Quote of the Day [10.02.09]
"There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call the Twilight Zone."Opening monologue to "Twilight Zone" season 1
Link of the Day [10.01.09]
Really cute asians can make you cry.
Extract
Because I’ve seen another movie since I saw this one, I have to write up my thoughts and/or review on the latest Mike Judge film, Extract. But, for real, I completely forgot I saw this film until TheSeed, as we were leaving the theatre reminded me.
Extract follows the same Mike Judge movie release M.O: A misleading ad campaign, a less than stellar opening weekend, an early, ignominious exit. Maybe it would follow the rest of his other movies and become a hit on video and constant rotation on Comedy Central. Maybe. It’s got a chance. It fits right in after Waiting and before Employee of the Month.
The bad ad campaign starts with the misleading idea that Mila Kunis is the love mistress there to steal Jason Bateman’s heart. She’s there, but her story is completely different.
The movie is terrible. Not very funny. Completely forgettable. Don’t watch until it comes on Comedy Central. Although, it did make Kristen Wiig look kind of cute. But that’s not enough.
2 of 5 stars.
“If you want to build a thermostat that won’t be affected by humidity, try this you dumb bastard.”
The summer anime season has come to an end. Here’s a quick hits on the ones I watched.
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. Started out awesome, then we got into the Endless Eight loop for fucking six episodes. SIX EPISODES of the same damn thing. NOTHING changing but their clothes. I can’t wait for this on DVD. The final couple of episodes encapsulating The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya was slower than I would’ve liked. But we did get Nagato. C+
Tokyo Magnitude 8. Alright, but I didn’t want to get death, and got it anyway. B-
Taishou Yakyu Musume. Baseball girls of the Taishou period. Awesome. B+
Sora no Manimani. Great astronomy club school comedy. A
So what to watch in the upcoming season?
“Gee, and here I am mistaking the Museum of Yarn for the Guggenheim.”
"Go to DMC! Go to DMC!"That would be the crowd chant for Detroit Metal City fans as it is translated into English.Who is Detroit Metal City?You've got to read the manga to find out, but be forewarned, it's pretty offensive. And hilarious. And cruddily drawn, but don't let that stop you from asking me to borrow it. You'll be laughing your ass off and wondering what will Soichi do.The story is about Soichi a college grad who is the lead singer for Detroit Metal City, a death metal band. DMC is a mixture of Kiss and Gwar. They are a up and coming band. Good for them, but bad for Soichi who just wants to write sugary sweet bubblegum pop music. As the lead singer for DMC, Krauser II, Soichi is bad. As himself, he's good, but in reality, which role is the real Soichi. He comes so naturally to the Krauser role that his sweet normal self is almost a sham. He likes to become Krauser to express his more aggressive self.There are also fun aspects to the book. DMC's manager is a woman who loves to talk about how much DMC's awesomeness makes her wet. Soichi's band mates are also as bland as he is when they too aren't dressed up. And there's the love interest who thinks Soichi is a sweet guy, but he wants to do things, bad things, to her as Krauser.
“Do thank-you notes have candy inside them?”
I read the Wyman’s post on summer reading, and it reminds me that I, too, did some heavy summer reading. Heavy in the sense that I read more books in the past few months than I had done in a long time. And, no, they weren’t filled with 2D girls or men in tights, they were real books with words, sentences, and paragraphs. Stories, persuasive arguments, colorful anecdotes. All there in the books I read. I’ll divide the books into the genres I was reading to highlight what piqued my interest for the summer.
The first subject I devoured relates to the grand old national pastime, baseball. It began with Alyssa Milano’s recollection of her life filtered through the joys of the boys of summer: Safe At Home. Admittedly, I picked it up because as an 80s kid, I had a crush on her, and I want to find out her views on the game. She’s very knowledgeable about the game. It’s rather intimidating as I only know it superficially enough to get by in the stands, but she knocks ’em out of the park with her experience (and love for the game.)
I also read an interesting account of the 1966 World Series, Black And Blue. The Orioles first World Series. It seems so long ago as compared to the sad, sad team they are today, but we were champions once. It’s an interesting read, but I think all sports books kind of have the same ebb and flow: here’s team A, then here’s team B, then they meet, post-mortem. It really should’ve been Black and Orange as the tale (and the Series) was mostly about the Orioles.
I read about Ichiro and his impact on the game. I have the prequel and intend to read it, but it languishes on my nightstand.
The next genre was new urbanism. I got through James Howard Kuntsler’s tirade, Home From Nowhere and slogged through Traffic. It’s almost making me want to move into high-density, public transportation ready cities. I’m currently reading Jane Jacob’s polemic, The Life and Death of Great American Cities.
I did geek out. Besides Oscar Wao I managed to read the light novel, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. It’s the original source for the anime. It’s decent, but exactly like the anime. I’m catching up with Suzumiya-sama by starting in on The Sighs of Haruhi Suzumiya. Kami-sama saves.
“Planbee. What an unusual name. Is it Chinese?”
The firmware update is now available for the Panasonic Lumix LX3. I’m just bookmarking this, because current downloads of the firmware update are suspended at this time. I’ll have to come back later to get the latest plus instructions on how to do it.
Also, here’s a blog with tips on using the LX3. It’s where I found out about the firmware update.
I haven’t dug into using my new camera. I’m actually reading the manual as we speak.
“I know a way to make it even awesomer. One, you get back the empire, and two, you take us all out for banana splits afterwards.”
Quote of the Day [9.25.09]I want a girl who gets up early
I want a girl who stays up late
I want a girl with uninterrupted prosperity
Who used a machette to cut through red tape
With fingernails that shine like justice
And a voice that is dark like tinted glass"Short Skirt/Long Jacket" Cake
“Dave, pretend is for little girls and mental patients. Sucks on pretend!”
Link of the Day [9.22.09]Hey! It's another palindrome day! Sweet.Today, I got a cool link for you. It's about a bunch of MIT students who sent a balloon up into the upper reaches of the atmosphere to do some near-space photography. Cool, hunh? What's even cooler? They did it all on a budget of $150! That's pretty cheap. Someday soon someone is going to do it really on the cheap once technology can bring it all down.http://space.1337arts.com/