Oct
08
2008
Yesterday has come and gone. I am quite a bit poorer money-wise, and yet I feel so much richer for owning these wonderful things.
I can only give a glowing review to 30 Rock Season 2. After all, having already seen Season 2 when it aired on television, I can tell you they really upped their game after completing their first successful season. The plots are crazier, the characters are funnier, and it’s all-in-all a better show. (That being said, I would highly recommend re-visiting Season 1, because it is also hilarious.) The DVD set doesn’t fail either. Unlike the last release, Season 2 features several attractive bonus features, such as a live-at-the-improv benefit performance of “Secrets and Lies,” several audio commentaries, and the table read for season finale “Cooter.” It also has backstage footage from when Tina Fey hosted SNL and a post-Emmy awards interview with some of the cast and creators of 30 Rock. Overall, a HIGHLY recommended DVD set.
I haven’t watched all of Sleeping Beauty yet, but I can tell you that it looks astonishingly beautiful. Blu-Ray is just such a fantastic format for animation, be it computer or hand drawn. If you don’t believe me, pick up the Blu-Ray and compare it with the included DVD. You will be SHOCKED. It also is chock-full of bonus features that I look forward to delving into.
I can’t say much for The Wordy Shipmates yet. I haven’t had a chance to listen to it much, but the little part that I did I enjoyed. Sarah Vowell is awesome, so my anticipatory review is that it’s amazing, interesting, and hilarious.
In other news, Into the Woods is almost ready to open this Friday! I started rehearsing with the orchestra over the weekend. They’re sounding great! We got new costumes last night, which is fantastic because before we had been using literally in-the-plastic-bag Halloween costumes for everything. The joys of community theatre, eh? Listen, I’m not complaining. Oddly enough, only a few of the cheapie costumes looked terrible. Hopefully by Friday we’ll have most of our kinks out, making us ready to give a wonderful weekend of performances.
Oct
07
2008
OCTOBER 7th, 2008
It is upon us. Today, the triumvirate of entertainment is being released, namely 30 Rock Season 2, Sleeping Beauty on Blu-Ray, and Sarah Vowell’s The Wordy Shipmates. Oh yes, my children. That magical day has arrived.
What I HAVEN’T talked about here that’s taking place today, though, only ADDS to the excitement. Today begins McDonald’s Monopoly Sweepstakes! Start collecting those properties that you’ll end up losing and never knowing if you were actually the big winner! More importantly, instant win can get you free fries! If that doesn’t make your life, I’m not quite sure what will.
Well, I’m gonna quit writing and get out to the shops. Later fools!
Oct
01
2008
Ah, The Incredibles. Who doesn’t love it? It’s a fantastic movie that wasn’t outdone until this summer’s Wall-E. So assuming you love The Incredibles as much as I do, pop in disc 2 of the Incredibles DVD set I know you own. I can’t remember exactly what section it’s in, but somewhere there’s a feature called Vowelette and you should definitely watch it.
If you DO get to watch Vowelette, you’ll find that the voice behind little Violette is popular history essayist Sarah Vowell. Vowell is also a frequent contributor to NPR’s This American Life (you can check out some of her episodes
here). She is both incredibly smart and super hilarious. Having seen her read some of her work live, I can tell you her readings are more like comedy shows than public readings of history essays. I know what you’re thinking. “How could history essays be interesting?” I don’t know what to tell you other than pick up one of her books and you will soon know. Actually, skip the book and go for the audio book read by the author. That way you get her witty writing said in her particularly witty way.
My personal favorite work of her’s is The Partly Cloudy Patriot [audio link here]. That one isn’t so much historical in subject matter, but given that it’s her obsession, there’s lots of tid bits in that subject throughout. Most of it is just interesting stories and musings she has on her life as an awkward geeky writer.
You’d be surprised how interesting her historical stories can be too, though, as in her other book Assassination Vacation [audio link here]. This work deals specifically with the assassinations of Lincoln, Garfield and McKinley. I found it so interesting and entertaining that I was actually sad the audio book version is abridged. For instance, did you know that the Oneida company that makes tea pots started as a sex cult? You would if you read Assassination Vacation.
The reason you should be paying attention now is Vowell’s new book, The Wordy Shipmates, comes out next Tuesday, on October 7th. This one apparantly is about the Puritans, and though that specific subject doesn’t directly interest me, I’m pretty sure this book will deliver as much as if not more than her previous ones. Look for it to be in book stores AND on iTunes come Tuesday for your enjoyment, and believe me–audio is the way to go.
I know this all may seem like a bit of a departure for me, it being non-technology-related and all, but that being said, Partly Cloudy Patriot and Assassination Vacation are available in Kindle format. I’m sure Wordy Shipmates will be as well, being new.
Also, let us not forget that October 7th also sees the release of Sleeping Beauty in Blu-Ray format and 30 Rock Season 2. Gooooood Tuesday!!!
