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grrgoylI don't have a lot to say, but a week without updating is like a week without showering (which has been known to happen rarely, and doesn't do much to endear me to the ladies, if you know what I mean). And since my readership appears to have dwindled again, the beauty of talking to yourself is you don't get tired of listening.
I think I can finally put a period on the iClone. The auction ended at $113, a satisfactory increase from the starting price of $70 (which one joker stopped by and offered me on the spot, hinting that it would be the best I could expect since the phone was used. As the saying goes, I was born on a Monday, but not LAST Monday).
For the longest time my winning bidder was a guy in Germany, which kind of sucked considering I offered free worldwide shipping to entice buyers. Fortunately he was outbid by a guy in New York, whose Asian name, right or wrong, set my mind at rest about his ability to deal with the bizarre Korean programming the device features.
I had intended to ship it First Class, but didn't take into account that the package size fell outside the parameters. The clerk, accustomed to my normally rushed attitude (I typically pop in there before starting work in the mornings), didn't really make my options clear, and before I knew it I had paid $9 to send the thing Parcel Post, the most agonizingly slow shipping method.
I left, but couldn't stop thinking about it. I thought about how much I hate waiting for my stuff. I thought about how sometimes I'm willing to overlook small flaws in my purchases if the seller is friendly and it comes quickly, and as far as I'm concerned this phone, practically new or not, is one of the most flawed pieces of engineering I've ever seen. Sure, I can't be blamed for how it's made, but unlike ccslickscompany, I wasn't willing to leave anything to chance.
So I went back to the post office and I upgraded to Priority, a difference of only $1.65. Which I would've done in a heartbeat the first time if I'd known. He received it yesterday and left me positive feedback, so I think I can finally move on. I'm sure that's a relief to all of us. See, ccslickscompany? Was that so hard??
~*~
A bit of a PS to Mr. Tony from the party, the fanboy psychostalker.
Deb and I had retreated upstairs to look something up on the computer. Tony followed us up and, as is his way, totally took over the conversation. I showed Deb my spiffy Rickman mousepad and he exclaimed excitedly, "Oh, I love that guy!" Surprised, I of course concurred. "Have you ever seen him in that movie when he plays Jack the Ripper?" I had not, and Deb and I both looked at each other quizzically. "It's AWESOME!" he enthused.
At this point I've seen just about every second of Rickman that's been committed to celluloid, with the exception of Michael Collins (don't know what I'm waiting for) and of course his more obscure BBC stuff. I think, in all my covetous drooling over his filmography, I would have heard of him playing Jack the Ripper.
The answer of course is that he never did. Tony was thinking of David Warner, who played Saucy Jack in a sci-fi flick called Time After Time (I like David Warner fine, though thank god it isn't an obsession. The man's resumé is longer than my whole body). Based on Tony's exuberant description -- something about Jack discovering a time machine and being chased by HG Wells across time -- it sounds unbearably cheesy and silly, and lord knows my cheese tolerance is pretty high. Plus, how do you confuse Alan Rickman with David Warner?
Then as Tony was exiting the loft area, he stopped long enough to feign shock and outrage over my Snarry display (see icon), which from there was a natural progression to the rampant homophobia we saw downstairs. Just get back into your closet, you self-hating homo.
~*~
Now, for some quickie movie reviews!!!
Igor: Burtonesque animation. More star power than an Oscar™ after-party. Clever evil plays on words (like one of the characters has an assortment of personalities, two of which are named Jacqueline and Heidi (get it?)). Steve Buscemi and Sean Hayes. And John Cusack. This movie has it all! It's cute, with some really funny moments compliments of Buscemi and Hayes. I'll bet it will look even better on Blu-ray.
The Wind That Shakes the Barley: Starring a young, rosy-cheeked Cillian Murphy, this is a Braveheart knock-off of the birth of the IRA. Fairly engaging, if a bit gloomy. It made me liken the IRA's struggle against England to the Middle East conflict, in that after all these decades of fighting there's just too much bloodshed on both sides for the score to ever be even. More depressing than Igor.
Lars and the Real Girl: Not what we expected. For some reason from the title I thought it was some Kevin Smith type sex romp. Not so. Instead it's a quiet little comedy about Lars (Ryan Gosling, who as Tery says looks more like David Arquette than David Arquette), a shy, awkward young man under near constant pressure to mate. So he orders a RealDoll© and treats her like his girlfriend, except respecting her enough to sleep in separate beds. His small Minnesotan (Ontario, Canada) town gamely plays along, treating Bianca like a person, which inevitably causes a bit of a rift for Lars the homebody when she's invited to more social events than him. Like Igor, there are some truly funny moments, and the end is predictably touching. I don't think this would make much difference in Blu-ray.
