a broken lull.

holy shit.
i was looking at some 24 sites, stumbled upon the inside-24 forums, where they were talking about last week's episode and the possible actions for upcoming eps. one of them had a pretty good idea which made me think even farther ahead -- i do believe the story is gonna get out of mexico pretty soon and probably get back to the u.s. - nina actually knows jack is a fugitive there -- (how? nina can't get back in. hmm. whatever). this would make for great tv. jack would have to hunt down the buyers/nina/virus and try not to get caught by the feds.

i thought that could be a very cool possibility.

Posted by Anonymous | 1:20 PM |

aw, another one bites the dust...

Confession '24'
1/29/2004 - New York City

i have a confession to make...
when i was in europe a few months ago i saw an episode of the show '24'. and i enjoyed it. so upon returning home i bought the dvd set for '24'(normally i only buy cartoons cos i'm in a state of suspended adolescence).
and i started watching '24'.
it's like crack.
all of those f*cking cliff hanger episodes.
so yes, i confess that today, in order to finish the series, i watched 6 straight hours of '24'. and now i've run a self-intervention and i've banned myself from watching the tv for a year.
see, even someone as tv-averse as i can succumb to the crack-like seductions of something like '24'.
that's all.
goodnight.
moby

:)

Posted by Anonymous | 1:46 PM |

21 GRAMS :: alejandro gonzález iñárritu :: 2003

the term 'powerful' gets thrown around a lot in the blurb industry, much too often, in fact, but it's the first time i'm seriously considering applying it to a film. this film. alejandro is able to get inside each of his characters so effortlessly, getting their power, and putting it on-screen for us to see and understand each and every mood, thought, or change of heart. and none of them are judged. you're able to know them for who they are. things happen. it's the banality of everyday life. alejandro gets this on film. he also gets the guilt, the emotion. in spades. you just sit back and watch. and get caught up in the turmoil it brings up.

now, other films have been able to convey this sense of intimacy between characters and its audience, but they are so few and far between that it's comforting when they come and you can't help but enjoy their warm embrace.

this film is gritty. it has a dirty look about it. i couldn't help picturing a big-shot hollywood director doing this film (overdone lighting, stock performances, simple characters, and a winning message). instead, alejandro gets into the characters. you are there with them. you understand each and every move even though they don't tell you anything. it's quite refreshing. and when you get a director like alejandro and team him up with a bunch of actors that are willing to go the fucking distance like sean penn, benicio del toro, and (now) naomi watts ... you make sure you go see that film.

i have a feeling i won't remember much from the film in a couple of days (in part because the art is in the details and not the actual plot points) but i have gone through a journey with these folks. it's the kind of film where you walk out of the theater feeling a little bit changed, like there's been a shift inside, albeit maybe a momentary one, but a shift nonetheless. and it feels good. you get in touch with humanity once again. this was one of these experiences for me.

Posted by Anonymous | 11:10 PM |

ohmyfuckinggod. pleasedonotmakeitso.

NBC ("coupling") is doing exactly what every monday morning blogger mockingly warned them against -- they're making an actual american version of The Office.

a pilot loosely based on the BBC's Golden Globe-winning comedy series

right.
that should be made painfully clear once the first episode airs.

thanks to stereogum for the bad news.

Posted by Anonymous | 2:49 PM |

THIRTEEN | Catherine Hardwicke, 2003

simply - wow. first off, i couldn't decide if i should watch it at 1:30 am, after coming home from work (i usually doze off after 30 minutes of tv) or wait till the morning to be able to sit through it with a fresh mind. i decided to watch it at 1:30. and i was not disappointed. i did not even start to doze off one single time.

everyone knows the story so i won't get into the details but it's about one teenage girl (duh, "thirteen") and her trials and tribulations over a short period of her life.

the script was writing by first-time director/screenwriter Catherine Hardwicke and then 13-year-old actress Nikki Reed. there's nothing really shocking or original about the story (drugs, sex, etc etc) but it's the reality of the situations and how they handle the characters so truthfully that's refreshing and amazingly vivid.

trust me, this is not your afterschool special about teenage angst or drug use (and it's not the debauched nature of Kids either). it's not a grown-up's version of what it is to be a teenager. you just know a real teenager was part of the process of single step of the way, and that it was not hollywood-ized, not a single frame.

and it's a spectacular debut for Catherine Hardwicke. i was blown away by the level of confidence this director had.

i cannot see why Evan Rachel Wood was not nominated for her performance in this film if they nominated Holly Hunter (who does a great job, but it's nothing compared to what the teenage actress had to do). the performances in this film are surprisingly real and seem effortless. Jeremy Sisto, who i like but always takes on the same kind of roles, also gives us a great character.

i don't wanna overhype it because that always kills any film, and i sure as hell was expecting to be underwhelmed by this film but i simply cannot recommend this film enough.

Posted by Anonymous | 12:02 PM |

24: day 3: 11:00 pm - 12:00 am

i'm gonna go watch 24 now (yay, a new episode!). in the meantime, please post your comments about the show.

my thoughts:

i liked this episode. not as big and intense as the last one but they definitely seemed to have finally found the 24 groove.

a couple of things, though:

+ that was one long-ass five minute kiss. either that or they just fucked with the real-time concept of the show for the first time.

+ although the baby thing looked rather weak when it first started (although i'm still withholding judgement on that one. we never know why some things happen in the 24 universe until they are fully revealed), it might look like it was designed to get rid of kim. they really didn't know what to do with her all those years.

+ jack learning about claudia's death came as a shock as i didn't see it coming until ramon told him. nina's look was priceless as she sat there watching jack deal with this news.

+ please don't bring claudia back
please don't bring claudia back
please don't bring claudia back

i wasn't sure if they were gonna make her come back when hector was holding her (you know, "uh... the bullet only grazed her forehead and knocked her unconscious."
i loved claudia but don't be pussies about it. we don't like to be played.

+ oh! i almost forgot -- they killed hector off. lol. i'm sorry to see him go (not as much as claudia, though. i didn't shed one single tear this time). i dunno why, though. i liked him and i liked the relationship he had with ramon, but it just wasn't as emotional.

+ oh, and sherry's back. for me the palmer side of the story is finally starting to get interesting. she did look calm and serene. nice performance. and then the old sherry, the snake, came back. stop playing with us about alan's skeletons and tell us what happened at chagrin(?) falls.

