Monday, March 30, 2009

Since I don't have a DVR...

I was out of it on Friday night...I don't know whether it was all the running around I did all week or my medication, or a combination of both, but I fell asleep before I could catch Dollhouse. Is it just me or does it seem like Echo is regaining her memories/identity a bit too quickly? I thought Joss Whedon would stretch things out just a bit longer. I'll try and catch the episode I missed on either Imdb.com or hulu. They've been life savers, as I don't have a DVR just yet.

I also like Better off Ted. The paper towel dispenser bit had me rolling. The ads that introduce the show also make me laugh.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

20th Anniversary of Pearl Jam's Ten

I'm thrilled and gobsmacked all at once.
I loved Pearl Jam's Ten, it was one of those casettes I could put in my walkman and listen to all the way through (Right on up there with Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here). I know "State of Love and Trust" is on the deluxe edition. That was on the Singles soundtrack. (I think the band was in the film too, if I remember correctly. That tickled me no end. Chris Cornell was in it too. Soundgarden...There was some stuff of theirs I definitely loved as well. But I digress.) I actually liked "Breath" from the Singles soundtrack better than "State of Love and Trust". Still, I'm anxious to see what the other extra songs are on the 20th anniversary CD and what they sound like.

But where do they get the math from? I thought Ten was released in 1991. I had just started college that year...(Yes, I feel positively ancient right now, thank you for asking.) Whatever the case, good music is good music and it stands the test of time.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Doctor's office visit

Sorry for the lapse y'all.

Went to the doctor's office on Friday and it turned into an all day thing. Everything has pretty much been topsy turvy since. Tramadol is not my friend. :(

I found out I had to go to another building to get X-rays done. The place was so crowded, I have to go back. They don't take appointments either. On the bright side, at least I don't have to worry about a co-pay. I miss the days when radiology and your doctor's office were in the same building and if you were super lucky, the same floor though.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Springtime...

I was fumbling around in my closet and realized that before those springtime temperatures stabilize, I have got to get some new short-sleeved tops. I was walking at the mall and I saw some tops at Fashion Bug, but they all look like similar tops I have had in the past. I want something new and different from what I've bought in the past. Unfortunately, I can only be so daring, because I have a very old-fashioned thinking supervisor (she wears pearls) and I work for the federal government. Maybe K&G Warehouse will have something... I also get catalogs at home from Chadwick's and whatnot, so I'll look there too.

On the diet front. I finally tried a BocaBurger. They're not as nasty as I thought, but they're not as flavorful either. My dad suggested putting cheese on it. Silly me for asking, but doesn't that defeat the whole purpose of what a veggieburger should be/do?

Rudeness on Metro

Is it my imagination or is rudeness on Metro getting worse? It seems especially bad during rush hour. AM or PM it doesn't matter. I have seen people crowd onto trains that are already crowded knowing that if the train has to offload, that just makes things that much worse. This morning I was actually shoved as people began to pack into a train on the Blue/Orange line. I didn't even get so much as an "Excuse Me." I go out of my way to say "Excuse Me.", specifically because I very rarely get to hear it back. There are some polite men and women out there, but lately they're so few and far between. What's happening to people?

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

American Movie Classics? WTF

Ok, this past Sunday at 8:00pm they put on Catwoman. They are airing it twice this week *shudders*. This morning, they finally air the Heath Ledger, Wes Bentley, Djimon Hounsou version of Four Feathers. I have been dying to see this as it is one of the few Heath Ledger movies I haven't seen. They air it at 3:30 am this morning. It's 3 hours long and I had to go to work. I've had a bunch of medical issues come up lately, so I didn't want to use any leave unnecessarily. I checked Imdb and so far as I can see, AMC doesn't have any plans to rebroadcast this in the near future. They will put on Catwoman of all movies twice in one week, but they won't air the 2002 version of Four Feathers ? What's up with that? What? They air classic bad films now too?

Maybe I'll just break down and buy Four Feathers on Amazon when I buy Two Hands.

I also know that if anyone out there at all is reading this, they might be wondering in the back of their mind, if I don't know that there are way more important things that I could be ranting about/should be concerned with than AMC's lapse(s) of judgement. Yeah, you're absolutely right. There is the economy, politics, and the environment amongst other issues. From time to time I will be putting in my two cents worth on all those things, just not today.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Nothing says Good Morning like a painter outside your window

First of all, I'm ecstatic, because I finally got the place to myself. Yay me!

Now for the insanity...A couple of days ago, we got a notice that we were getting the outside of our apartment complex painted. Ok, this is no big thing. What I did not anticipate, was that these guys would be working on a weekend and working in the rain. I fell asleep with my vertical blinds cracked, but not wide open on Saturday night, plus I like to give my lamp a break. So, anyway, I hear this noise out side the window, which is not all that unusual, because we've got birds, we've got bats, we've got squirrels. I blink awake this morning, look out the window and there is this dude on a ladder outside my window. I wrapped myself in my blanket and hauled ass getting out of bed and closing the blinds. I've never in all the times I've lived in an apartment where the outside was being painted had anything like that happen to me before. I've never been on a property this big before either, so I guess they couldn't arrange it in such a way that they tell each section when their place is being done, that way they can have their blinds closed ahead of time. Geez! What a way to wake up.

