stuff about stuff
* After two days of 100F+ and five days of 95+, 88-and-swampy feels almost comfy. (Actually, no, no it doesn't. Because swampy is always worse than just 'hot.')
* I have a very up-and-down relationship with John Le Carre's stories; they are so well written, but so full of unlikeable people. Even (often) the nominal protagonists. That being said, I find the idea of casting Gary Oldman as George Smiley to be a few shades beyond ridiculous. Oldman's a bit too... handsome and badass and intense.
* The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is available via streaming on Netflix, so I watched it at home and saved myself the $13. I understand why they had to simplify the story a bit -- it was too sprawling for a screenplay -- but some of the choices for what to change and remove seemed odd and, in a few places, counterintuitive. That said, I liked it and thought it a good adaptation. It also did what I thought it would, which was tone down Lisbeth's Wonder Woman qualities, except for the ending, which actually made them worse. On the whole, though, thumbs up.
* Speaking of Netflix, I am halfway through season 3.5 of Eureka. Oh, show, I love you so. Next up, Season Three of Burn Notice (yay, Sharon Gless got an Emmy nod!) and SGU.
* The general it's completely acceptable to fangirl just got named to CENTCOM. He's a mutual admirer of General Petraeus, so there should be little conflict there. (A recent profile at Slate, worth reading.) Mattis has a rep for being, um, colorful with the quotes (the Post doesn't use the interesting ones), but he's also thoughtful, erudite, and deeply suspicious of over-reliance on technology in all the right ways. And he kind of sounds like Elmer Fudd.
* I'm going to have plenty for tomorrow's photo post, but, hey, why not one early? There's professional context for this, but let's just say that the Air Force is indeed capable of producing quality eye candy.
* DVD commentaries. I've never done one. I've had a couple done on my stories, which is totally fabulous (especially once I realized that this wasn't the equivalent of giving someone an unlimited supply of rotten tomatoes and a trebuchet). I was bored yesterday and might have tried starting one. I'm not sure I'm going to continue -- I go back and forth whether I have anything anyone to say that anyone would want to read or whether it would just be an exercise in egotism -- but... Does anyone have strong opinions on them? Nevermind. :)
* I have a very up-and-down relationship with John Le Carre's stories; they are so well written, but so full of unlikeable people. Even (often) the nominal protagonists. That being said, I find the idea of casting Gary Oldman as George Smiley to be a few shades beyond ridiculous. Oldman's a bit too... handsome and badass and intense.
* The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is available via streaming on Netflix, so I watched it at home and saved myself the $13. I understand why they had to simplify the story a bit -- it was too sprawling for a screenplay -- but some of the choices for what to change and remove seemed odd and, in a few places, counterintuitive. That said, I liked it and thought it a good adaptation. It also did what I thought it would, which was tone down Lisbeth's Wonder Woman qualities, except for the ending, which actually made them worse. On the whole, though, thumbs up.
* Speaking of Netflix, I am halfway through season 3.5 of Eureka. Oh, show, I love you so. Next up, Season Three of Burn Notice (yay, Sharon Gless got an Emmy nod!) and SGU.
* The general it's completely acceptable to fangirl just got named to CENTCOM. He's a mutual admirer of General Petraeus, so there should be little conflict there. (A recent profile at Slate, worth reading.) Mattis has a rep for being, um, colorful with the quotes (the Post doesn't use the interesting ones), but he's also thoughtful, erudite, and deeply suspicious of over-reliance on technology in all the right ways. And he kind of sounds like Elmer Fudd.
* I'm going to have plenty for tomorrow's photo post, but, hey, why not one early? There's professional context for this, but let's just say that the Air Force is indeed capable of producing quality eye candy.
* DVD commentaries. I've never done one. I've had a couple done on my stories, which is totally fabulous (especially once I realized that this wasn't the equivalent of giving someone an unlimited supply of rotten tomatoes and a trebuchet). I was bored yesterday and might have tried starting one. I'm not sure I'm going to continue -- I go back and forth whether I have anything anyone to say that anyone would want to read or whether it would just be an exercise in egotism -- but... Does anyone have strong opinions on them? Nevermind. :)