So, ran across the book Creepy, Cute Crochet while at the Library a few weeks ago. Had to check it out for the crochet Cthulhu. As the crocheted Elder God was a step up in difficulty that my talented wife wasn't quite ready to tackle (and she didn't want to lose her sanity by offending said Elder God with a less than perfect rendition) she opted to start with the adorable little fellow hiding in the foliage here. Just don't let him hear you call him adorable. Ninja dude. He'll mess you up. He's got a throwing star and everything.
So, of course, everyone in the family wanted one. The soon to be Crochet Dojo of Death now has two students, but there will be more. Oh yes, there will be more. Mwa ha ha ha ha. Run for your lives puny mortals, for after the ninja, there will be zombies. And then Cthulhu himself will rise from the abyss and devour your souls with his cute, yet nefarious plots. And photos.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Saturday, July 12, 2008
New Look
We'll see how this goes. Site under new management, not responsible for old content, pardon our dust, nothing to see here, move along. Hey Look! Godzilla!
Whither the Weekend
Watched Nightwatch last night. Russian film from a few years ago. Parts horror, fantasy (of the urban sort), sci-fi. There's a lot of promise there, but it's a little on the "you must pay Attention" side of things for late on a Friday night. It also doesn't help when the copy you have is scratched six ways to Sunday and you suddenly have to switch languages halfway through so you can actually finish watching it (the Russian was on one side and the English the other). I can see why the director seems to be taking off (I believe he did the just recently released Wanted). He has some flair and some new things to bring to film. May try to track down Daywatch and see where things went.
Looks like younger sister has started a blog. Some neat photos and Kaijsa stories. This is good. I used to threaten to tell Kaijsa stories, looks like her mother will take care of it for me. Nice little template they're using too. I might have to go peek around at the newer blogger templates... We'll see.
Got the kids Pokémon toys from BK last night. There was much rejoicing from the younger set. It prints money I tell ya.
Sounds like the new Twilight book release is almost on par with Harry Potter. Not quite the same level, but close. I believe that series has sucked in a good portion of my family. Mostly the younger, female portion. I saw her new book Host at the Library a few weeks ago, but it didn't sound quite interesting enough to pick up. I'd probably almost prefer the vampires to the aliens, but the romance heavy plot would probably make me too dizzy from all the eye rolling. I will admit to liking the fact that some of her fans prefer to be called Twihards. Hee hee...
Looks like younger sister has started a blog. Some neat photos and Kaijsa stories. This is good. I used to threaten to tell Kaijsa stories, looks like her mother will take care of it for me. Nice little template they're using too. I might have to go peek around at the newer blogger templates... We'll see.
Got the kids Pokémon toys from BK last night. There was much rejoicing from the younger set. It prints money I tell ya.
Sounds like the new Twilight book release is almost on par with Harry Potter. Not quite the same level, but close. I believe that series has sucked in a good portion of my family. Mostly the younger, female portion. I saw her new book Host at the Library a few weeks ago, but it didn't sound quite interesting enough to pick up. I'd probably almost prefer the vampires to the aliens, but the romance heavy plot would probably make me too dizzy from all the eye rolling. I will admit to liking the fact that some of her fans prefer to be called Twihards. Hee hee...
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Quest for fire
BBQ grill has been set up which means honeymoon phase for grilling. So far we've done brats and burgers, up tonight are chicken shish-kabobs. I really, really love grilling. My Dad was in town over the 4th, which was great. We had a good visit and actually managed to get the baseboards put up and finally finish the new floors we got, umm, well ok, like a year ago. But he brought out a rather nice Weber grilling book with lots of tips and recipes. He also provided the new grill so, big thanks Dad. It was a tough call between gas and charcoal. We eventually settled on gas simply because it was a little more likely to get used. The learning curve on charcoal was a little daunting.
At any rate, so many things to experiment with: shrimp, steaks, more burgers, more brats, ok must go get grill warmed up... heh heh.
Saw Wall-E with Dad and the family over the weekend. Pixar has to have made some sort of deal with the Devil, their films are far too amazing for any other explanation. Possibly a pact with Cthulhu, that's rather likely as well. Basic point: Wall-E good. Go see.
Spiderwick Chronicles was also good. Although a little unsettling for our younger viewers. Lovely wife had some issues with the deviations from the book. Me not so much. Pretty good time for fantasy film fans. There are far too many movies to see and books to read and games and food and... must go rock in the corner for a moment while I contemplate overwhelming forces, err dinner. Yes. Dinner. Must go cook dinner. Fire. Meat. -insert Tim Allen/Home Improvement grunting-
At any rate, so many things to experiment with: shrimp, steaks, more burgers, more brats, ok must go get grill warmed up... heh heh.