Religulous: I knew I'd love this. Bill Maher is just too goofy to truly offend anyone, though he comes close in this movie. He sets out seemingly genuinely curious to learn about the basis of religious belief, however, some people get a bit tetchy when he phrases the question, "I just want to know what makes otherwise intelligent human beings believe so strongly in science fiction?" Of course the majority of the movie focuses on the crackpots, which is what I enjoy. The end is a tad heavyhanded when he hypothesizes that religious fervor will lead to the destruction of humanity in the not too distant future, not that I disagree. The deleted scenes are almost as entertaining as the feature. Highly recommended.
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist: The name is appropriate. This movie is like a soundtrack with a screenplay written around it. But it stars Michael Cera, who we adore, and reminds me so much of 200 Cigarettes (LOVE that movie) that a purchase is assured. Highly quotable ("It's not a cab, my friend, I promise you", "I never wash my pants. I like to keep the night on them"), the most unforgettable toilet scene since Trainspotting, and hitting all the spots of the Big Apple (short of Central Park, and don't think Tery didn't notice that), it's almost a buddy roadtrip movie with a brain. It also almost made me wish I lived near New York, where such all-night adventures are totally possible (before remembering I like being in bed by 11). LOVED IT.
I think I can finally put a period on the iClone. The auction ended at $113, a satisfactory increase from the starting price of $70 (which one joker stopped by and offered me on the spot, hinting that it would be the best I could expect since the phone was used. As the saying goes, I was born on a Monday, but not LAST Monday).
For the longest time my winning bidder was a guy in Germany, which kind of sucked considering I offered free worldwide shipping to entice buyers. Fortunately he was outbid by a guy in New York, whose Asian name, right or wrong, set my mind at rest about his ability to deal with the bizarre Korean programming the device features.
I had intended to ship it First Class, but didn't take into account that the package size fell outside the parameters. The clerk, accustomed to my normally rushed attitude (I typically pop in there before starting work in the mornings), didn't really make my options clear, and before I knew it I had paid $9 to send the thing Parcel Post, the most agonizingly slow shipping method.
I left, but couldn't stop thinking about it. I thought about how much I hate waiting for my stuff. I thought about how sometimes I'm willing to overlook small flaws in my purchases if the seller is friendly and it comes quickly, and as far as I'm concerned this phone, practically new or not, is one of the most flawed pieces of engineering I've ever seen. Sure, I can't be blamed for how it's made, but unlike ccslickscompany, I wasn't willing to leave anything to chance.
So I went back to the post office and I upgraded to Priority, a difference of only $1.65. Which I would've done in a heartbeat the first time if I'd known. He received it yesterday and left me positive feedback, so I think I can finally move on. I'm sure that's a relief to all of us. See, ccslickscompany? Was that so hard??
~*~
A bit of a PS to Mr. Tony from the party, the fanboy psychostalker.
Deb and I had retreated upstairs to look something up on the computer. Tony followed us up and, as is his way, totally took over the conversation. I showed Deb my spiffy Rickman mousepad and he exclaimed excitedly, "Oh, I love that guy!" Surprised, I of course concurred. "Have you ever seen him in that movie when he plays Jack the Ripper?" I had not, and Deb and I both looked at each other quizzically. "It's AWESOME!" he enthused.
At this point I've seen just about every second of Rickman that's been committed to celluloid, with the exception of Michael Collins (don't know what I'm waiting for) and of course his more obscure BBC stuff. I think, in all my covetous drooling over his filmography, I would have heard of him playing Jack the Ripper.
The answer of course is that he never did. Tony was thinking of David Warner, who played Saucy Jack in a sci-fi flick called Time After Time (I like David Warner fine, though thank god it isn't an obsession. The man's resumé is longer than my whole body). Based on Tony's exuberant description -- something about Jack discovering a time machine and being chased by HG Wells across time -- it sounds unbearably cheesy and silly, and lord knows my cheese tolerance is pretty high. Plus, how do you confuse Alan Rickman with David Warner?
Then as Tony was exiting the loft area, he stopped long enough to feign shock and outrage over my Snarry display (see icon), which from there was a natural progression to the rampant homophobia we saw downstairs. Just get back into your closet, you self-hating homo.
