Belfast: Part 1

Can't Wait

My idea of a perfect night: An Italian Dinner and Flight of the Conchords

I saw Wall-E's friend at Kmart

Belfast here I come!

I got all the equipment today. It's feels like Christmas!

St. Patty's Day

Go Matadors!

CSUN made it to the tournie!

The only Californian to attend a NJ Devils Game

NYC Bound

It's done! is one of the "Things People Say"

It's done. I finished sound design today and our colorist should be finished by tomorrow. whoopee!

Recent Viloence in Belfast UPDATE

Real IRA 'claims killing of British soldiers' in N Ireland



A dissident republican group opposed to the Northern Ireland peace process apparently said Sunday it shot dead two British soldiers at an army base, the first such killing in 12 years.

A man who said he was from the Real IRA claimed responsibility for Saturday night's attack at the Massereene barracks northwest of Belfast in a phone call to a newspaper using a recognised code word.

The soldiers, who were set to deploy to Afghanistan Sunday, were killed when two masked gunmen pulled up outside their barracks as a pizza delivery car arrived and fired two long bursts of automatic gunfire before fleeing.

The attack has raised fears that sectarian violence could return to Northern Ireland, which has seen relative peace since 30 years of sectarian unrest which cost some 3,000 lives was largely ended with a 1998 peace accord.

Figures from all parties vowed the shootings, which also wounded four, would not shake the political system put in place as part of the peace process.

Northern Ireland is a British province ruled by a devolved power-sharing government of Protestant and Catholic former foes.

Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness of Sinn Fein, the main republican Catholic party and ex-political wing of the now-defunct Irish Republican Army (IRA) paramilitaries, said the days of conflict "can never come back again".

"I was a member of the IRA but that war is over now," he said. "The people responsible for last night's incident are clearly signalling that they want to resume or restart that war. Well, I deny their right to do that."

First Minister Peter Robinson, of the Protestant Democratic Unionists, added that the killers had "no prospect of success in their campaign".

And British Prime Minister Gordon Brown vowed: "No murderer will be able to derail (the) peace process."

However, officials will be deeply concerned by the prospect that the Real IRA -- an IRA splinter group formed in 1997 to oppose Sinn Fein's role in the peace process -- is behind the attack.

The group was responsible for Northern Ireland's single biggest attack, the 1998 Omagh bombing which killed 29 people.

Suzanne Breen, a reporter with the Irish Sunday Tribune newspaper, said she received a telephone call Sunday evening from a man using an "authorised code word" who said he made "no apology" for attacking the soldiers.

"A man who said he was a representative of the South Antrim Brigade of the Real IRA claimed responsibility for the attack," Breen told BBC television.

Police are hunting three men involved in the attack -- two gunmen and a getaway driver. There are reportedly up to 300 dissident republicans active in Northern Ireland.

A senior security source told AFP the shooting was a professional one which marked a "step change" in the extremist threat.

The incident came 36 hours after Northern Ireland's police chief Hugh Orde revealed that a small number of undercover British commandos had been called in to monitor dissident republicans.

"This is a normal place which has a tiny number of people determined to drag us back to a place where no-one wants to be," said Orde, who said the security threat today was at its highest in the seven years he has been in charge.

Two other soldiers were also wounded as well as two pizza delivery men. Three are in hospital in serious condition and the fourth was listed as critical. One of the injured is thought to be a Polish national.

Detective Superintendent Derek Williamson, who is investigating the case, called it "an attempt at mass murder".

Violence in Northern Ireland largely ended with the signing of the Good Friday accords in 1998, amid hopes that power-sharing between Protestants, who favour ongoing union with Britain, and Republicans who prefer unification with Ireland, would finally stop sectarianism.

In an editorial Monday, the Independent newspaper said the attack was designed to prompt a security crackdown in Northern Ireland and therefore increase support for dissident republicanism.

But it added: "The likelihood is that the broader peace process will hold. The mainstream political parties of Northern Ireland have too much invested to allow it to be derailed by such attacks."

link to the story

Recent Violence in Belfast :-/

Heard about this on the news today. I'll be there in roughly two weeks. Kind of crazy...



Two men, understood to be soldiers, have been killed in a drive-by shooting at a British Army barracks in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Four other men were injured in the attack, when shots were fired from a passing car at the Massereene Army base in County Antrim, north of Belfast.

