I'm going to put all my Harry Potter related thoughts into a different blog post, the one below this, so those trying to avoid spoilers will know to avoid that entry.
Well, it's been 3 weeks it looks like. Wow. I think I could keep putting this off indefinitely, but there's been a lot going on the last few weeks, so at least that should be something to keep the hungry masses yearning for more Eric satisfied.
Well, I'll admit, I've spent a lot time looking at sports. It's been a crazy few weeks. Oklahoma had to vacate all of their wins from 2005, including their Holiday Bowl victory over Oregon. And that was one of the least interesting stories! I'm not really sure if I agree with the NCAA on this one, it appeared that Oklahoma had done everything promptly when they found out about the shady car dealership employment, but I guess they said that due to "lack of institutional control" led to that oversight. Too bad. In the profootball world, training camps have started! Only 1 month left until football is back in our world. Oh the excitement. And of course, in other NFL news, Micheal Vick. Wow. Frankly, if half of the things in that indictment are true, our animal cruelty laws (which he is currently not under indictment for) are not nearly tough enough for what he deserves. Trial starts this November.
Ben was in town last weekend! Things we did: went to the Sox game (White Sox at Red Sox, the Red Sox won 8-5, powered by two 3-run homers, one by Manny and another by Mike Lowell.), went to the White Stripes (excellent concert, they played a lot of old stuff, Elephant or earlier, including the songs I quoted in my wedding vows, which was sweet. Sadly, due to a ticket snafu on my part (How was I suppose to know there were two areas of GA?!? What's up with that?), Ben and I were separated from Steph for the concert, and she wasn't feeling too good. But it was still cool.), and hung around in Boston. And now that I think about it, we didn't get cannolis. So really, that visit was a failure. We take people visiting us very seriously. SATISFACTION GUARANTEED!
Steph wrote a piece of "drabble" fiction (100 words) called "Nemesis", which has been accepted for publication in an online literary magazine, Boston Literary Magazine. More details to come on when you can find her first official publication, but give her a big congratulations!
Well, work has certainly been really busy lately. I've got 3 different things going on right now, and I think I could spend all my time on any one of them and still be busy. It's been a bit of a balancing act, and I'm still working on my planning skills to figure out what needs to get done when. But slowly but surely, progress is being made!
We saw The Simpsons Movie Friday night. I was thinking as we saw it, am I too old? I mean, I just didn't want to see the midnight showing. This is The Simpsons Movie we're talking about. If this had come out in high school, I would have waited in line for hours for the midnight showing. And I knew some people who were going to the midnight showing at some of the various theaters. But honestly, I just wanted to get my usual nights sleep, and I had some stuff that I wanted to finish the next day at work. That's right, I was thinking about work and put it ahead of The Simpsons Movie. I must be too old. At least I saw it opening day... But I can highly recommend it (especially Spiderpig). Think of it as an extra-long good-but-not-great episode from season 9 or so. So that's totally worth it right there.
In other news, I've had several doctors appointments lately. I decided after I got back from TASI that I should get some checkups. My eyes have not been as sharp as they used to, and I've been thinking about moving closer to the front of the room to read the board better. Anyway, I still don't need glasses, but the Optometrist said I'll probably need distance glasses in another 5 years or so. Next up was the dentist. Still no cavities, and still haranguing me for not flossing. In 2 weeks is the full physical. Given my lack of exercise and poor diet, I can't imagine that's going to go well. But if I work out really hard the night before, that will undo years of bodily neglect, right?
Lastly, Final Fantasy XII is moving along slower than I had hoped because of all the other stuff going on, but the sooner I get that done, the sooner Blogging The Simpsons can begin. Steph and I watched the Original Trilogy (theatrical release) over the last month, and then last night decided to watch The Phantom Menace. First off, due to the damn special edition, there were definitely some problems with how I remember certain things. I hope to get that all straightened out in my head. But also, you can really see how certain scenes, like the Cloud City, really got brought to life with a bit of a face lift. I guess I can see what George Lucas wanted to do with the original trilogy, but ultimately, as an artist, you just have to say 'it is done' and move on. Also, Phantom Menace not as terrible as I remember, but there are definitely some weird & bad points. And child actors always suck. We have to remember this. Just because a few here and there don't completely suck, that's the exception, not the rule.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Canto LI
This post is all about Harry, so if you don't want to know anything, I wouldn't read anymore. I'll even give a couple extra spaces to make sure you won't accidentally see something you didn't want.