Saw Wall-E with Dad and the family over the weekend. Pixar has to have made some sort of deal with the Devil, their films are far too amazing for any other explanation. Possibly a pact with Cthulhu, that's rather likely as well. Basic point: Wall-E good. Go see.
Spiderwick Chronicles was also good. Although a little unsettling for our younger viewers. Lovely wife had some issues with the deviations from the book. Me not so much. Pretty good time for fantasy film fans. There are far too many movies to see and books to read and games and food and... must go rock in the corner for a moment while I contemplate overwhelming forces, err dinner. Yes. Dinner. Must go cook dinner. Fire. Meat. -insert Tim Allen/Home Improvement grunting-
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Mornings
Well, it was a quiet Saturday morning until about 5 minutes ago. First G woke up and then it wasn't long before the others joined him. I'm sure the lovely H is still in bed. I'm pretty sure she'd sleep through a nuclear holocaust. Especially once the mutant cannibalistic humanoids showed up. After all, if she can sleep through the kids, what makes you think a mutant cannibalistic humanoid has a shot?
Watched Dead Alive the other night. One of Peter Jackson's earlier films (if not his first, I can never remember). Gloopy, campy zombie movie. It was pretty fun. Pre-zombie priest was my favorite character.
And in case you actually catch this early enough, it's Free RPG day! Go grab some free RPG stuff. And some polyhedral dice. Everyone needs their own d20. Or maybe a d10, I like those a lot as well. And if you have kids (and a DS) apparently there's another free Pokemon that can be picked up over at Gamestop. I have a sneaking suspicion that we'll be heading over so McK can add another Pokemon to her roster.
Read Scott Pilgrim volume 2 and Y the Last Man volume 5. Both excellent in vastly different ways. 2nd volume of Scott Pilgrim wasn't quite as funny as the first, but spent a little more time filling in some of the characters. The fight with the second evil ex-boyfriend certainly had some moments though. I like all the little video game and music references that get placed in the story. Some obvious, some not so. Y the Last Man continues to ratchet up the tension. I'm really looking forward to seeing where this goes. If you read only one apocalyptic last man on Earth story this year... heh heh.
Dr Who season 4 is still pretty good. Last night's episode was the first of a two parter, so, cliff hanger-y. I'm still waiting for an episode as good as Blink from last season. It's a pity I really didn't like season three as I'd almost pick it up just to get that episode. If I run across it on sale, it'll probably happen. I suppose I could try to grab it off iTunes or something, but that would take a little too much voodoo to play on the TV easily.
Well off to check out Feed the Animals' Girl Talk and Gnarls Barkley's St. Elsewhere.
Watched Dead Alive the other night. One of Peter Jackson's earlier films (if not his first, I can never remember). Gloopy, campy zombie movie. It was pretty fun. Pre-zombie priest was my favorite character.
And in case you actually catch this early enough, it's Free RPG day! Go grab some free RPG stuff. And some polyhedral dice. Everyone needs their own d20. Or maybe a d10, I like those a lot as well. And if you have kids (and a DS) apparently there's another free Pokemon that can be picked up over at Gamestop. I have a sneaking suspicion that we'll be heading over so McK can add another Pokemon to her roster.
Read Scott Pilgrim volume 2 and Y the Last Man volume 5. Both excellent in vastly different ways. 2nd volume of Scott Pilgrim wasn't quite as funny as the first, but spent a little more time filling in some of the characters. The fight with the second evil ex-boyfriend certainly had some moments though. I like all the little video game and music references that get placed in the story. Some obvious, some not so. Y the Last Man continues to ratchet up the tension. I'm really looking forward to seeing where this goes. If you read only one apocalyptic last man on Earth story this year... heh heh.
Dr Who season 4 is still pretty good. Last night's episode was the first of a two parter, so, cliff hanger-y. I'm still waiting for an episode as good as Blink from last season. It's a pity I really didn't like season three as I'd almost pick it up just to get that episode. If I run across it on sale, it'll probably happen. I suppose I could try to grab it off iTunes or something, but that would take a little too much voodoo to play on the TV easily.
Well off to check out Feed the Animals' Girl Talk and Gnarls Barkley's St. Elsewhere.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
More random thoughts (now with a third less calories)
Working at the library has certainly made it easier (in some ways) to catch up on my reading. I saw an interesting article on the possibility that Google is making us stupid. Or at least unable to read long articles/novels. It dealt with how the internet is changing our brains and the way we're processing information. It was interesting, but I only skimmed it. And of course can't recall the magazine it was in. I'd hit google, oh wait...
I also suspect Google/Yahoo are poking fun at Microsoft by updating their spam filter to send anything from hotmail into said spam filter.
