putting the "X" back in christ: the post-xmas wrap

for having the day off today it couldn't have be more unproductive. real smart on my part. of course not. for whatever reason i couldn't sleep last night despite being tired as all hell. normally this wouldn't have been any shocker 'cept that i did have the day off today so there was no "returning to work" anxiety. i was out of sorts all night last night and chalk it up to post-xmas blues.

that ain't to say that xmas was a high note because it wasn't. i just think the bum-rush leading up to the day builds up all the emotion and general anticipation then when it's finally over all the air is let out and i'm left kinda flat. that's how i describe yesterday: flat. i had expected a friend to visit and stay the night (for which i had originally requested today off) but that plan fizzled almost in the eleventh hour. i didn't really care but it sorta left me w/o a plan.

having fallen asleep somewhere between 6 and 7AM this morning i didn't pull myself up until almost 1PM when i split to catch the afternoon matinee of The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou; another excellent Wes Anderson flick so rich and satisfying that you never want it to end. i've been trying like hell to catch up on theater flicks lately since my entire November was blanked due to my car accident, vacation and move to the new apt. matter o'fact i've seen more theater movies in the last 2 weeks than i did in the previous 3 months combined.

5 flicks, for those counting at home including finally catching at late night viewing of The Incredibles, which was terrific as expected, and an xmas day showing of Flight of the Phoenix w/my dad (since The Aviator was soldout). that was watchable but nothing terribly special (we were really looking forward to seeing The Aviator both being Howard Hughes fans for different reasons). The Life Aquatic definitely made up for it tho but what was surprising was that a few people actually left the viewing about 20-25 minutes into it. my guess is that it wasn't the movie they thought it was going to be. certainly, if you're not wise to Wes Anderson and his brand of humor and movie making you probably won't get it. i could name a few of my family members that wouldn't get it. more than a few, actually.

speaking of, i expected to post a long diatribe about yet another dumpy and disappointing xmas at the homestead w/the fam but at this point, i no longer care. i went out of my way to arrange some nifty gifts to which i'm most happy about. i rec'd a lot of what i expected and didn't want. i plan to be more on my game this year and return the bulk of it thanks to collecting all the respective gift receipts. i would've preferred not to have gotten anything so i'm sorta treating it as tho i didn't get anything. easier to reconcile than just getting pissed off.

fortunately i picked up a few things i would've wanted for xmas that will keep me occupied for the time being. 'course i'm speaking of Call of Duty: Finest Hour and Killzone, both PS2 games that so far are proving to be entertaining. i'm also buying a new TV (gasp!) this week so the pattern continues (eg. surrounding myself in more material goods to make up for the lack of everything else in my life).

merry effing xmas, everyone!

after pleading w/my father via email to dissuade my mom from giving me more clothes for xmas that i will not wear, i rec'd this from him this morning:

> I am glad you are finally getting into Christmas. But, do prepared for
> some nice cloths that Mom picked for you. She goes all out for you
> because she feels that you are alone. I am sure you will enjoy what you
> receive.


(btw, i still have the neatly folded stack of sweaters and fleece pullovers from last year that i have yet to wear let alone look at. looks like another drop-off at goodwill)

it's hard to believe that the 2nd to last weekend of '04 has finally reached its end. and at times it seemed as tho i was squeezing every last drop from it. between the miserable, never-ending move from my old apt to my new digs i did manage to obtain a few moments of glee.

saturday evening found me w/kev for a viewing of Yimou Zhang's House of Flying Daggers, a flick almost as gorgeous as his Hero epic. i've had the DivX for months and the DVD only recently but i've held off home viewing in anticipation of the full-on theater experience. i'm glad i did... even tho i'd bill it as a martial arts chick-flick it was still excellent. too bad i didn't have a chick to enjoy it with. definitely one to catch in the theater first and i'm already looking forward to seeing it again (btw, Ziyi Zhang is just incredible with a major notch up in her acting abilities for sure).

today wasn't nearly as bad as yesterday... considering i was up until 2AM last night just cleaning the kitchen in my old place. talk about miserable. it was only around midnight when i discovered upon pulling out the crisper drawer in the fridge that some time ago soy sauce had spilled and pooled under the tray. this wouldn't have been so bad had this just happened. but since this must've occurred a long time ago, the soy sauce had crystallized and was practically *burnt* into the bottom of the fridge. real nice. after working on it for a while i honestly didn't think i'd be able to remove it but with much perseverance i managed to eliminate every last trace of that damned hardened soy sauce. it'll be a real long time before i ever have soy sauce again after smelling that stench for an hour.

anyways, today was much better w/the kitchen, bathroom, and the bedroom already completed. i moved out quite a bit of the remaining junk either to my new apt or the dumpster. now there's little left before i can finally be free of the place. i'll probably drink myself to sleep when it's officially over.

in a celebratory mood of sorts tonight, i split at 9PM sharp and headed to WorstBuy to pick up Call of Duty: Finest Hour for the PS2 - a game i've been wanting since i first saw the commercial. usually it's $50 as a hot new release but amazingly BB had it on sale for $30 (w/some other "hot" titles like THUG2) so i couldn't pass. even a used copy won't run at that price for several months. after a couple more quick stops to pick up some minor xmas gifts i made it into the 10PM viewing of Blade: Trinity w/10 minutes to spare! (god, i love late night shopping around the holidays - no traffic on the road or in the stores!)

unfortunately arriving 10min before showtime served no purpose other than getting the perfect seat. the fucktwats at the Randhurst AMC somehow had forgotten to queue up the flick so me and the small crowd of 16 or so sat there until a quarter past the hour until finally someone got up to tell them to start the fucking movie already. finally after the obligatory previews the movie got rolling at 10:31PM. thanks a lot, jerkholes!

i won't say too much about B:T other than i enjoyed it immensely and laughed out loud several times (during intended funny moments). i grinned at the wooden acting all around esp. at Kris Kristofferson who appeared to reading off a cuecard. after succumbing to the Schwarzenegger sad school of one-liners in the first 2 flicks of the "trilogy" the producers at least gave way to bona fide humor in this final installment w/the inclusion of Ryan Reynolds (of Van Wilder fame) and an all too brief appearance of Patton Oswalt (as well as a hilarious Pomeranian!).

besides the justified R-rating (for some reason i thought it was PG13 - glad i was wrong), i was also happy to see that Dominic Purcell ("John Doe" from the short-lived John Doe tv series) is getting work and here as the main baddie. and Parker Posey wasn't too bad as a mean vampire bitch either. sure, the flick plays out like a big screen comic book/mtv commercial/video game a la Resident Evil but isn't that what we expect from this franchise? i certainly did and only wish it were continuing w/Reynolds and Jessica Biel, who's so goddamn hot it's not funny. what's not to love about an ass-kicking hottie who also shows her emotional side?

they could start a new franchise, The Nightstalkers, and well... hey, i can dream, can't i?

email rec'd this morning:

> From: "Madonna Seniw"
> Subject: LOUDNESS!
> Date: Mon, 13 Dec 2004 08:03:47 -0700
>
> dude. you're missing lodnesses 1st album!!!!!!!!
> it's called Law Of Devils Land!!!!!!! wished i still
> had the tape to convert it to mp3.. but
> unfortueately it's to old & warped.... :(

so i cont'd my annual tradition of making an ass out of myself at the company xmas party last night. funny thing is, i don't remember most of it. as in, i _really_ do not remember. i woke up fully hung over this morning going thru the motions preparing myself for the day ahead. when i got into my car i noticed immediately that i had a full tank of gas. that was red flag #1 since i've never had a full tank of gas in that car since i've owned it (hasn't even been a month yet). very suspicious. so i tried to recollect the evening and nothing came to mind. then i became scared.

when i arrived at the office and conveyed this to the other culprits who attended last night's festivities; they began to tell drunken tales of things that i did not recall nor could put into context from what little i did remember. from what i gathered, i could only remember back from around the time we left our company party and headed to the restaurant bar. after that i don't have any memories. not only has this made me frightened it has also made me angry. angry that i somehow allowed myself to get so teetering sloshed to not only forget most of it the next day but somehow, some way i managed to drive my new car home... and stop along the way for a fill-up. WTF kind of idiot can i be?!

I'm actually too ashamed to discuss this little event anymore. it's embarrassing and foolish. i hope to never pull a stunt like that again.

email rec'd tonight:

-----Original Message-----
Sent: Thursday, December 02, 2004 7:27 PM
Subject: No Subject

I would like to E mail the band. Where would I send that mail?

Karl

xtras817@aol.com

thanksgiving wasn't as eventful as one might think. i actually spent it by myself which i haven't done in a long time (probably 9 or 10 years since the last loner turkey day). normally being alone on a traditionally "family & friends" type of day makes me a tad melancholy but this year i didn't have time for much of that kind of thinking. see, i was busy trying to move as much of my apt into another apt 3 doors down. that on top of cleaning my place and making it presentable enough for my landlord to start showing it to prospective renters during my holiday absence. yep, i left the following day for a few days in the cold desert paradise known as Albuquerque.

i had decided to fly to ABQ a couple of months ago when i realized that i wanted no part of my family's plans to drive 10hrs to Rapid City South Dakota and spend 5 days at my step-sister's home. you've heard of a "blue christmas" right? well this would've been a "Red" thanksgiving. Red as in Right, if ya catch my meaning. and that would've been too much for me in such a closed environment. don't get me wrong, i love most of my family but have reached a point in my life where i can only take them in doses... small doses.

