According to this site we are 97% faster than the world average, and 96% faster than the US average. I find it hard to believe that that many people have such slow connections.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Not too shabby
I'd say I'm pretty happy with our DL speed. Upload could be better, but eh.
According to this site we are 97% faster than the world average, and 96% faster than the US average. I find it hard to believe that that many people have such slow connections.
According to this site we are 97% faster than the world average, and 96% faster than the US average. I find it hard to believe that that many people have such slow connections.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Daleks in Manhattan
This past Saturday saw the return of the Doctor's oldest foes.
Don't cry over spoiled episodes.
As the title may imply, the Doctor and Martha land in New York, and what a refreshing local it is. As much as I love England, and London, I am getting very tired of that being the most visited place on the Doctor's recent journeys.
They did a very good job of realizing New York of the 1930's, and I didn't hear any accents that stood out as "fake"
As for the story itself, it felt like a classic series story to some degree, but not in as positive a way as "The Shakespeare Code" did. It wasn't a bad episode, but there was a lot of running around corridors/sewers and a lot of setup, as it is the first of a two-part story.
My two main gripes are the pig men and the Daleks.
The Daleks need lackeys, but rather than make robomen (mind controlled men from classic series), they somehow think it would be a good idea to kidnap homeless people and turn them into pig headed creatures. Literally men with pig heads! Aside from the lameness of this idea, we already had a pig man created by the Slitheen in series one. Why the same idea? Will all be explained in episode two?
And then there is the Daleks themselves. I know they are very popular, and the BBC has a limited time to use them based on the agreement with the estate of the Daleks original creator, but we don't need them in every series. There are only 13 episodes a year, and they featured in 3 episodes in series one, two episodes in series two, and so far, two episodes in series three.
At least the whole basis of their appearance is that they realize that they need to evolve to survive, and my guess is that this may be the BBC's way to change them into new monsters that they would own the rights to, and maybe retire the Daleks for a bit. I can't see them doing away with them all together as they are immensely popular, and just ranked number one in a poll of scariest Doctor Who monsters.
David Tennant continues to impress me episode after episode. I had a feeling I'd like him when I first saw a pic of him as the new Doctor. He's fast becoming one of my all time favourite Docs.
Freema Agyeman is also impressing me as Martha. Rose was all right, but the clingy relationship was a bit over the top for me. And in my mind it helps that she has been able to just be off adventuring with the Doctor, rather than being back at home every other episode like Rose was.
Overall, not a bad episode, but not a great one on it's own either. We'll just have to see how things pan out next week.
Don't cry over spoiled episodes.
As the title may imply, the Doctor and Martha land in New York, and what a refreshing local it is. As much as I love England, and London, I am getting very tired of that being the most visited place on the Doctor's recent journeys.
They did a very good job of realizing New York of the 1930's, and I didn't hear any accents that stood out as "fake"
As for the story itself, it felt like a classic series story to some degree, but not in as positive a way as "The Shakespeare Code" did. It wasn't a bad episode, but there was a lot of running around corridors/sewers and a lot of setup, as it is the first of a two-part story.
My two main gripes are the pig men and the Daleks.
The Daleks need lackeys, but rather than make robomen (mind controlled men from classic series), they somehow think it would be a good idea to kidnap homeless people and turn them into pig headed creatures. Literally men with pig heads! Aside from the lameness of this idea, we already had a pig man created by the Slitheen in series one. Why the same idea? Will all be explained in episode two?
And then there is the Daleks themselves. I know they are very popular, and the BBC has a limited time to use them based on the agreement with the estate of the Daleks original creator, but we don't need them in every series. There are only 13 episodes a year, and they featured in 3 episodes in series one, two episodes in series two, and so far, two episodes in series three.
At least the whole basis of their appearance is that they realize that they need to evolve to survive, and my guess is that this may be the BBC's way to change them into new monsters that they would own the rights to, and maybe retire the Daleks for a bit. I can't see them doing away with them all together as they are immensely popular, and just ranked number one in a poll of scariest Doctor Who monsters.
David Tennant continues to impress me episode after episode. I had a feeling I'd like him when I first saw a pic of him as the new Doctor. He's fast becoming one of my all time favourite Docs.
Freema Agyeman is also impressing me as Martha. Rose was all right, but the clingy relationship was a bit over the top for me. And in my mind it helps that she has been able to just be off adventuring with the Doctor, rather than being back at home every other episode like Rose was.
