the last of the airbenders

If you did not know, I am a huge fan of the animated series, "Avatar: The Last Airbender". It is such a well developed story and has very impressive art. So I was happy to hear that Shymalan is directing the film. I am not so keen on his writing the film as his last few attempts have left little to be desired. But it clear from the trailer that the look of the film will do the series justice. I want to see more bending to make sure it feels right but so far I am happy. 2010 can not come quick enough.

on repeat: a not so grim fandango

As the holidays roll in and my repeats will be consumed with my favorites I have taken some time for another favorite. The score to the Lucas Arts game, Grim Fandango by Peter McConnell. The byline of this album is big band, bebop, and bones and there is no better description. Jazzy with a Spanish flair, I have tried to find other albums that have grabbed me so but have yet to be successful. The entire album is a pleasure to listen to but my favorite track has to be "Ninth Heaven". With memories of trying to solve puzzles with my brother and mother and the fact that I named my computers and local network from its characters, Grim Fandango, holds a very special place in my heart. The score only serves to fill it with joy over and over again.

monk

I have watched all eight seasons since its inception. I loved Tony Shalhoub in Big Night and on "Wings". And while the plots are mostly predictable, the attention to whatever phobias and disorders Monk possess in each and every episode has put it at the top of my need to watch first list since 2002. The classic example is the first episode of season two. Monk substitutes in a school. He starts the class by writing his name on the board and the episode spends at least five or six minutes on Monk making sure that his letters are even and perfect. And the show continuously devotes that time. There are times when it is downright hilarious and times when it is not so funny but the continuity is welcome. "Monk" is coming to an end and I have been waiting for a lovely tribute from USA network, one of those montages put to music. Alas, nothing because USA decided to go for the celebrity send off. I could not live without my thanks to a beloved show. Thanks, Monk. It has been grand.

love that german castle

Fun stamps received this week from postcrossing.com. A German castle and the holiday stamps have begun.

movie quotes

I read an old bulletin board post of mine. Since it was a list of quotes I love, I thought I would share.

Buffy: Does the word, 'duh' mean anything to you?
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992)

NASA Director: This could be the worst disaster NASA's ever faced.
Gene Kranz: With all due respect, sir, I believe this is gonna be our finest hour.
Apollo 13 (1995)

Winston Zeddemore: Ray, when someone asks if you're a God, you say "Yes"!
Ghost Busters (1984)

Kent Mansley: Hey there, scout! Kent Mansley, I work for the government.
The Iron Giant (1999) -  love you, Kent!

I will go there and back again - from "In Dreams" 

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

Spot Conlon: I say... that what you say... is what I say.
Newsies (1992)

Lady Eboshi: What exactly are you here for?
Prince Ashitaka: To see with eyes unclouded by hate.
Mononoke Hime (1997)

Willow: See this acorn? I'll throw it at you and turn you to stone!
Madmartigan: Ooh, I'm really scared. Help! There's a peck with an acorn pointed at me!
Willow (1998)

Sorsha: What are you looking at?
Madmartigan: Your leg. I'd like to break it
Willow (1998)

Red: I hope...
Shawshank Redemption (1994)

Captain Malcolm Reynolds: Dear Buddha, please bring me a pony and a little plastic rocket...
Serenity (2005)

Jayne: You know what the chain of command is? It's the chain I go get and beat you with until you understand who's in ruttin' command here...
"Firefly" (2002)

Hipolito: We pass the time of day to forget how time passes.
Le Fabuleux destin d'Amelie Poulain (2001)

Mathilda: Is life always this hard, or is it just when you're a kid?
Léon: Always like this.
Léon (The Professional) (1994)

Mathilda: I don't wanna lose you, Leon."
Léon: You're not going to lose me. You've given me a taste for life. I wanna be happy. Sleep in a bed, have roots. And you'll never be alone again, Mathilda.
Léon (The Professional) (1994)

Leeloo: Leeloo Dallas mul-ti-pass.
The Fifth Element (1997)

 

David Huxley: When a man is wrestling a leopard in the middle of a pond, he's in no position to run.
Bringing Up Baby (1938)

Tracy Lord: Oh, I'm such an unholy mess of a girl.
C. K. Dexter Haven: Well, now, that's not conversation.
The Philadelphia Story (1940)

volunteer dream

I do not do much volunteer work. I tutor eight grade math and help out with my sorority's foundation. But I found something I really enjoy, libraries. My local public library is looking for volunteers to reshelve books and for me, this is an organizational dream. Hopefully they will have need of me and I can relish the time in a place that I love.

on repeat: Secret Garden

"Mary Lennox, for as long as you will have us, we are yours, Colin and I, and this is your home, and this, my lovely child, is your garden!" ~ Archibald Craven, The Secret Garden, winner of the 1991 Tony Award for Best Musical plus five other Tonys.