So i opted to spend a few days w/my brother and his 4 dogs and sleestakk, my iguana. then there was the slight annoyance of his roommate's girlfriend.

anyways, it was a few days of pretty much nothing. and when i say nothing i mean nothing. unless petting any one of his 4 dogs counts as something. this isn't to say that it was a bad few days b/c it wasn't. it was just a few days about nothing really. our ink appt was cancelled so nothing happened w/that. the one night we went out nothing was happening so we went home after a few stops and drinks along the way. i did go out of my way to make Slee a killer salad and tried to configure his heating element since it's on the verge of winter down there. but mostly i sat around petting the dogs. at least my brother's dogs are "hella cool", as his roommate's girlfriend would say.

overall it was a nice if uneventful getaway. i got see my brother's new truck and his new "old truck" project (he's restoring an old '31 Ford into a hot rod). we watched movies, ate out for every meal, and played with the dogs. had i known 2 months ago that i would be moving to a new apt during the same time as thanksgiving i'm sure i wouldn't have booked the trip. i have a ton of shit to do w/the move and being gone for 5 days has only slowed the process. that said, i'm happy i got to hang with my brother once more before the end of the year. and he has hella cool dogs that won't hesitate to kick you off the bed during the night. and that, my friends, was my thanksgiving vacation!

here's what i posted at the spookhouse about the Manson show tonight at the Riviera Theatre in Chicago:

i suppose the chicago show was pretty much like jeff's description of the cincy show... 'cept M kept saying "chi-KAgo, chi-caGO, etc." between the songs w/emphasis on different syllables each time he repeated it. it reached a point where i realized that he didn't have anything interesting or witty to say so all he said was "chicago" over and over to keep the crowd in it.

he did say something early in the set about the Good Charlotte/Sum 41 show a block away at the Aragon - making fun of them ("goddamn canadians") and their fans - even tho apparently Sum 41 was in the right balcony watching M. when Sum 41 came into the balcony right before the show began, many on floor flipped them off and started chanting "Fuck You" which turned into "Man-son".

my take-aways:
- sold out show? that's how i heard it but it didn't seem that way inside the venue having been to several soldout shows at the Riv. but there was lots of ppl there.

- the Riviera Theatre. M last played here on the ACS tour. it was almost uncanny that the setlist swirled in and out of ACS ending w/the title track (i was hoping for a Man that You Fear reprise but no such luck).

- the crowd. great audience. good energy. i was shocked b/c i haven't seen M since the GGG tour and the last show i saw was in C-land where the turnout and overall vibe was weak. tonight's crowd was into it and the greater majority seemed to identify w/all the tunes. i was impressed... that not only are there still lots of ppl into MM but they also know the tunes and showed up.

- the band. chris looks like a substitute but rocked nevertheless. guitarist is non-existent, probably the way M wants it. pogo was pogo. skold was actually cool to see and did fine. M clearly likes Skoldy since he hangs all over him during the show and avoided the other bandmates.

- Skold. that was the first time i've seen Skold in MM and he still looks young. KMFDM played here last night to which i recalled the 1st time i saw Skold live was with MDFMK a few years ago. now he's in a different band yet crossing paths w/his previous gig. i just found it odd.

- Get Yer Gunn. i cannot remember the last time i saw that performed live. definitely wasn't on the GGG tour. does anyone have a setlist handy from the MA tour? i'm just curious how long it's been since i've seen that live. i'm glad they played it too b/c it was stuck in my head all day.

- scratchy intro song. that's a Manson tune that now escapes me. i think it's off of ACS or maybe it was MA. could be from the "Manson by Cellos" CD. or from something else. does anyone know which tune it is?

- M was on. he didn't really make any mistakes or miscues. nor did he blow up. i'd say he seemed on autopilot and did a good job. i wasn't in the front row but it looked like he was really locked into the front row so i'm sure those kids had an experience - all the magick and eyes staring lasers thru your skull stuff. during one moment he pointed to someone in the front and just stared at them until he cracked a sly grin.

- overall i enjoyed the show. i actually got goosebumps when M started into the Family Trip. some dude behind me that obviously didn't get the memo on the correct MM concert attire says right after 'Stop the Boat!': "huh, i have no idea what that was or what he was saying." and he was the apparent MM expert among his little crowd behind me. he just looked out of place and sounded like it as well.

altho i've seen most of it all before, 'cept for the GAOG material, i'm glad i went. it's been too long and i'm glad it was a decent show. nothing particularly memorable like the old days but at least i could see M up close again. it was also the longest MM show i've seen at 1.5hr. and i definitely think the theater venue suits him better and his energy isn't lost as it is in arenas and sheds.

email i rec'd tonight:

-----Original Message-----

Subject: Look for Spawn

Hi

I am looking for the following toys, please tell me if you have any of them. And what's their price? Do you have office in Sydney?

SPAWN SERIES22：
SPAWN THE BLOODAXE AND THUNDER HOOF
SPAWN SERIES21：
SPAWN VII
WING OF REDEMPTION SPAWN
SPAWN SERIES 19：
DOJO
LOTUS THE ANGEL WARRIOR
SPAWN SERIES 17：
TIFFANY II 女
MCFARLAN E‘S MONSTERS：MUMMY
MCFARLANE’S MONSTERS SERIES 3：
SAMURAI WARS ACCESSORY PACK

Thanks and Regards,


Sam Wang

All Ports International Logistics (NSW) Pty Ltd
Phone: 61-2-9700 1803
Fax: 61-2-9700 1834
Web: www.allports.com.au

Team America will be great. trey parker and matt stone were just on Conan moments ago, and the more i hear about this flick the more excited i get about seeing it this weekend. with any luck i'll be going for a 2nd viewing come movie weekend in little over a week. following Shaun of the Dead, the down period for post-summer releases seems to be picking up.

the final debate was this evening but i haven't watched it yet (i taped it, natch). it should provide a few more yuck-yucks while i'm sloggin' thru FireRed during the wee hours. oh btw, i discovered last night that USA Network's Frankenstein isn't an apparent mini-series. it's just a 2hr movie. which makes no sense considering the "movie" ends w/o an ending and very unsolved. i question whether this was just a set up for a potential series but then i still have to question the participation of the actors involved. bizarre.

welp i made a major fuckup today when i thought i booked my thanksgiving flight to abq new mexico. my brother called tonight to inform me, after reviewing the itinerary i sent him, that my flight departs abq on 11/25 and arrives back in abq from chicago on 11/30. um, how the fuck did i not notice that i booked the reverse flight? i'm sure when i call american airlines it'll cost me a pretty penny to get this flight changed. oh fun. and on a day when i donated another $25 to the city of des plaines for expired tags (that's 3 years in a row, folks!).

the upside to this week is that i successfully hired 2 more acct mgrs for my dept who both start on monday. and god knows (he does) we need the help. fuck, *i* need the help. and these are guys with some experience under their collective belts so i have high expectations. none of that affirmative action/train 'em and hope they do well bullshit (sorry, but i've had some bad experiences over the years). let's just hope they show up on monday. so that and the fact that my hearless leader is out all week have made things somewhat more palatable at thee ole office.

i've come to accept that i have a life-threatening addiction to pokemon. no, i'm not ashamed to admit this (however, i am ashamed of this behavior). life-threatening? yep. because life outside of pokemon almost ceases to exist and i have a strange feeling that things are falling apart around me. yet i'm too preoccupied to notice. i'd say between that and Hunter X Hunter anime, i'm not really giving life a fair shake these days. and that's threatening.

last night i finished downloading another 36(!) episodes of Hunter X Hunter (i'm so glad this is still a free fansub!). i watched 5 eps yesterday and another 4 so far today. the show continues to get better and better. and it's hella violent for a "cutesy" shounen. honestly, it's not all that cutesy but does build on its foundation of friends sticking together to accomplish a goal; in this case, passing the ever-so-difficult hunter exam. damn, it's a great anime.

when i attempt to sleep at night or morning, my head is swimming with pokemon strategy and HxH. so, yeah, i have a problem. another reason to catch a flight the fuck out of here to new mexico for a few days but i can't even get that right. yep, it's threatening.

having a clean bathroom is nice. really. i spent a chunk of the afternoon cleaning the head which was terribly overdue. all i have left is the area around the sink basin; and that's easy compared to the floor, tub and toilet i did today. i mention this b/c i've been negligent with a lot of things lately... incl. this blog (and all the others i choose to read regularly). not sure really why or how this came to be but somewhere along the way i decided to do little else than play that stinkin' pokemon, read magazines, and/or watch the new Fall season on TV.

speakin' of, i just finished watching the first chapter of the new Frankenstein mini-series on the USA Network. normally i wouldn't bother w/junk like that but the whole NIN (circa '94)/Se7en look of the trailers and eclectic cast (Parker Posey? Michael Madsen? Vincent Perez? Adam Goldberg?) drew me in. So far it's not bad 'cept the lack of recoil on Parker's shotgun; it's providing a very twisted albeit modern take on the Frankenstein mythology. i look forward to the next installment.

yesterday, Zombie Killer (kev) and i finally caught Shaun of the Dead. i've had the DivX for a while since it came out in England quite some time ago but held off watching, hoping to catch it in the theater here when i heard it was going to be released domestically. wow. talk about a riot of a great time! 'cept for the more serious tone (RE: lull in humor) it takes in the final act SotD is hysterical. on one hand i would think that it would do better at box office b/c it is so damn funny and marginally scary (if you're afraid of zombies and gore) but then again i think there's an obvious culture barrier that the middle of the road American citizen just can't overcome. this may be a disservice to both flicks but i guess the easiest description for SotD is that it's the Trainspotting of zombie flicks. whatever, i will own the DVD someday day.

