Okay, folks. I've had it. Your standards are all too low. I'm sick and tired of the fantastic television shows getting canceled while the shining stars of mediocrity get renewed year after year. Cases in point:
Pushing Daisies? Canceled. Eli Stone? Canceled. Arrested Development? Canceled. Firefly? Canceled.
Wife Swap? Now in its fifth season. The Bachelor? Seventh season. Hell's Kitchen? Sixth season. COPS? Twenty-first season.
Now, granted--every now and then you give a show like Lost its fair dues. And you let Seinfeld do quite well, so I'm willing to cut you a bit of slack. But the fact of the matter is that tv studios wouldn't make crap if you didn't watch so much of it. I saw an ad last night for Howie Do It. Please make this show fail. Give me at least a glimmer of hope for your general taste in television.
That is all.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009
25 Things About Me
Just finished typing this up for a Facebook note, so I figured I'd put it up here, as well. No sense in letting hard work go to waste and all that. Have a nice Thursday!
25 Random Things About Bryce
1) I celebrate Groundhog Day. Passionately.
2) I feel compelled to set my alarm for a time that ends in 5, ideally 25 or 55 (6:25, 7:55, etc). 5:55 is the best, and that's when I typically get up each day.
3) I've only been to one "rock" concert in my life. It was Barenaked Ladies. I had a good time.
4) I've written nine novels, including an alpaca fantasy adventure and a post-modern adaptation of Sleepy Hollow.
5) I'm abysmal at keeping in touch with old friends. Or at least I used to be, before Facebook. :-)
6) My favorite color is gray. Black's the second one.
7) I've been a fast food worker, gas meter reader, German transcriber, PR intern, Mormon missionary, admission statement tutor, English instructor and librarian.
8) I went and did study abroad in Jerusalem for two months. Loved it.
9) I speak English, German, Slovak and American Sign Language (though the ASL is getting admittedly rusty).
10) I asked my wife out on a date only because I had a goal to date thirty girls in one semester. I made it to 18. She was number 17. (Date #18 had already been scheduled in advance, or else I never would have made it that far.) Best goal I never reached.
11) I eloped.
12) I usually watch about four movies a week.
13) I love to bake but don't really like to cook. I especially dislike cutting vegetables.
14) I've owned two cars. The first was a 96 Pontiac Grand Prix named Rose, and the current one is a 2007 Honda Civic named Buhrookie. My son named it. His favorite movie is Cars, and they refer to the main character as "The Rookie" at times. He thought it was the car's name: Buhrookie.
15) I've been blogging for two years or more, pretty much every weekday. I have no clue how many people actually read it, but I enjoy it.
16) I probably would be on my way to becoming an English professor right now, if any of the nine programs I applied to had accepted me. I think I'm happier as a librarian than I ever would have been as a professor.
17) I'd like to own a dog, but I'm not sure I'd really like to look after it all the time. Hence, I don't have a dog.
18) I have difficulty throwing things away. I'm not a full-fledged hoarder (no stacks of newspaper in my house), but I definitely could stand to declutter some more . . .
19) I have never read Jane Eyre. Or anything by Jane Austen or her ilk. :-)
20) I wear the same pair of shoes pretty much every day (except to church). It's been the same brand and make for the last seven or eight years, too. Nike All Condition Gear.
21) My handwriting's so bad, even my wife has trouble reading it. I seldom write long hand anymore. Typing or bust, baby!
22) I was Eeyore in a high school production of Winnie the Pooh. I still collect Eeyore things, although I don't wear an Eeyore hat anymore.
23) I keep lists of things to do. If it doesn't make it onto the list, it usually gets forgotten.
24) I hate shopping in person. I buy practically everything online, if I can.
25) Some people bite their fingernails. I bite my fingers. There's a callous on my right hand forefinger from where I bite it. I don't do this consciously--at times I've very surprised by the callous, because I forget that I've been biting my fingers. Go figure.
25 Random Things About Bryce
1) I celebrate Groundhog Day. Passionately.
2) I feel compelled to set my alarm for a time that ends in 5, ideally 25 or 55 (6:25, 7:55, etc). 5:55 is the best, and that's when I typically get up each day.
3) I've only been to one "rock" concert in my life. It was Barenaked Ladies. I had a good time.
4) I've written nine novels, including an alpaca fantasy adventure and a post-modern adaptation of Sleepy Hollow.
5) I'm abysmal at keeping in touch with old friends. Or at least I used to be, before Facebook. :-)
6) My favorite color is gray. Black's the second one.
7) I've been a fast food worker, gas meter reader, German transcriber, PR intern, Mormon missionary, admission statement tutor, English instructor and librarian.
8) I went and did study abroad in Jerusalem for two months. Loved it.
9) I speak English, German, Slovak and American Sign Language (though the ASL is getting admittedly rusty).
10) I asked my wife out on a date only because I had a goal to date thirty girls in one semester. I made it to 18. She was number 17. (Date #18 had already been scheduled in advance, or else I never would have made it that far.) Best goal I never reached.
11) I eloped.
12) I usually watch about four movies a week.
13) I love to bake but don't really like to cook. I especially dislike cutting vegetables.
14) I've owned two cars. The first was a 96 Pontiac Grand Prix named Rose, and the current one is a 2007 Honda Civic named Buhrookie. My son named it. His favorite movie is Cars, and they refer to the main character as "The Rookie" at times. He thought it was the car's name: Buhrookie.
