Monopoly Board Game

Note:  This review was originally posted to my Epinins account.

There was a catchphrase or slogan I heard once:  Easy to learn, difficult to master.  Monopoly definitely fits that bill.

It's a relatively easy game to learn.  You have a square board with a variety of properties as well as Free Parking, Jail, Go to Jail, Go and the Chance and Community Chest spaces.  You also have two dice and several game pieces to represent the players.  You go around the board by rolling the dice.

If you land on property that's unowned, you can buy it.  If someone else owns it, you have to pay rent.  (The amount of rent depends on several factors, which I'll get to later.)  If you run out of money, you can mortgage your properties.  If you run out of property to mortgage, you lose.  If you run out of opponents, you win.

If you land on one of the Chance or Community Chest spaces, you take a card that tells you what to do.  You might get money or lose money.  You might have to go to Jail or you might get a Get out of Jail Free card.  They can add another random element to the game.

There are variations.  For instance, you can deal out all of the property at the start.  Free Parking can simply be a space where you do nothing or a space where you can get money.  (Some people use a set amount while others put any tax money in the center and use that as a pot.)  When you pass Go, you usually get $200.  Some people let you collect twice as much if you actually land on Go.

I would say that 90% of the game is random, as the dice are the sole determinant of how you move.  You don't get to chose direction.  You can't pass.  You just do what the dice tell you to do.  Thus, you have no real control over which property you land on.

For this reason, I've found the game to be very frustrating.  As I mentioned before, rent is controlled by several factors.  Properties are divided into groups.  You have railroads, utilities and 8 color groups.  Rent on the railroads goes up the more you own.  The rent on utilities goes up if you own both.  Rent on any given color group doubles if you own the entire set.

Also, if you own an entire color group, you can put improvements on the properties.  This is why Boardwalk and Park Place have become somewhat well known.  If someone has both properties and has done the maximum improvements, they can charge $2000 in rent to someone that lands on boardwalk.  (If I recall, that is.  I haven't played in a while.)

I've found that it's very easy to spiral downwards because you can't charge rent on a mortgaged property.  Without any property to charge rent on, your only income will be passing Go and hopefully getting some income through Chance and Community Chest.  If all of your property is mortgaged, it becomes a matter of time before you land on something that takes you out of the game.  Conversely, if you own an entire side of the board or two, you'll just keep collecting money,

One of the reasons I've come to not like the game is that there's no real strategy.  Sure, there are things you can do that will help you a little.  For instance, don't sell or trade any properties to anyone unless you have to.  Especially don't give up any property that would give them a complete set of anything.  Also, if you wind up in Jail and the side of the board following Jail is owned by someone other than you, stay in Jail as long as possible.  There's no good reason to want to leave Jail unless you roll a twelve.  Other than that, it all comes down to a roll of the dice. 

6ixtynin9/Ruang talok 69 movie review

Note:  This review was originally posted on my Epinions account.
 

What would you do if you found $25,000 in front of your door? Would you try to find the owners? Donate it to charity? Keep it? A Thai woman by the name of Tum is put to the test. Her company has to lay off three people and she ends up being one of them. Shortly after getting home, she finds a box containing the equivalent of $25,000 in front of her door.

Times are tough, economically speaking, and her hopes of getting another job are slim. The only problem is that the people that left the box in front of her door come back looking for it, and they’re pretty certain that Tum has it. She denies having it, but they barge in and look for it. These two people happen to be hired thugs; they’re not the kind of people that you mess with. Tum ends up killing both, which only makes her problems worse.

I’m not going to say much more than that, at least in terms of the plot. I can’t say that I liked the American version of the name. According to IMDb, the direct translation for the original title is Funny Story 6 9. The characters for 6 and 9 were placed so close together that people assumed that it was 69. When it was released here, it became 6ixtynin9, which I find to be just a little too annoying. I don’t like titles that try to be cute like that. The title comes from the fact that the number on Tum’s apartment door, a 6, keeps falling over, making it look like she’s in apartment 9.

The story is completely understandable. Who wouldn’t want to keep that kind of money, especially after losing your job? Things get progressively worse for Tum, but that too is understandable. There were a few parts that didn’t make sense. For instance, there was one scene where Tum was waiting to use the elevator. A bystander (who later becomes important in the story) points out that the elevator is out of order. Later in the movie, the elevator is working fine. There’s no mention of what happened to the elevator.

The big question, however, is why Tum didn’t get her number fixed. You’d think that she’d buy a screw or something to hold it up. Granted, that would have been too easy and would have negated the entire story, but it would have been nice to at least see Tum try a few times and fail. (I will admit that I’m probably that lazy, too.)

One major complaint I had was with the subtitles. Usually, they were fine, but there were a few mistakes. In one scene, the subtitles read “quite” instead of “quiet”. In another scene, one character speaks of a $13 note. I realize that whoever was translating it probably wanted the audience to know how much the characters were talking about, but it’s a little distracting to have to see something like that.

I’d still give this movie four stars. The acting was great. Also, despite what you might see elsewhere, Lalita Panyopas (who played Tum) was attractive. I wish I could find some other movies that she was in. I definitely recommend watching this movie.

