OMGWTFVP, part 2

I guess we should have known McCain couldn't resist a former beauty queen.

...

Wait, what's that?


Oh, right. The only card he has left.

Friday Five: 8/29

In which I blather about five songs randomly selected from my iPod playlist as I listen to them.

"Sonja" - Lyle Lovett
A clever little song about micro-crushes.

"Cell Block Tango" - Catherine Zeta-Jones/Susan Misner/Deidre Goodwin
From the soundtrack of the movie version. When I watched it for this first time, I was intrigued by how they integrated the musical numbers into Roxie's fantasy life. Until this number, that is. Then I went from interested to blown away (and not just because of the unbelievable hotness of some of the ladies in it). An amazingly shot and choreographed scene coupled with a great song.

"We've Got the Beat" - The Go-Go's
There's this one part, towards the end, where Belinda Carlisle screams "Jump back." Somehow, she managed to convey more energy in that one phrase than was contained in her entire solo career.

"Never Do Anything" - Barenaked Ladies
"That guy should be me/ I look much better on TV/ Then the world would see/ That I could do anything/ I could be that/ But soon you'll see that/ I will never do anything." Megalomania only held in check by a complete lack of ambition. Unfortunately, I sometimes feel like this is my theme song.

"Don't Be Cruel" - Elvis Presley
I don't listen to Elvis a lot, but this one of his that I dig.

My Pathetic Struggling Was Futile in the Face of Doom's Magnificence

Board games again last weekend (though in a stunning twist, Mike was gone and everyone else made it); we went with Marvel Heroes this time. It ended up being a very close game. In what turned out to be the final round, all three teams (Avengers, X-Men and Fantastic Four) were poised to resolve a headline that would have put them over the 15 Victory Point threshold, but failed. Luckily for me (playing as the FF), I had enough time to get Thing deployed to another headline that I successfully resolved. Unluckily for me, it was a mastermind opportunity that would have allowed Dr. Doom to implement the final part of his master plan (the one that caused the FF to lose 5 VP). After a very close combat, Doom was victorious, which caused me to fall to 2nd place behind the X-Men on the VP track.

We had a good time, but being rusty on the rules (it's probably been 6 months since we played it last) brought into sharp focus how fiddly some bits of the game are.

Friday Five: 8/22

In which I blather about five songs randomly selected from my iPod playlist as I listen to them.

"Lookin' Out My Back Door" - Creedence Clearwater Revival
CCR - one of the few bands my mother and I can agree on. Not one of my favorites by them, but I already had the album.

"Subterranean Homesick Blues" - Bob Dylan
Thank god Dylan went electric at Newport.

"Take On Me" - a-ha
Over 2 decades later, and this is still one of the coolest videos I've seen.

"Just Like a Man" - Del Amitri
"And just like a man, he holds you gently/ And just like a man, he strokes your hair/ And just like a man, I still pretend that I'm immune to the whole affair/ But I want to die, I want to cry/ I want to tell you that I was wrong/ Yeah I want to die, I want to cry/ But it's too late, so I'll soldier on/ Just like a man."

"Penguins" - Lyle Lovett
A great jazzy, large band number. I'm not sure how penguins are so sensitive to his needs, but I'm not really sure that it matters, either.

OMGWTFVP

What would happen if the Democratic Vice Presedential hopefuls had an IM chat? Probably not this, as hilarious as it is.

Thanks For the Memoir-ies

Another weekend with no role-playing. Mike and I got together again, though, and this time we played Memoir 44. I think I enjoyed it slightly more than Command & Colors - there were fewer fussy bits to worry about and it seemed to play quicker.

We played two scenarios again - Sainte-Mere-Eglise and Sword Beach - and again I managed to win both of them. I was the axis in the former and came up lucky with command cards (enabling me to hit him on his right flank pretty hard) as well as on some dice rolls. I played the allies in the latter scenario and thought I was finished when all three of my armor units got taken out in short order. I was able to knock out the artillery bunker in the middle of the board, though, which freed up my infantry to come ashore and kick some butt.

I'm actually tempted to go out and buy Memoir now, which is something I can't say after playing Command & Colors. Days of Wonder's online play system may be just enough to tip me over the edge on that decision.

Friday Five: 8/15

In which I blather about five songs randomly selected from my iPod playlist as I listen to them.

