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Warren Shea

Archive for the ‘TV Shows & Movies’ Category

Jiro Dreams of Sushi – Review + Profession Introspection

Friday, June 8th, 2012 at 10:01 pm


Jiro Dreams of Sushi trailer

Went to watch Jiro Dreams of Sushi last night. It wasn’t what I had expected. While it’s about sushi, it’s so much more than that. It’s about legacy, dedication and hard work, and improving yourself. It takes you into the mind of an unlikely genius and you get to hear his unique thoughts. It was way deeper than I thought it’d be, leaving me with many things to think about.

To try to equally compare myself to someone of Jiro’s character would be arrogant but I can’t deny there are some similarities in our personality.

He discusses 5 things that you need to become a great chef. I found, as he was listing these, how similar his thoughts were compared to my reliability and passion thoughts in the workplace.

His 5 things where:
1. Take your work seriously.
2. Aspire to improve.
3. Maintain cleanliness.
4. Be a better leader than a collaborator.
5. Be passionate about your work.

This is to be a chef. Mine 2 items re: reliability and passion are for how to excel at your job.

Looking at his points, I think they all apply to becoming an artisan of your craft (in Japanese, they have a term for that – Shokunin: mastery of a profession)

While watching this movie, it definitely inspired me. I’m at the point in my career where I think I understand what I want and where I’m going. And I think that’s critically important. I’m surrounded by people who don’t know what they want to do in life. Some who aren’t good at their jobs. And that’s all fine if that’s what they’ve chosen and they accept it. But not everyone is happy with where they are. And the first rule about being happy in life is that if you’re unhappy, change something.

I want to be an artisan of my craft: web development. It’s limited to front-end expertise and back-end familiarity and I want to be an expert in both. I still have much to do.

As I watch Hell’s Kitchen, and listen to some people at work, all they can talk about is money. They want to be rich. There are contestants in HK that want the prize money. And there are contestants that say that “this (cooking) is all they have in their life. What they’re born to do. They’re in Hell’s Kitchen for the experience to work with Chef Ramsey”. And that’s how I feel. While I don’t want to be poor, I think I live by the experiences. That I would take a job that doesn’t pay well if it will help me learn and grow in my path to becoming a professional.

I think Jiro’s 5 rules are something I need to live by to become a Shokunin. I believe I’m partially there:

1. Take your work seriously. – I only half do this. At work, I take my work pretty seriously. But I’m not learning as fast as I should, I don’t dedicate enough time to my craft outside of work
2. Aspire to improve. – I believe I have this aspiration, I’ve always had it.
3. Maintain cleanliness. – I believe I have this and it shows in my clean and organized code.
4. Be a better leader than a collaborator. – Unfortunately, I must be a collaborator…but the points in the movie are valid: leaders move faster and pull others along. Collaborators waste time going in different directions. As a leader, I have to do what I believe is best, despite everyone else. This is not always the case for me…but sometimes it is. That’s why I can be such a jerk.
5. Be passionate about your work. – I believe I have this as well.

So I’m kind of there. But I’m not as studious as I could be. Unfortunately, that’s always been my problem. That, and arrogance :P

Anyways. You can see that Jiro Dreams of Sushi left quite an impact on me. I’d like to rewatch it and take notes or something next time. I feel there’s much I can learn from Jiro.

worldofwarren.com rates – Jiro Dreams of Sushi – 10/10!

Battle Royale. The Hunger Games. Titanic. They all have something in common.

Tuesday, April 17th, 2012 at 1:58 am

I just rewatched Battle Royale. And then, purely by coincidence of all the Titanic buzz, Titanic. Again.
I’ve seen both multiple times but not in recent years.

This was originally a Battle Royale VS Hunger Games post, having just rewatched Battle Royale. But after watching Titanic, I found there is something they all have in common. But I will write about that later.

Battle Royale VS The Hunger Games
Battle Royale moves quicker than Hunger Games, especially at the start and the set up.
It’s also a bit more realistic…in some ways, unrealistic in others.

I enjoy the of concept of Battle Royale more: that a group of unsuspecting (this is very important) students suddenly emerge on an island and have to kill each other to survive.
In contrast, The Hunger Games has participants that are trained to win the Hunger Games.
Um…doesn’t it kinda defeat the purpose of these games to have some members train their whole lives for them? As I wrote that, I realize that this is actually similar to most reality shows (ex. American Idol/The Voice). That someone with trained musical background could compete with someone who’s never really training a day in his/her life. But I don’t like it like that. It’s not fair. But I guess the Hunger Games isn’t about fair, it’s about gambling and entertainment. I suppose in this scenario, it’s more fun if things aren’t fair.

