Wow, it's been a really long time since I posted anything here. Guess it's kind of gotten shoved by the wayside. I don't know where to start, so this may be a bit more rambling than usual. At the end of August, we went to DragonCon for the first time in several years. It was a blast! It's always a hectic few days, but well worth it. I finally got to actually speak to James Marsters. He's awesome! Watching he & Juliet Landau interact was hysterical. My love for Firefly led me to a Battlestar Galactica panel where Mark Sheppard was speaking. It ended up being one of the highlights of the con for me, and Mark convinced me that just maybe the new Battlestar isn't all that bad. September whirled by with nothing overly exciting to report.
Halloween, a holiday that brings out both the childish & the gothic sides of my personality, was a bit more active than usual. The weekend before, we went out with several friends to a local bar to see a favorite band perform, which is always a good time. The downside of the evening was the Carolina game ran over, delaying the band, which infuriated several of our party, as they don't enjoy Carolina football like I do. So, already in a sour mood, we were looking to the band to redeem the evening. Sadly, it was not to be. The band recently underwent a lineup change, and the new members had not yet gelled to the awesome band we're used to. Halloween night, all of our friends who have children descended on our house as Trick or Treating HQ because our neighborhood gives out great candy. We had a great time. Our dog, however, did not, as 5 children ranging in age from 1 to 11 bartered candy in the middle of my living room floor while the 8 adults looked on. We ended the evening playing SingStar with one of the couples. I'm going to have to drag that one out as a group effort one night.
Rushing right into November, football & Thanksgiving were the highlights of the month. Thanksgiving, while a bit chaotic due to ongoing in-law antic, turned out to a nice time shared with family. I even cooked a Pumpkin Gooey Cake that turned out pretty well. I sometimes forget how much I actually enjoy baking. I hate cooking, but there's something comforting about baking. Maybe it's all those years of watching my grandmother bake those 12 layer cakes. Fate smiled upon me by dropping tickets to the Carolina - Clemson game in my lap. While I would have preferred the last 3 seconds of the game never happened, I had a blast!
The not so high light of November was pulling a muscle in my back picking up some firewood Thanksgiving weekend. It was a nuisance for about 2 weeks, and I felt I was on the mend. Driving home from work about 2 weeks after the injury, I experienced one of the scariest moments of my life. My lower back went numb. The numbness travelled in a wave down my legs & up to my neck and got uncomfortably hot! The short version is that several hours in the ER provided no answers and no reassurances. Followup with my own competent doctor led to an MRI, which I'm still awaiting the results of. No more episodes of the numbness, though I still have twinges in my back now & then.
I guess that's an update on everything up to the holiday season. So I'll finish this off for now & work on holiday post soon.
Again, for the couple of readers I do have, I apologize for the dearth of posts over the last several months. Hopefully, I'll develop more consistency in 2008!
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Blurry Bourne
Based on information from an acquaintance (now known to be horribly inaccurate), my resolve not to be nauseated again flagged & I went to see The Bourne Ultimatum. For those of you who are not familiar with the oft-told story, I love the Bourne saga, but the bizarre shakiness of the cinematography of Bourne Supremacy was migraine-inducing, and I swore not to see the third installment if Paul Greengrass was directing, a vow I wish I had kept.
Said acquaintance, who overheard a discussion I was having with someone about wanting to see it but not wanting to be ill, said he read an interview where Paul Greengrass said Bourne Ultimatum did not use what I refer to as "shaky cam." Armed with that information, the decision was made to go see it last night.
From the opening shot to the credits, the camera never stopped moving. The film was full of bizarre, shadowy closeups of people's faces; the frame shook unabated through calm conversations in restaurants, over breathtaking views of cities all over the world, as Jason Bourne rushed through streets, train stations, hallways, staircases, and a myriad of other typical action movie settings. At times ,I feared the cameraman was having Parkinsonian tremors, and no one on set noticed. As I watched dizzying camera shifts up buildings, I realized the shaky work was most likely due to a drunken cameraman allowed a drink rarely during shooting. The poor man must be going through DTs!
As in the last film, no where was this more noticeable than in the action sequences. It was nigh impossible to tell what was actually going on, for the screen was a gigantic blur. During several fight scenes, all you could see was blurs of motion with brief glimpses of what appeared to be limbs flailing about. While I did not leave the theater with a migraine, my head was numb and the pressure was building behind my eyes. I firmly believe the migraine was only avoided by averting my gaze during the worst of the blurry scenes, resulting in not seeing 15-20 minutes of the movie.
I will admit that we arrived to a full capacity theater and ended up sitting in the 4th row, which may have made the "shaky cam" phenomenon worse. Several times, I wondered if sitting further away from the screen makes it more bearable.
