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Kurt Cobain in Seattle

It’s a bit surreal to be right near the place where Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain committed suicide 16 years ago. Courtney Love tore down the shed where it happened, but the house is still there, and there is a public park right next to it with a bench. There are many messages on the bench, including flowers and candles. I even found a note thanking Kurt for his influence.
Growing up, I heard the stories about Janis, Jim and Jimmi, and it seems to me that people feel the same way about Kurt. In the early 90s, Nirvana was a band like no other. For me, coming to Seattle and seeing this place was well worth it.

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Tweets and In-game Chats

I simply don’t get it. A game is on TV, or you’re at the game, but your focus isn’t on the game exclusively, but on your computer or phone so you can see what other people have to say about the game. In-game chats are on the rise, as are Twitter tweets about the game (or any event, like the Oscars).
So what’s going on is, people’s attention isn’t focused 100% on the game – it can’t be. While the people doing this are people I know, colleagues, and former colleagues, I’ll never be on board with chatting about a game on a computer while the game is in progress.
I’ll admit that occasionally, something of significance or interest is released through these mediums. For instance, if someone notices something that few others did, telling others who may not have seen it can be informative (like if a player doesn’t return for a period due to injury, or a milestone stat is reached). But that rarely happens. Instead, the vast majority of what we get are simple comments about the game/event as it unfolds, 99% of which anyone would know if they’re focused on the TV and not  the computer!
While writing for CapitalsOutsider.com, I sorta have to do it, just in case. I need to keep an eye on what others are saying, just in case.
Now only if I can get ’em to stick to the necessary messages. But I’m one of the few making this argument so I lose.

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A Gutsy Amazon Review

I did something I didn’t think I’d ever do – I wrote a review on Amazon.com for a movie. Typically there are far too many reviewers for movies that overshadow others, but I finally felt strong enough about a movie – and noticed a huge gap in the reviews – to justify it. At the same time, due to the controversy of the review, I knew I’d take a beating.
I saw a stop-motion animated film called “The Fantastic Mr. Fox” with the voices of George Clooney and Meryl Streep. It was nominated for Best Animated Film and Best Original Score at this year’s Oscars.
And it was the worst animated movie I’ve ever seen.
Yet, everywhere I look, I see nothing but praise, and there were almost no negative reviews on Amazon. So I wrote one, outlining why it is bad.

  • The story was predictable.
  • The voice actors were bland (unlike, say, Shrek).
  • The characters aren’t memorable (and there are no toys – which animated films bank on).
  • Stop-motion animation is creepy and parts of this film looked like a bad Saturday morning cartoon.
  • There were no original songs… just The Beach Boys (for a movie about foxes stealing chickens)

One last thing ace in the hole for my argument: The film flopped at the box office, which almost NEVER happens for GOOD animated films these days. GOOD animated films make HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS without fail.
I was the only one to give it one star on Amazon.
Almost instantly, the boo-birds came to me, marking my review as ‘not helpful.’ One guy told me to go watch Transformers again and leave this ‘intellectual’ film alone. Another argued with me that it wasn’t ‘animated’ though the term ‘animated’ can refer to stop-motion as well as drawn.
While I’ll never say someone is wrong for liking the film, I feel I gave good reasons as to why many won’t like it. Regardless, when you trash a film that several like, you’re opening yourself up to criticism, and that’s just what I did. Unfortunately, in this day and age, any moron has a platform for opinions and criticism, and poorly-written articles and baseless criticism is given the same megaphone as anyone else.

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Phoenix

I spent some time in Phoenix last week,visiting my uncle and aunt. I also took a trip to the Grand Canyon, thanks to my mother and grandmother. For the Grand Canyon trip, we flew from Sedona in a 10-man plane to the canyon, then took a chopper down into the canyon. Then we took a boat ride on the river. It was remarkable. I’ll have many photos and videos to post when I get back.
In Phoenix, we went to a zoo, a mystery house, and the Renaissance Festival. I must admit that the Phoenix RenFest was better than Maryland’s overall.
Now I’m in Seattle visiting my other uncle, but I’ll write more about that later.

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Gimli – The Worst Lord of the Rings Character

There are many major characters in the Lord of the Rings, but after careful analysis of the films, I’ve realized that removing Gimli would have very little impact on the story. This isn’t to say Gimli is useless, or isn’t entertaining, but there is nothing of great consequence that ties his character to the script. Let’s break this down. Here are Gimli the dwarf’s qualities:

  • He’s a great warrior
  • He’s funny
  • He drinks

Also, kudos to John Rhys-Davies, who does a remarkable job playing this character.

Gimli proves himself as a great fighter in Fellowship of the Ring, though he doesn’t trust his battle companion, Legolas, because he is an elf (the book explores this a bit more but the result is the same). After the fellowship sets out for Mordor, Gimli suggests to Gandalf the Grey that they take a shortcut through the Mines of Moria. Gandalf declines. Soon after, they have no choice but to use the Mines of Moria, so Gimli’s suggestion happens regardless. When Gimli finds that his kin in the mines had been massacred, it doesn’t seem to change his determination or choices, and he doesn’t mention it again. It’s also shown that he has a crush on Galadriel, which is odd considering that she is also an elf.

In The Two Towers, Gimli holds up Legolas and Aragorn as they travel because he’s too slow for them. During battles, Gimli and Legolas try to top each other in orc body count. Fun stuff, but nothing hugely important happens with his character.

In Return of the King, Gimli continues the follow-the-leader role, killing orcs and making silly comments. Near the end, he and Legolas vow to die side by side as friends in the final battle for Middle Earth. There you have it… Gimli’s character arc. He learns to trust an elf. It took three movies and more than nine hours of film for that to happen.

So, am I saying that Lord of the Rings would be better without Gimli? Certainly not. However, it’s clear that his character has no impact on the plot, though the opportunities were there. The books explore his character more than the films, but nothing important.

But instead of hating on Gimli, let’s just enjoy him for what he was: An angry drunken dwarf.