Dave Z - Reviews, Running etc.

Raw Reviews - Sushi resturaunts in Reno

2010-06-15T10:01:00.000-07:00

Jazmine - South Meadows, Reno, NV

MENU:
D-
SERVICE:
C-
ATMOSPHERE:
B
VALUE:
D
RATING:
D

My finacee heard that Jazmine in south Reno was "really good" so on a monday night after returning from a vacation to the bay area we gave it shot. First off, this place has got have one of the most generic menues I've ever seen. There was literally not a sigle unique item on it. All the rolls were boring and typical featuring all the standard ingridients and arrangments. Even if you're a novice sushi fan or someone who likes to keep it on the tame side with their orders, there's still no real reason to visit Jazmine. Even the service was rather poor as we found ourselves waiting too long between rolls. One of the chefs was unable to make my Eastern Dragon Roll exta spicy like I asked, it was hardly spicy at all. The atmoshere is nice but nowhere near enough for me to recommend this place. Their are simply much better (and cheaper) options out there.

My Top Ten Favorite Game Franchises

2010-01-15T14:42:00.000-08:00

(1) FINAL FANTASY
- FF9 (PS1)
- FF12 (PS2)
- FINAL FANTAYS TACTICS (PS1)

(2) ZELDA
- OCARINA OF TIME (N64)
- A LINK TO THE PAST (SNES) (GBA)
- TWILIGHT PRINCESS (Wii)

(3) CASTLEVANIA
- SYMPHONY OF THE NIGHT (PS1)
- SUPER CASTLEVANIA 5 (SUPER NES)
- ORDER OF ECCESIA (DS)

(4) MARIO
- SUPER MARIO BROTHERS 3 (NES)
- SUPER MARIO WORLD (SUPER NES)
- MARIO AND LUIGI: BOWSERS INSIDE STORY (DS)

(5) METAL GEAR
- METAL GEAT SOLID (PS1)
- SONS OF LIBERTY (PS3)
- SNAKE EATER (PS2)

(6) DRAGON QUEST
- DQ 8 (PS2)
- DQ3 (DS)
- DQ4 (DS)

(7) STREET FIGHTER
- SF II TURBO (ARCADE)
- SF 4 (PS3)
- MARVEL VS CAPCOM (ARCADE)

(8) RESIDENT EVIL
- RE 2 (PS1)
- RE 4 (GC)
- RE 3 (PS1)

(9) MORTAL KOMBAT
- MK II (ARCADE)
- MK (ARCADE)
- ULTIMATE MK III (ARCADE)

(10) BREATH OF FIRE
- BOF III (PS1)
- BOF 4 (PS1)
- BOF II (GBA)

Movies I've watched in 2010

2010-01-14T10:22:00.001-08:00

(1)The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009): A-
(2)The Young Victoria (2009): B+
(3)The Hurt Locker (2009) DVD: B+
(4)A Single Man (2009): B-
(5)The Wolfman: B
(6)Couples Retreat (2009) DVD: F
(7)Shutter Island: B+
(8)Alice in Wonderland: D
(9)Iron Man 2: C
(10)Date Night: F
(11)The Road (2009) DVD: A
(12)Bad Leutinant (2009) DVD: B+
(13)Prince of Persia: C-
(14)Daybreakers (2009) DVD: D
(15)Greenberg DVD: B-
(16)Inception: A
(17)Winters Bone:A
(18)Scott Pilgrim VS The World: B+
(19)The Other Guys: C+
(20)The Town: A
(21)The Social Network: A-
(22)Jackass 3D: C
(23)Paranormal Activity 2: B+

Darksiders - PS3

2010-01-12T09:59:00.000-08:00

VISUALS:A-
SOUND:B+
CONTROL:B+
GAMEPLAY:A
VALUE:C
SCORE:B+

Back in the 90's a game came out for the PS1 that's now regarded as one of the worst titles to ever hit any system. It was called "Spawn" obviously based on the comic series. It was a huge disappointment for me as a gamer and a fan of the series. Here we are in 2009 with Darksiders a game that is everything I wish "Spawn" could have been. The premise and characters in this game and the Spawn series are similar. You can really see the influence it had throughout especially with the demon designs. You play as War one of the Four Horsemen and all you need to know is that agents of both Heaven and Hell are going to feel his wrath. It's a ton of fun to reek havoc on both sides in what can only be described as exhilarating game play. I never seemed to grow tired of combat. Granted Darksiders borrows heavily from games like God Of War and even Zelda. Sometimes it's startling how similar it is to the GOW games. Certain animations like swimming and climbing walls are nearly identical to how Kratos does it. The way I see it, that's a good thing. Lets face it, there's not that many good original ideas left. The visuals are outstanding. Bosses are vividly detailed and very memorable. The voice-acting is crisp and the controls are solid, though the throwing aiming aspects can be a little frustrating. The only gripe I have is more on the side of the industry. $60 for a 20 hour single player campaign game seems like highway robbery. Hopefully they will add more features to the next installment. This is an awesome game getting 2010 off to a great start.

