archmage: (Lucy & I reading)
Day 02 - A show that you wish more people were watching

I can see this meme is going to be a little more difficult for me, seeing that I don’t watch many tv shows now, and I don’t actually watch any of them via broadcast or cable. So the one I am watching, the day after it airs is Project Runway, so that’s my answer.



Last night, instead of being able to really celebrate Lucy’s adoption day, I had to go to new student orientation for grad school. It is remarkably similar to every other orientation I’ve attended. First I had to check in. Then I was supposed to sign up for a parking pass. I got to skip that line because Tigs got it last year. The next line was for my student ID. Long line, slow line, and in the tradition of bad ID pictures I had some hair sticking up. The photographer could have said something…. After that I got to sit with a bunch of other bored adult students for about a half an hour. Just waiting.

Eventually the various administrators shuffled onto the stage, a few of them wearing unfortunately too short skirts. They all introduced themselves, and then proceeded to spend the next hour reading us a power point presentation. Was there useful info in the powerpoint? Yes. Did I need it read to me? No. Two hours after arriving, I was on my way home, with a quick stop at the grocery store.

This morning was incredibly gray. The sky was uniformly gray, without any differences in color or texture. It was honestly a little weird. About half way through walking the dogs there was a brief flash of light. A little bit later there was another. 10 minutes later, as I was getting ready to leave the house the flashes were more frequent, and I could hear thunder. Probably due to the fact that I work to the east of where I live, I managed to avoid the rain, but only just.

Tonight I’ve got election judge training. I actually have to leave now, even though it isn't till 6:30 because it looks like I'll be driving right through another thunderstorm.
archmage: (Lucy & I reading)
Day 01 - A show that should have never been canceled

Most of the people I know would say Firefly, and I agree with that 100%. But it isn’t the only show: Wonderfalls, Earth 2, American Gothic, Farscape, and Futurama are all on that list. These last two at least got some reprieve. Farscape got a movie, and Futurama got several movies and was just renewed.

Star Trek Enterprise was finally hitting its stride at the end of the 3rd season and all of the 4th season, even with its reduced budget for that last season. What Star Trek could really use, to be a really successful TV show, is the freedom to write interesting stories that can’t be found on broadcast TV or basic cable. Star Trek needs to be on AMC or HBO and to have the ability to tell stories the same way Mad Men or The Wire does.



Happy adoption day Lucymonster!
archmage: (Cadfael)
This is it, the last question of the movie meme. Tomorrow I start the TV meme!!

Day 30 - Your favorite movie of all time

This question is really asking a lot. I mean, favorite movie of ALL TIME. That’s a heck of a title to add to something, really defining.

I’m going to have to go with Ghostbusters.

My favorite Star Trek movie would be IV: The Voyage Home (aka the one with the whales), with II and VI coming in a close #2 and #3.



The heat is back. It’s supposed to be 90+ degrees for the week. The whole week!



So like I said in my last entry, a group of us went down to Dulles Expo Center to check out the BrickFair Lego Fan Festival. It was really amazing what people can do with Lego’s. It was also amazing how many people were there. It was exhausting just being around that many people, especially when so many of them were over stimulated children.

Anyway, here are a few pictures of the even. Not shown are all the pictures of people hands pointing right in front of the camera and crooked out of focus pictures from being bumped into. Tigs got the brunt of that, in large part because we forgot to charge the small camera, so it died pretty early on.













I think my favorite thing from the Brickfair were all of the Ghostbusters Lego creations. Multiple Ecto-1s, Stay Puft Marshmallow Men, and the Ghostbusters themselves!



You can see more in my Brick Fair gallery.
archmage: (Cadfael)
Day 29 - A movie from your childhood

Back to the Future

I thought this was the most amazing movie with the best soundtrack ever when I was like 6.



Totally exhausted from the Brick Fair. Moree tomorrow.
archmage: (Dice)
Day 28 - Favorite movie from your favorite director

I don't think I have a favorite director. I don't pay that much attention generally. Most of them are pretty hit or miss anyway.




I'm pretty sure that the Orioles can't win if we're there watching. It was a pretty good game, there were a couple of calls that I call into question by the 2nd base umpire, and just enough rotten plays by the O's to give it to the White Sox.
archmage: (Cadfael)
Day 27 - A movie that you wish you had seen in theaters

I would have loved to have been able to see Star Wars A New Hope in the theater opening night.

