a broken lull.

well, well, well...
A called back a few minutes ago :D

the phone rang a couple of times this morning and i kept hoping it was her but it was always the roommate. but then third was the charm as i heard her voice on the other end. it felt nice, like i'd finally been let in on the possibilities our situation was posing. if that makes sense. it does in my head. so yeah. she got off of work last night ... and never got the message i'd called! she saw the small note this morning. she's working today but she immediately jumped at the idea of doing something tonight :) we're gonna go see a movie we both wanna see (i hate people who just go to the movie theater and just pick from what's offered to them). so yeah. the roommate is probably going to see the film with her boyfriend this afternoon and had asked me to go but i told her i'd hold on to that film for A (if she were ever to call, that is). and i told that to A :P she liked.

anyway, so that's it. i'm gonna go jog a little, to run off any tension left from the weird day i had yesterday and be fresh for tonight :) (i'll most surely update when the time comes. don't worry :)

Posted by Anonymous | 1:20 PM |

is this Dell Dimension 4700 a good comp?
it's a Pentium 4 530 with HT technology (3.0GHz, 800 FSB - i have no clue).

i'm customizing it right now by getting the dual DVD-ROM/DVD+/-RW drives (i already have a CD burner) - you can burn dvd's directly from one drive to the next, right? the only thing i'm wondering about are: should i upgrade the video and audio cards? i'm not gonna play games on the computer but is an ATI Radeon card worth a measly $4/month? what about the hard drive and memory? are 512mb of memory enough? remember, i'm only surfing the net, maybe working with Dreamweaver at the same time, and listening to cd's. and burning dvd's (not at the same time, though, obviously).

i'm liking the free upgrade to a 15" flat screen monitor.

let me know your thoughts on this 'cause i'm seriously considering buying it.
thanks :)

Posted by Anonymous | 10:18 AM |

hello, all :)
i'm not gonna go into my personal life too much today. kinda weary and worn down from the day (slept kinda weird, got up way too early, moved the roommate out - which got fucked up because their new apartment isn't ready yet - left a message for A but haven't heard from her yet :)
but i do wanna share the following info that i thought was outstanding:

The Criterion Collection just unveiled it's january '05 schedule with five titles !!!

Kagemusha (Akira Kurosawa, 1980) (a double-disc set!)
Youth of the Beast (Seijun Suzuki, 1963)
Fighting Elegy (Seijun Suzuki, 1966)
Casque d'or (Jacques Becker, 1952)
Touchez pas au grisbi (Jacques Becker, 1954)

Posted by Anonymous | 8:57 PM |

hello. nope. i ain't dead yet :)
i just didn't have anything post-worthy to write about this week. and i also wanted to keep the october 24 post at the top of the page because i was still very much under the spell of that particular night. speaking of which, much talk amongst friends over this, about what i should do. mostly, everyone agrees (mostly without ever meeting A, that is) that i should go for it. i'm leaning in that direction even if i have some fears about it. jumping into a relationship is not something i ever take lightly. but i saw A three times this week (at work). although no one's breached the subject yet there have been adorable stolen glances and some soft flirting. last night, her last for the week, she did ask me if she'd ever get to hear me play guitar. that blew me away. she was opening the door. i told her i'd love to but that she'd also have to play for me :) she wasn't sure but we'll see. at least the door's open now. she also told me her roommates were all going to a friend's cabin this weekend but that she had to stay home because she was working. she said she didn't know what she'd do, 'rent movies, i guess.' lol. so... i did not grab the bait. incredibly foolish of me. i know. trust me. i said my roommate was moving her stuff out saturday. i hope she took it that i couldn't join her (if that was what she was leading up to). i chickened out. had i had thirty seconds to clearly think it through of course i would have asked if i could join her. but put on the spot like that, wanting her to ask me directly, i dove onto the wrong road with a resounding 'd'oh!' hitting my head seconds afterwards. i just hope we can see each other soon enough so i can do it with a different outcome :)

later. i'm going to work.

