Poster:	babagannoush
Date:	2004-10-12 12:02
Subject:	Banned Books
Security:	Public

I also italicized tose I saw as movies and/or TV series. So it's cheating, in a way, but I do want to convay that I did encounter some of these stories in some medium, if not in a book.

Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz (These are the books with the spooky red, black, and white covers, right?)
Daddy’s Roommate by Michael Willhoite
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling
Forever by Judy Blume
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman
My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
The Giver by Lois Lowry
It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine
A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Sex by Madonna
Earth’s Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel
The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle (The TV Movie was awful!)
Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard
The Witches by Roald Dahl
The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein
Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry
The Goats by Brock Cole
Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane
Blubber by Judy Blume
Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan
Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam
We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier
Final Exit by Derek Humphry
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Beloved by Toni Morrison
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
The Pigman by Paul Zindel (high school)
Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard
Deenie by Judy Blume
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden
The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar
Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz
A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein(Why the hell was this banned? Who cares that Shel cartooned for Playboy?)
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)
Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole
Cujo by Stephen King
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell
Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
Ordinary People by Judith Guest
American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons by Lynda Madaras
Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
Crazy Lady by Jane Conly
Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher
Fade by Robert Cormier
Guess What? by Mem Fox
The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Native Son by Richard Wright
Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women’s Fantasies by Nancy Friday
Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen
Jack by A.M. Homes
Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya
Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle
Carrie by Stephen King
Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer
Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge
Family Secrets by Norma Klein
Mommy Laid An Egg by Babette Cole
The Dead Zone by Stephen King
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
Always Running by Luis Rodriguez
Private Parts by Howard Stern
Where’s Waldo? by Martin Hanford
Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman
Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
Running Loose by Chris Crutcher
Sex Education by Jenny Davis
The Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene
Girls and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts
The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
The Terrorist by Caroline Cooney
Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

Poster:	fatesclotho
Date:	2004-09-22 08:32
Subject:	Copied from my personal LJ...
Security:	Public
Mood:	dorky

Here are 100 banned books of 1990-2000. Bold in the ones you've read. (ganked from rinabeana...what have YOU read?


Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz
Daddy’s Roommate by Michael Willhoite
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling
Forever by Judy Blume
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger (high school)
The Giver by Lois Lowry
It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine
A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Sex by Madonna
Earth’s Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel
The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard
The Witches by Roald Dahl
The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein
Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry
The Goats by Brock Cole
Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane
Blubber by Judy Blume
Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan
Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam
We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier
Final Exit by Derek Humphry
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Beloved by Toni Morrison
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
The Pigman by Paul Zindel (high school)
Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard
Deenie by Judy Blume
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden
The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar
Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz
A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)
Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole
Cujo by Stephen King
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell
Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
Ordinary People by Judith Guest
American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons by Lynda Madaras
Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
Crazy Lady by Jane Conly
Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher
Fade by Robert Cormier
Guess What? by Mem Fox
The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Native Son by Richard Wright
Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women’s Fantasies by Nancy Friday
Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen
Jack by A.M. Homes
Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya
Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle
Carrie by Stephen King
Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer
Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge
Family Secrets by Norma Klein
Mommy Laid An Egg by Babette Cole
The Dead Zone by Stephen King
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
Always Running by Luis Rodriguez
Private Parts by Howard Stern
Where’s Waldo? by Martin Hanford
Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman
Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
Running Loose by Chris Crutcher
Sex Education by Jenny Davis
The Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene
Girls and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts
The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
The Terrorist by Caroline Cooney
Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

Poster:	fatesclotho
Date:	2004-09-18 12:13
Subject:	Kid's shows...
Security:	Public
Mood:	nostalgic

So lately Trav and I have been reminiscing about shows we loved as kids. Personally, I LOVED Sesame Street...I was madly in love with Grover, and The Count is just the shit. (ah-ONE-ah, ah-TWO-ah...) Both of us were also huge fans of Mr. Wizard.

So here's the question: What was your favorite show as a kid?

Poster:	fatesclotho
Date:	2004-08-30 20:20
Subject:	On Joss Whedon...
Security:	Public
Mood:	amused

Here's something Trav and I were discussing...

