Phil's G.I. Joe Page
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Tuesday, December 31, 2002
The cold's subsiding again. Hopefully it'll go away this time! The new year's almost upon us. I haven't made any resolutions because, frankly, I know I won't keep them. Call me a pessimist, but if you're doomed to failure, why bother? Heh heh, well, maybe I'm using a bit of hyperbole here. Friday, December 27, 2002
As I write this, I have a 100º fever. It's down 2 degrees from last night, where I drove to Diamond Bar and back to see some friends. Thinking back on it though, I probably shouldn't have been driving. I'm lucky I didn't get into an accident. I've called in sick for work today, although it's kind of a bad thing since it's a Friday and they need to replace me on such a short notice. For Christmas, the big thing I got was an HP 2.31 Megapixel digital camera. With the memory card I also got, it can hold over 280 pictures. Now I gotta figure out what to do with it. Tuesday, December 24, 2002
It's Christmas Eve, and we all know what that means! Let's all hope the fat man gets his job done tonight! Mike's back home until the 5th, we all saw The Two Towers yesterday, and my cold is dying down. Everything's turning up Milhouse! Uh... I mean, Phillip! Sunday, December 22, 2002
Wow, I thought taking a morning shift would mean less customers than I had been getting. I think it was actually busier. Oh well, at least it's over with. Now it's off to my family's Christmas party shindig! Saturday, December 21, 2002
I feel terrible; I think I've come down with a cold that I got from somebody at work. And I'm probably spreading it to all my customers... In other news, I'm finally able to show new 12" versions of Tunnel Rat and Recondo, on my Customs page. Seriously, I've been searching for these base figures for months! Thursday, December 19, 2002
You know, I have done one damn productive thing today. And guess what? I LIKE IT! For some reason, Robocop was on The Movie Channel last night. I remember it being really gory, but I'm always surprised how it's always gorier than I remember. And, you know, for a series with sometimes mediocre success, Robocop just wouldn't die. The movie had 2 sequels: Robocop 2 and Robocop 3, 3 animated series: Robocop, Robocop: The Animated Series, and Robocop: Alpha Commando, a live-action series, and a live-action miniseries on Sci-Fi Channel: Robocop: Prime Directives. Wow. Wednesday, December 18, 2002
Oh man! I just finished letting people in to see the midnight screening of "The Two Towers." Let me put it this way: people began lining up at noon, and we sold out at 5:45. The computer literally would not print out any more tickets. But I probably won't see the movie until Monday, so my family (including Mike) can see it together. I finished my Christmas shopping today, but I'm not sure if I got what my mom wanted.... And finally, I redid my Wet-Suit custom yet again. Hopefully, I'm at the point where I don't feel the need to fiddle with it more. Monday, December 16, 2002
Sunday, December 15, 2002
I saw Star Trek: Nemesis today. I don't know what those critics are complaining about; I thought it was a great movie! Friday, December 13, 2002
I'm back home now, on my winter break. As you can probably tell, I've got my computer set up, and I've put most of my things away. I'm ready for three weeks of no school! Although, instead of completely enjoying them, I have to work through this freakishly high-profile movie season... Thursday, December 12, 2002
Just another lazy Thursday for me. I have nothing to do today except meet with my acting group. I'm not worried about our final, since it's just 10 minutes of performance. I really doubt anyone in this class is concerned with the final. I'm thinking about packing most of my stuff late tonight. That way, there are parking spots available right in front of the apartment, so I don't have to walk my computer and clothes the quarter-mile each way to the parking structure where my car is now. I'll try to get as much as I can done tonight, so that when I do have to leave, I'm only taking the normal amount of stuff to the parking structure. (I'll have to put my car back there, since I can only park in the spaces in front of my apartment at night with my student parking pass.) Wednesday, December 11, 2002
Woo! Final Number 2 is over and done with! No more "Film in Social Context" for me, thankyouverymuch. I am reminded of why I dislike essay finals: my left hand is shot (he said in a matter free from innuendo). Gimme a few hours before I can write again. Oh, there was one casualty in the final: my white-out tape fell and broke apart into all its pieces. It wasn't the first time that's happened, but it takes so long to reconstruct, and I couldn't find the other pieces without searching among people still taking the final, that I have to declare it gone. The last final I really have to worry about is tonight at 7:00, and there's still a lot of readings I haven't done. Boy, do I need to get motivated. Tuesday, December 10, 2002