Damn, I was all set to say that Battle Royale was better from this perspective, but it’s actually accurate to how each backstory and environment is set up. I will still admit that if I were to watch either first, I’d like to have watched Battle Royale first simply to show how the situation affects those completely unwilling to fight, as well as those who are not physically or mentally fit to fight. The Hunger Games does too good a job training people about the battle before it begins. I don’t like that.

What I really liked about Battle Royale was that…it was very accurate to how I believe a similar situation would occur. There are really scared students, students that die easily, students that trust too easily, students that are arrogant. And also, there are students who are pretty powerful. I’ll always remember watching that crazy guy on a cliff, surrounded by people and carrying only a fan…only to get the jump of like 6 people and kill them. So pro. I mean, realistically he should have died to them but it’s well played that the group, in it’s numbers, is arrogant. Like people would be in such groups. And I really believe that kind of arrogance can be taken advantage of.

There was one thing that immediately was shocking to me in the Hunger Games. When they first start the battle and a bloodbath occurs, near the weapons and supplies. Surely the participants have seen previous years and know it’s a ridiculous bloodbath. In all the chaos, it’s very likely even a skilled person can die at the hands of another skilled individual. You don’t win a battle royale (no pun intended) by attacking everyone. You pick people off one at a time using your wit, intelligence, and patience. You strike when people are weak. Like Katniss. But I mean, shouldn’t EVERYONE be doing that? The only way you’d wanna rush in is if you’re SO FAST that you can get a weapon and kill other people before they have a chance. But I doubt, with all these trained members, that any single one member could be that much faster than the rest.

I also dislike the idea of the environment forcibly attacking the participants in the Hunger Games due to the administrator’s pleasure. Who wants to gamble on a rigged game. Katniss is close to the edge. LETS THROW FIRE AND FIREBALLS AT HER. Oh yes, the other contestants don’t have to deal with that simply cuz they didn’t happen to be near the edge? Um. BULLSHIT. If I was betting on someone and a FAKE FIRE killed them, I’d be pissed.

And what’s with the sponsors sending shit to help them. UM. THAT NOISE WILL GIVE AWAY MY POSITION YOU IDIOTS. “Oh good, hear comes my medic—” *dead*. Cuz the guy with the gun heard the noise and capped me.

AM I TREATING THIS GAME OF SURVIVAL TOO SERIOUSLY?

Okay, I think I’m done with THAT rant.

Now, To Compare Battle Royale. The Hunger Games. Titanic.
It seemed a bit strange that I’d find something similar between Titanic and a Battle Royale situation…but let me get to my point.
All 3 movies primarily feature a love story (at it’s core) where the main couple tries to survive, amid a battle of other people’s survival.
In Battle Royale and the Hunger Games, Shuya and Noriko & Katniss and Peeta try to survive while the people around the main characters are trying to survive. That’s the basic premise.
In Titanic, after the ship begins to sink, Jack and Ross try to survive while the people around the main characters are trying to survive. That’s also the basic premise….
How coincidentally alike these movies are. You’d almost think there’d be no similarities.

OMG I just realized that I also watched Scott Pilgrim VS the World and…
It’s about Scott Pilgrim and Ramona Flowers (a love story) as Scott tries to SURVIVE the battles of Ramona’s Exes. YEAH?! ALSO SIMILAR? Except the other characters aren’t really trying to survive, it’s just Scott….but 1/2 the premises is true.

What’s with all these love stories wrapped up in action that I’m watching?
*Thinks about what I plan to watch the rest of this week*
The Walking Dead – main characters trying to survive, rest of the world also trying to survive the zombie apocalypse
Dawson’s Creek – hmm..not much survival here.

I think I’ve been watching too many things regarding survival. Or maybe it’s just that many movies like that concept…
Most video games are about survival (things trying to kill you). Love stories are about a couple’s survival through hardships.

…okay, I’ve written enough about this…for now.
Kinda tired, I should sleep soon.

The Hunger Games…left me HUNGRY for moar.

Wednesday, April 4th, 2012 at 12:27 am

C WAT I DID THAR?

Saw Hunger Games tonight. I guess I had high expectation due to word of mouth and ratings. However, I was pretty disappointed with the movie. It was like Battle Royale for teenage girls.

