Thursday – 23 July 2009 Welcome to NBN Thursday/Technical Friday.
Last night, SaraRules and I watched High Noon. Both of us enjoy Westerns, but neither of us had seen it. (My father was even surprised when I mentioned that I hadn’t seen it.) After dinner, we settled in to watch it. The story revolved around Will Kane, Marshall of a small town named Hadleyville. On his last day as Marshall – and the day of his wedding – he learns that Frank Miller, the man who ruined The Spirit he sent to prison five years earlier, has been freed… and is coming back to town for vengeance. Marshall Kane has to decide between leaving town with his bride or staying to take on Miller and his cronies. Both SaraRules and I agree that it was an excellent film.
I also picked up yesterday’s four-color shwag. I’m planning on writing up a comprehensive Four-Color Coverage tomorrow – it will cover the last four or five weeks – but let me just synopsize as follows:
Green Lantern #44 – Wow.
Legion of 3 Worlds #5 (of 5) – Also “wow.” I’m looking forward to the restart of Adventure Comics next month.
Power Girl #3 – Fun.
Stray Toasters
I don’t think that I mentioned that my JLU: Legion figures showed up a couple of days ago. This, of course, means that I need to rearrange shelves in the display cases.
I’ll be getting my Mac pony from Stephanie tonight.
Speaking of Stephanie, she has mentioned that she thinks that making ponies for other Corps sounds interesting. I told her that if she were to make them, I’d find them a good home.
Think about the reasons you’re here now
Think about the choices you can’t explain
Think about the reasons you’re here now
Think about the reasons you like the rain…
Wednesday – 22 July 2009 Last night, after dinner, I crashed on the sofa for about an hour. Crashed. And the fact that I made it through dinner was a feat of willpower in itself. I was that tired. After waking up, I felt better and then proceeded to just lounge around for the rest of the evening.
Chew on This: Food for Thought
In a rare – but not unprecedented – instance, Craig Ferguson had a bit of a rant last night in his… pre-monologue:
Intersting… and rather insightful, too.
Stray Toasters
I’m giving Firefox a break and taking Safari on an extended test drive. So far, so good.
Tuesday – 21 July 2009
Apparently, the seventeenth fourth time is the charm. The water pump is in and things seem to be as expected.
After getting the car, SaraRules and I went out to Hobby Lobby and IKEA. Our trip to the Garden of Sweden came after learning that a sofa we were considering, Varnamo, had been discontinued; we went in search of a suitable alternative. We think that we found it in the KARLSTAD series.
Back at home, I finished up the first floor of my ‘Clix house… only to discover that the plan we’d come up with for the second floor wasn’t going to work. *sigh* Back to the literal drawing board. After moving a staircase here and a wall there, I think that things will pan out pretty well.
I just had an apostrophe epiphany. Julie and I were discussing shows we watched while growing up and (for whatever reason) Gilligan’s Island came up. We were talking about it for a minute or two when I realized: Gilligan’s Island was the Lost of the 1960s.
…and, somehow, remembering that reminded me of Gilligan’s Planet. *shiver*
Sunday – 19 July 2009
SaraRules and I opted for a lazy, quiet evening after our excursions. With that in mind, I did a little work on my new ‘Clix building (the ground floor now has all its walls in place) and SaraRules did some reading and did a couple of Sudoku puzzles.
After that, we watched Push, starring Chris Evans, Dakota Fanning and Djimon Hounsou. It was pretty good, actually – unfortunately, it’s being packaged with Knowing on a 2-for-1 disc… The movie follows Nick (a telekinetic) and Cassie (a precog) as they attempt to stay one step ahead of the mysterious U.S. Government agency, known only as “The Division,” in a race to find a missing telepath and the case she’s carrying. There are plenty of twists and turns in the movie and there are a couple of times when you’re not entirely sure who’s on which side. The effects are good – one of my favorites was how objects that Movers (the TKers) were manipulating would shake and waver when the person was stressed or indecisive about something. And, at least according to IMDb, there wasn’t a lot of green screen used in creating the film’s effects. All things considered, the movie was fun and wasn’t a waste of an hour-and-a-half.
