Archive for October, 2004
31st October 2004
Happy Halloween.
We spent most of the day on the phone, talking to loved ones and friends. We started out the day at my boss’s house for a pancake breakfast, followed by Van Helsing, and then watching the Colts lose in an offensive festival vs. the Chiefs 45-35.
I finally got around to typing about the World Series and Championshipseries. But like the World Series in particular, it is kind of anticlimactic.
Sections Updated: Baseball
30th October 2004
Unlike seeing Spiderman 2 for the second time and loving it more, Matrix Revolutions hardly did anything more for when I saw it again.
Sections Updated: Movies M-O
Matrix Revolutions (2003)
When I saw Matrix Reloaded in Georgia on my honeymoon, I wasn’t overly thrilled. There had been a lot of time between the movies and a ton of anticipation. But the second time I saw it, those expectations were gone and I actually like the movie for it’s own reasons other than what I thought I would originally.
So, when Revolutions came out, I tried not to have high expectations for it. But somehow, I was still kind of like, what the heck.
I saw it last night again thinking I may have a similar reaction, that it would be better a second time around. Hardly.
This is what I will say for being good about the movie. How in the heck do you envision something like that, and make it come to life? The robotics, the intricate detail, the ships, the Sentinels, all of it was just phenomenal. When the sentinels pour into Zion like a plague, you have that feeling of “Oh Crap”. A feeling of empathy for these weak humans. A lot of the camera shots are low to the ground so you see from their perspective.
The characters were fallible. Neo gets his eyes burned out, who saw that coming? Plus Trinity dies and in the end, maybe Neo does too. It’s not like the heroes came out unscathed.
Plus there are those robot machines the humans use to shoot with, pretty intense. But that is what most of the movie is, intense. Intensely graphic actually which in my opinion is quite a divergence from the other movies. From the Neo vs. Bane fight, to the kid taking over for the face mangled captain, to Neo’s eyes getting burned out. After the first couple movies of perfectly choreographed fight scenes, this movie was becoming like all the others.
That is my final complaint. You don’t really get a sense of urgency when you watch this movie. It really is for popcorn, you sit back, watch the amazing effects and think “Now why are Agent Smith and Neo flying around like two Supermen around the city”. It is like that final fight scene between the mortal enemies even took a life of it’s own, spawning away from the Wachowski brothers in attempting to top the fights scenes of the previous to movies. It was presumptuous that and audience would swallow that and a little like a super athlete getting caught up in his own hype.
It became a special effects movie in the end where it should have encapsulated what in my opinion was the original idea, a new fresh concept about this world that didn’t even exist, was built around computer programs, and therefore a human in that world could bend the physical rules.
Not a half an hour of machines shooting machines and an overload of special effects.
Spiderman 2 (2004)
This blog just missed me singing the praises of this movie when it first came out, so on top of every other reason, it was one more excuse to go and see it again now that it was at the cheap theaters this past Tuesday.
Here’s my thing with this movie, and most people can empathize with this.
Most people read books, and some people have characters that they love, whether it be from old TV shows like Mission Impossible, or cartoons like Scooby Doo, and there is nothing more thrilling to see these characters come to life on the big screen.
Comic books are looked down on for whatever reason, but they are basically books with pictures, and the characters are very dense with back story.
So when a comic themed movie that comes out like this one, you have to stand up and take notice, and here is why.
1. Realistic translation of the characters - You go to a movie to suspend some belief, and this is grounded just enough in reality to possibly be real.
2. Groundbreaking special effects - Seriously, when will you ever see the context for a guy swinging around those breath taking cityscape scenes, or the fights between Spidey and Doc. Ock on the train and building facades?
3. Relatable characters - This is especially true to the comic as Spiderman is a kid, who is just trying to make it by, that has this incredible weight of life to balance with everything. This movie has desire, struggle, inner demons and really makes you feel for Peter Parker.
4. Respect to the books - My problem with the first movie was that it was dumbed down, even past the necessary introduction to the characters to have painfully forced “moments” between Peter and Mary Jane and kind of cheesy dialogue that you can only assume was there because they were trying to appeal to a tag younger teenie audience. (To the disagreement of Chip Cullen, Jerry Davidson, and Avi Shertok, sorry guys). This time round, the dialogue was natural, it was a good translation of the character of Doc. Ock, and the action / violence didn’t seem as watered down.
