Television 2008-2009

As the spring finales are in full bloom, I thought I would take a moment to tell you about what I watch:

I watch when they air:
Castle
Chuck
Doctor Who
Grey's Anatomy
Heroes (as mentioned in previous post, I'm done with this.)
Life On Mars (Canceled)
Lost

I watch on the Hulu (or equivalent):
Battlestar Gallactica (Series has ended)
Burn Notice
Daily Show with Jon Stewart
The Colbert Report
Dollhouse
Hell's Kitchen
House
Kings (canceled)
Lie to Me
The Office
Psych
South Park
Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles
Top Chef

I watch when they come out on DVD:
Mad Men
MI-5 (aka "Spooks")
True Blood (only watched the 1st episode and was hooked)

Shows that I dropped this season (or tried and dropped):
Desperate Housewives
The United States of Tara
Fringe
Kitchen Nightmares
Better off Ted


Shows that got canceled before the season ended:
Dirty Sexy Money
Pushing Daisies

My first visitor since I got furniture

My friend, Susan aka Zens, pictured on the left is coming to visit. I have not seen here since the above picture was taken at our friend's wedding. The adorable boy in the middle is Drew aka Karma. I know these people from Moviepoopshoot.com and have known them for seven years and it's been about 5 since I've seen them in person.

While on this trip, they both stayed with me. Much hilarity ensued and then Zens returned to Dallas and Drew to Detroit. However, Zens left her shoes here. I have kept them and used them to convince her to come visit so she could get them.

She felt this could be a trap. So I provided her with a picture to assure her that her shoes were well and missed her:

This Week In Netflix

"What Just Happened?" (2008) Description from Netflix: Harried film producer Ben (Robert De Niro) juggles a lunatic director, a temperamental actor (Bruce Willis) and an out-of-control production while courting a studio head (Catherine Keener) and dealing with his ex-wife (Robin Wright Penn) in Barry Levinson's funny and poignant exploration of the movie business. The all-star comedy is based on the sharply observed novel by veteran Hollywood producer Art Linson.

Not sure how this is a comedy as it hit a little too close to home on some movies that I have worked on or friends have worked on. Can't say I recommend it.

"A Very Long Engagement" (2004) Description from Netflix: Amelie's Audrey Tautou stars as Mathilde, a young Frenchwoman who vows to find out what happened to her missing fiance (Gaspard Ulliel) during World War I. He appears to have died after a court-martial, but she needs to know for sure. As she looks for the truth, she discovers unexpected things about herself and the people she meets along the way. Jean-Pierre Jeunet directs this adaptation of Sebastien Japrisot's novel.

I liked this film a whole lot. It was refreshing to see WW1 and not WW2. Audrey Tautou was wonderful. A lot of people were bagging on this film calling it "A Very Long Film." These people watched it wrong because it was excellent. I highly recommend.


"Nanny McPhee" (2005) Description from Netflix: The recently widowed Mr. Brown (Colin Firth) and his domineering aunt (Angela Lansbury) can't seem to control the numerous and naughty Brown children -- until Nanny McPhee (Emma Thompson) comes to stay. Now, with the help of some magic and a little old-fashioned discipline, their household runs like clockwork. This film's plot and title character are based on the popular Nurse Matilda books by British author Christianna Brand.

I think I would prefer the books. I thought this was just okay. Emma Thompson was brilliant, but aside from that I thought this was just okay.

"Bride Wars" (2009) Description from Netflix: Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway star as Emma and Liv, best friends who become worst enemies when they realize their respective weddings are scheduled on the same day at their dream venue -- the Plaza Hotel. It's no holds barred as these two bridezillas go on a ruthless rampage toward matrimony. The romantic comedy also stars Candice Bergen (as the wedding planner), Bryan Greenberg, Kristen Johnston and Chris Pratt.

