I’ve strung words together before about my issue with brain-teasers. I’m sad to say that things have not improved at all. I still get hung up on them, I still lose sleep over them, and I still allow them to consume me far too much. It’s a character flaw on my part, and I’ve learned [...]
So I ended up seeing this movie a bit at the last minute. That is to say, Theresa told me about it, then told me that she was seeing it with her friend at a time that allowed little error in me driving 1.5 hours to get to the theater. I arrived with about 6 minutes to spare, and though it probably cost me a mint in gas (not to mention the 10 dollar movie ticket [ damn you indie film support]), I am glad to say that it was worth every penny
I’ve been using a MacBook for almost a year now – 10 months, but who’s counting – and I’ve come to appreciate the small section of Mac apps that are easy on my wallet. More so as I’m a poor student, any useful programs that I can use and not cost me money?
Perfect.
So without further delay, here is my giant list of (mostly) free mac apps.
It’s been a long, long time since I’ve played any real arcade-style games. Last time I picked up a controller to play any sort of side-scrolling, button-bashing, streets-of-fury style game I was a much younger person. With SNES controller in hand, my friend and I playing the likes of TNMT: Turtles in Time, Contra III or Battletoads & Double Dragon.
See the problems with my playing these sorts of games are:
Well I now have a console, so I have no excuse as to whether I could try to play them or not. Turns out I still suck at them, but that doesn’t stop me from trying. The forearm muscle is a slow process, and I’ve already given myself muscle strain resulting in a fantastic carpel tunnel attack. You just don’t feel like a man until you’ve got to ice your forearm because of extreme button mashing.
Or is it “You just can’t feel like a man when you have to ice your forearm because of extreme button mashing”?
Either way, it hasn’t stopped me from playing Castle Crashers with extreme vigor.
I’m a little late with this, but the joy of the Internet is that someone out there doesn’t know about what I’m talking about yet. I’ve been using Dropbox since the last day of their private beta. As soon as I had invites to give, they went public and my chance to look ahead of the curve went up in a tiny cloud of blue smoke.
Regardless, since using Dropbox I can only say that it does everything perfectly. If ever you could have a backup system for the lazy, the inexperienced, or the uninterested this would be it. I know that casts an odd light on Dropbox, but trust me when I say that it is probably the single most impressive piece of software/service that I have ever installed. I’ve commented on using Dropbox before, but now I’m going to get into it with more detail.
I happened to get some tickets to Evil Dead The Musical for last Saturday…that is, the Saturday that just passed. We were off to the side, and just outside the “splatter zone”. With a surprisingly small amount of props (though the ax, the 12 gauge, the chainsaw and the Necronomicon all make their appearances) and almost childishly simplistic sets, Evil Dead The Musical blew me out of the water with wit, energy, and so much homage that it almost hurts.
I’m almost at a loss for words to describe this stage performance. Fantastic, B, Sparse, Electrifying, Camp, Entertaining, Rude, and I’m sure I could think of more were I willing to dedicate more time towards the effort. Suffice it to say, it’s a great night out and it’s probably the best 40 dollars (for two tickets) that I’ve ever spent.
I’ve found myself using online music sources when I’m not around my home computer or too lazy to plug in my iPod. I’ve found myself going between two different programs: Last.fm and Deezer.com.
Both have pros and cons, and I felt that it’d make a good article to compare my findings and contrast the two services. I’m not going to gives scores, because comparisons like this are subjective. I’ll let the readers come to their own conclusions.
So my friend Bart recently pointed me towards a website called “Goodreads” which is a social website (web 2.0, as the kids call it these days) dedicated to literature.
How could I refuse? The amount of books I read, it makes sense that I should use a system that is built for sharing my feelings about literature with others that feel the same!
Last night I had the fortune to watch I Am Legend staring Will Smith. The premise of the movie is that Robert Neville (Will Smith) is the last man alive, after a deadly super-virus lays waste to 90% of the worlds population. 1% of man kind had a natural immunity to it, and 9%… well that’s something else.
Finally! A new series that actually has a little body to it. I was honestly starting to lose hope in the new adventures. The Last Dodo puts a little bit of that darkness, that deep reflection of the Doctors that has been until now has been sorely lacking from the new books. Though there is only a small moment of it (part of which is quoted in this review) it demonstrates what I’ve been talking about over he past couple books. I know that the authors were probably told that they need to ease into it all, what with trying to nail such a wide demographic and so many new readers, but have a little compassion for those who’ve stuck with the series all these years.