Overall, not a bad episode, but not a great one on it's own either. We'll just have to see how things pan out next week.
Gridlock
Ok, time to catch up a bit.
Two Saturday's ago the third episode of the third series of the current run of Doctor Who aired.
"Gridlock" saw the Doctor's return to New Earth, first introduced in the last series mighty lame first episode.
Unfortunately this episode wasn't much better.
Spoiler alert and what not.
Following the previous weeks rousing and fun adventure with Billy Shakes, The Doctor decides to take Martha on a trip into the future.
The episode starts off promising with some really good bits in the TARDIS about the destination, and Martha asking if they could go to the Doctor's home planet. Some angsty stuff that's fun for fans, and is all part of the setup for the rest of series three.
Then they land on New Earth and things get boring, and really go no where. Which, if you think about it, makes a strange kind of sense. The main bulk of this episode is all about a huge traffic jam. What could be more fun and exciting than that. It sure jumps to the top of the list of ideas for a fun filled action packed adventure to me! Not!
It turns out that somehow, and I'm not sure of the how or why, the planet's air is toxic or something. It wasn't explained to my satisfaction, maybe a repeat viewing will help? But anyway, people are all sent into this underground flying bus motorway travelling for years going nowhere, so that the Face of Boe can use his life giving gas to keep every one alive until the Doctor can arrive and save the day. Oh, and there are giant crab monsters underneath all the flying buses to add some sort of danger/suspense element.
The whole story makes no sense really. It was just lights and sounds in the background while the Doctor realizes that Martha is a person, and to stop pining after Rose. And as set up in the last two series, the Face of Boe gets to impart his final message to the Doctor. After it was established in the first series that the Doctor's homeworld was destroyed, and he was the last of the Timelords, most fans expected that Boe's last word's would be "You are not alone", so it was kind of anticlimactic when that is exactly what he said.
So in summary, there was about 10-15 minutes of interesting/fun show, and the rest was highly forgettable/boring/no purpose.
I hope we never return to New Earth, it is a boring/lame place.
Two Saturday's ago the third episode of the third series of the current run of Doctor Who aired.
"Gridlock" saw the Doctor's return to New Earth, first introduced in the last series mighty lame first episode.
Unfortunately this episode wasn't much better.
Spoiler alert and what not.
Following the previous weeks rousing and fun adventure with Billy Shakes, The Doctor decides to take Martha on a trip into the future.
The episode starts off promising with some really good bits in the TARDIS about the destination, and Martha asking if they could go to the Doctor's home planet. Some angsty stuff that's fun for fans, and is all part of the setup for the rest of series three.
Then they land on New Earth and things get boring, and really go no where. Which, if you think about it, makes a strange kind of sense. The main bulk of this episode is all about a huge traffic jam. What could be more fun and exciting than that. It sure jumps to the top of the list of ideas for a fun filled action packed adventure to me! Not!
It turns out that somehow, and I'm not sure of the how or why, the planet's air is toxic or something. It wasn't explained to my satisfaction, maybe a repeat viewing will help? But anyway, people are all sent into this underground flying bus motorway travelling for years going nowhere, so that the Face of Boe can use his life giving gas to keep every one alive until the Doctor can arrive and save the day. Oh, and there are giant crab monsters underneath all the flying buses to add some sort of danger/suspense element.
The whole story makes no sense really. It was just lights and sounds in the background while the Doctor realizes that Martha is a person, and to stop pining after Rose. And as set up in the last two series, the Face of Boe gets to impart his final message to the Doctor. After it was established in the first series that the Doctor's homeworld was destroyed, and he was the last of the Timelords, most fans expected that Boe's last word's would be "You are not alone", so it was kind of anticlimactic when that is exactly what he said.
So in summary, there was about 10-15 minutes of interesting/fun show, and the rest was highly forgettable/boring/no purpose.
I hope we never return to New Earth, it is a boring/lame place.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
10 of mine
I know I'm behind on my Doctor Who review/opinions, but after A posted this, I had to have my go at it as well. I'll get to the Who and other planned posts soon.
In no particular order, but numbered for guessing's sake.
- Go to IMDB.com and look up 10 of your favorite movies.
- Post three official IMDB "Plot Keywords" for these 10 picks.
- Have your friends guess the movie titles.
