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Friday, September 5th, 2008
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| Subject: | Breaking the Silence -- random update |
| Time: | 8:51 am. |
| Music: | Paul and Storm - The Captain's Wife's Lament. |
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Breaking radio silence here for a couple of things.
1. "In a world without the Voice of God...": Don LaFontaine died. I am saddened by this. He was one of my voiceover idols and it's sad to think he's gone. There are lot of talented VO people out there but there was no one quite like him. Go check out some of the short clips on his website, which include the hilarious short film "Five Men and a Limo", also featuring fellow VO artists John Leader, Nick Tate, Mark Elliot, Al Chalk and Hal Douglas (cameo VO). RIP, Don.
2. Dragon*Con was a lot of fun. Met Sean Astin and Lance Henriksen (both very cool and friendly people). Enjoyed quality time spent with my friends Bo and Sarah (who'd traveled from Greenville, sC for the con). Met and bought stuff from Lar and Ryan from Least I Could Do / Looking for Group. Met and bought stuff from Gina Biggs of Red String (she's a total sweetheart). Met and bought stuff from Andy Runton (another very friendly guy; go check out his comic "Owly", it's really sweet and heartwarming). Talked with Ruth Thompson of Tarnished Images as I do every year; Ruth says she wants to use some of my ideas for the next paintings in her Arcana series. Performed in two ARTC shows, both of which were well received; I just wish they'd stop scheduling us next door to the stupid wrestling competition. Enjoyed some great music, including Paul and Storm (who put on a GREAT show, featuring Dana Snyder, the voice of Master Shake; also bought a "dejected ARRR" T-shirt and a CD from 'em). Took some fantastic photos but managed to lose the memory card from my camera on Saturday night (along with all 400 photos I'd taken that day, including some great ones during the parade), so ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) ashtreza kindly loaned me a spare for the next couple days. Overall a great time; I just wish I hadn't lost the card.
3. Georgia school superintendent Kathy Cox is apparently appearing on tonight's episode of "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth-Grader". That should be interesting considering this is the woman who's so stupid that she had disclaimer stickers placed on Georgia science textbooks, stickers stating that evolution is just a theory and should be "carefully considered". She also wanted to strike the word "evolution" completely and replace it with "biological changes over time". She was eventually overruled on both, but see, datalopez, this is just one of the reasons I want you to move here -- they NEED smart science teachers to help out with this mess. Stupid woman.
4. The new DragonForce album "Ultra Beatdown" is lots of fun. More hyperspeed playing, more over-the-top choruses, more videogame noises -- it's a good time. Judas Priest's "Nostradamus" and Testament's "The Formation of Damnation" still have the edge over it for album of the year so far, though, at least as far as I'm concerned. My friend Matt Smith says he's heard the new Metallica "Death Magnetic" and it's great, but I'll reserve judgment on that one till I hear it. "St. Anger" sucked so hard that it consumed a couple of black holes, after all.
5. Promoted twice more in recent weeks at work. More money, woo.
And...that's it for now. There may be some big news to report in a week or two, but I can't say anything about that until I have more info. How is your week going?
-- END OF LINE --
[[The Oracle would like to know your favorite breakfast.]]
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Comments: Read 9 or Add Your Own.
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Friday, August 29th, 2008
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| Subject: | Dragon*Con is here! Come see me and the rest of ARTC! |
| Time: | 3:07 pm. |
| Music: | Wil Wheaton - Radio Free Burrito Episode 2. |
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Off to Dragon*Con after I get off work. Those of you who are at the con this year, please come see me and the rest of the Atlanta Radio Theatre Company in our two performances!
First performance: Friday night, 7:00 PM, Centennial I Ballroom in the Hyatt, after Opening Ceremonies. This is our serious show: William Alan Ritch's "The Doom of the Mummy".
Second performance: Sunday night, 7:00ish, Regency VI-VII Ballroom in the Hyatt, after the Star Wars Costume Contest. This is our fun show, "Not a Typo", with a bunch of amusing pieces, including our adaptation of John Ringo's "A Ship Named Francis".
