I'd Done a Lot of Things Different...

So many have said it best, but I currently like Benet's:

Life is not lost by dying; life is lost minute by minute, day by dragging day, in all the thousand small uncaring ways. ~Stephen Vincent Benét

Small and uncaring ways. Perhaps careless. Thoughtless. Unintentional. Whatever adjective you'd like to use, it's all the same. You didn't make it a point, a priortity, to commit to the completion of such said task. Wow, just getting started and already too serious.

Let's just step a pace back and all get synchronized.

I know it's been two and a half months since my last post. I know that I've done things, procured things, viewed things, that I wanted to mention here. So easily I could detail how Life has kept me busy, but when is that ever an accepted excuse? The fact is, I put it off until I was digusted with how neglected I left this posting haven.

So, to make up for it, you guys get 2.5 months of blogging in just one kablammo!

Shall we?

Movies
I got to see quite a few with my son and wife, but this will be a highlight and be pretty quick.

Speed Racer - Got to see this with a bunch of kids at a birthday party. Nice graphics, but the plot was a bit weak, with some vintage campiness typical of Speed Racer. Overall, eye candy for racing enthusiasts and fans. Not realistic, but I did like the whole family solving problems.

Indiana Jones and Kingdon of Crystal Skulls - One of the best movies I've seen this year. I can't say that the plot was all that engrossing, but as a huge Indy fan, I simply wanted to see where this story went. I like the reappearance of a major character from a prior film (no spoiler here!). Worth it to see in the theater, as this is the end of the Jones Legacy.

WALL*E - After Iron Man, this is the next best movie my son and I saw. I can't exactly put my finger on what it was about it, but feel good movies really hit a spot in the ol' corazon. Wall-E really is a lovable character that you can't help but empathize with. The loyalty that he shows is impressive in a day of switching teams as often as switching your undies. The ensemble is well cast/made. Perhaps this is the best Pixar flick since Toy Story or Monsters, Inc.

Reviews
This is simply just a few things that I got recently and wanted to share my opinions about. Nothing too serious, just some fun stuff.

Samsung LCD 40" HDTV - Oh mama. As the world is transisitioning (well, at least USA is) to a digital TV broadcasting system, I wanted to go ahead and make the switch to high definition television. Oh my goodness. What you see in the stores is...well...what you get at home. Now, in all honesty, you won't get all your channels looking like that (for a number of different reasons),but knowing what you will get and how to get it is a good thing. I'm lucky enough to be rocking 1080p. Shows that are recorded in HD are supremeo awesome. Watching the NBA playoffs was immensely pleasing, but perhaps the most interesting tidbit that we garnered during the honeymoon period was watchign the Men's NCAA World Series playoffs. During one game, there happened to be a quite large fellow sitting in the front row behind catcher, off to the catcher's left. Between him and the little old lady five seats over from him (the large fellow was sitting just so his belly would jiggle at times and seemed to try to give every TV viewer and the pitcher a crotch shot), the detail with which we could see the attending fans was mind boggling. I'm imporessed and now watching regular TV (or non-HD programming) is just so dissappointing.

Playstation 3-Since the wifey approved the new TV, we had to get a new DVD player. Timing was great as the Blu-Ray format was announced as the only next-gen format (HD-DVD got the axe). It just also happens to play video games. I am not dissappointed by any means. I am somewhat still appalled by the overall cost of things, but I do understand that certain things takes money and companies try to recoup that cost somewhere. Blu-Ray is awesomeness. I don't even have a surround sound, but picture and interactiveness are caveats that, for me, really make the Blu-Ray format better than the DVD format. I can, even if just barely at times, tell the difference between the DVD players of yore and the upconverted picture quality that the PS3 does. Gaming-wise, the next 12 months will prove the PS3 be someting to reckon with. I haven't ditched the Wii. In fact it provides a necessary break at times.

Rock Band- Anyone who has been watching this blog knows that I've been anticipating getting this game. While I originally thought that I would get this game for the Wii, the PS3 prospects were greater. Simply put, the game allows for Dylan and me to jam out. He takes the drums and I'll play the axe. Occaisionally he'll sing, and he's working on guitar licks. I can sing okay, but drumming I really need to practice more. As Rock Band 2 approaches, we are both excited about the song list and further jamming out.

Boom Blox - Dylan earned this game with his exceptional behavior at school. I wasn't sure what to expect, but this game really became an excellent choice by Dylan. Simply put, imagine Jenga, but with aspects of throwing and bombs included for variety. Really a a lot of fun for the entire family. The physics of this game truly show off the genius of the developers and the power of Wii.

Okay, enough of the materialistic mumbo jumbo. Next post, we'll get serious.

Maybe...

Cheers,

Mert

I am....Iron Man!

I grew up reading comics, so a great many of the current action flicks coming out initially appeal to me.

When the first Batman came out in 1989, I was excited, but a bit disappointed at the storyline. I liked it nonetheless, but in retrospect, was disappointed. The movies that followed were not much better, and it seemed that they would try even harder to get that "star" power to overcome the lack of substantial acting and writing.