At any rate. Reading. Yes. Lots of graphic novels of late. Some Hikaru no Go, some Y the Last Man, did I mention Scott Pilgrim? Currently reading A Simple Plan by Scott Smith (of The Ruins most recently). Finished off Little Brother. So many books to enjoy. ^_^ Little Brother was pretty good. Rather scary in a couple places. I've not been a big fan of the way privacy rights have been heading in this country. If you wanted a look at it, this book will definitely spook you a little.
Not had a whole lot of time for gaming of late. Ticket to Ride: the Card Game is pretty interesting. It's got a nice little mechanic and yet still has some definite similarities to the board game. Metal Gear Solid 4 has come out to tie up the Solid Snake story line, but I've not got a PS3, so I'll have to wonder. For that matter I never managed to play through the 3rd one, so I actually have a fair amount of catching up to do.
Father's Day was nice. Kids got me a card and some chocolate (the above mentioned Metal Gear Solid 3 is apparently shockingly difficult to come by at the moment. Who knew?). I'm ready for summer to be over. Oh wait... Hmm.
Learned a bit about wikis today. They are rather nifty. I always wanted to learn about them, but never really had the time/opportunity. It will be cool if we can get the library wiki to take off. Could be a good knowledge base.
Well, I'd best go contemplate downloading Firefox 3...
I also suspect Google/Yahoo are poking fun at Microsoft by updating their spam filter to send anything from hotmail into said spam filter.
At any rate. Reading. Yes. Lots of graphic novels of late. Some Hikaru no Go, some Y the Last Man, did I mention Scott Pilgrim? Currently reading A Simple Plan by Scott Smith (of The Ruins most recently). Finished off Little Brother. So many books to enjoy. ^_^ Little Brother was pretty good. Rather scary in a couple places. I've not been a big fan of the way privacy rights have been heading in this country. If you wanted a look at it, this book will definitely spook you a little.
Not had a whole lot of time for gaming of late. Ticket to Ride: the Card Game is pretty interesting. It's got a nice little mechanic and yet still has some definite similarities to the board game. Metal Gear Solid 4 has come out to tie up the Solid Snake story line, but I've not got a PS3, so I'll have to wonder. For that matter I never managed to play through the 3rd one, so I actually have a fair amount of catching up to do.
Father's Day was nice. Kids got me a card and some chocolate (the above mentioned Metal Gear Solid 3 is apparently shockingly difficult to come by at the moment. Who knew?). I'm ready for summer to be over. Oh wait... Hmm.
Learned a bit about wikis today. They are rather nifty. I always wanted to learn about them, but never really had the time/opportunity. It will be cool if we can get the library wiki to take off. Could be a good knowledge base.
Well, I'd best go contemplate downloading Firefox 3...
Monday, May 26, 2008
Round up
Picked up Wii Fit. Considering exercise is a pretty foreign concept to me, it's a decent workout. Hopefully I can keep myself motivated enough to use it. It does have a few "gamer" hooks - unlock new exercises (which is somewhat frustrating as you can't really build an exercise routine until you see what all is offered), competition (with yourself and others) and so on. It's a nice little package. That I'm sure will be improved immensely in version 2.0. (And I can't believe some of the ebay prices for this thing...)
Boom Blox by Spielberg and EA is a pretty fun little game as well. And Graeme is surprisingly good at it. Admittedly when it involves knocking things down or blowing things up, it's hard to beat a 3 year old boy. The girls get a kick out of it as well. Amazing thing this Wii. ^_^
Goose Girl by Shannon Hale is a wonderful little story. I'm not horribly familiar with the original fairy tale so in a lot of ways this was pretty fresh, but it's a good story either way. Give it a go if you like fairy tales or books with good stories.
There's a lot more I should ramble on about: Scott Pilgrim, Hellboy Volume 1 (the amazing library edition), Altered Carbon, the list goes on, but I think I'll leave it at those. Which isn't to say you got the top three or so, just the ones that were topmost in my consciousness.
It's still been an interesting couple of months. The new job is sort of settling in on me. It's still very different and I'm going to have to play with things to make it actually work as something that will support the family, but there are certainly some really nice aspects to it. Still lots of family drama. And still lots of adjusting to all the changes we've been through. But we're getting there.
I've been on a salsa making kick lately. I think I'll probably stop buying store bought salsa and just make my own for a while. It's a little time consuming but the results are so worth it. Next up is home made tortilla chips and home made ramen.
Have I mentioned Upgrade Your Life, the new book by the Lifehacker editor? I picked it up and there are some nice little tricks in there. It's been rather helpful with the new job as well. I need to be a lot more organized there than I'm used to. Heh.