surprisingly i haven't played as much pokemon this weekend b/c i was too preoccupied obtaining new music and making back-up DVDs; both of which i haven't done in some time. but i am motivated to get back to my old routine pre-pokemon when i wasted my time on slightly more productive things. this includes finally unpacking from my vacation a couple weeks ago and ordering those new Microman Bio-Machine, Batman, Catwoman, Batgirl and Devilman figures that i kept putting off.

plus i've been trying to stay on top of anime torrents as well as watching when i can. i know i was late to jump on the Hunter X Hunter bandwagon but since i just start watching it recently i've really come to enjoy this rather simple shounen. it's addictive for sure and ranks high at animenfo (#50 overall) w/a 9.4 rating. i suppose for the longest time it just looked too cutesy for my tastes... until i started watching and realized how well the story and characters are crafted. so i've pushed aside most other anime for HxH right now. i'm dumbfounded that this hasn't been licensed for domestic release, for either the Cartoon Network or DVD.

ok, i think that's enough to get back in the blog of things... i've got some blog reading to catch up on as well. slowly i'm gettin' back into the swing of it. really.

np: Dio - "Master of the Moon"

i am digging these new Daft Punk RAH figures!

"Daft Punk, late 90s pioneers of the French house music scene that took the world by storm, are now ready to invade your home as Real Action Heroes. Standing 12 inches tall, these realistic dolls feature injection molded, plated backpacks. Updated to RAH301 specs. Release Date: December 31, 2004."
(now, to come up w/the $260 to get them)


-> R.i.P. (and raise hell!) Russ Meyer!

if i were a rich man, i'd get one of these in a heart beat: horse head pillow

it's one thing to be sick. it's another thing to be sick due to long hours at the office and almost no sleep to recover. friday it caught up w/me so i was down and out w/a truly unpleasant summer cold all weekend of which i'm still tryin' to get over. this was easily the most unproductive weekend in a long, long time as i was pretty much confined to a motionless state the majority of the weekend. except when i was weezing, coughing or wiping snot off my face.

last night i did manage a grueling venture to pick up some provisions with a quick stop into Mitsuwa to retrieve my book order from Asahiya (Microman Chronicles 1974-2004, which is very cool despite Asahiya's hefty markup: $42 for Y2800 cover price! ugh). i also got my j1toys membership card sans the photo of me they took a few weeks ago. ah well.

i was able to watch a fucking awesome movie that i've wanted to see for a long time: Shurayuki-hime aka "Lady Snowblood". it's a 1973 Japanese revenge flick starring Meiko Kaji in the title role. i won't blather on about it b/c it's just too goddamn good for words (plus i wouldn't want to spoil it for those who haven't seen it yet like all the reviews tend to do these days. thanks, jerkwads!). it's also one of the films (in the long line of films) that Tarantino has riffed. in this case, for Kill Bill, natch. this is one that definitely makes the top of the movie night list w/a bullet.

this morning i attempted to "go to bed" but found myself in the rasping hell of coughing and congestion no matter how many shots of tussin i downed. however, i still managed to pull myself up for the early matinee of Resident Evil: Apocalypse. ok, so the 2nd installment wasn't much better than the 1st (maybe it was worse?) but, seriously, i have no problem dropping five bucks on 2 hot chicks fighting zombies for an hour and a half. esp. when my mind was as foggy and fucked up as it was putting down this goddamned work-induced cold virus.

RE:A is stupid, silly eye candy; teenage boy, testosterone-fueled fantasy-violence in a can for video game junkies (much like the 1st flick). did i enjoy it? hell yeah. was it a good flick? hell no. but i will say that i am motivated to play the video games now. cuz that's really how i viewed it: a video game brought to screen. being vaguely familiar w/the storyline but never having played _any_ of the games, it seemed like an 'okay' adaptation. and still 100x better than House of the Dead, which ain't saying much, i know. somewhere in my toy stash i have a Nemesis action figure and i only wish it was as cool as the one in this movie (tho i wouldn't mind a real nice 1/6 scale movie version Nemesis w/gun accessories!).

at least EbeRoeper hated the flick, which was expected, and that makes me feel a little better about liking it. i'm a bit concerned about Sky Captain coming up this weekend since Roger *loved* it and Rope-a-Dope hated it. guess we'll know soon enough.

after the viewing i stopped in bestbuy to get FireRed and LeafGreen which came out today and were onsale for $25 each. hard to pass on that since Sapphire/Ruby are still selling at their regular msrp of $35. come to think of it, i'm pretty sure i paid around $25 for mine used. anyways, it was a deal to get the new games at the sale price along w/the nintendo guide for $15. i kicked off LeafGreen tonight and it's super terrific of course and reminds me of when i first (finally) started playing the series earlier this year w/Yellow. it's the same Kanto story as the original game so it conjures up the warm fuzzies... but it's so slow going early on as you know if you played the original games. yet it's still super terrific and now i want to get another GBA:SP just so i can trade. yes, it's still a sickness.

George Iida's Dragon Head


it's hard to say whether or not i truly took advantage of the 3-day weekend. if sleeping whenever on a whim (and yet staying awake until 6AM), bidding on and winning more needless items on ebay, viewing anime torrents and watching a few DVD movies all count then i made out pretty well. feeling somewhat guilty after 2.5 solid days of indulgence i decided to do something productive today and worked on my frontroom for a large part of day.

my ghetto shelves are down to two final boards which i intend to eliminate tomorrow evening and begin the massive rearrangement. i managed to pack up _all_ my micronauts which was a tad bittersweet: happy to finally get them packed; sad b/c i've spent a lot of effort (and coin) to acquire my micros and not having them on display sucks. but it had to be done. i'm still undecided as to whether to make the leap and get the proper shelves i want or wait until i move to a new apt. i bailed out of moving to LA this summer for a few reasons and one was b/c i thought there was a possibility of moving to a different, more desirable locale. but i'm thinking that dream is quickly fading and i may be stuck here in the windy city a lot longer than i planned. so... what to do?

i definitely do not want to continue living in my current craphole. besides growing to hate my apt i've developed a major aversion to my neighbors and apt location. i wish i knew that i was going to be moving to a whole other place so i'd had least have some assurance in making my plans. ugh. i'm tired of it.

visited The Glen saturday evening w/some friends. such a peculiar place it is! residing in the middle of Glenview some city planners took the old vacated Naval Air Station and restored it into a spanking new modern *urban* suburban mini-town. and it's an odd place b/c there's no 'tweeners to found on the hopping weekend nights; it's all teens and +40 set. our party seemed to be the only representation of our age group during the crowded evening. just bizarre.

caught Hero yesterday at Crown Village and as expected, it's simply gorgeous on the big screen. and this was despite a piss poor screening (subtitles cropped off initially than overcorrected so that the top of screen was cropped; dumbasses!). theater was surprisingly full! not surprisingly it took top box office honors again (good!! take note, miramax, next time you consider sitting on a film for 2 fucking years. assholes).

today i finally finished watching Dragon Head (over 3 sittings). it wasn't an easy film for me to watch. best described as twisted spin on Day After Tomorrow meets 28 Days Later post-apocalyptic theme set in modern Japan the flick is dreary, bleak, hopeless, grim, etc (read the review story & *spoiler* warning!). based on a manga series by Mochizuki Minetaro, Dragon Head is not a bad movie by any stretch just very desperate. there was a tremendous amount of fanfare around this flick when it was released in Japan last year and i'm not sure why (maybe from the popularity of the manga?) b/c it's not particularly all that great but is worth watching. and the sets and demolished landscapes were done extremely well.

after that i watched the Korean comedy Spy Girl which kept me captivated for the entire 2hrs (not easily done these days). this is not a great movie but very watchable and reminded me of lot of the late 80s Patrick Dempsey teen/romance-comedies (Loverboy, Can't Buy Me Love, etc.) of which i am rather fond of, good or bad. read this synopsis and you'll understand what i'm talking about:



Jeong-hwa Kim in the lead "spygirl" role is the ice queen hottie that you expect will melt by films end. but Spy Girl sidesteps the easy "hollywood" ending offering a sly finale (possibly signaling a sequel; hell, they sequeled My Wife The Gangster so why not?). i recommend it, natch. check the review here (slight *spoiler* warning).

well it finally happened: tonight the cops came for the whore next door!

last night was yet another successful movie night, a *greatest hits* version for a couple of newbies we finally corralled into joining us. i think both dorf and Art had a good time; hopefully they'll join pAT, Ron and me for another excursion down film dementia in the near future. a good time was definitely had by all.

i totally spaced that Yimou Zhang's Hero was opening this weekend otherwise i would've hit the matinee today. at least it still came in #1 in surprisingly wide release. i'll for sure catch it this weekend and try to drag someone w/me. despite already owning the DVD for almost 2yrs it's still a theater must-see b/c it's such a cinematic flick that is grand in every way. i look forward to it. after running some errands (more tubs for toy storage) and grabbing my sunday carry-out from Amitabul, i picked up my library hold of The Golden Voyage of Sinbad and watched it as soon as i got home.

sadly the '74 Harryhausen flick doesn't hold up so well today. at least not as i remember it. for those vaguely familiar w/this one (2nd of the Harryhausen Sinbad trilogy) Golden Voyage features the one-eyed centaur vs. griffin stop-motion climax. but the movie itself is a bore and the real "action" doesn't begin until around 40 minutes into it! the 6-armed statue of Kali coming to life is pretty cool but even Harryhausen's creatures cannot save a drag of a movie. however, i must say that the real high point of the flick is Caroline Munro whom i had forgotten was a b-movie siren in her own right from the 70s along the lines of Raquel Welch.

wow. and double wow. ^_^

and she makes sitting thru this dreck worth it. her and the stop-motion monsters, that is (besides being a "Bond girl" she also co-stars w/David Hasselhoff in Starcrash, an abysmal Star Wars ape from 1979; i have to get that!).

besides Golden Voyage i watched another slew of anime torrents. i am happy to report that i'm back on the torrent viewing wagon having relegated pokemon to the trunk space (oh, btw, i beat the elite 4 in Silver a couple nights ago; it was much easier than i expected. ho-hum). i've been really glued to Samurai 7 and Samurai Champloo recently. i can't believe i waited until now to begin watching these fabulous series but in a way it's good b/c i have accumulated enough episodes to watch 'em back to back w/o waiting for the latest one.

