Books, Movies, and More

Fri - January 14, 2005

just another geek

I've been reading Wil Wheaton's weblog for a long time. In fact, he's one of the few I've been reading on a near-daily basis since I started my own blog. He's great. Really awesome. As a somewhat-famous-celebrity-type guy, he has a lot of interesting stories to tell. But as a fellow geek, family guy, and writer, he touches that place in all of us where nostalgia and homesickness and warm memories live.

He was in town this week to speak at MacWorld, and some industrious blogger got him to speak at Border's while he was here. So, while I didn't have the mad-cash to be at MacWorld this year -- (One day, my precious! ONE DAY I'll see one of Steve's keynotes!) -- I did have the wherewithall to get myself to Border's with Corey to see him speak and read from his new book, Just a Geek.

And it was really good.

I got there late because it started at seven and I work until (at least) six now, and San Francisco is like . . . well . . . farther than that in rush hour. Corey was going early to get us a spot in line, so when I got there I had to squeeze through all the people at the back of the crowd, and find my way up to the seat he had saved for me. But then I was there, and I had only missed fifteen minutes or so. And Wil was great. He still has all his acting chops, great comedic timing, and a natural voice. He read a couple of Star Trek stories from his book, and took the audience through moments of both gut-wrenching hilarity and moist-eyed nostalgia.

Corey had bought us each a copy of his book, so we got in line afterward to meet Wil and get an autograph. This was the part that was most nerve-wracking for me, as I seem to have created a habit in the last few years of embarrassing myself in front of celebrities. I met Anne Lamott and found myself slack-jawed with nothing to say. I crashed and burned when I met David Sedaris. And then there's that time I met Paul Winter. <shudder>

Then I remembered that Wil and I have a few things in common. Item one: computers. He's a total Mac geek. I am a total Mac geek. (By the way, you and I have some catching up to do on Steve Jobs' recent keynote. So many fun new things to talk about!) He's also like a world-famous blogger. I am also a blogger, although not yet world-famous. So I pulled out a scrap of paper and wrote down the address to my own blog. I relaxed, thanked him for showing up, told him it was great to meet him (the truth) and invited him to stop by and visit my website. He thanked me and said that he would. (Hi, Wil!!)

Anyway, I'm inspired to start writing again. I've really been neglecting this work, and it has meant so much to me. Wil reminded me that there are important things going on in the blogging community, and I feel honored to be a part of that.

Thanks again, Wil. It really was an honor to meet you.

Posted at 12:16 AM Read More

Tue - January 4, 2005

will & grace season three

Corey picked up Season Two last week, so we've been watching whenever we find ourselves lying around the house doing nothing (which has been more than usual, lately). Wow, what a good show. I'm not caught up on the current episodes -- I heard Grace had a baby or something, got married, whatever -- but the shows in these first couple seasons were amazing. The writing was crisp and funny, and the shows managed to say something without shoving anything down your throat.

(There was a moment of tension just now, and Will walked out and slammed the door on Grace. Good stuff.)

One of those perfect little shows. I hope they keep going for a good long time, and then stop before things get ugly.

Posted at 10:18 PM Read More

Fri - December 31, 2004

the polar express (in imax 3-d)

Corey and I just returned from seeing this film, and we're both still feeling soft and tender. What a wonderful film! An absolutely wonderful, magical story told exceptionally well. The animation was breathtaking; the writing was crisp and lyrical; and the acting (voice and otherwise) was terrific. (Even if it was pretty much all Tom Hanks.)

What I can't figure out is why this movie was panned by so many critics. I really didn't have any desire to see this movie, and it was mainly because of the bad press it got. Just to check myself, I jumped over to www.rottentomatoes.com to see what the average review really said. They gave it a "rotten" rating of 56%, which means only 56% of the 170 reviews they tracked were positive. I really can't figure this out. Corey and I were both really moved by this film. It's destined to be a classic, one that will surely have a place on our annual Christmas movie list. So why the bad rap?

Well, one possibility is that we saw the version that everyone was meant to see, but didn't. We saw it in IMAX 3-D, which really brought the story to life. I wonder if the 2-D, flat-screen version just wasn't very good.

Another reason that critics may not have liked it so much could have to do with poor timing. Corey said the movie was released ten days after Halloween. Halloween?!?! What were they thinking? This is a Christmas movie!!!!

Ah, well. It's a Wonderful Life did horrible at the box office when it came out. And it's still on the shelf every year, so I'm sure we haven't heard the last of The Polar Express. Good films have a way of sticking around.