Joss seems to have the same main character in all three of his shows--the insecure hero who is doing something that is technically wrong, but who is really working for the greater good. Had you noticed that? Also, there's always the girl that excells at one thing, but pretty much fumbles through everything else (Willow with computers and then magic, Fred with science, and Kaylee with mechanical stuff). The thing is, even though Joss has a lot of the same characters (or at least character types), they don't get old--you love them in every manifestation. Says a lot for him, doesn't it?

And now, I'm going to return to watching Firefly. Ah, bliss...

{end of transmission}

Poster:	babagannoush
Date:	2004-07-10 01:27
Subject:	So, which of these films have YOU watched?
Security:	Public

Thanks to sparkofcreation for the poll inspiration.

IMDB's Top 100 Best Movies of All Time generate this HTML for your own page at ObeytheFist.com
( The Results )
Which movies have you seen?

Poster:	babagannoush
Date:	2004-07-09 01:07
Subject:	A few links before bed
Security:	Public
Mood:	amused

..courtesy of FARK.com:

monty Python goes Broadway!

and '8' shall be the mark of the beast.

That is all.

Poster:	babagannoush
Date:	2004-07-08 10:35
Subject:	Morgan Webb in Maxim Magazine
Security:	Public
Mood:	discontent

Morgan Webb in Maxim Magazine

Hang on, I have to reread a previous entry to properly word this...

So a while back I ranted about various TechTV girls potentially posing for the Playboy publication and decided that personally I would not want Morgan Webb to pose nude. It seems that since then she decided to pose for another men's magazine - Maxim. I know this because I subscribe (I read it for the captions and pass it on to my friend, Trina, to cut up and turn into holiday cards.).

So I saw her pictures and as excited as I was initially to see her all sexied up and somewhat less covered in cloth (I am a heterosexual geek male, after all) I subsequently felt disappointed. Why? Well, the pictures showed off none of her personality which is a big part of what makes her cute and attractive. The Maxim shoot just painted her up like a floozy (bad makeup job, honestly), colored her hair way too dark, and just had her pose in unoriginal ways. It was boring and slutty and not at all interesting. Sorry, I guess that's a bit redundant.

I did like the clothes she wore, they were kind of cool.

I don't know, at least I can't seem to find a way to verbalize this well. The pictures were too slutty, she had too much bad makeup on her, and they didn't have enough fun/creativity with the whole gaming theme. And she didn't look like she had a good time doing this, either. She has a brilliant smile and should have featured it in at least one of the pictures, minimum.

The pictures didn't look like her. Rather, they looked like an approximation of a doppleganger. I found her much sexier on any episode of TSS or XPlay. Unfortunately I don't have cable now, though even if I did I wouldn't have TechTV. It has been swallowed by that Mecca of anuses that is G4. Harsh? Yes. Unqualified ? Almost certainly. I only know what I read on WWDN and other various protester's blogs. Hmm, they did have that one cool exposè on Homestar Runner et al.

Poster:	luxfx
Date:	2004-05-20 10:19
Subject:	Shrek 2
Security:	Public
Mood:	pessimistic

Well, it's not so good. I don't recommend it. Now, I might not be the best one to say that since I never loved the first one. Not that I don't enjoy it when I sit in front of it and watch it. Hey, it's funny, it's touching. But as somebody from Ain't It Cool put it....it's pure teflon. It just doesn't stick to you. So I never have this driving urge to see it.

With Shrek 2, it was actually dissappointing enough to avoid seeing it again. Remember how Men in Black was terrific, and MiB2 made you wish you had something to drink (or a lot to drink) before watching it? (if you hadn't, that is....) Sigh. Shrek 2 is worse.

The first act was one of the worst first acts of any movie I've seen. Fortunately, it got better. But it was still so very very bad. It felt exactly like a TV sitcom. I could almost hear a laugh-track. Yuck! It was literally doing a "who's going to come through the front door now?" type plot.

