Chris's Ponderous Ponderings and Other Interesting Instances of Amusing Alliteration

New year, same post ...

2011-08-15T08:49:00.003-04:00

This is always the time of the year when I am optimistic about the coming year. This year, though, I want to make a couple of resolutions. I know I know ... new year's resolutions are a bit cliched. However, I think they are perfectly natural ... the future suddenly feels like a fresh canvas that can become anything that hard work and desire can make it.

1. I'm going to finish my proposal and collect data before Christmas. This MUST be done for me to graduate. I'm working 30 hours a week but not taking any classes except research. This is it ... the big push ... the time to actually live buried in academia like a true graduate student.

2. I'm going to flex my teaching muscles. I'm doing some training for ITaP this semester, and the new material has flexed my creative teaching side a bit. I'm going to apply that to my own lab section ... it's a special section anyway, but I need to sit down and think about implementing new things into the lab.

Mini-reviews: Source Code and Extract

2011-08-04T18:23:00.003-04:00

Source Code

I picked up Source Code because it had fairly decent buzz. To be honest, it was a film that I had thought about seeing in the theater, but my general aversion the rudeness displayed in most movie screenings left me waiting until DVD. Thankfully $1 donated to RedBox later, I was finally able to see this Jake Gyllenhaal masterpiece ... OK ... perhaps a bit of hyperbole ... but it wasn't bad.

Unfortunately the interesting discussion spawned by Source Code would be incredibly spoilerific. So ... keeping it fairly spoiler-free ... the movie is about a soldier who is trying discover the identity of a bomber on a Chicago commuter train. He is dropped into the situation and has has 8 minutes until the explosion, and as the movie progresses, you this event transpired again and again in a Groundhog Day-esque way. Unlike Groundhog Day, however, the replay of the train scene is intercut with interludes of the solider in a "capsule," discussing events with his superiors and, in a sometimes-clumsy way, progressing the "why is this happening" plot forward. Paradoxically, the "how" explanation of Source Code both works and fails miserably. The how is interesting, but it also does not stand up to much post-viewing dissection. It unfortunately also inserts some conflict into the movie which I found fairly uninteresting and, since the interludes are fairly short, really seem to be there to keep the plot moving.

In the end, I recommend Source Code, especially if it's $1 out of your local RedBox.

Extract

Extract is Mike Judge's latest movie and, in case you forget, Mike Judge is the guy who brought us the cult-classic, Office Space (among other things). LIke Office Space, Extract takes a few shots at working life, this time in a factory that creates food extracts. Unfortunately, most of the movie falls very flat. The charm of Office Space is that, while the characters may not have been "normal," you could still identify with them. In Extract, the main character (played by Jason Bateman) owns the company and his bit worries are that 1) he might be able to sell his company to General Mills and 2) he wants an excuse to sleep with new employee MIla Kunis, so he arranges for his wife (Kristin Wiig) to be seduced by a gigolo. Sorry ... not buying THAT setup ... which is a shame because I had high hopes for a movie with such a talented cast ( in addition to those already mentioned, Ben Affleck and J.K. Simmons).

It's not relatable. It's rarely funny. Skip it.

Dissertation determination

2011-07-26T19:51:00.003-04:00

Life of a grad student revolves around deadlines ... work, school, research, play ... they all compete for attention. I've found that "soft" deadlines are not an effective motivator for me, especially when I have multiple other things with firm deadlines. I'd like to say that if I worked less (but then was much poorer), I've have more time for my research and writing, but I don't really think that is the case. Work is something tangible, something that I work on with other people and know that they also (at least kind of) connected into the same thing.

I sometimes feel so silly. My dissertation is just research. It will not change the world. It will not be perfect by an means. I can say this without even a complete proposal because it is obvious. Why then is it hard? I whine to myself about needing to finish. I have the ball in my court and yet the game stalls.

I guess I'll keep this simple for myself. I will be done with my proposal in one month (at least a good draft will be out). I will have my data collected by Christmas. I WILL defend in the spring and, one year from now, I will graduate (about 8 years after starting grad school). It's time to act. It's time to finish. It's time to start a new chapter in my life.

It will happen.

Oh poor blog ...

2011-07-25T20:37:00.002-04:00

Though I know my blog is inanimate, I still feel sorry for it. After many years of use, it has fallen silent, started gathering dust, ridden into the sunset, and any performed any other cliche imagery imaginable.

I'm not sure why I stopped writing. It's easy to say that social media (Facebook, etc) has siphoned off my creative stream ... but that can't be all, can it? I think it is now more about the audience. When I first started my blog, I could joke all I wanted to about readership, but the fact that someone paid attention (even a tiny bit) was a motivating factor. Now? I have no idea who would read this (perhaps RSS feeds will surprise someone once I hit "publish").

The real fact of the matter is that I think I need this outlet. I tried podcasting, but besides finding space, etc, I felt too much like I was acting. Isn't weird that I did not want my true voice to be my "true" voice? Perhaps not ... perhaps that's just something that has always been the case. With my writing, I can take my time. I can edit, retract, and otherwise think about statements (even for a second) before making them public. I have a feeling that "natural" conversation with me can sometimes be trying. I try too hard to [fit in, make a joke, be serious, say the right thing, say the absolute wrong thing]. I love quoting pop-culture ... but does that mean that I really don't have anything of my own to say?

If the activity on this blog is any indication ... that might be a frightfully accurate assessment ......

Mac Attack

2011-05-09T18:32:00.002-04:00

I've been doing the dance for many years. I've flirted. I've been difficult. I've even taken an extended weekend. Now it's official ... I've replaced my PC with an iMac.

What caused this change?

To be honest, not one thing I can put my finger on. I'm sure that having an iPhone and and iPad helped. The fact that Mac products hold their value pretty well also helped. Right now, I could hardly give away my 3-year old, then top-of-the-line PC.

In the end, I think it was an interest in more use of OSX along with the idea of the upgrade window. I know ... this is one thing some people hate Apple for ... each year, they roll out a new product, making what you own no longer the "hot new thing." However ... let's compare iMacs to Dells. The new iMacs were just released. Given a standard upgrade window of 10-18 months, it will be quite a while before new features are introduced. The Dell, on the other hand, is upgraded with much less fanfare (at least, I don't hear about it). However, with every new chip, new hardware advancement, etc, Dell will sell it. Thus, in two months, the same Dell machine I would have purchased might not even be available in the configuration I purchased. With an iMac, the model year pretty much determines my machine. I know ... the old me says that this means lack of choice, but I'm trying to take the positive route and say that it means support should be that much easier.

I guess we'll see ....

Spring cleaning ....

2011-04-17T14:42:00.002-04:00

I've been on the road lately ... a lot. Or at least it feels like a lot. There was a drive to Miami (ugh). A cruise (fun). A drive back from Miami (ugh ugh ugh). A trip to New Orleans for a conference. Not to mention lots of sentence fragments.

What I've noticed is that, when trips are imminent, I let things go. I do the work I am supposed to, but I leave off the optional stuff. Writing got done, but I didn't do my dishes. I sent my required emails, but I did not take out my boxes.

This is an aggravating trait I need to work on. When I don't have a deadline (in case of chores, I won't be here anyway), I seem to let things slide in favor of things that are more pressing. That seems logical, but as I've posted before, logical isn't always the best way to live.

I'm implementing a plan to improve myself. I'm trying to eat better (take that you greedy fat cells). I'm trying to stay up on my work. I'm also trying to do at least one thing a day to make my apartment more habitable. Who knows? Perhaps in a few years, I'll be able to invite people over again. :(

Emotions don't follow logic.

2011-01-18T21:19:00.001-05:00

You know what's tiring? My insistence on maintaining the image of the sarcastic fat guy. Not only is it cliche, but it also limits one's ability to do something else with life. Sarcasm itself is fine, though it seems to usually be the verbal weapon of choice for those who are so jaded in life that they can only mock others. Why would I want to portray that image? Who would want to date someone who constantly makes dry, snotty remarks? I used to believe that sarcasm is my way to display my wit ... it takes a sharp mind to discern the humor or insecurity in a situation and then comment on it ... or does it? Snarky comments really only serve the purpose of drawing ones attention to ones self. It says ... LOOK AT ME! I'M SO SMART! Doesn't sound so subtle or witty when you look at it that way, right? Hmmm? Sure, some people get off on sarcasm, but usually it is a one-way street ... the person delivering it. Some others can enjoy it, to a point, but who wants to live the rest of their lives with the "snotty remark" guy? You can hear her internal dialogue ... Oh really ... you have a comment about dinner? About our house? About our kids? ETC ETC ETC. There comes a point where being a jerk is ... well, being a jerk. I hid behind the fact that I was a jerk to myself. See, I'm an equal opportunity basher, right? I can call you shallow as long as I call myself fat, right? Guess what? Human emotions do not follow mathematical logic where one thing is cancelled out by another. what do you know? Two wrongs really don't make a right ... and being self-depricating is not a free pass to say whatever pops into the sarcasm center of my head.

An election observation

2010-11-06T09:49:00.002-04:00

I know it has been a while since my last post ... ironically, a musing about the death of blogs. Anyway ....

As anyone who has watched TV, been online, or otherwise not been living in a secluded shack in Minnesota knows, the US midterm elections were held last Tuesday. As someone who spent the week before in California, let me say that in my limited 2-3 hours of TV watching ... thank goodness. Political ads were non-stop. Political ads were desperate. Political ads were dirty.

