Month: August 2004

I am so far behind on movie reviews there’s little hope for me to get caught up. I’m thinking of starting a section that just lists every movie I get in from Netflix followed by a brief summary of my thoughts.Hmmm, we’ll see where that goes. In the meantime, here are the three latest flicks I’ve had the opportunity to check out:

The Village – M. Night is at it again, which makes for another must-see in my mind. And what can I say, Lisa and I loved it. It wasn’t the scariness of it (only a few scenes got me at all) or the twist ending (not very surprising, and only slightly relevent). No, once again it was the masterful way in which he tells a story. I was really interested in the characters and the story behind them. The creatures surrounding them were only a backdrop to the people’s lives. And as far as acting goes, Joaquin Phoenix has proven to be one of the best in the biz these day, and almost everybody seems to agree that Bryce Howard looks to be the next big thing. I don’t want to say anymore, because I might spoil it for some. But to be honest, even if you know any of the “twists”, it’s completely irrelevent. Just like the aliens in Signs were just props for a story of lost faith, so are the village and the creatures and exploration of the different forms of fear (and, I might add, an excellent commentary on society and government today).

The Bourne Supremacy – What can I say, The Bourne Identity was quite a surprising film and a sleeper hit. I finally picked it up on DVD after multiple cable viewings, and decided to take advantage of the free ticket included. Supremacy is an admirable followup to one of the best spy thrillers in recent years. Once again, the film includes some intense action (maybe a little too frantic at times) and amazing chases to pull together an intriguing plot. Diane Lane’s character was a great addition, as one of those “I’m not sure who’s good and who’s bad” types that just walked into a messed up situation. Brian Cox has gotten so good at playing a bastard it’s impressive. I also have to give Julia Stiles credit for sticking with two movies that gave her such a limited role, and still giving it her all. And I can grit my teeth and sneer all I like, but Matt Damon is actually a good action hero. Dammit. Anyway, if you liked the first one, you’ll like this one, too.

The Station Agent – Possibly one of the best movies I’ve ever seen in a long time. Seriously, I don’t think I could even begin to exaggerate how wonderfully beautiful, funny, witty, touchy, and real this movie is. I will be purchasing it at my earliest convenience and making room for it in my top 20 movies list (the one in my head that is). Peter Dinklage is absolutely perfect as a lone little person (I never know what term to use) who just wants to be left alone. At least, that’s what he thinks. And the lovely Patricia Clarkson puts together another stunning job, this time as a woman afraid to let her life continue after losing her son and her marriage. But what brings them together is the brilliant performance Bobby Cannavale as the loud and overly friendly Joe. Even though he’s a grown man, he still gives off this childlike wonder and acceptance that makes those around him realize how important human contact is. If you haven’t seen it yet, just go out and rent it now. A stunning film that I’ve been looking forward to seeing since I first saw it’s trailer (more than a year and a half ago) and can honestly say that I was not only not disappointed, but absolutely thrilled with the results.

Ok, I think that’s all for now. Like I said, there are so many more spread out of the last few months that I need to come up with a new way of posting them. Perhaps this weekend will deliver some free time 🙂 .

What Does Your Name Mean? Find Out What The First Letter of Your Name Really Means! An interesting read, but I’m really just linking it so you can get to the letter K. Make sure you read another letter before you scroll down to it, though.

(Courtesy of Mindful Musings)

You are Fozzie Bear.
You are caring and love your friends as if they
were family. For only they will put up with
your stupid jokes.

FAVORITE EXPRESSION:
“Wocka! Wocka!”
FAVORITE AUTHOR:
Gags Beasley, comedy writer

HOBBIES:
Telling jokes, dodging tomatoes

QUOTE:
“Why did the chicken cross the road?”

NEVER LEAVES HOME WITHOUT:
His joybuzzer, his whoopee cushion and Clyde, the
rubber chicken.

What Muppet are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

(Courtesy of orangeguru)

Sure technology has changed a whole lot, but has it really gotten better? No Name No Slogan labs compares the Apple iPod with the classic tape cassette. Who will win? I recommend running the slideshow – it’s much funnier that way. You might also want to check out their Mac switch ad, I really should stop watching this stuff at work.

(Thanks to Dieter)

This site’s desing and layout have been constantly neglected. I am, in fact, trying to rectify that. In the meantime, I am constantly sifting through websites that demonstrate how utterly talented some people are, and how talentless I am. It can be very frustrating knowing that I could never create anything as wonderful as others, but at least I can share them with you. So in the vein of the re-introduction of orangeguru, I would like to start pointing out other blogs that I frequent and what makes them truly interesting.