Boom Blox by Spielberg and EA is a pretty fun little game as well. And Graeme is surprisingly good at it. Admittedly when it involves knocking things down or blowing things up, it's hard to beat a 3 year old boy. The girls get a kick out of it as well. Amazing thing this Wii. ^_^
Goose Girl by Shannon Hale is a wonderful little story. I'm not horribly familiar with the original fairy tale so in a lot of ways this was pretty fresh, but it's a good story either way. Give it a go if you like fairy tales or books with good stories.
There's a lot more I should ramble on about: Scott Pilgrim, Hellboy Volume 1 (the amazing library edition), Altered Carbon, the list goes on, but I think I'll leave it at those. Which isn't to say you got the top three or so, just the ones that were topmost in my consciousness.
It's still been an interesting couple of months. The new job is sort of settling in on me. It's still very different and I'm going to have to play with things to make it actually work as something that will support the family, but there are certainly some really nice aspects to it. Still lots of family drama. And still lots of adjusting to all the changes we've been through. But we're getting there.
I've been on a salsa making kick lately. I think I'll probably stop buying store bought salsa and just make my own for a while. It's a little time consuming but the results are so worth it. Next up is home made tortilla chips and home made ramen.
Have I mentioned Upgrade Your Life, the new book by the Lifehacker editor? I picked it up and there are some nice little tricks in there. It's been rather helpful with the new job as well. I need to be a lot more organized there than I'm used to. Heh.
Friday, March 28, 2008
It's-a Friday
Not that I can really tell anymore. Tomorrow night is the Video Games Live concert. Pretty excited about that, it should be lots of fun. Utah Symphony, video game music, set pieces, what's not to love? A big thanks to the letter 'r' for the tickets.
Waiting on word from the library. I hate waiting.
As tired as I am of the stress we've got going on, I am at least thankful that we don't have the added health problems my sister's family is going through. Our stress may be at a nice 8 or 9, but she's managed to dial things all the way to 11.
Brawl has left the house, but not the minds of the kids. All four of us. It's a good game. Can see why it's so popular.
We've borrowed a rather large bean bag for movie night tonight. It is actually quite large, not just rather large.
Seems as if there was a story that needed to be recorded here for whatever purpose, but of course I have completely forgotten it. Oh well. The perils of getting old I guess.
Waiting on word from the library. I hate waiting.
As tired as I am of the stress we've got going on, I am at least thankful that we don't have the added health problems my sister's family is going through. Our stress may be at a nice 8 or 9, but she's managed to dial things all the way to 11.
Brawl has left the house, but not the minds of the kids. All four of us. It's a good game. Can see why it's so popular.
We've borrowed a rather large bean bag for movie night tonight. It is actually quite large, not just rather large.
Seems as if there was a story that needed to be recorded here for whatever purpose, but of course I have completely forgotten it. Oh well. The perils of getting old I guess.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Happy Easter
Easter is once again here. Kids had a relatively grand morning. We managed to keep the sugar consumption fairly low so we had a grand morning as well. We did the annual Easter Egg Hunt yesterday, I suspect for the last time. The event has really outgrown the way it's been done. They get enough kids there now that they either need to resegment the age groups or they need to run it a few times. You wait for it to start for 15 minutes and then it's over in 30 seconds and if you have nice/timid kids they're lucky if they managed to grab an egg... Oh well.
Super Smash Brothers Brawl (or Brother Smashers if you're our kids) has taken over. It's grown on me quite a bit. I was horrible at the Gamecube version. I seem to have figured a few things out with this one. It's just a rental at the moment, but if the kids have any say, it'll find its way here somehow.
Caught Beowulf the other night. It was alright. Nothing to write home about, but certainly ok.
Well, must go entertain the natives. Happy Easter.
Super Smash Brothers Brawl (or Brother Smashers if you're our kids) has taken over. It's grown on me quite a bit. I was horrible at the Gamecube version. I seem to have figured a few things out with this one. It's just a rental at the moment, but if the kids have any say, it'll find its way here somehow.
Caught Beowulf the other night. It was alright. Nothing to write home about, but certainly ok.
Well, must go entertain the natives. Happy Easter.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Words, words, words
Watched Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead last night. Still quite the enjoyable show. Proof that Hamlet is still quite the piece of work and that Tom Stoppard is pretty spiffy himself. Friends from way back will most likely remember drawing up rules to the game Questions after viewing that sequence a time or two too many.
Speaking of games, picked up Alhambra, it looks to be lots of fun. Will let you know once it's out of the box and been taken for a spin or two. (Did I mention that San Juan is pretty good? Nice set of training wheels for Puerto Rico while still being quite enjoyable on its own.)
