July 2007 Archive

July 31, 2007
Possible Spoilers: Almost done with Harry Potter
I'm almost done with Harry Potter and The Anti-Climactic Ending.

Okay, so I really don't know how anti-climactic it's going to be because I have carefully avoided any and all websites and reviews to preserve the ending. But I can guarantee that after hearing they set up grief hotlines for people I won't be shocked by anything the last sixth of the book holds for me. So far, I'm not shocked about anything that's happened. Without some pretty nasty things happening, there's no concept of Voldemort's evil capacity. And the few side characters that've died? So what. If it's a bunch of side characters that die, and not at least one of three main characters, I'm going to be pissed.

Reading Deathly Hallows has been more of a compulsion for closure than about enjoyment. I don't know why I get like that sometimes, but I feel like I HAVE to read it, which makes me not enjoy it nearly as much as I would if I didn't feel that way. I feel impatient and not that excited by the whole thing. Things very easily get over-hyped for me, and then I tend to think they're total crap. Everyone shrieking in unison "OH MY GOD!" over the ending just makes me kind of shrug and think, "meh."

I didn't even pick up my copy until last Sunday, but I read 2/3 of the book in one sitting, moreso to get it over with than because I was enthralled. I read a bit last night, will read some tonight, and should finish it at least by Wednesday night.

But please, please, please do not post anything about the ending here. I'm almost done with it, and when I am, I will partake in discussions. Don't even post "Oh you'll be surprised!" because I very likely won't be. In fact, don't post any comments on this blog at all.

heh

Posted by Karabou at 10:47 PM EST

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July 29, 2007
On and on and on
Ag and I went to lunch yesterday and then hit Lowes to get some prices on bathroom furnishings, carpets, and the like. I think I'm probably going to order carpet through them, rather than do remnants. They have some Bella carpet that's only $1.57/sq. ft., and they'll cut it to fit the room and the chimney (which not all places will do), as well as finish the edges. So, it's the same as buying a remnant, but not...and about as cheap. We're thinking of a medium-dark gray, since the walls are light gray. And I think the darker color will give it enough contrast to not look like a dank, gray pit. With red and black accents, I think it will be fine. I've gotta see if a friend of ours will build some shelving for the wall.
Shower/bath kits weren't as expensive as I feared, but shower doors were. I'm not entirely sure I need luxury shower doors. Some plain old normal ones--but new--will suffice. A new toilet seat and a new mirror over the sink, and I'll be set.

Posted by Karabou at 6:23 PM EST Top

July 25, 2007
Bittersweet
Why is the last night always the best night? We sat around and talked about movies, laughed, and relaxed. My s-i-l made the single best amaretto sour I've ever had. It was fantastic. I'm always a little sad when they have to head back to Florida, but I guess we all have our own lives and need to get back to them. I'm pooped.

Posted by Karabou at 11:49 PM EST Top

July 24, 2007
¿Dije lo que?
After dad's interment, mom gave me a small Ziploc baggie of his ashes, and I'm going to plant him in my peace lily I've managed to keep alive since the funeral.

The Catholic Church told my mom that it's against their rules to be scattered. Funny, it was against their rules to be cremated, up until the last 10 years or so, when they realized the space constraints created by being buried in a big-ass casket in a cement vault. Yes, cremation is now acceptable and will not bar you from entering heaven. (Ludicrous.) So if the rules can change arbitrarily for "reasons of practicality," why have rules at all? I find the whole thing just stupid and very much the reason I don't believe in organized religion.

For dinner, we went to Cassano's in Piqua. It's been completely re-furbished and a quaint patio and additional dining section have been added. They've actually turned it into a sit-down restaurant--and successfully. In my experience, this Cassano's is the only one that doesn't taste like ass. Normally, if you order a chain's pizza, you get pretty much the same pizza, no matter where you are. Not so with Cassano's. In Fairborn, you get something akin to kosher rock salt on the bottom of your pizza. In Troy, they use weird cheese. Kev suggested we try the pizza from the one by their headquarters in Kettering, once we move. We'll see how that goes. I don't understand how they're all so vastly different.

