This was a banner weekend for audio and video.
First, I finally bought and listened to Green Day's American Idiot. It's fantastic through and through. Not your usual Green Day, but it's just amazing. Not only does it (literally) rock, it's got a great deal to say. I recommend this album to everyone who likes rock of any type. You'll love it. I'm sorry I waited so long.
Second, I saw a movie called Mean Creek. I'd actually not heard of it until someone recommended it to me. Said it was sort in the class of Stand By Me. Since SBM is a classic work, I figured I better give this film a look. I got the DVD, and noticed it won some awards and such, yet I really never did hear of it. I was scared because Rory Culkin (Macauly's baby brother was in it) and didn't think it bode well. However, fear not: he's isn't his brother. He can act. So can the other kids in it. It's a great movie and it will leave you thinking. It's a straight-up drama that will give you great pause as it run its course. I don't want to give things away, so I shall skip discussing it further but I give it two thumbs up, and encourage you to rent or buy this film.
-- E
Sunday, May 29, 2005
Saturday, May 21, 2005
Revenge of the Sith
This is a retro-post. I put this online 24 December 2005 using the date it was originally sent out.
******* SPOILERS *********
DO NOT READ BELOW THIS - PLENTY OF SPOILERS
(Well it's hard to have spoilers for a film which everyone seeing it already knows how it must end, but Lucas has surprises for everyone in spite of it.)
Well of the three new ones, it's certainly a better FILM. George Lucas still can't write dialogue worth, shit, but that's pretty much a given. He has even more trouble with a love scene. ::shudder:: He also gets double demerits for the appearance in a non-speaking role of the reprehensible Jar-Jar Stinks.
All that being said, I thought it was okay, but just okay. I believe all the reviews are overly indulgent. I think everyone's so happy it didn't stink as badly as the first two, they aren't willing to say: this is REALLY AVERAGE.
The Wookie planet was cool, and seeing all the Wookies was great. Too bad they got like 30 seconds of screen time. The revelation of Palpatine as Sidious was a non-event, but everyone figured that out in the first movie, so what can you do? If you remember my review, I believe I even mentioned it.
Lucas did a great job in wrapping this up. There are no major loose ends I can find. No modifiers left dangling, if you will. Yay. The digital imagery is great, and it's not distracting like it's been in other films. He was more worried about the content than the visuals. There are some great new creatures. I like the horse/lizard thing especially.
The birth of Darth Vader rocked: that's great. People cheered. And of course the voice of James Earl Jones sent a chill up your spine. The metamorphosis of Anakin to Vader is well done despite the wooden performance of Hayden. At least he's no longer Padawan Whines-A-Lot. He's bad enough of an actor you want Jake Lloyd back in the part.
I have issues though. It's hard to believe Anakin would kill dozens of innocent children to save his life. It's harder to believe that Obi-Wan wouldn't have felt the disturbance in the force as keenly as Yoda did. I believe that Vader would do it. I just don't believe that final leap from Anakin to Vader. And I understand it well.
We learn a great deal and it's interesting. The movie is tight, flying along gracefully. You will not notice it is 2h 20m.
So, it's better than Parts 1 and 2. Parts 4 through 6 are more entertaining, though, minus the gag-a-licious Ewok Celebration, of course.
See it. You'll be entertained. You'll be thrilled. You'll see a few clever tip of that hats to other films. You'll see a good movie but not a great movie. It's not going to win any Oscars though.
******* SPOILERS *********
DO NOT READ BELOW THIS - PLENTY OF SPOILERS
(Well it's hard to have spoilers for a film which everyone seeing it already knows how it must end, but Lucas has surprises for everyone in spite of it.)
Well of the three new ones, it's certainly a better FILM. George Lucas still can't write dialogue worth, shit, but that's pretty much a given. He has even more trouble with a love scene. ::shudder:: He also gets double demerits for the appearance in a non-speaking role of the reprehensible Jar-Jar Stinks.
All that being said, I thought it was okay, but just okay. I believe all the reviews are overly indulgent. I think everyone's so happy it didn't stink as badly as the first two, they aren't willing to say: this is REALLY AVERAGE.
The Wookie planet was cool, and seeing all the Wookies was great. Too bad they got like 30 seconds of screen time. The revelation of Palpatine as Sidious was a non-event, but everyone figured that out in the first movie, so what can you do? If you remember my review, I believe I even mentioned it.
Lucas did a great job in wrapping this up. There are no major loose ends I can find. No modifiers left dangling, if you will. Yay. The digital imagery is great, and it's not distracting like it's been in other films. He was more worried about the content than the visuals. There are some great new creatures. I like the horse/lizard thing especially.