Mostly treading water waiting for Wednesday. Family gets into town on Tuesday, so that will provide all of 12 hours or so of distraction. But that will most likely involve a plumbing project so it might be quite the distraction. Heh.
Lovely wife and the girls are out in the snow selling Girl Scout cookies. Am terribly glad it's them and not me. True dedication. Or something else equally cliché.
Graeme has taken to calling the girls "my girls". Are my girls back from school yet? I want to play a game with my girls. I need to get a Graeme's Girls poster made using Charlie's Angels as the template. So wrong it's right I tell ya.
Speaking of games, picked up Alhambra, it looks to be lots of fun. Will let you know once it's out of the box and been taken for a spin or two. (Did I mention that San Juan is pretty good? Nice set of training wheels for Puerto Rico while still being quite enjoyable on its own.)
Mostly treading water waiting for Wednesday. Family gets into town on Tuesday, so that will provide all of 12 hours or so of distraction. But that will most likely involve a plumbing project so it might be quite the distraction. Heh.
Lovely wife and the girls are out in the snow selling Girl Scout cookies. Am terribly glad it's them and not me. True dedication. Or something else equally cliché.
Graeme has taken to calling the girls "my girls". Are my girls back from school yet? I want to play a game with my girls. I need to get a Graeme's Girls poster made using Charlie's Angels as the template. So wrong it's right I tell ya.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
And a one and a two
Yes, two posts (ah ah ah).
I think I need to track down a copy of Alhambra. Went out to dinner the other evening with some friends (steak is yummy) and said game came up in conversation. Just after I was looking at it in the store with puppy dog eyes. A sign it is.
It's rather amazing how many little things can take up your day. I've always had respect for my better half for this sort of thing. It's gone up a fair amount these last few weeks.
I was watching the remake of Dawn of the Dead earlier. Partially because, hey zombie movie, and partially because the Reel Horror podcast covered the recent Day of the Dead remake. Vegan zombie indeed. You should track down that review if for no other reason than to hear the Stephen Hawking zombie. Really.
There are very strange cartoons on the Cartoon Network. That is all.
I believe I have succeeded in convincing Graeme that he is a dinosaur. That is also all. (While that might not be quite the feat that was turning Miranda into a zombie, this is a much more persistent change, so I think it gains a few more points.)
I think I need to track down a copy of Alhambra. Went out to dinner the other evening with some friends (steak is yummy) and said game came up in conversation. Just after I was looking at it in the store with puppy dog eyes. A sign it is.
It's rather amazing how many little things can take up your day. I've always had respect for my better half for this sort of thing. It's gone up a fair amount these last few weeks.
I was watching the remake of Dawn of the Dead earlier. Partially because, hey zombie movie, and partially because the Reel Horror podcast covered the recent Day of the Dead remake. Vegan zombie indeed. You should track down that review if for no other reason than to hear the Stephen Hawking zombie. Really.
There are very strange cartoons on the Cartoon Network. That is all.
I believe I have succeeded in convincing Graeme that he is a dinosaur. That is also all. (While that might not be quite the feat that was turning Miranda into a zombie, this is a much more persistent change, so I think it gains a few more points.)
Monday, March 10, 2008
News (not really)
Well, it's been a while again. And a lot has happened in that time.
I think I'll avoid all the messy details. Mostly I wanted to get a few words up on the ol' blog again.
Daylight Savings Time is once again playing havoc with our home life. I'm not sure why this thing is still around. It hates us it does. And we hates it. Oh yes, we hates it with the passion of a thousand burning suns.
Games have been played, movies watched, trips taken, people seen. Some of those things were good. Some not so good. But even the not so good things had their moments. We got to see lots of family over the last little while and that was pretty good.
Due to circumstances (the aforementioned and then avoided messy details) I'm currently taking a long look at things and trying to decide what I want to be when I grow up and so on. The front runner is a librarian. We'll see if that pans out. I'd really like to get out of the tech sector but I have secret fears that it's not going to let me go. We shall see.
Gee, it's hard to do this when you're out of practice. And you have no desire to dissect your personal life in front of you lot. Heh. I suppose a lot of it comes down to the realization that some of the things I used to blether on about really don't compare to the things taking up so much of my time these days. But those things aren't something I feel like putting on display at the moment. So we shall wait for time to pass and then I can get back to musing on trivialities.
We shall see.
So I suppose I should pass you along to some other sector of the internet where you can find something of interest. Try here. It should be good for a few moments worth of diversion. If not, well, this is the internet. Sink or swim.
I think I'll avoid all the messy details. Mostly I wanted to get a few words up on the ol' blog again.
Daylight Savings Time is once again playing havoc with our home life. I'm not sure why this thing is still around. It hates us it does. And we hates it. Oh yes, we hates it with the passion of a thousand burning suns.
