another one off the list

I am not sure why but I love state capitol buildings.  I love buildings in general but old ones with arches and rotundas just take my breath away.  While visiting my sister, we took a trip to Richmond to visit the Virginia State Capitol.  Designed by Thomas Jefferson and the place where democracy was first established, history just filtered out of this beautiful French based structure.  With its yellow interior walls and landmark confederate roots, I wanted to just sit and bask in its southern glory.

 

I may not have a real list but I could probably start one.  

• Columbia, SC
• Raleigh, NC
• Columbus, OH
• Austin, TX
• Nashville, TN
• Charleston, WV
• Atlanta, GA
• Richmond, VA
• Lexington, KY (only from the outside as it was closed when I went to visit)

the bats under congress avenue bridge

It sounds really gross but the Congress Avenue bridge, which spans the Colorado River (not The Colorado River but a smaller one), is host to the largest urban bat colony in the United States.  Just a few blocks from my apartment, I took a walk on one of the cooler nights in the past month to get a glimpse of these bats, which emerge at or around dusk to hunt for their insect food.  I tried to watch them earlier in August at the BatFest 2008 but it was on the First Street bridge and too far away to see them fly away as night approached.  While this impromptu visit did not garner the results I wanted (see this picture) I did see them silently fluttering under the bridge, thousands of them on the hunt.  Honestly, I was a bit scared and worried about the 'ew' factor but it is a matter of pride, this daily event of Austin.  I will go again so that I can witness that impressive swarm.

Ike heads toward Austin

The coast has evacuated and though Austin will probably only catch the edge, Ike has caused some major upheaval in the past few days. Football games have been rearranged, Austinites are talking about tying down furniture, and we are praying that we do not get the winds but only the much, much needed rain. From a superior site, www.stormpulse.com, here is a current satellite of Ike making its way toward Houston.

Moribito and Naruto Shippūden movie

I have a quite a bit of anime on my plate these days.  Between adult swim, netflix, netflix watch now, anime tv channel, scifi animonday and host of other places to watch, keeping up can be a bear.  Of all of these, one almost escaped my notice and I am glad that it did not.  Moribito - Guardian of the Spirit is currently running on adult swim's Saturday night lineup and the last episode that aired made me fall in love with it.  Several fight scenes ensued that were amazingly directed and the story was set up so well that I was completely enraptured.  The butt kicking female fighting hero has pledged to save the spirit possessing hidden strength finding prince in a beautifully animated series.  It is the first anime in a while, save for Naruto, which leaves me wanting more.

Speaking of Naruto, the new Naruto Shippūden movie trailer has been blasted at the beginning of the new episodes and boy does it look great.  Enjoy.

Online Videos by Veoh.com

a capital living

I have lived in five state capitals so far in my life.  By lived, I mean either with my family, in school, or renting and earning wages.  Interestingly, I have only lived six different places and the one which is not a state capital is the one where I was born and lived only little more than a year.  Of the other five, all of them were a place where there was no professional football, basketball, or hockey team, though one of the places now has a hockey team and that same one developed a professional soccer team while I was inhabiting.  Of them, two of them are above 700,000 population and the other three were about 350,000 or less.  I have visited each of their capitol buildings, driven amongst their landscapes and as such, have gotten lost on their crowded highways.

Maybe it is because I have moved into its center or maybe because I have had the time and the ability to enjoy its atmosphere but Austin is by far the most enjoyable capital that I have lived. Its lazy culture and lively music make it a contradiction yet comfortable in the state where it resides. Its state capitol, one of my life's little pleasures, is the best in the country and epitomizes the unofficial state motto by being larger than our nation's capitol. I see the changes planned for this city and look forward to watching it persist and better itself. There is so much to do, you can not do it all and there is so much for your general enjoyment that it makes you wonder why anyone would criticize about anything, besides the weather of course.  While I do not participate in its politics or understand its drive for being the biggest or most independent, the city has captured me with its romantic Texan history and landscapes.  I will never be a Texan and have no desire to become one but I feel more settled than I have in some time and that is a comforting thought.

Trudi Canavan

When you send someone a postcard on postcrossing.com, you take a look at their profile to see what kinds of cards they like and their hobbies, etc.  In the last batch I sent, I found a kindred spirit, an anime lover and a Harry Potter fan.  She lives in Germany and her profile mentioned Trudi Canavan so I looked up the author and immediately put the first of her Magician's Guild trilogy on the library hold list, which is becoming increasingly long.  Well, I fell in love.  The story revolves a young girl who lives in the slums of Kyralia.  She inadvertantly magically throws a stone at the magicians as they try to purge the city of these dwellers each year.  As Sonea thrawts the Magician's Guild time after time, she, herself, is thrown into danger as her powers become more and more uncontrolable.  The story is simple but the characters very rich.  I could not put the book down and I am now immersed in the second. You have to love postcrossing.

my favorite so far

TH-10759
Originally uploaded by snshn98
Chiang Mai, Thailand. The umbrellas are the most adorable thing.

the perfect trailer

I love trailers. This one has the perfect mix of music, action, and imagery. Have fun watching this sucker.

the white knight, the joker, and the Batman

I have been listening to the score for several weeks now but I just saw the movie this weekend.  The Dark Knight was classic superhero but definitely with a more twisted villain than anything that has come before.  While it is star studded, Heath Ledger made this film the ratings garner that it is.  I have said it before, I love the darkness and the broodiness of Batman.  Bale plays him a little too cheery for me sometimes though but the sacrifice and evidence about what he had become by the end of the film was definitely known.  Ledger, on the other hand, is a spot on Joker.  He never falters as the crazed lunatic and we know that he will not kill Batman because it is too much fun playing around with him.  I like how he wants us to know his many scar stories, he revels in them and the terror he can create.  Harvey Dent was also pretty perfect.  We see the bright white knight he was before the tragic dual personalities took over his soul and his mind.  It seems more likely that we will see him again rather than the Joker, given Ledger's death.

