The Ottawa Rabbit Hole

I get tired of blogging about my day to day, so I have decided that rather than give detail about every little thing I do in my life, which bores even me, I will give little updates like this every once in a while to talk about TV shows, DVDs, books, etc that I am currently involved in. I will continue to do posts with the day to day from time to time when something interesting happens. So without further adieu, I'll step up on my soapbox with some stuff you probably don't want to read about...

I am trying to fight my way through the 'Earth 2' DVDs I got from Zip back in January. This show had so much potential and I remembered really liking it back in the early 90's when it was on, but now after production qualities on TV have improved so much I find it painful to watch. It has an interesting premise with people trying to survive after crashing on another planet (very LOSTish), but the execution is just brutal. Even my boy Clancy Brown as a regular and guest appearances by Tim Curry and Terry O'Quinn couldn't make this pile of dog shit worthwhile. Since I like to see things through to the end I will watch the remaining two episodes I have left, not both with the special features and file it away on the shit list never to be watched again.

My other DVD pick at the moment, which I am racing through, is 'Gargoyles' Season 2 (Volume 1). This Disney cartoon was also on in the 90's, but it was one of the best executed animated series ever. It was a kid's show, but it was very mature and I'd be hard pressed to find your average pokemon obsessed child being able to follow something like this these days. The basic plot is a clan of gargoyles from the 10th century awaken in 20th century New York and have to deal with this strange new world. May sound kind of mundane, but the creator (Greg Weisman) did an incredible job of intertwining medival legends with classic literature (characters from various Shakespearean plays feature prominently...most notably Macbeth and Puck). After a 52 episode second season (I'm really hoping the second half makes it to DVD soon), Disney shit canned Weisman and produced a third season for Saturday mornings without him called 'The Goliath Chronicles' which was just a shit sandwich. On a message board he posted about 20 different ideas he had brewing in his head for future stories and various spin off series. Now, almost 10 years later, he has finally managed to start bringing these to life with a new comic book series he is writing himself which picks up where season two ended (he thankfully does not include season three in continuity). I look forward to reading the continuing adventures of these crazy Gargoyles.

Last week I finished reading the 'Da Vinci Code' after less than a week. I can understand why it became so popular. It is a pretty interesting fast paced story that kept me wanting more. At this point I more or less knew all the 'plot twists' which were coming up but I still enjoyed it. I might have liked it more since I have visited a number of the places referenced or visited in the book. Getting the big picture copy from the library helped too since I could actually see the various paintings and whatever he's talking about in the book. It's basically the equivalent of a summer popcorn blockbuster movie, so if you're into that give it a whirl.

I am now knee deep in 'In Cold Blood', just over half way done with one week left before it needs to be returned. I plan to take a big bite out of it this weekend since I have no plans for Sunday and can lobsterize on my balcony and read. It is obviously a better written book than that other one I just read (I don't feel like typing the title again) and is equally as engrosing despite its dark subject matter. I'm glad 'Capote' was such a big hit that this book was brought back to the forefront of pop culture. I think I'll go back and rerent the film after finishing the novel since I'll have a greater undrestanding of it and really enjoyed it the first time. Plus it will let me work on my Truman Capote impression for when I play tennis.

A surprise entry in this round up, is the film 'The Matador'. I had a big evening of watching 'Big Brother' and 'So You Think You Can Dance' lined up when my boy Mullins MSN'd me that he had just watched this film if I wanted to borrow it. He paid $2 for the rental at the Food Sanction so by doubling up the viewings he has practically cut that cost in half! I just have to return it in time, or the $2 late fee will ruin the entire scam. As for the movie itself, I was thoroughly entertained and recommend it to my loyal audience. What can I say, Greg Kinnear and Pierce Brosnan have outdone themselves!!

Posted by WRMB :: 8:51 PM :: 1 comments