Some movies I recently saw that weren't so bad... (Punkadyne Labs (Punkwalrus))

I have recently seen a couple of films that were considered "awful" or did poorly in the theaters. But unlike "Hitman," these films had some good points if you didn't take them seriously.

Beerfest
Plot: Family of beermakers finds out their illegitimate ancestry when a relative dies. Somehow, this involves an underground fighting style beer drinking contest between nations and a stolen beer recipe.
My son watched this film and said it was teh fun-ay. I was dubious, but he was right. There were some very funny moments, and the film never took itself seriously. An example is a main character dies, and then it's found that he has a rich twin brother who looks and sounds exactly like him, but slightly cooler, and insists on being called the same name as the dead guy... and then continues in his dead brother's place like nothing ever happened.

Ghost Rider
Plot: Stunt cycler inadvertently makes a deal with the devil, and is forced to be his bounty hunter at night in the presence of evil. This makes him suicidal, he gets involved with an old flame, and rival of the devil wants to kill him. Hilarity ensues.
Fans hated this film, and it did poorly in the box office. I heard it didn't match the comic book series, which I never read, so nuts to the fanboys, I say. I wasn't expecting much, but I was pleasantly surprised. The plot was simple, the characters rather flat, but the film stayed focus on the story pretty much and the flow was even. The ending left a lot to be desired because it felt like writers were fighting with one another, but all in all, it was a cute little film. It was made better by the badass-ness of Mr. Flamey Skullyhead and his Chain-O-Fire. VROOOM! Props on the plump goth chick's account of being saved by him. Posted in: beer fest , ghost rider , movies , reviews

The Sound of Silence (AsphaltBuffet) by Ben

I came back from lunch today (TGI Fridays has some tasty stuff) and found a box from ThinkGeek on my chair. YAY!!!! My new headphones arrived and were waiting for me. As a bit of background I’ve been switching between my Sony MDR-J10 Orange Headphones and my Aiwa HP-CN6 Noise canceling Headphones. Both of them had problems though.

The Sony headphones didn’t block any of the annoying noises around the office and my hardware at my desk can be annoying after a few hours when it’s on and running. However the Aiwas were uncomfortable after about 30minutes to an hour of wearing them. There wasn’t much padding in the over-ear portions and they felt very heavy and pressed in on my ears. They also hissed when it was just the NC turned on. Bleh. Just not good stuff. So I ordered some Philips deluxe noise canceling headphones that are padded well and are an over-ear model.

I put them on and they just feel so nice. Turning on the NC alone just cuts out sounds. No hiss, nothing else, just no sound. It’s wonderful. Sound is great with music but that leads to my only gripe about them. When you turn on the NC switch, the audio-in channel is also amplified and the sound is a bit painful. It wasn’t horrible but I need to remember that in the future. An incoming IM was a bit too much before I had a chance to turn down the system sound. I am really appreciating the improvement and I’ll be looking forward to my music at work much more now.

Posted in: electronica , reviews

Fox strikes again: what would have been a drive review (renagadeotv (renagadeotv)) by tomveatch@gmail.com

I've been slacking off, I've been wanting to make a post about a new show I'm following called Drive and how awesome it was. It's from Tim Minear, one of the guys that made Firefly, and it even has Nathan Fillion playing in it who was in Firefly. It's a show about a bunch of random people who have been dragged into a secret road race across the US. It sounds pretty cheesy, but I've was hooked from first episode and was actually excited to watch it. It's really great, but Fox is canceling it after only three episodes. What is it with this network? They destroyed 24, it was great, but they are stretching it out and milking it so far it's sickening. They didn't even learn anything after what they did to Firefly (didn't promote it, aired it out of order, pissed off viewers, etc.) but they didn't. This really pisses me off, they've been hyping up this show for months now, and then they turn around and do this. Posted in: reviews

Fox strikes again: what would have been a drive review (renagadeotv (renagadeotv)) by me@renegadeotv.com