Posted by Anonymous | 2:00 PM |

Dawn of the Dead (2004) (unrated director's cut)
Zack Snyder, 2004

7.5
not a bad flick. not a bad flick at all. forget all the Resident Evil and other hollywood crap. this will never take the Palme d'or but it's definitely a good flick; director's Zack Snyder's first. and any film that gets Sarah Polley is miles ahead by me. i couldn't shake the frustration, though, that the mainstream audience who flocked to see this zombie flick wouldn't even know what an outstanding actress they were watching running around (btw, that's not her only function. thank god). the first act was amazingly top-notch and i actually got goosebumps and screamed at one point! (although, not because of a scare. very weird moment; you'll see) but then there's this - the incredible efforts of the atrociously bad '50s doomsday music to skewer the mood of the film. but the first act is strong enough to make you look pass that. but then the script turns into an -almost- hollywood remake by asking us, sometimes, to believe in stupid character motivations and poor judgement. i just hung around for the action and surprisingly strong performances - from Sarah, Ving Rhames (still love the voice), and -surpringly- almost-unknown Jake Weber. i don't know who this guy is but he gave one honest and grounded performance. btw, this film, like most 'horror movies' today, has much more in common with an action film than real horror. there are some tense sequences, but it's mostly a (good) shoot 'em up, 'let's get out before the zombies from 28 Days Later gets us'-type of film. the first ten minutes, though, and most of the acting, definitely make it worth the price of a rental.

Posted by Anonymous | 1:46 PM |

wow. so yesterday i was going to my mom's house so she and her boyfriend could take me out to a restaurant to celebrate my birthday. then i get to her house and my uncle, who i haven't seen in months (maybe a year?) is there waiting for me when i come in :) nice surprise. anyway. we're in the living room, my mom takes my coat - wtf? it's cool. she asks if she can open the bottle of champagne. again - what? she bought it on her trip and thought it would be a good idea to open it now, since it's my birthday and all. alright. as i'm talking to her and my uncle, her boyfriend's in the kitchen and i hear something that sounds like a quiet radio over there or near their bedroom. wtf? i don't hear it anymore. i keep talking and i hear a faint sound again. then i look in the kitchen and i see my mom's boyfriend over there ... and somebody else's arm!! i thought - that's it, my brother's flown over like that i was secretly hoping :P but i can't even finish the thought when i see one of my coworker friend's face appear out of the kitchen. uh?? lol :D then another, and another, and another. about 7 of them file out with champagne glasses :P that was cool. so we spent about two hours talking in the living room (and listening to my mom's recollection of her trip ;) so around about 7-7:30, i realize that they just came to get a drink and some food but they won't come to the restaurant with us because most of them had stuff already planned. okay. it's cool. it's mighty nice of them to have come all the way to my mom's house, which is way outside of the city, just to spend some time and wish me happy birthday even though most of them had already told me on friday at work.

they get ready to go and then there's A - she was in the bathroom so she's the only one of my friends without her coat on already. she says she doesn't have anything planned after this but she doesn't have a car to get back home if she stays back. i offer her a ride home afterwards (i'm always giving her ride to and from work anyway; and i like it :) she accepts the offer and is the only one of my friends to stay behind :P yay!! nothing could have been more perfect even if it had been planned. a very weird coincidence, that. and - it happened in front of all my coworker friends. lol. can't wait to see if they're gonna talk to me about tomorrow night :P so yeah, she came with us to the restaurant (a mighty fine restaurant too; i got me some schrimp and chicken pasta). i was happy about that. she is the one i've talked about considering pursuing something with - or not. so dinner was nice and my uncle was funny. after about two hours, we left. she and i were the first ones in the car, side by side (three in the back of the car, so we were squished together :) and before anyone else got in the car i leaned into her arm and told her i was happy she came with us. she said she was happy while giving my arm a tight squeeze :) i thought that was sweet. so we went back to my mom's house (story's almost over, bear with me :) and got in my car and i drove her back home. oh! something else which made her staying back with us even more sweeter - she was working at 7 in the fuckin' morning! anyway. so we drove back to her place but once we got to her apartment she didn't get out of the car :) we talked and talked and talked and talked. froze our feet off. listening to Sheryl Crow's The Globe Sessions (about 4 fuckin' times). i swear to god, i think we left my mom's place around 9:30. and when she got out of the car and left, i started my car and saw that it was 1:30 in the morning!!! :D i believe we talked (about anything, really, and mostly goofed off, the girl's got an incredible imagination and kept spinning silly stories about anything) for about three and a half hours - in a fuckin' car (fogging up the windows :)! it didn't feel nearly as long as that, though. so, yeah. that's it. we gave each other two kisses on the cheeks and she went home. that's it. i'm still not sure about her (although, i do know i didn't get a big, definite 'yes' sign on my part). still confused. i would have loved to have leaned over and kissed and held her. definitely. but a relationship? still not sure about that. i felt an affectionate vibe, but i'd need a bigger vibe, or sign, than that to pursue her. we'll see :) at least, last night's adventures helped us along if we wanna take it that way at some point :)