In no particular order, but numbered for guessing's sake.
- Hungarian/Police Station/Cripple
- Horseback Riding/Racism/Based on Novel
- Remake of French Film/Hearing Voices/Tooth Extraction
- Feral Child/Crossbow/Gyrocopter
- Shrubbery/Coconut/Hand Grenade
- Time Lapse Photography/Inventor/Subterranean
- Corporate/Overdose/Beach
- Microwave Oven/God/Dwarf
- Hockey/William Shakespeare/Brewery
- Stepmother/Rock Music/Water Park
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Monday, April 9, 2007
The Shakespeare Code
Another Saturday, and another new episode of Doctor Who.
This week Martha gets her first trip in the TARDIS, and meets William Shakespeare.
Oh yeah, Spoilers etc. blah, blah, blah.
So far this season is two for two for good episodes. This episode really felt like a classic episode for me. Not meaning that it will be remembered as a classic (although to some it might), but that it felt more like one of the episodes from the classic series. There was a nice mix of humor and scary bits, the meeting of historical figures, and witchcraft explained as a science different than our own.
One of the nitpicky things for me was the constant running jokes of the Doctor or Martha quoting the bard, and Shakespeare saying something along the lines of "Oh that's good, I'll use that." It was a bit annoying, while at the same time funny. I guess it's just one of those silly bits that you just let be, because it's Doctor Who.
The witches were fitting villains for an episode set in 1599, but how many ancient aliens that were banished before time began or whatever are there? And why do so many of them find a way back through Earth? Even though, and because, that is a plot device used many times in the past with Doctor Who, it adds to the classic feel.
Martha is developing into a good companion, and seems to be asking the same type of questions I would see myself asking. If I became a fictional character and started traveling with the Doctor that is.
Overall a fun episode, and hopefully a good sign of the season to come.
This week Martha gets her first trip in the TARDIS, and meets William Shakespeare.
Oh yeah, Spoilers etc. blah, blah, blah.
So far this season is two for two for good episodes. This episode really felt like a classic episode for me. Not meaning that it will be remembered as a classic (although to some it might), but that it felt more like one of the episodes from the classic series. There was a nice mix of humor and scary bits, the meeting of historical figures, and witchcraft explained as a science different than our own.
One of the nitpicky things for me was the constant running jokes of the Doctor or Martha quoting the bard, and Shakespeare saying something along the lines of "Oh that's good, I'll use that." It was a bit annoying, while at the same time funny. I guess it's just one of those silly bits that you just let be, because it's Doctor Who.
The witches were fitting villains for an episode set in 1599, but how many ancient aliens that were banished before time began or whatever are there? And why do so many of them find a way back through Earth? Even though, and because, that is a plot device used many times in the past with Doctor Who, it adds to the classic feel.
Martha is developing into a good companion, and seems to be asking the same type of questions I would see myself asking. If I became a fictional character and started traveling with the Doctor that is.
Overall a fun episode, and hopefully a good sign of the season to come.
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Aw hell! It's done.
The fourth and final episode of Hellholes is up on Atomfilms.com, and it lives up to my expectations.
I really like the style and sense of humor that this team have, and hope that they will get an ongoing series picked up by some smart cable station. Edited together, this would make a nice little pilot, but I rather think that was the idea all along.
I really like the style and sense of humor that this team have, and hope that they will get an ongoing series picked up by some smart cable station. Edited together, this would make a nice little pilot, but I rather think that was the idea all along.
Smith & Jones
I am going to try and offer up my opinions on each new episode of Doctor Who this season. I tend to procrastinate quite a bit when it comes to making blog entries, and even more so with KVBlog entries. So I hope to keep these posts weekly and within a few days of the episodes airing, in the UK that is.
Praise be to the wonder that is the interwebs for allowing us to keep up to date with the new episodes.
Last Saturday saw the start of the new series of Doctor Who in the UK. The 3rd series by new series numbering, and the 29th if you count the original series, and you really should as it is a continuation of that, not a "reboot" as some series have done.
IF YOU HAVE ONLY SEEN UP TO DAVID TENNANT'S SECOND SERIES OF DOCTOR WHO, THERE WILL BE SPOILERS BELOW.
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
Last season ended with the Doctor's companion Rose transported to an alternate Earth with no way to return, and separated from the Doctor forever (time will tell, it always does).