Today started with sleeping in. After breakfast, we hit the gym:
On the way to the gym, my superpower kicked in: As we approached the light at 6200 South and Highland Drive, we pulled up next to ‘s father. Very random.
We also went to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. It’s been so long since I have read or listened to this book that I had forgotten a number of details about it. Fortunately, the movie did a good job of exercising my memory. The actors, comfortable in their roles, turned in excellent performances and the adaptation of the story moved the plot along nicely, while still leaving enough time to show nice bits of character development.
Friday – 17 July 2009
It’s kind of odd to be at work on a Friday. Well, not entirely odd, as I do it every other Friday, but this is the first Friday that I’ve worked in a month, thanks to harmonic convergence the way that my 9/80 Fridays and the Fourth of July worked out. Fortunately, it’s most coworkers’ 9/80 day off, so it should be rather quiet around here.
Reeling by on Celluloid
I chatted with MarknTyme this morning about the Cool World/Long Kiss Goodnight Scale. I was looking for an icon to represent that scale in the same way that I use the red LEGO brick for thigns that I like. Both he and had suggested using Mega Blox, since they are a LEGO knock0ff. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a picture of a single Mega Blox (Blok?), so that became a moot point. MarknTyme then suggested a Lawn Dart. That seemed to fit better – “Aiming for the target… but just missing the mark.” So, I give you the official icon for the CW/LKG Scale: The Lawn Dart.
We also hammered out a few other points about the scale:
The standard, as put by MarknTyme, is: “…the worst movie I paid full price to see.”
It’s a “mirror” of the normal scale, with Cool World as the -10 and Long Kiss Goodnight at -1
The worse a movie is, the more darts it gets.
Regardless of whether some other movie rates a -10, Cool World will retain it’s spot as the “name” at the bottom end of the scale. It’s tradition, after all.
Allowances can/will be made to add rented movies to the scale. (I’m looking at you, The Spirit…)
And, with that out of the way…
Last night, Logan came over for dinner. While eating, we watched Krull, a movie that I’d never seen before, but that SaraRules and Logan watched – fairly often, I took it – while growing up. It was a bit dated, in terms of special effects and it didn’t have the greatest acting or dialogue, but it was still amusing and entertaining. Even more of a shock to me – no, lj user=”applevenus” , not a shocker – was to discover that the lead actor, Kenneth Marshall, later went on to portray Lt. Cmdr. Michael Eddington, an antagonist of Capt. Benjamin Sisko, on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Also in the movie were a younger Liam Neeson and Robbie Coltrane. While this was a “fun” movie, it wasn’t a “great” movie. Thus, it gets the dubious honor of being the first movie to get darts from the CW/LKG Scale:
After Krull, we watched The Day the Earth Stood Still. No, not the Keanu “Whoa… I know alien invasions” Reeves version; we watched the 1951 classic version. It was definitely a movie of its era: Full of Cold War suspicion and platitudes about the power – and danger – of using atomic energy. It was also amusing to note the way the military “protected” the general public from the enigmatic visitor, as well: Klaatu’s spaceship landed in President’s Park, in Washington, D.C. The public, after the Army established a cordon around the ship, stood right behind the firing line. Let’s look at why this is funny to me:
Spaceship in the park. (Okay, this one isn’t funny by itself, but bear with me.)
Army forms a circle around the spaceship. (Now we’re getting somewhere…)
All weapons (small arms and heavy artillery) are pointed towards the center of the circle
The general public was standing – between 25 and 50 feet – around the perimeter of the circle.
Apparently, no one was worried about ricochets or “collateral damage.” *shrug*
All-in-all, I can see why this movie is considered a staple of “classic science fiction.” It was a good movie and kept me both entertained and engaged.
Stray Toasters
Yep. I’m a Legion fan. And, a freely-acknowledged overgrown kid. Need proof? I just ordered this.
DC Comics’ summer event, Blackest Night, kicked off on Wednesday. If it maintains the pace set by its first issue, this is going to be very good.
