Monthly Archives: February 2008

Feb052008

The Ultimate Doctor Who Title Mix

Well, enough of that nasty politics stuff. Let’s get back to some hardcore geeking, shall we?

Courtesy of Michael May comes this interesting video clip, a mash-up of all the title sequences for the TV series Doctor Who. It’s fairly long, and probably only of interest to fans, but I find it pretty fascinating to see how the music and title effects have evolved over 45 years while still remaining instantly recognizable. The biggest difference, really, is one of pacing; the newer sequences are visually and aurally much, much faster. And that is probably a fine commentary on our times, when you think about it…

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Feb052008

Super Tuesday

Utah's

This is a historic day for the citizens of Utah, the first time we’ve ever participated in the Super Tuesday process, following unprecedented visits by nearly every major presidential candidate from both parties. (Little old Utah normally doesn’t get this much attention from the candidates, partly — I would imagine — because the state’s population is so small, and probably also because it’s a given that, come November, our electoral votes will go to whoever the GOP nominates.)
I myself voted in the Democratic primary this morning. (I couldn’t have voted on the Republican side even if I’d been so inclined — which I’m not — because they have a closed primary, loyal members of the club only, please.) For the record (and at risk of kicking off an argument here on my humble little corner of the Internet), I voted for Barack Obama.

Continue Reading…

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Feb052008

I Am Insane

The Netflix queue I share with The Girlfriend (but which, I must be honest, consists mostly of stuff I’m interested in) just broke 400 titles. Four hundred. Specifically, I now have 404 movies and/or TV-on-DVD discs waiting for my attentions. How many hours of my life do you suppose that number represents?

If you care — or even if you don’t — here is the batch of titles I just entered, the ones that pushed me over the top of normality into the realm of the obsessively nutty:

  • 3:10 to Yuma (2007 version)
  • Sunshine
  • 28 Days Later
  • Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
  • Defending Your Life
  • Eastern Promises
  • Memoirs of a Geisha
  • 30 Days of Night
  • New York Doll
  • The Martian Child
  • Amazing Grace
  • Zodiac

At my current rate of viewing, I’d guess I’ll probably be getting to these around 2015 or so…

Something to look forward to, I suppose.

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Feb052008

Closing Comments on Selected Entries

Hey, folks, just a little housekeeping note here: I’ve noticed that lately the bloody spambots seem to be drawn to several specific older entries, so I’ve decided to close comments on these garbage-magnets in the hopes of saving myself a little aggravation. Fortunately, they’re all older entries that I doubt anyone is going to want to comment on at this point, but I thought I’d put up an official warning anyhow, because you never can tell what people are going to run across in their surfing. If for some reason you do want to remark on one of the closed entries, just send me an email and we’ll work something out…

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Feb042008

All Part of the Show

Saturday night, The Girlfriend and I attended a performance by the Peking Acrobats and were duly amazed by jaw-dropping exhibitions of human flexibility, strength, balance, and sheer showmanship. If you have the opportunity, I highly recommend you see this show. You will be entertained, to paraphrase our old friend Maximus. And if you have children, it’s even family-friendly. Seriously. The kids in the audience were utterly spellbound.

However, as fascinating as it was to see a 70-pound Asian woman of indeterminate age twist herself around so that her butt was literally sitting on top of her own head (and then have six of her friends get on top of her and do exactly the same thing!), that was only a prelude to the real show we experienced on the way home…

[Warning: harsh language and some ickiness ahead, so click away now if you’re squeamish. I’m not kidding!]

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Feb022008

Clean Flicks Vs. CleanFlicks

Interesting… it appears I was somewhat misinformed on that whole CleanFlicks story. According to a follow-up in today’s Tribune, Daniel Thompson, the movie bowdlerizer who was arrested for having sex with underage girls and making porn in the back room of his video shop, was not the founder of the original CleanFlicks business. In addition to all his other problems, he’s now being sued by the real CleanFlicks for trademark infringements. My cynical guess is that the non-Thompson CleanFlicks didn’t care so much about their trademark until Thompson got busted, and now the original is frantically trying to distance itself from him before the “family values” crowd abandons what’s left of its business.

It’s funny how there always seem to be wheels within within wheels when these stories come out…

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Feb012008

My Favorite Obscurity

Over on the Whatever tonight, Scalzi asks, “What’s a song you love that you think no one else knows about?”

I scanned my brain for the most obscure old song I could think of and came up with a little ditty called “My Girl (Gone, Gone, Gone)” by a Canadian band named Chilliwack. This was one of the first 45s I ever bought way back in the early ’80s, right after “Jessie’s Girl” and “Another One Bites the Dust.” As my loyal readers can no doubt guess, I still have the vinyl, but I haven’t listened to it in years. (I keep thinking that someday I ought to invest in a phonograph again and give all my old platters a spin, just to remind myself of what music used to sound like; it’s been so long since I played an actual record…)
A couple of years ago, after much searching, I finally tracked down a CD compilation that included the song. It’s not quite the masterpiece my twelve-year-old self believed it to be, but it’s still got a dang catchy hook, and I love the early ’80s pop-rock sound. Those were the days, baby. And wouldn’t you know it, there’s a video for it on YouTube. Apparently, I am not the only person who knows about this tune after all. Oh, well… can’t win ’em all, I suppose. Enjoy a little blast from the past:

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Feb012008

Heart of a Lion, Body of a Walrus

I have a dysfunctional relationship with the TV series Lost.

It’s like that girl you were crazy about back in high school, the one who had the wicked smile and knew exactly what effect those skin-tight designer jeans had on the young male of the species. The one who grooved on the power trip of getting you all hot and bothered under the bleachers and then saying “no” at the last second, not because she was afraid of the realness of it all or anything like that, but just because there was some nasty little part of her that liked screwing with your head. You remember her, right? And how you eventually got very bored and frustrated with her silly games, so you dropped her and found yourself a nice girl?

Well, that’s about where I am with Lost. I’ve gotten tired of the tease, you see, and I’m impatient for this series to start explaining what the hell is going on. The producers keep assuring the fans that they know what they’re doing, that it really is all leading up to something and this isn’t just a repeat of The X Files‘s endless “mythology,” but I’m still not sure I believe them, in spite of improvements toward the end of last season and in last night’s Season 4 opener.

Frustration aside, though, I just keep coming back to Lost (just as I kept going back to old what’s-her-name and her painted-on denim). Why do I torture myself this way? Why does my resolve crumble and I come walking back with my chin down and my hopes high that maybe this time I’ll get what I no longer merely want but really damn need?

Continue Reading…

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