Review: The Invention of Lying (2009)
Somehow, 2009's The Invention of Lying managed to fly under my radar when it came out, so this is my original viewing and not a rewatch.
In it, humanity is unable to lie. There isn't even a word for telling a falsehood. Movies are documentaries, advertising is honest, and your date tells you upfront the they're not attacted to you so you're probably not getting lucky. Suddenly, a character played by Ricky Gervais discovered that he has the ability to lie, and his bank just trusts him and assumes their system is in error when he withdraws more than what is in his account in order to pay his rent.
The brutal honesty up until that point, and leading up to it, is absolutely both messed up and hilarious as the same time. And the movie is great until sometime around this point.
When his mother is dying, and is afraid, he basically invents religion, the afterlife, and all that. He becomes wealthy as a result, and the movie slowly slides into the "money can't buy happiness" trope, but I don't think it ever actually made it all the way there. It seems more of a critisism of religion by that point, and while some of the jabs at apologetics are humorous, it's no longer nearly as laugh-out-loud funny. And there are some touching moments as well because, despite their continued inability to lie, the other characters do manage to show some growth.
This one is worth the watch, espcially the first half or so. I'm not sure I am likely to revisit it, though, unless I forget I've seen it and decide to check it out again at a future date. It's just kind of the sort of movie that is enjoyable enough but forgettable at the same time.
Tags: reviews, movies, the-invention-of-lyinng
Rewatch: Hiding Out (1987)
I just finished another 80's movie rewatch that I remember watching as a teen. This is the first time I've Hiding Out in decades. The quick summary is that a stockbroker is a whitness in a case against a mobster and has to go into hiding. He winds up at a highschool, where the administration mistakes him as a student, so he enrolls. Hilarily ensues.
It's a simple premise (actually, both... Person hiding from mobster and adult in high school) but it still works. It's funny, and it has touching parts as well. Overall, worth rewatching.
Tags: rewatch, movies, hiding-out
Motorcycle
I've been posting quite a bit over on Facebook about my new motorcycle. It's a cheap Chinese clone of a Ninja, but only 125cc. Had 0 miles on it when I
received it, but needed set up and adjusted. I'm still in that process, and then I have to get the VIN inspected in order to get it titled. Hopefully I
can get that done within the 45 days the temp tags are valid for.
UPDATES:
I currently have about 115 miles on the bike and thought I'd post some updates.
First, the stock carb sucks, which I was aware of before I made my purchase. The issue is that the air/fuel mixture screw is completely blocked off. You only have the idle adjustment screw. The pilot and main jets are not able to be changed either. This created an issue where I needed to use full choke in order to get it to run well. If I adjusted the idle properly, then the engine would bog at cruising RPMs, making it impossible to reach a speed over 45 mph. So I went ahead an installed a Nibbi PE22 Carburetor and 48mm open air filter. This left two hoses from the removed airbox dangling. One is the crankcase breather hose and one is part of the PAIR (similar to EGR, and part of emissions control) system. The crankcase breather hose is important to keep open, but also you don't want dirt entering this way. So I ordered a small air filter to prevent this. The other hose needs removed or blocked off, so I removed it and used a steel washer and high-temp JB Weld to cover the remaining hole.
I also decided to upgrade from the 14-tooth front sprocket which comes stock to a 17-tooth sprocket. This resulted in the chain being slightly to short, so I ordered a 130 link, heavy duty replacement. This will give me slightly more top-end speed at the cost of low-end torque, but the Nibbi carb should help with that as well.The stock mirrors kinda suck, so I went through a couple of replacements before landing on these mirrors. The are perfect for this bike and give you a wider view of the road behind you than the stock ones did.
Finally, a couple of minor upgrades I did was a magnetic oil plug and an anti-skid kickstand pad. I picked up some which you just throw down on the ground as well, but I like the idea of a permanent one, as I know me and I will be forgetting the other ones contantly. ;)
After the break-in period is done, there is another upgrade I plan on doing. I plan on adding an engine oil cooler to help extend the life of the engine by lowering operating temps.
One modification that has been recommended is to replace the complete exhaust system with a high-flow exhaust system to take better advantage of the new carb. I guess the stock header pipe restricts flow, so even cutting the stock muffler and replacing it with a high-flow slip-on one won't improve performance much. This one is less important to me because, while the mods I've done and have planned improve performance, they also improve reliability so that the cheap Chinese bike lasts a good, long while. I may eventually do the exhaust later if I decide I need to get a little more performance out of this little 125cc engine, but it is certainly not a priority at this time.
Also note: none of the links are affiliate links. They are links to what I've bought so far and have been happy with.
Oh. One last link. I had heard the stock sparkplug sucked, so I replaced it with this one before ever starting the bike up.
