Snow's
Vanity, whimsy, and foolishness site...
Misc Reviews
| Atari 2600 | |
|
When I was a kid I had one of these. I got it second hand, a bit late in the life of Atari, in it's decline actually, but I loved it. I had friends with Nintendo, and I scoffed. I preferred the Atari. But at some point I stopped using it, and I think my mom and I decided to sell it in a yard sale or something, and it was gone. Not to be thought of much for ten years or so. Then recently I learned that Mike had one in storage and we got to talking about it, and wishing it was around, and so he got it out of storage and he picked up some games on Ebay and at the thrift store, and we've been having retro fun playing River Raid, Frogger, Centipede, Pitfall 2, Pac Man, Combat, Donkey Kong, etc... I think that these are a lot of fun, even a relief compared to the intensely complicated games that are being made these days. Misc Reviews item Posted: 7/3/06; 10:45:57 PM |
|
| Circus Contraption's Grand American Traveling Dime Museum (Seattle) | |
|
Watched 7/29/05 What marvelous fun. I wish I'd gone sooner in the run, so that I could maybe have gone more than once. As it was this was the last regular show night. Only the big gala fundraiser followed. The band was amazing and so were all of the sketches, the acrobatics, and other sexy, creepy, silliness. From the fortune teller who comes out to do rope acrobatics (wish I knew the name for this, sorry), to the creepy Dr. Calamari and his beloved Acrophilia, who do some amazing gymnastics, to the silliness of Bunny LaMonte (who our friend Eric volunteered to bicycle race with on stage. They used old fashioned, large front wheel, style bikes, and Eric won even.) Hard to sum up why I liked it, but I'll try. It's more old fashioned carnival, than circus. It's got this creepy travelling side show feel to it. The music is all original compositions, the musicians and performers are all great at what they do, the show is tight, and it goes on a lot longer than you expect it to (which is a very good thing). Misc Reviews item Posted: 8/7/05; 11:43:04 PM |
|
| Helen's Troy (2004) | |
|
Watched 4/2/05 Troy is one of those things that hovered around between history and myth in my mind for years. It was mentioned a lot in various places, but I didn't have a central context for it until I was a teen. My high school's mascot was the Trojans, and I think by then I had a solid idea that they had lost that epic war, and why anyone would pick the loser as their mascot, I had no idea. On another note, I was particularly found of Marion Zimmer Bradley's "Firebrand", which was the first book I read that was all about the fall of Troy, and told from a woman's perspective (Kassandra's). Now to the point. "Helen's Troy" is the same story, all told from Helen's perspective. What I watched was a video recording of a one woman, live performance. Not a hundred takes for every scene, not pieced together from many shows, just one solid performance. Written and performed by Megan Wells, this is a fascinating and very personal story. It's really Helen's life story, but if Troy was left out of the title people wouldn't have the correct context right off. She's a charismatic storyteller, and I didn't mind watching and listening to just her for 2 hours. I rather enjoyed it. She covers everything from her parentage, to her affairs, and marriages, thru and past the war, to the personal outcome for Helen. Misc Reviews item Posted: 5/5/05; 11:10:42 PM |
|
| Carnivale (HBO Series) Season 1 | |
|
Started 2/27/05 - Finished 3/18/05 A beautiful period drama, set in 1934 during the dustbowl. We mostly follow Ben, who is taken on by a travelling carnival show when he's got nowhere else to go. He's got some strange healing powers that he hides. He doesn't really know how it works and he doesn't trust any of the freaks he's travelling with. Occasionally we see a second story line, that of a fanatically preacher, who has some sort of connection to Ben. The show is well filmed, written, and acted. It's full of freaks, darkness, and magic. I rather enjoyed it, and am looking forward to the second season. Misc Reviews item Posted: 4/17/05; 3:37:24 PM |
|
| Sean Curran Company and the Amelia Piano Trio | |
|
Attended 2/25/05 This was an unusual evening for us. We don't see live performances very often. For the most part I enjoyed the music and dance combinations. The solo dance piece, and the one about human relationships, I think there were six or eight dancers, those were the best. The musicians were very good. I've always liked string instruments best. The music placed without dancers also performing paled in comparison. Overall, I enjoyed this, as much for the change of pace, as for the performance itself. It helps give me perspective. Misc Reviews item Posted: 4/17/05; 2:14:33 PM |
|
| Theater Simple: Three Viewings | |
|
