randomsnow News

Big Storm & Power Outage

Snow

Two weeks ago there was a nasty storm out here and our power was out for 4 days. That was fun. We got a small generator and did our best to save all the food in the fridge and freezer. We saved most of it, which was really good. We were also lucky to have a gas fireplace and a gas water heater. So we slept in the living room by the fire and had hot showers, because those were working fine. We now want to talk the owner of the house into replacing the electric stove with a gas one. It would be nice to be able to cook too even if the power goes out.

They say this storm was so bad because in Nov. we had record rainfall, and the ground was so soggy that when this nasty windstorm showed up that it was able to pull up more trees then normally would have been true because the ground wasn't able to hold onto them. The worst damage here at our house was 1. that some water got into the garage and soaked some boxes and such. 2. The gate in the fence on the side of the garage got ripped off it's hinges.

More backlog of movie reviews

Snow

Penn & Teller's Bullshit (2003) - Watched 5/17/06: Mixed bag - started strong, but lost some credability on the 2nd hand smoke one. Actually, I noticed they were playing a little slight of hand with the facts a bit earlier than that, but this one put it over the edge.

Unforgiven (1992) - Watched 5/18/06: Turns out I had seen this one before. Interesting, even well done for a western, but it's not my thing really.

Superman 2 (1980) - Watched 5/27/06: We watched this mainly because the new Superman movie coming out soon is supposed to follow after this one (as if the later ones with Reeves didn't happen). It's a bit weak as movies go, but it didn't hurt to see it again.

Pride and Predudice (2005) - Watched 5/28/06: Excellent film. Good acting, scenery, sets and costumes. Romantic story, and I can be such a sap.

12 Monkeys (1995) - Watched 5/29/06: Still an excellent movie. I enjoyed watching it again.

Backlog of movie reviews

Snow

Capote (2005) - Watched 4/30/06: Very well done. A bit disturbing. Good acting, interesting topic. Not an entirely easy movie to watch.

Constant Gardner (2005) - Watched 5/6/06: This is another difficult film to watch. Very well done all around.

Casanova (2005) - Watched 5/8/06: - very much like a Shakespeare play, a comedy for sure, with nods to Merchant in Venice, and the movie Dangerous Beauty, also set in Venice.

Mrs. Henderson Presents (2005) - Watched 5/10/06: This was a fun film. I like the subject, and the actors, and the costumes and sets and all that. Well done.

Aeon Flux (2005) - Watched 5/13/06: Better than expected. My expectations weren't rock bottom, but more average action movie. It actually had a good story, gorgeous sets and costumes, great actors. I really enjoyed it.

We moved to Vashon

Snow

So, my site and all hobbies have fallen by the side while we were moving (official move was the end of July). We now live on Vashon Island.

There was a four day hell move that I don't even want to talk about, except to say that we have some amazing friends who helped us a lot. Thank you all.

It's peaceful, the air is clean, we see lots of stars at night (Perseids meteor showers this month!), and we see beautiful sunsets almost every day.

I'm not used to seeing deer on the side of the road yet. My first thought is that it isn't real, and then it moves and I get all excited about it. I realized this early this morning on our way in to town to work from the internet cafe. Hopefully our internet connection will be installed on Thursday. I can't wait.

~Snow

Proof (2005)

Snow

Watched 4/26/06

Gorgeous film. Beautifully acted, and brilliantly transferred from the stage. What is insanity, is it hereditary, how can she deal with loss, love, an over-bearing sister, and the proof she wrote, without thinking maybe she's crazy. Like all human trials, she has to get thru it, and decide for herself where she's at and what to do next.

Brokeback Mountain (2005)

Snow

Watched 4/23/06

Everybody already knows by now that this is a great movie. No sense in me repeating it. For me this was a fascinating look into a place and time and the lives of two people who loved each other but couldn't be together. Their story was well presented that it was heart breaking.

Atari 2600

Snow

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.

