As the movie association game continues, we decided against watching The Royal Tenenbaums: Criterion Collection and instead followed Owen Wilson to Armageddon: Criterion Collection. The next movie hasn't been picked yet, but there's tons of people to branch out onto now. Might go to Bruce Willis next and watch the full Die Hard trilogy or maybe follow Liv Tyler or Ben Affleck to a comedy. Who knows...the movies watched thus far are:

Armageddon (Owen Wilson and TBD)
Permanent Midnight (Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson)
Keeping the Faith (Edward Norton and Ben Stiller)
Rounders (Edward Norton - Starting Film)

URL: Armageddon (1998)

Though I highly doubt anyone in my office reads this, I haven't really blogged much about work because the conditions are just so horrible. It's not the people - it's just the lack of staff. With two people let go in the last two weeks and none added, everyone there has been under increased pressure and strain. And while that's not a completely horrible thing, as having something to do makes the day go by much faster, when you can't help the customers in a manner that they deserve because you feel the need to get to the next one, it erodes the name that's been built up for almost a hundred years.

But still, with things at work being as they are, I stepped up my job search today by creating a new resume at Monster.com and applying for a job. It's a basic accounting job and though my experience is limited, I am a quick learner and could pick it up quite quickly - especially with my love of math and computers (they go well with accounting). Also, there is a large listing for accounting positions on Monster.com, so any experience in accounting would seemingly get me MUCH further than experience as a bank teller (a.k.a. "Customer Service Specialist"). I also have a resume trying to find its way through Human Resources at Taco Bell corporate, so I'm awaiting a call from them regarding a job in the IT department (which would be a dream come true - working with computers).

Right now though, I've just got to tough it out at the bank until all is worked out with my degree and then I figure I'll agressively market myself outside the bank (9 months experience is always nice I guess). Ultimately, I've been thinking a lot about what I want to do with my life and it's just hard to figure out exactly where to go. I'd like to open up my own computer shop, building custom computers and repairing those in need, but the profit margins are so razor thin that I don't see any way to make money off of it - though with spyware and viruses the way they are now, a "computer cleaning" business could work nicely - that personal touch would help. Other than that, I've always wanted to open a restaraunt, but the initial investment needed is way beyond my grasp, as is the basic understanding of how a restaraunt would work. Maybe I'll just fall back on my theater plans and buy the location where the K-Mart is closing and put in a high-end theater there (after all...it can't cost that much - right?).

URL: Monster.com

Today, I knew the vice presidential debates were on, but while filling out my absentee ballot and voting on the measures, I forgot about the exact start time and only caught the second half of the debate. Both Fox News and ABC concluded that Vice President Cheney won the first half of the debate on geo-political questions while Senator Edwards won the second half of the debate focused on national issues (health care, etc.).

During the second half of the debate, I thought both did well, however, one can't help but notice how young Edwards looked next to Cheney, and quite frankly, how inexperienced he seemed. But what really annoyed me was when Edwards broke the rules of the question (stupid rules, but rules nonetheless) twice and joked/laughed/apologized boyfully each time. It just didn't seem like he belonged there - it didn't seem like he really understood the gravity of the situation.

And then, towards the end of the debate, when it came to health care, Edwards kept using the quote, "When choosing between [Insurance/Drug] companies and the American public, this President chose the [Insurance/Drug] company." It's as if every choice made by the president was opposed by 100% of the American population. Finally, Edwards ended his tirade with a sort of, "we will give everything to everyone," argument. But, quite predictably, he failed to mention where the money would come from to pay for universal health care. He failed to mention that allowing drugs in from Canada would stifle innovation (though I'm sure we can all agree that profit margins are too high for the drug companies - but they do need to make money for R&D). What he basically laid out was a welfare state, however, he didn't enlighten us all as to where the welfare would come from - even though we all know the answer - higher taxes.

URL: Commission on Presidential Debates

Can FOX come up with anything original for their programming? Do they always have to just copy proven ideas from other networks? First, they stole the idea of switching spouses for "Trading Spouses" - a direct rip off of "Wife Swap" on ABC which they bought the rights to from a UK broadcasting company. Then, they get pitched the idea for Stallone's find-a-boxer reality show and they rush "The Next Great Champ" with Oscar de la Hoya to production and debut it early.

Now, they've got this thing called "Renovate my Family" which is a direct rip off of all the ABC "Extreme Makeover" shows as they combine the original Extreme Makeover with Extreme Makeover Home Edition. And now, they've got this thing coming out called "The Rebel Billionaire" with Virgin founder Richard Branson - and while "The Benefactor" seemed to be a copy of "The Apprentice," there's no doubt that "The Rebel Billionaire" is a rip off of those two.

The other show they started running this season is "The Complex: Malibu" which is so blatantly a rip off of TBS's home improvement show from last year, "House Rules." I'm not sure how much longer they can keep this up, but it seems to be working for them. It's just sad that they can't come up with much original programming and have to rely on blatant copies of other shows to get some ratings.

URL: FOX Broadcasting Company: Renovate My Family