I have a friend, Amy, who is a bit of a renaissance woman. She's a mom, photographer, and a damn funny blogger. I have a link to her blog, Just Barely. I'm thinking I should rename my blog and call it Just Barely Blogging.
My current excuse is going to be the usual "busy at work" and the newly added "busy preparing for my trip." More on that in a second. But first, let's talk about the lovely Michael Cera.
I'll admit that I came in late in the game as far as Arrested Development is concerned. Brilliant, funny, and too damn good for television. Michael played the awkward George Michael on the show and I've been in love with him ever since. In his latest movie, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, Michael plays Scott. Scott is a young 20 something living in Toronto, playing bass in a band and sharing a tiny apartment with a young Trent Reznor. Actually, it's Kieran Culkin, but he looks a whole hell of a lot like a young T.R. Scott is not the best guy to date and after his last dumping, he is playing it safe by dating a 17 yr. old who personifies the term "newbie." Then, at a party, he meets Ramona. She is entirely different and he is instantly smitten. It takes a few tries for her to warm up to him, but she gives in and next thing you know, he has to defeat her 7 Evil Ex's in order to continue having a relationship with her.
If you haven't already guessed, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World is based on a comic book series. The movie is directed by Edgar Wright, the fiendishly, brilliant mind behind Spaced (Brit tv series), Shaun of The Dead, and Hot Fuzz. He, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are responsible for some of the best entertainment to come out of Britain in the last 10 years or so.
I absolutely loved this movie. Wright fully understands both the original medium and the pop culture that is a part of it. He embraces the use of motifs used in video games, music videos, and comic books without over doing it. The music is amazing (thanks to Nigel Godrich, producer of many a Radiohead album, and Beck, who wrote a good number of the songs). The visuals are impressive and the action sequences stand up to pretty much anything out there. The actors playing the evil ex's are obviously having a good time, as is the rest of the cast. It was fun to see several actors who often get stuck with dull small roles get real parts to play. I don't know that you have to be a fan of video games and/or comics to enjoy the movie, but I think you will get more out of the film if you are.
Here's some of the music. The actors are playing and singing. I tried to find something for "Threshold," which is my favorite song, but no luck. Instead, here's another good one, "Garbage Man." Not quite as rockin', but still a really good song.
The first girl in the video is the 17 yr. old, the girl with the pink hair is Ramona and the dark haired guy yelling "YEAH" at the end is Kieran Culkin, aka Trent Reznor.
Here's a link to the movie's website.
It's getting close to lunch time so I think I'll wrap this up by sharing yet another my co-worker's suck story. The preggers one didn't come in till 10:30 on day because she had to take some tests. A couple of days later, she had some follow up tests that made her tired so she texted the sales engineer we share and said she was not coming in that day. I ended up having to take care of two of her projects. Disney has decided to put her house on the market and buy this other house in the same town. One big problem, they don't have any money (partially because they over spent on all the renovations they decided to do this summer) so the only way they can afford the house is to sell theirs. They have not had their house appraised and are trying to sell it on craigslist. Because they aren't done changing up their house, no one can actually go inside until this weekend. Murmur about the office is the owners of the house Disney is looking to buy want some sort of financial commitment. That hasn't happened yet and I noticed that they too have put their house on craigslist. All this means Disney is roaming around outside a lot on her cell phone. This wandering puts a cramp in her work productivity which resulted in her sneaking a file and invoice to process into my office while I was posing a question to one of the engineers in his office. She didn't have the balls to come up to me and say "since this was your job originally, I thought you might want to do this." This is a phrase used often by both of them and was actually used by the preggers on earlier that morning. GRRRRRRRRR.
Sunday, September 05, 2010
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Twisted
Once again, it has been forever since I have updated. As usual, I will begin with an apology. Sorry.
Okay, that's done. So, is it just me or has this been a pathetic excuse for a summer movie season? There just hasn't been much that has compelled me to go to the theater. Thankfully, Christopher Nolan makes up for such a dire summer.
