Well, another year has come to a close. As well as the 31 days of December daily blogging. I hope you enjoyed this year. We'll see you around next year.
I saw the best picture so far this year just two days shy of the end. While it certainly doesn't make up for the fact the year in movies sucked, it definitely made watching film a nice experience again.
The Queen deals with the death of Lady Diana and how the royal family dealt with it the week leading to her funeral. The Queen decided to show the famous British stiff upper lip which didn't play too well with the English mood at the time. They wanted to see remorse and mourning, but got no show of emotion. It left the royalty in a bad situation. Compounding it was the newly elected Prime Minister, Tony Blair, who had summed up the value of the dead Diana as the People's Princess. The film focuses upon his craft at getting the royals to open up.
What struck me most about this film is the parallels with the US. Or more particularly George Bush. As the death of Lady Diana plays out, the Queen stoically does nothing to show that her death is important. She spends days ill prepared on what to do. She seemed like W in his infamous minutes after the 9-11 attacks. Quietly thinking should I be doing something. Another thing is the aspect of paying respects for someone not quite royalty. Think about former President Ford's week of mourning ritual being carried out right now. We have elevated the post of President into something of a royal position. Which leads to the contrast of the Prime Minister. I thought he lived in a hovel (10 Downing St.) in the movie and I was amazed how common his home was. A leader of a quasi-democratic government being of the people. Fucked up thing about the US is that only millionaires can be President. We have become the British.
Anyway the movie was well acted. The story line was suspenseful. I laughed a few times. It was a good show. The best this year. Why did it take 363 days for it to happen? And why the Brits?
Geeking out on Tolkien brings me back to his most popular work, The Lord of the Rings. I got so geeked up I did a search for my favorite character of the novel, Eowyn. Here's a rendition of the great scene from the Battle of Pelennor fields. She fulfills her destiny. There's more I'll have to say about her later.
They had shown the entire on Lord of the Rings trilogy on TBS. I also own the first set of DVDs of the movies. I can't wait for the latest book from the Tolkien estate, The Children of Hurin. It is supposedly one of the three Great Tales that Tolkien had planned on writing about the First Age of Middle Earth. (That sentence will go over the heads of the you out there.) The three are The Children of Hurin, The Fall of Gondolin, and Beren & Luthien. All are supposed tales passed down from the Numenoreans about the great men of the First Age. Surprisingly enough none concern the First Children, the elves. They are somewhat connected (Luthien being the most beautiful of all Illuvatar's children as an elf maiden), but the central character revolves around men.
They are epic stories to tell. If you haven't read the Silmarillion, you're missing out. It contains condensed versions of these tales. They're all great to read as is knowing the history of the First Age of Middle Earth.
My favorite has always been Beren & Luthien. It's actually written as a poem and it's real title is the Lay of Leithan. It tells the tale of Beren of the house of Beor, the first house of man, and his quest to wrench a Silmaril from the crown of Morgoth as the price for the marriage to Luthien. He succeeds.
The Children of Hurin is also a favorite since reading it in the form of the Narn i Hin Hurin in Unfinished Tales. This one more sadder. Turin a great warrior who happiness eludes him. Hurin, his father, witness to Turin's fate from the eves of Thangorodrim watches as the curse of Morgoth robs his family of peace and happiness. Morwen, his mother, has felt a loss unbearable. Turin suffering the greatest curse with his sister. He also kills Glaurung. Great tale. Yet sad.
The Fall of Gondolin is hard to assemble, because it comes in pieces. The tale is of Tuor, kinsman to Turin, who escapes the fate of man. He secures himself a place in the last elven kingdom of Gondolin in the twilight of the First Age. Through him the savior of the Children of Illuvatar in Beleriand is born. Yet, it is an incomplete tale.
Now all three should be a movie. I would like to see it as an animated one. I haven't geeked out enough on Tolkien hoping that you'll read these other works of his.
I've posted about the problems with my car in the past month. The problem has been diagnosed and a solution had been implemented, but I hesitate to drive it. I have a feeling at any moment it's going to experience the same issues. It's not that she has become unreliable, but that the trust between us has broken. So in order to regain that trust again, I have to learn how to drive all once more.
