Norkin suggested a movie, and after a rough night of drinking the night prior, nothing sounded better (We finally got our revenge on BYU!)

Hard Eight features an all-star cast including John C. Reilly, Gwyneth Paltrow, Samuel L. and even Philip Seymour Hoffman makes an appearance. The story begins with a random gentleman by the name of Syd (Philip Baker Hall) approaching a man who appears down on his luck and pouting outside of a local diner. Syd is an experienced gambler that made his living through the tables of Vegas. Little would John know, this encounter would change his life forever. Wouldn't you know it, poor Ryan just lost all of his money in Vegas.

Syd offers to help the unfortunate Ryan get back on his feet. Starting with a cup of coffee, then a ride, and eventually a whole new life. It's almost too good to be true...but if suspenseful movie lore holds true, there's more to all of this than meets the eye. As it turns out, Syd's appearance outside the diner wasn't random at all.

Overall, I'd say it was a decent selection. If you're looking for a movie that'll hold some interest, add it to your Netflix queue and check it out.

Also, on the off chance that someone knows...what's a good sky diving company near San Diego? Can't say I've done it before...not yet anyway. G

It's that time again. After cycling through the iPod - I needed an update.

I wanted something similar to Ratatat, but wasn't quite sure what to do about it. A quick search on Pandora or Last.FM could've done the trick, but to take it one step further Music Roamer adds the ability to play video on site and pair similar artists in a visually appealing display. Thank God for StumbleUpon for helpin' me out on this one.

Anyway - the site offers a simple, user friendly interface that makes music discovery quick and easy (enjoyable?). Music is a huge part of everything I do, so props to these guys for putting a great site together that allows me to spend less time searching, and more time listening. Check it out, and in the mean time think of something out of this world (but also feasible) for me to check out tomorrow. Until then - goodnight...

FoodGawker has got to be one of the most amazing sites I've ever seen. I mean, its like a cookbook that's been tested and rated hundreds of thousands of times!

Anyway, this recipe actually needed some prep work in advance...but I can attest to it's greatness (so can the other 5 that came by last night).

In a freezer bag, add the following:

• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/3 cup Dijon mustard
• 1 Tablespoon curry powder
• 4 Tablespoons soy sauce
• 4 chicken breasts

Once everything's in the bag, give it a good shake and put it in the fridge overnight to marinate.

--The next day--

Preheat your oven to 350, then toss those savory pieces of poultry in the oven in an ungreased pan, covered with foil. Bake for 1 hour.

After 1 hour, remove the foil and use some of the remaining marinade sauce to re-baste (I didn't do this...should've...but hey we live and we learn right?).  Assuming you take my advice, cook for another 10-15 minutes and you're golden.

Serve up with some steamed green beans and mashed potatoes for a well-rounded, easy to make chicken recipe that's sure to have your friends asking "when are you cooking again?!" Props to Kelly and her food blog for this one!

I got a suggestion from my roommate that I need to try somethin' crazy soon. Leave me some tips in the comments...and lets get wild!

Is your mouth watering yet? If not, it will be.

The ingenious folks at The Village Cook whipped up a dessert that I knew was sure to please the masses. Even better, these bite size bits of heaven can be made on the cheap and incredibly quick. Let's get to it.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup softened salted butter
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 (14oz) can of sweetened condensed milk
• 2 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
• 12 oz. Semi-Sweet chocolate chips

This could easily be one of my new culinary staples in the dessert department just because it requires almost no work, not even baking!

-In a mixing bowl, combine softened butter, brown sugar, vanilla extract, and condensed milk.

-Add in flour and mini chocolate chips, mixing until smooth

-Unless by divine miracle your dough is ready for rolling and dipping right out of the gate, refrigerate for an hour or so

--When you're ready, remove the dough from aforementioned refrigeration unit--

-Roll the dough into walnut sized balls, but you can go bigger if desired. Place on an ungreased baking sheet.