Dark Angel, Season 2

Snow

Finished 4/21/06

The second season was not as good as the first. We still like the characters, so we zipped thru it anyway, but it turned into "monster of the week" and really flopped around for a long time. Max gets infected with a virus that is only deadly to Logan so that there is this insane "I want you, but can't touch you" dynamic going on. The worst excuse for this I've ever seen. It was completely lacking in a decent story arc for the season, which was disappointing. They kill off Lydecker in such an off-handed/mysterious way that I was expecting him to not really be dead, and suddenly pop up again, but no, he was just gone, but no body was found at the scene of his car wreck. And when they finally hit their stride with a story and an actual "enemy" towards the end, it's a bit fascinating, but it goes nowhere, because they were hoping to do that in the third season that never happened.

Very frustrating. But despite all that, I liked Alec, and Joshua. Very different, but rich characters. And we watch the finale twice, with commentary the second time to learn about all the things they had been hoping to do the show.

Prime (2005)

Snow

Watched 4/14/06

I mostly enjoyed this movie, but the wrap up hinged on a concept that really bothered me. The woman wants a baby, and she thinks her new boyfriend is too young and not ready to have kids, so she dumps him, even though she seems to really love him.

Huh?

Okay, maybe this is totally foreign to me because I don't want kids in the first place, but still, I think that if you really love someone you aren't going to dump them and kick them completely out of your life because you've decided that they aren't ready to have kids.

But then I figure that maybe he's better off without her if she's just going to spend all of her time making these sort of decisions for him, you know the big life decisions, and not actually discuss it with him and take his opinions and feelings into account.

I also don't believe that you get to define an exact hole in your life and try to find the perfect person to fill it. I think it's much smarter to see who comes along and how they fit into your life. Plus I'm poly, which means that I believe it's wrong to expect one person to be everything you're looking for.

Ugh.

So this turned into something that irritated me and made me think about why, so I guess that's a good thing. Mostly I wonder why it seems that people in general don't really know how to talk to each other and they seem to spend all of their time second guessing each others motivations instead. So crazy. Maybe it's because they don't take the time to know themselves and understand their own needs and desires first. It's a theory.

Last Man Standing (1996)

Snow

Watched 4/13/06

For an overly testosterone laden shoot-'em-up, this was pretty well done.

The Witching Hour, by Anne Rice

Snow

Finished April 12th, 2006

I enjoy Anne Rice's writing. I like the greater mythos she has going on in all of her books that I've read. Mostly the vampire books so far. I'd been meaning to start on this series for awhile, and I'm glad I finally did. It took me awhile because it's a huge book, and I read slow. The first hundred pages were slow, due to hearing the life stories of a couple characters in such a way that I didn't find very exciting, but it picked up after that and zoomed thru to the end. She certainly knows how to write page turners. The only part that makes me cringe is the way she writes sex scenes, they almost always come off as if they were written for a romance novel, which I don't care for. But all the enjoyable parts overshadow this in the end.

Dark Angel, Season 1 (2000-2001)

Snow

Finished on 3/30/06

I've never before seen a TV show that had such a fantastic first season. This was simply a great show from pilot to cliff-hanger ending. There was a great story arc across the whole season, the acting was good and the visuals were well done. All in all a top notch show.

'GREEN' BURIAL OFFERS A PLOT WITH A VIEW

Snow

> 'GREEN' BURIAL OFFERS A PLOT WITH A VIEW

It sits on the eastern fringe of New York's Finger Lakes region and is bounded on three sides by 8,000 acres of protected forests: a perfectly natural place to spend an eternity.

... http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/06/27/green.burials.ap/index.html

SURGEON GENERAL: NO SAFE LEVEL OF SECONDHAND SMOKE

Snow

> SURGEON GENERAL: NO SAFE LEVEL OF SECONDHAND SMOKE

Steer clear of smokers and any of their drifting fumes. That's the advice of the surgeon general, who on Tuesday declared the debate about the dangers of secondhand smoke over.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/06/27/involuntary.smoking.ap/index.html

Tulips

Snow

More pictures, go look. (I think this one would make for a great e-card.)