2/12/05 - Richard Hugo House, Capitol Hill, Seattle This was a wonderful set of three monologues. All happening in the same fictional funeral parlor, in a fictional American town. The first was creepy, the second was a bit alternative and surprising, and the last was touching and romantic. Since the run is over already (I'm so terribly behind on my reviews that it's embarrassing) a few mild spoilers is probably okay. The first was a funeral director, in love with a woman who he is terrified to admit it to, and it has a "Tell Tale Heart" element. Well delivered performance. The second was a woman being called "home" for the funeral of her grandmother. And the first surprising and alternative element is that she's a thief who steals from corpses on display for wakes/funerals. The rest is in the details of her story and how it unfolds. Her childhood, her relationship to her parents, her suicide attempt some years before. This one was brilliant, and really got to me. The actress did a fantastic job. The third was an older woman, who's husband of many years has died recently, and her story of how things unfolded after his death. All of the bills and loans she didn't know anything about because he took care of all that. Mixed in are romantic stories of her life with, and love for her husband. It was very sentimental throughout, and it had a lovely twist at the end. The actress here gave a great performance as well. I really enjoyed this, and recommended to as many of my local friends as I could, since it was a live show at a theatre in my neighborhood. Misc Reviews item Posted: 3/21/05; 10:26:51 PM |
|
| Awesome Pawsome (1999) | |
|
Watched - 2/1/05 A friend shared this with me. It's about a litter of tigers born at a theme park in Australia. It covers the first year of their lives. They are very closely raised by humans, so that they will get along well with them. They are even taken on walks around the park where people can pet them. It's very odd to see a giant wild predator strolling along, but they want people to see and touch them, and to inspire them to try and help save tigers from extinction, which is a good enough reason to have them there. The video is full of cute little moments with the tiger cubs. They're absolutely adorable. Misc Reviews item Posted: 2/22/05; 11:05:48 PM |
|
| 2004 - Reviewing My Reviews | |
|
Books I only finished 11 books this year. That really sucks, and I'll have to resolve to triple that this year. Seven of those I read myself and four of them I read with Michael. Which means he read them to me. I don't think I could even begin to pick a favorite from such a short list. They are all different and wonderful in their own way. Except that Blending series. I think I've had it with that set. Every book is just more of the same, and it's gotten irritating. Movies Holy Cow! I did precisely 100 movie reviews in 2004. I guess I know what I was doing instead of reading. In order to pick my favorites I had to come up with some categories to help me. These are my favorite picks from all the movies I saw in 2004, for the first time. It doesn't matter when the movie was made.
Fantasy:
Coming of Age:
New and innovative:
Foreign:
Musical:
Black & White, and Fairy Tale:
Animated:
Kids film:
Comedy:
Action:
Based on a true story:
Drama:
Romance:
Period Piece:
Documentary:
Epic: Misc Reviews item Posted: 1/23/05; 2:11:01 PM |
|
| Familiar Men, Photographs by Laurie Toby Edison | |||||
Misc Reviews item Posted: 9/25/04; 12:08:17 AM |
|||||
| Dance classes: Lindy | |
|
Sundays in August A year or two ago Michael and I took a Lindy 1 dance class. Then we never practiced and we forgot everything. Recently we've been going out dancing every couple of weeks and we decided to give Lindy another try. We had to cancel our movie nights in August for the classes (thus even less movie reviews this month). We had new instructors this time and they presented roughly the same material in a different order, and we enjoyed the classes more. We haven't really got in any practice yet, but hopefully we won't wait too long again this time. Misc Reviews item Posted: 9/13/04; 11:46:17 PM |
|
| Laura Love: Book Reading and New Music Performed | |
|
Attended 8/12/04 This was a fabulous break from routine. I've never attended a book reading at Bailey Coy books before, and never a reading like this anywhere before. I've been going out to see Laura Love perform for better then ten years now. She's one of my favorites. She's an incredibly energetic and engaging performer. She has written a Memoir called "You Ain't Got No Easter Clothes" and she has recorded a new album to go along with it. The "reading" consisted of her reading a tidbit from the book and then performing a song from the album, then back to the book... Repeat for an hour. It was wonderful. With her, was her band-mate Jen. (I can't recall her last name and I can't find it on the website, but there is a picture of them performing together here. And I wanted to get this up in time to say that you should go see her do this all over again tonight (8/18/04) at Elliot Bay Books, or on 9/23/04 at the University Bookstore. Misc Reviews item Posted: 8/18/04; 2:47:37 PM |