The birth of Darth Vader rocked: that's great. People cheered. And of course the voice of James Earl Jones sent a chill up your spine. The metamorphosis of Anakin to Vader is well done despite the wooden performance of Hayden. At least he's no longer Padawan Whines-A-Lot. He's bad enough of an actor you want Jake Lloyd back in the part.
I have issues though. It's hard to believe Anakin would kill dozens of innocent children to save his life. It's harder to believe that Obi-Wan wouldn't have felt the disturbance in the force as keenly as Yoda did. I believe that Vader would do it. I just don't believe that final leap from Anakin to Vader. And I understand it well.
We learn a great deal and it's interesting. The movie is tight, flying along gracefully. You will not notice it is 2h 20m.
So, it's better than Parts 1 and 2. Parts 4 through 6 are more entertaining, though, minus the gag-a-licious Ewok Celebration, of course.
See it. You'll be entertained. You'll be thrilled. You'll see a few clever tip of that hats to other films. You'll see a good movie but not a great movie. It's not going to win any Oscars though.
Saturday, May 14, 2005
OK, I'm pissed
Someone typed "IT'S" when they meant "ITS" and I flamed them. "I hate you" was the general reply. I created a response to that, and I was rather proud of it, so here it comes:
People who can't use an apostrophe properly aren't entitled to hate. Hell, as far as I'm concerned, they shouldn't even be entitled to breathe. The failure to use language properly indicates one (or more) of the following conditions:
1. The total and complete inability to communicate properly.
2. Total and complete laziness. In this case, the person is better off shutting up. If you're too lazy to communicate properly and effectively, then what you have to say is of no value to anyone. If you don't care about what you are trying to express to do it properly, why should anyone else?
3. The stupidity of the person (Type-A). Stupid people are forgiven because they're simply unable to learn the correct way. These people have a biological disorder (mental retardation, etc) that prevents them from effectively presenting an idea properly.
4. The stupidity of the person (Type-B). These people are just dumb because they didn't pay attention in school . These people may be shot and killed on sight.
5. The person has not yet learned the language. If the person is speaking ESOL, then they are forgiven. However, I've found most ESOL people speak English much better than native English speakers. (I refer to Americans who just aren't up to snuff for the most part -- As an American, I am happy to judge my ignorant countrymen.)
I'm not sure you'll find another reason. You must fall in one of these categories. So are you stupid or a retard? That's probably harsh, but one must NEVER misuse IT'S/ITS or YOUR/YOU'RE or THEIR/THEY'RE or even TO/TOO.
The best part is, when someone does it and I flame them and they ask "Do you think you're* better than me?" I can answer quite honestly, "Obviously so, don't you think?"
* This is usually misspelled when it's in an e-mail which causes me paroxysms of laughter.
-- Rev CMOT
READ THIS BOOK:
Eats, Shoots, and Leaves (B&N Hyperlinked)
People who can't use an apostrophe properly aren't entitled to hate. Hell, as far as I'm concerned, they shouldn't even be entitled to breathe. The failure to use language properly indicates one (or more) of the following conditions:
1. The total and complete inability to communicate properly.
2. Total and complete laziness. In this case, the person is better off shutting up. If you're too lazy to communicate properly and effectively, then what you have to say is of no value to anyone. If you don't care about what you are trying to express to do it properly, why should anyone else?
3. The stupidity of the person (Type-A). Stupid people are forgiven because they're simply unable to learn the correct way. These people have a biological disorder (mental retardation, etc) that prevents them from effectively presenting an idea properly.
4. The stupidity of the person (Type-B). These people are just dumb because they didn't pay attention in school . These people may be shot and killed on sight.
5. The person has not yet learned the language. If the person is speaking ESOL, then they are forgiven. However, I've found most ESOL people speak English much better than native English speakers. (I refer to Americans who just aren't up to snuff for the most part -- As an American, I am happy to judge my ignorant countrymen.)
I'm not sure you'll find another reason. You must fall in one of these categories. So are you stupid or a retard? That's probably harsh, but one must NEVER misuse IT'S/ITS or YOUR/YOU'RE or THEIR/THEY'RE or even TO/TOO.
The best part is, when someone does it and I flame them and they ask "Do you think you're* better than me?" I can answer quite honestly, "Obviously so, don't you think?"
* This is usually misspelled when it's in an e-mail which causes me paroxysms of laughter.
-- Rev CMOT
READ THIS BOOK:
Eats, Shoots, and Leaves (B&N Hyperlinked)
Thursday, May 12, 2005
What Age Do You Act? :)
STEP ONE: Take this test: What Age Do You Act? After you take it, compare it to my result.