I've been slacking off, I've been wanting to make a post about a new show I'm following called Drive and how awesome it was. It's from Tim Minear, one of the guys that made Firefly, and it even has Nathan Fillion playing in it who was in Firefly. It's a show about a bunch of random people who have been dragged into a secret road race across the US. It sounds pretty cheesy, but I've was hooked from first episode and was actually excited to watch it. It's really great, but Fox is canceling it after only three episodes. What is it with this network? They destroyed 24, it was great, but they are stretching it out and milking it so far it's sickening. They didn't even learn anything after what they did to Firefly (didn't promote it, aired it out of order, pissed off viewers, etc.) but they didn't. This really pisses me off, they've been hyping up this show for months now, and then they turn around and do this. Posted in: reviews

laptop wrist and keyboard covers (renagadeotv (renagadeotv)) by tomveatch@gmail.com

Using a laptop as my full time computer, I've had to get used to making sure I take care of it. When they were released there was a big scare of Macbook cases discoloring, so I was afraid mine would. Because it's white it doesn't hide wear or dirt well. I've seen pictures of laptops with pitted wrist rests from wear and sweat, and it doesn't look nice. A friend who had the same issue with his laptops recommended Marware wrist guards, so I purchased one.

It was a little weird out of the box, it was folded up and wrinkly but once it was applied it smoothed out. I'm really happy with it, I've had it on for a few months, and I don't worry about the wrist area getting dirty or worn. The sticker is now a little worn out, but it's better than the case itself being worn. It also came with a screen wipe/keyboard cover.

I also purchased a iskin keyboard cover. It's like a plastic film that fits over the keys, and keeps stuff from falling through the keys and into the laptop. I've had to clean out keyboards before, and I don't want stuff like that getting into my laptop, which I can't take apart easily. It does a good job of keeping out dust, pet hair, and dirt from getting inside. My only issue with it is that I wish it had a adhesive along the edge to keep it down and stuck on the laptop. Even after using it for a while it sticks up along the edges. Posted in: reviews

laptop wrist and keyboard covers (renagadeotv (renagadeotv)) by me@renegadeotv.com

Using a laptop as my full time computer, I've had to get used to making sure I take care of it. When they were released there was a big scare of Macbook cases discoloring, so I was afraid mine would. Because it's white it doesn't hide wear or dirt well. I've seen pictures of laptops with pitted wrist rests from wear and sweat, and it doesn't look nice. A friend who had the same issue with his laptops recommended Marware wrist guards, so I purchased one.

It was a little weird out of the box, it was folded up and wrinkly but once it was applied it smoothed out. I'm really happy with it, I've had it on for a few months, and I don't worry about the wrist area getting dirty or worn. The sticker is now a little worn out, but it's better than the case itself being worn. It also came with a screen wipe/keyboard cover.

I also purchased a iskin keyboard cover. It's like a plastic film that fits over the keys, and keeps stuff from falling through the keys and into the laptop. I've had to clean out keyboards before, and I don't want stuff like that getting into my laptop, which I can't take apart easily. It does a good job of keeping out dust, pet hair, and dirt from getting inside. My only issue with it is that I wish it had a adhesive along the edge to keep it down and stuck on the laptop. Even after using it for a while it sticks up along the edges. Posted in: reviews

Tom Bihn medium Cafe bag (renagadeotv (renagadeotv)) by tomveatch@gmail.com

I found Tom Bihn bags from a forum post about laptop bags. Besides being highly recommended, what made me interested in their products was that they were very high quality, they weren't over the top looking, and they didn't just specialize in laptop bags. They also are good at making sure their laptop bags and sleeves fit popular models right, and offer good protection. I ended up purchasing a medium cafe bag.

