Month: May 2002 (Page 2 of 5)

Does anyone out there know a good place to find ROM images (games) for the arcade emulator MAME? I love those old games, and I used to have a good selection of them before I wiped out my computer the last time and didn’t back them up. Now all the places I used to go for ROMs are shut down.

I’m usually a big no-piracy advocate, but this is different – these games have been out of circulation for ages. In addition, I’d be happy to pay for a commercial distribution of MAME with lots of game files. But no such thing exists.

I need to play Galaga!

I’m fascinated by the shopping channels. I think those hosts really have a talent – you can plop just about anything in front of them, and they can talk for a half hour, at least mostly coherently, about its many virtues.

But what really creeps me out about the shopping channels are the doll shows. I know they’ve been lampooned on SNL before, but until you actually watch Marie Osmond talk about the lifelike eyes and real petticoats of her latest creation, you can’t understand how soul-shakingly disturbing they really are. And then I think about the people who obsessively collect these faux-humans, and I get even more creeped out. Who buys these things? And they’re not inexpensive, either.

I guess one thing that disturbs me is you can imagine people buying and at least theoretically using turquoise jewelry, or palazzo pants, or Wolfgang Puck cookware. But these dolls seem to be the absolute height of consumerism gone awry. They exist solely, solely, to be purchased and owned. Do we really have that much disposable income? Apparently, we do.

If anyone is interested in a good movie with Natalie Portman in it, you should check out “Beautiful Girls.” Nothing earth-shattering – just a series of subtle, well-written character scenes surrounding a high school reunion. Portman is outstanding as Timothy Hutton’s 13-year-old “old soul” next door neighbor. Highly recommended.

“We’re living in a society!” Part II

Went to my usual car wash today, and there were about three loose dollars in the map pocket of the driver’s side door – I use them for parking, etc.

When I got back into the car, they were gone.

Three dollars isn’t much – it isn’t like I had the Hope Diamond in the car or anything. But it’s the principle of the thing.

After many months, I have a new client site up: the Garvey & Stoddard law firm site. Let me know what you think. The interesting thing about this site is that I’m using my old friend Blogger for their “latest news” page, so they can keep it updated themselves. I wonder if weblogs are being used in other business settings?

And if I haven’t mentioned recently, I’m looking for new clients. If you throw some business my way, I’ll give you a referral fee.

Me: Yes, I’d like to order a pizza to pick up.
Papa Murphy’s: I’m sorry, but we’re out of cheese.

They’re out of cheese? At a pizza place? What kind of world are we living in?

“About a Boy”

This is a difficult review for me to write, because on paper this movie is everything that I don’t want to find when I go to the theater: a sentimental tale of a callow man who “grows up,” courtesy of his relationship with a troubled boy.

Starring Hugh Grant, no less.

But the problem is, I really liked it. It is sentimental, but it seems to earn that sentiment, unlike most similar movies churned out by the Hollywood tear-jerking machine. It meanders along amiably, with some good, easy laughs and very few, if any, tears. Toni Collette is excellent as usual – I love how she can look absolutely beautiful in some roles and rather plain in others (like this one). And I actually liked Hugh Grant in it.

I may need to adjust my medication.

I wasn’t intending on watching “Star Wars: Attack of the Clones” today. I was going to wait until sometime next week, after the crowds had thinned out. I went to the theater to see the Richard Gere/Diane Lane “Unfaithful.” But when I saw there were no lines, I thought, why not?

How can I put this delicately?

PILE. OF. CRAP.

If anything, it’s worse than “Episode I.” Everything looks like a really cool video game. And that’s it. It’s one of the most soulless, empty movies I’ve ever seen. Even more byzantine with political intrigue than the first, and hampered by a laughable love story and endless sequences of stuff “blowing up good,” it’s one of the worst misuses of cinema (and film history) ever.

I’m sure my opinion will soften with time – it did with Episode I. But I’m amazed at how much I disliked it, even with my drastically lowered expectations.

Of course, none of this matters. George Lucas has a scary amount of power in Hollywood – and with the American people. He could have filmed Jar Jar Binks reading the Naboo white pages and the thing would have made untold millions.

My recommendation? Stop by AtomFilms and watch the Star Wars fan film festival. Those are the real legacy of “Star Wars.”

As for me, I’m going to go watch “Empire Strikes Back” and clear my head.

Something I don’t understand about science fiction: why does every planet have to have just one ecosystem? In “Star Wars,” Tattooine is desert, Hoth is ice, Endor is forest, and Coruscant is one big city. “Dune” is another example. Is this true of most sci-fi literature? Don’t they think we can understand that an entire planet might include more than one climate? Is Earth some kind of wacky exception? This sort of thing bugs me.

And yes, I will be seeking treatment.

“He planted 18 bombs, six of which detonated. Six out of 18. That’s what you get when you send your son to a state school.”

-The Daily Show’s Lewis Black, on UW-Stout student Lucas Helder.