It’s not often I get jazzed about upcoming movies (exceptions: movies starring Zooey Deschanel). And it’s not often I use a word that predates my own existence to describe looking forward to things.
However, I am jazzed about the sequel to Tron, to be released sometime next year. Tron, for those of you who don’t remember, was made in 1982. I don’t know how old I was when I saw it - probably around age 10, and obviously on VHS - and I can’t say I was a total Tron geek. In fact I doubt anyone was, because Tron wasn’t exactly the pinnacle of science fiction, or of good storytelling. But Tron has become better with age. It was at the tail end of an era of sci-fi movies that envisioned the future in only the way the 1980s could: lots of neon colours, some gobbledy-gook about Master Control Programs and arcade games, with some weird mind-bending synthesis between man and computer. It’s the kind of sci-fi that pretty much died when the genre branched into either Aliens or Short Circuit.
Fast forward to 2008, and Disney sneaks a preview of ‘TR2N’ to the attendees. The nerd hype meter is cranked to eleven. It wasn’t until this year that Disney actually released the official teaser to the internets, now called Tron Legacy. While I don’t expect a great story from this sequel, if the movie keeps with the dark but ‘refreshed’ 80s-future art direction, I am going to go bonkers over this movie. It also appears that Tron Legacy will be shown on Imax 3D, and considering how much I liked the first 3D movie I saw, you can bet I’ll be putting on the dorky goggles for this one.
What the frak! Has it been a week since I last blogged? Sheesh. Well, that can only mean it’s time for another installment of This Week In Garrett. And this entry gets the ultra-cool Roman numerals XX!
- Last weekend the ladyfriend and I volunteered at Golf Fore The Cure, a golf event to raise funds for breast cancer research. I took photos while my ladyfriend sold bath products and donated all profits to the cause. I also bid on and won a $100 gift card to a semi-fancy restaurant in a silent auction. Last year this tournament raised the 4th most money in Canada (there are other GFTC tournaments in other cities).
- At work, the project I’m on is starting to gain a lot of attention from the various levels of management (the good kind of attention). It at least makes me believe I’ve got a good chance of having my contract extended, but until or unless that time comes I’m not giving it much thought. I don’t put my eggs before the horse anymore.
- No lottery winnings to report. I’m still buying $5 Super 7 tickets somewhat regularly, and at Lions games I’ll buy $5 worth of 50/50 tickets in lieu of the government lottery. While not the million-dollar dream that Super 7 offers, 50/50 draws at the game are usually between $15,000 and $20,000, and my chances there are probably about one in 40,000. If I ever win, I figure I will either immediately post about it on this blog or there will be a huge lull in posts while we move to Papeete.
- Speaking of the Lions, I watched them get thumped 48-10 on Friday. I’ve been going to Lions games since 1994 and have never seen the home team get destroyed like that. And the cheerleaders didn’t even have their swimsuit calendar for sale yet! There have to be some serious changes coming to the Lions soon, whether it’s players getting cut or coaches getting fired.
- Two weeks ago my ladyfriend started a job at a dog daycare. On Friday she was let go. It was another situation where she loved the work (playing with dogs all day? Obviously!) but didn’t really like the people working there. That’s not to say that leaving the job was a happy moment, and in fact is more evidence that 2009 is really not ‘our year’.
- The Bank of Canada declared that the recession is over. I guess the government stimulus plans allowed for an increase in bullshit.
- Also, if you like your lies closer to home, our provincial government is bringing in Harmonized Sales Tax next summer. Private used car sales, new home sales, and meals in restaurants will all cost an extra 7% next year. Where’s the lie? “This is the single biggest thing we can do to improve B.C.’s economy,” says Gordo. Okay, this isn’t a lie - the federal government is giving BC $1.6 billion dollars to make the change. It’s probably the single biggest source of income for the province next year. Get ready for another rosy economic report from the Liberals next summer. But will it mean BC’s economy is doing well? Nay, I say! Nay! 2010 is going to be a bad year for this province. Set it and forget it.
- Okay, I can’t end this blog post on a down note. To lighten things up, please enjoy this montage of Nicolas Cage’s ‘acting’ talents in the 2007 remake of The Wicker Man. If you’ve ever found yourself wondering, why doesn’t that Coppola boy get any starring roles anymore? All shall be revealed!