Posted by Anonymous | 10:08 AM |

whoa. now i'm impressed. Kerry actually pulled another stunner out of his hat and won the New Hampshire Primary.

well, he just proved he didn't just have some first-rate "joementum" going for him. this was Dean's primary for all we knew. good for him. great for him, actually. and great for us too. Kerry wasn't my first pick for a candidate (Clark and Dean shared that dream; although, that was before Clark showed us he's not really a campaign person -- at all).

so yesterday evening at work, i started talking to this friend of mine who's also following american politics. he had one hell of a great idea that now seemed to be the best thing for democrats (and the country) -- a Kerry/Dean ticket. think about this, Kerry brings in all the older crowd, the washington people, and Dean, well, Dean brings in pretty much everyone else. so my friend thought Dean should tell Kerry that he would step aside and give him the nomination if he could be vice-president. i don't think Dean worked way too hard at this point to just drop out in a few weeks (and this NH victory for Kerry solidifies his chances at the nomination). and vice-president doesn't sound too bad; look what it got Cheney.

i thought this was a great idea. people should talk about this in the Dean camp. and Dean would be the best choice for Kerry.

Posted by Anonymous | 10:05 AM |

there's actually a handful of interesting indie releases coming out today:

Capturing the Friedmans - dvd town
The Secret Lives of Dentists - digitallyobsessed
Thirteen - upcomingdiscs.com, dvd file

today i'm working at 5 pm instead of the usual 3:45, so i actually have the whole day to do whatever i want. nice.

so i'm planning on renting two dvd's from the list above, getting some groceries, and remember folks there's an Air album to get today (there's a limited edition available with a bonus dvd), and then i'll try to find the Office set, and i might as well get the Curb your Enthusiasm set while i'm there, uh?

. . . . . . .

well, it was a very hectic rush to get everything done this morning, including the fact that the roommate called me up and wanted me to go pick her up from work for lunch and then drive her back.

i couldn't find The Office. sadly so. and to think i'd held the only copy available here in town two weeks ago. dammit. but i'm thinking about ordering it online. it would be way faster and probably cheaper. (ooh, i could also order Elbow's debut while i'm at it. why don't the stores around here have it??)

so, okay, here's what i got:

Curb your Enthusiasm, the complete first season

Air - Talkie Walkie (limited edition with bonus dvd)
Elbow - Cast of Thousands (limited edition with bonus cd-rom (they still make those?))

btw, i just realized/remembered that Nigel Godrich co-produced the air album. it'd been a while since i last heard about that. glad i got the album, then.

oh, practically every store had a few copies of Moby's new Voodoo Child disc. yay. waiting to get it, though. this morning i was getting the more pressing releases.

oh, i ended up renting Capturing the Friedmans and Thirteen. got both for at least two nights.

. . . . . . .

well, i actually watched last night's Avergae Joe: Hawaii this afternoon. wasn't feeling like watching one of my two rented films.

btw, i still haven't seen the Oscar nominations. lol. read up a few of them on CNN, though. whoda thought i'd be renting a film with a supporting actress in it (Holly Hunter) without knowing it? :)

the New Hampshire Primary results are tonight. i'm hoping, in no order, Kerry, Dean, and Clark get the top three.

also, 24 is back on tonight!

oh, and i also watched my first episode of Ken Finkleman's The Newsroom on CBC this afternoon (this was the second episode). i was seriously impressed by the tight writing/acting and i believe i'll be watching this series every week. (this episode included a Naomi Klein guess spot. be very impressed. i know i was.)

that's it. i'm gonna leave you with that. i gotta get ready for work...

Posted by Anonymous | 9:39 AM |

well, i did it :)

i actually went to montreal to do some cd-shopping on my own. it's a 90-minute drive from where i live. but the day was made for driving on the road -- it was cold but the sun was out all day. it was nice.

it started out with my biggest fear -- my store was out of practically everything on my damn list (fuckers). thank god i took down the names of two other stores that sounded good. i didn't wanna have to go look up other stores but i had to if i didn't wanna come back home with my tail between my legs.

so here's what i came out with:

luna - romantica
the shins - oh, inverted world
saint etienne - finisterre [ used ]
dannii minogue - neon nights [ used ] (wasn't on my list but it was too good to pass up)
spoon - kill the moonlight
death cab for cutie - something about airplanes / we have the facts and we're voting yes / the photo album

no richard x and no one had anything by the wrens (and no castaways and cutouts by the decemberists either, which i couldn't believe).

i'm really happy about what i got because i did end up finding the 3 death cab albums i wanted (thank fucking god. no one before that last store had anything other than transatlanticism. it wasn't looking good until i stumbled upon the whole dang collection at that last store -- le subalterne, 3603 st-denis) and i actually stuck to my list this time (minus the dannii album, but that was only $11) even though the frustrations and temptations were definitely there. not only do i have that but i'm also left with more money than i planned. with a couple of cool releases coming up this week, that's nice.

ps. oh, inverted world was the only shins album i could find in all three stores. but i saw it at hmv the other week so i'll go back tuesday and get it. another good thing about not finding every last album from my list.

Posted by Anonymous | 5:31 PM |

// very important message //

okay. i need your help and input here.
i'm leaving tomorrow morning (11-11:30) to do the first round of the "montreal indie album shopping spree extravaganza" of 2004.

here's what my list looks like for now (after about a week of deep research); please comment on as many as you can and suggest other albums too if you like:

death cab for cutie - something about airplanes / we have the facts / the photo album
richard x
the wrens - the meadowlands
sparklehorse - vivadixiesubmarine...
luna - romantica
the decemberists - castaways and cutouts
ladytron - light & magic
spoon - kill the moonlight
spiritualized - ladies and gentlemen we are floating in space
saint etienne - (anything i don't own; anything that is not sound of water)
shins - oh, inverted world / chutes too narrow
cody chesnutt

i really need your comments on these because some i'm pretty sure about, but i'm on the fence about a few on the second part of the list.

thank you :)

. . . . . . .

it's finally here BillyCorgan.com :)

check it out. direct messages from billy.
looks cool and ultra-promising.

. . . . . . .

Megan Mullally's hosting SNL tonight (you can safely skip the two songs -- clay aiken somehow managed to get on the show).

wtf? i must've been drinking last night. what?
ah, okay. that show is scheduled for feb 7 2004.
why the fuck was i thinking it was last night, then?
anyway.

the frodo/gollum sitcom was cool, though.

