Evil

Kohl's. Kohl's is evil. One day sales. One day sales are evil. Especially one day sales at Kohl's. Went in to get some shoes (which I did), came out with shoes and shirts. Lots of shirts. I did manage to leave behind the t-shirt that read, "Work Bad. Videogames Good." though. (It was a close call...)

Family is in town again. Will be nice to see them for a bit. And it's a long holiday weekend. Posting may be very sporadic over the next several days. I'm sure you won't notice.

So. The computer world is waiting on the new announcement from Apple. And the gaming world is still hoping to hear more about the Nintendo controller. And apparently Nintendogs is "better than Barbie". Groovy.

And there was some horror film festival in the UK. Grrrr...

Spin

Nice short film.

Book 32 and Cake

True Story: Murder, Memoir, Mea Culpa by Michael Finkel is an odd book. A good book, but an odd one. I was unfamiliar with the events depicted, but Finkel certainly weaves a fascinating narrative out of a surreal situation. Fired from his dream job with the Times magazine for fictionalizing parts of a story he wrote, Finkel is alerted to a situation where Chris Longo (charged with killing his family) has been captured while impersonating Finkel. It makes for a compelling read as you realize the little games the two men begin to play.

Layer Cake was vastly different from my expectations. Having seen Snatch I expected a witty (if convoluted) British crime drama. Layer Cake leaves out most of the wit. It's still convoluted and a crime drama however. I don't think some of the pieces came together as well as they could have, but it's an interesting film. The swearing does wear thin though. Definitely a rental.

Travel

Get your bug going here...

Pirates and Ghosts

Picked up a handful of the Pirates Constructible Strategy Game packs. I suspect I've found a CCG that I could play. I've always enjoyed Pirate games and the little ships that you construct in this one are quite nice. Build some ships, sail the seas, find treasure, and blow up your opponent. What's not to like? The basic game is pretty easy to pick up and the advanced game looks like it adds some length and strategy without adding too much to the difficulty. Perfect for the upcoming speak like a pirate day. Arr...

We watched The Ring Two last night. I would say it wasn't as scary as the first one, but it had a pretty good story. And the extras on the DVD were quite nice. I especially liked the Rings short. It's a nice piece of Ring mythology that fills in the events that led up to the beginning of the second film. Quite well done. I still find it interesting that they're bringing over the Japanese directors to re-make these films. Part of me wishes they'd just release them, but it is interesting to see what the re-makes are like. The second one has several nice moments including the scene with the deer and the (in)famous bathtub sequence. We get more of Samara's background and more creepy little kid moments. Plus a really good contortionist.

In related news, there's now a box set of all the original Japanese Ring movies out. Sounds like a birthday present to me.

Book 31.5

Tried reading The Dante Club. I wanted to like this book. Intriguing premise and some Dante. And in a lazy sort of way, I did like the book. Just not enough to finish it. So that marks about three books that I've started recently that I haven't been able to convince myself to read. We'll see if the next one bucks that trend. I suspect it will. Actually I have a couple more books on tap, so expect something relatively soon. As for whether or not I'll try counting any of the failures, I guess not. But I'm leaving the half score in my count. Well, not visibly, but I'll think it every time! ^_^

The Brothers Grimm is getting pretty mixed reviews. Which may imply a Gilliam Effect. Typically you either love him or hate him. My wife's undecided enough that this one may get relegated to rental status as opposed to theater venture, but I'll carry a special place in my heart for it.

Session 416

Viral video for Serenity. Per Whedonesque, that's Joss in the chair. Heh...

And one year later...

So. It's been a year. And frighteningly enough, I'm still here. A venture started due to lack of sleep and irrational desire continues through pretty much those same commodities. I've started taking weekends off (mostly) but otherwise you get to endure my pointless ramblings and the odd link or two that you've seen thirty other places. And the infrequent kid pictures. Can't forget those.

