Couple Days Off - 75 Seconds

Once upon a time, a long time ago, I was just a little boy in Entwistle who dreamed of being on the radio.

And then, in 1990, at the tender age of 13, I heard a song on the radio that I instantly fell in love:  Couple Days Off by Huey Lewis and the News.







Back then, I was already widely familiar with the radio tradition of "the Friday Morning Song."  It's some tune that the morning jocks play during their show to celebrate the arrival of the weekend.  "Bang On The Drum All Day" is a popular one, but when I first heard "Couple Days Off," I vowed that, some day, if I were ever on the radio, it would be my Friday Morning Song.

Back in the fall, I decided to make it happen.  I noticed that most of the Friday Morning Songs I heard tended to be around 75 seconds in length, so my first step was to edit Couple Days Off down to 75 seconds.

And I did so magnificently.



Couple Days Off 75 Seconds by Mark Cappis


Seriously. I have no right to be as proud of this as I am.  I sincerely believe this is the best bit of music editing I've ever done.

And that's as far as I've gotten on my Friday Morning Song project.

Most Friday morning songs you hear are filled with all kinds of clips from the best in pop culture.  That's why I focused mostly on the instrumental bits when I edited it down to 75 seconds...lots of room for clips.  But I just can't find enough clips I like to fill it.

So, until then, I have to continue being massively proud of my editing job.  

To Visit the Olympics

Once again, the Olympic games are upon us.

Once again, I'm not there.

As I've said in many other forums, while I'm not a sports guy, I've always held a fascination with the Olympics.  Is it the pageantry?  Is it the hype?  Is it the stories of those who've sweated for years just to make it or break it in this one moment?   Or is it the ideal of the entire world deciding to chill for a couple of weeks, get together, and just play a few games?

I'm trying to remember when my fascination began.  You might think it was the Winter Olympics in Calgary, back in 1988.  Truth be told, I don't remember the games themselves that much.  I remember watching the opening ceremonies on TV with my parents.  I remember the endless TV commercials for the Olympic glasses from Petro-Canada.  And I remember, no matter what you did, the song "Winter Games" was constantly playing.






The first time I actually remember following the Olympics, devouring everything I could about them, was the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehamer.  I watched as much of the coverage as I could.  I read every article I could in the paper.  I remember the Edmonton Journal did this huge pictorial on all the Olympic venues, with very detailed and colourful graphics showing their interior layouts.  Did you know that the hockey rink for those Olympics was built in a hollowed-out mountain?  I have yet to see another pictorial like that in a newspaper.

And I remember being haunted by a news report pointing out how, just 10 short years earlier, the Winter Olympics were held in Sarajevo.  A city that, in 1994, had become a literal war zone when Communism fell and the area referred to at the time as "the former Yugoslavia" fell into civil war.  That bit of journalism stuck with me.  The following Rememberance Day, the class assignment in English was to just write something for November 11.  I wrote an essay about how the Olympic ideals could be quickly forgotten in times of war, using the Sarajevo games as my example.  I got good marks on it.  Got to present it to the entire school during the Rememberance Day assembly.  My teacher got it published in the Edmonton Journal. 

Four years after than...Nagano 1998.  I was in college at that time.  The TV in the common lounge in the dorm was always on the Olympics.  I remember that was going to be Team Canada's year in hockey.  It was the first year professional NHL players were allowed to compete.  The drought was going to end, and Team Canada would come home with the gold in hockey.  Team Canada placed fourth.  I remember watching the bronze medal game on TV.  You could see it in the players' faces...they lost the will to win.  They just didn't care any more.  With the gold out of site, they no longer saw the point.  It was very disappointing. 

Four years after that...I arrive in Japan to begin my year as an ESL teacher.  I went out to my city of Kumagaya on the Nagano bullet train line.  I was gob-smacked.  Would I really be that close to the place I saw on TV so many times so many years ago?  And the answer was yes.  Nagano was just a short two-hour trip away on the bullet train.  I started making loose plans to head up to Nagano on some long weekend to visit the Olympic sites.  Sadly, though, with my work schedule, long weekends were few and far between.