"Whip It" - Devo
I'll admit that I don't really "get" Devo (nor do I care to, I think), but this is a quintessentially '80s song. So, no surprises that it shows up on my playlist at some point.

"Shopping" - Barenaked Ladies
Presumably the message is anti-materialism, but this song is so jaunty and faux-pop it can be hard to tell. One of the few post-Maroon BNL songs that has really glommed onto me.

"Crucify" - Tori Amos
"I've been raising up my hands/ Drive another nail in/ Just what God needs/ One more victim." Tori two weeks in a row? I only have a couple of her songs, honestly.

"Jackie Wilson Said" - Van Morrison
I think I may know more songs that reference Jackie Wilson that songs by the man himself. This one is a great uptempo soul-ish number.

"Be My Downfall" - Del Amitri
My best friend/college roommate turned me onto Del Amitri, probably to his lasting regret since I played Waking Hours and, when it came out, Change Everything (which this song is from) all the damn time. I don't think any of their other albums are as good, but those two still rate among my favorite all-time albums.

Remembering Barcelona

The Olympics are back again. I'm pretty skeptical towards them this year, but that's hardly an achievement. Taking the scandals of recent Olympic games (doping, rigged judging, etc) and adding the debacle that is Beijing, I'm actually surprised anyone can be optimistic about them. Thinking about the summer games always makes me recall my favorite Olympics - the 1992 games in Barcelona.

There are four things, that I remember most clearly about Barcelona. The first was the most "Holy shit, did you see that?!" moment ever conceived of by an Olympic committee during the opening ceremony:

Seriously, that dude had a flaming arrow!

Speaking of things that are hot, my second lasting memory is Summer Sanders:

Hey, I was 19.

1992 was also the year of the first 'Dream Team'. You remember, the collection of 11 NBA all-stars (and also Christian Laettner) that pulverized their opponents by an average margin of 43.8 points and made a mockery of the entire concept of amateur athletics. I might be alone in this, but I don't actually watch the Olympics to see "the best athletes in the world," or however they usually phrase it. I love to watch the obscure sports that feature athletes that go unnoticed for all but two weeks out of every four years. Athletes that will probably never again be seen by an local television audience, let alone an international one. Athletes for whom the gold medal will be one of the crowning moments of their lives instead of something to do between endorsement deals.

That leads me to my last memory of Barcelona. Derek Redmond wasn't anyone I had ever heard of. He was a promising, but often-injured British sprinter who had to withdraw from the 1988 games due to hamstring problems. In 1992, he was back to world class form and had made it to the semifinal heat of the 400 meters when this happened:

I still remember vividly sitting on the floor of my aunt's living room, watching as it unfolded. By the time his dad helped him start limping towards the finish line, I was in tears. This to me summed up what the Olympics are supposed to mean so much more so than the astoundingly dull cakewalks featuring "the world's greatest athletes" (and also Christian Laettner). Derek Redmond didn't win the gold; he was disqualified, actually. His image has stuck with me for the last 16 years, though, so powerfully that I still sometimes get a little choked up thinking about it.

That's why I'll be giving the Olympics another shot, despite my cynicism. Out there somewhere, someone I've never heard, and will never hear from again, might be waiting to be the next Derek Redmond.

Friday Five: 8/8

In which I blather about five songs randomly selected from my iPod playlist as I listen to them.

"Pop Goes the World" - Men Without Hats
Although more remembered for "Safety Dance" (and the attendant RenFaire-on-Ecstasy video), I always liked this song more.

"Take Me Out" - Franz Ferdinand
Due to a marked decline in my personal radio listenership (of the non-NPR or 'oldies' variety, at least), it takes as a song as ubiquitous as this one was for me to notice. It's got a good old-school feel to it, though.

"Precious Things" - Tori Amos
"No one dared/ No one cared to tell me/ Where the pretty girls are/ Those demigods/ With their nine-inch nails and little fascist panties tucked inside the heart of every nice girl." I was a freshman in college when Little Earthquakes was released, and I loved how different it sounded from everything else on 120 Minutes. I haven't kept up with her music, but I do still enjoy this album occasionally.

"Heroes" - David Bowie
So it turns out I had a Bowie best-of album. One of the best things about getting an iPod was finding all the music I already had but had forgotten about to fill it with.