First up, the movie. I thought it was OK. Not great, I don't really think any of the movies are great, with Azkaban being the best so far. The problem is that the books really do fill up the world that even a well done movie can't compare to. My excitement was mostly for the two scenes where Dumbledore decides to kick ass: when he "escapes" from his office from Minister Fudge and later when he duels Voldemort in the Ministry of Magic. The office escape was highly disappointing. He just grabbed onto Fawkes and burst into flames. It didn't show him taking out a few Aurors (although one was working for the Order) and knocking out Fudge. It could have been so much cooler. And the duel with Voldermort was OK, but it lacked a lot of the extra oomph that comes through in the book. In the book, Harry is basically just tossed about as the two most powerful wizards of this age fight it out. I really didn't get that sense in the movie. But I thought Umbridge was great, and even if some things weren't the same in the book, continuity wise it won't make much of a difference. Again, OK, not great. I'll probably see it again when it plays at the cheap student "theater" this fall at MIT.
On to The Deathly Hallows. Well, it's all over. The book does a really good job of conveying the tense and desperate situation that Harry, Ron and Hermione are in, even if it goes a little long in the we're-on-the-run chapters. I think my biggest problem with this book was Dumbledore. I really felt Harry should have had something major to overcome in this book in order to defeat Voldemort. Instead, there was no Benedict Arnold in Snape. And the "errors" that Dumbledore made with Harry, even Harry agrees with in the end. If he had known very early on that he was going to have to die when facing Voldemort, he might not have been able to do it at the end. Best not to think about it too much. Instead, Dumbledore was completely exonerated for his arrogance and personal flaws. I guess one could say that he died because of this, but ultimately he was right about everything and this led to the downfall of Lord Voldemort. This is what I'm complaining about with the resolution of the book: Harry didn't have to do much but get killed once, chat with Dumbledore, then cast Expelliarmus. It was just putting together all the pieces that Dumbledore had left behind for him. And Snape, who had been the most interesting character from a whats-going-to-happen-to-him standpoint, didn't really have much going on. Again, Dumbledore was completely right about him, and he sacrificed himself for Lily. Wouldn't it have been much more interesting if Snape really had been a Death Eater? Wouldn't that have made a much more interesting side part to the final battle? Instead, he was in love with Lily the whole time, but it was really unclear what his feelings about Harry were. I guess in the end he felt he had to do the right thing for Lily, but why? It turns out that even in his private talks with Dumbledore, he doesn't much like Harry. And 16 years is a long time to hold on to that guilt. It turns out that in the art of Legilimancy, the ordering goes Dumbledore better than Snape better than Voldemort. Really, Snape is better than Voldemort? It's not like this is one of those skills that Voldemort considers beneath him.
Ah, I'm not sure I'm explaining my frustration right, but I did really enjoy the ending. I know she's said she would kill more of the main characters, but ultimately she pulled back a little bit. And I really think that a honest flaw in Dumbledore, such as trusting Snape too much because he believes in his own ability to read people too much, would have made Harry's success all the more satisfying. But Harry in suburbia with Ginny, Ron and Hermione seems so quaint that I can't help but smile a little bit.
First up, the movie. I thought it was OK. Not great, I don't really think any of the movies are great, with Azkaban being the best so far. The problem is that the books really do fill up the world that even a well done movie can't compare to. My excitement was mostly for the two scenes where Dumbledore decides to kick ass: when he "escapes" from his office from Minister Fudge and later when he duels Voldemort in the Ministry of Magic. The office escape was highly disappointing. He just grabbed onto Fawkes and burst into flames. It didn't show him taking out a few Aurors (although one was working for the Order) and knocking out Fudge. It could have been so much cooler. And the duel with Voldermort was OK, but it lacked a lot of the extra oomph that comes through in the book. In the book, Harry is basically just tossed about as the two most powerful wizards of this age fight it out. I really didn't get that sense in the movie. But I thought Umbridge was great, and even if some things weren't the same in the book, continuity wise it won't make much of a difference. Again, OK, not great. I'll probably see it again when it plays at the cheap student "theater" this fall at MIT.
