Score

I love Everyday Music.

I stopped in there tonight to see if they had the “A Scanner Darkly” soundtrack. There were no less than four new (at least new to me) Radiohead songs listed in the credits, including on called “Black Swan” that played over the end credits.

Everyday Music had the soundtrack – but none of the Radiohead tracks were on it. Maybe Thom and Jonny are saving the songs for their unreleased album? I don’t know. I was just bummed about them not being easily accessible.

At any rate, I poked around in the bins while I was there. Seeing the trailer for the Leonard Cohen biopic several times now, I checked out what they had on him. One old “Best of” album, new not used. I got it because I’ll start with the “Best of” stuff and then if I like it I’ll run down some of the others.

But the bestbestbest find of the night was a “promotional copy / not for resale” of the Long Winters’ as-yet-unreleased album, “Putting The Days To Bed”. Score!

When I plunked it down on the counter, I said to the cute record-store girl, “I feel so naughty buying this!”

She just looked at it, puzzled, then back at me and shrugged. She didn’t get it. “Nah. It’s OK.”

If flirting is a test, then she failed mine. Oh, well, I’m sure she’s a very nice person.

Pirates don’t read EULAs

Oh, and I forgot to mention that I saw “Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man’s Chest” over the weekend, also.

Was the first one as stuffed full and confusing as this one is? There’s so much going on and it seems so disjointed. But the big set-pieces are very good – I particularly liked the rolling fight on top of the water wheel. And they did a great job on making Bill Nighy look as if he’s just naturally got an octopus head. It didn’t ever look like a special effect to me.

And I think I’d pay money to watch Johnny Depp read a software licensing agreement.

Nitpick time: why is it in pulp movies like this that the monster can take just a few seconds to eat inconsequential characters, but it takes them minutes and minutes longer to eat major characters? The difference has always seemed odd to me. Any AD&D players out there, though, will recognize that the process of eating a higher-level character means reducing their hit points down to zero first… OK, I just geeked out. I’m not saying it’s right I’m just saying that’s the rationalization.

Anyway, “Pirates” is a good summer action movie and just as fun as the original.

What does a scanner see?

Go see “A Scanner Darkly”. When it comes to your town, I mean. ‘Cause it’s not playing in Portland yet. I drove all the way to Seattle this weekend to see it and I’ll bet you’re jealous because you didn’t think to do that. Aren’t you?

It’s the best, most faithful film adaptation of PKD’s work ever. It made me laugh and sad in all the same places the original book did. It’s amazing.

Awakening

Have you ever woken up from a dream, convinced that the dream held the secrets to the universe, that you’d had an epiphianic moment and that sharing that dream with others would lead to amazing, wonderful things?

And then, after you’d been awake, maybe you’d tried to write it down, or tell someone else about it… and as you tell, the dream fades from gold to dull, gray lead. You can’t get down on paper what made it so wonderful. Or as you try to describe it to your friend you and they realize at the same time that the dream was silly, or simple, or worse of all incoherent, and you feel that sinking sensation in your chest that tells you that there are no amazing dream-solutions to everyday problems.

Well, last night I had the most amazing, mind-blowing dream. During the dream I felt as if on the verge of an intellectual and creative breakthrough. Even during the dream I knew that this would make an amazing story, or even the jumping-off point for a story, of phildickian enormity.

I awoke and spent several minutes in bed, going over and over the details, trying not to lose them, but waiting for that moment when I would either lose the feelings of awe, or the details would fade from my mind and become part of the background noise of my life.

And another lovely thing happened. The dream stayed coherent. The idea remained amazing.

It stayed amazing even as I wrote it down on paper (tsk – two years since my last paper journal entry). Now it’s part of my story ideas collection and I can flesh it out.

I know I must seem a horrible tease but I don’t want to post it here on the internet. Sure, all my writings are protected by the Creative Commons license but I still don’t trust it.

Email me and if I like you and trust you I’ll send you the story fragment…

Baby’s at the doctor

Sad news. I had to ship my new sexy thing off to Apple Repair today.

A couple of weeks ago, it started shutting down abruptly when on battery. First time it happened I assumed the battery was low, but then it did it with the battery well over half – might have even been over 75%.

My first thought was that it might be software-related because both times I was actively using a chat program called AdiumX at the moment it shut down. So a weekend or two ago, I backed up, wiped ‘er clean and reinstalled the OS and only those programs I absolutely needed.

But in the last couple of days it’s done it three times. One time yesterday just before I was going to see a new client. Um, oops. I poked around some online forums and they all suggested I send it off to Apple. It’s still under warranty and some thought it might be a problem with the battery that’s supposedly a silent recall.

