So, the weekend?
Jul. 21st, 2008 11:32 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kyburgDidn't login. Not once. I just finished doing BACK=700+, so I'm pretty sure I saw it if you posted it.
While y'all were watching the last part of Avatar, I was at the movies seeing Hellboy II with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
betnoir and western_slope, after a verra tasty dinner at the new location for Jerry's Deli at the Del Amo Mall. Quick and dirty? I'm very pleased - the sequel is better than the original, is absolutely gorgeous in a wow, that's filthy dirty and AWESOME broken kind of way. Danny Elfman STAYS, man. Not only do I not notice it's his stuff when I hear it (John Williams? *eye roll* Lovely stuff, but he's as recognizable as Sousa whenever the stuff plays. Same octave ranges, same pacing, same orchestration...I'm dawdling), but he has a wicked sense of musical humor.
That, by itself, had me in gigglefits. Y'all go see it, tell me I can't spoil you and I'll say more.
Then went home and tried to stay up to watch the TiVo of Avatar. Got halfway...HALFWAY...and gave it up. That tired.
Was very good and waited for Jim to get home Sunday to finish it.
Best wrap up, EVAR.
One of the things that has always impressed me with this series is its attention to physical presence, movement in real space and while there is a lot of defying gravity (ya think), the A & P is Right There, there are different kinds of bodies, heights and musculatures...then choreograph the fights past punch punch kick poof. Gorgeous stuff.
Happy to see the lack of killing - and the attention the whole matter of taking one life to save millions got. (You don't kill anyone. Ever. Disarm them and toss them into a deep, dark hole? SURE!)
Everyone able to be paired up, paired up at the end. Best hug scenes in recent memory - and so many places to hang a 'look at this more closely' - this was some fine, grade A stuff.
I'd love to see what happens next. But - it's not likely we'll see what happens right after, of course. I've heard some chatter that there is a plan to tell the next story of the avatar, after Ang - but that's only smoke and whispers at this point. (Appa, the last of his kind? Say it isn't so!)
But to the drink list, I offer this addition:
AZULA:
Take a classic Bloody Mary and add Dave's Insanity Sauce.
...
I have been battling to keep my Sims2 game running long enough to play it. Problems began creeping in after a forced 'update' of Norton Internet Security changed the core program, making it load automatically at start up, and no option to disable it once loaded. Surprise. (I had to do away with any spyware programs for the same reason.)
I may also check my version of Direct X as well - the problem manifests in graphics issues, which are a known sore point for the laptop (I already turn the shaders off with boolprop on start up, I have a really sucky GEForce GO video card chip that just won't handle the load - the rest of the machine is just peachy for running the game) - but if I move too abruptly, the screen freezes and loses it's tiny little mind.
It sucks having to reboot, reload and replay the same lot three times, lemme tellya. It also takes - well, took - about half an hour to complete that process, and pick up where I left off again.
Disabled Norton last night, and the load takes fifteen minutes. I still have a bit of the graphics issue left, but as I said, I'm going to check the Direct X version as well.
So if I've been a little pre-occupied, there's your cause. I really HATE it when something doesn't work. And I know this game runs and runs well - and this has been an issue since AX, so you can't blame a hack. (BTW, InSIM? Just about flawless as far as additions go, has made dressing Sims MUCH easier in addition to never running out of maternity clothes again. Who knew so many of the everyday meshes were mapped for maternity use? Maxis, you lazy bums. Make it selectable!) Somebody over at MTS2 has added meshes for everything in the base pack, expansions and fun packs on top of it. I've been shooting a ton of pictures - some of the Nightlife stuff is hysterical when used for maternity clothes.
...
Guys, I went food shopping this weekend and about fainted. When apples are $2 a pound, that makes them fifty cents a piece. And nothing else was much less scary.
The cat rescue group I spoke to at Petsmart said that people are even bringing in their goldfish and dumping them in the tanks near the front of the store...someone left two fish that could easily have been ten years old each, they were that huge.
Let's not talk about the nine year old cat left in a taped up box with holes punched in it at the entrance of store, okay? How did they know her age? There was a note left with her.
