Comet Lecture

I listened to a lecture on why Comets are so great and it was pretty interesting!

The picture above is of Comet Hyakutake seen from Hawaii in 1996.

Beautiful shot isn’t it?

Hawaii is the home of many of the world’s finest observatories and what better way to get ready for comet viewings coming up in March than to have a lecture to explain what it is that we will see.

I won’t go over the WHOLE lecture with you guys but I know it’s cool to learn a neat fact here and there so here are some cool ones that you can share with your friends and family.

-Comets are made completely out of ice and when they get in close proximity of the Sun the ice on the surface starts to sublimate, turning directly from a solid to a gas. The gas then streams away creating comet dust which are the tails and comas of the comet.

-And these same comet tails always point away from the sun. 

-Comets also have orbits but the paths deviate from the traditional circular orbit. Which means that there is no set orbit for comets.

Hope you guys learned a little something!

What is going on with Michael Beasley’s hair?

Seriously?

The caption for this picture is,

“The beast pauses as he senses a predator approaching.”

What beast? I love Michael Beasley as much as the next person but look at him!

He looks like some monkey…

Doesn’t he? Is it just me?

Rookie Couponing…Try #2

So I “tried” couponing again today.

Not REALLY HARDCORE or anything since I only took in one physical coupon that was for $0.30 but I still gave it my best try…

First I got a $10 coupon (for spending so much money). #CouponFail

For anyone who lives near a Safeway, they are doing a promotion where if you spend $75 you get a $10 coupon for next time!

And then I got a $2 coupon for any two Splenda products.

Hey, at least it’s more than 30 cents.

And for the record, no I do not use Splenda, Mark does.

Mark likes to take Cashews to work but they are SO EXPENSIVE in Hawaii but I got a steal on these!

Normally they are $20.39 but the store was having a sale where they were $2.40 off so $17.99, BUT I had a Safeway eCoupon (which you can also get by checking our their website. Safeway.com and registering for an account. All you need to do is add the eCoupon to your account and it automatically deducts the coupon once you scan your club card or type in your phone number while in the checkout line). SO I got an additional $3.00 off these bad boys making them only $14.99. (Which is still a ridiculous price for Cashews, if you ask me).

1. Register at Safeway.com.
2. Click on “just for U”.
3. Click on “Coupon Center”.
4. Go through the list and add what you want (you might as well add everything since it doesn’t hurt).
And they’ll be ready to use without any unnecessary hassle!

Easy right?

Bought another Land O Lakes Unsalted Butter. I used the coupon that you see on there (that I got last time) to get 30 cents off my purchase. I usually buy Salted butter but I’ve been cooking a lot and it’s better most times to use unsalted so I’ve been getting in the habit of just buying unsalted butter, just in case I need it to bake cookies or what have you.

These were on sale for buy one get one free!

Who DOESN’T like breakfast sausages??

So normally for two of these boxes it would be $11.98 but I only paid $5.99! Score! We’re eating good tonight! Hahahaha. I kid.

And how much do you think I paid for this box of 200 Splenda packets? Originally it’s $12.99 but they were $4.00 off so I only paid $8.99 for them.

Although if you think about it, I could have just taken multiple trips to a nearby coffee shop and just lined my pocket with Splenda but who am I kidding? I’m not Chinese.

I’m just joking people. Other Asian people do it too…don’t worry.

Mark also likes these Builders Protein Bars but they’re usually pretty pricey.

(Yes, they can be cheaper at Walmart but sometimes I just don’t want to deal with the hassle of what is Honolulu Walmart).

The peanut butter ones are originally $10.39 and the chocolate mint ones are $10.19. Why the peanut butter costs more than the mint, I have no idea.

But I got them both at $7.99 a box (which is pretty good since they usually sell for like $2/a piece).

The Flipz White Fudge Pretzels were also buy one get one free!

Cha-ching!

Seriously, score of the day! (Well this and the breakfast sausages…what? They’re good!)

So normally they would both be $9.58 but I only paid $4.79 for both.

These things are addicting!

I have stopped buying things that I could make at home but I don’t think I could make these as fast as I could eat them.

Good thing I’ve been hitting the gym lately.

And I bought a few other things with minor savings but I didn’t think they were worth the post.

I also got some Cream of Tartar so I could make some Snickerdoodle cookies this week. It was on sale but it wasn’t.

Let me explain.

All the spices were Buy 2 Get 1 Free but spices are so expensive and I didn’t think I needed another one…

Although thinking about it, I’m kicking myself right now because I could have bought some more Cinnamon (which I use more than anything else) and then gotten some Thyme for free…

But no matter now! What’s done is done!

There will be more sales!

And the last thing I didn’t buy because it was on sale.

(Although it also happened to be on sale).