On to The Deathly Hallows. Well, it's all over. The book does a really good job of conveying the tense and desperate situation that Harry, Ron and Hermione are in, even if it goes a little long in the we're-on-the-run chapters. I think my biggest problem with this book was Dumbledore. I really felt Harry should have had something major to overcome in this book in order to defeat Voldemort. Instead, there was no Benedict Arnold in Snape. And the "errors" that Dumbledore made with Harry, even Harry agrees with in the end. If he had known very early on that he was going to have to die when facing Voldemort, he might not have been able to do it at the end. Best not to think about it too much. Instead, Dumbledore was completely exonerated for his arrogance and personal flaws. I guess one could say that he died because of this, but ultimately he was right about everything and this led to the downfall of Lord Voldemort. This is what I'm complaining about with the resolution of the book: Harry didn't have to do much but get killed once, chat with Dumbledore, then cast Expelliarmus. It was just putting together all the pieces that Dumbledore had left behind for him. And Snape, who had been the most interesting character from a whats-going-to-happen-to-him standpoint, didn't really have much going on. Again, Dumbledore was completely right about him, and he sacrificed himself for Lily. Wouldn't it have been much more interesting if Snape really had been a Death Eater? Wouldn't that have made a much more interesting side part to the final battle? Instead, he was in love with Lily the whole time, but it was really unclear what his feelings about Harry were. I guess in the end he felt he had to do the right thing for Lily, but why? It turns out that even in his private talks with Dumbledore, he doesn't much like Harry. And 16 years is a long time to hold on to that guilt. It turns out that in the art of Legilimancy, the ordering goes Dumbledore better than Snape better than Voldemort. Really, Snape is better than Voldemort? It's not like this is one of those skills that Voldemort considers beneath him.
Ah, I'm not sure I'm explaining my frustration right, but I did really enjoy the ending. I know she's said she would kill more of the main characters, but ultimately she pulled back a little bit. And I really think that a honest flaw in Dumbledore, such as trusting Snape too much because he believes in his own ability to read people too much, would have made Harry's success all the more satisfying. But Harry in suburbia with Ginny, Ron and Hermione seems so quaint that I can't help but smile a little bit.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Canto L
So it's been more than a week. I kept telling myself to get around to doing this, but, well, you know... Stuff. But there's now lots of things to talk about! And some of it may even be interesting.
Blogging the Simpsons will start up in about a month or so (maybe to coincide with the release of Season 10), but right now I'm fully back into Final Fantasy XII mode. I'm really looking forward to doing The Simpsons, my plan is just to sit down, watch an episode, then write whatever I feel about it. What will that take? 30-40 minutes a night? I bet I can get through 5+ a week. Let's see here, 10 seasons is about 220 episodes, so thats about 44 weeks worth of material. That's almost a whole year's worth of blogging! You'll just have to keep coming back. I'm really looking forward to some of the more obscure episodes that I don't quote as frequently. Will it be like watching them new (even though, most likely, I will have seen it several times), or just a refresher? We'll find out together! Also, FYI, The Simpsons Movie is coming at the end of the month.
The Fourth was last week. We went out to the Arboretum with Steph's new camera and some friends. It was a lot of fun, and the weather cooperated while we were there in the afternoon. On our way home, however, it started to rain and wasn't looking too good for fireworks weather. So we stayed home and Steph did her homework for the class she's taking at Tufts this summer. And I played Final Fantasy. So no cool fireworks pictures, but maybe next year.
But the real big news was on Thursday, The Retrofits were in town! I went out to see Jake, George, Brud, and Dusty. Also with were Andrew, and their photographer whose name I forget. Actually, they were running late, but managed to squeeze in all of 4 songs. Due to some sort of scheduling snafu, it was Punk Night, so the next 3 bands (and the audience) were of a different flavor of music. While it may not have been their best gig ever, afterwards we had a great time. You know partying like rock stars? I'm not even sure you need to be a rock star to actually party like that, just somewhere in the music business. After parallel parking the passenger van with trailer in the North End (!! - you have no idea how awesome that is, people walking by actually applauded us), did some dinner at Boston Beer Works. Not the greatest place, but the kitchen is open late and they serve beer. Unnamed individuals went off to have sex in the van, but couldn't find it. Others went home with some women who were at the show, despite needing to leave very early in the morning to get to a show in North Carolina (!! - 14 hour car trip for a show at 9:30pm). They took a cab back to my place a 3:30am. We pretty much stayed up all night hanging out back at our place. Steph woke up around 3 or 4, and stayed awake for an hour. They decided just to leave at 5am, so around 4:30 everyone was slowly moving around trying to find everything and go to the bathroom, take showers, use the computer (internet access has been spotty for them), and so on. But they managed to leave around 5am, and even made it to the next show in freaking North Carolina. It was really interesting to see the dynamics of a traveling band at work. Who does what, who's angry at who, who's taking responsibility, etc. I sure hope they make it. If you haven't bought their CD yet, iTunes and Amazon.com both have it.