Posted by Anonymous | 10:58 PM |

this is fucking insane!!

okay. so since we're in quebec, and i don't live in montreal, we usually get french dubs of movies. we're used to it. whatever. i don't mind going down to montreal to watch original language films, and sometimes we're lucky enough to get original versions films that are not huge sure blockbusters.

i'm going to montreal on sunday to shop for cd's (death cab?, the sparklehorse debut, richard x, saint etienne, ladytron, weakerthans, etc -- i'm taking suggestions), and since i was there and i still have 6 movies left on my pass, i decided to check out the cinema du parc's schedule. well, in the afternoon they have Big Fish, Girl with a Pearl Earring, and School of Rock. not too bad but i would've gone for sure if they'd had Triplets of Belleville.

now we're friday morning and i check out our local movie theaters' schedules.

we got 21 Grams :)
and Triplets of Belleville ! :)

dunno when i'll actually go see them but this is very cool.

oh, yesterday i went back to hmv to take advantage of their sale items.
i was going for 4 particular items, hoping no one had gotten to them during the two days i didn't have any money :)

what i got for $7.99 (canadian) each:

everything but the girl - amplified heart
the smiths - the smiths
the smiths - the queen is dead
the smiths - strangeways, here we come

now my smiths studio album collection is complete :) i'd only seen two of these albums when i was there last tuesday, so seeing the actual debut got me all excited :) snatched it up.

here's more than a few shockers that i found - 2/$30:

the new pornographers - mass romantic !!!
the new pornographers - electric version

i'd never even seen them at hmv and now they have them (both!) and they're on-sale??? lol. insane. snatched them both up.

actually finding the debut made me very happy. i seriously wasn't expecting that one. and i saw it at the very last possible second too before i went to pay for them. and the fact that i went in to see what that album was without knowing or having the actual artwork for it before. pure fooking chance.

. . . . . . .

hmv has an air promo ep (a song from each of their release either entitled cherry-something or cherries); you get it when you buy an air album at hmv. thought i'd let you guys know.

. . . . . . .

yesterday at work, someone in a lab left netscape on on the stereolab site :) someone has taste in this city. i wonder if it's the cool girl. lol. chances are it's this one guy, though :)

Posted by Anonymous | 9:43 AM |

i didn't feel like posting today but i had to at least mention this.

troubles a-brewin' and it appears that the republicans have been quite busy doing some not-so-legal stuff lately (and i don't mean selling cigarettes to minors stuff here; this could be watergate). this could be quite the a-bomb if revealed to be true, and especially damaging to bush and rove's re-election efforts:

Republican staff members of the US Senate Judiciary Commitee infiltrated opposition computer files for a year, monitoring secret strategy memos and periodically passing on copies to the media, Senate officials told The Globe [...]

thank you, Daily Kos.

Posted by Anonymous | 1:12 PM |

i'm frantically looking up info on k-os' album, exit, trying to figure out if i'll be sad if i only get the canadian edition of the thing; and i stumble upon this playlouder interview with k-os. definitely a fun read. my guess is this was done almost a year ago.

have fun. i'm going to work.

Posted by Anonymous | 2:26 PM |

well, well, well. hello again.

so john kerry is mr iowa. that's a nice turn of events.
too bad for clark that edwards came in 2nd. i wanted dean to win it so clark could be a safe bet for 2nd place in new hamshire next week. oh well, we'll see now how mr clark fares against attacks.

but i gotta i like edwards and kerry more since i saw them speaking a lot yesterday. dunno if they were in politician mode (after their respective victories) but it didn't look like it; they looked genuine. good folk. kerry, especially.

i just came back from hmv. they had a sale going (2/$30, cheap cd's, etc) and i was surprised by that i managed to find in the sale bins:

stars - heart. seriously. i found this in the 2/$30 bin. i never thought i'd even see this album at hmv.
nas - illmatic. the elusive debut i could never find ... in the sale bin at $10.99 :)
nas - i am... another $10.99 item. got it only because it was cheap; i see this one all the time but more expensive.

also finally got damien rice's o.

after much deliberating, i went to the video store to rent a copy of cabin fever.
i was actually stopped dead in my tracks when i came upon spellbound ! i didn't even see this one mentioned on my video stores' websites. totally snatched it up right away. got both films for two days now.

. . . . . . .

oh my god, this is horrible.
moby's put up some hate mail margaret cho got after bashing bush at the moveon.org awards.

btw, you can have a different opinion than i have, i have no problem with that, it's the fucking racism that's a problem, you assholes. sheesh. can't they even see that? and i'm picturing them with guns and shit. that is one scary, and sorry, country, i'll tell you that much.

. . . . . . .

and could anyone just fucking stop talking about radiohead's music being sad and depressing? you've clearly stopped listening to them after hearing creep on mtv and believe you know their music. listen to an album or two.

Posted by Anonymous | 2:05 PM |

oh my god. i'm watching tsn and they've got a feature about kiefer sutherland doing nhl spots!
and he's doing them from ctu :)

Posted by Anonymous | 12:41 PM |

well, hello everyone :)

i (almost) worked my ass off this weekend. but it was cool 'cause i was with friends the whole time. and now i have two days off. ahhh....... nice.

oh, and this morning i finally opened the xmas gifts my brother sent us last week :)
i got them at work (mother's boyfriend brought them to me) friday night and i didn't wanna open them up there, felt too sad :) so i opened them up this morning as soon as i woke up, sitting up in bed :)

he always sends me newspaper cut-outs from over there (banff, alberta) with anything related to music and film. it's always scrappy but nice. this time here's what he sent me:

one soap from the banff centre.
one car air freshener.
the 2003 arts program booklet from the banff centre (with a cute-ass pic of one lisa mendes; call me :)
a 2003 banff mountain film festival t-shirt. nice.
two cd's of indie bands i'd never heard of (brother rarely buys any 'close to mainstream' stuff):

bakunin's bum - fight to win! a benefit for ocap
clann zú - rua

both albums were released on winnipeg's g7 welcoming committee label. go check their site out. funny as hell.

my brother actually got it dead on this time. i haven't listened to them yet but i'm already quite impressed by what i've managed to read on both of them.

. . . . . . .

okay. this is a bit of old news but i couldn't believe it when i read about it so now i'm gonna post two lines about it. deal.

britney is going out on tour (i hope no one on the staff forgets to bring brit's album; it would be kind ofembarrassingg to have nothing to lipsync to) real soon, and guess who just shot down another great chance at some good exposure in the states by opening up for her? kelis.

damn, why are you doing this to yourself???
anyway, those of you in the montreal area who wanna catch a good artist and then boo britney down before leaving will be able to so april 4th.

Posted by Anonymous | 11:04 AM |

hello.

caught this a few minutes ago: 'superbowl with bubba sparxxx' sweepstake.

enter for a chance to win -- bubba sparxx comes to your house on superbowl sunday (feb 1) with a jvc widescreen flat-panel tv, an x-box, and 12 ea sports games for the x-box; and you get to keep everything!

ps. the last entry in the movie marathon was just added.
jan 13th post (blogger anchors don't ever seem to work).