Do I need to have the talk about the guy from Eagle Rock, back in the day before Clinton, who got arrested from animal cruelty? He was being evicted from his apartment, had two cats and his new place wouldn't allow him to take them with him. He was arrested when, after talking to every animal care and control agency for his area, and every rescue...that nobody would take the cats. He then took them into the back yard, apologized to them, and beheaded them with a machete. Nobody would help him.
I don't question why people are dumping their animals - or condemn them. The ones who had no consciences are DONE, folks. It's people up against the wall with no assistance possible who are tossing dogs over fences, sneaking fish into retail store tanks and leaving cats in cardboard boxes at the entrances.
Fair? There's a fair held in Pomona in August.
Going to get worse before it gets better. Hang onto your seat, Fred.
While y'all were watching the last part of Avatar, I was at the movies seeing Hellboy II with
betnoir and western_slope, after a verra tasty dinner at the new location for Jerry's Deli at the Del Amo Mall. Quick and dirty? I'm very pleased - the sequel is better than the original, is absolutely gorgeous in a wow, that's filthy dirty and AWESOME broken kind of way. Danny Elfman STAYS, man. Not only do I not notice it's his stuff when I hear it (John Williams? *eye roll* Lovely stuff, but he's as recognizable as Sousa whenever the stuff plays. Same octave ranges, same pacing, same orchestration...I'm dawdling), but he has a wicked sense of musical humor.That, by itself, had me in gigglefits. Y'all go see it, tell me I can't spoil you and I'll say more.
Then went home and tried to stay up to watch the TiVo of Avatar. Got halfway...HALFWAY...and gave it up. That tired.
Was very good and waited for Jim to get home Sunday to finish it.
Best wrap up, EVAR.
One of the things that has always impressed me with this series is its attention to physical presence, movement in real space and while there is a lot of defying gravity (ya think), the A & P is Right There, there are different kinds of bodies, heights and musculatures...then choreograph the fights past punch punch kick poof. Gorgeous stuff.
Happy to see the lack of killing - and the attention the whole matter of taking one life to save millions got. (You don't kill anyone. Ever. Disarm them and toss them into a deep, dark hole? SURE!)
Everyone able to be paired up, paired up at the end. Best hug scenes in recent memory - and so many places to hang a 'look at this more closely' - this was some fine, grade A stuff.
I'd love to see what happens next. But - it's not likely we'll see what happens right after, of course. I've heard some chatter that there is a plan to tell the next story of the avatar, after Ang - but that's only smoke and whispers at this point. (Appa, the last of his kind? Say it isn't so!)
But to the drink list, I offer this addition:
AZULA:
Take a classic Bloody Mary and add Dave's Insanity Sauce.
...
I have been battling to keep my Sims2 game running long enough to play it. Problems began creeping in after a forced 'update' of Norton Internet Security changed the core program, making it load automatically at start up, and no option to disable it once loaded. Surprise. (I had to do away with any spyware programs for the same reason.)
I may also check my version of Direct X as well - the problem manifests in graphics issues, which are a known sore point for the laptop (I already turn the shaders off with boolprop on start up, I have a really sucky GEForce GO video card chip that just won't handle the load - the rest of the machine is just peachy for running the game) - but if I move too abruptly, the screen freezes and loses it's tiny little mind.
It sucks having to reboot, reload and replay the same lot three times, lemme tellya. It also takes - well, took - about half an hour to complete that process, and pick up where I left off again.
Disabled Norton last night, and the load takes fifteen minutes. I still have a bit of the graphics issue left, but as I said, I'm going to check the Direct X version as well.
So if I've been a little pre-occupied, there's your cause. I really HATE it when something doesn't work. And I know this game runs and runs well - and this has been an issue since AX, so you can't blame a hack. (BTW, InSIM? Just about flawless as far as additions go, has made dressing Sims MUCH easier in addition to never running out of maternity clothes again. Who knew so many of the everyday meshes were mapped for maternity use? Maxis, you lazy bums. Make it selectable!) Somebody over at MTS2 has added meshes for everything in the base pack, expansions and fun packs on top of it. I've been shooting a ton of pictures - some of the Nightlife stuff is hysterical when used for maternity clothes.