Anyway, I was in no condition to do physics that friday, but I had a great time. I miss those guys. It's good to cut loose every so often. I don't think I could live like that for more than a couple days (apparently they've been keeping that up for more than 2 weeks, and still had 2 more to go), but I had a great time anyway.
Also, last Thursday, July 5th, was one of the greatest days in the history of science. In 1687, Issac Newton published his Principia. It is considered the birth of modern physics formulated in terms of mathematics. He also started a long tradition of physicists leading the way in math, continued to this day in many areas of topology and geometry by String Theorists.
Not much other news. My parents got back from their European vacation in England and France. Sounds like they've got plenty of stories. Steph and I need to travel more. For the last 3 years, all of our vacation time has gone to visiting Oregon. Which is great, but there are other places to visit in this world. And now back to work...
Blogging the Simpsons will start up in about a month or so (maybe to coincide with the release of Season 10), but right now I'm fully back into Final Fantasy XII mode. I'm really looking forward to doing The Simpsons, my plan is just to sit down, watch an episode, then write whatever I feel about it. What will that take? 30-40 minutes a night? I bet I can get through 5+ a week. Let's see here, 10 seasons is about 220 episodes, so thats about 44 weeks worth of material. That's almost a whole year's worth of blogging! You'll just have to keep coming back. I'm really looking forward to some of the more obscure episodes that I don't quote as frequently. Will it be like watching them new (even though, most likely, I will have seen it several times), or just a refresher? We'll find out together! Also, FYI, The Simpsons Movie is coming at the end of the month.
The Fourth was last week. We went out to the Arboretum with Steph's new camera and some friends. It was a lot of fun, and the weather cooperated while we were there in the afternoon. On our way home, however, it started to rain and wasn't looking too good for fireworks weather. So we stayed home and Steph did her homework for the class she's taking at Tufts this summer. And I played Final Fantasy. So no cool fireworks pictures, but maybe next year.
But the real big news was on Thursday, The Retrofits were in town! I went out to see Jake, George, Brud, and Dusty. Also with were Andrew, and their photographer whose name I forget. Actually, they were running late, but managed to squeeze in all of 4 songs. Due to some sort of scheduling snafu, it was Punk Night, so the next 3 bands (and the audience) were of a different flavor of music. While it may not have been their best gig ever, afterwards we had a great time. You know partying like rock stars? I'm not even sure you need to be a rock star to actually party like that, just somewhere in the music business. After parallel parking the passenger van with trailer in the North End (!! - you have no idea how awesome that is, people walking by actually applauded us), did some dinner at Boston Beer Works. Not the greatest place, but the kitchen is open late and they serve beer. Unnamed individuals went off to have sex in the van, but couldn't find it. Others went home with some women who were at the show, despite needing to leave very early in the morning to get to a show in North Carolina (!! - 14 hour car trip for a show at 9:30pm). They took a cab back to my place a 3:30am. We pretty much stayed up all night hanging out back at our place. Steph woke up around 3 or 4, and stayed awake for an hour. They decided just to leave at 5am, so around 4:30 everyone was slowly moving around trying to find everything and go to the bathroom, take showers, use the computer (internet access has been spotty for them), and so on. But they managed to leave around 5am, and even made it to the next show in freaking North Carolina. It was really interesting to see the dynamics of a traveling band at work. Who does what, who's angry at who, who's taking responsibility, etc. I sure hope they make it. If you haven't bought their CD yet, iTunes and Amazon.com both have it.
Anyway, I was in no condition to do physics that friday, but I had a great time. I miss those guys. It's good to cut loose every so often. I don't think I could live like that for more than a couple days (apparently they've been keeping that up for more than 2 weeks, and still had 2 more to go), but I had a great time anyway.
Also, last Thursday, July 5th, was one of the greatest days in the history of science. In 1687, Issac Newton published his Principia. It is considered the birth of modern physics formulated in terms of mathematics. He also started a long tradition of physicists leading the way in math, continued to this day in many areas of topology and geometry by String Theorists.
Not much other news. My parents got back from their European vacation in England and France. Sounds like they've got plenty of stories. Steph and I need to travel more. For the last 3 years, all of our vacation time has gone to visiting Oregon. Which is great, but there are other places to visit in this world. And now back to work...
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