Serenity

New Serenity trailer up! New Serenity trailer up! ^_^

Block party was fun. Chocolate fountains are interesting and evil devices.

Sky High was terribly enjoyable. I would go into more about it, but I think I'll save that for a later time.

I can't seem to write a paragraph that involves more than a sentence or two...

Alas

For you anyway. Courtesy of the new link over on the right there, I managed to catch the trailer for the remake of The Fog. But it doesn't seem to be up anymore, so I can't send you on. Looks good. Although the fog itself is a little strange. Too thick I think. At any rate, The Movie Blog is a nice addition to the link stable.

And I made an interesting discovery last night. More news on that should be forthcoming in the next few days. I hope.

Summer woes

Survived my first Scout outing. Of course, it was just an activity night over at the Boondocks Fun Center. Bumper Boats (got soaked), Go Karts, a few games (the DDR machine was busted!). We'll see how things go the next few weeks once the actual badge activities start.

There's a block party scheduled for the end of the week. I vaguely remember those from my youth. I don't remember having them all that often, but once or twice. We'll see how this one goes.

I'm ready for summer to be over. Mowing the lawn, the heat, the kids out of school, the heat, the usual. This is my least favorite season and I welcome its end. I've heard rumors that they want to extend Daylight Savings Time from March to November. That would be a crime against all things good.

And we're being invaded by ants. Yet another reason summer needs to go bye bye...

Tuesday bits

So it's Tuesday. New movie day. I forget what's out this week. Probably nothing spectacular. Kung Fu Hustle comes out on August 9th. I expect you all to buy a copy. Or two. Roswell Season 3 comes out then as well. I'll pick it up for my wife and hold on to it until her birthday. She's already aware of this fact, so don't think I'm spoiling something for her here. I don't understand why she likes that show, but it's good for her to have some random TV show to enjoy. Currently it's Smallville. Again, no accounting for taste.

Every other Tuesday I get to listen to Punk's movie review as I drive to work. He reviews the sorts of movies my friends and I watched in High School. The really bad kind. Today he did Barbarian. It sounded delightfully rotten. I may have to track it down.

Whales and Desperados

Watched Desperado. It's pretty much El Mariachi with a budget. There were some pretty good fight scenes and Antonio did a fine job, but honestly Mariachi was better. We may get around to seeing Once Upon a Time in Mexico, but there's no rush.

Whale Rider, on the other hand, is a wonderfully moving little piece about the Maori culture. I enjoyed it thoroughly and recommend it whole-heartedly. While it follows the typical formula for a movie about the underdog hero (heroine in this case) it doesn't detract any from its impact or its worth. And the actress that plays Pai is a real gem.

Be Cool and Book 30

If you've seen Get Shorty, you've seen Be Cool. If you haven't seen the former, you'll probably get a kick out of the latter. If you have, well, you'll enjoy it, but you'll experience a lot of déja vu. Oddly, I enjoyed Get Shorty the movie over Be Cool, but Be Cool the book over Get Shorty.

Be Cool brings everybody's favorite shylock, Chili, back, only this time he's taking on the music industry. They opted to compress/cut down several of the characters in the book, but they kept a lot of the twists and turns. So if you've read the book, you'll have a better chance of knowing what's going on, but you'll occasionally be surprised at who's doing it. If you haven't read the book, things are a bit muddy. But it's still got some of the Elmore Leonard humor. I've heard that the reason Get Shorty was as good as it was had to do with the fact that they used a lot more of Leonard's dialogue. I suspect this is true. Be Cool isn't quite as true and that's where it suffers. But The Rock does a great job. So, it's an enjoyable time remembering how much you liked Get Shorty (except for the bit where you're remembering how much you liked Pulp Fiction).

Rebel Without a Crew documents Robert Rodriguez's experiences making El Mariachi (and yes, before you ask, reading this book was indeed a bit of a push to finally watching the movie - I've wanted to for years, but now I had no excuse...) Between this book and Bruce Campbell's If Chins Could Kill you've got an excellent look at all sides of making a film. If you have any interest in film making, you need this book. If you like reading interesting stories about the crazy things people do and the crazier things that happen to them, you need this book. It's a thoroughly enjoyable read and one that just might push you into film making if you have any leanings that way. Great book...

