Well, looks like I'll be needing to buy a new home PC fairly soon. The good folks at Sony Online Entertainment are getting pretty far along with their online multiplayer game set in the world of DC Comics.
I believe I am EXACTLY the target market for this game. I read piles of DC Comics, and I'm not averse to games, but I spend my time and money on comics rather than on, say, World of Warcraft. So, I think they can consider this one copy and a membership sold.
They're actually working on this game in Austin, which is sort of mind blowing. I've applied there once or twice, but Im not really sure how to shine the Bat Signal on me and say "seriously, I'll work like a maniac on this one."
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Bat-related Items
As you know, the new Batman movie is coming to the theaters. I'm pleased as punch, and it seems that early reviews are looking pretty good.
So here's some Bat-items:
Bat-Item #1: I'm in deep yogurt with Jamie. You see, The Dark Knight is being released to theaters on Friday, July 18th. I have bought two tickets to the 11:40pm screening for Thursday, July 17th at the Alamo South.
We're headed for Houston on Friday afternoon after Jamie's been to dialysis on Friday morning. As she has to be up at 7:30ish for dialysis on Friday, it seems that she probably won't be going to the movies with me until the wee hours of Thursday.
So... I have a spare Bat-ticket if anyone wants to see The Dark Knight next Thursday evening. Just shoot me a bat-mail.
Bat-Item #2: If you have a few spare minutes, check out the spoof Michael Bay script for a Batman sequel at The Spill. Totally, positively brilliant.
Sadly, it seems folks in the comments section were not clear that this was a bit of a larf at the expense of Mr. Bay. So... yeah.
And it seems the site is where Korey, Jamie's former co-worker, is now cooling his heels.
Thanks to Shoemaker for sending this link.
Bat-Item #3: I'm pinching pennies with generic cereal and soda, but I did go out and pick up "Batman: Gotham Knight". It's DC's latest animated feature film, and its well worth checking out. It's six short films, all loosely interconnected and handled by several different writers and artists.
As I told Jamie, I almost found the movie a bit overwhelming. The artistry of the movie is unquestionable. This is excellent talent having a field day with the material. I should probably mention the animation was also in what I'll loosely call the "anime" style, though it vastly surpasses, say... Pokemon, and there are fairly vast differences between US animation and the storytelling techniques of Anime.
The Gotham of the film falls somewhere between the "Batman Begins" and the continuity of the comics, including villains and protagonists from the funny book pages (I was thrilled to see Cris Allen show up, and a stand-in for Renee Montoya).
Unfortunately, I'm returning the 2-disc set. The second disc of the set was messed up pretty badly and really blew up my DVD player. I wound up having to unplug the player from the wall to reboot it.
Bat-Item #4: Grant Morrison's run on Batman has gotten so topsy turvy, I think I'm just going to have to hold out until the end of the Batman RIP storyline before I have anything intelligent to say about it.
That said, I'm enjoying it.
Bat-Item #5: From what I've read, it doesn't sound like "The Dark Knight" is a movie for little kids. Or even much of a family-fun film. Which is putting the marketing ad-in's in a weird spot.
At Target today, I saw the action figures for the new movie (they're pretty good!), but I kept thinking how weird it was to have toys of an actor so recently passed, and playing a murderous lunatic at that.
Throw in the images of Bale's Batman looking back at me from candy wrappers and cereal boxes, and its an odd, odd mix.
(sidenote: Speaking of toys, if anyone finds the Superman ImagiNext toy with Superman and Krypto, buy it for me. I will reimburse you.)
I guess it speaks to the flexibility and resiliency of the Batman franchise that he can be a smiling face on a kid's toy in one aisle of a store, and he's breaking the bones of thugs in a movie playing at the cinema, and nobody "bats" an eye.
Bat-Item #6: The Alamo South is showing the classic Adam West version of Batman at 11:00 AM next Monday through Thursday. I am totally going. And I'm bringing my Bat Shark Repellent.
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Dan's wedding
Ilana and Dan 2008 from Vladimir Chaloupka on Vimeo.
No, I was not there.
update: Seems that this post caused some confusion. Dan is a guy who I've been pals with for several years. He lives in Chicago these days, and so I don't often get to see him.
Monday, July 07, 2008
Sunny Returns in September
Do you generally dislike yourself and others? Then I have a show for you!
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia returns to the FX network on September 18th.
Here's the site. Turn down your speakers, work slackers.
Oh, go off and watch your quality programming. I know Mad Men returns at the end of the month. I'll watch that, too, but mostly I'll be watching "Sunny".
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia returns to the FX network on September 18th.
Here's the site. Turn down your speakers, work slackers.