|
| Boundaries Workshop | |
|
Attended 8/5/04 This was a three hour workshop put on by Home Alive. It was fine for a 101 type intro class, but honestly I was hoping for something a little more advanced. I really wasn't looking to start off with "What is boundary setting?". Really I know what boundaries are. It was hard for me to be serious and keep a straight face as they had us do some basic exercises. Pick a partner and walk across the run to them, they must use body language to let you know when you've come far enough, then use their voice the next time. Then lets shout, just to find out how it feels. Let's sit on the floor with our partner facing each other, touch palms and say "This is you." and then touch our own shoulders and say "This is me.". Repeat a few times. Let's roll play what it's like to have "strangers" shout things at us, how do we deal with that? Etc.. you get the idea. Strangers, harassment, attacks, all impersonal stuff. I didn't need this at all. I have no trouble at simply ignoring strangers who try to harass me on the street. My boundary is that I don't allow myself to become engaged with them. At most I might shake my head at them. Maybe. What I need, if anything is a more discussion oriented workshop about really personal stuff. How to set subtle boundaries with partners, parents, friends old and new. People that I care about, but I still don't want to get taken advantage of. Just one more place in life where I'd like to be able to have an advanced conversation, and all that's available is the basic intro. I can only recommend this to folks who think they need an intro workshop on the basics. Misc Reviews item Posted: 8/12/04; 11:26:22 PM |
|
| NorWesCon 2004 | ||
Easter Weekend - Thursday thru Sunday Michael and I needed a weekend away and we haven't really gone to Norwescon since three years ago. So, we decided to take a long weekend and enjoy it. It was crazy and interesting and stressful and tiring by turns. Seeing people I like, but not always being able to stop and talk, seeing people I don't like so much and being polite while definitely not taking the time to stop and talk, making sure I ate enough at appropriate intervals, attending some panels, seeing the art show, checking out the dealers room, and walking endless around the hotel. We were pretty exhausted when we got home yesterday. All in all, I suppose that's pretty typical of everyones experience at a science fiction convention. (Assuming it isn't their first one.) Misc Reviews item Posted: 4/12/04; 8:41:32 PM |
||
| OkCupid.com | |
|
I was introduced to this site by Michael a week or two ago. He really wanted me to join so that we could see if it thinks we are a good match or not. We've been together for three and a half years and he needs a match making website to validate our relationship. *laugh* No not really, it's just fun and interesting. They use a rather unique system by which you answer questions in three parts. 1) what is your answer, 2) what would your ideal match say, and 3) how important is this question to you. The formula is quite interesting. They have over 600k people signed up and answering questions, but I don't think their servers are doing too good a job of keeping up, the "matches" screens are a bit flaky. It's still worth checking out. Misc Reviews item Posted: 4/12/04; 8:31:55 PM |
|
| Circus Contraption: Strip Joint | |
|
3/6/04 It was in an old supermarket building and it was freezing in there and people were rude. The freezing part alone ended up meaning that I didn't have a good time. The performers were mostly enthusiastic, and some of them were really good. There was a gal on a hoop shaped trapeze nearby who was a lot of fun to watch. She was good at what she was doing and she smiled a lot. There was some seating and we did get there early enough to have a table, but unfortunately for us the seating was set up in such a way that as soon as the stage show started all of the standing people crowded in tightly together between the stage and the people sitting. Which meant I saw nothing of the stage show. Michael and I left at about 10 pm since I was feeling too cranky due to the cold and he had a bad headache. Not the best evening out, though I could tell that all the folks involved in putting the show on were doing there best. Misc Reviews item Posted: 3/7/04; 11:00:45 PM |
|
| 1st Thursday - Artwalk | |
|
Watched - 3/4/04 Not the most well planned excursion, but it went alright. We managed to get there, park eventually, and see a few galleries. It's been years since I went to one of these, I'm glad they still do it. The best thing I saw was a gallery of glass objects. And watching some guys in the back working on stuff was neat. They had this glass enclosed work area that was great. The worst thing was seeing some rather simple and flat looking paintings that I was told were by a very well known local artist. I hate that there are amazing artists all over the place who are just scraping by and this weird uncomplicated stuff is selling for thousands of dollars. It's just wrong. But all in all it was a good evening, maybe we'll try it again some time soon, and plan it better. Misc Reviews item Posted: 3/7/04; 10:39:05 PM |
