Depression Is Fun!

The weather still being what it is this week, the wife and I both slept late today, until hunger pangs actually drove me from the bed. I set out to pick up some Thai, as one of our local places is to be closed for the next month while they go on vacation & I wanted to see them off, as it were. The wife was up when I got back with lunch, so we watched the last episode of Supernatural that we had on our current disc and then made our way through a good chunk of the stuff on the TiVo, at least normal television-wise; the thing is always brimming with movies.



The thing that truly made me happy and laugh out loud numerous times this afternoon was the new Louis CK show Louie from FX, which (like his stand-up comedy) may actually prove to be a little too brutally honest and depressing for most audiences. The set-up is that of Louis CK basically playing himself as a divorced father of two girls, working as a comedian whose act is comprised of reiterating the depressing shit like the fact that at a best case scenario, you'll meet someone you love who will then eventually die and leave you alone. I mean, I know it's true, like the Fight Club narration says: "On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero." but it may not play well in the course of a comedy series. It had a ton of hilariously uncomfortable moments, great stuff, I'd highly recommend it if you think you can handle the truth. Below is a truly bizarre NSFW riff on what Louie thinks he might end up doing should the whole comedy thing not pan out.



We ended up watching something I'd purchased on a wild hair recently, the documentary Going To Pieces: The Rise And Fall Of The Slasher Film, which was interrupted by someone dropping by unannounced to discuss some for the non-profit goings on that the wife has been involved with recently, which was annoying, but not extraordinarily so as I like the person in question well enough. We finished the movie afterward and then wound down our evening with a bit of snacking in the kitchen in lieu of dinner and then watched most of the third disc of The Critic set.

Be seeing you.

Tag, you're it, Baggy Eyes! Lunch, Television, Supernatural, DVD, Louie, Louis CK, Movies, Going To Pieces: The Rise And Fall Of The Slasher Film, The Critic

Supernatural Craziness

The weather continues to defy any semblance of 'Summer' and is filled with occasional bouts of rain that makes me want to go to the garage and let the car purr me to sleep or take a gun to my head. I have no idea how all those people in the Pacific Northwest handle this type of shit year-round, I pretty much wanna kill myself if it's rainy for more than 24 hours. I can't imagine how much this would be exacerbated were I to suddenly become some kind of an outdoorsy type and actually be missing out on activities right now.

I did our recycling and ran another errand to the post office while I was out, as the Swap a DVD activity has been fairly brisk this week. I also stopped into the local books, music and video outlet, who just so happened to have the best price on the newly released Blu-ray of The Crazies. I took along a couple DVD's that I didn't find that I could get anything for on either Swap a DVD nor Amazon, figuring at the very least it'd knock a buck or two off the price of the movie. While browsing I happened to see one of what I soon realized was our local police force speaking loudly on his cellphone, trailed by several fat children that looked like little ham hocks off the old block, if you catch my drift. All I'm saying is that if I (God forbid) ever have to call a cop, I don't want some lard-ass guy that I can outrun myself turning up to catch my burglar. I wanna see some young buck in his prime roll up, a dude with 1% bodyfat who can get some shit done.

I watched some more of The Critic this afternoon while the wife caught a nap, the Yorkie having roused her during an early morning thunderstorm. The wife eventually joined me in the late afternoon, then the two of us popped in The Crazies, to see what that was all about. I like the leads (Timothy Olyphant and Radha Mitchell), so I figured that this was already at least a leg up on the original film from George Romero, which I was fairly underwhelmed by. I enjoyed the re-make well enough, though it's nothing I need to bump to the top of any top ten lists or anything of that sort.

We paused to grab some leftovers for dinner, then spent the rest of the evening with the 2nd disc from Supernatural season 4, though it got late on us and we only saw three of the four episodes before calling it a night.

Be seeing you.

Tag, you're it, Baggy Eyes! Shitty Weather, Errands, Swap A DVD, Shopping, Blu-ray, The Crazies, Timothy Olyphant, Radha Mitchell, George Romero, Television, The Critic, Supernatural, DVD

Okay, Maybe TOMORROW Will Be The Day We Get Things Done...

The wife and I got up with the alarm this morning and she asked me if I could take her to drop off the rental car that her insurance had paid for this past month, then take her to pick up the Jeep she'll be borrowing from the Mother In Law until her car is finally ready to be picked up. I had my own agenda of errand, lunch and a few other little things that I thought I would be doing today, but I figured I could take a few to run the wife around in the morning. We paused briefly on the way so that I could mail a couple things at the post office, as the Swap A DVD thing is moving fairly briskly for me, at least for the moment.

The next thing I know, the Jeep is unavailable due to the MIL's Maid having absconded with it to do the grocery shopping for several hours, so we stopped by there but soon realized that the wife had errands to run, so I drove her to do that, dropping off lunch for one of her non-profits before stopping back by the MIL's house, where the Maid was finally back and unloading food. I dropped the wife off to pick up the vehicle and headed home to kill an hour before I was supposed to meet my buddy EL for lunch.

I piddled around the house for a bit, then went and ate, caught up with EL, made the same plans to get together next week and headed back home.

Once back at the crib I found myself amazingly unmotivated to do any of the things I woke up this morning thinking I'd do today, which included the recycling, writing for a couple of reviews and catching up on a few things I needed to watch to start writing about. I eventually gave up on this idea entirely and headed back to the Media Closet to sort and re-arrange a few things to accommodate the movies I have on the To-Watch Pile, as well as allowing for the watched items to have a proper home on the shelves.

The wife had some kinda nonsense to be involved with from around 4:00 in the afternoon until after 9:00 this evening, so she split for that while I was still sorting and spacing stuff out to look normal instead of like we'd been robbed. I eventually popped in the first disc of The Critic, the series that I'd picked up super cheap in a Black Friday sale last year after Thanksgiving and had wanted to re-watch for some time. There was a weird little bout of rain that blew through, which gave the Yorkie something to wig out about, then she finally settled down until the wife got home.

