Damek.

Interesting stuff!

Boxee is really cool, except the music part which doesn’t understand iTunes or AAC file metadata, but it’s still in Alpha and I hear they’re working on it.

But for TV/Movies/YouTube/Hulu/etc. it’s really cool.

Anyone else out there using it? It has a social aspect to it that I can’t play with waahhhh

Haha. In other news, I hate updating WordPress, I wish they’d slow down their releases.

What, you thought I wasn’t going to answer?

Or what I was really going to title this post: Movies I Saw Recently.

Bleach. OK, Bleach isn’t a movie. it’s a long-running anime TV series, based on a long-running manga. But it’s really fun and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it (that I’ve watched … ok, so I skipped 45 episodes, I didn’t really miss anything and I can watch them later…) Now I’m up to the latest part of the story and I’m stuck waiting for the next cliffhanger like everyone else. Arrgh!! Shikata ga nai.

Downfall. (aka Der Untergang, for those of you who understand German.) A fascinating film. Very good. Vivid tension in every scene. Except… Having just spent the weekend watching Bleach, a cartoon about the forces of good vs. the forces of evil (well, to simplify), I’m struck by some of the absolute beliefs of humans in wartime. In Bleach, we (almost) always know the good character really will pull out a trump card in every battle and triumph against seemingly impossible odds. In Downfall, it was striking the way some characters, particularly youths, believed so strongly in their inevitable triumph against seemingly impossible odds. The power of our belief in our own righteousness is not to be easily dismissed.

Wrong Turn. This was easily skipped through. Which is not to say it was bad, just that it’s only so easy to watch formulaic horror on one’s own. You’ve seen one, you’ve (mostly) seen them all, no matter how much you like the genre. It had good points. Like Jeremy Sisto, haha… Oh, and the “head chopped off high against the tree” moment, where the body tumbles down 20 feet to the ground, and then the head follows… I hear the sequel is very good, though, so I shall get right on it!

Hard Candy. I had expected myself to be bored by this. Nevertheless, of all the videos mentioned so far, this is the one I couldn’t skip through. I was rapt. Yes, I even skipped around through Downfall. But this one was riveting. Surprises at every turn… And formulaic in its own way, but it’s very hard not to be these days! Also, I guess I just hadn’t expected a love story.

Night Watch. One of the most imaginative, epic-on-a-budget films I’ve seen in a while. And out of Russia! Actually, reminded me of Bleach a little. Just barely. Definitely merits repeat viewings, the plot was so magical one barely notices one is ignoring some massive holes, like how a power plant functions after it’s blown up. It just doesn’t matter. I think the feel of this film is best captured in the way the ‘others’ drink vodka and blood more or less interchangeably. And it’s the first of a trilogy; I must watch Day Watch soon.

Look, OK, fried food can actually be very healthy (or at least not unhealthy), but it’s psychological. If I tend to think it’s unhealthy, I’d rather not eat it purely because it will make me feel unhealthy, ok? So there!

Sleep well!

I have never had a talent for languages, but certain recent events have given me new interest in one or two, here and there, and by accident I came across a few language-related vids on YouTube that I wanted to share.

First, this guy does a number of reasonably good English accents, including Scottish, Aussie, and Manchester… without links cuz I’m lazy, he also has Southern, London, Irish, South African, and some other ones. Then he goes on to speak “fake” Chinese, French, Russian, etc., and ask people to try their hand at “fake English,” with amusing results.

Finishing this tonight, I have to say I was being a little harsh last night. It is what it is, and it’s enjoyable; it’s consistently original and stylistic, and reminds me a bit of Sin City. I would rather watch Sin City a second time before 300 but that doesn’t mean the latter is bad.

Hey, at least it’s better than 2007’s Beowulf, which sucked hard — though I must admit I had fun while watching even that! Can’t say why, though.

Ha… I’m reminded of a great scene from the Red Dwarf episode “The Inquisitor”:

KRYTEN looks over LISTER’s shoulder at what he is reading.

KRYTEN: Ah, Virgil’s Aeneid. Oh, the epic tale of Agamemnon’s pursuit of
Helen of Troy — the most classic work by the greatest Latin poet who
ever put quill to parchment!
LISTER: Yeah, it’s the comic book version. It’s good though, man.
Absolutely full of history.

RIMMER gives them a disgusted look.

KRYTEN: (Reading from comic book) Zap, pow, kersplat, die in bed you
Trojan pig-dog, gnyarrg, kerpow. I see they’ve remained faithful to
the original text. I’m sure Virgil would have approved.
RIMMER: Kryten, don’t discourage him. It’s the only thing he’s ever read
that doesn’t have lift-up flaps.