For my Christmas vacation in Japan, I headed up north to the city of Sapporo to visit my best friend, who was also an ESL teacher.  Only when I started flipping through the guide books did I learn that Sapporo was the host of the 1972 Winter Olympics.  My plans for the Christmas holiday were set.  I'd try to visit as many of the Sapporo Olympic sites as I could.  Sadly, though, this being the middle of Christmas vacation, most of the Olympic sites - most of everything, in fact - was closed, so my sightseeing consisted of walking up to the locked doors and looking inside.  Fortunatley, though, on my second-last day, Sapporo's shiny new Winter Sports Museum, dedicated mainly to the 1972 Winter Olympics, was open again, so I was able to check that out before I left.  Even paid my money and took a ride to the top of the ski jump to enjoy the view.

Here's an old picture on my hard drive...this is the view from the top of the ski jump, looking down. 

Even though Tokyo was just a 1-hour train ride away, and I spent many a weekend touring Tokyo, I never did any explicit Olympic sightseeing in the host city for the 1964 Summer Olympics.  Closest I got was, one day, I was wandering around Harajuku with some friends and a buddy said, "Hey, Mark, you like the Olympics, right?  That building over there is the pool where they had all the aquatic events."

When my time in Japan came to an end, I knew it was now or never to finally see Nagano.  I set aside two weeks to do a lazy loop through central Japan and see all the sights I'd missed, and Nagano was going to take up a big portion of that.  When I stepped off the train at the Nagano station, and was greeted with this large mural of the Nagano Olympics' logo, I felt this great sense of completion to my time in Japan.  Once I got settled at the youth hostel, I started plotting my trip.

I must have spent about four or five days in Nagano.  I got to know the clerks in the tourist information centre on a first name basis, as I started every day by stopping in and asking, "So how do I get to this venue?"  To help me out, they even dug around in the back room and found one of the old tourist maps that were printed for the 1998 Games to answer just those questions.  I went to Big Hat, which was the hockey rink.  There was actually an event going on that day so I got to go inside and stand at center ice.  I visited Aqua Wing, which was a figure skating venue for the games, but had since been converted into a swimming pool.  Had I brought my trunks, I would have gone in for a dip.  I visited the Olympic Stadium, which has since become the stadium for Nagano's baseball team.  Saw their baseball team doing laps around the Olympic park.  On one day, I took a bus trip outside of town to the ski hills and ski jump.  Once again, paid my money to ride to the top.  Sat at the bottom of the jump and had a lunch of cold soba while I saw some future Olympians practicing.  It was a very good day.

I ended my time in Nagano at M-Wave, which was where most of the speed skating was held.  Also inside they house a museum dedicated to the games.  There was some soccer match going on inside today, so I watched the game for a bit.  As I was leaving the facility, I whipped out my cellphone and called my friend up in Sapporo.  I knew, when his time was done, he'd be going home to Vancouver.  I called and asked, "Hey, isn't Vancouver putting a bid together for the 2010 Winter Olympics?  Do you know how well that's going?"  Right then and there, I extorted an invitation to crash on his couch if Vancouver got the games so I could go see them.

Vancouver was announced as the host of the 2010 Winter Olympics that following autumn, and I knew that I would be going.  I mean, it would be in my figurative back yard, there would be no excuse to not go.  Except for, of course, my chosen profession.

The Torino 2006 Games were going on near the end of my "Great Year of Unemployment."  For those new to the blog, the "Great Year of Unemployment" is what a call the year stretching from April of 2005 (when I graduated from NAIT) to April of 2006 (when I finally got a radio gig).  It was a tireless year of pounding the pavement begging for a job.  I had an interview during the 2006 Winter Olympics, and the interviewer asked why my future goals were.  "To see the Olympics some day," I said.  The interviewer rolled his eyes, let out a disgusted sigh, and said, "You're only saying because it's in the news right now."  I had no desire to expound a lot of energy convincing him otherwise, so I kept my mouth shut. 

