Once a legitimate blog. Now just a collection of memes 'n menz.
I've never been so excited about the arrival of a pair of shoes as I am over these!
I won't say they're official Warehouse 13 merchandise, but I did have Vans make them to order from the color specs provided by the man himself, Eddie McClintock (woof!).
…sneaky pix. I prefer "candids."
I saw Man of Steel yesterday. I know I'm going to catch a lot of flack for saying this, and based on the reviews that are pouring in it's obvious that I'm in a decided minority, but I wasn't thrilled.
It wasn't one of my "must see" summer movies, but since I had the day to myself and Ben had no desire to see it I took advantage of the situation.
I started yawning about half way through. Two hours into it I began checking the time on my phone.
For me, it was one of those movies that made me wonder if it was ever going to end, and more than once I thought about just getting up and leaving.
I have no problem with each generation feeling the need to put their own cinematic mark on our cultural mythology, but what annoys me the most about this continually re-telling is that these stories (which we all collectively know by heart) are never moved forward. I mean, how many Superman/Batman/Spiderman origin stories must we endure without ever adding to the narrative? By now everyone knows how Superman came to be on Earth; how Spiderman was bitten by a rare and/or radioactive spider, and how Batman's deep-seated psychological issues stemming from the death of his parents led him on his path to become the caped crusader.
So why does this story have to be retold again and again? We know it. Let's go on with something new and original. God knows the original comics provide more than enough story lines to sell tickets.
Which reminds me…aren't we about due for another Three Musketeers reboot?
And—ducking—unlike the majority of my gay peers, Henry Cavill just doesn't get my motor running. Sorry, guys. He's decent enough looking (especially when bearded) and has a killer body in this film, but he's still far from leaving-a-wet-spot-on-the-seat hot in my opinion.
Being of a certain age, there will only be one cinematic Superman for me, and that will forever be Christopher Reeve.
And lastly, maybe it's because I'm getting old, but I'm also over all the gratuitous violence in these films. I've never been a fan of it, but I think Man of Steel really went over the edge and could've cut a full half hour of that shit and nothing would've been lost from the story. The time the final fight between Kal-El and General Zod occurred, I kept thinking, "Oh for Chrissake can we please wrap this up already?"
I give it a 5 out of 10. But then, I'm in a mood today.
Last Thursday, Ben and I treated ourselves to a date night. It had been a while since we'd done one, and was a welcome change from our usual routine. We grabbed dinner at Larkburger (the grilled portobello Amy Burger is delish!) and then went to The Landmark at Greenwood Village to see This is the End.
You know from a previous post that I find Seth Rogen un-bear-ably delicious, and his appearance in this movie did nothing to lessen that. But the movie itself? Uneven is probably the best review I can muster. I'd give it maybe a 5 out of 10. This is the End just didn't seem to know if it wanted to be a full-on self-referential comedy or if it wanted to be taken seriously. Yeah, I loved the not-so-subtle homoerotic jokes (Danny McBride alluding to how he was regularly ass-fucking Channing Tatum—who appears in the film in a dog collar and leash, no less!) and there were several laugh-out-loud and jump out out of your seat scenes, but overall I have to say my feelings overall can be summed up thusly:
Coming in August…
The entire surface of planet Mercury has been mapped. Detailed observations of the innermost planet's surprising crust have been ongoing since the robotic MESSENGER spacecraft first passed Mercury in 2008 and began orbiting in 2011. Previously, much of the Mercury's surface was unknown as it is too far for Earth-bound telescopes to see clearly. The above video is a compilation of thousands of images of Mercury rendered in exaggerated colors to better contrast different surface features. Visible are rays emanating from a northern impact that stretch across much of the planet, while about half-way through the video the light colored Caloris Basin–an ancient impact feature that filled with lava–rotates into view. MESSENGER has now successfully completed its primary and first extended missions.
I'm already down on my knees. It would be no trouble at all…
Work thankfully wasn't terribly busy today, so I—along with probably every other Apple-lovin' geek on the planet who was able to—watched the live feed of Apple's WWDC keynote today. And like everyone else who saw it, I have a few opinions that—since this is my blog and I'll write what I damn well please—you can take or leave as you want.
OS X 10.9
Mavericks? Really? I lived in northern California—on the coast, no less—for sixteen years and never even heard of Mavericks. Apple, you couldn't have come up with just one more cat name before moving on to OS XI? In my opinion, that was just plain stupid, considering 10.9 doesn't appear so radically different from 10.8 that it would justify a whole new naming convention. I think you jumped the gun here, guys.
