all songs considered

It has been a while.  Summer is rolling in and I have to get up even earlier so that I can walk around Town Lake when it is still comfortable outside.  This morning, as I was listening to my regular podcasts, the NPR's All Songs Considered kept me fully entertained.  It is so difficult to keep up with music and in Austin, with all the musicians trying to find their place, it is even more so.  Still, this podcast is a great way for an introduction to recent music and this show was one of its best.  It is a compilation of listeners and followers of the blog's favorite lesser known bands and a song is played from each the owner of the show deems worthy of time.  Every band was one for which I would have gone to buy the CD, or at least downloaded a song or two.  It made the walk fast and fun and I highly recommend the show.

ponyo in august

Just in time for a cool dip, Miyazaki's Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea hits US theaters in August. There is no end to my excitement over this.

mad world

On repeat this week is Roland Orzabal's "Mad World", the song in Donnie Darko. The score for this movie is twisted, as you can imagine, but the song is very repeatable.  The melody is so simple, the lyrics even more so, and Gary Jules does a beautiful job on the vocals.  I just can never get enough.

stamps from russia and china

I do not collect them but I love getting them. My correspondents take note and some even comment. The man in the Russian stamp is Gagarin, a Soviet cosmonaut and the first human in space.

"can you help me with my computer?"

http://supportdetails.com/

Very slick and very useful.

lost fathers

Being a devoted Lost fan, I can not believe it took me this long to figure out the father theme that has splattered this series since its inception.  Here is a list of dysfunctional fathers that I could come up with...

• Jack's (and Clarie's) father, Christian Shepherd
  
• Walt and his father, Michael
• Hurley's father, David who left him when he was young
  
• Jin's supposed fisherman father
• Sun's organized crime father
• Desmond's wife's father, Charles Widmore
• Ben's father, Roger Linus
• Mile's recent father revelation, Dr. Pierre Chang, director of the Dharma Project
• Sawyer adopts the name of the man who conned his mother, a sort of father figure
• Sayid's father, who was shown to be disappointed with weakness
  
• Kate, who killed her abusive step father, later revealed to be her real father
• turns out I forgot John Locke (I claim selective amnesia) who's father found him late in his life, got his kidney and then disappeared.  He was later killed by Sawyer at the request of Locke himself.  Sheesh, no wonder I wanted to forget (thanks, Christine!)
  

podcasts

I listen to a lot of podcasts.  What is not to love, abundance of free mp3 to pass the time while working out and on any topic you can name. For me it is all the anime, movies, tv, gaming, and french I can get and you can set it up to update itself and fill up your ipod by just plugging the darn thing in your computer. Seriously, how easy is that? One podcast that I would like to introduce to the world is one called movies you should see.  A podcast based solely on films and hosted by four Brits.  All types of movies ranging from whichever just won the Oscar to classic film such as 12 Angry Men.  It is not technical but just prose on what works and what does not, the characters, setting, music, and mood.  I enjoy their banter and their opinions, mainly because they say brilliant a lot. Whatever your tastes, this podcast is one I make sure I listen to every week.  Check it out.

so inviting

I have lived downtown for almost eight months now. For all that time, I have not had anything to sit on and enjoy the balcony with its amazing view. I guess I was waiting for the patio furniture to go on sale. Well the lovely weather beckoned and so I now have two lovely chairs and a table for reading or watching the city. Now that things are complete, my media cabinets are delivered and stocked and the patio now sports a tomato plant, all are invited to come and spend some time in Austin, the live music capital of the world. By the way, that is Elora, my orchid, on the table. The leaves fell and part of the upper stem died. I clipped the stem and opened the roots to air. Hopefully that and the slight drop in the temperature for the next few nights will allow it to bloom again. Note to self to take it out of the light in the morning!

spring break in Los Angeles

I have been remiss in talking about my vacation with my brother in Los Angeles. I always assumed that LA was too flashy for me but honestly, it is much more down to earth. Of course, we braved the traffic to head downtown and see the hot spots in Hollywood. But then we drove up into the hills, Beverly Hills that is, and my mouth dropped at the gorgeous palm tree lined roads and wonderfully landscaped mansions. There is the flash. But after that, our time was spent at the Santa Anita race track where I actually won $2 on Lucius Antonious. I lost it on the the next bet though. We also visited the LA county Arboretum where we walked among the peacocks and explored the natural wonders of the world: flowers, trees, shrubs, all types. The track and the arboretum were just a walk away from my brother's home so it all felt extremely relaxing. I can not forget though that my amazing brother exceeded all of that by purchasing tickets to the opening game of the LA Galaxy. Obviously, that was the grandest part.