But while it got better, it never got good. I laughed once. I cringed a lot. The one funny part was when Donkey turned into a stallion and said, "Look at me! I can neeeeiiigh, and I can count!" I also liked two of the songs, one by Tom Waits and one by Nick Cave. Both sung by Captain Hook, who played the piano in the bar.

But the really desperately wrong problem with the movie was that it was completely lacking in originality. The plot was bare-bones, loosely constructed around an unending series of fairy tale references. There was actually three places in the movie where they didn't even both incorporating the references into the movie -- they just listed names of fairy tale characters. It felt like the scene in Hot Shots Part Deux with the body-count-meter clicks away on the bottom of the screen. One scene was during the drive to the castle of the Kingdom of Far, Far Away, and they passed all the Rodeo Drive style mansions of famous fairy tale stars. Another was as the Fairy Godmother ticked off the list of Fairy Tale love stories that didn't contain ogres. And another was as fairy tales creatures walked down the red carpet to the ball as Joan Rivers commented on their costumes.

Which brings me to another point. Since Shrek 2 was more of a long string of literary references instead of a movie on its own right, it actually felt more like an Oscar show number. Just....sad.

The characters lacked any development at all. Shrek ended up yelling half of his lines, even when it wasn't necessary at all, apparently just because he was an Ogre. Hmm, did we somehow forget the character development from the first movie? Hmm? The Puss-in-boots character was just inexplicable. He was hired to kill Shrek -- but suddenly in the middle of a fight with Shrek gets a hairball and decides he owes his life to Shrek. Yes, it made that much sense!

The visuals were pretty poor, too. The fairy godmother was well designed, but her facial features (as with everybody's) was poorly animated. The 'human' version of shrek was on the other end of the spectrum, and was very poorly designed. He looked like a cross between 'Ogre' Shrek and the beach-dork Brendan Frasier character from Bedazzled. At least the movie producers were equally unimpressed by the 'human' Shrek -- because they inserted an entire scene devoted to random women oo-ing and aah-ing over him in human form. At last I figured out that, "Oh! He must be considered handsome in this world. Who knew!"

For the most part, the animation was horrendous. I mentioned the poor facial animation for the fairy godmother already, and most characters had similar flaws. Shrek, Donkey, and human Fiona had decent, but not great, facial animation. I'm pretty certain the reason for this was that the animators already had the facials setups from the first movie on hand. But the other characters were just bad, bad, bad. There was a general problem with lip synching, and minor characters walked like they were marionettes.

Don't waste your money. If somebody gives you a ticket, don't waste your time. I won't give this a zero out of five because at least it didn't resort to gross out humor. It just has no redeeming qualities.

1 / 5 stars

Poster:	fatesclotho
Date:	2004-05-12 00:11
Subject:	Van Helsing...
Security:	Public
Mood:	indescribable

Good lord.

I really don't know what to say about this film. The thing is, once something gets to a certian point of badness, I feel really embarassed for the actors.

This surpassed that--I am just very, very disappointed in everyone involved.

In case you didn't get my drift, it sucked ass. No, it sucked YESTERDAY'S ass. It was really that bad.

Please, please don't pay to see this movie. I saw it for free and I feel like I got ripped off.

Poster:	fatesclotho
Date:	2004-04-26 18:59
Subject:	FUNNY commercial!
Security:	Public
Mood:	happy

So I was watching Tech TV, and I saw one of the best commercials I've seen in awhile. It was a "home video" of a bitter girlfriend having her friends push her boyfriend's truck off of a cliff--it's pushed off, and it lands, and it's FINE! I don't know why I thought this was so funny, but I did.

I am a simple child.

Poster:	babagannoush
Date:	2004-04-06 10:46
Subject:	Those silly Japanese
Security:	Public
Mood:	amused

If any of you out there are fans of Penny Arcade and all (or some) things Japanese you should check out the Penny Acrade Remix Project.

It's what you get "when an English teacher in Japan prints out a bunch of PA strips with blank word bubbles and asks his students to fill them in." It's ... odd. And sometimes truly amusing.