As I blogged two years ago, during the Vancouver 2010 games, as much as I love working in radio, it's not a job that lets you do something like save up for a dream vacation.  My opportunities to see the games on home soil came and went, and I was stuck watching it on TV like most others.  But another opportunity might still arise.  Toronto has long longed to host the Summer Olympics.  They lost bids to host the 1996 and 2000 Games, and from what I gather, they're getting ready to try again.  While we've all heard that Quebec City is building a new hockey rink to try to lure back an NHL franchise, the big picture is that Quebec City wants a new hockey rink and an NHL franchise to strengthen a future bid for the Winter Olympics.  It's long been said that building the Saddledome and getting the Flames is what put Calgary's bid over the top, and the IOC has already said they would welcome another bid from Quebec City.

And of course, I could always go to one of the games held every two years overseas...it'll just be a whole lot more expensive.

But, for the time being, I'll have to content myself with Olympic sightseeing in my homeland.  Head out to Montreal, and see the Olympic Stadium before it's officially declared an eyesore and torn down.  My buddy still lives in Vancouver, and I'm sure he wouldn't mind if I crashed on his couch for a few days to see the Olympic sights.  But for a very attainable goal, I'll settle for going to Calgary when things are actually open.

Seriously, Canada Olympic Park, what's your fucking problem?  Every time  I go to Calgary, your Olympic Museum and Canada's Olympic Hall of Fame is closed.  Would it kill you to post some fucking hours?

 
Here I am on my last trip to Calgary, three years ago.  Once again, everything at Canada Olympic Park was closed, so I was stuck on the outside looking in.  I'm standing on the #2 spot on the podium instead of #1 as a symbol of my profound disappointment.  And as I'm sure you can tell, I'm still bitter. 

\But I must take that disappointment.  I must take that bitterness.  And I must channel it.  I need to make a plan, and start saving.  It is possible.  I will be there, someday, to enjoy the show.  To partake in the whole world getting together to chill out and play some games.

Some day, I will no longer be on the outside, looking in.

The Dark Knight Rises Review

So, my The Dark Knight Rises review is online!

Head on over to my main site and give it a read!

Bat Day

So, there's a new Batman movie in theatres.  I figured I should go see it as soon as I can, so today, I was off to the city to do just that.

Before I departed, I made the serious debate as to whether to see the film in IMAX or not.  Normally, such a thing wouldn't matter...I'd just save the extra money and go see it in a regular theatre.  But, with The Dark Knight Rises, most of the major action scenes were filmed with IMAX cameras and designed and optimized for the IMAX format.  A trend that director Christopher Nolan himself started with The Dark Knight four years ago.  Ultimately I figured, "What the hey?" and I was off to the IMAX at West Edmonton Mall.

And I learned a very painful lesson.  The last time I went out of my way to see a film in IMAX was Avatar three years ago.  (Again, director James Cameron filmed most of the film with IMAX cameras and designed the film to be shown in that format.)  West Edmonton Mall's IMAX theatre has changed in the past three years.  It's now assigned seating.  That means it's all like in a stadium now, where your ticket tells you where your seat is.  Had I known that, I would have bought my tickets online a couple of days ago so I could pick some really good seats.  My seat was good, but not great, but now I know for next time.

Going into The Dark Knight Rises, I was really excited.  It was like Christopher Nolan read my mind when it came to villains for this sequel.  After The Dark Knight, when most of my friends and I were debating with villain we'd like to see in the sequel, many scoffed when I said I'd like to see Bane.  But, for the more realistic take that Nolan was bringing to the Batman films, Bane was a perfect choice.  I could see them taking a similar approach to The Animated Series, where Bane was portrayed as a super-strong and super-smart South American hitman, brought in my Gotham's organized crime to take care of this Batman problem once and for all.  Just replace his strength-enhancing drug Venom with plane ol' steroids, and you'd be set. 