Games have been played, movies watched, trips taken, people seen. Some of those things were good. Some not so good. But even the not so good things had their moments. We got to see lots of family over the last little while and that was pretty good.
Due to circumstances (the aforementioned and then avoided messy details) I'm currently taking a long look at things and trying to decide what I want to be when I grow up and so on. The front runner is a librarian. We'll see if that pans out. I'd really like to get out of the tech sector but I have secret fears that it's not going to let me go. We shall see.
Gee, it's hard to do this when you're out of practice. And you have no desire to dissect your personal life in front of you lot. Heh. I suppose a lot of it comes down to the realization that some of the things I used to blether on about really don't compare to the things taking up so much of my time these days. But those things aren't something I feel like putting on display at the moment. So we shall wait for time to pass and then I can get back to musing on trivialities.
We shall see.
So I suppose I should pass you along to some other sector of the internet where you can find something of interest. Try here. It should be good for a few moments worth of diversion. If not, well, this is the internet. Sink or swim.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Take a breath
Well.
Yes.
Lost Cities is brief gaming brilliance. It's a two player card game that plays quickly and yet involves some decent strategy. Can you get those last few cards played before your opponent exhausts the draw pile? Do you feel lucky punk? Well do you? Surprising amount of tension in a deceptively simple mechanic. Snag a copy.
Penny Dreadful was just that. Dreadful. That movie should have ended when the trunk was closed the second time.
Read all the Jesse Stone novels as well as the Dexter novels. All recommended. Dexter in particular.
The kids are gearing up for Halloween and then it's a dinosaur birthday for wee Graeme. Looking forward to that.
Managed a game of Arkham Horror the other day. Lost and the world was devoured. Poor world.
Yes.
Lost Cities is brief gaming brilliance. It's a two player card game that plays quickly and yet involves some decent strategy. Can you get those last few cards played before your opponent exhausts the draw pile? Do you feel lucky punk? Well do you? Surprising amount of tension in a deceptively simple mechanic. Snag a copy.
Penny Dreadful was just that. Dreadful. That movie should have ended when the trunk was closed the second time.
Read all the Jesse Stone novels as well as the Dexter novels. All recommended. Dexter in particular.
The kids are gearing up for Halloween and then it's a dinosaur birthday for wee Graeme. Looking forward to that.
Managed a game of Arkham Horror the other day. Lost and the world was devoured. Poor world.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Well hello there
This quarter's update brought to you by the number 3. As in yeah, three months. Huh. Who'da thunk?
So, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Great book. Nice ending to the series and all that. I'm sad to see it end, but what a way to go. There were some niggly bits, sure, but over all quite the ride. I'll not say too much here as it is still pretty new, but the wife and I both enjoyed it.
Ran through The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan as well. Nice little story. Makes you want to go read Greek Mythology. Speaking of which, I've managed to aquire a nice copy of Bulfinch's Mythology courtesy of some friends of ours in Colorado. Yay.
Saw the fifth HP movie. It did a good job of hitting the highlights from the book. Some good moments, some ok moments. Luna was an inspired casting choice. Absolutely perfect.
Have I mentioned that Hey! That's My Fish is a rather fun little game? Well it is. I'm looking at possibly snagging a copy of Runebound at the moment. I have a bit of a fantasy itch that I'm hoping that will scratch. Speaking at least indirectly of boardgames, Pulp Gamer is a pretty good podcast for those interested in games of the table top variety.
The latest episode of Escape Pod, Conversations With and About My Electric Toothbrush was quite amusing. One of the better stories in a while.
Gee, so many random things to cover, so little that actually matters. We had a lovely trip to Texas to see the folks. Got to shoot off lots of exciting fireworks. Saw the Star Wars exhibit at the Science Museum. That was pretty nifty. So many fun models and a hover chair/car thing to ride. Nice.
Now to go track down a copy of Behind the Mask.
So, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Great book. Nice ending to the series and all that. I'm sad to see it end, but what a way to go. There were some niggly bits, sure, but over all quite the ride. I'll not say too much here as it is still pretty new, but the wife and I both enjoyed it.
Ran through The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan as well. Nice little story. Makes you want to go read Greek Mythology. Speaking of which, I've managed to aquire a nice copy of Bulfinch's Mythology courtesy of some friends of ours in Colorado. Yay.
Saw the fifth HP movie. It did a good job of hitting the highlights from the book. Some good moments, some ok moments. Luna was an inspired casting choice. Absolutely perfect.
Have I mentioned that Hey! That's My Fish is a rather fun little game? Well it is. I'm looking at possibly snagging a copy of Runebound at the moment. I have a bit of a fantasy itch that I'm hoping that will scratch. Speaking at least indirectly of boardgames, Pulp Gamer is a pretty good podcast for those interested in games of the table top variety.
