Where the Wild Things Are

I just finished watching "Where the Wild Things Are". This movie didn't make my laugh, sweat or cry. However, this movie did make me ponder about the meaning it's trying to convey. The story just seems a little deeper than just a simple children's story.

The beginning of the movie portrays Max's character and his family dynamics. Although the beginning is short, it plays an important role in the later part of the movie. Max, the main character, is a troubled and lonely boy raised by a single mom. He plays with snow, talks to a fence, and seeks attention and love from his older sister and mom. In the movie, he starts a snow fight game with his sisters' friends until one of his sisters' friends crumbled his igloo, a symbol of his fortress and security. This brought Max tears followed with rage that led him to destroy his sister's room. His mom, unlike his sister, gives a lot of attention and shows immense tolerance towards Max until he becomes out of control one night when he sees his mom with her boyfriend in the house. The mom tries to calm him down but Max bites his mom on the shoulder in return. Max runs away and ends up in the island where the Wild Things are.

Max stumbles over Carol, a mirror image of Max, in another world. His interaction with Carol, KW (Carol's lover) and the other wild things allow him to reflect on himself. Max lies to the Wild Things about his powers to make them happy and keep their family together. Due to Carol's desire to bring KW back to the family, Carol crowns Max king in spite of a number of Wild Things' disbelief in Max's powers. While being a king, Max leads the Wild Things to build a massive fortress, a security he always wanted. Max eventually invites KW and her two outsider owl friends to the fortress. Carol is displeased with the two strangers in the fortress and feels his family's unity is threatened. This aligns with how Max feels about his mom's boyfriend (whom he considers a stranger) in his house. Max later introduces dirt fight to the Wild Things. Similar to the snow fight, it starts out fun but ends in anger and casualties. Max apologizes to Alexander about the dirt fight and notices a wound on Alexander's neck from the fight. At this time, Max realizes that his childish games can hurt others physically and emotionally. Soon after, Max reveals to Carol that his powers is not real. Carol, who up to this point was the friendliest Wild Thing to Max, is enraged and threatens to eat him. KW helps Max by hiding him in her stomach. When Carol sees KW, Carol confesses to her that he did not mean what he said (eat Max). This scene clearly illustrates Carol's erratic and oftentimes out of control temper. A characteristic that Max also shares. While in KW's stomach, Max tells KW that Carol loves her. KW tells Max that life is already hard and Carol's demanding and out-of-control behaviors only "makes it harder". At that moment, Max understands that his past behavior was making his mom's life harder than it needed to be. He finally decides that it's time to go home.

The one message that comes across to me loud and clear in this movie is that being a family is hard. Our parents, siblings and/or spouses can be demanding and unreasonable at times like Max and Carol. These types of behaviors can literally drive us up the wall and push us away. Getting out of the house can be an escape, a breathe of fresh air. We are left to wonder why we would get along with some strangers better than those that we grow up with. But I believe in the eternal bond within a family. No matter how demanding or unreasonable they are, they're the ones who love us the most in this world, the ones that want to see us happy and successful in life...and the ones that will stand by us when we're in trouble and despair.

COD MW2 Kit: Intervention w SP

Kit Name: Intervention w SP
Title: Modern Warfare 2
Game Context: Public
Kit #: 0404


Kit Details:

• Primary Weapon: Intervention with FMJ Attachment
  
• Secondary Weapon: M93 Raffica with Akimbo Attachment
  
• Equipment: Claymore
• Special Grenade: Stun Grenades / Smoke Grenade
• Perk 1: Sleight of Hand
  
• Perk 2: Stopping Power
  
• Perk 3: Ninja

Description:
When it comes to One-Hit-Kill (OHK) sniping, the general community consensus revolves around two Sniper Rifles: the Intervention and the Barret .50cal. In respect to damage statistics, the Intervention and the Barret .50cal are identical due to their shared/common damage multipliers. Their damage multipliers coupled with Stopping Power (SP) provide the largest OHK kill zone (everything sans the limbs results in a OHK). So in a nutshell, if you're an OHK kinda sniping guy/gal you're going to roll with an Intervention with Stopping Power or Barret .50cal with Stopping Power.

