26 Days

That's how long I lasted. 

I may not understand this whole TRON love thing...but I'm happy knowing it's in the house.

Picture This

...a rustic hunting lodge.  My latest kill roasting on the fire...

Lately I have not been on Facebook very much.  I mean, I look but I have very little to say.  I don't know why this is, but since I haven't said much there, I should probably say more here, just to keep the universe on kilter.  This is kind of a modgey podgey post of things that I have been liking lately, with a headline of what I would have said on Facebook about it.  In other words, here are "The Facebook Posts That Might Have Been."


I want to eat these every day.

(Click on the picture to check out the recipe)

Tomatoes?  Basil?  Cheese?  I mean, if you stuck mushrooms on these babies (plus four more kinds of cheese) it'd be all my favorite eats on one stick!  

I want to listen to this every day.

 

Actually, I pretty much DO listen to this every day and it never gets old.  I might even have to concede now that I like it better than Viva la Vida--and I like Viva a lot.  (Parachutes is still holding steady at #1)


I want to read this...often.

I recently finished reading this for the second time (the first time was at least 10 years ago) and I just loved it.  Loved it!  I wanted to roll around on the floor with it clutched in my hands.  Instead I wrote a review on Goodreads, but maybe I'll still do the rolling on the floor thing later.


I want to watch this soon!

Maybe I'm partial because it's the first adaptation I ever saw (and was my first exposure to the story), but it's still my very favorite.  It's so gloomy and dreary and full of moors.  Plus, you know, it has the best movie kiss ever.  (Ever!)  

I want to see this again.

Such a lovely, classy movie!  I was completely surprised how much I enjoyed it, and it's the first movie in a long time that has me eagerly anticipating a second viewing.  I must concede that the Oscars actually got it all right (as far as this movie goes anyway...).  AND it wasn't even pretentious!  Which is what I expected...

Now that this is all said and done, I can get back to blogging about the really exciting things going on.  Like TRON!  Or as I like to say it, TRONNNNNNNNNNN.

I'd Rather Kiss a Wookiee

Since I made mention on this blog of when Frank Frazetta died, I thought it only fair that I mention Ralph McQuarrie, who passed away on March 3rd.  He was a concept artist for a number of science fiction projects, but his most notable (and first) work was for the original Star Wars trilogy.  Does any of this look familiar? 

 

 

 

You can read more about his influence in those movies via the link above, but in short, many of the designs were his, including Darth Vader and his breathing apparatus, and his  concept art helped get funding from the studios to make A New Hope.  He didn't work on the prequel trilogy (he was "out of steam"), but it's interesting to wonder how things might have looked with his involvement.  

As a teenager, I checked out The Illustrated Star Wars Universe many times from the library, and if you're interested in Ralph McQuarrie or Star Wars, I highly recommend it.  It showcases various planets in a tour guide sort of way, but of course it's worth a look just for the art.  My very favorite painting in the whole book comes from the section on Alderaan.  Every time I look at this painting I just want to crawl inside it and live there.  Doesn't it look so warm and green and peaceful?

I think it's time to make a trip to the library.

Do You Know Jules Verne?

Back in the days of Ye Olde 2010 I saw the new TRON movie with Drewbles and my sister at the trusty (only) movie theater of my hometown.  I liked it best of our group, which was not really saying much.  It looked really cool and had a lot of potential, but mostly it was kind of dull and also there was CGI Jeff Bridges to contend with.  Oh well, right?

Well.  Last fall I noticed it was streaming on Netflix, and I decided to give it another shot.  I sometimes put on some Netflix thing to listen to at work, and that seemed as good an option as any.  And then...something happened.

Confession: since October 20th of 2011 I have watched TRON nine times.  Nine.  Nine times.  That is eight more times than any other streaming movie on Netflix.  That is seven more times than any Office episode and at least six more times than any episode of the The IT Crowd. 

I don't know how it happened but somewhere along the line I really liked that movie.  Did it help that I was listening to it and couldn't see CGI Jeff Bridges?  Perhaps.  Did it help that I have an irrational fondness for Sam Flynn?  Who knows.  But that brings us to today--a day where TRON is no longer streaming on Netflix.  

Oh, the hours that TRON and I could have spent together!  Mine are bitter tears.  Even though it's STILL kind of dull and has CGI Jeff Bridges, I will miss it.  Here's to you, TRON, and all your inexplicable delights.  We'll always have Flynn's Arcade.

And those nine times.