Linkdump for 2-22-07
Radar Magazine article on Joke Stealing [previously]
Michel Gondry solves a Rubik’s Cube with his nose. [previously]
The trailer for This American Life’s new series on Showtime.
Archive for February, 2007
THX 1138
I saw the Star Wars Trilogy re-releases in theaters and most of the changes that Lucas made were immediately apparent (and not just the awful Jabba the Hutt sequence). It was offputting to experience this with a film I had never seen before: THX 1138.
The movie is visually arresting and, judging by the untouched parts of the film, was in its original state. The changes made are detailed (with accompanying screenshots) on this page and there are quite a few that escaped my notice. The lizard in the wiring stands out as I had imagined Lucas gluing antennae and wings to it back in 1971 only to find out they were added with CGI over three decades later. There were a few that were jarring enough to take me out of the film and they are, for the most part, noted in the “Grievances” section at the bottom of that page.
Lisa had a visceral hatred for this film as she does most films that have ambiguous endings and unconventional storytelling. I argued with her as usual, pointing out that she was engaged for the entire film and was moved by some of the imagery, especially the scenes in front of the entertainment hologram. She refuted these claims and stands by her hatred of it. It was rough going getting her to see the movie in the first place. She dismissed it as a sci-fi movie and thus strictly for men, which infuriated me to no end as it’s an argument we always have and no matter how many times I point out that she, in fact, enjoys a great deal of sci-fi, will have again and again in the future. To add insult to injury, when were discussing what would be our next movie, she picked 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Starman
I enjoyed Starman but I couldn’t help but feel it was another 80s movie that I would hold in higher esteem had I seen it during my childhood.
La Jetée
I’ve come up with a ton of excuses. I saw a film comprised entirely of still photography on the pixellated and unpleasant Google Video. I saw the film dubbed in English instead of subtitled in the original french. I saw it as the third of three movies in a row and perhaps fatigue had set in. I’ve been trying to see it for so long (since the 12 Monkeys DVD was released in 1998) that it attained a near-mythical status. Whatever the excuse, the fact remains that I didn’t enjoy La Jetée as much as I thought I would.
The most likely explanation for my being underwhelmed was that it is clearly the inspiration for 12 Monkeys and thus I appraised it as a reader’s digest version of that movie as opposed to viewing 12 Monkeys as the fleshed-out version of it.
It certainly merits a rewatch, but I think I’ll hold out for the still unattainable decent quality, subtitled version.
A Belated Valentine
I’m fairly sure I stole this from somewhere but at the time it felt original.
Inspired by VGcats:
Update
I’m going away for the weekend (again) to Walt Disney World (again). I’ll be back with another crap ton of pictures on Tuesday night, but seeing as I’m behind nearly a week already, I’ll have to kick it into high gear in order to share all the stories and pictures I want to.
I’m still intending to write something about all the media I consume. I’ve already written up a lengthy review of United 93 that is turning out to be more an exploration of my wife’s psyche than the movie itself. I’m limiting the media reviews to Movies, Books and TV/TV DVDs of particular note. I listen to a lot of music but I haven’t bought anything new in quite a while. Any attempt to review music would, I’m sure, make for a paltry selection by year’s end.
I’ve changed the theme (again), this time to a 3-column format. I’m not particularly enamored with this theme, but it was the best-looking 3-column theme I found on short notice. I like the idea of more coherent sidebars and I’ve been looking for a way to get that movie review box more visible without the rest of the layout suffering. Another reason for the move was the tendency for the old theme to squish the photos I posted and, since nearly all of my posts include one or more photos, it was time to rectify that problem.
I’ll see you (and by you I mean no one) back here Wednesday, hopefully with a ton more content.
Why I Keep Going Back
The Tree of Life is the center icon of Disney’s Animal Kingdom. It’s fourteen stories tall and 325 animals are carved into its trunk and branches. You can spend an entire day just admiring the thing, walking around its base and trying to find them all.
Lisa and I made our way through the gardens at the base of the tree for the first time. Here are the photos I took of the incredible sculptures. I doubt I found even close to a quarter of them.