Posted by Anonymous | 1:19 PM |

you got your diapers on?
i give you president george w bush in an interview with the new yorker:

No President has ever done more for human rights than I have.

"this is the new shit!" indeed.

. . . . . . .

i forgot to mention this this morning. two weeks ago i talked about how the passenger-side door to my car got stuck and wouldn't open anymore. even the handles inside and outside the door were loose when you pulled on them. i thought something got loose or broke off inside. i hadn't yet called for an appointment to get it checked out yet because i was a) lazy, and b) waiting for my pay next week so that if i did need a new part i would be sure to have enough money for it (no point in going if i can't get it fixed at the same time, right?).

so i've been driving around for the past two weeks without a functioning passenger door. it sucks. thank god i wasn't giving rides to too many people. but yesterday i was waiting for the car to warm up when all of a sudden i hear a small pop from the passenger side. it sounded as if it came from outside the car. but after watching the door in stunned silence for a few seconds i leaned over and pulled on the door handle.

the door opened!!!
i fuckin shit you not! the door is fine! lol
i was so happy, smiling almost from ear to ear. i almost lost money getting it checked out. yay!

and i'm happy it's not broken 'cause that woulda been at least $150 out of my pockets, which woulda ben fine if it meant i had a working car door; but having it back in my pocket feels great :)

i'm a very happy man :)

Posted by Anonymous | 12:52 PM |

an extensive questlove post over at the okay player boards.

that and the honesty quest expresses are enough to warrant a read and my admiration -- but the guy's signature includes michael moore's reasons for endorsing wes clark!!

the man is too damned cool.

[ via catchdubs. ]

Posted by Anonymous | 9:52 AM |

linked.

+ engrossing report from sean penn in iraq (he went back in december 2003).
btw, this is not some hackjob from a leftwing nut; this is the real deal.

[ via counterspin. ]

sorry but i'm just reading this piece and stumbled upon this ugly quote, showing, once again, the arrogance of the american occupation:

We get a car and head over to the Palestine. As we arrive, American soldiers are filing out the front door of the hotel. One complains, "They're kicking us out for not paying our room charges. It's not like the place is full. And we liberated this goddamn country, didn't we?"

dudes, money doesn't grow on trees. these people you just liberated can't live without money or food for their families, now, can they?

fuckers...

+ oh yeah, michael moore endorsed wesley clark this week.
very cool move.

please do yourself a favor and take 5 minutes off to read mike's endorsement message.

oh my god, i'm so excited!! i'm reading mike's message and now i really really hope clark gets the nomination. he was my guy before but reading someone else write so elaborately about clark and his stand on issues i'm just... awestruck! and inspired beyond belief. this guy really is the real deal. he really is the chance of a lifetime for us liberals.

if you're liberal, go read it. now.

hopefully the nh caucus is also reading.

+ don't forget to check my post from jan 13th; i update the film reviews as i go.

Posted by Anonymous | 10:05 AM |

this is an afterthought (weeks and months after the fact, but it just hit me this week): how the hell did the white house decide that june 30 2004 was the right date to hand over the country to the iraqi people, if not for political safety? i mean, we know this is just so that bush can then go on the campaign trail for the rest of the year. the country isn't even safe *now*, how can they be planning ahead and know that in 6 months it'll be alright to hand the country over? i mean, it won't be safe and the iraqis will be left to their own devices just so bush can come back to the safe confines of the u.s. for a quick and swift election process? come on.

i hope that once a democratic nominee is chosen, he or she will start chipping away at bush (they won't have those other pesky dems standing in the way no more). i really hope they do 'cause this administration is still acting outrageously (every single week there's something surreal!) but no one in the mainstream seems to care or even bother to notice these acts (mars?? wow, what an idea! get me charts and let's flood the airwaves with talk of how grand and visionary this is!! what? he's doing this so we don't notce all the crappy things he's doing? you're nuts; look, there's the moon!).

rove and perle must think you guys are idiots if they keep throwing stuff like this out there and no one even raises an eyebrow.

wake up, people.
i really hope the real campaign will get some backbone once it really starts. and i can't wait for the (clark, or dean/bush) debates.

Posted by Anonymous | 11:04 AM |

24: day 3: 10:00 pm - 11:00 pm

i'll watch 24 real soon. in the meantime please post your comments on last night's episode.

Posted by Anonymous | 11:26 AM |

i'm not working 'till friday evening; the cold weather, wind and snow have taken over; and the roommate's going away tomorrow for five straight days.

let the games begin!

welcome to the start of Sam's official Three Days Off Movie Marathon.

tuesday's pick: Flower & Garnet

keith behrman, 2002

this canadian film made the film festival rounds back in 2002 and snatched up some really good reviews.
it tells the story of a father unwillingly having to deal with his kids' lives. this is a quiet film set in a small canadian town (but it's most probably the same kind of tone in any u.s. town). the mother died while giving birth to garnet, the little boy, and his older sister, flower, has had to help her father take care of him since she was six. the film is about kids and how fragile life is.

i was expecting to be moved. but i was not. this is a slow film and nothing much happens. i'm not saying it's boring but i was kinda glad to see it end when it did. the actors all do a very fine job, but nothing astonishing or extraordinary. the film is down-to-earth, dark, and normal. this is not a tv movie version of life. it comes pretty close to expressing the silence of everyday life, especially in a smalltown setting.

i recognized callum keith rennie from last night, and he once again does a great job. he might be the new bruce greenwood around here. oh my god!! he was dodd in memento!!!

jane mcgregor looks eerily like a young cate blanchett and colin roberts, who plays garnet, shows a great natural talent here; you don't see him act (this is where the sound mix comes bumbling through, though -- there's some painfully obvious, badly mixed adr work showing through the film).

actually, there's no outstanding performance in this whole film as no one's showboating. it's a natural, quiet film and the acting reflects that perfectly. it's the kind of performances where you rarely question the actors' decisions.

at a certain point it looks like it's about kids and guns and i had to hold back a groan because there's nothing more you can add to that subject; but the film picks it up towards the end.

i'm glad i saw the film if for no other reason than to see what fellow canadians have to say and to know what i would have missed if i had not seen it.

next.

wednesday's pick: Freddy vs. Jason

ronny yu, 2003

i'm not a fan anymore now that i've outgrown my adolescence but i've been curious about this film (not curious enough to actually go out and catch this in a movie theater, mind you. no, i've been interested since the reviews for it didn't seem to drown the damn thing like every single friday the 13th movie has done this past decade).