This is not a good movie. Nor even a guilty pleasure. It makes no sense and you have to suspend more disbelief than in any scifi film. However, I did like Anne Hathaway's hair for her wedding/reception. I would do that. That may be the girliest thing I have written in this blog. Please take note. :)

Heroes

Heroes is a NBC show. It is in it's third season. I watched the pilot and didn't think much of it. People were going gaga over it and because my roommate at the time (Mark) watched it, I caught it now and then. One episode 3/4th the way in was a whole new level of writing and suddenly the series was good. Turned out that episode was written by Brian Fuller (Creator of "Pushing Daisies," "Dead Like Me" and "Wonderfalls"). I started watching it and I have been watching it all the way through the end of the third season. It has been picked up for a 4th season.

However, I am done with this show. Season 2 wasn't good, but it was watchable. Season 3 pretending that Season 2 never happened. It got worse and worse and worse. The only reason I hung on was because after Pushing Daisies was canceled they brought Brian Fuller back. Unfortunately, he could be the best surgeon who ever lived and still couldn't save this patient.

As far as I am concerned, future seasons of this show can sit on the shelf with the last two seasons of "X-Files," seasons 3-5 of "Alias," seasons 3-5 of "Gilmore Girls" and all of the seasons of "ER" after Juliana Marguiles left which seems to be in the hundreds.

You might be from Chicago if:

I got this as an email and thought it was worth sharing since I agree with all of it:

1. The 'living room' is called the 'front room'.

2. You don't pronounce the 's' at the end of Illinois. And, you become irate at people who do.

3. You measure distance in minutes (especially 'from the city'). And you swear everything is pretty much 1/2 hour away.

4. You have no problem spelling or pronouncing 'Des Plaines'.

5. You go to visit friends, or family, down south and laugh when they complain about the traffic.

6. You understand that no person from Chicago can be a Cub fan AND a White Sox fan.

7. It's 'Kitty corner' not 'Katty corner'.

8. You know the difference between The Loop and Downtown

9. You eat your pizza in squares, not triangles, and you never refer to it as 'pie'.

10. You own celery salt.

11. You understand that the primary is the official local election.

12. You have drunk green beer on St. Paddy's Day.

13. Stores don't have sacks, they have bags.

14. You end your sentences with an unnecessary preposition. Example: 'Where's my coat at?' or 'Can I go with?'

15. Your idea of a great tenderloin is when the meat is twice as big as the bun, 'everything' is on it and a slice of dill pickle is on the side.

16. You carry jumper cables in your car.

17. You drink 'pop'.

18. You understand that I-290, I-90, I-94, and I-294 are all different roads.

19. You know the names of the interstates: Stevenson, Kennedy, Eisenhower, Dan Ryan, and the Edens.

20. You call the interstates 'expressways'.

21. You refer to anything South of I-80 as 'Southern or Central Illinois.

22. You refer to Lake Michiganas 'The Lake '.

23. You refer to Chicago as 'The City'.

24. 'The Super Bowl' refers to one specific game in January 1986.

25. You have two favorite football teams: The Bears, and anyone who beats the Packers.

26. You buy the 'Trib', not the 'Tribune' or the 'Times', not the 'Sun Times'.

27. You know that despite being on the lake, there is no such place as the Waterfront.

28. You think 45 degrees is great weather to wash your car.

29. You picnic or ride your bike in the 'forest preserve'..

30. You cried when Bozo was canceled on WGN.

31. You know what goes on a Chicago style hot dog.

32. You know what Chicago Style Pizza REALLY is.

33. You know why they call Chicago 'The Windy City '.

34. You understand what 'lake-effect' means.

35. You know the difference between Amtrak and Metra, and know which station they end up at.

37. You have ridden the 'L'.

38. You think your next door neighbor is a cousin to Tony Soprano.

39. You can distinguish between the following area codes: 847, 630, 773, 708, 312, & 815.

40. You have, at some time in your life, used your furniture...or a friend's body, to guard your parking spot in winter.

41. You respond to the question 'Where are you from?' with a 'side'. Example: 'WestSide,' 'SouthSide' or 'NorthSide'.

42. You know the phone number to 'Empire Carpet'!

43. You know what a 'garache key' is!

Introducing Gertie!

The pregnant box. I had to wait for an hour and a half in the delivery room (aka UPS pickup) waiting for the driver to return.

The birthing. You can see the little Pentax logo peaking out.

