Mayhem

The folks are in town now and the spoiling of the grandchildren has begun. This is the one down side to living far from your parents. It takes roughly a week to decompress the kids after a grandparent visit. At least they brought BBQ sauce. Bubba Gump this time. We'll see how it is. My wife managed to snag some Ghiradelli chocolate too, so that's a bonus. Hey, they can't just spoil the grandkids. ^_^

My wife's folks roll into town next week, so there will be an additional period of time necessary to return our kids to normal.

Looks like Layer Cake comes out this week. Might have to track down a showing of that at some point.

And that's really about it. I wish it were Friday... 3 Day weekend ahoy.

Go hit Television Without Pity...

Let's do the twist

'r' picked up Warioware: Twisted and brought it along for the weekly game night. It's pretty fun. It's amazing how many little variations they packed around the simple idea of rotating your gameboy. It's just about as addictive as the original and certainly a lot more interactive. I've messed around a little with Touched on the DS and I'd say Twisted fares a little better. It seems a little more intuitive. Quite the franchise they're building on the ol' microgame front.

It's funny, at first glance you'd think Warioware is a game just about anybody could get into. But it's not really true. While the microgames are certainly simple enough, the speedy nature actually gears them more for people who grew up playing games. Gamers can recognize certain scenarios easier and thus make it through the microgames where non-gamers can't. <shrug> Random thoughts...

And tomorrow the folks show up for a week. Updating may be a bit scattered.

Book 20 and season finales

The next five books are a bit of a cheat. I'm reading the Harry Potter books again in anticipation of Half-Blood Prince. We didn't get sucked into the world of Harry Potter until the first three were already out. I forget why we even broke down and read the first one, but we did and we haven't looked back. Rowling has managed to create young adult literature that even adults can get into. I think part of what drew me into Sorcerer's Stone was the humor. There are several instances, but my favorites are Lee Jordan's Quidditch match commentaries and the cameraderie the main trio exhibit. I'm certainly interested to see how the series plays out. I suspect Dumbledore will be one of the casualties in the last two books. I guess we'll see if there are any others. The letter 'r' keeps hoping Dobby's number comes up.

At any rate, if you're one of the three people that haven't picked up one of these books by now, go ahead. They're a fun diversion and they follow the standard fantasy tropes of morality and the hero's journey. Good stuff.

And how about the NCIS and House season finales? I can't believe they killed Kate. And it was such a gruesome death too. And I can't help but wonder at the decision to bring House's wife onto the show. That won't end well...

Interesting

I never remember my dreams...

Not much

Not really anything worth passing on. Tried watching Star Wars Episode II last night on TV. Still didn't really care for it. Will probably see the third one at some point, but I'm not going out of my way to see it.

Don't know what it is about our house, but when we have the central air on the basement turns into an icebox. During the summer that can be quite nice, but when there's about a 10 degree differential between the upper floors and the lower floor something's not right.

Anyway, as mentioned not much worth passing on, but I figure it's better to stay in the habit of posting something rather than nothing. Despite the reality that this is still nothing... Ah the joys of silly word play. I once had a lengthy discussion in High School about how nothing was something and vice versa. Made an otherwise dull bus trip enjoyable and led to a pretty good friendship. 'lo Tamie where ever you are.

Book 19

PK Dick's A Scanner Darkly comes in at number 19. The trailer pushed me into reading this one. I meant to read it a while ago, but never could track down a copy. It's quite a bit different from what I expected. Far more drug trip and far less sci-fi. After reading this and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, I just need to track down Naked Lunch and I'll have hit the drug trip trifecta. Still, you can tell it's a PK Dick book. His unique world view is still in evidence even through the "trip goggles". Actually it's an interesting look at the addict world. There are times I'm amazed that America made it through the 60's. What a strange time period that must have been. I remember watching that show about Charles Manson a while back and thinking the same thing then.

Scanner follows narc and addict Bob Arctor as his life slowly dies due to his addiction to Substance D. No one is who they seem in this book and the plot bounces around like a super ball. There are moments of humor and pathos. It's not hard to feel sorry for the people caught up in this life style. Especially sobering was Dick's afterword where he talked about the real life influences he based the characters on.

Not a book for everyone, that's for certain. But it was definitely an interesting read. I'm curious to see how they make a movie out of it...

Way too hot

It's been far too warm here these last couple days. Unfortunately it's supposed to cool off again or the AC would be on. As it is, we're making do with fans and screen doors. I miss the AC. Oh well.

E3 is over for another year. Seemed to be a pretty good one. For the last day go hit Jeremy's blog over at 1up.

Caught the Tarantino episode of CSI. What's up with him and burying people alive lately? I was also a little saddened that there weren't some better song choices. That's one of the things I've always enjoyed from him. The usual Tarantino clichés trademarks were in full force though. It was an alright episode. I've pretty much given up on that show and switched to NCIS.

Go enjoy your weekend.

Ugh

Mowing the lawn while suffering from tendonitis = not a bright idea. Ouch... Stupid lawn. Stupid tendons.

Today's pick for E3 coverage goes to Press the Buttons. Why? Because I said so.

I'm done typing now.

Wednesday

Blah. It's Wednesday.

And it's the first day of E3. Stories and previews are starting to trickle out as those there get around to blogging about it. Sounds like it's an interesting year. Which is no surprise as right now it's all about the next generation (again). I remember the last time it was the next generation. 5 year life cycle indeed.

I still have little to no interest in anything Xbox. The new Nintendo console has charmed its way into my heart and I'm indifferent about Sony's offering. Microsoft and Sony are trying too hard to make a media hub. I just want something that will play games and be fun. Which is why I've slowly morphed into a Nintendo freak. I see a lot of people writing off Revolution as underpowered and a sure failure already, but I think they're aiming right where they should be. Nintendo has a much easier chance of picking up the casual gamer market.

Anyway, there's some Star Wars movie coming out this weekend. The office tower where I work is right next to a Megaplex and there are people camping out waiting to get in. I vaguely remember getting that excited about a movie. I've stood in a few lines, but camping out crosses a whole sanity threshold that is beyond me. I'll wait a few weeks and catch it later. At least it sounds like this one should be good.

E3

Starts tomorrow. Wish I were there. The big three have had some press conferences already and details are emerging about the systems making up the next genereation. Nintendo announced the Gameboy Micro as well as some details on Revolution. Here are a few places to hit for your E3 news fix:

Games are Fun

1up

Joystiq

That's a good start.

Toys and DVDs

Burger King has some nifty Star Wars toys this week. I especially enjoy the mini ships. I had to confiscate liberate my daughter's X-wing... The Han Solo in carbonite toy is pretty cool as well.

So. The Grudge is being re-released on DVD this week in a special unrated extended cut style format. Bastards. This is my least favorite aspect of DVD. The double dip. Why must they do this? I really want to check out some of the extra stuff on the new edition, but there's no way I can talk my wife into picking up another version. The one we own creeps her out enough. Heh... Talk about someone dying in the grip of a powerful rage. Watch out evil Hollywood marketing weasels, you shall not escape my wrath!

The letter 'r' has totally fallen under the spell of the GBA. Mwa ha ha. Soon the GBA shall overtake all.

Yeah, that's about all I got.

Ramping up

Well, the big three are gearing up for E3. Last night was Microsoft's MTV debut confirmation of the Xbox 360. Sony may release the PS3 this year after all, and details are starting to come out about Nintendo's Revolution. Giddiness commences. It'll be an interesting 3 days, that's for sure.

We hooked the letter 'r' on Katamari Damacy. Beware the katamari. It will roll you up, along with the rest of the world.

And the weekend rolls up to meet us.

Good Aura Day

Today was one of those days. Y'know, the rare good days where you get to make people feel silly for missing those should-be-obvious mistakes. Actually, my karma was just tipping the other way for being on the receiving end last week. But it's always fun to walk up to somebody, hear they've been stuck on something fo a couple hours and then help them see the problem in a couple seconds. Heh...

And the Katamari soundtrack must have been created in some secret studio in tunitis hell. It just creeps up on you and won't leave you be. Stupid catchy songs that stay in your brain forever! ^_^

Yesterday's descent into Kafkaesque nightmare has made me want to read some more of everybody's favorite depressed Praguelodyte (ok, I have no idea what you call someone from Prague...). I remember reading The Trial and In the Penal Colony along with a few short stories. He ranks up there with PK Dick and Lovecraft in my book. Recommendations anyone?

