Yeah, it's been too long since I've updated this thing. I do need to put together some sort of outline for what I want to do with this page. Until then, I'm going to watch Godzilla movies.
http://www.crackle.com/outreach/godzilla/?cmpid=627#id=2449082
While all sophisticates with outstanding taste already own these films it's still neat to see them up and running at the touch of a button.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Outside interests
This blog sucks. I know it, you know it, it's as obvious as the nose on your face. While I am committed to making this a better on-line experience it ain't going to be happening today. Until I get my act together why not check out another page that is actually good?
To that end I recommend Art-Eater. Try it today, it's good stuff.
To that end I recommend Art-Eater. Try it today, it's good stuff.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
It's Alive
There are times I think I should start playing with a rock or some other hobby that uses objects that have no moving parts whatsoever. It seems that the more complex of an item I buy the more likely it is to have some bit of it stop working. The latest gizmo that decided to up and die on me was my Playstation 3. Okay, I'm overstating the problem by saying it "died" but it did suddenly clamp down on the game that it was running and would not let go. While I did like the game that it was hoarding at some point I knew I was going to want to play something else.
So what to do? I called up a local game store but they weren't much help. Not only did the guy on the phone unequivocally state that they didn't repair PS3 systems but he seemed slightly frightened that I would suggest he attempt such a feat. From the way he described it my only options were to buy a new system, box my console up and mail it to Sony or some other equally drastic measure. I was certain there had to be an easier solution to my problem so I called up the city's really odd game store. Independent stores often develop their own personalities but this place has taken every eccentricity to be found in a hole in the wall store and run with it. The store is stuffed to the rafters with hippies and cats. A strong litter box odor permeates the place, which must work wonders for discouraging loitering. I assume the smell is coming from the cats and other animals that call the place home but you never can tell. When I explained my console's predicament to them they quoted me a flat fee before even looking at the machine. Later, when I was in the store I heard them quote the exact same repair price to someone else for a different system. There's a strong possibility that every service offered by the store is priced identically just to cut down on paper work.
But for all the store's tics they actually do good work. After tinkering with my PS3 for a few days the store called me up, asked for the one amount of money they knew how to deal with, and gave me back a fixed console. I have no idea what they did but my PS3 has not run this well in ages. The only problem I've come across so far is that my PS3 smells like cat crap but I'm certain that will pass after it's had a few days to air out.
So what to do? I called up a local game store but they weren't much help. Not only did the guy on the phone unequivocally state that they didn't repair PS3 systems but he seemed slightly frightened that I would suggest he attempt such a feat. From the way he described it my only options were to buy a new system, box my console up and mail it to Sony or some other equally drastic measure. I was certain there had to be an easier solution to my problem so I called up the city's really odd game store. Independent stores often develop their own personalities but this place has taken every eccentricity to be found in a hole in the wall store and run with it. The store is stuffed to the rafters with hippies and cats. A strong litter box odor permeates the place, which must work wonders for discouraging loitering. I assume the smell is coming from the cats and other animals that call the place home but you never can tell. When I explained my console's predicament to them they quoted me a flat fee before even looking at the machine. Later, when I was in the store I heard them quote the exact same repair price to someone else for a different system. There's a strong possibility that every service offered by the store is priced identically just to cut down on paper work.
But for all the store's tics they actually do good work. After tinkering with my PS3 for a few days the store called me up, asked for the one amount of money they knew how to deal with, and gave me back a fixed console. I have no idea what they did but my PS3 has not run this well in ages. The only problem I've come across so far is that my PS3 smells like cat crap but I'm certain that will pass after it's had a few days to air out.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Links and things
The beauty of the internet is that you can find the darndest things when you are blindly following links. For example, today I came across the following:
http://www.youtube.com/user/ponmenoko#p/a
I found this YouTube page dedicated to a cat, ukulele music and some sort of poorly constructed computer characters to be self-centered, charming and horrifying all at the same time. It's everything that I wish this blog could be.
http://www.youtube.com/user/ponmenoko#p/a
I found this YouTube page dedicated to a cat, ukulele music and some sort of poorly constructed computer characters to be self-centered, charming and horrifying all at the same time. It's everything that I wish this blog could be.
