I dare you not to like this

The finale

I hate to break it to you, Gaius, but the things you mentioned? That's not God. Those are plot holes.

Why is everybody whispering?

Went to Ana's today. Marta made quite possibly the best soup I've ever eaten, and some Indian-style chicken. We stuffed ourselves full of it watching several episodes of the unintentionally hilarious La Femme Nikita (boy, it did not age well) punctuated by clips from 07 zglos sie and The Colbert Report. Good times.

The event was concluded with the following conversation:

me: ...I'm still waiting for a full list - I just know they're gonna show Savage Grace, which is a pretty bad movie.
marta: Is it the one about the family that invented bakelite?
me: What?! No! Why?
marta: Well I remember you telling me about a movie about the people who invented bakelite...
me: That wasn't me.
marta: I'm sure it was you.
me: That's impossible. I don't even know what bakelite is.
marta: It's this synthetic stuff... What's the movie about then?
me: Nothing, really. Incest and dysfunction for the most part. Mother-son stuff.
marta: And you're sure they didn't invent bakelite?
me: No! There's no mention of bakelite throughout the entire movie!
marta: Maybe they're the descendants of the people who invented bakelite?

At that point Marta's relentless pursuit of the bakelite angle overwhelmed me and I dissolved into hysterical laughter. The mystery of the bakelite movie remains unsolved.

Edit: Mystery solved. It was the bakelite movie. I'm stunned.

A world of yes

Photo by Hama Sanders. I love absolutely everything about it.

By the by

Let's talk terrible opening credit songs.

Dollhouse and United States of Tara.

There. I'm glad we had this chat.

Prepare to be routed

The router saga continues. In short, I bought a replacement, but was charged 199PLN instead of the 69PLN that I expected. Initially I went along with it (in my world, money < dealing with crap), but as the day went by I got increasingly annoyed - I mean, that's a LOT of breakfasts - and finally decided to go back and clear it up.

Turns out that brand of routers wasn't in the store's database, so the checkout girl had to input the code manually, or something, and by default charged me for a wifi router, even though I bought an arcane ADSL brick. I got my money back, but had to return the router too, and buy it all over again. And when I did, the lady at the cash register tried to charge me 199PLN for it. This time I was prepared though, and instantly sunk a shiv into her left eye.

Well, not really.

The best part is, I took a good look at all the routers this time, and yeah, they do offer a wifi model from that maker, but for 139PLN.

Nothing else to report.

Mutant update

Alanis Morissette - I Was Hoping

Some live kinda-sorta acoustic version, instead of the studio one. It's actually pretty good though, so no harm done.

No comment

My router is in its death throes, so I went online to check exactly what model it is and what kind of replacement I should be looking for. In the process I familiarized myself with its features, which as it turns out include "Spectral compatibility with POTS" and - more importantly - "Dying Gasp Support (Population Option)".

Err...

Watchmen

Just saw the movie. I tried not to read any reviews, and I didn't re-read the graphic novel beforehand (though I won't pretend the latter was some sort of premeditated move meant to render me as unbiased as possible - I just find it too depressing). I did, however, click on some link at one point and read a bit of someone's critique - mostly about the movie losing focus after the first 30 minutes, and how its "slavish" faithfulness to the source material made it aimless and chaotic.

Well.

I loved it. From start to finish, save for two scenes marred by words too big to fit on any screen (the "What happened to the American Dream?" exchange, and the "Rapists having babies is the shit" speech). I loved the sprawling tableau feel of it, the ambiance- and image-based narrative, the uneven pace, which gave me time to recover from seeing pregnant ladies get shot (someone should look into the therapeutic effects of contemplating Patrick Wilson's chest hair), the title sequence (obviously), the music (ditto), the acting... Jeffrey Dean Morgan was great. Jackie Earle Haley was just stellar. Patrick Wilson either has the best agent ever, or the casting directors for his movies are geniuses. I keep seeing him play basically a variation of the same guy, but he fits the bill every time. I don't know if it's still acting if you're a big blue gob of CGI, but I found myself spellbound by Dr. Manhattan's delivery, so bravo Billy Crudup. For some reason though, I was most impressed by Matthew Goode. I thought he was pitch-perfect, just oozing this larger than life, self-satisfied charisma. I had actually only seen the guy once before - in one of those NYT Style showcases - and remember finding him revoltingly narcissistic (seriously, you might need a palate cleanser after that one - have a Joseph, or a Rosario). So maybe it was just another case of perfect casting? No matter, I don't care. His Ozymandias was spot-on.

