Daily Archives: June 18, 2008

Bangkok Dangerous

A new clip for Bangkok Dangerous was recently released by Lionsgate. There is a cool scene at the end where bullets travel underwater. Directors The Pang Brothers (The Eye) paint an explosive picture of the Bangkok underworld, illuminated with neon and saturated in violence. From a screenplay by Jason Richman, BANGKOK DANGEROUS is based on the Pang Brothers’ wildly popular Hong Kong action film of the same name. Bangkok Dangerous comes to theaters on September 5.

Bangkok Dangerous synopsis

An adrenaline-charged action thriller, Lionsgate’s BANKGOK DANGEROUS stars Nicolas Cage (LEAVING LAS VEGAS, NATIONAL TREASURE) as “Joe,” an anonymous assassin takes an unexpected turn when he travels to Thailand to complete a series of contract killings. Joe (Nicolas Cage), a remorseless hitman, is in Bangkok to execute four enemies of a ruthless crime boss named Surat. He hires Kong (Shahkrit Yamnarm), a street punk and pickpocket, to run errands for him with the intention of covering his tracks by killing him at the end of the assignment. Strangely, Joe, the ultimate lone wolf, finds himself mentoring the young man instead whilst simultaneously being drawn into a tentative romance with a local shop girl. As he falls further under the sway of Bangkok’s intoxicating beauty, Joe begins to question his isolated existence and let down his guard …just as Surat decides it’s time to clean house.

Bangkok Dangerous chase scene

(Warning!! this clip is Rated R for violence and gore)

Tiger Woods out for 2008 season

Tiger Woods to undergo reconstructive knee surgery and miss the remainder of the 2008 season.

Just days after winning the 2008 U.S. Open in a dramatic sudden-death playoff, Tiger Woods announced that he will be forced to undergo reconstructive Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) surgery on his left knee and will miss the remainder of the PGA TOUR season.

In addition to the knee surgery, Woods will require the time off to rehabilitate a double stress fracture of his left tibia that was discovered last month just prior to the Memorial Tournament. The stress fractures were attributed to Woods’ intense rehabilitation and preparations for the U.S. Open. Doctors have assured Woods that the stress fractures will heal with time.

“I know much was made of my knee throughout the last week, and it was important to me that I disclose my condition publicly at an appropriate time. I wanted to be very respectful of the USGA and their incredibly hard work, and make sure the focus was on the U.S. Open,” said Woods. “Now, it is clear that the right thing to do is to listen to my doctors, follow through with this surgery, and focus my attention on rehabilitating my knee.”

A date for the knee surgery, as well as the necessary rehabilitation schedule, has not yet been determined.

Watch breaking news of Tiger Woods knee surgery.

Cup Stacking and Rubik’s cube on the Early Show

Bigger. Faster. Stronger.

Today, the Early Show covers the topic of faster with cup stacking and rubik’s cube solving. World Champion sport stacker Steve Purugganan and the Rubik’s Cube solving brothers Toby and Tyson Mao showed their skills on live TV.

Steve Purugganan pulled out a 1.94 seconds (World record 1.86 seconds) on the 3-3-3 sport stacking on live national tv. He did it again on the 3-6-3 by breaking the world record with 2.31 seconds (world’s record 2.34 second). Both World records are held by Steve Purugganan.


For the Rubik’s cube, Toby Mao was the former record holder for speedcubing, while Tyson Mao holds the record for solving the Rubik’s cube blind folded. Toby Mao solved the Rubik’s cube in a flash. Tyson Mao got messed up by host Harry Smith. (BTW – This is the same Tyson Mao from Beauty and the Geek 2.) The pair also taught Will Smith to solve the Rubik’s cube for the movie “The Pursuit of Happyness”.

Watch Steve Purugganan, Toby Mao, and Tyson Mao on the Early Show

Gay marriage – Helen Zia and George Takei

Last month, the California Supreme Court said denying gay and lesbian couples the right to marry each other violated the state constitution. The decision was a close 4-3 vote. The ruling made California one of just two states, along with Massachusetts, that grant the same rights to same-sex couples as opposite-sex couples. Yesterday was the first day for gay marriage in California.

In Northern California, Writer & activist Helen Zia, 55, and her partner, Lia Shigemura, 50, got hitched. The pair sang “The Chapel of Love” as they walked to the city attorney’s office to get married. The couple was also on the home page of the NYTimes briefly as well.

Meanwhile, in Southern California, actor and gay rights activist George Takei, 71, and his longtime partner Brad Altman, 54, got their marriage license. They’re planning a September 14th wedding in Los Angeles. The whole crew from the original Star Trek is expected to attend except William Shatner. The wedding will take place at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles.

While all this celebration is happening, all this can be overturned on the November ballot when the people of California will vote on a state constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. Eight years ago, 61 percent of California voters approved the 2000 marriage ban, while only 52 percent of voters told pollsters they favored the proposition. While Californians may respond with politically correct answers, their true beliefs are shown at the ballot box.

Here’s the proposed California Constitutional Amendment

LIMIT ON MARRIAGE. CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT.
Amends the California Constitution to provide that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local government: The measure would have no fiscal effect on state or local governments. This is because there would be no change to the manner in which marriages are currently recognized by the state. (Initiative 07-0068.)

If you live in California, vote your true beliefs at the ballot box.

Helen Zia and Lia Shigemura getting married

George Takei and Brad Altman first in line to get a marriage license in West Hollywood