The birth.

The cleaned up blanketed photo. Cute little button lens and bright digital eyes.

I named her "Gertie" and here are her stats (from Amazon where I got her):

Product Description

Kit includes:
♦ 1) Pentax K2000 Digital SLR Camera Body
♦ 2) Pentax DA L 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL Zoom Lens
♦ 3) Pentax AF200FG Flash Unit
♦ 4) Transcend 16GB HC SecureDigital Class 6 (SDHC) Card
♦ 5) Precision Design 4 NiMH Batteries with Rapid Charger
♦ 6) Precision Design 1000 Deluxe SLR Pro Carrying Case
♦ 7) Precision Design USB 2.0 High Speed SecureDigital Card Reader
♦ 8) Precision Design Memory Card Storage Wallet
♦ 9) Digital Image Recovery Software
♦ 10) Microfiber Cleaning Cloth

Featuring PENTAX Auto Picture modes and powerful learning functions, such as a dedicated help button, the K2000 is one of the smallest, lightest camera bodies in its class. Additional features include a 10.2 megapixel CCD, a 2.7 inch, 230,000 dot-high resolution, wide view LCD panel, and an ultra compact design that facilitates one handed operation. The body also features the PENTAX developed Shake Reduction and Dust Reduction.

The Pentax SMC DA L 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 is recommended for use with digital SLR cameras. Ideal for beginners, it provides a focal length covering a wide to moderate wide-angle range. Like all Pentax lenses, this lens is treated with Pentax's acclaimed SMC coating for maximum light transmission, sharp definition, and high contrast while minimizing flare and ghost imaging.

The Pentax AF200FG hot-shoe mount flash features a compact, lightweight body, a guide number of 20 (at ISO 100/m) and simple dial operation to assure effortless flash photography for everyone. The P-TTL auto flash system assures proper exposure level by measuring the flash's pre-discharge with the camera's multi-pattern metering system. The AF200FG uniformly covers the wide discharge angle of a 28mm lens (in the 35mm format) and includes a flip-down diffuser.

Here is her first photo:

More to come as I take her on outings and out for walks. So anytime I mention Gertie, you know what I am talking about.

Happy Earth Day!

The one day a year we allow hippies to make us feel guilty for not being hippies.


I'm with Eric Cartman from "South Park" on this one:Joke:
Q. What's orange and looks good on hippies?
A. Fire

This Week In Netflix

"The Reader" (2008) Description from Netflix: Michael Berg (Ralph Fiennes) reflects on the formative sexual relationship he had with older woman Hanna Schmitz (Kate Winslet, in a Golden Globe- and Oscar-winning role) as a young teenager in this poignant drama set in post-World War II Germany. The passionate affair ended when Hanna disappeared. But years later, Michael learns she's on trial for horrific Nazi war crimes. David Kross plays the teenage Michael in this film based on Bernhard Schlink's best-seller.

How did this get any recognition? This wouldn't have made my top anything for last year. The plot line made no sense and honestly way more naked Kate Winslet than anyone (as side form her hubby) needs to see.

"The Tale of Despereaux" (2008) Description from Netflix: Despereaux (voiced by Matthew Broderick) is different from other mice: He reads books, has ears too big for his too-small body and loves the human Princess Pea (Emma Watson). With his friend, a rat named Roscuro (Dustin Hoffman), Despereaux sets out to escape the castle dungeon and win the girl of his dreams. Sigourney Weaver, William H. Macy and Kevin Kline also lend their voices to this adaptation of Kate DiCamillo's Newberry Medal-winning books.

It was okay. I think I expected a bit more. I'm curious to read the book. Also, I think Sigourney Weaver should narrate everything.

"Lost in Austen" (2008) Description from Netflix: After a dispute with her boyfriend, Amanda lands in the 19th-century world of author Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. While helping the Bennet sisters find husbands, Amanda accidentally causes problems that could alter the course of the tale. Throughout this British series, Amanda must balance her feelings for Mr. Darcy (Elliot Cowan) with her responsibility to the one of the world's greatest love stories. Jemima Rooper stars.

