iGlasses

    Note to self: download this when you get home. Looks like it might be useful.
Posted in Gadgets, Links | Leave a comment

Another Bites Bites the Dust: Pt 2

    There is some slight joy in Mudville. Yesterday, I learned the Woodhaven Arby’s had betrayed me and stopped selling my beloved Jalapeño Bites; this afternoon I learned that the Arby’s on Eureka, by Inkster Rd, continues to stock my favorite menu item. Three cheers for them; no cheers for the others. (Next, off to the Arby’s in Flat Rock…)
    Oh, and by the way…
More >>
Posted in Food, TV | Leave a comment

Their G5 Review

    Looks like this guy ran into the same anomaly I did. Reviewing the new dual 2.5 G5 for Ars Technica, the writer Eric Bangeman describes using the Setup Assistant to transfer all his old files and settings from his PowerBook to the G5. “The only downside is a relic from the PowerBook: my G5 now has a battery indicator in the menu bar, even though it lacks a battery. Aside from that, the Setup Assistant is a wonderful piece of work that takes all of the tediousness out of upgrading. It’s more refined than the XP File and Settings Transfer Wizard, as the steps are simpler and you won’t need to reinstall all your applications at the end if you don’t want to.”
    This is exactly the problem I had. (And also my G5 had both a battery icon and an Airport icon, even though it did not have an Airport card and was wired directly into my router.) Unlike with the reviewer, those icons bugged me enough that I finally, a few weeks later, did a complete reinstall of OS X (10.3.4) just for the sake of it.
    [Archivist’s Note: a reinstall was totally unnecessary. The battery icon can be removed by toggling a setting in System Preferences.]
Posted in Apple, New Computer | Leave a comment

Another Bites Bites the Dust

    One of the three Arby’s restaurants I’ve been relying on to feed me Jalapeño Bites has let me down. They’ve been swayed into joining the dark side, removing my favorite item from their menu. They say they stopped selling it a month and a half ago, but I only found out this afternoon. I need to check with the other two Arby’s in my area, to see if life is still worth living. I’ll let you know in a few days what I find out.
    In other news, I was unable to watch the first Kerry/Bush debate tonight since I was working late. The best I could do was read viewer reactions as they were blogged. So far, according to the spin on the news sites, the consensus is that no matter what was actually said, George W Bush…is …the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being they’ve ever known in their life.
More >>
Posted in Food, Movies, Politics, TV | Leave a comment

There and Back Again

    My wallet is destined to be empty. Last weekend, New Line announced the specs on this December’s release of the four-disc The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Extended Edition. The official movie site has the details, and DVD Answer has screen grabs from the movie and the DVD menus. The Extended Edition contains fifty minutes of added scenes, plus two discs of supplemental material on the making of the film. It will be available on December 14, and can be pre-ordered starting October 1.

    Insuring that my bank account must remain flatlined every December, Topps is releasing another Lord of the Rings collectible card series. Once again the series will feature autograph and memorabilia cards, this time covering the entire trilogy.
    Note to all family members who may read this: sadly, yes, I will be handing out IOUs again this Christmas.
Posted in LOTR | Leave a comment

Ya-hoo! It’s New U2!

    The band is U2.
    The new album is called How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.
    The release date is November 23. (UK: November 22.)
    The track list is:
1. Vertigo
2. Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own
3. City of Blinding Lights
4. A Man and a Woman
5. Yahweh
6. Crumbs From Your Table
7. All Because of You
8. Tough
9. Miracle Drug
10. Full Metal Jacket/Native Son
11. Love and Peace Or Else

    The single is “Vertigo”. It was unveiled Thursday night. You can download it right here. (For a limited time. NMR)  ¡Hola, baby!
Posted in U2 | 1 Comment

“Don’t be too proud of this technological terror you’ve constructed”