Observations and cats

Today's random thing that must go: jewelry store ads on radio. I don't think there's a jeweler yet that can put together a good ad. There's not really anything that will make me switch stations faster than an ad for some of the jewelers around here. Well ok, a couple things, but that's definitely in the top three.

Today's random observation: for some reason I tend to like songs that feature a place in the title. Recently mentioned Dakota for example. Also Amsterdam by unintelligible mumbling. What? Just because the net is terribly useful doesn't mean I'm going to run right out an find out who did that song... Where's the IMDB for music?

Apparently the cat person/dog person favoritism is genetic. And the girls have just discovered that they're cat people. (Not to be confused with Cat People the wacky/sexy shape shifters from bad cinema.) There are a couple cats owned by some neighbours that have the run of the block. The girls have spent the past few days playing with them whenever they get the chance. Mwa ha ha ha! I knew they were smart. You just can't trust a dog person. Sorry dear... ^_^

*Cough* *Cough*

Trying out a new look. Ignore the dust...

There's no budget like low budget

Watched Horror Express last night. Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. Great low budget horror flick. Had some wonderful lines and something resembling a plot. Kit, Eric, James - track this one down and give it a go. I picked it up for a buck at Walmart. Watch it some Friday night and raise a glass for me. (Root beer of course ^_^)

Tonight we watched El Mariachi. Rodriguez's first flick. Made for $7,000. It's quite good. As a bonus the disc also contains his short film Bedhead (muy bueno) and Desperado. We'll check it out on Friday night. For a first effort it's pretty amazing. Especially considering the fact that Rodriguez did just about everything himself.

Summer

Ok, the heat can quietly go away now. Summer is my least favorite season. And one of the problems of living in a desert is that it tends to take summer seriously. We've had hundred degree temperatures for about a week. I believe this week has been in the 90s. It's a good thing we have central air...

They made some really bad design calls with that Prince of Persia sequel. Save points are a little too far apart. When you die (not if, when) they start you back (more often than not) where you last saved. This makes for lots and lots and lots (and lots) of repetition of areas. And boy is it glitchy. It's a real shame too. There's a decent game lurking around in there, but you really have to want to find it.

Started up Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker. Looks good. Although I hear some of the later parts lag. Guess we'll see.

Dakota by the Stereophonics is a nice little tune.

Paper Mario and random generators

I finished off Paper Mario and the Thousand Year Door. I can now whole-heartedly recommend this game. Despite the amount of time it took, it was enjoyable just about the entire time. And were this several years ago, I would have finished it much sooner. At any rate, the artwork (as has been previously mentioned) is spectacular (and tied quite nicely into the gameplay) and the story is a joy. Full of humor and touching moments it ends on just the right note. If you have a Gamecube, this game should be in your collection. And I'm coming to realize that Nintendo really makes you earn that ending. I think Nintendo's games feature the hardest boss battles of any of the games I've played.

And courtesy of the letter 'r', here is a list of random thing generators. Go check it out. Maybe I'll use the random blog post generator from this point out. I'm not certain you would notice.

Book 29

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is probably my favorite of the six currently available. And she better get book seven out soon... This one certainly begins to tie things together and the stage is set for the endgame. That's not to say there aren't a few little stumbles. Harry is awfully composed after the loss of Sirius. But I guess one book of whiny/angry Harry is really enough. This book continues the darker tone of the latter half of the series but it also contains some of the humor that graced the earlier books as well. If you follow the series, I suspect you'll enjoy it greatly and if you've been undecided this book could make you a fan. I can see re-reading this one more than some of the others in the series quite easily. Great book...

iFlea

This is brilliant.

Quiet

And family has once again left and the house returns to the dull roar of normality. Well as normal as you can get with three kids and a dog. Temperatures have been in the hundred degree range but that doesn't seem to affect the kids much. They still run around and get up to mischief.