Mark loves Sweethearts (even though I think they are the most horrid thing since black licorice) and when we tried to get a bag in Minnesota they weren’t the ones that he liked so we ended up chucking most of it (which was fine by me). So when I saw these at the market I thought, why not? Plus it’s almost Valentine’s Day and I’m sure he would like these in his little lunch bag. (Although he might just leave them at home and devour at a later time).

For all three the regular price was $1.77 but I got $0.27 off so I paid $1.50 for all three which is about 50 cents a piece which is pretty good.

Spent more money than I had intended but I got some good deals out of it so I’m a happy camper.

Yay! Hope you enjoyed the post!

What better way to start a Monday than with a Western?

I am very well aware that it is Wednesday today… it just took me a while to update but better late than never right?

So the first picture is what I usually see in the mornings on my way to school. It’s been a little dark and cloudy lately and it’ll rain near campus but for the most part the weather has been very agreeable.

The corvette is probably the only nice car I’ve seen in a while and in LA I wouldn’t even count it in amongst the VERY nice cars but this is Hawaii. All the nice cars are across the street at the luxury car dealership. It was still nice to see nonetheless.

And for our film class we had to watch Shane and I was pretty lucky that it was on Netflix. I bought some pho and enjoyed the movie (as best as I could). Nothing against the movie but you know it’s hard to watch a movie when you’re at home and you have a million other things to do.

But for those of you who have not seen it yet, here is MY quick summary (without ruining it).

For our film class we are moving into the Western genre and what better way to start it than with Shane. Filmed in 1953 (although my book says 1952 for some reason), Shane is a typical Western in which there is a conflict between two groups and as the movie goes on it becomes obvious that there are multiple contrasts in the movie. Like Thomas Shatz says in his book, “The film is a virtual ballet of oppositions, all perceived from Joey’s (the young boy) viewpoint”. The main conflict being with the homesteaders who are trying to be forced/scared out of their land by the ranchers. This again refers to the battle between things such as: social law versus primitive law, equality vs survival of the fittest and even much simpler things such as the future versus the past.

The main character Shane, who borders between both groups, has to try and negotiate and somehow create a sense of order. Shane is trying to leave his gunslinger past in order to work for Joe Starrett (Joey’s father), but as chaos arises and there is need for a resolution Shane is the only person able to act because the society around him is too weak to do so. “And it is these actions that finally enforce social order but necessitate his departure from the community he has saved”.

Shane is a classic Western that helps define the genre but at the same time this film also helps viewers understand the transformations that have taken place within the genre since 1953. And who doesn’t like watching gunslingers save whole towns, am I right?

So like I said, it’s on Netflix so if you have some free time on your hands, it’s definitely worth checking out!

Commercial of the Day

My favorite commercial of the day.

Usually I don’t care for Priceline Negotiator commercials but who doesn’t love a Kill Bill parody commercial?

Am I right?

And I mean LOOK at the AC Shelby Cobra! My jaws dropped and I was in love all over again…

Which reminds me of the De Tomaso Mangusta that they used during Kill Bill, which was ALSO to die for!

Love it!

Have a good rest of your day!!

Homemade Almond Jello

 

I finally made that Almond Jello that I had bought earlier in Chinatown!

It’s pretty easy. All you do is add the mix with 4 1/2 cups of water and bring it to a boil and once you do you can divide it into cups or put into a shallow pan to let cool which takes about 2 hours.

And because I’m such a klutz the water boiled over spilling all the sugary water onto my new stove top so I had to desperately try and scrub it off after the stove had cooled down. I think I got most of it but I know I’ll have to go at it again soon.

I put mine in a shallow brownie pan and it worked out perfectly!

Then you just slice it up and serve with fruit! I keep forgetting to buy fruit to eat with it so I have just been eating it by itself…but I’m not complaining! It’s delicious!

For those of you who like it, you can make it at home! They probably sell the mix at your local Chinese and/or Japanese food market.

Yummy!

My Saturday

I went to the KCC Farmer’s Market on Saturday morning but without any cash whatsoever. Why I did that? I have no idea.

I guess I just assumed that there would be an ATM there but I was greatly mistaken. And the only ATM on campus is in the cafeteria that was closed because it was the weekend. Some stands took cards but there was only one thing I wanted…Strawberry Mochi and besides ignoring me for 5 minutes he said he didn’t take cards. DARN IT!

I left dismayed and hungry so I decided to go get a drink and some breakfast at The Tea Farm near campus. I got my usually Matcha Green Tea Lemonade, which is DELICIOUS by the way, and a blueberry bagel with cream cheese. Yum!

And then I picked up a friend and we went to go see Lincoln. We both got lost along the way but we made it eventually. And like I said in the earlier post, the movie was SPECTACULAR! Go see it everybody!

And I finished my Basic Instinct paper so I was pretty happy about that as well. Got most of my homework and reading done so all in all a pretty good Saturday.

What did you guys do?

