wouldn’t expect
a ‘modern rock’ band to incorporate
(bagpipes, for example). The new album
is unlike anything else on the radio today,
Job Hunting
After doing nearly a year (two ‘official’
work-terms, plus one ‘unofficial’
semester working part-time) of co-op
last year, I decided to take a break in the
spring semester and focus on school.
So once summer came, I decided I really
should start looking for a part-time job
(especially with only three classes, two
of which are distance ed classes). After
working in a professional environment
making a pretty good wage, going
back to The Gap at $8.50 an hour was
not very enticing. So I decided to find
something more relevant and interesting.
After going to about 10 interviews, I was
either overqualified or underqualified for
the positions, or I simply had no interest
in them. It’s not even the fact that I didn’t
do well in my interviews either. It is
now just past mid-July, halfway through
the summer, and I’m still jobless with a
slowly-hemorrhaging bank account. So
I’ve decided unless something awesome
pops up, I’m just going to relax for the
rest of the summer and start again in the
fall. Let me tell you, I am NOT looking
forward to graduating and entering into
the ‘real world.’
Grade: F-
Oceans 13
11 > 13 > 12
Grade: B (B+ if also taking into account
my oft-stated man-crush on Brad Pitt)
Once
It’s about a broken-hearted, vacuumcleaner
repairman/busker who plays
guitar for change (credited as “The Guy”)
who meets “The Girl,” a pianist. The
movie chronicles their bonding and the
building of their ‘relationship’ (or lack
thereof), and is accompanied by songs
(often about heartbreak) performed by
11
the actor and the actress themselves.
The movie doesn’t have an elaborate
plot or fancy effects; instead it relies on
a solid script, wonderful music, and its
intimate mood. A great ‘date’ movie…
especially at Fifth Avenue Cinemas
(which is the only place showing it, at the
time of writing) with its ‘student prices’
for tickets and snacks, as well as the
adjustable armrests on its ‘love-seats.’
Grade: A
5-minute Breakfast Burritos
Microwave an egg or two in a small
bowl (preferably oiled for easier
cleanup) for a minute or so.
Take tortilla, add shredded cheese
and green onion.
Take the egg, cut it up, and put it in
the tortilla.
Stick the tortilla in a toaster-oven, set
under ‘broil’ for a minute or two until
cheese is melty.
Take out of oven, and then add
salsa.
Wrap and enjoy.
Grade: B+
The Buzz
Write random stuff like this (not for
the interest of readers, but just selfindulgence),
reading hate-mail from
Buzz-readers (or reading hate-facebookmessages
as ONE of our columnists
has received), making fun of hate-mail/
facebook-messages with fellow buzz
writers to protect our fragile egos,
going to Buzz socials and watching the
Finance Coordinator ‘waving down’ a
waitress at Shark Club while drunk, and
getting to put it on your resume under
a fancy title like “chief executive head
coordinator of graphic layout design.”
Grade: (A+) ∞
Nick is a 4th year Marketing student
and self-professed elitist bastard.
He is also the Chief Executive Head
Coordinator of Graphic Layout Design
of this fine publication.
nns@sfu.ca
July 2007