:: Guy in a Suit Productions ::

Friday, August 29, 2003

posted by Travis at 3:53 PM

Bought a couple games this week; Tron 2.0 for PC and Soul Calibur 2 for Xbox. Both of them are very very good. The problem I have is I am still working on Knights of the Old Repubic, and I'd like to play Star Wars Galaxies some more. Oh, and I have to go to work and sleep and write somewhere in there.

One of our friends from the east, Jeremy, was out here for work, so we took him out to dinner. He was staying over near LAX, and we got over there kind of late. We had plans to go to a nice sit-down restaurant, but we ended up at Carls Jr. I know what you are thinking, "You could have at least taken him to In 'N Out!" Well, the In 'N Out over there was crazy busy, as all In 'N Outs are prone to being.

Speaking of work, the company I work for is hiring me; meaning I will be an employee and no longer a contractor. That is good news for me. Kind of a funny side story to that, I was negotiating with a recruiter on a cell phone and she was responding to a counter offer from me. It went something like this:

ME: I'm heading into an elevator, so I might lose you.
*negotiating negotiating negotiating*
HER: OK. So basically that is the best offer. What do you think?
ME: I'll tell you what I think...*BEEP*

As my signal disappeared, I looked over to Brad who was in the elevator and said, "That was the exact wrong moment for that conversation to end." Luckily when we got to the ground floor, the recruiter called back and she was pretty sure that I was not rejecting the offer and hanging up on her.

This weekend Kim and I are heading to San Diego. I assume we'll be hitting the zoo and a beach. I'm hoping to avoid being eaten by a shark.

Sunday, August 24, 2003

posted by Travis at 3:47 PM

This was going to be a nice informative blog post, but it is over 100 degrees in our loft where our computers are, and it just isn't worth it. Basically Mike and I saw the original Battlestar Galactica TV show pilot at The Egyptian this weekend. Perhaps I'll post more when it cools off.

Thursday, August 21, 2003

posted by Travis at 8:25 AM

Sorry there hasn't been much up here lately, I just haven't been in the mood. Last weekend, Kim and I saw Freddy vs Jason with Mike. It is better than I expected, and a very good slasher/horror movie (that is to say that it isn't scary, but still qualifies as horror). As an aside, I find myself saying a movie was "better than I expected" a lot these days. Perhaps I, too, am losing faith in our Hollywood system. Anyway, FvJ is great. It was No. 1 last week with $36 million, and I hope it holds on to the No. 1 spot this week as well. It is rare for a movie to be No. 1 two weeks in a row these days.

Over the weekend, we also drove out to Zuma Beach in Malibu. It's nice, but it was a little crowded for my tastes. We had dinner in Malibu with our friend Byron who lives in San Diego (he was up at Pepperdine working at a music camp), and it was a day well spent. As a bonus, as I was loading up our beach gear into the car (we were parked across from the beach on the Pacific Coast Highway) I happened to notice a strange looking car at the stoplight behind us. After staring for a bit, I realized it was a Ferrari Enzo, one of only 400 ever built. Seeing one of these cars in a showroom is one thing, but seeing one out in the world is like spotting a rare bird. Driving down the PCH in a $700,000 Ferrari has got to be the way to go.

Next Tuesday The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (the theatrical version) comes out on DVD. Now, lest you think New Line is trying to trick you, be warned that there will be an extended version coming out in November. Tron 2.0 and Soul Calibur 2 come out next week, too. Since I'm still playing through Knights of the Old Republic, I'm hoping that I can keep from buying both of them, or even one of them. The problem is that the single-player demo for Tron 2.0 was really really good.

Monday, August 11, 2003

posted by Travis at 8:51 PM

The Mad Bushman and I have stumbled upon a conspiracy at work. In the summer of 1987, Predator, a seemingly harmless action movie, was released in theaters in the US. Little did we know at the time that its cast had already put into motion the events that would lead to their eventual take over of the United States government for their own purposes. After watching the end credits of Predator frame-by-frame, I have isolated the specific frames that give away their diabolical plot. I give you the "Meacham Predator Conspiracy Theory".

We all already know about the success of Jesse Ventura and his campaign...

...and the recent bid by Arnold Schwarzenegger for governor...

...but did you know about this? It would be funny if it wasn't true.