Gonna be a good weekend! See you folks there.
-- END OF LINE --
[[The Oracle would like to know your favorite beverage.]]
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Comments: Read 1 or Add Your Own.
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Monday, August 25th, 2008
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| Subject: | I love the whole 'verse, and all its craziness....boom de yada, boom de yada |
| Time: | 11:41 pm. |
| Music: | Superior - Not With Me. |
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A Livejournal user by the handle of memorysdaughter has done a tribute to the Discovery Channel's very cool "The World is Just Awesome" commercial. I thought Randall Munroe's xkcd on the subject was the best tribute I'd seen, but this one outdoes it.
This tribute uses screencaps from the sci-fi series "Firefly", with accompanying captions. It is pure awesome.
Go check it out.
-- END OF LINE --
[[The Oracle would like to know if you will be at this year's Dragon*Con.]]
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Comments: Read 6 or Add Your Own.
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Monday, August 11th, 2008
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| Subject: | Summertime's end |
| Time: | 8:51 am. |
| Music: | Iced Earth - Burning Times. |
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Radio this morning said the dog days of summer are over. I know they are for me.
I am still astounded that datalopez spent damn near the entire summer living with me and is somehow still able to put up with me. I feel absolutely horrible today, though, as she returned to Texas yesterday. I am a solitary sort in general but her departure leaves a giant Leslie-shaped hole in my heart. This is also why I have been mostly silent over the past few months: I've had her occupying my time instead.
We talked at some length about the relocation issue which has been staring us in the face for some time. My present efforts to locate employment in the Austin, TX area have met with no success thus far, so I'm now putting a call out for anyone in the general Texas area to give me a hand. If anyone you know is looking for a general IT techie, please let me know. I have done tech support, QA, web design, technical writing and documentation.
I am also going to be looking into working from home, since I currently work in a call center environment. If I get the approval on that, I can do that from anywhere in the U.S., so moving to Austin would not be a problem. We'll see.
A friend of mine turns thirty on Friday. We'll be celebrating the latest addition to the "Logan's Run" club at their place. That should be a fun time.
So. How are things with you and yours?
-- END OF LINE --
[[The Oracle would like to know if you have any pets.]]
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Comments: Read 8 or Add Your Own.
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Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008
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| Subject: | Good thoughts, please. |
| Time: | 9:23 am. |
| Music: | Circus Maximus - Ultimate Sacrifice. |
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Keep my sweetheart datalopez's parents in your thoughts, if you would. They live in Brownsville, TX, which is currently being hammered by Hurricane Dolly. They've made preparations by boarding up all windows and bringing in all their things from outside the house, but they're stubborn folk who won't leave no matter how bad it gets (as Leslie said). They're more than 25 miles from shore, so storm surge won't be a problem, but storm damage could be if the hurricane does go to a Category 2 like meteorologists are saying it could. So: spare a few good thoughts, if you can.
[[Edit: the latest word from them is that they have lost power but all is well. Still windy and raining, of course, but they seem to be weathering it (ha!) with no trouble so far. Thanks to all who sent good wishes.]]
-- END OF LINE --
[[The Oracle would like to know if you've ever lived through a natural disaster.]]
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Comments: Read 7 or Add Your Own.
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| Subject: | The cake is a lie |
| Time: | 5:12 pm. |
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I finally succumbed to geek peer pressure and picked up Valve's "Portal" today, looking for a way to kill time for the day. Although it's as short as advertised, it's also just as much fun as advertised. Anybody who wants some cool puzzles, an interesting storyline, great dry sarcastic humor and some damned cool physics needs to pick it up.
This has been a good weekend. My parents and I went to see Pixar's WALL-E on Saturday. Just as I expected, it's another triumph from Stanton and Docter. I got all weepy at the end. Yes, I'm a sucker for an emotional ending.
No The Dark Knight for me yet, as I'm waiting for datalopez to return from Texas and her cousin's wedding. We'll go when she returns.