The latest episode of Escape Pod, Conversations With and About My Electric Toothbrush was quite amusing. One of the better stories in a while.
Gee, so many random things to cover, so little that actually matters. We had a lovely trip to Texas to see the folks. Got to shoot off lots of exciting fireworks. Saw the Star Wars exhibit at the Science Museum. That was pretty nifty. So many fun models and a hover chair/car thing to ride. Nice.
Now to go track down a copy of Behind the Mask.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Hey
Wow, it's been a while.
Saw Hot Fuzz and it was indeed enjoyable. I've no idea what else I've seen and read in the interim. Rest assured that it was great. Or it wasn't.
It's been so long I'm terribly rusty at this. Serves me right I suppose. I've run across a few new podcasts, most dealing with games of the board/card variety. Pulp Gamer and Have Games Will Travel are the notable ones. I rather enjoy Pulp Gamer.
Picked up Planet Puzzle League for the wife. She won't put it down which is a pretty good sign. And when she does I do my best to sneak off with it myself. I now see blocks that I have to shift around whenever I close my eyes. Yeah, it's a little maddening.
Anyway, must wander off. Shall attempt to update for real at some point in the not too distant future.
Saw Hot Fuzz and it was indeed enjoyable. I've no idea what else I've seen and read in the interim. Rest assured that it was great. Or it wasn't.
It's been so long I'm terribly rusty at this. Serves me right I suppose. I've run across a few new podcasts, most dealing with games of the board/card variety. Pulp Gamer and Have Games Will Travel are the notable ones. I rather enjoy Pulp Gamer.
Picked up Planet Puzzle League for the wife. She won't put it down which is a pretty good sign. And when she does I do my best to sneak off with it myself. I now see blocks that I have to shift around whenever I close my eyes. Yeah, it's a little maddening.
Anyway, must wander off. Shall attempt to update for real at some point in the not too distant future.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Friday
Managed to finish off Fragile Things. An enjoyable collection of short stories indeed. I really liked the American Gods novella, Monarch of the Glen and the poem, Instructions. Which, now that I think about it, I've probably mentioned far too many times.
It'll be on to World War Z next.
Tomorrow I'm planning on catching Hot Fuzz and I'm very excited about that. I loved Shaun of the Dead and figure this will be a fun take on the action genre.
The wife and I have become quite enamored of Ninja Warrior on G4. It's a weakness. But what can you do? Go Nagano!!!
On a slightly ninja related note, Mur Lafferty has the cover story over at The Escapist this week. Well, ok for another couple days at any rate. This might be a permanent link to the story. Go Cthuloids! And I shed a tear for the poor ninjas. They deserve their moment in the sun. Or shadows rather.
Picked up Super Paper Mario the other day. But I'm trying to be good and finish Zelda prior to starting it. Well in earnest at any rate. The initial level was quite good.
I really did have something else to mention here. Oh well. I think I'll go play some Gang of Four online. I'm dkun if you play.
It'll be on to World War Z next.
Tomorrow I'm planning on catching Hot Fuzz and I'm very excited about that. I loved Shaun of the Dead and figure this will be a fun take on the action genre.
The wife and I have become quite enamored of Ninja Warrior on G4. It's a weakness. But what can you do? Go Nagano!!!
On a slightly ninja related note, Mur Lafferty has the cover story over at The Escapist this week. Well, ok for another couple days at any rate. This might be a permanent link to the story. Go Cthuloids! And I shed a tear for the poor ninjas. They deserve their moment in the sun. Or shadows rather.
Picked up Super Paper Mario the other day. But I'm trying to be good and finish Zelda prior to starting it. Well in earnest at any rate. The initial level was quite good.
I really did have something else to mention here. Oh well. I think I'll go play some Gang of Four online. I'm dkun if you play.
Friday, April 06, 2007
Night Owl
I have no idea why I'm writing this. Other than it gives me something to do. That and I feel like I should be writing more. Got out of the habit there for quite a while.
I started thumbing through I'm Just Here for the Food 2.0. It's a fun and interesting book. It makes me want to spend money on cooking implements and then try (badly) to make interesting dishes. I like food. I even like making food (although I don't do it very often). The Food Network (and Alton Brown in particular) is rapidly becoming an overwhelming force in my life.
I managed to find a copy of Gang of Four. What a fun game. The in-laws were here recently and several nights were spent playing it. Fortunately it plays well with three people also as we rarely have four. The online version is nice as well. If nothing else I may be able to pick up some strategy there.