We had a new companion briefly in the Christmas Special "The Runaway Bride", but last Saturday's "Smith and Jones" introduced the Doctor's new regular traveling companion Martha Jones.
While she is still another "pretty young lady" to travel in the TARDIS, she is quite different from Rose. For one she is a medical student studying to become a doctor. And while Rose lived with her widowed mum, Martha lives on her own and tends to be the mediator for her family. Yes, they gave Martha a big dysfunctional family for the writers to play with. Her parents are divorced, and her middle-aged father has a young girlfriend that appears to be around Martha's age. She also has a brother and sister, and from what I have read they will all feature throughout this series.
On one hand it's a nice change from classic Who where the doctor would get a companion, and there would never be any mention of a family left behind, but to have them feature in so many episodes gets old and ties the show to earth in the present. I was getting tired of seeing Jackie, Roses mum, show up all the time. Hopefully Martha's family won't be in every other episode.
On to the episode proper.
In a whirlwind beginning we meet Martha, and her family as she tries to mediate between family members about her brother's upcoming 21st b-day party and who should attend i.e. Mom doesn't want Dad's new girlfriend there.
While Martha is on duty, the hospital she works in is transported to the moon. The Doctor, who has been posing as a hospital patient, shows up and is impressed with Martha's cool assessment of their predicament. With her help he uncovers the reason the militaristic Judoon have transported the hospital to the moon, and finds the being truly responsible for the Judoon's actions.
I'm getting used to the 45 minute single episode story format, but it still moves a bit faster than I'd like.
When I first heard that they were replacing Billie Piper (Rose) with another young actress (Freema Agyeman) I was worried that they were just going have the same type of character, but so far it looks like Martha will indeed be a different character completely. I still think they shouldn't limit it to cute young girls. I liked the dynamic in the second half of Christopher Eccleston's season when there was the Doctor, Rose, and Captain Jack. And with Jack coming back later this season, that dynamic may be back, but it's a different Doctor, and a different companion, so all bets are off.
The Judoon were very well realized, but with their helmets on they were too much like classic series monsters the Sontarans to be original. I think a little more thought could have gone into that as many people working on the new series are big fans of the old, and should know comparisons would be made.
Over all I thought it was a very good start to a new season, and new companion, and I am looking forward to what lies ahead for the rest of this series.
Praise be to the wonder that is the interwebs for allowing us to keep up to date with the new episodes.
Last Saturday saw the start of the new series of Doctor Who in the UK. The 3rd series by new series numbering, and the 29th if you count the original series, and you really should as it is a continuation of that, not a "reboot" as some series have done.
IF YOU HAVE ONLY SEEN UP TO DAVID TENNANT'S SECOND SERIES OF DOCTOR WHO, THERE WILL BE SPOILERS BELOW.
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
Last season ended with the Doctor's companion Rose transported to an alternate Earth with no way to return, and separated from the Doctor forever (time will tell, it always does).
We had a new companion briefly in the Christmas Special "The Runaway Bride", but last Saturday's "Smith and Jones" introduced the Doctor's new regular traveling companion Martha Jones.
While she is still another "pretty young lady" to travel in the TARDIS, she is quite different from Rose. For one she is a medical student studying to become a doctor. And while Rose lived with her widowed mum, Martha lives on her own and tends to be the mediator for her family. Yes, they gave Martha a big dysfunctional family for the writers to play with. Her parents are divorced, and her middle-aged father has a young girlfriend that appears to be around Martha's age. She also has a brother and sister, and from what I have read they will all feature throughout this series.On one hand it's a nice change from classic Who where the doctor would get a companion, and there would never be any mention of a family left behind, but to have them feature in so many episodes gets old and ties the show to earth in the present. I was getting tired of seeing Jackie, Roses mum, show up all the time. Hopefully Martha's family won't be in every other episode.
On to the episode proper.
In a whirlwind beginning we meet Martha, and her family as she tries to mediate between family members about her brother's upcoming 21st b-day party and who should attend i.e. Mom doesn't want Dad's new girlfriend there.
While Martha is on duty, the hospital she works in is transported to the moon. The Doctor, who has been posing as a hospital patient, shows up and is impressed with Martha's cool assessment of their predicament. With her help he uncovers the reason the militaristic Judoon have transported the hospital to the moon, and finds the being truly responsible for the Judoon's actions.