It was forty years ago that man walked on the moon for the first time. When you stop to think about that feat, it seems incredible even today, partly because after the Apollo program ended, ‘humans in space’ turned into ‘putting scientists in a tin can orbiting the earth’. That’s not to say the space stations, both Russian and American (let’s remember the Russians won that competition) aren’t impressive, it’s that putting a human on another giant rock that isn’t Earth is a lot more prestigious and alien than researching how things burn or how protein crystals grow in zero gravity. That stuff isn’t inspiring to humans at large; it’s interesting for scientists and not much else.
I’ve read about NASA’s new long term goal of returning to the moon and building a station on its surface, and its even longer-term goal of putting a man on Mars. Now that is inspiring. But I’m of mixed feelings on ‘humans in space’ programs when there’s easily hundreds of problems on our planet that could use some fixing (ie. government budget thrown its way). I can understand when people say space exploration isn’t a good use of money. But I also think, if not now, then when should we put humans on another planet? If money is the only thing standing in our way - and let’s face it, technology isn’t really a barrier to Mars missions anymore - then I think it’s something the world should do. Perhaps NASA shouldn’t be going it alone. The Cold War is over, after all. It’s quite sad that after the last Apollo mission, no one cared about the moon anymore. Heck, the last Apollo mission wasn’t even carried on live TV, unlike its previous missions.
Part of why I favour a Mars mission is that it would give something to look forward to, and hopefully give people a reason to stop thinking about themselves for a moment. People need to learn to dream big again.
For the first time in, well, ages, I’m all alone at home this evening. My ladyfriend has enrolled in pottery classes at the Arts Centre, which means I’ve got no one to talk to or sing to or shake my money maker at (yes, these are all daily occurrences in our home). What will I do with my time? Probably nothing notable. If I had an Xbox or PS3 I would probably fire it up and play some games that involve killing zombies or driving cars into walls or whatever it is that is popular these days. Instead I’ll probably watch a movie, read a magazine, sip on gin and juice, and be laid back.
Speaking of which, please enjoy this music video of Snoop Dogg’s Gin and Juice.
When work feels dull and repetitive, there’s nothing like a fun (and full) weekend to help alleviate that. This was just such a weekend.
Friday night was the BC Lions first regular-season home game. The Lions lost to Hamilton, a team that hasn’t beat BC in five years (and as a team has only 15 wins in the last three years combined). That’s a sign of just how stinky the Lions are this season, and even though it was expected, it’s quite a change from the last half-decade. It’s going to be a long and frustrating year to be a Lions fan.
Saturday my ladyfriend had planned a trip to Cultus Lake, somewhere I’d never been, so we headed there early to grab a good spot. The weather was perfect - I’m guessing 30 degrees or so - and the lake was just warm enough to go swimming in. I got to hang out with my ladyfriend’s ‘gang’, something we don’t do often, mainly because all of them live in the valley. Fun was had, barbecued wieners were eaten, I nearly melted the barbecue due to piling on way too many briquettes, and I daresay I may have even tanned a bit. Oddly enough, despite the perfect weather, the lake wasn’t as busy as we’d expected. Not that I’m complaining - just odd. Overall, the day at the lake was a success!
Sunday … well, it wasn’t the most interesting day but we did clean the apartment, and that’s always a relief once it’s over. We visited the weekly PoMo Farmers Market, which is extremely small but something that we’ll likely do again, since fresh local fruit is always worthwhile.
How often do you hear about a bunch of Australians getting together to actually do something sensible and good? I’ll tell you how often you hear about it: never. Because groups of Australians don’t accomplish anything of note.
Until now.
Residents of a rural Australian town hoping to protect the earth and their wallets have voted to ban the sale of bottled water, the first community in the country - and possibly the world - to take such a drastic step in the growing backlash against the industry. Residents of Bundanoon cheered after their near-unanimous approval of the measure at a town meeting Wednesday. It was the second blow to Australia’s beverage industry in one day: Hours earlier, the New South Wales state premier banned all state departments and agencies from buying bottled water, calling it a waste of money and natural resources.
Yes, a small city down under banned bottled water, one of the dumbest, most wasteful, and needlessly decadent products ever sold to the Western world. I hope bottled water bans end up causing the dreaded domino effect, but I doubt it. Kudos to the couple hundred Aussies who actually did something, though, that didn’t involve importing giant toads.
The whole bottled water story can be read here, if you yearn for more information.
