80th Academy Awards Recap From Hollywood G.

Tonight was the glitziest night in Hollywood. The 80th Academy Awards took place, and it was a great show. The big winner was "No Country for Old Men", which took home 4 awards. The movie won Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, plus a Screenplay award. Yet, there were some big surprises. Tilda Swinton won Best Supporting Actress for her role in "Michael Clayton." She gave a great speech by thanking her agent and the cast of the movie. Another big surprise was Marion Cotillard winning for Best Actress in her role in "La Vie En Rose." She is a young, beautiful, talented actress from France. Other big winners were Daniel Day-Lewis for Best Actor for "There Will Be Blood", Javier Bardem for Best Supporting Actor for "No Country for Old Men", and Diablo Cody for Best Writing (Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen) for "Juno." The show's host Jon Stewart was a great choice. He was hilarious, and serious at odd times. Way to Go, Jon!

Tom Brady & Co. Stumped by Giants!

Well, the Super Bowl ended almost 3 hours ago. The Final Score: NY Giants 17, New England Patriots 14. It was one of the best games ever. Tom Brady and his team lost a great game. The Patriots were favored to win by more than 10 points. The spread was not covered, and some Las Vegas gamblers probably lost some money! It was a very even game towards the end, but the Giants pulled off "The Incredible Upset!" This game will go down in history as one of the best Super Bowl games ever! Here's a picture that sums it up:



In the end, the Giants defense was great at the right moments in the game. Super Bowl 42 was almost one of the lowest scoring games ever. Heck, it was the Patriots up 7-3 at the end of the 3rd quarter. In the end, the Giants spoiled the Patriots bid to go undefeated for the full year. History was made tonight in Glendale, Arizona. "The Incredible" did happen, and the giants stunned the world.

College Dropouts, College Graduates (Which One Are You)?

Well, people go to college to get a degree and to experience the College Scene. But, there are people who don't graduate. I can name at least six people who did not graduate from college, and they are very successful entrepreneurs. Here is the list:

1. Larry Ellison
2. Bill Gates
3. Michael Dell
4. Paul Allen
5. Steve Jobs
6. Mark Zuckerberg

Surprisingly, these entrepreneurs are all Info. Technology Moguls. You may recognize a few of the names, or all of them. This story is emphasizing that you don't have to graduate from college to be successful. On the other hand, I recommend getting a degree or two because it really helps you when hunting for that first job in the real world. Each one of these entrepreneurs from the list attended a university (like Harvard, University of Chicago, and University of Texas at Austin, etc.), but did not finish their degree. One reason is they had started the business plan for their future venture while in school. One final thought is what might have happened to these people if they did graduate from college. Who knows what "Other Business Ideas" may have come from these great, interesting minds? In case you wanted to know more about Mark Zuckerberg, check the link below. It's a good article.

Year in Review: 2007 recap, & thoughts on 2008

Well, there are only 2 more working weeks left in 2007! It's hard to believe that the year is almost coming to end! Heck, the decade is more than halfway over! It's that time when Time Magazine does their "Time Man of The Year" issue. It's also a time to focus on what took place in 2007. For G. Ripley, it was a year of experiencing some good & bad situations which trained him for the future. The good was mostly working in the IT industry for almost 90% of the year, checking out some cool things (wine tasting in Oregon, seeing Maria Sharapova play tennis in LA county, etc.), and making new & old connections sweeter! The bad was being out of the workforce for a short time, which later turned out to be a blessing in disguise. For 2008, it's about trying to live the Good life! Yet, it depends on what you call "The Good Life." Of course, that's a reference to the great Hip-Hop artist/producer, Kanye West. It's a great track by a renowned musical genius! Here are some final pictures of 2007.



That picture above is Maria Sharapova serving away at the East West Bank Classic. Here's a picture of some stingrays! G. Ripley fed some stingrays!

Two Reviews: American Gangster CD & Movie

Well, G. Ripley has a couple of reviews for his audience. First, G. checked out "American Gangster" at a movie theater. The movie is an incredible combination of great acting, spectacular cinematography, and tons of jaw-dropping action. It's worth the 157 minutes of run time. Second, G. Ripley bought Jay-Z's new cd, American Gangster. Shawn Carter is back with another great album. There are fifteen tracks on the cd, and G. thinks ten of them are solid. It's a must buy!

Great NY Collapses!

Well, this post is about sports teams collapsing in New York. It's not about the Empire State Building falling down or the NYSE crashing. First, let's talk about the NY Yankees. They lost in the AL Division Series to the Cleveland Indians, 3-1.

Heck, Joe Torre may lose his job. But, it's not the right move. Joe Torre should leave on his own accord. Let's hope that the Boss (aka George Steinbrenner) doesn't get rid of the perennial Torre. Next, the Knicks coach Isiah Thomas is found guilty of sexual harassment. David Stern should suspend the coach for the first five games of the year, for his ridiculous comments to a former MSG employee. Finally, the Dallas Cowboys beat the Buffalo Bills tonight in MNF. The bills lost by 1 point. The cowboys came from behind to win the game. The 'Boys were down 24 - 13, and they pulled off an incredible victory. Now, the Romo led Cowboys are undefeated. Romo had a really bad night, yet he shined in the end by throwing 11 out of 14 completions for two late dallas scores. On a side note, G. Ripley hopes that you like the images in this post. Last but not least, the stock market endured its last big crash in October 1987. It'll be 20 years later (at the end of this month), and a lot of financial upheavals have occurred in Wall Street since that day. The market is now past 14,000 on the DJIA, while the Nasdaq has seen some good trading days of late also. Finally, financial enthusiasts should pick up the latest book by Alan Greenspan. In his book, Alan criticizes the current president of the US and it's shocking. Long live Alan and G. Ripley is fortunate to have met you! Good night & Good luck!

Darth Federer wins another US Open title!

Well, the US Open is over as Roger Federer won his 4th consecutive men's title. He beat Novak Djokovic in a whirlwind three sets. In the first two sets, Novak had his chances to win. But, he could not make the most of his opportunities. Even though Maria Sharapova and Robert De Niro were in his corner, Novak could not register the victory. For Federer, it was another day at the office. He was dressed in all black, and his new nickname is "Darth Federer." He was splendid the past 2 weeks. As for the ladies, Justine Henin won her seventh grand slam title by beating Svetlana Kuznetsova. It was a lopsided victory for Justine. Now, with the grand slams done for 2007, the season ending championships is the last major even for both men & women. How quickly 2007 is coming to an end? Too fast for many people including myself.