Okay. So I've gotten all my Halloween stuff out of storage and catalogued it so I know what I have.
I've scouted Spirit of Halloween, Target, the Dollar Tree, Big Lots, the 99 cent store, Michael's and Lowes.
I've mapped my little apartment backyard and taken photos for the obligatory "before" picture.
I've managed to pick up a few new items, like a new tombstone and a raven.
I've designed the scarecrow I'm going to build and I've priced out the primary parts for it.
I've registered on a yard haunter forum to connect with other yard haunters and pick their brains.
And I've already driven the wife crazy with all my Halloween talk. And it's not yet October by my watch.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Not much to say...
So I haven't posted in a while...I do have new pictures of Lorelei to post...but haven't been motivated. It's been a tough August and September so far. Being stone cold broke to the point of having to forgo payment on things like cellphones and hoping they won't shut them off before I get paid Oct.1 tends to make things rough. It hasn't been easy on Amanda or I. Thankfully, we have two wonderful families that are helping us out until I finally get paid again.
Amanda has been working at the LA County Fair to help out a little. She also got a part-time elementary school librarian position that starts in another week. So October will be okay...not enough to go to the Paso Robles Harvest Festival like we hoped, but that's okay, we always have fun things to do in October...Knott's Scary Farm, Queen Mary Haunted Shipwreck and the apple ranches out in San Bernadino somewhere.
I am starting to plan out Halloween decorations though...I'm going to start small as a newbie yard haunter. Gonna try to make my own scarecrow, get some eerie lighting, some extra props. I've made a 20 minute sound loop to play on outdoor speakers. I'm real excited about that stuff...I'll have to start posting my plans and the before pictures and some shot of the props I plan on using.
Honestly, I think I'm obsessing so much about Halloween as a means of distracting myself from the current financial straits...but that's human nature I suppose.
Off to surf more yard haunt websites!
Amanda has been working at the LA County Fair to help out a little. She also got a part-time elementary school librarian position that starts in another week. So October will be okay...not enough to go to the Paso Robles Harvest Festival like we hoped, but that's okay, we always have fun things to do in October...Knott's Scary Farm, Queen Mary Haunted Shipwreck and the apple ranches out in San Bernadino somewhere.
I am starting to plan out Halloween decorations though...I'm going to start small as a newbie yard haunter. Gonna try to make my own scarecrow, get some eerie lighting, some extra props. I've made a 20 minute sound loop to play on outdoor speakers. I'm real excited about that stuff...I'll have to start posting my plans and the before pictures and some shot of the props I plan on using.
Honestly, I think I'm obsessing so much about Halloween as a means of distracting myself from the current financial straits...but that's human nature I suppose.
Off to surf more yard haunt websites!
Monday, July 21, 2008
Watchmen trailer
This deserves another Holy Shit. The Watchmen trailer was in front of The Dark Knight (as was the crappy 'teaser' for Harry Potter...waste of time and film). It looks incredible.
Go to http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/watchmen/ right now and watch it. Again and again. I'm pissed I won't be at Comic Con to see what else Zach Snyder has in store for fans...probably extra footage, smiley face buttons, the actors...damn it!
Go to http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/watchmen/ right now and watch it. Again and again. I'm pissed I won't be at Comic Con to see what else Zach Snyder has in store for fans...probably extra footage, smiley face buttons, the actors...damn it!
Review: the Dark Knight
Ho
Lee
Shit.
Where do I start? The Dark Knight is an incredible film. We saw it on IMAX last Friday afternoon in a packed theatre. Before I really start, you really owe it to yourself to catch it in IMAX. About 20 minutes of the finished film were shot on the larger format and it is visually stunning. Several of the aeriel cityscapes are in IMAX and they are vertigo inducing.
The film is grim, dark, violent and surprising. There were a number of "Holy Crap!" moments where Christopher Nolan steers the film into territory that isn't normal for a comic or superhero film. The Joker's 'pencil trick' alone was a dark and violent moment that I'm surprised was kept in a PG-13 film. And the reveal of Two Face is quite gruesome.
Much like Wall-E, this film delves into a numbers of different thematic elements. Pick what you want from it; the 9/11 elements, the personal morality plays, the personal costs involved, it's all there.
The acting is of course top-notch. Heath Ledger as the Joker, Gary Oldman as Jim Gordon, Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent may just be the best of the best here. Incredible acting by all involved, as all of them really sink into their characters. Some films, some actors, you always know who is acting on screen. Jack Nicholson is in that territory now; you always know it's Jack on screen. Ledger? Oldman? They dissappear into their roles and become their characters. There is nothing about Ledger's performance of the Joker that reminds you of the man; he is, for all intents and purposes, the Joker.
Go see this film if you haven't all ready. Go see it in IMAX if you haven't yet; the extra cash is worth it.
Best film of the year so far.
Lee
Shit.
Where do I start? The Dark Knight is an incredible film. We saw it on IMAX last Friday afternoon in a packed theatre. Before I really start, you really owe it to yourself to catch it in IMAX. About 20 minutes of the finished film were shot on the larger format and it is visually stunning. Several of the aeriel cityscapes are in IMAX and they are vertigo inducing.
The film is grim, dark, violent and surprising. There were a number of "Holy Crap!" moments where Christopher Nolan steers the film into territory that isn't normal for a comic or superhero film. The Joker's 'pencil trick' alone was a dark and violent moment that I'm surprised was kept in a PG-13 film. And the reveal of Two Face is quite gruesome.
Much like Wall-E, this film delves into a numbers of different thematic elements. Pick what you want from it; the 9/11 elements, the personal morality plays, the personal costs involved, it's all there.
The acting is of course top-notch. Heath Ledger as the Joker, Gary Oldman as Jim Gordon, Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent may just be the best of the best here. Incredible acting by all involved, as all of them really sink into their characters. Some films, some actors, you always know who is acting on screen. Jack Nicholson is in that territory now; you always know it's Jack on screen. Ledger? Oldman? They dissappear into their roles and become their characters. There is nothing about Ledger's performance of the Joker that reminds you of the man; he is, for all intents and purposes, the Joker.
Go see this film if you haven't all ready. Go see it in IMAX if you haven't yet; the extra cash is worth it.
Best film of the year so far.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Review: Wall-E
Great film.
Just gonna state that right off. Incredible movie from the fine folks at Pixar, easily the best animation house in the world today. The animation is incredible, as you would expect from them. But what makes Pixar the best in the business, even better than their parent/partner Disney, is the strength of the story.
The story is strong and multi-layered, just like the characters and the thematic elements. Wall-E isn't the goofy little simpleton he appears to be in the commercials. The theme is far more than just an environmental warning.
I don't want to say too much for fear of revealing spoilers, but I genuinely loved the many different layers to this film.
I don't care that this is an animated movie, stereotypically the domain of children. This is a great movie, one of the best of the last five years and is deserving of a Best Picture nomination when the time comes.
Just gonna state that right off. Incredible movie from the fine folks at Pixar, easily the best animation house in the world today. The animation is incredible, as you would expect from them. But what makes Pixar the best in the business, even better than their parent/partner Disney, is the strength of the story.
The story is strong and multi-layered, just like the characters and the thematic elements. Wall-E isn't the goofy little simpleton he appears to be in the commercials. The theme is far more than just an environmental warning.
I don't want to say too much for fear of revealing spoilers, but I genuinely loved the many different layers to this film.
I don't care that this is an animated movie, stereotypically the domain of children. This is a great movie, one of the best of the last five years and is deserving of a Best Picture nomination when the time comes.
Monday, July 7, 2008
July 4th
An okay weekend.
Spent Indepedence Day with the in-laws. The best part of that was watching Lorelei in the small pool they have. She loves the water. Just loves it. She went in twice and loved it both times. She especially loves 'swimming', being pulled through the water. She just smiles and giggles and laughs.
Saturday went to Kevin's house and met his wife and kid. Carpooled to the game with him. Sunday messed around the house and went to my parent's house for dinner. Good steaks.
Other than that, it's been pretty quiet. Summer school is fairly uneventful. Haven't had a chance to see Wall-E yet, though that should happen this week. Just thought I should pop up.
Spent Indepedence Day with the in-laws. The best part of that was watching Lorelei in the small pool they have. She loves the water. Just loves it. She went in twice and loved it both times. She especially loves 'swimming', being pulled through the water. She just smiles and giggles and laughs.
Saturday went to Kevin's house and met his wife and kid. Carpooled to the game with him. Sunday messed around the house and went to my parent's house for dinner. Good steaks.
Other than that, it's been pretty quiet. Summer school is fairly uneventful. Haven't had a chance to see Wall-E yet, though that should happen this week. Just thought I should pop up.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Indiana Jones 4 Review
Okay, so we went to see Indiana Jones - the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull last Thursday afternoon.
Pretty good stuff. Worthy of being with the other three films.
Now, it's not perfect. It takes the pulp aspects of the Indy films more than a bit too far in several instances. For example, when Mutt Williams (Shia LeBouf) swings through the vines of the jungle trees just like Tarzan, complete with monkeys swinging with him. That was just epically stupid. Or how Indy survives a test nuclear blast. There's a dash of logic to that one, but it's a bit hard to swallow. Or multiple falls down rather large and apparently rocky waterfalls.
But then again, this is a world in which the Ark of the Covenant is not only real, but has intense magical power and is kept in a wharehouse in Area 51. So let's be honest; this isn't the most realistic of worlds we are dealing with here.
But it was fun. It was thoroughly enjoyable and ultimately, that's about all you can ask for when it comes to an Indiana Jones movie. Harrison Fords owns that character. Even LeBouf did a pretty good job playing the greaser stereotype (well, on the outside anyway, there are actually glimpses of more inside his character).
It'll be on my DVD shelf next to the original three when the time comes. Brilliant film? No. A whole lot of fun? Heck yeah.
Pretty good stuff. Worthy of being with the other three films.
Now, it's not perfect. It takes the pulp aspects of the Indy films more than a bit too far in several instances. For example, when Mutt Williams (Shia LeBouf) swings through the vines of the jungle trees just like Tarzan, complete with monkeys swinging with him. That was just epically stupid. Or how Indy survives a test nuclear blast. There's a dash of logic to that one, but it's a bit hard to swallow. Or multiple falls down rather large and apparently rocky waterfalls.
But then again, this is a world in which the Ark of the Covenant is not only real, but has intense magical power and is kept in a wharehouse in Area 51. So let's be honest; this isn't the most realistic of worlds we are dealing with here.
But it was fun. It was thoroughly enjoyable and ultimately, that's about all you can ask for when it comes to an Indiana Jones movie. Harrison Fords owns that character. Even LeBouf did a pretty good job playing the greaser stereotype (well, on the outside anyway, there are actually glimpses of more inside his character).
It'll be on my DVD shelf next to the original three when the time comes. Brilliant film? No. A whole lot of fun? Heck yeah.
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