Sweet Catastrophe

Speaking of media trends and Alice in Wonderland– I’m excited about the surge in 3D movies. I was highly impressed with the way 3D was used in Avatar– it was more about bringing the environment in the new world to life than throwing things in your face. It was absolutely gorgeous! Of course, there’s something to be said for the fun found in objects whizzing by your head or in your face in movies that go that route :)

I think it brings a whole new aspect to the game of film making and I couldn’t be happier about that. For a while, I was getting annoyed with the lack of new plots and continuous remakes, but now I’ll be happy to watch a move just for the visual delights. For instance, Legend of the Guardians, I wish you could see this trailer in 3D here, just use your imagination. I’m not at all interested in the story, but if I get the chance I’ll certainly pay to see it in 3D just because I think it’ll be absolutely stunning!

I imagine it’s probably really great for marketing as well. They have to be seeing a massive increase in people going to the movies for these 3D films. I know I’ve certainly been more inclined to go. I just know it won’t be the same if I wait and watch it on DVD. Sitting in front of that massive screen with sound all around you and 3D glasses on is truly a unique experience that you just aren’t going to be able to duplicate at home.

I do hope 3D stays predominantly in the theater for a while. I know there are home releases with glasses and such and that isn’t stopping, but I hope it doesn’t become the norm. I really like the whole experience as is and hope we can keep that for a bit.

Wow, I’m a week late, but did you guys know Chuck Norris turned 70 last Wednesday??? Freakin’ 70!!

We were actually just talking about the Chuck Norris facts last week at work and were trying to figure out when that all started.

Do you know what you get when you go to Google and type “Find Chuck Norris” or “Where is Chuck Norris” or something of that variety and hit I’m Feeling Lucky?

Google won’t search for Chuck Norris because it knows you don’t find Chuck Norris, he finds you.

* Run, before he finds you
* Try a different person

No joke =)

Oh and last week I heard, “Chuck Norris doesn’t need Twitter. He’s already following you.”

Anyway! Back to my point– the Chuck Norris facts actually began in 2005 with a Vin Diesel Fact Generator. Over time it morphed into Chuck Norris facts and spun out of control. We all thought for sure that it’d been around longer than that, but that story sounds believable and explains why someone emailed me a bunch of Chuck Norris facts interspersed with Vin Diesel facts.

So there’s your fun little factoid for the day.

I finally decided to start looking at new keyboards. I’m still using the one that came with my old eMachine and that computer got tossed long ago. My system is totally custom, I have my own monitors, my freaking amazing MX Revolution mouse (which, a year later, I still love) and I’m still using the factory keyboard and speakers from an eMachine??

As you can see, I apparently do a lot of copy/pasting and my C & V keys are disappearing. I have no idea why M is fading so much. My spacebar key only works when it wants to, you have to be firm with it.

But of course I couldn’t just find a cheap replacement. No, I’m ready to go wireless again. If I could find the MX Revolution Keyboard on its own, I’d probably just snap it up and call it a day, but so far I’m only seeing it sold as a pair with my mouse. I don’t need another one of those, mine is still functioning splendidly. I really love the backlight and the dynamic display.

And then there’s a basic Logitech Wireless Keyboard. Right now, it’s the most logical choice. If I’m sensible, it’s what I’ll go with. And it has the tiniest dongle I’ve ever seen! (That’s what she said!) I really love Logitech and all their accessories.

But I didn’t stop shopping there! Nope! ‘Cause then I saw the thumbnail for this Wireless Keyboard with built-in mouse. Built-in mouse?? Say what?? It’s got an appealing design and this built-in trackball deal. I almost tossed it on my Wishlist, but then I realized it doesn’t have a number pad and I’m not so sure I’m ready to give that up. I’m intrigued, but not enough to replace my current keyboard just yet.

But then I found it. The Logitech diNovo Edge Keyboard. Logitech has me drooling again– rechargeable keyboard? Yes, please! Again, built-in mouse, only this one is a touch pad. This one is also lacking a number pad, but the Delete, Page Up/Down, Home and End keys are still placed where I’m comfortable with them so I think I’d be a little more forgiving.

There’s a great review up answering questions about use, range, and battery life. They claim a 5-minute charge will sustain you for a day’s use and a 2-hour charge will supply power for 2 months– and according to this reviewer, and some of the other product reviews, they’re not joking.

I was not at all expecting to find a keyboard that would get me this excited. I’d hoped I might chance upon a good rechargeable one since battery life was the only thing that bugged me about my old wireless setup, but I wasn’t holding my breath. I’m so excited to see this.

I want it. I can’t buy it right this second, I just can’t justify the cash, but you better believe I’m keeping an eye out. If I can catch it on sale like I did with my MX Revolution mouse, this keyboard is mine. I shall call it Squishy and it shall be mine and it shall be my Squishy.

*pushes glasses up* Sorry, my geek is showing.

Speaking of weird songs played at work….

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Like a bike ride
With a jet pack on my back.
We got a moon-lit silhouette
That rivals the best.
Like a hay ride
With hover jets on either side
We’ll go the distance
Cause we can’t help but to act
Supernatural.

I’m sorry, but what were they on when they wrote this??

I just stood in line for 20 minutes at WalMart. I really hate that they don’t plan out their cashier schedules better. 2 lanes open on a Monday night? Everyone goes to grab groceries after work on Monday!

Anyway I had ample time to look over all the tabloids and I’m happy to say the only cover that had anyone I recognized on it was TV Guide!

I don’t know why that makes me happy– I guess I feel like I’m not filling my head with too much of the awful pop culture right now.

