Upgrading XBMC

I'm kind of old-school, so when I say XBMC, I mean XBMC for Xbox. Been a while since played around with XBMC. When v3.0.1 came out, I decided to upgrade my system.

Halfway through the ftp transfer, XBMC hanged. Next time I ran XBMC, it wouldn't boot anymore. Uh, oh. Fortunately for me, first boot is actually Evolution-X before running XBMC as an app, hence I was still able to restart the ftp process. This time, I was able to boot XBMC, but no text on all of the menus. Quick search of the forums point to an unsuccessful upgrade. XBMC was running while files were being transferred, so the skins weren't upgraded.

Solution here is to make a backup of UserData, delete the whole xbmc folder, copy over new xbmc folder, then restore UserData. Worked.

Movie 2011.05.24 - Eagle vs. Shark

Quirky romcom from NZ about two socially-awkward-inept geeks finding love and meaning in their lives. I like my quirky movies, but this one is too quirky for me.

Movie is centered on Jarrod gearing up to fight his high school bully Eric, who made life hell for him. Lily works in a fast food outlet, and she has a crush on Jarrod. They got on quite nicely until Jarrod decides to dump her, and goes after his dead brother's fiance.

So Jarrod shows up on the school yard with his family and friends only to discover that Eric is actually paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair. Doesn't matter. He starts to beat Eric (and himself) with nunchucks, but Eric managed to wrestle and pin him to the ground. Jarrod got depressed because of this, and Lily reconciles with him.

Audiobook 2011.05.20 - Why Evil Exists

The Great Courses lecture series by the esteemed Prof. Charles Mathewes. I had really high hopes for this one, but was really let down. I was so disappointed that I didn't even finish the series. Basically, it's the way the professor delivers his lecture. All I want to know is why evil exists. Prof. Mathewes' lecture runs the gamut from ancient literature to present philosophies, analyzing the concepts of evil, the definitions of evil, how and why evil exists, how different philosophers perceive evil, etc. He covers Satan, Dante, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Montaigne, Pascal, Milton, Kant, Hegel, Marx, Nietzsche, Dostoevsky, Conrad, Freud, Camus, Arendt, etc. Sometimes I have the feeling that not all these guys have anything to do with evil. Our professor just wants to show off the depth and breadth of his knowledge. And he spouts lots of high-falluting words that even I have never heard of. I seriously doubt if some of those words are in the dictionary, and he's just making them up as we go along.

For every series, Prof. Mathewes starts off with a new philosopher, gives a short biography, how great and/or profound he was, what was his greatest work(s), his signature philosphy, a few anecdotes here and there. Then, he somehow associates that philosophy to the study of evil. Then, he moves on to the next philospher. All throughtout, he talks as if he knows all these philosophers personally. Mr. So and So wants believes that..., Mr. So and So thinks that..., Mr. So and So wants us to know that... Heck, he even knows what Satan is thinking. Seriously.

I've been waiting for so long for the final punchline as to why evil exists that I gave up halfway.

Movie 2011.05.09 - A Woman, a Gun, and a Noodle Shop

Had no idea this movie is directed by Zhang Yimou. And that it's an adaptation of the Coen Brothers' Blood Simple. The only reason I watched the movie is because I found the title interesting. What would a woman in a noodle shop do with a gun? I was not disappointed - interesting plot, colourful characters, breathtaking landscapes.

Turns out the woman is married to an abusive husband who bought her for 3 guan and 800 wen. She is having an affair with one of the noodle shop staff. A Persian arms dealer is in town and she buys a gun from him for 3 guan. The husband suspects the affair and bribes the chief police investigator with 15 guan to "salvage" them.

Now this is where the plot becomes interesting. Did the police investigator really plan to kill the couple, or was he just after the husband's money? Was the wife and the shop intern really having an affair? Watch the movie and find out.

Movie 2011.05.07 - The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters

Movie is about a bunch of nerds trying to set world records for arcade games. Wife got bored during the first few minutes, but I quite liked the movie. Sure, it's a low-budget film, but it's got heart.

There's this Billy, who has been the godfather of Donkey Kong for almost 25 years. Heck, he even has goons working for him. Then, this new guy Steve practices on his personal arcade machine in his basement garage while unemployed. He breaks Billy's record, but the authorities (Twin Galaxies) is unwilling to acknowledge it, insinuating that the circuit boards might have been tampered with. So Steve goes to the annual Funspot tournament. Despite repeated request, Billy doesn't show up. Steve goes on to break the record with a live score. Billy then furnishes Twin Galaxies with a scratchy VHS tape showing him going beyond the new record set by Steve. Twin Galaxies declares Billy as the record holder. How's that for hypocrisy?

I won't tell you how the movie ends. It's not really about some arcade game, it's actually about life. It's about righting a wrong. It's about setting a goal, and achieving it against all odds. It's about knowing when to admit you're wrong and take it like a man.