Nerd thing to do today.
Brush up on your StarWars. You know its been a while since you've revisited your child hood. It's ok. Kick on your VCR, or settle in with a nice dvd. Watch your favorite episode. Empire strikes back is always a good one. If you like Episode I, we can turn a blind eye. But treat yourself, its always a beautiful thing.
MOVIE
Moon was really good. Sam Rockwell plays an isolated astronaut in the final days of his contract with Lunar Industries, a company that mines energy for Earth. An accident with a lunar rover forces Sam to deal with himself in more ways than one. Kevin Spacey voices Sam's robot companion Gerty.
I loved that they did model work for the exteriors. I have always believed that CG will never replace models. There is a realism that humans will always be able to depict no matter how good CG gets. Given they did scene extensions and cg robotics inside the station but it all marries together quite well. For an indie movie they had a lot of the right elements. I'm not a fan of thrillers but this is a sci-fi worth watching.
PLUGZ's PROJECTS
(Temporarily PLUGZ's PLUGS)
Went to see Cinematic Titanic on recently with Aurora in Santa Babara. They riffed on a wonderfully terrible movie called "DOOMSDAY MACHINE" It was nonstop laughter. Found out about Trace and Mary Jo's new books. Frank's historic tweets, Joel is a magician, and J "Elvis" Weinstein plays the bass. Which was awesome. Afterwards got to shake hands with all of them. I wanted to talk to them but I was such a nerd I just froze and was only able to get out the generic "I love your work!" So lame. But then I was able to jump into a picture with all of them! HOORAY! Now I have to track down Mike, Kevin, and Bill. "And the circle will be complete."
If you ever get a chance to see CT live, DO IT. It's such a great experience.
AURORA's Biblio-Files
Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
This one is for all of you Fantasy fans out there, now I know Harry Potter and Twilight (blech!) have made fantasy quite a commercial genre lately, but here's one from back in the good ol' days. The first time I read Howl's Moving Castle was in 1999, and I loved it. So much so that I proceeded to read it about 8 more times over the years, the most recent reading being this last week. While the plot is not entirely unpredictable, the characters are enchanting, the magic is pure and the storytelling is witty. You will meet Calcifer, a sparky fire demon, Howl, a vain but good-hearted wizard, and Sophie, a remarkable woman who has a way of persuading things to go
her way. Together they must work to free each other of their magical bonds while the world is in the midst of a war. Jones was a very prolific English author, and I haven't yet encountered a book of hers that I haven't liked. The added bonus to reading this book is that Hayao Miyazaki, the great and powerful animator, created a movie based off of this title in 2004. Many people to whom I have recommended this title were not even aware that Miyazaki's movie was based off of a book in the first place! The horror! If you want to see some fantasy at its best, both the book and the movie are well worth checking out.
her way. Together they must work to free each other of their magical bonds while the world is in the midst of a war. Jones was a very prolific English author, and I haven't yet encountered a book of hers that I haven't liked. The added bonus to reading this book is that Hayao Miyazaki, the great and powerful animator, created a movie based off of this title in 2004. Many people to whom I have recommended this title were not even aware that Miyazaki's movie was based off of a book in the first place! The horror! If you want to see some fantasy at its best, both the book and the movie are well worth checking out.
Quote
"Well, it's the end of the world as we know it and, actually I feel a little bit gassy, but otherwise I'm fine."
-Crow
From episode 819 Invasion of the Neptune Men (great episode)
This quote is awesome because it's a line from a song by R.E.M., a great UK band from the 90s.
"Well, it's the end of the world as we know it and, actually I feel a little bit gassy, but otherwise I'm fine."
-Crow
From episode 819 Invasion of the Neptune Men (great episode)
This quote is awesome because it's a line from a song by R.E.M., a great UK band from the 90s.