Before my driving style was slightly aggressive: 80 mph on the highway, living in the left lane, shooting the gaps when needed, taking her to the redline on occasion. This was just the trust I felt with my car. She can do it, and I won't let anything bad happen to her.
Well, she can't always do it. She's showing her age and probably needed to be treated a little bit more gently.
So I've slowed down, and it is strange. I keep up with the traffic, but I don't like hanging out in the left lane anymore. The RPMS barely make it past 3750. No quick starts off the line. No boost. It's all caution from here on out.
Being slower makes it some what safer, but I am still not confident about her. She'll do. I wonder what this will do for my gas mileage?
I've seen several of the films that have come out during this holiday season. They reinforce the fact that movies suck. I need a hiatus. You may also want to take a hiatus.
The Holiday. I am waiting for Nancy Myers to direct a Nora Ephron screenplay. Then I am waiting for Nora Ephron to direct a Nancy Myers screenplay. Then I will die.
2 of 5 stars.
Blood Diamond. Diamonds are forever. And so is the grief it causes to the African nations which mine them. At least there was action in this film. Something missing in these that I had seen.
3 of 5 stars.
The Good Shepherd. Long and involved. I have nothing bad to say about it, because they're listening. (All hail the mighty CIA. Thanks for protecting America!) I have nothing good either.
The local sports team, the Ravens, locked up a playoff berth. They may have home field advantage for the playoffs if they can convince the SD Chargers to lose their final game. Good luck.
As you listen to the sports pundits of the aspect of college football's BCS mess you have to also wonder if the NFL's playoff is a mess as well. The AFC has the best teams in terms of records. They may have a couple teams with decent records miss the playoffs. The NFC has plenty of teams with absolutely mediocre records of 8-8 and are locks for playoff berths. Is it fair to those AFC teams? Can the sports pundits whine about this as well? Isn't this what the playoff system will bring to college football?
Imagine if the NFL had only polling to indicate which 2 best teams play for the national title. Then the Ravens play the SD Chargers. I would probably find tons of sports pundits to agree that these are the two most deserving of a chance to play for the national title. Fuck them. That's how it should be.
Running to the window, he opened it, and put out his head. No fog, no mist; clear, bright, jovial, stirring, cold; cold, piping for the blood to dance to; Golden sunlight; Heavenly sky; sweet fresh air; merry bells. Oh, glorious! Glorious!
"What's to-day!" cried Scrooge, calling downward to a boy in Sunday clothes, who perhaps had loitered in to look about him.
"EH?" returned the boy, with all his might of wonder.
"What's to-day, my fine fellow?" said Scrooge.
"To-day!" replied the boy. "Why, CHRISTMAS DAY."
"It's Christmas Day!" said Scrooge to himself. "I haven't missed it. The Spirits have done it all in one night. They can do anything they like. Of course they can. Of course they can. Hallo, my fine fellow!"
"Hallo!" returned the boy.
"Do you know the Poulterer's, in the next street but one, at the corner?" Scrooge inquired.
"I should hope I did," replied the lad.
"An intelligent boy!" said Scrooge. "A remarkable boy! Do you know whether they've sold the prize Turkey that was hanging up there?--Not the little prize Turkey: the big one?"
"What, the one as big as me?" returned the boy.
"What a delightful boy!" said Scrooge. "It's a pleasure to talk to him. Yes, my buck!"
"It's hanging there now," replied the boy.
"Is it?" said Scrooge. "Go and buy it."
"Walk-ER!" exclaimed the boy.
"No, no," said Scrooge, "I am in earnest. Go and buy it, and tell 'em to bring it here, that I may give them the direction where to take it. Come back with the man, and I'll give you a shilling. Come back with him in less than five minutes and I'll give you half-a-crown!"
The boy was off like a shot. He must have had a steady hand at a trigger who could have got a shot off half so fast.
"I'll send it to Bob Cratchit's!" whispered Scrooge, rubbing his hands, and splitting with a laugh. "He sha'n't know who sends it. It's twice the size of Tiny Tim. Joe Miller never made such a joke as sending it to Bob's will be!"
Eat, drink and enjoy this wonderful day. Go to church if you believe. And even if you don't.
Another excerpt from everyone's favorite Christmas Carol
He was not alone, but sat by the side of a fair young girl in a mourning-dress: in whose eyes there were tears, which sparkled in the light that shone out of the Ghost of Christmas Past.