Tags: motorcycle, x-pro, bd125-11, ninja, 125cc
Mathias paternal line
As promised, here is the paternal line from my mother's side:
- Ludwid (Louis) Metz (1476-????) France
- Georges Metz (1505-1570) France
- Johannes Wolfgang Mattias Metz (1550-1584 France
- George Metz Matthias (1575-1627) France
- William Claus Metz Mathias (1616-1685) France
- Abraham Claus Matheiss (1650-1701) France
- Johann Jacob Adam Mathias (1675-1774) France
- Johan Jacob Matthias (1704-1782) France - died in Slate Ridge, Frederick Co, MD, USA
- Johan Jacob Mathias III (1741-1842) Somerset, PA, USA - died in Hocking Co, OH, USA
- Peter Mathias (1785-1879) Penn Township, Berks Co, PA, USA - died in Good Hope Township, Hocking Co, OH, USA
- William Levi Mathias (1827-1877) Somerset, Perry Co, OH, USA - died in Payne, Paulding Co, OH, USA
- James Summers Mathias (1853-1918) Hocking Co, OH, USA - died in Fairfield Co, OH, USA
- John Riley Mathias (1879-1938) Hocking Co, OH, USA - died in Lancaster, Fairfield Co, OH, USA
- Herman Clinton Mathias (1921-1969) Vinton Co, OH, USA - died in Lancaster, Fairfield Co, OH, USA
- Sandra Kay Mathias (1949-2022) Sugar Grove, Fairfiled Co, OH, USA - died in Lancaster, Fairfield Co, OH, USA
And there we have the 15 generations prior to me from the Mathias side.
Tags: mathias, geneology, paternal
Barnhart paternal line
I have been doing some geneology research, and I've managed to trace both parent's paternal lines back pretty far. I am documenting the Barnhart line here:
- Hanns Bernhardt (1500-1530) Germany
- Johann Gottlieb Bernhardt (1520-1596) Germany
- Gustav Bernhart (1555-1603) Germany
- Emmerich Bernhard (1575-1613) Germany
- Nicolas Bernhard (1593-1657) Germany
- Georg Johann Bernhart (1642-1686) Germany
- Joann Mathesis Barnhart (1679-1733) Germany
- Johannes Mathias Bernhardt (1729-1794) Germany - died in East Buffalo, Union Co, PA, USA
- Mathias Barnhart (1770-1842) Union Co, PA, USA
- George Barnhart (1798-1844) Union Co, PA, USA - died in Green Township, Ross Co, OH, USA
- William Henry Barnhart (1825-1891) Green Township, Ross Co, OH, USA
- Franklin Barnhart (1863-1944) Ross Co, OH, USA - died in Lancaster, Fairfield Co, OH, USA
- Hugh Franklin Barnhart (1900-1982) Colerain Township, Ross Co, OH, USA - died in Lancaster, Fairfield Co, OH, USA
- Robert Delno Barnhart (1939-2025) Columbus, Franklin Co, OH, USA - died in Danielson, Windham Co, CT, USA
There you have it. The 14 generations of Barnharts before me. I will document the Mathias line in a separate post. Then I will likely begin working on the maternal lines of both parents.
Tags: barnhart, geneology, paternal
Trust Your Technolust
I ordered this because I thought it was kinda cool, seeing as I've been interested in cybersecurity since before I even started a career in IT. Also love Hak5's products (the pager is absolutely awesome). I even knew there were some puzzles on the coin. What I didn't know was that the puzzles lead to a grand prize for one lucky hacker. Some are saying it's an all-out ARG. So... Who wants to help me solve this and share the prize with me? ;)
Metropolis (1927)
"The year is 2026, a Dickensian 'Best of times, worst of times,' where total oppression of the masses is wielded by the unquestionable power of the few." - Metropolis (1927)
Being a bit of a movie buff and certainly a sci-fi geek (you're surprised? Do you even know me?!?! lol), I'm surprised it's taken me this long to catch 1927's masterpiece, Metropolis. Sadly, many of the great movies from the silent era are only available as restorations/recreations. A few years back I watched the 1995 restoration of 1922's Nosferatu before the 2024 remake was released. I was impressed with how closely that one followed the silent film.
For Metropolis, I just did a search and watched the first version I found. It just happened to be Giorgio Moroder's 1984 version. It was... not what I expected, seeing as I had no idea who that is. Looking him up afterwards, it makes a bit more sense. The original score has not been recreated for this restoration. Oh no. It's all contemporary (for the time) rock and pop. There are some heavy hitters on this soundtrack, so I wasn't disappointed. Freddie Mercury, Pat Benatar, Bonnie Tyler, Billy Squier, Loverboy, Adam Ant, Jon Anderson, Frank Dimino, and of course Giorgio Moroder's score.
Anyhow, it (both the original 1927 version and this one) was panned by critics but has since found a bit of a cult following. I love this version for the soundtrack alone.
Tags: movies, sci-fi, silent-films, metropolis
Beard care
I've grown a beard before, mostly out of sheer hatred of shaving, but every time it has gotten to the point of itching, I've always just shaved it off and started over. But I've had a beard for several months now, and it was looking a little scraggly, so I decided to do something about it.
I picked up a cordless beard trimmer, which has an adjustable guard built in, and it works great. I figured I would trim my beard to about an 8 to get it a consistent length, and also picked up some beard oil to apply to make it softer. I shaped the beard a bit, to it's no longer down as far on my neck or too high above my jawline, and trimmed my mustache for the first time ever as well. I was getting a bit unruly too. In about a month or so, I will trim things up again but maybe to an 8.5 or 9, and gradually increase the length as long as the beard is consistent at the longer length. I may stop at 10, or I may let the beard itself grow longer, while keeping lines nice and blended. I don't think it looks half bad for me first ever attempt at actually grooming my beard. ;)
For those curious, I picked up beard oil, and a beard grooming kit (brush, comb, small scissors) by Viking Revolution. They make a beard wash and a conditioner as well, which I may also pick up if I think it's needed. But now my beard smells like sandlewood. ;)
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