-- END OF LINE --
[[The Oracle would like to know where you spent your honeymoon, if you're married.]]
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Comments: Read 7 or Add Your Own.
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| Subject: | New music, new tunes spinning in my head |
| Time: | 8:23 am. |
| Music: | Testament - F.E.A.R.. |
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New albums to me of late:
Testament - The Formation of Damnation: This is a fucking HEAVY album. I always loved Testament but when Alex Skolnick left the band I wasn't as keen on them as I used to be. This, their first disc with him back in the lineup, is a massive slab of heavy, dark, melodic thrash metal. This is like Practice What You Preach mixed with Souls of Black with the heaviness and occasional growling vocals of their later work. I'm loving it.
Poets of the Fall - Revolution Roulette: I was SO in love with this band from their first two albums Signs of Life and Carnival of Rust that I was actually a bit disappointed by this one. The music is good, but it's just missing something, I don't know, something uplifting that was in their earlier stuff. Maybe it's because there are less of the soaring vocals from singer Mark Saaresto this time; he stays more in his lower, heavily-inflected timbre. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, I just like hearing his full range like on "Lift" or "Carnival of Rust". The new tune "Diamonds for Tears", however, is by itself worth picking up the album for. Good disc, just not quite as fantastic as the first two.
Buckethead - Bermuda Triangle: More avant-garde eclectic music from the master of weirdness. Not much to say about this one except that it's as enjoyable as all his stuff; videogame noises, ambient soundscapes, thrash metal, fingerpicking stuff, slap guitar, odd spoken vocals here and there. Also picked up Island of Lost Souls, which I also love; that one has even more of a dark, turbulent, ethereal feel to it.
King's X - Ogre Tones; Tape Head; Ear Candy; Manic Moonlight; Black Like Sunday; Please Come Home...Mr. Bulbous: I utterly love King's X but I have fallen behind their output in the past several years. I remedied that recently but I am now sinking underneath a tide of great King's X music. I should probably not be trying to absorb all of them at once, but I can't help it. Dammit, this band is just so good. Three-part harmonies and TIGHT musicianship and writing for some GREAT music ranging from prog-rock to prog-metal to just straight-ahead rock n' roll. There are some weird offerings here and there, but that's why I love this band: they're so eclectic.
Judas Priest - Nostradamus: I love this. Angel of Retribution had me screaming "YES YES YES" when Halford returned, and he sounds as fantastic as ever on this one. Priest has also experimented a bit with keyboards and orchestration on this and I think it sounds cool. Plus, I always love concept albums.
Rick Wakeman - The Seven Wonders of the World: I can't get enough of Wakeman's music. Fortunately, there's lots and lots of it available. This album combines Rick's excellent musical skills with a subject I've always had a special spot for: the Wonders of the Ancient World. Each track is preceded by a brief narration of the history of the Wonder, then it segues nicely into some very introspective, new-agey music. Great disc. I also picked up 2000 A.D. Into the Future but haven't had as much time to listen to that one yet. Good so far, though.
Paul Simon - The Rhythm of the Saints: I love Graceland so much, it occurred to me not too long ago, "Why the hell don't you have the followup yet?" So I went and got it, and have been playing it a lot over the past few months. Great world music, with Simon's voice weaving through the eclectic tracks.
Ayreon - 01011001: The ONLY negative thing about this album is that I can never fucking remember the title. I wish Arjen hadn't been quite so clever with that, but nevertheless this is another great piece of work from the Dutch genius. Seventeen singers (including some HUGE names in the prog-rock or metal world), two discs, huge production, intricate story, complex progressive rock. I love it love it love it.
-- END OF LINE --
[[The Oracle would like to know what you have been digging lately, musically.]]
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Comments: Read 6 or Add Your Own.
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| Subject: | Good grief, shut up. |
| Time: | 8:33 am. |
| Music: | Paul Simon - Under African Skies. |
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Someone explain to me how bitching about one's coworkers in a loud voice helps improve an environment that is already high-stress and too low-morale? Because I just can't see it. Take your fucking concerns to your management; that's what they get paid for. If they don't help with the problem, then go to THEIR management. But shut the hell up. You're annoying me even with my headphones on and the music turned up.