15) I've been blogging for two years or more, pretty much every weekday. I have no clue how many people actually read it, but I enjoy it.
16) I probably would be on my way to becoming an English professor right now, if any of the nine programs I applied to had accepted me. I think I'm happier as a librarian than I ever would have been as a professor.
17) I'd like to own a dog, but I'm not sure I'd really like to look after it all the time. Hence, I don't have a dog.
18) I have difficulty throwing things away. I'm not a full-fledged hoarder (no stacks of newspaper in my house), but I definitely could stand to declutter some more . . .
19) I have never read Jane Eyre. Or anything by Jane Austen or her ilk. :-)
20) I wear the same pair of shoes pretty much every day (except to church). It's been the same brand and make for the last seven or eight years, too. Nike All Condition Gear.
21) My handwriting's so bad, even my wife has trouble reading it. I seldom write long hand anymore. Typing or bust, baby!
22) I was Eeyore in a high school production of Winnie the Pooh. I still collect Eeyore things, although I don't wear an Eeyore hat anymore.
23) I keep lists of things to do. If it doesn't make it onto the list, it usually gets forgotten.
24) I hate shopping in person. I buy practically everything online, if I can.
25) Some people bite their fingernails. I bite my fingers. There's a callous on my right hand forefinger from where I bite it. I don't do this consciously--at times I've very surprised by the callous, because I forget that I've been biting my fingers. Go figure.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
The Catch 22 of Me and Colds
You know what I hate? I hate when I get a cold, because there's pretty much nothing I can do about feeling miserable. I mean, if I take nothing, then I go around sniffling and snuffling for forever, with a headache and sore throat. If, on the other hand, I take some cold medication, then I get totally zonked out. I mean, head-in-a-pillow, so tired I can't stay awake zonked out. Neither of those options really appeal to me, which is why it's such a pain that I get colds so often.
Such is my curse.
It's snowing outside right now. We're supposed to get more than a foot, and naturally it didn't start really going at it until 10 or so. Is it too much to ask for snow storms that start at three in the morning? Though word on the street is that we got a half day at work. I wouldn't know. I'm home sick.
And grumpy. Go away. You don't want to talk to me right now. Trust me.
Such is my curse.
It's snowing outside right now. We're supposed to get more than a foot, and naturally it didn't start really going at it until 10 or so. Is it too much to ask for snow storms that start at three in the morning? Though word on the street is that we got a half day at work. I wouldn't know. I'm home sick.
And grumpy. Go away. You don't want to talk to me right now. Trust me.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
The Refinance Is . . .
Done. But my lunch break is gone. We all make sacrifices in life. Speaking of sacrifices, I watched The Contract last night with John Cusack. Not that I watched it with him, but that I watched a movie with him in it. And John. Friend. Buddy. Pal. You let me down. That movie was awful. Total waste of time. Not that you or Morgan Freeman were that bad in it, but whoever wrote that puppy ought to be taken out behind the woodshed and taught a thing or two. (I'm looking at you, Stephen Katz.) The dialogue, the characterization, the plot (or lack thereof). Honestly--the whole thing was worthless. The only thing keeping me from giving it zero stars is the power of Cusack. One star. Blech.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Seinfeld on Goals
And because I just read this article--and it mirrors exactly something I do already--I thought I'd link you to it, as well. Kind of cool that Seinfeld and I agree on this. And if we both agree, then clearly we're right, and you should do this, too. Basically, it's that when you set a goal, you should start to track it visually--on a calendar or whatever. And once you've got that going, you'll see a visual chain of success. The longer you go keeping the chain unbroken, the more motivation you have not to break it. Maybe this just works with mildly OCD people like myself. Still, an interesting thought, well phrased, and I can vouch for it.
Miss Newbery
For those of you "in the know," ALA just released its slew of awards for this year, including the Newbery, Printz, Caldecott and such. Big news in YA/Children's publishing--and a very good day for fantasy, as Neil Gaiman's Graveyard Book won the Newbery, and Terry Pratchett got a Printz honor for Nation. There are probably some other notable fantasy books among the winners, but those are the two that stood out to me. I know a lot of people aren't that into awards, but I am, and I enjoy hearing about these things. I'd love to go to a ceremony sometime. Big fun. Anyone read any of these books already? I've seen Carmen Agra Deedy read The Cockroach story, and I can see why she would have won an honor for it--fantastic stuff. But I haven't read any of the others. I'd love to hear some thoughts from those who have.
And speaking of awards, DKC and I DVRed Miss America over the weekend and watched about a half hour of it--just to see if there were any good talents, and who the winner was. Talent-wise, it was a bit of a disappointment. True, there was a hula dancer dressed sort of like a white peacock, and a ballerina in a tutu, but other than that, just boring singing and dancing. Snore. Plus, I think there's an unwritten law somewhere that if I'm ever watching a Miss Whatever Competition, and I think that one of the contestants looks like a kind of animal, then that contestant will win. A few years ago, I thought one looked like a rat. She won. This year--same kind of thing. Except I'll be nice and not publicly say what sort of animal she looked like. Nice girl, and the resemblance wasn't that close--but I watch these things to make fun of the contestants. Sorry, but that's the truth.