    Guess what’s in my DVD player. Yep, that’s right, the multidisc set for which I’ve been waiting several months: … Season 4 of Mr Show.
    I did go to the store Tuesday to get the Star Wars box set, but something went wrong. I realized I wasn’t interested enough to be won over by the hype. Thanks to TNT’s and USA’s constant overplaying of the trilogy, I don’t need and don’t care to see these movies again for a long long time, no matter how cleaned up they are.
    Don’t get me wrong. I don’t dislike the Star Wars movies — heck, you little punks probably grew up watching it on VHS, but I saw the first one six times, in a real theater, the year it came out. And I’m not boycotting the box set (although the news from The Digital Bits is almost reason enough), because I’ll probably force a family member to get it for me for my birthday or for Christmas. It’s just that with all talk about people clamoring to get their hands on the box set, I’m feeling contentedly contrary right now.
Posted in Movies, TV | 1 Comment

Emmy Blog 2004

    8:01 PM: I was at a family get-together earlier, but I taped the pre-show stuff. I’ll have to wait till tomorrow, at the earliest, for any comments and reactions. Meanwhile, the awards show itself is about to start. I keep forgetting how pained Garry Shandling sounds when he delivers a monologue.
    8:14 PM: the first TV award went to a shocked-looking David Hyde Pierce. The first SFG award goes to Heather Locklear’s dress.
    8:17 PM: does a Michael Imperioli win mean the start of a Sopranos sweep? It’s about time of course, but to be honest I thought their last season was dull. Are they directing the show from the back of the stage? That’s cool. And did the audio go to mono?
    8:20 PM: yay, stereo sound is back.
    8:24 PM: what about the start of a Sex and the City sweep too? And the same complaint about Sopranos goes for them as well. By the way, Cynthia Nixon looks nice with brown hair.
    8:25 PM: Arrested De-who? Would that that show could win something. Probably won’t happen for several years though, if the show even gets to last that long.
    8:26 PM: …well, there you go. Arrested Development gets a writing directing award for the pilot. This proves two things. The Emmys are starting to get hip (and more timely) and I suck as a prognosticator.
    8:29 PM: wow, great line-reading there, Jim Belushi. Your skill in delivery must be why your show is so critically well-received.
    8:32 PM: at last, someone used my “And I’d like to sing this” line, over the ever-present orchestra.
    8:49 PM: I’m confused. Didn’t this speech about television striving for excellence just follow a commercial for Wife Swap??!! …I guess that’s explained by the fact most of the montage clips are far from what I’d call examples of excellence. –Hey! those 24 clips should come with spoiler warnings!
    8:58 PM: ick, the Home Improvement guy has a leech on his chin.
    8:59 PM: come on music guys, play the director off. I dare you. And by the way, evidently the control room at the back of the stage is fake.
    9:10 PM: I knew Elayne Elaine Stritch would be bleeped, but for saying “Jesus”? And her entertainingly ebullient rant is one of the reasons why award show producers should not be so eager to get winners off the stage.
    9:12 PM: Daily Show or Letterman? Daily Show wins for writing. Most deserved — for their opening headlines segments, at least. But I still don’t like Robb Corrddrryy or Ed Helms.
    9:22 PM: since they’re nominated four times (in this category), I think Sopranos might win a writing award. But who cares — I’m too busy staring at Sharon Stone.
    9:35 PM: winning the award for dumbest concept: Citibank’s “Thank You” series. Brand new runner-up, Pontiac Buick trying to work “Paperback Wri-tuh” into a car commercial.
    9:39 PM: Daily Show or Letterman? Yay, Daily Show (for best variety series) — and I still don’t like Robb Corrddrryy or Edd Hellms.
    9:43 PM: What! Tony Kushner is gay?!
    9:44 PM: the reality TV awards are next. As if I fricking care.
    9:53 PM: Aw man, they shamed me. I still don’t give a rat’s ass about the reality TV award, but the introduction, utilizing two “real people” off the street, was very cool. In fact, a lot of this production has been quite inventive and imaginative — from the Daily Show’s commercial spoof to David Duchovny’s cameo.
