Rent

I've just seen the trailer to the upcoming movie version of the musical "Rent".


Three words...

Kill. Me. Now.

Pet Peeves

I had never heard that phrase before the 7th grade. That particular year in my life, I was obsessed with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. This would be circa 1990. I received nothing but Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles(TMNT) presents for my birthday. Give me a break, I was only 13. Anyway, one of these presents was a book about the story of the TMNT movie that was released that year. It had biographies for the individual turtles, and also listed their "Pet Peeves". I stared at it for a minute, completely stumped, yet after reading the entry, I caught on. A Pet Peeve is something that irks you to no end.

That being said, I would like to share with you my personal pet peeve.

I HATE IT WHEN THINGS DON'T WORK!

I was going to do a load of laundry. Not 2 loads, not 10 loads. ONE LOAD. The laundry room adjacent to my apartment is card based. I have to use my credit card, and a balance of at least $15 is put into the system. Every time I slide my card, the funds are extracted from the $15 balance and is used to power the washers and driers. So here's what happens. I take my ONE LOAD of laundry next door, select a washer, slide my credit card, which happens to have a balance of $1.75 left for laundry, select said washer, and hit "OK". I get a message saying that the washer I've selected is not responding, kindly select another. Every time I do this, the machine resets, and I have to start all over again. So I go through the motion again. Same error message. I end up doing it for every washer in the place... but to no avail. I'm somewhat irked.

I leave in a huff, and consult the map of my apartment complex to find the nearest laundry room. Seeing as how the apt. complex is a good 1,000 units strong, I hop in the car and drive over to the next laundry room. As I carry in my ONE LOAD of laundry, I notice that all the washers and driers are coin operated. Great. I leave a good deal more irked.

I consult my map and drive to the next laundry room. Coin operated. Now I'm cursing (sorry Mom & Dad) and hacking out the wilderness(Smothers Brothers reference) and am fully irked at this point. I drive back to my apartment in a very bad mood, and I throw myself down on the couch to wallow in my own misery.

After I've stewed in anger for an hour or so, I decide to give it one last try. I stomp next door, slide my card, knowing what's coming. Futility. All this unnecessary pain and suffering over ONE LOAD of laundry. Irked to no end.

Sci-Fi Expo

The second annual Sci-Fi Expo in Plano, Texas was held this Saturday and Sunday. I went Saturday, and met the following people: Carrie Fisher(Princess Leia), Kenny Baker(R2D2), Bonnie Piesse(Young Beru Whitesun), and Marc Singer(The Beastmaster movies). Also in attendance were: Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood(Dr. Dave Bowman and Frank Poole of 2001: A Space Odyssey), Kevin Sorbo(Hercules: The Legendary Journeys), Peter Mayhew(Chewbacca), Jonathan Frakes(Commander William Riker of Star Trek: The Next Generation), and several others.

Adam Baldwin(Jayne in the new movie Serenity; also in Independence Day) was there on Sunday, but I was too tired to leave the house, so I didn't meet him. I knew the lines would be spectacular, as the fanboys for Serenity/Firefly are rabid right now, so I guess it's not all that bad. (Espella, I'm lookin' in your direction!)

Here's a link to the photos I took: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kodiak

A Very Sad Day for Aardman

A horrible fire has engulfed the archives of Aardman Animations, completely destroying most of the company’s entire history. Aardman Animations is responsible for such gems as the Wallace and Gromit shorts, Chicken Run, and all those Shell commercials with the talking cars.

I can’t imagine how the artists must feel. Claymation is extremely tedious and taxing, and it takes immeasurable talent and skill to do it effectively. So much time and effort goes in to creating claymation, and yet Aardman does it better than anyone, making it seem effortless and believeable. So horrible that this had to happen. Even creator Nick Park’s original characters from his very first claymation movie were destroyed.

If you haven’t seen the Wallace and Gromit shorts, their new movie, or Chicken Run, you are missing out on perfection. I encourage everyone out there to go out and buy any and every Aardman Animation DVD you can find. Not only will you be helping spread the joy of Aardman, but you will own the absolute best form of claymation art ever created. These endearing shorts will put am immediate smile on your face.

As an artist, I understand all too well what it’s like to pour your heart and soul into your artwork. I know how difficult it is to animate something, be it on the computer, by hand-drawn animation, or with claymation. I sympathize with Nick Park, Steve Box, Peter Lord, and all at Aardman. I am thankful no one was hurt in the incident, and I know that Aardman will continue on, keeping their heads held high, continuing to create some of the most sweet and genuinely funny jewels in the entertainment world.

Thank you, all at Aardman Animations, for your dedication. Thank you for creating the best in Family Entertainment. Don’t let this get you down. The whole world loves all that you do.

BBC News coverage here

3 Tomato Spaghetti

OOOOOOOOOOOOHH!!!!!!!! This is SOOOOO GOOOOOOOOD!!!!!

A couple weeks ago, I was watching "Everyday Food" on KERA, our local PBS station, where one of the cooks prepared a pasta dish called 3 tomato spaghetti.
I decided to give it a try. It would give me a chance to use that nice set of cookware my good friend got me last Christmas.
First, the sauce is prepared using garlic, crushed red pepper, oil from a can of oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes; a can of peeled, whole tomatoes, some chopped sun-dried tomatoes, and finally halved cherry tomatoes are then added. As the sauce simmers, the spaghetti is prepared. After cooking is complete, the pasta is drained, leaving a little water behind, and the spaghetti is returned to the pot. The sauce is then added directly to the pot and tossed. It is then put on a plate and wolfed down by me.

I was in hog heaven! I was amazed at just how GOOD this dish tasted, and even more amazed that I cooked it myself! I, who lives on take-out and ramen noodles! Beauty part is, I've got at least 2 days of leftovers ready to take to work, and it tastes loads better than anything they can come up with at the JCPenney cafeteria.

Here's the link to the webpage.

Give it a try. You WON'T be disappointed!