Kev's Useless Bollocks http://kevinspencer.org/ An Englishman in America, blogging bollocks en Copyright 2008 Fri, 04 Jul 2008 20:21:37 -0700 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification Independence Day For A Brit Moozik: Depeche Mode - Something To Do (Live Birmingham 1986)] Woohoo, those Colonists sure knew how to kick our arse didn't they? What's that? Why yes, I am enjoying my day off thanks, and I'll have another hot dog and a beer please. Ooh, look at the pretty fireworks. I've been here for over ten years so I suppose I'm a colonist myself and should resist the urge to don the Redcoat uniform ;-)]]> http://kevinspencer.org/archives/2008/07/independence_day_for_a_brit.html http://kevinspencer.org/archives/2008/07/independence_day_for_a_brit.html americana england Fri, 04 Jul 2008 20:21:37 -0700 Why So Serious? Moozik: Placebo - Narcoleptic] poster4.jpg I can't actually remember the last time I was looking forward to seeing a movie this much. I love this interpretation of Batman so much better but what I'm really looking forward to is Ledger's interpretation of The Joker. More rather excellent Dark Knight movie posters here.]]> http://kevinspencer.org/archives/2008/07/why_so_serious.html http://kevinspencer.org/archives/2008/07/why_so_serious.html batman movies Wed, 02 Jul 2008 22:23:30 -0700 Dressing For Underage Polygamy Moozik: Diary Of Dreams - Verdict] flds.png Let's be honest, it's quite the look is it not? And fret not, for if you've been wondering where oh where to get those wonderful cult dresses from, look no further. You're welcome.]]> http://kevinspencer.org/archives/2008/07/dressing_for_underage_polygamy.html http://kevinspencer.org/archives/2008/07/dressing_for_underage_polygamy.html americana creepy doomed Wed, 02 Jul 2008 22:13:45 -0700 Funniest Thing Seen Today Moozik: Interpol - Obstacle 1] I'm sure all IT workers are linking to this by now, but on the off chance you haven't seen it yet, go watch The Website Is Down. You can't arrange them by penis might just be the best quote ever in the history of quotes. ]]> http://kevinspencer.org/archives/2008/07/funniest_thing_seen_today.html http://kevinspencer.org/archives/2008/07/funniest_thing_seen_today.html amusement geek Tue, 01 Jul 2008 22:25:00 -0700 Homeward Bound Moozik: Interpol - Hands Away] The flights have been booked and I'm off to visit the ol' homeland once again. It's long overdue and I can't wait to see my family and friends again as It's been almost two years since I was on British soil. Which, let's be honest, is far too long. So, four weeks and counting then...]]> http://kevinspencer.org/archives/2008/06/homeward_bound.html http://kevinspencer.org/archives/2008/06/homeward_bound.html england travel vacation Sun, 29 Jun 2008 21:41:11 -0700 The Lazy Saturday Random Moozik; The Cure - Give Me It] • I'm hopelessly addicted to Wimbledon again just as I am every year. I'm on my sofa, watching Nadal vs Kiefer. A very good game thus far. I so want Nadal to win the tournament this year. • Blink and you'll miss it but Dick's Hideaway is a lovely little pub/restaurant. Tiny, barely lit, but very atmospheric. Music served up with a laptop running iTunes. Played some decent Beck last night and the Guinness was lovely. • As I look outside my patio window I see yet another wildfire has started. There's been smoke rising from similar areas behind my house every day since Wednesday. • Doomed alert. North pole ice may disappear completely by September. Good thing the Bush administration has taken the whole global warming thing so seriously. Ahem. • A decent question I feel. How the hell does Twitter make money?. Their investors say The question everyone asks is "What is the business model?" To be completely and totally honest, we don't yet know.. I see ads or pay per use in Twitter's future.]]> http://kevinspencer.org/archives/2008/06/the_lazy_saturday_random.html http://kevinspencer.org/archives/2008/06/the_lazy_saturday_random.html doomed life tennis Sat, 28 Jun 2008 13:43:51 -0700 Random Wildfire Pics Moozik: Keane - Leaving So Soon] So because I had the day off today, I decided that it would be a great idea to drive towards the wildfire to see how it looked closer up. You know, like you do. I was one of about 15 cars that stopped by the side of the road taking photos and video. Wildfire Camera bloke from ABC news just setting up to do their news story. Wildfire The obligatory, ultra safe, take the photo while driving maneuver. Wildfire The fire was getting awfully close to Phoenix International Raceway. Nascar fans would not be happy if it burned. Phoenix International Raceway ]]> http://kevinspencer.org/archives/2008/06/random_wildfire_pics.html http://kevinspencer.org/archives/2008/06/random_wildfire_pics.html life wildfire Thu, 26 Jun 2008 14:15:56 -0700 Wildfire Moozik: Underworld - Moaner] As I was driving home last night it became quite obvious that there was a fire somewhere in the southwest valley and it was easily visible from the freeway. wvbrush2.jpeg As I got closer to home I noticed that it appeared to be a tad closer closer to my house then I would have liked. As I got off the freeway and drove south on 91st Ave I started thinking hang on, that looks like it's right behind my house. The huge plume of smoke was deceiving as the fire was further away than it looked from the road. 2 miles in fact. Still, the amount of smoke in the air was something to see and I was pissed that the batteries in my camera were dead so I had to pull these photos off a couple of other sites. wvbrush1.jpeg To be honest, I didn't really think anything more of it until I was at the PLUG meeting later on in the evening and found out that the fire was spreading north and they were evacuating people from their homes. So I was a little apprehensive as I drove home but needn't have worried as my neighborhood wasn't effected at all. wvbrush3.jpg Still, any wildfire near your house is closer then you'd like, just lucky it turned out not to be a big deal. This morning there's barely any smoke in the air.]]