Blog By James

I am just so tired and worn. I shouldn’t feel this way at only 34 years old. But even though people are generally living healthier and are more aware of their bodies now more than ever, the stress of such a fast paced and complicated life is going to kill us anyway. Maybe I’ll get some rest this weekend while trying to do things I enjoy, things that I’m too tired to do during the week when I get home from work.

With the exception of being with family and close friends, I find christmas to be a joke and it just makes me nauseous anymore. Kids in America are getting more and more spoiled, receiving all these expensive game systems, gadgets and other useless crap from unquestioning parents. X-mas in the US gets more bloated and ridiculous every year, proving again that we’re farther from straightening out our priorities than we’ve ever been. It’s sad. America is so very sad and on so many levels.

Now that I’ve got that out of my system…

On a more positive note, I’d like to talk about a band that I have heard of for quite some time but hadn’t actually heard until recently. The band is Sweden’s Katatonia and their forthcoming album “The Great Cold Distance” is simply stellar. I downloaded a promotional version of the CD which has the occasional voice-over on all tracks: (“You’re listening to the song [track title here] from the upcoming Katatonia album, The Great Cold Distance”) It will be released in March of ’06 and you’d have a hell of a time keeping me from rushing out to the record shop on release day for this one. It’s like a tasty blend of Porcupine Tree, Opeth, The Cure and Tool along with the band’s own flavor of exceptional musicianship and mature, concise songwriting. You’ll probably be hearing more from me about Katatonia as I explore the band’s back catalog.

I’ve been officially diagnosed with hypertension. I went to the doctor on Monday finally to get a much needed physical and as expected; my blood pressure is excessively high for someone my age. So I’m on medication now which will hopefully do the trick. We shall see…

First I’d like to say that the Aeon Flux movie was great. Meb and Pinar joined Allison and I for the 12:30 showing on Saturday. Although I didn’t necessarily expect much going in, I really wanted it to be good. Director Karyn Kusama made what could have easily been a disaster into something solid. And the acting was also quite good in my opinion. Charlize Theron continues to surprise me and the supporting cast was equally as exceptional. I still enjoy the original series but I’d have to say that the film is an even better adaptation of the story and characters. A definite DVD purchase for me. If you’re into good sci-fi/fantasy, I highly recommend it.

The weekend was the most productive I’ve had in months. In our basement there was this large pile of half unpacked boxes and random stuff taking up a good portion of the room ever since we moved in. Allison and I have talked about going thru it all, consolidating everything and putting the unused items in the attic for months. Well it finally happened yesterday and I am very happy about it. Allison was a big help and between the two of us we got everything cleaned up and got the treadmill and exercise bike setup in a much more efficient way. This will help me get a little more inspired to workout more often.

I was hoping to get a little Half-Life 2 in over the weekend but with my sudden transformation into Mr. Productive Pants, I ran out of time and energy. (Sorry Meb) And while I’m on the subject of gaming, I’d like to say a few things about the Bloodrayne game. Last week I made some time to play Bloodrayne 2 and after about an hour into it I’ve decided I don’t really want to finish it. I understood what I was getting into as I played the first game and yes it’s fun to hack and slash thru everything. But I think that if I’m going to play a third person style game anymore, it’s going to be a true adventure game like the Tomb Raider series. And ultimately, it’s all about first person games for me anyway.

The Logitech G15 is a dream. It is the coolest keyboard I’ve ever used and if I had the disposable income, I’d have one for every computer I own.

So we’re planning on seeing the 12:30 matinee of Aeon Flux tomorrow (Saturday) at Snowden Square. If there’s any of you local folks that are interested please contact me and/or leave a comment.

I really like the originality and uniqueness of the series and have high hopes for the film. Some of the shots in the trailer look really well done. I have a feeling that the film will be a little more concise and a lot less confusing than the series was. With the series, even if you give it your full attention, it’s easy to get lost. So yeah, I’m looking forward to it.