So anyone who knows me pretty well knows that I don't have a very high opinion of retail service agents or "experts" when going to buy electronics or music or movies etc. There are a number of reasons for this. The main reason however is that I used to work retail and I know that the majority of retail agents know nothing about what they are selling even though they are "experts" and I usually know more about what I'm looking for than the person who is trying to "help" me does. Because of this I rarely ask questions and if asked if I would like assistance I politely say "no thank you".
Best Buy is near the top of the list of such stores. The Geek Squad is a joke. I have co-workers who go to Best Buy on their day off to amuse themselves by finding easy questions that the Geek Squad does not know the answer to and repeating the made up answers to us at work the next day. Its not just the Geek Squad though. Its all their sales people. They supposedly have this rigorous training process and tests you have to pass to be able to get your blue shirt and keep up with the product info. I don't understand how that can be true and you can still have employees who think a CD player will play DVDs.
That leads me into my story. My father and I went to Best Buy this afternoon to buy a new DVD player as our old one had finally given up the ghost. Best Buy for what its worth is usually still a great option as far as prices go. I mean they usually live up to their name. So we went and found the aisle with DVD players. There were combos (DVD/VCR), single DVD, and Blu Ray players. And there was one 5 disc DVD changer. This was what we wanted but we were kind of hoping for a little more variety than just one model. About the time we are discussing this a sales expert comes over to offer his assistance. The following conversation is not exact but gives a general depiction of the actual events.
Sales Guy: Can I help you find anything?
Dad: Do you have any other multiple disc DVD players?
Sales Guy: We have some other ones over on this other aisle.
(we walk over to the other aisle)
Sales Guy: Here are some more 5 disc ones like the one you were looking at and some that do even more (there was one that was a 400 disc changer!)
Dad: (interested in two models of 5 disc changers that are similar to what we were already looking at and pretty similar to each other) What's the difference between these two?
Sales Guy: Uh... I don't know. Um... I think they're the same because this one says "with remote" and this one doesn't.
Dad: Well this other one has remote listed as included it just doesn't say it on the sales tag.
Sales Guy: Uh... oh yeah thats why I thought that.
Dad: What does SACD mean?
Sales Guy: Uh... I don't know... um... I don't know... uh... I don't really know...
Me: Um... are these DVD players?
Sales Guy: Yeah they are.
Me: Well they don't say they play DVDs, they only say CDs.
Sales Guy: They are DVD players.
(Conversation continues for a couple minutes with my Dad asking more questions and the sales guy continuing to tell us how much he doesn't know, all the while I'm still pretty skeptical about the DVD players thing but I don't want to embarrass the kid so I figure I'll wait til he leaves and alert my Dad to the fact that said "expert" is selling us a CD player instead of a DVD player. Soon my Dad is sold on one of these however and I decide to act)
Dad: (still trying to figure out the difference between the devices is looking at the back hookups on both with the Sales Guy) Well I think this is the one we want.
Me: Where is the video output?
(on one there is only a left and right RCA audio output and the other has more outputs for use with a surround sound system)
Sales Guy: Um... I don't know.
Me: Yeah these aren't DVD players.
Sales Guy: Oh... I thought they were. Um... is there anything else I can help you with?
Me and Dad in unison: No!
6.24.2008
4.29.2008
IMDb X-Files Discussion Club Weeks 1-10
I have been participating for that past year or so in an online Discussion Club on the X-Files' IMDb discussion board. Each week everyone writes a review about a particular episode and debates the good and bad points. As such I have gained quite a collection of reviews for the episodes and thought I would share them here with those of you who like the X-Files but don't visit the IMDb page. I am quite proud of some of these reviews and other not so much. Here are weeks 1 through 10. More to come.
Week 1: Folie a Deux
This is by far one of my favorites. The episode is about a creepy buglike creature that can change its appearance into a human being by "hiding in the light". A man who works at a call center realizes that this his boss is this bug and the bug is killing the employees and turning them into zombies who also look normal in the light but zombie like in the dark. Somehow this man has learned how to see them for what they are. This episode reminds me of a Goosebumps story. Not a specific one but I can see one being like this. I like the scenes where the manager is calling each employee in to meet with them and the man can see that it is a bug and not a human. It seems very comical yet at the same time terribly creepy to see this bug welcoming his unsuspecting employees into his office. I also love the part where Mulder is taken to the mental hospital for attacking the man in Skinner's office. This is one of those wonderfully comical yet creepy scenes. I use the following dialogue as example:
NURSE: There we go. (closes the bed curtain) Sleep tight. Don’t let the bed bugs bite.
(NURSE turns off light and leaves the room. MULDER starts to relax, then hears insect sounds. Through the curtain he sees the shadow of the insect creature in the window)
MULDER: Nurse. Nurse! Nurse! It’s here! Nurse! It’s here! (NURSE opens the curtain.)
It’s here! It’s at the window!
NURSE: What’s here?
MULDER: (trying to sound calm and rational) There is something … there is something at the window and it’s trying to get in here. Please unstrap me so that I can stop it.
NURSE: We’re three floors up. There’s nothing at the window.
MULDER: Undo my straps so I can check.
NURSE: (turning on light) I can show you …
MULDER: No, don’t! No! Just please …! Please.
NURSE: See? (taps closed window) Nothing’s going to get you.
MULDER: Okay. Just, uh … just untie me anyway please.
(NURSE looking spooky unlocks and opens window.)
MULDER: What are you doing?
NURSE: (sounding spooky) You just need some fresh air.
(As MULDER stares at her, NURSE tightens the straps holding MULDER and closes the curtain again.)
We later find out that the nurse is also one of the bug's zombie slaves. Wonderful episode. 10/10.