> http://kevinspencer.org/archives/2008/06/wildfire.html http://kevinspencer.org/archives/2008/06/wildfire.html life wildfire Thu, 26 Jun 2008 11:46:00 -0700 Just Because You Could, Doesn't Mean You Should Moozik: Skinny Puppy - Politikil] So I'm wondering if it's possible to make a ship too big? I mean, what constitutes too big anyway? Ok, how about Oasis of the Seas? oasisoftheseas.jpg A floating city shopping mall thingy with 7 neighborhoods for the 5400 guests to enjoy. Er, thanks but no thanks. I understand that cruises are extremely popular, I know quite a few people who've been and just rave about them. They just don't exactly blow my skirt up that's all. Don't get me wrong, I'd go on a cruise knowing that I could wake up in a new place every day and leave the ship to explore whatever country I found myself in. It's just the thought of being cooped up on a floating shopping mall for days on end that doesn't necessarily appeal to me. I mean, on that Oasis of the Seas ship, you could spend a couple of days wandering around and not even realize you were on the ocean. Couldn't you just go to a local mall and wander around for a few days and save yourself thousands in the process? Just sayin'.]]> http://kevinspencer.org/archives/2008/06/just_because_you_could_doesnt.html http://kevinspencer.org/archives/2008/06/just_because_you_could_doesnt.html amusement big floaty things Tue, 24 Jun 2008 23:12:32 -0700 Mass Transit? Moozik: Autechre - Dael] Growing up in England it was quite common to catch the train somewhere. I did it all the time even when I had a car. Sometimes it was just so much more convenient when traveling across country. Now, compare that to here in the US, or should I say, compare that to my small corner of the US here in Phoenix. Catching the train anywhere is almost unheard of. We were talking about traveling to other cities and trains today and I think I was the only one who had caught a train anywhere in the last 5 years. Some people said they had never caught the train anywhere ever in their lives. To be honest I'm not surprised as I couldn't even begin to tell you where my nearest train station is here in town. Or more to the point, if there even is one. Now, for local mass transit here in Phoenix, they are actually putting the finishing touches on a section of the new much hyped valley light rail system right near my office. Which is great, and also completely useless to me because I don't live near the one and only track. Yes there are expansion plans which will help out other areas of the valley. Just don't hold your breath. 2017 for some areas, 2019 for others, and 2025 for the northeast valley. Something that is slightly more promising for me would be the bus. The last time I checked, it would involve some driving to the nearest park and ride and then some walking on the other end as the nearest stops would be just shy of a mile away from my office. Which in the summer, is further than it sounds. I really don't want to walk 100ft when it's 114° outside, let alone a mile. Still, might be worthwhile in the winter months.]]> http://kevinspencer.org/archives/2008/06/mass_transit.html http://kevinspencer.org/archives/2008/06/mass_transit.html americana england transit Mon, 23 Jun 2008 12:39:39 -0700 The Cure On TV Moozik: Rammstein - Sonne] Tonight's Cure concert at Madison Square Garden is going to be shown live on TV in about 5 minutes in fact. Bless you Fuse.tv. So, guess what I'm watching? Still, would have been nice to have seen the show live. Like someone I know. That lucky bugger knows who she is ;-)]]> http://kevinspencer.org/archives/2008/06/the_cure_on_tv.html http://kevinspencer.org/archives/2008/06/the_cure_on_tv.html concerts the cure tv Fri, 20 Jun 2008 20:53:52 -0700 Pills Moozik: Rammstein - Reise, Reise (Live)] I swear my dog Foster is the sickest dog in history. Four visits to the Vet in as many weeks. Twice a day he has the pleasure of taking these... Twice A Day Good thing he's ok with taking pills. Two allergy pills, an antibiotic pill, and a pill for his low thyroid condition. His latest round of antibiotics cost me close to $100. It is really time I looked into pet health insurance.]]> http://kevinspencer.org/archives/2008/06/pills.html http://kevinspencer.org/archives/2008/06/pills.html foster vet Thu, 19 Jun 2008 17:18:31 -0700 Can Now Travel Again Moozik: Psyche - Misery] Finally after over a month of farting around, I finally have my passport and can actually leave the country now if I wanted to. Of course, worst passport photo ever in the history of mankind. Lipstick much? Good lord. Worst Passport Photo Ever And of course, what passport would be complete without the creepy big brother RFID chip. Big Brother]]> http://kevinspencer.org/archives/2008/06/can_now_travel_again.html http://kevinspencer.org/archives/2008/06/can_now_travel_again.html passport travel Tue, 17 Jun 2008 15:11:19 -0700 Random Movable Type Stuff Moozik: Danielle Dax - Timber Tongue] • I've noticed a number of times that I've added comments to my own site and to those of others running Movable Type that don't show up until you refresh the page. Some kind of browser caching I would imagine. Anyway, adding this to my individual archive template fixed the problem for me. A bit wanky but it works. <meta http-equiv="CACHE-CONTROL" content="NO-CACHE"> • I wholeheartedly recommend Tim Appnel's Temper plugin. It's a template profiler that logs page building information to help identify performance bottlenecks when rebuilding areas of your site. Very handy indeed. I had some convoluted archive templates that were taking a long time to rebuild. Turns out I wasn't even using them on the site so eliminated them immediately. My rebuilds now take a fraction of the time. Nice.]]> http://kevinspencer.org/archives/2008/06/random_movable_type_stuff.html http://kevinspencer.org/archives/2008/06/random_movable_type_stuff.html movable type site Tue, 17 Jun 2008 12:02:33 -0700 Cloverfield Moozik: Skinny Puppy - Haze] 200px-Cloverfield_theatrical_poster.jpg