Posted by Karabou at 9:49 PM EST Top

July 22, 2007
I know you're all wondering...
...why the hell would they sell waffles at a festival? I've been asked that question at least 10 times by various people who, when I told I was frying waffles for a festival, looked at me like I was snorting cocaine off a dead hooker's ass in the Everglades.

Well, it's not a Belgian waffle. It's a sugar waffle. They're thin, crispy, light, and covered in powdered sugar. Here's a picture:

My husband was carrying on about how rednecks need to not qualify everything fried as a waffle. But there are many different kinds of waffles. And here's a description of the sugar waffle:

Sugar Waffle"French Waffles are called by many names – Sugar Waffles, Rosecakes, Rosettas, Circus Waffles and many others, too. But no matter what you call them, they are a very thin, crispy fried product that folks love.""...in the United States, we have many different names for these cookies. For instance:
Minnesota = Rosette Cookie
Ohio = Sugar Waffle Cookie
Florida = Fried Cookie
New York = Italian Fried Cookie
Maryland = Lace Cookie
Georgia = Elegant Wedding Cookie
Pennsylvania = Festival Sugar Waffle
Indiana = Fair Sugar Waffle"
Posted by Karabou at 10:39 PM EST
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July 21, 2007
I hate waffles.
I ended up frying again today for 3 hours. I arrived 30 minutes early to get everything ready in time for the 5pm opening. I had to sugar and wrap 60 pre-made waffles for mom and have those done and put aside before the festival started. 10 minutes into it, I realized there was no way in hell I'd be able to sugar and wrap all night, and I refuse to take money. I distrust my math skills so thoroughly that I'm a nervous wreck doing even simple math on the fly in really busy situations. My back was killing me, so I figured I'd better just fry.

Time didn't go so fast tonight. Last night was so busy it was a blur. While tonight was just as busy, I was starting out already exhausted and annoyed that I had to give up both my weekend nights. Several times, I thought about looking at my cell phone to see what time it was and thought better of it. If I found out I still had 2.5 hours to go, I was going to cry right there on the spot.

Then, only one person on the next shift showed up. Thankfully, he was the all-important frier, because it takes some experience to get the color right. Too dark, and the waffles are bitter. Too light, and they're doughy and not crunchy. I fried a few times when I was a kid in Catholic school. The trick is figuring out that they continue to cook for about 30 seconds after you take them out of the oil. They should look just a teensy-tinsy bit underdone, and then they're perfect. Let them cool, sprinkle them with powdered sugar, wrap, and bag. Done. You should keep them in a Ziploc or a sealed container, or they'll draw moisture and lose their crunch.

My grandma was waiting for me to get done, so we could grab something to eat together. I was unhappy I had to tell her to go ahead and go home and that I'd stop by after I figured out what the hell to do. The festival organizers found a couple of volunteers to handle the non-frying business. I shut down my frier and cleaned all of my utensils, so the other guy didn't have to. It took a while to clean up last night--I wasn't going to subject him to that. It's after 11pm, and I still haven't eaten. I was so tired and pissed by the time I got home, it wasn't pretty.

I'm going to figure out something to eat and go to bed. My brother and my family want to go to the Air Force Museum, but I just don't know if I can do it. I'm so tired.
posted by Karabou at 11:31 PM EST
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July 20, 2007
Friends don't let friends fry waffles alone
I'm exhausted, and I've hit that point where I'm too tired to go to sleep. Tanya worked the 8-11pm shift with me at my mom's church's waffle booth. I don't have anything against the Catholic Church I grew up in, St. Boniface parish, as they were fairly liberal, and I was always taught that all gods were one god, wasn't molested, and had quite possibly the single most amazing priest on the planet. Who, by the way, is still a practicing priest there, even though he's in his mid-90s. Jenn, you got an age on Father Caserta? heh

Anyway, the other frier showed up over an hour late, so it was me running two waffle friers on my own. I have no idea how I did it. It was one of those things where because I had to, I could. As soon as the other chick finally showed up, I could barely keep up with my single frier. The batter was wonky this year, and kept frying dark on the top and light on the bottom. Very weird. And since St. Boniface's waffle booth is deemed to have the best thin, crispy, fair waffles out of any festival in the area, it's important they not suck. We have people who come to the festival just to buy the waffles and then leave.