In 2008, Obama and the Democrats swept into power on the vague idea of "Change." The purpose of this post is not to discuss what Obama and the Democrats have or haven't done. Instead, let's look at the where their reasoning went off track. Perhaps rightfully so (as hindsight is always 20-20), the Democratic Party made a mistake in thinking that their majority in Congress and ownership of the Presidency was a referendum to push through every social and political package they've been sitting on for the last decade. I think reality was a bit different ... instead, it was a referendum against then-President Bush. As a whole, it was a negative vote against him, not a positive vote for the President's agenda.

The result? Well ... Tuesday. Tuesday was a vote about the President's agenda (especially by those who are motivated to show up to a non-Presidential election). It may not even be about specific policy (healthcare, stimulus, etc), but it was most definitely influenced by the fact that the President has accomplished a few of his goals and we still find ourselves in a struggling economy. Is that fair? Perhaps no ... we all know that economic struggles cannot be righted overnight. In two years we should have a better idea ....

On Tuesday, the Republicans made huge gains in the House and Senate. Much like Obama in the last election, they would be wrong to see it as a referendum for the conservative agenda. Instead, it was once again a vote about change ... things aren't working out, so you're gone. I'm not sure this is a great position for the GOP coming into 2012 ... if they do too much, they'll be the conservative extremists that Democrats love to run ads about. If they do too little, they'll be voted out for not making a difference. Tough spot.

Over the years, I have sensed a shift in my political alignment. Perhaps different than many younger adults, I started out as a conservative Republican. Now I honestly call myself an Independent. Why? I'm not sure how much party names mean any more. Republicans are torn between moderates and fringe-right who want a moral utopia. Democrats are torn between moderates and fringe-left who want a socialist utopia.

I've said it once, and I'll keep saying it. I want representatives who have skills. I want doctors, teachers, janitors, secretaries, and construction workers. I want people who know what it's like to work, pay taxes, and live lean. I don't want career politicians who started out practicing law for a few years, became a councilman, became a mayor, became a state senator, became a senator, etc. What does that person, so far removed from traditional labor, know about his/her constituents? Hopping in a private jet each week to visit doesn't quite cut it. But I digress ... one can't go too far down that path without wonderful labels such as "teabagger" ... hmmm ... definitely an unbiased media, right?

Is the personal blog dead?

2010-07-25T11:34:00.003-04:00

This is a question I've asked myself over the past year or so ... is the personal blog dead?

The indicators, while not conclusive, are not positive either. I think that personal blogging has become passe in today's ADD world of social networking. At one time, a blog was the easiest, free way to share stories. Now, however, I'd say they are low on the list. At one point, Facebook was only available to college students. Now everyone has an account. At one point, Twitter was looked upon as ego indulgence. Now people sign up for it, even with no intention of tweeting, just to ensure that they remain on the cutting edge of whichever front of information they desire (celebrity gossip, tech innovation, it's all fair game).

Where does that leave the personal blog? Well, not well off. Even by looking at my post count, it seems obvious that my posting has waned as I've spent more time on Facebook. Facebook is not the place for longer writings (including even this short essay), but it is connected. While I have no idea how many people read this blog (thank goodness for RSS feeds or it would be zero given how frequently it is updated), anything I write on Facebook I know at least a few people will read and even more will be read the headline. In fact, I think length is the reason that things like tech blogs still exist.

Is this a bad thing ... this transitioning to Facebook? Well, I see it as two-sided. On one hand, the short format of "status" writing severely limits argument. You can write whatever you want, but space means that support gets split up or ignored. Maybe this is why younger people are so God-awful at logical argument ... if you can't do it in 160 characters, then it's too long. I know I'm mixing my examples here (Facebook vs. texts) but I guess that just goes to show how much my logical functions have been affected, as well. ;)

My review: Toy Story 3

2010-06-18T10:51:00.002-04:00

When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. -- Corinthians 13:11

The summer movie season seems to be the time for sequels. In the last few months alone, we've already been graced with another Iron Man and another Shrek. Now comes Toy Story 3, the "old man" of the franchises being revisited this summer. Heck, I can remember seeing the original Toy Story back in 1995 when I still had to be dropped off at the theater by my parents when I wanted to catch a matinee. Four years later in 1999, I was in college when I saw Toy Story 2, and that movie miraculously avoided the sophomore slump and actually provided some story and set pieces that, in my mind, surpassed the original. Now, over 10 years later, Disney/Pixar has released Toy Story 3, a movie which I believe Disney had originally intended to solo before its merger with Pixar. No matter which studio worked on the film, however, the question would still remain ... can another great film be squeezed out of this series? The answer is ... well ... mostly.

In the world of Toy Story 3, time has passed a bit slower than in our reality, but there are big, scary changes on the horizon. The toys we have grown to love including Woody, Buzz, Rex, Slinky Dog, Hamm, Jessie, Bullseye, and the Potato Heads have long ago been relegated to the toy box. Andy, their owner, is now 17 and heading off to college where, at least in my experience, most boys do not keep their childhood toy collection on display. Even Andy's little sister Molly, now decidedly at tween with her magazines and ear buds permanently affixed in her ear, has decided to put down childish things. Through a series of mix-ups and misunderstandings, the toys end up being donated to Sunnyside Day Care, an on-the-outside utopia for discarded toys yearning for just a little playtime. Sunnyside has its dark secrets, however, prompting the toys to attempt to return to Andy once more.

Some parts of Toy Story 3 feel decidedly familiar. This is not the first time we've tried to return home with Woody, nor the first time we've had "villainous" toys motivated by their jealously or abandonment. As fans of the series and these characters, however, I think we can ignore rehashed plot points just to spend time with our friends again. While we relish spending time with these characters we've gotten to know over the years, Toy Story 3 exudes such a serious and dark tone at some points that it feels the pure and simple joy of these characters has been sucked out of the theater. Discussions of years spent in storage in the vague hopes of future usefulness cannot have anything but a somber ring to them, no matter how they are dressed up.

I don't know whether it is the tone or the writing, but the humor in this movie felt more sparse. That's not to say that there are no funny moments, however. Included are the trademark Pixar for-everyone jokes as well as a few barbs that will be ignored by children but spur a few chuckles from adults. The introduction of Ken is good example of this. Children can connect some of the dots with the flamboyant outfits (ascot, anyone?), but adults receive a few more layers of metrosexual humor.

In the end, Toy Story 3 is a darker picture that is constantly trying to deal with the issues of purpose and change. There are some truly bleak discussions and moments in the film, and at points, it's almost hard to remember the fun and joy that made the first two movies so much fun to watch. With that being said, this entry in the series also tops either of the others in terms of emotional impact, and its hard to believe that anyone can sit through the ending without a taking a few punches on the empathy button. The last shot of the film seems to imply this will be our last foray with these characters (though with Disney and their pump-until-its-dry approach to their popular series, who knows), and it has been quite a journey. I wish this final chapter were perhaps a little shorter and perhaps had a few more humorous moments to break up the sobering story, but it is yet another success to be added onto Pixar's amazing track record and should not be missed, especially if you just want to see these characters on the big screen at least one more time.

Rating: 8/10

Note: The screening I attended was in a standard theater (non-IMAX) with Real-D 3D. To be honest, I'm not sure the 3D was anything more than a gimmick. Some of the scenes had a bit more "pop" perhaps, but I don't think you will miss anything seeing this in regular 2D, especially if you usually experience any discomfort wearing the 3D glasses.

Note: As with other Pixar features, this one is preceded by a short, this one titled Night and Day. I tend to enjoy Pixar's funny short films the most, so in other words, I was not a fan of this one. I get the (a bit preachy) premise. It just seemed like an animation exercise more than a story and was about twice as long as it needed to be.

Top 10 signs you are an Internet troll ....

2010-06-10T13:55:00.003-04:00

10. You get all of your news from the Daily Show
9. You believe everything is the Mexicans' fault
8. You believe everything is still George W. Bush's fault
7. Your avatar is the Confederate flag
6. You believe your anonymous ranting will change someone's mind
5. You believe that "hypocrites" are anyone who posits a valid argument against your position.
4. You repeatedly berate the source of any contradictory information, constantly using terms like "Faux" News or Clinton News Network and claiming bias whereas your source has none
3. Your posts have more misspellings and logical fallacies than an average Florida State football player's college application (OK ... low blow) ;)
2. You resort to derogatory, not-as-clever-as-you think names for any opposing party/ideal (ie, teabagger, taxacrat, Purdont)
1. You have to misspell swear words to truly get your point across (phuck, phaggot, etc etc)

Dear independent music store owners ....

2010-05-13T14:07:00.002-04:00

Your stores are intimidating to the music novice. The people who work there have have a "hipster" vibe reminiscent of High Fidelity. What drives a "no-nothing" into your store, however, is either a) local availability of product or b) shared expertise. Unfortunately, your sales are suffering if you rely too much on a). After all, today I purchases guitar strings from you on sale for "half off" which were still $4 more expensive than the regular price on Amazon. This leaves b), which I'm afraid leaves you in a quandary. While you want educated sales people, you also need people who relate to beginners and can offer helpful advice without snottiness. For example, when I go to buy strings, I'd like you to help me select them, not just have me stare at a rack while you point out the cheapest. I'd like questions about use and description of different strings, not just a list of different makers which means absolutely nothing to me. I wasn't asking for 15 minutes worth of assistance for my $15 purchase, but I'd at least like 3-5, especially since there was no line behind me.