And of course, Catwoman was high on my short list of villains, too, if only because Catwoman deserves better than that Halle Berry movie from a few years ago.

But I was cautious as well.  If there's one thing I've learned from film trilogies, the third one is always the trickiest, as the director struggles to bring things to a satisfying conclusion.

So.  The film takes place eight years after the events of The Dark Knight.  In order to become "the hero that Gotham deserves" and make a martyr out of Harvey Dent, Bruce Wayne retired from being Batman.  This seems to have worked, as Gotham City soon passed a new tough-on-crime bill known as "The Dent Act" and crime in Gotham is at all-time low.  Things aren't good for Bruce Wayne, though.  Still mourning the loss of his lady love Rachael Dawes, Bruce Wayne has become a recluse in Wayne Manor.  But then, one night, Bruce Wayne stumbles across a cat burglar named Selina Kyle breaking into his vault and stealing the Wayne family jewels.  A young cop named John Blake then swings by the manor, to report that Commissioner Gordon has been attacked by a ruthless mercenary named Bane, who has set up shop in Gotham City.  All of this is enough to shake Bruce Wayne out of his funk, and soon, Batman is patrolling the streets once again.  What is Bane's master plan?  Will Batman be able to rise to the challenge and once again be the hero that Gotham deserves?

I really liked this film.  It's not as good as The Dark Knight, but it's a good end to this trilogy.  In a way, it's more like a sequel to Batman Begins, as it mainly focuses on and addresses the loose ends from that film.  I know some are upset that the Joker wasn't even acknowledged in this film.  But let's be honest.  Any mention of the Joker would bring up awkward questions as to where he is and what became of him, so the filmmakers took the easy way and chose to ignore him completely.

This portrayal of Bane was really good.  I see there's been this desire to create an "anti-Batman" in the comics...a character with a similar origin, but winds up on the wrong side of the law.  It really seems like they tried to make Bane into an "anti-Batman," and it works.  His master plan is highly unique, and in seeing it play out, I think their main inspiration this time out was the classic Batman arc No Man's Land.  And in the final sound mix, Bane ends up sounding quite a bit like Destro from the old G.I. Joe cartoon.

Anne Hathaway made a really good Catwoman.  She knows how slink and sex it up, but also knows when it's time to turn off the charm and be ruthless.  I should also mention that, while they never refer to her as "Catwoman" in the film, there's always an extra emphasis that she's a "cat" burglar.

A friend of mine texted me on the drive home to ask if there were any good surprises in the film.  Sadly, I read one too many spoilers online.  That, and couple with a lot of knowledge about the Batman universe, I saw all the surprises coming.  But still, there's one surprise in the film, the filmmakers double-backed and triple-backed on it enough that it did catch me off guard when they revealed it.

And I am so glad I paid the extra to see it in IMAX.  That bigger screen really puts you in the middle of all the action scenes...a lot better than 3D.

When all is said and done, I give it 3.5 nibs.  I'll have a review on the main site in a day or so.

That's not all I did in the city today.  Had to buy a few treats.  As you know, I'm a huge fan of Kevin Smith's, but I really haven't bought much of his comic books.  Truth be told, I'm starting to get a little burnt out on Smith.  He does a billion podcasts and a dozen or so web series now...I'm just overwhelmed with the guy.  That being said though, since I was seeing The Dark Knight Rises today, and Smith has written a couple of Batman books, I decided to grab them from Chapters on my way out of the city.  So, over the next few days, I'll be sitting down to read Cacophony and The Widening Gyre. 

And, since it's just not a trip to the city without buying a DVD, I bought the brand-new Blu-Ray edition of Smokey and the Bandit.  I know!  You're probably thinking, "That really doesn't seem like you're kind of movie, Mark."  For some reason, I remember this movie being on TV a lot when I was a kid.  Hell, my earliest conscious memory of begging my parents to buy me a toy was getting my Dad to buy me the Hot Wheels 2-pack of the Bandit's Trans-Am and Smokey's police car.  This is Universal Studio's 100th anniversary, and lots of their films are getting 100th anniversary Blu-Rays.  And when I heard that the 100th Anniversary edition of Smokey and the Bandit came out, I just thought, "I want this."  And at the bargain bin price of $15, how could I say no?  I'll probably spend a lazy Sunday afternoon watching it tomorrow.

