Why blog?

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Some days I sit back and wonder just why I do this. My site doesn’t get a whole lot of traffic — primarily just my folks and a few friends who stop by from time to time when they remember. And, admittedly, much of what I write probably wouldn’t be of any real interest to the world in general. Bits and pieces of my life, what I’m doing, what’s going on. Heck, I don’t even get personal enough most of the time to make for any real good drama!

I found the following quote over on Peach’s site after she left a comment to one of my posts, and it seemed to sum up fairly accurately why I keep banging away at this — because, whether or not it’s seen all that often…it’s fun.

I am very pleased with my (o.k. and yours too) blogger. I feel like I have fallen down the rabbit hole; just falling and falling in a blissful state, sans the drugs. I love IT! It is peering through my own looking glass at my own ego and my written word. Whether you are an amatuer or a professional; whether you are an exquisite artiste or you stink, it makes no difference. Most people who create at some time or another, have a strong sense of who they are in the images they create. Mediocrity is the scare word for us. Your word or my word, we all checked off ‘public’ for a reason. We would like to be read and responded to.

Sometimes, though, I feel that I shouldn’t be ‘published’ unless I am very, very good. And then again, who cares? It’s my Journal and if you want to read it, be my guest.

Ack

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Oops — I just upgraded my blog software to the newest version, and in the process nuked the hack I had that inserted smileys into posts. Hence, my Spider-Man post isn’t displaying the stars at the moment. Grr. I’ll fix it tomorrow….

Spider-Man

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I told you I’d get around to this. ;)

In brief — it rocked. There are a select few movies that were a successful translation from the comic book medium to the silver screen (Superman, Batman, and X-Men — all IMHO, of course), and Spider-Man just rocketed straight to the top of that list.

Plot — well, okay, it’s a summertime comic book movie, but for what it was, it worked quite well. Cast — spot-on. Effects — a bit shakey here and there, but overall quite impressive. Directing — Sam Raimi kicks much booty.

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Ugh

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In brief — I saw Spiderman, it rocked. More later. I’m currently battling off a really nasty flu bug…hence why no updates for a few days, and only this really short note right now before I curl up in bed.

I’ll get more up when being vertical doesn’t seem like such a bad idea. ;)

American Gods

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What happens to our gods when we stop believing in them?

Since the dawn of man, we have created gods to explain the universe around us, to worship, and to sacrifice to. As people moved from place to place, their gods came with them, carried along in their thoughts, dreams, and ceremonies. When people started coming to this continent — whether in the cargo holds of slave ships, as settlers immigrating to a new land, or as tribes crossing the ancient land bridges — they brought their gods along, asking for their help as they got started in the new world.

Over time, though, as cultures grew, met, and merged, the old gods found themselves with fewer and fewer believers. Old beliefs and religions became supersitions and stories, as new gods arose in the minds of the people of the new world. Odin and the Norse pantheon, brought here with the Viking explorers; Anasazi who came with the African slaves; even the Hindu god Kali; all found themselves passed by, nearly forgotten, existing only on the few prayers from those who still believed in them.

Meanwhile, the new gods gain in strength, as more and more people worship them, though their worshippers don’t always realize it. Gods of the train, the automobile, the television. Gods of drugs and the internet. New gods, who see the future as their world — and hold those old gods that still scrape by, existing where and how they can, as useless. Relics of ages gone by, doing no more than getting in the way of the future.

And a storm is coming….

Now this is what I was hoping for from Neil Gaiman.

After being less impressed than I hoped after I read Neverwhere, I hedged a bit in the bookstore before deciding to go ahead and pick up American Gods. I’m quite glad I did, though — a much better book than Neverwhere.

Drawing upon mythologies the world over, Gaiman has created a fascinating look at the conflict between old beliefs and new, and the dichtomies created in America when so many cultures and religions come together, clash, mix, and evolve over time. Of Gaiman’s works that I’ve read so far, this is easily my favorite.

Panic Room

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David Fincher‘s (one of my favorite directors) latest film, Panic Room, has been in the theaters for a few weeks now, and I just finally got around to seeing it today. Some fan, eh? Ah, well, life’s been a bit crazy lately.

Not quite awake enough to make a full writeup, but in brief — entertaning, not bad for a matinee, but not nearly up to the level of his last few films (Fight Club, The Game, and Se7en). However, PR is a much more straightforward film than any of those three — a story of a mother (Jodie Foster) and her daughter (Kristen Stewart) trapped inside a ‘panic room’ inside their new house by a small band of thieves trying to get to a fortune hidden inside the house. Fincher has his usual fun with the cinematography, and the cast all does well — there just wasn’t a lot to the story. Decent mindless escapism, however — worth a rent when it comes out.

Dancing is not a crime!

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Well, today ended up being something of an interesting day. I needed to get out of the house for a bit, so wandered into downtown to see a movie. Now, Westlake Plaza seems to be the focal point for most (all?) of the protests in Seattle, and it’s becoming somewhat second nature to swing by and see who’s protesting what each weekend.

Today, though, the protest was something that actually interests me! There’s been a lot of political struggle here in Seattle recently over the Teen Dance Ordinance (lots of background information can be found via this Google search). A local organization called the NorthWest Late Night Coalition was in the plaza today, holding a rally to gain support for their part in the battle to repeal the TDO, with an information booth, speakers, and DJ’s playing. It was pretty interesting, and I stopped by to watch for a while. I ended up chatting with two of the volunteers helping out (Dolly and Chloe, if I remember correctly) and let them know a bit about my history in Anchorage working with Gig’s and the Lost Abby.

Once I got home, I stopped by their website and signed up — mayhaps I’ll start getting involved in things down here! Would be very cool…here’s hoping!

Happy birthday Kevin!

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Happy birthday to my little brother! Kinda scary to think that he turns 26 today — in some ways, scarier than me turning 29 yesterday. Yikes. Hey — he’s still my little brother, though. :D

A few new site bits

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I’ve added a few features to the site — one a couple weeks ago, and two just a few minutes ago — and I figured I’d babble for a moment about them.

In brief — the first is a list of books I’ve read recently, found in the right sidebar just underneath the search box. As I start reading a book I’ll put it in, and it will appear at the top of the list. Once I’m done with a book I’ll babble about it, and a ‘Comments…’ link will appear after the book title — click on that to read what I have to say. Simple, sweet, works.

The second — well, the second is a blatant plea for money and support. :D Up until now I’d avoided doing anything like this, but as my finances aren’t what they used to be, I figured it was worth a shot. Via a program that Amazon offers, there’s now a voluntary paybox towards the bottom of the righthand sidebar (at least I didn’t put it right at the top…if I’m going to beg, I’ll make it as subtle as possible). Should you feel like it, click on that, and you’ll be able to donate money to me to help me keep things afloat. I’m not expecting much (if anything) from it, but I figured it was worth a shot. The worst anyone can do is ignore it, right?

The third is also a potential way for me to make the occasional buck or two off the site. Another Amazon program allows me to set links for books, movies and the like to point to their site — then, should somone click through the link to buy something, I get a small percentage of the purchase price. As with the others, it probably won’t add up to much, but every little bet helps.

Technical details follow below.

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