In other words, in the future, treat me like a valued customer, because I can get detached salesmanship from Amazon.

Iron Man ....

2010-05-07T09:26:00.002-04:00

I'm finding all of this media, hype, and advertising over Iron Man to be fairly hilarious. I know there was a Burger King tie-in with the first movie, but I think the in-store stuff was fairly low key. Why do I find it hilarious? Before the first movie's release, who the heck cared about Iron Man besides die-hard comic fans? There sure wasn't hype ... it was just another superhero movie made by the guy who directed Swingers ... seems like a sure-fire hit, doesn't it?

Yet, a few years later, here we are. Sequelitis has hit in full force. Let's face it though ... Iron Man ... still pretty boring as a character. What made this movie/franchise? Obviously ... casting Robert Downy Jr. as the lead (who would've seen that coming 5 years ago?).

This new movie promises more Tony Stark-playboy, more girls (Gweneth Paltrow and Scarlett Johansson), a new-same sidekick (for some reason Terrance Howard's character was re-cast), and more CGI battles between rival machinery (with Iron Man, always the smallest, sure to come out on top). I'm guessing audiences will buy tickets in droves ... though I'm sure theater owners are upset there's not a shoddy, "Clash of the Titans"-esque 3D version they could upsell. Perhaps they can dim the bulb, smear some Vaseline over the film, and sell glasses anyway.

OK ... so I guess there was no point to this ramble ... but hey, that's what a blog is for, especially if you want to ramble longer than 144 characters. :)

Guitar ...

2010-04-24T18:54:00.002-04:00

I took my guitar to campus the other day for a jam/learning session, and a few others questioned why I was messing around with my guitar when I should be doing other things (writing prelims, etc). I guess I can see a point, but I've come around to thinking that perhaps my life would be better with enrichment in a couple of key areas ... so enrichment, leads to more happiness, leads to better work on school stuff, even if it technically means less time in the day for work.

With that being said, I'm trying to make sure I stick with guitar this time. In the past, I've played for a bit, then given it up when either a) I got busy or b) I chastised myself for not being a "real" player in that I always stuck with picking notes instead of chords.

I'm trying to become more of a "chord" player, though it is forcing me to improve some of my musical talent ... such as keeping a beat, doing multiple things at once, etc. With the help of YouTube and some good online instructional materials, I've gotten to the point where I seem to be able to pick up strum patterns, though I of course need to practice switches. However, even after being at this for only a week, I feel like more of a guitar player than I ever have in my life before.

The next big challenge, now that I'm kind of able to use a strum pattern and switch chords ... trying to do all of that while singing.

My review: Kick Ass

2010-04-18T09:16:00.002-04:00

Kick Ass is, at least in my limited exposure, being marketed as a superhero parody, much like the oft-hated, yet sometimes hilarious film Mystery Men. In the ads, you are introduced to the main character, an every-man teenage boy who dons a scuba suit to fight crime as the masked vigilante Kick Ass, becomes a YouTube sensation, and then teams up with other superhero wannabes to fight crime and get the girl. Funny scenes are shown with Kick Ass riding around with Christopher Mintz-Plasse, who if you don't recognize the name, you probably know as McLovin from Superbad. Throw in what seems like some cool action scenes, and you have a rollicking, funny action movie, right?

In actuality, Kick Ass may be a parody or critique of superhero movies, but it also attempts to join their ranks. There are some humerous elements, such as a self-deprecating, breaking-the-fourth-wall narrator who, at one point, calls audience members a smart-ass if they believe that fact that the movie is narrated dictates that the character survives (quipping, have you seen American Beauty?). Outside of that, however, the humor disappears fairly quickly and you are left with a very bloody, somewhat dark action movie about violent vigilantes.

This movie may be called Kick Ass, but he is by far the least interesting superhero in the movie. As one character notes, he should be called Ass Kick as he spends most of the movie serving as a punching bag (or worse) for the New York City criminal community. Instead, the father-daughter duo of Big Daddy (played by Nicholas Cage) and Hit Girl provide most of the action sequences. If you want to write an essay about the affect of violence on children, I have a feeling that this movie will be a future staring point. Besides a somewhat disturbing scene featuring a father shooting his daughter so that she'll know how to take a bullet, Hit Girl spends her fight scenes doling out death and destruction. Neither she or her father trained in the Batman school of handling criminals. They shoot, stab, and otherwise dismember or disembowel all baddies they come across. One might compare it to the character Punisher if it weren't an 11-year old girl doing to gutting.

The violence is over-the-top, but feels somewhat grounded in the reality these characters inhabit. With that being said, I think the violence is also what takes this movie off-track a little. There seems to be absolutely no emotional toll on the characters for all of the killing they do. One could argue, based on the revenge plot set up for Big Daddy and Hit Girl, that vengeance outweighs remorse. I don't buy it, however. Death seems to be present as only a spectacle or plot device.

Notice how almost none of this review has focused on Kick Ass himself? As I mentioned earlier, I don't find him to be a very compelling character ... a basic, virgin high school boy story who, of course, is ignored by the girl he crushes on until she comes around. There's a little bit of interesting material in there, but not a lot of it is new and, to be honest, most of it comes across as whiny or delusional.

In the end, if you can stomach the violence and wink along with the creators, I think Kick Ass can be an enjoyable film to sit through.

Rating: 7/10

Rights ...

2010-04-15T10:32:00.003-04:00

I had an interesting argument with one of my friends yesterday ... we hadn't talked for a while, our political views are more different than alike, so of course we landed on the issue of health care. I would say the fundamental difference between the two of us boiled down to what we saw as a "right," though he may not agree.

He believed that health care was a right. I did not. I was called "uncompassionate." I pointed out that that was emotion, not argument. Evidently that made me even more uncompasionate.

My point was that "rights" exist, as defined by our founding fathers, as inalienable because they have been granted by God. Freedom may be protected by our government with laws and armies, but it is not granted by the government. In a narrow sense, I can have freedom without anyone else giving it to me.

Healthcare, on the other hand, cannot be a right by this definition (and I know people will want to fight that definition ... fine). The main point, though, is that SOME ELSE has to give it to you. This is not something you inherently possess in your spirit. Instead, it is a SERVICE, and now, an entitlement.

The other argument was that too many people go bankrupt because they don't have health insurance and can't afford their bills. Personally, I think this goes back to the entitlement thing. First off, I'll agree that getting hit with a $100,000 bill for surgery or even more for a long-term illness would be horrible. However, instead of saying that everyone should have insurance to cover that sum, why don't we look at why that bill is so high. Is it because the price of everything is inflated due to insurance/government programs paying fractions? Is it because prices have risen to milk insurance companies? Is it to cover the costs of malpractice insurance? Perhaps examining that would bear fruit.

However, this will sound extremely cold-hearted, but I 'm going to say it ... what responsibility does a person have for him/herself? How much do we, as a society, pay for convenience and self-gratification (cell phones, 1,000 cable channels, etc) at the expense of anything else? I'm not leaving myself out of this indictment ... I know I spend money I shouldn't when I should be putting it back for medical bills, car repairs, etc etc. Perhaps this is the ultimate price of a consumer-driven society?

Spend all you can now and, if something goes wrong or when you get old, someone else will take care of you.

BTW ... since health care was mentioned ... I do believe change was needed. I don't believe this bill, will all of the wrangling, back-door deals, and shady numbers (where it not only provided health care, but saves money ... assuming we don't pay the doctors) was the answer. I don't have an answer, but I'd trust a bill worked on by mostly doctors and medical professionals more than by elected officials (Republican or Democrat) who will never be bound by the system they put in place for the masses.

The problem with politics right now is that the two-party system is broken. If you are a liberal (or Democrat) then you are a socialist wacko gift-wrapping our country for Chinese takeover. If you are a conservative (or Republican), then you are a racist baby-eater stuck in the 19th century bent on world domination. I suppose the internet is not the place to plea for logical discourse .... ;)

Quote of the day: Glee

2010-04-13T22:57:00.002-04:00

"Did you know that dolphins are just gay sharks?" -- Brittany

Streaming media ....

2010-04-12T10:05:00.002-04:00

I will be one of the first to admit that I was profusely against the idea of discarding physical media for streaming sources. After all, with physical media, I can watch it whenever I want (as long as I have a player), I can carry it with me where no internet connection exists, and there's something tangible that I "own."

Netflix, however, has worn me down. I originally subscribed to Netflix and Blockbuster Online for one reason ... I went through a period when I bought instead of rented DVDS and the huge sums spent every week were just ridiculous. Once I priced out the DVD-by-mail rentals, they made perfect sense ... I didn't have to travel to a store, I didn't have to pay shipping, and I could rent enough to get the pricing down to one or two dollars per rental (or less) which was much cheaper than any store could offer.

When Netflix first introduced streaming selections, it seemed like a joke. You could stream as many hours as dollars paid per month, and you could only watch on your computer using Internet Explorer. I remember watching a few episodes of Dexter, but thought it more of a novelty and knew I would never pay for such a small selection only viewable on the smallest screen in my apartment.

