Blake Schwendiman's Blog and Blook

You were probably going to eat at Chipotle on Wednesday anyway ... but, I just got this in my email: http://www.chipotle.com/email/07-FarmAid/index.htm.

Just another reason to enjoy Chipotle.

Posted by Blake Schwendiman at 01:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Last week a family friend from Idaho contacted us to build a website for her campaign to run for city mayor. I turned the site design over to my wife (since I have no design skills) and she developed this site: www.DonnaBenfieldforMayor.com.

Didn't she do a great job? Thanks Holly! And good luck Donna!

Posted by Blake Schwendiman at 09:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

© Photographer:Trevor Goodwin | Agency: Dreamstime.com

This year I've found a very cool web-based chart on 2decide.com that makes it really easy to figure out where the candidates stand. I decided to print out the chart, mark my positions on the issues then compare that to the positions of each candidate. Then I was able to tally the number of consistent positions between me and each candidate.

Let me just say that it was a very interesting exercise. I found that I'm more in line with the party I don't normally vote for. So, now I have to back up and decide what that means. Do I really vote on issues or by party? What about you?

Posted by Blake Schwendiman at 08:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Planning a trip to China? If so, you may want to keep in mind that it is now illegal to reincarnate in China without government permission.

I'm not sure that presents any real-world scenario problems, though, because it seems that you could just reincarnate somewhere else in the world and then optionally move back to China. However, that may be a lot of trouble, so you may want to have a backup plan if you're going to China soon.

Posted by Blake Schwendiman at 01:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here's a promotional trailer for Heroes.

It's getting closer!

Posted by Blake Schwendiman at 10:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The above video is best described here.

Posted by Blake Schwendiman at 01:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

What?!? Didn't Superman II release in 1980? Why are we talking about a 27-year old movie today?

Well, actually there's a new release of Superman II that arrived fairly recently. It's the Richard Donner cut (named so for the director who originally shot most of the movie but who was later replaced). So, as a fan of the Superman series, I felt it my obligation to find out what the original director had in mind.

I have to assume that you saw the version of Superman II that was released to theaters and DVD before this version. If you're a Superman fan you probably liked it (for the most part) and only had a few complaints about the hokey "superpowers" that Superman used against his foes at the fortress of solitude. My favorite hokey power is the "cellophane super-logo" as parodied by the Family Guy:

So The Richard Donner cut left behind that scene and other similar scenes. That's the good news. The really bad news is that Donner really didn't have an ending for the movie (perhaps that's why the studio lost confidence in him). Apparently Donner loved the ending of Superman I -- that was the final answer to Superman II. Yup, at the end of this version, Superman reverses time again, fixing up all the broken stuff in Metropolis, repairing the relationship between him and Lois and returning the now dead Kryptonian trio to the phantom zone.

Unfortunately that's not the worst part. Do you remember that right after Supe relinquishes his powers in the molecular chamber, he then gets beat up by a redneck in a greasy diner? Then at the end of the show he goes back to exact revenge on the redneck? Well, they left that scene in the movie -- after Supe reverses time and undoes all the events of the entire movie. Nice. So, assuming that the reverse-earth-spin time travel mechanism really works, some poor redneck get his butt kicked by an unknown city nerd for no reason at all.

Not good. Not good at all. Some things (even some things that weren't great to start with) are best left alone.

Posted by Blake Schwendiman at 03:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My regular readers already know the The Bourne Identity is my favorite movie of all time across all genres. You also know that the act of picking a favorite movie is very difficult for me, so actually saying that I have a favorite movie out loud (or writing it down) really challenges me. However, if I ever had to pick a movie that was the only movie I could ever watch again, it would be The Bourne Identity.

So, I have to admit that the sequels to The Bourne Identity have always made me a little nervous. I'm always really afraid that the studio is just looking to cook up another financial hit and is more interested in the bottom line than the film itself. In many cases the sequels (or prequels) damage the original story lines (Star Wars, The Matrix) in such a way that actually takes away from the original story.

Not so with The Bourne Ultimatum. This third installment of the Bourne series is a rare example of a great sequel. I liked the second installment, but it wasn't nearly as good as this one. The Bourne Ultimatum is better in almost all aspects: camera work, story line, timing and plot progression. It unfolds quickly and engages right from the start.

Without spoiling the movie, I will say that I loved the way that this installment is weaved into the timeline of The Bourne Supremacy. It took me by surprise, but when my brain figured out how it was all fitting together (which took a little while -- I'm not that smart) I felt like the writers were speaking directly to me because that's how I would have done it.

If you haven't seen The Bourne Ultimatum yet, click the link and buy your tickets. You won't be disappointed.

Posted by Blake Schwendiman at 07:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The sequel to National Treasure is out this December.

I thought the first movie was a lot of fun and I'm really looking forward to the sequel. Some trailers are now available online at http://www.apple.com/trailers/disney/nationaltreasurebookofsecrets/hd/. Looks like the sequel is going to be fun to watch, too!

Posted by Blake Schwendiman at 08:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I have been fascinated with the long tail since I finished reading the book last year. It's an amazing concept that I see over and over on the Internet. Just recently I found a web site called Prosper. This is the long tail of lending. Basically Prosper is the lender, but people like you and me can participate in borrowing and lending through this service.

As a lender, you fund your lending account with money from your bank, then you can search through potential loan opportunities. Many borrowers are consolidating debt, funding businesses or doing home improvements. Each borrower fills out a loan profile and then you (as a lender) can look at the borrower's credit rating, debt-to-income ratio and other important factors to decide whether you want to lend to that particular borrower. The cool thing is that you only lend a fraction of the loan. You may only lend $50 toward a $10,000 loan. You can participate in lending, but you don't have to commit to large amounts or expose your entire amount to a single borrower.

I've only known about this service for a short time, but it seems like an interesting way to diversify one's investments. Prosper has been around long enough for small groups of investors to form online teams and communities so there is plenty of helpful information available on the web site.

I don't know much about borrowing on Prosper, but it looks like it's pretty much the same as getting an unsecured loan through a bank. They will do a credit check and the other due diligence required to reduce the risk of their lenders, so it's not necessarily easier than getting a bank loan but it may be another avenue for finding money for your next venture.

I'm interested to learn if any of you have used Prosper and if so, what are your experiences?

Posted by Blake Schwendiman at 09:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)