Well Hell's Bells

Sometimes it is really a wonderful thing to wolf sit for Dog (strike that, reverse it) and this is most definitely one of those times. The place is quiet, I can read or draw or watch a little television or play the Wii or whatever and it just really...peaceful. *contented sigh*

So I have had the opportunity to watch a couple of movies that I've wanted to see. Cloverfield had the potential to be a really great movie but, as my friend Ben told me not to long ago, it has a bad case of Hollywood-itis. All the deaths move from the darkest person to the lightest person almost in exact order. Also, it suffers a little from Blair Witch Syndrome...that hand filmed look that can make someone throw up if they're really prone to motion sickness. Other than that it was wonderful and if you're up for a relatively intelligent movie that is also one hell of a ride then you'll probably really like it.

Stephen King's 'The Mist' was exactly like the written version down to the tiniest little bit of dialogue. A fantastic thrill ride and a really interesting outlook on human nature and religion. Quite fascinating, as King's worst typically is, and definitely worth watching.

Jackass 2 is most definitely, at least in my opinion, WAY funnier than the first one. Not for the faint of heart or tight of ass. Unless you enjoy watching guys doing really stupid crap then don't watch it. If you are a fan of Jackass or Wild Boyz then go watch it ... right now. Also, 2.5 was really funny. It's all about the stuff that they cut out of 2 'cause they had footage enough for almost 2 movies. Lots of interview too. Wee!!!

Last one. Hitman was absolutely fan-friggin-tastic, beautifully filmed. It is not as dummed down as everyone thought it was going to be, which makes absolute since because the game that it's based off of was really intelligent. The movie is the same way. The story line is layed out very well despite the fact that they fit almost 50 hours of game play into and hour and a half. The characters are interesting and very "3-d", lots of meat on the bones. Also, it's another roller coaster movie lots of action and great fight scenes.

I am now reading A Wind in the Door by Madeline L'Engle. This is one of the companion books to A Wrinkle in Time and so far is proving to be far more interesting, if that is at all possible. This is Quantum Theory for the young adult reader. Molly, who just turned 10 in May is reading A Wrinkle in Time right now and was loving it the last time I checked which was a couple of days ago now. I wouldn't be surprised if she had finished it already. We have to get Bella to read it next.

When we went to the bookstore a few days ago mom picked up another couple of books as well. Rick Riordan's new book "The Battle of the Labyrinth"( I can't remember if this is 3 or four in the Percy Jackson series) and another book called "The Calder Game" by Blue Balliett This is 3 in the Write series).

Rick Riordan's books are amazing. They're all about a boy named Percy Jackson who is half human half Greek God (Poseidon's the baby daddy). They bring Greek Mythology into the light for a generation that seems very apathetic towards literature of antiquity. Bless him for writing these. And don't think that they're only good for young adults either. Like the Harry Potter books these are popular among all ages of readers because they are simply amazing. I think there is link to Riordan's blog somewhere on my Sidebar, go check it out sometime.

I have not read any of Blue Balliet's books (chasing Vermeer, the Write 3 and now the Calder game.) but from what I know they are about a group of kids who solve mysteries having to do with art in one fashion or another. This is what I'll be reading after I finish books 2 and 3 out of 5 in the Madeline L'Engle books. Come to think of it, mom may have written something about these books over at her place.

In the next week or so I will be putting some new work up on my sketch blog as I am learning how to color with Photoshop CS2. It doesn't seem to be as user friendly as my last art program, Jasc Paint Shop Pro 9, but I still love it and being able to use a graphic pad with it really brings out a lot of the features that would otherwise be very difficult to use so keep your eyes peeled for some new coloring work in the next week or so. I'll be sure to put a little linky-poo here when they are up.