We watched the first episode of the new season of Hung, then the wife retired to the bedroom to check out her iPad, which arrived this afternoon in her absence. I started half-heartedly pissing around with this post, taking some time to burn a few CD's in the background to get some random music downloads off the PC.

Maybe I can accomplish something tomorrow.

Be seeing you.

Tag, you're it, Baggy Eyes! Errands, Post Office, Swap A DVD, Media Closet, Television, The Critic, Hung, iPad

Dysfunctional, But Sweet

Ugh, so as I sit down to write this the weather suddenly chooses to get all fucky, the thunder sending the Yorkie tear-assing around the house in her now expected weirded out state. While I feel bad for her being upset, it's also frustrating because she won't calm down long enough for you to even try and comfort her, she just runs through the room, possibly pausing to scratch at your leg for a few before running off in her hysterical state to bug the next person.

I slept half my damned day away after being up much later than I had intended, then picked up a little lunch for myself after realizing the wife had already eaten because of how late it was. When I returned with my food we chilled in the den and watched this week's episode of Ghost Hunters Academy, then we finally finished up the 2nd season of The United States Of Tara, which was a rather emotional finale and filled in a little bit more towards explaining the origins of Tara's various personalities, but never telling us enough to give closure to that mystery. Great writing, I have to say that the show feels like it has found its stride this season and I'm looking forward to the next run, though I have no idea when the new episodes begin.

The wife caught a nap in the late afternoon, I took the free time to finish up the rest of Hopeless Pictures off Netfux Instant Watch, then the wife and I spent the evening breezing through the Fox Animation re-runs before the latest episode of True Blood to wrap up our evening.

I headed to the web to piddle with this nonsense just in time for the weather to finally turn rainy and upset the poor dog.

Be seeing you.

Tag, you're it, Baggy Eyes! Lunch, Television, Ghost Hunters Academy, The United States Of Tara, Hopeless Pictures, Netflix Instant Watch, True Blood

This Is Not An Exhibition!

The wife had a few odd errands this morning, including a manicure and pedicure, so I slept in a bit, then got up and made some coffee and was piddling around the Office on the web a bit when the wife texted me to see if I needed anything special from the grocery store. I assured her that I did not and started trying to knock a review together for a movie I watched a few days back, but was having little success. I just wasn't feeling it, so when the wife got home I viewed helping her with groceries as a welcome distraction and we put the new provisions away and caught up a bit on our respective days.

I ended up watching a little something from the To-Watch Pile in the afternoon, one of those films I've always felt guilty for not having checked out yet. That's right kids, I watched Enter The Dragon in its entirety this afternoon, for what I believe was the first time. I've always seen bits of it, and it's been referenced by every other movie I can imagine by this point in time, but I had never taken the time to see the whole film. Great stuff, I can see why Bruce Lee's death was such a loss to the community, he has a great screen presence and did some truly amazing things on film.

The wife and I had dinner plans with friends who live around the corner, so we showered and dressed to go and do that. During this process I was happy to hear that the dinner was just us and the other couple, as I'd anticipated a larger group of couples, which I wasn't looking forward to, so the more intimate setting was a welcome revelation. Dinner ate up the entire evening, so by the time we walked the block back home it was starting to rain, the sky lighting up like broad daylight periodically as lightning crashed in the distance and on occasion closer than I found comforting. We got home to a shaken Yorkie, who was not amused at all by the sounds of the storm, but she's thankfully been able to settle now that things have rolled on through the area.

I'm beat and ate a bit too much at dinner, but the grilled steaks were just so damned good.

Be seeing you.

Tag, you're it, Baggy Eyes! Writing, Reviews, Movies, Enter The Dragon, Bruce Lee, Blu-ray, To-Watch Pile, Dinner, Friends

"I Don't Like The Look Of That V-GNY"

In keeping with the common theme of late: I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning, then slept in longer than I intended to. I felt a bit ashamed of my pizza gorging last night, so I dressed and headed out to grab something light like a salad or something for my lunch, then arrived back at the house just as the wife got home from her now standard battery of bullshit meetings which had eaten her entire morning. We caught up, then I chilled out in the den with some TiVo'd Futurama, catching up on the Comedy Central re-run of the last straight-to-DVD movie, then the first 2 episodes of the new season.

I would have to say that Futurama is one of those shows that has snuck up on me, as I've never exactly sought it out, but if it's on, or if TiVo suggested it, I'd give the show a look, and now I think I may just have to watch them as soon as they come out. It's got an interesting tone that I would be hard pressed to describe, mixing modern sensibilities with oddly over the top future visions to a wonderful effect. But they're not above the casual low-brow joke here or there; the title of tonight's post was nicked from one of the episodes last night.

The series of episodes and my late rising basically ate up my day, so once I was caught up on those I hopped online for a bit, adding a few more titles to the Swap A DVD site and marking a movie I'd received as such so the other guy would get his 'credit' for sending it. I also realized that I had an extra copy of a Blu-ray film that I could get a couple credits for on this site, which would get me closer to picking up a boxset of stuff that I had been eyeing, so that's cool, as some dude has already requested it. Looks like I'll be at the Post Office again this coming Monday.

The wife and I ordered in some food this evening and watched the Blu-ray of Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call New Orleans off the old To-Watch Pile. The film was really fun, though as enjoyable as it is watching Nicolas Cage chew scenery, I'm curious how it'll feel on repeated viewings, knowing the directions it takes. There were just a few bits that felt odd to me in their tone during this initial viewing, but knowing that they're coming might allow me to enjoy it more on a 2nd look.

We wrapped the evening with The Soup, then I put the wife to bed watching some special about Michael Jackson still being dead and headed to the web to work on this and make my usual evening rounds.

