weapons of massdistraction

The spectacular Stephen Chow is at it again. Just yesterday I found out about Kung Fu Hustle, his latest comedy/action effort.

The use of “Ballroom Blitz” (in the American trailer, the original, by the band Sweet) is absolutely brilliant. And the action director was Yuen Woo-ping, who also choreographed the fight sequences for the Kill Bill and Matrix movies (among dozens of others). Stateside we’ll be seeing it on the big screens March 18th. Last night I was talking to a friend about other movie news. There’s a whole slew of films coming out this year that I’d like to see (Jonathan has a decent roundup here). I’m not terribly excited about the upcoming Fantastic Four flick, but apparently a previous attempt had been made about a decade ago, and never released. My friend managed to see a copy, either at a comic book con or at the comic book store he used to work at. Sounds like it was a good thing it never saw the light of day. I just had to re-post the below trivia tidbit from imdb (the last line is the kicker):

The movie contains one of the all-time great “bad movie” moments. Doctor Doom’s henchmen come to kidnap Alicia Masters. They sneak up behind her and do the standard “chloroform rag over the mouth” bit to render her unconscious. And we get the standard point-of-view shot from her, seeing the bottom half of the screen covered by the rag and then the rest of the image going from clear to fuzzy to black, as to show us what she is seeing as it happens. Pretty standard for numerous low-budget action movies. One problem though. The character of Alicia Masters is completely, totally, and in all ways, blind.

Stellar. That’s the single biggest continuity error I have ever come across. Though I do recall seeing Ice Pirates with my Dad when I was a kid, and during one futuristic spaceship sequence we could suddenly see a current era parking lot in one edge of the frame, complete with parked cars. In higher quality film news, we’re very excited about the upcoming Wallace & Gromit full length, which I’ve previously mentioned. But now there’s a new trailer/featurette online…which the little man insists upon watching over and over and over again.
Bonus: It’s strange to wake up and discover I strongly desire something I didn’t even have a name for before I went to bed. Via Knitting in Public, I give you over thirty versions of the Clapotis. I wish one of them was mine.

Last night I made an attempt to get the little man away from the computer, and his repeated, obsessive Toy Story viewings. After one of my suggestions he looked at me, dead serious, and said:

“We can’t do something fun…[pause]…it’s too dangerous.”

Uh-huh. That’s when I turned off each of the computers. For a few hours anyway. Speaking of getting away from computers, and getting away, in general…my wanderlust is the worst it’s been in ages. Realistically we can’t spend much time or money on a big trip, so the husband suggested a compromise. A weekend away, somewhere within driving range. We then found, simultaneously (he on his computer, me on mine) the Arbor House. A vegan-friendly B&B in Madison, Wisconsin, just a four hour drive from home. And in the vicinity of the B&B there are five movie theaters, a number of vegan-friendly restaurants (including one all-vegan place), and an arboretum. Now we just need the go-ahead from the little man’s grandmother, and it looks like we’ll be able to celebrate the husband’s 30th birthday in style.
Bonus: Brace yourself, for this stomach-churning, live action Strongbad.
Plus: I know, you’re prolly all sick of my current obsession, but you can now find Flickr photos by color and brightness (via Kottke).
And: This post’s title was inspired by Cherie’s “golden rules for a peaceful existence” - a list I should really print off and stick on my wall. And I don’t usually do that sort of thing.

