Another Lightsaber Duel Video

This video is one of the best I've seen. Watch it and see if you can tell what part brought forth evil laughter from me.

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Review: Superman Returns

The Man of Steel is back. Unlike DC Comic's other hot property, Batman, this isn't a reboot, and unlike a lot of other movies, it's not a remake. It is a continuation, taking place 5 years after the last movies and it is very respectful of its predecessors.

The movie itself is good. Unlike X-Men 3, it has the advantage of having a single hero, thus a much more focused storyline. That's not to say there aren't sideplots, but they don't distract you from the story or wander off nowhere. While Superman's powers are limited only by the needs of the writers, it's not like in previous movies (a la turning back time by flying so fast around the planet it spins backwards)and it certainly isn't a sin limited to Superman movies.

Brandon Routh does a good job as both Superman and Clark Kent. For Clark, it's almost like he's channelling Christopher Reeves. Kate Bosworth makes a good Lois Lane, much better than Erica Durance on Smallville. Kate's Lois is strong without being a bitch. And of course Kevin Spacey is great as Lex Luthor.

A humorous casting note (at least to me) was James Marsden (Cyclops of the X-Men movies) as Lois' boyfriend. I guess Superman and Wolverine have something in common.

And no, Superman is not potrayed as being gay. I don't know where this comes from, unless it's just to do with Routh. The Christ analogy is closer, in that I could see where people draw parallels.

There was a plot twist that had me fear for the rest of the movie. In the hands of someone like George Lucas, it would have ruined the film. Fortunately Singer has a lot more restraint than Lucas. When you see it, you'll know it.

Even though John Ottman (XM2) does the soundtrack, he makes liberal and effective use of John William's original theme. Of course, both Best Buy and Fry's are out of said soundtrack.

Even though it does fall victim to a couple of cliches, Superman Returns is great fun and a very good movie. I'm not a Superman comics fan, but I heartily endorse the movie.

Oz's rating: 4.5 cape-wearing kryptonian flying monkeys

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3000 Hits

Yes, I know that's not a lot in the realm of cyberspace. There was a guy that got 5 million hits because of a bet his girlfriend made, namely that if he built a site and got 5 million hits, she'd agree to a threesome (with another woman). He built the site, and got the hits.

So I may not have 5 million hits, but I know someone is reading this site.

Man, you guys must be bored. :)

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Spiderman 3 Trailer

It looks like the pictures we've been seeing of Spidey in his black costume isn't just a fashion statement or mood lighting. It's the symbiote. If you know what I'm talking about, it's obvious in this trailer.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, it's still pretty obvious.

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GenCon in Indy

w00t! It's been confirmed that GenCon will be in Indy through 2010. You can look here.

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RPG Motivation part 2

Ok, so I'm only 170 pages into that thread, but I have a few favorites...

I can just hear the players in my campaign going "Weasel...!"



Of course, in the Rolemaster game I play in, I have a certain reputation myself...



For the X-fans...



And the Firefly fans...

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RPG Motivation

There's a thread full of these here.

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The Kirk Identity

"Matt Damon is tipped to take on the role of a young Captain Kirk in the new Star Trek. Damon has been given the blessing of William Shatner, the original Kirk. The new film from JJ Adams, the creator of Lost, is still unnamed."

This is off of a board I read. When I get more concrete info, like a reliable source, I'll share.

Though I could see it.

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Star Trrrrek

Scottish Star Trek

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Star Trek vs. Star Wars

Ok... so this is an amateur hack job. See if you can spot how many different versions of the bridge crew there are in this clip.

There's another one that is mostly combat footage, hence less choppy (and much shorter).

And finally, this Robot Chicken clip shows what happens when you get fans involved.


Ok... when I said finally I lied. I watched something, and to share the suff- I mean joy, I'm going to see if embedding objects works in blogspot. If it doesn't work, you are missing some Australians doing a "live" version of the Star Wars Gangsta Rap, which means they lip synch and show how white they are.



Be glad... I just found another live version that looks like 2 guys in a dark room with a web cam. I'll spare you.

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To Boldy Go Were the Series Has Gone Before

One of the proposals for a new Trek series was a reboot of the original, proposed by the creator of Babylon 5. The idea of tampering with sacred material weighed against the success of series like Battlestar Galactica, and Paramount rejected the proposal. It could have been interesting, but imagine the fan outrage at every little change. You think there was a ruckus over Starbuck being a woman... what if they made Sulu gay?

Wait a minute...

Anyways, read the article and check out the proposal.

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Brando returns as Jor-El

Thanks to some computer wizardry. Follow the geek link. And I can say that because I was geeky enough to folow it in the first place.

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Ironic?

Am I the only one that sees the irony of Nestle buying Jenny Craig?

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Mr. and Mrs. Brady

Ok, this video only makes sense if you've seen Mr. and Mrs. Smith and you watched the Brady Bunch.

It's funny. And wrong. Probably why it amuses me.

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That's how it should work

I exchanged the Toshiba up-convert DVD player that wasn't cooperating for a Samsung one of my co-workers recommended. I decided to hook up the Samsung while I was cooking dinner (which means dinner is in the microwave). The longest part of this installation was getting the batteries for the remote out of the plastic.

At least it means I didn't suddenly get stupid with technology. I would normally think Toshiba was a solid brand, but this model has had trouble, especially with the HDMI ports.

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I had a dream that I was dead...

