Saturday, July 31, 2004

Kim and Mike and I went to see The Village last night. I'm not going to talk much about it because it is one of those movies that is easily spoiled. I will say that I really did not like it. If you want to know why, ask me, but only if you have already seen it. Last weekend, we saw I, Robot, by which I was presently surprised. I think it would be better served by an actor with a little less atitude because there is an awful lot of Will Smith swaggering in the movie. The first half of the movie was kind of bad, but somehow it came together in the second half and was entertaining.

I have a confession to make. I am now actively buying comic books again. It has been about 10 years since I bought any comics, and even then I was only buying Spawn. I frequently accompany some of the guys from work to the comic book store for lunch on Wednesdays, but, until recently, I only browsed. I think the urge came after we saw Spider-Man 2. I wanted to read some of my old comics and I realized I didn't have them anymore. So I had my Dad send me a 40 lbs box full of them. After going through them, I decided maybe I'd buy some new ones. A few weeks ago I bought the new Spawn, a Wolverine, and a Weapon X. When I was looking at them at home Kim asked, "Did you get me anything?" I looked at her incredulously and said, "You want me to buy you a comic book?!" and she said, "Sure." This put an enormous amount of pressure on me because I basically was given one chance to turn my girlfriend onto comic books. There are men who would kill for this opportunity so it was not to be squandered. I decided to buy her the available issues (1, 2, and 3) of the new title, Astonishing X-Men. You see, Kim likes the X-Men movies and she really likes Buffy the Vampire Slayer. When I found out that Joss Whedon, writer/creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, was writing a new run of X-Men, I knew that was the one. After reading the first two, I highly recommend this to old X-Men fans and anyone considering starting up. Aside from the writing, the art by John Cassaday is very good. I've always been a huge Todd McFarlane fan, but when I compare McFarlane art to some of the stuff by Cassaday, the McFarlane stuff looks a little busy. The Cassaday panels look very clean to me. Here you see Cassaday on the left and a typical McFarlane panel on the right.

Both are very good, but after reading McFarlane's Spawn and Spider-Man for so many years, a new art style is refreshing. Kim liked them, too, so I plan to keep on buying them. I'm also working on an ambitious comic related project for this website. I'll announce that when it is done.

Last thing, Kim has added some new pictures of the dogs that can be accessed by the link at the top left under Puppy Photos.

posted by Travis at 7:28 PM

Saturday, July 24, 2004

The Star Wars Episode III title was announced at Comic-con this weekend and then told to me by my friend Mike. Step 1 is complete. Now we patiently await the first teaser poster.

posted by Travis at 10:00 PM

Wednesday, July 21, 2004

Kim and I watched the premiere of Rescue Me on FX tonight.  It's a show about fireman in New York.  I originally thought it was going to be about fireman in Chicago, so I was interested.  I would not have been interested in a show about fireman in New York because of all the 9/11 shit that would, no doubt, be in every episode.  It was pretty good, but kind of heavy on the 9/11 stuff.  Although, I think they will tone that down throughout the season.  Also, I think the exchange, "That sounds like some heavy gambling," followed by, "Hey, pal, I'm a New York City fireman.  My whole life is a gamble," sounds an awful (and by awful I mean terribly bad) lot like, "I live my life a quarter mile at a time."  Haven't fireman been dying on the job for many many years in cities all over the country?  Yes...they have.  So pardon me if I don't hold New York City fireman in any higher regard than any other fireman.  Give me a show about LA County Fireman who are trying to keep the entire state of California from burning to the ground...again.  All fireman are heroic...let's move on.  This is sounding kind of anti-fireman (Sonny Parlin is probably already on his way to my house with a can of tryptichlorate to set up a backdraft), and I don't mean it to be.  I just don't like it that after 9/11 people suddenly realized, "Wow...fireman are pretty cool."  I guess better late than never.  Anyway, we'll stick with Rescue Me for a few more weeks, unless they do a show about saving some homeless guy and the hospital won't treat him because he doesn't have insurance.  Then I'll quit watching.

posted by Travis at 9:26 PM

I pre-ordered Doom 3.  I suggest you do the same.  Here is the official site.  Check out the trailer if you need more convincing.

posted by Travis at 9:34 AM

Saturday, July 17, 2004

"For Gilead and the Calla!" he roared.  "Now, gunslingers!  Now, you Sisters of Oriza!  Now, now!  Kill them!  No quarter!  Kill them all!"
 