Be seeing you.

Tag, you're it, Baggy Eyes! Television, TiVo, Futurama, DVD, Swap A DVD, Bad Lieutenant Port Of Call New Orleans, Blu-ray, Nicolas Cage, The Soup

Zombies, Violence, Gangsters

The wife and I got up with the alarm today, she showered and I looked around on Twitter for a bit, then dressed and we headed out to give Brian a ride to the airport. The wife was set to go and do this on her own, but I offered to ride along just for kicks, so we did some running around afterward, stopped into Target, picked up Starbuck's, then she dropped me back at the house before she had to be at yet another meeting.

I basically spent a good chunk of the day getting some things caught up on the computer, paying bills, getting a few lists updated, basically a bunch of busywork that kept me tied up for several hours until the wife got home.

I ended up putting on something I wasn't planning on reviewing just to pas the time while I sorted through some mail and other stuff in the den, so I watched the Rifftrax version of Night Of The Living Dead while I piddled around with that for a bit while the wife fielded phonecalls about yet another crisis that's turned up with her non-profit albatross of the moment.

In the late afternoon I ended up throwing in something from the To-Watch Pile, the Blu-ray of Shoot 'Em Up that's languished on the nightstand forever. The film is fun on the second look as well, I really dig the silly, cartoonish violence of it, and I don't know a man alive who doesn't love Monica Bellucci.

We ordered in a pizza in the evening, spent some time allowing the wife to decompress from the drama of the day, then re-watched the Blu-ray of RocknRolla off the To-Watch Pile to wind up our night. I actually dozed through about 20 minutes of the back half of the film as our early morning caught up with me a little, but came around in time for the climax.

We called it a night around 10:00, as is our custom.

Be seeing you.

Tag, you're it, Baggy Eyes! Errands, Movies, To-Watch Pile, Night Of The Living Dead, RiffTrax, Shoot Em Up, Monica Bellucci, RocknRolla, Reviews

Technology = Kryptonite

I was up late last night getting a few things taken care of on the web, so I slept late this morning. By the time I got up my day felt half gone anyway, so I dressed and decided to head out and take a prowl through Big Lots, as not knowing what crap they have piled up is a maddening state of affairs, figuring I'd pick up some food on the way home.

I was pleasantly surprised to find a few new items at Big Lots, including a Peter Weller flick called Of Unknown Origin that I recently read about in a book on cult film, so that was kinda cool, along with a few other odds and ends, including a 4-disc edition of the 1st Superman film. I don't think I've seen Superman in at least 10 years, so I'm curious to see how that holds up.

I grabbed a burger and headed home, where the wife had returned from her latest series of meetings, so we visited a bit, then I left her to catch up with some stuff in the Office while I chilled in the den and watched a few things off the TiVo, another episode of The Pacific (I'm slowly but surely chipping away at this mini-series), the latest TiVo suggested episode of The Boondocks, just a bunch of random stuff. I eventually settled in and threw in a flick I need to review for Pop Syndicate.

I Sell The Dead was a pretty entertaining little flick, I enjoyed Dominic Monaghan and Larry Fessenden as the leads, though it does sort of yadda yadda over the logistics of how they go from 'normal' grave-robbers to people dealing in the supernatural, or rather how easily the supernatural enters into their lives and doesn't seem to faze them all that much. I'd say it's worth a look, though it's never all that much of a horror-comedy, it's more straight horror than anything.

I picked up Thai for our dinner and we watched another episode of The United States Of Tara, another program we've been slowly but surely creeping along with. I was shocked to realize that we'd let the entire season pass without watching a single episode, so no we're left playing catch up. It's been a fun season, I think Diablo Cody may've toned down her hipper than thou dialog just a smidge, or perhaps I've simply become inured to it. Either way, I've enjoyed where the show has gone this season, I'm looking forward tot he last three or so episodes we have left.

On a complete wild hair I popped in the recently acquired Blu-ray of An American Werewolf In London, because I wanted to give it another look, then check out the Beware The Moon documentary in the special features. Imagine my surprise when I realize that the Goddamned player doesn't want to play the documentary and locks up when it attempts to even do so. I attempted several times, tried to jump ahead in the doc rather than playing from the beginning, no dice, same stalling out thing happens each time. I finally calmed down enough not to break anything and instead took it into the bedroom to see if the PS3 would play ball with it, or if it was something to do with the disc. The Playstation was also in a mood, whinging about an update, so I had to wait around for it to do all that nonsense, but I eventually got it to play the damned movie, so I suspect that our Samsung player is possibly in need of some kind of firmware patch, which I will deal with when I'm less incensed.

As I type this the iPhone and iTunes are embroiled in the lengthy process of updating their programs and all the other bells and whistles that I doubt I give a shit to have, but have foisted on me periodically by Apple. The process apparently backs everything up, then takes the phone back to factory settings for the purposes of updating software, then re-installs the backed up items, apps, music, ringtones, calendars, etc. Or at least it's supposed to; I honestly felt in the verge of a panic attack when I clicked 'OK' to let it start any process involving the phrase 'factory settings'. I REALLY hope it comes through this without a hitch, as I kind of doubt that an aneurysm would be as painless as I might think.

Be seeing you.

Tag, you're it, Baggy Eyes! Shopping, DVD, Movies, Of Unknown Origin, Peter Weller, Television, TiVo, The Pacific, The Boondocks, I Sell The Dead, Dominic Monaghan, Larry Fessenden, The United States Of Tara, Diablo Cody, An American Werewolf In London, Beware The Moon, Technology Clusterfuck, Frustration

Writing, Maid, Party

Kinda boring today, so I'll try to get you folks on your way as soon as we can...

The wife and I both got up early this morning, she spent some time on the web while I got coffee started, then I hopped online while she got ready to head out to a late morning meeting. I spent most of the day working on several reviews I've had either in rough form, or just as notes for the past few weeks (one even longer), so it was nice to get all that nailed down once and for all by the time I called it quits in the mid-afternoon.

