Yes I'm quite late. No, it's not likely to get read. But here you go anyway.


Because Flickr Uploadr was having some kind of issue, the photos are NOT in order in the photostream; you must use the Set navigation.

( Wednesy: Preview Night )

( Thursday: EW Women; Burn Notice; Psych )

( Friday: WB; Disney/Pixar+Miyazaki; 9+signing; Flynn's Arcade )

( Saturday: Lost; Solomon Kane; Extract; Zombieland; Iron Man 2; Human Target/Vamp. Diaries; Mythbusters )

( Sunday/Wrapup )

( new plush: meat bun; +better shots of Sargon )

If I'm linking Flickr, yes my Sapporo/Otaru pics have been up for a while now. I've almost finished the report but . . . haven't. "Been distracted" would be a terrible understatement. I'd like to have tomorrow night as a deadline for myself I think. So you can look at them now if you like, but if you wait for the report you get highlight photos and probably slightly better context than the captions.

I got good news today - apparently the CAT scan was more accurate than the MRI, and I will only have to have one adrenal gland removed. So I guess I got a bit of luck after all; lifetime cortisol replacement is not a good outcome. Endo says get the one out, and I'll be "fixed" (risky surgery, hospital stay and recovery aside) - I don't think I've ever had a doctor use that word with me.

Did get to see Watchmen today. I liked it but it didn't change my world (okay, full frontal glowing changed it a bit); I admit to being distracted by the 8 year old (at most) kid next to me. Feet didn't reach halfway to the ground and he had a cold. His father had him cover his eyes during the not-that-explicit sex between consensual adults, but apparently things being hacked off was A-OK. Never mind that any of the context of either went completely over his head; *that's* what makes it bad. I love our culture.

Okay, I went far past exhausted again today, as little as I seem to accomplish, but it's time for bed.

Meh I'm really anxious tonight since I hopefully will hear about my test results tomorrow. :< Anyway figured I should post this so I can at least provide OTHER people with some angst-free distraction; holy backlog, Batman. Been working on this saved file for months. :P

( Simon Pegg's next movie )

( three easy-reading book recommendations )

( two movies with amazing visuals )

( film festival movies )

( four terribly cool animated shorts )

I started out thinking it was easier to embed them and then there were a lot but now I can't find the original links. There are a few I think people in Chicago might like to see ._. But I have no real delusions about not going to this stuff alone if I manage to get there at all, which is why I haven't posted scheduling. Maybe people with broad media interests will find something to track down . . .

So, these are the movies I'm thinking about/trying to get to . . . I admit I have, likely, cheap taste when it comes to film festivals, but I just enjoy the camp, fantasy, and sci-fi stuff better. I've learned well to avoid things with words like "unflinching" and "gritty" in the description, because I generally find them depressing, boring, and/or irritating.
( trailer links )

I knew it was coming - there's a reasonably reliable rumor that Johnny Depp has been cast as the Mad Hatter in Tim Burton's upcoming "Alice in Wonderland 3D". There is also confirmation that the film will be live-action until Alice goes down the rabbit hole (heaven save us from motion-capture - and this is from the one remaining Hollywood proponent of stop-motion!). Please excuse me while I bang my head against a wall for a while. Would it be possible to make yet *more* completely predictable choices? (Wait, Helena Bonham-Carter hasn't been confirmed as the Queen of Hearts.) Rich creative territory which has already been blazed through by gifted minds (*cough*Lewis Carroll*cough*) deserves better than the expected.

It would be unfair to criticize casting without offering an alternative possibility. How about . . . Jack Black and Mike Myers as the Mad Hatter and March Hare? Before you shoot me down, I know both actors are capable of something other than hyperactivity - and that's what good casting should do. You don't find someone who's obvious for the part; you find someone with the capacity to do it, and the director's job is to bring that out. (Downey Jr. as Iron Man, anyone?) If I had to cast Johnny Depp in it, I'd tell him to hold out until the sequel (like there won't be one) and cast him as the Jabberwocky. :P

Yes I have more important things to be doing >_> I cleaned and vacuumed the beheebus out of my bedroom and sewing room and I'm trying to get through photos and work on my reports as well (SDCC and Japan, erk).

