I can't afford to lose anymore intelligence, but I started watching 2012 despite knowing it was bad disaster porn. I'm having trouble articulating why I did this. Maybe to see just how dumb it was, or to see the special effects. I don't remember, but I feel dumber after watching only part of the movie.… Continue reading 2012: A late review based on a partial viewing
Category: TV & Movies
The Not So Amazing Spider-Man 2
I saw The Amazing Spider-Man 2 with my daughter today. It was less than amazing, which was disappointing since Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone have some pretty good chemistry (IMO). They're cute as hell together. But the movie is a mess. There are plot contrivances, plot holes and plot inexplicability. Character motivation is pretty arbitrary… Continue reading The Not So Amazing Spider-Man 2
Astronauts are so damn cool
Reading Christopher Hadfield's book, An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth, I started to feel lazy; a lazy underachiever. Against a guy who's done so much (astronaut, I.S.S. Commander, fighter pilot, top test pilot, engineer) how can anyone not be a bit intimidated by that? What struck me was how thorough astronauts are. They plan… Continue reading Astronauts are so damn cool
More progress
Bit by bit I'm inching closer to completing edits on my novelette. Just 20 MS pages left to go. And then after that, there are all the other things for me to get started on. I really need an extra day in the week. Preferably it would be one where I could just write.… Continue reading More progress
Captain America: The Winter Soldier – My Review
When I saw Captain America a few years ago my review was pretty much, "better than I expected," because I had no preconceived opinion or emotional investment in the character. Even going into this second movie, I thought this would be an entertaining film, but Cap was never what Superman was to me, so even… Continue reading Captain America: The Winter Soldier – My Review
Spoilers and twitter (with spoilers)
So Game of Thrones happened this past weekend, and it was a big episode for many fans. Even saying this could be a spoiler to some sensitive types. On Twitter there were blatant spoilers of the episode's contents by my favourite author: https://twitter.com/StephenKing/status/455527996343209984 And of course there was rage. So he responded, in appropriate fashion.… Continue reading Spoilers and twitter (with spoilers)
Gravity: a quick review
Just came back from watching Gravity in IMAX 3D, which is an intense experience. The movie starts quickly, with just enough establishment of character and setting, then kicks into gear and rarely lets up. It's a simple survival story with a simple human against nature conflict in the most hostile environment known. At the end… Continue reading Gravity: a quick review
Star Trek for me
Star Trek celebrated its 47th anniversary on September 8. And while I wasn't around on the day the first episode aired, I can remember Star Trek as a constant in my life from some of my earliest days. I can still remember being around 5 or 6 and having a gold, Captain Kirk shirt, with… Continue reading Star Trek for me
Trek into Abrams
Saw Star Trek: Into Darkness, and It was very big and loud and explosive and dramatic. Those are the good points. But I'd still rate it closer to the bottom out of 11 movies. Definitely Above Final Frontier, Generations, and Insurrection. Above Nemesis too, but below the rest. So that's 7th best out 11, based… Continue reading Trek into Abrams
What Star Trek games need
Star Trek needs an RPG, deep character development, and a story. The reason most Star Trek games fail is that the game developers and publishers don't recognize what makes Star Trek Star Trek. Star Trek has action, and ideas, and morality lessons. But more than that it has great characters that interact and form friendships… Continue reading What Star Trek games need
Dispatches from Obscurity 