Probably my favorite of the entire lot. It stood in front of this for a good five minutes before realizing that it was there. Even when I first opened the photo to label it, it took a few seconds to materialize out of the tree.
There’s more after the jump, and If you’re at all interested, be sure to check out my Tree of Life set over on Flickr, where I’ve labeled the animals in the more crowded and distant pictures. It’s worth it if only for the Magic Eye effect. You’ll better appreciate the care they put into blending the sculptures into the natural elements of the tree.
February 03, 2007 5:08 PM - Sans Tenzing Norgay
Where I Am: Animal Kingdom, outside Expedition Everest
What I’m Doing: Trying out the new toothy smile
Lisa had decided that this trip I should try a toothy grin instead of my usual smile, which consists of a halfhearted attempt to lift the corners of my mouth. I’m not sure of how happy I am with the results.
The odd thing is that not once did I feel natural smiling and showing my teeth, yet in some of the photos it appears to be natural (although I wouldn’t make that argument for the above picture).
Trip Report: Walt Disney World, February 2nd, 2007 - On the Boardwalk (Boardwalk)
Lisa’s Bus Tire Mickey Ears are entirely unintentional.
We had managed to make it to Walt Disney World with only four bags for three days. I had originally wanted to travel with a single bag. This idea was summarily dismissed as insanity. I may well have asked her to build a tower to the sun. She had a collection of items that must be on her at all times so large that I’m not even sure it’s quantifiable.
When I suggested that we try one checked bag, one carry-on, I was again shot down as a madman. That might be fine if we were transporting a few outfits and the necessary toiletries but if we were we might as well ride the rails as hoboes. No, instead we must transport the entirety of her vast makeup collection as well as several pairs of shoes, in addition to various pieces of clothing whose use was either improbable (two bathing suits, accompanied by the over-wear for the walk down to the pool and the different over-wear for the walk back, all for weather that was rainy and in the low- to mid-fifties) or illogical (I believe there was +5 Boots of Kicking somewhere in there). I countered again with three bags and this seemed to satisfy the requirements of her menagerie but for good measure she insisted on bringing her own carry-on “just because” despite the fact that my carry-on, which I didn’t want to bring in the first place, was filled with the vast bulk of one bulk and a DS lite.
This argument, thankfully, did not set the tone for the rest of the trip which, aside from the plane ride back and a few very minor spats here and there, was free from venomous hate.
Hit the jump for the rest.
February 02, 2007 10:39 PM - Get Me Rex Kramer!
Where I Am: At the Orlando International Airport, on the Escalator
What I’m Doing: Making my way down to the bottom of Terminal B where Magical Express awaits
We took our first weekend getaway to Walt Disney World this weekend and it’s a satisfying style of vacationing that we’re moving towards after our month-long sojourn last year. Well, we’re still going to Europe for three weeks this summer, but after that we’ll be tending toward more frequent, shorter vacations as opposed to the one big event vacation per year. My job enables me to get away a lot more often than Lisa’s does and she’s jealous that I vacation a lot more than she does. I’ll still be able to make a few trips that she won’t be able to, but she won’t feel as left out if we’re heading out on vacation a lot more often.
There’s been a new mark on my upper right cheek that’s appeared in the most recent pictures. It’s not a pimple. It’s what Lisa refers to as my “new freckle” and has expressed on numerous occasions, so many that it may be the only thing she’s said to me since it appeared, that she hates it with every fiber of her being. What’s in the picture is the scarred remains of the new freckle after I, in a misguided attempt to please my wife, scratched it off. I must have convinced myself that it was some prosthetic that had been applied to my face by some mischievous night-time makeup bandit, because I was genuinely surprised when, like any part of your person you try to remove by clawing off, it bled and clotted and became all that more noticeable.
It’s since returned to its normal state and is more of a blemish than a freckle now. Lisa hasn’t complained since, probably because it’s not as bad as the protruding scab pictured above.
If you’re interested in the Disney trip itself, there’s separate posts for the trip reports.