Other than that, I watched a few more movies over the weekend. There Will Be Blood (brutally good--great acting. Three and a half stars, but not exactly a pick me up movie), Burn After Reading (not my favorite Coen Bros. movie, but still three stars. They do an excellent job of establishing characters and then throwing those characters together and seeing what happens.) and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (three and a half stars--great movie, especially from an adaptation standpoint. Bizarre, but I really enjoyed it).
And speaking of awards, DKC and I DVRed Miss America over the weekend and watched about a half hour of it--just to see if there were any good talents, and who the winner was. Talent-wise, it was a bit of a disappointment. True, there was a hula dancer dressed sort of like a white peacock, and a ballerina in a tutu, but other than that, just boring singing and dancing. Snore. Plus, I think there's an unwritten law somewhere that if I'm ever watching a Miss Whatever Competition, and I think that one of the contestants looks like a kind of animal, then that contestant will win. A few years ago, I thought one looked like a rat. She won. This year--same kind of thing. Except I'll be nice and not publicly say what sort of animal she looked like. Nice girl, and the resemblance wasn't that close--but I watch these things to make fun of the contestants. Sorry, but that's the truth.
Other than that, I watched a few more movies over the weekend. There Will Be Blood (brutally good--great acting. Three and a half stars, but not exactly a pick me up movie), Burn After Reading (not my favorite Coen Bros. movie, but still three stars. They do an excellent job of establishing characters and then throwing those characters together and seeing what happens.) and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (three and a half stars--great movie, especially from an adaptation standpoint. Bizarre, but I really enjoyed it).
Friday, January 23, 2009
Family Update
Because I know a lot of you readers out there really don't care a lick for what's going on with me--you're much more interested in what's going on with my family--I've decided to take a moment today and give you an update on what's happening with the Fam. Ready?
DKC--She's doing well, as near as I can tell. :-) Right now she's working on braiding a rug made out of all my worn out jeans. This makes her happy, which is good, even if I can't quite fathom why it's so entertaining. Then again, at least the things she likes to do in her spare time are useful. It's not like all my movie watching will ever cover the floor or make us more comfortable. She's been going through a busy spot with work, but that should peter out now for a bit, which she's probably grateful for. If you want to keep up to date with her, Facebook's the way to go. She updates that pretty religiously.
TRC--Also doing well, especially now that pre-school is back in session. He goes three times a week for about two hours a day, and he loves it--perhaps a little too much. When DKC comes to pick him up, he usually gets pretty grumpy. These days when he's at home, he enjoys playing with Legos, working on learning to read, using his "laptop" (a v-tech model we got at Marden's) and watching Star Wars: The Clone Wars. I keep debating on letting him watch the original trilogy. How old should a kid be before he watches something like that the first time?
DC--Crawling at last, and well on her way to walking. She's obsessed with TRC's trampoline, and wishes she could jump on it, too. A mobile baby is much trickier than one that stays where you put her, but DKC and I knew that already. DC's now taking shorter naps, which is a bit sad as well. :-) Still, she's pretty much perfect, and I'd be stretching it big time if I were to complain at all.
And there you have it. If you have any questions on specifics, I'd be happy to answer them in comments. Have a nice weekend!
DKC--She's doing well, as near as I can tell. :-) Right now she's working on braiding a rug made out of all my worn out jeans. This makes her happy, which is good, even if I can't quite fathom why it's so entertaining. Then again, at least the things she likes to do in her spare time are useful. It's not like all my movie watching will ever cover the floor or make us more comfortable. She's been going through a busy spot with work, but that should peter out now for a bit, which she's probably grateful for. If you want to keep up to date with her, Facebook's the way to go. She updates that pretty religiously.
TRC--Also doing well, especially now that pre-school is back in session. He goes three times a week for about two hours a day, and he loves it--perhaps a little too much. When DKC comes to pick him up, he usually gets pretty grumpy. These days when he's at home, he enjoys playing with Legos, working on learning to read, using his "laptop" (a v-tech model we got at Marden's) and watching Star Wars: The Clone Wars. I keep debating on letting him watch the original trilogy. How old should a kid be before he watches something like that the first time?
DC--Crawling at last, and well on her way to walking. She's obsessed with TRC's trampoline, and wishes she could jump on it, too. A mobile baby is much trickier than one that stays where you put her, but DKC and I knew that already. DC's now taking shorter naps, which is a bit sad as well. :-) Still, she's pretty much perfect, and I'd be stretching it big time if I were to complain at all.
And there you have it. If you have any questions on specifics, I'd be happy to answer them in comments. Have a nice weekend!
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Oscars and Underdog
As some of you are no doubt aware, today the Oscar nominations were announced. Benjamin Button racked up 13 noms, Slumdog Millionaire got 10 and Dark Knight got 8 (though the only biggie was Ledger for supporting actor). I have to admit that I'm not entirely thrilled with the field this year. Too many repeat nominations for movies I'm just not that hyped about. I'll see them all at some point, no doubt--but when you see the same movies nominated in all the categories . . . it gets kind of boring. Sigh.
Watched Underdog last night with TRC. He enjoyed it. I did not. One and a half stars, and it would have been a complete waste of time if I hadn't been watching it with my son. I had to force myself to finish it. The acting was abysmal, the plot insipid, the main characters wholly unlikable . . . but the effect of a talking, flying dog wasn't all too awful. Hence the extra half star. Don't waste your time on this one, folks.