It was actually Monday night, but I just now got around to blogging it. Usually I forget my dreams as soon as I wake up, but this one made an impression.

Five of my friends were together in a room discussing that I was dead and my impending funeral. I was in the room as a ghost, but they couldn't see or hear me. One of my friends didn't want to go to the funeral because it would be a "bullshit ecumenical service" that had nothing to do with me. All five of the people in my dream are part of my tribe, thus pagans like me.

I'm not too worried about this being a premonition, as one of my friends was lugging around a body bag with my remains in it (and from the way the bag shifted when he moved it, I would say my remains were not too intact). The other thing that distanced it from reality was that I was hoping my ex-girlfriend would turn up so I could talk to my friends through her. I didn't know her name, or at least think it, but I knew that she was blonde but not one of my two blonde ex-girlfriends that I really have. And she was shorter than me. I have no clue what difference it made, but that's what my "dream memories" were.

Yes, when I dream, I sometimes have entire sets of memories. Is that odd?

Fortunately, I'm not easily spooked, as all five of my friends in my dream happened to show up at my house Tuesday night. /cue twilight zone

But it did make me think. What do I want when I die?

1) Parts is parts. I don't need them. This is covered as I'm an organ donor on my driver's license.

2) Cremate me. I don't need to take up real estate, I don't need my mortal remains, and that way no angry Egyptian cultist will turn me into a zombie.

3) Regarding my marker... if I have money left, I would like the artwork that comprises the round part of my tattoo on it. And something with a winged panther. Hey... it's my marker.

4) My wake. Make it a good Celtic wake with lots of beer and music. I want people to have fun the last time they get together on my behalf. No multi-day viewing or anything. Again, if I have money, some of it should go to the wake so that there's good beer, good food, and a good atmosphere (which means not in a funeral home).

5) My funeral. I don't want one. Just the wake. And although it will inconvenience my family, the wake should be here in Indy. My tribe and other pagan friends will remember me at Samhain.

Oh, and if I end up braindead in a hospital, someone do me a favor and "trip" over my plug.

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Early "Superman Returns" reviews

Early reviews are popping up, and you can find links to some of them here. So far things look good, with reviews ranging from above-average to very good. After reading a couple of them, I am really looking forward to this movie.

One of the things I've been geeking over is the use of John Williams' score in the trailer, but I've wondered if the actual score for this movie would be good and how they are managing to use Williams' score. Turns out Williams is doing the score for the new movie as well. Geek geek geek.

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Good Kitty!

Jack the cat treed a black bear that entered his yard twice. You can read the story here.

The only thing 'Ogi could tree is a can of gooshy food. And by "tree" I mean "beg for pitifully while his bowl is full of dry food".

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Norway dumps Wal-Mart

I take some kind on perverse pleasure in any setback I see for Wal-Mart. I don't know why... maybe it's because I see them as the big bullies of the retail world, and growing up a nerd means I hate bullies.

Norway decided to dump all of its Wal-Mart stock based on concerns over its unethical practices. Read about it here.

Wal-Mart gets revenge by using its death-ray to knock a meteorite down into Norway.

OK, we don't know that Wal-Mart is to blame... but I bet if they could drop meteorites onto people they didn't like, they would.

What's that whistling noise?

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Tricksie hobbits...

As in the friggin' hobbit engineers that designed my gorram new tv and DVD player. I should be able to connect the HDMI cable to both units, turn them on, select my HDMI source and start watching Kate Beckinsdale get nekkid in Underworld 2.

But no, they taunt me with a blank screen. And I checked the disk in another DVD player. So what should have been a 5 minute set-up will be a big pain in the ass.

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House rolls over for t-com lobby

Go here. It explains it much better than I can. I'd rather make parellels to the Galactic Senate voting emergency powers for the Chancellor, which really isn't a good parallel. But it's a Star Wars reference. And I can just imagine Jar-Jar going "Weesa no need Net Neutrality. AT&T and Comcast issa our bombad friends! Weesa can trust them to run da internet."

I bet GW liked Attack of the Clones.

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Thirteen most unpopular TV characters

This countdown lists the 13 most unpopular characters in popular tv shows. We agree on Number 1, and "Cousin Oliver Syndrome" (who wasn't #1) joins "Jump the Shark" in tv vernacular.

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Chair vs. Cat

My new computer chair is making Ryoga even more neurotic. Its back and arms are not conducive to feline gymnastics, which means if he wants in my lap, he has to wait for me to turn around. Which means he spends a lot of time flopping around on the floor making pitiful noises like a diabetic child in a candy store.

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Yikes!

I have a borderline phobia when it comes to armed insects. I can't imagine having to deal with these suckers.

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Chrono-Vampires and Stereotypes

I have a theory that certain people subsist on the time they steal away from others. There's certain people who find ways to consume huge chunks of your time, where it feels like the clock has slowed to a crawl but time passes in the outside world. Thus they keep you from getting stuff done. I'm sure everyone knows of at least one CV they have to deal with, most likely at work. Garlic and crosses don't keep them at bay, though spraying them with running water might. And driving stakes through their hearts is frowned upon and in most places considered a felony.

Speaking of felons, the other day a group of young men came into the establishment where I work, and my first impulse was to have my security guy keep an eye on them. Then I felt bad, because that was stereotyping.

Guess who we caught trying to steal stuff? If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it will probably perpetuate the duck stereotype.

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