Reading: Quentin Tarantino: Interviews
Music: Liz Carroll
TV/Movie: Trainspotting
Link o' the Day: AlanHorvath.com - DADGAD Tuning

A quiet day today, and not nearly as hot and humid. The general stickiness is gone, and I was able to get some chores done today that I was in no mood to do yesterday. I still have a decent amount to do, but I'm making progress.

Did some writing today. Mostly planning out a larger piece and writing some dialogue that was in my head before it disappeared. That's important. So many times I think of something brilliant (if'n I do say so myself) and if I don't get it down immediately, it's often lost for good. If I do manage to remember it, it's remembered imperfectly, and not nearly as good as it should be. This is why I carry a pocket-sized notebook with me. Not everything is gold. They ain't all gems. If 90 percent of what I write in the little black notebook is crap, that means I have 10 percent that isn't, and it's ten percent more than I had before.

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I don't see a lot of bad movies. In general, I'm probably more generous with my praise than I should be. I'm a pretty forgiving viewer. If a script is great, but the acting or directing sucks, I might still recommend it. If the acting is atrocious, but the plot a winner, I'll say so. My most damning review lately has been, "see it, if you must, but don't pay for it."

Okay, I saw Steel today starring Shaquille O'Neal (sp?). Why? Well, back when they killed off Superman in the Doomsday comic book story arc, Steel was one of the four replacements for Supes that appeared with a miniseries. Big black guy named John Henry takes up metal armor and a big-ass hammer and becomes a steel-drivin'-man for justice. Great concept. After Superman came back, Steel continued his superhero career, but by that time I pretty much stopped buying mainstream superhero comics. I couldn't tell you if he's still on the active roster of DC heroes or not.

But that's beside the point. A few years ago they made a movie based on the character--changed the backstory to an ex-army guy who got disillusioned or somesuch with advanced weapons technology and the sleazebags behind it. I won't go further into the plot as its pretty unoriginal and if you think of the most simplistic home-town superhero plot you can think of, you're probably there.

Lousy effects, lousy acting. An embarassing script. No wonder this flopped. Friends, don't waste your time. Even if someone pays you. I've not been as disappointed in something since Michael Chrichton's Prey.

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What could I recommend? Easy. Trainspotting. If you like transgressive stories, this is one of the best. Drug addiction. Street crime. Dumbasses. Dead babies crawling on ceilings. There are some scenes which look like they were included on a dare. This may sound like a negative review, but it's not. The acting is pretty intense. Everything is pretty intense. You feel for some of the characters and you root for them. You ride the rollercoaster of their so-called lives.

Check it out. Hell, pay money.

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I went out to the Patricks Pub session last night. Pretty good time. Some new faces were sitting in. Because of the Celtics-Lakers game, we were sent to the back room--this actually worked out pretty well, I think. The acoustics were real nice and everything sounded great. I didn't play as much as I usually do, but I picked up some new tunes to learn.

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Hokay, back to work. Today's link takes you AlanHorvath.com - DADGAD Tuning, a very basic introduction to a special guitar tuning often used in Irish music, but also made popular by some pieces by Led Zeppelin and the like. I've been trying it out for simple folk arrangements on the guitar.

Cheers!