Samurai 7 is loosely based on Akira Kurosawa's pinnacle opus Seven Samurai - the premise is the same as is the intentional knod to Mifune's "Kikuchiyo" (the character in S7 shares the same name!) but S7 is rather different in many other aspects that i won't go into here. you'll just have to watch for yourself. i burned some eps for pAT and my brother; i think they'll dig it. i am enjoying it immensely.

Samurai Champloo is a whole 'nother animal. set near the end of the Edo Period when ronin wandered the land looking for work, Champloo pairs two polar opposite samurai to aid a girl in her mission to find the "samurai that smells like sunflowers". there's plenty of comedy, drama, action and history all mixed in w/very modern editing. the 1st episode is almost annoying to watch as it "scratches" from one situation to another and then back again. fortunately they don't employ this turntablism cum editing technique often. it's altogether a really entertaining series so far. i'm sure i'll get the DVDs of both of these series whenever they are licensed.

there are times when i truly feel bad for seniors and their rapidly diminishing ability to cope with the real world. when i was at K-mart today tracking down a couple more Citizen figures, an old man looking clearly lost asked me where the checkouts were... i turned and pointed, "right over there" about 20ft away. he thanked me and told me that he had been all over the store looking for them. ~sigh~

i broke down last night and ordered the Chinese release of Takashi Miike's Zebraman. what's wrong with that? nothing. well, that is unless you're up on the initial releases of these Japanese DVDs as they slowly spread from country to country throughout the pacific rim. cuz then you also know that these Japanese DVD releases do not contain English subtitling. Nor do the initial Chinese release of the same movie. And it's usually that initial Chinese release that the bootleggers rip for global pirating (besides other traits the most glaring are the nonsensical, poorly done English subtitles).

so i ordered the Chinese release as it's much cheaper than its Japanese counterpart (by ￥3000 or more). but there's no subtitling ('cept Chinese, natch). whatever, i'm just really wanting to see the flick and i'm pretty certain i won't have any problem following along w/my limited J-language comprehension. sure, i could've waited for the pirated versions or pricey ones w/English but i'm a tad obsessive-compulsive.

speaking of J-language, i had a heckuva delightful time placing orders at Asahiya yesterday. imagine trying to order a Japanese magazine ("Cure") with an English name. she ponders, "koo-ray?" there's no kooray in the system. thankfully i had print-outs from Japanese web sites featuring most of the books i wanted. but it was still a slow process and rather funny at the same time. i took home the latest Figure-Oh and Dengeki Hobby mags (the latter came w/2 mini-transformers!). i would speak some Japanese at Asahiya but for some reason i always feel as tho if i were to speak Japanese i would be offensive. i'm not sure why i think this.

from Mitsuwa i headed over to the brand new Meijer store i just learned about last weekend where i found a new assortment of Citizen figures. picked a few to take home along w/a Manga Spawn figure set i had never seen before. between Meijer & Mitsuwa it was a really easy way to blow a hundred bucks in a half hour.

Chinese Actress Zhang Set for 'Geisha' Turn (...b/c of course there aren't any good Japanese actresses).

"Zhang Ziyi, who co-starred in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," is in final negotiations to play the title character in the long-in-the-works film adaptation of "Memoirs of a Geisha," while the Oscar-nominated Ken Watanabe has signed on to play the male lead."

"Gong Li, Michelle Yeoh, Youki Kudoh and Koji Yakusho also are in final negotiations to join the cast of the Columbia Pictures/DreamWorks/Spyglass Entertainment feature, which Rob Marshall ("Chicago") is directing."

"Yeoh would portray Mameha, the experienced geisha who becomes Sayuri's mentor, while Gong is wanted for the role of Sayuri's treacherous rival Hatsumomo." (full article here)

this is dumb. Gong Li has a very classical and beautiful face, _ideal_ for the role of Mameha. and being older (3yrs older than me even) she's a perfect fit (wasn't Gong Li just absolutely smoking in Shanghai Triad? she had the subtle glamour thing going on in The Emperor and the Assassin). i can't picture Yeoh in this role or this movie for that matter. there are plenty of Japanese vixens who would do nicely has the delightfully evil Hatsumomo. it's almost as tho they felt they needed some "star" power to sell this movie when in fact the movie will sell itself, provided they do it right. it *was* a fuggin' Best Selling Book for year, fer christsakes!

as much as i adore these actors, the casting gets a C- from me. i hope they prove me wrong.

email rec'd today:
"Hi, how can I buy the Simond and the sea monsters toy and how much does it cost.email me at HollyandMilkdud @aol.com. Thanks"

tonight i met kev @Crown Village to catch an opening weekend viewing of AVP, with a free ticket no less. ok, so the ticket wasn't technically free since i had to pay a total of $14 for the Predator SE DVD set to get the freebie screening. with the price for admission being 9 bucks i figured i got a fairly decent deal out of it since i would've paid to see AVP anyways, hype or otherwise.

as far as AVP goes, well, let's just say that somewhere in that mess there was a story worth telling. sadly, it was so poorly executed you end up scratching your head wondering why they bothered at all. i know for a fact that had they turned that plot over to me i would've developed a much more compelling and tighter flick. that ain't bragging b/c i know a few others that could've done the same.

was it better than the much ballyhooed Freddy vs. Jason über-match a year ago? hmm, yeah, it was. but not by much. IMO, i think the Aliens and Predators have much stronger "cool" cachet than that of those dusty old also-rans. and while AVP tried to highlight the cool factor of such fabulous sci-fi monsters in the movie match-up every fanboy has been wetdreaming about for last decade, it failed on so many counts registering barely a beat above flatline. Director Paul Anderson is competent in his own right having delivered some okay big screen features but i think these legendary heavy hitters would have been better handled by a Bryan Singer type who knows how to get the most out of his fantasy characters and give the fans what they want.

i'm already spending more time dissecting this film than it deserves but i guess it's b/c i really expected so much more and left w/so much less. i wanted to leave the theater thinking about how cool the Aliens and Predators were battling each other to the death; instead all i can dwell on are the flaws (way too many to single out any one of them). i'm hoping the eventual R-rated director's cut DVD will be a marked improvement but that's asking a lot from a seriously marred movie. ~sigh~

oh yeah today was the last day of Wizard World Chicago! i planned a late start and limited budget to finish off the trio of tiring days. i went solo intent on scoring final day deals and looking forward to a lot less fangeeks in attendance. arriving sometime after noon i paved my way to countless bins of 50%-off trade paperbacks swinging deals whenever i could. roughly 3 hours later i didn't have a dollar on my person, which was the plan so i left relatively pleased leaving nothing on the table... er, wallet.

today's acquisitions:
Catwoman: The Dark End of the Street trade paperback -- $3.00
Emily the Strange (exclusive) figure -- $12.00
Fudoh (Takashi Miike) dvd -- $12.00
GOZU (Takashi Miike) dvd -- $8.00
Microman Spy Magician M141 Henry figure -- $4.00
Microman Spy Magician M142 Hudson figure -- $5.00
Microman Spy Magician M143 Holmes figure -- $5.00
Planetary/Batman "night on earth" graphic novel -- $2.00
Preacher Book 3 "proud americans" trade paperback -- $7.00
Preacher Book 4 "ancient history" trade paperback -- $7.50
Preacher Book 5 "dixie fried" trade paperback -- $7.50
Preacher Book 6 "war in the sun" trade paperback -- $7.50
Stormwatch "change or die" trade paperback -- $7.00
Stormwatch "force of nature" trade paperback -- $7.00
Ultimate X-men vol 2 "return to weapon x" trade paperback -- $7.00
Y The Last Man Book 1 "unmanned" trade paperback -- $6.50

overall i'd say that WWC 2004 was the most disappointing WWC i've been to yet. And i've attended them all except one since Wizard bought out ComiCon in 1998. Seems like every year there are fewer exhibitors and worthy attractions. this year the dealer space was increased and so was artist alley. as pAT exclaimed, it was essentially like a huge toy/comic flea market, which isn't necessarily a bad thing but it's really the "Con" aspect that's sorely lacking. my own conjecturing tells me that this is just a reflection of the comics industry. rather sad.

it seems that SDCC has gone Hollywood to drive its appeal whereas Wizard is trying to make due w/the waning number of exhibitors willing to buy booth space to showcase their wares. Only a handful of major comic book companies were represented this go-round and i use the term "major" loosely as Devils Due is hardly a major. Marvel was practically non-existent and Mattel had the largest exhibitor space if that's any indication.

and sadly there was not much in the way of cosplay this year except for the usual array of Star Wars 501st Legionnaires. hrmph. sure, 3 days of WWC was exhausting yet still managed to elicit a few moments of child-like glee; however, it's just not the same WW that it once was. i'm planning on going to San Diego next year. 'nuff said.

