June 2012
1 post
Oh My God! They Killed Kane!
Recently rewatching Alien, something occurred to me for the first time. Maybe it was obvious to everyone but me, but I’m not sure.
Imagine it’s 1979 and you’re seeing Alien for the first time. You have no idea what the plot is and you know all of the cast from other things (all but one had been regularly working film actors since the early/mid 60s). The only one you...
May 2012
3 posts
Looks Like 38 Studios Is Shutting Down Big Huge...
Farewell to Big Huge Games, one of Maryland’s most successful game studios and my brief, but excellent employer. I feel honored to have worked with all of you and to have helped, ever so slightly, make Reckoning. Thank you, Big Huge, and goodbye.
Straight White Male: The Lowest Difficulty Setting...
You can lose playing on the lowest difficulty setting. The lowest difficulty setting is still the easiest setting to win on. The player who plays on the “Gay Minority Female” setting? Hardcore.
So blindingly simple, it’s a wonder no one’s written this piece before.
And yet (and YET) proves that the blindingly simple is the usually the product of uncommon brilliance.[1]
In life as in...
April 2012
3 posts
"Cabin in the Woods" Non-Review Review
I sat down at “Cabin in the Woods” with almost irresponsibly high expectations, and yet it managed to exceed even those. The only word I can think of to describe it is: delightful.
I spent most of the movie laughing and thinking. But, there was one thing I did not expect. There was a moment that made me literally nauseated and it wasn’t due to any violence or gore, but a kind...
Yep, probably more accurate. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mRF0rBXIeg
So…Path…Hmmm. Now what?
May 2011
2 posts
kung fu grippe: “Well, I mean, that’s what it is.” →
merlin:
In which Paul Kafasis helps me laugh out loud three times in the same morning: GatorCountry.com did an interview with incoming Florida Gators wide receiver Ja’Juan Story. In it, Story was honest to a fault. Q: What’s the most played song on your iPod? A: Most played…I don’t know, I…
WatchOn first viewing, I was going to call bullshit on this. But now I think it’s real. And awesome.
via GeekDad
April 2011
9 posts
“I can certainly see the funny side of it. But I’d rather not have the...”
– My favorite mea culpa of all time. Even funnier if you imagine it in a Kiwi accent.
via Tech News Today
1 tag
Doing the Hard Stuff →
You may or may not know who Merlin Mann is, but I don’t think it dulls the impact of this piece one bit.
Most beautiful piece he’s ever written and a shimmering example of putting one’s money where one’s mouth is.
5 tags
WatchI love Portal and I love J.K. Simmons—his closing speech in the Coens’ Burn After Reading, a modern take on Shakespeare’s “Sound and fury signifying nothing” speech, is pure gold.
Put them together and what do you get? This hilarious series of videos promoting Portal 2.
We’re done here.
Do you want ants? Because THAT'S how you get ants. →
Finally got around to watching the first episode of Archer on Netflix. I will be watching more.
And you thought the Bluth boys had mommy issues!
A Promise to Myself
One year ago, I spectated at the Cherry Blossom Open, the biggest fencing tournament in the DC area. It was chaotic, cramped, and confusing. Since it’s an Open, competitors ranged from rank competent beginners (aka folks like me) to internationally competitive fencers.
It was there that I vowed to myself that I’d start fencing for more than just exercise. I made a promise to myself:...
March 2011
12 posts
Papercraft Facial Hair and Weaponry - a set on... →
WatchSo far, reviews for Sucker Punch have been pretty demoralizing; testing my “nothing could make me not see this movie” resolve.
Fortunately the critic I most often agree with has reacted to it in exactly the way I’d hoped.
Doesn’t mean it’s “good,” just that I probably will enjoy not giving a damn either way.
(via Escape to the Movies : Sucker...
An excess of elegant coincidence (particularly when sports and/or TV are involved) makes me suspicious. How very good for ratings it must be that the Jalen Rose/Grant Hill dust-up is immediately followed by a Duke vs. Michigan tournament game.
And, no, it’s not enough that the committee put them in the same subregional bracket, hoping that things would go right. The parties concerned would...
Run a Katamari All Over This (and Any) Site →
So…indescribably cool.
“And if you were born before 1985… well, it is my sad duty to inform you...”
– The Day the Movies Died: Movies + TV: GQ
February 2011
28 posts
4 tags
WatchThird Sucker Punch Trailer - MovieWeb.com
Can’t honestly imagine any flaw big enough to keep me from loving this movie.
5 tags
Amazon Instant, First Impressions
It’s not browser-only; It does work on my TV-based (Panasonic Viera Cast) Amazon app
Sorting and browsing are woeful
It’s no replacement for Netflix…yet.
The movie catalog isn’t nearly on par with Netrlix and the TV library’s even worse.
Except of course, if you’re fond of PBS. With a strong selection of NOVA, solid kid shows (that my kids actually watch),...
3 tags
http://www.geekmom.com/2011/02/why-todays-women-nee... →
Freeze Your Own Han Solo in Carbonite, Ice or... →
Dominion: Quality Deck-Building Since 2008 →
Great!! Now all I want to do is play Dominion but can’t.
5 tags
“EW: If Castle had its series finale tomorrow and Fox said to you and Joss: “We...”
– ‘Firefly’ returning to cable; Fillion says he’d play Mal again — EXCLUSIVE | Inside TV | EW.com
Emphasis mine. Proof that this dude does, in fact, totally grok the future of video entertainment.
Can we put him in charge of everything now?
'Firefly' returning to cable; Fillion says he'd... →
An almost criminally misleading headline!
Don’t get too excited; it’s just a syndication deal and an interview with Captain Tightpants. Still, it’s never been re-run on cable before?!? Really??
The worst thing about Valentine's Day - The... →
Less complaining. More sexy rumpus.
(day late, but the message still matters, folks!)
Special Rock Band 3 Duets Pack for Valentine’s Day... →
“Paradise by the Dashboard Light”?!?!?!?! I can do the baseball part with my eyes closed.
“Total Eclipse of the Heart”?!?! Wonder if I can get away with the Literal Video Version?
Hell…yes!!
Sparrow 1.0 →
$10 is a bargain for gmail warriors like moi. Not all the features of the web app, but fills in some of its more glaring gaps (mailto: links auto-launching Mac Mail.app). Love it.
Now, if only they’d make an iOS version.
6 tags
Based on recent viewing of “Girl who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest,”, Assange has nothing to fear from Swedish courts: apparently, they have no rules of evidence and everyday is Judge Casual Friday.