You should go see it. Just so it breaks even in overseas gross. It's the right thing to do.

Rapture is near

I can now claim to have worked on movies, comic books, and computer games - the geek triphecta. Ergo, I've peaked at 26, and it's all downhill from here.

Where's the lanky

Every time I see the Wolverine promo pictures I get angry at them for casting Taylor Kitsch (kudos for the last name though) as Gambit. Totally wrong body type and facial features.

I'm very particular about my favorite X-Man.

Terminator has gone preposterous, and Battlestar Galactica merely annoying. The utter self-indulgence of the piano bits in the last ep was so grating. And I can just imagine the circle-jerk over this superfluous bullshit the DVD commentary will inevitably turn into. I wouldn't be surprised if the creators ranked it as one of their favorite episodes, right up there with the god-awful "boxing and flashbacks" one.

Ok, I'm done.

Writing here still doesn't come naturally, but going back to the previous place seems silly. I'm in limbo. Had a remarkably nice week though, at least so far. With more amusement coming my way tomorrow. Who knows, maybe it'll even merit an update.

Birds

The case for the case

Since it seems I'm giving insomnia another spin, I might as well get this one out too:

I've recently found myself defending Dollhouse on several fronts (friends, reputable sites, etc.). Or rather: distancing myself from it outwardly, while trying to diffuse - and hopefully invalidate - the criticisms in my own head. Finally, after seing this, obviously sympathetic, strip, and reading the accompanying commentary, I asked myself: what do I really think about the show? Do I truly sort of like it already? Or is it just a kneejerk reaction, springing from some bizarre loyalty to Joss Whedon? Maybe I'm simply unable to acknowledge this apparently obvious suckage?

The answer came fairly quickly: I will keep watching it - and not as an "expression of gratitude" for his previous works, but simply because a lot of the "other things I can do with my Goddamn television" aren't really worth doing. There's just too much stuff out there, and I'm really tired of endlessly wading through shit to find something memorable. In a world where even the most promising concepts (Psychic bumpkins? Vampires in Louisiana? HBO? Yay!) can turn into borderline hilarious soft porn when made flesh, groping blindly has lost a lot of its allure. So I'm gonna stick with Whedon until Dollhouse gets cancelled, just like I'm probably gonna stick with whatever the guys who made The Wire or Slings and Arrows do next. I just like my chances better with them.

Due diligence

I topped off my stomach flu with a dash of regular flu. Why not be thorough while you're at it?

Turns out I won't be moving out in May, which... well, it did not make me feel great. I had already started making preliminary plans, checking out public transport, etc. I think I really need a tangible proof of progress, of not being stuck in a rut. Especially since it's become apparent that I've not yet fully escaped the death-grip of November. I know it's just a matter of being distracted by some shiny object in more immediate vicinity, but Warsaw isn't exactly sparkling at this time of year. Although - funny story... Except it's not and I seriously hope history isn't repeating itself.

I reacted to the news by having a dream in which I discovered that I'd had a comb-over for the past several years, but it was getting totally ridiculous and I had to decide what to do with it. I'm sure Freud would have a field day with it.

How do I finish this one... obviously this wasn't a fun couple of days, but things aren't really that bad? Sounds about right.

My Bridget moment

Yesterday's menu: warm water. Lots of it.
Today's menu: vanilla yoghurt, two slices of bread.

I'm filled with revulsion at the mere thought of a warm meal, but woke up craving French Toast. I think my stomach is still trying to discover what it is after this ordeal.