Trading Places (1983)

Nature versus nurture has been an ongoing debate as long as I can remember.  One side says that upbringing is everything.  Given the right resources, education and opportunity can make all the difference.   The other side says that it’s all genetics.  Given the right lineage, you can do anything you set your mind to.  Randolph and Mortimer Duke, who own a commodities brokerage, start debating which is more important.

The debate escalates to where they place a wager.  If genetics is all powerful, then someone would land on their feet no matter what.  If opportunity trumps all, then some guy brought in off the street could be trained to do anything.  As it so happens, they have the perfect person to take a fall:  Louis Winthorpe III, played by Dan Aykroyd.  He manages their business and is engaged to their grandniece, Penelope.  He has all the good lineage and wealth the Duke Brothers could ask for.  Now all they need is someone to take his place.

Enter Billy Ray Valentine, played by Eddie Murphy.  He’s a fast-talking con man off the streets.  He gets arrested when he bumps into Louis.  (Louis thinks that Billy Ray is trying to steal his briefcase, which contains payroll checks.)  He’s the kind of guy that the Duke Brothers feel wasn’t given the right opportunities.

The Duke Brothers bail Billy Ray out of jail and set him up in Louis’s place.  Meanwhile, they make it look like Louis stole three marked bills.  Louis winds up in jail.  He gets out quickly, but is turned away by Penelope.  He also finds that his accounts are frozen and that he can’t get back into his townhouse, as Billy Ray is living there.  He winds up living with a prostitute named Ophelia.  (Ophelia is played by Jamie Lee Curtis.)  He has to pawn an expensive watch just to get some cash.

It takes a while for Billy Ray to get used to everything.  His new butler, Coleman, keeps reassuring him that everything is his and that it’s all real.  Not long after moving in, Billy Ray takes over Louis’s old job and proves good at it.  It looks like opportunity does play an important factor.

Eventually, Billy Ray overhears the Duke Brothers talking about their bet.  When he overhears that only a dollar was wagered, he decides that Louis has a right to know.  He eventually catches up with Louis at Ophelia’s place and has a close call.  He explains everything back at the townhouse and Coleman confirms.  At Billy Ray’s suggestion, Louis comes up with a plan to get revenge on the Duke Brothers.

This is one of those movies that doesn’t get old.  I keep seeing it on television, usually right as the revenge part begins.  (The revenge is maybe the last third of the movie.)  I finally got around to watching it through Netflix’s streaming service.

Most of the movie is relatively safe.  We do get a few scenes with some nudity, and yes, you do get to see stuff.  Also, there’s one scene towards the end where the F bomb is used, so parental discretion is advised.  As for the financial aspect, the end of the movie was a little confusing.  I’m not exactly sure what Billy Ray and Louis did.  However, it’s not really necessary to understand the plot of the movie.  It’s not the kind of thing that will be distracting or cause you to lose sight of the story.  It’s evident that Billy Ray and Louis knowingly ruin the Duke Brothers.  (From what I read on IMDb, Eddie Murphy was so confused by the financial aspect that he just stuck to the script for the final scenes.)

As for family versus opportunity, the movie wasn’t really to heavy-handed with it.  It was just something to get the plot going.  One thing that occurred to me when I first saw the movie was that when Louis and Billy Ray come together, they end up being unstoppable.  While both lineage and opportunity may be important, it looks like it’s both things together that make a person great.

The Brass Teapot = Heartbeats Stop (The Brass Teapot movie review)

Note:  This is a review I originally posted  on Epinions.

  

Most people only see money as an issue if they don’t have enough.  John and Alice can only make the rent if their landlord, Arnie, waits to deposit the check.  They have one car, which Alice uses to go on an interview.  John takes a bike to a job trying to get people to extend their warranties.  He’s not very good at it and subsequently gets fired.

Enter the brass teapot that the title speaks of.  Alice sees an old woman take it into an antique shop shortly after she and John get into an accident.  She has no problem stealing it.  It isn’t until an accident with a curling iron that she realizes what the pot can do.  Each time the user feels pain, money appears in the teapot.  More pain yields more cash.  After getting fired, John comes home to find his house wrecked.  He’s worried for Alice, but she claims to have fallen down stairs that they don’t have.  She lets him in on the secret.  So begins the story.

John wants to return the teapot, but finds the antique shop closed and the property for rent.  Not having many other options, he at least takes it on Antiques Roadshow to get an opinion on what it is.  (The expert looking at it has never seen anything like it before.)  His appearance on TV catches the attention of two orthodox Jews who happen to be the grandchildren of the woman from whom Alice took the teapot.  They don’t want the teapot, per se.  They are, however, more than happy to take the money.  Still having the teapot, John and Alice can still hurt themselves and each other for more money.

The couple is later visited by Dr. Ling, who also saw John on Antiques Roadshow.  His family has been following the teapot for generations.  He informs John and Alice that the teapot was meant to be given.  Having stolen the teapot, the teapot will bring out the worst in them.  Their only hope is to give the teapot to him so that he might hide it where no one can find it.

