Month: May 2005
Spamalot
I wonder if anyone in their right mind would click on this link?
I wonder if any Beatles fan would buy anything form this one?
Hmm, I wonder….
POF – POS
Plenty of Fish = a Piece of Shit. Like all online dating sites – it’s great if you are a girl because there are a ton of guys on there. But if you are a guy? Ha… Girls have so many guys to sort through that they don’t really give a damn about trying to talk to someone.
Hitting a new low for the D-Rays
I’m laughing my ass off over something I disovered while talking to my buddy Keith….
I wrote a post over at Boltsmag a few months ago calling the Devil Rays the worst pro sports team around. If you do a search on Google for “Worst professional sports franchise” and click on “I’m feeling lucky” — my post comes up as the result.
I don’t know if I should rejoice or feel shame. The Rays suck… And as a TB resident, I’ve helped let the world know the Rays suck. So much as for civic pride.
Movie Trivia – Round 7
I’ll make this one Reaaaaaaaaaally simple for you folks….
Who wanted Smoochy the Rhino dead?
Fontana MD
So I’m sitting down, watching the opening minutes of House last night on FOX and end up going hysterical over the fact that House drugged his former lovers husband and called the paramedics before he even arrived… It just seemed so funny and prick-ish and just perfect for Greg House (Hugh Laurie, who hath erased the mockery of his abilities that was his role in the Stuart Little movies were).
My older brother walks in on me to see why I am laughing so hard, and once i explained to him his face lit up a bit and he started relating to me how he loves the show… and so do his friends who call him House when they see him….
Mike’s always been weird in one way or another and I started thinking about the comparison between him and Greg House. House is distant, he’s bitingly sarcastic, shrewd, genius, cold… Mike is… Well, Mike is all of those things, except he’ll smile more often than House, he’ll joke more often than House (for the good of humor, not out of sarcastic desire).
Mike IS Greg House.
I’ve known women who’ve wanted to grab the mystery for themselves with Mike. You can’t quite imagine women wanting House but the mystery about him is there…. Helping to drive Dr. Cameron unsuccessfully towards him.
It’s odd, first my brother happens to look like David Duchovney… Now he happens to be like Greg House. What’s next? He starts making as much money as (insert movie star here)?
Tampa Rail — off the deep end
I used to frequent Tampa Rail on the norm to read about someoen lobbying for mass transit in Tampa and in Florida in general….
But as I cited in another blog post a few weeks ago, Dave Pinero – the site owner, has been weak in trying to press his issue during a hellacious time in Tampa where traffic deaths are up and gas prices have skyrocketed.
He really went off the deep end, however, comparing Tampa’s urban planners to Nazis.
With his piece-of-shit “Battle blog” software, it’s impossible to link directly to the article in question where David decides to try sensationalism in an attempt to win supporters for his cause… Adding the Swastika to the rant in order to underline his point.
You don’t help your cause by goign fringe in yoru argument, David. You alienate yoru base and you turn off those you want to bring into your cause. Nazi comparisons? That’s just plain weak on your part, and a reason this blogger no longer supports Tampa Rail’s efforts — because sensationalism isn’t an effort, it’s a distraction to the real issues.
Back to the Theater — Revenge of the Sith
Summer of 2003 was the last time I have seen a movie in the theater — it left me thirsting for more but something happened after that flick in 2003 (the Matrix Reloaded) and lets just say it curbed the remainder of 2003 and a good deal of 2004 due to recovery (go back through this blog and you’ll see first hadn the shit I’ve worried about and gone through).
But this week I’ve been itching — almost yearning — to see the final Lucas serving of his grand fable. His Magnum Opus of Fiction. I’ve been wanting to view first hand, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of The Sith. It was the hype for the Umpteenth time that was driving me to see this event movie… And so many times in the past, I have passed on it because I’m hearing impaired and following a movie in the theater is impossible for me — unless you can follow the story through images.
So – tonight’s only the second official evening of Sith‘s release and around 7 PM I said the hell with it and purchased my first ever movie ticket online. I got a ride to the theater and I experienced something I haven’t seen in more than a decade — opening weekend cinema pandemonium.
I can’t review the movie too well because like I said – it’s tough for me to follow films without knowing the dialogue. So if you’re reading this for a review – stop right now. If you are reading this for spolers or just my take on what I experienced – keep reading.