Hit Burger King in a vain attempt to get one of those Amazon cash cards that might be worth something. It was worth a buck. Pretty typical. Brother-in-law wins a PSP and we win a buck. ^_^ I have absolutely no luck when it comes to drawings and contests like that. My wife won $100 in those gold Sacagawea dollars from Cheerios once. And I managed to snag a gift certificate to a restaraunt at work. But that's about it.

At any rate Harry Potter shows up in a couple days, so maybe somebody famous will deliver it...

Be afraid

So. I saw a brief teaser on TV the other day for Hail to the Chief. (I believe was the title) And Hollywood's quest to elect Hillary Clinton has begun. <sigh> She's the absolute last thing this country needs. And unfortunately this next election is probably her best chance to win. Here's to hoping that doesn't come to pass.

Had a half day at work today so I could get in to the dentist. Good thing I grew up with flouridated water. Too bad they don't do that here. Now if I can just sort out what's behind the strange noise the Saturn is making...

Go wander over here for a diversion.

Family

Sister and her family in town today and tomorrow. Her husband just won a PSP and brought it along. Lucky git. It's actually the first PSP I've seen close up. The screen is indeed very nice. It's a nice looking little device. Still want a DS though. There's not a lot of software out for the PSP at the moment and other than Lumines, none of the games scream "Own me!" Plus the whole multimedia thing just kind of irks me. Why buy one device that does everything sort of well when you can buy several that do each really well? ^_^

At any rate, off to go be sociable or something.

Names

The letter 'r' sent along this interesting little site that lets you know how common/rare your name is. Works for both given and family names. Those who know me will be little surprised that my last name was oddly rare. So surprising that...

At any rate the week is off to a, well, a start I suppose. I can't really claim more than that. The lawn has been mowed, the mower is still acting a mite strange, and the girls continue to drive my wife crazy. Nothing new there.

We've let McKenna try her hand at guitar lessons. It's been an interesting experience to say the least. I'm pretty musical. My wife is not. McKenna falls somewhere in between. I'd say she has my love of music and my wife's talent, but that might be true mean. Actually my wife enjoys music as well. She's just rhythmically challenged. And McKenna inherited that. Which makes it difficult to play the guitar when you have problems locating the beat... So yeah, lessons (and practices) are interesting.

Bruce!

Bruce
Originally uploaded by dkun.

So today was the day - went to the book signing/film showing. We opted not to go to the show. Bruce was fun to meet. He complimented me on my shirt and then asked what I did. In my defense, I hate answering this question. So I said, "Just work."

"Isn't that what I asked? What do you do?"

"Oh..." and then I mumbled some form response thing about medical journals and so on. And he said that was great.

So I can say I've been both complimented and mocked by Bruce Campbell. Groovy. ^_^

And please ignore the bizarre facial hair. I was bored...

Book 28

Just finished The Tesseract by Alex Garland. It was an odd read. It was easy to read, and yet a struggle at the same time. Oddly interesting and not at the same time. About as much of a puzzle as the subject matter of the book itself. I suppose I'd say it's my least favorite of the three books he's written that I've read. I still believe The Coma to be the best of the three, but you can see the seeds of that book lying dormant in this one. So, it exists in some uneasy space that's both good and bad. A tesseract on its own...

At any rate, it's easy to say that Garland is a talented writer and one I've enjoyed reading. If you run across a book of his, I'd say it's worth picking up. You'll probably find something of value inside. And really, not much more than that needs to be said.

And another thing (or two)

This = Cool Art.

And this (from Boing Boing) is just plain cool.

Plans

Have been made. The letter 'r', myself and another compatriot shall venture forth tomorrow and procure autographed copies of Bruce's new book. Mwa ha ha! I doubt we'll stick around for the screening of his movie, but a signed book is compensation enough.

After school cartoons

Jackie Chan Adventures and Xiao Lin Showdown are still pretty good... I've fallen out of the habit of watching things on Saturday mornings. But the girls have picked up the habit, so I occasionally hear about the silliness that passes for marketing entertainment these days. I miss good Saturday morning cartoons...

Apparently Bruce Campbell will be in town this weekend doing a book signing and showing off his new movie. I'd like to get over there, but not sure I'll make it.