And, had to take one last swing by the Apple Store and gaze longingly at the iPhones.  If you're my friend on Facebook, then you've already heard my tale of woe.  My cellphone contract officially runs out at the end of this month, and when I signed into that contract three years ago, I said, "When the contract's done, it'll be time to upgrade!"  I've enjoyed my BlackBerry, but I've had my heart set on an iPhone for quite some time.  I've been diligently pinching my pennies throughout the year, saving my money for an iPhone.

And then, that wonderfully mysterious "service engine soon" light came on in my car back on Tuesday.  And along with it, it disabled my remote starter.  Rather than fret about it, I made the appointment with the mechanic to have a look at it.  The problem is in the pollution control system, and requires a replacement part.  And paying to get this fixed will wipe out my iPhone fund.

I'm pretty bummed out about that.  I know, as someone pointed out on Facebook, I shouldn't be here bitching about my first world problems.  But then, to quote that great philosopher of our time, Ally McBeal, "These problems are important because they happen to me."

All in all, not a bad day.

Fishing in the Discount Bin - The Back to the Future Trilogy

 Welcome back to Fishing in the Discount Bin, where I just go off on one of the DVDs I own in my collection.  This week, one of my all time favourite franchises, The Back to the Future trilogy.  No doubt I'll revisit this in the future and look at each film individually.  But until them, just some bullet points on why I like it.  This entry is originally dated March 6, 2011. 

First Request

So, in my day job, I do a request show.  For a while now, whenever I play the first request of the show, I've been thinking, "I should play that clip from The Empire Strikes Back.  You know...the smug admiral who says 'Our first catch of the day.'" 







So, I know they've got some pretty good sound boards over at the official Star Wars website.  In my free time this afternoon, I went by those sound boards, seeing if they had that clip.  And lo and behold, they did!

And a few clips more.

So I went a little overboard, threw in some music, and made this clip.




First Request by Mark Cappis


I don't know if I'll actually use it on the air, but man, it makes me laugh.  Besides, if I use it, I'll need something for the last request of the day, and they don't have the clip I want for that.

Han Solo:  "You're all clear kid, now let's blow this thing and go home."

Man of Steel Teasers

Confession time.  Despite its flaws, I kind of like Superman Returns.  When all is said and done, I feel it's a movie that needed to be made.  The Richard Donner/Christopher Reeve Superman films just became so iconic, that if any kind of reboot were to be made, they would have had to have been acknowledged and referenced and been the basis for the films.

Let's be honest.  For most superhero films, writers usually go to the best-known storylines in the public consciousness.  And, with Superman, the Richard Donner/Christopher Reeve films are the best-known storylines.

So, Superman Returns had to be made.  Now that all the homage, tribute and expected follow-up is out of our collective systems, we can do a proper reboot.

But the lesson we can take away from Superman Returns is that a lot of writers these days find Superman to be a tricky character to write.  I mean...a near-omnipotent being with a strict moral code.  In our grim and gritty anti-hero society, people find him tough to get a handle on.  Which is why it's kind of weird that Man of Steel, (aka the Superman reboot) comes to us from those who have really popularized the grim and gritty anti-hero superhero films...Christopher Nolan and the makers of The Dark Knight trilogy.

As the legend goes, shortly after the release of The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan and writer David S. Goyer were sitting around brainstorming ideas for the film that would eventually become The Dark Knight Rises.  In their brainstorming sessions, Goyer said one day, "Too bad we're not doing Superman.  I have a great idea for Superman."  Nolan said, "Really?  Let's here it."  Goyer told Nolan his idea, and Nolan said, "That...is...AWESOME!!"  They went and pitched it to the bosses at Warner Brothers, and of course, Warner Brothers said, "The guys in charge of our biggest superhero franchise want to do another superhero franchise?  SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!!"   (Money in this case being a green light.)