Poster:	babagannoush
Date:	2004-03-09 21:46
Subject:	Geek lust
Security:	Public
Mood:	hot

God Damn it. I had most of the post written in another window and I copied it to post it here but in the meanwhile I copied something else to paste in the music entry and lost my post. Stupid Stupid Stupid. Sigh, I'll rewrite.

Anyway, this post started out as a response to the previous jackleg post about Morgan Webb, but then I decided it grew long enough to stick it in its own entry.

First of all I'd like to waste a line or two of space in agreeing that Morgan Webb is the hottest woman on TechTV. That being said, I'd like to add:

1. All of the woman in the Playboy poll are very very sexy except for Melanie Kim who to me looks like a Hallowe'en mask. Freaky; and not in a good way freaky. Not, "That woman is a (super)freak," but rather, "That freak is a woman." It could be the lighting or the makeup, but whether on the Playboy pictures or TechTV clips she does not look sexy to me at all. And that's what it's all about, isn't it, folks? Shallow, yes, but it's a frickin' sex mag. Moving on...
2. Morgan Webb is both Hot^TM and Cute^TM. Different concepts here. To me hot is sexual, aggressive. Cute is more passive, coy, un-self-conscious or even unconscious. Morgan is too cute to pose, for if she does she will lose that modest cuteness and that is what makes her attractive; that tomboyishness, that childlike glee in games. She seems to not even know she's hot, and cute is a part of her nature, her personality. Hot is more basely physical. At least in my mind. So after all this rambling, I think she should not pose. But do not despair...
3. Sarah Lane is hot, no argument. Should she pose? Sure, why not? Personally, I have too little emotional investment as a fan in her so I don't care too much either way. She has my blessing, but while she has my blessing I'll be down here talking about point number four.
4. Laura Swisher: Hot, spicy, saucy, why am I hungry all of a sudden? I love her exotic but not too exotic eyes, that fun curly, kinky hair, and all the fun she has on Unscrewed. I would love to see her pose and mix it in with her show and make Marty Sergeant the sidekick instead. He's fun, but annoying at times.
5. Kitty Cat Schwartz. If you're a guy (an maybe if you're a gal) and a big fan of TSS or CFH or just Cat there's a good chance you've already seen her naked. Problem was it was accidental on her part and conditions (pose, that cigarette) weren't optimal for such a display. I definitely think she should seriously consider posing in Playboy. Why? First, she's definitely hot. Second, she looks very good in a bikini, as evidenced by her intentional posed photographs on her website. Third, it would be a great way to turn her shame from the accidental nudity into a "fuckyouall, I'm sexy and confident and I don't care if you like it or not" situation. She could wow her naysayers, and I know there were a lot of them after her mishap. And she would be making the hair, makeup, lighting, and camera people really work for her. Nobody looks perfect; everybody knows (or should know) that magazine, TV, and movie beauties go through hours of makeup and stand in perfect lighting and in perfect relation to the camera to look artificially beautiful (not to mention the countless shots and takes that end up on the cutting room floor and the plastic surgery and whatnot some folks go through). I don't think it would be a bad thing for one of the "normal" people (very loose treatment of the term here, folks) to use some of those tools to see what they would look like as a glamorous supersex symbol (all the while wowing their fans, naysayers, and strangers alike, boosting their own self esteem, and exploring the life of their glamorous other self).

• "If You Win, Will You Pose? Yeah. If it's a tie, will you offer it to the two of us?" --Cat Schwartz
  
  J-j-j-j-jackpot!
  
  
• How funny was it that Playboy.com played porn music underneath the audio of the ladies' introductory montages? That's right, it was very funny.

Poster:	fatesclotho
Date:	2004-03-01 19:57
Subject:	Productivity is COOL!
Security:	Public

So I actually did stuff today. No shit! Here's what I did:

1) went to class. THREE TIMES!!!!
2) took a test
3) turned in scholarship forms
4) mailed in my dues/acceptance to Phi Kappa Phi honor society (yes, I know it sounds greek, but I don't have to pledge, screw you, it looks good on my grad school app.)
5) ate
6) watched tv
7) read
8) smoked

Ok, so 5-8 are lame, but I did do SOME stuff! Oh, and in case you're a huge loser like me and you care, Morgan Webb of X-Play won the "hottest woman of Tech TV" poll. Rock on, Morgan! I only wish I could be as cool as you. Oh, and she has the coolest blog ever that you should really check out. You'd think that she'd talk about tech stuff since she IS the queen of it, but no, it's about why she hates Krispy Kremes and how angry she is that she turned her socks pink. This makes me SO happy. :) That's it for now, be good!

