Warning! Random ramblings ahoy!

So, I watched "Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas" for the first time last night.
I've read exactly one book by Hunter S. Thompson, and that wasn't it.
I read "Day Of The Pigs: On The Campaign Trail Of SomethingOrOther".
Anyway, I was amused at seeing a pre-Spiderman Tobey Maguire play a confused and vaguely hippie-ish hitchhiker.
And I was even more amused by Johnny Depp's performance, which reminded me of his Jack Sparrow in places.
Even by Terry Gilliam/Hunter S. Thompson, that was one weird-ass movie...
Not to self: read more Hunter S. Thompson stuff.

I also watched The Punisher, the recent version. It's not bad at all. I mean, if you're going in there
expecting The Chronicles Of Riddick or any other high budget CGI violence fest, well, that's not it.
This is more like the first Terminator, budget-wise, and it feels like a western. It's also funny in places.
Worth a rental.

Also worth a rental is The Manchurian Candidate, with mah man Denzel and this really cool guy named Liev Schreiber.
This is not so much a remake as an update and it's a really excellent piece of work.
The original is quite chilling, with Frank Sinatra as Ben Marco, the man who tries to piece things together
even as he is falling apart, and Angela Lansbury as an absolute queen bitch who plots and manipulates.
People accustomed to her usually more friendly roles must have been shocked to their cores.
Denzel Washington takes the Frankie role and Meryl Streep totally kicks ass as the manipulating mom.
The cold war and China are replaced by terrorism and large corporations.
You want a taunt political thriller? This is IT!!



I am pretty happy right now.
A certain CD is soon to be mine. It was won on eBay, and once it ships, it shall soon be in my big paws.
Landcruising by Carl Craig.
Probably the greatest Detroit Techno album I have ever heard.
(Yes, I have a few MP3s from this album, but they're damaged. And it's so good, I NEED the original CD!!)
Released in 1995 on R&S, a Belgian label known for its quality techno output.
Yes, an American artist from Detroit on a Belgian label.
"No one is a prophet in one's own land" goes the old saying, and it's certainly true here.
One should not have to pay big bucks for import CDs when the music is domestic.
The situation has improved though, thankfully. Domestic Detroit labels have gotten better distribution.
But I digress.
Incidentally, the seller is British.



Oh, I haven't talked about the new Battlestar Galactica yet, have I?
I've only seen the mini-series pilot thing, and I liked it!
First, Newtonian physics in a space show! YES!!! Sustained momentum and attitude thrusters! YES-YES!!!
Bullets, shells, and missiles!! YES-YES-YES!! OMGWTFBBQ!! This is how _I_ would do a space combat TV show!
Second, female Starbuck. Okay, she IS Starbuck! She's the same ass-kicking, insubordinate, gambling,
cigar-chomping show-off, and she even LOOKS like Starbuck in a strange Twilight Zone sort of way!!
So, no problem.
Edward James Olmos as Adama kicks all sorts of ass. The rest of the crew is pretty good too.
The space scenes sort of remind me of "Firefly", but with sound. Probably same CGI house.
I haven't seen the series yet, as I am Sci-Fi Channel deprived. A friend will tape them for me.
I can hardly wait! This show rocks!! This is a pretty good update on the Galactica concept.
I want to see more!