The deluge of reviews continues.

I have an enormous net-flix queue with something like 164 DVDs waiting to be seen. This is probably because any time something vaguely interesting pops on the screen I queue it. At this point I’ve figured that if I’m going to be watching all these things I may as well solidify a few thoughts on the subject, tout the things I love and warn others away from garbage. And here’s this handy blog-type-thing that might be of use in that capacity, so what the hey?

This week the question is asked, “Avalon (2001): Poor man’s Matrix or cyberpunk noir classic?”

The answer to this is mostly rhetorical, pretty subjective and at least in my case “a little of both”. But having answered this question I’m going to go ahead and expound on it for a few more paragraphs anyway.

Continue reading Review: Avalon (2001) →

I am sorry to bring up lists but they had a top 100 albums list on tv in England at the weekend that really ticked me off. The link to the list is here.

I am particularly shocked by the high showing of both Alanis Morrisette Jagged Little Pill and Oasis’ whats the story morning glory. I am shocked by the lack of Van Morrsion’s Astral Weeks in any of the Top 100. Anyway just thought you may find it interesting to see the thinking in these parts as flawed as it is.

Dash Eight have emerged from a field of almost 40 bands as the victor of Salisbury University’s “Battle of the Bands”. As a result, they will be playing Salisbury’s annual Field Day along with Viv, The Starting Line and Talib Kweli. (Talib Kweli!!!!!) Check ’em out at the ever-evolving dasheight.com

Also, be sure to check out Hordak’s reccomended pick of the week, Derby Lane. These guys are destined for big things, and I feel lucky to be a friend of such a promising bunch of musicians. I hope these guys get everything they deserve– which is a lot. Pop fans, be sure to dig into “Guess What Girls”. Hooks a mile wide.

While I was typing the last post this morning, I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. Since it was early in the morning and nobody else was up, this startled me. I looked down, and there was a fucking cat. Mind you, we don’t own a cat.

I chased it without thinking and it ran upstairs and into my bedroom. I then chased it back downstairs, being sure to shut the doors to the bedroom and bathroom. The cat beat me downstairs, and with that, disappeared.

I’m assuming it came in through the basement. The door to the basement was cracked open the whole time, and when I first spotted the cat, I was sitting right next to this door. There must be a hole down there that it got in through and consequently escaped through.

I hate that cat. It’s the same mother fucker that always sits on my car right after I wash it.

So I finally got around to learning some programming. It’s a language called Python Ok, so it’s somewhere between a scripting language and a full fledged programming language. So far, its been pretty easy.

I’m using it to process and plot data from work. It’s letting me do a lot of what very expensive programs like Matlab and IDL for free. Packages I am using are SciPy, matplotlib, and various other smaller packages required by those two.

Not sure if it is something that is useful to others, but if it is, it is definitely worth checking out.