Wizard World Chicago Day 2

as if yesterday was damn long today topped it. Ron and pAT just left my pad moments ago and by the bleary-eyed expression on pAT's face i'm guessing today was equally as exhausting for those two, esp. since they told me they only had about 4hrs of sleep last night. that said, it was pretty damn good day for all present.

i hooked up w/those two this morning @WW shortly after the doors opened. we then proceeded to the exhibitor area to procure a few exclusives before heading to the dealer stronghold where i played the initial tour guide. i directed them to a table selling Sideshow figures at rock bottom prices. from there we moved _slowly_ thru the irritating mass of humans and subhumans clogging the maze of dealer space where Ron and i ran into a fellow Micropolis Embassy list member by sheer accident.

we trudged onward until about 12:30 when i split to attend Steve Sansweet's Star Wars presentation. now i'm hardly the Star Wars fanatic but i wanted to hit this session for a couple of reasons; 1) i was curious to hear about the upcoming trilogy DVD set and forthcoming Episode 3 but more importantly 2) i wanted to see how the 501st Legion attendees would make their presence at this session. the 501st Legion is the Star Wars Costuming Club, the largest of its kind, and there's always a decent sized 501st delegation at WW every year, this year being no exception. and on cue as the session kicked off, the large contingent of Stormtroopers marched down each aisle led by a single Darth Vader, Boba Fett and Jango Fett. this was hilarious as everyone in the audience cheered and clapped. then Steve came on, applauded their fanaticism then told them to take a hike so he could begin. the hour of the session i caught was pretty good w/several clips from the bonus trilogy DVD and a short behind the scenes clip from Ep3. There were a few trailers from the upcoming video games which all looked great...

i walked out to gawk at the stunning Kelly Hu signing autographs; hot damn, she's 10x more attractive in person than in photo or television. forcing myself away i went to look for Ron & pAT and eventually found myself lost on the dealer floor as i discovered new areas i had not yet visited. heading to lobby i decided to check in on the Kevin Smith session that had just started. after watching a few ppl go in the closed doors i decided to go in to see if i would in fact be kicked out for not having a special session pass. i walked in and stood for a few minutes enjoying Smith's banter w/the crowd all the while. when a few ppl got out of their seats to leave i asked security if i could take a seat. he asked if i had a ticket and when i replied 'no' he said "sorry, you can't. but you can stand here in the back." okie-dokie. so i made my way to the corner, shot some video and finally encouraged Ron & pAT to join me in the session.

Kevin Smith was his typical caustic self shredding each person that stood up to ask a question (most deservely so as many of the questions were rather inane and idiotic). Jason Mewes sat off to the side signing Big Ass Jay figures and provided the occasional riotous wise-cracks at all the right moments. the entire session was entertaining as Smith continually attempted to take his off-color explication to a new low; Smith definitely has a strange predilection for ass-fucking and dick-sucking of the gay sort! (i've never understood this nor do i want to)

that finally over we bailed for the land of shiny happy beautiful people and affluent seniors otherwise known as Evanston - it was apparent that we felt way out of place the moment we walked onto the street. we sat for an excellent dinner at the same Thai joint (Farang Meet Thai) that i went to the previous weekend (around the corner from the CineArt theater) before catching the 7:20 viewing of Beat Takeshi's Zatoichi. even w/the atypical senior crowd packing the seats around us it was still as enjoyable as the first time i saw the flick last weekend. both Ron and pAT liked it a lot as i figured they would.

afterwards back to my overcrowded craphole apartment cum toy storage facility where we sat outside on the stoop (no room to sit inside), smoked, conversed and displayed our acquisitions from the day. yeah, the day was tiring but also very satisfying.

today's meager acquisitions:
Devilman Heavy Gohkin Marmit figure -- $10.00
G-Force Mark 12" Real Action Hero figure -- $10.00
Hellboy - "conqueror worm" trade paperback -- $9.00
Hellboy - "the right hand of doom" trade paperback -- $9.00
Professor House of 1000 Corpses figure -- $5.00
Titan AE Space Walker Suit and Cale figure -- $5.00

today has been one hella long and exhausting day! Wizard World Chicago started today and from 9AM until 6PM i was on my feet not sitting down once. goes w/o saying that my feet are suffering miserably from this. i'd say my wallet is bit sore as well since i spent more $$$ today than i had originally planned. it was the KUSA Master Nova figure that put me over the top ringing in at $100 and that was within the first 10 minutes of arriving at WW! that didn't bode well for the rest of the day...

i was surprised that there were as many attendees but mostly they were there to cherry pick all the best deals on the dealer floor before the onslaught tomorrow. i found some nice items for reasonable prices but i was mostly nabbing all the exclusives and getting much of my shopping out of the way so i can float w/Capt'n Satan and Raydeen tomorrow. i didn't bother attending any sessions or panels; i just walked most of the maze that is the dealer floor and stood in lines at exhibitor booths for the exclusives.

here's a list of acquisitions (and cost) from today:
Buffy con exclusive PALz figure -- $5.00
Dir En Grey t-shirt -- $12.00
Fathom collected editions comics vol 2 & 3 -- $2.00
Hellboy - "the chained coffin and others" trade paperback -- $9.00
Hellboy - "wake the devil" trade paperback -- $9.00
How to draw Manga Vol 1 (Antarctic Press) -- $10.00
Kill Bill Crazy 88 con exclusive Quentin Figure -- $15.00
Kingdom Come trade paperback -- $7.50
Kubrick Batman series Man-Bat figure -- $7.00
Kubrick Evirob figure -- $6.00
KUSA Master Nova figure -- $99.00
Mask of the Red Death Sideshow Toys figure -- $11.50
She-Ra Con Exclusive He-Man figure -- $20.00
Shockini Standard white figure -- $7.00
Skrash AlienRacer figure -- free
Son of Frankenstein Sideshow Toys figure -- $11.50
STIKFAS Beta Female w/Dragon figure set -- $16.00
STIKFAS Beta Female w/Jungle Cat safari set -- $9.00
The Authority "Earth Inferno and other stories" trade paperback -- $7.50
The Authority "transfer of power" trade paperback -- $9.00
Top Cow characters poster -- $1.00
Ultimate X-men vol 1 "the tomorrow people" trade paperback -- $7.50
Vintage 1980 Flash Gordon posters - 3 -- $5.00
Vintage Mego Micronauts - 8 figures -- $25.00

i'll save ya the time in case yer wondering; it was around $300 and change. ugh. i'm definitely gonna go easy tomorrow.

last night, my dept (3 of us) went to Chicago Indoor Racing for a couple of races in go-carts. damn, i wish i had remembered my camera b/c we were all decked out in racing suits and gear -- it was quite a hilarious site to behold! the racing was cool but frustrating b/c of all the rules they impose. i rec'd a warning after 1 lap and had no idea why. so i wasn't nearly as aggressive as i wanted to be. by the 2nd race we had more ppl racing and i started to figure out how to get the go-cart to better perform but some dumbass driver in front of me kept wiping out causing me to come to a complete stop a few times. stopping the cart totally kills your overall lap time. ah well. it was still fun. kinda.

afterwards we hit the Weber Grill for steaks and drinks. That was pretty good but not as good as i remembered from my first visit there several years ago. i ended up crashing pretty early (1AM or so) which was a good thing since i needed all the energy i could muster to survive WW today. i dunno how i'm gonna manage 2 more days of this.

i haven't been much into posting lately since work is sucking the life out of me at the moment and leaving very little energy for other physical things... incl. packing my toys and working on my DVD database. this bugs me. i'm so looking forward to having friday off and attending wizard world this weekend... it's gonna be exhausting but well worth it and probably the right distraction my mind needs right now.

i'm posting tonight primarily b/c i just finished watching one hell of a frightening documentary: THE END OF SUBURBIA: Oil Depletion and the Collapse of The American Dream. it really blew me away. it's not scary as in horror/violent etc. it's scary b/c it outlines the early demise of modern civilization as we know it. and that's hella more frightening than some half-baked horror flick, Asian or otherwise.

in a nutshell, EoS describes the Oil Peak dilemma, leading up to it and the likely outcome, which is pretty dismal. besides revealing the problem w/oil production and dwindling energy resources and all the mistakes that have been made along the way, the movie also discusses the problems w/alternate energy and fuel sources. and it calls out many of the culprits from past and present that are responsible for what surely will be another potential economic depression and ongoing war-state world. seriously, this little documentary is an eye opener.

and EoS presents the material in such a clever and often hilarious manner using splices from old post-WW2 "America is Great" films mixed w/scenes from contemporary americana. The clips, reminiscent of the Educational Archives films, are funny by themselves but turn into an eerie premonition w/the callous voiceovers.

