Category Archives

General Entertainment

Moving on up…

News by
  • Comments Off on Moving on up…

…to the “Hilltop” of Chestertown, if you will. Kate, Doug and I made a massive push to get everything redundant, unwanted or otherwise unworthy into storage this weekend, marking the official beginning of the 2009 move. I was exhausted by the end of Saturday, but pleasantly surprised by how much the three of us accomplished. Kate watched me run around like a total nutcase on Sunday, as I attempted to find a place for everything that had suddenly materialized. (On this, I think I was successful.)

So, Monday the 15th is the BIG stuff. Owen is going to take off work with us and we’re going to load up a U-Haul and be done with everything. Hopefully before the temperature reaches the customary mid-June 400º. I’m praying that my landlady continues her complete disregard for the fact that I’m moving out/haven’t paid rent for June. If I could save $425 for two weeks, I’d be thrilled.

Wish me luck. Photos to follow, rest assured.

Want: Mercedes E-Class shooting brake concept

Cars, Unexplained, Want by
  • Comments Off on Want: Mercedes E-Class shooting brake concept

You are all well aware that I have always felt that the compact car should also be a sporty & luxurious car. I voted this way with my own dollars, even (see image at right.) I’ve never really understood why Europeans get to have vehicles like the:

And we are stuck with the Yaris, the Fit, the Xb and other such econoboxes. I love that they exist, but they also serve only to make all small cars seem cheap or disposable. While they can be fun, they are definitely not something you WANT to drive.

So I’m glad Mercedes is seriously considering bringing their E-Class shooting brake concept into reality. I highly doubt that the teak accents, glass bar and champagne holder will make it to production, but the elegant body lines, oodles of toys and overall air of Mercedes quality should with no trouble.

Perhaps the public is coming around to my way of thinking? I sure do hope so. If for nothing else than to vindicate the casualties of lardy American misconceptions along the way like the BMW 318ti and the Mercedes C-Class Sportscoupé. May their brave little souls rest in peace.

Mini-review: Terminator Salvation

Movies, Reviews by
  • Comments Off on Mini-review: Terminator Salvation

Terminator Salvation was on tonight’s agenda for Kate, Owen and I. I’m not sure what brought me to the theater for this particular installment in the series. As a kid, I found the Terminator films to be rather trashy and T3 was a god forsaken disaster in a lot of ways. I actually avoided that most recent film until just last summer, when it seemed determined to be on TV while my defenses were down and boredom was up.

But, as with any movie you weren’t planning to see, the trailers got me. And the fact that a decent director was at the helm. With Helena Bonham Carter on the bill to boot.

My impressions after seeing it? Don’t go if you expect a fresh plot. It’s basically Battlestar Galactica circa the first time Boomer loses her shit (so, like Season 1.) The action was what you would expect for the Terminator family: car chases, explosions, molten metal. Helena Bonham Carter is hardly in it, which is disappointing and Christian Bale is shouty again a la Batman.

All that being said, it’s worth $8 to meet Marcus, the Terminator who cries when you shoot him. (It’s endearing, really.) Sam Worthington did a fantastic job of making the most advanced killing machine in the film the most human of all the characters on screen. As a technologist, I desperately wanted his whole consciousness sync with the supercomputer inside SkyNet. And his metal hand. He totally gets hosed at the end of the film, but you’ll have that.

One lasting thought that has followed me home is that the general attitude towards machines has shifted a lot since the 1984 beginning of this franchise. I think the paranoia and fear of the mechanical has given way massively over the intervening 25 years. Frankly, the idea of being half – or entirely – robotic is not terrifying in the least to me and I suspect the same is true for most of the audience. Even the T-whatever or others were not as menacing this time around. I guess a world with Asimo, EveR-2 and Cylons really leaves no room for fear of the artificial being.

In a weird way, I guess we have Terminator to thank.

Watch this: video overload

Music by
  • Comments Off on Watch this: video overload

NewNowNext was completely new tonight. Well, yesterday – I recorded it, of course. So far, I’ve had three fantastic videos and I’m only halfway through. Thought I’d blog now before I start to forget (because who rewinds?)

First up: “We Are Electric” by Fischerspooner

We Are Electric

And next: “In For The Kill” by La Roux

Finally: “Black Balloon” by The Kills

Now, if we count the number of media sites this post required me to visit, we’ll soon realize that everything should be allowed by artists, labels, etc to be posted to – if not one then – all media sites. Thank you.

I need this

Architecture, Art, Cars, Movies, Want by
  • Comments Off on I need this

Cameron’s house from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is for sale. Remember? With the Ferrari that careens out of the garage and into a ravine? That one. This one.

Cameron's House

I want this house bad. It’s gorgeous and still entirely contemporary in its mid-century retrofuturistic style. The furniture is even passable, though with a decór overhaul and few upgrades – namely, some better windows as I’m betting 1953 was not the most eco-friendly of times – this would be one flash tree house. I’d spend most of my time in that garage, of course…

(Thanks, Uncrate.)

Chestertown has found the internet

Internet by
  • Comments Off on Chestertown has found the internet

It seemed inconceivable to me when I arrived here that Chestertown, by and large, wasn’t online. Sure, some restaurants had web pages. Sometimes you could find the dry cleaner’s phone number online. Occasionally the movie times at the glamorous Chester 5 were even correct when you found them. However, there was not really any sort of push for the community to use the web’s resources to make life easier for residents.

Well, with the advent of The Chestertown Spy it seems that the offline-only predilection of the Eastern Shore might finally be giving way, just in time for the second decade of the 21st century. Congratulations, Chestertown. May you even develop comprehensive online classifieds or a Craigslist next!

What the ghost?

General Entertainment, Unexplained by

My family and I put together a new version of the front flower bed. Dug out all of the river rocks, used the backhoe to remove overgrown holly bushes and other shrubberies and then planted a new tree, some ornamental grass and a rose bush. Oh, and dragged down a 1 ton boulder and then a half ton boulder for good measure. You know, the usual for my family.

After taking a few photos of the work done and Bailey perching on the larger of the megalithic decorations, we dumped things onto my mom’s MacBook and viewed the outcome of so much toil. However, we were not prepared for what we saw in the last of the images. Do you see what I’m talking about above?

How about now?

My mom has always been convinced that her father comes to visit from beyond the veil any time she takes on a new project, much as he would when he was alive. I’m inclined to believe her today.