If you have an IMAX theatre in your town, and The Polar Express is still playing, do yourself a post-Christmas favor and go see it. (And let me know if you disagree. I'd love to know why so many people didn't like it.)

Posted at 12:45 AM Read More

Sun - July 4, 2004

Spider-Man 2

We saw Spider-Man 2 last night, and yes, it really was better than the first. The CGI team really got their stuff together with the "flying-through-New-York" sequences, not to mention all of the battles with Dr. Octopus. Tobey Maguire really seemed to come into his own with the character of Peter Parker, too. And Aunt May was terrific. I agree with Peter David, who said that her monologue on heroism was worth the price of admission.

Posted at 06:05 PM Read More

an afternoon with bill clinton (almost)

I didn't get a chance to write last week, but Corey and I went to a book signing with Bill Clinton. Hmm. That's not quite right. Maybe I should rephrase that. Corey and I went to Cody's Books last week, where Bill Clinton was signing books. Yeah, that's it. Anyway, what a madhouse! Tickets sold out the day the book was released. Cody's gave out one thousand tickets, one to each person who purchased a copy of the book. And each ticketholder would be permitted to bring one "buddy" to the book-signing.

Okay, that was the drill. Corey knew there would be a long line, so I dropped him off at Cody's at about 8am that morning. By that time, the line stretched all the way down one block and halfway down the next. Curiously, most of the people didn't even have tickets! That means, a thousand people (plus their buddies) would show up, in addition to all of these other people just hoping to get a chance to meet the former President. Here's a picture:

Lots of democratic activity, as you might imagine. John Kerry buttons, voter registration drives, volunteer recruiting, etc. And they all held their own 900-plus page copy of My Life, Clinton's book. People brought lawn chairs, coolers of food, cell phones (of course), umbrellas for shade, and a few large, incredibly annoying megaphones.

Posted at 05:30 PM Read More

Sun - June 20, 2004

david sedaris

Corey's been a big fan of David Sedaris ever since we heard "Holidays on Ice", in which he recounts his experiences of being an elf in Macy's during the Christmas season. Great stuff. Since then, Corey's dug up virtually everything Sedaris has read on NPR. So it was inevitable, when the new book was announced (Dress your Family in Corduroy and Denim) that we would be in line for the book signing.

He appeared at Cody's Books last night in Berkeley for a reading and book-signing, and we were there. Great fun. He read one of his stories from the book, but he also read some pages from his journal. With all of his self-deprecating humor, you would think that he's not very good with a crowd. The image he portrays in his writing is that of an obsessive-compulsive, twitchy, introverted person who doesn't like being around people.

Not so in real life. Before the event started, he was out in the crowd, signing books and greeting his fans. When he began his reading, he invited people in the back to take some of the empty seats up front. He told his stories with confidence and ease. At the end, he took a few questions, and when he was finished he invited all of the smokers to get their books signed first. He is a proud smoker, and he likes to take care of his people, you know? Anyway, anyone with a pack of cigarettes on them could go directly to the front of the line.

Posted at 03:11 PM Read More

Sat - June 19, 2004

the reagle beagle hair salon for men

A long time ago, I wrote an entry that expressed my yearnings for the perfect barber. Since my vacation at home, I have another notch to add to my red-striped totem pole. The Reagle Beagle hair salon, in Lakewood, Ohio. They had their grand opening the week I was home, and I wandered in for a haircut. Heather (she's the one on the left in the picture) is the owner, and I think she has a pretty fantastic idea. A hair salon that caters to the tastes of men, but provides a full complement of services.

Here are some examples of what the Reagle Beagle has to offer:
- Beer, Wine, and soft drinks while you wait
- Leather reclining chairs in the waiting room
- TVs everywhere, including a small one facing you while your hair is cut (and they give you the remote!)
- A Golden Tee video game
- A hot rock neck massage when your cut is finished
- A mini-facial with every haircut
- A massage therapist on staff
- Beard trimming and shaping

Posted at 01:04 PM Read More

Wed - June 16, 2004

the da vinci code

Wow, what a page-turner that was! I don't know if I've ever read a book that quickly. Picked it up the morning before my plane flight home. Opened it in the airport while I was waiting to board and hardly put it down for the next seven hours. I read over three hundred pages in that first sitting.

Now let's be clear about something from the start. This was not literary brilliance. It was not poetry. It did not have much depth or subtlety. I did not fall in love with any of the characters. I didn't even really care about most of the characters.

But it was a hell of a good ride. And the subject matter was more intriguing than anything I've read or seen lately. Like many people, I found myself very interested in how much of the book was factual and how much was the fruits of the author's imagination. I suspect that most of it was imagination, but it was certainly based on themes that resonate in me.

