God walked in, wearing his scrubby little dressing gown, and asked if I was looking at pictures of war dead. I told him no. He was sagely satisfied and mentioned that apparently it was OK as long as they were taken by Americans, otherwise it was an affront to the Geneva Convention. God is all about conventions. He thought Hussein's boys would be a trifle miffed at the idea as well, but since they didn't go to His Heaven he didn't really care and do we have any Corn Flakes?

Later, when God had his Holy Constitutional and had read the TV Guide front to back, he stretched and inquired about Matlock. "It's on pretty much any time in at least one country if you have cable", he noted. I pointed out that He hadn't seen fit to wire our home with cable but that I was sure Matlock was indeed playing in Taiwan or Bombay or somewhere at this very moment. He said that he could find out rather easily but wasn't really inclined to at the moment. I noticed he'd found a loose thread in his robe to worry with.

When the news announced that there was more fighting somewhere and America or Britain or Australia were involved, God stood up and said "I'm going back to bed 'til this is over". He said he hoped there were no more pictures of war dead, but if there were he was sure the Americans would do it and would say they had His OK. God was tired and couldn't be bothered.

There's hope I may finally get my copy of Wil (Wheaton)'s book.
(Update: He's updated his entry and only mentions orders on taken on May 27 and 28. My order was placed on the 20th so... does this mean I'm SOL?)

I really want to read this book and every time my dad sent a package (mail and such) during the last 8 weeks I've gotten excited only to be deflated at AusPost. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate my dad sending this stuff, but junk mail and credit card offers are not real high on my list of fun things to read. And this of course just increases my anticipation (you know the drill, the more you can't get something, the more you want it). I think I've read 7 or 8 other books during that time.

Hopefully I'll get it... well, soon-ish. It will probably be an additional 4 weeks since it will be going via the geologic express aka USPS ("When it absolutely, positively has to get there this epoch"). *le sigh* I feel sorry for Wil, though. He's got to deal with the headache. I hope no one got overly PO'd. As for me, I told my dad to reject all mail for me stateside. There's nothing there I want or need and he doesn't need the hassle of being my PA. Everyone say some prayers of hastening or at least roll me some speed points on your dragon dice... I'm at the mercy of Mr. Zip, the USPS mascot who is just barely faster than old Mr. Speedy Delivery from Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood.

*re-read* Man, I need sleep. I'm sure it all makes sense in some weird way, but... anyway, delirium calls. Or is that the coffee machine?

Visiting the US becomes even harder.

(excerpt)
Foreign visitors from 27 countries must get a computer-friendly passport by October or they will need a visa to enter the United States.

They also must undergo a personal interview, which for many entails traveling to a city where a U.S. consulate is.

OK, so I just had to make another WIl Wheaton post. Why? Because he freaking quoted "Blade Runner/DADES" in his last subject*. hehe
NERD!
Well... OK I'm a nerd, and a huge BR/DADES fan, for catching it, but that's beside the point.
Anywhoey, he's in Portland doing a signing at my FGBSOTP** and I'm missing it.

* - Well, mis-quoted, but it's still recognisable.
** - Favourite Goddamned Book Store on the Planet (Powell's)

Arms control, intelligence experts accuse Bush administration of misrepresentation
Similar story with British angle

And will Walmartia wake up in time to see they're the ones who will pay for Bush's war or will they help re-elect Bush and bring his New Rome one step closer to fruition? Will they see that the patriotic cry that 'things are tough right now but there's a war on and we have to suffer a bit' only applies to them and will continue to apply to them while the rich profit from the spoils?

And why would a political group who has railed against a world government go in so easily for a world police force? Quite simply it's because the police force would be controlled by whomever has the might [and remaining WoMD], not the right. And that, my friends, will be people like Donald Rumsfeld and the US military. The world will suffer and the US military complex (and its contractors back home) will profit.

It makes me want to cry. America is on the brink of being defiled...

I wrote some awesome code today.
Perhaps the coffee should get part of the glory (thank you Gloria Jean's), but I dunno.
All I know is I feel like a some code warrior goddess out of The Matrix.
Speaking of which, I think Keanu should give me a motorcycle, too.
Just because.
But that might also be the coffee talking. ;)

Oh how this warms my heart...

From this Slashdot story:
Mount Shasta, California has become the latest city where the USA PATRIOT act is creating a controversy. This story at the Record-Searchlight describes petitioning by a local citizens' rights committee to order police to defy the PATRIOT act. To date, 3 states and 130 cities have passed legislation forbidding local authorities from cooperating with federal PATRIOT requests, not to mention the numerous businesses who are taking pains to hamper the Act's coverage."

Now this is what America is all about.

Just when you thought it was safe to come back in my blog...
Return of the Movie Review! Tonight, "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle".

The Setup: My girlfriend is a huge Drew Barrymore fan. There was no question whether we were going to see "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle" or not. It was a given. I'd been surprised by how fun the first one was and found myself looking forward to it, albeit a tad trepidatious.

The Back Story: When I saw the first movie, I wasn't expecting a lot and was a little wary of the director, McG, as he had zero feature length experience and this was not an art film or documentary, it was a multi-million dollar T&A adventure with explosions. All in all he did OK and I was sure he'd get the nod to do the sequel (as there was no question that one was forthcoming). Short version: I liked the first movie and thought McG did OK.