I also think that Star Trek: The Motion Picture and The Wrath of Khan would look way more stunning on a movie screen than it does on my tv at home.



Last night Tigs and I went to Ikea to get a shelf for the living room to go by the front door. This one: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10103088

While we were there we had Ikea dinner, which ended up costing less than 2 appetizers at just about any restaurant, and the quality was pretty good too.

Tonight's big plans are kicking back and watching Project Runway.

TGIF.



Recently we watched Get Smart, and I have to say I was disapointed. The show was a goofy, campy, spy spoof that didn't take itself at all seriously. The movie on the other handcouldn't seem to make up its mind whether it wanted to be a comedy or an action movie. Sadly, you should skip this one.
archmage: (Lucy & I reading)
Day 26 - A movie that you love but everyone else hates

Ok, I'm just gonna have to pass on this question. I can't think of a single movie that I love that at least one of my friends and loved ones don't also at least like. Sorry.



Thunderstorms rolled through last night. They were really stunning, brought some much needed rain, and a bit of a reprieve from the heat. Sadly that didn’t last. Today we’re in the mid 90’s and it feels like the mid 100’s. I am SO ready for autumn. We were supposed to get more rain today, but it looks like only to the south. :-(



On top of the heat, or perhaps because of it, everyone at work today seemed at least on edge, and too many were well over it.



Last evening we took the dogs over to Dogma and used their self serve dog wash to was both Alice and Lucy. We've never used it before, but it was so much easier than doing it in the shower at home. No crying, screaming, attempted suicide, and Lucy and Alice handled it pretty well too.
archmage: (Elephant)
Day 25 - The most hilarious movie you have ever seen

Monty Python’s Quest for the Holy Grail

Star Trek IV is probably the funniest one of the bunch.



I overslept this morning. Not so much that I was late to work, but late enough that the morning was rushed, and I had to skip a few things that I generally do in the morning. Things like breakfast. Now, I don’t have breakfast every day, but a bit of oatmeal or toast with peanut butter, or even with honey (a touch of indulgence, I know) really makes the day start a whole lot better.

The worst part is that rushed feeling just stays with you all day.



There was a local political campaigner that came to our door just as we drove up this evening after an outing with the girls. He rang the doorbell just as we were getting out of the car. I yelled up to him "I'm sorry, but we're not home right now. If you'd like to leave a message, we'll get back to you at our earliest convenience."
archmage: (Dice)
Day 24 - That one awesome movie idea that still has not been done yet

Good Omens would be epic if it was done right. I imagine it would be rather like Dogma, but even better.

Otherwise I'm going to go with Sandman.

For the Star Trek project that I'd want to see, it would be Star Trek: Prime Directive. They could totally do it with the new cast too.



Other things that are awesome:
A judge ruling on a case against Todd McFarlane by Neil Gaiman has ruled against Mr. McFarlane in part on the basis of the Spawn universe’s own rules!

Solar power could reduce atmospheric carbon to pre-industrial levels in 10 years. I'm looking forward to hearing more about this.



I switched characters in Neverwinter Nights from a Halfling to a human. I stuck with my original class progression though (Rogue/Fighter) and I’m about ready to start taking prestige levels as a shadowdancer. I swapped out because I realized around the time I hit level 5 that every time I died and respawned I lost XP. Prior to this I had died a lot. As many as 5 times in one battle! I can’t imagine how much XP I’d lost doing that. So, start over, save often, and don't respawn.



God moves in extremely mysterious, not to say, circuitous ways. God does not play dice with the universe; He plays an ineffable game of His own devising, which might be compared, from the perspective of any of the other players*, to being involved in an obscure and complex version of poker in a pitch-dark room, with blank cards, for infinite stakes, with a Dealer who won't tell you the rules, and who smiles all the time.


Footnote to above: * ie., everybody.
archmage: (Trust Me)
Day 23 - Favorite animation

Ok, we’re going to break this question down into the categories of: Pixar, Disney, and Anything Else. It just doesn't seem fair to lump them all together.

