Dellamorte Dellamore (1994)

I watched this movie today, which in the US is called "Cemetery Man". The US title gives you little idea of the movie is really about, whereas the original title, which means "Death and Love" is more of a clue.

This is not a zombie movie. True, there are zombies in it, but this really isn't a horror movie. It is more of a look at a guys struggle to figure out what life, death and love are all about. It starts out like a zombie movie, but quickly veers away into a, at first very strange, but later, very interesting movie.

I actually liked this movie more 30 minutes after watching it, then when it was first over. The "meaning" of the movie is very open to interpretation, but I like that when well done, and this movie is.

For more information go to IMDB

Ham and Black Bean Salad on a Plate

Ham and Black Bean Salad on a Plate
Originally uploaded by sweet mustache

Dinner for Saturday. A little chopping involved, but not too difficult. Tasted very good, probably better tomorrow. Click on the photo for more information.

Dreamer

Dreamer
Originally uploaded by True_Bavarian

Flipping through Flickr, when I came across this in the "200 Favorites" group. So, of course I had to mention it here.

A Plethora of Monkeys

I was reading The Comics Curmudgeon a blog where the blogger sarcastically comments about different comic strips, some of which I don't see anywhere except on his blog. Anyway, he had a link to this site which is pretty cool in itself.

But of course, I point out that there are several monkeys listed. The only monkey I had not heard of was the White-Faced Saki Monkey. Of the other animals, the Aye-aye, Dumbo Octopus, Sucker-footed Bat and the Yeti Crab are all new ones for me.

I will have to say that the Aye-aye is one weird looking animal. I thought the Yeti Crab was pretty cool looking.

Unshelved

Good thing I recently watched the first 3 episodes of Firefly, otherwise I would have no idea, much like the young lady in the strip what the other guys were talking about. Even then, I wouldn't have known that was a "Jayne hat" she was wearing. But after being told, I do understand the reference.

This is a pretty decent online comic. Not usually laugh out loud, slap your knee funny, but usually good for a grin or two. And if you like books, or work in a library (yes and no for me respectively) you'll probably get a bit more of enjoyment out of it then the average comic reader

Population 436 (and a monkey)

I watched the movie "Population 436" last night. Quite frankly, I don't remember why I put it in my Netflix queue, but I did. I was surprised to see that it was a release direct to DVD.

First, it was not a rip-off of "The Village". While I have not seen "The Lottery", I can imagine what that is about, and this isn't the same thing. It isn't a great movie, but it was decent. The acting was pretty good all around, my personal favorite being Fred Durst, from Limp Bizkit. The worst was the female lead, Kathy, who was played by Leigh Evans. Oh, David Ames (male lead) was fine.

While I don't know if this is based on actually number theory or not, it at least gave some apparent validity to the plot, instead of just, "The prophet so-and-so said...." and that is just the way it has been.

I didn't feel the movie dragged at any moment, but it was never particularly intense either. Unlike many, I felt the original ending was better then the alternative ending (also on the DVD). Overall, 6.5 out of 10.

And finally, as a bonus, there was a toy monkey on the dashboard of the pickup truck.

August 22, 2007

I don't know what it is doing there, but for some reason in this article about the US open there is a photo of an ape holding a tennis ball.

Watched the movie "Street Smart" (1987) last night. I pretty much agree with most of the reviews/comments I've since read on Netflix and IMDB. In summary: Movie was OK, but Morgan Freeman (nominated for an Oscar for this role) was great, Kathy Baker was pretty good and Christopher Reeve was not so good.

This got me to thinking how did Reeve ever become as famous as he did. He wasn't any good in any of the movies I've seen. It was okay with the Superman franchise, since he was supposed an alien. The only other movie I've seen of his was "Deathtrap" (1982) which was a very good film, but looking back, Reeve was only fair.

Who can figure the fickle finger of fame?

Monday, August 20, 2007

Okay, the whole monkey thing is a bust. Nothing for Thursday through Sunday. So, if I see a monkey I'll try and remember to report it here, just so I post here once in a while, so that no one can read it.

I did see a cartoon monkey this morning. I was wasking up to "Spongebob Square Pants" when there was a commercial for a new cartoon on Nick Jr. Something about a kid and a mind reading genie.

So what will I be reporting here, to keep my 0 readers informed of my meaningless thoughts? Don't know. Whatever grabs my fancy.

I did watch the first three episodes of "Firefly" this weekend. I somehow missed this when it came out back in 2000 on Fox. So far it is pretty good. Not as AWESOME as the die-hard fans of the show would lead you to believe, but well above average.

The story isn't all original, it has definte smackings of FarScape (fugitives on the run from an opressive government, forced to the edges of known space) but the Western bit is a nice touch.

So far, I prefer FarScape by a wide margin, but I've got 12 more shows to go.

No Monkey, Monkey

Monday was another Monkey-Free day. Which meant I had been without monkey for over 72 hours. However, I did see a monkey on Tuesday. I was reading some old "Monty" dailys online, when I ran across one that included a monkey.

