December 2004 – Vinko’s Thoughts On…

December 27, 2004

Tsunami of South West Asia

Yesterday the worst tragedy happened in Sumatra, Indonesia with an eathquake measuring 9.0 on the Richter Scale. This caused a tsunami that hit the coast of Sir Lanka, India, Maldives, Africa.

The devastation is only just being realized due to the poor communication to some of the remote area affected. Now the survivors are in danger of disease from decomposing bodies and contaminated water supply.

One way to help is to look at some of the pictures of the missing persons from the Tsunami disaster and see if you know the whereabouts of these individuals.

The other is to make donations to International Red Cross, Oxfam or UNICEF. Some of the other Aid Agencies may be found on CNN’s web page.

Oxfam

If you have love ones or friends you’re trying to locate, you can use CNN’s web page for posting “Tsunami Tragedy Appeals”.

Update: Jan. 23, 2005
Current official death toll = 174,000

December 23, 2004

Movie Review: Polar Express, The

Poster

My Rating:

This evening I went to see the movie “The Polar Express” at Broadway Cinema, Olympian Plaza. Another one of the movies from my Must See Movies list.

In a single word “Amazing”.

Amazing acting by Tom Hanks. Amazing animation. Although, the movie’s story line is a bit simple, for someone who enjoy CG (Computer Graphics), this is definitely a movie to keep in ones collection when it comes out on DVD.

The many characters that Tom Hanks played in the movie are all animated using direct motion mapping. Where Hanks wears a suite with placement markers and the computer scans and monitors every facial and body movements translating this back to computer models for the characters. This is definitely a revolution in movie making. It also showcases Hanks incredible acting (role playing).

Amazon.Com reserve a copy for me…

Rating Legend:
	Not to be missed
	Wait for the DVD
	Buy from iTunes Store
	Rent it on iTunes
	Waste your time elsewhere

December 22, 2004

eBay PowerSeller

It has been 10 weeks, to this day, since I opened my doors of the online Shop here at Vinko.Com and on eBay.

I am happy to announce that yet another milestone has been achieved for my online business. I have just been awarded the recognition of “eBay Power Seller”.

December 20, 2004

Movie Review: Ocean’s 12

Poster

My Rating:

This evening I went to see the movie “Ocean’s 12” at Broadway Cinema, Olympian Plaza. Another one from my Must See Movies list.

Again I did not go into this sequel having too much expectations like any other sequel. I was expecting the similar twist-and-turn of “Ocean’s 11“, and to my present surprise, the twists and turns of the story are even more elaborative than one would expect for a sequel.

The characters Danny Ocean (played by George Clooney) and Rusty Ryan (played by Brad Pitt) again had the nicest clothes of all characters.

I really don’t know why Julia Roberts complained about the credit order on the posters. She only played a minor role in this sequel compared to Catherine Zeta-Jones.

From the looks of thing, the writers left room for yet another sequel in case the box office justify so.

Rating Legend:
	Not to be missed
	Wait for the DVD
	Buy from iTunes Store
	Rent it on iTunes
	Waste your time elsewhere

December 1, 2004

Movie Review: The Final Cut

Poster

My Rating:

This evening I went to see the movie “The Final Cut” at Golden Harvest Theater, Gateway Plaza.

This is not really a typical movie of Robin Williams, but for some reasons this reminds me of his other movie “One Hour Photo“.

I always believe Robin Williams is one of those great actors of our times, along with Tom Hanks. They are can transform themselves to characters that are not their typical roles. I guess that is another reason why they are great.

Unfortunately, that’s all that is great about this movie. So for the Robin Williams fans, this is another movie for your DVD collection, but no need to rush to see it in the theaters.

Rating Legend:
	Not to be missed
	Wait for the DVD
	Buy from iTunes Store
	Rent it on iTunes
	Waste your time elsewhere