This is the intro piece to the most recent animated Transformers series, aptly named Transformers Animated. I've been wanting to watch this for a while, for several reasons. The toys seem to be incredibly faithful to the cartoon, as far as robot mode, vehicle mode, and transformation between. This is something that's been lacking from TF series over the years. Also, they seem to be recycling lots of old characters, but doing it with both respect and skill. Not only that, but it's set in a not-too-far-off Detroit, which makes me very happy. The Ambassador Bridge shows up in the background quite a bit.

While the animation quality and frame rate leave something to be desired, the characters are great, the old transformation sound is used, and the characters hole up in an abandoned warehouse and use it as HQ. Did somebody give me roofies and have me write a TF cartoon without my knowledge? Four stars.

Once again, I had conflicting feelings about watching a kids' movie. But I'd heard so many good things about it that I couldn't resist. Somebody's reading my mind again when writing cartoon scripts. I felt ridiculously uplifted and happy when this movie ended. I can't say too much about it that you haven't seen in the commercials without ruining it, but even the extra animated short in the DVD was made of giggles. We now own a copy, and I'll be watching this again in the future. Four stars.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): When he was growing up, the father of basketball superstar Pat Riley forced him to play basketball with kids who were stronger and tougher than he was. He said it forged his son into a winner. I can see the principle at work, but it doesn't come naturally to me. In my efforts to provide you with the parenting you missed as a kid, I've always preferred a gentler, more nurturing approach. Nevertheless, the time has come to override my personal desires for the sake of your character-building needs. I recommend that you force yourself to play with grown-up kids who're stronger and tougher than you.

The Maxx - Volume 2 by Sam Kieth

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Another sequence of mind-poking artwork and twisty storylines. I don't remember this much being revealed so early in the animated version, so I'm definitely looking forward to reading the other volumes. Once again, I have to thank the Capital Area District Library for shelving an amazing selection of graphic novels. I'm biting my nails to read Volume 3.


View all my reviews.

Fool: A Novel by Christopher Moore

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Another good find at the Capital Area District Library. I'd already read Lamb, so I snagged this one when I saw it on the "New Releases" shelf. I was not disappointed.



I giggled throughout the whole thing. I had so much difficulty in putting it down that I got several chilly looks from my wife. It's raunchy, political, pointed, and hilarious. King Lear's fool tells all. :) I think I'll be reading this one again sometime in the future.


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Olympic broil chicken strip special is making me sleepy. I'm yawning here at Gone Wired.
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TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Your mirror may lie to you this week. A friend might neglect to share a crucial detail. Even pets and heroes and normally reliable suppliers might not be completely there for you. Fortunately, I expect that secondary sources will come through. Other people's mirrors may reveal a clue you haven't been able to find in your own. An acquaintance could step forward and do a convincing impersonation of a friend. And a previously overlooked or unknown connection might become your own personal wellspring. Moral of the story: If you're willing to be flexible and forswear all impulses to blame, you won't be deprived of what you need.

The Maxx by Sam Kieth

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Little did I know that my innocent trip to the Capital Area District Library with the kids and wife would yield such dastardly results. A graphic novel of the Maxx series that I had only ever seen on MTV! Not only that, but it's the first of a series! My glee may have fueled part of my rating, but I am an admitted Maxx fan. The story was spot on, the font used for Mr. Gone was just right, and the artwork was delicious. I'll be looking for the next one when we head back to the library.


View all my reviews.

City of Ember is a kids' movie, first and foremost. It feels like it's targeted at pre-teens, the age that needs to feel like they can outsmart the adults, like they can do anything, especially what the adults can't.

The concept behind the story is what made me want to see it. Pseudo-steampunk, art-deco, salvation-of-humanity city tucked away from the rest of a destroyed world. Pretty sure there was a horror FPS video game that had a similar idea behind it, but I didn't have a machine to run it at the time. Anyway, the acting by the kids was good, and the adults played their sterotypical establishment roles well. Three stars.