Inception is hard to describe. You don't want to give away anything, but you want to talk about the movie once you have seen it. Nolan has essentially become the leader in non-linear storytelling in film. Most of his movies, especially those that he and or his brother have written/created, explore psychological themes and issues. Inception is no different. The basic premise revolves around Leonardo DiCaprio's character working as a sort of corporate spy. He goes into a person's dream state and collects information to be sold to a competitor. All sorts of mental tricks are played in the dream state to pull forth that info. Leo has people who go into the dream state with him. Someone is technically the dreamer, someone is the architect who creates the "reality" within the dream, etc. The idea that moves the plot is literally an idea...or the idea that you can plant an idea in someone's head and they will believe that this idea actually originated in their own mind (hence, inception).
Visually, this is a stunning movie. Usually when you see environments that are CGI you can always see something that is off; something that gives it all away that it isn't real. I don't know how they did what they did, but everything is soooo smooth and realistic. You can easily get caught up in each of the environments and loose track of what is a dream and what is reality.
Keeping track is not impossible though. You can follow this movie. You have to work a little bit and pay attention, but for as much of a mind f*** that it is, it is still a thrilling story. It may fall just a bit short on a couple of emotional moments. None the less, you get connected to the characters. Even the small roles feel fleshed out.
The acting is all top notch. I'm a big Joseph Gordon-Levitt fan and I really enjoyed his performance. And, he kicked butt in his big action sequence while working a vest and tie. Sweet. I'm appreciating DiCaprio more and more as he gets older. He seems very comfortable portraying characters around his age and doesn't seem afraid of not always being the boyish-ly attractive lead. Which isn't to say he doesn't look good in an all black suit...
Just go see the movie and enjoy the ride.
Not much else to report. Project Runway started up again and as usual, I can't remember any of the designers names when there are 16 of them. The only one I do recall was Casanova, who sent out a model dressed in what essentially looked like a belly dancer's outfit. I think he'll be around for a couple of episodes. He is like this season's Ping. A little out there and a little hard to understand.
Work is work. Disney seems to have recovered from the raccoon incident, but apparently there is some other new issue. One day last week she went outside twice to talk on her cell phone. Once for about 20 min. and once for about 40. In between those phone calls, she was in her office with the door closed for between 1 and 1 1/2 hrs. That's what I call a productive day! Of course, she still left at 4:30 and I believe took at least a half hour lunch.
Now, you may be wondering how I know about all this activity. Let's just say it helps to be friendly with people in different parts of the building who feel free to comment on when they saw Tara walking past their window with her phone to her ear. It also helps to be in the breakroom when she snuck out the back with her phone and then be up front waiting to talk to a sales rep when she wanders back inside (that was the 40 min. call). Our owners are paranoid enough that they have been tossing around the idea of installing security cameras. Part of me really wants them to do so in the hopes that she gets caught. Sort of evil, I know. I just want people to do their jobs.
Next weekend is the big Mad Dash for Generation United. It's a fund raiser set up as an Amazing Race style competition. I'll try and take my camera to get some photos.
Finally, a friend of mine brought this video to my attention. She is also a big Jane Austen fan. Enjoy!
Okay, that's done. So, is it just me or has this been a pathetic excuse for a summer movie season? There just hasn't been much that has compelled me to go to the theater. Thankfully, Christopher Nolan makes up for such a dire summer.
Inception is hard to describe. You don't want to give away anything, but you want to talk about the movie once you have seen it. Nolan has essentially become the leader in non-linear storytelling in film. Most of his movies, especially those that he and or his brother have written/created, explore psychological themes and issues. Inception is no different. The basic premise revolves around Leonardo DiCaprio's character working as a sort of corporate spy. He goes into a person's dream state and collects information to be sold to a competitor. All sorts of mental tricks are played in the dream state to pull forth that info. Leo has people who go into the dream state with him. Someone is technically the dreamer, someone is the architect who creates the "reality" within the dream, etc. The idea that moves the plot is literally an idea...or the idea that you can plant an idea in someone's head and they will believe that this idea actually originated in their own mind (hence, inception).
Visually, this is a stunning movie. Usually when you see environments that are CGI you can always see something that is off; something that gives it all away that it isn't real. I don't know how they did what they did, but everything is soooo smooth and realistic. You can easily get caught up in each of the environments and loose track of what is a dream and what is reality.