However, this was all counterbalanced by Lost coming back on the airwaves. The first hour was riveting. The second hour was really good. I love this show, and I can't wait to be able to watch all six seasons back to back in one ginormous Lostathon. That'd be awesome.
Watched Underdog last night with TRC. He enjoyed it. I did not. One and a half stars, and it would have been a complete waste of time if I hadn't been watching it with my son. I had to force myself to finish it. The acting was abysmal, the plot insipid, the main characters wholly unlikable . . . but the effect of a talking, flying dog wasn't all too awful. Hence the extra half star. Don't waste your time on this one, folks.
However, this was all counterbalanced by Lost coming back on the airwaves. The first hour was riveting. The second hour was really good. I love this show, and I can't wait to be able to watch all six seasons back to back in one ginormous Lostathon. That'd be awesome.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Brain . . . Hurting
Well, the bad news is that my brain hurts. I've been using it too much today. :-) The good news is that I had a very successful writing session last night, and I feel much better about my book. So that's a nice change. It'll probably last until . . . tonight, when I write again.
Speaking of tonight. One word: Lost. Oh yeah. I've been looking forward to this since the end of season four. Very nice. Anyone else out there excited?
And for those of you who care, I've been working on setting up a GoodReads group for the library I work at. I'm trying to do a better job at keeping my status up to date and all that jazz. All are welcome in the group--but particularly people in the area. You know--people who might actually care what the library has. As a reminder: if you're in the area, you can get a library card for free, and use it to check out our books, use Interlibrary Loan--the whole shebang. Just an FYI. To see the group, click away.
Speaking of tonight. One word: Lost. Oh yeah. I've been looking forward to this since the end of season four. Very nice. Anyone else out there excited?
And for those of you who care, I've been working on setting up a GoodReads group for the library I work at. I'm trying to do a better job at keeping my status up to date and all that jazz. All are welcome in the group--but particularly people in the area. You know--people who might actually care what the library has. As a reminder: if you're in the area, you can get a library card for free, and use it to check out our books, use Interlibrary Loan--the whole shebang. Just an FYI. To see the group, click away.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
In Which I Shall Not Talk About Politics
I could post something political today. My thoughts on the inauguration, or historic moments in general, or whatever. But I figure ya'll have quite enough of that as it is today, so instead, I shall regale you with Tales of My Weekend.
Um . . .
I shoveled snow? Yeah. Definitely did that. Oh--and brought in some more wood for the ol' wood stove. I watched movies (Hairspray (liked it a lot more than I thought I would. Fun music, nice dancing. Three stars), Dumbo (Classic--and a lot stranger than I recalled. Three stars), Zodiac (Yet another three star movie. A little too rambling at times, but an intriguing plot, and very well put together.) and War,Inc. (I'm going to give this one three and a half stars, just to mix things up a bit. John Cusak in a pseudo sequel to his brilliant Gross Pointe Blank. This movie's not for everyone, but if you're a Cusakaholic like myself, it's gravy.). I wrote quite a bit. Played bass, cleaned the house, played with the kids, went shopping . . . lived life. It was a nice weekend, and I got some much needed sleep.
Feeling much less worn out today, although I'll admit a certain level of frustration with my writing. There are ups and downs, and right now I know I'm in one of the downs. Feeling like the book's garbage, yada yada yada. It'll be good to be done with it--get it out the door, and then on to the next one. Good think I like writing so much. :-)
Um . . .
I shoveled snow? Yeah. Definitely did that. Oh--and brought in some more wood for the ol' wood stove. I watched movies (Hairspray (liked it a lot more than I thought I would. Fun music, nice dancing. Three stars), Dumbo (Classic--and a lot stranger than I recalled. Three stars), Zodiac (Yet another three star movie. A little too rambling at times, but an intriguing plot, and very well put together.) and War,Inc. (I'm going to give this one three and a half stars, just to mix things up a bit. John Cusak in a pseudo sequel to his brilliant Gross Pointe Blank. This movie's not for everyone, but if you're a Cusakaholic like myself, it's gravy.). I wrote quite a bit. Played bass, cleaned the house, played with the kids, went shopping . . . lived life. It was a nice weekend, and I got some much needed sleep.
Feeling much less worn out today, although I'll admit a certain level of frustration with my writing. There are ups and downs, and right now I know I'm in one of the downs. Feeling like the book's garbage, yada yada yada. It'll be good to be done with it--get it out the door, and then on to the next one. Good think I like writing so much. :-)
Friday, January 16, 2009
Spread Thin
Bilbo: I'm old, Gandalf. I know I don't look it, but I'm beginning to feel it in my heart. I feel... thin. Sort of stretched, like... butter scraped over too much bread. I need a holiday. A very long holiday. And I don't expect I shall return. In fact I mean not to.
Now before you get all worried, this isn't a post to say that I'm not going to blog anymore. No--I enjoy enlightening you all far too much for me to give it up. Really, this isn't a post to say I'm going to stop doing anything in the future. I'm going to continue doing everything that I've been doing. I just might not be able to do every everything as much as I was doing it.