BRILLIANT! Anyone who likes "Pride and Prejudice" MUST SEE THIS! Need to buy it the moment I have the opportunity. BRILLIANT!

"The Wrestler" (2008) Description from Netflix: Mickey Rourke (in a Golden Globe-winning, Oscar-nominated role) stars as retired professional wrestler Randy "The Ram" Robinson, who returns to the ring and tries to work his way up the circuit for a final shot at defeating his longtime rival. Along the way, he tries to reconnect with his daughter, Stephanie (Evan Rachel Wood), while exploring a relationship with a stripper named Cassidy (Marisa Tomei, also nominated for a Golden Globe and Oscar).

I can see why Mickey Rourke won for this. The movie was a bit sad. People who hold on to their glory days too long. Marisa Tomei wasn't as good and didn't deserve the nomination. Worth checking out.

"Somewhere in Time" (1980) Description from Netflix: In this unabashedly romantic film, an elderly woman approaches playwright Richard Collier (Christopher Reeve) and presses a pocket watch into his hand whispering, "Come back to me." Years later, Collier becomes obsessed with a picture of an early 1900s actress (Jane Seymour) and discovers that she's the woman who gave him the watch. Collier wills himself back in time to find the woman, and the pair begins a love affair out of time.

Recommended to me by a co-worker. Meh. Really lame way to time travel. Also, "City of Angels" could be a reinterpretation of this movie.

Seattle Internation Film Festival (SIFF)

From Wikipedia:

The Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF), held annually in Seattle, Washington, is the largest film festival in the United States,^[1] and among the top film festivals in the world. Audiences have grown steadily; the 2006 festival had 160,000 attendees.^[2] SIFF runs for more than three weeks (24 days) in May-June, and features a diverse assortment of predominantly independent and foreign films and, in recent years, a strong contingent of documentaries.

SIFF 2006 included 300+ films and was the first SIFF to include a venue in neighboring Bellevue, Washington since an ill-fated early attempt. However, in 2008, the festival was back to being entirely in Seattle, and had a slight decrease in the number of feature films.

Being the largest film festival in North America, SIFF is active in the Seattle community and requires thousands of interns, hourly workers, and volunteers to provide many thousands of human hours for festival operations. Volunteers and other workers can register to get involved and participate by using online scheduling with the SIFF Shiftboard Site provided by Shiftboard to make is easier to select roles, meet coordinators, pick up and cancel SIFF-related work online, year-round.

I went to the volunteer meeting to find out what I need to know. I have previously volunteered for the Chicago International Film Festival and the AFI Film Festival. Each of the different departments got up and talked about their group and what they would need in terms of volunteers.

It was a bit surprising. Most of the departments require resume and degrees to even be considered. They need 7000 people to make the festival work and people get paid in movie passes which are good year round since they do random screenings in the off season.

I thought this might be a good place to meet people like myself who were interested in movies. From the few people I talked to and the overheard conversations, these people were weird. They weren't excited about the movie part. They were excited about the volunteering part.

Best way I can relate it is people who like hanging out at Blockbuster, but don't like renting movies. They just like the store. It was weird.

All of the volunteering is signed up for online and they have a huge system with message boards and all kinds of crazy technology. I was going to volunteer in the equivalent of the AV Club, but in order to video tape the Q&A sessions, you need to have your own professional equipment. I need to look into being a photographer for them as soon as I get my camera.

The festival this year is May 21-June 14th. I probably won't see anything unless I get in as a volunteer.

UPDATE: I have my camera and have applied to be one of the photographers. I am waiting for a response.

Computer Virus

One of the reasons that my blogging got so behind is because I got a particularly nasty virus that took me three days to get rid of. Its all better now, but it sucked hard for about a week.

