mashby | The personal blog of Michael Ashby

May 16, 2003

Reloaded And Re-spent

My ticket stub After a 4 year wait, the Matrix Reloaded finally arrived. Not since The Empire Strikes Back have I lusted for a movie sequel. Given that I was only 13 when the Star Wars sequel was released, suffice to say that I didn’t know what lust was. So, you can imagine how much I’ve been waiting for this movie to be released! 😛

As soon as Fandango had the tickets for sale 3 weeks ago, I bought two for the 7:00pm show at the Regal Green Hills 16. With all the hype surrounding the movie, I aimed to be there two hours before to pick up my tickets. Unfortunately, I couldn’t pull away from work that early, so it was 5:45pm before I got to the theatre. I had visions of long lines and hard core fans dressed up as Neo and Trinity. I even packed my digital camera so that I could record it, so imagine my surprise when I arrived at the theatre and there was NO ONE in line. I walked right up to the ticket booth and picked up my tickets. When I looked at the board, only the 9:30pm show was sold out. I was flabbergasted. How could this movie not be sold out for all shows?

After entering the main lobby of the theatre I ambled around waiting for a line, SOMETHING to indicate that I wasn’t insane. It took about 30 minutes, but a line finally started to develop, when I went up to stand in line, that’s when the ticket taker informed me that this was for the 6:15pm show. That’s when I learned that there were shows at least every 30 minutes, which explains why many of them weren’t sold out. Then, when the 7:00pm line finally started, the person in front of me explained that they began showing the movie on the 14th at 10:00pm and again every half hour until midnight – that explained why there wasn’t anyone dressed up. Ahhh, my fanatic love for the Wachowski brothers was redeemed!

I’m not going to review the movie, I’ll save that for the movie section, but I have to say that the Matrix Reloaded was a great movie. Although there’s been some negative comments here and there, the movie delivers exactly what it promised. It’s first and foremost and action movie. Action movies don’t have the best dialog, or the best acting per se. Not every movie is Schindler’s List and to go into this movie expecting that is an idiot. The Matrix Trilogy holds true to the style of Japanese Animation (anime), Japanese Comics (manga), American comics and computer games. Add a heaping spoonful of Kung-Fu and you have all the major ingredients. But, like any dish, if you don’t care for the ingredients, then you’re not going to enjoy the meal. I for one am ready for a second helping! The movie blew me away. In the voice of Austin Powers – I’m spent.

May 16, 2003

Juliet Is Back Home

It’s been awhile since I logged a ride in, but not to worry, I have been doing a lot of riding. I’m in the process of creating a new section to my weblog for my travels. I’m currently toying around with calling the section Travelogs (Edit: discontinued). That’s where I’m going to post my rides in Bike New York and in San Mateo at PalmSource. Time is just rather tight right now and I haven’t been able to finish setting it up yet. What does all this have to do with cycling? Well, Juliet arrived on Thursday and I unboxed her and put her together today. It doesn’t look like I’ll be able to get in a ride before I leave next Wednesday for my vacation with Holly, but it’s nice to know that she’s home and no worse for the wear.

May 3, 2003

Bike New York

Bike NY I’m all packed up and headed off to the Big Apple. I’m going to ride in the Bike New York event on Sunday, so I’m flying in to Baltimore this afternoon and driving the rest of the way with Dan. Tomorrow we’ll ride 42 miles through all 5 boroughs of New York City without any cars on the road. They actually block off the streets and reserve it just for bicycles. It’s a cyclist’s dream!

Well, I have a little bit left to do, so I’ll post more when I have the chance. Wish me luck!

May 2, 2003

When Did I Become Old School?

I’m only 35, but in the past few weeks I’ve noticed more and more that in some aspects of my life, I’m a bit old school. Some might call it being a fuddy duddy, old fart, or even a stick in the mud. Call it what you will, but in my book, I’m simply old school.