The new schedule for the week has come in from my job. I'm off until finals are over, so hopefully this week won't be as hectic as last week. But guess who's working late on Tuesday to sell tickets to the midnight screening of Lord of the Rings? I just hope I can stay awake long enough to drive home safe... Two more finals to go for me. Monday, December 09, 2002
Today's gonna be fun. (Note sarcasm.) I have my final in chem at 11:30; immediately after I finish, I have to drive back to Orange County so that I can work my shift at Edward's tonight. And I hear that some VIPs will be inspecting the theater today, so I have to have extra perfect behavior. Until 11:00 pm. Then I drive back to UCSD tomorrow for more finals and a group project. Like I said, fun! Sunday, December 08, 2002
The dreaded Finals start tomorrow. Hopefully, we all do well in them. I know I'm not looking too forward to one class in particular. Let's all survive this week, huh? 'Cause then we got Winter Break and a lot of great movies opening that we need to see! Friday, December 06, 2002
I'm back at UCSD now and have finished all my lecture and discussion classes for the quarter. Now I have to attend a group meeting for my final project in my theater class and attend a play to critique for the same class. Too bad, though, 'cause Ozomatli is playing for free tonight. Thursday, December 05, 2002
This is going to be a really weird couple of days for me. I drove back home yesterday to make my Wednesday shift at work. I stayed over that night since I don't have classes Thursday but do have a Thursday shift. Friday morning I'll drive back down to UCSD to attend my last lecture of the quarter, meet for a group project, and see a play I need to critique for my theater class. Then, Saturday morning I'll drive back home for my Saturday night shift and a birthday party for my dad on Sunday. Sunday night I drive back to UCSD to do my chem final the next morning. Immediately after I finish that, I drive back home to hopefully make my Monday shift on time. *Whew!* There is something curiously soothing about driving through Camp Pendleton while listening to the theme from Shaft, I discovered yesterday. Tuesday, December 03, 2002
I really don't like that dad made me apply for this job so early. My schedule for next week breaks down like this:
Monday, December 02, 2002
I've mentioned before in person that Die Another Day contains references to each previous Bond film. Since I'm lazy, here's the list according to IMDb: * Dr. No (1962) - Jinx (Halle Berry) walking out of the sea in a bikini, wearing a white belt and a diving knife. * From Russia with Love (1963) - The shoe with the poison-tipped blade is seen in Q's station laboratory. There is a knife concealed in a briefcase. In the ice palace sequence, there is a game board (the chess match). Enemy spies are behind a one-way mirror in a hotel room with cameras. * Goldfinger (1964) - Jinx is nearly cut with a laser in Mr. Kil's laboratory. The rest of the fight scene is also a tribute. Bond once again drives a gadget-laden Aston Martin, specifically with a passenger ejector seat. The new Q comments that, as he learned from his predecessor, "I never joke about my work, 007." The scene where Bond and Graves fence for money, only to see Bond up the stakes for one of Graves' diamonds, is suggestive of the golf match between Bond and Auric Goldfinger. The golf match had originally been for money, until Bond throws down a gold brick to "up the stakes". Bond is threatened with death in a depressurizing plane. The drink that Bond sips when first meeting Jinx is the same as the drink that Goldfinger gives him at the ranch. * Thunderball (1965) - the jet-pack in Q's workshop. Bond uses a pen-like underwater breathing system. * You Only Live Twice (1967) - Little Nellie can be seen in the background of Q's lab. Scenes of the Icarus unfolding in space are shown on screens in the Ice Palace. Jinx descends from the ceiling of the fake diamond mine on a rope system similar to that of the ninjas in the volcano crater lair. The name of the ship Bond is on: the HMS Tenby. The use of Japanese swords in the films. Bond's death is faked (or exaggerated) in both films to free up 007's maneuverability * On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) - "OHMSS" written on a CD on Moneypenny's desk as she types a report at the end of the film. Bond escapes from another huge avalanche. * Diamonds Are Forever (1971) - while fencing with Bond, Graves says, "Well, diamonds are for everyone." Much of the plot includes diamonds. A large satellite is uncovered in space and has the power to harness the sun's rays and project them as a fine laser to destroy any given target. In a magazine ad for Gustav Graves' diamond company, the caption at the bottom says, "Diamonds are forever." A villain changes his appearance. * Live and Let Die (1973) - The laser causes row upon row of explosions across a vegetated area, in this case detonating thousands of land mines, and is reminiscent of the extermination of Kananga's poppy fields. Bond uses the same revolver