I've had my cafe bag for about a year. I didn't need a laptop bag, but I needed something to get to school with as well as around town. After getting a cell phone and an iPod, I realized how much I hate having stuff in my pockets. At any given time when I'm out I'll have my wallet, phone, work id badge, and car key. Just having those things in my pockets bothers me, and I'm not in high school, so super multi-pocket pants aren't acceptable for me anymore. I rarely bring my iPod or Nintendo DS anywhere, because it's just to much of a pain to carry on top of the other stuff. For school I needed to carry a textbook, some pens, whatever handouts I would have been given, a notepad, etc. I'm in community college, and I only have one or two classes a day, so didn't need to have every book with me. What I did was take the book I needed, then leave the other in the car that I didn't need.

The cafe bag's are shoulder bags meant to carry a few things, and not be complicated. They are pretty simple, but still very high quality. My bag still looks brand new after a year. It has a big open main compartment, that is covered by a flap that buckles in. Inside the main compartment are pockets for a phone, pda, and pens. There's loops to attach keys or organizer pouches. There's a zippered pocket on the side that the flap clips on, and a open stash pocket on the other side. They have many cool color combinations, and they have three sizes. Unfortunately I was fearful of ending up with a purse at the time, so I got a plain black/steel combo. To meet my carry requirements I got the medium version. It fits quite a bit, and carried what I needed it to do for school.

For more than one class, and for a big textbook or a bunch of papers your going to need a bigger bag, but for taking the minimum needed for class it worked great. I recommend it to anyone who needs a shoulder bag. Pictures and words don't really describe how well put together the bag is made. The only thing about the bag that I don't like is the back open pocket, because I'm paranoid of open pockets, and I don't really use it, so it's just open there. I wish it at least had a button to keep it shut and out of the way. It also collects animal hair, but just about everything does and it's no fault of the bag. People tend to bring up the price of the bag in reviews. They are high quality bags, made in the US, and they have an awesome support staff. The bags are worth every penny to me. Especially considering how long their products will probably last, and the amount of use they get.

I ended up having to go to the doctor frequently last year, and something I found was since I wasn't in school, I didn't need the textbooks, and my minimum amount of stuff to carry had a tendency to flop around since the bag was mostly empty. I plan to eventually get a new cafe bag in the small size, in a nice color for the situations where I just need to carry my minimum load of stuff. I'm not worried about looking like I have a purse that much, I'm too tired of my pockets being on the verge of exploding. I also have a Imago bag from them, but that's another post. I'll be purchasing more of their products in the future to be sure, so expect more coverage in the future. I've had a photo set of my cafe bag for some time, be sure to check it out. You can also read on for a sample of some of the images.


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Posted in: reviews

Tom Bihn medium Cafe bag (renagadeotv (renagadeotv)) by me@renegadeotv.com

I found Tom Bihn bags from a forum post about laptop bags. Besides being highly recommended, what made me interested in their products was that they were very high quality, they weren't over the top looking, and they didn't just specialize in laptop bags. They also are good at making sure their laptop bags and sleeves fit popular models right, and offer good protection. I ended up purchasing a medium cafe bag.

I've had my cafe bag for about a year. I didn't need a laptop bag, but I needed something to get to school with as well as around town. After getting a cell phone and an iPod, I realized how much I hate having stuff in my pockets. At any given time when I'm out I'll have my wallet, phone, work id badge, and car key. Just having those things in my pockets bothers me, and I'm not in high school, so super multi-pocket pants aren't acceptable for me anymore. I rarely bring my iPod or Nintendo DS anywhere, because it's just to much of a pain to carry on top of the other stuff. For school I needed to carry a textbook, some pens, whatever handouts I would have been given, a notepad, etc. I'm in community college, and I only have one or two classes a day, so didn't need to have every book with me. What I did was take the book I needed, then leave the other in the car that I didn't need.

The cafe bag's are shoulder bags meant to carry a few things, and not be complicated. They are pretty simple, but still very high quality. My bag still looks brand new after a year. It has a big open main compartment, that is covered by a flap that buckles in. Inside the main compartment are pockets for a phone, pda, and pens. There's loops to attach keys or organizer pouches. There's a zippered pocket on the side that the flap clips on, and a open stash pocket on the other side. They have many cool color combinations, and they have three sizes. Unfortunately I was fearful of ending up with a purse at the time, so I got a plain black/steel combo. To meet my carry requirements I got the medium version. It fits quite a bit, and carried what I needed it to do for school.