Sherlock Holmes

2009-12-29T09:39:00.000-08:00

SCORE: B

Robert Downey now has two major franchises going for him so I think it's safe to say that he's become one of Hollywood's flagship names. With roles like Tony Stark and Holmes he seems so comfortable and fitting probably due to the fact that he really isn't too dissimilar to these characters himself. Guy Richie known for his signature suave, stylized methods takes the reigns on a film that works on most levels. Jude Law is Watson and Rachel McAdam's is the necessary attractive female distraction. Both are serviceable as you'd expect. The interaction of Law and Downey is obviously the films selling point as it's always been with these characters. When the action ramps up it's both exciting and silly in some instances. The fight scenes where Holmes dissects his opponents were my favorite. Things begin to falter a bit when the plot becomes convoluted. The later half drags and I thought much of it could have been streamlined. Aside from these pacing issues it's a pretty solid start to what looks to be a good franchise.

Up In The Air

2009-12-28T09:06:00.000-08:00

SCORE: A-

This movie was so close to absolute greatness. If it weren't for a few writing pitfalls and a couple botched segments, I could easily see this as Reitmans crown jewel. Clooney is fantastic as usual and the supporting cast is equally good. Vera Farmiga and the surprising Anna Kendrick (known as Bella's annoying friend from the Twilight series) play perfect counterparts to Clooney's shrewd character. I was genuinely interested in each character and their stories. Clooney's character fires people for a living at large companies going city to city year round. The scenes involving these downsizes are excellent especially the ones with J.K. Simmons and Zack Galifinagis. The writing issues I mentioned are minor but relevant. There's some blatantly predictable turns that throw off the vivid characterization. And I wasn't sold on the way Clooney's company functioned. It seemed very far-fetched and silly. It's ironic that nearly every point made is rendered irrelevant by the paths these people take. The film has one of the best endings I've seen in quite some time. The closing narrative dialog is touching and somewhat tragic depending on how you view it. Films rarely evoke this kind of emotion without being preachy and heavy handed. I look forward to Reitman's future projects as he is proving himself to be one of the better directors in Hollywood.

Topics to Run With: Dependence

2009-12-23T10:00:00.000-08:00

In 2009, I was determined to become a runner. No casually, not someone who runs every once in awhile no, a full-blown, competitive athlete. How did it go? Better than I ever could have imagined. I lost 60+ lbs. ran two marathons (one of which went very well) and through making various mistakes managed to become dialed in as a runner. These mistakes I'm referring to range from running in the wrong shoes to wearing the wrong gear during my first 26.2 trek. Through these mishaps I learned many lessons though there's one mistake I believe I was smart enough to avoid.

Dependence in running is not a good thing. The more that you depend on, the more there is to stress over/worry about. For example, I ran with a guy earlier this year who absolutely had to listen to music while running. He couldn't get through more than 2 miles without it. He later suffered knee problems and abandonned the sport. Running with music blaring is a poor idea for three reasons. One; it's dangerous to take away one of your senses when your out around cars, stray dogs etc. Two; it's another object you must hassle and potentially be distracted by before and during the run. And three; it keeps you out of touch with your running environment, meaning that; instead of enjoying the various sounds during your run, Lady GaGa is blasting in your ears taking away something you should enjoy. I know this sounds preachy, and trust me I'm a huge music-fan but I can't stress enough how advantageous it can be to learn to run WITHOUT the tunes. If you must have it, try and get through the preliminary training stages without it. You don't need something else to depend on.

This applies to your running "fuel" as well. If you get used to taking 6 water bottles plus 4 gels strapped around your waist on each run you will become
overly-dependant on these items. I'm not advising you to tackle an 18 mile run unequipped but consider testing yourself to find out how much you really need. During my first marathon expo I was advised to bring a whopping eight gels on the run. Not only was this bad advise it's a huge hastle trying to tope this much "food" on such a run. At the 2009 CIM I had approximately two GU chomps and one sport bean That's it! Throughout my training I taught myself to only use what I need. I'd bring one handheld bottle of water and one bag of Sportbeans. It worked for me. I believe runners often overestimate how much they really need to have. Granted, everyone is different. Some elite runners swear by a greater intake of gels, water, etc. and it works for them.

