Reviews and More

My son started preschool earlier this year, which means I now have to write his name on everything he brings to class. I usually just do this by using a Sharpe to label his belongings, but recently I had an opportunity to sample some anodized dog tags from a company called QuickTrophy. I thought a dog tag would be a great item to attach to my son’s backpack (on the inside, of course) to help identify it as his own, so I jumped at the chance to participate — especially since I would be allowed to customize the dog tag to my personal taste.

I selected a blue one with a crossed checkered flag logo because my son loves racing. I then had it engraved with my son’s name and the number 44, which is the number of his favorite motocross racer. Here’s a picture of it, though I must apologize in advance for the image quality. Both of my regular digital cameras are broken, so this was taken with my camera phone, which can’t zoom in properly.

I was very impressed with how well the dog tag turned out! The engraving is crystal clear, the flag logo looks very cool, and the anodized blue finish is extremely crisp. Trust me, my photo doesn’t even come close to doing this product justice!

The dog tag also came with a free 24″ stainless steel ball chain, so I’m thinking my son might want to wear this instead of putting it in his backpack.

Since we’re so close to Christmas here, I’m going to put give him this dog tag as a stocking stuffer. I’m sure he’ll love it!

If you’re interested in getting a custom dog tag of your own, I recommend checking out QuickTrophy.com. They have a fantastic selection to choose from, the ordering process was simple, and the turnaround time was super-fast. You won’t be disappointed!

I’m not a fan of so-called “stoner comedies” like Dazed & Confused, Dude, Where’s My Car?, or even Fast Times at Ridgemont High, so I wasn’t in any rush to check out 2004’s entry into the genre, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle. But over the years, this film has developed a pretty strong cult following, and since I now watch star Kal Penn in the TV series House and co-star Neil Patrick Harris in How I Met Your Mother, I figured I would give this film a try. All I can say is, it wasn’t as bad as I expected it to be!

Plot summary (with possible spoilers): Harold (played by John Cho) and Kumar (Penn) are twenty-something roommates who like to get high in their free time. One night after smoking some weed, they inevitably get the munchies. Harold reaches for the phone to order some takeout, but Kumar is tired of that. He wants something else, something that would make for a more substantial meal. Just then, a commercial for White Castle comes on TV, so the two decide to head out for some sliders.

The problem with this plan is that neither of them have been to White Castle in years, so they’re not really sure where the closest one is. Kumar remembers one being near a mall or something, but when they arrive, there’s a different burger joint there instead. The two friends debate for a minute about whether they should settle for these burgers or continue on to White Castle, and of course they decide to drive on.

The rest of the film then deals with the various misadventures that Harold and Kumar get into as their simple trip to White Castle turns into an all-night experience that they won’t soon forget.

My Reaction: I didn’t really have any expectations about what this film would be like, so I ended up not having a strong reaction to it one way or the other. There were some funny moments along the way, along with some dumb ones, and a few scenes that were downright inexplicable (like that whole thing about riding on a cheetah). At least the two main characters were likable, and, at just 88 minutes long from opening title to end credits, the film certainly didn’t overstay its welcome.

I have to say that I was disappointed with Neil Patrick Harris’ appearance here. I’d heard so many things about how funny he was, but I thought his scenes were boring. He’s 100 times funnier as Barney Stinson — though I did notice that he brought some of his mannerisms from this film to his role on HIMYM. That was interesting.

Overall, I thought Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle was a decent flick, and give it 5.0 stars out of 10. I’m not a stoner, so that’s my opinion after watching the movie while stone cold sober. Your mileage may vary depending on your, ahem, state of mind at the time of viewing!