Week 2: Triangle
What a great episode! For me this is a very different kind of X-Files episode. It is a lot more Sci-Fi rather than horror and supernatural. There are many great comical moments. I believe that this is the only other episode along with "Bad Blood" that cuts off Mulder saying the SH word.
Basically Mulder is shipwrecked somewhere in the Bermuda Triangle only to be caught onto a boat from 1939 that is being invaded by Nazis. I really enjoy the Nazi Skinner and the 1940's Scully. Very spunky. There's also a lot of kissing in this episode based on X-Files standards. Scully kisses Skinner and Mulder kisses the 1939 Scully. Both are very comically well done. Skinner seems quite flush after Scully's kiss and Mulder gets a punch in the although not with the left hand as he was expecting. I truly love the camera work of the scene with Scully running around FBI headquarters how the camera follows her the whole time. And finally the final scene in the hospital where Mulder tells Scully he loves her and all she can reply is "oh brother". This is a very entertaining episode as far as developing relationships. I give it a 9 out of 10.
Week 3: Small Potatoes
Ah... Not only is Darrin Morgan one of the better episode writer's but he also portrays two of the better MOTWs in the famous Flukeman and Eddie Van Blundht. The teaser for the episode is very well written by Vince Gilligan. Another of those episodes that completely confuses you. A baby is born who's father is from "another planet" and the child has a tail. Not only that but the doctor who delivers the baby laments that there is another baby with a tail. Confused? Well turns out the father of the baby is Luke Skywalker. Yeah that Luke Skywalker. turns out all of the babies all have the same father. And the father is not actually Luke Skywalker but Eddie Van Blundht. But Eddie looks nothing like Luke Skywalker. I'm still confused are you? We find the father Eddie has a tail too and what's more... Eddie can shape shift! Oh so he made himself look like Luke Skywalker and the other women's husbands and they all had his children. Because Eddie can changed his appearance he is able to escape pretty easily and ends up locking Mulder up and returning to D.C. with Scully as Mulder. Right before Scully is about to do the wild thing with Eddie Van Mulder the real Mulder shows up and saves Scully. There is an interesting commentary at the end about Mulder being a loser by choice. There are a number of humorous moments in the episode that make it not only intriguing as to the plot but enjoyable and entertaining to watch. I give this episode an easy 10.
Week 4: Space
ou know this episode gets a bad wrap and not without good reason but I personally don't necessarily hate it as much as some people do. I like the idea of the episode. As a stand-alone it works well enough but my main problem is the stupid mars ghost thing that looks like the Mars Face. Lame. And then the mission control lady. After she flips her car she goes running into the control room with blood all over her face. Holy crap at least go get a wet towel or something. Anyway those are just the main things I don't like but I do like the focus on mission control procedures and the focus on NASA and space and astronauts. Like Mulder I too used to want to be an astronaut and space shows always bring out the kid in me. I give Space a 6 out of 10.
Week 5: Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man
Here it is... another of my favorite episodes of the series. Once again a great Morgan and Wong script and once again as I have mentioned they use an actor that they would later use in Space Above and Beyond, Morgan Weissman. He plays a somewhat insignificant character but there he is. Anyway, I really like this episode because of the depth that it gives to CSMs character. I honestly find myself feeling sorry for him by the end of the episode. This is a great reflection on William Davis' acting talent but also on Morgan and Wong's ability to write when they really want to. Unfortunately they don't always impress this way. I didn't quite understand the part with Lee Harvey Oswald being framed for the assassination attempt however but I probably just need to watch a little closer. I really like how he doesn't want to kill Martin Luther King but has to because of the job and how affected he is emotionally and joins the country in mourning. Finally I love how he is constantly trying to be a writer and gets all kinds of rejection letters and finally his box of chocolates monologue after his final rejection at getting published in a low quality magazine. 10/10.
EDIT: I almost forgot! Yet another strong hint at the fact that Fox Mulder is CSMs son. Why else would he have a picture of Mrs. Mulder and her baby boy?
Week 6: Anasazi
This is the first episode in my favorite 3 part mythology series. The story is quite entertaining and engaging and is everything about the mythology that got me hooked on this show. It starts with a character known as The Thinker who if I remember right his character was based as a tribute to an online fan of the show. The Thinker by pure chance is able to hack into the DoD database and download a DAT tape, a holy grail to any conspiracy theorist. All of the top secret files that Mulder mentions in the Pilot that someone had been blocking his access to. The Thinker hands this tape over to Mulder trusting that he will do what's necessary to make the information public. We start off somewhat confused at Mulder's behavior in this episode as well as another strange moment early on. First there's his reaction and insulting of the Lone Gunmen calling them the 3 Stooges and accusing them of defacing library books, then an old lady down the hall in the same scene shoots her husband for seemingly no reason. Later Mulder flips out when he realizes the files are not English and immediately thinks its a joke, then he hits Skinner in the hall, he mentions he's been having trouble sleeping and is running a fever, then he becomes overly paranoid of Scully. Something is going on. It turns out as Scully later finds out that someone had been injecting his water with LSDish drugs. Scully is really on her game in this episode. With Mulder's psychosis she keeps a cool head and does everything right in order to keep Mulder from getting into trouble even to the point where she shoots him to keep him from killing Krycek with the murder weapon that killed his father. I'm getting ahead of myself. Mulder leaves his apartment while waiting for his informant to go see his father. During this time there is an attempt on Mulder's life which we realize because of how nearly the bullet grazed Scully. Thinking Scully to be Mulder the shooter aimed for the head of Mulder which is above Scully's. Then Bill Mulder is killed in his home by Krycek. The only real sense I can make of these events are that they wanted Fox Mulder dead because of the DAT tape and they wanted Bill Mulder dead because he would have been tempted to come clean to Fox now that he was going to find out the truth anyway from the files. What was in these files that was so worth hiding? Merchandise. Or in other words, human tagging. Including Mulder's sister and including also Scully. Scully takes Mulder to New Mexico to meet Albert Holstein who can show Mulder the proof he needs in a boxcar in a remote quarry on the reservation. While at this car Mulder receives a call from CSM who is able to track the signal and arrives in a helicopter as Mulder is checking out the inside of the car. From here we don't know what happens to Mulder. The army guy says he's not in the car but we didn't see him leave. And then they blow up the car! This is a great cliffhanger. I remember feeling like I definitely needed at least another episode of story to figure out what exactly was happening with that tape. Luckily we get two.
