Survivor

Survivor. I love the current Survivor: All-Stars series. After tonight's episode, I believe that Boston Rob will be in the final two. If the rest of the Survivors did not take this opportunity to vote off an immunity-less Rob tonight, then I believe that it won't happen for the rest of the season. And why he wasn't voted off tonight is beyond me. It's like the rest of the competitors are handing him the million dollars. Jeez.

I'm Baaaaaaack!

I'm baaaaack! You may be asking yourself, "Self, what in the hell could Dave have been doing for all of those months without updating the damn website?" Well, if I told you, I would have to kill you, so suffice to say...I had a damn good time. Heh heh. Yes, I made no substantive changes to the website from September 2003 to April 2004, but what the hell? Indeed, I am back. This week's updates include new Blog pages for 2002 and 2003 and the long promised Best of 2003 lists for both CDs and movies. See the Recent Updates area above for links to both of these supercool web pages. This front page will continue to have my blog right up front and separate yearly blog pages will continue year upon year. Expect more pontificating from me in the weeks and months to come about (most) everything in my universe, including my favorite movies, music, PC gaming thrills, and my usual rants about things in general. As always, if you don't like me or my opinions, well, there's the door. Don't let it hit your booty on the way out.

Kill Bill

Kill Bill. As I mentioned back last year, I was (at that time) really looking forward to this film. Quentin ("Q") Tarantino is one of my Top 5 directors and it had been way too long since Jackie Brown. Q's Pulp Fiction is also one of my all-time favorite movies and I was wondering how this pinnacle of filmmaking acheivement could possibly compare to Kill Bill. I'm happy to say that, after repeated viewings of Volume 1 and this weekend's premiere showing of Volume 2, Kill Bill is Q's new masterpiece. It's chockablock full of Q's unique dialogue and is, at one time, lots of different films all rolled into one. It's a revenge flick, it's a spaghetti western, it's a kung-fu movie, it's anime, it's a murder mystery, it's an exploitation film. But, of course, it's none of those things...it's just one thing: another Supercool Manchu Quentin Tarantino vision of the extreme. If you saw Volume 1 and have yet to see 2, take my word for it: you're gonna love the end of this saga. Volume 2 is almost completely different than Volume 1 in both style and content. And it works! So, what are you waiting for? Get yourself to the multiplex!

De Patch, De Patch!

...and, sure enough, the patch was officially released on Tuesday, October 28! Wow! Check out the Blizzard website for more details! See you on Battle.net!

Diablo II 1.10

Here we are on the cusp of the release of one of the most eagerly anticipated patches in PC game history: Diablo II V. 1.10. The hints have been dropped...but no one knows when it will happen. It's been fun trying to predict when it will occur. Check out the Battle.net Diablo II General Discussion Forum and join the guessing game! It's hard to believe that it's been more than three years since D2 was originally released and we all started playing it. I'm still playing it like it came out last week. There are many reasons why we have been (im)patiently awaiting the arrival of this patch. Read the material on The Arreat Summit for more details!

Kill Bill Vol. 1

As stated previously (see the January 12th entry below) I am a big Quentin Tarantino fan. Well, incredible is the only word to describe his new film Kill Bill, Vol. 1. I saw it during the weekend of release and I am still totally blown away by it. Incredibly over-the-top in terms of its violent content and unique vision, the film comes close to the quality displayed in my all-time favorite Tarantino flick, Pulp Fiction. I am looking forward to the second part of the movie, due to be released February 20, 2004. For more about Kill Bill, go to the official site here.

American Splendor

Well, I have just seen the best film of 2003 and its name is American Splendor. I had no doubt that this film would delight me in this fashion and it's not because I'm a comics fan. It's because I am a Harvey Pekar fan and it is really nice to see his life story translated into such an innovative, sincere film. I have been following Harvey's exploits since the mid-1980's when I began reading and collecting issues of his self-published comic book American Splendor. I was fascinated with his life and felt proud to be living in the same area of the county that he did, Northeast Ohio. He was a hero to me, this "normal" person who could recount his ordinary life in comic book form. I saw all of his David Letterman appearances, including his final, abortive one. One of my favorite American Splendor stories is about one of the libraries that I worked at in Ohio. For a short while, I was Head of Circulation at Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine Library. All of my co-workers knew that I liked Harvey Pekar and when I decided to leave for another job, they gave me a stack of American Splendors as a going-away gift. I will never forget the feeling of co-existing with Harvey Pekar and you will never forget this film. Go out and see it right now, or see it when it hits your area in October. When March 2004 rolls around and the Oscars are being doled out, don't be surprised if American Splendor wins a couple. For more information about American Splendor, go to the official movie site. For reviews, go here and here.