The Hunger Games, compared to Battle Royale was:
Less of a psychological thriller. Less bloody. Less intense. Less disturbing. Less buildup/rising action.
More funny. More cheesy. More colorful.

That said, both films are incredibly similar in premise however, they are executed quite differently.

I can’t say Battle Royale didn’t have plot holes (I don’t remember it that well) but there were definitely some issues with Hunger Games.
I purchased the Battle Royale Blu Ray and will definitely watch it the next time Z’s not around (definitely not her type of movie). Kinda excited now to compare the two.

Just noticed: weird how
Rotten Tomatoes rates Battle Royale 85% and The Hunger Games 85%
IMDB rates Battle Royale: 7.8 and The Hunger Games 7.7

So similar. Currently, Battle Royale has a slight edge and I hope it stays that way. Although Battle Royale is somewhat dated in comparison, it was definitely more true to how I believe a similar situation might play out. Although, there are some pretty unbelievable psychos in Battle Royale…which made the movie cool but a tad more unrealistic.

Anyways. I won’t be buying this DVD. I’m still considering reading the book as it’s bound to be better…I would love to read about the things I didn’t get…

Lots of new things lately + Lion King + Disney Movies

Monday, September 19th, 2011 at 3:19 am

Bought a new monitor and external hard drive recently…..and some blu-rays

Thor & X-Men First Class Blu Rays are being delivered as we speak.

Plan to get Bridesmaids despite having not seen it yet. Enough people have said it’s good so I’ll take their word for it. Z has seen it and she vouches for it.

Got Star Fox 64 3DS the other day….beat it quite easily. It wasn’t the challenge that I remember it was, in high school. But as I read reviews, that game isn’t about survival, it’s about dominating and how much you dominate.

Getting Kirby Mass Attack tomorrow…Z wants to get the “New” Super Mario Bros. for the DS….so we’ll be getting 2 DS games tomorrow….I expect to beat, and get 100% on both. I realize now how much of a Nintendo gamer I am. I was raised that way….got into RPGs after….and never really got into FPS games, except for Counter Strike. I’m just…I’m both really good, and really enjoy Nintendo type games.

Lion King

I ordered The Lion King Diamond Edition Blu Ray from Disney on August 7 for $25…about a month and a half ago. I got 200 Disney Bonus Points with it.

AFTER I order it, they come out with The Lion King Diamond Edition Blu-ray with FREE Lithograph Offer for $25. ALSO from Disney. ARGGH !@$&%$*@#$*

I’d much rather take the Lithograph than the 200 Disney Points. It would go with my Beauty and the Beast Lithography….but I can’t cancel my Aug 7 order. =(

And now, after going to watch The Lion King in 3D tonight…they have another pre-order…get $5 off.

3 different Lion King blu ray deals! >:( So angry. I think the Lithograph is the best one tho…

So…yeah, I definitely wasn’t planning to watch Lion King in 3D. Especially since I pre-ordered the blu ray. Technically, I was paying more to watch it once in the theatres, than to own in forever on blu-ray. It seemed pointless. In the end, I was trying to take my sister-in-law to watch the movie without her troublesome kids…but she bailed on the plan. Z and I still decided to go see it. Although it was costly, I was glad we did. There’s definitely a completely different experience watching the movie in the theatre, compared to watching something at home. It just doesn’t compare. When you’re in the theatre, there’s this…focus, that you can’t get elsewhere. Z and I have instated “Movie night”. Once every 2 weeks….alternating choices. I just hope Z doesn’t pick chick flicks for me >_< On that note, I saw Friends with Benefits the other day. It was better than I thought....funny but still kinda cheesy at certain parts. Disney Movies
I thought I had more than a few Disney movies growing up. I had a select era that began with Beauty and the Beast and ended with The Lion King…(technically with Aladdin and the King of Thieves, but that was mostly purchased out of “trilogy completion” sake – though it turned out to be a really great movie). Anyways, I discovered earlier this year that my Disney Movie collection was completely dwarfed by Z’s.