So far, no monkey today.

Monkey Free Weekend

While, the streak is broken, and it really wasn't that long (14 days). So far I've gone two days (Saturday & Sunday) without seeing a monkey of any kind. Of course I think I watched a total of about 30 minutes of TV this weekend, so that probably contributed to the lack of monkeys.

Don't know if I'll see on yet today, but if I do I will record it here.

I did watch "Batman Begins" on Saturday night. I liked it better then the first Batman movie, and I see they are coming out with "Batman Begins 2" in 2008. I'm guessing The Joker will be the bad guy this time.

Monkey Sighting for August 10th, 2007

I saw a guy wearing a t-shirt that said something about coming at you like a spider monkey. He was walking the opposite way, so I can't for sure say what it said, but I do know there was a monkey on his t-shirt.

August 9th, 2007

I was watching the movie "The Sea Hawk" last night (as I'm writing this on the 10th). It a very good film from 1940 with Errol Flynn and his ever present sidekick, Alan Hale. That's right, father of Alan Hale Jr who was Skipper on "Giligan's Island".

Anyway, there was a monkey in several scences of the movie. It was a little bit of comic relief.

"The Sea Hawk" wasn't as good as "Captain Blood" (1935) but it was quite good. As with "Captiain Blood" the DVD offered a glimpse of what going to the movies used to be like with a news reel, cartoon and short from the same time period.

Cutting Edge Media Sites

A story a dot.com survivor running a business making a niche for itself in the area of TV and radio web sites.

read more | digg story

August 8th, 2007

If not for television, the chain of monkey sightings would have been broken long ago. Once again, TV came to the rescue. This time it was "The Soup" on E!. Quite the funny show in its own right, but it saved me by doing a story about how a monkey who ate less calories looked better and had more energy then a monkey who ate a higher calorie load.

This was a "best of" show, and I had seen the original story, but I hadn't seen it on the episode and besides when I first saw the clip I hadn't started keeping track.

Steak Shortage Hits NYC

A story about how beef prices are going up because corn prices are going up because corn is being used for ethanol.

read more | digg story

Not a monkey sighting

This is not a monkey sighting, but it is an article about a guy trying to smuggle a monkey into the United States.

And here is another article about monkeys from The Columbus Dispatch.

August 7th, 2007

It was around 1:30am (CDT) and I was having problems getting asleep so I was channel surfing again. I think it was the Animal Planet channel, but I'm not sure, but anyway, there were monkeys. Quest done for the day.

August 6th, 2007

Jay Leno finally served a function in my life. I was watching David Letterman, but there was a commercial, so I decided to do a little channel surfing. I went by Jay Leno to see he was doing his "Funny Headlines" bit, or whatever he calls it. Since the only time Jay is funny is when he is using newspaper clippings I stopped to watch. The last one, a picture of cartoon monkeys with a couple of monkeys who appeared to be "doing it" in the background. Even Leno can be funny if there are monkeys involved.

Monkey Sighting for August 5th, 2007

I was cleaning up and throwing away some old catalogs when I happened
to notice the cover of an a catalog from "The Oriental Trading
Company". They sell lots of stuff in the monkey genre, so of course
there was a monkey on the front cover. I believe it was around 4:30pm
(CST).

On unrelated note, here is another way that Barry Bonds
is cheating:
Barry Bonds' Home Run Record Tainted by Mechanical Device?

Now, I don't hate Barry Bonds, but I don't like him either. While it is rather obvious he has used steroids
for a considerable amount of time, it has never been proven. The
article above shows another way he is "taking advantage" of the system,
i.e. cheating.

If the elbow protector had remained the same
since the time he first wore it, I see no problem with him using it, but
because it has changed considerably, and he has no injury reason to wear it, it should not be allowed.

Monkey Sighting for August 4th, 2007

I have no idea what time it was, except for it was after 12pm and before 3pm. Anyway there were several monkey sightings at my niece's birthday party. There was also a bear and a doll that wets her diaper.

Monkey Sighting for August 3rd, 2007

The other day I had said that while I had seen several monkeys while shopping at Target, that I had not bought anything with a monkey on it. Turns out I was wrong. I was signing the card that I bought for my niece, when I turned it around to look at the back, there the monkey was. The time was 1:52pm (CDT).

Monkey (?) Sighting for August 2nd, 2007

Does a gorilla count as a monkey sighting? How about an orangutang? Why should I care since noone is reading this? I saw the gorilla as part of a National Geographic article at about 10:51am. I didn't see the orangutang until about 11:55pm. I don't remember exactly where. I think it was a commercial on TV.

Monkey Sighting for August 1st, 2007

I wasn't too worried about spoting a monkey today, since I planned on going shopping at Target after work to pick up some birthday gifts for my niece's birthday party this Saturday.

Sure enough about 3 or 4 cards in I saw a birthday card with a monkey on it. It was about 5:30 pm CST. I saw several more in different locations throughout the store. However, I did not purchase anything with a monkey on it.