English breakfast - 10 things I think

10 THINGS I THINK

1. Mark Manson's recent article, titled The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck, is required reading. 

2. Seattle did not win the NFC Championship, but rather, Green Bay lost it - completely. With the widest of eyes I watched the last five minutes of the game, absolutely stunned by the ridiculousness unfolding on my television screen. Ladies and gentlemen, I think we've found our new international symbol for choking: the Green Bay Packers. 

3. With both Harbaugh and Fangio ousted from the team, I think there's a strong possibility the San Francisco 49ers will return to the sort of shackled mediocrity that plagued them in the early 2000s. Coaches make a difference - just look at the current Golden State Warriors - and the Niners got rid of two of the best in the game. 

4. It took half the season, but I reckon Colin Jost and Michael Che have finally hit their stride doing Weekend Update for SNL. Lorne is no fool, after all. On a side note, Aidy Bryant is absolutely killing it this season. 

5. I don't understand the outrage behind the Oscar nominations being almost completely white. Isn't it equally as racist to demand that actors and movie-makers of color get nominations - just because? 12 Years a Slave won a well-deserved Best Picture last year; how do the complainers explain that? 

6. Marc Andreessen's tweet summed up best my feeling towards the State of the Union address: 

It's that time of the year again, for the President to propose new laws that have absolutely no prayer of passing.

— Marc Andreessen (@pmarca) January 18, 2015

7. One bite of Burger King's chicken nuggets will reveal to you exactly while you can purchase 10 of them for $1.49. I much rather pay the extra bit for McDonald's version. 

8. I 'd be so lucky to have a girlfriend whom is a trained assassin. That would be so incredibly awesome and not at all frightening. 

9. How are mail-in-rebates still a thing? I thought we got rid of those when the calendar turned to the year 2000. I can't even remember the last time I mailed something via the post office that's not a package.

10. Full kudos to Ford for having the balls to produce another generation of the GT halo car. The commoners need to understand that these sort of high-dollar low-volume super sports cars are not big money-makers - if at all - for auto manufacturers. Therefore, whenever products like a Ford GT comes to fruition, it's a definite win for the engineers over the accountants. 

I'll overlook the fact the new GT looks like a 458 Italia and a LaFerrari had a love-child together. 

Yellow it's you - 10 things I think

10 THINGS I THINK

1. Tough week for death of famous persons. Just before 2014 was to expire, the great thespian Edward Herrmann succumbed to brain cancer. Then, this previous weekend ESPN pioneer Stuart Scott past away, also due to complications from a long battle with cancer. 

Cancer is just awful, and it doesn't discriminate. Pieces of my childhood was lost with the passing of Herrmann and Scott. May they rest in peace. 

2. Je suis Charlie. The cold-blooded assassination/terrorist attack of those French cartoonists is an absolute affront to artists the world over, no matter the tool or medium. Free speech should always be free. I hope the people responsible get captured and served justice soon. 

3. John Boehner criticized President Obama's threat of vetoing any Keystone Pipeline legislation by saying the executive branch doesn't care about building American infrastructure. Well, neither do you and your party, Speaker. Last time I checked, our roads, highways, and bridges are still in subpar condition. And didn't the GOP oppose any high-speed rail legislation? 

4. Agent Carter is a brilliant, brilliant piece of kit. Two premier episodes in I am already hooked. Of course, Hayley Atwell is simply 'hnnggg'.

5. Now can we please get a stand-alone Black Widow movie? Not one to criticize the great Kevin Feige, but come on already! 

6. Carlos Ghosn, the crème de la crème official of the Renault-Nissan automotive empire, bears a hilarious resemblance to one Mr. Bean. Can't believe I haven't realized it until recently.  

7. It is well worth it to purchase Grand Theft Auto 5 again for next-generation consoles. The sheer depth and quality of the visuals do wonders for immersion into the world and the gameplay. A mere double-dip money-grab, it is not. I am immensely looking forward to the next installment - isn't it about time Rockstar reimagine a European city?

8. I think I'll have to give up coffee on a regular basis. Obviously, I am not happy about this - I love the stuff. At least I can still have tea. 

9. After a murderous few months on the wallet, as November and December is wont to do every year, suffice to say I am desperately waiting on those W2s so I can file and get my well-deserved tax return. 

10. Sorry, anybody that don't live in the San Francisco Bay Area, but mid 40's is considered "freezing" for us. You can take your high and mighty it-is-actually-freezing-where-i-am-at attitude and shove it. Hard. 