...
Guys, I went food shopping this weekend and about fainted. When apples are $2 a pound, that makes them fifty cents a piece. And nothing else was much less scary.
The cat rescue group I spoke to at Petsmart said that people are even bringing in their goldfish and dumping them in the tanks near the front of the store...someone left two fish that could easily have been ten years old each, they were that huge.
Let's not talk about the nine year old cat left in a taped up box with holes punched in it at the entrance of store, okay? How did they know her age? There was a note left with her.
Do I need to have the talk about the guy from Eagle Rock, back in the day before Clinton, who got arrested from animal cruelty? He was being evicted from his apartment, had two cats and his new place wouldn't allow him to take them with him. He was arrested when, after talking to every animal care and control agency for his area, and every rescue...that nobody would take the cats. He then took them into the back yard, apologized to them, and beheaded them with a machete. Nobody would help him.
I don't question why people are dumping their animals - or condemn them. The ones who had no consciences are DONE, folks. It's people up against the wall with no assistance possible who are tossing dogs over fences, sneaking fish into retail store tanks and leaving cats in cardboard boxes at the entrances.
Fair? There's a fair held in Pomona in August.
Going to get worse before it gets better. Hang onto your seat, Fred.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2008-07-21 08:04 pm (UTC)It was a toss-up as to which it might possibly be.
AVATAR SPOILER IN THIS COMMENT.
Date: 2008-07-21 08:10 pm (UTC)Oh sure we will.
"Where is my mother?"
*stamp* Sequel.
Re: AVATAR SPOILER IN THIS COMMENT.
Date: 2008-07-21 09:54 pm (UTC)Re: AVATAR SPOILER IN THIS COMMENT.
Date: 2008-07-21 09:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-21 09:56 pm (UTC)EVERYONE has sang that song - even if only in the car, alone and unheard - once.
Nobody has done it very well, sadly. *^^*
no subject
Date: 2008-07-21 10:37 pm (UTC)There was money for that negativeAM loan in the Cupertino school district, but now there's nothing for the dog?
The ones without conscience aren't done and won't be. And there's no changing that, I just wish it wasn't so.
I do feel sorry for everyone else and the rescue groups that are going to have to turn them away.
no subject
Date: 2008-07-21 11:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-22 12:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-22 05:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-22 05:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-22 05:45 pm (UTC)I may develop an ear for Danny Elfman at some point - but I don't think it will be soon.
Zimmer's been around as long or longer than Williams, and he doesn't piss me off nearly as much.
*thinks* Jerry Goldsmith...now there's prolific for you.
no subject
Date: 2008-07-22 06:00 pm (UTC)I used to recommend AVG Free, as it's lighter on resources, nimbler, and you don't have to disable it to run games and so on--one should never have to disable important protection on your computer to run other software.
I don't do so as strongly anymore since they wrote a misfeature called Search Shield: this looks at any results page from Google (or several other search engines), then visits every site on that page and inserts stuff into your browser to tell you if it thinks that site is safe or not.
As a desktop user, I don't want my anti-virus program doing that because it slows me down: I can't go off the search page until AVG is done.
As a desktop support person, it passes a lot more traffic over my network, loading up sites that never get visited.
As a systems administrator, not only is there more traffic, but now my web server's logs are filled with all this fake traffic that looks like, but isn't really, genuine human eyeballs. Genuine human eyeballs are what keep me employed, so I'm sensitive on this topic. 8-)
ANYway, this noxious misfeature (and I apologize for the rant) can be turned off. Until recently, turning it off made AVG whine forevermore about how a critical component had been turned off, but that may be fixed soon (if not already).
I still like AVG Free (still less bloated than Norton!), but Search Shield has left an awful taste in my mouth.
-- Lorrie
no subject
Date: 2008-07-22 06:00 pm (UTC)-- Lorrie
no subject
Date: 2008-07-22 10:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-22 10:06 pm (UTC)EA Games also employs something called SecureROM that just bites, chews and blows...and make cohabitation with anything running resident impossible.
*grumble*