House of Flying Daggers

I saw House of Flying Daggers today, and I can only say... wow. I didn't like it quite as well as Hero, but that's a bit like saying I don't like chocolate quite as well as I like hot fudge.

The costumes, the use of color, the operatic plot twists and turns, the glorious melodrama... It's a feast for the eyes, and the soundtrack was pretty stellar as well.

Jaebob says "see it"!

MGM DVD Class Action

If you own an MGM DVD (and you probably do), it seems that they've been dishonest about "widescreen", just chopping the top and bottom off pan-n-scan and calling it widescreen. Grrr! I'm one of those film snobs who goes out of her way (and even spends more) to get widescreen versions of movies because I want to see it the way the director envisioned it.

There is hope -- MGM lost a class action suit, and you can get the information to file for recompense here. The site includes a list of eligible DVDs, so check your collection!

(via Society for Aesthetic Deleteions, who got it from SlashDot)

Pizza Delivery in the Age of "Security"

I could only get this to load by running Internet Explorer -- for some reason Firefox didn't even ask if I wanted to load a plugin.

That said... this ad (via The Gamer's Nook) represents a scary, nearly-here world where you can't even order a pizza without interference from the government.

It brings to mind a couple of favorite Heinlein Quotes:

When a place gets crowded enough to require ID's, social collapse is not far away. It is time to go elsewhere.

and

When any government, or any church for that matter, undertakes to say to its subjects, This you may not read, this you must not see, this you are forbidden to know, the end result is tyranny and oppression no matter how holy the motives.

Which Buffy Character Am I?

Okay, count me as surprised with this one. I figured I'd come out as Willow, or maybe Tara...
(via http://www.livejournal.com/users/tryslora/)

You scored as Angel. Angel is Buffy's vampire boyfriend. He used to be the infamous vampire, Angelus, and was again when he lost his soul. Before Darla turned him into a vampire, he was a worthless drunk. He murdered Jenny Calender. He was sent to Hell by Buffy. He moved to LA at the end of season three. Angel 60% Buffy 55% Giles 45% Xander 45% Anya 45% Cordelia 35% Willow 25% Faith 20% Oz 15% Which Buffy the Vampire Slayer Character are you? created with QuizFarm.com

Walkin' Pneumonia Blues

So, last week I started a new temp gig at the Theatre Dept (from whence I acquired my degree 30 years ago - will that be here, or to go?). They were desperate due to the abrupt illness of the academic secretary just before the beginning of the semester. I settled in quickly, and Pat, the executive secretary, fell ill Wed afternoon and called in sick Thursday am. I'm glad that she felt she could, though it's been a trip...

Friday morning I woke up with pain in my chest, an ugly cough and a sore throat. Though I didn't find out till Monday, Pat went into the hospital with her pneumonia on Friday as well. Saturday I dragged myself to Ft. Wayne for Midwest Madness ('cause I'd promised to run) and did indeed run for about 10 hours with barely a voice and a lot of Chloraseptic.

Today I finally dragged myself to Redicare. I hate paying the $85, but I was just getting worse, and it felt like I was swallowing through shards of broken glass. The doc called it Mycoplasma pneumonia, a classic case by the symptoms. He said he could have diagnosed it over the phone. "Walking pneumonia" , by virtue of it being mild enough pneumonia that you can walk around with it for weeks and just think you have a really vicious cold. The nice doctor gave me enough samples of antibiotic for 10 days an promised me I'll feel better in a couple of days. I'll be coughing for a couple of weeks, due to the damage done to my lungs, but all in all not too shabby.

EDIT: Almost 24 hours later, and I'm waiting to feel better. *sigh*

EDIT: I did feel better after 48 hours, almost to the hour, but was then stalled with a painful, wet, deep cough till yesterday. Last night (Wednesday 1/26) I finally slept through most of the night and today am feeling nearly human. Of course, I've been spending my evenings napping through TV on the couch, cats strewn across me. I was so slagged last night I didn't even have the energy to get up and get the remote, and thus watched WifeSwap. Heaven help me... (and I'll take the bad housekeeper/loving disciplinarian new ager over the Tammy Faye look-alike who has spoiled her kids so badly they'll be menaces forever)

There's A Fine Line...

"There’s a fine a line between support and stalking and let’s all stay on the right side of that." Quote from Joss Whedon in this interview on chud.com

Joss talks about Serenity, being director and author of a TV show transformed into a movie, fans, and various topics.

Talk about self image issues...

Drawn from my dear fiend Doctor_Toc (no link - friends-only LJ)

You scored as Frankenstein's Monster. You are Victor Frankenstein's hideous creation in Mary Shelley's classic novel. A grotesque conglomeration of disembodied organs, you ravage the countryside in search of your maker. Although you have a gentle and curious soul, civilization refuses to accept you as one of their own, driving you to acts of bestial wrath. Yours is a life of loneliness and devastated optimism. Frankenstein's Monster 88% Count Dracula 79% Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde 59% The Invisible Man 46% Dorian Gray 38% The Headless Horseman 25% What's Your 19th Century Horror Character? created with QuizFarm.com