As I’ve been looking over things I meant to post about, but for one reason or another never got around to, I thought I’d just hit them all. In fact, I’ll hit most of Gonzogeek’s main topics.
Here we go.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
The first ever feature length animated Star Wars movie came out this summer with a resounding thud. We took the kids to see it and they loved it. I was bored within the first 5 minutes. It was bad enough that we got a voiceover instead of the traditional story crawl to open the movie. Then we were treated to 90 minutes of clunky animation and more tedious storytelling in the usual Lucas manner. How is it possible that this man hasn’t learned to tell a decent story in over 30 years? We got a fey Hutt who sounded like Truman Capote (allegedly at Lucas’ request), a cameo by Mace Windu (Sam needed some more box office dollars to keep pace with Harrison Ford I guess) and a female padwan for Anakin. Overall, it was a slow moving boring excuse for a toy commercial.
Californication
We grabbed the DVDs of the Showtime series through Netflix this summer. The show opened with Hank Moody (David Duchovny) getting a blowjob from a nun. It was a dream sequence, but it sure set the tone for the show. Given Mr. Duchovny’s recent issues, the show has a different look going into season 2, but I’m looking forward to checking it out when it hits DVD. This show is smart, dark and quite funny. The cast is strong and their chemistry is undeniable. Added bonus? The word “broner.” Double bonus? Paula Marshall nude. Check out the DVDs.
“Killing Yourself to Live”
Chuck Klosterman’s autobiographical cross-country journey is a great read. His job is to drive from New York to LA and visit all of the famous rock and roll death sites along the way. He starts at the NYC hotel where Sid Vicious bought the farm and then hits the road in a Ford Taurus (Tauntaun). Along the way Klosterman examines his love life and finds that rock stars aren’t the only things that die. Relationships do too. Full of great pop culture references and self-deprecation. Good read.
The Houston Astros
It’s been a long summer at Minute Maid Park. The Astros, with little to no pitching, have been the NL Central bitches for most of the summer. With a late season surge that is clearly too little too late, the Astros have given me absolutely no indication that they will be any better next year. We need pitching and we need it badly. The one upside? We did get to attend the game where Craig Biggio’s number was retired. That was pretty cool.
Las Vegas
It had been nearly 5 years since our last trip to Sin City. I still love that town. The Bellagio is still a beautiful hotel. The upgrade to a small suite was a nice surprise. Richard Cheese was much fun (more on that to come). I got to take in a Las Vegas 51s (Dodgers AAA team) game and caught a foul ball. Mamma Mia! was really good and made way more sense than the movie. We rented a convertible and drove down the Strip with the top down. And Lewis Black stood right behind me on the terminal train. I’m no Danny Ocean, but I really dig Vegas.
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