July 2004

The Showgirls VIP Edition came out today!

July 27, 2004: Can you believe it? It truly is a landmark day in DVD history with the reissuing of this cinematic masterpiece. And masterpiece it is, even to those who would scoff at it. It is truly the best bad movie out there. Carnival of Souls? Nope! Ed Wood? Boring!!! Showgirls? NOW, we're talking. There is a quote, apparently from the audio commentary from the movie by a major fan, that this movie shows exactly how during any decision process during the filming, the WRONG decision was always made. You've gotta read the review by DVD Talk though. It now has one of my most favorite characteristics mentioned in print: skanky loathsomeness. Is that magnificent or what? The review is hilarious though. But seriously, I have preordered it from Amazon and I cannot wait to get it in the mail. SWEETNESS! There's so many classic quotes from Showgirls: "I'm getting too old for that whorey look!"; "You're a fantastic f#ck!", "Can you walk?", "Why aren't you erect? I am.." .....I seriously could go on and on. So I let Sgt Jenny borrow my bare-bones DVD this evening so she and Jason can finally be introduced into the lurid world of Showgirls. I wonder what her reaction will be.

Anyways, where the hell have I been these past few days? I have been gambling, unsuccessfully. I let Marian talk me into playing Hold-Em TWICE this past week and I got stomped both days. Ouch. But last night, I walked over to the blackjack table after my beating and managed to win some money back and play for quite a while. When Blackjack is nice to you, it can feel real nice.

I also have been debating what to do with some of my Captain bonus. I have decided that I will be embarking upon an Autumn journey to Berlin, probably in November for my birthday. Screw spending my birthday alone here in Vegas - if I'm going to be alone, I might as well be somewhere interesting. And I have wanted to see Berlin ever since reading about it in the Rick Steves' guide while taking our last train ride from Venice to Pordenone on the infamous two-week Eurotrip. Even the London trip was a 50/50 between London and Berlin. I just thought, at the time, it would be nice to travel somewhere where I didn't have to concentrate on the language. But now, it's time to see Berlin. Stay tuned for more details. And next year, I'm considering an even more fantastic destination: a 21-day trip through Egypt and Turkey. Now would that kick ass or what?

So I just got off the phone reducing my home phone plan since I have the cell phone now. I actually get to use the answering machine function of my phone. But after that phone call, I called the cable company, as I wanted to increase my service to get another tier of channels (all the extra music channels, technology channels, etc). Well, I found out it would only be about $25/month more to pretty much beef it up all the way. I have attained "Top Subscriber" status now, because not only did I get that extra tier, I got all the HBOs, Showtimes, no Cinemaxes.., all the extra tiers, PLUS the HD channels, as I'm trading in my current DVR system for the HD-DVR system. As I just told Schofield, I really have no reason to leave the house now. So kick ass.

I'm trying to slowly but surely work on getting more DVD reviews out. I don't know if anyone out there reads them, but I am having a blast making them. If I actually got all of my DVDs done, it would probably take years. But slowly but surely, I'm covering them. Next up is Beetlejuice, one of my all-time favorite movies.

Other than that, not much has been happening. Had a bleh day at work today, which I vow not to have happen tomorrow. I need to have energy and get shit done. Today was not that day though.

And even though I'm planning that Berlin trip, I still will be making it to San Antonio sometime in September. I've got to make sure I don't screw up my school schedule like last time though, as I WILL finish this school schedule on time (March 05). So details will be making their way to the appropriate people soon.

Alright, I'm done. Stick a fork in me.
What's New? I bought new DVDs, yay for me. There may be some new DVD reviews up every now and then. If you care, check back. Also, my Shooting Gallery has been acting a little screwy lately. I don't know what's doing it.

I pinned on Captain a year ago

July 19, 2004: Yep, it was done a year ago. My actual date of rank is 21 July, but I'm pretty sure I put on Captain in the whole ceremony hooha a year ago. Ah well, who knows for sure....

So I went to Los Angeles this weekend to attend my friend Patricia's graduation/birthday party. Her family went all out and rented a hall, having testimonials, videos, dancing, food, etc. It was quite impressive. I got to see my friends Wendy and Jason, as well as all the rest, including Gendy and Jenny Joy. It was full of fun and drama, particularly between Wendy and Clarissa. I won't elaborate here, but it certainly did provide the capstone of the evening. Anyways, it was great to see everyone but it made me realize, again, how pathetic my social life is here. Blech. I also got to see Mom and Harv, which is always a fun time. We had some Mexican food, which was great, as I've been craving that all week. Yum. I left Sunday morning back for Vegas, and now I'm here after a fairly busy day of work. It will definitely be nice to have Sgt Jenny back.

I think I'll be playing poker this week some night. Wish me luck!
What's New? I finally did my #6 DVD review for Dave. Enjoy! Any requests for the next review, let me know. I know you're on pins and needles.

