Wednesday, June 28, 2006

IT...DIDN'T...SUCK!!!!!!!!!

Well, we just saw Superman, and I left the theater grinning like a schoolboy. From the chills that ran down my spine at the sound of the opening music, to the tear in my eye when I saw the dedication to Christopher Reeve and his wife in the closing credits I was spellbound. I won't do any spoilers in this edition, but suffice to say that Brandon Routh takes a page out of Reeve's book, and does it well. Kevin Spacey was everything Gene Hackman wasn't, especially menacing, and Kate Bosworth was lovely, if a little too nice, as Lois. And the effects were almost flawless. This is what CGI was meant to do.

Ok, I say no more. Go see it. That's all I'll say right now. Go see it.

Marius

Uber-Geek

 


Now this guy takes his geekdom seriously. And there is more where this came from herePosted by Picasa

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

Thursday, June 22, 2006

She's Got It, Yeah, Baby, She's Got It

 


As I went outside this morning, the sky smiled at me. Posted by Picasa

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Good Times, Bad Times, You Know I've Had My Share

Welcome back to the gestational Corner. Let's dive right in, shall we?

Last night, around 2am, Mrs. Marius got out of bed. Now there is nothing unusual with her coming to bed at that time, since her nocturnal work schedule keeps on going even when she's off, but we went to bed at the same time last night, and while I get up at least 3 times a night, she is usually like unto a vampire, and would most likely sleep through the apocalypse. I noticed, in a half-conscious torpor, that she got up, but attributed it to the growing alien within. Well, an undetermined amount of time later she woke me from a newly deepened sleep with a mission. Our little braintrust kitten Starbuck, who actually isn't so little anymore, needed rescuing. One of the few articles of real furniture I own is a hutch that I inherited via Celebhith. It is a beautiful, heavy thing, over 6' tall and nearly 5' wide, and it currently covers the window in the living room that looks out into the carport. Well, it nearly covers it. There is a 2" gap on one side, and the fuzzy genius squeezed himself through it, but couldn't get back out. So I had to slide the thing away from the window, and then convince dumbass that he could get out. Then, a mere two and a half hours later both critters ganged up on me. Starbuck kept meowing his desire for breakfast in my ear, while Artemis took my foot hostage, licking it with her rough kitty tongue and holding it in her paws with just barely extended claws. I defy anyone to sleep through that. So I've been up for a long time already.

So today didn't exactly start out all that well, but in the grand scheme of things all is well. And some really cool stuff is going on, too. First of all, a gentleman who I 'met' last year when he found my blogs about the space shuttle named Michael has been making plans to attend the launch of Discovery and invited me to join him and his wife. The launch is scheduled for July 1, and not only am I going to meet them at Canaveral, but he actually got tickets to go inside the KSC and like get seats and stuff. And on top of that, he's gifting me with the ticket! Now we just have to pray that the launch goes as scheduled. I'm totally psyched, and if all goes as planned you know there will be pictures galore.

Another good thing is that damned turtle is finally going away. You may remember that last year the child of the apocalypse brought home a turtle from her dad's. I have described him as a murderous, angry animal that would kill us in our sleep if it ever got the opportunity, and that has not changed. The little bastard tries to bite me whenever I feed it, or clean it's filter, or even walk within ten feet of its tank. And on top of all that, I'm the only one who cleans its filter...a thoroughly disgusting task that has me well prepared for diapers. But, turtles are notorious vectors for staph bacteria, and I checked on several websites and found that it is dangerous for them to be around pregnant women or children under 5 years of age. Score!! So on Friday I am rendezvousing with the Mother-In-Law in Orlando, who is taking the young'n back to her dad's for her Summer visit, to hand off the reptilian ingrate . The only downside to this is that all reptiles are deemed dangerous, so no snake for the immediate future.(we all want a snake)

And finally, I got the needed duplicate receipt in the mail from Duke the other day(thanks, UberDude), so now I can send my faulty video card in for a replacement, and maybe, at long last, get back to playing City of Heroes.