and i don't know if she's interested in me. of course she's a little bit interested; she didn't stay behind because she had nothing else to do - she at least wanted to stay with us/me. and she finally learned that i play guitar :) she showed me her place out wednesday and i saw all the guitar cases strewn about. none of them were hers but she's starting to get good at playing. so we talked about that and songs we were learning. it was cool. her sense of humor and playfulness also reminded me of this girl i 'went out' with a few years ago whom i had a crush on. so that's it. the long-ass conversation in the car last night, if it did not help me make up my mind about her and a probable us, at least made me know her a bit more. and hopefully she also got to know me a bit more. argh. lol :)

so that's it. that was my birthday dinner with my mom! :P

Posted by Anonymous | 10:30 AM |

i need your thoughts on Wally Lamb's She's Come Undone. the roommate is packing boxes and found the book in her stuff (she didn't even know she had the book) and is lending it to me. i recognize the book and author but i can't remember if it was good or bad buzz. i know there are a few bookreaders out there (especially you, Neva), so please chime in. thanks :)

Posted by Anonymous | 1:12 PM |

60 Minutes will air an interview with Jon Stewart sunday night.
thanks to Paul for the tip.

everyone knows about this by now but a) i forgot to post about it so b) i will go ahead and write it down because it ignited some sort city pride within me: Camper Van Beethoven's gear was stolen in Montreal last tuesday :) here's more detailed info on the theft and equipment.

Posted by Anonymous | 1:55 AM |

The Manchurian Candidate by John Frankenheimer, 1962

9.0
a monumental political thriller. of course my say doesn't count much because everyone already knows how great this film is, but i just wanna add my voice to it. and i could see flashes of what Jonathan Demme could do with his update (which i'll see when it comes out in december); some of it good, some of it hopefully avoided; btw, i believe i know which part Liev Schreiber is playing and, if i'm right, he's an eerily good choice for the part and bears a striking resemblance to Laurence Harvey, who plays the part in the original. the writing is superb, and even the unlikely, and goofy, idea of hypnosis doesn't take away from the sublime reality the movie's grounded in. a superb job all around from incredible artists. that's all i have to say.

ps. the special edition dvd looks amazing - the black and white transfer is sublime.

Posted by Anonymous | 11:56 AM |

i'm 30 years old today.
:)

Posted by Anonymous | 9:36 AM |

well, i had a big whole post almost ready when my computer froze up. dangit.
ps. it crashed again; only this time, thank god, i'd saved a draft just to make sure.
anyway, here's mostly what my post was about.

i took the day off. and was very happy i did. sometimes, it's just what you need to get back up. and the day started off rather splendidly with a nice dream where, i think, i got to meet two (supposed) girlfriends. nice :) the vibe was rather romantic. now, if only reality can catch up to my dreams i'll be all set. later on this morning i watched Yuen Woo-Ping's 1978 Snake in the Eagle's Shadow, starring a young Jackie Chan. not a bad film by any means but i think i've bee spoiled by the Sammo Hung films i've seen recently so this one feels a bit more conventional. although, the fighting styles are fun to watch. i'll give them that. then this afternoon i went out and ran some errands: i first dropped by the used record store and found the album i was interested in - Sheryl Crow's 2002 C'mon, C'mon, then i got a few hair products i needed, some good food, and finished things off with some much needed boxer briefs and pj pants :) i got all i wanted. i usually hate running errands but today i managed drive all over the city, go to about 10 different stores in two hours, and not even feel exhausted after it was all over :)

btw, Will & Grace, although adding a few funny moments this week, continue to meander aimlessly, closing in dangerously on being boring, pointless, and redundant. check it out tonight to see what i mean. they can get Jimmy Burrows to direct every fucking episode if they want to, but the fact is, the problems come from the writing. it's bad and lifeless.

Posted by Anonymous | 5:54 PM |

10-3 !!????
the fuckin' Red Sox won!!!!!! what the hell happened? i'm so excited for them. wow. i've been pulling for them since they won their first game of the series (i'm a sucker for underdogs - and isa there a bigger underdog team than the Red Sox??). this is hell of a great news. i'd love to see them win the whole thing.