1980s Movies

My Top 25 1980s Movies during the 1980s (not necessarily in order):

1. The Blues Brothers
2. Raiders of the Lost Arc
3. A Christmas Story
4. Return of the Jedi
5. Twilight Zone: The Movie
6. Midnight Madness
7. Indiana Jones & Last Crusade
8. E.T.
9. Ghostbusters
10. The War of the Roses
11. Girls Just Want to Have Fun
12. The Princess Bride
13. Big Business
14. Mr. Mom
15. Last Starfighter
16. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
17. Labyrinth
18. Time Bandits
19. Mannequin
20. Weird Science
21. Romancing the Stone
22. The Man With One Red Shoe
23. Goonies
24. Little Shop of Horrors
25. Follow That Bird


My Top 25 1980s Movies Now (not necessarily in order):
1. The Blues Brothers
2. Empire Strikes Back
3. Raiders of the Lost Arc
4. Ghostbusters
5. A Christmas Story
6. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
7. The Princess Bride
8. Goonies
9. Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan
10. Terminator
11. This Is Spinal Tap
12. Say Anything
13. Aliens
15. Dead Poet’s Society
16. UHF
17. Midnight Run
18. Scrooged
19. Blade Runner
20. Victor/Victoria
21. The Sure Thing
22. Back to the Future
23. Better Off Dead
24. Field of Dreams
25. Lethal Weapon

5 Minute Chocolate Cake in a Mug

I got this email from an aunt and my sister had sent it to me. I tried it and it was surprisingly good. A perfect bit of chocolate when you need some. Here is the recipe:

4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
A small splash of vanilla extract
1 large coffee mug (MicroSafe)

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly.

Pour in the milk and oil and mix well.

Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again.
Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts.

2 thumbs up!

This Week In Netflix

"A Thousand Acres" (1997) Description from Netflix: Shakespeare's King Lear gets an update when Larry Cook (Jason Robards) -- a cranky, aging farmer who owns 1,000 acres of land -- decides to divide his property among his daughters, Ginny (Jessica Lange), Rose (Michelle Pfeiffer) and Caroline (Jennifer Jason Leigh). Caroline hesitates to accept, and Larry rescinds the offer. But when Ginny and Rose take over the farm, problems with their ailing father dredge up memories of a horrible past.

Ugh. God Awful. Terrible. Waste of time. Seriously avoid.

"About Last Night..." (1986) Description from Netflix: A definitive Brat Pack movie of the 1980s, About Last Night stars Rob Lowe and Demi Moore as two veterans of the Chicago singles scene trying the "c" word: commitment. James Belushi is Lowe's wisecracking sex advisor, and Elizabeth Perkins (in her film debut) is Moore's doubting girlfriend. This adaptation of David Mamet's play Sexual Perversity in Chicago marks the feature debut of director Edward Zwick (The Last Samurai).

Very Mamet. Still holds up after all these years. Of course, very 80s in a lot of places. Well worth checking out if you missed it the first time around like I did.

"Breach" (2007) Description from Netflix: Soon after landing a plum job working for FBI operative Robert Hanssen (Chris Cooper), Eric O'Neill (Ryan Phillippe) realizes he's been brought in to spy on his boss, who's suspected of selling secrets to the Soviets. But can O'Neill handle such an important assignment with so little field experience, or will Hanssen get to him first? Laura Linney and Dennis Haysbert also star in director Billy Ray's high-stakes thriller based on a true story.

I didn't think I would like this as much as I did. Very well done. Excellent cast. Plot moves along nicely. Highly recommend.

"Amazing Stories: Season 1" (1985) Description from Netflix: Steven Spielberg created and produced this 1980s anthology series that picked up where "The Twilight Zone" left off. Each self-contained story stretched the boundaries of the believable, but Spielberg's deft touch (he directed some episodes as well) ensured that they never broke. Highlights from the first season include guest appearances by Kevin Costner, Keifer Sutherland, Gregory Hines, Anthony LaPaglia and many other well-known stars.

I'm surprised by how much I remembered some of these episodes. Very hit or miss, though. The good ones were great and the bad ones were terrible. For some reason, Sci-fi channel was only playing the bad ones so I wanted to watch the good ones that I remembered. Amazing how those one still stand up 24 years later.

Meet and Greet

I went to old Ballard to a restaurant/pub named "Hattie's Hat" to meet some people from a website called "www.meetin.org." It's a place to meet new people while doing things around Seattle.

It was interesting. I met about 5-6 people. I didn't really click with them, but got some great pictures of the neighborhood the pub was in.