well, well, well. this one paid off. for those of you who, like me, once watched these kinds of films (back in the day, fangoria and all) and kept being wholly disappointed by all the sorry, lame-ass "movies" that came out in the last decade, this one might be for you. the two franchises dropped the scary, creepy part of horror and the stories became lame attempts at humor rather quickly, but this film has more to it. i'm kinda embarrassed to say it but i did end up renting jason x last summer; mostly because there was nothing to rent (nothing) and the spiffy new line platinum series. but it was a total bore.

but this film... it's smarter than the previous entries in both series, mostly because the writers had to come up with something for this one; the fans were not gonna let this one just slide by. so, the story is pretty nifty. it goes back and forth between freddy and jason until the final (dare i say -- surprisingly vicious; i think i'm more of a voorhees fan now) confrontation everyone's been waiting for. i haven't been a horror buff for a while now, so i'm not some fanboy praising the holy matchup between two gods of horror/gore here. i really enjoyed this film based on the fun i had watching it. of course it's not a thrill ride every inch of the way but it is far more elaborate and fun than what we've been used to.

if you were curious but we're a bit reluctant about renting it, don't be; this film is probably for you.
but if you were never a fan, don't bother, it won't change your idea of horror films.

thursday's picks:

American Wedding (Unrated)

jesse dylan, 2003

well, who woulda thought? american wedding is, surprisingly to me, the least fun one of the bunch. i really thought they got funnier and funnier as they went along but it looks like getting the guy who directed how high to direct this film wasn't such a great idea after all.

still a funny film, though. lots of really 'lmao' moments thrown around.
you know it's funny when you catch yourself laughing alone and you don't even care :)

i don't know why or how but it seemed a bit off compared to the previous two films; the first two had some real moments, they had heart. as a whole it definitely lacked much of the heart the series was built on (despite what the anti-poopoo jokes people might wanna tell you).

ps. i kinda wanna say stiffler saves this film but it wouldn't be entirely true. although when you think about it the focus does shift to stiffler a lot more than on anyone else, the script still manages to get you involved enough in jim (and the whole gang)'s tale (what about michelle? forget about her. she's close to being an extra in this film) to not notice the shift (or let it slide; plus, seann william scott works too damn hard at being stiffler to make you regret the slight sidesteps they take).

pps. i saw the unrated version and the director tells us at the start of the film that more nudity was put in the film. honestly, if you're gonna put beach ball titties in your films, you can add as much footage as you want but i don't know how much more exciting it will get. i mean, is it just me or are they just needlessly putting fake titties on-screen? why? i mean i would understand if they were real titties, but fake ones? me not care, thank you. anyone does?

L'emploi du temps

laurent cantet, 2001

this is, by far, the best film of the whole marathon :)
wow.
i'm impressed. and what's more amazing is that it's not about much but laurent cantet gets us into the story so quickly, and he manages this feat also by consciously witholding most of the information about his lead character.

aurelien recoing does a remarkable job giving life to vincent, our main character; he has a quiet, blissful air about him that disarms you.

i can't say much of anything about the film because it's so well-constructed so that you know very little (you don't know much even after the first thirty minutes) but the film reveals itself little by little.

this is a charming, fascinating, and ultimately heartbreaking little film.

ps. please note the incredibly natural performances of cantet's two children, felix and marie, playing vincent's children.
i just checked the imdb and laurent cantet apparently has a tendency to cast his two kids as felix and marie in more than one film :)

Posted by Anonymous | 5:32 PM |

finally!

mark linkous back in the studio, as sparklehorse, for a possible release next summer.

Posted by Anonymous | 1:11 PM |

okay. this is just over the top. remember when the bush administration said that they wanted a) a war on terror on iraq, and b) a regime change in iraq that was of the utmost importance because *gasp* saddam had gased kurds and had tortured his people. he was a threat to his people. let's give 'em freedom (freedom, i say!). then remember how the left (most notably bloggers because actual democrats can't get asked to do anything these days) was shouting that the white house was a total hypocrite because one of the governments in the coalition of the willing (btw, "coalition of the billing" has become so right now that it's public knowledge that you actually got money at the end of the deal in contracts), namely uzbekistan, was torturing its people?

well, it was never mainstream before. and what did it take to push this onto the cnn ticker?
the president himself didn't think the allegations were bad enough to warrant a stop to their relationship.

fuck you, george w bush.

. . . . . . .

here's how my work week looked yesterday:

monday - working
tuesday - not scheduled yet
wednesday, thursday - off
friday, saturday - working

now - they still haven't called me for tonight, so odds are really good i won't be called in; and i've decided noon is the cut-off time for me to stop answering the phone :)

one of the best news i've had, work-wise, in ages came up last night: our dragon-lady boss is leaving for three months starting this thursday; she's getting an operation done on her foot.

this is by far the very bestest news ever. people were mutedly ecstatic every time we told 'em :)
can't wait to tell others.

Posted by Anonymous | 10:45 AM |

finally!

Well I guess it's about time I mentioned what the fuck is going on in Garbage these days.I'm sure you must have noticed the fact that there has been no mention of any studio shenanigans lately.We have decided to take the rest of the year off and resume activities in the New year.Late January to be precise.
We've also elected to work with an outside producer for the first time in our decade of working together so we're pretty excited about that.We've chosen to work with John King, one half of The Dust Brother (...)

!!!

when i first heard shirley talking about going to outside producers for some of the songs i thought they'd lost their collective compass and needed extra help this time; but john fucking king, that's an awesome choice! she'd talked about sending the demos to the label and it looked like the label would be suggesting producers; not a good idea, never is. but this is fucking cool :)

Posted by Anonymous | 10:10 AM |

okay. about paul o'neill; seems the white house has decided to attack him before the interview has a (huge) chance to do some real damage to the team. well, if you seriously think the idea that the plans to attack iraq were hatched before 9/11 and you know as a hard fact, you do not make sure the media quotes you as an "anonymous white house" official, you put your face on every television screen so people know this is not true. you do not hide under anonymity because they could prosecute you for lying.

hear that, karl? get some balls and put your men forward so they can deny this like real men this time. if the allegations really are lies, anyway.

i know i wouldn't hide if they weren't true.

o'neill also critizes bush's lack of economic policy.

60 Minutes - CBS - 7 pm.

Posted by Anonymous | 1:03 PM |

oh yeah, before i forget -- try to remember to watch tomorrow night's 60 minutes on cbs -- former treasury secretary paul o'neill talks about the bush administration making plans to invade iraq "within days of President Bush's inauguration in January of 2001". (forget that iraq and the "war on terror" have nothing in common. i hope clark hammers them some more with this.)

he also has a book coming out. this looks like it's got traction too.

