Star Wars 2D is fine by me

I'd like to tell you how much money I've spent in my life to watch Star Wars. I'd LIKE to, but frankly, I'm too lazy and too embarrassed to do the math!

The first time I saw Star Wars was actually on TV. We actually may or may not have taped it off of TV. I had those tapes until I was 18 and bought the Special Editions on VHS.

Naturally, I saw all three Special Editions in the theater. Of course I did!

When Episode I came out, I waited in line a week ahead of time to get tickets. On opening day, I saw it twice. Back to back.

I saw Episode II twice as well, though I didn't camp out for it. I did, however, pay extra to make sure I saw it in an all digital theater.

Episode III I only saw once in the theater. To be honest, I was unimpressed with it at the time (it has since become a favorite).

I bought the deluxe VHS edition of Episode I that came with all sorts of neat bonus stuff like a book and a frame of the film. And that actually reminds me, I also bought and read the novelization of Episode I!

Unrelated to actually watching the movies, my 19th birthday was the day they released the action figures for Episode I. I was there at midnight with the other nerds buying them up. It's also worth noting here that I never hated Episode I as much as the rest of the world seemed to. Previous discussions can be found here and here.

I bought each prequel on DVD as they came out. When the original trilogy box set came out, I bought that. When they released the movies as individual two disc sets, I bought those. I had to! The second disc was the theatrical cut of each movie! Star Wars sans 25 years of meddling!

I'm done.

Why on earth do I need to spend one more dollar on these movies? Do I care about seeing them in 3D? No. Do I want to see them on Blu-Ray? I don't even want to get a Blu-Ray player!

I just cannot justify spending any more money on these movies. It doesn't mean that I like them any less, it just means that I've reached my limit. There's nothing else that can be added to these movies that will make me want to spend another dime to watch them.

I'm sorry, George. I just can't do this.

Song of The Day - Fireplace by Lost in the Trees

Today I learned that Lost In The Trees was recently featured as part of NPR's Tiny Desk Concert Series. Sadly, they didn't do Fireplace, which may be my favorite song from the new cd All Alone In An Empty House. I had the opportunity to see Lost In The Trees this past summer. It was the most intimate show that I could imagine a band playing. I can't say that there were more than two dozen people there to see them. They played upstairs at the Crofoot in Pontiac, MI after CocoRosie had played downstairs. Almost everyone left, but my friends and I stuck around to check them out. Sadly, I was getting tired and wanted to go home, so I did not enjoy the show as much as I could have. I did, however, buy the cd and quickly fell in love with it.

Way off topic, kind of, but BEER!

Well, maybe not. I mean, you drink beer when you watch movies, right? I do. Hell, that may be part of my ultimate goal! By Halloween, I could actually be drinking a beer I made while watching a movie that I'm in!

One of the things I've wanted to do for...well, as long as I can remember, is brew my own beer. I like beer. I'm no beer snob, but I enjoy a good beer. As I've learned to do more and more things, acquiring more and more 'homemaking' skills (canning, preserving food, that sort of thing), home brewing has always been the endgame. It's been the goal. Everything has built up to it.

Today, I took the second step in realizing this goal (the first step was on Saturday when I bought all the equipment). Today I made a batch of wort (unfermented beer). Ultimately, in a couple weeks, it should become actual beer. Of course, I could have screwed the whole thing up and may need to start over. I have no idea. I've never done this before!

I kept everything as sanitary and sterile as I could, which is the biggest thing. And it's just a malt extract beer. Both of these should ensure some level of success. In my mind though, I will fear that this whole endeavor will be a failure until I bottle. And even then, it'll be a while after that before I'm 100% that I've made a drinkable beer. So, fingers crossed. If all goes well, I should have a nice amber wheat beer in about a month!

My kitchen...not a mess! (for a change)

I have Electric Six running through my head, which has NOTHING to do with this post.

It wasn't that long ago, only a couple of years now, that the channel formerly known as SciFi debuted a show called The Dresden Files. You may not remember it since it didn't last very long. I, however, do remember it, kind of. If I scour the recesses of my memory, I can recall watching an episode or two during it's original run. The idea of a mystery solving wizard is fairly appealing, as it should be. Especially a wizard who uses a drumstick for a wand and a hockey stick as a staff.

A mystery solving wizard is the basis for the show. Harry Dresden lives in a world of magic known to most as Chicago. Here, the magic is hidden from most people. Besides running a business as a wizard for hire, Harry is also a consultant for the Chicago police department, helping out when cases get weird.

I recently rented the first (and only!) season from Netflix. It's only 12 episodes, and the set itself is fairly devoid of any special features. The show itself was fairly weak in the early episodes (which never helps when you're trying to find an audience), though everything got much better near the end of it's run. By the end, all I wanted was for there to be a few more episodes. Does Morgan begin to trust (and maybe even like) Harry? What becomes of Harry and Lt Murphy? Does their relationship continue to progress? 

The series was based on a series of books written by Jim Butcher. I've only read the first one so far, and it shows some promise as an interesting series of books. From what I understand, the TV series only loosely had anything to do with the books, basically being an alternate universe with some of the same characters.

I would really like to see them do more with the premise and the characters, but I know that's a lost cause at this point. Still, it was an interesting show, and I'm excited to read more in the books!

I swear it seemed like a good idea at the time.

I've seen so many great movie related drawings and artwork over the years. I really have. And, I felt inspired the other night to contribute some of my own artwork. So, I decided that I would draw something. I wanted to draw something awesome. Something like the t-rex from Jurassic Park fighting the shark from Jaws. That would be pretty epic (at least by Syfy movie standards). When I finished, it felt like it was missing something, so I added a comet striking the Earth.

Sadly, since I can't draw, it looks like Barney is fighting a penis with teeth and there's a muffin top flying through the background.

I title the piece "Exhibit A in why I didn't pursue a career in art".

Song of the Day - Banditos by The Refreshments

Sometimes I forget how much I love this song.