Bah. This is just me being really obvious and rambly and not at all insightful about anything really. Just spewing out the shit that's sloshing around in my head so that I don't go crazy.

I have a phone interview tomorrow afternoon for a seasonal park job out near San Francisco. It's great because, hey it's a real interview for a job I think I'm qualified for and good at! If I do get it, I'd get to live for awhile in a place I've never been before, which is cool. And also nerve-wracking and scary.

The last time I relocated was for college and I had the safety net of being a teenager and depending on my awesome parents when I felt I needed the help. And it all ended up great because I graduated with honors. And had a job in a related field upon graduation. That counts as pretty successful, right? Then, I moved back home for a awhile to save up and pay off my car and then finally moved out last year and I've been on my own since. It was all sunshine and puppies until I lost my job in April, and things aren't looking too great right now in the cash flow dept. since I'm about out of unemployment benefits and could have to move back in with my parents if things don't turn around, like, soon. So getting this interview couldn't have come at a more perfect time. My apartment lease is up next month and I was already pretty certain I wasn't renewing (see above re: money, I got none).

But if I do get the job and relocate (at least temporarily, but who knows if that could change to permanently), it will be WAY more complicated than when I moved away for college. For one, I have a lot more shit now. And it's three times as far to drive as it was to get up to school. And I'd be driving by myself in December across a lot of areas where there's, you know, known winter weather and shit. And, like, mountains and stuff. Hi, snow! I know a lot of this stuff I'd be able to deal with, because I know I'm a big girl and all that. And I know my parents would help me however they could--they wouldn't just wave goodbye and wish me luck. I know this. I'm just worrying because I feel like I can't do anything else right now and will probably feel that way until I get through the interview tomorrow. Bleh. I hate waiting.

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So yes, it's been months since I've done a proper post. Stuff has been going on--and not--and I just haven't had the need or wherewithal to do one. Still haven't found another job since leaving DAAV and started watching Star Trek: TNG through Netflix. That that however you will. I saw "The Fantastic Mr. Fox" yesterday because I needed a pick-me-up. And boy did it work. Such an awesome film!



It's a stop-motion animated movie, so it has that inherent 50s/60s kitschy vibe going for it, which is great since it's a Wes Anderson film and all of his stuff has that kind of vibe in some way or other. The premise, if you don't know what it is, is that Mr. Fox, voiced by George Clooney, used to steal chickens for a living but gave it up when he started a family with his wife, voiced by Meryl Streep. Of course, after a few years he gets the itch again and gets his friends to help him pull of "one last big score", as you do in these things.

Of all the Wes Anderson movies I've seen, this is by far my favorite because all of the things that can kind of grate in one of his live-action movies--meticulously designed set piece upon meticulously designed set piece, populating the cast with quirky and kooky character types just bouncing off each other, a certain out-of-time 60s kitsch by way of current pop culture--works very well here. As I said earlier, just the fact that it's stop-motion animation makes it okay to indulge in all those fab mid-century modern furnishings and fashions because it feels like it fits in this setting. And themes typical of Anderson films--sons seeking approval from their detached fathers in this one especially--feel fresh and new here because they are being explored by foxes and badgers and other woodland creatures instead of the same old humans.

I saw some reviews on blogs complain that George Clooney doesn't do any kind of character at all but rather a more devilish version of himself. I don't know if that's true, and I don't care because I could listen to him read the TV listings and think it was the best, most nuanced reading or the TV listings ever. The crime caper aspect of this feels like "Ocean's Eleven" all over the place, but I loved it and it was kind of unavoidable with George Clooney voicing your main character. The supporting cast is populated with a bevy of Wes Anderson players, including Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, Owen Wilson, Wally Wolodarsky, and Eric Chase Anderson. Anderson himself pops up as Weasel, the realtor who sells the Fox family their prime new house. And in another film I might have complained about seeing the same people in yet another Wes Anderson venture treading the same water. "The Fantastic Mr. Fox", however, makes it all feel genuine and fresh and just plain entertaining.




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Wee-view: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

The quote above is from the movie, and only slightly less creepy when heard in context...

I know there was much fan whine-age when it came about that Michael Gambon had never read any of the HP books, but I never cared about that because he did a great job as Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and a spectacular job in this latest movie. Even knowing exactly what was going to happen, I was still a teary mess the whole last act of the movie--from he and Harry setting off for the cave to get the horcrux Voldemort hid there to Harry sitting over his lifeless body after it was all over. Meep.