So I went to Iron Man tonight, 8PM screening. My brain is *totally* fried, I kind of want to go to bed actually (and I had a Coke at the movie, what?!), so I don't have anything real coherent to say. I wore my Iron Man shirt from SDCC because I am that nerd. I actually forgot that the front glowed in the dark until I went in . . . anyway. I really enjoyed it, I think it was everything I liked about the early trailer I saw, very high on the action scale but in a realistic way (okay as realistic as you can get with a guy in a flying robotic suit), good sense of humor but tempered again with that feeling of reality. It was definitely boy-fantasy stuff in a lot of ways, but it was well-grounded; light years more so than most of the superhero movies. The audience was into it as well. There weren't all that many people there, I was a bit disappointed by that (but it is the burbs); it looked like maybe the midnight show would be more lively. And for once I wasn't bothered by ILM's effects - I think because I was distracted by a lot of physical stuff from Phil Tippett's studio (<3) and because my problem is usually that things look too "slick". Apparently that means they can really rock some metal suits. If you go (which I do recommend), stay through the credits.

Wow. I'm totally going to have to go to bed. Oh well, I have gloves to make tomorrow, I'd be stupid to try them now. I don't suppose anyone here has done any dyeing in a high efficiency/front-loading washing machine?

Lately I've been trying to corral my thoughts but . . . it seems like it's going to take a cattle prod and I'm not convinced that will work . . .

|+| Got an email from Ticketmaster today that I've been issued a refund for Clash Against Commercialism (except $5.15 or something for processing). I'm really sad about that.

|+| Sent in registration for the SDCC masquerade several days ago. I haven't heard anything back yet.

|+| Saw Run Fatboy Run today (new Simon Pegg movie). I don't agree with the criticisms I've heard so far. I really enjoyed it and thought it was well done and funny. It was not a "nonstop comedy", it's ultimately somewhat serious . . . but though I know Simon Pegg was only partially involved in the script, I would point out that he has a leaning towards films that feature his character as a good-for-nothing but ultimately good hearted person who overcomes the destructive force of cynicism (in himself and in a cynical world). IMHO. :P Personally I think the reviewers were too bitter to have any sort of resonance with that kind of message. (I mean, think about Shaun of the Dead, even! I sort of hate to make a claim that movie is deep, ironically it cheapens it, but the zombies are a metaphor for apathy, man @_@) I have not had a chance to find out what actually happened with the delay on Run Fatboy Run - the film opened in the UK and Canada in September 2007, and I can't imagine they didn't do something to it for the US release in the gap. I suppose it's possible it was just a release timing thing but it's odd that they advertised the date and then changed it.

|+| Got my new scanner a few days ago, my first time having anything other than a Canon. I got an Epson Perfection V200. It's higher-rez than my previous one, the colors came out a bit undersaturated but otherwise it seems to scan great (grabbed the handiest test, which happened to be my Marvel Dark Crystal comic lol). It performed very well on a scan of an internal page too. The comic isn't super thick and the spine was partially broken (not by me) - but there is virtually no gray at the edge and no loss of focus at the curve. It's not bus-powered and Canon's software has more features, which is annoying (no rotate!), but otherwise I'm happy with it.

|+| So tired . . . trying not to be lazy, trying to work really hard on things and get stuff done and I'm not sure how that's going. But I guess it's going which is better than nothing. And I'm writing again, so even a little progress on the novel is, again, better than nothing. I probably won't spam here because I doubt anyone has the time to read that sort of thing. I do wish I'd stop having manga ideas that I know I can't do anything with.

|+| Small, silly things have been bugging me lately. ^^; I am working to remind myself that there's nothing to be accomplished by letting them bother me and I should take them with more grace.

. . . impale your apathy with a tetherball pole!