Posted at 09:50 PM Read More

Tue - June 15, 2004

harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban

Well, it's about time. That was my first impression when I saw the teaser trailer for Azkaban a few months ago. Just the image of the choir singing a spooky carol in the great hall told me that someone behind this movie wasn't afraid to use some imagination. Finally. (The previous two movies were, I felt, uninspired and cold -- too wrapped up in trying to copy the book as closely as possible, discovering in the process that they were unable to copy the book word for word, and making some very bad choices to rectify the situation.

This film, instead, doesn't try to be the book. It tries to be a movie based on the book. Inspired by the book, even. Much was left out, and I agreed with most of their choices. Many things were added as well, and one of them made me laugh out loud. (Ron's nightmare!)

Posted at 07:59 PM Read More

Thu - May 13, 2004

an answer to the god-question and an icky feeling

Yes, Virginia, there is a God. There quite simply must be. This whole Survivor: All-Stars freakshow hasn't ended in total disappointment. Even though Rob and Amber ended up with the money, the magazine covers, the guest spots on Letterman, Leno, and Oprah, and a big fat wedding, Rupert still came out on top (in my humble opinion, of course!)

I have to say, though, something happened to me during this season of Survivor. Something snapped. Or crumbled. Or melted. Or withered. Or got moldy. I'm not sure what it was, but I left this season with a very icky feeling. The kind of feeling that might make someone not want to ever watch again. Can you imagine?

And, scary enough, I think I owe it all to Jerri. Remember her? She's the one I hated from the Australia season. In the middle of the little "town hall" after the big finale, she was saying something about how the show is fundamentally all about entertainment. The audience booed. Loudly. After the commercial break, Jerri's seat was empty, and Jeff pointed out that she had left.

Television can be nasty sometimes, and I think Jerri was trying to remind "the mob" that these were real people on their television screens, not just actors. And when someone looked like a villain on TV, it didn't necessarily mean that they were a bad person in real life. Let's face it. CBS took hundreds of hours of footage and put it all in a big casserole dish. But when they took it out of the oven, they had to make sure it tasted good . . . so they cut our pieces for us and served it to us, hot and steamy on paper plates.

(And boy did we eat it up!)

Posted at 10:07 PM Read More

Sat - April 17, 2004

hellboy

Interesting that the last two films I've seen (and in the same theater, no less) have been The Passion of the Christ and Hellboy. They should do some kind of crossover movie, don't you think?

Corey and I finally got to the theatre to see Hellboy tonight, and we thoroughly enjoyed it. I've been avoiding the reviews on the radio and in the papers because I really wanted to see it fresh. It was worth it. A decent story, well-told, and faithful to the spirit of the comic (I'm told -- haven't read it). Either way, though, the movie was just dripping with comic book flavor. It seems the film industry has finally picked up a few directors who know how to translate comic books into movies, Guillermo del Toro being one of them. Corey said that he also directed Blade 2, another impressive adaptation. And while both movies were a bit dark for my taste, they brought a lot of heart and soul to a usually soulless translation. Remember the old Superman movies? And Batman Forever? Yeah, that's what I'm talking about.

Posted at 12:03 AM Read More

Sun - April 11, 2004

some thoughts on mel gibson's passion

Good Friday felt like the right time for me to see this film again. Corey and I saw it on Ash Wednesday (minus the resurrection, remember) and I was still having a lot of thoughts about it, looking for a way to express my real feelings about it. I've read many, many articles (and student papers) about The Passion, and I've sat with my own stuff for over forty days now, and I think I've come to some conclusions.

Posted at 10:43 PM Read More

Sun - April 4, 2004

an unfortunate piece of technology

Helped a computer client learn how to use a new piece of technology today. New to me, anyway. (And her.) It's called the WavDJ, and it is basically a mixing board and keyboard in one package. It plugs into your PC (Windows only, thank you) and you use it to control what's happening on screen.

Posted at 09:19 PM Read More

Sat - April 3, 2004

another million dollar idea

Last September, my brother John sent me a birthday present. He didn't know it, but he sent me an MP3 player that I had invented years earlier (obviously unbeknownst to the creators of the above device). I called him right away and told him the story:

Posted at 09:15 PM Read More

Fri - April 2, 2004

proof that I'm not making this stuff up

From Kevin Smith's Website, View Askew, about his appearance Wednesday night in Berkeley:

There was a 15 year old Catholic School Girl who was there for her birthday. She told Kevin she was Jewish and this blew his mind. It turns out that 10% of her school is Jewish because of the poor schooling and high crime rate in Oakland. They both swapped stories and Kevin came to the conclusion that she was his exact opposite, making her his nemisis. Then she told him her last name is Smith and he said "you're freaking me out here!" It was pretty funny.