Saw this funny horror movie Friday night. I can't remember the exact title, but I remember it had Pinata Island in the title. That had to have been one of the most pitiful movie monsters I've ever seen, and I've seen quite a few in my time.

I was wandering around Target while I was waiting for my optometrist to check the new contacts she had just put in, and I stumbled across a DVD called Let the Right One In. That looks like it might be really interesting. I also found Quarantine, which I have been wanting to see for the longest time.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

My budding fascination with J-Horror

I have a friend who's sort of helping to nurture this along. Although I have to confess, my fascination with J-horror started with watching The Ring. I heard it was based on a book by Koji Suzuki, so I read it. It's a trilogy. I haven't read the last one yet. Then I also wanted to see the original Japanse version. When The Grudge came out, I went to see Ju-On as well. Then, I stumbled across a fanfiction writer who's also into J-horror. We exchange e-mails now and again and she also posts recs in her author's notes. Anyhoo, she recommended this site that accepts donations, but basically lets people enjoy a wide variety of J-horror films for free. I look up the URL, and post it here, because right now, I don't have it on hand. My friend recommended a J-horror film called Rattle Rattle ( Picture a ghost woman that combines the creepiest things about the zombies in an Evil Dead movie and combine that with Kayako from Ju-On, only imagine her making a clicking or rattling sound instead of that croak, and go from there. It's a short film, but if any of what I just described creeps you out, watch at your own risk.).
What I'd really love to see is the original of One Missed Call. The American version was some garbage. If a horror movie that should be scary just makes you laugh, that is a bad sign. The ending just left me going... WTF?
Something else that's also funny, I left a line or two about Rattle Rattle movie on Twitter and I guess I wasn't talking about J-horror films consistently enough for my one follower, because they quit on me. I felt as though I'd let them and myself down. It's hard enough for me to work for 8 hours, deal with whatever chores I have to do at home, and still find the time to blog and watch and review a J-horror movie on weeknights though. That's kind of a tall order. Not to mention the fact that Lost is like in mid-season right now. Then, on weekends I'm trying to cram in the other gazillion things I can never manage to do on weeknights, like getting back to my drawing and painting. There truly just aren't enough hours in the day. I'm vowing to get better with Twittering and updating at least two of my blogs. I'm thinking about dropping the MySpace one. I haven't decided yet. I'm also on LiveJournal, but I'm under another name. It's not only a somewhat movie/character themed username, but it's also a bad pun. So, if you don't know already, use movie/character themed usernames at your own risk, because if you don't choose wisely, they definitely turn around to bite you.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Pedometer update

I made it up to 9334 steps today. Yeah, yesterday I definitely should have put the silly thing on as I was leaving the apartment. Way more interesting posts later, I promise.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Excercise or lack thereof

I've got a doctor's visit coming up where they've sent me questionnaire to fill out. One of the questions is how much exercise I get. I don't go to a gym. The Gold's Gym near me has see-through walls and a gang of dudes are always watching the belly dancing classes. Until I lose like maybe 10 lbs, that's not incentive for me, it's a deterrent. I'm like 5'5'' and 140lbs.

Anywho, I put on my pedometer today, to see exactly how much walking I do. Unfortunately, I forgot to put in on before I left the house and put it on once I got to work. Yesterday, it said I took something like 4,000 steps, but what does that mean? Like how many miles is that? So I go to Google and find a miles to steps converter and I find it's something like 2 miles. Not bad, but I think I can do better, especially given the fact that it's been almost 2 years since my accident. I also want to get back on a horse again. I'm surprised at how much I enjoyed my first time on a horse, considering what a scaredy cat I am when it comes to just about everything else.

Monday, March 9, 2009

Watchmen

I'll get into more detail on this hopefully later. There are a few spoilers here, so consider yourself warned.
I've got to confess, I haven't read the graphic novel in its entirety yet.
Usually, I try to read the book or graphic novel a film is based on before I go see it.
I won't bore you with the excuses, but I will say, that obviously it didn't work out that way this time.

I was over on Jorge Garcia's blog and he compared Dr. Manhattan to a smurf. I thought that was funny. My niece has no idea what a smurf is. If that doesn't make me feel old, I don't know what does. Oh yeah, but back to the movie, I really enjoyed it. I don't really have a favorite character yet, I want to read the graphic novel and make a comparision first. I know Silk Spectre II in the graphic novel seemed more whiney than her cinematic counterpart. Something else that jumped out at me about Silk Spectre II. Her hair. I'm sorry, but that's such a combat hazard. What villain/villainess worth his or her salt is not going to go for her hair? As it was I was afraid her hair was going to catch fire when she went into that building.
Other differences between the movie and the graphic novel...
What happened between The Comedian and Silk Spectre I is a lot darker in the graphic novel. The movie softens it a bit. Visually this movie was stunning... Bubastis...
Dr. Manhattan...(Silk Spectre II got mad at him for making himself triplets why?), the place Dr. Manhattan built for himself on Mars. In the graphic novel, I love how excerpts from Under the
Hood are included. I wish it was a separate book unto itself. One of the things I didn't like about the movie was how exaggerated Nixon's nose was. It was distracting. It was probably meant to be a caricature/ a joke/ tongue in cheek, but they just went overboard there. If the soundtrack is any good, I may get it. I will definitely be getting this when it comes out on DVD. I hear the special features should be really interesting and that they will include the pirate story.