I hate frying. I haven't done it since I was probably 12. But it's easy once you figure out what color they need to be when you take them out. They continue to darken for about a minute after you remove them, so you have to catch them when they're still a little light but not squishy in the center. We barely kept up to demand, it was so hectic, and we were frying non-stop the entire three hours. I was about to fall over by the time we were done, and Tanya was coated in powdered sugar. heh She said she might bring her boys up tomorrow when I have to work another shift because people suck, say they're going to work, and then call off or just don't show up.

So I'm stuck working another three hours in the booth tomorrow from 5-8pm. Ugh. I'm not happy about it. Thankfully, mom turned up just before closing, which was a pleasant surprise. She helped me close up the booth and told me what to do for tomorrow. Some guy tried chatting her up as she was walking to the booth.

She was convinced this masher was going to follow her to her car. She calmed down after I told her that A) She should be happy she's still got "it" at 62, and B) He was kind of hot, really. heh

It took a while to wash all the utensils, and I left one big, holey spoon kind of encrusted, but I was so tired I just didn't care anymore.

A huge, huge thank you to Tanya for helping my mom out this year. If it wasn't horrific, I hope you'll help again next year. At least you got some free waffles!
posted by Karabou at 12:59 AM EST
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July 17, 2007
Exhale
Well, we got it. My elation is countered by my disgust at their blatant display of greed. And any joy I might have felt is now overshadowed by the monumental task of picking a lender we actually want to use, getting inspections, and then moving not just our apartment, but my belongings in Amanda's, Kev's mom's, and my mom's basements. My mood all morning was, "HMPH! I hope they turn down our counteroffer and get stuck with the house for 6 months. Then they'll come crawling back to us!! HMPH! HMPH I SAY!!" So when I got the news after lunch, I was slightly disappointed but not really.

And do I want to paint? What about carpets for the hardwood floors? I need measurements of various things to make plans for decorating and arranging furniture. I need back in there to start figuring out what's going to happen in what sequence. Kev and I discussed getting exact room measurements, so we can use graph paper to lay out exactly where furniture can go. Where am I putting the piano? The front room is going to be tricky with its fireplace. Damn fireplace is RIGHT where we would normally put the TV. And we might just put it there anyway. We haven't decided. Now's when we need an extra $2k to get a nice flat plasma to hang on the wall. Dream on. Piano might be going into a bedroom for now. But wherever it goes is where it stays for a very, very long time.

I don't know. I guess I just feel overwhelmed by the finality of it. That and my travel schedule in August is the tits. I'm gone for at least one whole week possibly 1.5 weeks on business/vacation. Back to back. And we're closing the week of the 23rd. Argh. I'm stressed and tired and need to go to bed.

I'm happy, just nervous about how it's all going to go. I guess I shouldn't get too excited until inspections are finished.
posted by Karabou at 11:31 PM EST
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July 16, 2007
Divorce and greed
Grrr. The couple countered with $1k over their asking price. Their realtor was laying on the sob story, "Boo hoo! These closing costs are killing them!" They'll be making $12k on the house with our counter offer, which is only $900 below their counter. If they want to not sell the house because of $900, I'm tempted to tell them to screw off and let them sit on it for a while. Now I wish I'd low-balled them.
posted by Karabou at 7:46 PM EST
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July 15, 2007
What have I done?
I believe I just bought a house, that's what. I'm in shock, and I'm walking around in wide-eyed silence, staring blankly. We looked at a house I'd checked out last week, and my m-i-l pointed out some issues that she thought might be problematic. It's the one I said I wasn't in love with, and I was pretty much turned off by it at that point. But after that one, we went to look at a house that just went up on the market last Monday. As soon as I received the email notification of it, I had immediately asked my realtor to add it to today's agenda. I don't normally drag Kev along to on the first run, but it was convenient, and it was just one.
Oh my god. It was kismet. Kev and I walked around with our mouths open, excitedly pointing out things to each other. The kitchen has exactly the appliances we want, all black and brushed metal, and they stay behind with the house. We put in an offer, so I guess I shouldn't get too excited just yet. But we pretty much gave them what they wanted and asked that they pay the closing costs. It's a couple that's divorcing, so hopefully, they'll be ecstatic they got an offer so quickly, take the money, and give us the house. I. Am. Freaking. Out.
posted by Karabou at 8:51 PM EST
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July 14, 2007
Went to da Beach
Tanya and I spent yesterday at The Beach waterpark with her two boys. We had a blast, and they seem to have a lot of fun dragging me and Tanya through the water in the wave pool by a leg. heh