Ultraviolet continues to be interesting. They've spun a few new twists into the vampire mythos that have certainly kept me interested. I look forward to the last couple episodes I've yet to watch.

Rain

The 2 weeks of Spring have arrived and we've had quite a bit of rain. It's been pretty nice actually. I spent a couple years in Scotland and grew pretty accustomed to precipitation in all its forms. Now if Graeme were just old enough to mow the lawn...

Work has morphed into some sort of Kafka novel.

The kids have become addicted to Katamari Damacy. It is quite the amusing little game. The King of All Cosmos gets all the great lines and you get the joy of rolling up people into balls and launching them into the sky to become stars. Heh heh heh...

I need to track down a new book to read.

A couple bits

This could prove to be interesting. 3 issue comic series for Firefly bridging the TV series and the movie.

And iTunes has acquired some of the Final Fantasy soundtracks. Too bad none of the piano collections are there. That would have been pretty cool...

The Joy of Katamari

What a weekend that was. It involved way too many hyperactive little girls, some rather odd free comics, Mother's Day, insomnia and Katamari Damacy. If you own a PS2, do yourself a favor and spend the $20 to pick it up. You'll be glad you did. Except for those moments when the theme song gets stuck in your head and the dreams you inevitably have that involve rolling up all the assorted junk in your house...

But we survived and that's what counts. Mother's Day was enjoyed by all, my wife especially. I got to hear a funny story about my folks that would fit right in with any teen comedy. (It was funny because it didn't happen to us.) It involved a teenager house sitting and I suspect that's enough detail for you to picture what happened on your own.

And the work week has shown up so I can get some rest from the hectic weekend. ^_^ Too bad the insomnia is affecting my rationality and coherency (well, what little of it there was).

Ah....

The joys of Friday.

Tomorrow is Free Comic Book Day, so go grab yourself an issue of something.

I may go wandering around and look at headphones tomorrow. It would be nice to have a decent set of cans for those wee hours of the morning when I can't sleep and I need me some Soul Calibur or Wind Waker or Bebop. Unfortunately I have no real idea where to look for some. So the journey may indeed be half the fun in this case.

Philly Steak sandwiches are good. Especially when I make them.

And Sunday is Mother's Day. So keep that in mind.

British Vampires and Zelda

Watched the first couple episodes of Ultraviolet the British vampire show mentioned previously. I miss British TV in some ways. Soundtracks done by Casio keyboard, time taken to actually let you get to know the characters before they start jumping into the story, etc. The first bits are pretty good, if occasionally cheesy. Look forward to seeing where the other few go. If you run across it, it's worth peeking into.

The letter 'r' is getting ready for a trip back East and so picked up a GBA SP. He has discovered how wonderfully addictive they are and has dropped off Zelda: Minish Cap so that he doesn't play through it before the trip. So I've popped it in and played a bit myself. Fun little game. I wonder if I can finish it off before he needs it back... That or claim that it's wedged in my GBA. Blame the kids and a peanut butter accident. ^_^

Complete Calvin & Hobbes

Here it is... Release date and all. I need this.

Memo to myself

Do the dumb things I gotta do...

Sorry. TMBG moment there. National Treasure came out today. It's worth picking up a copy. Unless you have an aversion to fun movies. If you're only in it for the Cinema then look elsewhere. And ignore the fact that we're laughing at you.

One of the guys at work metioned that Joss Whedon got a possible 3 movie deal with Serenity so we might have more than one movie to look forward to. He also mentioned some British tv series about ex-vampire police officers. This bears some investigating...

And sweeps week for tv should be done like a double blind trial. That way we wouldn't have to endure things like Dr. Phil/Pat O'Brien commercials and really, really stupid articles scare tactics comedy bits on the news.

Is it just me

Or do The Killers sound like Stabbing Westward?

Book 18 and classic horror

Flight Volume 2 was a joy. If I had to choose one word to sum it up (which I don't), I'd choose growth. The volume itself is about double the size of the first volume and the stories also seem to have grown. Some literally, in the case of one which picks up where it left off in volume one, and some figuratively as they tackle other themes, while still maintaining the "flight" motif. The traditional collection caveat still holds up as you'll always find some stories that you enjoy more than others, but once again the overall feel of the book is one of contentment and satisfaction. The art ranges from interesting to simply beautiful. If you liked the first one, you'll feel right at home with the second. If you missed the first one, pick this one up as there will be something inside that will enchant you.

Watched Night of the Living Dead last night. I can see why it's considered a classic (as well as a genre starter). I wouldn't really call it scary, but it was occasionally eerie and it told an interesting tale. I find it interesting that the best horror films are far more often character centered pieces than setting centered. It's only occasionally what's happening (although that makes for great jump moments), but who it's happening to, that's what really drives great horror. I'm pretty sure this was the first zombie movie (partially evidenced by the fact that they're never called zombies - they're called ghouls a couple times, but that's as close as it gets). I'll have to track down the etymology of the word zombie as it got applied to film. Shot in black and white with a soundtrack that only occasionally matches up to the action onscreen Romero's first entry into the "Dead" series is a great start. Follow several people trapped in a house they don't know surrounded by something they don't understand - walking corpses bent on their destruction, if not consumption.

Despite being an older piece, it holds up pretty well. Although there are a few corny moments, but that's almost a staple of the horror world itself. If nothing else, you know it's a good movie when your wife gets into it and can toss off a couple appropriate one liners at the screen. "Mmmm barbecue" indeed. Heh... There were a couple twists at the end that really helped drive some of the "horror" home. Certainly worth the dollar I paid for it. I look forward to checking out the sequels...

Book 17

Issola rounds out the Brust-a-thon. Vlad ends up with a new toy and you get more exposition about the nature of the world the characters live in. An interesting story rounding out the Vlad novels thus far in existence. So. Now that I've read them all would I recommend them? Yes certainly. Just probably not all at once like that. The characters remain interesting and it's always fun to spend a little time with them.

And now it will be on to Flight 2.

The Joy of Flight

Flight Volume 2 arrived in the mail today. Joy! Once I polish off Issola I'll immerse myself in lovely sequential art. Unfortunately it doesn't look like the PA guys made it into this offering, but Jeff Smith (Bone) did as well as a few new faces and some of the artists from the first volume. I can't wait.

The trailer for George Romero's Land of the Dead is running around the net now. It's worth watching just for Dennis Hopper's last couple lines at the end. You can go roving for it - I refuse to make this internet thing completely easy for you.

And I ran across this blog the other day. It seems to have some potential as a gaming blog.

Gorillaz

I kind of like them. And at the moment, that's all I have to say...

Serenity Now

Serenity trailer is up. It needs to be September 30th right now...

Book 16

Dragon (yeah, yeah, Brust etc.) took a bit longer to get into than the previous Taltos novels, but by then end it still ended up pretty interesting. I will say that I'm looking forward to finishing off Issola and moving on. I think this may be the longest stretch of books I've read by one author. I refuse to speculate on whether or not that's a good thing. Dragon, for the most part, delves into Vlad's past and provides the soldier story for the series. One of the things I like about Brust is his willingness to gloss over things. Most authors get bogged down in descriptions and setting up events and things like that. Brust winks at the reader a few times and manages to skip that sort of thing and it works out for the best. That's not to say that he doesn't provide descriptions and scene setting, but he knows when it's important and when it's not. Vlad's willing to just tell the story. Plus, some of the description he waves off ends up being other stories. It's either a cheap trick or refreshing brevity. Your pick.

Still chuckling over Kung Fu Hustle. That was such a great movie...

This is hilarious

From Boing Boing:

A hilarious collection of personal ads.

Evil $1 DVDs

We were shopping at WalMart today and they had a bin of $1 DVDs. I couldn't resist The Bodyguard (starring Sonny Chiba, not Kevin Costner thank you), Romero's Night of the Living Dead and Horror Express. Oh, and we got Heidi for the kids. Just finished suffering through watching The Bodyguard. Oddly I can see the influence movies like this had on things like Kill Bill and Cowboy Bebop, but this was not one of the more spectacular examples of Kung Fu cinema. Despite the write up on the DVD case promising, "much kung fu mayhem"... I feel so cheated. Well, ok since it was $1, I can't quite say that with a straight face.