Keeping track is not impossible though. You can follow this movie. You have to work a little bit and pay attention, but for as much of a mind f*** that it is, it is still a thrilling story. It may fall just a bit short on a couple of emotional moments. None the less, you get connected to the characters. Even the small roles feel fleshed out.
The acting is all top notch. I'm a big Joseph Gordon-Levitt fan and I really enjoyed his performance. And, he kicked butt in his big action sequence while working a vest and tie. Sweet. I'm appreciating DiCaprio more and more as he gets older. He seems very comfortable portraying characters around his age and doesn't seem afraid of not always being the boyish-ly attractive lead. Which isn't to say he doesn't look good in an all black suit...
Just go see the movie and enjoy the ride.
Not much else to report. Project Runway started up again and as usual, I can't remember any of the designers names when there are 16 of them. The only one I do recall was Casanova, who sent out a model dressed in what essentially looked like a belly dancer's outfit. I think he'll be around for a couple of episodes. He is like this season's Ping. A little out there and a little hard to understand.
Work is work. Disney seems to have recovered from the raccoon incident, but apparently there is some other new issue. One day last week she went outside twice to talk on her cell phone. Once for about 20 min. and once for about 40. In between those phone calls, she was in her office with the door closed for between 1 and 1 1/2 hrs. That's what I call a productive day! Of course, she still left at 4:30 and I believe took at least a half hour lunch.
Now, you may be wondering how I know about all this activity. Let's just say it helps to be friendly with people in different parts of the building who feel free to comment on when they saw Tara walking past their window with her phone to her ear. It also helps to be in the breakroom when she snuck out the back with her phone and then be up front waiting to talk to a sales rep when she wanders back inside (that was the 40 min. call). Our owners are paranoid enough that they have been tossing around the idea of installing security cameras. Part of me really wants them to do so in the hopes that she gets caught. Sort of evil, I know. I just want people to do their jobs.
Next weekend is the big Mad Dash for Generation United. It's a fund raiser set up as an Amazing Race style competition. I'll try and take my camera to get some photos.
Finally, a friend of mine brought this video to my attention. She is also a big Jane Austen fan. Enjoy!
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Things that go bump
It's been a weird week at work. Everyone was trying to recover from the holiday weekend. You know the drill...even though everyone knows you have a day off they send you an email anyway. On Wed., I can hear Disney's princess-ey (and not in a good way, but in a breathy, annoying way) voice down the hall from my office. I can't quite make out what she is saying, but it's DRAMATIC and VERY IMPORTANT. At one point I hear her exclaim, "That must be it! I bet that's what did it!"
Next thing I know, she and our boss are walking outside. I ask our office manager what is going on. What follows is a prime example of why some people should not be allowed to procreate.
Seems Disney was driving along, at high speed, minding her own business. At some point along the way, her car starts over heating. I'm not sure if she pulled off the road a few times or not, but she described it as over heating repeatedly. Because she's on her phone all the time at work and left her charger at the office, her cell phone was dead so she couldn't call anyone for assistance. She gets to work late and immediately starts telling her tale to our boss. Because, being a guy, he automatically knows everything about cars.
She just can't figure out why her car would be overheating. Our boss asks her if her radiator was leaking. This path of inquiry assumes Disney actually took the time to look over her own vehicle before coming in to share her tale of woe. She didn't know. Our boss asks if there had been any recent damage to the car. You know, like accidentally pulling up too close to one of those cement parking lot block thingies. You know what I'm talking about. I have scrapped my front bumper on those things on more than one occasion.
Disney thinks about it and then says something along the lines of..."I hit a big raccoon on my way to work this morning. It made a big thump. That must be it!"
And now, a brief interruption for an editor's comment.
ARRRRRGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Back to our story...
Disney was clipping along, probably way over the speed limit. She readily admits to driving fast most of the time. She was probably trying to figure out why her cell phone wasn't working too. She sees a raccoon in the road. SHE ASSUMES IT WILL MOVE OUT OF THE WAY WHEN IT SEES HER COMING.