Things have changed however ... the selection of titles available has expanded greatly (still nowhere near huge, but definitely bigger). Downloads have gone from limited to unlimited for anyone with even the most basic subscription. More importantly, however, I can watch streaming video on my HDTV as opposed to my computer screen. Sure, at first, I was limited to using a program called PlayOn to stream to my PS3, but now Netflix supports streaming on PS3, Xbox360, and Wii. The official interface is decent (though you'd only want to browse for new titles on your computer, IMO), but more importantly, the quality of the streaming so far has been awesome (until Comcast kills it, undoubtedly). This past weekend I watched a few episodes of the TV show Bones in HD. Other than some pixelation at the very start of the episode, the video and audio was very good. Actually, it was surprisingly good. Actually, I just listed my box set of Bones: Season 2 on Half.com as it is standard definition only and Netflix beat the pants off of it.

On another front of the streaming media battle, Amazon offers what they call "un-box" which, in other words, is a pay, digital-only service. I'm still not keen on the pricing structure of digital-only rentals ($3.99 HD from Amazon, $2.99 SD). Amazon's prices seem a bit high, though admittedly, iTunes and the Playstation Network pricing is even higher. However, I did receive a $4 promotional credit the other day for Amazon VOD, so I decided to rent "The Blind Side" which, in its infinite wisdom, the studio has put on Netflix/Redbox moratorium for 1-month after its release-for-sale, a trend I find aggravating (see also Sherlock Holmes). Now, Amazon does not stream to a TV natively (a big strike). However, the before-mentioned program PlayOn will stream Amazon VOD (in a beta capacity), so I was able to watch the movie on my HDTV. The experience was fairly decent (though it did hiccup once ... not sure if it was the fault of Amazon or the work-around).

It worked well enough that I would consider renting this way in the future ... if the price were better. At the time I looked, it would cost $4 for me to rent an HD version of Sherlock Holmes for 2 days from Amazon. It would cost me $24 to buy the blu ray, with which Amazon would allow me a free rental of the movie to hold me over until it arrived. I understand that studios say that cheap downloads de-value their product, however I can't see how a $10 fee to purchase a download with no need for physical media, cases, disc art, and physical distribution de-values the product, especially given that in 1-2 years, the physical media can probably be found for about that price. I guess this gets into digital pricing, a topic for later ....

In the end, however, the advancement of streaming media is encouraging, especially given the quality of the equipment I have to access it. I feel like we are near the digital/physical tipping point, though admittedly it still may be a few years down the road. I guess we shall see ....

Social networking ....

2010-04-11T14:05:00.002-04:00

As is probably obvious, I have not been posting to my blog lately. I know that this is a huge blow to my non-existent reader, but the deluge of complaints (or none) have brought me back.

Actually, I've been thinking ... why haven't I been blogging? I think the answer is fairly obvious ... and it's not time. I've been posting more on Facebook, which in turn, has been an outlet. The reasoning is fairly simple ... I know that at least a few people read my Facebook updates, while this blog is pretty much limited to spammers, the occasionally curious from CruiseCritic, and me.

The problem with Facebook, however, is that my thoughts are limited to brief snippets. It's like writing headlines and never getting to the meat of the matter.

I originally started this blog to spur on my writing ... and it worked for a while. Then it became more of a social outlet. Then it, for all intents and purposes, became an online diary. I'd like it to get back to the writing purposes, so let's see what happens ....

Avatar: You see what you want to see

2010-01-13T11:24:00.002-05:00

Story

Evidently there is a group of people who find the movie Avatar to be racist propaganda. Because Jake Sully is a white man who joins the native tribe on Pandora and then leads them, this makes him a "white messiah," with the underlying message being that the natives are too simple to help themselves. Yeah ... and Blackhawk Down is inherently racist because it is not about a American troops in a rescue operation but instead white people killing black people.

Sorry, but I just don't buy the white messiah argument. If you want to pull small pieces out, such as Sully being able to tame the mythical beast, you could construct a rickety argument. The main problem comes, however, in the logic of the fictional situation (if that makes any sense). Sully does lead the natives, but why? Is it because he's better than them or is the true path to their salvation? Or instead, is it because, well, he's the one who understands the methods, equipment, and greed of the imperialists? Yes he dies and is reborn, but it is through the cause of action, not inaction. Jesus was not willed back to life out of desire, but instead out of divine plan.

If you want to look at something ridiculous, look at how over-the-top the Na'vi and the humans are portrayed. The Na'vi are, to a man, noble and pious. They are deadly and inherently connected to the world around them. Humans, on the other hand, are flawed and greedy. They believe in nothing but their work, be it science or money. There are no soldiers on the planet, just mercenaries out for a cut of the profits. Besides the science weenies, the only soldier shown to be sympathetic to Sully and the Na'vi is a woman.

Hmmm ... I don't think that racism is the word I'd use to describe Avatar. Stereotypical ... perhaps ... which is similar to racist, but I believe there is a line between the two. Perhaps these arguments come about because Director James Cameron tries so hard in his movie to make his points: natives are noble, imperialists are greedy, and the natural world must be saved.

Shots with the new camera ....

2009-12-05T14:35:00.000-05:00

Ok ... this made me laugh

2009-11-10T17:27:00.000-05:00

It seems the Nigerians prefer a flat fee ....

2009-11-05T07:44:00.000-05:00

From my email:

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
441 4th Street NW, Suite 1145S
Washington, DC 20001

Attention: Sir,

We have received instruction from the Police Department ,Home land Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) here in the United States of America to prosecute you over allegations of money laundering and terrorist ($10m usd) related activities to which there is over whelming evidence of your involvement.

Note a copy of this email have been forwarded to the UNITED STATE OF AMERICA POLICE/AUTHORITIES and will be ordered for your immediate arrest.

The need for your urgent prosecution arose from your inability to secure the mandatory Clearance Certificate from the Economic And Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nigeria in spite of several opportunities given to you by the Police Department,Home land Security and FBI.

In view of the indicting report submitted to the Police Department ,Home land Security and FBI by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Police Department ,Home land Security and FBI has recommended for your immediate prosecution. You have to obtain the required Certificate from EFCC- CHAIRMAN, MRS. FARIDA WAZIRI ON HER EMAIL ADDRESS : mrsfaridawaz@yahoo.co.jp and the Cost of the Certificate is $370.00 only

We are giving you notice of service of writ of summons after seven days of receiving this letter by mail. If after the seven days and you are not able to obtain the Certificate to clear yourself before the Police Department ,Home land Security and FBI, Legal prosecution will begin immediately.

Justice delayed is justice denied.

Your's faithfully,
Attorney General

Eric Holder

Best decision

2009-10-03T16:13:00.002-04:00

So what was my best decision of the day? Leaving the Purdue football game before halftime.

Ick. What a game. I personally think that next week's game should be forfeited because the team will be unable to play after running stairs from immediately after this game through next Saturday morning. The sheer incompetence was just amazing.

Thought processes ....

2009-09-20T19:51:00.002-04:00

I think that we tend to follow internal procedures and checklists and, when faced with a novel situation, attempt to apply those checklists with sometimes poor results.

Take what happened to me today for example.

Situation: Automatic car unlock doesn't work.

Step 1: Click unlock repeatedly.

Step 2. Pull handle to ensure it didn't silently unlock.

Step 3: Click unlock repeatedly again.

Step 4: Attempt to use actual keys.

Step 5: Find keys don't work.

Step 6: Stare at car.

Step 7: Attempt to use keys again.

Step 8: Stare at car.

Step 9: Plan how to get to store to replace battery on automatic mechanism.

Step 10: Realize it is not your car.

Step 11: Unlock your own car.

Random ....

2009-09-13T10:17:00.002-04:00

In a Saturday full of great football games, my biggest conundrum ... staring at my toilet bowl, trying to figure out why a nickel was sitting at the bottom. How did it get there and, perhaps equally interesting, how would it get out?

A thinker for sure .....

Quote of the day: The Simpsons

2009-09-06T11:47:00.002-04:00

Snakes: Nature's quitters.

My quick review: Sex Drive

2009-08-29T10:51:00.002-04:00

One goes into a movie with a title like "Sex Drive" with fairly low expectations. Let's face it, teenage sex movies are a dime-a-dozen and follow the Cinemax premise of "fill a movie with skin and boys will watch it." These movies, by definition, are cheap to make because they are filled with no-name actors and, let's face it, there will always be actresses willing to be nude if it will earn them screen time. With skin being the primary concern, the writing typically comes in second with the notion of stringing together raunchy bodily functions to reach the next skin scene.

At first, Sex Drive falls into this mold. In the grand tradition of teenage sex movies since Porky's (and wasn't that a "classic"), the main character is introduced in bed sporting symptoms of it being morning. Add in an over-the-top homophobic brother and some bodily fluids causing bodily injury, and suddenly I had the feeling I was watching Baseketball 2. Thankfully, once the roadtrip portion of the movie starts, the characters suddenly have room to breathe. Instead of three cardboard-cutouts, we have Ian, Lance, and Felicia, three friends who all have feelings for each other, though in different amounts and in different ways. While there are still some gross-out scenes to come, you actually start to care about these characters which is something that hasn't really happened to me in this type of movie since American Pie.

Sex Drive is definitely surprising. It's not Shakespeare by any means, but it's much better than one would glean from the title ... and unlike Paul Blart: Mall Cop, "much better" actually equates to decent movie that brings the funny as opposed to "less horrible."

My rating: 7/10

PS ... see I got through the whole review without mention Seth Green's turn as an Amish car mechanic.

PPS ... whoops.

Photo of the day: Pelican in Cabo

2009-08-18T16:53:00.000-04:00

Almost a month ago .....