Posted by Anonymous | 11:54 AM |

quick nightcap:

for the past two days, the mailman keeps dropping the amil after 3 pm, when i leave for work. and it sucks because i've been expecting packages this week. but. there's an upside - i have something really exciting to look forward to when my shift ends :) so yesterday i found Ingmar Bergman's Scenes from a Marriage waiting for me, and tonight? Criterion's massive The Battle of Algiers :D it only took them 5 business days each to get here, and i live in Canada. great prices, great service. i couldn't be happier about them.

uh, something that's kinda sucking right now - my birthday's coming up. apparently in only two days. argh!! but, take a look at the year i was born in and try to figure out if i'm at all stressed out about this one :)

i picked up a coworker on my way to work today. i usually give her rides to and from work. i like her but i'm not sure how much, ie. if i wanna pursue anything serious with her. but today i didn't wait in the car, i went up to her door because i was five minutes late and i wanted to know if she'd gone off or not. she answered the door and asked if i wanted to check out her place before we left. i said sure. two of her roommates were in. not sure if this wasn't some sort of checking out contest. but the place looked great. rooms everywhere. kinda bohemian setting. i counted three guitar cases. she told me a few of them played, girls no less. that blew me away. and she said she's starting to pick it up herself. nice. i don't know if she's aware i play. i don't think so. anyway. i loved her place. the mood was really cool. that's it :) have a good night.

Posted by Anonymous | 1:02 AM |

Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry is out today. get yourself copies.

Shirley's updated her journal, including a big chunk on Wisconsin-as-a-swing-state and a Michael Moore speech.

move along.

Posted by Anonymous | 11:24 AM |

small blurb i just found on the Neptunes/Star Trak site:

Gwen's Stefani's album due out on November 23rd will include 2 tracks produced by The Neptunes.

that quote was published a couple of weeks ago on their site. i hadn't heard a thing about the Neptunes being involved in her album before, though. that and Shirley's incessant raving about Gwen's first solo outing may get me to buy the damn thing.

goodnight, all.

Posted by Anonymous | 1:06 AM |

oh my freakin' god. this guy looks the part, Rich was right!
Bryan Singer wanted a relative unknown for Superman. well, it's now official, folks -- Brandon Routh is your man of steel.

Posted by Anonymous | 8:58 AM |

update on Asia Argento's adaptation of JT Leroy's The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things --- it's fuckin' playing at the Festival du nouveau cinéma in Montreal!!! get your ass on over to the Cinéma du Parc tomorrow, tuesday, or wednesday to catch it. i'd go tomorrow but it's playing at 9:40 pm and i'm not bringing my mom and her boyfriend over to that film :)

other extremely notabe presentations at this truly under-hyped festival include:
Shane Carruth's Primer, grand jury prize winner at Sundance.
Spike Lee's She Hate Me
Mike Leigh's Vera Drake
what the hell? Sean Penn and Naomi Watts re-team for Niels Mueller's The Assassination of Richard Nixon
Robert Greenwald's Uncovered: The War on Iraq and Unconstitutional: The War on Our Civil Liberties
Todd Solondz' Palindromes. with Solondz present october 18 and 19!
Olivier Assayas' Clean opened the festival. the film won wife Maggie Cheung the best actress award at Cannes.

guests at the festival include: Denys Arcand, Olivier Assayas, Catherine Breillat, Peter Greenaway, and Jean Leloup.

Jason effectively (and effortlessly, i might add) takes down the new W Stands for Women line that the Bush campaign is quickly trying to throw out there. i guess they got some kind of new data on women being able to vote now.

BestBuy.ca is open for business.
(isn't Future Shop Best Buy Canada?)

Posted by Anonymous | 7:32 PM |

i got back to the real world today. the soon-to-be-ex-roommate came by with a friend of hers who's visiting from montreal. her friend's also kind of a friend of mine too. so we went walking in the park this afternoon. it was a nice, crisp fall afternoon. perfect for walking. then wecame back to the apartment, the friend and i talked about music (she's one of the few 'real people' i know that i can talk about Franz Ferdinand, Muse, or Interpol with that actually starts these conversations and keeps 'em interesting). she left an hour after that. we're gonna try to meet up for the Pixies show at the end of november.

so. it's 4:26 pm and it's the first time i'm online today :) pretty amazing by my standards. it felt good to get out and not even think about going online.

i also finally got my taillight fixed.

tomorrow i'm gonna go pick up my mom and her boyfriend at the airport. whew. glad i checked the arrivals online! my mom told me they'd get here at 1:45 pm tomorrow; but she's actually leaving Paris at that time. they're gonna be here at 3:20 pm. glad i didn't get there and have to wait two hours. now, the big question: do i swing by a record store or two with my free time? i don't feel the need like i used to, the internet's got much better prices. but we'll see.

short-but-great Kevin Smith interview about The Green Hornet script and hanging out with Tarantino. via Twitch.

Posted by Anonymous | 4:21 PM |

a couple of newsbites courtesy of your local Dark Horizons:

The Crowded Room is finally getting made, it seems. Joel Schumacher is going ahead with it. i remember this project from years ago (circa 1994?). and if i remember correctly Schumacher was the director attached; or was it Fincher? maybe Fincher. anyway, i'm pretty sure Brad Pitt was to play the lead in the film back then (or was it Leonardo?).

