A few trailers

I've been suffering from serious bout of bronchitis the past few days and have spent a lot of it in bed. I'm planning on a bigger update soon. For now - here's a few trailers for your enjoyment.

Good Night and Good Luck - The story of Edward R. Murrow and Senator McCarthy. It's a film by George Clooney. Looks good. I like the choice of black and white. It sets me back in time, even though life obviously happened in color - television did not. From what I understand - much of this story played out on television. I wonder if the technique will work.

The Serenity Movie site. If you click on the flash site - there is a somewhat complicated site. I thought the graphics were pretty cool. It's more than I've seen for a movie in a long time, not counting Star Wars and Lord of the Rings.

The Prize Winner of Defiance, Idaho - Interesting. I'm curious about the picture of marriage that this is going to give in the end. Is there a lesson learned? It's a "true story" -- what impact will that have on the message?

Proof - For some reason I enjoy movies about math and science, even though actual math and science are not my favorite things. (I don't think I have the patience...)

Latest Serenity clip

R. Tam Session 165

New Serenity clips

These are the new clips for the Serenity viral marketing campaign. Remember - the one below is titled "R. Tam Session 416."

R. Tam Session 1

R. Tam Session 22

trailers...

Akeelah and the Bee - This one looks fun! Shelley? Are we on?

An Unfinished Life - Looks good. Morgan Freeman is one of my favorites and I like movies with good hearted, crotchety old men. (It's a little weird to categorize Robert Redford like that!) Anyway - Morgan Freeman's comment at the end of the clip and the look of shock on Redford's face. Funny. Kids ask the craziest questions... :-)

The Great Raid - Looks like a good WWII movie. Wonder if it'll stack up to The Great Escape...

Murderball - I can't remember if I've put this one up before, but it's getting a lot of buzz. It's supposed to be one of the best docs out there.

Joss is up to something...

I have been trying to put my sound system together tonight. I gave up. Maybe I'll try again tomorrow. I am a reasonably intelligent woman, but all these wires drive me crazy. At this moment, I just can't face the thought of unhooking the various electronics and hooking them back up through the receiver. It's like a mountain (okay, a small hill) that I just can't get up the energy to climb.

In other news, I found a very creepy clip on the Net tonight. Apparently, Joss and Universal are doing some interesting marketing for Serenity. This clip has nothing to identify it as part of the Firefly universe. However, it has started people talking. Be warned - this very creepy... R. Tam Session 416.

On a lighter note - I thought I'd go back to my TV meme and answer a few questions...

1. Who is your favorite stand-up comedian of all time?
Bill Cosby. No question. He is genuinely funny and doesn't resort to shock humor. I must confess that early Eddie Murphy makes me fall out of my seat laughing, but it also makes me uncomfortable. I'm not sure I would even enjoy his earlier humor today. Chris Rock had a pretty funny stand up show last year. He talked about rap music being indefensible. In the early days, you could defend it -- but no longer. Funny... I also think Ellen is pretty funny.
2. Which one could you do without? (Not your type of humor, or just plain stupid!)
Margaret Cho. She's mean and angry. I don't like angry comedians.

3. Which comedian do you think has gone on to have a great career aside from doing stand-up?
Robin Williams. Steve Martin. Bill Cosby. Bob Hope.

~Bonus~ If you went to a comedy club on amateur night, and they gave you some jokes and a microphone, would you go onstage?
Well - I already go up and do karaoke and, as my friends and family well know, I can't sing. So, I guess I would. It would be helpful to have a little material prepared... Catch me in the right mood and I'm not afraid of making an idiot of myself.

Hello!

I've returned from my travels and school is underway. I have a few minutes this morning, so I thought I would just say hello and post a few thoughts. Florida was wonderful. It's beautiful and the time with my brother and sister-in-law was just incredible. I wish we could be closer, because I would love to spend time with them on a regular basis. One of my favorite things about the trip is that we got to help paint their new house. I just wish I could be there for more of the re-model. Now that my house is almost finished, I feel like I need another bigger-than-life art project! :-)

A close friend helped me put together my new china cabinet yesterday. I was incredibly impressed with how well designed this piece of furniture is. It's from the Martha Stewart Everyday line of furniture at K-Mart. The designers have made a very heavy/sturdy cabinet that is easy to put together and has several quality details that I was not expecting in a piece of prefab furniture. I only wish that my kitchen needed an island. (That's probably my favorite piece.) :-) Check it out.

