Sometimes, my sister comes by my house, and then leaves something in the freezer (left over from lunch, for instance). And then I come home, and I find out what it is. And most of the time, it’s, of all freezable substances in the world, FISH. Who set the current level parameter of this world to “CRUEL” ? What grave injustice have I done in my previous life to have deserved this ?
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Oh, the Olympics are about to start. Not only did they practically have to rebuild Athens, but the IT department, 3.400 people strong, had to work their asses off for 3.5 years. To accomodate some 4 billion TV viewers, a few million of those hitting the net, and a 21.500 manned press pack, they have deployed 10.500 computers, and 900 servers. Too bad I won’t see any of the 200.000 athletes and co., because I think this is as enjoyable as watching paint dry on a door, then wait for it to crack and peel off itself. And from reliable sources I’ve heard if the paint is from Histor, it might take a few decades before that happens.
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The outline, King Arthur in a more realistic setting and way of storytelling, seems like a smart move. It has not been done before, and a darker tone could be a benefit to attract more adult customers. The high expectations though, are not met. If at all, it’s just mildly entertaining. How the story is set up, there’s no room for drama nor exploration of the many characters (only Arthur’s character has a less simple outline, but it’s still not much). The story seems to move too fast, yet it doesn’t progress at all. Most battles don’t have any tension leading up, and the outcome is no surprise either. They’re also not extraordinarily shot nor is it any more bloody than beyond the acceptable. Hans Zimmer’s score is dramatic now and then, but it’s not overly exciting, nor is there a theme to identify this film by. With everything so middle of the road, most viewers (the males of course) have the mesmerising beauty of Keira Knightley to lead them to the exit, but the other half will go home pretty disappointed. It’s not fair to put the blame on Antoine Fuqua though, an otherwise standard actioner (though with an extremely well-done Training Day under his belt), so the usually insightful Jerry Bruckheimer has to deservedly take the full heat.7-.
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By now, you must’ve heard of her. Ashlee Simpson. You know, the sister of. No, no Bart, you dumbass, Jessica. Anyways, with a sister like that, it’s not that hard to work your way through the music industry, and now, she ends up with nr. 1 album, filled with gritty pop-rock. So, I was just about to review it, when I caught a few seconds of last week’s Teen Choice Awards, where she collected quite a few awards. Then I saw her live performance. And I lost my appetite.
As you may or may not know, I almost value live performances more than the recorded music, and most of the music I listen to, have been tested for that. I even hear a bad live performer from quite a distance (due to the level of vocal processing when recording songs). A list of what I predicted (and later proved correctly) ranges from Madonna (not really good) to Jessica Folcker (pretty bad) to any random Spice Girl (terrible) to Enrique Iglesias (unbearable). But Ashlee, if needed a grade, would end up sub-zero. My jaw dropped to the ground, as I saw the audience enjoying it. Where those kids deaf ? Was the show sponsored by a big hearing aid company ?
But why am I blaming the children, what about me ? If I couldn’t have predicted this, what have become of my highly valued ultra-sensitive ears ? I’d better start performing a frequency range testing procedure on myself.
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I’ll start simple:
the end of my belt broke off, but it was still usable, so I kept on using it.
I have one more, but even the most experienced dream analysers wouldn’t be able to crack this. I think it wasn’t a fully qualified dream even, it must’ve been more of a half-dream state that I was in. Depending on me turning to my left or right side, I kept rebooting my brain in either Linux or Windows.
Oh, and any analysis lingering to the negative side will be dismissed, I just don’t buy that.
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Rate 1 (sucks) to 5 (cool). Only rate the latest pictures, otherwise I can’t keep track of the average.
Total: 613 out of 187 votes > Average is: 3.278
Okay, the sun is gone, a good thing. But why did it have to rain now ?
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While a Michael Mann/Tom Cruise partnership sounds exciting to me, the US Box Office shows otherwise. Cruise/Foxx starrer Collateral steals some $24.4 million of bloodmoney in this hitman movie.
Second this week, is The Village, dropping an heartache inducing 67% (for Disney, that is), only $16.6 million.
Third is Bourne Supremacy with $14.1 million, followed by The Manchurian Candidate with $10.8 million.
At number 5, Brittany Murphy proves she can’t carry a movie all by herself yet, opening Little Black Book with just $7.0 million.
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What’s the loot so far ?
Well, 2 VOY Season DVD boxes, some Spidey soap, and 2 vouchers to buy CD’s or DVD’s, legally. Not bad, for being born 28 years ago.
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Fearing for another Isaac Asimov copy, as seen in many sci-fi episodes, I was luckily surprised. The story is a bit bigger, and a little more intricate. Almost a one man show (for Will Smith, that is), this movie mixes story, mystery, suspense, nicely blendgin special effects, action, and a bit of humor. It’s not all perfect though, the acting is a bit stiff, and here and there you have a feeling the story has skipped a few scenes. Nonetheless, it’s very entertaining.8.