Back to the Future: So here we are 3 years, and millions in post-production, later and the new film is eating up tons of the people's disposable income. after a quick dinner and some smooching and talking we settled in to the show and here's the play by play.

The opening sequence knocked me down and asked me to stay still while it blew some shit up, pulled some gags and did some general ass kicking. When the smoke had cleared I picked up my jaw and stopped giggling like a fan girl long enough to say to Teq, "...McG has grown up... I mean really grown up..."

Now, before anyone gets their panties in a knot I want to remind everyone that this is comedy. It's allowed to have some un-believable aspects and take some liberties with reality and common occurrence. It's farce, It's not James Freaking Bond or Trainspotting. It's meant to be cute and thrilling and funny. Anyway, I'm happy to say I found it to be all three of those. McG has really come into his own and, while he draws obvious inspiration from the master, Ang Lee is gonna have to watch his back. This kid got really savvy really fast (OK, 3 years is a long time... but still, this is his second film). This is your new action guy. Action comedy? Even better suited.

Russell Carpenter returns as the cinematographer, but this time brings along a shitload of tricks learned from The Matrix and its spawn. And then some. I'm still trying to work out how the aerials in the Coal Bowl were done. This is some serious shit, y'all. I don't know who's idea it was, but all those fast zoom pulls really hit you right in the face. Heavy heavy stuff. The man deserves a pizza or a trophy for the opening sequence, that's for sure. And he knew when to reel it in [no pun intended] for the lighter stuff. There was even some bleached work that fit really well. OK, I'm gushing and I should move on before this turns into a gushfest for Mr. Titanic.

The Bottom Line:
"Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle" - Worth the price of admission and well worth the wait. I am not really hoping or expecting a 3rd, but I am looking forward to McG's next outing to see where he goes from here.

Good fun. Go see it in a theatre. Don't wait and watch it in your living room. It's not that kind of movie.

We finally broke down and rented "Two Weeks Notice" last night. We'd both been mildly intrigued by the previews we'd seen despite both of us being less than huge fans of Hugh Grant. Actually... we both dislike him quite a bit. Nonetheless, we couldn't resist. So here's my review:

From the start you know the genre and class of movie you're sitting down for. It's in the same little cubby as films like "Sleepless in Seattle" or ...well... basically any Meg Ryan movie. Cutely funny and all about boy meets girl. But, there's the lurking danger it will dive right to the fetid depths of "Forget Paris" instead of "When Harry Met Sally". OK, those both lean more to the Billy Crystal side than Meg Ryan, but that's a different scale which also includes cartoons and slapstick. But, I digress. As I said, you know where this movie's coming from right from the start. And you, of course, know that they'll get together in the end. You just don't know how yet.

Visually TWN is bright and breezy. The shots are usually wide and uncluttered and, all in all, the cinematography is unobtrusive. If you've seen "Jack Frost" (despite it being a dismal piece of crap it is a good example of his work [and he does well with snow]) or "My Best Friend's Wedding", then you know László Kovács' style. Nice, but not too overly nice. I noticed nothing overly exciting about the sound, but the dialogue was always crisp and up close. The music was fairly predicatable but fitting. Editing was clear and evenly measured (courtesy of Susan Morse who edits with 'confidence' although I can't explain exactly what I mean by that or how I arrived at that word... that's just how I perceive her work).

On to the show. First I must say that Hugh Grant was tolerable for most of the movie and I enjoyed the fact that, despite once again playing a snob, his snobbishness is less frat boy and more 'I might be a little nuts'. Sandra Bullock is her usual cute self and this role is really nothing new for her except that... she's a hippie at the start! That came out of left field. But, thankfully, she's quickly coifed and clothed and we get past this. Not that I prefer the whole corporate thing... I just prefer it over the whole hippie thing. I'll leave you to the IMDb synopsis for more on the what and why of the film.

All in all the direction is even and the movie has its moments but don't expect Cary Grant and Kate Hepburn. The movie, in the end, is a lot like László Kovács' cinematography; it was nice to look at and I mostly enjoyed it. The story was cute and they did let it play out all the way 'til the end instead of rush into it all. I did get a bit confused when her friend suddenly shows up again, but maybe that was me... or... maybe the character was superfluous. I dunno. I'll attribute it to me, in fairness, since I'll probably never see this film again to check. If anyone else watches/watched it and thought "who's that woman she's crying with?" before realising or being reminded that it's her friend from the beginning, drop me a line and we'll go with "their fault". ;)

Marc Lawrence [yes, the "Family Ties" Marc Lawrence] makes his film directorial debut here (although he's written a buttload of stuff [including TWN and directed some TV]) and seems capable. Interestingly enough he also wrote Miss Congeniality, another Sandra Bullock vehicle and this familiarity probably played a bit in choosing her for TWN. It's too early, I think, to say where or how far he'll go in this role.

On the Battlefield Earth(0) to Rear Window(10) scale, I give it a Sweet Home Alabama(5/6). It will play well in the 'Sunday Afternoon Movie' TV market.

PS - I got my official notice that my visa was approved today.