it's the kind of flick that you want everyone you know to see and experience. i'm hoping i can get my dad to watch this since we've been having arguments lately about the political climate and upcoming election. i think it will be far easier to trick him into seeing this (altho, there is definitely material in this movie he will not want to hear and more than likely write-off as bullshit) than getting him to see Fahrenheit 9/11. not that the latter is any straight up truth but in both cases, these are documentaries that leave you thinking. the sad part of EoS is wondering if there's anything than can be done at our level. and it's this feeling of hopelessness and despair that really sinks in by the time the credits roll. it makes that kind of impact.

i recommend checking out their web site. this is one movie that i will be passing around.

crashed around 6AM this morning only to get up at quarter to 10 in order to hit the morning matinee of The Village. call me concerned knowing the "slo-burn" nature of the flick (thx,pAT) that i may doze off on so little sleep. twas not the case as i was completely riveted beginning to end. for a 2hr "slo-burn" it seemed more like only an hour passed. i'm not exactly sure why it was like this to me but i was moved by the overall viewing.

i found the flick enjoyable despite the not-so-new spin on a very old story/twist that had me rolling my eyes several times. it was the societal study that was most compelling and the acting was suberb, as expected from that cast... m.night's knack for framing and inducing tension from off camera continues. i think it was the characters that drew me in as opposed to the retread plot (the only downside) but at least the drama aspect made a potentially absurd tale we've already read or seen 10x over a decent big screen flick. i won't go into it any more to avoid any spoilers but i'm sure anyone w/a brain will realize the "twist" 5 minutes into it as i did. it's the process that makes it worthy viewing.

i believe there was even a Twilight Zone (or was an Outer Limits?) episode on the same subject. i was wondering how m.night would pull off his Hitchcockian appearance but he managed to slide it in which drew a chuckle from me. never mind the critics (ebert's off his meds again; he gave a big thumbs up to Little Black Book! gasp!) The Village is a worthy film that redeems m.night from that utterly dismal 3rd act of Signs.

Last night i went to see Beat Takeshi's Zatoichi w/kev who was wanting to see it almost as bad as me. yeah, i know, i have scheduled plans to see it this weekend w/Capt'n Satan & raydeen as well but i sorta had a feeling this would happen (seeing it before then). at least it's a flick i _want_ to see again. i'll leave it at that (but go see it if it's playing near you; it's entertaining as all hell).

today after The Village and picking up my Sunday carry-out from Amitabul i watched Enki Bilal's Immortel. damn, i want the DVD of this! it's a very odd feature that mixes CGI characters w/live actors. And the CGI characters are what you'd find in the latest PS2 game (it's almost like watching the cut scenes from a video game) so it's very bizarre but the story is intriguing (if not a bit convoluted) and Linda Hardy (a former Miss France) is quite the hottie in her white skin, blue tear kind of way as the character Jill. once i got over the silliness of the CGI characters the movie really turned on and got interesting. and the soundtrack is excellent.

started boxing up my toys from my display shelves tonight and forgot what an arduous pain in the ass this process is. caught the first hour of Gasper Noe's Irreversible while i was packing the toys... holy shit. now i know why Blockbuster didn't even consider stocking this flick. it's a difficult one to watch.

btw, i picked up my first CD (Sahara Hotnight's "Kiss & Tell") w/BMG's sunncomm anti-copy protection bullshit. if anyone knows a solution to this or can point me in the right direction i would be much appreciative. i'll be damned if i'm gonna install their app and digital keys which, IMO, works just like spyware. utter and complete bullshit.

welp, the flight home wasn't so bad afterall. Shrek 2 was the movie which has to be the 2nd best movie i've gotten on a flight. i dunno if i enjoyed Shrek 2 more than the 1st one but it had it's moments esp. the entire Mongo giant cookie sequence a la Godzilla. Puss In Boots, however, stole the show; Antonio Banderas' best role in ages.

anyhoo, it's really good to be home. i decided to upload all the photos i took from SES. the Google Dance photos are probably the only ones of interest. you can see all the photos here. there's also a short AVI file of Ozomatli who performed at the party. several thousand ppl were at the party incl. a gaggle of Google cuties (hundreds of 'em)... me & bauer grew tired of the whole thing and left a little early. apparently they ran out of alcohol around 10PM or so. ho-hum.

best night for me was last night @Yahoo's party at the Tech Museum (upstairs and downstairs!). huge turnout and lots of good food and drinks. hanging out w/Massimo, Mauro, and Fabio (all from Ad Maiora Italy) and smoking way too many cigarettes was the most fun. Massimo is one cool dude. after we closed down that place we headed to the overcrowded "unofficial" Eonmedia party at the Flying Pig bar. after getting completely soused there i bailed sometime after midnight. i guess blevins and our lawyer were the last two standing at the joint until finally getting the boot. no surprise there.

so i'm sitting at the SJ airport w/blevins waiting for our flight to board. i'm worn out and not looking forward to 4.5hrs in the air. hopefully i fall asleep. unless they surprise me w/another decent flick (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was the movie on the way out; probably the best movie i've gotten on a flight). i'm hoping for a shitty flick. lots to talk about RE: SES San Jose incl. a bunch of photos taken at Google HQ. i will probably retro post those tomorrow. we'll see. dorf better not be around when i return.

11PM PST. it's like 54 degrees here in San Jose and some kind of cold spell. whatever. i'm enjoying the cool weather. most of today was spent travelling... 4.5hr flight which sucked then much meandering around getting the booth set up and just waiting. finally at 5:30PM was the much ballyhooed SEMPO meeting which turned out to be rather dull. after this it was one party after another. too much drinking and eating on my part. a real easy way to trash my diet in a few hours...

Overture party was first; too many ppl. then onto the SEMPO/SuperPages party at the Tech Museum; way too cool and the best eats around. it was sick. i over-ate. left that to stray around downtown looking for the GoToast (AtlasOnePoint) party at the Mission Ale House. Finally got there and it was L-A-M-E. returned to the hotel overloaded on booze and food. too tired to think. too loaded on drink. my feet are already killing me. i must retire.

so today (after staying up till 6AM) i decided to catch a matinee of I,Robot. it wasn't nearly as bad as i expected going it which is probably why i'm saying that now; my expectations were severely low. i chose to go merely b/c i wanted to see the sci-fi FX on the bigscreen... and see Chicago 2035 (all that was "ok"). plus i figured there'd be less ppl to deal with. surprisingly there was a decent amt of folks during my viewing. however, the movie was just blah. i give it a 6/10 b/c it was watchable despite being formula and full of flaws. i saw a lot of wasted potential. ah well.

Next week i'll see The Village which managed to do well despite the number of negative reviews from the critics. i'm thinking it cannot be worse than I,Robot. i picked up Dead Man from the library today and was motivated to see it again as soon as i arrived home (after another takeout Sunday from Amitabul - i'm attempting to try everything on their menu at least once and rate each dish).

Dead Man is such a stellar movie all the way around. i've been wanting to see it again probably ever since the first time i viewed it a few years ago. the look and feel of the flick is sublime w/a terrific Neil Young soundtrack to match. i love that there are so many great actors in such bit roles throughout from the few minutes of Gabriel Byrne in the beginning to Alfred Molina at the end. and Robert Mitchum was brilliant. i'm sorta on a Johnny Depp kick for some strange reason. i think i have his latest, Secret Window, lying around here somewhere. i should watch that soon.

tomorrow i leave for San Jose for the week. my company rigged up a loner laptop for me so i could do "work" while i'm gone attending the trade show. that's lovely of 'em to be so considerate. the worst part of going is just the packing. i hate taking trips like these always thinking i'm gonna leave behind something. with any luck (thanks to the laptop and wireless @the hotel) i'll be able to post about the supremely dull time i'm having and how much booze i manage to drink. we'll see.

a snippet from 'The Village' Delivers a Box Office Surprise: "Universal's family adventure 'Thunderbirds,' a live adaptation of the cult British TV show with marionettes, misfired, opening out of the top 10 with $2.7 million. The film was budgeted at $57 million."

you know it's a bad movie when not only does it not make the top 10 its opening weekend but gets clobbered by Catwoman. truly pathetic.

200th Post! w00t!

big news: my brother finally got his blog up - 16 paws and a dewlap. this is exciting b/c i had no idea he was planning a blog. but i'm happy for him and i look forward to reading it.

last night Nepotism Inc was at full force as me, BBx1 & the Dukes took out the Italian contingent of our advisory board. i really didn't want to go but got wrangled into it. so we headed to Japonais downtown... Japonais = swanky, overpriced sushi joint for Chicago's rich and famous. any wonder why that place was chosen to entertain our Sicilian counterpart? goes w/o saying that it wasn't my scene despite the incredible sushi we ate. fortunately BB & i bailed early. i was pretty loaded by that time so i ended up crashing around midnight which is rare for me on any day let alone a friday.

slept late and long finally gettin' up and rolling around noon. had much to do before heading to kev & erica's open house. by the time i arrived it was almost time to head to the 7PM showing of Some Kind Of Monster (the metallica documentary). we hit the Highland Park theater and i was shocked that for that town it was only a $5 admission! that's cheaper than even any of the matinees near me. the documentary is LONG but well worth it for any past or present metallica fan... or music fan in general i suppose. altho for the casual viewer it probably wouldn't hold much appeal. at least now i know the reasons why their last album sucked so much. ah well, i'm glad i saw it.

so much for my 200th post.

no sleep last night/this morning. total hell day at work. another $100 day @Mitsuwa. i'm sick of it.