The less you depend on, the stronger you will be. You'll have less limitations and a greater range of versatility.

Video games in 2009

2009-12-23T07:05:00.000-08:00

Admitedly, I didn't play a lot of the major titles this year. Uncharted 2, Modern Warfare 2, Assassins Creed 2 (what's with all these 2's?) all sailed by without me having an opportunity to play them. This is because I have a lackluster TV that makes the text on PS3, 360 games almost illegible and because I just don't have that much time anymore. This wasn't really a stand-out year for RPG's which are my bread and butter gaming wise. Still, I did manage to play and complete some great games from both this year and years past. In fact, my favorite game this year was a title released in 2002.

NINTENDO DS:
(1) Mario and Luigi, Bowsers Inside Story
(2) Castlevania, Order of Ecclesia
(3) Suikoden Tierkreis
(4) Nostalgia
(5) Megaman ZX Advent (2008)
(6) Dragon Quest 4

PSP:
(1) Crimson Gem Saga
(2) Final Fantasy Dissidia
(3) Yggdra Union (2007)

PS3/PS2:
(1) Wild Arms 3 (2002)
(2) Blaz Blue
(3) Persona 4 (Incomplete)
(4) Street Fighter 4

Wii:
(1) Resident Evil, The Umbrella Chronicles (Incomplete)
(2) Punch Out

Avatar

2009-12-21T07:13:00.000-08:00

SCORE: B-

This movie might have the most pretentious add campaign I've seen. Claiming that movies will "never be the same" seems a bit ridiculous even if it is James Cameron who, without a doubt has largely influenced films in the past two decades. let me get it out the open now, I see no reason why Avatar delivers on these claims. Sure it's a beautiful film but is that even enough these days? For the gargantuan amount of money they poured into it I'd expect nothing less than pure visual euphoria. What puzzles me is how the writing is so sub-par. It's not like Cameron's ever been known for brilliant scripts but this seems poor even by his standards. The characters are pretty cliche played by a surprisingly b-list cast. So really what we're getting is a visual masterpiece that's mostly lackluster otherwise. What added points for me was the outstanding action sequence in the later half of the film. It's reminiscent of the grand LOTR battles and feels exhilarating throughout. It's too bad there wasn't more of this and less time spent of the alien race's "tribal ways". The 3D feature is nice which should be utilized if it's available. I can't say this lives up to the hype but at least it's not a total let-down.

Best and Worst films of 2009

2009-12-17T07:53:00.000-08:00

I havn’t seen many of the limited year-end releases yet, so this will change for sure. Pretty rough year for film. Even with gems like Bright Star and An Education the lack of quality in most of the major blockbusters was very evident. Hopefully 2010 will deliver a higher volume of good films worth seeing.

BEST
(1) A Serious Man
(2) Bright Star
(3) Watchmen
(4) Inglorious Basterds
(5) An Education
(6) Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
(7) Paranormal Activity
(8) 500 Days of Summer
(9) Moon
(10) Away We Go
(11) Adam
(12) District Nine
(13) Zombieland
(14) The Hangover
(15) Up In The Air
(16) Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince
(17) Public Enemies
(18) Brothers Bloom
(19) A Christmas Carol
(20) Lymelife

Both The Ugly Truth and 2012 would easily make my worst films of all time list. Such awful productions top to bottom. I don't really have time to see bad movies so there's usually not too many on my worst of the years list but these five were notably awful.

WORST
(1) The Ugly Truth
(2) 2012
(3) Transformers 2
(4) Knowing
(5) X-MEN ORIGINS: Wolverine

Best Albums of 2009

2009-12-11T08:11:00.000-08:00

This year was a bit of a down year music-wise. Nothing really strikes me as a stand out best album for the second straight yeat. Arms and Sleepers Matador is outstanding and as a total package (vinyl, hand crafted lyric sheet) it's my favorite album. All Is Wild, All Is Free was probably the most listened to album on my list having such a beautiful arrangement of tracks. Late year surprises like PJ Bond and Holopaw were nice additions to an overall mediocre year. 2010 kick off with True Devotion by Rocky Votolato which will likely be terrific. Hopefully The National Lights and Breathe Owl Breathe release new LP's as well.