The Maid arrived (alone, so I didn't have to jack with that whole song and dance, which was nice) and started in on her routine while I holed up in the office and typed my little heart out. I worked through until after 2:00 in the afternoon, and the Maid's departure was what actually clued me in that I might want eat before it was time to go to dinner. The wife got home from her meetings and we visited a bit while I made myself a little microwave item for lunch, then I headed to the den to relax for a bit and eat while she piddled around with other stuff.

I grabbed some fluff from the To-Watch Pile to pass the time, something I figured I could watch while flipping through the newspaper or something of that sort. I re-watched Final Destination 2, which I hadn't seen in forever. I know these films are corny as hell, but I can't help but like them as they continue to kill attractive teens in ridiculously convoluted ways, it's just too much fun. I still haven't seen the fourth film, but I would like to pick it up one of these days and give it a go as well. This installment suffers from some CGI moments here and there, but the one bit that makes me wince every time I think about it is in the opening scenes as a log bounces off a truck, smashing through a car and pushing a bloody smear out the back glass as it kills the driver; such a chilling visual.

We were scheduled to go to the Mother In Law's place for the Uncle's birthday this evening, so we got ready to do that around 6:00 and made the short drive. I was a little surprised to see that this event was meant to involve the extended side of the family as well, which entails a ton of cousins and such that I barely know, so that kinda threw my enthusiasm for a loop, but oh well. We headed into the house, visited a bit, mingled with everyone, I occasionally mouthed to the wife "who the hell is that?" when I saw someone I wasn't sure I'd even met before, but the evening was fairly painless otherwise. We had burgers and the customary cake, then finally headed home around 9:00 and watched a few episodes of The United States Of Tara off the TiVo in my effort to catch up on that before our friend Kno1 called to say that he was on his way over.

Long story short, he's in town on business, but his parents' home is currently being invaded by other out of town guests, so he'd asked if we'd mind if he crashed here overnight, which was of course fine with us. We caught up a bit, then he headed off to the Guest side of the house and the wife and I retired to our normal spots for the evening.

Be seeing you.

Tag, you're it, Baggy Eyes! Maid, Reviews, Writing, Movies, To-Watch Pile, Final Destination 2, Birthday Party, Television, TiVo, The United States Of Tara, House Guest

Hopeless Lesbians

I got up with the alarm this morning and got coffee started, then hopped in the shower before grabbing a cup, just to give myself an incentive. I dressed, grabbed some coffee and headed to the Office to get a bit of writing done before lunchtime. I spoke to my buddy EL about lunch plans, then got a package wrapped up to be mailed, saved my reviews I had started and split to grab some food before I ran my errand to the post office.

Lunch was good, I hadn't had curry in quite some time, and it always looks good when EL orders it, so I decided to get out of my comfort zone a bit and try something different. We visited a bit over food, then I hit the post office, which was thankfully empty rather than sporting the weird line that this certain branch always has, then I headed home. The wife was chilling out between meetings, so we caught up and chit-chatted a bit, then she caught a nap while I headed back to the Office to work on and submit a couple reviews.

The wife split for a meeting a little before I finished up my reviews, so afterward I retired to the den with a martini and fired up Netfux Instant Watch on the old TiVo to see what looked appealing. I ran across something I really loved when it was originally aired back in 2005, so I was watching an episode of the IFC series Hopeless Pictures when the wife got home. We finished that episode before running out to pick up a burger for dinner and settling in to watch a few things off the TiVo, including the first episode of The Real L Word on Showtime, which is essentially a reality show following a pack of lesbians around Los Angeles as they go about their allegedly 'real' day to day lives. I don't know that I'm 100% sold on the show, but it was entertaining enough, so I guess we'll let it ride for awhile. We checked out a couple other re-runs of this or that before calling it a night around 10:30.

The Maid is here tomorrow, but will be sent away should she arrive with a child in tow. The wife said she was cool with that but asked if we should've specifically warned her about it first. I maintain that it's unheard of to begin with, thus doesn't warrant a warning. If you bring your kid to any job you have, odds are the boss is going to tell you to fuck off; I don't think our house should be an exception.

Be seeing you.

Tag, you're it, Baggy Eyes! Lunch, Errands, Writing, Reviews, Television, Netflix Instant Watch, Hopeless Pictures, Showtime, The Real L Word, Maid

Supernatural Death Race

For no good reason whatsoever I slept a solid six hours and woke up like a shot, so I lay in bed petting the Yorkie for a bit, then she tired of my love and moved further down the bed, out of reach and curled up to go back to sleep. Jerk.

I made coffee and gathered up our recycling stuff, then dressed and grabbed a cup to go, heading out to drop off the plastics and whatnot, as well as step into the grocery store to pick up a few things we needed around the house: sodas, that sort of thing. I stopped to buy gas on the way home, then noted the time being just shy of noon, so I also picked up a little something for our lunch since there wasn't a line at the little Mexican place near the house.

The wife and I ate, I flipped through the newspaper, then she headed into the Office to get a few things printed for a meeting in the AM. I popped in a little something I have for review, the Blu-ray release of Paul Bartel's classic Roger Corman produced Death Race 2000, which was every but as much fun as I remembered. Such a fun flick, the wild violence, frequent gratuitous nudity, what's not to love? The wife joined me for the latter half of that, then I popped in the final disc of Supernatural season 3.

Season 3 annoyingly ended on a cliffhanger, so I fished the season 4 set out of the Media Closet to see how things turned out, I figured at the very least I wanted to see what was up with the cliffhanger. We ended up watching the first disc out of the set and the first four episodes seem much more continuity-heavy than previous seasons have, which interweb acquaintances have told me is the case with both this and the 5th seasons. That's cool to have to look forward to, but I actually might miss the occasional 'monster of the week' type vibe of the earlier shows.

