Archive for March, 2007
Keep Moving Forward…
Mar 31st
We just got back from seeing “Meet the Robinsons”, the latest Disney-Pixar collaboration. I have always been a big fan of the Disney-Pixar movies. My wife and I saw “Toy Story” in the theaters way back in 1995, a mere six months after we were married. I have a nice neat collection of all the Disney-Pixar DVD’s. (To be honest, the “Toy Story” set is getting a little beat up. May have to break down and buy the 10th Anniversary Edition.) Plus, I’ve really been into seeing all the animated features as they come out, no matter who produces them.
So, we’ve been looking forward to this. Once again, Disney does not disappoint.
I kinda noticed the “Rolie Polie Olie” feel to the movie from the beginning, which makes perfect sense after learning that the movie is based on a book written by William Joyce, the man behind “Olie.”
The visual gags come fast and furious. Who knows how many I missed? That’s half the fun of getting the DVD, though. I won’t give too much away, but one of my favorite gags is the appearance of “Todayland” — and the very Space Mountain-like building in the distance! And it’s always fun to read billboards (even science projects!) in Pixar films.
The only complaint I would have about the movie is this: Sometimes, the visuals seem to exist simply to show that it can be done! Like the whole food fight scene at the dinner table of the future. It takes on the special effects of a low-budget, washed-out, foreign-dubbed, multi-hyphenated kung fu flick. Why? Lewis surely didn’t see it that way. I don’t know. The scene was cute, but didn’t advance the story. It would have been better served as a deleted scene on the DVD.
Ultimately though, the plot twists and surprising character reveals make this a great movie to watch with the whole family. Ryan will be saying “I have a big head, and little arms” for weeks!
Mountaineers – NIT Champs
Mar 31st
West Virginia won the NIT Championship on Thursday by beating Clemson, 78-73. I was disappointed that they didn’t make the NCAA tournament, but this helps.
Of course, the big story is not the victory, but the misspelling of “Virginia” on the T-shirts. I didn’t even notice it immediately after the game. A co-worker pointed it out to me Friday morning. He approached me laughing with a newspaper in his hand. He showed me the picture that accompanied the newspaper article, and we had a good laugh.
The funniest thing about it so far is listening to the comments others have made about the typo. Everything from vulgar comments to general comments regarding the education of West Virginia residents. Something along the lines of, “Ah, they won’t notice it anyway!” That’s frustrating…
In my opinion, someone just made a mistake. I believe it was unintentional because of the potential damage to the manufacturer. How many people want to buy T-shirts from some company that can’t correctly spell the name of one of the fifty states?
But, on the plus side, it did give WVU a little bit of extra publicity. Even more than simply winning the tournament itself. As they say, “Any publicity is good publicity.” Especially when it’s not your fault.
Congrats WVU!
My Entertainment Tonight
Mar 25th
Well, I did watch Idiocracy this weekend, and it was very entertaining — oh, crap! The lady on Deal or No Deal just opened her last big money case! — Anyway, Idiocracy was good. I would certainly recommend it to anyone with that twisted, dark sense of humor. I’ve read online that Fox tried to suppress the movie, but I have a feeling that like Mike Judge’s other movie, Office Space, it will become a cult classic.
Grease: You’re The One That I Want had its grand finale this evening. We were quite happy with the chosen Danny & Sandy, Max and Laura. I was actually cheering for West Virginia’s own Derek Keeling, but he was eliminated last week. But it was nice to see the two “underdogs” win.
I’m still waiting for my phone call from the Deal or No Deal “Lucky Case Game” informing me that I have just won $10,000. Gee, I wonder what’s taking them so long…
If you get a chance…
Mar 24th
…and are so inclined, check out This Week in Tech (or TWiT, as they call it). It is a podcast put on by Leo Laporte and others in the tech field. I’ve listened to a couple of times recently and they’ve turned me on to a few things I had never heard about before. Very interesting conversation.
And one of the things they’ve got me interested in is the movie Idiocracy directed by Mike Judge. If you remember, he is the one responsible for Office Space and Beavis & Butthead. I haven’t watched Idiocracy yet, but I would like to rent it this weekend from MovieLink.
I think I might add a page to this site titled “My Favorite Media” that lists the things I’m watching and listening to…
American Idol holds some promise this season. Early on I was afraid for this group. I felt like the judges picked the wrong Top 24. Well, to an extent I still feel it could have been a better group, but there are at least a few singers who hold promise. To read my comments on this season in more detail, click here.
I’ve been looking at laptops at circuitcity.com. My favorite so far is the HP dv9230us. It looks pretty beefy.
Snow, miserable snow
Mar 7th
Ok, I am ready for spring now. We got about 6 inches of the white happy crap this afternoon. It came down very quickly. It started at about 9:00 this morning and by noon we had 4 inches. Here’s hoping that spring is coming soon…