found my team

My love for soccer knows no bounds. That is to say it knows no state boundaries. I watched the Seattle Sounders play today on Fox Soccer Channel. They seemed to walk all over Toronto FC beating them 2-0. I have had a hard time getting behind the Houston Dynamo simply because they have been very inconsistent. But Seattle looked glorious in their bright green kits sporting xbox 360 live sponsors. I may have to support the new expansion team this year and forever more.

want a taco?

someone must really like tacos, this is a study in taco journalism and is a list of all the taco trucks and taquerias in Austin

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bright lite

pretty neat commercial...

more stamps

These are awesome! The first is from Thailand and the second from The Republic of China.

I watch the Watchmen

I managed to see Watchmen and read its graphic novel. I have to say that I really liked the ending in the movie more than that of the novel. Mostly because it made a bit more sense and had a bit more relevance to the present and perhaps to the time period of the novel. Other than that though, the novel was stellar. The amazing juxtaposition of time and the little threads of minor plot elements was fantastic. The art was, at least in the novel I read, not overly impressive but the images and classic comic book rendition made up for it. Speaking of images, the film did a wonderful job of capturing those images. Because I had read it just prior to seeing the film, I recognized almost every scene as being one in the novel. A particularly powerful attention to detail that was not lost on this observer. That and the choreography of the fights was another pleasant surprise. Too many films these days use editing to chop the fights into so many tiny pieces that the choreography and, in my opinion, merit of the fight is lost. There were many more fights in the movie than in the novel and each one was well done and enhanced the characters. The only minor drawback is that these fights were put to lyrical songs and not original score but it worked well so I can not complain too much. I very much liked Rorschach, behind the mask and not. Of all the many and I mean many characters in the novel, I thought his betrayal was the best. A fantastic film of a fantastic novel and one not to be missed on the big screen. Thanks, Greg, for making me go see it in the theatre.

cable series

With the upcoming end of Battlestar Galactica, I came to realize that about a third of my episodic television subscriptions are on cable television.  TNT, TBS, SciFi, USA, AMC; basic cable stations all have shows which have some how or another grabbed an audience and managed to grab me as well.  I have spoken to Mad Men and BSG previously but here are a few other shows that I watch for other reasons.

The Closer is, by far, one of the best shows on cable television.  The humorous combination of the smart southern belle chief of a special police force of smart but cracked group of detectives. Every time Kyra Sedgwick says "for heaven's sake" with a heavy accent or deliciously savors a piece of chocolate, it shows you that the characters are very deeply rooted in this show.  Each one is detailed and centered that you know how they will react to everything that is thrown at them.  That and they get the job done... well except for the one that got away.  I adore this show and its stellar cast.

Psych is a closet favorite of mine.  It is light on the plot and characters, but along with Monk, another favorite, the attention to detail allows these two characters to solve the crime.  But Psych makes me giggle.  All those little pulp culture references make up for the loss of shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and West Wing.  It is usually the first show on my DVR that I watch because it is light and fun.

A new show this season, Leverage, took me by surprise.  Part Ocean's Eleven, part Alias, part Hustle with some Robin Hood thrown in, I could not get enough.  In this show, it is the set up, the con which drives me to watch.  This little band of thieves is coming back next season and I can not wait.

I gave up on a few like Saving Grace, Damages, and the jury is still out on Trust Me.  But new seasons of the above and shows like My Boys make up for some of the poor choices on basic television.  