And Superman Returns opens soon. Please don't suck, please don't suck, please don't suck!!! :-)

Ciao,
Marius

Sunday, June 18, 2006

Movie Round Up

Good day, and welcome to The Corner, eh. It's time for some more of Marius' Movie Reviews!(you'll have to imagine the echo effect in your head)

Last night we went out and saw The DaVinci Code. Now, just in case he's a secret fan of The Corner let me just say that I deeply respect and appreciate Ron Howard as a director. He has a wonderful, light touch that usually makes for magnificent cinema. So I'm having some trouble figuring out just what was wrong with The DaVinci Code. I loved the book, and was really looking forward to the movie. Some that I have spoken with thought Tom Hanks was not right to play Robert Langdon, but I thought he did a great job. So did Audrey Tautou as Sophie, although she seemed very rushed. And, of course, Sir Ian McKellen could sit on a rock and read the phone book and I'd be spellbound, so his performance as Sir Leigh Teabing was nothing short of marvelous. In fact no one in the cast dropped the ball, although Paul Bettany, who played the albino assassin Silas, did spend more than his fair share of screen time naked again.(see: A Knight's Tale) Overall, though, the film, like the leading lady, felt rushed. It almost seemed like Howard was so intent on getting as much of the book into the movie as possible he had to lose any real character development. I know that the book is a roller coaster from the moment Langdon gets a fateful phone call in his hotel room in Paris(not how the movie begins, btw) but the book has the ability to get into the characters' heads and make us care about them. Not so the film. It's more like a Saturday morning cartoon, albeit with lots more masochism and pale ass-flesh. We never really get to know any of the people on screen well enough to give a damn if they make it or not. And there are a couple of unbearably long expository scenes that feel more like college lectures than gripping cinema. But mostly it's Hanks looking puzzled; Tatou looking lovely and vulnerable; McKellen looking amused, and Bettany looking sinister, and all of them running around, yelling, shooting, and explaining for nearly two and a half hours. If you liked the book, rent the movie in a few months. If you didn't read the book, I would imagine this film will leave you feeling confused and unsatisfied.

On the rental front, we have seen a couple of good ones this month. First there was Mrs. Henderson Presents. This is a sweet film, although not really for the young ones, is set in London during WWII, and is about a recently widowed socialite(Dame Judy Dench)who finds herself in need of a hobby now that her husband is no more. On a whim she buys a theatre and stages around the clock musical reviews. She hires Vivian Van Damm(Bob Hoskins)to manage the theatre, and they have a marvelous love/hate relationship. At first they are a smash hit, until every other theatre copies their round-the-clock format and they begin to go bankrupt. Henderson then suggests that the girls should be nude, much to the chagrin of everyone, but eventually gets her way...although not in a fashion that anyone would have imagined. It is definitely worth a gander, and the nudity, while frequent and unashamed, is in no way titillating. I know that sounds strange, but artistic and tasteful is more the proper term. This is definitely a 'snuggle up on the couch with some wine and your honey' kind of rental that is based on a true story.

Lastly we watched MirrorMask, which is a very bizarre 'Labyrinth meets Narnia' kinda kids movie written in part by Niel Gaimon. If you are familiar with Gaimon's work, you will love this movie. It combines live action with CGI in a way that Tim Burton wishes he was still doing. A young girl, Helena(Stephanie Leonidas) who is the daughter of circus parents, wants to run away to join the real world. She and her mum(Gina McKee) have a tiff, shortly after which mum has an 'episode' and is rushed to the hospital for brain surgery. While waiting for word of the operation, Helena is drawn into a strange world based on her drawings that cover the walls of her bedroom, and in which the Dark Queen(also Gina McKee) is searching for her daughter, who looks just like Helena, and seems to be destroying the world of light. Helena must find the MirrorMask to make everything right again, and the quest begins. Imagine The Neverending Story if it had been made by the people who did Being John Malkovich. I think it ranks up there with such films as Brazil, Being John Malkovich, and Labyrinth in weirdness yet watchability. Definitely a worthy rental.

Ok, Happy Fathers Day to any of you reading this. See y'all soon.