Oh, go off and watch your quality programming. I know Mad Men returns at the end of the month. I'll watch that, too, but mostly I'll be watching "Sunny".
Sunday, July 06, 2008
Flat Track Roller Derby
A special thanks to Lauren and Steven for their invitation to join them this evening at the Texas Rollergirls Flat Track Roller Derby. It had been far, far too long since Jamie and I had gone out to see Roller Derby.
I still think its a great sport, and Austin has two different Roller Derby leagues, so I had no particularly good reason to have not hit the Roller Derby here in town since our return. Especially as Roller Derby's current revival had one of its epicenters here in Austin.
This was not the TXRD of Austin, which once had its own A&E-based TV program. Instead, this is, according to Steven and Lauren, a splinter group. Apparently there was some weirdness that I'm not clear on, and so... Austin has twice the RollerDerby of many other metropolitan areas. This evening we saw Texas Rollergirls at Playland Skate, which longtime Austin residents might recall sits by 183 and Burnet. Jason's band actually played there last September.
The set up was fairly similar to the Flat Track in Arizona, but they had four teams, so there were actually two games, who played a half each. One of the teams was visiting from Arkansas, and I thought they did pretty well for being in the second leg of a roadtrip.
The feel of the games was somewhat different from Arizona. In general, I think the Austin teams were technically a bit more skilled, probably because the league has been around a bit longer, and this made some of the jams pretty exciting as you'd get to see folks weaving in and out of the blockers. And, amazingly, I don't recall anyone flying off into the crowd because they'd built up too much speed, like I recalled from AZRD.
That said, I sort of missed the occasional explosion of fisticuffs that were part of AZRD. I get the feeling there's just a different focus with sportsmanship here in Austin, and that's okay. But you have to admit, girls dressed as baseball players and pirates slugging each other on skates = awesome.
I want to try the banked track roller derby, just to see what the difference is. So I'll have to see if I can get Steven and Lauren to head downtown with us to check out one of those bouts.
Interestingly, I ran into my two former office mates from my previous job. They weren't even there together and were unaware the other was there at all. The odds of that happening is pretty darn low.
I also ran into my former co-worker from UT, Beth. Beth is an awesome artist and web designer, and I really don't know when I'd seen her since maybe 2000 or 2001. She looks remarkably exactly the same, and it seems she's a retired member of the Hell Marys.
Anyway, it was great to be back at a Roller Derby bout, even if we had to leave a spot early.
I still think its a great sport, and Austin has two different Roller Derby leagues, so I had no particularly good reason to have not hit the Roller Derby here in town since our return. Especially as Roller Derby's current revival had one of its epicenters here in Austin.
This was not the TXRD of Austin, which once had its own A&E-based TV program. Instead, this is, according to Steven and Lauren, a splinter group. Apparently there was some weirdness that I'm not clear on, and so... Austin has twice the RollerDerby of many other metropolitan areas. This evening we saw Texas Rollergirls at Playland Skate, which longtime Austin residents might recall sits by 183 and Burnet. Jason's band actually played there last September.
The set up was fairly similar to the Flat Track in Arizona, but they had four teams, so there were actually two games, who played a half each. One of the teams was visiting from Arkansas, and I thought they did pretty well for being in the second leg of a roadtrip.
The feel of the games was somewhat different from Arizona. In general, I think the Austin teams were technically a bit more skilled, probably because the league has been around a bit longer, and this made some of the jams pretty exciting as you'd get to see folks weaving in and out of the blockers. And, amazingly, I don't recall anyone flying off into the crowd because they'd built up too much speed, like I recalled from AZRD.
That said, I sort of missed the occasional explosion of fisticuffs that were part of AZRD. I get the feeling there's just a different focus with sportsmanship here in Austin, and that's okay. But you have to admit, girls dressed as baseball players and pirates slugging each other on skates = awesome.
I want to try the banked track roller derby, just to see what the difference is. So I'll have to see if I can get Steven and Lauren to head downtown with us to check out one of those bouts.
Interestingly, I ran into my two former office mates from my previous job. They weren't even there together and were unaware the other was there at all. The odds of that happening is pretty darn low.
I also ran into my former co-worker from UT, Beth. Beth is an awesome artist and web designer, and I really don't know when I'd seen her since maybe 2000 or 2001. She looks remarkably exactly the same, and it seems she's a retired member of the Hell Marys.
Anyway, it was great to be back at a Roller Derby bout, even if we had to leave a spot early.
Saturday, July 05, 2008
City of Austin Fireworks?
= AWESOME
My folks came into town today for a little family cookout. Susan joined us, as did Jason + Cassidy and one Heather Wagner.