I'm getting used to the 45 minute single episode story format, but it still moves a bit faster than I'd like.
When I first heard that they were replacing Billie Piper (Rose) with another young actress (Freema Agyeman) I was worried that they were just going have the same type of character, but so far it looks like Martha will indeed be a different character completely. I still think they shouldn't limit it to cute young girls. I liked the dynamic in the second half of Christopher Eccleston's season when there was the Doctor, Rose, and Captain Jack. And with Jack coming back later this season, that dynamic may be back, but it's a different Doctor, and a different companion, so all bets are off.
The Judoon were very well realized, but with their helmets on they were too much like classic series monsters the Sontarans to be original. I think a little more thought could have gone into that as many people working on the new series are big fans of the old, and should know comparisons would be made.
Over all I thought it was a very good start to a new season, and new companion, and I am looking forward to what lies ahead for the rest of this series.
Busy Bee
The last week has been a regular whirlwind of activity.
Wednesday, Derek and I went to check out a haunted house in Pontiac to talk to the owner about shooting a new intro for them. It will be a short film shown to the customers as they enter to give them the back story of the house.
This haunt is particularly sweet in that it has several branching points where you could collect up to 3 special coins if you made the correct choices along your journey. When you arrive at the final door you then have up to three chances, depending on how many coins your group collected, to open a secret chamber and meet the wizard. If you do make it into the secret room, you also get double your money back.
This is one of the largest haunted houses I've been through as it fills an old grocery store. They were working on adding new rooms and features for a Haunted House convention coming in May where their house will be featured. Our work is part of that update as the video they currently have isn't the greatest.
Thursday found me in Frankenmuth to shoot video of journalist and author Anastasia Goodtein as she spoke to the Michigan Library Association. She was promoting her new book “Totally wired: What teens and tweens are really doing on the internet".
Saturday night Derek and I were at The Ritz Rocks in Warren to shoot video of Dedura for an upcoming video for his feature film "broken". Dendura's lead singer Aziza is one of the stars of "broken". We had a tv playing the trailer for the film and sold some tickets to the premiere.
Also last week I received a call from someone that got my name from Specs Howard for a video shoot. I met with them this week, and my first gig is set for tomorrow. It's a local video production company, and most of the shoots look like they will be church services to be shown on cable tv. This first shoot however is going to be for an author that wrote a book about how you could write your own books based on your life experiences. For this first shoot I will be one of two camera people, and it's an afternoon shoot so that's pretty nice. Hopefully this will become a regular gig.
Right now I'm fighting off a cold or something, so hopefully I won't be coughing tomorrow during the shoot. That would royally suck.
Keep your fingers crossed.
Wednesday, Derek and I went to check out a haunted house in Pontiac to talk to the owner about shooting a new intro for them. It will be a short film shown to the customers as they enter to give them the back story of the house.
This haunt is particularly sweet in that it has several branching points where you could collect up to 3 special coins if you made the correct choices along your journey. When you arrive at the final door you then have up to three chances, depending on how many coins your group collected, to open a secret chamber and meet the wizard. If you do make it into the secret room, you also get double your money back.
This is one of the largest haunted houses I've been through as it fills an old grocery store. They were working on adding new rooms and features for a Haunted House convention coming in May where their house will be featured. Our work is part of that update as the video they currently have isn't the greatest.
Thursday found me in Frankenmuth to shoot video of journalist and author Anastasia Goodtein as she spoke to the Michigan Library Association. She was promoting her new book “Totally wired: What teens and tweens are really doing on the internet".
Saturday night Derek and I were at The Ritz Rocks in Warren to shoot video of Dedura for an upcoming video for his feature film "broken". Dendura's lead singer Aziza is one of the stars of "broken". We had a tv playing the trailer for the film and sold some tickets to the premiere.
Also last week I received a call from someone that got my name from Specs Howard for a video shoot. I met with them this week, and my first gig is set for tomorrow. It's a local video production company, and most of the shoots look like they will be church services to be shown on cable tv. This first shoot however is going to be for an author that wrote a book about how you could write your own books based on your life experiences. For this first shoot I will be one of two camera people, and it's an afternoon shoot so that's pretty nice. Hopefully this will become a regular gig.
Right now I'm fighting off a cold or something, so hopefully I won't be coughing tomorrow during the shoot. That would royally suck.
Keep your fingers crossed.
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