2009-08-18T10:31:00.002-04:00

At one point, I had promised on my other blog that I would post more. And I didn't. On this blog, same deal. I'm not sure why ... I suppose blogging to me over the summer became one of those activities that seemed less important. Or, it could be because I typically found time in the morning to write something, but early mornings for my summer job kind of cut into that.

Oh ... and my blog is at least a little proof ... see what I didn't do while working? ;)

I'm now kind of back to the old routine, however, though I'm doing prelims this semester instead of taking courses. I'm still TAing and RAing, though, so I guess the more things change, the more they stay the same.

It really happened ....

2009-07-19T18:07:00.003-04:00

So there really was a flaw in the Howard Walowitz 0-G space toilet ....

Story

Quote of the day: Chris ....

2009-07-13T17:43:00.001-04:00

silentbob007 : i'm just going to buy a typewriter and start looking for a shack in montana

silentbob007 : maybe i can train a squirrel to be nice to me or something

silentbob007 : then the squirrel dies and i go into the same tailspin

Flower redux

2009-07-12T12:42:00.002-04:00

F8, 1/180 ... what's the buzz?

F 10, 1/350 ... perhaps made a little more interesting by background and placement.

F 13, 1/250 macro ... it appears the image processing software didn't know what to do with the glare.

Different flavor ...

2009-07-12T08:08:00.002-04:00

Hmmm ... darn Kroger "Private Selection" labels ... for some reason, they think it is a good thing for all of their labels to look alike. I guess that works for name-brands, but there aren't typcially a lot of name brands that are as diverse as a grocery-store home brand.

For example, I just had to ask myself ... what did I pour in my coffee ... vanilla syrup or rice vinegar? I have a feeling those could have slightly different tastes.

PS ... it was vanilla. Whew.

New glass

2009-07-11T12:00:00.004-04:00

I got a new lens for my SLR so, as per tradition, I went outside and shot some pictures at the Ridge.

Sign at 50 mm ... smallest zoom for my new lens.

Flower at 300 mm macro ... as close as I can get and still focus.

Photo of the day: Centrum art from Mariner of the Seas

2009-06-27T13:07:00.000-04:00

Quote of the day: Details in the Fabric by Jason Mraz

2009-06-13T10:03:00.001-04:00

Calm down
Deep breaths
And get yourself dressed instead
Of running around
And pulling all your threads and
Breaking yourself up

If it's a broken part, replace it
If it’s a broken arm then brace it
If it's a broken heart then face it

And hold your own
Know your name
And go your own way
Hold your own
Know your name
And go your own way

And everything will be fine

Hang on
Help is on the way
Stay strong
I'm doing everything

Hold your own
Know your name
And go your own way
Hold your own
Know your name
And go your own way

And everything
Everything will be fine
Everything

Are the details in the fabric
Are the things that make you panic
Are your thoughts results of static cling?

Are the things that make you blow
Hell, no reason, go on and scream
If you're shocked it's just the fault
Of faulty manufacturing.

Everything will be fine
Everything in no time at all
Everything

Hold your own
And know your name
Go your own way

Are the details in the fabric (Hold your own)
Are the things that make you panic (Know your name)
Are your thoughts results of static cling? (Go your own way)

Hold your own
Know your name
Go your own way.

Are the details in the fabric (Hold your own)
Are the things that make you panic (Know your name)
Is it Mother Nature's sewing machine? (Go your own way)
Are the things that make you blow (Hold your own)
Hell no reason go on and scream (Know your name)
If you’re shocked it's just the fault (Go your own way)
Of faulty manufacturing

Everything will be fine
Everything in no time at all
Hearts will hold

I'm wary ....

2009-06-10T20:19:00.001-04:00

If a salesman says to you that you have to make your decision right now or else a) someone else will buy it or b) the deal will end, your reaction should be to turn around and walk straight out the door.

For some reason ... I sometimes feel the same way about the government. Look at the stimulus. Look at post confirmations. Does it feel wrong when someone says DON'T READ IT, JUST SIGN IT OR ELSE!

Photo of the day: A gray day in Canadia ....

2009-06-07T14:31:00.000-04:00

Quote of the day: Deadwood

2009-06-05T18:37:00.002-04:00

Pain, the damage ... don't end the world. Or despair. Or f***ing beatings. The world ends when you're dead. Until then, you've got more punishment in store. Stand it like a man. And give some back.

-- Al Swearengen

Sorry for the absence ....

2009-06-02T21:08:00.003-04:00

Hi everyone ... sorry that I haven't been writing much lately. As most of you know, this summer I've found new employment and let's just say that, as a grad student, it's been a while since I've had to adapt to someone else's schedule.

I plan to post more often in the future however. I have some nice pictures from my Pacific Northwest cruise and some movie reviews that I should probably write.

Talk to you soon.

T-bone

2009-05-29T07:09:00.002-04:00

I almost had a t-bone yesterday ... and not the good kind. As I was making a left turn, a girl made ran half of a light and came about a foot from hitting me (if I hadn't swerved to the right she would have). It's not like I was even the first car in line to turn ... she flat missed the light ... didn't see if she was talking on a cell phone or not.

I might have gone to the gym last night, but believe me, there's nothing like almost taking a sedan to the driver's side door to get your heart racing.

Photo of the day: Mariner in Astoria, Oregon

2009-05-18T22:30:00.002-04:00

It took all of my effort not to shout 'Hey you guys!" stepping off of the ship in Astoria.

PS ... it's a movie reference.

PPS ... it's an 80's movie reference.

PPPS ... think "One-eyed Willy" or even "Free Willy" with no porn reference.

PPPPS ... come on, it's a Goonies reference

Quote of the day: Chris ....

2009-05-08T17:57:00.002-04:00

Cruise agent: I guessing that, because you are adding your mom to the cabin, that you want the beds to be separate instead of together?

Chris: Yes. I believe that is the less creepy arrangement.

I am a dragon, naturally speaking

2009-05-05T18:22:00.002-04:00

So has it really come to this? Yes that's right. I am writing this blog post in the most complicated lazy way possible. In other words, I am writing this post using a microphone hooked into my computer and using voice recognition software. I'm not exactly sure whether this is a time saver and considering it has taken me three minutes to write this much tax so far and it will take about 20 seconds to type it out however that is something inherently cool about seeing the text you just said up here on the screen. So I guess we'll see.

Photo of the Day: Flowers from the walk

2009-04-29T19:29:00.001-04:00

Quote of the day: Big Bang Theory

2009-04-28T10:12:00.001-04:00

What exactly does that expression mean: "friends with benefits"? Does he provide her with health insurance?

-- Dr. Sheldon Cooper

Photo of the Day: San Diego

2009-04-24T16:40:00.002-04:00

Do you think AT&T would hire me? ;)

Quote of the day: Big Bang Theory

2009-04-19T13:34:00.002-04:00

"I'm a horny engineer, Leonard. I never joke about math or sex."

-- Howard Walowitz

Back from San Diego ....

2009-04-19T10:53:00.003-04:00

Well, back from another conference. There were some good networking opportunities. My hotel was decent ... though the picture above represented my walk each morning (I took a cab back). Nothing like a 3 mile jaunt around the bay to get your blood pumping in the morning.

My good deed?

2009-04-07T18:40:00.002-04:00

So I went to grab some take-out at BW3 today. Generally I avoid going to the Levee Plaza because I dislike their car-towing policy ... see a post a few years ago for a discussion on that wonderful bit. Anyway, as I was coming out with my take-out food, I saw a car pull up and park on the outskirts of the lot. Two passengers, a guy and a girl, got out, slung back-packs over their shoulders, and started trudging off towards the shops on the Landing. I decided to exit the direction they were going and, when passing, rolled down my window and informed them that there were good odds of them being towed if they kept walking. The guy looked at me in disbelief and asked why. I told him that it was their policy and that they had people watching the lot just to report trespassing cars.

As I pulled away, I saw that the girl was heading back and the guy was still giving me a quizzical look like I was lying to him. I guess I did my part, whatever happens.

Social Presence

2009-04-06T15:15:00.003-04:00

whoops ... wrong blog .... ;)

Rainy day ....

2009-04-05T15:39:00.001-04:00

Wow ... I drove home in a monsoon today ... hydroplaning on the country roads. It may turn to snow tonight. I knew we would pay for those 70 degree days in January and February.

When do you get worried?

2009-03-22T12:57:00.003-04:00

OK ... count me in as someone officially worried about government spending. It seems that our government is so worried about a depression and how that may reflect on those in power that they are determined to spend their way out. However, common sense isn't leading the way. Last week, government hearings were held about $146 million in bonuses to bailed-out AIG ... with little to no mention of the rest of the $140 BILLION already lent to AIG ... why are we quibbling about 1%? Even more worrisome is the fact that, in order to combat deflation, the treasury just printed $1 TRILLION dollars. Gold prices shot through the roof. On the ever-popular MAIN STREET, in case proof was needed that was more relevant, gas prices have shot up because, guess what, with a trillion extra dollars in the market, the money we already have is worth less. I know I'm not an economic genius, but this doesn't seem to be the way to recover the economy. Instead, it seems to be the way to APPEAR to be doing something about the economy which, I'm afraid, politicians on both sides of the aisle care the most about.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again:

Government offices like Representative and Senator should be HORRIBLE temporary jobs that people do out of A SENSE OF SERVICE to their country. They should not be CAREERS. Why? If it is your CAREER, you will do WHAT IS MOST BENEFICIAL TO YOU, not necessarily your constituents. If it is your temporary job, YOU WILL DO WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE, not caring whether your actions create spending meant solely to garner votes (pork spending, earmarks, etc).