Poster:	fatesclotho
Date:	2004-02-24 13:45
Subject:	A truly great quote.
Security:	Public
Mood:	contemplative

This is one of my favorite quotes EVER, bar none. I wanted to share it with you.

"...Anybody can see a pretty girl. An artist can look at a pretty girl and see the old woman she will become. A better artist can look at an old woman and see the pretty girl she used to be. A great artist can look at an old woman, portray her exactly as she is...and force the viewer to see the pretty girl she used to be...more than that, he can make anyone witht he sensitivity of an armadillo see that this lovely young girl is still alive, pirsoned inside her ruined body. He can you feel the quiet, endless tragedy that there was never a girl born who ever grew older than eighteen in her heart...no matter what the merciless hours have done. Look at her, Ben. Growing old doesn't matter to you and me--but it does to them. Look at her!

~Robert A. Heinlien, Stranger in a Strange Land

I love that book. I highly, highly recommend reading it. Give it a shot...

Poster:	noredspoon
Date:	2004-02-19 20:06
Subject:	VES Awards and Buffy!
Security:	Public

Buffy's final episode won the award for best effects in a TV show! How cool is that?

Short but sweet.

Poster:	babagannoush
Date:	2004-02-10 00:13
Subject:	Sweet Jebus...
Security:	Public

I just saw The Mummy Returns and I swear it had some of the worst special effects I've ever seen. That, and you also know you're in for a rough ride when the story is so contrived the characters in the story continuously make fun of it.

But apart from the embarassing plot and special effects, the characters (or should I say "charicatures") were fun and the chicks were hot. Mmm, Patricia Velasquez or Rachel Weisz? Mmm, after having watched Enemy at the Gates, I gotta go with Rachel Weisz. Damn, she's a sexy woman. There's something about her all dirtied up and in the trenches...

Where was I?

Right. Stupid movie. Hot women.

And she's a librarian. You catch that, Miss Sharp?

Poster:	luxfx
Date:	2004-02-08 16:44
Subject:	Lost in Translation
Security:	Public

Well, Jen and I finally got to see Lost in Translation last night, and I can undoubtedly say it was a very very good movie. I just can't figured out if I liked it....

Bill Murray lived up to the hype and more, he was simply amazing. Now he did a fine job in Rushmore and The Royal Tennenbaums, and when you see him in these movies you think to yourself, "Wow, that was a really unusual role for Bill Murray, he was really good!" After Lost in Translation, you simply don't associate it will Bill Murray. He was so good, that now when I think about Ghostbusters or Scrooged I find it odd to see Bill Murray as a comedian.

Scarlett Johannsen was also remarkable, and kudos for the casting director for ever coming up with the idea of putting them together, and having the imagination to think it would work. And being right.

But what did I think about the movie? Hmmm. Well, I hated a lot of the first half. There was a lot of the rave/mod/party/etc. scenes (what you call them probably depends on what decade you grew up in) and I simply hate that kind of thing so much that just watching it made me excruciatingly uncomfortable. I also decided that I really like Japanese traditional culture, but I dislike Japanese pop culture. I also decided that I will never, ever visit Japan to see the cities. I will one day visit Japan to see the country.

Oh, and Japanese video games are weird. Granted, it's kind of neat that there are video games whose interface is a traditional Japanese drum, or an electric guitar. But honestly, if people in this country think it's geeky to be obsessed with fighting video games run from a joystick, it's 100x as geeky to be obssessed with a music synchronization game that is run from ten large (3" or so) brightly colored buttons and dance moves.