Kisses,
Marius

Friday, June 16, 2006

Toes Beware!

  Posted by Picasa

No More Mr. Nice Guy

Ok, enough shiny, happy blogging. Let's get pissed!

I have avoided commenting on the death of al-Zarqawi for the very reasons that I wish the rest of the world would have done so. The more we publicize these vermin, the more important we make them. The constant barrage of photos of his corpse, both before and after being cleaned up, are no doubt being used as recruiting posters for terrorist organizations. Terror is their main weapon, but terror is an intangible thing that must be perpetuated by talking about it. I think the better way to deal with the story would have been to have made a brief, subdued announcement that Zarqawi was dead, but treated it as an afterthought. If we marginalize these scumbags, they lose their fearful power.

Why am I bringing this up now? Because CNN spent a large percentage of it's morning news time today to a story about the next dickhead to take the Al-Quaida reins in Iraq. I know that it's a good PR tactic to have a villain du-jour to use as a buzz word in press conferences, but it's a lousy military tactic. We can't kill every terrorist in the world, and treating this 'war' like a normal military action is no more effective than FEMA's actions in New Orleans. There will be no Nuremburg trials when/if this war ever ends, and putting the terrorist leaders on the front page merely plays into their hands.

Closer to home, Britney Spears gave a tearful interview on NBC's Today Show, saying that she and her baby need privacy and respect. Well, I have this to say to her, and every other superstar who complains that they are put upon by their celebrity. TFB! You abrogated your right to privacy when you accepted your millions from your adoring fans. No, I don't think the paparazzi should be putting secret toilet cams in your bathrooms, but when you step outside your razor wire surrounded compounds you step into the spotlight of those who put you where you are. There are plenty of celebrities who get it, and are gracious in public, and guard their private lives closely and don't do stupid stuff in view of the press. But if you decide to let your baby sit on your lap while you are driving a convertible, or dangle your kid over a balcony, don't you dare get all weepy about how cruelly you are being treated by the press. Stupid behavior should be criticized, and doubly so when the idiot is a celebrity. Why? Because for some reason too many people equate fame with wisdom. And if it's ok for Britney to let her infant ride on her lap instead of secured in an approved car seat, then why not Matilda in Podunk?

Ok, I'm done for now. Hugs and kisses, y'all!
Marius

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Ahhhhhh....

Oh what bliss to be on line again. I find it odd that I am a Luddite, but I do tend to be one of the last to partake of technological innovations. I was sure that records would never die until Pikaresque gave me a CD player, then I wondered just what the hell was wrong with me. It was the same with the internet. For years I had heard of it, but had no real desire to own a computer...until that fateful day when I finally got one. Actually, my infatuation with the internet began quite a while before I owned my own machine. It came from babysitting Celebhith's computer once while she was on vacation. I spent hours surfing the web, even though I had little to no idea what I was doing. Then came that blissful day when I had my own machine. Sure it was dial-up, but in 1998 that was the shizzle. And compared to the old Commodore 64, where it could take half an hour and 4 ten-inch floppy discs to load frikken Zork, dial-up was a dream. Then there was last years epiphany of DSL. How ever did I endure waiting upwards of THREE MINUTES to log on? Oh the rapture of 'always on' internet. Information coursed through my brain at the speed of light. Never again would we struggle to know 'what did that actor do before? he looks so familiar', or 'just what is all the fuss about high fructose corn syrup?' All the collected knowledge of humans great and small was there like golden apples on a low slung branch.

Until...dum dum DUUUUUUMMMMMMMMM!!!! We moved.

I have already related the tale of incompetance and idiocy that lead to nearly two weeks without internet, but my digital exile is finally over. I...surf...agaaaaaaaain!(rewatch Army of Darkness for the correct cadence of that last comment)

Of course, during my internet black-out I have thought of, and forgotten, many topics for this here blog, but be just and fear not! Now I can immediately spew forth at will the mental debris left over after the real thinking ends.(real thinking? shh. he's rolling) Yes, as the Flying Spaghetti Monster is my witness, I shall never read newspapers again. Henceforth I'll be first in line for upgrades and new hard, firm, and software. Bring on the wireless mice! Let there be Bluetooth and Firewire. And when the day comes that I can have a neural interface implanted in my corpus collosum, then I say I ALREADY SHAVE MY HEAD!!!!! Come on, Mr. Gates, make me your bitch and never let me go so long without my data fix again!!!!!