Friday, June 4, 2010
National Doughnut Day
As a reminder, the first Friday in June is National Doughnut Day.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Doughnut_Day
Truly, this is a great day for America.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Doughnut_Day
Truly, this is a great day for America.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Double Trouble
When it comes to my movie selections I try to make my choices as scatter shot as possible. For example, if I just finished watching a Western I'll try to find something for my next viewing that doesn't involve cowboy trappings. But even when I try to randomize my choices as much as possible I don't always succeed.
For instance, take two movies I watched recently. The first was An American in Paris. To refresh your memory that's the one where Gene Kelly is in Paris in order to... um, well, whatever it is, he ends up dancing a lot. Great stuff, either way. The second film was Tokyo Gore Police/Tôkyô zankoku keisatsu. That film opened with the heroine propelling herself through the air with a bazooka and then hacking a zombie to death with a chainsaw. This film was also not without merit.
After watching the third or fourth character blast themselves into the air in Tokyo Gore Police I realized that the two films had far more in common than what I had initially expected. Before the double feature I thought they had nothing in common so that's not saying much but nevertheless the movies were stylistically similar. Both movies were built around show-stopping moments. The bits of dialogue and character development were nice but those served as moments for the audience to catch its collective breath as much as anything. While watching both films I found myself marking time until the next dance or dismemberment number. The two movies served as wonderful examples of cinema as spectacle. I'm certain that the creators of An American in Paris would be horrified at the comparison -come to think of it, the people behind Tokyo Gore Police might not be thrilled with it either- but I found both films worked for me on the same level.
For instance, take two movies I watched recently. The first was An American in Paris. To refresh your memory that's the one where Gene Kelly is in Paris in order to... um, well, whatever it is, he ends up dancing a lot. Great stuff, either way. The second film was Tokyo Gore Police/Tôkyô zankoku keisatsu. That film opened with the heroine propelling herself through the air with a bazooka and then hacking a zombie to death with a chainsaw. This film was also not without merit.
After watching the third or fourth character blast themselves into the air in Tokyo Gore Police I realized that the two films had far more in common than what I had initially expected. Before the double feature I thought they had nothing in common so that's not saying much but nevertheless the movies were stylistically similar. Both movies were built around show-stopping moments. The bits of dialogue and character development were nice but those served as moments for the audience to catch its collective breath as much as anything. While watching both films I found myself marking time until the next dance or dismemberment number. The two movies served as wonderful examples of cinema as spectacle. I'm certain that the creators of An American in Paris would be horrified at the comparison -come to think of it, the people behind Tokyo Gore Police might not be thrilled with it either- but I found both films worked for me on the same level.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Sunrise, sunset
The other day I saw that a local video store was going out of business. If this had been some corporate chain store I would not have thought twice about it but instead it was a small mom 'n pop store.
The loss of this store struck me, but why? It certainly wasn't the advertising. This was one of those places that didn't bother with fancy marketing and simply had a sign saying VIDEO plastered over the door. Instead the ramshackle approach to distributing movies a small store like that had was, in its own way, charming. There's something to be said for a store that not only stocked VHS tapes well into the 21st century but would put bootleg VHS tapes out on the shelves for rent without a hint of shame.
I also always admired independent stores such as that one for their glut of pornography. Because they couldn't compete with the big stores directly locally owned video places often went for other, more specialized approaches. Sometimes this meant trying to build up a quality collection of movies for all the cinephiles in town to enjoy. The lazier approach was to stock porn. My heart breaks to think that a store can strive to bring a plethora of the pornographic arts to a community and still somehow go out of business... wait, what the heck am I talking about?
The loss of this store struck me, but why? It certainly wasn't the advertising. This was one of those places that didn't bother with fancy marketing and simply had a sign saying VIDEO plastered over the door. Instead the ramshackle approach to distributing movies a small store like that had was, in its own way, charming. There's something to be said for a store that not only stocked VHS tapes well into the 21st century but would put bootleg VHS tapes out on the shelves for rent without a hint of shame.
I also always admired independent stores such as that one for their glut of pornography. Because they couldn't compete with the big stores directly locally owned video places often went for other, more specialized approaches. Sometimes this meant trying to build up a quality collection of movies for all the cinephiles in town to enjoy. The lazier approach was to stock porn. My heart breaks to think that a store can strive to bring a plethora of the pornographic arts to a community and still somehow go out of business... wait, what the heck am I talking about?
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