. . . . . . .

this looks like fun -- the fourth annual cinemarati awards.
and it's got way better nominations (in my mind) than the other so-called awards.

Posted by Anonymous | 10:16 PM |

i missed the last period of the montreal-pittsburgh game this afternoon so i didn't know if montreal had won (they have a tendency to lose 3-0 leads quite easily in the third).

so i try to look up the scores tonight and what do i find?

montreal won 8-0 !!!

what??
how insane is that??
pretty fucking insane, i tell you.

okay, time to take out aquemini and put something else in.

ryde or die, bitch, it's the ruff ryders!

Posted by Anonymous | 10:02 PM |

uh.
today was kinda insane.

i went out shopping. running some quick errands.
i got some cd's.
but when i got back home i saw that i'd actually gotten a lot more cd's than i thought i did. lol. i was seriously taken aback when i brought 'em all out of their bags. i couldn't quite figure where they'd come from. lol

for anyone who cares, here's the rundown -- the first two are cool used record store finds:

alicia keys - songs in a minor ("remixed & unplugged" edition, 2cd)
the chemical brothers - singles 93-03 (limited edition, 2cd)
alicia keys - the diary of alicia keys (limited edition, bonus dvd)
death in vegas - scorpio rising
jay-z - in my lifetime, vol.1
kylie minogue - body language
whiskeytown - pneumonia
verve//remixed2, unmixed2

. . . . . . .

good news for you music fans:

Frank Catalano
As the local jazz saxophonist prepares to head into the studio with ex-Smashing Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlain and David Bowie's keyboardist, Mike Garson, to record a jazz-tinged album, he says this is his year to tone down his partying.

i don't know catalano ("jordan!!") but jimmy and garson are some tremendous musicians. and jazz. can't wait.

Posted by Anonymous | 6:53 PM |

well i finally met the roommate's future/new boyfriend last night. he's nice, actually. i don't know. i'm not used to looking guys up so i don't really know what makes good boyfriend material. weird, uh? they had drink thursday and he actually sent her flowers the very next day at work. and they weren't going out yet. that was a nice touch. won me over. and then i met him last night and he seems nice enough. and, hey, if the roommate likes him and it makes her happy -- that's enough for me.

it still feels a bit weird when there's three of us in here, though. not used to that yet.

so today there's a bunch of errands i wanna run; but they may get bumped to tomorrow 'cause i just learned that montreal is playing pittsburgh at 12:30 pm, not tonight. cool. i'll watch that and tonight i'll be able to watch a film instead. nice.

i have quite a few of albums i wanna look up today -- jay-z, whiskeytown, trina, kylie, and i'm still flip-flopping over verve//remixed 2.

Posted by Anonymous | 12:06 PM |

what???

this comes from the excellent blueprint:

if you haven't caught on by now, i heart arrested development and so do the kids over at slate. and rightly so--the show is effing genius, the only original thing to happen to 30 minute comedies since seinfeld. dana stevens finally caught on to my favorite quirk in the show:
"The show also throws out its share of red herrings; for example, each episode ends with a segment previewing some absurd plot developments in the next week's show. It took me several weeks to realize that these clips are entirely fake—glimpses of a story line that will never develop."
how ridunculously funny is that?? fake "next week on arrested development" clips! genius. genius. genius.

lmao! ha! ha!, i say.
dammit. i never saw that. lol. i always liked watching those previews at the end of the shows. lol. wha??? :)

Posted by Anonymous | 12:32 PM |

what's wrong with the bush administration???
the u.s. already has $87 billion invested in iraq -- for this year alone -- and now it wants to send space missions to the moon; and maybe even a moon station??

first off, the moon mission wouldn't be done before 2018.
second, they're just pulling this stuff out of their asses. they're like the monorail guy in the simpsons. this is an election ploy. hmm. the immigration thing, the new space "vision"... why are they announcing all these things right now? i mean, it's not like the presidential race has started. hmm. would it be because the democratic race is starting to heat up with the nomination a month or so away? that's my thought, yeah.

but back to bush' space vision -- they won't talk about the cost of it in bush's speech next week, and they'll only include a small percentage of the actual in this year's budget... doesn't that send off alarm bells?? they're litterally promising the moon this time (how much more cynical can you get? oh, peddling 9/11 any chance you get would be up there) so the people will be looking up this coming year and not at the actual hard facts.

this is such a stupid idea.

why can't the democrats take this man down???

Posted by Anonymous | 12:25 PM |

well it's friday morning and there ain't much to talk about, really.

yesterday the roommate asked me if i could clean up my part of the apartment (which i means -- "do it, i ain't asking. but i'm gonna give the appearance i'm kindly asking.") because a few people are gonna come over tonight. i ask her who. "people". i ask her again because silence sounds weird and she finally confesses, "eric". good. fine. thanks for telling me. eric is a guy she's been emailing for the past couple of weeks. i think she met him through an online matching service (a friend of hers subscribed her; she didn't want anything to do with it. right. anyway, i think that's how they met and she's been writing long-ass emails, and i mean half-hour writing sessions at a time (she's not known to talk much about herself; dunno what she's writing about).

then i ask her what she's doing tonight (yesterday). "going out and having drinks." "with who?" "people." lol. i'm not kidding you!! i was finally able to learn that it was eric she was having drinks with. god... and she couldn't figure out why i was pissed at her for not telling me straight away.

surprisingly forthcoming news for you hobbit fans, thanks to dark horizons:

The superb Ian McKellan is developing a taste for hobbits and I ain't talking Elijah Wood. McKellan appeared yesterday on the UK's Richard &Judy chat show where he was asked about the persisting rumours that New Line is planning to go ahead with the prequel to the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy now its finally over.

McKellan seemed more upbeat and forthcoming than expected: "There is currently a situation where two companies own the rights, but when that's sorted out Peter (Jackson) and I will sit and talk it over. We've mentioned it recently and Peter is looking forward to getting it into production...It won't be long until I have to put on that blue hat again and become Gandalf - Gandalf The Grey that is!". The actor joked about his Gandalf the White being "a stick in the mud".

dang.

Posted by Anonymous | 11:14 AM |

well, it feels like we're living on the polar ice caps today.

it's -25 c (-13 f) here today. lol
thank god the sun's shining as bright as it can. thank you, sun.