-Melt 12oz. semi-sweet chips & 1 tbs. butter in a microwave safe bowl, heating in 10 second intervals...stir constantly! your chocolate will 'seize up' if you get the chocolate too hot...aka RUINED chocolate ='[

-Once your dipping 'sauce' is good to go, you have a couple of options. I personally tried sticking the dough balls with a tooth pick and dipping, but since my chocolate wasn't as pliable (too much heating...but not ruined!), i just rolled it around in the bowl. It worked out just fine. Otherwise, add the dipping sauce to a freezer bag and shake up the cookie dough balls inside.

Once you've given your treats a good roll around, set them back on the cookie sheet or whatever you put them on.

The original recipe called for using some of the melted chocolate to make em look extra-awesome. Me...well I opted for a different path.

I took some cinnamon and dusted these bad boys for a nice bit of color and flavor, but the choice is yours.

In summary, this made a batch of about 30 small hand-grenades, not including ones that 'disappeared' in the process. Anyway, I don't expect these to last long because they taste so damn good!! Try these today and be sure to check back tomorrow for something extra tasty!

Today's New Thing? A new section to enlighten my readers. Check out the Daily Artist page for a new artist (music, art, etc.) DAILY! Try something new today, and leave me a suggestion for a new thing for tomorrow!

For those unfamiliar with the term, jailbreaking refers to a hack you can apply to your phone to truly unlock its potential. With that being said, it should also be noted that jailbreaking your phone can void its warranty with Apple (under the assumption your workin' with some piece of cellular hardware...the iPhone 4 in my case). In my opinion, being able to have access to thousands of apps for free, tethering, and GUI alterations greatly outweighs the low risk involved with this process...

This can seem extremely scary to do - but realistically, if you can follow the most basic of instructions then you can do it.

To jailbreak, simply follow these steps:
1.) Update your iTunes to the latest version
2.) Update your iOS to the latest version
3.) Download greenpois0n as your unlocking tool
4.) In iTunes, Sync your phone to backup all data and contacts in the event of a catastrophe (this won't happen if you follow along as I say)
5.) With your device still plugged in, run greenpois0n, follow instructions as dictated on screen
6.) When followed in the correct sequence, you'll see the jailbreak happen right before your eyes! Once it reads "Jailbreak Complete" you can disconnect your phone and launch the 'Loader' app that has been installed.
7.) Upon running the loader, Cydia will install on your device, which you can use to download all kinds of goodies like Winterboard to really customize your phone!

Jailbreaking is great if you really want to see what your phone can do. I did it so I can experience the finer points of Androids OS without making the huge leap (though I hear you can do this if you really wanted to...). Considering this was my first time, I was a bit scared of 'bricking' my phone and turning it into a paperweight, but after a ton of research I found it was highly unlikely such a thing could ever happen. If it does brick somehow, there's plenty of resources to get you back to normal, no harm done (see YouTube unbricking videos).


Anyway, I'm a happy camper now and glad to have branched out to expand my tech horizons (thanks LifeHacker!!). If you want the resource I used, check out this link for a video with the step-by-step process I described above. With the new look and functionality given to my phone being accomplished, I need something new to try tomorrow...give me some ideas in the comments!!

I'd heard mentions of this movie all over the place, in jokes, media, everywhere. So, I had to see for myself what all the hype was about.

Black Snake Moan is starred by Samuel L Jackson and Justin Timberlake among others (the later I could normally do without, but I digress). The plot of this film has Justin playing the roll of a boyfriend looking to provide a better life, starting in the Marines. Using the military as a way to pay for school and make an impact on his future, he leaves behind his girlfriend with the best intentions in mind.

His girlfriend, while trying to stay loyal to her boyfriend Ronnie (JT), can't control her urges for sexual contact. Being abused as a child, she is seemingly powerless to get down with any man with a working piece of equipment (if you catch my drift...). Once Ronnie has left the scene, bible-fearing Lazarus (Samuel L) comes into her life. In an attempt to save her from herself, he essentially enslaves her until she gets right.