Nolan, however, wasn't took keen to direct, so after a talent search throughout Hollywood, they finally hired a director in Zack Snyder.  Snyder, of course, has his comic book cred, having directed 300 and Watchmen.  The interesting trivia bit is Snyder turned down the chance to direct Superman Returns, citing he just didn't know how to make Superman relevant in this day and age.  So this script, apparently, made Superman relevant to a guy who wrote off the character.

Time for the cast, and once again The Dark Knight crew decided to fill their cast with well-known character actors.  For Superman/Clark Kent/Kal-El, they chose Henry Cavill, probably still best known as one of the stars of The Tudors.  For his legendary lady love, intrepid reporter Lois Lane, they went with one of my top celebrity crushes, Amy Adams.  Laurence Fishburne will be playing Clark Kent's boss, Perry White.  Christopher Meloni, fresh off his time on Law & Order: SVU, plays an Army general wary of this Kryptonian.  Richard Schiff from The West Wing plays one of Superman's friends-turned-enemies, Dr. Emil Hamilton.  Superman's Kryptonian parents, Jor-El and Lara, are being played by Russel Crowe and Ayelet Zurer, and his human parents on Earth, Johnathon and Martha Kent, and being played by Kevin Costner and Diane Lane.  

For a villain in this piece, they skipped Lex Luthor!  That's one thing about The Dark Knight trilogy that I liked, and I like to see that they're trying to emulate.  Save the best-known arch-enemy for the sequel, so that way in the first one, you're completely free to focus on the origin story.  The villain in this one is General Zod, to be played by Michael Shannon. 

The first teaser hit theatres this weekend in front of The Dark Knight Rises.  There are two versions of this first teaser.  The first has a narration spoken by Costner as Johnathon Kent.





The second has a narration spoken by Crowe as Jor-El.




Upon looking at these trailers, all I can say is I'm very underwhelmed.  This doesn't look like a Superman movie.  They are sleepy.  They are boring.  They lack the iconography that we've come to associate with Superman.  Seriously.  Why is Superman on a fishing boat?

I guess we'll have to find out on June 14, 2013, when Man of Steel hits theatres.

Fishing in the Discount Bin - Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip

Welcome back to Fishing in the Discount Bin, where I watch one of the many DVDs in my collection, and then rant about it.  We get to the first TV show in this series.  I never really figured out how to do TV shows.  Should I binge watch the entire series?  Just watch a handful of my favourite episodes?  It's something I'm still figuring out.  For our first series, we get to some of Aaron Sorkin's work, his short-lived series about working on a TV series...Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.  This article is originally dated February 16, 2011.

Fishing in the Discount Bin - Doctor Who: The Movie

Welcome back to Fishing in the Discount Bin, where I just rant about a DVD in my collection.  This started as a feature for my podcast, and I wrote several dozen reviews before I abandoned it, so I've been posting my old notes to this here blog.  Today, we get to something very special.  I've become a Doctor Who fan in my old age, and I was able to acquire my first-ever exposure to Doctor Who; the 1996 American-made TV movie known simply as Doctor Who: The Movie.  This review is originally dated February 14, 2011.

Reflections on my birthday

So it was my birthday this past weekend.  Well, Saturday was my birthday, but I couldn't do much on Saturday because I was working.  However, my parents did come up to buy me dinner, which was really nice.  They brought me a really neat present.  Apparently, there's a this little comic book and collectable shop in Jasper now, and whenever they're in Jasper they see it and think of me.  In their latest trip, they brought me this.

It's a tin sign, featuring a very classic looking Wolverine.  I came to the X-Men party kind of late, so when it comes to art of Wolverine, I'm used to things like highly detailed Alex Ross prints and the like.  So, to see some good ol' 1980s-era promo art for Wolverine is kinda cool.  Still figuring out a good place to hang it.