-- END OF LINE --
[[The Oracle would like to know your favorite "classic" film.]]
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Comments: Read 6 or Add Your Own.
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Wednesday, July 2nd, 2008
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| Subject: | It Was A Good Day |
| Time: | 7:49 pm. |
| Music: | Threshold - Goodbye Mother Earth. |
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To quote Ice Cube, "Today I didn't even have to use my A-K / I gotta say it was a good day."
See, today I found out that I'm being called back for a second interview for a different position at my workplace. This would be an ideal job for me, as it would involve me actually, y'know, WRITING, and using my brains instead of being underappreciated and overworked in a tech support role. I'm keeping my fingers crossed on this one. Crossed fingers from you all would be nice too.
Next up: you may see me on the local news tonight. datalopez and I were headed to the local CD Warehouse to do some used DVD shopping, as she hasn't been to any used CD / used DVD shops in the area. We saw a local newsvan (CBS Channel 46) parked in the parking lot and wondered what that was about. We found out when we walked up to the store's entrance and there was a handwritten sign on it: "SORRY WE'RE CLOSED". We looked at each other and shrugged, then turned to walk back to my car...and were suddenly greeted by the newswoman from the newsvan. "Hi," she said, "are you a regular of the store?" I allowed as how I was, and she told me what was up: apparently the store owner was arrested last night for passing stolen property. Evidently he was in the habit of getting local drug addicts to go smash-and-grab CDs and DVDs from other stores, then bring them back to him to be sold. I had no idea, but was amenable to a brief interview explaining my thoughts. Why not? So you may see me on the late-night 11:00 show looking all scruffy (we'd just come back from our semi-daily walk/run in the park).
Thirdly, the July issue of Men's Journal has hit newsstands, and on page 34 at the bottom is a photo by yours truly, showing Sliding Rock in Tallulah Gorge in a mini-article about natural waterslides. Kind of cool to have a photo credit in a major magazine.
Yeah, it was a good day. And tomorrow's Friday! Gotta love short workweeks.
-- END OF LINE --
[[The Oracle would like to hear about something nice that happened to you recently.]]
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Comments: Read 7 or Add Your Own.
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| Subject: | Farewell, George |
| Time: | 8:54 am. |
| Music: | Stryper - Holding On. |
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Looks like George Carlin finally had his final heart attack. R.I.P., George. You'll be sorely missed.
I believe I shall contact grunion when he wakes up and see if he wants to have a Carlin celebration tonight or sometime soon.
-- END OF LINE --
[[The Oracle would like to know your favorite comedian -- alive or dead.]]
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Comments: Read 2 or Add Your Own.
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Wednesday, June 11th, 2008
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| Subject: | Um........no. |
| Time: | 5:09 pm. |
| Music: | Judas Priest - Worth Fighting For. |
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If I hear one more person call Sean Hannity "a great American", I'm going to projectile vomit.
Yes, I know it's his catchphrase. I also know that I can't think of anyone LESS deserving of the phrase. Except possibly George W. Bush.
-- END OF LINE --
[[The Oracle would like to know what celebrity you despise.]]
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Comments: Read 3 or Add Your Own.
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| Subject: | Rest in peace, Grammie. |
| Time: | 8:20 am. |
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When is 35 years too short a time?
The answer: When it's the far-too-fleeting amount of time I got to spend with my beloved grandmother, Gladys Dolan.
Of course, we didn't call her Gladys, or at least my brother and I didn't. She was always "Grammie" to us, never "Grandma" or "Grandmother". I'm not sure where the name came from, but for as far back as I can remember we always called her "Grammie".