In a related note, a couple of months ago, asked me why I’m such a big Green Lantern fan and how I came to be one. It took me a few moments to formulate a fully-realized answer, but I came up with one:
I had read comics with Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) in them as a kid and I also remembered watching him in various incarnations of Super Friends on Saturday mornings. His power: He had a ring that could create anything that he could imagine. He had the ultimate answer in “wish fulfillment,” almost literally in the palm of his hand. Years later, I bought issues of Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps, because I liked the character and the space-faring adventures.
Fast forward to 2001… Cartoon Network brought the Justice League back to the screen in animated form. The show focused on DC’s seven “big guns”: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Martian Manhunter, The Flash, Hawkgirl and Green Lantern. This time, however, they didn’t use Hal Jordan; they went with another Earth-based Lantern, John Stewart. As Bruce Timm put it:
He’s the most controversial character so far from what we’ve been gathering on the Internet. When the show’s lineup was first announced, there were a lot of people saying, “Why aren’t they using Hal Jordan? No, it’s got to be Guy Gardner. No, it’s got to be Kyle Rayner.†Obviously, we picked the wrong one, but the reason we did choose John Stewart are various—I think they’re all valid. Right off the bat, I’ll just say it: you know we did need ethnic diversity in the Justice League. We felt that the show is going to be seen worldwide and I think having a member of the Justice League who is not just “Mr. White Bread†is a good thing.Another reason why we chose him: literally, out of all the Green Lanterns we could have chosen, we all kind of liked the John Stewart character from the comics, especially the Denny O’Neil / Neal Adams version. When they first introduced him he was like the angry young black guy…you know, in 1969 and 1970. Even though that’s not really relevant today—like the whole Black Power movement and everything—we still wanted to keep that kind of edge and attitude with him.
And so, just in banging around ideas of what to do with him, going back to the original idea of the Green Lantern Corps—where they’re basically Lensmen [the pulp characters created by E.E. “Doc†Smith]—they’re space cops, they’re space marines. We’re like, “Okay, he’s a military guy.†And then somebody said, “Louis Gossett Jr.—An Officer and a Gentlemen.†I said, “Yeah,†and I went, “Wait a minute—Samuel L. Jackson,†and everyone went, “Yeah!†So that’s kind of who he is. He’s a real rugged, no-nonsense, barking orders kind of Green Lantern—and we love him to pieces. We love him so much [that] he’s like in almost every episode. I predict that you guys are going to love him too.
And he was right. I did… and still do. It was great to not only have a Green Lantern on the team, but to have one who was Black brought something else to the table: A role model, of sorts, for kids (and at least one or two adults I know). It was good to see someone of color portrayed on-screen with a positive influence and not just “guy on the street” or “thug of the week.” That – and the way that the character was developed in both the animated series and in comics – only helps to cement John Stewart as a favorite character of mine.
Thursday – 16 July 2009
Another NBN Thursday gets under way. So far, it hasn’t been too bad; hopefully, that trend will continue.
Last night, SaraRules and I watched Bride and Prejudice, a Bollywood-esque remake of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. (Likewise, it is not to be confused with Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.) I enjoyed the costumes and the locations… and even the song and dance numbers. And, although it was “the same role,” I liked the portrayal of the mother in this movie far more than the one in Pride and Prejudice. It has been a long time since I watched a Bollywood movie with ; this was a nice change of pace from the movies that we’ve seen recently. All-in-all, this movie was just… fun.
Workout
Wes and I hit the gym at lunch, for a basic recap of Tuesday’s workout:
Decline Sit-ups: 3 sets/15 reps
Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 205 lbs
Bench Flys (dumbbell): 3 sets/10 reps, 30 lbs
Compound Row: 3 sets/15 reps, 145 lbs
Tricep Extensions (rope): 3 sets/15 reps, 90 lbs
Dips: 2 sets/10 reps
This morning’s weight: 184 lbs
Stray Toasters
MarknTyme sent me a link to this, which made me smile:
Friday – 10 July 2009
It’s finally the weekend; thank Heaven for 9/80 Fridays.
