mashby | The personal blog of Michael Ashby

April 29, 2003

City of Ghosts

City Of Ghosts Director: Matt Dillon
Writer(s): Matt Dillon and Barry Gifford
Category: Thriller
MPAA: R
Runtime: 116 min
Country: USA
Language: English
Year: 2002
Tagline: Where you go when you can’t turn back.

Plot: Jimmy Cremming (Matt Dillon) is headed to Bangkok, where he hopes to hide out after getting tangled in an insurance fraud investigation. While there, he discovers that his mentor and partner in crime, Marvin (James Caan), is in Cambodia with the loot. All Jimmy wants is his fair share ? but the closer he gets to Marvin and his world, the crazier — and more dangerous — life turns.

Review: I really wanted to like this movie, but it just falls flat. I had the opportunity to view this at a pre-screening in New York. Palm, Inc. was sponsoring the event and I was lucky enough to be invited. Given the pre-party and the potential for celebrities to attend (there were none), I was pretty hyped. Loving movies like I do, this was the one of the best of all possible worlds in which to see this movie – it didn’t help.

April 29, 2003

The Sterling Huck Letters by Sterling Huck

The Sterling Huck Letters I learned of this book from Bill DeMain of Swan Dive at one of their performances. Unbeknownst to me, Bill has had a very active ‘other life’ penning witty letters to companies under the pen name of Sterling Huck. One page into this most unique book and I was on the floor laughing uncontrollably. Sterling Huck leads us through a vast array of letters that he penned to various corporations and famous personalities. Although his letters are total gems of creative genius, much of the hilarity comes from the responses he receives in return. This book is a great read and one that you’ll be telling all your friends about.

Dear Winchester Cathedral: I’m scouting locations for my new science fiction movie, Zarbu, The Mutant from Beyond, and need a cathedral where the space monster Zarbu could defend its larvae from military forces…

My Rating: (4 out of 5 stars)
Where To Buy: Amazon.com [link] Barnes & Noble [link]

April 27, 2003

Speaking Of Marketing Nightmares

South African Revenue Service At the end of my last post, regarding Maximus Herbal Blend, I made the comment that ‘I’m just glad that I don’t run a company like Maximus Management Services.’ To me, it would be a bit of a marketing nightmare to have your company name used for a male libido supplement. Can’t you see walking into a potential customer’s office and when you go to introduce yourself, you have to explain that your company isn’t the same company as the one that gives you, “improved stamina.” 😀

Well, that got me to thinking about some other marketing nightmares. One of my early jobs was as a clerk for Eckerd Drugs. I worked in the pharmacy department, and I remember a diet suppressant that was designed to be a small chocolate like candy. The concept I guess was for you to eat a little piece of candy that no only gave you a candy fix, but suppressed your desire to eat as well. The name of this little wonder? AYDS.

April 27, 2003

Training Day

I has been almost 2 weeks since my last ride. I’m riding in the Bike New York event next Sunday, so I figured I had to put on some decent miles today. We’ve been going to Bellevue Community Church out in Bellevue for the past few months and I figured that would make a good destination. Holly agreed to drive the truck so that I wouldn’t have to ride back since I didn’t have the time, much less the legs. Church was at 11:30 and I packed a pair of shorts and a fresh t-shirt to change into (this is a casual church) once I got there. Leaving a little late, I just knew that Holly would “catch” me along the ride, but I strove to get as far as I could.

I stayed to the back roads since they are more interesting and have less traffic to deal with. When I got to Brentwood, I was feeling pretty good and was surprised at the quality of my riding. I had made quite a few changes since my last ride and I was happy with all of them. I was using a new Arkel Overdesigns “Big Bar Bag” handlebar bag. It put more weight on the front end, but was quite stable. The new handlebars were great as well and allowed me to climb out of the saddle a lot easier. My trusty old Brooks Professional leather saddle had a fresh application of Brooks Proofide, which made it much more supple and soft. Lastly, I had new brakes pads and cables which, in spite of the few squeaks, were working wonderfully. Everything was just humming along.