I made an appointment at the Apple Store Pioneer Place Genius Bar, and today I talked to Brent. He poked around, reset the PMU/PRAM, and while trying to look at the system logs – it shut down on him. Total time at Genius Bar: 4 minutes, tops, and less than 2 minutes after restarting it. I did a happy dance, because, seriously, how often does it happen that the intermittent problem shows up when you’re showing it to the tech?

Brent said it’s the main logic board, not the battery. Me sad. But I knew when I bought this that I was getting a version 1.0 product and it might have some problems. It’s not like I didn’t know that in advance.

So it’s off to repair depot (I think that’s still in Austin but I could be wrong) and I’m without my laptop for a few days. Hopefully there aren’t any parts backorders or anything. Brent said typical times are 5 days (not business days but actual days) but I know they can do it faster if everything’s in alignment.

My apartment seems a colder place without my MBP here.

Literally, colder. The thing ran at 150° F under normal load…

Naggy taggers

Got this from <a href=" http://www.myspace.com/akikosakura
“>Akiko Sakura, a.k.a. Christi Lee. Ugh. Damn taggers.

1. Who are you? – Brian

2. Are we friends? – Yes.

3. When and how did we meet? – Technically, we haven’t met yet. But we talk and chat all the time, ever since you replied to a political blog Caleb and I started prior to the elections in 2004.

4. Do you talk to me a lot? – Almost every day, in one way or another, although there have been times when we’ve gone up to a week without some form of contact.

5. Am I fun to talk to? – Yes, you are smart and funny, even when you’re complaining about your boy troubles…

6. Give me a nickname and explain why you picked it. – For tonight you are Princess Naggy, because you’re nagging me to do this even though I only got up and signed on because I was waking up to let Smacky in and I was plugging my computers back in because the thunderstorm I’d feared earlier hadn’t actually happened.

7. Describe me in one word. – Complicated.

8. What was your first impression? – Honestly? I wasn’t sure you were who you claimed to be. But I’m a suspicious person that way…

9. Do you still think that way about me now? – Oh, no. You’re definitely very very real.

10. What reminds you of me? – Lots of things that we like in common: Radiohead, taking pictures, how fucked up the country is…

11. If you could give me anything what would it be? – More decisiveness.

12. How well do you know me? – Personality-wise, I think I know you pretty well after two years of conversation.

13. Whats one thing that we had and was only ours? – Our short-lived political satire blog. I think it died because the Bush Administration satirizes itself.

14. Ever wanted to tell me something but couldn’t? – May-be.

15. Are you going to put this on your blog and see what I say about you? – Duh. Here it is!

Certified geek

Having spent all day on the bus to and from Tigard (haven’t you heard? Cars are killing us?) I am pleased to report that I passed my second and final test, this one on Operating Systems, which now makes me a proud, officially-certified A+ Technician.

Heh. Which means I’m a certified geek. Yay, me!

Live and learn

In the past 24 hours I’ve learned that my sister really only likes IM (instant messaging) when she’s on another continent.

Two guys talking in a bar

These two guys are talking in a bar located high atop a skyscraper. They’re the only guys in there, except for the bartender.

The first guy is in a business suit and glasses, and it’s clear he’s had a lot to drink. He’s telling the second guy that the winds are so strong up here, that if someone steps off the balcony, they wouldn’t hit the ground. They’d be pushed back up to where they could climb back in.

The second guy obviously doesn’t buy it. “That’s ridiculous! I’ve never heard of such a thing,” the guy says. “Prove it!”

The first guy finishes his drink in one last gulp, wipes his mouth, and appears to screw up his courage. “OK, fine” he says. He walks over to the balcony, and steps up on the ledge. He’s staggering a little, and the wind is at least strong enough to blow back his tie and make him even more wobbly.

He turns around to face the bar, holds out his arms, and falls backward. The second guy didn’t think that he’d do it, and yells out and runs over to the balcony to look.

Just as he gets there, the first guy floats up on his back and, buoyed up by the wind, yells, “Quick, pull me in!” The second guy, completely astonished, grabs onto his arm and pulls him back onto the balcony.

“That’s the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen!”

“Oh, man, it’s great fun! You should try it!”

The second guy thinks a minute. Maybe he has had enough to drink, after all. He steps up on the balcony ledge, takes a look down, and then turns around and falls backward, just as the first guy had done.

However, the second guy falls straight down and lands in the street far far below.

The first guy walks over to the bar, grinning like a fool.

The bartender looks up, disgusted. “You’re a real asshole when you’re drunk, Superman.”

PS: Go see “Superman Returns”!

Website policy update

I’m making official a long-held policy of this website:

Anonymous comments will be either deleted or mocked, whichever is funnier.

Please, people, if you’re going to comment, at least take a second or two to make up a name.