As you should know, I love movies. Without movies, my life....well, I really don't want to think about what my life would be like. Let's just say I once "watched" an entire movie in my head to distract myself from the fact I was actually in an MRI machine. Not a sandy beach, not a rain forest, nope, I chose to imagine Rent.
So, since this blog has had very little mention of movies on it, aside from the list to the left, I think it is time for me to talk about movies I have seen or plan to see this summer. We'll call summer....May through September (for now).
I'll tell you what I thought of the movie without giving too much away, but I don't think I'll grade the movies, since that takes more effort than I am willing to put forth at this time. But I will comment on whether I have seen it multiple times, or if I'd be willing to see it multiple times.
What I've seen:
The Avengers
Times seen: 2
Well worth the wait and the amount of hype preceding it was, for once in this business, appropriate. I would recommend rewatching the movies leading up to it (Iron Man, Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, and Captain America), though it is not that necessary if you have seen them once. Having seen them all with my comic-geek friends, I honestly don't know how enjoyable this movie would be if you hadn't seen the prequels, so I cannot comment on that aspect. I have seen it twice, and would be willing to pay to see it more times.
Hunger Games
Times seen: 1.5
Ok, while I did not first see this in the month of May, I did rewatch most of it during the time I saw The Avengers for the second time (I was at the drive in, and it was on the next screen over, easily seen from my spot for The Avengers). It is a pretty good adaptation of the book (which I did read first), and what changes that were made, I can respect. One thing I did appreciate is that, unlike the book, which is all told from the point of view of Katniss, the movie shows what's going on around her as well. Some of the content dips its toes into the second book, but the scenes make more sense to be included in the first movie. I would most likely be willing to pay to see this again, but it would really depend on my mood, since the movie makes me a little emotional.
What I plan to see, and when it opens:
Dark Shadows (May 11)
Safe (May ?)
Snow White and the Huntsman (June 1)
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (June 22)
Brave (June 22)
The Amazing Spider-Man (July 3)
The Dark Knight Rises (July 20)
Huh, I thought that list would be longer. Oh well, I still will have more than enough to see, I think. Before I forget, here is where I got the info for the opening dates. It's a pretty nifty site.
Anyway, unless something more blog-worthy pops up, the next few blogs will likely be about one of the movies listed above.
I hope you enjoy your summer movies, everyone!
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Happy Thanksgiving, and On Snobby Knitting Shops
Today, I am thankful for the friends who have stood by me, even when I was at my craziest (and let's face it, I made batshit look sane), my family for always helping me when I need it (and Lord do I need it), and for having "snobby" knitting shops that are less than an hour's drive away.
Now, I say "snobby" (and yes, I used air quotes while I was thinking out this post), but that's just because saying "Local" isn't always true. In San Jose, there is ONE local yarn shop (lys for short). And the people there are nice, but it is a little scary how much Cascade yarn varieties and colors they have (and now I think I've lost both of the two people who informed me that they actually read this. Crap.)
On the off chance you are still here, I will continue my information sharing. Back to the shop: They do not, however, carry my favorite maker of yarn: the elusive Malabrigo. Anyone who has met Malabrigo knows how amazing it is. If sex were a yarn...okay, that's a bad analogy, I appologise. The problem is, the company is very sporadic as to when it ships yarn out and what it ships to each store. If you find a color you like, buy it now, because there is no guarantee you will EVER find it again.
That was a bit of a tangent, and I appologise, again. So the next closest shop that carries my beloved is in Los Gatos. Not too far away, but to get there, I have to take the 17, and should I miss my exit (which, let's face it, I am more than likely to do) I am stuck on the 17 until I get to...a lot further away than I wanted to go. The shop is smaller than the one in SJ, but the staff is uber friendly and willing to help you find what you need, even if you don't plan to buy it from them just yet.
The next closest, and likely the one I'll go to should I miss my exit to the one in LG, is a small shop in Santa Cruz. I almost never buy from them, because their stash is pretty limited, but I love the atmosphere there so much that I sometimes just go to sit and chat with the store owners. And it is right down the cliff from the wharf, so I can pop in and get myself some chocolate covered bacon and chocolate covered gummy bears when I am done knitting/chatting. Btw - DO NOT KNOCK THE BACON UNTIL YOU"VE TRIED IT! I love it, and I don't actually like pork, or anything that comes off of a pig for that matter.
Now the BEST lys I have gone to is all the way up in SF, in the Mission District. The GOOD part of the district (yes, it does exist. There are many nice houses and cars to prove it.) They have all the Malabrigo a knitter in the bay could ever hope to find in one location. Which is not saying much considering how few Bay lys actually carry any Malabrigo....but I digress. Once again, there is the chatty, friendly atmosphere that has actually led to this long tangent that was supposed to be summed up in one short phrase: Snobby yarn shops actually are not snobby.
I think I will end this now, before I lose what ever audience I might have left. As a parting gift, I will leave you with the links to the shops I discussed above.
San Jose - The Knitting Room
Los Gatos - YarnDogs
Santa Cruz - The Swift Stitch
San Francisco - ImagiKnit
Now, I say "snobby" (and yes, I used air quotes while I was thinking out this post), but that's just because saying "Local" isn't always true. In San Jose, there is ONE local yarn shop (lys for short). And the people there are nice, but it is a little scary how much Cascade yarn varieties and colors they have (and now I think I've lost both of the two people who informed me that they actually read this. Crap.)
