Talking About Stuff, with Mike and Christiana

What's the concert?

This one:

Celtic Wonders Concert - Dervish

What's the gadget?

This one:

Griffin iTalk iPod Accessory

Why the 2-in-Review?

Well basically, it is the intersection of two different tracks. On the first, I like Celtic music, so when a good friend of mine asked if I wanted to go see Dervish at a nice outdoor concert, I said, sure, sounds like fun!

On the second track, I'm gearing up for Worldcon and one thing that I thought would be fun was making audio recordings of some of the more interesting panel discussions. I came across the Griffin iTalk, and it's pretty nifty. Fits right on top of the iPod, you can control it with the iPod menu, many gigabytes of recording space at your fingertips and it automatically synchs up with your computer.

But, I didn't know how well it would record sound in a public space, particularly with a crowd, when I'm some distance away from the speakers, so even though recording a concert is generally a no-no, I decided to test it out on Dervish.

So how'd it do? Pretty darn good! See for yourself! The quality isn't great, but considering this was an outdoor concert, I was surrounded by people and I was about 40 yards from the stage, I think this is pretty impressive.

(Right Click and Select "Save As" to download clips)
Dervish Clip 1 (1.21 MB) — A bouncy little jig
Dervish Clip 2 (3.69 MB) — The lead singer tells the story of the song she's about to sing, plus the beginning of the song.
Dervish Clip 3 (1.20 MB) — A fun sing-a-long type song.

Note: These clips do not include complete songs and I'm not going to post the whole concert recording. If you like their music, great! Go buy their CD's! I did. Of course, I bought mine at the concert, so I got these too!



So sum total? Great band, great gadget! I recommend both.

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Blind Teen Amazes With Video-Game Skills

I'm not sure exactly how it happened, but blind people playing video games have become a repeated theme here. Anyway, this one is pretty interesting.

Brice Mellen is a whiz at video games such as "Mortal Kombat."

In that regard, the 17-year-old isn't much different from so many others his age.

Except for one thing: He's blind.

And as he easily dispatched foes who took him on recently at a Lincoln gaming center, the affable and smiling Mellen remained humble.

"I can't say that I'm a superpro," he said, working the controller like an extension of his body. "I can be beat."

Those bold enough to challenge him weren't so lucky. One by one, while playing "Soul Caliber 2," their video characters were decapitated, eviscerated and gutted without mercy by Mellen's on-screen alter ego.

"I'm getting bored," Mellen said in jest as he won game after game.

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Okay, here's the spot for everyone to discuss the details of what happens in HP book 6. There will be spoilers galore inside, so anyone who isn't finished reading it yet should take that under serious consideration before looking inside.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Wow, did I ever plow through this one.

Picked it up at the local Barnes and Noble at about 12:30PM on Saturday and turned the last page at about 1AM last night.

Now, it isn't quite as long as Order of the Phoenix, but even still, I was fairly impressed. Harry Potter books have always been like that, very smooth, quick reads, but this one seemed a great deal more so.

It's very good.

In fact, based on a quick first reading, it might even have taken Goblet of Fire's place as my favorite book of the series.

It's going to be hard to get into why without spoilers, but I'm determined to avoid giving anything away. Believe me, you don't want any of this story spoiled for you.

Why is this one so good? Well a big part of it is that it feels as though it uses the history of the series in a very effective way, more so than the others. These characters have had 5+ years of dealing with each other now, and it shows. They know each other well, at the same time that each of them has grown and changed some. Plus, all the previous books give everything that happens in this one a great deal of context, that just provides a wonderful texture.

The plot, as always, is incredibly inventive and compelling. Furthermore, big things are happening this year. More so even than book 5. Voldemort's hand has been forced now, and he can no longer pretend he isn't back. As such, he's stepped up his plans and people are definitely noticing.

In fact, in a move that I'm quite sure isn't an accident, the book contains a strong mood of, lets face it: terror.

In Harry Potter's world, people are living in constant danger. They are being warned to take precautions by their government. Warned that anyone could be under the influence of the Imperious curse, and thus anyone must be scrutinized. We know that the Death Eaters are out there, but we don't know where or what exactly they're planning. Pretty much all you can do is to just try to be aware of your surroundings, and to try to keep living your life. Sound familiar to anyone?

So there's a real sense of fear behind everything in this book, which really ratchets up the tension. Also ratcheted up is the continued maturation of the characters. They're sixteen and seventeen now, and if they had started noticing the differences between boys and girls way back in book 4, in this one, they like those differences. There's nothing inherently sexual, but expect plenty of snogging.

JK Rowling has an excellent sense of character, and this again plays into what I was saying about the series history. We feel like we know these characters extremely well, and every interaction between them feels both believable and yet still surprising. It's really quite amazing. There are a number of times in this book where you feel the pleasant frustration of wanting to slap a character upside the head so that he or she will come to their senses, at the same time that you completely empathize with them.

Gosh, I'm running into trouble now. What else to say without giving anything away? The book has a dark tone to it, as I spoke briefly about already, but it's even darker than the last one, and goes some very scary and upsetting places indeed. Still, the humor and fun that we've come to expect from this series are still present in sufficient quantities that the darkness and seriousness do not overwhelm.