Almost a year ago, I pinned on Captain

July 14, 2004: Boy, how time flies. I actually pinned on the 18th of July in 2003, but my date of rank is 21 July, but that was on a Monday, and who wants to get promoted and then party on a Monday? Not me, senor!

The blackjack tournament sucked. I lost my $20 and the $20 I loaned to a friend. He was extraordinarily tanked on an alcohol called Jeremiah Weed. Doesn't it just sound smooth? Yeah. It's not. He had like 9 shots of it too. ECH. Needless to say, I think it's safe to assume he won't be drinking Jeremiah Weed....for the rest of his life. So he lost at the table. My excuse? Because I had no luck that day. Until the end, but it was too late to make enough money.

I've been busy this week, for some strange reason. And I'm not even talking about work. (Psssst......I don't work. I just sit there and look important. Nobody questions it, neither should you). After work I've been going out and doing stuff each day, and then I stay up late and wake up cranky. Go figure. Monday I went with Sgt Jenny and her visiting brother to the Sahara to ride Speed the Ride, which I have seen from the road numerous times but never ridden. Awesome ride. You get shot out the hotel at about 60mph and go into a loop and then a straight up vertical track section, which means you stop and then proceed to go backwards. Excellent. We then went down to the Manhattan Express at NY NY. The last time I remember going on this ride was with.....Ryan and Jennifer, I believe..... but before that, it was the weekend of my Captain promotion party! And I was extremely hungover. This time, I got to go in the very front and it was at night, so it's quite a view. It's still pretty scary riding up that first hill. There's an excellent part of the ride though where you basically do a jet-fighter move called the Immelman, I think. You are riding along straight and level and then the track flips over and you go along inverted for a while before the track arcs down to the ground so you end up going the opposite direction you were just going and now you're rightside up. It's the only ride I've ever been on that has a section like that, especially the part where you travel upside down for a distance. Usually it's just a loop or a zero-point turn. MAN!!!!! Just writing about rollercoasters makes me want to go to a theme park now.

I'm headed to Los Angeles this weekend for a brief trip to see some 'family' friends - well, Jason & Wendy's family. But with the whole wedding thing last year, I got to be good friends with most of the family. So I was invited to one of the graduations, so it should be fun to see the extended family again. I definitely want to head down there though so I can just spend time with friends chilling. I need to see Roni again as I really miss her. Also need to just hang out with Jason and Wendy, as well as Mila and Sveta. And of course, it's good to see the folks. I'm fairly certain I have convinced my mom to take a shot at playing Hold'Em poker at a casino during their next visit. She is completely addicted to the game on TV but gets confused about the right betting strategy, like when to raise, when to check, etc. I can't help too much on that either, but watching it on TV might be able to help.

I saw Anchorman this evening. Hilarious movie. I'll write a review soon.

I also think I have an idea about what I want to do as a trip. Last year when I went to San Antonio, I had debated about driving there as a side trip. I decided against it as I just wanted to get there, I realized, so I flew. But I'm now thinking it would be fun to drive there now, and add some stops, such as and primarily the Grand Canyon. I've never seen it and would love to. After that, it's just a matter of lots of good music and cruise control. I don't know, it could be fun. I still have to fully think about it.

Well, I'm tired. I think I had other things to write, but the yawning has overwhelmed my ability to focus on the laptop screen. See you later. Remind me to feed the guinea pigs on Friday. I sure do hope I remember!
What's New? No new DVD reviews yet. They take a while to make and I haven't had much time lately. Maybe a new one tomorrow. I can tell you already it will be for the movie Dave. I LOVE that movie.

Time for the blackjack tournament

July 9, 2004: I'm a tool. I took my car in to get that weird noise fixed. A guy walked out to my car to hear the noise. He asked me to pop the hood. I did. He looked and saw that there was a loose thingy and he plugged it back in. Noise gone. A whole minute of work. I felt like a dumbass - oh wait, I AM a dumbass. Whatever. At least that noise is gone.

So it's now time for me to go to work and play in the blackjack tournament fundraiser. I would like to win. But I think I'm going to make stupid bets that won't pay off. Positive thinking, right?
What's New? I put up an Amelie DVD review to match the Moulin Rouge one. It's Frenchy time!

No work for me on Friday

July 8, 2004: My poor baby Catherine needs some work so I took the day off. Yay for me. So anyways, not much else going on. I will be going back to base though as we're having a blackjack fundraiser in which you donate $20 and get to play a blackjack tournament, with first place getting $300, second place $150. Not too shabby.
What's New? I've completed my 4th DVD review: Moulin Rouge. Couldn't put that one off too much more, now could I?

Hurting your back sucks

July 7, 2004: Yeah, so I was pretending that I'm a big bad He-Man of Strength and I decide to lift a very large subwoofer we have in the new conference center so I can move it to storage as it's not being used. Well, I lift it and start walking when I get that unmistakeable sensation of my back ripping in half. I actually manage to get the subwoofer back to the closet, because the 'job had to get done'. What a fucking retard. You know, I even thought I should use a cart to move it. Ah well. I'm feeling better though, as it happened on Tuesday but still I don't like being put out of commission.