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So, I walk down the hall, and I see a big moth-like butterfly lying on the floor. Kinda dead. So, I’m thinking, I’ve walked down here a few more times today, how does a butterfly just drop dead all of the sudden ? So I let my Sherlock instinct do the work, following the clues:
– Most likely to have happened when I got home. It wasn’t there before that.
– Death took place close to my shoes.
– Window open, but unlikely, as my house is no hazardous environment that a butterfly can be killed within minutes.
So, next thing is to check my socks. And yes… there it was… a big brown splatter. Butterfly blood !
Deduction ? Mr. B.Fly thought my left shoe was a good place to stay overnight. Not knowing this was the day I didn’t go to bed at 3 AM, he must’ve overslept. I put on my shoe at around 11.30, and *splash*. When I got home, I took off my shoe, throwing the victim closeby. And when I came back, the now-not-so-mysterious-happenstance was revealed.
Howzdat ? This ever happened to you ?
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Yup, the big 28. Throwing a bit of math over it, you get 2+8=10=1+0=1. An essential number. Even Nostradamus foretold this day, and that’s how I knew I shouldn’t throw a barbeque party in the backyard (besides the point that I only have a 1.25 by 2.5 (3 I you throw away the mess) balcony, it IS raining cats and dogs). So if all of you didn’t get an invitation to my birthday party, don’t worry, it’s intended this way.
Back to the essentials though, I’m still healthy, and my wisdom, though immeasurable, has still grown throughout the year. And to prove it, here’s the motto of today:
“Don’t congratulate me, send me cash to my p.o. box instead.” Wow, that even almost rhymes.
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Rate 1 (sucks) to 5 (cool). Only rate the latest pictures, otherwise I can’t keep track of the average.
Total: 605 out of 183 votes > Average is: 3.306
Another video. Heavily XViD compressed, 2.1 MB. Download it here.
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Geachte heer Ung,
Hierbij delen wij u mede, dat u een geldprijs hebt gewonnen in de prijspuzzel van de TV-Weekeinde.
Aangezien wij geen telefonisch contact met u konden krijgen, verzoeken wij u vriendelijk om ons mede te delen wat uw bank- of girorekenining is.
U kunt ons bereiken op telef. nr. xxx-xxxxxx.
Met vriendelijke groet,
hoogachtend,
BV DAGBLAD DE TELEGRAAF
Oh
my
goodness
I’m gonna be riiiiiiiiiiiihiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiich.
Anywayz, first of all, I didn’t solve any of ‘m. It’s the result of a colleague’s weekend of puzzling. Second, I didn’t spend money on it, as I emailed the answers. There you have it. Maximum efficiency.
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Not a lot of Brits have the honor of populating my playlist, so I thought it may be time to try something out. McFly is still riding high in the British charts, so my curiosity was peeked what this was all about.
Upon listening to their easy rock tunes, with some 70-ties feeling to it, a few things became apparent instantly. Clearly a boyband with voices recorded roughly without digital touch-ups (which is good, were it not it that all of them don’t really have any vocal skills), singing lyrics that almost seem childish. I might be able forgive the ever present British accent, but the lisping really goes too far. I suspect the one responsible for their success, while listening to their demo tape, had a severe ear infection.
All the negative things aside, it does bring another positive side to light, and that’s that finally boybands aren’t hunkadory dancers in gay clothes anymore. They could be disguised as immature guitar wielding youngsters too. In any case, teenage girls have a sixth sense for this, and success is guaranteed. Dare I try the next one in line (which is Busted, same formula, hitting the same charts) ? 5-.
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Never having the opportunity to review this wonderful show (catching up on Belgian TV), I was tired of waiting, so I “acquired” the whole third season, which I tried to watch in one weekend. (Didn’t make it, short of a few more hours)
As season 1 and 2 have proven already, for a serialized series, this is one tough lady to beat. Every single episode is a piece of the bigger puzzle, filled with intrigue and new plot turns. Creator/writer J.J. Abrams probably has the whole series laid out before it starts, and it’s a pain having to wait every week to reveal a bit more of the mystery.
With its intensity, very like 24, it’s gripping, but the advantages Alias has, are better character interaction, and more focused storylines smeared over several whole seasons. Hence, main characters and their archenemies have more depth, and their personal agenda’s are revealed slowly. It also gives meticulous details enough time to work its way to the bigger picture. With such high quality writing, it’s hard to single out a season as best, but the feeling tends to go to this latest season. It seems dramatically more intense, and the guest stars are a blast.
To describe what I’ve gone through this weekend, it was hot. Very hot. Add to that the exciting episodes, I had to spend all of my time in my underwear. Watching it makes you sweat naturally, so you can imagine if the weather doesn’t work with you, it’s gonna be hard. Furthermore, this series induces adrenaline shots throughout every episode, a heart rate going through the roof (plainly measurable by watching the neck), nervous ticks, nailbiting, and all that, without oxygen, as it’s easy to forget breathing while watching this show. That’s not all, with all the double agents running around, and spies spying on spies, in the end, you’ll have embraced paranoia to the fullest. But hey, a bit of extra awareness never killed anyone, right ?
Yeah, I say, bring it on, I’m ready for season 4 (premieres January 2005 for an uninterupted run till season’s finale).
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