Posted at 10:21 PM Read More

Thu - April 1, 2004

kevin smith (in the flesh)

You may know Kevin Smith, not by name or by face, but by reputation. He directed the "controversial" film Dogma several years ago (which I enjoyed, by the way). He also directed Clerks, Mallrats, and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. He's just released his newest film Jersey Girl, and is doing a huge promotional tour. One of his stops was Zellerbach Hall on the UC Berkeley Campus.

Posted at 10:17 PM Read More

Fri - March 19, 2004

the triplets of belleville

Okay, it's 1986. Probably around 10:00. Three of us come bounding out of the theater at Great Northern Mall to my Dad's waiting car. We pile in and begin assaulting my Dad with details of the best freakin' movie any of us had ever seen. It was The Three Amigos. I'm not saying Triplets was as good as Amigos was to my 12-year old mind, but I felt like that little kid again after the movie tonight, so here goes . . .

Posted at 10:02 PM Read More

Sun - March 7, 2004

Starsky & Hutch

I'm finding it difficult to write much about this movie. I never saw the original series, so I have no reference point for the "re-make" aspect of the film. And it really wasn't trying to be anything spectacular, so what can I say?

Posted at 10:29 PM Read More

Sun - February 29, 2004

the oscars

A show that can't be missed. A ceremony. An event. A celebration. A few too many hours sitting on my ass. These can only mean one thing: OSCAR!

Posted at 11:42 PM Read More

Thu - February 26, 2004

very strange, dramatic day to see the passion of the christ

Corey and I saw the movie tonight, and I'm working on a review of it, but I've decided not to post it until my students have had a chance to weigh in. I'd like to hear what they have to say before putting my own opinions out there.

I will tell you about our experience at the theater, though, which was interesting in itself.

Posted at 12:13 AM Read More

Sat - February 14, 2004

the cooler (the first half)

Corey and I picked this movie as our "Valentine's Day" film. Seemed like a nice, feel-good romance sort of movie. And with this poker/gambling/casino fetish we both seem to have right now, it sounded fun.

Posted at 01:24 AM Read More

Sat - January 31, 2004

mystic river

"Taut?" "Gripping?" "One of the best movies of the year?"

Not so much. I give it a B-. I agree with the reviewer who said that it should have just been a plain old "whodunit", but the performances of Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, and Kevin Bacon raised the quality of the movie to something more . . .

That was very true. But it still wasn't good enough to warrant all the fuss.

Posted at 10:26 AM Read More

Sat - January 24, 2004

joseph and the amazing technicolor dreamcoat (dvd)

Continuing with the "Bible-movie" theme . . .

Been wanting to watch this for many years now. My junior year in high school, we performed this show, and I was in it. (I played the Pharaoh, a cross between Elvis and Yul Brenner.) Anyway, I ate, slept, and breathed this music for over a year, still know every song by heart, and still believe that the way we did the show is the only way it could be done.

Posted at 11:34 PM Read More

Tue - January 20, 2004

the last temptation of christ (dvd)

So begins my Bible-movie-fest. I'm teaching both Old Testament and New Testament this semester, so I'm really boning up on all of my Bible knowledge. And I love to include all kinds of media in my classes, so I added a bunch of biblical stuff to my Netflix Queue. This was the first one, a movie that I've never seen, and every time I say that, someone nearby gasps, clutches their chest in a mock heart attack, and says, You have to see this movie.

They were right. Wow. I was really moved by this film. Really an extraordinary piece of work. The opening line to the movie states that the film is "not based on the gospels", but instead on the constant human struggle between the spirit and the flesh. And Scorsese really pulled it off. He told that story with precision and nuance, tenderness and drama. Very moving.

Posted at 11:00 PM Read More

Mon - January 19, 2004

The West Wing: Season One (DVD)

Just finished watching all 24 episodes, and I'm really thrilled to own this collection. I've been a huge fan of the West Wing since the 2nd season, and I never realized how many episodes were never re-run on television. So this last week was a big "West-Wing-Fest" for me, and full of new episodes to enjoy.

Posted at 04:40 PM Read More

garage band (my first day)

the return of the king

Survivor: Pearl Islands (the whole season)

Yogi's first christmas (old, ratty VHS tape)

bad santa

training day (dvd)

Quicksilver Update

master and commander: the far side of the world

Trailer: the last samurai

andy goldsworthy: a collaboration with nature

survivor: the fall of blackbeard the pirate