You know you’re a Law and Order: Special Victims Unit addict when…

You’re watching Lincoln and you recognize one of the actors as having been on an episode of Law & Order: SVU.

Not only that but I could describe EXACTLY what episode he was on and what happened on it.

Who am I talking about?

Joseph Cross

And the sad thing is that I haven’t seen him in ANYTHING else, JUST SVU.

It’s the episode where the father dies so the mother becomes all OCD protective of her kids, homeschooling them and only feeding them nutritious things even though they should be out socializing and living like kids. The younger son ends up being killed by the older son (Joseph Cross) in order to spare him from the foster care system but the gun jams when he tries to kill himself. His mother has filled both of them with the horrible lies about the outside world. They eventual end up running away but being caught later by Benson and Stabler.

He plays the roll of John Hay from Illinois.

And for those of you who haven’t seen the film yet. It is AMAZING!

Both Daniel Day-Lewis and Tommy Lee Jones did an AMAZING job bringing the Lincoln story to life!

It’s like I LIVED through the Civil War while I was watching the film. Every actor and actress in the film was just magnificent!

Except maybe Joseph Gordon-Levitt…he had maybe 5 lines in the movie? Kind of didn’t fit? He fits more in the future (Inception & Looper) rather than Civil War times in my opinion. Just saying.

*SLIGHT SPOILER*

BUT you do get to see Daniel Day-Lewis give a good slap to his son (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) in one scene. It wouldn’t be a Daniel Day-Lewis movie without it! It was amazing! TOTALLY made my day.

I couldn’t find a clip of it but this video should do for now.

And it really doesn’t matter if you don’t like historical films or not, this is one of those movies you DO NOT want to pass up. It has that same finesse that The King’s Speech has, it entraps you and makes you invested in the film. Even I began to wonder how it would end, even though obviously I knew that the Confederacy would surrender and the 13th Amendment would be passed, still I was on the edge of my seat till the very last second. It was more than just believable, it was as if I was fighting WITH the Union for equality! It really was intense.

It was a good way to spend my Saturday afternoon and I don’t regret it for a second.

I give Lincoln all the thumbs I have up! Go watch it! (And SVU).

It must be opposite week!

The Clippers have lost EVERY game this week, including their loss today to the Portland Trailblazers, who they will play again tomorrow AND the Cleveland Cavaliers have won 3 games in a row.

Yes! The CLEVELAND CAVALIERS WITHOUT LEBRON JAMES HAS WON THREE CONSECUTIVE GAMES IN A ROW!

I am so proud of you guys!

And both the Cavs and the Trailblazers won by ONE POINT!

So sweet~

What can you say? Kyrie Irving has been on FIRE! Boom shaka laka!

He’s gone from 40 points against the Celtics to 35 points against the Bucks and then 32 points tonight against the Toronto Raptors!

Here’s the game winning shot he made against the Raptors!

Seriously. How amazing is that shot? He was NO WHERE NEAR the three point line!

Just wow!

It’s been one hell of a week! That’s for sure!

There IS a God!

And how do I know that? You may ask.

I know because the Clippers have lost 3 consecutive games in a row.

Boy is it a good day to be a Lakers fan.

We’re FINALLY winning for once.

And we’re about to beat the Utah Jazz.

Although I must admit, Dwight Howard looks like someone from Shakespearean times.

Look at his legs. He’s wearing, what seem to be, white tights.

Yes, they are athletic wear for his bull shit injuries or what have you but it’s still funny to see him hobbling around court looking like a jester of some sort.

But yes anyways, the Clippers have lost to the:

Golden State Warriors on the 21st,

Oklahoma City Thunder on the 22nd,

and the

Phoenix Suns on the 24th.

Boy has it been an awesome week.

Now we just need the Trailblazers to kick some serious Slop City ass and THIS girl will be ALL smiles!

For the GSW game all their shooting percentages were pretty low. They were missing a lot of 3’s and free throw shots.

Yes Chris Paul didn’t play against the Thunder but I doubt they would have won anyways.

And with Chris Paul still out for the Suns game, scores (and I’m guessing morale) just plummeted into the red zone. They’re field goal attempts and 3 point shots only averaged around 33-39%.

But I’m not complaining.

Every time Blake Griffin misses a free throw, an angel gets his wings.

I’ve been worried because I haven’t seen as many air balls from him but with only 2 out of 8 free throws made on Thursday, I don’t think I have much to be worried about anymore.

One little side note before I go though,

We were watching “Family Game Night” on TV because we had left the TV on the HUB channel and one of the prizes was for tickets to a Clippers game and the TV announcer introduced the prize as,

“You can win an L.A. Clippers VIP Experience! Where you can see such stars such as Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and…

LAMAR ODOM!”

HAHAHAHAHAHA. I swear that is what she said!

It was hilarious. It made my day, THAT’S for sure.

Ah~