Bullet Points
A quick update on the personal state of affairs in the land of Boztopia:
* Of course I saw "Iron Man." I had the pleasure of catching a preview screening on Tuesday with
Larry and the Fantom Comics posse. From the first frame to the last, it was, quite simply, the best comic-book/superhero movie I have EVER seen. Everything--from "Sin City" to "Batman Begins"--comes up short compared to Tony Stark and company. Absolutely flawless in every way, from the dialogue, to the pacing, to the shouts-out to long-time fans, to the excellent post-credits Easter egg (which wasn't in the preview reel, but made it to the YouTubes within hours of the premiere of the theatrical version). And it seems like a lot of people agree, which is certainly all to the good. If you don't like this movie, you might as well move to Afghanistan and sign up with al-Qaeda, because you clearly hate freedom. War Machine in the sequel or bust! (Oh, and let's hope the Ghostface cameo gets restored for the DVD.)
* "The Incredible Hulk" is going to have to jump REALLY high to overcome the bar set by "Iron Man," but I certainly can't hate on the trailer.
* You'll notice there was no review of "Battlestar Galactica" this week. Simply put, I could have watched the trailer for "The Road Less Traveled" and gotten everything I needed to know about the episode. The rest was annoying filler. Yes, Starbuck is crazy. Yes, Tyrol is crazy (and invoking Travis Bickle). Yes, Baltar is crazy (and Jesus). WE GET IT. Some forward motion on the plots, please. And give Athena her personality back while you're at it.
* I plunked down some cash and bought a souped-up version of this laptop from Linux Certified, who came highly recommended as the best source for pre-installed Linux machines. Jim swears by them, and I was hella impressed by their responsiveness (A personal call on a Sunday! Upgrade to 8.04 Hardy Heron!), so I think it's worth it. By sheer coincidence,
Jessica Melusine was also shopping for a laptop, so I threw a recommendation that way and she went for it. Must've been an Aquarian thing.
* I will be taking my first plane trip in four years to visit
Leah and company in Rochester---
Mom is making the trip as well. Guess we'll find out if I'm on a terrorist watch list or not.
* The only thing more offensive in this article than the idea that Hillary Clinton is some kind of working-class hero is that having a liberal voting record somehow disqualifies you from being a working-class hero. Then again, we live in a world where people can openly call Faux Noise Network "populist" without any trace of irony. (Word to
Chris for the link.)
* Yes, Trent Reznor did, in fact, just release an album completely free for download over the Internet. It's pretty good--kind of like a pastiche of "With Teeth"-esque lyrical content over the audio soundscapes of "Ghosts." I even sent the link to a lucky few as a gift (Watch your email accounts!).
* Speaking of music, I totally dug the shit out of this song before finding out it was done by one of those "American Idol" guys. I can't believe someone on that show actually had talent! (This, of course, being a purely subjective judgment.)
*
Mistress T, in addition to being the purveyor of various delicious bite-sized chunks of musical goodness (Like this bonkers mix of the Verve with crunk rap!), but she's a cultural aesthete as well--she turned me on to this excellent Eurofest last Saturday which coincided nicely with Free Comic Book Day, plus an impromptu meetup with her, Drew, and Kat in Dupont Circle. As PJ might say, "Totally worth it," even if there were no vampire succubi. That you know of. :)
* Of course I saw "Iron Man." I had the pleasure of catching a preview screening on Tuesday with
Larry and the Fantom Comics posse. From the first frame to the last, it was, quite simply, the best comic-book/superhero movie I have EVER seen. Everything--from "Sin City" to "Batman Begins"--comes up short compared to Tony Stark and company. Absolutely flawless in every way, from the dialogue, to the pacing, to the shouts-out to long-time fans, to the excellent post-credits Easter egg (which wasn't in the preview reel, but made it to the YouTubes within hours of the premiere of the theatrical version). And it seems like a lot of people agree, which is certainly all to the good. If you don't like this movie, you might as well move to Afghanistan and sign up with al-Qaeda, because you clearly hate freedom. War Machine in the sequel or bust! (Oh, and let's hope the Ghostface cameo gets restored for the DVD.)
* "The Incredible Hulk" is going to have to jump REALLY high to overcome the bar set by "Iron Man," but I certainly can't hate on the trailer.
* You'll notice there was no review of "Battlestar Galactica" this week. Simply put, I could have watched the trailer for "The Road Less Traveled" and gotten everything I needed to know about the episode. The rest was annoying filler. Yes, Starbuck is crazy. Yes, Tyrol is crazy (and invoking Travis Bickle). Yes, Baltar is crazy (and Jesus). WE GET IT. Some forward motion on the plots, please. And give Athena her personality back while you're at it.
* I plunked down some cash and bought a souped-up version of this laptop from Linux Certified, who came highly recommended as the best source for pre-installed Linux machines. Jim swears by them, and I was hella impressed by their responsiveness (A personal call on a Sunday! Upgrade to 8.04 Hardy Heron!), so I think it's worth it. By sheer coincidence,
Jessica Melusine was also shopping for a laptop, so I threw a recommendation that way and she went for it. Must've been an Aquarian thing.
* I will be taking my first plane trip in four years to visit
Leah and company in Rochester---
Mom is making the trip as well. Guess we'll find out if I'm on a terrorist watch list or not.
* The only thing more offensive in this article than the idea that Hillary Clinton is some kind of working-class hero is that having a liberal voting record somehow disqualifies you from being a working-class hero. Then again, we live in a world where people can openly call Faux Noise Network "populist" without any trace of irony. (Word to
Chris for the link.)
* Yes, Trent Reznor did, in fact, just release an album completely free for download over the Internet. It's pretty good--kind of like a pastiche of "With Teeth"-esque lyrical content over the audio soundscapes of "Ghosts." I even sent the link to a lucky few as a gift (Watch your email accounts!).
* Speaking of music, I totally dug the shit out of this song before finding out it was done by one of those "American Idol" guys. I can't believe someone on that show actually had talent! (This, of course, being a purely subjective judgment.)
*
Mistress T, in addition to being the purveyor of various delicious bite-sized chunks of musical goodness (Like this bonkers mix of the Verve with crunk rap!), but she's a cultural aesthete as well--she turned me on to this excellent Eurofest last Saturday which coincided nicely with Free Comic Book Day, plus an impromptu meetup with her, Drew, and Kat in Dupont Circle. As PJ might say, "Totally worth it," even if there were no vampire succubi. That you know of. :)