|
| Red Hot Words | |
|
Attended - 3/3/04 We went down to the SPCC for this on Wednesday because we wanted to be supportive of a friend who was the featured reader/writer of the event this month. (The event being basically an open mike night for writers, with an erotic/sexual theme.) We had a good time overall. But as with any sort of amateur night the quality overall of what we heard wasn't very high. Our friend there is good, I think her poetry is rather intense and well done. The other poetry we heard ranged from bad to okay. And the prose we heard was mostly personal stories and I'm not sure what that's about. Do people journal so much that they think their personal accounts are their best writing? I dunno, but I guess I prefer fiction. Which, of course is logically enriched by personal experiences, but is still fiction. Maybe this is my opinion because I consider myself a photographer and not a writer. I write personal commentary for web pages of pictures, but that doesn't make me a writer. Not in my mind. Michael tells me that I do a good job of writing my personal stories, and that's fine, but he extends this to say that I am a writer. We argue about this. Misc Reviews item Posted: 3/6/04; 2:33:28 PM |
|
| Concrete Blonde: Mid-life Crisis (1992) | |
|
Watched - 2/18/04 This was a fun cross between a home movie and a rockumentary. Most of it consists of tour footage filmed by Johnette as they traveled the world. It starts in the early days of the band, and I missed something in there that would tell us exactly when it started, but it goes on through the time when Harry left, and was replaced by Paul Thompson, and then Harry comes back. It continues through the Bloodletting tour a bit and wraps up with some stuff from Johnette that seems to refer to solo work she did. The only structure is that it is in chronological order. By the passing of time isn't very well sign posted. Snippets of videos here and there made me realize that they have several videos that I've never seen. Amazing considering that I was watching a lot of MTV in the late '80s and early 90s, which was the right time period for them. I wonder how I missed most of them. Maybe if we're lucky they'll produce a DVD with all they videos they ever made. That'd be great. Misc Reviews item Posted: 2/27/04; 6:00:38 PM |
|
| Comedy of Eros III | |
|
Michael and I attended this on Valentines Day (2/14/04). Here is the line up from the website:
Searching for Love, Literally, by Tajuan LaBee The first one wasn't very good. The second was cute but dull. The third was good, Michael particularly liked the dialog and the actress in it. The fourth was good, funny stuff. The fifth one was unexpected and very good. There was no dialog at all and the entire thing was performed while eating oatmeal. The two characters progress from toddlers to death over bowls of oatmeal. They did quite a good job. The sixth one didn't hold together very well. The first two bits were tied together and the second two bits were completely unrelated to each other or the first two. And the fourth "letter" turned out to be the best of them. Sappy, but good. And then finally the sixth one. The one we were there for, because it had our friends in it. Mok is on my website somewhere. :) And so are a couple of other folks from the cast. And it was great fun. Wacky, and yet it held together. Unlike the others, it told several, absurd, love stories all at once. A cop and an amenian lady, her daughter, the angry naked girl, and sasquatch, a couple of cowboys and a couple of 911 operators, a cow, a horse and an opera singing poet. Quite silly, and very funny. Mok says they are going to try and properly produce the whole thing, two acts, some time this summer. If you are interested, let me know. Misc Reviews item Posted: 2/17/04; 11:04:25 PM |
|
| The Burke Museum: Reverent Remembrance | |
|
Visited - 2/14/04 Not as large an exibhit as I'd hoped, but it was still really good. There were four distinct areas that I saw: 1) Halloween/Celtic, 2) Egyptian, 3) Mexican/Aztec, and 4) Indonesian. It was interesting for me to realize that I knew at least a little bit about each of the first three. The displays were beautiful and I learned some stuff. Michael took lots of notes, mainly on the Mexican/Day of the Dead stuff. He's formulating plans for next years All Saint's Day party here. Should be fun. Oh, and I only think this one will be around until the end of February, so if you are interested you will have to hurry. Misc Reviews item Posted: 2/16/04; 11:19:00 PM |
|