For Pixar I’m going with Toy Story, though it was a tough choice. Monsters Inc and The Incredibles were close seconds.

The winner in the Disney category is Aladin, with Sleeping Beauty and Sword in the Stone runners up.

For Everything Else I’ve always been a fan of Fern Gully, if only for Tim Curry playing the bad guy. An American Tail, Charlotte’s Web, and All Dogs Go To Heaven top that list.



I mowed the front lawn this weekend for the first time in almost 2 months. Between the excessive heat and the lack of rain it really hasn't needed it until now. I did have a major set back; the handlebar broke. It's been kinda weak for a while, but it just tore.



And it doesn't seem to be the sort of thing you can easily replace. I guess no one bothers to get replacement parts for a hundred dollar lawn mower from Lowes. And it has lasted us quite a while, so I can't complane too much. It did require getting a new one, so this time I got the $150 version from Home Depot. It seems more sturdy, a little heavier, sop I'm hoping that it does better than the old one.


Laser puppies shown for scale

Tonight I mowed the back yard and cooked some burgers and dogs on the grill. Hot dogs, not corgis. But while I was mowing back by the broken AC a fast brown streak shot out from in front of the lawn mower.



Poor little thing, I think I gave it a heart attack!



Create your own Portal! Simple and inexpensive, the way a geek craft project should be!
archmage: (Lucy & I reading)
Whooops! Meant to post this yesterday...

Day 22 - Favorite documentary

A League of Ordinary Gentlemen - Who knew bowling could be so interesting? I like htis one the best because it wasn't really depressing, and a lot of documentaries are.


archmage: (Lucy & I reading)
Day 21 - Favorite action movie

For pure fun action I turn to Disney's The Three Musketeers.

If I want Trek action I watch Insurection.
archmage: (Cadfael)
Day 20 - Favorite movie from your favorite actor/actress

Well, this would mean having to pick a favorite actor or actress. I don’t know if there is an actor or actress that no matter what I would go see a movie they were in.

I’m gonna go with George Clooney and pick Oceans 11, and Amy Adams and Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day.



I ended up not doing much of anything after getting home last night. Mostly I sat on the couch, watched DS9: The Emissary, and then got ready for bed. Not the most exciting, but I had been attacked by a vampire!

Giving blood was actually kind of interesting. I went and tried to give 2 units, using this machine that sucks out a unit, takes the red blood cells, and returns the plasma to you, and then sucks out a second unit. Unfortunately they didn’t have a good stick in me, so the machine wasn’t getting good pressure. Plus, when they tried to return the plasma it started to leak out of me. So they just took the unit they had and called it quits. I’m not sure I’ll try that again.

Adaptation

Jul. 29th, 2010 09:44 pm
archmage: (Cadfael)
Day 19 - Favorite movie based on a book/comic/etc.

For this question, I’ve decided that I need to have read the book/comic for it to count. There are many movies that I love that I haven’t read the book yet, so those don’t count.

The Lord of the Rings is a series of movies that I loved way more than the series of books.

For comics, I’m going to have to go with the first Spider-Man movie, though both Batman (1989+2005), Ironman, X-Men, and Hellboy all get honorable mentions.

I also have to say how excited I am by Scott Pilgrim vs. The World , even though I haven’t read the comic.



I gave blood today up in White Marsh, and stopped by Chick-Fil-A on the way home and used a coupon for free chicken nuggets and waffle fries. For those not in the know, Chick-Fil-A is the “high end/upscale” fried chicken fast food place. I was told this, in complete 100% honesty by multiple people at work. That’s right, Chick-Fil-A turns its nose up at KFC and Popeye’s.

The chicken nuggets were actually pretty good, though the waffle fries we're of poor quality. They were barely cooked and had no seasoning besides a little salt.

As for the quality of Chick-Fil-A as compaired to KFC or Popeye's? The interior is a little nicer, but it's still just a fast food place.



Found this, thought it was cool.




via Tigergladys: Governor Martin O'Malley of Maryland declares September 21st Civilization Day
archmage: (Lucy & I reading)
Day 18 - A movie that you wish more people would have seen

A Dogs Breakfast.

It’s a great dark comedy, and is full of Stargate actors.