So, Kit, Eric, James when are you coming out for some silly movie marathoning? Horror Express looks especially promising.

Do the Hustle

Yeah, yeah, terribly unoriginal title considering I'm going to talk about Kung Fu Hustle. Deal with it. Funniest movie I've seen in a long time. It's been a while since I've laughed that hard. Do yourself a favor and go see it. Now. And then go see it again. Stephen Chow has come a long way since Shaolin Soccer. I enjoyed Shaolin Soccer, but this movie is on a completely different level. It manages to be both a Kung Fu movie and a parody of Kung Fu movies. Toad Fu! Hand Ax dance number! It's like watching a live action Kung Fu cartoon. And there are several sly pokes at popular American movies. Just go see it. I'll have to come back and actually talk about the movie once it's been out a little longer so I don't feel like I'm spoiling it.

And so on

So the week that would not die is inexorably dragging its way to some form of conclusion. At least it will end on a high note. Kung Fu Hustle comes out tomorrow and a group of us from work are going. Mwa ha ha.

And we have managed to accomplish some spring cleaning. The house has, for the next five minutes, been declared clean and livable.

Now if I can just track down a copy of House of Flying Daggers...

Is this week over yet?

What do you mean it's only Wednesday?

They got rid of Vogler last night on House. While it's not surprising, all things considered, I am surprised they did it so soon. He was a really good bad guy. And it will be interesting to see what they do to keep some of the tension on the show.

I have this bizarre urge to pick up Magnum P.I. on DVD...

Moving on. <whistles>

My wife insists on watching Smallville. At the moment she has to settle for taping it as we tend to have plans for Wednesday nights. But seriously. Smallville. I will admit to enjoying the first season, but since then it's just kind of grated on my nerves. Not unlike Alias... Why is it that American dramas can't seem to sustain themselves past a season or two? I blame the lack of finite plotting. This desire Hollywood has to find the next show that can just go on forever and ever must stop. It's ok to have a story to tell and then tell it over a set period of time.

And that's about it.

Fight the System

Punk Rock Graeme,
originally uploaded by dkun.

Either that or marry someone not afraid to embarrass her son with photos of a silly nature. Graeme has since had a haircut as we really just can't encourage this behaviour at such an early age. ^_^

And as a further note to this morning's post, Burger King really does not for good leftovers make.

So the subtle campaign to turn Heather to the dark side of gaming life is continuing. She's currently playing through Tales of Symphonia with me controlling one of the characters during the battle sequences. Of course, one of the main reasons behind the purchase of this game was that you could have up to four people controlling the characters during the fighting. It makes for a nice gateway RPG. The dialogue ranges from wonderfully cheesy to nicely funny. So you get both ends of the spectrum. And the art and music are lovely.

And work life continues to make one question the existence of intelligent life on planet Earth...

Fast food

Arby's the next day (cold) = quite good.
Burger King the next day (cold) = not so much good.

Memo to myself - no BK for breakfast...

Wise words indeed

Good ol' Neil.

Book 15

And Orca bites the dust. A little more interesting than some of the previous stories, Orca actually bothers to fill in a little more of Vlad's world. More grist for the mill at any rate. There are little tidbits mentioned almost in passing that you wish got more attention. Possibly later books. If nothing else it's nice to see another style of story out of the series. This one was more of a mystery than the usual intrigue/assassination plot of the earlier stories. I remember thinking the Brust made a comment that his goal with each of the Vlad stories was to keep trying new things. At any rate a couple more to go and then it's really time for a new author.

Today's tidbit

When you're very tired, Lost in Translation almost seems fast paced. And Bill Murray is the best.

Eye of the Storm

Kids are sick, so the house is actually relatively quiet for the moment. While you always hate to see your kids sick, the quiet is almost always welcome.

Polarium could almost make me buy a DS...

And Vogler on House is just evil. Evil!!

Cool architecture

Nifty.

Books 13 and 14

Yeah, more Brust. Phoenix and Athyra to be exact. Three more by him and I'll be done. Phoenix picked up where Teckla left off and Cawti and Vlad split. Athyra was interesting in that it was from the point of view of a young boy, so you got to see Vlad from the outside. Plus it featured Brust's take on Plato's Allegory of the Cave. I'm still finding the series interesting to read, so that's something. Other than that it's a bit difficult to come up with something. Possibly because I'm reading them all so close together. shrug...

While the critics are panning it, several people I know have seen Sahara and enjoyed it. I find that perplexing. Actually, if I'm honest I'd probably enjoy it myself once I get over the casting decisions. One of my friends claimed it was similar in some ways to The Mummy and that was a fun movie. So who knows.

If you follow movie news, chances are you've heard about the less than flattering review (warning that link is super spoilerific) of Hitchhiker's. I'm not putting a whole lot of stock in it at the moment. One, the internet is famous for being less than kind. And two, the person doing the reviewing might be a little too close to the original source to be terribly unbiased. Although some of the dialogue choices he reported are a little silly. We shall see...

And that's Monday for you.

Friday

Porco Rosso is quite good. Although my wife was quite frustrated with the ending. Some of the scenes were quite beautiful - Miyazaki knows how to animate nature, that's for sure.

I'm extremely glad it's the weekend. And I think I'm going to go enjoy it...

Speaking of Kung Fu

Soul Calibur 2 has become rather addictive lately. Curse you Weapons Master Mode! I'm going through it for the second time trying to unlock all of the areas. And I still haven't finished Paper Mario 2, Metroid Prime: Echoes or DK Jungle Beat or... Well you get the idea. And I won't even mention some of the games I want to try. ^_^;>

Kung Fu Biography

Watched Fighter in the Wind last night. Certainly more comprehensible than Casshern. And funnier in places. It was an interesting movie detailing the story of a Korean fighter that beat the practitioners of several dojos throughout Japan. If you run across it, it's worth watching.

The Onion AV Club has an article up detailing bad scenes in great movies and vice versa. It's worth poking through.

And other than that your on your own.

A McKenna story

mckenna sketch,
originally uploaded by dkun.

My mother-in-law sent the girls some tapes of the old radio show Let's Pretend. She used to listen to it when she was younger and since the girls enjoy listening to stories she thought they'd get a kick out of it. And they do.

One of the more amusing aspects of the tapes is the inclusion of the ads they used to run during the programming for the radio shows. Each story is brought to you by some form of food or what have you.

The other morning McKenna came up to my wife telling her that you could grow babies from Cream of Wheat. She received an odd look and not much more was said. Then last night as we were getting the girls ready for bed we put in one of the tapes and it played a jingle for Cream of Wheat.

And it contained the line, "Cream of Wheat, good for growing babies." And the light bulb went on and my wife and I couldn't stop laughing for about five minutes. We tried to explaing the alternate meaning to McKenna, but I suspect we're all convinced that babies come from secret Cream of Wheat farms somewhere in the midwest.

A comic, a movie, maybe book 12

This is my new favorite webcomic. The current one (Monday April 4th, 2005 if you hit the link after Friday) just makes me laugh. And most of the strips in the archive do the same. I like the art style and the way color is used. So go read.

Watched After the Sunset over the weekend. Strange movie. The parts that were about diamond heists and thieves that may or may not be in retirement were good. The buddy movie middle section with Brosnan and Harrelson was just not good. It was silly. And it seemed to be from some completely different movie. I have no idea why they made the film that way. So it's worth a rental for the beginning and end, but ignore that whole middle section.

And I read Taltos by Brust. I know, I know. I said I was going to read something else. Chung Kuo just isn't grabbing my attention. Taltos was pretty good though. It was fun to read some more of the back story of the characters.

And Graeme is now rolling over. It begins...

Friday bits

Great place to eat: Asuka

Great art to look at: James C. Christensen

Great time to go to bed: now...

Film and stuff

Ran across this blog today. Mostly due to a comics/screenshot comparison of Sin City. Looks like there are other interesting things to browse through as well.

