A Visitor?!

Somebody's been here...

Tuesday, November 14th: I checked out your site.

I can hardly believe it, but these words were spoken to me yesterday! Oh, the excitement! Oh, the adrenaline!

Oh, the pressure to make this site a cogent, entertaining destination. Someone I know has been to this website, and it feels kind of like having a guest over when pizza boxes are on the floor and I've forgotten to sweep a passed-out actress under the rug. Winona, now! Into the cupboard!

I still haven't written the Eraserhead review, and most of the content on my site consists of "Coming Soon" messages, which is pretty sad by any standard.

Fortunately, my friend added, Yeah, I didn't read everything, but I did go to it... it was pretty cool. So, she missed most of the unfortunate mess. And now that someone has come by, I feel a sense of urgency I didn't before, one that will push me to make this into something better.

On a side note, have you ever seen folks on the news, who have never been on TV before and overwhelmed with the sense of being televised they have to shout out Hi, Jamie, I'm on TV! and really embarass themselves? I've always hated that.

And in that spirit, Jenn, I will not shout out a hello to you! I will not be saying Thanks for checking out my site or You rock or Gee whiz, who pissed in that receiving guy's cornflakes?. No, I'm not even going to tell you how freaking excited I am that you stopped by.

I'm way too classy for that!

Death

In memory of Bill

Saturday, November 11th: This morning, at around 10:30, Bill the cat died.

As far as cats go, Bill had a very long life. My best friend and roommate found Bill about 14 years ago, a small, helpless abandoned kitty, too weak to survive alone. He literally saved Bill's life, nursing him into health and giving him shelter and love. A profound bond resulted, one as deep as any child/parent relationship that I've ever encountered.

I am a late-comer into this home. My roommate and I have only known each other for a couple of years, and Tao, also a solid black cat and the lady of the household, was adopted a couple of years before that. "I've known Bill longer than I've known any of my friends," my roommate pondered, only a few days ago.

In the clichéd form of pet mirroring owner, Bill reflected my friend's personality in many aspects. Bill was not quick to warm up to people, and found comfort in the familar. He did not display his affection openly, but prefered to share quiet, private moments. The behaviors that initially seemed distant in fact did not represent any harshness, but timidity. He was a quiet cat, and he seemed more intent on observing the world around him than imposing himself upon it. He displayed powerful tenderness, but not randomly, and never in response to simple obligation.

Twice, Bill approached me. Both times occured when Tao and my roommate were both in another room. Both times he walked up hesitantly, still unsure about this unusual and much larger guy that kept hanging around. He would pause, inch forward, and then with gestures full of fearful bravery, he would nudge his head against my chest or hand, and make his raspy purr very quietly. It always felt clandestine, and he would stay for a few moments before retreating. Each time I got the distinct impression that this was a rendevous that would not be repeated, nor even acknowledged. I almost wonder if he somehow felt that physical contact between us would somehow betray the connection he shared with my friend.

My friend is upstairs now, and he is coping with the loss of his companion. He had the terrible duty of choosing to end Bill's life, and he faced this with supreme compassion and bravery. Bill could not survive much longer; his heart was not functioning well and he was suffering. I don't know what it's like to go through having to make that decision- I don't know that I've ever lost someone for whom I cared in the way he did for Bill. Downstairs, alone, I felt the tinge of grief. Bill and I were never close, but I certainly loved him, though mostly at a distance. I few tears begin to form, and I felt heavy about my friend's loss, knowing that he would have to bear the burden of a grief that many would be quick to trivialize. Tao appeared in the kitchen, looking up and mewing softly. I wondered for a moment how she would cope with the loss of Bill, and felt a swelling of grief.

But then Tao sat down and slid her butt across the floor in a manner most unladylike, and I had to laugh.

Without meaning to, she was telling me life was going to be just fine.

Home Movies Quote of the Week:

Wednesday, November 8th: Fate is a cruel snake, with bitter herbs and spices!

-Brendon Small, Home Movies, Politics, Season Two

Nightmare Fuel

Wuz I trippin? Or was it a David Lynch film?

Tuesday, November 7th: I just finished watching Eraserhead.

If you have not seen this film before, you really owe it to yourself. It has to be one of the most striking films I have ever watched. It's so rare to be so engrossed in a film, one that so powerfully creates a specific world and mood. Surreal and disturbing, even if it is a movie you don't enjoy, I doubt you will not be affected in some way.

It's also fitting that this movie, which has immediately reached the status of one of my top ten favorites of all time, be the first film that I review on this site. This review will also be a test of my general reviewing format. Please feel free to send comments!

A Hero Returns

And I'm about to go into hiding...,

Sunday, November 5th: November 19th is almost here.

If that statement doesn't make your heart jump, then you must not be as big of a geek as I am, for on November 19th, the Nintendo Wii is being released in the United States. And it's going to change the face of videogaming forever.

This will be Nintendo's fifth major home console release, and according to articles on IGN.com, the financial projections indicate this machine will be much more successful than Nintendo's last two consoles. There are several reasons for this, but the one I am most personally interested in has to do with one of the launch titles.

A console is made or broken according to what games are available when the system is released. There are usually about a dozen games, and almost always there is one game that defines the system's launch. For the Nintendo 64, the game was Super Mario 64. For the Nintendo Gamecube, it was Super Smash Brothers Melee.

But, oh sweet lord in heaven, this time around the big launch title is a Zelda game.

The Legend of Zelda game series has consistently redefined the concept of the adventure game since its release on the original NES. It was the first console game that allowed players to save their progress, which allowed players to turn off the machine and start again without losing any of the items they had discovered while playing. This allowed for a much larger game, one that held many secrets and puzzles, in a persistant world that could be explored, instead of a series of screens that the player would navigate in a specific order, as was the case with most of the games of the time.

Each Zelda game has added elements that have evolved the concept of video gaming, with perhaps the exception of The Wind Waker, the sole Zelda adventure created for the Gamecube (not counting Four Swords, a multiplayer Zelda adventure created for the same system.) And now, a Zelda game is going to launch with the very system that will redefine gaming.

And this brings me back to the the Hero that is coming. The Hero in all of these games is Link. And he looks amazing. For those who played Ocarina of Time on the Nintendo 64, you'll remember that for a good half of the game, players controlled an adult version of Link, one that was truly strong enough to wield the might Master Sword. This was a sharp contrast to the cartoonish Link designed for the Wind Waker; and though both games have strong points, very few fans could deny the appeal of playing a more mature, battle ready Link in a world that seemed somewhat more adult and serious than the one in the Wind Waker games.

Well, my friends, adult Link is back. More on Zelda to come...

Tonight I'm Coming Out!

Hello out there! Can any body hear me?

Saturday, November 4th: Here's one for the Star Wars fans out there.

Do you remember the scene where Obi-Wan pats Luke's shoulder with paternal tenderness, and says very softly, You've taken your first step into a larger world? I remember that scene fondly. The fledgling jedi must have felt the profound weight behind that phrase, that of a universe expanding from a simple farm life into an intergalactic struggle between the forces of freedom and oppression.

I kind of feel like Luke Skywalker right now.

So, okay, granted, the creation of this website does not carry with it the fates of millions of sentient beings. But in a very real sense, I am in awe of this venture.

I realize that this site may wallow in the darkest corners of obscurity, but the idea that I'm being ignored by potentially millions of people in a very public arena somehow gives my ego a small fraction of validation. Who knows? Today Amy Sedaris may ignore this site. Tomorrow it will be overlooked by Hal Sparks. Maybe even the Pope will bypass it. The possiblilites are endless!