And unfortunately for me, Japanese pop culture was a huge part of the movie. The rest was a really sweet story of a friendship between two people, highly dissimilar but joined by a sense of comradery. Both people have found themselves in culture shock as they try to make sense of Tokyo, but end up spending most of their time fighting insomnia in their own hotel. The friendship starts small, as unexpected friendships do. But they quickly realize they are stronger together.

During the entire movie, up until a really brilliant scene at the very end, it is unclear whether or not the two considered their relationship an affair -- because after all, they were both already married. Honestly, I believe that it was not the relationship itself that was unclear, but the relationship in light of my Hollywood-biased expectations of movies. And in a way, this movie is itself an experiment to try and overcome that bias. In typical Hollywood, if a man and a woman meet and grow close, their relationship becomes sexual. If they both have married lives elsewhere, then it becomes an affair. That just how Hollywood works.

Lost in Translation should get an award for breaking Hollywood's mold. Perhaps a Nobel Peace Price for finding a peaceful compromise between Man and Woman.

So did I like the movie or not? I can't tell. I've been thinking about it for the waking part of the last 16 hours, and I just don't have a clue. It was very clear that there were parts that I didn't like, but there were parts that I did. I don't think I'll be ready to see it again for a while. But all things considered, it was a phenomenal movie.

Poster:	babagannoush
Date:	2004-01-10 21:51
Subject:	Casting Decisions
Security:	Public
Mood:	contemplative

Who would play you in the movies or on TV?

I'm thinking this guy would be a pretty good pick to play me. He's a decent actor (last role I saw him in is as a Video Game developer on Law and Order: Criminal Intent) and he's got the dark hair and droopy eyes and narrow lips (although his ears are probably way too big...). On Law and Order he wore a beard like I wear now and looked identical to my self-image. Well, optimistic self-image. I think my second choice would be Nicholas Brendan. Anyway, who would play you on TV?

Here's another question: Who would play one of your favorite actors in a biographical film? Who would play the part of Harrison Ford, or Tom Cruise, or Toshiro Mifune, or Cate Blanchette? Here's a real-life example: Jason Scott Lee played Bruce Lee (no relation) in Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story. Jennifer Love Hewitt played Audrey Hepburn on TV. Jim Carrey played Andy Kaufman. You get the picture...

Poster:	fatesclotho
Date:	2003-12-17 12:07
Subject:	LOTR:ROTK
Security:	Public

Ok, so I have three big qualms with Return of the King that (in my mind) keep it from being the best of the three movies. Here they are:

1) There are some really hokey, stupid, predictable parts in this movie. Now, I know that that's Tolkein's fault, but still...I won't mention them here for those of you who haven't seen/read the books, but COME ON!!! The thing is, the other two movies aren't like that at all--it's like he just got lazy towards the end.

2) Cinematography. In a lot of places, this movie looks like it was shot by a very young Sam Raimi. You know, zooming in and out rapidly, twisting the camera on the X axis, shit like that. It was stupid and annoying.

3) This one's a spoiler, so I'm going to cut to it ( here. )

So that's that...it is a good movie, it just has a few problems. Still, go see it, and enjoy it. I think it's well worth it. Here's my final thought on it: Even with these problems, I would PAY to see it a second time.

So what did you think?

Poster:	noredspoon
Date:	2003-12-06 20:12
Subject:	Damn commercials
Security:	Public
Mood:	annoyed, and amused

If I have to hear "I just saved a bunch of money by switching to Geico" one more time I think I might scream.
I used to think that Geico commercials were kinda cool, they were really funny for a while, but these are really annoying.

The new Hardee's commercials are horrible. Making it a point to point out how horrible they were at one time isn't really the best bet. And I don't even think it was ever the "last place I'd go for a burger." I've always liked it, especially their breakfast.

The new pepsi commercial, on the other hand, is great. The hot dog chick and the guy in the pepsi costume. Its great. Hot Dogs love Pepsi. Pepsi loves hot dogs. Its really cute.

And the Citibank identity theft commercials are a little annoying sometimes, but its really clever to show someone speaking but hear the theif's voice.

Anyway, that's my quick two cents.