When I left for Japan, what, like three months ago, I put a bag of dark chocolate M&Ms behind the bottle of pasta sauce.
Tonight I found it.
Joy.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
It's Got Bionics, That's Got To Be Good, Right?
You can watch to first episode of the Bionic Woman and a couple other NBC shows on Amazon Unbox for free. I guess that's NBC trying to dig themselves out of the whole they fell in when they pulled out of their iTunes deal. Anyway, it's pretty hard to imagine a show that I should like more. Geeky, gorgeous woman, tech stuff and nostalgia. Ah, should be great.
It's not.
Just like all the other nostalgia porn out there (Fantastic Four, Transformers, etc...), there's some good in it. I actually do like the main actress a bit. She is pretty, and she also seems to be able to act a little bit, even if she does have a bit of the Keanu Reeves disease (blank, stupified, but easy on the eyes). Hopefully that's just because most of the role in this episode called for it.
The other actress worthy of note is the 'other' women (you'll see what I mean if you bother to watch). She's just awful. I though maybe she was trying to go the cold heartless route, but no, I really think she's just an awful actress.
There is some good geek stuff in there, although I think the 'through the bionic eye cam' looked a little too reminiscent of the Terminator, but hey, maybe that's just me. There was also a nice bit when she's waking up from the surgery that was properly panicky and fairly well-done. This probably had a bit to do with the fact that there wasn't much dialogue there.
The biggest problem is the writing, of course. The things that those poor people were forced to say, the clichés, oh it was just embarrassing. Of course, there's a father-thing plot element. Of course there's a giant government related black-ops organization that's gone wrong with a past experiment on the loose. I'm going to go out on the limb and say that the leader of the group is of -gasp- ambiguous morals and loyalty! Of course, there's a insanely young looks-like-he-belongs-on-the-cover-of-Teen-Beat-Magazine doctor. Why wouldn't our heroine be a down on her luck bartender who just happens to have a genius IQ and knockout looks. Ugh, I could go on and on.
Still, I watched the whole episode. I probably won't watch any more, but it'll probably do ok. After all, this is what passes for female empowerment these days.*
* There was a really strained push for this in the show, too. Bionic Woman is running through the woods next to a road and a little girl in the back seat of an SUV sees her and tells mommy - a stern businesswoman cutout with a bluetooth headset. Mommy says something like, "what did I tell you about making things up." and the little (little little) girl says, "I just thought it was cool that a girl could do that." ugh.
It's not.
Just like all the other nostalgia porn out there (Fantastic Four, Transformers, etc...), there's some good in it. I actually do like the main actress a bit. She is pretty, and she also seems to be able to act a little bit, even if she does have a bit of the Keanu Reeves disease (blank, stupified, but easy on the eyes). Hopefully that's just because most of the role in this episode called for it.
The other actress worthy of note is the 'other' women (you'll see what I mean if you bother to watch). She's just awful. I though maybe she was trying to go the cold heartless route, but no, I really think she's just an awful actress.
There is some good geek stuff in there, although I think the 'through the bionic eye cam' looked a little too reminiscent of the Terminator, but hey, maybe that's just me. There was also a nice bit when she's waking up from the surgery that was properly panicky and fairly well-done. This probably had a bit to do with the fact that there wasn't much dialogue there.
The biggest problem is the writing, of course. The things that those poor people were forced to say, the clichés, oh it was just embarrassing. Of course, there's a father-thing plot element. Of course there's a giant government related black-ops organization that's gone wrong with a past experiment on the loose. I'm going to go out on the limb and say that the leader of the group is of -gasp- ambiguous morals and loyalty! Of course, there's a insanely young looks-like-he-belongs-on-the-cover-of-Teen-Beat-Magazine doctor. Why wouldn't our heroine be a down on her luck bartender who just happens to have a genius IQ and knockout looks. Ugh, I could go on and on.
Still, I watched the whole episode. I probably won't watch any more, but it'll probably do ok. After all, this is what passes for female empowerment these days.*
* There was a really strained push for this in the show, too. Bionic Woman is running through the woods next to a road and a little girl in the back seat of an SUV sees her and tells mommy - a stern businesswoman cutout with a bluetooth headset. Mommy says something like, "what did I tell you about making things up." and the little (little little) girl says, "I just thought it was cool that a girl could do that." ugh.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Back at Black Rock
I've been having an odd summer academically. See, I ran off and did something only mildly related to my real studies (but required to get my PhD) all summer long. I wasn't really in a good position to keep going on my own stuff (that's my story and I'm sticking to it). So now I'm back and trying desperately to get back into the groove. I've got a couple of projects on my plate, and I would love to get a little bit of progress, but the inertia of the summer is soooo hard to overcome.
So, long story short, I'm in the library today getting really excited about one of my topics, but realizing that I'm wanting to look in a different direction than I had in the past. I guess it's just because I've been away from it for a little while, but I guess I've gotten a new perspective on the topic. I did want to look into topic A, but now I'm thinking it might be better to look into topics B-F and how they orbit topic A. That seems so much better and even perhaps a little (buzzword alert) interdisciplinary of me. 'Course it also means more work, too. harumph.
In any case, it's time to go home, heat up some frozen pizza and watch some football.
So, long story short, I'm in the library today getting really excited about one of my topics, but realizing that I'm wanting to look in a different direction than I had in the past. I guess it's just because I've been away from it for a little while, but I guess I've gotten a new perspective on the topic. I did want to look into topic A, but now I'm thinking it might be better to look into topics B-F and how they orbit topic A. That seems so much better and even perhaps a little (buzzword alert) interdisciplinary of me. 'Course it also means more work, too. harumph.
In any case, it's time to go home, heat up some frozen pizza and watch some football.
Enter The Roommate
I just got a phone call from my new roommate.* Since I'm still in the university-owned apartment, it's all been handled by the housing department. He's moving in on the 15th, coming from the Great White North. Well, close to the great white north anyway, but still in the US. Anyway, should be interesting. He's a musician, maybe trumpet? Very cool really, but I'm wondering if he'll be practicing in the apartment.
See? It is all about me.
Also, I asked if he was going to need any help moving in. He said that he was going to just be flying in with a couple of bags. I didn't ask specifically, but it seems he's not bringing anything else. Cool to travel light and all, but um... you're going to be here for a while, yaknow? Then he asked if the apartment was furnished. Hehe. Furnished. Funny guy.
* Very fun information. I killed my contract with AT&T and switched over to their Gophone pay-as-you-go plan. So far it's quite cool. I went from ~$40/month to nada. 'Cause, well I don't have any friends who might call me. I just bought a $30 card and all is good (although the card expires in 3 months, which is patently evil, but evil on a scale I'm prepared to accept from a cell phone company). Anyway, I discovered when he called that incoming calls are free. I mean, they should be and all, but still. Bonus cool.
See? It is all about me.
Also, I asked if he was going to need any help moving in. He said that he was going to just be flying in with a couple of bags. I didn't ask specifically, but it seems he's not bringing anything else. Cool to travel light and all, but um... you're going to be here for a while, yaknow? Then he asked if the apartment was furnished. Hehe. Furnished. Funny guy.
* Very fun information. I killed my contract with AT&T and switched over to their Gophone pay-as-you-go plan. So far it's quite cool. I went from ~$40/month to nada. 'Cause, well I don't have any friends who might call me. I just bought a $30 card and all is good (although the card expires in 3 months, which is patently evil, but evil on a scale I'm prepared to accept from a cell phone company). Anyway, I discovered when he called that incoming calls are free. I mean, they should be and all, but still. Bonus cool.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
