September 2004 Archives

No, I'm not dead... and no the site hasn't been abandoned... I've just been busy. But HAD I been dead, then this entry would lead you to believe that I had become a zombie. Zombies you say? What a coincidence because I was planning on posting this link to the trailer of a new British comedy called Shaun of the Dead! It's got the same peeps as the brilliant TV series Spaced and it's looking pretty darn good.

I finished Hyperion a few days ago, and I really have to say WOW. I think this officially becomes the best sci-fi book I have ever read. The intricate plot, unconventional storytelling and social commentary really blew me away. My only quibble is with the “ending” which only earns that title from the fact that the pages stop. The actual ending must be in the sequel, The Fall of Hyperion, which I plan to read as soon as my hold at the library is fulfilled (which, sadly, looks like it’ll take a while… There are only 4 copies, all currently checked out, and I’m 4th in the hold queue). I suppose I could go out and buy it, but I’m sure I can find enough books to read in the meantime…

I started the 2nd Harry Potter book last night and I’m already over 100 pages into it… it’s like it’s a kids book or something! I read the 1st one over a year ago and I wasn’t very impressed. I had seen the movie before the book so there wasn’t really anything new in the book. Don’t know what possessed me to borrow Chamber of Secrets from Angela (I’ve seen that movie too). I guess I’m just trying to understand why so many adults seem enthralled by this series. So far this one is just like the movie as well (ok, the movie was just like the book) and I still feel meh about the series…. However, I DIDN’T see Prisoner of Azkaban so I plan to read that one fresh as the final chance for the series to woo me.

Oh, and I finally got someone I know to read a Tom Robbins book! I had to go to extreme measures to ensure success (I bought Jitterbug Perfume and gave it to Marisa). She read it, “loved it”, and asked me which Robbins book she should get next! One down, the rest of my friends to go.

I saw Garden State over the weekend… didn’t like it. Brett named it the best movie ever (though he seems to do that for every movie he sees) but I didn’t even like it! I kinda felt numb toward it the whole way through. I hardly laughed (and seriously, the audience must have taken happy pills before they came to see it, cuz they were laughing at EVERYTHING!) and I generally felt blah about it. Maybe there’s something wrong with me… Brett has pointed out that I think everything is “just alright,” should I become easier to please?

I had minor surgery today to have a cyst removed on my upper arm. I’m back at work now and the anesthetic is wearing off so it’s kind of starting to itch. I touched the spot on my arm (it’s on the back side, halfway between my elbow and shoulder) and when I pulled my fingertips away they were covered in blood. The blood had soaked through the bandaid and then through my shirt sleeve! I just put a second bandaid over the top and washed my sleeve as best I could while still wearing the shirt. It’s kinda sick though, I’ve got this big red bloodstain on the back of my sleeve now!

Update: I bled through again this evening at home. Kara noticed a wet spot on my sleeve and sure enough it was blood. After taking off my shirt to soak the sleeve and re-bandaid my wound we went back to the couch and whadda ya know, blood on the couch... nice.

Time for me to freak out… This morning while visiting Penny Arcade I was practically told that I must go out and buy Burnout 3. Now before this morning I hadn’t even really heard about the game, but Tycho made buying it sound like a no brainer so I figured I better take a closer look. After reading the review at IGN, I was convinced. You ought to follow that IGN link and check out the videos linked in the review, it really shows off the coolness of this game. This evening I ran down to EBGames and picked it up…

The key to this game is that it’s NOT your average racer… I am not a car guy, I don’t like racing games, but I LOVE this game. Maybe that doesn’t surprise you since I played PGR 1 & 2, but what if I say Kara loves this game? In fact she’s actually played it more this evening than I have!!! As I type this, she’s busy smashing and crashing cars into tiny little bits, and she REALLY hates racing games! There’s real magic in this game, it’s hard to put your finger on it, but there’s something there that really gets your heart pumping. The sense of speed is absolutely incredible and the focus on mass destruction makes it so much fun. I’ve been waiting for this game ever since the original Demolition Derby.

