This and That- Nerdy Pick-up Lines

First of all, my apolgies in advance to the late Fred Rogers, whom us Gen-Xers remember as Mr.Rogers while watching his children's show on PBS in the 1970s, but when it came to an image of a dorky guy I simply couldn't think of anyone else.

As I was reading the June 2011 issue of "Wired" in a public library today, I came across three things that got my immediate attention. I made a note of them, and after some mental deliberation, I decided to shared them with the 13 people who read this blog.

For starters, apparently this is an actual pickup line that an Internet nerd used for a hot girl (who perhaps could have been Hulk Hogan) on Twitter: "Is your name Google? 'Cause you have everything I'm searchign for." Wow! Pretty forward.

Also, according to "Wired," there is apparently a book floating around called "The Mystery Method: How to Get Beautiful Women Into Bed." The kicker is that the author is anynomous. Hmmm.....

Lastly, the parents of Luhe Vilagomez, 17, were probably not to happy with the young lad. In the same issue of "Wired," we read that he made the notorious 220-foot jump from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco 'just for kicks' (apparently, the boy has denied he was attempting suicide as most folks who jump from the bridge are trying to do), and he was in the two percent who survived!

Random Top Five Depressing Films List

I must admit that film fans love making lists, and nowhere is that more apparent than "Film Comment" magazine, which features several lists in his front pages these days.

Here is a random list I made of the five most depressing films I've ever seen. Since I wrote it up in a mere five minutes, there are assuredly some downers I have overlooked....."Sounder" comes to mind.

All of these films are either foreign films or documentaries and "Night and Fog," a 1955 French documentary on The Holocaust is actually both!

I made the mistake of watching "The Bridge," a documentary about people who killed themselves by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco the same week I went to The Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC. (I don't recommend doing that). One of the people who committed suicide actually flew in from Houston to jump off the bridge.

"Pixote" is a 1981 Brazilian film about a boy whose mother is a prostitute (it will make the Apu triology seem uplifting!). It was so depressing that I literally could not get out of bed the day after I watched it.

The film's young star Fernando Ramos da Silva (1967-1987) would die from gun violence when police shot him to death at the age of 19. "Pixote" was his only film. the film's director Hector Babenco went on to make "Kiss of the Spiderwoman" and other critically-praised films.

"Streetwise" is a documentary about homeless people in Seattle. The plight of the children in the film make it especially difficult to watch.

And, "At/The Horse," a film which came out some 20 years ago from acclaimed director Ali Ozgenturk, is about a destitute Turkish villager who moves from the country to Istanbul with his son.

Amazingly enough, no German or Russian films made this list!:



1. "The Bridge" (doc)
2. "Streetwise" (doc)
3. "Pixote"
4. "Night and Fog"
5. "At/The Horse."

PS_ After publishing this post, I decided to look to see if there was a group involved with preventing suicides from the Golden Gate Bridge. And, there is indeed a Golden Gate Suicide Barrier Coalition. Their web site is www.goldengatecitizens.com/suicide