Marilyn Manson's gonna play the Queen of Hearts in an update of Alice in Wonderland; but more importantly, the newsbite lets a little gem escape -- Asia Argento's version of The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things is done! i'd heard she'd bought the rights a couple of years ago but hadn't heard a thing about it since. well, mr Manson is in it and they're calling it a low-budget indie. nice.

btw, i don't think i've seen a word of this on american media, and don't think it will get much play (understandably), but it's getting much play over here in canada on both french and english tv: about 17 countries were polled about the U.S. election. check out who most of the countries, including searing, damaging percentage votes for each candidates, would vote for. not a big surprise but damn amazing numbers. and a slap in the face if your a republican, ie. in denial about the whole thing and think this is only a popularity contest. not at these numbers.

Posted by Anonymous | 2:19 PM |

not much to talk about this morning. i went to sleep way too late last night, didn't shower before going to bed, and now i'm paying for those mistakes by feeling lazy. i'm gonna run a little to wake me up for the day.

upcoming Criterion Colletion: Akira Kurosawa's Kagemusha has just been (unofficially?) announced. it will include interviews with George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola. what? they worked on the film with Kurosawa??? wow. that must've been some experience for young George. amazing. i never knew that.

Posted by Anonymous | 10:42 AM |

the 3rd and Final Presidential Debate: i haven't read anything about it this morning so this is just my initial reaction to last night's debate. Kerry won. he so won the first half of the debate, hands down. and we got nervous and desperate Bush from the first debate, but this time, he looked like he was on drugs. he had that goofy fake smile on his face the whole time. he won the faith question, though. no doubt about it. i found his answer to be rather quite touching, actually. good for him. but the rest of the night he answered almost every question with education and his failed No Child Left Behind act. it was actually quite sad to see him go on and on and only have that weak argument to save himself. he looked out of touch, like a small child who doesn't know he's in over his head. he was nervous as all hell. like he'd been reprimanded by Karl and been told to do better or else he'd have his favorite toy taken away. it was amazingly obvious last night. so Kerry won. he won all three debates. can't wait to see the morning threads on this and see what people thought. especially the polls :)

Posted by Anonymous | 1:38 PM |

i'm home from work. i took my shower, now i'm ready to sit comfortably for CNN's repeat of the 3rd Presidential Debate. i haven't heard a thing about how it played so i'm psyched to see it all for myself. talk to you tomorrow.

Posted by Anonymous | 1:29 AM |

new Shirley entry. go read up.

also, Low are releasing The Destroyer january 25 2005.

oh, and even bigger news: Chuck Palahniuk's airplane highjacking/religious tale, Survivor, has been given the green light by 20th Century Fox. finally. i never thought this would ever see the light of day. but i guess Fight Club did well for Fox. hopefully (fingers crossed, everyone) Kevin Spacey gets asked to do it.

damn. these newsbites just won't let up, will they?
Gena Rowlands, Ben Gazarra, and Peter Bogdanovich are gonna appear on The Charlie Rose Show today to talk about Criterion's eight-disc John Casavettes: Five Films set.

Posted by Anonymous | 1:24 PM |

very late posting but i wanted to share since i made my very public plea the other day. so late last night, after reading review after review after review, i decided i'd order Criterion's three-disc set of Ingmar Bergman's Scenes from a Marriage. i did it. hopefully i'll get the wonderful set before the weekend (hopefully. but it would be close. i can't remember how long it took for my last dvd pacific order to get here). but another contender had also risen. and i read and i read. i knew i'd have to get the set because it was too important a release not to get it for myself. of course i'm talking about today's big new release -- Gillo Pontecorvo's The Battle of Algiers, another massive three-disc set from Criterion, but this one has more in-depth special features than the Bergman piece (granted, the Scenes special feature is the two-and-a-half hour theatrical cut of the series). plus, it has a 56-page booklet! that sold it to me. so that's it. i'm set now. (dvd pacific was easily getting addictive :) good night.

Posted by Anonymous | 1:04 AM |

Christopher Reeve died yesterday afternoon.

in other, sadly no less depressing, news:
Cheney leaves door wide open for a draft without committing to anything. Kos makes a more-than-valid point with his last sentence.

oh, i forgot to post this saturday night, but i sat watching the somehow still-not-funny season of SNL and they flashed the identity of the next host (october 23) -- my man Jude :D (somehow they always gotta crap out with the musical guest this year: Ashlee Simpson. yeah.) and i finally saw a trailer for Alfie and it looks mighty good. the music, Jude, the tone. it actually looks good (i never liked the idea of remaking that film, pre-Jude).