The pub was originally a hat store.

Nice boots. I'm used to seeing sneakers.


There was a cool record store a few doors down from the place.

Happy Good Friday

My New Favorite Salad

I had a salad from a pizza place near my house called "Amante." Here is the description of the salad:

Fancy Green Salad
Mixed spring greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, walnuts, dried cranberries & goat cheese topped with our raspberry vinaigrette dressing.

I was addicted instantly. I went out got all the ingredients and started making it from home.

I made some changes like switching it to spinach, removed the tomatoes and use Paul Newman's raspberry vinaigrette dressing. I tried gorgonzola, but goat cheese works so much better.

I highly recommend trying.

Shower of Fools Mix

April's Mix tape that comes in like a lamb and goes out like a lion....

1. "Bite Hard" - Franz Ferdinand
2. "Chelsea Dagger" - The Fratellis
3. "Sweet Darlin'" - She & Him
4. "Good Day Sunshine" - Beatles
5. "New Romantic" - Laura Marling
6. "See the World" - Gomez
7. "I See the Sun" - Tommy Henricksen
8. "You and Me" - Lifehouse
9. "Enchantment" - Lily Frost
10. "The Middle" (Acoustic) - Jimmy Eats World
11. "500 Miles" - Less Than Jake
12. "Got To Sleep" - Radiohead
13. "Complicated Shadows" (demo version) - Elvis Costello
14. "Faith" - Boy Least Likely To
15. "I Was Made To Love You" - Polly Paulusma
16. "Wonderwall" - Ryan Adams
17. "You're My Home" - Rebecca Elliott
18. "There's a Fine, Fine, Line" - Kate Monster from "Avenue Q"
19. "Exitude" - The Killers

This Week In Netflix

"August Rush" (2007) Description from Netflix: After cellist Lyla (Keri Russell) and guitarist Louis (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) share an enchanted night together, circumstances rip them apart, and the child produced by the union is raised by a caring stranger (Robin Williams) who nurtures the boy's musical talent. Determined to find his parents, the boy, known as August Rush (Freddie Highmore), relies on music to draw his mother and father to him. Terrence Howard co-stars in this magical drama.

A little saccharinly sweet for my taste. I also like how "an enchanted night together" sounds so much better than a "one night stand with a total stranger." Robin Williams as a bad guy always kind of bothers me as well. It was just okay. It has a few moments that are hard to suspend disbelief.

"Bottle Shock" (2008) Description from Netflix: France's position as the world's top wine producer was unchallenged until 1976, when the Montelena Winery put California wines permanently on the map. Director Randall Miller's film chronicles the heady early days of Napa Valley's rocket to success. Alan Rickman, Chris Pine, Eliza Dushku, Bill Pullman and Freddy Rodriguez star in this tale of dreamers who dared to challenge the establishment.

The idea of the movie and what the movie is about was better than the actual movie. The story was very cool, but it dragged and went on weird tangents. Chris Pine pre-Kirk was good, but so much better in Star Trek.

"A Mighty Wind" (2003) Description from Netflix: Satirist in extremis Christopher Guest aims his mockumentary lens at 1960s folk musicians -- specifically, the earnest Folksmen (portrayed by erstwhile Spinal Tappers Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer), the too-perky New Main Street Singers and former lovebirds Mitch & Mickey. As the three acts prepare to reunite for a tribute concert, music and emotions run high. This Grammy winner is a parody in the tradition of Best in Show and Waiting for Guffman.

A whole lot of fun like all their other collaborations. I recommend.

"Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist" (2008) Description from Netflix: Norah (Kat Dennings) wants to prove to her friend Tris (Alexis Dziena) that she's capable of having a boyfriend. At a concert, she grabs the first guy she sees, Nick (Michael Cera), and asks him to pretend they're dating -- but it turns out that Nick is Tris's ex. Despite this hiccup and the fact that they started off as a fauxmance, their relationship turns real as they traipse through Manhattan sharing their love of music and all things weird.

Aside from one scene, I enjoyed this movie a lot. It had a John Cusak-esque feel to it. A good choice for a Friday or Saturday night rental movie.