We watched the new True Blood, I spent some time setting up a few other returning HBO shows to record in the den on the TiVo, since I've completely surrendered the DVR in the bedroom to the wife's whims, none of which are getting watched. Not having that fall back recording option may make things a little tricky once certain shows return, but I think I've got it lined out for the time being.

Reading back over that last paragraph it occurs to me how fucked up it is to think that the TiVo scheduling is the most pressing concern in my world; I should probably just kill myself and try not to make a mess.

Be seeing you.

Tag, you're it, Baggy Eyes! Errands, Recycling, Lunch, Movies, Death Race 2000, Paul Bartel, Roger Corman, Blu-ray, Television, Supernatural, True Blood

When There Is No More Room On The To-Watch Pile, I Shall Finally Watch A Certain Film

Since I seem to spend a decent amount of time reading in the evenings lately, I stayed up last night and breezed through Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.'s Kick-Ass series, the hardcover of which I had picked up last week for fairly cheap. It was a fun, quick little read, though I wasn't as blown away as I could've been by the way the series wraps up, but for the most part it's interesting and I always enjoy Romita Jr.'s art, even though he tends to draw most of his males as the same slope-browed Cro-Magnon types look that can be distracting at times. It's an enjoyable book, though I think Millar's attention to pathetic detail may be a bit of a downer overall, as the protagonist's life actually made me at least a little sad by the time the book was over.

The wife made an appearance at a baby shower this morning so I slept in, then got up near noon to see what she was up to in the Office. We visited a bit, then stepped out to pick up lunch at a little wing place across town. We ate back at the house whilst flipping channels, then I settled in to watch a flick while she headed back into the Office to get some things nailed down with some paperwork she needed for a meeting Monday.

I watched the extended cut of Dawn Of The Dead from the big fat set I've had for awhile now, something else off the To-Watch Pile that I had been thinking about for a week or so now. I have to be honest, I don't know that I've seen the theatrical cut more than a couple times, so what was actually added in (gore scenes, if I'm not mistaken) didn't really jump out at me, but I enjoyed the re-watch just the same.

I moved on to a one of the double featurtes in the Grindhouse Experience boxset, a little two-fer of films called The Children (1980) and Demon Witch Child, AKA The Possessed (1975), neither of which were just mind blowing, but they were a fun way to pass the time. The Children features the vague plot of toxic gas turning the kids on a school bus into little nuclear time bombs with black fingernails who want nothing more than to hug their elders to death as they boil and burn, spewing green smoke & gas. The second film is pretty much a blatant Exorcist rip-off from Tombs Of The Blind Dead director Amando de Ossorio, which has a witch possess the daughter of a police official who had cracked down on her supernatural shenanigans. Both films had some amusing moments but wouldn't necessarily be anything to write home about.

We rounded out our day with the 4th disc out of the Supernatural season 3 set in the late evening, then called it a night around 10:00, as is our custom.

I'm out kids.

Be seeing you.

Tag, you're it, Baggy Eyes! Books, Comics, Kick-Ass, Mark Millar, John Romita Jr, To-Watch Pile, Movies, Dawn Of The Dead, Grindhouse Experience, The Children, Demon Witch Child, The Possessed, Amando de Ossorio, Tombs Of The Blind Dead, Television, Supernatural

He's A Bad Mother...

I stayed up late last night finishing the last bit of Bret Easton Ellis' Imperial Bedrooms before going to bed, it was a good, quick little read, and it definitely evoked the feeling of his early work more than his last couple of novels have. Good stuff, it makes me want to re-read his other books, but where the hell am I going to find the time for that?

The wife was out of the house when I woke up late, so I dressed and headed out to pick up a little lunch for myself, exchanging texts with her on the drive; she'd made lunch plans with a friend and would be home after 1:00 or so.

I grabbed a burger and headed home, where I popped in the first film out of the Lethal Chiba boxset, on a complete whim. It's in the To-Watch Pile, and I figured it'd make for short easily digestible viewing over the course of the afternoon. The set was really a lot of fun, with the shining jewel being The Executioner, which was loaded with random nudity and violence, this set is well worth a look. I basically spent the afternoon watching Sonny Chiba beat the dogshit out of anyone who got out of line, so that was pretty fun.

I also spent some time sorting through some items that'd turned up in the mail, a good sized pile of things eating into the To-Watch Pile idea, damn all those online sales of the past month or so.

Brian came by around 6:00 or so, we picked up some drive-thru food and ate back at the house, then stepped out for a dessert item. Once we got back to the house we watched Bruno on cable (because I live to watch shit I own on television), then caught up with The Soup before Brian called it a night.

Be seeing you.

Tag, you're it, Baggy Eyes! Books, Imperial Bedroooms, Bret Easton Ellis, Lunch, Movies, To-Watch Pile, Lethal Chiba, The Executioner, Sonny Chiba, Dinner, Bruno, Television, The Soup

The Third Man, Finally

The wife finally seemed to get something of a day off from dealing with all the whinging and bitching from the people at her non-profit that's been eating up so much of her time this week, so that was a nice change of pace. I was reading to her from the newspaper and quoted the BP Oil guy about 'wanting his life back', which made her laugh and say that she thought this other situation was such a pain in the ass; she'd just shoot herself if she were in his position.

I ran some errands this afternoon to drop off the recycling, picked up some mailing materials at Office Depot and dropped something off at the post office, then headed back home with the intention of watching a movie and relaxing in the den. Naturally, this plan was derailed by the Lawn Guys arrival, which was made even more annoying because they are normally here on Friday at the crack of dawn, so I have no idea why they decided to come on a Thursday afternoon.