Nintendo DS - final hardware design revealed
"The new design, which you can see on this page, is the result of Nintendo's search for "a slimmer, sharper look", and one more in tune with an older audience - echoing the company's design for the GBA SP in many ways. It's certainly more akin to the PSP than it is to the unit which was unveiled at E3."

Read the complete article here.

i can't recall the last stretch of days where work was more exhausting than it has been recently. there's a number of reasons for this which i will not waste time going into here. next week is the big SES conference in San Jose, the granddaddy event of our industry, so there's been a lot of ramping up towards it. everything i've been doing in the office centers around the presentation for one of my supervisors next week at the trade show. it has been quite a strain on my mental fortitude to say the least. i'm actually looking forward to the week in San Jose just to get the hell out of the office and get a break from the deluge of meetings and grinding hours in front of a PC screen performing the same inane tasks over and over until 7 or 8PM every night.

my workload and extended hours has taken a toll on just about everything else outside of work -- fortunately i haven't run my car into any more concrete pillars lately. despite this i have been motivated to complete my Karza repaint. i finished the final touch-ups tonight and applied the last clear coat. i look forward to assembling the damn thing tomorrow (i'll post photos, natch). other than that i'm way behind on everything else.

tomorrow i have to return a couple of graphic novels i never managed to cracked once even tho i renewed them for an extra month. i'm not even going to bother renewing them again. i have another pile of graphic novels due in a couple of weeks that i need to make a decision as to whether or not i plan to read them. i want to. however, as always, things get in the way.

RE: Pokemon Silver. i've reached a crossroads of sorts in the game so my playing time has been reduced dramatically. that and the aforementioned factors have slowed down my progress. this is probably a good thing. i have decisions to make as to how i proceed now that i have all 8 badges (which i've had since last week). and honestly none of the choices appeal to me at this stage. i suppose i'll get thru it all but i'm not as compelled these days.

my torrent viewing has come to an almost complete standstill. this annoys me greatly yet i'm stretched, exhausted and overworked that it never takes precedent over most other things going on. i need to work torrent viewing back into the schedule somehow some way, esp. considering i'm still downloading new episodes at a decent clip. from the Japanese mags i've been paging thru lately it appears there's a lot of buzz around Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger (Special Police Dekaranger), yet another Power Ranger spin-off. i watched the 1st ep some time ago; it was okay. but i went ahead an picked up the remaining 8 eps available and will attempt a re-watch to see what all the hype is about.

with Wizard World looming i have to pull back from my aggressive eBay behavior as of late. i've already paid for 8 auctions this week and have another 10 potential bids hanging out there as i'm watching another 30 or so auctions go down. i really need to pay closer attention to my spend otherwise i won't have any money to buy more needless junk at WW (as a matter o'fact i almost dried out my checking acct this week!). i only wish Takara was planning to booth at WW as they did @SDCC last weekend. not only did they have an exclusive Microman figure available for a paltry $5 (which completely soldout by 4pm Saturday) but Takara also had a grand display of much of their past and current offerings (see photo). i'd really enjoy seeing all that up close.

i've been watching the Kill Bill Vol 2 DVD as i pen this (the Elle Driver/Bride fight scene just finished) and i must say that this flick, much like the first, gets better and better w/every repeat viewing!

hrmph, if work doesn't kill me this week, the paint fumes will. i really need a frickin' workspace at home!

i want this CD: Twelve Girls Band. as if it isn't obvious. ;)

day 40: wt.179lb(!!)

I purposely left off The Grudge trailer from my trailer post b/c i would not go see that in the theater. it's the same movie by the same director shot in Tokyo except the remake (and it's barely that) stars Sarah Michelle Geller and Bill Pullman. From the trailer it looks like all the same locations and camera angles a la Van Sant's Psycho remake (but at least that original is a classic). Ju-On The Grudge (the original) is an okay movie at best. a note for note remake w/American actors doesn't make it any better.

ok, i promised movie trailers. and i am here to deliver. before i go on i discovered from my New Type Live mag (w/the Cutie Honey cover) that the Cutie Honey movie came out at the end of May. i'm merely guessing on that but i think that's the deal. so the DVD should hit around the end of year. Trailers are available at the official Cutie Honey site but i think their for windows only (the Real Media file doesn't work).

First worthy trailer on tap is for Lovers (aka House of Flying Daggers) directed by Yimou Zhang (Hero) and starring Ziyi Zhang and Andy Lau. In a nutshell, it looks a little like Hero and Crouching Tiger but very cool nonetheless. definitely one for the big screen.

Next up is MACH! of which i cannot find any info about other than the official MACH! site which is loaded w/goodies if you have the time. this flick looks awesome: 100% fighting 100% of the time. but apparently not your typical action flick w/a lot of stylized muay thai fight scenes and cinematography. very, VERY cool.

and for the quirky Japanese comedy fans in us all i give you Swing Girls. This movie looks absolutely hilarious. sure, it's funny cutesy whatever but it does look like a fun time. quick shot: a bunch of girls form a big band in school and the comedy ensues.

This next one is a complete mystery to me: God*Diva: Immortel (ad vitam). far as i can tell this French Sci-Fi drama came out early last year and is just now making the filmfest rounds in North America. However, from the trailer i really have no idea what the hell is going on. the official Immortel site doesn't offer many clues (but it sure looks nice!). IMdb offers this: "New York 2095. In a strange pyramid floating in the sky, the gods of ancient Egypt are judging Horus. In the city, a young women with blue hair and tears is arrested, but she has a secret power, even to herself..." if nothing else it does look interesting; pure eye candy.

props to phixed for digging this one out (a while ago even). the latest Takashi Miike flick- Izo: The Crotch is an Incomprehensible Demon-Man!. besides looking like another ultra cool Miike flick from the trailer, it also stars Beat Takeshi! hot damn does this flick look great. visit the official IZO site and view the trailer (sadly win media only). but it's worth hunting down a PC to view! here's a couple of snippets from the plot:

"Instead of being extinguished, [Izo's] rage propels him through the space-time continum to present-day Tokyo, where his finds himself one with the city's homeless. Here Izo transforms himself into a new, improved killing machine, his entire soul still enraged by his treatment in his past life. His response to the powers-that-be, whose predecessors put him to death, is the sword."

"His ability to leap through time, slashing as he goes, attracts the attention of the lords of the universe, who are like a pre-war House of Peers, in office for eternity. Izo, however, is not about to bow to anyone, even the lords of creation (he even rapes Mother Earth)."

how can you not love that?

lastly i'll round off this all-trailer post w/some stuff we've all seen already (if not where have you been?!):
Devilman trailer - looks kinda goofy despite trying to be serious.
Casshern trailer - hope this movie is half as cool as it looks in the trailer!
Steamboy - an event anime a la Metropolis. hope this hits the indie theaters.

ok, that's all for this installment. goes w/o saying that i'd see all of the above at the theater... if only we'd be so fortunate. as it stands maybe a couple will actually make it to a big screen near me. ah well. i'll round up some more trailers for another post in a few weeks. hopefully there's some worthy stuff on the horizon. enjoy!

the weekend has come and all but gone faster than i wanted. yesterday caught up w/kev to catch The Bourne Supremacy later followed by an excellent Thai dinner in Highland Park, kev & erica's treat for a belated b-day meal. arrived back @the apt around 10:30PM in time for EbeRoeper's weekly schmucking of the latest in-theater flicks (at least they railed on Catwoman and praised TBS). it was nice to hear them give props to Beat Takeshi's Zatoichi. i so look forward to seeing that in the theater!

btw, TBS was pretty damn good. not sure if it was better than its predecessor but at least it killed at the box office w/a $53million haul (not bad for a $75m budget). Matt Damon has struck a new niche as a contemporary action star. gone are the muscles and machismo of 80s. the story was weaved well ('cept for 1 plot point) and the black ops turns from Damon were slick (i chuckled outloud at most of them). a worthy sequel indeed.

this morning i was up early (after only 4hrs of sleep) and off to catch King Arthur @Crown Village. my busy summer weekends haven't left many openings to see the latest movie fare so i planned to see at least one more flick before the weekend was over. i chose K.Arthur over I.Robot or Catwoman. good choice, me thinks, since Arthur was very good, IMO. i'm pretty sure I wouldn't say that about those other two. Clive Owen does a good Arthur and the movie (directed by Antoine Fuqua) was an interesting take on the Round Table mythology. EbeRoeper criticized the overuse of battle scenes yet there were only 3 main battles in movie (and a brief skirmish in the beginning). again i dunno what they were smoking when they viewed the flick. now the movie ain't perfect (Stellan Skarsgard, a Swede, playing a southern redneck leading the Saxons?!) but i enjoyed it nevertheless. it reminded me a lot of Fuqua's Tears of the Sun as well as Musa the Warrior.

i picked up some more cheapie DVDs before grabbing carry out at Amitabul and heading home for lunch and a nap. i made rumaki tonight (only my 2nd time ever) and they turned out pretty good (i'm in a testing phase trying different teriaki marinades right now). rumaki, btw, is more a hors d'oeuvre than a meal but they can be filling. if you're not familiar w/it, rumaki is a water chestnut & chicken liver wrapped in bacon and marinaded in either teriaki sauce or a homemade recipe then baked for 45min. that probably doesn't sound appealing but trust me, it is.

