Turn off the TV and step away from the remote...

We all know there's a ton of crap on TV. You've heard me bitch about it on this blog, and I'm sure that anyone you run into will tell you the same thing.

But what should you do instead of sitting in front of the TV as it showers you in a never-ending stream of crap? How about read something!

What should you read? Well you can start with the Rubin Review. Mike's got a ton of funny stories on there and I can tell you this: If the site doesn't make you laugh or at least chuckle, then you need to have your pulse checked. Seriously. Go to the doctor right now, I'll wait for you to come back.

Ok, I lied, I"m gonna keep going. Mike's site is pretty funny and is a lot more entertaining that most of the regularly scheduled programming. Go forth and laugh.

Tags:Entertainment, Reviews

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Ehhhhh.

It was ok.

When I got out of the theater I remarked that it should have been called "Harry Potter and the blood clot" because I think I was in danger of getting one from sitting so long. They cut a ton of stuff out (which I am very thankful for, the books are getting soooo detailed) and pretty much stuck to the events dealing with the Tri-wizard tournament.

Which is a good thing, there was lots of action going on surrounding that competition, so that kept the movie moving forward. But there were a lot of "goofy" things that were happening that just kept me from getting into the movie. The introduction of the wizards and witches from the other schools leaps to mind, it was just plain weird watching that Bulgarian dude break dancing in front of Dumboldore. The only thing that was missing was having the student get in the headmaster's face and say "You gots served... SUCKA!!!"

Overall I was a little disappointed. the last movie was much better than this one. I give it 5 out of 10.

Tags:Entertainment, Reviews

The end of year music wrapup: part 1

Yes, its only November, but in the spirit of hanging your Christmas decorations out weeks before any of your neighbors, I've decided to publish my thoughts on the good (of which there was little), the bad (of which there was a lot), and the ugly (don't even get me started). So, in no particular order:

The Foo Fighters - In your honor

I've been a fan of Dave Grohl for a while now, and I always look forward to new Foo Fighters material. The last album wasn't my favorite (it just sounded kinda weak), so I was a bit nervous about this one. But my fears were erased on my first listen. Both discs in this double CD are great. The rock songs rock and the acoustic songs rock! I'm glad they did an acoustic album, I've heard a lot of their unplugged stuff and it has always been impressive. Now we have a whole albums' worth!

I give it 8 out of 10


Slipknot - The subliminal verses

Ehhh. There's a couple of songs (Duality) that are good to ok. The rest just doesn't really yank my crank. The vocals are impressive though, most metal bands these days have singers who can't sing, they either grumble or scream. Corey is definitely a step above the crowd.

I give it 5 out of 10




Queens of the Stone Age - Lullabies to Paralyze

This album rocks my lame ass. You need this music.

I give it 9 out of 10.









Tags:Entertainment, Reviews

CSI - Why, why, why?

Some times when you have a good idea or a good TV show, you can try and replicate the success by making a carbon copy of the original and then throw in a small twist to make it different. There are many examples of this working wonderfully, for example adding peanuts to M&M's to make Peanut M&M's. There are also examples of this working out horribly. CSI leaps to mind.

I'm all for having more intelligent programming on TV. Shows that do not insult the view's knowledge are rare, but beautiful gems. The original CSI is one of those. I like that the show is presenting the scientific aspects of law enforcement to the public at large. I don't like how everything pretty much wraps up in an hour, but hey, I'm willing to live with that as a limitation of the medium of prime time TV.

What I can't live with is the idea that once a show gets half an iota of attention it has to be "spun off". What about CSI is so good that now we have to have Lt. Dan and the girl from "Providence" running around New York solving crimes? Is the Las Vegas setting for the original CSI so dull and drag we have to grab ex-cast members of NYPD Blue and send the to Miami?

So please, take my advice: If you ever have a successful TV show, don't let them spin it off before the original has even ended. Friends don't let friends make crappy knock-offs.



Tags:Entertainment, Reviews

Desperate Housewives has not gone downhill

It seems the favorite pastime of TV critics this fall is bashing Desperate Housewives by saying it isn't as good as last season. Apparently those critics have been conditioned into expecting to be entertained 100% to-the-max every week, every time.

And yet, if DH did make every episode like last season everyone would complain. Each week we'd see the same thing:

-Susan embarrass herself in some slapstick physical comedy kind of way
-Edit try to steal someones man while acting real sleazy
-Bree would clean something
-Gabrielle would buy something expensive after making out with the gardener
-Lynette's devil children would do something that shocked everyone

Instead, this season the producers opted to let the characters grow and mature. After all, last season major characters died, others were run out of town, and someone went to jail. Anyone of these events in real life would cause a seismic shift in people. The show is now trying to show that these people have been affected and are struggling to adapt. We, the television public, should be glad that the show respects us enough to try and grow with us, instead of slapping us on the ass and telling us the cab money is on the nightstand, like so many other shows do.

