The Loehdown

Your money is killing people.

In a roundabout way, that is the message from the film The International. In The International, Clive Owen is an investigator with Interpol, currently investigating the ties with national banks, international politics, and assassinations.

If that teaser doesn’t get you interested, then The International is probably not the film for you. It is not a comedy, it isn’t a spy thriller, it isn’t completely an action movie–although there are some good action sequences–it is a “realistic” movie.

Clive Owen’s character isn’t a superspy with a lot of gadgets, or an excellent marksman who can mow down a million enemies without taking a scratch, and he isn’t a typical hero. There are times throughout the movie where his character is genuinely scared, and this is what brings the movie to life. You can firmly believe in the story and in Owen’s character’s actions. At times he makes the wrong choice, or no choice at all. He doesn’t have all the answers.

As a film, The International isn’t perfect, but it is intriguing enough to keep you interested. There are a few points where things are a little too obvious, but there are also twists and turns. The ending is a little disappointing, but this adds to the realism of the film.

One of the best parts of The International is the action sequence that takes place in the Guggenheim Museum. It’s long without being drawn-out and the way the surroundings of the building are used is well done. And the good guys don’t simply obliterate the bad guys as they might in many other films.

One little subtraction from the film is Naomi Watts’ role. She is relegated to the backseat, and I’d guess she’s not even in half of the film, which is unfortunate. When she is in the film she does a wonderful job, and it’s interesting that she is not in the film as much as she could be.

If you like the Bond films or heist films but want something more “down-to-earth” then the International is one film you should check out.

Kingdom of Loathing, also known as KoL, is a browser-based game which was released in 2003. It could be classified as a MMORPG, of sorts, but it really stands in its own genre. It doesn’t have fancy graphics, it doesn’t charge a fee, and it doesn’t stick to gaming standards. What Kingdom of Loathing does have is a lot of wit, an in-depth gameplay system, a myriad of quests and items, and a strong community.

The first thing you’ll notice upon visiting the site is the simpleness of it all: black and white text and stick figures with minor blue or red highlighting. This is prevalent throughout the entire game. What makes the game stand out is the witty humor laden throughout the quests, items, and interactions in the game. Many of them contain references to pop- or sub-cultures and each one is hilarious. For example:

The pages of this ancient tome contain an infinitely-replenishing supply of stickers. And as if this wasn’t magical enough, the stickers themselves smell like stuff when you scratch them!

There is no directly dirty language, but there is a lot of suggestive content, so it might not be safe for the youngest of players. However, most of it is likely to fly over their heads.

To help you navigate the multitude that is Kingdom of Loathing, the official wiki and fan site can explain anything you find in game, covering almost 5500 topics and growing.

One thing that makes KoL stand out is that the game is constantly under revision. There are new updates added weekly, if not daily. Some of them are just minor bugfixes and tweaks, but others include entire new levels and quests. The in-game environment is so developed that there is an in-game calendar, complete with holidays and special celebrations, which provide unique quests or items to buy.

Another aspect that differentiates KoL is that there is no dying, and there is no end. When your life reaches 0, you simply need to spend a few adventures resting until you feel better. When you “beat” the endgame boss, you simply start back over at level 1, with all your previous items stored away for you to use again. This allows players to amass large amounts of items or meat, the in-game currency, and keeps em coming back for more.

In order to pay for the server’s and developers’ time, donations are accepted, and each $10 gets a player a special item which can be traded for an item of the month or sold for millions of meat. This allows them to get ahead quickly, but still keeps them from being overpowered. The game is well balanced so that you are never too low-level to have anything to do or too high-level to beat anything easily.

If you’ve got time to spend and want something free to do that requires only as much time as you’ve got to give to it, check out Kingdom of Loathing, and you can find me as player NuttySquirrel, so be sure to drop me a line.

This year’s “Little Miss Sunshine” is “Slumdog Millionaire”, a controversial movie about the life of a young boy who grows up in the slums of India. His life’s encounters prepare him for the culmination of the film, involving “Who Wants to be a Millionaire”, and that’s all I will give away.

Slumdog has already won quite a few awards, and is the underdog favorite for Best Picture in the Oscars, and after having watched the film, it’s easy to see why. The way the movie is presented–as scenes from the “present” and the past intertwined–may trouble some people, but it works perfectly for the film and keeps the story engaging and intriguing. I found myself constantly wanting to get to the next portion of the film, right up until the end.

The cast of characters is a group of relatively unknown actors who perform fabulously in “Slumdog Millionaire”. They make you feel the joy and the pain in the movie, and even as the film transcends time you connect with each iteration of the characters. The script was well-written and cast the scene well. There are moments of humor and fun that keep the moving from falling into the category of depressing.

There has been some controversy over the movie, including the pay for the child actors as well as the feeling by India that the movie doesn’t accurately portray their lives or that it isn’t a standout from any other movie. The difference here is this movie was designed for American audiences, and I think it could be a valuable talking point about what kind of life people around the world lead that we never see.