Click the image for a bigger image

  • My Movies (1st column)
  • Beauty and the Beast – Diamond Edition
  • Beauty and the Beast
  • Aladdin
  • Aladdin – The Return of Jafar
  • Aladdin and the King of Thieves
  • Lion King
  • The Land Before Time II
  • The Land Before Time III
  • Pokemon the First Movie
  • Z’s Movies (2nd and 3rd column)
  • Casper
  • Aladdin
  • Aladdin – The Return of Jafar
  • Mulan
  • Cinderella
  • The Rescuers Down Under
  • The Little Mermaid
  • Robin Hood
  • The Great Mouse Detective
  • Dumbo
  • Little Women
  • Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
  • Mary Poppins
  • Alice Through the Looking Glass
  • The Jungle Book
  • Dragonheart
  • The Fox and the Hound
  • The Secret Garden
  • Peter Pan
  • 101 Dalmatians
  • The Rescuers
  • The Big Green
  • D3 – The Might Ducks
  • Alice in Wonderland
  • Pinocchio
  • Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas
  • Bambi
  • Lady and the Tramp

I guess I can throw this on the accomplishments list, but we’ve been watching Disney movies like crazy lately, on VHS. There are a ton of these I’ve never seen or don’t remember but we went through the following in the last few weeks.

  • Cinderella
  • The Rescuers Down Under
  • The Little Mermaid
  • Robin Hood
  • The Great Mouse Detective
  • Dumbo
  • The Fox and the Hound
  • Peter Pan
  • 101 Dalmatians
  • The Rescuers

I played a bit of Ping Pong with my parents today….Z and I are going to look for places we can play Squash. I’m really excited, I can’t wait :D U.S. Open got me so fired up to play some racket sports.

Anyways…3:15….have work tomorrow…will proof-read tomorrow…maybe >_< I sleep now, g’nite everyone :D

oh? hai! i forgot all about you!

Sunday, June 19th, 2011 at 9:29 pm

Yes, it’s true. Despite the fact that I occassionally checked the site, I’ve been MIA for a week.

The nights have been…busy lately. Basically, the last few weeknights, I start watching Glee and develop my professional site, warrenshea.com (yet to be released). Once I being developing…I don’t stop until late, late at night. There’s always SOMETHING I want to improve on, or do…I never found time to even think about my blog.

The last few days have been busy, since
Thursday
12am-3am: Green Lantern
3am-3pm: Sleep

Friday
5pm-2am: Karaoke w/ co-workers
2am-7am: Coding w/ music + singing to myself….so wired!
7am-3pm: Sleep

Saturday
3pm-7pm: Code/Get ready for TFC Game
7pm-10pm: TFC Game w/ co-workers
10pm-3am: Patio BBQ w/ co-workers
3am-2pm: Sleep

Sunday
2pm-5pm: Code/Get ready for Taste of Little Italy
5pm-8pm: Taste of Little Italy
8pm-?: Blogging…

Thing I’d like to blog about in the near future:
Reliability + Passion: The Keys to Success (basically, re-writing an old post of mine in a more professional manner, so I can reference it in my professional site).
Accessibility
Accomplishments #8.645161 – Mid June 2011 Edition
Singing + Karaoke
Music. My Music.

Things I want to do in the near future:
Photography session of some of my recent toys
Karaoke Song List – So many awesome songs I missed

God…after that Karaoke session, I can’t stop singing. Like, I’m singing to every song….quietly singing as I’m walking on the street….playing music over and over…singing to it. Maybe I’ll even record and post some, so I can improve….

Anyways, I’m gonna go clean my hamster cage, put on some X-Men Cartoon (because I finished Glee Season 2).

Oh right: Glee Season 2:
Let me say that I really like the show, Glee. But not because of the musical numbers. Not because of the high school drama. Partly because the humor. But mostly, I like Glee because occasionally, they deal with realistic, difficult issues. In season 1, they dealt with a lot of issues. So much so that I didn’t think they had more. But I was wrong. This season brought out inner beauty. It dealt with poverty, death, difficulty of coming out of the closet, and more…

What I love about Glee that it’s a show about Acceptance, and finding it. It’s about being an outcast, regardless of how pretty or handsome you are, how nice or mean you are, how popular or unpopular you are. It’s about friends that are close like family…and being able to be the person you are and still be accepted. And loved. I think almost anyone can watch this type of show and relate in some way, to someone. When you watch Glee, you’re a part of their family. Their drama.

It seems like a strange comparison, but I compare Glee to the X-Men in a lot of ways. Each member of the group, damaged in their own sort of way. Hated by everyone around them. Trying to be accepted by being better people, rather than by force. Living by example. Supporting each other.

I really thought Santana and Brittany were stars this season . As always, Kurt is given some of the most difficult situations. He’s a star in his own right but…I find his fight to be one of the hardest. Acceptance for him seems to be an impossible journey……but one he never gives up on.

I look forward to Season 3! I might even re-watch Season 1 and 2 again…