One thing I noticed this time watching that I had never seen before and I'm not sure how. Chris Carter is in this episode. He plays one of the interrogating agents when Scully is being questioned about Mulder's bizarre behavior. I had never noticed this before. Strange. Good trivia to know though. Last thing about the episode that I would like to say is how much I love the scene where Mulder beats the crap out of Krycek screaming about how he killed his father. It actually reminds me a lot of the scene later on in the episode Apocrypha when Scully catches the man Luis Cardinal and starts screaming at him how he shot her sister. Very similar emotions coming from Scully as we se coming from Mulder in this one. Anyway, I really like this episode and give it a 10/10.
Week 7: Jose Chung's "From Outer Space"
Jose Chung's "From Outer Space" is the episode that got me watching the X-Files regularly. I loved how they used humor to tell the story and I loved the comic book cartoony feeling of the alien story with men in black and all. One thing that I really like about this which is also present in the other great episode "Bad Blood" is that you get to watch the episode as a part of someone's side of events which allows for easy comic moments. Like when Mulder yelps when he sees the dead alien body and the sheriff constantly saying blankety bleep for everything. I really like the story with the greys being airforce in costumes and the double twist with the real alien showing up. I mean seriously that is a GREAT idea. I also love the way the story is told with revisiting certain scenes in different ways with different characters. I mean there are literally scenes with the exact same lines but with different characters saying them. The interrogation scene, the hypnosis scene, and others. And the Jose Chung character is wonderfully acted by Charles Nelson Reilly. I give the episode a 10.
Week 8: Shadows
Shadows is a great episode from Season 1. It seems that lately most of the season 1 episodes have kind of gained a soft spot with me as even the ones that I used to hate have become enjoyable for me. I think its the atmosphere that comes with the low budget kind of filming that they had. I like Shadows for a number of reasons. I like the corny acting, it is entertaining. Like the kids that find the bodies in the dumpster. "Hey... I know a great place to crash... up that fire escape." Haha this line is so terribly delivered. I enjoy Mark Snow's music as many of the classic tunes from the series are first used in these episodes and this one included. I like the creepy scenes like the blood in the bath tub and the hitman floating in midair being choked. I guess its not the fact that this is anything really special but that fact that it is a classic that makes me love it. 9 out of 10.
Week 9: Milagro
Milagro. This is an interesting episode. While Scully is the main focus of the episode we get yet another episode where there is a strange creepy guy that Scully gets woo'ed by. I quite enjoy scenes where they have voice-over of what the author is writing to narrate Scully's emotions and thoughts. Very interesting. I also like the actor that plays Padgett. While this episode is a little slower than I am used to I have to say that overall I still enjoyed the story. It only loses 2 points for slowness. Oh one other thing. Is it just me or does every single Scully-falls-for-a-psycho-killer-man episode end with a furnace? Anyway 8 out of 10.
Week 10: Badlaa
Badlaa is not for the very squeamish. The best description I have ever heard for the monster in this episode is "butt-monkey". He is indeed a butt-monkey. The teaser is mediocre unless you realize what actually happened to that poor big guy. Makes me never want to visit India. The idea of the story comes from the idea of a little man with no legs that can travel inside another person by climbing inside them. He also has a sort of spiritual ability where he can appear to others as something or someone else. This is very interesting and it seems that the only ones who are able to see around this are two 12ish year old boys who take it on themselves to hunt this little guy down. I like how the bully in the story and the kid he picked on end up teaming up. While this is quite good in its creepiness and has a good gross-out factor its not really one of my favorite episodes. I give it a 7 out of 10.
Week 1: Folie a Deux
This is by far one of my favorites. The episode is about a creepy buglike creature that can change its appearance into a human being by "hiding in the light". A man who works at a call center realizes that this his boss is this bug and the bug is killing the employees and turning them into zombies who also look normal in the light but zombie like in the dark. Somehow this man has learned how to see them for what they are. This episode reminds me of a Goosebumps story. Not a specific one but I can see one being like this. I like the scenes where the manager is calling each employee in to meet with them and the man can see that it is a bug and not a human. It seems very comical yet at the same time terribly creepy to see this bug welcoming his unsuspecting employees into his office. I also love the part where Mulder is taken to the mental hospital for attacking the man in Skinner's office. This is one of those wonderfully comical yet creepy scenes. I use the following dialogue as example:
NURSE: There we go. (closes the bed curtain) Sleep tight. Don’t let the bed bugs bite.
(NURSE turns off light and leaves the room. MULDER starts to relax, then hears insect sounds. Through the curtain he sees the shadow of the insect creature in the window)
MULDER: Nurse. Nurse! Nurse! It’s here! Nurse! It’s here! (NURSE opens the curtain.)
It’s here! It’s at the window!
NURSE: What’s here?
MULDER: (trying to sound calm and rational) There is something … there is something at the window and it’s trying to get in here. Please unstrap me so that I can stop it.
NURSE: We’re three floors up. There’s nothing at the window.