I don't think that taking Felix Felicis is supposed to make you act borderline comically drunk/high, but watching Daniel Radcliffe miming Aragogg's poisonous pincers was LOLZ to the max. It was nice to see him play something beyond emo/flummoxed.

Jim Broadbent was a great choice as Prof. Slguhorn, even though they forwent to walrus mustache.

And Luna was full of AWESOME as usual.

Many hardcore book fans complain about the massive changes between the source material and final product, but I really don't give a crap anymore. They keep all the important stuff, because lord knows if they kept everything it would be as long as Lawrence of Arabia (which I totes love and own, but it is L-O-N-G.) Treating it as a separate entity greatly increases my enjoyment of the film. And they kept in the Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes scene!

PoA is still my fave of the movies so far, though, and not just because of this.



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Since I'm re-watching Children of Earth on BBC America--because there's something to be said for watching TV the old fashioned way, on the TV--I figured I'd post my original thoughts along with a few new ones.

Here's the original post.

And under the cut are my final thoughts, which I will get to after I join PC Andy in a police meelee...

( Addendum for Torchwood: Children of Earth episode 5 )



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Since I'm re-watching Children of Earth on BBC America--because there's something to be said for watching TV the old fashioned way, on the TV--I figured I'd post my original thoughts along with a few new ones.

Here's the original post.

And my new thoughts come under the cut after I check all my weapons with security.

( Addendum for Torchwood: Children of Earth episode 4 )



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Since I'm re-watching Children of Earth on BBC America--because there's something to be said for watching TV the old fashioned way, on the TV--I figured I'd post my original thoughts along with a few new ones.

Here's the original post.

New thoughts after under the cut after I do a quick wardrobe change, because track pants really don't do anyone any favors.

( Addendum for Torchwood: Children of Earth episode 3 )



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Since I'm re-watching Children of Earth on BBC America--because there's something to be said for watching TV the old fashioned way, on the TV--I figured I'd post my original thoughts along with a few new ones.

The original post is here.

And my extra thoughts are under the cut after I bum a tenner to get some dinner.

( Addendum for Torchwood: Children of Earth episode 2 )



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Since I'm re-watching Children of Earth on BBC America--because there's something to be said for watching TV the old fashioned way, on the TV--I figured I'd post my original thoughts along with a few new ones.

Here's the original post.

And after the cut I'll have a few more once I get a full body scan to see if I've picked up an alien hitchhiker of my own.

( Addendum for Torchwood: Children of Earth episode 1 )



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( SPOILERS for Torchwood: Children of Earth episode 5 after I gorge myself on mint chocolate ice cream: )




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Below the cut are my initial initial thoughts on the episode followed by a few less hysterical observations. I've since had a bit of time to digest, read some other people's reactions, and I have a few more thoughts. But I wanted to preserve what I first typed.

( And so, SPOILERS AFOOT for Torchwood: Children of Earth episode 4 as soon as I perfect my sexy packin' heat strut. )





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TENSE music is tense!

( SPOILERS AHEAD for Torchwood: Children of Earth episode 3 just as soon as I get a cup of Ianto's coffee--because it is THAT essential: )




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Just a few brain dribbles before I go to bed.

( SPOILERS ARE COMING! For Torchwood: Children of Earth episode 2: )




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A couple thought on the new Sci Fi--I'm sorry, Syfy, because then maybe they'll fool people who aren't nerds into watching their network--series Warehouse 13:

CCH Punder is made of awesome. She can deliver lines like "How'd you get in here?" "Through the door." with such stone-cold bad-assery that it makes anything sound good.

Why is it that of the intrepid artifact-finding duo, it's always the girl who is the humourless pusbag? In this case, it's lady Secret Service Agent Mika. Partnered with just-quirky-enough Pete. I kind of had higher expectations since I saw this was co-created by Jane Espenson. Here's hoping this situation improves in future episodes.

More Saul Rubinek!

The steampunkiness of the secret warehouse office is pretty awesome, as are the gadgets they use to retrieve the weekly Maguffins. The pilot featured what was billed as a Tesla-designed stun gun and 2-way video communicators that looked like they dated back to the '40s. All glass and brass and wood and awesome looking.

Overall, I enjoyed the pilot enough for me to want to give it a chance. I like the interplay between the three main characters. My only concern is that they might get too dependent on the artifact/Maguffin-of-the-week formula at the expense of continuing story arcs, but I think with Jane Espenson involved there will be enough interesting character developments and snappy dialogue to keep my attention for awhile yet.