    9:55 PM: Keifer! His voice makes me feel funny. Then again, my PowerBook is starting to heat up. …No, it’s Keifer’s voice.
    10:08 PM: Al Pacino’s win is not much of a surprise, he’d probably get it even if he hadn’t feasted so bombastically on the Angels in America scenery, but it was still fun to see the great convergence of The Godfather and The Sopranos presenters on stage.
    10:11 PM: Chris Rock steals a urinal skit. Alison Janney steals the Emmy from Edie Falco. — Is The West Wing even still on?
    10:26 PM: awww. Kristen Davis is too pretty.
    10:27 PM: NBC needs to let Comedy Central air Late Night with Conan O’Brien at 6PM again.
    10:32 PM: ha ha, the audience was woo-ing Tom Selleck’s introduction of the obituary segment. Also, my favorites need to stop dying.
    10:34 PM: you know, that’s the first time I’ve seen Burger King’s double croiss’anwich commercial. Every previous time I’ve just skimmed past it on tape. I never knew the King face was some shiny mask. How freaking creepy! Why do so many companies advertise food products in the most unappetizing ways? What kind of passive aggressive mind games are they trying to pull?
    10:36 PM: “It’s O-V-E-R.” Right, because that’s so much easier to say than “It’s over.”
    10:39 PM: oh well, so much for my Emmy pool. I was rooting for Keifer but knew it would be Gandolfini. I never expected James Spader would win.
    10:42 PM: but I guessed right on Meryl Streep. No one plays an old Rabbi like Meryl Streep. …Cute speech. I always wonder how the great actors do in real life. Can they act their way out of a parking ticket? Can they act innocently when plotting a surprise party? Can they convince the neighbors that their dog had nothing to do with that dump on the lawn? When they scold their kids, do they hold for applause?
    10:50 PM: yeah yeah yeah. Angels in America wins again. They probably think they’re hot stuff, winning all those awards; but the movie still doesn’t have one Istar or cave troll or Mûmak-slaying elf.
    10:53 PM: holy crap — Arrested Development stole the big comedy series award! Wow! Sounds like Ron Howard and Brian Grazer must have made some phone calls.
    10:59 PM: good thing NBC canned Aaron Sorkin. It gave The Sopranos its chance to win at last…even though it’s a few years late. And they dared to cut off Tony Soprano! Thus the ceremony ends, in a quite timely fashion, as the pavilion fills with the shredded remains of the most damning of the National Guard documents — not to mention the least convincing of the Karl Rove forgeries (you know, the ones with the Comic Sans MS font). No need for any backstage yelling either, since the confetti was let off in an equally timely fashion. Now off to E!’s post-show…where I see I just missed an appearance from my President, David Palmer.
Posted in TV | Leave a comment

They Knew

    I can understand why I found this at the Underreported website.
    Back in July it was revealed that in January 2000 12 terrorists met in Kuala Lumpur for three days, where they chose the date for the 9/11 attacks, named it “Operation Holy Tuesday”, and discussed how to get operatives into the US for flight training. The meeting was monitored by Malaysian police, at the request of the CIA.
    It seems odd that it appears only the NY Post and Ananova.com have reported this story. Oh, if only George W Bush with his decisive, strong leadership and his tough stance on terrorism had been president then…but no, that would’ve meant going after real terrorists, instead of just using daddy’s punching bag for a way to look tough.
Posted in Links, News, Politics | 1 Comment

Pulling a Trailer

    The recent press about Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow — sadly, no word on what font they use though — has got me suddenly interested in seeing this movie. I was having trouble trying to save the full-screen version of the movie trailer from the Apple site when I came across Dave’s Trailer Page, which has direct links for downloading a wealth of recent movie trailers.
Posted in Links, Movies | Leave a comment