MULDER: Undo my straps so I can check.
NURSE: (turning on light) I can show you …
MULDER: No, don’t! No! Just please …! Please.
NURSE: See? (taps closed window) Nothing’s going to get you.
MULDER: Okay. Just, uh … just untie me anyway please.
(NURSE looking spooky unlocks and opens window.)
MULDER: What are you doing?
NURSE: (sounding spooky) You just need some fresh air.
(As MULDER stares at her, NURSE tightens the straps holding MULDER and closes the curtain again.)
We later find out that the nurse is also one of the bug's zombie slaves. Wonderful episode. 10/10.
Week 2: Triangle
What a great episode! For me this is a very different kind of X-Files episode. It is a lot more Sci-Fi rather than horror and supernatural. There are many great comical moments. I believe that this is the only other episode along with "Bad Blood" that cuts off Mulder saying the SH word.
Basically Mulder is shipwrecked somewhere in the Bermuda Triangle only to be caught onto a boat from 1939 that is being invaded by Nazis. I really enjoy the Nazi Skinner and the 1940's Scully. Very spunky. There's also a lot of kissing in this episode based on X-Files standards. Scully kisses Skinner and Mulder kisses the 1939 Scully. Both are very comically well done. Skinner seems quite flush after Scully's kiss and Mulder gets a punch in the although not with the left hand as he was expecting. I truly love the camera work of the scene with Scully running around FBI headquarters how the camera follows her the whole time. And finally the final scene in the hospital where Mulder tells Scully he loves her and all she can reply is "oh brother". This is a very entertaining episode as far as developing relationships. I give it a 9 out of 10.
Week 3: Small Potatoes
Ah... Not only is Darrin Morgan one of the better episode writer's but he also portrays two of the better MOTWs in the famous Flukeman and Eddie Van Blundht. The teaser for the episode is very well written by Vince Gilligan. Another of those episodes that completely confuses you. A baby is born who's father is from "another planet" and the child has a tail. Not only that but the doctor who delivers the baby laments that there is another baby with a tail. Confused? Well turns out the father of the baby is Luke Skywalker. Yeah that Luke Skywalker. turns out all of the babies all have the same father. And the father is not actually Luke Skywalker but Eddie Van Blundht. But Eddie looks nothing like Luke Skywalker. I'm still confused are you? We find the father Eddie has a tail too and what's more... Eddie can shape shift! Oh so he made himself look like Luke Skywalker and the other women's husbands and they all had his children. Because Eddie can changed his appearance he is able to escape pretty easily and ends up locking Mulder up and returning to D.C. with Scully as Mulder. Right before Scully is about to do the wild thing with Eddie Van Mulder the real Mulder shows up and saves Scully. There is an interesting commentary at the end about Mulder being a loser by choice. There are a number of humorous moments in the episode that make it not only intriguing as to the plot but enjoyable and entertaining to watch. I give this episode an easy 10.
Week 4: Space
ou know this episode gets a bad wrap and not without good reason but I personally don't necessarily hate it as much as some people do. I like the idea of the episode. As a stand-alone it works well enough but my main problem is the stupid mars ghost thing that looks like the Mars Face. Lame. And then the mission control lady. After she flips her car she goes running into the control room with blood all over her face. Holy crap at least go get a wet towel or something. Anyway those are just the main things I don't like but I do like the focus on mission control procedures and the focus on NASA and space and astronauts. Like Mulder I too used to want to be an astronaut and space shows always bring out the kid in me. I give Space a 6 out of 10.
Week 5: Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man
Here it is... another of my favorite episodes of the series. Once again a great Morgan and Wong script and once again as I have mentioned they use an actor that they would later use in Space Above and Beyond, Morgan Weissman. He plays a somewhat insignificant character but there he is. Anyway, I really like this episode because of the depth that it gives to CSMs character. I honestly find myself feeling sorry for him by the end of the episode. This is a great reflection on William Davis' acting talent but also on Morgan and Wong's ability to write when they really want to. Unfortunately they don't always impress this way. I didn't quite understand the part with Lee Harvey Oswald being framed for the assassination attempt however but I probably just need to watch a little closer. I really like how he doesn't want to kill Martin Luther King but has to because of the job and how affected he is emotionally and joins the country in mourning. Finally I love how he is constantly trying to be a writer and gets all kinds of rejection letters and finally his box of chocolates monologue after his final rejection at getting published in a low quality magazine. 10/10.
EDIT: I almost forgot! Yet another strong hint at the fact that Fox Mulder is CSMs son. Why else would he have a picture of Mrs. Mulder and her baby boy?