Emerald City Comicon

From wikipedia:

The Emerald City ComiCon is an annual comic book convention taking place in Seattle, Washington. Originally taking place at the city's Qwest Field (first at West Field Plaza, then at the Event Center), the venue changed to its current home at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center for its 2008 event.

The convention features a wide array of activities and programming including industry guests, various discussion panels, celebrity signings and photo opportunities, prize drawings, and costume contests. It features a large and lively Exhibitor's hall with comics retailers from across the entire pacific northwest bringing a large stock of modern and vintage comics, as well as other products such as statues, action figures, models, etc. CCG, RPG, and tabletop gaming is supported in specific areas of the convention center.

Unfortunately, I had an error on my memory card and lost a chunk of photos, but here are a few that survived:

The stereotype lives on.

Geek-In-Training with her Fantastic Four shirt

Wonder Twins Activate!

Cherry Blossoms in Seattle

In bloom outside of my apartment building:

This Week In Netflix

"Eagle Eye" (2008) Description from Netflix: Returning home after the shocking death of his overachieving twin brother, an aimless slacker named Jerry (Shia LaBeouf) finds himself inexplicably linked to notorious terrorist cell. Now, with the nation's law enforcement agencies hunting them down, Jerry and single mother Rachel (Michelle Monoghan) -- who's also been framed -- must work around the clock to thwart a political assassination and clear their names in the process.

Not as bad as I would have thought. Better than Transformers, but that's not really saying anything. It was okay. I recommend if it were playing on cable.

"W." (2008) Description from Netflix: Academy Award winner Oliver Stone directs an all-star cast in this satiric retrospective of the life and political career of George W. Bush (Josh Brolin), from his troubles as a young adult through his governorship of Texas and all the way to the Oval Office. Among the key supporting players are Richard Dreyfuss as veep Dick Cheney, Elizabeth Banks as first lady Laura Bush and Thandie Newton as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

I was impressed. Oliver Stone managed to put Bush in a perspective that almost made him seem sympathetic. All the performances were spot on. I recommend checking out.

"Pineapple Express" (2008) Description from Netflix: After witnessing an underworld murder involving a corrupt cop (Rosie Perez) and a drug kingpin (Gary Cole), straitlaced pothead Dale Denton (Seth Rogen) must go on the run with his dealer (James Franco, in a Golden Globe-nominated role) to escape the wrath of the vengeance-minded criminals. Acclaimed indie auteur David Gordon Green directs the stoner road comedy, penned by Rogen and his Superbad co-writer, Evan Goldberg.

It was just okay. Not really into stoner movies, but Seth Rogan and James Franco made the movie watchable. They said on the extra features that the idea of the movie was what an action movie would be like if it centered around Brad Pitt's character in "True Romance." That is a spon on description.

"Slumdog Millionaire" (2008) Description from Netflix: After coming within one question of winning 20 million rupees on the Indian version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" 18-year-old Mumbai "slumdog" Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) is arrested on suspicion of cheating. While in custody, Jamal regales a jaded police inspector (Irfan Khan) with remarkable tales of his life on the streets, as well as the story of Latika (Freida Pinto), the woman he loved and lost. Danny Boyle's film won a Golden Globe and Oscar for Best Picture.

I am in the minority on this, but I did not like the movie. I wouldn't put it in the top list of anything. I kept waiting for Sally Struthers to walk out and tell me how much money I should give to end all of it. I realize they were going for Bollywood ending over the credits, but a dance number with everyone including the people who died kind fo takes a way the weight of their deaths.

"Timecrimes" (2007) Description from Netflix: After accidentally traveling to the past, Héctor (Karra Elejalde) meets himself and triggers a series of mysterious events that lead to a shocking crime. The gripping time-travel story -- at once deeply intricate and easy to follow -- also stars Candela Fernández. Oscar-nominated short-film director Nacho Vigalondo makes his feature debut with this finely crafted sci-fi thriller.

This was a great movie on time travel and how things work. Plus a good thriller on top of it. It's in Spanish so watch it with subtitles, but I highly recommend.

Happy April Fools Day