Posted by Anonymous | 2:35 PM |

bill, bills, bills; i'm paying my bills this morning. now that's done, and it feels great.

i got my pay this morning, the holiday paycheck. i didn't work much the first week but i managed to not spend all the previous paycheck. incredibly surprisingly, i know, since i got into all those criterions; but it was all planned. i'm just shocked by the amount of money i've still got left. it's weird how things work out.

so i should be able to get that damn passenger door fixed. lol. now if i could just get over my laziness and get an appointment.

work was easy last night. got back on my department after a 3-week hiatus from it. nice.
i'm hoping i can keep it, if not next schedule, then maybe the one after that.

last week i realized that bishop's exciting "independent film series" is on wednesday nights; not the thursdays i'm used to there. dammit. i work every wednesday (i could change my work schedule but i can't figure out a way to work in those wednesdays). but last night i saw a silver lining; the next schedule was put up this week. i thought i was working every day, but no. they actually erased next tuesday and wednesday last night. and next week bishop's showing capturing the friedmans. i'm seriously thinking about calling work and telling them i won't be available next wednesday before they pencil me in and i can't back out of it. and it would also get me two consecutive days off with thursday.

in one last bit of news -- i finally got kelis' wanderland yesterday.
it feels like one of those rare collector's items. lol. i know every in the uk could have this by now but it's never been released anywhere else in the world. it's that elusive sophomore album from one of the then-most promising new artists (kelis *and* the neptunes). and it's on virgin records america. weird. still dunno what happened with that one.
oh, the booklet is packed.

Posted by Anonymous | 11:27 AM |

the wednesday morning watercooler is back! ha. and i like it.

24: Day 3: 9:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Posted by Anonymous | 2:44 PM |

this was my day today:

i was expecting my cnl package to get here by noon since that had been the time the previous got here last week.

i waited.
watched La turbulence des fluides (quite good but the script/ideas could've been more streamlined), getting up to look out the front window everytime i heard a car go by. lol

and i waited.

and i waited for the ups man.

but no luck. i was left to watch crappy afternoon tv and play with the service menu settings to entertain myself.

then, at 3:30 pm, a ups truck finally pulled up in front :)
i ran downstairs (the guy actually opened the door as i was getting to the stairs. weird) and picked up my package :)

they're mine; my precious:

grand illusion (the criterion collection)
digital video essentials

sadly, still no news on the kelis front. i just emailed the site to see if they shipped it. maybe the holiday rush is responsible but i, at least, wanna know if i should be expecting the real deal in the mail sometime soon.

oh, and good news -- the roommate just informed me she's going out tonight :D this is great news: i'm not working and i have the living room to myself -- digital video essentials, here i come :)

Posted by Anonymous | 3:51 PM |

well, blogger was off last night so i couldn't post anything. and now that it's 10 hours later... i forgot what i wanted to write so badly about. dang.

oh, the big thing, i just remembered, i wanted to mention last night was Wesley Clark's plan to have families with incomes lower than $50k pay no income tax...! and for the people (families?) who make over $1 million to pay more. i thought this a) was very courageous, and b) showed an incredible understanding of the actual american people (ie. not bush's version of the american people). i hope this gets some traction. saw it on cnn.

what did i do last night?
the roommate and i watched the last two episodes of 24. she liked them. thank god 'cause i was a bit scared of losing her; the season hasn't been one of the best (but those two episodes had some nice twists and explained quite a lot that looked weak before). and i finally saw the whole preview for tonight's episode. i don't like knowing but this one got me excited. let's hope they got their shit together now that we know what's going on.

last night i also did something i hadn't done in ages -- i actually took out my discman, laid in bed, and actually listened to some music. and by "listened" i mean doing nothing else but listening to music. i usually have it playing in the background while i'm at the computer or while i'm driving; but this time i wasn't doing anything else. it was cool.

neko case's blacklisted sounded better like this, through tiny earphones. and i finally got into it properly. then after that was over, it was on to jay-z' the dynasty. and just then i fully realized how much of the master this man is. hands down.

i don't wanna get into a big THE MAN WITHOUT A PAST review because i don't feel like it but hear this -- it woulda made my top ten if it had been released this year. and it's not awesome in the way that i thought it would be. i thought it would be more of a dark thing. but it's not. it's funny, told in this very weird, straightforward way that makes the actors look very amateurish, but just works. i loved it. you know they've got you when you're laughing out loud at french subtitled of finnish lines :) a truly enjoyable film. and the lead's performance is one of the wonders of this film.

oh.
damn. i got my ups tracking number yesterday but couldn't get anything for the whole day and most of the evening (yes, i am gonna talk about this :) then very late last night i got something; it had shipped in the evening. well, this morning i got great news:

Jan 6, 2004 5:24 A.M. MIRABEL INTERNATIONA, PQ, CA ARRIVAL SCAN

:) that's the montreal airport.
even better than the last time. by about an hour. so i should be getting this by 11:30-noon today. yay.
i would've loved to have been able to work with the digital video essentials disc in the evening, though, when it's nice and dark. maybe the roommate will go out tonight :) fingers crossed.

and i'm hoping kelis' wanderland also gets here today. my calculations had it in my hands yesterday but i got nothing. maybe jan 1st got in the way. there's no way of knowing if it even shipped (hmm, i think they did charge my credit card, though. so they propably shipped it). i'll let go when i actually have that disc in my damn hands.

Posted by Anonymous | 9:43 AM |

well, the roommate came home after her x-rays (she's got some sort of light trauma to the head or something like that; she has to take an advil every 2 hours or so. should clear up soon) so i asked for a ride to the nearest video store to rent american wedding. there's nothing good coming on dvd lately so this was my only chance at renting something. thankfully they had the unrated version -- but no widescreens. all full screen versions. dammit.

so to make sure i couldn't salvage this mission (i had to walk back home - 10 minutes in the cold, grey day), i looked around.

much to my surprise, i found (at least) two movies i wanted to rent! the "international" movie section is always good for a quick look; but this is a corner video store, not quite a big one that would have every indie release i'd want.

anyway, i got:

+ manon briand's la turbulence des fluides (what made me finally decide to pick it up? the 2.35 aspect ratio logo on the back :)
+ aki kaurismaki's the man without a past

i'm a happy man.
i'll watch one this afternoon (tonight the roommate and i are gonna finally watch the last two episodes of 24 (i've seen but not the roommate) before tomorrow's return to the series) and the other one tomorrow during the day.

this two-day "weekend" of mine just got a lot better (not to mention all the ear-busting rambling you can expect today and tomorrow as i get my much-awaited packages through the mail :)

Posted by Anonymous | 1:42 PM |

sitting here in front of the computer, reading various blogs i either haven't read before (this activity can go on and on) or blogs i've bookmarked but since blogging was the big thing, what -- 2 years ago?, a lot of them have gone unread by me.