I finished Wolves of the Calla today, so I'll be starting Song of Susannah tonight.  Wolves of the Calla is really good and it forces the rest of the series to go in a different direction.  Stephen King is doing things in these last three books that could be construed as arrogant, lazy, and narcissistic, but I'm hoping that they all serve the story, and as readers of the books know, "Yet all things serve ka and follow the Beam."  The Dark Tower draws closer...

posted by Travis at 2:33 PM

Thursday, July 15, 2004

It came to my attention just now, that Kim posted some kind of political crap on here and it has been up there all day.  Well, we don't do politics on this site so I've removed it.  The fact of the matter is that I care more about my fluctuating internet connection speed than I do who is going to be President.  Kim said, "I don't like it that you don't choose sides," to which I replied, "I did pick a side.  I don't think Deckard is a replicant.  THAT is my side."

posted by Travis at 10:16 PM

Monday, July 12, 2004

I've been reading a lot of good buzz about an indie horror movie called Saw that was shown at Sundance this year. The first teaser I saw for it convinced me this was something I needed to track down. There has been another teaser released for it, in the same vein as the first. I think this could be one of those horror movies that sticks with you weeks after seeing it. The official site is here.

posted by Travis at 9:10 AM

Thursday, July 08, 2004

I've been playing the Beta for Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War for the last couple days, and I'm really impressed. If you're not familiar with it, it's an RTS game based in the Warhammer universe. Here is the official site. One of the things I like most about it is that it removes the tactic of attacking someone's economy by killing their workers. You don't use workers to get resources and the workers are very cheap anyway. It streamlines the whole process and allows you to start building units and get into the fighting quicker. Here are some screenshots that I took. You can click each one for a bigger version. The detail on the individual units is extraordinary. This first screenshot is a close-up of one unit, and you can see from the other shots the kind of scale that game has. This could be a really great game.

posted by Travis at 10:41 AM

Tuesday, July 06, 2004

I got an email today stating that I have been accepted into the beta for Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War. It is one of the best games that I saw at this year's E3 and isn't scheduled for release until September. I'll let you know how it is in this early state.

posted by Travis at 3:07 PM

Sunday, July 04, 2004

Since Kim didn't get to go see Spider-Man 2 on Wednesday because of a long meeting at work, I took her to see it yesterday. She really really liked it. We also watched Paycheck on DirecTV last night. Kim fell asleep, but I liked it. I think I'm going to have to buy a couple of Philip K. Dick short story compilations now. It isn't that Paycheck is that good, it's just that after Blade Runner, Total Recall, Minority Report, Imposter, and now Paycheck, it seems that Philip K. Dick writes stories that I like. I think Paycheck is worth a rental if you like sci-fi.

posted by Travis at 12:07 PM

Friday, July 02, 2004

"The horror...the horror..."

"I never wanted this for you. I work my whole life - I don't apologize - to take care of my family, and I refused to be a fool, dancing on the string held by all those bigshots. I don't apologize - that's my life - but I thought that, that when it was your time, that you would be the one to hold the string. Senator Corleone; Governor Corleone. Well, it wasn't enough time, Michael. It wasn't enough time."

"I've seen horrors... horrors that you've seen. But you have no right to call me a murderer. You have a right to kill me. You have a right to do that... but you have no right to judge me. It's impossible for words to describe what is necessary to those who do not know what horror means. Horror. Horror has a face... and you must make a friend of horror. Horror and moral terror are your friends. If they are not then they are enemies to be feared. They are truly enemies."

"Live as one of them, Kal-El, to discover where your strength and power are needed. And always hold in your heart the pride of your special heritage. They can be a great people, Kal-El, they wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way. For this reason, above all, their capacity for good, I have sent them you, my only son."

posted by Travis at 9:21 AM

Thursday, July 01, 2004

I saw Spider-Man 2 last night. It is very very good and definitely a lead in to a third film. I plan on writing more on it later...but I say that a lot.

Also, it looks like Michael Bay is going to direct Superman. Michael Bay loves the "hero shot", so having an actualy superhero to put in his hero shots could be a lot of fun. Michael Bay also loves big action, and Superman needs to have big action. I think this is a good thing. This is much better than McG directing it, in my opinion.

posted by Travis at 11:36 AM