Editor comment: WTF?! She thinks raccoons have the agility to out run a speeding car? More importantly, she thinks they have the mental ability to comprehend what is about to happen and dodge her?
She saw the raccoon people. She had enough time to recognize the animal and think "oh, it'll move." She could have slowed down and let it scamper on its way.
Nope. She just kept going, was surprised that it couldn't dodge her car (or maybe it had a death wish and it was staying in the road on purpose), and more importantly, she was still unable to put 2 and 2 together and consider the possibility that hitting a medium size creature hard enough to hear a thud UNDER your car as you kill it could maybe, just maybe, do some damage.
Our boss looked at the underside of her car as best he could and he was able to tell that 1) something, probably the radiator was leaking and 2) it looked pretty ripped up under there.
The rest of the day was spent on the phone with her husband and with the car repair place. Our office manager had to follow her to the car repair place and give her a ride back to work. Disney had to call several people through out the day and recant her story. And she still left half an hour early like usual. Then, yesterday, she forgot to bring her lunch. Instead of considering the option of walking a few blocks to a couple of possible locations, or nicely asking someone to pick up something for her if they were already going somewhere, she goes back to talk to the owner's son (who runs the parts department) and he sends his kid out to pick something up for her. The enabling must stop people...otherwise, how will folks ever change...?
And people wonder why I want to ram my head into a wall when I hear the sound of her voice...
Next thing I know, she and our boss are walking outside. I ask our office manager what is going on. What follows is a prime example of why some people should not be allowed to procreate.
Seems Disney was driving along, at high speed, minding her own business. At some point along the way, her car starts over heating. I'm not sure if she pulled off the road a few times or not, but she described it as over heating repeatedly. Because she's on her phone all the time at work and left her charger at the office, her cell phone was dead so she couldn't call anyone for assistance. She gets to work late and immediately starts telling her tale to our boss. Because, being a guy, he automatically knows everything about cars.
She just can't figure out why her car would be overheating. Our boss asks her if her radiator was leaking. This path of inquiry assumes Disney actually took the time to look over her own vehicle before coming in to share her tale of woe. She didn't know. Our boss asks if there had been any recent damage to the car. You know, like accidentally pulling up too close to one of those cement parking lot block thingies. You know what I'm talking about. I have scrapped my front bumper on those things on more than one occasion.
Disney thinks about it and then says something along the lines of..."I hit a big raccoon on my way to work this morning. It made a big thump. That must be it!"
And now, a brief interruption for an editor's comment.
ARRRRRGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Back to our story...
Disney was clipping along, probably way over the speed limit. She readily admits to driving fast most of the time. She was probably trying to figure out why her cell phone wasn't working too. She sees a raccoon in the road. SHE ASSUMES IT WILL MOVE OUT OF THE WAY WHEN IT SEES HER COMING.
Editor comment: WTF?! She thinks raccoons have the agility to out run a speeding car? More importantly, she thinks they have the mental ability to comprehend what is about to happen and dodge her?
She saw the raccoon people. She had enough time to recognize the animal and think "oh, it'll move." She could have slowed down and let it scamper on its way.
Nope. She just kept going, was surprised that it couldn't dodge her car (or maybe it had a death wish and it was staying in the road on purpose), and more importantly, she was still unable to put 2 and 2 together and consider the possibility that hitting a medium size creature hard enough to hear a thud UNDER your car as you kill it could maybe, just maybe, do some damage.
Our boss looked at the underside of her car as best he could and he was able to tell that 1) something, probably the radiator was leaking and 2) it looked pretty ripped up under there.
The rest of the day was spent on the phone with her husband and with the car repair place. Our office manager had to follow her to the car repair place and give her a ride back to work. Disney had to call several people through out the day and recant her story. And she still left half an hour early like usual. Then, yesterday, she forgot to bring her lunch. Instead of considering the option of walking a few blocks to a couple of possible locations, or nicely asking someone to pick up something for her if they were already going somewhere, she goes back to talk to the owner's son (who runs the parts department) and he sends his kid out to pick something up for her. The enabling must stop people...otherwise, how will folks ever change...?