Well, maybe not quite that, but it is good to be on line again. :-)

Hope is Emo

Thursday, June 08, 2006

Wha?!

Now It's Artemis Being Adorable

  Posted by Picasa

Yet another 'What RPG Type Are You' Quiz

I think this is pretty accurate, actually. :-)








Spellsword
88% Combativeness, 23% Sneakiness, 61% Intellect, 36% Spirituality
Aggressive, but with the brains to back it up: You are a Spellsword!
Score! You have a prestige class. A prestige class can only be taken after you’ve fulfilled certain requirements. This may mean that you're an exceptionally talented person, but it probably doesn't.
Spellswords combine arcane might with combat know-how. They're much tougher than mages, like to wear armor, and can cast spells through their weapons. They're very, very, good at doing lots of damage to a single target very quickly, and while not quite as tough as most fighters, are still pretty hard to kill.
You're both smart and aggressive, which means that you're probably pretty dangerous when pissed off. You also tend to be somewhat straightforward, which is nice, and don’t have much use for spirituality or mysticism.







My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:



















free online datingfree online dating
You scored higher than 98% on Combativeness





free online datingfree online dating
You scored higher than 26% on Sneakiness





free online datingfree online dating
You scored higher than 21% on Intellect





free online datingfree online dating
You scored higher than 35% on Spirituality
Link: The RPG Class Test written by MFlowers on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

Monday, June 05, 2006

Bush isn't even trying anymore...

Ok, I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but could it be any more transparent that our beloved Shrub in Chief is pulling a Johnny Cochrane here with this renewed effort to get a Constitutional amendment passed defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman? It seems to me that there are far more pressing issues out there right now such as Iraq, Iran, FEMA, Pedophile Homeland Security Officers, Scooter, The Hammer, Rove, Oil Prices, Rumsfeld's accelerating slide into insanity, and Paris Hilton's new CD. But, we do have a very important election in a few months, and Dubya is pointing to a picture of Chewbacca and telling the American people to 'Look at the monkey. Look at the silly monkey!' There isn't even the slightest hint of them trying to make this seem like a legitimate thing to do now. He even admitted in the past that there is little hope of getting the two-thirds majority votes necessary to pass the amendment, so this is nothing more than political smoke and mirrors. I'd like to ask just how dumb does he think we are, but I know for a fact that most of the state of Louisiana will get all fired up about this, and I am sure that there is an equally frightening number of others who will agree. Where are Tim Burton's Martians when we need them?

Disgustedly,
Marius

Friday, June 02, 2006

Been Around The World And Found That Only Stupid People Are Breeding...

Ok, Verizon update. It turns out that the moron my wife spoke to couldn't figure out that the area to which we moved isn't wired for DSL! Of course, it took nearly 45 minutes on the phone talking to at least 5 different people in three states before someone finally figured it out. Well, at least it saves me the trouble of canceling our service. Now we will be getting a cable modem, but they can't get to us til the 13th, so don't look for me in Paragon City anytime soon. :-(

The Military is conducting investigations into at least two more incidents in Iraq involving unprovoked attacks by Marines against civilians, and the attempts to cover them up. While I'm glad that these events are finally being looked into, does anyone remember when we were the good guys? As an immediate response the Marine Corp. is instituting 'Core Values' training for all personnel in the field. Way to go, guys. Semper fidelis.

On the happier side of things, we saw X-Men III last night. It rocked!! I won't go into any details, but I really enjoyed it. I understand they took some pretty big liberties with some of the plot points, and that might upset some of the more die-hard fans, but since I have no preconceptions about the characters I really liked what they did. And, without giving away too much, Famke Jensen is much hotter as a villain.

Ok, that's all for now. Don't let the penguins steal your cheese.

Marius