And that's about all I've got.

Random

The Descent looks like it should be pretty good. Wonder when it'll wind its way over here...

Oddly, short weeks never really feel all that short. Sometimes they're not so bad, but then you have the kind that just drag on and on. And being tired certainly has an effect on that.

So. I've been roped into the scouting program. Webelos Den Leader. Well, really assistant Den Leader. I'll pause for some laughter. There is a cruel humor to the universe on occasion. At least there's no camping. That would have nixed any possibility of this happening. Maybe there should have been some camping...

At any rate, I picked up F Zero GX and Warrior Within yesterday. Both are a little more difficult than they should be. At least with F Zero it's a difficulty that should lessen with some practice. Warrior Within is just a bizarre anomaly.

Happy 4th

To my friends. A big thanks to the letter 'r' for the barbecue. It was quite nice. Next time we'll duct tape the girls so they don't cause quite as much havoc. Hope everyone had a nice day.

Watched a bit of the original Thomas Crown Affair the other night. Didn't come away terribly impressed. Mostly they tried too hard. The chess game sequence is a perfect example. There were some nice sensuous bits, but there were also a lot of over the top "Come hither" moments. Overall I'd stick with the remake.

And managed to snag a couple cheap games today due to silly 4th of July sales. So here's to the occasional bout of rampant commercialism.

Morning sky

sky
Originally uploaded by dkun.

I took this the other morning around 6:45 or so. I happened to glance out into the back yard and realized the sky was quite lovely with lots of little fluffy clouds. They had moved around a bit before I managed to get the camera, but here you go. My first attempt at nature photography.

Still laughing

BEST. MOVIE CRITICS. EVER.

Yard work... of DOOM

So, apparently this has been a DOOM filled week. Was going to mow the lawn today, but the mower had other ideas. It started up like normal, ran for about two seconds and then died with a cough of black smoke. And refused to start up again. Ended up having to borrow a neighbour's mower as the lawn really needed a trim. Stupid yard work implements. Stupid yard work.

Even regular work was rather frustrating today. But then again when isn't it?

At any rate, it's a three day weekend and tomorrow is Friday. ^_^

Plus there are rumors that Nintendo's new console will be relatively inexpensive. Certainly in relation to the other two. Smart move on the big N's part.

The Fog rolls back in

Have I mentioned that they're remaking The Fog? I love that movie. Classic Carpenter. Wonder how they'll remake it? Hopefully they'll keep all the charming bits - cheesy frame story, evil townspeople, conflicted undead sailors... It just goes on. ^_^

Anyway, not much else to ramble on about. It's been a quiet kind of day. And that's a pretty good thing.

Tuesday... of DOOM

King Kong has a trailer now. Looks pretty good actually. Special effects have come a long way.

And other than that I don't really have a lot to say. I suppose a better title would have been IMPENDING DOOM as I suspect I shall have a few things to discuss come the weekend.

The only bright spot is that I think I may have sorted out my time off for the rest of the year and come August I'll be on short weeks. w00t. Or exclamation of joy of your choice.

Book 27

Finished The Beach by Alex Garland. Odd combination of Lord of the Flies and something like Utopia. Garland's writing style is enjoyable and he creates characters that are interesting to follow, but overall I'm not sure I'd recommend this book. We'll see how The Tesseract goes next. Maybe that will help cement a few things. I suspect that The Coma will end up being my favorite story by him. (Although the 28 Days Later screenplay would be a close second...)

I'm not entirely sure what puts me off The Beach. The drug use got a bit old. There were some good bits though. Almost anything involving Keaty, Jed or Mister Duck was worthwhile. I suppose part of it is that I just don't really identify with that subset of my generation. That and I'm not entirely certain that is my generation. I'm probably just old enough that I fall into that group right before "Gen X". But the idea that you could find a quiet, untouched place is an interesting theme worth exploring. I may have to track down Lost Horizon as I've heard it looks at some of the same things. It's interesting to me that some of the classics are now coming out repackaged for a new group of people...