And people wonder why I want to ram my head into a wall when I hear the sound of her voice...
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
What I've Been Doing...
Yes, I've been bad again. So, what have I been doing may you ask...
1) Going to the movies. I saw a sweet documentary called Babies. It follows 4 kids from birth through their first birthday. There is almost no dialogue. The babies are from the U.S., Japan, Mongolia and Namibia. I think my fave was the little boy from Mongolia. He was quite the explorer once he figured out how to crawl. It was interesting to see the different approaches used by each culture as they raised their child. But, there were plenty of similarities in the newborns' experiences. Discovering your own hand or foot is a pretty universal moment. I also saw The A Team or as I call it The Eh Team. The guy who directed Smokin' Aces directed this, which should have been my first clue. I hated Smokin' Aces (except for Jason Bateman's bit). I went in willing to over look a lot, but when it started turning into just one action sequence after another while sometimes trying to toss in a "deep" storyline here and there, I just got annoyed. I will give props to my man Sharlto Copley. He played Murdock and he was fab. He had just the right combo of crazy and funny without overdoing it. He provided most of the best parts of the film. It would probably be an okay rental. I have to wait till my friend and her kids are available for Toy Story 3 before I get to see it. Right now I am anxious to see Inception.
2) Volunteering. Thanks to my friend Lindsay, I have been working with Generation United. Gen U, as it is called, is the "youth" organization within the United Way. I spent 4 hours helping set up for the Relay for Life in a nearby town. A few days later I helped out at the Midwest Food Bank.
3) Sitting in front of a fan trying not to move...watching free HBO. During the heatwave last weekend, my cable company happened to be offering free HBO and Cinemax. This also included free HBO on demand so I got through 6 hours of season 2 of True Blood and 2 episodes of the new season. I am fully prepared to marry Sam Trammell (assuming Sharlto Copley isn't ready to commit). On a side note, I watched a few minutes of late night "Skin-e-max." There is almost nothing funnier than soft core "porn," especially when the title of the movie is The Devil Wears Nada.
4) Went to a play and a wedding reception. My friend's four boys were all in the local kids production of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. Her oldest was the lead and he did a pretty darn good job. He has a nice voice and he projects well. He really shone during his solo song and in a duet at the end with this girl who also had a solid voice. His brothers had smaller parts, and other than maybe saying their lines a little too fast, they did a fine job too. The wedding reception was for my cousin's daughter. They got married in front of the justice of the peace a few months back. Another cousin (brother to the father of the bride) was performing with his band. They are just a bar band, but they do okay around the area. The song selection wasn't quite to my taste (they were all about the country), but it was amusing to see some of the older folks get up and dance. This side of the family is very into the good time and that night was no exception.
5) Read some books. I finished The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest. It reminded me of the first book in the series. There was a lot of set up before the action kicked in. I liked it, but not as much as the other two. It really felt like it was preparing you for the 4th book. The author had originally planned on having 10 books in the series, but he died before he finished the 4th book. I read that his long time girlfriend has not only what has been written for the 4th book, but also the outline. She apparently would work with him on the books so the scuttlebutt is that she could finish the 4th book. His family sees it differently and until they come to some sort of agreement that 4th book is going to stay as it is. I'm almost done with A Girl Named Zippy. This was one of those books that every time I would see it at the book store I'd say to myself, "I should read this." I am really loving it. As someone who grew up in a small, Midwestern town, I can sympathize with a lot of her experiences. Haven Kimmel writes really well and has a good sense of humor and appreciation of the absurd.
6) Once again, considered smacking my co-workers. So far this week, one of them has been gone for two hours on Mon., 90 min. on Tues., today she left at 3:30 and she is taking Friday off. The other one just wanders outside "to get some fresh air" with her phone a couple times a day for anywhere from 10-30 min. at a time. Sigh. I'm sort of hoping my bosses install some security cameras. I'd be happy to review the footage and give them the highlights.
7) Finally, eating dinner and watching a movie with friends during a tornado outbreak. We have the best parties!