(1) Arms And Sleepers – Matador
(2) Headlights - Wildlife
(3) Balmorhea – All Is Wild, All is Free
(4) My Latest Novel – Deaths and Entrances
(5) Noah and the Whale – The First Day of Spring
(6) The Wooden Sky – If I Don’t Come Home, You’ll Know I’m Gone
(7) PJ Bond – You Didn’t Know I was Alphabetical
(8) Track a Tiger – A Bullet Hit my Heart
(9) If These Trees Could Talk – Above The Earth, Below The Sky
(10) The Deep Dark Woods - Winter Hours
(11) Pianos Become the Teeth - Old Pride
(12) Owen – New Leaves
(13) Trophy Scars - Bad Luck
(14) Swell Season - Strict Joy
(15) Lymbyc Systym - Shutter Release
(16) Kings Of Convienience - Declaration of Dependance
(17) The Constalation Branch - The Dream Life, The Real Life, The Empty Glass
(18) Moonlit Sailor - N/A
(19) Gifts From Enola – From Fathoms
(20) Sonya Cotton - Red River

CIM 2009 - REPORT

2009-12-08T12:39:00.000-08:00

CHIP TIME: 3:15:44

CONDITIONS: 29-31 degrees, Windy

COURSE: Mostly flat, some nice downhill stretches, bland scenery

CROWD: Jammed for about the first 5 miles, spread out for most of the duration

Is the CIM course really as fast as they say? No. I don't think so. Granted there are some nice lengthy stretches of downhill slope but mostly it's flat and a bit hilly. The dreaded final six miles are nice with the Sacramento crowds cheering and flat city streets, But I have to admit, I do feel silly for running all those extreme downhill courses in training. It's not necessary. While it can't hurt to be familiar with hilly running I may have gone a bit overboard. This race was freezing cold. I know the cold is a runners friend but this weather felt very sharp and biting. When the winds kicked in scantly clad runners were wincing feeling the harsh conditions. I wore a Brooks jacket on top of a nice Asics long sleeve pull-over. I opted to wear my Saucony pants over shorts as well. This was one one of my better decisions. After the disaster I faced in Reno's marathon earlier this year I wasn't about to get caught in freezing rain again (though It didn't rain luckily). Everything went very smoothly. Mile 22 on was a little harsh but I kept pace and nearly qualified for Boston. Shaving over a half and hour off my previous time is a pretty big feat for me, (not to mention beating my Dad's time). I'm very pleased with the experience overall even if I did have a bit of a rough post-race (upset stomach, extreme cold and fatigue). It was all worth it. Now, I can focus on posting a 3:10 for my next race.

An Education

2009-11-30T07:21:00.000-08:00

SCORE: A-

The premise of An Education isn't anything groudbreaking. On paper it even seems cliche, but what sets this film apart is its sense of authenticity provided by excellent performances and a very well-written script. Jenny (Carey Mulligan) is a young girl growing up in a 1970's era London with strict parents and an even stricter schedule. She's applying for Oxford which requires vast amounts of homework on subjects such as Latin. When she meets an older man named David (Peter Sarsgaard) everything changes as she's introduced to a different World of exquisite parties and weekend trips to Paris. Of course there are various conflicts and lessons to be had but what really captures the audience are colorful characters. Alfred Molina is terrific as Jenny's overbearing, tightly-wound, Father. Rosamund Pike gives a nice contrast performance as the glamourous Helen. She's in many ways what jenny aspires to be with ritzy clothing and jewlry. The plot turns are somewhat predictable though it never detracts from the film.

Treadmill Speedwork - My method

2009-11-23T07:33:00.000-08:00

TREADMILL SPEEDWORK 1: 10X4's

Marathon pace start: 7:20 splits = 8.5 SPEED.
- After 10 minutes increase speed by 1.0 for first 3 minutes of 5 minute segment.
- After 3 minutes increase speed 0.5 for 1 minute.
- After 1 minute increase speed by 1.0 for the last minute.
Slow back down to 8.5 speed (or marathon pace) for 10 mintues and repeat.

Repeat this every 10 minutes for an hour in length. Increase intensity for the last 10 minute segment.

60 minute = 4 intervals of speed increase.

TREADMILL SPEEDWORK 2: 5X6's

Marathon pace start: 7:20 splits = 8.5 SPEED.
- After 5 minutes increase speed by 1.0 for first 3 minutes of 5 minute segment.
- After 3 minutes increase speed 1.0 for 1 minute.
- After 1 minute increase speed by 1.0 for the last minute (or max sprint).
Slow back down to 8.5 speed (or marathon pace) for 5 mintues and repeat.

Increase base speed to 9.0 at the 30 minute mark.

60 minute = 6 intervals of speed increase.

This is a good way to work on speed without having to go to the track. I recommend ramping up these workouts as often as you can if your PR goals are lofty. They significantly helped me get to a 3:15 PR this winter.