At any rate, I don't have anything terribly special to mark this momentous milestone. So let's just opt for a coupe lines of silence...



I think that's enough. The neighbours next door are moving. They've been there since just before we moved in. I suspect it will be a couple teary days for the kids as they're losing their most frequent playmates. I offered to save them the trouble of moving the big screen TV, but they seemed oddly attached to it. Go figure. ^_^

The Brothers Grimm opens this weekend. I expect all of you to patronize the movie (in the original sense, thank you very much). It's good to see a Gilliam film in the theater again. Now we just need Fincher's Zodiac...

It's funny, I think I had some ideas I meant to jot down here in commemoration, but at the moment nothing's jumping out. I could point you over to Neil Gaiman's site so you can listen to the first bit of Anansi Boys, but that's fairly predictable. (And yet I'll do it anyway.)

If nothing else I expect my sanity level has been on a slightly more even keel this past year. It's nice having this outlet. Random writing is good for the soul.

At least you have the fall TV season to look forward to. New NCIS, House... And a whole slew of spooky shows. Good to see horror getting its 15 minutes.

Heh

This is hilarious.

Couple random links

This one is a transcription/description of the Serenity panel at the recent San Diego ComiCon.

And this is the Cry_Wolf blog.

Kind of different and yet the same. It's been interesting to me lately to see a little further behind the curtain of the movie industry. Between reading Bruce Campbell and Robert Rodriguez, listening to commentary tracks on DVDs, and skimming through film blogs, bits and pieces of that world have opened up. Things to think about. Film can certainly be a powerful medium.

Monday catchup

Here's Macworld's Mac Gems blog. If you have a Mac, chances are there's something for you there.

Watched The Cat Returns. For the Ghibli title we knew the least about (out of the last batch of three released) we ended up enjoying it the most. This one is a nice little fairy tale. The girls loved it and my wife and I weren't far behind.

Rescue Me is what Dennis Leary would have done with The Job were it not on network TV. I'm not sure how I feel about that. I like Dennis Leary, but I think he's a little better when he's working under some restraint. The Job is probably just a touch better than Rescue Me, although it has been quite some time since I've seen The Job - that could be the nostalgia talking.

And school is back in session. The world breathes a collective sigh of relief and I suspect we'll start gaining back some semblance of sanity. There are times when the track system is terribly appealing.

Don't look

Just don't.

Red Eye

Red Eye is a nice little thriller. Some great acting, nice tense moments and a plot that clips along. Makes you remember why movies used to be ninety minutes.

This is an interesting article. Moreso for the question it asks as opposed to the actual content of the article. Which is a pity, as it really is a rather interesting question. One that I shall have to think about some.

Thursdays

Not really much you can say about Thursdays. Poor Thor. God of a day that most people would skip if they could. Not yet Friday, but close enough to the end of the week to be frustrating. This marks the last week of summer for the kids. Back to school on Monday. And the world sighs with relief.

The letter 'r' and I will hit Red Eye tomorrow. It's getting pretty good reviews. Looks like Craven may have a hit on his hands again. Speaking of Craven, have an interview. Those wacky folks at Twitch score again. I especially liked the bit about the rating of Last House on the Left. Never saw that one...

Quick question

When did Winnie-the-Pooh become all about Roo? Is Elmo behind this?

Oshiro

This should keep you busy...

Werewolves

Dog Soldiers is good. Low budget British horror flick featuring soldiers vs. werewolves. There are a couple plot oddities, but overall an enjoyable film. It's an odd fact of life that the best horror movies now seem to be coming from outside the US. Britain and Asia seem to be the new reigning horror champs. We're stuck in remake/sequel land. I've heard Red Eye is supposed to be good, so maybe there's some hope left.

And soon it's off to my daughter's guitar recital. That should prove to be interesting...