So, I loved it, you can tell. It is not just because it is a comic book movie. Actually, some of the movies I hate the most are comic book movies, because they are that kind of “supernatural” experience that can flop even worse in a big screen translation.
There have been only four really solid Comic book movies ever in my opinion. First there was Batman, then Batman Returns (Michael Keaton’s tortured Bruce Wayne was prefect, silent, violent, and efficient), X-Men 2 for many of the same reasons as Spiderman 2 but even more so, and now…
Spiderman 2.
29th October 2004
I got to see Spiderman 2 again this week, and really let loose on my blog all about it, which was really the whole point in the first place.
Sections Updated: Movies S-T
28th October 2004
I can’t get a hold of the time.
After today, it may get worse. We have a possible 3d rendering waiting in the wings here at work. I did an estimated hours for the project, including taking this drawing that I would render into Flash and make it interactive.
This product cutaway however, would be much more flexible if I could model it. I have learned three different packages for 3d modeling in the past, but each of them have their pitfalls. Well, this is a great circumstance I though to possibly learn one that could bring in new business.
So at the end of the day I pitched my bosses on springing for this software and I offered to stay after to learn it so we could add that skill set to our offerings and to maximize our profits.
So if that happens and I stay after each night for two more hours to learn, my time will be even more scarce.
I will be able to get some back this week probably as we aren’t going to be house hunting Friday night as it looks now.
I continue to work on a new website for a brand new client. I hope to have some stage of that up and running next week possibly so it will be cool to share that. A non-blog site that is completely CSS based. Actually, it is another photographer. I am defining quite a niche for that industry.
But I thought I would mention that after 2 months of waiting, and about 4 months of development, the “Company” section on my company’s website, (Esysdesign.com) finally launched this past week.
It has bios and illustrations of all of the key players here at work. I really liked the concept I came up with, following the theme I defined for the whole website, a scene based off a famous Norman Rockwell painting “The Runaway”.
Go and take a look at the Esysdesign.com Company page and I will try to get back out on top with all the work.
But don’t hold your breath.
26th October 2004
I suppose that I am at that stage of life now when days fly by, and everything kind of blurs together.
I am having a hard time realizing that it is almost November and tomorrow is Wednesday, and I am tired.
Chris at work has started to work out with me everyday at lunch, so I have upped what we are doing so while that spikes my energy levels, that has also increased my metabolism again so I can’t stay nearly as late without needing something to eat.
I got my new hard drive in the mail and put it in today, using Norton Tools Ghosting software to basically mirror the information on the drive I was borrowing onto the new one. (Maxtor 160 GB, 7200 ATA-133).
Sarah has parent teacher conferences tonight, so I am coming home to an empty house, some chili and then running off to see a movie most likely Manchurian Candidate.
Then more freelance work when I return, which continues to pour in for the time being which has been a blessing.
I got some compliments today from our new youth pastor on the work I did for the youth page on the church website here in Indy. He is still generating the content for the junior youth section, but the Senior Youth is running, with a healthy dose of CSS which I am using all the time at work now to improve customer’s site loading times and SEO.
Here is that link to St. John Indianapolis, that I hope to put up on Rothecreations.com when I get the time.
25th October 2004
Event : My Sister is Engaged!
My little sister Jessica called yesterday while I was working on my freelance stuff, seemingly to find out what was up. Soon into the conversation she asked if Sarah was around, and I said no and offered that she could call back when Sarah got back from working up at the school. I didn’t think anything of this because usually people like to talk to Sarah cause she’s as sweet as a dimple on a piece of candy on a puppy with a bow.
So when Jessica called later, we barely got into the conversation when she very casually, not crazily but not so subtle we didn’t notice, dropped the news.
It is hard on the phone, even more so in email to see what a reaction is.
I got my jaw caught in my zipper.
Shocked beyond belief, but happy for her. Her fiancee is a smarty, and my parents go on and on about him like he is sliced bread on top of sliced bread, on top of a puppy 
(Redundancy in humor is king.)
So formally, congrats to the both of you. A brain match made in heaven. My sister deserves a nice guy.
All I gotta say on my closing note…
ya better have a keg!
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