From last night when I had a headache lol. I don't usually do memes, not because I have a problem with them but I just don't and I always forget when I get tagged . . . >_o;

Wait this is not a meme.
( Movie newsbits: Akira, Gilliam, and WTF Hasbro )

Wasn't going to post this one but I got a few amusing ones. Most recently from madlovescience.
( ipod meme )

This one is from everyone and their twin. And their twin's momma. I had fun doing/looking at other people's so I figured I'd try . . .
( movie quotes meme )

GYAH I have other things to do also but I need to go back to moving furniture right now. Here's to remembering what I need to do when I'm done with that. x.x (Books are heavy, dude.)

(Subject would be "reasons I love Pinky and the Brain, item #unknown.)

Insightful observations, item #1: "Indeed we believe that human beings have progressed further in the study of sticklebacks than sticklebacks have."
Insightful observiations, item #2 (actual): "To create is to engage in undertakings the outcome of which cannot be known or defined or predicted, though there may be some presentiment of the outcome." (Both quotes from: "On steering clear of creativity", T.J. Diffey, Journal of Visual Art Practice.)

|+| ghostfaceposta, you are not alone on the "DDR for better health (even though we're five years too late)" wagon. Though I discovered today that it's unwise to not change into your exercise pants first - bondage pants are poorly suited for . . . well, movement. Possibly this should have been obvious.

|+| Saw Cloverfield today. I enjoyed it and would recommend it to others.
( cut but does NOT contain spoilers )

|+| Random pics of the h. naoto fukubukuro stuff cause it arrived a few days ago and they were requested.
( h. naoto 2008 lucky pack )

|+| Trust me. You WANT to watch this. The Muppets - Danny Boy

|+| I tried to go see Enchanted again today, but the stupid Fandango site was wrong about the times. :P So we saw I Am Legend instead. It wasn't bad, Will Smith and the dog were good (lol), and Salli Richardson from Eureka had a small part (as Smith's wife, which must have been quite a deal for her) . . . but it had some pretty bad plot holes and a serious third act problem (as in, the third act should have been the second). It's not really about mutated humans, it's about God and Bob Marley (not necessarily in that order). o_O And I of course caught a billboard in Times Square for a Batman/Superman crossover movie - apparently it was a sight gag, not a subliminal ad. They also think there will be a Teen Titans movie, lol.

|+| At least some of my stuff for Ohayocon has arrived - prosthetics from Aradani Studios. They look good quality but I'm waiting on my better adhesive to arrive to try them out I think; ironically I saw a pair several Ohayocons ago on a girl, that was the first time I'd heard of the company (they looked awesome on her).

|+| Why do movie theater Cherry Cokes seem to get me more @.o_@.X_O than regular ones? Maybe I'll luck out and it will make me hyper-productive instead of just crashing hard. Meanwhile, I will take my hyper elsewhere and stop bugging you. :X

(I just love that LJ error message.) First off thanks to the folks who wished me a happy birthday. Big hugs and whatnot and I won't use the "heart" symbol because it always shows up as a line and I wonder why people are all "I | you". I used to also have trouble with thinking <3 was "less than three".

|+| You are getting this before the doll journal, photopoem "even the stars have fallen". Beware, contains dollies and/or boy love o.o; (whichever traumatizes you more). FYI, the LA Dolpa report (with bad photos of my booth) and sales post (if you wanted to see some of the items) are public posts.

|+| I did make it through the bad weather to the sneak of The Golden Compass. It was very true to the book, overall (as these things go), and I enjoyed it a lot. You don't have to have read the book(s) to see it; and definitely don't write it off as a children's film. It's very different than other "kid's fantasy book" movies you will see; if nothing else, it has an LotR level body count. Anyway, it was well crafted and I won't say anything more for fear of spoilers. If anyone wants to discuss it, though . . .

