Naruto is BACK! Though I did appreciate those backstories.

And did you know hot water seems to freeze faster than cold water? It's known as the Mpemba effect (after the guy who discovered it). Basically the molecules are more relaxed when the water is warm, release energy quicker, and as such are more susceptible to cooling.

I got that from the one Christmas Calender I'm following this year (SJ - for cheap train tickets, but apparently much else). Usually I'd have a few daily check-ups, but December came quicker than I expected this year, so that's the one. For now. For time-saving interests.

I've got a ton of more relevant stuff to talk about, but no time. Didn't get to posting that other project I promised by this weekend, but it should be up soon, as well as the Cyberdevil's Back track (onsite, that is - feel free to listen to it elsewhere for now).

So what's new? I've oiled my shoes. I've set up my new printer. I took a walk with a buddy one day. Winter's cold. I've worked, watched movies, played some more Castlevania, completed Mini Doom and started on a new anime: Triage X. NaNoWriMo is over and I made it! And made it through my 100 Words November first too. Wonder how often I've done that without noticing....

On the blog I've posted 12 reviews - they've been piling up, 1 additional on an old title, and a bunch of other stuff too. Here's last week.

I've made a few changes on the site as well, and thought I'd start mentioning any minor changes (stuff that doesn't merit it's own post) at the end of these weekly blogs, and tag them with UPD when I do, so they'll be easy to browse/take notice of, even when you normally wouldn't notice said changes. Starting today...

CDB Updates:

• Moved ca 500 posts still in the main Blog category to relevant subcategories.
• Removed Update category, moved most to Blog > Life, and tagged with UPD.
• Raised display limit on Movie List. 900 to 1000.
• Raised upload limit. 10 to 20MB.
• Minor edits; typo fixes.

Better to light one candle than curse the darkness.

My music feed's been a bit slower lately, which might show in a surplus of Andrew Huang and not much else, but there is some other good stuff going on! Apart from that. Here's a batch.

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I remembered this movie as depressing, but it was really all but that, albeit with plenty of sad moments. It's a story of love, and friendship, and bonds, and relations, and hardships, and... life, I suppose? It goes through the motions, and emotions, and occasionally it gets pretty teary.

Matt Damon is Will Hunting, a janitor at M.I.T. with a knack for math, yet a traumatic past and a rap sheet that complicates the equation. Stellan Skarsgård plays Prof. Gerald Lambeau, a teacher who discovers his talent, yet it's Robin Williams as the therapist Sean Maguire who ultimately leads him on the right path - or at least tries to.

Will's best buddy Chuckie is Ben Affleck - and Ben's real younger brother Casey actually plays a younger buddy in the group! Apart from the odd trio of buddies there's also Minnie Driver as Skylar - a girl Will meets that turns his world around, and they both put on incredible performances. The IMDB synopsis sums it up so easily - as the story of a gifted boy going to a therapist to find his true calling, but it's so much more than that. It's an emotional rollercoaster. It's authentic, well-paced and personal. It's a moving story about just one regular Southie, who's scared of change - but has limitless potential: Good Will Hunting.

 rated 5/5: friggin awesome

30 years later, the good 'ol Police Academy still manages to provide surprisingly high quality entertainment! The gathering of creative misfits that line up to sign in at the Police Academy (all for reasons of their own) are the heart of the movie, and each of them gets to shine. Michael Winslow 's fancy beatboxing sessions are still a highlight, as is that on-stage hiccup, and the towering Hightower has some pretty powerful scenes.

Steve Guttenberg plays the charming main character Carey Mahoney, and George Gaynes the commandant - also here with his trademark Absent-mindedness. Though he has a small role, he's one of my favorite characters. But I do love 'em all. Like snowflakes in a ball. Many of the original cast are unfortunately gone (Bubba Smith, George Gaynes, David Graf, Andrew Rubin, Debralee Scott and Ted Ross - to name a few), but the movie lives on, and still entertains greatly!

I'll have to review some of the sequels too someday. They weren't quite as good, as they all relied on the same formula and many of the same characters, but I do remember getting a few laughs out of those as well!

All in all, this was a nostalgic dose of crazy eighties comedy with a little bit of action. And romance. And character. And it's still great.

 rated 4/5: fo shizzle

Men Of Honor is the story of Carl Brashear: a black man who grew up on a leased farm, who's father told him to not be like him; who told him to be the best he could be, who joined the navy at a time where blacks were only good for cooking, who decided he wanted to be a diver, who became the first African American and later on even the first amputee US Navy Diver.

Training was hard, and Robert De Niro - Master Chief Billy Sunday, was his main adversary. No longer able to dive himself after suffering a major embolism during a reckless rescue operation, Billy is appointed trainer at a diving school - bitter and bad, and that's where Carl Brashear ends up. It's one hardship after another, and then his dad dies - but Carl doesn't give up. He meets a girl too. He falls in love, and eventually he forms a family, but even then diving is all he wants to do. To prove himself to his old man - or to his son?

The acronym, ASNF: I'd never heard it before. I wonder if it's a message on multiple planes, and how common it was then. Is it about him, or his son? He becomes the best, but is it only because his father told him to never settle for less? The acronym feels like an excuse, as much as an explanation, as much as an element with the potential to downplay the meaning of everything he's accomplished.

It's an inspiring story both in and outside the patriotic theme, and Cuba Gooding Jr. lives up to his name, both as himself and the person he portrays. And speaking of the patriotic theme: in Russian this movie was dubbed Military Diver. Guess they don't want to imply Americans can be honorable. ;) Hope they enjoyed it regardless, though! As I did. Propaganda or no, it was an inspiring story.

 rated 4/5: fo shizzle