If you ever fall off the Sears Tower, just go real limp, because maybe you'll look like a dummy and people will try to catch you because, hey, free dummy.
Jack Handey
19th May 2008

Ponderings For 2008-05-19

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15th March 2008

Ponderings For 2008-03-15

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21st January 2008

Ponderings For 2008-01-21

  • There’s a possible light at the end of the tunnel for the WGA strike. After the DGA came to an agreement, the WGA is now in informal talks again. Here’s hoping…
  • Holy cow. Check out the (possibly) soon-to-be-built Crystal Island in Moscow. It’ll be the biggest building in the world. Man, it’s like something out of Logan’s Run.
  • While we’re on the subject of massive, Russian things, check out this list of insanity.
  • Yikes. Further proof that it can’t hurt to get DNA tests done when you apply for a marriage license.
  • The Wesley Snipes IRS trial continues on its merry way. After having played the race card for every possible reason, I’m anxious to see just what he has up his sleeve next.
  • An accurate enough take on the current state of the high-def format war. While it can’t be known exactly what money and cajoling went on, I also believe that the money they’re talking about wouldn’t be enough to convince a studio to make such a move. It’s more symbolic than anything. Given the amount of money involved for these studios, I truly believe Warner in particular was simply interested in making the move that could most easily end the format war, and that even if they did get this rumored $500 million to pick a side, it wouldn’t have been the thing to make up there mind.
  • So, we’re soon to see collegiate funding tied to RIAA-compliant snooping and control measures? Lovely.
  • How good are your child’s combat skills?
  • Gotta love those raving conspiracy theorists.
  • Here’s one seriously drunk driver. That photo with the sign in front of the car is priceless.
  • Fox is assembling some titles to release on Blu-Ray for Fathers Day: Patton, check. The Longest Day, check. The Sand Pebbles, check. And…Wait for it…….. Mrs. Doubtfire. Yup, Mrs. Doubtfire. I swear it’s true. It’s like some kind of reasoning test to pick out what doesn’t belong. I suppose they had to include one movie in the set that completely sucked.

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20th January 2008

Ponderings For 2008-01-20

  • The Disintegrator: The coolest thing I’ve seen in a great long while. That video has some truly awesome moments.
  • The RIAA web site has been hilariously hacked…
  • Looks like the excellent Cloverfield is on the way to the record books for a January release (and no slouch for most other months)
  • So, you think you’ve seen some neato paper airplane flights before? Guess again.
  • Check out this impressive, massive Star Wars LEGO model
  • Aaaaack! This is some mind-blowingly insane paths of transportation.
  • Some classic computer ads. I’ve got hundreds of old 1980-era magazines with tons of ads like this. I should scan a mass compiliation of some of my favorites some time for the amusement of the masses.
  • As you’ve likely noticed, got my review for Cloverfield posted. Had been looking forward to seeing it for a long while now (since seeing the teaser in front of Transformers). Oh, I should also note something I forgot to mention in the review - the couple big military attack sequences are awesome. Some of the best military attack scenes in a great long while.
  • My 2007 retrospective is finally assembled. It just needs a cleanup pass. It will be posted at some point in the next couple hours…

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14th January 2008

Ponderings For 2008-01-14

  • Check out a rundown of some of the biggest new years eve fireworks spectaculars from a couple weeks ago. I’ve always been a fan of Sydney’s fireworks display each year (a copy of it has floated on the net for the last half dozen years or so which I’ve hunted down and watched year after year), and this year’s was OK. Not their best, but still cool. However, London’s was phenomenal. That’s the most impressive, insane fireworks display I’ve ever seen. And that YouTube video doesn’t do it justice. Not by a long shot. I hunted down an HD copy of the BBC-HD broadcast, which is FAR more impressive. However, somebody needed to gag that raving idiot they gave a mic to that nearly ruins the broadcast of the event. I may mess with the audio track on the HD copy and see if I can drop the center channel to take him off it. Seriously, it should be illegal to give an open mic to any of these moronic announcers during fireworks displays.
  • Looks like Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles has launched with style. I haven’t watched the aired version yet, but I’d seen the rough cut pilot way back when. I’m anxious to check out the final cut, if for no other reason than to check out Bear McCreary’s music score.
  • The Japanese are insane: a 33 megapixel “Super Hi-Vision” standard in the works? I may believe they could pull it off eventually, but to be broadcasting by 2015? No way. I’ll believe that when I see it.
  • The sequel for Superman Returns has been pushed from 2009 to 2010 due to the strike. Given the other confusions of late as to who will be involved (as opposed to differences in the JLA film).
  • Britney just isn’t missing a step on the road to being the lead notorious celeb
  • CNet posts an article revealing more stupidity and non-it-getting from the uber-evil RIAA

