If there was ever a party in need of a positive brand campaign...

...it'd be Satan.



Brilliant.

Foreclosures abound

My buddy Angelos has been blogging about foreclosures and the housing market off and on for a while now, and for kicks I decided to see just how close to home the foreclosure wave is splashing.

Wow.

All I can say is that I'm extremely happy I decided to buy well within my means using a common sense approach. That is, buy a house I can realistically afford, put money down, take out a fixed rate mortgage, and keep payments at an easy monthly amount.

I think I may start touring these neighborhoods just to see what the properties actually look like. Not that I'm in the market for another house, but it can't hurt to look around.

Speed Racer

My buddy Angelos was fortunate enough to score some tickets to the sneak preview of Speed Racer tonight, and invited me and our friend Dave along. His review is spot on. It was an amazing ride of a movie. The color, the visuals, the story, and the acting were all excellent.

This movie exceeded any expectations I had walking in. The Wachowski Brothers did a great job of bringing a surreal comic world to life with vibrant color, fantastic race tracks and scenery, and even with vintage anime scene/camera transitions and 2D layered video. It was a bit odd to watch at first, but before long I was swept up and locked in for the ride.

And what a ride it was! The races, as unbelievable as they were, felt more real than any other movie race I've seen. Sometimes the action was a bit too fast, or too busy, but you never lost the feel for the scene. Granted these races, actors aside, were 100% CGI, but the feel from the big screen was 100% real. I lost my connection with my surroundings and was completely caught up in the movie, which doesn't happen all that often these days.

Between the many amazing and lengthy races were excellent pieces of drama, comedy and action, all keeping the story alive and moving. Susan Sarandon and John Goodman were excellent as Mom and Pops, Roger Allam played the perfect slimy crooked corporate villain, and there were plenty of great moments from all the cast (even Chim-Chim was fun to watch). And as unlikely the fight sequences were (does everyone in retro 1960s' future modern world know karate?), they sure as hell were entertaining.

There was one nagging scene that still bothers me, and that's when Speed and family first visit Royalton Enterprises. Maybe it was just me, but I was having hefty Willy Wonka remake flashbacks, though instead of Oompa Loompas there were thousands of people on Segways. I wouldn't call this a down side, but it was certainly a bit odd.

Speed Racer was an absolute blast. I can't wait to take my kids! There were a few more violent scenes, and a pinch of bad language, but I think my 7-year-old can handle those scenes OK. She's getting better about those things, and a bit of prepping for the first violent scene is really all that's needed. In case you're debating the whole theater vs. DVD decision, allow me to make it for you. DON'T WAIT!!! This is as good a big screen movie as it gets. I only wish I had a local IMAX theater... Now that would be one hell of an adventure! And yes kiddies, it's going to play in IMAX theaters.

Ah yes, and if you're prone to seizures, unfortunately you should pass on this one.

5 stars, and a piercing "WooHoo!!!"

A tasty surprise

After doing a bit of yard work today I thought I'd take a break and enjoy a cold homebrew. I had moved some of my dwindling reserve from the basement up to the fridge, and thought I grabbed one of the pumpkin ales that I brewed last fall. I was wrong. It was a porter that I brewed either back in late 2006 or in January 2007.

I was a bit apprehensive about trying it since it was older, the porter wasn't a terribly strong beer (upper 6% if I remember correctly), and it was in a type of bottle I've since stopped using for bottling due to a fairly consistent loose seal on the cap. But thankfully it was a good bottle!

The porter poured dark and a bit thinner than I remember, with a dark tan head that quickly fell to a shallow milky lacing around the walls of the glass. No visible carbonation trails.

The smell is slightly sour with a subtle mix of coffee, chocolate, and oak. There's also a faint hint of banana.

Carbonation is sharp on the tongue. Mouth feel is a bit thin and watery. Sharp attack of hops, roasted grain, a bit of unidentifiable sourness but nothing intense, and coffee. Lingering taste of coffee and licorice, with a bit of oak and - ah, there's the sourness - young plum.

I'm not sure how much longer this one would have lasted, and I'm glad I came across it. Not quite the thirst quencher I was looking for, but then again neither was the pumpkin I thought it was. I think it's about time I brewed another porter or stout.

I think this might actually be Grammy-worthy

Just follow the link to the most annoying song ever. It's like the world's ugliest dog... So bad you gotta love it!

And I'm serious when I say that I am truly amazed at just how spectacularly annoying this song is. It's a true work of art.

And yes, kiddies... The linked song is an MP3. Perfect for your iPod, perhaps as your morning alarm tone.

Accordions, pipe organs, off-key kids, holiday tunes, rap, opera, opera rapping (yes, you read that correctly), and more...

Best productivity tip I've seen yet

Eric Burke offers excellent email productivity advice.

I'll go one step further:

Start > Shutdown

I think I'm going to be sick

Just what the world needs, a book that explains plastic surgery to kids. And not in the "Mommy was in a very bad car accident and the doctors are going to do what they can to make her look like herself again" way. But in the "Mommy has a poor self image, and you don't need a new bike anyway" kind of way.

OK, maybe that remark was a bit harsh... And then again, maybe not. Just look at the illustrations posted on Newsweek. As you can see, the non-Beautiful Mommy (or maybe I should just say Ugly Mommy) is severely overweight and hideously grotesque. Actually, Ugly Mommy looks perfectly normal to me.

I guess this is as good an approach as any to answering kids' questions about why their parents come home with bandages and bruising and such when they left for the doctor's office looking perfectly fine. I just think it's a very sad indication of what kind of society we've become. It's a giant leap forward in making our children believe that physical mutilation and augmentation is normal if it's in the name of meeting unnaturally attainable societal standards of beauty.