rebootied

...this is a stupid idea full of poorly considered consequences, but Japan, a nation with a dwindling population and underpopulated rural regions should just start flying Libyan refugees in by the planeload. 

I kinda want Matt LeBlanc to form a band which only does '80s covers, and call it Joey Division. 

Mashups I'd like to see: Little Richard Nixon.

Interesting weekend for me: even with the wife away on a business trip, the kids were both largely angelic... but I worked hard to make it easy for them. Saturday I made breakfast for them; the boy loves pancakes and maple syrup (the real stuff) but at some point the girl decided the smell of them makes her nauseous. In the afternoon I took them and their cousin to a children's art show where they built a giant cardboard fort while I looked at a bunch of kids' work on the walls. We had an early dinner and then attended karate for two hours.

During that Saturday I managed to chalk up a number of injuries; I nearly fell down the steps again while trying to close a window on the landing. Pulling rice out of the microwave, a jet of steam opened up on one finger and gave me a searing jolt. Then I went to karate and hurried into a very bad backward roll; managed to conk my own head as well as put my 94kg weight onto my neck. Then one of my favorite black belts gave me a 10 minute clinic on resisting his joint locks, which mostly turned out to be ways to make me squeak like a bagpipe.

Everyone slept pretty well that night, though I was still paranoid about mosquitoes after that other incident.

Sunday morning, the girl rose earlier than the rest of us and helped the neighborhood kids gather and centralize newspapers for recycling. As a reward, she was able bring one of her friends over for the afternoon and play. In the evening my mom-in-law took all of us to a hotspring for a soak and dinner. This spring is about 30 minutes drive into the mountains, and has air that is more cool and clear than near our home; soaking in the outdoor tubs is something I could do for hours. Dinner was great; I had a smörgåsbord of various pickles and a little grilled fish, as well as some spicy tebasaki and some cool nihonshuu served from a chilled shoot of bamboo. Lovely. It was a great way to get all of us recharged for the week ahead of us. Only a few more days until I get my wife back.

(And in the "this cannot possibly fail" category, I'm thinking of making a hard rock band with costumes made out of steak and ribs and calling it MEATALLICA.)

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou: I've started watching this movie twice, and haven't been able to finish it yet. The first time, I started the movie quite late and its peaceful, surreal, melancholy world proved too much a soporific. The second time, it had that effect on my wife, though I was enjoying it and wide awake. She just could not parse the humor. My explanation of "Well, to Americans... some Americans, this is quite funny" did not hold water, so to speak. Next time I'll try to watch it alone, possibly with some Portuguese beer and wearing a red toque. "ESTEBAN! ESTEBAN!"

A Beautiful Mind: I watched this on a plane twice and was really impressed. Ron Howard can not make a bad film to save his life; I've been a fan since Coccoon, and I even liked How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Acting is top notch, understated and believable throughout the entire film, without an excess of emotionally manipulative schmaltz. Ed Harris is perfectly cast, and it is always amazing to see the actress Jennifer Connelly became despite her atrocious beginning in Labyrinth. What was she, 14 at that time? I'd be pissed if people judged my art based on what I could churn out at 14, so I should cut her some slack. More than anything else, I'm entranced by the film's ability to induce empathy for a sufferer of schizophrenia. What it comes down to is that we're all broken in some way, and it's just part of what we are, and how we do what we do. In John Nash's case, he's both more broken and more gifted.

And the film does a lot better on a nice TV than watching on a 5" screen with minimal contrast and color depth.

Also watched through ep. 7 of Burn Notice season 2 (still fun), and the first 4 episodes of Warehouse 13 which I'm hoping picks up, because the setting and gadgets are really fun. It's X-Files meets Indiana Jones, or at least the OSS guys from the end of Raiders. The producers should be hiring Ken Hite (princeofcairo ) to spruce up their doo-dads and science hokum. Then again, I think Ken Hite should be hired to spiff up the Tomb Raider storyline as well, which I've got top men working on right now. Top. Men.

Teaser from Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog on Vimeo.
Dr. Horrible, thanks to TimK.

Am considering writing a screenplay for an action movie, or making an omelet titled "BACONSTORM." This cannot even possibly fail.