The movie is very well done.  This is one of the reasons I’m happy I have access to Netflix streaming.  Alice and John feel that they are good people.  They believe that they can quit any time they want.  Dr. Ling confirms that they are, in essence, good people.  However, having stolen the teapot makes it nearly impossible for them to stop.  Many people compare the movie to The Twilight Zone, but I’d say it’s more like Warehouse 13 in that it deals with an item that brings trouble and should probably be locked away.

It starts with Alice burning herself, albeit mildly and accidentally.  He gets dental work “the old-fashioned way.”  She gets a full Brazilian wax.  They both get tattoos.  From there, it escalates to insulting each other and revealing secrets to inflict emotional damage.  Pretty soon, she’s kicking John where it hurts.  Physical pain no longer brings the reward it once did.  Alice again can up the game when she realizes that a skater’s pain brings in money.  She can visit a woman in labor to get lots of money.

Most people ask what they would do with a million dollars.  This movie explores what a couple would do to get a million.  Alice begins a somewhat rapid descent to becoming a sociopath.  It’s easy to sit there and think that you’d quit, but I think we all know that you’d probably be no better than Alice.  At least she had John as the voice of reason.

90,000 bills

You have entered 90,944 Bills worth $257,860
Bills with hits: 7,083 Total hits: 8,051
Hit rate: 7.79% Slugging Percentage: 8.85% (total hits/total bills)
George Score: 1,237.27
Your rank (based on George Score) is #268
(out of 51,926 current users with a George Score. [99.5 Percentile])
Your State Rank in Florida is: 17 out of 7,708 [99.8]
Your initial entries with hits have traveled a total of 3,784,461 miles.
They have averaged 478.8 miles per hit and 189.02 days between each hit.

Well, I finally passed 90,000 bills entered, but I think I may have to rethink my strategy of going to the casino. Part of the problem inherent of gambling is that I’ll more likely lose money than gain it. Even if I go in, put bills in and cash out without gambling, I have to pay gas money there and back. I also risk raising suspicion of the casino management. They may wonder why I’m putting money into their machines, but not playing.

I was thinking of cashing in some quarters tomorrow, but it may be better to not have the cash around to spend. In fact, the cash that I have now is in marked singles. I really don’t like the idea of depositing marked singles. Not that I have a lot of bills in my possession, but I may have to find a way other than the casino to swap out bills so I have unmarked bills to deposit if I need to.

I do have several leads going on jobs. One is at a bank. All I’ve gotten back so far is an automated reply, but that was last week. I‘m hoping that they’ll start calling people in starting Monday. There are a few other jobs that I applied to a while ago, including Sears. I think it’s been long enough that I’m probably not going to get an interview with them. However, I believe Sears keeps applications on file for a few months, so anything’s possible.

I’m even considering writing on Epinions again, even though there was very little income involved. At least it would give me something to do during the day other than watch TV. The days of making serious money on that site are long gone. I really need to find a job and soon.

More Toms

You have entered 23,434 Bills worth $63,145

Bills with hits: 1,729 Total hits: 1,933

Hit rate: 7.38% Slugging Percentage: 8.25% (total hits/total bills)

George Score: 1,073.94Your rank (based on George Score) is #887

(out of 51,957 current users with a George Score. [98.3 Percentile])

Your State Rank in Florida is: 42 out of 6,206 [99.3]

I’m beginning to rethink posting the stats. My mother saw the amount of money I had and freaked. I have to admit that I’m a bit freaked, myself. Granted, swapping out bills at work and going to the casino helps, but how did I get $63,145 bills? That’s a lot of swapping.

I’ve been doing fives mostly, only because we have a lot of singles, mostly mine. Also, fives are easier to carry inconspicuously. A hundred dollars in singles is a little obvious. A hundred dollars in fives can fit in my wallet.

I will admit that I may need a new wallet. I’d like something like the TARDIS from Doctor Who that has more space in the inside than would appear from the outside. That way, I can carry a lot of cash without being noticed. It would also be funny to whip out a bunch of twenties once in a while. (Maybe not, considering how quickly I’d get mugged in Miami.)

I just got a bunch of two-dollar bills the other day. I would have gotten more, but I wanted to get mostly singles. I think I still ended up with forty or fifty. I’ve been spending a few at the McDonalds near work, but I really shouldn’t. They seem to put them under the register. One of these days, I’m going to ask the people at McDonalds why they do it and encourage them not to. I’ve got to find more places that don’t.

Even my manager has said that he doesn’t want them in the register. Any that we get go back out or into the deposit that night. I don’t know what the big deal is. I think that part of it is the perceived rarity. Why bother dedicating a slot if you get one or two a year? A coworker told me that while I was in New York, we got a Tom. Alas, it was sent into the deposit.

A lot of people ask me where I get the bills. I simply tell them that you can get them at the bank. Any bank that doesn’t have any should be able to order them for you. I have yet to order any, mostly because I don’t want to feel obligated to pick them up. If I do, I may do it through the bank at work. I don’t want to get off the bus with a bunch of twos and have to walk home. Either way, it’s all pretty random.