Elvira interview

Twitch has an interview with Cassandra Peterson (better known as Elvira, Mistress of the Dark). Go read it, it's quite good. I will once again lament the loss of the weekend horror/sci-fi show. I grew up with The Creature Feature and Crematia Mortem. And I still miss it. Long live the horror genre...

Weekend fun

Knock yourselves out. (Inspired by one of the better sequences in Sonatine.)

Lull

My sister and her husband get into town this afternoon. We'll spend parts of a couple days with them. They're taking the girls over to a water park this evening as part of her birthday. Miranda has been going on about it for a few days now. I suspect she's excited. And there will be an evening at a cabin Dave's family owns. It's nice to get away for a bit.

At any rate, today was mostly a get things done day. Groceries, lawn, random tidying, that sort of thing. It'll be a somewhat busy weekend, so any chance to rest is welcome.

Yakuza movie

Watched Sonatine, the "bonus" movie included with Zatoichi. In a lot of ways I don't know what to make of it. I don't have a lot of experience with the yakuza genre and so can't really pick up on any of the nuances or differences Sonatine might be going for. It was interesting in a lot of ways. For a good chunk of the film my wife and I were wondering if anything were going to happen. And trying our hardest to keep all the characters straight. We mostly succeeded. But not entirely. There are moments of humor and certainly moments of violence. Interestingly, if you watch some of the bonus features, you learn that Takeshi had a series of images in mind and then strung them together into a plot. I think he mostly got it right. Not one I'd watch with any regularity, but it was interesting enough. And I really want one of those paper boxer games...

Ok, something interesting

Support the First Amendment in literary style.

Not much

It's been a crazy week. Work has been rather hectic, running around after odd TV shows, family coming in to town. Crazy.

And so I don't really have much to ramble on about today. Graeme has come down with a bit of a cold and so his sleep schedule is pretty medication derived at the moment. The girls are trying to cram as much energy as they can scrape together into this final couple weeks of summer and my wife is still off in crochet land. Although she has completed one project thus far.

I guess I'll have to settle for the cold comfort of movies and games. Oh wait, I do that anyway. Never mind. Life is normal...

Although I suspect there's something instinctual in kids that let's them know summer is ending. They've been a lot more on edge lately. Not enough sleep and a certain amount of restlessness. Will have to keep a closer eye and tighter fist on them.

Accursed Roswell

Spent most of the afternoon running around looking for the increasingly elusive Roswell third season DVDs. Kung Fu Hustle? Found it in a flash. The Place Promised in Our Early Days? Ditto. Even the sole copies of Hero and Dog Soldiers Circuit City had discounted weren't this hard to find. But find them I did and so my wife will be enjoying the last episodes of the show come her birthday. All in all an expensive, if frustrating, day. But hey, every so often you have to live a little.

Zatoichi is an absolutely amazing movie. And there's a little of everything in there. Nicely done fight scenes, wonderful comedy, a dance number that seemed inspired by Stomp, and even some heart-breaking drama as we get some of the back story of some of the characters. If you haven't seen it, go now. Go now, rent it and watch it. It's brilliant.

Book 31 and a couple of flicks

Finished off Make Love the Bruce Campbell Way. While I enjoyed Chins more, this one was certainly enjoyable. And honestly the only reason Chins was better was because it was non-fiction. While I'm sure a lot of Make Love is pretty close to reality, it still falls into the realm of story. And where Bruce is concerned, truth is certainly stranger than fiction.

The Eye is an excellent horror film. It's not really a scary movie - there are a couple jump moments, but overall it's more horrific than anything. (Hence the emphasis earlier.) And apparently several of the events in the movie are based on things that actually happened. This one gets a complete recommendation. It was pretty well paced (note - I'm not saying it moves along at a fast pace - it's well paced, they take the time to progress the story in a way that makes sense and allows us to get involved with what's happening) and there are some nice cinematographic touches. The Pang brothers are directors to keep an Eye on. Ha Ha!