Last night my faithful old monitor died in my sleep (after I’d gone to bed, while the husband was setting up my brand spanking new computer). After ten years of service the sad little 14″ sucker was ready to be retired anyhow. But the only temporary replacement in the house was the husband’s recently retired monitor that had gone on the fritz. Thankfully we hadn’t recycled it yet, and it seems to be working all right (good thing, too, as I had a client meeting in-house this morning). Hopefully it will hold up until the new one arrives. Just yesterday I was reading about CEO Balaji Krishnamurthy, and his policy of rewarding rank-and-file employees first, before moving up the management chain. This made me want to purchase a new monitor from Planar Systems. But it seems they only make LCD monitors, which the husband claims are for shite. So instead I’m going with the old CRT style, but a nice 17″ one (the husband’s recently purchased model is 19″, but my twee little desk isn’t large enough to hold something that mammoth). Shopping for computer goodies is a dangerous business, as it makes me want more and more and more. My old PC was a hodge-podge of the husband’s cast-off parts. For the first time since 1994 I have a blazingly fast new machine, built from the latest and greatest bits, and it’s all packed into a cute new case to boot. And now I want to do more with it. I’m excited by what the crazy kids are doing these days, what with the audioblogging, podcasting, and the vlogging. And sure, I’d love to have morning jammie-clad iChats with Starfire. But now that I have a new PC with new monitor on the way, and an old reliable G3 Powerbook, I don’t see too many more toys on the horizon (or in the budget). Though I am still itching to get some fancy doohickeys (adapters, lenses, filters) for my digital SLR, to further my 5-minute crush with the flickr-ing.

This evening the lovely ladies converged on my house for the first time in ages. The three of us hadn’t gotten together since our impromptu pumpkin-carving party. In October. Yeah. But we do like to exchange gifts after the holidays, to drag it out as long as possible. And we scored some sweet swag. From Haudrey, the adorable “Olivia Sleepover Kit” - haven’t decided whether or not I’ll share with the little man, though we have been on an Olivia kick lately (Lane & Maxwell too). From Zophia, Kung Fu placemats & coasters and Asian Cult Cinema. And the little man, whoa. Last schoolyear he fell in love with the book, Go Away, Big Green Monster, which I’ve since purchased. But at school they also had this neat hand puppet to go with it. And now we’ve got it too. Yay! Afterwards we went on to dinner at Babani’s. Being seated there reminded Zophia of a recent lunch outing, with some co-workers. When asked how many were in her party she held up four fingers in reply. Unfortunately she was wearing a mitten at the time (sounds like something I would have done). Our gang of four had a lovely dinner, despite one member repeatedly sliding off of his booth seat and squirming around on the floor. And a miscommunication with the waitress that garnered me more than twice the amount of Niskena and Kurdish Bread than I’d intended, but hey, leftovers. It was just nice to get out. While talking, you know, having a conversation, face to face, with other non-children people (it’s such a rarity for me these days) Haudrey mentioned that she, too, thought that one photo of me, in the “history of my hair” gallery, looked just like the little man, wearing a wig. I have to admit I do see the resemblance between little me and little man, but not so much between big me and bigger little man. Only time will tell. Or maybe he should start wearing a wig now.
Bonus: Post-elections sentiment that I’m most embarrassed to admit I agree with: I’m like a born-again apathetic!
Plus: In a truth is as strange as fiction twist, read “The Loneliest Mystery of the Deep” - an incredibly depressing news story about a whale, that happens to match the plot of a Star Trek movie.
And: Crap. The Gates installation will only be up in Central Park for 16 days, between February 12th - 28th. NYC trip, anyone?

Last month we obtained the best PS2 game ever made (Katamari Damacy) but I am physically unable to play it. At least three times now I’ve had to pause from game play to, get this, vomit. The game freaking makes me motion sick. So while I love it dearly, it’s just not worth the risk. Though this afternoon the little man whined and wheedled until I had no choice but to fire up the box and go head to head with him. Not five minutes later and I was hurling. Yay me. The husband and I were wondering if Dramamine might help, but that’s just pathetic. In happier news…the little man has been especially enjoying one of his holiday gifts. Or pair of gifts, rather. The book, If You Give a Pig a Pancake, came with a plush pink piggy. I’ve been reading said book to him, upon request, between three and ten times a day, while he hugs the pig. He’s completely memorized the story so I think he should be reading the danged thing to me. Maybe tomorrow.
Plus: I’ve found out the hard way that flickr can be habit-forming. Especially after finding such beautiful eye candy, and group pools that range from the entertaining (like The Secret Life of Toys and Stick Figures in Peril), to the amazing, random and bizarre.
Must. Back. Away. From. Computer.