Overall, this film was definitely something out of the ordinary. That being said, I found it enjoyable though not for a child's eyes! Check it out on Netflix or your local Redbox and see what everybody is (was) talking about.

I've been on a bit of a movie watching binge lately, but feel free to suggest new things for me to check out in the comments!

I got a late start on my new thing today, but it definitely held my interest...

Per recommendation of my buddy "Randy", we plugged the USB into the 360 and watched this Korean horror/thriller with all eyes glued on the TV.

A serial killer is on the loose, preying on women alone and defenseless. One of these women just so happens to be the wife of a secret agent, pregnant with his child. Upon seeing his dead and multilated wife, Byung-hun Lee takes it upon himself to exact revenge on this sadistic murderer.

The film itself is dubbed in horribly translated English subtitles, but that's not really an issue if you can read a situation. If you're a fan of the American "Kill Bill" series, then you'll love this (meaning if you like a lot of blood, gore, and otherwise graphic content, you'll find this right down your alley). Overall, I found this film to be extremely violent yet well produced by the folks across the Pacific. Bravo.

On to tomorrow, I'm thinkin' dessert is on the menu one of these days soon...

Remember that free lunch perk I mentioned awhile back? Good stuff I know, well sadly the food selection today wasn't all that my stomach was hoping for, thus the quest for a new dining spot was in motion.

Trying to figure out what sounded good, the mention of burgers seemed right down my alley. The tough part now was finding a place that 1.) I had never tried before and 2.) Finding a place that offered take out. The answer would be found at The Corner in East Village.

Reviewing the website beforehand, I had noticed dozens of comments claiming this place had the BEST burger in downtown. I needed to see for myself, so when I made the call I took the recommendation made by the hostess on the phone and ran with it.

I chose to order the popular BBQ burger w/tots (though the sweet potato fries are pretty tasty too apparently). If you like BBQ, you'll love this.

Start with a 1/2 pound slab of freshly ground beef, add a layer of gooey cheddar cheese, applewood smoked bacon, carmelized onions and top it off with the sauce...you'll love it. My stomach was definitely at capacity well before I could finish this bad boy off, but for those of you seeking an even larger bit of glorious grilled goodness, check out the 3LB burger challenge. A 3 pound burger w/6 slices of cheese, chili, and 2 eggs...if you finish it in under an hour its FREE!

In review, I think it's safe to say I'll be back...maybe on a Tuesday as suggested by the bartender (2 for 1 burgers, who can pass that up?!). Anyway, The Corner is a great* local spot in East Village that should not be skipped!

Leave me some suggestions for new things / places in the comments!

*On behalf of my tastebuds and their opinions...I'd put this place 2nd to Nicky Rotten's...but hey there can be 2 good burger spots right?

So a little while back I watched a documentary by world-renown street artist Banksy. The film documents several street artists and their varying types of 'art'. Among others was stenciling...intrigued by the idea and the chance to make something cool and of course...I'd never tried it before =). Let's get into it...

I watched a few YouTube clips on how to create stencils, and for the most part they all follow a similar routine:

-Pick your image

-Using the magic wand tool, strategically erase large chunks of the background

-Using the brush tool, erase further until your image is free and clear of the background (try to clean the edges neatly)

-Select the following sequence: Image > Adjustments > Threshold. Adjust until you have a good amount of contrast, but not much is needed.

-Clean up bits of the image that would make it look like a photocopy (not essential)

-Using the Filters tab, I simply selected a texturized background and turned the scaling up to 200%

Once you've completed the above steps, you should have something that looks like this! I've got much to learn in regards to photoshop, but hey it's a start right?

As far as starting new things are concerned...give me some project ideas or otherwise cool ideas in the comments!