Sorry again about not posting. I beg your forgiveness. Be sure and check out the first Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows trailer. I got goosebumps on my arm the first time I watched it. Have a great 4th everybody!
1) Going to the movies. I saw a sweet documentary called Babies. It follows 4 kids from birth through their first birthday. There is almost no dialogue. The babies are from the U.S., Japan, Mongolia and Namibia. I think my fave was the little boy from Mongolia. He was quite the explorer once he figured out how to crawl. It was interesting to see the different approaches used by each culture as they raised their child. But, there were plenty of similarities in the newborns' experiences. Discovering your own hand or foot is a pretty universal moment. I also saw The A Team or as I call it The Eh Team. The guy who directed Smokin' Aces directed this, which should have been my first clue. I hated Smokin' Aces (except for Jason Bateman's bit). I went in willing to over look a lot, but when it started turning into just one action sequence after another while sometimes trying to toss in a "deep" storyline here and there, I just got annoyed. I will give props to my man Sharlto Copley. He played Murdock and he was fab. He had just the right combo of crazy and funny without overdoing it. He provided most of the best parts of the film. It would probably be an okay rental. I have to wait till my friend and her kids are available for Toy Story 3 before I get to see it. Right now I am anxious to see Inception.
2) Volunteering. Thanks to my friend Lindsay, I have been working with Generation United. Gen U, as it is called, is the "youth" organization within the United Way. I spent 4 hours helping set up for the Relay for Life in a nearby town. A few days later I helped out at the Midwest Food Bank.
3) Sitting in front of a fan trying not to move...watching free HBO. During the heatwave last weekend, my cable company happened to be offering free HBO and Cinemax. This also included free HBO on demand so I got through 6 hours of season 2 of True Blood and 2 episodes of the new season. I am fully prepared to marry Sam Trammell (assuming Sharlto Copley isn't ready to commit). On a side note, I watched a few minutes of late night "Skin-e-max." There is almost nothing funnier than soft core "porn," especially when the title of the movie is The Devil Wears Nada.
4) Went to a play and a wedding reception. My friend's four boys were all in the local kids production of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. Her oldest was the lead and he did a pretty darn good job. He has a nice voice and he projects well. He really shone during his solo song and in a duet at the end with this girl who also had a solid voice. His brothers had smaller parts, and other than maybe saying their lines a little too fast, they did a fine job too. The wedding reception was for my cousin's daughter. They got married in front of the justice of the peace a few months back. Another cousin (brother to the father of the bride) was performing with his band. They are just a bar band, but they do okay around the area. The song selection wasn't quite to my taste (they were all about the country), but it was amusing to see some of the older folks get up and dance. This side of the family is very into the good time and that night was no exception.
5) Read some books. I finished The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest. It reminded me of the first book in the series. There was a lot of set up before the action kicked in. I liked it, but not as much as the other two. It really felt like it was preparing you for the 4th book. The author had originally planned on having 10 books in the series, but he died before he finished the 4th book. I read that his long time girlfriend has not only what has been written for the 4th book, but also the outline. She apparently would work with him on the books so the scuttlebutt is that she could finish the 4th book. His family sees it differently and until they come to some sort of agreement that 4th book is going to stay as it is. I'm almost done with A Girl Named Zippy. This was one of those books that every time I would see it at the book store I'd say to myself, "I should read this." I am really loving it. As someone who grew up in a small, Midwestern town, I can sympathize with a lot of her experiences. Haven Kimmel writes really well and has a good sense of humor and appreciation of the absurd.
6) Once again, considered smacking my co-workers. So far this week, one of them has been gone for two hours on Mon., 90 min. on Tues., today she left at 3:30 and she is taking Friday off. The other one just wanders outside "to get some fresh air" with her phone a couple times a day for anywhere from 10-30 min. at a time. Sigh. I'm sort of hoping my bosses install some security cameras. I'd be happy to review the footage and give them the highlights.
7) Finally, eating dinner and watching a movie with friends during a tornado outbreak. We have the best parties!
Sorry again about not posting. I beg your forgiveness. Be sure and check out the first Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows trailer. I got goosebumps on my arm the first time I watched it. Have a great 4th everybody!
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