Boys Like Girls self-titled album came out in August of 2006, and I only found out about them in August of 2007 (or was it July…). My friend linked them to me and I got my grubby little hands on the Album as soon as I could. Drawing parallels to All-American Rejects, Acceptance, and even a hint of Abandoned Pools I just can’t put my finger on, this album has a weird blend of pop-punk and rock. I found it really hard to pick favorite on this Album, because to be honest there are only two tracks that I don’t like. I made my choices though, and I stick by them.
Beowulf is the newest adaptation do the epic poem of yore. It’s rather liberal with its interpretation, and as near as I can tell, also adds new and unrelated sections to the plot.
I tried to watch this movie, and take it seriously. Honestly I did, and I am sorry to everyone who was around me who was also trying to watch the movie seriously. I didn’t mean to laugh at it so much, I really didn’t! But when a man is naked for over half of the film, has questionable (at best) dialog, and so much over the top fighting that a Die Hard fan would squeel with joy… well it’s just too much for me to try and take seriously.
So much like the other 3 million people – if the cover tells the truth – who have bought this book, I caved and decided to read Gregory Maguire’s Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. I admit that it has interested me for a while, but I’m adverse to reading much of what the general public reads. I don’t even want to start on The DaVinci Code. What is shocking is that it took this long for the book to become such a hit. It was originally printed 12 years ago. 12!
Ice Station Santa is the first installment for the second “season” of Telltales expansion of the Sam & Max universe. I grew up with the original Sam & Max, and so when I heard tell of a new company taking over the title – since LucasArts is run by morons and discontinued the title – I was a little worried. Hell I remember the short-lived cartoon, which though enjoyable had screwed with my young sensibilities. The voices weren’t the same and it really bugged me.
I wish I could say I listened to indie music more, and that I was well versed in it. Truly I wish I could, but the fact of the matter is I am an outsider to the genré and as such, my opinion here is literally just that: opinion. I’m not saying that all my other music reviews are based on scientifically music-based fact, but at the very least I know what I like and dislike and can compare it to something. The closest thing I can compare The Weakerthans’ new album, Reunion Tour, would probably be The Shins or Bright Eyes. Please don’t send me hate mail for being unable to notice the subtle differences that separate these artists. I don’t see them and I don’t really care.
If you’ve ever watched Clone High, you’ve heard Abandoned Pools. I’m fairly certain that all of their songs from their first album are used throughout the show, including the intro video which is not actually on any of their Albums. In any case, Humanistic is one of the longest running albums existent in my library and easily on my top ten, if not my top five. Flat out I’m going to say that it’s simply a wonderful album and worth listening to. It has a subtle darkness to it, and manages to convey a stunning amount of emotion considering how “happy” some of the songs happen to be.
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is for the most part, a rather enjoyable game. Released in October of 2005 (if you live in North America as I do) this game became an instant hit and flew off the shelves. Now granted I waited two years before playing it (since then a second game has come out, and there are a third and fourth in existence somewhere) but only because I have only recently bought a DS. I have to make sure to buy my friend Dane a decorative cake for lending me his copy.
What happens when you take Panic! At The Disco and tell them to emulate Backstreet Boys? You get The Higher. Their album On Fire is amusing to listen to, at the very least. You can’t take this album too seriously, and if you’re looking for deeper meaning or an answer to one of life’s mysteries, just keep walking. If you feel like dancing to something with a solid beat and like pop-ish music? This album is a must have for your very shallow, expensive shelf.
Where to begin with this one? I honestly don’t know and I’m at a bit of a loss. Maybe I’m just not used to reading this style of book. Maybe I just don’t get the point behind it. Maybe I overlooked some obvious and keen insight that everyone else picked up on. No matter how you put it, I still don’t know what to make of this one.
Mute Math: Teleprompt Edition is one of two release versions (the other being the Warner Bros. release, which I have not listened to, though they are fairly close I’m told) exists for a very interesting 52 minutes. The tracks start off small (ranging from one to four minutes) but quickly move into the six to seven minute range. One reason I can possibly find for this is the over all ambient feel to the Album. The whole thing reeks of “chill,” which I don’t want to say is a bad thing. You do however need to be in the mood to listen to it. This is not an album I would listen to when working out. Yoga maybe, but not for anything that required me to be pumped.
No I do not do yoga.
I really wish I could find a good quote from this book, but I assure you that every one of them is offensive and far too vivid. I’m serious in saying that this is the most blunt, graphic, degrading, disgusting, non-pornographic article I have ever read. The best part is that you can pick it up in Chapters. Right off the shelf. There isn’t even a disclaimer, though I’m being totally truthful that anyone who lets a minor read this should be shot. Now having said that this book is either the equivalent of a harlequin novel for women, or the most subtly brilliant thing I’ve read. To be honest, I think it’s both.
