The Core Junction

Okay folks, I’m not normally the one to write the movie reviews here at the Core, but last night I had the privilege of seeing Australia, and thought I would give it a shot for all of you wondering if it’s worth wasting your $8 or $12 on.

The simple answer is yes! While the high and dry critics might tell you otherwise, Australia (starring Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman) is a true adventure epic that successfully remains engaging and interesting throughout. While the story is relatively predictable at times, the combination of the authentic Australian cast and the integration of aboriginal culture make the movie a true success.

Hugh Jackman—who seems to impress me more and more these days whether he plays Peter Allen on Broadway in The Boy from Oz or Wolverine in the X-Men trilogy—delivers a truly stellar performance.

Furthermore, Nicole Kidman, who has been the focus of the largely negative reviews, transforms the dynamic character of Sarah Ashley and entices the viewer to love the character and her ideals (and I’ll admit that I am not the biggest Nicole Kidman fan). Read the rest

The spectacle has begun. We’ve seen the CEO’s of the American Big Three auto producers paraded before the Senate Banking Committee, hats in hand and individual corporate jets on the tarmac, begging to be saved. And what superhero do these corporate giants feel is obligated to save them from their self-inflicted plights? Who else in these troubled times but you, me and Joe the Plumber – the American tax payers.

These lords of industry have the audacity to demand that we give them a $25 billion bridge loan so that they will be able to continue their operations through the end of the year. That’s the end of this year, 2008. They need $25 billion to keep afloat for 40 days! What magic lamp do they plan to rub on January 1, 2009, to continue functioning? What secret plans do they have in place that will change the courses of these corporate behemoths in six weeks?

For years they have built shoddy products, failed to rationalize overlapping, redundant product lines, given only lip service to fuel efficiency, and staked all on building the bloated gas-guzzling dinosaurs that now rule our roads. Now that the credit comet has struck, their dinosaurs are on the road to extinction. Read the rest

People, do not ruin college football. I repeat, please do not ruin college football!

My name is Rahul Gupta, and I support the Bowl Championship Series. I’m part of rare breed; a breed that doesn’t speak up at times. When individuals do however, they sometimes sound quite foolish. That’s cool with me.

Let me make a couple of things clear: I’m not against a playoff format for college football. If it happens, great! I also see definite faults in the current system, the Bowl Championship Series, otherwise known as the BCS. (Some people like to refer to it by two letters only, but I think you catch my drift.) Lastly, I love Bowl Season more than any time of the sports calendar.

College football is quickly approaching that time of the year, where coaches, fans, and nuts like you and I restart the debate that is the core of all things college football: playoffs or no playoffs?

There is a playoff in college football right now if you haven’t noticed. It happens each and every week. There are elimination games in Southern California, Norman, Oklahoma, Lubbock, Texas, Austin, Texas, Iowa City, Iowa, Gainesville, Florida, and Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Each week, fans witness teams who understand the importance of every single game. They need to show up, just like anyone should day in and day out in their given task. Read the rest

Dear Friends,

Stocks, Stocks and more Stocks.

No I’m not talking about the economy in the US, I’m talking about a whole week in the kitchen just making stocks.

I spent a week learning how to make many different kinds of stocks, which are the bases of many soups and sauces. We learned White and Brown Stocks, as well as Beef, Veal, Chicken, Fish, and Vegetable Stocks. We also made Chicken consommé and a French Onion Soup. When it came time for me to season and taste the Chicken consommé it finally hit me that I had no clue how it was going to taste. Some how I seasoned it just fine even though I didn’t taste it. Now I know how hard it is going to be for me in the future making things I can’t eat.

During Thursday’s Culinary Theory Lecture we were introduced to Eggs 101. Read the rest

[As published in the Columbia Daily Spectator on November 19th, 2008]

Unfortunately for everyone involved, injuries are and continue to become a larger part of sports in general. Fans, executives, players, and coaches all learn to expect them, and learning to cope with injured players is an important process in building and maintaining a successful team.

Everyone can recall a season that was prematurely wrecked due to the injury of one or more key players (damn it Carlos Quentin!), and it is now common practice for executives to construct especially durable teams and formidable reserve players to cope with injury.

Fans have even become accustomed to anticipating injuries, and even the casual fan walks around with an understanding of the details of elbow tendinitis, a pulled groin, or shoulder tightness. And nobody can forget the dumb injuries that surface each season when players punch walls, jump after hitting long field goals, or even sneeze and throw out their backs (yes, Sammy Sosa, we remember). Read the rest

The world’s most suave and illustrious espionage agent is back in action for the 22^nd installment of the James Bond franchise, Quantum of Solace. By being a Bond, this film promises to pack action, romance, and a classic Bond atmosphere, but doesn’t happen to qualify as one of the better chapters in 007’s never-ending epoch.

Quantum picks up an hour after the conclusion of the last Bond movie, Casino Royale. Seeking revenge for the murder of his love Vesper Lynd, Bond (Daniel Craig) goes after a group called Quantum in order to prevent it from taking control of Bolivia’s water supply. Quantum recognizes water as the world’s most valuable resource and is determined to cause a countrywide drought and thus attain power. With the assistance of the beautiful Camille Montes (Olga Kurylenko)—who is after a vendetta of her own—007 begins to uncover the complex truth of the Quantum conspiracy.

The essentials of a classic Bond film are all present in Quantum of Solace. The story isn’t wholly original and has been tweaked from the template that is the backdrop of most sections in the series. The plot, though arguably convoluted, still fits the overall vibe of the film and is not the major factor for the faults in it. The most noticeable problem is that the gratuitous action sequences and barely adequate acting overall, blended with the half-decent plot, makes the movie sadly disappointing.

Nevertheless, the most important aspect of any 007 film was present and neutralizes the downsides of Quantum. I’m referring, obviously, to the actor playing Bond, Daniel Craig. Craig joins an elite list of Bond portrayals including Roger Moore, Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Timothy Dalton, David Niven, Barry Nelson, and most recently, Pierce Brosnan. In just his second adventure, Craig delivers an exceptionally majestic rendition of the charming Bond, James Bond.

The irresistible Craig, who debuted as 007 in Casino Royale, has topped his last performance and is definitely deserving of a place in the upper echelon of Bond actors. The only other notable performance is the charming Judi Dench who plays Bond’s feisty boss M. Dench, in her sixth Bond film, is as lovable and harsh as usual and continues to be an essential member to the otherwise ever-changing cast. Read the rest