Spent part of the day warning people away from Casshern while trying to decide if it was really that bad. I think part of the problem was the trailer. It suckered us in expecting one sort of movie while in reality we got another. And for a foreign drama it wasn't too bad, but it certainly wasn't really an action movie. It was good to see Rutger Hauer working again though. (Well if Rutger Hauer were Japanese that is...)

Fun fact: Need to put a baby to sleep? Try No Angel by Dido. Works every time.

Casshern

So. Sat through Casshern tonight. What a mess of a movie that was. Pretty. But a mess. Part The Monkey's Paw, part anti-war film, part Evangelion, part who-the-hell-knows. It kind of boggles the mind. Admittedly, by the end a few things make sense (mostly the horribly confusing first half of the movie), but by that time it's a little hard to care. But it is pretty... And in good Asian cinema style everybody's dead by the end. There you have it.

But hey! Sahara's coming out soon! I can almost say that with a straight face. Ok, not really. Actually there are a few interesting films coming out soon, so we'll move on.

And finally...

This is pretty darn cool. And a sign of far too much time on your hands. I must do it myself...

The Easter baby, err, bunny

McKenna and Miranda were up bright and early this morning at about 6:30. My wife was asleep and I was barely able to form coherent thought.

They tromped into our room in order to inform us of the arrival of the Easter Bunny and far too much chocolate. Graeme took that opportunity to begin fussing a bit as he could hear his sisters playing around.

"It's the Easter Bunny!" McKenna promptly exclaimed with a look of wide-eyed shock. (Well, ok I'm imagining the look, my eyes were closed due to still wanting to sleep and all the laughing I was unsuccessfully holding in.)

"No sweetie, it's just your brother..."

The grilled cheese story

My wife asked Miranda what she wanted for lunch.

"A girl cheese sandwich."

"A grilled cheeses sandwich?" My wife asked, not hearing the mispronunciation.

"No, a girl cheese sandwich, not boy cheese!"

"Oh. Well, ok then..."

Quick notes

The Grudge - still creepy.

Jungle Beat - still addictively, frustratingly good.

Miranda - still hilarious (come back tomorrow for the grilled cheese story).

d - still tired.

And that is all.

Book 11

Finished off the Jhereg collection. Yendi and Teckla rounded the book out. Yendi was another fun little romp detailing the meeting of Vlad and Cawti. Teckla however was anything but fun. There were little flashes of fun and the trademark bits that make the series are still there, but the plot is much more serious and features much trouble in Vlad's personal life.

It's interesting in a couple ways. I remember while I was reading Jhereg that I found it interesting that Vlad was married. That type of character rarely is. And in Teckla some of the reasons become clear for the marriage - it looks like it's to set up some tension for the rest of the series. Vlad and Cawti's marital problems help mirror the conflict Brust is setting up in the world he's created. The odd thing is that (for me at least) it works. Vlad and Cawti's courtship is pretty whirlwind. And arguably it allows for the possiblitiy of some problems as they don't really know each other all that well. But Jhereg, which takes place chronologically after their courtship in Yendi, paints a picture of a couple in love. And then Teckla throws that out the window. Almost immediately. But you still feel for them. Despite the fact that it's all so quick, Brust's writing covers the gaps pretty well.

So, I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series, but I'm a little more tentative now. Yendi ends on a hopeful note, but the woods are still present and anything can happen. We'll see how it goes. But not for a while... I've got a couple other books I'm going to try and get through first.

The Dangers of Bongos

My wife was helping Miranda play Jungle Beat the other day. She took a turn playing through a level that involved a lot of clapping and upon completion realized that her hand hurt quite a bit. Managed to burst a blood vessel playing the bongos. So no Jungle Beat for her for a couple days. I tried to sympathize with her, but I think the laughter gave me away...

Red Eye looks good. And for once the trailer doesn't give much away, it's just tantalizing enough that it really piques my curiosity. Fun. And spooky!

Sharks and Book 10(ish)

So, I watched Spring Break Shark Attack last night. Sadly, they ruined what should have been a wonderfully cheesy disaster movie with an after school special subplot about date rape. And there weren't nearly enough sharks. In the first hour and a half of the movie (excluding the first 10 minutes or so which I missed) there was one shark attack. It did feature a nice fountain of blood, but then there was nothing for the next hour. It wasn't until the last 1/2 hour that you got the stellar shark attack that the promos promised. Fins everywhere! Screaming coeds! Truly ludicrous dialogue ahoy! There was at least one bad guy with an accent. And a really bad shark metaphor, but other than that it was just a lot of wasted potential. So sad really... There was at least a promo for Locusts!

So, the next few books (well this one and the next one anyway) are by Steven Brust. I'm currently reading the Book of Jhereg collection and I just finished Jhereg. It was a fun little read. Brust has an easygoing style that's pleasant to get lost in. And the characters are interesting and slightly familiar. I'm going to cheat a little and call Jhereg book ten, but Yendi and Teckla - the remaining two books in the collection - will get counted as book eleven. And if I read the other two collections (I suspect I will) they'll count as one each. At any rate, enough book keeping.

My first encounter with Brust was Cowboy Feng's. So far I haven't encountered any thinly veiled social allegories, just an enjoyable series that reads a bit like Fantasy Noir. You could almost claim that Brust is combining elements of film noir and typical fantasy tropes. I don't think you'd be wrong. It'll be a little easier to tell once I'm further into the series. But Jhereg itself was a fun read and left me wanting to read more, so that's good. I may end up spending a bit more time tracking down some of Brust's work.

And that's enough for a Monday.

Ahh Quiet

House is pretty quiet at the moment. McKenna is off to a birthday party and Miranda and my wife are off to do shopping. So Graeme and I are just chillin' here at the house. It's definitely a vast improvement upon last weekend.

If you haven't seen this, it's certainly worth a chuckle. I have little to no desire to see Star Wars Episode III in the theater. Oddly, I enjoyed the first episode, but II killed any desire I have to see the dark alley where Lucas kills off the series. There's already talk of Lucas trying to redo Episodes IV-VI in 3D. He just can't leave the poor thing alone. It's a bit sad really. He reminds me of a character from some book I was forced to read in High School (Of Human Bondage I think) that kept painting the same scene over and over as it was the only thing he'd done well...

Well, enjoy your weekend. Go watch The Incredibles or play a game or bask in what sunshine you can find.

Green thoughts and music

The Scots-Irish in me says, "Happy St. Patrick's Day." Throw down a beverage of your choice (I don't drink so I won't offer any really interesting suggestions) and offer a toast for family and friends and those without those comforts.

Recently the letter 'r' passed along the following link. Fluxblog is a nice little blog that features different songs by different bands. I'm currently in love with the Halcali "Surf Rider" song featured a few days ago. So I offer you that link and I'll go one better and throw in music (for robots). My musical tastes seem to run a little closer to this site's offerings, but both are quite fun to check out. I'm going to have to be extremely careful or I'm going to get sucked into the world of musical blogs that I've been woefully ignorant of up until now. Which is funny because I like music quite a bit. You'd think I'd have stumbled on one or two by now, but no such luck. So enter at your own risk! ^_^

Real quick

Finished off the Wonderfalls discs. Great show. Shouldn't have been cancelled. At least they completed a story arc over the first season. It was nice to not have a horrible cliffhanger staring us down for eternity...

Although I'd really like to have seen season three where they had her committed.

Hit the beat now

Donkey Kong Jungle Beat that is. Jungle Beat is a platformer that uses the DK Bongos. Hit the right drum to go right, left to go left, both to jump, and clap to interact with the environment. Deceptively simple that. Which the best games are. The real joy comes in when you try to wrangle every last banana out of a level. Is one hiding over there? Can I jump up there? What if I hit this spot here? Addictive really. I've heard the game is pretty short, but in some ways that works to your advantage. You're not going to want to pound the drums for level after level unless you're a pain glutton. Small doses - a little goes a long way. And if you're like me, you'll find yourself playing a level over and over trying to wrangle one more banana, one more crest. Arrrrggh! Stupid obsessive compulsive must collect everything mania...

Breathe... Breathe... I'm ok now.