I popped in something I've had for awhile, a movie I honestly felt guilty for having unwatched, as it's gone out of print in the past six months or so. The Criterion Blu-ray of The Third Man was one of those movies I picked up on the basis of my dear departed friend Macguffin's recommendation, and I can now happily report that it was well worth the purchase. The film looks amazing, Joseph Cotten it great as the lead, and the mystery of the film hold up well even after all these years. Great film, well worth a look if you have the chance.

The wife and I ordered in some food and spent the evening with some more of Supernatural season 3, then watched this week's episode of Ghost Hunters Academy before calling it a night shortly after 10:00.

This evening I installed the new wireless keyboard and mouse, so I feel even more at home with the new PC set-up, though I honestly miss the old one, as I'd worn the letters off the keys from constant use. I actually felt a tiny bit like a writer.

Be seeing you.

Tag, you're it, Baggy Eyes! Errands, Movies, To-Watch Pile, Criterion Collection, The Third Man, Blu-ray, Joseph Cotten, Television, Supernatural, Ghost Hunters Academy

A Day Away From The Computer

The wife continues to field bullshit fallout from one of her non-profits that's in the process of replacing an executive director, so I left her late this morning with several phonecalls to return and headed out to get a bit of space from the computer. I wanted to not be looking at it all day again today, as that will definitely lead to me hating the silly thing before I even get any real fun from it. This process of slipping into a new PC is new to me, the ones I've had in the past have all eventually bricked on me completely, so moving files and that sort of thing has always been a moot point.

I decided to hit up Big Lots and a pawn shop or two in Odessa, where I found basically nothing, though I did pick up a movie for a friend who'd expressed interest on Twitter, so I at least felt like I'd accomplished something with my time. I browsed their books, music and video outlet and came up empty handed there too before heading home.

The wife was out at another meeting, so I got home with a some food that I had picked up on the drive and settled in to finish up the little mini-series I'd started on Monday, which now feel like weeks ago at this stage. I hadn't seen the Oliver Stone produced Wild Palms mini-series since it aired in 1993 or thereabouts, so I had this recollection of it being a dark drama with elements of cyber-punk and noir mingled in the far flung future (at the time) of 2007 (!), so to revisit it now, with my increasingly jaded viewing eyes was quite an experience. For a start, hanging your entire series on James Belushi's performance (which alternates from poor man's Bill Murray to vaguely angry everyman), well that's a big fucking mistake just for a start. Anytime the man is required to truly emote it's as though he can't muster the fucking emotions to even appear sad convincingly. Overall, I still liked the stylish elements of the series, but there were some truly eye-rolling lines in there that made me wonder if some of the writers thought this was serious and others thought they were writing camp for John Waters to direct. Very uneven, but it has its moments, so I was happy to re-visit it if only for the quaint notions of what life 3 years ago might've been like.

The wife caught a nap and ignored the phone for a time, because you can only sweat about this shit so much before you don't really care anymore.

On a wild hair, I popped in David O. Russell's Three Kings and made myself a cocktail in the late afternoon, as it was one of those movies from the To-Watch Pile that I've never seen at all, even though I've come to suspect that I'd follow George Clooney into hell, I find the man so charismatic.

The wife and I watched the 2nd disc of Supernatural season 3, which rounded out our evening around 11:00 or so, then I headed into the Office to see what the new PC was up to.

Be seeing you.

Tag, you're it, Baggy Eyes! Errands, Shopping, DVD, Movies, To-Watch Pile, Wild Palms, Oliver Stone, James Belushi, Three Kings, David O Russell, George Clooney, Television, Supernatural

Migration Is For The Birds

Y'know, if you'll forgive the Gawdawful pun.

I sat down like an idiot this evening to begin the process of migrating the existing files over to the new PC, which quickly turned into a multi-hour ordeal. Y'know, completely ignoring the fact that it took about 5 years or so to put all this shit onto the computer, yet it bugs me that it takes 2 hours to transfer it to the other one.

The day was spent getting the router situation worked out, which it is for the most part, sorting out the printer situation (long story short, the cheapie free one that they gave us with the computer purchase is now back in its box), and getting the laptop to play ball with the newly upgraded router and adapter.

This process seriously ate up my entire fucking day after waiting for different updates to install and making sure everything was doing what it was meant to do, securing the network and all this other nonsense, I realized around 6:30 that I had forgotten to eat anything today, which could explain the why I was shaking like a Chihuahua. Jittery with coffee, I suggested that we pick up dinner and then relax with some television to get me away from all things computer-related for awhile. We ate and watched last week's episode of Ghost Hunters Academy, and a few re-runs of this or that, then called it a night around 10:00.

Like a dumbass, I got the wild idea to start this stupid file migration process, so while that does its thing I have been watching it like a man waiting for water to boil and begun reading the new Bret Easton Ellis novel that came out today, Imperial Bedrooms. A sequel to Ellis' debut novel Less Than Zero, it picks up with that same cast of characters in modern day L.A., and I have to say that it's pretty intriguing 50 pages in as I write this. I may get some time to read further later, but I think that both of the computers are finally coming to a stopping point that will allow me to get online and start the next fiasco with the new PC: moving all my iTunes stuff over with out losing all the shit I've uploaded, bought or added to playlists.

I honestly think I'd rather move our entire house again rather than jack with any more computer shit at this point.

I'm off to bed kids.

Be seeing you.

Tag, you're it, Baggy Eyes! Technology, Computers, Exhaustive Set-Up, Television, Re-Runs, Ghost Hunters Academy, Books, Bret Easton Ellis, Imperial Bedrooms, Less Than Zero, iTunes

New Developments On The Computational Front

Oh, technology.

The upshot of dealing with tech support this morning was to find out that they no longer even make the particular router I was hoping to get help with, and since it's out of warranty I can either pay them for their time on the phone or simply replace it altogether.