The second half of yesterday’s workday was slow, which wasn’t necessarily “bad.” I was able to clear a few things off my task list and there weren’t any large fires to dowse. And, we once again had ice cream! Nevertheless, I was glad when quittin’ time rolled around.
Last night, SaraRules and I headed to the gym. For a change of pace, we stayed in the free weight room for our entire workout:
Bench Dips: 3 sets/10 reps – w/ 25lb plate on sets 2 and 3)
Later in the evening (read: “In the wee hours of morning…”), I played City of Heroes. I wasn’t able to find a team to join, but I was able to solo a couple of story arc missions that I had pending.
Stray Toasters
While I was preparing to play CoH, I left the TV on. Oprah follows The Late Late Show. Last night’s show was about Dani Lierow and her family. All that I can say is: “Wow.” Major kudos to the Lierows for the love, time and patience that they’ve had to give to a little girl who had been dealt a bad hand. They get half of today’s nod as my Humans of the Day…
…the other half of the honor goes to my friend Joe, who’s shipping out today to provide IT support in Iraq. For a year. He is chronicling his adventures at: On the Rear Lines.
Item One: I just found out, by way of , that Keanu Reeves will be portraying Spike Spiegel in the upcoming live-action Cowboy Bebop movie. (Details here.) While his rough/stilted acting(?) style didn’t really hurt his portrayal of John Constantine in the movie that thankfully was not called Hellblazer (because maybe they’ll try again someday… and get it closer to “right”), I just don’t see him pulling off the cool and casual swagger of Spike.
The conversation went like this:
[12:54] :Â http://io9.com/5132554/neo-goes-bebop
[12:54] : No.
[12:54] : No.
[12:54] : Just…. No.
[12:54] : DO NOT WANT
[12:56] : why stop there, really?
[13:00] : vin diesel could play jet black. lindsay lohan as faye. tom cruise as vicious. bjork as edward.
[13:00] : the taco bell chihuahua as ein.
[13:01] : (marketing tie-in)
[13:01] : You’re not making it any better.
[13:03] : i’m only doing it to cover up the sobbing inside.
[13:05] Tears of a Clown to Bebop fans everywhere…
Item Two: Is it just me or does Google Chrome’s icon look like it was separated at birth from HALO‘s 343 Guilty Spark?
Tuesday: Coda
I meant to record today’s lunchtime gym excursion, but work got in the way. (Imagine that…) But, nevertheless, Wes and I went for a brief workout today:
Leg Curls: 1 set/10 reps, 60 lbs
Leg Extensions: 1 set/10 reps, 65 lbs
Sit-ups (decline): 3 sets/15 reps
Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 205 lbs
Chin-ups: 3 sets/10 reps (80 lbs assisted)
Flys: 3 sets/10 reps, 120 lbs
Lower Back Extensions: 3 sets/15 reps, 160 lbs
Post-workout weight: 185.6 lbs
The chin-ups, something I haven’t done since I worked in A.F., were pitiful. Seriously bad. But, I did all three sets… for better or worse.
After dinner, SaraRules accompanied me to South Jordan and The District. I was in search of a foamcore cutter by Foamwerks and Hobby Lobby was the only place that was still open tonight that had them. I found the cutter I wanted and foamcore (50% off!). We took the scenic route back home.
SaraRules picked up Knowing from Redbox; both of us had an interest in seeing it, but we missed it at the theatre. After seeing it, all I can say is: It was…
…a mess.
Honestly, that’s the best way to describe it. It was:
One part suspense movie
One part sci-fi/alien movie
One part faith-based/religious movie
Blend well.
Serve with a garnish of Nicolas Cage.
I honestly don’t know HOW to rate this movie. It had a few good parts, but it just… fell apart. And the end was completely unsatisfying. Actually, I take that part back – it was the perfect concept video for Styx’ Come Sail Away. So much so that I was surprised that the music didn’t crescendo from the classical-sounding music into Come Sail Away.
Wow.
Maybe David Letterman and Craig Ferguson can fill the void.