It's sweet ....

2009-03-22T10:49:00.002-04:00

Even though the focus wasn't for much of the second half, the Purdue men's basketball team managed to defeat the Pac-10 champion Washington Huskies and live to fight another week in the NCAA tournament. After following the team all year, it is nice to see them mostly healthy and stepping up on a national stage. The team they play next Thursday, the UConn Huskies, is a tough draw and number one seed, but Purdue's defense is a leveling factor ... if you make the other team play long offensive sets and take bad shots, it helps even it out if your offense isn't performing stellar at the moment. While I'm still not a fan of Lewis Jackson's (LewJack)run-into-the-big-men-then-throw-it-out-of-bounds pet play, I've been impressed with the 3-point shooting of Keaton Grant, rebounding of Robbie Hummel, and stout defense/offensive unselfishness of Chris Kramer (from my hometown Huntington, IN). People are already saying that Purdue is going to get creamed on Thursday, but I have some faith.

Boiler Up!

Something weird happened today ....

2009-03-10T12:04:00.003-04:00

I called to activate a new credit card today (one I've had for years) and when I put in my information, it clicked through to a call center ... the thing I always hate about activating cards with some companies. I was truly surprised, however, when an American woman picked up the phone in the call center. I was absolutely flabbergasted when she asked me if there was anything they could do, went over my account information, and wished me a good day without trying to sell me some sort of service or product.

My review: Watchmen

2009-03-06T15:03:00.002-05:00

I think that for the purposes of this review, it is important for me to be upfront about my knowledge of Watchmen. Having heard that it is a great graphic novel, I picked it up over last summer to read, went through it fairly quickly, and have not touched it since then. I was fairly impressed about the complexity of the characters and story, but not blown away. Going into this film, I remembered broad strokes of the plot and the simplest descriptions of the characters but, to be honest, could not give you a list of character names beyond Dr. Manhattan, Rorschach, and the Comedian.

From that perspective, I was fairly impressed with the movie adaptation of Watchman. Directed by Zach "slo mo" Snyder, it follows The Dark Knight down the path of brooding, extremely dark super-hero movies. Sure, Spiderman gave us a broody "real problems" Peter Parker, but Parker's based-on-today's world feels much less real than the alternate reality of the Watchmen's world. In fact, I think that the opening credits, set to Bob Dylan's "The Times They Are A-Changin'", may be one of the most effective I can recall when it comes to situating the audience in the world of the movie and efficiently setting up back-story.

For the great unwashed who are new to the world of Watchmen, take warning: this movie (less so than the book, but even still) is more drama and back-story than the action movie that is being advertised. In fact, those with short attention spans or those not willing to invest effort will soon be lost. The movie starts out quickly with the brutal murder of a man who is soon identified as The Comedian, a masked vigilante in a world where masked-justice has been outlawed, Nixon is serving his third term, and the US and USSR are frantically saber-rattling and working to ensure mutual nuclear annihilation. From that point, other characters are introduced as a fellow masked vigilante, Rorschach, investigates what he believes to be a plot to kill those who would stand in the way of a larger plot.

The tone of Watchmen is very dark. It is so dark, in fact, that I doubt too many people will be leaving the theater with a case of the warm-fuzzies. Even The Dark Knight gave viewers a slight lift at the end with the Gordon voice-over ... not the case here. This movie is a very hard R. While the drama can range from decent to heavy-handed, the action scenes are brutal, bloody, and over-the-top graphic. The same can be said for the sexual content, especially with a scene that is closer to softcore porn than anything I've seen in the theater (it's softcore because there's no "money shot"). With that being said, I think it's obvious that this is not a movie for kids. Even if parents didn't mind the graphic scenes, I'd say that most younger audience members would not be able to sit through the exposition which even I found a bit ponderous.

To be honest, that is the flaw of Watchmen ... it is weighed down by the depth of its own narrative. Sure, many characters and arcs have been trimmed from the source material, but there is still a lot of ground to cover. Unfortunately, most of this ground is in the past, meaning a large chunk of the movie is told in flash-back. This may have worked in the novel, but on film, it really starts to feel clunky, especially at the 90-minute mark by which it feels like things still really aren't moving forward yet. The real catch-22 is ... I have no idea how it could have been done any better in a film format.

The acting ranges from cartoony, to bland, to excellent. The standout in a largely unknown cast has to be Jackie Earle Haley who plays a very menacing Rorschach, the most interesting character in both the movie and the novel. I also thought that Jeffrey Dean Morgan put in a good turn as the Comedian, a character killed off before the opening credits but still with a decent amount of screen time (in case you need proof of the copious amount of backstory). Other characters play their roles adequately (though I didn't appreciate "old" Carla Gugino at all) though do little to set themselves apart. The worst "acting" award for the movie probably goes to Richard Nixon's prosthetic nose which, whenever onscreen, is the focal point no matter what else is going on.

So bottom line ... how was it? Well, it is cumbersome, but in the end, I found it a fascinating movie. I'm not exactly sure what the rewatchability factor is, but I'm not sure how a film version of this story could have been improved.

Rating: 7/10

Random thought of the day ....

2009-03-06T11:28:00.000-05:00

Never underestimate the desire of people to avoid uncomfortable situations/conversations, but always be able to identify those to whom it doesn't matter.

Effective political ad ....

2009-03-03T21:53:00.002-05:00

Now, I realize that everyone has an opinion on whether or not the stimulus package will help the country or not, but I still find this to be an effective ad ....

Quote of the day: How I Met Your Mother

2009-03-02T22:33:00.000-05:00

Call me crazy, but child actors were better back in the 80s.

-- Barney Stinson, played by Neil Patrick Harris

Poster I saw at the theater this week ....

2009-02-28T10:49:00.004-05:00

My review: Slumdog Millionaire

2009-02-26T09:59:00.003-05:00

Critics, even blog ones, always need to be aware of bias in their reviews. That's not to say that criticism can exist without bias as, after all, there is always a personal element to a review. It is what I think, and while discussion of technical aspects may be filled with true "facts," impact and appeal will always be a matter somewhat steeped in personal opinion. With that in mind, let me mention why I'm bringing this up for my review of Slumdog Millionaire. Let's face it, after winning an Academy Award for best picture, Slumdog is no longer the "little picture that could" but is now burdened with the weight of expectation. Expectation placed on it from word-of-mouth is much lighter, in my opinion, than the expectation garnered by winning major awards at Hollywood's annual masturbatory event. The real question is ... will Slumdog be a movie people will continue to see and talk about, or will it be relegated to the back shelf as one of those "films" people know won awards but don't care too much about seeing, such as last year's best picture winner ... remember what it is? (Hint: No Country for Old Men)

The first moments of Slumdog are jarring, disjointed, and confusing. A boy is being tortured, but the reason is unclear. Words are being spoken, but they are soft, non-subtitled, and hard to understand. Images flash around the screen, perhaps memories, and finally ... clues as to what is happening. Our protagonist, Jamal Malik, is being beaten by police officials because they think he has been cheating on India's version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire. Evidently he's already progressed quite far or won, the timeline is not sure at this point, but suspicion is cast upon him because "doctors and lawyers" have failed on this show, so how could this boy from the slums know these answers without cheating? When a tape of the show is put in and Jamal is asked to explain how he knew the answers, the structure of the movie is revealed. Jamal's life is shown in flashback, with interludes in the present to move the story forward. This is quite an interesting plot device as not only does it give an excuse for the movie to tell certain tales, but it also removes the game show from being the purpose of the movie. While there is definitely some tension added by the game element, most of the dramatical moments come from the "three musketeers": Jamal, his older brother Salim, and Latika, a girl they meet up with who becomes Jamal's obsession.

Slumdog is a movie filled with unknowns (though I suspect a few Bollywood stars may be involved), meaning that instead of being carried by starpower, it must be carried by strength of narrative, acting, direction, and the score. All of those points are very strong. All of the actors and actresses are extremely believable and at times this movie felt more like a documentary than a piece of fiction. This is interesting because Jamal may be the most vanilla, likable character to have graced the screen last year, and yet he never seems like a caricature. The direction is very solid, and the film is filled with numerous interesting shots and camera movement that solidly gel together. The music is uplifting without being over-intrusive or over-theatrical.

So is it a perfect movie? Well, not quite. At times, I found the pacing to be a bit slow while other times the narrative would make a large jump that would leave me feeling a little confused. I also thought that the "separation" element of the story was used perhaps a little too much. I mean, I get that Jamal is always getting the short end of things, so how many times do we have to keep doing it? I was also, at times, confused about Salim. The character goes through radical shifts that are perhaps slightly too convenient to the plot and desired ending.

In the end, Slumdog Millionaire is an uplifting, somewhat depressing movie. It is one of those films where you may have a good idea where it is heading, but you are not quite sure if things will turn out the way you expect because these characters exist in a world where good things happen to bad people and bad things happen to good people. Is this the best movie of last year? Probably not. Is it worth watching at least once. Yes.

Rating: 8/10

Wait your turn ....

2009-02-15T22:06:00.002-05:00

Now, I hate to be one to wax about how things "used to be," but does anyone remember the time when, getting off a plane, everyone was civil and exited in an orderly, row-by-row fashion? I sure remember those times, but on almost every one of my recent flights, there is always a person running up the aisle right when the seatbelt light goes dark in order to move as close to the door as possible.