"It matters little," she said, softly. "To you, very little. Another idol has displaced me; and if it can cheer and comfort you in time to come, as I would have tried to do, I have no just cause to grieve."
"What Idol has displaced you?" he rejoined.
"A golden one."
"This is the even-handed dealing of the world!" he said. "There is nothing on which it is so hard as poverty; and there is nothing it professes to condemn with such severity as the pursuit of wealth!"
"You fear the world too much," she answered, gently. "All your other hopes have merged into the hope of being beyond the chance of its sordid reproach. I have seen your nobler aspirations fall off one by one, until the master-passion, Gain, engrosses you. Have I not?"
"What then?" he retorted. "Even if I have grown so much wiser, what then? I am not changed towards you."
She shook her head.
"Am I?"
"Our contract is an old one. It was made when we were both poor and content to be so, until, in good season, we could improve our worldly fortune by our patient industry. You are changed. When it was made, you were another man."
"I was a boy," he said impatiently.
"Your own feeling tells you that you were not what you are," she returned. "I am. That which promised happiness when we were one in heart, is fraught with misery now that we are two. How often and how keenly I have thought of this, I will not say. It is enough that I have thought of it, and can release you."
"Have I ever sought release?"
"In words. No. Never."
"In what, then?"
"In a changed nature; in an altered spirit; in another atmosphere of life; another Hope as its great end. In everything that made my love of any worth or value in your sight. If this had never been between us," said the girl, looking mildly, but with steadiness, upon him; "tell me, would you seek me out and try to win me now? Ah, no!"
He seemed to yield to the justice of this supposition, in spite of himself. But he said with a struggle, "You think not."
"I would gladly think otherwise if I could," she answered, "Heaven knows! When I have learned a Truth like this, I know how strong and irresistible it must be. But if you were free to-day, to-morrow, yesterday, can even I believe that you would choose a dowerless girl--you who, in your very confidence with her, weigh everything by Gain: or, choosing her, if for a moment you were false enough to your one guiding principle to do so, do I not know that your repentance and regret would surely follow? I do; and I release you. With a full heart, for the love of him you once were."
He was about to speak; but with her head turned from him, she resumed.
"You may--the memory of what is past half makes me hope you will--have pain in this. A very, very brief time, and you will dismiss the recollection of it, gladly, as an unprofitable dream, from which it happened well that you awoke. May you be happy in the life you have chosen!"
She left him, and they parted.
Don't be like Scrooge. Find yourself a girl and settle down.
As a fan of fakeholidays, it is my job to remind you that today is Festivus. How could I forget?
Anyway, since I didn't get the pole up (or my Christmas lights), we shall now commence with the airing of grievances. "You suck. And your dog, too." Let's see them in the comments.
Project Gutenberg provides a convenient place to get all the free Christmas stories you can handle. So click on over and get some.
If you've never visited Project Gutenberg, where have you been. It's the internet's repository of public domain works of art. You'll find a lot of cool things, especially books. Here's a sample from Charles Dicken's "A Christmas Carol" to warm the cockles of your heart.
This lunatic, in letting Scrooge's nephew out, had let two other people in. They were portly gentlemen, pleasant to behold, and now stood, with their hats off, in Scrooge's office. They had books and papers in their hands, and bowed to him.
"Scrooge and Marley's, I believe," said one of the gentlemen, referring to his list. "Have I the pleasure of addressing Mr. Scrooge, or Mr. Marley?"
"Mr. Marley has been dead these seven years," Scrooge replied. "He died seven years ago, this very night."
"We have no doubt his liberality is well represented by his surviving partner," said the gentleman, presenting his credentials.
It certainly was; for they had been two kindred spirits. At the ominous word "liberality," Scrooge frowned, and shook his head, and handed the credentials back.
"At this festive season of the year, Mr. Scrooge," said the gentleman, taking up a pen, "it is more than usually desirable that we should make some slight provision for the Poor and destitute, who suffer greatly at the present time. Many thousands are in want of common necessaries; hundreds of thousands are in want of common comforts, sir."
"Are there no prisons?" asked Scrooge.
"Plenty of prisons," said the gentleman, laying down the pen again.
"And the Union workhouses?" demanded Scrooge. "Are they still in operation?"