Taking a walk, back in February

Snow

Just a couple pictures from a walk that I went on with Michael and Mike.

Jennifer's Going Away Party

Snow

It was a going away party combined with an art-show party. Guests were invited to bring their art to share.

Michael's Birthday Flowers

Snow

New page: Michael's Birthday Flowers

And it was a busy evening for updating the website. Here are all the things that were updated (and a few more new pages in there as well):

Me (Updated: 5/16/06)

Me: 2005

Michael (Updated: 5/16/06)

Michael 2005 (New: 5/16/06)

Mike (Updated: 5/16/06)

Mike 2004 (New: 5/16/06)

Sylvani (Updated: 5/16/06)

Sylvani 2004 (New: 5/16/06)

Mom (Updated: 5/16/06)

Mom & Me

Donna (Updated: 5/16/06)

In & Out (1997)

Snow

Watched 3/26/06

I hadn't seen this in years. It still made me laugh a lot. Kevin Kline is just great, and in this movie he is surrounded by a stellar cast. This is definitely a favorite of mine.

Sol's Bday

Snow

Here's a few pictures from Sol's Bday party back in February. (Looks like I need to do a bit of cathcing up. Again.)

Christian Virgins Are Overrated -- Mark Morford

Snow

I always like Morford's take on the world. He's very often right. Here's a great quote from the middle. And I couldn't agree more. ~Snow

"Very well. Let us now trace the path of imminent cultural destruction: Virgin girl has zero experience with the joys of her own body, with orgasm, with men, with sex toys or shower heads or good gynecological gizmongery. She then marries a man who will very likely have not the slightest clue (as he has had the same dreadful sexual miseducation as our fair virgin) as to what to do with a woman's body, who will, by most all accounts, be unable to tell an erogenous zone from an elbow, a clitoris from a belly button.

Voilà, the standard recipe for emotional, physical and spiritual catastrophe, for roughly 17 years of vague marital misery capped off by divorce and much therapy and four unhappy children and the profound and aching need located somewhere deep beneath the pelvic bone to try something, anything new and different and sexually liberating."

Crash (2005)

Snow

Watched 3/19/06

Excellent film. Amazing collection of good actors playing small to medium sized parts in a film that is about how many lives overlap in LA, and it's all about racism, and how we treat people based on stereotypes. Almost every character is guilty of treating someone badly based on a racial stereotype at some point in the movie. Almost, but not quite. The hispanic locksmith takes a lot of crap, but I never once saw him crack. But you get to see most of the supposed "good guys" crack, and you get to see the "bad guys" do good a few times as well.

Did I mention that this is an excellent film?

Dark Angel - Pilot (2000)

Snow

Watched 3/17/06

After recently watching a dozen mediocre episodes of Farscape, this was fantastic. This 90 min. pilot episode really sucked us in. Good drama, good characters, good story... it was excellent. (And apparently James Cameron got a $10m budget, so no wonder.)

Watched 3/18/06

We watched 6 more episodes, and it's still great. I didn't feel at all burnt out on it after so many, in fact I was a bit sad that we had to stop there. (Episode Guide)

Tsotsi (2005) (English translation: Thug)

Snow

Watched 3/15/06

It was amusing to go and see this movie, made and set in South Africa, on the same day that Michael returned from a ten day trip to South Africa. He said that from his understanding of life over there, it's a rather accurate film. Of course, he filled in more details for me than are actually in the film.

It was a well made movie, I can see why it won the foreign film Oscar. I enjoyed this the way I do a lot of foreign films, as a window into a world I know nothing about. The characters aren't entirely predictable this way, and that makes it more interesting. It's well acted, it's well paced, and it made me cry. I don't want to get into too much detail, but I highly recommend it.

Michael's Birthday Party

Snow

Two months later, and I'm finally posting the pictures from Michael's birthday party.