Saturday Post

broderic on January 16, 2010

Plenty to talk about. Hard to write down though. Trying to capture some things that have been rattling around my head this early month of 2010, the year we make contact.

Watching movies is getting hard again. Netflix queue is backed up again. Perhaps it may take longer than usual to unclog and I’m sure I’m approaching the last overdue record. Sunshine why must you mock me? Going to the movies? Also hard, especially with lame movies like this. Are there gonna be anything good coming out? Or do I have to wait for this or this.

Baseball season will commence soon. In thirty or so days, spring training. Then I will get to sit next to Nick Markakis in right for thirteen games. There’s still time if you want to join me. Yet, they just raised the prices for walk up games. How am I going to go to all the business men specials on the spur of the moment? I planned to go to all the day games and root, but I’m disappointed in the price hike. Didn’t we just show up and buy tickets lots last year?

Work is still sucky. I’m not feeling it as a software engineer. I wish I knew someone that would make working fun. Let’s build out good software. I wish I could be cool again.

Got a cool app. Mini-Link. Don’t know if it works. It’s a social app. Why aren’t Mini drivers girls?

Trying to read lots of books. Still stuck on that city one. I’m onto Green Mars. I have to get to my Christmas present. I still go to the bookstore, but I’m trying to hold off on the books.

Anime! Anime! Anime! Manga! Manga! Manga! The only spring anime I’m torrenting is Baka to Test to Shokanju. Funny! Still watching KimiTodo, Cross Game, and Railgun. Still buying lots of manga.

Nendoroids are my favorite. I have received four more and I haven’t opened up the boxes on three. I want more. More nendoroids! They are so cute.

Plenty of more to say, but I can’t keep writing. Hit me up in comments with your thoughts especially those of the 16 early days of January.

Did I just read a cookbook?

broderic on January 15, 2010

I asked myself that question as I laid the Momofuku Cookbook down and hit the sack. Did I just read a cookbook like a regular book?

Indeed I did. It was that interesting. But I didn’t read it for the recipes. I read it for the story.

David Chang is pretty much as driven a chef as any other chefs are. That’s me being nice and not saying how much of an asshole chefs can be. They want perfection. They’ll get perfection any damn well way they want. That’s okay as long as they make great food.

From reading the book and glancing at the recipes, it seems like Chang does make great, tasty food.

It’s Complicated

broderic on January 12, 2010

I've seen most of writer-director Nancy Myer's oevre including her holiday smash, It's Complicated http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1230414/. Most of the time it was against my will as she, along with Nora Ephron, makes movies that are in no way to my taste. Yet, I enjoy watching them immensely. I love the remake to The Parent Trap. I laughed throughout Something's Gotta Give. I enjoyed my time in the theatre watching It's Complicated.The premise of It's Complicated is that Meryl Streep's character has an affair with her ex who is married to a young woman. She is also courted by her architect. Hijinks ensue.The first impression I had was this movie has those roles that are well written for women. Streep's character is well rounded. She's not the screachy ex-wife, but has enough contempt towards her ex even though they fall back into bed. She's not a caricature. Her motivations are many: vengence, remind her she's sexy, nostalgia. She's got it all and Streep plays the character with conviction expressing each motive in subtle ways.The only fault of the movie is that it plays the "will they or won't they" theme between the ex-es. Will they renew their relationship as husband and wife? It wasn't hard to tell where that plot thread was going so that Alec Baldwin's plea at the end seemed hollow and forced — like Myers couldn't write for a man. Always move forward never backward and spinning, spinning towards the future.The dude from the Office was a distraction as they should've used someone less famous. I thought he was going to do something, but ended up doing nothing.The real star is Streep. The real story revolves around her. She makes it all look so effortless. And why is she so old.3 of 5 stars.

Quote of the Day [1.07.10]

broderic on January 7, 2010

"People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do, I stare out the window and wait for spring."Rogers Hornsby

G’uh? B’uh.

broderic on January 6, 2010

Bored at work. Who does like to work? I sure don't and on my current project, I'm about at the stage of not caring. If it was only better, or something I would've wanted to do, then maybe I would actually attempt something, but I'm just checking out things.I'm giving some links here that discuss animation. If you remember of my take on the last decade of film, the Pixar film, The Incredibles, was the one film to really stick with me through the decade. I had said that watching that had been a revelation of what animation as a medium can do. Also, I expressed my disappointment in the rest of American animation. It doesn't try to stretch the boundaries in terms of stories. Then I expressed fondness for the Japanese animation director, Miyazaki, and his Spirited Away. Is it international animation that is more daring?So, I'm thinking that I have plenty of time on my hands to research and understand the state of animated films. In particular I want to look at the difference US and international animated films.http://www.thehousenextdooronline.com/search/label/Pixar%20Week
http://www.salon.com/entertainment/movies/film_salon/2009/12/29/seitz_miyazaki/index.html

Nine

broderic on January 4, 2010

There are better ways of spending some quality staycation time than watching the failure of a musical, Nine, like ironing. In fact, I was ironing just before I decided to catch this mess. I wonder why I choose this flick after all, I am not really a fan of musicals especially the newer ones.

Nine extends Frederico Fellini’s 8 1/2 onto the Great White Way. It is a musical devoted to the writer’s block from a great director who can’t put his latest movie down in script. He spends time dredging a semblance of a tale from the various ladies in his life, the wife, the mother, the mistress, the confidant, the leading lady, the whore. Each girl contributes something for him to use and amuse himself into writing a movie.

Penelope Cruz was the mistress. I like her corset. Sophia Loren was the mother. She’s old. Marion Cotilliard is the wife. She’s resigned. Fergie was the whore. She had the best song (supposedly), the only song I think I’ve heard about.

Nine was supposedly a Tony winner. The songs were also. I thought the songs were not remarkable. I don’t think I liked any of the songs. I should’ve walked out.

1 of 5 stars.