I totally jacked my ankle on one of the water slides. It was an enclosed tube that, near the end, you pick up a fair amount of speed and can't see the end of the tunnel. Now I remember why tubes suck. Every seam on the way down is a painful speedbump, and because you can't see the end coming, you can't prepare yourself for the splash down. My ankle hurt really bad when it happened, but I sat down for a while and felt fine after that. Then last night, around 9pm, it started to hurt every time I moved it. I had to wrap it before I went to bed last night because any movement was enough to make me whimper. It still hurts this morning, so I guess I'll see how it is on Monday. If it doesn't get better with ice and a wrap, I suppose I'll be seeing the doctor. But at least it didn't hurt while we were at the park, and I enjoyed the rest of the day.

Let me tell you, climbing those towers made me feel old, old, old, especially while carrying a 2-man tube. I was so exhausted when I got home that I hit that point where I was so tired I couldn't sleep. I lazed about, watched Dr. Who, The Soup, and went to bed. I have to get my mom a birthday present today and go to her "surprise" birthday party. My sister and I are getting her a DVD/VCR combo unit, or a $100 gift certificate if I can't find one I think she'd like.

Then we have to race home, so we can game tonight, provided everyone is still planning to show up. Kev brought up that that there was a Dr. Who roleplaying game to which I informed him that he was a jackass for never telling me about it. It was put out by FASA, and I found another one called Timelord that was published by a company unknown in the gaming industry, which meant it failed because no one knew about it. But there over a dozen other Dr. Who RPGs out there written by Joe Schmoes or rules for adapting it to other systems, such as GURPS and Rolemaster, that you can download for free.
posted by Karabou at 8:54 AM EST
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July 11, 2007
On self tanner and home buying
I decided to switch to Dove Self Tanning Moisturizing Lotion. I've been using Nivea, and while it's given a nice golden glow and has the best texture/smell of any self tanning lotion I've used, it rubs off much too easily. I wore my mankillers to the club one night and had white patches on my shins where the color rubbed off. I did easily get them blended back in within a couple of days, but still.

Dove has a weird consistency, and it smells a bit more flowery than the Nivea, which was pleasant and creamy. But I'm hoping to get a darker color out of it. The Nivea could only take me so far. Last year, I tried Vaseline brand self tanning lotion, and it was okay. I didn't get much color, it had a weird consistency, it took too long to dry, and it was very blotchy around my knees and ankles (a problem I've not had with the Nivea). My bathroom trash can looks like prostate exam central with the amount of latex gloves I go through in a week applying the self tanner. I don't trust the recommendation of just washing your hands, so I use gloves to apply it.

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Of the five houses I looked at Monday, I'm taking Kev and his mom to go check one out. I'm on the fence about it. The kitchen is a matchbox, but the living room is a nice size. And it has a TON of space in the semi-finished basement, which wasn't stinky at all (a rare occurrence in my experience). And the lot is 175 feet deep, which would give us room to build a garage, put an addition on the house (bigger kitchen?), and still have a backyard of reasonable size.

Another downside is the huge, old Maple tree in the back yard that I'd have to have cut down and removed, which would cost over $1000 when you include stump removal. It has at least 11 power lines crisscross through it, so leaving it be is not an option. My realtor said DP&L would do a majority of the work for free just to get it off the power lines, so that might help curb the cost. But it's something I have to keep in mind when negotiating price. I'd also have to tear out all the giant, overgrown honeysuckle along the one side. I'd rather have a privacy fence with some plantings. And there are 4 columns of trees the current owners have half-buried in a square, so they can sit around a campfire. Have they not heard of folding chairs? I'd ask them to, at the very least, pull those out of the ground for me to dispose of.

