02292008 Photogamer
Friday, February 29, 2008
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Undead
OMG, this movie has a huge amount of cool potential. John "Artie Bucco" Ventimiglia and Jeremy Sisto will star in this "a comedy that explains the connection between Hamlet, the Holy Grail, and some very sexy vampires." Can't wait!
via PopWatch
Labels: Artie Bucco, iMDb, Jeremy Sisto, John Ventimiglia, movies PopWatch, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Undead
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Monday, February 25, 2008
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Saturday, February 23, 2008
02222008 Photogamer
02212008 Photogamer
02202008 Photogamer
02192008 Photogamer
02182008 Photogamer
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Friday, February 15, 2008
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Monday, February 11, 2008
new Butterick patterns
Butterick has posted their new patterns for the season. There aren't many I like, but I did find two:
View C is cute, but I have the feeling that unless I did some significant shaping at the waist, it'd end up looking like a sack.
I like jacket B, but I don't think that this belted style is going to be flattering on someone as short and short-waisted as I am. Perhaps with a very thin belt?
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Saturday, February 09, 2008
Guitar Rising
So while it's fun to fake-play music via videogames, it's way more awesome to actually be able to play music on real instruments. For those who want both, you've now got it in Guitar Rising, a PC/Mac game that teaches you how to play along with 30 rock songs. From the video, it looks like a lot of it is how to solo, but it's only a beensy clip, so there could very well be more to it.
via Kevin
Friday, February 08, 2008
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Monday, February 04, 2008
Sunday, February 03, 2008
Philadelphia Library Sucking It Big Time
Apparently there's a library in Philly that applies stickers to some of its items noting that they are limited to check-out by those age 15 or over only. I have no idea which library it is, but the Anticraft found out that such a sticker has been applied to their book. Mega lame! Not to mention a complete violation of the Library Bill of Rights. If anyone reading this is a patron of this library, it's time for you to make a stink!
green stuff
Mythbuster Jamie Hyneman talks about annoying things about consumer electronics and highlights some green stuff along the way. Most of this stuff seems pretty basic, but how often do you see it articulated?
via EcoGeek
Did you know that the numbers on grocery store produce can tell you something about how the produce is grown? Four-digit numbers mean it's conventionally grown, five-digit numbers beginning with 9 mean it's organic, and five-digit numbers beginning with 8 mean it's genetically modified.
via Green Daily
Green Daily and Planet Green both reference a recent New York Times article that says hot water from the tap or heated tap water can have potentially dangerous levels of lead from home plumbing (heating the water can intensify the levels of lead in the water). This concerns me, as I drink a lot of tea made using tap water. Apparently you can send your water to a lab to be tested. You can contact your local water authority to find out the local labs they recommend. I'll definitely be calling tomorrow.
Numbers
Like statistics? How about real-time stats? Check out Worldometers, which has real-time tallies of a wide variety of figures in a variety of categories. some of the highlights (as of this post):
86,572 Book titles published this year
4,753,345 Cars produced this year
1,355,637 Desert land formed due to mismanagement this year (acres)
Most of the figures are rolling too quickly for me to add them here - by the time I type one, it's changed significantly. Check it out for yourself at Worldometers.
via Neatorama
Saturday, February 02, 2008
Friday, February 01, 2008
new review: broken
Check out this review of broken, written by freelance writer Brian G. Walsh:
"broken"
v Written, Produced & Directed by Derek Justice & David DeLeon
v Filmed on location in Michigan & Ohio
v Low-budget ($985.00)
Reviewed by Brian G. Walsh (freelance writer who recently wrote the Detroit Indie Film article for MetroMode)
From the stylish opening images of Christian (David Gries) struggling with his addiction, right up to the abrupt but inevitable end, Michigan natives Derek Justice and David DeLeon artfully sketch the tale of a woman and an emotionally-impaled artist drawn together in their shared passion and pain, desperately fighting to avoid self-destruction but unable to avoid the dark course life has mapped for them.
Justice and DeLeon were savvy enough to let the characters carry this story without being preachy. There is nothing glamorous or appealing about Christian's drug problem, and society isn't skewered as the culprit. Lives are laid bare without the sound and fury of righteous indignation. This is simply how things are and it's up to the characters to take control of their lives, if they can. As in real life, it's easier for Christian to do nothing than to actively seek change, but Beth Linder (Aziza Amy Poggi) forces Christian to reflect on the real cause of his disintegrating existence. Christian doesn't really want to be miserable; he just doesn't know any other way to live.