So if damage statistics are the same, which Sniper Rifle is the OHK King? In my opinion they both deliver and deciding which to run with boils down to the non-damage characteristics. In other words, decision factors should be based on characteristics like Idle Sway, Reload Time and Clip Size. In respect to Drop/Raise Time, Idle Sway, Rate of Fire and Clip Size, the Barret .50cal has the advantage (faster drop/raise time, less idle sway, higher rate of fire, and 2:1 ratio advantage in clip size). The only discernible functional advantage the Intervention has over the Barret .50cal (per Den Kirson's Weapons Chart), is simply the Reload Time (the Intervention has more than a one second advantage). So advantage Barret .50cal...right? Right?

Not necessarily. There's one more advantage that the Intervention has that can't be quantified with numbers and isn't captured in Den's bible chart. And that's accuracy. To describe it in the most confusing way possible, the Intervention is inexplicably inaccurate accurate. Translation: the Intervention generously registers hits when it appears that you've missed. With the larger kill zone, the Intervention is the perfect starter Sniper Rifle. From my personal experience, the hardest part in transitioning from Assault Rifle to Sniper Rifle is finding a way to line the cross hairs accurately in an efficient time frame. Of course, this issue is alleviated by the Intervention's accuracy advantage. So if you're looking to get your feet wet as a sniper, give this kit a whirl...once you're comfortable and confidant with the Intervention you can graduate to the other Sniper Rifles to see if you take a liking. And if you're not pairing well with the other rifles, the Intervention is a perfectly legitimate and respected weapon.

Note, the Intervention's accuracy advantage has been confirmed through game play experience both personally and by numerous forum/message board peers. It should also be noted here that the listed Intervention and Barret .50cal comparisons only represents a snapshot of deltas - there are other advantages/disadvantages not listed in this kit article.


Kit Breakdown:
For the Intervention attachments, Full Metal Jacket, Thermal Scope, and Heartbeat Sensor are all viable. Full Metal Jacket (FMJ) is recommended since it is generally the most aggressive attachment (after all, this kit is centered on OHKs). If you're having trouble locating targets (e.g., color-blinded by Wasteland), replace FMJ with the Thermal Scope attachment - just be wary of pesky Cold-Blooded users. If you're looking for an offensive/defensive attachment, then the Heartbeat Sensor is recommend - it'll provide generalized enemy location which can be used for both offensive and defensive advantages.

The recommended secondary weapon are the Akimbo M93 Rafficas. Coupled with the Stopping Power Perk (perks are covered in the subsequent paragraph) and quick raise times, Akimbo Rafficas provide plenty of flexibility and firepower, even at mid-range distances. In respect to damage, at short range with Stopping Power, only two bullets from the two 3-round bursts (6-shots total) need to connect to put your target down. The fact that you can't Aim Down Sights (ADS) is actually somewhat of an advantage in short range skirmishes (strafe and hip fire). Personally, if I'm running with Stopping Power, I'll typically sport Akimbo Rafficas as my secondary.

In respect to perks, generally Sleight of Hand is the requisite Tier 1 Perk for all sniper kits. The faster ADS property of Sleight of Hand Pro gives snipers the capability to quickly locate-aim-shoot (not necessarily referring to quick-scoping here). Note, in a previous paragraph, Extended Mags weren't recommended - the rationale is that Sleight of Hand's reload benefit helps negate the Clip Size shortcomings. The Tier 2 Perk is permanently fixed on Stopping Power (as mentioned previously) to widen the OHK kill zone. And finally for the Tier 3 Perk, Ninja is recommended for both defensive purposes (beating the Heart Beat Sensor) and for offensive purposes (silent movement). To the latter point, snipers aren't necessarily statically positional players, especially since Akimbo Rafficas with Stopping Power provide a confidant standing chance given an unexpected encounter. Note, Steady Aim is also highly viable in the Tier 3 Perk slot. Steady Aim enhances the hip fire accuracy of the Akimbo Rafficas and Steady Aim Pro allows you to hold your breath longer (steady your aim) when you're sniping. This latter point is certainly beneficial for beginner snipers.