It has its pluses and minuses, so I'll have to see if Kev is even interested in it. It's reasonably priced, but I'd be doing some hard negotiation anyway, cause that's how I roll. I'm definitely not in love with it, which concerns me. I feel like I should walk into a house and shriek, "This is it! This is the one!" and live happily ever after. I felt that way about the HUD home we looked at, but it's just out of our league. And honestly, I think I was in love with the space it had to offer more so than the house itself. So, I try to keep in mind that we can add that kind of additional space on to a house if we have the yard.

It amazes me what people think is acceptable when showing their homes to sell it. Here's a short of list of things you might want to keep in mind should you ever try to sell a home:

1) Cut your grass. Knee-high grass filled with insects does not make me happy, especially when there are toys semi-hidden in the prairie.

2) If you own a pack of screaming Chihuahuas, remove them from the premises while your home is being shown by a realtor. Putting them in a cage covered with a blanket doesn't cut it. I can still smell them, and more importantly, hear them. Screaming. Non-stop.

3) Clean your basement. "Spacious basement" kind of loses its meaning when it is literally filled to the ceiling with trash and junk and looks like Hostel II was filmed in it.

4) If your house is going into foreclosure, and you're desperately trying to sell it, don't demand the buyer pay all your current debts and easements currently due on the house. Nice try. Enjoy your foreclosure.

5) Remove any inset cement placards in your front yard that say, "If I'm not at home, look for me at Walmart."

6) Do not plaster the front of your garage with signs like, "POSTED: NO TRESPASSING," "Kentucky Boulevard," and "Beware of Dog." (Especially when all you own are Chihuahuas. Seriously, I could kick one of those 30 feet before it did much damage to my ankles.)

7) If you are a heavy smoker, attempt to Febreeze the hoo-ha out of your house. One has been empty for most of year, and it smelled of cigarette smoke so bad, my throat hurt after 5 minutes.

8) Paint over any murals you've drawn on your kids' walls. You might fancy yourself an artist, but mostly likely, you are not. A coat of white paint isn't that difficult to slap down.

9) You may be proud of your three giant, jacked-up, pick-up trucks that you have customized with spray-painted camouflage, but try to park them down the street when people are coming to look at your home. Don't park two in front of your house and one in the driveway.

10) Remove open trailers parked in your drive way that are overflowing with rusted junk and trash.

I was contemplating putting the search on hold until next year, so we could save up a fair amount of cash and possibly look into a more expensive tri-level house. They have a nice amount of space, and we could afford one if we had more of down payment. But our neighbors are moving out at the end of August, and I'm terrified to think what's going to move in after them. We live in a shitty, poor neighborhood that's filled with shitty, poor rednecks. So chances are, we'll end up having shitty, poor neighbors with shitty, poor manners.

It seriously makes me feel sick just thinking about it. If we don't find a house by September, I will likely have to re-arrange my bedroom to get my bed off the shared wall--or start sleeping in the living room. I anticipate the worst and hope for the best. /sigh.
posted by Karabou at 9:53 PM EST
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July 9, 2007
Delamore de la Muerte
I watched Cemetary Man again last night. For some strange reason, I love that movie. I also watched Monster House. I have no idea who that movie was made for. Despite my feelings on that subject, I understand that a lot of people let their kids watch horror movies, but I have no idea who the target audience was for Monster House. It was certainly not a "children's" movie, though it was of the animated variety. I'm guessing it was for more of the pre-teen set who likes Goosebumps. Personally, it would have scared the hell out of me as a kid. I didn't handle any kind of horror movie well, and to an extent, I still avoid the genre.