today's the start of my two days off. feels nice to wake up and not have a dealine for when i'll have to get ready to go to work.

today i shall do nothing.
my body was tired.

the roommate got back from montreal yesterday. she's fine. her car's done but at least she's fine. she has my car today. she's gonna get x-rayed and then off to work.

i thought i could rent american wedding today. this afternoon, 'cause the roommate doesn't wanna see it.

see, it's all fun and games today :)

oh, and i took out the notwist album yesterday -- i got the urge to take out the discs of 2003 lately -- and i'm digging it a lot more than before.

oh, and the passenger door doesn't wanna open now. yep. it unlocks fine but if you try the handle (inside or out), they just swing and laugh at your pathetic attempts to get in the car properly. thank god i'm not giving anyone any rides in the coming days.

anyone has any idea what this could be? i'm thinking something got loose inside the door. hopefully this won't be too expensive. gonna have it checked out... sometime in the near future, i guess :)

Posted by Anonymous | 10:39 AM |

well, i'm here - my last day of work before my two days off. double-yay.

and i'm also here on my own; the roommate is in montreal.
she actually got in an accident yesterday, though. she called me up at 1 in the morning to tell me. seems a guy coming from the opposite lane decided to make a u-turn and somehow didn't see her coming down the street and drove into her. she says her car's totalled but that's not true; she wouldn't be arranging for it to be fixed if it were. but it did scare her a bit and she's gonna go to the hospital tomorrow to get checked out. she and her friend are both okay. they were at a party last night.

i'm doing laundry this morning. got that taken care of.

i also finally ordered the digital video essentials this morning, that's the disc i've been rambling on about for what feels like weeks but has actually only been 4 days now. lol. i want it, dammit! i can't wait to get it and actually sit down with it and tweak my tv. i don't wanna watch another dvd before my tv's not tweaked to its full potential. it'd be damn frustrating knowing i could get a (way) better performance out of my tv and see the film with a clearer picture.

i also ordered jean renoir's la grande illusion (from criterion) to take advantage of the shipping charges.
i'm happy.

kelis' wanderland should get here tomorrow.
i never thought i'd ever see this disc; it came out in the uk and we never heard a thing from it (except for the fact that it was never gonna get an american release - so weird since it doesn't sound half-bad). i feel like i'm gonna get a (semi) gem few people have or will ever hear about :)

Posted by Anonymous | 11:09 AM |

nice. this one's from december 20th but it's still a fun read.
[ via popdex ]

Time.com: Condi and the 9/11 Commission

Posted by Anonymous | 12:38 AM |

i was sitting down listening to Busta's it ain't safe no more... when it dawned on me -- the urge to get Sean Paul's dutty rock first occured to me.

here's my history of sean paul-ness (exclusive to 2003): i hear the first single off the album (forget which) and like it. i think this is nice (ooh, might be the "make it clap" remix). see the "get busy" video and fall in love with it. now, after that comes the downfall, the everyone-loves-dancehall now (after the unfortunate shaggy love the year before) mainstream. and i get overloaded and over sean paul.

then there's "like glue", which i didn't get into at the time, and now -- "i'm still in love with you", which i thought would be the song to take sean paul right off the radar (oh, and let's not even get started on the horrible "baby boy"). but no, somehow people latched onto that song. not i. no.

then i kept seeing the video on musique plus last week. and last night was the first time i actually got into it.
but the thought of buying the album never entered my mind - until today when i was listening to the original "make it clap" from busta and some reggae-style song after that.

the urge to buy dutty rock has entered my mind :)

Posted by Anonymous | 2:38 PM |

turning in.

per Roger Avary's suggestion, i went and checked out Mark Romanek's website.

i didn't know there was a video done for "little trouble girl". very cool. it's been ages since i've listened to washing machine but i remember putting that song on a few mixtapes; and listening to one particular tape over and over and over again walking home from college (and a long walk it was 'cause the bus that would drop me off at home wasn't working late during the week).

Posted by Anonymous | 9:33 PM |

oh my god, what a fucking depressing day! (isn't it?)

it started out very nicely this morning, what with my discovery and subsequent high interest in purchasing myself a copy of the Digital Video Essentials disc, but then this afternoon i learned that both stores who would carry such a disc were not only closed for the day (the disc woulda made for a perfect evening for me) but they would also be closed tomorrow!! dammit. i'll have to wait for the weekend. but then -- i'm working till sunday - every evening. i'm gonna be yearning for that monday evening now more than ever! :)

nothing good's on tv, nothing's open, and we get a lame rehash of every lame news story of the past year every half hour. yippee.

at least today i discovered the near-excellence of Bowie's Reality, something that had eluded me the few times i'd attempted to get into it.

Posted by Anonymous | 6:09 PM |

lol


congratulations. you are the kiss my ass happy
bunny. You don't care about anyone or anything.
You must be so proud

which happy bunny are you?

[ thanks to neva for the quiz ]

Posted by Anonymous | 12:35 PM |

okay, now i'm psyched.

i spent the entire morning looking up info on audio/video calibration discs because C&L has one of them on-sale today. i never thought much about calbration discs because, i thought, i can set my tv screen the way i want it, i know what i like. and anyway, i'll upgrade my tv when i want a better picture, this one sure ain't gonna get any better.

then i read some reviews; and then some more; until i got it. these discs are more than just your average thx-optimizer. it's almost like having a professional come into your home and fine-tuning your audio/video settings. pretty neat.

after much deliberating, i settled on Digital Video Essentials. this one store has it. but i also have a gift card from Future Shop -- and i just found out that they have it (at least, their website does; gonna have to go to the actual store to find out) and i'd only have to spend about $2 of my own money to own it after the gift card :)

i'm crossing my fingers.
and hopefully they're open today too :) that would so rock my world, to be able to calibrate my tv/amp tonight :)

update:

i also managed to find how to access my tv's service mode today!!! yippee!
i found out about the service modes hidden in tv's a few weeks ago but couldn't find out how to access my JVC 27"s secret menu; until earlier today :)
this is a great day, tv tuning-wise.

(only thing holding it back -- the roommate believe Future Shop, like most stores today, might be closed. dammit. today's my day off; it would've been great to be able to sit down for an hour, tweaking my tv settings to near-perfection :) (btw, if you thought your tint-color-brightness-etc controls on your tv were close to being enough, you have not seen your hidden menus. i counted 50 hidden controls for the picture alone! this is geek-heaven)

Posted by Anonymous | 12:26 PM |

2004, baby!

enjoy yourselves.

Posted by Anonymous | 12:10 AM |