Oh, my brother is really going to hate this one. I fell in love with this broadway show when I first saw it in 1992 in New York City. The enchanting story and the harmonious score combined with the amazing voices of Mandy Patinkin and Rebecca Luker as Archibald and Lily are the perfect fit for one of my favorite childhood novels. After hearing and seeing it only once, I begged a friend to make me a copy on two cassettes which I played endlessly to its utter demise. I continue to play The Secret Garden on roadtrips or whenever I become depressed. It is such a lovely tale with such a great ending that it never fails to pick me up. With the most recent purchase to replace a former scratched CD, it has been on constant play in my car. My only regret is that I have only seen this show once. Frequently checked online, the show never seems to be playing near me. Hopefully, I shall see it again.

beautiful chinese stamps

Some recent additions

on repeat: running to stand still

"Running to Stand Still" on U2's Joshua Tree. How can you not love Bono singing "la la la de day" and lyrics like "cry without weeping, talk without speaking, scream without raising your voice"? I love the ups and downs of this simple song mimicing the frustrations of a heroin addict.

that's quite a complex

So what do I do on a four day weekend? Instead of the other five things that were on my list, I got involved in Shadow Complex, a very impressive game available for a $15 download on Xbox Live Arcade. After finally beating it, I would have paid $50 for this game. Shadow Complex takes 2D gaming to a new level, having 3D images and even 3D combat but the ability only to move up, down, right, or left. It is called 2.5D and it was so much fun.

The story is supporting material for Orson Scott Card's Empire novels, the original "Empire" and the upcoming sequel, "Hidden Empire". Jason is pulled reluctantly into some faction, called the Resurrection, who wish to 'liberate' San Fransico. In essence it is military first person shooter and while I typically do not like games which shoot actual people (aliens fine, bugs even better) the faceless victims did not bother me over much.

Besides the beautiful graphics, there are two other things about this game that make it prime. First, as you gain experience by doing normal things: running, jumping, shooting, etc you level up and your precision increases. By the end, shooting is so easy, you can spend the time you need to do the second fun thing: find all the stuff. The map is rendered in colored sections showing doors, locked or necessitating a weapon and as you move by computer terminals, secret doors, shafts, and other wonderful things for which to search, packs to carry more weapons like grenades and missles, armor portions so you can jump higher or run faster. These are just some of things, the map is immense and there is a lot of backtracking to find all the goodies.

The only thing that bothered me somewhat was the re-rendered enemies even after a save room was hit. But because killing became so easy at the end, this was not really a big deal. There is a lot of play time in this little game and well worth the wasted time to play it. Along with Splosion Man, I am very much enjoying Xbox Live Arcade, finding the smaller games easier to manage and feel like it is money and time worth spent.

on repeat: gershwin and beethoven

I finally got rid of some old records and not having a record player for a year, this was overdue. But there were two records which were incredibly hard to give up. Thankfully, they have been remastered on CD and I found them on half.com for a steal. The first is Beethoven's Seventh Symphony with André Prévin conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. I adore the Allegretto of this symphony. Its tragic, meloncholy melody bouncing from bass to violas, from violin to brass all accompanied with a unrelenting counterpoint. I listen to it over and over again anticipating its marchlike tread and loving every note.

The other record is Gershwin's Greatest Hits. Now I love the Gershwins, George especially. This album has three epitomizing piano pieces and each played by some of my favorite people. Leonard Bernstein plays "Rhapsody in Blue", Oscar Levant plays "Three Preludes", and André Prévin plays the third movement of the "Concerto in F". There are others on the CD but these three get played over and over again so that my love for the piano never ceases. Thank goodness I found both of these wondrous CDs.

prounce it oo-boon-too

Speaking of gadgets, my next purchase is going to be a netbook. But because I work for a company who is entering the market with ARM and Linux support, I decided to reduce the cost by going the non-Microsoft route. But before I can do that, I have to make sure I can do everything I want on it. Enter Ubuntu, the easiest to install and fastest up and running Linux operating systems out there. It does everything for you so that with failure to like, you can still go back to that Microsoft machine. But you will like it. It is fast, secure, customizable, and has all that you need in clean, simple formats including productivity, web, music, video, and imaging. Of course, you have to learn a little unix but that is the fun part. The biggest issues I had were setting up the network, not getting my wireless to work but just getting it to see all the other wireless items on my network. The other issue was financial software. This is the only actual software that I use that is not online and I worried that I would have to stick with Quicken. Well, I found kmymoney2 which does all that Quicken does with a pretty easy learning curve. I am still ironing out the issues but so far, I find it a viable replacement. So long Microsoft.

