Amazingly enough, the library system to which Olympia belongs actually has in its collection Lost Girls. Unfortunately, although I did manage to snag myself a copy, a feat I could not manage in Seattle because of the decades-long queue, I am unable to get through it. Not because it isn’t good, mind you. Rather, D has decided that it is a “sex book,” and has forbidden its being opened in her presence. Which, generally, is always. Thus, I’ve also started another Alan Moore creation, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
June 30, 2007
June 27, 2007
Good night.
Perhaps I should stop being surprised, but three absolutely glorious songs cropped up when I cycled through my music collection this evening: Big Head Todd and the Monsters’ “Please Don’t Tell Her,” Ani DiFranco’s “Adam and Eve,” and Deep Puddle Dynamics’ “D. Mothers of Invention.” Also, I finally got around to watching the fantastic Metropolitan. And I’ve got a pretty good buzz on from a six of Mothership Wit. Satisfied.
June 25, 2007
Morse v. Frederick.
I am angered by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Morse v. Frederick, the “BONG HiTS 4 JESUS” case, because it fails to recognize the First Amendment value of humor, and thereby mischaracterizes Mr. Frederick’s banner as advocating illegal activity. But I have to give Justice Thomas props for being consistent in treating children as non-speech-rights bearers.
Channel 101 Roundup (June 2007).
Top spot goes to “ChooseYourOwnSelectAVision.TV,” which is experiencing something of a slump this month. The beach ball gag, while I’m sure it was very fun at Cinespace, does not translate for the home audience. The bumper was fairly worthless, apparently just an excuse for Dan Harmon and J.D. Ryznar to have some fun at the beach. And I really didn’t need to see Chris Romano’s genitals.
Taking silver is newcomer “Cautionary Tales of Swords,” which makes effective use of the age old rule of comedy: blood is funny. That it throws in a crotchety cursing old man and melodramatic music helps as well. Certainly not a one-off.
Third place went to the improving “Planet Unicorn.” What improvements? The remixed theme song, while terrible, was funny terrible. And the addition of Rock as a character is worthy of note.
“Barry, you had an odd circumcision.” Mike Rose managed another primetime berth with “Stop It, with an intervention themed mockumentary program. Quality? Yes. Could use a little less of Rose himself on screen, though. And Tyler Spiers could work on his what I assume is supposed to be a Texan accent.
Why “Your Magic Touched Me Nights” only barely slunk in at number five, I cannot be sure. The program is certainly not showing its age; its quality has never been better. Nor is “Nights” for want of edge-of-your-seatness. Perhaps the audience doesn’t care for its cop out narrative structure? But when a program is this good, of course it must live a natural life. Mr. Nagata, give us the ultimate conclusion.
June 24, 2007
The Illusionist.
A few months back, “Esquire” named The Prestige the “Best Picture About a Turn-of-the-Century Magician in Love with Esquire’s Sexiest Woman Alive” of 2006, beating out The Illusionist. At the time, I’d seen neither, and so I thought nothing much of it at the time, other than the expected “Isn’t it weird that two turn-of-the-century magician movies should come out so close to each other?”
After being extremely impressed by The Prestige a few weeks back, however, I started thinking this may be not be a “who cares?” category after all. And so it was all the more painful to find out the race was essentially fixed, with only one quality film in the running.
The Illusionist is pretty terrible. The actors are of such varying quality, that no one escapes with an acceptable performance. The accents are an inconsistent mix of Austrian and British, mostly mangled in the mouths of Americans. The script is monstrous; the twist is predictable, and the actors lines are hackneyed abortions. Mostly, however, The Illusionist was one of those films that somehow fails to provide the illusion that disjointed scenes make a uniform whole, despite its fairly simple and eminently coherent story arc. Avoid.
*
June 23, 2007
Lakewold, Kayaking, and Post-CLE Debauchery.
This afternoon, D and I drove up to Lakewood to see the second in a series of “what if we have the wedding reception here” locations: Lakewold Gardens. Beautiful spot. The house is an old bleached brick number with a lot of old growth vines and trees and whatnot surrounding. The gardens are, from what I can gather, even better earlier in the spring, when the extensive rhododendron collection is in bloom. The view of Gravelly Lake is pretty. Problems? Cost, restrictions on use, and limited indoor seating. Something to ponder, though.
This morning, D and I went kayaking in Budd Inlet with a teacher-mentor from Olympia Parks and Recreation. Fun experience. Although I got me a little sore in the unnaturally positioned legs after a while. Another member of the “class” was also a recent transplant to the South Sound and also hailed from New Jersey in a former life. The houses along East Bay Drive look a lot spiffier from the water. The cove that separates Priest Point is deeper than I would have expected. And the sewage output is a lot less odorous than I would have expected.
After the CLE yesterday, Boss Hogg and I drove straight back. Nary a drink in the ‘coug nor its larger neighbor across the ‘lumbia. Disappointing. Although given that neither Oscar the Not-A-Grouch nor Predecessor came along, not too disappointing. BH would have had to stay sober to drive, so it would have been me drinking and ogling through beer goggles alone. Again. Did, however, see a fellow Vandal-at-Law at the CLE, which was slightly surprising and surprisingly welcome.
June 21, 2007
CLE.
As a lawyer, in order to maintain my license to practice, I need to complete a certain number of Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credits in a certain period of time. To that end, I’m registered to attend a day long CLE extravaganza put on by the Washington Defenders’ Assocation. Held tomorrow in Vancouver, Washington. The only association I have with Vancouver, Washington is that it is the home of bar review guru Ben Tesdahl. Shouldn’t be so bad.
June 16, 2007
The Last Stand.
Again, the cases I thought would go to trial this past week somehow didn’t. One partial plea, partial dismissal for want of a witness. Another dismissed for want of a witness. Another dismissed for lack of evidence of witting possession. And one I expect to be dismissed for want of a witness (although technically, it is pending dismissal under the speedy trial rules).
Which meant the June trial term was as oddly light as usual. A week of boredom was filled with all sorts of things, including trying to bring myself up to speed on condemnation actions. But mostly, it was filled with time-wasting gaming.
While I am not as uniformly enamored with the zombie film as some folks I know, I do enjoy a good zombie-infused standoff. See e.g. both Dawn of the Dead films. For a relatively simple gameplay along the same lines, check out The Last Stand. And remember to aim for the brain.
June 12, 2007
Eliphalet Dyer.
I have a new favorite founding father: Eliphalet Dyer. Admittedly, my infatuation is largely based upon Mr. Dyer’s unusually delicious first name. But I ought to note that he was described by John Adams thusly: “…longwinded and roundabout, obscure and cloudy, very talkative and very tedious, yet an honest, worthy man; means and judges well.” This ringing endorsement of Eliphalet is uncannily familiar, as if I employed some sort of time-travel device, met the second president prior to his inauguration, and made an impression while employing a false identity.
The only question remaining: do I honor Eliphalet by drafting a little read treatise, or do I visit child abuse upon my first born using only a birth certificate?
June 10, 2007
IndestructoTank!
Another amusing timewaster that contributed to another lost Friday: IndestructoTank!