Posted by Anonymous | 8:50 AM |

it's a grey and chilly day today. i guess the Sigur Rós selection wasn't too bad an idea :) i'm taking it easy today - not that i'm usually too frantic about my schedule but today feels like a buffer day. off yesterday, i'm working tomorrow but it's thankgiving, i'm gonna be the 'boss' with an easy-ass department, and most of my coworkers will be my friends. i'm working but i can't think of a more stress-free evening.

people are still talking about Bush having a lump under his shirt during the 2nd Presidential Debate. seems even the RNC keeps switching their answers about that. developing.

i'm still debating whether i should go over to Archambault and get a Criterion set. i mean, the sale covers both taxes. they have a nice selection of Criterions but they don't have all of 'em so i'd have to choose among the sets they do have. anyone wanna convince me to get the Spartacus set? i'm not sure about the film but the set is such a massive achievement, and it's (kinda) from Kubrick. or the three-disc set for Bergman's Scenes from a Marriage? i think that one was surprisingly unexpensive. hmm. i've just researched a bit more about Scenes and i think i just answered my own question right there. the 'film' is about the deterioration of a couple over a few years. it was done as a 5-hour mini-series in Sweden and then re-cut as a 3-hour film for theatrical release later on. i like the idea of a mini-series about a couple drifting apart. and even though i've no girlfriend to have broken up with right now, it seems to fit right in with today's gloomy mood (not to be mistaken for depressed, though, because i'm kinda digging the mood today). but please chime in with your thoughts. i have until tomorrow afternoon to decide (if i don't run out and get it later on today :)

update, 3:48 pm: i won't get to taste the satisfaction of actually going out and purchasing the Scenes set. dvdpacific has it at $49 shipped. dammit. that's, if i remember the price correctly, about $13 under what it would cost me at the store. dammit. and since i'm trying not to spend too much these days, i'm gonna be a good boy and order it online this week if i feel like it. i wouldn't have watched it tonight anyway because i got something else so it really was the thrill of buying something that comforted me. (trying to figure out if i'm gonna get a new roommate really does bring on a huge amount of stress :)

update, 11:04 pm: ...or the Criterion three-disc set for The Battle of Algiers...? it's looking mighty fine right now. damn!

12/21/2004 Shaun of the Dead Region 1
even my coworkers were clamoring for it.

np: Sigur Rós - ( )

Posted by Anonymous | 2:48 PM |

The Iron-Fisted Monk by Sammo Hung, 1977

9.0
i first heard about Sammo Hung during Ric Meyers' excellent commentary for Once Upon a Time in China (or at least that's who i think he was referring to). he kept mentioning Sammo this Sammo that during the entire film because he was supposed to be given a role in the film. Meyers kept talking about how amazing it would have been to have him scare off in the various fight scenes in that film. i looked him up and sure enough, he had a long list of credits. and Fox had just released a bunch of his older films on dvd. The Iron-Fisted Monk is Sammo's directorial debut. and the reviews were glowing; especially because of the great level of confidence it showed. it's an affable (the good kind, though) revenge story that is really quite well done (it includes one jarring, nasty scene; it's appropriate but it shocks you within the context of the film). you wouldn't think this is a first-time director. now, the fight scenes (btw, what's especially nice is that it doesn't feel as though the film is an excuse for excellent fight scenes. the story flows nicely and these scenes never feel out of place like some in most 'action' films). although i'm not a martial arts film expert yet i've seen my small share of hong kong flicks by now. but i was floored by most of the fight scenes in this film. Sammo Hung is a goddamn master. the film also stars Chen Sing as his teacher. both of them are a joy to watch, especially when they fight together. the level of artistry throughout the flick is both outstanding and breathtaking to watch. seriously. if you've got any kind of interest at all in martial arts films, please make sure you see this one. definitely a must-see.

Posted by Anonymous | 9:09 AM |

despite of Bush's talk of wild internets rumors, the Draft might be coming to you soon enough.