It has become quite the hit in the house at the moment. I foresee the rekindling of the great Klonoa 2 war. Back in the day, my wife and I waged quite the competition over Klonoa. Who could get through which level first? Who could collect the 6 puzzle pieces first? And don't get me started about the gems... I suspect the girls might even get involved. Miranda's already plotting her chance to wrest the bongos back into her control. And I can't give much more praise than that.

Monday, Monday

Well, after a weekend that was far too short and much too loud, Monday arrives. Shoot me now. I really like Zombies!!! It's a pretty fun game. Here is my piece of advice for Monday the 14th of March, 2005: if the helipad shows up and you have a decent amount of ammo, head for the helipad! Don't waste your time dorking around in the building you're currently in so you can get, "Just one more bullet". You'll lose. Trust me on this.

And in order to beat one more horse to death, Firefly is also still excellent. I really can just sit and watch that show over and over.

So, The Incredibles comes out tomorrow. That's grand. I'll be snagging a copy on my way home. I'm looking forward to submersing myself in the goodness that is the film and the extras over the course of the week.

Can I throw one more non-paragraph into this post? Sure I can. And now I can go to sleep...

Book 9

And so the Dan Brown movement comes to a close. Finished off Angels and Demons - the first Robert Langdon book. It was certainly better than Digital Fortress, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. Actually it was, for the most part, pretty good. I'm still not crazy about the way Brown's characters have moments of plot-serving stupidity. And it was pretty obvious early on who Janus (the main antagonist) was. But it was a fun read and that counts for a lot when you're talking this kind of literature. I think one of the things I enjoy most is his little forays into architecture and symbology. Not that most of it should be taken as the only way to look at it. Symbols are after all pretty open to interpretation (Freud's cigar notwithstanding).

I'd like to see an illustrated edition of this book as well. The illustrated Da Vinci Code is certainly fun to flip through and Angels and Demons is right up there with art and architecture references. The bad guys this time around are the Illuminati. Poor Illuminati, always picked on. I have the card game version of the Steve Jackson Illuminati game mentioned briefly. Haven't played it in ages though.

At any rate, you could do worse than to flip through this one. The science vs. religion debate is a little grating at times. Brown does manage to play it pretty even handedly though - both sides get their moments. Although it's arguable that religion comes off a little worse for the wear. Still a fun popcorn book and probably Brown's best.

Movie Trailer Moment

Layer Cake looks good. I enjoyed Snatch. Never made it around to seeing Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Actually makes me want to watch Snatch again. I've been in a bit of a watch old movies kick. Want to see Strange Days again for some strange reason. And maybe Much Ado About Nothing. And a couple others.

Anyway, enjoy your weekend. Go track down the covers for the new Harry Potter book if you're a fan. I like the adult version of the British cover myself...

Giddiness

New H2G2 trailer is up. And it's brilliant. Go and seee it won't you?

Ouch...

In college, you can study anything you want... I'd cry if it weren't quite so close to the truth...

Counterpoint and Book 8

Here's an article that lambasts the "new game journalism". It also makes some valid points. Here's the thing though, gaming journalism does need to grow. And while yes, you need a certain amount of game good, game not good, I think you can evolve how you explain that a game is good. Does that mean that the new game journalism is self-serving snobbery? Maybe. It certainly can fall into that trap. But it can also be a powerful way of explaining what a game means in another context than just a guy hitting buttons on a controller. Unfortunately, with a few minor exceptions, you're going to get a lot of the self-serving snobbery before game journalism as a whole grows to the point where a review isn't just x points out of y. And I think that's all I'll say about that for now.

So. Book 8. Digital Fortress by Dan Brown. What a piece of work that was. And not in anything remotely resembling a good way. I believe this was Brown's first book. And I'm surprised he was allowed to write more. I had to force myself to finish this thing. The characters were pretty much all unlikable, the plot was really forced and scripted, and it just became a chore to read. Most of Brown's books seem to tackle some sort of issue. The Da Vinci Code tackles Catholicism and Christ's possible family life, Deception Point tackles NASA, and Digital Fortress tackles the NSA and the EFF. If you get tricked into picking up the book based on some of the puzzles you encountered in Da Vinci Code and thinking that you might find more here (based on the book jacket and the subject matter), drop it this instant. There really aren't any - Brown hadn't learned that trick yet.

The characters... I don't know what Brown's fascination is with disabilites, but it's like Crichton and theme parks. If a character has some sort of disability, you can bet they're a bad guy. This time it's a deaf assassin. I can only wish I were kidding (and that's not a slight against deaf people). The main character is once again a drop dead gorgeous scientist (aren't they all, really?) and she mostly just pouts her way through the story. And if you're female and you work for the NSA it must follow that you're stacked. Unless you're the janitor, in which case you're just small and honey-covered. <sigh> There's an actual reference to heaving chests in this story. And while it's not a romantic reference, it's certainly as melodramatic. I just... Words fail really...

The plot is pretty forced. And while it has the potential to be interesting, it mostly just ends up passing by. You've probably noticed that I haven't really described what happens. I would, but I can't bring myself to try and remember enough detail to give you a decent synopsis. Once again the technology is pretty accurate and you wonder just how much of this really goes on, but the ham-handedness of things makes it pretty hard to care. If you're looking for a good book on cryptography and society I recommend Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson. And if you want a story that deals with who will watch the watchmen, read Alan Moore's Watchmen. Give this one a miss. Eesh...

Game journalism

There's been a lot of talk about the "new game journalism". Here's an article that rounds up a few examples. The Prince of Persia piece as well as any of the Shoot Club articles are worth perusing. In a lot of ways this is a movement against traditional reviews and more a commentary on how games are part of our lives. Our reactions to games. The way they worm their way into our lives and affect us. It's certainly an interesting trend. It's only sort of caught on. I suspect there's a lot more of it on the web where you don't have the costs and need for readers that come with print publications. Which is a shame. I'd certainly be interested in a videogame magazine that wasn't just a series of scaled reviews and hype previews. And it can be hard to find even on the web. The more traditional game sites are starting to embrace it to some extent (there have been a few pieces over at 1up and insert credit that qualify, but I'd be hard pressed to point out too many more. Of course, I've really cut back on the game sites I hit any more as well. It's possible that this style may revitalize gaming journalism. Certainly couldn't hurt...

Quiet moments

The new Panda Express opened in town. The orange chicken was quite nice. As were the eggrolls. It's a little pricier than fast food, but it certainly tastes better.

Played a rousing game of Cooties with the girls this evening. They had quite the good time with that. It was fun to watch them enjoy themselves. And someone really needs to teach Miranda how to roll dice. She sat there shaking her hand like it was on fire only to hold the die in a deathgrip. And then she'd drop it straight onto the floor. I can tell she's on her way to Vegas...

For the moment things are quiet and that's something to take advantage of. Of course my wife decided to choose this exact moment to flip the tv on... Oh well, all good things come to an end I suppose. Accursed tv, we meet again. You'll get yours one day! It's funny, while there are a few shows I enjoy watching, the tv mostly serves as a medium for me to watch DVDs or play games. I could just about do without the actual broadcast portion. And now that tv shows are making their way to DVD... Mwa ha ha.

Book 7

You'll sense a trend for the next three books. Mostly because my holds at the library strangely all came in at the same time. Anyway. Book seven was Deception Point by Dan Brown. Brown, in some ways, reminds me a lot of Crichton. Take a plausible premise, throw in some fiction and mix. Brown doesn't pull it off as well as Crichton (well, earlier Crichton anyway) mostly because he telegraphs his moves. You can see the deus ex machina lumbering towards you for most of the "cliffhangers" in the story. I will admit to being caught off guard a couple times in this one, but that's mostly my own fault. I'm always a little too willing to overlook the really obvious bad guy for the obvious bad guy. Which means I can read mysteries and enjoy them. ^_^

So. Government coverups, bastard politicians, NASA blunders, and hot scientists. What's not to like? The book equivalent of a popcorn movie, Deception Point was a fun read and did offer some food for thought. Mostly along the lines of how we perceive NASA these days and what it might take to restore some of it's lost luster. As well as other possible ends for the space program. I have no idea how much of what's covered is legit. I doubt I'll do the research. I'll probably track down my friend over at Scaled and ask her about some of their recent experiences from this point of view. But mostly it's just a fun read. And there you go.