Note: all damage statistics were sourced from Den Kirson's data (resource).

Traditional vs. Roth IRA

Our country is in huge debt. The last time I checked, the national debt is $12,814,623,586,024 according on usdebtclock.org. Everybody is speculating that Social Security will run out soon since millions of baby boomers are about to cash in on their retirement money. So that leaves some of us wondering what can the younger generation do now to ensure they're financially covered at their retirement age. Well, an easy answer would be winning the Mega Millions jackpot. That has always been my personal goal. Otherwise, just do what everybody else does - work hard and save up. Bare in mind that checking accounts don't earn you interest, savings accounts earn you around1% and even CDs earn you around 1% only these days. Guess what? You still have to pay tax on the ridiculously small amount of interest you earn at the end of the year as income. You can do more towards your retirement than that. How about an IRA?

If your company currently does not offer a retirement plan, I would recommend getting one from a financial institution. There are two options: Traditional IRA and Roth IRA. Both will allow you to contribute, use those money to invest and make some money towards retirement. Keep in mind that you can also have IRAs even if you already have a retirement plan through your company.

Traditional IRA is tax deferred - you don't pay tax on the amount you contribute right away. In fact, you don't have to pay tax on your contribution and earning (money you earned from investing your contribution) until you withdraw the money at your retirement age. When you are ready to withdraw, the withdrawal will be taxed as regular income based on your tax bracket at that time. There are certain rules to traditional IRA such as the minimum age for withdrawal from the account is 59.5 years old, mandatory gradual withdrawal at age 70.5 (because uncle Sam wants you to pay the tax you owe them for last however many years), and you will get penalized if you withdraw before 59.5 years old. The assumption of this whole traditional IRA is that your tax bracket at your retirement age will be lower than your tax bracket now since you probably won't be working when you reach retirement age. Thus, you won't be making as much income as now and you will have a lower tax bracket. This essentially is a way to avoid paying certain portion of your tax to the government now.

Roth IRA is not tax deferred - you contribute after tax money. The good thing about it is that you have the flexibility of withdrawing your contribution anytime you want (this is not the case with traditional IRA). Withdrawal of the earnings is tax free after 59.5 years old. You will get penalized if you withdraw the earning earlier than that.

Both types of IRAs have contribution limits. For 2010, the maximum you can contribute is $5000 (after tax for Roth and before tax for traditional).

IRAs are so popular nowadays that it's so easy to find a financial institution that offers them. Vanguard, Fidelity, Ameriprise, John Hancock just to name a few. All major banks offer them too. But make sure you shop around because every institution offers general investments as well as their proprietary investments including bonds, stocks and mutual funds. After you open an account, you just have to decide how to invest your contribution and you'll be on your way to grow a money tree towards your retirement.

The Amazing Jet & Cord

After catching up on my DVR list...I am elated that Jet & Cord have survived another leg of the Amazing Race!!! I was definitely nervous throughout the entire episode and felt a huge relief once they finished in 3rd Place. I think Amazing Race is probably my favorite reality show, but watching Jet & Cord compete has taken my liking to show to a whole new level. And this is all due to the cowboy's down to earth take on life. These two brothers are definitely good role models in that they demonstrate true grace under fire. Go Jet & Cord!!! I need to buy a cowboy hat and wear it for the remaining episodes....