Trickery

My wife and I do have some overlapping tastes in entertainment. While she doesn't enjoy cheap horror like I do, I can get her to watch some regular horror as well as action and suspense. We both like platform games and we enjoy some of the same types of literature. A lot of this has to do with the fact that we've been together for quite a while. By now we've pretty much merged what we do like and know to enjoy the other stuff on our own time. But there are times she refuses to believe this. While I will admit to some rather bad guesses earlier on in our marriage, by now I'm pretty good at it.

So, I told her she should read The Coma. It was interesting and I figured she'd enjoy it. She didn't believe me. We were going to head to the library today to poke around for a few things for the kids. The Coma was a new book so it was due back a little earlier than a couple of the other books we have out at the moment. I asked if she was going to read it or not. She hemmed and hawed a bit so I said, "Look, just read the first five pages. You'll know then whether or not if you want to read it." So she did and of course she finished it a couple hours later. I tried not to say "I told you so" too many times. And I didn't point out the sheepish expression on her face. Well, I'm pointing it out now, but that's different. ^_^

I'm glad she enjoyed it though. I think she's one step closer to trusting me when I recommend things for her.

And on an unrelated note, it looks liks Land of the Dead is getting good reviews. Good on Romero. Look forward to checking that out at some point...

Links

This is an interview with George Romero. Land of the Dead comes out tomorrow. It was an interesting interview. I especially liked the bit that involved the actors from Shaun of the Dead. That and the fact that Romero is not a fan of speedy zombies...

This is a Japanese IQ test. Hit the big blue circle and then try to get all the people across the river.

And that's enough entertainment for now.

Primer

To conclude indie film rental-a-thon, I snagged Primer at the same time as the previously blogged Machinist. Primer wasn't as well received. My wife and the letter 'r' were sorely unimpressed. I was willing to give it the benefit of the doubt. It's a movie that requires multiple viewings. And the commentary tracks. And a strategy guide to help navigate the tough bits. Full points for originality. Full points for telling a story that focuses on an issue. No points for clarity. Things start to come together, but they never gel. You don't really get an a-ha moment of illumination that throws everything into strong relief. But it's interesting. If you don't mind using your brain (a lot) while watching a film, give it a go. If nothing else it'll humble you a bit and you'll feel better the next time you sit through an Arnie movie.

And the letter 'r' has also come across a book that I will be reading in the not too distant future. It's about Robert Rodriguez. Rebel without a Crew. More later.

The Machinist, take 2

Alright, a warning first. If you haven't seen The Machinist, don't read this post. Unless you don't plan on watching it. In which case you can still avoid this post. I feel like actually talking about the movie some and I can't really do that without spoiling it. So consider yourselves warned.

The Machinist is quite a little piece of celluloid. First off, Christian Bale - weight loss, 63 lbs, walking skeleton stick of a man, yadda yadda yadda. Now that that's out of the way. What we have here is basically a redemption tale. A homily on guilt. The striking figure that is Trevor Reznik is a warning on the powerful force that is human nature and what can happen to us if we let it. Only instead of a metaphysical discourse on how guilt can eat us alive, we watch it consume poor Trevor. Literally. I mean look at him. Eeesh.

Actually the film discusses both sides of that coin. The majority of the movie looks at some of the interior aspects of what guilt can do, but we don't realize it at the time. Brad Anderson directs a picture that for the most part is a suspense film and saves the moral for the final reveal at the end.

The problem is, the movie is pretty dense. I still can't make heads or tails of the timeline. I think I've managed to figure out who Ivan is (Trevor's repressed conscience that finally makes itself heard), but I'm still unsure of what happened when and with whom. Mostly this revolves around Stevie. It's apparent at the end that Stevie knows what Trevor used to look like. And I suspect that Trevor is in reality the psycho ex-boyfriend that she refers to. But if that's the case, how do we view the relationship that they have over the course of the movie. It's obviously the template for the relationship he builds in his mind with the boy's mother at the airport diner, but beyond that I'm a little stuck. And I don't really know what to make of the events in the machine shop. Further grist for the guilt mill? (Pun only slighty intended. ^_^)

At any rate, The Machinist is certainly a powerful film and one my wife and I quite enjoyed. It's up there in the ranks of The Fisher King and se7en for redemption/cautionary tales for me. I suspect multiple viewings would help make further sense, but I'll have to wait a bit before I can sit through it again. Mostly because I took it back to the video store already for the dollar credit... Stupid video store.