It's really quite a fantastic book. It's a given, of course, that anyone who's already a fan will want to read this one, so I'm not exactly going to be convincing anyone to read this one when they wouldn't have otherwise, but maybe, for those of you who haven't already picked it up, or those who are waiting for a family member or friend to read it first, just maybe I'll help the feeling of anticipation be all the more fun.

Anyway, I may discuss more of the story later when more people have read it and can discuss the details of the plot, but have no fear, there will be spoiler warnings.

Oh, and believe me, there is spoiler gold in this one.

Now here's an odd sensation: Feeling that someone is hypocritical for calling someone else a hypocrit, while at the same time agreeing with them.

Current Drudge Report Headline:

Sen. McCain Stars in Boob Raunch Fest

Now, once you've recovered from that ludicrously stupid headline, take a look at the article.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. -- who once held hearings chastising Hollywood studios for producing R- rated films and marketing them to teens -- is now playing a part in one!

Opening this weekend, WEDDING CRASHERS, a movie packed with raunchy moments and bare-breasted beauties bedding down with the guys.

...
McCain joked on Tuesday, "Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson and me - we're all pretty much starring roles." McCain said he couldn't resist a chance to appear in a Hollywood movie because "it impresses my kids."

...
During his senate hearings on Hollywood, McCain lectured Hollywood executives for pushing R-rated films:

"Motion pictures have to ability to elevate and inspire us. To weave wonderful tales, and to record our history. Clearly though, such is not the case."

(Emphasis his)

Now this isn't the first time that I've observed Matt Drudge acting like a ridiculous hypocritical prude regarding the entertainment industry. This guy who spends most of his time pandering to his audience by digging up the most scandalous headlines he can find, including stories about two-headed frogs and the like, (often titled: "FREAK!") This is the guy who broke the Monica Lewinsky story for crying out loud, and now he wants to act like he's some paragon of moral virtue clucking his tongue at raunchy comedies?

This is exactly the sort of thing that has made me respect Drudge less and less as the years go by. To be sure, he was one of the first people to revolutionize the way news was handled online, but now, he's not doing anything different than any other jackass out there with a blog and knowledge of Google. (Note: I'm going to drive right on by any notion of irony here.) So basically, this sort of story is really the sort of thing that makes me visit his site less often, and even when I do, it's generally only due to morbid curiosity.

All of that said, he totally has a point about McCain.

Now, way back when he was running in the 2000 primaries, I liked him. He had this great war hero record and was refreshingly blunt and independent. He refused to just walk the party line and I liked that.

Over the years since then however, my respect for him has dwindled dramatically. It seems to me now that he's little more than a publicity hound, who'll say or do anything that will get him more face time. Of late, he's found that being one of the few Republicans willing to criticize the president gets him lots of media exposure. (This is not to say that people shouldn't criticize the president, only that I think his motives are selfish.)

A senator appearing in a Hollywood film is a pretty tacky thing to do regardless. But to appear in an R-rated sex comedy is even worse. And the fact that he has publically criticized those movies in the past just takes the whole thing to the point of absurdity.

So, I agree with Drudge that McCain's being a hypocrit by appearing in this movie, but I think Drudge is being a hypocrit for saying so.

As I said, an odd sensation.

Apparently some people do, because:

Gladiator Sequel Planned

Of course, Russell Crowe wouldn't be in it, since his character died at the end of Gladiator, but the character played by Djimon Hounsou looks likely to return.

I have mixed feelings about the sequel. I definitely think there's still room in the market for another gladiator-style film, but Russell Crowe was a huge part of what made the first film great. A sequel without him would have to be a very different film. Djimon Hounsou could be a good lead though. I certainly liked him in that, and he's been terrific in a number of other things as well, like "Amistad" and "In America."

That said, maybe that's a good thing. Maybe the inability to use the same protagonist would help them to not fall into the repetitive derivative traps that most sequels succumb to.

Of course, it all depends on the script and director as well. I doubt Ridley Scott will be on board, since I don't think he's ever made a sequel in his entire career.

UPDATE! Just checked, and Ridley Scott did do "Hannibal", which is a sequel. But not a sequel to one of his own films, which was really my larger point anyway.

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How about Airplanes?

http://www.jsonline.com/onwisconsin/movies/jun05/332493.asp

The American Film Institute has enshrined it as one of the top 10 comedies of all time. Stuff magazine listed one of its many one-liners - "Have you ever seen a grown man naked?" - as among the funniest movie lines ever. And Sports Illustrated has ranked the appearance by basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as one of the best film cameos by an athlete.

Though such accolades hint at how firmly a part of the cultural firmament the 1980 film has become, they are also relatively minor and arbitrary.

More satisfying recognition comes this week when Jewish Family Services, a non-profit social services group working in the Milwaukee area for more than 135 years, presents a 25th anniversary benefit celebration of the film. A reception and dinner will be held Wednesday at the Pfister Hotel and a red carpet screening will be held Thursday at the Pabst Theater. The event is in honor of the volunteer service and philanthropy of Louise Abrahams Yaffe and her son Jim Abrahams, who wrote and directed "Airplane!" with fellow Shorewood High School and University of Wisconsin-Madison graduates David and Jerry Zucker.