Made for a paltry $985, the story, writing, direction and tone of the film are better than a lot of the poorly-written, high tech drivel Hollywood force-feeds to us on a spoon of celebrity-fueled blockbusters. The characters in "Broken" are far more real than those in the glitzy, ridiculously expensive productions. Their seemingly small, ordinary lives have more power and real emotion than conceptually bigger stories told by celebrated but less-talented producers. Derek Justice and David De Leon have made a good film, period. And to think these two savants are still learning the old-fashioned way, through their own hard work and enduring passion.
When factoring in the budget, it's downright scary to think of what these two talented storytellers could do if they got their hands on proper financing.
Christian Lee (David Gries) is at times moody, tortured, loving, vengeful and pathetic, but Gries manages to make us care and root for Christian, despite his inability to come to grips with his heroin addiction and his initial refusal to let anyone into his paranoid little world of pain.
Gries' portrayal is authentic and emotionally compelling. Christian is a talented, introverted artist using drugs to quiet his demons, who appear in the form of his younger self. Christian produces his art in a passionate frenzy, expelling the blackness inside him so he can live another day, but there is no real point to his existence. He has no life.
But Christian does not want to live. He isn't brave enough to kill himself, though he craves the release. He literally plays 'Russian Roulette,' but it's no game. Each time he is spared by the hollow echo of the empty chamber, Christian can only crumble in relief, hating himself for being too scared to get it over with.
As a child, Christian witnessed his father kill himself and his mother, and the memories have haunted him into addiction, or at least that's what he tells himself. This addiction Christian pours out in his eccentric and dark art, which both fascinates and disturbs the woman who comes to care for him, Beth (Poggi). When Christian tries to avenge the honor of the woman he's come to love, he gets his butt kicked. Christian is not Bruce Willis or Sly Stallone, he's a talented artist but not much of a fighter. His failure makes us root for him all the more. He's not larger-than-life tough and we can relate.
Poggi does a fine job portraying the hurt beneath the cynicism as the frustrated assistant editor of "The Detroit Underground," the paper Christian sells his work to. Beth has demons of her own to exorcise, and she and Christian inevitably couple in their shared grief and need for love. She is sarcastic, demanding and tough at work, oblivious to the fact that office co-worker John (LeeAlan Weddell) is in love with her, even while his actions shout for attention.
There are only a few awkward moments; two instances where Beth says things aloud that would be better left unspoken, but there are many gems in this uncut diamond of a film.
Steve Hopton is a complex, three-dimensional punk of a boyfriend who alternately loves/hates Beth and abuses her into leaving him. Hopton does not play on one key, as one moment his character, Mark, is heartless and brutal, and the next he is pleading for understanding and an explanation of what he's done wrong. He brings life to what could have been a one-note character. His inability to see himself as "the bad guy" and anger at perceived wrongs is right on target. You can just tell this character is so into himself that he cannot conceive of his own, callous villainy.
LeeAlan Weddell does a perfect job representing the shy, introverted lovesick co-worker, expressing emotions and feelings with facial expressions and body language, never allowing his deep feelings to show. His is a tortured existence, being in love with a woman who barely knows he's alive, and his suicide comes as a real shock because we only see him through the eyes of other characters. Weddell's portrayal of John is an admirable exercise in artistic restraint.
Overall, the acting, the story, the writing and direction were very good. The cinematography and soundtrack was solid and appropriately bleak. The film is not black and white, but something less than color. It is the perfect choice for this movie and adds to the feel of the experience. The direction superbly highlighted the tone and style of the script without being overdrawn. Mr. Justice and Mr. De Leon have a winner, and I'm sure we'll be hearing a lot more from this 'dynamic duo.'
John Green is not a pornographer
Some ridiculous people who are Just Plain Wrong are trying to keep teens from reading John Green's Looking for Alaska. They've clearly never read the book, and they seem to be vastly misinformed about what constitutes pornography.
Be Kind Rewind
Kickass musician/actors Jack Black and Mos Def have a new movie coming out, Michel Gondry's Be Kind, Rewind. The trailer looks so good, and Gondry even sweded his own version of it. Cool!
via Pop Candy
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