It’s been almost 2 months since I mowed the lawn, and it’s beginning to look like it finally needs it. It’s been scruffy for a while now, but you’d have had to put a gun to my head to get me to mow in 90+ degree weather. I just don’t do that. Heat stroke isn’t any fun.

Saturday morning looks like it’ll be a nice time to do it, and I can maybe even get some weeding done too. I don’t know what we’re going to do with the poor ivy. The top third of it seems to have been burned off, and I have no idea if it’ll come back or if we should pull it out and plant something else. Ideally it would be something that I wouldn’t have to mow, since mowing hills isn’t any fun.
archmage: (Trust Me)
Day 17 - A movie that disappointed you the most

Wanted http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0493464/ made for such a great comic, that I thought if any studio had the guts to turn it into a movie; it would have to be pretty awesome. Well, it wasn’t. They took out everything that made the comic really interesting, and turned it into some crappy action flick that would have been completely forgotten had it not starred Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman.



We had puppy agility class tonight. We skipped last week because I won tickets to the Orioles game, and what a game it was! Tonight went well, and I love our new earlier time!
archmage: (Lucy & I reading)
Day 16 - A movie that you used to love but now hate

There isn’t one that I can think of, or any reason why I would go from loving something like a movie to hating it. It’s not like it’ll ever steal my credit card and buy a thousand copies of itself on Amazon.



It’s possible that we’re now past the worst of the years heat. I certainly hope so. We had the AC serviced on Thursday, just in time for the 110 degree Saturday. Unfortunately it seems we have a coolant leak, and so we’re once again using the various fans and the portable AC unit. It would be nice if I had a flashing red light and a computer voice letting me know that there is a coolant leak, and where it’s being detected. Unfortunately I don’t, and the possibility of it being in a location that isn’t worth fixing is way too high. We’re just going to have to budget for a new system.



One of the things we did this weekend to beat the heat was to go see Inception. Wow. It is a shockingly cerebral sci-fi movie. It isn’t anything that my friendslist (you!) can’t handle, but way more than what I expect from Hollywood. I would definitely recommend that you go see it in the theater, unless of course you have a home theater system.



While Tigs has been getting into WoW, I’ve been looking at a lot of the older computer games that I own, and never completed. It turns out that I actually kind of dislike Dungeon Siege, which is a shame, cause it seems like it could be good. Dungeon Keeper 2 doesn’t like my new computer, and it wont play properly, so who knows. On my old computer it wouldn’t let me save… *shrug* I guess that I’m just not meant to be a Dungeon Master in computer games. Diablo II is fun, but a little mindless. The one that’s got me hooked again is Neverwinter Nights. So far my 4th level Rogue/1st level fighter, a Halfling named Merdoc Janglehart is doing pretty well, and I’m having fun with him. Not a lot of playing time, but it’s the sort of game that I can put down and come back to. The trick will be coming back to it, as I have a habit of starting computer games, getting bored, and not finishing them.



Here is the picture of my white board at work.

archmage: (Default)
Day 15 - A character who you can relate to the most

I’ve related to a lot of different characters over the years. At the moment I don’t really feel like I’m relating to any particular movie character.



In local news: It's too damn hot! They're predicting that tomorrow may be the worst day of the year with temperatures and humidity such that it's gonna feel around 107 degrees or hotter! Time to find a deep dark cave and hibernate for the rest of the summer.
archmage: (Default)
Day 14 - A movie that no one would expect you to love

Well, if you read my LJ you probably have a good idea of the type of movies I like, so I’m not sure what would be unexpected.

Ok, how about this: Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. This is probably the most popular movie in the world that I bet most of you have never heard of. Besides that, it's a great example of a Bollywood movie, and if I was ever offered the chance to switch places with anyone, I would pick Shahrukh Khan.



Do not click this link if you don't like spiders or fungus.
archmage: (Default)
Day 13 - A movie that is a guilty pleasure

I'm going to have to go with the Dungeons and Dragons Movie, which in all honesty is terrible. I mean not just as a D&D movie, but completely. From the Wayons brother (Damien?) to the elf's breastplate, to beholders doing guard duty it was just bad. Yet, I still enjoy it. It's campy, and it doesn't take itself seriously.



Here is a picture of Lucy snuggling with Tigs and a pink hippo.

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