emptying my brain onto the internet since 1998…
With Monkey Island getting a remake/update/new episodes, I can only hope that Zombies Ate My Neighbors, another classic LucasArts game, gets the same treatment. Sadly, I don’t think it will. However, thanks to Tom Chick, I now know I can get the old game on my Wii.
It is something I suppose… but a man can dream…
It has been a while since I posted about my efforts to reduce junk and go a bit green. So, here is an update…
Despite my best efforts to make it known that I do not want to receive direct mailings, it seems that there is no way to get them to stop outside of becoming a hermit. The problem appears to be that no matter how many lists I get myself removed from, old lists will always exist and get resold. The post office also seems completely uninterested in my plight. I have tried, unsuccessfully, to convince them that my wife and I are the only residents, all previous owners don’t live here anymore, and we do not desire to have any mail addressed to “Resident” delivered here. Despite this, they continue delivering mail here for people who have not lived here for over two years. Sometimes I’m tempted to get a P.O. Box and move all the mail I want to it and then just ignore the mailbox until they can’t fit any more junk into it.
One by one, as lights in my house burn out, I’m replacing them with lower wattage bulbs. Most of them go from being a 40, 60 or 100 watt bulb down to a 7, 11 or 15 watt bulb. It takes some getting used to as depending on the bulb type and manufacturer, some low watt bulbs start dim and “warm up” to their full brightness. Also, all my outdoor lights are properly shaded so that light from the bulbs goes downward, and I’m still refraining from reporting the street light that is out. I really dislike light pollution, and now I have the benefit of when I walk outside at night I can actually see the stars.
Winter came, and to try to lower my own costs and whatnot, the wife and I have been keeping the house at 66 or 68 degrees. That’s new for us as we (I) usually like to keep the house warmer so that I can be comfortable wearing shorts and t-shirts, but I’ve switched over to sweats and long pj’s. Now I just need us both to get into better shape so that when summer comes we won’t feel the need to combat the heat of our out of shape bodies with blasting the air conditioning.
All in all, I’m spending less money, lowering my footprint, but still losing the war against junkmail. Here’s to hoping I can turn the tide eventually…
If you have never seen the short film 12:01 PM, then you have missed out.
Don’t confuse 12:01 PM with 12:01, a horrid movie update of the same basic plot starring Jonathan Silverman and Helen Slater. 12:01 PM is about a man, Myron Castleman (played wonderfully by Kurtwood Smith) who appears to be repeating the same hour, from 12:01 PM to 1:01 PM. Its kind of like Groundhog Day, only its just the one hour. Looping a whole day over and over again isn’t really all that scary, because you have a whole day, but how much can you really do in an hour. Anyway, Myron realizes that he is repeating the hour and tries to figure out how to get out of the time bounce, but one hour just doesn’t seem to be enough to get anything done.
This is a masterpiece of short film making as its only 25 minutes long and yet in just about every way is more satisfying than most feature films.
Now, I bet you are wondering why it is I’m talking about a short film that was made in 1990, over 15 years ago. Its because I really would like to see this short film again. I’d like to own it on DVD. Its only 25 minutes long, but I would gladly pay $20 for a DVD with this on it and nothing else. The problem is… its not available. Well, not in the US anyway.
I really hate region codes. They suck. As does the NTSC and PAL crap. There is a box set for sale over on the Amazon UK site called Academy Award Winning Shorts – Cinema Collection – 56 Movies – One Box. It looks like a pretty damn kickass box set. There is a full list of the shorts over on Play.com. I want to own this box. Of course, its confusing, because the Amazon site and the Special Features section on Play both say its Region 0 or All Regions, but the details on Play say its Region 2, which is more likely. But it doesn’t matter, because its PAL, which means my TV won’t play it. And this box, which is just awesome for its content, is not available in the US (Region 1) or in NTSC. And I just find that to be really crappy.
So, I’m going to do something I don’t normally do and make an open call for piracy… if they won’t sell it to me, I have to resort to other methods. If you know where I can get a copy of 12:01 PM, point me at it. And if you work in the film industry and have any influence, put this on a Region 1 DVD and I’ll buy it, even if I already get a pirated copy.
Last TV season, I got hooked on Night Stalker, an update to the old Kolchak series. The new show had Stewart Townsend as the lead in the place of Darren McGavin, and went for a younger and hipper style. But despite that skew, it was still a dark, violent and brooding collection of stories about a reporter trying to understand why his wife was killed.
I was really pissed when they cancelled the show, because I felt it was just getting started… that and the fact that the last episode they aired was part one of a two part story. Man, I hate that.
Luckily, they put out the six episodes they aired plus four episodes they didn’t out on DVD.
Over the last couple days, I’ve watched all ten episodes and the commentaries, and I plan to read all the unfilmed scripts they included on the DVD-ROM section. All that brings me to one conclusion… damn, I wish they hadn’t cancelled this show. But then, hey, I’m used to stuff I love getting canned. So, if you like horror/thriller/mystery type stuff, pick this up when you can, it was worth the watching.
The worst thing about mistakes is that you have to make them before you can see them for what they are.
It really is a shame that people can’t be precognizant and see their mistakes before they make them. But then I suppose the world would be different. You would have nothing to really learn from, because unless you were some kind of masocist, you would avoid all of your mistakes and everything would be great.
This could be a really long and deep update, but that’s about all I have to say on the subject. I have now seen the mistakes that I have made for what they are. I can only hope that I get a second chance.
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Theater Review: I saw the new Star Wars trailer on the big screen last night. And… damn. This movie is going to be so cool. I didn’t stay to watch Wing Commander (I didn’t pay) and I heard I should be glad.
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Today’s Song: What Do I Have To Do by Stabbing Westward. Sums up how I feel these days alot of the time.
Missed the update yesterday cause I went to have drinks with co-workers… again, I had something to rant about, but it’s gone again… this forgetting is becoming annoying.
I will say one thing, I’m annoyed at computer makers and Microsoft. I tried to play Might & Magic I yesterday, and my computer is too fast to run it. I can’t see the damage, or the attacks, or anything. And as far as I can see there is no way to force my Pentium 200 to run slower for just that game. It’s just agrivating that I can’t play a good game because my computer is to advanced for it, and then I go to buy a new game and it isn’t advanced enough to play it. I just can’t win.
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Today’s Song: How Soon is Now, the version done by Love Spit Love. I love this song, and it’s been my song of the day before (back when I gathered up about 10 different versions of the song) but this version was originally on the soundtrack for “The Craft” and now it’s the opening song for “Charmed”, that new show on the WB with Alyssa Milano and Shannen Doherty (although my favorite is Holly Marie Combs). Anyway, the song rocks, check it out.
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TV Highlight: Speaking of Charmed… I’m digging this show. It’s only had one episode, but it’s got possibility as long as they don’t wuss out and keep up the occult content to a good level like they do on Buffy. Plus the three stars are quite attractive, not a bad one in the bunch. If you like Buffy, check out Charmed and give it a chance.
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Trivia Answer: Meg Ryan and hubby, Dennis Quaid starred together in Innerspace, D.O.A., and Flesh and Bone. The bonus 3-D movies: Meg was in Amityville 3-D, and Dennis was in Jaws 3-D.
Trivia Question: Keeping the chain alive – Dennis Quaid shared a role with Val Kilmer, who did they both play?