Hitch manages to remain interesting in spite of the formula it adheres pretty strictly to. It's pretty typical for a romantic comedy, so there aren't really any surprises, but the cast and the story are fun, so you don't really mind. There are certainly worse ways to kill time.

And I spent far too much time at work today. But that's neither here nor there.

And it begins

Short weeks for the rest of the year.

Picked up way too many movies for the week. One Japanese horror flick, couple of Beat Takeshi flicks, Hitch for the wife and The Last Unicorn for the kids. So yeah, heads will be exploding or something.

And there's the slight possibility of having to go into work tomorrow. Gotta love it when one thing breaks and in fixing it, something else gets broken and then that... well you get the idea. Rube Goldberg lives on.

But for now it's Friday and I can live with that.

Almost a Friday

Lovely poetry. Although admittedly I've only read Neil Gaiman's offerings at the moment. But plenty to keep coming back for.

Played Bocce this evening. A nice game to pass the time with. When I was in Scotland I played a bit of lawn bowling. Picked up Bocce since it's similar (only without the weighted balls). Hit a bucket of balls at the driving range yesterday. I'm paying for it today. I swear there are muscles that only golf uses. And if you don't play regularly it reminds you.

I've become enamored with the Audio Editions of the Movie Blog. Interesting topics and usually a few laughs. If you haven't hit the link over there on the right, go wander by.

Which, in a way, brings up podcasting. It's interesting how the internet is really starting to change the face of journalism. Blogs and podcasting let anybody get their viewpoints out there to a potentially wide audience. Pretty intriguing really.

Cables and so on

Want to make your own A/V cables? We talked about that in the home theater class I took. I don't know that I'll ever make my own cables, but if you're a perfectionist cheapskate home theater enthusiast, then you might be interested.

Confession time. The next couple books that were slated to show up were 1776 and John Adams by David McCullough. But I couldn't get through them. Which is a shame because they're actually quite good. The problem is it takes me a long time to read his stuff. He's like a complete non-fiction Tom Clancy. It's interesting, but it's detailed and it takes me forever to get through it. So I'm going to give them a thumbs up and move on to my next book. I will probably try to sneak them away from my folks so I can actually read them in the future, but without the pressure of having to get them back to the library.

Seems like there were some other links I meant to pass along, but I have no idea what they were. Poor you.

The house has been overtaken by the needlework bug. I can't explain it. My wife is currently crocheting up a storm and McKenna is doing some kid's cross-stitch. Too strange. Actually, I used to do a bit of cross-stitch myself. I have a half finished Monopoly board running around somewhere.

Have I sent you here yet? Ah papercraft... Yup, that's enough of a distraction from that last paragraph.

Lovecraft Comic

This has potential.

Links abound

Once again the Lyttle Lytton awards are out. And the Bulwer-Lytton awards are up as well.

Here are some Game ads if you need to kill some time.

And it looks like Download.com is going to start offering videos and what not as well. The Aeon Flux Jailbreak teaser was interesting.

So there, something for just about anyone.

Weekend recovery

Did a bit of shopping for an upcoming birthday. Also picked up the Harry Potter edition of Scene It. That's a fun little game. They did a good job with some of the categories and the clues they give on the DVD.

Watched Star Wars (episode IV I guess I have to clarify now) last night. You know, as hard a time as people give the newer episodes, the old ones aren't that much better. Blasphemy, I know, but still pretty much the truth. Although I will forever hold a small place in my heart for Empire Strikes Back. I suspect it's really the best movie of the lot. Maybe I'll pick up just that one on DVD somehow...

I need to sketch a few icons. (And I needed a non sequitur to throw all of you off for a bit...)

So anyway, the trial of the guitar lessons is just about at an end. McKenna avoids practicing like all children, but in spite of that normality, I think we'll be canceling that extra-curricular activity. She has enjoyed swim lessons though. And Miranda has had a good time at dance. Ah the trials of little girls...