Wednesday, October 29, 2003

Just a little housecleaning...
Huh, been a while since I updated, huh? Well, it's either this or Fourth Rail, and I think most folks would rather I put the time into doing reviews.

To update, though... downloaded iTunes for Windows last week, and I *love* it. I've converted all my MP3s into AAC, which saved me quite a bit of space, and have already bought half a dozen tunes in two weeks (most of them from bands I'd never even heard of before). It's not likely to replace CDs for me, because I still want albums, and if I'm going to buy them, I'd rather have hardcopy as well, but it's really cool. And it has me wanting an iPod, even though I really don't need one. Now if I had a car stereo that took an audio input, I'd be much more anxious to get one, but every report I've read indicates that the iPod FM tuners don't work so well for car audio, and that's mostly what I'd want to use it for.

TV... really enjoying Karen Sisco, and otherwise the new season is a complete waste. The stuff I'd been enjoying is still great (I'm *loving* Alias and it's never status-quo status quo, and Nip/Tuck ended very well), good (Smallville is fun, although I could turn it off in a second and never miss it, which I couldn't say for Buffy or Angel at heart) or worrisome (I can't stand that Angel has become Angel & Spike, since I liked Spike as a villain and have hated the character (but not the actor, I should note) for about three seasons of Buffy). Looking forward to 24 (it's beckoning from the Tivo now, but I have made a pact with some friends to only watch it on Friday nights when we're together for gaming) and The Shield (January?! Ah, the downside of 13 episode seasons).

Movies... Saw Kill Bill and enjoyed it. Enjoyed it even more on second viewing. It sits below Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs and True Romance in my personal ranking of Tarantino, but if volume two can deliver, I think it will rest just above Jackie Brown. And who knows... for sheer re-watchability, it may exceed Reservoir Dogs as well.

DVDs... Let's see. Caught Dark Blue the other night, which was solid but not exceptional. Before that, I saw Confidence (which I *loved*), Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (Lukewarm, and I was disappointed), Bend It Like Beckham (as much fun as everyone said it was), Identity (predictable, but a good way to kill a couple hours), The Italian Job (fun popcorn heist movie, went on my Amazon wish list), Fast Times at Ridgemont High (I think you had to see it when you were in high school to really dig it) and Undercover Brother (stupid but fun).

Music... Just bought Office Space soundtrack and the latest Smash Mouth used (and cheap) from Amazon. My iTunes purchases have been Fountains of Wayne, Beck, Big Audio Dynamite II, Sinead O'Connor (thanks to Alias), Kinky (thanks to Karen Sisco and Nip/Tuck) and The Forces of Evil. Looking forward (probably at Christmas) to the new Barenaked Ladies, the 70's Punk compliation No Thanks!, The Best of R.E.M. and the Alias soundtrack (which I hope has pop songs as well as score type stuff).

Gaming... Just restarted our Spycraft game (I love that system), and the first session went well, if a little long on the "gearing up" phase of things. And still running the Champions game on occasional Sundays, somewhere between 1-2 times a month.

Wow. I bet nobody reading this actually cared about all of that stuff. Wonder if anyone but me cares about any of it?