Yes, I guess I could understand this in trying to make a connection, but this past weekend, I was on four flights that all arrived early (meaning in my mind that all connections were easily doable).

For example, I was in a puddle-jumper, 1-aisle-2 configuration, and the guy from two rows back actually slid in front of me as I got out of my seat. The rub ... I was in seat 2A . That's right, the guy in row 4 decided he needed to run in front of me to gain an extra foot of ground.

I let that go because, in honesty, I don't care that much, but I will admit that I've been known to thrust shoulders in front of (or into) aisle runners to stop this nonsense. Seriously ... wait your turn and everyone will get off just fine.

Photo of the day: Shuttle launch

2009-02-11T13:20:00.002-05:00

Quote of the day: Roger Ebert about "Fanboys"

2009-02-08T09:08:00.000-05:00

Extreme fandom may serve as a security blanket for the socially inept, who use its extreme structure as a substitute for social skills. If you are Luke Skywalker and she is Princess Leia, you already know what to say to each other, which is so much safer than having to ad-lib it. Your fannish obsession is your beard. If you know absolutely all the trivia about your cubbyhole of pop culture, it saves you from having to know anything about anything else. That's why it's excruciatingly boring to talk to such people: They're always asking you questions they know the answer to.

________

Ouch.

Cheese: The first attempt ....

2009-02-05T22:02:00.001-05:00

Well, I tried making some mozzarella for the first time tonight. It didn't turn out too well, but the end result was fairly tasty. Hopefully it'll go better next time. :)

Ouch ...

2009-02-03T20:11:00.003-05:00

Stephen King said some not-too-nice things about the author of the Twilight series ... interesting.

Story

Quote of the day: Catch-22

2009-02-03T16:09:00.001-05:00

About the character Major Major Major:

He was polite to his elders, who disliked him. Whatever his elders told him to do, he did. They told him to look before he leaped, and he always looked before he leaped. They told him never to put off until the next day what he could do the day before, and he never did. He was told to honor his father and his mother, and he honored his father and his mother. He was told that he should not kill, and he did not kill, until he got into the Army. Then he was told to kill, and he killed. He always turned the other cheek on every occasion and always did unto others exactly as he would have had others do unto him. When he gave to charity, his left hand never knew what his right hand was doing. He never took the name of the Lord his God in vain, committed adultery or coveted his neighbour's ass. In fact, he loved his neighbour and never even bore false witness against him. Major Major's elders disliked him because he was such a flagrant nonconformist.

How about a litter of children ....

2009-01-31T09:56:00.002-05:00

So it has come to light that the mother in California who just had octuplets already has six children ... which I think makes us question ... how has this woman been able to afford all of this invitro fertilization? Oh yeah, and how will she be able to raise 14 children at once as a single mother graduate student? Let's also not think of the costs incurred by having to keep all eight babies in the hospital for at least a month because they obviously didn't have much space to develop in their mother.

Is this just a stupid situation all around, or is just me? Why do people get so caught up in having litters of children? There's no way that could be healthy for either the children or the mother. I don't understand the media exposure either. I'm not shocked and awed because some lady is able to pay doctors to get her pregnant with a lot of babies. If it happened naturally ... hey ... that might be interesting. Otherwise, having 6-8 babies at once just seems like a cry for attention ... look at me, I'm a brat factory!

Gettin' cheesy ....

2009-01-28T19:30:00.003-05:00

I've decided that I need new cooking challenges now that I've officially conquered steak (three positive reviews is my official marker). My decision: I'm going to try making fresh mozzarella. That's fun and exciting, right?

Quote of the day: X-Files

2009-01-27T13:06:00.001-05:00

Life is like a box of chocolates. A cheap, thoughtless, perfunctory gift that nobody ever asks for. Unreturnable because all you get back is another box of chocolates. So you're stuck with this undefinable whipped mint crap that you mindlessly wolf down when there's nothing else left to eat. Sure, once in a while there's a peanut butter cup or an English toffee. But they're gone too fast and the taste is... fleeting. So, you end up with nothing but broken bits filled with hardened jelly and teeth-shattering nuts. And if you're desperate enough to eat those, all you got left is an empty box filled with useless brown paper wrappers.

-- Cigarette Smoking Man (aka Cancer Man)

Quote of the day: W. B. Yeats

2009-01-26T22:16:00.000-05:00

The Second Coming

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
When a vast image out of Spritus Mundi
Troubles my sight: somewhere in the sands of the desert
A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.
The darkness drops again; but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

Quote of the day: Robert Browning

2009-01-25T20:42:00.001-05:00

I too have spent a life the sages' way,
And tread once more familiar paths. Perchance
I perished in an arrogant self-reliance
Ages ago; and in that act, a prayer
For one more chance went up so earnest, so
Instinct with better light let in by death,
That life was blotted out - not so completely
But scattered wrecks enough of it remain,
Dim memories, as now, when once more seems
The goal in sight again.

Troubling months ....

2009-01-25T15:57:00.003-05:00

I will readily admit it ... January and February are two months that I don't look forward to. Here in Indiana, they are dull, gray, cold months that offer little to look foward to. February is the worst, longest month of the year, even if it's the shortest in terms of days ... it is the month I look forward to the least, even though my birthday falls in there somewhere. Februaries always feel cursed to me, like if something really bad is going to happen to me, it is going to happen that month. Ugh.

Photo of the day: Chess wishes

2009-01-23T21:46:00.003-05:00

Sometimes I wish life were more like chess ... I'd know where I stood, I could affect change easily, and everything follows rigid rules. Plus, the horsey is fun. ;)

Quote of the day: Benjamin Franklin

2009-01-22T02:28:00.001-05:00

Being ignorant is not so much a shame as being unwilling to learn.

Inauguration day ....

2009-01-20T20:16:00.002-05:00

I watched the main part of the inauguration today (11-1) on yes, Fox News. It was an interesting show, though I couldn't help but wonder how much was being spent. However, I know that the ceremony is extremely important. Why you might ask? Well, it is public reassurance that, yes, power HAS been transferred.

Thinking back through history, imagine what different kind of country we might be in now if George Washington had had different feelings about his Presidency. He was a man uncomfortable with the job, a man who didn't want to be the King of America, even though it was how power was perceived in that time. Imagine, because of his precedent, our Presidents only served at most two terms (not including FDR, of course) based on tradition (until the 22nd amendment, of course).

I know I'm not the first, or even thousandth, person today to comment about the peaceful transfer of power, but if you look at the course of human events, I think it is no small feat that such power can be transferred amicably without the threat or use of force.

Disappointment of the day

2009-01-17T21:01:00.002-05:00

Hollywood news sources have reported that Roland "Independence Day" Emmerich has been tapped to create a film adaptation of Isaac Asimov's The Foundation. I am less than thrilled with this type of Hollywood thinking ... let's take a big-budget, soul-less filmmaker and give him one of the major works of one of last century's most brilliant authors. Talk about not matching the source with the artist ... it would be like asking Baz Luhrmann to make a film-adaptation of Les Miserables ... the man can make successful musicals, but the source material and the style probably just wouldn't gel.

Photo of the day: Adults-only Solarium on Jewel of the Seas

2009-01-16T22:57:00.000-05:00

Well-duh thought of the day: Neti pot

2009-01-15T19:19:00.002-05:00

If you are going to make your own saline solution for use in a neti pot, make sure that the measuring spoon used to measure the salt is not the same one (or has been cleaned) used to measure cayenne pepper when cooking at lunch.

Random thought of the day ....

2009-01-14T13:25:00.002-05:00

How do you know it's cold out? When the rear-view mirror inside your car fogs over ....

Cruising realization ....

2009-01-14T07:41:00.003-05:00

I had an interesting revelation yesterday. I know that I cruised A LOT last year, but I had not realized how much it really was. I went on six cruises between January 2008 and December 2008, for a total of 36 days of 2008 at sea. Can you believe that? I spent more than a month last year on a cruise ship. These cruises were a combination of long (9, 10 days) and short ones (3, 4, and 5 days) but still ... whew!

Photo of the day: Independence Hall

2009-01-10T19:51:00.001-05:00

Requisite "New Year" posting ....

2009-01-09T15:47:00.002-05:00

I've been asked what my new years resolutions are ... and my typical response is ... no resolutions. However, I know that I do need to do a few things, regardless of whether it is a new year or not. I need to work harder on my research. I need to eat healthier. I need to exercise more. I need to read more. Blah blah blah. It's not the resolutions, it's the doing.

Photo of the Day: Undercooked Chicken in Grand Caymen

2008-12-30T17:54:00.000-05:00

Photo of the day: Dining room on Navigator of the Seas

2008-12-14T19:53:00.002-05:00

Photo of the day: Promenade on Navigator of the Seas

2008-12-13T09:35:00.002-05:00

Odd AT&T experience ....

2008-12-09T22:04:00.003-05:00

You know, since I've switched from Sprint, I've been happy with my cellular service with AT&T. One thing does irk me though ... why is it that AT&T's signal manages to make all of the speakers in my house shriek with feedback. Seriously ... it's like an advanced warning system before my phone rings.

Silly exitement ....

2008-12-07T12:16:00.004-05:00

This may seem silly, but this week I'm excited. Why? Well, for the movie buff in me, Tuesday marks the day I've been waiting for since summer ... the release of The Dark Knight on blu-ray. Honestly, I saw this movie 4 times during its theatrical release, and it got better each time as I picked up on more and more subtleties of the plot. Seriously, how often does a huge franchise movie keep on giving like that?

