Just forget the words and sing along

Saturday, November 04, 2006

The Week in Review

It's just been one of those days. Try as I might, I can't get going. I know I should do all the "start of the month" maintenence to my website...I know I should send out my e-newsletter...but I just can't get going. I'm enjoying sitting around doing nothing. And our society has taught us that, sitting around doing nothing makes you a horrible person.


You know I love animated movies, and you also know how I loathe that animated films have become nothing but talking animals making fart jokes. However, there is one that's come out this weekend that I really want to see. That would be Flushed Away.

Flushed Away is set in London, and it's about a pampered pet rat named Roddy (voice of Hugh Jackman). One day, he's flushed down the toilet and gets stuck wandering the sewers looking for a way out. In doing so, he teams up with the fiesty and spirited Rita (voice of Kate Winslet), and they have to watch out for the machinations of an evil frog (voice of Ian McKellan).

Now, why does this one have such appeal to me? Easy. It's from Aardman Studios, the British animation house that brought us those very funny, funny films Chicken Run and Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.

Aardman does quality work, and I want to see their first dip into CGI. And the reviews have been pretty good, too.


Speaking of animation, here's some news I read today.

When we have the Oscars in the spring, there might be 5 nominations in the Best Animated Film category.

For those who don't remember, this is how the Best Animated Film category works. If there's more than 15 animated films released in a year, then there's 5 nominations in the category. If there's between 15 and 8 animated films released, then there's 3 nominations. If there's less than 8, then they skip the category that year.

And, those who watch these things have sat back and done the math and, ya know what? It looks like there'll be 16 animated films released this year!

We already know two films that'll make the nomination list: Cars and Flushed Away. Those films are from Pixar and Aardman, respectivly. Both studios do quality work...and are Oscar darlings. Over the Hedge will probably make the list, too, because it was a huge hit and the reviews were kinda good.


I know the pumpkins are just barely thrown out, but I'm getting really, really, really excited about Christmas.

Now that November's here, all the Christmas stuff is on the store shelves. Well, as I've been saying in my podcast, up here in Athabasca, the Christmas stuff went on the store shelves around the start of September. I guess it would be more accurate to say, "The amount of Christmas stuff on the shelves has tripled" or "The GOOD Christmas stuff is on the store shelves."

I think I"m so excited because this is going to be my first Christmas on my own. My times at Augustana don't count because I was always so wrapped up in finals come December that a person could barely notice Christmas, and Japan doesn't count because, when the whole country around you doesn't get wrapped up in it, it's difficult to get wrapped up in it yourself.

But yeah. I'll be buying my own tree...my own decorations for said tree...my little ol' basement suite will be all Christmased up.

I see Extra Evil has a nice little 4" artificial tree for $20. That'd be about all I need. But then, up the road at SAAN, I can get a 6" one for the same price.

Christmas can't get here soon enough.

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