used on the island of St. Monique. * The Man with the Golden Gun(1974) - The corridors in the secret area of the Gene Technology department in the Cuban hospital contain rotating mirrors and objects, much like Scaramanga's Fun Palace. The Field office of MI6 is on a ship. Bond retrieves a diamond from Jinx's navel (bullet in the belly-dancer's navel). There is a solar-powered superweapon. * The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) - Graves uses a Union Jack parachute. The Ice Palace resembles in some ways Stromberg's Atlantis hideout. * Moonraker (1979) - Moon's hovercraft falls down by a large waterfall in a manner similar to Jaws' boat going over the Iguaçu Falls. Bond surfaces in a bubbling pool of water surrounded by much interior vegetation, similar to the scene with the water python in Drax's headquarters. Both movies have spies named Chang. Bond's sword fight with Graves was much like the fight with Chang in the glass factory. Bond and a villain fight over a parachute * For Your Eyes Only (1981) - The scene as Bond hangs onto the ice cliff (before it collapses) resembles the climax near the monastery, especially as the rope slips and Bond drops some distance further down the cliff, although this time it was all performed from a vehicle. * Octopussy (1983) - Both the crocodile submarine and the AcroStar MiniJet are visible in the background in Q's station laboratory. Upping the stakes on a bet with the villain (see also Goldfinger). * A View to a Kill (1985) - Bond is suspended over a cliff on the wire and hook much like the Russian Guard in the Siberian chase that Bond catches. Bond once again uses a rather unorthodox method of skiing, this time the hatch from the back of the car. Graves watches over the destruction that he wreaks from the front windows of his aircraft in the same way that Zorin watched Silicon Valley from his aircraft before it flooded. * The Living Daylights (1987) - Cars exit the rear cargo hold of the plane. Bond's Aston Martin had retractable spikes in the tires controlled by a switch labeled traction. * Licence to Kill (1989) - The plot idea of Bond going renegade, although this time it is less through choice. Bond uses a rifle as a sniper. * GoldenEye (1995) - Bond's watch contains a laser, which he uses to cut through a section of ice, reminiscent of his escape from the train by cutting through the floor. Jinx sets the timer for the bomb at the gene therapy lab in Cuba to three minutes, the same three minutes that Bond set the timers for in the chemical weapons lab and later Trevelyan set the timers for on the bullet train. Bond is betrayed by a fellow agent. A man is killed by a falling ice chandelier, and the scene is shot in similar fashion to the death of the villain in GoldenEye. * Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) - Jinx throws a knife straight into a guard's throat just as he comes through a door - this is similar to a scene on the Stealth Ship where Wai-Lin sticks a Shuriken throwing star into a guard's throat just as he finds her (this scene is deleted from some Tomorrow Never Dies releases on VHS and DVD). Remote control car. Jinx descends on grappling lines, reminiscent of Wai-Lin's entrance/escape. Bond escapes by being tethered and running down a wall similar to Wai-Lin's escape. Bond is held prisoner in Korea. There is a fake headline on Moneypenny's computer. * The World Is Not Enough (1999) - Bond dives over Graves as they fence to do a forward roll as he lands, in a manner similar to the shoot-out between Renard's men and himself where he dives through a closing door and rolls the other side. As Bond dives to safety from Moon's flamethrower on the hovercraft, the shot of his dive from in front is almost identical to another scene where Bond is diving from an exploding bomb with Christmas. The use of a geodesic dome. World Is Not Enough, The (2000) (VG) - Bond's training program is essentially the same as the second level of the game. * Some of the incidental music (minus of course the James Bond Theme, which is used in every film) is re-used in this film, notably at the end as Bond beds Jinx. * The cars Zao owns are all updated model of former Bond cars * Q mentions in his station laboratory as he hands Bond his new watch: "This is your twentieth, I believe." in a nod to this being the twentieth film occurring on the fortieth anniversary. Now, I normally italicize the text I copy from other pages. I didn't here, because, well, let's face it: too many italics detract from the reading. Sunday, December 01, 2002
I drove to school speeding while listening to "Beatles by Request" on K-Earth, my little Christmas tree is shining brightly in my room, and it's the first of December. Bring on the Christmas cheer! Oh wait... that also means Finals are near. Crap. |
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| The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of Phillip Donnelly. Unless explicitly stated, all statements are those of Phillip Donnelly. So there! |
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