Who Watches the Watchmen?
I did!
Saturday night, we finally saw Watchmen. I have to admit that from the previews leading up to the movie, I felt like it wasn’t going to be as great of a movie as everybody thought it would be. The special effects in the previews looked amazing, but the content of the previews didn’t make me think that it was going to live up to the hype.
I actually enjoyed this movie a lot more that I thought I would. I’m a big fan of movies that take events from the past and put an interesting spin to them or even give a new perspective of how the future would be if certain events were to occur differently. Even the opening credits were intriguing from placing the heroes in scenes that are recognized in pop culture.
The special effects were every bit as amazing as they were in the previews. Even though Mr. Manhattan was completely CG, the animation captured his character perfectly. The fight scenes were well choreographed and looked good on the big screen.
The choice of music fit the scenes very nicely. Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are A’Changin’” was a great pick for the opening credits that was a nice fit to the theme of the movie. “The Sounds of Silence” by Simon and Garfunkle was another great music choice for the funeral scene.
The development of John into Mr. Manhattan was well done from his happy physicist former life to his detached new life as an omnipotent and omniscient being. His understanding of time, space, and life made you feel little when it comes to the grand scheme of things. I really enjoy movies that have a deep, scientific philosophy. Night Owl II was also a nicely developed character. I personally enjoyed the fact that he was somewhat of an awkward, middle-aged geeky-type who comes back to fighting crime.
Overall, I think the movie was very well done for a movie about a graphic novel. A lot of people are saying how they didn’t like it, or that it was terrible. I think they need to watch it while remembering that it’s a movie about a graphic novel, and that the story and scenes are going to be different than the movie that people are accustomed to.
In my opinion, that’s why sci-fi and fantasy movie lovers get made fun of. The average movie-goer gets a certain impression of how movies should be, especially the middle school and high school crowd. I believe sci-fi and fantasy lovers want more out of their movies, and Watchmen gives us that.
My New Branded Site
I’m really bad a creating things and starting over from scratch when I don’t like the way it is going. Now that I have a site that actually has my name on it, I can keep it. I didn’t like the briansuggests idea. It sounded too much like a friend’s site, and I didn’t want it to sound like a rip off of his site. This will be my new home now.
The content also didn’t seem like it was going in the right direction to draw visitors and keep them interested. I’m going to start the content off in a direction that I think will be more interesting to my viewers.
There will be some material coming over from my old blog, but it will only be supplemental to the main content. I was considering writing a blog about a certain niche, but I like the idea of writing about anything and everything that I enjoy on one blog than managing several blogs on different topics. There are plenty of people who enjoy the same things I do. Maybe they will find some of the other things I enjoy interesting as well.
I have a lot of editing to do with the site, and there will be a lot of changes happening randomly as my free time permits. It is not much free time that I get from work, but what little I can get, I will use to update my site. Okay, not all of it. I do have a life that does not revolve around work or a site!
That being said, I hope you enjoy my content and come back on a regular basis!
How will your filled film house the apparent clause?
Personal Finances – February 2009
I made some more progress in reducing my debt this month, with even more reduction next month. My promotion to assistant manager is definitely helping me pay down my bills. My debt causes me a lot of stress. I am always wanting to pay it down as fast as I can, but still have some left over to invest. I am starting to get my future finances planned out a little better along with plans for the site.
There has been some significant negativity for my passive income generation. My savings account yield has been cut drastically in the past year from 5% down to 1.8% now. This year so far has seen a drop from over 3% to the 1.8% mentioned. With such a small yield on savings, I am forced to use it to pay off some of my debt instead. While that should be a priority before savings, since I have an 18% APR on my credit card, I really liked the idea of my money working for me. That’s my whole objective for my finances now! I guess I haven’t thought out my financial position completely, but this certainly helps me see things a little more clearly.
Cashing in my bonds last year to purchase my new car turned out to be a hindrance on my tax returns. I received around half of what I did last year, but what I did receive went towards paying down debt. Most people I know get their income tax check back and buy a new computer, television, or some other luxury item they have been wanting for a long time, but haven’t had the cash to make it happen. It is very tempting to do that too, but luckily I have some discipline to do what is better for me in the long run.
$1,880.62 Total Income
$1,800.00 Monthly Pay
$3.30 Checking Account
$1.01 Savings Account
$6.80 Dividends ($20.40 / qtr.)