I stopped for breakfast (mini doughnuts and milk) at an Amoco gas station and picked up a map. I wasn’t familiar with any back roads west of Franklin Road. After reviewing the map, I realized that I didn’t have many to choose from given my current direction. So, after a few more miles, I was on Old Hickory Road. This is a very popular road that wraps around Nashville and carries a good bit of traffic. I don’t mind traffic, but it’s always nice to avoid it when I can. 🙂 The section of Old Hickory that I was on was mostly two lane without shoulders so it didn’t give me much play. After climbing through the pass at Edwin Warner Park, it expanded to a four lane road, but still no shoulder.

At this point, I figured Holly would catch me in no time. In fact, I was surprised that I had made it thus far! I still had about 10-15 minutes before Church started and as I turned onto Hwy 70 from Old Hickory I quickly realized that I was very close to the church. Hwy 70 is a wide expanse before it reaches I-65, and was mostly downhill. I cranked down the highway, fueled with the adrenaline that I was close to my destination. Soon, I was coasting under the I-65 overpass and realized that I was going to make it!

Upon turning into Hope Park, that’s when my fuel ran empty. There is climb onto the Church campus and after 25+ miles my legs just didn’t have any juice left. Add to that the watchful eyes of the parishioners leaving BCC from the previous mass, as well as the ones driving in to attend the next one and I just bonked. Instead of walking the bike though, I stopped, caught my breath and then continued riding up the hill. I had to do it twice, but I eventually made the rise and flew down the other side, reaching my top speed of the day at 38.9 MPH. As I turned into the parking lot, Holly honked at me from the Jeep. She had made it there just as I was turning in.

It was a great ride and helped boost my confidence that with a few more rides under my belt, Bike New York should be a pleasurable experience.

Total Miles: 25.41
Total Time: 2:07M
Average Speed: 12.19 mph
Maximum Speed: 38.9 mph

April 24, 2003

Snake Oil Is Alive And Well

Maximus Recently, I’ve seen a bunch of infomercials and even received plenty of spam on the subject of ‘boosting the male libido.’ I’m sorry, but I just don’t get it. Since when do men need a bigger libido? If I took something like that I’m afraid Holly would make me sleep outside. 🙂

There’s a product called Maximus that I’ve seen advertised on TV in an infomercial. According to their web site, this is an herbal supplement, which also means that it’s not regulated by the FDA. I looked at some of the ingredients: Muira Pauma Stem 4:1 Extract, Stinging Nettles Standardized Extracts, Avena Sativa are just a few of the “active ingredients.” My favorite part is one of their warnings, “If you experience any discomfort reduce dosage.” Ok, so let me get this straight, I’m taking a pill to make me horny and if I feel discomfort just reduce the dosage? Oh that sounds like a wicked cocktail if I ever heard one (pun intended).

Who is taking this junk? I can understand why some guys would find a growth hormone appealing, or some other snake oil promising some other enhancement, but libido? I guess I should be reassured that the company selling it is called Alpine Cosmecuticals. That’s a name you can stand behind. I’m just glad that I don’t run a company like Maximus Management Services. 😛

April 23, 2003

It’s The Little Things

Xenu Link Sleuth Work with any medium for awhile and you tend to get into a bit of a rut, or routine in how you do things. Once you’re in your rut, it’s rather rare when you come across something that changes how you do things. When you do, it’s a bit of a big deal. 😀

I’ve been in a bit of a rut when it comes to web development/web publishing. Granted, I learned how to use Moveable Type recently, but even then, I still tend to type out my entries in Edit+ first and use the rest of the tools that I’ve come to know and ~~loathe~~, I mean love. However, recently I came across a little program called Xenu’s Link Sleuth and it’s changed how I manage web sites.

For those that aren’t familiar with web publishing, publishing to the web is much like creating MS Word documents. The main difference is that you need to keep track of where you put stuff. Think about how you save your work now. I would venture a guess that sometimes you save your work to your desktop. Other times you might save it to your My Documents folder, or even a network drive. Now, what if you had to keep track of every file that you’ve created with MS Word? Could you do it? Now you can see how difficult it can be to keep up with a web site.

