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 newsposts viz lit misc 7.17.02: Home Again I'm back in Lawrenceville. And I'm going through some sort of human interaction withdrawal symptoms. So if you are a human gifted with the ability of said interaction, you should give me a call. A warning about this newspost: there are going to be lots of movie/cd/game reviews. Just saying. Where Has I Been? Well, I'll tell you. I've been up in a Carolina of the North variety, visiting mom, working a temporary job answering phones which was much more boring and well-paying than the theater. But that's over now, and I'm back in town. I'm drawing again; not just filling sketchbooks with doodles, but I got a big ol' newsprint pad and china markers like in the old days of UGA when I needed that for my intended major at the time. There's something relaxing about just busting out the sketches of real, existing objects (add spiteful, since it's the stuff UGA's art department didn't want from me). A fine way to unlax. WarCraft III: Reign of Chaos Rules A Whole Lot. Any questions? (Warning: Unless you have ever dreamt about video games you were playing, you might want to just skip this section.) I started to remember those days of Freshman year, when Omerza and I would discuss strategy into the ground day after day, for StarCraft, Blizzard Entertainment's last hit Real Time Strategy game. There are a few big steps to the RTS world that Blizzard has added, first and foremost that the game is in true 3D. They also added Heroes to the tech tree, which was something close to genius. The World Editor is unbelievable: add your own music (it plays them from mp3, just import whatever you want), edit unit traits more freely, even script custom in-game cutscenes, though I have not figured out the camera yet. I can indeed go on about WarCraft III forever, but you're better off just finding out yourself at Blizzard, or Penny Arcade. Shway! Creme Flip Is the Proud Owner of a One Hundred Dollar Bill. "[I]ts all cool, cuz its like a 10," says Creme Flip, "with an extra 0." Men In Black II Gets the Shaft from the Critics. But what do you expect? You know, I consider myself to have the prerequisite cynicism toward sequels, but geez! If you don't think a talking dog is funny, you should re-evaluate your comedic standards. I don't know how you get a job as a movie critic, but I suppose it involves an application that marks you as having an elitist vocabulary and an otherwise caveman intelligence quotient. Anyway. It's not an epic or anything, just go watch it because I command it. I was Afraid that Dragons Might Eat Me and My Jetta, Lightly Toasted, on the Drive Home from Reign of Fire. Once again, proof that someone in Hollywood knows what to do, and more importantly, what not to do, with CG effects. The dragon scenes couldn't have made up much more than 20 or 30 minutes of the movie. It wasn't like you were staring at dragons the whole time, but when they do make their appearances, it's straight terrifying. For each person who gets gulped down by the winged terrors in the movie (surprisingly non-graphically, I might add), you wince, because you realize that in this post-apocalyptic setting, that was probably like two or three percent of the remaining human population (a percentage which, I suppose, would grow as the movie goes on. Now there's a statistical bummer.). If you've seen Pitch Black, you'll figure this movie as someone finally doing this sort of thing correctly. 8 Legged Freaks was about Just That, Strangely Enough. Continuing the trend of non-gore in movies about monsters eating people. I had expected it to be campier and horror-ier, but instead they take their cheap shots by eating domestic animals that you feel sorry for. The characters did not display enough personality to like or dislike them, which is no big deal, it wasn't a soap opera, anyway. ...BUT! Let's hear it for Creature Effects! That was Bill's department and it turned out awesome! You get right up in the middle of the spiders, which, frankly, is creepy as poo. Now we know what Arachnophobia left out: the big. Remember the end scene in that one, where they fight the Aliensesque (though my timeline is hazy) queen spider mom, or something? And it's like, maybe 8 inches tall? Now, I'd be afraid of an 8-inch-tall squealing spider, but not afraid enough not to introduce her to my good friend, Doctor Martin. Anyway, I say again, huzzah for the Creature Effects department. I Think the Tooth Fairy is After Us. Why else would everyone be getting their wisdom teeth out? I Met A Modern-Day Archetype; Pity His Existence. Long Abercrombie & Fitch sleeves (it's the hottest part of gosh darn Summer if you haven't noticed), shouting into a cell phone in Blockbuster, wearing dark sunglasses. At 9 pm. These people need our help. The next time you see one, punch him/her in the face and take his/her wallet. They might not understand at first, but trust me, they'll thank you later. "If I hadn't been punched in the face and had my wallet unceremoniously took," says one Recovering Stereotype, "I wouldn't have ever figured out how not immerse myself in a cheap life of mainstream bullcrap. Every time I look in the mirror or reach into my back pocket to pay for something, it's a reminder of what kind of schmuck I could have been." O.G. Movie Reviews: Gattaca. Gattaca displays so much temperance (is that the word I'm looking for?) that it is barely science fiction at all. It's like the BattleTech society, minus things blowing up. The soundtrack was gorgeous, and I guess I don't hate Uma Thurman anymore, so that's cool. This is another one of those discussion movies, where you could go on forever, but I won't. Just watch it. O.G. Movie Reviews #2: 2001: A Space Odyssey. At first, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to take it seriously, with the monkey suits, and the music that has become a caricature now. But when we hear that, you know, the dum, dum, dum, DAH-DAHHHH! Or whatever it's called (Is it Thus Spake Zarathustra? Mom said that's what it's called. Got me.). When we hear that, we know it hearkens back to some old sci-fi movie, but when you're seeing it, it's not hearkening back to anything, and your first impression is to laugh. Mine was, anyway. But, the laughter stops when you realize that Stanley Kubrick was an unbelievably patient man. Each camera shot is on average much longer than current film camera shots. In almost every space scene, there is at least one thing moving, and often two, at different vectors or velocities. The philosophical side of the movie shall remain untouched in this webpage. Did I mention I got WarCraft III? Because, I did. Vertigo, by Jump, Little Children. Before I make a roadtrip that promises to be more than 3 hours, I make sure to get some new music to listen to, or burn something, or have someone else burn something, for that matter. The best roadtrip (as great as road trips can be alone) was when Sarah stocked me up with Steppenwolf, 8 Stops 7, and all kinds of bidness like that, and burned me cd with Muse song on it, and you can't go wrong with that, no sir. This time, my muzak of choice was Jump, Little Children. Until now, I have not owned any of their (legitimate) albums, but have admired what little I picked up here and there. Vertigo includes some songs that prove that if they wanted the rock scene, they could rightfully take it, and others that state clearly that they don't want it. One aspect that's always been important to me in an album is the lyrical one, and JLC writes their songs like poems. Have you ever heard another song with the word "terminus" in it? Not I. A fine album indeed. That about wraps up stub|central news for today. Stay tuned. -stub out- Reader Response: I noticedI made your web page. --Steven "Creme Flip" Akins What were you thinking? Men in Black II is the worst movie I've seen in a long time. --Sarah Bione The stub|central staff apologizes for any misquotations. NaNoWriMo: still up for grabs. I decided to post that on the main page again. If you didn't want to download it, you can still use the html version. Have at: Six Point Star for MS Word Six Point Star in HTML If they're not both working yet, they will be soon. |
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