One of the more recent examples would be noscope, and not just because he supplied me with my beloved Gmail account). Although not as prolific of a writer as many blogs (well, that’s all relative), of most interest on his site would be the monthly installments. Each month he does five amazing graphical designs, and presents them accompanied by music (provided by Kate, aka n-heptane). He provides a beautiful and creative respite from the sometimes monotonous postings about who pissed us off today, what movies we like, and what we’re eating for breakfast. So drop on by and check out what he’s up to, it’s sure to be interesting.

If you aren’t involved with the WordPress community (as if my half dozen posts in the support forums earns me anything), that title might not mean anything to you. If you are, however, you’ll be interested in NMC’s interview with Matt Mullenweg. Even if you’re not, it’s still a fun read.

By the by, I’m now running on the 1.3 nightlies, which has solved most of my nagging little problems. Most notably, the precious RSS links actually work again.

I am not a devoted user. When I sing the praises of an app that I use, it tends to come from a much more pragmatic side. I certainly have a tendency to stick with my current setup, but show me a better way or a new utility and I’ll definitely investigate. I’m no Amiga freak, Mac lover, Linux devotee, or even Windows advocate. I use what works for me, and will recommend others to do the same. But it really doesn’t matter one way or another.

Firefox is a great browser. There are a few quirks that certainly can get ironed out, but it’s less than a year old and has already made fantastic strides. It is a pleasure to use because of its simple interface, and tabbed browsing alone makes me cringe at the thought of IE. That being said, the primary reason I even bother to tell people to switch is because of security risks, nonstop popups, and lack of standards compliance. If not for those glaring atrocities, I really wouldn’t care what you used.

Where exactly am I going with this? Who knows… A couple weeks ago while searching for some information on how to do something-or-the-other in Firefox, I stumbled upon a comparison with Opera. Curious, I read the article, knowing full well that Opera users tend to be exactly the type of people I described myself as not being. Not too surprising, I found a number of problems in what was written.
Continue reading “Firefox vs. Opera”

Possibly the best Internet quiz I’ve seen.

Which OS are You?

(Thanks to Molly)

Wow, not only am I back online, but so is orangeguru and his amazin’ blog. I first stumbled upon Dieter’s site through a rather random link (I believe it was a /. comment) and must say that his commentary on various graphics, photos, and images absolutely astounded me. Unfortunately, not long after my discovery he decided to close up shop and eventually pulled the archives. It was rather disappointing as I never even got around to sharing his wonderful site with others.

Thankfully, the other day I found an e-mail from Dieter in my inbox letting me know that he just couldn’t stay away for that long. So the link goes up on the sidebar, and now I get to promote his site to my (limited) viewing audience. Whether he is commenting on the modern view of beauty, reinventing pulp fiction, modernizing the classics, engaging in the oddest of political debates, or questioning our digital souls Dieter has a brilliant eye for the world around him and a rather singular wit. I hope you enjoy his site as much as I do. And if you get the chance, let him know what you think about his own artwork.

Although posted in a decidedly more conservative forum, here we have 20 things you have to believe to be a Republican today. The list actually has a lot of good points, and summarizes many of the rather duplicitous actions and/or statements of the Republican Party. A lot of it focuses on areas in which the GOP attacks Dems and liberals for one thing, and that okays it when one of their own is found guilty (prime example of this would be the current Keyes fiasco). Hypocrisy goes both ways, and I know that many Democrats are guilty of the same, but certainly not to the level of the Republican party as a whole. Don’t even bother reading the comments on that page, they’re just ridiculous.

Not too surprisingly, someone decided to do a rebuttal with “Things You Have to Believe to Be a Democrat Today”. They managed to squeeze out 28 items, but considering 7 of them are directly related to anti-gun statements, it’s a tad bloated. I’ll give the guy credit for some good ones (such as the comparison of gun laws and birth-control laws or even respecting all religions except Chrisitianity), but many of them either don’t reflect the common beliefs of Democrats, the leaders of the party themselves, or make any sense (I really don’t understand number 7 at all). When all you can do is simply reverse the wording and act as though you’ve made a counterpoint, you’re really stretching.

Liberals didn’t attack Rush for being a drug addict, but for being a hypocrite. Democrats didn’t say Arnie should be removed from office for his past womanizing, but questioned his principals when it came out. And the “baseless claims” that Bush went AWOL merely hammer home the point – why are his records so secured yet the records of Democrats are constantly forced open?

I guess what it comes down to is that I’m not a Democrat, and barely even a liberal, so I already disagree with a lot of what the counter list states. But on the other hand, the original (albeit somewhat childish) Republican belief list does manage to follow much of Bush’s thinking. Whether or not the Party truly believes that is another story.

Why am I writing about politics again?