Up next is Digital Fortress and then Angels and Demons and then I'll be moving on to someone else. If I can take that much Brown. I had a serious Cussler overdose a couple years ago and I find it really hard to read him any more without breaking out into serious giggles and eye-rolling. Speaking of Cussler, what's up with that trailer for Sahara? McConaughey as Dirk Pitt? Seriously? <shudder> We need another weep for Hollywood moment...

And with that, enjoy the weekend!

Copper

Go read some. Wonderful little stories with a great art style. You cannot resist. Go read all of them. And then go read them again. And then go to Bolt City and catch up with what Kazu's working on at the moment. I'm gonna have to pick up Flight 2...

Not much else worth passing on at the moment. Well, that's not entirely true. I could make you go test your reflexes.

Or I could ramble on some more about the unaired episodes of Wonderfalls and how Fox should never be let near programming decisions ever again. Ever. No really. No more. <deep breaths> Ok. I'm ok. It's not my fault the program directors at Fox are idiots. <sigh>

Or I could relate the story about Miranda and her irrational fear of pirate cups... I really ought to post a McKenna story before that though.

Anyway, I think that's enough of a diversion for a Thursday night. And if not, go read the Radio from Hell blog. That will take at least 5 minutes. Or so.

Inner Geek Alert

I'm enough of a geek to want a few of these. There are a couple skins for the GBA and the Gamecube that are seriously beckoning to be mine. That GBA 9000 for one... And maybe the Matrix GC skin and... <sigh>

I find casemodding to be an interesting little field. I think the one I've liked the most so far was the guy that modded an old typewriter. It was pretty cool looking when he was done with it.

Due to a lack of concentration

Did I pass this along? I can't recall. Oh well, go look at the covers and laugh again...

Backup Title #2

It's a quiet Tuesday evening, which is an oddity, but a welcome one. My wife is at a meeting and strangely enough the kids are asleep. So I'm taping House for when she gets back and I watched [scrubs]. Didn't that show used to be at least a pseudo-medical dramedy? It's still pretty good, but it could take place just about anywhere with the current storylines.

I'm rapidly making my way through book 7, but you'll get the lowdown on it when I'm done. I probably should have gone into a little more detail on some of the stories from McSweeney's, but I didn't want to give too much away. My wife is currently reading through it and that's rather fun. It's interesting to see her reactions to some of the stories.

Not much to direct you lot towards at the moment. The rumors regarding the next gen consoles are mounting as E3 draws closer. It might even be interesting to see what happens. I've got little interest in what Sony and Microsoft have planned as they seem to simply be waging a media center war, but Nintendo's next box could be interesting...

And that's about it.

Flash games

Can't stop playing... No time for blogging...

Book 6 and the Academy

McSweeney's Enchanted Chamber of Astonishing Stories, edited by Michael Chabon, claims the number 6 spot for the year. And what a book it was. A collection of stories in the tradition of Poe and Weird Tales, it was an absolute joy to read. In turns eerie, haunting, and moving, an amazing group of writers take turns telling stories of things that go bump in the night or places that look like our world except for those niggling little differences.

Usually a collection contains a few stories that don't really resonate with you as well as the others, and while there were certainly a couple pieces that I didn't like as much, I can truly say that every story included was a real gem. If you enjoy stories that evoke a Twilight Zone sort of feel, run out and pick up this collection, it's a great read. I frequently found myself trying to read faster just to find out how things were going to turn out. This is a book that I suspect I'll read many times just to enjoy the stories again.

And so the Oscars were given out. No real surprises. I'm glad to see The Incredibles walk away with Best Animated Feature. Was also glad to see Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind win Best Original Screenplay. Chris Rock was only moderately amusing. I think my favorite comedic bit was where he talked to people at the local movie theater to see what "regular" America was interested in. I can say that I haven't (and won't) seen White Chicks, but I know where they're coming from. And while I'm not terribly interested in Million Dollar Baby, way to go Clint. Put out another western.

And so the weekend says good night...

Weekend rambling

As a teaser, I will offer up the opinion that what I'm reading for book 6 is probably the best book I've read in a long time. I'm thoroughly enjoying it. And that will have to do for now.

I mentioned Dick's work in brief yesterday. I've rambled on about him before, but he's probably worth a brief re-visit. I've only read a few of his stories (to my great shame), but I've enjoyed just about all the ones I've read. I like his short fiction quite a bit (mostly because I feel the short story is just about the perfect medium) as it gives you an excellent boiled down version of what he's all about. And it's mostly drugs, insanity, paranoia and humanity. Well, ok, I'm being a little facetious, but only a little. His work does do an excellent job of looking at what it means to be human though. And he's one of those "sci-fi" writers that really helps show just what science fiction can do for literature. It's not the red headed step child that mainstream literati try and present it as.

But I digress. I shall kick the soapbox back over in the corner. If you haven't read anything by Dick, then you can probably start in a couple places. A lot of his work has been turned into film. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep is probably the most notable instance as it became Blade Runner. But there are short story to novella length pieces that morphed into Total Recall and Minority Report to name a few. So you can start with some of the collections of his short fiction (a good place) or you can try Electric Sheep.

If you want a look at something that hasn't been filmed yet, I can recommend Ubik as a wonderful little diversion. It's quite amusing and has that same feel as the rest of Dick's work. Most people will point to A Scanner Darkly as his best work in a lot of ways, although I still need to track down a copy and verify that.

I can't explain why, but his writings in a lot of ways remind me of William S. Burroughs and Hunter S. Thompson. And I don't think it's just the obvious drug connections. I keep meaning to track down Burroughs's Naked Lunch and give it a go, but Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is similar in some ways to Dick's work, just a different tune using some of the same notes (to try and cram it into an awkward musical metaphor). I don't believe I've mentioned the recent death of Thompson here, but I should have.

At any rate, I believe that's enough rambling about that. At this point I think I'll simply offer this link to a site about PK Dick and call it good.

PK Dick

This is the trailer for the upcoming Linklater adaptation of A Scanner Darkly. It looks like it will be quite amazing. I'm a fan of Dick's work and have enjoyed most of the movies based on his stories. (I even enjoyed Screamers for the most part... ^_^) Here's to hoping.

Of afternoons and coffee spoons

miranda,
originally uploaded by dkun.

Cute kid moment ahead. You have been warned...

So, the other day Miranda asks my wife what the smaller spoon she's using is called.

"A teaspoon."

"Oh, ok."

Then at dinner that evening we gave her a salad fork to eat with.

"Is this a tea fork?" Miranda asks.

"Why yes dear. Yes it is."

And they really are...

Movies worth seeing (or why the Oscars don't matter anymore)

Since the Oscars don't actually bother to celebrate that, here's a list of movies that should really win some awards (not in any particular order):

The Incredibles - This is probably my pick for Best Picture. It's a perfect mix of action and drama. If you've read Alan Moore's Watchmen, you'll understand where some of the inspiration for Brad Bird's wonderful film came from. I could have watched this movie all over again right after I saw it, it's that good.

National Treasure - This should win an award for being an action movie with a brain. Any movie that celebrates intelligence over physical prowess should be cherished.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - This one needs to win Best Original Screenplay. A long, hard look at romance and relationships, this movie is a treat on many levels. Visually stunning, Eternal Sunshine offers us a look into the mind of a man losing his memories of a failed relationship - only to discover that it wasn't really the failure he thought it was. Heartbreaking and heartwarming all at once.

Garden State - Zach Braff is a wonderful story teller. This is another one that should win a screenplay award. As well as a couple awards for its actors. And it's music. Look into a mind dulled by prescribed medication as it slowly becomes aware and alive again. A great piece with an absolutely wonderful soundtrack.

Shaun of the Dead - Any movie that can be a comedy and a zombie movie all at once needs to win something. I'd probably pick this for best horror film and best comedy both. Excellent casting and a truly wonderful script. And the editing is a treat too.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - My favorite Harry Potter movie so far. Excellent cinematography and direction. Cuaron really nailed the world that Harry and crew live in.

I'm sure there are others, but this is a good start...

Ah Americana

Superman covers... Just go and laugh.

And the work week rises from the grave...

So, like all good things (curse you only the good things dying young!) the three day weekend has come to a close and the work week is once more upon us. Alas.

