Here we are in my paisley crib. Whatchoo wanna eat? Ribs?
Well, I got my tax refund, and went on a spree (yeah, paying bills and buying food- OUTRAGEOUS!) I did buy a Microsoft Internet Pro Keyboard to replace my stock HP keyboard which I had spilled beer on and ruined. Sigh. But I got two USB ports in the bargain, and with my Logitech Dual Optical Mouse, I rock. Also, got a mic to start recording WAVs for a Medal of Honor Mod.
Bought a couple DVDs: Jin Roh, Ninja Scroll, and Rurouni Kenshin v. 1. Pretty good stuff, especially Jin Roh and Kenshin, which far exceeded my expectations, even though it's a little silly. Anything about the Meiji Restoration has to be cool. It just has to be. And it is. Kenshin is a great character, but in my opinion suffers from looking too youthful/cute; I understand that's the style of anime that they use (three ages- kids, teenagers, and old people), but I wish that a guy who is supposed to be in his thirties looked like he was at least 20. I like the Japanese voice actor for Kenshin. I think I'll get the rest of the DVDs (but slowly, over a period of years).
I got in touch with one of my old college roommates, a very good friend of mine that I haven's spoken to since before his wedding (one week after my 25th birthday). He seems to be doing quite well; for the time being, he's settled in Alexandria, working in Washington DC, and living happily with his wife and her son. It's a little strange to me, because I really haven't changed much since college (going to law school will do that to you) and it's really hard for me to recall that I am now an adult. But my friends from college have all changed a great deal, and I suspect that I have changed a lot in their eyes.
I wonder if we all need a touchstone to remind us where we came from. So much of what I abandoned in law school came from my college years, and I look back on who I was back then, and I wonder that I have any friends left from that time. The simple graces are still outside my ken, but my basic good manners and good nature are returning to the fore, largely because I have to go to work everyday, and deal with people that I don't necessarily know or like very much, but still have to work with. It's given me a certain perspective on how to get by in life that I lacked.
Well, team, I saw Blade II on Saturday afternoon, and I was pleasantly surprised. Wesley Snipes has recovered some of his great acting range from the days when he was a serious young actor, and funneled it into an intense performance in a high-octane action flick. The plot is exciting but predictable, with double-crosses as the order of the day, but the centerpiece is Blade's relationship with Whistler, who returns quite literally from the dead in this movie. It's not really a buddy picture; more like a father-son picture.
The Oscars: well, I was disappointed and pleased at the same time. This is the first time I've watched the complete telecast (anyone still use that word?) in years, and I was very glad to see Denzel and Halle Berry win their awards. Robert Redford had quite the platform for his little sermon, but it sounded like more of the high-minded tired garbage we get every time he opens his mouth. It's a pity, since he is one of the greatest creative minds in cinema, both as an actor and as a director/producer. But he just can't seem to get past the feel-good swill deep in his soul.
Sidney Poitier bared his soul, and it was a very touching moment. I have to say I was looking forward to that part of the awards most of all, and it was amazing. I still remember the first movie I saw him in (In the Heat of the Night) and how amazing it was; and when I found that this great actor was the director of Stir Crazy (a personal favorite) I could not believe it. I really need to see more of the movies he directed, and more of the ones he starred in. But to my mind, the best actor of the century (together with Paul Newman; I really cannot choose between them).
I was disappointed for the LotR crew, but hopefully they will get their's (preferably with The Two Towers; I'd love to see it work well on screen). Ron Howard did a phenomenal job though. I can't say I was pleased that Akiva Goldsman got an Oscar; I remember some of his terrible dreck from the past (Batman and Robin, anyone?). But it may just be true that everyone has one really good story inside them. Too bad he had to get it from Sylvia Nasar, who got it from the principals themselves.