Monday – 06 July 2009
A new work week begins. Not too oddly, when the alarm went off this morning, I didn’t want to get out of bed. However, “Time and tide…”
Yesterday, SaraRules and I went out so that I could do a little shopping. While out, we stopped at a 7-11 and tried the “Liquid Artillery” Slurpee®, their fourth movie tie-in flavor in the past two months. After that, we had coffee with Perry, followed by dinner with SaraRules’ family. After dinner, we watched Futurama: Bender’s Big Score. It was fun, but more like an extended episode of the show.
Once we got back home, I logged into City of Heroes while SaraRules did some quilting. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a team to join, so I mostly wandered through Paragon City. After game/quilting time, we watched a movie left over from Bad Movie Night: Undead or Alive – a zombie western. It was fun… and funny. In fact, one of my favorite parts of the movie came in the first minute (maybe minute-and-a-half) of the film – during the intro text. It wasn’t a “great” movie, I’d still put it on the Cool World/Long Kiss Goodnight Scale, but it’s probably an 8 or 9 on that scale. (Man, I really need to figure out an image to use for the CW/LKG Scale…)
Stray Toasters
sent a link to “Blasted Behavior,” which features the Star Wars characters… in therapy.
This weekend’s Riverwalk Jazz featured an adaptation/interpretation of The Wizard of Oz. While listening to it, I realized that I have never read that book.
I just received confirmation that my new jersey has shipped. I had been thinking of getting a new one for a while, but hadn’t committed to it. Steve McNair’s passing cemented the decision.
Sunday – 05 July 2009
Yesterday was another mostly lazy day in the valley. I slept in (a little) and then made my way into the living room, where I started reading American Psycho. I’m only 20 or so pages in, but I’m enjoying it so far. After SaraRules woke up, we had breakfast and headed to the gym:
Leg Extensions: 3 sets/10 reps, 60 lbs
Leg Raises: 3 sets/10 reps, 60 lbs
Glutes (Kick-backs): 3 sets/10 reps, 70 lbs
Flys: 3 sets/10 reps, 110 lbs
Lower Back Extensions: 3 sets/15 reps, 160 lbs
Lat Pull-downs: 3 sets/10 reps, 110 lbs
Forward Lat Raises (w/ rotation to the side): 3 sets/10 reps, 15 lbs
Curls (dumbbell): 3 sets/10 reps, 30 lbs
Sit-ups (decline): 3 sets/15 reps
On the way home, we stopped at SaraRules’ parents’ so that she could get a recipe for coffee cake. (More on this below.) We had a lazy aftenoon. For dinner, we headed to Outback Steakhouse – I had been craving Aussie Cheese Fries and decided to fulfill that desire. They – and the rest of dinner (prime rib, salad, baked potato) – were just what the doctor ordered.
We headed up to Eastwood Elementary School to watch the Sugar House Park fireworks display. When we returned home, SaraRules put in Clash by Night, featuring a pre-The Big Valley Barbara Stanwyck as well as Marilyn Monroe. I was distracted/put off by some of the storyline, but it was a decent movie.
I’m not sure what I want to do today. I have an option on playing ‘Clix with Chris and , but I’m not sure that I’m in the mood for it. (I know…!) I wouldn’t mind playing a little City, either. Or even Marvel Ultimate Alliance. And there are a couple of new ‘Clix building designs running through my head that I need to get onto paper, too.
The Best: The Man Who Sold the World
David Bowie vs. Nirvana vs. Lulu
David Bowie released this song in 1970. And it was good. Lulu, possibly best known in the States for To Sir, With Love, did a cover in 1974. Nirvana, a band I’ve never really been a fan of, covered the song in 1993.
I’ve liked the Bowie version since I first heard it, many moons ago.
I thought that the Nirvana cover was… decent, but didn’t really do anything “different” to put their own spin on it.
I heard the Lulu version yesterday, for the first time.
Thursday – 02 July 2009
Today has been… a day. It hasn’t really been “hellish,” so to speak, but there has been a lot going on. However, there is a plus side to the day: IT is having “Team Jersey/T-shirt Day” and we’re having ice cream (with cookies and toppings and waffle bowls).
