mindpollution.org

Since I can’t seem to find enough time to write anything lengthy anymore, I’m going to go the list route to reflect on last month’s activities… If I’ve learned anything from digg.com and other sites out there, it’s that everyone loves a list, right?

So, without further ado…

Dead Man’s Shoes
According to Darick Robertson, Garth Ennis told him this was the movie The Punisher should have been from the start. It’s a great film - a real heart-wrenching story of vengeance and the urge to do unto others as they’ve done to you and your loved ones.

City of Tiny Lights
Proof that picking up a book because you like the way its cover looks isn’t always a bad move. It’s English crime-fiction noir that begins, as all god noir does, with a beautiful girl in a private detective’s office. Classic. It’s a great read thus far, and I’m learning equal parts English slang and cricket terminology with every chapter.

Transformers
I went into the film with higher expectations than I thought prudent, and it exceeded those expectations. A fun film from start to finish that made me want to run out and buy piles of toys. As KnitWit put it, “They finally figured out what Michael Bay is really good at!”

Angel: Season 5
After a friend first convinced me to start watching this series on DVD a few years back, I finally finished the fifth (and last) season this month. The series stalled out a bit during the third season, so I let about a year go by before picking up the fourth season. It was decent from that point on, and the cameos by the Firefly cast were great.

Pan’s Labyrinth
For some reason, I didn’t expect this film to be the constant downward slope that it turned out to be. I was expecting elves and magic books that would lighten up the “war is hell” theme, not horrifying monsters interspersed with fascists beating rebels’ faces to a bloody pulp with wine bottles. A great film, however, no matter what you go into it expecting.

Deadwood: Season 2
After re-watching the entire first season to get Jessica caught up, we’re finally into the second season. For anyone who loves to play with the conventions of dialogue, this is the best show on television, hands down. Take, for example, the following line from the first season: “One would think that your companions spent time among the heathens for them to come upon me so unbeknownst.” Love it. Love every word of it.

Crank
I’m shocked by how much I liked this film… and how much it made me want to ingest massive amounts of amphetamines and take off into the streets.

Wizard World Philadelphia
I have to admit, I was really unimpressed with the cheesesteaks.

MoCCA
I didn’t get to attend the show, but was able to meet up with a large group of the webcomic crowd, including Ryan North and Jess Fink at a Beer-B-Q hosted by Chris Hastings. They’re a great bunch of people who are witty, friendly and appreciative of their success. I dig that immensely.

Wario Ware: Smooth Moves
I am quite certain that the sheer amount of mind-altering substances behind the creation of this game would shock and offend Timothy Leary.

White Cloud Minnows and a Cory Catfish
The “Edgar R. Murrow Memorial Aquarium” is now officially occupied once again. Its occupants’ names? John, Paul George and Ringo. Ringo is the catfish, because he’s a bottom-feeder.

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2
At times, it felt like I was living the single life again, as Jessica spent more time on the set of this film (or traveling back and forth from it) than anywhere near our apartment. I can’t complain, though - now that she’s bonafied, she’s making a decent full-time job out of it. The best part of it all? I’m one step closer to dating a movie star… Yesssssss… Excccccellent….It’s all going exactly as planned…. *rubbing hands together with evil grin*

The Hudson Independent
I’ve been feeling the community-news writing bug for a while now, and finally took some steps toward working it out of my system with The Hudson Independent. The Independent seems like a great little paper that has its heart in the right place and is on its way to bigger things, so I’m glad they’re willing to publish my work. Jessica is a regular contributor, too - so we’re officially a “journalist couple” now. It looks like we’ll both have bylines in The Independent each month, so keep an eye on it if you’re keeping tabs on our work.

Devil May Cry
My brother bought me a three-pack of the “Devil May Cry” games for my PS2, and I hacked, slashed and button-mashed my way through the first game this month. I had forgotten how much fun this game could be, and I’m glad he turned me on to it again. There’s nothing quite like slashing an evil puppet into the air, riddling it with bullets while it’s still airborne, giving it a few well-placed hacks when it lands, and then finally emptying a shotgun shell into it for the coup de gras. Now THAT is what I call stress relief.

Robin Hood
I didn’t want to like this twenty-something Robin Hood. I really didn’t. But now I’m nearly a dozen episodes into the series and I can’t stop watching it. It’s silly, historically inaccurate, the plot usually doesn’t hold up under close examination, and the acting is mediocre - but put all of the elements that make up the show together and it’s a heap of fun that I can watch every week and never feel like I want the last hour of my life back.