while i was doing that i started the process of my first Baron Karza repaint - a dark blue Karza. it's a tedious process but worth it if you want a good outcome. i need to pick up some more supplies to finish it off right (i want to add silver highlights). so far all the arm assemblages are currently drying. and thru all this i've managed to watch another 3 DVDs (all ones i picked up today): an old dubbed kung-fu flick, C.H.U.D., and The Wraith (on right now and one of my guilty pleasures flicks - i love this movie!).

i meant to post a whole slew of trailers i watched during the wee hours this morning but that'll have to wait. check back for some upcoming movie goodness. and i have to mention that i am enjoying Yellow Claw immensely. if you haven't taken a look yet do so now... it's worth the read.

oh yeah, for more Takara micro-goodness, check out the upcoming Catwoman (the cool outfit not Halle's bondage queen) and Batgirl MicroLadies! Sweet.

i have some exciting news... capt'n satan has launched his 1st blog: yellow claw! go visit now and ring in w/a comment or two. i'm looking forward to reading his piss & vinegar daily sardonism. should be good.

i was running some numbers last night and determined that Asahiya marks up their magazines (and everything else w/a Yen price tag) on average of 45%! unbelievable but true. sadly they're one of the very few sources for quality Japanese rags.

unbeknownst to me, those little Pokemon trading figures i got? well turns out they print which one is in the box right on the damn box! silly rabbit. I only ended up w/one double out of 5 new ones. At least now i know which ones i need to get to complete the set for this series. only 989 more to go!

not to steal any thunder from yellow claw, at the SDCC Takara unveiled (pun intended) their Kill Bill 1/6 scale The Bride action figure as part of the ongoing CyGirls/Cool Girls line. w00t!! along w/this amazing figure, there will be 4 - FOUR! - new Kerberos Panzer Cops(!) on the way w/the new line. This is just sick news. now if Takara decides to make the other lovelies from Kill Bill (Elle Driver?! Go-Go?! sheesh), things will really get disgusting.

[image courtesy of Figures.com - thanks! -->]

it's friday and nearing the end of the long week of work (nevermind the 2hr report i composed at home last night to bail us out from losing a large client). i figured i deserved a long lunch and trip to mitsuwa to spend more money on unnecessary things. headed straight into Asahiya Bookstore first to check on some Japanese CDs i wanted to order. while they checked the prices i scanned the mags determining which ones i'd come back to buy later. got the CD info and placed an order for one of them. left for j1toy, the toy store across from Asahiya. i noticed on the way into the bookstore that j1toy had rearranged the exterior of the store so now the entrance is at the far end near the west doors into Mitsuwa.

where the entrance used to be (facing East) is now the complete home for both DDR games. sigh. so i scan the few display cases that still face outward before heading into the store. the store has been completely rearranged yet again and there is a lot more space inside to get around the store. there's a whole new corner cavity for gashapon toys but sadly none i was interested in. i perused the remainder of the store. same ole shit: tons of Gundam kits and related items. i was mainly looking for the new Microman AcroLady figures since they told me the last time i was there that they would be getting them. sure enough, they had 'em all right. for 19 bucks a piece. WTF? the $16 microman batman figs i could deal with since that's close to the going rate online but $19 for the AcroLadies? jesus. my cost to get 1 shipped from Japan from HLJ is $14.70 SHIPPED!

I looked thru all the displays now facing inside the store hoping to find that really cool reasonably priced item to drop cash on... but nothing spurred any interest from me. the only things i really liked are all overpriced. my disinterest got the better of me and walked out empty handed. that toy store just isn't the place it once was not so many years ago. went back to Asahiya and dropped $36 on mags (New Type Live: Cutie Honey cover, Figure King, and Cure: VisRock mag). they sell multi-region DVD players there and i have my eye on the panny S-27 - but i forgot to ask the price. dammit. supposedly it's a $70 player but who knows how much Asahiya marks it up since they overcharge for everything else in their store (Panny canada lists it at $200 CAD).

left there to grab some sushi for lunch and walked into the grocery area to find myself pleasantly surprised (finally!) during my trip. Apparently the grocery store has decided to bulk up on gashapon and trading figures and the like. was only a few months ago when it appeared they were dissolving that whole section due to the increased competition w/J1toy. But now they are back on board w/a slew of fine little knickknacks. besides much of the usual fare you'd expect to see, they have the mini-CD anime trading discs. these are pretty cool but i passed for now. instead i picked up a Cutie Honey trading figure (shaking a few boxes trying to figure out which might have 1 of the 2 CH figs in the assortment). I look forward to seeing the movie whenever the bootleg DVD hits. I also threw 6 Pokemon series 3 figures in my basket. with my luck i'll probably get only 2 new ones and end up w/triples of each. oh yeah, there was a plush Bulbasaur in another boxed Pokemon series that i grabbed.

checked out, paying my $40 for the toys, sushi and green tea then returned to the office feeling a little better about having dropped $76 on pretty much nothing. that said i'm still disheartened by the direction the toy store has taken. it seems to be catering more and more to the rich suburban gaijin kids that have bottomless pockets of quarters to spend. ugh. thank hell for the internet.

Only notables today: Black Robotman arrived and is totally wicked. I paid a hefty price to get mine but it's just the coolest thing to me. he's currently standing proud on my widescreen surveying the room. and he fits right in.

 

also got the Sapphire/Ruby box. read thru the manual but haven't fired it up yet. I plan to test that this weekend but it looks very cool. Started watching my Something Weird Video teaser DVD (just loads of trailers) and there is some very disturbing shit on there. probably this teaser disc would make for decent movie night interlude material.

i'm really looking forward to my first weekend in a loooooooong time w/no major commitments or plans. maybe i can finally catch a movie or three.

watching the first few episodes of the original Land of the Lost series (yep, the dvd set arrived today), it's almost shocking to think i loved this show as a kid. i say this b/c it's utterly and completely retarded, esp. compared to much of the live action kids fare today (and by that i'm mostly referring to Japanese imports). then again i shouldn't be surprised at all. at least i can surmise that my proclivity for shitty movies stems from my childhood.

Will: "Filling this place with dinosaurs is sure one heck of way to run a jungle!"

Holly: "Yeah! And it's not even on schedule!"

at least the nostalgic aspect more than makes up for its lack of quality. ah, here we are in episode two: "beware of sleestak" or as Chaka would say, "sarese-ataka! sarese-ataka!" folks i think i may have a new nick! those $10 costumes couldn't be too hard to make. maybe i should create one for halloween. i picked this up in the 1st ep but it appears that Chaka's speech is the same as the Japanese pronunciation. i mean, "wi-ru" "(h)a-ri" "surisutaku"? jesus, this is lame.

ok, enuff about LotL. today was the most i've worked on a monday all year. i'm certain of it. usually my mondays are spent regaining the strength to get thru the week. sadly today i did not have that luxury; i had to hit the ground running from the time i sat down. didn't get out of there until 8pm and some fucktard set the alarm w/o checking the office so of course it gave the countdown when i got up to check the office for stragglers. luckily i heard it in time and bolted to the door to get it turned off w/o the siren going off.

the weekend recap ain't a whole lot of interesting for here. went back home to see my stepsister and her new baby, who is totally cool and never cried once. even tho it was fairly apparent she (Sif) was somewhat frightened by me and really didn't know what to make of the large dark man. i'm sure she'll begin to draw some comparisons w/satan in her first couple of years. at least that's how one of my friends introduced me to his young child, "that's jay; he's the devil."

came home w/a couple of cheapie Brentwood DVD collections: Black Vengeance (4 flicks) and Horror Classics 2 (8 flicks!) for 6 bucks each. Finally nabbed a used Pokemon Ruby cart for $25 that has, to my delight, all 8 badges and decent yet small collection of Pokemon. still waiting for that Box to arrive. also scored the Spawn Reborn She-Spawn 2 and Manga She-Spawn (still need to locate a Mandarin Spawn from that line).

all this while winning a half-dozen eBay auctions and losing another half-dozen others. ah well.

so it's wild... these smart cars were unloaded on the far east side of our parking lot this morning and just sat there all day. now around 5:30PM or so all 4 of 'em were lined up in front of our office right outside of my window w/a small group of gawkers getting a demo. a few minutes ago they all split taking the fortwo coupes for a testdrive.

I must say that up close, they are damn spiffy little cars that would look exceptional in anyone's living room. i'd love to drive one around the office building... inside the office building.

I'm beginning to get worried... it's 7:07PM and they still haven't returned.

so i got to celebrating my one day off to an good start by placing bids on 15 items at Ebay between 1AM and 3AM this morning. all toy auctions. that's fun. if i win that $125 Black Robotman i'll be the happiest mofo around.

 

 

born on the same day as me -->

Holy shit! Joe Satriani and I share the same birthday. I cannot believe I did not know this until today. Yahoo! Happy Birthday!

why doesn't this fucking thing work? it's a goddamn google product, fer christsakes.

I finally was able to order this today... old skool over the phone, which scares me more than online ordering. anyways, should be here by Monday next week. i look forward to firing into Sapphire & Ruby (which I still haven't found a used one yet - 'cept that one that got away).

i've been hacking my way thru Silver and it's much fun. caught the Red Gyarados @the lake of rage last night then went on to hand an ass beating to Pryce (Gym Leader #7) for the Glacierbadge and whirlpool HM so now I can visit the whirlpool islands. so far i'm 90/145 own/seen in my Pokedex. i'm pretty amazed myself how easily and quickly i've geeked out over this game... i caught myself reviewing the various card sets at Revolution Comix today. scary.