Maybe not as funny if I didn't recently watch "The Last Unicorn"

Careful What You Wish For

So as previously posted, I did receive my new PC from Dell. I got the upgrades that I was hoping for, and now I can't help but wonder if that was actually a good thing. The system works great, after I have moved things around and wiped the system clean of any preinstalled software. However, I am having serious issues with something very near and dear to my heart. I can't play games. Anything that I try to play, Marvel Ultimate Alliance, WoW, Oblivion will freeze. This makes me angry. I've seen on line and I apparently am not the only person to have experienced these issues with the video card that I have. It's a Nvida GeForce 7900gs. Should be a nice card, but it has been giving me fits. Searching fourms online, people point to a number of issues with the card very similar to my own. Some of the more prominant theories as to why this happens include; it being under powered (Which is possible, they shipped the system with only a 350 watt PSU, and this card requires it's own lead.) bad drivers, over heating, or just a plain old defective card. I am going to have another go at it with Dell support tonight. Hope they can do something for me.

Greatest Website EVER!

The Attache turned me on to this website this past weekend. Don't try this at home? If only. Check out this one in specific. It made my inner raver jump with joy.

Let's Start a Trend...

Does this annoy anyone else? I take elevators all day long at work. I think it should be a common courtesy that if you are on an elevator, and someone new gets on you should ask that person what floor they are going to and hit that button for them. I believe this for two reasons. First, I think it is just being polite. Secondly, more often then not if you are in the elevator before someone gets on you are more then likely standing near the buttons. If you don't ask that person what floor they want you make them enter your personal space to hit the button they want unnecessarily. It really gets my goat when a person will be in the elevator before me, standing near the buttons and nether asks what floor or moves away from the buttons to allow me to press my floor. Causing me to reach across them to hit the buttons. Let's start a trend. Just ask what floor. It's polite.

Back in Action

I know you have been starved for new content...(at least I hope so.) Well, I got my new computer from Dell (and a substantial upgrade BTW) this week, and I think I am just about done reconfiguring it to my liking. So expect some new posts. I've been saving up lots of topics during my time off. Look for some movie reviews to come. I'll probably be writing about quite a few. Including, "Casion Royale", "6 String Samurai ", "The Holiday" and many more. When one dosn't have a computer and no television in his apartment it dosen't leave much else but Blockbuster for entertainment. It's good to be back!

Catastrophic System Failure!

ARGHHHH!!!!!!!

This morning my beloved PC exploded. Not in a figurative OS failure sort of way. It actually exploded. Smoke...People...there was smoke coming out of the back of my PC. This made me sad. Very sad. Thankfully the god people at Dell are going to be helping me out. Due to the fact that this was third majour internal component to fail in a year Dell will be sending me a brand new PC. Not just a new PSU. A completly new system. ROCK! I am so praying that they don't have the video card in my old computer in stock anymore and are forced to upgrade me. That would double rock.

Right there with ya Prince Lir

Magic...Do as you will!

I got my autographed copy of "The Last Unicorn" yesterday, and instantly rushed home to watch it. Did it hold up over the years that have passed since I had seen it last? Yes and no. I've always loved this movie, and sitting down to watch it I instantly felt at peace with the world. Gord! Such a part of my childhood. When my family bought it's first VCR one of the few tapes we had to watch was a copy of "Last Unicorn" that a neighbour had taped off of HBO. I must have seen this movie a hundred times when I was little. Conclusions upon rewatching it: The redbull is still scary. Schmendrik is still my favourite character, and I still get misty eyed when Molly Grue first sees the unicorn and goes into her little tirade about being visited by a unicorn so late in her life. This is such a beautifully animated movie. Same visual style as the Hobbit cartoon, and even featuring many of the same voice actors. (Mad props to Brother Theodore for providing the voice to Mommy Fortuna's henchman Ruhk as well as Gollum in the Hobbit. Much love to Andy Serkis for voicing Gollum in the live action films but to me Gollum will always sound like he does in the cartoon.) I might be wrong about this, but I found the single most fascinating piece of animation in the movie to be Molly Grue's crazy head of hair. It's a sight to be hold. In fairness Mia Farrow's voice was a tad more annoying this time around, and it is pretty obvious that nether her nor Jeff Bridges can sing. (However you can sort of justify it if you think about the fact that unicorns probably don't sing out loud too much. Nor do dragon slaying knights.) Sadly, one regret that I had about my reviewing was the realization that this might be another movie (like Goonies) where if you didn't fall in love with it when you were you young then you might just not get it. (This rule sort of applies to any Tom Cruise 80's movie too. Especially "Top Gun" or "Cocktail".) I watched the movie with a buddy of mine who had never seen it before, and it was sadly obvious that he wasn't into it as much as I was. Oh well. I loved it, and over all enjoyed the movie as much as I remember. A great piece of my childhood. Now in a shiny DVD format. Happy Day. Oh, and female Lady Amalthea is still one of the hottest cartoons ever.

A few Random Topics...

I've been pondering a few things today as I have been walking around. Let me know what you think. I expect comments!

1) Are you ready? - For those of you who don't live in close proximity to me you may not be aware of my fascination with the impending zombie apocalypse. I'm convinced that it's going t happen. It's just a matter of time. In preparation I have seen just about any zombie movie I can get my hands on, and read Max Brooks' wonderful "Zombie Survival Guide." So I feel that if Chicago were to be beset by zombies I'd at least know what I was doing. I've got a bike for transportation and could quickly pack a bag to escape. Looking around my apartment I come up a bit short on suitable zombie weapons, so I think I would have to make due with The Club.
I think in the short term The Club might not make a terrible weapon. It's sturdy, and collapsible which would make it easy to carry. The weight is a bit off, but I think I could make it work. Besides, I'm a wus. If I can run you better believe that I am. I havn't decided where I would flee to yet. I read a pretty good article about holding up and fortifying a Walmart (I'd link it but I can't find the article) however, the city council of Chicago has made that impossible. (No Walmarts in the city) Maybe I'll go to Target instead.

2) Talking About My Generation- Another thing I've been pondering, are generational differences. This line of thought has been largely spurred by two events. The first being my realization that despite loving to watch movies there is an entire generation of movies made during the 70's that I've never seen but are considered classics. Obviously there is an entire generation that grew up with these movies as the touch stones of their childhood. Just like we have Star Wars or the John Hughes 80's flicks which I think most people would say are completely intertwined with their experience growing up. Obviously our parents must have had their own pop culture touchstones that they identify with. The next generation (our kids) will have theirs too. I wonder what they will be. I realize that at the moment this is a conversation that probably can't take place. Largely because the generation I'm speaking of is 2. The other thing that got me thinking about this was the fact that none of the people that I work with (Most sadly at this point my juniors) are as excited about the fact that I just bought "The Last Unicorn" on DVD as I feel they should be. Most have never heard of it let alone seen it. This got me thinking. Will the next generation even know our movies? How much longer am I going to be able to make "Better of Dead" jokes and have people get them? (It's hit and miss even today.)

Oh well. Those are the things in my brain this evening. What do you think?

CANNED FRUIT!!!

Little Theatre... you know. Or you don't.

Chritmas in March

"Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas" with John Denver and The Muppets just popped up on my iTunes. This song makes me happy anytime of the year. It is Christmas to me.

No closer...

It's almost been a year. Why don't I feel any closer then before (and in most cases further away) to figuring out what the hell is going on?