The problem is that I feel like I'm getting stretched. And not stretched in a positive, taffy-like experience. Stretched as in silly putty drawn too far. Stretched like a guitar string tuned too high. Stretched like a Caramello commercial right after they say "cut!" Between work, writing, blogging, family, church, church callings, movies, exercise, goals . . . I find myself getting grumpier at times than I have any right to be.
So what's the solution? Well, the obvious one is to give things up, but what? The easy decision would be to give up the "fun" stuff--leaving room for me to get more business done. But you know what? I do all the business stuff so that I can do the fun stuff, not the other way around. I have no desire to sacrifice pleasure so that I can have more pain. But at the same time, there's not a whole lot of pain I can give up, either. Work is busy right now. There's no way around that--not if I want to keep my job.
In the end, I suppose this post is nothing more than a long whine. A "poor me" statement. Aren't you glad you read it?
Well, since you made it this far, I'll add two other things. The first: it was 27 below 0 this morning at my house. Yeah. That's cold. The second: if you aren't on Facebook yet, this is an excellent explanation of why you ought to be, you troglodytic Luddite. :-)
Now before you get all worried, this isn't a post to say that I'm not going to blog anymore. No--I enjoy enlightening you all far too much for me to give it up. Really, this isn't a post to say I'm going to stop doing anything in the future. I'm going to continue doing everything that I've been doing. I just might not be able to do every everything as much as I was doing it.
The problem is that I feel like I'm getting stretched. And not stretched in a positive, taffy-like experience. Stretched as in silly putty drawn too far. Stretched like a guitar string tuned too high. Stretched like a Caramello commercial right after they say "cut!" Between work, writing, blogging, family, church, church callings, movies, exercise, goals . . . I find myself getting grumpier at times than I have any right to be.
So what's the solution? Well, the obvious one is to give things up, but what? The easy decision would be to give up the "fun" stuff--leaving room for me to get more business done. But you know what? I do all the business stuff so that I can do the fun stuff, not the other way around. I have no desire to sacrifice pleasure so that I can have more pain. But at the same time, there's not a whole lot of pain I can give up, either. Work is busy right now. There's no way around that--not if I want to keep my job.
In the end, I suppose this post is nothing more than a long whine. A "poor me" statement. Aren't you glad you read it?
Well, since you made it this far, I'll add two other things. The first: it was 27 below 0 this morning at my house. Yeah. That's cold. The second: if you aren't on Facebook yet, this is an excellent explanation of why you ought to be, you troglodytic Luddite. :-)
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Enlightenment
Gather 'round, folks. Prepare to be enlightened. Last night, I finally got around to watching Dawn of the Dead, a quintessential zombie flick that I had just missed out on over the years. It definitely lived up to its seminal position in the ranks of zombie films, and I'm very glad that I watched it. Not that I enjoyed it particularly. In fact, I watched most of it at 1.5 speed on my blu-ray player (which turned it into Chipmunks of the Dead, more or less--quite amusing, really). No, I'm glad I watched it because Parker wouldn't have missed it for the world, and now having seen it, I will work on the third draft of my book a bit more, honing and changing things to better fit with the movie. I'm even thinking about changing the title (again) to Pawn of the Dead, which I think is a cool fusion of Edding's Pawn of Prophecy and this movie. Thoughts? (And yes, Janci--you were right. Thanks for making me watch it.) I give the movie 3 stars.
And just so that I'm not the only person getting enlightened this fine day, I shall share with you a tiny morsel of Fun. One of my favorite computer games when I was a kid was completely text based. No graphics at all. It was called Zork, and it was truly awesome. Today I found out you can play Zork from the comfort of your web browser. And not just Zork, but a slew of other text based games, as well. And if that isn't Awesome, I don't know what is. Check it out.
And just so that I'm not the only person getting enlightened this fine day, I shall share with you a tiny morsel of Fun. One of my favorite computer games when I was a kid was completely text based. No graphics at all. It was called Zork, and it was truly awesome. Today I found out you can play Zork from the comfort of your web browser. And not just Zork, but a slew of other text based games, as well. And if that isn't Awesome, I don't know what is. Check it out.
Testing Testing
I'm working on getting a bit more into Goodreads, a website that lets you review books and then share those reviews with others. There's a feature that lets you post your reviews to your blogs. I'm testing that out right now. See how it goes.
Flesh House by Stuart MacBride
rating: 3 of 5 stars
Interesting book. I'm not sure how much of it I missed since it seems to be one of a series, and I'm not up to date on the series. However, I enjoyed the way the plot developed and unfolded in a fairly realistic manner. In so many police procedurals, the main character is the focal point of the entire investigation, present for every step of the way. Not so in this one--the main character sometimes misses out on important scenes and has to catch up on what happened. In any case, I liked that it was different in that manner, even if the actual plotting didn't captivate me as much as I'd prefer.
View all my reviews.
Flesh House by Stuart MacBrideMy review
rating: 3 of 5 stars
Interesting book. I'm not sure how much of it I missed since it seems to be one of a series, and I'm not up to date on the series. However, I enjoyed the way the plot developed and unfolded in a fairly realistic manner. In so many police procedurals, the main character is the focal point of the entire investigation, present for every step of the way. Not so in this one--the main character sometimes misses out on important scenes and has to catch up on what happened. In any case, I liked that it was different in that manner, even if the actual plotting didn't captivate me as much as I'd prefer.