I was secretly hoping that when Craig Federighi took the stage he'd look at the crowd and say, "I know a lot of you will be disappointed, but there will be no OS X 10.9." After the huge sigh of disappointment from the audience died down, he'd smile, point his clicker at the screen and say, "Say hello to OS XI!" And then unveil the most amazingly redesigned OS since X itself appeared—and only then with a new naming convention in place. That would've been the Apple I've come to know and love.
Sadly that didn't happen. I guess we'll will have to wait until next year.
Needless to say, I was underwhelmed by 10.9. Yeah, there are a couple new features (including much-improved power management) that I'll undoubtedly find useful, but on the whole the presentation was a major snooze-fest.
Will I upgrade? Duh!—if only for the better power management.
Mac Pro
"Can't innovate any more, my ass!" ~ Phil Schiller
Amazing. Beautiful. I couldn't decide if it was plucked from the core of a crashed UFO or if it's a Cray Mini-Me. Once again, Apple does what Apple does best and it sort of made up for Maverick. I applaud their vision. But with the overall downturn in desktop PC sales, is anyone paying attention? Will the new Pro be a smashing success? Only time will tell—as evidenced by how quickly the cheap self-destructing knock-offs appear on the market running Windoze 8.
iOS7
I love my iPhone. I love my iPad. But like many have said lately, let's face it—the OS that runs those amazing devices is looking a little long in the tooth. While iOS7's fresh coat of paint—while undeniably beautiful—is less than the wholesale reimaging I was expecting, but the new feature set is everything I'd hoped for. I'll be upgrading my devices the moment it's available.
When you have this rarely-seen-in-its-native-habitat majestic 8-foot long Oarfish?
Wayne LaPierre's weekly orgasm.
I never had to deal with this situation because both my parents were very accepting, but for those who were not so lucky…
In the last week I've had two phone interviews for two different jobs. The first was one a bust almost from the beginning. I knew going in that it was for only a short-term (3 month) contract with no possibility of going permanent, but at this point I'm so fed up with the situation where I'm at now even that would be a relief. Unfortunately, while the interview went well, the person I was speaking with told me she couldn't even guarantee six weeks, much less three months; something that came to a complete surprise to the recruiter who put us together. I politely thanked her for her time and told her I this really wasn't what I was looking for. 3 months I could live with. Half that? Not so much.
The other interview—just this morning, for a six-month contract-to-hire—went very well. I had all the "right" answers to his questions, and the technical aspects of the job sounded like exactly what I was looking for. He suggested I stop by this afternoon to meet in person and tour of the facility. My little heart went pitter-patter. Would this be one of those "kismet" interviews?
The answer to that would be no. Almost from from the moment I arrived, my spidey sense started tingling—and not in a good way. And it only got worse. The guy I interviewed with—my would-be future supervisor—was nice enough and I could tell I'd really enjoy working with him—but he wouldn't be on site. He's based in Salt Lake City.
And that brings me to the biggest reason I quickly decided I didn't want to work there: I would be one half of only a two-man on-site team—pretty much the same thing I've got going on now (at least when we have an I.T. Director) but with twice as many users as I currently support. Secondly, the rest of the I.T. department is spread out across other cities, so there isn't going to be a whole lot of bonding going on there. Maybe this is a trend; I know we were moving in that direction at my last job in Phoenix, but it was only implemented long after I'd departed. And lastly, it took only a few minutes in the building to remember why I turned down so many offers from investment bankers during the 90s; the atmosphere—even though this place was brand new—was just plain skeevy.
Being a responsible self-starter, I certainly enjoy the freedom that the situation of being more-or-less alone and unsupervised would have provided, but I what I really want (and miss) is what I had at my last job in Arizona; I want to once again be part of a bigger work "family"—one that's linked by more than telephone and video conferences.
I know my ideal job in Denver is still out there, it's just a matter of time before it shows up. It has been my experience that whenever I've moved to a new city, the first job I land there is only a stepping stone; something to simply get me settled. It's the second job that always seems to turn into something magical—and while I am rather disappointed at the turn of events, I can say unequivocally that the position I interviewed for today wasn't that job.
When we moved to Denver, I was dead-set against going back into supporting a hospital environment, but now that I've been away from it for almost four years (I worked at my company's insurance division for 18 months before leaving Phoenix), I think I might actually be ready to return, and I told the Universe as much. The last time I told the Universe I was ready for something, Ben appeared. We'll see if it's still listening…
