HELLBOY!

Sorry, I know it's been a long time since I rapped at you (apologies to Jim Anchower), but it's been nuts at work. I've been training new hires, and haven't had a lot of play time this week. Oh well. Went to see Hellboy last night, and really enjoyed it. Decent story, and lots of action - and I think Ron Perlman did a great job as Hellboy. It was kinda scary how much he looked and sounded like my idea of what Hellboy would look and sound like. Cool movie, I recommend it.

Problem solved

So, the little dilemma I posted about was resolved rather successfully. My wife and I ended up seeing The Ladykillers, and it was just a terrific movie. Great acting all around - even by Marlon Wayans, and I usually hate Marlon Wayans. I don't know how the Coen Brothers do it, but every movie they write and direct is absolutely superbly cast. Never a poor choice for a role, never a time when you wonder "Could {Insert actor here} have done that better?". This was a terrific film - I'll be recommending it to everyone I know.

A minor dilemma?

What to do, what to do. I have a dilemma. Should I see The Ladykillers, Jersey Girl, or Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind? (Yes, that actually is a site for the movie) I realize this may be a rather trivial dilemma to most people, but it's pretty important to me - I take my moviegoing very seriously. So the new Coen brothers movie, the new Kevin Smith movie, or the new Charlie Kaufman movie? Quite the dilemma indeed.

"This stuff blew my mind..."

It is becoming increasingly easy to have a very critical view of our government. Thanks to Richard Clarke, former Counterterrorism expert for the White House (and a man with 30 years experience in government, who worked for Presidents Reagan, Bush Sr., Clinton, and Bush Jr.), our current Executive Branch leadership is shown in a much less than flattering light. I believe John Stewart said it best on The Daily Show the day that Mr. Clarke testifyed before the 9/11 commission - "This stuff blew my mind - the behind the scenes story of who did what and who knew what - and when...". I unfortunately didn't get to see all of Mr. Clarke's testimony myself, but the snippets I did see (or hear thanks to NPR) really did make me very curious. I cannot believe the current administration's take that they did everything possible to stop terrorism, and I trully do not know enough about Mr. Clarke to say with 100% absolute surety that his take on how things happened between Jan. 2001 and Sept. 4th, 2001 (when he sent his warning letter to National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice) is the absolute honest truth. That said, something really compels me to BELIEVE Mr. Clarke. Maybe it's his earnest manner, or how passionate he seems when speaking about how he felt the White House didn't take these threats seriously enough. I don't know - I just believe him. Maybe it's easier to believe Mr. Clarke because I find our current leadership very difficult to believe. At any rate, it's a very interesting thing to watch and follow through the news. We can only hope that this helps to move the government back towards a government of the people, for the people, and by the people.

MAME - oh yeah

You know, MAME (Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator) is a great thing. I've played with it at different points in it's development cycle, and enjoyed it immensely. Recently, a friend at work gave me a copy on CD (with about 650 ROMS), and I've been playing it a lot. Really takes you back to the old days when you used to hang out in the arcade to play the newest and most advanced games. Many of my all-time favorite arcade games are on there, like Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man, Galaga, Tron, Asteroids, Space Invaders, and Donkey Kong. Good stuff - I highly recommend it!

Stupid Tickmaster Piece Of Crap!!!

Grrrrrr. I freakin' hate Ticketmaster! Ordering tickets from them is a major pain, but since I'm stuck at work - I had to order through their website. And boy, did it suck! I've got a set of tickets that aren't that great - and it looked like my order didn't go through at all there for a bit! I toyed with the idea of placing another order, but prudently decided that it would be really bad if I ended up with twice as many tickets as I really wanted. So I waited - PATIENTLY - and was finally able to see that my order had processed through OK, and so if I had placed another I would really be in a bad spot. Stupid Ticketmaster piece of crap!!! (To quote Puppet Angel). Whatever, I've got my tickets, and I'm seeing Rush on June 2nd - the greatness of the show will make up for the stupidity of the ticket purchasing process.