The Machinist

Good show. But it's late, so more on it later...

Books 25 and 26

Beautiful Aquarium was an odd little book. I asked my wife to snag me a book about setting up aquariums when she went to the library the other day. And this was the book she came back with. It covers this strange creature known as Dutch Aquariums. I had no idea such a thing existed. Apparently the Dutch like aquariums. And they like to feature plants as opposed to fish in them. A Dutch Aquarium is about creating an underwater garden. Very much centered around the plant life and the few fish that might be found there. So not entirely helpful as I'm more interested in looking at the fish. Plus it was just an odd book. Strange bouts of bias interspersed with odd bits of superiority. Will have to track down another book about fish tanks.

The Coma by Alex Garland, however, was a delightful read. Years ago Kit recommended a book called Einstein's Dreams. That was a whimsical little book that took on some of the trickier aspects of time and physics as seen through the lens of Einstein's dreams. (Hence the oh so clever title) The Coma is also a bit of a whimsical book that tackles the nature of reality vs. dream. It reminds me a bit of that old TV show Tales from the Darkside (as opposed to The Twilight Zone). Garland weaves both words and images into a book that is pretty hard to put down. In fact, you probably won't until you finish it. It's pretty short, but no less powerful for it's brevity. Perfect for perusing a couple times.

In fact, much like Fight Club when I first read it, I'll probably read through The Coma again pretty quickly to see what other bits of information I can glean from it. It's a book I could see assigning to a High School English class as required reading. Of course I'd probably assign them some Neil Gaiman as well as the aforementioned Palahniuk, so a proper English teacher I'll never be. ^_^ (Actually, despite all the classics - some of which there is little doubt as to why they're classics - I had a pretty cool English teacher. She was probably a good part of why I got an English degree...)

At any rate, The Coma was a great little read as well as an interesting and thought-provoking one. I look forward to reading some more by Mr. Garland.

Miyazaki

Howl's Moving Castle was great. McKenna enjoyed it and it kept enough of Miranda's attention that she tried to keep up with it. Honestly it was a little old for her. Miyazaki's animation is still a thing to behold. The voice talent was excellent and it was fun to see Dianna Wynn Jones's book come to life. Wholeheartedly recommended.

And another trailer. Another Bill Murray film from Focus Features. Looks good.

Before I forget

Trailer for The Brothers Grimm, the new Terry Gilliam flick. The video quality isn't stellar, but this is one to see. Plus it's got Matt Damon in it. The half of the Dynamic Duo that can actually act...

Nothing to see

Move along. They've put up some interesting stuff over the last couple days.

I on the other hand don't really have anything. Which isn't to say there aren't things to discuss. I remember thinking Press the Buttons had a few things of interest. And a couple other places, but I really haven't had time to jot these things down for you.

Had quite the rousing game of Canasta the other night. My wife and I barely managed to eke a victory out over the in-laws. Good times.

Rented I, Robot so they and the letter 'r' could check it out. Held up well on its second viewing. Oddly, it seemed a lot more philosophical than I remember it being. This could be due to the fact that I rented it more for action content and I'd forgotten those bits, but regardless it was still good. Especially enjoyed the "ghosts in the machine" voice-over this time for some reason.

The Old Spaghetti Factory is a pretty good restaurant as well. Although the Vesuvius wasn't as spicy as advertised.

Random moment

Posting will be a bit hectic this week as my in-laws are here. Just when the kids were over the last set of grandparents... ^_^

Actually it's been a really nice visit so far. They watched the kids so my wife and I could get out a bit, so we can accept a bit of grandkid spoiling in return. Although the guitar they decided McKenna needed as a birthday gift is questionable...

Haven't had a chance to make a trip to the library recently so I have no idea what the next book will be.

Anyway, laundry is buzzing and real life is doing it's best to poke me in the back muttering "You've got things to do..."