Forced Coerced Lovingly bestowed Shaun of the Dead on my wife last night as the closer for the ZWoF. Now if only we could convince the kids that bedtime is more than just a word that passes in one ear and out the other... Any dramatic tension that might have been built up was pretty much ruined by the constant barrage of little voices and frequent interruptions. The best one had to be McKenna informing us that she had pulled her own tooth. Kids these days... I mean really, what kind of kid yanks their own tooth?

Caught the trailer for Dark Castle's remake of House of Wax. I've enjoyed the other remakes they've put out. But I may have to miss this one. They've cast Paris Hilton. And that really makes me weep for humanity. What bright bulb made that decision? It's bad enough that they constantly put her on tv in that ridiculous attempt at a "reality tv" show but to actually make us pay money to see her "act"? I don't think so... Although the prospect of seeing her meet some gruesome end is almost enough of a counterbalance.

So, upcoming movies to look forward to: Be Cool, Millions and The Cave. The Oscars are looming and I can't quite bring myself to care. Normally I enjoy watching them, but this year there's not much to look forward to in the candidates they've selected. I keep meaning to throw out my list of movies worthy of accolades. Maybe tomorrow. And with that good night.

What day is it again?

Three day weekends do that to me. Never mind weekends involving zombies and other undead creatures...

We watched 28 Days Later on Saturday night. I believe I've mentioned it before in passing. Great film if you haven't seen it. I wouldn't exactly call it scary, but it is a nice re-vamping of the zombie genre. Speedy zombies are quite nice. I find zombie movies to be ultimately frustrating because it seems like there is little a person can do to survive in a zombie infested world. Much like Invasion of the Body Snatchers. How are you supposed to fight something like that? Now, it can be fun to briefly visit a hopeless case scenario, but I'm certainly glad I don't have to live in one.

I suppose that pegs me as at least a partial optimist, but certainly only a partial one...

At any rate, Shaun of the Dead is up tonight and I couldn't be happier. Also a great film. And I suspect we'll play at least one round of Zombies!!! as well.

Anyway, enjoy your day off if you have one, and if not, you should. Take a day for some reason and relax a bit. Me, I could use another couple days to detox unwind, but I'll take what I can get.

Zombies!!!

Played the first game of Zombies!!!. It's quite a fun little game. This first game was just between the letter 'r' and myself. I suspect it might be a little more fun with a couple more people. In some ways the pace of the game matches its namesake, but it certainly has a lot of heart. You can tell the designers wanted to create a game that payed homage to the zombie genre and I say they succeeded admirably. The figures certainly help maintain the atmosphere and the cards are great. This is mostly an every man for themselves style game so it's fun to try and hinder the other players. Like several recent board games, it's tile based so the layout will change every time. There are expansions available that offer more cards and more locales. Something to look into I suspect.

And with that game we have kicked off the ZWoF. Long live the undead!

Small towns

Watched Napoleon Dynamite last night. It was an interesting movie. Definitely an accurate portrayal of small town high school life. While I didn't grow up in Idaho, I certainly knew people like that in the town where I spent a good chunk of my youth. If you've spent any time in small town America, you'll probably "get" this movie. If you're not, you'll probably wonder why it's popular at all. Oddly the movie is funnier to talk about afterwards than it is to watch. Mostly because it's full of little moments that are just amusing to bring up and remember. Much like Mystery Men...

The cast was all well chosen and performed admirably. In a funny "small world" coincidence, the woman I carpool grew up with the guy that played Kip. And as you'd suspect he was nothing like the character in the movie. Jon Heder did an amazing job as the titular Napoleon. It was interesting to see the little short, "Peluka" (I think was how it was spelled) included on the DVD. As I opted not to listen to the commentary on the short, I am left wondering if it was a character sketch they threw together before they made the movie that blossomed into the final theatrical version or something else.

In a cruel twist of fate, it is (predictably) difficult to track down a copy of Resident Evil 4 for the upcoming ZWoF. We may have to settle for renting the remake of Dawn of the Dead instead. Alas.

Retro Post

Took the van to work today so I could gas it up as gas is much cheaper up the road than it is here in town. One of the benefits to doing this is that the van includes a DVD player. So I throw something in for listening purposes on those rare instances that I find myself behind the wheel. Today I popped in the recent update of Akira.

Akira is considered one of the milestone pieces of anime. And rightfully so. When it came out over here the timing was such that the existing anime fans rejoiced at something new and a whole new generation of anime fans came into being. It's a little funny that you can somewhat date anime fans much like layers in rock by what they consider their introductory show.

Anyway, Akira is a stunning piece of work. One of the things that I always find amusing about the show is the fact that I forget just how violent it is in between viewings. For me Akira isn't about violence. It's about power and change and what happens to people when they receive power they aren't ready for. The original version of the show that came out over here in the 80s (I think) is, admittedly, something of an enigma. The dub wasn't the greatest (in terms of clarity) and the show itself was pretty long (for the time) - back then I'm not sure I'd ever seen a movie that clocked in over 2 hours, let alone an animated movie. But despite the murk that makes up the plot, it was something different. Something interesting.

The recent update that Pioneer released really allows Akira to shine. Sure, it's still a 2,000 page graphic novel condensed into a 2 hour movie, but the new script really does clear up some of the confusion as to what's going on. You get a little more of the motivations behind what's happening and things start to click. Plus it got a great graphical and aural update (minus the fact that they turned Kaneda's bike orange - it's red! RED you fools!)

If you're a fan of the show and you haven't tracked down the original comics, do yourself a favor and grab the recent Dark Horse re-release. You get the whole thing in six large collections. It's a great set and you'll gain a greater appreciation for the story. Characters that were relegated to cameos or ignored are fleshed out, people you thought were "bad guys" turn out to be far more human and the whole story takes on an even greater weight as political intrigue and personal strengths and weaknesses join the stage with the aforementioned study of power and evolution. It's a great example of what science fiction can show the world about itself.

So that's some of what makes Akira special. I do need to point out that the anime is actually rather violent. There are probably those of you out there wondering just how I can forget that fact when I haven't watched it in a while. To you I say, "eh..." To the rest of you, you probably understand.

Just a quickie

It's late. I should be in bed. In preparation for the Zombie Weekend O' Fun (ZWoF) I have acquired Zombies! the game. It looks like it will be quite fun. Any game with 100 plastic zombies can't be bad. This is the site for the game in addition to a bunch of fan submitted rules/decks etc. So go check it out.

My brain is no longer functioning so that's all you get.

Monday...

So, the last few updates have been comprised of my net meandering. Not really been a whole lot to pass on. But hey, wacky parrot. Hello Kitty crop circle. Truly the things that make the world go round.

I need to pass along Skinny Panda. Looks to be a truly great webcomic. If you have doubts about that, look no further than this sequence. So far the stick figure bits are my favorite, but the Skinny Panda continuity is pretty good too. Ah humor, you are my friend.

And it's once again Valentine's Day. Hope you survived. Such an odd little holiday. Any holiday that could spawn this Hi and Lois comic strip has to be a little warped. I think I've become a little emotionally scarred due to that. So of course I had to pass that scarring on to you.

Our Valentine's Day was fairly typical. Kids running amok. Dinner at a so-so restaurant. A couple little gifts exchanged. Chocolate. Not that I need an excuse for chocolate, but ah, the chocolate that becomes available for February. Easter comes close (which really just means all of spring is awash in chocolatey goodness) but Valentine's Day is a little classier.

Anyway, enough rambling on about comics and chocolate. It's time to begin the countdown to the Zombie Weekend O' Fun. Three days of Zombie goodness. Joy. ^_^

Hello Kitty Crop circle

This is what a crop circle should be.

Shoulda never gotten married

This is a wonderful list of names. Think Leno's headlines and go and laugh.

Polly wants a quiz show

Go watch the parrot. That's a good way to welcome the weekend...

More randomness

Ran across Lifehacker the other day. Seems to be an interesting blog. Covers things from answers to tough job interview questions to converting color photos to B&W. Go give it a looksee.

Polished off a couple more Kindaichi Case Files. Terribly enjoyable reads.