When a man succeeds in hooking his wife on sci-fi, he MUST take advantage of it whenever possible. So when our 4 month sci-fi spree of Stargate:SG1 recently came to an end, I knew I had to act fast. I had heard good things about Firefly, so I put disc 1 on the top of our Netflix queue. It wasn’t long before we had chewed through the whole season, and since FOX mistreated the series, it wasn’t allowed a second season. However, they are currently making a film based on the series called Serenity and I can’t wait. I really hope the film is a big hit and Sci-Fi picks up the show for more seasons.

So what makes the show so great? I was going to go into detail, but I recently told Dave all about it in MSN Messenger, so here is the “transcript.” I’m telling you, you must rent these DVDs, this show is on par with HBO quality programming!

I finished Chamber of Secrets this weekend, and I have to admit that I did enjoy it. Fortunately I didn’t remember the endgame from the movie, so the mystery was just that for me. I'm still not entirely sold on the series, but I'm definitely primed for Azkaban to sweep me off my feet.

Three of the books I had on hold at the library came in; I picked them up and will be working my way through them. Equal Rites (The third book in the Discworld series), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and The Sword of Shannara (the first in a fantasy series recommended to me by Scott). Two of these three books have hold queues, which means no renewals… So the clock is ticking, I better get to work!

I don’t mean to get all ubergeek on y’all but I am SO happy I bought the VHS copies of the Star Wars trilogy back in 1996. They said it’d be a long time before they’d be released again, but little did I know that it’d be the LAST time they’d be released! The DVD versions are coming out in a few days, but they are the altered special edition versions. In fact, according to this article at USA Today, these versions are changed even more than the 1997 theatrical re-releases! Along with other tweaks, apparently Hayden Christensen has been digitally added to Return of the Jedi… Blasphemy I say!! Oh well… I’ve got my MOSTLY unaltered copies on VHS and I guess I’ll just have to be happy with them in all their degrading glory.

There are a ridiculous number of good videogames coming out in the next few months. Here is the list of the ones I'm interested in. Games with an asterisk are "for sure" buys.

08/30  Pikmin 2
09/14  Fable
09/14  Sly 2*
09/27  Donkey Konga
10/11  Paper Mario*
10/18  GTA:SA
10/26  RollerCoaster Tycoon 3
11/02  Ratchet & Clank 3
11/09  Halo 2*
11/14  Gran Turismo 4
11/15  Metroid Prime 2
11/16  Prince of Persia 2*
11/29  Final Fantasy I-II Advance

A few days ago I was searching around for the start dates of my favorite shows in the new season and was surprised to discover that Alias isn't premiering until January! Apparently the move was made to ensure that the show will air without reruns. Sounds good to me, I can wait and I know how nice it is to have a new ep each week (Sopranos, Deadwood).

I finished Equal Rites last night. Finally a Pratchett book with a plot, but alas the last fifth of the book devolved into the style of the previous two books. The premise was nice: an infant is ‘wizardized’ by a dying wizard only to find out (too late) that the infant was a girl… in a world where there’s simply no such thing as female wizards. The book chronicles Esk’s battle with the magic she can’t control and her witch nanny’s attempts to channel it to witchly endeavors. And then a random threat appears from no where and Esk saves the day… Meh. The good 4/5 of the book has convinced me to read the next one though… Either Pratchett was starting to get good, or he got lucky. We’ll see…

I started The Sword of Shannara last night. I’ve heard both sides of the argument, and now I must venture forth and make my own decision about the book. I trust I’ll have a review of it once I’ve finished.

This little guy is called a blister beetle, and he’s currently the bane of my existence. I went to the podiatrist yesterday to get some plantar warts removed, and he used a chemical that comes from the blister beetle’s venom… wanna guess what it does? Yup, blisters the skin! The idea being that the blister forms beneath the warts and forces them up and out of my healthy skin. A nice idea, but let me tell you, it hurts like hell. The warts are right on the ball of my foot, so every step has become a test of my manhood. Do I grimace and keep on walking? Or do I fall to the floor, curl up in the fetal position, and cry in agony? So far it’s been the former, but the day is still young.

I was chatting with Phil a few days ago (who now resides in China) and we got on the topic of cultural differences. Here is our discussion, make sure you read to the end, because the last one is the most interesting/weird.