View all my reviews.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
When 1,000,000 People are Wrong
Here's the thing. I like technology. I'm a fan. And for the most part, I think it's peachy keen. But every now and then something happens that reminds me that some things, while good in moderation, can end up messing up with your life. Nothing big here: just Rottentomatoes.
You've probably heard of that site or used it. Basically, it compiles a slew of reviews for movies, then breaks them down into a liked it/didn't like it evaluation. Take all that, add it up and take the average, and you have a percentage score that the site uses to then say whether a movie is good or not. If something gets a 95% positive score, then it must be good, because 95% of critics liked it. If something gets a 5% . . .
But the thing is, sometimes I disagree with critics. Sometimes every single critic out there might hate a movie, but I'd love it--because the movie's perfect for me. But if I put too much weight in Rottentomatoes, then I end up missing that movie.
Case in point: Meet the Robinsons. It's got a 66% fresh rating, which would make you think it would be okay. Maybe two and a half stars. But I watched it yesterday with TRC, and I loved it. Three and a half stars. I enjoyed it more than some of the Pixar movies. The jokes were fast and furious, all aimed at me. It reminded me of a computer animated Emperor's New Groove. Then I went and looked at the reviews. Some people hated it, some people loved it. It's like some people "got it," and some didn't.
In the end, I think you have to remember that the only critic's review that counts for you is your own personal review. It doesn't matter if everyone loved something--you can still hate it. And it doesn't matter if everyone hates it and you love it. You don't have to defend your likes and dislikes.
And that's all I have to say about that.
You've probably heard of that site or used it. Basically, it compiles a slew of reviews for movies, then breaks them down into a liked it/didn't like it evaluation. Take all that, add it up and take the average, and you have a percentage score that the site uses to then say whether a movie is good or not. If something gets a 95% positive score, then it must be good, because 95% of critics liked it. If something gets a 5% . . .
But the thing is, sometimes I disagree with critics. Sometimes every single critic out there might hate a movie, but I'd love it--because the movie's perfect for me. But if I put too much weight in Rottentomatoes, then I end up missing that movie.
Case in point: Meet the Robinsons. It's got a 66% fresh rating, which would make you think it would be okay. Maybe two and a half stars. But I watched it yesterday with TRC, and I loved it. Three and a half stars. I enjoyed it more than some of the Pixar movies. The jokes were fast and furious, all aimed at me. It reminded me of a computer animated Emperor's New Groove. Then I went and looked at the reviews. Some people hated it, some people loved it. It's like some people "got it," and some didn't.
In the end, I think you have to remember that the only critic's review that counts for you is your own personal review. It doesn't matter if everyone loved something--you can still hate it. And it doesn't matter if everyone hates it and you love it. You don't have to defend your likes and dislikes.
And that's all I have to say about that.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Internet Stalking
Okay, maybe stalking's a bit strong of a word. But we've all done it. You forget about a person for 12 years, and then one day you remember that person and decide you'd like to see what she's up to. A little snooping around in Google, and voila, you have a fairly good idea. Nothing sinister to that, is there? So why is it that I feel so snoopy whenever I do it? Nosy. Oh well--it hasn't stopped me yet. And I think that there should be a law written that forces everyone into Facebook. Just to make my snooping easier. Plus, it would make contacting the person easier. Because what do I do otherwise? Email them a note that says, "Hey! Remember me! I had a crush on you 12 years ago, so I decided to look you up online and see what's happening in your life. How are things?"
Riiiiiiiight. That wouldn't be creepy at all. A Facebook add, on the other hand, would be socially acceptable.
Then again, I can always try and use the powers of Google to my advantage in this case. It's fairly well-known fact that if you name a person by name, there's a pretty good chance they'll turn up on teh Intarnets. So let's try that approach. Jessica Franciose King (I think that's your last name these days), I hereby summon you in a manner as uncreepy as possible. This is Bryce from freshman year at BYU. I don't want to meet you in person. I'm happily married, and I really would just like to touch base and say howdy. See how things are.
And maybe convince you to join Facebook.
Why? Because I've been happily telling many a person how I broke your leg dancing--and I've used that as an excuse to not dance for years. Because I wonder if I still hold the record for speed reading Fox in Socks out loud. And because I'm feeling particularly nostalgic this afternoon.
If this works, maybe I'll try some other summonses later on. Think of it as a social experiment.
Riiiiiiiight. That wouldn't be creepy at all. A Facebook add, on the other hand, would be socially acceptable.
Then again, I can always try and use the powers of Google to my advantage in this case. It's fairly well-known fact that if you name a person by name, there's a pretty good chance they'll turn up on teh Intarnets. So let's try that approach. Jessica Franciose King (I think that's your last name these days), I hereby summon you in a manner as uncreepy as possible. This is Bryce from freshman year at BYU. I don't want to meet you in person. I'm happily married, and I really would just like to touch base and say howdy. See how things are.
And maybe convince you to join Facebook.
Why? Because I've been happily telling many a person how I broke your leg dancing--and I've used that as an excuse to not dance for years. Because I wonder if I still hold the record for speed reading Fox in Socks out loud. And because I'm feeling particularly nostalgic this afternoon.