The feelng arriving at Woodlands 20 in Oldsmar reminded me of a crowded pro-sports event…. Not quite what I experienced at the Stanley Cup Finals but it ranked up there. I showed up — 20 after 7? The film was supposed to start at 7:45 and Movietickets.com suggests you show up 30-45 minutes early to pick up tickets. I was worried I’d miss out and get told the flick was sold out. The front box office had a pretty long line and I’m glad I didn’t have to deal with that….
…Dealing with the Automated Ticket Machine, now that was another story.
When purchasing tickets online all you have to do to get the tix is show up at this machine (just off to the right of the box office) and scan your credit card you used to buy the tix in the first place. I have a pretty-much-new ATM card and freaked out when I scanned it a few times with the machine and all I was getting was error messages. A line behind me was getting impatient and I limped off, worried about what woudl happen next.
Besides the Ticket machine, they can handle online ticket orders at the Guest Services counter. I went in and explained what happened and…. and… Well, shit, I just handed them my card, they scanned it, they handed me my ticket and told me auditorium 11.
I was in!
I’ve been eager to experience this opening night / opening weekend crowd and hype for a while now specifically because watching a movie with someone is a much more captivating experience. The last time I watched a movie for the first time with someone was – once again – back in 2003 with Reloaded. That was the second weekend of release but seeing my brother was just as hyped about this film as I was, it wasn’t that bad.
With Sith, however, it was much different. I got to the theater showing the movie and found it jam packed — still with time before even the opening trailers were set to be shown. I limped up the stairs, trying to find an open seat in the middle of the theater but that was a futile effort. Everything was jammed. I turned around and, with a little anxiety on my mind, tried to find a seat down low.
5 rows from the screen itself, the row was virtually empty. Why do I keep making big deals about these little things? But then again, it was reasons like that – the uncertainty – why I wanted to get to the theater ASAP before I even left, and of course why I couldn’t even try to get concessions before the movie. Not enough time. Besides, those lines were at least 3 people deep and it’s not like my balance coudl handle that shit anyway.
The movie itself opened and even with a maxed-out-CGI dogfight, I was immersed in the picture right away. I thought I was watching a buddy cop flick with some fo the banter going back and forth between Anakin and Obi-Wan from their seperate ships.
They said this movie was dark – and indeed, it’s dark. I thought it could be darker but then again I am just talking visuals here.
The one scene where I took in not only the visuals of the film but the audio as well was at the closing of the movie — where Owen and Beru Lars are given young Luke Skywalker…. The music from the original film came up and I got chills. I got choked up…. And I got sold on Sith in whole.
It’s not the Original trilogy. Nothing will ever come close to that… but it saved the Star Wars legacy by not being overly goofy or overly colorful. It wasn’t trying to show you a grandoise image tied to a flimsy story… it tried to tell you a story, which had been a sorely lacking feature in the previous two prequels.
They could have made another mvoei out of Sith — as Anakin’s turn does come abruptly and you do not see Darth Vader as a menace as much as eye candy. But the movie itself is good enough…. And from what I saw it was a sight better than what I had seen in Episodes I and II.
Movie Trivia – Star Wars edition
Seeing that Revenge of the Sith is out there right now….
Who were some of the actors that were offered the role of Han Solo in the Original Star Wars before Harrison Ford got the role?
Harboring Ideas
I want to know what it would take to run a passenger ferry between Downtown Tampa and some Eastern Pinellas property.
I started thinking about the ferry idea after focusing on the Memorial Causeway Bridge snafu on Tuesday — the fact Clearwater Beach has no ferry service between the mainland and the beach, which only promotes more driving and does not give an alternative when the Bridge goes out (as it has from time to time for a very long time)
I started thinking how Clearwater is not only wasting it’s great asset — the water — but it’s also not providing an alternative to those trying to get to the beach. You either have to cross the bridge by foot or by car. That creates a big problem when the Memorial used to get stuck in place — messing with the traffic pattern of all of downtown. Yes the new bridge wille alleviate that problem, but that’s still not solving the problem of only one means of getting to Clearwater beach.
And then I thought about the traffic pattern to the rest of the Bay area and that we depend on the bridges to get everywhere between counties, and that there is no real great bus systems on either side of the bay (HARTline sucks, PSTA sucks — all with thanks to the Bay area’s suburban layout).
What do you have to do to get Ferry Service in Tampa Bay? Forget just between the mainland and Beach destinations — how about between Pinellas and Downtown Tampa? How many people could actually RELAX on their commute instead of having to get stressed out because of traffic?
Rail is still something I am very keen on but Ferry service should be simple and easy…. Something not too tough to promote, and an asset to the community.