Last night, I got the roof on the lobby of the new ‘Clix building and the water feature in front of the building. It required buying a new set, Seaworks: Atlantis, but I realized that I can now make the “Great Arena” Map in 3D using parts from the Atlantis kit.
Stray Toasters
SaraRules and I went for a walk yesterday evening. While out, we stopped at Red Mango; I had a yen for a Green Tea Yogurt. I discovered something… horrible: Red Mango no longer makes/carries the Green Tea Yogurt.
Wednesday – 01 July 2009
A new month begins… with a brief rain shower.
Yesterday, SaraRules, Marci, Wes and I hit the gym at lunchtime for a short workout:
Sit-ups: 3 sets – 20/10/10
Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 205 lbs
Incline Chest Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 80 lbs
Reverse Flys: 3 sets/110 lbs
Curls (dumbbell): 3 sets/10 reps, 30 lbs
Post-workout weight: 185.4 lbs
Last night, SaraRules and I watched Vantage Point, by way of Netflix’ “Instant Queue” on the 360. Streaming movies on a game console… over the Interwebs. Who knew?! The movie depicts the attempted assassination of an American President from eight points of view. It was an interesting concept and it was pulled off fairly well. We realized, after the movie was done, that this was the second consecutive movie that we’ve seen with Forest Whitaker in it wherein his character’s life intertwines with other characters’ lives in an unusual synchronicity, the first being The Air I Breathe.
After the movie, I did a little more work on my ‘Clix building. All of the walls are up, now I just need to put the main roof and the lobby roof on and add a few tiles of water and it will be complete.
This morning, I really didn’t want to get out of bed when the alarm went off. But, I did. And took care of the morning hygiene rituals. And, as I was finishing with the work-prep, I turned on the TV… and Breakin’ was on. And, yes, I did stop and watch a bit of it.
Monday – 29 June 2009
We opted not to go back to the Utah Arts Festival yesterday and enjoyed a lazy day at home. It was rather nice. When SaraRules asked me what I wanted for dinner, I had an idea: Grilling some steak and/or chicken. The more I thought about it, the better it sounded. And that’s what I did: Steak, chicken, corn on the cob, zucchini, mushrooms and red peppers. They turned out well.
Logan came over and joined us for dinner; we watched Aliens while we ate. After that, the three of us played Trivial Pursuit. (I really need to get some updated cards for the game…) When we played, we kept our wedges in our respective corners and used HeroClix figures as our playing pieces:
SaraRules used Wonder Woman,
Logan used The Riddler and
I used the custom GL John Stewart figure that Perry made for me a while back.
The “Literature” category of the Genus Edition often kicks my trash; last night, the universe threw me a bone, almost literally, when I was going for the brown wedge:
What is the name of Superman’s dog?
I couldn’t believe it when Logan asked the question; I thought he was kidding. Then he reread the question. It gave me a good laugh when I answered: “Krypto.” I was so amused by the question that I switched my game piece to my Krypto ‘Clix, because I could… and because it amused me to do so.
After the game, Logan and I played through a board of HALO3. After seeing the amount of crap that we had to wade through, I was happy to have the help.
After Logan left, I started working on a new building for HeroClix City, based on a design that I came up with on Friday. I knew that I was going to have to adapt the building faces to fit the design, but I thought that three of them would be the same. Nope. Two of them are, the third one was much easier to work with. I’m also going to have to work out the details of five other faces. We’ll see how it shapes up.
So far, today’s been a good – and relatively quiet – day. There haven’t been any major fires to put out. There haven’t been any monkeys to beat down. Not a bad way to kick off a Monday and a holiday week.
Stray Toasters
Yesterday was the first time I’ve fired up my grill in two years, I think. The igniter on the grill wasn’t working, so I had to use a camp stove lighter to kick things off. Great theory and nominally good application… aside from the fact that I had turned up the gas “a bit” too high and wound up creating a small fireball that singed the hair off the back of two of my fingers.
In a related note: I went online to look for the manual for the grill – I need to know how to repair or replace the igniter. Sears has 119 of them posted. I looked at all of them, but only found two (2) that look close to my grill. I’ll have to compare and contrast them when I get home.
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