On the off chance you are still here, I will continue my information sharing. Back to the shop: They do not, however, carry my favorite maker of yarn: the elusive Malabrigo. Anyone who has met Malabrigo knows how amazing it is. If sex were a yarn...okay, that's a bad analogy, I appologise. The problem is, the company is very sporadic as to when it ships yarn out and what it ships to each store. If you find a color you like, buy it now, because there is no guarantee you will EVER find it again.
That was a bit of a tangent, and I appologise, again. So the next closest shop that carries my beloved is in Los Gatos. Not too far away, but to get there, I have to take the 17, and should I miss my exit (which, let's face it, I am more than likely to do) I am stuck on the 17 until I get to...a lot further away than I wanted to go. The shop is smaller than the one in SJ, but the staff is uber friendly and willing to help you find what you need, even if you don't plan to buy it from them just yet.
The next closest, and likely the one I'll go to should I miss my exit to the one in LG, is a small shop in Santa Cruz. I almost never buy from them, because their stash is pretty limited, but I love the atmosphere there so much that I sometimes just go to sit and chat with the store owners. And it is right down the cliff from the wharf, so I can pop in and get myself some chocolate covered bacon and chocolate covered gummy bears when I am done knitting/chatting. Btw - DO NOT KNOCK THE BACON UNTIL YOU"VE TRIED IT! I love it, and I don't actually like pork, or anything that comes off of a pig for that matter.
Now the BEST lys I have gone to is all the way up in SF, in the Mission District. The GOOD part of the district (yes, it does exist. There are many nice houses and cars to prove it.) They have all the Malabrigo a knitter in the bay could ever hope to find in one location. Which is not saying much considering how few Bay lys actually carry any Malabrigo....but I digress. Once again, there is the chatty, friendly atmosphere that has actually led to this long tangent that was supposed to be summed up in one short phrase: Snobby yarn shops actually are not snobby.
I think I will end this now, before I lose what ever audience I might have left. As a parting gift, I will leave you with the links to the shops I discussed above.
San Jose - The Knitting Room
Los Gatos - YarnDogs
Santa Cruz - The Swift Stitch
San Francisco - ImagiKnit
Monday, November 21, 2011
Stuff I've Been Working on (to Prove to You That I'm Still Alive)
This one's going to be short, but I felt a bit guilty that I haven't posted anything in a really long time. Especially not since I got Owen, my new laptop. And that was back in September. Anyway, to prove to you that I have been sort of productive, I thought I'd show a few pictures of things I've been working on. Although, I think anyone reading this has most likely followed a link from Facebook, so you have probably seen these before. Oh well.
The cover for "my band"'s first album. (No, you didn't miss anything big, this was just a random design challenge, and I really liked how it turned out.)
The Picture was from flikr, the title from a random quote, and the band name from a random wikipedia article. The directions may be posted, if enough interest is expressed. I used piknik to edit the picture, and I have to say, it is one of the easiest photo editor I've ever used, and the best part is: it is free. The second best part is: it is online.
That turned out bigger than I expected, and yes, I did select "small" on the image uploader. This is a picture of the most recent update to my room, since not much else has changed. I got the pictures and the frames from Ikea (as you might have expected). I may be replacing some of the wall art in my room in the nearish future, since I got a bad ass poster, and have no place to hang it. (Note: The links are not to the exact products, since the art cards I bought did not show up on the website. The ones on the link are from the same series and are the same dimensions. And I kinda like them, too.)
Okay, getting this up took longer than I thought, and I have a long school day ahead, which I am only mildly prepared for. I'll try to post more soon, and maybe I'll share some of the knitting I've been working on, since those pictures don't make it to Facebook. Feel free to comment, or ask any questions, or anything to let me know SOMEBODY still looks at this :-) Seriously, if people let me know that they look in from time to time, I may be inclined to put the effort in to put up some more entertaining posts, like I used to.
The cover for "my band"'s first album. (No, you didn't miss anything big, this was just a random design challenge, and I really liked how it turned out.)The Picture was from flikr, the title from a random quote, and the band name from a random wikipedia article. The directions may be posted, if enough interest is expressed. I used piknik to edit the picture, and I have to say, it is one of the easiest photo editor I've ever used, and the best part is: it is free. The second best part is: it is online.
That turned out bigger than I expected, and yes, I did select "small" on the image uploader. This is a picture of the most recent update to my room, since not much else has changed. I got the pictures and the frames from Ikea (as you might have expected). I may be replacing some of the wall art in my room in the nearish future, since I got a bad ass poster, and have no place to hang it. (Note: The links are not to the exact products, since the art cards I bought did not show up on the website. The ones on the link are from the same series and are the same dimensions. And I kinda like them, too.)Okay, getting this up took longer than I thought, and I have a long school day ahead, which I am only mildly prepared for. I'll try to post more soon, and maybe I'll share some of the knitting I've been working on, since those pictures don't make it to Facebook. Feel free to comment, or ask any questions, or anything to let me know SOMEBODY still looks at this :-) Seriously, if people let me know that they look in from time to time, I may be inclined to put the effort in to put up some more entertaining posts, like I used to.
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