For more than one class, and for a big textbook or a bunch of papers your going to need a bigger bag, but for taking the minimum needed for class it worked great. I recommend it to anyone who needs a shoulder bag. Pictures and words don't really describe how well put together the bag is made. The only thing about the bag that I don't like is the back open pocket, because I'm paranoid of open pockets, and I don't really use it, so it's just open there. I wish it at least had a button to keep it shut and out of the way. It also collects animal hair, but just about everything does and it's no fault of the bag. People tend to bring up the price of the bag in reviews. They are high quality bags, made in the US, and they have an awesome support staff. The bags are worth every penny to me. Especially considering how long their products will probably last, and the amount of use they get.

I ended up having to go to the doctor frequently last year, and something I found was since I wasn't in school, I didn't need the textbooks, and my minimum amount of stuff to carry had a tendency to flop around since the bag was mostly empty. I plan to eventually get a new cafe bag in the small size, in a nice color for the situations where I just need to carry my minimum load of stuff. I'm not worried about looking like I have a purse that much, I'm too tired of my pockets being on the verge of exploding. I also have a Imago bag from them, but that's another post. I'll be purchasing more of their products in the future to be sure, so expect more coverage in the future. I've had a photo set of my cafe bag for some time, be sure to check it out. You can also read on for a sample of some of the images.


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Nokia E50 - thoughts after six months (renagadeotv (renagadeotv)) by tomveatch@gmail.com

Six months ago I broke my cell phone. It was a Motorola RAZR; my first cell phone. I got it when the RAZR was the phone to have, when they were really expensive. I got the RAZR due to it's size, it had Bluetooth, and it could sync properly with a mac. I was pretty careful with it, until I wasn't and I broke it. Instead of landing on a pile of clothes were I placed threw it, it sailed right between the clothes and into the wall, breaking the clip that holds the battery cover on.

Immediately I started searching for a new phone. I decided against getting another Motorola and looking for a Nokia phone since I had heard they were better phones. I wanted a Quad band, Nokia smartphone, that wasn't too expensive, and that wasn't too big, and didn't have on of those clunky keyboards. I ended up buying an unlocked Nokia E50 smartphone from ImportGSM. I was really happy with the service from ImportGSM, they were recommended to me from a friend. I purchased their lifetime warranty, which will repair or replace the phone for anything except theft or loss for the life of the phone. They will also send a loaner phone out to use while mine is being fixed (This policy has changed, as of January 2007, the extended warranty only lasts for three years instead of for life if you purchased a phone after January).

Now that I've been using my E50 for a while I'm really impressed with it. It blows my old RAZR away completely. It's a candybar phone, which I thought I wouldn't like, but I prefer it to my old flip phone. It's about the same thickness, and a little bit longer than the razr. It gets better reception and the call quality is better. It's a business smartphone, the only things it doesn't have that other expensive phones have is the full keyboard, wifi support, and a high quality camera. It's a 1MP Cameraphone, which is better than my old one, but not as good as a real camera. Since it doesn't have all those features that I didn't need it was cheaper. I really like the control system on it, it's really easy to do what I need it to.

There are only a few things that I don't like. The on screen alerts that pop up when you get a new message or voicemail will pop up over the screen, regardless of what your doing, and if your navigating the controls on the phone they will overlap what your doing. Even though people can make software for the phone, there isn't a wide selection of them that are good, and they are hard to find. The other issue isn't so much with the phone but with Cingular, the phone gets better coverage than the RAZR that I had, but it's still not super good quality, which I believe is the network's fault. I don't think Cingular gets good coverage in my area.