Mr and Mrs Smith

Went to Mr and Mrs Smith this afternoon. Great flick. Take True Lies and stick it in front of a mirror. Take that reverse and add a dash of War of the Roses, stir and let simmer. I enjoyed this one a lot more than War of the Roses. To me, that movie was just completely unpalatable. It was just too mean-spirited to be fun. Mr and Mrs Smith managed to hold onto the humor and kept the relationship real. In spite of the troubled nature, they managed to pull out of it. Brad Pitt has some great comedic talent on top of his action chops. Go see it.

And this is wonderfully creepy...

Heading out

And now for a nice quiet weekend!

Random

House of Flying Daggers fit the Asian Cinema bill. I'd like to know how they get the colors so vibrant in their films. Do they color them post process? Filters? Voodoo? I liked Hero a touch better, but Daggers was certainly enjoyable. Some nice fight/dance sequences. Beautiful cinematography. And the standard everybody dies ending. I suppose that one's a little arguable this time, but most everybody at any rate. If you've liked any of the other Chinese films out over the last couple years, you'll feel right at home with this one.

Seems like there was something else worth mentioning, but I forget what it was. So there. The British reduced sitcoms to a formula. But I don't have the link at the moment. I'm undecided if that constitutes British humor - reducing comedy to a formula. I suspect it does.

And tomorrow is Friday.

House of Flying Daggers

Pretty, pretty movie.

But it's late, so more later.

Bruce Campbell update

His new book is out.

Magazine

Giant may win the new magazine for the letter 'd' search. I've been hunting around for a while for something and so far this looks pretty promising. 'r' lets me borrow Wired when it comes out and I've been tempted to get my own subscription, but I have more fun browsing that one than reading it cover to cover. Giant on the other hand has been fun to get in there and read. A "Men's Magazine", it covers movies, books, music, and games. It follows that bizarre trend that most magazines adhere to lately of consisting mostly of bullet-point style articles, but the interviews are interesting and the women aren't looking for their next paycheck in the porn industry. This year it's bi-monthly but next year it goes to ten issues a year. Plus the current June/July issue features an article about Donnie Darko. Bonus points right there.

The Long Dark Monday of the Soul

Eh, I just thought it would be a cool title. A riff on good ol' D. Adams. I need to get to the library.

Apple is in the news again. Switching over to Intel chips. At the moment I have no thoughts on this because I'm not sure how it will affect me. Hopefully not a lot for a while. By the time I need to buy a new computer I hope the transition to that chip is over.

Have I mentioned that we watched Ocean's Twelve? Eesh. That film needed to be at least half an hour shorter. It was far too long and far too slow. I enjoyed the first one, but this was just painful. Oh well. I get to make my wife sit through House of Flying Daggers on Wednesday, so turnabout is still fair play.

And we're hoping to see Mr. and Mrs. Smith on Friday. What can I say, it looks like silly action fun. And you can almost never go wrong with that if that's what you're looking for.

At any rate, Monday is rounding out to a close, so that light ahead should no longer be the oncoming train.

Book 24

Finished Order of the Phoenix. And there's just over a month until the new one comes out.

Goblet of Fire was a decent read. I have vague memories of acquiring that one. My folks sent it to us. After they had read it. So it arrived in less than stellar condition, but arrived nonetheless. While it suffers from being huge, it still told an enjoyable tale. The Tri-Wizard Tournament was an enjoyable backdrop for the action that went on. And of course the ending brought the first of the much whispered about character deaths. This one was a bit of a red shirt, but oh well.