Well, I believe this is enough words to soothe the writing monkey on my back at the moment. While there's nothing profound here, it at least exists. And at the moment that's all that matters.
I started thumbing through I'm Just Here for the Food 2.0. It's a fun and interesting book. It makes me want to spend money on cooking implements and then try (badly) to make interesting dishes. I like food. I even like making food (although I don't do it very often). The Food Network (and Alton Brown in particular) is rapidly becoming an overwhelming force in my life.
I managed to find a copy of Gang of Four. What a fun game. The in-laws were here recently and several nights were spent playing it. Fortunately it plays well with three people also as we rarely have four. The online version is nice as well. If nothing else I may be able to pick up some strategy there.
Well, I believe this is enough words to soothe the writing monkey on my back at the moment. While there's nothing profound here, it at least exists. And at the moment that's all that matters.
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Couple reviews
Gil's All Fright Diner is good. The Departed isn't. What you want something a little more in depth? Ingrates.
Gil's All Fright Diner is a nice horror/comedy book. Take a little Lovecraft and mix in, well, not quite Pratchett, but almost someone along those lines and there you go. It's a blast to read and I found myself laughing out loud at several points.
The Departed just left a lot to be desired. Jack Nicholson was great, but that's about it. Well and Mark Wahlberg (have I mentioned that Shooter was good?). I will admit that a good deal of my "less than impressed" comes from having seen Infernal Affairs. So a lot of the tension was missing due to knowledge of the plot, but I don't think Scorsese did all that great a job of ratcheting it up in the first place. I could go on about a few other dislikes, but I don't really feel like giving this movie that much attention.
I do want to see Infernal Affairs 2 and 3 though...
This Film is Not Yet Rated was interesting, but I only sort of agreed with it.
I suspect World War Z is up to bat next, although I really need to finish Fragile Things.
And I'm sad that Gunslinger Girl seems to have wrapped up its run on IFC.
So that should tide you lot over for a bit. I suspect there's plenty to cover coming up. Who knows. There might even be cute kid stories. I'm working on Graeme's zombie and Godzilla impressions.
Gil's All Fright Diner is a nice horror/comedy book. Take a little Lovecraft and mix in, well, not quite Pratchett, but almost someone along those lines and there you go. It's a blast to read and I found myself laughing out loud at several points.
The Departed just left a lot to be desired. Jack Nicholson was great, but that's about it. Well and Mark Wahlberg (have I mentioned that Shooter was good?). I will admit that a good deal of my "less than impressed" comes from having seen Infernal Affairs. So a lot of the tension was missing due to knowledge of the plot, but I don't think Scorsese did all that great a job of ratcheting it up in the first place. I could go on about a few other dislikes, but I don't really feel like giving this movie that much attention.
I do want to see Infernal Affairs 2 and 3 though...
This Film is Not Yet Rated was interesting, but I only sort of agreed with it.
I suspect World War Z is up to bat next, although I really need to finish Fragile Things.
And I'm sad that Gunslinger Girl seems to have wrapped up its run on IFC.
So that should tide you lot over for a bit. I suspect there's plenty to cover coming up. Who knows. There might even be cute kid stories. I'm working on Graeme's zombie and Godzilla impressions.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Crichton
So, I made myself finish Next by Michael Crichton. I'm not sure why I did that to myself. I used to like Crichton, his books could be counted on for some fun reading that blurred the lines between fiction and non-fiction. These days, you can still see some of the compelling writing style, but it's bogged down in far too much politics and agenda pushing. The best thing I can say about Next is that I really liked Gerard, the transgenic parrot. And honestly that's about it. I really didn't like most of the characters (and Crichton must not have either given half their fates) and there really wasn't a plot. The book was almost a series of essays. Which was certainly one of the biggest problems - far too many characters. Oh well. I'm not going to spend any more time talking about this book. It doesn't deserve it.
We picked up some Motorola phones for the house on clearance. They're very cool. That is all. (They have been named Odin and Loki for no good reason at all...)
At any rate, I may go watch Casino Royale as I snagged a copy this afternoon. I really wanted the cool poker chip Circuit City was offering but settled for the Aston Martin car Best Buy was doling out. Mostly because Best Buy was closer and I didn't know if Circuit City still had any left.
And I need to track down a copy of Gang of Four.
We picked up some Motorola phones for the house on clearance. They're very cool. That is all. (They have been named Odin and Loki for no good reason at all...)
At any rate, I may go watch Casino Royale as I snagged a copy this afternoon. I really wanted the cool poker chip Circuit City was offering but settled for the Aston Martin car Best Buy was doling out. Mostly because Best Buy was closer and I didn't know if Circuit City still had any left.
And I need to track down a copy of Gang of Four.
Thursday, March 08, 2007
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