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13th December 2007

Ponderings For 2007-12-13

  • I’m writing this as I sit here listening to the new 3 CD set of the Blade Runner soundtrack. I scrounged up an early copy online to check out. Don’t worry, I’ll be buying the set when it comes out next Tuesday. The Blade Runner/Vangelis/film score nerd in me just couldn’t resist hunting it down early to check out. It’s a great set, btw. The first CD is a repackaging of the existing soundtrack CD from the early 90’s. The second CD is a bunch of unreleased material from the original score. It’s a very cool disc for us fans. It has a style and flow of its own, surprisingly well rounded away from both the film and the first CD material. It’s mostly the lower key, moody material. A cool CD to play in a dark room during the late hours while you’re typing away at the keyboard. Disc 3 is odd but cool. It’s assembled kinda like the first disc, as primarily music with some dialog thrown in as atmosphere. This material, however, is newly created and not from the film itself. Much of it is a reworking of material from the film, both musically and in terms of dialog (moody and atmospheric). Yet it’s also kind of an album in and of itself. It’s easily as cool to us Vangelis fanatics like myself as it is to us Blade Runner fanatics (guilty as well). It could do with less saxophone, though (but that’s just me and my dislike for that instrument). It’s like having the Vangelis of old back again.
  • As you’ve likely noticed, more movie reviews are starting to finally appear. I aim to have all remaining reviews posted by the end of this weekend.
  • NYC cops are taking entrapment to the next level. Good grief.
  • A nice collection of photos from the recent Mutant Enemy Day on the picket lines for the WGA. If you’re looking for more video and photos of the day, there’s tons and tons of it online. Just do some searching.
  • Johnny Depp as Pee-Wee? Hmmm. That’ll surely be interesting.
  • Journeyman has apparently bitten the proverbial dust
  • Avatar has been pushed from summer of 2009 to winter of 2009. Hmmm, a James Cameron movie getting bumped from summer to winter? How unusual.
  • The overzealous RIAA continues their shenanigans
  • OK, I’m off to the midnight preview screening for I Am Legend. I might get my review posted when I get back. If not, I promise to get it posted tomorrow.

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5th November 2007

Ponderings For 2007-11-05

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4th October 2007

Ponderings For 2007-10-04

  • Today was the 50th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik 1. Hurrah!
  • Ooooh, a new Sony Bravia commercial. I swear, these are the coolest commercials ever. If you didn’t see the first two, they are also fantastic. What makes these commercials truly great is that they are staged in the real world, not some CGI or stage-based production. It gives them a far grander feeling of scale and style.
  • The awesome specs for the HD-DVD release of Zodiac are finally announced. I can’t wait. David Fincher’s special edition releases are the only ones that come close to rivaling the likes of Ridley Scott.
  • Speaking of which, check out Bill Hunt’s review of Ridley’s mouth-wateringly awesome sounding Final Cut of Blade Runner. I can’t wait to pick up the ultimate brief-case housed HD disc set. If only the film was going to be run in the Chicago area, dang it.
  • If you missed Pushing Daisies last night (shame on you), you can catch it when it re-airs tomorrow (Friday), or online, etc. Speaking of which, the debut episode scored big in the ratings. Woo hoo! ABC has been strongly behind the show up to the launch, and this will help keep them there.
  • Uh oh. The RIAA just got a leg up. Sadly, it wasn’t from the neighborhood dog.
  • Universal takes the step that we all knew was coming with the likes of HD-DVD: in-movie shopping. The whole “interactivity” push of HD-DVD in particular is one of the most useless pieces of studio distraction in all of the HD format features. I wish they’d knock it off and pay more attention to the types of content that are actually interesting. Then again, with my recent Blu-Ray frustrations, the HD-DVD format is looking less annoying with each day.
  • 640 GB solid state drives? I want one. Or two. Or three. Or four. Or more.
  • As indifferent as I am towards Apple these days, this surely makes me feel sympathy towards the company. The fact that they have to deal with these mouth-breathers is reason enough for sympathy.
  • Could ABC really be reviving Rob Thomas’ series Cupid a decade later? If so, they’ve gotta air it after Pushing Daisies. That would be a cool time slot partnership.
  • Is McG going to direct Terminator 4? You know, a couple years ago that news would have sent me screaming into the night in fear of the final piece of crap it would have been. But it turns out the guy actually has directing talent, as was displayed recently with We Are Marshall and the brand new TV series Chuck.
  • Hmmm, a 100 GB version of the Blu-Ray disc may be in the near future. I may have a bit of a Blu-Ray rant in an upcoming posting, once I get a couple issues sorted out. I swear, these HD formats sure went out of their way to make their own industry a complete mess.
  • This cursory article gives some insight into why IE tends to be such a messed up browser.
  • Universal sure took their time following through on this, but they have finally announced season 2 of SeaQuest on DVD. While I consider season 2 to be the weakest season, at least there’s hope that they’ll make it to releasing the final third season eventually. That third season was something of an overhaul of the series, and was actually a lot better than it ever got credit for. Then again, Universal has a long and distinguished history of revamping shows and cancelling them that same year, every time.
  • Here’s one of those pictures that’s amusing for its stupidity. But when you put it in the context in which it was used, it goes WAY beyond stupidity.
  • The late Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. provides some amusing political insights in a new book compiling his journals.

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