Two were thought to be military personnel and the others civilians.

The attack happened at around 9.20pm on Saturday night.

A spokesman for the Police Service of Northern Ireland, said: "We can confirm that an attack has been carried out in Massereene in Antrim.

"There have been two fatalities. It is understood that those two fatalities are male.

"It is also understood that a further four males have been brought to hospital and are in a serious condition."

A spokesman for the Antrim Area Hospital said: “There have been six people brought in with injuries.”

The shooting follows warnings last week by Sir Hugh Orde, Northern Ireland’s police chief, that the threat of a serious terror attack in Northern Ireland was higher than at any time since he joined the force seven years ago.

An Army special forces squad is mounting a round-the-clock surveillance operation on dissident republicans intent in Northern Ireland.

It is understood there were two long busts of gunfire. Immediately afterwards, sirens could be heard blaring inside the military barracks, which is located on the edge of the town.

At least six ambulances and three paramedic vehicles rushed to the scene to take the injured to hospital.

The area around the barracks has been sealed off and a major security operation is under way. Nobody has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.

One witness who lives near the base told how he looked to the sky after hearing what he thought were fireworks.

He added: “Then I heard a lot of loud bangs again, only it was a lot more than there was initially - maybe between 10 and 20.

“Then the siren at the Army barracks went off. Then all you heard was the police sirens and ambulances and there was at least six ambulances.

“There was definitely six of the ambulances and God knows how many police cars - they just came out of the police station one after the other.”

link to story

Go Noodles!!!!!

At least we have cool jerseys :)

Geek Post

As I was standing in line at Fry's feeling geek ecstatic about my new 1.5 tera byte hard drive my attention was drawn to this item... It officially made me thankful that I'm not that big of a nerd.

Gamer potion energy drinks = ultimate geek status

P.S. The drive was only $125! Amazing!

Fresh Prince of Bel Air House

Last night I was in the middle of Bel Air helping Tiff with her broken down car when all of a sudden a SUV filled with GERMANS pulls up.
They ask me in their evil accents, "Do you know where the Fresh Prince House is, duh?"
Me - "Sorry, evil Nazi killing machines I have no idea where it's at"
Germans - "duh, The house in Fresh Prince??, duh"
Me - "yeah I know what you're talking about, I just don't know where it's at."
Germans - "duh, you not watch the television show, Fresh Prince of Bel Air? Will Smith?, duh"
Me - "yeah, I watched it, I just haven't been to the home"
Germans - "duh, you know, but don't know where it's at, duh"
Me - "I've never been there, never really thought about looking for it"
The Germans looked puzzled as if the house is an US national monument. They look at each other and then speed off without saying goodbye. I just shook my head and realized I shouldn't have expected a goodbye. I was messing with...GERMANS!!!

P.S. Speaking of Germans, The German and I are going to see The Watchmen tonight at 10:30!!!! I can't wait.

P.P.S. Last night I watched, "Shall We Kiss?" I liked it. Go watch it!

Team Noodles

The rec basketball team I'm on, The Noodles, had its first game tonight. Final Score 52 to 17. We had 17 points. haha, I know. Despite the score, I still had a blast pretending to be Steve Nash/ Kobe Bryant and then enjoying a $5 foot long at Subway after the game. All that was missing was orange slices and scoring. I've never been on a basketball team that needs me to be a primary scorer. This is new territory indeed. Usually I'm the white energetic defensive guy who hustles and shoots open jumpers. Now I'm the white guy who gets double teamed and has to pass the ball to someone else. I better call CP3 and ask for some advice. Oh Santa Monica Recreational League...

Jellybeans are deadly

Can someone please remind me to never buy a bag of jellybeans again? If candy is within reach it gets devoured. I ate a whole bag today. A whole bag of jellybeans. Really John, really? why? :-/ Should I even eat dinner now? My stomach is filled with jellybeans, A jelly belly! (pun)

The Kindle

I was playing with The German's Kindle at dinner last night. It's cool, but I'm not sure I would want to replace this with a book. I guess it makes sense for text books and new paper subscriptions. We shall see what the future beholds... 5 years, right Germie?

Happy Birthday

Everything is amazing, nobody is happy...