 

I would be remis if I did not mention the end of Battlestar Galactica once again.  This show has raised the bar and the creativity of both science fiction and non science fiction cable series above and beyond what Stargate accomplished.  The lingo alone has permeated the average frackin' household audience.  It is beautiful, well written, well acted, and well composed by Bear McCreary.  The all in one package for the scifi geek and the perfect combination for anyone who wants good television.  Despite the loss of beloved Galactica, both ship and show, and despite the long and arduous journey to Earth and beyond, the growth and emotions of the characters will live on.  So say we all.

a spurt of anime

I go through spurts. Watching movies, anime, reading books, knitting, gaming. All the things I love make it difficult to spend quality time with each so I have to break it up. These past few weeks, it has been anime. I have caught up with a few shows that have not been great but have managed to satisfy the recent dearth.

I rented Chrono Crusade from netflix. The strange combination of Christian themes and killing in 1920's New York can not seem strange in the Japanese genre. Nuns, priests, spouts of god fearing language seem to resonate in anime. This particular one tells the story of a girl and her childhood devil trying to save her brother from an evil devil who, in turn, is trying to take over humanity and become immortal. While it resorts to silly antics intermittently, brother - sister plot is sweet. Rosette, a cross shooting gun in hand, deals fine with the evil devils but can rely on the devil, Chrono, to turn and wipe them out at the cost of time on her life. I have about three episodes left but I would recommend it. The art and music are average though I really like how the bullets turn into white crosses when they hit.

I had begun Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo through netflix's streaming on the computer. With a bit of time this weekend, I managed to finish the series through my xbox (did I mention how much I love that!). This show was just plain strange. A futuristic loose retelling of Dumas' famous novel, the art in this show will either make you cringe or blow your mind. It layers these photoshop patterns onto the digital anime so when the characters move, their clothes and hair kind of don't. At first, I thought something was wrong with the video. I guess I got used to it but it was sometimes very distracting and sometimes pretty neat. Above that aspect, I was not totally in love with the show. The characters were rather boring and a theme of revenge was taken to very alarming levels. I enjoyed the original novel for what it was but could not take the changes made to the characters.

Partaking of more netflix - xbox streaming, I started Saiyuki. Saiyuki is the story of four guys, one a buddist monk, the other three devils who have their dark powers inhibited. I have read it is based on the historical story A Journey to the West, also called Monkey which makes sense because that is what the little one is called a lot, in jest of course. This show is very well written, or should I say well translated. The fight scenes are not very good, however. It burys the action with still shots which I hate. But so far, I enjoy the humor and character relationships enough that I continue to watch with anticipation and with 50 episodes in the first season, it better be good enough.

81st Annual Zilker Kite Festival

How can a kite festival not make you smile? It was chilly, sunny, cloudless, perfect. I managed to actually get a bit of a sunburn watching kids and adults try to keep their kites in the sky. I could never capture the amazing beauty of hundreds of kites glittering the blue but I did take a few pictures, the best of which was a Tie-Fighter trying to take flight with help from its owners.

There was, of course, two main rings hosting competitions and exhibitions. I was around for the Indian Fighter Kits where the little kites without tails chop off the long tail of the head kite. All around, it was a wonderful spectacle and my second visit to one of Austin's best events.

seal of approval

One of the best parts of getting postcards through postcrossing is the stamps. I love seeing the different designs, landscapes, languages, colors, everything. Below is a scan of my lastest from Finland. Is not the shape awesome? What about those cartoon peoples in purple and turquoise? Adorable, I wish I knew what it meant.

wait for it

So worth the 27 seconds.  Du beau foot!

cute as a button

Just returned from Coraline and the second movie in a week for which I have ventured to the theatre. This one was definitely worth the price of admission. There is, of course, the mention of the beautiful imagery and the creative vision of Gaimen's book. The wonderful plot, the amazing characters and their charming characteristics, even the minor ones combine for an entertaining ride. Coraline is so well established with her stubborn smirk and childish determination. The house is perfect and the other mother brilliantly creepy. I only know Bruno Coulais from his music for Les Choristes but his score for Corlaine is definitely on my list of things to buy. But beyond all that, beyond the fact that outright it is a very good film and a high quality piece of art, above all is the phenomenal 3D depiction. Nothing compares to the visuals that this technology can output. It blew me away and just made everything so vivid. With eye popping color and detail it is no wonder there were three trailers in 3D even before the movie started. This is definitely one you should see in the theatre. I am glad I went and paid what I think is an outrageous amount for a 2 hour span of time. Rooting for Coraline with 3D goodness was worth every penny. Go see this movie!