Anyways, have you been hearing the latest about the new bill being pushed by Sen. Hatch and lots of other powerful congressman, called the INDUCE Act? It basically is trying to criminalize the use of P2P because P2P is being used to induce criminal acts, primarily in children. The act does not just go after P2P corporations and businesses....it has the ability to go after any company that makes a tool that may 'induce' people to commit copyright infrigement such as your TiVo, iPod, or any other means to distribute copyrighted material. This could very easily mean email and http protocol as well. I found a great online rebuttal to the INDUCE act that brings up many of the erroneous passages. You can get to it here, but it is a LONG read. I haven't read it all the way through yet. I found this article through EFF, which is an organization that I am very interested in and have given money to because they work hard to ensure that the new technological world doesn't get taken away from us by illogical and unnecessary legislation.

Well, off my soapbox for now. I've got DVD reviews to write...and red wine to buy. Why the hell haven't I done that yet? I took an hour nap when I got home today and I think I'm gonna be wired for sound for a while and may not be able to fall asleep for a few hours yet. That should make tomorrow TONS of fun.
What's New? Eh. I will be working on getting more DVD pages up. I am really enjoying this new part of the site as I think it looks sharp. I like the screenshots too. Also, in tune with the picture on the front page, I'm going to post my rollercoaster trip section very soon. That was such a cool trip with Robbie!

WTF? What the hell happened to the 4-day weekend?

July 5, 2004: Honestly, I didn't really do all that much. What a bummer. But it was nice to relax and stay out of the horrible heat here. I saw a couple of movies, got buzzed/drunk off of red wine one night, watched DVDs, and generally stayed out of trouble. Yay for me. Anyways, back to the grind tomorrow. Here's hoping for a fantabulous week!
What's New? I went and saw Fahrenheit 9/11 this afternoon. Very interesting pic.

Happy 4th of July!

July 4, 2004: Red wine may be good, but it certainly doesn't lend itself to a pleasant morning. I actually wasn't THAT hungover, but I did require a few more hours of sleep before I felt normal. So I totally forgot to mention that I had put up my Spiderman 2 review. I guess that's what happens when you're a bit drunk while updating. Bit drunk....HA! Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get me another bottle of red wine, stat! Okay, I'll at least wait until this evening. Maybe. I hope everyone is safe this holiday and that no one blows off their nipples with a firework. That would just suck.

So I just watched some movies this morning. I watched 200 Cigarettes, which Sgt Jenny let me borrow, on VHS. It's my first VHS in a long long time. I even had to get some cables so that I could hook up my VCR. Surprisingly, or not so surprisingly, the VCR picture looked great on my television. But what DOESN'T look good on my TV, honestly? Anyways, 200 Cigarettes was pretty funny, and I was especially drawn to Kate Hudson's character. Plus, did you all know that Michancy really really resembles Martha Plimpton (what an unfortunate name that is.....)? That's a compliment by the way, so no one better say that I'm ragging on Michancy. I also rewatched Donnie Darko on DVD (so glad to go back to my digital medium). The first time I watched this movie, back at Lajes, I was utterly confused by it. But it is definitely one of those movies you need to take a second gander at, because knowing what happens, you really can appreciate it. It has definitely moved up to one of my more favorite films. Who knew? And that is why it will be Number 2 in the DVD reviews. Have you checked out Mulholland Dr yet, based on my review? Hmmph.
What's New? I put up my Spiderman 2 review. The Donnie Darko DVD page is up. So is the Kill Bill, Volume 1 page. Look at me go. And look at my wine glass photo page. For some reason, I really do like the original wine glass picture that I took. I like the blue piece of paper's contrast with the rest of the image. The photoshop changes are pretty neat too.

Red Wine is good....

July 3, 2004: So on the eve of Independence Day, I decide to go crazy. Okay, maybe the operative word is drunk. But anyways, I made a new photo gallery page of pictures of red wine and chandeliers. I LOVE WASTING TIME! So here's my page of pictures of a glass of red wine. I don't care if you look at it at all. I had fun making it. And drinking the entire bottle of red wine. HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY! I need to remember to take aspirin before I go to bed.....
What's New? Check out my photo gallery page. Remember to say photo gallery page with a snooty drawn out accent. That's really the only way to say that.

Hoorah! A 4-day weekend is here!

July 1, 2004: Thank God it's time for a good ol' 4-day weekend. Anyways, no real long winded stuff since I just stayed up later than I thought I would while working on my new DVD section. I'm fairly proud of the new section, and it will definitely be the better way to do things if I continue adding review pages. I've put up my first review page as well, on Mulholland Dr. Check it out. Well, off to bed for me!
What's New? My DVD section has changed quite a bit. I've also written up the Mulholland Dr. DVD review. Go me!

Shoot me an email if you want to. I may respond. (okay, you know I will - what else have I got to do?)