My Grammie died on Tuesday last week, peacefully, after a long struggle with illnesses of various kinds over the past few years of her life. Of course, the fact that you can see it coming from a few miles off doesn't lessen the impact of the train when it finally hits you, and her death did hit me like an express train, like one of the 200-mph maglev trains used in France. Because she was, quite simply, one of the sweetest and most wonderful people I have ever known.
Good-natured? I put it to you that it would have been impossible to find someone who was sweeter than my Grammie. She was one of those rare people who truly can find a kind word for anyone, whether it be the waiter who brought her dinner or the person slicing her deli lunchmeat or the salesman who sold her her car. Whether she had met you ten seconds ago or had known you all her life, she was always ready with a gentle, sunny smile. My brother and I (as young kids will do) gave her no end of trouble, I'm sure, as we were growing up, but I truly cannot recall a single time where she ever even raised her voice beyond a mild reproach to us, and that good nature was shown, just the same way, to virtually everyone she met. She spent most of her life just playing the role of a wife and mother, but occasionally she would work in a retail store or two, and I imagine she showed the same degree of courtesy and was the very soul of good nature to all of the customers she dealt with.
And loving? Oh, you'd better believe it. She wasn't very demonstrative, but her love for her family showed in every single one of her actions, day after day. When she and my Grandad still lived in New Jersey, we would go up to visit them periodically, and my brother and I could always count on having our favorite things to eat, our beds made up just the way we liked them, and, like as not, a present or two in hiding for later. Grammie, after all, would have been horribly upset if everything wasn't just the way we wanted it. She doted on me and my brother, and spoiled us as much as my parents would allow. She loved her daughter -- my mom -- more than words can say, and it was always evident in her smile, the tone of her voice, a gentle squeeze of Mom's hand at the dinner table -- a million little ways. She loved her family so much, in fact, that twenty-three years ago, she and Grandad moved down here to the Gainesville area so they could be closer to us all, be nearby while my brother and I grew up, and have us all close at hand for us to make frequent visits -- something which we gleefully took advantage of every chance we got. She was married to Grandad for sixty-nine years (October would have been their 70th anniversary) and for all the time I knew her, I can count on the fingers of one hand the times I heard her argue with him. Those few arguments always ended quickly and had a peculiar loving overtone to them even while the discussions were going on. In this day and age when marriages tend to fall on the rocks after just a few short years, a marriage that lasts sixty-nine years is nothing short of astounding, but believe me when I say that she and Grandad were more in love with each other every single day.
How gentle she was. She had a soft, warm voice, never raised in anger (as I've said) but very frequently raised in laughter. She loved quiet pursuits: her plants, her flowers, watching hummingbirds at the feeder, playing bridge with her friends, working happily in the kitchen (her cookies and cakes are legendary), listening to classical music, reading a book in her easy chair, watching a baseball game with me and Grandad and laughing soundlessly at how agitated we got. She was always dreadfully disappointed by the world's increasing predilection towards violence, as she was also one of those rare people who was truly wanting to believe the best of everyone. With anyone else I would call that an ostrich-like desire to stick one's head in the sand, to refuse to see the unpleasant truth when it was staring you in the face, but with her it was different: she really did believe that human beings are good at heart, just like she was.
Of course, it's the quiet, gentle ones you have to watch out for. Grammie had an amazingly mischievous sense of humor for someone who was so little and so unprepossessing. My mother could relate story after story of the pranks Grammie played on her, my dad, and even Grandad. "You would just never expect it from her," Mom would say, laughing and remembering the vacuum cleaner incident, and countless others like it. For me, the one thing that sums up Grammie's personality more than anything else was something that happened during Christmas 2007. I had come home for the holidays with my girlfriend Leslie, and on Christmas Day after a long day of family companionship, gift exchanging, good food and good company, we were all sitting round the living room table playing various variations of poker -- Leslie and me, my parents, my brother, Granddad and (of course) Grammie. Now, while I've got a fantastic poker face, I'm not so good at remembering the various poker hands, so my dad jotted down a quick listing of the various card combinations -- three of a kind, straight, flush, et cetera -- and their various rankings, so that I could refer to that while I played. And, at her request, he made another one for Grammie, as her mind was no longer as sharp as it had once been and she too was having trouble remembering the hands.
