Jonas Wepeel

Helio/Virgin sent me an Ocean 2. The Ocean 2 is basically the same as its predecessor with a few minor upgrades. The design is a bit sleeker and not as bloated as original.

The screen is noticably brighter and the keypad layout both in landscape and portrait mode is more tactile and responsive. The Ocean 2’s main key is also touch sensitive but i found it pretty worthless.  Aesthetics  aside, the software answers all the questions that dumbfounded the first generation Ocean user. The text messaging finally keeps up with 2009. Its no longer a one way street, now displaying what I have sent and the reply as a conversation. Pictures and video can be transerred from the 1gig built onboard memory to the external effortlessly. The 3mp camera is pretty basic, but not to shabby though I miss the flash that duals as a flashlight. Previous ocean users will be delighted to know that you can finally mulit-task….sort of. You can now play music in the background while texting or browsing the new tabbed broswer (but i go with opera anyways) without the halting of the media system. The speakers arent loud as I had wished but i can finally youtube in the car without having to strain to hear the audio. The Ocean 2 now has a dedicated media button to directly access your mp3 or videos, and a swtich to toggle to the silent/vibrate mode. All the buttons are backlit more vibrantly and the helio logo light up in red while charging then to blue when fully charged or in use.  These small minor changes in hard and software aren’t groundbreaking or won’t be enough to attract new customers but its nice for exsisting Helio members to have a phone that looks like it could actually belong in 2007. Yes, 2007 that was not a typo. The iphone set the bar pretty high leaving many companies in limbo.I know helio lost close to 100 billion dollars this past year, they were force to “merge” (buyout) with Virgin Mobile and their R&D is suffering, but come on guys you can do better. In the end, the Ocean 2 is what the orginal ocean should have been. But at an agressive monthly plan of $65 that includes 500 min, unlimited weekends,nights starting at 7, 3G internet and texting, this phone can’t be beat.

This past week we hit the road to eat the famed local pizzeria called Zachery’s.  This Zagat rated and now “Tony” approved restaurant is the possibly the closest thing people on the west coast will get to an authentic Chicago style deep dish pizza. We packed our bags, loaded the car and began our journey.

Our first stop? Tejon Ranch, pristine land of snow as far as the eye can see. We had to stop there to…..

Melt snow.

I insisted that we stop by Andersen’s. The home of the famed pea soup. Why?

because i was here years ago and never got to try it.

Our hotel in the heart of Tenderloin. Hotel Bijou. I thought i was gonna get syphilis just from looking at the walls. The room was 40 bucks a night and parking was 36 dollars a day…..what!?

The view of the bay from the cable car. Tim was amazed by the pointy building.

At fisherman’s wharf. Nothing special here…..

…..Except for this.

And this. Garlic clam chowder with garlic fries and fried prawns. excellent.

Crabs.

I think some of them were dead.

I was gonna buy some chocolate for the family, but i realized that a bag of eight pieces costs around 22 bucks. They sell the same at walgreens for 5 bucks.

We finally made it. The sole purpose of the trip. Everything else was a by-product of our desire to eat here. It was so good we had it twice.

The thin crust. O-mazing.

The coveted deep dish. Words cannot describe.

Me and Rich had about 12 slices. Tim only a measley 3 1/2. He is a lightweight.

This sums up the trip.

John Updike

March 18, 1932 – January 27, 2009

You had me at…uhh.

The Japanese say umbrella, like how they say banana.

Rich and I had to stop by fedex kinkos to print our tickets to see The Cure at the Carson Daly show. We were passing the vending machine and came cross this.

Now, two trains of thought came to mind. One, who were the who people who got jipped out of their aquafina and orange Gatorade. And second, who ever gets the water bottle above the two pinched drinks to knock them down would come up 2.50 worth of drinks. I had no change on me, so I don’t know the fate of those two drinks, but I know that my curiosity will haunt me for the rest of my life.

I don’t know how this guy still has a job. Truthfully, attending his taping was the first time I ever watched his show.

This man created possibly one of the best album known in contemporary music. If you don’t know DISINTEGRATION, go get it and thank me later. A living legend among his peers, music critics and 13 year old goth-emo girls around the world. I was so inspired by him I wrote a haiku in my writing class a few years back. It went like this “Disintegration, best album ever, thank you Robert Smith.” My Professor said that it didn’t contain imagery depicting nature, one key aspect of haiku (yes, its plural). I said obviously your mistaken, you haven’t seen the face behind the album. The sun rises and sets in his eyes.

edit: With my special deductive logic skills, I have concluded that the guy tried to get the orange gatorade, was trying to knock it down by getting the aquafina above. Poor guy, spent all his money on paper copies, and a failed attempt to quench his thirst.

I don’t usually drink soda, but from time to time, I crave an ice cold Coke. I was rummaging through the aisle looking for Zero, and came across Red Bull Cola. Verdict? Surprising good. It like Coke’s younger, hotter hippy sister. Clean and less abrasive going down.

My roommate’s mom makes one mean watermelon beverage. One time, we tried to fashion the drink on our own…it took about an hour and half, and the kitchen looked like we set off a couple m80s in a watermelon patch. But luckily my friends at NAKED JUICE, came up with this concoction.

Keeping with the true essence of the Naked Brand bottled juices, they crammed about half a dozen watermelons in one bottle. In a scale of 1 to 10, its a certified 20. YEAH! How good can it be you ask? Picture this. You step foot outside, and its a bright sunny day not a cloud in the sky, but there is a nice cross breeze keeping things at a gentle 78 degrees. You smile knowing its going to a wonderful day. Now, imagine getting that feeling after every sip of this goodness. That’s how good it is.

I finally had a chance to really sink my teeth into this album. 808s and Heartbreak. Just as the title implies, the album is filled with beats from a Roland 808, and whole lotta heartbreak. I admit, the auto-tone vocals gets pretty old, pretty quickly, but don’t let that deter you from hearing what he has to say. It features a man who owns everything but has nothing. This is as open and genuine to a side of Mr. West I’ve been exposed to. The (rare) humility in his song writing gives him greater depth, making me forget momentarily the kind of pompous jag, he usually tends to be.

Kanye is good, but Stevie was better.

Stevie using a talk box, covering the Carpenters.

Here a new take on an old concept.