~*~
Now, for some quickie movie reviews!!!
Igor: Burtonesque animation. More star power than an Oscar™ after-party. Clever evil plays on words (like one of the characters has an assortment of personalities, two of which are named Jacqueline and Heidi (get it?)). Steve Buscemi and Sean Hayes. And John Cusack. This movie has it all! It's cute, with some really funny moments compliments of Buscemi and Hayes. I'll bet it will look even better on Blu-ray.
The Wind That Shakes the Barley: Starring a young, rosy-cheeked Cillian Murphy, this is a Braveheart knock-off of the birth of the IRA. Fairly engaging, if a bit gloomy. It made me liken the IRA's struggle against England to the Middle East conflict, in that after all these decades of fighting there's just too much bloodshed on both sides for the score to ever be even. More depressing than Igor.
Lars and the Real Girl: Not what we expected. For some reason from the title I thought it was some Kevin Smith type sex romp. Not so. Instead it's a quiet little comedy about Lars (Ryan Gosling, who as Tery says looks more like David Arquette than David Arquette), a shy, awkward young man under near constant pressure to mate. So he orders a RealDoll© and treats her like his girlfriend, except respecting her enough to sleep in separate beds. His small Minnesotan (Ontario, Canada) town gamely plays along, treating Bianca like a person, which inevitably causes a bit of a rift for Lars the homebody when she's invited to more social events than him. Like Igor, there are some truly funny moments, and the end is predictably touching. I don't think this would make much difference in Blu-ray.
Religulous: I knew I'd love this. Bill Maher is just too goofy to truly offend anyone, though he comes close in this movie. He sets out seemingly genuinely curious to learn about the basis of religious belief, however, some people get a bit tetchy when he phrases the question, "I just want to know what makes otherwise intelligent human beings believe so strongly in science fiction?" Of course the majority of the movie focuses on the crackpots, which is what I enjoy. The end is a tad heavyhanded when he hypothesizes that religious fervor will lead to the destruction of humanity in the not too distant future, not that I disagree. The deleted scenes are almost as entertaining as the feature. Highly recommended.
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist: The name is appropriate. This movie is like a soundtrack with a screenplay written around it. But it stars Michael Cera, who we adore, and reminds me so much of 200 Cigarettes (LOVE that movie) that a purchase is assured. Highly quotable ("It's not a cab, my friend, I promise you", "I never wash my pants. I like to keep the night on them"), the most unforgettable toilet scene since Trainspotting, and hitting all the spots of the Big Apple (short of Central Park, and don't think Tery didn't notice that), it's almost a buddy roadtrip movie with a brain. It also almost made me wish I lived near New York, where such all-night adventures are totally possible (before remembering I like being in bed by 11). LOVED IT.
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no subject
Date: 2009-03-06 02:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-06 04:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-06 04:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-06 04:35 pm (UTC)Tery thought I always confused Hayek and Penelope Cruz because they're both Latin, but I think Penelope is infinitely sweeter-looking and prettier than both of them.
no subject
Date: 2009-03-06 03:20 pm (UTC)Re: Snarry... I've been tempted to put my 10th Doctor and Capt. Jack Harkness in an amorous embrace, but I kept getting the silly giggles.
no subject
Date: 2009-03-06 04:24 pm (UTC)And shyeah, you have to see the Igor. Your Steve is so funny.
If/when you overcome the giggles, I demand photo evidence!
no subject
Date: 2009-03-10 05:37 am (UTC)I'm happy your iClone ordeal worked out okay. I think I should go on ebay and leave you some positive feedback just for the hell of it, for all the crap you have to put up with. But I bet I'll have to win one of your auctions first. Will you be auctioning off some Snarry art work? What did ClosetCaseTony think of that? (Or did you have to take that down for the party?)
Zeta Jones = big Welsh head, Selma Hayek = less big head, Penelope Cruz = tiny ant-sized head. Maybe that will help?
no subject
Date: 2009-03-10 09:01 pm (UTC)I am too. Whereas I'm glad it gives me blog fodder, really no one should go through this much stress just trying to buy something off eBay. The Snarry artwork stays here, and is still stowed discreetly in a drawer. It was bad enough the mocking I endured for my dollies. If I'd left the art up he would have screamed like a girl and run for the bathroom to toss off.
LOL No, it doesn't help but it's amusing as hell.