Been awhile since I've posted anything, had to actually do some work this week and so never got an oppurtunity to write anything. Unfortunately work always seems to find a way to kill our best efforts to be creative and to spend our valuable time pursuing things that help us enjoy ourselves more. But you've gotta pay the bills, right? Lots of stuff going on right now, but the TV at my house was been monopolized by March Madness, and today my wife's beloved Cincinnati Bearcats play their first round game. God, I hope they win - she'll be very very depressed if they lose the first round.

In other news, the RIAA's dire prediction that P2P file-sharing would kill CD sales seems to not hold much water (at least in Australia) - read the story HERE.

So, another Saturday at work. I still contend that no one should have to work on Saturday or Sunday. I just think it's mean to make people work those days unless their work is so absolutely necessary that society as a whole would crumble to the ground without them on the job. But maybe that's just me.

In other news, the beginnings for the yearly craze known as March Madness have begun to take a hold of the wife. She's a huge fan of college basketball (her favorite team is Cincinnati), and tournament time is without a doubt her favorite time of the year. She's already informed me that I am not allowed to bother her during Selection Sunday, which is tomorrow. Which is OK, as I still have The Sims to keep me entertained.

On yet another tangent, I read a great article that I found a link to on Slashdot about the coming fall of the console video game industry. Good read, and the direct link is HERE.

Fridays are no day to be at work. I think we need to lobby our representatives in Washington D.C. to institute a 4 day work week. That would be really great, cause I'd be able to have much more leisure time (something that is really lacking in my life right now). Doesn't that sound like a great idea?

Oh, be sure to visit SaveAngel.org and see how the fight to stop the cancellation of the WB's Angel can use your help.

I just found out about this listening to NPR this morning - Paul Winfield passed away Sunday night More Info HERE, and then I'm reading the news on Yahoo (link to the story follows) that Robert Pastorelli was found dead today. More Info HERE. They will be missed.

Being sick is really no fun at all. I stayed home from work to try and get better, slept a lot, felt a little better when I got up this morning. So I go to work today - and I'm feeling sick again. And working while your sick = not fun. Ah well.

If you haven't yet, watch Mad Mad House on the SciFi Channel. This show is pretty damn funny - plus the wiccan? Fiona? Hottie. (Not the greatest pic, but it was the best I could find).

So, I wanted to post a little note yesterday, just a little something to say "Hey" - but didn't.
I wanted to take a long walk with my dog, since he likes to walk and I sure could use the excercise - but didn't.
I was going to read a good book did drink some good fresh brewed coffee - but didn't.
Damn Sims.

OK, this was just a little weird. Found this story on Slashdot, and apparently there are RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags in twenty dollar bills. The article seems to slant to this being a big government conspiracy, so take this with a grain of salt I guess.
The direct link to the article is HERE.

Go Lord of the Rings!!! Go Peter Jackson!!! Well deserved, and about damn time, I'd say. Check HERE for the full list of winners.

Saw the new movie Broken Lizard's Club Dread last night. I liked the movie a lot, although I kept comparing it to their previous movie, Super Troopers. There were some really funny bits in Club Dread, and I thought the plot held together a little better than the plot for Super Troopers did - Super Troopers at times felt like a bunch of quick comedy sketches held together pretty loosely, while Club Dread had a better overall story arc. And the fact that there was a whole lot more female frontal nudity doesn't hurt Club Dread either (heh). All in all, I still think Super Troopers is funnier, and I like it the best of the two - but I really thought Club Dread was good, and I loved Bill Paxton as Coconut Pete. He was terrific!!

Just in case you had no idea which level of Hell you will be banished to after your death, you can now take this easy test to find out!! Dante's Inferno Test

I'm in a kinda weird mood today. Don't really know why, but maybe I'm just not into working today and want to do something - anything - to make the time go by faster (other than actual work, of couse). In other news, I'm very excited for the Rush 30th Anniversary tour! They will be coming to the Germain Amphitheatre on June 2nd - I'll be there!!

If you don't already, you should visit this website every day - Engrish - trust me, it's worth it!

Also, are you ready for the Oscar telecast? Who's going to win best picture? My money's on LOTR:ROTK, but you never know...

Hee hee hee!!!! William Hung:A real American Idol!
And for more in this same vein, SHEBANGS; The offical fanlisting for William Hung.