I expect you'll be hearing about this soon enough.

posted by Travis at 1:27 PM

Just as the sting of my hit-and-run was going away, I find out that I AM AT FAULT! Even though the other guy was speeding AND fled the scene, I am still liable for the damages on his car. Since it was not in an intersection, and I was entering the stream of traffic, it was my responsibility to make sure it was clear. So that means, if you pull out onto a residential street where the posted speed limit is 25mph, and you get hit by a car going 80mph that is fleeing police pursuit, IT'S YOUR FAULT! The good news, if there is any, is that the police and the insurance company don't use the same rulebook. Even though I am at fault in the eyes of my insurance company, the police will still have something to say about him fleeing the scene.

Oh, and to you Mr. Unluckiest Uninsured Illegal Immigrant Alive, now I know your name and where you live. "Be not that far from me, for trouble is near; haste Thee to help me."

Sunday, August 10, 2003

posted by Travis at 9:21 PM

Completely out of character, we saw some movies this weekend. Friday night we went to a cast and crew screening of Cabin Fever. It's an independent horror film about a flesh-eating virus. I'd heard it was the "best horror film in 10 years", but it wasn't. It isn't bad, just not "the best horror film in 10 years". So, because of the hype, I was a little disappointed. There was discussion with the cast and director after the movie, but they had very little enlightening to see. On Saturday night, we went to see The Texas Chainsaw Massacre from 1974. After seeing it on the big screen, I believe that it is the most intense horror movie ever made. It isn't that it is so violent (most of the violence is implied), but it is the fact that the sound of a chainsaw mixed with a screaming woman is just the kind of thing that won't let you relax. So just watching the movie can be tiring. It's great, though. After the movie there was discussion with director Tobe Hooper. Typical Q&A, nothing groundbreaking. Today we went to see S.W.A.T.. It is better than I expected; a good action movie with a plot that makes sense. A good L.A. movie, too. I like when they are set locally.

No news about my car really, it's in the hands of the insurance company now.

Monday, August 04, 2003

posted by Travis at 10:53 PM

The following post will contain obscenity so don't read this, Mollie.

FUCKING CALIFORNIA!! For the second time since I moved out here (around 2 1/2 years ago) my car, the first car I bought myself with my own money, is involved in a hit and run accident. The first one was when we were living in Long Beach. My car was in our parking garage safe and sound, presumably, and someone smashed into the SUV next to me spinning its back end around and driving it into my car. The bonus is that they hit it with enough force to push my car into the car next mine, which just happened to be Kim's car. Total damage to my car was $7,500. See pictures below, click for bigger versions.

Today I was pulling out of our garage, onto what I'll admit is a blind street, and some stupid fucking asshole going way too fast smashed into my front end. Before I had a chance to get out of the car and launch the "shout at", the guy gave me the what-were-you-thinking wave and drove off. I was stunned, and the fire of rage bloomed in me. However, I did have the prescence of mind to jot down his license plate number. So, Mr. Unluckiest Uninsured Illegal Immigrant Alive, I have your car, I have your face, I have your plate, and people say you live in the area. I hope you truly have no insurance, because I'd like to prosecute you and take away your children's father. I hope this is your third strike or something, or that you are wanted in some other way. I hope you have to ask me to forgive you, so that I can think back to your wave and how you drove off. One way or another, you are going to pay me. Pictures of this most recent incident are below, click for bigger versions.

On a somewhat more positive and strangely ironic note, Kim and I watched Final Destination 2 yesterday. It is much better than I thought it was going to be. The opening scene, involving a very complex car accident, is fantastic, and the movie ties into the first one in an interesting way. Horror fans should seek it out.

Friday, August 01, 2003

posted by Travis at 11:33 PM

Kim and I watched Versus tonight. It's a Japanese comedy/action/horror movie. At first, I didn't really care for it, but after realizing what it was, I started to enjoy it more. It appears to take itself really seriously and it's very sytlized, however it's really more in the spirit of the Evil Dead movies than anything else. It's very violent and quite silly at times. Versus has some good action scenes here and there, but some of the style gets in the way. Also, I think it's a little long. If you like over-the-top blood-and-zombie violence mixed with karate-and-samurai action, you should definitely check it out. If you're interested, here is where I got mine.

We also watched Solaris a few nights ago. I'm not sure if it's good or really bad. I really need to watch it again. It's very slow and caters to the hard core sci-fi crowd (think 2001: A Space Odyssey.) Solaris isn't as important as 2001, but it tells a neat story. The movie is only about 90 minutes, but the pace will turn Joe Moviegoer off, I think. I guess that is why it did poorly at the box office.