Fitting End to a Childhood Trilogy

Besides the fact that I grew up watching "Toy Story" and went to Disney World for winter break during the past two years (and probably this December as well), I strongly recommend those of you who saw the first two installments to go and see "Toy Story 3" as soon as possible. Not only does this film maintain a 9.4 rating on IMDB after almost 10,000 votes, it also made Pixar's biggest gross for an opening weekend... ever! (although the film has not opened for over 75% of the international market)

One of the reviewers compared the first two films to "Shrek the Third," which speaks volumes for this movie considering the previous films won an Oscar and were nominated for other categories as well. Of course, critics are complaining that it is not witty enough and the first half did not exceed expectations. However, considering that it's a children's film and has the burden of "serenading" toddlers with cute animations and preschool dialogue, I think Pixar did a fantastic job from beginning to finish. Not only did they flawlessly integrate new characters into the story without being "cheesy," the film also contains some social commentary that you might, or might not pick up.

Also, just a heads up for those of you who saw "Up" and know how emotional the first few scenes were - expect more tears towards the end of the movie. If you Google "Toy Story 3 Cry," you'll see what I'm talking about.

Two Watches

I'm not sure how many of you follow soccer, but the intermittent waves of screams that filled the streets of Manhattan when teams scored was a pretty memorable soundtrack.

In any case, Diego Maradona, the all-time greatest player for Argentina and its current head coach, was wearing two watches during the game. I noticed it on TV, but didn't know why until this article appeared on Yahoo! Sports this morning.

Maradona always wears two watches when he travels - one set to local time and one set to the time back in Argentina."

Although he's been doing this for years and it didn't catch on in the past, I think it's a pretty cool fashion statement if you are wearing a jacket/vest like he is in this photo.

A suggestion for fashion week maybe?

ACE Hotel Lobby

I've been telling my friends about the company I work for and how we are associated with ACE hotels. None of them heard about ACE (and neither did I before I applied for this job) but once they saw the lobby, they were blown away as I was.

In the words of New York Metromix, it's as if "an Ivy League library had a three-way love child with a 1940s-style bank lobby and a Jasper Johns Americana art exhibit."

A few weeks back, the Observer did an article about how the lobby is like a free place for people to loiter and that it eventually drives in revenues because people come back for dinners and events. Not only does the architecture attracts patrons, the liberal atmosphere and the peculiar mood makes it a very interesting place to hang out.

Also, did you know that ACE has a blog of its own, affectionately named "Everything Will Be OK" and have people updating it constantly? Everyone likes a company that has a bit more soul.

Anyways, if you are an artsy guy or gal and are around Manhattan this summer, go check it out on 28th and Broadway. It's definitely worth your trip.

Thoughts While Working in NYC

I consider myself rather lucky getting an internship this summer because a lot of fellow college sophomores could not. They had to either work a regular paying job (which is not bad at all) or volunteer like we use to in high school. Obviously, an internship is not something that everyone is looking for and many of us couldn't take the positions we've been offered because they are either unpaid or some other logistic didn't work out.

What caught my attention is that although employment rates have been decreasing slightly among the general public, teenage unemployment has been on the rise. Checkout this article in the NYTimes where a graph plots out the population and unemployment data for 16-19 year-olds.

According to the article, "The unemployment rate for the 16-to-24 age group reached a record 19.6 percent in April, double the national average."

Obviously, it's not just the adults who get the shit end of the stick - companies are also decreasing their investment in future talent as well. As an IRLie, I cannot help but point out that this economic behavior is contradictory to what modern HR practices recommend because right now is actually a great time to lock up future talent. In layman's terms, buy low so you can sell high.

I understand that many businesses and corporations are running low on operating cash but it really doesn't take that much to hire an intern. You can probably get most of them for free or at a margin much lower than years before. Why are you passing up the opportunity?