I played the Doom 3 demo last night, some thoughts:

• Every time I attempt to install and play a game on the computer I am reminded of how wondrous console games are. I downloaded the demo using bit torrent two days ago and installed it. I started it and waited for the first level to load. As soon as the level fully loaded, the demo crashed. I thought maybe I got a bum version from torrent, so I downloaded it again from an official link... same problem. So I thought it might be the video card drivers… downloaded and installed the newest versions, and a mere 24 hours after I originally downloaded the demo, I was finally able to play it!

• When it comes to scary games, I am a pussy. The reason I didn’t just run out and buy Doom 3 with everyone else is because I knew I wouldn’t like it. These fright games constantly put you in panic situations where you suddenly find yourself far too close to creepy baddies with only a weak weapon to defend yourself with. That panicked feeling freaks me out so much that I get controller paralysis. I become overly cautious, afraid to turn the next corner because of what might jump out at me. No defense, I’m a wimp, a whole genre of videogames closed off to me...

• The demo was AMAZING at immersing you in the subterranean Mars world of Doom. The interactive computer screens are implemented perfectly; you don’t “use” them to bring up a menu system… You just walk up to them and start pushing buttons (you automatically put your gun away and your reticle becomes a cursor), VERY slick! You find PDAs lying around that have voice recordings which you can listen to while you continue on your mission, very good for setting the mood. Oh, and the graphics and lighting are stunning!
  

Played another demo last night, this one for a game called Evil Genius. It’s kind of a mix between The Sims and an RTS game with a James Bond villain theme. Maybe I was playing it wrong, but it didn’t seem very fun to me. You don’t directly control your minions, instead you set up rules for them (tagging an enemy for death, requesting more soldiers, etc) and they respond appropriately. You must build up your base by building special rooms (barracks, armory, training room) which allow your minions to be trained and remain happy. For example, once you build a training room with a punching bag, your workers can use it to become soldiers (which they do automatically when you increase the number of desired soldiers on the minion menu). Another example, you must build barracks and beds so that your minions can sleep, otherwise they get tired and unhappy. It sounded ok, but actually doing it was pretty boring. But heck, it’s free so you might as well download it and check it out (and tell me if you thought it was better than I make it sound).

I had no intention to see Sky Captain, but when Brett and Jess invited us last night and I didn’t already have a kickass Thursday night planned (sorry Joey), I figured why not? First off, can we all agree that the title is retarded? Yes, we can. As for the movie, it was alright... Apparently the whole thing was filmed in a blue room which doesn’t really do anything either way for the movie. It doesn’t look overly fake-y, but then it doesn’t look completely real either. So don’t see or avoid it based on the “technological achievement.” There isn’t much plot and the characters are pretty one dimensional, but they’re passable between action sequences. The odd thing about this “action packed” movie is that it moves pretty slowly. The heroes follow clues from one place to another, fighting big robots along the way, but it never really feels exciting.

Do I recommend it? Ok, but just barely, and if you miss it, you won’t miss much.

I saw Shaun of the Dead on Friday and I was kind of disappointed. Don’t get me wrong, it was a fun, good movie; you should see it. But, if you’re actually listening to me, then what you should REALLY do is get your hands on the Spaced DVDs. As I said here, the show is just hilarious! The pop culture references and spoofs (geared to those of the geeky persuasion) are done so well. And since there were only 14 episodes, it really left me wanting more. So I was hoping that Shaun would be that more, but I felt it only hinted at the greatness of Spaced. Sigh...

As for you getting ahold of the DVDs, here, I’ll make you a deal. I’ll sell you my copies with a discount, so I can pick up the new boxset...

There once was a little show on E! called Talk Soup; a wonderful low budget affair where the host would show the “best” clips of the past week’s talk shows and make lame attempts at humor. There have been a few hosts (most notably Greg Kinnear when he was first starting out) and all of them brought their own flavor, but those corny jokes always stayed constant... and I loved it. And so I was delighted when I discovered a new show on E! called The Soup! It’s the same basic idea, with an excellent host in Joel McHale, but the talk show clips have been replaced with reality show clips and general celebrity gossip which even makes for a better show! The clips are much shorter than they had to be for Talk Soup which leaves plenty of time for the “so bad they’re good” jokes. (plus it’s nice to have my deep-seated hatred for reality shows validated by their bashing) Check it out, prepare to chuckle and groan.