28 February 2007

tivu.

So many of my fellow students in my film classes use films as their points of reference. They are usually amazed by how many films I haven't seen, so amazed I've started to feel like I need to pad my DVD collection a little more and to Netflix all kinds of classic movies I end up not watching and sending back. I make myself feel better by saying I watch more than my share of TV. Sure, I have trouble naming Howard Hawks films but I can recite lines from just about every episode of The State, rank series finales (M*A*S*H and Mad About You float to the top ... seriously), and remember what two actors has shows that opened both the early-90s version of ABC's TGIF and its resurrection in the late-90s (The Olsen Twins with Full House and Two of a Kind).

It seems natural, then, that I would seek out some Italian television in order to help me with my listening and speaking of the foreign language. In my search I came across the FOXTV Italia site. Some highlights of programming available on FOX:

  • Happy days
  • Malcom (Malcolm in the Middle)
  • Sabrina vita di strega (Sabrina the Teenage Witch)*
  • Settimo Cielo (Seventh Heaven)**
  • Streghe (Charmed)**
  • Tru Calling
  • Willy, il principe di Bel Air (The Fresh Prince of Bel Air)***

Apparently we're torturing the world with American refuse. I mean porting Tru Calling is just punishment. I think Eliza Dushku is hot but those pouty, shiny lips couldn't save that stinker. Sorry, Italy.

* Aired on ABC in United States.
** Aired on WB in United States.
*** Aired on NBC in United States.

out of the loop.

I am the only one I know that wasn't familiar with Jason Swinks. Katie and Jonathan know him from the bar scene, the Dog People know him through his adoption of a pup through them and I'm getting a ton of bulletins on MySpace about his funeral today at 2pm. He seemed like a nice enough guy, tons of people who cared about him. I guess he was just one of the in-town characters people loved and, since I stay inside all the time, I just don't know him? I blame Final Fantasy XII. Read up on a very popular, very missed young man: Obituary: Jason Swinks.

More in Mourning:
A Bad Weekend for Rednecks, Good Ole Boys, and Girls Raised In The South (GRITS)
Jason Swinks's MySpace profile
Memorial at Star Bar after the 2pm service.

24 February 2007

underdog, live action. no, seriously.

During a marathon blog posting session a year and a half ago, I mentioned the rights for Underdog being picked up for a live-action picture. That's right: a live-action Underdog motion picture. Well, it'll be here in August.

In case you were wondering, yes, the dog speaks. Another stellar effort by the movie industry.

Il trailer di Underdog, il supercane! [Cineblog]
Underdog [IMDb]
Underdog Trailer [Apple Trailers]

21 February 2007

nick campbell is (with parameters) number one!

Oh, how long I've waited for this. I've been on the internet for many years now but, with my relatively generic name, it's been somewhat difficult to make it to the top of a search engine list. Now, finally, I've done it.

Though my own webpage doesn't even come into the top ten, this blog comes in at number one, finally beating the "My Hero" Project by Nick Campbell of Juneau, Alaskam [sic]. Take THAT kid in a big baseball cap writing about his hero Martin Luther King, Jr!

Okay, so you have to type in «"Nick Campbell" Atlanta» to pull it up in Google but there it is. Here's a screenshot for you.

thumb: A screenshot of Google search results

Screenshot of great Google search results. 1024x671, 120KB

It's one of the highest accolades for a person who spends most of his internet existence talking about himself.

14 February 2007

for when your friends can't decide what they want.

Via Lifehacker I have found a solution for my problem of wanting to stuff my face with uncertainty of what I want to stuff it with.* Enter the Wheel of Food, a Wheel of Fortune type randomizer that selects restaurants based on ZIP code. Great for when you don't really feel like anything but you have nothing to eat at the house. And, if you're a gambler, great for randomly selecting a Valentine's Day restaurant (McDonald's is included after all).

I spun it and landed on Food Studio. If you insist, Wheel. If you insist.

* The man explaining the validity of "dangling preposition" is a linguistic professor. So suck it.

10 February 2007

justice in the lust list.

At the risk of sounding jealous and petty, I have to express some serious disappointment in Creative Loafing's "Lust List". My displeasure with the list is nothing new. Almost every year I look at the "hottest" service professionals in Atlanta and think, "Wha?"

I'm starting my campaign here. Nick Campbell is in the service industry. Nick Campbell is moderately attractive (at least interesting-looking). Nick Campbell is at the very least a conversation piece. I'm a great candidate and my answers to the mundane questions would be better. I mean, best celebrity chef Rachel Ray? Why not just say Emeril? BAM!

So, for next year, do Atlanta a favor and think Nick Campbell when casting your vote for the Lust List. It's the right thing to do. I don't think Kenny will mind.

07 February 2007

alla faccia tua!

My Italian class (which has become an exercise in how long an uncomfortable silence can last before the teacher or a knoweledgeable student intercedes) has taught me many things this semester but, possibly, one of the best is how to play the card game Scopa.

I was told this was a children's game, like how I used to play Go Fish or War ... but this is way more fun and, frankly, speaks to how much we believe American children are idiots. The first time I played Scopa I was surprised by how many ways you can score points (sadly, my only reference point of comparison is the time Joey and Chandler played Cups on Friends). But once you get all the relatively complex rules (complex compared to "you have any 7s? No? I'll go fish then.") it's pretty awesome. I've taught just about everyone I've hung out with in the past couple weeks how to play. And I have to tell you:

I am a master.

You should practice.

go slow.

I sat at Lindbergh Center Station, waiting on a southbound train when a soft-spoken man with a duffel bag approached me.

He: The board up there says next Lindbergh train in 11 minutes ... where's the Airport train?
Me: Sometimes the trains don't register on the board. The next Airport train could be here in two minutes or twenty minutes.
He: Oh.

He walked around for a while but I plugged my headphones back into my ears if for nothing else but to avoid any crazy ranting (he seemed the type). He waved me down again, however, and I removed my earbuds.

He: Do you happen to have sixty cents? I'm on my way down to Grady and was hoping I could stop into McDonald's for a cheeseburger.
Me: I think I have a quarter.

I pulled the wad of shelving pins from my back pocket, sifted past my house key and plucked the quarter from the mess. He was grateful and I awaited the usual "God bless you" response. Instead, he looked at me, thanked me and:

He: Don't go so fast. Go slow.

As the southbound train arrived and breezed by me, he reiterated his words, walking away backward. "Go slow. Go slow."

Me: I'll try.

What kind of portent have I been issued?