On another note, I've been busting my @ss all day to get a newsletter laid out. I bargained with my boss to take a vacation day Friday, so long as I have the newsletter's first draft finished and in her hot little hands by Thursday at 5pm. So I have to get it done. Friday, Tanya and I are taking her boys to The Beach. I don't think I've been there since 6th grade. I can never find anyone to go, so I'm excited to finally hit some water slides. I think some dude I picked up cruising (yeah, exciting) when I was 16 tried to get me to go on a "date" at The Beach. I saw through his ruse of getting me into a swimsuit.

My brother will be in town next week, which I'm really looking forward to. I don't know how much time I'll be able to take off work, but I'm taking off one day to inter dad's ashes, and possibly a couple of half days around my bro's schedule while he's here.

And now, I'm off to go look at 5 more houses tonight. I've had a strangely good feeling about it for the last week. Here's to hoping we find one.
posted by Karabou at 11:59 PM EST
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July 7, 2007
buttermilk and ham
Kev and I had dinner last night with some of the Green Ronin folks. Last year, Hal introduced us to Buca de Beppo, and I have been in love with the Porchetaa Rustica: herb roasted boneless pork loin topped with a rustic red wine sauce that blends balsamic vinegar, blueberries, capers and hazelnuts. Served with roasted potatoes and fresh vegetables. So I made sure we got a helping of that, and since it's family dining, we got a bevy of dishes: Fried Calamari, Garlic Bread, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans with Olive Oil and Lemon, Eggplant Parmagiana, a Mixed Green Salad with Prosciutto and Gorgonzola, an Apple Gorganzola Salad, and Gnocchi al Telefono. And gleefully, we got to take the leftovers home, since no one else had a means or method of refrigerating/reheating the goods.

We hit the con today, and it was fine. We caught up with some people for lunch, including Cory, who ran 6 blocks to meet us because someone confused High Street with Nationwide Blvd. But I went outside and flagged him down. Max & Erma's is so blah and overpriced for its blah-ness. No wonder it was nearly empty even during lunch hour during a convention that brings $6 million to the businesses surrounding the convention center every year. Impressively bad.

I'm beat. I got a Yoshi t-shirt and a Flash t-shirt that has bling on the lightning bolt. It made me giggle. We play-tested a card game being designed by one of the GR guys that was very, very fun. Once it's out, I'll definitely be introducing friends to it. Our gaming group will possibly be play-testing the new Song of Fire & Ice RPG being put out by Green Ronin, but since we'd likely be under NDA agreements, interested parties will just have to suffer until its release. Muhahaha.

There was a lot more to the day, but I'm tired, and most of it would just end up being an inside joke, much like the header to this blog.
posted by Karabou at 11:59 PM EST
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July 5, 2007
Knockin' down a Pegg
If you like Simon Pegg (Shaun from Shaun of the Dead), go to YouTube and search for Big Train. It's a sketch comedy series he was on. My favorite clips so far: Chaka Khan vs. The Bee Gees, Prince, and I this one.
posted by Karabou at 9:21 PM EST
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July 4, 2007
Winding down
I'm tired, but the redneck kids aren't done lighting their 4,000 packs of ladybugs...a pack at a time.

We did our patriotic duty and watched Stealth tonight. We've had it sitting on the DVR forever from the STARZ free-view weekend a few months back. Wow, that movie was even worse than I had expected. I think it's in every contract Jessica Biel signs that she has to prance around in a bikini or bikini-like outfit for at least 5 minutes of every movie. The Matthew McConaughey impersonator gave his usual Matthey McConaughey wanna-be performance, right down to the twangy accent. And I can only assume that Jaime Foxx found out he was up for an Oscar and demanded they kill his character off as quickly and heroically as possible.

