Trailers
iaian7 » blog John Einselen, 19.10.06I hadn’t intended on posting more trailer reviews so quickly, but alas, there are some cool action flicks coming soon!
Eragon. Though the official trailer has been on Apple.com for awhile, and even longer elswhere, a new international trailer has been posted. It gives a bit more background on a movie I’m quite looking forward too! While it did, at first, give off vibes of “LOTR-but-with-dragons,” the book series turned screen play has gathered some top names (Jeremy Irons, Djimon Hounsou) and seems to be taking a very serious approach to the subject matter. From brief glimpses in the trailer, I think we can expect some very nice cinematography, a few really good effects, a few less than stellar effects, and possibly a very fantastic coming-of-age story. “What was once your life, is now your legend.”
After the visual revolution of Sin City, yet another Frank Miller graphic novel is making its way to screen. 300 is a very loose retelling of the legendary Spartans that fought against Persian invaders. Having built their entire culture around the glory of fearless battle, a mere handful of greek troops defended their homeland against the largest army the world of that time had ever seen. It was one of my favorite historical battles in school. Evidently it’s a story that has captivated others as well… and the movie will probably do the same, merely in its own right. Shot similarly to Sin City in that it is primarily bluescreen, the look is terrifically bold, graphic (very graphic), elegant, illustrative, and somehow fitting a historical tale, retold as modern legend.
And then there’s Hot Fuzz, by the director (and lead actors) of Shaun of the Dead. While I’m not eager to see a movie make self referencing jokes (note the shortcut sequence in teaser 1), the second video clip brightens my day. British humor, shotguns, and buildings blowing up. Some days that’s just fun.
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Nick Clooney
iaian7 » blog John Einselen, 18.10.06So yeah, he’s George Clooney’s father, and yes, he visited AiG today. He and George have been following the on going horrors in Darfur, Sudan. Government sponsored genocide of the poorer families, often Christian, and the systematic wiping out of villages every day. Most genocides have happened a little more quietly, a little more suddenly, and with little chance of immediate intervention. In Darfur, it’s been going on for some time, and with little attention paid by international bodies.
In each impoverished village, yeah… you can try and hide. But the first wave of attack is the bombers. Old Russian planes with the Sudanese government emblems roughly painted out. The bombs contain nails, leaving wounds much like a shotgun. Maybe an hour later, helicopters armed with machine guns come through to riddle with bullets anyone left moving. If you’ve yet survived, the Arab “Janjaweed” marauders come shortly after, to rape and kill, to desecrate and finally burn anything left.
Over 400,000 people killed. Two and a half million refugees.
And 500 more murdered every day.
Samaritan’s Purse is helping with relief efforts by providing food and support for families. After visiting Darfur himself, Nick Clooney is urging for governmental action; to step in and protect those without hope for survival. You can read truly chilling accounts at ushmm.org. For videos and more information on how you can respond, visit freedomcenter.org.
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Trailers
iaian7 » blog John Einselen, 18.10.06Some cool trailers have been released recently!
The Good German, starring George Clooney, Cate Blanchett, and Tobey Maguire is in theaters December 8th. While the political messages of the film will be interesting, as a film I’m sure it will be riveting. I was 3/4 of the way through the trailer before I even realized it was entirely in black and white. Cate Blanchett has played numerous roles involving varied nationalities, and is seemingly well known not only as an accomplished actress but something of a wonder when it comes to accents. She looks to be in top form here, but the same can be said of the two well known men starring alongside her.
Pan’s Labyrinth has been on my radar for awhile, but good (and good quality) trailers have been a long time in coming. Some people do not share my affinity for Guillermo’s previous film Hellboy, and sadly I suspect this film will do little to win them over. Not only is this darker, more foreboding, and possibly more gruesome, but even Doug Jones is returning as a creature. Though less aquatic than last time (he played the physical part of Abe Sapien in Hellboy), he’s no less inhuman here as the legendary Pan. Looks brilliantly twisted!
Starring Edward Norton, The Painted Veil is another period piece. A love story, and it looks breathtaking. Watch for yourself.
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Camping report
iaian7 » blog John Einselen, 8.10.06Though not as successful as most had hoped, the camping adventure was… adventuresome. Arriving in the Red River Gorge area of Mid-East Kentucky around sunset, we discovered every single camp area occupied. Since the assassination of various campers in an attempt to take their spot is generally frowned upon, we had to take other courses of action.
Namely, drive another half hour in the dark trying to find a private camp ground we could park at. Somehow we didn’t get there till about 10:30pm, seeing as it took from 7:30 to 10:00 to scour the previous area for possible vacancies. Either that, or we passed through a couple folds in the time continuum.