$62.30 Prosper Loans
$1,229.47 Total Expenses
$188.00 School Loans
$192.00 Car Payment
$300.00 Food & Utilities
$100.00 Gas
$81.60 Cell Phone
$30.00 Entertainment
$116.90 Insurance
$32.97 Personal Loan
$88.00 Medical Bill
$751.15 Net Monthly Cash Flow
$80.62 Passive Income
7.14% Passive Income % of Expenses
$7,004.47 Total Assets
$989.51 Checking Account
$706.42 Savings
$54.45 Scottrade Account
$62.30 Prosper Account
$9.78 ChaCha Account
$2.98 Paypal Account
$96.82 OneSeason Account
$1,212.27 in Stock
$1,193.00 Loans to Friends
$1,914.97 Loans on Prosper
$27,213.83 Total Liabilities
$14,201.65 School Loans
$9,409.85 Car Loan
$2,314.89 Credit Card
$787.44 Prosper Loan
$500.00 Medical
Personal Finances – January 2009
Well, I am into my second month of keeping track of my personal finances online for the world to see. My last personal finances post said January as well, but that was for the beginning of the year. It now says start of 2009. My finances are going a little bit better in some areas and a little bit worse in others. Overall, I think my financial situation is starting to improve.
I didn’t mention in my other personal finances post that I moved in with my girlfriend on New Year’s Day. That is the reason why my finances took a small step backward as I now pay for half of the groceries and utilities. She is paying the mortgage since it was her house to begin with and I don’t want to take any of her money when she decides to sell the house. I go through the circulars looking for good deals on groceries, so we don’t end up spending too much more than we need to. In total, it adds around another $300 to my expenses per month.
At the end of last month, I turned 25! This is a big deal since it lowers my insurance by about 30%. I will now be paying almost $60 less per month on my insurance, which will make moving in a little more bearable financially. I was also promoted to assistant manager and given a raise at work. The credit card is getting paid down quicker than I was normally going to pay it down, so now I will be avoiding huge finance charges.
$1,780.21 Total Income
$1,700.00 Monthly Pay
$2.39 Checking Account
$1.51 Savings Account
$6.80 Dividends ($20.40 / qtr.)
$69.51 Prosper Loans
$1,229.47 Total Expenses
$188.00 School Loans
$192.00 Car Payment
$100.00 Credit Card Payment
$100.00 Gas
$81.60 Cell Phone
$30.00 Entertainment
$116.90 Insurance
$32.97 Personal Loan
$88.00 Medical Bill
$550.74 Net Monthly Cash Flow
$80.21 Passive Income
6.52% Passive Income % of Expenses
$6,865.26 Total Assets
$715.85 Checking Account
$605.21Savings
$54.45 Scottrade Account
$69.51 Prosper Account
$8.30 ChaCha Account
$2.98 Paypal Account
$96.82 OneSeason Account
$1,283.16 in Stock
$1,193.00 Loans to Friends
$1,954.71 Loans on Prosper
$27,342.35 Total Liabilities
$14,359.06 School Loans
$9,602.20 Car Loan
$2,567.10 Credit Card
$813.99 Prosper Loan
Personal Finances – Beginning 2009
Starting this year, I will be keeping track of my finances online. I have been keeping track of them in a spreadsheet for a year and a half and I feel like sharing my financial visions with my readers. Hopefully it will shed some light on the inner workings of my mind when it comes to money.
I am keeping track of my passive income and its percentage of my monthly expenses as well. Passive income is money that is generated without working for it. In other words, your money is working for you, instead of you working for your money. My short term goal is to get my passive income to equal my monthly expenses.
This will be my journey toward escaping the rat race and achieving financial freedom. Here are my totals beginning on January 1st of this new year 2009.
$1,695.74 Total Income
$1,600.00 Monthly Pay
$2.19 Checking Account
$1.01 Savings Account
$6.80 Dividends ($20.40 / qtr.)
$85.74 Prosper Loans
$968.93 Total Expenses
$188.00 School Loans
$192.00 Car Payment
$100.00 Credit Card Payment
$100.00 Gas
$81.60 Cell Phone
$15.00 Entertainment
$171.00 Insurance
$32.97 Personal Loan
$88.00 Medical Bill
$726.81 Net Monthly Cash Flow
$95.74 Passive Income
9.88% Passive Income % of Expenses
$6,981.44 Total Assets
$656.45 Checking Account
$403.96 Savings
$33.45 Scottrade Account
$0.00 Prosper Account
$7.70 ChaCha Account
$2.98 Paypal Account
$37.31 OneSeason Account
$1,500.42 in Stock
$1,193.00 Loans to Friends
$2,045.07 Loans on Prosper
$27,743.73 Total Liabilities
$14,498.31 School Loans
$9, 794.55 Car Loan
$2,611.80 Credit Card
$839.07 Prosper Loan