The wife and I hit Best Buy this evening with friends and nothing on our minds beyond the intention of buying a router and leaving. We left the store with an entirely new computer set-up, which I am currently hunting and pecking at you from right this moment. I'll probably end up back there tomorrow for a few other little accoutrement. but this new machine is super-sexy and I'm looking at a 23 inch monitor that I feel like I'm cheating on my wife being alone with. Oh, and before anyone asks, I have no idea what the deal is with the pictured flash drive and remote, neither of which were included in what we bought this evening. If we got screwed, keep it to yourself, I don't wanna know.

It's weird to jump on this sort of thing as an impulse item, but I'm trying to rationalize it this way: we both spend a good amount of time working on stuff both online and off, the wife prints all manner of mailings, I have been putting together a ton of CD's lately, so it'll be nice to have a top of the line machine to do all of that with. Our old computer wasn't completely shot, but it was definitely having issues.

It's been a long day, and getting all this stuff swapped out has left me kinda beat, so I'm out kids.

Be seeing you.

Tag, you're it, Baggy Eyes! Technology, Shopping, Computers, I Give Up

Cinematic Sunday?

The interweb connection continues to be somewhat spotty at times, making the whole streaming video idea something of a pain in the ass, nearly to the point of madness. Thus, I'm going to pass on trying to watch a bunch of trailers and whittle down what I want to try to show you nice folks, but then I have this sneaking feeling it won't matter to anyone if I forego that little feature altogether.

Seriously, if I never blurbed another trailer again, would anyone reading this even notice? Please, sound off if you give a shit, because I'm almost to the point of not caring to dick with it anymore, it drives zero traffic (for whatever that's worth) and no one really comments one way or the other if they even play the stupid things.

For what it's worth I've pretty much convinced myself that the computer problem is router-related, because unplugging it briefly seems to solve things pretty easily, though that's hardly a pleasant way to have to surf the web, re-setting this fucking thing every 10-20 minutes. I'll brave tech support tomorrow to see if I can reset it and try to iron out the connectivity issues once and for all, or at least see if it's even their equipment. I'd hate to replace the damned thing only to find out that it's something on out service provider's end, as they've has been suspect in the past.

The wife and I spent a quiet day at home and I dove into The Pacific, which I've had on the TiVo since it aired a few months back, just because I'd been waiting for a day when I could kind of plow through several in one sitting. I watched episodes 2-5, then decided to switch gears while the wife piddled with some stuff online (fighting the connection shit as well) while I watched the 4th volume of the 42nd Street Forever series of DVD's, just because it was nice to unwind with some grimy looking trailers for movies I've more often than not never even heard of. I really felt like it was necessary to check out something kinda light after the chaos of the WWII material earlier, I honestly can't imagine the conditions these people had to deal with.

We had dinner in, watched some tube and called it a night around the usual time.

Be seeing you.

Tag, you're it, Baggy Eyes! Internet Connection, Frustration, Television, TiVo, The Pacific, DVD, 42nd Street Forever

More Errands & Several Movies

The wife had expressed interest in visiting the little used bookstore that benefits our local library today, because it was a ritual she and I had back when we were courting and have fallen out of the habit of doing, so we got up early to go and see what we could find. We had to kill a bit of time because we were about 10 minutes early for their opening time, so we grabbed a cup of coffee at a convenience store and then came back for a little browse. The wife grabbed a few things and I left empty-handed, which is probably a good thing, as I need more to read like I need a hole in the head.

We did our grocery shopping afterward, hoping to catch the store relatively empty, which wasn't the case. I guess no one sleeps in any more. We were home before noon and put away the food, then stepped back out for some lunch. We were also early for this place to open up (a running theme, apparently) so we killed some time by checking out the little farmer's market that happens every Saturday morning, though they were winding down and the pickings were slim.

Lunch was good, then we walked through a little estate sale we'd spotted near the house, which was mostly just depressing. I passed on a little lamp that was sort of neat, but was just something I had no idea where the hell I'd put it. I was also amused to notice that these people had empty faux brass picture frames priced at $4 apiece, which is just kinda ridiculous, sorry.

The wife caught a nap while I watched a little something from the To-Watch Pile, the first Bruce Li film I've ever seen. The Return Of The Tiger was a fun watch, filled with bad dubbing and amazing/eye-roll inducing choreography that occasionally pushed the limits just a little too much, but it was a nice little way to kill the afternoon.

We eventually went over to Grandmother's for coffee and pie (why we did this about an hour or so before dinner is beyond me, it was Grandmother's request) and were joined by the Mother In Law and the Beau. We visited a bit and had a little snack, then headed home.

I watched something else out of the Grindhouse Experience, a film called The Poseidon Explosion, which was a late 70's disaster flick based on a true story about a freighter loaded with fertilizer that caught fire and was abandoned by its crew, leaving desperate rescue people to try to safely navigate it out of a harbor before the unstable cargo caused a massive explosion that would devastate the area. It was interesting enough, though produced in such a workmanlike manner that it was hard to really connect with the characters, and the print was rather murky in this edition, which made it hard to follow some of the action.

The wife made dinner while I piddled with this, then we ate and watched Not Quite Hollywood, which I had been wanting to re-watch since I first watched it a few months back. The wife dug it and it again made me want to start trying to track down some of these wild-ass exploitation films, as the money shots they keep showing from these fairly unknown pictures are pretty damned amazing. We wrapped that up shortly after 10:00, then the wife headed to bed and I started pecking away at this nonsense.

Be seeing you.

Tag, you're it, Baggy Eyes! Grocery Shopping, Errands, Lunch, To-Watch Pile, The Return Of The Tiger, Bruce Li, Family, In-Laws, Grindhouse Experience, The Poseidon Explosion, Not Quite Hollywood

Minor Errands & Little Else

The wife had what have begun to feel like the standard meetings with one of her non-profits, so she dropped the Yorkie off at the Groomer on her way to do that, which left me to sleep in a bit, then make some coffee and start doing a bit of rat-killing on the web.

