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First off, lets get this out of the way. It is not a date movie. I should know. The last date movie I watched was “No Country For Old Men” and she gave me the heave ho less than 36 hours later. She may claim that in this case correlation does not imply causation, but I have my suspicions. It was a bad movie. This coming from someone who owns a Fargo snowglobe, no less.

So, this movie was totally under my radar. Apparently, there were nominations involved with it. I was only clued into its existence by looking at recent DVD releases and cross referencing them to my local private bittorrent server. And I am really glad it bubbled up.

Funny thing about “depressing” movies, or movies that tackle depressing topics (like the dementia and death of your parents). I think they they work best when you are in a funk as well. Now, the funk cant be caused by the same topic of the movie. Thats just piling on. But if you’re blue for other reasons, a well-scripted black comedy movie can do wonders for you.

Phillip Seymour Hoffman (or was it John C. Reilly… I get them confused) and Laura Linney were spot on in this. The pacing and the dialogue were perfect. Although not a true sequel to Slums of Beverly Hills, it was a great “continuation” of that story. I think the quote of the movie has to be “If you ever want to engage in compromising self destructive behavior, you know who to call.”

(and a bonus treat – a shady cell phone pic of my fargo snowglobe!)

click to enlarge:

from the cartoon chronicles of my life: achewood

Do you use Google Reader? If so, enter the Konami code ( up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A ) while on the site for a little visual easter egg.

(Edit: I had a typo in the code. I know it with a controller in my hand, but not typing it out – heres a screencap tho…  30 lives yeah!)

Elmo, with Robert DeNiro, reads for the part eventually won by Joe Pesci in this early casting call for Casino.

A friend of mine has set up an Etsy shop to showcase her jewelry designs. Do me a favor and go check out Flying Monkey Designs here.

After a busy couple of weeks, my standard 4 books at a time routine wasn’t really satisfying my need to read (its kind of like the need for speed, trust me). Currently, I have in process Valis by P.K. Dick, Ulysess by Joyce, Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis (just finished), and Simple Genius by D. Baldacci. Most are rereads so 10 minutes here and there is fine.

To break out of the rut, I hit Powell’s and looked for something new. In the Sci-Fi section, an employee recommendation suggested that if you are fan of Neil Gaiman (I am) then you would like Sean Stewart (whom I now do).

Picked up Mockingbird since it seemed the least “pulpy” of the titles on the shelf. I’m glad I did. The book has a tone similar in feel to Anansi Boys. You know: voodoo/magic exists, but it never becomes the real theme of the story. Its the characters, and their relation to the magic, that drive the story.

Being a “stormtrooper atheist” (at least for the time being), most people are surprised by my fascination for all things related to religious magic, including voodoo. To me, its so easy to draw the corollaries between the loa and psychological archetypes. When someone is ridden, its akin to acting out on subconscious desires. Needless to say, this book didn’t disappoint in this area.

Another awesome feature of the book: The Method. Instead of a simple afterword by the author, he spent a couple of pages detailing his mindset and motives when writing the book.

So, now I get to troll the web, see what else he’s written and check another one out.

Run is an animator from London. He has a new movie out that is pretty cool, but for me nothing will beat this one – Rabbit

Let me get this out of the way – I love Portland. I love all of its idiosyncracies and weirdness and public art. My software development office is housed in an artist’s loft building and I am surrounded by installations.

This latest “addition” to our city, as reported by the AP, just leaves me empty. A New York expat has decided to erect giant acupuncture needles around the city to “see the city in a holistic way” and “choosing locations where the city’s chi could use some help”.

I guess to buy into it, I have to buy into the underlying premise that acupuncture is something more than sticking needles into your body and actually has curative properties. And I’m not talking from inexperience. At one point when I was in constant pain from chronic fatigue, I tried every remedy that I could think of. I went to an acupuncturist with an open mind and a sincere desire for it to work. The most I got out of it was being forced to lie still for 35 minutes once or twice a week.

The rest of the article is a nice intro to other weirdness here in the city including Zoo Bombers, Velveteria, and the 24 Hour Church of Elvis (which now lives in my building). Check it out.

The New Yorker took a handful of their classic one panel cartoons (eg. On the internet, no one knows you’re a dog) and turned them into 10 second animations.

Why?

Most of these cartoons are best when they’re mulled over, considered, played out in your head. Giving them the YouTube treatment basically turns them into throw away jokes. Granted – none of these were knee slappers to begin with, but still.

So, keep that in mind XKCD… We don’t need stick figure animations of bell curves and equations.