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( SPOILERS AHOY!! for Torchwood: Children of Earth episode 1 )




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So there I was at C3 on Saturday, wearing my Frakkin' Toaster shirt and Greg asks why I'm single when there are plenty of equally nerdy fish in the sea. The inner love-lorn 13-year-old in me wanted to blurt out "Because you already have a girlfriend!"

Sigh.

I feel socially inept at an epic level.

I'm going to die alone (since my hatred of cats precludes me from CCL status).





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"Oh, this is awful. This is nasty. I've got to brush my teeth after this."
--Toby, Dante's Cove (In The Beginning)

Oh Toby, you have no idea how meta that really is.

I'm in a serious funk at the moment. No job + no immediate prospects that don't involve food service + shitty economy + dwindling savings = me on my couch on Friday afternoon feeling a pity party for 1 coming on.

( Read on for my thoughts about the hot mess that is Dante's Cove just as soon as I get some lukewarm beer from the haunted cellar. )




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I will be posting my ramblings/reactions to the final episodes of BSG sometime this week--but in sum, I loved almost every second. I just haven't been able to formulate my thoughts into coherent enough sentences, not even for this thing.

The following is me waxing poetic about my personal computer history.

I've always been a desktop computer user. I grew up on ye olde beige CPU towers of yore, battling my brother for precious after-school computer time (mostly playing Sim City and then later logging on to AOL/CompuServ--eesh). My first very own computer was a blueberry iMac--all glossy polycarbonate clear and blue plastic, taking up over half of my desk real estate. I loved that computer fiercely for over seven years(!) thanks to my dad's computer know-how and upgrade-happy tendencies. Then I got a new iMac for a graduation/birthday present after college, and it was instant love. A huge 20" screen, DVD/CD burner, bazillions of ports, and it didn't take 20+ minutes to sync my iPod anymore! I was in love all over again. At that point I still didn't see why I would ever want to have a laptop as my main computing/entertainment device. Such small hard drives! Smaller screens! Less horsepower!

Then I got my iPod touch in Sept. 2007, and things started to change. Now, it's not like I hated laptops or anything; I just didn't see the point in making that my main means of computing. My dad was always leaving his work laptop at the kitchen table, and more than once I made use of it checking email, browsing, and whathaveyou. But my iPod gave me a sweet, sweet taste of what it's like to be able to get a hit of that internet anywhere there is an available wi-fi connection. Suddenly, checking email became exponentially more fun when done from the comfort of my own bed. Now when my mom and I had a pop culture factoid dispute, I could whip out my iPod and know in seconds who was right (usually me, heh).

But as much as I loved and continue to love my iPod, I can't help but realize that even though Apple claims you get the "whole internet in your pocket" with the iPod touch, you really don't. No flash video support means No Hulu watching in bed for me. And as nice as it is to be able to read poorly written fan fic right before I drift off to sleep, sometimes no matter how much I zoom in, it's still a bit hard to read. And scrolling down every two seconds gets to be a right pain in the ass after awhile.

This week my dad gave me a refurbished iBook G4 that he found at my mom's work just as something to noddle around with and use as a secondary computer--finally, the full, real live internet in my bedroom! And I have to say, that it is awesome. Even though the computer runs a bit slow when I'm browsing on Firefox and watching a video at the same time on VLC, I'm willing to forgive because this thing is, like, 5 years old and not in pristine condition. Still, pretty frakkin' cool. All of this to say that I've decided that my next computer purchase will be a Mac laptop of some kind (duh, would I get any other kind?)--whatever the latest permutation of the Macbook is depending on my computing needs/requirements. Now, it feels like overkill to have all that computing horsepower when the bulk of my time is spent browsing the web, listening to music, watching video, and sometime doing some photo/video editing. I will miss the gigantic screen because it is kind of like having a second TV in my living room--only this one has internet access. But I'm now willing to sacrifice a few inches of LCD real estate to be able to reduce some of the computer clutter/detritus and sit and type wherever the hell I want. It just makes sense.





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...I saw Watchmen today, all by myself. Literally. I was the only person in a 300+ seat theatre. ( My spoilerific thoughts about it as soon as I guess Adrian Veidt's computer password. )





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( This post contains spoliers for the most recent episodes of BSG and Lost, so click at your own risk! )




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Nothing makes me feel as frustrated, pissy, rageful (as in full of rage--it's a word now, damn it!), old, or mentally deficient as filing my tax returns. Especially the R.I.T.A. part; if you have to that where you live, you know what I mean. I hate that they makes you pay based on what your estimated income is for the next year or some such bs like that. HATE. The rest of it isn't so much evil as it is loooooong.




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