Because I live in a cave, I only got around to watching Cloverfield last night. Possible spoilers ahead so if you're that other person on the planet who hasn't seen it and wants to, avert your eyes.

Two second review: I loved it. One of the better monster movies I've seen in fact. I absolutely loved how it was shot from the perspective of someone's handheld camera which worked so well in a scary Blair Witch Project kind of way.

I only had a couple of minor gripes. It was a little on the short side and I felt a little too much emphasis was placed on the going away party at the beginning. I totally understand those were important scenes as they introduced who everyone was and the relationships between them but In hindsight though they probably could have shortened them just a tad.

The movie purposely leaves so many questions unanswered. What was that thing? Where did it come from? Are there more of them? Why is it leaking parasites? Is it dead?

The production company Bad Robot were involved with this movie and just as they did with Lost, they have created quite a few viral tie-in and teaser sites that help piece together some of the back story and fill in the answers to some of my questions.

cloverfieldclues.com is a great place to start and that's where I found out about all those other tie-in sites. So if you're as curious as I was about the back story, have a peek at the following:

Wow, how sad was this blog post? I put way too much thought into this crap ;-)

]]> http://kevinspencer.org/archives/2008/06/cloverfield.html http://kevinspencer.org/archives/2008/06/cloverfield.html cloverfield lost movies Mon, 16 Jun 2008 13:44:31 -0700