As for the plot, it was spot on! The pacing of the film was perfect. Matt Damon makes an excellent, sympathetic Bourne. David Strathairn does a skin crawling turn as the agent leading the hurt for Jason Bourne. The appearance of Julia Stiles does leave one wondering a bit, and that relationship is left unresolved.
I find it sad that I was unable to enjoy a movie that was really good due to the horrid cinematography.
Said acquaintance, who overheard a discussion I was having with someone about wanting to see it but not wanting to be ill, said he read an interview where Paul Greengrass said Bourne Ultimatum did not use what I refer to as "shaky cam." Armed with that information, the decision was made to go see it last night.
From the opening shot to the credits, the camera never stopped moving. The film was full of bizarre, shadowy closeups of people's faces; the frame shook unabated through calm conversations in restaurants, over breathtaking views of cities all over the world, as Jason Bourne rushed through streets, train stations, hallways, staircases, and a myriad of other typical action movie settings. At times ,I feared the cameraman was having Parkinsonian tremors, and no one on set noticed. As I watched dizzying camera shifts up buildings, I realized the shaky work was most likely due to a drunken cameraman allowed a drink rarely during shooting. The poor man must be going through DTs!
As in the last film, no where was this more noticeable than in the action sequences. It was nigh impossible to tell what was actually going on, for the screen was a gigantic blur. During several fight scenes, all you could see was blurs of motion with brief glimpses of what appeared to be limbs flailing about. While I did not leave the theater with a migraine, my head was numb and the pressure was building behind my eyes. I firmly believe the migraine was only avoided by averting my gaze during the worst of the blurry scenes, resulting in not seeing 15-20 minutes of the movie.
I will admit that we arrived to a full capacity theater and ended up sitting in the 4th row, which may have made the "shaky cam" phenomenon worse. Several times, I wondered if sitting further away from the screen makes it more bearable.
As for the plot, it was spot on! The pacing of the film was perfect. Matt Damon makes an excellent, sympathetic Bourne. David Strathairn does a skin crawling turn as the agent leading the hurt for Jason Bourne. The appearance of Julia Stiles does leave one wondering a bit, and that relationship is left unresolved.
I find it sad that I was unable to enjoy a movie that was really good due to the horrid cinematography.
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Haunting Hallows
I finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on Sunday, July 21 about 4 in the afternoon. I still find myself thinking about it, pondering the many things that transpired in the 759 pages I devoured like a ravenous beast.
I journeyed through seven books with these characters, celebrating their triumphs and mourning their losses. I thought I would be saddened to see the story end, to realize as I closed the tome that I would have no more adventures with Harry, Hermione, Ron and the other characters I've come to love, but that did not happen. While the book certainly is not perfect, I find myself feeling satisfied, happy that Harry fulfilled his destiny. I achieved a sense of closure, an internal satisfaction that comes with seeing a story through to completion.
My mind is compelling me to write more, but find myself hesitating. The thoughts chasing themselves around my brain like a pup who has newly discovered the joys of his tail beg for release, but I do want to mercilessly yank the joy of watching a story unfold from some poor soul who may crash upon the shores of this rambling blog unawares.
Suffice it to say, the Harry Potter story has been an enjoyable journey, fraught with nailbiting excitement, bitter tears, and unabashed exhultation! Many thanks to JK Rowling for taking the time to create a world I was happy to be immersed in through seven wondrous volumes.
And to all of the Hogwarts gang, Godspeed!
I journeyed through seven books with these characters, celebrating their triumphs and mourning their losses. I thought I would be saddened to see the story end, to realize as I closed the tome that I would have no more adventures with Harry, Hermione, Ron and the other characters I've come to love, but that did not happen. While the book certainly is not perfect, I find myself feeling satisfied, happy that Harry fulfilled his destiny. I achieved a sense of closure, an internal satisfaction that comes with seeing a story through to completion.
My mind is compelling me to write more, but find myself hesitating. The thoughts chasing themselves around my brain like a pup who has newly discovered the joys of his tail beg for release, but I do want to mercilessly yank the joy of watching a story unfold from some poor soul who may crash upon the shores of this rambling blog unawares.
Suffice it to say, the Harry Potter story has been an enjoyable journey, fraught with nailbiting excitement, bitter tears, and unabashed exhultation! Many thanks to JK Rowling for taking the time to create a world I was happy to be immersed in through seven wondrous volumes.
And to all of the Hogwarts gang, Godspeed!
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Treading Water
Well, I've nothing really new to post. No inspirations or startling revelations. I've spent most of the week recovering from some minor surgery & have been lost in a haze of pain meds. I'm pretty well recovered, other than some lingering stomach issues stemming from anesthesia. I return to work tomorrow & a sense of normalcy. I'm looking forward to it. More to come as immerse myself in life again.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Testing the Waters
Well, here goes nothing. I've thought about doing the blog thing for a while now. So here's a first post just to see how things look & work. Lots of ideas for things to put here. So, hang on & enjoy the ride!
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