"They are. Still," returned the gentleman, "I wish I could say they were not."
"The Treadmill and the Poor Law are in full vigour, then?" said Scrooge.
"Both very busy, sir."
"Oh! I was afraid, from what you said at first, that something had occurred to stop them in their useful course," said Scrooge. "I'm very glad to hear it."
"Under the impression that they scarcely furnish Christian cheer of mind or body to the multitude," returned the gentleman, "a few of us are endeavouring to raise a fund to buy the Poor some meat and drink, and means of warmth. We choose this time, because it is a time, of all others, when Want is keenly felt, and Abundance rejoices. What shall I put you down for?"
"Nothing!" Scrooge replied.
"You wish to be anonymous?"
"I wish to be left alone," said Scrooge. "Since you ask me what I wish, gentlemen, that is my answer. I don't make merry myself at Christmas and I can't afford to make idle people merry. I help to support the establishments I have mentioned--they cost enough; and those who are badly off must go there."
"Many can't go there; and many would rather die."
"If they would rather die," said Scrooge, "they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population. Besides--excuse me--I don't know that."
"But you might know it," observed the gentleman.
"It's not my business," Scrooge returned. "It's enough for a man to understand his own business, and not to interfere with other people's. Mine occupies me constantly. Good afternoon, gentlemen!"
Seeing clearly that it would be useless to pursue their point, the gentlemen withdrew. Scrooge resumed his labours with an improved opinion of himself, and in a more facetious temper than was usual with him.
Now doesn't that put you in the Christmas spirit. Don't be like Scrooge. Be happy and giving. Stop by Project Gutenberg for more free stuff.
Almost done. Finished up with the Specs and Reqs class. I answered 2 of 4 questions even though it is take home. I don't want to spend too much time thinking about it. I'm just going to fax it to him and hope for the best.
The paper is done and once again it is pure shite. I don't want to proofread or else I may have to make changes. The presentation is finished as well. I don't care. I just need to get 50% of the points on this part. I also have to get 100% on the exam to make it worth while. Luck be a lady tonight!
Taking a quick breather from writing my paper, I look back at this past weekend to see why I am still writing it as of 9:30 Tuesday. Well, It's a Wonderful Life came on TV which I had to watch. Everytime Donna Reed was on screen, I had to say she's hot.
I always imagine meeting a girl and exciting the same spark in her as Donna Reed's Mary had when she spied George Bailey across the gym during the dance. Was that amazing? Can a guy get some of that please? What's a great line to say to your girl than whispering in her ear about loving her "until the day I die?" I am a patsy on this thing, and that's another reason why I love It's a Wonderful Life.
Because the Seed asked for it, here's a live blog update from your unworthy, procrastinating blogger.
I am at the crux of the paper. I'm stuck on what to write. It sucks. The past few days writing have been a whirlwind of shit put down. I don't think it's the best I could've done. I hope to recoup at least 50% of the points available. Hopefully.
Also, I have to convert it into a presentation as well. Fuck me!
So to sum up: -- at the crux -- may get 50% of points -- presentation due as well.
Over at The House Next Door they are doing a movie title mash up. What's that you say? Take titles of movies and string them along together, jumble their respective plots, and there you have it.
Don't get it, then sample some of them there or read a few of mine.
Apocalypto Now. -- A pre-columbian epic wherein the protagonist must kill the head of the crazy Mayan tribe.
Se7en Samurai -- A Japanese village enlists the help of ronin samurai to catch a serial killer. The english translation doesn't work: "Kikuchiyo" doesn't mean "what's in the box."
Repo Man on Fire -- A man goes after the people who reposessed his car with deadly force.
Repo Manchurian Candidate -- The sequel wherein the man gets his car but unbeknownst to him under the careful scrutiny of a secret society leading him to kill a presidential candidate.
The Rules of the Game of Death -- A kung fu movie set amongst the french upper class. Passion and action ensues.
Do The Right Thing That You Do -- Racial tension on a hot summer day boils over when a band on the rise loses it's way.
The Hills Have Eyes of Laura Mars -- After her eye surgery Laura Mars's car breaks down in a remote place, she's attacked by mutant savages, but thanks to the serial killer eyes repels them.