Those problems aside, I really like the phone, and would recommend it to others. People are pretty uptight about spending money on phones, but considering how much you use a phone, and how long it has to last, they aren't something to cheap out on. When I start to use some of the more advanced features on it, I'll be sure to talk about it on the site. I haven't got around to buying a headphone kit or memory chip to use it as a music player. I also need to get a good quality car kit and headset. Posted in: reviews

Nokia E50 - thoughts after six months (renagadeotv (renagadeotv)) by me@renegadeotv.com

Six months ago I broke my cell phone. It was a Motorola RAZR; my first cell phone. I got it when the RAZR was the phone to have, when they were really expensive. I got the RAZR due to it's size, it had Bluetooth, and it could sync properly with a mac. I was pretty careful with it, until I wasn't and I broke it. Instead of landing on a pile of clothes were I placed threw it, it sailed right between the clothes and into the wall, breaking the clip that holds the battery cover on.

Immediately I started searching for a new phone. I decided against getting another Motorola and looking for a Nokia phone since I had heard they were better phones. I wanted a Quad band, Nokia smartphone, that wasn't too expensive, and that wasn't too big, and didn't have on of those clunky keyboards. I ended up buying an unlocked Nokia E50 smartphone from ImportGSM. I was really happy with the service from ImportGSM, they were recommended to me from a friend. I purchased their lifetime warranty, which will repair or replace the phone for anything except theft or loss for the life of the phone. They will also send a loaner phone out to use while mine is being fixed (This policy has changed, as of January 2007, the extended warranty only lasts for three years instead of for life if you purchased a phone after January).

Now that I've been using my E50 for a while I'm really impressed with it. It blows my old RAZR away completely. It's a candybar phone, which I thought I wouldn't like, but I prefer it to my old flip phone. It's about the same thickness, and a little bit longer than the razr. It gets better reception and the call quality is better. It's a business smartphone, the only things it doesn't have that other expensive phones have is the full keyboard, wifi support, and a high quality camera. It's a 1MP Cameraphone, which is better than my old one, but not as good as a real camera. Since it doesn't have all those features that I didn't need it was cheaper. I really like the control system on it, it's really easy to do what I need it to.

There are only a few things that I don't like. The on screen alerts that pop up when you get a new message or voicemail will pop up over the screen, regardless of what your doing, and if your navigating the controls on the phone they will overlap what your doing. Even though people can make software for the phone, there isn't a wide selection of them that are good, and they are hard to find. The other issue isn't so much with the phone but with Cingular, the phone gets better coverage than the RAZR that I had, but it's still not super good quality, which I believe is the network's fault. I don't think Cingular gets good coverage in my area.

Those problems aside, I really like the phone, and would recommend it to others. People are pretty uptight about spending money on phones, but considering how much you use a phone, and how long it has to last, they aren't something to cheap out on. When I start to use some of the more advanced features on it, I'll be sure to talk about it on the site. I haven't got around to buying a headphone kit or memory chip to use it as a music player. I also need to get a good quality car kit and headset. Posted in: reviews

about my reviews (renagadeotv (renagadeotv)) by tomveatch@gmail.com

For a start, my reviews will just be posts in this blog. My reviews are a work in progress, and I will treat those entrees as pages that I will go back and edit, and update until I'm happy with it. Once I'm satisfied in it I'll make it into an actual page. So if your wondering why my reviews look weak, it's because I'm not finished with them. Posted in: reviews

about my reviews (renagadeotv (renagadeotv)) by me@renegadeotv.com

For a start, my reviews will just be posts in this blog. My reviews are a work in progress, and I will treat those entrees as pages that I will go back and edit, and update until I'm happy with it. Once I'm satisfied in it I'll make it into an actual page. So if your wondering why my reviews look weak, it's because I'm not finished with them. Posted in: reviews

Farce of the Penguins (AsphaltBuffet) by Ben

It was Bob Saget at his crudest. The filmography is taken from the much lauded “March of the Penguins”. The voices were of many well known actors. It was crude, toilet/sex humor. There really was no plot. The editing was so-so. I laughed my ass off. Not the best movie ever, but I laughed so I wasn’t too upset. Probably deserves a B-.