Posted by Anonymous | 7:49 PM |

they hooked me. first off - what i got at the record store (as promised, plus a cool find):

Utada - Exodus
Hope of the States - The Lost Riots
Super Furry Animals - Phantom Phorce (limited edition that includes the Slow Life ep - and one of the coolest packaging i've ever seen)

then i get to the register. the cashier knows me from going there so much. as she's about to scan my cd's she asks me why i didn't get any white tag cd's. they're having a 25% off full priced cd's. but then she told me it was on until monday. yay :) here's the Archambault sale: 25% off white tag cd's, 15% off instruments, tab books, and dvd's. everytime i'm there, today included, i always look at their Criterion section, but they're a bit overpriced compared to what i can get online. but with 15% off you know i'm going back for a Criterion or two :P

i got Utada's Exodus because of Timbaland. whoa!! i'm looking up info on her discography .. i gotta find a used Rush Hour 2 soundtrack!! she did one song on it, featuring Foxy Brown, and it was done by the Neptunes... :) funny, the cashier at the store asked me what Utada sounded like. i had no idea other than a generic response of 'j-pop'. but after a couple of songs i thought, maybe Madonna would be a start. sure enough, her first single "Devil Inside" features remixes by Richard Vission, one of the two main remixers for the Music-era singles. btw, the Utada album cover doesn't really help that much in distinguishing her as an artist. hey, throw in a bit of Tori too, i guess (on the last song).

ps. what the hell was this about? it looks like Bush is being taken away in handcuffs :P
btw, wasn't it spectacular to see Bush go off and cut off Charlie Gibson last night? ha. i couldn't believe it. hopefully it makes it into the post-debate spin. the word petulant has never had anyone as perfect as this monkey. amazing. americans, are you paying attention?

np: Utada - Exodus

Posted by Anonymous | 3:55 PM |

i'm really psyched about tonight's 2nd Presidential Debate. expect Bush to be better prepared. although, the annoyed George is still within the same reach as before because, well ...he's George. so if Kerry's as good and poised as he was thursday, it's his to hit out of the park. easily. i really hope he mentions Bush I a couple of times :)

update, 2:14 pm: the Kerry-Edwards camp released a new ad focusing on stem cell research featuring Michael J. Fox. keep hitting at 'em, boys.

i haven't posted much this week. i've been kinda busy, working monday through friday, shuffling through appropriate coworkers, trying to catch up on taped tv shows, and not sleeping nearly adequate hours. the weekend is almost upon us. i thought i'd have monday off (it's thankgiving here in Canada) but, alas, i am working monday night. but i'm gonna be the 'boss' so it won't be too rough (compared to what my workdays have run up to these past couple of weeks).

wow. it was Thom Yorke's (36th) birthday yesterday. first off, happy birthday, thom. i know you're reading this. but second, how in the hell have i missed one of my favorite singers being a fellow Libra? very cool.

only one week 'til Team America: World Police (there'll be previews going on tomorrow night). btw, the trailers were either done by hack hollywood cutters, or, Matt and Trey really are geniuses and are trying to get rednecks into theaters to educate them :)

new Shirley entry.

np: Dizzee Rascal - Boy In Da Corner

Posted by Anonymous | 11:16 AM |

CNN re-broadcasts the debates at 1 am so i was once again able to catch the whole thing spin-free last night. the Vice Presidential Debate. uhh. actually, i thought Cheney was able to be less zombie-like and depressing than usual. i can't explain how but his doomsday monotone wasn't dominating. and i actually thought Edwards looked nervous most of the way and kept repeating the party's talking points. a no-no in my book. debates need some fresh juice so a) the viewers don't tune out and actually pay attention, and b) the opposition is caught off guard. so Edwards, to my eyes, looked less than the golden i was expecting. i actually gave the edge to Cheney. a tiny edge. imagine my surprise when i read Kos this morning and find a lot of "Edwards kicked his ass" talk. i'm surprised but thrilled. and check this out - Cheney lied, big-time, on national television (again, but this time it seems to be more important because it's the frickin' debates). Cheney lied about meeting Edwards for the first time last night (he'd met him at least once in 2001 and once in 2003). why would he lie about that? just so he could say he met Edwards for the first time as he "walked on the stage" last night? wtf? oh, i loved it when Edwards mentioned a long-ass list of things Cheney voted against before (including the beautiful "He voted against a holiday for Martin Luther King" and "He voted against a resolution calling for the release of Nelson Mandela." :P wow. and Cheney chose not to answer those. ha! that's the John Edwards i wanted to see the whole night. but that moment was worth watching. i hope voters were paying attention. and the whole Halliburton/Iran sanctions thing too :) that was awesome. so that's it. i hope Cheney came off more zombie-like to voters than i saw. and i hope Edwards brought up some new issues for people. that's it. i can't wait for friday's second Presidential Debate. put Bush up against the wall. make him angry. no matter how great the new talking points they might give him, they'll never be strong enough for him not to take the bait.