Now, however, I've got my suspicions about that last. It's true that she had some mental problems towards the end of her life, but all of us began to find it mighty suspicious how she kept coming out the winner, hand after hand. "Okay, folks, show 'em". "I've got two pair." "That beats me, I've just got one pair." "Got a straight here, beats you all." And so it would go, everybody exclaiming their happiness or disgust as they revealed (or threw down) their hands. "Wait a second," we'd say, "we forgot Grammie. Grammie, what've you got?" And a tiny, tiny smile would cross her face, impish glee dancing in her eyes, as she would play her "poor me" role to perfection: "Oh, I don't know. I'm not sure, is this any good?" she'd say, and spread her cards out: Straight flush. Royal flush. Four of a kind. Full house. Over and over it happened, and we'd all throw up our hands in dismay at having been outwitted yet again and falling for the "innocent little old Grammie" trick, yet again. She was so good at it.
Now I know intellectually that 91 years is an incredibly long time to walk this earth. I mean, Grammie's life was one which spanned everything from the Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression, Prohibition and desegregation, the terms of seventeen U.S. Presidents (eleven of whom are now dead), and Neil Armstrong's first steps onto the surface of the moon. It was an extraordinary life which saw extraordinary events, and I know that she was well content with the time she'd lived and the things she'd seen and done. And for thirty-five of those years (because that's how old I am now), I got to spend time with her, to have her be a part of my life, have her provide a shining example of the kind of gentleness of spirit and loving kindness that I can only hope to aspire to. Thirty-five years is a good long span, after all....but when all's said and done, I found it far too short a time.
Because I miss her. I miss her so damn much.
Again, I knew that it had been coming for a long time. Her decline over the past few years had been measured in increasingly large increments. And when her personality began changing, when she became short-tempered and grouchy and having trouble remembering things, I was saddened because the Grammie I'd known and loved so well was no longer there. I knew that she hurt all the time, that she couldn't sleep well, that she was tired all the time, that she no longer had any desire to eat or drink -- in short, she'd lost all the interest in life that she'd once had. So, despite the cliche, it truly is a kindness that she's gone, because she wouldn't have wanted to live on like that.
I was home to visit with her and Granddad the weekend before she died. She had been quiet most of the time I was there, but I could tell that it made her happy to have me home for another visit. She even roused herself far enough to resurrect some of her old joking personality, and I was gratified to see it. When I had to leave on that Sunday night to head back to Atlanta, I gave her a long hug. Now, she was always fond of hugs, but this last hug was much longer than usual -- when I would have released her and stepped back, she kept her arms around me, squeezing me as tightly as her fading strength would allow. And she did something else that was unusual for her. I've already said that she was a very loving person, but she wasn't demonstrative. If I told her how much I loved her, she would always smile and say that she loved me too, but it was rare for her to say it first. So I was surprised when she did that this time -- turned her face up to me and said how very much she loved me and how happy it had made her that I'd come home to spend another day with them.
I think, now, that in her own way she was trying to say her final goodbye to me then. That she had already decided she had had enough and that she didn't want to continue in the prison her body'd become. But she didn't want to tell me in so many words, knowing how much it would hurt me to find that out. So she gave me an extra-long hug and told me how much she loved me, and I smiled, and kissed her, and I said goodbye to her, and I told her how much I loved her too.
And when you think about it, that's not so bad, to have your last words to someone be how very much you love them and how special their presence in your life has been. No, not so bad at all.
Rest in peace, Grammie. I loved you -- and love you -- very, very much.
Gladys Falkenberg Dolan: September 28, 1916 - May 27th, 2008
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Comments: Read 19 or Add Your Own.
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| Subject: | Incommunicado for the next several days |
| Time: | 12:17 am. |
| Music: | Jimmy Buffett - Incommunicado. |
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Posting this late at night on Thursday as I doubt I'll have any time to do so tomorrow.