Delicious Fruit Tart

I was looking through the Food Network to find what would be the third experimental desert of my baking craze. I finally stumbled over the fruit tart recipe and decided to go with it. Plus, the recipe only calls for 14 minutes of cook time. How can anything beat that?!?!?

The recipe was not hard to follow but I have to confess that I messed up. Instead of softening the butter stick to make the crust batter, I literally melted it in the microwave. This made the batter soggy instead of crumb-like. This also made it a harder to even out the batter in the pan simply because the batter kept sticking to my fingers. Grrrr. Also the crust came out a little tarred because I left it in the oven longer than the recipe instructed. Everything else went smoothly. Anyway, I was very surprise how good the food tart was in spite of my mistakes. Wait, the word "good" is not the right word choice in this situation. The better word choice is "super duper yummy". I had to fight to get the last slice on the plate. I would definitely make another one in the near future.

It took me about 45 minutes to make the fruit tart including the prep time. Not bad at all. One extra step I took was putting cooking spray on the pan to make sure I can get the crust out intact. I deviated from the recipe with the fruit choice as well. Instead of using blueberries and raspberries, I used mango instead. I highly recommend this recipe from foodnetwork.com. Below is my own version of the recipe from the food network.

Delicious Fruit Tart Recipe

• Crust
• 1/2 cup of confectioner's sugar
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened and sliced
• Filling:
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Topping:
• Fresh strawberries, kiwi and mango slices (or just about any fruits you like)
• Glaze:
• 1 (6-ounce) can frozen limeade concentrate, thawed
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

For the crust: In a food processor, combine the confectioners' sugar, flour, and butter and process until the mixture forms a ball. Put cooking spray around a 12-inch tart pan and press the mixture into the pan with your fingers. Pat until crust is even. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes (or a little longer depending how wet the mixture is), until very lightly browned. Set aside to cool.

For the filling: Beat the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla together until smooth. Spread over the cooled crust.

For the topping: Be creative...=)

For the glaze: Combine the limeade, cornstarch, lime juice and sugar in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until clear and thick, about 2 minutes. Let cool. Put glaze over the entire tart. You will not use all the glaze.

Keep the tart in the refrigerator. Remove 15 minutes before serving.

See you next time!

Kahlua Bundt Cake

Hi Everyone...it's desert time again! I got this recipe from cooks.com (resource) but for backup reasons, I'm going to post the recipe below just in case it ever disappears from that website.

Hmmm...what can I say about this Kalua Bundt Cake. First of all, it's definitely a breeze to make - to be honest, all it entailed was mixing all the recommended ingredients together, baking it in a non-stick bundt cake pan and sprinkling some confectioner's sugar on top. From my limited experience, if you're looking for a quick way to impress - go with a bundt cake recipe. By simply baking in a bundt cake mold, you've got the visually aesthetic part already taken care of, so all you really need to worry about is executing the taste component.

What's so wonderful about this cake is that it's soo very moist and it's not too overly sweet. The Kaula balances out the sweetness level of the cake portions by providing the coffee flavored backdrop (the chocolate chips bites actually provide nice little sweetness bites) while the vanilla instant pudding and sour cream help keep the cake importantly moist. I got many compliments on this cake...so I hope you like it too!

Kalua Bundt Cake Recipe

• 1 (18.25 ounces) Package of Sour Cream Devils Food Cake Mix
• 3/4 Cup of Vegetable Oil
• 1 (16 ounces) Tub of Sour Cream
  
• 1 (6 ounces) Package of Chocolate Chips
• 4 eggs
• 1/3 Cup of Kahlua
• 1 (3.4 ounces) Package of Vanilla Instant Pudding

Mix together above ingredients. Pour into greased Bundt pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes.

Newest Member of the Family

Jely would like to welcome the newest member to the family...Baby Nephew Lucas!!! Lucas was born April 3, 2010 and though he's kinda hiding in the picture, there's no doubt that Lucas is a handsome boy. Love you!!!