Week 6: Anasazi
This is the first episode in my favorite 3 part mythology series. The story is quite entertaining and engaging and is everything about the mythology that got me hooked on this show. It starts with a character known as The Thinker who if I remember right his character was based as a tribute to an online fan of the show. The Thinker by pure chance is able to hack into the DoD database and download a DAT tape, a holy grail to any conspiracy theorist. All of the top secret files that Mulder mentions in the Pilot that someone had been blocking his access to. The Thinker hands this tape over to Mulder trusting that he will do what's necessary to make the information public. We start off somewhat confused at Mulder's behavior in this episode as well as another strange moment early on. First there's his reaction and insulting of the Lone Gunmen calling them the 3 Stooges and accusing them of defacing library books, then an old lady down the hall in the same scene shoots her husband for seemingly no reason. Later Mulder flips out when he realizes the files are not English and immediately thinks its a joke, then he hits Skinner in the hall, he mentions he's been having trouble sleeping and is running a fever, then he becomes overly paranoid of Scully. Something is going on. It turns out as Scully later finds out that someone had been injecting his water with LSDish drugs. Scully is really on her game in this episode. With Mulder's psychosis she keeps a cool head and does everything right in order to keep Mulder from getting into trouble even to the point where she shoots him to keep him from killing Krycek with the murder weapon that killed his father. I'm getting ahead of myself. Mulder leaves his apartment while waiting for his informant to go see his father. During this time there is an attempt on Mulder's life which we realize because of how nearly the bullet grazed Scully. Thinking Scully to be Mulder the shooter aimed for the head of Mulder which is above Scully's. Then Bill Mulder is killed in his home by Krycek. The only real sense I can make of these events are that they wanted Fox Mulder dead because of the DAT tape and they wanted Bill Mulder dead because he would have been tempted to come clean to Fox now that he was going to find out the truth anyway from the files. What was in these files that was so worth hiding? Merchandise. Or in other words, human tagging. Including Mulder's sister and including also Scully. Scully takes Mulder to New Mexico to meet Albert Holstein who can show Mulder the proof he needs in a boxcar in a remote quarry on the reservation. While at this car Mulder receives a call from CSM who is able to track the signal and arrives in a helicopter as Mulder is checking out the inside of the car. From here we don't know what happens to Mulder. The army guy says he's not in the car but we didn't see him leave. And then they blow up the car! This is a great cliffhanger. I remember feeling like I definitely needed at least another episode of story to figure out what exactly was happening with that tape. Luckily we get two.
One thing I noticed this time watching that I had never seen before and I'm not sure how. Chris Carter is in this episode. He plays one of the interrogating agents when Scully is being questioned about Mulder's bizarre behavior. I had never noticed this before. Strange. Good trivia to know though. Last thing about the episode that I would like to say is how much I love the scene where Mulder beats the crap out of Krycek screaming about how he killed his father. It actually reminds me a lot of the scene later on in the episode Apocrypha when Scully catches the man Luis Cardinal and starts screaming at him how he shot her sister. Very similar emotions coming from Scully as we se coming from Mulder in this one. Anyway, I really like this episode and give it a 10/10.
Week 7: Jose Chung's "From Outer Space"
Jose Chung's "From Outer Space" is the episode that got me watching the X-Files regularly. I loved how they used humor to tell the story and I loved the comic book cartoony feeling of the alien story with men in black and all. One thing that I really like about this which is also present in the other great episode "Bad Blood" is that you get to watch the episode as a part of someone's side of events which allows for easy comic moments. Like when Mulder yelps when he sees the dead alien body and the sheriff constantly saying blankety bleep for everything. I really like the story with the greys being airforce in costumes and the double twist with the real alien showing up. I mean seriously that is a GREAT idea. I also love the way the story is told with revisiting certain scenes in different ways with different characters. I mean there are literally scenes with the exact same lines but with different characters saying them. The interrogation scene, the hypnosis scene, and others. And the Jose Chung character is wonderfully acted by Charles Nelson Reilly. I give the episode a 10.
Week 8: Shadows
Shadows is a great episode from Season 1. It seems that lately most of the season 1 episodes have kind of gained a soft spot with me as even the ones that I used to hate have become enjoyable for me. I think its the atmosphere that comes with the low budget kind of filming that they had. I like Shadows for a number of reasons. I like the corny acting, it is entertaining. Like the kids that find the bodies in the dumpster. "Hey... I know a great place to crash... up that fire escape." Haha this line is so terribly delivered. I enjoy Mark Snow's music as many of the classic tunes from the series are first used in these episodes and this one included. I like the creepy scenes like the blood in the bath tub and the hitman floating in midair being choked. I guess its not the fact that this is anything really special but that fact that it is a classic that makes me love it. 9 out of 10.
Week 9: Milagro
Milagro. This is an interesting episode. While Scully is the main focus of the episode we get yet another episode where there is a strange creepy guy that Scully gets woo'ed by. I quite enjoy scenes where they have voice-over of what the author is writing to narrate Scully's emotions and thoughts. Very interesting. I also like the actor that plays Padgett. While this episode is a little slower than I am used to I have to say that overall I still enjoyed the story. It only loses 2 points for slowness. Oh one other thing. Is it just me or does every single Scully-falls-for-a-psycho-killer-man episode end with a furnace? Anyway 8 out of 10.
Week 10: Badlaa
Badlaa is not for the very squeamish. The best description I have ever heard for the monster in this episode is "butt-monkey". He is indeed a butt-monkey. The teaser is mediocre unless you realize what actually happened to that poor big guy. Makes me never want to visit India. The idea of the story comes from the idea of a little man with no legs that can travel inside another person by climbing inside them. He also has a sort of spiritual ability where he can appear to others as something or someone else. This is very interesting and it seems that the only ones who are able to see around this are two 12ish year old boys who take it on themselves to hunt this little guy down. I like how the bully in the story and the kid he picked on end up teaming up. While this is quite good in its creepiness and has a good gross-out factor its not really one of my favorite episodes. I give it a 7 out of 10.
4.23.2008
The wonderful world of stealing my money.
I hate college politics at my university. There are many reasons and examples, but today I am specifically referring to the "textbook buyback" thing they do at the end of every semester. I put that in quotes because it is literally a crap shoot whether you will actually get any money back from your books. I take that back. It isn't a crap shoot. It is more like a rigged carnival game. Let me just tell the story of the three books I tried to sell back today.