I will be offline for the next week or so, visiting datalopez in Texas so we can attend her sister's wedding (and so Leslie can be maid of honor in said wedding). If you need to reach me, use my cell phone or email (I may have email access during one or two days). If you need either one, you probably already have them.
I may be able to post wedding updates but am not too certain of that. Expect pictures and whatnot after I return to Atlanta with Leslie, as well as a final farewell and tribute to my grandmother, who died on Tuesday morning at the age of 91. I miss you already, Grammie.
-- END OF LINE --
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Comments: Read 5 or Add Your Own.
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| Subject: | Oh, internets. You make me laugh. |
| Time: | 11:37 am. |
| Music: | Dokken - Heaven Sent. |
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Most message boards on the intertrons these days are worthless, but every once in a while you come upon a gem. I was idly browsing digg today and reading the comments to an article on freakishly huge bodybuilders. Somebody remarked "These people look like the Incredible Hulk, does anyone really need that much muscle?"
A good point in and of itself, yeah. But somebody else wins my everlasting admiration for their reply to that: "Yeah, but 'The Plausible Hulk' just doesn't have the same ring to it."
-- END OF LINE --
[[The Oracle would like to know about the last dream you had.]]
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Comments: Read 1 or Add Your Own.
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| Subject: | Indy is BACK |
| Time: | 2:44 am. |
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Just got back from a midnight showing of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Fantastic film, damn near perfect. Worth the 19-year wait, and TOTALLY worth the bone-tired day I'm going to have later on after 4 hours of sleep. Only a few minor quibbles, which I'll talk about later. Sleep now.
-- END OF LINE --
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Comments: Read 13 or Add Your Own.
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| Subject: | Go, Speed Racer, go! |
| Time: | 2:52 pm. |
| Music: | Threshold - Light and Space. |
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So I went to see "Speed Racer" last night with a couple of friends and we had a great time. Let me be clear about one thing right up front: it isn't Great Cinema. There's no deep philosophical message contained within. The conflict is very black and white -- good vs. evil. The acting is pretty much one-note and some of the plot points you can see coming from a mile away. Top all that off with the fact that it's a remake of a cheesy late-60s cartoon and some might say you have a recipe for failure (and that seems to be borne out by the box office returns; it made less than $20M the opening weekend. Got a long way to go before it makes back the estimated $160M cost).
What "Speed Racer" IS is a visual extravaganza that pushes the envelope of digital filmmaking further than anything I've ever seen. I'd heard many reviews praising the effects, the optical flash, the whirl of color and sound. They were all correct but none of them came close to describing what appears onscreen (and I can't either). This is eye candy in its purest, most unadulterated form, absolutely stunning effects that make your head expand. It's all so patently, obviously over-the-top that it becomes quite easy to slip into the fantasy world the Wachowskis have created. Brilliantly lit skies, dazzling vistas, swooping and geometrically impossible tracks, cars whirling about like Matchbox toys, contrails from weapons, streaks left in the air during fistfights....it's a live-action cartoon, is what it is. Which is exactly what I expected and exactly what I hoped for.
Most of the rest of the movie just feels lightweight, which is to be expected considering the source material. Acting? Passable, but nothing extraordinary except for Roger Allam's deliciously evil Royalton. Music? A decent and over-the-top score from Michael Giacchino, who keeps the adrenaline up; I liked the various reinterpretations of the Speed Racer theme, too. Characters? Perfectly good or perfectly evil (there's no middle ground in this film). Story? Pretty much the same as any of the episodes of the TV series (although there was some nicely structured flashback/flashforward paralleling going on in a few places); Speed fights evil by racing it, and wins the day.
Mostly, the Wachowskis have done a very smart thing: they haven't strayed far from the format of the cartoon, remaining very very true to the original even down to keeping its cheesy dialogue, cliched situations and cardboard cutout villains. But as far as pure filmmaking goes, they've done something remarkable with this one. "Speed Racer" redefines what's possible with digital imagery and blending of CGI effects with live-action. It wouldn't work with any film that was less fantastical and over-the-top, but here it just shines. If you're prepared to check your brain at the door and just enjoy yourself for a couple hours, go and have fun. If you want meaning or depth, save your money. As for me, I'll be picking this one up on DVD on release day. Hell, the eye candy in this one may make it worth an upgrade to Blu-Ray.