The Religious Right has Taught You Well…
Just remember, Star Wars Buffs, that even though Revenge of the Sith is about to come out, and the Prequel trilogy brought to an end…. The Force is a Tool of Satan! Jesus is the Force!
Brought to you in part by BushCo®. Spreading Tax Cuts and Jesus since 2000!
So much as for worry
As long as I don’t go on some spending binge — I should be fine with regards to money and my as-of-yet-unnamed/unborn dog….
Rays vs. Mariners — May 28th
OUST NAIMOLI!!!!
Brought to you in part by the folks at Oustnaimoli.com
Movie Trivia – Round 5
What Virtual Reality ovie of the 1990’s featured two future Best-Actor Oscar winners?
Two Hundred Down, 450 to go
As insane as it is – thinking long term and short term with it — I put 200 dollars down on a as-of-yet-unborn Whippet puppy from Kerrie Kuper. Not only is that nuts. but I have to come up with another 450 the next two months before I get the dog….
Suffice it to say, it’s going to be a tight couple of months…
Tribeca
I started writing this while sitting outside what used to be 3rd Base Pizza at the Shoppes at Cloverplace. Coming soon, they announce, is Tribeca – stone oven pizzsa. this is coming from the owners of the Blue Heron restaurant.
Why this is news. i don’t know. I have been checking on them regularly as something to do. I’m interested in trying them out – though some will argue that pizza is pizza It’s rare that I find a good non-chain pizza place as sad as that sounds…..
It says Bad Ass Mother….
Just who is mighty enough to carry Jules Winfield’s Bad Ass Motherfucker wallet?!?!
Funny and amusing and a bright spot on my day if I do say so….
July 27th, 2008: It would seem this link is now 404. Quite sad because that was a hilarious concept.
Contiunuing low visibility
It peeves me to look at the situation the United States and the Tampa Bay area are in right now and to see at least two groups that I have been involved with in the past no where in sight to take the opportunity to reach more people with their beliefs.
Lets take the Green Party for instance. The third-party on the left side of the spectrum with it’s conservation, alternative methods, environmentally friendly (on top of other stances on things), etc…. WIth the Democrats weak and everyone smarting from higher gas prices and doomsday scenerios with regards to world resources, the Greens seem missing-in-action. There are no news headlines, and the local party seems oblivious to speaking out on these touchy issues… Or set their sights too far left and stay off the touchy subjects that are dominating the media.
Another issue that coincides the higher fuel costs are mass transit options. Tampa Bay has increasingly bad roads and reports nationally are that our intersections routinely have a grade of D-. In Tampa Bay, there is no push for Mass Transit coming from David Piniero and Tampa Rail much bigger than the one that already exists with his site If anything he seems more oblivious to the broader need for rail and a stronger Mass Transit systme in Tampa Bay (and points his transit talk to Tampa and Tampa alone) and oblivious to trying to preach his cause and the cause of ocal commuters through the blogsphere and mass-media (why not post on Tampa Bay Blogs that talk about transit issues? Why not email the local newspapers with letters and such talking about the merrits of rail?)
Of course, in either case, the ass-backwards politics of America still reign supreme…. But with certain issues that the Left has dibs on, being priorities… Wouldn’t you think that groups such as Mass-Transit advocates and Progressive Envvironmentalists would speak out and try to gain support?
“Err on the side of Life” — The Vegetative State
America — the land of opportunity and the realm of being kept alive by artificial means…
Movie Trivia – Round 4
Everyone is oh-fer the trivia. That or I am just really unpopular 😛
In this movie, Bill Murray gets frustrated that his brother could not remember the S.S. Minnow from Gilligan’s Island. What movie was this?
Bonus – What was his brother’s name?
What good is ranting if no one hears?
Feeling sickly right now – have been for a few days. I think it’s allergies. I HOPE it’s just allergies….
At any rate, I vented about Ferry travel the other day — not just on der Stonegauge but through Bayciti.net’s comments — and suffice it to say I think that he idea is sound. And I expect no one in government to even think about the idea.
….so Im taking the idea to government.
I’ve printed out copies of a letter to the Clearwater City Council and the Mayor just to send out feelers over the idea of Ferry transit between Clearwater and Clearwater Beach. I plan on ammending the letter and then printing out copies and sending it along to HARTLine, PSTA, The Hillsborough and Pinellas MPO’s, and other government officials…. ALl because I’m tired of having ideas and having them sitting in my head or in a blog….
To be continued.