Posted by Anonymous | 9:50 AM |

anyone know anything about computers? i need to come into the year 2000. i'm gonna be parading links to computers i find online in the hopes people will comment on them, thus helping me make my decision (which won't be made before a few weeks from now, anyway). what i'm looking for -- a cheap Pentium 4 (no celerons, thank you), Windows XP, and a DVD-RW drive. that's it. and since most stores don't bundle dvd-rw drives, i'm gonna buy that separately. i really only want a faster computer than what i have now (P2, 233) to go online and multitask a program or two at the same time without it lagging like mine does. i also wanna be able to burn dvd's (which, of course, being a P4, will be strong enough to do anyway). i already have a cd-rw drive so that's not even an issue. i'm also gonna keep a running tally of all the suggested -Canadian- online stores people tell me about. i'm looking for great service and cheap prices, obviously. so please also let me know your thoughts on these. thank you :)

the great Computer Search of 2004 begins: Dell Dimension 3000

recommended stores:

Dell
Canada Computers
Sunny Computers
MDG (only for the sake of argument)

Posted by Anonymous | 1:08 PM |

tonight's the Vice Presidential Debate. this will be an interesting one. 1. because of Cheney. i can't wait to see how he'll reach out to moderate voters, and 2. John fuckin' Edwards. this is his thing. as CNN has been touting in their biographies, the man is a genius lawyer/debater. he's way more at ease than Kerry and look what that guy did last week. this should be good. better, clearer points. i can't wait.

it's tuesday so it means there's a couple of cool new releases coming out today. the ones i'm interested in are - and that, for Quebec residents, Archambault has, strangely enough, for $14.99 (their site does, i'll believe it when i see them at the store):

Utada - Exodus
Hope of the States - The Lost Riots (north american release)

the Radiohead/Coldplay meets Godspeed comparisons i keep reading about for Hope has made me wanna check it out now. especially the "meets Godspeed" part.

and finally, Blogger wouldn't let me post this late last night:

new Criterion Collection -- a two-disc set for Cecil B. DeMille's The King of Kings.

ps. Nick Catchdubs is right; Zach Braff is still funny even after Garden State has made it's theatrical run. funny stuff. good for Scrubs fans too.

pps. i actually got chills when Desmond Tutu walked on the set of The Daily Show last night. anyone else got that? the man was charming beyond belief! that was -hands down- the best interview i've ever seen on the show. congrats to Stewart & co for getting him.

np: Dizzee Rascal - Boy In Da Corner

Posted by Anonymous | 11:51 PM |

when the hell did Counterspin come back??

Posted by Anonymous | 1:08 PM |

Slash on Radiohead.

anyone buy from MDG.ca? i'm looking for a new computer (Pentium 4, DVD burner) so any advice for great, cheap places in Canada would be appreciated.

browsing through Cheap Thrills' new releases section, i see that The Dears are releasing two cd's this tuesday! why the fuck haven't i heard a thing about this before today? oh, the first one's a re-release of the Protest EP (it includes a new remix). still. the other one's a live album called Thank You Good Night Sold Out.

oops. back in june CBC Radio released their first cd - CBC Radio 3: Sessions Vol. 1. a great idea. the tracklisting is a who's-who of great canadian bands: The Dears, Kid Koala, Manitoba, The Sadies, Buck 65, and on and on. $12.99 (can).

Posted by Anonymous | 9:38 AM |

it's the weekend!... i made the mistake of not getting in the shower as soon as i got home from work last night. i laid on the couch and managed to doze off in front of the tv. got to bed around 2 am, i think. and this morning i get woken up by a couple of kids bouncing a basketball off the building right under my window. argh. i managed to go back to sleep for about an hour and dream about my family, though (including my uncle who died last year). that was nice. today i'm taking my mom and her boyfriend to the airport in Montreal; they don't wanna leave their car in the parking lot for two weeks. they're gonna spend two weeks in France, Sweden Switzerland, and Italy. nice, uh? lucky bastards. i envy them right now. i'm taking them to the Mirabel airport - the deserted terminal; almost every flight for the past few years has gone to the busier Dorval airport near downtown. but there's a good thing about drivig up that far: it's where Spielberg shot some of The Terminal :) i'm gonna go have a look tonight; hopefully i'll recognize it when the film comes out on dvd in november.

i'm gonna make sure i come back in time for this:
the Saturday Night Live season premiere with Ben Affleck (and Nelly. sorry).

the US election is in a fuckin' month!! Americans, please register to vote.

np: Dizzee Rascal - Boy In Da Corner

Posted by Anonymous | 10:00 AM |

Duty.
It's hard work.

George W Bush

Posted by Anonymous | 10:05 AM |