Other than that, we laid around like beached whales all day, feasted on cheese sausages from the grill, and watched TV. I've got a photo shoot tomorrow afternoon at one of our clients a bit north of Cincy. I'm hoping to get done early enough that I can still hit the gym and not be completely exhausted. Friday, we're having dinner with some guys in town for the weekend. Saturday is Origins, and Sunday is my day of doing absolutely nothing to recuperate.
posted by Karabou at 11:31 PM EST
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July 3, 2007
Nothing more than meets the eye
Wish I could take credit for that one. Transformers ahead.
Anyway, I saw Transformers tonight with my cousin. I went in with low expectations in the hopes that at least the action would be good. I wasn't disappointed...in that respect. Michael Bay has never made a movie that's stood the test of time. While I enjoyed The Rock when I was 20, watching it now is sort of painful. So many things in that movie are just bad. Armageddon was mediocre at best and not a movie I'd ever really care to watch again. And the rest of his filmography isn't even worth visiting. So I was highly concerned that he was directing Transformers.
The action was good, but my cat's ass creates better dialog in the litter box. I mean it was bad, REALLY bad. And John Turturro, sweet John Turturro, you can be so funny and so talented. But I suppose we all have to pay the rent and eat.
I have to say that the thing I hated most about the film was the stupid f-ing Ewok-esque Decepticon they used for comedy relief. I involuntarily groaned, and loudly, every time it came on screen, both because of the Salacious Crum sounds it constantly made and the Ewok whoops and skwerks. I totally could have done without the bad comic relief and have been content with a steady action flick. Michael Bay didn't seem to know what he wanted...a comedy or a bad-ass action flick.
For those of you lacking in geek skillz, Salacious Crum was the little beastie that hung out with Jabba the Hut:

This being the "Summer of Shia LaBeouf," he wasn't bad. His dialog wasn't great, but that's not his fault, kind of like Jake Gyllenhaal in The Day After Tomorrow. Horrible, horrible movie, and Jakie-poo's lines were unbelievably trite and stupid, but he can only speak the lines he's given and deliver it the way the director wants. And if that's bad and bad, well...whatcha gonna do? And if you try to argue that there was nothing wrong with Day After Tomorrow, all I have to say is, "the wolf scene." You cannot tell me that was one of the worst, out-of-place scenes ever put into a movie.
Megan Fox. In contrast to her last name, I felt like I was looking at an Antioch College graduate student the entire movie. She just looked...dirty. And I'm not talking, "Mmmm, yeah," kind of dirty. I'm talking box of Tide and a wire brush kind of dirty. She spent the entire movie coated in some sort of greasy faux sweat and looking like she's made 10 too many visits to the Mystic Tan booth this week.
At least Megatron was more than some ridiculous gun the other Decepticons used. He did have a bad-ass gun in his arm, which was pretty cool. The attrition rate of the movie was fantastic. While you didn't see people graphically dying, you knew the people in those exploding buildings were perishing horribly, unlike The Hulk, which went out of its way to make sure every audience member (no matter how dim-witted) knew that everyone survived every attack. Ang, what were you thinking?
And that EMP noise was rife throughout the film, making me squeal (at least inwardly) every time it went off. God I love that noise. I've never been able to find a .wav of that noise anywhere, despite its constant use in sci-fi films. /grumble
In short, it's worth seeing on the big screen for the city-destroying fights. But don't expect much more than that.
posted by Karabou at 11:28 PM EST
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July 1, 2007
She's shooting stars till the end.
I was stricken down this weekend by total, utter, general malaise. (It must be contagious, Angi). Friday, I took a nap in anticipation of going dancing and then ended up feeling so restless that I chose to sit and do nothing at all. Saturday, I got up and went to the gym, came home and showered, got some Indian for lunch, and then couldn't be roused from the recliner until gaming time. And I yawned and felt sleepy all the way through that.

Today, I did my usual morning grocery shopping, read for a couple of hours, and then went hiking in Charleston Falls. It was superbly beautiful weather, and I knew it meant the trails would be busy, which is a good thing. I was running one of the upper trails and on the path ahead was a fawn. I stopped, and we stared at each other for a good 5 minutes. It head-bobbed and sniffed the air, likely picking up the scent of my Fresh Scent OFF! that I was coated in from head to toe. After looking around to make sure momma wasn't present and looking to trample me, I decided to shoo it off the path, so I could get on my way. It scampered off to the other side and watched me run off.

I came home, showered, and then read a few more hours. I ended up passing out for about a half hour and couldn't be bothered to get up from the recliner for at least another half hour. So lazy. So very, very lazy.
posted by Karabou at 9:18 PM EST
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