I saw the screening at the San Diego Comic Con. This was much, much better than I expected. The trailers I saw didn’t really do justice to the actual tone of the movie. Is it true to the book? Not entirely, but the spirit is there, and overall the parts that were added in fit well.

There is a fairly rapid pace to the movie- some bits feel like they rushed through to keep it moving along, but it’s not the sort of thing where you’d be picking out the flaws while you watch.

Don’t wait for this to come out on DVD. See it in the theater.

2001, the musical. Aural candy, with styles ranging from funk to folk, this has at least one song for everyone. My personal favorite is track 14, an ode to the AE35 unit.

This movie is about what you’d expect from a live action adaption of He-Man, but the audio commentary on the DVD is interesting and well worth listening to. It made me appreciate what they were able to do with the time and budget they were given. That being said, it really bothers me that He-Man has curly hair instead of his traditional Prince Valiant hairdo. I can understand having to replace Orco, but the hair?

At first watch, this movie seemed incredibly bad. Now, upon reflection, I see that there is a certain brilliance to it. Actually, it’s only brilliant because my boyfriend got the Phantasm Sphere box set from amazon.uk, and it’s quite shiny and reflective. However, the sphere includes the lightning-like spikes, so you can chase people around with it while yelling “Boooooy!” in your best Tall Man voice. Oh yeah, it also has the first four movies- so far I’ve only seen this one, but I’m steeling myself for the next three.

Was is a bear or a Russian or what?

At the end of the story, there is a catalogue: An explanation of the obvious which must be read to be appreciated. Section VIII contains “The questions and contradictions and obscurities” of which the above is the first question. There are many questions left unanswered at the end of the story, some of which the author has taken the time to list- but not answer. The catalogue at the end of the story serves to further the quirkyness of the book, and gives you more to think about when you reread it.

This is quite a fun read- essentially it’s about the reactions the inhabitants of a small town have towards a circus that presents them with gods, mythological creatures, and a fortuneteller who tells the truth.

There is a certain amount of racism in the portrayal of some characters, but this is done as a storytelling device rather than actual bias from the author. For example- Dr Lao will switch from talking in a stereotypically “Chinese” accent to flawless and grammatically correct English, depending on the townsperson he is talking to.

This is the sort of book you can read again and again, and notice a new detail every time. Overall, it is a complex and fascinating story.

I tried fried dill pickles for the first time while on vaction in Missouri. The great thing was, they were under a section of the menu called “Vegetarian Delights” along with deep fried mushrooms, olives and zucchini. I’m not a vegetarian, but these deep fried beauties were tasty good and did delight me.

Ferrero (those geniuses behind Nutella) make these foreign chocolate delights. What could be better than a tasty milk chocolate egg with a toy inside? Not much my friend, not much. I don’t eat them very often, because they cost $2 apiece and the market where I get them is often out of stock, but when I do, I thoroughly enjoy every moment, from unwrapping and nibbling at the chocolate shell, to discovering (and hopefully assembling) the toy inside. The only time I am disappointed is when I get a statue, instead of something I can actually put together.

A dingo ate my baby!

All nostalgia aside, this is a powerful story of someone wrongfully accused.

This was the first CD I ever bought. Remember those boxes they used to come in? Yeah, I cut it up and put it on my wall. At the time, I thought it was very cool.

I hate Tom Cruise. Watching him in this movie made me want to poke my eyes out. “It must get better…” I thought while watching. “It’s Kubrick- don’t give up. There will be a payoff at the end.” Wrong! If you want to watch it, take some drugs or lick a frog or something, anything to keep yourself entertained. I’d recommend doing a shot every time Cruise tries too hard to act, but you’d die of alcohol poisoning.