It's another wolf bite - 10 things I think

10 THINGS I THINK

1. I hope you guys voted yesterday, because if you didn't, you don't get to complain about all the wrongs in our government, local or federal. Voting is our civic duty, and a right that many have died fighting for. It doesn't take an enormous amount of time: an hour or so with the election guidebook is all it took for me. 

2. Go get Taylor Swift's latest album if you haven't, because it's absolutely brilliant. It's futile to resist the musical charm of that statuesque porcelain doll from Nashville: SNL did a sketch about that. 

3. I'm immensely excited for Christopher Nolan's latest epic, Interstellar. In an industry where digital have just about taken over, Nolan is one of the few directors who are sticking with the grand old tradition of film. Best of all, he utilizes 70mm IMAX, a medium so incredibly high in quality that contemporary digital formats can't even come remotely close to matching.

Oh right, the movie has probably got an intricate and thought-provoking story as well - as you'd expect from a Nolan production. 

4. The stock summer performance tires that came with my STI are already close to their end-of-life - and I've only done about 17,000 miles! I guess the tire's tremendous grip has it's trade-offs. Well, nobody said sports cars were inexpensive to own. Michelin Pilot Super Sports, here I come. 

5. The San Francisco Giants's run of three championships in five years is simply unbelievable, especially for a fan of the team like myself that have trudged through the very lean times. Winning the first one in 2010 was already a sweet dream come true, and now the third trophy? Simply madness. 

I'm going to cherish the Giants' recent success to the best I can, because we all understand the possibility that it may never happen again in our lifetimes. 

6. The Furious 7 and Avengers 2 teaser trailers got me yelling to the screen shut up and take my money. The 2015 summer movie season is shaping up to be legendary. 

7. The stereotype of Asians always taking photographs of their food before eating is absolutely true. This past weekend I was at a Japanese restaurant sat next to a table full of young twenty-something Asians. When their food arrived to the table, the lot of them spent the next 10 minutes or so getting just the right perspective to capture. It's a little embarrassing, if I'm honest. 

8. I'm going to put in a request to the powers at be for Marvels Agents of Shield to put on much, much more of Barbara Morse aka Mockingbird. The actress that plays her, Adrianne Palicki, is a total goddess. Please, sir, I want some more. 

9. It's been scientifically proven by yours truly that BMW drivers are the biggest cocks driving on our roads. The past month have saw my car almost ran into by one these lowlifes three freaking times. I absolutely love the brand, but you'd be hard pressed to find me behind the wheel of a BMW badged car any time soon. 

10. This:

Like heaven's eyes - 10 things I think

10 THINGS I THINK

1. Giants are in the World Series. Again. Again! I'm obviously extremely happy as a long-time fan, but wow: the sort of success the team has been experiencing these past few years can only be described as unimaginable. Spoiled. Absolutely spoiled. It's important to be mindful just how lucky we are to see all of this - because it may never happen again. Go ahead, ask the Cubs about World Series. 

2. I bought a brand new Mac Mini to replace my aging Macbook Pro. Cannot wait for the unit to arrive to start doing stuff on it. It's nothing I couldn't have done previously, it'll simply be much, much faster. 

3. Why isn't there a Nike Men's Half Marathon? I'd be so up on that. 

4. I've discovered the "basic" white girl uniform: sweater or hoodie for the top, black leggings, and boots of some sort to round off the package. This past weekend I was at Great America for the Halloween Haunt event, and white girls in that particular garb was absolutely everywhere. 

5. The Penguin character in the Gotham television show is a revelation. I find myself looking forward to his scenes more so than any other. The actor completely pulls off teetering between trustworthiness and pure evil. 

On the other hand, the writers haven't done as good a job with the Riddler character. I hope there's more development further down this initial season. 

6. Two years into the ownership of my STI and the car barely turned 16,000 miles driven. With the recent downturn in petrol prices, I think it's high time to remedy the situation. Somewhat. I'm not made of money, you know. 

7. I'm not sure why Motor Trend is even bothering to test any other trucks for their annual Truck of the Year awards. Everybody in the industry knows the new Ford F150 will take home the golden calipers. Of the car magazine's three industry trophies, I think the one for trucks is the most worthless.

8. The Safari browser in the new OS X Yosemite operating system is actually quite good and faster than its contemporaries, but I'm so invested in Chrome with my google account that it's hard for me migrate back to it. Caught between Google and Apple: sounds oddly familiar, doesn't it? 

9. Use money for experiences, not material processions. 

10. This: