apple juice

I’ve just ordered what possibly is the coolest iPod accessory. I had been waiting patiently to order it since the product was announced in January at Macworld. The iTrip
.

I currently own an iRock, but the iTrip is a far more elegant solution:

It lets you tune to any station on the dial.
It doesn’t use any batteries, it draws power right from the iPod.
It fits right on the top of the iPod. The big problem with the iRock is that it dangles off and is a little unwieldy to manage when you are driving.

With any luck it will arrive tomorrow and I can post a little review. I’m hoping the power of the transmitter is as strong as the iRock, since that was one of its strong points, but I’m guessing the option to use any frequency will be very nice.

At my place of employment, we are blessed with the sonic goodness that is Muzak. The sounds of corporate wonderland drift like newfallen snow onto the busy worker’s ears. Actually, I have the nearby speaker turned off, since I usually listen to my iPod while toiling away at the keyboard.

When I venture from the warm confines of my desk and chair, however, I am bathed in sugary sweet and un-offensive sounds. One of these ventures is to the bathroom.

I haven’t decided if I’m just really, really regular, or if there is some sort of cosmic Muzak force spinning tunes for me, but whenever I sit down in the bathroom, it seems that the same song is playing.

A few months ago it was Enya with her smash hit Only Time. For the past few days it’s been Seal’s chart topper Don’t Cry. I don’t hear these songs once or twice mind you, I hear them for like 2 weeks straight, every time I go to the bathroom.

I will have to begin charting my breaks, because I’m getting a little freaked. It’s been like 7 or 8 times in a row I’ve heard Don’t Cry while doing my duty.

As soon as I have some definitive results, I’ll post them here for my faithful readers.

One actress I really enjoy watching is Parker Posey. Unfortunately I’m not skilled in the art of dissecting movie performances, but when you see Parker Posey acting in a movie, you can tell she has done her homework.

One movie they didn’t mention was Party Girl, one of my favorites. It’s definately quirky and weird, but I love those kind of movies

Though few have honed the art of cinematic sarcasm quite as adeptly as Posey, she always conveys far more than just snark and sass. Indeed, her performances in films like Hal Hartley’s “Henry Fool” have revealed Posey’s dramatic depth, her ability to invest virtually any role with nuance and complexity.

Read the interview

Combat Rock by Sleater-Kinney

They tell us there are only two sides to be on
If you are on our side youíre right if not youíre wrong
But are we innocent, paragons of good?
Is our guilt erased by the pain that weíve endured?
Hey look it’s time to pledge allegiance
Oh god I love my dirty Uncle Sam
Our country’s marching to the beat now
And we must learn to step in time
Where is the questioning where is the protest song?
Since when is skepticism un-American?
Dissentís not treason but they talk like itís the same
Those who disagree are afraid to show their face
Let’s break out our old machines now
It sure is good to see them run again
Oh gentlemen start your engines
And we know where we get the oil from
Are you feeling alright now
Paint myself all red white blue
Are you singing let’s fight now
Innocent people die, uh oh
There are reasons to unite
Is this why we unite?
If you hate this time
Remember we are the time!
Show you love your country go out and spend some cash
Red white blue hot pants doing it for Uncle Sam
Flex our muscles show them weíre stronger than the rest
Raise your hands up baby are you sure that weíre the best?
We’ll come out with our fists raised
The good old boys are back on top again
And if we let them lead us blindly
The past becomes the future once again

Sonja and I watched a movie last week, recommended by my sister, called The Fast Runner (Atanarjuat).

I knew nothing about the movie as we were settling in to watch, but it turned out to be one of those movies you’ll want to learn everything about:

Igloolik is a community of 1200 people located on a small island in the north Baffin region of the Canadian Arctic with archeological evidence of 4000 years of continuous habitation. Throughout these millennia, with no written language, untold numbers of nomadic Inuit renewed their culture and traditional knowledge for every generation entirely through storytelling.

Our film Atanarjuat is part of this continuous stream of oral history carried forward into the new millennium through a marriage of Inuit storytelling skills and new technology.

The movie tells the story of an Inuit legend. It written and directed by Inuit people, and all the actors were Inuit. Obviously they aren’t speaking english, but luckily there are subtitles.

I think that’s all I’m going to say. Oh, and I’m such a geek, that about 30 seconds into it, I proclaimed.. “This was shot digitally!” I received the quizzical look from Sonja, but my internet research later proved me correct. The digital ‘film’ works wonderfully in this case and gives a feel of being right there, seeing it all happen in front of you.

Wow.

It’s hard not to repeat what has been said elsewhere about this movie, but I’m here to say that it delivered. There was no feeling of expectations not met (Star Wars), no feeling that I was cheated out of my seven dollars (Star Wars). The Two Towers is a masterpiece.

To give you an idea of how amazing this movie was, how completely it grabbed your emotions, there were times in the movie where you could not hear a single person take a breath in the theatre. A collective sigh of relief would comfort you when the danger passed, but the unrelenting action of the movie swept you up and soon there was another moment that held you in mid-breath.

I don’t want to give away any of the key moments, because even though I’m sure most of you are at least familiar with the story, there are parts, that when realized on the screen, are much more powerful than what I had read in the book. The battle of Helm’s Deep, for example, was hard for me to get my head around in the book. I wasn’t thinking on a grand enough scale. In the movie, however, the battle is realized with perfection. (Minus the dwarf jokes)

Basically, you need to see this movie. If you haven’t seen Fellowship of the Ring yet, go see that first. This one picks up right away. You will be confused. There is very little backtracking.

I told a co-worker this morning that this trilogy is replacing Star Wars as my all-time favorite. And I haven’t even seen the last one yet! It’s that good.

Side note. This movie is rated PG-13 for a reason. Don’t bring your little kids to see it. It will scare the crap out of them. Parts of the movie scared the crap out of me. I saw one little girl that was maybe eight on the way out. I can’t imagine the dreams she’s going to have for the next week. Sonja called the people who designed the Uruk-hai “geniuses of terror”. And once you see them in action, you’ll have to agree.

This is easily my favorite movie of the year. Go see it! (And go read a real review if you want fluffy-artsy talk)

Going to see The Two Towers tonight. I can barely contain my excitement. So far at Metacritic it’s garnered a 92, pretty dang good. At work we’re doing a demo for most of the afternoon, so I won’t have too much time to think about it… but the countdown has begun… 10h 17m

Whoops, 10h 16m

Full review tomorrow…