The first thing I had to deal with was a recent purchase of Mad Men season 3, which I'd purchased via a sale from Deep Discount. Immediately after placing the order I realized that I'd ordered the DVD version rather than the Blu-ray (which I noticed was actually $2 cheaper, adding insult to injury), so I signed back in and canceled that item from my order, thinking that I'd simply log in the next day and re-order the proper item. Imagine my surprise when they cancel the wrong item and then ship the order before I can catch them on the phone the next day and explain the mistake. I called them today and related the situation, and the gal tells me I can exchange the item, but what they'll do is credit my card for the original item, then charge me "$34, which is what the Blu-ray set is priced at on our site right now." I gritted my teeth slightly and calmly explained to her that I'd much prefer it if their mistake in canceling the wrong item in the original order didn't cost me $10 for no real reason, so she put me on hold to speak to a supervisor. I was rather pleased when she got back on the line and said that they could e-mail out a return label for me to mail the item back, and that I'd only be charged the pricing from the day I placed the initial order, so I have to give their customer service a big thumbs up on this one. Whew.

I paid bills and got a few things caught up on the interwebs, then boxed up the DVD set and headed out to mail it and grab something small to eat to tide me over, as I knew that we had plans this evening to be at some sort of museum function, then dinner with Brian.

The wife got home early with the Yorkie, which was a nice change of pace for the Groomer's normal timing that keeps here there the entire day. The two of them caught a nap and I found myself fished into about half of Jet Li in Kiss Of The Dragon, then started getting ready for the evening, showered and shaved, made certain I had a shirt pressed, that kind of thing.

Brian arrived, we visited for a few minutes, then headed out to the museum in time to catch the artist's little talk about his style and the medium in which he works, then visited with a few folks while I let my dismay at the lack of an open bar sink in. I mean, if I wanted to drink cheap shitty wine I could stay at home with a bottle of Ripple. I was hoping to enjoy a cocktail and see some interesting art but unfortunately neither of those things really happened, but I suppose it's all just a matter of personal taste.

We had Chinese for dinner, Brian was kind enough to pick up the tab as a late anniversary gift, then we headed home and watched a couple episodes of The Soup before calling it a night.

Tomorrow the wife and I tackle the grocery store, which I'm not looking forward to.

Be seeing you.

Tag, you're it, Baggy Eyes! Online Shopping, Television, Mad Men, Blu-ray, Errands, Movies, Kiss Of The Dragon, Dinner, The Soup

Workmen, Japanese Drama, Transgressive Cinema & Dreamy Surrealism

Today we had the Plumbers lined out to install a toilet, as well as the older gentleman who services our RO water system, so I got up with trepidation, as I imagined the stress on the Yorkie if we had people traipsing through here all day. I was pleasantly surprised when the Plumbers came and went within a 30 minute period just before noon, so I headed out to pick up food for the wife and I's lunch with the hope that we could squeeze in a meal before the other guy arrived.

This was not to happen, as he naturally drove up as we were sitting down to eat, so that threw my meal off as I let the guy in and the wife corralled the Yorkie into the Office area. The RO guy had to split to get some parts, so I started a film while he was gone and finished my cold hamburger while I watched the beginning of Tokyo Story, the first film I've ever watched by Yasujiro Ozu.

The film is an interesting character study of two elderly parents making the journey into Tokyo to visit their adult children, who largely view their trip as a big pain in their ass. The general message of the film is that there is an unavoidable divide that develops as one grows away from their family unit, for better or worse we all begin to have less in common with those who raised us or those we were raised around, and while I can easily agree with this sentiment, it's really hard not to immediately dislike these fucking ingrate children who can't be bothered to show their parents any interest or consideration. The eldest daughter is the major offender, every time she opened her mouth I wanted to slap the shit out of her, it was nothing but self-serving, condescending bullshit from her and I hated it. Ozu has a habit (at least in this film, obviously I can't speak to the rest of his catalog) of having the characters directly address the camera when they are in the midst of a conversation, which I found a bit disconcerting, like someone giving a soliloquy rather than having a conversation with someone else, but that's just my personal taste. It's well worth a look if you don't mind a slow burn drama.

The RO guy finally returned and got things wrapped up, then the wife stepped out to go to a couple meetings while I watched a little something off the To-Watch Pile, a film from Paul Bartel called Private Parts. The story of a young girl who seeks refuge in the seedy rundown hotel owned by her aunt, where she meets a crazy assortment of oddballs, some of whom may prove to be dangerously unbalanced when it come to dealing with hot young runaways. It was a good flick, though I did make the mistake of looking at the trailer before the film, which studiously ruins most (if not all) of the twists that the film takes, so that's kind of a dick move on the part of whoever put that together. Good film, I really enjoyed it.

The wife caught the end of that with me when she got home, then we ate some dinner and watched Mario Bava's Lisa & The Devil, which about 15 minutes into the film I suddenly realized we'd seen before, but since neither of us could recall much about it we decided to finish it, which was interesting because the wife had recently expressed interest in a Gothic horror that we'd seen which had some interesting design elements that she might want to use to inspire a re-working of our bedroom. Well, I'll be damned if this wasn't the film she'd been referring to, so that was interesting to note colors schemes and the furniture styles in this old crumbling Gothic estate, great stuff. The film is a dreamy little nightmare that actually made me feel at times as though I'd had something slipped into my drink, as the first 30+ minutes of the film make little sense until you're well into the film.

We called it a night shortly after the film ended and I started pecking away at this nonsense and paying a few bills online.

Be seeing you.

Tag, you're it, Baggy Eyes! Home Repairs, Plumbers, Movies, Tokyo Story, Yasujiro Ozu, To-Watch Pile, Private Parts, Paul Bartel, Lisa And The Devil, Mario Bava