Twilight Saga: New Moon

2009-11-23T07:14:00.000-08:00

RATING: C-

Reviewing New Moon is sort of a moot point. If you’re a fan, especially a “hardcore” fan having read every word of every book in the series, you will obviously enjoy this much more than someone who isn’t familiar with the novels. The first film was a gloomy, melodramatic, overly wrought piece of teen-angst and not much has changed here. The thing now is having all the male characters shirtless as much as possible (I’m surprised Mathew McConaughey didn’t find a role). This of course caused young girls to literally hoot in the theater. It’s like Chippendales with werewolves and vampires. So, if you haven’t figured this out yet, there really isn’t much here for us guys to enjoy. The female lead (Stewart) is rather bland and the so-called action is soft. Fans will eat this up by the spoonful but everyone else may find that there’s little substance and even less appeal to this watered-down series.

A Christmas Carol

2009-11-18T08:00:00.000-08:00

RATING: B

Jim Carrey has never done a Disney film before. Though A Christmas Carol is animated it did require some live acting via motion capture so he technically acts in it I guess. It's the retelling of the classic Charles Dickens story we all know and love. So how does Carrey fare as the infamous Ebineezer Scrooge? Very well as you'd guess. Carey's goofy flailing antics seem perfect for this. It's sort of similar to when he played Lemeny Snicket if you remember him in that film. This movie is much darker than I expected it to be. There were numerous scenes where I felt like younger children would be frightened. When Marley's haunting takes place it's fairly frightening and eerie. Same goes for the latter half with the Ghost of Christmas Future. Even the jolly Santa esque Ghost of Christmas Present somehow manages to come off as creepy. All of this is not a bad thing just unexpected I suppose. There really isn't a fluffy Merry vibe to any of it. Even when things are supposed to be cheery there's this unsettling vibe due to the animation and presentation. The scenes with Scrroge flying through the air and rushing around town are fun and enjoyable if not a bit silly. This film exceeded my expectations and ranks as one of the better holiday outings in recent years. Just don't expect something laden with loads of Christmas cheer.

2012

2009-11-18T07:37:00.000-08:00

RATING: F

I don't know if there has ever been a bigger waste of money, time, energy and effort than 2012. I started to look around the theater while watching this wishing a giant tidal wave or 10.0 quake would hit just to put me out of my misery. This mess of a film takes every known disaster movie cliche to new levels all while spewing obnoxious amounts of CGI all over the place. The story, acting etc. is irrelevant since it's all derivative and shallow. Even good actors like the lesser known Chiwetel Ejiofor can't save this thing from itself. I was actually surprised by how bad the writing was. You would think with all the money they pored into this they could have at least mustered up a decent script. Don't waste your time seeing this. It's nothing you havn't seen before and worst of all it's almost 3 hours long which is about an hour and 15 minutes longer than it should have been.

Current Shoes / Insoles

2009-02-09T12:18:00.000-08:00

Saucony Hurricane 10 (Green/Silver) *****
Superfeet (Green) ****

- This combination completely solved my severe shin splints. After receiving advise that the Hurricanes might be a little than foot required support wise; I tried a few other shoes. These are unmatched so far in terms of overall performance. The Superfeet insoles add a nice amount of stability with added arch support. My only complaint is that they stain socks and squeak after a few weeks use. Still, these are great and those minor drawbacks are nothing if they help prevent injuries.

Brooks Cascadia II (Toad Green/Red) ***1/2
Superfeet (Green) ****

- I bought these for an exceptional price (45.00) and had read that they were a reliable choice for a moderate trail shoe. The shoes are looks-wise some of the most original and vibrant trail shoes I've seen. Unfortunately, they're not so hot performance wise. The problem is their flat base. Most trails have rugged terrain that require some flexibility for maneuvering over rocks, mounds etc. The Cascadias are completely flat. It's also a very unresponsive shoe. It seems like their design is geared toward smoother trails. My next trail shoe will need more of a contoured fit and shape for rugged off road endeavors.

Brooks Ghost (White, Carbon, Cajun) RATING PENDING

- Buying shoes for their appearance is not smart, but I couldn't help it with these. They have to be some of the nicest looking shoes on the market. I branched out to Brooks and Asics just to get a wider spectrum of choice in the world of running footwear and so far these are my favorite looking shoes. I just received them today and upon trying them out there's no doubt it my mind that I would be swifter wearing them. They're light and smooth with a sprung toe which makes you feel like accelerating. I just hope they don't keel my shins. I'm hoping to use them for a upcoming 10k but I doubt they'll overtake the Hurricanes in terms of performance.