April 22, 2003

Lights, Camera, Action!

Movie Film Anyone who knows me, knows that I LOVE movies. However, I’ve delayed adding a section of movies for some unknown reason. I don’t know if it was because I knew that there would be a lot of work involved in creating the layout for me to use, or if I simply thought I didn’t have much to say. Granted I do talk a lot 🙂 but trying to put together a cohesive and interesting review of a movie is a little bit different.

I guess it was watching The Wedding Planner that finally did me in. That movie was bad, but it was also insulting at how bad it was, so I just felt compelled to share my thoughts on the subject. That in turn lead to the movies section of the site and 7 total reviews for your reading pleasure. Being a NetFlix subscriber, as well as an overall movie junkie, there should be no shortage of content in this new section. 😛

EDIT: I consolidated the posts found in the “movies” section into the main weblog. So you can find them in the main archives under the “movies” category [link] (08/12/2003)

April 21, 2003

Wedding Planner, The

The Wedding Planner Director: Adam Shankman
Writer(s): Pamela Falk and Michael Ellis
Category: Romantic Comedy
MPAA: PG-13
Runtime: 103 min
Country: USA
Language: English
Year: 2001
Tagline: A romantic comedy about love, destiny and other events you just can’t plan for.

Plot: Mary Fiore (Jennifer Lopez) is a very successful wedding planner. She is very organized and wants to control everything. During a chance encounter she meets the man of her dreams Steven James ‘Steve/Eddie’ Edison, M.D. (Matthew McConaughey). It’s only later when she realizes that she Steve is the groom in the biggest wedding of her career. Will she let him walk down the isle with his tycoon fiancee, or will she break the cardinal rule of wedding planning by falling in love with the groom?

Review: This is one of those movies that you rent/watch for your significant other. I rented it for Holly since most of my movies as of recent have been mostly for me. However, I tried to keep an open mind and give it a fair shake. Unfortunately, this movie just sucked. First time director and first time screenwriters, what can you expect?

April 21, 2003

Two New Galleries Posted

VW Logo I’ve posted two new galleries in the Photos (discontinued) section. One is on some woodworking projects that I did recently, but the more important one is on Holly’s Easter Egg _(discontinued)_.

This past Saturday, we bought Holly a new car. She hasn’t had a new car since she purchased her first car back in 1992, so it was definitely time for a new one. 🙂 She bought a 2003 New Bettle Turbo in Chromaflair Silver Green. It’s a hard color to describe, but Chromaflair is a color shifting paint that reflects different colors depending on light and viewing angle. Suffice to say that it’s a pearlescent color that is very cool and VERY Holly.

April 20, 2003

One Hour Photo

One Hour Photo Director: Mark Romanek
Writer(s): Mark Romanek
Category: Thriller
MPAA: R
Runtime: 96 min
Country: USA
Language: English
Year: 2002
Tagline: There’s nothing more dangerous than a familiar face.

Plot: Seymour ‘SY’ Parrish (Robin Williams) is a one hour photo lab technician at a SavMart discount pharmacy. His entire world is based around this job and he takes it very seriously. His perspective on the rest of the world is based on the snapshots that he views through his customers photographs. Of course, these photos only show the good times, because no one takes photos of things that they would like to forget. He has taken a keen interest in the Yorkin family and has followed their life through their snapshots. He envisions himself in many of their photos, because their life looks so idyllic. However, the Yorkin’s life isn’t as perfect as it appears in their snapshots and Sy’s world comes crashing down as he uncovers their imperfections.

Review: I’m a big fan of Mark Romanek’s work as a video director. I think he’s a lighting genius and his hyper reality style makes the artist look ultra-perfect. Mark bring this artistic style to his directorial debut. Although I’m a big fan of it, I did find it a bit distracting in a movie format. According to the director’s commentary on the DVD, his intention was to make the movie somewhat hyper realistic, but everything is just a bit too squeaky clean.