If this works, maybe I'll try some other summonses later on. Think of it as a social experiment.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Weekend Update
As is too often the case, my weekend went by much too quickly. What did I get done in those two days? I taught DKC how to use the snow blower, practiced bass guitar, got some writing done, watched the kids, watched the Eagles beat the Giants(!), made some phone calls, drove in hazardous weather, kept the wood stove cranking out heat, watched the Golden Globes, and managed to polish off three movies, while I was at it. When I put it like that, it actually seems like I did something! At the time, I just felt busy. And cold. It's quite very cold here right now. The high on Thursday is supposed to be around 1. Low of -20 or so. That'll be exciting.
What movies did I watch? Shrek the Third, The Simpsons Movie and American Gangster. What did I think of them? Shrek and the Simpsons were both a bucketful of meh. Simpsons felt like a long episode of the TV show, and when you get right down to it, there's a reason the tv shows are only a half hour long. Shrek 3 was fun, but more of the same. Two and a half stars for both of them, mainly for lack of originality. Gangster (Denzel Washington plays an up and coming Black drug lord, Russell Crowe plays the cop out to get him) was better, but it felt like it was trying a tad too hard. Well acted, and certainly interesting--especially since it was based on a true story--but in the end, it just didn't do enough to set it above other good gangster/mafia movies. Three stars, but solid.
And for a writing update, I'm finally revising ParkerBoy in earnest. I have a list of Things To Change, and I'm plowing through them. Going quite well. Thanks for wondering.
What movies did I watch? Shrek the Third, The Simpsons Movie and American Gangster. What did I think of them? Shrek and the Simpsons were both a bucketful of meh. Simpsons felt like a long episode of the TV show, and when you get right down to it, there's a reason the tv shows are only a half hour long. Shrek 3 was fun, but more of the same. Two and a half stars for both of them, mainly for lack of originality. Gangster (Denzel Washington plays an up and coming Black drug lord, Russell Crowe plays the cop out to get him) was better, but it felt like it was trying a tad too hard. Well acted, and certainly interesting--especially since it was based on a true story--but in the end, it just didn't do enough to set it above other good gangster/mafia movies. Three stars, but solid.
And for a writing update, I'm finally revising ParkerBoy in earnest. I have a list of Things To Change, and I'm plowing through them. Going quite well. Thanks for wondering.
Friday, January 9, 2009
No Time
Have you ever sat through a very long meeting? Of course you have. And to think, I had all that time that I could have been blogging, but no computer to blog from. Sometimes life's hard that way. But hey--it's Friday, and I'm not going to blow any more time at work. I'm headed home!
As a parting shot for the weekend, I will say that I just finished Little Brother by Cory Doctorow. Think modern YA 1984 with a 9/11 American twist. Fantastic book. Can't recommend it enough, although it was just a smidge too political for my taste. Still very thought provoking and extremely well done. Check it out!
As a parting shot for the weekend, I will say that I just finished Little Brother by Cory Doctorow. Think modern YA 1984 with a 9/11 American twist. Fantastic book. Can't recommend it enough, although it was just a smidge too political for my taste. Still very thought provoking and extremely well done. Check it out!
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Dinosaur Dig
Watched WALL-E for the second time last night, and I enjoyed it just as much as I did the first time. I'll probably have to buy that one. DKC and I were watching the commentary afterward, and Andrew Stanton (the director) gave this really cool analogy about the creative process that I wanted to share with you all. Basically, he said that to him, creating a movie was like a dinosaur dig. When you start the creative process, you start uncovering bones, one by one. And sometimes those bones surprise you. You don't know what sort of a dinosaur you're dealing with at first, but as you accumulate the bones, you get a better and better idea. However, sometimes--right at the end--you get a final bone that throws your whole perception off. What you thought was a T-Rex is actually a Stegosaurus. And then you have to make a decision: do you take all the work you've already done--piecing all those bones together into a T-Rex whole--and abandon it, or do you shove the Stegosaurus bone into the T-Rex and try and make it fit. He said that where Pixar has succeeded is that they've always been willing to scrap material so that the whole is complete and right. Rebuild from the ground up, if they have to. I see a lot of truth to that statement, and I can say from experience that I hate rebuilding from the ground up when I find I've made a mistake like that. The end result's always better, though.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Disturbed in Disturbia
Watched Disturbia last night, and I was well and truly freaked out. I liked it so much more than I had any inkling I would, which was a very nice surprise. Of course, DKC was less than amused by how scary it was--she's not one for scary movies. For those who don't know, Disturbia is a "remake" of Hitchcock's Rear Window (not officially a remake according to licensing rights, but the connection is unmistakable). I went into the movie really not expecting much. I mean--come on. Why in the world make a remake of a movie that was so well done? Well, I'll tell you. It's because they adapted the movie, practically changing genres of the film. The original was very tense and also very much a Hitchcock movie. A classic thriller. The new one is very much a modern thriller. I can be more specific about that, but just think about the differences in movie technique between thrillers made in the fifties and those done today, and that sums this up well. A very strong three stars for me. Highly recommended--especially in Blu-Ray with surround sound. Talk about scary. (Just remember, though--I scare easy when it comes to movies . . . ) Janci--have you seen this one? I'd be curious on your take.
It's been snowing all day here today. I'll get to go home and play with the snow blower again. Fun. Oh--and I just finished The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larson. Fantastic mystery by a guy in Sweden who wrote a trilogy and then died of a heart attack before it was ever published. I thoroughly enjoyed it, although as a warning to those who care: it would be R-rated if it were a movie. If that bothers you, move along. Nothing to see here.
