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I'm having a bit of trouble with this posting everyday business, but I haven't given up yet.

This evening, a friend of mine, Andy, gave me an apartment warming gift. It was a Nerf basketball goal. You know, the kind you hang on your door. Anyway, I just wanted to say that it rocks. I had one for a little while at the house I previously rented, but there was a ceiling fan in the way. In my new place, I have a vaulted ceiling that allows you to shoot naturally. I have a feeling I will be using this often. The lamp may suffer for it, but so it goes.

Alright, I know this wasn't much, but I'm tired. I'll try to be more diligent with my posts in the future.

The Jim Bob Self bottle opener.

The Jim Bob Self bottle opener.

World of Warcraft

Let's get this out of the way.

I play World of Warcraft. Most of you reading this already know that. But just in case some of you don't, here's the information you need. I play on the Zul'jin server. Below is a list of all my characters, with links to the armory page about them. If you are on this server, feel free to look me up in game.

Aynna
Krellbourne
Havana
Narmi
Fonce
Mangan
Hidef
Grenzer

This is a test.

This is a test.

An evening out.

I went to the Wolf tonight and saw Ratatouille. And while this was an excellent film, it is not the topic of my post this evening.

I saw tonight's movie by myself. This is not the first movie I've seen alone, and I doubt it will be my last. I remember it being hard to convince myself to go the first time. It just seemed too weird. It's definitely something that a lot of people have a hard time doing. I've talked to numerous people that wouldn't, or even couldn't, go to the theater by themselves. I no longer have a problem going. In fact, there's a different feel altogether when seeing a movie by yourself. To me, it's more intimate. It can feel like I'm the only one there, regardless of how crowded it is. Of course, going with friends or a loved one is great too. I recommend going by yourself sometime. It's an experience.


On a side note, Spoon has a new album out. It's called "Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga". I've only listened to the first half of the album so far, and I have nothing but good things to say. Here's what Pitchfork has to say about it. Do yourself a favor and check out the latest offering by Britt Daniel and company. And, hey, if I like these guys this much, they must be good. After all, they are from Texas.

"Do You Believe In Miracles?"

I was two years old on February 22, 1980.

As you may expect, I don't really remember too much. I don't remember the Iran hostage situation, or the heat of the cold war. I certainly don't remember the Lake Placid Olympic games. However, it amazes me how emotionally involved I became while watching "Do You Believe In Miracles: The Story of the 1980 U.S. Hockey Team".

I'm talking literal chills while watching this thing. Which, sort of baffles me. First off, like I said, I was two when this went down. It means nothing to me in terms of actual memory. Secondly, I'm not really even a hockey fan. Hell, I'm not a real die-hard sports fan. Yet there's something about that event that really strikes an emotional chord.

I'm sure that some of it has to do with the production of the piece. The dramatic music, the background story, the editing, the interviews, they all add something, but that can't be all. I know it's not that I'm a sucker for a human interest story. I generally hate those things.

Maybe it really is that I'm seeing a "miracle" take place. An event that will most likely never be repeated in my lifetime. An immense showing of national pride. My country united against its enemy, even if it was represented by a hockey game. Or, maybe that's not it at all. Maybe I'll never know why certain events move me in unexplainable ways. Maybe it's enough to just sit back and enjoy then when they occur.

More than meets the eye!

I saw Transformers tonight at the Wolf. It. Was. Awesome! Sure it's cheesy, but that's how the cartoon was. I felt they did an excellent job capturing the things I loved about the cartoon.

The first time I heard that wonderful transformation sound, I couldn't get the grin off my face. It's also very cool that the movie open with that great Optimus Prime voice; just like I remembered it! Obviously the showdown at the end was freaking great, but I really loved the car chase / fight between Bumblebee and Barricade.

Shia LaBeouf. Seriously, this role could have been crap. It could have been uninteresting. It was neither. I think he did a great job. He was funny, he played it straight, and he made it believable. I really enjoyed his performance, and I look forward to seeing him in a wider variety of roles.

Megan Fox. Umm, where was I? Oh yeah, umm, did she have any lines? Here, maybe this will help...

Finally, on a technical side, the CGI was unbelievable. I didn't even think about it until after the movie was even finished. It in no way whatsoever comes across as "CGI". It's so good, you don't even notice it.

I totally recommend seeing this movie. If you were a fan of the cartoon growing up, you won't be disappointed. I give it a four out of five.

A Post A Day...

Well, it seems posting once a day is harder than I imagined. Although, in my defense, Bork was in town this weekend. I was distracted.

Another Indianapolis fireworks display...

This makes my second year in a row for watching the downtown fireworks display. And I have to say, once you've seen large scale fireworks once, you've seen large scale fireworks a thousand times. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the show, but it wasn't spectacular. The time I watched the fire works from the Bank One building, above where they were launching them, that was awesome.

I guess what I'm saying is that the environment, or atmosphere, in which you watch the show is just as important as the show itself. This year we sat directly down-wind of the display. After any large eruption, we could only see a cloud of smoke. We also had to deal with firework debris fallout. Although, I admit that was kind of cool. Even the way the lingering smoke was illuminated by the following explosions was sometimes cool.

Luckily I was able to enjoy the show with a group of great friends, and isn't that what it's really all about.

Favorite Links

You'll notice to the right I added a few of the sites that I visit on a daily basis. Here's a rundown of each one.

bookofjoe -'World's most popular blogging anesthesiologist'

digg - it's a social bookmarking site created by Kevin Rose of TechTV fame.

Engadget - great news site for information on all types of gadgety goodness.

Gizmodo - another news and information site on gadgets. See a trend forming here?

Kotaku - news and information about video games.

Maddog's Musings - one of my good friend's blogs. He likes sports and movies.

Pitchfork - independent music site out of Chicago. Their reviews rock.

Revision3 - a virtual TV network. I watch Diggnation and The Totally Rad Show religiously.

A little bit more about Diggnation and The Totally Rad Show...

Diggnation is a webcast that covers some of the top stories that were posted to digg. It's hosted by Kevin Rose and Alex Albrecht. They both used to be on TechTV. On a side note, I hate G4. They bought out TechTV and canceled all the good shows. However, on a good note, we now have Revision3 and "This Week in Tech" (hosted by Leo LaPorte).

The Totally Rad Show is a webcast hosted by Alex Albrect, Dan Trachtenberg, and Jeff Cannata. They review movies, video games, books, comic books, and TV shows.

Both of these shows are very funny. Check them out, you won't be disappointed.

Quite possibly the coolest game yet to be released!

Rock Band looks to kick Guitar Hero's wimpy little ass! Check out the video.

Happy 4th of July!

Hope everyone has a fun and safe holiday!

Stay tuned for my review of the Indianapolis fireworks display.