Order of the Phoenix was a different matter. I got, and read, it the day it came out. Good ol' Amazon. No pesky lines for me. Reading it in such a short space of time was a bit of an injustice though. It's definitely my least favorite of all the books. It may advance a few things plot wise, but it's not an enjoyable read. I don't care if Harry is acting your typical teenager, you shouldn't hate the main character. And after that initial read-through I did. I've since read it twice (including this one) and it's gotten a bit better. The second time through I actually enjoyed it a bit more. Harry wasn't as angry and obnoxious as I remembered him, but Umbridge was still just a real low point. I'm all for villains you can hate, but she was unbearable. This last read through just left me feeling indifferent. It's not that great a book. So, here's to hoping that Rowling gets back to telling a decent story and learns to be a bit more concise. At least Fred & George are still brilliant. I'm going to miss them in Book 6. Hopefully they'll be around some where. And then there was Sirius's death. I think I'll just point out that it happened. That's about all the time she gave it. And the relationship between Sirius and Harry. (Actually that's a little unfair - reading them this time did show that she tried to highlight Harry's feelings for Sirius when she got the chance, but those chances were few enough that it still didn't carry a lot of weight when she bumped him off. It was more of a "Oh, Harry's about to have a surrogate Father, let's get rid of him" kind of thing.)

So. Speculation? We know more characters will die - I'm betting on Dumbledore at some point (as Rowling is telling a pretty traditional Hero's journey) and Remus at the silver hand of Peter. Other than that it's a pretty level playing field. I suspect the trio will make it out alive, but probably not unscathed. That most likely points to a Weasley death of some sort, but I'm not sure who would affect Hermione that much. Unless it's Ron, but I don't think it will be him - chess sacrifice in Book 1 notwithstanding. Some possible romance. Will Ron and Hermione finally stop bickering? Harry and Ginny? Hard to say. And Neville should finally stop flinching at his shadow.

But enough about that. My next book should be a bit of a departure for me. I may try and tackle something historical and possibly even non-fiction. The horror!

Zombies and architecture

What more could you ask for? Go see.

Don't blink

Finished Goblet of Fire. (To be fair I started it back while the internet was down, so there was some trudging.

Ocean's Twelve would have been a good hour and a half long film... Maybe...

Back in the saddle again

So, things are in the process of calming down a bit. Got my folks off to the airport. Was a great visit. It's always good to see them. There are times I wish we lived much closer to both sets of parents, but on the upside it does tend to make our visits more enjoyable. We now have about a week before my wife's folks show up, so hopefully the kids will have wound down by then.

We saw Madagascar on Monday. It was pretty cute. Probably the best Dreamworks cartoon I've seen. If nothing else, it's worth seeing for the Planet of the Apes and Twilight Zone homages. Nicely done. That and the Penguins rock...

So, as mentioned, I finished Prisoner of Azkaban. That will be the last one I blast through. The last two will take a little longer as Rowling just starts to ramble on and on tell more of the story. PoA is my favorite movie of the three currently out. I'm not quite certain where the book falls. Any more I just think of them as one long story and not a series. So take that for what it's worth. I must admit, I remember being a little surprised the first time I read the book that she was doing a time travel story. Fortunately that was only an aspect of the story overall. Book 3 does set up quite a few more of the pieces that will be important later, so it gets a few points for that as well.

I'm not sure how I feel about this. It's, in some ways, an odd and yet unsurprising list of directors. About four of the ten I have no problems with. I'd throw David Fincher on there. I don't think Spielberg is really number one material. But I suppose that's more due to his recent work than some of his older stuff. Oh well. Typical list really.

And I have the day off tomorrow. So 3 day weekend for me. Yay me!

It lives! And a Book 22 bite

The internets live! They live here at my house. I can once again waste my time in cyberspace.

And I finished Prisoner of Azkaban. Still a great book. Will talk more later.

One other thing

Elektra is a silly, silly movie. Despite Jennifer Garner's innate hotness. Silly movie. You have been warned.

Book 21

Chamber of Secrets has fallen and I'm closing in on the half-way mark of this ridiculous 50 books in a year thing. CoS is an ok Harry Potter book. I believe I've read that Half-Blood Prince was almost the title of the second book and that there were parts of the story that ended up getting left out as they weren't central to CoS, so maybe they ended up in Book 6. Guess we'll see. At any rate, you get the start of the whole class system/racial purity thing in book 2 and the Jar Jar of the Harry Potter world makes his first appearance. Poor Dobby. Still, CoS is a fun, light read.

My internet connection has been conspicuously absent the last day or so due to some sort of IP address confusion. But it's back at the moment and I am glad.

Anyway, have a great 3 day weekend.

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...