While the private camp area wasn’t nearly good enough for those more picky about camping, me being the less discerning person of the party, was perfectly happy. Though it was more expensive. It took some convincing, but the only other options were sleeping in the cars, or driving all the way back to the Cincinnati area.
Setting up a completely new tent at midnight isn’t as bad as one might expect. We had a glorious full moon, the temperature was low, but not too low, and I ended up turning on my car lights, which seemed to suffice for area lighting. That, and we had quite a few flashlights. As a side note, Columbia brand tents are all sorts of colour blind. The very greenish deep blue-gray pole was called “navy,” even though there were other poles clearly coloured a rich navy, and the tent fabric, which was supposed to match the afore mentioned singular pole, was clearly the same colour as the latter subjects. This caused much confusion, perhaps baited with the fear of putting it up wrong. Fears put aside, it wen’t up quite well, and certainly a lot easier than I remember from my childhood; trying to stake poles on either end before the tent collapsed on everyone involved!
Sleeping in is fun… though camping isn’t conducive to great vertebrae alignment. Sadly, we had no fire, but just skipped breakfast (alas, no tea!), and went on to lunch. The rest of the day we spent hiking in Red River Gorge, and then driving home late. A very beautiful area, we climbed all sorts of cliff ledges and various leafy embankments. Very high… very, very high up.
Hopefully I’ll get a few photos posted shortly!
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Mudcrap
iaian7 » blog John Einselen, 7.10.06A substance characterized not only by mud like properties, but a sick propensity towards shoe adherence and odeferous emissions.
Often found in well traveled places, such as road ways, trails, and foot paths leading to the outhouse. The implications of the name have not been substantiated, though the description seemed somehow fitting.
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Camping
iaian7 » blog John Einselen, 6.10.06I’ll be taking off work early today and driving down to Red River Gorge. Jeremy Laughlin and his brother will be setting up camp this afternoon, and I’ll be joining them later this evening.
Packing was not terribly difficult till I started adding cameras… and extra blankets… and now I’m taking my own car. It may turn out I’m simply unable to rough it properly. Though one can’t complain too much, since I’m bringing a bit of the food and supplies. Thus the giant cooler to be placed in my trunk, and the various tea pots, bags of potatoes, and collections of flashlights.
The cell phone will still be on, though I may not be getting very good reception. If anything, leave a message and I’ll get back to you when I can find a good hill.
Oh, and then I’ll be in mid-Ohio Sunday evening, catching up with Arthur Rasco. Seems I’m packing in all the good stuff this weekend!
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Guruhosing
iaian7 » blog John Einselen, 27.09.06Used to describe a situation in which one (having obtained by general consensus the title of “guru” in regards to whatever topic is being discussed) lets loose with a torrent of informational knowledge. Generally an unintelligible deluge of “help” on the specific topic at hand.
Can also refer to the cold garden hose used to punish said guru for being a bit too free with the reserve of relatively infinite knowledge.
(thanks to Ben Wolken, as the original source of this post)
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Tinrokit
iaian7 » blog John Einselen, 25.09.06Oh, and check out Tinrokit!
An independent Scottish band, Tinrokit blends brilliant bits of lyrical humor, seriousness, a little depressive passion and european indie rock. You can visit them at myspace.com/tinrokit. And may I highly recommend “Lost in the Niteklub.” Addictive…
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Hotrod Cadets
iaian7 » blog John Einselen, 25.09.06“I think people can worry far too much about making it [art] perfect, when what they should be doing is making it amazing.” – Alastair Bishop
Great scottish band, and featured on the Tartan and Three from Leith podcasts. Check them out at hotrodcadets.com. You can find MP3 samples from their latest album Breaking Up. “My Heart Sinks” would have to be a favorite. Melancholic, sad, torn, and a guilt born of noble desires… very beautiful music too!
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Evolution
iaian7 » blog John Einselen, 21.09.06Elihu Ihms has posted a series of articles on his blog regarding arguments against evolution, his own research, and other supporting sources. While I do not easily follow such matters (and certainly not to the point I can easily discourse on possible counterpoints), I think the discussion is both interesting, and of the utmost importance.
Please, do post with relevant comments. My own views not withstanding, nor my current job affiliations, this is something I’m anxious to see brought to people’s attention. I’d like to hear what you think!
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I was actually pretty torn about posting the AiG-bashing article.
However, it had several so fundamentally flawed arguments (on top of simple scientific errors), that I felt it necessary to cover them. And these are the people trying to convince scientists that evolution doesn’t exist?
Considering some of your difficulties at AiG, I also thought it best if you knew that there were additional problems within the establishment as well.
I wish you luck in making an informed decision about AiG.