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[[The Oracle would like to know your favorite childhood cartoon.]]
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Comments: Read 7 or Add Your Own.
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| Subject: | Shell-Head hits the big screen in a big way! |
| Time: | 2:35 pm. |
| Music: | Shawn Lane - Powers of Ten Suite. |
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Okay, so anybody who knows me knows damn well that I'm a huge fan of Iron Man. If you don't, you can look around my apartment a bit. With a collection of IM issues numbering into the mid-200s, several action figures, a few graphic novel collections and a big poster on my wall, you'd figure it out pretty quickly. So it was pretty much a foregone conclusion that I'd go to see the live-action Iron Man when it hit the big screen. With various distractions, though, I hadn't made it to the theater to see it until Sunday afternoon.
I'm happy to report that I was utterly delighted by this movie. As with just about any translation of another medium to the big screen, there are things I would have done differently, other choices I would have made, and a few decisions for which I couldn't figure out the reasons. Nevertheless, Iron Man is a great film on a number of levels. Here is why.
( Behind a cut tag for length reasons and for spoilers. But mostly for copious fanboy geeking out. )
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[[The Oracle would like to know whether you have ever gone hunting.]]
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Comments: Read 9 or Add Your Own.
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| Subject: | I suppose it was inevitable. |
| Time: | 10:03 pm. |
| Music: | Ayreon - Carried by the Wind. |
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I just had the first person ask me when datalopez and I are going to get engaged.
Well, I suppose it was bound to happen sometime.
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[[The Oracle would like to know if you've ever been on a cruise.]]
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Comments: Read 5 or Add Your Own.
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| Subject: | Ah, dammit, I forgot to post about the First of May! |
| Time: | 5:46 pm. |
| Music: | Jonathan Coulton - First of May. |
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Because we all know what happens on the First of May. Jonathan Coulton knows (link goes to a page on his site with lyrics and a download link). Go listen to that song and be amused.
Hope your week has gone better than mine has. I just got some fantastically bad news at work, not a week after getting some fantastically good news. Normally I like roller coasters, but not the emotional / stressful kind.
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[[The Oracle would like to know who you like for the Stanley Cup this year.]]
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Comments: Read 5 or Add Your Own.
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Wednesday, April 30th, 2008
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| Subject: | That damned spinning dancer again |
| Time: | 3:47 pm. |
| Music: | Paul Simon - Proof. |
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A while back there was an animated .GIF image of a spinning dancer that went around the internets at light-speed. The thing purported to be a sort of test. If you see the dancer spinning clockwise, the explanation went, you're more right-brained and creative; if she's spinning counterclockwise, then you're more left-brained and logical.
Now, I love optical illusions, so I jumped on this one. Supposedly, most people are able to cause the dancer to change directions if they stare at the animation long enough. Not me. I stared at that damned thing until my brain whirled, but all I ever saw was her twirling clockwise, always clockwise. I guess that just makes me unusually creative.
Well, the NY Times has put up an interesting article on the dancer, about why the phenomenon occurs, and some more details and insights to offer. There's also a "cheat" provided for those like me who can't force her to change directions -- two slightly modified versions of the .GIF with lines added to help your brain "see" the direction. With those assisting me, I've finally been able to see her spinning counterclockwise.
Except for one thing. Now I can't make her spin CLOCKWISE again, until I look at the "cheat" version that goes clockwise. Whichever of the "cheat" versions I look at -- when I look back at the original again, that's the direction she's spinning in. Whatever direction she's settled on, my brain simply refuses to let go of it.
I give up.
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[[The Oracle would like to know your favorite alcoholic drink.]]
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Comments: Read 7 or Add Your Own.
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