Hero Material and I got a couple of vouchers for free movie tickets that expire this month, so we decided to check out Yes Man. (Yeah, it just hit the theaters in Japan…)

The movie was actually better than I expected and quite funny. The only part that made me cringe was when Jim Carrey tried to speak Korean to the bridal shower girl. O.M.G. I actually thought he was trying to speak English Korean fusion language or something because it was that bad. (FYI — The shop girl's Korean was fine.)

BTW — I saw the trailer for Happy Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. It's coming out in Japan on July 17, two days after the U.S. release. But I'm going to be in the States this summer, so I can watch it with my friends and Hero Material on July 15. W00t!!!!!

I got to watch it today since it just hit the big theaters here. (Yes, the price I pay for living in Japan…!)

Quantum of Solace is a fantastic Bond flick. I loved it. I know some people complained about Bond being too dark and/or the character development relying too much on what happened in Casino Royale. But I always thought the lack of continuity and Bond's development were weaknesses rather than strengths of the franchise; there's something very callous about him not caring about all those dead Bond girls, etc. So I didn't mind that Vesper's death played a significant role in Bond's character in Quantum of Solace. As a matter of fact, I thought it deepened the movie and Bond as a character. Besides, the kind of work he does is dirty and not supposed to be light and fun. Read Fleming's novels; Bond might be a playboy, but there are other, dark sides to him too.

BTW — the theater had some technical difficulties, and the movie had to be stopped in the middle for about three minutes. For the inconvenience (for which they apologized in person four times), they gave everyone a voucher for a free movie ticket valid until April 30. We can choose any film we want. W00t! :) I think I'll save it for a reward day.

I think Shiro's pregnant. Shiro and Kuro didn't mate on Thursday, like they were supposed to if Shira had been ovulating. Also they've been hoarding a ton of food, even though I always give them plenty to eat. Hero Material is absolutely thrilled that we're going to have baby hamsters. My feelings are a bit mixed. It was a bit weird to work on my sex demon romance synopsis on Sunday while Shiro and Kuro were…er…doing it. But the idea of babies…!

I need to do some research on how to take care of pregnant hamsters.

Last night, I was stunned to read that Citi is looking to sell off its assets and/or entire operation. I remember how flush and confident Citi bankers were when I was interviewing for my first job out of college. (I was applying to be an investment banker, but I ended up as a management consultant instead.)

Interestingly enough Ford and GM are selling and/or getting rid of some of their corporate jets after the House hearing. I guess Ford and GM felt very bad after the harsh words re: their extravagances despite their “liquidity” problems. Business Week had a more balanced view on this. I have to agree with some of the points made in there. Commercial airlines really suck, in terms of service and reliability. You can never know if your flight's leaving on time or not. The worst are the U.S.-based airlines. Per Japanese businessmen I know, Northwest first class is worse than ANA coach. (I have no idea since I've never used Northwest.)

BTW — Hero Material and I tried to watch Revolver. Tried because t was the most horrible movie ever. We just gave up. The protagonist's motivation was very weird, actions bad (meaning they made me yawn with boredom), plot nonexistent, and too many stupid people doing random things. Yawn.

Finally — Lovely Debora gave me a “I Love Your Blog” award. Thanks, DD! :)

Now…I pass it along to: PBWriter and Plot Monkeys. It's sad, but that's all I have because the rest is all industry and/or finance-related blogs.