I'm not sure if Caprica is a better stand-alone science fiction movie in the BSG universe, or a pilot episode of another complex and we're-not-going-to-sugarcoat-this BSG series. I want to know more about this virtual world, and how it exists without being networked, if it's contained within each individual computer sheet, or what. I want to know more about the monotheistic movement, and how far back it's been developing. I want to know more about the racial and political tensions between the Twelve Colonies. All in all, I want to know more, which makes it a good work of fiction. I cared about the characters, which makes it a great one. It didn't have the dramatic tension that BSG does (did?), but that's because the poop hasn't hit the fan yet. Four stars.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Do you have a subconscious urge to escape the constraints of your customary behavior? Have you ever wished you could be someone else for a while? If so, this is your lucky week, Taurus. The cosmos is granting you a temporary exemption from acting and feeling like your same old self. From now until July 2, you have permission to walk like, talk like, think like, and even make love like a Pisces or Virgo or Gemini -- or any sign, for that matter, except Scorpio or Aquarius. You might enjoy checking out my horoscopes for the other signs, and following the advice that sounds most fun.

This is another half season, like 2.0 and 2.5. It included the Razor movie that I reviewed earlier, along with three discs of new episodes. This series continues to not only hold my attention, but squeeze it, shake it like a newborn baby or your best friend's can of pop, flip it inside out, and cause it to spontaneously combust. Five stars, and I'm biting my nails for the release of season 4.5. XO offering to airlock himself! Just the best.

"What does I.T. stand for?" Holy wow, this nails all of the craziness and uncomfortableness and awesomeness about being an IT nerd. "Ich bin ein nerd!" Getting snapshots of British humor from Monty Python, and then from Red Dwarf... it's evolved beautifully, and I still miss it. I NEEDS MORE! Five stars!

Cian rolled over onto his belly all by himself for the first time today, and we both missed it. We were engrossed in discussion with a friend, looked back, and he was on his belly. Hunter righted him, and he did it again. I -almost- caught it on camera, but my batteries were dead. I was only off by a half of a second.

The batteries are charging, there's plenty of room on the SD card, and I'm certain that he'll get angry enough at himself to do it again. :) Holy crap, proud Dad moment!

Ubuntu 9.04 is running really, really well on this Dell laptop. So far, I've only had to un-blacklist my video card to get Visual Effects (Compiz Fusion) working and install one deprecated bluetooth package to get my mouse working. The lack of pre-installed Skype is worrisome. It's not in the repositories, and 9.04 isn't listed as compatible on Skype's page. I'm hoping that this is resolved before 9.10 is released.

Suspend and hibernate modes work like a charm on this Dell, though.

Also, in nerd news, I think I might be crazy:
- LiveJournal
- Blogger
- Twitter
- DeviantArt
- Facebook
- Writery web page
- Writery Google Group

There's a reason that I have a hard time keeping up. Think I'm going to stop the cross-posting via Twitter, too.

( Twitter Madness! )
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( Twitter Madness! )
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This post is just for the song. It's all about the music. :)

You.. he said... she... STRESS! *blink* British humor about a small IT department that lives in the basement? Really? "Hello, IT, have you tried turning it off and on? You have? Is it plugged in? *pause* Yeah, you're welcome." *click* Did I mention the melodramatic goth that's behind the red door? No? Wow. :) Cradle of Filth, indeed. Five stars!

Second season! Yes! When did the furniture in the office start changing every episode? Death of the big boss, taken over by his even crazier son. I think I've worked for some of these people. :) Is Reynholm Industries hiring? I'll jump across the pond to join this IT team. Five stars!

Wow, Drivel (a blogging tool for Gnome) has come a really long way. It's gotten so user friendly that I'm having no problem playing with the new options even while Cian tries to eat my hand.
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TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Your education is about to take a curious and interesting turn. During the coming weeks, I expect that you'll upgrade your street smarts and explore a whole new meaning for the term "hands-on experience." You'll find out about an area of ignorance that was so deep and dark you didn't even know about it, and you'll take aggressive steps to get it the teaching it needs. Congratulations in advance for being brave enough to open your mind so wide, Taurus. I'm glad you'll be hunting for a fresh set of questions.

( Twitter Madness! )
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( Twitter Madness! )
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( Twitter Madness! )
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