Book 1: Technical Writing
This book is available from normal people as one written by a guy or a couple guys (or gals) who wrote a book about how to do technical writing. My university decided that in order to better serve their purposes they needed to customize the book and have it published as a proprietary resource for my class. What does this mean exactly? What customizations were made? They took Chapter 3 and moved it to the end of the book even though its still titled Chapter 3, and they added a useless 12ish page appendix of examples of term projects that have been done in the past for the course. Since it is a proprietary publication now they are allowed to charge whatever they want for it and so they charged twice as much as the original book. I went back today to sell it back and was told they were not accepting that book for buybacks. I asked why and was told "I don't know". Well maybe you wouldn't mind finding out since I literally losing out over a hundred dollars here for a book I'm never going to use again.
Book 2: Stats
So I pull out my equally useless Statistics book next. Let me give a little backstory for this one first. I bought this book a year ago when I took the class the first time and failed. I kept the book because I knew I was going to have to take the class again. What I didn't think about at that time was what if they change the version of the book that they are using. Well when I got to class the first day of this semester and saw all the books that everyone had, they all looked pretty much the same as mine did. I checked all the problems and everything was the same. There was one small difference. I noticed a little yellow seal on the others that wasn't on mine which stated something like "super duper crap website version". I went up to ask my useless professor if there were any major differences between the book I had and the book they had and he stared at me stupidly and said... you guessed it! "I don't know." Do you not read the stupid book that you are forcing us to read? You really can't tell me if there are any major differences between them? I showed him my version and he looked at it as if he had never seen it before in his life. I mean I may as well have been showing him an orange and asking him if it was similar to an apple. You required me to buy this book less than a year ago don't you remember? Do you wash every memory of each semester out of your head when it is over? Sigh... Anyway so after further investigation I found that the ONLY difference between the books is that mine didn't have little star things on some of the problems telling me to go to said super crap website for more info. When I tried to sell this one back I didn't quite expect to have any success seeing as how they have a policy that they don't buy back books that are later than the current version the course is using. And I mean even if you bought the version that they were using THIS semester and NEXT semester they are using a different one then you are screwed. I didn't have success with that one but I did at least think that the lady would say something other than "I've never seen this one before" when I handed it to her seeing as how it has the EXACT SAME COVER AS THE CURRENT VERSION!
Book 3: Biology 100
Another of those wonderful customized books that the college sells to you at an outrageously inflated price since they have a monopoly on availability of the book. This one is interesting because it is more like a giant packet sold to you in shrink wrap and then you have to buy also a three ring binder to put it in. Its not bound at all. My sister took this class last semester and they wouldn't buy her book back then so I just took hers and used it. I decided that I'd go see if I had better luck selling it back than her. So I pull this one out and ask the lady if they are taking it back and she says no. I asked her why and was surprised when she didn't say "I don't know". Instead I was told that they were not buying these back because they are unbound... You SOLD IT TO ME THAT WAY!
Book 4: Calculus (not this semester but a must hear)
Another book that I am now stuck with is a gigantic useless piece of crap Calculus text book. This book is written actually by the head of the math department at the college which is why they use it. I bought this book when I took Calc I and was told at the end of the semester "if you are taking Calc II next semester then you should just keep your book because it uses the second half of the same book". So I kept it thinking I would just sell it back at the end of the next semester. So next semester rolls around and guess what... There's a new version of said crap text book that they now want me to buy. The differences? The new one has just as many mistakes and typos as the old one they are just in different places. Also they decided to change all the page numbers so that instead of the teacher being able to say "turn to page #" he would have to say "turn to the section on [topic]". The book is huge and outrageously expensive and almost 100% useless as a tool of education. We only used the book as a method of getting problems to do but never as a reference on how to do them. The explanations and proofs given in it make absolutely no sense and leave out the important steps that actually show you how and why the thing works. What makes me the most angry about this one is the pinche math department buttlicker knew that he had a new version of his book coming out but didn't tell any of us. Instead they were telling us to keep the old one even though they knew it was going obsolete just so they could make some more money. I still fantasize about smashing the monstrous thing over his fat little head.
When I ran out of books to sell back and had struck out on all three the little lady at the register gave me this pitiful little look like she was actually sorry for me and offered condolences in the form of a funsize Kit-Kat bar that I would have gotten anyway. I am considering going downtown and selling them to the homeless as fuel for their fires and padding for their coats. Too bad its Spring now and not Winter. So the moral of the story is: to avoid frustration over what to do with your textbooks at the end of the semester, may I suggest having a bonfire.
Book 1: Technical Writing
This book is available from normal people as one written by a guy or a couple guys (or gals) who wrote a book about how to do technical writing. My university decided that in order to better serve their purposes they needed to customize the book and have it published as a proprietary resource for my class. What does this mean exactly? What customizations were made? They took Chapter 3 and moved it to the end of the book even though its still titled Chapter 3, and they added a useless 12ish page appendix of examples of term projects that have been done in the past for the course. Since it is a proprietary publication now they are allowed to charge whatever they want for it and so they charged twice as much as the original book. I went back today to sell it back and was told they were not accepting that book for buybacks. I asked why and was told "I don't know". Well maybe you wouldn't mind finding out since I literally losing out over a hundred dollars here for a book I'm never going to use again.
Book 2: Stats
So I pull out my equally useless Statistics book next. Let me give a little backstory for this one first. I bought this book a year ago when I took the class the first time and failed. I kept the book because I knew I was going to have to take the class again. What I didn't think about at that time was what if they change the version of the book that they are using. Well when I got to class the first day of this semester and saw all the books that everyone had, they all looked pretty much the same as mine did. I checked all the problems and everything was the same. There was one small difference. I noticed a little yellow seal on the others that wasn't on mine which stated something like "super duper crap website version". I went up to ask my useless professor if there were any major differences between the book I had and the book they had and he stared at me stupidly and said... you guessed it! "I don't know." Do you not read the stupid book that you are forcing us to read? You really can't tell me if there are any major differences between them? I showed him my version and he looked at it as if he had never seen it before in his life. I mean I may as well have been showing him an orange and asking him if it was similar to an apple. You required me to buy this book less than a year ago don't you remember? Do you wash every memory of each semester out of your head when it is over? Sigh... Anyway so after further investigation I found that the ONLY difference between the books is that mine didn't have little star things on some of the problems telling me to go to said super crap website for more info. When I tried to sell this one back I didn't quite expect to have any success seeing as how they have a policy that they don't buy back books that are later than the current version the course is using. And I mean even if you bought the version that they were using THIS semester and NEXT semester they are using a different one then you are screwed. I didn't have success with that one but I did at least think that the lady would say something other than "I've never seen this one before" when I handed it to her seeing as how it has the EXACT SAME COVER AS THE CURRENT VERSION!
