January, 2006

Well, we surviced the Holy Daze... how'zaboutu?

Let's see.... what happened.... well, we were at ground zero (as I call it) on the Las Vegas strip to see the fireworks. For those of you who've never been, NYE is when a bunch of hotels launch synchronized fireworks, creating a 5-mile long show. Sounds great, doesn't it? So Sue's sister Sherry + aunt Carol came out to see this wild time and so... We drive to the strip almost 3 hours early and can't find a parking space. We finally do get the car settled in, dash into the Monte Carlo buffet (which is excellent - I swear, the Monte Carlo is the best-kept secret in Las Vegas, it's such a nice, underrated place). Then we wander thru the casino, and out onto the strip where the energy created by thousands upon thousands of happy, drunk revelers is surprisingly quite enjoyable. We wander over to Bellagio only to find the water show's cancelled due to high winds. Soooooo we wander across the street to Aladdin, only to be denied entry at the front door because they're "nearing capacity'. Realllllly. So we simply walked around the corner and entered from the side door. Pffft. Near capacity, my arse. Ater all that, we head out the front door to watch the fireworks, only to discover that - surprise! - you can't see the fireworks from Aladdin's front door! The most you can see are the colors reflecting off Bellagio's windows! Well, as disappointed as I was, I had to laugh. Looks like it's going to be a year chock full o' irony.

So I took that as an omen, and decided that I must simplify my goals in order to make them succeed. Seemed like a good idea at the time (and no, I hadn't been drinking).

Just what are my NY resolutions? Gosh, I guess I should think about that, huh? How about... no, already broke that one. Hmm... maybe... nope, broke that one too. Er... uh... (Well, let's just come back to that when something develops there, shall we?)

Sue got a bucketload of PS2 games which are currently ruling my TV, I got a bucketload of DVDs which are currently sitting idle - BUT I've been happy as a 10-year-old playing the uber-fantastic

Tron 2.0. I never was a big fan of PC games, or first-person shooters, but holy effin' hell this is a GREAT game. The graphics alone are sooooo gorgeous, I can't stop playing becuase I want to see what's around the next corner, in the next room, etc etc. Totally awesome fun, not too hard for those of us who don't play shooters, and not too easy for those that do. And for $20 - it's totally worth it for the lightcycle scenes alone!

Finally got around to seeing

Brothers Grimm last weekend. Uh... maybe I was a little to tired to focus on this properly, and maybe they shoulda ditched the underdeveloped CGI, and maybe there were almost no characters with whom I could relate, and maybe Matt Damon really annoyed me, and maybe - just maybe - this is Terry Gilliam's worst movie. Tsk. I really wanted to enjoy this, too. Fortunately, the DVD comes with commentary by TG, and those are always entertaining to hear, especially when parts of his work make absolutely NO sense. Still, I love Gilliam's work, and am totally looking forward to the Defective Detective, which should be in theatres later this year.

Outside of that, been busy playing in my buddy's studio, learning the piano, and generally doing things, stuff and whatnot. I have tickets to see

Social Distortion later this month, and I have a few more reviews and my first interview (as the interviewer, not interviewee) should be happening in the next few weeks.

Stay tuned.