Loaned out The Grudge to one of my coworkers. She was suitably spooked by it as well. It's definitely one of the better horror films to come down the pike in a while. I tracked down an old review I'd read of the original the other day. Some of the plot points it covered helped clarify a couple of the events in the remake. Too bad they didn't leave some of them in. A good deal of the curse's origin in the original was quite disturbing and would have been right at home in the remake.

And Valentine's Day is lurking around the corner like the shady character it is. Just make sure you know what your significant other's real favorite candy is or you'll end up playing a depressing game of twenty quetions...

Screen Clean

Screen Clean. Heh heh... Just go check it out...

Edit: Link should work now.

Wonderfalls

Wonderfalls was just released on DVD. We watched the first couple episodes as well as the special features they threw on the discs. I enjoyed that show quite a bit and was rather cross with Fox for cancelling it. It would have been interesting to see where it went. In the little behind the scenes featurette they mentioned that in the third season Jaye was going to have been institutionalized. That would have been something to see. It will be fun to see the unaired episodes.

And that's about all I've got for tonight. Graeme is at that age where you can just sit and watch him. Little kids are fascinaing that way. They're always discovering something new and it's fun to watch it happen.

An Interview with Brian Evenson

Bookslut has an interview with Brian Evenson up.

I knew Brian Evenson. I was in one of his English classes the year he lost his job at the Y. I got him to autograph a copy of Altmann's Tongue before he left. I was deeply saddened by that turn of events despite understanding what was going on.

Brian's work is hard to take. I haven't read his newer books, but Altmann's Tongue was definitely something that made you stop and think. It is a deeply violent book. At the time, American culture had turned violence into entertainment. That's not to say we don't still see violence that way, but post 9/11 there are some subtle differences. He was writing in a manner that made the reader look at violence and be appropriately shocked and sickened by it. The short "stories" in the collection were really only partially narrative - the incompleteness of the stories is what made you see the violent acts as just that - violence. They were disturbing and uncomfortable and in some ways brilliant. He certainly achieved his goal of making an audience uneasy about violence.

So, go check out the interview. Pick up one of his books. They're not for everyone, but if you consider yourself a little callous to violence, his work will remind you that it's not something to slough off. It will remind you of what it means to be mortal and human. And for that reason alone it has some merit.

This is Jack's Blog Post Title

Ok, that was probably a little obscure, especially as this post has nothing to do with Fight Club. You'll just have to live with that, while I have to live with the fact that it's occasionally really hard to come up with titles.

My in-laws just sent out the illustrated Da Vinci Code. Very nice book. Whatever your opinion of the story, this edition is quite lovely. You get high quality paper with pictures of the artwork and architecture being discussed. Cool. Should make my next read through of the book a lot more enjoyable. If for no other reason than I can distract myself from some of the plot holes with pretty pictures. ^_^

Read the next Kindaichi graphic novel, The Mummy's Curse. This was one of the more gruesome mysteries, and yet still a delight to read. I'm not quite prepared to call it book 6, but if I only make it to 49 this year, you can bet I'll pull this one back out and say 50! ^_^

Both sets of parents have received their copies of the movie I threw together on Friday. iMovie and iDVD are fun. I took a bunch of pictures from the last year and half or so and a couple video clips taken with the digital camera and strung them together for my folks. Mom had requested one for a thing she's doing on keeping in touch with family over long distances. The only problem I had was the audio on a couple of the later video clips - the audio wasn't synching up with the video. It played fine on the computer, but every copy I burned to DVD was a little off there at the end. I have no idea why either...

Well, in keeping with the lack of a good title, I'll let you suffer with the lack of a good ending for this post as well. So there.

Book 5 and the Superbowl

Read The Opera House Murders, Book 1 in the Kindaichi Case Files by Kanari and Sato. This is a fun mystery series put out over here by TokyoPop. It follows Hajime Kindaichi, grandson of a famous detective, as he himself becomes one. The story is pretty clever and the art is nice with some good attention to detail. There are several volumes in the series, I believe about 10 of them are out at the moment with another couple due this year. It's easily one of my favorite manga series. This first volume involves a series of murders that mimic the plot of The Phantom of the Opera. Kindaichi's childhood friend Miyuki has invited him along on the theater club's trip to an island hotel. And one by one they start dying. Good stuff.

Watched the Superbowl. Best commercial goes to the FedEx/Kinko's commercial featuring Burt Reynolds. The game itself was for the most part boring (mostly due to there not being a team involved that I really cared about one way or the other), but the end picked up some. I hoped the Eagles would win, but alas it was not to be. There's always next year. Go Rams!

The Grudge

I forget exactly how I ran across The Ring. I know it was on the web, but the details are gone. I enjoy several aspects of Asian culture and the chance to see a Japanese horror film was truly welcome. The Ring in a lot of ways is simply a mixed media campfire tale. It's spooky and the story has some genuinely creepy bits. The central focus of the movie (the tape), however, means it really does need to be seen. Especially once the nature of the images on the tape starts to come clear. And like any good campfire tale, it ratchets the tension up from start to finish with the big payoff scare coming at the end. The American remake cleared a few things up for an audience not used to having to think a little more and unwilling to take some things for granted as simply being the way they are.

The Grudge is a different animal entirely. For one, it's a lot creepier than The Ring. A lot. And it doesn't let up over the course of the film. It starts off with a bang and then maintains the mood over the course of the film. A haunted house story at heart, The Grudge is perfect for film, especially because of the way they tell the tale. As the story unwinds, several threads come together to make a cohesive whole. And all the while they find ways to keep you on the edge of your seat. My wife tried to ban me from picking it up, but it's so rare to find a genuinely creepy movie that's fun to watch that I had to snag it.

The interesting thing about this version (also a remake of a Japanese horror film) is that they used the original Japanese director. They had him remake the movie for an American audience. As I haven't seen the original version yet, I'm unsure of some of the stylistic and story differences, but it seems to be a very nice meld of Asian cinema and American cinema. The story is certainly Asian, but there are allowances made for the way Americans are used to stories being told. If you like horror movies, this one is certainly worth your time. It's horribly creepy and lots of fun to watch. Especially with the lights out and the volume up.

It's Late

Got caught up making a DVD for the folks. So you'll have to wait until tomorrow for my thoughts on The Grudge. The Cliff Notes version can be summed up by the fact that I picked up my own copy on the way home from work today.

Applegeeks

Applegeeks is a webcomic that I enjoy quite a bit. It's got a great art style and it caters to the Mac fanatic in me. The current storyline, while not quite me, is pretty close. Today's strip in particular made me laugh as it dealt with the new iPod Shuffle. And I really want a power button t-shirt...

Tonight we'll be watching The Grudge, so there's the possibility of another post with some thoughts on that.

Shall We Dance?

Watched the recent update of Shall We Dance. Wonderful little film. Highly recommended. Even if it does make my wife want to watch Strictly Ballroom again. I haven't seen the original, but I'd like to. It's a nice little tale about a man simply caught up in life who takes a chance to learn to dance. And he finds that he likes it. It gives his life a little extra spark. The really nice thing about this movie is that it really is about the dancing and finding joy in life. If Hollywood had made this movie originally it would have been about an affair. But it's not, and that's great. Go see it.

Book #4

Finished off The Hidden City by David Eddings. Oddly, I've only ever read the Sparhawk books by Eddings - never got into any of the other series he's written. Not entirely sure what it is about the two trilogies featuring Sparhawk that I enjoy, but I find them a pleasant diversion. The characters are certainly nothing terribly original - they all fit they typical fantasy mold, but there are certain bits of life breathed into them that I find endearing. By the end of that first book, The Diamond Throne you felt like the characters were old friends and you wondered just what they'd get up to next.

Eddings doesn't spend too much time on battle sequences either. You had the siege of Chyrellos in the first trilogy and mostly random skirmishes in the second. I must admit that's one of the few tropes of fantasy lit that really grates on my nerves - endless battle sequences. Political intrigue is a little more the flavor of the day in the Sparhawk books. The one thing that really gets old in the Tamuli is Caalador's "accent" I hate it when people try and write colloquial speech... It can occasionally be done well, but mostly it's just annoying. Dorlin'. Anyway, if you haven't read either The Elenium or The Tamuli, they're worth flipping through as light reading.