Meatballs Vs. Stripes

* = Is this what you were thinking of Dave?

Well I didn’t get to blog last week. It was crazy busy. So I’ll just give you the short version of everything since I’m lazy;

- I lost a fight with tiny black flying ants. This happened before WAY back in the day in St. Cloud. I had a really bad reaction.

This time I didn’t get swarmed quiet as bad, but I still reacted quiet badly. My legs swelled from the welts, and while my skin didn’t split this time, it felt like it was darn close. I now have added these tiny black, flying menaces to my list of hate, right beneath that tree in the backyard that tried to kill me in the spring.

- I also managed to watch a CRAP LOAD of stuff as well;

o Talihina Sky: The Kings Of Leon (*** out of 5) –

I am unfamiliar with this band, & their catalog, BUT I will say the documentary was fascinating. To see how such an extreme fundamentalist up bringing shaped these men into who they became was riveting. I think more than anything else it was the idea that you can’t really capture that time and ‘go home again’. You can instead only look fondly upon the past, appreciate it, and move forward. For those that love documentaries, this is a nice little window into all those things that make ‘Merica interesting; class, urban vs. rural, drugs, women, family, old vs. new, religion, politics, rednecks, and rock n’ roll.

o First Circle (**** out of 5) –

Its funny most documentaries really are hard to watch. It’s not like there are a lot of them out there that cover the wonders of puppy dogs and rainbows. This one covers the U.S. foster care system. Just typing that brings my mood down. This is an incredible piece of film, it’s touching, it’s heartbreakingly sad, and it really makes you wonder if this system is SO broke why haven’t we come up with anything better, OR is there nothing better? Not to mention in what parent’s mind is getting high SO much more important that keeping your kids?

o The Tillman Story (**** out of 5) –

Do you trust the U.S. government? You do? Well watch this documentary and watch that trust wane. I already look at everything around us skeptically, some might say cynically, but then you watch something like this it helps to remind you it’s not really paranoia IF they are all really out to get you. For those that have lived under a rock for the last ten years or so, Pat Tillman was a NFL player who gave it up to enlist and fight for his country. He died overseas in service. Originally our government spun a tale of heroism and sacrifice. Only to then have it come out he was killed by friendly fire. Oh not only that but incompetent friendly fire. Did I mention that his brother left a minor league baseball career to enlist with him, oh and that they were Rangers together, in the same unit? Or how about that the government lied to him as well, keeping the truth from him that his ‘friends’ had slaughtered his brother not even a mile away from where he held read guard on a convoy. This is just the beginning of the lies, the cover up, the sad exploitation of a man who just wanted to do what he thought was right, and in the end found out that his country wasn’t what he thought it was. Just typing this makes me sad for the family, and outraged about how those in power see us all as nothing more than a disposable commodity.

o Cropsey: An Urban Legend (***** out of 5) –

If the previous film didn’t disgust you, then this one will. Almost every town, or area, has his or her own urban legends and boogey men, for me it’s Yorkie Smith. What happens when you find out the boogey man is real? What happens when insular communities are confronted with real senseless tragedy? When the ‘weakest’ of us are victimized, brutalized, and killed? More often than not, we as human beings stop crying out for justice and start foaming at the mouth for vengeance. That’s what this explores. The Cropsey ‘Legend’ in the Northeast part of the country mingled seamlessly into the real murders supposedly committed by Andre Rand, a real life boogey man. While not as good as the two Paradise Lost (Infinite *’s out of 5) documentaries, this one still was fantastic.

o Percy Jackson & The Lightening Thief (* ½ out of 5) –

I wanted to like this. I really did. It’s basically Harry Potter with Greek Mythology. It just really was flat, predictable, and lacked some punch. I might steal some of the ideas for Marvel SAGA, but other than that it was simply Saturday morning fluff.

o Paul (**** out of 5) –

What can I say, did you really think I wouldn’t like a movie with Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Jason Bateman, Jeffrey Tambor, & Kristen Wiig? I’m not the biggest Seth Rogan guy, but he was entertaining as the lead character, and alien, ‘Paul’. The movie was PACKED with homage’s to just about every damn Sci-Fi movie you can think of. It celebrated ‘geek culture’, had some slightly touching moments, and was paced briskly. It’s not Hot Fuzz or Shawn Of The Dead, but it’s pretty damn entertaining.

- We dog sat the last 5 days or so for M.C.&M. Their dog Cosmo is a fantastic little guy and it was very nice, for Cassandra especially, to have a dog around the home. It was a tad heartbreaking at the end though to see the little guy go.

- The second D&D group kicks off on Saturday so I began formulating my ideas, and roughly figuring out what I want to get done.
Other than that I ate antihistamines like they were candy, tried to sleep, and was generally a pissy curmudgeon. Same as it ever was, SAME AS IT EVER WAS!

RANDOM CRAP!

- I started Anno Dracula. The first twenty pages left me a bit ‘meh’. Then I kept going. I’m halfway through now and loving it.
- Nap time?
- You know the new Thundercats is pretty damn good. It reminds me of the 2002 Masters Of The Universe cartoon, a nice respectful revamp with some respect for the previous incarnation.
- Black powder firearms in D&D, yeah or nay?
- There was another Post Mortem on Fear dot net last week, this time it was Rob Zombie. It was interesting to hear his side of things when it comes to the films he’s released. I’m not really a fan of what he’s done, but I don’t hate it like a lot of others do. I enjoyed hearing his perspective on what worked, what didn’t, what was a compromise, and the other assorted why’s and wherefores. It brought perspective that I found intriguing.
- How come I can’t get a Kamandi, Last Boy On Earth cartoon?
- I’m watching The Venture Brothers from the beginning right now, I’m at the end of Season 2. I had forgotten just how ‘forward’ thinking the show is. There are literally TONS of hints dropped about future events every episode. I have to admit though Season 2 CRUSHES Season 1 when it comes to quality.
- The 2011 Geek Cred. Quiz is almost completed. I’m hoping to post it this week or next.
- The NFL Season is literally days away, & in all honesty I have NO idea who I even think will get to the Super Bowl. I’ll do my patented “PICKS BOUND TO BE WRONG” next week. I mean it’s not like they have to be on time, since they are always SO wrong.
- Last night we had 'The Lee’ for dinner. I have to say I thought our version was a bit better. A charcoal grill usually trumps the gas, I thought Cassandra’s coleslaw had a bit more bite, which I like, we picked sturdier bread, and I used a thicker cut of pork loin. Understand when I say ‘better’ I mean by microns of measurement.
- I’m going to be making my own Giardiniera, REJOICE!

I think I’ve wounded your psyche enough today…

“I don't want to
Hear you whisper
I don't want to orbit
Your world of two

There's only room for you

In your world of two

I don't like to
Hang around you
I don't want to
Live in your world
Of two

There's only room for you

In your world of two

It's not that I don't like you
But it's not that I don't love you

It's not that I don't think you are
Two of the most
Perfectly
Beautiful
People in your world

In your world of two
There's only room for you
In your world of two
There's only room for you
In your world of two
In your world of two
There's only room
There's only room
There's only room
For you”



* = That's for you Ant!