Speaking of blu-ray and movies that keep on giving, I'm currently working through the blu-ray Band of Brothers set. I guess this may be a "guy thing," but I swear that this HBO series is by far the best war movie ever made. Period. The funny thing is that it almost required multiple viewings in order to really know the characters. It's not that there's no time for characterization in the series's 10 episodes, but instead, there are so many characters (that each have great moments) that it is sometimes hard to remember who's who beyond the easily recognizable "fixtures" like Winters, Nixon, Guarnere, and Randelman. There is such texture to the story, and after reading the book, so many of the small-yet-poingant moments made it to the screen that, to be honest, I'm not sure I could be happier with the end result.

Ugh ...

2008-12-03T20:04:00.002-05:00

**Baseless whining space**

Ugh ... it is the busy time of the semester. Projects, papers, writing, grading, showcases, presentations ... fun huh?

**End baseless whining**

I'm becoming a Navigator of the Seas ....

2008-11-18T10:55:00.001-05:00

Note of the day: Credits of Big Bang Theory #227

2008-11-17T23:29:00.002-05:00

Dear George Lucas,

May I call you Mr. Lucas? On behalf of the writers of The Big Bang Theory, I would like to thank you for your astounding body of work, which has awakened the child within us and unleashed our dreams. That being said, we hope you don't take offense at our good-natured jest regarding your most recent animated efforts. Yes they were cheap shots, but we can't help but hold you to a higher standard -- a standard of your own making. In closing, we are all looking forward to Indiana Jones 5 - The Curse of the Golden Catheter. Oops, sorry again.

Very truly yours,
The Writers

Shattering the illusion ....

2008-11-16T19:39:00.002-05:00

I went to see the new Bond movie, Quantum of Solace, last night with a friend. What I found amazing was the absolute different way we experienced the movie. My friend was engrossed. I, on the other hand, never "got into" the movie because of the all-around experiences. There were people texting most of the time on the audience side, and on the other side, the print (that was supposedly 2 days old) had two vertical scratches through through the middle of the screen for the last 25 minutes of the movie (which was especially bad since ... minor spoiler here ... many scenes in that time take place in a desert).

Is there any wonder why I dislike paying to go see movies any more, even if I'm "only" paying a $6.75 student rate? While my home theater setup does not compare to the size and sound provided in theatrical projection, it also is not full of inconsiderate jack-asses who cannot go 120 minutes without opening up their phone and essentially turning on a flashlight in the middle of the movie theater.

Photo of the day: Narcoossee's

2008-11-16T13:32:00.003-05:00

Here's a photo taken at Disney's Grand Floridan Resort ... post food poisoning but pre-effects.

Quote of the day: Friends

2008-11-14T13:12:00.001-05:00

You are a horrible person ... By the way, it seems to be perfectly clear that you were on a break.

-- Future Dr. House to the future Mrs. Gellar

Photo of the day: Mr. Potato Head

2008-11-13T09:47:00.002-05:00

Here's a snap from the queue line of the new Disney ride Toy Story Midway Mania at the Disney Hollywood Studios. It is reminiscent of the Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin at Magic Kingdom in that your car has two guns and you shoot targets. The difference is that it is completely done on screens, with each screen having a different theme and different type of midway ammunition (your gun goes from paintballs, to ring toss, etc). Your scores are also tallied with the high scores for the day and month displayed as you enter the ride.

Photo of the day: The "new" Spaceship Earth at EPCOT

2008-11-11T11:58:00.002-05:00

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times ....

2008-11-10T09:12:00.002-05:00

I just spent Tuesday-Saturday at Walt Disney World. The main purpose of the trip was to attend a professional conference, but hey ... I was also at Walt Disney World, so it made sense to do mouse stuff. Instead of staying at the conference hotel across the street from Downtown Disney, I stayed at the Port Orleans French Quarter. I also had several days of park tickets, the Disney meal plan, and the goal of both attending my conference and having a little fun.

Well, it didn't quite work out ....

That's right ... lucky me ... the second night at Disney, after eating a seemingly nice dinner (with an accompanying screaming child) at the Grand Floridian Cafe, I came down with a wonderful case of food poisoning. This led to a Thursday (the day I was supposed to be presenting) that was spent in bed except for the 1 hour I managed to leave my room in order to hand off my materials to my co-presenters. The next day was slightly better from a stomach/fuzzy head standpoint, but definitely far from perfect. The day after that also had ups/downs, and was also the day I flew back.

All-in-all it was a fairly miserable time. I think, for me anyway, Disney can be a very two-faced operation. If you are in a good mood (and feeling well), you can buy into the magic and be happy, forgiving, and transported. If you are in a bad mood (and feeling poorly), the rude people, screaming kids, and prices can drive you nuts.

My hotel stay was very nice and I had no problems with the cast members at our property or the ones working transportation. I do have some problems with some of the ones I encountered at the Magic Kingdom, though. My mom asked a question in one of the stores on Main Street and then corrected one of the cast members behind the register who gave her wrong information. When she walked away I was a little behind and heard the cast member make fun of her to the other two people behind the counter. When we ate at Tony's Restaurant that same day, we found the place to be filthy (not the table but the wall, pictures, glass, etc) AND one of the people eating at my table found a hair in her food while my mom got a piece of salmon that was red in the middle (and the waitress was trying to convince her that that was the way it was supposed to be). With two sent-back entrees we were never once visited by any sort of manager (though yes, the hair one was comped), unlike any of the resort restaurants I've encountered where one small problems entails an immediate visit to the table by the manager.

It is unfortunate that we left the Magic Kingdom on our last day talking about a decline in quailty (especially at now $80 for a single ticket). I do realize and accept that most of the cast members and experiences I actually had in the parks were positive, but it is those bad things that stick in your mind, especially when they are on your last day.

My review: Zack and Miri Make a Porno

2008-11-01T11:19:00.002-04:00

Let me just start out by saying this ... Zack and Miri is by far the dirtiest movie I've ever seen in the theater. The language is vulgar to the extreme, there is full-full frontal male and female nudity, and some depictions of bodily functions that will stick with you long after the movie is over. The real question is though ... is it funny? My answer ... mostly.

Zack and Miri tells the story of two down-and-out friends/roommates (Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks) who have come into hard times, not to mention the threat of their 10-year high school reunion. Throw in an embarrassing YouTube video and turned-off utilities, what you end up with, as one of the characters describes, is the exact situation where someone has to turn to having sex for money. This of course leads to the realization that they could have sex for money, just as long as they didn't ruin their friendship. Thus, writer/director Kevin Smith does something very odd ... he uses pornography as the gateway into a romantic comedy because of course Zack and Miri realize that they have feelings for each other, come across obstacles that keep them apart, and then probably reconcile in the film's closing minutes. What's different in this story is that the "meet-cute" or "moment-of-realization" doesn't happen across the room or in a moment of reflection ... instead it happens during a sex scene. Sure this doesn't sound too sweet, but somehow with music, tight camera angles, and very good performances by both Banks and Rogen, it works.

The cast, as a whole, seems funny and believable for the most part, and while it is obvious that some of the supporting characters really are porn-stars, it also seems equally obvious that the filmmakers would not be able to get anyone else to perform some of the scenes included in this film. Smith's rapid-fire dialogue is still ever-present and, as always, I felt myself wondering if people really talk like that, as the number of f-words and topics of discussion are enough to make a jaded person blush. The saving grace for most of the material, though, is that it is funny, turning what would otherwise be exploitation into acceptable, crude humor. There are a few scenes that I could live without (a naked Jason Mewes bending over to check the refrigerator would definitely be one of them), but the material seemed to hit more than it missed, a difficult feat, especially in my viewing of the film with a whopping three other people in the theater (I think a crowd could only make this type of movie better).

For Smith, this movie seems to be a cross between Mallrats and Jersey Girl ... an attempt at some gross-out, juvenile humor intertwined with a too-sweet romantic comedy. Even though Jay and Silent Bob are absent from the film, there are some other standard Smith-cues, such as some parodying of Star Wars and the inclusion of his wife in the film. Smith seems to have let Rogen have more opportunity for improv than is his usual (as a writer who holds his words above anything else on camera), but most of the improvs seem fairly organic. I also noticed a few camera movements, which I found hilarious as Smith always tries to diffuse criticism about his direction by stating that yes, he knows, static shots are perhaps not the best way to tell a story (but put his dialog on center stage).

In the end, this movie was pretty funny, though for me, it took a few scenes for it to really start clicking. Smith doesn't really ever break any new ground (except maybe what is allowable in an R-rated comedy), but at least he is also not afraid to push the limits instead of reducing it down to try to receive the holy grail PG-13 rating. I'm afraid that this movie will have trouble finding an audience beyond his core fans because, even drawing on Seth Rogen's name, it is probably too crude (especially with "porno" in the title) to draw a standard comedy audience and definitely too crude to draw in a romantic comedy audience. I'd recommend it for anyone who needs a laugh and doesn't mind the crudeness.

Rating: 7/10

Quote of the day: Roger Ebert about Zack and Miri Make a Porno

2008-10-30T10:11:00.001-04:00

If you bleeped this movie for broadcast TV, it would sound like a conga line of Iron Men going through a metal detector.

-- Roger Ebert, rogerebert.com