"Unchained Melody" - Willie Nelson
A selection from Stardust, an absolutely incredible album. I may even like this version more than the U2 one I have. Maybe.

Watch List: 8/6

The Netflix queue is back in motion. We've finally finished season 4 of Soap (if you ever find yourself watching the show, stop after season 3, seriously) and have started season 3 of The Muppet Show (featuring more Muppet Labs segments than before - hurray). Also, we're down to two episodes left of season 2 of Veronica Mars. Once again, I'm enjoying it, but everything is coming fast and furiously now after some dragging mid-season.

I've also been re-watching some Firefly episodes sporadically, hoping they will inspire me to start putting together the rpg convention game I've been thinking about. No luck so far.

It's still too early to decide on any favorites on Project: Runway. Kenley has turned out to be kind of annoying. Blayne alternates between vapid, hysterical and bizarre, but is fun to watch. I get the feeling he's not going to be around for too long, though.

Phalanx For the Memories

No roleplaying this week, so Mike and I got together for a game of Command & Colors: Ancients. I had never played before, but it is a pretty simple system to pick up. We played through two scenarios (I don't remember what they were called, though), and I won them both. The first one was pretty close, but I got lucky with the card draw the second time and won pretty easily.

I guess that would be my chief reservation about the game - it seems like it might be a bit too random. I'd probably have to play through it more before making that judgement though. The game was fun enough that I'd be willing to do that. Overall, good time.

Friday Five: 8/1

In which I blather about five songs randomly selected from my iPod playlist as I listen to them.

"Skinny Legs" - Lyle Lovett
I've seen Lyle Lovett in concert twice. Not only does he put on a really good show, but he's also extremely funny as well.

"Redemption Song" - U2
Another concert bootleg somewhat marred by background noise. It's not terribly different from the Bob Marley version, but it's still pretty neat.

"Venus" - Bananarama
As you may have noticed by now, I really dig covers. This is one of the few instances in my collection where I like the original (Shocking Blue, in this case) better. I just happened to have this one on an '80s compilation CD, though.

"Metropolis" - The Pogues
Really cool instrumental number from If I Should Fall... It starts off sounding Irish and folky, then switches to a horn-heavy jazz sound before mingling the two together at the end. I've always assumed it was a wordless study of how New York City and Irish immigrants changed each other, but I may be reading (listening?) too much into it.

"Trip Through Your Wires" - U2
20 years later and I still can't figure out what the phrase in the title means. Great song, though.

Good Grief

One of the trailers shown before Dark Knight was for the upcoming Watchmen movie. I still I have my doubts that a big screen adaptation is workable (or necessary, for that matter). I was relieved to find that they had gotten away from some of the early concept art I had seen, though:

A Stephanie Brown-Free Review of The Dark Knight

I went to see The Dark Knight last weekend. Unlike just about every other person on the internet, I was not overwhelmed by it. Maybe it was a case of too much hype building it up. Or maybe it was sitting in one of the front rows of an Imax theater where the air conditioning was out. Whatever the case, the movie has two main problems that prevented it from being as good as I had hoped.

Before I get to those, though, I would like to say a word about one part of the movie that I really did enjoy - the acting. Heath Ledger is as fantastic as advertised. Aaron Eckhart is great. The supporting roles, especially Morgan Freeman but also Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Maggie Gyllenhaal and even Eric freaking Roberts are all extremely solid.

You'll notice there is an important name missing from that list, which leads me to the first problem I have with the movie. Christian Bale plays Bruce Wayne very well (even if he and Gyllenhaal have zero chemistry), but his Batman was a mush-mouthed mess. It's a problem when your lead actor is outclassed in every scene he appears in. At times, I even wondered if the movie was actually about Harvey Dent and the Joker, and Batman was supposed to be a supporting character.

The other problem I have is with the direction and editing. The movie doesn't really build to a climax so much as lumber to one. And even then, the climax isn't all that climactic in light of the things that have gone on previously. Also, my bladder would have appreciated chopping about 20 minutes out of the film (preferably the ham-handed political irony and/or the overwrouht speeches at the end). And on a smaller scale, the fight scenes are so dark and so choppy I had a hard time following the action.

These complaints aside, I thought The Dark Knight was a good movie, just not a great one.