the gadgets and me

I admit it. I am a geek and I love new gadgets. But I have had two gadgets for quite some time that I believe are some of the best investments I have made.  The first is my Synology DS207. This network access server proves its worth time and time again when I access this baby from my pc or linux system, my xbox 360, and now play through DLNA compliant using my bluray player all through a wireless connection. There is nothing better than not having to fiddle with large hard drive systems when you can install up to a TB standard hard drive into a box which holds two of them. Synology has loads of systems which can hold two, four, even 10 hard drives. And they provide the software, web access, and all the assistance in setting it up and having it run without trouble. I love it beyond words.

The second gadget I only got recently when I set up my new home system. My receiver with hdmi switching is a bit finicky in that sometimes the video does not come through. I have to turn on another device then switch back to get it working correctly. Enter Harmony all in one remotes and specifically the Harmony 550. This baby does everything with such customization that I put all my other remotes in a box, never to frown at them again. I need this one and my xbox 360 game controller from now until the end of time.

coming home to the asylum

I have to say it looks deliciously fun. Click here for HD version

le tour de france

I live in a pretty active city. All of these crazy people who love to do outdoorsy stuff like ride bikes for miles at a time, even in this heat. However, it is hard not to at least learn about it. Enter Le Tour de France. Hundreds of miles of impressive sportsmanship upon the luscious landscape of France. It is hard not to like it. Plus I can watch video or read headlines of the events in French and feel like I am practicing. Finally, the color is yellow, my favorite. It is who is wearing the yellow jersey that passes as news and with the bright sun keeping me indoors these days, Le Tour is a welcome relief.

journey of natty gann

1985: John Cusack, Meredith Salinger, and a beautiful wolf. A very sweet movie about a girl looking for her father and finding adventure along the way, The Journey of Natty Gann, does not disappoint in emotion nor in music. I have had snipets of this score probably since my university days. Finally, finally, it has been released in a 2,500 limited edition from Intrada Records. Words do not express the wonderful themes from James Horner in his prime. I ordered it straight away.

anyone want to fry an egg?

I know it is usually July when I start to complain and that the heat wave has spread across the country but this is ridiculous.

deux ans avec Harry

It was two years ago, almost to the day, that I started Harry Potter in French. Today, I finished the last book with a sense of accomplishment as well as sadness that once again, Harry Potter has come to the end.

There are two reasons that I began this journey. The first and foremost is that I adore the Harry Potter series, its characters, the wonderment and fantastic story telling that each scene emits with each word. Not only that but rereading again, in any language, only serves to relive those favorite moments of mine.

The second reason was improve my French. With each read came comprehension, vocabulary, the ability to answer questions both written and orally. There is no substitute for this amount of learning and the fact that it was with books that I enjoy immensely only helped to enhance the experience. The French translation is beyond impressive. The fabricated names and spells were creative and sometimes better than the original English. And no detail was left out or glossed over.

So it is with a bitter sweet memory that my days of Harry Potter in French are over. I know that I will return once again in the future. Maintenant, au revoir Harry et merci pour tous les souvenirs.

anime songs on repeat

Okay, here is where my very bizarre fancy for anime and geeky love of languages rear their ugly heads.  On repeat this week are five anime songs of which I am learning the words, the Japanese words that is.  One is from Miyazaki's Spirited Away called "Itsumo Nando Demo" which translates to "Always with You".  I already know this song by heart  and in learning it, learned how to make the sounds from the romaji translation.  From there I went on to learn the "Princess Mononoke Theme Song" and the "Tatara Women Work Song" from Miyazaki's Mononoke Hime. However, with my recent purchase of Origin: Spirits of the Past soundtrack, I want to learn two more songs sung by Kokia, a popular pop artist and opera trained Japanese singer.  The first is the opening song called "Chouwa Oto (with Reflection)" and is very fast with complicated vocals.  The second is "Ai no Melody" which is just very very long. But I am eager to be able to sing without the words in front of me so I can hear it over and over in my head alone. Only then will my heart be satisfied.

shonen sunday anniversary stamps

The latest stamp from my postcrossing.com trading.  This is Pro Golfer Saru, a Shonen Sunday weekly manga part of the 50th Anniversary of Japanese Comic Books for Boys collection.