Capitol Swell moved from old school blogger to the beata-beta blogger and added labels to his restaurant reviews. This is a cool move and nice touch on using labels. It makes it easy to browse. So if you're looking for a place to eat in the nation's capitol, check out Capitol Swell's DC Restaurant Guide for all the scrumtuous details.
As you know, my car was being fixed. It turns out the lower turbo outlet pipe fitting on the intercooler had popped off. That is the "popping" noise I heard. The sensors came on in response to that.
Anyway it was fixed all of 15 minutes before it came off again yesterday. That sucks.
I had my cousin, Joe, help fix it. We aligned the pipes together. We expanded the wedge. I hope it's working. Yet, now it is Russian roulette driving that sucker.
I didn't go back to the shop. What's the point?
For all you dudes with 1.8T AWW engines, that connection at the turbo-to-intercooler is pretty week. They had replaced a hose clamp with "quick release." You've got to see this thing to believe it. I wonder what the aftermarket for this part looks like?
Sometimes some things won't ever get done. That's the same with my paper. I don't think I can write it. I'm bored by the subject. I don't feel like doing it. I'm stuck.
Like watching a hole fill with dirt, it's going to be the end of me.
I'm going to start to stress out. Maybe I shouldn't have sat on my ass for the last month. I should've done some Christmas shopping and finished up my paper.
1 Get car to shop 2 Study for Spec. and Recs. 3 Finish final course paper for Software Arch. 4 Study for Software Arch. 5 Ironing 6 Christmas shopping
I need some type of medication. Calgon, take me away!
My car might have given up the ghost today. It's not dead, but it sure is acting like it's on its last legs. Just the other day I had spoken ill of her and today she wants to pay me back.
On my ride home, I stepped on the gas. Clunk! Whirr! Oh, no! It sounded like the turbo going. Nothing but a bad whine. That can't be good. I limped home. Barely. She was throwing codes and the dashboard lights started coming on. That can't be good. EPC. Check engine. The battery light as well. As I neared home, she was also stalling out. Gosh, I don't need this now.
I'm going to have to drop her off at the dealer tomorrow.
It's A Wonderful Life used to be shown often during this time of year back in the 80s. You couldn't switch on the television during the holidays without seeing it playing. I remember once I watched it at 3 in the morning on PBS.
Anyway, the kids these days are trying to make A Christmas Story play like It's A Wonderful Life. TBS shows it non-stop on Christmas Day. Pretty soon. No one will care. You'll get it off of YouTube.
This year sucked in movies. Or I have become more cynical when watching the shite in the theaters. Honestly, it is a combination of the two.
Hollywood has become more conservative in their approach to making movies. They need to make an impact with the "boffo b.o." of the opening week. They mistakenly believe that this is where they can make their money, therefore they're producing more movies that attempt to do that. They pay their actors exorbitant fee. They splash flashy CG on the screen. They plumb the depths of the lowest common denominator. Yet, they forget to tell their stories well. I believe the old adage that says there are only four typical story plotlines, therefore it's imperative that the film-makers be judicious in how they unfold their story onscreen. I think Hollywood forgets that too often.
Indy films are not any better. They have mimicked their more prosperous competitor and lost their.
When will the magic return to cinema?
These are the films I believe to be the best I saw this year.
That's it. The others were mediocre -- some fun and a pleasure to watch while others were not bad, but not good as well. Then I saw plenty of other junk. That is for another post...
Not only is it the season for giftlists, but it is also the time of year that people break out there "best of" lists. Here at BrowserMetrics, we aim to be like the rest of the sheep. So without further ado, here's the first of what should be many lists (I do have to fill 31 days of posts).
According to my Netflix queue, as of today, these are my top rated DVDs this year. Of course I only started renting from them this year. Most of the good DVDs will have inspired a post on this site, so you could read my review. I hope you place some of these on your Netflix queue to enjoy.
If you're looking for at purchasing the new MacBook and don't want either white or black, then check this out. They also have iPods, MacBook Pros, and other stuff there as well.
The slug line for this link is, "Culture Shock on Capitol Hill: House to Work 5 Days a Week."
For this let me quote John McClane, "Welcome to the party, pal."
WTF?! is up with the whining here. Can't manage a five day a week schedule. Poor babies. You know you could get another job. Of course this article only talks about the first month. Little is said about the other weeks of the year that they take off. They're playing us for suckers.
