Four Brothers

A kind-looking old lady is killed during the course of a robbery at a grocery store. It turns out that she has four adopted sons, two African-American and two European-American. The brothers set out to find out who killed their mother and to exact revenge. The plot is interesting and unexpected, so it's not like the regular revenge movie. There is a fair bit of violence, so if you're squeamish, stay away.

The movie is set in Detroit and is full of gun fighting (nothing like the old Westerns). You almost feel de-sensitised to the killings that take place. Was the writer trying to make a point about gang violence? I don't know.

This is not a must-see movie, but if you like revenge-action flicks, you might enjoy this one.

New CPR guidelines

From the Boston Globe:

The association's rules, the first update since less significant revisions five years ago, aim to make CPR easier to administer -- and to establish a more consistent flow of blood to the heart and brain in the minutes after a heart attack.

The guidelines represent the work of 380 international heart specialists who reviewed thousands of medical studies on cardiac arrest and resuscitation.

The biggest shift involves changing the ratio between heart compressions and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

Old guidelines called for rescuers to pump the chest 15 times and then blow into the mouth of the victim twice.

The new recommendations call for 30 chest compressions for every two breaths.

But the guidelines state that in the case of 911 calls placed by CPR novices, it is acceptable for emergency operators to provide instructions for chest compressions only.

More at Specialisits revamp CPR guidelines

For US-based readers

Vote for me in the next Presidential election. Just kidding, I'm not an American citizen and you'll probably vote for Ahh-nold anyway. After the constitution is changed of course.

In the meantime, go visit these sites.

In Bubble Wrap:

iBW is a site dedicated to giving you the opportunity to win FREE business related prizes. Each day (Monday to Friday) brings a new contest with new prizes for you to win. All prizes are business related whether it's the latest set of business books, nifty office supplies or advice from a business book author.

New offers are launched daily at 9 a.m. (Central Time) and run for 24 hours.

Did we mention that everything is sent in Bubble Wrap? What could be better than free prizes and an afternoon of bubble popping entertainment?

(Via Seth Godin)

Ever been on the phone trying to talk to a human and got an IVR? Here's an IVR Cheat Sheet to Find a Human. (Via Steve Rubel)

Toblog or not toblog

For all ye authors out there, here's something to chew on: The Author's Dilemma: To Blog or Not to Blog.

If you're a low-life reader (ha, the joke's on me) and want to read author's blogs, here's a link: The Best Author Blogs

(All this via Angela Booth's writing blog)

Distracted? Listen to this

Paul Ford, an editor for Harper's magazine, has a solution for avoiding the endless distractions a computer/net provides. He makes a couple of interesting points. It's only three minutes long, so go have a listen here. (Via 43 Folders)

Digg this

From the digg website (http://www.digg.com/)

Digg is a technology news website that employs non-hierarchical editorial control. With digg, users submit stories for review, but rather than allowing an editor to decide which stories go on the homepage, the users do.

It's a neat concept. Check out the website and if you want to know more, the FAQ (Via potpuree, albeit in the real world)

Things To Do Before You're 30

The TV/display near the ticket window at Inox reads: Things To Do Before Your 30. So does the ticket stub. This should have been an indication that the movie may not go as planned. The theme at Inox is red, there's red all over the place; even in the pissoir, pardon my French. The movie's English, as in, made in the UK.

TTDBYT is about a bunch of guys who play football (not American football) together every Sunday and their lives. We start off in the locker room with people having written (anonymously supposedly) about things that they want to do before they're 30. One thing that shows up on everyone's list is "Have a threesome".

It's pretty much all downhill from there, except for some parts where you laugh. The script fails because it's trying to do too many things at once. IMDB's plot outline for the movie reads: A smart, sexy and poignantly accurate comedy drama about a group of twenty-something friends desperately resisting the inevitable - adulthood and responsibility. It could've been but it isn't because the depth is missing. You come away with the feeling that none of the characters get enough time and that when you're starting to know a character, you're switched to watching another's story.

I was disappointed with the movie. As for going to a movie theatre to watch it, probably not worth it. Unless you have it on your list of "Things To Do Before You're 30".

Blogs blogs everywhere

Schneier on Security is a blog on security written by Bruce Schneier. He discusses computer security but he also discusses other security issues like airport security as well. Brilliant blog, worth a read. (I found out about this blog from Thoughts and Writings).

This next one is for all you Dilbert fans. It's called Dilbert's Blog and it's by a guy you may know, Scott Adams.

And, if you want more blog recommendations, you can check out the Technorati Popular Blogs (top 100) or the Blogrolling.com Hot 500.

Michael Crichton's speeches

I've always enjoyed reading Michael Crichton's books, both fiction and non-fiction. Favourite fiction book, if I had to pick, would have to be Jurassic Park, and non-fiction, without a doubt, Travels. I was also a big fan of ER, the popular TV series that he created.

What I hadn't realised is that Crichton is also a speaker and that he's so passionate about science and about the environment. He even gave testimony to the United State Senate a few days ago.

Crichton's speeches are remarkable because he explains science in a way that you and I can understand and he makes compelling arguments, which are interesting to read, and will cause you to think.

Enough already, go read Michael Crichton's speeches.

Flightplan

Disclaimer: I am a fan of Jodie Foster.

Flightplan is an interesting movie. It's a bit choppy in the beginning but is otherwise taut and doesn't really let up. The story, as you must've already read, is about a woman who loses her daughter on a flight from Berlin to New York. The problem is that nobody remembers seeing her daughter and nobody believes her. Is she delusional? Is she telling the truth? What happened to her daughter?

Though Namrata Joshi, the Outlook magazine movie reviewer, didn't like the movie much, I did. It's an entertaining movie and it's worth watching. Jodie Foster pulls off the role well and you're not sure if she's just an anxious mother or just delusional. Is it an Oscar-winning performance? Nope, but it's definitely believable.

The great part was getting a look at the aircraft, which looked simply superb. I'd like to travel in that aircraft.

The best page in the universe

He's on the Technorati list of top 100 blogs. He's got strong opinions, and pretty much destroys anything he doesn't like. His website/diary is called The Best Page In The Universe. I hesitated to use the word blog for his website because of this article.

It is a site worth checking out though: The Best Page In the Universe.

PS: Just a warning: Contains strong language.

Attack of the blogs

Here's an interesting article on the harm that bloggers can do with their blogs. It just goes to show that you have to take what you read on blogs with a grain of salt. Heck, even with the media, you have to be careful. As Spiderman's uncle says: With great power comes great responsibility.