Book 3: Biology 100
Another of those wonderful customized books that the college sells to you at an outrageously inflated price since they have a monopoly on availability of the book. This one is interesting because it is more like a giant packet sold to you in shrink wrap and then you have to buy also a three ring binder to put it in. Its not bound at all. My sister took this class last semester and they wouldn't buy her book back then so I just took hers and used it. I decided that I'd go see if I had better luck selling it back than her. So I pull this one out and ask the lady if they are taking it back and she says no. I asked her why and was surprised when she didn't say "I don't know". Instead I was told that they were not buying these back because they are unbound... You SOLD IT TO ME THAT WAY!
Book 4: Calculus (not this semester but a must hear)
Another book that I am now stuck with is a gigantic useless piece of crap Calculus text book. This book is written actually by the head of the math department at the college which is why they use it. I bought this book when I took Calc I and was told at the end of the semester "if you are taking Calc II next semester then you should just keep your book because it uses the second half of the same book". So I kept it thinking I would just sell it back at the end of the next semester. So next semester rolls around and guess what... There's a new version of said crap text book that they now want me to buy. The differences? The new one has just as many mistakes and typos as the old one they are just in different places. Also they decided to change all the page numbers so that instead of the teacher being able to say "turn to page #" he would have to say "turn to the section on [topic]". The book is huge and outrageously expensive and almost 100% useless as a tool of education. We only used the book as a method of getting problems to do but never as a reference on how to do them. The explanations and proofs given in it make absolutely no sense and leave out the important steps that actually show you how and why the thing works. What makes me the most angry about this one is the pinche math department buttlicker knew that he had a new version of his book coming out but didn't tell any of us. Instead they were telling us to keep the old one even though they knew it was going obsolete just so they could make some more money. I still fantasize about smashing the monstrous thing over his fat little head.
When I ran out of books to sell back and had struck out on all three the little lady at the register gave me this pitiful little look like she was actually sorry for me and offered condolences in the form of a funsize Kit-Kat bar that I would have gotten anyway. I am considering going downtown and selling them to the homeless as fuel for their fires and padding for their coats. Too bad its Spring now and not Winter. So the moral of the story is: to avoid frustration over what to do with your textbooks at the end of the semester, may I suggest having a bonfire.
4.14.2008
Superman vs. Catwoman vs. Donald Duck
You guessed it. Another weird dream. In this one I'm Superman and I'm walking down the street with my girlfriend who doesn't know that I'm Superman but does know that I have "history" with Catwoman. There is a lot of drama there. We have been having a bit of an issue with me getting upset everytime the subject of "The Catwoman Incident" comes up because apparently my girlfriend feels rather insecure and thinks that I would prefer to be with Catwoman and not her. So finally I explain to her that my feelings of regret and reminiscence when that comes up is not because I wish I was with Catwoman but that I wish nothing had ever happened with Catwoman and that things could be fine again with my girlfriend. She seems to think that this is like the sweetest thing I could ever have said and it appears to clear things up between us and I feel pretty smooth. About at this point I end talking to some fat villain guy whose evil superpower is that he has a bluetooth headset surgically installed in his head. I have just beaten him and am consoling him over having lost the fight between us because he is pretty upset and I end up telling him that he needs to fight against The Man who installed him superpower and use it for good instead of evil like it was intended and he accepts this and leaves happy. Oh yeah the reason I realize that he has superpowers in the first place is that he has an "aura" which is kind of like a Patronus charm thingy from the Harry Potter books. His is a bull and I see the bull so I know that he has super powers. So then I see a patronus cat and know that Catwoman is about again. I go to pet the cat at first not realizing its a patronus thing and the cat is really friendly. So it starts like nuzzling against me and I go to leave but it starts grabbing into my hand with its claws. I don't remember how I finally got the stupid thing off but since I hate cats we'll say I smashed its head into the corner of a brick building. So about now the police show up and start investigating a crime scene and I'm like casually talking to them about the case trying to get info but trying not to appear too interested. The person that did it is apparently some other villain I've been after for a while. I think it was Arvin Sloan from the show Alias which doesn't really make sense to me but oh well. So I leave and I go to a house that is full of cartoon characters. I enter and there is a receptionist desk with Donald Duck sitting behind it and I'm supposed to go up and hit him in the face with a pie. So I go up and I throw the pie and I totally miss and it hits over in the corner. So now Donald starts laughing and there's a bunch of canned laughter too like in a TV show and I'm basically in a blooper reel or something. So I take another pie and in shame smash it over my head and go back to try again. The pie is chocolate and I start eating some cuz its good.
4.13.2008
Lost and Zombies
Another strange dream. I haven't had a zombie one yet so I was excited that I had one last night. Unfortunately I don't remember too well exactly what happened but I know that there were zombies and then I transitioned into a Lost dream. As for the zombies, well I'll just have to eat a Snickers and Dr. Pepper before bed again after 10 hours of Diablo and see what happens. But not tonight.