No Really, I’m Fine is the third fourth (it pays to do research) official album (I don’t count EPs as albums) by The Spill Canvas, and I’ve noticed two things. They’ve become more mainstream sounding, and they’ve really tightened up their sound. I don’t want to make conclusions that one of those points begets the other, it’s merely an observation.
How to describe Douglas Coupland’s new novel “The Gum Thief?” I’m struggling for words here because I’m fairly sure I’d need too many, and probably have to create a few just for the effect to truly sink in. I think I’ll go with ‘depressing and beautiful.’ It’s sad and its magical. It’s bleak and its stunning, It’s a fire-y car crash between two massive trucks carrying nothing but bright, floaty balloons.
That’s right, a hyper-typical post about all the free programs I use on the computer to make life lazier more efficient! I figured every information blog (or any site attempting to be one) requires at least one of these a year. It really makes me wonder what programs I will amass in the next 365 days. In any case, here we go!
The debut album by A Fine Frenzy, this CD features 14 tracks that I could play on repeat for god only knows how long. A Fine Frenzy is the result of the hard work of Alison Sudol, and this album is proof that great music still exists in the increasingly commercial music industry. It reminds me faintly of Chantal Kreviazuk, though Alison has a softer voice and simpler sheet music.
I recently watched “Across the Universe,” a musical that takes place in the 1960s involving Jude (Jim Sturgess) as a dock worker who sets off from Liverpool to find his father. Upon the sad and simple meeting of his estranged father, Jude befriends Max (Joe Anderson) wherein he meets Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood).
The three migrate to New York to see where life takes them. Jude and Lucy hook up and are painfully in love. A lot of the movie is based entirely around their evolving love; through their dizzying highs (literally in some cases) and depressing lows.
I had the chance to watch this movie at about 3 in the morning after Theresa suffered a horrible coughing fit (she developed a cough while at school). She decided to put a movie on since she has this amazing habit to fall asleep to any movie she sets her mind to. I sadly do not have the same ability. In fact I could go so far as to say that if a movie is being played, I’ll be drawn to it like a moth to the flame, regardless of the quality of the movie. All it takes is one hook and it’s over.
Today I completed the Doctor Who novel “The Price of Paradise” written by Colin Brake, and features the 10th Doctor and Rose.
The synopsis is fairly straight-forward: Laylora is a perfect planet. Pristine and beautiful, and the residents live a nomadic life and praise the planet like a deity. The Doctor and Rose show up just as another Ship crash-lands. He lends a helping hand to get them off the planet, but the planet is working on removing them in her own way. The planet is, for lack of a better term, allergic to all outside objects. This includes alien people, ships, waste product, etc. Oh, and did I mention that the planet can turn it’s native people into giant hive-minded furry things with 4 arms that have scythes for claws?
Que the hilarity.
Yeah, I’m aware the movie came out some time ago, but I only just got to see it on the weekend. Yes, I am aware that the odds of my being unable to watch a movie that is over 5 years old is somewhat of a stretch, but let’s pretend I was busy. Every day. For five years. Well okay, six years.
Shutup.
Anyways, it stars a fuck-load of actors whom you can look up a list of yourself. I’m not going to list out all majillion of them. Suffice it to say they were actually on their A-game for this one.
Words fail me with this movie, but people say that pictures are worth a thousand words right?
I started reading this book directly on the tail-end of The Zombie Survival Guide. I have to say that where the Guide failed to impress, this book delivers.
The book takes place years after what the Guide specified as a “Class 4″ or when Zombies overthrew the world, and mankind goes into hiding. The book is basically a recount of peoples tales of what happened before, during and after the “Great Panic”.
When I started reading this book, I can honestly say that I was expecting a humourous, maybe even cute survivalists guide to a Ghoul outbreak. Lord, even something that was at the very least eccentric in its writing style or message.
Hell was I wrong.
I usually find it hard to sum up a movie in one word. This is not one of those times. A friends msn name said it best:
“Spiderman 3 = Disappointing”
I couldn’t have said it any better, but before I get into this lemme put things into context here. I love Spider-man. Truly I do. The idea that a man is doing the right thing even though his world falls apart around him is truly noble and something I wish to aspire two when push comes to shove. Having said that, I want to point out that I did my utter and complete best not to put this movie on a pedestal. I avoided trailers when I could, nor did I read up on it. I never visited the website nor read any threads on it.
I was unintentionally saddened by this movie.
What happens when you take every SuperCop movie, combine it with fantastic writing and British humour so dry, you could use it as a combustible fuel? You get Hot Fuzz. I’m still new at this movie review thing, so I’m going to try to do this as best I can. This movie is for all [...]