What strikes me as funny about this is that I’m a computer consultant by trade so I’m always involved with new technology on a consistent basis. Everyone has heard of the cutting edge, but in most things related to technology, I’m considered on the bleeding edge. For example, I have close to 30 handheld devices and typically carry at least 3 with me at all times. In my office I’m running Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless networks. The 802.11b network has been up for over a year and the bluetooth network for close to 6 months. Both my main workstation and my laptop both dual boot to Windows XP Professional and Red Hat Linux and as I type this I’m downloading Red Hat 9.0. 🙂 Continue Reading

May 1, 2003

New Stuff Posted

New Stuff Even with the ‘Male Obsession Bug‘ running rampant in my system, I did make time to post a few new things around the site. In the books section, I have a review of The Sterling Huck Letters by Sterling Huck and a review of Trading Spaces Behind the Scenes by Meredith Books. In the movies section, I have reviewed City Of Ghosts, Magnolia and Double Jeopardy and last but not least, I have half of the photos from my recent trip to New York in the photo gallery.

Oh, and speaking of movies, I’m locked and loaded for The Matrix Reloaded. Thanks to Fandango, I’ve already purchased two tickets for the 7:00pm show on May 15th (opening night) at the Regal Green Hills 16! 😀 EDIT: The movies and books sections were integrated into the main weblog, so they can now be found in the category archive (08/15/2003)

May 1, 2003

Double Jeopardy

Double Jeopardy Director: Bruce Beresford
Writer(s): David Weisberg and Douglas Cook
Category: Thriller
MPAA: R
Runtime: 105 min
Country: USA
Language: English
Year: 1999
Tagline: Murder isn’t always a crime.

Plot: Framed for her husband’s murder, Libby Parsons (Ashley Judd) survives the long years in prison with two burning desires sustaining her: finding her son and solving the mystery that destroyed her once-happy life.

Review: Predictable, shallow and without any flavor. That is how I would characterize this movie. You’ve seen it before and you know what’s coming throughout the entire movie. I feel like a patrol cop telling the crowd “keep moving, there’s nothing to see here.”

Ashley Judd gives another lackluster performance as a well-to-do wife who gets sent to prison for 6 years. You’d think she was sent to the time out corner instead. Judd portrays the same character leaving prison as she DOES when she enters. Wait, I take that back. Her character does do some sit ups to prove that she’s tough now. Please. %)

April 30, 2003

Trading Spaces Behind the Scenes by Meredith Books

TLC’s Trading Spaces is like crack to a new home owner – you watch the show once and you’re hooked. At least that’s how it happened to me. 🙂 One Saturday afternoon, I was scanning the television and stumbled upon the show and instantly fell in love. For those that haven’t seen the show, two sets of homeowners swamp houses and with the help of a designer do a two-day room re-design armed with only a $1000 budget. As you might imagine things can go wrong as the designers pull and tug the homeowners into doing sometimes outlandish things to their neighbors spaces. It’s a great show that can give you a lot of inspiration and ideas for your own home.

I was in Home Depot looking for a book on Tiling for a project I’m working on, when I stumbled upon “Trading Spaces Behind the Scenes” book. If you love the show, this book is for you. However, if you’re looking for Tips and Tricks, then keep looking because this book is more about the “behind the scenes” than anything else. In it, you’ll learn about how the show is put together from start to finish. There is a chapter dedicated to each member of the cast as well as a large glamour photo. Fans of Ty Pennington the hunky carpenter, won’t be disappointed.

April 30, 2003

Bitten By The Male Obsession Bug

I’m out of control. I have fallen back in love with bicycling and I have a full-on outbreak of the ‘Male Obsession Bug.’ If you’re female, you’ve seen it in action and if you’re a guy, then you know what I’m talking about. 🙂 The Male Obsession Bug can strike at any time, on any subject. for some it’s sports, for others, it’s a recreational hobby. Regardless of the obsession, the affects of the ‘bug’ are easy to detect.

For one, the infected subject can’t stop talking about his new obsession. In my case, this is cycling. So, regardless of the conversation, I can find some relevance to cycling and will use any excuse to divert the topic to cycling. For example, let’s say that someone brings up the subject of the new Palm Zire 71 handheld. Now, how in the world could a Palm OS handheld have anything to do with cycling? Well, a man’s infected brain might mention the fact that there is a product called the Bike Brain that can connect a Palm device to the bicycle for recording all sorts of information. Then he might mention that he’s thinking about using Bicycling Journal to record his rides for posting on his weblog.