So, check out the the first season and be thankful that such a great show has been allowed to air. And then enjoy the 2nd season that is currently on the air.

Except for that guy in the basement, that's just plain creepy. What's up with him?

I give it 8 out 10.


Tags:Entertainment, Reviews

That 70's Show needs to stop it

Its a hard thing to admit when a good thing has run its course and its time to move on. Like a first love, or leaving home, its hard to do. But we reach down deep, discover who we are, and find the courage to move on.

And that is exactly what the people behind "That 70's Show" should have done before last night. Even though major cast members are leaving and the show itself is progressing plot-time-wise out of the 70's, they have decided to trot this horse out for one more pitful run around the track.

I stopped watching last night's episode about 15 mins into it. My poor wife watched the entire hour. It was painful.

If you really want to see this show, go to the DVD sets and watch it in its prime. Those days are long behind it now.

A Scanner Darkly - Phillip K. Dick

The books of Philip K. Dick are a fountain of wonderfully bizarre "what ifs". In this book he explores the world of drug addiction and an undercover police officer who works in it. The drug of choice is called "Substance D" and has the unusual effect of splitting the user's mind into two distinct entities.

To try and describe what happens when Fred, the undercover officer, begins to feel the effects of the drug is almost impossible. Fred is keeping close watch on a dealer named Bob Arctor whose activities are very suspicious. But what Fred isn't aware of is that he is Bob Arctor. The drug has got him so mixed up that he doesn't realize that he is monitoring himself.

As crazy as that sounds, it is just the beginning. In true PKD fashion, the book twists and twists until the final pages when suddenly everything becomes apparent and makes sense.

I don't want to give too much away, so go and check this book out. Also, there is a movie version starring Keanu Reeves, Woody Harrelson, Winona Ryder, and Robert Downey Jr. Its coming out in the near future (sometime in 2006). I would recommend reading the book before seeing the movie in order to get the full effect. The trailer looks awesome.

I give the book 8 out of 10.

Made in China - Juliana Hatfield

I've been a fan of Juliana for a little over a decade now. Her early albums were really amazing, great songs, great musicanship, and wonderful production on the songs. As time progressed however, Juliana began to change into something different.

Which isn't always a bad thing. One has to grow if one wants to move forward as an artists or even as a person. I haven't liked all of her albums at the same level over the years as she experimented with differenent sounds. Some sounds fit her well, others don't. But you have to take the good with the bad, because everyone has differing opinions on what is good or bad.

I've held out hope that one day she would return to the days of "Hello Babe" or "Only Everything". Her latest album, "Made in China" proves that this isn't the day. Sonically, its one of her roughest sounding albums. On many of the songs it sounds like the insturments and her voice are all trying to muscle their way to the front so they can be heard. I'm not a big fan of this approach, it works on some songs sometimes, but not on all of the songs all of the time.

The songs themselves are ok. There are a few that are really nice, but most are just ok. This album also has the distinction of having my absoulte least favorite song of hers "Send Money". That song grates on my last nerve.

Overall the album is a little dissapointing. There are gilimers of the past, but the rough sounds and so-so songs really overshadow that. Most of Juliana's albums do grow on me over time (especially if my first listen isn't that impressive), and this one has grown on me a little, but not a lot. Perhaps it is best summed up by one of her lyrics from her time with the Blake Babies: "People wishing I'd come back, I don't want to change the fact. People crying for old days, I don't want to change that way."

I give it 4 out of 10.

Crunching Data

After reading positive reviews of this book in Dr Dobbs and on Slashdot, I decided that I needed to check it out. Every now and then I run into data that comes from some crazy source (web page, text file, spreadsheet) that needs to be massaged into some other format. I'm also a big fan of Python and Java, so this book seemed like it would be right up my alley.

The book is rated as a "beginner to intermediate" level book, and I found this to be true. It does assume working knowledge of Java and Python which is nice for me, as I am tired of seeing books that look interesting and then find out that half of hte book is an introduction to how to program in Java. This book dives into the problems and shows you the solutions fast.

My only real complaint would probably be the XML section of the book, it seemed really long, and little bit on the basic side. Not that a good review of XML is a bad thing, but it just felt like the book lost some momemtum in that chapter. I was able to apply the ideas in this chapter to a work counting program I wrote that looked at my Blog's posts and determined the most popular words. That was very cool and useful.

The section on database is also slightly on the beginner side, but I really don't think that is such a bad thing. Databases are a big topic, and trying to explain how to get data into and out of them is no small task. This chapter is definetly good for someone just getting started with programming, it gives a gentle introduction to the basics of SQL.

Overall I really like the book. Some of the tricks I was already familiar with, some were ones I had seen a long time ago and had forgotten about. The writing that connects these tricks and the chapters together is pretty good, and I think this will help me use the book in a "I read about this somewhere before..." style of reference.

I give it 8 out of 10