It's at 118K. It's making creaking noises. I had the exhaust adjusted to avoid those creaking noises, but they're still coming. The front struts are worn. Thy make noise when going over a pebble in the road. They need to be changed.
But is it worth it? Should I get a new car? Or a used one?
I would think fixing her up would be around $1500. Is this better than getting a new car.
Descisions. Descisions. What a sink hole the things we own are! Or does it own me?
Hell On Wheels documents the 100th vesion of le Tour de France by following Team Telekom as they compete in that edition. It was funny to watch a tour from another countries side. If this was an American film it would've been about Lance Armstrong notching his fifth straight tour victory. Or even about the herculean effor put in by Tyler Hamilton to go the distance and finish fourth with a broken collarbone. Yet, this was a German film and being such, it focused on Team Telekom, a German team.
Funny that. This was the most exciting race of the seven that Lance Armstrong won, and this film barely mentions him. Hamilton got more coverage and even then it was bare.
The film follows several team members on this tour: Rolf Aldag, the consummate gunny-sargent, Erik Zarbel, the sprinter on his last legs, Andreas Kloden, wiped out and abandoned with a broken cocyx. It also shows some behind the scenes of Aldag and Zarbel with their massuese. These scenes were very reminiscent of the end of an era. Showing the humanity in the racers and their desire to finish. Zarbel especially comes off as being on the verge of losing his legs with his buddy, Aldag and his massuese by his side as his chances of being a force in the cycling world dim.
Anywhoo, I want to go out and ride right now, but it's late. When's summer coming?
Because The Seed is asking where the next post is today in my month long blogging oddessy, does this count?
Posts should come about naturally. Yet, I undertook this task for at least a post a day with the understanding that there will be some days when I've got nothing. Today, could've been one of those, but there are a lot of posts that can be made today.
"I've got a lot of outs."
First, as the many long time readers noticed I have updated my blogroll. One link from something I've made a comment already. Another programming one for the geeks. And one from a friend whose just jumped into the blogging pool. Check her site out. She promises to do Friday Cat Blogging but not just on Fridays!
Another out, is describing the dinners I had this past weekend. Except that's not my thing. I find my palate as too simple to understand the intracicies of delicacies. I like food, but can't rightly say why one place is good versus another. Also, for restaraunt reviews you should read Captiol Swell. He's got the dish on the dishes we ate this past weekend.
I could also wish Happy Belated Birthday to my cousin whose 30th birthday we celebrated.
I could tell you that I am delinquent in starting my final paper. Once again that damn procrastination is rearing its ugly head.
I figure that lots of my posts here are movie reivews. I made a commitment a while ago to watch as many films in theatres as possible. Lately, I don't feel like it, because movies are sucking. Looking over my reviews of the last year I would say that most are 2 stars or less. The summer of 2005 was bad, but no where as sucky as the summer of 2006. Wha' happened?
Anyway, all this is a lead up to posting about The House Next Door. A movie blog that does some excellent reviews. This is how I wish I could make my reviews zing. Or failing that, this is how I wish my movie reviews could be. Check them out.
This review of The Fountain is overdue. I had seen it last weekend. While the Ravens were beating up on Pittsburgh, I was contemplating the meaning of life with Hugh Jackman and Racheal Weisz. If that isn't a mindfuck Sunday, then what is?
When the credits started rolling, a lady behind us asked, "Did anyone get that?" The audience muttered something that wasn't a resolute yes, but a half-hearted no. Most people laughed as well figuring that everyone didn't get the film.
But what was there to get? It was another movie contemplating life. In fact it can be summed up simply with "live your life to the fullest or you'll regret it." It just so happens that if you live forever and you don't follow this maxim, you'll want to plunge yourself into a dying star to make up for this regret.
I like to do my Christmas shopping in December. It makes it feel truly like that time of year. I do on occasion make some purchases before then. The other day I was in Target buying some items for the home. I stopped by the toy department as I was working my way around the store, and there I picked up some Bionicles for a nephew. I also picked up some Star Wars toys. I can't make up my mind if I want to give them as a present for my other nephew or keep them for myself. I already have quite the collection.
It seems that every year I buy as much stuff for myself as for the people on my gift list. Why is that?