Posted in: a , reviews , v club

Beerfest (AsphaltBuffet) by Ben

I got this movie about a week ago.  It made me laugh. However, this is not high-brow humor. It may even be under low-brow humor. It is a movie about drinking… and boobs. That’s pretty much it.

iThrow in some Germans, boobs, old people, beer, and sprinkle with sex.  That’s beerfest. It will make you laugh if you like movies like that. Oh, and they show a lot of boobs.  Just to make that clear.  Don’t see it with your mom. Probalbly not with your girlfriend. In fact, make the dog leave the room… the swedish women are kinda hot.

My rating… B. Not amazing, but it could have been worse. Besides, I was drinking while watching anyway; which I completely recommend.

Posted in: a , reviews , v club

A Scanner Darkly (AsphaltBuffet) by Ben

So, I “read” the book about a 9 months ago. It was on CD actually, and I listened to it on a drive home. The book was excellent. Awesome character development and it made me very sad what happened to some characters, and vindicated for others.

Netflix sent the movie to me a week or two ago and I watched it then and I’m split on it I guess.  The rotoscoping made the movie slightly surreal which was a great feeling from the style of the book. It made everything seem reel but off.  Very nice effect.  The movie should have been longer in my opinion. They had to gloss over some of it and combine other parts in strange ways that really didn’t capture the disorientation of sections of the book.

The absence of internal dialog was also missing. But that is true of many Stephen King movie adaptations. It’s hard to put people talking to themselves in a movie and make it flow well.  It just lost a lot of the writing appeal without it for me.

All in all, I’d give it an A-.  Something you should read first and watch later to put some people with the names.  By the way, the casting was pretty much spot on. Yay.

Posted in: a , reviews , v club

The Sarah Silverman Show… It burns us!!! (AsphaltBuffet) by Ben

Five minutes of the Sarah Silverman Program was 20 minutes too long. It’s an innocent looking girl who shows that she can say naughty words and think about dirty things. Good for her. I would assume she gets 3 episodes before the show is canceled. Unfortunately, it seems to be the trend of new shows. Plots, characters, and value are now optional in television. Stupid television, your warmth no longer comforts me.

Honestly, I would rather watch the “Miracle of Birth” on repeat instead of this garbage.

Posted in: a , reviews , v club

The Illusionist (Stonetable) by Adam

The in-flight movie during our trip to California today was “The Illusionist”, starring Edward Norton, Paul Giamatti, and Jessica Biel. I don’t want to spoil it for anyone, so all I will say is that you need to see it. It’s one of the best movies I’ve seen in recent memory.

Posted in: reviews , travel

» Top 5 social bookmarking services [ma.gnolia] (Put together quickly (Haligan)) by MichaelBiven

If you spend a lot of time online or do any kind of web based research, chances are the Bookmarks menu in your browser is no longer sufficient for you. If you browse the web from more than one computer, storing bookmarks in the browser is downright counterproductive. It is time to choose an online bookmarking tool. Here are Pandia's top 5 social bookmarking services.

Tags: review, magnolia, comparisons, reviews, socialbookmark

Posted in: comparisons , magnolia , review , reviews , socialbookmark

Watership Down (AsphaltBuffet) by Ben

I finished Watership Down last night around midnight. It was a very good read and I would recommend it. The plot seemed to waver at first until it really got into the main plot line. Unfortunately that wasn’t as much of the story as I would have hoped. The characters were developed and used well, but they seemed to be only handled superficially in the book. Fiver seemed to have more to his character than a mystic but only that aspect was dealt with in the novel. Up next is The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky.

A excerpt from the front page…

Suffering is life. Without suffering what would be the pleasure of it? It would be transformed into an endless church service; it would be holy, but tedious.

Posted in: book club , reviews