I was wary of the heat of the day and the lack of shade in my backyard, and so had planned to cook inside. Jason, believing this to be unpatriotic, took control of the charcoal and flame. He is GrillMaster '08. And he did, I might say, a superior job.
Mom brought in some really good asiago and spinach sausages. Susan brought a nice pasta salad. Heather brought some vegetarian sausages. And I picked up some burgers.
Anyway, we had too much food and drink, but that's a good problem to have.
Afterwad, we headed to the Hyatt at Town Lake, where my folks had rented a room. We picked a nice spot, met up with some family friends, and enjoyed the sun going down and waited for the fireworks.
I haven't seen a fireworks show in Austin for several years. Last year was our first Fourth back, and we wound up shooting off bottle rockets with Mangum out in Buda. Prior to that, we'd either been in Phoenix or visiting Houston. Prior to that... I don't really recall. But Austin's fireworks were really, really good this year.
Much better than the usual Chandler, AZ fireowrks, anyway. The company and lakeside view didn't hurt, either.
So a tip of the hat to my folks for landing us a nice spot for fireworks. It was a very nice Fourth.
My folks came into town today for a little family cookout. Susan joined us, as did Jason + Cassidy and one Heather Wagner.
I was wary of the heat of the day and the lack of shade in my backyard, and so had planned to cook inside. Jason, believing this to be unpatriotic, took control of the charcoal and flame. He is GrillMaster '08. And he did, I might say, a superior job.
Mom brought in some really good asiago and spinach sausages. Susan brought a nice pasta salad. Heather brought some vegetarian sausages. And I picked up some burgers.
Anyway, we had too much food and drink, but that's a good problem to have.
Afterwad, we headed to the Hyatt at Town Lake, where my folks had rented a room. We picked a nice spot, met up with some family friends, and enjoyed the sun going down and waited for the fireworks.
I haven't seen a fireworks show in Austin for several years. Last year was our first Fourth back, and we wound up shooting off bottle rockets with Mangum out in Buda. Prior to that, we'd either been in Phoenix or visiting Houston. Prior to that... I don't really recall. But Austin's fireworks were really, really good this year.
Much better than the usual Chandler, AZ fireowrks, anyway. The company and lakeside view didn't hurt, either.
So a tip of the hat to my folks for landing us a nice spot for fireworks. It was a very nice Fourth.
Friday, July 04, 2008
Independence Day
I had this plan for this Independence Day post, but then I realized: I'm still looking for a job. And, like it or not, if people are Googling my name and (1) locate The League, (2) can get past the fact that I'm obviously a huge dork, (3) and don't agree with me about, say, Wall-E, I'd hate for (4) something I'd say in espousing my personal philosophy regarding Independence to keep me from getting an interview.
Suffice it to say, without getting all Toby Keith on you, I am aware of the virtues of living and working in a country which was established with no smaller goal in mind than the liberty and freedom of its citizens. And I am proud that in the history of the United States, we seem to take the idea of equal rights for our people so seriously that we're able to make steps forward, changing both law and society, and eventually hearts and minds. 1920 may seem a little late to have finally granted women the right to vote (and it was), but it DID happen. And though progress may be slow, the march of history in the US points in the direction of shared rights and privileges for all of us.
I salute the dream of forefathers who conceived of a place where the citizenry could publicly question the will of the government with no fear of reprisal, and who insisted that the voice of the people would guide how those selected for office might govern.
I am a flag waver. There's a 3x5' flag hanging from my front porch. But I don't labor under any delusion that flags or pins or whatever magnet or sticker is trendy to have on your car is some indicator of how much more I love my country than the next person. I'm happy to hang the flag when I think of the achievements of the US, and the amazing ideals upon which the county was founded. And how we strive to build upon that foundation, pushing forward not toward being necessarily a nation known for its might, but as an ideal for government, justice and personal liberty. That a love of commerce is not our only ideal, and the pursuit of filling our coffers is not the sole drive for our nation and its choices.
We're better than that. And the Fourth is a chance not just to grill up a burger, get a sunburn and watch some fireworks, but its a chance to remember the ideals laid out in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. And how each of us is a steward of those ideals for ourselves, our community and the world the next generation will inherit. And the generation after that.
It's my greatest hope that technology and wise choices will leave the United States of the July 4th, 2108 looking back at us with the same disbelief we reserve for the social inequality of our own nation from 100 years ago. And that, maybe, just maybe, we'll have found as-yet-untapped wisdom to live as neighbors with all nations.
Even Canada. Who would gladly invade us and take our stuff if we were not to remain vigilant.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)