Time to finish up work and slip and slide my way home.
It's been snowing all day here today. I'll get to go home and play with the snow blower again. Fun. Oh--and I just finished The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larson. Fantastic mystery by a guy in Sweden who wrote a trilogy and then died of a heart attack before it was ever published. I thoroughly enjoyed it, although as a warning to those who care: it would be R-rated if it were a movie. If that bothers you, move along. Nothing to see here.
Time to finish up work and slip and slide my way home.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Planning
Okay, fellow writers. This one's for you. When it comes to organizing my stories before I start writing, I stink. Big time. I have all these ideas kicking around in my head, and I have trouble getting them into some sort of a form that makes sense. This wouldn't be too bad, except for the fact that I'll figure something out, then forget that I figured it out already--and figure something else out that then conflicts with what I already planned. Does that make sense? So what I'd like to know from you is how you deal with this. Are there programs you use? A specific way of organizing things? Please share--I'd really appreciate it, and so would the story I'm beginning now.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Why Jessica Fletcher Must Be Punished
There are actually a variety of reasons. For those of you not "in the know," Jessica Fletcher is the real name of Angela Lansbury. There was a lengthy (twelve years) biopic called Murder She Wrote, in which she played herself, but other than that, she's gone by the stage name of Lansbury. Sort of like Mark Twain and Samuel Clemens.
Anyway.
Jessica has a lot to pay for. First of all, it's because of her that I was a walking zombie this morning, slack jawed and out of it until I walked out into the brisk Maine air. You see, I stayed up past midnight watching the pilot of Murder She Wrote on Netflix--that whole watch instantly thing is pretty cool.* So this morning I was tired, and it was all Jessica Fletcher's fault.
Secondly, her darn biopic portrays writing as this easier-than-getting-muddy-on-a-rainy-day-in-a-dirt-pit sort of thing. She wrote this little book in her spare time, and it just happens to become a best seller, and oh isn't she so in shock that it is, because it was just this little book she wrote that she never even thought to think about publishing, it's just that her nephew sleeps with a PR girl with a big publishing house, and he happened to read it and like it and pass it to her, who read it and liked it and passed it to her boss, the big wig publisher who loves it and makes an offer and now she's doing Letterman and Donahue and who knows what, and I think this sentence has outlived its usefulness now and really ought to be put out to pasture and shot.
But I'm not bitter.
The pilot was pretty good, all things considered. :-)
In other news, I had a nice weekend. Stacked some more wood, watched Utah beat up Alabama, saw that Philly beat the Vikings. Good times. How was your weekend?
*I liked the Netflix Watch Instantly feature--the only downside was that my internet speed was slow enough to make it a bit sluggish now and then. But I've since upgraded my internet speed, and we'll see how that works tonight when I go home. (Went from 512kbps to 1MBps for $5 more.
Anyway.
Jessica has a lot to pay for. First of all, it's because of her that I was a walking zombie this morning, slack jawed and out of it until I walked out into the brisk Maine air. You see, I stayed up past midnight watching the pilot of Murder She Wrote on Netflix--that whole watch instantly thing is pretty cool.* So this morning I was tired, and it was all Jessica Fletcher's fault.
Secondly, her darn biopic portrays writing as this easier-than-getting-muddy-on-a-rainy-day-in-a-dirt-pit sort of thing. She wrote this little book in her spare time, and it just happens to become a best seller, and oh isn't she so in shock that it is, because it was just this little book she wrote that she never even thought to think about publishing, it's just that her nephew sleeps with a PR girl with a big publishing house, and he happened to read it and like it and pass it to her, who read it and liked it and passed it to her boss, the big wig publisher who loves it and makes an offer and now she's doing Letterman and Donahue and who knows what, and I think this sentence has outlived its usefulness now and really ought to be put out to pasture and shot.
But I'm not bitter.
The pilot was pretty good, all things considered. :-)
In other news, I had a nice weekend. Stacked some more wood, watched Utah beat up Alabama, saw that Philly beat the Vikings. Good times. How was your weekend?
*I liked the Netflix Watch Instantly feature--the only downside was that my internet speed was slow enough to make it a bit sluggish now and then. But I've since upgraded my internet speed, and we'll see how that works tonight when I go home. (Went from 512kbps to 1MBps for $5 more.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Goal Setting
Like many of you, I take the time every New Year's to set goals for myself. I take my goal-setting seriously, trying not to set too many, but also setting ones that will really help me do the things I want to do. This year I asked myself what I'd like to be able to say about my year next year. What things did I want to accomplish? Here's what I came up with.
We'll see how long that lasts. :-)
- Write 2 books (first and second drafts of each)
- Get down to 200 pounds
- Continue to keep a daily journal
- Speak Slovak better
- Get better at whittling, guitar playing and astronomy (I like hobbies!)
- Write 500 words a day, or plan out writing for at least a half hour
- Don't eat food after 9pm
- Exercise 30 min, four times a week
- Write a journal entry on each day (don't write a bunch a week later to catch up)
- Speak Slovak as a family for at least two hours a week
- Work on the hobbies for two hours a week
We'll see how long that lasts. :-)
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