On Sunday, I was able to head off into the city and go through with my annual birthday tradition.  Ever since my 11th birthday, I've gone to see a movie on my birthday.  So this year, I was off to see The Amazing Spider-Man.

I really liked The Amazing Spider-Man.  What really sold it for me was the Peter Parker/Gwen Stacy romance.  It just seemed so much more real and genuine than the Peter Parker/Mary Jane Watson stuff in the other trilogy.  And it was really neat how they re-told the origin of Spider-Man.  Like a lot of folks, I was kind of upset that they were going to be re-telling the origin story so soon after the last movie.  So you start looking to how they're going to re-tell it...what they'll be focusing on this time, and omitting.  And I really like how they retold it.  It was such a different take on it, that I actually got a little bit misty-eyed when ol' Uncle Ben bit the dust.

That being said, though, with all this emphasis on character, I don't think we really got to know Dr. Curt Connors as our villains.  It would have been nice to have spent a little more time with him before he turned into the Lizard.  And, as I'm sure you can tell by the commercials, they're really playing up this whole "mystery of Peter Parker's parents" to be our over-reaching arc for this new batch of films.  It's kind of forgotten early in the film, then brought back again for the now-requisite post-credits sequence.  It seems extraneous at this point.  Ya know, it's still fine to make a film franchise where the films mostly stand alone.

With the other Spider-Man films out there, I'd put it a shade below Spider-Man 2, but with the reboot coming this soon, you just can't shake the feeling that you've seen it all before.  I give it 3.5 out of 4 nibs.

I've got my complete review over on my main site, so check it out if you so please.

Then it was off to HMV.  I'd resolved to spend a little birthday money on a Blu-Ray I'd been denying myself for a long time:  the original 1933 edition of King Kong.  I've been looking at this one in HMV for 2 freakin' years, but for some reason, I'd always fret about it being too expensive or some BS like that, and so I finally said, "Fuck it.  Let's get it."

And then, because it was on sale, I also bought the 2005 Peter Jackson remake of King Kong.  Now, as I've blogged many times before, I'm in no rush to upgrade my DVDs to Blu-Ray, because I still don't have an HDTV to fully enjoy them on.  But, I have enjoyed Peter Jackson's King Kong remake enough to be curious enough about it's extended version.  Yes, like his Lord of the Rings trilogy, Jackson did an extended version of King Kong.  And when I saw that the Blu-Ray contained both the original theatrical version and the extended edition, and it was on sale for just $15, I figured "Why not?"  It's going to make an interesting double-feature next weekend.

And then I had to swing by the Apple Store.  Three years ago, when I bought my BlackBerry, I signed for the three year contract and said, "Yeah, after three years it'll be time to upgrade."  Well, my three year contract runs out at the end of the month.  And I really want to upgrade to an iPhone.  But I'm starting to get cold feet.

Because, dude, iPhones are expensive.

Right now, I'm looking at the iPhone 4s with the 32G memory, because it's the top of the line for iPhone's right now, and I figure I might need a bit bigger memory with all the messing around I'd be doing with it.  Right now, that goes for ~$260.

And I'm certain that if I did my shopping around, I could probably find a Samsung Galaxy Nexus running Google Android with most of the same features for around $50.

But...but...iPhone!

So I'm still figuring out what to do on that front.

But all in all, the birthday weekend wasn't too bad.  I've been too busy to go into the usual spiral of depression it usually brings.  I'm still waiting for that moment where I officially become a grown-up.  If anything, the words of Dr. Johnny Fever describing the radio announcer lifestyle grow more and more accurate every day:  "Pushing 40 and still living like a college kid." 

And here's what I've been listening to while writing this.  Jazz covers of Studio Ghibli music.  SO AWESOME.

Fishing in the Discount Bin - Inception

It's time for Fishing in the Discount Bin, where I rant about one of the many DVDs in my collection!  I've been going though a stretch of movies related to Christmas 2010.  Here, we get to the last one I bought with my gift cards...one of the biggest movies of 2010, Inception.  My notes on this one are originally dated January 28, 2011.