Reviews of movies, anime, and the occasional TV show mixed with warnings on Blogger spam. Also to be found are musings on whatever I am thinking about - all from the point of view of being left to watch everything from the sidelines of life.
Anonymous went after the Chinese government in another coordinated attack on a large amount of websites. Given how much cyber warfare is conducted by that government, I would not be surprised to see Anonymous get hacked thoroughly in retaliation. There is a strong nationalist streak that has been inculcated in the populace for the last couple of decades which means there will be plenty of retaliatory attacks from outside the government as well. Break out the popcorn, this could get very interesting.
It is time to write one of those posts I hate to write. Part of keeping a journal here is keeping track of my health and I am doing a poor job of it.
For the past week or so, pinched nerves in the back have been worse than usual. The lower area has finally loosened up and than has been an immense relief. But the upper area took a strange turn for the worse and has been mostly immune to the stretching exercises learned over a decade ago. For several days it was so bad that I was loosing control of the right arm due to pain flaring and the arm refusing to accept commands.
Things have improved with a rearrangement of pillows when sleeping and trying to stay flat on my back. Still twitchy, though. The worst of it coincided with the cold suffered during the weekend.
Today started fairly well with crossword puzzle and Audiosurf going well. But mid afternoon I felt extremely tired and took a short nap. It should have been short, that is. Forcing myself up at 9:00 PM I found the rest of daylight lost, which is very annoying. So much for getting the new floor lamp (one has to love clearance sales) assembled and in place.
Pick a title, any title, my creativity is not flowing today. While I have more energy than I did over the weekend, yesterday was a busier than usual Monday and so today is already dragging and it is not even 10:00 am yet.
One thing worked on yesterday was revamping and partially rewriting an old movie review. While I have done this to a minor degree before, this is a much more comprehensive overhaul which makes it a learning experience. Today it should get finished and it is about time I figured out how to bump a post to the front page. If I remember to, that is.
It is spring, so thoughts of maybe following baseball have emerged again. I find it ridiculous that streaming MLBTV online costs $20.00 a month. How sports fans can continue to fork out insane sums of money for PPV, tickets, and merchandise is beyond me. All I can surmise is that it is the latest form of idolatry to afflict the masses and there isn’t even a dollop of spiritual rewards promised.
I am not pleased with the Supreme Court ruling on strip searches. While it is a sad testament to the decay of society that such searches are often needed, the ability to force them on a person if they are arrested for anything is way over the line. The argument that ruling against them would have a “chilling effect” on law enforcement is somewhat legitimate, but when are we going to stop ceding all our civil liberties to the government?
Meanwhile, President Obama took another step toward tinpot dictatorship by threatening the Supreme Court over Obamacare. Why he thinks this will work when even Franklin Delano Roosevelt could not pull it off? FDR was far more popular and had much broader support, but the public completely rejected his attempts to bully and replace that branch of government. Rallying the base is one thing, but when it alienates everyone else it is not even a zero sum gain. It is a loss.
That is a lesson that seems to have been forgotten by a lot of politicians across the spectrum of late.
The wrong hood was ordered for the car and a new one has been placed. Hopefully a sunny day will arrive soon (forecast says tomorrow) to continue work on straightening metal. There is still a radiator attachment made of plastic that I have not figured out how to repair. Since the only other option is replacing the entire radiator, it has to be solved. Normally, a pin could be inserted into a drilled out hole, but I am afraid of leaks from the area if I do drill. Sigh. I probably could seal it well enough if that happens.
I am puzzled how people think that increased manufacturing with decreased demand is a positive sign, even in the short term. All it means is inventory will increase, which is not a good thing in a “just in time” economy. But if there is one thing I have learned about economic experts and investors is that anything can be tortured into becoming good news when desperate.
My growing suspicion is that the US stock markets will become the last haven for money for the wealthy before that wealth is permanently destroyed. Metals and real estate are the best places to sink money into, because the value of both will never reach zero. You will not be able to avoid losing money so it is all about having something rather than nothing in the end.
On that subject, the single most awesome thing I have seen on the Web so far this year. See, the Canadians are good for something!
aka Awakening of Iris aka Gamera 1999: Absolute Guardian of the Universe
The final installment of Shuseke Kaneko’s trilogy of Gamera films aspires to be more than a giant monster movie when the giant flying turtle faces multiple foes – with the most deadly being a teenage girl. An unrelenting rollercoaster of a ride, Gamera 3 achieves the feat of becoming the most serious kaiju movie since the original Gojira stomped onto the screen. Combining an emotional plot, terrific pacing, and high attention to detail makes for a memorable movie whose images linger on well after the end credits roll.
Opening with haunting and evocative music, Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris presents us with an unidentified location on the Ecuator in 1999. Doctor Mayumi Nagamine (Shinabu Nakayama) from Gamera: Guardian of the Universe has been called out to a remote jungle village where the body of a young Gyaos lays decomposing. Absent from the second movie, the ornithologist has been spending her time researching the bird like monsters and now their return adds an ominous air to the proceedings.
Here it is General Conference again and I have a mild cold. It seems like this happens a lot for the April sessions. So I will not be making it in for Priesthood tonight.
Just looked at bread purchased earlier in the week and it has all gone moldy. This is getting to be quite a problem in this house for it is too humid in the kitchen once warm weather begins. There is no way the two of us can eat a loaf quickly enough, it seems.
At least I am more alert today. Since Wednesday, I have been completely thrashed from a trip to the capitol in St. Paul. Time to get some writing done!