How can you prevent this from happening? That, I don’t know, but there is an early warning sign that you can be on the lookout for – research. When the obsession is first taking hold of the un-suspecting man, the first thing he will be compelled to do is research on the subject. This typically involves magazines and catalogs on the subject. For example, you might find an issue of Bicycling Magazine next to the bed, the latest catalog from Bike Nashbar in the bathroom, and product brochures scattered throughout the house. These indicators would clearly show a man completely infected by the “Male Obsession Bug.” If he has any literature on very obscure minutia related to his obsession, such as a The Rivendell Reader, then it’s definitely too late.

Unfortunately, there is no known cure – you simply have to let the bug run it’s course. The only thing you can do from a preventative standpoint is hide any “extra” money that you might have, because the “Male Obsession Bug” has a voracious appetite. 😀

April 30, 2003

Damn Lights

I got started a little late on Monday. It was after 6pm before I left the house, but I had my light system mounted, tested and ready to go. So, I figured I was ok. However, anything could be farther from the truth.

My plan was to ride to Brentwood, visit the REI store and then ride back. I guessed it would be a total of about 22 miles. It took me about 15 minutes before my legs felt like they were ready to ride, but all told, the ride to Brentwood went very well. Once in Brentwood, I stopped at the local REI store and browsed their selection of tents, camping and bicycle gear. I’m thinking of doing a 4-day ride down the Natchez Trace and I need some gear.

Anyway it was around 8pm before I got out of the store, so I needed my lights. After getting all my gear on, including a reflective vest, I turned on my light and began riding. 4 pedal strokes later, I realized that the light was out, just like last time. Damn it! This light kit is brand new and there’s no excuse for these bulbs burning out so fast. At this point, I had two options: 1)Call Holly and ask her to pick me up, or 2)Ride without lights. Given the fact that I had a reflective vest as well as a safety taillight, I decided on option 2.

All the roads that I chose to take on my ride back home were all country roads, which meant that there were few, if any, street lamps. Not only that, but the moon wasn’t to be found anywhere in the night sky. My entire ride back consisted of dark roads where the road itself was nothing more than a dark grey swatch weaving between dark patches. I couldn’t see potholes, critters crossing the road, or gravel patches. Every now and then a car might pass to provide me with a little relief, but then I’d have night blindness to deal with until my eyes adjusted once more to the dark. It was a harrowing experience to say the least.

And if I had to be totally frank, it was a bit scarry too. As you’re riding down a deserted road, with no lights and you enter a patch of woods, you can’t help but think that something nasty is lurking in there, just waiting for you. I couldn’t tell how steep the climbs were, or which direction the road was heading on a descent. So, if it wasn’t the bogeyman that was going to get me, I was sure that the road would make me it’s bitch. 🙂

Luckily, I made it back home without incident and was greeted by the loving arms of my wife wondering where I had been. Ahhhh, home sweet home.

Total Miles: 22.58
Total Time: 1:57M
Average Speed: 11.70 mph
Maximum Speed: 29.2 mph

April 30, 2003

Magnolia

Magnolia
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Writer(s): Paul Thomas Anderson
Category: Drama
MPAA: R
Runtime: 188 min
Country: USA
Language: English
Year: 1999
Tagline: Things fall down. People look up. And when it rains, it pours.

Plot: From director Paul Thomas Anderson comes a mosaic of American life woven through a series of comedic and poignant vignettes. Through chance, human action, past history and divine intervention, an eclectic cast of characters (including Tom Cruise, Julianne Moore, William H. Macy and more) weaves and warps through each other’s lives on a random San Fernando Valley day, building an unforgettable climax.

Review: This movie is not for the faint of heart. I made the mistake of starting this movie at 10:30pm thinking that it’d be the usual 1.5 hour movie. I should have looked at the sleeve more closely, this movie is over 3 hours long. Not to mention the fact that Anderson pushes the boundaries of storytelling by interweaving a multitude of characters to tell one story, or message. This is a “thinking man’s” movie and not something to just flip through like so many movies released today.