Today, in preparation for the Super Bowl (Go Steelers!) I stopped at the local Safeway to purchase some alcoholic beverages. I get harangued a lot when buying alcohol, but no more than would be expected for someone who is only 22. However, today was a little extraordinary.

I walked up to the register with my case of beer and some lunch. The lady at the register asked for my ID, which I promptly gave to her. She rang me up and I was on my way, or so I thought.

As I’m carrying my groceries away from the checkstand, a man who identified himself as a Washington State Liquor Control Board Agent asked me for my ID, again. Stupidly, I didn’t ask for his first, but I was a little flustered as I’ve never heard of this even happening. I produced my ID, again, at which point he began interrogating me about it. I may look young, but I’m pretty sure I look just like the same goofy idiot who happens to be on my ID, which is me. The unfortunate woman at the register who rang me up thought she didn’t check my ID, but I let her know that she did.

The first question I was asked was my address. Interesting to note that my current address is not the address on my license, and had I not looked at my license earlier I wouldn’t have even known which address was on it since it’s now almost two years old. Either way, I was able to give him the address listed and figured it wasn’t much of an unusual question anyway.

The second question, however, was really unusual. I got my license in 2007, when I turned 21, on my 21st birthday. Essentially, that’s the only reason I even remember when I got it. The LCB agent asked me the TIME I got my license. As if I memorize these things for later use. If I hadn’t remembered that I was out at midnight that night and thus went to get my license late in the day when I wasn’t hungover, I wouldn’t have the slightest clue. I told him I got it in the afternoon, he confirmed, handed me the license and went stalking back to the alcohol aisle for his next victim.

Which brings up a couple points. First, what if I said I got it in the morning, or I had no idea. Is he gonna take back my beer that I legally purchased with my legal ID? Secondly, how did he know what time I got my ID at?

This second question got me to scrutinizing my ID, and the internet, which came up dry in my searches, although I’m guessing any fake ID site or purchaser would know this. I began looking at all the numbers and markings. I knew the drivers license number was last name, first and middle initials, year of birth taken from 100, and then some other characters based on month and day, so I knew none of those were it. And that’s when I zeroed in on the small vertical print overlapping my picture (see the red square in the picture). After conferring with a couple other people, we surmised the last four digits are the time the ID was “purchased”, written in 24 hour format. In this sample picture, Jennifer got her ID at 10:38 AM. Mine was 1623, or 4:23 PM. No idea what the proceeding numerals and digits are, although they may just be the serial number.

I really wish I had known this beforehand, as I’m sure a response of “I got my license at 4:23PM” would have sparked even more interrogatives. Can’t the LCB do their own operations without involving innocent people?

Welcome back.

I have switched webhosts to a company that seems to be a lot faster thusfar, but there may still be some glitches here and there. Those will get worked out in the next few days hopefully, as will me adding new content once again.

Arguably one of the most popular and recognizable artists of the past two decades (maybe due to the fact he’s married to supermodel Heidi Klum?), Seal, has recently released a new album, appropriately entitled “Soul”. The album is comprised completely of covers of past soul greats, as interpreted by the man himself.

After listening to this album a couple times through and sharing it with others, quite a few things stand out:

• Seal still sounds like Seal
• Seal still sounds good
• I no longer hate “Stand By Me”
• Seal is still married to Heidi Klum

Okay, that last one might not be apparent from the album, but the album sure makes it clear why they are together. Seal’s silky smooth vocals on Soul are perfectly placed in the twelve songs, ranging from “If You Don’t Know Me By Now” to “Knock on Wood”. Seal breathes new life into these classic songs. I found myself constantly singing along as I listened to the album, whether I was at work (a little embarrassing), in the car, or writing this review.

If you’re a fan of classic “soul” songs, or a fan of Seal, or just a fan of music in general, I highly recommend Soul. The only disappointment is that their is no original material on the album.

Now that the chaos is over, look for new reviews soon!

I am a Web Developer by day, Web Developer by night. I graduated from Washington State University in 2007 with a Bachelors Degree in Digital Technology and Culture, and I currently work at the internet advertising firm Local Marketers, based out of Seattle, WA, where I build out websites for franchise clients and independent service companies.

Away from work, I live in Kirkland, WA with my girlfriend (the other side of the gap) and our Scottish Terrier, Franklin. I tend to spend my time on the computer either browsing, developing, or playing games. If I’m away from the keyboard, I can probably be found watching movies to review, eating at restaurants to review, or listening to music to review. I have a passion for writing, information design, and life’s puzzles.

I started this site for a couple of reasons, including the fact I thought up the witty title and decided I had to buy the domain, so I figured if I owned the domain I should put something on it. Secondly, I wanted to give my quick and dirty take on the things in life that I had spent my time with, either to give something more press, or to keep others away. There is no defined system to the reviews; most of them are probably pretty short, because who wants to read a 45 page review on some restaurant? You probably just want to know if the food is good or not, and that’s what I aim for. There may be some more in-depth reviews in the future if I find the time, but I’ve found that what I’m doing right now fits my schedule well.

I am a member of Mensa, have an IQ of 243, and have discovered a previously unknown galaxy in astronomy class.