|+| Sci-Fi has actually put all of Tin Man online, if you don't get the network. It's pretty well worth your time. Alan Cumming hardcore FTW, if nothing else. The ending was kind of . . . abrupt. o_O; (This is really not a spoiler.) "Group hug! :D Roll credits." I did just find out why Neal McDonough (Cain) was so dang familiar - he was the lead in White Dwarf! <3 I have to get that off my homemade VHS in the next week, I don't care what else I have to do, it's been put off long enough. I wonder if I'd get sued if I uploaded it to YouTube. Maybe I should write Sci-Fi a letter and suggest they air it, it's made already . . .

|+| Great news for everyone (I hope?) - in the third stage of a collaboration between Yahoo! Japan and eBay, American bidders will be able to use their eBay accounts to bid on Yahoo! Japan. (Of course, I would take a wild stab that the majority of the auctions will still NOT ship internationally. I think this is mostly about JP users buying on eBay.)

|+| I must needs now go back to decorating the Christmas tree. It seems kind of unfestive to do it alone but my parents went off to a party and I'm not sure I should leave ornament boxes everywhere.

|+| ( Thoughts are gnawing on my brain like hungry little zombies.  )

|+| Um yeah so I went to see The Girl Who Leapt Through Time this past Sunday.
( cut for your convenience )
The movie is screening again on Saturday, I forgot the time, but for those of you in the city I recommend going!

|+| Your Random Linkage for today: "Wiimo"; and Chicago Tribune article on cosplay, since my dad sent me an email about it even though we live in the same house XD;

|+| Um so . . . does anyone want to do anything for Halloween, or what? :|

|+| Went to see Harry Potter. I would totally have gone to the 3:00AM show just to see who else went, but I have no transport . . . anyway my parents wanted to go. My father hasn't seen *any* of the other movies, I'm not sure why he wanted to come. o_O; He said it was making him think of Star Wars so much he "couldn't stand it". O_o; (OMGWTFBBQRIBS? Voldemort is Harry's real father? lol.) Anyway, I liked it. Except they didn't turn the stupid theatre lights off until 15 minutes in (after we complained twice), and then they cut off the credits after showing nothing but the director's name! >_< When stuff like that happens, ALWAYS complain - we got free passes out of it. :P It annoyed me because I always watch the credits the whole way through.

|+| Related but somewhat separately, ever since I saw the first Harry Potter movie I've been having a sort of involuntary cosplay tick wanting to dress up as Snape. x_X; I dunno what my deal is but that outfit is just hot (major kudos to the costume designer). Everybody loves Alan Rickman. Some days my hair totally does that, also, too bad it's not black . . .(?) But I'm not really hardcore, I'm one of those people who hasn't gotten around to reading the books. (OMG, I can't get around to reading children's books?)

|+| I should go be productive while I'm still feeling the Cherry Coke form the movies. More later.

|+| I'm not sure how many more days I can do basically nothing but Orlouge until I'm too tired to do it without making mistakes. lol. x_x Especially having had a number of pieces that had to be remade, some multiple times, and the unending cycle of sanding on the stupid horns. I haven't even had time to take progress photos for cosplaysaga. Never give up, never surrender . . .?

|+| Ratatouille was definitely Pixar's best to date imho, on all fronts. (Okay, actually, I still LOVE some of their shorts, so I mean feature-wise.) I insisted we go to the digital screening; if you have a chance to see it, you should; and try to see it in digital. I still stand behind my minor frustration with Pixar's features all being fundamentally buddy films, no matter how much fire I come under for that . . . but I also acknowledge that it's not unreasonable to dream about seeing what the raw digital power and creativity at Pixar could bring out if they were completely unrestrained by formula. (I also think they need more women in the upper ranks but you could say that about the entire film industry.)

|+| The Sci-Fi Channel still has not announced the decision on The Dresden Files. If we still haven't heard by SDCC, I'm making up some kind of Dresden t-shirt and possibly a sign. :P I'm worn out of shows I like getting axed, especially before they even get a chance to go anywhere.

|+| Are these bullet points annoying? I dunno. I'm a compulsive organizer. >_o I'm obsessed with putting my sewing supplies in various-sized ziplocs and labeling them.