I couldn’t pick Justin Bieber out of a line-up if he were wearing a name tag. No idea what he sings either.

I’ve seen a few images of Snookie (sp??) but never any clips of Jersey Shore. I can’t even tell you the last time I watched something on MTV.

It absolutely amazes me how many people are “Reality” stars right now. I really hoped reality television would just be a quickly passing craze, (Hakuna Matata ♫– if it’s stuck in my head, you can deal with it too) but I think we’re stuck with it for a while. I’ll stick with my comedies, thanks– Zachary Levi, Nathan Fillion, Neil Patrick Harris, Jason Segel, John Krasinski, and Jim Parsons are all I need ;)

Asperger’s is the new fad ‘issue.’

I never really thought about it before, but the media seems to go through these phases where everything wants to throw the same controversial issue into their movie or television show. A disease to raise awareness, or a social standard to challenge– AIDS, interracial dating, homosexuality. Has anyone else noticed it?

I think Asperger’s Syndrome (disorder, disease, please don’t think I’m being insensitive if I’ve named it incorrectly. I’ve seen it listed a few different ways so I’m honestly just not certain) is next. If you aren’t familiar with it, I’d suggest hitting Google ’cause I don’t know enough about it myself to explain and I really don’t feel comfortable generalizing and saying, “oh it’s like such-and-such” as I hear a lot of people do. Also, to the best of my knowledge, it’s one of those things that actually varies greatly among sufferers as far as characteristics.

Since last year’s Adam (which was a fantastic movie, by the way) I’ve seen it mentioned more and more and today I watched the first episode for the new series Parenthood and one of the main characters finds out his son has Asperger’s and I’m thinking it’ll be one of the side plots.

Obviously, just a guess, but when I saw that today it set my mind off on all the places I’ve heard it mentioned in the last few months and I just think we’ll be seeing it a lot more.

Edit: I’m not crazy! Kristi found an article about it and between the article itself and the comments, they cover all my thoughts on it quite nicely– from the line between raising awareness and drawing too much negative attention, to diagnosing someone who’s just socially awkward (we call that awkward turtle around here lol).

I mentioned last month we were looking for a new device to stream Netflix to the television in our bedroom. I finally decided that I absolutely wanted something capable of streaming files from my computer as well– I’ve just got way too much media to not be able to use it. After looking around and checking out what few option I have, I think I’ve settled on getting an Xbox 360 with 256MB memory.

Most of the devices I’ve looked at are in the $100+ range, which is okay since we’ll save that much pretty quickly when the cable is shut off, so I’m okay with spending a little more for another 360. We’ve got an extra hard drive here that we can use, and plenty of controllers, so I can look around and get a bare bones system on sale and be ready to go. I’d probably end up getting a Universal Remote for the Xbox as well just so I wouldn’t have to worry about keeping a controller up here and charged.

At this point, I’ve talked myself into wanting it, so now I just have to get it. I’m just so sick of not knowing whether or not the cable is going to work, or having no choice but to hang around my computer if I want to watch something. And I think I might play my games a little more often if I could do it without taking over the television downstairs. I just always feel a little guilty when playing some of my silly games gets in the way of the boys using all the other systems downstairs. And I could be evil and rock out on Guitar Hero from the bed to wake Ryan up ;)

Ryan and I just got back from seeing Alice in Wonderland in 3D. I saw it at the midnight showing, but this was his first viewing. Obviously I liked it enough to watch it again ;)

I actually really loved it and would certainly not be opposed to seeing it a few more times. All the characters were just amazing and full of so much personality. I was especially excited about Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen. I was expecting her usually creepy, quirky character, but she was so much more comical than I was expecting. John and I had a long conversation about how they set her up as the villain you just didn’t hate. Sure she was evil, but you sort of got the impression that it came half from her insecurity and half from her just not knowing any better.

For once I agreed with most of the critics– I expected a little more action out of the climax and the ending felt a little abrupt, but none of that took away from my overall enjoyment of it.

I could enjoy this one just as much in 2D, but the 3D elements just added to the whimsy of it all.

I recently heard a song in which a question was posed. Answer: I am human AND I am dancer.

–@rainnwilson

I had to laugh when I read this on Twitter a few days ago because I’ve had a post sitting in my drafts about this for months.

Are we human?
Or are we dancer?

Certainly there’s a deeper meaning that’s just soaring right over my head, but every time this plays at work it has me quirking an eyebrow.

I spend a lot of time in my computer chair. A lot. I watch television and movies on my computer. I read on my computer. I listen to music on my computer. I play games on my computer. I chat with friends on my computer. And that’s all in addition to general internet things like social networking and blog reading. A lot of the hobbies other people enjoy on their couches or elsewhere, I do at my computer.

This means my current computer chair, while ridiculously fabulous and amazing, has seen better days. It really is a great chair– pretty much perfect for me, but it came to me second-hand. It had been lightly used, but still used, and I’ve put a considerable amount of mileage on it in the last 4 years, so it’s time. Minor tears in the leather have torn open into noticeable holes, and if you sit just right you can feel the bolts in the seat. Poor chair. It’s been good to me.

I was so lucky to find that one on sale so now I’m looking for something similar in a lower price range. This Madison Leather Executive Office Chair would probably do the trick. I need something wide enough that I can curl up in or sit with my legs in the chair and just be comfy. And I have to have something with a high back, and enough padding to keep my rear cozy for extended periods of time.

A hundred bucks is definitely in my price range for something I plan to use that long and free shipping is always a plus, especially with furniture.

I’ll add this to my ever-growing list of ‘must-haves’ that need to be saved for. Gotta make it through Kristi’s wedding first!