As for movies and music - I've been listening to Green Day's American Idiot in my car lately. I am impressed with the CD. I think I will like it even more if I can sit down and read the lyrics. Green Day has done a concept album in a way that I haven't seen in awhile. Some reviews have called it one of the greatest rock concept albums of all time. I'm not sure if I'm going there yet, but I am certainly enjoying it. It's pretty lefty, so if that pushes your buttons, don't pick it up.

Of course, I can't have a new post without giving you some trailers...
Aeon Flux - I am definitely looking forward to this one.
Jarhead - I'm not sure about this one. It's about Desert Storm and the Marines. I'll probably wait to get a review from a friend before watching it.
No Direction Home: Bob Dylan - A PBS documentary by Martin Scorsese. Airs on Sept. 26-27.

Quick question for friends - Does anyone have an SPL meter I could borrow? I am trying to setup and calibrate my sound system and I don't want to pay the $50 to buy one. However, if I really want to get good sound, my research has said (pretty much across the board) that I need to use one. After all, what's the point of having a nice sound system if the sound doesn't come out correctly? I would be so grateful if I could borrow a meter some Saturday afternoon in the near future. Thanks!

New Section

I've been asked if I read any other blogs, so I thought I'd add a link section with a few of my favorites. Just look to the right and down a bit... A few are written by friends, one by my parents, and a few are just places I check out. I don't necessarily agree with the authors, but I find their thoughts interesting and often challenging.

A Few Trailers

Here are a few trailers for your enjoyment...

The new Serenity trailer - I might of put this up before, but who cares? It's worth a second look. I definitely think this is better than the first trailer.
Walk the Line - The Johnny Cash biography. Looks good.
Just Like Heaven - a romantic comedy with Reese Witherspoon as a ghost. I like Rom-coms. Sue me. I like 'em! :-) :-) Although I really don't see how the traditional happy ending is coming out of this one unless it's all a dream.
Undiscovered - Actors and musicians. What's not to like? Okay - it looks pretty cheesy, but so was Rock Star and I liked that one. :-)
A Sound of Thunder - This is very loosely based on a wonderful short story by Ray Bradbury. It looks like they went quite far into right field with the movie. I'm not surprised.
The Chronicles of Narnia - This isn't a trailer. It's a short piece on the story. Nice!
Junebug - for some reason I love Amy Adams' character in this trailer. I think I might have known this girl.

A New Meme

I am really enjoying this "meme" thing. :-) (In case I didn't explain it before, a meme is a list of questions, usually related to a particular topic.) I found a music meme at Note of the Day. (I haven't read any of this blog outside of the music questions, so there might be content issues.)

I am leaving for Florida tomorrow with my immediate family to visit my brother and sister-in-law. Yes, we are driving. That's 24 hours one way without stopping in a mini-van with my mom, dad, sister and brother-in-law. If we didn't love each other deeply, I think there could be some serious bodily harm in our future. :-) The trip might turn into a film festival, but I'm not sure the technical details are going to get worked out in time.

I'm looking forward to Florida, but if you know me in real life -- be prepared for "Crazy Jill" for a week or two on my return. Hopefully it'll only take a week or two to get life settled into a routine. I refuse to let the massive workload I am anticipating drive my life. There is more to it than that! (Darn those teaching responsibilities!) P.S. - If any of you know about good AP English resources on the Net, please send some URLs my way. I feel a little bit like a robin trying to swim upriver. This whole AP thing is a little overwhelming.

