Updates...
I haven't updated my LJ lately... that tends to happen when you're reduced to 14.4k dial-up WHEN you can even connect to the remote server (gotta call the phone company today and finally get that fixed--for several years, there's been this droning humm on the line every other call. Most times it goes away after hanging up and picking up again, or after several minutes. But after a severe thunderstorm lately, it just won't go away and dial-up doesn't work well with another sound constantly humming on the line...)
I've seen a few movies lately:
Kung-Fu Panda: Pretty darn good. The opening animation would be great for a series, or direct to DVD movie!
Wall•E: Very good too. I can't believe that some folks thought that the movie would suffer if it didn't have much dialogue fromt he main characters. Someone suggested that the "social commentary" of the movie may also have distracted from the movie (someone even mentioned "politics" and I don't think politics had anything to do with the movie at all...) But the love story and animation were fantastic. I do intend to make at least one Buy N Large sticker for my car or something.
Wanted was a fun movie. I think of it as "Office Space" meets "Hitman". Had it been around in our social circle 10 years ago or so, I'm sure it would have been used as part of our Masque 2K setting in some way.
Hancock was a decent movie. I guess there were people who didn't like the "twist" at the end. I thought it was a pretty good one and leads to a lot more story in the future... especially if this was conceived of as a trilogy or something. Who were "They" that kept coming for them? Who were the creators? More about their history... whether it's as movies, as comics, or some other media, I'd like to learn more about the larger story the movie teasted us with. Unfortunately for me we went to see this at the Muskegon Carousel. Now, normally the Carousel doesn't have audience problems.. but there was at least one group in the theatre who were all-but dancing when the hip-hop music was playing. Of course, I'm from a cultural group that appreciates a quiet theater. Other groups feel it should be a bit more... interactive. *shrugs* It wasn't as bad as "American Werewolf in Paris" where there were at least a dozen people actually dancing in the isles.
Batman: Gotham Knight: I'm not a big fan of Anime, but I was interested in seeing if there were any good stories here. 6 epidodes, each with their own style of animation. We'll have to see if any of the story elements work into the Dark Knight. Though, we do get to see what The Scarecrow's been up to lately... Some are better than others. But at least Conroy is back as Batman! (The commentary is decent too, if you're a fan of Batman or The Animated Series, of course.)
Wes came into West Michigan this weekend... and it just so happened there was a Craic Wisely show. So Taki ordered up the tables and we got a lot of folks out to The Black Rose for a Craic Show. Some folks left early for Final Haven, while the rest of us stayed around. I drove Wes, Nikki and Mike back to Muskegon and crashed for a good long time myself. Craic Wisely was alright... but their drummer isn't really in touch with the band (Mike had the same problems early on... going to fast, or not learning when the band wants to slow down or break into a different tempo or song... However, I don't know if the fans are "back" though. Like Wes pointed out, most of the folks probably wouldn't have been there had he not been visiting.
I'm still on the search to get better internet at my mom's house. The local WiFi provider (Azulstar) is offering WiMax which has better signal strength, I think, but the equipment (here's a page from the product maker) that *MIGHT* receive and send signal from my mom's place is $500. Though, at only $20/month, it would still be better than paying $2,000 and other equipment rental/costs for Sattelite or other services. ($500 over 2 years is equivilant to a $20/month rental/payment plan.)
... there's still a chance that we could get Charter to be "forced" to pay for stringing our road with cable through a Township ordinance or something. But first things first, I gotta call the phone company to get the phone line to stop humming.
One Month Until GenCon '08! WHOOT!
Got a favorite game? Get ready to nominate them for an award!
While public voting isn't open just yet, support your favorite games by nominating them for the 2008 ENie Awards.