STEP TWO: Yeah, I'm 40 but look what I got:
STEP THREE: Everyone tells me I act 16. I take it as a complement, though I don't think it's meant that way.
STEP TWO: Yeah, I'm 40 but look what I got:
You Are 19 Years Old
Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe. 13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world. 20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences. 30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more! 40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax. |
STEP THREE: Everyone tells me I act 16. I take it as a complement, though I don't think it's meant that way.
Firefox Rocks Again
(This bit from 4-29-05)
Yeah, I've posted about Firefox before. However, today it reached an amazing milestone. 50 Million Downloads. Yeah, can you believe that?
For several years, IE has commanded in excess of 95% share of the web browser market despite the fact it sucks more than a nymphomaniac in heat (this applies across all platforms). All the other browsers combined shared the remaining 5%. Sad and paltry. The sole competition was Netscape which languished after AOL bought it. Mozilla was nice, but it was bloated to the point many people eschewed it.
Now Firefox, (version 1.0.4 is out now) in under a year of official release, is now over 8% of the market share alone and should be at 10% within a month or so. Their logo is "take back the web" and if you haven't at least tried it, do so. Not only will you be able to have a better browsing experience with far less security holes, but you will have the added side bonus of telling Microsoft to shove it up their collective arses.
The above image is a composite animated GIF I made using several of the better taglines. Steal it if you will.
Better yet (this edited bit added 5-12-05)
Microsoft's Share of Browser Market Slips: May 12, 2005 2:21 PM EDT
NEW YORK - Microsoft Corp.'s share of the U.S. browser market has slipped below 90 percent as the Firefox browser continues to grow in popularity, according to independent tracking by WebSideStory. Firefox had a 6.8 percent share as of April 29, an increase from 3.0 percent since WebSideStory began tracking Firefox separately in October. Microsoft's Internet Explorer share was 89 percent, a drop from 95 percent in June.
The figures are for all operating systems combined. On computers running Microsoft's Windows, Internet Explorer has a 91 percent share, down from 97 percent in June. Outside the United States, Germany is among the leading adopters of Firefox, with a 23 percent share, compared with 69 percent for Internet Explorer. "They just seem to be averse to Microsoft products and really interested relatively in these open-source products," said Geoff Johnston, a WebSideStory analyst.
Also (this edited bit from Cnet added 5-13-05)
IBM is encouraging its employees to use Firefox, aiding the open-source Web browser's quest to chip away at Microsoft's Internet Explorer.
Yeah, I've posted about Firefox before. However, today it reached an amazing milestone. 50 Million Downloads. Yeah, can you believe that?
For several years, IE has commanded in excess of 95% share of the web browser market despite the fact it sucks more than a nymphomaniac in heat (this applies across all platforms). All the other browsers combined shared the remaining 5%. Sad and paltry. The sole competition was Netscape which languished after AOL bought it. Mozilla was nice, but it was bloated to the point many people eschewed it.
Now Firefox, (version 1.0.4 is out now) in under a year of official release, is now over 8% of the market share alone and should be at 10% within a month or so. Their logo is "take back the web" and if you haven't at least tried it, do so. Not only will you be able to have a better browsing experience with far less security holes, but you will have the added side bonus of telling Microsoft to shove it up their collective arses.
The above image is a composite animated GIF I made using several of the better taglines. Steal it if you will.
Better yet (this edited bit added 5-12-05)
Microsoft's Share of Browser Market Slips: May 12, 2005 2:21 PM EDT
NEW YORK - Microsoft Corp.'s share of the U.S. browser market has slipped below 90 percent as the Firefox browser continues to grow in popularity, according to independent tracking by WebSideStory. Firefox had a 6.8 percent share as of April 29, an increase from 3.0 percent since WebSideStory began tracking Firefox separately in October. Microsoft's Internet Explorer share was 89 percent, a drop from 95 percent in June.
The figures are for all operating systems combined. On computers running Microsoft's Windows, Internet Explorer has a 91 percent share, down from 97 percent in June. Outside the United States, Germany is among the leading adopters of Firefox, with a 23 percent share, compared with 69 percent for Internet Explorer. "They just seem to be averse to Microsoft products and really interested relatively in these open-source products," said Geoff Johnston, a WebSideStory analyst.
Also (this edited bit from Cnet added 5-13-05)
IBM is encouraging its employees to use Firefox, aiding the open-source Web browser's quest to chip away at Microsoft's Internet Explorer.
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