Spider-man, at least the latest reincarnation, is better. Tobey Maguire's acting and the writing is such as to keep me interested. Most of the time. That, and Kirsten Dunst's presence. It wasn't bad, but the third one (as cool as the black suit was), left something to be desired. It seemed as if as any of these stories progress, we have to get more stars/heroes/villains and have them all battling and such. C'mon. What's next? Carnage kidnaps MJ and takes over the Daily Bugle? The Lizard goes on a rampage? And Venom threatens to put out Spidey's secret identity to the world? All in the same movie? Too much.

One movie (again, following the Marvel universe) that really did it right (almost at least) was The Punisher. No, not the nasty Dolph Lundren version, but the 2004 Thomas Jane version. Really nice, really dark. Left some bits out from the comics, but included some others. I don't know if they plan on making a sequel, but the movie itself was fairly complete. The characters really stayed true to who they are, and it wasn't overly complicated (for a movie). A great many parts of the movie I can tie back to my humble collection of Punisher: War Journal. Props to Jim Lee's master artistry on all that work.

Many others have come out, again from the Marvel-verse. Daredevil, Fantastic Four, Blade, X-Men, Ghost Rider, and even Hellboy have all come to receive interest varying from excitement to week-old oatmeal splendor. I've seen these, in addition to DC Comic's Batman and Superman installments. I really liked the newest Batman and anticipate the return of Joker in the upcoming movie. Superman Returns is a bit of a departure from the typical story lines, but I think the writer's stayed true to the overall character. I really liked that story, and it left it open without the obvious "expect a sequel now..." type ending.

What's all this about? My son and I took in Iron Man this past weekend. Eye candy galore. The storyline, albeit updated to 2008, followed Tony Stark's transformation into Iron Man. I can't say that there was one part I didn't like. Now, there were some parts being quite predictable. Formulas for action movies don't digress much, and in this case, it's still there. Doesn't take away from the movie. Most important for me was the on-screen savy of Robert Downey, Jr. For all his troubled past, he fits this role practically perfectly. Best moments? The on-screen chemistry between Downey's Stark and Gwyneth Paltrow's Pepper Potts. The not-so-sublteness of it really amped me up and kept me into those slower parts. The soundtrack really fits, driving the action and highlighting smaller funny moments.

Now, the ending. I'm an ending kind of guy. If you saw the movie Sliver, you know that endings can really f#%! up a movie. I've heard some rumblings about Iron Man's ending. When you see it, consider this: what would Tony Stark say in that situation? That should help you arrive at your answer.

Kimbo!

Not Rambo, but Kimbo.

She's the awesome sister of a good buddy of mine.

Apparently, she's finally gotten her blog going and has started adding to it.

Check it out when you can. I've got it posted on the side over yonder, but you can also click here.

The Love of My Life

I've always loved my wife. I've always been in love with my wife. But lately, I've tried to really focus on that love, that intangible thing that connects us and makes us appreciate one another.

To set this up, read through the lyrics.

Why do birds suddenly appear

Every time you are near?

Just like me, they long to be

Close to you.

Why do stars fall down from the sky

Every time you walk by?

On the day that you were born

and the angels got together

And decided to create a dream come true

So they sprinkled moon dust

in your hair of gold

And starlight in your eyes of blue.

I love The Carpenters. An almost guilty pleasure, but no guilt. It's just clean and wholesome.

There's a few episodes of The Simpsons, and when Homer looks at Marge, this songs is played, showering them in this wonderous glow. I often times am Homer-esque and forget how wonderful she really is. I forget to tell her those simply things. I take advantage of her genorosity and her tidiness. Most of all, I don't always let her know how fouled up (you can use other words here) my world would be without her in my life. I thank God for every moment with her and for the moments to come.

I love you, oh sweet wife of mine. As our anniversary approaches, I hope you realize how much I truly love you and all that you do for our family.

Happy 11th, Honey.

Follow-Up: Samsung Juke

I've had this phone for close to six weeks now, and perhaps it time to write that follow up.

I like it. I really do. The phone works quite well. Even amidst typical Texas wind, the caller can still hear my voice well. I can't always hear them, but eh...

After having the phone for about two weeks, I arrived at a very strong conclusion: the sleeve that came with the phone sucks. No better word for it. Does it offer a modicum of protection? Sure. The trade off? Silicone is really not slick; things don't just slide right off. In my case, the phone would ring and I would have to 1) get the phone out of my pocket (silicone and jeans don't just slide around easily), and then 2) get the phone out of the sleeve (again, not easy; could be done, but at great risk of tearing the sleeve) unless I wanted to speakerphone it (yeah, let's share that conversation with the proctologist). I missed a great many calls because of this. My solution? A clear snap on face-plate. One of my golfers has this on his flip phone. I bought one at the Verizon store and haven't looked back. Love it.

The phone is really easy to use. I've download a few things, but perhaps the coolest of them all is the V-Cast Song ID. You can actually determine a song's artist and title by having the phone listen to about ten seconds of audio. Really cool.

I like it much right now. My only concern is the sturdiness of the primary hinge. It's not loose, but again, it's just a concern.

Cheers