So I was stuck on the island with all the Losties and everyone kept dying. For some reason Ben was one of us and none of us suspected him of killing anyone. We thought that is was the Others and that Ben was OK. All of us except for Locke that is. Locke gathered us all together and started telling us that Ben had personally killed every person on the island up to that point. Boone, Shannon, Kate, Jin, Charlie, and some others. I know that these aren't all really dead on the show but its a dream ok. We were finally convinced that Ben was a bad guy when Locke was able to produce a seashell bracelet that Jin always wore and for some reason Ben's possession of it proved that he had killed everyone. So we decided to kill Ben. Unfortunately Ben got away though. Everyone but me and Locke decided that with Ben gone we were ok to go about things as normal. Locke told us that we needed to prepare for a war with Ben and the Others. They were going to come back to our harbor with a big cement battleship and kill us all. In order to prepare for this for some reason we had to dig dirt out from under the water to make it deeper. For a while I helped Jack and Sawyer swim down to the bottom and grab boulders and swim them back up onto the shore. Then I went over to help Locke. He had found a way to fold up the beach like a fold up chair but as he was folding it up, he started folding people's stuff into it like sunlotion and bags and stuff. I told him to wait so I could grab the stuff and throw it up out of the way so it wouldn't get lost. He became very upset with me for this. We had a huge argument about how it didn't matter if we saved the things or not and I was telling him I knew that but that a few seconds to throw it out of the way wasn't going to cost us anything either and then we wouldn't lost it in case we needed it. Anyway he was unwilling to see my point and I ended up leaving very frustrated and saying stuff like "I respected you". At this point I went from being me to being Desmond. I'm not sure entirely what happens between but I eventually end up on the front line of battle on the beach with a little girl who is doing some kind of performance when the big cement battleship shows up. I tell her to get down but she doesn't. I tell her again and she doesn't. I finally grab her and sheild her with my body. Interestingly this is the second dream I've had recently where I've been shot and it was felt the same in both dreams. It feels like getting hit by air. I expected it in my dream somewhat because the way the gun worked was on a big cement wheel and little holes aroung the circumference. As the wheel turned, each hole that reached the top would shoot its bullet. Kind of like a gatling gun (not sure how you spell gatling). Anyway after being shot a number of times I woke up.
So I was stuck on the island with all the Losties and everyone kept dying. For some reason Ben was one of us and none of us suspected him of killing anyone. We thought that is was the Others and that Ben was OK. All of us except for Locke that is. Locke gathered us all together and started telling us that Ben had personally killed every person on the island up to that point. Boone, Shannon, Kate, Jin, Charlie, and some others. I know that these aren't all really dead on the show but its a dream ok. We were finally convinced that Ben was a bad guy when Locke was able to produce a seashell bracelet that Jin always wore and for some reason Ben's possession of it proved that he had killed everyone. So we decided to kill Ben. Unfortunately Ben got away though. Everyone but me and Locke decided that with Ben gone we were ok to go about things as normal. Locke told us that we needed to prepare for a war with Ben and the Others. They were going to come back to our harbor with a big cement battleship and kill us all. In order to prepare for this for some reason we had to dig dirt out from under the water to make it deeper. For a while I helped Jack and Sawyer swim down to the bottom and grab boulders and swim them back up onto the shore. Then I went over to help Locke. He had found a way to fold up the beach like a fold up chair but as he was folding it up, he started folding people's stuff into it like sunlotion and bags and stuff. I told him to wait so I could grab the stuff and throw it up out of the way so it wouldn't get lost. He became very upset with me for this. We had a huge argument about how it didn't matter if we saved the things or not and I was telling him I knew that but that a few seconds to throw it out of the way wasn't going to cost us anything either and then we wouldn't lost it in case we needed it. Anyway he was unwilling to see my point and I ended up leaving very frustrated and saying stuff like "I respected you". At this point I went from being me to being Desmond. I'm not sure entirely what happens between but I eventually end up on the front line of battle on the beach with a little girl who is doing some kind of performance when the big cement battleship shows up. I tell her to get down but she doesn't. I tell her again and she doesn't. I finally grab her and sheild her with my body. Interestingly this is the second dream I've had recently where I've been shot and it was felt the same in both dreams. It feels like getting hit by air. I expected it in my dream somewhat because the way the gun worked was on a big cement wheel and little holes aroung the circumference. As the wheel turned, each hole that reached the top would shoot its bullet. Kind of like a gatling gun (not sure how you spell gatling). Anyway after being shot a number of times I woke up.
4.12.2008
VERY IMPORTANT!
More pictures! The first one is very interesting indeed. If this in Mulder's basement office? Or are we just happy to see that the poster has survived through it all as well? I'm so excited!
4.08.2008
Tom Morello's solo album is AWESOME!
I randomly found out about this while trying to figure out what the next project would be for the ex-Rage Against the Machine/Audioslave members would be. On Tom's site it said he had come out with a solo album under the pseudonym "The Nightwatchman". So I checked out some of the samples on iTunes and was impressed enough to where I decided to buy the CD the next day. This is nowhere near anything fans of Tom may be used to from his previous two bands however it is a great album nonetheless. I have it classified in my folk/country rock genre because that is just what it is. Acoustic guitar and soulful singing with wonderful lyrics and stories in the songs that are akin to Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash. In fact I was constantly reminded of the latter the entire time I listened to this the first time.
I wouldn't call this genius perhaps. The guitar is pretty simple and the melodies aren't very complex. But frankly the simplicity and energy that went into the making and recording of these songs is what makes it so great. You can tell that Tom had a great time making the album and I had a great time listening to it. Full 5 stars from me.
To read more of my album reviews go to my Rate Your Music profile.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)