The score has more of the same themes we heard in the first movie, only with this lovely James Newton Howard twist.  It is definitely a Media Ventures now known as Remote Control Productions work with its electronic undertones  I have read that The Joker theme, especially, was recorded with orchestra and then resampled with electronics.  It makes for a difficult listen but a good theme for the tragic character. The third track "Harvey Two Face" takes on the Howard I know and love at the end with a big douse of the Dent theme in all its glory. It has grown on me with each listen.

Besides the really good movie with the really good music, I was blessed with the trailer for the next 007 movie and, in my opinion, it is one of the best trailers I have seen. Truly, this franchise has been lifted into an even better direction than with Brosnan if the trailer is a sight to behold. http://www.007.com/

my love for M*A*S*H

I was looking through the old posts, certain that I would have mentioned M*A*S*H.  But I never had and I absolutely love the show.  I still watch the reruns, over and over, especially any with Colonel Blake or Colonel Flagg, both having the epitome of comedic timing.  The show was amazing, the perfect blend of comedy, tragedy, and friendship.  Before medical dramas were the norm, this show blasted you with 'meatball' surgery without all the fast talking jargon and it feels more real than anything on television these days.  Some of my favorite scenes are when Hawkeye or one of his cohorts plays the pun.  The actors are of the highest calibre, the writing unspeakably tight, and the characters unforgettable. With memories of my dad, this show prevails and will probably keep doing so, at least for me, for a very long time. 

chaos of unpacking

Yes it has been a month since the actual move but being the obsessive person that I am, I have to organize rather than just unpack.  Things have to be observed, recorded, and then put in their place.  My extensive soundtrack CD collection is going to be the last thing that gets done because I have to upgrade the storage.  Therefore the boxes get moved from unfinished section to finished section and back again.  The boxes just could not hold out today and the bottom of one finally opened.  The beautiful chaos had to be recorded.  Luckily, the CDs survived and there was nothing beyond slightly cracked cases.  One of them just happened to be a Danny Elfman signed copy of Tim Burton's The Corpse Bride but thankfully a case can be swapped very easily.  Note to self and all others planning for a move: tape box bottoms securely!

the Brits can tell a story

Two British series ended their seasons this week on American television.  Both of them left open questions as to what was going to happen.  The first, Robin Hood, played the emo card and killed Marian, effectively killing what made this series.  Lucy Griffiths was an excellent Marian, beautiful yet spunky.  I enjoyed her performances with Jonas and she was always an integral part of the story.  In my opinion, it seems unlikely that this series can keep its audience without the main drive of Robin.  Doctor Who, on the other hand, took the lonely route, erasing Donna's memories of the Doctor and leaving him yet again traveling through time and space, alone.  That last scene, with him entering the Tardis from the rain, knowing full well that he had within him the power to destroy worlds yet missing the human element that grounds him was very special.  Apparently, this series does not return until 2010 under new direction.  I eagerly and worrily await to see how the Doctor copes with losing another leading lady.

happy endings end

around the world

Now I have received eight postcards from around the world. I have added them to flickr to share with postcrossing.com and now you can enjoy. This is so great!

anyone got a frying pan?

I know that it is July in Texas but this is awful. And August, the hottest month of the year, is still a week away.

simply beautiful

A little rougher, a little snarkier, what a gorgeous trailer.

My mother, the cat lover

Have fun, mom!

http://blogoscoped.com/files/stripes.html

Avatar returns and then ends

How excited am I that Avatar: The Last Airbender returns this week?  A week long run of new episodes every day with a two hour finale on Saturday.  Well, since this is it, the end of Avatar, my excitement has no bounds.  Though, I typically get too excited and my anticipation outweighs the actual product.  But because it is Avatar, I am hoping that is not the case this time.  Make sure you watch Nickelodeon this week!

The Force Unleashed

The saga continues as Darth Vader takes on a secret apprentice.  This game looks amazing combining the things I love about Ninja Gaiden and Star Wars into one piece.  Take a look at the trailer to drool over the graphics and fun that can be had. 

http://www.lucasarts.com/games/theforceunleashed/

God love Joss

I love Joss Whedon.  I have since Buffy the Vampire Slayer the movie.  He is hilarious in person, hilarious in his writing (http://www.drhorrible.com/plan.html), yet poignant in both aspects as well.  The man is pure genius when it comes to the video medium.  And here he goes again.  Straight out of the writer's strike, Joss puts on an internet extravaganza starting July 15.  Make sure you watch, it is going to be so much fun.

Teaser from Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog on Vimeo.