In honor of the roadtrip - here is the music question of the day.
What music do you like best for a roadtrip? Do you like relaxing music to get you into that kicked-back vacation mode, or songs that really get you revved up & excited?
It completely depends. If I am alone and driving, I need VERY peppy music. I mean stuff I can sing to and even do a little car dancing. :-) I often like nostalgia music in the car. Any arena rock from the 70's and 80's is a good thing. If the band used more hairspray than me - I probably like them. Favs here are Bon Jovi, Journey, Def Leppard, Van Halen, Whitesnake, etc. I confess that I even liked Kip Winger. :-) (Please don't toss any metaphorical vegetables...) :-) I also like really cheesy pop than I can sing along with. Carpenters, etc. Or techno that I sing along with. Or country that I can sing along with. Are you catching the theme here? It's sometimes hard for me to stay awake in the car. Singing helps. :-)

If I'm on a road trip with someone, we are usually talking or introducing each other to music we haven't encountered before. (This led to my new enjoying of The Flaming Lips.) I love listening to bands I would never pick up on my own.

On another note :-) I also enjoy a good book on tape in the car. My favorite is the unabridged Lord of the Rings. The narrator is amazing. I picked it up at a used CD store. There is just something about listening to the story that is completely different from reading the exact same words. I appreciate all the poetry and songs. (I confess I skipped most of them when I read.) Bad Dee, bad. The radio plays for The Chronicles of Narnia are also lovely. Check them out if you get a chance.

Back from Colorado

Hello Everyone! Sorry it's been so long since I've updated. I've been vacationing in the wilds of Colorado. (Okay - Snowmass, but still -- there was nature!) I forgot how much I love Colorado. There were a few days that I sat out on one of the balcony's of the condo we were in, drank my morning coffee, and had my QT. It was so peaceful and beautiful. God has done some amazing work. BTW - Aspen? What's up with that? There's a culture of money there that I will never understand. It's like going to the zoo and watching all the animals. Fun, but weird.

I don't have much to comment on media-wise as I haven't been watching anything new lately. Although I did catch the newest Stargate SG-1 last night. I am enjoying Claudia Black's performance, but I am wondering where Amanda Tapping is. Is she coming back? Her name is one the credits, but she is nowhere to be seen. Perhaps she's working on another project? I wish Claudia could stay on as a regular. She is fun! I am getting a little bored with the Jaffa stuff. All the political stuff is not so interesting to me. Stargate should be crazy aliens, big explosions, really snarky comments and Daniel Jackson! :-) BTW - I think that Ben Browder is fitting in nicely. He can't really fill Richard Dean Anderson's shoes, but he's doing a fine job of fitting into the dynamic. (Of course, it could be that I just like Ben Browder.) :-) Also - did anyone else notice the CGI during Daniel and Jack's conversation? It was glaringly obvious that they filmed the different sides of that conversation at different times. I'm guessing that Anderson didn't even go to Vancouver for the scene. Weird.

Now for something a little different... Here are the TV questions for today. Remember - these are from TV Tuesday. I don't want anyone to think I'm stealing someone else's idea.

1. What shows would make up a perfect night of TV viewing for you?
Wow. Tough question. Since it's my perfect night, I'm going to bring in cancelled shows.
7:00 - The West Wing (written by Aaron Sorkin, directed by Thomas Schlamme.)
8:00 - Beauty and the Beast (with Linda Hamilton still on the show)
9:00 - a Star Trek series where the characters actually changed over time (a la Babylon 5)
10:00 - Firefly (and it was never cancelled)

2. What show(s) would you cancel without a moment's hesitation?
Almost any reality show and most sitcoms. Yuck.

3. Is there a show (previously cancelled or just no longer airing) that you'd bring back, original cast and all?
Um...yeah....FIREFLY!!!!

~Bonus~ You get to create one show to put on the schedule, with any stars you choose. Who and what would it be?
Wow. I can't even begin to say....okay, I can begin. First of all, it would be written by Joss Whedon. That's a must. It would star...hmmm... Nathan Fillion, Alan Tudyk, Ron Perlman, Natalie Portman, Gary Sinese ('cause he's wasted on CSI:NY), and Allison Mack.
Okay - that was really fast. I keep getting new ideas and can't include them. I don't like this question. :-)

Oh - I almost forgot to mention... I've been listening to The Flaming Lips recently. Fun! I think Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots is my favorite.